Zhang Xi thought in silence for a long time and finally decided to stick to Echeng.
It's really not that Zhang Xi wants to work hard for Liu Qi, it's mainly Jiang Xia and the young master Liu Qi. It's never an either-or choice here in Zhang Xi.
According to the plan of Zhuge Liang and others, Jiangxia will be used as a retreat base for the lord Liu Bei in the future. In the early stage, it must be in the name of the prince Liu Qi, so as not to arouse Liu Biao's suspicion.
Therefore, neither Jiang Xia nor his son Liu Qi can have any trouble. If something happens to either of them, everything will be lost for Liu Bei.
As for what to do after guarding Hubei City, and whether it will increase Liu Qi's prestige, Zhang Xi cannot think about it so much for the time being.
However, although Zhang Xi has made up his mind to defend Echeng, it does not mean that the navy will be forced to fight to the death. The casualties in the past few days have clearly told Zhang Xi that the Jiangxia Navy is no match for the Jiangdong Navy, and the military Morale is low. No matter how hard you force the navy to fight, they won't listen to you.
Therefore, we have to find a way.
Zhang Xi began to recall the classic water battles in his mind to see if there was anything that could inspire him.
But Zhang Xi sadly discovered that some of the so-called classic battle cases in his mind only had a rough process, and then he determined who won and who lost and how the fight was fought. Who would know without in-depth study? !
The most famous Battle of Chibi. In history, did Zhou Yu win by burning the warships, or did Cao Jun take the initiative to burn the ships and retreat because of the plague? In the history book "Three Kingdoms", "Wu Shu", "Wei Shu", and "Shu Shu" The records are contradictory.
The Battle of Feishui left a lot of idioms like "the wind roars and the cranes roar", "every tree and grass are all soldiers" and the result of the victory of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and nothing else was left.
And judging from historical records, the victory of the Eastern Jin Dynasty was certainly due to Xie Xuan's calmness and meritorious command, but the failure of the Former Qin Dynasty was more likely to be the result of Fu Jian's failure to integrate the various forces in the north, and his hasty southward movement due to disunity.
Poyang Lake Water Battle. This is better than watching "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms". Luo Guanzhong wrote the "Three Kingdoms" version of the Battle of Red Cliff based on the Poyang Lake Water Battle.
The Battle of Huang Tiandang. Well, Han Shizhong won several times tactically, and also trapped Wanyan Zongbi, but judging from the results of the battle, the Southern Song Dynasty lost this battle.
But what? The battle of Huang Tiandang? !
Zhang Xi suddenly felt inspired.
In the famous water battle at Huang Tiandang, the most talked about thing is not only Liang Hongyu beating drums to support the army, but the most important thing is Han Shizhong's design to besiege the Jinbing commander Wanyan Zongbi, also known as Jin Wushu.
The way to trap it is to block the water channel.
Han Shizhong led Wanyan Zongbi into his preset ambush circle, and then the shipwreck blocked the entrance waterway of the canal, cutting off Wanyan Zongbi's return route, and blocking Wanyan Zongbi in the Jinshan and Jiaoshan areas.
So. Shipwreck blocks the Yangtze River? !
This happened during the Anti-Japanese War. Due to the huge disparity in strength, the Chinese navy had no choice but to sink the ship at the mouth of the Yangtze River, blocking the way for the Japanese navy to go up the river and giving the rear time to plan the war.
What Zhang Xi now has to consider is whether it would be feasible if he chose to sink the ship and intercept the river.
Although Han Shizhong sank the ship, he blocked the canal. The mouth of the canal and the surface of the Yangtze River are not the same concept.
Although ships were sunk and intercepted rivers during the Anti-Japanese War, they were modern warships, and at last they were iron-clad ships. Regardless of the hull material or tonnage, they were not comparable to the wooden ships of this era.
After all, the Yangtze River is a big river. Not only is the river surface wide, but the water flow is also fast. Zhang Xi is really afraid that the wooden boat will not be able to block it at all, and it will be swept away by the water in a few days.
And there is another problem here - how to defend E City.
Even if Zhang Xi really cuts off the Yangtze River, the Jiangdong Group will not give up the march because of the impassable waterway. They will definitely continue to attack Jiangxia, but they will change from marching by water to attacking the city ashore.
So, what is the land combat capability of Jiangdong Army?
Although judging from the records in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and history books, the land combat capabilities of the Jiangdong Navy are a joke and cannot be defeated by anyone except for sneak attacks. But now Zhang Xi has to face the attack of this "joke" army personally, or It's better to be cautious.
Zhang Xi had to ask Chen Jiu about this matter.
After all, Chen has lived in Jiangxia for a long time and has dealt with the Jiangdong army not once or twice, so he should know something about it.
Chen Ju said that he was a navy general and rarely led troops in land battles. However, judging from the records of Jiangdong's previous invasion of Jiangxia, he should be at the same level as the Jingzhou Army. It's hard to say who is better than the other.
At this time, Wei Yan finally couldn't help but speak.
"I don't dare to boast about a water battle on the riverside, but if it's a land battle, I'm sure that those Jiangdong brats won't dare to cross Echeng even half a step!"
Wei Yan has basis for saying this.
During the day today, Jiangdong's army rushed into battle. Wei Yan and his guards had already experienced the combat power of Jiangdong's army.
Those who can rush into battle must be the elite of Jiangdong's army.
In Wei Yan's view, these so-called elites took advantage of the shaking on the water, otherwise they would have been driven off by the guards he led.
Jiangdong soldiers are nothing more than that.
Although Zhang Xi didn't quite believe Wei Yan's bragging, Zhang Xi still chose to believe Chen Jiu's words.
If it is similar to the level of Jiangxia Army.
"I have a plan, please give General Chen a try!"
Zhang Xi began to tell about his plan.
To put it simply, it means sinking ships and intercepting the river, forcing the Jiangdong Group to give up its superior naval force and instead go ashore to attack the city and decide the outcome on land.
Zhang Xi doesn’t understand naval warfare and is not sure about it, but if it is land warfare, Zhang Xi’s side will still have a city wall as protection. If Jiangdong Army really has the land warfare level to fight against the five scum, it’s hard to say that it will be better. spell.
Of course, Zhang Xi also has a disadvantage, that is, there is a serious shortage of soldiers defending the city.
But if the Jiangxia navy no longer needs to undertake surface combat tasks, then Zhang Xi's problem will not be a lack of troops, but a surplus of troops.
With more than 10,000 sailors, even if the land combat skills are not good, it is still possible to help defend a city. At least it is better than recruiting ordinary people.
Even Zhang Xi doesn't need so many people. There are too many people and the city can't accommodate them.
These people can also allocate more than half to strengthen the defense of counties along the river. They can even return to Shaxian by land, re-arrange warships in Shaxian Water Village, and then come back to fight.
But the only problem with Zhang Xi's strategy is whether it is possible to sink the ship and intercept the river.
Don't look back. If the ship sinks but the river is not blocked, it will really become a joke.
When Chen heard that Zhang Xi was going to sink the ship, he panicked.
"Zhang Duyou must not do it!" Chen Jiu's expression suddenly changed, and he quickly persuaded Zhang Xi, "Linjiang water battles all rely on warships. If Duyou sinks, although he can stop Jiangdong for a while, it is not a retreat strategy. If something is discordant, we will no longer have the power to stop Jiangdong."
What Chen Ju meant was that although the shipwreck could indeed block the Yangtze River waterway, it would only temporarily block the Jiangdong Navy's path, and it would not be able to block it for long.
After all, it is not an ironclad ship. As long as Koto is willing to take the time to clean up the sunken wooden ship, it will be cleared one day.
Of course, if Echeng has been in Zhang Xi's hands, it will not be easy for Jiangdong to clean up the sunken ships. He must be prepared for Zhang Xi's raid on the shore camp, and when cleaning the ships, he must also be careful of the powerful crossbows and arrows fired from the top of Echeng.
But what if Zhang Xi cannot stop Jiangdong's siege on land.
Once Jiangdong captures Hubei City, there will be a safe enough environment to clean up the sunken ships. At that time, Jiangdong Navy can still advance, but Jiangxia Navy does not have enough ships to fight even if it returns to Shaxian, and it will stay in Shaxian. Xian's new ships also need to be practiced and familiarized by the sailors before they can be put into battle. How can I have that time? !
Finally, and the most important reason is that Chen can't bear it.
Shipbuilding is very expensive these days, and it takes a long time to build a ship.
After several years of accumulation, Jiangxia Navy built two Mengchong warships with great hardships, which shows how difficult shipbuilding is.
Didn’t you see that even Jiangdong navy would rather spend more time to capture the Mengchong battleship? A Mengchong battleship is also a rare commodity in Jiangdong.
If the ship that was finally built was sunk, the Jiangxia navy would be seriously damaged. God knows it will be a year or two before it can return to its current scale and combat effectiveness.
Therefore, Chen begged bitterly, but refused, and persisted in Sha Xian's suggestion of withdrawing his troops.
In the end, Zhang Xi had no choice but to show his identity as a postal supervisor and said to Chen, "General Chen will do as he pleases. I will bear all the consequences!"
This was tantamount to giving an order, so Chen was silent for a while, and finally accepted the order.
Then, the navy took action overnight.
First, the water stronghold was dismantled and all the heavy objects in the water stronghold were thrown into the river as a foundation.
And then there's the shipwreck.
No matter how big or small the boat was, they were all loaded with rocks. Under the leadership of Chen Jiu, when they reached a certain place, they dug through the bottom of the boat and let it sink.
Chen Ju has been stationed in Hubei City for many years as the commander of the navy. He knows the hydrological conditions around Hubei City very well. He knows where the deep and shallow waters are and where there are reefs. He is also relatively comfortable in arranging sunken ships.
Shipwrecks and interceptions of the river do not mean blocking the entire Yangtze River. They only need to sink ships along some reefs and shallow water areas to complicate the water surface and underwater environment so that the Jiangdong navy cannot pass quickly.
If you separate one ship at a time and pass slowly while testing carefully, you can get through it.
But the Jiangdong navy has at least more than a hundred warships. If you are so slowly testing the underwater situation, can you let all the troops pass through in the year of the monkey? !
Besides, it's not like there are no enemies on the shore. E City is also built near the water, with a section of city wall facing the water. If you pass by so slowly, you really think that the bed crossbows used to defend the city are just decorations, right? !
While Chen Ju felt distressed, he still followed Zhang Xi's military orders and sank his Mengchong ship in a relatively deep water area with tears in his eyes.
After nearly a hundred remaining large and small warships of Jiangxia Navy were sunk and blocked the river, Chen returned to the water village to resume his life.
Next, what Chen needs to do is to lead the Jiangxia navy, which no longer has ships, from E County to the north, and then turn west to the navy base in Shaxian to reorganize and train the navy. If conditions permit, Form an army as soon as possible and control Xiakou to guard the entrance to Han River.
As for Echeng, it is impossible for Chen to come back.
One is that it takes too long to go back and forth, and it is hard to say what the war situation in E County will be like at this time when Chen comes back.
Secondly, Chen Jiu also had to seize the time to train the navy army to deal with the consequences if E County could not hold on.
But before leaving, Chen Jiu kindly assigned two thousand navy soldiers to Zhang Xi to help him hold on to Hubei City.
In these days and months, although the navy's land warfare level has to be compromised, it is still better than letting the people defend the city.
It’s not that Chen is stingy and doesn’t give more, it’s that the county seat of E County is so big that it’s useless if there are too many people.
Zhang Xi divided the 2,000 soldiers into two, and gave Wei Yan the command of 1,000 of them, while the remaining 1,000 were under his own command and began to prepare to defend the city.
(End of chapter)
