Gong'an City was eventually captured by the Soochow Army.
But Zhu Ran was not happy at all! ! !
Rather than saying that Gong'an City was captured by the Soochow Army, it would be better to say that the Han Army took the initiative to abandon its defense.
On the sixteenth day of the siege of Gong'an City, reinforcements from the Han army appeared again in the north direction of Gong'an City.
After learning from the previous reinforcements from Yidu County, Zhu Ran's reaction was not slow this time. He directly sent Quan Duan and led a force of 5,000 people to the north of the Public Security City to intercept and prevent these reinforcements from entering the city.
But the problem is that Zhu Ran's reaction was not slow, but Pang Tong's reaction was faster. After receiving the news that Chen Dao was about to come for reinforcements, Pang Tong immediately sent Jiang Wei to lead two thousand troops to ambush outside the north gate. As long as the Soochow Army went After intercepting Chen Dao's reinforcements, Jiang Wei came out from behind and cooperated with Chen Dao to attack from both front and back.
Zhu Ran suffered a loss. If Quan Duan's ability was not bad and the Han army was not strong enough, it would be difficult for half of the 5,000 Soochow soldiers who went out to intercept this time to come back.
In this way, Zhu Ran could only watch as the Public Security City received reinforcements again.
However, fortunately, the reinforcements in the Public Security City this time were only about 5,000 people. The number of troops was not too large and could not have much impact on the battlefield situation.
Zhu Ran still had the advantage in troops and was able to take the initiative in attacking.
In this way, after attacking for two more days, the Han army suddenly retreated.
Yes, without any warning, they suddenly evacuated to see the Public Security City and broke out to the northwest of the Public Security City.
Whether it was the timing or the direction of the breakout, Zhu Ran was completely unexpected.
Regarding the timing of the breakout, it had only been two days since the Han army received reinforcements. Now there were enough defenders in the city and their morale had been improved. This was the time to fight to the death, so why did they suddenly retreat? !
As for the breakout direction, Zhu Ran has already taken the initiative to release the defense line in the port direction. Instead of retreating from the northeastern port, you will withdraw from the northwest. You must not only break through the interception of the defenders, but also go around in such a big circle and start from the upstream. Cross the river, return to Yidu County, and then return to Jiangling. Why bother? !
But no matter what, Zhu Ran was sitting in the public security city and ordered the army to rest on the spot.
As long as the rest is completed, you can cross the river and march to Gangneung at any time.
Just... I don't know why, Zhu Ran always feels empty.
Do you think you have won this battle? !
Judging from the results, he captured the Public Security City, so he should be considered a winner. Being able to defeat the world-famous Mr. Feng Chu on the battlefield is something worth bragging about.
But the problem is that during the entire battle, although Zhu Ran had the initiative to attack, he never caused a major blow to the Han army. He had sufficient military superiority. Before the Han army took the initiative to abandon the public security, he could not see it. Hope to the ruined city.
In addition, the timing and direction of the Han army's retreat were completely beyond Zhu Ran's expectations. As a result, Zhu Ran had no time to make adjustments when the Han army broke through, allowing the Han army to withdraw without much loss.
If these more than 10,000 Han troops took a detour from Yidu County and then retreated to Jiangling, it would add a lot of variables to the subsequent attack on Jiangling. Can I really win? !
Zhu Ran struggled all night in the public security city. The next day, he finally adjusted his mentality and led his troops again, crossed the river and marched towards Jiangling.
We should consider the issue of victory or defeat after the war. Now, it is still important to think about how to defeat Jiangling.
Not only must they fight beautifully, but they must also create enough pressure on the Han army. Only in this way can it be possible to force the entire Jingzhou army still in Nanyang County to return for reinforcements.
Only when he can do this can Zhu Ran confidently boast that he has won Mr. Feng Chu! ! !
But...it's hard, really hard.
When Zhu Ran led his troops across the river and entered the area of Jiangling, the news reported by the scouts made Zhu Ran know that it would be difficult for him to achieve this goal.
The scout reported that 10,000 Han troops entered Jiangling City two days ago. Now the defenders of Jiangling City were not only 5,000, but 15,000.
Theoretically speaking, Zhu Ran still has 42,000 soldiers. Counting some of the lightly wounded who are slowly recovering, he can barely be considered to have three times the enemy's strength, which is still an advantage.
But...this is Gangneung City! ! !
The Battle of Jiangling ten years ago made the world aware of the power of this fortified city. Even with a 1 to 5 military disadvantage, Wang Ji still held on to Jiangling City for more than half a month, waiting for the Jingzhou Army to return for reinforcements.
With a strength ratio of less than one to three, it was really difficult to put pressure on the strong city of Jiangling.
Not to mention, in addition to the 15,000 garrison troops in Jiangling, there is also a public security garrison force of more than 10,000 people in the process of retreating. Although it has not arrived yet, it will definitely be within two or three days at most. Back to the area near Gangneung City.
In order to prevent this force from returning to Jiangling City, Zhu Ran will definitely set up a defensive line on the west side of Jiangling City to block it, which is equivalent to diluting Zhu Ran's siege force again.
To hold on to death is a two to one troop advantage.
There is a saying in the art of war: Doubling makes a difference. It can be seen from this that in a siege battle, twice the force advantage can only be regarded as evenly matched, and it is not an advantage at all, let alone Jiangling City, which is about to fight, asking for reinforcements from the Jingzhou Army.
Zhu Ran really didn't have much confidence, but at this point, he could only bite the bullet and launch an attack on Jiangling City.
As for persuading Shi Bao to surrender, when the garrison of Jiangling City increased from 5,000 to 15,000, even fools knew that Shi Bao would not surrender. Even after the reinforcements arrived at Jiangling City, the Jiangling City garrison was still not Shi Bao. Bao, it’s hard to say! ! !
Zhu Ran didn't want to get into trouble, so it was safer to rely on soldiers to fight.
This makes Shi Bao quite disappointed, really.
Originally, Shi Bao planned to use this so-called persuasion to surrender to gain some military merits for himself. Now it seems that the coach of the Soochow Army is not stupid and did not give himself this opportunity.
In fact, ever since Soochow sent people to contact him privately and promised him huge profits to surrender, Shi Bao began to think about how to use this trick to trick Soochow.
What? ! The benefits provided by Soochow. What the hell are they called benefits! ! !
How can a so-called cavalry general who is in vain compare with a governor who has real power? !
Shi Bao is neither an innocent young man in his early twenties, nor a civil servant in his fifties or sixties who cares about his retirement. He is now in his thirties, when it is officially time to grasp real power and make contributions.
Real power is much more attractive to Shi Bao than false reputation.
If Sun Quan directly gave him the real power position of a county or even a state governor, then Shi Bao might be tempted. The chariot and cavalry general would just slip away.
Another thing is that Shi Bao, who has been in Jingzhou for a long time, not only knows very well what his reputation is like outside, but also knows how xenophobic the Soochow gang is.
He really wanted to surrender to Jingzhou just for the sake of a temporary reputation. When he arrived in Soochow, Shi Bao was burdened by his reputation. Coupled with the exclusion of the local aristocratic families in Soochow, it was impossible for Shi Bao to have any chance of gaining real power.
Besides, your general system in Soochow is physically different from that of the Han Dynasty.
In the Han Dynasty, the Chariot and Cavalry Generals were among the top three generals with real power, second only to the Great General. But over there in Soochow, there are several generals, and there is a General above them, and a Chariot and Cavalry General. , I’m afraid it’s just a nice name.
After all, Shi Bao is a figure as famous as Deng Ai in history. His IQ is no problem and his perspective is very thorough. He knows that if he surrenders to Soochow, he will not enjoy any benefits, let alone fame and fortune.
As for the so-called clan girl, Shi Bao is lustful, and he also has pursuits. It's not a beauty that he personally likes. How can he have unwarranted lust based on a so-called clan name? !
You look down on people too much!
So, Shi Bao actually had the intention of making trouble with Soochow from the very beginning and cheating people by the way.
For example, pretending to surrender, taking the initiative to greet them, and then letting Liao Hua, who came to help, lead the army to set up an ambush, first trap a part of Soochow's vanguard troops, and then occupy the city to defend themselves. Now it seems that this possibility is gone.
Ren Zhuran didn't send anyone to contact him at all.
However, this also shows that the coach of the Soochow Army is not an incompetent person. Shi Bao also reminded himself again not to be too careless.
Regarding Jiangling's city defense, Shi Bao actually thought a lot about it.
When there were only 5,000 people defending the city, Shi Bao really didn't dare to take risks. He could only strengthen the city's defense honestly, prepare city defense equipment, and prepare to fight a relatively dull defensive battle.
At that time, Shi Baoming knew that the police on the other side of the river were besieged by the Soochow army. He did not dare to send troops to respond or relieve the siege. He was afraid that Soochow would come to encircle the area for reinforcements and his troops would be ambushed by the enemy as soon as they left the city gate.
Therefore, at that time, Shi Bao could only watch the police being besieged and did not dare to take any measures.
Fortunately, Zhu Ran did not dare to be careless during that time. He only sent out scouts in the direction of Jiangling and did not dare to divide his troops to attack Jiangling without capturing the public security, so that Shi Bao could relax a little.
However, when Shi Bao learned that his 10,000 reinforcements were about to arrive, Shi Bao began to think about the next response.
First, they sent people to secretly cross the river and deliver a message to the police. They hoped that the defenders of the public security would not waste their troops needlessly. If they really couldn't hold on, they could withdraw.
Afterwards, Shi Bao began to consider whether to send troops to sneak attack Lukou while the Soochow Army was besieging Public Security Bureau.
This is what Shi Bao did five years ago. He crossed the river to attack Changsha in one fell swoop, causing Sun Quan's plan to attack Jiangxia County to fail. This time, he was just repeating the same old trick.
But the problem is that Shi Bao five years ago had 5,000 naval troops at his disposal, and the focus of Soochow's offensive was in Jiangxia County. The navy was also concentrated there, which allowed Shi Bao to succeed in the sneak attack.
Now, in order to attack Wancheng, the Jingzhou Army has basically been transferred to Nanyang County, and the Jingzhou Navy has basically been transferred to Xiangyang to take on the task of transporting military supplies. There are not enough naval forces and ships near Jiangling City.
Under such circumstances, it is simply unrealistic to conceal Lukou from the detection of the Soochow Navy on the frontline of the public security line, and then conduct a sneak attack on Lukou.
Therefore, Shi Bao could only think of ways on land to see if there was any chance of ambushing the Soochow Army.
For this reason, Shi Bao sent many scouts, and once even left Liao Hua to defend the city. He personally led 5,000 troops and set up an ambush on the main road where the Soochow Army marched into Jiangling, preparing to ambush the Soochow Army.
But Zhu Ran didn’t give it in vain after all.
After conquering the Public Security Bureau, Zhu Ran crossed the river and headed north. Zhu Ran did not have any thoughts of being arrogant and careless. He was still cautious all the way. Scouts were sent out for at least ten miles. Shi Bao's ambush was discovered by Zhu Ran's scouts before Shi Bao's ambush was launched.
If Shi Bao hadn't been quick to spot the opportunity and discovered that the Soochow Army was making abnormal arrangements, perhaps Zhu Ran would have taken advantage of Shi Bao in this ambush.
In the end, Shi Bao, who really couldn't find any chance of a sneak attack, had to return to Jiangling City with 5,000 soldiers. He stopped thinking about a sneak attack and concentrated on guarding the city.
Anyway, there are now 15,000 soldiers guarding Jiangling City. Adding in the soldiers who returned from the police, there are more than 20,000 soldiers.
If Soochow wants to capture Jiangling, a fortified city guarded by more than 20,000 people, with only 40,000 people, it’s just a dream! ! !
(End of chapter)
