In fact, not only Zhu Ran was ordered to return to defend Jianye, but Lu Xun of Huainan was also desperately retreating.
After the news that Wang Jun led his troops to break through Niuzhu reached Shouchun, Lu Xun, who was still hesitant at first, immediately ordered the entire army to withdraw from Shouchun and retreat to Ruxuwu.
To be honest, the development of the war did exceed Lu Xun's expectations.
Originally, Lu Xun thought that even if the Soochow Navy suffered successive setbacks, its overall strength was still there. Whether it was Zhu Ran, Quan Cong, or now Ding Feng, they were all capable of leading the Soochow Navy to stop the Shu Han at the Yangtze River defense line. navy.
In this case, Lu Xun only needs to send people to guard the key node of Ruxukou and guard the communication channel between Huainan and Jiangdong. Then it is impossible to threaten Jianye with Shu Han's naval combat capabilities.
This is why Lu Xun sent Sun Shao to support Ruxuwu.
But when news of Zhang Xiu's defeat and defeat in the Niuzhu River Battle reached Shouchun, Lu Xun knew that if he did not retreat, Jianye might be in real danger.
The remaining naval forces led by Ding Feng were trapped in the mouth of Ruxu by Yang Di and could not enter or exit. If Xie Jing could not stop Yang Di and Zhang Xiu in the land battle and were defeated by Wang Jun, then the lower reaches of the Yangtze River would no longer be able to stop Shu. The Soochow naval force of the army was strong.
If the waterway cannot stop the Shu Han's advance, the Shu army will definitely be able to land in Jianye. Then the next step is to attack Jianye and fight to defend Jianye.
If Lu Xun didn't come back for help at this time, I'm afraid it would really be too late.
Therefore, even if the entire Huainan might be lost as a result, Lu Xun must immediately return to the army to rescue Jianye.
Zhu Ran actually had the same idea. After he retreated from Moling County, he also quickly returned to aid Jianye. After all, Quan Cong took away Jianye's last defensive force. If Zhu Ran couldn't go back, Jianye would be If something goes wrong, everything is over.
Zhu Ran and Lu Xun each led their troops to retreat and rush to aid Jianye. However, the speed of their advance could not keep up with the surrender speed of the Soochow family.
Wang Jun led the navy to advance eastward, but did not only go by water. When approaching the west side of Jianye, Wang Jun asked Zhong Limu to lead the navy to approach Yanziji, while he led 40,000 infantry ashore to outflank Yanziji from the north. .
Quan Cong has few soldiers and even fewer naval forces, so Quan Cong cannot fully defend Yanziji.
Considering that attacking Yanziji from the land route is easy to defend but difficult to attack, while going down the river from the waterway, Quan Cong does not have enough navy to intercept and defend, and it is easy to be broken through. Therefore, Quan Cong can only choose to use Wu near Yanziji. The fort blocked the river.
The water surface near Yanziji is narrow and the current is turbulent. In addition, the various fortresses set up by Soochow on the cliffs of Yanziji are perfect for intercepting the Shu pirates and navy on the river.
Moreover, in fact, Quan Cong also knew that with the small number of troops he brought, especially the lack of naval combat power, it was impossible for him to defend Yanziji. He could only delay the Shu army's advance as much as possible. Zhu Ran and Lu Xun bought enough time to return to the rescue.
As long as Lu Xun and Zhu Ran can get back to the defense in time and outflank the landing Shu bandits, then even if the Shu bandits reach Jianye City, they will eventually be trapped in a pincer attack and have to retreat.
In this way, although Jiangxia or the area north of Huainan will be lost, Jiangdong can still be preserved.
This is Quan Cong's final defensive plan.
However, Quan Cong's plan has loopholes, and this loophole is still obvious. The troops on the north side of the Yanziji River are seriously insufficient. Once attacked, Quan Cong does not have enough navy to respond and support, and the defenders on both sides will fall into The point where they each fight.
Wang Jun predicted this in advance. He ordered his soldiers to land on the north bank of the river in advance, and personally led the troops to raid the Wu army's defensive camp in the north of the Yanziji River.
Forty thousand people fight seven thousand people, prepared and unprepared. With Wang Jun's ability, he can naturally defeat them in one battle.
Of course Quan Cong didn't want to see Jiangbei's defense line broken through by the Shu army. However, it would have a big impact on Quan Cong's defense plan, but it would not be fatal.
After all, if the Shu thieves want to attack Jianye, they must break through the Yanziji Jiangnan defense line, and Quan Cong still has 13,000 troops on the Jiangnan defense line.
Even if we abandon the defense of Wubao on the Yangtze River and retreat to the city to defend, with the small amount of troops Wang Jun brought, it will not be a problem to hold on for a few months.
One month was enough for Zhu Ran and Lu Xun to return to their defensive positions.
Quan Cong has not given up yet. He still wants to hold on for the last time, which can be regarded as a last effort for Soochow.
However, just because he wants to work hard, it doesn't mean that others have the same thoughts as him.
The north bank of Yanziji was broken through by Wang Jun. Zhonglimu led his troops to approach the south bank, making a posture of storming the Uburg landing along the river. The Jiangdong families began to have different thoughts.
Soochow's military system is different from that of Ji Han. They have a secular military system. Most of the soldiers are the general's private soldiers. Even the 10,000 forbidden troops are strictly speaking Sun's private soldiers.
Unfortunately, half of the 10,000 forbidden troops were sent to the north bank of the Yangtze River by Quan Cong to defend them. Now that they were defeated by Wang Jun, they had no time or ability to return to the south of the Yangtze River.
Therefore, most of the Soochow defenders on the south bank are the soldiers of Soochow generals.
And these Soochow generals are basically from aristocratic families. They must also consider whether their core interests will be affected if their soldiers suffer excessive losses.
If it still fails to stop the Shu army and the Shu army successfully pacifies Jiangdong in the future, will my family, as a resister of the "Heavenly Soldiers", be implicated and affect the interests of my family?
If you block the Shu army, but your own soldiers are too damaged, you will not only lose a lot of manpower and material resources, but may even be absorbed by other aristocratic families or the Soochow royal family in the future, which will also harm your own interests.
Since no matter whether you win or lose, your own interests will suffer. Then why not "eat the slurry in the pot to welcome the king's master"? !
Well, doing this seems a bit unethical, and it won't sound good if it gets out. Moreover, if Zhu Ran and others return to the defense in time and defend Jianye, they will inevitably be liquidated in the future.
It would be better if the camp roared and dispersed.
The camp roar is a good idea. The morale of the military is unstable. This is a common thing in this era.
It's not that everyone doesn't want to do their best for Da Wu, it's just that the morale of the army is "low" and the army's sergeants and soldiers are "dispersed". Although it has something to do with us middle-level generals, the main responsibility is still the commander's.
It was caused by the coach's incompetent leadership.
In this way, before the Han Dynasty navy led by Zhong Limu docked on the south side of Yanziji, the defenders on the south bank of Yanziji in Soochow broke out a "camp roar". Of more than 13,000 soldiers, only the remaining soldiers fled overnight. There were less than four thousand people.
Quan Cong was so timid that he almost cried. Who are these people? ! !
As the representative of the Jiangdong family, how could Quan Cong not know what these wealthy families were thinking? He just didn't expect that these people could turn around so quickly, and by the way, he was also sold out.
With only 4,000 people left, how could they defend the huge defense line along the river? !
Quan Cong knew that he could not defend it. At the same time, after being betrayed once, Quan Cong also began to consider the interests of his family and did not want to defend it anymore. Therefore, Quan Cong retreated overnight, abandoned Yanziji, and returned to defend Jianye.
He said he was returning to defend Jianye, but in fact, Quan Cong wanted to rush back to Jianye and take back control of Jianye from Sun Hong.
At the current stage of the matter, Quan Cong no longer has the idea of continuing to serve Soochow, and he has not thought about being famous for eternity. Therefore, he went back to fight for control of Jianye, but he wanted to surrender in the future. , to gain more bargaining chips for his family.
After all, Sun Hong is a general of the Sun clan, so he may not choose to surrender, or in other words, if he chooses to surrender, he will definitely gain more benefits than anyone else.
Why should such a good thing be given to an unknown person like Sun Hong? Quan Cong is also the minister of Tuogu and a representative of the Jiangdong family. Why can't Quan Cong replace Sun Hong and obtain this benefit? !
Therefore, Quan Cong didn't care at all whether there was a Shu army landing behind him. He rushed back to Jianye wholeheartedly, just to get the final opportunity to gain profits.
After Quan Cong withdrew, Zhongli Mu led his troops to occupy the south bank of Yanziji in a daze. Then with his support, Wang Jun from the north bank of Yanziji also led 40,000 infantry across the river.
After reorganizing the military formation, Wang Jun and Zhong Limu led the land and water coalition to land in the south of the Yangtze River and march towards Jianye.
While marching along the way, Wang Jun and Zhong Limu fully felt what it meant to "eat the soup in a basket to welcome the king's army." This attack was more like a march than an march.
Finally, in the early spring of the eighteenth year of Yanxi's reign, the two men led 50,000 land and sea troops to the gates of Jianye City.
(End of chapter)
