When Qi Fang left, he was as dejected as a defeated hound, and Wu Gong looked at his leaving back with joy in his heart.
If you go against me, this is what you should end up with!
So next, Wu Gong arranged the siege of Nanchang.
The morale of Wu Gong's army was high. After launching the battle, they attacked the city several times, dealt a heavy blow to Han Wu's troops, and threatened the city gate many times. Although they were unsuccessful in the end, they had accomplished what Qi Fang's troops had not been able to do for several days. situation.
Of course, no one knows how much of this is the foundation laid by Qi Fang's troops.
On August 18, when Wu Gong's troops were almost able to attack the city wall and gain a foothold with Han Wu's overlord army to seize control of the city gate, Wu Gong suddenly received extremely terrifying news from behind.
Yichun County and Fenyi County in the rear were captured by the rebels. The leader of their army, Tian Shizhong, was attacked and killed by the rebels. All the grain and grass stored in the two cities were destroyed. The army's logistics system collapsed completely, and the logistics troops were almost completely destroyed. completely annihilated.
The people who reported the news were part of Tian Division's personal cavalry. After their defeat, they fled in panic and came to Nanchang City to report the news to Wu Gong.
In this case, of course the news is accurate and there will be no problems.
Tian Shizhong was indeed dead, and Yichun and Fenyi counties were also captured. A large amount of grain, grass and military supplies stored in the two cities were destroyed, either burned or fell into the hands of the rebels.
Moreover, Wu Gong also received more serious news.
Li Dao's army, which had gone south to attack the Jizhou rebels, also collapsed. Li Dao had died in the battle, and his army was either dead or disbanded.
With the deaths of Tian Shizhong and Li Dao, more than half of the war to go south to defeat the rebels seems to have been lost.
Wu Gong was stunned for a long time. After a long, long time, he came back to his senses. He found the quartermaster of the army and asked him how long the food in the army could last.
The quartermaster replied that the food stored in the army could last for five days. Of course, if he asked for food from Qi Fang's command, it should be able to continue to support him.
However, the logistics and transportation of the two armies are separated and borne by their respective systems. It is almost impossible to ask Qi Fang's logistics system to bear his food and grass.
Wu Gong immediately came to a conclusion.
Regardless of whether Qi Fang could continue to fight, he couldn't. Qi Fang would never provide him with food or fodder. He would only laugh at his jokes and hope that he would die soon.
Wu Gong had to accept this fact.
But he couldn't figure out why an experienced veteran like Li Dao would lose? Why did such an experienced life-saving master as Tian Shizhong die?
Perhaps no one could provide him with this answer.
When Qi Fang learned the news, his reaction was not beyond Wu Gong's expectation.
He was very surprised, frowned, thought for a while, and then said that he underestimated the combat effectiveness of this rebel army.
When Wu Gong tentatively proposed that Qi Fang's military rations were needed to maintain the war situation, Qi Fang flatly refused.
"The matter of food and fodder is the life and death line of the army. How can we just leave it to other armies at will? If I do this, I will not be able to explain it to the court. General Wu should not embarrass me."
Regardless of whether Qi Fang was retaliating against him or following procedures, Wu Gong could not change the situation because Qi Fang had indeed taken the initiative.
The previous advantageous situation made Wu Gong feel very awkward. While he hated the despicability of the rebels, he also hated the incompetence of Li Dao and Tian Shizhong.
If it weren't for their incompetence, how could they have allowed him to retreat from Beibi without successfully completing his mission?
Wu Gong was filled with hatred.
"The matter has come to this, and I have nothing else to say. The only way I can go is to withdraw. If General Qi feels that he can deal with the rebels alone, I have no objection."
Without saying a word, Wu Gong once again sent someone to convey the news to the Lin'an Privy Council, and he left Nanchang with his army and retreated to Jinghu North Road.
Seeing Wu Gong's men leaving in despair, Qi Fang felt not only the pleasure of getting revenge, but also a trace of worry.
The actions and combat effectiveness of the rebels exceeded his imagination. Although the main forces to suppress the rebellion were concentrated in Nanchang City, the problem was that the combat effectiveness of the remaining partial division was not weak, and the commander was a long-established general. Li Dao.
What was the reason why the rebels were able to defeat Li Dao and further kill Tian Shizhong?
Qi Fang didn't know, but he knew that this time there might be a large-scale military earthquake in the court.
Wu Gong retreated. He fought alone. Being able to capture Nanchang was already his best performance. It was almost impossible to achieve other results.
But as long as he takes Nanchang, he will not pay any price for this failed crusade, just like Wu Gong does not need to pay any price for the fall of Li Dao and Tian Shizhong.
So no matter what, it is most important to capture Nanchang City first.
Needless to say, although Qi Fang hated Wu Gong's domineering attitude, the generals under Wu Gong were very strong and had some military talents. After several days of fighting, they almost captured the city of Nanchang, which Qi Fang was impressed by. They were all worried about the overlord army in the city.
Fortunately, they were forced to retreat before they could complete the attack. While Qi Fang felt that things were impermanent, he also felt that the saying made sense - what is yours is yours after all, and you can't control what is not yours.
So he waved his hand - Brothers, come on! After capturing Nanchang, we will drink, eat, eat, burn, kill and loot, we will have everything!
Qi Fang issued the final order to attack Nanchang City, allowing the participating troops to plunder Nanchang City for three days. They were allowed to do anything except setting fire. For three days, they could do whatever they wanted.
As a result, the fighting will of Qi Fang's troops skyrocketed, their morale was greatly boosted, and they looked like a strong man without fear.
After so many days of attacks, Nanchang City seemed to have entered its final moments. In order to obtain more manpower and material resources, Han Wu directly confiscated everything in Nanchang City, including his personal life.
Men aged ten and under sixty must climb the tower to join the battle, and all the rest must also serve the Overlord Army, washing, cooking, and transporting supplies, etc. When soldiers are in need, women must be ready to sacrifice themselves at any time. preparation.
Because of this request, all the people in Nanchang were tied to the chariot by Han Wu. While crying bitterly, they participated in the battle under the coercion of the Overlord Army and lost almost everything.
At this moment, everyone in the city, regardless of rich or poor, regardless of status, is all equal——
Everyone is a slave to the Overlord Army.
Despite this, there is still a huge gap between untrained soldiers and trained soldiers. Han Wu tried his best, promised various benefits, and threw money at the city many times, but he could not prevent Nanchang City from gradually reaching its end.
On August 20, Nanchang City was destroyed by the Song Army.
