The specific action plan of the peasant army is also relatively simple.
The first is to concentrate the troops of the three divisions and all the ships, go straight to Jiujiang, carry out a devastating attack on the Jiujiang army in the Jiujiang area, and occupy Jiujiang with an absolute strength advantage.
Once the Jiujiang area is occupied by the peasant army, it will be equivalent to cutting off the Yangtze River waterway. At that time, the peasant army will leave a force to station in Jiujiang and cut off the Yangtze River waterway. The main force will move westward to attack the Ezhou and Hanyang areas and fight the Ezhou army decisively.
In this case, the peasant army can still be regarded as a superior force.
Both the Jiujiang Army and the Ezhou Army have about 30,000 troops. Together they can be on par with the Peasant Army. However, if they are defeated by the Peasant Army individually, the problem will be different.
The peasant army will gain twice the strength advantage over the Song army on local battlefields, and can seize the war initiative more smoothly.
After the specific strategy was discussed, the Peasant Army had four reorganized divisions, three for the offensive, and one for the general reserve and left-behind troops. It was impossible not to use the best, but even if it was used, there was nothing we could do. .
After careful thinking and arrangements, Zhao Yucheng decided to let Lu Chengren lead the third division to stay in Nanchang.
He personally dispatched and led the main force of the peasant army to a decisive battle with the Song army.
Lu Chengren agreed and accepted the appointment. Xu Tong and Zhang Xiaohu also accepted the appointment without raising any objection.
However, when it came to assigning specific tasks, Xu Tong couldn't restrain his restless heart and wanted to put forward some opinions on this strategy.
He wanted to lead an elite army to attack Ezhou by land, and separate from the main force by water.
"The most convenient road to Jiujiang and Ezhou is naturally the waterway. We know this, and the Song Army also knows it, so they must put more effort into the waterway, and the Song Army has always attached great importance to the water army. Even the inland water force probably has some combat effectiveness. of.
If we take Jiujiang first, then Ezhou, and engage in a decisive battle with the two Song armies face to face, we can certainly win, and it will be enough for the Xiangyang army to react and launch support. If the Jiujiang army supports us for a little longer, our advantage may not be sustainable.
If our army wants to gain an advantage against the Song army, it must naturally give priority to field battles. Now the Song army has many new soldiers, and our army has many veterans. The combat effectiveness is different. In this case, soldiers are valuable and quick. If we can defeat the Song Dynasty in one battle, With two armies, we can directly cut off the Xiangyang army's retreat and cut off its food routes!
The food road was cut off, and more than 40,000 people in Xiangyang's army had to eat horse chews. How long could they last? Not to mention that the Henan Corps is pressing down on Xiangyang, and Xiangyang is surrounded by enemies from both sides. If you try to hold on, you will not be able to succeed. If this happens, Xiangyang will be defeated and Jinghu will be mine! "
Xu Tong pointed to the mountainous and hilly area from Nanchang to Ezhou on the map and elaborated on his thoughts.
His suggestion was bold.
Regarding Xu Tong's bold idea, Lu Chengren first expressed his disapproval. He felt that the number of troops that could be led by circumnavigating the mountainous area was relatively small, and the logistics supplies could not be guaranteed. Even if they could successfully reach Ezhou, the army would be exhausted.
How can we still fight then?
Zhang Xiaohu also didn't support it, thinking this action was too risky.
Not to mention whether the Song army will be defeated, before the main force arrives, Xu Tong is equal to using his own thousands of troops to face the Song army of 30,000, a strength difference of nearly ten times. If he cannot win in one battle, it will basically be the end of the entire army being annihilated. .
Neither Lu Chengren nor Zhang Xiaohu supported Xu Tong's idea, and several instructors also had unsupportive or negative attitudes towards it, thinking it was too risky.
Now only Zhao Yucheng is left.
Zhao Yucheng stared at the map for a long time, pondered for a while, and then looked at Xu Tong.
"Do you want to reproduce the results of your previous attack on Lin'an?"
Xu Tong nodded.
"Before I made a sneak attack on Lin'an, the Song army had tens of thousands of forbidden troops guarding Lin'an. There were two armies stationed not far from Lin'an. Their strength was more than ten times mine. Despite this, from the time I attacked, there was no one. The Song army took the initiative to attack me.
Even when I was still more than ten miles away from Lin'an City, a Song army came towards me, but before engaging in battle, he turned around and left. Until I withdrew, he never showed up again. His troops were far away from me. The Song army above only dared to defend and did not dare to attack.
Later, in addition to meetings, I was also thinking about why I was able to fight to Lin'an, but the Song army did not dare to confront me along the way. I found that maybe they didn't know that I only had 4,000 troops, and thought I was leading Tens of thousands of troops came, so they didn't dare to fight me. "
"But at this time or that time, you cannot compare the situation in Lin'an with the situation in Ezhou now."
Lu Chengren still objected and said: "Don't be afraid of 10,000, just be afraid of the worst! What we need in our current situation is stability, and we must be stable!"
"The competition on the battlefield is about who is more courageous and who is more unexpected than the other!"
Xu Tong said firmly: "The more unexpected we are, the more we can disrupt the enemy's arrangements and achieve the greatest results at the smallest cost! Otherwise, with 80,000 people versus 100,000 people, the advantage will not be with us!"
Lu Chengren still objected and continued to persuade, but Zhao Yucheng stood up and ended the argument between the two.
"When marching and fighting, stability comes first. Without a stable rear, no tactics can be used. What Commander Lu said is correct."
Xu Tong wanted to say something else, but Zhao Yucheng raised his hand to stop him.
"But the chairman once told me that the battlefield is changing rapidly, and no one can predict everything on the battlefield, not even Han Xin, the immortal soldier. Therefore, the key point in fighting is to make fewer mistakes yourself while allowing the enemy to make more mistakes. "
Zhao Yucheng looked at Xu Tong and said: "I support your plan. You can go ahead and fight and use all your talents. I only set a task for you to conquer Ezhou and cut off the army's food route in Xiangyang. Why? Execution is up to you, I will fight the Song army in Jiujiang and support you as soon as possible."
Xu Tong was stunned for a moment, and then he was overjoyed.
"So much better!"
So the plan was finalized. In order to increase the possibility of Xu Tong successfully attacking Ezhou, Zhao Yucheng asked Xu Tong to lead at least 5,000 troops. He could select soldiers with strong bodies and agile hands and feet from the entire army.
When Xu Tong was almost ready, Su Yonglin's order was delivered to Zhao Yucheng in time.
"The chairman has agreed to our plan and will dispatch troops from the Henan Corps to support us in due course. This battle is secured!"
Zhao Yucheng's confidence greatly increased, and he immediately ordered Xu Tong to lead five thousand elites to set off first and start trekking in the mountains, hoping to reach the planned attack position as soon as possible.
Zhao Yucheng led the main battle force composed of the remaining 55,000 soldiers on more than 600 large and small ships, marching by land and water in the direction of Jiujiang.
Zhang Xiaohu, the commander of the Fourth Division, was appointed as a vanguard general because of his bravery, leading the elite vanguard to clear the way for the army.
