Fankou is a port, so named because it is located where Fan Port enters the river.
There are also 2,000 Song troops stationed here, and there are more than 70 warships in case of emergency.
The reason why Wang Shun set up troops and warships here is that if the Jiujiang army collapses and the Wuchang defenders are unable to fight against the peasant army, they can retreat quickly through the warships at Fankou without being overtaken and annihilated.
However, the Fankou defenders obviously did not expect that Xu Tong would lead the peasant army to attack from behind.
On the afternoon of March 18, Xu Tong led his troops on a forced march and quickly reached Fankou from Bailuji.
After taking a breather, the army took advantage of the evening when the Song army was eating together and raided Fankou.
They used rockets to burn Song warships, and the army broke into the port to kill the defenders and destroy the ships. .
The Song army at Fankou was unprepared. Most of them were frightened and fell into the water, or trampled on each other to death. A few were captured.
Only a few Song troops crossed the Yangtze River by boat and fled to the north of the Yangtze River to survive.
Xu Tong once again scored a victory.
But for some reason, Xu Tong didn't have a strong joy of winning. He always felt that something was wrong, that something was missing.
After thinking for a long time, he knew what was missing.
What about the famous generals of the Southern Song Dynasty?
What about the elite army of the Southern Song Dynasty?
What about the truly powerful enemy?
Where?
As a big country, you should have some real skills no matter what you do, right?
Xu Tong felt that since the beginning of their army, they had not found any offensive in the Southern Song Dynasty that was powerful enough to threaten their survival, nor had they encountered an elite army led by a famous general in the Southern Song Dynasty.
Why are these people so incompetent?
What about capable people?
Can such a large court not even have one capable person?
Xu Tong was very confused about this.
But in any case, after three consecutive victories, the Ezhou army's defense line was torn clean from the rear by Xu Tong. At this moment, the Wuchang Song army was completely isolated.
What's even more terrible is that at this time, they don't know that their base in the rear has been destroyed. Their retreat, including the food road, has been cut off, and they are in a state of being attacked from two sides.
After capturing Fankou, the peasant army faced the choice of whether to continue attacking Wuchang or to garrison on the spot.
Let's continue to advance. There are still 10,000 Song troops in Wuchang, and Xu Tong only has less than 2,000 men and horses who are weak.
But if he was stationed on the spot, he was worried that Zhao Yucheng's main force would be held back by the Jiujiang army and would not be able to resolve the battle quickly and eat the Wuchang Song army in time.
After struggling with the stick of incense for a while, Xu Tong made a decision. He decided to use psychological tactics to release all the captured Song troops and let them go to Wuchang to spread the news that Ezhou had been conquered by the peasant army, so that the Song troops in Wuchang could Feeling panicked.
Only when the other party panics will he make a mistake. Only when the other party makes a mistake will he have a chance.
He ordered the entire army to rest and eat more food to replenish their physical strength. Then, at the place where Song Army prisoners of war were being held, he deliberately asked the peasant soldiers guarding him to talk about the news that the army would attack Wuchang after a day of rest.
Then in the middle of the night, they pretended that the defense was not tight, and the guards were dozing off, and deliberately let go of hundreds of captured Song soldiers.
Hundreds of Song soldiers ran for their lives at night. Some chose to flee south, while others arrived in Wuchang in the afternoon of March 19 to seek protection.
Then the news that Ezhou and even Fankou had been conquered by the peasant army spread among the Song army in Wuchang.
From the generals to the soldiers, they were all horrified.
When did the peasant army come and kill them?
What's going on?
Didn't the peasant army fight bloody battles with the Jiujiang army in Jiujiang in the east? Why did you suddenly appear in Ezhou?
But the Song army's defeated troops, who looked horrified, would not lie.
The Song Army in Wuchang suddenly became panic-stricken. The soldiers were panicked and had no idea what to do.
At this moment, the Wuchang Song Army is facing a very terrible situation.
The main force of the peasant army is in the east, and the old nest in the west was captured by the surprise attack force of the peasant army. The retreat route was cut off, and the food route was cut off. The food in Wuchang City was only enough for them to last for ten days and a half at most. According to the news brought by the defeated army, The next step for the peasant army is to attack Wuchang.
Wang Xun, the commander-in-chief of the Song Army in Wuchang, immediately realized that he had only two ways to go.
In this case, holding on would definitely lead to death, because the food would never be able to sustain him until the reinforcements arrived. If the Jiujiang army was defeated by then, and the peasant army attacked from two directions, he would not even have a place to cry.
There is a high probability that he will die if he goes east or west, and he knows that his subordinates are like silver pewter spearheads and cannot be used at all. With Wuchang City as a turtle shell, he can still hold on for some time, but if he leaves the city to play in the field, , that is, the turtle has lost its shell.
Then, the only thing left is to go north or south.
To the north is the Jiangbei area. Although it is also the Song Dynasty, it is closer to the Ming Kingdom in Jiangbei. He is very afraid of the Ming Kingdom and is unwilling to go north, so the only way is to go south.
Go south from Wuchang and then turn back to Yuezhou in the southwest. As long as you can escape to Yuezhou, you will be safe.
As for the responsibility of protecting the land, it was completely out of his scope of consideration. He couldn't even guarantee his own safety, so what else could he want to do?
And if you continue to think about it...
The Jiujiang army is in danger, the Ezhou army is finished, and two of the three armies in the Jinghu theater are in danger. Although the Xiangyang army is strong, facing the elite Henan regiment of the Ming Dynasty, how can it go south to support them regardless of their threats?
This sudden attack launched by the peasant army was too harsh.
If the Ming Dynasty seizes this opportunity and takes advantage of the situation to go south, the Jinghu Theater will inevitably collapse. At that time, who will care about the small city of Wuchang?
So what's the point of him staying here?
Waiting to die?
After thinking about this issue clearly, Wang Xun decided to apply oil on the soles of his feet to moisturize Yuezhou.
But it is obviously impossible to bring the army together. Now the army is a burden to him, and continuing to bring these new recruits who have never been on the battlefield will only slow down his escape.
So he decided to first assume the attitude of defending Wuchang and waiting for the support of the Xiangyang army, stabilize these new recruits, deceive them, and then escape quietly.
This will give you enough time to distance yourself and ensure safety.
He ordered his subordinates to spread rumors among the army, saying that the Xiangyang army was moving south to attack Ezhou. The peasant army was defeated like a mountain. Soon the Xiangyang army would regain Ezhou and annihilate the peasant army.
So what the Wuchang army needs to do now is to hold on to Wuchang and wait for reinforcements. If they escape rashly and lose the city, the end will only be worse.
There will always be a good market for gossip, and there will never be a shortage of people in the world who only believe in gossip rather than official announcements.
So this gossip quickly spread among the Song Army group, giving the desperate Song Army a glimmer of comfort.
Seizing this opportunity, Wang Xun led his soldiers to patrol the city defenses majestically, condolences to the soldiers, and gave some rewards. This actually stabilized people's hearts. The soldiers felt relieved, thinking that the generals were still in Wuchang City and had not escaped, which proved that It's really okay.
The Xiangyang army came to save them!
Of course, this was a lie. After Wang Xun showed his face once, he sneaked away with his personal guards that night, leaving behind a city and 10,000 new soldiers.
Wang Xun ran very fast. He turned like the wind and rode away with an extremely free and elegant posture.
The Wuchang City and the 10,000 recruits he left behind were abandoned, and the recruits in Wuchang City collapsed within less than a day after he left, just as he expected.
Because Wang Xun could not be found anywhere, let alone the soldiers, the middle-level officers were also confused and frightened. They led their soldiers to look for Wang Xun.
But they couldn't find it after searching, and the officers and soldiers gradually became nervous.
At this time, the gunpowder warehouse storing gunpowder in the city exploded.
