Lishui, Xiaodukou Town, is surrounded by the Wuling Mountains to the west and the broad and flat Dongting Lake Plain to the east.
The section of Lishui River upstream from Xiaodukou Town is narrow and difficult to ford. After passing Xiaodukou Town, it enters the Dongting Lake Plain, so the river surface begins to widen and the flow speed slows down.
The geographical location of this town is somewhat similar to Jiangling's position on the Yangtze River. It's just that Lishui is not as important as the Yangtze River, so its reputation is not obvious.
After Governor Zhang Zhaojun (Ma Shacai) arrived at Xiaodukou Town with 20,000 infantry and cavalry, he has been confronting Zhu Jinzhong's 35,000 Chu troops.
At this time, the Chu army still had some geographical advantages. After all, they were locals. Ma Chu had also made certain defensive preparations for Lishui, especially Xiaodukou Town.
There was a small navy on the Li River, and it was this navy that blocked the Zhou army from crossing the river.
Zhang Zhaojun has been thinking of ways to build a pontoon bridge on the Lishui River these days, but no matter where he chooses, he is eventually discovered by the Lishui Navy of the Chu Army. The final result, of course, is to watch the pontoon bridge be destroyed before his eyes.
When Zhu Jinzhong was first sent by Ma Xi'e to stop Zhang Zhaojun, he was actually very worried.
The shadow of the famous human tree can kill two generations of Khitan masters and defeat Liu Zhiyuan's Zhou army. How can it be compared to tens of thousands of his miscellaneous soldiers?
Historically, Chu State was able to survive peacefully with Hunan, firstly because it was blocked by Nanping, and secondly because the Central Plains was in chaos and had no time to visit southward.
Zhu Jinzhong was even prepared to flee to Wuling Mountain with his elite confidants and barbarian soldiers from the Xiang and Zhou families if he could not resist.
As a result, when I look at it now, I see that the people on the other side are well-dressed and well-dressed, but after more than ten days of confrontation, they can't even set up a pontoon bridge and there are only a few boats. I immediately feel relieved.
Even before he came, Zhu Jinzhong was quite embarrassed because he told his close men that he would go to Wuling Mountain to escape if he couldn't win.
Therefore, in order to cover up this embarrassment, Zhu Jinzhong quickly adjusted from the initial inferiority complex to conceitedness.
He often said that Zhou Guo's cavalry were just for the sake of their bright armor, but in fact they were just silver pewter spearheads. He even threatened to drown all the Zhou troops in the Lishui River.
Is Zhang Zhaojun really so vulnerable? of course not!
Yuan Cong's party meant to Zhang Shi just like Liu Bang's Peixian fellows and Zhu Yuanzhang's Huaishang brothers.
They followed Zhang Zhang in his expeditions in the east and west, and in the north and south. From scratch to the present, if they didn't have a few brushes, they would have died in the wilderness long ago.
The reason why Zhang Zhaojun has been assuming floating bridges everywhere is just to confuse the Chu army and make them relax their vigilance.
Zhang Zhaojun did not ask Zhang Yan to bring a large number of boatmen because he had already thought of a way to cross the Lishui River.
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In the upper reaches of Lishui River, although the river here is fast, the river is relatively narrow because of the high mountains and dense forests on both sides.
It is impossible for the entire army to pass through, and it is impossible to transport a large amount of baggage, but there is no problem with a small number of elites.
Zhang Zhaojun went to the selected location to investigate in person, while Zhao Kuangyin just got up from the water. He had just swam back and forth and felt the current.
Now he is going to take iron nails and hemp rope to the other side to pull up the rope, so that he can provide some help to the soldiers crossing the water.
As for me, Zhao Da, I am really loved by everyone and very capable.
He didn't know how to swim at first, but when he saw that the imperial court was short of people who knew how to swim in order to conquer the south, he immediately started practicing swimming. In two months, he would be able to compete with Jiangling's elite water ghosts in Feihu Town. .
At the same time, although he is about to be the commander-in-chief of a town, he is not at all arrogant. If he can put down his status, when the time comes to take the lead, he can immediately rush to the front line.
For example, this time, Zhao Kuangyin took the initiative to cross the river in a turbulent current where he was unfamiliar with the underwater conditions. He asked to go with a few elites in the water.
Zhang Zhaojun naturally loved such a dedicated and brave general. As soon as Zhao Kuangyin got up from the water, Zhang Zhaojun personally handed Zhao Kuangyin the dry clothes and sweat towel.
"How about it? Zhao Dalang, how many people do you think we can swim to the other side in one day?"
Zhao Kuangyin took the sweat towel respectfully first, and while wiping away the water on his body, he replied: "There are strong undercurrents under the water. If you want to cross safely, you will definitely not be able to go fast. In one day, you can cross five or six hundred people." Not bad.
And the war horse must not even think about it, it won't be able to get through. But Jia Wei, Mo Jiang has an idea. "
This is Zhao Kuangyin. If you ask, he will give you a clear analysis and give you opinions.
Zhang Zhaojun was extremely satisfied and threw a leather bag to Zhao Kuangyin.
Zhao Kuangyin was overjoyed. He took the leather bag and took a sip. It was indeed the essence of Wuliang that was sweet and strong.
This kind of distilled liquor invented by Zhang Zhi has now become popular in a small area. And it's only for military use.
Most people really don't like high-alcohol wine, but it is the best wine among some heavy laborers and those who are killing people with knives.
Especially in the army, there is not much time for you to go to the toilet when marching, and drinking a belly of water is simply unrealistic, so liquor becomes a good friend.
This person can drink it when it's cold and damp when camping in the wild. He can drink it when he can't sleep before the war. It can also be used as a supplement of water in places where there is no clean drinking water.
Of course, it is impossible not to prohibit alcohol in the army. If soldiers were allowed to drink, who knows what trouble would happen.
Therefore, he brought a lot of this stuff, but it was always in the hands of the commander of the army. Even a prince like Zhao Kuangyin would drink it without permission, which was a serious crime.
After just one sip, Zhao Kuangyin felt as if there was a fire going down his throat. His body naturally began to heat up slightly, and the clammy feeling suddenly subsided a lot.
Although he wanted to take another sip, Zhao Kuangyin used his strong willpower to control it. He took the small leather bag and threw it to the soldiers who went into the water with him.
"One mouthful per person, don't drink too much! This is the palace wine rewarded by the Duke of Zhangye, everyone must drink it."
The soldiers suddenly began to flatter me like thunder, shouting loudly one by one, "Thank you, Lord Duke, for the reward. Thank you, Marquis Yu, the capital of Zhao."
Zhang Zhaojun touched his chin thoughtfully. He somewhat understood why Zhang Yan refused to accept Zhao Kuangyin as his adopted son?
This guy is talented in both literature and martial arts. He can fight without fear of life and death, and he's also very good at winning people's hearts.
For example, now, although the soldiers are shouting to thank the Duke for the reward, they actually know that if it were not for Zhao Kuangyin, they would not be able to drink this wine, so it is Zhao Kuangyin who is grateful.
What if this guy becomes the emperor's adopted son, then rises all the way up, and finally, when they grow old, he takes the position of commander of the bodyguards and the army.
Then... I'm afraid that a hundred years after the saint, the new emperor's sworn brother will be a man of great promise in the court.
Zhang Zhaojun didn't know why, but he suddenly thought of this, which directly took his train of thought astray. When he realized what he was thinking, he found it a little funny.
Although Zhao Kuangyin has a bright future now, he is still just a Duyuhou. Even if he succeeds Luo Shande and becomes the commander-in-chief of Zhangwu Town, there will still be people like Murong Nobunaga, Li Cunhui, Zhao Yanjin, Zhang Cheng, and Guo Rong. to him.
"Just now you said you could transport the armor stomach. How did you transport it?" Zhang Zhaojun asked in a low voice.
Zhao Kuangyin just saw that his immediate boss was distracted and didn't bother him. Now when he saw Zhang Zhaojun asking about it, he immediately pulled the rope in his hand and said.
"Back to the Duke, we can pull more ropes across the river, then tie the stomach to the rope, then tie the stomach to the rope with another rope, and use people to pull it across the river."
Zhang Zhaojun thought about it and realized that this was indeed much more reliable than he originally thought.
The two were discussing the details when an urgent envoy from the rear came to report that Guo Rong, the Marquis of Yu from the left and Bai Tingjiao, the Marquis of Yu from the right, had arrived.
Zhang Zhaojun was overjoyed when he heard this. He had a good relationship with Guo Rong back then, and he also admired this new generation of young player.
He laughed twice and said to Zhao Kuangyin, "Go and meet General Guo Lang for me. When they arrive, Guo Que'er must be coming soon, so let's get ready to cross the river!"
Zhao Kuangyin also quickly put on his clothes. Zhao Kuangyin always felt very familiar with this General Guo Lang whom he had never met before.
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On the eighth day of October, Guo Rong and Bai Tingjie, the son of Bai Wenke, arrived with 1,500 troops from Zuo Bao Tao Guard. Zhang Zhaojun immediately began to select brave generals to cross the river.
The Lishui River is very fast, and Zhang Zhaojun doesn't have many boats to cross the river, so it is very dangerous to send elite troops to cross the river.
Because once they cross the river, it means there is no way out. If they can't break through the Chu soldiers' camp, they will be in danger.
Of course Zhang Zhaojun knew this, so he personally selected most of the elites in this conquest army.
The main generals are Zuo Bao Tao Wei Lang General Zuo Du Yuhou Guo Rong, supplemented by Zuo Long Xiang Wei Du Yuhou Zhao Kuangyin and Wang Shenqi, right Yu Linwei Du Yuhou Murong Yanzhao, Xianshan Du generals Yu Hou Panmei, Hou Renbao, Lin Renzhao, Lin Renhan, Yao Kechou and other powerful generals killed 700 people.
They planned to cross the Lishui River from the mountains and forests upstream of the Lishui River by relying on river crossing ropes, and then attack the Ma Chu military camp. When the Ma Chu army was in chaos, Zhang Zhaojun would immediately lead the entire army across the river to launch a general attack.
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In the Ma Chu military camp, Zhu Jinzhong was not completely defenseless against Zhang Zhaojun's attempts to rush across from the upper reaches. On the contrary, he specially arranged a battalion of 3,000 troops to patrol along the river to prevent the Zhou army from rushing across.
It's just that there are only a few mules and horses in Ma Chu's army, and they are basically occupied by generals at all levels, barbarian leaders and their personal guards.
The battalion sent by Zhu Jinzhong had 3,000 men, but only a hundred mules and horses in total. Not to mention forming cavalry or being used for transportation, even the baggage and supplies had to be carried by the soldiers themselves.
Lishui is not a small river, it is at least several hundred miles up from Xiaodukou Town.
There were no mules and horses, and the ones sent out were not Zhu Jinzhong's trusted troops, so they would not fight to the death.
Therefore, if you can patrol for twenty miles a day just by foot patrol, you are considered to be very dedicated.
But taking a step back, if you can persist for twenty miles a day, you can actually achieve certain results.
Because according to Zhu Jinzhong's requirements, these three thousand people were to set up military camps along the way to form two lines of defense.
In addition, they are still seventy or eighty miles away from the main camp. If the Zhou army really swims across and comes for a sneak attack, by the time they break through these two lines of defense, the main camp will have already received the news. By then, it will defend the front and mobilize troops. That's it for encirclement and suppression.
The coast of Lishui River belongs to the scope of Langzhou. Zhu Jinzhong has a large number of Langzhou barbarians. The Zhou army is all northerners and it is impossible to escape from the hands of local mountain barbarians who are familiar with the geography.
The design is correct, but it is a pity that Zhu Jinzhong encountered an all-star lineup. Guo Rong, Zhao Kuangyin, Wang Shenqi, Pan Mei, Murong Yanzhao, and Lin Renzhao could all form a team of founding generals.
After Guo Rong and others assessed the situation, they immediately made a choice. Guo Rong sent Pan Mei and Wang Shenqi with ten people each to pretend to be spies who were accidentally discovered by the Chu soldiers.
Wang Shenqi and Pan Mei are both only twenty-one or twelve years old. The common feature between them is that they are good-looking, and they don't look as vicious as the average killers in the army.
As soon as the two men appeared, their tender faces immediately excited the Chu soldiers patrolling the mountain.
Moreover, in addition to looking like Chu brothers, the two of them were also wearing silk and satin clothes with gold and jade ornaments hanging around their waists. This perfectly matched Chu Jun's impression of Zhou Jun on the other side as a rich young man.
When the Chu army saw this, every one of them screamed excitedly. He felt that he had caught the Zhou army scout coming from Fushui, and immediately led more than a hundred of his men to pursue him.
Then they sent it, and there were hundreds of men ambush in the ravine. More than twenty people of the Chu army were killed in an instant, and the rest were all captured.
Guo Rong immediately selected a hundred elite soldiers, and then put on the tattered armor and black clothes of the Chu army.
Dutou also wanted to show his heroism and was unwilling to lead the Zhou army. Guo Rong immediately lost his temper and killed more than 20 Chu army prisoners in a row. Dutou was frightened to death, and he began to help Zhou in an orderly manner. The army leads the way.
That night, Guo Rong personally led a hundred elite men. With the cooperation of the Chu army prisoners, they directly entered the Chu army's 3,000-person camp on the periphery and successfully captured the Chu army's battalion commander.
And using the same method, he 'persuaded' the commander to cooperate with the Zhou army's actions.
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Xiaodukou Town is just like its name, it is a ferry town. The town is barely surrounded by earth walls for several sections, and some places are simply wooden fences.
The town is about a mile away from the ferry. There are also several military forts built at the ferry, which seem to be more well-defended than the town.
The Chu army was dominated by the two armies of Chu State, Wu'an and Wuping.
The Wu'an Army was originally the main force of the Chu State, and Ma Chu's basic base was the area under the jurisdiction of the Wu'an Army Jiedushi in Tanzhou.
The Wuping Army was the festival town established by Ma Chu after he pacified Langzhou (Changde). These two armies, plus the Guizhou Jingbian Army, were originally all of Ma Chu's military strength.
However, in the later period of Ma Yin, these three armies began to become vassal towns, so Ma Yin quickly established Juesheng, Qiannu, Yinqian and other cities as the forbidden army controlled by the Ma Chu royal family.
However, these were basically split up after Ma Xi'e entered Tanzhou. Ma Xi'e seemed to have a lot of hatred for Ma Yin and Ma Xifan.
After he entered Tanzhou, except for the tombs of Ma Yin and Ma Xifan, he basically found all traces of Ma Yin, Ma Xifan and his son, including the splendid Ma Chu Palace and its related buildings and palaces such as Tiance Mansion, Guanzheng, Qinzheng, etc. Burn them all.
Ma Xi'e didn't care about the buildings and palaces, but he hated them all.
Therefore, in just three or four months, Ma Xi'e restored the Wu'an Army's organization and canceled the decisive battle and Qiannu.
But this kind of decision-making is Zhu Jinzhong's current hidden danger, because decisive battles, strong crossbows, etc. can be undone, but it is impossible for all people to be wiped out.
These people changed from the superior imperial army to the Wu'an Army Yabing, and then Ma Xihe ordered the Langzhou Wuping Army to be superior to the Tanzhou Wu'an Army. This made the Wu'an Army Yabing generals feel extremely disappointed and extremely dissatisfied.
Therefore, Zhu Jinzhong would rather use Langzhou barbarians to guard the key ferry and conduct searches along the river, rather than use the more than 7,000 Wu'an troops.
It was getting late, and Zhu Jinzhong felt a little uneasy. Although the Zhou army on the opposite side was still secretly repairing pontoons and building ships as usual, they were also destroyed by the Chu army as always.
Even Zhu Jinzhong believed that the Zhou army's combat effectiveness was not very strong at all, but he also felt that this was a bit too wasteful.
What's more important is that the battalion sent out to patrol the river has not sent a messenger back to report the news for a day.
Zhu Jinzhong was about to try his best to pull out a team of cavalry to check the situation, but the guards outside the door suddenly came to report.
It is said that General Shuntian ordered a batch of gold, silver, brocade and silk to be escorted from Tanzhou as a reward to Zhu Jinzhong.
General Shuntian was the self-title of the idiot Ma Xi'e. Because Zhang Yan did not agree, he did not dare to call himself the King of Chu, so he came up with such a weird title like the Yellow Turban Army or the Huangchao Rebel Army.
Zhu Jinzhong was just thinking about checking the situation of the exploration camp along the river. Now when he heard that the reward had arrived, and it might be a reward for his role in blocking the Zhou army north of Lishui, he was so happy that he forgot everything. .
He just shouted loudly to ask his trusted guards to change into court clothes for him. He wanted to accept the reward first, and he also wanted to let everyone see it, and enjoy the beautiful scenery.
