Also launching the attack at the same time as Er Zhujing was Ma Zhaoyuan, the general manager of the Pingshu camp in Jiangling Prefecture.
Xiangyang Mansion and Jiangling Mansion are relatively close to each other, making it easier to coordinate the time of the attack.
Therefore, on the seventh day of March, after Pingshu's deputy general Er Zhujing mobilized eight thousand infantry and cavalry to go upstream, Ma Zhaoyuan immediately ordered the Pingshu troops to start setting off.
Ma Zhaoyuan personally took charge of Zigui, and with Du Lunchixin, the general manager of the waterway, as the army commander for the Ping Shu march, he mobilized more than 400 warships and sailed upstream from Zigui.
The section of the Yangtze River from Zigui to Baidi City in Fengjie, Meng Shu Kui Prefecture is the famous Three Gorges of the Yangtze River.
For later generations, before the Three Gorges Dam impounded water, the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River were majestic and dangerous, making it a beautiful tourist destination.
After the water was impounded, the water depth increased by more than 170 meters. Even Baidi City, which was once a natural hazard, became an isolated island in the river. The water flow slowed down, making it easier for navigation.
But at this time, the majestic and dangerous show represents not the beautiful scenery, but the harsh environment. Of course, it will not have the navigation capabilities that will be achieved after the Three Gorges is impounded in later generations.
Going up from Zigui, the water flow is very fast. There are many rocks in the river and the whirlpools formed by the turning water. It is impossible to go upstream just by relying on the sail of the boat itself.
Almost all of the nearly 400 miles of Yangtze River waterway must be completed by trackers.
The job of a tracker is not as romantic as my sister sitting on the bow of the boat and my brother walking on the shore.
Especially in the Three Gorges section, not to mention the rapid currents, there are not many places to set foot on both sides of the bank. The Three Gorges trackers often have to step on the water to weigh the boat.
The rough hemp rope can easily cut off the skin on a person's shoulder and cut the palm of his hand into horrific scars.
At the same time, it is impossible to see clearly what one's feet are in the river, and it is common for the feet to be scarred by sharp rocks in the river when boating.
Without a cocoon, you are not qualified to be a tracker.
Therefore, after learning about Zhou Jun's actions, Meng Shu Kui Prefecture's Ningjiang Army Jiedu Envoy Gao Yancuo, Jiedu Deputy Envoy Zhao Chongji, and Ningjiang Army Supervisor (Supervision Army) Wu Shouqian were not panicked.
Not to mention that they have already set up the stone cannon array at the entrance of Qutang Gorge, Baidi City also has the advantage of being at a commanding height, which is a natural hazard.
It is difficult for the Zhou army to walk up the Yangtze River Channel alone, and the reason is because of the trackers.
Humans are very complex animals. Trackers wander on the edge of life and death all year round. Although their lives are extremely difficult, they are by no means a group of honest people, at least the leader among them will not be an honest person.
Before Master Zhou arrived, the trackers on both sides of the Three Gorges dragged their families and ran into the mountains. Not to mention that Zhou Jun couldn't catch them, even if they did, they wouldn't use all their strength even if they put a knife to their necks. .
The simple truth is that these trackers are so poor that they can only have a full meal when they come to the ship. If they work hard to pull the trackers and exhaust all their strength, they will basically die when the Zhou army leaves and they can’t pull them on the next trip. .
Compared with being killed for not pulling the fiber hard, this is just the difference between dying early and dying late.
Zhou Jun can give a heavy reward, but this reward must be exchanged for life, and most of them are people of the Shu Kingdom. It is unknown whether they believe in Zhou Jun's credibility.
Sure enough, not long after, the Shu army's spies risked their lives to return the message that Zhou Shi could not walk until he reached Badong County, where he was originally in Guizhou.
They brought trackers from Jiangling, but they couldn't adapt to the harsh river surface here. After only a few dozen miles, the trackers fell ill on a large scale.
After receiving this reward, Gao Yanchou, who had been beating drums in his heart, finally felt a lot more at ease.
He had seen the ferocity of the Zhou army, and there was no way that the soldiers of the Ningjiang army could fight against it. Being captured in the Zhou Kingdom for more than a year also gave him a clear understanding of the gap between Zhou and Shu.
Compared with Gao Yancian's caution, Ningjiang Army Supervisor Wu Shoiqian was greatly reassured. Under such circumstances, even if Master Zhou went to Kuizhou, he would be exhausted physically and mentally, and it would be impossible to resist the stone soldiers living on both sides of Baidi City. Artillery bombardment.
It cannot be said that Gao Yanchang and Wu Shouqian's understanding is wrong. In most cases, this is indeed the case, but Ma Zhaoyuan and Ma Yaozi have already thought of this problem.
Zhang Shengren specially transferred him from Xuzhou, either because he had nothing to do, or because he had taken a fancy to Ma Zhaoyuan, who was both rough and subtle.
Long before the army set off, Ma Zhaoyuan approached Zhang Yan to take over the command of the Jinyi Guards in Hubei and Hunan Provinces. The Jinyi Guards also sent a captain to assist Ma Zhaoyuan.
These trackers, most of whom belong to the Shu Kingdom, are very clumsy, and it is indeed difficult to trust outsiders, but they trust one type of people, and that is the merchants who specialize in their business.
These merchants were specially trained by the Hexi Chamber of Commerce for the Jinyi Guards, and they began walking in the vast Wushan Mountains a year ago.
They brought necessary local salt, tea, cloth, sugar and patent medicines to the trackers and mountain people. Some traders also cured some people's headaches and brain fever and treated diseases of large livestock.
More importantly, they act fairly and sometimes even agree to credit, so they have great credibility among trackers and mountain people in Wushan.
Through their efforts, Ma Zhaoyuan successfully invited the leaders of these mountain people and trackers to Zigui County.
The Shu army spies saw that the fleet could not move, which was actually a smoke bomb released by Ma Zhaoyuan. The actual situation was that Ma Zhaoyuan personally went to Badong County to meet with these leaders.
After consulting Zhang Yan, Ma Zhaoyuan was also extremely generous and released a hundred qualifications for the Forbidden Army Navy and 300 qualifications for the Guards Army for these mountain people and tracker leaders to share the land.
He also promised that other mountain people and trackers who are willing to live in Kuizhou and other places can also be arranged.
It may not seem like much, but in fact, the total number of these mountain people and trackers is only three to four thousand men. Now that four hundred positions are released, the lives of one-tenth of them will change drastically.
With the trustworthy guarantee of Hongshang, the twenty-two mountain people and tracker leaders immediately knelt down on one knee and swore to be loyal to Zhou.
While Ma Zhaoyuan asked these twenty-two people to send their families as hostages, he pretended to be furious because the ship could not sail, and punished a group of generals and civil servants in order to paralyze the Shu army spies.
He was afraid that Wu Shouqian sent several groups to investigate, but in fact Ma Zhaoyuan was overly worried, and Wu Shouqian sent two groups in total.
These two groups of people had long thought they had received detailed information, and rushed back to receive the reward for the report.
And Wu Shouqian did not send any more spies to Badong County, which had to cross Wushan and Daba Mountains! The waterway also requires taking the extremely dangerous Three Gorges waterway of the Yangtze River. If the boat goes down the river, it will be difficult to go back.
This resulted in that not many people in the Shu army were willing to do this work. Even if they were sent out, most of them did it perfunctorily.
So on March 16th, after the Pingshu army set off again in the early morning, Gao Yanchou and Wu Shouqian of Kuizhou didn't know at all.
On March 19, the Pingshu army moved up the river and was about to reach the mouth of the Wu Gorge. This was already the boundary of the Shu Kingdom. The Shu army had two military strongholds here, Wushan and Sanhui.
Among them, Wushan Military Village is further east, near today's Wushan County, Chongqing City. Sanhui Military Village is located in Dachang Town, Wushan County today. The first military stronghold the Pingshu army encountered was Wushan Stronghold.
This village stands at the mouth of Wuxia Gorge, one of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. It is divided into two villages, the north and the south. There are two wooden fences on the river, and there are large crossbows such as Fuyuan Nu on both sides as fire support.
Among them, Nanzhai has 300 soldiers and 20 small boats. Each boat can carry five crossbowmen, two sword and shield bearers, three gang fighting soldiers, and four boatmen.
Beizhai has 700 soldiers and more than 30 large and small ships, also equipped with crossbowmen.
It can be said that with such a configuration, although it is impossible to completely block the Pingshu navy, it is entirely possible to repel the Pingshu navy forward and hold on for three to five days, waiting for the Ningjiang navy in Kuizhou to go south for reinforcements. .
But Ma Zhaoyuan did not give them this opportunity. After surrendering the Wushan mountain people and trackers, Ma Zhaoyuan ordered brothers Lin Renzhao and Lin Renhan to lead 300 elite troops. Under the leadership of the local mountain people, they stormed Beizhai in the early morning and night.
The Shu army in Beizhai did not expect that the Pingshu army would appear at this time. They were not wearing any clothes or armor, and most of their weapons were not with them, so they were blocked in the army stronghold.
Lin Renzhao, wearing only a piece of ring armor and with his legs bare, rushed into the Shu army and killed them. The soldiers under his command were inspired by him and they all took the lead bravely.
The battle lasted only a quarter of an hour, and before the Shu army in the southern village could react, more than 60 of the 700 Shu soldiers in the northern village were killed, while the rest fell to the ground in panic and begged for mercy.
Then Lin Renzhao personally drove a boat across the river, holding the armor and head of the Wushan Army's stronghold and the head of the Shu Army's capital.
The Shu army in Nanzhai was deprived of their morale. They saw hundreds of warships from Zhou Dynasty and their sails were all over the river. They surrendered very smoothly.
This Wushan military stronghold was supposed to be the eyes and ears of the Ningjiang army in Kuizhou. Even if it couldn't hold them back for three to five days, it should at least serve as a warning. But in fact, they only lasted for two-quarters of an hour before falling.
After taking the Wushan Army Stronghold, Ma Zhaoyuan immediately followed the plan and ordered Guo Rong and Zhao Kuangyin to lead 300 elite troops each to attack Sanhui Stronghold under the guidance of local mountain people.
Sanhui Village exists as a supplement to Wushan Military Village. Its function is to help stabilize the defense line when Wushan Military Village cannot support it and Kuizhou's army has not arrived.
Compared with the soldiers in the Wushan Army Village who could still collect taxes and fees from business transactions, they were even more lax in training. After the 500 soldiers in the village were raided in the early morning, they immediately blew up the camp.
Not many people were killed. They jumped into the river in panic. In the end, they drowned due to hypothermia and exhaustion. At least more than a hundred people died.
After Guo Rong and Zhao Kuangyin took over Sanhui Village, they did not stay much. Du Lunchixin was responsible for controlling the scattered soldiers in the village.
The two of them followed the guide of the Jinyi guards, abandoned most of their baggage, and headed north, leaving only their armor and weapons.
Yunpan Ridge in the north is the key link between Wushan Military Village and Baidi City.
What's more funny is that 30% of the defenders in the Yunpanling military camp established by the Shu army were prisoners of the Zhou army in Guanzhong.
Many of them were taken as confidants by Gao Yanchou, the commander of the Ningjiang Army in Kuizhou who had the same experience as them, and were placed in Yunpanling.
With so many people in such a critical position, the results can be imagined.
After Guo Rong arrived at the foot of Yunpan Ridge, he only took thirty warriors with him for fear of disturbing the situation. With the help of internal support, it was not until they reached the military stronghold that the Shu army realized something was wrong.
But it was too late, Guo Rong started fighting on the mountain stronghold, and the Zhou troops above and below also made noises and rushed up under the leadership of Zhao Kuangyin, and the internal forces in the stronghold also began to boo.
More than 300 Shu troops did not even understand what was going on. They were driven out of the military camp in panic along with the flow of people. Later, most of them died in the pursuit of Zhou troops, and a few were captured.
Guo Rong and Zhao Kuangyin rested for a quarter of an hour and ordered the soldiers to unfurl the flag of the Shu army in the stronghold. The leader put on the clothes of the Shu army and rushed from Yunpanling to Baidi City under the cover of night.
They had been fighting at high intensity for two consecutive days, but no one felt tired. Along the way, the Shu army's combat effectiveness was low, completely beyond everyone's expectations.
Many soldiers who followed Zhang Yan to conquer the Southern Tang Dynasty said that the combat effectiveness of the Shu army in Wushan, Sanhui, and Yunpanling was still far below that of the Southern Tang Dynasty, but the natural dangers were several times greater than that of the Southern Tang Dynasty.
Therefore, they can move forward as if they are tireless, and the cowardly enemy will gain merit at their fingertips.
When Guo Rong and Zhao Kuangyin left Yunpanling, news finally came that the Wushan military stronghold had been breached.
Gao Yanchou was shocked and immediately ordered Zhao Tingyin's eldest son and deputy envoy of the Ningjiang Army in Kuizhou, Zhao Chongji, to lead 1,500 troops to guard the Baidi City natural barrier and stone artillery array.
He and the supervisor Wu Shouqian led an army of six thousand to guard Kuizhou City to the west of Baidi City to support each other.
It has to be said that the Shu army's arrangements around Baidi City were very well done. After Governor Ma Zhaoyuan arrived with his navy, he immediately ordered Du Lun Chixin to send 80 forward and large warships for a tentative attack.
As a result, before the warship reached Baidi City, it was blocked by the fence set up by the Shu army on the river. Baidi City and the stone cannons on Baiyan Mountain on the other side also opened fire suddenly. Large stones rained down from the mouth of the basin. Du Lunchi was in a hurry Order the forward fleet to retreat.
Wu Shouqian had often heard Gao Yanqian say how brave and invincible the Zhou army was, and he was a little worried. Now seeing the Zhou army's forwards returning in embarrassment with "heavy losses", he burst out laughing, thinking that the Zhou army had nothing to fear due to such natural dangers.
But the moment of slap in the face soon came. It turned out that the terrain of Baidi City was very much like the head of a giant turtle protruding its head to drink water. It was a peninsula extending from the shore to the middle of the river. '
It is dangerous, but the area is not large, and at most five or six hundred soldiers can be deployed.
But as such an important natural barrier, tasked with blocking the Yangtze River, sometimes five hundred soldiers seemed insufficient.
Therefore, it was necessary to build a military camp on the west side of the tail of Baidi City as a supplement.
This military camp is a water fortress standing on the bank of the river, which is convenient for replenishing the military strength of Baidi City from both land and water.
It was just because of the natural danger of Baidi City that the Shu army habitually believed that danger would only come from the river. In addition, with the arrival of Zhou soldiers, the various departments of the Ningjiang army were mobilized frequently, and the information seemed a bit confusing.
Therefore, when Guo Rong and Zhao Kuangyin led 700 people to arrive under the banner of the Shu army, the Shu generals at Baidi City Water Village thought they were reinforcements sent by Gao Yancuo and let them into the camp without distinguishing.
Guo Rong and Zhao Kuangyin repeated their old tricks. After entering the stronghold, they attacked and killed them. They came well prepared, and their number was equal to that of the Shu army in the stronghold. The Shu army could not resist, and the stronghold was immediately broken.
Guo Rong personally beheaded the Shu generals and led his troops to storm the west side of Baidi City. In an instant, the situation was reversed.
Baidi City's victory lies in Jiang defense, and land defense does not have much advantage. Zhao Chongji, the deputy envoy of the Ningjiang Army stationed in Baidi City, can only quickly set off beacon smoke to ask for help.
In Kuizhou City, Gao Yanchou stood in despair on the south gate of Yidou Gate, muttering to himself, 'Here we come! finally come! '
This one of the three great military governors of Meng Shu seemed to have been dealt a huge blow by his life as a prisoner, and he was actually a little afraid of the Zhou Dynasty.
Supervisor Wu Shouqian was furious, "How can a general be so afraid of the enemy? Once Baidi City falls, Kuizhou will not be able to defend it. Please send troops to rescue the commander."
Gao Yanchang came to his senses immediately after Wu Shouqian's anger, and was so ashamed that he didn't agree to go to rescue Baidi City now.
"The Northern troops are coming from a long distance. There must be something wrong with Yunpan Ridge. But Yunpan Ridge is dozens of miles away. This Zhou army is rushing in. The advantage is to fight quickly. It is better to wait for the enemy's energy to weaken before sending reinforcements."
Wu Shouqian had just witnessed the Zhou navy being repulsed, and had also seen Gao Yanchou's gaffe just now, and his confidence was at the peak of his powers.
"What if the Zhou soldiers capture Baidi City, as Commander Jie expected?"
Gao Yanchou had recovered somewhat at this time. He shook his head and said, "The Zhou army only has a few hundred soldiers. There are also hundreds of Zhao Chongji's elite troops in Baidi City. How can the Zhou army casually attack it?"
Wu Shouqian concluded that Gao Yanchang was afraid of the enemy. How could he trust Gao Yanchang's judgment? He roared angrily.
"Jie Shuai doesn't dare to go, so let's wait and see if a certain family makes meritorious deeds!"
As the supervisor, Wu Shouqian also had 2,000 men in his hands. Seeing that the Zhou army only had a few hundred, he expected that it would not be difficult to defeat, so he ignored Gao Yancuan's words and directly mobilized his troops directly to go out to Yidoumen to rescue Baidi City.
Guo Rong was overjoyed when he saw that only more than two thousand Shu troops came out of Kuizhou City.
It turned out that his attack on Baidi City just now was just a feint attack. The real purpose was to mobilize the defenders of Kuizhou City. Now only more than 2,000 people have come, which is exactly what he wanted.
Immediately, Guo Rong ordered Zhao Kuangyin to be on the left and Shi Yanchao on the right. He led a hundred personal followers in the middle, wearing armor and sharp weapons, and prepared in a tight formation.
Wu Shouqian thought that this Zhou army should be defeated quickly, and thinking that it would only take seven or eight miles, he simply ordered his soldiers to march in armor.
As a result, when they arrived panting, before they even started forming their formation, Guo Rong, Zhao Kuangyin, and Shi Yanchao fired three arrows at once.
The Zhou army was all elite soldiers, and their combat effectiveness was not comparable to that of Wu Shouqian's two thousand soldiers. Although they were running, they could still draw their bows skillfully.
Following Guo Rong's roar, six hundred soldiers from the Zuo Long Xiang Guard and the Right Bao Tao Guard first fired two rounds with long-tip bows, then switched to short bows and fired directly. Then they put down the bows in their hands and rushed towards them with a roar. Go up.
At this time, the Shu army was still marching in a long snake. There were only two to three hundred people in the front row. In a dozen breaths, they were suddenly hit by at least five hundred bows and three rounds of volleys, and they were shot and collapsed.
Before the soldiers in the middle understood what was going on, they saw the forwards crying and retreating, and their morale suddenly dropped.
Wu Shouqian was riding a horse and wanted to stabilize his position. As a result, the Zhou army rushed towards him with heavy swords and bones, and defeated the Chinese army who could still hold his ground.
Shi Yanchao drew his bow and nocked an arrow among the rebels, and fired at Wu Shouqian, who was very conspicuous on horseback. One arrow hit Wu Shouqian's chest.
Although Wu Shouqian was wearing a pair of armor, Shi Yanchao used a strong bow that killed two people with one stone. The powerful impact immediately blackened Wu Shouqian's eyes and he fell directly from his horse.
Suddenly, the Shu army was in an uproar, and even the rear army collapsed. The two thousand people basically did not join the formation and were directly defeated.
For a time, the army was defeated like a mountain. Several of Wu Shouqian's confidants desperately supported him and retreated to Kuizhou City among the defeated troops.
Guo Rong immediately ordered Shi Yanchao to lead 200 men to pursue him, while he led Zhao Kuangyin to turn around and fight again.
It turned out that Zhao Chongji in Baidi City saw reinforcements coming, so he also mobilized 300 elite soldiers in Baidi City, hoping to come and attack the Zhou army.
As a result, Wu Shouqian was defeated before they arrived. Zhao Chongji was frightened and quickly ordered the soldiers to retreat to Baidi City.
It was a pity that the military orders were changed continuously in such a short period of time, and the soldiers and generals were even more panicked when they saw Wu Shouqian's defeat so quickly and miserably.
Zhao Kuangyin had just snatched Wu Shouqian's mount. As soon as he got on the horse, he felt like he was galloping in Hexi.
He galloped ahead on horseback, holding the divine arm bow given by Zhang Gao in his hand. He roared on the horse and shot an arrow from a hundred and fifty paces away.
Zhao Chongji only felt a strong force coming from his right shoulder. He quickly turned around and saw that under the fluttering flesh, a blood hole was spitting out blood. Then severe pain came. Zhao Chongji screamed and the world was spinning. He fell down immediately.
The three hundred Shu troops were horrified, and no one knew who was crying, "We are defeated!" 'Hundreds of people threw away their weapons, took off their armor, and rushed towards the surrounding areas.
Guo Rong and Zhao Kuangyin took advantage of the situation to attack fiercely and captured Baidi City in an instant.
Most of the stone cannons deployed by the Shu army along the river were in and around Baidi City. Once Baidi City fell, there was no way for the navy to stop them, and they marched directly to Kuizhou City.
Now it's Zhou Jun's turn to show off his power!
(End of chapter)
