After occupying Tanghe County, Bao Yuchun had been observing the movements of the imperial army. Unexpectedly, Murong Xue was so calm that she did not hurriedly mobilize her troops to the direction of Nanyang to launch defense.
This shows that the other party is not that kind of fool, and the strategy of attacking in the east and attacking in the west may not be effective.
However, for Bao Yuchun, the success or failure of this shallow exploration has nothing to do with it. Since the imperial army remained in its original triangular formation, he could just continue to take action calmly.
Bao Yuchun's layout first targeted Gong Chengze's supply line.
There were originally more than 2,000 garrison troops under Ma Hongjie stationed in Nanyang, but now there were 50,000 more imperial soldiers and horses. The supply pressure for military supplies and fodder suddenly increased.
According to the arrangements of Murong Xue and Dong Tianxing, Nanyang City's supplies were mainly distributed from Dongdu, passed through Yichuan, Ruyang, and Nanzhao, and finally arrived in Nanyang.
This supply line, nearly five hundred miles long, was protected by local soldiers along the way. Because it was behind the battle line, with Ma Hongjie's Southern Army to the west and Murong Xue and Dong Tianxing's troops to the east, it was relatively safe.
However, the safer the place, the more likely things are to go wrong.
Bao Yuchun's commanding style has always favored bold risks. He likes to pull teeth from the tiger's mouth and extract chestnuts from the fire. Therefore, under his arrangement, a group of three thousand black armor flying cavalry set out from Tanghe, bypassed Nanyang, and hid directly in the dense forest in Nanzhao area of Ruyang, specifically to attack and intercept the supply line to Nanyang.
In just ten days, the food transport convoy was ambushed three times in a row, causing heavy losses. Nanyang City was once in a state of food shortage.
After Murong Xue learned the news, she immediately wrote to Gong Chengze, suggesting that he organize a patrol of light cavalry troops to go north to clear out the black armor flying cavalry that had penetrated the rear, so that the supply lifeline could be restored as soon as possible.
Gong Chengze was obedient and immediately mobilized five thousand soldiers and horses from his command to search and advance towards Nanzhao County.
But they never expected that the Xuanjia Army was waiting for them with their pockets open. Gong Chengze's suppression troops had just arrived near Nanzhao when they were ambushed by the Xuanjia Army who had been waiting here for a long time.
In the half-hour ambush battle, the five thousand-strong imperial army abandoned their armor. Thousands of people were killed on the spot, and more than 2,300 people were captured. Less than 30% of them were able to escape back to Nanyang.
This time, Gong Chengze was immediately furious.
He blamed all the responsibility for the defeat of the battle on Murong Xue, believing that it was Murong Xue's bad idea that led to his loss of troops. In order to avoid being hit again, Gong Chengze decided not to send troops, but passed the problem to Dong Tianxing.
"Our department has the important task of guarding Nanyang, so we should not divide our troops too much. Since Dong Shilang's department is responsible for assisting Nanyang and Caizhou from the center, it should actually be responsible for guarding the supply routes to prevent the army defending the city from running out of food! "
Dong Tianxing also felt helpless after reading the blaming letter sent by Gong Chengze. After communicating with Murong Xue, he had no choice but to mobilize his meager cavalry to go to Ruyang Nanzhao to guard the grain road for Gong Chengze.
At this time, Bao Yuchun had already figured out the depth of Gong Chengze's opponent and began to take the next step.
On the fourth day of the lunar month, the Xuanjia Army and the light navy troops moved towards the northwest;
On the fifth day of the lunar month, three military forts in Dagouzhuang, Baizhuang, and Linying Town were captured, and the defensive positions in the southeast of Nanyang fell one after another;
On the sixth day of the lunar month, a battalion deployed by the Nanyang garrison at Xiaoliuzhuang was completely wiped out;
On the eighth day of the lunar month, the vanguard of the navy's light troops arrived at the Baihe Ferry, preparing to attack.
Baihe is Nanyang's last natural barrier. Although the water surface is not wide, the water level is not deep, and the current is not fast, it is better than not having it.
Therefore, Gong Chengze is not willing to abandon this important line of defense easily.
When he heard that the navy vanguard only had more than 6,000 people, and they were all infantry wearing light leather armor, he decided to take a risk and catch the opponent by surprise.
A mixed army of 20,000 infantry and cavalry quietly left Nanyang City before dawn, crossed the Baihe River in the dark, and launched a surprise attack on the naval barracks not far away.
The naval force, which had been progressing smoothly before, inevitably had the mentality of being proud and underestimating the enemy. They completely did not expect that the Nanyang defenders would actually run out of the city to carry out a sneak attack, so without any precautions, they were defeated and fled by the sneak attack force led by Gong Chengze himself.
Seeing that the attack was successful, Gong Chengze saw that the opponent was extremely panicked when he ran away, so he immediately ordered his men to pursue and fight hard, trying to get more heads so that he could vent his anger.
Unexpectedly, less than five miles after they had chased them out, there was suddenly a loud killing sound in the surrounding dense forest, and countless ambush soldiers swooped in.
Looking around, there are figures of the Black Armor Army and the Navy Army everywhere. The war horses neigh and charge hard, and the swords and spears are all glowing with cold light.
Gong Chengze was stunned for a moment.
Only then did he realize that he had fallen into Bao Yuchun's trap.
However, the cleverness of the other party is that the situation at hand is not a conspiracy, but a conspiracy. You must be sure that you are currently under great pressure, so it is up to you to make your own choice: If you don’t sneak attack the navy, then I will take over the Baihe Ferry; if you dare to sneak attack the navy, I will give you a head-on blow!
Gong Chengze had no time to regret it anymore.
It's important to save your life! Relying on his own soldiers to fight desperately, Gong Chengze managed to find a way out and fled back to Nanyang in embarrassment. The 20,000 soldiers and horses under his command were killed to pieces by Bao Yuchun's army like chopping melons and vegetables.
An ambush battle at Baihe Ferry caused heavy losses to the Nanyang defenders, and they never dared to step out of the city again.
-
"How bad is the situation?"
Murong Xue frowned and asked in a deep voice.
A captain who had just returned from Nanyang handed over his hand and reported: "Sir, at present, the rebel army has completely surrounded Nanyang with more than 100,000 soldiers and horses, and the contact between General Gong and us has been completely severed."
"A few days?"
"It has been the ninth day since the siege of the city." The captain replied: "However, the enemy did not launch a fierce offensive, but just continued to besiege without attacking. I guessed that Bao Yuchun had calculated that there were not many food reserves in the city, so he could support it. It won’t be long, so there is no rush to attack.”
Murong Xue thought for a moment: "Bao Yuchun is a superb chess player! All his movements and purposes are simple and easy to understand, as if there is no plan. But in reality? As an opponent, no matter how you deal with it, you will feel very Uncomfortable."
As he spoke, he pointed at the map and said to his subordinates: "Now they are obviously preparing to besiege the city and call for reinforcements. When we go to rescue Gong Chengze, Bao Yuchun is ambushing us halfway; but if we don't rush for reinforcements, he can drag us away even if we don't rush to rescue him." Destroy Nanyang City."
A general nodded: "Your Excellency, you are right. Most of the troops we have are infantry, and they do not move fast. From Caizhou to Nanyang, there are many places along the way that can be raided by black armored cavalry."
"In addition, I have another concern." Murong Xue sighed: "According to previous intelligence, the rebel forces assembled in Xiangcheng are far more than Bao Yuchun's current 1,340,000 troops. Xiangcheng's current strength There are at least 50,000 rebels left. I'm worried that when we ran to assist Nanyang, Bao Yuchun suddenly sent people to make a detour and sneak attack here."
Another general asked: "Can the imperial court send more troops? If we rush to Nanyang from the direction of Luoyi, we should not be easily ambushed by the rebels."
Murong Xue shook her head: "I have considered this method. But unfortunately, Chang Tao is fighting inextricably with Li Kuang. The imperial court just transferred 20,000 reinforcements to the eastern battlefield a few days ago. The remaining troops We still have to guard the Eastern Capital and protect the emperor, so we really can’t spare the manpower.”
"Can we consider...not to reinforce Nanyang for the time being?" the general asked.
"That's definitely not possible!" Murong Xue directly rejected this idea: "If Nanyang is lost, not only will Caizhou be unable to be protected, but the rebels will directly threaten the security of the Eastern Capital. The triangle formation was set up in the first place to create a rivalry between each other. Support the watch. The question now is not whether to go to Nanyang City, but how to avoid being ambushed by Bao Yuchun on the way, while ensuring that Caizhou is not attacked by the enemy."
A captain asked curiously: "I wonder what Mr. Dong's opinion is? He is responsible for supporting the two places, so this should be his first consideration."
Murong Xue picked up a letter on the table and said: "Master Dong analyzed that if Bao Yuchun wants to set up an ambush and attack, he will mainly target our Caizhou soldiers and horses, so he does not need to worry too much and can take action at any time. The only thing now is What we are waiting for is our next plan so that he can cooperate accordingly."
The general next to him added: "To be honest, even if the 20,000 reinforcements come to Nanyang, they will not be of much use. In the end, they will have to rely on Caizhou's main force."
Murong Xue nodded: "When I first formulated the defense strategy, I considered the possibility of the enemy encircling the point for reinforcements and made corresponding preparations. But I didn't expect that Bao Yuchun carried out two ambush battles in succession, and both of them achieved great success. The complete victory forced me to make a new judgment on their mobility. To put it bluntly, I didn’t dare to make mistakes, and I couldn’t afford to make them.”
The meaning of his words was very clear: both Gong Chengze and Murong Xue were frightened by the extremely efficient ambush of the other party.
This deep impression forged with blood on the battlefield often has a great impact on the general. Having been successfully attacked by the opponent twice in a row, no matter who it was, they would inevitably become suspicious and trembling.
Just when everyone was at a loss what to do, Murong Xue suddenly had an idea flash in his mind. He leaned over and stared at the map and said, "Since Bao Yuchun wants to encircle the place and call for reinforcements, why can't I find another way?"
"Why find another way?" asked a general.
Murong Xue pointed at the map: "Look, Bao Yuchun needs at least 70,000 to 80,000 troops to besiege Nanyang, right? If he still wants to plot against us, he will have to arrange at least 40,000 to 50,000 troops on our way to Nanyang. road. In this way, wouldn't there be too many people stationed in Tanghe County? I only need to send ten or twenty thousand elite troops to raid this place and burn all their supplies with a fire. By then, it will be his headache! "
