Xuanzhou, known as "Danyang" in ancient times, is a strategic town located on the south bank of the Yangtze River.
Less than twenty miles east from Xuanzhou is the rolling river. After crossing the river, two hundred miles northwest is Luzhou, the base camp of the Zhenjiang Army.
Therefore, Xuanzhou City, which was linked to Jinling in the east and Chaisang in the west, was selected by Bao Yuchun as the frontline command center.
At this time, the city of Xuanzhou was busy, with a large number of troops roaring in and out, and groups of heavy vehicles continued to drive in the direction of the river.
Obviously, this is preparation for the war.
Bao Yuchun sat in the Commander's Mansion, listening to his subordinates' report on the situation, and pondered: "Is the news accurate?"
"It's absolutely true!" said his subordinates: "Yesterday, the Zhenjiang Army and the Xuanwu Army fought on the outskirts of Chuzhou. Both sides invested more than tens of thousands of troops. I heard that the reason was that the Zhenjiang Sixth Army refused to accept the control of the imperial court. General Jigriz made it clear that he did not want to report to Ma Hongjie."
Bao Yuchun looked at the map and sighed: "Including this place, within ten days, seven wars have broken out, right? Ma Hongjie's Suzaku Army seems to be more intense."
The subordinates responded: "Yes, the Suzaku Army has been in conflict with the Zhenjiang Second Army, the Fifth Army, and the Ninth Army. Both sides have suffered casualties. At present, the Zhenjiang Army is leaderless and is fighting on its own without obeying any of Ma Hongjie's orders. .”
"Okay! God help me!" Bao Yuchun laughed loudly: "It seems that what Lao Jianhua said is absolutely right. One wasp is as powerful as a hundred thousand troops! He has completely disrupted the imperial army, and the remaining It’s our turn! Li Jiangyao and Xu Youchang are all trapped in the imperial capital at the moment, and the Zhenjiang Army is tightly restrained by Suzaku Xuanwu, so I will give him a sudden surprise attack and penetrate directly into his heart!"
He suddenly stood up and waved his hand: "Military order! The first, second, sixth, ninth, tenth and fifteenth flags of the navy, together with a section of the Xuanjia Corps, will cross the river tonight, land in Xingtian, and then march for two days. A hundred miles away, bypass Chaohu and go straight to Luzhou!"
After giving the order, the rebels mobilized quickly.
According to intelligence, only the Zhenjiang Second Army currently stationed in Luzhou City has less than 15,000 troops. The other main forces are either going to fight the Suzaku Army or confront the Xuanwu Army.
From Dajiang to Luzhou, the original three lines of defense are now almost useless.
If we can take advantage of this opportunity to succeed and occupy Luzhou, it will definitely shatter the confidence of the Xinjiang Army, disrupt their position, and cause their complete collapse. By that time, the weaker Suzaku Xuanwu legions will no longer be a concern.
With this mentality in mind, the 60,000 Jiangnan rebels used warships to cross the river under the cover of night, and then rushed straight to Chaohu in the northwest.
After passing Chaohu, you will reach Luzhou!
The commander-in-chief of this raid was Bao Yuchun's favorite general Xiao Jing. This man was young and had repeatedly made outstanding achievements in the battle against Japanese slaves in Kuohai, so he was highly appreciated by Bao Yuchun.
And letting him lead his troops into battle also reflects Lao Bao's intention of supporting and cultivating him.
Xiao Jing knew in his heart that the Zhenjiang Army was currently in a fierce conflict with the Suzaku Army and the Xuanwu Army, and it was a rare opportunity. Once missed, there would be no possibility of a second sneak attack on Luzhou.
Therefore, he did not dare to delay at all. As soon as he landed, he urged all the troops under his command to form a simple team and move forward quickly.
The army hurriedly walked all night, resting for only half an hour, and then continued on their way, finally arriving at Fenghuang Mountain on the east bank of Chao Lake before noon the next day.
There is only one hundred and ten miles left from Phoenix Mountain to Luzhou City, and we can get there tonight just in time to launch a surprise attack overnight.
Xiao Jing breathed a sigh of relief and ordered the troops to rest for half an hour and eat something before setting off.
All the officers and men, who had been riding a boat and marching for a day and a night, were indeed exhausted. After hearing the order from Captain Xiao, telling everyone to eat and rest, they felt as if they had been granted a general amnesty. They found a clean and flat place to sit down. Fall down and beat your legs to rest.
60,000 people stopped and rested all over the mountains and fields. Xiao Jing saw this and felt a little worried in his heart. He also ordered that they were not allowed to cook over a fire and could only eat the dry food they brought with them. In addition, Xiao Jing also sent hundreds of sentries, divided into different directions, and spread out to increase alert.
After everything was arranged, Xiao Jing also felt that his back and legs were weak and he was hungry, so he found a big rock to sit down and asked the soldiers to bring some water and food.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he pulled out the cork of the kettle and before he could take a sip, an officer on guard ran over in a panic and shouted: "The enemy's situation! Mr. Xiao, the enemy's situation!"
Xiao Jing was immediately startled. He threw the kettle away and stood up: "What kind of enemy situation? Tell me clearly!"
The officer's face turned pale, and he couldn't speak clearly: "It's an army. An overwhelming army is coming!"
Xiao Jing's heart tightened. Before he could give the order to be alert, several more officers on guard came to report that a large number of enemies were also found in other directions.
At this time, the soldiers who were resting on the spot also became nervous, because they could already see the terrifying scene.
Standing on the hillside of Fenghuang Mountain and looking into the distance, except for Chaohu Lake in the west, which is still peaceful, huge legions like mountains and seas appeared on the horizon in the east, north and south directions at the same time!
To the north, with flags like a forest and spears densely covered, more than a dozen large square formations composed of armored cavalry and heavy infantry were advancing steadily. The banner of the Zhenjiang Army is fluttering in the wind, with momentum like a rainbow!
To the east, countless light cavalry were swarming in darkness, with tens of thousands of shining sabers raised high above their heads, full of murderous intent!
To the south, the fiery red Suzaku battle flag filled the sky and the earth, and the endless infantry line stretched for more than ten miles, completely blocking the retreat!
Sixty thousand rebels were surrounded at the foot of Phoenix Mountain!
Xiao Jing felt that his scalp was numb, and he even forgot to quickly form a formation to meet the enemy. If the general is like this, how can the soldiers be any better? More and more people began to squeeze up the mountain desperately, hoping to hide in higher places and stay away from the terrifying imperial army.
-
The Battle of Phoenix Mountain did not last too long.
When the three main forces of the Zhenjiang Army, the Suzaku Army and the Xuanwu Army appeared at the same time and Du Jian issued the order for a general attack, Xiao Jing and the 60,000 soldiers and horses under his command were actually on the verge of collapse.
Phoenix Mountain is just a small hill on the edge of Chao Lake. It has neither fortifications nor natural barriers. Sixty thousand panicked soldiers are no better than sixty thousand frightened rabbits.
The armored cavalry of the Zhenjiang Army only launched two rounds of charges. The heavy infantry did not have time to join the battle, and the northern defense line completely collapsed. The situation in the east was even more exaggerated. The fastest light cavalry in the Xuanwu Legion had even reached the top of the mountain.
In one afternoon and half of the night, all the rebels' temporary defense lines were lost, and the top of Phoenix Mountain was wailing.
At dawn the next day, Xiao Jing received an ultimatum from Du Jian: surrender immediately or die!
Xiao Jing hesitated.
He considered that if he could hold on for a few more days, Commander Bao, who was in the rear, might notice that the situation was not good and send reinforcements to rescue him.
But the question is, can he still hold on?
"Brothers, do we want to take a gamble?" Xiao Jing asked his men.
"No." The men replied in unison.
At this time, the situation on the battlefield has basically been figured out. Surrounding them were the three main forces of the Zhenjiang Army and part of the Suzaku Legion and the Xuanwu Legion, with a total strength of up to 200,000!
All roads from Fenghuang Mountain to Dajiang were completely blocked, and there were three other Zhenjiang armies on the riverside guarding the area. It was impossible for Bao Yuchun's reinforcements to arrive in time.
"Lord Captain, let's forget it. Those guys at the bottom of the mountain are fighting like crazy. They really can't bear it!"
"General Xiao, we don't need to fight at all. We only need to surround us for three days and we will starve to death of thirst."
"Breaking through? Back in the Weinan battlefield, Ronya's 200,000 Turkic cavalry couldn't break out. We? Don't be kidding!"
The men were so noisy that Xiao Jing's head almost exploded. He originally wanted to draw his sword and shout angrily, asking everyone to join him in a fight to the death. However, as soon as Xiao Jing's hand grasped the hilt of the sword, a war cry sounded like a strong wind from the bottom of the mountain!
"Long live my emperor! Kill, kill, kill!"
Looking at the pale and trembling subordinates, reason finally occupied Xiao Jing's brain again. He released the hilt of his sword and hummed: "Prepare... the white flag."
-
Three days later, news of the great victory at Phoenix Mountain reached the imperial capital: In this battle, more than 6,700 Jiangnan rebels were killed on the spot, and the remaining 50,000 troops all surrendered, and no one escaped the net!
The total number of casualties of the imperial army was actually less than two thousand!
Big win! An unprecedented victory in the counter-insurgency war!
Du Jian, the commander-in-chief of Zhenjiang's Second Army, became famous in a battle at Phoenix Mountain, and has now become one of the famous generals of Shengtang!
It was only at this time that the civil and military officials and the people of the imperial capital finally knew that it was the emperor and the governor who had joined forces and successfully deceived the rebel commander Bao Yuchun in a tacitly coordinated and painful ruse. This led to an almost bloodless victory. .
The whole capital suddenly boiled. People ran into the streets and cheered, shouting the names of the Emperor and the Protector. They were as excited as the New Year.
Li Bing also appeared in the court in high spirits and announced to the ministers that the strategy of luring the enemy deep into the palace was a great success. He immediately lifted the siege of the Prince Consort's Mansion, released the officers of Yeting Palace, and heavily rewarded all meritorious officers.
When the eunuch arrived at the Prince Consort's Mansion, Li Jiangyao was playing chess with Li Xi. When Princess Fenyang heard the good news, she clapped her hands with joy: "Brother, your clever plan is indeed amazing! This time you have made great contributions to Shengtang again!"
"That's all the credit of the frontline soldiers, I didn't do anything." Li Jiangyao stared at the chessboard, playing with the chess pieces in his hand, and muttered: "Du Jian is still a little anxious. If we retreat even more, Lure the rebels to Luzhou City, or simply give Luzhou to the other side, and maybe even Bao Yuchun can lure them across the river."
