The person who suddenly came out from behind the Japanese bandit was Luo Yuan!
It turned out that Nie Xianzang had planned it before. When he left the city from the front and approached Sugata Shanyou in formation, Luo Yuan led his soldiers to sneak out from the city gate on the other side, and then used the cover of the mountains and forests to bypass a large area. Turn around and outflank the Japanese pirates, cutting off the enemy's retreat.
Just as the frontal battlefield was getting into a fierce fight, Luo Yuan followed the plan and suddenly launched a fierce attack on Sugata Shanyou's position, suddenly disrupting the Japanese bandit's position.
Hamano Masao quickly ordered his men to block the Zhenjiang Army that appeared behind him, and at the same time reminded the lord to retreat quickly.
Sugata Yamasuke originally planned to grit his teeth and carry it again, but he did not expect that Luo Yuan was too fierce, and Hamano Masao's troops were not large enough. Seeing that the defense line would soon be unable to support, he had to temporarily put aside his dignity as a samurai and ride on his horse. Take the road and run away.
As soon as the retreat horn sounded, the ronin who were fighting to the death in front were immediately discouraged. They turned around and ran south after the lord.
How could Nie Xianzang let go of such a rare opportunity? He immediately issued an order: Don't worry about the organization you belong to, let go of your hands and feet to hunt down the Japanese bandits!
With the commander's instructions, thousands of Zhenjiang sailors immediately dispersed and chased the ronin warriors to beat them hard. Any slow-running Japanese pirates would either be hacked to death by the sailors on the spot, or else they would quickly drop their weapons, raise their hands above their heads, and surrender obediently.
Luo Yuan was even more ruthless, chasing Sugata Shanyou for more than twenty miles before giving up. When he turned around and returned, he blocked another group of Japanese bandits who had escaped, and one hundred and seventy-eight ronin samurai were killed on the spot.
In this battle outside the city of Donghai County, the Tenth Army of Zhenjiang killed more than 2,000 Japanese bandits and captured 1,031 people, achieving a complete victory.
Of course, according to the orders of the Great Protector, the more than a thousand prisoners could not be retained. Before dawn the next day, the sailors beheaded their heads one by one and hung them on wooden stakes outside the city for public display.
According to Li Jiangyao, Japanese thieves are different from Turks. Only if you are more vicious, ruthless and unreasonable than him will he be honest.
The situation was indeed as he said. The ruthless actions of the Zhenjiang navy immediately frightened the Japanese pirates. Not only the unlucky Sugata Yamayou, but also Kojima Takayoshi who was attacking Langya County was blocked by Wang Wenlie. He was also frightened by the ferocity displayed by the Zhenjiang Army and hurriedly led his troops to retreat.
In comparison, the other two Japanese pirates who landed on the Qilu Peninsula made relatively smooth progress. Their main opponents were still the newly recruited local soldiers. In the absence of strong enemies, they continuously attacked the city and established a foothold along the coast.
After Li Jiangyao received the battle report from the Tenth Army, he originally wanted Nie Xianzang and the others to stay in the East China Sea for a while, or simply continue to go north to clear out the Japanese bandits entrenched in Qilu. Unexpectedly, a new change forced him to change his mind. idea.
The imperial navy was defeated.
Ten days ago, the rebel fleet assembled in Chaisang suddenly moved westward, continuously breaking through the three river defense lines set up by the imperial court in Huanggang, Hanyang, and Honghu, and reached the Jingxiang area.
The two sides engaged in the largest water war since the Confederate Rebellion.
Although it had advantages upstream, the imperial navy, with only half the number of ships of the enemy, was still no match for the rebels. After a day and night of fierce fighting, a total of 118 warships were sunk and 223 warships were seriously damaged. The flagship Yongsheng was also severely damaged. The newly appointed navy commander Mao Kaijie He died on the spot.
The leaderless imperial navy retreated hurriedly, abandoning the Jingxiang Waterway and retreating further west to Yiling County.
Bao Yuchun showed no mercy when he gained the upper hand. He sent out 800 warships and continued up the rapids to pursue the imperial army. At the same time, he sent troops to land on the north coast, burn and destroy the port docks, and destroy the water resources of the north to the greatest extent.
Fortunately, Ma Hongjie reacted quickly and dispatched the Suzaku Legion in time for reinforcements, which prevented the rebels from further succeeding and seizing the Jiangbei city.
The situation of Shengtang's counter-insurgency war has become serious again because of this naval defeat.
When Li Jiangyao received the news, he immediately made a judgment: After Bao Yuchun consolidated the results in Jingxiang, he would soon turn around and march eastward, fighting back to the lower reaches of the river.
After all, the downstream waterway is closer to Hangzhou, and that is the focus of the rebels' operations.
The key to this is the fleet of the Zhenjiang Army.
Xu Youchang also agreed with his analysis and believed that Kunpeng's Tenth Army should be gathered back as soon as possible to be ready to face the enemy at any time.
So, the sailors stationed in Donghai County and Langya County packed their bags, and with the common people reluctant to say goodbye, they returned to Luoma Lake along the way they came, boarded their boats and set sail, heading south.
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"Friend Commander, what do you think, before Lao Bao's main force comes back, go to Jingkou and beat up the rebels?" Li Jiangyao stared at the map and murmured.
Xu Youchang thought about it for a while, nodded and agreed: "I think it will work. Anyway, if you don't fight, it will be in vain. When all the enemy fleets arrive downstream, you won't be able to do it."
"That's what I mean." Li Jiangyao turned around: "Currently there are only three to four hundred enemy ships in the Jingkou area, and they are scattered and guarded in several rivers entering the river. If Nie Xianzang and the others move fast enough, they can defeat them one by one. . Once Lao Bao comes back, such an opportunity will never come again."
Xu Youchang stood up and said, "I will immediately give orders to the Tenth Army."
Li Jiangyao waved his hand: "I'm not busy. This time, I also want to conduct a joint amphibious operation. You sit down first, and we will discuss it."
Xu Youchang sat down again and asked curiously: "Do you have any new ideas?"
Li Jiangyao pointed to the map: "Look, the Jingkou area corresponds to the defense area of Chang Tao and his Xuanwu Army. Because the base of Kunpeng's Tenth Army is here, Jingkou is the primary target. But our main land warfare force , all concentrated here in Luzhou and Chuzhou upstream, we can’t let all the Suppression Army cross the border and go to fight at Lao Chang’s place.”
"What you mean is that Nie Xianzang and others are asked to launch a water war downstream, while the other armies upstream are asked to do something else?" Xu Youchang thought, "Could we try crossing the river once?"
Li Jiangyao nodded: "That's exactly what I thought about. If you don't actually cross the river once, you will never know what problems you will encounter, and there will be no way to improve it and lay the foundation for future wars."
Xu Youchang smiled and said: "Whose troops are you going to send on the journey?"
"I haven't completely thought about it yet," Li Jiangyao replied: "I plan to send the Fifth Army or the Ninth Army, but it's very difficult to choose."
Xu Youchang nodded slightly and analyzed: "I understand your thinking. The First Gale Army, the Sixth Army of Nulang and the Eighth Army of Cold Wave are all heavy-armed troops and are not suitable for undertaking such a tentative mission, and Du Jian's Second Army Responsible for garrisoning the Dajiang defense line, it is not appropriate to mobilize all the troops. Xiao Xiong’s Fifth Army and Xiao Duan’s Ninth Army, well, each has its own merits."
Li Jiangyao said: "Yes, the Fifth Army is a mixed formation of infantry and cavalry, and the Ninth Army is a light cavalry unit. Ordinarily, Kuangsha Ninth Army is more suitable for penetration, but the problem is that large-scale crossing of the river by war horses requires ships. It’s very high, and our current capacity may not be able to support it.”
Xu Youchang thought for a while and suggested: "Then let Xiong Yunjie go. Only the infantry battalions of the Fifth Army will be mobilized, and as many as can be sent over. It will be convenient when retreating."
"But what if we can't withdraw?" Li Jiangyao frowned: "After all, we have not seized control of the river. We must be mentally prepared for the enemy to block the river again and cut off the transportation routes."
Xu Youchang didn't say anything. He stared at the map carefully for a long time and suddenly said: "How about letting Xiong Yunjie do a forced march? After crossing the river, three to five battalions of troops will bypass Dangtu County on the other side and go northeast. One hundred and sixty miles, they entered the densely forested Maoshan Mountains. Then, they suddenly turned due north, marched a hundred miles, and went straight to the entrance of Beijing. Nie Xianzang and others took over and returned to Jiangbei."
Li Jiangyao's eyes lit up and he praised: "This big detour is very thoughtful. Especially the move of advancing into Maoshan first is very clever. Going east from Maoshan is Changzhou, the strategic location of the rebels, and going southeast , we can reach Taihu Lake and further harass Hangzhou. In a short period of time, it will be difficult for the enemy to accurately judge the true intentions of our army, and they will inevitably fall into panic, giving Xiong Yunjie's intersecting troops an opportunity."
Xu Youchang continued: "However, this requires the Tenth Army to seize the opportunity to attack. It cannot be too early or too late. It must be chosen just before the Fifth Army is about to arrive at Jingkou, so as to control the entire river surface just right."
"Isn't this the purpose of training our team?" Li Jiangyao said with a smile: "If this battle is successful, then we will be more confident in the subsequent cross-river battle."
Xu Youchang stood up and said: "I will immediately gather people and formulate a specific combat strategy."
Li Jiangyao also stood up: "Thank you for your hard work, I'm just going to make preparations."
"Prepare?" Xu Youchang was slightly startled: "Prepare for what?"
Li Jiangyao smiled casually: "I plan to lead the team myself during this crossing of the river."
Upon hearing this, Xu Youchang suddenly became anxious: "You are making nonsense again! Great Protector, can you stop being so willful? Just stop talking and listen to me! I know that you are going to act like the chief spy of the Pegasus Scout Battalion again. Talking about it, the Xingluo Sword Technique, and going deep behind enemy lines, it doesn’t work here! You listen to me, the Zhenjiang Army has disciplines and military laws, and the Imperial Guard cannot violate them."
Li Jiangyao hugged his shoulders leisurely and waited for Xu Youchang to finish talking a lot before he said with a smile: "Youchang, I will go in person as part of a tentative attack. If you are really worried about my safety, then Just take Sima and the deputy generals who have joined the army to make the battle plan more solid, and don't trap your beloved Metropolitan Protector on the south bank. With my participation, this is an extreme mission for the Suppressing Army, and there can't be any mistakes, right? ?”
He paused and said solemnly: "You don't want to put me in danger, and I don't want to watch the brothers of the Fifth Army go into danger alone."
