Xu Youchang's eyes lit up when he heard this: "Jiang Yao, are you serious?"
"There is no joke in the army," Li Jiangyao nodded and looked at Xu Youchang: "The greatest support we can give Yang Li and the Yiling navy is to storm the rebel towns downstream and force Bao Yuchun to return to his home base. Let the enemy be exhausted. , it’s better than us running around.”
Xu Youchang turned to Nie Xianzang and asked, "Are you sure?"
Nie Xianzang responded loudly: "Yes! The 10th Army fought tooth and nail to protect the safety of the waterways for the brothers. Just like what the Governor said at the beginning, people can survive and recover!"
Xu Youchang nodded slightly and smiled at Li Jiangyao: "It's finally time for me to go out and stretch my muscles! Jiang Yao, how big are you planning to do? Half an army, or one army?"
Li Jiangyao looked at him calmly and said calmly: "I'll give you three armies and just beat Lao Jianhua to death, okay?"
Hearing this, Xu Youchang was surprised and happy: "Are you kidding? Three armies, hundreds of thousands of people? Don't say beat him to tears, I am confident to fight directly to Hangzhou."
Li Jiangyao waved his hand: "That's not too busy. Bao Yuchun can lead his troops back at any time, and the path of the river is still not fully controllable. This time, I want the First Army, the Second Army, and the Sixth Army to go over and try their skills. I can stop by Let’s take a trip to see what the strength of the southern rebels is.”
Xu Youchang looked at the map and pondered: "Our goal is to seize Xuancheng. We will land from Ba Mao Mountain opposite Wuwei Water Village to Lianhua Mountain. We will attack Xuancheng in two directions from the east and west, and encircle Bao Yuchun's base camp! Wait for him When we come back, we’ll retreat to the north shore, what do you think?”
Li Jiangyao nodded: "It's pretty much what I thought. If you can successfully capture Xuancheng, you can continue to let the First Army advance appropriately to Hangzhou, scare Lao Jianhua and Li Kuang, and deepen their understanding of Bao Yuchun. dissatisfaction."
"I understand. While ensuring that the army can retreat at any time, strive for more results." Xu Youchang said: "How to solve the problem of transport capacity across the river? Are the number of ships enough?"
Li Jiangyao introduced to him: "The first additional fleet is to ensure the protection mission. It can provide up to two hundred large ships to transport troops, which can transport twenty to thirty thousand people at a time; there are about six hundred civilian ships. Although they are large in number, their hulls are They are all a bit smaller, and can transport almost ten or twenty thousand people at a time. Including the time for fighting on the beach and traveling back and forth on the river, I will give you three days, which is almost enough."
Xu Youchang thought about it seriously, nodded and said: "Enough, three days is enough. Let Lao Du's Second Army go forward first, quickly clear the enemy troops on the south bank defense line, and establish a landing position. Then the Sixth Army crosses Jiang, advanced five to ten miles to the south and continued to expand the defense range. Finally, the Gale First Army passed by with men and horses, responsible for taking over the assault mission, killing the rebels who came for reinforcements, and pounced on Xuancheng. The Second Army The Sixth Army followed closely behind and launched a follow-up attack. After all the troops crossed the river, they launched a general attack on Xuancheng City within three days."
Xu Youchang personally led the team. Of course, Li Jiangyao was relieved, but he still warned: "You and the three army commanders should study the city defense situation of Xuancheng. I am not worried about the encounters on the road. I am only worried about the time it takes to defeat Xuancheng." For too long, it gave Bao Yuchun and others room to perform."
After that, he added: "You know, this crossing of the river is still very risky. If you are not careful, you may have to stay in the south of the Yangtze River and fight alone until the day we launch a full-scale southern expedition. .”
Xu Youchang knew that he was joking with him, so he smiled and agreed: "Don't worry, cross quickly, fight quickly, and recover quickly. They are as motionless as a mountain and as moving as thunder! I will scare Lao Jianhua, Bao Yuchun and the others."
Li Jiangyao turned to Nie Xianzang and said: "You must also be fully prepared. The plan must be discussed with the army and agreed upon together. Whether the hundreds of thousands of them can come back smoothly depends largely on your understanding of this waterway. control, as well as the command and coordination of nearly a thousand transport ships."
Nie Xianzang responded with his hands raised: "I understand, I understand! We immediately formulated a strategy and prepared all the conditions for crossing the river before Bao Yuchun attacked Yiling."
At the tense moment when the rebel navy quickly assembled and planned to launch a large-scale battle against the imperial fleet upstream, the Zhenjiang Army located on the front line of Luzhou and Chuzhou also began secret mobilization.
Both the enemy and ourselves are competing against time, both hoping to finish their battle in one battle, successfully inflict heavy losses on their opponents, and seize the most valuable initiative on the battlefield.
The vast river is filled with murderous aura everywhere; the rolling waves ruthlessly tell the ups and downs of the Shengtang Dynasty.
A high-level military meeting was also being held in Hangzhou, hundreds of miles away from the Dajiang defense line.
Jin Wang Li Zhang, Prime Minister Lao Jianhua, Hussar General Ye Rongcheng, Chariot General Xie Bao and others were all present.
What they are discussing is precisely Li Jiangyao and the Zhenjiang Army.
"Your Highness, Prime Minister, the situation on the front line is probably like this." Ye Rongcheng said in a deep voice: "Bao Yuchun ignored the overall situation and insisted on gathering the main force of the navy to attack Yiling, which resulted in the Dajiang defense line being empty of troops. At this time, all the troops under Li Jiangyao's command They have entered a state of full combat readiness, and they obviously want to take advantage of the situation and raid our territory. Xuancheng will become their primary target!"
Xie Bao responded angrily: "We must not let them succeed! Otherwise, the entire defense line will become shaky, and we will be in big trouble!"
Lao Jianhua nodded slightly and analyzed Li Yan, who was sitting in the middle: "Xuancheng is less than four hundred miles away from Hangzhou, and the distance between it is almost flat and there is no danger to defend. Once captured by the Zhenjiang Army, our capital will be in danger. Alas, I have advised Bao Yuchun several times before, telling him to deal with it carefully, but unfortunately, he has been disturbed by the previous failures and cannot listen at all. "
Li Zhang worriedly said: "Master, in such a critical situation, is there any good solution?"
"I am currently thinking of three ways," Lao Jianhua responded: "First, mobilize heavy troops to defend to the death to ensure that the river bank and Xuanzhou are not lost; second, continue to urge Bao Yuchun to change his mind and reallocate the fleet, Seal the river and set up defenses; thirdly, ask the hornets to try to hold back the Zhenjiang army and prevent Li Jiangyao from calmly arranging his troops and attacking our ideas."
Ye Rongcheng followed his words and said: "To stop the Zhenjiang Army, the troops in the Xuancheng direction must be strengthened. In addition to the original 160,000 troops, at least...an additional 60,000 to 80,000 will be needed."
Lao Jianhua glanced at the other party and said in a deep voice: "Sixty thousand to eighty thousand... I'm afraid six to eighty thousand is not enough. The latest intelligence shows that Li Jiangyao is very determined this time. Maybe he is not a soldier as we had guessed before. of military strength.”
His stern gaze swept over everyone present: "If the Zhenjiang side dispatches two or three armies, are you sure they can stop it?"
Xie Bao curled his lips and said: "Give me 200,000 troops and horses, and I will ensure that Li Jiangyao and Xu Youchang are eliminated under Xuanzhou City!"
"It is good to have confidence, but we must also be practical." Lao Jianhua shook his head: "Our army is still much worse than the Turks. Since the Zhenjiang Army can wipe out more than 200,000 Roniya cavalry in In the Weinan Plain, it will definitely not be a problem if he attacks our 200,000 troops. General Xie, do not underestimate the enemy."
Xie Bao was obviously in awe of Lao Jianhua. Seeing that he spoke so solemnly, he quickly raised his hands and said honestly: "What the Prime Minister teaches is that the final general must pay attention."
Lao Jianhua turned to Ye Rongcheng and said: "General Ye, I will deploy another 120,000 troops for you. In addition to the troops previously deployed in Xuanzhou, the main force is nearly 300,000. We must stop the Xinjiang Army."
Ye Rongcheng stood up and responded loudly: "Your Highness and the Prime Minister, please rest assured that with such a strong force, we will definitely live up to expectations. We also ask the Huben Brigade under the Prime Minister's command to provide more assistance and closely explore the enemy's intelligence so that we can do everything possible." Prepare."
Lao Jianhua nodded: "Speaking of this matter, I was just about to tell you. Recently, the Pegasus Scout Battalion of the Zhenjiang Army and the Huben Brigade have been engaged in fierce battles. Both sides have manpower to risk infiltration into the other side and kill It's hard to tell, they are all trying their best to detect the other party's intelligence, and at the same time they are desperately trying to prevent the other party from detecting themselves. This situation just shows that Li Jiangyao cares about this very much."
Li Zhang sneered: "The more you care, the more it proves that they are about to take action."
Lao Jianhua stroked his beard gently and nodded slightly: "According to my guess, the prerequisite for the opponent to take action is Bao Yuchun. If the navy does not start a battle upstream, Li Jiangyao will not dare to cross the river easily."
"Then the matter is quite simple," Xie Bao said quickly: "As soon as Bao Yuchun and Bao Xinyan start fighting, we will be ready here. It is estimated that the Zhenjiang Army will arrive soon."
"This is the correct answer." Lao Jianhua said with a smile: "With the actions of the navy as a reference, it is not difficult to guess Li Jiangyao's behavior."
Li Zhang sighed: "It's a pity that Bao Yuchun took away the entire fleet, otherwise we could have taken advantage of the Zhenjiang Army to cross the river and attack it halfway. Alas, this old Bao is really making more and more mistakes."
Hearing what he said, Ye Rongcheng and Xie Bao looked at each other secretly, with a bit of pride in their eyes.
Lao Jianhua looked as usual and said calmly: "Your Highness, there is no need to worry. The reason why Bao Yuchun did this was because he wanted to make a great contribution so that he could explain to Your Highness. Controlling the river is ultimately inseparable from the open sea army."
Li Zhang nodded, indicating that he understood what the master meant, and then said: "General Ye, General Xie, I won't say anything unnecessary. We have known each other for many years, and our relationship is naturally deeper than others. As long as you act loyally and defeat the enemy, This king will never treat you badly."
A group of Xuanjia-type generals quickly stood up, raised their hands, and responded loudly: "We are willing to serve Your Highness! The Jin army will win!"
After the Hangzhou Conference, in less than three days, Ye Rongcheng and Xie Bao hurried to the Xuanzhou front line with the 120,000 fresh troops allocated to them by Lao Jianhua. They had to hurry up, because Bao Yuchun sent someone to send news that his fleet had begun to move towards Yiling.
This means that the battle in the direction of Xuancheng is likely to start at any time!
