With continuous rain and a severe cold wave coming from the north, the coldest season in Huainan has arrived. Many river sections in the Huai River Basin have begun to freeze. Although most of the ice is shallow, it has also seriously affected the Northern Han Dynasty. The army's food and fodder transportation and military mobilization. Since the end of autumn, the endless boat traffic on the Huai River has finally come to an end.
Due to the weather conditions, Liu Chengyou simply issued an edict to send troops to conquer the Huaihe River, each to defend its stronghold and its own city, consolidate the results of the battle, recuperate the soldiers, and accumulate strength so that the weather would improve and the attack could be resumed.
Fortunately, before the Han Dynasty came, the Northern Han Dynasty had already stocked up a large amount of military supplies, including food, clothing, soldiers, and armor before the Huainan camp and even the military camps, which could last half a year for the Huai army. The price is that all the money and grain stored in Huaibei will be used up, and more than half of the money and grain stored in the treasury in Tokyo and Kinki will be transferred.
It can be said that when the great cause of conquering the Huaihe River has progressed to this extent, the Northern Han Dynasty has already exerted all its strength, and there is no reason to stop or fail in the launch of the chariot. Judging from the development of the war situation, the prospects are quite promising.
One thing that is certain is that Liu Chengyou did not need three attacks that lasted several years like the original Zhou Shizong.
Liu Chengyou's preparations for the conquest of Huai were so thorough that even the painstaking efforts are not enough to describe them. If he had not carried out several strategies in advance to confuse the enemy, organize the imperial army, organize the navy, spy on Jianghuai armaments, investigate geographical transportation, raise food and military supplies, and then add a large-scale extermination of Buddhism, the Northern Han Dynasty would have more trouble. A huge sum of money for the war.
The development of the war situation since the beginning of the war has been even smoother. Not to mention other major and minor battles, the two major victories at Xia Cai and Wokou have caused heavy damage to the military strength of the Southern Tang Dynasty. What was more strategically significant, establishing a winning situation and turning the Northern Han's advantage into a victory was the capture of the two states of Hao and Chu, which broke the Huai River defense line of the Southern Tang in one fell swoop.
In the original history, Guo Rong conquered the Huaihe River and besieged Shouchun with the same troops. However, Liu Rengan managed the army well and defended Shouchun. Moreover, the key Huai defense areas of Hao and Si were always controlled by the Tang army. The Tang army's boats and ships galloped, and the Zhou army again Without a water force, there will never be peace on the flanks.
Shouchun was in trouble, and the Zhou army never dared to let go and attack other prefectures and counties. Until they changed their tactics and encircled the points for reinforcements, the Zhou army galloped across the hinterland of Huainan, achieved many results, and directly fulfilled Zhao Kuangyin's reputation.
Moreover, once the Zhou army was exhausted and retreated north to recuperate, the Tang army took advantage of the situation to regain the lost ground, making it difficult for the Zhou army to consolidate its results for a long time. It was not until Guo Rong built a usable navy in Bianliang, and after the Battle of Zijin Mountain that Shouzhou, which had been besieged for a year, was broken, was it possible for the Zhou army to sweep through Huainan and Southern Tangzhou County like an autumn wind sweeping leaves. The wind is invincible, and countless people have fallen.
Three years of fierce fighting caused Huainan to suffer serious damage. The soldiers and people suffered from the war. In addition, the Zhou army's violent policy of "conquering the enemy for food" gave rise to civil unrest and further damaged people's morale.
In fact, the reason why Guo Rong's invasion of Huainan was delayed for so long was probably because the Zhou army did too many evil things. At least in the middle and early stages, the looting and killing of Zhou soldiers and the large-scale conquests of Huainan civilians were brutal. Of course, during the war, there is no distinction between right and wrong, only the success or failure of interests.
Even so, after the war ended, Zhou Dynasty still expanded thousands of miles and occupied millions of households. After a while, the national power surged and the national power surged.
As for Liu Chengyou, he had circumvented most of the shortcomings of the later Zhou Dynasty and Tang Dynasty, and made sufficient preparations to make up for each shortcoming. Moreover, the capture of the Huai River defense line caused Shouzhou's strategic position to plummet. With the food route cut off, apart from some political significance, the military significance of He Jingzhu and others' persistence in Shouchun was no longer significant.
Under such circumstances, even if the defenders wanted to withdraw, they had no way out and could only wait for reinforcements. As for how long it can be defended, it depends on the loyalty of the Tang army generals to the Southern Tang court and the morale of the troops in the city. However, in an isolated city with many defeated troops, how long can Shouchun's defense last?
Therefore, it is not difficult to get off Shouchun City at this time.
As for Xu Wenzhen's army stationed in Hefei, they can't be said to be close at hand. They can barely be counted as lying beside the bed, threatening each other from a distance. If he doesn't move, you can ignore him for the time being. If he moves, Liu Chengyou welcomes him.
Due to the weather, in the prefectures and counties in Huaiyin, where the Han and Tang Dynasty fought, the Han sabers were not sheathed and the arrows were not returned to the bags, but the attack was temporarily stopped and the soldiers were able to rest. After all, the Han army had to go on an expedition, marching north and then south, and was in a foreign land and soil. Coupled with continuous battles, transfers, and the siege of Shouchun again, not to mention the end of the strong crossbow, the division and veterans were tired, and they really needed to rest.
As for Shouchun's defenders, they also got a chance to breathe. Although they have not experienced too fierce city defense battles since the war began, the Han army's current tactics are to give people the feeling of being strangled by the neck and gasping for breath. The feeling of being out of breath.
Shouchun City is more than three feet high, and the biting cold wind whines and rages violently. The Tang flag is swaying unsteadily, and many Tang soldiers are cowering in Weng City. They were not fully prepared for winter operations, and they did not expect that the Han army would be so determined to besiege the city. In addition, they gathered a large number of defeated soldiers, resulting in a severe shortage of combat supplies in Shouchun City, especially cold-proof supplies.
The soldiers garrisoning the city were in slightly better condition. They were given priority in the supply of supplies and still had warm clothes, but they were still suffering from the cold wind and cold. As for the Tang army in the city and barracks, nearly half of the soldiers could only starve and freeze. That is to say, the military rations in the city are still sufficient, otherwise the military morale would have been weakened long ago.
In order to prepare for the winter, He Jingzhu has taken decisive measures in Shouchun City. He collected materials from the homes of the people in the city to supplement military supplies. Those who can cut down the trees in the city will use them to make fires for heating. If the trees are exhausted, houses will be demolished. Already...
In short, the priority of everything is to supply the defenders and soldiers, which is extremely disturbing and deeply hurtful to the people. At this point, General He no longer cares about so many things. Before becoming an official in Shouzhou, He Jingzhu was first a general. A general only thought about fighting and defending the city.
As a veteran who has experienced three generations of wars in the late Tang Dynasty, the most basic quality of a martial artist is to be ruthless enough when his heart hardens.
In front of the Jiedu Yamen, He Jingzhu returned from inspecting the city defense and looked at the dozens of people standing at the steps, making noisy noises. The composition of this group of people is very complex, including lower-level officials, noble families, merchants, wealthy households, and people working in various industries. These people, who can represent all classes of scholars and people in Shouchun, gathered here to ask for orders from He Jingzhu.
"When the city is in danger, you are restless at home to avoid disaster. Why do you gather in front of Jiedu Yamen to make noise and cause trouble?" He Jingzhu stepped forward and asked sternly.
The person who stood up to respond was an old man with a deep groove on his face. He looked about the same age as He Jingshu. He raised his head and looked directly at He Jingzhu, and asked: "Disaster has come, how can you tolerate our soldiers and the people if you allow me to do so?"
"Scaremongering, exaggeration!" He Jingzhu scolded: "The enemy soldiers have invaded the city, and Shouchun is in danger. The army and the people of the city should work together to resist the enemy. Military supplies are insufficient, so they are requisitioned. If you are dissatisfied because of the general's order, Don't blame me for being ruthless in military law when people gather together to cause trouble."
After hearing what he said, the old man's silver beard twitched and said excitedly: "The Northern Han Dynasty invaded and troops surrounded Shouchun. The soldiers and people in the city jumped out to provide food and people to help the envoy to defend against the enemy. The envoy once said that he would resist the Han army. , is to protect the hometown, but now the Han army has not yet broken the city, so your military orders have violated the people, your words and deeds are inconsistent, your military and political orders are evil, how can you face the people of Shouchun?"
"Bold old man, how dare you be rude to Commander Ji, do you want to die?" Before He Jingzhu could react, his tooth general stood up with an angry look on his face, and he even couldn't help but pull out a knife.
Although He Jingzhu's face was also cold, he raised his hand to stop his teeth and cupped his hand towards the old man. His old voice was full of determination and said: "I know that in order to resist the Han army, all the sages have sacrificed a lot, and I have resentment in my heart. It's understandable. However, I have been ordered by the imperial court to defend Shouzhou, and everything must be done with the military first. And when the country is in crisis, it is a matter of danger. If the city is destroyed, I am afraid that chickens and dogs will not be able to stay. I hope you can spend time with the soldiers. You have overcome the difficulties, I would like to thank you for this!"
Of course, He Jingzhu's words were unconvincing, but he had no intention of listening to his noise any more. After making nice remarks, he said sternly: "You violated the commander's prohibition, gathered people in front of the commander's house, and made arrogant remarks. This time I am pardoned for now. But if there is a next time, don’t blame me for being ruthless!"
He Jingzhu's threatening words immediately aroused everyone's anger, and they wanted to argue with him, but no matter how sharp his words were, they could not compete with the sharpness of the sword. He Jingzhu immediately ordered people to disperse them, and he was extremely tough.
After a group of people were "persuaded" to leave, standing in the cold wind, He Jingzhu's expression was as cold as the winter wind.
"Who is the military academy responsible for banning the street today?" He Jingzhu asked first, and then said decisively: "Take him immediately and show his head to the public!"
"Also, those government officials were imprisoned just now. If they were in their positions and did not seek political power, but instead participated in things that disturbed people's hearts, they should be punished for their crimes!"
"In addition, if I send another order from my commander to collect military supplies, it will not be to burn, kill or loot. If anyone violates the rules again, he will not be lenient. The only way is to implement military laws. I hope the three armies will take heed of them!"
"Yes!" The generals following He Jingzhu saw his murderous look and did not dare to neglect, and hurriedly followed the order.
Three consecutive orders, all with murderous intent.
