As the Han army's target shifted and the focus of operations shifted, the soldiers in each camp who were gearing up to fight and attack the city became somewhat depressed. Especially people like Sun Li, Wang Yansheng and others couldn't hold back. They asked Liu Chengyou for a fight several times, but were scolded by Liu Chengyou. When Liu Chengyou became stern, no one dared to disobey anymore, and they immediately became honest.
Waiting for the knights one after another, detectives came from the north to report Chen Juejun's movements. Counting the ups and downs, Hefei was far less than two hundred miles away from Shouchun. It took Chen Jue a full five days to get close to Shouchun. He took every step slowly and carefully guarded against the surprise attack of the Han army along the way. He was extremely careful. It's a pity that the expression was in vain, as the Han army had no intention of attacking.
On the day of the Shangyuan Festival, the emperor issued an edict to distribute a large amount of meat to reward the entire army and spend the festival together to repay the soldiers for the hardships of the war. Unfortunately, as the war was about to begin, drinking was prohibited and the atmosphere was lost.
In the imperial tent, the generals congratulated each other. Emperor Liu Chengyou delivered a congratulatory speech and encouraged the generals. After having a banquet together, they directly discussed the army in the mess.
It was Murong Yanzhao who was the first to explain the enemy's situation: "The Tang army in Hefei was divided into two groups, the front and the rear. The general Chen Jue led more than 30,000 soldiers and 20,000 servants in the front. The governor Xu Wenzhen led 20,000 soldiers and civilians to escort the grain and equipment supplies. Afterwards, go north along Feishui Road.
The Tang army in Hefei is still dominated by infantry. Except for the Tang court who transferred north after the Battle of Cai, there is also the Tang army transferred back from Chu, which has a little combat strength.
This time, the Tang army was particularly cautious in their advance, marching no more than thirty miles a day. They sent out all their horse troops and posted sentries widely. And he carried a large number of carriages, horses, shields, and spears with him. According to the inspections of the Military Intelligence Department and the Wude Department, they carried a total of 5,000 large and small crossbows, and were equipped with 500,000 arrows. Based on the situation, we are preparing for a surprise attack by our army and fearing our northern cavalry!
With the Tang army's slow pace, two days after tomorrow, the army will arrive east of Shouchun! "
"To say that the Tang army did not learn lessons, but judging from its cautious marching movements and adequate military preparations, I would say that it is 'stable'. If it is said that it has learned its lessons, do you think that its army can advance so steadily? It can solve the siege of Shouchun!" Liu Chengyou commented.
Wang Quanbin showed slight contempt and said, "The Tang army was so careful, but it was a great fright to His Majesty, the might of Heaven, and the combat power of our army. Although there are many chariots and shields, they can resist our cavalry, but they are like tying their own hands and feet!"
There was no other way. On the Huaifei Plain, the Tang army, which lacked cavalry warfare, was naturally at a disadvantage when it came to land warfare. If you want to advance and resist the threat of Han cavalry, you can only choose such a dull and passive strategy.
"Everyone, I have decided to put aside Shouchun's hard bone for the time being. I will lead my army south first, eat Chen Juejun's fat meat, and then return to attack the city!" After a brief pause, Liu Chengyou patted the table and said, With a solemn expression, he said: "I have always liked to form strongholds, fight stupid battles, use the masses to bully the few, and the strong to bully the weak! But this time, I am going to try to use the few to defeat the many again!"
"As for the soldiers and horses going south..." Liu Chengyou looked around and all the generals present subconsciously raised their chests. Then, ignoring the expectant looks of Sun Li, Li Chongjin, and Wang Yansheng, he said directly: "My dear Lead the five armies of Fengchenying, Tieqi, Longjie, Longqi, and Fengguo to go, protect the saints, Xiaodi, Jingjiang Navy, Huaibei Prefecture soldiers, and civilians to strictly guard the camp!"
Liu Chengyou directly faced Sun Li and others and said: "To meet Chen Jue, I will mobilize most of the troops and cavalry in the camp, and the camp will be empty. However, I have gathered most of the supplies from Huaihe and have stored them here. There is no room for loss during this period. Guard the camp. , is also an important task, related to the lifeline of the army, you must not be careless, lest you be taken advantage of by the defenders in the city!"
Seeing that Liu Chengyou's words were serious, several people did not dare to neglect them and could only obey the order. Liu Chengyou's eyes swept over and paused for a moment on Wang Jun. He quickly passed by and said to Xun: "The camp is on guard to show what happened. All generals are ordered to do so!"
Then he looked at Wang Jun: "Wang Qing is going with me to prepare for consultation!"
Xiang Xun was a little surprised, but Xun Er solemnly assured that in many cases, Liu Chengyou could always think of Xiang Xingmin when it came to critical matters and critical tasks. Wang Jun was indifferent, with a cold expression and obeyed the order.
"Han Tong!"
"Here!" Han Tong's eyes suddenly widened when the emperor called him, and he looked at Liu Chengyou expectantly, his voice high.
"You lead the cavalry army and go south first. First, I will kill all the sentry cavalry troops of the Tang Army. First, close their ears and eyes!" Liu Chengyou ordered.
"As you command!"
While the generals of the Northern Han Dynasty were thinking of aiding the Tang army in Shouchun and were eager to open their fangs, the army of the Southern Tang Dynasty had steadily advanced to forty miles southeast of Shouchun and east of Fei River.
There are more than 50,000 soldiers, many vehicles and livestock, and it is quite a mighty force. But as the commander-in-chief of the Tang Army, Chen Jue became increasingly nervous. The closer he got to Shouchun, the more careful he had to be.
It was still not very late, and just after noon, in the marching formation, Chen Jue had no intention of advancing further. He pointed to the huge Feishui shoal on the left side of the army and directly ordered to suspend the advance and camp on the shore.
After spending nearly two hours, a jagged fortress was erected. After several days of marching, the Tang army had become accustomed to it. Basically, every time they arrived at a garrison location, they would immediately stop for a rest. Although this kind of movement was tiring, exhausting, and expensive, it was always reassuring to have a camp to rely on.
In the central military tent, Chen Jue was at the top, looking like a Confucian general. The generals were seated and said: "Everyone, my army of nearly one hundred thousand has been ordered to go north. Now we are approaching Shouchun, and the Han army's camp is forty miles away. Take us there. Come down, do you have any suggestions on how to act?"
Below Chen Jue, the person with the highest military rank was the veteran general Xian Shilang. As a general crossing from the south to the north, Xian Shilang did well in the Southern Tang court and was reused by Li Jing. He went to Pingchu with Hao on the border, and because of his worship, he was the governor of Jiedushi. Although he didn't serve for a few months, he returned in embarrassment. Most of the blame for the loss of ground was drawn to Bian Hao, while Xian Shilang continued to serve as his senior general, and because he was familiar with the northern troops, he was in the supporting army to prepare for the march.
At this time, hearing Chen Jue's question, Xian Shilang looked solemn and said: "Mr. Chen, our army started from Hefei and came all the way north, and its momentum is like a tide. When the Han army heard about it, they should send troops to intercept and harass them, but now they are approaching Han Dynasty There is still no movement of the Han army in the fortress. From a certain perspective, I am afraid there is a scam, so you should be careful!"
"I have also considered this matter. Just think about it, is it possible that our army has many soldiers and horses, sufficient weapons and equipment, and is well prepared, while the Han army has few soldiers and can barely siege the city. Seeing that I have been vigilant for a long time, I dare not move lightly! "Chen Jue said.
Seeing this as a scholar, Xian Shilang thought to himself, thought for a while, and said: "I think that our army is fully prepared for this march and has sufficient food, grass and weapons. Now that we have reached the outskirts of Shouchun, the Han army will definitely have However, no matter how we deal with it, we only need to fight steadily and do not give it an opportunity to take advantage of it. The Han army will not be too afraid!
Our tens of thousands of troops are pushed flatly to the side of the Han army. Even if there is no fight and Li soldiers threaten their side, the Han army will still be at a disadvantage if the defenders in Shouchun City respond. The longer we delay, the better the situation will be for our army and the worse for the Han army. "
"Xian Shijun's words are in my opinion!" Chen Jue seemed to agree with Xian Shilang's words: "The Han army will not move, and I will not move either. I am ordering the three armies to strengthen the fortresses and secure the walls. We will wait until we have a clear picture of the enemy's situation before we proceed to the area. The Han army has been stationed under the fortified city for a long time, but now tens of thousands of our troops are circling outside. The Han army will not dare to attack the city again. We have already taken measures to respond. I am not in a hurry. I should be anxious. It's the Han army!
Send an order to the rear army Xu Wenzhen, telling him not to be anxious, and to march steadily according to the general's arrangements, and go north to join me! "
"yes!"
All said and done, Chen Jue had a large army in his hands and felt a little confident, but if he was really asked to fight the Han army, he still felt guilty. In addition, with the emperor Li Jing's warning, he came calmly and was afraid to go. . If you ignore the details and only look at the surface, as far as Shouchun's current situation is concerned, the Tang army is indeed in an advantage.
The Tang army had a large number of soldiers. Once the food route was opened and linked to Shouchun, it would have the effect of echoing the internal and external, and it would also have a home field advantage... On the other hand, the Han army had gone on a thousand-mile expedition and the division veterans were exhausted, and they had become two sides. The situation of being under attack.
Later, Chen Dazao reported that he heard that the Tang army was marching north, and that the Han army had stopped attacking the city and stayed in the camp. There was a lot of joy in the camp to celebrate the Lantern Festival.
Hearing this, although Chen Jun was surprised, he subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. Thinking of the beauty of Shangyuan and the soldiers who were suffering from the march, he also ordered to reward the soldiers with rice and meat.
When Liu Chengyou learned about the Tang army's plan to engulf Feidong, he became even more relaxed. He smiled and said: "If Chen Jue can be bolder and march 20 miles closer to the stronghold, I will attack him without fear of the Shouchun defenders attacking from behind. Now ,hehe......"
On the morning of the seventeenth day of the first lunar month of the fifth year of Qianyou's reign, the Shouchun Han army, which had spent the whole festival peacefully, adjusted its defenses. Liu Chengyou personally led more than 20,000 infantrymen, crossed Feishui Fuliang, and turned south. Fight against Chen Jue.
