Gong'an County is located at the entrance of the Youjiang River, fifty miles away from Jiangling. It is an important place to control the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and a key place to defend Jiangling. Therefore, on that day, Murong Yanzhao led his army to Jiangling. Gao Baorong surrendered for the first time. Before the situation stabilized, Li Jun led 3,000 state troops to garrison. As for the original 2,000 Jingnan garrison, they were also recruited by Li Jun.
But for Li Jun, this southern expedition was to make achievements, and he did not want to be a defender. Especially after Han Tong led his army to cross the border east to Yuezhou, he was even more envious.
Therefore, after reorganizing the army, he sent three letters of challenge to Murong Yanzhao in succession. However, Murong Yanzhao suppressed him and did not dare to send troops without authorization, which made Li Jun anxious. He could claim to be a "guilty" general, and after receiving the emperor's first permission to join the expedition, he looked forward to making military exploits and re-entering the upper echelon of the Han military circles.
It was already April 12th, and he was still being suppressed. How could he be willing to do so? However, no matter how restless his heart was, he did not dare to ignore the Chinese army's wishes. Fortunately, the big news from Jiangling gave him a good signal.
Groups of warships and warehouse ships headed southeast one after another. Standing at the port of Youkou, what Li Jun wanted to see was the fleet docked at the shore.
When the big ship docked, he walked off the deck first and ran and jumped ashore. Shi Yanchao's face turned pale and he cursed: "If I had known that taking a boat would be so difficult, I would rather cross the river in Jiangling and run for dozens of times." Here, why do you have to suffer like this! After this, why are you talking about saving your physical strength and horsepower!"
"Pass my order to all battalions to disembark immediately and assemble their troops!" Shi Yanchao turned his head and ordered an officer who was following him.
"yes!"
He twisted his upper body and jumped on the spot again, feeling sulky. Looking around, we can see that they are all closely guarded by the police garrison, and there are hundreds of coolies waiting early to unload food and ordnance.
Li Jun, who was on the bank, also rushed over. Before he got close, he said, "General Shi, I've been waiting for a long time!"
Looking at Li Jun who was a little over-enthusiastic, Shi Yanchao thought to himself that he had no friendship with him, but he held out his hand to avoid hitting the smiling man, and still had the patience to greet him: "Shi is not talented, how can I ask the general to take care of him personally?"
"It doesn't matter! I'm stationed at the police station these days, so I have nothing to do!" Li Jun said.
After hearing what he said, Shi Yanchao said: "We are in war now, but the general is so leisurely. He is worthy of being a veteran general who has weathered many storms!"
Hearing this, Li Jun seemed to spread his hands helplessly: "We, the generals, are like goshawks and lackeys, but they are restrained by the reins. The man holding the ropes is Murong Dushuai, and he won't let go. How can we hunt for prey!"
Hearing what Li Jun said, Shi Yanchao felt the same and nodded subconsciously.
"However, General Shi's visit must have brought me some good news!" Li Jun said looking at Shi Yanchao.
Shi Yanchao raised his eyebrows slightly and asked, "What good news does the general want to hear?"
Li Jun pointed directly at the cavalry troops who were disembarking from the ship, and said with a smile: "Since noon, there have been many fully loaded ships going eastward. The first unit of the Jingnan Navy has already gone to Yuezhou first. Murong Dushuai is obviously preparing to attack the Hunan Zhou Dynasty. The general has made a big move against the advance, and now he is leading his cavalry to the police station. I think it is for the rebels in Liyang!"
Noticing the expectant look in Li Jun's eyes, Shi Yanchao wiped his rough stubble and grinned: "The general's analysis is good, but it's a pity that it is somewhat different from what Du Shuai planned!"
"What? Did I guess wrong?" Li Jun frowned and said with an unexpected solemnity, "That makes no sense! The Gao family has surrendered and Jingnan has been pacified. Why don't we attack Zhou Xingfeng's rebel army?" , pacify Hunan as soon as possible, what are you waiting for!"
Seeing this, Shi Yanchao immediately conveyed Murong Dushuai's "meeting spirit" in Jiangling Yamen. When Li Jun heard this, he immediately got a little angry: "Why do you conquer the enemy without fighting? The army is coming from the south. Why don't you come for an outing without fighting? Zhou Ni claims to be fifty thousand, but he is a mob. Why do you think so much!"
Seeing that Li Jun was a little excited, although he quite agreed with his idea, Shi Yanchao still spoke out to defend the commander-in-chief with a serious expression. No matter what, Murong Yanzhao still made great use of his general, Shi Du, during this trip south.
Li Jun vented his anger, but seeing the situation, he could only temporarily keep his depression in his heart. Turning back, he looked at the soldiers and horses disembarking from the ship one after another at the port, and said, "Then what is General Shi doing here at the police station, to accompany me to defend the city?"
"No one else! The commander-in-chief planned the war, used strategies flexibly, and was determined to defeat the enemy in Liyang. That's why I came with the military order, joined forces with the general, and marched south to relieve the siege of Liyang!" Finally, Shi Yanchao smiled. .
Hearing this, Li Jun suddenly felt energetic and glared: "Seriously?"
"Shi, you don't dare to joke about military orders!" Shi Yanchao said seriously.
Li Jun slowly came to his senses and thought to himself, after saying so much, he must have been teased by this guy. His expression suddenly became stiff, but thinking of the good news he brought and the need to cooperate with him, he didn't care about it for the time being.
"Okay!" Li Jun punched his fist, looked at Shi Yanchao and said, "I've long wanted to go south!"
"It's already late, let's let our army rest for a night before making plans again!" Shi Yanchao looked at Li Jun: "I wonder if the camp has been arranged?"
Like Shi Yanchao, many of the knights who disembarked from the ship were tired and obviously in poor condition. They urgently needed to rest and rest, including their horses, which also needed to be checked for a while.
"Don't worry, General! After receiving the summons, everything has been sorted out!"
After stationing at the Public Security Bureau, Li Jun directly stationed his troops outside the city. On a summer night, the Han camp was illuminated with lights, dotted like stars. The gentle night wind brought the humidity of the river, which made people feel even cooler. The moonlight reflected on the river would have been unbearable without the chilling force brought by the army. Qi, but still quiet and peaceful.
The patrolling team passed by outside the military tent, without affecting the two generals inside the tent who were contemplating the situation of the war. After entering the camp, washing and resting for more than an hour, Shi Yanchao's energy improved a lot.
Eating a roasted chicken leg with ease, Shi Yanchao motioned to Li Jun to introduce him. But looking at Shi Yanchao's behavior and his arrogance, Li Jun actually didn't like it. He was not a good-tempered person. Over the years, no matter the ups and downs of circumstances, no one had ever treated him like this. Big, unbridled.
Li Jun waited for Shi Yanchao to finish eating the chicken legs before he said: "According to reports, the Liyang bandit army is about 20,000. After this period of attack and defense, nearly 2,000 were killed and injured. There is also a navy on the Liyang River. Support.
Among the 20,000 troops, only the 3,000 Langzhou veterans led by Yang Shifan and the 3,000 Yao soldiers commanded by the Yao leader Qin Zaixiong have combat strength. The remaining combat effectiveness is worrying!
After I led the army to take over the public security, Yang Shifan divided a brigade of 3,000 soldiers and went north, stationed in Luanhe Village, 30 miles northeast of Liyang, with the intention of guarding against our army, and then stepped up the attack on Liyang. "
Nodding slightly, Shi Yanchao asked: "What is the situation in Liyang City?"
"The rebel army's strength makes it difficult to siege the city. We have contacted Pan Mei, who said that the rebel army's offensive has weakened and it is enough to defend the city!" Li Jun said: "Our army's march south has greatly affected Yang Shifan's military strength. I think there will be no problem for the time being. !”
"This Pan Mei has some tricks up her sleeve. She was ordered to do so in the face of danger and faced several times the enemy, but she tried her best to protect the city!" Shi Yanchao's attention was instead focused on Pan Mei.
"Does the cavalry have enough time to rest overnight? Can they go south tomorrow?" Li Junze was thinking about going south to start a group, and he looked at Shi Yanchao intently.
Shi Yanchao asked, "General Li is prepared to fight like this?"
"Liyang is only a hundred and twenty miles away from the Public Security Bureau. Although the road is not smooth, if we speed up the march, we can get there in one day. Tomorrow you and I will join forces and go straight to Luanhe Village. I will deal with the partial division, and you can surround Liyang and contain it. Keep the rebels under the city to prevent them from retreating! After I deal with the enemy in Chuanhe River, I will go south and join the defenders in the city. If we attack from three sides, the rebel army will be defeated!" Li Jun said seriously.
"General, you have a big appetite. Do you plan to devour Yang Shifan's army in one go?" Shi Yanchao grinned, looking like he was pleased.
Li Junze reacted as he should: "Isn't General Shi moved by this great achievement?"
"Done!" Shi Yanchao's big, scarred hands slapped Liyang City on the map hard.
The 3,000 armored cavalry led by Shi Yanchao would provide a huge combat bonus to the Han army, and their tactical use would be much more flexible. For the Chu army, which lacked cavalry, it was a big killer.
In fact, the cavalry army alone was enough to break the siege of Liyang. But the two generals, Shi and Li, were obviously greedy and wanted to complete their achievements in one battle.
"Now I am worried that Yang Shifan will withdraw to the south of Lishui when he sees that the situation is not good!" Li Jun frowned and said.
"Then let's speed up. You can send me a guide tomorrow, and I will directly lead the cavalry army to attack outside Liyang!" Shi Yanchao was also decisive.
"Leave three hundred horses with me!" Li Jun said.
After looking at Li Jun, Shi Yanchao thought about it for a while and said, "Okay!"
