"How does Du Shuai know?" Seeing Zhao Kuangyin making a confident judgment indifferently, Dang Jin couldn't help but wonder.
Dang Jin is a rough man, illiterate, vulgar in behavior, and not fond of thinking. He is famous in the military for his bravery and bravery. Leading the army in battle, fighting without fear, not knowing what death is. Following Zhao Kuangyin, he was even more lazy to analyze the enemy's situation and think about the battle situation. He could just follow the command.
Hearing his question, Zhao Kuangyin said calmly: "In terms of the refinement of the soldiers and the command of the generals, it is difficult to measure the gap between the two armies. According to previous reports, the fierce battle is in full swing. At such a close distance, the fierce battle lasted for nearly two hours. Zhang Yanqing's situation was unfavorable. , when in defeat, he must ask for help. He didn’t ask for help, and now that the sound of killing has disappeared, the battle has been decided, and Zhang Yanqing will definitely win! I think it won’t be long before the victory is announced!”
"Listening to the commander-in-chief's analysis of the war situation is like drinking fine wine. I am intoxicated. You are truly a commander-in-chief!" Dang Jin said with a silly smile.
Before long, a small boat sailed down the river from the east, passing through the group of naval battleships that were guarding it. It arrived under Zhao Kuangyin's ship and said loudly: "To the commander-in-chief, General Zhang has defeated the Shu army and the Shu army has been defeated." , are wiping out the remaining enemies and expanding the results!"
"Good! General Zhang is a really good general!" Zhao Kuangyin exclaimed with joy and immediately ordered: "Instruct Wei Gun to lead a thousand naval troops to march westward to help eliminate the remaining enemies, surrender prisoners, and clear the waterways as soon as possible for the passage of the army!"
"yes!"
"In addition, order the entire army to prepare to weigh anchor and march westward!"
It was in the afternoon, it was still early, and Zhao Kuangyin had made a good start. Zhao Kuangyin planned to take advantage of the victory to advance again to force the Shu army. Military orders were issued layer by layer, and the entire huge fleet seemed to be awakened and ready to set off. The navy guarding the front also headed out to the west under the leadership of Han general Wei Lin.
Wei Lin, the Jingnan surrendered general, although his talents were somewhat ordinary, his life was quite prosperous after he returned to the imperial court. During the Zhou Xingfeng campaign, he gained a lot of military exploits and submitted a certificate of honor. Now he is serving as the deputy commander of the navy during the Western Expedition. If he can stay behind, at least three or four generations of wealth will be no problem.
After more than an hour of clearing and dredging, the waterway between Wu Gorge was cleared. Under the escort of a navy ship, Zhao Kuangyin rushed to the battlefield. Looking at the ruins in the river, the beautiful scenery of the river gorge has been completely destroyed by war and killings. It is still beautiful, but the solemn atmosphere makes people frown.
The captured ships and prisoners were moved to both sides of the bank and specially guarded, leaving a middle waterway. Wei Lin personally boarded Zhao Kuangyin's ship to report.
"Have the results of the battle been counted?" Zhao Kuangyin asked.
Zhao Kuangyin's commanding ability was clearly demonstrated in the early preparations and arrangements, and he impressed the generals of the Western Expedition. Wei Lin, on the other hand, did not dare to underestimate this young commander. When he heard about it, he immediately said: "Zhang Du will win a great victory with a small number of enemies. He will kill the enemy in thousands and seize all kinds of weapons." There were more than seventy ships, and the Shu soldiers were surrendered, about two thousand in number. The Shu army was defeated, with less than a thousand soldiers and less than thirty ships!"
"Where's General Zhang?"
"We have led the army to pursue the remaining enemies and intend to annihilate them all!" Wei Lin replied.
Hearing this, Zhao Kuangyin twisted his thick eyebrows slightly, thought for a moment, and immediately ordered: "Leave one unit behind, keep the prisoners under guard, and wait for the Chinese fleet to march westward in an orderly manner. The rest of the navy will march westward with my commander's banner. , support General Zhang!”
"yes!"
"Commander, the whole army of the Shu army came and was defeated by General Zhang. Now he has become a disciple who has lost his master, let alone the opponent of General Zhang. Why do we need support?" Wei Lin asked.
Shaking his head, Zhao Kuangyin said calmly: "I am afraid that General Zhang's target is not only those remnants of the army!"
More than 40 miles east of Wushan County, there is a narrow stream that merges into the river. On the right side of the stream, the Shu army has a village connected by water and land. The village is named Songmu. The twenty or so defeated ships that fled to the west retreated directly into it. Zhang Yanqing led his army to catch up, and without thinking, he directly led the warships into the water stronghold.
What the defeated army brought back was not only the results and emotions of defeat, but more seriously, the enemies who took advantage of the victory and advanced with murderous intent and unstoppable force. Obviously, Zhang Yanqing's goal is this Sichuan village.
The remnants of the Shu army's navy, facing the increasingly aggressive Han army's pursuit, had no intention of resisting and were quickly defeated and went straight to Hanzhai. Zhang Yanqing also ordered to abandon the boat and land, and then gathered the crowd to attack directly.
After a long battle and pursuit, the soldiers were all exhausted, but their morale was high, and Zhang Yanqing personally commanded to boost morale. With that spirit and the disturbance of the defeated soldiers, Zhang Yanqing led the navy to directly attack Songmu Hanzhai without any offensive weapons.
The Shu army guard in Songmuzhai was named Lu. After realizing the combat intentions of Zhang Yanqing's army, he felt that he was extremely arrogant. Although the water stronghold was broken down and there were numerous rebels, they reacted quickly and actively organized their troops to suppress the rebels. At the same time, they used bows, arrows, wood, rocks, and spears to intercept the stronghold and defend it, hoping to give this arrogant Han army a blow. Kill.
However, it is still the same reason. After all, the battle formation has been separated for a long time. In the chaos, the soldiers were stunned and the morale of the army was shaken. It is not that easy to organize enough combat power in a short period of time and take care of both sides. The Shu generals have their heart, but they don't have the power.
Zhang Yanqing didn't have so many scruples. He seized the opportunity to concentrate his troops and make a surprise attack before the defensive loopholes in Hanzhai were filled. But what has to be said is that such a charging method requires a lot of sacrifices and casualties. In more than a quarter of an hour, the Han army fell in front of Songmu Village, hundreds of soldiers.
The sky has turned slightly gloomy, and the autumn wind in the river gorges is whistling. It seems to be cheering for the two sides in the fierce battle, and it seems to be laughing at the disputes of mortals and lamenting the passing of life.
The battle in front of Songmu Hanzhai was not large in scale. Due to the terrain restrictions, both sides had difficulty in launching a battle. The Shu army had the advantage of defending and the Han army had high morale, but the intensity of the battle was extremely high. Almost every breath was taken. There are casualties.
In front of the stronghold, there were still dozens of Han soldiers, holding large shields and steel knives, stepping on wooden signs, and launched successive attacks on the enemy stronghold. Not far behind, Zhang Yanqing looked coldly and stared at the battle ahead.
Limited by the terrain and the lack of offensive ordnance, so far, the only option is to fight to the death and defeat the enemy as quickly as possible. Zhang Yanqing did not choose to attack rashly, but learned from the captured Shu army generals about the actual situation of Songmu Village. There were only less than 2,000 people. He felt that he could fight, so he made the decision without hesitation.
However, when he saw in his field of vision those boys who had been trained by him, with their flesh and blood bodies, attacking and advancing, falling continuously, and the wailing sounds still made him feel uneasy.
However, in this case, there is no room for mercy!
"General, the resistance of the Shu army is very tenacious. No less than 120 soldiers have been lost in front of the stronghold. The effect of the surprise attack has been lost. The soldiers have continued to fight, exhausted, and their morale has continued to decline. Once the Shu army in the stronghold is completely stabilized, there will be no more If we delay here, our army may suffer heavy losses!" Seeing the anxious battle situation, a battalion general following closely said seriously, seeming to persuade them to retreat.
Hearing this, Zhang Yanqing stared intently and said sternly: "Then defeat them before they are stable! The only thing the Shu army can rely on is those few stronghold walls. They are dangerous. Once they are broken, they will be defeated in one fell swoop!"
Taking a deep breath, his eyes kept flashing, and the information in front of the village was constantly absorbed into his eyes and entered his brain. Teeth biting his lip, Zhang Yanqing said: "Strong bows and crossbows, come forward and shoot out all the arrows to suppress the Shu army in the stronghold."
Looking at the more than a hundred soldiers who were both guards and backup, he said: "You have rested for a while. Stop following me and charge forward!"
"Go up in person and tell the soldiers that the only way to survive is at the front, break through the enemy stronghold and defeat the Shu army!" Zhang Yanqing spat and ordered sternly.
After saying this, more than a dozen arrows were shot at Zhang Yanqing, some of which were blocked by the shield, several of which hit the ground, and injured two soldiers. The battalion general pulled out the saber from his waist and said to Zhang Yanqing with a generous look on his face: "General, I will lead my men to support you until death! This place is too close to the village wall. General, please step back for the time being." Avoid it!"
"The soldiers are fighting bloody battles and marching forward. As the commander-in-chief, why should I be afraid of just throwing stones?" Zhang Yanqing opened his eyes and said angrily: "You don't have to worry about me. Just go forward to attack the stronghold and defeat the Shu army. I Buy you a drink!"
"yes!"
When the battalion generals came forward to join the fight, Zhang Yanqing pointed his arrow in the sky and said loudly: "Send the order, I am here to supervise the battle. If any soldiers in the attacking camp dare to retreat, I will personally kill them!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a stray arrow pierced Zhang Yanqing's shoulder with strong force. Even though it was protected by shoulder armor, it was still broken and pierced into the flesh. With a muffled groan, Zhang Yanqing was shaken, and the soldiers around him guarded him nervously.
Zhang Yanqing took a deep breath and stared at the enemy camp as usual. His face trembled slightly, and he only asked the soldiers to cut off the arrow shafts. He was still like a solid stone, standing firmly behind to supervise the battle.
Encouraged by Zhang Yanqing, the Han army rushed forward without hesitation and finally broke through a gap in the enemy's stronghold. As soon as the gate was opened, it was like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, and it was out of control. The Shu soldiers guarding the stronghold had long been frightened by the fierce and fearless enemy army. As soon as the stronghold wall was broken, they were defeated directly, and some of them fled. , but more surrendered.
When Zhao Kuangyin and his men arrived, the battlefield was in ruins and the pine narrow room was still chaotic, but the Han army's flag was raised high.
Knowing that Zhang Yanqing not only chased down the defeated enemy navy, but also defeated the enemy with a small number and took advantage of the situation to capture Songmu Village, Zhao Kuangyin couldn't help but sigh: "Zhang Yanqing is a really good general! He is strong in water battles, and he is not weak in land battles." . Such a talent, but the Tang Dynasty master couldn't use it at that time, which shows that he is stupid!"
"Although Songmu Village was successfully captured, General Zhang attacked rashly without asking for instructions, and was suspected of making his own decisions. This move is extremely risky, and there will definitely be many casualties..." A person next to Zhao Kuangyin A short-bearded middle-aged general named Cui Yanjin, one of the infantry commanders of the Eastern Route Army, made a more pertinent assessment.
Zhao Kuangyin said: "On the battlefield, the situation is changing rapidly and it moves randomly. How can you ask for instructions on everything? I have given you the right to attack before. Since General Zhang chose to take advantage of the situation to attack the stronghold, he must have discovered a fighting opportunity. As long as the result is good, , that’s a great achievement!”
"I admire the commander-in-chief's ability!" Hearing his words, Cui Yanjin couldn't help but nodded, showing admiration, and cupped his hands.
