Wang Su and others looked at each other and said: "Even if the water can be drained, given the depth of the Xiangyang moat, there must still be water and mud at the bottom, and it will still be difficult for siege equipment to advance."
Xiao Yuandao: "Then fill in rocks and earth to make the area where we attack the city feel like walking on flat ground. With the manpower of our army, as long as there is no water in the moat, this is not difficult to do."
"What the king said is absolutely true." Su Yi cupped his fists.
The surrounding generals also became energetic.
After Xiao Yuan said this, he stood up and walked to the sand table in the middle. After staring for a moment, he pointed at the west gate of Xiangyang: "Let's start from the west gate. The width of the moat there is no more than 50 feet, which is just within the range of our army's powerful crossbows. Inside, when filling in the soil, the Chu army will be frightened and then block it, and our army can suppress it with an arrow array."
"At the same time, the terrain near the west gate is low and is also the most suitable place for water discharge."
All the generals followed his pointers and nodded in agreement.
Xiao Yuan looked at Su Yi again and said: "The Xiangyang moat is connected to the Han River, right? Can the water source be cut off?"
"It can be completely cut off." Su Yi returned.
"Very good." Xiao Yuan made a decision and looked around the generals: "According to this strategy, Zhang Dashan will be responsible for cutting off the water source upstream, and Nie Xing will be responsible for digging the drainage canal. Go down and make preparations immediately!"
"No!" The two of them clasped their fists and accepted the order.
This was only the first step in the Battle of Xiangyang. The moat was drained, and the city would definitely not be able to be breached in a short period of time. But what Xiao Yuan wanted was to put huge military pressure on Chu, forcing the Wu army to go north, and then steal Jiangling. It is a real strategic purpose.
If we don't do this and the army continues to besiege us, looking across the river, we can see that there is enough food and grass in Xiangyang City. Within a year or two, the Chu State will definitely not panic at all, but once a sharp attack on the city is launched, the situation will be different.
The military order was issued here, and the Qin army moved up and down. There were hundreds of thousands of troops, and the manpower was so huge.
In just a few days, Zhang Dashan led his troops and successfully cut off the upper reaches. At the same time, he collected farm tools from the people in nearby counties and villages. Countless soldiers at the west gate also began to bare their arms and wave hoes.
The entire moat of Xiangyang is endless, but once the water inlet is cut off and several deep canals are dug at the west gate, there will only be an exit but no entrance. No matter how wide it is, it will not take long, and it must be done.
Such an action by the Qin army was of a large scale, and of course it could not escape the eyes of the Chu army. At first, Hanzhou and a group of generals gathered at the top of the city, staring at the other side of the river with big eyes and small eyes, feeling deeply confused.
But soon, they all reacted.
As day goes by, the water line of the moat gradually decreases. Once it is level with the canal opening, the Qin army will dig deeper and wider again, and the river water will be released again due to the low water level.
If things go on like this, the effect can be imagined.
Hanzhou stood at the top of the city, watching the Qin army vaguely wielding a hoe in the distance. His eyes were about to burst, and he couldn't help but cursed: "The Qin army is so treacherous that they leaked my moat! What should I do?" "
He was anxious, and the generals of the Chu army were also anxious, but they could only stare. If they opened the city to meet the enemy at this time, they themselves would not be able to rush through the wide moat, and they would inevitably be attacked by the Qin army's strong bows and crossbows.
As time goes by, such a wide moat is almost bottoming out.
On this day, Hanzhou couldn't bear it any longer. When he summoned the generals to discuss their troops, he immediately proposed a surprise attack plan and said:
"Today the moat is blocked and the water of the Han River cannot flow in. If our army leaves the city at night and sends a small group of elite soldiers to reopen the upper river channel and divert water in, the Qin army will be busy in vain."
Although this sounds like nothing wrong, the lieutenant general said with some worry: "Han Shuai, since the Qin army has made such a move, the cutoff point must be heavily guarded. If we attack at night, we may be gone and never return."
"Then do you have any other options!?" Hanzhou said angrily: "Is it possible to just watch the Qin army approaching the city?"
"This..." The deputy general choked and did not dare to speak for a moment.
The scene was silent for a while. Just when Han Zhou looked around at the generals and was about to continue saying something, a Chu general stood up and said in a loud voice: "Han Shuai, I'm going!"
Hearing this, Han Zhou perked up and immediately said, "Okay! General Pan, if this battle is successful, it will be the first success!"
"Xiangyang is our most important land in Chu. We must not lose it. Protecting our home and country is the duty of our last general! Don't worry, Commander Han, we are waiting for good news!" said the general.
"The general's high righteousness is indeed a role model for our generation!" Han Zhou also looked serious, and then shouted: "Come here! Get some wine! I will personally support General Pan!"
The general's military rank was not high. With so many people in the Chu army, there were naturally some who dared to fight. After a while, the sergeant brought a tray and Han Zhou filled it himself. The general took it, raised his head and drank it all in one gulp. He cupped his fists and turned around.
Looking at his back, the deputy general moved his lips, wanting to say something, but he couldn't.
As for Hanzhou, of course he knew the dangers of this trip, but he had no choice but to take the risk at the minimum cost.
That night, General Pan ordered hundreds of elite soldiers, quietly opened the north gate under the cover of darkness, and sneaked out.
Because the entrance to the Xiangyang moat is just above the left side of the north gate.
Now, after days of drainage, the river is almost dry. The soldiers are lightly dressed and carry swords at their waists, so they can cross the water. However, there is a lot of silt at the bottom of the river, which makes movement inconvenient.
A group of Chu troops did not dare to make a sound, and quietly prepared to reach the other side, then climbed up to the river, found the water entry point and reopened it.
But just when they reached the middle of the moat, countless torches were lit on the opposite side, accompanied by the sound of armors scraping one after another, and then they heard a Qin general shouting:
"Fire the arrow!"
At the command, the bowstrings were taut, and in the dark night, a large volley of sharp arrows shot out.
Plop, plop!
The continuous sounds of penetration were mixed with one after another miserable howls.
"Ah!?" General Pan was shocked. He instantly drew his sword and waved to block. He also shouted decisively: "Retreat! Retreat quickly——"
The other party has been prepared for it for a long time. It has been discovered. If you go forward, you will be dead.
But the mud at the bottom of the river was knee-deep, and even if I wanted to run away, it wouldn't be that easy.
In the chaos, the second round of arrows from the Qin army arrived.
There was another large area of miserable howling, mixed with the sound of a few weapons blocking.
General Pan waved his sword desperately, and many arrows were cut off by it. However, his feet were stuck in the quagmire, and it was difficult to move. It was also dark, and he was hard to guard against. Not long after, there was a pounce, and one arrow hit his upper body, followed by the second arrow. Three arrows...
It wasn't until a while later that there was finally no movement in the river.
General Qin on the opposite side also waved his hand back.
The crossbowmen in the front row immediately drew back their bows.
At daytime the next day, when I looked into the river outside the north gate, I saw hundreds of corpses lying on the ground, with blood staining the mud and shallow water, and random arrows sticking out...
On the top of the city, watching this scene, Hanzhou couldn't help but take a deep breath, clenched his fist and smashed the arrow stack: "Hateful!"
