There is Xishan Mountain to the west of Jingmen and Dongshan Mountain to the east. The city is between the two mountains. It really seems like there is a gate. This is the northern gate of Jiangling Prefecture and is considered a strategic location. Countless wars have occurred throughout the ages.
When Wang Xiao arrived outside Jingmen City, he frowned when he saw that the city was newly built, quite rough and extremely crude. I thought this was a fortified city, but I didn't expect it to be so unbearable. Xie Qian has been guarding here for a year or two, but he has not rebuilt the city.
Xie Qian and Niu Gao welcomed Wang Xiaolie into the city early.
After sitting down at the Yamen, Xie Qian ordered tea to be served. He cupped his hands to Wang Xiaolie and said, "There are not many soldiers and horses in the small town of Jingmen. I was originally worried when I heard that the Jin army was coming from the north. Fortunately, the defense focused on national affairs and brought a large army to help. The people of Jingmen are very lucky."
Wang Xiaolie said: "As a minister of the state, it is natural that state affairs are the most important thing. The Jin army invaded the south and devastated the place. They did countless evil things. How can people with ambitions allow them to come and go freely! However, I see that Jingmen City is extremely crude. , I’m afraid I can’t stop the Jin army from attacking the city.”
Jie Qian said: "Jingmen City was razed in the Five Dynasties and has not been rebuilt in this dynasty. It was not until I learned that Jingmen's army had many bandits from all directions that the city was rebuilt. Jingmen is poor and has few people, so the city is a bit crudely built."
Wang Xiaolie said: "I originally wanted to use the fortified city as the foundation and deploy the army around it, but now it seems difficult. For the current plan, we should set up camp between the east and west mountains to block the road to the north. Send additional troops and horses to monitor Go to the road to Yingzhou to prevent the Jin army from escaping eastward."
Jie Qian handed over his hand and said yes.
Wang Xiaolie said: "Zhijun, are the Jin army still attacking Dangyang now?"
Jie Qian said: "After receiving the news that the defense is coming to Jingmen, the Jin army has withdrawn from Dangyang and is coming to Jingmen. The reason why the Jin army attacked Dangyang was because they had plundered too much property and changed from water to land, which required more porters. The matter is urgent now and they can’t take care of it.”
Wang Xiaolie nodded. He said: "It's still early, let's go out and take a look at the terrain. It takes three days to get here from Dangyang. The Jin army is not moving very fast now, so it will take the day after tomorrow. We have two days, which is enough for us to set up camp."
The solution is latent. Immediately, soldiers were arranged to lead Wang Xiao out of the city.
The mountains on both sides of Jingmen City are not high, and the trees on the mountains are lush and green. It's okay for a few people to walk up the mountain, but not for large groups. As long as the main road to the south of the city is defended, the Jin army must detour through Yingzhou before heading north.
After watching outside the city for a long time, Wang Xiaolie said to Jie Qian: "Zhijun will lead his troops to defend the city, but my army is still deployed outside the city. Three thousand people will cooperate with us to defend the city in the west, and the rest will form an array in the east of the city, relying on the east mountain. Set up camp. If the Jin army attacks the city, they will attack behind it. If they come to attack me, they will know the situation and move accordingly."
Jie Qian said: "With such an arrangement, the Jin people will not dare to attack the city. Isn't this battle all about defense?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "The battlefield is constantly changing, and there are no rules. If the Jin army cannot defeat my army, the Zhijun can send troops to cooperate with the army in the west of the city to attack the flanks of the Jin army. If you and I work together, we will definitely defeat the Jin army. Below the city!"
After seeing Wang Xiaolie's army, Xie Qian knew in his heart that others might not think highly of his three thousand army. Three thousand people is a lot, but the sources are too complicated and the training is not rigorous, so they cannot be incorporated into Wang Xiaolie's army.
According to the custom of the Song Army, a regular army general with two thousand to three thousand men is a combat unit. The 3,000 people who were released came from various sources, and they were not trained together. They lacked training and could not be used as generals.
They checked the terrain at various places suitable for camping and setting up formations. It was almost evening and everyone returned to Jingmen City. Xie Qian welcomes Wang Xiaolie's arrival. Because before the war, Wang Xiaolie was not allowed to drink, which made Xie Qian a little embarrassed.
On the second day, before dawn, Wang Xiaolie's army rearranged their camps and blocked the road in front of Jingmen City. Wang Xiaoyou led his army to the front, Niu Gao led 5,000 soldiers and horses at the foot of Dongshan Mountain as the left wing, and Jingmen City as the right wing.
Zhang Chi led more than thirty cavalrymen and headed south.
This is a habit among Wang Xiao's hunting army. Every time there is a war, rangers must be sent to explore the battlefield. Depending on the scale of the battle and the geographical situation, the exploration distance ranges from ten to fifty miles. The army has specialized cavalry for this purpose. Their organization and command are different from ordinary cavalry, and they are good at small team combat.
After passing Ping'an City, Zhang Chi saw that there were still merchants selling goods in the market. He couldn't help but frown and said: "When the Jin Army arrives, why are the people here so ignorant of death? If they didn't hide in the nearby mountains early, they are still selling goods here! When the Jin Army arrives, won't they all become fans?"
After saying that, he ordered his soldiers to go to the market and order the people to take shelter. If there is anyone who does not know how to die, you will be responsible for the consequences.
One person was carrying two chickens and shouted loudly to the soldiers who came to drive them away: "You are the imperial army, how can we let us people avoid it! If the Jin army comes, just drive it away! We ordinary people just count on being in the market." We sell some chickens and ducks at the market to earn some food. We are not allowed to sell. How can we survive at home with an eighty-year-old mother and a two-year-old child?"
Zhang Chi looked the man up and down and said coldly: "Don't you hear that all the officials were chased into the sea by the Jin army? When the Jin invaded, it was time for the people and the army to work together to defeat the Jin. You only care about the reputation of your own family. Food is falling into the hands of the golden man!"
The man didn't dare to say anything when he saw Zhang Chi's fierce face. He muttered something in his mouth, picked up two chickens, and walked away angrily.
Looking at the departing figure, Zhang Chi sighed: "Facing the golden man, he is as cowardly as a chicken, but he is vicious to the officers and soldiers. Sometimes, I really feel that some people are not worth saving. People in this world are sometimes really hard to talk about. .”
Driven away by officers and soldiers, the market quickly became deserted.
Zhang Chi was about to lead the officers and soldiers away when a man who was hesitating outside the city finally made up his mind and came over. He cupped his hands and said: "Tiha, when I came to the market, I heard that in the village at the foot of a hill not far from Zhangshui, Jin people came last night. The village is not on the main road and has not a large population, so there is no People know.”
Zhang Chi hurriedly asked: "How many Jin troops are there? Are they still there now?"
The man said: "Young man, how do you know? But there are only seven or eight households in that village, and there are too many Jin soldiers to live in."
Zhang Chi asked about the location in detail and thought that he might not be able to find it. He said to the man: "You are a citizen of this dynasty. How about being my guide this time? If you go to the wrong place, the golden man will run away for nothing."
The man was a little embarrassed: "Tiha, the Jin is like a ferocious god. Seeing that you don't have many soldiers and horses, wouldn't it be miserable if the Jin were not small enough to fight?"
Zhang Chi said: "I am an elite soldier under the defense of King Dengzhou, a small group of Jin soldiers. How can I not defeat them? If you are our army's guide, I will give you five guan of money after the event is completed. Don't worry, I will never break my promise!"
The man was afraid and greedy for five thousand dollars. I hesitated for a long time before agreeing.
At this time, many people hated the Jin people, and even more were afraid of the Jin people. However, according to custom at this time, people love money. With the money in hand, even though Jin Jun was really a devil, they gritted their teeth and went.
