After the Ming army guard general was killed, the remaining guards no longer had any intention of resisting. This kind of city without top generals and elite soldiers could not stop top generals like Xiao Moke.
When Xie Xuan and Lu Xun arrived, Xiao Moke occupied the top of the city, the city gate, and various important places in the city.
The seemingly large number of defenders, in front of the thousands of Beifu troops who were as energetic as wolf smoke and like tigers and leopards, were beaten down and were left to be divided and guarded like Mianyang.
"North of Liyang is Changdang Lake, and there is a waterway leading to Jintan. Now that our army is occupying this place, even if the Ming army knows our purpose, they have lost the opportunity!"
"With Liyang as the base and connected with Jintan, if the attack on Gaochun fails, the Ming army will be like a thorn in the back!"
When Xie Xuan entered the city, he had a smile on his face and looked very relaxed.
Lu Xun knew clearly that he was shouldering the important task of raiding Gaochun. Xie Xuan was under a lot of pressure, especially whether the raid on Gaochun could succeed would depend on whether Daxia could quickly deal with the Ming army.
As long as Xie Xuan defeats Gao Chun, after defeating the Ming army, he will be among the top five even if he is not the first to win, and he will completely gain a foothold in Daxia.
If the raid fails.
Occupying Liyang can be regarded as a small victory. It can pose a great threat to the Ming army and is not a waste of effort.
"The general is right. In order to hide the news and prevent the Ming army from taking precautions first, our army's food, grass and baggage had to travel upstream from Yixing!"
"Now that we can connect to the Golden Temple, our army will have an endless supply of food and grass. This alone will make us invincible!"
Lu Xun responded with a smile.
Xie Xuan burst out laughing when he heard this.
Climbing to the top of the city, Xiao Moke came to report the results of the battle.
The battle went very smoothly. Not even a single soldier of the Xia army died, and very few of the Ming army's defenders died.
After the guard general died in battle, the chaos in the city was quickly calmed down.
"Who is the general guarding this city? He allowed our army to seize the city so easily. Zhu Yuanzhang asked this person to guard the city. He doesn't know who he is!"
Xie Xuan said casually.
A trace of embarrassment appeared on Xiao Moke's face,
Just now, the Ming army guard received a fatal blow from him just as he was about to speak. Until now, he still doesn't know the origin of the other party.
However, this matter was easy to solve. After he confessed, he immediately summoned several Ming soldiers from thousands of families and hundreds of families to inquire. The news soon came to light.
"General, this person is General Gao Jie of the Ming Army. It is said that he was a rebel and later joined the Ming Army..."
Although Xie Xuan and Lu Xun have read history books, they only know a little about the more important emperors and civil and military ministers in the history books, and they don't know much about those figures with only a few strokes in the history books.
At this time, the military officials who were following them saw this and stepped forward lightly to explain Gao Jie's historical experience to Xie Xuan and Lu Xun.
According to the original history, this person was a rebel in the late Ming Dynasty and the Chongzhen period. Later, he joined the army and defeated thieves many times. He made great achievements and was one of the four towns in Jiangbei during the Southern Ming Dynasty.
Among the four towns in Jiangbei, Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo were both capricious. The Qing army surrendered directly when they went south. Gao Jie did not surrender, but was killed by his men who wanted to surrender. Only Huang Degong was still usable.
In the world of Shenzhou, Liu Zeqing died early and Huang Degong was nowhere to be found, but if he came, he would most likely defect to the Ming army.
As for Gao Jie, Zhu Yuanzhang is really generous in being able to tolerate people like him.
"I see!"
Xie Xuan nodded slightly. He was just curious about Gao Jie's origins.
He turned his head and said: "Liyang is more important to our army. We need to leave troops and horses to garrison for a complete plan. Boyan will lead his troops and stay here first, and while sending people north to Jintan, he will rebuild the warships! "
"If the Ming army is unprepared, Gao Chun will definitely be the target of our army. But whether the next step is to approach Dangtu to the west or to Jinling in the north, we will need the assistance of warships... I will leave these matters to Boyan!"
Lu Xun cupped his hands and said, "General, take your orders!"
Subsequently.
Xie Xuan left some troops behind and continued to sail westward with 30,000 Beifu troops.
Liyang is not too far from Gaochun, and it is faster to travel by boat and waterway.
On the way, a large amount of farmland has been opened up on both sides of the river. Although the section from Gaochun to Liyang is also mountainous and watery, there are many places that can be opened up into rice fields among the mountains and rivers.
In addition to ordinary people, there are also many soldiers in military uniforms among the busy people in these farmlands...
"Enemy attack! There are enemies!"
"Hurry up, Wolf Smoke!"
After they saw hundreds of warships sailing on the river, they noticed the Daxia flag flying on the warships. They were frightened and trembled all over. Some households and deputy households even hurriedly sounded the alarm and lit up the lights. Wolf smoke.
Xia Jun did not disembark.
Xie Xuan didn't pay attention to the changes in the farmland on both sides. Instead, his eyes were filled with admiration.
After seeing the endless rice fields on both sides of the river, I felt a little more pity.
Under the rule of the Ming Army, there were few military disasters, especially after the fall of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The southern territories of the Ming Army had been pacified, the aristocratic families were wiped out, and the remaining ordinary people were organized into garrison camps according to the farming method.
Yes, even though Zhu Yuanzhang knew that the Ming Dynasty's garrison was corrupted in history and the garrison soldiers were almost reduced to serfs, he still implemented the method of farming and garrisoning.
Because military training in the fields is a weapon for fighting for hegemony in troubled times. Soldiers and civilians can get a lot of food and grass from farming. During their free time in farming, they can also train soldiers and stabilize the place.
As long as the Weisuo system is not corrupted, this method can allow a prince to rise quickly in troubled times. As for the hidden dangers of system corruption... as long as the dynasty is established, the system can be slowly improved and replaced.
The Daxia established by Wang Jing also implemented a guard system in the early stages, and he brought many guards soldiers with him every time he went on an expedition.
However, unlike Zhu Yuanzhang, Wang Jing regarded the guardsmen as reserves, giving them the opportunity to become combat soldiers or even transfer to local areas to serve as patrols, instead of strictly restricting them to the guards.
In any case, the people under Zhu Yuanzhang's rule had no war and a stable order. If there were no foreign enemies, Xie Xuan believed that these people could live well.
"Zhu Yuanzhang is indeed a wise ruler who can stabilize the order under his rule and stabilize one party. It's a pity that the killings are too extensive, and he even massacres the big families..."
Xie Xuan shook his head slightly.
The Xie family of Chen County where he lived escaped in time after the fall of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, so they did not suffer much loss. However, it is said that all the aristocratic families in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, except Tao Kan, were basically liquidated.
Especially the Wang family, who was as famous as the Xie family, even Director Wang was beheaded, and only a few clan members escaped.
If there is no compelling situation to carry out such a killing, I believe that few people from aristocratic families will go to seek refuge.
Xie Xuan is no exception.
Without Wang Jing's rise, after the fall of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Xie Xuan would have gone to Liu Yu and the Southern Song Dynasty, and would not have served Zhu Yuanzhang.
He read the history books and knew that Zhu Yuanzhang was talented and strategic, but he was born in the Xie family and had inextricable relationships with the Xie family members. It was impossible for him to sacrifice his family, relatives, and tribesmen!
The other party is a good master, but it's a pity that he met His Majesty!
Xie Xuan felt sorry for Zhu Yuanzhang.
As long as Gaochun is captured, a generation of heroes will inevitably come to an end. Of course, if Zhu Yuanzhang is willing to leave Jinling with his wife, son and a small number of men, Wang Jing will not be able to find him with his strength.
But Zhu Yuanzhang would never choose such an ending...
The troop transport ship sailed along, causing panic on both sides of the strait. A large number of people fled randomly, and the guards gathered urgently. However, when they were extremely nervous, they found that the war ship did not stop at all.
…
"quick!"
"quick!"
There were constant urgings, and hundreds of urgently recruited merchant ships and sampans were moving at high speed.
One of the larger merchant ships was flying the sun and moon flag, as well as the general flag representing the general.
Li Wenzhong stood on the deck wearing armor.
Basically all the warships of the Ming army were sent to Dangtu. Fortunately, there were still many merchant ships in Jinling that were forced to stay in Jinling because of the outbreak of the war and the ban on the Yangtze River waterway.
In order to go south as quickly as possible, Li Wenzhong commandeered these merchant ships. There were not enough merchant ships, so he also plundered some fishing boats and sampans.
That is to say, the waterway going south along the Qinhuai River has little waves. If a big wave comes along the Yangtze River waterway, Li Wenzhong and his tens of thousands of troops will be killed.
Although the water surface was not very rough, every merchant ship and fishing boat was speeding as fast as possible in order to get on the road as quickly as possible. Many soldiers were thrown into the water at this speed.
"Grand Governor, ahead is the big lake to the north of Gaochun! We are finally here!"
shouted a guerrilla general.
Li Wenzhong immediately harnessed the Gang Qi to reach the air and looked ahead. In the distance of the river, he saw vast amounts of water vapor and a large lake that looked like a sliver of sky.
"Okay, keep up the speed!"
Li Wenzhong fell down and ordered.
What he is most worried about right now is that Gao Chun will be defeated by the Xia army before the people arrive.
Fortunately, his worries did not come to pass. When he entered the lake and saw Gaochun from a distance, the flag of the Ming Dynasty was still hanging on the top of the city.
"fine!"
Li Wenzhong felt happy.
After seeing Gaochun's city wall, the 10,000 soldiers who followed him south also cheered, feeling a little lucky that they were not drowned on the way.
There are large lakes on the north and south sides of Gaochun, and the city is located between the two places. Whether you go west to Dangtu or north to Jinling, you can't advance without taking this place.
When the Eastern Jin Dynasty was still there, this city was used as the southern gate of Jinling and was built very solidly.
Originally, nearly 100,000 troops were stationed here all year round.
Now, there are less than 50,000 defenders in the city, half of whom are soldiers from the surrounding guards.
The elite of the Ming army had long been dispatched by Dangtu and Jurong.
After seeing Li Wenzhong's flag, the Gaochun city gate immediately opened, and the guard general and the prefect came out of the city to greet him.
Li Wenzhong had no time to chat with these people. After entering the city, he sent the prefect and immediately summoned the garrison and the generals in the city.
"This is His Majesty's order, this is the king's flag!"
"From now on, I will be the Commander-in-Chief of the Right Army, in charge of all military affairs south of Gaochun. Do you have any objections?"
Li Wenzhong shouted in a deep voice.
He was originally a close relative of Zhu Yuanzhang, and he was very majestic in the army. A mere general in Gaochun would not dare to be presumptuous in front of Li Wenzhong even if he did not have an order or a royal flag.
When Li Wenzhong gives an order, they will obey it directly.
Of course, they could obey orders, but Li Wenzhong would not do so. It was a necessary procedure to show orders and military symbols and then take over the army.
"Have you found any traces of Xia Jun?"
After taking over the army, Li Wenzhong immediately asked everyone.
At this time, many of Gao Chun's generals knew the reason why Li Wenzhong came in a hurry.
Their hearts jumped suddenly.
Now the Ming Dynasty is fighting a war with the Xia army. I thought the battlefield was only in Dangtu and Jurong, but I didn't expect it to spread to Gaochun, the heart of the Ming Dynasty, so quickly.
"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, the general did not find Xia Jun..."
The generals replied quickly.
"If we don't find it, it means Xia Jun hasn't arrived yet!"
Li Wenzhong breathed a sigh of relief, and then immediately ordered: "Regulate the army immediately and prepare for war, prepare rolling wood, stones, and hot oil arrows, Li Xin! I will write a letter personally, and you will go to Xuancheng with the letter and His Majesty's handwritten order. Ask General Tang He to mobilize 30,000 troops and horses..."
Prepare the army for war, defend the city walls, mobilize reinforcements, and warn Xuancheng...
Li Wenzhong was methodical and arranged things quickly.
As for whether Xia Jun will come to Gaochun, could Qi Jiguang guess wrong?
Li Wenzhong would not consider this issue at all.
If the Xia army was not preparing for a surprise attack, why did they station a large army in Wuxi but not launch it? Moreover, Gao Chun is indeed the weakness of the Ming army. Even if the opponent does not come, the Ming army will send troops to make up for the weakness.
The Ming army at the moment was like a sheepfold that needed constant repair, while the Xia army was like a hungry wolf salivating around the sheepfold, ready to break in at any time.
If there is a flaw in the sheepfold, hungry wolves will pounce in and the entire situation will be ruined.
Woohoo!
The wind howled, and after the Xia army entered Gaochun, the outposts and guard posts along the way were quickly eliminated.
The soldiers of the Beifu Army are all warriors who are as strong as a hundred. A hundred people can form a formation to surround and kill the fourth-level Gangqi generals. A thousand people can form a formation to deal with the fifth- and sixth-level generals.
Xie Xuan gave an order, and a thousand soldiers were divided into ten teams and galloped along the river. There were no generals guarding the outposts along the way, and they did not even have the strength to resist.
However, as they approached the eastern suburbs of Gaochun, the resistance gradually became stronger.
Ten groups of Beifu soldiers were no longer able to fully control the situation. A small number of guards stubbornly lit up the smoke before they were destroyed.
With the smoke, the entire area around Gaochun was immediately alerted.
There were constant smoke rising into the sky.
In the far distance at the top of Gaochun City, the sound of harsh gongs and drums rang out.
"Report!"
A hundred households who were cleaning the outpost on the shore rushed over. "General, three hours ago, 10,000 Ming troops rushed into the city from the north. It is said that the leader was Li Wenzhong, the commander-in-chief of the Ming army!"
Xie Xuan's expression changed slightly, "The Ming army really has some capable people. They guessed the movements of our army so quickly... in three hours! What a pity, if I had been faster, I could have entered the city before this person!"
Xiao Moke on the side also had a look of pity.
They were already on their way as fast as they could, but they were still a step slower.
But that’s okay.
With the elite of the Beifu army, a mere 10,000 Ming troops can be easily destroyed. Only Li Wenzhong can slightly block Xie Xuan and Xiao Moke's footsteps.
