Dongguan.
In the name of the Northern Expedition, Huan Wen mobilized Jiangdong's manpower and material resources to consolidate his power.
The Jiankang court sent people to inquire, but Huan Wen declined because the time had not come yet, saying that the Qin-Liang war was imminent, and Jiangdong did not need to rush for a while. He could wait for the two countries to compete with each other and reap the benefits.
Now that Dongguan is in hand, Jiangdong's urgent need is solved.
Huan Wen could indeed afford to wait.
In the past few years, he had worked tirelessly to implement the Gengxu land eradication, identified a large number of people, and supplemented tax sources. After several years of good weather, Huan Wen's back became hardened again.
"Da Sima, Liang's army was divided into two. Forty thousand troops went down the Ying River and rushed towards the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers. They claimed to have a hundred thousand troops. They claimed to defeat the wet beards and drank the Yangtze River. They reprimanded the lower country for disrespecting the upper country. There were another twenty thousand soldiers. Riding on foot to the west, attack Jingxiang." Xi Chao hurriedly came to report.
"You want to attack Dongguan with 40,000 troops? Li Yue is just talking nonsense!" Huan Wen's garrison in Dongguan was not a sign of pampering.
Soldiers were mobilized to reinforce Dongguan inside and outside.
If Liang Jun wanted to attack the key point, he could either march from Chaohu by water and attack the water gate of Dongguan, or pass through the swamp northwest of Dongguan and smash against the city wall.
Both of these roads are actually dead ends.
It's easy to get in and hard to get out.
Huan Wen learned from Sima Zhao's defeat at Dongguan that year and built a lot of fortifications under the pass. As long as Liang Jun dared to come, he would definitely not be able to go back.
"Jiang Huai is not afraid, but Jing Xiang... I'm afraid something will go wrong." Xi Chao said worriedly.
70% of Jiangdong's troops were gathered in Jianghuai. There were only 30,000 soldiers in Jingxiang and Xiangzhou combined. The only elite was Zhu Xu's 9,000 troops. The rest were newly recruited soldiers after the defeat of Hefei. They had never been on the battlefield and had never seen blood.
When encountering the black cloud elites who are like tigers and wolves, one can imagine the outcome.
Huan Wen nodded, "A certain order, Zhou Fu, led the elites of Brazil to support Jing Xiang, so you'll have nothing to worry about!"
Zhou Fu was a veteran Jiangdong general and the son of the famous general Zhou Fang. He participated in Wang Dun's rebellion and was later pardoned by Wang Dao. He participated in all the great battles in Jiangdong and followed Huan Wen in his western expedition to Han Dynasty. Hearing Zhou Fu's name, he dared not move.
With this veteran standing up for him, Huan Wen felt his heart go back to his stomach.
Zhou Fu, Zhu Xu, and Huan Huo, three generals, had an army of 40,000 to 50,000 men, and had the advantage of the Han River. It was not a big problem to block the 20,000 Heiyun Army.
"Who are the two generals?" Huan Wen asked.
"The west road is Lu Guang, the east road is Liu Laozhi."
"Li Yue actually attacked me with this unknown person. Isn't he bringing about his own defeat?" Huan Wen sneered when he heard that Li Yue was not the one doing the expedition himself.
Xi Chao cupped his hands and said, "My subordinates feel that this battle is quite strange."
"Oh?" Huan Wen's expression changed.
"Firstly, when the Grand Sima spoke out to provoke him, the Lord of Liang was unmoved. Now that the war between Liang and Qin is imminent, why did he attack me? Secondly, the Lord of Liang has always been prudent in his military use. He mostly uses veteran generals. Why use two people for an army of 60,000? Junior general?"
When something goes wrong, there must be a monster.
Xi Chao keenly smelled the abnormality.
Huan Wen also became confused, "Could it be that Li Yue is also a suspicious soldier?"
The last time he sent troops to Mobei under false pretenses, he also claimed to have an army of 60,000, which attracted Huan Wen and Fu Jian to send troops, but Huan Wen found out.
"My subordinates were confused for a moment." There was too little useful information, and Xi Chao had no choice.
Under the pressure of the school affairs office, all the craftsmen were cautious.
And every time there is a war like this, the supervision in Yecheng will be even stricter. Anyone who goes south will be interrogated, and it will be difficult to send out the news.
"When the water comes, the earth will cover you, and when the soldiers come, you will stop them. I have Dongguan in hand, why should I be afraid of his 60,000 troops? I sent orders to garrison and prepare for war!" Huan Wen sneered. After fighting for a lifetime, can't he still be unable to deal with two unknown generals?
If he could defeat the 40,000 troops along the Jianghuai route, Huan Wen would have obtained the military merit he lacked the most.
In less than ten days, Liang Jun crossed the water by boat and entered Hefei.
A day or two later, Liang Jun's scouts and rangers were everywhere around Dongguan.
On the north bank of Chao Lake, flags cover the sun, swords and spears cover the sky, drums sound loudly every day, and ships come and go in the water village.
The atmosphere of war filled Jianghuai.
This made the Jin army nervous and patrolled day and night, fearing that Liang Jun would come to attack the city.
Huan Wen was also on full alert. Unable to hold on, he sent out a large number of scouts.
However, after waiting for seven or eight days, there was no movement from Liang Jun on the opposite side. Every day there was the roar of war drums, ships coming in and out, and the sound of people.
"Hmph, it's indeed a trick to suspect the enemy. Li Yue is nothing more than that!" Huan Wen saw through it at a glance.
However, Xi Chao became alert, "If Jiang Huai is a suspect, then where is Jing Xiang?"
There can't be suspects on both sides, otherwise why would we go south in such a troublesome manner? Just to show off your power?
Huan Wen thought fiercely, "Jianghuai is false, then Jingxiang must be true. Li Yue wants to attack my heart!"
Jianghuai has been turned into an iron barrel. When advancing troops here, there is Dongguan in front and Ruxu in the back. There is also the Yangtze River natural moat behind it, which is not conducive to the Liang army's attack.
Jingxiang only has one Fancheng and one Han River.
Xincheng County in the upper reaches of the Han River is in the hands of Liang Jun...
Xi Chao broke into a cold sweat and said, "Da Sima quickly sends reinforcements..."
Xiangfan has always been the commander of Jiangdong. With Xiangyang in hand, the Western Jin Dynasty finally broke through Jiangdong's Yangtze River defense line.
"There is no need to panic. The Black Cloud Army only has 20,000 troops. Send an order to Huan Chong to lead another 10,000 naval troops to rush to Xiangfan's aid!" Huan Wen was calm and composed.
Xiangfan has three generals, an army of 40,000 to 50,000 people, and strong cities and the Han River as support, so it will not fall so quickly...
"Taking this opportunity, it is better to attack the enemy on the other side and test their strength!" Xi Chao advised Huan Wen because he wanted to verify a speculation in his mind.
If the Liang army on the north bank of Chaohu resists fiercely, it means that the enemy's target is not necessarily Xiangfan. But if the resistance is not fierce, it means that the enemy's southern expedition is all aimed at Jingxiang.
With such careful planning, I am afraid that the situation in Xiangfan will not be good.
"Where is Zhu Yao?" Huan Wen ordered.
Someone outside the hall immediately responded, "The general is here!"
"Order 10,000 naval troops to attack the Liang army on the other side. If they fail to win, come and see us!"
"Take orders!"
The steady footsteps gradually faded away.
Huan Wen gathered his emotions, dressed neatly, and took Xi Chao out of the tent with him and boarded the boat. He wanted to see with his own eyes the battle in the north of Chao Lake.
At dusk, Chaohu Lake is sparkling with golden light.
Drums and shouts were still being played in the north, and the sound came along the north wind.
More than two hundred Jin army troops headed north, heading north quickly in the ripples of light.
Zhu Yao chose the timing very well. As soon as the boat went out, the sun set. It gets dark very quickly in winter, and in the blink of an eye, twilight sets in, and the sky and the earth are dark.
Huan Wen's Wuyalou boat moved forward slowly and reached the center of the lake in the blink of an eye, with more than a hundred fighting ships lined up behind it.
If he were on land, Huan Wen would never dare to step out lightly, but on the water, he has absolute confidence.
At this moment, there was a noise from the north, and then fire shot up into the sky, as if even the lake was on fire, and the drums and shouts all disappeared.
"Did General Zhu fall into an ambush?" Huan Wen remained as calm as ever. If it was an ambush, the shouts of killing should be heard at this moment, and it shouldn't be so quiet.
Immediately there were several boats rowing towards the north bank.
After less than a stick of incense, he returned. The scout said happily: "This is reported to Da Sima. Liang Jun was afraid of the danger of our army, so he burned down the camp and retreated to Hefei!"
Huan Wen and Xi Chao both had their faces darkened and looked to the west.
If Jianghuai is false, then Jingxiang is true!
(End of chapter)
