After Li Fen arrived in Lianshui, he did not rush to cross the river, but made full preparations.
The south bank of the Huaihe River is the territory of the Song Army, and the Song Dynasty and the Jin Kingdom have been at loggerheads for hundreds of years, building a relatively complete defense system in Huainan.
Relying on the information provided by the Southern Song Dynasty, the Mongolian army opened a hole in the Huaihe River. It was not difficult to cross the Huaihe River. The difficult thing was how to open up the situation in Huainan.
Because once Zhao Fan discovers that the Mongolian army has crossed the river, he will definitely mobilize his troops to counterattack, and once the Song army moves, the intelligence they originally obtained will be of little use.
At this time, the Mongolian army was still on the other side of Chuzhou, bluffing, and using the cover of night to continuously transfer troops to Lianshui.
Three days later, the number of Mongolian troops in Lianshui reached 30,000, enough to stand up on the south bank. Li Fen immediately began planning to cross the river.
It was midnight, and on the other side of Lianshui River, a pier was located on the shore.
Several dim lanterns were hung on the pier, attracting mosquitoes to surround them. Two veterans of the Song Army, holding spears, stood facing the Huaihe River, staring at the calm river surface.
At this time, not far from the pier, several small boats quietly docked under the cover of night. A group of Mongolian soldiers dressed in black jumped from the boats and then dragged the boats ashore.
There were about a hundred Mongolian soldiers in this group. After they landed ashore, they crouched, carried ladders, and slowly approached the pier.
On the pier, an officer walked up and patted the soldiers on guard, "Is there anything going on?"
"Brother Dutou, I didn't find anything unusual!" the old pawn said with a smile.
The officer nodded slightly, "The Mongols are attacking Chuzhou, and the Prime Minister has ordered us to be on guard. You all have to work harder recently, cheer up, and don't be lazy."
"Brother Dutou, don't worry! We understand the importance!" The old soldier nodded quickly in agreement.
When the officer saw this, he immediately prepared to go down, but another soldier on duty suddenly said: "Brother Dutou, there seems to be someone down there!"
As soon as these words came out, people were shocked. The officers and veterans looked in the direction pointed by the soldier, but found nothing unusual.
The two of them leaned out and observed for a while. The officer frowned and said, "Are you dazzled? Don't be too nervous! We are downstream, far away from Chuzhou!"
The soldier was confused and suspected that he had seen it wrong, but when the officer turned around, he exclaimed: "There is really someone!"
The officer frowned and stepped forward to check again. As soon as he leaned out, an arrow shot out from below and hit the officer's face directly, causing blood to flow profusely.
"Brother Dutou!" the two soldiers exclaimed.
The officer fell to the ground and was helped to sit up by two people. He covered his eye that was shot with one hand and pushed the soldiers around him with the other hand. "Hurry up the beacon and wake up the other brothers."
After touching the Mongolian army under the pier, they fired an arrow, then immediately carried the ladder and charged towards the pier.
On the pier, the defenders lit beacon fires and sounded the alarm. Nearly a hundred Song troops rushed to the city, shooting arrows downwards to resist the Mongolian attack.
At this time, when the Mongolian army sneaked into the pier, Li Fen waved his hand, and a thousand forwards took small boats and rushed directly to the south bank. A large number of Mongolian soldiers carried wood and ropes, set up boats and rafts, and began to build a pontoon bridge.
The Song army on the pier was still resisting, but their numbers were too small to prevent the Mongolian army from crossing the river.
Soon, the vanguard of the Mongolian army crossed the river first. They took their horses from the boat, waded ashore, and then quickly assembled.
The Mongolian cavalry did not participate in the attack on the pier. They adjusted their formation slightly and then galloped toward the southwest.
At this time, along the Huaihe River, beacon fires were lit on the piers of the Song Army, conveying the news that the Mongols were crossing the river.
In the Southern Song Dynasty, there was a relatively complete defense system along the Huaihe River. For every 100 miles of the river, an army of about 25,000 people was stationed.
The Song Army has ten armies in one wing, and the fifth army is a mobile team. The five armies are stationed in sections. One army is stationed twenty miles away from the pier.
At this time, a beacon warning was received in the Song Army camp. The military commander led four battalions, about 2,000 soldiers, and hurried out of the camp towards the warning platform.
But just as they were halfway there, there was a sudden roar of horse hooves in front of them, and the Song general was shocked and said, "No, the enemy cavalry!"
The Southern Song Dynasty was extremely short of horses. An army of 2,500 men was almost all infantry. As soon as the officers heard the intensive sound of horse hooves, they knew something was wrong.
He reined in his horse and roared angrily, "Hurry up and form a formation!"
The soldiers of the Song Dynasty hurriedly formed a formation, but at this time, the Mongolian cavalry had galloped over. First they fired a wave, and then the heavy cavalry charged directly, and in a short time they overwhelmed the Song Dynasty reinforcements.
In Chuzhou City, inside the Zhiji Si Yamen, Zhao Fan had just fallen asleep when he was awakened by a knock on the door.
"What's the matter?" Zhao Fan frowned and sat up from the bed.
"Mr. Sir, something bad has happened. The Mongols have crossed the river from the lower reaches." The person outside the door reported anxiously.
Zhao Fan was shocked. He hurriedly got out of bed and opened the door suddenly, "What did you say?"
"Ms. sir, the lower reaches of the Huaihe River are beacon warning, Mongolia is crossing the river near Lianshui!" The official looked panicked.
After Zhao Fan heard this, he immediately walked out. The official hurriedly entered the room, picked up his clothes and official hat, and turned to catch up.
Not long after, Zhao Fan came to the city and saw beacon fires, conveying the news that the Mongols were crossing the river.
"Mr. Sir, there are only two carriages of troops and horses deployed downstream. What should we do now?" A group of officers gathered around.
Zhao Fan tried to calm himself down. He was confused. In the Southern Song Dynasty's defense system, Lianshui was right at the junction of two defense zones and was a weak point in the defense line. How could the Mongols choose the place to cross the river so accurately.
"Don't panic!" Zhao Fan tried his best to stay calm, "As long as Chuzhou is still in our hands, the Mongols can't really threaten us in the Song Dynasty. It doesn't matter if the enemy crosses the river, I just shut the door and beat the dogs!"
Why are there battlegrounds for military strategists? It is because during an attack, some cities cannot be bypassed.
For example, in Xiangyang or Chuzhou, the Song army guards this transportation hub. Even if the Mongols in the north can make a detour, your food supplies and follow-up troops cannot get in. The detoured army will not be able to stand, and reinforcements will be rushed from all directions. food.
When the generals saw that their leader was not panicking, they became calmer.
At this time, Zhao Fan immediately made a decision, "The Huaihe River is wide, and there are thousands of Mongolian troops. It will take time to cross the river, and they can't all come over so quickly. After passing the order, the navy immediately went down the river, cut off the Huaihe River, and gave me the opportunity to general the Mongolian army." Divide them into two groups, then deploy troops to encircle and annihilate them!"
"Yes!" The Shuiying general immediately accepted the order and left in a hurry.
Zhao Fan then said: "Order the armies in Huaixi to rush to our aid immediately!"
"Yes!" Another official took the order.
Zhao Fan looked at the beacon fire and finally gave the order: "Send people to Xuzhou again and ask the Jin army to flank Shandong. I will prevent the Mongolian army from looking at each other and leave the enemy troops crossing the river on the south bank!"
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