November, Fancheng.
After the Mongolian Communists succeeded in raiding the Qi army, they immediately gathered their troops and horses into the two cities of Xiangfan.
Because the Qi army was weakened, the morale of the Song army was boosted.
Now the 50,000 Song troops are holding fast behind closed doors, and they are not afraid of the Qi troops under the city.
The Qi army suppressed the Yangtze River. As long as they crossed the river, they could rush to Lin'an in one breath.
Facing threats, the Southern Song Dynasty court could only focus on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
Therefore, the Song army did not have many troops in Sichuan, Shu and Jingxiang.
The road to Shu is difficult, and it is difficult to reach the blue sky.
Sichuan has few soldiers, but there are natural dangers.
Among the three major battlefields of Sichuan, Jingxiang, and Jiangnan, Sichuan is the best defensive.
Sichuan has a favorable geographical location and Jiangnan has elite troops. The Jingxiang battlefield has fewer troops and the greatest defensive pressure.
The Meng Communist Party knew their situation and felt that Zhao Tai was most likely to choose Jingxiang as a breakthrough point.
Therefore, he defeated the Qi army before they could take action, and then hid in Xiangyang.
The Meng Communist Party knew very well that Zhao Tai was attacking in large numbers, and the morale of the Qi army was so high that it was difficult to resist the front.
He can take action before Zhao Tai arrives. If Zhao Tai arrives, it would be unwise to engage in a decisive battle with him.
His current strategy is to hold on to Xiang and Fan, using the strongest city in the world to drain the energy of the Qi army and wait for the situation to change.
After receiving his instructions, the Song army in Jingxiang maintained strong defenses and cleared the country, and would never go to war.
On the eighth day of the lunar month, Zhao Tai's army approached Fan City. As soon as the army set up camp, Zhao Tai led many generals and galloped out to take a look at the defense of Xiangfan City.
In the past ten years, the Qi Army has fought continuously. Most of the time, the Qi Army fought defensively.
However, when it comes to defending the city, the Qi army is a younger brother in front of the Song army.
After all, since the founding of the Song Dynasty, except for a few periods, the Song army has been fighting a certain defense war.
At this time, outside Fancheng, the Qi army camped for more than ten miles, with white military tents covering the ground, and flags fluttering in the north wind. The military might was so powerful that it was frightening.
Since the peace negotiations between the Song and Jin Dynasties, the Song army in Xiangfan has not seen such a large battle for many years. The Song soldiers on the city could not hide their panic when they saw the Qi army outside the city.
"Mr. Zhizhi!"
The sound of soldiers sounded from the top of the city.
A mighty general wearing fish scale armor, a phoenix-winged helmet, and a red cloak walked past the city.
Wherever he passed, the soldiers of the Song Dynasty at the top of the city saluted and said: "Zhizhi Xianggong!"
The Mongolian Communists waved their hands casually, "Everyone performs his duties!"
At this time, he walked to the city wall, put one hand on the wall stack, looked at the Qi army camp outside the city with firm eyes, and pretended to be relaxed: "Haha, there are many people and horses!"
"The Prime Minister will be ordered to observe for a while at the end. Judging from the number of military tents, there are one hundred thousand Qi troops under the city. If we add in the water army and the Qi troops stationed at the mouth of Baihe River to block Wuchang's reinforcements and cut off the Han River, I'm afraid there are 150,000 Qi troops in the middle!" Liu Zheng's face was heavy.
Liu Zheng was a native of Dengzhou. He defected to the Southern Song Dynasty at the end of the Jin Dynasty and is now under the command of the Meng Communist Party.
This time Qi State attacked Song Dynasty, with a claimed army of 800,000 horse and infantry troops. After squeezing out the water, there should be more than 300,000 troops.
Now that there are 150,000 Qi troops on the Jingxiang battlefield, it can only mean that the Qi army's main attack direction is Jingxiang.
This made many Song generals change their expressions instantly and their expressions became solemn.
"Haha~" Meng Gongdan smiled calmly, dispelling the gloom in everyone's hearts, "Haha, we are guarding this fortified city. Even if millions of thieves come, we can't even think of breaking the city! Now the main force of the thieves has gathered below the city, so Sichuan and Shu , Jiangnan is worry-free, I, the Song Dynasty, will win this battle!"
Meng Gong turned around, glanced at the generals with resolute eyes, raised his arms full of pride and shouted: "Everyone, God has bestowed upon us great merit! Xiang and Fan are the most fortified cities in the world. We only need to hold on to the city and block Qi Qi. The main force of the thieves is the one who can turn the tide! The officials will be generous with their rewards when the time comes!"
After listening to his words, many Song Army generals looked at the wide moat under the city, their eyes gradually becoming firm.
~~~~~~
"The two cities of Xiangfan! Fancheng is located to the north of the Han River, and Xiangyang is located to the south of the Han River! Both cities are rare strong cities in the world, and there are floating bridges connecting the cities." Jiang Wanzai followed Zhao Tai on a war horse, Pointing to the distance to introduce Zhao Tai.
Jiang Wanzai, like Xia Gui, was originally an official of the Song Dynasty, but now he has taken refuge with Zhao Tai.
The process of Zhao Tai persuading Jiang Wanzai was complicated and lengthy.
Not long after Xia Gui was captured, he defected to Zhao Tai, while Jiang Wanzai waited until Zhao Tai unified the north.
Zhao Tai sent counselors to persuade many times, pointing out that a small court in Lin'an, which was separatist in Jiangnan, did not want to make progress, and only knew about pleasure, was not to preserve Han Zuo, but was an obstacle to the reunification of the entire Han nation and its rejuvenation.
If Lin'an's small court continues to exist, the Han people will never be able to regain the glory of the Han and Tang Dynasties.
After repeated persuasion, Jiang Wanzai finally surrendered to Zhao Tai, and Zhao Tai immediately entrusted him with important tasks.
This time Zhao Tai's southern expedition needed talents who could understand the mountains and rivers geography of the Southern Song Dynasty, so he asked Jiang Wanzai to accompany him.
Zhao Tai nodded slightly and looked at the two cities with a telescope, "I didn't know it when I observed it on the sand table, but now I see it with my own eyes. Xiang and Fan are really rare strong cities in the world."
"The two cities are separated on both sides of the Han River and can support each other. I heard that the Song army has stored enough food for five years in the two cities. The Mongolian Communist Party now wants to hold on and consume our army until the world changes and then counterattack!" Jiang Wanzai said in a deep voice.
"According to Aiqing's words, the battle of Xiangfan cannot last long and must be decided quickly!" Zhao Tai put away his telescope and his eyes became sharp.
"Your Majesty, this is Xiangfan. I am willing to lead the victorious army to attack this city!" Guo Xiadou volunteered.
After the fall of the Jin Kingdom, Zhao Tai was in the east and Guo Xiabao was in the west. The two continued to resist the Mongols.
Later, Zhao Tai became bigger and stronger step by step and established the Qi State, but Guo Xiabao couldn't survive and had to leave Longxi, his base, to go to Qi State to join Zhao Tai.
When Guo Xiabao defected to Qi, Zhao Tai had already occupied most of the north, and the team around him had already been formed.
People like Guo Xiatu who got on the bus in the middle of the journey naturally didn't have a good seat.
This time Qi State's attack on Song Dynasty was the last opportunity for Guo Xiabao and those who defected to Qi State to change their lives.
After the Song Dynasty was destroyed, their status in Qi State and whether their descendants could become the Three Banners all depended on this time.
Therefore, Guo Xiatuo's performance in this attack on Song Dynasty can be described as positive.
Zhao Tai heard this and was quite satisfied that the secret morale was available, but he still needed to be cautious when attacking a fortified city like Xiangfan.
Zhao Tai smiled and said, "Okay! Aiqing is worthy of being a powerful general under his command. However, there is no need to rush as to how to attack the city."
Zhao Tai encouraged him, picked up the telescope again, and saw artillery deployed on the top of Fancheng. He said solemnly: "The Song army has complete city defenses and well-equipped equipment. The siege must be carefully planned. Previously, the Mongolian Communist Party took advantage of the lonely king's army. Before arriving, the sneak attack on Nanyang increased the arrogance of the Song soldiers. If our first attack on the city is too ugly, the arrogance of the Mongolian Communist Party and the Song soldiers will only increase."
