Fancheng was much smaller than Xiangyang and could not accommodate many troops.
It is not like a city, but more like a military fortress in the Southern Song Dynasty on the north bank of the Han River.
Because on the north bank, they first faced the threat of powerful enemies from the north, so the people and the Song army were willing to live in Xiangyang City on the south bank.
After all, no one wants to encounter wars and besieged by enemy troops all the time.
There is a lack of people and shops in the city, and the city is small. It is impossible to station a large army or store too many supplies in the city.
This is Fancheng's disadvantage and also Fancheng's advantage.
The city is too big and the perimeter is too long, so there are many people to defend. Some cities don't have more than 100,000 people, and even the city walls are not enough.
Fancheng has a small perimeter, so there is no such concern. More than 10,000 Song troops are stationed in the city, which is enough to deal with several times the enemy's attack.
Moreover, Fancheng is connected to Xiangyang by a floating bridge. There is no need to station too many troops in the city or store too many supplies. During the battle, support can be obtained directly from Xiangyang.
The Qi army now seems to be attacking Fancheng, but in fact it is fighting Xiangyang and Fancheng at the same time.
Therefore, Zhao Tai believes that in order to capture Fancheng, he must first cut off Xiangyang's support for Fancheng and isolate Fancheng.
Otherwise, the Qi army will desperately attack and Xiangyang will continue to give Fancheng blood transfusions. Even if the Qi army takes Fancheng, it will suffer heavy losses and will not have the strength to continue southward.
It was night, at the fourth watch, and Qi Jun's water village became lively.
At five o'clock in the morning, Qi general Xia Gui led a hundred warships upstream and saw Xiangyang and Fancheng on both sides of the Han River from a distance.
"Control! We are about to enter the waters between Xiang and Fan." The general looked solemnly and pointed at the two cities ahead.
This means that the Qi Navy will be attacked by the defenders of Xiangyang and Fancheng.
"We have been preparing for the battle for more than a month, just to achieve meritorious service today!" Xia Gui's eyes flashed with flames, "Send the order, protect the fire ship in the middle, give me the courage to rush to the pontoon bridge, and destroy it at any cost!"
In the past month, the artillery of the Qi army was busy bombarding the city, the infantry and civilians were busy filling the river, and the navy was not idle either.
Because the fleet entering the waters between Xiang and Fan cities would be attacked by the artillery and crossbows of the two cities, as well as the Song navy, the Qi navy officers hung a layer of shields and wet shields on the sides of the warships. Quilts were used to prevent fire and attack by the Song army.
At this time, the warship approached Xiangfan, and the Song army's warship cruising on the Han River first spotted the Qi army's fleet.
Xia Gui stood on the boat and heard the alarm bells of the Song Army. When he saw the Song Army's navy rushing over, he immediately drew his sword and roared loudly: "Kill!"
"Boom, boom, boom!" Xia Gui gave the order, and the Qi fleet immediately opened fire.
The shells roared across the river and landed around the Song army's warships, splashing water columns several feet high.
At the same time, the artillery deployed on Xiangyang and Fancheng also roared, firing the shells at the Qi Navy.
For a time, cannonballs intertwined on the river, and water columns rose into the sky.
When the navy launched its attack, the well-fed Qi army units had already set up their positions outside Fancheng.
There was no skill to be gained in this siege. The Qi army's advantage in winning was its battle-hardened soldiers and its strength several times that of the defenders.
At this time, in the square military formations, a watchtower tall enough to see Fancheng was erected.
Zhao Tai stood on the watchtower, pulling out his telescope and observing Fancheng's defense. The general beside him heard the rumble of artillery coming from behind Fancheng, and reminded him with excitement, "Your Majesty, the navy has taken action!"
Zhao Tai continued to observe with the telescope. In the circular field of vision, there were many figures of Song troops running towards the south wall of Fancheng.
"Act according to the plan! Let the artillery team open fire!" Zhao Tai ordered calmly while observing.
Seeing this, the general walked excitedly to the edge of the watchtower, held the command flag, and roared down, "Command the artillery team to open fire!"
The Central Army of Qi Army sent out a signal, and upon receiving the order, the artillery team Qianhu immediately waved the flag in their hands and roared with veins jumping on their foreheads, "Fire!"
"Boom boom boom!"
Artillery lined up in a row,
At the moment when gunfire rose and flames spewed out, the cannon retreated violently, and the black shells flashed away and hit the city wall directly.
After a month of artillery bombardment, the walls of Fancheng were already crumbling.
Now every cannonball hitting the city wall is like a heavy hammer hitting a dilapidated building.
The soldiers at the top of the city felt the city wall vibrate, and the wall bricks and dust peeled off. They were extremely shocked in their hearts.
When the Qi army's artillery bombarded the city wall and dented the city wall, and craters appeared on the wall, the Qi army navy rushed to the pontoon bridge without hesitation despite the Song army's artillery fire from both sides.
At the top of Xiangyang City, Meng Gong, a famous general of the Song Army, watched the situation on the river with sharp eyes.
At this time, he saw the Qi army rushing towards the pontoon bridge regardless of the cost, and waved his hand in a deep voice, "Bang the drum, the navy surrounds them, don't let them get close to the pontoon bridge!"
The war drums were beating on Xiangyang City, and the Song Army's warships on the Han River immediately pounced on the Qi Army's navy like a pack of wolves.
Although after the Qi army captured Huainan, the pressure on the Yangtze River defense line in the Southern Song Dynasty increased greatly. In recent years, the Southern Song Dynasty's investment in the navy was all on the Jiang Water Defense Division and the Donghai Navy, striving to overwhelm the Song Army Navy in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. , did not invest much in the Jinghu Navy, but at this time on the battlefield, the Jinghu Navy undoubtedly had the advantage.
On both sides of the Han River, the artillery deployed by the Song Army in Xiangyang and Fancheng controlled the river.
These artillery were mounted on the city wall. No matter how hard the Qi navy bombarded them, they could not be destroyed. However, after a few cannons, the Qi army's warships were basically destroyed.
Therefore, under the cover of artillery on both sides of the strait, the Song navy on the Han army had a clear advantage.
When they heard the sound of war drums, the warships immediately surrounded them, trying to surround and destroy the Qi army's navy.
Meng Gong stood at the top of the city, staring sharply at the river. It was obvious that he had expected the situation in front of him.
The Meng Communist Party knew that if the Qi army wanted to seize Fancheng, it would inevitably destroy the pontoon bridge first. For this reason, he concentrated most of Xiangyang City's artillery in Linjiang North City in order to inflict heavy damage to the Qi army's navy.
In addition, he also mobilized the navy of the Song Army and waited for the navy of the Qi Army to burn the pontoon bridge, so that the warships of the Song Army could swarm it with their numerical advantage.
During this time, Zhao Tai was preparing to attack Fancheng, and the Meng Communist Party was not idle either, waiting for the Qi navy to destroy the pontoon bridge.
The Mongolian Communists believed that with his arrangement, the Qi Navy would suffer heavy losses, and even if the Qi Army was lucky enough to burn down the pontoon, it would have little impact on the war situation.
At the beginning of the war, he had thought about the situation of the pontoon bridge being destroyed, so he hoarded a large amount of materials for building pontoon bridges in Xiangyang City.
These materials are enough for him to build three more pontoon bridges, and it only takes half a day to build the pontoon bridges.
The Qi army could only block Xiangyang and Fancheng for half a day. The Meng Communist Party had confidence in Liu Zheng. He believed that Liu Zheng could block the Qi army's attack and waited for him to build the pontoon bridge again.
At that time, reinforcements will cross the river from the pontoon bridge to support the defenders of Fancheng. How will the Qi army capture the city?
A sneer appeared on the face of Communist Meng, but at this moment, the general beside him exclaimed at an inappropriate time, "Our warship is on fire!"
