Zhao Tai decided on a strategy and immediately arranged for his men to execute it separately.
Zhao Tai's 140,000 Qi army was divided into three groups.
General Huang Jian led 30,000 troops to garrison Fancheng and monitor Xiangyang City.
General Guo Xiabao led an army of 30,000 to the west to seize Jingzhou and Yiling.
Zhao Taize led more than 80,000 people to move down the river and attack Wuchang City.
The main force of the Qi army left Xiangyang and at the same time sent a message to Jinghu, claiming that the Qi army on the west route had defeated Zhao Yanna. In a few days, he would move down from Jianzhong and join the Qi army on the middle route in Wuchang. He ordered all the prefectures and states on the Jinghu road to abandon the secrets and surrender to the bright side and support the king of Qi. .
In ancient times, transportation was not very convenient, and if something spread thousands of miles, it could easily change its appearance.
The Song Army had just learned that the Qi Army had entered Sichuan and Zhao Tai's message. When they saw the main force of the Qi Army heading straight for Wuchang, panic broke out everywhere.
For a time, in the Southern Song Dynasty, some said that the Qi army had conquered Chengdu, some said that Zhao Yanna was dead, and some even said that the Qi army would use a building boat to leave Sichuan and go down the river. Various rumors were flying in the sky.
Zhao Tai was the king of Qi in the Song Dynasty. The purpose of sending troops was to eliminate traitors and welcome Zhao Yun back to the old capital.
The main force of the Song Army in Jinghu was distributed in several important cities such as Xiangfan, Jingzhou, Wuchang, and Changsha.
In these heavily guarded places, officials and generals are not so easy to believe rumors, but in other states and counties, it can be said that they are resigned to the wind.
Zhao Tai fought towards Wuchang, and along the way Yicheng, Zhongxiang, Mianyang and other cities surrendered without a fight.
Of course, the Mongolian Communist Party had been prepared before the war. They had already transferred the money and food from the small town to several large cities. The Qi army occupied the county seat, but the harvest was not much.
Xiangyang City.
The Communists of Meng stood at the top of the city and looked across the moat.
A few days ago, there were endless Qi army camps there, with figures as dense as ants.
Now, all the Qi troops stationed on the other side of the moat have withdrawn, but the many Song generals on the city wall are not happy.
"My lord, Zhao Tai suddenly withdrew. Are we really going to join forces with the Qi bandits in Wuchang?" Liu Zheng looked worried. "If the Qi bandits control Sichuan, and the West and Middle roads join forces, then Xiangyang will be an isolated city."
Meng Gong looked back at everyone and sneered, "Do you really believe the nonsense that the Qi thieves control Sichuan and that the two armies will join forces in Wuchang?"
Liu Zheng and others looked at each other, with worries and doubts in their eyes.
Meng Gong laughed when he saw this and said: "The military newspaper said that the bandits from the West Route have entered Sichuan, which should be true. However, Zhao Tai's article said that the bandits from the West Route have controlled Sichuan and will leave Sichuan to join forces with him. This must be nonsense! When the Eastern Jin Dynasty destroyed Wu, how many years did the Jin army prepare in Sichuan before they could sail to the east? The likes of Wang Shixian may not even have captured Chengdu now!"
"Then Zhao Tai withdrew his troops from the city?" Liu Zheng couldn't help but ask.
Meng Cong's eyes were sharp, "He just wants to trick me out of the city."
After hearing this, many Song generals felt relieved, but they were still a little worried. The Qi army would go south to the prefectures and counties to watch the wind fall, and the Qi army would get supplies from Jing Lake.
The Meng Communist Party seemed to be able to read everyone's thoughts, "Jingzhou is a land of fish and rice, but the money and food from each county were shipped to the big city in advance. Zhao Tai occupied some counties, but did not gain much. If he wanted to supply locally, he could only spend money to buy it. Or snatch food from the people. If the Qi army robs the people's food rations, then Zhao Tai will arouse the anger of the people, and the situation will be favorable to me!"
"What do you mean by my husband?" Liu Zheng asked.
Meng Gong glanced at him and deliberately taught this rising star, "Hold on and wait for the times to change!"
The Communist Party of Meng had a certain understanding of Zhao Tai and knew that the King of Qi still loved the people.
If the Mongols were to go south, he would be worried that the people in Jinghu would be massacred and plundered, but when Zhao Tai went south, he believed that the Qi army would not harm the people.
Now that there was plenty of money and food in Xiangyang City, he made up his mind to hold on and avoid war, waiting for the situation to change.
He believed that as long as the northern frontier of Qi was threatened by Mongolia, Zhao Tai would never watch the people of Qi being massacred by the Mongols.
By then, Zhao Tai could only lead his army back north, but he could easily regain the lost ground.
······
Wuchang.
The Qi army marched south from Xiangyang, and Zhao Tai led 80,000 elite troops to Wuchang, putting pressure on Song generals Li Tingzhi and Yuan Jie.
Wuchang is also Ezhou. It can reach Huainan in the east, Xiangyang in the north, and Jiangling in the west.
The gains and losses in Xiangyang are related to whether the southern regime has the strength to stand side by side with the northern regime.
The gains and losses in Wuchang are related to the life and death of the southeastern regime.
Throughout the ages, for the Southeastern regime, losing Wuchang has meant that it is unable to recover and is not far from destroying the country.
Therefore, Xiangyang was the first line of defense for the Song Army in Chu, and Ezhou was the last line of defense for the Song Army in Chu.
With such an important position, the Southern Song Dynasty naturally paid attention to it.
Xiangyang was guarded by the famous Southern Song general Meng Gong, and Ezhou was guarded by Li Tingzhi.
At this time, facing Zhao Tai's army rushing to the gate of Wuchang City, the Song army in the city was extremely horrified.
For a time, rumors flew in the city. In addition to the widespread rumors that the Qi army on the west route and the Qi army on the middle route were about to join forces in Ezhou, the Meng Communist Party was also killed, and the Qi army had already occupied Xiangyang.
Faced with the rumors, the Song soldiers in the city were shaken. Seeing this, Li Tingzhi immediately declared martial law and arrested the Qi soldiers for detailed operations.
Obviously, Li Tingzhi, like the Meng Communist Party, did not believe Zhao Tai's appeal, and also had doubts about the Qi army's attack on Xiangyang.
In Ezhou City and Festival Hall.
Zhizhou Yuan Jie walked in worriedly and saw Li Tingzhi standing with his hands behind his hands, staring at the map.
"Senior Li!" Yuan Jie called, "You have heard about the recent events, right?"
Li Tingzhi is the counselor of the Jinghu Envoy Department. He turned back to look at Ezhou Zhizhou Yuan Jie and couldn't help but frown slightly, "Yuan Zhizhou. What's the matter?"
Yuan Jie said: "I heard that Xiangyang fell and the Meng Cong were killed. Should we ask the imperial court for help?"
Li Tingzhi smiled and said: "Yuan Zhizhou, don't listen to the rumors. They are just an attempt by the Qi thieves to disrupt the morale of our army. Xiangyang is the first fortified city, and there is a system to set up a garrison with 50,000 elite troops. How can the Qi thieves break it?"
"It was said before that Fancheng was a fortified city. It was not captured by Qi thieves in just one month!" Yuan Jie questioned.
Li Tingzhi frowned slightly, "Don't worry, Yuan Zhizhou, I have sent scouts to find out that Xiangyang is indeed still in our hands!"
Yuan Jie saw that his expression did not seem to be fake, "That means it is true that Zhao Yanna was killed, the Qi bandits from the West Road are about to leave Sichuan, and they will join forces with Zhao Tai in Ezhou!"
Li Tingzhi was speechless, "That's also false. The military report only said that the bandits from the west had entered Sichuan, and the detailed battle report was not transmitted."
As he said that, Li Tingzhi looked at Yuan Jie and said seriously: "Yuan Zhizhou, in the current situation, you only need to maintain order in the city and assist the soldiers in defending the city. Don't believe those rumors!"
After hearing what Li Tingzhi said, Yuan Jie left the festival hall, but he was still uneasy in his heart.
As a civil servant, although he didn't know how to fight, he had read military books.
Then Zhao Tai gave up Xiangyang and went straight to Wuchang. It must have been the Qi bandits from the West who had made progress, otherwise he would have been so bold.
Yuan Jie prides himself on being familiar with history. It seems that no one wants to attack Ezhou directly before Xiangyang is conquered.
Thinking of this, Yuan Jie felt that he could not completely believe Li Tingzhi's words.
Recently, he heard something about the Mongolian Communists and Li Tingzhi. As a civil servant, he felt it was necessary to report to Lin'an and ask the court for help.
