Chapter 142 Chapter Ten Qinshui First Battle
Chapter 10 The First Battle of Qinshui
In Wuyin, the first year of Longsheng, on February 16th, Taizong issued an edict to send Qi Wangxian and Chuxiang Hou Jiangzhe to attack Qinzhou, and the war between Yong and Han began.
——"Yong History.Taizong Benji"
On February 27th of the first year of Longsheng, the southernmost defense line of Qinzhou, Lingyuan Fort, was covered by battle clouds, and the border of Dayong was blocked for a whole winter. Even the most shrewd and capable scouts could not spread the news, but everyone knew Dayong will not stop like this, the war will start.
A castle stands alone on a small hill, and Qinshui flows southward under the hill. In the early spring of each year, the melting of ice and snow makes the Qinshui rise. All places along the river should be careful of flooding, but this year it seems that the water level is not high, so there should be no danger. However, the river in this area is wide, the water flow is gentle, and the land is fertile. There are more than a dozen villages on both sides, and the Lingyuan Fort on the hill is where the Northern Han Army was stationed. It is Jishi County, along the Qinshui River, there are blockhouses everywhere, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and Anze, Qinyuan, and Qinzhou City are the most important passes.
A group of Northern Han soldiers stood on the city wall, keeping an eye on the movements in the south. Since the year after the year, a military order has been issued from above to let them always be on guard against the attack of the Dayong army, so they dare not relax at all.A soldier was probably a little tired. He turned his head and wanted to have a few gossips with his comrades, but when he turned around, he saw his comrades staring in front of him dumbfounded. He turned his head subconsciously, and saw a blue-black line suddenly appear on the horizon , but in an instant, the blue and black became thicker and thicker. Although it was very far away, in the eyes of the soldier, he seemed to have seen Dayong's military flag, and he shouted hoarsely: "Quickly ring the alarm." , three steps and two steps rushed to the bell tower, rang the bronze bell, and then the horn sounded in the castle, and many soldiers of the Northern Han Dynasty rushed out from various barracks.A general wearing a general's uniform rushed to the castle tower, and said angrily: "The scouts sent out didn't return, go and light the beacon fire." His personal guards hurried to the highest point of the castle and lit the beacon fire.The billowing smoke of the war pointed straight at the sky. Twenty-two years after Dayong's Wuwei, the Dayong army set foot on the territory of the Northern Han Dynasty for the first time. A great battle that related to the life and death of the Northern Han Dynasty was about to break out.
Xia Ning, the vanguard of the Northern Han Army, the prince's trusted and beloved general, couldn't help laughing when he saw the smoke billowing in the distance. Is it possible to block the direction of our soldiers? All the troops listened to the order and took down Lingyuan Fort in one fell swoop, following the order of the king of Qi, the army cleared the field." After saying that, he rushed forward at the head of the horse, and the Yong army in blue and black armor shouted loudly Drink, as Xia Ning rushed forward, even if the little Lingyuan Fort stood up to resist, it was nothing more than a mantis' arms.In less than half an hour, Lingyuan Fort had been breached, surrounded by the Yong army, and none of the Northern Han army survived.Lingyuan Fort was originally an outpost responsible for scouting out the enemy's situation. Once the Yong army attacked aggressively, Lingyuan Fort would not be able to stick to it, so the soldiers sent here were determined to die. Next, the flesh and blood become mud.
Seeing that Lingyuan Fort had been breached, Xia Ning ordered people to destroy the city gates and defense equipment, and then the army marched towards the surrounding countryside. This time, King Qi issued a strict order not to leave enemies behind.Villages were burned to the ground. Although most of the young and strong men joined the army, the folk customs of the Northern Han Dynasty were tough. Even strong women, children and the elderly could take up swords and attack the soldiers of the Yong army at any time. Therefore, under Xia Ning's order, the iron cavalry of the Yong army almost These villages and fortresses were crushed into ruins, and the surviving civilians were driven by swords towards Duanshi and Anze.The Dayong army did not rush forward on light cavalry, but advanced steadily step by step, leaving behind deserted villages and uncultivated fields wherever they passed.The only thing that rejoiced for the civilians of the Northern Han Dynasty was that the commander of the Yong army, the king of Qi, ordered that they should not kill civilians indiscriminately, so as long as they did not resist, they could not only save their lives, but also have the opportunity to bring some belongings. However, apart from going north, they There is no other direction to go.
On the bank of Qinshui, a group of ragged old and weak women and children supported each other and walked northward with difficulty. There were only a few broken carts in the team with some rice grains on them, and a few children and old people who were really unable to walk sat in the carts. Their expressions were full of distress. They were all weak and weak people. They had basically fallen to the bottom among the refugees going north, and the iron cavalry of the Yong army had passed by countless times. They often encountered the Yong army who were searching.The general of the Yong army who expelled them from their homes made it very clear that if they could not arrive at Duanshi before March 10, they would be executed as spies of the Northern Han army.The bitter spring breeze blows from the river surface, making some thinly clothed old and weak huddle together. The spring in Qinzhou is still very cold, and the future is uncertain. Thinking that they may be executed as spies by the Yong army, some old people in the team are already in tears Weep blood.
Who would have thought that Yong Jun would use such a method?Six years ago, the Yong army also invaded Qinzhou, but they did not commit any crimes against the villages along the way, but now they are all flattened. Several old people talked about it in private, and they all said that it is no wonder that the leader of the army in the past was the current Emperor Dayong. Li Zhi, this time it's Qi Wang Li Xian, who doesn't know that Li Zhi is magnanimous and Qi Wang is cruel?
A child sitting in the car glanced across the river inadvertently. He suddenly pointed to the center of the river in surprise and said, "Grandpa, there is a big boat over there." In the middle of the Qinhe River, more than a hundred boats of various sizes were going upstream, one of which was the largest and most sturdy, with a big flag on the bow, and a big river character on it.There were many soldiers on the ship, and more than 20 warships surrounded the building to protect the central ship, followed by cargo ships full of the luggage of the Yong army.The exclamation of the old man made other people turn their heads to look. Seeing the Yong army's fast boat and the well-armored soldiers on board, they were almost unable to walk anymore. The last time the Yong army attacked the Northern Han Dynasty, there was no With so many naval forces, Dayong must surely win this time, right?
At this time, there seemed to be some commotion on the bow of the big boat, and a few half-grown children with good eyesight clearly saw three people slowly walking out from the cabin on the top floor, one of them came out in a row, stood at the bow, and stroked the railing. , looking towards the shore.This person was dressed in a plain robe and a blue cloak, and his appearance could not be seen from a distance, only the person's hair was light gray, so he must not be young anymore, other than that, everyone could only see a pair of clear and cold eyes , although they were far away, those eyes could almost see through their internal organs, making them feel an inexplicable chill in their hearts.Among the crowd, a middle-aged farmer with a simple appearance flashed a cold light in his eyes the moment he saw the building boat, but he immediately lowered his head again, still looking depressed and worried, and kept going back and forth from time to time. Touch the right leg, there are some cloth strips wrapped around it, it should be an injured leg, no wonder he is left behind.
At this time, there was a soft sound of horseshoes behind everyone. Although the sound was not loud, the vibration of the ground still made them aware of the crisis. Several farmers picked up hoes and sickles, trying to protect their families as much as possible. I don't know when it will kill.What fell into their sight was a small cavalry team of no more than twenty or thirty people. The leader was a female general in blue-black soft armor. At first glance, people can tell that this is a heroine. She is wearing a black cloak, with a long sword hanging around her waist and a crossbow hanging behind her back.And the entourage behind her were also wearing soft armor and wearing crossbows, but their weapons were all kinds of weapons, almost none of them were the same.
When the cavalry team approached the group of refugees who were forced to go north, they naturally dispersed and faintly surrounded the team of refugees. A cavalryman said loudly: "Why are you still lingering here? Don't you know that the military order is strict? After tomorrow, if you can't enter the Ji family, it means that your time of death has come." The voice was clear and moving, but it was also a woman.
An old man staggered forward and said: "Master Jun, we are all old and weak women and children who are unable to walk quickly, so we missed the schedule, please forgive me a little bit, Mr. Military."
The woman turned her head to look at the leading female general, and the female general's eyes flicked over everyone one by one, her eyes were piercingly icy, and everyone who was stared at by her felt the shadow of death shrouded them.The woman's eyes fell on the injured middle-aged farmer, with a sneer at the corner of her mouth, she raised her whip and pointed: "You, come out."
The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment, then limped forward, the woman kept looking at him, until he walked up to the horse, the woman asked coldly: "Are you under Xiao Tong's command?" your spy?"
The farmer was at a loss, as if he didn't know what the woman was going to say, he just explained in panic: "The villain is not a spy, but a farmer who is doing his job. He was abandoned by the villagers and fell behind only because his leg was injured."
The woman smiled coldly and said: "I, Su Qing, am a good spy, how can you hide it from my eyes?" After finishing speaking, the long whip in her hand stabbed at the farmer's throat like a poisonous snake.The farmer's eyes flickered, and he didn't have time to react. He just screamed and closed his eyes, and the long whip returned as soon as he touched it.The farmer was covered in cold sweat and fell limp to the ground in fright.The woman was condescending, looked at him coldly for a while, then turned her head and said: "Ask for instructions from the superintendent to board the ship."
The woman who spoke first took out an iron whistle and blew it towards the center of the river for a while. They all rode their horses to leave, but moved forward along the shore, and the woman who spoke first fell behind.The middle-aged farmer breathed a sigh of relief and was about to stand up, but felt a cold and sharp foreign object pierced his throat. When he struggled to look up, he saw the woman who was behind looked at him coldly. Own.Intense anger and bewilderment flashed in the farmer's eyes.
After dismounting and walking to the shore, Su Qing's eyes were as calm as water, as if he didn't know what happened behind him, even though the refugees screamed depressingly.It wasn't until the young woman rode up to her side that she said calmly: "Jiyue, I would rather kill the wrong one than let it go, you did a good job." The woman bowed on the horse and said, "Thank you for your compliment." The rein that Su Qing threw over.
Su Qing jumped onto the warship, and said to the tiger-legged guard wearing pure black armor: "Thank you for your response, how is the supervisor?" Not feeling well, General Su must have brought a military report, and my lord is waiting."
I stood on top of the building boat, looking at the refugees on the shore indifferently. Although the spring breeze was bitter, it couldn't penetrate the cloak I was wearing. Although it was only five hundred steps away, it was two different destinies. I am High-ranking officials of the enemy country who are well-dressed and hold great power, they are refugees whose lives are as cheap as grass.Being born in troubled times, and traveling from the beautiful south of the Yangtze River to the frozen Saibei for many years, this kind of situation has long been commonplace. Even with the prosperity of Dayong, it is difficult to avoid this kind of situation, let alone the North that has been fighting for years. What about Han?Just seeing that most of these refugees are old, weak, sick and disabled, one can know the situation of the Northern Han Dynasty.
Sighing lightly, I turned my eyes to the front. The plan I made with my own hands cannot be overthrown. If these people cannot escape to the Ji family, they will only die. Since I have pushed them to the brink of death, why use cheap sympathy To cover up the guilt in my heart, let the pity in my heart be ruthlessly covered up, as long as Dayong rules the world, I don't have to watch this kind of human tragedy repeat itself.
Xiao Shunzi who was standing behind me suddenly took a step forward and said in a low voice, "Master, let's go back to the cabin."
I looked back at Xiao Shunzi, and I could see from his eyes that he didn't want me to feel sad because of those refugees. Although there are people in this world that I respect and love, only Xiao Shunzi is my confidant , I smiled lightly, and said in a low voice: "Don't worry, I've always been selfish and afraid of death. It's not like you don't know how to be tempted by these irrelevant people."
Xiao Shunzi didn't make a sound, stood behind me and didn't retreat, my heart became more and more warm, what I just said was not all words of comfort, I was just an ordinary mortal, unable to care about the people in the world, except myself and the people around me Relatives and friends, colleagues and subordinates, I can't care about more people.
At this time, Hu Yanshou raised his voice and said: "My lord, General Su Qingsu, the frontline chief sentry, please see me."
I nodded and said: "General Su, please come on board." Su Qing is a general I admire very much. Although she is a woman, she is calmer and smarter than most men, and her thoughts are even more ruthless. This time, King Qi and I agreed. Let her be the chief scout on the front line, responsible for investigating the military situation and intercepting the scout spies of the Northern Han Army. This time, she must have passed through Qinshui and saw my building boat, so come and meet me, the military supervisor, this is also a military brigade It is an unwritten practice in China, and according to my estimation, our army and the Northern Han army have not yet fought head-on, so there should not be any urgent military situation.
Not long after, Su Qing got on the boat, as I expected, and there was nothing urgent, but from Su Qing's tone, I could hear her doubts in her heart. If you march with all your strength, you can reach the Ji family in only two days, but in order to clear the blockhouses and villages along the way, the army is still wandering in this area. It is no wonder that she is puzzled by the so-called speed of soldiers.However, she had a calm temperament and did not question it openly, but only showed her dissatisfaction with the speed of the march.
I had no intention of explaining to her, and asked, "General Su, have the spies of our army sent among the refugees entered the Ji family?"
Su Qing shook his head and said: "The guards of the Ji family were very cautious, kept all the refugees out of the city, and asked them to arrange and resettle them according to the village arrangement, and set up a Baojia continuous sitting system. Although our spies have been lurking for many years, they have not been eliminated. , but it is difficult to move, and the news cannot be delivered. I am afraid it will be useless when attacking the Ji family, and the information will be obtained at the end. In the hinterland, only some young and strong men are left to help defend the city."
I chuckled and said, "Northern Han defended Duan Wudi first. It must have been his idea. They must have decided to use a solid wall to clear the field and fight step by step. This is not bad. Our first step is to clear the field and let the two There are no civilians between the battlefields of the army, and they have helped us by doing so, but they have to, if not, without our army attacking, the Ji family will be destroyed by refugees."
Su Qing hesitated for a moment, and finally asked: "My lord, there will be something unknown in the end. These civilians are harmless to the overall situation. Why do you insist on clearing the four fields first? Could it be that you want to threaten the people as the pioneer? I am a great country, Why do you use this method? In this way, there may be many obstacles to Dayong's rule in Qinzhou."
There was a flash of light in my eyes. I didn't expect that Su Qing had such insights, not just a talent for spying. Still can't tell you, I ordered His Royal Highness King Qi to strictly enforce the military orders, try not to kill innocent people indiscriminately, so that most of the civilians can escape safely, and Qinzhou has always been the front line of the Northern Han and Dayong against the enemy, here The people here are also quite hostile to Dayong, so even if they resent our army even more, they can't care less, just like the people of Zezhou, they hate the Northern Han very much!"
At this time, there was a sudden commotion in front of me. I looked subconsciously, and saw a warship flying the flag of the Northern Han Army suddenly appeared at the bend of the river more than ten miles away. For the Northern Han Dynasty, horses were easy to obtain and cavalry were easy to train, but water troops were difficult to train. Therefore, the Northern Han Army has basically used civilian ships to transport luggage during wartime. There are no examples of naval combat.She couldn't help but glanced at Su Qing. She had been in the Northern Han Dynasty for many years, why didn't she discover the existence of the navy?
Su Qing's face was also livid. She was in charge of the intelligence network in the Northern Han Dynasty, but she didn't realize the existence of this navy army in the Northern Han Army. This was not only a major dereliction of duty, but also a great shame. At that time, the warships in front of the Yong army had already set up their formations to meet the enemy. Although the water army of the Yong army was not as good at fighting as the water army of Southern Chu, it should be more powerful than the water army of the Northern Han Dynasty that had never been heard of. Quite powerful.
The Northern Han water army went down the river, but it was clearly visible in a moment. When I saw those warships, I couldn't help but sigh in my heart. They were clearly the warships commonly used by the Southern Chu navy. After a year and a half, if you look carefully, those warships are clearly brand new. They must have been preparing for the navy before the Zezhou War last year. Looking at the shape of the warships, it should be that Nanchu provided craftsmen. Now they are transported by sea. Blocking is no longer a problem. No wonder the Northern Han Dynasty was able to build a naval army, but considering the manpower and material resources consumed, it is not easy for the Northern Han army to have such courage.Although our army now has one large ship and more than a hundred warships, compared with the warships of the Northern Han Navy, it is inferior in speed and defense. What's more, our army is still downstream, which was not expected in advance. In this situation, the Zezhou Navy's combat power is not strong, and it seems that our army is going to suffer.
The waterway of the Qinhe River is not wide. I saw the boat with antlers on the prow and tung oil on the hull divided into three rows and hit the warship of the Yong army. In this situation, he hesitated whether to intervene in the command of the general of the Yongshui Army.At this time, Zhuang Ru, the commander in charge of the Zezhou navy, had already stood by my side, and he waved the flag to pass down the military order without even bothering to ask me. , Even if you arrive in Southern Chu, you can fight, not to mention the newly fledgling Northern Han Navy.I saw that he ordered the warships of the Yong army to disperse to avoid the frontal attack of the Northern Han navy and attack the two wings with all their strength. Taking advantage of the small and high speed of the ship, the ship is like the defense line of the Northern Han Navy.All of a sudden, the sound of killing above Qinshui shook the sky, and the sun was covered by guns and spears.
I watched the two armies fight. Although the ships are different, and the tactics of the generals are also different, but there are still things to see. It seems that they have worked hard in the navy. For some reason, I thought of Southern Chu, Dayong and Northern Han. The development of the navy shows that they all have the ambition to go south. However, apart from the cavalry established by Prince De in Southern Chu, the navy and infantry are still the main force. As far as I know, after the death of Prince De, Xiangyang The cavalry has been reduced a lot by the Southern Chu court, and the level of elite is not as good as before. Just looking at the military investment of various countries, you can know that Southern Chu is at the bottom.
Just when my heart was faintly melancholy, Zhuang Ru came over and said: "My lord, I will lure the main force of the enemy army into the encirclement. We need to use a large ship as a bait. Please take shelter in the cabin for a while, or go to another warship first." How about taking a break?" I glanced at him lightly, Zhuang Ru, twenty-seven years old, with dark face, plain appearance, middle height, strong body, calm temperament, one of the few outstanding navy soldiers in Dayong, the only weakness is His temperament is too upright, and he looks down on the civil servant who is greedy for life and afraid of death the most. I can even see the contempt for me hidden in his eyes.His qualifications are still low, maybe to him, I am just a frail scholar who is good at intrigues and tricks, has good luck, and has won the favor of the royal family. After all, many things about me are hidden in the clouds, not like him. The identity of the generals can be known.
Deliberately ignoring the contempt hidden in his words, I said lightly: "If you want to lure the enemy ships to fight, call for longevity, and make the tiger guards shout loudly, say that the Zezhou camp supervises the army, and the Hou Jiangzhe of Chu Township is here. .”
Hu Yanshou hesitated for a while, but he was shocked by my calm but firm tone. When he passed the order, he took the lead and shouted loudly: "The army supervisor of Zezhou Daying, Hou Jiangzhe of Chu Township is here. If the enemy general has the courage, he can dare Are you coming to fight?"
On the main ship of the Northern Han Navy, a tall general with a fiery light flashed in his eyes, and he raised his arms and said, "Boys, capture Jiang Zhe alive and smash the Zezhou water camp." Following his order, the Northern Han Navy launched an offensive It became more and more fierce, and the two armies were fighting desperately. I saw the warships staggered, and from time to time, some warships capsized and sank. come crawling.I said loudly: "Hu Yanshou, you all listen to General Zhuang's orders."
A trace of gratitude flashed in Zhuang Ru's eyes, and he sent out military orders again and again to command the water army on the upper boat to fight against the tiger guards. Although these tiger guards are not good at water combat, they are all fighters with high martial arts skills, and they have already been able to It was easy to come and go on the tower boats, at least on the relatively calm Qinhe River, so the Northern Han army could not attack the tower boats except for a few warriors.Zhuang Rudekong said: "My lord, this place is too dangerous, you should rest in the cabin first." This time his tone was very sincere.
I smiled slightly and said loudly: "Although Jiang is weak, he is protected by my warriors from Dayong. Why not be afraid of the Northern Han's strong attack? Jiang is here today, and I will see you defeat the enemy." Those sailors and tigers The guards were all shocked, and shouted loudly: "Your Excellency trust us, we will fight to the death." Suddenly, they showed great power and forced back and killed the Northern Han navy who attacked the upstairs boat.A tall and handsome young general commanded by a warship shouted sharply: "Look at the arrow." With the sound of the bowstring, the three eagle-feathered arrows shot towards my face very quickly. From my eyesight, the feather arrows were as fast as Meteor, some sailors and tiger guards on the straight line between the two of us shouted angrily and wanted to block the feather arrows, but they were all too slow. Only one tiger guard cut off a feather arrow with a horizontal knife , but the front half of the feather arrow shot at me at almost unabated speed, but the guard's mouth shook violently, and the horizontal knife almost dropped his hand. The distance between the two sides was only more than twenty feet, so it's no wonder they couldn't stop it.
Just when the two half-feather arrows were about to approach me, a snow-white palm suddenly appeared in front of me, with a light flick of the middle finger, three crisp sounds were heard, and the two half-feather arrows were knocked back.I knew that Xiao Shunzi could keep me safe, so my expression didn't change at all. My eyes fell on the young general of the Northern Han Army who shot me. I laughed loudly and said, "If someone takes this person's head to offer, Fifty taels of gold will be rewarded, and if this person is captured alive, a hundred taels of gold will be rewarded."
Everyone was even more excited, and the hidden worry of encountering a powerful navy had long since disappeared. Since the coach wanted them to capture the enemy general alive, it seemed that his side had already gained the upper hand.A few tiger guards with loud voices have already shouted loudly: "The enemy will be captured before he has nothing to do, I will definitely decide for a hundred taels of gold." Incessantly, the sound of killing shattered the floating clouds.