Chapter 59 land

According to Liu Zheng's wish during his lifetime, his body was buried on Lumen Mountain, more than 30 miles southeast of Xiangyang City.After the grand memorial ceremony, the real gold was stationed under the city of Yingzhou (now Zhongxiang, Hubei) with Boyan's army. Yingzhou City is located on the north bank of the Han River. The entire city is built with strips of stone, as high as a mountain peak, and arrows, stones, and artillery fire cannot penetrate it.The Song army built a new Ying city on the south bank of the Han River, and planted many wooden stakes in the Han River to intercept ships.In addition, more than a thousand warships cruised the river, and Huangjiawan Fort not far from Yingzhou was also heavily guarded.

Boyan divided his troops to attack the city, but was repelled by Song general Zhang Shijie. The road was muddy, and the passing troops and Song prisoners of war were mixed together. An ox cart pulling cannons was sunk deep in the mud. Some of the soldiers driving the cart savagely beat the cattle on the shaft, and some pushed the wheels. Their faces and clothes were splashed with mud, but the cart remained motionless. Boyan jumped off the horse and ordered the guards to help unload the cart. With the chant of "Hi Yo Hi Yo", the cannon cart was finally pushed out of the mud. Boyan wiped the mud on his hands on the lapel of his robe, and said to Ashu who was accompanying him: "There is a small stream near Huangjiawan Castle in the lower reaches of Tongteng Lake, which is several miles away from the Han River. You can drag a boat into the lake and then turn into the Han River. "

A Shu wiped the rain from his face: "I don't believe that I can't take down the mere capital city of Yingzhou! Give me 20,000 elite soldiers, and I will destroy the city within seven days! If the city of Yingzhou cannot be captured within seven days, I am willing to take the lead." See!" Boyan looked serious, looking at the Tenghu Lake in front of him. "Using troops in a timely manner is the way to be handsome. Our army's expedition to the south this time aims to destroy the Song Dynasty, not to gain or lose in one city or one place. Since Yingzhou cannot be dispatched overnight, in order to save time, but also to seize The warplanes annihilated the main force of the Song army, and the troops had to retreat from Yingying, and the army went straight to Huangjiawan Fort. We must not forget the painful lesson of Mengge Khan's defeat in Hezhou in the past."

He turned to Song Jiang general Li Ting: "Order your troops to conquer Huangjiawan Fort overnight, and cover the army from Tenghu to Hanjiang." "yes!" Li Ting is both wise and brave, especially good at water combat, and won the respect of Boyan after surrendering. "However, there are so many boats and ships, how to enter the Han River?" A Shu was at a loss, "Besides, it takes hundreds of miles to pull a boat from land." Boyan raised his right hand: "Please follow me!" He pointed to the dense bamboo in front of him, "Break the bamboo mat, tug the boat and row the boat, enter the Han River from the Tenghu Lake, so that we can cross the Song Dynasty without anyone noticing." The army's first barrier."

"Okay! What a plan to 'cross the sea'! In this way, it will not be difficult to flexibly mobilize Zhang Shijie who is firmly guarding Yingzhou." A Shu said, "When the Song army in Yingzhou wakes up, they will definitely send out a large army to chase them. Give him an ambush to annihilate the enemy, and then move eastward!" Ah Shu made a gesture of putting his hands together. Boyan nodded and got on his horse.The generals followed closely behind and galloped towards the dense bamboo forest. As Boyan said, Song general Zhang Shijie discovered that the Yuan army had entered the Han River from Tenghu, and hurriedly sent the Song army from Yingzhou out of the city to pursue them.Boyan personally came to the rear, beheaded a general of the Song Dynasty, and defeated tens of thousands of pursuers.

The Yuan army was in full swing all the way, even Keshayang and Xincheng.The defenders of the Song army were defeated and fled. The Yuan army continued to push forward. Soon, the Yuan army arrived at Huocaidian, and Boyan went to observe the situation in Hankou. He saw that the Song army was heavily fortified along the river. The Song general Xia Gui led ten thousand warships to occupy the fortress. The army guards the middle stream.Therefore, the generals at the Boyan meeting discussed the strategy of crossing the river. "The situation our army is currently facing is very serious. Before that, more than 10,000 warships of Song General Xia Gui intercepted them, and then Zhang Shijie led 100,000 Yingzhou defenders to pursue them. On both sides, there were 350,000 elite Song troops waiting in line." Boyan measured the map with a triangular ruler made of bamboo, "For the sake of safety, I would like to hear the opinions of everyone here, please express your opinions."

Zhang Hongfan, the son of Zhang Rou who had just been transferred to the front line, was the first to suggest: "The general thought that he could go back to the mouth of the Zhoulun River, cross the lake, and go straight to the river from the Xishawukou of Yangluobao." "Shawukou has already been guarded by elite soldiers of the Song Army. Once there is a mistake, our army will be attacked by the enemy." Another general, Zheng Da, objected. Boyan paced slowly in the handsome tent, seriously thinking about the countermeasures, the candlelight kept lengthening or shortening his figure.

"If Hanyang is besieged, let the soldiers spread the word that the army will cross the river from Hankou, and lure Xia Gui to send troops to help, how about it?" Boyan stopped in front of Ashu and looked at him with a smile. "The commander's intention must be to send cavalry to attack Shawu Fort, control the river mouth of Shawu Fort, and then set up guard against Yangluo Fort?" "Yes!" Boyan thought maturely, and spoke quickly, "At the same time, send a large army to open the dam from the river, lead the boats into the Lun River, and drive into the river to break through the natural moat of the Yangtze River!"

Zhang Hongfan's mood also became high, and he clapped his hands repeatedly: "Here, our army moored thousands of warships at the mouth of the Lun River, and hundreds of thousands of cavalry were stationed in the north of the river, facing each other with banners and killing people. Good momentum! Good momentum what!" When the plan was over, Zhang Hongfan fulfilled his mission and led the cavalry to attack Shawu Fort in one fell swoop.All the generals wanted to cross the river from Shawukou and seize the warships of the Song army on the south bank, but Boyan refused, and ordered to repair the attack tools and capture Yangluobao, a key pass in the north of the river.The Song army defending the fort fought to the death, but the Yuan army failed to attack for three consecutive days, and the battle was stalemate.

Yangluobao, also known as Wuji, is located in Huanggang, Hubei. It is a famous ferry in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, and it has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times.During the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Bei and Sun Quan used to fight against Cao Cao in the north here.In the last years of Emperor Xianzong of the Yuan Dynasty, when Kublai Khan led his army to encircle Hubei, he also crossed the south of the Yangtze River from Yangluo Fort. "In the Battle of Yingzhou, Lu Wenhuan sent an envoy to report the defense facilities of the Song Army in Yingzhou, and found that the ditch on the west side of Huangjiawan Fort was several feet deep, connected to Tenghu Lake in the south, and reached Zhujiang. Therefore, I ordered the army to cross Tengzhou. Take Huangjiawan by surprise.” Boyan patiently persuaded the generals who wanted to attack Shawukou, “War should not be fought recklessly with a single enthusiasm, but flexible and changeable tactics should be adopted, judging the situation, and The smallest price is for the greatest victory. Right now, the situation in Yangluo Fort is similar to that in Yingzhou. I think the most urgent thing to do is to avoid the truth and take advantage of the fierce battle in Yangluo Fort to go straight up the river in a boat. .”

After secret negotiations, the generals finally reached a consensus: to give up the strong attack on Yangluo Fort, and A Shu led 3,000 cavalry to cross the river by night to sneak attack the Song army's position on the south bank of the Yangtze River. Later, Boyan sent Zhang Hongfan to attack Wuji Fort to attract the attention of the Song army. At the same time, Li Ting and other Song generals led his troops back forty miles to the west and moored at Qingshanji to ensure that the Ashu army could fly across the sky. , seize the sandbar on the south bank of the barrier, and build a pontoon bridge. According to Boyan's deployment, the Ashu army took the lead in taking the lead on the sandbar.Boyan was overjoyed when he heard the victory, and quickly sent his troops to attack Yangluobao, an important town on the Yangtze River. At that time, Xia Gui, the envoy of Song Huaixi, tried to block the Yuan army's attack with 10,000 warships equipped with heavy artillery, crossbows, and stone bombs, and 200,000 heavy troops guarded Yangluo Fort. The boat division led by Zhang Hongfan and Xia Gui, the general of the Song Dynasty, launched a fierce water battle on the Yangtze River.The soldiers of the Song Dynasty had no fighting spirit, and the generals and schools abandoned the ship and fled for their lives. Zhang Hongfan took advantage of the victory to cover up the killing.Xia Gui was wounded in his arm, and led only a few warships to flee.The remaining tens of thousands of warships were either sunk, burned, or captured by the Yuan army. It was night, when the East and West fronts were fighting fiercely, the coach Boyan was also actively taking action.He came to the front line in person and commanded the main force to storm Yangluo Fort.After the defenders of Yangluo Fort learned the news that the main general Xia Gui had defeated Jiangxin, the entire army was shrouded in a pessimistic atmosphere.Four days later, Yangluo Fort fell, and the defender committed suicide on the top of the city. In the battle of Yangluo Fort, hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers of the Song army and navy were exhausted, and the natural moat fell. After that, the Song army, which lost its last barrier, fell into panic and chaos. Dozens of cities along the river surrendered without a fight. Sheng.