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The terrain of Jiangxi Province is high in the east, south and west, gradually falling towards the middle and finally tilting towards the north. Zhang Xianzhong's 200,000-man army came from the west, and was generally in a dominant position.
The reason why Yuanzhou is called the gateway to Jiangyou is because Yuanzhou is located at the junction of mountains and relatively flat hills and plains. Once Yuanzhou is lost, Zhang Xianzhong's army can pour down like a flood rushing out of a canyon, spreading all over Jiangxi.
Wugong Mountain is located at the junction of Yuanzhou and Pingxiang in the southwest. It has magnificent peaks and is as majestic as "clouds and mountains from thousands of miles away are all within sight, and the sun and the moon in the sky can be seen shoulder to shoulder". It was once known as one of the three famous mountains in the south of the Yangtze River together with Hengshan Mountain and Lushan Mountain.
Between Wugong Mountain and Jiuling Mountain in the northeast of Yuanzhou, there is a series of mountains that stretch from west to east, which is the watershed between Yuanshui River and Jinjiang River. This series of mountains forms a gap at Laohukou in the west of Yuanzhou. Laohukou is very dangerous, as it is close to the mountain and the river.
Wu Xueli's 50,000 troops are now stationed at Laohukou.
Zhang Xianzhong's 200,000-man army was like a huge dark cloud floating down from Wugong Mountain, threatening to cover the entire Jiangxi Province. To the west of Laohukou was a relatively open hilly area formed by river alluvial deposits;
Looking from the mountain, this open area is now full of weapons and military tents, stretching for sixty or seventy miles, with no end in sight. Add to that the noise of people and the neighing of horses, and the heaven and earth seem to be boiling.
Zhang Xianzhong's troops were a huge lake on a high mountain, and Tiger's Mouth was the dam that blocked the flood. Once the dam broke, it would be a devastating force.
Zhang Xianzhong took a bath in the river and stood up from the water naked. His brass-colored skin was covered with scars of varying sizes, which looked quite scary.
Military advisor Xu Yixian was waiting on the shore holding the royal robe, and a little further away, Li Dingguo, Hu Yansan, Li Zhaoguang and other generals were standing and waiting. Only after Zhang Xianzhong put on the royal robe and equipped himself with the precious sword did Li Dingguo and others dare to come over.
Before anyone could speak, Zhang Xianzhong stroked his foot-long beard, looked at Yuan Shuixian beside him and sighed, "What a pity! The river has a huge drop in elevation and the current is turbulent, making it difficult for boats to pass through."
The river beside him is called Yuanshui, which originates from the northern foot of Wugong Mountain in Pingxiang, flows eastward, passes through Yuanzhou City, passes Linjiang Prefecture (Xinyu), and merges into Ganjiang River at Zhangshu Zhangjiashan. The section in Yuanzhou is also called Xiujiang because of its clear water and beautiful scenery on both sides.
Xu Yixian and others naturally knew why Zhang Xianzhong sighed like this. Tiger Pass is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Now there are 50,000 troops stationed by Wu Xueli. If they want to attack it by force, they will have to pay huge casualties. If Yuanshui is navigable, there will be another waterway to take, which will be much more beneficial for their 20 armies.
"Your Majesty, although the Yuan River is difficult to navigate, we can select some people who are good at sailing, use the cover of night to quietly float down on bamboo rafts, and harass Wu Xueli's rear."
"No, no matter how stupid Wu Xueli is, he can't fail to be on guard against this. The river water here is rushing and turbulent. Once it flows down, no matter how good the water quality is, one can only go downstream and it is difficult to go back upstream. If the enemy finds out in advance, won't all the people sent out have to go into the river to feed the fish?"
"Your Majesty is right. I was not thoughtful enough. Please forgive me."
"Alright, alright, let's discuss how to take Tiger's Mouth as soon as possible. We have 200,000 soldiers and horses to feed. If we delay for one day, we will consume countless more food and grass. We can't afford to delay. Dingguo, what's your plan?"
Clothes make the man, and saddles make the horse. After Zhang Xianzhong put on a brand new royal robe, he looked quite majestic. He sat on a rock, and everyone bowed and stood on his left and right, like a court standing in formation.
When Li Dingguo was asked, he quickly came out and answered: "Father, the terrain of Laohukou is narrow, and it is difficult for us to deploy all our troops. Therefore, although our army has 200,000 people, we cannot play the advantage of military strength. Moreover, most of our troops are newly joined. If there are too many casualties, the morale of the army will inevitably be weakened. Therefore, blindly attacking Laohukou is not a good strategy. Looking at the mountains around Laohukou, although the army cannot pass, small groups of troops can still get through. I think we should attack Laohukou while sending a large number of small groups of troops to infiltrate over the mountains, rob their food routes, burn their supplies, and disrupt their morale. If we can form a situation where we can attack everywhere, the enemy in Laohukou will collapse without a fight."
Zhang Xianzhong nodded slightly. It seemed that this was the only way to try now. Anyway, the 200,000 troops under his command had just been recruited. It would be better to divide them into small groups and infiltrate in large numbers than to wait here and waste food. Even if they all died, he would not feel sad. At worst, he could just recruit another 200,000.
Seeing that Zhang Xianzhong approved of Li Dingguo's plan, Xu Yixian immediately added: "Your Majesty, if that is the case, we can also send a general to slowly gather the infiltrating troops and horses, and accumulate small streams to form a big river. If all goes well, we can form a large army behind the enemy lines and attack Tiger's Mouth from both sides."
Zhang Xianzhong immediately made a decision and shouted, "Okay, let's do it, Hu Yansan!"
"I will be here in the end."
"You have fought against the enemy before, and you are familiar with the terrain of Yuanzhou. You can go there. If you can gather the troops that have infiltrated and attack Tiger's Mouth from both sides as the military advisor said, you will be the first to win the battle."
"I will obey your order."
"I'll leave it to you to send a small group of people to infiltrate. Go ahead."
"Yes, my king."
After Hu Yansan took the order, Zhang Xianzhong asked the generals, "Who is willing to lead the army to attack Tiger's Mouth?"
Including Li Dingguo, seven or eight generals came out to volunteer. Zhang Xianzhong glanced at the generals, raised his inverted 8-character eyebrows, and revealed his sturdy and rough appearance. He said to Li Dingguo in a deep voice: "Dingguo, you will be the main attacker in this battle. I will give you 100,000 troops. No matter whether Hu Yansan can support you from the rear, you have five days to capture Laohukou. Do you dare to accept the order?"
"I will follow my father's order and capture Tiger's mouth within five days."
"Okay, you should get ready right away."
After all the generals went to prepare for battle, Zhang Xianzhong and Xu Yixian were left at the riverside. Zhang Xianzhong put away his stern look and asked casually, "What does the military advisor think of Qin Mu?"
"Qin Mu?" Zhang Xianzhong suddenly mentioned Qin Mu at this time. Xu Yixian was a little surprised, but also understood. Although he had never heard of this person before, Zhang Xianzhong's 20,000 elite vanguards were wiped out by Qin Mu, and Yuanzhou was lost again. The reason why the 200,000-strong army became so passive today was all thanks to this Qin Mu who suddenly appeared.
Xu Yixian thought for a moment and replied cautiously: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, although Qin Mu's soldiers are strong, they only have 2,000 men after all. If they fight head-on, they are not a threat. Judging from the way he fought with Zhang Qi in the front of 20,000, he does not seem to rely on his military strength, but prefers to take unconventional approaches, use strategies, use spies, lure the enemy, harass the enemy, launch surprise attacks, and ambush. His methods are varied and varied. Therefore, in my opinion, Your Majesty only needs to guard against his tricks and do not worry about his decisive influence on the overall situation."
Zhang Xianzhong asked calmly: "Do you really think so?"
"This... ... ... What does the king mean?"
"What do you mean?" Zhang Xianzhong's inverted eyebrows suddenly raised again, "What do you mean is that from the moment Yuanzhou was lost again, Qin Mu has already had an immeasurable impact on the overall situation."
Xu Yixian was so frightened that he fell to his knees and begged for mercy: "Your Majesty, please forgive me, Your Majesty, please forgive me..."
"Get up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you, Your Majesty." Xu Yixian wiped the sweat off his face as he got up. He knew very well in his heart that although Zhang Xianzhong seemed to respect him on the surface, Zhang Xianzhong's deep-seated contempt for literati had never changed. Zhang Xianzhong proclaimed himself king and adopted Li Dingguo and others as his adopted sons and appointed them as garrison generals, but he, the military advisor, was still a military advisor. This was a clear example of Zhang Xianzhong's position.
"Mr. Xu, have you ever thought about this? Zhang Qizai's defeat was probably due to his underestimation of the enemy, just like you did."
"Yes, yes, your Majesty is right." No matter what Zhang Xianzhong said, Xu Yixian quickly admitted it, "Your Majesty, according to the scouts' report, Qin Mu has now retreated to Yuchun Mountain north of Yuanzhou, and has also clashed with Wu Xueli's troops. The two sides fought a fierce battle. Your Majesty, why don't we use this to alienate Wu and Qin?"
"Oh, military advisor, please tell me how to sow discord."
"Your Majesty, we can send an envoy to Qin Mu's army to recruit him, then deliberately leak this matter to Wu Xueli, and then spread some rumors that Qin Mu is planning to cooperate with our army to attack Wu Xueli from both inside and outside. I think Wu Xueli and Qin Mu already have a grudge, and if he hears such a rumor, he will definitely believe it. Then there will be a good show to watch."
"Well, this is a good plan. Let the military advisor do it quickly."
"Yes, my king."
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.(To be continued.)
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