***
On the north bank of the Huo River, Wang Fuzhi sat in the central military tent, feeling very emotional.
After the camp was set up, the students of the Army Academy quickly made a sand table of the surrounding terrain, and summarized the distribution of military forces, defensive fortifications, and even the character and ability of the enemy generals, the composition of their troops, weapons and equipment, and combat effectiveness estimates for Liu Tichun and Qin Zuoming.
The logistics, camping, fodder, medical treatment, equipment, etc. were all well organized. The efficient and regular operation made the army run accurately like a machine.
Most of these were completed by this group of staff members, including the combat plans, which were quickly prepared in several copies and handed over to Liu Tichun and Qin Zuoming.
It can be said that all the Lord has to do is make a choice, what plan to adopt and when to start the war.
Wang Fuzhi felt that with the operational capabilities of the military staff, even if he were to become the commander-in-chief, he would probably not be too bad.
Of course, Wang Fuzhi's idea is obviously a bit unprofessional.
Whether the three key elements of time, place and people can be accurately grasped cannot be achieved by the staff alone. This requires the coach to have keen judgment and be able to make correct decisions in time to seize opportunities and win victory.
The role of these staff officers is simply to make the army's operations more regular and better coordinated, and to help the commander-in-chief make fewer unnecessary mistakes.
The Qin army did a very good job of intelligence work. Liu Tichun frowned and asked, "General Qin, Gu Xiancheng is really vicious. The arrows are poisoned. We must think of a countermeasure in advance, otherwise it will cause a large number of casualties in our army."
Qin Zuoming nodded and said, "Yes, and this guy has dug the other side of the river like this. People are hiding in trenches, which greatly reduces the power of our guns and artillery. If we attack by force, we will have to face his poisonous arrows, which is really tricky. I suggest that we send a group of people to swim upstream and find an opportunity to cross the river. And attack from behind."
"We can only give it a try. However, Gu Xiancheng has dug such a complete fortification on the other side. He must be preventing us from sending people to attack upstream. In addition, the mountains and forests upstream are dense and there is no way to pass. Only a small group of people can pass. Once we are discovered by Gu Xiancheng, it will be difficult for us to escape unscathed."
One of the staff officers, You Leming, pointed at the sand table and said, "General Liu, General Qin, look. The south side of the ferry is surrounded by mountains, and the middle is one mile wide. The wind is blowing from the north this season. Why don't we use smoke attack? Pile up more wet grass and trees on the north bank, and a lot of thick smoke will float to the south bank with the wind, which will surely make the enemy unable to bear it."
Liu Tichun clapped his hands and said, "That's a good idea. Go and prepare some wet firewood to smoke them to death."
Following Liu Tichun's order, more than 10,000 Qin soldiers immediately took action, cutting down large amounts of branches and firewood from all around and piling them on the north bank. In less than half an hour, they were piled up like a small mountain.
After the firewood was lit, the thick smoke drifted downwind to the south bank. The terrain at the ferry crossing on the south bank was not wide, with mountains on both sides and a narrow flat land one mile wide in the middle. The thick smoke followed this passage, and even if the enemy soldiers hid in the trenches, they were choked by the smoke and coughed continuously.
The thick smoke also obstructed vision. It was almost impossible to see the situation in Jiangbei. Liu Tichun saw it and shouted, "Come on, beat the drums, and pretend to cross the river in large numbers."
"Yes, General."
The Qin army's war drums were immediately beaten, and the rumbling sound was shocking. Thousands of Qin soldiers shouted in unison, as if they were crossing the river in a large scale.
Gu Xiancheng on the south bank went to the riverside to check. His eyes were swollen and red from the smoke, like two peaches, and tears kept flowing. The river was filled with thick smoke and he couldn't see clearly.
"Cough cough... cough cough..." He coughed and cursed. He had planned everything but had never expected the Qin army to use this trick. It was winter and the wind was blowing from the northwest. Although the smoke was lighter in the trenches, it was still uncomfortable. The soldiers could not stand breathing the smoke for a long time.
"Brother, what should we do?" Wei Sanguan asked anxiously.
"Why panic! Ahem... Qin's army is just feinting. Let's cover our mouths and noses with cloth soaked in water and lie down under the trench."
Apart from this, Gu Xiancheng had no other good solution.
As the situation on the north bank of the Yangtze River could not be seen clearly, the Qin army kept beating drums and gongs and shouting loudly, making the enemy troops on the south bank uneasy and feeling as if they were in a panic. This situation caused their morale to drop rapidly and become very depressed.
The Qin army on the north bank was full of energy. They kept cutting down trees and finding wet straw. They worked happily. Thick smoke blew towards the south bank, and the scene was spectacular.
In this cold winter, although the border between Hunan and Guangxi is not as icy and snowy as in the north, it is common to snow when the temperature is low. Covering your face with a wet cloth for a long time is unbearable and the cold is unbearable.
But we have to cover it up. We have to withdraw the soldiers. The Qin army makes feint attacks from time to time, and we can't see clearly from the surface of the river. Who knows when they will really cross the river. So we can't withdraw and can only endure it.
In this way, after being smoked for an hour, some soldiers in the trenches could not stand the cold anymore and found some dry firewood to make a fire to keep warm. Someone suddenly discovered that the smoke was not so heavy when they sat next to the fire.
This accidental discovery made Gu Xiancheng feel like he had found a treasure. He immediately ordered his soldiers to pile up a large amount of dry firewood on the south bank and start a fire.
When the fire started, the thick smoke coming from the north bank was carried up into the sky by the raging fire and could no longer reach the trenches.
In this way, Gu Xiancheng's troops on the south bank not only solved the problem of being smoked by the smoke, but the soldiers could also gather around the fire and warm themselves, killing two birds with one stone.
This made Gu Xiancheng laugh out loud, and his soldiers also cheered. The morale was immediately restored a lot, and they even had the leisure to ridicule the Qin army on the north bank.
"Come on, come on, put some more cigarettes on."
"Hey, you have a plan, but I have a ladder."
"The Qin army is nothing to be afraid of. They only have these little tricks."
"Brothers, don't worry about it. Catch some rabbits and roast them first."
“… ... ... .”
Gu Xiancheng and his men were delighted with their own intelligence and their morale was high. They thought that the Qin army was just like this. Some of them were shouting and yelling beside the fire, and even called in camp prostitutes to entertain themselves.
But they were too happy too early. After three hours of fireworks battle, Gu Xiancheng started to jump up and down: "What's going on? Add more firewood! What are you still standing there for?"
"General, all the firewood around here has burned out. We have to go to a distant place to chop firewood."
"Then go quickly! Go quickly!"
"General..." The soldier looked embarrassed.
Gu Xiancheng also realized that something was wrong. The Qin army on the north bank used wet firewood to "make smoke", which was enough to suffocate. But they had to keep the fire burning. In other words, the same pile of firewood could last an hour for the Qin army, but they could burn it all in a cup of tea, and the consumption rate was several times that of the Qin army.
At first they could still cope, but after a while, when the firewood around them was burned out, they had to go far away to find firewood, and there was a time difference in the round trip. If it was like this, there was no point in fighting this battle. It was estimated that just looking for firewood would tire thousands of his men to death.
Gu Xiancheng couldn't even cry, let alone laugh. Why, why is it winter now? It would be great if the southeast wind blew in spring or summer...
Wei Sanguan repeated the old tune and asked anxiously, "Brother... ahem, what should we do?"
"Damn it... cough cough...you ask me, who should I ask?" Gu Xiancheng was furious and picked up a knife to chop someone.
As the flames on the south bank gradually died down, thick smoke from the north bank began to spread again. Gu Xiancheng's soldiers had to cover themselves with wet cloth again. The cold feeling was more uncomfortable than covering themselves with diapers.
This time it was the turn of the Qin army on the north bank to be happy. They laughed non-stop. The Doushui River was only forty steps wide, and the laughter was clearly audible when carried by the wind.
There were also Qin soldiers shouting to persuade them to surrender: "Brothers on the south bank, don't hold on. Cut off Gu Xiancheng's head and you will be promoted to a higher position."
"Brothers, we don't want to fight you, but Gu Xiancheng is a felon designated by our majesty. If you chop off his head, you will be immediately granted a title of nobility and appointed as prime minister. This opportunity cannot be missed. It will never come again."
"... ... ... "
The Qin army took full advantage of the weather, setting off smoke while persuading people to surrender.
Gu Xiancheng and his men could not stand the "gentle comfort" of the thick smoke, so they had to leave a small number of troops to defend and withdraw the main force a few miles away. At dusk, after launching several feint attacks to paralyze the enemy, Liu Tichun suddenly ordered the Qin army to really cross the river;
Thousands of Qin troops who had been prepared long ago rowed their boats hard, quickly crossed the forty-step-wide river, and captured the beachhead on the south bank in one fell swoop. The fortifications that Gu Xiancheng had spent countless efforts to build did not play their due role in this fireworks battle.
The Qin army rushed to the shore in the smoke. The few enemy troops left behind were vulnerable and quickly defeated. Gu Xiancheng knew that he could not hold on and simply retreated to Qiyang City. The Qin army won the first battle and successfully broke through the confusing water. There was a thunderous cheer... ..
.(To be continued..)
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