When Guo Shao woke up, he heard a loud noise. With a bang, the curtain hanging at the door was suddenly opened, and his eyes were dazzled by the bright light. Luo Mengzi's voice said: Brother, the sky is clear and the sun is out.
It took Guo Shao a while to react. He hurriedly got up and put on his clothes. When he walked out of the tent, he saw people and horses moving around and the sun was hanging in the sky in the east. Not only that, the sky was blue and the sky and the earth were clear. The low and depressing gray clouds yesterday had long disappeared. A rainbow arc hung on the blue sky, and the orange streamer was very beautiful in the sky.
It’s so beautiful! A smile appeared on Guo Shao’s face.
Jingniang came over and said happily: I was right, the sky will be clear soon.
How did the words go, thank the Queen Mother, thank the heavens, Guo Shao laughed. Jing Niang was speechless, her eyes rolled up and she rolled her eyes.
When the generals saw Guo Shao standing at the door, they all gathered over there.
At this moment, a voice outside the fence of the headquarters shouted: Report victory! A messenger ran over hurriedly in the undried mud, handed over a report, and said loudly: Dong Qianfeng reports that the navy broke through Qumen and defeated the Shu navy that blocked the river. Dozens of our warships have entered the open water.
Haha, Guo Shao raised his head and laughed. Looking back, he saw that all the generals were very excited. He said, "The whole chess game is alive. No more nonsense. Send a message to the whole army. The army will set out immediately and march straight to the city of Kuizhou."
At the headquarters of the Kuizhou Central Army, dozens of civil and military officials gathered in the lobby. Wang Zhaoyuan was walking back and forth quickly, and his movements made everyone nervous.
Waste, waste. Wang Zhaoyuan was so angry that he pointed at all the gaps and cursed. How could the Zhou army navy break through the Qumen navy? Where is the general? Has he been persuaded to surrender? Was he let go to help them tow the boat
A general said with a sad face: "General Wang, my navy commander commanded more than 22 people, and 18 of them died in the battle. Because everyone knows that Qumen is related to the safety of Dashu, they fought to the death and suffered such casualties. Even if they were defeated, you can't slander them like this."
You also know that Qumen is related to the safety of Dashu. Wang Zhaoyuan's face turned pale and blue. Qumen is easy to defend but difficult to attack. There are warships stationed on both sides day and night. How can you let the Zhou army warships come? What kind of ship can pass the rapids
The general said: The Zhou army soldiers disregarded their lives and walked barefoot in the rain on the small path carved by the towmen on the stone wall in the middle of the night before last, attacking our water fortress. They were besieged and annihilated by our navy. Another group came up in the early morning and burned our water fortress, causing a large number of warships to be washed downstream by the river. Only a few ships of the Zhou army's navy were towed upstream. Our reinforcements besieged them, but failed to capture them for a long time, delaying the opportunity to fight.
At this time, Gao Yanchou advised: "It is too late to regret now. Besides, the sky has cleared up. Even if the water is not breached, the Zhou army will be at the gates of the city. Wang Jianjun, order all troops to withdraw to the city. It is time to defend the city to the death."
If the Yangtze River waterway and land route all fall into the hands of Zhou's army, what is the point of our army defending the isolated city? Wang Zhaoyuan kept walking back and forth, his face was pale, and he no longer had the calm demeanor he had when he was in command.
Gao Yanchou said: "Now gather the troops. The number of troops in Kuizhou is no less than 20,000. They are still very useful in this critical place. Kuizhou is an important town in the east of Dashu. It has stored no less than 300,000 hu of grain and grass. We can eat for two years. There are cities and fortresses with sufficient food. We can't win the field battle. Why not defend the city?"
Wang Zhaoyuan said: If they can hold on with fortifications, the Zhou army should be blocked in Wuxia now. How was Wuxia Fort breached? The Zhou army has explosives.
After hearing this, everyone started to discuss and panic. Everyone asked about the power and usage of the explosive, but no one could explain it in detail. They only thought it was the gunpowder used by Taoists to make elixirs. According to the records in ancient books, there was something that could blow up and burn roofs during alchemy. It was probably that thing. But the Shu high-ranking officials had heard about the battle of Huainan Shouzhou and knew that the thing could blow down the city walls.
Moreover, the Shu army had tasted it once in Wu Gorge not long ago, and now they firmly believe that this thing exists in the world and can break through fortifications.
Wang Zhaoyuan saw the reaction of the crowd and asked Gao Yanchou coldly: "Does General Gao Jie still want to defend the city?"
Gao Yanchou said: In this world, everything has its own nemesis. As long as we take precautions early, there is no other way except to defend the city.
Wang Zhaoyuan disagreed and said: "The Zhou army has come from a long way and has been trekking on the Shu Road for nearly a month. They also came through mountain roads. They must be exhausted. The Shu army is resting in Kuizhou City. If we use the well-rested army to attack the exhausted Zhou army while the Zhou army is not yet firmly established, the outcome is uncertain."
General Wang wanted to attack Zhou's army, but Gao Yanchou was shocked and hurried to dissuade him.
Wang Zhaoyuan said coldly: "If we follow the instructions of General Gao Jie, we will be trapped in the isolated city and will surely be defeated. We should seize the opportunity to decide the winner. There is still a chance. Everyone, the art of war says that you should survive after you die. Should we sit and wait for death or fight for it?"
Gao Yanchou tried to persuade Wang Zhaoyuan with kind words at first, but when he saw that Wang Zhaoyuan was determined, Gao Yanchou became annoyed and said: If General Wang wants to go, you go. I can't afford to lose face.
"General Gao Jie is guarding the city, and he is just hiding in the city like a turtle, watching how I, Wolong, fight," said Wang Zhaoyuan.
Both sides sent out a large number of scouts, and as Zhou's army was approaching, they could see each other's movements clearly.
Wang Zhaoyuan was going to leave the city for a decisive battle. Guo Shao was very surprised to hear the news, and he asked the scouts who had seen it in person to ask about the Shu army's movements in detail. At this time, Li Gu also arrived at the army and said: The Shu army may think that our army has exhausted its troops and attacked from a long distance, so there is an opportunity to take advantage of it.
At this time, the Zhou army had already advanced southwest along the Yangtze River towards Kuizhou. A general suggested that they stay there to rest for two or three days before engaging in a decisive battle.
Guo Shao said: Everyone knows that waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out has advantages, but rigidly following the rules may lead to missed opportunities. What if Wang Zhaoyuan comes to his senses and decides to defend the city? Attacking the city by force is more difficult, at least it will take more time and more people will die.
In order not to affect the confidence of the soldiers, he did not mention the shortcomings of gunpowder in bombing the city, so that the soldiers could maintain their confidence, which was more beneficial to the morale of the army. However, bombing the city was not that easy. First of all, it depended on the soil and groundwater conditions under Kuizhou. Not all places could successfully bury gunpowder under the city wall; even if the explosion was successful, the power of black gunpowder was limited and could only blow up a gap. As long as the defenders were well prepared, blowing up the gap would not necessarily lead to the capture of the city. Even in the era of artillery, attacking a city was not easy, and gunpowder did not mean that everything could be conquered.
Tomorrow morning we will march non-stop and advance on Wang Zhaoyuan’s troops, and then we can engage in a decisive battle with Guo Shao right away.
All the generals clasped their fists and replied: Yes.
An hour later, all the generals above the rank of commander were summoned to the central army tent to discuss matters and arrange the military affairs for tomorrow. Guo Shao said one more thing, waved his hand and said, "Disperse, everyone, have dinner first."
Guo Shao didn't spend time eating. He took two wheat cakes and asked someone to serve him a bowl of soup while he ate while reviewing the terrain around Kuizhou. He also ordered all the scouts who returned today to come to the central army tent to talk. He ordered to discuss the matter after an hour because he wanted to prepare his strategy first.
Beforehand, we did not expect Wang Zhaoyuan to rush out to fight, and because we had just arrived near Kuizhou, we were indeed a little unprepared. Fortunately, Kuizhou was an important place, and when the army was still in Jingzhou, there were spies who came here to gather intelligence, so we drew several maps and were prepared for the general situation.
The route taken by the main force of the Zhou army to Kuizhou was a little roundabout, but it was flatter and wider. They came from the mountain road, crossed the Longxi and Meixi rivers, and then went south along the riverbank of Longxi to merge with the Yangtze River; then they turned and continued to attack Kuizhou southwestward along the north bank of the Yangtze River. The terrain along the river was slightly flatter and wider; the area further north, away from the Yangtze River, was full of rocks. Although the mountains in this area were not very high, they were all mountains with only narrow paths.
Guo Shao had understood the general terrain from reading old reports, but now he wanted to know the more detailed situation of the battlefield. He could only rely on the scouts' oral descriptions and had no time to observe it in person beforehand.
There was a village there. Guo Shao drank a mouthful of soup, put down the wheat cake, and asked the scout how many houses and how many people there were.
The scout frowned and recalled: There were only ten or six or seven buildings, some tiled houses and some thatched houses, and not many people. There was a wide dirt road to the south.
Guo Shao picked up his pen and wrote and drew, while asking, "Who has been to this village to the west?"
Another person came forward and clasped his fists, saying: "Over there is a low mountain, stretching to the north, high in the north and low in the south. The slope on the south is gentler, and besides a few wheat fields, there are shrubs and weeds, relatively barren sandy land, and some single-family houses at the foot of the mountain. Climb to the top of the mountain ridge and you can see the Kuizhou city tower. By the way, I also met a farmer, caught him and asked him about it, and he said that the mountain is called Sanma Mountain."
Guo Shao was very interested in Sanma Mountain. After asking the other two people, he muttered: If I were Wang Zhaoyuan, I would choose this hillside as the battlefield. It is spacious and can be arranged in an open space, and I can occupy the advantageous high terrain in advance.
The riverside terrain east of Kuizhou was only a few miles wide and ten miles long, but Guo Shao drew several maps and scribbled a lot of news he heard in his own booklet. It was impossible for scouts to write articles about what they saw and heard, but they could still describe what they saw and heard clearly.
Bonfires gradually lit up in the military camp, and night fell, with stars all over the sky. But the day was not over yet, and the drums of the central army headquarters were beaten, and many generals came one after another. Everyone took off their swords and placed them on the wooden rack at the door of the tent, and entered one after another.
The tent was not spacious, and with dozens of people crammed in at once, it gradually became crowded.
There were many lights on both sides, and a picture was hung in front. Guo Shao quickly walked into the big tent, and heard Shi Yanchao impatiently say: "Guo Du Dianjian, we finally have a good fight, let me play as the forward."
Guo Shao said directly: I have more important contributions for you, let Yang Biao go as the forward.
The number of monthly tickets for the 1 yuan green apple is limited every day, and it is updated at 0:00 am; once the number of monthly tickets is capped, no more will be issued. So when I tried during the day, I found that no monthly tickets were issued because they were all used up by others.