Qin Official

While great changes occurred in Bajun, the battlefield on the northern front was exceptionally calm.

Starting from the Han River in the west and ending at the Three Passes of Ming'e in the east, this is the dividing line between the two regimes of the north and the south. It is hundreds of miles long. More than 200,000 people have been stationed on both sides of this line, and they have been facing each other for more than a month.

"Still the same as before, not even a dog or pig to be seen."

After taking the robes to swim across the Baishui River on horseback again, and after inspecting the villages on the north bank, Sima Laowu, the cavalryman of the Northern Expedition, cursed like this.

Lao Wu is from Anlu County. He is actually the eldest son of the family. The reason why he was given this name is because the four brothers and sisters before him did not live past the age of three. They either died of famine or disease.

When he was the fifth child, his parents also died. In order to make ends meet, he went to join the Heifu family who were recruiting followers.

At first, he helped look after the house and nursery in Anlu. Later, when Heifu became the captain of the Northland County, he needed to choose some brave eaters to accompany him at home. When Sangmu came back to pick people, he named Lao Wu because he had a big appetite and was seven years old. He is taller than five inches tall, strong and agile, and can shoot arrows, which fits the criteria of a "martial knight".

Although he met the standards, Lao Wu had never ridden a horse in the past. His riding skills were notoriously poor. He often fell off his smooth horse and was ridiculed by Beidi Liangjiazi and Rong Di's cavalry.

Later, as the northern cavalry was generally equipped with saddles and stirrups, Lao Wu often practiced hard, and his riding skills gradually caught up.

As one of the personal guards around Hei Fu, although he had not participated in the battle to defeat the Huns, he had also seen the grand scene of thousands of knights fighting each other. When Heifu went to Jiaodong, he still took him with him. When Lao Wu was in the north, he was a crane tail in the cavalry. In the Jiaodong County soldiers, his riding skills became middle and upper reaches, so he became a cavalry officer commanding ten cavalry. , once followed Gong Ao to raid the rebels in Zhutian, which was enough to satisfy his addiction to rushing into battle.

A few years later, he followed Heifu to Lingnan and was promoted to a cavalryman with 200 horses. Unfortunately, Lingnan had dangerous mountains and narrow mountains and crisscrossed rivers, so the cavalry was almost useless. Lao Wu could only take care of the mules and horses. Transportation, to and from Wuling.

Fortunately, after Wu Zhonghou raised his army, he rebuilt the cavalry team. Because there were few war horses in the south and even fewer cavalry, there were only three cavalry commanders in total, one belonging to Han Xin, Dongmen Bao, and one under the direct jurisdiction of the generalissimo.

Lao Wu relied on his resume to become one of them and was directly responsible to Heifu. His duty was to be responsible for the security of the Baishui River for more than a hundred miles...

It has been two months since the Northern Expeditionary Army occupied Baishui River (Gunhe in Zaoyang, Hubei Province) and the south of Tongbai Mountain. Qin Ting's troops continued to move from Wuguan into Nanyang, but they did not rush to attack south, but concentrated on In the Wan, Ye, and Deng areas, the two sides fell into a stalemate.

This has also resulted in the dozens of miles north of the Baishui River turning into a desolate no-man's land. Either the Qin court forced them to move, or the people took the initiative to flee to avoid the war. The villages and communities in the ten miles are empty. Recently, even the dogs and pigs can't be seen. When one arrives, only the millet and rice heads growing in the ground mixed with weeds are hanging lower and lower, and the harvest day is approaching.

"Food has been tight these days, so I really feel like I have found time to cut these millets."

When it was time to eat, they were chewing dry food next to an empty stall. A horseman looked at the farmer and licked his lips while feeding the horse a bag of beans that he was reluctant to eat.

Lao Wu scolded: "Before you start cutting the millet, the Northern Army's scouts will rush over and shoot you dead in the field."

Although the northern and southern armies had been facing each other for a long time, and each had accumulated supplies, as if they were going to fight a protracted war, the exchanges of fire between the cavalry and scouts on both sides were fierce. In order to compete for a larger reconnaissance space, they fought almost every day.

But after several battles, Lao Wu had to admit that the Northern Expeditionary Army's scouts and cavalry were no match for the Kansai Jingqi.

Not to mention riding, shooting and familiarity with horses, the southerners were completely unable to keep up with the northerners. Even if they only looked at the horses, the Northern Expedition was completely defeated. The southern horses they rode were completely crushed by the enemy's size, and they could not gain any advantage in the confrontation. arrive.

But even these war horses were obtained by the Northern Expeditionary Army after they crossed the Baishui River in May and attacked the stables in Tangzi Township, Caiyang County. There was the ancient Tang Dynasty, which was rich in horses. The descendants of those horses were good at enduring hardships and climbing mountains. They were rare good horses in the south.

However, it is still not enough to see the descendants of horses from Saibei and Hexi.

"If those Northern Army cavalry had never had saddles or pedals, we would have been able to defeat them. It would have been better if Marquis Wu Zhong had not made these harnesses."

A knight muttered.

Lao Wu cursed again: "What are you thinking? Do you know how many fewer people died in the fight against the Huns back then because of these sharp weapons? Furthermore, how could you have imagined what would happen eight years later eight years ago? "

In his opinion, the colleagues he met these days have become merciless. They don't have the relentless ferocity that they had when fighting the Huns. Most of the time, they avoid it tacitly, and even hide together in the rain to share. food.

After all, a few months ago, everyone was still a member of the Qin Army.

It's a pity that I learned from the prisoners that most of the soldiers who came were Shangjun soldiers and few Northern soldiers. Lao Wu only felt it was a pity. If there were good Northern cavalry built by Wu Zhonghou in the army, they wouldn't have to just stay along the river. A line of sneaky reconnaissance.

But it is precisely because of this tacit understanding among the lower-level officials that the Northern Front is very quiet, so quiet that people forget that this is a war of huge scale...

Until July 15th, this tranquility was broken!

After the day's inspection, Lao Wu returned to the south bank of the Baishui River and received reports from the three cavalry teams, A, B and C, saying that the Northern Army's scouts were dispatched more frequently than usual.

Lao Wu felt something strange, but no one responded to the two cavalry teams to the west. It was not until a few empty horses ran back to the river in fear that he was sure that something had happened to his men!

The Northern Army's scouts rode across the north bank of the White Water River, showing off their power, without the usual tacit understanding. What's worse, from the sentry tower, the scouts saw smoke and dust rising high in the northern sky, covering the sky and the earth!

Wang Ben's army in Wan and Ye finally moved out!

Lao Wu's expression changed drastically and he spat out the fried rice in his mouth: "Send someone quickly to report to Marquis Wu Zhong!"

…

Madam Black is in Yan County (Yicheng, Hubei Province).

"The harvest is good. The tens of thousands of troops here in Yandi can be self-sufficient with local food."

In mid-July, on the eve of the rice harvest in the south, Heifu was inspecting the fields on the outskirts of Yan County.

The early capital of the Chu State here was called "Yanying". It was chosen as a capital because it naturally has its own merits: it is adjacent to Jingshan Mountain in the north, with lush mountains and forests, and to the east is a vast terrain with lush fields. It has been an important grain-producing area of ​​Chu State for hundreds of years.

Heifu specially mobilized his troops and led people to farm the fields to ensure the local harvest. In addition to the agreed May Day rent, the excess local grain would be purchased at a fair price by the Northern Expeditionary Army's Susu Commander to serve as frontline military grain.

After capturing Yan City, Heifu did not bet his treasure here. After all, although the history of this city is important, it also has loopholes. That is, the city was built on low ground, which is prone to water accumulation. Historically, Wu'an Jun Bai Qi built a long canal. When the city was flooded, the Chu people suffered heavy casualties.

In order not to repeat the same mistake, Heifu stationed a large army here, and also ordered the generals to continue moving north, and established an outpost fortress south of the Han River. Once they came, they would be close friends with Yan City, and they would be informed nearby. The trouble in Nanyang Wang Ben's army!

This precaution was correct. Within an hour, he received several emergencies in succession:

"Traces of enemy troops were found in Shandu, Fancheng, Caiyang, Baishui Township, Shangtang Township...these were all covered by smoke and dust. It seems that the Northern Army has really begun to move southward."

After reading the emergency report sent back by Lao Wu, Heifu looked at the ears of rice that were about to ripen and said with a smile:

"You have to take advantage of the critical moment of harvesting grain in the south to force us to fight. Marquis Tongwu is a shrewd man and doesn't want to give me the chance to sit back and take the edge off. But..."

"In this war, we fight preemptively at the corners, but in the center of the belly, we fight afterward. Old general, can't you wait any longer?"

…

Although the Qin army continued to move southward, Tongwuhou Wang Ben himself did not leave Wancheng.

But after months of gathering strength, he had assembled an army of 200,000 troops in Hanzhong, Nanyang, and Chenjun, and at the same time established a complete logistics and food route. Whether they are veterans or new recruits, each unit is like a finger on the arm, arriving at the predetermined battlefield under orders, ready to launch an attack on Heifu's defense line at any time.

But Wang Ben's eyes were not on Yancheng, Ming'e, and Suixian. Instead, he was extremely interested in a newly built city south of the Han River.

His finger pointed on the map, south of Fanzicheng, a small town separated by the Han River.

"Is this the newly built city sent by Heifu?"

Chang Shi immediately said: "Yes, after the black thieves occupied Yan City, they mobilized their soldiers to build the city with all their strength. Now they have also sent a total of 10,000 soldiers to garrison it."

Wang Ben nodded: "Although this city is new, it uses the Han River as a pool, and because Xian Mountain is a fortress, it immediately strangles the dangerous strategic points of Jianghan. It is really a good place. Hei Fu has a vicious eye."

This new city is precisely the top priority of this autumn offensive. Whoever gets it will take the initiative on the battlefield!

Thinking of this, Wang Ben asked again: "What is the name of this town?"

"Reported to Marquis Tongwu, the black thief named it himself: Xiangyang!"

…

ps: There is only one chapter today.

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