Qin Official

On the other side of Xiangyang, there is a huge military camp of the Northern Army, with Fancheng as the center, stretching for more than ten miles. It is the morning meal, and the smoke from the cooking pots is curling up, forming a dark cloud over Fancheng.

"Did you count clearly?"

At the top of Xiangyang City, Lieutenant General kicked Shiri, who was responsible for watching the enemy's numbers, and told him to hurry up.

Shiri hurriedly said: "Captain Gong, I've seen it more or less. When the enemy camp was cooking, there were at least five thousand stoves smoking together!"

"One stove, ten people can eat, that's fifty thousand."

"This is just the main camp. According to the report from Sima Laowu, the cavalryman on the other side of Baishui River, there are three smaller camps to the west, east and rear of the main camp, each with ten thousand people stationed."

"In other words, the enemy army has arranged a force of 80,000 people to attack Xiangyang."

Several military officers nearby quickly calculated the rough number of enemy troops and looked at Captain Gong: "Captain Gong, what should we do?"

You know, the Xiangyang garrison only has 10,000 troops.

"Afraid of a bird!"

As a leader among Heifu's old subordinates, the Gongwei who had made great contributions in the Wuchang and Jiangling battles had a smooth mouth, but he had a bit of arrogance.

He pointed at the 80,000 enemy troops on the other side, as if he regarded them as nothing: "Across the Han River, which is two to three hundred feet wide, and our navy division is blocking it, can they still fly over with wings? Seven or eight days have passed. Now, why don't you just look at Han and sigh, unable to do anything?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a violent commotion erupted from the Northern Army camp on the other side, which was hundreds of feet high, and the sound surged into the sky!

On the wall of Xiangyang City, the soldiers who were also making food almost immediately stood up when they heard the shouts, picked up the weapons around them, and looked at the north bank of the Han River warily.

The enemy troops had no intention of crossing the river. They simply cheered and sang for the arrival of a man!

Eighty thousand people shouted at the top of their lungs, and the sound, even though they were hundreds of feet away, still clearly reached the ears of everyone in the Northern Expedition.

"Marquis Tongwu is here!"

"Marquis Tongwu is here!"

A black banner was also erected in the enemy's camp. In addition to the dragon flag representing the status of the monarch, the banner was embroidered with a huge word "king"!

Everyone looked at each other, and the recruit stuck out his tongue and licked his lips to soothe his emotions, unable to hide the fear in his eyes. Even though he had experienced countless battles with old soldiers, he still tried his best to suppress the pressure in his chest.

But each of them knew clearly that the general who had been invincible in all attacks and battles for decades had finally arrived and immediately boosted the morale of the Northern Army!

But unfortunately, a newborn calf is not afraid of tigers.

The captain behaved as usual, chatting and laughing as before, pulling the soldiers out of awe and fear:

"The Generalissimo said that Xiangyang is made of iron. I must let Wang Ben experience his first defeat here!"

…

Fancheng is much older than the newly built Xiangyang. It is said that it was the villa of Zhongshanfu in the Zhou Dynasty. Because Zhongshanfu was named Fan Bo, this small town is also called Fancheng.

As soon as he arrived here, the gray-haired old general boarded Fancheng and had a clear view of the situation on the other side.

Xiangyang City is not big because it is only used as a military fortress and does not have any official offices or residential areas.

But Xiangyang's three-foot-high north city wall is only more than ten feet away from the Han River. This means that even if it crosses the river, there is no broad depth to deploy the siege troops. Instead, it will be penetrated by the enemy's crossbows. Heartbroken.

There are also city walls on the other three sides, and the Han River is diverted around the city. The moat is five to sixty feet wide.

It can be seen that Heifu really spent a lot of money to build this strong city. He resisted not crossing the Han Dynasty and headed north for two months. Forty thousand people took turns to construct the city and let the city rise from the ground.

But for Wang Ben, Heifu's investment was well spent.

If you look further, you will see that to the east of Xiangyang is the tidal flat near the river, to the west and south are the rolling hills, including Wanshan Mountain and Xian Mountain. There are only two long and narrow mountain roads leading to the south.

"There is a saying in the art of war that when you enter through a narrow place and when you return through a circuitous route, the place where the enemy can attack our army is called a siege. This Xiangyang is a siege."

Wang Ben watched in silence for a long time, and finally spoke up. The old general had fought countless tough battles in his life. Whether it was Huaiyang, which was easy to defend and difficult to attack, Daliang, which had a large population, or Xiangping, which was far away, he had a way to take advantage of it. Down.

But the Xiangyang in front of him made Wang Ben truly understand why the forwards he sent spent a full ten days and were still unable to do anything against the opposite city.

No, the captains in the vanguard actually didn't even reach the city wall, because they didn't even come up with a perfect way to get the army across the Han River.

"General, over there is Peach Blossom Island (Xiangyang Peach Blossom Island)."

The vanguard general was named Sima Yang, the grandson of Sima Cuo. He pointed to a huge island in the water on the south bank to the west, and could vaguely see some warships entering and leaving the water stronghold. That was the culprit that blocked the Northern Army on the north bank for several days!

"While the black bandit was building Xiangyang, he also built a water village on Taohua Island. When he captured Nanjun, he controlled many Jianghan boats, most of which went up to the Han Dynasty and concentrated here. Our army wanted to attack Jihan. Xiangyang, often blocked by it, tried to build a pontoon bridge twice, but both times were crashed and burned by the rebels."

Now Sima Yang and the captains were in trouble. When it came to field battles and even attacking the city, they were veterans who had fought in the battle to destroy the Six Kingdoms. They were led by soldiers from Shangjun and Guanzhong, and they were absolutely not afraid of the enemy. .

But if there is a battle on the water, the soldiers from the north will not look good. The northerners are good at horses, and the southerners are good at boats. The southern army is mostly from the Chu region. They live by the water, and their water skills are several times better than the northern army. In addition, almost all the naval forces of the Qin Dynasty were concentrated on the coast and in the south. The northerners could only stare at Xiangyang and did not dare to enter the water to fight. King Zhao of Zhou drowned in the Han River, and the lesson of never returning from the southern expedition was lost. The lieutenants all remember it.

Wang Ben did not blame them too much, but smiled and said: "It is indeed difficult to attack a dangerous and solid place by taking advantage of the power of mountains and rivers!"

But his high praise for this new city does not mean that it has no flaws.

Wang Ben walked to the east wall of Fancheng, pointed to the large sandbank where the Tangbai River merged into the Han River more than ten miles away, and asked: "What is the name of the continent to the east?"

Sima Yang said: "This continent is called Yuliang Island, also known as Longwei Island."

Wang Ben nodded: "The reason why the rebels did not build a water stronghold on this island is probably because it is too close to the north bank and difficult to hold. It gives us an advantage. If you want to take Xiangyang, you must first win the water battle, otherwise the army will have to take a long way around. Before we can cross the river, I made some omissions a few days ago, but it is not too late to make up for it. Sima Yang, please immediately send people to the shore to build a large-scale construction project on it and build a water fortress!"

"General, if the rebel boat division comes to harass..." Sima Yang was worried. Their pitiful little boat was no match for the southern boat division.

But Wang Ben didn't care: "The floating bridge was also rebuilt, leaving the rebels to focus on one thing and not the other."

"No." Sima Yang accepted the order, but he was unsure.

"And that."

Wang Ben then pointed to the west of Xiangyang City, the narrow plain between the Han River and the Wanshan Mountains and ravines: "The commander of Hanzhong County has sent 20,000 troops to Zhuyang. I can push them eastward and build a camp on Wanshan Mountain from a high position. Observing the reality of Xiangyang, we can also test how many reinforcements the rebels have hidden behind Wanshan and Xianshan."

With this guidance from King Ben, the next battle of the Northern Army will no longer be forcibly crossing the Han River as its main purpose, but will become to accumulate water advantages and conduct tests from the west to seize the commanding heights of Wanshan...

After all the captains were ordered to retreat, Wang Ben remained at the top of the city, holding the battlements and looking at Xiangyang with a complicated expression.

"Marquis Tongwu, the wind is strong at the top of the city. Do you want to go down?"

The young-looking Chang Shi behind him kindly reminded him that he was Wang Ben's newly recruited staff member, his surname was Gan Mingtang, and he was the son of the famous Gan Luo. Gan Luo was smart but died young, leaving only this son.

Gantang is like his father. Although he is young, he is very smart. Wang Ben likes to take him with him.

"Gantang, you always like to talk too much. Just now I asked everyone if they wanted to add more strategies to break the city. You didn't say a word. Why?"

Gantang smiled and said: "Because I guess that Marquis Tongwu does not intend to fight a tough battle in Xiangyang."

"Oh?" Wang Ben turned around and said, "Why do you see it?"

Gantang said: "It has been two months since Marquis Tongwu sent out troops. The central government has been pressing hard. The second emperor has to issue an edict almost every ten days, asking Marquis Tongwu to march. Now the black thieves are in power, and there are people in Jingzhou , it is said that they are still sending troops to Wuhui and Bashu. Bandits are raging in Dongfang and Chu, and the world will be in chaos. The general may not have time to slowly test and surround with the rebels here, and then train the sailors from the beginning."

"Therefore, I thought that the several orders given by Marquis Tongwu were just to use Captain Sima as a suspect to station in Xiangyang for a long time and fight a decisive battle. But in fact, I'm afraid they have other intentions."

Wang Ben smiled and said: "What a boy from the Gan family. He is so smart and intelligent that he can almost catch up with your father."

He slowly became serious: "You are right. My original intention was to lead the army directly to Yan County and fight Heifu. Unexpectedly, Heifu built a new city here, and I couldn't cross the Han River."

Seeing Wang Bendu, who had been invincible throughout his life, say this, Gantang smacked his lips: "Is this city really so difficult to defeat?"

Wang Ben nodded. Although he didn't want to admit it, he had to admit it: "Back then, Lu Buwei sent his disciples to write "Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals" to count the famous passes and dangerous passes in the world. There were nine places in total. If you ask me, Xiangyang can be added to make it ten. Stuffed.”

"The rebels were able to find such an important place to defend, which is indeed a key point. Decades ago, if the Chu people could build a strong city here, Lord Wu'an would also be in trouble, and I have no way to break it quickly. "

"The Art of War says that it will take three months to repair the oars, culls, and equipment, and it will take another three months to get to the ridge. If the general is overwhelmed by its anger and ants attack it, killing one-third of the soldiers, but the city cannot be taken out, this attack will It’s a disaster.”

"I have just calculated it. If we really want to attack Xiangyang, I am afraid that we will need an army of 100,000 to attack from left to right, encroaching step by step. We will first conquer the water and cut off its food and reinforcements, and then attack the city and besiege it for months and months. In total, I am afraid it will take two years. Three years later..."

But Wang Ben couldn't afford to wait even half a year. His health was already in bad shape, and he was forced to lead the troops out of the border. He didn't know when he would collapse. The situation in the government and the world was getting worse and worse. Although he knew that this battle was to be fought late, he had to take action first.

However, Xiangyang City was like a natural chasm, blocking Wang Ben.

And this time, he no longer had the advantage and time he had when he besieged Daliang.

"During the time of the First Emperor, he made the city famous and withdrew its defenses, making the world's thoroughfares unimpeded. But now, Hei Fu has built strong walls in the country and divided the country into north and south. What an unforgivable crime!"

After scolding Heifu, the old general murmured: "I can't let the army waste time here. I can only build the water stronghold openly and make a large-scale attack on Xiangyang to attract Heifu's reinforcements. Secretly, I have to To avoid reality is to be vain..."

For decades, Wang Ben, who was famous for his ability to attack fortified cities and never frowned when faced with deep pools in fortified cities, had to bow to reality and retreat in front of Xiangyang City.

It was as if the war hadn't started yet and he had already lost to Heifu for a while, which made Wang Ben a little frustrated.

Even though he was slightly unhappy in his heart, as an excellent general, Wang Ben had reasons to convince himself not to fight for the moment and fight against Xiangyang:

For the victory of the war!

"Where does the general want to attack?" Gantang bowed.

Wang Ben looked east, and the answer was obvious:

"Sui County!"

…

ps: Chapter 2 is at 12 o'clock or 12:30.