Tibet

After the plan was finalized, Li Ye immediately made deployment. Pei Xiu led 8,000 troops to garrison Gucheng County. Li Baozhen also led 8,000 troops to garrison Ledao County in the south. Further south were Tongbai Mountain and Dabie Mountain. The army could not get through. For the same reason, Gu Going further west from Cheng County, there are also mountainous areas, so when the Yan army crossed the Han River, it was usually within a range of about three hundred miles from Gucheng County to Shudao County.

With the defensive army, then it is necessary to establish a system of detection and timely attack, which requires double detection on the shore and in the water. With a total range of 300 miles, Li Ye arranged a total of 60 patrol teams, including 30 on land and water. Branch, with ten miles as a section, closely monitor the movements on the north bank of the Han River, but there should be fewer soldiers on the north bank and try to hide as much as possible.

At the same time, Xiangyang City was also mobilized, and all the craftsmen gathered to build defensive weapons, mainly large trebuchets, heavy trebuchets that could throw a hundred kilograms of boulders three hundred steps. The people also enthusiastically joined the army, and they were assigned to Logging and quarrying, once the enemy troops cross the Han River, the tall and solid Xiangyang City will be their last line of defense.

All the people knew that the rebels were ferocious and vicious. Once the city was defeated, they would definitely massacre the city. In order to protect their parents, wives and children, almost all the young and strong men mobilized. They had money and strength to contribute. The whole Xiangyang City was full of high morale.

On the seventh day of October, the 100,000 Yan army arrived on the north bank of the Han River. The Yan army's logistics convoy arrived almost at the same time. The Yan army forcibly requisitioned 200,000 civilians from Henan Prefecture and Ruzhou to provide logistics transportation for the Yan army.

On a high ground on the north bank of the Han River, An Qingxu led dozens of generals to observe the situation of the Han River. The weather was clear, and he could faintly see a large piece of land not far from the river. There seemed to be no city walls or large buildings on it.

An Qingxu pointed with his riding crop and asked, "Where is that over there?"

An official came forward and said: "Your Highness, that is the Yuliang Island in the center of the Han River. It covers a large area and is close to the north bank, but far away from the south bank.

This official was called Wang Shu, who was originally the Sima of Ruzhou. After the surprise attack on Anlu Mountain, he was named the governor of Ruzhou. He had served as the magistrate of Xiangyang County for five years, so An Qingxu ordered him to be his guide.

An Qingxu looked at it for a while and asked: "How big is it up there? Can troops be stationed there?"

"Your Highness, Jiangxinzhou has a radius of twenty miles, just like a county town. There is absolutely no problem in garrisoning troops."

"no!"

Next to him, Yan Zhuang objected, "We are surrounded by rivers on all sides and can easily be surrounded by Tang Army's warships. Once food is cut off, we will have no way to escape. This is no different from garrisoning troops in Gushan."

Cui Qianyou also said: "Your Highness, the military advisor is right. Jiang Xinzhou can only be used as a springboard but not as a garrison!"

The two most powerful people objected together, and An Qingxu gave up the idea of ​​setting up the camp on Jiangxin Island.

"General Cui, do you have any good plans to cross the river now?" An Qingxu asked again.

Cui Qianyou bowed and said: "Reporting to Your Highness, I have been thinking about this for the past few days. The reason why Li Ye gave up Nanyang County and Rangcheng County and did not defend Dengzhou was because he planned to concentrate his troops to defend Xiangyang, so the Han River is also an important support for them. I can tell you that attacking Hanshui is no easier than attacking Xiangyang City."

"I know this!"

An Qingxu interrupted him, "Scholars often say that you can't stop eating because of choking, right?"

Cui Qianyou smiled bitterly and said: "Your Highness is right, what I mean is that we cannot underestimate the enemy and must go all out. I have a preliminary idea."

"Appreciate further details!"

Cui Qianyou said slowly: "When I attacked Tongguan, I specially sent 10,000 troops to attack Tongguan with all my strength. As a result, almost all the 10,000 troops were lost. Only then did I realize that attacking Tongguan by force was not possible, and I came up with the idea to lure the Tang army out of Tongguan." idea, so the first step is for us to get to the bottom of it, to understand the strength of the Tang army’s defense, and not to be afraid of losing soldiers. Only by knowing ourselves and the enemy can we find a way to win.”

"Is Jiang Xinzhou going to attack?"

Cui Qianyou shook his head, "I don't recommend attacking Jiang Xinzhou!"

Tian Chengsi said angrily: "If there is a shortcut, we must take the long way around and capture Jiangxinzhou. Our journey across the river will be reduced by half. If we want to test the enemy's strength, we must also test the shortcut's strength. How can we leave anything behind?" Why do we have to take a long detour instead of shortcuts?"

An Qingxu was more inclined to Tian Chengsi's idea. If there was a shortcut, of course he had to take the shortcut. He immediately said: "Where is Huoba Guiren?"

A general stood up and said, "This is my humble duty!"

Huoba Quy Nhon was once the main general of Ge Shuhan. Because of his contribution to the capture of Ge Shuhan, he was named General Zhenyuan and followed An Qingxu.

"The king appoints you as the vanguard general. You can lead an army of ten thousand to build a pontoon bridge and seize Jiangxinzhou. No mistakes!"

"I humbly obey my orders!"

Huoba Guiren had 10,000 troops under his command, the soldiers of the Tang army who surrendered to Anlu Mountain with him. Although Huoba Guiren knew that An Qingxu was using himself to test the Tang army's defense, he had no choice. Others were the chopping block, and he was the chopping block. Fish and meat can only accept military orders.

Of course, they are not going to attack right away. The Yan army also has to make preparations, mainly to build a pontoon bridge. Huoba Quiren and his soldiers began to build a pontoon bridge. All the materials were available. They connected the rafts one by one with iron chains and moved them one mile. The outer Jiangxinzhou extends past.

Ten thousand troops built three pontoon bridges at the same time. It was getting dark and half of the pontoon bridges were built. Huo Ba Quy Nhon ordered the torches to be lit and the construction to be completed overnight. It must be completed before dawn.

Five thousand Tang troops were also deployed in Jiangxin Prefecture, including a thousand heavy armored infantry, and the rest were crossbow troops. They used armor-piercing arrows. The arrows of these armor-piercing arrows were slender and sharp, with strong penetrating power. The Yan army The leather armor of ordinary soldiers has basically no defense against it.

While the Yan army was building pontoon bridges, the Tang army was also digging river channels. Yuliangzhou in the Tang Dynasty was very fragmented, with river networks crisscrossing it. Sometimes, as long as a few sections of soil were dug out, a piece of land turned into an isolated island surrounded by rivers.

The purpose of the Tang army was to turn the place where the Yan army landed into isolated islands again. Even if they landed, they would still be on a small island surrounded by waves, and bridges would have to be built to go to other places.

Nearly two hundred medium-sized ships were anchored to the south of Yuliang Prefecture, and they were ready to respond to the retreat of the Tang army on the island.

At dawn, all three pontoon bridges were completed. Cui Qianyou observed for a moment, then came back and said to An Qingxu: "Your Highness, how could it be possible for them to complete the construction overnight without any danger and without any harassment? I am humble enough to predict that there must be an ambush on the island!" "

An Qingxu waved his hand and said, "I just let them test what Tang Jun's methods are."

He ignored Cui Ganyou's persuasion and immediately ordered: "Pass my order, Huoba Quyen will lead his troops to attack and capture Jiangxin Island before noon!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The rapid beating of war drums sounded, and Huoba Quyen brandished his sword and shouted: "Come up with me!"

The 10,000 infantrymen were divided into three teams and rushed towards Jiangxinzhou along the pontoon bridge. An Qingxu led his counselors and generals to the riverside to watch the battle.