Han Zuo Gaomen

Chapter 751
Not long after the Huainan army's forward boats withdrew, dozens of warships came over the waves, this time it was not a test.More than [-] sailors were scattered on large and small boats. The largest one in the middle was the Lianfang Building Ship assisted by the Xuzhou Army. The building boat was escorted by fighting ships.In addition to the fighting ships, there are more than thirty floating board warships.

This way the navy marched northward, it was no longer the rapid river travel before, but slowly advancing northward with a crushing momentum.The Lianfang ship stabilized the center of the river, while the floating boards around it carried soldiers to both sides of the bank. Once the boat ran aground, the soldiers threw rafts on the water, and the pennies rushed ashore. Duo, seeing this scene, did not have the heart to resist, and they all gave up their defenses and retreated if they could not retreat the enemy after a little resistance.

After the soldiers landed on the shore, the first thing they did was to dismantle the wooden fences and crude camp defenses left on the shore.Those soil-carrying baskets discarded by the forced escape were also collected together and burned.As for the firewood and other supplies that the slave army had no time to remove, they were also not spared, and were all thrown into the raging fire.

In this way, the navy pulled out many previous arrangements of the slave army and moved forward.It took less than half an hour for the light boat to cross the water distance of more than 20 miles, and it took less than half of it to travel a whole day.The Lianfang building ship in the fleet is not only a place to hold the formation, but also has the task of exploring. Once it cannot pass through, it will stop, and the many labor forces carried on the ship will fall into the water and swim to salvage the silt. It's a look of neither arrogance nor impetuosity.

"These southern thieves are so cowardly, why are they still stubborn? It's better to surrender early!"

Taobao also saw that many of the previous arrangements were destroyed by the southerners. Originally, he gave up his position just to lure the southerners to go deeper, but the southerners still entered Xutu slowly, and even started to build waterways without any scruples!The hidden piles and water fences have all been pulled out, and many ditches used to divert water have also been filled.

In just one day, the section of the Rushui channel close to the Huai River has swelled by nearly a foot. It seems that the rise is not high, but the water flow has been much faster. , The situation where the upstream and downstream water flow is hedging and spreading outside the river channel, forming a downstream flow from north to south.Especially in Huaizhong, where it is rainy in midsummer, once the heavy rain pours and boosts the water potential, most of the previous arrangements made by Taobao around this place will be destroyed!

At this time, Taobao was also extremely entangled in his heart. He didn't know whether to sit and wait for the Huainan army to advance so slowly and finally join forces with the Runan army, or to take the lead to stabilize the advantage that had been established before.

"Wait another night. If the southern bandits are still in this state after one night, then they won't hold back anymore and will directly slaughter all the people in Runan!"

After patrolling the camp in the middle of the night, Taobao made a secret decision in his heart. Although the Huainan army had not penetrated far, the pressure on him was already not small. The soldiers and civilians who were besieged in the place of Xuanhu had to break out, leaving him in the dark.

And then, he did not evacuate the troops defending the rest of the water, but strengthened the defense.At the same time, in order to prevent the Huainan army from advancing at night, more firewood was prepared on both sides of the strait, and the bonfire was kept on all night, so as not to give the Huainan army any opportunity to take advantage of it.

It was another day when night fell. Due to the complex terrain of the Xuanhu Land, it was not conducive to night attack.Therefore, although the slave army's offensive has become stronger and stronger these days, as long as it is night, the slave army will stop fighting, and the soldiers and civilians in the Xuanhu land can also get a temporary respite.

Stuck here for a long time, coupled with the shortage of various resources, the combat effectiveness of the Huainan army here will inevitably decline, and it is no longer possible to keep the slave army out of Xuanhu.So now the slave army has invaded the land of Xuanhu and occupied an area, there are about [-] people.And the soldiers and civilians trapped here are now shrinking as much as possible, gathering in an area close to Rushui.

Although it is difficult to say, but because the slave army has few ships, the Rushui on which the place hangs is backed has not been fully controlled by the slave army, so it is not in a desperate situation right now, at least there is Rushui as a way of retreat to look forward to.But the problem is that the Huainan army's transport capacity here is insufficient, and it is not enough to evacuate the people on a large scale. This is why the people were afraid that the army would abandon the people and flee.

Therefore, it was not the slave army on the outskirts that really trapped Mao Bao and the others in Xuanhu, but the tens of thousands of villagers.Of course, there is no point in talking about it. It is the mission of their Huainan army to appease the villagers.And it is true that without the help of these villagers, it would be difficult for them to support such a long time in the Xuanhu Land.

When Mao Bao retreated from the front line, he was exhausted, even the armor on his body felt heavy, he couldn't lift his legs and feet, and his combat boots dragged on the ground slowly.

The brutality of the war in the past few days is not reflected in the casualties in the battle, but in the exhaustion of the soldiers' physical strength to the extreme.The terrain of the Xuanhu Land is complicated, and it is not suitable for large-scale battles. The battles are often small-scale fights where one side occupies the pass.Therefore, the weak strength of the Huainan Army has not been fully highlighted. Although the slave army has tens of thousands of people, it is difficult to invest tens of thousands of people at one time on the frontal battlefield with such terrain as Xuanhu. It also gave the Huainan army a chance to divide and defend.

Moreover, after the previous civil uprising was suppressed by Mao Bao, the people also had a preliminary consensus and organization, and understood that only by being united can they wait for the reinforcements to arrive and be rescued.Therefore, under the organization of some village chiefs, most of the villagers were also mobilized to dig ditches and do their best to set up obstacles for the slave army to attack.The nearby Rushui River has also been deeply dug and reinforced to ensure that the reinforcement boats can dock smoothly.

As for supplies, these people played a greater role.In fact, when the civil uprising was about to happen more than ten days ago, there was already a fear of food shortage in the land of Xuanhu.The reason why it can be maintained until now is all due to the fact that the villagers, men, women, old and young, including the sick and weak, went to battle to collect food.

Fortunately, it is midsummer right now, and the vegetation in the surrounding area is lush, and years of turmoil have honed the ability of the people in the countryside to forage in the wild. Insects, birds, fish and shrimp, wild fruits and vegetables, and even newly grown reed roots Those who enter the mouth are all eaten, and they are served with a thin soup of scattered grains and rice to satisfy their hunger.

The reason why the villagers who were about to change have become so self-disciplined is because of the environment. The slave army has completely surrounded the land of Xuanhu. Except for the area that the Huainan army fought hard to protect, there is no peace around. .On the other hand, it is because of the desire for vitality. Compared with fleeing in all directions, there is no doubt that they are now under the protection of the Huainan Army, and there is more hope for life when they wait for the army to rescue them.In addition to the promise of Mao Bao's life, the Huainan Army has always been fighting at the forefront, protecting the villagers from being slaughtered by slaves.

It is with the help of these tens of thousands of villagers that the army resisting at the forefront can retreat one after another and work hard to maintain it when the enemy is strong and unable to stop them.In addition to sitting in command of the rescue frontline battle, Mao Bao had to select and organize hundreds of brave warriors at night, and through night raids and other means, regain some of the frontline lost during the day.It is through this continuous hard work day and night that the last position can be maintained at a certain scale, and the villagers are not driven out of poverty and perish in the waves.In this short period of time, Mao Bao established an unshakable prestige among the villagers, and even became the only hope for these people to endure hardship.

If there is no busy matter, the people will gather in large numbers under the banner of honor that has been standing in front of the camp. Strong warriors fought bloody battles to protect their lives!

Walking all the way back to the camp, although Mao Bao was still exhausted, seeing the hopeful eyes of the people looking at him against the background of the bonfire, he still cheered up and maintained a calm and determined expression. Walking to the foot of the banner, he took a bowl of vegetable root thin soup sealed by the soldiers, and then he wiped the corners of his mouth with a heroic smile and said: "Today, I have fought several battles, and the slaves have not succeeded in advancing or retreating. If they have all skills If we stop here, then we, the soldiers and civilians, can hope to get out of trouble, and we will never bury our bones here!"

No matter how true or false this statement is, it is a rare consolation for people to hear such a confident voice under such circumstances.As for the existence of the reinforcements that have been mentioned repeatedly, and when they will come here, no one dares to ask at the moment, fearing that it will destroy everyone's hope of life and arouse public resentment and anger.

The matter has come to this point, and the Huainan army has indeed guarded the villagers until the last moment, including some people with ulterior motives. At this moment, they all feel that even if there is no so-called reinforcements, if they are really doomed, it is better to send them to the village than to die in fear. This extravagant hope of life is kept until the end.

"Mao Hou Zhuangwu!"

Some sporadic praises sounded from the crowd. Although the breath was a little weak, the meaning contained in it was still not lacking in passion.

Mao Bao sat on the ground under the banner, and there were many soldiers sitting around him nearby. Seize the short time to recuperate. Later, he might launch a night attack on the surrounding enemies to regain the front line lost during the day. .

As the belief of the vitality of the people at the moment, and also the person who has the most severe combat load, Mao Bao's meals are still given preferential treatment to maintain physical strength, but it is only a bowl of thin soup more than others, and there is half a tail and palm length in the soup fish body.This soup is not delicious, the earthy smell and fishy smell are mixed together, and it has a disgusting smell.

Mao Bao held it in his hand like a delicacy, and occasionally talked about some deeds in Huainan: "Jiangdong is rich in fish and rice, thanks to the use of Huainan by Shen Concubine. Nowadays, in Huainan, even if there are a small number of people, they still have two meals a day. The pot is full, served with oil-boiled fish, rotary-cut goose breast, autumn fat crab paste, and a meal of rice, and the stomach is full..."

Zuo Jin, including the soldiers, was just chatting with vegetable soup to satisfy their hunger. Hearing what Mao Bao said, many people were already thundering in their stomachs and even more hungry.After getting along with each other for a long time, there is no lack of familiar and informal people. After hearing the words, he smiled wryly and said: "I am not hungry right now, but Maohou talks too much about delicious food. It really embarrasses everyone who hears it..."

"Haha, I'm not trying to tempt you with empty words. When the day comes, when you're in full bloom, everyone here will come to my place for dinner if you are hungry. Even if the salary is scarce, there is still a royal seal. If you sell it to treat guests, you will never accept it." !"

Hearing what Mao Bao said, there was a lot of laughter around, and there were many people with disheveled faces in the crowd who made fun and shouted, and even began to happily order food.After talking and laughing like this, the original sense of hunger was slightly relieved, and I only felt that the words came out of my mouth, and the fragrance on my teeth and cheeks was already lingering.

After resting for another half a quarter of an hour, the atmosphere subsided a little, so Mao Bao called Li Cang and other generals to discuss where to make a surprise attack tonight to regain the front line.

At this time, fires suddenly lit up in the Rushui channel in the distance, rendering the night with a hazy brilliance.Seeing this scene, the people were even more uneasy, so men, women, old and young all came closer to the flag building, and the place was overcrowded for a while.While Mao Bao was busy placating the crowd, he sent soldiers along the waterway to inquire and peek.

After more than an hour, the fire was still not extinguished. Suddenly, thunder and tremors were heard in the distant night, with a frequent rhythm and repeated ringing.

"Could it be that the slave soldiers are going to make a large-scale night attack?"

Anxious discussions among the crowd suddenly erupted. After listening for a while, Mao Bao pondered for a while and ordered his soldiers to beat the drum horns, and at the same time shouted in unison: "Wang Shilie attacked the slaves, and the soldiers and civilians will be rescued soon!"

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(End of this chapter)