Han Zuo Gaomen

Chapter 770 Jilong Hybrid
With the entry of the slave army into the vortex, the defense situation around the vortex has also undergone great changes.

Probably having learned the lesson of Yingkou's defeat, the slave army did not directly deploy too many troops at the Wokou Ferry, but sent a large number of conscripts, cofferdams and embankments. Dozens of weirs, large and small, were built on both sides of the water close to the Huai River.Moreover, the army did not disperse in the countryside, but built a few small cities on the northeast bank of Guoshui, and all the soldiers were stationed in the cities.

As for some of the fortifications originally built by the southern army here, quite a few of them were destroyed, and the rest only maintained a basic security force to maintain the occupation of the whirlpool.

Such a cautious defensive posture is similar to that of the Huainan Army before.

Of course, this does not mean that the slave army has completely given up its plot against Huainan. Around the weirs and tidal flats far away from the main river, the slave army has been cutting down bamboo and wood, building boats and other water attack equipment, and has already achieved a small amount. score.

However, Wokou is also an important place for the battle between the North and the South. Most of the North and South armies are stationed here. Although the surrounding area is not barren of grass, there is definitely not enough materials such as bamboo and wood. They have to go to the far mountains to find them. This gave the Huainan Army and Xuzhou Army on the two wings the opportunity to harass their actions.

It is located between the west bank of Guoshui River and the angle between Huai River and Jingshan Gorge in the Three Gorges of Huaishui River to the south.Among these mountains and fields, there are also some slave logging camps.

When slave troops were sent out to log, it was naturally impossible to send out a large army. Often, hundreds of armored soldiers supervised the labor force of varying numbers, cruising in the mountains to search for suitable good wood and aniseed materials.Once a suitable material is found, it will be felled immediately, or dragged by manpower, or with the help of mountain stream tidal flats, and hauled back to the base camp on the east bank of Guoshui.

At this time, among the mountains and fields, among the dense thorn bushes, there were nearly a hundred soldiers of the slave army sitting on the ground.Farther away is a lumberyard, a small mountain forest has been cut down by more than half, and some cut-off timbers are piled up in the open space. But it is already one of the best materials in this mountain.

At this time, there were nearly 200 laborers logging, both male and female, all in ragged clothes and unkempt faces. Because of long-term lack of food, these laborers were weak and moved slowly.In addition, the tools in his hands are really simple, such as stone axes, wooden spikes, hemp ropes, and even iron tools are rare.Therefore, the efficiency of felling is naturally not high, and it may not be possible to bring down a tree in an hour.

There are slave soldiers and supervisors outside the lumberyard, but the slave soldiers are not as good looking as compared to the laborers. They are also yellow and thin, and the military uniforms that can no longer distinguish the style and color are covered with mud and grass juice.The weapon he was carrying was not properly held in his hand, but was dragged backwards behind him, his back leaning against a rock, his expression was exhausted, his eyes were listless, and he didn't even have the energy and interest to act aggressively in front of those soldiers. The slightly protruding eyes were staring blankly most of the time, occasionally looking at the lumber yard, the soldiers were still moving slowly, but as long as they weren't obviously lazy, the soldiers didn't bother to shout or scold.

The leader of this logging team is a veteran soldier in his 40s. The only thing that can still show his identity is the big ring head knife on the waist that still looks sharp and is wrapped in linen.At this time, the soldiers were sitting around here, listening to the old soldier tell about the majestic deeds of the year: "...in that battle, hundreds of us threw stones to break the fence, and rushed into the enemy's line first. Going to the barn, I just chased and killed the enemy general noisily, and chased through the camp for more than ten miles. As a result, the enemy general failed to catch up, but instead picked up the enemy general and discarded the female relatives. That lady is really soft and slippery. After a few handfuls, I couldn't taste the wonderful taste..."

When the soldiers heard this, they couldn't help laughing.

The old soldier also laughed at himself, and then he patted the handle of his waist and sighed: "I am also an old Chinese army who has fought for a long time. In previous years, he even filled the army of our lord, and in previous years, he always defeated the bandit army. The current battle has been fought so despondently and without prestige, I have never experienced it before! The king of Zhongshan has a fierce reputation, and he is not as good as a pawn in the battle. To be beaten to the field today by the southerners is really unworthy of being in a high position ..."

Such a direct criticism of the commander-in-chief, but the surrounding soldiers did not feel panic because of this, instead they joined in one by one, echoing the sentiments of the veteran commander, so as to express their sulk in their hearts.

Of course they have enough reasons to complain. The fact that the war is not going well is only secondary. After all, even if they go all the way to the east of the river, they will not be able to get ahead and be crowned kings and princes. I can really feel it.

First of all, the most important thing is naturally the lack of resources and food supplies. They are also officially recruited soldiers, and the results are not much different from those of the soldiers.All are driven outside, hunting and logging, if there is no harvest, then there is no food in exchange.Those who failed to return after the time limit of the military period would also be punished, and some people were even beaten to death by military law.

They did not dare to escape, not to mention that southerners and enemies would appear in the wilderness at any time, and there were also a large number of cavalry patrolling the wilderness. Once they found soldiers who had escaped from the camp and wandered outside, they would be directly deprived of their armored soldiers and beaten into hard labor. Zege was killed on the spot, and the owl's head passed on to all the troops.

When it comes to the encounters with the southerners in the wild, these people can't help but become more depressed and indignant.When the two armies are at war, not to mention anything else, at least bows and knives are required to kill the enemy. These soldiers don’t expect any strong armor and sharp weapons, but they can’t even equip basic knives and guns. As for bows and arrows Don't even think about it.

On the other hand, the southerners, whoever goes out, will be armored. Even if they don’t have iron armor, they are protected by rattan armor, bamboo armor, etc. Everyone is equipped with a bow. .

In such a situation, not to mention killing the enemy in battle, it is already a great fortune for them to be able to escape.No matter how fierce the slave soldiers were, they would not dare to charge towards those sharp arrows when they were unarmed.

Such a bad armament is not because these soldiers themselves are incapable of fighting.They are all Jiehu Zhongjun, and they are also the elite selection of middle school soldiers. When they went south, their military equipment was not inferior to that of the southerners, and even surpassed it.However, with the development of the war so far, the treatment has become worse and worse. At the beginning, the food was reduced. Recently, even the bows and knives that were rationed were confiscated, and they were driven out of the original camp where they were stationed. There is insufficient food and clothing for daily use, and life is even more worrying.

It is true that part of the reason for their defeat in the battle is that they have fallen into this situation, but there are actually other reasons for the greater reason.These slave soldiers may not understand the deep military affairs, but there is no shortage of new troops coming from the rear to supplement the army when they go in and out.And the reduced resources and armaments of these old soldiers, including the deprived camps and defenses, will be taken over by these newcomers.

In response to this phenomenon, there have been rumors in the army recently, saying that their southern expedition army failed, which made the lord of the country furious, so he sent reinforcements to strengthen the army here, and must defeat the southern thieves!As for the soldiers who defeated the army and humiliated the country, did the middle school intend to punish them severely, or was the original punishment exempted under the protection of King Zhongshan, and gave them another chance to make meritorious deeds.If you don't fight hard and the army is defeated, then the lord will come to the south to conquer personally, and even if these soldiers don't die, they will be assigned hard labor and will never be used again!

Since then, people in the army have been panic-stricken. Although there is resentment in their hearts, when they think of the majesty of the Lord and the new and powerful army that is constantly being reinforced, it is difficult to generate any resistance. They can only endure it and endure the humiliation.

Not halfway through the crowd's bitterness, the soldiers in charge of the sentry on the high slope not far away suddenly gave a low growl warning: "Southern people, southerners are coming..."

These people had already become frightened birds, and when they heard the warning sound, they didn't even have time to ask how many enemies the Nanren had, they all jumped up from the ground in a hurry, grabbed the sticks and the like at hand, and wanted to run for their lives.At last, the old soldier commander was not lacking in prestige, so he drew out his ring sword and yelled and cursed, so that the soldiers would not disperse in a rush, and gather together and leave quickly.As for the slow-moving laborers, after seeing the movement of the slave soldiers, all of them were terrified, immediately dropped the tools in their hands, and fled in all directions in the mountains.

It took another half a quarter of an hour before a group of more than fifty Huainan troops climbed up the high slope and found this slave logging camp.The leader of the team sent several people down the hillside to check the escape direction of the slaves, and made sure that there was no ambush nearby, and then the brigade went down, divided into two parts, one surrounded by bows and guarded, and the other collected dry branches and leaves and threw them away. On those piled up logs, set fire to them.

One of the slave soldiers was exhausted, and the other was still worried about the wood that had been cut down for several days and was about to complete the task, so they did not escape too far, and were still hiding and spying.Seeing the thick smoke and fire, and burning all the wood they worked so hard to collect, all of them were so angry that their eyes were tearing apart, but they saw the strong bows held by each of the Huainan army, and the arrows full of shoulders, waists and hips. Hu can only grit his teeth in that dark place with hatred, not daring to rush out to seek death.

The dozens of Huainan soldiers not only burned the felled wood, but also chopped up the remaining half of the trees that were too late to be felled, and threw them into the fire, which was completely harmful and not beneficial.What is even more hateful is that these people did not leave after setting the fire, but gathered on the opposite side of the mountain stream, and waited until the fire gradually died down and the wood was completely burned to ashes, and then they leisurely traveled back and forth.

When the slave soldiers saw this scene, it was conceivable that they felt disheartened, but they still waited until the Huainan army completely disappeared from sight before they dared to leave their hiding place, each one beating their chests and feet, frowning.You must know that they have to rely on the burned wood to return to the camp in exchange for food, otherwise they will continue to wander the mountains without food for more than ten days.

"Go back to camp..."

The soldier commander could only say helplessly when he saw that everyone was looking at him pitifully.Not only were their wood burned, but all their assigned laborers fled. There was no point in staying outside, so they could only return to the camp to see if there was a change.

Along the way, these slaves encountered other people from all walks of life, and most of them were in a similar state to them. The Huainan army burned the hard-felled wood, and those who escaped slowly all suffered heavy casualties.Comparing each other's situations with each other, the haze hanging over the hearts of the slave soldiers became more serious.During this day, as many as seven or eight logging sites were cleared, and the losses increased sharply compared to before. It can be seen that the Huainan Army has stepped up its efforts in this direction and has increased its troops.

After returning to the camp on the west bank of Guoshui, these slave soldiers got accurate news that 3000 Huainan troops crossed the Huaishui River a few hours ago, and boarded Jingshan to set up defenses here.After hearing the news, there was another scene of mourning. The Huainan army had occasionally crossed the river to harass them before, which had troubled them a lot. Now that they want to fortify here, the danger in this area will increase by a few points.

After the news was confirmed, not only the soldiers could not feel at ease, but even the general guarding here could not calm down, and immediately sent someone to notify the Zhongshan King camp on the east bank, hoping to get some supplementary weapons.

Similar news not only happened in one place, but also reported in other places.Even hundreds of cavalry in charge of hunting and feeding in the eastern area were blocked in the river bend by the rangers of the Xuzhou army. Even if they were wiped out by the land and water attack, not even a single horse could escape!
In Shihu's camp, he didn't even need to listen to the details of the generals' reports, just the slips and slips on the case doubled, and the envoys who came to ask for instructions also doubled outside the account, he could feel the two wings of the southern army suddenly became active.

At this time, all the cronies and generals who stayed in the tent bowed their heads and held their breaths, not daring to make a sound to attract Zhongshan King's dissatisfaction.Only from Qingzhou, Shi Xi, the son of Shi Hu who was newly recruited for reinforcements, was furious at this time, and he urged Zhan to teach the lifeless southerners a lesson, but immediately after Shi Hu's cold and stern gaze, his heart suddenly became awe-inspiring, I dare not make any more noise.

The appearance of Shi Hu now is completely different from the high-spirited appearance when he left Xiangguo before, with messy beard and hair, swollen eye circles, and bloodshot eyes.In fact, what troubled him the most was not the current unfavorable battle situation, but what kind of changes Shi Kan would bring to the middle school after returning to the country, and how the Lord would target him.

In fact, the fall of Huaiyin and Shi Kan's departure from the town were not entirely detrimental to Shi Hu in terms of the current battle situation.At least at this time, the lands of southern Henan and Xuzhou have no power to restrain him.

Moreover, Shi Kanli's town was a secret operation, and only took away some of his cronies. After the fall of Huaiyin, a large number of Xuzhou headquarters retreated to Huaibei, and a considerable part of them were taken in by Shihu.The few brave sons who were originally recruited in Qingzhou were summoned by him without stopping them at this time. The army gradually increased, and they already had the basis for a large-scale battle across the Huaihe River.Although resources and supplies are gradually becoming scarce, as long as they can cross the Huai River and reach the center of Huainan, they can get a considerable amount of supplements.

However, such an unfavorable situation in the rear made Shi Hu dare not act rashly anymore, worrying that once he crossed the Huaihe River, he would not be able to get out of the battle easily, and he might become an abandoned army.Moreover, neither the Huainan Army nor the Xuzhou Army are vulnerable, and the prospects for fighting in Hakka are not clear.

When the tent was dull, suddenly another letter came from outside, and there was another strange move in the direction of Huainan on the river, and several large ships were approaching the mouth of the vortex.

On the surface of the river, several battleships guarded the Huainan Army's large ship Chang'an, and stopped on the water several miles away from the vortex. Several sampans were placed on the sampan, and several steaming large wooden barrels were placed on the sampan. , drifting down the current.

Thousands of Huainan soldiers were listed on the big ship, and they all laughed and laughed when they saw the slave army forming a defensive formation near the shore, and then shouted in a neat tone under the restraint of the captain: The lord, Marquis Shen, told Jie general Shi Jilong that although the two armies are fighting vigorously, there is no need to blindly fight. Knowing that the northern army is running out of food, a special gift of soup and soup. Although Jilong is a hybrid of Jie and slaves, his bravery is not lacking, but he is a slave. A strong man in the middle. Don't be trapped by the army and be hindered, you should also cultivate your body well. Otherwise, if you describe it as a big loss in the future, it will be difficult to tell the merits!"

(End of this chapter)