Emperor Sui Yang

Jingzhou, Jiangxia County, Murong Sanzang and Da Xihao are shrinking their defense lines and retreating step by step.

Firstly, he really couldn't stand it, and secondly, according to the prince's wishes, he planned to withdraw from Jiangxia.

The capital of Jiangxia is Jiangxia County. Why would the imperial court definitely save this place if it was lost?
Because it is Wuhan, the hub of the entire Yangtze River, stuck in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, the entrance where the Han River merges into the Yangtze River, and the largest transfer station for Yangtze River trade.

Yang Jian sent Jurong as a gift, it was nothing, but Yang Ming dared to send Jiangxia as a gift.

War has always been like this, success or failure is not judged by the gain or loss of one place. If Yang Ming wants to transfer the Xiangyang navy, he can only do this. As soon as the navy comes back, Jiang Xia can get it back in the blink of an eye.

"We cannot retreat upstream along the Yangtze River. We cannot leave Jiangxia too far. We must be ready to support the navy rushing back at any time," Pang Tao said, "Let's retreat to Hanyang."

Murong Sanzang frowned and said: "Hanyang is on the Han River. If we withdraw into the Han River, what should we do if the enemy troops go up the river and attack Jiangling?"

"If he goes to Jiangling, we will go out from the Han River and recapture Jiangxia," Dugu Lingyun said: "Justice from Qinghe County is rushing to Jiangling. Even if Dong Jingzhen goes, he can't do much."

Qinghe County Duke, the fourth son Yang Xuanjie, Zhu Can's introducer, was entrusted with the important task by Yang Ming. He led the military government of Qiao County, Ruyin, Runan, and Huai'an County, with a total of 8000 people, and was already marching to Jiangling. .

These four counties all belonged to Henan in the Sui Dynasty.

It was like people from Henan came to Hubei to suppress the rebellion.

What Pang Tao and Dugu Lingyun meant was that their troops would withdraw into the Han River and let Jiang Xia out. When the Xiangyang navy came back, they would attack from two directions and take Jiang Xia back.

Their strategic purpose was to first have the Navy come back. After returning, they would use Jiangxia as the center of defense in Jingzhou to stop Xiao Mian from advancing westward.

Jiangxia is close to the Yangtze River. To the northwest on the opposite bank is the entrance of the Han River. It goes up along the Han River and passes through Mianyang County, Jingling County, and Xiangyang County respectively.

The Xiangyang Navy came from here.

When Yang Ming was the general manager of Jingzhou, he took a boat from Jiangling to the east along the Yangtze River. After arriving in Jiangxia, he entered the Han River from here and went to Xiangyang to inspect the navy.

This is also the only section of the Yangtze River that Yang Ming has visited.

Murong Sanzang and his men now have more than [-] soldiers and horses. The wealthy merchants in Jiangxia City have packed up their belongings and left the city to avoid disaster after Dong Jingzhen entered Jiangxia County. After receiving the prince's order, Da Xihao was in the city again. Propaganda thieves are powerful, so those who can run should run away quickly.

Those who are still in the city now cannot leave. Although it is not an empty city, it is almost there.

"Prefect Du will support us from Xiangyang. Let's withdraw from the city tonight," Pang Tao said.

Murong Sanzang had more than 60 ships supported by the Jiangling Shen family. They were all converted merchant ships. In addition to having the ability to guerrilla across the Taiwan Strait, the hulls themselves did not have combat capabilities. At most, they could stand on them and shoot arrows.

The rebel Dong Jingzhen had three large ships, so Murong Sanzang was in the Yangtze River and did not have the ability to fight with the enemy.

Even though there are only three big ships, they have ballistas on them. If they hit your ship, it will sink it directly.

At the end of January, Jiangxia fell. Dong Jingzhen stationed in Jiangxia City and began to send people widely to collect ships from the people. Any ship would do.

Immediately afterwards, Shen Faxing, another general under Xiao Mian, led six thousand troops into Wuchang County and began to recruit private craftsmen to build docks and ships.

During Yang Guang's northern expedition, among the ten generals Ying Yanglang and his lieutenants of the Xiaoguo Army, Zhang Zhenzhou, Gongsun Shangzhe, Cai Yuankai, Shen Shuyi, and Shen Faxing all followed Xiao Mian, and they are all rebels now.

Shen Faxing was originally the prefect of Wuxing, and his position was much higher than that of Xiao Mian. After taking refuge, he was now the right general under Xiao Mian, and the left general was Zhang Zhenzhou, who were Xiao Mian's two subordinates with the greatest military power.

Their rebel army is different. Many of the leaders are nobles, so they naturally understand how to create a rebellion. So far, their banner is still to kill to protect their children.

Although they were walking in the opposite direction to where Lai Huer was, it did not affect the fact that they were not rebelling in name.

Xiao Mian did not call himself a king or a general manager. He still carried the title of General Ying Yanglang. Several rebels in the south called him Xiao Yingyang or Duke Ying Yang, Du Fuwei, the general manager, and Wang Hua. His name is Anmin Gong, and Liu Yuanjin is the general. Anyway, they each have their own names.

There is no one who can claim the title of king for the time being. If you become the king, you will not leave a way out for yourself.

Shen Faxing was very smart when he stationed in Wuchang. He knew that the Xiangyang Navy was not in Jingzhou, but he was worried that Jiangdu would send a navy to rescue him, so he simply established himself in Wuchang, downstream of Jiangxia City, and established a navy here to defend Jiangxia's achievements. Prepare for a protracted war.He didn't know that the imperial court planned to resolve the Jiangnan issue before June. He felt that the situation in Jiangnan was far more complicated than that in Hebei. The imperial court's northern expedition to Hebei had seriously damaged Hebei's vitality, and there was nothing they could do about it in a short period of time.

"Yang Ming was left in Luoyang, and the person who presided over Yangzhou was Hunjun's romantic son," Shen Faxing said to his staff in the general's mansion in Wuchang City: "This thief is so detestable that I wish I could eat his flesh raw."

His uncle Shen Shuyi is Shen Wuhua's younger brother and Chen Shuyi's biological uncle. He is now working as a military advisor next to Xiao Mian and is a close minister. He came to Wuchang with all the children of the Shen family.

When Yang Xian was in Yangzhou, he kidnapped a girl from the Shen family.

Confidant Jiang Yuanchao laughed and said: "Yang Jian's son has a reputation far and wide. When he was the general manager of Yangzhou, he harmed many good women. We in the south hate him with all our teeth. His coming to Jiangdu this time is no different than sending him to death."

Yang Jian's reputation in the south was very bad. His father had managed the Yangzhou region in an orderly manner, but he came to bring disaster.

Shen Faxing's son, also named Shen Lun, has the same name as Shen Lun of the Xiangyang Navy. However, the Shen family is a super wealthy family in the south and cannot be compared to the Jiangling Shen family.

I just heard him smile and say: "As long as we occupy Jiangxia and build an invincible navy on the Yangtze River, then after Ying Yanggong takes Jingzhou, we will become a separatist power. By then, we can take Jiangnan if we advance, and Lingnan if we step back."

This is pure talk on paper. If you say which county should I attack first and which county should I occupy next, be more pragmatic. It’s always Jiangnan and Lingnan. How big are these two places? Don’t you know how big they are?
The navy has not even started to build it yet, but it wants to conquer the river. This is an idealist.

"It is not an easy task to build a navy," aide Sun Shihan said with a frown:
"The Wuya Ship is a five-story building ship, more than a hundred feet high, which can accommodate 900 guards. It has six shooting poles and four ballistae on the left and right sides. The original Wuya Ship in Jiangdu was destroyed many years ago. It was assigned to the Xiangyang Navy, and later I heard that three more ships were built, and now there are eight. If we want to dominate the Yangtze River, we must have such large warships."

The doorman Chen Guoren nodded and said: "I once saw a five-tooth ship in Jiangdu. It was a fortress in the middle of the river. The deck was thick and the giant crossbow couldn't penetrate it. But we can't build it. Without craftsmen who are proficient in craftsmanship, we can't do it just by thinking. Started."

"If you can't build it, think about how to destroy it," Shen Lun No. [-] said: "Such a big ship must be slow. If it is hit by a fire ship, it will be destroyed."

Sun Shihan and Chen Guoren looked at each other and thought to themselves, are you really good at talking?

What ship is not afraid of fire?You know that you are afraid of fire, but others don’t know that?How many escort ships are there around a five-toothed ship that allows you to approach it at will?

"It won't work. I heard that the current five-toothed ships are covered with refined iron sheets and are no longer afraid of fire attacks." Chen Guoren said: "The ship is too high. It would be in vain if we set fire to the deck and cannot reach it. The Yangtze River is huge and cannot be set up." The only way to build a reef wall is to introduce it into a narrow water area and attack it from both sides.”

Reef walls are artificial traps in the water. Some are made of a log with both ends sharpened and inserted into the water. The tip is about two meters away from the water and cannot be seen from the water. They are used to strand large ships. Another type is a blockade in the river. , specially used to entangle the oar, causing it to lose its sailing ability.

There are many methods, collectively called reef walls, because their essence refers to the threat of reefs to ships.

But it won't work on the Yangtze River. The water is deep, the river is wide, and there are undercurrents under the water. If you don't say it's difficult to construct, even if it is done, it will have no effect, because the water of the Yangtze River looks calm on the surface, but it is not calm underneath.

"The Wuya ship is originally a deep-water ship, how could it be led into shallow water?" Sun Shihan said: "Don't take it for granted. If you want to defeat Wuya, you can only fight a big ship against a big ship."

Without Dongfeng Express, the only way to attack aircraft carriers is with aircraft carriers.

Shen Faxing sighed: "Recruit craftsmen as soon as possible to build a warship. We can't build a fifth-floor ship, but we can build a fourth and third floor. It can be dealt with for a while. What's more, the Xiangyang navy is in Jiangdu, and Du Fuwei should be the one with the biggest headache right now. .”

"The Xiangyang navy belongs to Yang Ming, will he let Yang Jian use it?" Sun Shihan said: "The two brothers are sworn enemies. This is known to the world."

Yes, except Yang Guang who deceived himself, everyone else did know.

Shen Faxing said: "If you don't let them use it, they won't come to us. It's impossible for Yang Jian to let the Xiangyang Navy leave Jiangnan. The reason why Duke Yingyang took Jingzhou is because there are not many officers and soldiers here, and it is a land of plenty, which is conducive to our development, etc." If the Jiangnan side becomes one, we can reap the benefits."

What kind of father is what kind of son? Shen Lun No. [-] is an armchair strategist, and his father is no better.

Are you able to get the 22 counties in Jingzhou just by asking?

Yang Ming has been here as the general manager of Jingzhou for two years. Half of the jurisdiction is difficult to manage. Is Hunan Barbarian kidding you?If people don't obey the imperial court, they will naturally not obey the rebels.

Historically, during the great chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the territories that the various rebels controlled seemed really large, but in fact, they only controlled some major areas, and not all the populations could be controlled by them.

Don't expect to be able to control a place that you can't control in a time of peace and prosperity.

The soil and water support the people, and the mountains and rivers that nurture them also give them unique folk customs and personalities, some are simple, some are aggressive, and some are tough. (End of this chapter)