On the occasion of rebirth Zhou Sui

Chapter 599 Jingnan soldiers
When Yuwenshi saw Zhang Heng on the deck, he joked:

"When I think of being able to go to the battlefield and serve the country, I feel my blood boiling all over, but I am not afraid of the cold wind that bites my bones."

As soon as he heard Yu Wenshiji talk about the war on the front line, Zhang Heng's sadness surged into his heart. He was not as optimistic as Yuwen Shiji. Zhang Heng sighed heavily, slapped the railing and said:
"There is no room for failure in this battle. The saint has entrusted Zhang with the important task. Zhang is walking on thin ice, fearing that he will fail the saint's expectations and be ashamed of the country."

Yuwen Shiji gave a long laugh, and then talked eloquently:
"Now the ice and snow are melting and the water is flowing fast. This is the right time.

“And Jingxiang is not just the Three Rivers and Guanlong. It has a dense network of rivers and criss-crossing waterways, so it has a favorable geographical location.

“The Yan army does not know how to fight on the water and invades the country from afar. If we can defend the country and win the support of the people, we will be harmonious.

"The weather, location, people, and people are all in the Sui Dynasty, so why should Zhang Changshi worry about it?"

Although Zhang Heng knew that Yu Wenshi and the so-called time, place, and people could not withstand careful scrutiny, he was still encouraged. He smiled and said:

"Yu Wen's words about joining the army are quite insightful. I have learned a lesson."

Yuwen Shiji also had a bright smile on his face.

What he has to do now is to maintain a close relationship with Zhang Heng along the way and gain his trust so that he can gain access to more secrets.

The trust mentioned here is not trust in loyalty. After all, his father Yuwen Shu was a very popular minister, and Yu Wenhuaji, Yuwenshiji, Yuwenzhi and his brothers were also deeply loved by Yang Guang.

And Yuwen Shiji himself was a confidant of King Qi Yang Jian. No matter how suspicious Zhang Heng was, he would never suspect Yuwen Shiji.

What Yu Wenshiji wanted to gain was Zhang Heng's trust in his abilities.

At the same time, Murong Sanzang, the governor of Changsha County (now Changsha, Hunan), was also leading the Jingnan army northward.

Murong Sanzang was the second son of Murong Shaozong, the famous diving master of the Eastern Wei Dynasty, and the seventh grandson of Murong Ke, the former King of Taiyuan of Yan Dynasty.

When the Northern Zhou Dynasty invaded Qi, Gao Wei, the queen of the Northern Qi Dynasty, fled and left Murong Sanzang to guard Yecheng. Murong Sanzang persisted in resisting until Gao Wei and Gao Heng and his son were captured by the Zhou army. After Gao Wei persuaded them to surrender, they reluctantly went to Kaicheng. surrender.

The 67-year-old general leading the army northward today went to the front line again after a lapse of 15 years after serving as the general manager of Diezhou in the 17th year of Emperor Kaihuang's reign to pacify Xiang Qiang.

It stands to reason that this old general also has a close relationship with Cui Che.

His father, Murong Shaozong, was suppressed during the Gao Huan period, but it was Gao Huan who specifically left Gao Cheng to be employed by him. Murong Shaozong fought for Gao Cheng to bring peace to Hou Jing, and defeated the [-]-strong Nanliang army at the Battle of Hanshan, and captured him. Its coach Xiao Yuanming also proved that Gao Huan was not wrong.

As for the relationship between Cui Che's grandfather, Cui Jishu, the ancestor of Dayan Xian, and Gao Cheng, there is no need to elaborate.

It's just that Murong Sanzang and Cui Che had no contact in private. The old Northern Qi officials who gathered under Cui Che's command all had a common characteristic: depression and lack of ambition.

Neither Zhao Mu nor Wang Dangwan, who were arrested by the imperial court, nor Qin Ai and Cheng Lou, who lived in seclusion in the countryside, received favors from the Zhou and Sui dynasties.

Murong Sanzang was different. After the fall of the Northern Qi Dynasty, he rose through the ranks. Even in the fourth year of Kaihuang's reign, he was granted the title of Duke of Yewang County, and most of his towns were in important places.

This made Murong Sanzang determined to serve his country and vowed to kill the traitor Cui Che for the Sui Dynasty in this battle.

Murong Sanzang was ambitious and wanted to accomplish something, but not everyone in the coalition forces in Jingnan counties under his command was of the same mind as him.

The Jingnan Allied Forces crossed the Yangtze River and arrived at Jiangling City. Murong Sanzang finally learned that Xiangyang had fallen, the Xiangyang navy suffered heavy losses, and all ships were destroyed.At the military meeting, he mentioned this matter to his captain, and everyone was shocked.

The camp of the imperial troops in Baling County (today's Yueyang, Hunan Province) was located in the south of Jiangling City. The captains Dong Jingzhen and Lei Shimeng had just finished a meeting in Murong Sanzang's commander's tent. When they returned to their own camp, the brigade commanders Zheng Wenxiu, Xu Xuan, and Wan Zan, Xu Deji, Guo Hua and others waited outside Dong Jingzhen's sleeping tent for a long time.

When everyone was about to see the ceremony, Dong Jingzhen waved his hands and said:
"Come in."

With that said, he walked into the sleeping tent first, and everyone filed in.

Zheng Wenxiu couldn't help but ask:
"The two lieutenants participated in the military meeting before. Do you know what Murong Mansion Lord's strategy is to defend against the enemy?"

Lei Shimeng, another school captain who had participated in the meeting with Dong Jingzhen before, sarcastically said:
"It's not about defending the strong city and attacking with water troops."

Dong Jingzhen glared at him, and Lei Shimeng fell silent. Dong Jingzhen changed the subject and said:
"When Xiangyang fell, the county magistrate Zhang Xutuo destroyed his ships and was able to escape. This shows that the Yan navy was not as vulnerable as the court claimed.

"It is still unclear whether the navy's harassment of the enemy will be effective. We still have to be prepared for a hard fight on the city wall."

When everyone heard this, they looked at each other in shock. Obviously, they did not expect that the Xiangyang navy would be so miserable.

There are not many ships in Jingnan today.

Since Yang Guang moved the capital, in order to prevent Cui Che from invading southward, he transferred all the naval forces from the remaining counties in the Jingxiang area and added them to the Xiangyang Navy and Jiangling Navy.

This move greatly enhanced the strength of the naval forces in Xiangyang and Jiangling, but it also caused the naval forces in the other counties to exist in name only and find it difficult to form a large scale.

The governor of Xiyang had previously rescued Xiangyang and sent a thousand naval troops, which was already his limit.

But it was precisely because of the strength of the Xiangyang navy that Cui Che was so afraid of them going south, and spared no effort in manpower and material resources to block the Han River, forcing Zhang Xutuo to abandon the ship.

As the night got darker, the Baling brigade commanders all left one after another. Another captain, Lei Shimeng, returned to his tent and could not sleep for a long time.

Let’s talk about Cui Che, who led an army of 12 land and sea troops south along the Han River.

After arriving in Changlin County, Cui Che wanted to persuade the Changlin County Magistrate to surrender. In his letter of persuasion, he promised a heavy reward to the Changlin County Magistrate.

Unexpectedly, the Changlin County Magistrate beheaded the soldier sent by Cui Che to deliver the message and hung him on the city tower to show his determination to hold on to the city.

Cui Che was so angry that he had to lead his troops to attack the city.

After filling in the moat, the officers and soldiers of the Yan army worked day and night, fighting in turns, causing the Changlin defenders to complain incessantly.

After all, the shouts and killings were loud outside the city, so who could sleep peacefully, and the rest of the Yan Army's troops were recharging their energy in the big camp ten miles outside the city, so naturally they would not be disturbed.

In order to boost morale, Cui Che personally supervised the battle. The inspired officers and soldiers of the Yan army fought bravely. After eight days of fierce fighting, they finally gained a firm foothold on the northern side of Changlin and defeated the city in one fell swoop.

As for the governor of Changlin, he was beheaded by Cui Che's order. Just like the soldiers who had sent Cui Che a message before, their heads were hung on the city tower for public display, but it was just the south side of the city tower.

At the same time, after Dou Jiande handed over with Cheng Yaojin who had returned to Xiangyang, he and Xu Shiji rushed to Changlin County with [-] cavalry.

(End of this chapter)