On the occasion of rebirth Zhou Sui

Chapter 601 Yangshui Canal
Naturally, Xu Shiji and Xue Shou would not ask Cui Che how he obtained the blueprints. They looked at the Jiangling city defense layout, and just like Cui Che before, they found it even more difficult.

After a long time, the two looked away, and Cui Che asked:

"Did you two have a clue?"

Xu Shiji and Xue Shou looked at each other and saw confusion in each other's eyes. Xu Shiji had to hold his hands and said:
"The city is well-defended. I looked at the layout and found no flaws.

"Your Majesty, I believe that Jiangling cannot be attacked by force."

Cui Che had no intention of attacking Jiangling. Jiangling was not Changlin.

After Murong Sanzang and Zhang Heng rushed to help one after another, more than [-] defenders had gathered around Jiangling City.

If placed in the wild, let alone more than 20 Sui troops, even 12, Cui Che would be sure of victory with his [-] elite infantry and cavalry.

But it was obvious that Zhang Heng could not go out of the city to fight with him.

With more than [-] defenders relying on the city to hold on, the defenders naturally have an advantage and can offset the strength gap with the Yan army to the greatest extent.

And there are two cities in Jiangling, the north and the south. Even if it takes huge casualties, one of the cities can be breached, and there is another strong city waiting for the Yan army.

After a battle at Jiangling, I am afraid that the 12 elite troops brought by Cui Che will also suffer heavy casualties and not many will be left.

The two of them had no idea for the time being, and Cui Che didn't blame them. After all, he himself had been thinking hard for a long time and found that unless Yuwen Shiji could play a role and steal the city gate, he really couldn't find a flaw in Jiangling's city defense.

Cui Che rerolled the drawings and put them away, then took out another long box from the bookshelf and opened it. What was placed in the box was another drawing.

"The Jiangling Navy is currently stationed at Dongchi Lake. This is the layout of their water village."

Cui Che laid the drawings on the desk and introduced them.

Xu Shiji and Xue Ju were no longer surprised this time. Cui Che even obtained Jiangling's city defense layout, let alone a mere water village in a lake.

Dongchi Lake is located east of Gangneung, with a lake length of [-] miles. The water from the north side of Gangneung City pours into the west side of Dongchi Lake, flows out from the east side, and flows into the Han River.

Yangshui is not a natural lake. During the Warring States Period, the Chu State went north to compete with the Jin State for hegemony and relied heavily on water transportation to transport supplies to the front line.

The capital of Chu State at that time was now Jiangling.

The straight-line distance between Jiangling and Xiangyang is only more than 400 miles, but if you take the waterway, going around the Yangtze River to Hankou, and then up the Han River to Xiangyang, this waterway is more than 1800 miles long.
In order to shorten this distance, the Chu State's order Yin Sunshu'ao was ordered to dig a canal to connect Jiangling and Hanshui without having to go around Hankou.

This canal is Yangshui.

The Yangshui originated from Chihu, eighteen miles northwest of Jiangling City, and flowed through the north side of Jiangling City. After passing through Dongchi Lake, it went all the way to the northeast and merged into the Han River from the mouth of Dongjing River (now Qianjiang, Hubei).

Dongchi Lake was also the only way for the Nanyang Navy of the Yan Dynasty to pass by to raise water to Jiangling.

Cui Che did not dare to let the Nanyang navy go through Hankou, enter the Yangtze River, and then drive to Jiangling.

Not to mention the long waterway of more than 1800 miles, if we enter the Yangtze River, the navy officers and soldiers will not be familiar with the hydrology of the Yangtze River.

Fighting on the Yangtze River, where the water flow is fast and the river is wide, the combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced.

After all, the Yan Dynasty Navy was first established in Surabaya, and was then transferred to Luzhou by Cui Che. It was familiar with the Han River and had never been to the Yangtze River.

Cui Che, Xue Shou and Xu Shiji gathered around the desk, pointing and scratching on the drawing showing the layout of Dongchi Lake Water Village, each expressing his or her own opinions and discussing freely.

The three of them were immersed in it, unaware of the passage of time, until Cui Che's mouth went dry and he raised his head to look out the window at the rising sun.It turned out that before I knew it, it was already the early morning of the second day.

Cui Che put the drawing away again and smiled at the two of them:

"We discussed all night, and finally got something. You two dear friends, please go back and rest quickly. I will send out troops tomorrow. If we can conquer the city, my two dear friends will be indispensable. I will never begrudge the reward."

After the three of them discussed it all night, Cui Che already had an idea of ​​how to capture Jiangling.

Xu Shiji and Xue Shou were obviously not as energetic as Cui Che. This was also related to the fact that they had to stay focused at all times to answer Cui Che's questions.

The whole night was very tense, and it was really difficult for them.

Xu and Xue cheered up again and said goodbye to Cui Che.

And Cui Che himself felt sleepy. After all, he was in his early forties. After years of indulgence and drinking, Cui Che's energy and physical strength were not as good as when he was young.

The next day, thousands of Henan soldiers recruited from the rear to occupy the prefectures and counties were left behind to defend Changlin, and then they immediately broke camp and moved south along the Han River.

Arriving at the north bank of the Dongjing River, Cui Che did not attack Jiangling directly, but crossed the Dongjing River and approached Ziling County.

Ziling County belongs to Nanjun and is located southwest of the Dongjing River mouth. Seizing this place will allow the Nanyang navy to freely enter and exit the Dongjing River to raise water. The geographical location is not unimportant.

However, Zhang Heng did not deploy heavy troops in Ziling County, as if he was deliberately opening up the road to lead the Yan army to advance westward.

Of course, with the presence of Yu Wenshiji, Cui Che also knew what Zhang Heng was planning, which was simply to have a decisive battle with his navy at Dongchi Lake.

Zhang Heng chose Dongchi Lake intentionally.

Dongchi Lake is fifty miles in circumference and has gentle water flow, making it an ideal battlefield.

The water flow in the canal is naturally not as fast as the river water. It can be said to be a relatively fair battlefield for the naval forces of the Yan and Sui Dynasties.

Zhang Heng believed that what he had to consider was not how to defeat the Nanyang navy. That was a question that Zhou Fashang, who commanded the Jiangling navy, should think about.

What he had to do was to lure the Nanyang Navy of the Yan Dynasty to come for a decisive battle, so that the Nanyang Navy would not avoid fighting.

Cui Che was not familiar with water warfare, but he was not a fool. If the Jiangling navy had all the advantages, how could he easily send the navy for a decisive battle?

When Cui Che led his army to the gate of Ziling City, the magistrate of Ziling County had already fled.

How could he hold on without reinforcements? The head of the Changlin County Magistrate is still hanging on the south tower.

Although abandoning the city will lead to prosecution by the court, it is better than being captured and surrendering, implicating his family.

At worst, he would resign and return home, hiding his name, at least it would not bring harm to the clan.

The county captain who stayed to maintain law and order in Ziling County did not have so many worries. He came from a wealthy local family in Ziling.

Now the Yan army was approaching fiercely, but Jiangling had no intention of rescuing Ziling. The Ziling county captain simply opened the city gate to welcome the Yan army into the city.

After all, the Yan army's military discipline during the civil war was commendable. Cui Che would only let go of the reins when fighting outside the Great Wall.

After the Nanyang Navy left the Han River from the Dongjing River Estuary, Cui Che immediately ordered to set up forts on both sides of the Dongjing River Mouth and build trebuchets, which were placed on the north and south banks of the river mouth to prevent the Nanyang Navy from being blocked by the rising water.

(End of this chapter)