The Maojin knife from the late Jin Dynasty

Chapter 362 Wang Sang’s Attack

"I saw my father hadn't turned off the lights in the study, but he came over to take a look?" Tao Zhan came to Tao Kan's study and saw Tao Kan studying the map carefully.

"The Han army is constantly making arrangements in Yuzhou. I guess a storm is coming!" Tao Kan was already very sensitive to military arrangements. Now that he was reminded by Sima Shao, he understood that Liu Tai was likely to march south this year, so he thought more carefully.

When Tao Kan said this, he couldn't help but ask Tao Zhan beside him, "How do you think Liu Tairuo will attack in the south?"

"Normally speaking, we should attack Zhanwan City in Nanyang to break through Xinye and go all the way south!" Tao Zhan looked at the map and finally landed in Xiangyang.

"Do you think we can hold on in Nanyang?" Tao Kan nodded and asked.

"The terrain of Nanyang is flat and low. It can be said that it is a place that is easy to attack but difficult to defend, not to mention Liu Tai's battle-hardened generals." Tao Zhan shook his head and said, "I think it will be difficult to defend!"

"What if it's Liu Tai himself?!" Seeing Tao Zhan's judgment, Tao Kan asked again.

"If Liu Tai comes in person, let alone Nanyang, I'm afraid everything north of the Yangtze River will be taken by Liu Tai!" Tao Zhan expressed his judgment.

Tao Kan agreed with Tao Zhan's judgment and said, "Yes, Liu Tai is indeed unstoppable. Fortunately, the Yangtze River and the Yellow River are not connected. Otherwise, if his fleet on the Yellow River sails into the Yangtze River, we will probably have a headache." .”

"What does father mean?" Tao Zhan couldn't help but asked doubtfully after hearing Tao Kan's words.

"Naturally, the walls are strong and the fields are clear. All the people south of Nanyang have migrated across the Yangtze River, and they will definitely not leave a grain of food for Liu Han." Tao Kan made it clear at this time.

"It's only the end of June now, and the grain will be ready in one or two months. If we evacuate now, a large area of ​​grain grown in Nanyang will be gone!" Tao Zhan said to Tao Kan.

"I have been studying the offensive rhythm of Liu Tai's army these days. Generally, they will attack before the enemy's food matures, in order to feed the enemy.

If we don’t give up this food now, I’m afraid we won’t be able to eat it! Tao Kan said with a serious expression.

Precisely because after facing Wang Sang, he realized that Wang Sang's level was average, but his soldiers were elite.

So Tao Kan really studied Liu Tai's use of troops, and soon discovered that when Liu Tai attacked the enemy, he usually chose a very particular time to attack.

They always attack one or two months before the grain harvest, thus exceeding the expectations of other armies.

The areas that were defeated will soon be able to provide Liu Tai's army with corresponding food, thereby completing the effect of providing food to the enemy.

Although Tao Kan didn't know it, the reason behind this was that Liu Tai vigorously promoted winter wheat, which was usually harvested in the summer.

People like him who eat rice or sorghum harvest at completely different times, which is why there is a time difference in the war.

Tao Kan's vision is that Liu Tai is extremely courageous and war-conscious, and understands that as long as he defeats the opponent, not only the opponent's food will be his, but even the food in his own rear can be preserved.

If Liu Tai had met him for the first and second time, Tao Kan seemed to have no need to defeat Liu Tai. He only had to defend Liu Tai's attack. Liu Tai's army would probably collapse due to lack of food.

But now, it is no longer possible for him to use offense instead of defense in this way.

After all, Liu Tai has already occupied the territory of the eleven states, and he can transfer some of the food he has saved from other places to sustain the food harvest for several months. If he thinks he can replace defense with offense, then he is a fool.

Therefore, after much deliberation, Tao Kan could only implement the strategy of strengthening the walls and clearing the country, and evacuated the people of Nanyang first.

After all, the entire south of the Yangtze River, without the protection of the navy, would not be able to withstand the iron hoofs of Liu Tai's cavalry.

"So I will order the soldiers in Nanyang Xinye and other places to complete the task of strengthening the walls and clearing the country!" Tao Zhan couldn't help but say.

Tao Kan nodded, and at this moment there was a knock on the door of the Tao family. Soon a guard ran to Tao Kan, knelt down and said to Tao Kan: "General Qi, Wang Sang is leading the army to attack Nanyang. I have been ordered by the Grand Administrator to come and ask for help!"

Tao Zhan looked at his father in surprise, because just as Tao Kan expected, Liu Tai's army attacked at the end of summer.

But at this moment, Tao Kan still didn't have any expected joy on his face, because it was too late after all.

After all, Tao Kan had never really seen the changed production model in the north, so Tao Kan's judgment was still not accurate enough.

In Tao Kan's view, Liu Tai's every attack that did not conform to the normal time was opportunism, but in fact it was because the crops were cultivated differently, resulting in different times for both sides to exert force.

However, Wang Sang's attack on Nanyang County took longer than Tao Kan expected, but Tao Kan still began to order the people in the Xinye area to evacuate in an orderly manner.

To be honest, when Sima Shao's order came, Tao Kan organized an evacuation of Nanyang County and Xinye City.

However, they did not directly burn the fields, destroy the houses, or throw the bodies into the wells.

But if the people of Xinye still refuse to leave, then don't blame Tao Kan for being rude.

As for Nanyang County, Tao Kan thought for a while and decided to lead the team himself and go there to have a look, at least to cover the smooth evacuation of Xinye.

After all, every time the Han army's supplies are reduced, the chances of winning the war will increase.

Just when Tao Kan and Xiangyang had just received the news, Wang Sang had already led his headquarters to Nanyang.

Liu Tai's order was to have Wang Sang's army reach the Yangtze River before Liu Tai's army set off. As for the time, it was the end of August.

Liu Tai knows very well that July and August are the hottest times in China, and they are also the time when the rain in the south is the most concentrated.

If he attacks the south at this time, his soldiers will probably have to suffer a lot more.

Instead of doing this, it is better to delay the time until the end of August to September. Even if there are still autumn tigers, this time will not last long.

By the time autumn and winter come, you will have more adequate heating, and you will at least be more resistant to the cold than your opponent.

After all, no matter how well southerners resist freezing, they can't compare to northerners who have heating in winter!

Therefore, Wang Sang only had two months to go south to Nanyang County, capture Xinye, and maybe even Fancheng.

Wang Sang knew very well that his performance this time directly determined whether he could successfully entrust the enfeoffment. Therefore, when attacking Nanyang, Wang Sang did not take care of the soldiers of Nanyang's governor who went to report the news.

At the beginning, they sent their soldiers wearing thick iron armor, fully armed and holding giant shields to step into pits and use their bodies to crush various traps set up by Nanyang County.

To a certain extent, this has become a standard method for Liu Tai's army to clear the periphery of the city when they attack the city.

It is impossible for ordinary archers to pose any danger to these armored soldiers. The only way to deal with them is to load a crossbow. But the problem is that the crossbow is very troublesome, both in stringing and shooting.

Of course, the most important thing is that Nanyang, a city that is neither a checkpoint nor a majestic city, really can't get enough powerful crossbows.

For the soldiers under Wang Sang's command, they also had military history and learned about the Han Dynasty. At this moment, they all knew that this battle was a battle of unification.

Under such circumstances, these soldiers fought hard, even if they knew that ordinary traps and dangers could not hurt them, but in the end they did not occupy the advantage, no matter the thorns under the ground or the crossbows shot from the wall, They will all cause fatal harm to themselves.

Even so, they remain fearless.

Because they really believed that after the restoration of the Han Dynasty, people like them would live a better life.

At least now since they followed Liu Tai, their lives are really getting better year by year!

When I go home to visit relatives, I can see my wife and children more clearly, and I feel relieved that they are taken care of by the big man.

Under such circumstances, for these armored soldiers, it was definitely worth it for them to exchange their lives for the favor Liu Tai gave them.

And when most of the soldiers in an army believe that it is worth sacrificing their lives to fight, then this army will become very terrifying!
This makes it very convenient for this armored army to sweep away various traps and defense facilities on the periphery!
While this armored army had basically swept away the surrounding area, Wang Sang's craftsmen had completed the construction of siege weapons, then filled the road to attack Nanyang City, and launched a fierce all-round throw from the Thunderbolt Chariot. The soldiers of Nanyang City were completely overwhelmed and had no time to fight back.

Because they did not expect that the Han army would have such powerful siege weapons when they arrived at Nanyang City on the first day.

Such a purely industrial attack was completely unexpected by these Nanyang soldiers.

This accumulated war experience was accumulated by Liu Tai, Zhou Ping, and Li Ju based on their battles during their westward march.

It was summarized and refined by military historians and provided to Liu Tai. Liu Tai ordered each step to be broken down in detail and then distributed to each legion commander. When Liu Tai had just crossed the Yellow River, he was indeed not good at attacking cities.

However, enemies such as You Ziyuan taught Liu Tai a lot of knowledge, and what Liu Tai was best at building the army was summarizing experience, refining the essence, and then handing it over to military history books and then to the entire army for analysis.

What Wang Sang enjoyed were the tactical results brought about by Liu Taixi's entry.

Wang Sang himself knew his abilities, especially knowing that his opponent was Tao Kan. He had suffered a small loss when supporting Deng Yue and Zhou Fu, so he was afraid that he would be targeted by Tao Kan in Ye Changmengduo.

Now I will follow the strategy and push to the north of the Yangtze River as quickly as possible. As for the Nanyang County in front of me, it is definitely not my limit.

The Nanyang Prefect had no idea that Liu Han's army was so strong and that his attack was so fast.

Normally, a city like Wancheng, because it is a frontline city, would at least have basic preparations for itself.

However, the outer defenses were forcibly demolished by the opponent using human body mines. The next side was a thunderous chariot washing the city wall with blood. Only a very small number of soldiers standing on the city wall survived. Then the opponent began to forcibly attack the city.

Hurry, it's too fast. How could anyone in this world not even set up camp on the first day but attack directly? Are you planning to spend the night in Nanyang City? !
However, the Nanyang Prefect had no choice but to find that facing Liu Han's army like this, the only thing he could do besides reporting the news was to wait for death.

Before even making it to night, Wang Sang's forward Xu Miao led the Han army and directly defeated the gate of Wancheng.

A county government office with obvious defenses was breached before it could even hold on for a day.

As soon as the city gate was broken, the morale of the entire Wancheng generals was completely reduced to zero. Wang Sang led the army to take over Wancheng as quickly as possible.

After letting the soldiers rest for two days, Wancheng was handed over to Zhang Song, who hurriedly brought the soldiers over to take over.

Wang Sang did not hesitate and immediately led his army towards Xinye, intending to occupy the north of the Yangtze River.

However, Wang Sang's attack speed indeed exceeded Tao Kan's expectations. In Tao Kan's original judgment, no matter how hard it was, Nanyang should be stationed for five to seven days. He and his headquarters set off the same night after receiving the news. In the end, we only made it to Xinye.

"Father, the city of Nanyang has been defeated. It is meaningless for us to continue to march. It is better to leave a general to garrison Xinye. We will retreat back to Xiangyang first and rely on the Yangtze River to fight against the Han army!" Tao Zhan said.

"No!" Mao Bao said, "The enemy has taken advantage of the situation. If our army retreats at this time, and the enemy bypasses Xinye and pursues our army, then our army will probably repeat Liu Bei's story. Don't forget it. The other side has cavalry!"

Hearing the word cavalry, Tao Kan couldn't help but frown. The Jiangnan area had always been short of horses. Basically all cavalry teams were in the refugee army. As the refugee army became history, the shortage of horses in the Jin army became more and more common.

Under such circumstances, Tao Kan admitted that it was impossible for him to quickly retreat back to Xiangyang.

"We will attack them head-on first and defeat their morale, and then we will evacuate!" Tao Kan said.

"Father, how should we plan?" Tao Zhan asked Tao Kan.

"General Mao Bao, the local momentum is now strong. First, you have to pretend to go to support the army of Nanyang County. After a small defeat, you will lead the enemy troops into our army's ambush circle!" Tao Kan couldn't help but said to Mao Bao.

"I will obey the general's order!" Mao Bao couldn't help but salute Tao Kan after hearing Tao Kan's words.

At this time, when Wang Sang led the army to advance towards Xinye, military historian Liu Min quickly came to Wang Sang and said to Wang Sang, "General, please report something to the people!"

Wang Sang couldn't help but be startled, looked at Liu Min and said, "What's the matter?"

"Reporting back to the general, the people remembered "The Young Master of Jingzhou City Seeks Three Strategies for Bowangpo Military Advisors and First Uses Troops". Mr. Kong Ming, who has experienced the world, came down the mountain for the first battle, and it was in this new field!" Liu Min said seriously.

This was when Liu Tai first led the army. Because he didn't even have Han books, he talked about "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

Although Liu Tai no longer tells it, now that Liu Tai is the emperor, the stories he told before will naturally be read out and re-edited.

But no matter how he edited it, Kong Ming's wisdom has not changed, and the first battle down the mountain will naturally be a close-up.

"Yeah! I know!" Wang Sang nodded and thought about it. Cao Cao sent his clan brother Xiahou Dun to lead a hundred thousand troops to send a wave in Xinye. It seems that he is very similar to himself. He can't accept this prophecy. !
(End of this chapter)