Chapter 425: Bloodstained Nanyang

Except for the boundary between Nanyang and Yuzhou in the east, which is dangerous to defend, the other areas are basically easy to attack and difficult to defend.

Zhu Jun had always relied on the eastern city to resist the Yellow Turban of Yuzhou, and now the northern line had been broken through, which exposed the entire Nanyang to Xiang Yu's iron hooves.

There are 36 large and small counties in Nanyang, and the total strength of the Han army is only nearly 140,000 troops, while there are 300,000 yellow turbans in the two directions.

In order to prevent being broken by the yellow turbans one by one, it was naturally impossible for the Han army to leave troops to guard the counties.

Xiang Yu originally thought that the Han army would concentrate on defending a few strong cities and strategically placing most of the county seats, after all, this was the best way to deal with the two-way attack.

And once the Han army is like this, those county towns will also become Xiang Yu's strategic supply grounds, so Xiang Yu is not worried about the consumption of grain and grass, but he didn't expect this to be smoother than he thought.

"Report, Lu Zhi and Zhu Jun did not join the army, and now most of Lu Zhi's army has retreated into Wancheng, and Zhu Jun has led the army to Wuguan."

Wuguan is the southern gate of Guanzhong, and if there is an accident, this Guanzhong will be turbulent.

The news of Zhu Jun's retreat to Wuguan did not arouse the suspicion of the Yellow Turban generals, after all, the Han Dynasty must be more afraid of 300,000 Yellow Turbans attacking Wuguan.

"What? Lu Zhijun actually shrank most of his soldiers and horses to Wancheng? ”

Xiang Yu didn't expect Lu Zhi to have such a big determination, this is the rhythm of stumbling with himself in Wancheng.

During the Cold Weapon War, winter can be said to be a forbidden area, and once it reaches this time, the war must be stopped, and the last armistice is also due to the climate.

Now it's November, the temperature is getting colder and colder, and Wancheng City is high and well-fed, and the defenders are also very sufficient, so it is obviously not so easy to fight.

If it continues to drag on, the temperature will drop completely in December, and Xiang Yu will have to wait for the next year to go south to Jingzhou.

Xiang Yu originally didn't prepare to take Jingzhou once, but as the war became smoother and smoother after Qin Hao was captured, Xiang Yu inevitably became arrogant.

The Han army without Qin Hao was really vulnerable. Xiang Yu thought so in his heart.

Xiang Yu wants to move the battle line to Nanjun before the truce, and with the rich Nanyang, he can also expand his strength to the greatest extent this winter.

Wancheng is the first strong city in Nanyang, and it is also the first big city in Nanjun in the south, if Lu Zhi gambles to die in Wancheng, Xiang Yu will not be able to take Nanyang before winter.

"Do you have any of our men in Wancheng?" Xiang Yu frowned and asked.

The implication was naturally that they wanted to attack the Han army by means other than war.

Zhang Liang didn't think about it, and replied directly: "Wancheng is a stronghold of Taipingwei, and there are five hundred people in the city. ”

"Can you open the gates of the city while our army is attacking?"

After pondering for a while, Zhang Liang shook his head and said: "Lu Zhi is also afraid that there will be internal and external cooperation, so he is extremely strict for the city gate, and it is unlikely that he will succeed." ”

Xiang Yu's brows suddenly furrowed even tighter, but Zhang Liang's next sentence resolved the worries in his heart.

"Although our army's forces in the city can't take the city gate, it can still burn the Han army's grain depot."

If the winter food of the Han army is burned, then it can only abandon Wancheng and defend another city, and how can other cities that are not well prepared withstand the attack of Xiang Yu's army?

"We must succeed and we must not allow failure." Xiang Yu said to Zhang Liang with a serious face.

"Understood." Zhang Liang nodded lightly, but his tone was extremely firm.

"Pass the order, the whole army is divided into three routes, each with 100,000 troops, and take all the cities around Wancheng as quickly as possible."

After Zhu Jun withdrew to Wuguan, Xiang Yu had also successfully joined forces with the 100,000 Yuzhou Army subordinate to Zhang Liang, and now there are 300,000 Yellow Turbans on the South Road.

In order to take Nanyang as soon as possible, Xiang Yu even personally led the army to attack the city, and in other cities other than Wancheng, there were only the private armies of the united family, how could they resist Xiang Yu's elite army?

In the face of the Yellow Turbans, a group of robbers who came to raid the landlord's house, the Nanyang family naturally united as a matter of course.

There is no shortage of population in Nanyang, and the family is not short of money and food, and although the people at the bottom support the Yellow Turban, when faced with the benefits that can be directly obtained, the common people can manage so much.

Many people responded to the family's call and joined the defense of the city against the Yellow Turbans.

But the elite under Xiang Yu's command, how can these improvised patchwork armies resist?

The Yellow Turbans usually only launched a single charge, and the combined army of the family immediately collapsed, followed by a mass surrender.

These poor people are also tempted by interests, but in the face of invincible opponents, how can they continue to work for the family?

In just three days, the Yellow Turban South Route Army broke through ten cities in Nanyang, but the strange number of troops increased instead of decreasing.

The ten cities provided nearly 5,000 troops to the Yellow Turbans on average, and now the total strength of the Yellow Turbans is about to break through the 350,000 mark.

On November 4, there was good news from Wancheng.

"Report ...... The Wancheng grain depot was burned down by our army, and Wancheng is now panicked. ”

"Great, God help me." Xiang Yu said happily.

Zhang Liang, as the commander-in-chief of the burning grain, did not have Xiang Yu's joy, but frowned slightly.

Zhang Liang always felt that this attack was a bit too simple, and the simple one was like being designed to die.

The hundred schools have not acted so far, is there a conspiracy or a backhand? Or am I suspicious? Zhang conscience said secretly.

Xiang Yu doesn't have as complicated thoughts as Zhang Liang, and now that the form is good, he naturally wants to expand the results.

"Order, transfer 150,000 troops, besiege Wancheng in a situation of three missing one, if Lu Zhi breaks through, don't pay attention to it for the time being, let it break through. The remaining 200,000 troops continued to attack Nanyang, and they would have slaughtered the Nanyang family this time. ”

Xiang Yu decided the fate of the Nanyang family with one sentence, and the wealth and land that had always been proud of it have now become the lifeline of the Nanyang family.

Under Xiang Yu's order, 200,000 Yellow Turbans slaughtered all the rebellious Nanyang families, and those who obeyed were also seized from their homes, and nearly 50,000 people died in this massacre.

Xiang Yu used the most bloody and violent means to forcibly implement the "Heavenly Country Tianmu System" in Nanyang.

And the people who directly benefited from it were naturally cheering, and they were all waiting at home for the recruitment order of the Yellow Turban, as long as the recruitment order came out, the people would definitely rise up and follow it.

Xiang Yu did not order conscription, because after the capture of the Twenty Cities, the total number of the Yellow Turban South Route Army had exceeded 400,000.

For the attack on Jingzhou, the 400,000 army is more than enough, and if the conscription continues, the grain and grass that is robbed from the Nanyang family will not be enough.

Of course, Zhang Liang, as the general of Rengong, could not agree to Xiang Yu's continued expansion of the army.