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This water battle with the Jianghuai army, starting from the battle of Chongming Island at the mouth of the Yangtze River to the final end of the battle of Poyang Lake, lasted for more than a month, and finally ended with the complete victory of the Zhou army's naval division and the annihilation of the Jianghuai army's naval division. The commander of the Jianghuai Army's naval division, Du Fuwei, Du Ping, and Wu Bo, the deputy general, were all defeated and died.

And the victory of this water battle also established the first position of the Zhou army's water division among the water divisions of the princes. With bloody facts and real achievements, they proved that whether it was in the ocean, the river, or the lake, the Zhou army was the strongest.

After crossing Poyang Lake and conquering Yuzhang County, the Zhou army used this as a base for advance, and soon conquered Jiujiang, and then continued to attack westward, until it reached the city of Baling.

At the same time, the central army of the Zhou army, also under the response of Zhou Tao, crossed the Yangtze River, broke Wuling, Chuyang, Yueyang and other counties, and the whole army of Fugongzuo was defeated.

Under the threat of the common enemy of the Zhou army, Du Fuwei and Fu Gongzuo, the old brothers and new enemies, also had to put aside the previous contradictions and join forces to fight the enemy.

The two joined forces and defended Baling County, preparing to fight to the death with Yuming.

At this time, Yuming's Eastern Army and Wei Chi Jingde's Central Army had also converged, and after the combined forces of the two sides, they reached 150,000 people, and surrounded Baling County tightly. However, because this city is the place where Xiao Mill started his army. Xiao Milling was originally operated as his own. Therefore, the city wall is high and thick, and there are many materials stored in the city to defend the city, and there is enough grain and grass.

After Du Fuwei and Fu Gongzuo joined forces, the number of soldiers also reached 100,000. And most of the soldiers under him are veterans who have followed them for many years, with strong combat effectiveness and high loyalty, so that the Zhou army has not captured it several times.

Yu Ming also knows that now the Jianghuai army has reached the point of exhaustion. The reason why Du Fuwei and Fu Gongzuo have been fighting to the death and not surrendering is that they think that under Li Yuan's attack, they will withdraw their troops to the north in a few days. In this way, they can ease their strength, so they persist in resisting.

This made him very irritable in his heart. Because he just got the news, Yulin County has fallen, Tian Hao was martyred, Li Jiancheng completely captured the Hetao area, the main force of the Tang army's northern line is rushing towards Mayi and Dingxiang, and Li Shimin's army on the middle line has formed a flanking attack on Hedong, if he does not go north again, he is afraid that Hedong is in danger.

However, the battle of the Southern Expedition has reached the last moment, Du Fuwei and Fu Gongzuo are now besieged by him in Baling City, only need to break through this city, this expedition can be drawn to a complete sentence, the rich and beautiful land south of the Yangtze River will also become the territory of the Great Zhou, he will have rich financial and manpower to transfer. Therefore, we must not give up halfway.

It's just that how can we break through Baling City as soon as possible?

Just when Yuming was a little helpless, the soldiers outside the tent hurriedly came in and reported: "Your Majesty, Concubine Xiao is here!" ”

"What? The Moon Immortal is coming? How could she come to such a dangerous battlefield? It's not good to stay in Luoyang! When Yu Ming heard this, he was also surprised and delighted.

"Let her in!" He said hurriedly.

A moment later, a beautiful girl wearing a pale green Luo skirt walked into the big tent lightly, it was Concubine Xiao, one of the six imperial concubines of the Great Zhou. Although she is very young, she has a graceful and luxurious temperament between her gestures, which makes people respect.

"The concubine has seen the emperor!" Xiao Yuexian bowed.

"Yuexian, this is in the barracks, not in the palace, so you don't have to be so polite!" Yu Ming hurriedly helped her up, and then asked eagerly, "Yuexian, why did you come here?" You must know that this is a place of war and chaos, but there are many dangers! ”

"Brother Ming, as the emperor, you dare to take risks and personally lead the army to fight, what is there to be afraid of Yuexian?" Xiao Yuexian blinked her big beautiful eyes at this time, and said with a square color: "Yuexian came to Baling to find you this time, and the two sisters Shumeng and Red Sleeves agreed!" ”

"Huh? They even agreed to let you come? When Yuming heard this, he was also surprised. Did he know that maybe Xiao Yuexian might do something impulsive because of her girlish temper. But Shumeng and Red Sleeves are both very mature women who think about problems, and they will not do stupid things because of their emotional impulses. Why would they agree to let Xiao Yuexian come here?

"Brother Ming, this Baling City is the place where my Xiao family started to raise troops, and most of the surnames in the city are either surnamed Xiao, or they are related to our Xiao family. Moreover, many of the surrounding counties and villages and towns are also blessed by my Xiao family, our Xiao family has been working hard here for decades, even if Yang Jian, the emperor of the former Sui Dynasty, swept the south of the Yangtze River, he didn't dare to ...... my Xiao family," Xiao Yuexian said with some pride.

Yu Ming was confused when he heard this, and then asked with a wry smile: "Yuexian, Shumeng and Red Sleeves asked you to come to Baling just to tell me this?" ”

"Of course not!" Xiao Yuexian realized at this time that she had accidentally digressed. She smiled mysteriously at the moment, two small dimples appeared on her pretty face, then lowered her voice, and whispered to Yu Ming: "Brother Ming, they are willing to let me come because I know that from under the ancestral hall of my Xiao family in the city, there is a secret tunnel that leads to a forest outside the city...... We can enter the city through this tunnel and conquer Baling City in one fell swoop! ”

"Ahh Is there such a thing? Yuexian, please come carefully! After Yuming heard this, he was also surprised and delighted.

Xiao Yuexian said a secret from the past at this time: "More than sixty years ago, Chen Baxian usurped the throne and rebelled, and took the throne of my Southern Liang Emperor Xiao Fangzhi. At that time, after my Xiao clan was captured by him, all of them were sent to Baling to settle down. Yuexian's great-grandfather was worried that Chen Baxian would kill all of my Xiao clansmen. In order to avoid being unable to escape at that time, I mobilized my Xiao clan to secretly dig a tunnel from the Xiao family ancestral hall, leading to a forest fifteen miles outside the east of the city, for escape. However, this tunnel has never been used since it was excavated, and I don't know if it has been blocked now...... If our army can enter the city through this tunnel, then Baling will be just around the corner! ”

Everyone was overjoyed when they heard this, if this tunnel could really be used, the end of the Southern Expedition would be close at hand.

"Yuexian, you have made a great contribution this time!" Yu Ming couldn't help but shine his eyes.

Everyone couldn't help but say happily: "Your Majesty, if we can take Baling without blood, our army will have time to return to the north to deal with the Tang army!" ”

Yu Ming also doubled his confidence, and stood up and said, "Okay! Let's get ready now! This time, we must exterminate Du Fuwei, completely wipe out the Jianghuai army, and let the land south of the Yangtze River become a stable territory for my Great Zhou! ”

……

In the study of the city guard's mansion in Baling City, Du Fuwei was pacing restlessly in the study.

Just a few days ago, Li Xiaogong had already replied, and he scolded Du Fuwei severely in the letter. Because of Du Ping's defeat, not only did the Jianghuai Army's naval division be wiped out, but also Li Tang's naval division was greatly damaged, after all, most of Du Ping's warships belonged to Li Tang. If the Zhou army's naval division continued to swim upstream, the Tang army's naval division would not be able to resist at all.

As for the reinforcements that Du Fuwei was very eager for, Li Xiaogong said that the Tang army would not send troops to rescue the Jianghuai army.

First, the main force of the Tang army had made great progress in the area of Hedong and Hetao, and it was impossible to give up eating imported fatty meat at this juncture to extract millet from Du Fuwei's fire.

Second, the western army of the Zhou army saw that there was no opportunity to take advantage of Xiangyang, so under the leadership of Li Jing, they attacked westward, occupied Shangluo County, and reached outside Wuguan Pass. This scared Li Yuan so much that he couldn't possess his body. After all, as soon as the Wuguan was broken, the Zhou army could drive straight into the pass from the south.

And now the soldiers and horses of the Tang army have been sent to Guanwai, and Guanzhong and Chang'an are extremely empty, and they cannot resist Li Jing's army at all.

Therefore, Li Yuan urgently ordered the main force of Li Xiaogong's army to leave Xiangyang and rescue Wuguan. At the same time, he asked Li Yuanji to divide his troops from the Luoyang front line to the south and attack Wancheng to cut off Li Jinghou. Therefore, in such a complex and dangerous situation in the Jingxiang area, how could Li Xiaogong dare to use the already small number of troops to rescue Du Fuwei?

Although there is enough food and grass in Baling City now, and there are a lot of troops, Du Fuwei still feels a little uneasy. After all, the combat effectiveness of the Zhou army really left a deep impression on him. Moreover, although he is now in the same position as the assistant minister, and the number of troops has greatly increased, the two sides can no longer trust each other as before, and they are as close as before.

Especially in the last few days, Du Fuwei always feels that his eyelids are a little jumpy. Although Fu Gongzuo had sent a large number of scouts to wander around the Zhou army's camp, asking to report the movements of the Zhou army to the city every hour, until now, the Zhou army has not made any unusual moves. This made Du Fuwei even more nervous in his heart, and he didn't know what medicine was sold in Yuming's gourd.

Thinking of this, Du Fuwei said to the herald beside him: "Send someone to inform Du Yu and ask him to dig two more ditches outside the city, and prepare fire oil and rolling stones and wood on the city wall, and send additional people to be on duty at night to prevent the Zhou army from sneaking up at night." ”

The herald answered, and went out of the camp to inform him.

Du Fuwei sat on a stone bench in the courtyard at this time, wondering if there was anything unusual about Fu Gongzuo's recent actions, this sworn brother is now in front of the generals of the Jianghuai Army, saying that he wants to organize a large number of scouts to reconnoiter the enemy's situation, this guy is now so accumulated, is he still thinking about seizing the power of the Jianghuai Army.

At this moment, a personal soldier's hurried voice came from outside the courtyard: "King Du, the second master is here!" ”

The second leader mentioned by this pro-soldier is naturally the second-in-command of the Jianghuai Army.

"Fu Gongzuo took the initiative to come to me? I'm afraid there's something urgent! When Du Fuwei heard this, he mused.

Since the two joined forces in Baling City, except for a meal together on the first day when they arranged the defense, they rarely saw each other after that. After all, the two went from sworn brothers to enemies, and then from enemies to partners, and they felt a little awkward to meet each other.

"Invite him in!" Du Fuwei waved his hand.

...