Yankou Town is located in the north of Dingyuan County, Chongqing Prefecture, on the east side of the Jialing River. Because of the gentle section of the river of several thousand meters, Yankou Town has been a heavy gate of the Jialing River from the north into Chongqing since the beginning of the Song Dynasty. Upstream Qinlong, Nanchong, Guangyuan and other places and downstream Huguang, Guizhou and other places to transfer goods by waterway must stop and distribute here, if the Shehong County of Tongchuan Prefecture is a small port, then this Yankou Town can be called one of the most important river ports on the waterway in eastern Sichuan and northern Sichuan.

In late December, Zhao Dangshi led the soldiers of Zhao Ying to the north of Dingyuan County, and Zhao Ying did not attack Dingyuan County in Miaoerba in the south, but began to cross the river to capture Yankou Town in the east of the Jialing River.

In the past two months, the large-scale expansion of the snow in central Sichuan has not only affected Zhao Ying, but Li Zicheng, Hong Chengchou and others have also suffered unspeakably. According to news from near and far, Zhao Dangshi learned that as early as half a month ago, Cao Bianjiao and Li Wenyin of Shaanxi had arrived in central Sichuan, but because of the snow situation, Liu Kui, Cao Zhiyao, Luo Yuxin and other Sichuan generals had to suspend the encirclement and suppression. On the other hand, Li Zicheng was not much better, the heavy snow closed the road, Li Zicheng was worried that he would be trapped if he divided his troops too much, so he slowly began to gather troops and gave up the siege of Chengdu for more than half a month. Even he himself had contracted a cold a month earlier and was bedridden. In short, the arrival of the blizzard made the conquest competition in western Sichuan and northern Sichuan have to be suspended, and the officials and thieves are facing each other, both struggling to support in this cold and snowy midwinter.

Zhao Ying's footsteps can not be stopped because of the wind and snow, for Zhao Dangshi, only by getting out of the "prison" of Sichuan as quickly as possible, the already dilapidated Zhao Ying has a chance to regain his life.

However, the goose feather fluttering snow in front of me is getting heavier and heavier, although it is not as good as Chongzhen's eight years, but it is roughly estimated that it will not completely stop in February. Let Zhao Ying stay in Sichuan for another two months, not to mention that the officers and troops on all sides will take the opportunity to surround Zhao Ying to death, and Zhao Ying's own military rations are really not enough to consume another two months in vain.

Zhao Dangshi held three meetings a day, and repeatedly discussed the possibility of leaving Sichuan with the generals. In the end, it was concluded that Dekawa was still viable, but if the long-distance overland trek was continued according to the original plan, it would certainly not be able to last long. As a result, the argument of taking the waterway has once again been pushed to the forefront.

As a staunch supporter of the waterway argument, Chang Zeyu still believed in his original ideas under the doubts of the generals. According to his words, if it were not for the time saved by taking a boat down the river in Shehong County, and taking the land route alone, the army of nearly 20,000 men would inevitably have to divide into several groups and advance along different roads. Even if Hou Dagui on the Suining side and Qin Jinxiao and the Tsing Yi Army in the northeast have not yet met, but on the whole, there was no emergency during their period, everything is still in the plan, and at most three days, Zhao Ying's army will be assembled here.

As the leader and soul of Zhao Ying, Zhao Dangshi naturally did not have the time to go to Chang Zeyu to count the previous gains and losses. He is more focused on where to take the next step.

Chang Zeyu, who has become a country, has already thought about this problem. He is a person who has gone through several ups and downs, and he knows very well that since he has become the core figure of Zhao Ying out of thin air, he must have the corresponding ability to take action. Lao Ben, who led the surrender of the crowd, obviously could not maintain his position in the Zhao camp for a long time. He knew better that among the generals of Zhao Ying, who were polite and respectful to him on the surface, he didn't know how many of them were suspicious and cursed in their hearts. Therefore, under the scorching eyes of everyone, he steadily said the answer he had been thinking about for a long time: "To the north." ”

"To the north?"

The originally quiet and solemn Chinese army's big tent was full of discussions, and the generals standing around each other exchanged their heads and ears, all showing more or less surprise. My army has just gone south along the Fujiang River to this point, why do you have to turn to the north, isn't this just a wrong road?

Zhao Dangshi's right hand raised slightly, signaled everyone to remain quiet, and then said to Chang Zeyu: "What do you think about the military advisor, let's talk about it together." "Selling a pass before talking about the topic is the most commonly used routine by strategists such as Chang Zeyu and Qin Qigong, which not only maintains the mystery, but also highlights their ability. Zhao Dangshi didn't understand it before, and he would question it like a little white, but after all, he has been the "lord" for a long time, and now he is completely handy with this, so he is very familiar with throwing a step and letting Chang Zeyu stand up and say.

This natural cooperation really made Chang Zeyu very comfortable, he cleared his throat and said: "Except to the north, our army has no choice now. Let's put this sentence first, and if you have any questions, you can ask questions. ”

Some generals disagreed: "What about the south? ”

Chang Zeyu nodded and smiled: "It's very good to go south, you can take both water and land." However, the south of 100 miles is Hezhou, this north of Chongqing to pass, want to go south there is no other way. Hehe, the general knows that the Tartar Meng Ke Khan died in battle under the Diaoyu City in Hezhou. The general claims to be brave and intelligent, but he is more than the Tartar Khan? ”

The general was speechless and could only shake his head.

Chang Zeyu continued: "And even if you are lucky enough to pass Hezhou, then south is Chongqing Mansion." This is an important thoroughfare in eastern Sichuan, and the sphere of influence under its control can reach a radius of 100 miles. No matter how we go, we can't get around it. If you have the confidence of the Chongqing government, I have no objection. ”

If you can't beat Suining, how can you talk about Chongqing, which is a hundred pheasants and impregnable?

At that moment, Chang Zeyu asked with a word, and all the generals present were silent.

After a while, an unconvinced general said again: "Since you can't go south, why don't you go east?" As far as I know, from here to the east, hundreds of miles to Huguang Shizhouwei, Xiang Nian where did we fight out? "Listening to the tone, it is an old man who has followed Zhao Ying for a long time.

Even though he is in a high position in the left army division, Chang Zeyu still has a lot of respect for the generals of the Zhao camp, these people are not conspicuous one by one, but they form the most powerful group in the entire Zhao camp. They are the heart and soul of Zhao Ying, and now no matter how bad they are, they are basically at the level of 100 generals, once outsiders infringe on their interests, no matter how much they dislike each other on weekdays, they will temporarily let go of their hatred and hold together with the outside world, sometimes in the face of them, even Zhao Dangshi has to give in three points. Therefore, Chang Zeyu pays great attention to his attitude and speech when dealing with these people.

Do one thing, like one thing; Seek a city, think of a country. Chang Zeyu, who was appointed as a military advisor, collected a lot of information before entering Sichuan, and knew it well. Only in this way can he have enough self-confidence and capital to fight with Zhao Ying's miscellaneous generals: "I'm afraid that this general doesn't know something, and from now on, there are only countless things that have been separated from the Dajiang River and the Jialing River." It is said that there are Yuechi water, canal river, adjacent water nearby, and there are high creek beach and so on in the distance. These rivers do not necessarily freeze and freeze, and they all run from southwest to northeast. Our army has to cross a network of waters, not to mention the danger, I am afraid that the delay will be very huge. In addition, in the east, Chungju Wei and Seok Yeonsu are all on the road that our army must pass, and our army must defeat these two head-on in order to ensure that the river is safe. The officers and soldiers in these two places are powerful, general, you must have experienced it before, so you don't need to say more about it, right? ”

This general was one of the wounded in the decisive battle with Shi Yan that year, and the tragic memory of the battle in the past is still fresh, he did not answer Chang Zeyu, but the people around him found that he secretly had goosebumps. With such a performance, the answer speaks for itself.

"Neither the south nor the east, go back to the west? Definitely! No one questioned it anymore, Chang Zeyu immediately asked and answered himself and shook his head, his face was embarrassed, "Zhang Ling, Kong Quanbin, and Tan Daxiao are elusive, and their meaning is unpredictable. Suining, Lu Daqi and others probably dreamed that our army would continue to move here and slowly trap our army to death. Since our army has been able to break through the barrier at present, it must get rid of it quickly, otherwise it will give the officers and soldiers a chance to breathe and regain their breath, and they are afraid that they will fall into the quagmire again. ”

All the generals in the tent, including Zhao Dangshi, all said deeply, and the original humming dissatisfaction has completely stopped listening.

"It's the next move of our army, and it has to be north!" With the foreshadowing of the previous debate, Chang Zeyu had already clenched his right fist when he said this, revealing a resolute expression that could not be ignored.

Zhao Dangshi said in a timely voice: "The meaning of the military advisor's words, isn't it to go to the Jialing River?" "Debaters need their opponents to activate their thinking, and when a debater becomes a speaker, he needs someone to support him, and Zhao Dangshi knows this.

Chang Zeyu nodded solemnly and said: "In the words of the lord, if you want to go north, you can only take the Jialing River waterway!" ”

"Jialing River waterway?"

Following the long silence that followed the previous riot, there was once again a lot of talk in the military tent. They all began to think about how to go north, but few of them thought of going down the Jialing River.

"Heavy snow has blocked the road, and it is very difficult to walk, and all of you must be able to understand the hardships of marching in the snow. From Wusheng to Nanchong, the mountain road is rugged and turns a thousand times, far from being comparable to the Tantu Avenue between Suining and Dingyuan, and you can only take the waterway to go north! ”

"The military advisor said Nanchong?"

Chang Zeyu shook his head and said, "No, this metaphor is also." Since our army has taken the waterway, it is a pity that the river is only 100 miles back! I thought I could go straight to Pengzhou! ”

"Pengzhou!"

One stone stirred up a thousand waves, and the tent suddenly exploded because of Chang Zeyu's words, not only them, but Zhao Dangshi, who had always been calm and composed, couldn't help but be surprised at this time.

In Zhao Ying, as long as you are a little older, you will not be a stranger to Pengzhou. In the eighth year of Chongzhen's trip to Sichuan, Zhao Ying's army withdrew from Baoning Mansion to Yingshan County, and then tended to cross the river in Qu County. Yingshan County is a county of Pengzhou, and it is only a stone's throw away from the Pengzhou capital city on the west side. From Dingyuan County to Pengzhou, there are nearly 500 miles of road, such a distance is incredible just by thinking about it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, take the waterway, even if it is against the wind, row by manpower, at most three days, you can reach Pengzhou!" Chang Zeyu's voice was like a bell, and he tried to suppress the noise in the tent, "Along the mouth is a good port in Yubei, there are countless ships, and there are many big ships like stars, carrying thousands of people in our department, it is not difficult." ”

"On paper!" Some generals muttered quietly. In their opinion, regardless of whether the two departments can achieve the goal of meeting in bad weather, it depends on the waterway itself, which is also full of unknowns. You must know that even if a sufficient number of ships have been collected, there are still countless river gates on the river from Dingyuan County to Pengzhou, and it is not as simple as it is said to break through many obstacles.

Zhao Dangshi also knew this, and asked with his eyebrows: "Military advisor, if the official army intercepts the river and invites an attack, our army has no way to respond, and is not good at water warfare, I am afraid it will be dangerous." ”

In this regard, Chang Zeyu was also prepared, and replied: "General Xu is waiting in Pengxi, from there to Nanchong, the mountain road is steep, and it is difficult for the army to travel, but his troops plus the Tsing Yi army are less than 5,000, just passing." He can go to Pengxi by land, and the elite of his troops can contain a large number of troops near Nanchong. ”

"......I see," Zhao Dangshi pondered when he heard this.

"When our waterway passes, we can return to deal with General Xu's troops, join forces in one place, and arrive in Pengzhou together." Chang Zeyu's eyes were blazing, and he said loudly, "There are still two things to do now. The first is to wait for the return of the general soldiers of Suining Hou; The second is to capture the town of Yankou and capture the ships. ”

Regarding Chang Zeyu's plan, there were many discussions in the account, and there were different opinions. Zhao Dangshi actually couldn't make up his mind for a while. In the past few years, he has done a lot of things to win in the face of danger, but not once has he been so hesitant as he is now. Previously, he did not hesitate because although the chance of success is small, how to do it is clearly there, and he only needs to press the bet, one is one, and two is two. The plan proposed by Kechang Zeyu is really a bit incredible, and even seems whimsical to some generals. There are so many unstable factors that even if you try your best, you can't think about them all. However, except for Chang Zeyu's plan, there is really no way to come up.

The question of whether to use the water route was still inconclusive. Zhao Dangshi actually had some thoughts in his heart, but what was at stake with an order was the net worth and lives of tens of thousands of people, even if he was decisive, he had to think twice. When he was undecided, he thought of Hou Dagui, who had not returned outside. Zhao Dangshi held that Hou Dagui's opinion should not be omitted in the major policy decision that determines the whereabouts of the army. After all, Hou Dagui has helped him make the most important and correct choice in difficult times more than once.

Therefore, he decided to wait for Hou Dagui to come back, talk to him again, and finally set the tone. Before that, make two preparations and start a military operation to capture the town of Yankou.

Huilong Village, the old county township to the south of Yankou Town, has always been the seat of the county administration of Dingyuan County, but in the thirtieth year of Jiajing, Hu Lian, the county magistrate, moved the county administration to Miaoerba on the grounds that the mountain was dangerous and too close to the riverbank. Although nearly 100 years have passed, due to historical reasons, Yankou Town, which is adjacent to the old county administration, still has considerable fortifications.

Across the surging river, Zhao Dangshi could vaguely see the city walls of Yankou Town on the other side. However, early that morning, before launching an attack, he first practiced for a group of people by the river. The place where this group of people would go was exactly the opposite of the direction in which Zhao Ying was heading north, thousands of miles away in Guangdong.