Yao Xishui originally thought that Xinchang Marquis Li Pu did not need to bow to Han Qian, they had more than 400 combat power that could be said to be the top in the world, and they could completely find their own goals, break through some mansions, plunder the slaves and maids, and then leave the strong young people to expand the army, and send the old and weak women and children to Maoshan to ask Han Qian to take over.

However, when they actually do it, they find that things are not as easy as they imagined.

Great Chu was founded in Jinling for only 17 years, and since the victory of the army of Dong Chang, the king of Yue, in the decisive battle of Runzhou in the eighth year of Tianyou, the counties on both sides of Maoshan can be regarded as enjoying nearly ten years of peace, but before nearly a hundred years of war and chaos, and by the bandits in Fuyu Mountain, Yishan and other places, the family gate valve has been based on this rich land for hundreds of years, and the Zhujia Zhaibao west of Maoshan is not built high and thick?

Don't disintegrate from the inside, but aimlessly pick a target and send cavalry to attack directly, and are reluctant to suffer too heavy casualties, and at the same time, you have to take care of the elite cavalry of the Chuzhou army to bypass it for half a day, how to fight?

And Zhao Wuji and they are not able to storm Liyang and Pingling, two county towns defended by 2,000 soldiers and horses-Anning Palace, even if the army is weak, it will not easily give up the control of the peripheral counties, but the troops are limited, and they dare not fight in the field, and they are laissez-faire to the vast towns and villages outside the county seat.

For the time being, Zhao Wuji and the others will also bypass the few Dazhai Castles that are particularly strong and have strong internal cohesion among their clan soldiers, but each time they choose a target, they are carefully selected.

In the first few days, Han Qian seemed to have just issued proclamation letters to various towns and villages, and did not directly send troops, but it did not mean that he did not do the infiltration work behind his back, and even these works were the real focus.

This ensures that even if the fighting spirit of the garrison troops cannot be completely dismantled, and in the event of an engagement, the most accurate situation is grasped at the first time, and the weakest point is forcibly cut in.

Almost every day, it is possible to ensure that a weakly defended fort can be smashed open at minimal cost.

After disarming the left-behind soldiers, they expelled the children of the gate lords.

Those soldiers and slaves who were willing to join the Chishan army were brought back to Maoshan along with grain, iron cloth, mules, horses, cattle and sheep.

Those soldiers and slaves who were unwilling to join the Chishan Army were not embarrassed, but distributed rations, money, silk and other materials to them, and helped them escape from Lishui and Pingling counties and take refuge in Xuanzhou and Huzhou.

In less than ten days, Zhao Wuji, Feng Xuan, Dou Rong and others took turns to lead their troops to smash more than nine small and medium-sized forts with relatively weak defenses in Pingling and Lishui counties.

Some small and medium-sized families saw that the power was wrong, so they gave up resistance and fled into Dabao or the county town in a hurry with their wealth and goods and slaves, but more slaves and maids in the two counties were agitated and became restless, robbed the cattle and sheep and grain, and dragged the family to Maoshan with their mouths.

Zhao Wuji and his troops brought back no more than 10,000 stones of grain, more than 1,000 mules, horses, cattle and sheep, and more than 6,000 slaves and maids, but the slaves and maids and destitute civilians dragged their families and mouths to invest, and the population and materials they brought were twice as many.

Regardless of the fact that these untrained slaves and maids did not have much combat effectiveness, but after excluding the old and weak women and children, there were more than 6,000 young and strong men between the ages of 15 and 45, all of whom were incorporated into the battalion, and suddenly the Chishan rebel army swelled to 10,000 horses like a balloon in less than ten days.

During this period, Li Pu, the Marquis of Xinchang, took Li Xiu and they also smashed open two walled forts and brought back 2,000 slaves and maids and their families.

They kicked the old and weak women and children to Maoshan and handed them over to Han Qian for resettlement, and they also left 500 Ding Zhuang, but in the process, they themselves lost almost forty good players.

Han Qian didn't break the idea of Xinchang Hou Li Pu and them taking advantage of them, but Xinchang Hou Li Pu didn't feel good in their own hearts.

The cumulative casualties of the Chishan Army also add up to more than 400 people, and according to the proportion of soldiers and horses, the casualties on both sides should be considered incomparably different, but the question is what is the quality of the remnants of the Chishan Army, and what is the quality of the guards who have been carefully cultivated by the county prince's mansion for many years?

In the end, he only achieved a slight victory in merit, so how could Li Pu, Li Xiu, and Li Zhen be willing?

And these casualties and losses of the Red Mountain Army can easily be replenished from the elite of slaves.

Even in the last two days of the grain conscription operation, Zhao Wuji, Feng Xuan, Dou Rong and others deliberately selected some newly recruited slaves and maids to take them out directly to fight, so that these slaves and maids could quickly grow into useful pawns after adapting to the bloody war.

They have lost more than 40 good players, all of whom are proficient in knife and bow skills, and they have been boiling their bodies since they were young, not to mention that they are ten against one, in an open place, there is absolutely no problem for one person to fight against three or four ordinary soldiers, such an elite combat power, how can it be replenished in a short time?

In the middle of May, the weather in Jinling is getting hotter and hotter, and no matter which side will want to avoid fighting in such a hot weather.

Otherwise, the generals put on heavy military uniforms and armor, not to mention fighting in formation, and under the scorching sun, they will suffer from heat stroke when they walk to the combat area.

In the past ten days, Gao Shao, Zhou Chu, Zhao Qi, Guo Qi, and Lin Zongjing led the second batch, with a total of more than 200 military attachés from the children of soldiers and Zuo Si, from Xuzhou to Maoshan to meet Han Qian.

In addition, the 145 veterans of the Dragon Bird Army who fled from Shaozhou, Tanzhou, Yueyang and others to shelter their families also rushed to Maoshan one after another to accept Han Qian's requisition and return to the camp.

The Chishan Army was rapidly expanded to more than 10,000 people in Sandu, and although the veterans were always only about 3,000 people, the middle-level military attaché who was the backbone of the team and battalion commander was quite sufficient.

It can almost guarantee that Han Qian's battalion level of six to eight hundred people can initially establish an independent command system.

The soldiers and horses of the three capitals are still with Lin Haizheng as the general and the first capital of Du Yuhou as the absolute main force, with Zhao Wuji, Feng Xuan, and Dou Rong as the battalion commanders, and at the same time, more than 100 military attaches have been added to strengthen the cohesion and command of the sentinel level of 60 to 80 people.

The second and third capitals were based on 200 military attachés who had advanced eastward and 1,200 veterans who had been drawn from the first capital as skeletons, and nearly 5,000 slaves and maids who had joined the army.

the second is to Gao Shao and Zhao Qi as the main and deputy capitals; The third capital was made the Marquis of Duyu by the general Zhou and a deputy battalion commander who fled from Yueyang, and Meng Man was the deputy Marquis of Duyu.

Lin Zongjing and other young generals from the children of the family and the children of Zuo Si, as well as Xiao Dahu, Shi Ji and others, were filled in the second and third capitals to serve as team members and battalion commanders.

Kong Xirong and Wei Chang will lead the women's battalion and the juvenile battalion this time, replacing Shi Ji and Xiao Dahu back behind Han Qian and responsible for leading the personal guard battalion; Guo Ke and others also went to Han Qian's side, and together with Yuan Guowei, Guo Nuer and others, they were responsible for handling more and more complex and demanding scout reconnaissance and counselor military affairs.

…………

…………

One afternoon in mid-May, Wang Wenqian, escorted by a group of men and horses, climbed a low mountain called Baihuling on the southeast flank of Maoshan Mountain.

Baihuling is a branch vein extending to the northwest of Liyang in the southeast and upper Jieling Mountain.

The hill is only a dozen zhang high, and it stretches for a while, but it is a key point in the northwest of Liyang City to monitor the southern foot of Maoshan Mountain.

Accompanied by Zhao Zhen and Yin Peng, Wang Wenqian climbed to the top of the White Fox Ridge and stood in the dense mountain forest to look west.

Seven or eight miles away, they could vaguely see that the Chishan rebel army had more than 1,000 men and horses, and was entrenched in a village on the southeast flank of Canglongbei, where Da Mao Peak was located, burying the felled trees in the soil, creating a fence wall, and enclosing the village of dozens of families.

The Chishan army obviously also noticed the existence of their biao men and horses, and farther away at the southeast foot of Maoshan Mountain, two groups of soldiers and horses faintly walked out of the mountain forest and stopped at the edge of the mountain forest to stand by.

"Yesterday, the Chishan Army divided 4,000 soldiers and horses, out of the southern foot of Maoshan Mountain, and went south into the northern foot of Donglu Mountain, and has now cut off the connection between Shangjiabao and the periphery, and it is estimated that Shangjiabao may be stormed at the earliest tomorrow afternoon,"

Yin Peng followed Wang Wenqian, who came to inspect the military situation on behalf of King Xin, and introduced the current situation at the southern foot of Maoshan and said,

"The clan gate lords who are hiding in Jinling City should be full of people at this time, I don't know if they will watch Shangjiabao being attacked by Han Qian?"

Wang Wenqian frowned, stared at the faint green mountains in the south to the west, and said quite worriedly: "Han Qian recruited slaves and maids to join the army, and made a lot of agitation in Lishui and Pingling counties. It's just that if he really wants to storm Shangjiabao tomorrow, I believe that in addition to the Shang family, Yuan Xiaoliuxu and the others will definitely be angry, but the possibility of Anning Palace sending troops is not high—we can't expect Anning Palace to send troops to curb the momentum of the Chishan Army......"

Wang Wenqian's brows were locked in worry, he thought that His Royal Highness sent Zhao Zhen to lead five or six thousand soldiers and horses to Liyang and Jintan to block the activity space of the Chishan Army to the eastern flank of Maoshan Mountain, so that the situation of the battle could continue to develop according to their expectations, but where did he think that Han Qian would play this game?

At first, the generals of the Chuzhou army learned that Han Qian was going to recruit slaves and maids into the army, and most of them wanted to laugh at him and see him kill himself, but seeing that the slaves and maids in Pingling and Lishui counties were so easily instigated, in just a few days, twenty or thirty thousand people gathered in Maoshan, and there was no iron plate for Han Qian to kick, which surprised them.

In just over ten days, the strength of the Red Mountain Rebel Army suddenly increased to more than 10,000 people, who can not feel deeply troubled?

In this process, more than 30 walled forts in the two counties have been easily breached by Han Qian, so that the Chishan army has obtained a large number of materials, and there has been no sign of shortage of grain so far.

Although it is said that Han Qian recruited slaves and maids into the army, and hastily expanded the soldiers and horses of the Chishan Army to more than 10,000 people, which can only be regarded as a rabble, and Han Qian could not conjure up so many armor and weapons to arm so many men and horses in Jinling at this time, but Han Qian insisted on ignoring the casualties and wanted to gnaw down Shangjiabao, what can the Chuzhou army and Anning Palace do with them?

At present, the Chuzhou Army, the Nanya Forbidden Army, and the Shouzhou Army are biting so tightly on both sides of Chishan Lake that they cannot divide more troops to the southern front and deal a heavy blow to this rabble.

Although the clan lords in Jinling City were all angry, Wang Wenqian believed that Anning Palace would not dare to transfer more than 10,000 elite combat forces from the Nanya Forbidden Army and the Shouzhou Army to the south.

Han Qian was actually taking advantage of the suspicion between the Chuzhou Army and the Anning Palace to move.

But the problem is that the number of soldiers and horses in Chishan has increased to more than 10,000, and there is no intention of stopping there.

Under the supervision of the Chuzhou cavalry, the Chishan army did not dare to leave Maoshan to operate too far away for the time being, but the momentum of recruiting slaves and maids into the army was already burning like a fire in the prairie fire.

Han Qian's strong capture of Shangjiabao will not only increase in momentum, but also in addition to obtaining the grain and straw materials hoarded by the Shang family, Wang Wenqian is more worried that the Chishan Army will extend its scope of activities to the north of Xuanzhou after controlling Pinglu Mountain south of Maoshan.

Han Qian thought about it the same way, right?

Maoshan to the south, to the north of Xuanzhou Jilong Mountain, there is a gap of 100 miles of vertical and horizontal, but this gap area is the extension of Maoshan terrain to the south wing, located in Pinglu Mountain, Yin Mountain, Fushan and a series of hills that are not high and the mountain is quite dangerous.

Wang Wenqian could not imagine how passive the situation of the Chuzhou army on the south bank of the Yangtze River would become when Shangjiabao was captured by Han Qian.

It's just that now an extra 10,000 elites will be transferred from the northern front to the southern front to deal with the cunning Han Qian and the Chishan army, is it realistic? Or should they also learn from Han Qian and recruit slaves and maids from Runyang and other prefectures and counties to make up for the shortage of troops?

At present, there are almost 2,000 family defense soldiers gathered in Shangjiabao, and the combat effectiveness is quite strong, and the family also promises a heavy reward for the brave fighting family soldiers, I believe it will play a role. If we divide our troops to attack it from the eastern flank, Han Qian really dares to lead 10,000 rabble to gnaw Shangjiabao, and he will make them pay a painful price! Zhao Zhen was not as worried as Wang Wenqian, and did not think that the situation faced by the Chishan Army would continue smoothly.

In his opinion, the key is that at this time, after contacting the sect lords and guards of Shangjiabao, they temporarily put aside the controversy of whether they are friends or foes, and first concentrate on joining forces to smash Han Qian's delusion of trying to storm Shangjiabao.

They are in the west of Liyang and Jintan counties, and there are still 3,000 elite cavalry who can maneuver to fight, and it is not possible to attack Maoshan, but from the flank, it is difficult for the Chishan army to attack Shangjiabao with all their strength, and at the same time, the defenders of Shangjiabao know that there are reinforcements on the periphery, and they are more determined to defend the fort, Zhao Zhen believes that this time Han Qian and the Chishan army can be deflated.

Zhao Zhen didn't think that Han Qian could not be ignored, but the problem was that the rabble of ten thousand people, six or seven of whom were still docile slaves for ten days and half a month, and they did not have armor and weapons, how strong could such an army really be?

In this case, if they didn't dare to hit their flanks, would they not have to fight in the future, and they would obediently slip away when they saw Han Qian's banner erected?

Wang Wenqian looked at the topography of the southern foot of Maoshan Mountain, but it was somewhat difficult to stretch his brows, and said: "Donglu Mountain is smaller, but in terms of topography, it is an extension area from the southern foot of Maoshan to the south wing, which is intermittent and not high-shaped but has quite steep hills. Such terrain would have quite limited the cavalry charge, right? ”

"Yes, Han Qian is determined to attack Shangjiabao, how can he consider the disturbance on our side, but the brave wins when they meet on a narrow road, and I think the defense of Shangjiabao is also quite firm, we just need to make their minds more firm, is it possible that Han Qian can still build siege weapons on the periphery of Shangjiabao and then attack the wall?" Zhao Zhen said that he was already a rare calm and moderate, but he also felt that Wang Wenqian was too afraid of Han Qian's opponent.

"General Zhao is confident, so I won't put a beak in it." Wang Wenqian knew that he had said too much, Zhao Zhen didn't like to listen to it, and Han Qian had already made up his mind to fight Shangjiabao, and they couldn't stand idly by, so they could only let Zhao Zhen do it.

…………

…………

When Wang Wenqian, Zhao Zhen, and Yin Peng ascended the White Fox Ridge, Han Qian, Li Pu, Zhang Ping, Yuan Guowei and others were on the Black Bull Ridge at the southern foot of Maoshan Mountain, and they also noticed that a cavalry of the Chuzhou Army had entered the White Fox Ridge.

It should be that the senior generals of Chuzhou climbed the White Fox Ridge to watch their movements at the southern foot of Maoshan Mountain.

"At this time, I'm afraid the time is not ripe to storm Shangjiabao, right?" Li Pu had also been officially appointed by Yue Yang at this time, staying in Jinling as a consolation liaison envoy, although he had no way to regain military power from Han Qian, and because the surrounding family clans and lords had formed mortal enemies with them, the so-called liaison envoy was only an empty name, but he was nominally on an equal footing with Han Qian.

And since he stayed, Li Pu's thoughts about Han Qian were much more complicated than before.

He didn't want to see Han Qian's scenery again, but Han Qian was really going to lose a mess, and he wouldn't get any benefit.

Therefore, at this time, he did not advocate that the Chishan Army should do its best to take the risk of storming Shangjiabao.

Shangjiabao has 2,000 defense soldiers, if there is no Chuzhou army to peep on one side, the Chishan army surrounds it with four or five times the force, and then builds siege weapons, and smashes the fort wall of Shangjiabao that is more than two zhang high and covered with a city wall.

The current situation is that the Chuzhou army has six or seven thousand soldiers and horses on the southern front, of which three thousand elite cavalry are gathering towards the White Fox Ridge opposite them, and it is impossible for the Chishan army to calmly launch a siege on Shangjiabao.

The soldiers and horses attacking Shangjiabao were actually exposed to the cavalry of the Chuzhou army.

From the Black Cow Ridge to the East Lu Mountain, there is a gap of seven or eight miles, they only rushed to build a camp in Sanliuji in the east, and there was no way to protect the flanks at all.

At the time of the question, Han Qian only had 3,000 soldiers and horses in his hands to talk about the elite, if he used these 3,000 soldiers and horses to deploy on the flank to defend the elite cavalry of the Chuzhou army, the six or seven thousand rabble, in just ten days of rough drills, might not even be able to arrange the array neatly, with them able to storm Shangjiabao, which was high in the wall and deep in the pool, and had 2,000 elite guards to defend it in a short period of time?

Another one, there are more than 70,000 old and weak women and children gathered in Maoshan Mountain, do you want to divide troops to shelter?

Li Pu saw that a battalion of generals was assembled under the spine of the black bull, two-thirds of them were new slaves and maids who had joined the army, and there was no extra armor issued to them, and most of them were shirtless, wearing straw sandals, and holding bamboo poles four or five meters long and bamboo branches that had not been cut off as weapons, such an army sent to the flanks could withstand the disturbance of the elite cavalry of the Chuzhou army from the flanks?

Li Pu was skeptical.

Li Xiu and Li Qi have learned the method of commanding the army with Li Yu since they were young, and they have hastily raised a lot of troops since ancient times, and they will make bamboo guns and wooden spears because of their ugliness, which are embarrassing and reused, and they really can't understand why Han Qian rushed to attack Shangjiabao.

Li Xiudu thought about going to Lei Pingfeng to find his father and persuade Han Qian not to act so recklessly.

"The brave wins when we meet on the narrow road, how embarrassed is the current situation of the Chishan Army, half a step back is the abyss, does the Hou Ye think we have the opportunity to make all preparations before attacking Shangjiabao?" Han Qian glanced at Li Pu and said calmly, "But please ask Hou Ye and General Li to lead their troops to block the connection between Shangjiabao and Lishui City, whether this battle is successful or not, you can be regarded as doing your best......"

"Anning Palace will not send troops, we should hold the west wing, and not ask Lishui City to send troops to aid Shangjiabao." At present, there are only 2,000 scattered soldiers and horses in Lishui City, among which the elite can be called a battalion of the Nanya Forbidden Army, even if they come out of the city, Li Pu believes that their 500 foot soldiers and 400 cavalry combat power can be called the most elite cavalry in the world, and they are completely sure that they can be defeated in the field, but if Anning Palace transfers more elite cavalry from the Nanya Forbidden Army or Shouzhou in the north, they will not stay with Han Qian.

He said the ugly things in front of him in advance, but he didn't want to be caught by Han Qian and shirk the responsibility in the future.

"Okay, Marquis Li and General Li, just keep an eye on the soldiers and horses in Lishui City!" Han Qian agreed.