The Jin army launched several attacks in a row, but they were all repulsed by the Song army!

After two hours of fierce fighting, the Jin army changed three waves in a row, taking turns to fight, but they did not gnaw down Fancheng. Facts once again proved that as long as the Song army fought bravely and applied tactics properly, the Jin army would not be able to conquer Fancheng at all.

When the sound of gold sounded, the Jin army slowly retreated.

On the walls, and under the city, and inside the moat, there were corpses everywhere, and there were scattered arrows, broken shields, spears, and so on. Among these corpses, some were soldiers of Jin and Song soldiers.

Looking at the corpses all over the ground, Zhao Pu was shocked again, this is the battlefield, the cheapest place in life.

"Pick up the bodies of the fallen before they cause a plague!" Zhao Pu commanded.

Wars can lead to the death of soldiers on a large scale, and the corpses of fallen soldiers can cause plague if they are not properly disposed of. Xiangyang, on the other hand, is in a warm and humid zone, and it is only April at the moment, but the weather is already extremely hot, and the possibility of causing a plague is greater, so it must be handled with caution.

Historically, many large cities were tormented by plagues and finally broke through.

At this time, one by one, the hanging baskets went down and began to clean up and sort out the bodies, and the bodies of the fallen soldiers were lifted. Originally, it was supposed to be buried in the ground, but at this time, the situation was obviously not allowed, and it could only be cremated.

"Your Majesty, what should be done with the corpse of Sergeant Jin?" Wang Shouyi asked.

"What do you say you should do?" Zhao Pu asked rhetorically.

Wang Shouyi said: "It's better to inform Jin Jun and come to collect the corpse to show mercy!" ”

Zhao Pu nodded in agreement.

"What about the casualties?" Zhao Pu asked again.

Wang Shouyi said: "Our army suffered 3,000 casualties, while the Jin army suffered 5,000 casualties!" ”

Zhao Pu frowned, this casualty ratio is quite a lot. Since ancient times, it has been difficult to attack and easy to defend, and the casualties of the attacking side are better than the defending side. It's huge, three to one, four to one, even six to one, and so on. And in this battle, the number of casualties did not even reach two to one.

The casualties of the defending side are too great!

But it's normal to think about it. The old lineage troops, only more than 20,000, after arriving in Xiangyang, vigorously expanded, and the size of the army rapidly expanded to 200,000. It's just that the number has increased. The quality has decreased accordingly, the overall training is insufficient, the combat effectiveness is low, the number of officers is insufficient, and no blood has been seen.

These are Achilles' heels. In the siege just now, the recruits did not collapse. That's it. Such huge casualties are not only reasonable.

Soon after, the Jin army also sent an envoy to demand the recovery of the bodies of the soldiers killed in battle.

The Song army agreed, and one by one the ox carts pulled the corpses and returned to the Jin army camp.

………………

Looking at the map, the golden vulture had a sad look on his face.

Xiangyang is difficult to fight. It exceeded his expectations. At this moment, Xiangyang has not been attacked, just attacking Fancheng, the loss is as much as 5,000, if it continues to fight. Maybe after a dozen fights, the whole army will have to fight for it!

"My Jurchen army is good at field warfare, not good at siege, if it goes on like this, how can it be good!" Jin Wushu asked himself.

Guo Yaoshi on the side said: "In the Great Song Dynasty, the Xiangyang area was formed by the merger of Xiangyang and Fancheng, across the river, and on the important gap in the Qinling Mountains. As far as the road and land are concerned, with Xiangyang as the center, Nanxiang Pass Road and Jingxiang Avenue are formed, which are the middle line of north-south traffic. In ancient China, the territory of China was dominated by the Yellow River and Yangtze River basins, and the Qinling, Funiu, Tongbai, and Dabie mountain ranges were separated by the north-south traffic, which limited the north-south traffic to the east, west, and central lines. The western route crosses the western section of the Qinling Mountains from Guanzhong and enters Bashu along the Jialing River. The eastern route is from the Hehuai Plain to Wuyue in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River; The Bianhe River is opened, that is, the Bianhe River is the main line. The middle line goes southeast from Guanzhong, southwest from Heluo, all to Wan (Nanyang) County, then follows the Baishui Basin, goes south to Xiangyang, and then follows the Hanshui River to Jingchu in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. This natural form of north-south traffic is also. ”

"In terms of water transportation, the northern part of Xiangyang can be connected to the Nanyang Basin through the Tangbai River, a tributary of the Han River, and the southern part can be directly connected to the Jianghan Plain along the Han River. It is precisely because of the pivotal position occupied by Xiangyang in the north-south water and land transportation that it can really be said that "the big river is a pool, and the mountain is solid...... Antarctic Lake Xiang, north control Guanluo, dominate Hanshang. ”

"In the words of the world, the emphasis is on Xiangyang; In the southeast, it is important to focus on Wuchang; In terms of Huguang, the emphasis is on Jingzhou. …… Why is it important to be in Xiangyang? The husband of Xiangyang is also the waist of the world. Central Plains, can be merged with the southeast. The southeast can also map the northwest. Therefore, it is said that it is important in Xiangyang. ”

In the end, Han Yaoshi said: "Even if Emperor Song is not here, he must conquer Xiangyang." As soon as Xiangyang is broken, to the east you can join forces to attack Guanzhong, break Hanzhong, or even directly attack Shuzhong; You can also go down the river, go straight to Wuchang, go down the river to the east, go straight to the south of the Yangtze River, and loot the wealth of the south of the Yangtze River! ”

"The battle of Xiangyang is related to the survival of Dajin, and the weight of the position is better than that of Bianliang. Bianliang Ke, and the world surrenders; Xiangyang Ke, the Great Song Dynasty has no power to return to heaven! ”

Jin Wushu was still silent, and after a long time, he asked, "Does the general have a way to break the city?" ”

Guo Yaoshi said: "I have three strategies, but there is a break in Xiangyang!" ”

"Three strategies?" Jin Wushu asked curiously, "Would you like to hear about it?" ”

Guo Yaoshi said: "The best policy is to use the water division to break the Song army's water division, block the Hanshui River, cut off the connection between Xiangyang City and Fancheng, so that the two are isolated and cannot rescue each other, and cut off Xiangyang's foreign aid, making it completely an isolated city; Then from the rear, the ballistas were transported to form a dense blow to Xiangyang and completely destroy Xiangyang! ”

"Zhongce, from the upper reaches of the Han River, send a partial division to cross the river, and then surprise attack Jiangling, or Wuchang, attack from the north and south, and besiege Xiangyang for a long time!"

"The next step is to leave Xiangyang and attack other areas. At this time, most of the main forces of the Song army converged in Xiangyang, and our army only needed a small part to force Xiangyang, and most of them either attacked the two lakes, or joined Huaibei, or attacked Jiangnan! Cut off the branches and leaves, and the torso will naturally not exist! ”

In Pharmacist Guo's view, among the three strategies, the best strategy is the best. Only by establishing a strong naval division and defeating the Song army's naval division can we achieve victory in this battle; Without a strong sailor, even if Xiangyang is captured, it may not be able to gain a firm foothold. And if you want to completely win the victory of the southern expedition, you can only build a strong sailor.

It's just that the Jurchens rely on iron horses, rely on powerful war horses, dominate the world, and subconsciously ignore the sailors, the best strategy is likely to be the lower policy, and it is not feasible!

The middle strategy is the most calm, but it consumes more time, the division attacks the rear, the lone army is deep, it is easy to be contained by the Song army, and it is easy to be ambushed, but it is the most in line with the temper of the Jin army, and it is also the most in line with the temper of the Jin Wushu, and it is the most likely to be adopted.

And the next policy is precisely the best policy for Jin Jun. Because of the strength of the Jin army, relying on the sharpness of the cavalry, relying on rapid attacks; It is not wise to spend a large number of elite troops on attacking fortified positions, and the best strategy should be to avoid strong and weak attacks, attack flexibly, and seize the initiative in war, rather than being consumed in siege warfare. At this time, Xiangyang has been operating for a long time, and it can be said that it is as solid as gold, but the Song army in other regions may not have such elite, and the defense may not be so tight, as long as Xiangyang is avoided, there is still a lot to be done.

It's just that avoiding Xiangyang is tantamount to the Song Dynasty Emperor Zhao Pu's softness, which is not only difficult for Jin Wushu to face, but also will dampen the morale of the whole army, which is also not feasible!

Sure enough, Jin Wushu thought for a while and said: "The best strategy is not feasible, our army does not have a water division; The next policy is too cowardly; And the middle strategy is the most suitable and the most wonderful! ”

Pharmacist Guo, sighed slightly in his heart, but still chose the middle strategy, everything was expected by him, but he was slightly disappointed in his heart!

"It's just a medium strategy, the most time-consuming, it will take at least half a year, or even longer to work!" Guo Yaoshi still advised, "Once it drags on for half a year, our military division will be tired at that time, so we can only retreat!" ”

"Half a year?" Jin Wushu hesitated, and the middle strategy was the most in line with his mind, but it was too long.

Half a year, it's too long to drag on!

"It won't take half a year!" Golden Vulture Dao.

"Your Highness, the middle strategy is the most suitable for our army, but it is also the most unfavorable for our army. Once the troops are divided, the victory or defeat will not be said for the time being, and the time consumed will inevitably be long. And Zhao Pu is not Song Huizong, Song Qinzong and the like, he is cowardly and can be bullied, and he will not surrender easily. Only a quick solution is the best policy! ”

Pharmacist Guo plucked up his courage and said, "May Your Highness think twice!" “

"Let me think about it!" The Golden Vulture also fell into thinking again.

This night, Jin Wushu suffered from insomnia, and between the three strategies, he kept wandering, hesitating, looking embarrassed, and it was difficult to choose. (To be continued......)

PS: Guess what strategy the Golden Vulture will use to attack Xiangyang.