At the beginning of September, Li Mu, the emperor of the Song Dynasty, went to Jinling in the Southern Tang Dynasty to deliver a decree on the order of Zhao Kuangyin, the emperor of the Song Dynasty.

Li Mu went from Shouzhou to Luzhou, and then transferred to a warship and entered the Yangtze River along the water. When passing through the quarry rock, Li Mu deliberately ordered people to stop here, but at this time, the river was shallow and shallow, and he couldn't see the cliff engraved with "Linjiang Immortal" from a long distance, so he had to give up.

"It is said that the poems of the lord of Jiangnan are good, but they are all glamorous, but the prince of Jiang Guo can be called everyone with a single poem." He was familiar with Rao Liang and Li Mu, the governor of the state, and got Li Muxin, so he waited at the border with the state early, and accompanied Li Mu to take this section of the Yangtze River waterway. Of course, the word he said was "Linjiang Immortal", and the poem was "Staying in a Folk House at Night to Listen to Bamboo". "It is said that after Jiang Guogong carved words on this cliff to remember, the presiding officer of the Guangji Temple regarded it as a treasure, and made people take care of it day and night, and did not allow people to come close, for fear of damage."

Li Muhaha smiled and said, "But this time, I won't be able to see this Jiang Guogong." ”

Rao Liang also laughed: "There is always an opportunity to be a minister in the same palace with Jiang Guogong." ”

Li Mu did not mention the purpose of this trip, but Hezhou was on the front line, and the state capital was naturally notified of any changes in the army, and Rao Liang could guess why Li Mu came.

Before that, he was about to go out of the state border, and Rao Liang left immediately.

The two of them didn't realize that the Jiang Guogong they called in their mouths was also on this section of the river. Li Congyi took Zheng Deshui and came here quietly, just to study it, if the Song army was allowed to build a pontoon bridge here, how to crack it? Zheng Deshui was measuring hydrology and muttering to himself there, while Li Congyi was looking at Jiangbei from afar.

In this way, the two ships staggered across the river.

The day after arriving in Jinling, Li Mu issued an edict summoning Li Yu to Bianliang to enter the court.

Li Yu hesitated, but finally accepted the order.

As soon as Li Mu left, Chen Qiao and Zhang Xun jumped up.

"This is Song Zhi's trick, I want to earn Your Majesty." Chen Qiao expressed his opinion directly.

"Your Majesty, do you remember King Zheng (Li Congshan)? This into Bianliang, I am afraid it will be difficult to return to Jinling! Zhang Xun burst into tears.

Chen Qiao and Zhang Xun had a lot of disagreements, but at this time, they spoke in unison, and Li Yu was a little shaken. "I think that the lord of Wu Yue has also been to Bianliang......"

"The lord of Wu Yue was able to return from Bianliang, but because His Majesty was in Jinling, Zhao Song had to return to Hangzhou with the lord of Wu Yue. And if His Majesty goes to Bianliang, then the lord of Wu Yue will also be in Bianliang. Zhang Yi immediately pointed out the key points.

Li Yu also realized that Bianliang really couldn't go. When you say you are sick, it means that it is difficult to start.

Of course, Li Mu didn't believe it. Standing in front of Li Yu's couch, look at Li Yu's sallow face, but his eyes are bright, how can he look seriously ill? Then he said coldly: "Since this is the case, the lord of the country will recuperate for a few days, and then enter the court with his ministers." ”

Li Yu didn't know how to hide it, and he was just nervous at the moment: "I served the last dynasty just to protect the family, and now that the last court orders this, then I can only give up this life." ”

Li Mu didn't say much: "Whether you enter the court or not, please consider it carefully." The imperial court is elite and rich, I am afraid that Jiangnan is not an opponent, and I hope that the lord of the country will not regret it when the time comes."

Li Mu stayed in Jinling for a few more days. Li Yu just said that he was not sick, and repeatedly said that he was seriously ill and difficult to do. Li Mu walked straight away, and the road when he came was straight and fast, and it took less than ten days on the road to reach Bianliang.

Zhao Kuangyin listened to the report and sneered: "If Li Yu doesn't come, then he can only send soldiers to invite!" ”

In September, Zhao Kuangyin ordered the army to conquer Jiangnan on the grounds that Li Yu refused to come to the court.

However, due to various restrictions such as transportation conditions in ancient times, and the possibility that Li Yu would enter the dynasty before, the Song army did not complete various campaign preparations. Therefore, throughout September, the Song soldiers were almost silent, and even the Song army's sailors stationed in Yangzhou were also very quiet.

Under these circumstances, the Southern Tang court was unprepared for the upcoming war.

At that time, not only Tang and Wu Yue, but also the Song Dynasty, there was also an extreme lack of awareness of intelligence collection. When Song got the maps and materials of the states and counties of the Southern Tang Dynasty, he still relied on Lu Duoxun to lie that he wanted to compile a series of books, so he took the materials from Li Yu in a grand manner.

Without a sense of intelligence, there is no sense of secrecy. After Li Yu refused to enter the court, the Song army almost made a big adjustment to the deployment, and no one in the Southern Tang Dynasty thought of sending someone to cross the river to have a look.

At the end of September, the order of Qian Yu, the king of Wuyue, as the commander of the Eastern Route Army, and the Song general Ding Deyu to supervise the army, had arrived in Hangzhou. The next day, Qian Hailu learned the information, and Li Congyi already knew about it the next day.

Immediately, Li Congyi wrote a letter to Chen Qiao, saying that His Majesty refused to enter the court, fearing that the Song army would counterattack, and suggested that Xiaoyu should all military states strictly prevent the Song army from attacking.

Chen Qiao quickly replied to the letter, to the effect that His Majesty has refused to enter the court many times; Xiao Yu's words to the military states, worried that Song would know about it and cause a big disaster.

Li Congyi was also helpless. We can only take care of ourselves first and start to carry out combat drills of large corps on the scale of a division.

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In September, the Song general Cao Bin arrived in Jingnan, and immediately led more than 30,000 people in the department, with the cooperation of more than 50 large and medium-sized warships of Hao Shourong, the envoy of the Eight Works, and marched eastward along the Yangtze River. There were warships carrying weapons and baggage, and they could assist the infantry battalion to cross the river, and Cao Bin's main force marched lightly and at a very fast speed.

Wuchang is the westernmost fortress of the Jiangzhou army, and on October 10, the Tang patrol warship found the huge fleet of the Song Dynasty on the Wuchang River. As the Song warships were sailing along the north side of the river, the Tang warships did not stop them, and the Song warships did not react.

On October 18, Hao Shourong's department passed through Hukou safely. The Tang army at Hukou still thought that the Song army was patrolling the river as an example and did not make any reaction.

On October 25, Cao Bin's unit arrived near the mouth of Chizhou Xiakou. Xiakou Village has about 2,000 people in the Tang Water Division, 3,000 people in the infantry battalion on land, and 5,000 troops in total, which is really the gateway of Chizhou, and the Song army wants to occupy Chizhou and isolate the two heavy army groups of Jinling and Hukou, so it must first attack Xiakou Village, and then attack Chizhou.

Historically, for the sudden appearance of the Song Army's Hao Shourong Division, the Tang Army's Xiakou Zhai's water and land divisions, there was no psychological preparation for battle at all, until the Song Army rushed to the gate of the Water Village, and it suddenly dawned on him. It's just too late, and the Xiakou Zhaishui camp was almost taken by the Song army. Xiakou Zhai deployed Peng Gaozhuo was still in Chizhou City and did not return, both water and land commanders made the heart cold, one fled and one surrendered, the Song army did not bloodlessly occupy this important town west of Chizhou.

However, the history of this plane has been slightly disturbed in this place.

Early in the morning of the 25th, Peng Gaozhuo, who was sleeping soundly in Chizhou City, received an urgent report, and the water and land soldiers of Xiakou Village were fighting, and dozens of people participated.

"Qin Cheng and Zheng Yangbo, the two grandsons, see if I don't pinch your eggs!" Peng Gaozhuo was so angry by this news that he was angry. Fights between soldiers are commonplace. But dozens of people fight in groups, and this matter can be big or small. But gathering into a group of such a scale, the dereliction of duty of both of them is light, and maybe even adds fuel to the fire. There is discord between land and water, how can this military village still fight? It's a shame that these two people don't even understand such a simple truth, and they use some personal grievances every day to fight for anger.

But when Peng Gaozhuo rushed to Xiakou Village, he found that the village was very quiet. brought Qin Cheng and Zheng Yangbo to him, saying that there was no one fighting in the military village today, and no one was sent to look for him. Peng Gaozhuo didn't know who was playing a trick, but he was so angry that he scolded the two of them. After returning to the military village, he had to find another excuse to go back to the city to be happy, and he could only stay in the village for the moment. After lunch, the evil fire in his heart was not vented, so he went to inspect again, and cleaned up a few unlucky ghosts who hit the muzzle of the gun, which can be regarded as calming down.

Peng Gaozhuo was sitting in the barracks eating tea when he heard an urgent report that an unknown wolf smoke had risen from the mountains to the west.

Peng Gaozhuo hurriedly went to look, and sure enough, on the bank of the river a few miles to the west, wolf smoke was burning on a small hillside.

"Send a ship to see!" Peng Gaozhuo instructed Zheng Yangbo in the water camp.

In a few moments, a small boat headed west. At this time, I saw a small boat in the distance, with its sails open, and it came quickly in the west wind. Before arriving at the water village, some people shouted on the boat, and two people with bows and arrows shot two arrows into the water village. Peng Gaozhuo saw it clearly, but it was archery to send a message.

After a while, the note was handed over. When Peng Gaozhuo saw it, he felt as if he had been burned by the flames, his hand shook, and the note fell to the ground, Qin Cheng and Zheng Yangbo saw it clearly, and wrote: "The Song soldiers and sailors are coming!" It's just ten miles upstream! ”

Ten miles upstream, the Song army infantry battalion of 3,000 people, under the leadership of Wang Ming, the capital of the war, wanted to take 20 large and medium-sized warships to raid the Xiakou Village. There was no suitable wharf on the north shore, so Wang Ming's 3,000 men could only be ferried by small boats, and boarding was extremely inefficient. Fortunately, there is a big sand island in the Yangtze River here, and the sand island belongs to the Song Dynasty, which isolates the sight of the Tang Army's gorge village.

However, shortly after the embarkation began, wolf smoke was seen burning on the south shore. Unexpectedly, the Tang army in the Xiakou village was alerted to this. Wang Ming immediately made a decision and ordered a unit of 1,000 people, and when it was full of 1,000 people, he sent 1,000 people to rob the Xiakou Village.

Xiakou Zhai deployed Peng Gaozhuo was suspicious at this time. But the basic tactical literacy is still there, so he immediately ordered the water battalion to leave the camp and divided the team to go upstream to reconnoiter and guard; He also ordered the land infantry battalion to prepare for battle, and then ordered the soldiers to notify Chizhou as soon as possible.

At this time, I saw that the small boat that had been going upriver to the west at the beginning was flying downstream. Then, one after another Song warships turned out from the bend of the river, and attacked the Xiakou village with great momentum.

At this time, the Tang army's water camp had not yet finished boarding, and only three or five warships sailed out of the walled gate. The Song army also had only six warships, but they were all large warships, and they were going down the wind at this time, and the speed was extremely fast. More than half of the Tang army's Chizhou water camp came out, and the Song army's warships rushed to the walled gate.

The Song warships were on a rampage, and rockets and crossbows fired volleys. As soon as the Tang army's Chizhou water camp came into contact, it was defeated, and the outside of the water camp could not stand on it, both downstream and downwind, and was rushed back again and again by the Song army; Seeing that he couldn't rush out, he retreated, trying to distance himself from the Song army's sailors and escape from the crossbow hell, but there were people who went out behind, and they couldn't brake, and they squeezed together, lost their formation, and were scattered by the Song army's sailors who rushed in and killed.

The infantry battalion of the Tang army on the shore saw that the Song army's water division was small and the enemy was many, but it was not afraid, and it was rampage and fierce, and the Chizhou water camp could not be beaten north. At the moment, it was also shocking, but from the military fort on the shore, it was pouring huge crossbow arrows into the Song army's warship. It's just that the warships of the Song army are wantonly interspersed in the naval division of the Tang army, and the foot soldiers on the shore can't help much.

Seeing that Zheng Yangbo's water camp was powerless to fight back, Peng Gaozhuo, who was standing on a high place, also gritted his teeth.

Wang Ming was in the first assault fleet. Knowing that it was not yet the time to go ashore to assault at this time, he only made three warships wreak havoc in the water village on the one hand, preventing the Tang Army's naval division from recovering from the blow, and on the other hand, making the other three warships press the Tang Army's water camp on the river, isolating the main force of the Tang Army's water camp.

With just a few pillars of incense, the second batch of seven warships arrived at the battlefield carrying a thousand Song soldiers.

Wang Ming ordered the warship to approach the dock and land in front of the enemy.

Qin Cheng saw that the Song army was about to land, and he was also shocked at the moment, these Song soldiers were so fierce, and they dared to attack at this point. At the moment, his legs were weak and his arms were shaking, and he couldn't even finish his words.

The Song warships approached the dock, and at that moment there was a volley of bed crossbows, followed by a volley of crossbow arrows. Qin Cheng organized three battalions of nearly 1,000 people on the dock, intending to take turns with three battalions to resist the onslaught of the Song army. However, one of the battalions that bore the brunt of the attack, under the long-range attack of the Song army's warships, dozens of people fell to the ground screaming on the spot. The Song army rushed to the dock with the crossbow arrows of the Tang army, but there were only a dozen casualties. The Song soldiers did not also line up, and after they went ashore, dozens of people rushed up.

The first battalion in front of him quickly collapsed, and Qin Cheng hurriedly made the second battalion counterattack, only to slightly restrain the Song army's footsteps. At this time, Wang Ming disregarded the danger and also went down from the warship to the dock, "In this battle, there is no advance or retreat! Whoever retreats behind me, slash! ”

The morale of the Song army was greatly boosted, and at that moment, the second battalion was killed and squeezed out on both sides of the dock. At this time, the Song army ashore was only 500 people, and after killing through the two battalions, it was also exhausted, and the follow-up warships had not yet arrived. Seeing that the Song soldiers were wearing iron armor and holding swords and shields, and there were crossbowmen shooting towards this side with crossbows in the distance, he suddenly didn't say a word, spread his feet and ran towards the mountain behind the military village.

Qin Cheng ran away, and the third battalion he was in collapsed on the spot. The two battalions on the second interception line arranged by Qin Cheng behind the dock also collapsed. At this time, the second group of large ships of the Song army had arrived, and a thousand people were screaming, cutting and routing the troops, and at the same time organizing troops to come towards the hillside of the commanding heights where the military village was located. Peng Gaozhuo's eyes were black at the top of the mountain, "Qin Cheng who killed a thousand knives!" ”

However, it is useless to talk about this at this point. The Xiakou military village was punched in the chest by the Song army, and was directly stabbed through the chest, and there was no power to return to heaven. At the moment, he only ordered Zheng Yangbo to lead the main force of the Chizhou Water Battalion to break through, and at the same time, Peng Gaozhuo also fled to Chizhou with the rout under the escort of his own soldiers.