After the occupation of Tanghe County, Bao Yuchun has been observing the movements of the imperial army. Unexpectedly, Murong Xue was very calm, and did not hurriedly transfer his troops to the direction of Nanyang to carry out defense.

This shows that the other party is not the kind of fool who is careless, and the strategy of attacking the east and west may not be effective.

However, for Bao Yuchun, this kind of shallow temptation has nothing to do with success or not. Since the imperial army kept the original triangular formation still, it was good for him to continue to attack calmly.

Bao Yuchun's layout, the first step was aimed at Gong Chengze's supply line.

Nanyang was originally stationed with more than 2,000 defenders under Ma Hongjie, but now there are 50,000 more imperial soldiers and horses, and the supply pressure on military supplies has increased sharply.

According to the deployment of Murong Xue and Dong Tianxing, the materials of Nanyang City were mainly distributed by the Eastern Capital, and they came down all the way through Yichuan, Ruyang, and Nanzhao, and finally arrived in Nanyang.

This supply line, with a length of nearly 500 li, was protected by local government soldiers along the way, because it was behind the battle line, with Ma Hongjie's southern army in the west and Murong Xue and Dong Tianxing's troops in the east, so it was relatively safe.

However, the safer the place, the more likely it is to go wrong.

Bao Yuchun's command style has always been bold, and he likes to do things like pulling teeth from the tiger's mouth and picking chestnuts from the fire. Therefore, a group of 3,000 Xuanjia flying horses, under his arrangement, set out from the Tang River, bypassed Nanyang, and hid directly in the dense forests around Nanzhao in Ruyang, specifically attacking and intercepting the supply line to Nanyang.

In just ten days, the grain convoy was ambushed three times in a row, and the losses were heavy, and Nanyang City was once short of military rations.

After Murong Xue learned the news, he immediately wrote to Gong Chengze, suggesting that he organize a light cavalry unit patrolling guerrilla and go north to clear out the Xuanjia flying cavalry that infiltrated the rear, so as to restore the smooth flow of the supply lifeline as soon as possible.

Gong Chengze was also obedient, and immediately selected 5,000 soldiers and horses from his command to search and advance to Nanzhao County.

But they never expected that the Xuanjia Army was waiting for them with their pockets open. Gong Chengze's troops and horses arrived near Nanzhao, and they were ambushed by the Xuanjia army, which had been waiting here for a long time.

In the half-hour ambush battle, the 5,000-strong imperial army lost their armor, killed thousands on the spot, and captured more than 2,300 people, less than 30% of them were able to escape back to Nanyang.

This time, Gong Chengze was immediately angry.

He blamed Murong Xue for the defeat in the battle, thinking that it was Murong Xue's bad idea that caused him to lose his troops. In order to avoid another blow, Gong Chengze decided not to send troops anymore, but pushed the problem to Dong Tianxing.

"Our department has the important task of guarding Nanyang, and it is not appropriate to divide too many troops, since Dong Shilang's department is responsible for rushing to aid Nanyang and Caizhou in the center, it should really take on the task of guarding the supply grain route, so as not to run out of food for my army defending the city!"

After reading the letter sent by Gong Chengze, Dong Tianxing also felt helpless. After communicating with Murong Xue, he had no choice but to mobilize his pitiful cavalry and go to the south of Ruyang to take care of the grain road for Gong Chengze.

At this time, Bao Yuchun had already figured out the depth of Gong Chengze's opponent and started the next move.

On the fourth day of the first month, the light troops of the Xuanjia Army and the Navy Army moved in the northwest direction;

On the fifth day of the first month, the three military forts of Dagouzhuang, Baizhuang and Linying Town were captured, and the defensive positions southeast of Nanyang fell one after another;

On the sixth day of the first month, a battalion deployed by the Nanyang defenders in Xiaoliuzhuang was completely annihilated;

On the eighth day of the first month, the vanguard of the light troops of the navy army approached the crossing of the White River and prepared to attack.

The White River is the last natural barrier in Nanyang. Although the water surface is not wide, the water level is not deep, and the current is not fast, it is better to have than to have nothing.

Therefore, Gong Chengze is also unwilling to easily abandon this important line of defense.

When he heard that there were only more than 6,000 men in the vanguard of the navy, and that they were all infantry in light leather armor, he decided to take the risk and attack the opponent by surprise.

The mixed army of 20,000 foot cavalry quietly left Nanyang City before dawn, crossed the White River in the dark, and launched a surprise attack on the naval barracks not far away.

The navy, which had been progressing smoothly before, inevitably had the mentality of being proud and underestimating the enemy. They didn't expect that the defenders of Nanyang would run out of the city to carry out a sneak attack, so without any precautions, they were beaten and fled by the sneak attack troops led by Gong Chengze himself.

Gong Chengze saw that the attack was successful, and the other party was extremely flustered when he fled, so he immediately ordered his subordinates to chase and fight fiercely, striving to get more heads, so as to vent his evil anger.

Who knows, they had just chased out less than five miles, and suddenly the sound of killing in the surrounding dense forest shook the sky, and countless ambushes swooped down.

As far as the eye can see, there are figures of the Xuanjia army and the navy army everywhere, the war horses neighing and charging hard, and the long knives and spears are all glowing with cold light.

Gong Chengze was momentarily stunned.

At this time, he realized that he had fallen for Bao Yuchun's plan.

However, the cleverness of the other party lies in the fact that the current situation is not a conspiracy, but a conspiracy. You are under great pressure at the moment, so you can choose for yourself: if you don't come to attack the navy, then you will take the Baihe ferry; If you dare to sneak attack the navy, then you will be given a head-on blow!

Gong Chengze had no time to regret it at this time.

It's important to save your life! Relying on his own soldiers to fight desperately, Gong Chengze was lucky to find a way out and fled back to Nanyang in embarrassment. And the 20,000 soldiers and horses under his command were slaughtered to pieces by Bao Yuchun's army like chopping melons and vegetables.

An ambush battle at the Baihe ferry caused heavy losses to the defenders of Nanyang, and they never dared to take half a step out of the city again.

-

"How bad is the situation?"

Murong Xue's sword eyebrows tightened, and she asked in a deep voice.

A lieutenant who had just returned from the direction of Nanyang gave up his hand and reported: "My lord, at present, the rebel army of more than 100,000 soldiers and horses has completely surrounded Nanyang, and General Gong has completely cut off the contact with us. ”

"How many days?"

"It's been nine days since the siege." The lieutenant replied: "However, the enemy did not launch a fierce offensive, but only surrounded it without fighting. Humble guess that Bao Yuchun calculated that there were not many food reserves in the city and could not support it for too long, so he was not in a hurry to attack. ”

Murong Xue pondered for a moment: "Bao Yuchun is a clever chess player!" All his actions and purposes are simple and easy to understand, as if there is no plan. But in reality? As an opponent, no matter how you deal with it, it feels very uncomfortable. ”

As he spoke, he pointed to the map and said to his men, "Now they are obviously preparing to besiege the city and send reinforcements. We went to rescue Gong Chengze, and Bao Yuchun was ambushed halfway; But if we don't rush to help, even if he drags it, he can drag down Nanyang City. ”

One of the generals nodded: "Your Excellency is right. Most of our troops are infantry, and the speed of movement is not fast. From Caizhou to Nanyang, there are many places along the way that can be raided by the Xuanjia Iron Cavalry. ”

"I have another concern." Murong Xue sighed: "According to previous intelligence, the strength of the rebels in Xiangcheng is far more than Bao Yuchun's current 1340,000 horses, and there are at least 50,000 rebels in Xiangcheng. I'm worried that when we ran to help Nanyang, Bao Yuchun suddenly sent someone to make a detour to attack here. ”

Another general asked, "Can you get the imperial court to send more troops?" Rushing to Nanyang from the direction of Luoyi, it should not be easy to be ambushed by the rebels. ”

Murong Xue shook her head: "I have considered this method. But it's not a coincidence, Chang Tao's side is fighting with Li Kui, the imperial court just transferred 20,000 reinforcements to the eastern battlefield a few days ago, and the rest of the troops still have to guard the eastern capital and protect the emperor, so they really can't divide the manpower. ”

"Can we consider ...... Don't reinforce Nanyang for the time being? The general asked.

"That's definitely not going to work!" Murong Xue directly denied this idea: "If Nanyang is lost, not only will Caizhou be difficult to protect, but the rebels will directly threaten the security of the eastern capital." At the beginning, the triangular formation was set up in order to form a corner and support each other. The question now is not whether to go to Nanyang City, but how to avoid being ambushed by Bao Yuchun halfway, and to ensure that Caizhou will not be attacked by the enemy. ”

A lieutenant said curiously, "I don't know what Lord Dong's opinion is?" He's in charge of helping both places, so that's probably his first concern. ”

Murong Xue picked up a letter on the table and said, "Master Dong analyzes that if Bao Yuchun wants to set up an ambush and intercept, it will mainly target our Caizhou soldiers and horses, so he doesn't need to worry too much about it, and he can set off at any time." The only thing waiting now is our next plan, so that he can cooperate accordingly. ”

The general next to him added: "To be honest, the 20,000 or so people in the reinforcement army will not have much effect even if they go to Nanyang, and in the end, they will have to rely on the main force of Caizhou." ”

Murong Xue nodded: "When I first formulated the defensive strategy, I considered the possibility of the enemy encircling the point to send reinforcements, and I also made corresponding preparations. It's just that I didn't expect that Bao Yuchun carried out two ambush battles in a row, and both of them were completely victorious, so I had to make a new judgment on their mobility. To put it bluntly, I don't dare to make mistakes, and I don't have the money to make mistakes. ”

The meaning of his words is very clear: whether it is Gong Chengze or Murong Xue, they are all frightened by the other party's extremely efficient ambush.

This kind of deep impression forged with blood on the battlefield often has a very big impact on the main general. was successfully attacked by the other party twice in a row, and whoever it was, he would inevitably become suspicious and trembling.

Just when everyone was at a loss, Murong Xue suddenly had a flash of inspiration in her mind, leaned over and stared at the map and said, "Since Bao Yuchun wants to surround up and send reinforcements, why can't I find another way?" ”

"What's the other way?" A general asked.

Murong Xue stretched out her hand and pointed to the map: "You see, Bao Yuchun besieged Nanyang, at least seventy or eighty thousand horses are needed, right?" If he still wants to calculate us, he will have to arrange at least another 40,000 or 50,000 troops on our way to Nanyang. In this way, wouldn't there not be many people stationed in Tanghe County? I only need to send 10,000 or 20,000 elite soldiers, and it will be enough to raid this place and burn all their baggage and supplies in one fell swoop. When the time comes, it's time for him to have a headache! ”