Suddenly killed from behind the thief, it was Luo Yuan!

It turned out that Nie Xianzeng had already planned before, when he went out of the city from the front and approached the right side of Sugata Mountain in formation, Luo Yuan led his soldiers to sneak out of the city gate on the other side, and then with the help of the cover of the mountains and forests, he made a big bend and outflanked the rear of the thieves, cutting off the enemy's retreat.

Just when the frontal battlefield was in a fierce battle, Luo Yuan, according to the plan, suddenly launched a fierce attack on the position where Sugata Mountain was located, and suddenly disrupted the position of the thieves.

Hamano Masao hurriedly commanded his men to block the Zhenjiang army that appeared behind him, and at the same time reminded the lord to retreat quickly.

Sugata Yamayou planned to grit his teeth and carry it again, but he didn't expect that Luo Yuan's guy was too fierce, and Hamano Masao's troops were not enough, and seeing that the defense line would soon be unable to support it, he had to temporarily put down the dignity of the samurai and ride his horse away.

As soon as the horn of retreat sounded, the ronin who was fighting to the death in front of him was suddenly deflated, turned around one after another, and ran after the lord to the south.

How could Nie Xianzeng let go of such a rare opportunity, and immediately issued an order: don't care about the establishment to which you belong, let go of your hands and feet to chase and kill the thieves!

With the instructions of the commander, thousands of Zhenjiang sailors immediately dispersed and beat the ronin warriors one by one. Any thief who ran slowly was either hacked to death and shot to death on the spot by the sailors, or he quickly dropped his weapon, raised his hands above his head, and obediently surrendered.

Luo Yuan was even more ruthless, chasing Sugata Mountain right and running out for more than 20 miles before stopping, and when he turned around and returned, he blocked a group of scattered thieves, and one hundred and seventy-eight ronin samurai were killed on the spot.

In this great battle outside the city of Donghai County, the 10th Army of Zhenjiang killed more than 2,000 Japanese thieves and captured 1,000 and 31 people, and won a complete victory.

Of course, according to the orders of the Daduhu, the more than 1,000 captives could not be kept. Before dawn the next day, the sailors cut off their heads one by one and hung them on stakes outside the city for public display.

According to Li Jiangyao's words, the thief is different from the Turks, and he is only willing to be honest if you are more fierce, ruthless and unreasonable than him.

The situation is indeed as he said, and the ruthless approach of the Zhenjiang Water Master immediately frightened the thieves. Not only the unlucky Sugata Yamayou, but also Takayoshi Kojima, who attacked Langya County, was also intimidated by the ferocity shown by the Zhenjiang army after being blocked by Wang Wenlie, and hurriedly led his troops to retreat.

In contrast, the other two bandits who landed on the Qilu Peninsula went relatively smoothly. Their main opponents were still the newly recruited local soldiers, who, in the absence of a strong enemy, continued to attack the city and build a firm foothold along the coast.

After Li Jiangyao received the battle report of the Tenth Army, he originally wanted Nie Xianzeng to stay in the East China Sea for a while longer, or simply continue to go north to sweep away the thieves entrenched in Qilu, but he didn't expect that a new change made him have to change his mind.

The imperial navy was defeated.

Ten days earlier, the rebel fleet assembled at Chaisang had suddenly advanced westward, breaking through the three river defense lines set up by the imperial court in Huanggang, Hanyang, and Honghu, and reaching the Jingxiang area.

The two sides fought the largest water battle since the Southern Rebellion.

Despite the advantages of the upper reaches, the Imperial Naval Division, which had only half the number of ships of the enemy, was still no match for the rebels. After a day and a night of fierce fighting, a total of 118 warships were sunk and 223 warships were seriously damaged, and the flagship of the main general, Yongsheng, was also severely damaged.

The leaderless sailors of the imperial court hurriedly retreated, abandoning the Jingxiang waterway and retreating to Yiling County further west.

Bao Yuchun was unforgiving, divided 800 warships, and continued to rush upstream, pursuing the imperial army. At the same time, he sent troops to land on the north shore, burned and destroyed the port wharf, and destroyed the water war resources in the north to the greatest extent.

Fortunately, Ma Hongjie reacted quickly and dispatched the Suzaku Army to reinforcements in time, so that the rebels did not succeed further and seize the city of Jiangbei.

And the situation of the counterinsurgency war in Shengtang has become serious again because of the defeat of this naval army.

When Li Jiangyao received the news, he immediately made a judgment: After consolidating the results of Jingxiang's battle, Bao Yuchun would soon turn around and march eastward and return to the lower reaches of the river.

After all, the downstream waterways were closer to Hangzhou, and that was the focus of the rebels' operations.

And the key to this is the fleet of the Zhenjiang Army.

Xu Youchang also agreed with his analysis, believing that it was time to bring back the Kunpeng Tenth Army as soon as possible and be ready to meet the enemy at any time.

Therefore, the sailors stationed in Donghai County and Langya County packed their bags, and with the reluctant farewell of the people, they returned to Luoma Lake along the road they came, boarded the boat and set sail, and headed south.

-

"Chief, what do you think, before Lao Bao's main force returns, how about going to Jingkou to beat up the rebels?" Li Jiangyao stared at the map and muttered.

Xu Youchang pondered for a moment, nodded and agreed: "I think it's okay." Anyway, if you don't fight in vain, you won't be able to do it if you want to wait until the enemy's fleet reaches the downstream side. ”

"That's what I mean, too." Li Jiangyao turned around: "At present, there are only three or four hundred enemy ships in the Jingkou area, and they are also scattered and guarded in several rivers that enter the river. If Nie Xianzeng and them moved fast enough, they could be broken one by one. Once the old bag returns, such an opportunity will not be possible again. ”

Xu Youchang stood up: "I'll go and give an order to the Tenth Army immediately." ”

Li Jiangyao waved his hand: "I'm not busy." This time, I also want to conduct a joint operation on land and water. You sit down first, and we'll discuss. ”

Xu Youchang sat down again as he said, and said curiously: "Do you have any new ideas?" ”

Li Jiangyao pointed to the map: "You see, the area around Jingkou corresponds to the defense area of Chang Tao's Xuanwu Army, because the base of the Kunpeng Tenth Army is here, so Jingkou is the primary target." But the main forces of our land warfare are all concentrated here in Luzhou and Chuzhou in the upper reaches, and we can't all cross the border and run to fight where people are always fighting. ”

"You mean, let Nie Xianzeng and them start a water war downstream, and let the other armies make another fuss here?" Xu Youchang pondered: "Why don't you cross the river once and try it?" ”

Li Jiangyao nodded: "That's exactly what I thought about. If we do not really cross the river once, we will never know exactly what problems we will encounter, let alone improve them, so as to lay the foundation for future major wars. ”

Xu Youchang smiled: "Whose troops are you going to let go on the road?" ”

"I haven't completely thought about it yet," Li Jiangyao replied, "I plan to let the Fifth Army or the Ninth Army go up, but the choice is very tangled." ”

Xu Youchang bowed slightly, and analyzed: "I understand your thoughts, the First Army of the Storm, the Sixth Army of the Angry Waves, and the Eighth Army of the Cold Wave are all heavily armed troops, and they are not suitable for this kind of tentative task, and Du Jian's Second Army is responsible for garrisoning the Dajiang defense line, and it is not suitable for all personnel to be transferred." Little Bear's Fifth Army and Xiao Duan's Ninth Army, well, each has its own merits. ”

Li Jiangyao said: "Yes, the Fifth Army is a mixed infantry and cavalry, and the Ninth Army is a light cavalry unit. It is said that the Ninth Army of the Wild Sand is more suitable for interspersed infiltration, but the problem is that the large-scale crossing of the river by war horses and the high requirements for ships are very high, and our current transportation capacity may not be able to support it. ”

Xu Youchang thought for a while and suggested, "Then let Xiong Yunjie go." Only the infantry battalions of the Fifth Army could be transferred, and it was convenient to retreat. ”

"But what if you can't get back?" Li Jiangyao frowned: "After all, we have not seized control of the river, and we must be mentally prepared for the enemy to re-blockade the river and cut off the transportation route." ”

Xu Youchang didn't speak, stared at the map carefully for a long time, and suddenly said, "How about just letting Xiong Yunjie make a quick march?" After crossing the river, the troops of three to five battalions bypassed Dangtu County on the opposite bank and walked 160 miles northeast into Maoshan Mountain, where the jungle was dense. Then, he suddenly turned to the north, marched for a hundred miles, and went straight to the entrance of Beijing, and Nie Xianzeng and them returned to Jiangbei. ”

Li Jiangyao's eyes lit up, and he praised: "This big detour is very thoughtful." In particular, the move of advancing to Maoshan first is very exquisite. To the east from Maoshan is Changzhou the strategic location of the rebels, and to the southeast, it can reach Taihu Lake and further harass Hangzhou. In a short period of time, it is difficult for the enemy to accurately judge the true intentions of our army, and it will inevitably fall into panic, giving Xiong Yunjie's interspersed troops an opportunity to take advantage of. ”

Xu Youchang continued: "However, this requires that the Tenth Army must grasp the timing of the attack, not too early, not too late, and must choose a little before the Fifth Army is about to arrive at Jingkou, just right to control the entire section of the river. ”

"Isn't that what we're trying to do with our team?" Li Jiangyao said with a smile: "If this battle is successful, then the subsequent battle to cross the river will be more certain." ”

Xu Youchang stood up and said, "I immediately gathered people and formulated a specific combat strategy. ”

Li Jiangyao also stood up: "Then it's hard for you, I'm just going to prepare." ”

"Prepare?" Xu Youchang was slightly stunned: "What are you going to prepare?" ”

Li Jiangyao smiled freely: "This time the river crossing is interspersed, and I plan to personally lead the team." ”

As soon as he heard this, Xu Youchang suddenly became anxious: "You are messing around again!" Protect most of the dignified people, can you not be so willful? Don't talk yet, listen to me! I know, you're going to move out of the Pegasus Scout Battalion's chief scout rhetoric again, what starfall knife technique, what goes deep behind enemy lines, it won't work with me! Listen to me, the Zhenjiang Army has a disciplined military law, and most of them cannot be violated. ”

Li Jiangyao hugged his shoulders for a long time, and waited for Xu Youchang to finish talking a lot in a long way, and then said with a smile: "Youchang, I will go in person, and it is also part of the tentative attack. If you are really worried about my safety, then take Sima and Adjutant General to make the battle plan more solid, and don't put your beloved Dadu on the south bank. With my participation, this is an extreme mission of the Zhenjiang Army, and there can't be any mistakes, isn't it? ”

He paused and said solemnly: "You don't want me to put myself in danger, and I don't want to watch my brothers in the Fifth Army go into danger alone." ”