Zhang Guangdao suffered defeat.

To be precise, it was the naval army under his command that suffered defeat.

Tong Guan and Xin Xingzong were so cowardly, they were obviously here to suppress the thieves, but they stayed at the mouth of the Wuling River and did not come out.

The Han River turns several sharp bays, where the water slows down and sediment deposits over the years. The Wuling River, the largest tributary of the Han River, also brings sediment to this area. Under the influence of many parties, a Jiangxinzhou was gradually formed.

Jiangxinzhou is four miles long and 400 meters wide, cutting the Han River, flowing 200 meters in the north and 400 meters in the south.

The officers and soldiers' divine arm bows and bed crossbows were all arranged in Jiangxinzhou, and some leveling cannons were also improvized.

Zhang Guangdao sent a warship to kill him tentatively, but was immediately attacked by Jiang Xinzhou. At the same time, the officers and soldiers were shooting arrows frantically on the south bank, and the officers and soldiers of the water division also fought out of the Wuling water.

Under the attack from three sides, fortunately, the officers and soldiers of the water division pulled across, otherwise the water division of the righteous army would have been wiped out.

Even so, the rebels lost nine large and small warships, more than 300 sailors killed and missing, and nearly 1,000 wounded.

Before, Xin Xingzong was disgusted by the terrain, but now he has been replaced by Zhang Guangdao.

The two sides were at a stalemate, and neither dared to attack again, because whoever attacked would lose the battle. No matter how strong the army is, it is useless, this is purely a battlefield for the navy, and the terrain has a great impact on the war.

Several small boats came from the south, and the people on board were panicked and anxious.

Tong Guan was drinking on Jiang Xinzhou, which was the safest place, but he saw Xin Xingzong bringing people by boat.

"Taishi, Zhushan is gone." Xin Xingzong whispered.

Tong Guan held the wine glass, his expression was completely frozen, and he slowed down for a while before asking, "Your brother is defeated?" ”

Xin Xingzong said: "It was my brother who was defeated. Captured the group of thieves in Fangzhou, sent Xizuo to set fire to the city, and occupied Zhushan City at night. My brother is now blocked in the mountains from front to back, and I am afraid that he is already very lucky. ”

Tong Guan had received the news of the fall of Fangzhou before, but whether there was a local rebellion or thieves killed from the south, the number could not be too much, and he believed that the cavalry of the Shengjie Army sent to Zhushan could be wiped out.

Zhushan City can also be captured by thieves?

Xin Yongzong is also too incompetent!

Tong Guan thought about it and thought that this place should not stay for a long time.

He now occupies a good position, and if the thieves kill him from the south, he will be the one who is flanked.

That night, Tong Guan organized the people to carry the grain, and all of them were moved to the further downstream of Jiangxinzhou to board the ship, so as to prevent it from being detected by the thieves.

It took two or three days to transport the baggage in batches to Yunxiang, forty miles away, and then came back to transport the soldiers at the mouth of the Wuling River.

The narrowest part of the Han River there is only 300 meters, and the terrain of countless islands is even more complicated!

After retreating to Yunxiang, Tong Guan still felt unstable, because there were more gentle terrain here, and the thieves could land in advance and kill them by land.

So he collected all the ships to transport troops and grain, and retreated all the way to the mouth of the Danjiang River.

Since he had retreated to the mouth of the Danjiang River, Tong Guan thought about it carefully, and it was more stable to stick to Xiangyang, so he hurriedly ran to Xiangyang with the whole army.

At least after arriving in Xiangyang, if there is an accident, there is more than one escape route.

Although Zhang Guangdao did not dare to attack, he sent small boats every day to observe the enemy's situation from afar.

Tong Guan transferred military rations and soldiers from the shore and boarded the ship further downstream at night, which Zhang Guangdao could not have discovered.

It wasn't until the third day after Tong Guan's whole army withdrew that the soldiers in charge of reconnaissance finally felt that something was wrong. Because several of the camps of the officers and soldiers were too quiet, and there were no more warships of the officers and soldiers patrolling upstream.

The scout approached with courage and daring, but there were still no enemy ships to drive him away.

Finally, I took a boat to Jiangxinzhou and found that the camp here was empty, and only many flags were still fluttering in the wind. Then he took a boat to the south bank, but the camp was still empty, and no enemy ships were found in the Wuling River.

"Why did you run away?" Zhang Guangdao couldn't figure it out.

Obviously, it was the officers and soldiers who occupied the favorable terrain and made him lose his temper by staying there, so why did the whole army slip away directly?

Xu Ning guessed: "Could it be a big victory over Guan Sheng's side, and Tong Guan is afraid of being attacked from both sides?" ”

"Most likely," Zhang Guangdao nodded and ordered, "Chase!" ”

When Zhang Guangdao chased all the way to Yunxiang County, he found that not only was Tong Guan's army nowhere to be seen, but even the Yunxiang County Commander had fled.

Effortlessly, pick up a county seat for nothing.

Then chased to the mouth of the Danjiang River, where there was no city in the Song Dynasty, only a commercial town.

A little further downstream, is the military city of the Gwanghwa Army.

The intellectuals of the Guanghua Army also ran away with the military staff.

Further back, Gucheng County was still empty.

Zhang Guangdao finally understood that Tong Guan definitely planned to defend Xiangyang.

Zhang Guangdao led the whole army and stationed in Niushou Town, thirty miles away from Xiangyang. And send a ship back, bring the victorious Guan Sheng, and wait for the combined army to besiege Xiangyang.

What is Guan Sheng doing?

has already joined forces with Li Bao.

Xin Qizong learned that Zhushan had fallen, and his back roads had been copied, so he was so frightened that he attacked it during the day, and immediately slipped away after nightfall.

Afraid of being discovered by the rebels, he didn't even dare to burn grain and grass, and only left with some each.

Guan Sheng detected that the officers and soldiers had slipped, and immediately led the whole army in pursuit, and finally caught up at dawn.

The two sides fought in Yishui Town, and the morale of the officers and soldiers was low, and the whole army collapsed after a moment of fighting.

Xin Qizong saw that his knowledge was not good, and he quickly fled the battlefield with his own soldiers, and ran into Li Bao and Chen Ziyi who were killed from Zhushan.

Li Bao and Guan Sheng joined forces, but they did not have enough ships, so they could only march slowly along the Wuling River.

It wasn't until Zhang Guangdao sent a boat to answer that he took a boat to Niushou Town.

"Since ancient times, defending Xiang must defend Fan, and attacking Xiang must also attack Fan," Li Bao said, "You must first take Fancheng." ”

Zhang Guangdao said with a smile: "Then attack Deng Cheng first." ”

As soon as these words came out, the Golden State generals laughed.

Li Bao was puzzled and asked, "Why are you laughing?" ”

Guan Sheng explained: "The Wei clan, the largest clan in Dengcheng, has a son named Wei Yingshi, who is the personal disciple of the general. ”

Li Bao nodded and said, "I know, and we have been to Lizhou together." ”

Zhang Guangdao said: "All the fine works sent from Jinzhou have to go to Wei's house to get enough coils. The news brought back from the south was also sent to the Wei family first. Even some of the military rations purchased by Jinzhou were also contacted with the help of the Wei family. The old lady Wei once refused to be conquered by the imperial court, and was deeply disappointed in the Great Song court, so she let her grandson help the righteous army do things. ”

Wei Tai was not disappointed in Song Huizong, but despaired of the Great Song court, since his brother-in-law Zeng Bu was degraded and died, he thought that the court was hopeless.

It just so happens that the father and son of the Zhu family seem to be able to change the dynasty!

During the Northern Song Dynasty, the city wall of Fancheng had long been in disrepair, and it was only a large commercial town under the jurisdiction of Dengcheng.

If you take Dengcheng County, you can easily capture Fancheng Town by land.

Zhang Guangdao led a large army to approach Dengcheng, which was defended by local villagers.

Wei Tai and Wei Yingshi's grandfather and grandson were invited from Weijiazhuang, and the old man Wei Tai personally went to persuade him to surrender.

Although people usually dislike dogs, Weitai's prestige is still extremely high. The shield bearer protected him and shouted under the city, and the township soldiers in the city laid down their weapons one after another, and the county commander of Dengcheng was unwilling to surrender, and was directly tied up by a group of township soldiers.

Zhang Guangdao then waved his army to Fancheng, and before he went far, he was responsible for finding out the news Chen Ziyi, so he came back with the cavalry and reported: "Tong Guan abandoned the city by boat and fled, and it is very likely that he went to Nanyang." ”

"Why doesn't this eggless thief dare to stay and fight?" Zhang Guangdao was so angry that he scolded.

Zhang Guangdao's elite troops, blocked by the disgusting terrain at the mouth of the Wuling River, had long been holding back their evil fire and had nowhere to vent.

Especially Li Bao has made great achievements in the attack of thousands of miles, and Zhang Guangdao is also eager to prove himself, just seeking to fight with Tong Guan's army with real swords and real guns.

However, Tong Guan ran away or ran away, and Zhang Guangdao seemed to be holding a peerless divine bow in his hand and couldn't find the target.

In fact, Tong Guan really wants to defend Xiangyang, it's too much of a sin to lose here, but another accident happened!

……

Two days ago.

The Jingmen Zhijun sent a message that after the thief Kou Zhongxiang occupied Jiangling, more and more people fled to the north.

One moment said that the public security was occupied by the Zhong thieves, and the other said that Shishou was occupied by the Zhong thieves, and even brought the news that Wang Yu's entire army was destroyed.

Jingmen Zhijun did not have a few soldiers in his hands, and he was so frightened that he couldn't sleep all day, and when he heard that Tong Guan had returned to Xiangyang, he hurriedly asked Tong Guan to divide some troops over.

"How can this Wang Yu be defeated worse than us?" Tong Guan was so angry that he couldn't do it.

Xin Xingzong said: "The army in Wang Yu's hands was originally the one we picked left, and it is very likely that the whole army will be annihilated. Most of the Zhong thieves are the generals of the Zhu thieves, if they occupy a few more states and counties, and coerce more thieves to go north, Xiangyang will be the enemy on their backs. ”

At this time, Zhong Xiang has already been proclaimed emperor, but the news has not yet reached Xiangyang, and Tong Guan regards Zhong Xiang as Zhu Ming's person.

Tong Guan pondered: "It's really difficult to deal with, if the thieves only attack from the upstream, Xiangyang City Gao Chishen will definitely be able to defend it." But if the bell thieves come from the south to attack, we will have nowhere to flee at that time. ”

Xin Xingzong sighed and said: "Losing the big city of Xiangyang is an unforgivable sin, and you can't abandon the city and leave." ”

Tong Guan gritted his teeth and was ruthless: "As long as the soldiers in his hand are still there, no matter how big the sin is, he can be suppressed!" I just hope that the Shaanxi side will also end in a big defeat, and if we are defeated in several ways, our rout here is nothing. ”

"This is reasonable," Xin Xingzong muttered, "I'm afraid that the Seed Master Dao will defeat the thieves." ”

Tong Guan said: "He can't win, those thieves in Sichuan are not ordinary thieves." A thief surnamed Zhang killed us to a great defeat. Hanzhong is the Zhu thief himself, and the road is difficult and difficult to walk, how can the seed master win? ”

Xin Xingzong nodded: "I hope so." ”

Tong Guan said: "Hurry up and prepare to take only the Shengjie army and Kaifeng soldiers away, and the rest of the Xiang army and township soldiers from the hometown are gone." There were too many people to fit the ship, so it had to vacate the cabin to transport food. Evacuate Nanyang first, and if Nanyang can't hold it, retreat to Yingchang. ”

The two immediately made preparations for retreat, except for the Shengjie army and the Kaifeng soldiers, all the other troops had to be abandoned by them.

Xiangyang is a strategic location, and it would be too great a sin to lose it.

They only wanted the Shaanxi official army to be defeated, and it was best that the Western Army be completely annihilated, so as to cover the fall of the Nanxiang Basin.

As long as I have soldiers in my hands, the emperor must seriously consider the consequences when punishing.

As long as others lose worse than me, then my defeat is nothing!

Tong Guan understands dialectics.

(End of chapter)