Chapter 385: Divide the troops and advance
Before Cao Ergou arrived in Fushun City, Ouyang Xuan arrived in Genting City with his staff and issued the next battle order. Compared with Chongqing Mansion, Genting City is hundreds of miles closer to Mianzhou, Fushun and Jiantandu, which is more convenient for the command and coordination of the overall situation. According to the operational plan of Chief of Staff Zeng Yong, Zan Wanshou, Cao Ergou and Yang Bangxian carried out the operation in three ways.
Cao Ergou will lead the two infantry brigades of the 1st Division and the divisional brigade to the east to pursue Niu Lu, and Ouyang Xuan specifically told Liu Quan to capture or kill as much as possible. As the general of the Song army, this three-surnamed slave is too clear about the weaknesses of the Song army. In the past historical line, it was he who persuaded Kublai Khan to vigorously develop the naval army and adjust the strategic offensive direction from Sichuan to the Lianghuai Jingxiang front, which was one of the main culprits in the destruction of the Southern Song Dynasty. The 1st Division's Naval Brigade remained in the Tuojiang River valley and continued to attack the counties and fortresses along the water occupied by the Mongol army.
Zan Wanshou's Third Division was divided into two parts. Hou Xing was still at the command of two infantry brigades and a cavalry brigade, and his mission was to clear and recover Longzhou, Shaoxifu and their nearby prefectures, and to pursue and kill the 300 Mongol cavalry who had fled. The two infantry brigades of the 3rd Division were not suitable for high-intensity operations because of the heavy losses in this time. The strength of the Mongolian army and the remnants of Liu Chuan in the above-mentioned two prefectures (prefectures) and surrounding prefectures and counties was weak, and the two infantry brigades of the Third Division could easily crush them. The cavalry brigade plus the Duzhang cavalry and 700 cavalry, after replenishing the food, grass and ammunition, can easily defeat the 300 Mongolian cavalry. Although these Mongol cavalry could not change the tide of the battle, if they sat idly by, they would also cause nuisance to the prefectures and counties on the Tongchuan Road.
The 3rd Division's Naval Brigade was led by Zan Wanshou himself, and carried 1,000 Banzhou troops around Shenjian City, Chongqing Mansion and Diaoyu City, and traced the water to the north. According to the order of the General Staff, Zan Wanshou went to join forces with Yang Wen to send food, grass and ammunition supplies to the Thunderbolt army that arrived in advance, especially heavy artillery. After that, in addition to leaving some of the sailors to guard the Arrow Beach ferry, Zan Wanshou will lead most of the warships to the north, and the camera will support Huang Dagen's actions in Tongchuan Mansion and Mianzhou. After the combined army, there were 2,000 Banzhou soldiers, and they would hold Pengxi Village in Lingquan Mountain under the leadership of Yang Wen, liberate the cavalry brigade of the 1st Division of the Perak Army, and carry out more mobile combat missions.
Just when the Perak army was besieging Fushun City, Yang Dayuan also led a large army to attack Lingquan Mountain and Pengxi Village, which were guarded by the Perak army. Because Pengxi Village is not far from Yang Dayuan's old nest, that is, Qingju City, the Marshal of Dongchuan of the Mongolian Army, its strategic location is extremely important, so Yang Dayuan came to attack with 5,000 elite soldiers this time, accompanied by nearly 10,000 people who transported siege equipment and logistics. Ouyang Xuan had warned Wu Qingpeng about the importance of Xizhai to the next strategy of the Perak Army, and he did not dare to slack off on this, and personally led the main force of the cavalry brigade of the 1st Division to garrison this place with 1,200 people, and another 400 soldiers of the new annex army who surrendered.
Because Pengxi Village was easy to defend and difficult to attack, Wu Qing continued to strengthen the city fortifications after he was stationed, and the siege weapons of the new annexed army were constantly damaged under the blow of firearms, so although Yang Dayuan had the advantage of troops, he could not advance an inch, but his morale was low due to heavy casualties. Seeing that he couldn't get half of it, Yang Dayuan had to dig a trench and build a wall to besiege Pengxi Village, in a vain attempt to make the Thunderbolt army surrender after running out of ammunition and food. To say that he is wishful thinking, it was not long after the autumn harvest, there was a lot of grain in the village, which could support at least three months, and if there was a shortage of food, he could also kill horses and eat. Of course, this was the worst-case scenario, and according to the plan of the General Staff, reinforcements from the Thunderbolts would arrive around October.
Like Pengxi Village, the new annex army of Lingquan Mountain also adopted siege tactics. The new annex besieging this place consisted of 3,000 men and was commanded by Yang Wenzhong, another of Yang Dayuan's nephews. There were 300 Thunderbolts guarding Lingquan Mountain, and 300 new annexes who surrendered to assist in the defense. Although Lingquan Mountain is not as steep as Pengxi Village, and the disparity in strength between the two sides is even greater, it is not easy to capture.
Under the double blow of firearms and oil, the new annex army attacking Lingquan Mountain suffered even more casualties. In particular, dozens of soldiers were transformed into a giant human-shaped candle under the fire oil, which turned into charcoal in the wild shouting and howling, which made the new annexed army behind him fearful. In desperation, Yang Wenzhong had to dig trenches and build fortifications, preparing for a long-term siege.
Yang Dayuan originally wanted to attract reinforcements from the Perak Army by besieging Pengxi Village and Lingquan Mountain, so as to realize the encirclement and reinforcements and reduce the pressure on the Mianshui front. Who would have expected that as soon as he arrived at Pengxi Village, he received the news that the 3,000 soldiers and horses on the Mianshui front line were all wiped out and his nephew Yang Wenan died. Actually, that was half a month ago. In those days, without horses, news transmission was extremely slow, and Jiantandu and Lingquan Mountain were controlled by the Thunderbolts. It is a miracle that the very few fish in Yang Wen'an's ministry can detour hundreds of miles and bring the news back to Qingju City.
After Huang Dagen's second division completely annihilated Yang Wen'an's troops, it also marched in three directions. The cavalry brigade went to the Shiquan Army in the northwest, and an infantry brigade marched to Tongchuan Province in the east, while he personally led the division brigade and an infantry brigade to attack Mianzhou. After taking the Shiquan Army, the cavalry brigade would continue north to Longju and join up with the Shizhong Shubu light infantry who had crossed the mountains from the direction of Songzhou. The reason why Songzhou was a strategic place for Tang and Tibet was because it could not only lead to Weimao and Weimao, but also reach Jiangyou through Longzhou. Jiangyou is followed by the plains and hills of the Pingchuan River. Only by controlling Longzhou in their hands can the defense of the Thunderbolt Army on Tongchuan Fu Road form a closed loop.
Shu has been war-torn for a long time, and the Mongolian army only knows how to plunder, so the economy of Mianzhou, Shiquan Army, Longzhou and Tongchuan Prefecture is very withered, and there are not many troops at all. When Niu Ling led the army south to aid Luzhou, he drew away a large number of elites, and the number of Mongolian troops left behind in the prefecture and county was limited and most of them were old and weak. On the other hand, the Second Division is strong and strong, and it is easy to take the above-mentioned state capitals (armies).
Although the Shiquan Army and Longzhou are backed by mountains, and the terrain is dangerous and difficult to defend and difficult to attack, this place is bordered by Weimao and Songzhou, and it is also a mixture of Han and Qiang, and communicates through steep mountain trails. The local officials and common people in these two places were also like Songzhou, and seeing that the two states of Weimao were thriving under the rule of the Thunderbolt army, they had already sent people to secretly contact the Thunderbolt army. It is claimed that as soon as the Thunderbolt army arrives, it will inevitably eat pot pulp to welcome the king's division.
It stands to reason that Huang Dagen should not throw the main forces of the Second Division to Mianzhou and Longzhou in the northwest, but should throw heavy troops into Tongchuan Prefecture. If you take Tongchuan Mansion, you can go east to Pengxi Village, which is 200 miles away, or you can go down the river to support the defenders of the Thunderbolt Army in the two places. In fact, many people in the General Staff Department also proposed this advance plan, but Zeng Yong vetoed it.
In Zeng Yong's opinion, with Yang Dayuan's strength, he couldn't capture Pengxi Village and Lingquan Mountain within three months, and the real worry should be Wang Weizheng's department in Lizhou. As a former petty officer of Wang Dechen's department, Zeng Yong knew that the strength of this Mongol Han army that had been entrenched in northern Sichuan for many years was even stronger than Liu Heima's Mongol Han army.
Wang Weizheng took Lizhou as his base camp, and all the prefectures and counties in northern Sichuan had more than 20,000 registered troops, including nearly 10,000 powerful Mongolian and Han troops. What's even more terrifying is that Jianmen Pass, Kuzhu Pass, Jiameng Pass and Dahou City, one of the "Eight Pillars of Sichuan", were also mastered by him. With these dangerous passes, it formed an advantage over the Thunderbolt army in Mianzhou, Tongchuan and other places. Therefore, Ouyang Xuan also supported Zeng Yong's battle plan, that is, the first task of the Second Division was to deal with the threat of the Wang clan. As for the reinforcements of Pengxi Village and Lingquan Mountain, they were handed over to Yang Wen and Zan Wanshou who went north from the Fujiang River.