On the occasion of rebirth Zhou Sui

Chapter 591 Exploring the news

After the governor of Xiyang fled Wudang, he went straight to Xiangyang in panic.

When Xiangyang Governor Xiao Jue heard that the main force of the Yan army had crossed the Han River and occupied Wudang City, he didn't believe it at first.

But looking at the miserable situation of the Xiyang Prefect and his entourage, and their unanimous statements, they concluded that those who attacked Wudang City were not a small force of several thousand people, but tens of thousands of enemy troops.

Everyone's determination also convinced Xiao Jue.

Xiao Jue summoned his personal companions and took the governor of Xiyang and his entourage to resettle them. He immediately sent two groups of envoys to report the news to Zhang Xutuo and the Jiankang court respectively.

Yuliangzhou is only twenty miles away from Xiangyang, and Zhang Xutuo soon learned the news of the fall of Wudang.

Zhang Xutuo left his deputy to guard the water village and returned to Xiangyang City alone. He asked to see Xiao Jue. He didn't even have time to speak, and was reminded impatiently:

"This must be Thief Yan's treacherous plan!"

Xiao Jun raised his eyebrows and asked:

"Why did Zhang Juncheng say this?"

Zhang Xutuo asked:

"Now the Yan navy is blocked at the mouth of the Juishui River and cannot sail into the Han River.

"If the governor were Cui Ni, would he dare to cross the river rashly?"

Xiao Jun shook his head when he heard this. He only knew a little about military affairs, but he also knew the importance of food and grass.

Once Zhang Xutuo blocks the Han River, the Yan army crossing the river will not be able to guarantee logistics and will inevitably be in trouble.

Even if the Nanyang Navy of the Yan Army sailed into the Han River and tried to break through the blockade of the Xiangyang Navy, it would still be a battle without suspense.

The Nanyang Navy was no match for the Xiangyang Navy, and it was located downstream. How could it save the main force of the Yan Army trapped on the south bank?

Zhang Xutuo saw Xiao Jue shaking his head and continued:

"Even the lower officials and the prefect know things that Cui Ni, who spent half his life in the military, is not aware of!"

This matter was of great importance, and Xiao Jue did not dare to make a judgment easily. He summoned the prefect of Xiyang and others and asked Zhang Xutuo to question him face to face.

After Zhang Xutuo asked carefully, he discovered that none of these people had climbed onto the city wall, but had listened to the warning officers' reports.

It is said that it was completely dark outside the city, and there were countless enemy troops.

After hearing this, Xiao Jue finally believed Zhang Xutuo and believed that the Yan army's attack on Wudang was just the work of a small group of troops. However, Xiao Jue was still confused about Cui Che's purpose and asked Zhang Xutuo for his opinion.

Zhang Xutuo muttered:

"If you want to take Xiangyang, you must first go to Yuliang Island. The lower officials thought that Cui Ni wanted to lure the Xiangyang Navy to leave the stronghold, block the river, and attack Yuliang Island."

Xiao Jun suddenly realized it and praised Zhang Xutuo's guess.

Zhang Xutuo said again:

"To be cautious, the prefect still needs to send scouts to Wudang and Anyang to inspect."

Xiao Jue nodded and said:

"What Zhang Juncheng said is true."

Immediately sent people to dispatch scouts in the direction of Anyang and Wudang.

After Zhang Xutuo persuaded Xiao Jue, he immediately rushed back to Yuliangzhou. There was no room for loss on this sandbank.

A scout team from Xiangyang received the order and rushed to Wudang, while the other team was preparing to swim at night to cross the Han River.

Wang Gui was the captain of the scout team sent to Wudang. On the way, he saw an army heading towards Xiangyang from a distance, and everyone hurriedly took cover.

Due to the Yan army's sentry and cavalry warning, Wang Gui did not dare to get too close.

He looked from a distance, although he couldn't see clearly, but the enemy troops were connected end to end, and each unit passed under his nose one after another. Roughly counting, there were no less than 100,000 armored and armed men.
This frightened Wang Gui. He was afraid that he had counted wrongly, so he asked everyone for confirmation. The scouts confirmed that there were indeed more than 100,000 enemy troops marching towards Xiangyang.

Wang Gui quickly sent out three scouts from his team to take different paths to return the news.

He led the others further into Xiyang County.

Xiao Jue received two pieces of news that night. One was from three scouts who had safely returned to Xiangyang, telling them that an army of no less than 100,000 troops was coming towards Xiangyang.

Second, the scouts who swam in the Han River at night came back to report. They took the risk to get close to the Yan army camp to check, but found that there were only a small number of defenders left in the camp and no trace of the main force of the Yan army.

This made Xiao Jue doubt Zhang Xutuo's judgment. The other party claimed that Cui Che was bluffing in Wudang County, but now the main force of the enemy army was missing in the Yan army camp, and more than 100,000 armored and sharp Yan army troops were approaching Xiangyang.

city.

No matter how hard you think about the whole thing, the ironclad facts are right in front of you.

He quickly found Zhang Xutuo and planned to rearrange the land defense line and blockade the Han River with the navy.

After all, the Yan army has already crossed the river, so there is no need to deploy a land defense line on the Yihan River.

However, Zhang Xutuo still had doubts about this. Although judging from the existing news, the main force of the Yan army undoubtedly crossed the Han River, Zhang Xutuo always felt that there was a conspiracy.

Xiao Jun said anxiously:

"What are Zhang Juncheng worried about? The enemy troops are approaching Xiangyang!"

Zhang Xutuo frowned:

"I really can't understand how Cui Che could cross the river rashly!"

However, Xiao Jue found a reason for Cui Che:

"Cui Ni has been guarding the northern border all year round and does not know how to fight on the water. Moreover, the Yan army has been victorious one after another, and it is impossible for the arrogant generals to be lazy.

"Is it possible that Zhang Juncheng doesn't know Gao Huan's old story? Before the battle of Shayuan, he always won every battle and was unrivaled. For example, Cui Ni today, but he frequently appeared in Shayuan and lost his troops!"

Zhang Xutuo did not think that Cui Che would commit the same sin of arrogance as Gao Huan, but he had to admit that what Xiao Jue said was indeed reasonable, but he could not be convinced.

At Xiao Jue's insistence, Zhang Xutuo rearranged the land defenses, cleared the obstacles on the south bank of the Han River that prevented the Yan army from landing, and instead deployed them on the west side of Xiangyang.

As for the navy's blockade of the river, Zhang Xutuo delayed it until tomorrow, citing the late night as an excuse.

Returning to Yuliangzhou, Zhang Xutuo sent a small boat as usual to monitor the Yanjun water stronghold at the mouth of the Feishui River at night to prevent the enemy from leaving the stronghold at night and sailing past Yuliangzhou to the upper reaches of the Han River.

Zhang Xutuo couldn't sleep all night, he really couldn't figure out what conspiracy Cui Che was hiding.

It was not until midnight that Wang Gui returned to Xiangyang to report to Xiao Jue, and Xiao Jue sent someone to relay the information he had obtained to Zhang Xutuo. Only then did Zhang Xutuo convince himself that the main force of the Yan army had indeed crossed.

Crossed the Han River.

After Wang Gui arrived in Wudang County, due to the martial law in Wudang County, he was not allowed to enter or leave, so he could only go to the river crossing point of the Yan army to explore.

At that time, the Yan army was seen on both sides of the Han River, connected with iron cables to defend the pontoon. There were more than ten iron cables across the river, blocking ships on the east and west sides.

Carts pushing grain and grass passed by the pontoon in an endless stream and were sent to Wudang County.

Zhang Xutuo heard the news and no longer had any doubts. He finally believed Cui Che was trying to block the river with iron ropes to prevent his navy from blocking the river, and at the same time stepped up the transportation of grain to the south.

How could he still sit still at this time? He quickly ordered to assemble the Xiangyang Navy stationed on Yuliang Island.

(End of chapter)