The Struggle of the Reborn Prince

The expeditionary army marched from the sea and advanced north very smoothly, which made Cheng Xishou and others puzzled. The legendary Seljuk Empire was also known as the most powerful country in West Asia, with a powerful army that could sweep the world.

It was so abnormal that there was no big battle after Shiguo fought, which made them wonder if the enemy was using the strategy of "tempting the enemy into depth". In fact, the "expedition" of the expeditionary army can be attributed to God's will, or it can

Said it was a coincidence.

Last year, the Song Dynasty launched an expedition under the auspices of Zhao Qiong. One way was the Western Expedition Army led by Gao Chong, who took the land route; the other way was Cheng Xishou who came from the sea. Although the two expedition troops were tens of thousands of miles apart

The spearheads were pointed at the Seljuk Empire in West Asia, which can be said to be in line with each other.

In this era, communication becomes very difficult to communicate a hundred miles apart, not to mention that the two battles are far away from the local area. Even if there are fast horses running back and forth, it will take more than a month to reach it. The war is not as good as other things, and it is often changing rapidly.

If you stick to the rules and ask for instructions in everything, the result will be self-evident. Therefore, Zhao Qi gave the two coaches quite a lot of clarity to the right to be determined, and you don’t have to wait for the order when encountering things, you can make a decision by yourself.

Zhao Qiong only formulated an outline for this combat plan. They should play their own way of fighting. As long as it is beneficial to the country, to fight, and to achieve the purpose of the combat, they can do whatever they want. This is why Gao Chong dares to do so in the cold winter.

Crossing the snow mountain and privately decided to return the defeated troops in Western Liao. Cheng Xishou was recording the incident of Shi Guokai's taxes and taxes. Therefore, although the two commanders were unable to communicate with each other and carry out joint operations, the general policies were consistent.

In order to achieve the strategy of conquering Gaochang and stabilizing the Western Front, Gao Chong adopted the strategy of uniting the Western Liao Dynasty. They released the defeated troops of the Western Liao Dynasty and made peace with them. They also conveyed to them that if necessary, the Song army could send troops.

Help them fight against the Seljuk invasion. This left Western Liao without any worries. They dared to reject Sanjar's intimidation, concentrated their troops to fight against the Seljuk Empire's coalition forces, and restrained their main force on the battlefield in Central Asia.

The Western Expedition Army's actions strongly supported the expedition forces that marched by sea, but they did not know the details, which allowed them to enter the Persian Gulf smoothly. But there was another reason, because the Song Dynasty's anti-Seljuk Empire

Learn more about word of mouth from merchants, so the lack of intelligence makes them not very familiar with the local situation, especially the limitations of merchant activities make the information they bring is still wrong, which misleads Zhao Zhen, including Zhao.

Everyone...

Seljuk was previously a nomadic people. The civilization did not settle for a long time, so it retained a large number of nomadic feudal remnants and implemented a military fiefdom system. The provinces of the empire were managed by "Attaberg" and had feudal masters with fiefdoms.

Enjoy complete administrative, judicial, military and financial powers in their own land. The feudal lords who obtained Iqta had the right to collect heavy land rent from the peasants, but they had no land ownership and could not be hereditary.

In the late Seljuk Dynasty, the ills of this system gradually exposed. Many major landlords and nobles monopolized the land as they pleased, turning it into hereditary and private ownership. When fiefs had land and army, they gradually had the idea of ​​independence.

The situation of feudal separatism appeared in the empire, and feudal separatist forces of all sizes gradually formed, competing with the central dynasty. At the same time, the continuous increase in labor taxes also caused dissatisfaction among farmers.

After Sultan Malik Sha died, the struggle for the throne caused the royal family to fall into internal strife. It also intensified the expansion of feudal separatist forces in various places, and the military forces in various places were the most powerful. It soon led to the collapse of the empire and split into several Sel pillars.

The Little Kingdom. Sanjar won the battle for the throne and was granted the title of Khorasan. He became the only remaining heir to the Great Seljuk Empire and the sect leader of other small Seljuk dynasties.

Therefore, the Seljuk Empire is like the Warring States Period in the Central Plains. It has a common ruler in appearance, but in private they do their own things and are not subordinate to each other. It is not surprising that the Lord of Shiguo City calls him a country on an island.

It was natural that the Song army captured it but few people came to interfere. It was estimated that those who sent troops came only wanted to see the situation and prepare to be kings themselves.

Now the Seljuk Empire's sect leader called on all states to form a coalition forces to attack the Western Liao Dynasty, which naturally led to the empty forces of the states in the mainland. Besides, on weekdays, everyone would clean up the snow in front of their own doors, even if they found that the Song army had to pass through the border, as long as they didn't cause trouble for themselves.

No one is too troublesome. No one wants to care about it. The Song army was like entering a no-man's land and successfully arrived at the city of Bosarro. However, this is the territory of Seljuk CIS President Sanjar, who is stationed.

In this important military center, he is naturally his army. Of course, he can't ignore the enemies at his doorstep...

The Tigris and Euphrates are the two most important rivers in West Asia. After the two rivers merge in Gurna, they are called the Arab River. The Arabs dug canals at the close intersection of the Karen River and the Arab River, opening up the two major water systems.

The inland ships navigate to the port of Bosarro and then enter the Persian Gulf, which is of great significance to controlling the Persian region.

The Song Dynasty Expeditionary Force arrived near the mouth of the Arab River and was about to enter its inland. Since they mobilized large warships for the long-distance voyage this time, they were all very well-drafted, and they did not know the hydrology here, so they would be troublesome once they were stranded.

The inland waterway is much narrower than the sea, and the warships have difficulty circulating, which is not conducive to combat. The legendary Seljuk Navy did not appear. Therefore, Cheng Xishou ordered anchoring deep sea outside the estuary, and sent small boats to survey hydrology and find out the tide situation.

, to find out the movements of the enemy's navy, and did not rashly enter the estuary.

Two days later, the whistleboat came to report that he found about 200 enemy ships of all sizes in the southwest; more than 200 enemy warships were also flowing downstream in the river mouth, and it seemed that they were coming to them.

I was secretly surprised to receive the report. This should be just the navy stationed in the Persian Gulf of the Seljuk Empire. It can mobilize up to 600 warships at one time. Its strength cannot be underestimated. Although the firepower of one of his own warships is superior, the main warships

There are only more than thirty ships, and the rest are transport ships.

Faced with the current situation, everyone was a little anxious. Their warships were powerful, but there were also the saying that many ants were biting to death. Their transport ships were all equipped with infantry and cavalry. If they were sunk or captured by the enemy, they would

The extremely heavy losses will have a serious impact on future landing operations, and even forces the expedition to die in the middle of the journey and withdraw from the Persian Gulf and return to China.

"Master, why not let us land first and attack Bosaro City to attract the attention of the enemy. You will lead the navy to find an opportunity to annihilate the enemy!" Ma Wei said silently after seeing Cheng Xishou receiving the report.

"No, now is not the time to land. The infantry and cavalry lost the artillery support of the navy and it was difficult to conquer the city. Moreover, once the navy failed, the army that landed was in a situation where the retreat was cut off. No matter how hard a lonely army could fight, it would be possible for a single army to fight.

It will be exhausted." Cheng Xishou shook his head and refused.

"Master, our infantry and army are not all good at eating. They can connect the transport ships on the spot and arrange them into formations. The infantry and cavalry will fight against the enemy according to the formation, and there is no need for the navy to divide the troops to protect them!" Li Quan said.

"Yes, there are self-defense artillery on the transport ship, and our army also has an organic artillery team. Even the ship is defending the city, and even if it is not won, it is enough to protect itself!" Wang Gang also echoed.

"No, there are many enemy ships. If one of them entangles the navy and another sends a side army to besiege the ship city. Since the upwind attacks the city with fire, the consequences of one ship will be unbelievable!" Cheng Xishou did not say anything, and Ma Wei denied them

Proposal.

"Fire Attack?!" Cheng Xishou seemed to think of something from Ma Wei's words, waved his hand to silence them. He stared at the topographic map brought back by a whistleboat on the table and fell into deep thought. The generals in the cabin immediately realized it.

When the commander arrived, he had a flash of inspiration and had a plan to defeat the enemy, and he immediately shut up.

"Let's see!" After a while, Cheng Xishou pointed to the sea chart on the table and said, "This is a sea area map drawn by a scout of the whistleboat. Although it is simple, it can be roughly seen clearly.

Everyone surrounded and looked carefully. The picture shows a large island in the southwest of the fleet anchorage, forming a semi-circular waterway with the local area. Although the scout's detection strait is narrow, it can pass through large warships. The place where Cheng Xishou pointed out

It is at the northern end of the island, which is the estuary of the inland river. The silt and sand allude into a small island, dividing the waterways in the northern strait into two, forming two narrower waterways. The two islands and the local area are almost the same.

A gourd-shaped with a small head and a big body.

"Does the general want to fight the enemy in the strait?" Ma Wei was the deputy commander of the navy after all. He saw the clues first and asked with a frown.

"Yes, what do you think?" Cheng Xishou nodded and stroked his gray beard.

"Master, my subordinates think that the strait should not be used as a battlefield. Although our warships can barely pass through, the waterways are narrow and difficult to revolve, and it is even more difficult to exert the power of the warship's side guns. Wouldn't it be that we abandon our strengths!" Liu Zhenwu, the commander of the Quanzhou Navy, thought that

Inappropriate, large warships should choose to fight in broad seas because of their own characteristics to avoid fighting against the enemy in narrow seas, and the commander should also be very clear about this principle.

"Not necessarily. According to the situation of our battle with Jishi Guo Navy, the enemy still uses horizontal battle formations to meet the enemy. The formation is wide, and entering the narrow strait will also encounter problems that are difficult to unfold, and the combat effectiveness will also be affected.

….” Song Yi said that because of his outstanding performance in defending Simi Island, he was promoted to the naval colonel two consecutive levels and became the captain of the 'Huashan' ship as he wished, he did not fully agree with Liu Zhenwu's view.

"What if?" Cheng Xishou looked at Song Yi and asked with a smile. He liked this new generation of young generals very much and encouraged him to continue.

"Master, my subordinates thought that if the enemy lined up and suddenly entered the strait, it would cause chaos in the formation and give us an opportunity!" Song Yi said loudly... (To be continued...)