Chapter 160: The Last Dessert (Part II)

In the sixteenth year of the reign, on March 23, Xincheng County fell.

On March 25, Wang Hongyi mobilized a large army, 45,000, to continue the attack on Xiangyang.

Shangyong and Xinjun, which were previously captured, now need to leave some troops behind to stabilize order, although these two places have been captured, the remnants of the forces and the details of all parties are still lurking in the city.

Wang Hongyi left behind several sets of teams, as well as the army, and the Secret Pavilion began to preside over the work of cleaning and stabilization.

The battalion was already quite mature, and immediately dispersed the forces of Xincheng County for reshuffling and training.

Half a year later, Shangyong and Xincheng counties alone can increase 30,000 soldiers for Wang Hongyi!

The politics of Shu have also matured, and the people of the Secret Literature Pavilion who followed them methodically cleaned up the demoted officials, transferred half of the demoted officials, and transferred them to Shu to be officials, anyway, people are needed there.

He also used some teams as county orders, and invited local families to cooperate.

Those who do not cooperate will be purged immediately, this has formed a set of procedures, and thousands of people have been purged of several families in Shangyong City.

This kind of iron and blood, to a certain extent, will also make the situation in the city unbalanced, but a part of the forces can be emptied, so that you can rest assured that the forces you can control in the city.

With the Secret Literature Pavilion behind and the implementation of military management, Wang Hongyi will not put his mind on them.

Wang Hongyi is now bent on capturing Xiangyang, and the army marches quickly.

Xiangyang is a land of abundance.

Whether it is agriculture or commerce, it is very prosperous, and as soon as you enter the boundary of Xiangyang, it gives people this feeling.

Forty-five thousand troops, Hao Hao dàngdàng came.

Presumably Xiangyang has gotten the news, and Wang Hongyi doesn't care.

Before the summer, Wu Yue was difficult to peace, and it was impossible for Wei Yue to send troops to stop him.

The current Zheng Pingyuan, who is continuing to fight in Jingnan and receiving the newly returned county government, is also not leaving.

Other counties and counties are not enough to protect themselves, so how can they interfere.

The Shu army approached Xiangyang, and even if they got the news, they were helpless.

Wang Hongyi is very clear about this.

At dusk.

Wang Hongyi's 45,000 troops gradually slowed down at the speed of their march.

On the Chinese army's chariot, Wang Hongyi was on the platform, behind Wang Hongyi, Zhang Youzhi, and then He Yi, Fan Liuhai and other generals.

At this time, Xiangyang was already a lonely city, and Wang Hongyi and Zhang Youzhi's face was still faintly dignified.

In any case, Xiangyang is a big city in the south, and this time, on your side, you must take Xiangyang to become it!

Xiangyang's coach Sun Chang, who is an all-round talent in civil and military affairs, is a famous general, and he is by no means a false name.

Although this person is older, he is still old and strong, cautious and brave and strategic, such a person, guarding Xiangyang City, is really not easy to take the city.

The Shu army won successive victories, and the momentum was quite large, and in Wang Hongyi's eyes, Xiangyang was still a difficult bone to gnaw.

"Zhang Qing, if you want to capture Xiangyang, what is Zhang Qing's clever plan?" As he marched, Wang Hongyi opened his mouth and turned to Zhang Yuzhi beside him.

"This ......" Zhang Youzhi's eyebrows frowned slightly: "The lord thinks that this attack on Xiangyang will be a little bōfold?"

Although Wang Hongyi is very calm, Zhang Youzhi has been following Wang Hongyi for several years, and he can see that Wang Hongyi, who is calm on the outside, is actually still a little anxious inside.

Wang Hongyi nodded: "Lone does feel this way." ”

Seeing Zhang Youzhi thinking about it, Wang Hongyi explained: "Although it is understated in front of the generals, in fact, Xiangyang is not easy to fight, and the information about Xiangyang that the Thirteen Divisions had explored before setting off reported to Gu that he knew. ”

"Chengjian, Hekuan?" Zhang Youzhi asked rhetorically.

"That's right, it can be seen that the defense of this city is extremely difficult to capture, and time is running out. Wang Hongyi said.

"There are not many thunderbolts in the army, do you want them to be transported urgently?" Zhang Youzhi hesitated and said proposingly.

The thunderbolt car is not very convenient to transport, and the stone bullets are not easy to transport, and it is very time-consuming.

Wang Hongyi thought about it and said: "This Gu has already sent someone back, so that eighty percent of the thunderbolt cars will come, and it is estimated that they will arrive in five days, and Gu even ordered all the Tao Lei to come." ”

"Tomorrow is coming, look at the defense of Xiangyang, it is best to attack it with the thunderbolt car now, if you can't do it as soon as possible, Xiangyang is a strong city, and it is not easy for our army to fight down!"

"The lord is reasonable, it seems that we must hurry up and take Xiangyang as soon as possible. Zhang Youzhi also understood how urgent the situation was at this time, and nodded in agreement.

"It's too late, let the army rest in place for a while, bury the pot and make food! After resting, continue to hurry, be sure to rush to Xiangyang as soon as possible!" Seeing that the sky was dark, Wang Hongyi gently pulled the reins of the horse from his crotch and commanded in a deep voice.

On March 28, Wang Hongyi's army finally arrived 30 miles outside Xiangyang City.

"Report!" When Wang Hongyi's army was marching, the Tanma who went there returned to report.

"Speak. Wang Hongyi said.

"Lord, two days ago, Xiangyang City was closed to the people, and it was strictly forbidden for the people to enter and leave. According to the investigation, on the city of Xiangyang, there are many defenders and they are heavily guarded. ”

The detective horse Pegasus arrived in front of Wang Hongyi, turned over and dismounted, knelt on the ground, and said quickly.

"Two days ago, it seems that they already knew the news of the arrival of our army, but it is an inevitable thing. A sneer appeared at the corner of Wang Hongyi's mouth: "In any case, Xiangyang City must be taken down, continue to march, and see with your own eyes this big city known for its defense!"

Then he ordered: "Send the order to go down, march quickly, and before tonight, reach the city of Xiangyang and set up camp." ”

Regarding the distribution of the defenders in Xiangyang City, Wang Hongyi has not received complete information.

It is really because the Xiangyang coach Sun Chang is vigilant, and in terms of military mobilization, he has never let people outside his henchmen know in advance.

Now that the war is about to start, the information of the Thirteenth Division is also about to arrive.

According to Wang Hongyi's estimate, there are at least 20,000 defenders in Xiangyang City, but as for whether there will be more, it is uncertain.

The distance of thirty miles is not too far, but in an hour, the army has reached the outside of Xiangyang City.

As the horse detective discovered, the entire Xiangyang City was full of murderous atmosphere, the city was tightly closed, and on the city wall, there were also thousands of soldiers and horses to garrison, as if facing a great enemy.

Xiangyang looked down, and saw that the black pressure was boundless, and it was all equipped with jīng good troops, and he was dumbfounded.

Of course, Wang Hongyi and the generals looked equally shocked and dumbfounded.

I saw that the city was tall and thick, made of blue bricks, and was 15 meters high, and Wang Hongyi was impressed by the numerous battlements and arrow towers on the wall of the city, forming a jiāo fork firepower network on the front and both sides.

Equally profound is that a large river flows under the city, which is the first line of defense in Xiangyang.

According to the data, the river is ten miles long, the moat is 250 meters wide at its widest point, the average width is 180 meters, the depth is 2 to 3 meters, and the width of the river is hundreds of meters or even 200 meters.

However, when they arrived, the warship did not see, only the river, constantly circling and flowing, it can be seen that it is all the living water, Xiangyang City is like a lonely city in the water, which makes it a little difficult to start, and the height and thickness of the city wall are incomparable.

Looking, Wang Hongyi fell into deep thought.

Zhang Youzhi sighed and said: "Look at the situation, the ancients did not deceive me, this city is known as the first city in the world, as long as tens of thousands of people guard it, although there are 100,000 people, it cannot be broken." ”

When he saw Xiangyang City, Wang Hongyi's generals all poured a breath of cool air, and their faces turned white, so that the city with a wide river and a high city, how many people's blood would it take to capture it?

And Sun Chang was originally a general, so it was even more difficult to capture Xiangyang City.

Mo said that there were 20,000 defenders in Xiangyang City, even if there were only a few thousand soldiers in Xiangyang City, under the leadership of Sun Chang, it was a simple matter to hold this big city for a long time.

Wang Hongyi also saw such a big city for the first time, and it was unnatural, so he remembered the "Battle of Xiangyang"!

One of the longest and most brutal battles in the history of Xiangfan was the Battle of Xiangyang at the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, which was besieged by hundreds of thousands of ancient troops and lasted for 7 years.

In fact, it can continue to persevere, but at that time, Méng Gu made a return cannon!

This is a kind of boulder cannon, the bullet stone used weighs 150 kilograms, and the shè is used in the machine, and the shè is successfully tested, and the cannon is used in front of the Xiangyang army.

In the first month, he attacked Fancheng with return artillery and won in one fell swoop.

Then, the Yuan army moved its artillery to Xiangyang and placed a huge cannon in the southeast corner of Xiangyang City.

"The machine was launched, the sound shook the heavens and the earth, and all the blows were destroyed, and they fell into the ground seven feet. ”

"Move through the Fan attack tool to Xiangyang, a cannon hits its tower, the sound is like thunder, the city is turbulent, and the generals are more than those who surrender to the city"

The Song general Lu Wenhuan knew that he was invincible, so he accepted the city and returned to the Yuan army.

Of course, this is not only the credit of the return artillery, but also related to the seven years of siege, which was exhausted, resulting in the last straw that was crushed.

Even if there is a return cannon now, and the morale in the city is high, it can't be so easy!

When Wang Hongyi thought of this, he couldn't help but look at his thunderbolt, which was actually very close to returning the gun, but it was not so strong.

A cannon can shè 300 catties of boulders, and the shè journey can reach 350 meters, while his own thunderbolt can only be 150 catties with a cannon, and the shè journey is only 300 meters, barely enough to cross the river to hit the city.

Anyway, whether you can fight or not, you have to talk about it tomorrow.

"Set up camp!" Wang Hongyi immediately ordered, the Shu army had surrounded Xiangyang, and next, we still had to wait for the information of the Thirteen Divisions to be sent out, and all the thunderbolts were transported, and then we would make plans.

Of course, there are forces in the city that can be co-opted and rebelled, and it will be much easier to capture Xiangyang, but this hope is very small, and Sun Chang is not a mediocre person.

That night, in the Chinese military tent of the Shu army, Wang Hongyi summoned 100 households from the 13th Division.

"How many defenders are there in Xiangyang?" Wang Hongyi wanted to know the exact number of people.

The man from the Thirteenth Division said, "According to the carrier pigeon, there are 30,000 soldiers in the city!"

"Thirty thousand?" Wang Hongyi frowned.

30,000 defenders, somewhat unexpected to him, the original Xiangyang City, there were not so many troops, and a short period of requisition, it is impossible to gather, it seems that Sun Chang from the top, immediately understood his intentions, immediately mobilized the troops of all counties and counties.

"What is the sentiment of the people in the city?" Wang Hongyi continued to ask.

"Lord, the city is in good order, and although our army surrounds the city, the people in the city are not panicking. ”

Wang Hongyi couldn't help but sigh, Sun Chang is really a general, he can govern Xiangyang like this, and at the same time he is still a capable minister.

Xiangyang will be coveted by various forces from time to time, in front of the Shu army, there are also surrounding forces have fought the idea here, so the people here are used to someone attacking the city, and every time they repel the enemy army, the people have confidence in the defenders.

Under such circumstances, it is impossible to shake the hearts of the people and the army in Xiangyang.

"Stand down. After letting the hundred households of the Thirteen Divisions retreat, Wang Hongyi was thinking about tomorrow's war in his heart, thoughtful.

At the same time, in Xiangyang City, a number of generals were also discussing in Sun Chang's mansion.