(A 6,000-word chapter asking for red votes)

As early as the end of August or the beginning of September, the Yan generals Meng Anchan and Su Tingzhan led 30,000 infantry and cavalry, first went south along the east bank of the Han River, and stationed in Shicheng. After joining up with Sheyuan and Han Li's troops guarding Shicheng, they arrived at

There were more than 40,000 soldiers and horses gathered in Shicheng.

The She family abandoned Jiangzhou and crossed the Yangtze River to flee north. Although Hanjin was captured, Hanjin was adjacent to the river and faced Jiangxia, the great city of Jingnan across the river. It was not the right place to establish a foundation. Except for leaving Yang Xiong to guard Hanjin and Huangpi, Shewenzhuang had already

Before autumn, nearly 100,000 craftsmen and family members who had crossed the river were moved north along the Han River to Shicheng.

Shicheng is located on the east bank of Han River, at the western foot of Dahong Mountain. It is two hundred miles away from Suizhou City in the northeast, two hundred miles away from Xiangfan in the north, three hundred miles away from Hanjin and Huangpi in the south, and is connected with Hanjin and Xiangfan by the Han River.

Since the She family's navy withdrew from Jiangzhou controlled the entire Han River, they crossed the Han River from Shicheng to plunder Changlin, Jingmen, Zhongyi and other places on the west bank to supplement the shortage of food and grass that the She family had across the river.

In July, Shewenzhuang also led Tian Chang and Su Tingzhan from Shicheng to march north to attack Xinye.

Shicheng is located in the center of the Jingxiang region. If you retreat, you can choke the Han River and the Dahongshan Mountains. If you advance south, you can aid eastern Hubei. If you advance west, you can cross the Han River and attack Jingmen. After Ye Jiluo Rong captured Nanyang, he also saw Shicheng.

The location was wonderful. He wanted to go south to support the defense line in eastern Hubei or flank the relay point of Jingmen. The location of Shicheng was much better than that of Suizhou.

It's just that Luo Xiancheng had no ambitions and retreated to Suizhou without any enterprising spirit. He had long regarded Dahong Mountain as the outer barrier of Suizhou, and the stone city outside Dahong Mountain had long been looted and burned and turned into ruins.

Shewenzhuang led hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians into Shicheng. With limited resources at hand, they only briefly tidied up Shicheng. The broken city walls were repaired with wooden palisades. Two places collapsed due to heavy rain in August, but they still had to go there.

Other places are better.

After Meng Anchan and Su Tingzhan arrived at Shicheng, they increased the number of soldiers and horses in Shicheng to 40,000. In addition, they transferred 10,000 soldiers and horses to Hanjin to increase the defense of Hanjin and Huangpi. Other soldiers and horses were not in a hurry to make up for it.

Eastern Hubei.

The line of defense must be thorough and deep.

If all troops and horses are gathered in eastern Hubei, it will only make the supply of food and grass on the eastern Hubei defense line even tighter, further exacerbating the pressure on logistics.

Correspondingly, as long as there are elite troops and strong generals stationed in Shicheng, they can rush to support Huangpi and Hanjin in three or two days. On the one hand, it can prevent the Huaidong Army from attacking Huangpi and Hanjin with all its strength;

For the defenders, as long as there are reinforcements behind them, they will have the confidence to hold on to the city. There is really no need to pile up all the troops and horses in front.

And if more soldiers and horses are gathered in Shicheng, they can cross the Han River and attack Jingmen to the west.

On September 12, before Tian Chang led his troops to attack Shiheyi in the north of Jingmen, Su Tingzhan was in Shicheng. He ordered his general Han Li to lead 5,000 elite troops to cross the Han River from Shicheng and attack Pengwan Ridge on the west bank of the Han River. Cooperate with Tian

Changbei attacks Jingmen.

Pengwan Ridge is the remnant of Jingshan Mountain in Jingmen. The intermittent mountains reach the west bank of the Han River, causing the Han River to flow through the north of Jingmen. It has to twist and turn with the mountains. Although Pengwan Ridge is not high, it has ups and downs.

The hills and mountains are only three to fifty feet tall, but they force the Han River to form a large bay with the character "several" in it. It is also a small amount of raised land along the Han River for nearly a thousand miles from Xiangyang southward to Hanjin.

As early as when Luo Xiancheng and other rogue bandits raided Jingxiang, the people on the front lines of Pengwanling who suffered greatly relied on the dangerous terrain of the mountains to build strongholds to protect themselves, and the people's customs were also fierce and brave.

When the She family took control of Shicheng, Hu Wenmu also saw the terrain advantages of Pengwan Ridge and built more fortifications along Pengwan Ridge, forming a nearly thirty-mile-long joint village stretching from Chenjiajian in the north to Cuigongya in the south. It was called Jingmen

The barrier on the east wing of the city.

Although Pengwan Ridge and Shicheng stand across the river, the terrain is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Although the number of Jingzhou officers and soldiers stationed directly is limited, there are as many as 3,000 village soldiers scattered among the villages in the countryside. The She family occupied Shicheng

Later, when plundering the west bank of the Han River, they would bypass Pengwanling Village and plunder undefeated villages in the north and south.

At this time, it was necessary to attack Jingmen and open up a channel to directly attack Jingzhou from Xiangyang. Tian Chang led his troops to attack the Shiheyi and other defenses on the northern periphery of Jingmen from the north. Shicheng could only and could not be stingy with its troops and did not cut off the Pengmen on the eastern barrier of Jingmen.

Bay Ridge!

In order to enable the army and horses to advance quickly, Ye Ji Luorong issued the Shecheng Order in Xiangyang and circulated it to all places in Jingxiang, saying: According to the military front, if the city does not fall for one day, it will fall for one day after it falls, and if it does not fall for three days, it will be a horse whip.

The above-mentioned ones will be killed and will not surrender for seven days, leaving no one alive.

Generals such as She Feixiong, She Feihu, and Zheng Mingjing died on the battlefield one after another. Han Li was the only remaining brave general from Fujian. After he led his troops across the Han River, he attacked Chenjiajian first.

Chenjiajian is located in the north of Pengwan Ridge. It was originally a hilltop more than 30 feet high. The village was built in a mountain valley near the water. It was easy to defend but difficult to attack. Han Li, armed with iron and steel, climbed the wall from the ladder, although it took him half a day.

Time captured Chen Jiajian, but at the cost of more than 300 casualties.

There are seven fortifications in Pengwanling Lianzhai along the Han River for thirty miles, and Chenjiajian is not the most dangerous one. If we really attack them one by one, most of the five thousand elites who followed Han Li to the west will be destroyed.

Although Ye Ji Luorong said that he would not surrender for a day, it took Han Li half a day to capture Chen Jiajian, but he still kept nearly 2,000 people in Chen Jiajian stronghold regardless of soldiers or civilians, men, women, old or young.

, they were all tied up and massacred on the Xiawan river beach visible from all villages, and their blood dyed the Han River red for a while.

In the face of bloody killings, especially when the enemy soldiers are too powerful to resist, there are always very few people who can grit their teeth and refuse to surrender.

On September 13th, all the Pengwanling strongholds were surrendered, and the flank barrier of crossing the Han River from Shicheng to attack Jingzhou was easily cut off. After Han Li fell into Pengwanling, he was not in a hurry to advance westward, and fought with Tian Chang

The troops encircled Jingmen City, and Li was ordered to go south along the Han River day and night, and with the cooperation of General Yao Lin at Pengwan Ridge, they attacked Changlin, which was more than 80 miles south of Shicheng.

Changlin is under the jurisdiction of Jingzhou. Although it is not exactly on the only road from Jingmen to Jingzhou, it is only more than 20 miles away. Occupying Changlin will restrict the Jingmen garrison from retreating to the south, and will also restrict the Jingzhou garrison from the north to aid Jingmen.

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In addition, the Han River flows south from Xiangyang, through Shicheng to Changlin. For hundreds of miles, the river flows almost in the north-south direction. However, after passing Changlin County, it turns a large bay of nearly 90 degrees and turns due east.

Until Hanjin merges into the Yangtze River. If Hanjin cannot be defended, Changlin will block the Han River except Hanjin to prevent the Huaidong Shuiying warships from entering the Han River.

From Hanjin to Changlin, the Han River flows in twists and turns for about three hundred miles. After receiving the news of the fall of Hanjin, Huaidong Water Camp wanted to go upstream. It would take at least three days, which is enough to call Changlin.

Lin Guardsmen scuttled the boats and blocked the Han River.

And attacking Changlin can prevent Changlin's defenders from destroying the city to burn food and avoid entering Jingzhou——

Han Li captured Changlin, and Tian Chang led his troops to cut off the defenses outside Jingmen with bloody methods. On the 19th, they pushed the soldiers and horses to the gate of Jingmen. At this time, Zhou Fan also led the main force of the newly attached army, 50,000 cavalry, to pass by.

After leaving Shihe Post, he rushed to Jingmen and went south with Zhou Fan's troops. There were also 8,000 cavalry led by Yan general Pu Jieshi. They were also the elite cavalry of Ye Ji Luorong's headquarters who were the first to cross the Han River.

The outer defenses of Jingmen were completely eliminated, and the defenders were trapped in the isolated city. Zhou Fan deployed his troops and horses to besiege the city, while Pu Jieshi led his cavalry to bypass Jingmen, penetrate directly outside Jingzhou, and attack Dangyang and Herong cities southwest of Jingmen.

Changlin City in the northeast corner was occupied by the rebel general Han Li, and 5,000 elite soldiers marched to the north; another 8,000 cavalrymen drove straight in from the northwest. Although Hu Wenmu had 30,000 water infantry in Jingzhou, he did not dare to leave the city to aid Jingmen.

The guard general Chen Du had five thousand guards at Jingmen, and he ordered all the officials and their families to move to Jingzhou. Hu Wen and Mu Mingli said that he asked the generals to guard the city with peace of mind, but it was nothing more than using their families as hostages to prevent the defenders from not fighting.

And descend.

Since nearly 100,000 troops of the Huaidong Army have been assembled near Huangzhou, the vanguard has already entered Hanjin and Huangpi, fighting for control of the outer areas of Hanjin and Huangpi. The main force will be at the city at any time. Zhou Fan and Tian Chang are at Jingmen.

There will be no time for a step-by-step siege.

The soil was taken to build a road to form a slope passage, which facilitated the soldiers to enter the city head directly to fight with the defenders. However, the project of filling the road was huge. The civilians were forced to brave the arrows and stones that the defenders rained down from the city.

Filling the base of the city wall with soil packed in cloth bags is not a simple matter and requires a lot of time and manpower.

There was no time to play with the water, so Zhou Fan led his troops to the city of Jingmen. First, he sent people into the city to persuade him to surrender. Second, he drove the people captured from four villages and eight miles to the city, filled the trenches and leveled the city, and prepared for the storming of Jingmen.

The third is to call the surrendered generals from Nanzhang, Zhongyi and other places to lead their troops to climb the ladder to attack the city first. Let them see blood and kill people first, and then they will follow Beiyan to fight for wealth and honor, which can also reduce the number of troops in the army.

The attrition of horses in bloody siege battles…

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Although Lin Fu had long ordered Hu Wenmu to clear the area north of Jingzhou, Hu Wenmu had been hesitant. After Nanyang City was besieged, Liang Chengchong could not hold Nanyang and there was no chance of improvement. Hu Wenmu still could not make up his mind until Nanyang.

After the fall, they decided to clear up the northern areas of Jingzhou.

Jingzhou has jurisdiction over a very wide area, from Nanzhang and Zhongyi to Jingmen in the south, including the southeastern triangle area of ​​Jingzhou west of the Yangtze River and the Han River, and Yiling Prefecture west of Jingzhou. The entire area has jurisdiction over thirteen counties.

After the main force of Yanhu soldiers and horses crossed the Han River, the Jinghu army firstly lacked soldiers and horses, and secondly, was not strong in combat power. It was easy for the enemy to defeat them individually by dividing their troops to defend various cities. However, they had to destroy all the other cities except Jingzhou and Yiling.

, to move all the people in the thirteen counties to Jingzhou or the south bank of the Yangtze River, leaving no one or a grain of food for Yan Hu. First, it was not possible in time, and second, Hu Wenmu himself may not have such great determination.

Completely clearing the country requires sufficient determination. Especially as we enter the autumn ripening season, people who flee will become hungry people. Even if they know that the barbarians are cruel and brutal, more people still hope to harvest the grain and put it into bags before escaping.

For Hu Wenmu and the Jinghu civil and military officials and local gentry around him, they burned all the cities on the north bank except Jingzhou and Yiling, and burned all the grain stores that could not be moved away. Even if Jinghu won the war in the end,

The lake will also be crippled. Millions of people have left their hometowns and will return to their homes after the war. Their resettlement cannot be undertaken by Jinghu at that time.

After the fall of Nanyang and seeing the Huaidong Army resolutely landing in the eastern Hubei area, Hu Wenmu did not hope that the Huaidong Army could attract the main force of Yan and Hu and save Jingzhou.

After it was confirmed that the main force of Yan and Hu was crossing the Han River in Fancheng, Hu Wenmu realized that the battle of Jingzhou was a fate he could not escape. Only then did he really make great efforts to clear the country.

It's just that the time left for Hu Wenmu has become extremely urgent. He originally hoped that the Jingmen side could block it and buy him more time. Only when he could no longer keep time would he consider withdrawing the Jingmen guards.

Hu Wenmu did not expect that the joint strongholds on the Pengwan Ridge flanking Jingmen would fall in just one or two days. The fall of the outer defenses made Jingmen an isolated city, and the enemy troops invaded on a large scale, and even advanced deep into the city.

Lin, Dangyang, Herong and other cities completely cut off Jingmen's retreat.

There were 5,000 defenders at Jingmen, and tens of thousands of people who had fled into the city. However, because Hu Wenmu was hesitant about whether to guard Jingmen, the grain reserves left at Jingmen were very limited. He could not take care of the civilians who had gone into the city to avoid the disaster of war.

If we save some grain in Jingmen, we may be able to feed the defenders for a month.

Having food for a month does not mean that the defenders can hold on for a month. Facing the bloody massacre of Yanhu and the newly attached troops, the defenders thought more: If they do not surrender, they will run out of food after one month.

, if we surrender at that time, all the people in the city will be slaughtered. The low morale of the generals in Jingmen City can be seen from this. After all, not just any troops can play the classic last-ditch battle.

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During the Spring and Autumn Period, Chu conquered the Ba Kingdom and later governed the Ba Kingdom. They moved the Ba people to the eastern Hubei area at the western foot of Huaishan Mountain to settle on a large scale. This also resulted in the Qihuang area having different folk customs from the surrounding counties and counties, resulting in the characteristics of isolation and strong folk customs.

In addition, the mountains in the southern pulse of Huaishan Mountain are lofty, winding and stretching, with ups and downs in the mountain shape. The terrain is dangerous and difficult to attack. There are many mountains and ravines, abundant trees and abundant products in the mountains, so it is easy to defend.

When the Jingxiang refugees were in rebellion, the civil unrest in eastern Hubei was at its worst. There were forty-eight strongholds among the mountains at the southwest foot of Huaishan Mountain, known as the Qihuang Forty-eight Strongholds. Later, together with Liu An'er and Luo Xiancheng, they were the Seven Great Bandits, Gong Yucai and

Chen Gui, who calls himself the Black Sky Demon God, all came from Qihuang Forty-Eight Village.

However, after ten years of civil unrest and Luo Xiancheng's intention to make eastern Hubei a buffer zone outside Suizhou, Qihuang and other places were completely ruined. Occasionally, some refugees hid in the wild mountains and lived in the wild mountains. Compared with the previous population, the population was more prosperous.

It can be said that "there is no cockcrow for a thousand miles" right now.

With Huangzhou as the main camp, the main force of the Huaidong Army extended to the northwest and protected the flanks from attack at the land strongholds: Wuyun Village, Shima Village, Tazihe Village, Xiaoqi Mountain Village and other villages, which were actually the ruins of the original Qihuang Forty-Eight Village.
To be continued...