Wang—" A horse team stopped and took a short rest.

The sergeants skillfully loosened the girth of the horse, held the reins, and jogged around to collect the sweat.

Peng Si'an replaced a group of spare horses and took more than ten people to find a small dirt bag and survey the terrain.

What comes into view is a huge lake, the water is mighty and stretches for an unknown amount of time.

There were dozens of ships moored on the lake. They seemed to have spotted the cavalry coming from the north, so they sent a few small boats to the shore to take a closer look.

Peng Sian ignored them, but called the guide and asked, "What is the name of this lake?"

"Yangyuan." the guide replied.

"Where does it lead?"

"Chengde, Hefei."

"That's right." Peng Si'an said, then frowned a little, took out the map and verified it carefully.

Nanmiao Water (Shishui) flows from the northwest of Hefei and is divided into two branches.

One stream flows to the southeast and flows into Chaohu Lake.

The other branch flows to the northwest, also known as "Zhijin".

Zhijin merges into a low-lying area in the north of Hefei County, named "Yangyuan", also known as "Yanghu".

There is a river to the north of Yangyuan, named "Yanjianshui". This water flows northward and flows into Miaoshui (North Water). Then it flows from the west of Chengde County, all the way to Shouchun and Huaihe River.

This is the river channel that Cao Cao widened and dredged for his southern expedition. After the Jin Dynasty defeated Wu, it was dredged again, and now it is very impressive.

At the end of the Jin Dynasty, Du Xiaowei was appointed in Shouchun, specializing in transporting grain. He used this river - later called "Chaofei Canal", also known as "Chaohuai Canal", which is the main canal that connects the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River.

Yangyuan, Zhijin and Yanjianshui have basically been developed into farmland in later generations.

When marching and fighting, the worst thing to avoid is getting lost.

Peng Si'an had no idea about the geography of Huainan and relied entirely on maps and guides.

But the map is not very accurate because it is not updated in time.

A flood may change the course of a river or cause a county to relocate, leaving you at a loss as to what to do.

In addition, you may misunderstand the mountains or rivers drawn on the map and take a sidetrack, so you still have to rely on local guides.

He led a thousand men and horses, half of them Lu Shuihu, Feng Yi and Qiang. Under the leadership of his guide, he took a detour southward.

Traveled for three consecutive days.

I don’t want to say how difficult it was in the middle.

What you see are either rivers or ponds, or silt swamps covered with aquatic plants and reeds, which are relatively solid.

The dry road was made by filling in the lake little by little and compacting it during the Wei and Jin dynasties. It was really not easy.

What made him most desperate was that most of the small rivers he encountered on the way didn't even have names and were not on the map. However, they were real obstacles to the march, especially for the cavalry.

In the past, many people in the army laughed and said that they brought armored cavalry with them when they went on an expedition. It was possible that the war was over and they didn't find a chance to fight because the conditions for use were relatively harsh.

When we get to Huainan, there is no need to bring armored cavalry, because even the conditions for the use of cavalry are very harsh.

There are puddles of water all over the place, rivers crisscrossing the land, the soil is soft, and it’s rainy and humid. Hundreds of thousands of people have to immigrate to this damn place.

After hundreds of years of desperate development, most of the creeks and swamps were filled in and turned into farmland and cities, then it was suitable for cavalry to move freely - to put it simply, the environment needed to be transformed.

"What should I do?" Xu Chu Yiyu rode up, pointed at the Jin navy that was making a faint commotion on the lake, and asked: "We have been discovered, do we still have to go to Hefei?"

"Now that the military order is issued, you have to go even to death." Peng Sian sighed.

The military discipline in Daliang is so strict, what can be done?

General Zhang obviously has considerable thoughts about Hefei.

He could understand that by taking this city, he could control the Shishui River and block the Prussian army in Chao Lake, while the water system north of Hefei could be used safely and boldly to become a transportation channel for his own soldiers and supplies.

This is an important thoroughfare.

General Zhang really wanted to annihilate the main force of the Prussian army in Chengde, and then take advantage of the situation to take Hefei, and even peek at Chaohu Lake and Ruxuwu (Dongguan).

That's all, he can do whatever he wants, just go south for a while.

"Dong dong.—" A continuous sound of drums sounded on the surface of Yangyuan Lake.

Several large ships came over, and the Jin navy stood on both sides of the ship, holding rifles, swords, shields, and spears, and shouted loudly, looking menacing.

"Ha!" He sneered, immediately ordered two hundred people, put on spare horses, and prepared for battle.

The rest continued to rest.

After resting, they continued to raid south without any discussion.

******

On the sixth day of June, a massive siege ended.

The people from all walks of life retreated noisily.

Huanfu attacked from the camp outside the city, Zuyue opened the city gate and fought out together, driving the Prussian army to the river bank before withdrawing.

When the city gate was closed tightly and all the dust settled, Shan Xia, Lu Wan and others were all speechless.

We had a night attack last night and couldn't defeat it.

Today we attacked during the day and lost our troops and generals.

The most uncomfortable thing is that the defenders have no intention of holding on, and it seems that the strong attack will not be effective.

Shanya stands on a high platform and overlooks the panoramic view.

The generals of each battalion actually began to dig ditches and build fences, and strengthen the water and land camps. This was because they were worried that the ancestors' soldiers would come out of the city and kill them, so they dug deep ditches and raised forts, thinking they were clinging to the plan.

At this time, even if you don't know how to fight, you still understand that a frontal breakthrough is absolutely impossible.

"Grand Governor——." An old voice sounded from beside him.

Shan Ya came back to his senses and said, "If Zhong Xian has something to say, please speak directly."

The person who spoke was Xu Zhongxian, the lieutenant of the Lieutenant of the Jiangbei Governor (Shan Ya Supervisor of the Military Affairs of Yangzhou and Jiangbei), who was the elder brother of Xu Chao.

He cupped his hands and said, "Do you still want to fight, Grand Governor?"

"What does Zhong Xian mean?" Shan Ya asked.

"If we fight, we still have three months to go. We should retreat to Hefei by mid-August at the latest." Deputy Xu said.

"Why do you say that?" Shan Xiaqi asked.

"The governor is from the north and doesn't know this." Deputy Xu talked eloquently: "Huainan has rainy summers and the water surges, so there are many places where boats can go, and even big boats can go straight to Shouchun. But after September,

The rain gradually subsided,

The river is drying up, and there are fewer places where boats can sail. I am worried that the Yanjian water is not good for boats and will block the return of the army, so the general must pay attention."

To put it simply, Shishui flows north to the Zhijin River, Yangyuan River, and Yanjianshui River (this section is actually included in the "Miaoshui River", although it is a tributary) and merges into the Feishui River. If it flows in late summer and early autumn,

Less rain may affect shipping, which was not uncommon during the Wei Pu years.

It's the rainy season now and the rivers are swollen, so that's fine, but what about in a few more months?

"If there is no fight, it is better to retreat slowly." Xu Fu did not wait for Shan Ya's reply, and said: "If you are really unwilling to do so, you can build a city in the area west of Feishui and southeast of Shaipi. With the vast mist of Shaipi as your back, you can build a city in the north of Hefei.

Ping. Or go to Yangyuan Xiashui Village as an outpost. From now on, just stick to Hefei. If Hefei is there, Dongguan will be safe. Dongguan will be safe, and the Jiang defense will be solid. Even if Shouchun is lost, it is not impossible to defend.

Yu Jiangnan."

"Shut up!" Shan Ya scolded him subconsciously.

Deputy Xu smiled lightly and didn't mind.

Shanya was very helpless.

Seeing that they could not defeat Chengde, these Jiangdong wealthy families wanted to retreat?

If we can retreat to Shouchun today, we can retreat to Hefei tomorrow, and we can retreat to Dongguan later, until we have lost all the fortresses north of the Yangtze River and just use the Yangtze River as our screen. When that time comes, we will not be far from death.

Although he has never heard of the concept of "buffer zone", the principle is clear.

The stronghold in Jiangbei exists, so you have room to make mistakes, because it is impossible for people not to make mistakes all the time.

It doesn't matter if you make a mistake, just correct it and come back.

In Jiangbei, there were repeated battles with the enemy. Even if the fighting was very embarrassing, Jiangnan was safe.

But once the two sides confront each other across the river, there is no room for mistakes. If someone accidentally breaks through the river defense, the country will be gone, and Jianye will fall soon.

Mr. Xu is over 70 years old. Having grown up in Soochow, he may be used to not having Shouchun or Hefei, so he has to rely on Chaohu.

The fact that Dongguan serves as a barrier to Jiangbei.

He may have thought that Cao Cao's best soldiers from hundreds of battles could not cross Chaohu, and were blocked at the front line of Hefei. The Sima clan was also defeated miserably at Dongguan, losing tens of thousands of troops. It is not bad to rely on this line of defense, not to mention that Hefei is still in hand.

Yes, it is actually safer than Soochow.

But Shan Xia didn't dare to think so.
To be continued...