"The boat snowed at night in Guazhou ferry, and the iron horse scattered the gates with a strong autumn wind." When Zhao Bing stepped onto the Guazhou ferry, Lu Jiaxuan's two lines of poems couldn't help but blurt out. After making the decision to adjust the direction of the attack, he quickly convened the court to persuade several prime ministers, and settled the concubines in the harem, and decided to personally lead the imperial pursuit of Yangzhou.

Zhao Bing's strategic intention was very clear. He personally led a large army to attack Yangzhou and took the initiative to recover Huaidong. Yuxi Timur would never sit idly by the Song army's major actions. He estimated that he would only make two reactions. One was to mobilize various troops to support Yangzhou and block the enemy along the north of Jiangbei; the other was to use the strategy of besieging Wei to rescue Zhao, and use Jiangdong's troops to launch a long-standing invasion, crossing the river from Kunshan, which had weak defense, quickly defeating the remaining troops, and approaching Lin'an.

In terms of possible countermeasures against the enemy, Zhao Bing and all the generals prefer that Yuxi Timur would adopt the second plan, because this is in line with the strategy of using cavalry to quickly maneuver and adopting a large detour to attack the weak enemy's rear. Furthermore, this strategy seems risky, but it gains great benefits. Once successful, it will not only lift the siege of Yangzhou, but also may also take advantage of Lin'an, or even set up an ambush to annihilate the enemy's rescue and re-control the Jiangnan.

Therefore, Zhao Bing took the initiative to push Yuxi Timur when he was reluctant to move. As for how he moved, it depends on how the generals on both sides judged it. However, no matter what, he was invincible. The enemy rushed to Yangzhou to support Yangzhou and could implement the tactic of besieging the city to attack the enemy's aid, which would severely damage the enemy's living forces. If he chose to invade the south, he would have already set up a trap waiting for them to jump in, and he could also achieve the predetermined goal of this battle.

After making the decision, Zhao Bing immediately adopted a method of undeclared war. He left the capital in the name of leading an army to patrol the border, and at the same time issued a combat order to cross the river to the First Army, which had already been ready for combat. When Zhao Bing led a large group of troops in the front guards to the north along the canal, the first army's headquarters had already captured Guazhou Town with the assistance of the navy and built two floating bridges.

Guazhou evolved from the sandbanks of the Yangtze River silt. By the middle of the Tang Dynasty, it had been connected to the northern bank of the land and became a ferry on the northern bank of the Yangtze River. During the Kaiyuan period, Qi Huankai Yilou River 25 miles, connecting the original canal, connecting the Yangtze River from south of Yangzijin to Guazhou. From then on, Guazhou was the intersection of the north-south canal and the east-west Yangtze River cross-shaped golden waterway.

Since Guazhou is located at the intersection of the Grand Canal and the Yangtze River, it is one of the important channels for the Grand Canal to enter the Yangtze River. It is a strategic location for viewing Jingkou, connecting Jiankang, connecting the sea, connecting the river, controlling and stragging north and south water transportation, and is also a key junction with canal and salt transportation. Countless passengers traveled from south to north and quickly developed into a giant town by the river. Since then, the main channel of the Yangtze River gradually moved south, and the distance between Guazhou and Jingkou has become closer and closer. Since the end of the Tang Dynasty, Guazhou has gradually had a city. During the confrontation between Song and Jin Dynasty, Guazhou has become the front line of war. It built a city and a city inspection camp here. The Song army once defeated Wanyan Liang, the jin leader who invaded the south, and is now also a key area for river defense.

"I am welcome to you!" Seeing that Your Majesty landed, Chen Fenglin, the commander of the First Army, had already lined up to greet him.

"Thank you all, how did the war develop?" Zhao Bing raised his hand and asked bluntly without greetings.

"Your Majesty, please rest in the camp, and I will report it again!" The emperor didn't care. Chen Fenglin didn't dare to be negligent. You should know that although Guazhou Town has been recovered, there are still scattered soldiers who are still scattered. Who knows where to hide? If it is a sudden attack, he will not be able to bear the responsibility.

"Okay!" Zhao Bing nodded and said. Seeing that the ferry was moored with ships, there were still warships constantly entering the port, and the shore was full of unloaded supplies. The troops who had just arrived ashore were waiting for the next order in the whole team, and they were not the place to speak, so they agreed.

"Teacher Tan leads the guard camp to follow the entourage, and the rest of the troops are on standby!" The commander of the guard Ni Liang turned around and ordered without waiting for the emperor to say more.

Zhao Bing immediately got on his horse and went to the camp surrounded by the generals. Along the way, the river defense fortifications had been destroyed during the forced crossing, and Guazhou Town had been destroyed by war. The city tower collapsed, the city gate fell, the battle sheds on the city walls had been destroyed, and several places had collapsed. Although he did not see the battle scene with his own eyes, he could also imagine the tragic situation of Guazhou City under the baptism of artillery fire. Such fierce artillery fire was probably not much better in the city. What is certain is that it is no longer suitable for living, so Chen Fenglin invited himself to the camp.

The first army camp was five miles away from Guazhou Town. Zhao Bing came outside the camp and looked around it. There were trenches dug around it, and a watchtower was erected at the corner of the village. Although it had all the elements of a camp, it was extremely simple and could only be regarded as a temporary camp. There were already soldiers packing their luggage and seemed to have to leave at any time.

"Your Majesty, the camp is simple, don't be surprised!" When Chen Fenglin entered the tent, he invited the emperor to take his seat while asking him to tea.

"It's already good to march outside. Let's talk about the current situation!" Zhao Bing didn't care. The handsome tent was very spacious and could accommodate about 40 people. There were several braziers inside, and the tent was baked warmly. After he sat down, he roasted it on the brazier at his feet.

"Your Majesty, please see. After the subordinates crossed the Yangtze River and captured Guazhou Town as planned, the navy, with the cooperation of the First Land Brigade, quickly seized various gates along the canal. Then the First Division and the Second Division landed on the west bank of the canal and launched the plan to capture Dayi Town north of Yangzhou and Yizheng Town west of Yangzhou, preparing to block the two directions of Gaoyou Army and Zhenzhou; the two regiments of the Third Division attacked eastward with the first regiment of the Cavalry Brigade, preparing to capture the Elbow Town and block the Taizhou direction. The subordinates were preparing to lead the first army's brigade and Runzhou Army to capture Yangzi Town south of Yangzhou. The Changzhou Army and Jiangzhou Army had crossed the river. The second division of the Second Army, the Third Division, had also set out as planned. In this way, the encirclement of the Yangzhou land can be completed." Chen Fenglin knew the temper of the little emperor, and did not be too polite, spread the map on the table and pointed the positions of the various troops.

"Well, then where is the guards arranged?" Zhao Bing nodded. In order to attack Yangzhou, a total of five imperial guards and three provincial troops were mobilized. With the imperial guards he led, the troops could reach 100,000. In terms of military strength, they had to take on the two tasks of siege and attacking aid. If the Mongols made every effort to rescue, the troops would not be sufficient.

"Your Majesty, my subordinates are ready to ask Your Majesty to lead the guards to take charge of Guazhou, command the troops to fight, and act as a reserve force, ready to support the troops to fight at any time!" Chen Fenglin said with politeness. According to the previous combat plan, there was nothing wrong with Your Majesty, and of course he would not mobilize the guards to participate in the war. Even if the combat plan was adjusted, he knew that Your Majesty's personal expedition was more of a role in seducing the enemy, rather than fighting on the front line, and such arrangements were not wrong.

"As a reserve team, it seems that you really treat me as a show!" Zhao Bing said with a smile on his face as if he was smiling.

"Your Majesty has something to say first. The sage must be fifty miles away from the battlefield, so you cannot break the contract!" At this time, Wang Yinglin, the accompanying entourage, immediately reminded. When the young emperor revised the combat plan, the sect rulers opposed the matter of personal expedition. Later, he repeatedly explained that he was just acting as a bait to lure the enemy, and that he was definitely not going to the battle formation in person, and repeatedly guaranteed that he would get the answer from the ministers. However, the empress dowager was still worried. Not only did he send Wang Yinglin's accompanying entourage to supervise, but he also asked Ni Liang to accompany him to give up.

"Your Majesty, Yangzhou is less than 60 miles away from Guazhou Town. Here you can coordinate the overall situation and do not violate the agreement with you. Don't let your subordinates make things difficult for you!" Chen Fenglin smiled with a deep tribute.

"I have no intention of breach of contract, but you see that Yangzhou is located west of the canal, and it must be the main battlefield for enemy rescue. The first and second divisions have relatively weak forces and no generals are in charge of command. Yangzi Town is close to the Yangtze River, which is only a short distance from Jiangnan. With naval forces, the enemy will naturally not commit suicide here to rescue. So I think that if you are commanding the Hexi army to fight, I will guard the baggage and retreat in Yangzi Town. Once the war is in crisis, I can also conveniently retreat to Jiangnan to reorganize the defense line!" Zhao Bing raised his hand and asked them to avoid politeness, pointing to the map and saying to the two with a happy look.

"No!" Wang Yinglin and Chen Fenglin almost vetoed in unison.

'Pa', Zhao Bing slapped the table hard and shouted at the two of them: "The general is not allowed to accept the orders of the king outside. Do I still have to be controlled by you?"

"I (unders) dare not!" The two of them were startled when they saw the little emperor getting angry, especially because they could not afford to take the scourge, so they quickly saluted.

"Chen Dutong, you immediately lead the direct team of the First Army and the Changzhou Army to cross the river and meet with the First Division. The Second Division will join forces to command Hexi's operations. If there is any mistake, the military law will be dealt with!" Zhao Bing pointed at Chen Fenglin's nose and said sternly.

"Yes, my subordinates obey the order!" Chen Fenglin has been following the little emperor for more than ten years and has developed the habit of "obeying orders and obeying commands". After hearing this, he subconsciously stood attentively and saluted loudly and replied loudly.

"Your Majesty..." Wang Yinglin was anxious. He was about to persuade him, but was interrupted.

"Telling the commander Ni Dutong to tell him that I would stay in Yangzi Town overnight!" Zhao Bing turned his face and said loudly to the guards beside him.

"Governor Wang, what should I do?" Chen Fenglin was a little panicked when he saw the guards go to pass the order. Everyone knew that Ni Liang would not disobey anything. Not to mention attacking a small town, he would not frown even if he wanted him to kill him. In fact, he had a premonition that as long as His Majesty arrived at the battlefield, it would be almost impossible to stay away from it. He could not stop him at all. Seeing that the emperor was determined to act alone, he could only ask Wang Yinglin for help helplessly.
Chapter completed!