After Zhao Bing issued an edict to mobilize the entire army to prepare for Xuzhou, both enemy and our army were gathering on the battlefield quickly, and the Huaidong area was already covered with clouds of war. The intelligence of the Bureau of Affairs showed that the Mongolian and Yuan guards came in two routes: the West route traveled from Dadu 6 routes through Fanyang, Zhending, and Zhengzhou to head south; the East route chose water routes, and went south along the canal, and the troops all pointed to the Huaidong area.

Although the two invading enemies went south at the same time, since it is still the time when trade winds in the northeast are prevalent, it is against the wind when sailing south. Many sections of the river need to be guided to navigate, which gradually distances the two enemy troops gradually form a situation where the West Road is prominent and the East Road is lagging behind. Now the West Road enemy troops have crossed the Yellow River from Zhengzhou, and the post-probes should return them to Bianliang; the East Road enemy will have to be about five days behind the West Road, and the destination is obviously Xuzhou.

Zhao Bing analyzed that the two enemy troops heading south from Dadu should be the main force of the enemy. They also realized that they had controlled the canal, so they controlled the northward path and could directly threaten the safety of Dadu. Therefore, they temporarily gave up Huaixi and placed the main force in Huaidong. They divided the two groups to occupy the node cities on the new and old canals, blocking their northward paths and forming a left-right attack, waiting for an opportunity to start a battle.

Zhao Bing was not surprised by the Mongolian Yuan strategy. Now his side attacked the entire line, and several armies advanced in unison, which seemed to have taken the initiative. However, it is not difficult for anyone with a discerning eye to see that the focus is still in Huaidong. Therefore, if the entire front line is compared to a long snake, as long as the snake's head is cut off, it can disrupt the entire attack rhythm and expose its flanks. After losing cover, it has to stop the attack and give up continuing the northern expedition.

Now that the Mongolian and Yuan army are coming in two groups, Zhao Bing judged that he should have wanted to use the combat method of a large army to decide the outcome of the victory or defeat with himself. Although this demonstrates the broader the commander's horizon and determines the ownership of the area by the victory or defeat of the main force, he also knows that the higher the level of the general, the more likely he is to make the mistake of abandoning the small and defeating the big ones in the end. Therefore, it is not a wise move to abandon the outer strongholds and passes to determine the outcome by one battle. Once the main force fails in the decisive battle, there will be no place to settle down, which will be a disaster for thousands of miles, and the two Huaihe Rivers will lose again.

The reason why Xuzhou has become a must-fight for military strategists and the defending side is often advantageous because its location is well connected and reinforcements from all sides are very easy to go to aid, which has caused great trouble to the attacking side. Therefore, Zhao Bing thought that this battle was in Xuzhou, but the kung fu should be on the periphery. Only by controlling the outer strongholds and then sieging the city to be invincible first, and then fighting with it is the right way.

Zhao Bing looked at the map and saw that Xuzhou was surrounded by important towns, with Xia Pi in the east, Yingtian Prefecture in the west (Shangqiu, Nanjing, Song Dynasty), and Fuli and Shouzhou protection in the south. His strategic goal of this battle was to seize Shangqiu and then recover Bianliang. Shangqiu was between Bianliang and Xuzhou, and his strategic position was very important in this battle. At the same time, this city was also very politically significant to the Song Dynasty.

Shangqiu, also known as Songzhou, "controlled the Jianghuai River in the south, surrounded by Heji in the north, Pengcheng in the left, and Bianliang in the right, connecting with each other, which is enough to protect the southeast, the throat and the Guanshan River, and is an important road to the north and south of the Great Henan and the south." It has been an important circulation node city since ancient times. Taizu Zhao Kuangyin served as the governor of the Guide Army in Songzhou. It is considered to be the location of the Zhao family, so the founding of the country was called the Song Dynasty.

Because Songzhou was the place where Zhao Kuangyin was Longqian, Songzhou was upgraded to "Yingtian Prefecture" in the third year of Jingde of Emperor Zhenzong, which means "to follow the destiny of heaven". Later, in the seventh year of Dazhong Xiangfu, he ordered Yingtian Prefecture to be promoted to Nanjing, and together with the Western Beijing Luoyang and Beijing Daming, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty. After the promotion, it was built palaces and temples in Shangqiu, and the imperial appearance of Taizu, Taizong and Zhenzong were maintained.

The Song Dynasty built a temple of the Imperial Palace in the capital and some important places, but most of them had only one or two emperors' appearances. Nanjing also had three saints, which shows that it occupies an important position in the temples of the original temple of the Holy Ancestors. After the Jingkang Incident, the two sects of Huiqin were abducted by the Jurchens. Emperor Gaozong Zhao Goufeng was the emperor's intention to build an altar in Yingtian Prefecture, but he was called emperor less than half a year. Under the strong military pressure of the Jin army, he had to move the capital to Hangzhou, confront the Jin Kingdom across the river, and founded the Southern Song Dynasty. The Jin army then crossed the border, and Yingtian Prefecture was lost. Later, after a brief recovery at the end of the Jin Dynasty, he was trapped in the hands of the Mongol Yuan.

However, Shangqiu has produced two "founding kings", and their important status is still undeniable. If Zhao Bing takes it into his hands again, it can demonstrate his achievements in "restoring". However, Shangqiu is still 700 miles away from Xuyi. If he goes deeper along the canal, even if Shangqiu is recovered, the surrounding important towns are still at the hands of the enemy, and it is easy to cut off the rear and stay in the lonely city for a long time.

Therefore, Zhao Bing issued another edict the next day, ordering Chen Fenglin's troops to go out of Shanyang, cross the Huai River to attack Xia Pi, obtain a bridgehead for advancement, and block the enemy's troops from going down the river by the Mongols. He also ordered Du Ge to lead 5,000 troops out of Sizhou along the Huai River to capture Fuli, and prevent the enemy from aiding Shouzhou. At the same time, he ordered Liu Zhixue, the commander of the Second Army of the Imperial Army, to step up the attack on the city, and take all measures to recover Shouzhou as soon as possible, protect the flanks of the army, and wait for an opportunity to cross the river to the north and recover Huainan...

"You guys think how to attack the city?" After receiving the imperial edict, Liu Zhixue immediately summoned the generals to discuss how to capture Shouzhou as soon as possible. However, the generals were silent for a long time, and he could only ask.

Since he led his troops out of Wuhu and crossed the Yangtze River, he attacked northward. Since the main forces of the enemy troops in the two Huai Rivers were attracted to Jiangdong by the little emperor, only the station troops were stationed. They were like the state troops of the dynasty. Although the organization was large, they were different in number. Tens of thousands of households led 7,000 soldiers, 5,000 soldiers, and only 3,000 soldiers were led by 1,000 soldiers, and only 3,000 soldiers were led by 1,000 soldiers, mainly used to maintain local public security and arrest bandits, and their combat effectiveness was not strong.

Moreover, due to the demolition of the city, the enemy army had no danger to defend, and they were often defeated in one battle, and even before the troops arrived, they had already fled. Therefore, in addition to spending some effort in the battle of Luzhou, the Second Army did not encounter a big battle on its way to march, and more often they chased the enemy. However, after entering Shouzhou, the situation reversed. Liu Zhixue thought he could seize the city as easily as before, but he didn't expect that he would fight a battle as soon as he entered the territory.

Shouzhou was once the capital of Chu. As early as the Qin and Han dynasties, it had become one of several important commercial cities in the country. Cao Wei of the Three Kingdoms Daxing cultivated farmland here, rebuilt dredging and irrigation, "From Shouchun, from the capital, farmers, soldiers, chickens and dogs, and fields, and fields are connected." The prosperity of the economy caused the city's population to increase sharply, and Shouchun once expanded to more than 100,000 people. Therefore, since the Jin Dynasty, to the Tang and Song Dynasties, Shouchun has continued to be known for its prosperity.

In history, a wealthy place would inevitably become a food for plunderers to compete for each other. Because Shou County is located in an important position in the Yangtze River and Huai River, it has been a military center for military strategists for thousands of years. Therefore, the garrison guarding Shouzhou has tens of thousands of households and a force of 7,000. They used the platform to arrange ambush to attack the vanguard of the Second Army.

The vanguard of the Second Army quickly occupied a high ground and built simple fortifications to fight against the enemy. Then the army rushed to defeat the ambush, chased the city all the way, and closed the city gates and did not leave. Although the battle was not big, it showed its attitude, so it was impossible to persuade surrender, and there was only one way left to fight. But after a few days, whether the Song army deliberately showed weakness and withdrew the troops or scolded the troops, the enemy just refused to fight, and just acted as a turtle to defend the city.

"Mr. Master Du, Your Majesty wants to conquer the city. The last general thinks it is impossible and needs to make a long-term plan!" Yan Feng, the commander of the first division, saw that the commander looked at him, could only express his opinion and said with a bitter face.

"The commander of the capital, the last general thinks that Yan Tongzheng's words are reasonable. He should report the truth to Your Majesty and ask for a sluggish attack!" Zhou Fu, the commander of the Second Division, immediately responded.

"Where are you? Do you think you want to slow down the attack?" Liu Zhixue rushed up after hearing what the two said, but he still held back his anger and turned his face to look at Li Ting, the commander of the Third Division.

"The Du Shu, the last general... the Du Shu also thought it was very difficult to conquer the city in a short period of time." Li Ting saw the Du Shu's dissatisfaction, but after thinking about it, he still said what he thought about it.

"A group of cowards, Your Majesty is very good at us and has given us important responsibilities, but you are shirking responsibility and fighting with great grace..." Liu Zhixue could no longer suppress the anger and cursed.

"Duan Tong, it's not just the last general who is waiting for the battle, he really has nowhere to start!" Seeing Duan Tong cursing for a while, his voice gradually faded, Yan Feng smiled and held the tea with him.

"Yes, if the enemy troops in the city cannot come out, we cannot use them even if we have strength. If we besiege the city, our army is not strong enough, and we cannot surround them anyway. If we forcefully attack the city, the city is strong and tall, and our army lacks siege equipment, and it is difficult to get into the city. If we want to bomb the city, the city foundation is wide and stones are built, so we can't dig it!" Li Ting quickly tried to solve the difficulties.

"Hmph, how can you siege the city? When Taizu conquered the Southern Tang Dynasty, he besieged Shouzhou for three years before he defeated the city. Even if he digs rivers and storms the city, it is difficult to flood the city walls. I don't know why it was built so strongly at the beginning!" Zhou Fu snorted.

"Ah..." Liu Zhixue sighed after hearing this and felt bitter. He also knew that the sturdy city of Shouzhou was not comparable to ordinary cities. The ancient city of Shouchun was very large, surrounded by Feishui in the north, Dongjindu in the east, west lake in the west, and south, with an area of ​​about 25 square kilometers. It was the second largest city in the capital of the Warring States Period after Yanxiadu in Yan. Due to its long age and changes in landforms, most of the earthen city walls were buried underground or destroyed. After the Han Dynasty, the city site was reduced to the northeast corner of the ancient city, namely the Chengguan area of ​​Shou County today, and most of the descendants followed their site.

During the Song and Jin dynasties, Shouzhou, which was on the verge of Changhuai, was still a place for repeated competition between the two sides. Later, the Song and Jin reached a peace agreement, and the Southern Song Dynasty paid tribute to the Jin Dynasty, starting from the Huai River in the east, reaching the Dasanguan line in the west, the Jin ruling area in the north, and the Song ruling area in the south; Song sent annual tribute to Jin. After the confrontation between Song and Jin was formed, Shouzhou happened to be on the edge of the river boundary, so Shouzhou City naturally became a very important defense area. Therefore, the Gouan court continuously rebuilt Shouchun City in the continuous wars, which lasted for more than 80 years, and all the methods of defending the city could be thought of were used...
Chapter completed!