Chapter 1232 Going to Xuzhou quickly

After Luo Datong set up his position, he finally persuaded the two to manage the materials in a centralized manner and allocate them uniformly. Because they didn't know when Du Shuai would complete the encirclement and annihilation of Tiemai Chi's troops to the battlefield, it would take several days to complete the task of annihilation of Tutu. And they were fighting behind enemy lines and could not obtain material replenishment during this period, so they had to prepare for a long-term battle.

After the supplies regiments of the brigades gathered the supplies in the town, Luo Datong inspected them again. This time they attacked the enemy's rear army and annihilated most of the enemies, but most of the supplies were destroyed by artillery attacks, and only a small part of them were obtained. Moreover, some weapons, armor and other things were useless. Even if some gunpowder was seized, it was not useful because it was too poor to use. Only dozens of trucks of food were considered slightly better than nothing, and this was because they were blocked in the town at that time and were not destroyed.

Originally, Luo Datong thought that although Liuzi Town had declined, the lean camels were bigger than horses and could get some supplies from it. However, after coming in, he found that due to the severance of canals, the traffic was cut off, frequent floods, and the impact of war, the population had been greatly reduced, and the fields were deserted. The once rich giant town was left with only empty spaces, and there was not much surplus food in the residents' homes, so they naturally gave up on the supply on the spot.

After the statistical point test, Luo Datong breathed a little relieved. These grains were saved and could last for seven days. He could arrive at the max. As for ammunition, all departments knew that they were fighting deep in the enemy's backbone, and they wisely chose the maximum carrying capacity, which was probably able to support the battle. The only thing that makes people feel gratified is that there are many wells in the town, claiming to have hundreds of wells. Even if they have not counted carefully, it is not small, at least the water pipes are full.

In addition, there are many temples in the town, and it is said that there are as many as 99, which can be seen at all. However, Luo Datong also found it funny and thought that the gods and Buddhas also disliked the poor and loved the rich. With the decline of Liuzi Town, many temples also lost the support of believers, and monks went to the temple and were abandoned. However, when these temples were built, they often occupy the best position. They chose to be on the high ground with a wide view, which made people feel the pressure of gods and Buddhas being high at first sight. Luo Datong's command post was set up in an abandoned temple. When he returned, he had cleaned it up and smiled after he turned around.

In the past, when I followed His Majesty to fight, everyone often laughed privately. His Majesty liked to open command posts in the temple in order to get the protection of gods and Buddhas. Now, I think I am ridiculous. In fact, the biggest reason for opening command posts in the temple is that it has a good geographical location, which is convenient for each department to convey information and can summarize the situation on the battlefield. In addition, the temple is generally large in space and can accommodate many entourages, staff and direct agencies. In addition, although it disturbs the gods and Buddhas, it will not disturb the lives of the people because of the requisition of houses.

However, Luo Datong did not sit in the command post. He led Sima and joined the army to lead a team of personal guards to shuttle continuously between the town and outside the town, discuss combat plans with the other two brigade commanders, allocate defense areas, choose positions, and draw maps... It can be said that he went all over Liuzi Town and the surrounding areas without stopping. On this day, Tu Tuha seemed to cooperate and did not launch a counterattack, giving him time to arrange defense.

Before dawn, a group stationed outside the town used dry trenches and slopes and soil platforms formed by irrigation canals and water flows in the fields to build a bastion-style defense system, and arranged artillery positions in stages, which could suppress and strike targets far, middle and near. Trenches were dug in front of the front positions, horse-resisting and siege-resisting corners, and mines were buried to prevent the impact of enemy cavalry.

The Second Regiment defending the town and the two Artillery Brigade used the town's village walls, canal embankments and the wharf in front of the town to build fortifications, and used relatively strong granaries to configure artillery to build fire points, improve the fire system configuration, and form cross-fire, which can kill and kill enemy troops attacking from multiple directions. The Third Regiment, as a reserve team, is also not idle. They not only have to guard against other directions of the town to prevent enemy infiltration, but also control and maintain public security tasks. In addition, barricades are built on the main roads in the town, and fire points are established using houses and buildings to prepare for street fighting when the village wall is broken.

When he looked at the newly established defense system in the early morning, Luo Datong's tense nerves were relaxed a little, and he felt a little confident. He was joking with several staff members that the Fifth Brigade was the life to defend the city. From the army of Shaoxing to the army guarding the capital, to the battle of Jiangdong to defend Changshu City, after entering Huaibei, he still stayed at the camp to protect the food and grass. He finally had the opportunity to go out, but he still managed Liuzi Town to cut off the enemy's way back.

‘Bang, bang…’ Just as Luo Datong ‘laughtered’,

Suddenly, the alarm bell rang, and he looked up at the high tower in the town. Three red flags were raised one after another. Guantongshu also fired flags and reported that the enemy troops were attacking from two groups, less than five miles away from the town. When the war came, he calmed down and ordered the entire army to prepare for war...

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Although the surrounding area was already full of fighting, Zhao Bing, who was still on the wall, had no eyes here, and his eyes were stuck in Xuzhou for a long time. He knew that Fu Li was just a fulcrum in the defense system in Huaibei, but just a strategic pawn. Yingtian Prefecture was more of a sentiment for the Song Dynasty. As the Song Dynasty moved south and Kaifeng fell, its strategic position also declined greatly. The political significance of capturing this place was greater than the strategic significance.

Xuzhou is different.

On a macro level, Xuzhou is located in the political center of Guanluo, the political center of the northern border, Youyan, and the link between the three important regions of Jiangnan, which are financial pillars. Xuzhou to Chang'an, Yanjing and Yangzhou are almost equidistant. This location is really a key point, and whoever gains the advantage. Fight from south to north, as long as Xuzhou is occupied, the entire Central Plains will spread out like a big chessboard. At this time, as long as the large corps are spread out, you can fight wherever you want, and attack cities and land. It is easy to do, Luoyang and Yanjing are no problem.

At the microscopic perspective, Xuzhou is more important to the southern regime. Its land blocks mountains on three sides, one faces rivers on one side, leads Pi Su in the south, controls Yan Ji in the north, and blocks Bian Si in the west. It has a momentum of thousands of miles to ensure the dangerous place of Jianghuai. Jiankang relies on Xuzhou to be the throat of the north and south. Before the Song Dynasty moved south, Xuzhou was an important strategic fulcrum between Huang and Huai. Only by controlling Xuzhou can we attack and defend both sides.

After moving south, Xuzhou's strategic value became more prominent. With this place, retreating can block the two Huaihe Rivers, advancing north to Youyan, and going west to the Central Plains. Conversely, if Xuzhou is lost, the two Huaihe Rivers will face severe national defense pressure, and the Northern Dynasties can establish themselves in Xuzhou to form a strong southward base. Therefore, only by conquering Xuzhou can the threats of the Mongolian Yuan to the two Huaihe Rivers and Jiangdong can be avoided.

Secondly, after the Mongolian Yuan diverted the Grand Canal, the canal that passed through Xuzhou was bypassing the Bian River and Si Shui River, which further increased Xuzhou's shipping hub status. In short, you can go north to Qilu along the Si Shui, go directly to Youyan Jingshi, and go south to Huaiyang, Wuyue along the Bian River, and west to Bianluoguan and Shaanxi. This was the main transportation artery that maintained the north and south economies of the north and south. The value of Xuzhou can be seen.

In addition, Xuzhou is also an important coal and iron production area. Since the Han Dynasty, it belongs to Liguo, it has been an important place for iron ore mining and smelting in my country. Iron has been the most important strategic material in ancient and modern times. In the fourth year of Taiping Xingguo, the Liguojian was established, and the mining and smelting industry has developed greatly, and it has developed into a large iron smelting site and is one of the four metal ore supervisors in the country.

During the reign of Emperor Shenzong, there were 36 treatments, with 6,000 smelting workers, which was very large. In the first year of Yuanfeng, Su Shi, the governor of Xuzhou, sent someone to investigate and found charcoal coal in the southwest of Xuzhou. From then on, coal was used instead of charcoal, making the smelting technology enter a new stage. The annual iron production of Liguojian reached 1.54 million jin, and the treasury tax was 310,000 jin, ranking third in the country's output.

The geographical location of Xuzhou is so important that it will inevitably become a must-fight place, but it is not easy to capture Xuzhou. In addition to the strong city defense, the mountains and rivers also determine that this is an easy to defend and difficult to attack. Geographically speaking, although Xuzhou belongs to the Huanghuai Plain, the mountains in southern Shandong extend here, so the territory is undulating and surrounded by mountains, like an angfu. The city is surrounded by water on three sides of the northwest and east, and only the south is connected to land.

The naturally formed small basin has become a good site for Xuzhou to build a city. The hills around the city are steep and the entire city is located on the banks of the riverside among the peaks. The situation is very dangerous and far from comparable to the terrain of the flat. The naturally formed barrier has very convenient defense and has a dangerous road to the Ximatai. People say that "it is ten feet high and a hundred steps wide. If you use martial arts in the world, you will garrison thousands of people and build war and defend the equipment, which is in line with the city. When you accumulate three thousand grains in the city, even if you use 100,000 people, you cannot get it." It is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It can be said that one man is at the pass, and ten thousand men cannot open it.

The rivers outside the city of Xuzhou also have natural defensive effects. Outside the city, there are the Bian River, and the Si River flow southward. Historically, even though these two rivers have been captured by the Yellow River for a long time, their river channels have been very stable due to the restrictions of the mountains around Xuzhou. The Bian River comes from the west and the Si River comes from the northeast corner of Xuzhou City, and it flows southward in the northeast corner of Xuzhou City, and has never changed since written records. These two rivers are both moats and waterways with overall significance.

The defenders of the city can rely on the supply of the Biansi River for a long time. Due to the limitations of mountains and rivers, it is difficult for the large corps to assemble and deploy formations outside the city, posing a threat to the city.

"The honor of Zhao is now a general. I will go to Xuzhou and seize Yingtian again. I will celebrate with the general in the ancestral temple!" Zhao Bing thought for a long time, and wrote a handwritten order, ordering people to send Zhao Mengjin's army to the front. Although he mobilized a large army to attack Xuzhou in advance, the enemy was reinforced and they could not stop for a while. Now he made a clever plan to transfer the tiger away from the mountain, which made Xuzhou's troops empty, so he ordered him to rush to seize the city and then go to Yingtian Mansion. Although he could not personally lead the troops into the Longxing land of Zhao's family, Zhao Mengjin, who is also a descendant of Taizu, can be regarded as regaining the face of Zhao's family...
Chapter completed!