Chapter 1329: Capturing Hua Jiao

Chapter 1329: Capturing Hua Jiao

Pogangdu is located south of Jiankang. It is an artificial canal connecting the Qinhuai River and Taihu Lake. It was dug by Sun Quan, the Emperor of Wu during the Three Kingdoms period. After it was dug, it became an important waterway connecting Jiankang and Sanwu.

In the Nanliang period, due to the relatively narrow canal layout of Pogangdu, another Shangrongdu was dug on the south side of it. During the Hou Jing Rebellion, Shangrongdu was blocked due to lack of proper dredging management for a long time, and Nanchen was also merged. There is not enough manpower and material resources to dredge it, so Pogangdu can only be reused.

This canal flows through the high hills and slopes in the north of Maoshan Mountain. The river section is stepped in shape due to the terrain. Weirs along the way are used to store and release water to maintain the passage of the channel. When a war broke out, these high or low weirs became ready-made war fortifications.

Wu Mingche was ordered to lead his army to leave Beijing to quell the chaos. When his troops marched to the south of Jurong, the vanguard had already discovered the troops led by Chen Qian's confidant Hua Jiao.

Hua Jiao followed Chen Qian's order and stationed himself at Pogangdu to intercept the divisions and brigades from Jiankang who might come south. His troops had already been active near this passage and launched an attack together with the troops going to attack Wu Commandery. , so it was already in place a few days ago.

As a traditional road connecting Jiankang and Sanwu, business travelers are indispensable along the Pogangdu route. So after Hua Jiao arrived here, he sent his troops to search and intercept the merchant teams and intercepted all the people and goods, so his momentum grew rapidly.

He also ordered the detained merchants to build fortifications based on several ponds and weirs. Although these forts were not as good as real castle walls, they still had good defensive capabilities among the undulating hills. .

When the Jiankang Division Brigade came here, they first intimidated and repelled them. Seeing that the mob showed no signs of evacuating, Wu Mingche stopped wasting time and immediately ordered an attack.

Although the team led by Hua Jiao arrived early and made a lot of preparations, their equipment was relatively poor. Although a lot of armor and equipment were lost to the people during the Hou Jing Rebellion, Chen Qian also collected a lot of them in Wuxing, but after all, these secretly cultivated disciples were not part of his main force and would not be given too sophisticated weapons.

Therefore, these people could only defend themselves in the camp and did not take the initiative to attack outside. On the contrary, Jiankang's divisions and brigades had to be more active. A thousand archers went to the front to draw their bows and throw them, and there were crossbowmen in the rear to cooperate with the attack and kill the enemies who dared to go out to fight.

Although Zhonghua Jiao in the camp also deployed some crossbowmen to counterattack, the ability to attack from a distance was still somewhat lacking. In addition, there was insufficient armor defense, and the soldiers in the camp continued to be injured and killed by arrows.

However, these soldiers are not ordinary mobs. They have relatively rich experience on the battlefield. After suffering the first round of arrow attacks, they quickly had a rough judgment on the enemy's fire coverage pattern. They no longer continued to gather together, but quickly dispersed, each looking for a bunker, thus reducing casualties.

Those who were unfortunately injured by stray arrows would not yell to disrupt morale, huddle in a corner, or roll over to find cover. The crossbowmen took advantage of the opportunity to shoot outwards. Although the counterattacks were sparse, the hit rate was still relatively high due to the advantage of the terrain on the slope. They even temporarily pushed back an enemy team that tried to attack. , the scene became a little anxious for a while.

"You wait and take a detour from Pinan to cut off the thieves' retreat!"

After arranging the frontal attack mission, Wu Mingche arranged for a cavalry team of 500 people to bypass the weir here, intercept it to the rear, and beware of changes in the enemy's situation to the east.

The undulating terrain here is certainly not conducive to the advancement and retreat of the cavalry, but even just the rapid sound of horse hooves can put considerable psychological pressure on the enemy soldiers in these positions.

The sound of galloping horses in the hills really made the soldiers in the camp look serious. Many of them were from Jiangbei or even Hebei, so they naturally knew that the mobility of cavalry could be used in outflanking and interception operations in the wild. It plays a huge role, but there is no cavalry combat formation on our side. If no reinforcements arrive in the future, this can be said to be a very fatal flaw.

Therefore, someone soon couldn't help but ask Hua Jiao: "Excuse me, General, does my lord have any plans to help this side? The number of enemies coming from the opposite side is far greater than mine, and the offensive is so fierce. Although there is a fortress protection, But it is inevitable that there will be danger day and night, and the guards of the merchant corps cannot fight hard. I am afraid that the strength of the soldiers here alone will not be able to hold the position for a long time! "

Hua Jiao naturally knew that the deployment of soldiers here was a well-prepared and comprehensive arrangement. The main purpose of the master Chen Qian at the moment was to control Wu County. Before this goal was achieved, he was afraid that troops would not be dispatched to rescue this place. Therefore, his mission was to delay the advance of the Jiankang Division brigade as much as possible, buy Wu Jun a certain amount of time, and then wait for an opportunity to break away from the battle.

However, he naturally would not reveal these calculations to the soldiers, so he did not answer the question directly. He just said in a deep voice: "The officers and soldiers are worried about the situation in Wu County, and they must hope for a quick victory. Some people only need to resist the early offensive." , when the situation in Wu County becomes stable, the offensive of the army will naturally weaken! "

Having said that, it is still very difficult to resist the offensive of the army. Wu Mingche himself is a master of strategy, and now he can be said to have learned everything from north to south. When he personally directs the attack, the rhythm of the army's attack becomes faster and faster. It's coming faster and faster, and the attack is becoming more fierce.

Hua Jiao did not have as much experience and tactical skills as Wu Mingche, and he could cope with it at the beginning. However, as the army's offensive gradually strengthened, it became difficult for him to make any effective tactical adjustments. He relied entirely on his soldiers. They used their own experience and quality to defend, but after a fierce battle, they finally had to evacuate this position and move to the rear.

After this shift of position, they retreated for more than several miles. After gradually widening the distance with the obstruction of the officers and soldiers by the early fortifications, they regained a firm foothold. However, the original terrain advantage is no longer worth it. If the army continues to fight as fiercely as before, the battle will inevitably become more difficult.

Fortunately, such a high-intensity battle was not a small burden for the officers and soldiers. Therefore, after capturing the previous positions, Wu Mingche also ordered a suspension of the offensive. The soldiers entered the captured camp and began to carry out the attack on the same spot. Rest.

Seeing that it was getting close to evening, Hua Jiao quickly ordered his men to cook and eat. The enemy and we are not far apart, and setting up camps at night is a common tactic used by the Southern Dynasty army. Therefore, the situation will be more dangerous after nightfall. The soldiers must maintain strong physical strength and energy to deal with what may happen. variable.

In addition, Hua Jiao also wanted to take advantage of the opportunity when the enemy was far away and had just experienced a fierce battle to launch a counterattack against the enemy, hoping to regain the lost ground and regain the terrain advantage.

So during dinner, he specially selected hundreds of elite soldiers and provided them with more exquisite meals, adding half a dried duck breast to each of them.

While these people were enjoying their meal, he explained in a deep voice: "During the previous battle, the officers and soldiers were no longer pursuing as fiercely as they were at the beginning, and it was obvious that they were exhausted. There was still a burst of blood to refresh them, but now they have stopped, and the blood If it subsides, it will inevitably become weaker. If we take advantage of this opportunity to launch an attack, it will be difficult for the enemy to support us. If we attack in groups, we will definitely be able to regain the lost ground!"

After all the soldiers heard this, they immediately looked embarrassed.

Although most of them are experienced soldiers, that was before. After living in Jiangdong, they first served as official slaves in Jiankang City, and later were raised by Chen Qian and then used as foot laborers to transport goods. They are no longer what they used to be. state. Moreover, after experiencing the battle during the day, they also saw that the army's combat effectiveness was quite powerful and their tactics were sophisticated, and they really did not want to fight at night.

When they thought that they would be forced out to fight to the death soon, these people suddenly felt that the duck breast they were chewing no longer tasted good. Although they were not happy in their hearts, because Hua Jiao had always been very strict with the crowd, they were not happy for a while. If they dare to object, they just bury their heads in the rice to hide the dissatisfaction on their faces. As they lower their heads to eat, they gradually begin to make eye contact with each other.

Although Hua Jiao did not go into battle to kill the enemy personally during the day's battle, he had been responding nervously and consumed a lot of energy. Because he still had to prepare to command the night attack later, he went into his tent and slept under the armrest after dinner.

In his sleep, Huajiao suddenly felt a sense of suffocation and difficulty in breathing. When he opened his eyes, his field of vision was completely dark and he could not see anything. He wanted to open his mouth to shout, only to find that his mouth and nose were covered with force. A bad feeling suddenly arose in my heart, and I was about to struggle with arms and legs.

"This bitch is awake! Bind him quickly and surrender to the army. You will no longer serve these thieves!"

After noticing Hua Jiao's movements, several soldiers who entered the tent hurriedly shouted in a low voice, stepped forward to hold Hua Jiao's limbs, and immediately picked up the ropes to tie him up tightly, and covered his head and face with linen cloth. Drag it outside the tent.

When Hua Jiao's vision recovered again, he had already arrived at Wu Mingche's big tent. When he saw Wu Mingche sitting behind the tent with a stern look on his face, his heart suddenly sank, and he hurriedly grabbed the ground with his head, mouthing He shouted loudly: "Marquis Wu, spare your life, Marquis Wu, spare your life! What I have done now was all sent by the envoy of King Linchuan. King Linchuan conspired to rebel against the three Wus. If Marquis Wu is willing to interfere, I am willing to help put down the rebellion!"

After Wu Mingche heard this, he couldn't help but sneer and said disdainfully: "Hua is just a slave of the Linchuan King's family. Now he is taken as a prisoner by his tribe. How can he help Master Wang!"

"Yes, yes! King Linchuan's money and food management plans are all done by someone, and he also knows the location of his warehouse and storehouse..."

In order to save his own life, Hua Jiao no longer cared about being loyal to King Linchuan and hurriedly explained his value.