Chapter 464 The Northern Expedition Begins!

If the Tang army wanted to march north, Xiangyang was a key hub that could not be avoided.

At the beginning, when Wei Qing led the three guards of the Tang army to recapture the important towns along the Yangtze River, the troops had already reached Jingmen and were approaching Xiangyang.

However, just when Wei Qing tried to attack Xiangyang unexpectedly,

Kublai Khan, who reacted quickly, had already ordered the Mongolian and Han troops in Suizhou and Nanyang to set up strict defenses and build an indestructible line of defense.

Although Wei Qing's move alarmed Kublai Khan, Lin Chen did not blame him.

After all, with Kublai Khan's ability, how could he not know the importance of Xiangyang?

It would certainly not give the Tang army an opportunity to take advantage of it.

It was for this reason that Lin Chen made this trip.

He did not intend to launch a large-scale attack on Xiangyang, because even without considering Kublai Khan's reaction speed, the solidity and thickness of Xiangyang, a thousand-year-old ancient city, was enough to daunt any attacker.

So, Lin Chen devised a brilliant plan.

He ordered Shen Lian to arrange hundreds of Jinyiwei elites early on, disguised as merchants in batches over a two-month period, sneaking into the city and waiting for the opportunity.

Surprise attack to seize the city?

No, this is only a small part of the plan.

After all, Xiangyang is not so easy to take down.

You should know that Xiangyang has two layers of inner and outer urn cities, as well as eight water gates, and there are more than 60,000 garrisons inside!

Even if Jinyiwei can seize the gate of Xiangyang by surprise, they will not be able to let the Tang army outside the city in half an hour.

At that time, the best case scenario is that both sides will be deadlocked in the urn city, and then it will turn into a siege with heavy casualties.

Therefore, if this plan is to succeed, it still needs to rely on this thing!

Lin Chen looked at the boxes of fish that were transported into the city with great difficulty, and an elusive smile flashed in his eyes.

At the same time.

A large net of the Tang army, which was intended to go north from Jiangling, was slowly being pulled open.

The third battalion of Longxiang Guard.

As a newly organized guard battalion, most of its members were formed after the Tang King moved into Lin'an.

Except for following Yang Zhi to various coastal areas, they had never experienced any battles.

As for the prefectures along the coast,

Yang Zhi took them down almost without any soldiers, and it was not an exaggeration to say that it was an armed parade.

Therefore, the soldiers of the third battalion of the Tang army, who had never fought against the Mongolian cavalry, were a little nervous.

After all, in the rumors, the northern Jin people were a terrifying existence that could chase the Southern Song army several times larger.

And the Mongols, who could destroy the Jin Dynasty, were even more terrifying.

Now they were about to fight against Mongolia, which made these Tang soldiers feel guilty.

Fortunately,

when these Tang soldiers saw their own captains wearing armor and patrolling the camp, they felt at ease.

It must be said that Yue Fei, who was extracted by the system, was still online in terms of talent and wisdom, and he quickly adapted to the new environment.

At first, most of the soldiers in the army knew that he was imitating Grandpa Yue's deeds, and many of them were disdainful.

But when Yue Fei proved that he was not a good-for-nothing with practical actions, he immediately won the respect and trust of the soldiers in the camp.

Because in the army, it is a place where the capable are superior.

"Brother!"

Yang Zaixing, who came to join the Tang army with Yue Fei, also became the commander of 500 soldiers and the seventh rank after showing his ability.

Seeing that it was Yue Fei, a fellow villager, his tense face was slightly relaxed.

"Brother, are you worried about not being able to complete the military order?" Yang Zaixing laughed, and there was no sign of nervousness at all.

Hearing this, Yue Fei said in a deep voice: "You and I have been valued by the King of Tang when we first arrived. Now we are ordered to take Biaoyang, and we need to be more cautious.

I heard that there are still tens of thousands of Han and Mongolian troops defending Biaoyang, so we need to be careful."

Of course, Yue Fei never had any doubts about the combat effectiveness of the soldiers he led.

It is no exaggeration to say that.

When he came here, he heard about the various things of the Tang army and thought that they were all lies.

But when he saw the training and expenses of the Tang army with his own eyes, he dispelled his doubts.

The reason is simple.

Even in the Han army in the north, or the Mongolian soldiers, they may not get full pay.

It's interesting to say.

From the founding to the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, it was only a short period of ninety-five years.

By the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the number of Mongolian cavalry under Zhu Yuanzhang accounted for almost half!

From a certain perspective.

The iron cavalry that once followed the Mongolian Khan to conquer the world also became part of the oppression of the Mongolian nobles.

Although the Yuan Dynasty was at its peak, these contradictions were not obvious.

But when the contradictions really broke out, even if there was the ability to support the sky, it could not be saved.

Just like Biaoyang County in front of us,

Located at the forefront of the confrontation between the north and the south, after the baptism of war, the county has long become desolate and dilapidated.

There are almost no households living here, only tens of thousands of troops are stationed here.

Therefore, at night, the whole county was dark, without any fire.

There were about a hundred Han soldiers guarding the city wall tonight.

This was expected, after all, the Mongolian master who was high above could not be delayed to rest.

The Han soldiers who usually endured humiliation had to stand guard in the cold wind at night, so they naturally complained and their minds were not on guard.

Seven or eight soldiers sat in a circle, warming themselves under the weak torches, stamping their feet from time to time to dispel the cold.

There were even a few generals of ten people gathered together, playing dice and chatting to relieve boredom.

So that under the reflection of the torches, there were shadowy figures groping towards the city, and no one noticed.

Yang Zaixing was seen, biting a short knife and holding a hook rope.

After throwing the hook in his hand onto the top of the city wall and making sure it was firmly grasped, he led a group of Tang soldiers to climb up along the rope with agility.

"The credit for being the first to climb the city wall belongs to me!" Yang Zaixing thought to himself, with a gleam in his eyes.

Puff!

A dozing Mongolian and Han soldier had his throat cut in an instant.

After Yang Zaixing knocked him down, he called his men to the top of the city wall.

Everything went as expected.

As long as the Tang army soldiers reinforced a few more people, they could raise the flag and sound the horn, seize the city wall, and let the army outside the city enter the city.

What to do.

Although the Mongolian and Han troops were somewhat relaxed, they were elite troops who followed Mongolia in the north and south.

When the hundred generals on the top of the city wall smelled a hint of blood, their faces changed drastically and they howled immediately: "Enemy attack!"

But the sound did not echo for a moment before it was interrupted by a sound of breaking through the air.

Puff!

A long spear flew like lightning and pinned him to death.

Yang Zaixing saw that the matter was exposed, so he no longer covered it up, drew his sword and shouted:

"Follow me to seize the city gate!"

The Mongolian and Han soldiers on the city wall were shocked when they heard it, and they didn't know why a group of enemy soldiers suddenly appeared around them.

Just when they wanted to resist, they found that these enemies were extremely fierce, so they had to besiege them in groups of three or five.

Tear!

A burly Mongolian and Han soldier wearing heavy armor seized the opportunity and stabbed Yang Zaixing fiercely.

However, surprisingly,

despite the amazing power of this attack, when the short spear touched Yang Zaixing's body, it seemed to be blocked by an invisible force. No matter how hard the Mongolian and Han soldiers tried, the long spear in their hands seemed to be fixed and could not go any further.

The Mongolian and Han soldiers were shocked, looked down, and their eyes widened in an instant.

Yang Zaixing's big hand was like a clamp, holding the spear tightly, motionless.

Before he could recover from the shock, a cold light flashed, and the knife light was like snow.

In the blink of an eye, the head of the Mongolian and Han soldiers fell off!

"You guys go and open the city gate quickly!"

Yang Zaixing knew that the situation was urgent and it was not suitable for a long battle, so he shouted loudly to his men.

And he flashed and rushed into the enemy formation like a ghost to buy time for his men.

The Tang army soldiers responded to the call.

Some of them were responsible for operating the city gate mechanism, while others resisted the enemy's attack at the city gate to buy more time for the city gate to open.

For a while, the city gate was full of flames and shouts of killing shook the earth.

Rumble!

Accompanied by a dull roar, the heavy city gate of Biaoyang City finally opened slowly.

The horn outside the city sounded, resounding through the sky, echoing in the open fields outside the city, and it lasted for a long time.

By the time dawn broke, corpses were everywhere in Biaoyang County.

Only Tang soldiers holding sharp blades were still cleaning the battlefield.

They kept moving the corpses on the ground.

If it was a colleague's body, they would collect it and wait for the Tang army to arrive and then send it back to the rear for burial.

If it was a Mongolian-Han army, or a Mongolian army, they would just give it another stab to prevent them from pretending to be dead!

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