Chapter 465 Blooming

As the saying goes in the art of war: avoid the real and use the weak to attack its key points.

For the Mongolian army on the front line in Xiangyang, the Tang army heading north along Jiangling was like a tiger descending from the mountain, unstoppable.

In less than two days, except Xiangyang, Biaoyang, Suizhou and Fangzhou, they were all quickly captured by the Tang army.

Its offensive is so ferocious and devastating!

Although the Mongolian troops stationed in these three places numbered as many as 50,000, and there were many elite troops, they were still defeated by the fierce attack of the Tang army.

Note,

Except for Biaoyang, which was led by the third battalion of Longxiang Guards led by Yue Fei, Wei Qing personally led the army to attack the other two places. The 80,000 Tang troops attacked fiercely and were almost invincible.

nature.

It is not that there are no Mongolian generals who want to confront Wei Qing head-on.

But these Mongolian generals were horrified to find that the southern Han people, who in their minds should be as weak as sheep, actually had such fighting power? !

Especially in the Battle of Fangzhou, more than 20,000 Mongolian troops were completely wiped out by the Tang army led by Wei Qing in the field.

Although the larger number bullied the smaller number, the Tang army's casualties afterward were less than 2,000!

The changes in Xiangyang soon reached the hands of Kublai Khan.

After hearing the news, the Yuan Shizu was furious.

Before he could raise his troops to march south, the Tang army had already begun the northern expedition? !

When did the Han people have such courage?

Thinking of this, Kublai Khan couldn't help but think of the battle at Dingjiazhou that day.

For him, what he experienced that day was a great shame in his life!

What made Kublai Khan even more worried was that,

That day, he witnessed with his own eyes the five thousand Qixue Guards under his command being defeated by a ghost-faced general with three thousand cavalry in a field battle!

Later, I also learned that the ghost-faced general from that day was the current King of Tang, Lin Chen!

"Order Xiangyang to strictly observe!"

Kublai Khan gritted his teeth and issued the order, and at the same time mobilized the troops of Han princes around Xiangyang to support him.

Soldiers recruited from various places in the north are also constantly gathering in the capital of the Yuan Dynasty.

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At the same time, in Xiangyang City.

"Oh, there's a war again!"

"You and I are just ordinary people, what can we do?"

"Then the Tang army must have had heavy thunder but little rain. Maybe they can't even reach the foot of Xiangyang City!"

As the hub of the Han River, Xiangyang was considered a big city in this era, with a constant flow of merchant ships and more than 300,000 residents.

Although this place was the territory of the Southern Song Dynasty, the people here did not have much hope for the Tang army.

Because they all knew the weakness of the Southern Song Army, they naturally were not optimistic about the Tang Army's Northern Expedition.

Lin Chen listened to the murmurs of the people on the street, but he didn't take it to heart.

Instead, he learned some stories about his father-in-law and his mother-in-law from these gossips.

It turned out that after the Mongols occupied Xiangyang, some righteous people spontaneously collected the bodies of Guo Jing and his wife who died for the country and erected a monument to commemorate them.

This move naturally angered the local Mongolian governor. He regarded it as an act against the people. Not only did he arrest these martyrs, he even tore down the monument.

But after arresting people and pushing down the monument, someone quietly erected a new monument within a few days.

After several attempts, the Mongolian governor was too tired to deal with it and finally had to let it go.

It can be seen that Guo Jing and his wife are very popular among the people in Xiangyang.

Lin Chen couldn't help but shake his head and laugh when he thought of something.

"Husband?"

At this time, Guo Xiang noticed a smile in Lin Chen's eyes and cast a curious look.

But after being scratched on the bridge of his nose by his apprentice, he turned his head shyly, feeling quite embarrassed.

Only Guo Fu stood aside.

We are an old couple, we have never seen anything before, why are we so embarrassed to be so intimate?

However, Guo Fu is just a strong talker.

Every time there was a bed issue, she would yell no and let her sister take over.

On the other hand, Guo Xiang looks weak, but he has the ability to accept all rivers and be tolerant.

Of course, Lin Chen was not just idle these past two days.

He personally surveyed the terrain and layout of Xiangyang City and determined several key locations to prepare for the next plan.

...

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

As a long fishing horn sounded, countless boat shadows on the river flew down the river like shuttles, breaking the tranquility of the night.

This is the navy led by the two brothers Zhang Heng and Zhang Shun.

They were like ghosts in the dark night, hiding day and night, and had just arrived outside Xiangyang along Ezhou and Hanyang.

"Brother, is there a signal?"

The night was dark and Zhang Shun, who was still several miles away from Xiangyang, had a hint of urgency in his voice.

"No hurries?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Heng just muttered, but did not lower his hand from the knife on his waist.

According to the established plan,

After they arrive in Xiangyang, they will wait for signals from the city.

For this plan, the navy ship also carried nearly 20,000 elite soldiers of the Tang Army.

At that time, the Tang navy will enter the city through the eight water gates of Xiangyang and launch an attack from within.

At this time, in Xiangyang City, the Jin Yiwei and Jianghu masters who had been prepared for a long time carefully lifted a pontoon-style device from the cellar.

"Remember, place this object on the water gate. Evacuate quickly after lighting it. Don't stay." Shen Lian whispered to his men, reminding him of the precautions for placing explosives.

Lin Chen, Guo Fu, and Guo Xiang had already put on warrior attire to facilitate movement.

Tonight, the three of them also have important matters.

"Your Highness, this is the distribution map of the residences of Mongolian officials and generals in the city as found by the Jin Yiwei." Shen Lian respectfully handed the two maps to Lin Chen's hands.

Lin Chen took the map, browsed it quickly, and handed it to Guo Xiang.

In order to ensure that the Tang navy can enter the city smoothly, they must first prevent the main military commander in the city from reacting in time.

How can this be done?

That is of course to send them to the west first.

At night, there was a quiet in the Xiangyang prefectural government.

This Mongolian nobleman who was in charge of Xiangyang and had a unified military and political power was also a relative of the Golden Family.

If not, it would not be his turn to be the prefect.

Regardless of his ability, this Mongolian nobleman was lazy and greedy for pleasure.

In order to please him, the wealthy families and some Han officials in Xiangyang City spared no effort to offer beautiful women, gold and silver antiques, etc.

However, tonight, this pot-bellied prefect tossed and turned and had difficulty falling asleep.

The reason was simple.

According to the report from the servants, the Tang army was close to Xiangyang!

Fortunately, he recently learned the news.

As long as he held on in Xiangyang for half a month, the great Khan would lead his troops to come in person.

By then, the Tang army would be nothing but ghosts under the iron hoof!

With this thought in mind, the governor was about to hug several maids presented by local wealthy families and fall asleep.

But he didn't expect that.

A loud noise like thunder suddenly echoed in Xiangyang City.

This sudden sound shocked people like a bolt from the blue, and the whole city fell into panic.

"What happened? What happened?!"

The governor also shouted in panic, and rushed out without caring that he was only wearing underwear.

The two brothers Zhang Heng and Zhang Shun outside the city were overjoyed when they heard the sound.

The signal they had been waiting for for a long time finally came!

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