Outside Jiujiang City.
Li Xuanshang looked at the distant Jiujiang City, which was teetering on the brink of collapse but still standing strong.
He also looked very unwell. He had followed his uncle in raising an army in Liaodong and had fought across the north and the Central Plains.
I've never encountered such a tenacious opponent before.
The opponents they encountered either surrendered at the mere sight of them or suffered a complete rout.
They had only fought such a brutal siege battle before, when they attacked the capital.
Li Xuanshang put down his binoculars, stepped down from the high place, and looked at Jin Hufu, who was leading his army, and asked:
"Governor Jin, does that Yan Yingyuan in the city only have a little over 30,000 troops?"
Jin Hufu looked at Li Qin's nephew in front of him and nodded, saying:
"Yes, Yan Yingyuan only brought more than 30,000 troops with him in Jiujiang City."
Li Xuanshang looked at Jiujiang City in the distance. Although he continued to attack Jiujiang, he was certain that he would eventually be able to take it down.
However, it takes too much time, since the actual army in Jiujiang City only numbered over 30,000.
Then let's not waste any more time here.
It should be noted that his goal was to conquer Jiangnan, not to take Jiujiang.
Anyway, there are only 30,000 people in the city opposite, and it's an isolated city.
He left a portion of his army to continue besieging Jiujiang, while he led the main force to continue his eastward expedition to Jiangnan.
Since Jiangxi had already submitted to them, they had gained another place to resupply.
Li Xuanshang then summoned Zhang Bingwu, Liu Wusheng, and others, instructing them to continue besieging Jiujiang City with their main forces, while also leaving them with an additional number of soldiers.
They also ordered the Jinhu Prefecture to send a force to assist in the battle, bringing the total number of troops to over 80,000.
Let them continue to watch over and besiege the 30,000 troops inside Jiujiang City.
Li Xuanshang then continued to lead his army eastward to attack the Jiangnan court.
Upon arriving at Hukou, they received news that the Nanjing imperial army, led by Grand Secretary Shi Kefa, was advancing into Anqing with its superior navy.
Upon learning this news, Li Xuanshang frowned.
Because Anqing is a strategically important town, if Anqing cannot be captured, it will be very difficult to attack Nanjing.
Moreover, judging from the situation, Nanjing has placed almost all of its troops in Anqing.
That would make things much harder.
Faced with Li Xuanshang's predicament, Jin Hufu, who had accompanied the army eastward, stepped forward and said:
"General, I have a plan to break through Jiangnan."
Upon hearing Jin Hufu's words, Li Xuanshang was delighted and then asked Jin Hufu:
"Governor Kim, please tell me your plan."
Jin Hufu then said to Li Xuanshang:
"General, the Jiangnan court has now gathered its army in Anqing, leaving Jiangnan vulnerable."
We've been garrisoning Jiangxi for years; why don't we take a detour through Jiangxi and Zhejiang, pass through Jinhua, launch a surprise attack on Hangzhou, and march from the south into Jiangnan?"
After Jin Hufu finished speaking, Li Xuanshang nodded repeatedly.
Indeed, the military forces in Jiangnan are now concentrated in Anqing on the Yangtze River.
Then they will be vulnerable in Jiangnan. If I suddenly attack from Hangzhou, I can definitely take over Jiangnan in one fell swoop.
He then summoned his generals and made arrangements for the army's next steps.
That means splitting into two groups.
Liu Chenghui led the army to continue the eastward attack on Anqing, while he personally led 40,000 elite troops, plus 40,000 troops led by Jin Hufu.
A total of 80,000 troops bypassed Zhejiang and marched from Hangzhou toward Nanjing.
After the deployment was completed, with Li Xuanshang's order, the army split into two groups at Hukou.
One route continued eastward, while the other went south, passing through Jiangxi and then Zhejiang.
Huainan.
After Li Qin dispatched Dugu Yu to lead troops to attack Fengyang Prefecture, he did not leave the entire army there.
Instead, he dispersed a large portion of his army, ordering them to attack other prefectures in Huainan.
Yangzhou, in particular, is currently the wealthiest region north of the Yangtze River; we must take it over.
Take over the entire Huainan region, except for these three towns and all the other prefectures and counties.
To acquire food and supplies from the city to replenish the army's losses.
Otherwise, with hundreds of thousands of troops, the daily consumption would be unsustainable, even with his considerable preparations.
Therefore, he tried his best to obtain food and supplies in enemy territory to supply his army.
For every kilogram of grain obtained from the local area, one can save dozens of kilograms for oneself.
For Yangzhou, the wealthiest city in Huainan, Li Qin dispatched his most trusted general, Qi Duchen.
After all, he was the one I trusted the most, so sending him to attack Yangzhou was the most suitable thing for me.
Li Qin, on the other hand, led his army and stationed it on a high point in Fengyang City.
Through the telescope, I watched as Dugu Yu led his army and drove the people to attack Fengyang City.
Li Qin frowned as he looked at the Fengyang city defenses, which had been repeatedly repaired and reinforced.
According to intelligence, Qi Jiguang, the garrison commander of Fengyang, was the garrison commander of Fengyang before he was promoted to the Beijing garrison.
He has deep roots in Fengyang and a profound understanding of the city, thanks to his efforts in renovation and other projects over this period.
It probably won't be too easy to win.
Through his telescope, Li Qin could see a small number of iron caltrops, antler wood, horse traps, chevaux-de-frise, and moats outside Fengyang City, as well as the sheep and horse wall behind them.
Only after we climb over the sheep and horse wall can we reach the city wall behind it.
At this moment, what Dugu Yu was doing was to gather the people he had collected during this period and have them risk their lives to fill in the gaps in these defense lines.
Meanwhile, as the people risked their lives to fill the city walls, the cannons brought by Li Qin began bombarding them.
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