"I heard that Li Chuang's main force is in Daming Prefecture, and Chengtian Prefecture is short of troops. Why don't we take the opportunity to attack Chengtian Prefecture!" Hui Dengxiang suggested.
Ma Jinzhong shook his head: "Not appropriate, Chengtian Prefecture is the only way to Xiangyang, Li Chuang must have deployed a large number of troops here, it is better to attack Jingzhou."
"Jingzhou? Just the two of us?" Hui Dengxiang's face turned pale.
Before Yuan Jixian dismissed the old, weak, sick and disabled soldiers, the combined strength of the two of them was nearly 30,000.
After the military reduction, the total force is only 15,000!
These troops are more than enough to attack an ordinary city.
But Jingzhou is not the case.
Jingzhou, a place that is fought over by military strategists, can be described in four words: easy to defend but difficult to attack!
The city wall of Jingzhou is about three zhang high and three zhang and three feet thick at the bottom. There are three soldier caves and twenty-four artillery batteries on the wall.
The inner wall of the city wall is built with rammed earth, and the outer wall is built with stone slabs and blue bricks with lime and glutinous rice paste, about three feet thick.
With their limited military strength, it is simply a fantasy to capture Jingzhou.
Even if they managed to capture Jingzhou by chance, the price they paid would be heavy.
Although they are loyal to the court, they do not want to lose their troops!
There are soldiers and generals, and they are the generals.
Without soldiers and generals, they are criminals of the court!
After realizing this problem, Ma Jinzhong also felt that something was wrong and changed his words: "With our limited number of troops, we can't defeat Chengtianfu and Jingzhou."
"Why don't you guard Jingling while I lead the main force to attack Qianjiang, eighty miles southwest."
"After we capture Qianjiang, we will send a report to Governor Yuan. Whether we attack Jingzhou or Chengtianfu, if he doesn't send troops to support us, we can't fight!"
"That's great!" Hui Dengxiang agreed without hesitation.
Unexpectedly.
Before Ma Jinzhong set out, he received a letter of surrender from the Qianjiang County magistrate.
Ma Jinzhong asked the messenger, "Are there any bandits in Qianjiang City?"
"No, all those who surrendered to the enemy retreated to Jingzhou a month ago."
After receiving this news, Ma Jinzhong began to be glad that he had not rashly attacked Jingzhou before.
"Then...how many bandits are there in Jingzhou?"
"I don't know."
"Do you really not know, or are you deliberately hiding it? Do you believe that I will chop off your head?" Ma Jinzhong threatened.
"I really don't know. The person who came from Jingzhou just said that there are traitors in the city, but he didn't say how many there are." The person who delivered the letter was so scared that he burst into tears.
Ma Jinzhong said with disgust: "Go back and tell the county magistrate to be prepared. I will send people into the city in two days."
"As you command!" The messenger bowed and left as if he had been pardoned.
After the Qianjiang County Magistrate's messenger left, Hui Dengxiang asked, "Brother Ma, aren't you afraid of being fooled?"
He suspected that Zhang Xianzhong had deployed heavy troops in Qianjiang, waiting for them to take the bait.
Of course Ma Jinzhong was afraid.
What he said just now was just to appease the other party.
After some thought, Ma Jinzhong came up with an idea: "Only by knowing ourselves and the enemy can we win every battle. Let's not rush to attack."
"What do you mean?" Hui Dengxiang looked at Ma Jinzhong.
Ma Jinzhong came to the table and unfolded the map.
The cities of the entire Huguang region suddenly came into view.
Ma Jinzhong pointed to Qianjiang first: "Tomorrow I will send people to Qianjiang to investigate the situation in the city to avoid being ambushed by bandits."
"At the same time, send people to Jingzhou and Chengtianfu to investigate the deployment of the bandits' troops in the city."
"Finally, send a few more people back to Wuchang to ask Governor Yuan for reinforcements! Whether we attack Chengtian Prefecture or Jingzhou, Governor Yuan has the final say!"
Hui Dengxiang applauded and laughed: "Excellent, really wonderful!"
Two days later.
Ma Jinzhong was the first to receive the news from Qianjiang County.
"There are less than a thousand soldiers guarding Qianjiang County, and the people are living and working in peace. No bandits have been spotted in the city."
Five days later, Ma Jinzhong received a reply from Yuan Jixian.
There was only one word in the letter: wait.
What are you waiting for?
Yuan Jixian didn't say anything.
Ma Jinzhong and Hui Dengxiang did not dare to ask any more questions and could only continue to rest their troops in Jingling.
Ten days later.
The news from Jingzhou and Chengtian Prefecture was delivered to Ma Jinzhong at the same time.
After reading the news, Ma Jinzhong took a breath and began to admire Yuan Jixian's prudence.
"Send this information to Governor Yuan immediately!"
......
Wuchang Prefecture.
The herald officer ran into the central army tent quickly: "Report!"
"Reporting to Governor Yuan, the coalition forces of Jin Shenghuan, Xu Guodong, Wu Xueli, and Lu Ding have captured Hanyang and are heading to Yuezhou!"
"How many defenders are there in Yuezhou?"
"According to General Jin Shenghuan, the Yuezhou garrison numbered approximately 8,000 to 9,000 men, but other information is unknown."
"Okay, tell them to surround but not attack."
"yes."
As soon as the first herald left, the second one walked in quickly.
"Reporting to Governor Yuan, Ma Jinzhong sent a report."
"The army has successfully recaptured Qianjiang, and has detected the enemy in Jingzhou and Chengtianfu. The thief Zhang Xian has stationed 30,000 troops in Jingzhou and prepared a large number of city defense equipment. The thief Li Chuang has stationed 5,000 troops in Chengtianfu. In addition, according to gossip, Li Yan and Hong Niangzi are leading thousands of elite troops to Chengtianfu, and their intentions are unclear."
Yuan Jixian frowned.
Why did Li Yan and Hongniang come to Huguang instead of helping Li Chuang defeat Huang Degong?
Previously, he was 90% sure of taking Jingzhou, but now the 90% chance has become 50-50.
Because...Li Yan is here!
He is not an easy person to deal with!
Yuan Jixian opened the map, disrupted all previous plans, and then re-arranged them in his mind.
Jingzhou is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Zhang Xianzhong stationed 20,000 troops here, obviously ready to hold on.
Yuezhou is facing the same situation.
What was Zhang Xianzhong's purpose in doing this?
Obviously to stop him from marching westward.
Zhang Xianzhong's main force was fighting Qin Liangyu in the eastern Sichuan area, and the two sides were evenly matched. Once he joined the battle, this delicate balance would be broken.
Zhang Xianzhong would be faced with a situation where he could not take care of both ends.
"Jingzhou...Jingzhou!" Yuan Jixian kept repeating the place name.
beat?
Even if we lose many soldiers and generals, we may not be able to win the battle.
Don’t fight?
He has tens of thousands of soldiers but is afraid to advance. Even ten heads would be enough to kill him.
"Send an order, order the 20,000 troops stationed in Jiujiang to move to Wuchang. After arriving in Wuchang, leave 10,000 men to garrison, and the other 10,000 men to join me in besieging Yuezhou."
"Order Prime Minister Hui Deng to garrison in Jingling County to guard against possible invasions from Chengtian Prefecture."
"Order Ma Jinzhong to station in Qianjiang and wait for the opportunity."
"Oh, by the way, send a report to Nanjing, saying that the army is about to attack Hanyang, and urge the court to replenish the overdue armor and weapons as soon as possible."
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