Chapter 966                 

It is a military vision that a commander should have to infer the opponent's offensive plan and defensive strategy from the distribution of the opponent's troops.

Judging from the sand table, Su Yi did not unite his troops, nor did he have the stance to attack Xiangyang at all. Instead, he had a faint siege.

To put it simply, the Qin army intends to occupy the surrounding areas of Xiangyang, making the central giant city isolated.

Hanzhou also quickly proposed this hypothesis.

At this time, some generals began to question the previous strategy of concession, believing that the loss of Zaocheng directly led to the fall of several counties north of Xiangyang, so that the current situation was completely passive.

Hanzhou insisted on his own opinion and said: "This time the Qin army went south, our army only adopted a strategic defense with Xiangyang as the most important. This place is also the first to clash between the north and the south. The King of Qin did not allow it and would never dare to cross the river. Therefore, if Xiangyang is there, Chu will have no worries."

What he said is correct. Since ancient times, Xiangyang has been a place where military strategists must compete for. If you get this place and get Jianghan, that is, the gates of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River will be wide open, and there will be no dangerous passes to guard. Once you go down the river, Jiangnan can get it at your fingertips.

On the contrary, if there was no place, there would be no way to stay. The transportation was extremely inconvenient at that time, especially in the Yangtze River area, where the water network was densely populated and it was not suitable for infantry and cavalry combat. This was very unfavorable for the Qin army. However, once Xiangyang was available, it would not only be able to stay in large troops, but also be well connected, and could drive straight in, connecting north and south, and cross east and west.

The strategic location here can be seen.

To take a step back, the Qin army did not dare to bypass the path at all. Due to geographical reasons, they would be unable to carry food, supplies, and could not pass through the army. They would also be at risk of being cut off by the Xiangyang defenders at any time.

Therefore, anyone who uses troops will regard this place as the key to the decisive victory of the north and the south.

While the defensive strategy remained unchanged, Hanzhou immediately wrote a letter to the King of Chu to report on the battle situation here and also proposed to him the strategy of asking the Wu army to station in Linzhang.

He wrote in his letter:

Now the Qin army has the momentum of long siege. As a strategic plan for the Yangtze River, it should prompt the Wu army to station troops in Zhangzhou and form a horn with Xiangyang City, and then defend it, and then there will be no worries in the southern territory...

Once Linzhang stationed troops again, the possibility of the Qin army taking a detour was directly strangled to death.

After receiving his letter, the King of Chu started urgent consultations with a group of ministers.

At this moment, King Xiao Yuan of Qin dispatched another 300,000 troops and marched his troops south.

At this point, the Qin State's southern expedition had reached more than 500,000 sea and land troops.

Half a month later, outside Xiangyang City.

Xiao Yuan arrived on a war horse and an elite force. The other main troops were stationed in various fortresses behind him, and could echo each other at any time.

At this time, all suspension bridges in Xiangyang were unloaded and the floating bridges were broken. In other words, Hanzhou destroyed all the bridges leading to the city, and achieved complete isolation and unblocking the city.

Xiao Yuan was wearing a black brocade dress, a jade hairpin tied with his hair, and followed by a group of senior generals.

After arriving here, the breeze blew, and the moat in front of me was sparkling. With a view, it was at least 50 feet away from the opposite side.

What is the concept of more than 50 meters? One hundred and sixty-seven meters. This width is conceivable for ancient siege battles.

After observing for a while, Xiao Yuan couldn't help but sigh: "Xiangyang City is worthy of being the world's number one city, based on the steep mountains and dangerous rivers."

Peng Shuang also widened his eyes and said, "This, this, most of our soldiers are northern infantrymen, how can we swim over?"

"If you know how to swim, you can pass?" Xiao Yuan gave him a blank look, looked around again, and said, "No wonder Jin attacked Chu and surround Xiangyang for several years. This place not only stubbornly stances, but also easy to defend but difficult to attack."

As he said that, he also rolled the reins: "Go and go and take a look elsewhere."

On the top of the city, Hanzhou also looked out of the city with a group of generals.

When I saw Xiao Yuan's Qin army, although the distance was too far, I couldn't see clearly, but there were still generals saying: "I received a military report saying that the King of Qin led his army to fight in person. The main army had arrived at the front line. I expected that I would also come to inspect the city defense of Xiangyang this time."

Hanzhou sneered and said, "Let him see, it's better to give up."

After inspecting the Xiangyang defense line, Xiao Yuan also returned to the main camp.

In the central army's tent, the generals lined up on both sides and clasped their fists together: "The King——"

Xiao Yuan waved his hand to signal everyone to avoid gifts and walked to the handsome case.

Next, it will naturally be a congression.

Looking at the terrain today, in summary, Xiangyang's city is tall and solid, the moat is too wide and the water is too deep, and the infantry is insurmountable.

Based on this issue, Goldman Sachs first proposed a strategy of recruiting nearby fishermen's boats, transforming them, and using small warships to quickly cross the river.

As a result, as soon as he finished speaking, the counselor Wang Su shook his head slightly and said, "Even if there are ships now, how many soldiers can a small ship carry? The Chu army will definitely set up bows and crossbow formations along the moat on the other side, waiting for the rabbits. At that time, the soldiers crossing the river will become living targets."

"Let's take a step back, even if our army can fight bloody battles across the river, they will not be able to carry siege equipment. When they arrive at the city, they will only be killed in vain."

This is what it means to say. Such huge rushing vehicles, siege crossbows, stone throwing machines, and long ladders are also inconvenient and difficult to transport to the other side. Without these, even if the soldiers rushed over some of them in bloody battles, they could only look up at the tall city walls.

Goldman Sachs was also speechless and stuttered: "Then, then can we only besiege Xiangyang like Duke Jin back then?"

The generals stopped talking, and were frowning slightly and thinking about something.

In fact, siege of Xiangyang is not a good idea, because there was military intelligence, and Hanzhou had stored a large amount of food, grass and weapons, which could be used by the Chu army for three to five years. If it was just a siege, it would be the end.

If only Qin and Chu were in the world, Xiao Yuan could have spent several years, but now there are Wu and Ling countries, so the war could not be so stalemate.

"Can you take a water attack?" A general said tentatively.

Wang Su shook his head again: "Even if there is a water storage place, the terrain of Xiangyang cannot flow backwards. Since ancient times to the present, Xiangyang City has not had a history of submersion."

Water attack depends on the terrain, otherwise there will be no impact from mountain torrents.

At this time, Su Yi, who had not spoken, suddenly said: "Then do the opposite."

Hearing this, several strategists were stunned, while Xiao Yuan felt aroused in his heart and said quietly: "What do you mean is to drain the water of the Xiangyang moat?"

"The king is wise." Su Yi said: "The wars in Xiangyang have always been dominated by siege and battles, and there are few strong attacks, but it is not impossible to make any progress. Our army can first cut off the water source in the upstream, then open a canal downstream, and divert water out. No matter how big the moat is, it will dry up."

Su Yi has always been a deceitful military genius, and military geniuses are not just talking about it.
Chapter completed!