Chapter 611 0606 [Persuading Surrender and Dissociation]

After losing control of Dongting Lake, the Chu army of Lujiaozhai had to retreat southward by land.

But forty miles to the south, the Miluo River was in front of them.

The Ming army approached, and the Chu army did not dare to retreat directly.

Because the victorious Ming navy could sail to the mouth of the Miluo River at ease. Then they sent out small ships to find out the traces of the Chu army along the way, harassing them when they crossed the river, and contacted and cooperated with the army to launch a half-crossing attack.

"We can't retreat directly to the south, but we have to retreat." Zhou Lun said.

Several generals of the Chu army, Gao Lai had died in battle, Yang Yao was seriously injured and captured, and Lei Dejin was still confused after the defeat.

Now, only Zhong Yi and Zhou Lun can make the decision.

Zhong Yi had been looking ahead and behind, but at this critical moment of life and death, he became responsible: "Retreat eastward first, there are many small rivers over there. As long as our army retreats in an orderly manner, we can attack the pursuing enemy halfway at any time. The enemy Ming will not dare to chase at full speed."

Zhou Lun pointed to the map and said: "There is a water fort at the mouth of Guiyi River, and the friendly forces there can support the main force. Send a fast ship to report to Pingjiang County, let them collect all the ships, and choose a secret place at night for the main force to cross the river."

"Just retreat to the mouth of Guiyi River and don't leave," Zhong Yi said, "There is Pingjiang County to the east as a support, and the county can be withdrawn at any time, and there will be no shortage of military food. If your majesty leads reinforcements, you can also station troops in Guiyi Water Fort and wait for an opportunity to rescue Lujiaozhai."

Luoshui flows from northeast to southwest, and Miluo River flows straight west in Pingjiang County. After the two rivers converge, it is Miluo River.

The confluence is the mouth of Guiyi River, which is also the location of Miluo City in later generations.

Zhong Yi and Zhou Lun quickly determined the battle plan: Zhong Yi led the main force to retreat in a roundabout way, and Zhou Lun led 5,000 troops to defend Lujiao Village and cover the rear.

The fundamental reason for the main force to retreat was that they did not know when Zhong Xiang would bring troops to rescue.

Even if they came, the reinforcements might be blocked in the Miluo River.

There were too many troops in Lujiao Village, and the food supply route would soon be cut off. If it dragged on for a month or two, there would be a shortage of food, and at that time they could only fish and pick up river clams for a living.

The main force withdrew to the mouth of Guiyi River, which could not only relieve the pressure on military food, but also protect the food supply route from Pingjiang County. As long as they held the mouth of the river, they could also prevent the Ming army from going south, and receive Zhong Xiang's reinforcements, providing a bridgehead for the Chu army's counterattack.

The elite Chu army had strong execution ability, and they took action immediately after finalizing the plan.

When Zhong Yi led the main force to withdraw, he did not bring much baggage, and he traveled lightly along the river.

Zhou Lun left 2,000 people to guard the village, and led his troops to intercept the Ming army. Lei Dejin was also asked to lead the remaining navy and hide in the military port between the two "deer horns", forming a three-dimensional water and land defense system coordinated by twin castles and warships.

The south is densely covered with water networks, and this is not a joke.

It is only 20 miles from Bai Qi and Wang Yuan's garrison to Lujiaozhai, but five unknown small rivers must be crossed in the middle (Xinqiang River had not yet been formed in the Song Dynasty, and it was dispersed into many small rivers flowing into Dongting Lake).

Every time they crossed a river, Bai Qi and Wang Yuan were cautious, first sending reconnaissance troops to cross the river to check, then sending elite soldiers to cross the river to gain a foothold, and then letting the large troops cross the river in several places.

There was no way, fearing that the new army would be ambushed, and once they were attacked halfway across the river, they would be finished.

They also had elite veterans, but only 6,000 people, all of whom were Bai Qi's direct line brought from Shuzhong.

Among them, Bai Qi's personal soldiers were 3,000, and the remaining 3,000 were Lin Chong's troops.

At a small river only more than ten meters wide, Zhou Lun, who was responsible for the rear guard, met tens of thousands of Ming troops.

When Zhong Yi withdrew, he left many flags behind, which were now used by Zhou Lun and inserted in the woods along the river to disguise as an ambush.

Wang Yuan observed with a telescope for a while and said: "The main force of the enemy may have escaped. We have gathered troops quickly. Now is not the time to harvest rice. The Chu army cannot mobilize enough food and grass to Lujiaozhai."

"What if the main force of the Chu army did not leave?" Lin Chong asked.

Bai Qi smiled and said: "Then surround them but do not attack. Set up camps to waste time with them, and then let the navy cut off the Miluo River and Xiangjiang River. Our army is just short of food and grass, but Zhong Xiang is surrounded by enemies. If we spend another month here, the friendly forces in Jiangxi and Guangxi can capture more counties. What's more, there are also righteous armies of various ethnic groups attacking together."

While the three were talking, the reconnaissance troops had been deployed, and several crossing points needed to be determined.

In the afternoon, the main force of the Ming army was divided into five places to cross the river.

Zhou Lun's soldiers were too few to dare to stop them easily. He only shot arrows to harass them and quickly retreated to the direction of Lujiaozhai.

He could only do this. If the main force of the Ming army chased to the southeast, Zhong Yi could only find a way to get rid of it.

However, the Ming army did not chase the main force of the Chu army, but cautiously approached Lujiaozhai.

Bai Qi, Wang Yuan, and Lin Chong had no choice. More than 80% of their troops belonged to the new army. If there were another 10,000 elite troops, they would have split up and killed directly at the mouth of Guiyi River.

In the evening of the same day, the Ming army completed the siege of Lujiaozhai.

Lujiaozhai can be said to be like a deer horn, or it can be said to be similar to a crab claw.

There are twin castles at both ends of the claw, and the water fort and navy in the middle of the claw. There is also a small river that flows to the middle of the claw and merges into Dongting Lake, and two other tributaries separate the entire claw.

The terrain is extremely complex!

This is Lujiao Kiln, one of the six major pottery capitals in the Tang and Song dynasties. It was also the garrison base when Yue Fei conquered Yang Yao. In the Ming Dynasty, the patrol inspection office was also set up here to control the disaster of Dongting Lake.

If this place can be captured, even if Zhong Xiang cannot be eliminated this year, it is equivalent to putting Zhong Xiang in a cage.

Bai Qi and Wang Yuan set up camps separately, with their camps located in the northeast and east of Lujiaozhai.

Bai Qi's camp was close to Dongting Lake, and military rations were transported directly from Dongting Lake by water, so he could cooperate with the navy during battle.

The Ming Dynasty navy was divided into two, and one half was used to block the Xiangjiang River and Miluo River.

On that day, no troops were sent to attack the stronghold, but iron cannons were used to bombard the fortress.

After a full day of shelling, Yingxuan once again sent people to persuade them to surrender.

Zhou Lun said to the messenger who persuaded him to surrender: "Let the dog thief named Ying come here in person. He is the Holy Duke who was canonized by the master back then. I am only a Holy Marquis until now. If you want to persuade the surrender, the Holy Duke will talk to the Holy Marquis face to face!"

The messenger went back and reported truthfully.

Yingxuan immediately set off in a small boat. Neither Pang Dingzi nor Qiu Shanshui bothered to persuade him. They didn't like Yingxuan very much, so they were killed by the Chu army this time.

When Red came in and saw that Yingxuan really dared to come alone, he turned around and asked, "Do you want to kill him?"

Zhou Lun sneered and said: "Give him some face. After all, he is a holy prince, and you and I are just holy princes."

"Bah, you bastard Holy Duke who surrendered to the enemy!" Redjin spat towards the city.

Yingxuan sailed into the water village and was immediately surrounded.

He did not resist and allowed himself to be bound by the Chu army, and was then taken to see Zhou Lun and Lei Jin.

The three of them were all old friends, and even though they had all kinds of resentment in their hearts, they didn't say anything bad to each other when they actually met.

The main thing is that Yingxuan is really here, and he doesn't even want his life, so what's the point of scolding him?

Zhou Lun said: "There is no need to persuade us to surrender. There is still some wine in the village. Let's get drunk today."

Yingxuan smiled and said: "Okay."

The three of them started drinking and chatting while drinking.

Zhou Lun's words were thorny and he asked: "Do you have a king over there?"

Yingxuan told the truth: "There is no title. Because of his merits in building warships and training navy, he was awarded the rank of fifth-grade guerrilla general."

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Lei Jin slapped the table and laughed exaggeratedly. He pointed at Yingxuan and said: "The good-hearted Holy Duke of Chu did not do it, but went to be that thief-like fifth-grade miscellaneous general. Just by looking at your rank, I know that the thief is heartless and unjust." "

"I don't want to be an enemy of my old brother," Yingxuan pointed at Dongting Lake. "Otherwise, I would at least be the deputy general of the Dongting Lake Navy of the Ming Dynasty. If I were greedy for wealth and power, I would not raise my head to persuade you to surrender today. If you two listen If you don't want this, just kill me after this drink is over."

Zhou Lun actually persuaded him to surrender: "In five days at most, I will come with a large army to help you. If Brother Ying repentes, I will plead with you to let you command our Great Chu Navy again."

Yingxuan shook his head: "Da Chu is almost gone. All the southern states are rebelling, and a large army from Jiangxi is coming to kill, and Lujiao Village is also under siege. Even if Mr. Zhong wins a great victory here and saves Lujiao Village, there will be nothing else What should we do about the place?”

Redjin remained silent, picked up the cup and took a sip of wine.

Yingxuan added: "Emperor Zhao and Song were captured by the Ming Dynasty but were not executed. Now he is an official of the Ming Dynasty. If Mr. Zhong had surrendered earlier and I went to the prince to persuade him, it should be OK. Save the lives of the whole family.”

Zhou Lun sneered: "None of us will surrender, let alone the master. It's nothing more than death."

Yingxuan said: "Are you dragging Brother Qin Duo to die with you? Are you dragging the people of Jingnan to die with you? All the officers and soldiers in the army have parents, wives and children. What will happen if their families are dead? If they are evenly matched, Chu should fight to the end. But now that the Ming Dynasty has conquered the world, there is only one corner of Jingnan left to conquer, and Chu's stubborn resistance will only increase casualties. "

Why don't Zhou Lun and Leide Jin understand this truth?

But they could not let go of the word "loyalty" and would rather die than betray their Lord and surrender to the enemy.

Yingxuan continued: "The officers of the Antler Army were all potters in the past. Antler pottery is famous all over the world, and they have no worries about food and clothing. Once the world is calm, they can live a stable life without having to fight with swords and guns. You two keep your loyalty. , but let these many potters be buried with them?”

"Poof!"

Zhou Lun drank a glass of wine and slammed the glass on the table: "Someone is here, drag this guy to jail!"

If he kept talking, Zhou Lun felt that he was about to fall.

When Yingxuan was dragged out of the room, he shouted one last time: "If you don't surrender, Huang Zuo will surrender."

Huang Zuo is Wang Zuo in "The Complete Biography of Yue Fei". He was the first Yang Yao general to join Yue Fei. This man's stance was not as firm as Zhou Lun's.

Today, Huang Zuo leads his army to be stationed in Chongxiao Town on the west bank of Dongting Lake, whose strategic significance is very close to Lujiao Town on the east bank.

Once Chongxiao Town is lost, the Ming army can directly attack Dingzhou, the hometown of Prime Minister Zhong.

Lei Jin's expression changed, and he murmured: "Should I send someone to break out and report the news, so that I can prevent Huang Zuo from defecting to the enemy?"

Zhou Lun did not dare to do this, and worried: "What if it is a divorce plan? If there is a slight mistake, Huang Zuo has no intention of rebelling, and he will be forced to rebel."