The man who led these three men to raid the rear of Xiangyang was none other than the fierce general Geng Zhong who had made great achievements in the battle to seize the floating bridge. He was not from Jingzhou, but a typical Guanzhong man. It is said that he was a descendant of Geng Gong. I don’t know whether this statement is true or not.

But he has a bit of the legacy of the famous general who guarded Shule alone three hundred years ago. He was loyal and brave. He was originally an officer in the Tiger Bu Camp. When Sima Yue wanted to purge the generals and officers of the Forbidden Army, he was also affected.

In desperation, he had no choice but to go to Sima Fan. Sima Fan liked him very much when he saw that he was loyal, brave and brave, so he asked Sima Yue for help. He had four elite soldiers in Jingzhou at his disposal, and he also had great influence in Jingzhou.

, Sima Yue wanted to borrow a lot of money, so he naturally wanted to sell him some face, so he gave Geng Zhong to him.

Geng Zhong also repaid Sima Fan with practical actions. He charged forward in every battle, wearing heavy armor and holding a long knife. Blood and flesh flew everywhere wherever he went, just like a meat grinder. The rebels he killed,

Hu people don't know who Fan is. In this battle of the pontoon bridge, it was he who rushed over with dozens of dead soldiers when the pontoon bridge was already on fire in many places. He killed the rebels who were ten times his own and succeeded.

They captured the pontoon bridge, otherwise this battle would have been difficult to fight. Sima Fan was overjoyed and told the court to confer the title of General Polu and assigned three thousand men to his command.

Now, this god of death led three high-spirited Jingzhou soldiers to bypass the rebels' heavily guarded Bianshan defense line, cross the Han River unexpectedly, and launch an attack on the rebels. This guy is indeed too fierce. The rebels are in Han River

A stronghold was built on the north bank, with several trenches and dense antlers. Seven hundred defenders were stationed in the stronghold. With tens of thousands of troops pressing down on the people, it was unlikely that they would be able to capture it in a short time. However, he led a group of people.

He launched an attack in the heavy rain, and in just one afternoon he filled up the trenches, pulled out the antlers, and stormed into the camp. He wore two layers of armor and charged forward with a long sword in his hand. The heavy long sword danced like a wheel, so he was stunned.

Wherever he went, the rebels' heads were split and their limbs were flying in all directions. Several of the rebels' famously brave figures came forward to challenge him, but he killed them all with one knife. The rebels were so frightened that they abandoned their camp and fled in panic, but in despair

Finding that the retreat route had long been blocked, they cut melons and vegetables. Hundreds of rebels were either killed or captured, and none of them escaped.

After taking the ferry, Geng Zhong left 500 men to garrison. He led two cadres and more people to attack Zhonglu and Linju. The main force of the rebel army was killed by Sima Fan on the front line of Xiangyang. Only a few people were left to guard the two small towns.

Hundreds of people were still old and weak soldiers. Faced with such an opponent, Geng Zhong didn't even bother to wait for the large siege equipment to be transported from the rear. He directly borrowed some ladders from ordinary people's homes, set them up on the city wall, and stepped on these ladders.

They rushed to the city wall and started a hand-to-hand fight with the rebels defending the city. In just one day, the two county towns fell into the hands of the Jin army one after another, and the Xiangyang rebels' retreat was cut off.

Sima Fan was overjoyed after receiving the victory news and said: "Geng Zhong's bravery is comparable to that of the overlord of Western Chu!" He immediately sent an additional Qin cavalry and an infantry to Geng Zhong, and at the same time mobilized two more soldiers and civilians to seize the middle house.

The rice in Linju area. Due to the war, the people in this area have been dispersed. The rice is left in the fields and no one cares about it. If it is not harvested, it will rot!

The operation to harvest rice was a great success. Two cadres accompanied by soldiers and civilians worked hard to harvest more than 40,000 acres of rice in this area, and obtained 160,000 dendrobium of grain. It was a great harvest. The autumn air is crisp now, and it is a good time to enjoy the autumn sun.

So this strange scene appeared: the front line of Xiangyang was filled with blood and fire, and the Han River was dyed red with blood, but the rear was a golden field, with mountains of grain piled up!

The contrast is a bit too strong.

The food was captured, but how to transport it back became a big problem.

If you want to transport food back, the best choice is water transportation. Nanyang has crisscrossed rivers and well-developed shipping. Grain ships can easily deliver food to most counties, and then distribute it to people who are short of food around the county. However, water transport

There is no way to go now, because Xiangyang is still in the hands of the rebels. If the grain transport ship goes upstream, it will be attacked by the Xiangyang rebels immediately. Giant crossbows and trebuchets will come at you. No matter how big the ship is, it will be given to you.

If you want to transport this grain back, you must first transport it to the south bank and load it on oxcarts, then transport it forty or fifty miles, bypassing the attack range of the Xiangyang rebels and reaching the intersection of Tangbai River and Han River.

The efficiency of transporting ships further north is undoubtedly very low. But right now, they can't even use such an inefficient means of transporting grain.

Because the 50,000-strong army led by Wang Ru himself had advanced by land and water, and came over with a force that shook the heaven and the earth.

Faced with this opponent who had upset Jingzhou and whose backbone had been broken by Bei Gongchun, he was still able to take advantage of the selfishness and stupidity of the senior officials of the Western Jin Dynasty and mobilize tens of thousands of troops in just a few months. Sima Fan

Not daring to be careless, he hurriedly mobilized the Qiang Yu tribe stationed in Xinye to help him pin down the Xiangyang rebels. He personally led three cadres of Jingzhou soldiers to cross the Han River via a pontoon bridge and return to Fancheng. Then he quickly went south and crossed over again at Chenjiadu.

He met up with Geng Zhong at the Han River, and then transported all the dried grains into Zhonglu, Linju City, and left a group of people to guard and defend to the death. He personally led the army down the river and attacked Yicheng.

He wanted to capture Yicheng before Wang Ru's army arrived.

Yicheng is also an inconspicuous small city, but its location is very important. It is stuck on the bank of the Han River. As long as a few crossbows are set up, the waterway can be easily blocked. When it goes out, it is directly connected to the mighty Han River.

, and behind it are large wetlands and small lakes created by the Man River and the Man River. This terrain is extremely unfriendly to an army with tens of thousands of troops and must carry a large amount of baggage. And its bank is a narrow stretch of land.

It is a narrow plain, and across this plain are rolling hills and mountains, which is also very unfriendly to the army. Once Yicheng is captured, Wang Ru has only two choices in front of him, either to use all his strength to fight for it.

In Yicheng, we have to fight a head-to-head offensive and defensive battle with the Jin army in this disgusting terrain, or we can abandon the fleet carrying a large amount of supplies and advance along the small plain on the south bank, heading straight for the Tangbai River. Just like this

, the huge fleet parked on the river became an excellent target, and Sima Fan would definitely not let go of this opportunity.

Wang Ru also knew how important Yicheng was. As soon as he arrived in Jiangling, he sent people to Yicheng as quickly as possible and ordered the Yicheng defenders to hold on to Yicheng for ten days. If Yicheng was lost within ten days, they would all be executed.

!

His strategic literacy was quite good, and his vision was sharp. He could see where the key nodes of the battlefield were at a glance. However, his men were too weak. Geng Zhong quickly captured Zhonglu, and when he approached the Second City of Linju,

The rebel general Chen Zao who was guarding Yicheng was really nervous, but when he saw that the Jin army did not continue to advance after taking these two cities, but stopped to harvest rice, he made a rash judgment: The Jin army this time

The bold action was purely to grab some food, and after they finished grabbing, they should run away!

After all, Nanyang was short of food at this time, and everyone on earth knew that it had already forced them to mobilize several cadres of troops to go hunting. It was normal to send out several cadres of people to grab a piece of food.

In this state of mind, he relaxed his vigilance.

As soon as he loosened it, his head was loosened.

Sima Fan caught Chen Zao's negligence and led his army to march seventy miles day and night, appearing in Yicheng like lightning. However, he did not launch a direct attack on the city, but instead ambush the army in an orchard not far from Yicheng.

, people hunted several huge wild boars with thick and long tusks in the mountains, selected more than 20 swordsmen with strong martial arts skills to dress up as hunters, and carried these wild boars into the city at noon to sell them. They were so big.

Wild boars with such big and long tusks are really rare. As soon as they appeared, they caused a sensation. Not only the rebels guarding the city gate, but also the rebels on the city wall ran down to watch the fun. When they gathered together, the twenty

Many swordsmen suddenly pulled out their swords and picked up their crossbows to attack the onlookers. It was impossible for a mere twenty people to capture a city guarded by more than two thousand people, but it was impossible to cut open a city gate.

It was more than enough. The rebels were caught off guard and were defeated. They fled in all directions and the city gate was captured. Sima Fan immediately sent Qin Cavalry to rush in through the city gate before the rebels could organize a counterattack. He fought fiercely through the city gate.

Behind the cavalry are hundreds of infantry...

This trick was used by Li Rui during the sneak attack on Wancheng, and by Sima Fan, and it had the same effect. As soon as the rebels saw that the city gate was open, and the enemy troops were pouring into the city, they came up with the idea before they even fought.

With a sense of powerlessness that "the situation is over", they all dropped their weapons and ran away. Chen Zao was so frightened that he personally led more than 200 soldiers to fight with the Jin army in an attempt to restore the defeat. As a result, he had a fatal collision with Geng Zhong.

Geng Zhong's sword cut him in half as soon as they met. The rebels were so frightened that they knelt down and surrendered.

This city that strangled the Han River fell into the hands of the Jin army in an almost child's play, and the initiative on the Xiangfan battlefield completely fell to Sima Fan.

When he learned that Yicheng had been successfully attacked by the Jin army, Wang Ru was furious, drew his sword and chopped the desk into pieces, roaring: "Stupid pig! That Chen Zao is just a stupid pig! No, even if I let a pig defend Yicheng, I wouldn't do it.

It will make the officers and soldiers take it down so easily! That bastard has caused me trouble, he better not let me find him, otherwise I will crush him to ashes!!!"

Wang Li was equally angry: "Sima Fan likes sneak attacks the most. We already suffered a big loss in Wancheng. Why doesn't he learn a lesson?"

Counselor Chen Jun was a little embarrassed... Chen Zao was his cousin, and it was he who strongly recommended Wang Rucai to let Chen Zao be the general of Yicheng. Now that Chen Zao is acting so arrogantly, let alone ten days, he has not defended even one day.

The recommender was also disgraced. He coughed dryly and said: "Now that Yicheng has been defended, our army's waterway to the north has been cut off, Xiangyang is isolated and helpless, and the situation is critical. There is no point in complaining anymore. The top priority is to get it as soon as possible.
Chapter completed!