Volume 5: Overlord of the Sea Chapter 626 Winter Operations
The first snow of the ninth year of the Chu calendar came earlier than usual.
The Chu State's Northern Expedition encountered some obstacles...
The Yellow River has a small displacement and a fast-flowing current, so large ships cannot pass through and small boats can easily capsize.
Although there have been major battles in the Yellow River Basin, none of them were naval battles. Most of them were land battles along the river. The river itself is more suitable for crossing in narrow places!
After all, Chu's technology was "quickly developed" and many aspects were not comprehensive. In terms of military industry level, the airship could actually be fully demonstrated.
However, for the State of Chu, this area is still a blank and cannot be created in a short time.
Lu Xun was in a stalemate with the State of Wei in the Guandu area for several months. Although he won small victories from time to time, he was still unable to cross the river. Even in the era of artillery, after the "artillery bombardment" there was always a "cavalry charge" and "infantry movement".
However, across the Yellow River, in the narrow part of the river, it is no problem for artillery to fire from across the river.
The impact wouldn't be that big if the cavalry didn't charge, but if the infantry didn't go up...what's the point of just using artillery to "clean the ground" if they don't occupy the position?
However, there was the Yellow River in between, and it was too difficult for infantry to force a crossing. Therefore, despite all the advantages, the Chu army was still unable to cross the river to the north.
The Wei army was not defeated in vain. They organized pontoon bridge battles many times, but were always repelled by the Wei army.
Ever since the weather started to turn cooler in July, some people in the Chu court had already begun to impeach Lu Xun... Of course, it wasn't actually as serious as an "impeachment", it was just a suggestion that Bai Tu change his commander.
Although changing commanders before a battle is a taboo, Bai Tu is now in Xiangyang, and has even decided to set off for Wancheng, which is closer to the front line. By then, Bai Tu will be close enough to the front line, so the impact of changing commanders will naturally be small - Bai Tu is the real "commander-in-chief".
The Chu State has many talented generals and commanders, so there is no need to bet on Lu Xun. However, Bai Tu did not accept the suggestion of changing the commander!
The ministers of the palace, especially Chen Gong, who was also in charge of the Privy Council, all agreed with Bai Tu.
There was nothing wrong with Lu Xun's strategy and tactics. The reason why he failed to achieve success quickly was, firstly, because Lu Xun himself preferred to take things step by step, and secondly, because Wei State deliberately dragged it out...
After Chen Gong developed the "real-time strategy-based land reclamation mode" with his "bright strategy", Lu Xun also imitated it in Yizhou.
Lu Xun was not good at making plans, but he developed his own strategy to assist in the development of new land based on Feng Shui, Volume Three of the Heavenly Book.
Originally, Lu Su's understanding of the "Feng Shui Scroll" was inclined towards the strategic direction of observing the current situation in the world, while Lu Xun was inclined towards the tactical direction and even developed extreme strategies such as the "Juezhen".
However, now Lu Xun began to decipher the "Feng Shui Scroll" from a second direction, which was close to the direction of his teacher Lu Su, but he was more inclined to observe the influence of "human heart" on Feng Shui.
When people gather together, the energy will flow. The luck of a dynasty can affect Feng Shui, and so can people's hearts...
Although Lu Xun seemed to be tepid, he had been strengthening the influence of Chu and Baixue north of the Yellow River, and focused on winning over the defenders.
Lu Xun, who was once young and energetic and preferred the all-in tactic, was influenced by the overall style of the Chu State and years of overseas development, and began to tend to take a steady and cautious approach.
However, Wei State also had many famous generals and talented people. At this time, they were relying on the Yellow River as a barrier, so it would not be so easy to break through!
Bai Tu would hear criticisms of Lu Xun, to a certain extent, because Wei was getting anxious...
It's not that there was really any senior official in the court who acted as the mouthpiece of Wei State and was plotting some kind of sowing discord, but it was true that Wei State was intentionally spreading news that was unfavorable to Lu Xun.
On the other hand, among the court officials of the State of Chu, there was indeed no one who was so wild as to favor the State of Wei and go undercover for the State of Wei, but there were many court officials who were jealous of and wary of the Lu family!
Therefore, it is normal that some censors who are not good at military affairs would be influenced by folk news, or simply take the opportunity to play dumb for other purposes and try to impeach Lu Xun.
Bai Tu did not pay special attention to such thoughts, but asked the Ministry of Personnel to punish those who spoke nonsense, talked nonsense, and spoke without understanding.
Bai Tu ignored the others' remarks which made some sense, but he did not punish them either.
Lu Xun's responsibilities as the front-line commander remained unchanged, and even... In September, Bai Tu went north again, leading half of the imperial court and moved to Wancheng!
When Bai Tu came to Xiangyang from Jinling, although he did not build a new palace, he basically moved the entire Chu court there, leaving only a small number of officials in Jinling to maintain the situation - it was not a real move of the capital, but a preparation to mobilize troops first.
After Lu Xun sent a secret letter to Xiangyang, Bai Tu "insisted on his own will" and decided to move the center to Wancheng!
In comparison, this decision was more resisted than Lu Xun's front-line command, and many court officials thought that Bai Tu was acting too hastily.
After all, it is already September. Do we have to fight a decisive battle with Wei in winter?
But surprisingly, the Privy Council and some confidential department officials gradually supported this resolution...
With such a big commotion, it is natural that the State of Wei would not be completely unaware of it.
Upon learning that Bai Tu was heading north again, that is, the main force of the Chu army, was pressing north again as a whole, the Wei State also became nervous. At the same time... Cao Cao was nervous, but also had some expectations.
The first snow of the ninth year of the Chu calendar came earlier than usual... At the end of September, it snowed for the first time in the Guandu area, and the temperature dropped sharply!
However, based on past experience, it will take another two months before the river freezes and soldiers can be marched across it.
At this time, Lu Xun began to build the obsolete simple Baigong cannon on the other side of the river. After that... he threw a large amount of scattered sand, gravel and dead branches into the river every day, trying to suppress the thin floating ice on the river surface!
After water freezes, its density becomes smaller and it can float - this also ensures that as long as it is deep enough, the temperature under the ice will not be too low.
It can be said that this is the basis for water to become the "source of life". Otherwise, if it starts to freeze from the bottom and freezes completely once a year, I'm afraid that all living things today will not be able to survive...
It is precisely because ice can float on the water surface and play a role in keeping warm, rather than sinking and causing the water above to continue to dissipate heat, that it is relatively difficult for water to freeze.
Now Lu Xun is starting from this point to accelerate the freezing of the river!
In addition, the weather was indeed a little colder this year . Finally, in late October, the ice on the river surface reached a level that allowed large troops to pass through, and Lu Xun successfully pushed the front line to the north of the Yellow River!
Faced with the aggressiveness of the State of Chu, the State of Wei began to abandon the area along the Yellow River. Perhaps it felt that it could no longer defend it, or perhaps... it wanted to decide the outcome with the State of Chu on the Hebei Plain.
Just when the Chu army's morale and combat effectiveness were beginning to be affected by the cold, Chu's first batch of cotton-padded clothes finally arrived!
Using the seeds that Gan Ning sent back the year before last, many government-run villages began to cultivate cotton last year, and this year the plantation is in full swing.
Although the public reaction is limited for the time being, it will take time for it to be popularized, but the large number of government-owned settlements ensures the cotton planting area, and textile machines and the like are ready-made...
When the State of Wei wanted to take advantage of the cold weather to bring down the "careless" State of Chu, the Chu army finally started to distribute cotton clothes...
