Chapter 323 The Best Choice
Chapter 323 The Best Choice (Seeking monthly tickets for additional updates)
"From Mengjin to the east, the northern bank of the river is extremely flat, while the southern bank is blocked by many hills and mountains." On a small hill somewhere west of Hulao Pass, Diao Ying, the left chief secretary of the Han Dynasty's General Andong's shogunate, talked eloquently: "To the west of Luokou is Shouyang Mountain (not the Shouyang Mountain in Guanzhong or Hedong), which is the eastern part of Mang Mountain (Mangshan). To the east of Luokou, plains and slopes are connected. Huangma and Xuanmen slopes gradually rise eastward, and reach Dayi Mountain, which is more than 40 feet high."
"To the east of Mount Dayi, the remaining range is Mount Guangwu, where Li Zuoche, Lord of Guangwu, taught Liu Ying to train his troops. To the east of Mount Guangwu, it gradually enters the plain, which is Xingyang."
"This section of the mountain slope is probably the remnant of Songshan Mountain extending northwards. It is Fangshan and Dayi, which are continuous from north to south and directly reach the river bank, blocking the east-west traffic."
"The ancients opened the Da'e Mountain Road along the river, which became the main channel for east-west traffic in the Central Plains. Therefore, since the Han Dynasty, it has been said that 'if the mouth of Chenggao is cut off, the world will be blocked'. This is a place that military strategists must fight for."
Shi Le listened to the nonsense for a long time but didn't quite understand it. However, he still asked carefully about the details, and then compared them with his previous experiences, and finally he understood.
This is the only proper post road heading east from Luoyang.
There may be small paths, but they are not artificially excavated and are difficult to travel on, so even horse-drawn carriages cannot pass through them.
If we can't use horse-drawn carriages, ox-drawn carts, or donkey-drawn carts, we can only use pack animals. The transportation capacity is greatly reduced, and if we encounter a high-intensity battle, the equipment consumption cannot keep up.
My knife is blunt, and I want to replace it with a new one, but there is none. If I wait for the auxiliary soldiers to repair it, I don't know how many days it will take.
If we encounter a large enemy army defending their position, it will be difficult to break through and we may not have enough food.
For a large and upright army, the route is basically fixed and it is impossible for them to move as they please.
Shi Le led 20,000 cavalrymen, and the cost was huge. It was too risky to take the mountain path. If he was not careful, he would have to kill horses to satisfy his hunger, and the cavalrymen would become infantrymen and retreat in disgrace.
As for the infantry, they were kept in Yecheng, Jijun and Dunqiu for training.
After Liu Cong succeeded to the throne, he allocated a large number of military equipment as a token of his favor.
Shi Le had always been resentful of the "lame" infantry, so this time it was a good opportunity for him to stay in his old nest and train well to improve his combat effectiveness.
This infantry force of tens of thousands of people has taken shape after two years of reorganization.
However - if Shi Le had not seen Shao Ze's Silver Spear Army, he might have been satisfied with the combat effectiveness of his own infantry, but he had seen it and knew that there was a big gap between the two sides, so he was very dissatisfied and focused on training, hoping that his combat effectiveness would be greatly improved.
In this battle, he simply did not bring any infantry, but instead brought some pack horses, donkeys and mules to carry logistical supplies, with the main focus on speed.
Play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses. Shi Le, who had risen from the bottom of society, knew this principle well.
"Chief Secretary Diao said it well." Shi Le looked at Diao Ying with a smile and said, "Since the Jin people have already taken precautions in Chenggao, the military order of King Shi'an (Liu Yao) may not be completed. What should we do now?"
"Perhaps we can report back to King Shi'an and ask him to dispatch the infantry of Wang Mi and Zhao Gu to the east to open Hulao Pass." Diao Ying replied.
Shi Le looked at the city gate in the distance again.
The Guancheng just cut off the mountain post road of Xuanmenzaka. At this time, the gate was closed, and there were flags everywhere on the Guancheng, and people were shouting.
He could see that the soldiers guarding the pass were not elite and their military discipline was not very strict, so he might try to fight them. But after all, they had the advantage of terrain and city walls, so it was hard to say whether he could take them down.
"General, we need to hurry up on this matter." Right Chief Clerk Zhang Jing said worriedly, "If it really doesn't work, we can cross the river to the north, then go south via Liyang to avoid Hulao Pass. The King of Henei has probably encountered obstacles as well. This battle is a bit strange."
Liu Can, the King of Henei, was the legitimate son of Emperor Liu Cong. According to the order of Liu Yao, the Grand Commander and the King of Shi'an, the King of Henei would lead more than 10,000 light cavalry out of Huanyuan Pass, penetrate into Yingchuan, Runan, Chenjun, Liangguo and other places to plunder, turn Shao Xun's hinterland upside down and destroy his foundation.
Now it seems that things are not going smoothly. There are also garrisons at Huanyuan Pass, and it is difficult to pass without a big battle.
This is what we fear in war.
The ideal situation is that the Jin State is incapable of functioning, the government and the people are in chaos, and no one cares about the eight passes in Luoyang, allowing them to enter and exit freely.
This would be the worst-case scenario.
The whole state of Jin was organized, and several transportation routes were guarded by soldiers, which had to be captured one by one.
Shi Le thought of a person who had been the most popular in recent years.
Without him, the situation would not be like this.
"Well, send an envoy to the camp immediately to ask the commander-in-chief for troops." Shi Le ordered.
The messenger quickly mounted his horse and left.
Shi Le looked at Zhang Bin again and asked, "What does Meng Sun think?"
Zhang Bin has been looking at the map.
Shi Le waited patiently for a moment, and Zhang Bin said, "The Jin army retreated too quickly this time, and all the outlying forts were abandoned. It would be difficult to fight Luoyang alone. The only solution now is to find another way to lure the Jin army out. All I can say is - let's give it a try."
"So what if the people of Jin don't get fooled?"
"If you don't fall for it, you can just concentrate on collecting food and goods for the future."
"What about the future?"
"The general's foundation is in Hebei, not Henan."
Shi Le pondered for a long time, then said with a smile: "I heard that Wang Jun sent troops to Liaodong again, and suffered a defeat, with heavy losses. But the governor of Jizhou is Shi Chao, what can we do?"
"After Ding Shao died, Wang Jun took over the post of governor of Jizhou. In order to win him over, the Jin court entrusted the two provinces of You and Ji to Jun, and soon promoted him to the position of Sikong." Zhang Bin said: "Shi Chao's army is small and weak, and he occupies the counties of Jizhou. Wang Jun will not tolerate him, and a war will break out sooner or later. Shi Chao - is no match."
"Hmm..." Shi Le was a little moved.
He knew something about Wang Jun.
He is arrogant and looks down on others. After taking charge of two states, he may have become arrogant.
His allies, the Duan tribe of the Xianbei, were not having a good time. In recent years, they had lost a lot of pastureland and their power was weakening, so Wang Jun had to send troops to help them, but it only slightly curbed the decline of the Duan tribe of the Xianbei and failed to fundamentally improve their situation.
Moreover, in this matter, Youzhou also suffered repeated casualties and lost its capital. In such a situation, Wang Jun was not worried at all, but took over Jizhou as governor, forcing the Jin court to recognize the fait accompli and reissue the appointment edict to him.
Such a person is indeed not difficult to deal with, as long as you master the trick.
"If I can get Mengsun, my great cause will be accomplished." Shi Le said with a smile, "But for now, I still have to work hard for the court."
"The general is wise." Zhang Bin praised.
******
Liu Yao's camp was set up to the west of Luoyang City.
This time the expedition went extremely smoothly in the early stages.
The Jin people did not bother to fight on the periphery at all, but retreated back to Luoyang swiftly, setting up camps and strongholds outside the gates to form a pincer attack with the people inside the city, and were determined to defend the city to the death.
Liu Yao had more than 70,000 men under his command, and 40,000 of them arrived at the city of Luoyang.
Among them were 10,000 cavalrymen, who formed their headquarters.
Wang Can of Hanoi led 10,000 light cavalry.
The Shizhong Wang Mi led 10,000 infantrymen.
General Zhao Gu of Anbei led an army of 10,000 infantrymen.
Forty thousand infantry and cavalry would definitely not be able to capture Luoyang. According to his plan, he would leave ten thousand people outside Luoyang to monitor and tie down the main force of the central army in Luoyang.
The rest of the troops were divided into four groups to plunder and obtain supplies, while also striking at the prestige of the Jin court and weakening its foundation, in preparation for the future capture of Luoyang.
But the journey of the King of Henei was not smooth. When his 10,000 cavalrymen arrived outside Huanyuan Pass, they found that there were already garrisons on the city wall.
He sent his men to dismount and attack for a while, but suffered several hundred casualties, and then withdrew.
When they reached the Dagu Pass, they saw the defenders again. This time, they did not even attack, but just left.
Shi Le had another 20,000 cavalrymen, who were originally ordered to march eastward through Chenggao to plunder Xingyang, Chenliu, Yingchuan and other places, but they were also blocked outside Hulao Pass and could not move forward.
General Zhenxi Shan Zheng led more than 10,000 Qiang and Di infantry and cavalry, and stationed them in Xin'an and Mianchi, but they were unable to advance an inch.
From this perspective, the Jin army was well prepared.
To be honest, Liu Yao didn't know how to continue fighting.
In the past two days, he has ordered the infantry to move eastward to Yanshi, Gaoshi and other places to besiege the forts and forcibly conscript young men.
There were some gains, but far less than expected.
Looking at Luoyang's towering city walls, wide moats, and the grassland men under his command who were only good at fighting on horseback, Liu Yao became even more depressed.
I heard that Luoyang imported a lot of grain last year, so it should be able to hold on in the short term.
By the end of this battle, there was no guarantee that our side would run out of food and have to retreat. Liu Yao seemed to have foreseen the outcome.
We still need to collect more food and supplies!
On October 24, while Shao Xun was still waiting in Deng County, Liu Yao arrived in Yanshi in person.
The county town has been captured by the "King's Army".
Zhao Gu incorporated all the able-bodied men into his army, even children aged eleven or twelve were not spared.
Wang Mi was attacking Shiliangwu and just broke through it before Liu Yao arrived, capturing more than a thousand refugees from Guanxi.
After defeating these two places, the two men prepared to move their troops to Gaoshi, heading straight for Baiguyu occupied by Cao.
Baiguwu was much larger than Shiliangwu, with more than a thousand households at the beginning, mostly descendants of the Cao clan, servants, and followers. In the past two years, it also absorbed refugees from Hebei and Guanxi, and became the largest fortress in the area of Gaoshi, Yanshi, and Gongxian.
Zhao and Wang were somewhat hesitant and greedy. At the moment Liu Yao arrived, they still had not made up their minds whether to besiege Baiguyu.
"Go to Yi Yang." Liu Yao's order made the two people who rushed over change their faces.
Liu Yao didn't bother to care about their expressions, and just said: "Your Majesty wants Yuan Yan's head. Since you can't capture Chen and Ying, go to Yiyang first and get Yuan Yan's head."
"Yes." Wang Mi and Zhao Gu were stunned for a moment and then agreed.
"Grand Commander, Shi Andong requested to send infantry to attack Hulao Pass. How do you respond?" Wang Mi asked again.
Liu Yao had a dangerous smile on his face and asked, "Am I the Grand Commander, or is Shi Le the Grand Commander?"
Wang Mi hurriedly lowered his head, cursing in his heart: Liu Yao and Shi Le are both bad guys.
"Go to Yiyang first. You and Shan Zhenxi will obey the order of the King of Henei and attack Yuanyan together." Liu Yao said, "As for Hulao Pass, I will order Wang Sang and Shi Chao to lead the troops south, from east to west, and support them from behind."
"Yes, sir." Wang Mi and Zhao Gu responded in unison.
In fact, going to Yiyang is not a bad thing.
I heard that it was the territory of the bandit Shao, and it was relatively densely populated, so we might be able to plunder some of it to supplement our military supplies.
Anyway, the war has come to this point, so why not give it a try?
The two of them didn't waste any time and immediately gathered their troops, slowly retreating towards Yi Yang.
Liu Yao personally led the cavalry to patrol the wilds, waiting for an opportunity to kill the messenger, and to see if any of the Jin troops had lost their minds and gone out of the city to fight in the wilds.
Given the situation, he has made the best choice.
(End of this chapter)