Chapter 422 Strategic Direction

Chapter 422 Strategic Direction

Chapter 422 Strategic Direction
Outside Jinyang City, the battle had ended for several days.

Liu Kun's generals Hao Shen and Zhang Qiao led more than 2,000 soldiers to fight, but were defeated by the Huns and both generals died.

The city was short of food and grass. Gao Qiao, the governor of Taiyuan, and Hao Yu, the deputy governor of Bingzhou, saw that they did not even have the conditions to hold out, so they opened the city walls and surrendered.

Two days later, Liu Can and Liu Yao entered Jinyang, and the first thing they did was to inspect the entire city.

When the two of them climbed to the top of the city wall and looked into the distance, they suddenly felt their hearts broadened.

What a large flat area!
The most amazing thing is that this vast plain is crisscrossed with rivers, lush grass and numerous fertile fields. The surrounding area is also rugged and solid with mountains and rivers, and the mountains and rivers inside and outside are not just talk.

"Bingzhou is a place with a commanding presence," Liu Yao praised.

Since the beginning of history, Taiyuan has been an important city in the north.

To the west are Luliang Mountains and the Yellow River, to the south are Zhongtiao and Taihang Mountains, to the east are Taihang Mountains and Wutai Mountains, and to the north is Hengshan Mountain.

The terrain is high and you can overlook Hebei and Henan.

If these two places want to march into Bingzhou, they will have to attack the Eight Passes of Taihang Mountain.

The pass is dangerous and rugged, and difficult to travel on. In every dynasty, cities were built to control the traffic passages.

If you go south from the northern grasslands, you have to attack Yanmen Pass, which is another strategic pass.

Surrounded by the Yellow River and mountains, there are large tracts of fertile river valleys and mountain basins that can support the people and serve as a foundation.

There is abundant grass and water among the mountains, worthy of grazing cattle, sheep and horses. In the Tang Dynasty, two large ranches were established in Hedong (referring to the entire Bingzhou) to raise military horses. There was even one near Taiyuan, called "Loufan Jianmu City" - the other was in Shangdang, which is where the Jie people are today.

The plains can be used for farming, the mountains can be used for grazing, and the cool climate is particularly suitable for the reproduction and survival of horses. It can be said to be a Feng Shui treasure land.

When the troubled times begin, if you control Bingzhou, ambitious people can participate in the struggle for hegemony, while people without ambition can protect the country and the people. It is indeed a foundation for hegemony.

Liu Can also looked at this land greedily.

Over the years, although Liu Kun was strictly confined to Jinyang City and other parts of Taiyuan County were mostly occupied by various tribes, they did not dare to be too ostentatious and just farmed in Taiyuan County without any care, and at most let the cattle and sheep graze. When the Xianbei came, they had to roll up their bedding and tents and drive the cattle and sheep away, which was very inconvenient.

Now that we have taken Jinyang, things will be much easier.

"Only the majestic city of Jinyang and the fertile land of Taiyuan are worthy of being the capital of the Han Dynasty." Liu Can sighed, "Yongming, I would like to submit a petition to the emperor to request that the capital be moved to Jinyang. What do you think?"

Liu Yao shook his head and said, "It's too early."

"Why do you say that?" Liu Can asked with some displeasure.

"Shi Guang has strategic ideas, which I admire. What he said makes sense, but it is too early." Liu Yao first praised Liu Can, but finally insisted on his own opinion.

Then he explained.

Managing Taiyuan is not a matter of one day or one night. If it were just Liu Kun, it would be easy to handle, but the problem is the existence of Tuoba Xianbei.

Once the capital is moved to Jinyang, will you consolidate the defense line to the north of the capital?
There are Tuoba Xianbei outside Yanmen Pass and in Dai County. Even if it is possible to defend by building passes and stationing troops, the country's focus must shift.

He was worried that the entanglement with Tuoba Xianbei would never end, which would greatly distract the court's attention and make it unable to move south.

This is not a good thing considering that Shao Xun has already established a foothold in Henan.

Unless the imperial court abandons its strategy of moving southward and is willing to become a local regime that controls Bingzhou and Guanzhong, this would probably be difficult for the current emperor, who thinks highly of himself, to do.

But then again, Liu Yao thought this was not a bad idea.

Judging from Shao Xun's behavior, the Jin court will be destroyed by him sooner or later.

Once he did this, the lords of the world would establish themselves and attack each other, and he would be in a disadvantageous position because he was surrounded by enemies. He might even negotiate peace with the Han Dynasty and concentrate on dealing with other directions.

In this way, there might be many countries in the world.

Will Sima Rui, who occupied Jianye, become emperor?
Will Jia, Liang and others in Guanzhong establish independence?
Where are Zhang Gui and his son from Liangzhou?
What about the arrogant man Wang Jun of Youzhou?
If you count them roughly, there are quite a few countries.

Such a situation is actually beneficial to the Han Dynasty.

The imperial court needed time to gain the recognition of the northern scholars, so that they would be forced to serve the imperial court out of desperation. With their joining, the foundation would be stable.

At that time, we can try to merge the Shanyutai and Shangshutai, no longer divide the Hu and Han peoples, and slowly integrate them. Wouldn't that be better than the current situation?

Nowadays, let alone the integration of Hu and Han, in fact, the Xiongnu headquarters and the "Six Barbarians" have not integrated. The country is divided into three major parts: the Six Barbarians, the Xiongnu, and the Jin people. The divisions are clear and quite ugly.

When the previous emperor was alive, he was very capable and managed to unite the various tribes and territories.

The current emperor is actually not a bad person. He has traveled in the Central Plains for many years and is proficient in metaphysics, Confucianism, and even music and poetry. He also served as an aide to Wang Ying in the former Chengdu and led troops in battles. However, compared with the previous emperor, he is always a little lacking in skills.

As for the King of Henei, Liu Yao just sighed and didn't want to comment further.

"Tuoba Xianbei has done bad things time and time again, which is really hateful." After hearing Liu Yao's words, Liu Can nodded, and then transferred his anger to Tuoba Xianbei.

"Why should Shi Guang be upset?" Liu Yao advised: "Tuoba Yilu is willing to fight with Wang Jun in order to seize Dai County, which shows his determination."

"Yongming is saying that Tuoba Yilu wants to expand southward and swallow up Bingzhou, Youzhou and even Henan?" Liu Can said in surprise.

"He is old, I am afraid he does not have such ambitions." Liu Yao said, "He just sees the decline of the Central Plains, and he wants to take advantage of it. His soldiers may seem strong, but if they are thrown into the chaos of the Central Plains, how many years can they fight? The Duan tribe of Xianbei was so powerful in the past. They have been fighting in the Central Plains since Sima Lun. In the past ten years, they have lost at least 10,000 elite soldiers. As a result, they are repeatedly invaded by Murong Xianbei, and their people are scattered. It is a miserable situation. If the war continues, the Duan tribe of Xianbei will become a vassal of Wang Jun."

"The Central Plains is a quagmire." Liu Can laughed with glee.

The Han also suffered a lot in Henan.

The battle of Gaoping had caused the loss of several thousand cavalrymen, and all the tribes had complaints. Fortunately, they did not have an old enemy like the Duan tribe of the Xianbei, otherwise, with the decline becoming apparent, their days would have been difficult.

"I wonder how the battle of Mengjin went..." After laughing, Liu Can remembered that Liu Fu was in charge of Henei and was in charge of the overall situation, so he asked.

"If the emperor sends troops south from Jinyang, it means the war is not going well." Liu Yao said, "If he comes without an imperial edict, it means the battle is going well. Shiguang, just be patient and wait."

"That's right." Liu Can said with a smile.

However, his gaze soon focused, because dozens of riders were running towards him on the post road from the southwest, and the leader even held a staff.

Liu Can and Liu Yao looked at each other and said, "Is it true that they have been defeated?"

The two of them hurried down the city wall.

The visitor was indeed an angel. After reading the imperial edict, Liu Can felt both happy and worried.

What made him happy was that Liu Fu suffered a big setback, but what made him worried was that Shao Xun occupied the ferry on the north bank of Mengjin.

He was so capable of making trouble and fighting that even if he inherited the throne in the future, he would still be a huge threat - as for how to ascend the throne by overtaking his younger brother, the Crown Prince Liu Yi, he thought it was not a big deal at all. Liu Yao was even more worried than Liu Can.

But now is not the time to think about this. The two of them handed over the defense to the newly arrived former general Liu Feng, and then led the army south and headed straight for Henei. Former general Liu Feng was now the governor of Bingzhou of the Han Dynasty and stayed in Jinyang.

******
The capture of Jinyang was a landmark victory for the Han court.

On September 16, Emperor Liu Cong issued an edict: changing the reign title to Jiaping and declaring a general amnesty.

Three days later, he held a banquet for his ministers in the newly built Huiguang Hall and distributed rewards.

Some people may find it strange that King Bohai was defeated in the Battle of Zhamati and had to retreat to Yewang with only 8,000 remaining soldiers. Is there no one paying attention to this?
Actually, there was. Liu Cong had appointed Wang Can of Henei as the Grand Commander, and led an army of 20,000 southwards, with all the troops of Henei and Shangdang counties under his command. In addition, he also gave Liu Can secret instructions to prevent him from making trouble and deviating from the strategy set by the court.

The aged Minister of the Central Secretariat Fan Long glanced at Liu Cong who was chatting and laughing with the ministers, and lowered his head to think silently.

He remembered the rumor that was spread that year.

It was just a random thought, but he didn't expect it to come true, which made him extremely panic.

For several years, he has been pondering a question: Could Shao Xun really be the spirit of Taibai Star who has descended to earth?
In the Battle of Zhamati, with less than 30,000 troops, they captured three camps in two days, defeated King Fu of Bohai, and gained a firm foothold on the north bank of the river.

In this battle, the general of the central army, Wang Zhang, was captured, and Zhao Gu and Shi Le also lost more than ten officers including Guo Heluie. It was a disastrous defeat.

Only Taibai Star, who is in charge of conquest, can fight this kind of battle, right?
Fan Long wasn't quite sure, but he was a little worried.

Shangshu You Pushe Zhu Ji was sitting below Fan Long. He was also thinking about the Battle of Zhamati which had just ended.

Unlike Fan Long, his ties to the Han court were very deep.

After Liu Cong ascended the throne, he openly and secretly ordered important officials in the court to offer their daughters to him for his enjoyment.

As Zhu Ji was the Shangshu You Pushe, he naturally sent his daughter into the palace and made her a noble concubine.

So now he is really working hard for the emperor in every way in order to make his family rich and prosperous.

The Battle of Zhamati has been fought and the outcome cannot be changed. What we need to consider now is the aftermath.

Shao Xun's rise was very sudden, and he was very good at fighting. It would be unwise to fight him. Zhu Ji thought about it and wrote a letter to the emperor, asking him to focus on managing Guanzhong and strengthening the national strength before taking over Heluo.

It just so happened that the King of Zhongshan and the King of Henei had captured Jinyang. From a strategic point of view, they controlled both the east and west banks of the river, and could attack or defend. The situation was very favorable, and they could even sit back and watch the melee among the princes in Guandong and profit from it.

After hearing this, the emperor agreed in his heart, but he still felt a little reluctant.

Zhu Ji knew that the emperor's old habit of being competitive had come back and he would not be satisfied unless he fought again.

He only hoped that the emperor would not lose too many troops in Henei, which would be detrimental to the advance into Guanzhong.

While he was daydreaming, Liu Cong's voice came from behind the dragon desk: "The day before yesterday, Mr. Zhu proposed a plan, saying 'Crossing Yong and Bing'. Yesterday, the ministers discussed it. Do you have anything to say today?"

Zhu Ji perked up and observed everyone silently.

The Han Dynasty has reached a critical crossroads, and the next choice will determine the strategy for many years to come.

"Your Majesty, Zhu Pushe's plan seems inappropriate." Shangshu Zuo Pushe Ma Jing said bluntly: "It is unheard of to have three capitals coexisting, namely Jinyang as the Eastern Capital, Pingyang as the Central Capital, and Chang'an as the Western Capital. Moreover, Jinyang is newly occupied, the people are not attached to it, and there is no food or weapons. Liu Kun and Yilu are eyeing it covetously. Can they definitely stand firm? Chang'an is also occupied by Jia Pi, and is still in the hands of the Jin people. If two of the three capitals are lost, wouldn't it be a joke?"

Zhu Ji quietly clenched his fists, very unhappy.

How could this old man know the mystery of my “Longzhong Strategy”?

"Does anyone else have suggestions?" Liu Cong asked after listening.

His eyes fell on Fan Long.

Fan Long sighed secretly and said, "Your Majesty, the strategy of 'crossing Yong' is quite feasible. I think we can give it a try."

He actually saw that the emperor was somewhat inclined towards this suggestion, but was too embarrassed to say it out loud.

The reason is very simple. Once the strategy of "crossing Yong and Bing" is implemented, the troops and supplies will be tilted towards Guanzhong. It will no longer be like before, where only the King of Zhongshan will be sent as a small force, but the main force will be sent forward.

This sounds a bit like being beaten back by Shao Xun.

Of course, people with insight knew that this was a change in the Han Dynasty's national policy and had little to do with the outcome of one or two wars. But most people were ignorant, and they only saw that the southward advance was repeatedly frustrated, so they changed their main attack direction and began to manage Guanzhong.

To put it bluntly, it's just a matter of face.

"Why doesn't General Wuwei speak?" Liu Cong looked at another person and asked with a smile.

General Wuwei was Linghu Ni, a surrenderer who had just made great contributions in Jinyang. When he heard the emperor's question, he immediately stood up and replied: "I think we should move the capital to Jinyang and work hard to manage Taiyuan. Bingzhou has rugged mountains and rivers, and the people are strong. There are hundreds of miles of fertile soil and thousands of miles of pasture. If we properly cultivate it for a few years, we will have enough food and soldiers. We can take Luoyang and Hebei with our superior momentum. It will be a piece of cake."

Liu Cong did not comment and looked at the Crown Prince Liu Yi.

Liu Yi did not want to talk, but his brother asked, so he said according to Linghu Ni's words: "General Wuwei mentioned the mountains and rivers, and I deeply agree with it. The strategy of 'crossing Yong and Bing' is very good. Dahe, Zhongtiao and Taihang are the shields, and Hangu Pass and Tongguan are the keys. If the enemy attacks, they will be stationed under the strong city and will not be able to advance an inch. We will recuperate and wait for the right time. Once the time is ripe, we will send troops out of Hangu Pass to the east and attack Luoyang; we can send troops out of Chenguan and Taihang Pass to the south and attack Henei and Henan; we can also send troops out of Jingxing and follow the example of Qin to attack the land of Yan and Zhao."

Liu Yi's words touched Liu Cong's heart, but made him even more fearful.

But now is not the time to worry about this.

After all, he had studied and served as an official in the Central Plains for twenty years. He was well-versed in classics and had a very good understanding of what had happened in history.

In fact, it was just the strategy of the Qin State.

Use Hangu Pass and Tongguan to guard Guanzhong, and the Yellow River and Taihang Mountains to guard Bingzhou. You can attack when you advance and defend when you retreat, and you have a commanding position over Guandong.

However, this might make it difficult to take over the Central Plains in a short period of time, which made him feel a little regretful.

But to put it bluntly, Luoyang is his father's obsession, not his.

He would rather go to Fenshui to watch fishermen and play with women in the palace. If he could beat Luoyang, he would beat him. If he couldn't, then forget it.

It seems like a good idea to completely control Bingzhou and Yongzhou and be the emperor in the west.

"The strategy of 'crossing Yong and Bing' -" Liu Cong pondered for a moment, and said: "I will think about it again. However, the war situation in Henei cannot be ignored, and you should make preparations early. Well, the Chenguan Pass has been in ruins for many years, and it is time to rebuild it. The passes in Taihang should also be repaired immediately, and elite soldiers should be selected to garrison in rotation, without any mistakes."

"We obey your order." The ministers responded one after another.

We are all smart people, how can we not hear the hidden meaning behind the words?

Rebuilding the passes on the Taihang Mountains and using the steep and majestic passes to block the Jin army was actually a subtle expression of the emperor's attitude.

Shao Xun was also capable, and he actually changed the strategic direction of the Han Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)