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Volume 2: Hu Qi and a Thin Willow Chapter 116: North-South War Strategies (10)

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    ps: Thanks to rg1969, Haina Sishui Mumu, Iron Man, and Brother Jiurei Zhengtian for their rewards.  On November 7, Zhong Shao captured Tianjing Pass and had the entire Taihang Passage under his control.  At this point, the 400,000-strong coalition of princes led by Liang Jun were completely surrounded in the Shangdang Basin from Shihoubao in the north to Zezhou in the south.  But this siege did not achieve its full effect, because there is another pass in and out of Zezhou among the eight passes of Taihang to the east of Zezhou, which is Baixing.  The north entrance of Baixing is Lingchuan, sixty miles northeast of Zezhou City. It forms a three-way corner with Zezhou and Gaoping, and is now in the hands of the coalition of princes.  From Lingchuan to the southeast, crossing Baixing, you can reach Xiuwu outside the Taihang Mountains.  The allied forces of the princes marched into Shangdang in the summer. In order to compete for time, part of the army chose to pass through Baixing.  Only by capturing Lingchuan can the return route of the coalition of princes be completely blocked.  "To capture Lingchuan, we must first capture Zezhou.  On November 10, Zhong Shao used the infantry of the Cangzhou Army as the main force and the cavalry of the Zhaozhou Army as cover. He assembled more than 20,000 infantry and cavalry men to attack Zezhou.  In another deafening crash, the south gate of Zezhou collapsed and Zezhou fell.  Zhu Yougong's Longhu Army of 20,000 men stationed in Zezhou, and Zhao Kuangming's Chu Army of 20,000 men, who rushed from Gaoping to support them, were defeated in Zezhou in embarrassment, and were immediately chased by the Yan Army's cavalry. The losses were extremely heavy, and only  A few thousand people fled back to Gaoping, and the rest died in the wilderness.  After this battle, Gaoping found no trace of Zhu Yougong and Zhao Kuangming escaping back, and the Yan army did not find their bodies in the fields. According to Jiang Zu, the two were at the south gate tower of Zezhou when the explosion sounded.  above.  After Yanjun carefully inspected them, he was still unable to tell whether Zhu Yougong and Zhao Kuangming were among the broken limbs and flesh, so he had no choice but to let it go.  After Zezhou fell into the hands of the Yan army, the scope of activities of the coalition of princes was further reduced to the Changping passage between Shihoubao and Gaoping.  But at this time, the Yan army was unable to continue marching into Lingchuan and marched thousands of miles around.  After a series of high-intensity battles, no matter how strong the Yan army is, it is not invincible, and the army is still lagging behind and has not yet arrived.  Zhong Shao was also very anxious, but he could only endure his temper and ordered the sergeant to rest.  While waiting for the arrival of the follow-up army.  The King of Liang, who was in charge of Gaoping, was worried and urgently recruited Jingxiang, Li Zhen, Zhu Youning, Shi Shucong, Kang Huaiying, He Delun, Zhang Guihou, Yang Shihou, Li Hui, Ma Yin, Wang Zongji, Li Shenfu, Guo Qiqi, Wang Shike and others to join Gaoping.  Emergency military meeting.  "The Yan army has left Hedong and captured Taihangxing. Zezhou fell into the hands of the Yan army. The two generals Zhu Yougong and Zhao Kuangming have not returned yet, and their lives and deaths are unknown. Currently, the coalition forces are trapped in Gaoping. Fortunately, Jiepailing is still in the hands of the coalition forces.  There is still some room for maneuver" While Jingxiang was briefing the generals present on the military situation, he tried to pay attention to his tone and words, trying not to add too much tension and pressure to everyone.  Before the military meeting, the generals in the hall had actually heard about the current war situation, but the moment they got confirmation from Jingxiang's mouth, it still shocked many people.  Many people suddenly realized with horror.  This scene is so similar to the battle between Qin and Zhao Changping thousands of years ago!  "How did the Yan army get behind them? How did the three kings of Zheng, Jin, and Han fight in the north?" Wang Zongji's question represents the questions of many generals to a certain extent. They still don't know what Li Sizhao and Li Sizhao were.  News about Zhou Dewei and Li Siyuan.  Li Sizhao, Zhou Dewei and Li Siyuan each had a large number of troops in the Lao Hedong Army. They were the three powerful generals who competed with the Xuanwu Army for hegemony back then. Their military prowess was known to the world. No one thought that they would surrender and die.  Speaking of which, Yan Jun's combat method is too classic. It can be said that it is as quiet as a virgin and as active as a rabbit.  The confidentiality work was done extremely well. No one knew about the occupation of Wuxiang for more than half a month. Once the troops were sent out, they swept thousands of miles in an instant. In addition, the Yan Army has always regarded marching as the top priority in training soldiers. Many times, it is often necessary to pass on orders.  As soon as the sentry arrived at the next station, the Yan army's forward had already arrived at the city.  Most people never thought that Li Sizhao, Zhou Dewei and Li Siyuan had been defeated.  Therefore, someone thought of another possibility.  "Could it be that the Yan army has sent troops from Hebei to overcome difficulties and defend itself, and the army has crossed the river?" Most of He Delun's troops came from Huazhou.  The feudal state promised to him by King Liang was also Huazhou. Huazhou was just south of Xiangwei and across the river from Weizhou. Therefore, he was extremely sensitive to this possibility and had been having trouble sleeping and eating for a long time.  He Delun's question awakened the generals, especially the generals under King Liang, including Zhu Youning, Shi Shucong, Kan Huaiying, etc., all of whom looked uneasy.  They all couldn't help but think of a saying that had been circulating these days, saying that Yuan Xiangxian and Jiang Xuanhui were "suspected of collaborating with the enemy." The order issued by King Liang to ennoble Yuan Xiangxian and Jiang Xuanhui seemed to confirm this statement from the side.  Now that Yan Jun appeared behind him, everyone almost believed the rumor.  King Liang felt a little irritated, but in fact he was alsoHave this doubt.  If Yuan Xiangxian and Jiang Xuanhui really betrayed him, then Bianzhou would really be in danger.  But the first priority now is to come up with a way to deal with it. No matter how unexpectedly the Yan army appeared behind them, there is no time to think about it. Even if Bianzhou is really captured by the Yan army, it is not the focus of today's military discussion.  .  "There is Tongmei over there. Don't you still believe in Tongmei?" King Liang waved his hand to indicate not to say more about this matter. He brought out Ge Congzhou's name, which did have a little pacifying effect.  , the discussion became quieter.  Jingxiang continued to introduce the current battle situation. The Shihou Fort in the north has still not been taken down. The Yan army is guarding here as steadily as a rock. The coalition forces of the princes are helpless. The east passage of Danzhu Ridge in the direction of Huguan is also difficult to fight. That road  It is difficult to walk, and siege equipment cannot be transported up. Facing the majestic Huguan, it is difficult for people to have the courage to attack.  The situation in the south is slightly better, but not much better. Although Lingchuan is still in the hands of the coalition forces and can be regarded as a retreat, after Zezhou was captured by the Yan army, this retreat immediately became extremely dangerous.  Not to mention that the Yan army's cavalry can come and go freely and cut off the supplies from Lingchuan to Gaoping at any time. Let's just say that if something unexpected happens to the army, it needs to withdraw from Hedong through Baixing. In terms of Baixing's traffic capacity, there is not even half of it.  Within months, the coalition forces would not be able to withdraw completely. Whether it was Taihangxing or Baixing, the traffic capacity was not very good.  And for more than half a month, the retreating army will be attacked by the Yan army at any time.  If one situation is not handled well, it can easily cause the overall situation to deteriorate.  There is one thing that Jingxiang hasn¡¯t said yet, and he doesn¡¯t dare to say it. If he does, he will be beheaded by the King of Liang.  There is not much food in the army. If Zezhou is lost, not only the two generals and tens of thousands of troops will be lost, but the biggest loss is the 200,000 shi of food that has not had time to be transferred to Gaoping!  Now in Gaoping.  The food reserves of the coalition of princes are not even enough for one month!  Therefore, King Liang's time is running out. In one month, the 400,000-strong army will be wiped out.  In fact, before the military meeting, King Liang discussed with Jingxiang and Li Zhen and had already decided on the strategy for entering the army.  Without him, we can only go south and take back Zezhou!  Occupying Zezhou does not mean that the current dilemma will be resolved. The only role it can play is to rely on Zezhou to cover the evacuation of the army from Baixing.  But such a strategy cannot be brought up by the King of Liang, nor can Jingxiang and Li Zhen. Everyone knows that they are the confidants of the King of Liang.  Their words were what King Liang meant.  First of all, from another perspective, the southern strategy was essentially an admission of the failure of the Northern Expedition. For this Northern Expedition, King Liang made too much noise. He divided the feudal princes and the Luoyang Alliance, and finally entangled the princes of the world.  The troops were sent out, but they retreated in disgrace.  Not only will it bring trouble to Prince Liang, it will also greatly damage Prince Liang¡¯s prestige.  Second, if we tell everyone clearly that we are withdrawing our troops, it will undoubtedly make the entire army suspicious and shake their morale. I am afraid that the 400,000-strong army will not be able to escape at all.  This is also the key reason why Liang Wang is unwilling to take the initiative to announce it.  The suggestion to convene a military meeting was put forward by Li Zhen. The reason why foreign generals such as Ma Yin were involved was to let them take the initiative to share the concerns of the King of Liang.  As Li Zhen expected, Li Shenfu, who was not determined to use troops, was the first to speak.  He advocated going south to attack Zezhou.  Immediately afterwards, Wang Zongji and Ma Yin also agreed.  It's one thing to take advantage of King Liang to send troops to strengthen King Liang's reputation. If you want to bury the army in Shangdang for this, it will be too costly and the deal can't be done.  Guo Qiqi and Wang Shike have always played the role of soy sauce. Of course, they are eager to quit the Shangdang as soon as possible, and they also nodded in agreement.  Only the generals of King Liang felt a little regretful, but they also knew the general trend and the importance of retaking Zezhou, so they agreed.  So Jingxiang immediately announced the military strategy and dispatched various forces.  After seven days of preparation, on November 25, the allied forces of the princes gathered at Jiepailing and used countless siege equipment to advance towards Zezhou.  This campaign was personally commanded by the King of Liang, using 40,000 Zhu Youning's Jianwu army, 50,000 Shi Shucong's security army, 20,000 Zhang Guihou's town army, 15,000 Tingzidu and Yuan Cong's troops.  Thousands of people, Zhang Cunjing and Li Sian's cavalry army of 5,000 people, Ma Yin's Chu army, Wang Zongji's Shu army, Guo Qiqi's Qi army, Li Shenfu's Wu army, Wang Shike's Qi army and other princes' more than 40,000 people went out to fight with them. The total strength  The number reached 170,000, among which the cavalry led by Zhang Cunjing and Li Sian protected the back road between Jiepailing and Zezhou.  Kang Huaiying, Yang Shihou, He Delun and others led their troops to guard the fortresses north of Gaoping to prevent the Yan army from taking advantage of the situation and going south.  This is a decisive battle that has been anticipated by the General Administration of Military Staff long before the Yan army left Wuxiang. Zhong Shao had been ordered a month ago to take full command of this battle.  The General Administration of Military Staff has made preparations to encircle and annihilate the coalition forces of princesThere are two sets of combat plans. The first set of plans is plan A. After capturing Zezhou, if everything goes well, Lingchuan will be occupied immediately and completely block the retreat of the coalition forces of the princes.  So far, Plan A seems unfeasible.  Plan B basically predicts the current battlefield situation, that is, after capturing Zezhou, it will encounter a large-scale counterattack by the coalition forces of the princes.  The plan stipulates that if the coalition forces of the princes use large-scale siege equipment, it will be very difficult to hold on to Zezhou; at the same time, the plan also opposes holding on to Zezhou, because if the Yan army is besieged by the coalition forces of the princes in the city of Zezhou, it will lose its control of Lingchuan.  Threats from different directions strategically cannot achieve combat objectives.  Therefore, the Yan army should take the initiative to fight, strive to start a battle with the coalition forces of the princes in the wilderness, strive to defeat the coalition forces, and take advantage of the situation to occupy Lingchuan.  If they cannot win, they must also maintain deterrence in the direction of Lingchuan to prevent the coalition forces from successfully evacuating Shangdang from Baixing.  As early as the beginning of the coalition forces of the princes gathering towards Jiepailing, the Yan army's sentry cavalry sent the news to Zezhou. The Yan army immediately understood that this was a sign that the coalition forces of the princes were about to take action.  Zhong Shao is writing urgent messages in various ministries, urging the follow-up army to come to the rescue as soon as possible.  By the night of November 23, the newly formed Jinzhou Army, which had fallen behind, finally arrived in Zezhou as scheduled. The Yan Army had now assembled the largest force that could be assembled in the southern battlefield, forming a field group of more than 80,000 people.  , marched to Bohequan, twenty miles north of Zezhou, with the Dragon King Mountain at its back, and set up a large formation towards the approach of the coalition of northern princes.  At noon on November 25th, the allied forces of the princes arrived at Bohequan and stopped one mile away. King Liang arranged the armies to set up their positions, and then slowly approached the Yan army. The two sides approached each other within 500 steps and faced each other. The battle was imminent.  On this day, there is a slight cold, the winter wind brings coldness, and the land of East Asia has entered the coldest period in the second year of God's blessing.
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