Author: Crazy Chen

This letter of appeal was sent by Yang Biao from the east.

Previously, Yang Biao had just been defeated outside the Pass, and before the Guanxi court had decided how to deal with Yang Biao, this man himself sent a policy letter.

This book did not explain why there was a defeat, but instead began to talk about what the Kwantung Army did.

Among them, Yang Biao said that there are three advantages between Guandong and Guanxi. That is, we are poor and the other is rich, we are weak and the other is strong, and we are narrow and the other is wide.

The officials in Guanxi are very angry. Don’t they know this? What do you want Yang Biao’s junior to say?

Isn't it just for your father's sake that you, Yang Biao, have already been deprived of your power after this great defeat, and yet you are still talking here?

But then, Yang Biao said in the letter that there is no other in Kansai, only three.

That is the right time, right place, and right people.

This confused the officials in Guanxi, including Liu Hong. Liu Hong himself didn't even know that he had these three things.

Then I heard Yang Biao continue to preach:

"In the time of Heaven, I am righteous, and he is treacherous. I am father, and he is son. It is disloyal for a subject to usurp the king. It is unfilial for a son to rebel against his father! Heaven despises those who are unfaithful and unfilial."

Then there is the location.

Yang Biao said that now the Guanxi Army is blocked by Weihan, with the east side of the river on its side, and the east and west dangerous crossings of Longmen, Pujin, Fengling, Shaanjin and other ferries. It also controls the most important gateway in Guanzhong, the natural danger Hangu Pass.

It can be said that in terms of the traditional defense of Guanzhong, the Guanxi court side is complete. And because of the tendency of Hedong, a series of county guards in Bingzhou are all in favor of Guanxi, so in theory, the Guanxi side can still pass through the river.

Yang turned south and attacked Luoyang.

When Kansai occupied such a victorious position, even if the Kwantung Army had occasional small victories outside the Kansai region, it would not fundamentally change the pattern of confrontation between the East and the West.

This is what Yang Biao said: Guanxi is victorious because of its territory.

But these are not what the officials of Guanlong are excited about, because they also know these situations. But the geographical advantage is fatal, and so is Hangu Pass. When our ancestors entered Guanzhong, wasn't it an attempt to use Hangu Pass as a basis to stop Xiang Yu?

The Western Expeditionary Army?

But what’s the result? There’s still the shame of Hongmen!

But the third thing Yang Biao said next was different. It really gave the officials of Guanxi the hope of victory.

This is also what Yang Biao said about harmony.

Although this battle outside the customs was defeated, there were unexpected gains.

That is to say, the Kwansi Army outside the Pass at that time actually only faced one part of the Kwantung Army, namely Cao Cao's Department and Huangfu Li's Department, while the other departments sat on the sidelines and watched.

Although it is embarrassing to say that Yang Biao's thousands of troops were defeated after only fighting two units of the Kwantung Army. But from here, we can see the internal discord among the Kwantung generals.

Originally, it was normal for the generals to be wise and self-protective, and to be reluctant to move forward. However, the Kwantung Army's behavior only shows that they have not yet been able to integrate their headquarters, which means they have not formed their own central authority.

This gave Yang Biao hope. They originally thought that if the great people in Guandong could plan such a Qingjun side, they must be one and the same, but now it seems that this is not the case.

Later, when Yang Biao was sitting at Hangu Pass, he encountered several groups of military officials who had surrendered from the Kwantung Army.

These people were all former Kansai soldiers in the Northern Army. They escaped secretly because they were attached to their hometown.

From these people, Yang Biao confirmed his guess.

That is to say, the Kwantung armies are really entangled with each other. They drink and have fun every day under the Hangu Pass. No one talks about fighting, but some people say that the time is not ripe. In short, although the Kwantung army is powerful, they cannot fight together.

Tie each other down.

Hence, Yang Biao’s strategy came into being.

After analyzing the enemy and ourselves, Yang Biao also gave the court officials countermeasures.

They are:

"Gather foreign aid, deploy foreign troops, and fortify the city."

The first is to recruit foreign aid.

Yang Biao's intention was to ask the Guanxi court to put aside their past grievances and follow the strategy of distant friendship and close attack to appease the Yellow Turbans in Hebei and let them attack Luoyang from the rear of Guandong and try to cut off the Kwantung Army's food routes.

Among them, Yang Biao also specifically pointed out the Taishan bandits in Yecheng. He said that the Taishan bandits were truly the greatest thieves in the world, but they might as well be used now. With their military strength, once they went south to the river, the Kwantung Army would not be a concern.

Of course, Yang Biao also considered that it would be difficult to recruit the Taishan bandits, but he still asked the court officials to consider this force.

Then there is the second strategy mentioned by Yang Biao, which is to mobilize foreign troops.

Yang Biao suggested that the imperial court transfer Taiyuan, the Shangdang soldiers go south to the river, and then let the Huns guard the Zhonglang general to lead the Huns soldiers to jointly open the south passage. If possible, you can also recruit the miscellaneous Huns and Xianbei on the grassland. In short, there is Use whatever foreign soldiers you want.

Yang Biao here did not shy away from the fact that the foreign soldiers he talked about were almost all Hu soldiers. Because in the eyes of Yang Biao and other scholar-bureaucrats, it has always been the tradition of the Han Dynasty to use barbarian soldiers.

Otherwise, the Hu people are cheap and easy to use. Not only are they good at bows and horses, but with a little bit of Chinese and French armor, they are good warriors. And they don't cost much money. As long as these tribes are given pasture to survive the winter, these Hu soldiers are Continuously.

Therefore, using barbarian troops will save China's strength and pacify all four sides. A win-win situation!

Therefore, from the time of Emperor Gaozu when he used towers to harass the troops and attack the barbarians, to when Guangwu used Wuhuan to attack the cavalry, the Han Dynasty used barbarian soldiers in countless cases.

Now, the Southern Xiongnu soldiers that Yang Biao suggested to use are just like this, they are the traditional mercenaries of the Han Dynasty.

But is there any problem with mobilizing troops from northern Xinjiang on a large scale to move south? Yes!

That would create an empty situation in northern Xinjiang, especially since Yang Biao also suggested borrowing Xianbei soldiers. Wouldn't this allow Xianbei to gain an insight into China's reality?

But in Yang Biao's eyes, it was just bad skin.

He said this in his policy book:

"China and the border are like the branches and the heart. My skin is cold on the outside, and the disease on my stomach and heart is on the inside. Cold skin is just a minor illness, but pain in the stomach and heart is a serious problem. Therefore, before going outside, you must first calm down the inside."

In Yang Biao's view, the Xianbei issue should be put aside for the time being. After Tan Shihuai's death, they would split again, which was no longer a concern. On the contrary, the rebels in the east would be fatal.

Then, Yang Biao talked about his third strategy, Guchengzhai.

Among them, Yang Biao specifically pointed out that there are only two key points in the entire Guanlong defense line. One is Hangu Pass and the other is Pujin.

Yang Biao said that as long as there were enough supplies, he was confident that the Kwantung Army would be blocked at Hangu Pass. But he was worried about the Hedong side, and the Hedong prefect Dong Zhuo was unpredictable.

In Yang Biao's words, this man was rough and arrogant, and his subordinates were mostly Qiang and Hu soldiers, so he could not be treated as an ordinary person. But Dong Zhuo's position was particularly important.

It can be said that in today's East-West dispute, Dong Zhuo will win if he throws left, and the right will win if he throws right. Yang Biao even said that this man was riding a wall and looking at both sides, and had unspeakable thoughts.

In this case, Pujin's safety cannot be placed on Dong Zhuo, and even if this person betrays, Pujin's defense line must be able to be held.

Therefore, Yang Biao suggested focusing on setting up forts in the Pujin area and guarding them across the river. In this way, troops and grain from Hexi could be continuously and smoothly sent to Pujin, and the rebels could be defended in the east of Hedong.

As a result, to mobilize such manpower and material resources, one Pujin Shou was not enough, and a town of Xingtai had to be set up in Zuofengyi to provide support to people in the area.

In this way, with Yang Biao to the east and Feng Yi Xingtai to the north, the entire defense line must be impregnable.

But whether intentionally or unintentionally, Yang Biao didn’t say much about the ferry further north of Guanzhong, Longmen Ferry.

The above are the three strategies that Yang Biao implemented, which shocked the Dukes of Yan and Yan in the court.

Among them, Ma Qiang, the head of the Ma family of the Xiguan clan, who was also the son of Ma Rong, praised him in public:

"Si'er has the tools to solidify his career and carry on his family."

…

Although the Kansai army here was defeated, it found its direction. Outside the Kansai area, although the Kwantung Army was victorious, it was confused.

At this time, in a large tent among the densely packed military tents, howls continued.

A burly warrior was pinned down on the table by two more burly warriors.

This man is Xiahou Dun, Cao Cao's personal general.

The people holding him down at this time were Cao Cao's generals Xu Chu and Shi Huan. They held him down not because Xiahou Dun had made any mistakes, but to treat his injuries.

Xiahou Dun's cheek was penetrated by an arrow from the left side. The arrow shaft had been successfully taken out, but the arrow was still embedded in his face and inserted into the back of his skull.

With such an injury, most people would die, and even if they didn't die, they would be given up. But fortunately, Xiahou Dun had Cao Cao, and Cao Cao had the best master in Qiao, Hua Tuo.

At this moment, Cao Cao looked at Hua Tuo nervously, watching what he did to Xiahou Dun's face.

On the one hand, he was happy, but on the other hand, he blamed himself.

Fortunately for him, after Hua Tuo cured Huangfu Song, he keenly realized the importance of Hua Tuo, and then he was absolutely willing to keep this man in the army.

What he blames himself for is that Xiahou Dun's current miserable situation is all because of himself.

It turned out that the Kansai Army came out of the pass a few days ago, and Cao Cao was ordered to lead his troops to fight with it.

At that time, the Guanxi Army was stationed on a ridge five miles west of Cao Cao. Cao Cao's troops served as the vanguard, and all the troops joined together, a total of 8,000 soldiers from four cadet divisions, to fight together.

Cao Cao wanted to make an emergency landing on the Kwansi Army on the slope, but was refused.

Afterwards, the Kansai Army shot to death the Kwantung Army's negotiator with a hail of arrows, thus kicking off the battle.

In this battle, the Guanxi Army was equipped with a large number of crossbowmen, and most of the large yellow crossbows were moved from the Luoyang arsenal. These were originally military weapons of the Han Army, but now they were used on them.

It was so fast that the dense arrows fired by the Kansai Army made the sun lose its color in one fell swoop, covering Cao Cao's troops as straight as wheat.

Among them, Xiahou Dun, who was the vanguard of Cao's troops in this battle, was hit by an arrow. The arrow pierced his cheek, and blood flowed profusely. This Xiahou Dun was indeed an extraordinary person. After being hit by the arrow, he refused to retreat and instead encouraged his subordinates to charge.

.

In this way, Xiahou Dun led his armored soldiers and rushed up the slope, fighting with the Guanxi army.
To be continued...