ps: Thanks to rg1969, Haina Sishui Mumu, Iron Man, and Jiurei Zhengtian for their rewards.
On November 7, Zhong Shao captured Tianjing Pass and took control of the entire Taihang Pass. At this point, the 400,000-strong coalition of princes led by Liang Jun were completely surrounded from Shihoubao in the north to Zezhou in the south.
In the Shangdang Basin. However, this encirclement 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, across Baixing, you can reach the Taihang Mountains.
Xiuwu. The coalition of 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, with the infantry of the Cangzhou Army as the main force and the cavalry of the Zhaozhou Army as the cover, assembled more than 20,000 infantry and cavalrymen to attack Zezhou. In another deafening crash, the south gate of Zezhou collapsed, and Zezhou
Fall. Zhu Yougong's Longhu Army of 20,000 men stationed in Zezhou, and Zhao Kuangming's Chu Army of 20,000 men who hurriedly came from Gaoping to support them, were defeated in Zezhou in embarrassment, and were immediately chased by the Yan Army's cavalry, causing extremely heavy losses.
, 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.
After careful inspection by Yanjun, they were still unable to tell whether Zhu Yougong and Zhao Kuangming were among the broken limbs and flesh, so in the end they had no choice but to leave it alone.
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. However, at this time, the Yan army was unable to continue its march into Lingchuan and detoured thousands of miles.
After a series of high-intensity battles, no matter how strong the Yan army is, it is not invincible, and the larger 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 sergeants 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 received confirmation from Jingxiang's mouth, it still shocked many people. Many people suddenly realized with horror that this scene was different from thousands of years ago.
The battle between Qin and Zhao Changping is so similar!
"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 was.
News about Zhou Dewei and Li Siyuan.
Li Sizhao, Zhou Dewei and Li Siyuan each had a large number of troops in the old 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.
It seems that the Yan army's fighting method is too classic. It can be said that it is as quiet as a virgin and as active as a rabbit. It has done an excellent job of keeping secrets. It occupied Wuxiang for more than half a month without anyone knowing about it. Once the troops were sent out, they swept thousands of miles in an instant.
The Shangyan Army has always regarded marching as the top priority in training soldiers. In many cases, the Yan Army's forwards have already arrived at the city as soon as the sentinel delivering the order arrives at the next station.
Most people never thought that Li Sizhao, Zhou Dewei and Li Siyuan had been defeated. Therefore, some people thought of another possibility.
"Could it be that the Yan army has sent troops from Hebei to defend Xiangwei and the army crossed the river?" Most of He Delun's soldiers came from Huazhou. The feudal state promised to him by the Liang King was also Huazhou. Huazhou is just south of Xiangwei, and with Weizhou
The two states face each other across the river, so he is extremely sensitive to this possibility and has been having trouble sleeping and eating for a long time.
He Delun's question woke up the generals, especially the generals under King Liang, including Zhu Youning, Shi Shucong, Kan Huaiying, etc., all of them looked uneasy. They all couldn't help but think of a saying that has been circulating these days, saying that Yuan Xiang was the
He and Jiang Xuanhui were "suspected of collaborating with the enemy", and the order issued by King Liang to ennoble Yuan Xiangxian and Jiang Xuanhui seemed to confirm this statement from the side. Now that the Yan army appeared behind him, everyone almost believed this rumor.
King Liang felt a little irritated. In fact, he also had the same doubts. 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 what
There is no time to think about how the Yan army unexpectedly appeared behind them. Even if Bianzhou was 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 Pass, 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. Let’s not talk about the Yan army.
The cavalry can go back and forth 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 Baixing to the east of Hedong. In terms of Baixing's traffic capacity, in less than half a month, the coalition army can
The retreat cannot be completed at all. Whether it is Taihangxing or Baixing, the traffic capacity is not very good. And for more than half a month, the retreating army will be attacked by the Yan army at any time. If it is not handled well, it will be easy.
This leads to the overall situation being corrupted.
There was one more thing Jingxiang didn't say, and he didn't dare to say it. If he said it, he would be beheaded by the King of Liang. There wasn't much food in the army. If Zezhou was lost, he would lose not only two generals and tens of thousands of troops.
, the biggest loss was the 200,000 shi of grain that had 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 army of 400,000 will be wiped out.
In fact, before the military meeting, the King of Liang discussed with Jingxiang and Li Zhen and had already decided on the strategy of entering the army. Without him, he could only go south and retake 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 from the mouth of King Liang, nor can Jingxiang and Li Zhen. Everyone knows that they are the confidants of King Liang. Their words are what King Liang means.
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 formed the Luoyang Alliance, and finally entangled the princes of the world.
The troops were sent out, but the troops were withdrawn in disgrace. Not only would it bring trouble to the King of Liang, but it would also greatly damage the prestige of the King of Liang.
Secondly, if we tell everyone clearly that we are withdrawing our troops, it will undoubtedly make the whole 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 King Liang 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. They took advantage of King Liang and sent troops on behalf of King Liang.
Building up one's reputation is one thing, but if the army is to be sacrificed to the Shangdang for this purpose, it will be too costly and the deal cannot be done.
Guo Qiqi and Wang Shike had always played the role of soy sauce. Of course, they were eager to quit the Shangdang as soon as possible, and they also nodded in agreement.
Only the generals of the Liang Wang family 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 Zhu Youning's 40,000-strong Jianwu Army, Shishu Cong's 50,000-strong Baojun Army, Zhang Guihou's 20,000-person town army, and the Tingzidu and Yuan Cong's 15,000-strong army.
Thousands of people, Zhang Cunjing and Li Sian's cavalry of 5,000, 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 more than 40,000 people from the princes and other princes accompanied them on the expedition. 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 was a decisive battle that had been anticipated by the General Administration of Military Staff long before the Yan army left Wuxiang. Zhong Shao had been ordered to take full command of this battle a month ago.
The General Administration of Military Staff has prepared two sets of operational plans to encircle and annihilate the coalition forces of the princes. The first set of plans is Plan A. After capturing Zezhou, if everything goes well, Lingchuan will be occupied immediately to completely block the retreat of the coalition forces. At present,
So far, Plan A seems to be 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
They are also opposed to sticking to Zezhou, because if the Yan army is besieged in the city of Zezhou by the coalition forces of the princes, it will lose the threat to Lingchuan direction and strategically cannot achieve its combat objectives. Therefore, the Yan army should take the initiative to fight and strive to fight in the wild.
The coalition forces of the princes launched a battle, striving to defeat the coalition forces and occupy Lingchuan. If they could not win, they must maintain deterrence in the direction of Lingchuan to prevent the coalition forces from successfully evacuating Shangdang from Baixing.
As early as when the allied forces of the princes gathered at Jiepailing, the Yan army's sentry cavalry sent the message to Zezhou. The Yan army immediately understood that this was a harbinger that the allied forces of the princes were about to take action. Zhong Shao was writing urgent messages to all ministries, urging the follow-up army to hurry up.
Come to help.
By the night of November 23rd, the newly formed Jinzhou Army, which had fallen behind, finally arrived in Zezhou as scheduled. The Yan Army had thus 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 Longwang Mountain at its back, and set up a large formation towards the path of the northern princes' coalition.
At noon on November 25th, the allied forces of the princes arrived at Bohequan and stopped one mile away. The king of 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 that day, there was a slight cold, the winter wind brought coldness, and the land of East Asia entered the coldest period in the second year of God's blessing.