A group of sergeants walked through the winding and rugged mountain roads.
They were part of the Baoyi Army that set out from Lingbao. They received orders from Li Tangbin, the Heluo military envoy, to camp in the area west of Xin'an County.
The Chishui Army stationed in Shaanxi County, the Guzhen Army stationed in Mianchi, and the Wuxing Army stationed in Xia Shibao have already been dispatched in advance. Together with the 4,000 of them and the 3,000 left wing of the Baoyi Army, there are a total of more than 30,000 people.
Behind them, there were 4,000 troops from the three prefectures of Shaanxi, Guo, and Shao who were responsible for guarding the grain road and urging the master to transfer grain and grass on schedule.
The cities of Xiashi, Wei, and Mianchi could only be garrisoned in turn by local men recruited temporarily from each county. One group would guard for two months. After the defense was completed, they would go home to do farm work, and another group of people would continue.
As for the most critical Huguo City, it is guarded by three thousand guards and troops from the Military Division of the Duhu Prefecture who have just arrived. Another three thousand people have also been mobilized, but they are still on their way. They just left Tongguan yesterday and are still some distance from the front line.
distance.
Li Renyu and Tuoba Renfu's last two thousand riders remained on the south bank of the river, and they were also summoned by Li Tangbin. The quality of these people was poor, old and young, and they were not expected to reach the front line.
It's enough to just fight, patrol the grain road, and provide support everywhere at any time. The requirements are not high.
To be honest, such a small number of troops is not enough to capture Xin'an and even Luoyang.
Especially since the front line only had 30,000 to 40,000 people, it would be difficult to attack Luo City directly. Xin'an County was built in the Later Zhou Dynasty (Northern Zhou Dynasty) with the purpose of attacking Luoyang in the Northern Qi Dynasty. It was originally named Tongluo.
On this front, the Xia army was actually very eager for the Liang people to fight with them in the field, but it was basically difficult to get their wish. Just like last year's Battle of Heyang, Pang Shigu wanted Shao Shude to fight with him in the field, but he never got it.
In the Nanyang battlefield, before Ding Hui's reinforcements arrived, the Liang people were unwilling to fight in the field, but Zhe Zongben was willing. After Ding Hui arrived, the Liang people wanted to annihilate the main force of Wei Sheng's army through field battles, but Zhe Zongben retreated and defended
Lord.
Both sides are trying their best to maximize their strengths and avoid their weaknesses, so as not to put themselves in a disadvantageous position and suffer strategic defeat.
On the whole, there is no doubt that the Liang people are now at a strategic disadvantage.
At first, the Xia army only attacked from one direction: Hangu Road, but in the third year of Dashun (892), the Nanyang battlefield was opened, allowing them to attack the Bianliang forces from the southwest. Today, this battlefield continues to develop, and gradually ignites the war to Shen, Guang and Er.
Prefecture, threatening the Huaixi hinterland of the Liang people.
If he had a choice, Zhu Quanzhong would definitely want to attract all the Xia army in this direction, determine the outcome in one battle, and completely solve the trouble in this direction. Otherwise, it would be too passive to delay for a long time.
In the fifth year of Dashun (894), the fall of Heyang announced that the northern defense line of Bianliang forces was open.
A large group of highly mobile Xia troops crossed the frozen Yellow River and headed south into Henan Prefecture and Zhengzhou, harassing them endlessly. It is true that the Xia troops in Heyang did not have enough food and grass, and there were also a large number of immigrated people who consumed a huge amount of resources.
, they may not have the ability to launch a full-scale southern invasion, but the cavalry harassment is still a headache.
In this direction, Liang people are actually willing to fight decisively. It is better than cutting the flesh with a dull knife and getting weaker day by day.
Gao Renhou, Li Tangbin, and Zhe Zongben, the three commanders, implemented three different strategies, gradually tightening the noose around Liang Ren's neck, hoping to suffocate them to death.
This is a conspiracy. You can see through it, but you may not be able to break it.
"Let me tell you, if we march eastward this time, there may not be a big war." Xie Bin, who had set up camp outside the Xiashi Fort, said with frothing at the mouth.
The Mengzhou incident deceived his old boss Zhang Quanyi, and Xie Bin still blamed himself at first. But after so many years, he has changed his mentality and has done his duty as Lingbao general conscientiously.
The Xuanwu Army's situation would have been quite dangerous if the Xia Army had not suffered consecutive defeats. Judging from his half-life experience in fighting, Xie Bin felt that it would be difficult to turn over.
"Why did the envoy say this?" Someone asked: "Didn't the Baoyi army walking in front of us carry a lot of siege equipment? It looks like they are about to attack the city."
"I agree with the envoy, there may not necessarily be a war." Another person said: "But Xin'an County may still have to attack, even if it is a pretense."
"It would be great if we could capture Luoyang. We can also go back and have a look."
"We can't defeat it just by attacking all the way, unless Hu Zhen surrenders."
Jie Bin listened to the generals' discussion and smiled but said nothing.
Today's dinner was actually not bad. Corn rice, cheese, and broth with some vegetable leaves floating in it. He had just been out on an inspection tour, and the soldiers enjoyed the meal very much.
Join the Xia Army. The food in the army is really good to the naked eye. I heard from people in the Baoyi Army that it was not so good before, but now there are many old cattle in Guanbei on the market, and the price of meat is getting cheaper and cheaper, which will be easier to collect later.
The common people made a large amount of dried meat and shipped it along with cheese to the lower reaches.
As a martial artist, it is indeed not difficult for everyone to eat meat. If you are willing to buy pork that is "as cheap as mud", you can even eat one every two or three days. But like Xia Jun, who supplies beef and mutton jerky, cheese and milk powder in large quantities,
It is still rare and reflects their heritage.
"Actually, if we want to know whether we want to fight, we have to look at how the fighting is going on other battlefields. If Nanyang goes straight into Caizhou, Ding Hui and Yang Shihou cannot control it, and Liang Jun's entire front will be stretched. At that time, we will
Let’s fight, fight a big fight.”
"In that case, Gao Renhou is afraid that he will send a large number of troops to the south. Even if there is insufficient army rations, we have to fight first."
"I don't know how many people will die. If our four thousand cavalry are left on the battlefield of more than two hundred thousand people, we will be gone in the blink of an eye."
The generals were still discussing, but Xie Bin did not participate. He just lowered his head and ate in silence.
In fact, he somewhat agrees with everyone's views. Judging from his many years of experience, Xia Jun's first target is still Luoyang. He wants to annihilate the Liang Jun in this area and completely change the battlefield situation.
He studied the Xia king's military tactics.
In short, the King of Xia liked to divide his troops, and no road was the main battlefield in a pure sense.
Those with more troops may not necessarily be the main force to win, and those with few troops may not necessarily be biased. The right and wrong combinations always make constant adjustments based on the development of the battlefield situation, and ultimately achieve their strategic goals.
The battle to defeat Liang in the second year of Qian Ning has begun quietly, and he will pay close attention to the direction of the battle.
…
From Heyang to Henan, from Zhengzhou to Shenzhou, and then from Tangzhou to Caizhou, more than 200,000 people on both sides were gradually involved in a dangerous offensive and defensive fight on the thousands of miles of front line.
As the supreme commander of the Xia army, Shao Shude did not interfere in the specific war at all, leaving everything to the three coaches. As for himself, he received Shao Desheng who was passing by at Hanyin Station in the west of Xiangyang City.
"Don't think about it again. He will arrive soon. You can go south with him. Hunan is in chaos. Cai's general Liu Jianfeng is running around and conquering Tanzhou. After claiming the title of Liu, he sent his generals Ma Yin and others south to divide Shaozhou in the south. Hengzhou." Shao Shude said: "In fact, Liu Jianfeng only had more than 7,000 soldiers. When he passed through Jiangxi, he recruited a large number of Latins to recruit troops, coerced the people and supported more than 100,000 people. The core of this rabble was still the 7,000 Sun Confucian remnant soldiers. But Having said that, you still have to be careful when waiting. If that doesn't work, just take the Jiangxi detour."
"Yes." Shao Desheng responded.
Liu Jianfeng was a Cai thief, so I don't know if he is easy to talk to. Although generally speaking, after Cai thief "comes ashore", he will try every means to obtain the name of the court, and his behavior is somewhat orderly, and he is not completely random.
But don’t be afraid of ten thousand in everything, just be afraid of the unexpected.
Cai was so fierce that he probably didn't know what he was going to do next. Will he happily allow Mo Zaisi and Shao Desheng to lead the army? It's hard to say.
"After you go to the town, you can search for a kind of early rice called 'Champa rice'." Shao Shude added: "You should be able to find this within five tubes. Then find a way to send it over. I will be of great use. .”
Among the five, Shao Desheng went to Yongguan, Mo Zaisi went to Annan, and mobilized the two of them to search together. If they couldn't find it, they could go to Yongguan, Guangguan, and Gui jurisdictions to find a solution, or even go directly to Champa. Generally speaking, Annan should have been planted in large areas, so it is not difficult to find it.
"As ordered." Shao Desheng responded again.
Shao Shude looked at Fa Xiao, who was a little cautious, a little helpless. Just as he was about to say something, Chen Cheng suddenly came over and said loudly: "Commander, General Niu sent a military report. They succeeded in Shenzhou and defeated two groups of soldiers in succession. The bandit army coming from the direction of Gwangju for reinforcements has nearly 2,000 people nearby."
This is to encircle the point and call for reinforcements.
Shenzhou was obviously empty, but he was not in a hurry to capture it now. Instead, he used it as bait, causing Guangzhou to lose two waves of reinforcements, causing great losses.
But it is not good to delay it any longer. There will definitely be reinforcements coming from the direction of Caizhou, and they will be quite large. If they cannot gain a foothold as soon as possible, they will have no choice but to retreat and give up this newly gained territory.
"Give Niu Li an order to capture Shenzhou City as soon as possible. Guangzhou has lost so many soldiers and horses, and the defense should not be tight. If we can pull it out, we will pull it out." Shao Shude ordered.
Zang Dubao was the envoy to recruit, and Niu Li was the deputy envoy to recruit. But everyone familiar with it knew that it was actually Niu Li, the deputy envoy of the Tianxiong Army, who actually commanded the operations in the direction of Shen, Guang, and Cai. Therefore, Shao Shude also directly Give him the order.
There are still many problems between the four states of Shen, Guang and An and Huang.
The biggest trouble is the inconvenient transportation. The Tongbai Mountains block Shen and Guang in the north, and isolate Jiang'an and Huang in the south. One can only go south or north through a limited number of passes.
This time, Shao Shude still had requirements for Niu Li. He wanted to at least gain a foothold in the area north of the Tongbai Mountains and be able to withstand a possible siege by the Xuanwu Army and completely stabilize this territory.
Once Guang Jian makes a breakthrough in Shen, he can cross the Huai River north and attack Caizhou. Zhu Quanzhong's life will become even more difficult.
"Quick victory. Princess Zheling takes action. Even if she escapes unscathed, the losses should be considerable." Shao Shude finally ordered: "He has created an opportunity for you, so you must seize it firmly. Shenzhou, give it now I’m going south!”