On Liu Chengyou's side, the Western Expedition is progressing smoothly, which refers to the march. The 30,000-strong army on land and water is lightly armed and simple. Apart from the necessary weapons and provisions, there are no other heavy equipment or supplies.
We followed the Bian Canal all the way north, entered the Yellow River westward, turned to Luoshui, and arrived in Xijing in four days. It was a very tiring military trip. The canal was in disrepair and was not smooth. The previous autumn rains made the water turbulent and bumpy. "Dragon Boat" "It's just an ordinary boat modification, not for sightseeing, so it's naturally uncomfortable.
The soldiers of the Forbidden Army who were transported as "cargo" were even more miserable. Most of the soldiers were northerners, landlubbers who were not accustomed to water, and there were countless people who suffered from seasickness and vomiting. Time is faster, and when they landed, their combat strength Ten percent also went to seventy percent.
In comparison, the land march was much slower and equally tiring, but its combat power was relatively intact.
According to the established plan, they abandoned the boat and took the land route, reorganized in Luoyang, replenished supplies, and then headed westward. However, they had to rest for one day longer than expected. By the way, Liu Chengyou inspected the situation in Xijing.
Luoyang, as the third most prosperous city in the Han Dynasty, Liu Chengyou still attaches great importance to it. Under Shi Hongzhao's vengeful management, it has not been particularly peaceful recently. The noble old officials who live in Xijing have basically no relationship with them. The face was torn.
On Liu Chengyou's desk, the impeachment memorial for Shi Hongzhao was not too short. It was basically the same old story, arrogance and domineering, corruption and perversion of the law, harsh punishment and so on. After Shi Hongzhao was dismissed from the position of commander-in-chief of the bodyguards, those people's treatment of him The fear is obviously reduced.
As for those impeachment memorials, Liu Chengyou basically stayed in China. Shi Hongzhao did too much in Luoyang. At least this year's summer harvest, the Xijing area has a lot of taxes, and the tax evasion of the nobles has been greatly curbed. , those who concealed the truth were severely punished by Shi Hongzhao.
Therefore, when the emperor came to Xijing, Liu Chengyou especially praised Shi Hongzhao, which was quite rare. It is a very real problem. When Shi Hongzhao was the commander-in-chief, Liu Chengyou hated him very much and even had murderous intentions. Of course, when he After changing positions and reducing the threat, Liu Chengyou's attitude towards him changed dramatically, and his tolerance level skyrocketed.
After arriving in Luoyang, the situation in Huazhou and the war in Tongzhou were reported to the emperor one after another.
"Yao Yuanfu is always strong, Bai Wenke is a famous commander, Song Yanwo is both wise and brave, and Yang Ye is fierce and good at fighting. All four of them live up to my expectations!" After putting away the battle report, Liu Chengyou's brows relaxed and he ordered: "General Here is the battle report ahead for the three armies!"
"yes!"
When the army sets off for war, news that boosts morale naturally needs to be publicized more.
"According to the investigation, Li Shouzhen's goal was to take advantage of the early stage of the rebellion and the imperial court's failure to respond, seize Tongguan in the south to control Guandong, cross to Pujin in the west, and join forces with Hua's army and combine the forces of the three states to sweep through the right side of Guan and wrap up the rebellion. According to the three assistants, we will wait for the Han Dynasty to rise up on all sides and fight against each other, and then send our troops eastward..." Feng Dao, who was accompanying the emperor, told Liu Chengyou.
Hearing what he said, Liu Chengyou didn't show much contempt, but sighed with emotion: "Although Li Shouzhen is despicable, this strategy poses a huge threat to the imperial court. If he cannot achieve his goal, the land of Guanyou will inevitably be in chaos!"
"Of course, Li Shouzhen would never have imagined that the imperial court would react so quickly, and that His Majesty would be so resolute and courageous that he personally brought a large army to attack. Before the imperial army arrived, Bai, Yao, Song, Yang and other generals had already dampened his spirit!" Feng Dao His expression was somewhat relaxed, his face almost turned into a flower with a smile, and his compliments to Liu Chengyou were obvious in his words.
Liu Chengyou stared at the map of Guanyou spread out on the imperial desk, thought carefully for a while, and made a few gestures: "Since Zhao Hui has led the army to the west to aid Tongguan, and the other three troops have also moved, where is Wang Yan of Jinzhou? "
"He has reported to send troops to go south, but so far, there is no news!" Fan Zhi, the counselor accompanying the army, reported.
Liu Chengyou's brows suddenly wrinkled, but he quickly relaxed: "I know!"
"The troops in front have frustrated the rebels and curbed their momentum. They have made a start for this counter-rebellion, which relieves me of great worries!" After thinking about it, Liu Chengyou directly ordered: "Send the order, the army will rest in Luoyang for one more day. , wait for the land army to arrive, and march west together. During this time, prepare for the march. In addition, order Tokyo and water transport envoys, ordnance and supplies, to be transported to the front line in time without delay!"
"yes!"
The good news ahead made Liu Chengyou feel more relaxed. After this expedition, it was probably the smoothest that Liu Chengyou had done in recent times, at least so far.
"Your Majesty, the Yongxing, Tong'an and Baoyi armies have gathered in Fenglingjin and are confronting the rebels in Jiahe. Commander Zhou Huidu has led the Xiaodi army to cross Mianchi. Please report whether to cross the river directly from Shaanzhou?" Fan Zhi reported. road.
Hearing this, Liu Chengyou lowered his head and studied the map for a while. Soon, he pointed at Shaanxian County and said directly: "Reply to Zhou Hui, after the Xiaodi Army arrives in Shaanxian County, they can directly cross the river at Pinglu, pass Ruicheng, and go straight to Fengfeng County. Lingjin, after attacking the rebels!"
...
In the defeat in Tongzhou, the rebels' losses were not particularly large, not to the point of breaking their muscles and bones, but the impact was huge. In less than ten days, Li Shouzhen changed from strategic attack to strategic defense. .....
The initiative in the war was directly handed over to the officers and soldiers.
Zhou Guangxun led more than 4,000 defeated troops back to Puguanjin, and was immediately scolded and reprimanded by Li Shouzhen. Another of his confidants, Zhang Yansi, crossed the river to take over the military power, occupied Puguan, and strengthened the defense of the stronghold, with Zhou Guangxun as his deputy.
Zhou Guangxun had previously been the deputy commander in Hezhong and had some prestige among the rebels. It is unclear whether Li Shouzhen did this as punishment for his defeat or as an opportunity to suppress him.
As for Fenglingjin, Yang Ye, with less than two thousand soldiers, kept a close eye on Li Chongxun and Wang Jixun. As the three places joined forces and tens of thousands of soldiers gathered, the two no longer considered how to cross the river. It was under Li Shouzhen's order to guard Jintou and prevent the army from moving northward.
This place in the middle of the river is bordered by a large river to the west and south, and there is the Zhongtiao Mountains to the southeast, so it is considered to be surrounded by natural dangers. However, this small place is too weak in the face of the imperial court's encirclement and suppression, and the natural dangers are simply not enough to defend.
On Feng Yi's side, after Yao Yuanfu and Song Yanwo integrated the Tongzhou army, they led more than 6,000 troops and headed east towards Puguanjin, forcing them to attack the stronghold. To the south, Yang Ye personally led his army across the river. They tried to attack, and although they made some small gains, they failed to successfully cross the river. It was normal, there were many rebels, and they were defending by the river.
When Liu Chengyou led his army from Luoyang, the war in the river fell into a balance again, but this balance was very short-lived.
First of all, something went wrong on the Fucheng side of the river. He was stabbed in the back. The person who stabbed him was none other than Wang Yan, the military governor of Jianxiong Army.
In this counter-insurgency, among the several groups of officers and soldiers that Liu Chengyou had arranged before, only Jinzhou was silent, and Wang Yan seemed very low-key. But all the low-key was just to get a hard blow. As Li Shouzhen's attention was drawn to the west and south, Attracted by the army, Wang Yan personally led 2,000 Jinzhou soldiers, went south along the river, and attacked directly to the east of the river.
However, he was discovered when he suddenly arrived in Linjin. After all, the river was the territory that Li Shouzhen had managed for a long time. It was unrealistic to want to attack the city silently. Hearing that Hedong City was empty, Wang Yan of course wanted to gamble on a big success. However, seeing that it could not be accomplished suddenly, although it was a pity, he changed his mind very decisively, attacked Linjin City, and defended Yingcheng, threatening Hedong City from afar.
It was a pity for Wang Yan, but Li Shouzhen was so frightened that he cursed the northern states and counties for their inaction. He probably ignored it automatically, because all the rural soldiers and rebels from the counties in the river were transferred to Fucheng.
In fact, there are more than 20,000 Pu troops. Although the elite are out, there are still more than 4,000 soldiers in Hedong City. Wang Yan's few troops are not a big threat to him, but Li Shouzhen doesn't think so because he has a false flag. Therefore, Li Shouzhen directly felt the threat like a thorn in the back.
Immediately, they mobilized a thousand soldiers from the military stronghold in Hexi to move east to Fucheng. Still not giving up, they also mobilized troops from the south to defend a ferry. There was no need for so many soldiers.
Then, news from the south made him quickly change his mind. The Xiaodi Army, led by the capital commander Zhou Hui, crossed the river from Pinglu and marched westward along the Zhongtiao Mountains. It was not considered a covert move.
Seeing this formation, Li Shouzhen still dared to think of "defending the enemy outside the country's gates", so she directly ordered Li Chongxun, Wang Jixun and Fenglingjin to leave Fenglingjin and quickly withdraw to the capital.
Not to mention other things, Hedong City is still strong enough after being built by Li Shouzhen. With the army's strict defense, even if the rebel army and the people want to win, it will not be that easy.
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In this era, it is not uncommon for urban warfare to last for a year and a half. However, in Hedong City, food is still sufficient.
However, after all this trouble, the Pu army's original morale was not high and they dispersed. The rebels retreating north were already deserting in droves.