Volume 1, Wars and Chaos, Section 23, Defeat in the First Battle
Forty-one-year-old Yang Guang sat proudly on the edge of the dragon bed, with his beautiful concubine sleeping soundly beside him. This was the second day of the complete annihilation of Wang Bo's rebels, and the first day of the vanguard's march north to Liaodong.
Today is the first day of March, and it is still a day of snow and flowers in the north. After two months of walking, spring has just begun in Liaodong. Little Goguryeo, when my army of one million arrives, I will drown you with spittle and stars. Surrender quickly.
otherwise……
The inner palace reported that Lang Yu Wenji, the left minister of the Ministry of War, had arrived. Yang Guang put on his dragon robe and court crown under the service of the palace maid, and sat on the dragon chair, waiting for Yu Wenming's visit.
This Yu Wenhua was the grandson of Yu Wensheng of Shangzhu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, who was the same year as him. His father, Yu Wenshu, was worshiped as General Youwei. He grew up with Yang Guang since he was a child. When Yang Guang was the prince, he was an aide in the East Palace and an official in the fourth year of Renshou.
After Yang Guang ascended the throne, he was promoted to the right minister of the Ministry of War. He was responsible for the training of soldiers in various places and the deployment of grain and grass and other logistical affairs. In the fourth year of Daye, he was transferred to the left minister to take charge of the daily government affairs of the Ministry of War. Although it was a flat transfer.
, but the power is much greater.
When Yang Guang Yujia personally conquered Wang Bo, Yu Wenhuaji was transferred into the army to accompany the emperor and make suggestions for Yang Guang. He was a rare talent and Yang Guang trusted him very much.
Yu Wenji, a man with short beard and white face, is of Hu origin. He likes the way the emperor obeys him, but he also understands that the reason why Yang Guang trusts him so much is because he is dedicated to doing everything possible for him. Loyalty is very important.
It is also important to attend office meetings.
All the battle reports from all over the country were collected in his hands. What to report and how to report it all depended on Yang Guang's mood. Besides, the rebels were nothing more than a mob. Xue Ju in the northwest was blocked by my son Chengdu and could not advance even an inch; Dou Jiande in Shanxi was captured
The father and daughter of the Li family are keeping an eye on them, and it is difficult for them to succeed; the Prince of Nanyang is a villain and will never grow stronger; there is no need to worry about the rebels in the South. The commander-in-chief of the right army and the commander-in-chief of the southern army is his good friend Liu Fang.
Aren't Zhang Shicheng, Chen Youliang and the like able to capture them?
Now His Majesty's mind is entirely focused on conquering Goguryeo in the east, so don't bother him with these scabies diseases. Only a minister who knows how to deal with things can find some nice reports and give them to him.
Therefore, Yu Wenhuaji did not submit the national war report to his Majesty at all, but chose things that made Yang Guang happy. As a result, Yang Guang did not know the situation of the national war situation at all. Now he only thinks about sending troops to Liaodong to fight against the enemy.
He conquered Goguryeo with thunderous force, and then returned to Chang'an to enjoy the praise of the emperor for eternity.
"Long live my emperor!" As soon as Yu Wenhuaji arrived in front of Yang Guang, he knelt down and shouted long live, and then waited for Yang Guang to speak.
Yang Guang seemed a little out of sorts today. He was silent for a long time without letting him get up, and he didn't dare to look up. At this time, it was safest to kneel down.
The chamberlain looked at Yu Wenji, who had been lying on the ground, and then glanced at His Majesty, who seemed to be in a state of wandering mind, and said softly to Yang Guang: "Your Majesty, I am here to see you, Minister Yu Wen."
Yang Guang then nodded and said: "Renhuai, Pingshen, I was just a little confused. You have followed me since you were a child. Tell me, am I getting old? Why do you miss the old days so often?"
Yu Wenhuaji stood up, bowed and said: "Our emperor is in his prime, how can we say that he is old? Wang Bo's rebel army is powerful, and His Majesty personally led the expedition. In less than half a month, he swept through thousands of troops and captured the leader of the bandits alive, and our army only suffered casualties.
There are more than 2,000 people, and the vanguard has moved north today. The army of one million will reach Pyongyang with overwhelming force and destroy the little Goguryeo. I would like to wish Your Majesty a complete victory in the Eastern Expedition, complete unification at an early date, and achieve unparalleled hegemony."
After hearing this, Yang Guang said: "Hahaha... Renhuai's words are true. As long as the war in Goguryeo is over, I can sit back and relax and swim in the magnificent mountains and rivers."
Yu Wenhuaji said with a smile: "Your Majesty, three million dans of military rations and two million jins of fodder have been transported to Zhuozhou, south of the Yangtze River, and millions of dans of grain and grass raised from the north of the Yangtze River have also been shipped north, along the canal to Nanjun, Jizhou, and are ready for support at any time.
front."
Yang Guang nodded and said: "How is the military situation in various places? Let's talk about the Central Plains region first!"
Yu Wenhua said: "There are no changes in the Central Plains area, except for Shanxi Dou Jiande and Nanyang Wang Bo. But it's all good news. Your Majesty, this is the hussar general Li Xiuning and the chariot general Zhang Xutuo from Shanxi and Nanyang."
Your Majesty, please read the battle report from the ground."
Yang Guang said: "Tell me the important things." He didn't seem to be in the mood to read the battle report.
Yu Wenhuaji opened Li Xiuning's battle report and said: "The Youwu Army has captured Linfen, but Dou Jiande has been able to break out of the encirclement. She plans to use Linfen as her base to capture Changzhi, Jincheng and Yuncheng."
Yang Guang said happily: "My niece really did not disappoint me. She solved a big problem for me. I told her to tell her to pay attention to Dou Jiande's movements at all times. If there is a fighter who can complete the task in one battle, there is no need to ask for instructions. It is easy to do it. Use the imperial red feather.
Eight hundred miles urgent!"
Later, the eunuch was busy receiving the edict, and the eunuch wrote the edict in one stroke and handed it to the eunuch. After Yang Guang read it, he stamped it with a jade seal. Then he got the Zhongshu, stamped it under the door, signed it by the heads of the two departments, and filed it.
Sent to Shanxi Youwu Army Station.
After the servants finished their work, Yu Wenhuaji opened Zhang Xutuo's battle report and said: "Zhang Cheqi has captured Nanzhao and is marching to Nanyang. I am afraid that Nanyang has been captured at this moment. Your Majesty, I suggest that he stay in Nanyang in order to
Watch out for Wang Bo to attack the city again."
Yang Guang thought for a while and said: "No, let him go north to guard Xuchang. Look at Zhengzhou and Kaifeng. Use six hundred miles to rush." Yu Wenhuaji stopped talking. It was his duty as the Minister of War to make suggestions to Yang Guang. As for the
It is up to the emperor to decide whether to use it or not.
The chamberlain took the written imperial edict, stamped it with a jade seal, and then carried the two imperial edicts to the door. The Central Secretary's office stamped them. After the formalities were completed, three envoys were sent to the two places.
During Yang Guang's eastern expedition, he brought half of his disciples, Zhongshu, and the other half stayed in Chang'an to assist the prince who was supervising the country. In order to facilitate the delivery of the decree, he had to go to the two ministries for signature and record, and affixed the official seals of the two ministries. Only the jade seal
There is no need to obey the imperial edict. An imperial edict without two signatures and records will not count.
Seeing that the chamberlain had left, Yang Guang asked, "Is there any more?"
Yu Wenhuaji saluted and said: "I have not received any other battle reports for the time being." Yang Guang waved his hand and said: "That's enough, you can go down. In addition, I have sent an order to make rice at three o'clock today, break camp at dawn, and move the whole army northward!"
After Yu Wenhua received the order, he quickly went out to make arrangements. In fact, he still had battle reports from the south and northwest, but he felt that these were not important and there was no need to report them to Yang Guang's heart.
Luo Yu followed Yue Yun to what he said was the flat land in the west of the city. It was a large basin surrounded by rocky mountains. There were many small ponds distributed in a star shape, which should be mud pits washed out by rain. The largest one was in the southeast corner.
, there are hundreds of squares.
The area to the west is low-lying and has loose soil. Several deep ditches of different sizes have been washed out by the rain, and it is not easy to fill them up.
The advantage of this basin is that it is large enough. There is no problem in moving the horse market and the blacksmith shop here. However, it also has many disadvantages. Because it is surrounded by all sides, all the water from the mountains is collected in the lower areas. A single drainage project will cost a lot of money.
Manpower and material resources, and there is no cement at this time, are really not easy to handle.
To move the businesses in Beicheng, stables, iron shops, shops, restaurants and other buildings must be built. There will be at least three to four thousand horse trainers, blacksmiths, shopkeepers, etc., plus family members, clerks, apprentices, etc. Gong is afraid that there will be no less than ten thousand people.
We have to find a place to build thousands of houses for people to live in, and they also have to provide supporting schools, shops, taverns, hospitals, brothels, inns, etc. The place cannot be too far or too close, so it is really difficult to find.
Thinking about it made me dizzy. It was too natural to take it for granted. This could not be accomplished in a short time at all, and there was not so much money to do these things now. Luo Yu racked his brains and couldn't think of an effective way. Is it necessary?
Give up this plan? Or wait until the Tang Dynasty is founded before developing it?
He also thought that if he wanted to rest here, it would be better to temporarily turn this basin into a training ground, move out the Roman phalanx from the west of his time and space, and train a new infantry combat team to cope with the more brutal battles in the future.
If you think about it, then execute it. It is unrealistic to go all the way to the dark side. Linfen City should not change it for now.
When Yue Yun returned to the prefect's mansion, he found Li Xiuning reading a book and said, "Xiuning, I've changed my mind."
Li Xiuning was confused and asked, "Why did you change your mind?"
Luo Yu smiled and said: "I have changed my mind about the purpose of the west city square. Moving the business out of the north city and building infrastructure cannot be completed so quickly. I want to change it into a training ground to train a new infantry team called the Spear Phalanx."
Li Xiuning asked in confusion: "Lance phalanx? What is it?"
Luo Yu took the paper and pen, drew the phalanx, spears, pendulums, etc. one by one, then pointed at the phalanx and said: "This phalanx can be big or small, and the organization is simple. The soldiers wear full armor,
Soft fabrics such as silk can be worn, which can effectively reduce the damage caused by bows and arrows. During the battle, all personnel hold long spears and move to the left to chop, stab, and attack. This forms a mobile fortress, allowing the enemy to
I was frightened by the news.”
After listening to this, Li Xiuning looked at the drawings and fell into deep thought. Luo Yu didn't bother him and started drawing with pen and paper. He wanted to perfect the square formation according to the characteristics of the Sui army, and with the blessing of black gunpowder, this square formation
There are many tricks you can play with arrays.
On the second day of March, Lai Hu'er led the front army generals, Yang Guang and Yang Lin were in charge of the middle army, Wu Tianxi led the rear army generals, and the army of one million was ready. When Yang Guang burned incense and proclaimed to heaven and earth, he said "this is the moment" to pay homage to his ancestors, break camp and march north.
.
It was not a good time to travel three thousand miles and go on an expedition, but Yang Guang was full of confidence. When he led the army to attack Nanchen, the defenders from all over the Chen Kingdom surrendered until they reached Jiankang, and Chen Shubao, the leader of the Chen Kingdom, returned.
Without knowing it, he was still living and drinking. When he finally found him in the well, he was still asking who had rebelled. If this country does not perish, who will perish?
He also knew that Liaodong was different from Chen State, where the monarchs and ministers were quite shrewd. He knew that the Sui Emperor personally led the expedition and mobilized the whole country to resist. The spies sent out reported that the emperor Gao Yangcheng commanded 150,000 elite troops to garrison Pyongyang, and Lin Yanghou
Yuan Gaisuwen led 120,000 elite troops to garrison Liaoyang, and was accelerating the expansion of the city, filling the warehouses with grain, and strengthening defense; Jiang Cheng, Bo Jin, and Cheng Fei led 50,000 troops to garrison Xiangcheng, building strongholds, expanding rivers, and strengthening walls to clear the fields; King Rongliu, Gao Jianwu, led 15
Thousands of elite soldiers guarded the entrance of the camp, forming a long snake formation, waiting for the Sui army to arrive.
Deep down in his heart, Yang Guang looked down on Goguryeo's troops: "The front line is only 300,000 troops. Except for Yeon Gaesumun, who is a bit famous, the other two leading generals have never heard of it. Even if such a lineup relies on the terrain, it will
I am vulnerable to a single blow in front of my millions of troops."
Behind the three cities is the endless Morita Plateau. This is also an important reason why Gao Yangcheng chose this place to block the Sui army. If he wanted to invade Goguryeo, this was the only way to pass by land, and he had to pass through the three hundred miles of Morita Plateau, the only one in the middle of the plateau.
One road has been filled with earthwork dug from the tunnel between Liaoyang and Xiangcheng. From a land perspective, even if the Sui army defeated Xiangcheng, which was the weakest, and wanted to dig out the filled earthwork and clear a road for marching,
It's not that easy anymore.
Waterways are more convenient for defense. The Sui army is not good at water battles, let alone this is a naval battle. The spies reported that a Sui army can only carry 800 people in one warship, and it takes 15 ships to cross 10,000 infantry and food.
The cavalry would need more ships. A round trip from the west coast would take at least three hours, and there were few suitable landing sites in the west. Only a partial division could be ambushed to defeat the Sui army crossing the sea.
Everyone has their own plans, each has his own reasons for relying on them, and the psychological offensive has already begun before the battle begins.
Li Xiuning saw Luo Yu holding the long spear that he had made. It looked like an extended version of a flying halberd, except that the lower half-moon sickle was missing. The upper half-moon sickle was lengthened and thickened. According to him, it was used to cut horse legs. This use
The infantry's idea of cavalry was a bit crazy. Even if they used a square formation, she couldn't figure out how to deal with the cavalry charging at full speed.
Today is the fifth day of March. In three days, the blacksmith shop in Beicheng has been working hard to make nine hundred pairs of flying halberds. Luo Yu had already ordered his sergeants to go into the mountains to cut trees, specifically picking soft trees as thick as arms and two feet high as targets.
After cutting it back, it was polished according to the size of the perforation of the flying halberd, and then the wooden handle was installed, and a long gun specially used for military formations was ready.
Yesterday I received a letter from Li Yuan from Taiyuan, telling him that there is nothing wrong with him. I also received an urgent edict from Yang Guang's Eight Hundred Miles Hongxiang. I can finally stay in Shanxi with peace of mind. Now the entanglement between Dou Jiande, Li Mi, and Zhu Yuanzhang has not yet come to an end, so there is no rush.
Going south and using this time to train troops is not better than killing everyone to the death?
Military buildings have been built on both sides of the basin, which are actually collective dormitories nailed with wooden boards. Two thousand infantrymen came here and occupied only one-third of the basin.
The army does not have so many requirements. Everything will be fine if they have a place to eat and live. They can take a rest every seven days, do exercises and move around freely. This is the only benefit Luo Yu gave to these two thousand people who were specially selected.
At noon, the grain and grass had been transported from Changpingcang, Baoan, and they crossed the Yellow River directly east without detouring to Yuncheng. Although it is the dry season, that section of the Yellow River is narrower than the lower reaches, so the same amount of water here turns into rolling waves, and the boat sails
Difficult to cross, I don’t know how they did it.
Looking at the mountains of grain, grass and copper coins, Luo Yu felt
I can't help but sigh, Yang Jian really knows how to save his property. There are so many places in the country that need money and food, but they have it at any time. The Youwu Army only has 80,000 people, but it needs so many things. Yang Guang's side has almost 3.2 million people, and they don't know how to use it.
How to transport it?
Don't think about Yang Guang's affairs, just train your troops now. As for the money and food, someone will come and take it away.
Lai Hu'er looked at the Liaoyang City Wall in front of him, and his heart trembled. This was a city wall specially designed for war. It was at least four feet high and was entirely made of stacked bluestones. The width of the moat was unknown, but from the city gate
Judging from the suspension bridge, the river is at least two feet wide. There are many small holes in the wall two feet up, which should be arrow holes. I wonder if they have sharp weapons like the Eight Ox Crossbow. If so, the open space in front of the city wall will be
It's a nightmare for the attacker.
On the top of the city wall, there are all Tibetan military towers, all with green tile roofs to withstand enemy arrows. On both sides of the city wall, a green brick wall about three feet high and one foot wide protrudes.
It was completely enclosed, and the one-foot-high wall was also covered with small holes. The entire layout seemed to form a large pliers, waiting for invading enemies.
It seems that Yeon Gaesomun is truly worthy of being a famous general. Although he is only twenty-one or twelve years old, he has defeated the Baekje and Silla coalition forces as well as the Mongolian cavalry. He has made full use of the dangers of the terrain here and is a formidable opponent.
After receiving the military order, they headed north. It took three months for the vanguard army to go through all kinds of hardships before reaching Liaodong. The 200,000-horse army was reduced by two men, and the 400,000-man civilians lost more than 10,000. This battle was already uncomfortable before it even started.
.
Today is the fourth day of the fifth lunar month and tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival. After inspecting the front line, Laihuer ordered the infantry and cavalry to be dispersed and the whole army set up camp. If there are not enough tents, they will cut down trees to build camps. Anyway, there are many trees in Liaodong. If you don’t use them, you will have a day off tomorrow.
, attack Liaocheng after the festival.
In fact, Xiangcheng's defense is not as terrifying as that of Liaoyang City. It is one hundred and twenty miles away from Liaoyang City and is in the middle of the Long Snake Formation. It is an ideal place to break the city, but the Long Snake Formation has an advantage, that is, it can respond to each other and hit the head.
The tail arrives, the tail hits the head arrives, the hit leads to the head and tail
All arrived. According to the news sent by the spies, the three places were connected by tunnels to form a whole, so Yang Guang divided into three groups and rushed to the three cities respectively. They launched an attack at the same time so that the Goguryeo people could not look at each other. He was in the middle and broke through first.
City, disintegrate this long snake formation.
He also ordered Lai Hu'er to rest for a day after arriving in Liaoyang, and then conduct a tentative attack to find out how to break the city.
Li Xiuning, who was wearing a white military uniform, felt very proud as she listened to Luo Yu explaining the specific training procedures of the phalanx to the newly elected squad leader. If he had not been left behind that day, what would she be like now? She couldn't imagine that maybe she had already
Die in battle, maybe marry Chai Shao, or maybe go north to Taiyuan to fight against the enemy with his father...
She was fascinated as she thought about it. It wasn't until Luo Yu called her that she came back to her senses and asked hurriedly: "Have you finished speaking?"
Luo Yu smiled and said: "We have all lined up and are waiting for the general's review..."
Li Xiuning also smiled and said: "I still don't understand this phalanx, please help me explain it." Luo Yuqi said: "This is inconsistent with the general's usual intelligence. Don't you understand a simple and straightforward explanation? Do you want me to accompany you more?
Just say it."
Li Xiuning blushed and said: "Yes, I just want you to spend more time with me, aren't you happy?" Luo Yu hurriedly said: "How dare I, I'm so happy!" This is the usual way for the two of them to flirt.
They all enjoy it.
A large square formation of 800 people has been assembled. Since there are only 900 spears, only one large formation was practiced today, and another hundred people formed a small formation. The rest were all watching from the side, learning methods, putting forward opinions and improvement methods.
Each person was two feet apart, leaving enough room to swing their guns. The captain gave the order, and the sergeants in the formation swung all their spears to the left with a shocking roar. The sergeants in the inner circle only swung half the distance, and a circle was formed in the outer circle.
, every sergeant is protected by his comrades, but the middle part is a bit redundant.
When the sergeants on the outermost layer put away their guns, the sergeants on the second circle then stretched out their spears to protect the sergeants on the first layer. They went back and forth in this way, waving their spears as they moved forward, like flexible fingers.
After walking three hundred steps, each person swung his gun 210 times in total, averaging two times every seven steps. This frequency was a bit high. He ordered the phalanx to stop, then turned around and asked the people watching on the sidelines:
"Have you found any problems? Are there any solutions?"
A squad leader said: "Joining the army, my subordinates feel that there are too many people. It would be nice if we could change it into a back shape."
Another sergeant said: "I think it would be best to be able to change the formation at will according to various terrains. Anyway, it is enough to use the gun to protect your comrades and kill the enemy. There is no need to stick to any formation."
The voice became quieter and quieter after that, because he saw many eyes staring at him.
Li Xiuning said: "You can raise any opinions you have. Don't think too much. Joining the army and I will not eat you. What are you afraid of?"
Luo Yu said: "This phalanx existed in the pre-Qin period. I just changed the weapons. The important things have changed. Of course it is immature. You are the actual operators of the array. Of course, I must listen to your opinions and continue."
After listening to what Li Xiuning and Luo Yu said, they were no longer burdened. The sergeants expressed their thoughts one by one. Li Xiuning was confused and said hurriedly: "We will form a team of a hundred people, and each team will give their opinions."
I will compile a record of the correction methods and hand them in after dinner tonight."
Yesterday was a different Dragon Boat Festival. The cooks in the army actually made rice dumplings. Although each person only got one, it moved everyone to tears. 600,000 people are 600,000 rice dumplings. Although some civilians helped make rice dumplings.
, but cooking it is also a big project, and the Dragon Boat Festival is so different.
Early in the morning on the sixth day of the lunar month, Lai Huer led an army of 30,000 people to Liaoyang City. The sun still rose as usual. It was May and the night here was still a bit cold. The Central Plains should be in full swing.
Set up a position five hundred steps away from Liaoyang City, with 30,000 infantrymen divided into groups of 500 on the flat ground. Lai Huer planned to attack the city in groups of 500 and test the firepower behind the city wall.
After giving the order, the team of 500 people raised their long shields to cover their bodies. Each three people was responsible for carrying the ladder and walked forward until they were a hundred steps away from the city. There was still no movement, as if there was no one inside the wall.
Lai Hu'er was puzzled. Just when he was waiting for a new order, the team had entered the protruding city walls on both sides. Suddenly, a golden bell rang, followed by black rain falling down, accompanied by an unpleasant smell.
Sprinkle all over your body.
A torch fell from the middle city wall, and the black rain suddenly burst into flames. The soldiers wanted to put out the fire, so they threw away the burning shields, long knives, and ladders in their hands, and slapped them hard with their hands, but they did not expect that the fire seemed to
Like a will-o'-the-wisp, it grew stronger and stronger as it shot, and finally surrounded the whole person. Painful wails resounded throughout the earth. Some of them rolled directly to the ground, knocking down their comrades...
The people behind tried to retreat, but were easily killed by the long arrows fired from both sides. Then they were stuck to the rolling teammates and burned.
This was simply hell on earth. Thick black smoke rose into the air, and the smell of roasted meat floated in the wind. Lai Huer resisted the feeling of vomiting and ordered the withdrawal because he saw that some of his subordinates were about to vomit gall.
Out.
Those five hundred people were burned to ashes in just one cup of tea, but the hell fire that was emitting thick black smoke was still burning, as if it would never go out.
Lai Hu'er, who was on the high platform, watched the fire slowly shrink until it was extinguished. More than half an hour had passed, and his heart ached. The enemy had not even seen the loss of 500 people, and he also scared a few of his own soldiers to the point of bile.
How can we still fight this battle if we have already vomited it out?
Returning to the main camp of the Chinese army, he wrote down the details of what he had seen today in a memorial, and sent someone 800 miles away to rush to Yang Guang, telling him to be careful about the fire of hell, and that he was looking for a way to solve it.
The remaining more than 20,000 people are all isolated in other places. Otherwise, if they return to the army to publicize today's events, the war will have been lost. Please return to the army quickly.
The first battle of the Eastern Expedition ended in a disastrous defeat. Yang Guang had arrived in Jinyang at this time, and soon received the battle report from Lai Huer. He hurriedly stopped his advance and summoned everyone from the Ministry of War to discuss ways to defeat the enemy.
(I want to continue it. Please add it to your collection, recommend it, and give me a monthly pass...)