Chapter 201 Prepare for a decisive battle in the Shanxi Valley!
In early March, ferries gathered at Mengjin Ferry in the north of Luoyang, and the invading army was crossing the Yellow River north, preparing to advance north into the Taiyuan Valley.
If Shanxi's soldiers and horses had given a little more strength, they could have intercepted the rebels at the Yellow River crossing, but they did nothing. This was not the best time to cross the river. The Yellow River in Chuntou was in the peak flood season, and the water volume was large.
Crossing the river was also difficult. Due to months of hard fighting with Sun Chuanting, they could only cross the river and head north at this time.
"Brother Zong, you and Bai Wang and others must guard Luoyang, Xiangyang and other cities as a retreat for our rebel army." When Li Zicheng was about to cross the river, he gave instructions to his confidant General Yuan Zongdi.
Yuan Zongdi was Li Zicheng's trusted rebel general, and was usually responsible for guarding the rear of the camp. This time Li Zicheng went north to Shanxi, and did not want to let go of the important city occupied by the Central Plains. He left Bai Wang, Yuan Zongdi, Liu Tichun and others to guard Luoyang separately.
Kaifeng, Xiangyang and other cities.
When Li Zicheng went to Shanxi, he also knew that this was a strategic adventure. If the situation was not ideal after entering, the retreat would be crucial. Yuan Zongdi was appointed as the stay-at-home general in Zhongzhou to control the troops and horses that broke into the camp in the Central Plains.
Yuan Zongdi, who stayed in the Central Plains, was under considerable pressure. There were Gao Mingheng in the east, Chen Yongfu's more than 20,000 Henan soldiers, and Sun Chuanting in the west. It was really not an easy job to defend the backyard.
On the contrary, it was said that Zuo Liangyu's 100,000 or 200,000 troops were present in the south, but in reality, the pressure was the least. Zuo Liangyu's armed forces were similar to those who broke into the camp, and were more than the number of people left behind before he broke into the camp. Xiangyang
In ancient times, there was a huge gap between the armed forces and the militia. For example, in the Chu-Han War, Liu Bang often had hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, but he fell to his knees when he encountered Xiang Yu's tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. This is not really because Liu Bang was too lazy, but
The gap between the composition of the two sides' soldiers and horses is too big. Xiang Yu's soldiers and horses are serious soldiers, while Liu Bang's men are all a group of militiamen. It would be strange if the militiamen and the regular army did not fight. Why is Han Xin a soldier? It is because he can
Use the militia to defeat the nobles' soldiers.
After the army crossed the river from Mengjin, the army rushed to the camp like a wild horse, heading northward, heading straight for Taiyuan. The prefectures and counties along the way were not surrendered and destroyed, and they did not play any role in curbing the march route of the camp.
When Zhu Youjian in the capital received the news, Li Zicheng's army had already arrived at the gates of Taiyuan City, and emergency documents from Taiyuan City flew like snowflakes across the capital.
The situation was so urgent that Zhu Youjian had to convene an imperial military meeting to discuss countermeasures.
"Your Majesty, I propose to send 30,000 new troops to emergency rescue Taiyuan and block the intruders back to the south. At the same time, I ordered Sun Chuanting's troops to leave Tongguan to cut off the escape route of the intruders. Block the Mengjin and other ferries, and the army will annihilate the intruders from Taiyuan to Mengjin.
." The strategic plan made by Chen Xinjia is smooth and stable, and on the surface there is no problem at all.
"Jian Heng, the army on Baigu's side has been fighting hard for days and is resting, while the new army is also training. Now both armies are at their weakest. They rush to the battlefield at this time. They are fighting with exhausted troops, not the most powerful ones.
It's a good time." Li Zicheng didn't have to take a break, but Sun Chuanting had to take a break. The New Army was in a critical period of training and couldn't go to the battlefield.
"Your Majesty's military situation is so strong, should we just watch Taiyuan City fall?" How can we be completely prepared for things on the battlefield? Chen Xinjia was very annoyed with the emperor's hesitant and hesitant way of doing things.
"What does it mean to watch the fall of Taiyuan? Military and national affairs are about to be planned and then launched. It is necessary to slow down and then fight urgently. How can you treat a headache and a sore foot? This time Li Chuang's troops entered the Jin Dynasty, I think he is a
A rare fighter opportunity. I decided to fight a big war and annihilate the main force of the intruders in Jin."
Zhu Youjian looked at the map and had a big idea. Sending tens of thousands of new troops to Shanxi would probably defeat Li Zicheng, but it would not damage his roots. Shanxi is surrounded by mountainous areas on the east and west, with the Yellow River in the south, Datong and Ningwuguan in the north.
Dangjianguan is an ideal place to make dumplings.
"The order was sent to Sun Chuanting and Gao Mingheng to send troops to Luoyang and Kaifeng in one month to control all the crossings of the Yellow River. The order was sent to Chen Qiyu that Taiyuan City can observe the rules. If things cannot be done, lead the soldiers and horses under his command to retreat to Ningwuguan.
On the front line, stand firm and wait for reinforcements. The message is sent to Gansu Commander-in-Chief Ma Xu, Shizhu Commander Qin Liangyu, Yongwei Battalion Commander Huang Degong, and Prince Shaobao Zhou Yuji. They will rush to the capital with their troops and horses from now on, and they must arrive in the capital within two months!
The new army of Zhiyong Guard Camp must complete the training of the entire army within one month. After two months, all troops and horses in Beijing will gather in Xuanhua and march to Shanxi to engage in a strategic decisive battle with the intruders."
Qin Liangyu, Huang Degong, and Zhou Yuji have a total of 20,000 troops. The new army can go out with four divisions, as well as nearly 5,000 troops from Gansu General Ma Xu, plus Jiang Xiang and Li Guofu from Shanxi, to start a strategic decisive battle.
If so, Zhu Youjian could gather nearly 100,000 troops and drive Li Zicheng's troops to the bank of the Yellow River, which should be no problem.
After the war started, including Sun Chuanting and Gao Mingheng, more than 150,000 soldiers and horses were put into the battlefield. I don't believe that Li Zicheng couldn't clean it up!
"The entire cabinet and the Ministry of War mobilized to prepare food, wages and military supplies for this decisive battle, and make detailed logistics supply plans. The chief minister of the cabinet is responsible for this matter, and the Minister of War will fully cooperate."
"I accept the order!" Zhou Yanru and Chen Xinjia promised. The emperor has made up his mind to fight a decisive battle. Even if the important ministers here have opinions in their hearts, they can only obey the order.
Zhu Youjian felt that his side had a good chance of winning in this decisive battle. The main troops and horses entering the battlefield were all capable and reliable. Qin Liangyu, Huang Degong, and Zhou Yuji had been tested by history.
Although the historical record of Xu is unclear, he performed well when he was King Qin last year. Zhu Youjian felt that there should be no problem. These people, plus the new army, defeated Li Zicheng on the frontal battlefield, and the others followed up to fight against the autumn wind.
, this is Zhu Youjian’s overall combat idea.
To realize this simple strategic intention, the two prerequisites are that Chen Qiyu and others in the north hold Ningwuguan, and the unified front allows the army to gather to buy time. Sun Chuanting in the south regains Luoyang and blocks Li Zicheng's retreat. As long as these two things are done,
The rest will fall into place easily. Zhu Youjian feels that he is quite sure of these two conditions. Ningwuguan is a dangerous pass, and Li Guofu's combat power is not bad. Although Jiang Xiang behind him historically surrendered to Li Zicheng, but now
The situation is completely different from that in history. There is no reason for Jiang Xiang to be a traitor at this time. After Sun Chuanting recovers for a period of time, there will be no problem in attacking Li Zicheng's side army.
No matter how you look at it, it is a very reliable decision. The only thing that was not well thought out is that after Huang Degong and others went north, there were no capable troops stationed in Nanzhi, so there might be problems. However, Zhu Youjian felt that there was a problem, so he
Something goes wrong! Anyway, there are many people over there who don't like them. It wouldn't be a bad thing if someone like Zhang Xianzhong interfered with them in the past. Now it seems that it doesn't make much sense to let the prince serve as a backup in Nanjing. It's just a good opportunity.
This is an opportunity to recruit him back to prevent him from being used by people with ulterior motives.