Liu Xiang did not wait for King Fuyu to gather his troops, leaving Zhao Yun to command Xiutu's 5,000 cavalry, supervise Fuyu's transportation of grain and grass, and watch the army's retreat. He entered the territory of Fuyu Kingdom that day and attacked Liao Mountain in the southeast.
Goguryeo is difficult to conquer. There are many hills and mountains in the territory, especially the inner city of the royal capital. It is located in the modern Ji'an City of Jilin Province, on the Tonggou Plain in the middle reaches of the Yalu River. There are Yushan Mountain in the north, Longshan Mountain in the east, and Qixing Mountain in the west.
Surrounded by mountains on three sides and facing water on one side, there is also the Weina Rock City as a defense. It is at an angle with the royal capital. It occupies a favorable geographical location and is easy to defend but difficult to attack.
Therefore, he wanted to take advantage of the fact that the Goguryeo army on the Xuantu border had not yet withdrawn its troops, bypass the Liaoshan Mountains, and make a surprise attack behind them.
If these 40,000 soldiers can be eliminated, Goguryeo will have no soldiers to fight, and it will be difficult to take advantage of its geographical advantage.
In 37 BC, at the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the prince of Buyeo, whose surname was Gao Mong, was very marginalized because he was a commoner, so he led his troops out of the Buyeo Kingdom to go south, contacted some small tribes, and established the capital of Buyeo.
In AD 14, during Wang Mang's new dynasty, Fuyu occupied Goguryeo County, Xuantu County, and changed the country's name to Goguryeo.
At that time, the Western Han Dynasty established the four counties of Xuantu, Lelang, Daifang, and Zhenfan in Liaodong and the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. Therefore, Jumong actually founded the country in the Western Han Dynasty. It coincided with the alternation of the two Han Dynasties and the war in the Central Plains. Goguryeo took the opportunity to develop and grow.
After Guangwu Zhongxing, the Han army marched eastward, recaptured Xuantu County, and drove them into the mountainous areas at the northern foot of Qianshan Mountain and the southern section of Changbai Mountain.
It has been a country for more than two hundred years, and now the ninth monarch of the old country, King Chuan, is on the throne. The country is quite powerful, with a population of 400,000 to 500,000. They mainly live in the Yalu River and Hunjiang River basins, near Xuantu County.
There are also some people living in the upper reaches of Xiaoliao River.
This time the troops were dispatched to confront Yang Guan in Xigeima County of Xuantu County. At this time, a few days had passed since the fall of Eastern Xianbei, and Goguryeo's 40,000-strong army had not retreated yet.
Liu Xiang has sent a messenger to contact Yang Yan, ordering him to hold off the enemy troops and wait for the arrival of his troops. Yan Rou's troops have returned to Liaodong and are marching towards Fanhan, which is the land exit of Lelang County and the southern part of Goguryeo.
The strategic location of the border is very important, and Guan Yu is holding on to it.
The Yunfan Battalion had long been assembled in Xi'anping, which was the retreat of the Fan Han and the mouth of the Yalu River. Last year, they had set a strategy to cross the sea and march eastward, taking advantage of the empty Lelang to launch a surprise attack. Unfortunately, the enemy retreated too quickly.
The soldiers suffered little loss, so they were unable to make the trip. When the enemy came again this year, the port was frozen and they were unable to move, so it was delayed until now.
Has been waiting for Liu Xiang's order.
Goguryeo did not send troops south to attack the Han Dynasty. Instead, it wanted to cooperate with the Xianbei people's offensive and take the opportunity to seize Xuantu County. Maybe it was because of its greed for the "old place". Liu Xiang would tell them that this was a wrong decision.
He wanted to end the battle as soon as possible. The terrain of Goguryeo was very suitable for defensive warfare, and he must not fall into their rhythm. When the Han army went to the east, it was delayed in the mountains and hills, and finally retreated after running out of food.
A lesson learned from the past, we must fight quickly.
Moreover, the more than 40,000 Hu cavalrymen were too good to eat, so we had to finish them quickly and let them go back to graze.
On the sixth day of March, Liu Xiang led 30,000 cavalry in a rapid march of more than 420 miles around the Liao Mountains and arrived at the upper reaches of the Xiaoliao River, a hundred and twenty miles away from Xigaima. This place belongs to the hilly platform of the remaining mountains, and the ground is
There are large hills with an altitude of about 400 to 500 meters. The tops of the hills are round and the direction is disordered, but it does not delay the cavalry's march.
After a day of repairs, they continued to move forward. There were many small basins suitable for farming along the way, and some Goguryeo citizens lived in them. The army carefully searched and advanced, and the Nanlou tribe took the opportunity to make a small fortune and brought back more than 30,000 prisoners.
Although most of these people were old, weak, women and children, they knew how to farm. Liu Xiang was reluctant to kill them, so he ordered two thousand cavalry to be stationed and guarded, while guarding the retreat.
It took two days and eighty miles to travel without encountering Goguryeo's troops. He was worried that he had slipped into the enemy's pocket.
"Add more scouts to explore the Longgang Mountains in the southeast to see if Goguryeo has troops stationed there. The army will camp on the spot and send someone to contact Yang Guan."
The scouts have already explored the main camp of Goguryeo, which is fifteen miles away from Sigeima and twenty-five miles away from themselves. They can no longer move forward.
Yang Guan's reply came after nightfall. The letter said that there are nearly 40,000 Goguryeo troops in Xigeima. There are still three to five thousand troops stationed at the junction of the northern foot of Qianshan Mountain and Longgang Mountain. Our army has eight troops stationed in Xigeima.
Thousands, there are still 5,000 infantry stationed in Gaoxian and Goguryeo counties.
The enemy has been sending troops for more than two months, but they have only fortified their camps and rarely attacked the city. The city is safe. Our troops have sent out troops to test, but with no results. In order to reduce the damage, we can only continue the confrontation. Do we want to attack the enemy's camp with all our strength?
Attack the camp?
This is not a good idea.
While Liu Xiang was thinking, he handed the letter to Cui Yi's personal assistant. Cui Yi, like the uncle, sat cross-legged on the mat and listened to the letter being read.
Yan Gang, Xu Huang, Yan Zhi, and Nan Lou listened together by the way.
"My lord, I think it is better to let Yang Guan go out to challenge the city. It is best to attract the enemy. Our troops will attack from behind and we will definitely be able to complete the victory in one battle." Cui Yi wanted to defeat the enemy in a decisive battle.
Liu Xiang was a little hesitant: "The enemy has been reinforcing their camp. It shows that they have no intention of a decisive battle. They just want to involve our troops and wait for the results of the Xianbei people's victory. It is difficult to handle. I didn't expect these Goguryeo people to be so stubborn. The enemy will defend and we will attack."
If the situation is delayed for a long time, there will be no quick solution."
Cui Yi scratched his head, but there was nothing he could do.
The plan to send troops to Goguryeo was to wipe out all the enemy forces on the border and quickly raid the royal city in one battle. This first battle must be fought cleanly.
Yan Gang thought for a moment and said, "My lord, how about we attack at night?"
Cui Yi vetoed:
"It is faster to defeat the enemy with a night attack, but it is difficult to chase down the defeated troops. We have to wipe out all the enemy troops and cannot let them go back to report. Then we can quickly capture the garrison in Longgang Mountain and directly raid the royal city to catch them off guard.
"
It is not difficult to defeat the enemy, but it is not easy to annihilate them all in a short time.
Liu Xiang pondered for a moment. Goguryeo's terrain advantage was too great. The longer it delayed, the more disadvantageous it would be for itself. It was necessary to take some risks. Thinking of this, he said: "Stop entangled with the enemy troops under Xigeima City and directly attack Longgang Mountain."
, and then rush to the royal city."
"Lord, it's too risky. If the 40,000 troops at the border retreat, they can block our army's retreat at the mountain pass. If we can't capture the Goguryeo Royal City in a short time, we will be unable to advance or retreat." Cui Yi advised.
Liu Xiang nodded: "It is a bit risky, but it is not impossible to advance or retreat. Even if the royal city cannot be captured, the predicament can be solved by letting the Yunfan camp go north along the river. Whether it is transporting supplies or supporting the siege, the initiative is still in the hands of our army.
.Do you think I will plunge into death?"
Cui Yi was stunned. His thinking was still somewhat limited. He was thinking about how to lead his troops to defeat the enemy, and he had no concept of naval forces in his mind. In the past wars in Youzhou, the presence of naval forces was too low.
So much so that most people can’t even remember the role of the navy.
Several others were also in a daze. Just now they were thinking about how to make a quick surprise attack and use the speed of the cavalry to catch them by surprise. Why is there such a thing as a navy army?
Yan Zhi felt that he could not turn around, and murmured to himself: "Is the navy so powerful? Divine soldiers descend from the sky! Can the battle still be fought like this?"
A group of Youzhou military generals were allowed to ride thousands of miles without even frowning.
But in their eyes, the water army only transports grain and grass along with the army. They have never seen the coordinated operation of water and land.
Cui Yi scratched his head: "Lord, can Yunfan Camp be able to do it? If something goes wrong, we will be trapped in the mountains."
Liu Xiang smiled: "How difficult is it to sail along the river? I think it is easier than driving cattle."