Chapter 828 All his efforts are accomplished in one battle
Author: Middle-aged paper tiger
Strategic deception is a bit different from lying.
The scope of lying is often not too large, and sometimes it is just a matter between two people.
In this case, lying can sometimes really deceive others for a lifetime.
But strategic deception is not good. It covers too many aspects. Especially after the initial stage of action has been passed, it is even more difficult to continue the deception. There will always be times where the secret will be revealed.
At this time, we must seize the main cause, just cover up the most important information, slowly release the secondary initiative, and pull the enemy's awareness into your own rhythm.
For example, Murong Nobunaga did a great job this time. At the moment when his true purpose was about to be exposed, he took the initiative to release the specious misleading of driving the tiger to devour the wolf.
This time, Murong Nobunaga, who originally relied on Zhou Dynasty and had strong backing, was described as a helpless Liu Xuande.
Goryeo people also read the Three Kingdoms. This novel, which I, Zhang Shengren, personally edited, is an extremely best-seller in the Three Thousand Miles Country. Even a Goryeo slave knows the name of Uncle Liu Huang.
As soon as this "Driving the Tiger and Swallowing the Wolf" came out, it was easy for the Korean people to automatically assume the role of Yuan Shu.
They are indeed very similar! They, Goryeo, are sitting on the home field and have well-equipped troops. Although they cannot compete with Cao Mengde, the great Zhou Dynasty, who holds the emperor in power to command the princes.
But to deal with Liu Bei (Murong Nobunaga), who is vaguely hostile to the imperial court, as long as you don't imitate Yuan Shu and directly declare himself emperor and annihilate the world, what's there to fear?
At the same time, Murong Nobunaga was concerned about the fact that he had tens of thousands of armored soldiers, fearing to scare the entire Goryeo army, and then slowly released the news that he only had 20,000 armored soldiers, and most of the rest were collected and captured by the Jurchens in the Forest, Bohai and others.
And this news, in the eyes of Korean people, is very true.
Who could have imagined that Murong Nobunaga had 40,000 armored cavalry under his command alone, and that the unarmored cavalry were also elite. This was completely beyond the imagination of Goryeo.
Or to put it to the extreme, if Murong Nobunaga said that he now has 50,000 super elite soldiers, there is a high probability that the whole country would not believe it.
Goryeo was far away in Haidong, so he still lacked some intuitive feelings about the crazy martial arts of the Yuan Ya soldiers in recent years.
They did not see much of the combat effectiveness of the Central Plains warriors. On the contrary, they even felt that the combat effectiveness of the Central Plains warriors was much lower than that of the Tang Dynasty because the Central Plains warriors did not go abroad to commit crimes.
Not to mention at this time, this concept is a common belief among later generations.
Generally speaking, people think that the warlords fighting at the end of the dynasty can be compared with the heyday.
After Anshi, the military power of the Tang Dynasty dropped like a meteor falling, which is in line with public perception.
Well, strictly speaking, it's not too wrong. Compared with Xiangji Temple, the combat effectiveness of the Five Generations Warriors has definitely declined.
But the magnitude is not large. What has declined most is organizational strength and logistical supply, not force.
So Murong Nobunaga was deceived and was double deceived by the fact that he only had 20,000 armored soldiers.
Wang Zhao ordered the Red Guard Horse Army Zhonglang General Huangfu Zhao to lead 3,000 cavalry northward and camp in Longgang County, which was only more than 60 miles away from Pyongyang, Xijing. At the same time, Wang Zhao quickly mobilized domestically.
The defense of the city at this time was not as imagined by later generations. I had a fortified city in hand and was condescending. As long as there was enough food, I could continue to defend it.
In fact, being trapped in an isolated city is a great torture for the defenders, because it means that all your hopes have been cut off, and if you are not careful, your whole family will die.
In such a situation of extreme mental pressure for a long time, the most likely thing to go wrong is the human heart.
Many times there will even be a strange situation where the attacking side does not have much of an advantage, but can win the city by just trying to persuade them to surrender.
All of this stems from the self-collapse process of the city defenders who have been under tremendous pressure for a long time and faced unknown fears.
That's why Lu Wenhuan defended Xiangyang and Zhu Wenzheng defended Nanchang in history, so they were so famous because it was really too difficult.
Under normal circumstances, without great generals like Lu Wenhuan and Zhu Wenzheng, the city defenders must be given some hope to support their defense.
Therefore, Wang Zhao is indeed relatively knowledgeable. Although he was unable to mobilize the army to go north to relieve the siege in a short time, he still shrewdly sent Huangfu Zhao to go north with the only mobile force that could be dispatched at any time.
Huangfu Zhao was born into the Huangfu family, a wealthy family in Huangzhou. His uncle Huangfu Tigong was a hero in the founding of Goryeo, and he could be regarded as a son of a general.
When he arrived at Longgang County, he saw that the Liao army had surrounded Pyongyang on all sides, with flags waving and gongs and drums roaring. He immediately understood that his thousands of men might not be enough to fill the gap between the enemy's teeth.
After sending two groups of dead soldiers to rush into Pyongyang City to report the news, but both were killed by the Liao Army's cavalry, Huangfu Zhao decisively led his troops away from Longgang County, which was undefeable, and arrived at the remaining veins of the Mercy Ridge Mountains northeast of Pyongyang.
This place is about thirty miles away from Pyongyang City. Huangfu Zhao ordered his soldiers to put up red flags on the top of the mountain and set off fireworks every morning to inform the soldiers and civilians in Pyongyang City that the reinforcements were still there and encourage them to hold on.
When Murong Nobunaga saw him in the distance, he actually showed some love for talents. He smiled and said to Wang Pu:
"This man led his troops to the south. He conducted detailed marches and reconnaissance along the way. Seeing that our army was in good order, he quickly assessed the situation and set up camp in the mountains and forests.
Now you can still think of using fireworks to encourage the army and the people. If you don't die, you can guard a place for me."
Wang Pu also smiled and responded: "In my opinion, your Majesty should tell the generals about this matter, so that they don't degrade the Korean people into worthless soldiers, lest they become arrogant soldiers."
Murong Nobunaga was convinced that the combat effectiveness of the Koryo people was not yet completely certain. Since they were all soldiers and generals left behind in Xijing, attention should be paid to this aspect.
Immediately, Murong Nobunaga ordered the messengers to start informing the soldiers of each battalion, and then ordered Gao Song to give part of the armor to the accompanying soldiers and civilians and the conscripted Jurchens and Bohai people, so that these people could pretend to be the main force and attack Pyongyang City with all their strength.
Huangfu Zhao was actually more daring than Murong Nobunaga imagined. He did not stay on the Mercy Ridge. Instead, he wore Jurchen attire and led dozens of knights to a place only a dozen miles away from Pyongyang for observation. Several times
They were almost caught by Zhou Jun You Yiqi who was on patrol.
But it was Huangfu Zhao's bold and careful actions that further strengthened Murong Nobunaga's strategic deception.
Outside Pyongyang, he saw the "Liao Army" storming Pyongyang like a tidal wave. It was by no means that they were encircling the points to support them with loud thunder and rain, but they were attacking with all their strength.
At the same time, he also discovered that although the "Liao Army" had excellent armor, brave attacks, and high morale, its combat effectiveness was not very high.
It is roughly equivalent to the elite soldiers of Goryeo and the soldiers of prefectures and counties, or comparable to the elite soldiers of Goryeo, but certainly not as good as the soldiers of Wuban.
Huangfu Zhao observed carefully for several days, and after confirming that everything was correct, he sent Pegasus south to inform the king, Wang Zhao.
....
After opening the capital, the anxious Wang Zhao was still urging the Goryeo court to operate at high speed. The matter of conscription was not an easy task in any ancient dynasty.
The Wang family in Korea seems to have more than a million people, a standing army of 20,000 to 30,000, and a reserve army of hundreds of thousands, but it is very difficult to really mobilize them.
April is a critical period for spring plowing. Whether it is the auxiliary troops of the state or county, the semi-permanent regular soldiers, or the private soldiers of various noble families and military classes, they all have to carry out agricultural production. The only difference is whether they carry out more or less agricultural production.
Just less.
If Xijing and Pyongyang cannot be defended, the biggest loser will be the royal family, which has little to do with the wealthy families in various places.
They are even willing to watch the king's family suffer. In this case, King Wang Zhao will definitely not have the strength to show his teeth and claws against the wealthy families like before.
On the contrary, if you respond positively, the spring plowing affected will belong to your own family, and the harvest of tens of thousands of kilos of grain in the autumn will be reduced, and the loss will be huge.
Therefore, even if Wang Zhao urged with red eyes, the troops gathered in Kaijing were still unhurried. Pyongyang had been besieged for fifteen days, and he could only recruit 20,000 troops.
But soon, as Huangfu Zhao's news came back from the front, the powerful Goryeo men who were fishing were like donkeys that had been whipped. Instead of continuing to be stubborn, they flew into the air.
It's almost time for a spark to appear.
The biggest reason for this situation is that Huangfu Zhao learned through investigation that with the Liao King Murong Nobunaga going south, in addition to 20,000 armored soldiers and tens of thousands of civilians, there were more than 300,000 civilians.
Soon, the eminent monk Sri Vuluo of Puji Temple also received a reply from the monks in the north, confirming that more than 300,000 people had followed the King of Liao southward.
At this time, powerful people from all over the country were attacked. If these Liao people came to plunder, then they only need to hold on to Kaijing and protect their interests. Anyway, Pyongyang belongs to the royal family.
But now, the King of Liao came to invade with a total of 300,000 people. He came not to plunder, but to occupy the magpie's nest.
This is to take their share from the powerful! That's okay, mobilize quickly and go north to rescue!
....
Murong Nobunaga stood on a high place, looking at the civilian husbands and Jurchen conscripts who were being carried back from the distance. Although there was a look of intolerance on his face, he did not mean to stop.
This is the only way to transform from an invincible general to an emperor.
At the top of Pyongyang City, the shouts of killing began to sound again after half an hour.
The civilians and conscripts, who were armed with heavy armor, fought evenly against the 6,000 Korean defenders in Pyongyang.
During the 30-day siege of the city, corpses lay everywhere under the city and mountains of corpses piled up on the city. Xin Kang, who was left in Xijing in Korea, rushed to the city in person to participate in the defense. The fierceness of the battle was not a lie in anyone's opinion, and it was indeed the case.
But the only difference is that Murong Nobunaga's elite troops were not really used.
"Your Majesty, there is an urgent report from the Marquis of Datong. Zhao Kuangyin, the war commander, and Chen Jie, the deputy commander, have led the navy at Henghai Town with 16,000 officers and soldiers, 18,000 sailors, and 300 warships. They have arrived at Xuanzhou Port, and
Ready to go south.
The Marquis of Puyang also sent a fast ship to arrive at Henghai Town, saying that the trade wind was late this year, so we could not set off in early April. Now that the trade wind has arrived, the vanguard will arrive at Jianghua Bay by the end of May."
The Marquis of Datong is Zhe Deyuan, and the Marquis of Puyang is Zhao Yanjin. Murong Nobunaga was overjoyed when he heard this, "If Xiang Hai'er and Sixth Brother can arrive together in May, Haihai will have no worries."
Send the order to withdraw the troops for three days. The soldiers are ordered to take back their armor and prepare for the war. If the Koreans still do not go north after three days, then we will go by land and water to find them!"
After finishing speaking, Murong Nobunaga said to Wang Pu and Han Kuangtu who were beside him: "The civilians who died in the battle in Pyongyang City will be compensated according to the treatment of armored soldiers, and the injured will be treated with all our strength!"
On May 17, in the Pyongyang Plain, Wang Zhao finally gathered together the army that went north to relieve the siege.
In this battle, Goryeo dispatched 10,000 regular soldiers equivalent to the standing army, 30,000 auxiliary soldiers from prefectures and counties who could basically only be used as civilians, and 20,000 tribes of various noble families, including about 1,500 martial arts classes.
Ten thousand.
There are a total of 70,000 troops, including 10,000 horsemen, 1,500 armored horses, 60,000 infantry, and nearly 30,000 armored troops.
But among them were iron armors, that is to say, there were 15,000 armored ones, and the rest were relatively inferior, including old-fashioned armors called short armors and other low-quality leather armors.
Plate armor, this thing, is actually a sinkhole, because unlike pierced armor and cloth-covered iron armor, which can unload force on other areas that are not hit, plate armor can only resist.
This leads to the fact that if plate armor wants to have high defense, there is only one option, and that is to use extremely strong and sophisticated materials to make it.
In an era when smelting technology was insufficient, it was simply impossible to smelt such iron.
These large pieces of plate armor hammered out of wrought iron and low carbon steel may not be as defensive as the iron pots of later generations.
Think about what will happen if you hold a low-quality iron pot on your chest, and then someone shoots you with an arrow? Of course, you will be killed with one arrow.
Therefore, although there are 30,000 Koreans wearing armor, their armor is not at the same level as Murong Nobunaga's 60% iron armor, chain mail armor, and more than 20% cloth-covered iron armor, mixed with other light armor soldiers.
.
In addition to this barely counting 70,000 people, plus the 40,000 to 50,000 civilians, but the horse and foot army that is said to be 300,000 people.
Wang Zhao also mobilized a naval force of more than 7,000 men and nearly 200 warships to go north together.
Although this navy has few soldiers and small warships, it is a force that Wang Zhao values more, because Wang Zhao's ancestors were actually local tycoons in Ganghwa Bay, and they made their fortune by running sea trade and fishing.
Therefore, the Wang family held the strongest navy in the peninsula. After the king established the country, this family navy became the navy of the Goryeo court.
Wang Zhao did not think that grassland tribes like Tuyuhun would have many naval forces. Even the Khitan Liao Kingdom in the past did not have many naval forces.
Therefore, he issued an order to the navy commander Kang Chengxun. If Pyongyang's rescue went smoothly, the navy would land at Nampo southeast of Pyongyang, join the Pyongyang defenders from the side, and penetrate the Liao army's flank to attack and expand the results.
If Pyongyang reaches a stalemate, then Kang Chengxun will lead his navy to continue northward and land in the Xuanzhou area. He will use the local wealthy families who have not been killed by the Liao army to attack the Liao army's supply lines and force the Liao army to retreat.
....
The Pyongyang Plain is a plain alluvial produced by the Datong River around Pyongyang City and its tributaries such as the Nanjiang River and the Zainyeong River. On the Korean Peninsula, it is a relatively vast plain.
Historically, during the Lee Dynasty's Joseon Dynasty, about one million acres of land could be reclaimed in the Pyongyang Plain alone.
The land on the great plains with perfect irrigation conditions is not comparable to the fields on the hillsides and valleys. The one million acres here are basically cultivated fields, and the yield is relatively much higher.
Even in later generations, when the country could only be closed to the outside world, the people of Pyongyang Plain were the best North Korean people ever under the rule of the three generals.
Even at this time, a lot of farmland had been reclaimed from the Pyongyang Plain, which was considered to be one of the most fertile lands controlled by the Goryeo family.
Wang Zhao, the famous founding general of the country, Dakuang, inspected the Shangshu Youpushe, and the superior general Jiang Gongzhen served as the deputy commander-in-chief of the camp and the military envoy of the camp.
Yu Jing, the eldest son of another famous founding general Yu Qianbi, served as the pioneer army's military envoy.
Hongsun, the son of Hong Tao, the founding hero of the Uiseong wealthy family, and Park Young-gyu, a surrendered minister of Baekje, served as the military envoys on the left and right.
The army marched for more than ten miles and was divided into three armies: the front, middle and rear. Each army was divided into more than ten teams, and each team was guarded by more than a hundred people wearing armor.
The more than 10,000 horse troops were divided into ten divisions, each providing the army with functions such as forward reconnaissance, concealing its whereabouts, and guarding its two wings.
At the same time, Huangfu Zhao on the Mercy Ridge received the news that the army was heading north, and he also took the initiative to lead his troops to form an array at the foot of the mountain with his back to the mountains and forests. The vanguard even cruised to a place less than five miles away from Murong Nobunaga's army.
All of this was in preparation for Murong Nobunaga's sudden cavalry raid. In a wide area like the Pyongyang Plain, the power of the northern cavalry could be maximized. Wang Zhao was still a little worried.
On Murong Nobunaga's side, some of the generals also asked for orders to come forward for a surprise attack. Murong Yanchao even shouted loudly: "The thieves thought they were responding well, but in fact they relied too much on the cavalry guards.
Judging from the strength of his horse army, it is far inferior to the Khitan Pishi army in the past. If the king is ordered to attack at the end of the day, only three thousand horsemen can defeat the enemy's horse army, and take advantage of the opportunity to cover up and attack and defeat it!"
Murong Yanchao was so sure because he had just led more than fifty cavalry to fight with the Goryeo cavalry.
The results were naturally overwhelming, so he felt that he could defeat the more than 10,000 Goryeo cavalry with only three thousand cavalry.
As soon as Murong Yanchao spoke, the surrounding generals were afraid that he would take away all their military achievements, so they also asked for a fight.
Murong Nobunaga smiled and waved his hand, "Although they are too weak to attack, they are familiar with the mountains and rivers geography. It is not the best strategy for us to only defeat most of their cavalry army and their front vanguard.
These people can't fight in the wild. If they are dispersed in various places and defended in a fortified city, they will do great harm. It is better to let them go to Pyongyang City, gather them and annihilate them."
This was Murong Nobunaga's truest thought. He was not prepared to engage in a tug-of-war with these Koreans for more than half a year, nor did he want to surround Kaijingjian City and attack it. What he wanted was to accomplish his feat in one battle and directly capture Wang Zhao.
Completely annihilate the Goryeo army.
It's already May. If we fight faster, we might be able to plant some grain.
If you fight quickly, the food in the official warehouses in big cities such as Kae Kyung and Suiju (Suwon) will not be wasted in the battle.
Moreover, Murong Nobunaga also has a trump card, which is the navy!
....
At Tonghai Port, Zhao Kuangyin was naked and wearing only shorts, standing with the navy soldiers on a small boat that could only accommodate more than ten people, and was shouting loudly.
As the red flag waved on the big ship, the sailors on the small boats suddenly rowed the boats, and the boats shot out like arrows.
The soldiers on the boat all hold a weapon similar to a net in their hands. When the two boats intersect, whoever can catch the soldier on the opposite boat's head with a net and pull him into the water wins.
For a time, the drums were thundering, the sound of falling water and cheers were endless.
Henghai Town can be regarded as Zhang Zhou's most elite naval force. Even though Zhao Kuangyin practiced for a long time, he was quickly caught in the net and dragged into the sea.
However, Zhao Kuangyin was not angry at all, but was extremely happy. After the exercise, Chen Jie beat the drum, and Zhao Kuangyin handed out rewards with his own hands. The last soldier who was independent on the boat was awarded ten guans, and the other two, three, four and even the top ten were rewarded.
.
But today, besides Chen Jie, Zhe Deyuan was also there. He looked at Zhao Kuangyin and nodded with satisfaction.
"Brother Ru was afraid that you wouldn't be able to adapt to the climate of Haidong, so he asked someone to bring you medicinal materials. But it seems that you, Zhao Dalang, are really a hero and don't need these things."
Although Zhe Deyuan was five or six years older than Zhao Kuangyin, there was a huge gap in their identities in history.
But in this time and space, Zhe Deyuan, as the emperor's righteous fourth son, has been guarding Datong Mansion all year round, and now he is guarding Mobei with integrity. He is also married to the daughter of the royal family, and his status is much higher than that of Zhao Kuangyin.
Zhao Kuangyin's elder brother died at the age of five. He was basically the eldest son in the family, and his parents generally called him the eldest brother.
And now Zhao Kuangyin is also a senior general commanding an army of 20,000 people, and he also has the title of earl. The only person who can convince him that he would like to recognize his brother is Murong Nobunaga, who has taught him and promoted him.
Zhao Kuangyin raised his hand to Zhe Deyuan and said with some emotion: "My brother is busy with military affairs. After arriving in Haidong, I haven't gone to see my brother yet. I think it's really inappropriate. Please ask the brother of the Zhe family to apologize to Brother Nobunaga on my behalf."
Zhe Deyuan waved his hand and said with a smile: "It's not like you don't know what the prince wants. As long as you can help him on the battlefield, it's better than visiting him a hundred times."
When Zhao Kuangyin heard this, he knew that if Zhe De wanted to come here, he must have a mission. He clasped his fists and said, "Brother, please tell me, the 20,000 athletes under a certain command have been prepared for a long time."
"Okay!" Zhe Deyuan took Zhao Kuangyin's hand and walked straight to his command cabin.
"The king of the county has received a secret report from the capital. The Goryeo Navy, with Kang Seung-hun as its commander, has about 15,000 men heading north from Ganghwa Bay, and is expected to arrive around Nampo Port soon.
The king of the county orders you to mobilize your troops immediately, defeat the Goryeo navy first, and then march straight in to attack Ganghwa Bay. A certain family's 10,000 cavalry will also join you."
Zhao Kuangyin looked at the map and couldn't help but feel happy. With this information, as long as the Korean navy was destroyed, he could enter Kaijing before the end of the land war. This would be the first achievement of destroying the country.
And Zhe Deyuan was right, this was the best opportunity to repay Murong Nobunaga.