Chapter five hundred and eighty fifth strategy against the enemy
The young man is proud of his pen. Now, his youth has faded, and he is full of desolation. He often hates the fact that people in the world have few new ideas and love to talk about crazy people in the Southern Dynasty. He picks up the old hat every year. If he fails to drink the yellow flowers, he is afraid of the yellow flowers, but also laughs at the silence of the people.
.Going to the north, the sun disappears in the west.
——Excerpt from "Congratulations to the Bridegroom Nine Days" by Liu Kezhuang (Song Dynasty)
…
Knowing that there was a traitor to the Yan army in the rebel fleet, Bai Fu devised a plan to capture Xizuo soon.
The boatman could not stand the torture and quickly confessed.
As Li E expected, during the Battle of Beikou, the Lone Eagle Scout attracted Shi Siming's attention, and he sent the top assassins in the Yan army to wait for an opportunity to assassinate Bai Fu.
As for the origin of the assassin, it is impossible to know because of his humble status.
Because Iron Hammer and Lynx were injured, for safety reasons, the boss of Bai Fuming Ship immediately changed the ship and changed the sailing route.
After the deployment, the journey was uneventful and no rebel assassins were encountered again.
The Lone Eagle scout soon arrived in Luoyang and reported back to the Shuofang Army's scout camp.
Liu Yidao, the brigade commander of the scout battalion, did not know that the victory in Beiku was related to the Lone Eagle Squadron. When he saw the delay in returning to camp, he lost his temper.
Brigadier Liu Yidao was cold-hearted and hot-hearted. After scolding him, he saw that Tie Zhui and Ling Yan'er had not yet recovered, so he did not arrange a long-distance mission. He ordered Tie Zhui and Ling Yan'er to recuperate in the camp, and the rest of the Lone Eagle scouts were in Luoyang.
Scout nearby.
…
Bai Fu's previous judgment was correct.
The Yan army's first battle target was indeed Bianzhou (now Kaifeng, Henan).
Excluding Linghu Zhang's army, only three of the original four armies of the Yan Army are left:
Shi Siming himself led a group out of PY (today's PY City, Henan), Shi Chaoyi led a group out of Baigao (today's north of Huaxian County, Henan), and Zhou Zhi led a group out of Huliang (today's east of Junxian County, Henan), and crossed the Yellow River respectively.
Besiege Bianzhou from all directions.
The supplies of the Qing Ku army in Hebei were captured by the Hebei rebels. The Yan army had no supply of food and grass and could not dismount the tiger, so they had to fight quickly. As long as the Tang army could hold on for a period of time, the rebels would inevitably lose their morale and the Western Expedition army would collapse without a fight.
Unexpectedly, the good cards obtained by the Hebei Rebel Army were destroyed by the incompetent Xu Shuji.
Previously, Li Guangbi asked Bianzhou defender Xu Shuji to hold on for fifteen days.
Xu Shuji, who agreed straight away, was a coward. He couldn't last even three days, let alone fifteen days.
As soon as Shi Siming's army arrived, they immediately attacked the city. As soon as Xu Shuji faced it, he felt that he could not win, so he immediately surrendered.
Xu Shuji then followed Dong Qin, the prefect of Puzhou (now Juancheng County, Shandong), and his generals Liang Pu, Liu Congjian, Tian Shengong and others to surrender to Shi Siming.
The Yan army immediately obtained a large amount of grain, grass and baggage stored in Bianzhou City, and all their urgent needs were wiped out.
Shi Siming separated the surrender leaders of the Tang army, appointed Xu Shuji as Zhongshu Ling, and ordered him to lead the Yan army general Li Xiang to still guard Bianzhou.
Shi Siming treated Dong Qin, the prefect of Puzhou, very favorably, but even so, Shi Siming was still worried and put Dong Qin's wife, children, and children under house arrest in Changlu (today's CZ City, Hebei) as hostages.
Shi Siming ordered the Yan army general Nan Dexin to lead the Tang army to surrender Liangpu, Liu Congjian, Tian Shengong and dozens of others to go to Jianghuai to seize land.
Tian Shengong, a native of Nangong (today's Nangong City, Hebei Province), was brave and good at fighting. Shi Siming took a fancy to him and appointed him as the military envoy of the Pinglu War Zone (the headquarters of the Pinglu War Zone was located in Yingzhou, today's Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province).
After the arrangements were made, the main force of the Yan army took advantage of the victory and marched westward, aiming directly at Zhengzhou and Luoyang.
Shi Siming attacked Zhengzhou in the west, and Li Guangbi ordered the Zhengzhou defenders to prepare for war. If Zhengzhou could not be defended, they could retreat slowly to delay the Yan army's attack speed, and then join up with the Tang army in Luoyang.
Li Guangbi realized that there was no danger to defend Luoyang, so he found Wei Zhi, who was staying in Luoyang, and discussed together: "The rebels are coming to take advantage of the victory, and their troops are very sharp. The best strategy for our army is to stand still, and it is not advisable to fight quickly.
There is no danger to defend Luoyang, I wonder what Sir Wei has to do?"
Wei Zhi heard that Li Guangbi wanted to give up Luoyang temporarily. However, as the commander-in-chief of Shuofang Army, he could only do some things that were inconvenient to say. He hoped that he, who was left behind in Luoyang, could make the move.
Although Wei Zhi was reluctant to leave Luoyang, he also knew that strategically speaking, Li Guangbi's strategy was the best choice at the moment.
Wei Zhi then suggested that since they were going to withdraw, it would be better to withdraw more simply. After Shuofang's army withdrew from Luoyang, could they dedicate part of their troops to garrison Shaanzhou, while the main force of the Tang army retreated to Tongguan to defend the dangerous strategic point and defeat the Yan army's vigor.
Li Guangbi smiled faintly, waved his hand and said: "Master Wei, it is necessary to temporarily withdraw from Luoyang, but we cannot retreat too deep.
If they abandon the five hundred miles of Henan Road without any reason before the confrontation, the rebel forces will become even more unstoppable.
The current plan is for the main force of the Tang army to retreat to Heyang, echoing the Zelu war zone in the north. If the situation is favorable, take the initiative to attack, if the situation is unfavorable, stick to the danger, and echo each other internally and externally to prevent the rebels from continuing to advance westward. Like the arm of an ape,
Extensible and retractable.”
Having said this, Li Guangbi poured a cup of tea and handed it to Wei Zhi. He laughed and said: "Master Wei, when it comes to matters above the court, I am not as good as you; when it comes to military affairs, you are not as good as me."
.”
Li Guangbi, a Khitan man, seemed rough and heroic, but in fact he was as careful as his hair.
His strategy of "evacuating Luoyang and retreating to Heyang" took both military and political aspects into consideration.
At the beginning of An Lushan's rebellion, the two famous generals Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing lost their heads because they only considered military affairs and did not realize the political consequences of retreat.
From Luoyang, we retreated to Tongguan and relied on the natural dangers of Tongguan to block the rebels from outside the pass. This was of course the best strategy.
However, Xuanzong, the culprit who tolerated traitors and single-handedly caused today's situation, lost all face after the Anlu Mountain rebellion. He could never accept that the Tang army fled without a fight and Luoyang abandoned without a fight!
He must put down the rebellion as soon as possible and kill each and every one of the Anlushan family Lingchi in front of the world! In order to prove that he is still the wise and powerful emperor blessed by destiny!
Anyone who dares to "abandon guarding five hundred miles without any reason" shall be punished!
No matter he is a prince or a general, he will be killed without mercy!
…
How could Li Guangbi forget this lesson? If he arranges his troops according to this, Suzong will definitely make the same mistake as Gao and Feng once Long Yan becomes angry.
Li Guangbi's words poked fun at him, but Wei Zhi couldn't refute.
However, Wei Sun, the military judge of Luoyang, raised questions: "Luoyang is the eastern capital of the Tang Dynasty and the residence of the emperor. How can it be given up so easily?"
Li Guangbi glanced out of the corner of his eye and said slowly: "If Luoyang is to be defended, heavy troops will need to be stationed at the key points of Si River (which flows into the Yellow River), Yiling (south of today's Dengfeng, Henan), and Longmen (south of today's Luoyang, Henan).
General Wei, as the general in charge of the army, you would like to tell me how to defend the situation based on the current situation."
Wei Sun was stunned on the spot, thinking over and over again, but found no better way, so he could only retreat slumped without saying a word.
Seeing that Wei Zhi had been persuaded to stay in Luoyang, Li Guangbi no longer had any worries, and immediately issued a military order, ordering Wei Zhi to take all the officials in Luoyang and their families to immediately go west and avoid entering Tongguan;
Li Ruoyou, Yin of Henan Province, was ordered to be responsible for evacuating the people and taking refuge out of the city; he ordered Shuofang Army officers and soldiers to transport all important materials in Luoyang City to Heyang.
Li Guangbi's strategic intention was obvious, which was to strengthen the walls and clear the country, turning Luoyang into an empty city, leaving Shi Siming tasteless and a pity to abandon it.