If it is winter, all the rivers in Youzhou will be frozen, and the cavalry can roam freely on the undefended plains. Now that it is almost late spring, there is also an advantage. The baggage can be transported by water, and the army can attack faster.
Guanqiu Jian's army was divided into several groups and went south one after another. The middle group, led by him personally, set out from Jixian County (Beiliang) and advanced due south.
After successfully raising his troops, Guanqiu Jian moved very quickly to avoid any unnecessary delays and had already marched south! The message was only sent out after leaving the city.
Most places in Youzhou are vast and sparsely populated, especially the counties of Changli and Lelang in Liaodong. After being massacred by Sima Yi, the population was very small and the products were rich. If the army was scattered throughout Liaodong, there would definitely be no shortage of food. Just fishing would make the city Not hungry, just a little cold. But as a border area, Youzhou also has an abnormal ratio of soldiers to civilians. If a large army gathers and is trapped in Youzhou, it will definitely not be able to feed them.
Only by advancing immediately can the morale and morale of the army be stabilized.
Guanqiu Jian's troops marched almost in a straight line on the plain. At this time, they had reached the Sushui River Basin. In front of them was Gaoyang County, Hejian County, Jizhou.
He looked at the tower looming in the distance and had already sent a small team to persuade them to surrender.
The counties and counties in Youzhou were originally under the control of the governor of Youzhou, and most of the county guards were people arranged by Guanqiu Jian; even the officials sent by the court only obeyed the orders of Shangfeng, and they had no soldiers. Therefore, no one is willing to resist the governor of Youzhou with all his strength. Only after entering Jizhou, the cities along the way need to be persuaded to surrender.
Guanqiu Jian put away his gaze and turned to look at Kou Loudun, the man beside him.
He couldn't help but remind: "The surrendered cities and counties must not be killed indiscriminately, especially the officials, noble families, and wealthy families. They must not be touched! Otherwise, all the cities behind will not surrender and they will be attacked one by one. I don't know how much troops and time it will take. The only way is to resist stubbornly." Only in places that do not surrender can we send troops to massacre the city. At least there is a reason and we can serve as a warning to others."
Kou Loudun pressed his hand on his chest, bent down on the horse and said: "By the order of General Zuo."
Guanqiu Jian was still uneasy and said again: "If your misbehavior affects the overall situation, I won't be able to win, and you will never benefit."
Guan Qiujian didn't say these words loudly, but a coldness flashed in his eyes. When Kou Loudun saw this, his expression became much more serious.
Kou Loudun had fought many battles with Guan Qiu Jian, and they had been together for a long time. He still understood Guan Qiu Jian.
This Han general was completely different from the ordinary Xianbei people. He would not shout and kill at every turn, and would say harsh words in a stern voice. On the contrary, Guanqiu Jian treated others well, had a clear sense of grudges, and was very loyal.
Previously, there was a man from Goguryeo, named Pei Zhe Delai, who repeatedly persuaded the King of Goguryeo not to provoke the State of Wei or to provoke the State of Wei. The King of Goguryeo refused to listen and often harassed the Wei army by picking beans on the border. After the war to destroy the country, the Wei army led a group of barbarians into the capital. They first annihilated and then killed the king's wives, concubines, and daughters, and massacred the city, leaving rivers of blood. When Guanqiu Jian heard about Pei Zhe De's arrival, he specially Protected his family.
Usually some arrogant and powerful generals are disrespectful and disrespectful, but Guanqiu Jian was also kind and powerful, and he was tolerant. Many people only obeyed Guanqiu Jian.
However, if anyone thinks that Guan Qiu Jian is a kind-hearted person, they are totally wrong! This person does not recognize his relatives when he turns against him, and he can catch people off guard and change his attitude suddenly.
Kou Loudun knew this, so he had to pay attention to Guanqiu Jian's reminder.
At this moment, two riders came towards us on the road. However, they did not come from the direction of Gaoyang County.
Guan Qiu Jian's younger brother Guan Qiu Xiu quickly recognized the person, "This is Guan Qiu Cheng's entourage, why don't you see my son?"
When the visitor found Guanqiu Jian, he dismounted and reported: "Zhen Yan, the governor of Changshan County, killed the envoy! He sent the head south."
When Guanqiu Xiu heard this, his face suddenly turned pale, and then turned from white to red. He clenched his teeth, the muscles on his cheeks bulged, and tears gradually shone in his eyes.
The generals were in an uproar, some were cursing, and some were urging Guanqiu Xiujie to be sad and submit.
Xiu's voice was strange: "Isn't Zhen Yan the queen's grandfather? How could he treat Guan Qiucheng like this!"
Guanqiu Jian was a general who loyal to the emperor. This was not just a banner, many people believed in his heart. Therefore, this matter is really surprising.
Someone next to him said: "Some people will do anything to protect themselves. Maybe Zhen Yan thinks Luoyang has a good chance of winning."
Guanqiu Jian, who had been silent until now, immediately spoke: "The situation in Luoyang is unfavorable at this time, and Qin Liang's army is obviously going against the trend. A blind man can see the situation, Zhen Yan just doesn't know how to fight."
Xiu was sad and angry, clasping his fists and saying: "Brother, please send troops to destroy Changshan County! My foolish brother is willing to be the vanguard."
Immediately, several generals agreed. Especially Kou Loudun. He didn't necessarily care about the killing of the Guanqiu family, but seeing that everyone was filled with indignation, he knew that if Changshan County was captured, he would definitely have a revelry. So Kou Loudun also followed. Please fight.
But after a while, the generals calmed down a little when they saw that Guanqiu Jian did not express his position. The generals could not raise their troops out of anger, so they all mobilized Youzhou troops, not for revenge, but for victory!
Xiu took out the map and said: "Our army only needs to cross the Sushui River and attack westward from the south bank of the Sushui River. Then we can reach the gate of Zhending City. First destroy Zhenyan and Tian Yu, and then defeat Qin Liang!"
Guanqiu Jian already knew the terrain of Hebei very well, but he still glanced at the map in Xiu's hand.
To the north of Changshan County, there are several rivers. Hutuo River, Zishui, Sushui, Hengshui, etc. However, these rivers all merge into Sushui in Hejian County to the south of here, and then flow north.
In the picture, it looks like a finger bone lying sideways, facing east.
So the second brother is right. When the army goes to Changshan County, it naturally does not need to cross multiple rivers. As long as it goes south along the Sushui River, and then turns west from the east bank of the Sushui River, it can directly reach Zhending of Changshan County!
It looked good. But Guanqiu Jian soon discovered a problem. The situation in Changshan County was a bit like a pocket.
Taihang is in the west, there are many rivers in the north that affect traffic, and there may be enemy troops in the south. If Qin Liang's army comes from the direction of Anping County in the southwest, it can form an arc offensive.
At that time, the area of activity of King Qin's army in Youzhou would be greatly restricted, and the ships and luggage coming from Sushui would also be exposed to enemy attacks. If the two armies fall into a confrontation by then, it will be very detrimental to Guanqiu Jian!
The key is that after the Youzhou Army goes to the west, it cannot effectively control the middle road and the east, which happens to be a densely populated and prosperous area. As long as the Youzhou Army cannot win quickly, it will not be able to add new sources of food, grass and manpower.
Guanqiu Jian finally said: "We have only one goal at this time, which is to defeat Qin Liang's army."
He looked at his brother who was out of control and said: "As long as King Qin wins, or as long as he defeats Qin Liang's army and takes control of Jizhou, it will be easy to take revenge."
Guanqiu Xiu asked: "Elder brother's intention is that Zhending should not be attacked?"
Guanqiu Jian nodded and said: "It's not too late for a gentleman to take revenge for ten years, and we don't need ten years either. So what if we keep him for another month or two?"
The younger brother finally nodded vigorously and said, "Foolish brother should obey the elder brother's arrangements."
Guanqiu Jian stretched out his hand and patted his younger brother's back gently, looked back and said: "Instead of going to Changshan County, we have to go to Jizhou Prefecture and Anping County first. Our army must first destroy the army from Luoyang! This is what we are doing today. The key is, nothing else matters."
The angry and agitated mood of the generals gradually subsided a little.
Hejian County in Jizhou is on the border of Youji and Youzhou. Going south from Ji County (Beiliang), Hejian County is right in front of you. At this time, Gaoyang County, where Guan Qiujian and others were located, had also entered the territory of Hejian County. However, The county administration of Hejian County was successful, located in the south and still in front.
To the south of Hejian County is Anping County to the southwest, and to the southeast is Bohai County. One is a prefecture, and the other is one of the places with the largest population and food crops in Jizhou.
Before the decisive battle, Guanqiu Jian wanted to occupy these two places most. In addition to obtaining supplies, the location of this area was also very good!
Guanqiujian's ships could go south through the Pinglu Canal and enter the water system extending in all directions, which was very convenient for transporting grain, heavy equipment, weapons and armor. Taking this waterway was relatively safer and less likely to be attacked by enemy troops.
Guanqiu Jian pondered for a while and then said: "At this time, Wu and Shu have restrained a large number of troops. The main force of the Chinese army in Luoyang is in the hands of Wang Ling. They have been attacking Jiangling for several months without success. Now they are still far away in Jingzhou. Wang Ling and Qin Liang They had become so unpopular in the court that ministers were killing traitors in the court hall, so they still had to leave trusted personnel in Luoyang to guard against them.
Therefore, the Luoyang Central Army that Qin Liang could mobilize, plus the Bingzhou Tianyu, probably totaled less than 50,000 people, which was fewer than our soldiers. Moreover, our army has been fighting at the border all year round and is an elite soldier on the battlefield. We have many soldiers and are good at fighting. How can we Is there any reason to be invincible? The opportunity is great now. We should seize the time and force Qin Liang's army to fight decisively. Don't waste time elsewhere. Destroy the rebel army first, and then attack Yecheng!"
The families of many officers and soldiers of the Wei army were near Yecheng. People cared more about their families than avenging Guanqiu Xiu's son. As soon as Guanqiu Jian mentioned Yecheng, everyone diverted their attention from the indignation they had just felt.
The morale of the soldiers was immediately boosted, and they shouted one after another: "Destroy the traitor army and go to Yecheng!"
Only Guan Qiu Xiu was still in grief and anger. After all, it was his own son who was killed. However, since Guan Qiu Xiu was from the Guan Qiu family, he had to put the overall interests of the family first and did not oppose his brother's decision.
Guanqiu Jian said to Kou Loudun again: "The southern part of Jizhou, Yanzhou and other places are the richest places in the Wei Dynasty, and there are no wars all year round. As long as Qin Liang is defeated and the entire Jizhou is occupied, will there be less money and beauties?"
Kou Loudun and others bowed to him.
At this moment, the people from the front who persuaded people to surrender came back and reported to the city that Gaoyang County had opened the city gates to welcome King Qin's army!
Gaoyang County is under the jurisdiction of Jizhou, but the governor of Youzhou is also an official of the Wei State. There are no soldiers in the county, and it is impossible to defend the city with the strength of the county. Resistance can only delay the Youzhou army, which is beneficial to Qin Liang, but has no effect on local officials. Good thing, because if the city is broken, you will definitely be killed!
After hearing this, Guanqiu Jian was overjoyed and waved his hand: "Enter Gaoyang!"
The people cheered, surrounded the Chinese army's banner, and marched southward in large numbers. Until now, except for the haze in Changshan County, everything has been going very smoothly.
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(I wish all my book friends a happy National Day holiday.)