In mid-summer last year, Gao Ying and Yuan Cheng planned to borrow troops from the Hu people. Although they had not yet reached an agreement at that time, they took precautions and prepared grain, fodder, silk and army armor at that time.
At that time, due to the chaos in the six towns in the north, tax collection was no more than a dream. In addition, it was necessary to send a large army to quell the rebellion. It was just a matter of ordering several nearby states in Hedong to supply the needs of the army, which was a difficult task.
As for Shandong, the Huaihe River and the Huaihe River cannot be relied upon to supply the army marching south, so they can only rely on Guanzhong and Hedong.
After borrowing hundreds of thousands of troops, in addition to raising funds and marching, the cost of the campaign was so huge. The imperial court had no choice but to collect troops and grain, so it collected troops from Hedong and Guanzhong last year.
During the summer grain harvest, the autumn taxes for that year were collected together.
But after a rough calculation, there was still a long way to go. Therefore, during the autumn harvest, the court went even further, half forcing and half enticing, and the taxes for the second year in Guanzhong and Hedong were also early.
So he marched.
All this money and food were used by the imperial court as a bargaining chip to borrow troops from Rouran and Tuyuhun. Therefore, when the six towns and five northern states were settled, the imperial court was out of food again.
what to do?
We always have to find ways to maintain it, but it can only be like scraping the fat and removing the cream, and fishing for all the benefits, either by forced borrowing or forced conquest.
To be honest, if Xi Kangsheng's 150,000 troops had not been stationed in Guanzhong, and the 200,000 surrendered troops from Beidi and Six Towns had also been reorganized and established in Xiazhou, Guanzhong and Hedong would have been at war with each other, and rebels were everywhere.
In this way, the nobles and people in Guanzhong and Hedong were already crying out in sorrow and resentment, but they did not want to add insult to injury. In just a few days, the 300,000-strong army on the South Road was completely defeated.
The food and grass in Tuyuhun had been completely burned. As for Shanshan Town, even the coach Cui Yanbo could only flee in panic. The number of defeated troops gathered after the incident was only 30,000, which shows the desolation of the defeat. So guessing with your butt, it is also
All the grain and grass fell into the hands of the Western Sea Army.
It is impossible to let it go to waste, life will eventually pass, this battle must be fought with gritted teeth, and it is impossible to let hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses chew the soil, so this food must continue to be collected.
But everyone knows that Guanzhong and Hedong have been pushed to the brink of explosion. If there is any spark, they will explode. After thinking about it, I can only make an idea with Li Li, who has the highest rank and is now the leader of Guanzhong.
Shao's head is gone.
But the key point is that Yuan Cheng thought he had a chance of victory before, so he did things without leaving any room for error, and offended Li Shao a bit harshly. Therefore, trying to persuade Li Shao to share the worries of the court would be as difficult as climbing a mountain.
Xing Luan was born in the Xing family in Hejian, and he was already close to the nobles in Hedong. Coupled with the unclear identity of the imperial court, Hebei was in a state of chaos due to Gao Zhao, so he was full of complaints for a long time. At this time, the harsh government of the imperial court was even more fierce.
Even more like a fox who is sad when a rabbit dies, he naturally sympathizes with Li Shao.
Therefore, he was like an old monk in meditation, his eyes only staring at the table without even squinting.
Yang Shu and Li Shao would only speak if their brains were swollen, and Yuan Qin didn't say it clearly, so they naturally pretended to be deaf and dumb.
Yuan Yi is thin-skinned, and Yuan Cheng's behavior of being a bitch and setting up obstruction is really disgusting to him. Although he knows that compared with the world of Yuan and Wei, he is not even skinned, but in a hurry, he can't think of how to persuade Li
Shao...
As a result, everyone seemed to have been cast a restraining spell. There was silence in the hall, and even the sound of breathing was much weaker.
Yuan Qin was still smiling before, hoping that Li Shao and Yang Shu would take the initiative to ask for help. But when he saw that these two people didn't even raise their eyelids, his face gradually became stiff.
Why is it different from what King Rencheng said?
What about the promised "Li Shao will definitely be impatient and Yang Shu will do his part"?
Could it be that we are retreating to advance?
Thinking in his heart, Yuan Qin laughed dryly and tried to break the embarrassment: "Before coming here, His Highness told me in every possible way that I would like to apologize to Gu Zanghou and Yang Changshi: All the things that happened in the past were forced by the current situation and were caused by a combination of circumstances.
I also hope that you two can put aside the past grievances and work together to relieve the imperial court's worries..."
Yang Shu glanced at Yuan Qin dubiously, and then at Li Shao.
Li Shao remained calm: "If there is an order, Li will naturally obey it, so let's wait for the general's order first..."
That city must be deep enough, otherwise you would definitely laugh out loud: What kind of person is Yuan Cheng? The late emperor Yuan Ke suppressed him for ten years and never bowed his head, so he would actually apologize to himself?
This was clearly Yuan Qin's own decision, but just through this small action, Li Shao could see the truth.
At such a critical moment, Yuan Cheng, the traitor, has not forgotten his conspiracy?
Nowadays, the wind in Guanzhong is trembling, and the grass and trees are all soldiers. The slightest disturbance can set off a prairie fire. Since Yuan Cheng has long suspected that he and Li Chengzhi are secretly colluding, how can he dare to send himself into the border at this critical moment?
close?
I'm afraid that if I show even a little bit of joy, I might be shackled.
You must not fall for this trick...
It was also a coincidence that not long after Li Shao finished speaking, the army came to report that Li Xian had arrived.
Everyone stood up in a solemn voice and rushed out to greet him.
Although Li Xian is temporarily serving as the Secretary of the Central Committee, he is neither an auxiliary minister nor a general, so he cannot deserve such courtesy. The reason why everyone is doing this is because they predict that Li Xian's trip must be to take orders from the general Yuan Yao.
I'm here to deliver the order.
After a few words of greeting, everyone welcomed Li Xian into the hall. Li Xian did not hesitate, and he did not dare to make excuses. He immediately handed a warrant to Yuan Yi.
Yuan Yi opened the first letter first, glanced at it a few times, and a strange look appeared on his face: "The general has an order: Commander Xing is ordered to lead his army northward today and join him at the He Canal Division. And your aunt.
Zang Hou will follow the army..."
Yuan Qin was horrified: "Why should Governor Xing go north to Hequsi instead of going south to aid Jincheng?"
Yuan Yi shook his head: "The letter didn't mention..."
Everyone gave a "swish" sound and all fixed their gazes on Li Xian's face.
Only then did I know that he had traveled hundreds of miles in a hurry and was covered in dust. Only then did he realize that Li Xian's face was very clean, but his complexion was sallow, almost earth-colored, as if he had been seriously ill.
"Afraid of being taken advantage of by the enemy's subtle maneuvers on the way, the general did not state it clearly in the letter: Two days ago, that is, the second day after Xianguan arrived at Hequsi, an urgent report came from Daqi: Rouran has withdrawn..."
Yuan Yi's eyes almost dropped in shock: "Why?"
Li Xian rubbed his temples and waited for a while before saying: "It must have been half a month ago, when the Rouran army arrived at Daqi, and the Chinese generals were stationed at Junji Mountain. When they were confronting the West Sea across the mountain, a large army suddenly came over.
Zhuoxie Mountain, surprise attack on Roujun and then the army.
The Chinese army had no choice but to send troops to the west. At this time, another army from the West Sea crossed Junji Mountain and suddenly attacked the Rouran Chinese army camp. Being attacked from both sides, Rouran fought hard for five days, but finally lost the enemy and withdrew to the desert.
north."
Halfway through speaking, Li Xian trembled, as if he was extremely frightened, and shuddered involuntarily:
"According to the general who led the Rouran army, the Xihai army that appeared at Zhuoxie Mountain should have come from Dunhuang. Not only did it arrive very quickly, but its attack was extremely fierce. Tens of thousands of fine cavalry were defeated in less than a day.
It is said that although there were not many casualties, hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep used as rations for the army, and thousands of carts of grain, grass, and silk were all seized by Xihai...
After receiving this urgent news, the Chinese army had no choice but to return to the army immediately. Although Commander Rouran had already known that there was a large army from the West Sea in Hubei Province and south of Junji Mountain, some scouts approached the Peeping Camp and claimed that there were no more than 20,000 troops there.
Therefore, Commander Rouran was underestimating the enemy and did not pay attention.
And it was the 20,000 soldiers from Xihai who protruded out of Juyan Lake and attacked the Rouran camp, which was nearly 100,000 strong. The commander of Rouran only thought that Xihai was attacking the stone with eggs, but he didn't think that the opponent was the stone and he was the chicken: But listen
When the cannon fired, both the soldiers and the horses were all startled. Anyone who came close to the enemy's formation would suffer nine out of ten knights falling and nine out of ten soldiers wounded.
What frightened Rouran the most was that she still didn’t know where the cannon was, but when she heard the explosion, iron pellets connected with iron chains fell from the sky and landed in the center of the formation. Then they swept across like a giant scythe, instantly killing ten people.
Several riders were cut off at the waist...
If that was the case, that would be fine, just retreat more troops. However, Xihai was gaining momentum and was advancing step by step. The army was broken into pieces. Each army stood up for a while, and then attacked the Rouran army without fear of death.
Although Rouran's central army is all composed of fine cavalry, there are nearly one hundred thousand, and there are cattle, sheep, and baggage accompanying the army. Naturally, they are not willing to throw them away casually, so they can only form a cavalry formation, fight and then retreat.
However, the people are ignorant, and they think it is thunder from the sky when they hear the sound of cannons. Moreover, all firearms are sharp and sharp, but if they touch each other and kill each other, it will inevitably make the people fearful, and their fear will increase day by day. In this way, only
After holding on for three days, some tribesmen refused to obey the military orders and led their troops to flee north at night...
The commander-in-chief of Rouran knew that the situation was over. If he did not give the order to withdraw his troops, the number of people fleeing without a fight would only increase and become more and more violent. So on the fourth day, he took the remaining soldiers, cattle, sheep, and food and grass into the desert.
…
Fortunately, the commander of Rouran did not express his anger, nor did he kill all the people. He only expelled the general who led the way. The general did not dare to neglect, and traveled day and night, eager to report to the general, but he still spent five or six days on the road.
I just arrived two days ago...
After hearing the news, the general immediately made a judgment and concluded that since both the north and south routes had been defeated, Xihai would send all its main forces to pursue the victory. The target was nothing more than the general who sent troops to the Hequ Division. Therefore, the general urgently ordered the three armies to retreat.
First retreat into the border wall, and then order me to come here to send a message, ordering Governor Xing to lead his army northward immediately.
He also ordered the city king Cui Xianzi to abandon Jincheng, lead the remaining troops back to Longshan, and garrison Xiaoguan and Wudu Town, so that the West Sea cannot invade Guanzhong..."
Several people's heads felt like they were going to explode. They felt their heads were buzzing, and their eyes were filled with light.
It was just a big defeat on the south route, but even the 200,000 Rouran army on the north route was crushed by Li Chengzhi and driven back to Mobei?
And no matter which way it is, the victory is very fast, which simply subverts these people's cognition.
Looking through the history books, 99% of the battles involving more than 100,000 troops will be unprecedented. Even if the fight does not last three years or two, it will take at least one year to determine the winner. But if it were Li Chengzhi, don't say "
"Year" is not even used for "month" or even "ten"?
I have never heard that in a battle involving hundreds of thousands of troops from both sides, the outcome can be decided within a few days, and life or death can be decided?
Surprise is only the second priority. What is most difficult for Yuan Yi and others to accept is that defeat seems to be a foregone conclusion?
In terms of combat troops, Cui Yanbo and Tuyuhun combined have nearly 200,000 troops. Rouran has slightly less, that is, no 200,000 troops. There should be more than 100,000 troops. But in terms of combat strength, there are actually fewer troops.
Rouran is stronger.
However, both sides have been completely defeated. Only 150,000 Yuan Yao, who has been newly reorganized and has low morale and fighting spirit, has been defeated. How can he resist Li Chengzhi, who has high morale and invincible determination?
The only solution now is to cut off the tail to survive and linger. That's why Yuan Yao hurriedly withdrew his army to the east of the river, and ordered Yuan Cheng and Cui Yanbo to lead the remaining troops to retreat to Longshan. But he wanted to rely on the natural dangers of the river and Longshan.
, grab a chance to breathe.
Even if you can take a breath or two, how long will it last?
Yuan Yao could defend the river, but he could not defend the six towns. Li Chengzhi only had to attack the six towns with a great victory, leaving only a group of old, weak, sick and disabled Xi Kangsheng who was not much better than paper.
Then Li Chengzhi can go from north to north, enter Shanxi, enter Hebei, and invade Shandong and Guandong.
And how should the imperial court, which is already stretched thin and unable to make ends meet, respond?
"It's true that misfortunes never come singly..."
Thinking of this, Yuan Yi felt his eyes go dark, cried out in sorrow, and then collapsed softly?
Yuan Qin exclaimed, hugged him in his arms, and pinched him violently. Yuan Yi was startled, and when he opened his eyelids, tears were streaming down his face.
His throat was bulging and his lips were trembling. He wanted to say something, but it seemed difficult to say it.
In fact, everyone in the hall knew it very well. Yuan Yi was about to say something but stopped, but he didn't dare to say the words "The situation is over".
Everyone looked at each other, looking at each other a few times, but they didn't know how to comfort them. In the end, Li Xian took a step forward and sighed sadly: "Why should your highness be so worried? If even your highness is already discouraged, how can it be done to us and the soldiers?"
Aren’t you even more despairing and at a loss?
The general also expected this event, so he kept his words concise and concise. He only mentioned the order to mobilize troops in the letter, but he asked me to describe it orally for various reasons. It was because he was afraid of shaking the morale of the army and getting out of hand...
The general also knows that this news will cause you to change your expressions with shock and cause chaos. Therefore, he emphatically gave me this warning and made it clear to you: Now we are far from reaching the end of the mountain and the water is exhausted. When we are desperate... Although Cui Xianzi was defeated, most of the casualties were among the people.
Strong, there are now at least 40,000 middle troops among the more than 70,000 remnants. And the troops of Governor Xing and the general are not damaged at all, and the strength of the troops is still 200,000, so they still have the strength to fight. And there is a big river.
There are two natural dangers with Longshan. Only the city can defend Guanzhong and the six towns. It will not be too late to plan for it slowly..."
Figure it out slowly?
It’s up to Li Chengzhi to give you this opportunity and time.
Everyone knows that Li Chengzhi will punish every penny and retaliate. How could he miss the opportunity to beat up a drowned dog?
Furthermore, even if it can be planned slowly as Yuan Yao said, how should it be planned?
The imperial court was like a dying man, but its behavior of forcibly conscripting the palace and borrowing troops from the Hu people at all costs was like having to resort to the medicine of tiger and wolf when its life was hanging by a thread. But now, not only did it not work, but it actually