Jinzhou is located with Shangdang in the east, the Yellow River in the west, Bianluo in the south, and Jinyang in the north. It can be said that it is the most important transportation hub in the Shanxi region both inside and outside the mountains and rivers, and a battleground for military strategists.
The reason why Li Tai wanted to advance into Jinzhou was naturally focused on this. Just engaging in a battle in Fenbei, no matter how lively it was, would only scratch the surface, and would not achieve any strategic reversal effect at all.
Forging ahead into Jinzhou was the real pain in the crotch for the Northern Qi Dynasty!
It's just that for an important place like Jinzhou, even if it is not currently operated as a strategic town by the Northern Qi Dynasty, its own defense strength is not small. And there is another most critical issue, that is, Jinzhou is far away from Jinyang in the Northern Qi Dynasty.
The base camp is really too close. It can be said that once Jinzhou is attacked, Jinyang will immediately send reinforcements.
Therefore, Wei Xiaokuan focused his attack on Jinzhou on intercepting its reinforcements. As long as the Northern Qi Dynasty could not carry out effective reinforcements against Jinzhou, then capturing Jinzhou would not be a problem!
Historically, when the Northern Zhou Dynasty captured Jinzhou, a similar strategy was adopted. The main force went straight to Jinzhou, and then divided the troops to occupy the transportation arteries near Jinzhou, blocking reinforcements from all directions. Under the fierce offensive of the Northern Zhou soldiers,
Under this situation, the soldiers guarding the city realized that there was no hope of holding on, so they all asked for surrender.
The reason why Li Tai wanted to attract Northern Qi's attention to the direction of Heluo with great fanfare was to weaken the power of Jinyang and add difficulties and twists and turns to its rescue of Jinzhou.
Although it is a bit disappointing that Jinzhou cannot be captured quickly, of course such a strategic plan cannot be completely pinned on the opponent's frequent mistakes. Even if Jinzhou can be held for a period of time, it is also within Li Tai's estimation, and it is the plan
Use Jinzhou as bait in the second phase of the war to encircle the point and recruit reinforcements.
Needless to say, Wei Xiaokuan's military ability is needless to say. He spent more than a year immersed himself in the battle plan and made it very detailed and specific. After discussing it with him, Li Tai had nothing else to add.
So he ordered Wei Xiaokuan to return to Yubi to prepare for the army to cross the river and attack Jinzhou. In this first stage of the war, Wei Xiaokuan was in charge of the war in Jinzhou.
As for Li Tai himself, he returned to Shangyang Palace and ordered to reorganize 60,000 troops as a middle route division brigade to follow him towards Tongguan.
While waiting for the troops to be reorganized, Li Tai deliberately took some time to say goodbye to his family. Needless to say, there is no need to say more about his wife and children. In order to avoid being distracted by family affairs when he went on the expedition, and in order to get a good fortune, Miaoyin taught his sons a lot of good luck.
He kept shouting around his father, and the lively shouts of the children diluted the uneasiness and sadness of the impending parting.
Now Li Tai has three sons. In addition to the two sons of his wife Dugu Miaoyin, his concubine Yao Wan'er also gave birth to a son last year. Now that Miaoyin is pregnant again, Li Tai hopes to add a daughter. In the past, it seemed deserted for the couple to be alone without children making noise.
, and now it is too noisy.
What worries Li Tai most at home is his father Li Xiao. Li Xiao's health has not been good since he fell ill in Xiangyang last year. Although his family members take good care of him and doctors carefully diagnose and treat him, his health is still visible to the naked eye in recent years.
Get older.
So Li Tai came to his father's place specially before leaving. He didn't visit his father until Li Xiao woke up from his lunch break. He said in a warm voice: "Aye, something happened again in the border area. I have to lead the army to go on an expedition. If everything goes well, it will be a month later."
I will return soon. This time is shorter than saying hello at dawn and dusk. I will wait for my triumphant return and then go to the bed to receive the cane!"
"Let's go, let's go. Although your father is old and not faint, don't you know why he is so powerful now? All important matters for the family and the country depend on my son. Thank you for your hard work."
Li Xiao leaned on the couch, reached out and grabbed Li Tai's wrist, and said with a smile: "Recently, I often dream of your uncles and fathers, and they laugh at me and say that the family will be more prosperous. I think it should be your time this time.
There will be another great victory, and there is hope that the Northern Kingdom will be reunited..."
Li Tai didn't feel bored listening to his father's laughter and nagging. He also knew that such time together would probably become less and less. For this father, he may not have the most innocent feelings based on blood, but
With this identity, he has taken root in this world, and of course he has the obligation to satisfy this aging father's concern for his son.
Li Xiao talked for a long time, and after Li Tai finished serving the medicine, he gradually fell asleep with a smile on his face.
Because his father was in poor health, Li Tai also recalled his two younger brothers, Li Chao and Li Ao, who had previously served in other states, so that they could live close to serve and accompany his father. Now that he was about to go into battle, he summoned his second younger brother.
He came and warned seriously: "After I go on the expedition, you two must serve Aye wholeheartedly. Morning and dusk alternate, and there should be no lack of protection in front of the bed!"
"Brother, don't worry, we will definitely take good care of Aye!"
After Li Chao and Li Ao heard this, they both nodded in agreement.
After bidding farewell to his elders, Li Tai went straight to the military camp outside Shangyang Palace, waiting for the division and brigade to pack up and set off.
When the Western Wei Dynasty was reinforcing its troops and preparing for war, the court hall of Yedu in the Northern Qi Dynasty was also in chaos, and there were different opinions because of Sima's rebellion.
Originally, the evidence for Sima Xiaonang's rebellion was conclusive, and it was the most normal situation for the imperial court to order troops to quell the rebellion. However, even with such a normal decision, some people still raised questions, thinking that Sima Xiaonang's rebellion might have some hidden agenda, and that they should not be sent.
If the army is in a hurry to punish him, he should send envoys in advance to interrogate and appease him. It would be best if the matter can be resolved in a more peaceful way.
The reason why there was such noise in the court was rooted in Sima Xiaonan's father, Sima Ziru. Sima Ziru was not only one of the Four Nobles of the Eastern Wei Dynasty, he could also be called the king of connections in the Eastern Dynasty. There was no connection he could not make.
Among the important ministers of the Northern Qi Dynasty, Zhao Yanshen, Wei Shou, etc. were mostly recommended by Sima Ziru. Coupled with other relatives and friends, they naturally left considerable network resources for their son.
These people did not deliberately show favoritism, but also felt that resolving the matter peacefully would be beneficial to the Northern Qi court. If the matter really got serious, it would only give the old enemy of the Western Wei Dynasty an opportunity to raise troops to invade.
The last Battle of Mangshan caused by a similar situation ended with a complete victory for the Eastern Wei Dynasty. But now the situation is very different. Since Li Boshan took charge of the power of the Western Wei Dynasty, he has been working hard to govern and build up military preparations. Now his strength is
It's really hard to judge how far it has grown. What's more, they repeatedly ravaged the Northern Qi army in Heluo last year. If they fight with them this time, the outcome is really unpredictable.
Today's Qi leader Gao Yang is no longer as brave and aggressive as he was in the early days of becoming emperor. After hearing many such suggestions, he actually sent an envoy to Hulao City to appease Sima and resolve the trouble.
But before the envoys left, more accurate news came. Sima Xiaonan not only rebelled in the city, but also surrendered to the Western Wei Dynasty. Zheng Wei, the founder of the Western Wei Dynasty, also led his troops into Hulao City to coordinate the defense of the city.
This means that the situation has completely stopped improving. The ministers who had previously advised him to slow down the plan quickly shut up. Seeing this situation, if they talk more, they will inevitably get burned.
The leader of Qi, Gao Yang, was naturally furious, and immediately ordered General Wuwei Qi Lianmeng and Gao Anahu to lead 20,000 forbidden troops to the south, and together with Heyang Xingtai Hu Luguang attacked Hulao City.
However, when this army had just arrived in Heyang and had not yet crossed the river, Dugu Yongye, the governor of Luozhou, marched into Yiyang. There were movements of Wei troops in Guannan and other places, and it seemed that they were going to invade the Heluo area in a large scale. At the same time,
There was also news from the west that Li Boshan, the prime minister of the Western Wei Dynasty, had recruited an army of 300,000 from his country. Soon he would send troops out of Tongguan and march towards Heluo in a mighty manner.
The shadow of a person's famous tree. If there is a person who can make the monarchs and ministers of the Northern Qi Dynasty feel frightened and worried by his name alone, it is definitely Li Boshan. So when the news was reported, it was like a rocket.
Heading straight to the Northern Qi court, everyone who knew about this incident became extremely nervous.
Of course, in addition to fear, some people also expressed doubts: "Do the Qiang thieves really have a strong force of 300,000 elite soldiers?"
"It should be true. Although the Qiang thieves have suffered defeats in the past, Li Boshan has outstanding political skills. Moreover, his military training has never been limited to Hu and Xia, and he has taken more Xia people as his armor. Even though the number is not 300,000.
It's huge, but it shouldn't be difficult to reach more than a dozen or two hundred thousand. Besides, Li Boshan, a famous general in the world, is commanding the army to personally conquer the army. His name is worth tens of thousands of troops, so it's not an exaggeration to say..."
Of course, the most important thing at the moment is how to deal with this crisis and challenge. It is meaningless to worry about the military difference between the tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the Western Wei Dynasty.
The leader of Qi, Gao Yang, did not dare to neglect this. As soon as he learned the news, he recalled Pingyuan King Duan Shao, who was the governor of Jizhou, to the court, and discussed countermeasures with several princes, including Pengcheng King Gao Junye who was in mourning at home.
After being kidnapped, he recovered and was reappointed as Sizhou Mu.
For a time, the entire Northern Qi court was filled with a tense and solemn atmosphere. Those who were qualified to express their opinions naturally rushed to submit letters, hoping to provide wisdom and suggestions to alleviate worries and solve problems. Those who were not qualified to discuss major issues were eager to raise their heads.
We are waiting and hope that the court can come up with a plan to solve the current crisis as soon as possible.