When Emperor Liu was worried about gains and losses in Xijing, as edicts full of affirmation and support were sent to the front line one after another, the Northern Expedition officially entered a new stage, a more intense stage.
Although the Western Liaoning Corridor is long and narrow, thanks to the opening up of the former army general Ma Renyu, after more than half a month, the main force of the Eastern Route Army of 230,000 troops has successfully reached the gates of Jinzhou City.
When the troops came to the city, they still maintained the same style as before, resting and preparing, but they were more powerful and sharp than before, sharpening their swords and heading towards the city gate, intending to remove the first major obstacle to the advancement of Liaodong.
Although Jinzhou City was tall and strong, it could not withstand the attack of the Han lion, and Zhao Kuangyin had absolute confidence in breaking it.
But before the official launch of the attack on Jinzhou City, the Liaohai Sea to the east was already in turmoil and raging storms. People are old-minded, pursue titles, and strive for advancement in positions, so before marching into the army,
In terms of execution, Guo Tingwei also showed a vigorous and resolute style.
After receiving the order to set sail, Guo Tingwei returned to the naval camp in Wuqing Port overnight. Early the next morning, without any delay, he ordered to pull anchor and set sail, sailing through the waves, heading straight for Liaodong.
The navy of the Han Dynasty was divided into river divisions and the navy, with a standing force of more than 70,000 people. This was naturally incomparable with the scale of the hundreds of thousands of internal and external horse and infantry troops, but maintaining a navy of such a scale was not easy.
With the long-term construction of the navy, the main elite soldiers and generals were also placed in the navy, and a number of naval families were born.
Among them, the Guo family has the greatest influence. It has been nearly eighteen years since they surrendered to the Han Dynasty and took charge of the construction of the navy. During these eighteen years, Guo Tingwei’s greatest achievement was the development of the Jingjiang Army based on the original
After leaving Mizhou and Laizhou, the two main naval forces had a standing force of 30,000 people.
However, after so many years, the two most powerful navies of the Han Dynasty have not made much achievements. The most recent big move was the Pingnan, but it was just a formality.
After voluntarily surrendering, he led the navy south on a military trip.
Although he participated in the attack on Jiangnan, Li Yu was too useless and surrendered without strong resistance. This also made Pingnan's achievements not so dazzling, and it was even less impressive when divided into partial divisions like them.
Attention.
However, this was not completely fruitless, at least it had the effect of training troops. More importantly, Guo Tingwei knew very well that from the beginning of its establishment, the largest and most important target of the navy on the East China Sea was the Liao Kingdom in the north.
That's Liaodong.
Over the years, Emperor Liu summoned Guo Tingwei to talk to him repeatedly, without any disguise, and repeatedly emphasized this matter. During the development and growth of the East China Sea Navy, Guo Tingwei always adhered to this idea.
During the first Northern Expedition, the floating sea attack on the Liao Dynasty failed, but it was just a small test. Emperor Liu did not blame him, but Guo Tingwei was looking forward to the next time.
However, as time passed and as he reached his fifties, a sense of urgency began to grow in Guo Tingwei's heart. He was afraid that he would not be able to wait for the day he was looking forward to. After all, if the preparations of seventeen or eight years ended up being due to age.
How can you be willing to be abandoned?
On the other hand, within the navy, Guo Tingwei was not without challenges, such as another general in the navy, Zhang Yanqing. Both were surrendered in the Southern Tang Dynasty. Zhang Yanqing's reputation was not as loud as Guo Tingwei's, but he was not weaker than Guo Tingwei in terms of talent.
, this is a man who is capable of both civil and military affairs, capable of governing and commanding troops.
The difference between the two is that during the Han Dynasty's southern expedition, Guo Tingwei led his troops to resist the enemy, fought with Chai Rong, and caused a lot of trouble to the Han army. In the end, Emperor Liu personally surrendered, and he became famous.
In comparison, Zhang Yanqing defended Haizhou on his own and did not fight with the Han army until the Han and Tang Dynasties negotiated peace before surrendering. However, after surrendering to the Han, Zhang Yanqing's official career went smoothly. He first gained the attention of Duke Yan,
He served as the governor of Chuzhou, and later became the governor of the Yangtze River Navy.
Compared with Guo Tingwei, Zhang Yanqing also had one more tangible achievement, that is, he followed Zhao Kuangyin up the river and entered Sichuan, and pacified Sichuan and Shu, and achieved military exploits.
Of course, what really threatened Guo Tingwei was the Nanhai Navy that was established in the south after reunification. The person in charge was Zhang Yanqing.
Although the Nanhai Navy has only been established for a short period of time, it has made a lot of noise in these years and has achieved many achievements. It is real to regain Liuqiu.
As the maritime trade in the South prospered, the status and role of the Navy in the South China Sea became increasingly prominent. In recent years, many achievements in the suppression of pirates were reported every year. Although it was not big, it always made its voice heard in the court.
The standing strength of the Nanhai Navy has also expanded to 20,000 people today.
In comparison, the East China Sea Navy, which has been formed for a long time, seems a bit quiet. In the northern seas, the Han Navy has long dominated the situation. And compared with the bustling Maritime Silk Road in the south, the North Sea Navy
The countries with frequent exchanges are Korea and Japan.
Under such circumstances, it was naturally difficult to achieve results. After all, we had to obey the imperial court's strategic overall situation. Back then, when the relationship between the Han Dynasty and Goryeo became delicate, he couldn't wait to send a division to teach the Goryeo people a lesson.
Such a positive attitude is probably due to the development of the South China Sea Navy.
However, although the battle was difficult, it finally made him wait. As soon as the Northern Expedition started, Guo Tingwei knew that the opportunity for his hard work had come, the opportunity to rectify the name of himself and the East China Sea Navy in one fell swoop.
Therefore, as early as the end of February, when Emperor Liu received an urgent order to prepare for the Northern Expedition, Guo Tingwei, who was overjoyed, made various preparations urgently and methodically, and strictly followed the order.
In fact, as early as mid-March, the Donghai Navy led by Guo Tingwei had completely entered a state of war. At the same time, in order to enrich the reserve force, an emergency recruitment was carried out for retired navy soldiers in the past, and several major shipyards also
In an emergency, warships, transport and other sea vessels are dispatched.
Therefore, despite the fact that there were only 30,000 naval forces deployed in the Northern Expedition in advance, the reserve force was abundant. Surprisingly, at the last moment, the imperial court was able to even mobilize the South China Sea Navy to participate in the war. You must know that when the Northern Expedition was in progress, Zhang Yanqing was already leading the northern army.
, temporarily anchored at the mouth of the Yangtze River.
It can be said that Guo Tingwei can put down most of his burden and carry out cross-sea operations to fully unleash the offensive power of the Han Dynasty Navy.
Mobilizing troops simultaneously with the camp, Guo Tingwei's actions were also particularly sharp. Without any hesitation, the army rushed directly to Suzhou Port in Liaohai. The Han navy was already familiar with the Liaohai sea area and the routes were mature, so they maintained their control.
While the enemy was monitoring us, our actions were not delayed at all.
In comparison, the navy in the Liao Kingdom seemed at a loss. Facing the menacing Han navy, even if they were prepared to deal with it, they were powerless.
The order from Yelu Xiezhen of Liaoyang was to let them defend Suzhou and consume the Han army. In Yelu Xiezhen's view, the Han army was attacking across the sea. Even if they had the advantage, they could use military ports and cities to resist, as long as they were not allowed to attack.
Once you gain a foothold, you will be able to move with ease.
Moreover, even though his troops were weak, Yelv Xiezhen still gritted his teeth and sent 10,000 troops south to support him. In his plan, even if the naval forces could not resist, and the Han army could land on land, they would still have to fight on land.
, delay, delay, consumption...
However, Yelv Xiezhen didn't understand what sea control meant, let alone the Han navy's ability to deploy large forces across the sea.
With the "cooperation" of Yelu Xiezhen, Guo Tingwei led the army northward, and the journey was uneventful without any obstruction. When he arrived at Suzhou Port, he laughed heartily when faced with the Liao army, which was shrinking in the military port and was in a defensive posture.
In his eyes, the Liao State's adoption of such tactics was tantamount to abolishing its martial arts. If the Liao army could go to sea to fight, even if it could not withstand it, it would probably cause some losses to the Han army.
However, he is trapped in a cage. How can Guo Tingwei be polite about this?
