On the Huainan camp of the Northern Han Dynasty, while fighting against Chen and Xu Yuanying's armies in consecutive battles, in Huaidong, Huaidong economic envoy Guo Rong also launched a battle plan against the Southern Tang reinforcements.
In fact, the pressure on Guo Rong's side is still relatively high, especially the pressure on military strength. The Huaidong Maritime Strategy Han Army deployed by Guo Rong only followed him southward, with 6,000 soldiers from Yizhi and 3,000 from Suzhou Tuanlian. As well as the 1,000 cavalry and the Longqi Army allocated by Liu Chengyou at Wukou, the total number of soldiers and horses is about 15,000, plus more than 10,000 servants recruited from Huaibei.
It seems that there are already a lot of troops, but the garrison and combat tasks that these troops have to undertake are very arduous. Haozhou and Chuzhou need to be garrisoned, especially Chuzhou, which is at the heart of the canal, because there are always people stationed in Gaoyou. Yao Fengjun, who wanted to go north, also put in a lot of garrison force.
In addition, the Tang army stationed in Sizhou needed to be on guard. Although Feng Yansi transferred his brother Feng Yanlu from Sizhou for his own selfish reasons, Guo Tingwei was left to take charge of military and state affairs alone and stationed at Xuyi, an important town in Huaiyang.
This operation made Sizhou even more difficult to defeat. As mentioned before, Guo Tingwei was a talented general, with strong ability to train troops, and he was not afraid of the Han army. Since the Han army's southern expedition, he had fought several times. Sizhou's soldiers and horses did not suffer much damage. Coupled with the Tang court's subsequent reinforcements, recruiting warriors and gathering defeated troops, Guo Tingwei still had to hold on to tens of thousands of soldiers, especially a navy army. Although the scale was small, it made the army strong. When Guo Rong was trapped by the enemy, he always threw a rat weapon.
And Guo Tingwei was not a passive person. He attacked from time to time and fought on a small scale. Although the results were not great, it made Guo Rong very uncomfortable. After the winter solstice, the weather became colder, and Guo Rong had to retreat and conservatively contain Guo Tingwei's army. .
Zhao Kuangyin led an army to garrison Zhaoxin in the southwest of Xuyi. Xuzhou's deputy envoy Cheng Deqin garrisoned Linhuai in the north. Guo Rong then led an army to garrison in Duliang Mountain across the Huaihe River from Xuyi, forming a triangle to control Xuyi. As for Chuzhou, It was stationed by Chen Sirang, the former Yizhou regiment training envoy, who was an experienced general.
But since the beginning of spring, after Huangfu Hui and Yao Feng marched north, Guo Rong had a headache, and Liu Chengyou's edict made him feel that he had a heavy responsibility on his shoulders. Fortunately, the Tang army moved slower, especially Huangfu Hui. What are you thinking about? Chen Jue's and Yao Feng's armies have both moved forward. His middle army is still guarding Qingliu Pass.
When Xuzhou Jiedushi Wu Xingde led the army from Pengcheng to Linhuai, Guo Rongfang reported that Huangfuhui sent troops. At this time, Yao Feng's army of nearly 40,000 troops on land and water had launched an attack on Shanyang. Chen Sirang's troops were weak. With only more than 3,000 soldiers, facing ten times the enemy, even if the Tang army was not good at attacking the city, it was still very hard to defend. Letters for help came in one after another, and Chen Sirang's words were even heavier. Without reinforcements, Shanyang would be lost, and he would have to fight. Death.
Speaking of which, Huangfu Hui was the Huainan aid envoy in the Southern Tang Dynasty and the commander-in-chief in resisting the Han army. However, the armies led by Chen Jue and Yao Feng on his left and right were stronger than his. By the time his troops left Qingliu Pass, counting The army he led was less than 30,000.
Faced with a somewhat critical situation, Guo Rong summoned Zhao Kuangyin and other generals to discuss the military situation. After discussion, they unanimously decided to take the initiative to attack. If they were to defend passively and let Huangfu Hui attack the Huai River and cooperate with Guo Tingwei, then the Han army would be in a dire situation. Something bad happened.
Guo Rong's decision-making ability has always been very strong. He directly ordered Zhao Kuangyin to lead 5,000 troops east to assist Chen Sirang, and then engage in a dogfight with the Tang army around Shanyang. Guo Rong himself led 1,000 cavalry and three
Qian Longqi's army marched south to meet Huangfu Hui.
As for Sizhou, two thousand soldiers and some civilians were stationed in the capital Liangshan, and Zhan Wuxingde was asked to lead the Xuzhou soldiers south to contain Guo Tingwei of Xuyi. Guo Rong's arrangement was very risky, with three sides facing each other.
The three groups were outnumbered, and if something unexpected happened, the consequences would be serious. Of course, this arrangement was also in line with his temperament.
Those who accompanied Guo Rong in the battle were all young generals, such as Zhao Kuangyin, Dang Jin, Zhao Yanjin, An Shouzhong, etc., but none of them had any battle plans. As for whether there was any battle plan, it was for each to fight in his own way and use his own free will.
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Guo Rong led four thousand cavalry and marched south from the capital Liangshan, watching Huangfu Hui's army rushing towards them. Under the deliberate encounter of the Han army, the two sides engaged in battle on the upper reaches of Lai'an River in Chuzhou. Because the scouts were spread far enough, they could not attack the Han army.
Huangfu Hui was aware of Guo Rong's movements and adjusted his formation in advance. However, Huangfu Hui finally underestimated Guo Rong and underestimated the determination and madness of the battle. After a fifty or sixty-mile attack, he ignored the fatigue of his soldiers and took advantage of the opportunity.
The Tang army's formation was not perfect and they launched an attack directly.
An encounter was very fierce. Guo Rong took the lead and stared at the left flank of Huangfu Hui's army. The two sides fought fiercely for half an hour and ended with the defeat of the Tang army. The power of the thousand Han cavalry was on the battlefield.
The threat was too great, which was why Guo Rong dared to risk his military power and launch an attack on an enemy that was several times larger.
Of course, this battle was not easy for the Han army. They were too exhausted to do their best, allowing Huangfu Hui's army to retreat south to Lai'an County in the north of Chuzhou. As a result, the Tang army along Huangfu Hui's side was defeated, and the enemy's strength was strengthened.
contain.
After winning the first battle, Guo Rong found a nearby village for his soldiers to rest and recuperate. After discussing with Zhao Yanjin and An Shouzhong, he made a decisive decision on the second day to march to Lai'an and force the Tang army to overwhelm the others with their few.
Chuzhou, Lai'an County.
It has been nearly four months since the war between the Han and Tang Dynasties began, and the war finally spread to this small town in Chuzhou. The defeat of the supporting army made the people in the city panic. Under the welcome of the county magistrate, they directly occupied the county government office and sat on the hall table.
, Huangfuhui’s expression was ugly.
Huangfu Hui can be regarded as the epitome of martial arts in this era, and he is still quite famous. In the last years of Emperor Zhuangzong of the Later Tang Dynasty, Wei Bo's garrison mutinied in Beizhou. It was this man who took the lead in instigating the rebellion and forced Zhao Zaili to do what he wanted.
He became the "big brother who took the lead", which caused a chain reaction. Towns in the Central Plains and Hebei responded to the rebellion one after another, causing Li Cunxu to conquer the country after four years of victory.
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The more "legendary" version is that Huangfu Hui was fond of gambling. He gambled with the army sergeants and had no money to pay for it. He was so angry that he simply rebelled for fun. Of course, Huangfu Hui is famous for this, and it is more due to chance.
At that time, the Later Tang Empire was already in dire straits, and the garrison troops in various towns were like a pile of dry firewood, and Huangfuhui was just the spark that ignited it.
With the gold belt of murder and arson, Huangfu Hui gained a career as an envoy from a soldier. When the Khitan went south to destroy the Jin Dynasty, this prince saw Lu Chen in the Central Plains and took the opportunity to lead his people to surrender to Li Jing and recruited a large number of people for the Southern Tang Dynasty.
Huaibei stragglers, thieves, and strong men. Xian Shilang, Sun Lang, Cao Jin and others mentioned before are all among them.
By the Southern Tang Dynasty, Huangfu Hui was valued by Li Jing, and he was generously rewarded with titles and titles. Although many people in the court questioned his status as a "Northern General", Huangfu Hui always felt that he had a clear conscience, and
, Li Jing still trusts him, otherwise he would not be allowed to command the Huainan reinforcement army, even though it is only in name.
Huangfuhui is not young anymore. He has passed the age of knowing his destiny. As he gets older, he has become more restrained and less rogue and frivolous than he was in his youth. His armor is very bright and powerful, and his beard is well trimmed.
Exquisite, sitting there, he looked like a famous general. But he was frustrated by Guo Rong. At this time, this famous general felt very angry and dissatisfied.
"Have all the battalions returned? How many troops were lost?" Huangfuhui asked one of the generals.
"Hui Shijun, basically everyone is back! As for the losses..." General Pi lowered his voice when he answered, but faced Huangfu Hui's gaze and said bravely: "Together with those killed in battle, captured, and lost in the
There should be five thousand soldiers inside!"
"Hmph! What a disgrace! My army of 30,000 was ten times the enemy's, but it was defeated by them!" Huangfuhui suddenly became furious, smashed the table and said: "This Guo Rong is used to making these raids despicable.
Trick, Haozhou and Chuzhou were all attacked by him, and this time they attacked me again!"
After complaining, Huangfu Hui ordered: "Go down immediately, gather the soldiers, and reorganize the troops! Send another group of troops from Qingliu Pass! Send scouts to detect the movements of the Han army!"
However, on the next day, Guo Rong also organized his troops and came south, and went to the village five miles north of Lai'an. After learning that, Huangfu Hui suddenly felt a sense of contempt and said angrily: "This Guo Rong is bullying
He is too harsh! He underestimates me too much. Do you really think I am afraid of him?"
After wandering for a while, feeling depressed, Huangfu Hui immediately wrote a handwritten letter and ordered it to be sent to the Han army.
"Your Majesty, what do you mean?" the general under his command couldn't help but ask.
"Make an appointment with the Han army to fight outside the city to avenge the previous humiliation!" Huangfu Hui said solemnly.
Hearing this, his subordinates were shocked and couldn't help but advise: "You can't do it! We just suffered a defeat yesterday, and our morale has not recovered. The Han army has defeated a large number with a small number. One is declining, the other is increasing. The army is sharp, so we should not fight lightly.
!”
"I think you are afraid of being beaten by the Han army!" Seeing this, Huangfu Hui couldn't help but scolded: "We still have more than 20,000 soldiers, how many people are there in the Han army? How can the enemy's prestige destroy my ambition?"
"Your Majesty, it's hard to deal with that Han cavalry alone!"
"Not to mention Han cavalry, they are Khitan cavalry. I also saw them back then. They only need to use big shields, long spears, and resist horses, supplemented by bows and crossbows. If they dare to charge into the formation, they are just seeking death!" Huangfuhui waved his hand and said: "Okay.
That’s it, I’ve made up my mind, don’t say too much, it’s a big deal! Go down and prepare for battle!”
"However, you don't have to worry too much. As for Guo Rong, whether he dares to show off his swords and guns in a duel with someone is still a question..." Huangfu Hui stroked his beard again.
Outside the city of Lai'an, Guo Rongzheng personally led Qingqi to explore outside the city walls. Lai'an was just a small city. The city was not high and the walls were not solid. However, it would not be easy for the Tang soldiers to break through it.
Enemies on three sides had to be dealt with. After all, there was not much time. Guo Rong was still deeply worried. Just as he was thinking about how to fight next, Huangfu Hui's messenger arrived.
With doubts, he opened the letter and read it. Guo Rong suddenly smiled, laughed out loud, and said directly to the messenger: "Go back and tell Huangfu Hui that the envoy will comply with his request!"
