Due to national strategic issues, in the first ten years of the Qianlong reign, too many outstanding generals of the Han Dynasty were "idle" in the north by Liu Chengyou. Yang Ye, Ma Quanyi, Han Lingkun, Dong Zunzhen, Li Hanqiong, Luo Yanxuan, Wang Shenqi, Bai Chongzan, Li Hanchao... This series of generals and envoys are not inferior to the Han generals in the Southern Expedition in terms of ability. However, most of them have been fighting for many years, such as Yang Ye, Luo Yanxuan, etc. It is measured in ten years.
In order to stabilize the northern border defense of the Han Dynasty, these generals indeed sacrificed a lot. In view of this, the tens of thousands of border troops in Hebei were mobilized this time to prepare for great use and not have the opportunity to make achievements.
And these long-repressed generals are like wild beasts that want to eat people. Even the soldiers at the bottom have some expectations for military achievements. All soldiers have the desire for merit, and that is war. good news.
To launch such a large-scale foreign war, the emperor and the court were under great pressure. The most taboo thing was that the people did not support it, the generals had no fighting spirit, and the soldiers were tired of fighting. Fortunately, these situations were relatively rare in the early stages of the war.
Where did the Han army's soldiers' desire to fight come from? The most important thing is that the court has never been stingy in its treatment of the army in these years, whether it is rewards or pensions. And in these years, the various corruption cases investigated by the Han Dynasty Among them, only those involving military pay and military supplies are dealt with the most severely, with no exemptions or reductions in penalties.
As a result, some civil servants complained, feeling that the emperor was too kind to those Qiu Ba, which easily made them domineering. Liu Chengyou also received some remonstrances. Although it is difficult to say directly, the implication is obvious. It is to remind Liu Chengyou that the three generations of troubled times depended on warriors being in power and arrogant soldiers and strong generals...
Liu Chengyou accepted all these suggestions, but did not act on them. Some people can always only see one side of things, but often deliberately ignore the other side. Although he treated the army favorably, at the same time, the strictness of the Han military law did not relax, and Gradually and seriously, what Liu Chengyou did was nothing more than "benefit and power".
For Liu Chengyou, the most satisfying aspect of the transformation of the military in recent years is not the measures to check and balance the power of generals and the means to win over the morale of the military, but the establishment of a set of military management regulations that can be accepted by the generals.
Coupled with the establishment of the Xuan comfort system and the years of brainwashing, it was still very effective for the lower-level officers and soldiers who did not have much brains. These comprehensive factors worked together to create the new look of the Han soldiers today.
Among the many generals of the Han Dynasty, who has the closest relationship with Liu Chengyou is Ma Quanyi. Looking back on the past, when Liu Chengyou was the second son of the Prince of Peking, Ma Quanyi had already followed him. It can be said that he was the first person Liu Chengyou discovered and conquered. A general. In his early years, this emotional bond was not very deep, but as time goes by, the friendship becomes more and more precious.
Ma Quanyi, on the other hand, has never let Liu Chengyou down. He guarded Yongqing for 89 years and never acted arrogantly and domineeringly as an old member of the emperor. His dedication to his duties was his best reward for the emperor. Therefore, Ma Quanyi is always happy during the holidays. Liu Chengyou could remember him and called him back to Beijing several times to report on his work and receive interviews.
The former, under the orders of An Shenqi, Ma Quanyi led the Yongqing army to fight northward. In 11 battles in Fanli, he killed more than 1,500 enemy troops. He also stepped forward when the Liao cavalry was rampaging on a large scale and the situation in Yan was deteriorating.
.
On August 12, due to the difficulty of attacking the city and the fortress walls, and the full cooperation of the army and the people of Youzhou, the Liao army began to change its offensive thinking and began to encircle the points for reinforcements.
At that time, at the suggestion of the Liao general Han Kuangmei, the Liao army gathered 5,000 troops to besiege Xin'an Fort south of Jizhou, attracting the reinforcements of the Han and Yan armies, and secretly ambush soldiers and horses in all directions. At that time, the main cavalry force of the Han Dynasty did not feel it, and Ma Quanyi was still on his own.
Yuyang took the initiative to lead his troops out of the city to rescue Xin'an Fort, but he was indeed trapped in a tight siege.
Facing the Liao army's surprise attack and siege, Ma Quanyi performed very bravely. He personally led the 300 cavalry accompanying the army, risking his life and fighting to the death. He rushed left and right, repeated several times, to give the infantry time to form a formation to defend against the enemy.
After that, he took the lead and commanded the soldiers to defend on the front line. He was hit by several arrows, but his face was fine. The Liao army broke through the military formation several times, but Ma Quanyi led his men to rush forward, filled the holes, fought against the enemy with blood, and rebuilt the defense line.
.
In this way, the Yongqing Army's more than 3,500 infantry and cavalry resisted the siege of three times more enemy troops for a full day. During this period, the Yan people in Xin'anbao saw the reinforcements fighting hard, and took the initiative to gather 300 people to attack, killing many of them.
Shaoliao Army. However, at that time, the Liao Army had no intention of paying attention to that fortress and only sent a partial division to defeat it.
The Yongqing army fought bloody battles for a day, and it fully worked as a bait. The Han and Yan coalition forces from You, Shun, and Jizhou rushed to support one after another. Some of them were blocked on the way, and some fought with the Liao army on the spot.
, and some broke through to the Xin'an area to participate in the battle.
When reinforcements from the Han army arrived, the Liao army, which had also fought hard for a long time, gradually became exhausted. When they learned of the battle, the Liao army from Luanping and Zunhua areas also came to reinforce.
Around Xin'an Fort, the Han and Liao sides fought the largest battle since the war began. The Han and Yan coalition forces had a total of about 20,000 infantry and cavalry, and the Liao army also participated in the battle with 24,000 people.
Although it was a battle, it was more like a melee. Xin'anbao was the main site and the fighting was the fiercest. However, outside the main battlefield, the entanglement between the two sides in support and reinforcements was equally fierce. In fact, there was no unified command at all.
From Xianghe River in the west to Yutian County in the east, the fighting area between the two armies exceeded hundreds of miles. The Han army either relied on mountains or ridges to fight against the Liao army, and some cavalry units even launched active attacks on the Liao army.
The final result ended with the Liao army taking the initiative to withdraw from the siege of Xin'an. As for the result of the Battle of Xin'anbao, the Liao army's final casualties were around 4,000, and the Han army was not far behind. Many of the losses were caused by the Liao army on the way to aid.
Riding to rob and kill.
However, from a strategic point of view, the Han army was completely victorious. First of all, it defeated the Liao army's plot to "encircle the point for reinforcements" and caused a large number of casualties; secondly, the Han army took great risks to rescue Xin'anbao and won the victory.
The popular feeling made the hearts of Yan soldiers and civilians closer to the Han Dynasty, and also inspired the determination of Youyan soldiers and civilians to resist the Liao army; in the end, this was the starting point for the Han army to turn from defense to offense.
As for its own losses, to be honest, in a war involving hundreds of thousands of people, a mere 4,000 casualties are really nothing. With the human resources of the Han Dynasty, they can quickly make up for it.
In this battle, Ma Quanyi played the most critical role. Of course, the contributions of other Han and Yan generals cannot be denied.
After the battle, after resting for three days, Ma Quanyi led his army and took the initiative to attack Zunhua City eastward. At Yiyang on the Gushui River, he defeated the Liao army again and beheaded more than 200 people, causing the Zunhua defenders to retreat inside.
After the army arrived, Ma Quanyi chose to retreat. Although the Hebei frontier army went north and fought happily with the Liao army, although there were many chariots and horses, they did not bring any real siege weapons, so it was not the time to attack by force.
Looking at the terrain of the south of Yan, the military capital, Yanshan is in the north, and there are many obstacles in between, Zunhua is one of them. If it is removed, it will also cut off an exit for the Liao army to go south.
In fact, even if Yanshan is dangerous and in the hands of the enemy, with Youzhou as the backbone and supplemented by Yuyang, Huairou, and Changping, it will be very difficult for the Liao army in the north of the mountain to cross south and fight deep into the Han border.
In contrast, the enemy forces from the east are more threatening to Youzhou. Through the plains and rivers, they can almost reach Youzhou. Therefore, in the battle against Liao, the key target of Han and Yan was from Yuguan The Liao army entered the pass to help in the war.
Shicheng County, nearly three hundred miles away from Youzhou City, was established by Liao and belonged to Luanzhou. During more than a month of the tug-of-war between Han and Liao, 5 major and minor battles took place here, and more than 2,000 people shed their blood on this land. , the corpses of more than 1,000 people turned into nutrients for the soil.
At the height of autumn in August, the sixth battle was unfolding, between 3,000 Han infantry and cavalry and 5,000 Liao troops. The generals of the Han army were Ma Quanyi and Ma Renyu, and the Liao army was the veteran general Gao Mohan.
Gao Mohan was a general and veteran of the Liao Kingdom. As a Bohai native, he was highly used by several generations of Liao lords, from Yelu Abaoji to Yelu Jing. He was active in the Khitan's military use of the Central Plains. This time too, Gao Mohan took the position of Prime Minister of Nanfu and commanded the Liaodong division to enter the Pass and fight.
In fact, due to the separation of mountains and mountains, the roads were difficult and the transmission of information was inconvenient. Due to the different affiliations of the Liao armies, and the lack of tight organization, they often made mistakes in coordinating operations. This is also the case. The Hu people were not heroic, but they fought fiercely. , one of the reasons why it was gradually suppressed by the Han army.
After the main force of the Han army in the Northern Expedition of Yongqing went north, the Liao army, which was mainly active in the Youji area, quickly retreated to Miyun and Juyongguan. Because of the lack of interest, Gao Mohan's reaction was slower and he was entangled by the Han army.
The troops that Gao Mohan brought to the Pass from Liaodong, plus the defenders of the Luanping Camp, totaled more than 20,000 people, a mixture of foot and cavalry, supplemented by a small number of Khitan and Xi people, as well as Han people and Bohai people. However, in Han and Yan The attack by the military and civilians resulted in nearly 30% damage.
The battle in Shicheng County can also be regarded as an encounter in the pursuit. Gao Mohan did have good general skills and courage. He personally led people to cover the rear, and retreated while fighting, constantly sheltering the Han troops from behind. The defeated soldiers can be replaced at any time.
Gao Mohan had a clear judgment on the battle situation. He knew that although he had more people, his equipment and training were not as good as those of the Han army. Although the Han army had fewer people, there were still many chasing troops behind him.
Gao Mohan had considered concentrating his forces to defeat the Han army in front of him, but he was not sure of victory. The result of the Battle of Xin'anbao made the Liao army once again realize the truth. The Han army in formation is indestructible. If
Don't try it easily if you are not mentally prepared to pay twice the sacrifice price and fight for a long time.
Therefore, being driven eastward by three thousand Han troops, no matter how aggrieved Gao Mohan felt, he could only endure it.
Fortunately, he retreated all the way to less than ten miles from the county seat. As long as he retreated into the city, he could get some breathing space. The east of Shicheng was still an area controlled by the Liao Kingdom, and the Han army did not dare to go deeper.