In April of the second year of Tang Yuanzhen, in northern Henan, as Wang Shiyun led his troops to flee, the atmosphere in Dongjun and near Luoyang, the eastern capital, gradually became tense.
The first person to take action was not Xiao Mian, but Dou Jiande.
He is closest to Luoyang, the eastern capital, and can get information faster than Xiao Mian, and it is also very detailed.
Soon, Dou Jiande transferred Wang Cong, the general of Zuo Wuwei, as the commander-in-chief of Xiangzhou's march, leading more than 100,000 troops to station in Hanoi, across the river from Luoyang, the eastern capital.
At the same time, he sent a letter to Xiao Mian, saying that if you have no intention of going north, then I will not be polite to you. You can't hand over the great city of Luoyang to Li Ding'an for nothing. At that time, you were far away in Jiangling, so you didn't have to worry about it, but
We are about to confront Li Ding'an... If that's the case, how about occupying Luoyang now to get some head start?
He is obviously urging Xiao Mian to go north, otherwise the priorities of the alliance between the two families may be reversed, and it will be as noisy as Shu Wu's rebellion against Cao Cao. While you are fighting against each other, you also want to have a limit.
Let's cooperate. It's a pity that there is no big river, otherwise everyone would feel much more at ease.
Of course, with the Yellow River crossing there, Dou Jiande felt more confident, so when he received Xiao Mian's reply, he discussed it with his ministers and agreed to Hulao.
Needless to say, the strategic significance of Hulao Pass is that it is the gateway from Hebei and Shandong to Henan. When the princes attacked Dong, they met with ashes in front of Hulao Pass.
Dou Jiande gave it to Xiao Mian without hesitation, wasn't it because there was a big river as a support, so even if Xiao Mian failed, the trouble would not be unmanageable?
Compared with Dou Jiande's vigorous and resolute actions, his ability to give up and dare to give up, Xiao Mian's movements are as slow as an old ox pulling a cart.
He first transferred Qiu He, the general manager of Jiaozhou, to the general manager of Jiangzhou, and then appointed Shangshu Zuopushe Zhou Faxing as the general manager of Huangzhou. He gathered people and horses in Lujiang and Xiangyang to hoard grain and grass.
To be honest, his actions were too slow, so slow that he did not seize the opportunity at all. He was like a procrastinating host. When he slowly wanted to entertain the guests, the guests had already finished their dishes.
After the frying, we were waiting for him to take his seat.
During this period, Zhou Faming and others increasingly felt that the Battle of Henan was a trap, and wanted to persuade the emperor to change his mind. However, Xiao Mian impatiently accused them of quarreling with each other in the winter, thus delaying the opportunity to fight.
Xiao Mian's accusation is actually not unreasonable. Zhou Faming is both the minister Zuopushe and the minister of the Ministry of War. It is just that he cannot be consistent with the emperor strategically. Instead, he wants to change the emperor's mind through delaying.
It can be said that Zhou Faming was not a competent minister, which put Liang Guo in an awkward position. It had been roughly agreed to send troops to Henan, but the preparations had not kept up. It would take at least more than a month before sending troops.
Of course, there were soldiers stationed in Nanyang, Xiangyang, Runan and other places to guard against the Tang army in Hongnong and the Xia army in Hulao, which saved a lot of trouble.
What I have to say is that Xiao Mian has been ruling the Pingliang Kingdom for several years, and his governance is still very popular. At least it is better than Lin Shihong, who likes to fight local tyrants, divide the land, but also loves women, and rapes young men into the army, without any political plan.
too much.
When they heard that the emperor wanted to send troops to the Eastern Capital, many people felt that the opportunity had come to perform meritorious deeds, so the children of Jiangnan's aristocratic families asked to go with the army to fight, and the soldiers were also very enthusiastic.
At this time, the Liang Kingdom was filled with optimism. Except for some people led by Zhou Faming who felt that Henan was like a big dug hole, the rest of the people, from the emperor to his ministers, the noble families, and the common people under his rule,
They were all very confident that they would easily defeat the enemy in Henan.
When the emperor entered the Eastern Capital, the guests from all over the world could only see him before his eyes.
I don’t know where or when this collective optimism originated, but it did have an impact on all aspects of Liang Guo.
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No matter how confident Xiao Xian and his ministers were, their actions were too slow. Not only they themselves were embarrassed, but everyone else was also in embarrassment.
Dou Jiande and his ministers were almost dumbfounded as they watched the Liang army snail-like, heading towards Luoyang to gather supplies and soldiers, busy doing their own thing under everyone's eyes.
Dou Jiande didn't want to give up the capital to Xiao Mian. At this time, he felt that Xiao Mian was a little unreliable. It would be better for him to lead his army to occupy Luoyang and confront Li Ding'an head-on, while Xiao Mian responded from the side...
Until this time, Zhou Faming has been controlling the rhythm of Liang Jun. His strategy is also very simple. Since everyone is preparing for a big battle in Henan, he should make more preparations. If you can't calm down, come and attack me. It's a good opportunity to take advantage of it.
The army lost the battle and withdrew.
But when Qiu He, the general manager of Jiangzhou, took office, the speed of Liang Jun's war preparations immediately increased. Qiu He did not think as much as Zhou Faming. He was just here to lead the troops in the war. He would do whatever the emperor asked him to do. Zhou Faming
He cannot be controlled directly.
The Tang army, which had been recuperating for a winter and a spring, kept looking at Henan longingly in Tongguan and Hongnong, and finally started to quarrel after Dou Jiande and Xiao Xian reacted.
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Hongnong County Sheriff's Mansion.
The generals of the Tang army gathered together and held the second large-scale military meeting before the war.
The first one was at the end of winter and early spring, when the army gradually took shape. In order to clarify its responsibilities as soon as possible, the leading generals Wei Chixin and Bu Qun convened a meeting with the generals at the Hongnong Prefecture.
In April, the generals, who were almost impatient with waiting, heard that Dou Jiande and Xiao Mian were making moves, and finally cheered up and prepared for battle.
The generals of the Tang Army had been fighting for many years and had long been familiar with this extremely comfortable rhythm of war. They first decided on strategies and tactics, then hoarded food and grass, gathered men and horses, and then sent out troops to fight.
It is different from those wars in novels and rumors. It is not that dramatic, and there will be no empty city stratagem or honey trap. There will be no ambushes on the road, or a night attack on the enemy camp, and water will be released to flood the enemy.
Well, all the efforts were accomplished in one battle.
This year's war is similar to the past. Hongnong's army gathered at Tongguan and was ready to go. No matter whether Xiao Mian and Dou Jiande entered the hinterland of Henan this year, the Tang army would not return empty-handed.
Strategically, leading Xiao Xian and Dou Jiande into Henan is the main strategic goal this year. If it cannot be achieved, Henan should be occupied this year. In autumn and winter, cooperate with Bashu and march into Jiangbiao.
Because of the talents from Kansai, the strategy formulated was much more detailed than before. The time was based on June and July. In July, if Dou Jiande and Xiao Xian had no movement, the Tang army would raise troops and enter Henan.
In fact, regardless of whether Wang Shiyun abandoned the city or not, the Tang army's strategy was there, which was to fight here. I didn't send troops first because I was afraid that you would not dare to come. I had no intention of hiding my intentions, and
Even the gathering of hundreds of thousands of troops could not conceal it.
Wang Shiyun's flight to the west was to further lure the opponent into the established battlefield, and his strategic intention was extremely obvious. Both Xiao Lang and Zhou Faming were Jiang Biao's wise men, and they would not fail to understand.
But they still had great differences. This is what makes war attractive. People's understanding of strategy, as well as their own temperament, talent, courage, etc., will affect their judgment, plus many other things.
With external intervention, the outcome of the war would be very different.
Just like the Battle of Guandu, both Yuan Shao and Cao Mengde had great deviations in their understanding of the enemy and themselves, so they had a wonderful showdown on the battlefield they jointly selected.
Many years later, Cao Mengde had another fight with others in Chibi, but was completely defeated.
The situation is almost the same now. With the three kingdoms standing in a tripod, plus Du Fuwei who is watching the excitement, a confrontation has clearly formed in Henan. As for whether to fight in Henan, it depends on everyone's wishes.
Tang Jun was the most confident and gave up the initiative. Dou Jiande drooled for a long time but got timid first, so he desperately encouraged Xiao Mian to come north, thinking that joining forces with Xiao Mian might be able to suppress Li Ding'an's arrogance.
But Liang Jun's subsequent performance was so disappointing that even Tang Jun, who was preparing to fight with him, couldn't stand it.
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The main force of the Tang army gathered in one place, and the occasion was unprecedented.
This time, in addition to Zhang Lun, the general of Yiwei on the left and right, Yu Wenhuo is in Shuzhong, Yu Chixin, the general of the right garrison, is stationed in Chang'an, Pang Yu, the general of the left prison guard, is leading troops to Liangzhou, and Dou Cong, the general of the left garrison, is in Guan
Except for the Western Suppression Bandits, the rest of the generals of the Wei Mansion are here.
In the lobby of Hongnong County Governor's Mansion, the eleven generals of the Wei Mansion were sitting in order. Yuchi Gong sat on the main seat, flanked by a group of very unconvinced Bu Bu.
One of the two people is now the marching general manager, and the other is the marching deputy general manager. As before, Bu Qun is still a little behind, and he is inferior to Yuchi.
Bu Qun felt aggrieved because he failed to catch up with the army when they sent troops to Guanxi last year. He led Xu Shiji, Yang Daosheng and others to contain Li Jiancheng in Tongguan.
This time, the credit was much lower than that of everyone else. They originally planned to attack Dou Jiande, but when Xiao Mian came, no one came to compete with him. However, the battle there was too smooth. After Li Yuan and his son struggled a little, they both fell off their horses.
So a year later, the army gathered in Tongguan. There were more than a dozen generals, all of whom had outstanding military achievements, especially Yuchi... Bu Qun thought that this guy would have to lead his troops to the west to watch Liang Shidu and Liangzhou.
Who would have thought that Yuchi Gong not only escaped, but also led Li Nian and Xue Wanche to scare off the 30,000-strong army of Turk Jieli Khan Ashina Qiuluo, and then spent the winter leisurely in Jingzhao, and this year he appeared in
After arriving at Tongguan, they also seized the leadership position of Bu Qun.
Hateful or not, if not reluctant and unable to leave, Bu Qun was planning to go to Chang'an to see the emperor, how could he treat one person so favorably as another?
He is much more senior than Yuchi, and he can say a lot of nice things, so how can he be worse than that black guy Yuchi?