Everyone was secretly speculating when they heard Xu Huai speak with certainty that the main force of the Chihu East Route Army would bypass Bianliang and go straight to Zhengzhou. They all looked over in surprise and asked: "Why Zhengzhou?"
No matter how knowledgeable others are, it is always difficult to fully see through the development of situations that have not yet occurred. There are too many unpredictable variables that interfere with their judgment.
Xu Huai deduced the process from the tragic ending, which is of course much simpler; this also helped him understand the strategic thinking of the Chi Hu people from a deeper level.
However, the more this happened, the more Xu Huai felt helpless about the situation in the Hehuai War.
Xu Huai asked someone to take the map of Hehuaizhou County out of the government hall, lay it directly on a large table made of huge wood in the yard, use a charcoal pen to outline the red army's east and west troops and horses on the map, and said:
"The Chihu troops were divided into two groups, heading south from Hedong and Hebei respectively: the east route army directly bypassed the tyrant Mo Ding and other prefectures in northern Hebei and went south. As long as the cities along the road had a stronger will to resist, they were directly bypassed; the Chihu army on the west route was bypassed directly.
At that time, Taiyuan City was still surrounded, and there was no sign of going south. The mountains and rivers from Taiyuan to the south were blocked, sandwiched between the Luliang Mountains and the Taihang Mountains. Unlike the Hebei Plain, which was well connected in all directions and could be bypassed directly, the Chihu West Route Army seemed to be blocked.
The terrain east of Hedong is blocked, but don't forget that the Chihu West Route Army has more than 100,000 soldiers and horses besieging Taiyuan for two months. Their siege rhythm is much slower than when they attacked Yingzhou.
It’s definitely not that they are not good at attacking cities…”
"Then why did they delay and not directly attack Taiyuan?" Wang Ju asked with a frown.
"..." Xu Huai said, "Chihu's East Route Army ignored the cities in Hebei and crossed southward, and its West Route Army's annexed city stormed Taiyuan. Both have a high probability of success, but it is undeniable that they also have certain risks; and both of them have a high probability of success.
It is a taboo for military strategists to use dangerous roads on all roads - General Chihu is obviously very sober. Therefore, if there is any movement, there must be stillness, so that the strange and the right can be harmonious! The people of Chihu built a stronghold under Taiyuan City to besiege it, which is for tranquility.
, to avoid being unable to attack by force. In addition to uncontrollable casualties, it will also cause the morale of both sides to ebb and flow. However, the Chihu people's east and west troops are isolated by the mountains of Taihang Mountain. How can we say that they are dynamic and static?
Yi, where is the symbiotic relationship between Qi and Zheng? Look here..."
Xu Huai took a charcoal sketch of Jiguanxing, Taihangxing and Baixing in Zhengzhou on the north bank of the Yellow River, across the southern foot of Taihang Mountain and Wangwu Mountain, and said:
"Not only is Zhengzhou facing these three mountains, seizing them will allow the two lines of red cavalry to have the potential to complement each other, and to attack Hangu Pass to the west, but also to block the Western Army's access to the capital -
-At present, King Qin's reinforcements in the southwest and southeast are not taken seriously by the Chihu people, but this is also the case. Only the Shaanxi Fifth Route can mobilize more than 300,000 soldiers and horses to march eastward, but the Chihu people will never dare to look down upon it.
Whether the Western Army can be blocked to the west of Hangu Pass will determine how long the Chihu East Route Army can wreak havoc in the Hehuai area! Otherwise, after the Western Army enters the city of Gyeonggi and the rivers in the Hehuai area thaw, the Chihu East Road
If the army does not withdraw, they will only become more passive as they fight!"
"So, Zhengzhou is indeed the most important strategic location besides Bianliang, and its status is even higher than Weizhou!" Xu Wuqi took a long breath and said, "It's a pity that the king didn't listen to your suggestion.
Liu Yan, Chen Yuan and others stayed in Zhengzhou - tens of thousands of red cavalry were really going to rush towards Zhengzhou, but the Western Army's Qinwang troops were still on the way. Zhengzhou was in danger without elite soldiers and strong generals to defend it!"
Zhou Jing, Wang Ju, Su Laochang and others were silent, looking towards the vast northern sky.
Zhengzhou is one of the four towns, and the imperial court also urgently dispatched defense envoys to sit in the town. However, Qin Feng and other Western Army's Fifth Route Qinwang troops had a long way to go, and the road was blocked by ice and snow. At this time, they were still on the way eastward, and they were still far away from Tongguan, and even more so.
Not to mention being able to enter Zhengzhou in time and flank the battlefield on the western flank of Gyeonggi Province.
Zhengzhou defense envoy Sun Huacheng not only transferred a group of forbidden troops from the capital as personal soldiers, but also urgently gathered rural soldiers from prefectures and counties after arriving in Zhengzhou. At present, there seem to be more than 20,000 defenders in Zhengzhou, but the rural soldiers on the northwest road of Beijing
Do we still need everyone to say what kind of combat qualities are worthy of placing high hopes on?
Thinking this way, everyone felt more and more that Wang Zhen did not take Xu Huai's suggestion and left Liu Yan, Chen Yuan and other troops who had moved south from Fuzhou to stay in Zhengzhou to participate in the defense, which was probably something that people would regret.
With the help of Xu Huai and the Gu family in Fuzhou, Liu Yan and Chen Yuan finally gathered the 8,000 defeated troops who escaped from the Yunshuo battlefield in Fuzhou - Liu Yan, Chen Yuan and the others were not in a hurry to escape back to Jingyuan Road.
Instead, he stayed in Fuzhou to train and wait for the imperial court to call him. Finally, he and Gu Jiqian's eldest son Gu Cong led a total of 10,000 troops to go south to serve the king.
Because these 10,000 soldiers and horses were already ready to go when they received the order from King Qin, and Fuzhou prepared a large number of mules and horses, so they were also the first soldiers and horses of King Qin to enter the Hehuai battlefield.
Although Xu Huai did not mention this sensitive topic in Bianliang, after returning to Tongbai Mountain, he thought over and over again and wrote to Wang Zhen, suggesting that Liu Yan, Chen Yuan, and Gu Cong should stay in Zhengzhou.
However, before Wang Cun received his reply, Liu Yan, Chen Yuan, and Gu Cong had been ordered to lead their troops to the walled city on the Gyeonggi Road east of the Jialu River and accept the control of the Gyeonggi Defense Envoy.
When the main force of the Chihu East Route Army marches westward on a large scale, Liu Yan, Chen Yuan, Gu Cong and other troops will lose their last opportunity to mobilize. Whether Zhengzhou has these three troops will make a big difference in the subsequent siege of the Chihu East Route Army.
Already.
Although Liu Yan and Chen Yuan recruited the remnants of the Yan army and fought with the Red Hu cavalry in the field, they would definitely not be able to do so. However, their generals were well trained in bravery and had rich combat experience.
questionable.
Wang Ju, Xu Wuqi, and Su Laochang felt somewhat resentful that Wang Zhen was increasingly no longer adopting the suggestions here. Xu Huai looked at the vast sky in the north, but his emotions were difficult to express.
But when it came to complaining, he didn't have it in his heart. After all, Xu Huai knew very well that Wang Zhen was nominally the defense envoy of the capital, but most of the time he was involuntarily - Wang Zhen could really decide to reject Liu Yan, Chen Yuan, and Gu Cong
Three troops entered Beijing to strengthen Zhengzhou?
Xu Huai said with emotion: "Even at this time, most people in the imperial court still regard the Chihu as barbarians, but they don't know that many generals of the Chihu have been fighting in all directions for thirty or forty years. Their strategic vision and thinking have actually far surpassed the generals of Vietnam."
Left behind. However, this is not a problem that Wang Xiang can solve alone - countless people still need the baptism of blood and tears before they can wake up..."
"Ta-ta!"
In the distance, there were several horsemen riding towards the camp. When they were crossing the Wuzhai River, they were intercepted by the patrolling soldiers. However, after some negotiation, they crossed the river.
The terrain of the camp was higher than that on the east bank of the Wuzhai River. Xu Huai and the others could see the knights crossing the river, and soon several of them galloped to the gate of the camp. The leader, Lu Xiong, got off his horse.
"Why did Mr. Lu come to Caizhou from Bianliang instead of staying with the Prime Minister at this critical moment?" Su Laochang frowned and speculated doubtfully, "It's not because the Prime Minister has any request. Is Mr. Lu coming here to be a lobbyist?"
Wang Zhen did not say hello to Xu Huai, and directly advocated transferring Tongbai Mountain to Bianliang during the court meeting. Although Wang Zhen was clear in his heart, Su Laochang and others had objections.
Wang Zhen's suggestion was firmly opposed by Wang Boqian, Wang Qiyong and others, and Su Laochang and others were even more dissatisfied.
On the one hand, they were unwilling to go to Bianliang, but in the end, the reason why they didn't go was because of suspicion. How could they no longer have a problem in their hearts?
Xu Huai knew that Su Laochang's guess was reasonable, but he would not exclude Lu Xiong from the camp. He walked to the gate with Wang Ju, Su Laochang, and Xu Wuqi.
"Master Lu, why did you come here from Bianliang? How is Wang Xiang's health? I heard from Zhu Hang's letter to Zhu Zhi that Wang Xiang was infected with the cold..."
"I'm still working too hard. I've suffered from wind evil. Even if I'm sick now, I won't stay in bed." Lu Xiong sighed, cupped his hands with everyone, and said, "If I come here, you won't refuse me thousands of miles away, right?"
"Master Lu is joking. No one will reject you, Master Lu, right?" Su Laochang and others smiled and Xu Huai surrounded Lu Xiong and walked towards the wooden shed.
Lu Xiong walked into the wooden shed, sat down and drank a sip of hot tea, and then said straight to the point: "Xu Huai, you may have guessed the reason for my coming. After Wang Xiang read your letter, he also felt that Zhengzhou is important, so now With defenders, it is difficult to withstand the all-out attack of the Chihu East Route Army. Wang Xiang wants to accept your suggestion, but Wang Qiyong and Wang Boqian are opposed to transferring Liu Yan, Chen Yuan and other troops to Zhengzhou, feeling that no one in Bianliang can fight The military strength is too risky. The Prime Minister has no choice but to ask me to come over and ask if you are willing to go to Zhengzhou?"
"We are now affiliated with the Caizhou garrison camp. Whether we want to leave or whether we can leave is not something we can decide." Su Laochang interjected.
"Prime Minister Wang said that Mr. Hu is a man who knows the overall situation. He must know the significance of holding Zhengzhou and welcoming the Western Army to advance eastward. As long as you are willing, Prime Minister Wang also has an autograph letter with me. I will bring Prime Minister Wang's autograph letter with you. Go see Mr. Hu." Lu Xiong ignored Su Laochang, but stared at Xu Huai and said.
