After returning to the camp outside Jinzhou City, Li Tai immediately learned about the military situation on the retreat.
When he heard that Hu Luguang really led his troops from Heyang to Zhiguan for a sneak attack, Li Tai couldn't help but sigh that this guy really had deep resentment towards the Western Wei Dynasty or him.
Launching an attack from Zhiguan seems to be a small-minded choice, but it is by no means a mature decision with a big picture in mind.
When making such a decision, Hu Luguang obviously did not consider, or did not want to think deeply about whether the current Northern Qi could withstand the risk of failure, and whether there were other better options.
They focused on how much damage they would cause to the Western Wei Dynasty, rather than how to prevent the Northern Qi Dynasty from causing greater losses in this war. This approach seems to be more positive, but in fact it is unrealistic. Accept failure and bear the losses.
It is also a quality that a general must possess.
In this war, Northern Qi has been in a passive state since Sima Xiaonan took the city and rebelled, or even from earlier.
In particular, the wrong judgments and arrangements made by the decision-makers at the beginning of the war further amplified this passive disadvantage. It would be no less difficult than Gao Huanhe to reverse the entire war with a surprise attack on a local battlefield.
Yuwentai’s respective entrepreneurial experiences required not only their own efforts, but also the cooperation of their opponents.
After feeling a little emotional about Hu Luguang and his deeds, Li Tai began to think about Yang Zhong's idea of attacking Jianzhou immediately. He also supported this. The current development of the situation has indeed reached the stage.
It’s about to enter the next stage.
Although since the two sides started the war, except for some local minor battles, the main forces of the two sides have never met and started fighting, and they have only dispatched their own troops. But this is also a part of the war, and even this is the main manifestation of the war.
For example, the previous method of fighting in which the two sides assembled their troops and then went to a fixed battlefield, where the winner was clear after a hard fight, was somewhat contrary to the mainstream. At least for the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi, it was not enough to fully demonstrate their national power.
Li Tai's purpose this time was to keep the entire Northern Qi military deployment under his control. He had previously adopted a posture of marching eastward, attracting the main force of the Northern Qi army to the direction of Heyang. Then the main force of the Western Wei Dynasty immediately
Changing the direction of the attack, they entered Hedong and advanced toward Jinzhou, aiming directly at Jinyang, forcing the Northern Qi Dynasty to concentrate its forces on Jinyang.
Although it is not yet clear how many Northern Qi troops have been gathered in the direction of Jinyang, the number must be quite large. The construction of the Western Wei's defense line in northern Jinzhou has also gradually taken shape. Under the garrison of Wei Xiaokuan, the Northern Qi army in Jinyang
It is very difficult to break through the defense line and move southward in a big way.
So the next step was to naturally change the direction of the attack again, from north to east, from Jinyang to Yecheng, Hebei.
Originally, Li Tai's plan was to block the enemy's south passage from Jinyang and then march eastward. However, Yang Zhong's troops on the rear route got an excellent opportunity to advance towards Jianyan because they defeated Hu Luguang's brigade.
If we head towards Jinzhou, then the main force here in Jinzhou will naturally follow.
The only obstacle at the moment is that Jinju City has not yet been captured and a large and stable base has not been established here.
However, this situation also has advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that Jinzhou can continue to be used as a bait to attract Jinyang's enemy forces to perform useless efforts in the direction of Jiexiu in an attempt to rescue Jinzhou, thereby reducing the number of Jinyang's enemy forces and
The cooperation degree of the enemy troops on the East Road in the direction of Yecheng.
So Li Tai then adjusted the military layout here. Since Wei Xiaokuan took over the defense of the northern border, only 10,000 divisions and brigades were left to garrison there to guard the key roads. Gao Le, Ho Ruodun and other troops were all withdrawn.
At present, there are about 120,000 troops stationed outside Jinzhou City, and in the lower reaches of Fenqu, Han Guo has led his troops to conquer Zhengping City in Dongyongzhou in the Northern Qi Dynasty, opening up the Fenshui route.
Although the Fen River has not entered the flood season this year due to drought, and the water flow in the river is not abundant, materials can also be transported by using both water and land. In this way, in addition to the materials previously concentrated in the east of the river, the army can also transport materials along the river.
The supply of supplies directly from Guanzhong was obtained from Longmen along the Fenshui River, which greatly improved the safety of supplies in the rear route and the endurance of subsequent operations.
After the Fen River became unblocked, the army's logistics dependence on Shu River in Hedong was reduced. Therefore, Li Tai sent an order to the 20,000 divisions and brigade stationed in the upper reaches of Su River in the back road to follow Yang Zhongdong to attack and capture Jianzhou.
As for the main force outside Jinzhou City, Li Taize did not plan to move the entire army immediately, and most of them stayed behind. On the one hand, they would continue to besiege Jinzhou City, and at the same time, they could eat on the banks of the Fenshui River and control the logistical pressure.
And he personally led three guardsmen and 20,000 elite troops as the front division and brigade to go east first to clear the way for the army.
After arranging the personnel here, Li Tai directly led his troops to march eastward.
On the east bank of Fen River north of Jinzhou City, there is a stream called Tongjunchuan. It goes upstream from Tongjunchuan to Heishui Ridge, the remaining branch of Taiyue Mountain. However, this is only the current name. Historically, after the Northern Zhou Dynasty unified the north,
, in order to avoid the taboo of Yu Wentai, Heishui Ridge was renamed Wuling Mountain.
Although the mountainous terrain of Heishuiling is steep and rugged, it is only the remnant of Taiyue Mountain after all, and there are many naturally formed channels such as valleys and streams for walking. Compared with other steep places, it is relatively easy to walk, and some
There is even a place where you can ride your horse slowly.
Since then, the vast mountainous areas in the west have greatly restricted the use of cavalry power. Therefore, Li Tai's more than 20,000 soldiers are mainly infantry, and only the Hundred Cavalry Battalion and the Scout Team of more than 2,000 cavalry are retained.
.Because there is no need for a large number of war horses to accompany the army, the pressure on logistics and baggage is not great.
Tongjun Sichuan was originally the direction where the army would attack next. Therefore, in the past period of time, the Western Wei Dynasty scouts had been continuously conducting investigations to the east. The scope of the investigation was even as far as hundreds of miles. Moreover, there were also former Nannan troops in the team.
Chen handed it over to Qi general Zhang Baoluo and others in Guanzhong. Therefore, although Li Tai came to this area for the first time, he was no stranger to the geographical conditions here.
Pi Jinghe himself is the leader of the Hundred Cavalry Battalion, and he is also the Taiyuan personnel, so he naturally also serves as the leader of the scout team. In the past few days, he has investigated the situation in the east more clearly. At this time, he was marching while marching towards
Li Taijin reported the latest enemy information: "There are six enemy garrison positions in Heishui Ridge, each with a different number of troops, ranging from more than a hundred to as few as a dozen. They all came out of Yining, which stands between Qinshui River, with two soldiers on the left and right.
The city is an important garrison town in the upper reaches of the Qinshui River. The prefect of Yining is the traitor general Han Zunian, and there are more than 2,000 troops stationed in front of it. After the army entered Pingyang, the number of soldiers who defended the city gradually increased to more than 7,000..."
Yining County is also under the rule of Jinzhou in the Northern Qi Dynasty. It is located east of Pingyang. Its regional core is located in the mountains and river valleys of the upper reaches of the Qinshui River Basin. Qinshui River originates from Pingyao, Shanxi, and flows southward until it flows into the Yellow River. It is also the surface of Shanxi.
Lishan River is an important part of the terrain. In history, during the Pre-Qin and Warring States Period, the Qin army occupied Pingyang and then entered Qinshui River, and launched the Changping Battle with Zhao State in the lower reaches of Qinshui River.
"Yining is located in Shenwu. In the old years, He Liuhun once placed six towns with 3,000 military households in the territory to fill the Qinyuan River Valley, sweep away bandits in the territory and guard the east-west passage. Because Yining was set up under the Guyuan City of the county
Town. Yining Town connects Tunliu to the east and reaches Wusu. These places are also where the people of the town live. Take the nearest one and go east to deter Hebei."
Zhang Baoluo, who was accompanying the army, also reported in detail what he knew: "Han Zunian is from the tribe of King Ande, and he is also a brave general of the Qi State. The Qi State actually has this man to control the important land of Qinyuan. It can be seen that everywhere on the East Road
They are all very defensive!"
The strategic value of Qinshui in the entire Shanxi region can be said to be second only to Fenshui. The Qinyuan area where its upstream is located is an important passage from Pingyang area to Shangdang area, and its downstream is connected to the Jincheng Basin where Jianzhou is located.
When the Hedong area was not controlled by the Northern Qi Dynasty, Qinshui was the hub connecting the entire western region of the Taihang Mountains.
Li Tai's attack on Qinyuan was also an important step in splitting up the territory of the Northern Qi Dynasty. Once Qinyuan was captured, the connection between the Changzhi Basin in the Shangdang area and the Jincheng Basin below and Jinyang would be destroyed.
The great damage then affected the connection between Yecheng and Jinyang, making the Northern Qi territory more fragmented.
The journey east along the Tongjunchuan River was relatively smooth, and there was no trace of the Qi army before arriving at Heishui Ridge. After all, there are hundreds of thousands of troops stationed under Jinzhou City, which directly affects the control and deterrence of the surrounding area.
It was so full that the Qi army did not dare to move forward easily.
There are two taller mountains in Heishui Ridge on the east and west, all connected by undulating valleys. Because this area was previously within the territory of the Northern Qi Dynasty, there was no need to waste time and money on building any strong fortress in the mountains.
Some of the existing forts basically only serve as outposts, warnings and communications, and their real deterrent and defensive effects are not great.
After Li Tai arrived at Heishui Ridge, he did not rush to order the large group of troops to cross the mountains. Instead, he first asked the scouts to clear out the enemy scouts' eyes and ears between the ridges and valleys, and he first led a light division along the dry valleys.
Go east through the passage and inspect Yining City.