After the army of the Western Wei Dynasty ended the battle at the mouth of the Tonghe River, they were no longer eager to expand their victory.
This was not because they were complacent after victory and wasted the opportunity to fight, but because the previous battles had consumed so much that many soldiers were severely exhausted mentally and physically.
Although the Western Wei Dynasty finally defeated the greater number with fewer troops, due to its inferior strength, it was not possible to carry out rhythmic rotation operations, and the soldiers were overloaded with perseverance.
Now that the war process has finally achieved a staged result, the soldiers' tense bodies and spirits must be properly relaxed and recuperated. If they continue to persist, they may not be able to endure it. Moreover, the Northern Qi Dynasty retreated southward.
The men and horses still have considerable strength and combat effectiveness. If the Western Wei army continues to advance aggressively, it is likely to lead to a violent counterattack.
In fact, being able to achieve such results has greatly exceeded Li Tai's expectations before the war started.
The previous wars between them mainly took place in the Heluo area. Although the Western Wei Dynasty also achieved certain advantages on the battlefield many times, in the end, the main force was often withdrawn due to various factors, and the results obtained did not last long.
It will be recaptured by the Northern Qi Dynasty, so that the power of the Northern Qi Dynasty has always had the upper hand in the Heluo area. Every time the Western Wei Dynasty has an offensive intention, it needs to repeatedly attack this dungeon, but the result is often in vain.
So this time Li Tai chose to launch the attack from Hedong. Compared with the Heluo area, Hedong had obvious advantages in terms of geographical location and delivery of troops and materials.
But the reason why the Western Wei Dynasty rarely chose this route before was because the geographical advantage of Hedong was not only for the Western Wei Dynasty, but also for the Eastern Wei Dynasty and Northern Qi Dynasty.
Once the two sides choose to fight from this route, it will basically be a close-quarters fight, with fists and fists going to the level of flesh and blood. No matter who suffers a loss on either side, it will be painful for a long time, and they will inevitably have to recapture it, which will inevitably lead to a long and tug-of-war battle.
For example, the historical Battle of Yiyang and Fenbei lasted for more than a year, and finally ended with the Northern Qi gaining a certain regional advantage. This protracted battle also made the two parties involved in the war each other.
The consumption was so serious that some personnel conflicts in their respective countries once again became prominent, and both sides started infighting over personnel matters.
It's just that the result of the internal fighting in the Northern Zhou Dynasty was to lose the historical burden and negative assets of Yu Wenhu, while the Northern Qi Dynasty killed Hu Luguang, the only one in the country who could be called the pillar of the country in terms of qualifications, prestige and ability after Duan Shao's death.
In the second year after that, Nanchen began the Taijian Northern Expedition, which was regarded as the last glory of the Southern Dynasty. The Northern Qi was defeated and all the lands in Huainan surrendered.
Such a war model undoubtedly brings greater burdens and risks to a regime like the Western Wei Dynasty, which is already weak in national strength. Especially once a war starts, it will be much more difficult to end it. If it cannot be resolved quickly,
By ending the battle cleanly and turning the war into a stalemate of mutual consumption, the Western Wei Dynasty would definitely lose.
Therefore, in the face of Gao Cheng's death, Gao Yang's usurpation of Wei, and the establishment of the new dynasty, when Yu Wentai still had no support for the people, when Yu Wentai learned that Gao Yang had established a certain degree of control over the Jinyang soldiers, he still did not dare to take the risk and move toward
Launch an attack in the direction of Jinyang.
But this time, from the beginning of the war, the Western Wei Dynasty took the absolute initiative, singing triumphant songs all the way, and made great progress in different directions, maintaining and maintaining the long-term game between the two sides in this area.
The border defense line of the country was completely destroyed.
Now the main forces of the two sides are fighting at the mouth of the Tongtan River, and it has temporarily come to an end with the victory of the Western Wei. If the Northern Qi is unable to organize another powerful counterattack in the short term, then it means that the Western Wei will win, and the Northern Qi will not be able to
Do not accept this result.
From a longer-term perspective, this battle may become a watershed in the confrontation between the east and west national powers and the rise and fall of national power.
Perhaps the Western Wei Dynasty still has a slight gap in terms of social productivity compared with the Northern Qi Dynasty, which controls the entire Hebei region, but whether it is the personnel integration within the regime, the strategic decision-making and tactical execution capabilities of the country, as well as the war resources that can be invested
It is not inferior to Northern Qi, and even far superior to it in some aspects.
Judging from the various performances of the Qi army in the previous battles between the two armies, Li Tai did not think that he could completely wipe out the Northern Qi with this battle. Although the Western Wei army had won successively, the Qi army's performance during the battle
Some qualities are also quite impressive.
For example, Jinzhou City was the initial target. Although the Wei army was able to advance straight in due to the mediocrity of its commander Wei Can, Jinzhou City was completely unable to exert its military value as an important border town. However, in the ensuing siege, the Jinzhou defenders
They still put up a tenacious resistance and resisted until the eve of the Tongtan River War before they fell.
In addition, many prisoners were allowed to stay and go, but in the end, most of the Jinyang soldiers chose to return to the Northern Qi Dynasty, and very few were willing to stay and serve the Western Wei Dynasty. Although Li Tai was not very keen on recruiting these soldiers, but in this situation
It also shows that the current Northern Qi regime is still able to represent the interests of the people in these six towns and has a very high degree of cohesion.
It is difficult for such a regime to cause the collapse of all fronts internally and externally through one or two key battles. It still needs to be eliminated through continuous fighting to weaken the enemy's effective strength, disintegrate military organizations, etc.
In this war, although the Western Wei Dynasty occupied a large area of Northern Qi's territory and achieved several key breakthroughs, the elimination of its effective forces was still not satisfactory. There were still a large number of enemy troops evacuating from the Tongdan River battlefield.
The current strength of the Western Wei Dynasty cannot completely defeat and annihilate it, so it can only withdraw from the battlefield.
It is precisely because of this that Li Taicai paid attention to united front propaganda after the war and established a benevolent and righteous image to the Northern Qi soldiers. Such methods may not be able to achieve any substantial results in the short term, but at a critical point in the confrontation between the two sides
At any given time, it will have a considerable influence on dismantling the enemy's fighting spirit and give them a reason to give up resistance.
It was based on this understanding and thinking that Li Tai decided that as long as the Northern Qi army on the opposite side no longer took the initiative to launch a counterattack, there would be no need for the Western Wei army to advance further.
Because the current situation has reached a critical point, that is, the investment will be greatly increased, but the income will be sharply reduced. Unless the Western Wei Dynasty can directly attack Huanglong and directly capture the core areas of the Northern Qi such as Jinyang or Yecheng
, otherwise the next battle will fall into a belligerent trap.
In fact, the war has already begun to show signs of being unable to make ends meet. It has been more than a month since the war started, and the Western Wei Dynasty's food and grass are being greatly consumed every day. Although the consecutive victories have also allowed the Western Wei Dynasty to obtain a certain amount of supplements on the battlefield,
But it is still impossible to completely defeat the enemy with food.
As long as the front line still needs to rely on the middle school for logistical supplies, then this supply line will be an out-and-out gold-swallowing beast, and any link on the line will cause huge consumption.
Since the beginning of the war, the supplies accumulated by the Western Wei Dynasty since Li Tai took power have been basically exhausted. Moreover, the drought in Northern Qi this year is serious, and the Guanzhong area of the Western Wei Dynasty is also deeply affected. It can be predicted that the food production this year will
Production will be severely reduced. It is really unwise to increase military investment and consumption under such circumstances.
Although the Western Wei Dynasty annexed a large area of Northern Qi's territory, as well as the soldiers and civilians living in these areas, unless it is a plundering and plundering operation, the amount of supplements that can be obtained directly on the spot is still limited, and it will not cover the needs of the local area.
After the united front appeasement and various governance costs, it is hard to say whether there will be any surplus.
In the future, the Western Wei Dynasty will still need to base on these areas and continue to launch attacks on the Northern Qi Dynasty. Of course, it cannot wipe out all the people's livelihood and social organizations in these areas, so it will take a period of united front management to get it on track.
People still need to combine work and rest, and a political power is even more so. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was able to be magnificent for a while because of the accumulation of many years in the early Han Dynasty, and in the later period, he would inevitably end up in a situation where the military was violent and the people were exhausted. But if a lot of efforts were made, there would be no
With considerable returns, he became Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty.
However, although Li Tai knew when enough was enough, his generals still maintained a high level of aggressiveness and eagerness to fight during this period. The first thing they did when they woke up every day was to rush to the Chinese army's tent and ask what time it was.
Initiate the next phase of the battle and request a vanguard position for yourself.
"Although the thieves have retreated now, they are still in large numbers, and the thieves' nature is still stubborn. It does not mean that they have achieved their full success, so we should continue to attack!"
On such occasions, He Ruoden has always been the most active one, and this time is no exception. He is the first one to come to the tent every day, and he opens his mouth and says: "The Lord has united all the armies to defeat the powerful enemy.
, the servants were on the left, although they also captured and killed many thieves, they were not among the soldiers after all, and some of them did not fight with all their strength. I still have many regrets when I think about it, so now I ask you to be the vanguard again and continue to lead the way for the Lord.
, and then defeat the stubborn thieves. All the elder brothers can safely follow behind, rest and fight, so as not to miss the success."
This cry of "big brother" was so soulful that all the generals in the tent couldn't help but glare at this guy, and several generals who had no intention of fighting for the vanguard position also started to recommend themselves, or
It's about recommending others. In short, as long as this position does not fall on He Ruoden, the brothers will be happy.
But just as the generals were vying for battle, urgent military reports from Yining City were sent to the front line, which immediately poured cold water on this optimistic and enterprising atmosphere.