On the bank of the Yellow River, Fangtou battlefield.
Under the setting sun, the late autumn sky was high and solemn. High on the cliff on the bank of the Yellow River, Sima Huan stood on horseback, his gray beard and hair fluttering in the evening breeze, and his purple cloak flying behind him.
Today, Huan Wen had to make a major decision. Whether to advance into Yecheng regardless of the critical situation and fight Murong Chui to the death; or to make a painful decision and withdraw immediately.
This is a dilemma.
This time, Huan Wen sent his army to the Northern Expedition with great determination. He wanted to use the destruction of Yan as a springboard to fulfill his long-cherished wish and bring his life to a glorious peak.
This Northern Expedition, from Emperor Sima Yi to Wang Xie and other aristocratic families in the court, all disagreed. They said that the court had no soldiers and food, and could not afford the consumption of the Northern Expedition. They said that the time for the Northern Expedition had not yet come, so they should not act rashly. They said
The two tigers of Qin and Yan were fighting each other. The Jin Dynasty should sit back and reap the benefits, instead of sending troops to the Northern Expedition, which would waste its strength in vain.
All the reasons seemed reasonable. But Huan Wen knew in his heart that there was only one real thought in their hearts. They didn't want them to be unable to restrain themselves after their fame reached its peak after the Northern Expedition was successful. They didn't want to succeed, they were afraid of their own success. They
Afraid of losing their status, power and everything in the Jin Dynasty.
Wang Tan, Wang Biao, Xie An and others were all as shrewd as ghosts, and Huan Wen knew exactly what they were planning.
Therefore, Huan Wen prepared the supplies of food and materials for the Northern Expedition by himself, without giving them any excuses. He did not hesitate to unite the southeastern nobles to stand with him.
In this Northern Expedition, Huan Wen's goal was to succeed and achieve his goals.
Therefore, if they retreat at this time, Wang Tan, Wang Biao, Xie An and others will definitely celebrate. They will say that they knew the result at the beginning. And their reputation will be greatly damaged because they return without success. So this Northern Expedition
Not only will it fail to achieve its goal, it will be counterproductive.
However, the current situation is very critical. Yuan Zhen is currently blocked at Shimen. It is not known when the Shimen Water Channel will be opened. The passage of food supplies cannot be smoothed. The consumption of supplies and food in the army has been difficult to replenish. In addition, reinforcements from the Qin State have also been dispatched, and
The person standing in front of him was the famous Yan State general Murong Chui again.
If you insist on attacking, you will be in dire straits once you lose, and you will not even have a chance to regret it. Your own army will be surrounded by groups, attacked from both sides, and there will be no chance to retreat.
Huan Wen had to make trade-offs and decisions. There was not much food and grass left, and the situation was changing rapidly. There was no time or space for either attack or retreat.
"Huan Gong, have you made a decision?" A voice came from beside him.
Huan Wen turned around and saw that the person speaking was Xi Chao, the great Sima who joined the army.
Xi Chao was Huan Wen's most trusted plotter. He was loyal to him and resourceful. Xi Chao had a dark and thin face and a messy beard. He was described as very decadent. During this period, Xi Chao was so worried about military affairs that his former demeanor was gone.
live.
Huan Wen looked at him, feeling a little regretful for not listening to his advice.
When the army set out a few months ago, Xi Chao proposed two strategies for the Northern Expedition.
The first suggestion was that Xi Chao believed that the attack should be by land instead of relying on rivers. The soldiers and horses should carry enough dry food and advance directly to Yecheng by land to avoid the important areas of the city and avoid entanglement with the soldiers and horses of Yan State.
Xi Chao believed that as long as the Northern Expedition army arrived at Yecheng at a fast enough speed, the Duke of Yan would panic and flee, and Yecheng would be within easy reach. Once Yecheng was captured, they could turn around and deal with other Yan soldiers and horses. By then the Yan army would be worried
If it floats, it will be like a broken bamboo.
The second offensive strategy is, if attacking from waterways, we must prevent the lack of military supplies due to poor waterways in autumn. Then we cannot act too hastily. We must control the water transport channels as the starting point, attack steadily and step by step. After autumn, we must not rush forward.
, instead we should station troops to store grain and wait for the water to rise next spring and summer before continuing the attack.
Xi Chao said that this was a fast and slow offensive strategy. But in Huan Wen's view at the time, one of the two strategies was radical and the other was conservative, and neither of them suited him. Huan Wen even had some doubts about Xi Chao's ability at the time.
How could such a trustworthy mastermind give me such a bad idea?
But now, facts have proven that Xi Chao was right. Although the results of his fast attack strategy cannot be verified, the slow attack strategy is completely correct. The drying up of rivers and the blockage of water transportation did happen. If his strategy had been used, the army would have been
Don't fall into the current situation.
"Huan Gong, make a decision quickly, time will not wait for us." Xi Chao said again in a deep voice.
Huan Wen breathed a sigh of relief and said in a deep voice: "Jingxing, I have decided to retreat. But I am unwilling to do so. This retreat will cause great harm to me."
Of course Xi Chao understood Huan Wen's thoughts. After retreating this time, his goal of destroying Yan was shattered. Of course, he was unwilling to do so.
"Gong Huan, it would certainly be a loss to retreat now, but it will only damage Longwang's hopes, not his strength. If he returns after being defeated, both hopes and hopes will be lost, and that will be a truly huge loss. Although Duke Huan is retreating now, it is not a defeat. Before the Northern Expedition,
The soldiers and horses of Jingkou, Xuyan and other two states were not owned by Duke Huan. Now that the soldiers and horses of Jingkou are also under his command, and Jingyang and Jiangzhou are owned by the public, the strength has increased greatly, rather than lost. If the strength is there, what are you worried about? Reputation is false, strength is real, which one is better?
More importantly, there is no need to say more." Xi Chao said in a deep voice.
What Xi Chao was talking about was that in the name of the Northern Expedition, Huan Wen mobilized the soldiers and horses of Xu Yan and Xu Yan from Yuzhou and Jingkou, which were not under his jurisdiction. Even if he withdraws his troops at this time, it is a fact that Xu Yan's troops belong to Huan Wen. So in terms of strength, it is actually
It is enhanced.
There is an interesting secret in this.
Xu Yan was the governor of Erzhou before being led by Xi Chao's father, Xi Min. Xi Chao's grandfather, Xi Jian, was a refugee commander in his early years. He gathered the remnants of the refugees in Jingkou to form an army. He once put down the rebellion of Wang Dun and Su Jun.
Taiwei Xi Min inherited Xi Jian's territory as the governor of Xu Yan's two states.
Huan Wen had long coveted Jingkou, and Xi Chao also saw this. Before the Northern Expedition, Xi Min wrote to Huan Wen, saying that he was willing to lead his army to join Huan Wen in the Northern Expedition. But Xi Chao knew that Huan Wen wanted to
He took advantage of the Northern Expedition to bring the Jingkou soldiers and horses under his command and seize the two states of Jingkou. His father, Xi Min, was confused about the situation and wanted to lead the Northern Expedition with Huan Wen to make achievements. This was obviously not in line with Huan Wen's wishes.
So Xi Chao intercepted the letter from his father Xi Min, and forged a new letter in his father's voice, expressing his willingness to hand over the military power in Jingkou to Huan Wen, saying that he was too old to lead the army, and asked for a sinecure to provide for his retirement. Huan Wen was overjoyed, so
He appointed Xi Min as the internal historian of Kuaiji and openly annexed the troops of Xu and Yan states. Xi Min was completely unaware of all this and had no idea that he had been betrayed by his son.
This shows how loyal Xi Chao was to Huan Wen, and was willing to sacrifice family interests to pave the way for Huan Wen's ambitions.
Perhaps Xi Chao knew that Huan Wen was very ambitious and powerful, and that the Jin Dynasty would inevitably change hands, so he did this out of consideration for the preservation of the Xi family in Gaoping. Because if Huan Wen targeted Jingkou, and his father did not
If he knows how to promote his family, the Xi family may be in danger of being wiped out.
But no matter what, Xi Chao can be called the number one cheater in Jin Dynasty. He just gave away the family business that had grown up in the hands of Xi Jian, the ancestor of the Xi family in Gaoping.
After listening to Xi Chao's words, Huan Wen nodded and said: "What Jing Xing said is reasonable. I am just unhappy in my heart, but I have decided to withdraw our troops immediately to preserve our strength. I can do the fourth Northern Expedition three times. Let's give it up for now.
The Xianbei children only have to live for a few years."
Xi Chao cupped his hands and said: "Huan Gong Ming Jian."
The order to withdraw troops was issued quickly, and it was the best choice to break camp and withdraw troops when it was dark. After dark, the Northern Expedition army camp suddenly became busy and chaotic. The Northern Expedition soldiers who had been deployed for several months were extremely tired and missed their hometown.
When it came time to withdraw the troops, everyone couldn't wait.
At the beginning of the second watch, soldiers and horses took advantage of the moonlight to set off one after another, evacuating southwards by land.
Huan Wen waited until all the troops and horses were deployed before preparing to leave. He had one last thing to do.
On the Yellow River, hundreds of ships, large and small, gathered together on the dark river. They were the fleets that had previously marched to transport grain. But now, these ships could not turn back. When they came, the waterways were dry and the ships could not sail. These ships were all
There is no going back.
Of course, these ships cannot be left to the Xianbei people, so they will all be burned, including some supplies that cannot be taken away, and they will be burned here.
The army has already set off, and there is no need to worry about being attacked by Yan soldiers and horses in the chaos. It is time to give the order.
Huan Wen rode his horse and stood on the river bank, squinting his eyes and looking at the river in the cold night wind. All the boats were gathered on the bank and connected with ropes and wooden bars. The boats were dotted with soldiers holding torches.
The ships had been doused with fire oil and fire starters, and everything was ready.
"Send the order, light the fire." Huan Wen gave the order in a deep voice.
The order was conveyed quickly, and within a few moments, all the boats from the river to the river bank were set on fire one after another. Under the blow of the night wind, the fire spread rapidly, and before it was time to have a cup of tea, it turned into a sea of fire.
The flames soared into the sky, reflecting the river surface and the sky, illuminating both sides of the Yellow River. The fire tornadoes set off by the flames rolled on the river surface, stirring up countless vortexes and waves on the Yellow River surface, making sounds like wild beasts roaring, presenting a strange and terrifying scene.
.This situation and scene are shocking.
Huan Wen stared at the fire on the river for a long time. Everything burned there was his hard work and was built with countless manpower and material money. For this Northern Expedition, he spent a lot of money and materials, as well as a huge amount of effort.
.But now, it’s all burned down.
"Huan Gong, don't be sad, these can all be rebuilt. The green hills are still there, so you don't have to worry about running out of firewood." Xi Chao comforted him softly while riding on his horse.
Huan Wen turned his head, his eyes were bright, and he laughed loudly: "Jingxing, do you think I am so fragile? I feel sad because of these things? I have experienced countless hardships in my life, but so what? I am not even one step ahead.
How far have you come today? In my opinion, all difficulties are my experiences. God has a plan. He always makes you not get what you want, and always gives you water when you are proud.
A ladle of cold water will always put difficulties and obstacles on your way. Others may be discouraged, but I just become more courageous with every setback. Hahahaha.”
Huan Wen burst out laughing, lifted the reins, and shouted loudly: "Let's go."
After saying that, he whipped the horse and galloped down the hillside. Xi Chao turned his head and glanced at the red river, frowned, turned the horse's head and rode away after Huan Wen's back.
On the tenth day of the ninth lunar month in the fourth year of Yuanhe in the Great Jin Dynasty, on the night when Li Hui, a young man from Wu County, participated in the Zhongzheng review, the Great Sima Huanwen of the Great Jin Dynasty suffered a major setback in his Northern Expedition to the Yan State. The supplies and grain could not be transported by water and had to be burned.
The warships packed their baggage and retreated southwards by land.
However, what Huan Wen and the others did not expect was that tonight's retreat was not the end of a safe retreat, but the beginning of a death chase. The goal of preserving strength that Huan Wen, Xi Chao hoped to achieve, and the subsequent series of battles