Yu Chigong was stationed at Mengjin Ferry. He saw more and more Shandong private troops successfully crossing the river and arriving at the south bank of the Yellow River. He heard that the navy's warships were successfully blocked by Sujia after entering the Yellow River from Banzhu. The warships were damaged innumerable.
Forced to slow down, I couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.
He was most afraid of the approaching navy, and took advantage of the Shandong private army to cross the river to attack half way across the river. Without the strong support of these Shandong private troops, Jin Wang Liantong Pass would not be able to hold on, let alone counterattack Chang'an?
But when the news on the Yellow River kept coming, especially when it was learned that Liu Rengui had actually parked the fleet and repaired the damaged warships on the spot, an unpleasant feeling came over him.
…
Today, Yu Chigong moved his general's tent to the bank of the Yellow River, and sat in the tent with Cui Chengfu. He directed the Shandong private army that had successfully crossed the river to regroup and organize. They simply drank rice and water and rested for a while before rushing to Tongguan.
Cui Chengfu saw Yu Chigong's brows furrowed and wondered: "The crossing of the river is going smoothly now. The navy was delayed by your ingenious plan to reach the Yellow River. Why is it frowning?"
Yuchi Gong then raised his eyebrows and sighed: "Although with one hundred thousand troops, the defense of Tongguan will be impregnable, and we can wait for an opportunity to counterattack Chang'an and achieve great success, but so many human hedgehogs gathered in the small area of Tongguan, people can eat them.
How much grain do you need to chew every day? I’m afraid it won’t last long.”
What he said on his lips was completely different from what he was thinking.
He suddenly realized that the reason why the Navy was delayed by the people he sent was because the Navy had no intention of rushing to Mengjin Ferry quickly?
I didn't expect to reach Mengjin Ferry as soon as possible, which would mean allowing 100,000 Shandong private troops to cross the river.
And if the navy really does this, then it has only one intention - to put all these Shandong private troops into Tongguan, and then tighten their pockets so that no one can escape back to Shandong...
This thought emerged from the bottom of my heart, and a layer of cold sweat suddenly appeared on my back.
Did the East Palace really think it was a sure win and had already begun to plan for what would happen after the fall of King Jin?
After all, once these 100,000 private troops are wiped out, along with countless amounts of food and supplies, the Shandong family's wealth will be completely drained. When the prince ascends the throne and dominates Shandong with his great righteousness, who else can compete with him?
Shandong is no longer the Shandong of aristocratic families...
Cui Chengfu did not expect this, but Yu Chigong's words also made him worried, and he said in a deep voice: "The troops, horses and baggage in front of me are almost all the Shandong family can afford. If the war cannot be ended within two months, the Shandong family will also
There is no way to continue.”
War is not only about the army, but also about logistical equipment. Family members have always understood this. Therefore, whenever there is a war, they will sell their wealth for a price and use their population and equipment to gain a foothold in the family.
But if all the resources are exhausted this time, even if King Jin wins and ascends the throne in the end, the strength of the Shandong family will suffer irrecoverable damage.
It is even said that once the war breaks out, the Shandong aristocratic family will have to continue to give Tongguan blood transfusions until their resources are exhausted and their ammunition and food are exhausted...
He began to doubt the correctness of his family's decision to support King Jin.
In fact, the family has been trapped in Shandong for many years. It has been suppressed since the Sui Dynasty and has never been able to enter the court to seize central power. This makes it inevitable for the family to make decisions that are not in line with the general trend. The death of Cui Yuqing last time forced Cui Dunli to completely
This can be seen in the breakup with the family.
If you make a mistake again this time, you will follow King Jin on a path of no return...
Cui Chengfu could not even imagine the serious consequences.
However, Yuchi Gong was impatient to talk to him about this. He stood up and came to the hanging map, carefully observing the terrain near Tongguan.
If you want to trap Tongguan into a dead end, in addition to using strong oppression from Chang'an to prevent the Jin army from leaving the pass, you must also cut off the Yellow River and cut off the retreat to Tongguan. Cutting off the Yellow River is naturally the task of the navy. If you want to complete this
One point, the most critical thing is the ownership of Shaanzhou.
Sanmenxia is a natural chasm of the Yellow River, with hidden reefs and narrow channels everywhere. Even if you go down the river, you have to bear great risks, let alone go upstream.
As long as Shaanzhou is in hand, Sanmenxia is under control. When the navy is moving upstream, it can be attacked on the mountains on both sides of the river. There is a good chance of annihilating the entire navy.
But once Shaanzhou is lost, the Navy can control both sides of the Yellow River and recruit trackers to pull the warships across the Sanmenxia natural chasm to Tongguan...
Whether Shaanzhou can hold on depends on who owns Luoyang.
During the Eastern Expedition last year, all the troops in Shangluo had been recruited. After returning to China, these troops all entered the Guanzhong together. Afterwards, they suffered heavy losses in the war and have not yet been reorganized. Only a handful of troops have returned to their places of origin, resulting in the current situation in Luoyang.
The situation of the earth's military strength being empty.
Once the navy is on the Yellow River, transports heavy armored infantry ashore, and supports it with artillery, Luoyang will inevitably fall.
Tongguan could not spare any troops to support Luoyang...
And if Luoyang falls, the navy can reach Shaanzhou directly. It will be difficult for the Jin army to hold Shaanzhou. After all, the ancient Xiaohan Road is rugged and difficult to travel, and it is very inconvenient to come and go for support. When Shaanzhou is lost, the Sanmenxia natural moat will no longer be available.
The navy fleet cannot be delayed, so the navy can advance by land and water, cross the Weihan Ancient Road, and attack Hangu Pass.
If Hangu Pass is lost again, how can Tongguan be defended as an isolated city?
Yuchi Gong thought about it and thought for a long time. He immediately wrote a battle report at his desk, put it in an envelope and sealed it with fire paint. In exchange for his own soldiers, he delivered the battle report and warned: "Hurry up and send it to Tongguan, and you must hand it over to His Highness the King of Jin."
, inform him that it is extremely urgent and must make a decision as soon as possible!"
"Here!"
The soldier put the envelope in his arms, turned around, and galloped away.
Cui Chengfu came behind Yuchi Gong and asked in surprise: "But what's wrong?"
Yu Chigong looked heavy, shook his head and said, "Maybe I'm just worrying unfoundedly, don't worry about it."
He would not confess his worries to Cui Chengfu. If he were not careful, the Shandong family would be frightened. If they were afraid and did not fully support Tongguan, then something bad would happen.
No matter what, we have to empty out the wealth of the Shandong family before we can hold on to Tongguan without losing anything, and then wait for an opportunity to counterattack Chang'an...
Cui Chengfu frowned and looked at Yuchi Gong, suspicious in his heart. He always felt that what the other party said was not entirely true and he had reservations.
But I don’t know where the problem is…
After a pause, he said: "I still have something to report to the head of the family, so I will go to Tongguan with the first batch of troops. I still need to trouble the Duke of E to take full control of the crossing of the river here."
Yuchi nodded respectfully and said, "You should do your duty as you should. My dear brother, just go ahead."
Cui Chengfu said goodbye to the other party, left the commander's tent, joined the first batch of troops crossing the river that had been assembled, and headed towards Tongguan in a hurry.
At Mengjin Ferry, tens of thousands of private troops and their baggage were ferried across the Yellow River by countless boats. They were vast and their morale was high.
*****
Li Siwen and Qu Tuquan advanced along the Guangtong Canal to the vicinity of Xinxiang and stopped advancing. They were a few miles away from Cheng Chubi's troops who followed, and they set up camp respectively to strangle the Guangtong Canal waterway and kill the rebels.
The army was blocked in Tongguan.
Zuowuwei also marched out from Chang'an City in a mighty manner, and began to set up defenses from the Zhongwei Bridge area to the west. Huxian, Yucui and other places were all under control. Tens of thousands of soldiers and horses formed a solid line of defense to defend the rest of Guanzhong.
The Six Guards troops broke into Chang'an City.
The area around Chang'an is impregnable.
After Fang Jun crossed the Wei River, he did not arrive at the Youwuwei station immediately. Instead, he found a leeward place by the river to set up camp and sent his own soldiers to contact Xue Wanche.
It was not until the evening of the second day that any of the soldiers returned, broke camp and set off to rush to the Youwu Guards.
Not far from the station, he saw several horses galloping towards him from the official road in the distance. Fang Jun reined up his horse and stopped, saying, "Go and intercept them and ask who they are."
"Here!"
Wei Ying and others rode forward, stopped in the road, and shouted loudly: "Who are you looking for? Stop quickly and accept questioning!"
Unexpectedly, the opponent not only did not stop, but also accelerated his horse, abandoning the official road and galloping along a small road in the northeast direction.
Fang Jun whispered: "Pretend to catch up, but don't let the other party notice you. You will be back in ten miles."
Wei Ying was puzzled, but he didn't dare to ask any more questions, so he rode towards the opponent and chased him wildly.
Before Fang Jun arrived at the Youwuwei camp, Wei Ying led his people back and reported back: "More than ten of the other party's riders fled in the direction of Jinpu Ferry, but they didn't realize that we were just showing off."
Fang Jun nodded, looked at Xue Wanche who was striding out of the camp, turned over and dismounted, walked towards him with a smile on his face, and said with a big laugh: "General Xue, are you okay?"