When the imperial court was planning the Anbei Protectorate, Guo Ziyi's army conquered Jiangcheng on the Jiangnan West Road in the south, passed through Ezhou and went south to Baling, Yuezhou, where they faced off against the Southern Tang general Qi at the mouth of the Jingjiang River.
When Kong You, the censor Zhongcheng, arrived at the Jingjiang camp, he just got off his horse and rushed directly to the commander's tent to see Guo Ziyi.
Inside the tent, Guo Ziyi was discussing with his subordinates how to attack Baling City.
Hearing that Kong You was coming, Guo Ziyi stopped the military discussion and walked outside the tent to greet him personally.
Seeing Kong You's tired appearance, Guo Ziyi breathed a long sigh of relief: "Zhongcheng is finally here."
Kong You bowed to Guo Ziyi and then said: "Commander, stop talking and talk about military affairs first."
Guo Ziyi nodded and took Kong You into the tent.
Most of the generals under Guo Ziyi knew Kong You, and when they saw the latter coming to the army, they all saluted.
Coming to the map, Guo Ziyi said: "The battle of Jiangcheng was fierce. The puppet Tang army led by Lai Yi only fought less than ten thousand people. They abandoned Jiangcheng and entered Baling southward. Although the city of Baling was not as good as
Jiangcheng is strong, but the surrounding rivers are complicated and there are reeds and shrubs as cover, which is very suitable for using small boats to load soldiers for surprise attacks."
The Baling area is known as Yueyang in later generations. It is bounded by Hong Lake to the north and Dongting Lake to the south. It has a well-developed water system and the rivers are as dense as a spider web. It is a veritable nest network of water towns.
Guo Ziyi: "Knowing that he could not win head-on, Lai Yi broke his troops into pieces and used small boats to sneak attack on the Tang army's supply lines. This made our army's logistics unsustainable and had to slow down its advance."
After Kong You read the map, he asked Guo Ziyi a strange question: "How much does Jiangnan know about the wars between the northern Tang Dynasty and Tubo and Uighur?"
Guo Ziyi thought for a while and replied: "Henan Road, Huainan Road, Shannan East Road, and Shannan West Road are now under the control of the Tang Army. All roads connecting the north and the south are blocked and no one is allowed to travel. Therefore, what happened in Chang'an
The Puppet Tang Dynasty probably didn’t know much about the battle between Tang and Tibet, as well as the battle between Shuofang’s army and the Uighurs.”
Kong You: "When did the north-south roads be blocked and travel prohibited?"
Guo Ziyi: "It probably happened at the beginning of this year. The reason is very simple. It was to prevent the pseudo-Tang Dynasty from obtaining saltpeter, an important raw material for gunpowder."
Kong You: "Oh?"
Guo Ziyi: "I asked the prisoners specifically. Although the Pseudo-Tang Dynasty has mastered the rudimentary manufacturing process of gunpowder, there is an important raw material - saltpeter, which is not abundant in the land south of the Yangtze River. The Pseudo-Tang Dynasty used to manufacture and store gunpowder. It was reliable.
It's Shi Siming's saltpeter mine in Huainan. Now that Huainan has fallen into the hands of our army, most of the sources of saltpeter in the Puppet Tang Dynasty have been cut off, and gunpowder will definitely be difficult to reproduce."
Kong You: "So, at the beginning of the year, the north-south passage was blocked. The purpose was to prevent the smuggling of saltpeter."
Guo Ziyi: "Not bad."
Kong You pondered for a moment and said: "The north-south passage is blocked, and the news from the north must not have spread to the south of the Yangtze River. This is an opportunity for our army to take advantage of."
Guo Ziyi wondered: "How can this news of the war in the north be used as an opportunity?"
Kong You: "Last year, the three forces of the Puppet Tang Dynasty, Tubo, and Uighurs launched attacks one after another. I suspected that they had made an alliance beforehand. Now, the Tubo people have been defeated in Chang'an, and the Uighur people have just been defeated in Baiting.
The situation has been solved, but the Puppet Tang Dynasty didn’t know it.”
Guo Ziyi: "Indeed, the Battle of Chang'an just ended a few months ago, and the military report of the Battle of Baiting was only transmitted to the camp yesterday. In addition, the north-south access road has been blocked for a long time. The puppet Tang Dynasty must not know this information.
.”
Kong You nodded and said: "Since the Puppet Tang Dynasty does not know the news from the north, then You has a plan for the commander to consider."
When Guo Ziyi heard that Kong You had a plan, he perked up and said quickly: "If Zhongcheng has any plan, please tell me quickly."
Kong You: "The news between the north and the south is blocked. Our army can deliberately create suspicions and show weakness to make Jiangnan think that the war in the north is unfavorable. The imperial court will summon troops to return reinforcements, and the commander-in-chief intends to withdraw his troops."
Guo Ziyi understood somewhat and asked: "What Zhongcheng means is to spread the news to the south of the Yangtze River that our troops are about to withdraw. The purpose is to lure out the enemy troops in Baling, Yuzhang, and Changsha, waiting for them to assemble and move out in full force."
When the time comes, come back and deliver a fatal blow to seal the victory in one battle?"
Kong You: "The commander-in-chief is only half right."
Guo Ziyi: "Half of it right?"
Kong You: "The enemy's commander is General Qi. What does the commander think of him?"
Guo Ziyi was stunned for a moment, and then said after thinking: "Lai Yi is perseverant, good at military management, not afraid of powerful enemies, and not chaotic when encountering adverse situations. The puppet Tang court regarded him as the mainstay of the country. The army led by Lai Yi was even more powerful.
Known as the ‘Iron Army’.”
Kong You: "Then, if our army spreads the news of withdrawing troops, will Yi Laiyi agree to the strategy of dispatching all troops to launch a decisive battle?"
Guo Ziyi shook his head: "Lai Yi has a calm temperament and will definitely not agree with the strategy of pursuing the entire army."
Kong You: "Yes, this person Lai Yi is very cunning and will definitely not fall into the trap. So we might as well do the opposite and change our thinking."
Guo Ziyi: "To do the opposite? What does Zhongcheng want to do?"
Kong You smiled slightly: "It is difficult for Lai Yi to fall into the trap, but what about the others? What we have to do is to convince the puppet Tang court that chasing our army is a golden opportunity. As for Lai Yi, if he
To prevent the army from pursuing the enemy is to show fear of war or even to have evil intentions."
When Guo Ziyi heard this, she opened her eyes wide and stared at Kong You, saying nothing for a long time.
A few days later, at the Chinese army camp in Baling City, Lai Yi was writing a memorial on the desk when a voice suddenly came from outside the door, saying that Lieutenant General Xue Nanyang had something important to report.
Lai Yi, who had been busy in the war for a long time, had a lot of gray hair, but his eyes were still bright and clear.
Hearing Xue Nanyang's arrival, Lai Yi asked him to come in.
Xue Nanyang, who was looking happy, said excitedly to Lai Ai as soon as he walked in the door: "General, great news!"
Lai Yi was stunned and asked: "Good news?"
Xue Nanyang: "News came from the north. It is said that the Tubo army of 200,000 people has descended from the plateau and is now besieging Chang'an. The Uighur cavalry army of 100,000 people has also begun to move south and is attacking Shuofang."
When Lai Yi heard the news, he let out a long breath: "Li Mi's plan finally worked. I originally thought that the Tubo and Uighur people were watching the fire from across the bank and refused to take action."
Xue Nanyang: "General, since the Tubo and Uighurs are dispatched, the situation in the north will definitely be tense. Liangcheng will definitely summon the army from all over the country to return to Guanzhong to aid!"
Lai Ai: "It's hard to say... Liangcheng still has elite troops in Anxi, and there are troops stationed in Hebei, Shuofang, Hexi, Hehuang and other places. Whether the offensive of the Tubo and Uighurs can force Guo Ziyi and
Li Guangbi's return of reinforcements depends on the subsequent evolution of the war."
Xue Nanyang: "Anxi is far away from Guanzhong. Hebei's army was brought to Huainan by Pugu Huai'en. The remaining Shuofang Army and Hehuang Army each need to face the 100,000 Uighur cavalry and the 20 Tubo people.
With thousands of elite soldiers, I'm afraid it will be difficult to win."
Lai Yi: "Well, what you said makes sense, but don't jump to conclusions in advance. Wait and see."
Xue Nanyang felt in his heart that Lai Yi was a little too cautious, but he still agreed.