After the night banquet, Yuan Hancheng stayed with Yue Lengqiu at the Prince of Chu's Mansion and held candlelight talks at night. Liu Tingzhou, Ding Zhiru, Chen Jingrong and others said goodbye and left.
The maid set up the chessboard, and Yuan Hancheng and Yue Lengqiu sat on the couch opposite each other. The others retreated to wait outside the pavilion. Secret insect-repelling incense was lit in the room. The candlelight was not very bright, but the bright moon shone in through the window and sprinkled the dark color.
on the ebony chessboard.
"In the city of Xuzhou, Leng Qiu and the prince also had such fun chatting with each other. I have always remembered it in my heart. I didn't expect that this time when I come to Shouzhou, I can relive the old story?" Yue Lengqiu laughed and pretended.
He brought the chess box with the white piece in front of him and politely asked Yuan Hancheng to move first.
At this time, there was the sound of chariots and horses, not far from the Prince of Chu's Mansion, as if they were leaving the West City. Yue Lengqiu thought that he should send additional soldiers and horses to Xinyang - Yue Lengqiu took the chess piece in his hand,
Asked Yuan Hancheng: "Prince Chu, how much has the garrison in Xinyang increased?"
"Tao Chun is a veteran general who was promoted by Master Jing Yue. He is prudent and good at fighting. Furthermore, Guoyang is located along the Guoshui River and stands side by side with the two towns of Xu Si and Huaiyang. They form the horns of each other. This time Yan and Hu come south and will not attack Guoyang mainly.
Thirty thousand soldiers and horses from Guoyang are enough to defend the city..." Yuan Hancheng said.
Yue Lengqiu knew that Tao Chun was in Huaixi and did not have a close relationship with Dong Yuan. When the Changhuai army withdrew from the south bank of the Yellow River, its strength reached 50,000. Later, Dong Yuan used military garrison as an excuse to reduce the strength of the army.
When 30,000 troops were stationed in Guoyang, Huaixi's massive expansion of troops did not increase the number of troops stationed in Guoyang.
Although Yanhu's main attack direction this time is Nanyang, the increase in Guoyang's troops can threaten Yanhu's flank of Nanyang from Ruyang, and can even attack decisively and cut off the retreat of Yanhu's troops on the west road.
Yue Lengqiu knew that there was disharmony within Huaixi, but he did not point it out in front of Yuan Hancheng, saying: "Yanhu, relying on the strong cavalry and strong soldiers, penetrated and penetrated unscrupulously on the north bank of the Huaihe River. Guoyang's troops are too small.
, it doesn’t seem to work either…”
"Indeed, the fortresses on the north bank need to be stationed with soldiers and horses. They cannot be completely abandoned and not defended. In fact, it will also disperse the troops in Huaixi," Yuan Hancheng said.
In addition to keeping the horses as reserve, nearly 40,000 troops will be transferred to Xinyang, but Huaixi is also arguing over whether to assist Nanyang..."
Yue Lengqiu nodded habitually. Dong Yuan concentrated more than 40,000 troops in Xinyang. It seemed that he was ready to rescue Nanyang at any time, but it was a plan with two disadvantages.
If Dong Yuan really wanted to make up his mind to fight the Battle of Nanyang, he should not just disperse his troops in Xinyang and Guoyang, but should concentrate his troops in Guoyang to threaten Yanhu's retreat and make him
We dare not send all our troops south to attack Nanyang.
It is precisely that Huaixi's troops are evenly deployed in Xinyang, Guoyang, and Shouzhou. From this, we can see Huaixi's hesitation.
The Hezhong Army was defeated in Ruyang. Facing the nearly 200,000 Yan and Hu troops that were about to surge in like a flood, the morale of the Nanyang soldiers and horses was very low.
Although Huaixi has been urgently mobilized and its troops have increased to 110,000, and Dong Yuan is well-known for his good military management, Huaixi has more than 110,000 troops, but its appearance has greatly changed compared to two years ago.
If Huaixi unites with Nanyang, the total number of troops will be 150,000.
Even if he could not win a decisive victory against Yanhu in the field battle, relying on the steep terrain of Tongbai Mountain, Huaihe River, Funiu Mountain and other steep terrain, as well as the strong fortresses built over the years on the north bank of the Huaihe River, the northern foot of Tongbai Mountain and the southern range of Funiu Mountain,
Even if we fight a defensive battle, we can barely hold on.
Although the Yanhu cavalry and the surrendered vassal Chen Zhihu and other units have strong field combat capabilities, the city fortress and steep terrain can effectively make up for the lack of combat power of the defenders.
The key issue is that the remnants of the She family and Suizhou Luo Xiancheng are ready to move. From Xiangyang and Suizhou, they have access to Nanyang and Xinyang. The combined strength of the remnants of the She family and Suizhou Luo Xiancheng is as high as 170,000 to 80,000. If they participate in the Nanyang battle,
This will cause the balance of military power between the two sides to completely tilt towards Yan and Hu.
Under such circumstances, how can Nanyang and Huaixi still have the confidence to win?
Of course, Huaixi will not show any hesitation to the outside world. If Huaixi does not have confidence, how can it be expected that Nanyang soldiers and horses will have the determination to persevere?
Yuan Hancheng said this and no longer regarded Yue Lengqiu as an outsider.
Yue Lengqiu's trust in Yuan Hancheng was limited. With such experience, how could he trust others without reservation? But Yuan Hancheng said this, and he also asked sincerely: "Huaixi is still worried that the Privy Councilor's words are not sincere?
"
Yue Lengqiu had not listened to Lin Fu's warning before, and was finally defeated in Songyang. If from now on, Yue Lengqiu believed everything Lin Fu said to be true, it would be too young.
After all, everyone in Huaixi was afraid of being played by Lin Fu.
In all official correspondence, Lin Fu stated that he would support the Liang family in defending Nanyang, and also stated that Luzhou soldiers and horses would be ready to assist Nanyang at any time if necessary. Yuan Hancheng did not say whether he doubted Lin Fu's determination, but said matter-of-factly: "
The Privy Council made a mistake in dealing with Yuanzhou. If Huaidong's elite troops in Jiangxi cannot be mobilized in time, and relying solely on the troops gathered in Luzhou, the chance of winning the Nanyang Battle is still slim..."
The only soldiers Huaidong gathered in Luzhou were Tang Fuguan and Liu Zhenzhi, with a strength of less than 30,000. Even though Huaidong's soldiers were unparalleled in the world, due to the limited military strength, even if they were thrown into the Nanyang battlefield, they could not change the balance of military power between the two sides.
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At the same time, due to the problems left over in Jiangxi, 60,000 elite infantrymen in Huaidong will be stranded in Jiangxi. At such a critical moment, they are unable to escape and go north to join the war. It has to be said that Lin Fu has serious problems in dealing with the Yuanzhou problem.
unwise.
Although after returning from Yuzhang, there was no sign of giving up Nanyang from Lin Fu, Yue Lengqiu was not very confident either.
With the fall of Nanyang, the forces of the Queen Mother's family will be completely suppressed, and Huaixi, Jinghu, including the Chizhou Army, will be most directly threatened by Yanhu, and thus Huaidong will be completely controlled by Yanhu in the temple.
The nose is gone - from this perspective, Lin Fu's abandonment of Nanyang does have great benefits. It is no wonder that people in Huaixi are worried about whether Lin Fu has the determination to fight the Battle of Nanyang.
However, the disadvantages to Huaidong of abandoning Nanyang are also very obvious.
Once Yanhu is asked to capture Nanyang, Shewenzhuang, and Luo Xiancheng, the two rebel armies surrender to Yanhu, then the total number of Yanhu troops on the west route will be as high as 400,000, and the terrain will control the Han River and Tongbai Mountain.
Controlling the upper reaches of the Huai River, and after Shewenzhuang leads his troops to join the Yanhu army, it will greatly make up for Yanhu's shortcomings in the development of the navy...
Yue Lengqiu couldn't imagine that Lin Fu would give up Nanyang for this.
Yue Lengqiu could talk to Yuan Hancheng more casually and told him these analyses.
After hearing this, Yuan Hancheng nodded and said: "I don't think Chong Guogong is so eager, but he has some doubts in his heart."
Unexpectedly, Dong Yuan was so wary of Lin Fu. Yue Lengqiu sighed secretly, and felt that Nanyang was like a lonely boat bumping in the wind and waves, and the future was even more gloomy and unclear.
In the early morning, Chen Jingrong came over and said that Dong Yuan went to Yingkou for inspection yesterday and encountered an enemy outpost.
Dong Yuan's accompanying troops had a battle with the enemy's outposts and horses on the east bank of Ying River. The enemy's outposts and horses were repulsed. During the chase, Dong Yuan was hit by an arrow in his shoulder and was injured. Late at night, he retreated into Woyangzhi.
He was injured and could not return to Shouzhou for the time being. He sent someone back and asked Yue Lengqiu to stay in Shouzhou for two more days.
He must go to Nanyang, but Yue Lengqiu is afraid that if he goes too late, he will let Yanhu soldiers and horses infiltrate into Nanyang on a large scale, and it will be difficult for him to escape from Nanyang. Yue Lengqiu is going to Nanyang to appease the soldiers and civilians.
To boost morale, but without the determination to stay in Nanyang and advance and retreat together with Nanyang's soldiers and civilians, and live and die together, Nanyang and his party should do so sooner rather than later.
Since Dong Yuan could not return to Shouzhou for the time being, Yue Lengqiu decided to go to Nanyang first and meet Dong Yuan when he returned.
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Danfeng County belongs to Shangzhou Prefecture and is the southeastern gateway of Guanzhong. Wuguan, one of the four fortresses of the Western Qin Dynasty, is located on the bank of the Wuguan River in the east of Danfeng County.
The Cao family abandoned Guanzhong and retreated south, but before retreating south, they gave up Wuguan to Nanyang.
Wuguan is located seventy miles southeast of Danfeng County, on the bank of the Wuguan River. It is the key link between the old Qinnan Pass and Nanyang.
The terrain of Wuguan is dangerous. To the north of Guancheng is Shaoxi Mountain. The Wu River flowing from the north of Shaoxi Mountain is close to Baiyan Mountain in the south of Guancheng. Bijia Mountain slowly descends. Wuguan is located on the convex bank of the Wuguan River going east.
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Yuan Guizheng hiked to the top of the southern foot of Shaoxi Mountain and looked at the situation around Wuguan.
The terrain to the west of Guancheng is relatively flat, but the only way to go out of Guan east is to wind through the mountainside. The cliffs are high and the valleys are deep, making it narrow and difficult to walk.
The terrain around Wuguan determines that it is easy to defend the pass in the west against the enemy in the east, but difficult in the east to defend the pass against the enemy in the west - Nanyang is exactly the latter.
Going west from Wuguan, we walk through a relatively flat wide valley and arrive near Danfeng County, where the terrain is more open. The Danjiang River bypasses the southwest corner of Danfeng County and joins the Wuguan River at Baiyangguan and goes southeast.
, all the way to Xichuan County in the southwest of Nanyang, then turn south and merge into the Han River.
The Cao family abandoned Guanzhong, Chang'an fell to Yanhu, and Nanyang wanted to keep the enemy troops out of the west gate. Simply guarding Wuguan was not enough.
In addition to Wuguan, Danfeng County in the upper reaches of the Danjiang River and Baiyangguan at the confluence of the Danjiang and Wuguan rivers are places that must be guarded by Nanyang soldiers and horses. They must also guard against Luo Xiancheng and Shewenzhuang's rebels leaving Xiangfan and rebelling against Danjiang.
Moving north of the Yangtze River, Nanyang must deploy defense troops in Xichuan, Xinye and other places in the south.
Before Yue Lengqiu returned to power in the Yuan Dynasty, he came to Nanyang on the orders of the Queen Mother to calm the morale of the army.
Just as people in Huaixi were worried, Yuan Guizheng, Liang Chengchong and others were also worried that Huaidong would abandon Nanyang.
Nanyang fell and Huaixi was cold, but no matter how cold the teeth were, no matter how difficult the situation was, it would be extremely difficult for Yanhu to capture Huaixi immediately after Nanyang. As long as Huaixi held the front line of the Huaihe River and Tongbai Mountain, at least it would not be destroyed immediately
However, if Nanyang, Liang Chengchong, Liang Chengyi and others were lost when Yuan returned to power, their last bit of support would be completely lost. How could they not be afraid?