"PS: Yes, there are still three more updates to go. But please let the author slow down first. There will be many things after the new year, and it will be really tiring."
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Defeating Han General Shangdang's army guarding Feng Ting and capturing Feng Ting's Danshui Camp was certainly a matter worth celebrating. However, this victory did not alleviate the embarrassment of King Su's army in terms of military supplies.
On the morning of October 26th, the generals of the Yanling Army came to the city garrison of Xuancheng to meet with Su Wang Zhao Hongrun, and told the latter the mood of the soldiers in the army-the secret of the army running out of food and grass.
Finally I couldn't hide it anymore.
"How did the news leak out?"
When meeting with Qu Cheng, Yan Mo, Zou Xin, Sun Shuke and other Yanling Army generals, Zhao Hongrun asked them.
The Yanling Army's logistics and food supplies have always been jointly managed by Lieutenant General Yan Mo and Third Battalion General Sun Shuke. After hearing Zhao Hongrun's inquiry, Sun Shuke respectfully replied: "Some soldiers in the rear army mentioned it inadvertently..."
Next to him, Wei Jiao, the chief of Zongwei, frowned and asked, "Are you a spy?"
It's not surprising that Wei Jiao asked this. After all, all the countries in the Central Plains have always infiltrated spies into hostile countries and asked these spies to pretend to be locals and join the army. This way they can easily grasp the movements of the enemy's army and deal non-military blows to the enemy at critical moments.
For example, the Shanyang Army under the command of King Zhao Hongjiang of Yan had captured many spies. These spies once took the opportunity to burn down the granary in Shanyang County. Unfortunately, their whereabouts were exposed and they were eventually hanged by King Zhao Hongjiang.
Died at the gate tower of Shanyang.
But logically speaking, the hidden dangers of Shangshui Army, Yanling Army, and Youma Army in this regard are relatively small. After all, Shangshui Army and Yanling Army are all Chu people. These Chu people have achieved "
The identity of the Wei people in Shangshui, and the selection of the Youma Army was also trained in Shangshui by absorbing local young men. They all belong to the army in the southern part of Wei State. There are no channels or methods to come to Korea, which is located in the north.
Send the spies to Shangshui County.
As expected, Yan Mo shook his head after hearing this and said seriously: "I have confirmed the speculation in this regard. The soldiers who leaked the information are the third-term soldiers who defected to our army in Zhi County during the Xiangcheng period. They all know each other and are
There’s no one I’ve met before.”
"Hmm."
Zhao Hongrun nodded. In fact, he didn't think he was a spy at the beginning. After all, the army under his command was the army in the southern part of the Wei State. If South Korea could find a way to infiltrate spies across half of the Wei State, then South Korea would be unavoidable in this regard.
It's also very powerful.
Obviously, this was because some of the soldiers responsible for distributing food did not keep their mouths shut.
"Where are those soldiers?" Zhao Hongrun asked.
Sun Shuke clasped his fists and said sternly: "I have been taken into custody and are waiting for His Highness to be released."
After hearing this, Zhao Hongrun thought for a while, then suddenly waved his hand and said: "Forget it, let them go."
"This..." Sun Shuke had a troubled look on his face.
As if guessing his thoughts, Zhao Hongrun said with a smile: "It was probably an unintentional mistake, so don't punish too much and spoil the atmosphere in the army... As long as it's not a spy." As he said that, he saw
Sun Shuke still had a hesitant look on his face, so he added: "Besides, what those soldiers said was not a rumor, right? This issue will be known to the generals in the army sooner or later, it's just a matter of time."
After hearing this, Sun Shuke turned to look at Yan Mo, because in the Yanling Army, Qu Cheng was only responsible for commanding the entire army, and the rest of the Yanling Army's affairs, both up and down, were all handled by deputy general Yan Mo, including the punishment of soldiers who violated military discipline.
After seeing Sun Shuke's expression and asking, Yan Mo thought for a while and said: "Since His Highness will not pursue the case, then the matter ends here... However, these soldiers have affected the morale of the army and violated the rules of our Yanling Army.
If you have military discipline, you should be punished twenty times."
"As ordered." Sun Shuke clasped his fists and returned to stand.
Zhao Hongrun didn't say much about this. After all, this was the internal affairs of the Yanling Army. Since he had decentralized military power, he would not interfere too much in the internal affairs of the Yanling Army or the Shangshui Army. What's more, Yan Mo was in the process of rectifying military discipline.
Excellent job done.
At this time, Zou Xin, the general of the second battalion of the Yanling Army, saw that the previous topic had ended, so he stood up and clasped his fists and said: "Your Highness, the fact that our army has exhausted its food and grass has been more or less known to the army's sergeants. The last general
I thought I should be prepared in advance.”
"Hmm." Zhao Hongrun responded when he heard the words, wiped his face with his hands, and asked: "How is the morale of the soldiers at present?"
Zou Xin clasped his fists and said in a deep voice: "It may be due to the fact that we have won several battles in succession. Even if the army sergeants vaguely know that our army has run out of food and grass, it will not have much impact on morale... However, the general is worried that once
Our army is running out of food, and even if our sergeants and soldiers do not flee, they will inevitably violate military discipline."
He did not directly say what was a violation of military discipline, but everyone present could roughly guess that as the King Su's army had experienced hundreds of battles and had not lost a single battle, its honor and pride made it possible for the army's sergeants to flee.
The sex is very small, but there is no guarantee that if there is no other way, these soldiers will rob the food of the local Korean people in order to survive.
Don't think that King Su's army is really a royal army. In fact, it is just because the commander-in-chief of this army is the extremely prestigious King Su Zhao Hongrun, and Zhao Hongrun adheres to the principle of "troops do not disturb the people", so King Su
Only the generals of the army will do no harm to the civilians of the enemy country.
But if forced to do so, there is no guarantee that soldiers in the army will not violate military discipline.
In the worst case, generals with the rank of Thousand Generals or above may still protect their soldiers. After all, in the eyes of most generals, how can the life and death of civilians in the enemy country be compared to the life and death of their brothers who have experienced life and death with them?
Woolen cloth?
It would be too bad if these generals with the rank of Thousand Generals or above cover up the evil deeds of their soldiers and keep silent about it. Even Zhao Hongrun would not be able to find out at the first time, unless he sends the Qingya Squadron twelve times a day.
Always keep an eye on the soldiers under his command.
"It seems that this matter is imminent..."
Frowning, Zhao Hongrun nodded and said, "I understand. Generals, please step aside and rest. Let me think about it for a day. No matter what, I will make a decision tomorrow."
"Yes!" Upon hearing this, the generals clasped their fists respectfully and resigned.
After the generals of the Yanling Army left, Zongwei Lu Mu wisely took out the map and laid it flat on the table.
Looking at the map on the desk, Zhao Hongrun frowned deeply.
It has to be said that although the King Su army under his command defeated Baoyuan, Jin Miao and Feng Ting three armies under the command of the ten tycoons of North Korea's Bukwon, this kind of tactical victory was completely unable to reverse the bad consequences caused by strategic disadvantages.
situation.
If there is sufficient food, King Su's army will be a force of tigers and wolves. Not to mention conquering the Changzi City in the north, Zhao Hongrun even has the confidence to capture the plank road in the Taihang Mountains and cross the Taihang Mountains to Handan County in South Korea.
But the problem is, there is no food.
"Your Highness, it's almost November, and as expected, the weather will get colder and colder. Your Highness needs to make an early decision." Zongwei Zhou Pu, who always spoke few words but was insightful, reminded him from the side.
After hearing this, Zhao Hongrun was even more worried.
Well, it's already October 26th, and at this time, cold northwest winds are blowing in Wei State.
Fortunately, this is Shangdang, which is surrounded by mountains such as Taiyue Mountain and Taihang Mountain, so that the cold air from the northern plateau cannot cross the mountains for the time being and invade the entire Shangdang Basin. Not to mention where King Su's army is currently located.
The Xuushi Basin, or Changping Basin, is sandwiched between Fazhi Mountain and Yangtou Mountain.
Due to the landform, it is obviously close to November, but the temperature during the day is still like September or October. Only at night, when the temperature drops sharply, people are shocked to realize that it is already approaching the depth of winter.
season.
And once it snows heavily, the situation of King Su's army will be even more difficult. Don't think that ice and snow can seal the Korean cavalry. In fact, the Korean cavalry who use harassment and sneak attack tactics will not be sealed by ice and snow, but will be blocked by ice and snow.
What was sealed was Yuma's heavy cavalry - heavy cavalry had almost no combat effectiveness on a battlefield covered in ice and snow.
And if they lost the protection of Yuma's heavy cavalry, what would King Su's army have left to rely on? Lian Nu? How much of a deterrent could this thing have against the wandering Korean light cavalry?
Therefore, before King Su's army faces a more difficult situation, Zhao Hongrun must break this deadlock and obtain enough food before the cold winter and ice and snow come. As for continuing to advance, that may be next year.
Now, Zhao Hongrun has three ways out: first, attack Changzi City; second, attack Gaolang; third, attack Mengmen Pass from behind.
To be fair, there is no point in attacking Changzi City at this time. So what if Zhao Hongrun worked hard to capture the city? Han General Feng Ting would definitely set fire to the food and grass in the city before the city was broken.
In contrast, by attacking Gaolang and taking advantage of the situation to attack Tianmen Pass, as long as this pass can be breached, King Su's army will be able to obtain military supplies from the Wei army outside Tianmen Pass - the Second Northern Army under the command of Nanliang King Zhao Yuanzuo.
The same goes for attacking Mengmen Pass. As long as this pass can be breached, King Su's army can also obtain military supplies from the Shanyang Army under the command of King Zhao Hongjiang of Yan.
In the end, Zhao Hongrun chose to attack Gaolang, although he knew very well that the Han general Baoyuan must have built many defensive facilities in Gaolang.
The reason is very simple, because the road from Xuushi City to Gaolang is a flat and smooth road; while the road from Xuushi City to Mengmenguan is a rugged and long narrow valley, making it difficult for King Su's army to exert its power.
The advantage of a hundred thousand troops.
"Just Gao Lang!...Return to the army and attack Gao Lang!"
After pondering for a while, Zhao Hongrun tapped his fingers on the table and finally made a decision.
It is undeniable that he was a little uneasy. After all, the flat and smooth road was not only beneficial to King Su's army, but also to the Korean cavalry. What was terrible was that there were more than 20,000 Korean cavalry in this area - Feng Tingjun
There are seven thousand Korean cavalry, and the Baoyuan army has fifteen thousand Korean cavalry.
Under the pursuit and interception of nearly 22,000 Korean cavalry, it was not an easy task to retreat southward and attack Gaolang.
It has to be said that this requires Zhao Hongrun to plan hard, and it is best to come up with some way to prevent the three Korean generals Bao Yuan, Jin Wei, and Feng Ting from detecting his intentions.