No matter how nice Liu Shang's words were, it could not change the fact that the enemy troops were allowed to attack Suiyang. Zhou Jian frowned and said, "Your Majesty, Ningling's troops cannot be moved!"
Liu Yong looked at Liu Shang, then at Zhou Jian, and fell into deep thought. The hall also became quiet, and people lowered their heads, waiting for Liu Yong to make a decision.
Now there are only two ways to go in Suiyang. Either transfer Ningling's 100,000 defenders to Liyang. With better luck, they can successfully kill Liu Xiu and finally capture the entire Wei County; or send an order to Zhang Yihe
Sun Cheng abandoned the defense of Liyang and immediately led his army to retreat.
After a long time, Liu Yong finally made a decision in his heart. He said quietly: "I think Situ Yan is very good!"
After hearing this, Zhou Jian's face suddenly changed and he said urgently: "Your Majesty, you can't do that!"
Liu Yong waved his hand to Zhou Jian and said expressionlessly: "I have made up my mind!" Liu Yong supported Liu Shang's opinion for two reasons. First, he really did not want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Second,
He was also deliberately suppressing Zhou Jian.
Zhou Jian's contribution was too great and his prestige in the court was too high. Many ministers regarded Zhou Jian as the leader and only looked at Zhou Jian and not him as the emperor. This was a thorn in Liu Yong's heart.
Due to this mentality, Liu Yong would more or less suppress Zhou Jian on some important matters.
Liu Yong looked at Liu Fang and said in a solemn tone: "Zishan, I will leave Ningling's 100,000 troops to you. If you can capture and kill Liu Xiu in this battle, it will be best. If you can't, it will be the best."
To kill Liu Xiu, we must at least defeat Wei County!"
The 100,000 troops stationed in Ningling are Suiyang's last line of defense. With these 100,000 soldiers and horses taken away, Liu Xiujun, led by Gai Yan, can march straight in and take Suiyang.
But as Liu Shang said, Suiyang is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Even though Gaiyan is coming fiercely, it is too difficult to break through the city defense of Suiyang.
Not to mention that Gai Yan had less than 100,000 soldiers and horses, even if there were 200,000 or 300,000, the strength of the capital army in Suiyang City would still be enough to defend against the invading enemy.
This was Liu Yong's courage to mobilize the Ningling garrison. By doing so, he was making a huge bet with Liu Xiu, betting on whether Gai Yan could conquer Suiyang first or Liu Fang could conquer Luoyang first.
Liu Fang knew what Ningling's 100,000 troops meant to his own side, and he also knew how determined his elder brother was in making such a decision, and how much high hopes he had placed on himself.
He stepped out of the queue, bowed his hands to Liu Yong and saluted, and said in a strong voice: "Brother, don't worry, I will do my best to capture and kill Liu Xiu, first take Wei County, and then take Luoyang!"
Liu Yong nodded and reminded meaningfully: "Zishan, be more careful!"
"Thank you, Emperor Brother, for reminding me!"
Liu Yong turned to look at Dongli and said, "General Dong!"
"Wei Chen is here!"
"When you are appointed as deputy general, you must assist Hao Zishan!"
"I obey your orders!" Dongli looked happy and hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed.
A hundred thousand troops marched straight towards Wei Commandery, and with Li Yang's Zhang Yi and Sun Cheng acting as internal support, this battle was completely sure-fire, and they could defeat Wei Commandery in just one move.
Liu Yong thought for a moment and then asked: "How many ships are there in Baimajin?"
Dongli said cautiously: "There are currently less than a hundred large and small warships. However, if I return to Baimajin, I can recruit civilian ships nearby and gather two to three hundred ships. It will not be difficult."
Liu Yong felt a little relieved after hearing this. Zhou Jian shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, a hundred thousand troops should use warships to cross the river. How can the ships recruited from the people be of great use?"
Dong Li immediately answered: "General Zhou, although our army only has dozens of large and small warships, there is not even a single warship on Liu Xiu's side. And this time our army is not going to have a water battle with Liu Xiu's army.
, we only need to transport the soldiers to the other side in batches, so what's the use of warships?"
Zhou Jian wanted to speak, but Liu Yong said seriously: "General Dong's words are reasonable. This matter is settled!"
Liu Yong finally made the final decision and finalized the tactics.
On the Suiyang side, they supported the Five Military Schools in Wei County, disrupted Wei County, and secretly sent troops to Liyang in an attempt to capture Liyang and open the door to Wei County. These strategies seemed to be just small tricks.
Liu Xiu pacified the army of the fifth school and passed by Liyang on the way back to Beijing. He noticed the trick of the Suiyang court, so he came up with a plan to attract more Liu Yong's troops to Liyang, and then wipe them all out in one fell swoop. Liu Xiu's
The tactics seem to be just a little trick.
However, it was the combination of these little tricks that ultimately determined the entire trend of the dispute between the Luoyang court and the Suiyang court.
The most direct consequence of Liu Yong's transfer of the 100,000 garrison troops in Ningling was that the Gaiyan tribe, which was advancing towards Suiyang, had no resistance, and the army almost pushed straight all the way to Suiyang.
Of course, Liu Shang is right about one thing. The city defense of Suiyang is indeed strong enough. Outside the city, there is a moat drawn from the Suishui River. The city wall of Suiyang is three feet above the water of the moat. If you calculate
The water is deep, and the city wall of Suiyang is four or five feet high. Regular ladders are not that long, so special ladders are needed.
However, Liu Shang ignored one point. Suiyang is the capital of Liu Yong's forces. If the capital is surrounded by troops, even if it cannot be defeated for a while, the impact on the morale of Liu Yong's forces will be fatal.
Let’s not mention the Suiyang side for now, let’s talk about Liu Fang and Dongli. They took away Ningling’s 100,000 troops and went all the way north to Baimajin.
In order to hide the whereabouts of his own army and attack Liu Xiu, Wei County was caught off guard. Liu Fang specifically ordered the soldiers to find hiding places to rest during the day and wait until night to start marching.
During the march, Liu Fang kept sending spies to find out what was going on in Liyang.
If Liu Xiujun suddenly stops attacking Liyang, it means that Liu Xiujun must have noticed the change of his own army. If Liu Xiujun continues to attack Liyang, it means that his army's northward movement has not been noticed by Liu Xiujun.
The spies sent by Liu Fang kept turning back like a revolving lantern, and the news they brought back was the same. Liu Xiujun was still attacking Liyang, but the strength of Liu Xiujun's troops attacking Liyang every day was greatly reduced. From this, it can be judged that Liu Xiujun was for
Retaking Liyang requires huge casualties every day.
The spies brought back the news, which made Liu Fang and the Dongli generals overjoyed.
Originally they thought they had to deal with 20,000 Liu Xiu's troops, but now it seems that by the time their army crosses the river to Liyang, Liu Xiu's men may only have a few thousand left.
Dong Li smiled happily and said to Liu Fang: "Young Liu Xiu, who doesn't know whether to live or die, is still trying hard to attack Li Yang, but little does he know that he is already standing at the gate of the hell gate!"
Liu Fang smiled calmly and said proudly: "People say that Liu Xiu is good at using troops. I really want to fight Liu Xiu head-to-head to see what's so special about him? I see that there is a huge difference in the strength of our enemy's troops.
With such a huge disparity, even if we win, it will be a weak victory and not worth boasting about!"
Dong Li raised his thumb and said, "Prince Ning is so talented and powerful that I, a humble minister, am ashamed to say so!"
Liu Yong's two brothers were both granted the title of king, Liu Fang was the King of Ning, and Liu Shaogong was the King of Lu.
Listening to Dong Li's compliments, Liu Fang felt comfortable, but on the surface he still looked disapproving. He waved his hands and said, "Now I just hope that Zhang Yi and Sun Cheng can hold on and hold me back."
Liu Xiu!"
Dong Li smiled and said: "Don't worry, King Ning! Although the city defense of Liyang is not as strong as Suiyang, it is still far better than ordinary cities. Liu Xiu only has these few soldiers and horses left now. It will be as difficult as climbing to the sky to break through Liyang!"
Liu Fang nodded with a smile and said, "I hope so!"
Liu Fang and Dongli led an army of 100,000 people, hiding day and night, quietly entering Dongjun and arriving at Baima Jin.
Baimajin is an important ferry on the south bank of the Yellow River. It is now equivalent to a military port. Liu Yongjun set up warships in Baimajin, but there were no more than five large warships and no more than ten medium-sized warships. Most of them were small.
All the warships together amounted to about sixty or seventy. One hundred thousand soldiers and horses wanted to cross the Yellow River with six or seventy warships. A conservative estimate would take at least ten days and a half.
Now they don't have that much time. Dongli dispatched the garrison of Baima Jin to the banks of the Yellow River to collect ships.
Liu Yong is still quite prestigious here in Dongjun, and he will not respond to everyone's call, but Liu Yongjun is willing to pay to borrow boats, and most of the people are willing to lend them boats.
In just three days, the Dongli Company leased and requisitioned more than 300 large and small ships.
Dongli was not stupid enough to put more than 300 ships at Baimajin Ferry, but placed them downstream of Baimajin, at a place called Laozigou.
The terrain here is like a water ladle, with a narrow entrance but a big belly inside. The name Laozigou is also derived from the terrain here. Dongli hides the boat here, so it is really not easy for people to find it.
Liu Fang and Dongli stationed near Baimajin for five days to prepare for the army's crossing of the river. At the same time, they inquired about Liyang more frequently.
Now, it has been nearly a month since Liu Xiujun attacked Liyang, but he still failed to conquer Liyang. During this period, Liu Xiu continued to mobilize county troops from various counties in Wei County. This month, Liu Xiujun's reinforcements have not stopped. One thousand troops will arrive today, and one thousand troops will arrive tomorrow.
A thousand might be due to too many casualties. Liu Xiujun's strength never exceeded 10,000.
After confirming that Liu Xiujun was still being dragged outside Liyang City, Liu Fang was overjoyed and ordered his troops to cross the river tonight.
At night, Dongli quietly mobilized the ships hidden in Liaozigou and sailed them all to Baimajin. Then, a hundred thousand troops began to board the ships in batches.
In order to transport troops to the other side as quickly as possible, all war horses and baggage were moved to the back, and the first people to board the ship were people.
Even in order to reduce the weight and allow each ship to carry as many people as possible, Liu Fang ordered the soldiers to take off their armor and load the ships lightly.
More than 300 civilian ships, plus more than 70 warships, were all filled with people and began to sail to the other side.
There were originally troops stationed at Liyang Ferry opposite, but in order to attack Liyang, Liu Xiuye had transferred all the soldiers at the ferry. The military camp at Liyang Ferry was now completely empty.
Nearly 400 ships crossed the Yellow River without any attack and arrived at the other side. After the ship docked, Liu Yongjun's officers and men on board jumped out one after another, and there was a continuous sound of falling into the water.
People waded through the river, quickly ran ashore, and immediately set up defenses on the shore.
More than 400 ships transported nearly 20,000 soldiers at once. After delivering all 20,000 soldiers, the ships turned around and went back to transport the second batch of soldiers across the river.
In this way, more than 400 ships shuttled back and forth on the river. By the time it was past half Yin time, that is, around four o'clock in the morning, 80,000 Liu Yongjun, including Liu Fang and Dongli, had boarded the north bank of the Yellow River.
