In early September, there was already a slight chill in the city of Luoyang, and the grass blades began to wither. A gust of wind blew by, and yellow leaves fell off.
Tian Weiyexuan stood in the hall with his head high, his eyes narrowed, and he looked at everyone in the hall calmly. He didn't have much consciousness of being a prisoner, and he also glanced with interest at the hanging on the west wall of the hall.
combat map.
Han Qian was wearing a scarlet python robe and was sitting behind the imperial desk in Lingyun Pavilion. He also looked at Tian Weiye. He was of medium height and did not have much bravery. If he hadn't deliberately retained his self-righteous dignity, in terms of appearance, he could be said to be quite handsome.
It's ordinary.
However, such a person was not very impressive when he was serving as a military attaché next to King Lu of Jin Shi Chengyuan. Later, it was because his sister Tian was accepted by King Lu of Jin as his concubine that he became so successful that he became the Sima of Luzhou, the military envoy of Luzhou, and the envoy of Luzhou.
The governor and other positions were even despised by other Jin generals because of nepotism.
King Lu rushed to Taiyuan Prefecture to fight for the throne, leaving his fields and health industry to guard Luzhou.
Tian Weiye's real claim to fame was when he defended Luzhou City for more than a year under the siege of 100,000 elite Liang troops led by Zhu Yu, and never let the Liang troops enter the city.
Because the food in the city was exhausted, Tian Weiye led his troops to surrender Luzhou City to the Mongols.
King Lu Shi Chengyuan was furious because of this. He pushed his concubine Tian, Tian Weiye's wife, children, mothers, and nearly 300 Tian family members who had moved to Taiyuan at that time, to the gate of Taiyuan, beheaded and exposed their bodies.
This eventually led to Tian Weiye being the first to lead his troops into Taiyuan City, and finally drove King Lu Shi Chengyuan, his children, and concubines into the Jin Palace, and burned them all to death, completely ruining the Jin Kingdom in just twenty years.
The foundation established during the years.
After that, Tian Weiye was willing to be the pawn of the Mongol people, conquering Jin, Pu, Yan, Lin and other states. In the end, he led his troops to capture Yongzhou City. It can be said that he made great contributions to the southern invasion of the Mongol people.
Victory and defeat on the battlefield are common to people. In such a world, all generals and ministers have developed a heart of iron and blood, and they are extremely indifferent to the cruelty, bloodshed and even thousands of deaths on the battlefield.
Even if Tian Weiye was willing to be used by the Mongols, the number of Liang Jun generals who died under Tian Weiye was by no means a small number, but even Gu Qian, Jing Hao, Han Yuanqi and others did not advocate the death penalty for Tian Weiye, and even advocated surrendering.
Tian Weiye.
This is to respect his strong strength on the battlefield.
There is no shortage of famous ministers and generals in Daliang. Even if Tian Weiye is recruited and surrendered, Han Qian does not know that as a lonely man, he is really loyal to Daliang, and it is impossible for him to be in charge of military affairs.
However, Han Qian considered that even if Tian Weiye bloody massacred Shi Chengyuan after capturing Taiyuan Prefecture, he still gained general sympathy and recognition in the Jin State. Tian Weiye's surrender would still weaken the resistance of the Jin army and people.
Since Zhu Wen, Taizu of the Liang Dynasty, made his fortune in the Hehuai River, the armies of the Liang and Jin Dynasties have been fighting in the north and south of the Yuhe River for nearly forty years. The intensity of the war is more intense than that of Liang Chu, and far more than that of Liang Shu.
The soldiers and civilians of Liang and Jin could also be said to be feuding.
This caused Chen Yuanchen's troops to encounter considerable resistance when they tried to infiltrate into the densely populated southern foothills of the Taihang Mountains, and the current results were not ideal - this was no longer explained by the strong power of the wealthy families in these mountainous areas.
Tian Weiye and his captured soldiers mainly came from the eastern foothills of Taiyue Mountain, the northern slope of the southern foothills of Taihang Mountain, the western foothills of Taihang Mountain, and the Shangdang Basin and other areas throughout southern and central Shanxi.
Wenbo organized the surrendered soldiers into the advance camp and drove them into the attached city to fight to the death. This was out of tactical considerations, so as to effectively reduce the casualties of his elite troops.
Han Qian did not object to his decision, but wrote to Wen Bo privately, hoping that he could be lenient and strict with these surrendered soldiers, especially those who had been surrendered after three charges, and should be treated as elite soldiers, and even those who had strong feelings should be treated as elite soldiers.
Soldiers who have meritorious service and are willing to return home should be given a financial penalty and let go.
Han Qian did this out of strategic considerations.
Only after effectively reducing the will of the military and civilians to resist in southern Shanxi and other places in Shanxi can infiltration and guerrilla operations be used in the mountainous areas at the southern foot of Taiyue Mountain and Taihang Mountain to prepare for the subsequent weakening and expulsion of the Mongol rule in this area.
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The role of infiltration operations cannot be ignored. In addition to the troops sent from Zhiguanxing for the Northern Expedition, especially in the early stages of the war, enemy reinforcements were delayed from entering Yuanqu. In addition to the heavy snowfall, the troops and horses that entered Lishan and Wangwushan in the early stage were indispensable.
Regarding Tian Weiye's recruitment and surrender, Feng Liao and Gu Qian advocated granting him the title of a third-grade military official and returning to Germany as a general, giving him a house, and first raising him in Luoyang City. However, in order to show their respect for the Jin army's surrender, Han Qian
I specially summoned him at Lingyun Pavilion.
Just seeing him like this, Han Qian said a few words of comfort in a wan tone and allowed him to leave.
"Tian Weiye didn't show much interest in this combat map." Watching Tian Weiye leave under the "escort" of the guards, Feng Liao turned back and glanced at the combat map beside him, and said with emotion.
The real headache for Han Qian right now is how to advance the second phase of the Northern Expedition to Zhiguanxing.
He summoned Tian Weiye directly at Lingyung Pavilion this time, and also intended to reflect some of the staff office's subsequent combat plans on this combat map to test Tian Weiye's reaction.
To say that Tian Weiye is definitely one of the people who has a very clear understanding of the troops and combat power of both sides.
After seeing this battle map, the subtle reactions in Tian Weiye's expression directly reflected his prediction of the outcome of the subsequent battle between the two armies.
However, Tian Weiye's performance was much calmer than everyone expected, or it could be that Tian Weiye deliberately wanted to show his dignity as a surrendered general but was neither arrogant nor humble, so that everyone did not gain much.
Han Qian held his chin up and looked at the map of the west wall, lost in thought.
Usu Dashi
More than 120,000 elite soldiers and horses were assembled in the Fenshui River Valley, including 50,000 elite cavalry from the Mongolian tribe. Their combat effectiveness cannot be underestimated.
In addition to the early years when Mengwu developed smelting and manufacturing in Yanyun and Bohai, in recent years the Nanyuan was moved to Taiyuan Prefecture, and the scale and level of manufacturing have made great progress. Even if their direct soldiers and horses do not have sharp weapons such as spring-arm crossbows,
The overall equipment level is not low.
In the Fenshui River Valley, where the terrain is relatively open and conducive to collaborative operations between infantry and cavalry, if the troops and horses are of equal size, the Daliang troops and horses are equipped with the latest spring-arm weapons, but the advantages they can exert are quite limited.
What's more, the disparity in military strength between the two sides is so huge.
Counting the soldiers and horses in Jiangxian, southern Anyi and Yuanqu at this time, Daliang only had more than 65,000 soldiers.
However, Han Qian had no other better choice except to go out to the north slope of Wangwu Mountain and fight the enemy in the valley on the southeast bank of the upper reaches of the Fen River.
First of all, he cannot withdraw his troops from the north slope of Wangwu Mountain.
In that case, Wusu Dashi had assembled such a large army, even if he was afraid of the disadvantages of fighting in deep gorges and large valleys, he would not directly enter Zhiguanxing from the north and recapture Yuanqu, but would most likely cross the Yu and Wei Rivers after winter.
, joined with Wang Yuankui's troops and attacked Huazhou and Tongguan.
While he did not withdraw his troops from the northern slope of Wangwu Mountain, he thought that it would not be a good idea to confront the soldiers and horses led by Wu Su Dashi at the northern foot of Wangwu Mountain and within Jiangxian County without conducting a battle.
Until the cold winter, their defense on the east wing was empty, which was easily taken advantage of by the Dongliang Army. This time they directly attacked the core area controlled by the Mongols, showing such strong combat effectiveness and fighting will. Zhu Rang, Xu Mingzhen and the others No matter what, I should choose to fight hard.
This year, the news that Daliang soldiers and horses went directly north from Zhiguanxing to capture the Fenshui River Valley should also reach Shuchu at this time. This battle is a reflection of Daliang's strength and confidence. So far, nearly 40,000 enemy troops have been annihilated. , the nearly complete annihilation of Luzhou’s elite soldiers who once swept through Hedong was enough to completely reverse Chu and Shu’s views on the situation in Heluo.
When such news reaches Shuchu, it will inevitably cause extremely complicated psychological changes in Shen Yang, Yang En, Du Chongtao, Wang Yong, Cao Gan, Jing Qiongwen and others.
If the confrontation at the northern foot of Wangwu Mountain drags on, the psychological changes in the people of Shu and Chu may gradually evolve into a substantial and subtle change in the relationship between Shu and Daliang.
We still have to fight, but the key is how to fight?
"Where are Zhao Ci and Lu Ze's cavalry now?" Han Qian suddenly asked.
"New news just came in at noon today. Two cavalry units have arrived in Ruyang and Songyang. They will reach Luoyang in two days." Yin Peng said.
For the next battle, Han Qian transferred Zhao Ci and Lu Ze's cavalry all the way back to Luoyang from Chengzhou. In this way, together with Zhu Zhen and Cao Ba's troops who had gone north, they totaled the cavalry on the north slope of Wangwu Mountain. There are more than 12,000 elite cavalry available.
In addition to Li Xiu who also led a cavalry stationed in Chenzhou, these more than 12,000 elite cavalry are almost the result of Daliang's hard work in building a cavalry force in the past few years - in fact, there is no need to sell iron, they are imported from Songfan and Qishan every year Thousands of fine war horses are sufficient, but there are still not enough generals who are good at riding and shooting.
The combat area before Daliang also restricted the use of cavalry. In the early stage of the expansion of troops, heavy armored infantry was the main focus. When it came time to make full use of cavalry, it turned out to be too little.
In the battle in the open Fenshui River Valley, the Liang Army relied on infantry brigades as the main force and was fearless of enemy cavalry attacking from the front. However, in mobile operations, elite cavalry were still needed to cover the flanks.
Of course, in order to overcome the shortage of cavalry, more light tanks equipped with crossbows will be deployed on both wings.
The more critical thing now is to mobilize and recruit more troops to fight north.
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Entering October, the streams flowing in the Fenshui River Valley have become thinly iced, and the grass has turned yellow. As far as the eye can see, the mountains at the northern foot of Wangwu Mountain have sparse branches and leaves, and the sky and earth are cast in a dark yellow hue.
Thousands of soldiers and horses fought out from the ramparts and canyons at the northern foot of Wangwu Mountain, like blue-black floods, flowing quietly on the open valley plains.
Prior to this, more than 400 Luoyang Navy warships had turned north from the north of Tongguan along the great bend of the Yu River.
At the northeastern foot of Xiangshan Mountain, there is a ferry bridge built in the previous dynasty across the Yu River, connecting Pujin Ferry, which has been famous throughout the world since the Qin and Han Dynasties. This ferry bridge is made of as thick as an arm. It is formed by connecting floating boats with iron cables, and four iron oxen weighing 100,000 kilograms are used to pull the two sides.
Although each bottle of iron ox is cast in separate parts and finally integrated into one body, it is still the best in the world; each bottle of iron ox is also made of seven iron pillars as stakes.
Puzhou City, twenty miles east of Pujin Ferry, serves as the side gate of Guanzhong. It is called the first Suoyin of Hedong and Heshuo land routes in Guanzhong. Together with Tongguan on the south side, it is also known as the key port of Guanzhong.
Luoyang | The navy naturally did not have the ability to attack Puzhou City at this time. Even if they went upstream and approached the Pujin Bridge, they still faced the arrows and stones of the Mongolian troops guarding the bridge and took the risk of hovering the warship in the rapids.
The generals used giant axes to cut off the iron cables bit by bit, destroy the bridge, open it and continue upstream until they entered the Fenshui River.
Xiao Yiqing accompanied Wu Su Dashi and stood on the top of Zijin Mountain on the north side of Jiangxian County. He frowned and looked at the forest of boats in the Fenshui River bend twenty miles away.
"Does Han Qian really think that victory is already within his grasp?" Wu Su Dashi's deep voice contained a hint of uncontrollable anger.
The rivers in the Hehuai River will gradually freeze until mid-to-late November, but in Hedong, Heshuo and other places north of the Yu River, it will be earlier. There may even be a sudden cold current in the north, and the Fen River will freeze at the end of October.
Freezing has become an extremely common occurrence in the past 50 or 60 years.
Luoyang | The navy detoured hundreds of miles of waterways at this time and entered the Fenshui Bay mouth on the west side of Quwo County. This means that this winter Liang Jun
If the main force cannot open up the passage from Jiangxian, Quwo, and Wenxi to the southeast bank of the Fen River, Luoyang|Navy Army will most likely be completely destroyed in the Fen River.
All of this also reflects Liang Jun's determination and confidence to fight and win the final victory.
Xiao Yiqing wasn't sure whether Han Qian was so arrogant or arrogant, but he could clearly feel that the faces of the generals around him had darkened, or there might be some worry hidden in their eyes.
This is definitely not a good phenomenon when the battle is about to begin.
Xiao Yiqing could not say anything about it. The fall of Yuanqu, the capture of Tian Weiye, and the annihilation of his troops had already cast a shadow that was difficult to remove from everyone's minds.
However, this was not because he had not expected and worried about it before.
He even suggested very early on that the soldiers and horses in Puzhou and Hejin should be replaced by infantry who were better at defending the city walls, and that more barriers should be built in the deep gorges and valleys south of Jiangxian and Anyi to defend them.
However, neither the Yanyun Han army nor the auxiliary troops of the Bohai Kingdom could be trusted by the Beiyuan. Wang Yuankui, Wang Xiaoxian, Tian Weiye and others bribed the officials who fled north to gain access to the country. Rumors from Hedong were also spread among the nobles of the Beiyuan.
Spread wantonly.
Even though Wusu Dashi finally insisted on conferring Wang Yuankui and Wang Xiaoxian as the military envoy to Weinan and Fengxiang, he hoped to recruit more soldiers from the Jin area and transferred the Yanyun and Han troops to Hejin to be under the control of Tian Weiye to strengthen the defense of Zhiguanxing. In the end, the order
It was also stopped by Beiyuan.
The Beiyuan insisted that half of the garrisons in Hejin and Puzhou must be elite cavalry of the Mongol tribe.
This caused Liang Jun to cross Hebei to attack Yuanqu at the end of last year. First, Xiao Siqing and others were worried about the disadvantages of the cavalry entering the mountains and could not resolutely withstand the harassment of a small group of Liang Jun troops. They sent reinforcements into Yuanqu to meet Tian Weiye, and finally in Yuanqu
The pass to the north was blocked, and Yuanqu City could only watch helplessly as it was besieged for seven months and then finally captured.
The more than 20,000 soldiers and horses that were destroyed in Yuanqu were the most elite combat force attached to the Jin Dynasty. Under the leadership of Tian Weiye, they first defended Luzhou City, but Liang Emperor Zhu Yu lost all his troops and fell into Taiyuan.
The city ruined the last foundation of the Jin State, and then conquered the Linyongtong prefectures.
Tian Weiye was captured, the main force of his army was wiped out, and only ten thousand remaining soldiers were left to guard Anyi and other cities. How could the morale of the generals not be high?
Any army with more than 10,000 soldiers and horses will give people a sense of boundlessness, not to mention that the total number of troops invested by both sides in the valley southeast of Fenshui River will exceed 200,000.
Even if the Luoyang|Navy Army does not break through the numerous blockades and enter the Fenshui River Valley, as long as Han Qian is determined to launch a battle, it is destined to be a fight to the death.
After all, the entrance to the narrow valley leading out of Zhiguanxing in the south of Jiang County is only two to three hundred paces.
Such a wide opening is enough for an army of more than 10,000 people to enter and exit, but for the Liang Army, which has at least 80,000 to 90,000 people entering the Fenshui Valley to fight, once the battle is lost, so many troops will not be able to enter and exit.
To retreat from such a narrow opening into the peaks and ridges at the northern foot of Wangwu Mountain in a short period of time would easily lead to fatal chaos.
Xiao Yiqing originally thought that Han Qian would choose to confront them because of this factor and the fact that they had assembled superior forces in the north and did not dare to rush into a battle.
Now it seems that he still underestimated the determination and confidence of Han Qian and Liang Jun...
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"I am only responsible for sending you reinforcements and helping you boost your morale. However, it is up to you and the forward generals to decide how to fight this battle..."
Han Qian was wearing a scarlet cloak, and when he arrived in early October, the wind and cold made him feel like he was cutting his face. He reined up his horse and stopped at the top of a mountain, looking at the vast scenery in the Fenshui River Valley, and said to Wen Bo.
In addition to the four integrated infantry brigades of Feng Zhang, He Liufeng, Dou Rong, and Dong Tai, the other 40,000 reinforcements were recruited from the refugees from eastern Henan who fled to western Henan and Nanyang in the past two years and were organized into eight reserve brigades.
Rush over here.
These 40,000 reinforcements have barely received four months of training, and their combat effectiveness is naturally far less than that of the main infantry brigade. However, this is already the limit of reinforcements to the Yuanqu front line under the current situation.
After all, the two countries of Shu and Chu abide by the peace agreement, and there are no abnormalities this winter. However, there are still enough troops left on the east and west wings to withstand the offensives of the Mongolian Army in Guanzhong and the Dongliang Army.
Of course, he ordered the Luoyang navy to break through the heavy blockade of the Mongolian army and advance into the Fen River, the river bends in the north of Quwo and Wenxi counties in advance, seemingly preparing to block the retreat of the defeated enemy, and try their best to
Strive for the most fruitful and charming results in this battle.
But in fact, Han Qian made arrangements for when the battle was unfavorable.
Once the war is lost, the soldiers and horses who entered the hinterland of the Fenshui River Valley will have a hard time retreating south from the narrow mouth of the valley. At that time, they can fight all the way to the south bank of the Fenshui River, join the navy, fight and retreat, and then they can retreat from the west foot of Xiangshan Mountain.
By retreating to the north of Tongguan, the battle will not be lost, and the main force will be surrounded and annihilated in the Fenshui River Valley.
Therefore, the winner of this battle must be decided before the Fen River freezes.
Han Qian went to the front line to supervise the battle in person, but still handed over the command of the battlefield to generals such as Wen Bo and Guo Que.
In fact, more than 200,000 troops from both sides entered the battlefield, and the battlefield covered nearly a hundred miles.
No matter who it is, he, Wen Bo, or the enemy's general, it is difficult for him to have overall control over the course of the war.
In the early stage, it is already quite remarkable to be able to follow the plan and successfully put all the troops and horses into the predetermined location of the battle. But when the battle reaches its most intense, it will rely more on and test the commanding abilities of the generals and military attachés at all levels.
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If this battle can be won, Daliang will lay the foundation for expelling the Huru and establishing the Central Plains. But if it fails, the business of the past three years will be destroyed, and the situation may even get worse.
No matter how good-hearted Han Qian is, there is no way he can stay in Luoyang and wait quietly for the final outcome of this battle...
