When Liang Guo regained Guanzhong, he not only added nine states and more than two million people, but also captured more than 70,000 prisoners of war who could expand his army. The Liang Army's national strength further increased.
Chu State may not feel that strongly about this.
After all, the Chu army's war in Fujian successfully came to an end in late June. Gu Zhilong and Huang Lu met in Jianzhou Prefecture, tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, and escorted the King of Fujian and the local officials and their families. Tens of thousands of people also set foot.
On the way to Jinling.
However, the inner feelings of the kings and ministers of Shu were completely different.
Recovering Guanzhong will completely eliminate the threat to the west flank of the Liang State. It can safely and boldly shift the strategic focus to the north and east. However, the Liang Army can also not rush to attack the Mongolian Army in the north and the Dongliang Army in the east.
The strategic focus shifted southward, first annexing Shu and connecting it with Xuzhou, the enclave that Han Qian had operated for the longest time.
In fact, Gu Qian, Zhu Juezhong and others in the DPRK even advocated using troops against Shu first, which may be possible under conditions.
At this time, the Shu army's combat effectiveness was completely ignored by the generals of Liang Dynasty. Instead, Wang Xiaoxian, Zhao Mengji's surrendered troops and the surrendered troops were used as the vanguard to attack Shu. They could even take advantage of their eagerness to return home, which could produce unexpected results.
At this time, the Daliang soldiers and horses attacked Shu. Not only did the attack channel be smooth, but there was no need to worry about interference from the Mongolian, Dongliang or Chu armies.
After annexing the Shu Kingdom and being connected with Xuzhou, not only will the national strength further increase significantly, but also it will have a strategic advantage in terrain against the Chu Army, Dongliang Army and Mongolian Army.
The monarchs and ministers of Shu were also worried that Liang Jun had covetous intentions, and they were also worried that the previous indifferent attitude toward Qiao Zhiyong and Wang Zhi as envoys would become an excuse for Liang Jun to send troops to Shu. Wang Yong, the leader of Shu, hesitated again and again before finally deciding to send Cao Gan as envoys.
Luoyang.
Cao Gan's mission to Luoyang was not only to explain his previous indifference, but also to probe the reality of Luoyang and test whether Han Qian and the Liang monarchs and ministers coveted the Kingdom of Shu.
Cao Qian set out from Chengdu, headed north, crossed the Han River, took the Tangluo Road through the Qinling Mountains, and entered Guanzhong, which had just been recaptured by the Liang Kingdom for two months.
He stayed in Yongzhou City for two days and met with Jing Zhen, Xi Xunqiao, Han Chengmeng and other key figures in the newly established Yongzhou Province. After taking a boat to the mausoleum to meet Feng Yi, he learned that Han Qian was visiting Meng
He came to Mengzhou and chased him all the way to Mengzhou.
At this time, Cao Gan was riding a carriage and traveling north along the west bank of the Nanguan River. Cao Qian was in a mixed mood, and the past events were still vivid in his mind.
In the 16th year of God's Blessing, Han Qian was sent to the Kingdom of Shu as the Chu State's envoy to welcome his bride. Cao Qian got acquainted with Han Qian at that time, and since then the two parties have mostly cooperated:
Including establishing a foothold in Yuzhou, purchasing sophisticated warships from Xuzhou, and attacking the Banan area with weapons, they even secretly induced the generals of Wang Hongyi, the eldest son of the Zuo Qingjiang Army, to send troops to Wuchuan, which gave Han Qian the opportunity to recruit Ansizhou rebels.
And they also took the opportunity to kick out the direct lineage of the crown prince Wang Hongyi from Zuo Qingjiang's army, and later Han Qian helped them seize the throne, and together they forced Chu Ting to choose Liang Chu to negotiate peace...
Now that Liang and Shu have entered the most critical crossroads, Cao Qian doesn't know where they will go next, but he is not naive enough to think that the old friendship in the past can really be maintained.
What a coincidence. When Feng Yi accompanied Cao Gan to the construction site of Nanguan River Bridge, suddenly dark clouds rolled in and a heavy rain suddenly fell.
Han Qian was informal and used the tent at the construction site to meet Cao Qian.
The imperial camp was surrounded by a dozen accompanying chariots. Some of the imperial guards were sheltered from the rain, but there were still 200 imperial guards standing directly in the rain in a defensive formation to prevent enemies from taking advantage of the rain to cause chaos.
Looking at the heavy rain pouring down, these guards seemed to be cast from iron stone, revealing a cold and majestic aura.
Cao Gan's carriage and its entourage could only wait outside the carriage array. Feng Yi accompanied Cao Gan and two Shu deputy envoys and walked to the big tent holding oil-paper umbrellas.
Along the way from Cao Gan's mission, Liangzhou Prefecture had just gone through the most difficult period, the war in Guanzhong had just ended, the military garrison on both sides from Huatong to Xingyang had just been lifted, and Mengzhou was still a war zone, with everything along the road in ruins.
Except for the priority construction of roads and bridges in these places, other construction has not been carried out very much, and there is no sign of prosperity.
However, the generals of the Liang Army seen along the road were all well-dressed and brave. Even the patrol officers who were incorporated into the patrol department and were responsible for local security were capable and courageous, giving people a completely different impression, far from those of the Shu Army.
within reach.
"I haven't seen you for many years. When you first come to Mengzhou, don't be formal."
Seeing Cao Qian enter the tent, Han Qian stepped forward, welcomed him to sit down behind the long desk, and introduced him to the generals of Daliang in the tent.
Zhou Daoyuan and Shen Peng are both former officials of the Liang Army. Guo Rong, Han Donghu, Wang Che, He Liufeng, Lin Jiang, Xue Chuan, Huo Li, etc. are generals of the Tangyi Army. Anji Xiang can be said to be the legacy of the late Red Mansion. In addition, there are
Zhao Shuo, son of Zhao Mengji, is a general.
Seeing Li Zhigao, Li Zhi and his son, Cao Gan's mood became even more complicated. The monarchs and ministers of the Shu Kingdom once hoped that Li Zhigao and Chai Jiancheng could actually separate the Liang and Jin states, thinking that they would be a buffer between Liang and Chu. Who would have thought that the Shu Kingdom had not had time to secretly
Whatever action was taken, Chai Jian was transferred to Longyou as the envoy of the Qinzhou Prefecture. Li Zhigao even entered Daliang Center and served as the left counselor of the Staff Office.
From this small camp, he could see that Liang's generals were a hodgepodge, but under the leadership of Han Qian, they had condensed into the most powerful force in the world.
Zhao Mengji was transferred to Hedong as the inspector, and Han Qian did not temporarily summon him to Mengzhou to meet Cao Qian's old friend.
However, Zhao Shuo and He Xu, whom Cao Qian had met before, now belonged to Liang Shu and sat across from each other, which made Cao Qian feel emotional.
Han Qian was even casual and enthusiastic about meeting old friends, but Cao Gan still remembered his identity as the envoy of Shu, handed over his credentials, congratulated Liang Jun on his successive victories, and did not forget to express his gratitude to the many elite troops stationed in Mengzhou.
Soldiers and horses, concerned about the progress of the Shanxi-Southern Mongolian Army's operations.
"I heard you come here. I originally stayed in Luoyang to see you. After all, the conditions here are too simple and not the way to treat guests. But Zhao Shuo and He Xu were fighting in Wanzi City with their troops, and the Hulu resisted very resolutely.
, I don’t know when we can defeat it, I’m a little worried..." Han Qianhun casually introduced the progress of Mengzhou’s work to Cao Gan. It seemed that he was really worried about the slow progress of the war here, so he came to Mengzhou.
Come to inspect the general situation of the war.
When he first surrendered, Zhao Mengji still wanted to control the military. Even if he reduced the original troops to 10,000 elite soldiers, except for his son Zhao Shuo and his direct general He Xu who served as brigade commanders and directly commanded the two brigades of elite soldiers, the middle-level generals
As well as the junior military officers, they are all Shu people.
After regaining Guanzhong, Zhao Mengji fully realized that his surrender did not play a key role. He realized how disadvantaged the Mongolian army was after the balance of power between Liang and Meng was reversed, and he did not want to arouse suspicion anymore, so he went straight to the point.
He voluntarily resigned from the posts of Mengzhou Prefectural Government, Mengzhou Camping Army Command, Capital Commander, etc., and requested the General Staff Office to send generals to carry out a more thorough reorganization of the Mengzhou Army.
Han Qian transferred Zhao Mengji to serve as the inspector general of Hedong, but for the time being he continued to use Zhao Shuo and He Xu as brigade generals. He only transferred a group of trainees from the military academy to strengthen the soldiers and horses of the two brigades organized into the Second Central Bank Battalion.
The two brigades of Shu soldiers have only been reorganized for a short period of time. A batch of sophisticated war equipment has just been incorporated into the army and is not yet familiar with the training. However, the war is launched without waiting for anyone.
At present, Han Donghu sent the deputy capital commander He Liufeng to sit in Qinyang and use elite troops and horses to build a stronghold in front of the enemy's pass. Then he took turns to move Zhao Shuo and He Xu's two brigades of Shu soldiers to the front line to operate war weapons and bombard the enemy's stronghold.
Use actual combat to strengthen the running-in between dispatched military attachés and soldiers, but you don't have to worry about any casualties.
The main attack on southern Shanxi involves the coordination of the two armies. At least until Kong Xirong and Li Xiu join forces to capture Yangcheng to the west of Jincheng, the Second Central Bank Battalion will not attack alone to block the many passes at Taihangxing.
The enemy troops launched a fierce attack.
If you do that, the casualties will be difficult to control.
"After the rain stops, I plan to go to Qinyang. You can also follow me to Qinyang - many old soldiers from Sichuan and Shu have been living in foreign lands for many years. They will definitely be extremely grateful when they see people coming from their homeland." Han Qian
Invite Cao Qian to go with him to the front line to inspect the military situation.
Of course Cao Gan would not refuse, and he didn't know whether Han Qian was really anxious that the war here was not going well, or whether he wanted to show him the majesty of Liang Jun.
The rain came hard, but it stopped quickly.
It rained heavily, and the weather was not so hot. The two capital's cavalry, surrounded by carriages and horses, headed north along the Nanguan River. The peaks and ridges at the southern foot of the Taihang Mountains appeared under the blue sky.
Qinyang was originally Hanoi County and was the prefecture of Huaizhou. Countless wars occurred here during the decades of Liang and Jin Dynasties. Huaizhou prefecture was moved eastward and Qinyang became a pure military town.
Zhao Mengji's surrender made Qinyang City completely included in the territory of Daliang.
With Qinyang City as the core, the troops currently deployed against the south entrance of Taihang County are mainly composed of He Liufeng, Zhao Shuo, and He Xu. The other troops have not yet been mobilized in a hurry.
Han Qian's visit to Qinyang City to inspect the army was already the limit that the accompanying generals could bear. He also wanted to go to the enemy village Wanzi City to observe the enemy's situation. Han Donghu and other Mengzhou generals, as well as Zhou Daoyuan, Guo Rong, Wang Zhe and other accompanying generals were all
Despite strong opposition, he had no choice but to give up.
In fact, Qinyang City is only seven or eight miles away from the frontline battlefield. The weather is fine, and you can clearly observe the situation of the enemy and ourselves on the battlefield with a copper telescope.
Han Qian was pinned down in the safer Qinyang City by everyone, but Han Donghu invited Cao Gan to follow them to the front line to visit a foreign land. At this time, he had become a veteran of the Shu army, and Cao Gan happily agreed.
Wanzi City was built on a low ridge at the south entrance of Taihang County. The walled city was only 300 steps square. It was backed by the entrance of Taihang County. Unexpectedly, it was cut off from Zezhou in the north of the mountain. The other three sides had steep slopes.
Defend a difficult place.
Many veterans of the Shu army are not based here, and military achievements are of little significance to a certain extent. It is difficult to expect them to be able to charge to the top of the mountain regardless of their own safety and casualties in such a disadvantageous terrain. However, the current attack on the enemy's stronghold
, mainly using a large number of obstacles, dry trenches, and fence walls at the foot of the low slope mountain to block the enemy's passage out of Wanzi City to counterattack along the slope - the trenches can also effectively prevent Wanzi City from rolling down from a high position.
Then he took advantage of the weapons and equipment to get close and smashed the walls of the enemy's stronghold, attacking and smashing them indiscriminately.
Liang Jun will not rush to seize the city and seize the stronghold for the time being. This is a conservative strategy of slowly draining the enemy's blood.
At this time, the enemy generals did not dare to stand on the city head easily. Fortunately, the cyclone cannon had a limited upward attack range and could not pose a threat to the interior of Wanzi City. However, it could not restrict Liang Jun from bypassing Wanzi City and attacking from the east side.
On the steep slope, a path was re-opened and interspersed into the Taihang Pass behind Wanzi City.
The southern slope of the mountain is quite steep, so it is naturally quite difficult to re-open a three- to four-mile winding mountain path. But fortunately, we are on the Daliang side at the moment, so we have enough time to do this kind of water grinding skill.
Cao Qian was also a man who knew military skills.
Facing Liang Jun's actions, the Mongolian army seemed extremely passive. He couldn't help but wonder whether it was because the Mongolian army was unable or dared not easily send troops out of Taihang Xingnankou to fight against Liang Jun, or whether it was because the Mongolian army intended to borrow a small number of troops.
The dangerous terrain of Taihangxing will delay the Liang Army advancing north from Mengzhou, so they can concentrate their forces on the west flank of Zezhou to engage in a decisive battle with the Liang Army advancing eastward from the southern foot of Taiyue Mountain?
Cao Qian had just arrived, so of course he could not guess what the Mongolian army was thinking, but the Liang army only had 30,000 elite troops in Mengzhou, while the Dongliang army had 78,000 or 80,000 troops in Bianliang and Wuzhi on the south bank, but they could not even cross the river.
There was no fighting attitude, he saw it all.
Xu Mingzhen and Sima Tan each had their own thoughts. Liang Shixiong and the last elite Wei Bo soldiers were surrounded and annihilated in Xingyang City. Zhu Rang, Liang Ren and others could no longer pose any threat to Liang's army.
This is a fact that Cao Qian is unwilling to accept but has to accept.
Accompanied by Han Donghu, Feng Yi, Zhao Shuo, He Xu and others, Cao Gan walked around the forward camp and headed back to Qinyang City at nightfall.
"Since the Lord of Shu is unwilling to accept the exiled soldiers and generals to return to Shu, can they bring their families to Mengzhou? I want Mr. Cao to have a nice word with the Lord of Shu after he returns to Chengdu!" Han Donghu accompanied him.
Cao Qian rode his horse side by side and said with a smile.
Han Qian met Cao Qian in Mengzhou. He had no intention of changing the relationship between Liang and Shu for the time being. At the moment, he mainly wanted to promote as many Shu generals as possible to bring their families over to stabilize people's hearts.
Han Donghu, Feng Yi and other generals also tried their best to persuade Cao Gan to return to Shu and help him speak more.
Apart from regular missions, Cao Gan would not make any additional promises, and would only respond with a few words to Han Donghu.
The conditions in the army were simple, and the night banquet was also quite simple. In addition to roasted venison, vegetables, and wheat cakes, only Cao Qian and his entourage had wine bottles in front of their desks. Han Qian said apologetically: "I am in the army.
We must abide by military discipline and cannot accompany our distinguished guests to have a drink. We can only wait until we return to Luoyang to have fun with our distinguished guests."
Seeing that Han Donghu and others were enjoying the simple delicacies, Cao Gan thought that Liang Jun's senior leaders could insist on living a simple life, which would boost morale more than anything else.
After the night banquet, Han Qian's general Cao Gan and his entourage were arranged to live in a separate courtyard. Before he could rest, in addition to Li Zhigao, Wang Che, Guo Rong and others, Han Donghu generals He Liufeng, Zhao Shuo,
In addition to He Xu and Li Zhi, all the battalion-level military attachés from the forward camp gathered together and held a meeting.
"Cao Gan came here, to put it bluntly, to test the reality of our Daliang. Of course, there is nothing to test the reality of Daliang. He may be more concerned about whether the 60,000 Shu soldiers can really be used by our Daliang." Han Qian looked at He Xu with bright eyes.
When he returned to Shu, he said, "I will stay with Cao Gan in Qinyang for another two or three days to let him see how you attack the enemy's stronghold. You should also know in your hearts that the stronger your fighting will will be, the better your fighting will will be."
The day to reunite with my family is getting closer..."
Before the threat of the Mongol people was completely resolved, Han Qian had no intention of adjusting his strategic direction, but how to inspire the morale of the soldiers who returned to Shu was a headache for everyone.
Thinking of taking over their family's primary school from Shu, the Lord of Shu, Wang Yong, refused to let go, and Han Qian found it difficult to take any tougher measures or stance.
The families of Zhao Mengji, Zhao Shuo and his son were detained in Jinling at this time, but facing Han Qian's eyes, He Xu and other Shu generals became eager.
After Zhao Mengji surrendered, Han Qian's training at the Military Academy for the generals who returned to Shu was mainly focused on situational awareness, in order to strengthen their recognition of Daliang. In fact, all mid-level and senior generals above the battalion command level were aware of Cao Gan's
On this mission, the kings and ministers of Shu felt guilty.
Whether the soldiers who surrendered to Shu can show their true combat effectiveness, and whether they can truly impress Cao Qian and his entourage, will have a direct and far-reaching impact on the subsequent negotiations between Liang and Shu.
If Daliang soldiers and horses really want to annex Shu in the future, soldiers from other places will inevitably be too unsuitable after entering Shu, which will seriously suppress the display of combat effectiveness, prolong the war, and greatly weaken the generals.
morale.
This is a prerequisite that military strategists of all dynasties have found difficult to solve, but must be solved to achieve military victory.
For example, Zheng Hui led his troops into Lingnan and fought for so many years before finally capturing Prince Xing's Mansion. In fact, it cannot be said that Zheng Hui was not an outstanding general in the world. In fact, for many years, many famous generals have been lost on the way to fight in other places.
If Daliang really wanted to annex Shu one day, it would be most convenient for him to surrender his troops to Shu as the vanguard.
Therefore, the stronger the Shu soldiers showed in front of Cao Gan, the deeper the threat Cao Gan and other Shu envoys would feel.
This will also directly prompt the monarchs and ministers of Shu to soften their attitude on the issue of sending the generals and their families to surrender to Shu, and may even use a more gentle way to solve the fundamental problems between Liang and Shu in the future.
There were no outsiders in the yamen hall, so Han Qian explained these principles thoroughly to the generals who had surrendered to Shu, and hoped that they would convey some of these principles to the grassroots military attachés, so that during the short period of time when he invited Cao Gan to stay in Qinyang, the soldiers would surrender to Shu.
Can perform well.
…………
…………
Cao Gan did not know that Han Qian had summoned all the middle and high-level generals and military attachés who had surrendered to the Shu army for mobilization at night. From the current military deployment, he could not tell how long it would take Liang Jun to conquer southern Shanxi.
The next day, he went to the big tent to meet Han Qian and discussed business matters between the two countries before noon.
At the beginning of Wang Yong's usurpation of the throne, a large amount of materials were imported from Tangyi and Xuzhou at low prices, and all tax revenue was concentrated in Wang Yong's hands, including the Xuzhou Official Money Bureau lending more than 2 million yuan to purchase soldiers in Xuzhou.
A war weapon, which played a vital role in Wang Yong's control of the situation in Shu.
However, after Wang Yong completely took control of Shu, and after comprehensively analyzing the national revenue and local fiscal revenue of Shu, he found that a large amount of cheap cotton cloth, ironware, paper, tea and medicine and other commercial goods poured into Shu, which was a huge blow.
This led to the local weaving, shipbuilding, smelting, casting, papermaking and other industries of Shu.
In particular, Shu brocade weaving, iron smelting, and well salt are the largest sources of income for the Shu Kingdom after land taxes and taxes, and they have declined sharply in recent years.
Cao Qian would not talk about raising taxes or limiting the scale of Liang's transported goods, but he hoped that Liang could increase the selling price of goods so that the weaving, iron-making and well salt industries in Shu could take a breather.
He always felt that this should not be an issue that would embarrass both parties.
"Merchants travel all over the world and pay taxes. Local governments should provide conveniences. Even if they are concerned about people's livelihood, they should be restrained from exploiting customs and hoarding for huge profits. How can they be forced to increase their selling prices for fear that they will not earn enough?
How reasonable is that?" Han Qian laughed and said, "If I really issued such an edict, wouldn't the people of Daliang all think that I am a completely confused and foolish emperor?"
Han Qian also deceived Cao Qian and the Shu rulers and ministers into not being able to clearly explain the rationale for dumping, and pretended to be confused and returned the issue to Cao Qian.
Cao Gan was a very pragmatic person, but when he was with Wang Yong, he mainly took care of military affairs. He really couldn't think of anything powerful to say to refute Han Qian, and he felt really panicked.
However, Han Qian did not necessarily want to make things difficult for Cao Gan, and immediately comforted him: "Weaving in Shu is not prosperous, and iron smelting is not prosperous. It consumes manpower and has too much material resources. As the king of Liang, I cannot use the merchants of Liang to make things difficult for them."
It’s too much to ask, but if the Shu Kingdom wants to develop the art of weaving and iron-making, I can make it happen..."
Cao Gan thought this was a good idea and quickly thanked him.
Han Qian's appearance was only to reminisce about the past, or to make some programmatic suggestions, which specifically related to the border garrison, trade and even the exchange of envoys between the two countries. Feng Yi took the lead, and officials from various academies were sent to negotiate many details. In the afternoon, it was still
Following Han Donghu, Feng Yi and Cao Gan rushed to the forward camp to watch the soldiers and horses attack Wanzi City.
Compared with yesterday's slow pace, the main military attachés of each camp returned to the camp last night and mobilized this morning. The attack on Wanzi City suddenly became fierce in the afternoon. They no longer simply used weapons to bombard the enemy's stronghold on the outside.
The one-day combat mission was for teams of men and horses to come out from behind the fence, holding up large shields and holding crossbows, struggling to surround the siege vehicles and ladder trucks, and attack up the steep hillside.
The enemy did not realize that Liang Jun would launch a fierce attack at this time. There were not many preparations for beating wood, rolling stones, and kerosene on the dilapidated city wall. Even when they joined the Shu soldiers to attack the city, most of the defenders hid under the city to avoid the cyclone cannon.
The bombardment was almost the first wave of impact, and the soldiers who had surrendered to Shu rushed to the top of the city and started a fierce fight.
He Liufeng ordered a mountain pass to be dug along the steep slope on the east side of Wanzi City. The current plan is to bypass Wanzi City and insert it into the Taihang Pass South Pass behind Wanzi City to cut off the enemies inside the Taihang Pass.
The connection between the army and Wanzicheng.
The highest point of the ridge that this mountain pass crosses is higher than the terrain of Wanzi City, and the distance is only three hundred steps. He Liufeng ordered his soldiers to carry more than a hundred spring-arm individual crossbows with a range of more than four hundred steps on their backs.
Climb the ridge on the east side of Wanzi City to suppress the defenders on the east wall of Wanzi City, so that the Shu soldiers led by He Xu can occupy the south wall and resist the incoming defenders from the east wall and inside the city.
A counterattack through two climbing roads.
The defenders were unable to counterattack, and more and more soldiers who surrendered to Shu attached themselves to the wall and climbed to the top of the city until they completely established their position on the city wall and began to attack the interior of Wanzi City along the climbing road or by placing ladders on the inside of the city wall.
go.
Cao Gan originally thought that the soldiers who surrendered to Shu would have no foothold in the Liang Kingdom and that there would be few people fighting desperately to charge into the battle. But when he saw this scene, his face turned pale...