Licheng is just a small city with low walls and thin walls, making it not easy to defend at all.
The most important thing is that their families are all in Dongpingling, and all their servants, property, and fields are here.
Regardless of whether it is from the perspective of the thickness of the city and the defense facilities within the city, or from the perspective of self-interest, Dongping Tomb is the primary defense location.
"Why Licheng?"
Liu Heng asked about his confusion: "Dongpingling is the administrative seat of Jinan. The city is much larger than Licheng, and the city walls are much thicker."
Xun Yu naturally had his own reasons, and explained with a smile: "Licheng is the center of entry into Jinan. It is bounded by Jishui in the north and Mount Tai in the south. It runs across the center and can block the enemy's army. If they guard Dongping Mausoleum, the enemy can completely stop them.
To attack, we choose to go north across Jishui to attack Gaotang. When the north and south attack, Ming Gong will be in great danger."
Li Heng said worriedly: "But Licheng cannot completely stop the enemy. What if they bypass Licheng and go straight to Dongpingling Tomb?"
Xun Yu said: "If this is the case, the enemy will attack alone and there will be no food and grass. I will lead the troops to Licheng this time. I will also send people to Chiping to find Huang Hansheng and Taishi Ziyi for help. I only need to hold on for a few days.
When reinforcements arrive, the enemy will retreat without a fight."
"I see."
Although the two of them had doubts and were uneasy, since Xun Yu insisted on doing so, this was the only way to go.
They didn't know that Xun Yu's best choice was to go to Licheng.
As mentioned before, the three county towns of Licheng, Zhua, and Chi County are actually the three districts of Jinan City in later generations. Jinan people all know that the Yellow River is to the north.
However, during the Han Dynasty, the Yellow River was Jishui, and to the south was Mount Tai.
The terrain here is very similar to that of Hulao Pass, with the Yellow River to the north and Songshan Mountain to the south. It is between the river and the mountains. It can be said to be an important transportation thoroughfare and a battleground for military strategists.
If Xun Yu allowed the partial army led by Xu You to capture this place, then Xu You would be able to advance and attack, and retreat and defend.
Where to enter?
In Gaotang.
The location of Zhu'a is in Changqing District. Between here and Licheng, there is a ferry across the river and the Jishui River.
As soon as the Jishui River passes, it will be behind Gaotang. If Yuan Shao attacks from the north and south, sends troops to bypass the plain, directly attack Longcuo Ferry, seize the ferry, and then cross the river under the cover of Xu Youjun, then Gaotang will be in danger.
Therefore, the location of Licheng is very critical.
Because Jishui at that time was only a little smaller than the Yellow River, and it was also a huge river. It was almost difficult to cross without relying on a ferry. Therefore, as long as Licheng was controlled, Xu Youjun wanted to survive safely without the harassment of the army.
Jishui, that is impossible.
And the most important thing is that even if Xu You did not choose to cross the river to attack Gaotang, if Xun Yu ignored Licheng, Xu You's army would have captured these three counties and occupied the pass between the Yellow River and Mount Tai, which was almost equivalent to Dong Zhuo's army.
Just like giving Hulao Pass to the Kwantung Army, the enemy can attack the hinterland at any time.
At that time, a steady stream of Jizhou troops will enter Qingzhou from Jibei Kingdom. They will be like being choked by someone, and the snake will be beaten seven inches. They can only be attacked by others without any countermeasures.
So where is the retreat?
An important pass in your home is occupied by others. Are they going to retreat if they want to?
Therefore, the importance of this place to Qingzhou is actually the same as Hulao to Luoyang and Jianmen Pass to Sichuan.
As long as this place is defended, a steady stream of Yuan's troops can enter the Jinan Kingdom through the Jibei Kingdom.
Moreover, after passing Jishui, there is Gaotang. Gaotang is the most important crossing of the Yellow River and the last line of defense set up by the Qingzhou Defense Zone. Once Gaotang is lost, the Yellow River natural moat will be gone, and there will be no danger to defend behind.
Naturally, Xun Yu could not let such an important place go to the enemy.
certainly.
In addition to terrain, Sima Ju is also very important.
Sima Ju's remaining troops are still in Chi County. If Xun Yu is in Dongpingling, Sima Ju's troops and horses will be useless.
If he goes to Licheng, even if the enemy takes Zhu'a, Licheng and Chixian can still form a powerful force and block the enemy at the entrance to Jinan. When reinforcements arrive, there will be a chance to turn defeat into victory.
Therefore, Xun Yu was keenly aware of the importance of Licheng, and he had to go to Licheng first before abandoning the Dongping Mausoleum.
After making the decision, Xun Yu immediately set off and asked the city's garrison to gather men.
In fact, Dongpingling is not completely without troops. As the administrative seat of Jinan, there are more than 5,000 county soldiers here, but they are scattered in various counties. There are 1,000 in Licheng, Zhua and other places, and there are 1,000 in Dongpingling.
They are scattered in Luoyin, Zhuoxian, Dongchaoyang and other places.
In addition, there are thousands of auxiliary soldiers who transport grain and grass. Qingzhou implements a recruitment system and adheres to the principle of having elite soldiers instead of large numbers. Therefore, the quality of the soldiers is higher and the number is smaller than that of Jizhou.
However, many aging veterans are unwilling to retire and continue to stay in the army. These soldiers have become auxiliary soldiers, which is equivalent to reserve forces.
The general age of the veterans is basically over 40 years old. Many of them are the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans gathered during Liu Bei's Yellow Turban War and when Chen Mu came to Qingzhou as governor. Now more than ten years have passed, and although the war has been abandoned, the combat effectiveness should still be
There are some.
When they learned that there was fighting in the rear, the veterans participated enthusiastically. By the next day, more than 2,000 auxiliary soldiers had joined the ranks of the fighting soldiers, including Hu Ping, who is now the captain of Dongpingling County.
Hu Ping is also in his mid-thirties this year. Qingzhou’s military recruitment system is based on elite soldiers composed of young men between the ages of twenty and thirty. According to the army plan formulated by Chen Mu, if there are no soldiers before the age of thirty,
To become a low-level officer, ordinary soldiers basically have to retire from the army and go back to farming as a labor force.
The main reason is that at that time Qingzhou was still a typical situation with less people and more land. Although it already had a population of six million, wasteland could be reclaimed everywhere, so there was an urgent need for labor. He retired from the army at the age of thirty, divided the land, married a wife and had children, without delay.
population growth and food production.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Hu Ping followed Liu Bei and Chen Mu for many years and could have served as a mid-level officer. However, due to the death of his father Hu Zhi, he retired and returned home. He received a lot of military merit.
He owned the land, became a county captain, and became a member of the powerful class.
Now when he heard that the enemy was attacking Jinan, Xun Yu called him and immediately put aside his wealth and wealth to respond.
There are still many people like Hu Ping. When Liu Bei first settled in Jinan, he had more than 10,000 Yellow Turban soldiers. Later, Chen Mu swept Qingzhou. Even if the old, weak, women and children in Qingzhou's Yellow Turbans were removed, there were still more than 20 young and strong soldiers.
Wan, only a few of these people, such as Guan Hai, Xu He, Sima Ju, Guan Cheng, Li Bo, Wang Rao and others, have grown to the level of officers, and most of them have retired.
After retirement, they were dispersed to various counties and counties, and the government provided fields to organize production and encourage births. Today, there are thousands of retired soldiers like this in Guangdong Pingling and those who have transferred to the auxiliary army. In addition to those who are far away, those who live near the city, and
Almost all the auxiliary soldiers on standby in the military camp outside the city were recruited and converted into combat soldiers and entered a fighting state.
If Xun Yu had waited patiently and gathered all the reserves in Jinan and even the rear, it would still be no problem to pull up 50,000 to 60,000 horses. But Xun Yu did not have this time and issued the order almost overnight. Many people received it in bed in the middle of the night.
Notified, temporarily recruited.
By the early morning of the next day, a team that had spent the whole night cobbling together was ready to go. Xun Yu left a thousand men to guard the city. Counting the soldiers of Liu Heng, Li Heng and others, there were a total of four
Thousands of people came and started their journey at Pingdan time.
Among these soldiers, there are less than a thousand elite soldiers on active duty. The rest are either Liu and Li's family soldiers, auxiliary soldiers or retired veterans. The sources are very mixed, and their combat effectiveness may also be worrying.
But Xun Yu couldn't care less, and led Hu Ping and a military Sima guard general from Dongpingling to rush to Licheng.
Fortunately, Xu You's army broke through the Great Wall of Qi, and when they rushed outside Zhu'a City, it was already very late. There were too many soldiers with night blindness in the army, so it was difficult to attack the city. They were in a hurry, and they did not carry any siege equipment during the rush.
, so Xu You temporarily camped outside the city, and built some ladders and other siege equipment the next day before attacking.
Zhu'a only had a thousand troops, while Xu You led most of Yuan Shao's troops stationed in Dongjun, totaling 15,000. There was a huge disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves, and Zhu'a was only a small city, with the city only over two feet high.
He is just over five meters tall and falls into the category of an ordinary county town.
A city wall like this, not to mention the walls of Hulao Pass, Chang'an City, Luoyang City, which are more than ten meters high, even a county seat like Dongpingling can reach seven or eight meters, and it is impossible to defend so many enemies.
Therefore, when Xun Yu arrived at Licheng, Zhu'a had long been captured by Xu You, and the battle only lasted less than two hours. The west gate was the main attack, and the north and south gates were feint attacks. There seemed to be no troops outside the east gate.
, In fact, Xu You hid thousands of people in the forest outside the city, surrounded on all sides, and the number of troops in the city was completely insufficient.
After the west city was captured, the defenders opened the east city gate in panic and fled, but were ambushed by soldiers and horses outside the city. They suffered heavy casualties. Only three or four hundred of a thousand soldiers broke through and escaped. The rest were either captured or beheaded.
Kill, as long as Licheng is captured again, the entire Jinan will be exposed to the iron hoof of Yuan Jun, and the situation in Qingzhou will instantly fall into an irreversible situation.
Since Dongping Mausoleum is more than 40 kilometers or 90 miles from Licheng, Xun Yu's army marched for a full day before arriving. From the end of Pingdan in the early morning (5 a.m.) to the beginning of Feeding Time in the afternoon (p.m.
3 o'clock), almost five hours.
By this time, Zhu A'a had already fallen into the hands of Xu You. Xu You had breakfasted with the army, which was when he attacked at three o'clock in the morning (8 a.m.), so he captured Zhu'a at three o'clock in the day.
(12 noon), Zhu'a is still more than 20 kilometers away from Licheng, more than 40 miles away. Even if we set off immediately, we will not arrive until the beginning of the day (5 p.m.), so Licheng is still safe now.
After Xun Yu hurriedly entered the city, the defeated soldiers who had escaped from Zhu'a heard the news of Zhu'a's fall. He rode on his horse, Hu Ping followed beside him, and behind him, groups of soldiers lined up neatly, stepping on the rammed earth.
There was a sound of scratching on the street, and many people were fleeing in the streets, creating a scene of chaos.
After arriving at the Licheng County government residence, Xun Yu immediately summoned Hu Ping, the army commander named Zhou Man, and the Licheng County magistrate to discuss matters.
"Licheng Order."
"exist!"
"Immediately send the woodcutter in the city to cut down wood in large numbers and collect excrement at the same time."
"yes."
"Zhou Man."
"Humble!"
"You lead the craftsmen in the army and quickly go to the top of the city to build fortifications."
"only!"
"Hu Ping."
"Humble!"
"You once served as a heavy cavalryman with black armor. You were an elite cavalry general and led scouts to investigate the enemy's situation."
"only!"
All three of them got the order and started taking action immediately.
The county magistrate of Licheng was responsible for sending people to cut down trees and collect excrement.
Zhou Man then asked craftsmen to make the wood into city defense equipment and build fortifications.
Hu Ping acted as a scout to check Xu Youjun's actions.
Everything was unfolding in an intensive and orderly manner. After Licheng Ling sent his men to do the work, Xun Yu immediately arranged a new task.
At the same time, city defense is also stepping up its production. In a small city like Licheng, if you want large equipment such as crossbows and catapults, don't even think about it. But ordinary equipment such as rolling stones and lime roofs can be made immediately.
Now both sides are fighting for time. Xu You only captured Zhu'a at noon. The soldiers are not incorrigible. Even if they want to be aggressive, they have to eat before they can march. In addition, Licheng itself is some distance away from Zhu'a.
, Xun Yu, at least on this point, still took some advantage.
What's more, Xun Yu already knew the time when Xu You captured Zhu'a from the defeated soldiers who escaped. According to calculations, under normal circumstances, the enemy should not arrive until tomorrow. But if the opponent wants to be quick with their troops, then in the end
It will arrive soon, at the beginning of the day.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! So Xun Yu has at least an hour to prepare.
A large number of orders were issued from the county government mansion, and each military order was quickly executed by officers at all levels and officials from Licheng County. New wood and rolling stones were constantly piled on the city tower, and scouts were also sent to the north in the direction of Jishui Ferry.
Investigate to ensure that Yuan Jun did not directly cross Jishui to attack Gaotang.
Time passed by, and the sky gradually darkened. At the beginning of the day, the enemy did not appear, which made Xun Yu breathe a sigh of relief.
However, as a scout, Hu Ping still brought back bad news, that is, before he reached Zhu'a, he had already encountered an enemy scout halfway. The two sides fought, and enemy reinforcements arrived, so he had to withdraw.
Xun Yu analyzed the intelligence brought back by Hu Ping and came to the conclusion that the enemy immediately chose to set off after taking Zhu'a, resting in place for a period of time during the process, perhaps while feeding (3-5 p.m.
While clicking), let the soldiers eat something on the spot, and then continue to set off.
Judging from the location and time when Hu Ping met the enemy, the enemy should be able to arrive outside Licheng by the end of the day (7 p.m.) at the earliest.
In fact, Xun Yu's inference was not wrong.
Xu You also knew how important Licheng was, so after taking Zhua, he only left 3,000 people to defend the city, and then sent 3,000 vanguard troops to rush to Licheng to see if he could raid the town.
, but encountered Hu Ping's scout team on the way, which alerted the vanguard, fearing an ambush ahead, and they did not dare to continue moving forward.
After the rear army caught up, the vanguard army opened the way in front. Near the end of the evening, when the sky was dim and uncertain, Xun Yu on the city tower had already seen the officials to the west in the afterglow of the sun setting in the distance.