Since the beginning of autumn, the weather in Liaodong has become colder and colder. It has just arrived in September, and the rustling snowflakes have covered the entire land of Liaodong.
In the distance, mountains overlap, and subarctic coniferous forests cover large areas of land. Because of the snow, the roads are rugged and difficult to navigate.
In the ancient Liaodong region, fighting in autumn and winter was a matter of great courage.
In this season, the temperature here will become extremely humid and cold. If the clothes are not thick enough and the shoes are not warm enough, marching and fighting can freeze people to death.
Attacking Liaodong and Korea in winter is like conquering Moscow in winter. Heads of State Napoleon and Yang Guang and Li Shimin all stumbled in this matter.
Xu Rong chose this time to attack Liaodong.
In the past two years, Gongsundu has been very prosperous in Liaodong. He attacked Goguryeo to the east, Wuhuan and Xianbei to the north, seized the Liaodong Peninsula to the south, and invaded Youzhou to the west, thus greatly increasing his strength.
Especially after the surprise attack on Gongsun Zan, his power once again began to expand westward. He had completely digested western Liaoning and was currently attacking Youbeiping.
Historically, both Gongsun Zan and Gongsun Du had a tacit understanding that they did not occupy the western Liaoning region deeply.
This led to the fact that most of Gongsundu's territory was in the Liaodong region, because Youzhou was a horizontal structure, somewhat similar to Inner Mongolia in later generations. It started from Baoding City, Hebei Province in the west, and Pyongyang City, North Korea in the east, so it was divided into the west and the east.
The western part of Youzhou and the eastern part of Youzhou are very polarized. The western part of Youzhou is the area of Beijing in later generations, including Dai County, Shanggu County, Yuyang County, Guangyang County, Zhuo County, and Youbeiping County.
The eastern part of Youzhou stretches from Qinhuangdao to Shenyang and then to Pyongyang, North Korea, with a total of five counties and an area spanning thousands of kilometers.
However, although the six counties in western Youzhou combined are only about the same size as Liaodong County, the population and prosperity of western Youzhou are many times more prosperous than that of eastern Youzhou.
The entire Liaodong region can be said to be vast and sparsely populated. The total population of one county is only more than 300,000, and the total population of the five counties is only more than 700,000 Han people. In the west of Youzhou, there are as many as one million Han people, and there are only one Zhuo County.
It has a population of more than 600,000.
Of course, this refers to the registered Han people in the Eastern Han Dynasty. If you add up the ethnic minorities, whether in Liaodong or Youxi, the population is larger. For example, there are millions of Wuhuan people living in Shanggu Yuyangdai County.
The reason why Xu Rong dared to fight in winter was because the soldiers received sufficient logistical supplies, including cotton-padded clothes and deerskin cotton shoes. After coordinating the primitive tribes of the three Koreas, food and grass were also guaranteed.
In addition to more than 10,000 second-line Qingzhou soldiers, there were also about 10,000 soldiers from the Sanhan area and 23,000 Korean civilians and auxiliary troops transporting grain, grass and baggage.
On the vast northeastern land, this army of about 40,000 people meandered forward. After passing the coniferous forest in front, they could already see a city next to a mighty river, with smoke rising from the cooking pots.
It is said to be a city, but it is actually a gathering place composed of villages of various sizes along the river.
Lelang County was the North Korea of later generations, and its administrative seat was also called North Korea, which was later Pyongyang. It had 18 cities and a population of nearly 200,000. It was second only to Liaodong County among the five eastern counties.
Most of these cities are mixed with Han people, Samhan people, Buyeo people, and Goguryeo people. The scale and development of the cities are far less than those of the Central Plains, so they are still multiplying at the primitive level of mixed tribes.
After all, during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, North Korea's urban development was still dominated by walled cities, which were mostly composed of wooden fences and walls with rammed earth structures, let alone the Han Dynasty more than a thousand years ago.
"General, the Korean city is ahead."
Sun Guan looked deeply into the distance. They had been in the Sanhan area for more than two years. They had investigated Lelang, Liaodong and other places many times. They even disguised themselves as businessmen and traveled between Sanhan and Liaodong, obtaining a lot of information.
They knew that Gongsun Du's garrison in the entire Lelang County was not large, because seven or eight years ago Gongsun Du had surrendered the two powerful countries around Fuyu and Goguryeo. The king of Fuyu, Jian, was the one who helped Liu Yu send troops.
His father, Wei Qoutai, had surrendered to Gongsun Du a few years ago.
It's just that Fuyu is located to the north of Goguryeo, very far from Liaodong, between Xianbei and Goguryeo, which is the Heilongjiang area in later generations, while Gongsundu's territory is in the Liaoning area, so the two sides have never fought, and Jian is not afraid of his position.
offend him.
On the contrary, the Goguryeo Kingdom located in the later Jilin Province, although it also received favors from Liu Yu, King Yiyimo did not dare to send troops to help. It was because Liaodong County was close to Goguryeo, and Yiyimo did not want to provoke the cruel Gongsun.
Spend.
Even Goguryeo and Buyeo are afraid of Gongsundu, not to mention the weaker and ununified Sanhan region. Although it has a large population, Gongsundu naturally does not need to station more troops in Lelang County, which is more remote due to geographical problems.
However, Gongsundu obviously lacked understanding of the Sanhan region. In other words, after conquering almost half of Liaodong and subduing the surrounding ethnic minorities in the past two years, his focus was already on western Liaoning.
Mainly the Sanhan area is the later South Korea. More than 85% of South Korea is mountains and hills, with an average altitude of 128 meters. Unlike North Korea, which has many plains, the average altitude is only 27 meters.
Therefore, from the perspective of interests, the Sanhan region has basically no practical value, and naturally it has faded out of the sight of Gongsundu, the largest prince in Liaodong.
Xu Rong had never been to Lelang County before, but he had been here several times during previous investigations and was very familiar with it. He said calmly: "According to the plan, first surround the entire city from the outside, and then force them to surrender."
"only!"
Sun Guan took the order and left.
Xu Rong was very familiar with dealing with such tribes, whether in Liaodong or Xiliang.
Not only the people of Xiliang are good at riding and shooting, but the Goguryeo and Fuyu people of Liaodong are also good at riding and shooting. In the previous generation, the king of Goguryeo once led thousands of cavalry in Gaogong to surround Xuande County, but was repelled by the state and county government.
Moreover, due to the Changbai Mountains and the many mountains on the Korean Peninsula, except for the plains in Lelang County, most of the Liaodong area has many hunters and spies.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Therefore, in order to successfully capture Liaodong, Xu Rong also made preparations for a long time, from formulating the marching route to avoiding Gongsun Zan's eyes and ears, striving to quickly capture Lelang, and then use
With lightning speed, he captured the entire Liaodong Peninsula.
Sun Guanyinli and others followed the previous deployment and led a small group of troops to slowly surround North Korea City in the distance. There was almost no defense on the outside of the city. The officers and soldiers of the state and county governments had long been hiding in their barracks and did not go out.
The houses here are all made of wood, with few bricks and tiles. They are a bit like the streets of the island country before the Meiji Restoration. Villages gather along the river. This river was called Zhushui in the Han Dynasty and was called Datong River in later generations.
The Qingzhou Army surrounded them from three sides, and when the outermost villages discovered them, it was already too late. Amid the panicked screams of the residents, the soldiers marched into the city in great force.
According to the previous plan, the army did not control any of the peripheral areas, but went straight to the central state and county mansions. In addition to the mansions, there was also a military camp to the east of the city. The total number of soldiers in the camp was about a thousand people, and most of them were
They are old and weak with poor fighting ability.
"Mr. Sun...Mr. Sun."
Guard General Lelang was still having fun in his mansion, but suddenly he became a prisoner. He was shocked when he saw that the person coming was Sun Guan.
The original governor of Lelang was called Liang Mao, and he was imprisoned by Gongsun Du. He was not released until the Cao Wei period. Now Lelang is occupied by the generals of Gongsun Du's faction. He has already become Gongsun Du's forbidden favorite, and is no longer the king of the imperial court.
land.
However, because Lelang is adjacent to Goguryeo in Liaodong to the north, Haoguang to the west, and Sanhan to the south, it has become a trading place between Hu and Han. There are many streets in Korea City and frequent trade, so the business is relatively prosperous.
Xu Rongsunguan pretended to be a Qingzhou merchant and often came here to buy and sell goods. Because Qingzhou and Liaodong were close at hand and had close contacts, he did not arouse suspicion.
Because of their generous spending, General Lelang also got to know the two of them. Now he found out that they were actually undercover agents in Qingzhou, and he couldn't help but regret it.
"General Wang, I'm offended."
Sun Guan did not make things too difficult for him. He captured the prisoners and imprisoned them, and then went to report to Xu Rong.
Xu Rong learned that Chosun City had been captured easily, and it wasn't that big of a deal. There wasn't even a city wall here, just some wooden fences. If they couldn't capture it, then his subordinates would be useless.
"Send the order and continue the attack. I will capture the entire Lelang within three days! Within ten days, I will make Gongsun Du lose the entire Liaodong!"
Xu Rong's eyes flashed with a terrifying cold light.
He and Gongsun Du were childhood friends. Gongsun Du was able to serve as the governor of Liaodong because of his recommendation to Dong Zhuo.
But Shengji.
It is not good for you to offend anyone, so why should you offend him?
Xu Rong looked up at the gray sky of North Korea.
In my heart, I felt a little sad.
.......
.......
"Now we have millions of troops and thousands of generals, and they are hunting in Jizhou. I hope that I will follow the instructions of Heaven and take the lead, so as not to make a mistake."
"Bang! Chen Zigui, you've gone too far!"
Yuan Shao tore the letter in his hand into pieces, his eyes revealing terrifying bloodlust.
This was Chen Mu's message to the governors and generals across Jizhou in order to appeal to Yuan. With Yan Liangwen Chou's defeat and death, the city of Anyang fell, and the entire Jizhou was in turmoil.
Since launching the offensive in the middle of last year, Yuan Shao asked Chen Lin to write "An Essay on Discussing Liu". During the nearly year and a half of the war, Jizhou had the upper hand many times.
But starting from this year, Anyang fell for the first time, and Yuan Shao's several attacks on Qingzhou were frustrated, and his prestige fell sharply.
By the end of August and into autumn, Yan Liang, Wen Chou and others were defeated and Anyang fell again. Wei County was directly targeted by Luoyang soldiers, and Yuan Shao had to retreat hastily. All counties and counties in Jizhou were also frightened.
For a time, the news that Liu Bei was preparing to counterattack Jizhou spread all over the world. Yuan Shao immediately asked Gao Lan and Xu You to return to defend Wei County, and at the same time he prepared to withdraw his troops.
Unexpectedly, Chen Mu's letter "An Essay on Discussing Yuan" would ignite the flames of war again. Qingzhou has obviously begun to build public opinion, and the war will start again next year at the latest.
"Don't worry, sir."
Counselor Liu Hui offered advice: "Although Luoyang defeated the defenders of Wei County, they were still exhausted. The soldiers and people were exhausted, and I am afraid they will not be able to advance further. Liu Bei had to plan for a long time if he wanted to prepare to attack Jizhou. We just need to defeat them."
If we retreat, we may not lose the chance to defeat them again."
Yuan Shao pondered: "What does Zi Hui mean?"
Liu Hui smiled and said: "Ming Gong, please don't forget how Gongsun Zan was defeated? Hebei has a vast terrain. Although there is no dangerous place, it is more suitable for large-scale legion operations because of its vast territory. As long as Ming Gong rectifies military affairs and defeats them one by one,
We will definitely win.”
Why did the attack on Qingzhou fail?
Because Qingzhou is surrounded by natural dangers such as the Yellow River and Mount Tai, and the terrain is relatively narrow, it is not suitable for large-scale army operations.
When Le Yi conquered Qi, the course of the Yellow River was not in the plain at that time, but in Jizhou in the north, which was the original location of the Yellow River during the Han Dynasty.
Without the Yellow River as an obstacle, Qi could only rely on Jishui and Mount Tai. As a result, it was defeated by the five-nation coalition west of Jishui, which led to Le Yi's attack on seventy-two cities.
Now the geographical environment has changed greatly, making it almost impossible for Yuan Shao to copy what Le Yi did.
Just like Hangu Pass was an insurmountable gap during the Qin Dynasty, after the Han Dynasty, it is reasonable to say that the terrain changed and it could be bypassed.
But if the battle location is in Jizhou, it will be different. Jizhou's flat terrain is suitable for large-scale legion operations, and Jizhou's advantage lies in its larger number of troops, even though Wei County lost 50,000 to 60,000 troops this time.
But wasn't Gongsun Zan's side in Youzhou in the north also attacked by Gongsun Du, causing a sharp decline in the strength of the coalition forces? Moreover, Qingzhou and Luoyang were flanked from both sides, and their total strength was smaller than that of Jizhou. If they could attack them head-on, they would have a chance of winning.
"good!"
Yuan Shao was not stupid yet, and felt that Liu Hui was right, so he immediately listened to his opinion, rectified his troops and retreated to Qinghe Kingdom as soon as possible, while studying the strategic direction and looking for an opportunity for a decisive battle.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! ...
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While Yuan Shaohao was still withdrawing his troops, Qingzhou Plain Country and Gaotang County.
Chen Mu also took a boat to go south. Now Yuan Shao's forces have completely withdrawn from Dongjun. Except for the north bank of the Yellow River, the south bank of the Yellow River has returned to Cao Cao's hands.
However, because Cao Cao's people were still in Huaibei, Xi Zhicai only sent people to take over the east county and did not control the south bank of the Yellow River. Therefore, Chen Mu took a boat to the east, and the journey was smooth.
From the beginning of September this year to the end of September now, Chen Mu went back to Luoyang to report on his work. Although he hid the battle report from Zhu Jun, he did not hide it from the court. It must be said that Liu Yu also understood the reason why he hid it from Zhu Jun. , and there is no grudge.
After explaining some of the policies mentioned above to the court, he started rushing to Qingzhou without stopping. It took a full month. This period of time happened to be when Yuan Shao's tentacles began to shrink back. Both sides were scrambling for time.
At the beginning of October, it was already the twelfth lunar month of winter in the north. Although there was not as much snow as in the Liaodong Peninsula, the temperature this year was also extremely cold. The cold wind from Siberia roared in, as if it was about to freeze the mighty Yellow River in an instant.
If the Yellow River really freezes this year, it will not be good news for Qingzhou. Because it means that the powerful navy will be completely reduced to a display. This is one of the main reasons why few princes in the north develop naval forces.
However, Chen Mu had no plans to go on an expedition this winter. His sights were set on spring next year!
When we got off the boat, we saw Liu Bei and Zhang Fei.
Liu Bei is also thirty-seven years old this year. His nasolabial folds have grown and his temples are faintly white. Zhang Fei is also thirty-three years old this year, but his face is full of beard, making him look more like forty-three years old.
Since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the four brothers have been on the battlefield for fourteen years, and time has passed so quickly.
"Big brother, third brother!"
When Chen Mu saw them, he just smiled calmly.
"Fourth brother!"
"Fourth brother!"
The two immediately came up and hugged each other while laughing.
Smiling and laughing, I don't know why.
But suddenly he started crying.
"On this big day, why are you crying, eldest brother and third brother?"
Chen Mu knew why they were crying.
Brothers get together, but there is always one missing person. Just like the snow falling in the sky, how can one be missing the wind?
"It's a pity that my second brother is not here."
Liu Bei wiped his tears: "When can the four of us get together again?"
Chen Mu looked deeply to the north and murmured: "Come on, come on. When I come back, I will hunt with my eldest brother, second brother and third brother in Jizhou!"