Chapter 900: The north is strong and the south is weak
After Li Siye conquered Liaodong, he not only got the more than 80,000 soldiers and horses left by the Yan army, but also the vast cultivated land in Hebei, and made three generals under Shi Siming, Xue Song, Li Huaixian, and Tian Chengsi, county kings. He was originally called
Tian Chengsi, but in order to avoid Li Siye's name taboo, he deliberately changed his name to Tian Chengsi.
These three newly appointed princes thought that there would be greater rewards in the future, and Li Siye would divide Hebei into several areas for them to rule. After all, they have more prestige in this three-acre land. This is to continue to maintain
The simplest way to stabilize Hebei.
However, after Li Siye occupied Youyan, he only granted virtual titles to the powerful factions in the Yan army. He also promoted a large number of generals at the grassroots level of the Yan army and divided them into nine armies, two of which were organized into
Under the command of Hedong Jiedu Envoy, two armies were incorporated into the Chang'an Forbidden Army in Guanzhong. The remaining five armies continued to stay in Youzhou, Yingzhou and Liaodong, under the command of the new Youyan Jiedu Envoy Li Chongbao.
Tian Chengsi and Li Huaixian had resentment in their hearts, but they dared not express their anger.
During the Shangsi Festival, Li Siye visited Xiangshan Mountain at dusk and called Tian Chengsi and Li Huaixian to visit together. They stood on the top of Xiangshan Mountain. Li Siye looked at the vast land of Hebei and sighed: "There are many heroes in the land of Yanzhao.
Although there has been a lot of barbarism in the past hundred years, there have also been many strong soldiers and generals. I can foresee that the strength of Youyan within a hundred years will directly determine the rise and fall of the Central Plains and even the world. I plan to upgrade Youzhou to the northern capital.
To replace Taiyuan, I will stay in Beidu and serve as my subordinates."
The two of them crossed their hands together and said, "My lord, your actions are wise, and you can ensure that Youyan will have no worries for a hundred years."
He turned back to the two of them and said, "Are the two princes still unhappy?"
The two of them knelt down and crossed their hands in fear: "My lord, the kindness you have shown us is far better than that of Shi Siming and An Lushan in the past. How can we be unwilling to do so?"
Li Siye put his hands behind his back and looked at the sky and said coldly: "I didn't tell the truth."
Now the two of them looked at each other, not knowing what to say.
"Throughout the ages, how many people of the opposite sex have met a good end when they were crowned kings? I am thinking about both the country and you, so that the monarch and his ministers will not be suspicious of each other, and there will be no need for me to expend my energy to reduce the vassal. You can follow me back to Chang'an.
Luoyang, there are 108 buildings in the city for you to choose from, and the master craftsman will build a royal palace for you. The treasures of Kyushu and the treasures of the Western Regions are for you to play with and collect. Wouldn't it be nice to be a rich man in your free time?"
Both of them are old men who have fought hard on the battlefield and are well-versed in the world. They quickly crossed their watches and said loyally: "We are grateful to King Yong for receiving such a generous treatment. Now that the world has not been peaceful, how can we enjoy peace of mind. If your Majesty,
If there is a mission, we should pick up our guns and mount our horses to march south to unify the country."
Li Siye smiled in agreement and said: "What you two said deeply touched my heart. I will not forget you when I go south this time."
…
In June of the fifth year of Yuanshuo, Li Siye, who had obtained Hebei Province, greatly increased his strength and assembled an army of 300,000 troops. With Li Chongbao and Duan Xiushi as generals, Tian Chengsi as marching commander, Li Huaixian and Xue Song as left and right vanguards, they went south to attack Yecheng in Xiangzhou.
Knowing that he was outmatched, Guo Ziyi quickly led his troops to withdraw from Yecheng, retreated to Heyang south of the Yellow River, and set fire to the pontoon bridge on the Yellow River.
After learning that the pontoon bridge on the Yellow River was burned down, Li Siye ordered his army to march eastward and crossed the Yellow River from Huazhou. Xu Shuji, the Huapu Jiedu envoy stationed in Chenliu, abandoned the city and fled.
Li Siye then led his army to march westward, approaching Tokyo and Luoyang.
Guo Ziyi has already withdrawn the Tang army to Luoyang City. However, the once prosperous Luoyang has been in dilapidated state after being plundered by several wars. There are only ten palaces left and the city defense has been seriously weakened. It is difficult to defend against Li Siye's army in this city.
Besides, the opponent also has Xuanwu heavy artillery.
Emperor Li Yu sent a message to Guo Ziyi, ordering him to find ways to defend Luoyang. If he could not hold on, he would retreat.
He didn't want to waste his troops in this dilapidated city, but after all, this was Luoyang, the eastern capital, and there was the emperor's will. Li Siye had the blessing of Youyan cavalry and Feihu cavalry, and the forward march was very fast, so he also needed to stay.
An army was stationed in Luoyang to block the opponent's attack.
After discussing with the generals in the army, he finally retained the general Changsun Quanxu and left him with 20,000 people to resist in the Shangyang Palace area. Guo Ziyi's order to him was to fight and retreat but not to hold on.
After Li Siye's forward arrived at Chenliu, they encountered a big and insurmountable problem, that is, the baggage and artillery battalions could never keep up with the marching speed of the cavalry infantry. However, the further south they went, the more baggage and artillery fire were needed to attack the enemy, so the forward had to stop.
Come down and wait. In this time, Guo Ziyi has already made arrangements to repair the fortifications and is ready.
Zhongshu ordered Xu Bin to advise him: "In the past, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty dug the Grand Canal, which reached Youyan Zhuojun in the north, and reached the Jiangdu Yuhang in the south, with Luoyang as the center and running through the north and south. Now, taking advantage of the fact that the Southern Dynasty has not yet taken action on the canal, the lord has captured Luoyang.
Afterwards, more than a hundred large ships should be recruited to transport the Xuanwu cannons on board, and the remaining armies should escort them south along the waterway. This not only saves a lot of manpower and material resources, but also saves the time of going south. Even some cities near the river bank,
You can directly mount the cannon on the ship and fire it to capture the city and get twice the result with half the effort."
Li Siye sincerely praised: "It's a good strategy, but the grain-carrying boats are light and fragile and not suitable for carrying artillery. People should be mobilized to build dozens of large ships specifically for carrying artillery."
Xu Binmao then recommended himself: "Leave this matter to Wei Chen."
Li Siye added: "In that case, give Tian Zhen an order to lead his army from Tongguan out of Shaanxi County to attack Luoyang and form a pincer attack with our army."
After King Yong's military order was issued, the two armies from the east and west were dispatched to attack Luoyang at the same time. Changsun Quanxu resisted near Shangyang Palace. Tian Chengsi had already led his army to attack Xiyuan, but Tian Zhen entered Luoyang from both sides of Luoyang.
Changsun Quanxu could not withstand their two-sided attack, so he had to retreat from Jianchun Gate and followed Guo Ziyi to Nanyang.
After Yong's army entered Luoyang, Li Siye ordered all armies to carry out repairs, but not to take the opportunity to rob the people of Luoyang. He specially mobilized 50,000 people for Xu Bin to build a large ship to carry artillery. After the large ship was completed, he would go south in coordination with the cavalry, but
It has a miraculous effect.
After Guo Ziyi arrived in Nanyang, he wrote a memorial to Li Yu who was heading to Jiangdong, expressing his determination to defend Xiangyang. Li Yu, out of concern for the safety of Yangzhou and Jinling, wanted him to lead troops to Anqing to defend Xiangyang.
He immediately sent a memorial to Li Yu explaining in simple terms why he should focus on Xiangyang instead of the defense line east of the Yangtze River. The lower reaches of the Yangtze River were wide, and Li Siye relied on cavalry and Xuanwu heavy artillery from the north. If he attacked from Luzhou and Zhenjiang,
To the east of the Yangtze River, we must first face the insurmountable broad river. Even in places such as Yangzhou and Luzhou in the north of the Yangtze River, there are crisscrossed water networks and overlapping mountains, which are not conducive to the movement of large armies.
Now that Li Siye has captured Shuzhong and is firmly in the upper reaches of the river, as long as he captures Jingxiang again, the taxable grain and grain from Shuzhong will continue to flow southward from the river. The Han River can also transport Hanzhong military grain, which will then help him seize Jiangxia, the water and land strategic point, and the entire Jiangdong will be
It became his prize. So he must attack Xiangyang.
Whether Xiangyang can be saved or not is related to the final survival of the Tang Dynasty.
After Li Yu heard about it, he quickly issued an order to Jiangdong states to recruit troops to provide assistance to Xiangyang, and personally promised Guo Ziyi that whoever wanted him would just speak.
Guo Ziyi only asked Li Yu for one person, Zhang Xun, the former magistrate of Qingyuan County, who is now the governor of Nanyang.