Volume 3 Chapter 59 Collection
War is dynamic and chaotic. From a micro perspective, today's arrangements may be useless tomorrow, but may work wonders the day after tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow may become Achilles' heel.
But, you can't just ignore it, right?
After all, quantitative changes lead to qualitative changes. Only by continuously making rational and correct responses can we improve fault tolerance from a macro perspective and make the command system, like logistics, manpower, morale, and climate, a real factor in determining whether something will be successful or not.
Of course, the outcome of such a large-scale battle will ultimately be determined by a decisive battle of main forces or the gain or loss of strategic locations. Everything that came before was just a prelude, just to create better conditions for the end.
At the moment, Qu Duan traveled west overnight and returned to Fuzhou. This time, he and the Wu brothers would be under the unified leadership of Hu Yin and become one of the three military commanders in northern Shaanxi. From the perspective of actual power, it seems that his power has been weakened a lot. After all, he actually controlled the command of two armies before... But there is no doubt that his rank has gone up, because this time he is a real general, the pinnacle of life that the Western Army generals dreamed of before Jing Kang.
In fact, even in the Guanxi region now, there is only Liu Xi, the son of Liu Zhongwu, as the governor of Xihe Road, who barely maintains the qualifications of a traditional Western Army general.
But it is conceivable that as the importance of the Guanxi war was raised to an immeasurable level, according to Emperor Zhao's previous generosity, as long as the military performance was strong, the commanders of the Western Army would receive unprecedented rewards. This was their opportunity, and Qu Duan's return was a very representative signal.
After Qu Duan left, Zhao Jiu did not delay. The next morning, he led his troops through Sishui Pass and continued westward. Then, in just three days, he returned to Luoyang City, a "strategic location" that was once able to determine the direction of the world.
The reason why I said "in the past" is because this thousand-year-old capital had already been massacred and burned once by the Jin people. It was still a wasteland at this time last year. One year is not enough for it to truly rejuvenate and rebuild its own glory.
However, this does not mean that Luoyang has no value.
"Although Luoyang City is gone, the Luoyang Basin is still a strategic point in the world, and it is also the location of the Western Capital of the Song Dynasty." This afternoon, Zhao Jiu, dressed in military uniform, led a force of more than 3,000 people to the front of the old city of Luoyang. He stopped his horse and looked around for a long time, and sighed from the bottom of his heart. "Zhang Rong has limited ships. Once the Jin army crosses the river in multiple directions, it is very likely that they will not be able to take care of both ends, but this place cannot be ignored."
"To be honest, Your Majesty." Liu Ziyu, who was wearing a cowhide belt, rode forward and spoke. "The Privy Council had concerns before. The last time Your Majesty stopped in Luoyang, the Jin people only sent Wanyan Saba to Jijin with only 5,000 soldiers. The general was also a general that Li Taiwei had defeated several times. They were defeated when they first arrived, and the whole army was wiped out when they retreated. It was like a joke..."
"Do you think Wanyan Loushi deliberately sent a useless person and a few thousand weak soldiers to make us think that Luoyang would not be attacked by Hedong?" Zhao Jiu thought. "But in fact, this time the Jin army attacked in a large scale, and Hedong gathered 100,000 people. Who knows, there will be an elite force coming south from Jijin to attack Mianchi?"
"We have considered this, but it may not be just Jijin, Changquan and Mengjin are also possible." Liu Ziyu responded calmly. "In any case, Luoyang must also be properly protected."
Zhao Jiu nodded but did not say anything. Instead, he looked directly at the two people who had been standing not far in front of the horse for a while... The two were generals Zhai and Da Zhai, who were born into powerful local families in Henan and entered the imperial camp because of their effective battles against the Jin people. Behind the two generals was the old city of Luoyang, but the city wall had collapsed and had never been repaired. One could clearly see hundreds of soldiers standing solemnly in the city.
"I will certainly perform my duties conscientiously and serve as a barrier to the north for the emperor." Zhai Xing, also known as the big Zhai among the small and big Zhai, had been waiting for this opportunity. He stepped forward and quickly responded.
Little Zhai Zhaijin also stepped forward quickly and said respectfully: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty. We have been raised in Luoyang for generations. We know where to cross the north and where to defend. With us brothers in the north, Your Majesty can rest assured in Luoyang."
Zhao Jiu nodded, still without saying a word, but turned around to look at the Prime Minister Wang Boyan who was a little out of breath ... This man was already very old.
"I will certainly perform my duties conscientiously." Wang Boyan bowed on his horse, and then dismounted carefully.
Zhao Jiu acted quickly and got off the horse before Yang Yi Zhong, and helped the somewhat agitated Lord Wang off the horse.
Wang Boyan got off his horse, looking a little embarrassed, but he still managed to bow to Zhao Jiu: "Please forgive me for making fun of you, Your Majesty. I have been living a life of luxury for many years, and I have become old and feeble. I am no longer as brave as I used to be when I carried a bow and followed you."
Zhao Jiu couldn't help but laugh when he heard this: "It's a pity that we still can't let Mr. Wang be the Jingzhao Yin, and we have to make him the Henan Yin."
Wang Boyan was stunned for a moment, and then he burst out laughing.
It is said that what the two of them talked about was the scene when they first met in theory... That was four years ago, Zhao Jiu had not yet climbed out of the well. At that time, King Kang's body was on a diplomatic mission to the north, passing through Hebei. Halfway through the journey, the Jin army broke through the Zhending Prefecture guarded by Liu Ziyu and his son, and the cavalry went directly south to Cizhou and Xiangzhou. At that time, everyone came to persuade him not to go north anymore, and Wang Boyan, who was in Xiangzhou, personally led his troops with a bow and armor to meet King Kang.
The two met at the bank of the Yellow River. King Kang was deeply moved and comforted the other party, saying that when he returned to see the emperor, he would definitely recommend Wang Boyan as the Jingzhao Yin and make him his confidant from then on.
But now, things and people have changed. Wang Boyan had long thought that the emperor had forgotten the old events, and Zhao Jiu certainly had 'forgotten' it... it was just that Yang Yizhong had mentioned it to him unintentionally... However, no matter how many coincidences and falsehoods there were in between, like Lu Haowen, as a prime minister retained in the beginning to stabilize the situation, the two of them had been a monarch and a minister for a time, and the truth or falsehood of some things did not affect their respective feelings.
After laughing, Zhao Jiu supported Wang Boyan and turned to look at the Zhai brothers who had already realized something: "You two have worked hard here. In a few days, there should be volunteers from Ruzhou and Nanyang to replace General Niu... I don't want you to do anything else. Protect Mr. Wang for me and save Luoyang, which is a contribution to this battle!"
Although they had come to their senses, the Zhai brothers were still shocked by what they heard. However, they did not dare to ask any more questions. They could only nod their heads and say yes, and saluted to Mr. Wang.
Wang Boyan, who had dismounted, did not immediately respond to the Zhai brothers, but only bowed to Emperor Zhao and said, "Your Majesty, the south bank of the Yellow River, from Chang'an to Bianliang, has been the backbone of the world since ancient times, and Luoyang is the heart of China... The so-called living in China and facing the world refers to this place... I am a minister of the country, and I have been ordered here. I must live and die with Luoyang. Your Majesty, just go west with peace of mind."
Zhao Jiu nodded.
He knew that the original meaning of "China" was the Central Plains or the capital. After Yan and Huang, during the period of Yao, Shun and Yu, the country was probably established and expanded in the Luoyang Basin. Therefore, this word can specifically refer to Luoyang in many ancient books.
However, this is not the time to worry about these academic issues, nor is it the time to be moved by the determination in Wang Boyan's words... After all, at this point, Zhao Jiu himself is prepared to sacrifice his life for the sake of his son, so no matter who is below the prime minister, at least on the surface, they should be prepared to give up everything.
Of course, the shouting for life and death right now is not just perfunctory and disguise, because the war is right before our eyes, and if it really comes to that, anyone may be forced to make a decision... That is when the fake can no longer be real, and the real can no longer be fake.
In a word, let’s talk about all these emotions after the war.
So, Zhao Jiu just nodded and jumped on the horse, but then he seemed to remember something and looked at the Zhai brothers.
The Zhai brothers all woke up, and then the eldest Zhai turned his head and nodded slightly towards the city behind him which was not covered by the city wall. Then a young knight with a scar on his face rode out of the wall, first knelt down to Zhao Jiu, and introduced himself as Zhai Cong, the eldest son of Zhai Jin. Then he led about soldiers from the two capitals, dozens of auxiliary soldiers, and a dozen mule carts into the team.
Seeing this, Zhao Jiu no longer hesitated, simply left Luoyang behind and continued heading west.
To be precise, he was heading southwest. He did not take the road through Mianchi and Shanzhou... which was across the river and would be too easy to be discovered by the Jin army's scouts... Instead, he followed the Luo River south of Luoyang City and went upstream from the south of the Erxiao Mountains.
In this way, Wang Boyan moved into the Luoyang Palace, and a brand new Jinwu flag was raised on the ruins of the Luoyang city. However, Zhao Jiu stopped marching and marched for more than ten days, passing through the Luoshui trail in the south of Guozhou and the north of Shangzhou, and finally arrived at Lantian, an important town in Guanxi.
Upon arriving here, Zhao Jiu joined forces with Huyan Tong's troops who had arrived here earlier, and also took over the thousands of bronze masks and flags left by Han Shizhong... At this time, the imperial troops, which had reached more than 4,000 people, put on Han Shizhong's iconic bronze masks and took the flag of Han Shizhong's general Xu Shi'an. Under the cover of Huyan Tong's troops, they continued to move westward and arrived in Chang'an on April 18th.
At this time, a large army had already gathered around Chang'an City. In addition to the Jingzhao defense troops originally organized by Yuwen Xuzhong, troops from Xihe Road, Qinfeng Road, and even Xingyuan Prefecture had all arrived. The left army of the Imperial Camp of Han Shizhong, which had arrived from Wuguan Pass, and the various units of the Imperial Camp Central Army, which had arrived from the main road on the north side of Mount Xiao, had already deployed and stationed on both sides of the Wei River.
When they reached Baqiao, Huyan Tong went directly to Weibei to join Wang De's troops. At this time, only one "Xu Shi'an's troops who were good at defense" came to Chang'an... As Yuwen Xuzhong was the prime minister who stayed behind, it was naturally difficult for him to go out to greet them, and he couldn't even go out of the prime minister's residence.
However, Zhao Jiu met Zhang Jun and Zhang Deyuan, the transport envoys of the five routes of Bashu, who were wearing green robes to greet him inside the city gate.
"Officials!"
When Zhang Jun saw Zhao Jiu, he resisted the urge to bow, and only when he was in the city did he rush forward to face him. "I heard on the way that the emperor had entrusted his son to Yiyou, it was really..."
"Don't talk about that." Zhao Jiu continued to rein in his horse and entered the city without paying any attention. "Just tell me how you got here so quickly? What's the military situation in northern Shaanxi?"
"I was very ashamed last time because of the spring rain. I have been handling affairs in Xingyuan Prefecture (Hanzhong) since then, so I came very quickly this time..."
"How many soldiers did you bring?"
"10,000 in Xihe Road, 10,000 in Qinfeng Road, 10,000 in Xingyuan Prefecture... I wanted to recruit the various tribes in Qingtang, but they are all waiting and watching."
"It doesn't matter...Last time, because the spring rain hadn't arrived, Lou Shi didn't see you for a month in Tongguan. I'm afraid that they didn't take you into account this time. Of your 30,000 troops, at least 20,000 are extra variables."
"I am ashamed. Bashu previously provided Nanyang with money and food, and the Western Army has only been rebuilt for a year. These 20,000 soldiers may not have the 4,000 or 5,000 elite soldiers that the government has brought..."
"I just put this together, and I don't know whether it's good or bad, but since we're talking about the money and food from Bashu, 30,000 soldiers, and the three routes of troops in northern Shaanxi... with so many soldiers, will the military pay and logistics be sufficient?"
"Sufficient." Zhang Jun responded immediately. "While I was on my way here, I asked Zhao Kai to collect money, grain, and supplies from Bashu at all costs. Not only did he advance Bashu's money and grain for two years, but he also called on the wealthy families in Bashu to donate money and supplies..."
Zhao Jiu suddenly stopped his horse and asked seriously: "Won't it cause a popular uprising?"
"I think this battle is of great importance. If we lose, I'm afraid we won't be able to save Bashu, so I can't care about it." Zhang Jun also stopped his horse, but he gritted his teeth and said earnestly. "And I set an example by forcing my ancestral property and land to be sold to a wealthy merchant in Xingyuan Prefecture. I got 500 taels of gold, which I also brought with me... Everyone was speechless."
Zhao Jiu was silent for a moment, but could only nod helplessly, then continued to rein in his horse and move forward: "Deyuan is thoughtful... How is the military situation in northern Shaanxi?"
"Wu Jie was defeated three times and lost Fuzhou. Hu Mingzhong retreated to Ningzhou to dispatch the food and grass that I had provided him. Qu Duan went to Qingzhou to reorganize the troops of Huanqing Road. Wu Lin went to Yuanzhou to reorganize the troops of Jingyuan Road. Wu Jie himself led the remaining troops to retreat to Fangzhou and continued to resist Loushi... Compared with this, Huo Nu tried to cross Liangshan to Tongzhou to support the Jin army in Hedong, and then was repelled by Han Taiwei himself. This was expected and appropriate."
"Fangzhou." Zhao Jiu sighed on his horse, but he felt a little confused.
"Fangzhou is in the south of Fuzhou." Liu Ziyu hurriedly reminded him from behind. "It is in the lower reaches of the Beiluo River, but the key point of Fangzhou is not on the Luo River, but on the Ju River, 20 miles away from the Beiluo River. There are rivers and mountains there, so it can still be defended... but the Beiluo River passage can no longer be blocked!"
"In other words." Zhao Jiu looked at him in a daze. "If Lou Shi disregarded everything and was determined to march south to the Weibei Plain, he would be unstoppable? It's been less than a month, right? He has already penetrated northern Shaanxi and taken all three states?"
"It is unlikely that Lou Shi would abandon Fangzhou and move south. Otherwise, if he does, Wu Jie will lead his army to cut off his retreat." Liu Ziyu answered earnestly at first, but after he finished speaking, he himself was not sure, so he added one more sentence. "Even if Lou Shi really abandons Fangzhou and moves south, the Wei River can still be defended. We can quickly deploy troops and our defense is sufficient."
Zhao Jiu kept shaking his head, but his face looked extremely ugly.
No one dared to say much. When they arrived at the Prime Minister's Mansion, each unit of troops went to the city to settle down. The central ministers, close officials, and accompanying generals with names and surnames, however, followed the emperor directly into the city.
Yuwen Xuzhong had already led dozens of senior officials from Guanxi and generals of the Western Army to the courtyard to meet him.
After entering the courtyard and closing the door, everyone began to greet each other formally. Emperor Zhao, who had been unable to hide his worried look beside Zhang Jun and Liu Ziyu, had surprisingly recovered as usual and calmly faced many people he met for the first time.
After both parties sat down, Zhao Jiu, who had done his homework on the way, even remembered to specially summon Liu Qi, the military supervisor of Xingyuan Prefecture (Hanzhong area), and took his hand to ask a few questions... According to Yang Yizhong's reminder, this man had once accompanied the emperor to the imperial court before Zhao Jiu fell into the well, and then returned to Guanxi to serve as the Protector General of Longyou. Later, Zhang Jun valued him and entrusted Yuwen Xuzhong to promote him to the actual commander of the Hanzhong army, largely because of his experience in front of the emperor.
In other words, this brother of Liu Xi, the governor of Xihe Road, and the son of Liu Zhongwu, a famous general of the Western Army, "knew" Zhao Guanjia, and was even a rare "own man" of Zhao Guanjia among the six routes of Guanxi.
After the two sides finished greeting each other, Zhao Jiu sat upright, but still did not ask about the military situation. Instead, he began to assign positions according to what they had discussed on the way:
Liu Xi, the former military commander of Xihe Road, was promoted as the commander-in-chief of the three western roads; Liu Qi, the former military supervisor of Xingyuan Prefecture, was promoted as the commander of Lizhou Road (under Xingyuan Prefecture); and Zhao Zhe, the former military supervisor of Qinfeng Road, was promoted as the commander of Qinfeng Road.
The well-known Western Army generals below the generals, such as Murong Wei, were promoted to the military commander of Qinfeng Road; Li Yanqi was promoted to the military commander of Xihe Road; Zhang Zhong was promoted to the military commander of Xingyuan Prefecture.
He also temporarily sent a letter to Hu Yin in the name of Yuwen Xuzhong, allowing him, Qu Duan and Wu Jie to take charge and allow the two generals to withdraw the troops from Jingyuan and Huanqing routes before the battle.
This was the reward before the battle. Considering Qu Duan's previous arrangements, this was within expectations, and the generals were naturally grateful... but it was hard to say how much effect it had.
After patiently arranging all these, Zhao Jiu ignored the sweat that had already soaked through his cotton military uniform, and then slowly asked about military affairs. However, he only spoke to Yuwen Xuzhong at the beginning: "Prince Yuwen, what does Xixia say?"
"I went to Xixia to invite troops early, but Xixia was slow to respond." Yuwen Xuzhong stood up awkwardly. "I am ashamed."
"I didn't count on them." Zhao Jiu said disapprovingly, but he instinctively held the saber tied to the leather belt around his waist, and then looked at the many Western Army generals on the left side of the hall. "I don't know the geography of Guanxi... You are all veteran generals of Guanxi, but can anyone tell me, can Fangzhou be saved?"
Dozens of Western Army generals looked at each other, and dared not speak a word.
After a while, Liu Xi, who held the highest position, had the most experience, and the strongest family foundation among the people present, had no choice but to stand up and speak carefully:
"Your Majesty, please forgive me for being blunt. Wu Jie has suffered repeated defeats and his troops have long lost their will to fight. Qu Duan and Wu Lin have recently gathered troops in Jingyuan Road and Huanqing Road. We cannot send them to help them properly at the moment. If we wait until the troops from Chang'an reach Fangzhou, it is possible that Fangzhou has already been broken and we will be attacked head-on by the Jin cavalry in the wild... However, our army has sufficient supplies and a strong force. It is better for us to set up our troops along the Wei River, Beiluo River, and the Yellow River, while Your Majesty stays in Chang'an and waits for the summer heat."
Zhao Jiu nodded, as if he had expected this answer.
"I don't recommend going to rescue them either." Liu Ziyu also stood up and said, "Sir, let's not talk about whether we can rescue them or not. The troops in Xingyuan Prefecture and Xihe Road are just what Lou Shi couldn't predict. We should also raise them with surprise troops for great use!"
Emperor Zhao stroked the sword in his hand, then nodded, without any expression... In fact, what else could he do? He didn't know the geography of Guanxi, the abilities of these Western Army generals, or which of them were reliable and which were not. He didn't even have the chance to see the generals of Jingyuan Road, Yanfu Road, and Huanqing Road in person. The only thing he could do was to do his best and leave the rest to fate.
In fact, this is exactly what Wanyan Loushi wanted to see, forcing you to come to a battlefield that you are not familiar with, use unfamiliar subordinates and troops, and face unfamiliar enemies.
It can only be said that at this moment, Zhao Jiu felt more and more that Wanyan Loushi was indeed a famous general of the Jin Dynasty.
