Chapter 4200 A bad premonition
Yu Chigong was stationed at Mengjin Ferry. He saw more and more Shandong private troops successfully crossing the river and arriving at the south bank of the Yellow River. He heard that the navy's warships were successfully blocked by Sujia after entering the Yellow River from Banzhu. The warships were damaged numerous times and were captured by Sujia. Forced to slow down, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.
He was most afraid of the approaching navy, taking advantage of the Shandong private army to cross the river and attack half way across the river. Without the strong support of these Shandong private troops, Jin Wang Liantong Pass would not be able to hold on, let alone counterattack Chang'an?
But when the news on the Yellow River continued to come, especially when it was learned that Liu Rengui actually parked the fleet and repaired the damaged warships on the spot, an unpleasant feeling came over him.
……
Today, Yu Chigong moved his general's tent to the bank of the Yellow River, and sat in the tent with Cui Chengfu. He directed the Shandong private army that had successfully crossed the river to re-form and organize. They simply drank rice and water and rested for a while before rushing to Tongguan.
Cui Chengfu saw Yu Chigong's brows furrowed and wondered: "The crossing of the river is going smoothly now. The navy was delayed by your ingenious plan to reach the Yellow River. Why is it frowning?"
Yuchi Gong then raised his brows and sighed: "Although with one hundred thousand troops, the defense of Tongguan will be impregnable, and we can wait for the opportunity to counterattack Chang'an and Dingding's great cause, but so many human hedgehogs gathered in the small area of Tongguan, people can eat them. How much food does Ma Che need to consume every day? I’m afraid it won’t last long.”
What he said on his lips was completely different from what he was thinking.
He suddenly realized that the reason why the Navy was delayed by the people he sent was because the Navy had no intention of rushing to Mengjin Ferry quickly?
Not thinking about reaching Mengjin Ferry as soon as possible would mean allowing one hundred thousand Shandong private troops to cross the river.
And if the navy really does this, then it has only one intention - to put all these Shandong private troops into Tongguan, and then tighten their pockets so that no one can escape back to Shandong...
This thought emerged from the bottom of my heart, and a layer of cold sweat suddenly appeared on my back.
Did the East Palace really think it was a sure win and had already begun to plan for what would happen after the fall of King Jin?
After all, once these 100,000 private troops are completely destroyed, along with countless grain and supplies, the Shandong family's wealth will be completely drained. When the prince ascends the throne and dominates Shandong with his great righteousness, who else can compete with him?
Shandong is no longer the Shandong of aristocratic families...
Cui Chengfu did not expect this, but Yu Chigong's words also made him worried, and he said in a deep voice: "The troops, horses and baggage in front of me are almost all the Shandong family can afford. If the war cannot be ended within two months, the Shandong family will also There is no way to continue.”
War is not only about the army, but also about logistical equipment. The noble families have always understood this, so whenever there is a war, they will sell their wealth for a price and use their population and equipment to gain entry into the family.
But if all the resources are exhausted this time, even if King Jin finally wins and ascends the throne, the strength of the Shandong family will suffer irrecoverable damage.
It is even said that once the war breaks out, the Shandong aristocratic family will have to continue to give Tongguan blood transfusions until their resources are exhausted and their ammunition and food are exhausted...
He began to doubt the correctness of his family's decision to support King Jin.
In fact, the family has been trapped in Shandong for many years. It has been suppressed since the Sui Dynasty and has never been able to enter the court to seize central power. This makes it inevitable for the family to make decisions that are not in line with the general trend. The death of Cui Yuqing last time forced Cui Dunli to completely This can be seen in the break with the family.
If you make a mistake again this time, you will follow King Jin on a path of no return...
Cui Chengfu simply couldn't imagine the serious consequences.
However, Yu Chigong was impatient to talk to him about this. He stood up and came to the hanging map, carefully observing the terrain near Tongguan.
If you want to trap Tongguan into a dead end, in addition to using strong oppression from Chang'an to prevent the Jin army from leaving the pass, you must also cut off the Yellow River and cut off the retreat to Tongguan. Cutting off the Yellow River is naturally the task of the navy. To accomplish this, the most critical thing lies in the ownership of Shaanzhou.
Sanmenxia is a natural chasm of the Yellow River, with hidden reefs and narrow channels everywhere. Even if you go down the river, you have to bear great risks, let alone go upstream.
As long as Shaanzhou is in hand, Sanmenxia is under control. When the navy is moving upstream, it can be attacked on the mountains on both sides of the river. There is a good chance of annihilating the entire navy.
But once Shaanzhou is lost, the navy can control both sides of the Yellow River and recruit trackers to pull the warships across the Sanmenxia natural chasm to Tongguan...
Whether Shaanzhou can hold on depends on who owns Luoyang.
Last year's Eastern Expedition, all the troops in Shangluo were recruited. After returning to China, these troops all entered the Guanzhong together. Afterwards, they suffered heavy losses in the war and have not yet been reorganized. Only a handful of troops have returned to their places of origin, resulting in the current situation in Luoyang. The situation of empty military strength.
Once the navy is on the Yellow River, transports heavy armored infantry ashore, and supports it with artillery, Luoyang will inevitably fall.
Tongguan can't spare any troops to support Luoyang...
And if Luoyang falls, the navy can reach Shaanzhou directly. It will be difficult for the Jin army to hold Shaanzhou. After all, the ancient Weihan Road is rugged and difficult to travel, making it very inconvenient for support. When Shaanzhou is lost, the Sanmenxia natural chasm can no longer hinder the navy's fleet, and the navy can advance by land and water, cross the Weihan Ancient Road, and attack Hangu Pass.
If Hangu Pass is lost again, how can Tongguan be defended as an isolated city?
Yuchi Gong thought about it and thought for a long time. He immediately wrote a battle report at his desk, put it in an envelope and sealed it with fire paint. In exchange for his own soldiers to deliver the battle report, he warned: "Hurry up and send it to Tongguan, and you must hand it over to His Royal Highness the King of Jin." , inform him that it is extremely urgent and must make a decision as soon as possible.”
"Here!"
The soldier put the envelope in his arms, turned around, and galloped away.
Cui Chengfu came behind Yuchi Gong and said in surprise: "But what's wrong?"
Yu Chigong looked heavy and shook his head: "Maybe I'm just worrying unfoundedly. Don't worry about it."
He would not confess his worries to Cui Chengfu. If he were not careful, the Shandong family would be frightened. If they were afraid and did not fully support Tongguan, then something bad would happen.
No matter what, we have to empty out the wealth of the Shandong family before we can hold on to Tongguan without losing it, and then wait for an opportunity to counterattack Chang'an...
Cui Chengfu frowned and looked at Yuchi Gong, suspicious in his heart. He always felt that what the other party said was untrue and had reservations.
But I don’t know where the problem is...
After a pause, he said: "I still have something to report to the head of the family, so I will go to Tongguan with the first batch of troops. I need to trouble the Duke of E to fully control the crossing of the river here."
Yuchi nodded respectfully and said: "You should do your duty as you should. My dear brother, just go ahead."
Cui Chengfu said goodbye to the other party, left the commander's tent, joined the first batch of troops crossing the river that had been assembled, and headed towards Tongguan in a hurry.
At Mengjin Ferry, tens of thousands of private troops and baggage were ferried across the Yellow River by countless boats. They were vast and their morale was high.
*****
Li Siwen and Qu Tuquan advanced along the Guangtong Canal to the vicinity of Xinxiang and stopped advancing. They were a few miles away from Cheng Chubi's troops who followed, and they set up camp respectively to strangle the Guangtong Canal waterway and push the rebels away. The army was blocked in Tongguan.
Zuowuwei also marched out from Chang'an City in a mighty manner, and began to set up defenses from the Zhongwei Bridge area to the west. Huxian, Yucui and other places were all under control. Tens of thousands of soldiers and horses formed a solid defense line to defend the rest of Guanzhong. The Six Guards troops broke into Chang'an City.
The area around Chang'an is impregnable.
After Fang Jun crossed the Wei River, he did not arrive at the Youwuwei station immediately. Instead, he found a leeward place by the river to set up camp and sent his soldiers to contact Xue Wanche.
It was not until the evening of the second day that any of the soldiers returned, broke camp and set off to rush to the Youwu Guards.
Not far from the station, he saw several horses galloping towards him from the official road. Fang Jun reined up his horse and stopped, saying, "Go and intercept them and ask who they are."
"Here!"
Wei Ying and others rode forward, stopped in the road, and shouted loudly: "Who are you? Stop quickly and accept questioning!"
Unexpectedly, the opponent not only did not stop, but also accelerated his horse, abandoning the official road and galloping along a small road in the northeast direction.
Fang Jun whispered: "Pretend to catch up, but don't let the other party notice you. You will be back in ten miles."
Wei Ying was puzzled, but he didn't dare to ask any more questions, so he rode towards the opponent and chased him wildly.
Before Fang Jun arrived at the Youwuwei camp, Wei Ying led his people back and reported back: "The other party's more than ten riders fled all the way towards Jinpu Ferry, but they didn't realize that we were just pretending."
Fang Jun nodded, looked at Xue Wanche who was striding out of the camp, turned over and dismounted, walked up to him with a smile on his face, and said with a big laugh: "General Xue, are you okay?" (End of Chapter)