Chapter 4259: Forced Crossing of Ba River (Part 1)
Having a yang...it feels so uncomfortable.
*****
Interests need to be actively fought for, and more importantly, they need to be exchanged with each other, and this exchange process is no different from business. Since it is a business, it is natural to bargain. The main point of doing business is either to value the rareness of the goods or to be proud of the goods. As long as you occupy these two points, why worry about the money not rolling in?
For the King of Jin, Chai Zhewei, the Chai family of Jinzhou behind him, and the Zuotunwei under his command are the forces that the King of Jin needs to rely on most. In today's seemingly stalemate situation, the changes in every force It may determine the final success or failure, so even if Chai Zhewei is not a "rare commodity", he is definitely worth a high price.
Therefore, Chai Zhewei does not think there is anything wrong with his approach. Not only do you need me, but I will also take huge risks if I rely on you. If there is no corresponding high return, who will follow your lead?
At the same time, Chai Zhewei became more and more convinced that Yu Wenshiji was plotting against the Xuanwu Gate. Otherwise, with Li Daozong at the gate, how could Zuo Tunwei break in even if he was not afraid of death? As long as the Xuanwu Gate is opened, the Zuo Tun Guards and Li Daozong join forces, and the Right Tun Guards, who is short of soldiers and lacks weapons, is not a concern. Even if Fang Jun personally guards the Xuande Gate to guard the Taiji Palace, it will not matter. Completely overwhelmed.
As long as the Xuanwu Gate is completely controlled and subsequent armies enter continuously from the Xuanwu Gate, Li Jing will be unable to turn the tide even with the help of Tongtian Chedi, and his defeat is certain.
Looking at it this way, the risk of joining King Jin is not high, but the benefits are absolutely huge. This business is really worth it...
*****
On the east side of Ba Bridge and at the foot of Lishan Mountain, Yuchi Gong sat on horseback with his helmet and armor on, staring at the sparkling Ba water in the sun in front of him, feeling extremely heavy.
He has led his army to station here for two days, and the skyrocketing water level of Ba River has returned to normal. However, the army led by Donggong Liu on the other side is still as stable as a mountain. It is only stationed on the Hexi defense line. The elite right guard turned a blind eye. Not only did they have no intention of crossing the river to attack, they didn't even make any move to strengthen their defense.
This is very abnormal...
As a famous general at that time who had been fighting for half his life, Yu Chigong deeply felt the danger hidden behind this abnormality. When everything goes abnormal, there must be monsters. His rich combat experience made him frightened, and he almost wanted to withdraw his troops and return to Tongguan regardless of his prior plan. .
A war horse came from the north, penetrated the guard post set up by the soldiers and drove straight forward. The cavalryman on the horse dismounted, knelt down on one knee in front of Yuchi Gong's horse, and said loudly: "Commander Qi, the message has just been sent from Hangu Pass. Reply to Liu Ren Gui led the navy and the private army of the Zheng family in Xingyang to capture Luoyang, marching twenty miles every day to approach Hangu Pass. Qiu Xinggong, the guard of Hangu Pass, continuously asked for help from Tongguan, but Tongguan never sent reinforcements. "
< br>
Yuchi Gong's eyes passed over the continuous tents on the other side. The sunlight reflected on the river made him squint his eyes slightly, and he became increasingly uneasy.
He naturally knew that Tongguan would not send any reinforcements to Hangu Pass, because it did not matter whether Hangu Pass could be held. Even if it could be held for a while, under the attack from both sides of Guanzhong and Hedong, Tongguan and Hangu Pass would fall. Sooner or later, since it is destined to be impossible to defend, why should we divide our troops and reduce our strength?
The original plan was for him to quickly break through the Ba River defense line and reach the city of Chang'an, which would trigger a chain reaction of garrisons from all over Guanzhong. Yuwenshi and other ministries secretly contacted each other. As long as three or two armies rose up to support the King of Jin, it would be enough to completely reverse the situation. .
When he crosses Baqiao, the King of Jin will lead all the remaining troops from Tongguan to rush to Chang'an, fight with their last ditch, risk their lives and survive.
Unexpectedly, the continuous rainfall for many days caused the water level of Ba River to rise sharply, which was not conducive to the forced crossing, which seriously delayed the march. If the navy stepped up its march and captured Hangu Pass before the King of Jin led his army to set off, the situation would be completely eliminated. passive.
As the navy pursued them one after another, the King of Jin was bound to leave his army behind and could not go all out to counterattack Chang'an. This made the entire plan completely go astray, and the subsequent situation was no longer predictable.
But what the hell is the navy marching twenty miles every day? Even if I climb, I won’t have to climb such a small distance!
It seems that he is cooperating with Yu Chigong. If Yu Chigong does not forcefully cross the Ba River to attack the west bank defense line, the navy will not attack Hangu Pass...
Is it possible that he is waiting for him to rush into Ba River and approach Chang'an, and then surround him on all sides to catch turtles in the urn?
Yuchi Gong felt as panicked as grass had grown in his heart. He gritted his teeth and felt that it would be more prudent for him to withdraw his troops temporarily. After all, retreating to Tongguan could still be negotiated in the worst case scenario. He might not have no way out, but in the event of a sudden attack on Bashui, If they were surrounded and annihilated, even if they could survive in the end, most of the tens of thousands of men under their command would have to die in battle.
Without soldiers and horses, even if you live, you will no longer have power and be insulted by others, so it is better to die!
He said to the deputy general Su Jia beside him: "Gather the whole army immediately, make fire and make food, and then the whole army will break camp..."
Before he finished speaking, several more war horses galloped in the distance, and suddenly they approached. The knight jumped off his horse and shouted: "His Royal Highness King Jin has an order!"
Yuchi Gong swallowed the second half of his words and frowned at the soldiers who came to deliver the battle report.
The soldier ran forward and raised a battle report above his head with both hands.
Yu Chigong jumped off the horse and took the battle report with both hands. He first checked the sealing seal and saw that the seal was intact. Then he opened the envelope and took out the letter paper. He then looked at the signature on the letterhead to confirm that it was correct, and read the battle report at a glance.
A face completely gloomy...
Su Jia asked in a low voice from one side: "What military orders does His Highness King Jin have?"
Yuchi Gong handed him the letter, then strode back to the Chinese army camp and stood in front of the map on the wall. He carefully observed the topography and roads from Chang'an to Tongguan, and Tongguan to Hangu Pass. The more he looked at it, the tighter his frown became.
After reading the battle report, Su Jia followed back to the camp with a solemn expression. Standing behind Yuchi Gong, he hesitated and said: "His Royal Highness ordered us to attack Bashui immediately and approach Chang'an. He mobilized all his troops and arrived soon... Is it a bit risky? ”
Yuchi Gong did not take his eyes away from the map. Hearing this, he said calmly: "Since we turned back from Chang'an to follow the King of Jin, at which point have we not taken risks? If we want to break through the bottleneck of power and take a step further, naturally we cannot just lie on our backs. Waiting for death with credit in the book, wealth and wealth in danger, that's all."
After a pause, he continued: "Presumably the King of Jin has also noticed the suspiciousness of the navy's slow progress, and they all agree with my guess. They all think that the navy intends to drive us into Chang'an, and wait until the Jin After the king launched an army to counterattack Chang'an, he calmly captured Hangu Pass and Tongguan, completely cutting off the King of Jin's retreat."
Su Jia was puzzled: "If that's the case, wouldn't King Jin's military order be exactly what the navy wants?"
Yuchi Gong raised his thick eyebrows, with a murderous look on his black and purple face: "How can Prince Jin have any choice? If we reinforce Hangu Pass, we will definitely be held back by the navy no matter whether we can hold it or not, and our side will be held back no matter whether we can or not. Break through the Bashui defense line When we approach Chang'an, we will be out of touch with Tongguan. When the time comes, the Sixth Army of the East Palace will only have to cut off the retreat behind us, which will cause us to be completely separated from Tongguan, and we will fight on our own, and we will be defeated in a matter of seconds."
He stood with his hands behind his back and said: "It is better to abandon Hangu Pass and counterattack Chang'an with all our strength. We will complete our efforts in one battle. If we don't succeed, we will be benevolent."
There is no frustration of the difficult situation, no hesitation of a dilemma. At this point, Yuchi Gong has completely stabilized his mind. He is extremely admirable for the choice of Jin Wang Li Zhi. After all, he can make such a decisive choice between life and death, success or failure. , are all outstanding figures of their generation.
"Go down with the order, light a fire and make food. After dark, the whole army will pull out of the camp. At three o'clock in the morning, the whole army will march thirty miles south to cross the Ba River!"
"Here!"
Su Jia agreed loudly, glanced at the map subconsciously, and then his eyes widened instantly...
"Big... handsome!"
"Huh?" Yuchi Gong frowned, wondering why he, the deputy general, didn't obey orders quickly.
Su Jia knew that as a deputy general, he should not question the commander's orders, but he couldn't help it. He hesitated and asked bravely: "Thirty miles upstream from Ba River is Zuowuwei's defense area. Cheng Yao Jin and Niu Jinda are currently sitting in the army, ready to prepare..."
In a marching battle, the most difficult battle is naturally the siege battle. As the saying goes, "the right time is not as good as the right place." Even if there is a huge gap in the strength and combat power of the two sides, once the weaker side occupies the advantage of defending the city, the stronger side will have to pay a lot of effort. Win at a high cost.
Secondly, there is the battle across the river, especially when the enemy is well-positioned on the other side and the river is forcibly crossed. If you let the world's most powerful army run rampant, it will easily overturn.
The force of the right guard who came randomly at the moment was about 20,000, and they were all top-notch elites. However, the left guard under Cheng Yaojin on the other side was also an elite force, and they had an even better advantage. It was a bloody battle. It is inevitable that even if the forced crossing is successful, how many of the 20,000 troops will be left?
What else can we use to raid Chang'an?
Yuchi Gong never allowed his subordinates to question his troop formations, but this time he was not angry, but pointed to the map and explained: "Although Zuowuwei is stationed for defense in the upper reaches of Ba River, its camp is five miles away from the river. Outside, and forming an array from north to south along the shape of the river, in the shape of a long snake, we choose a point to concentrate our troops. Crossing the river, it will be difficult to mobilize enough troops to resist it in a short period of time. Believe me, as long as we can successfully cross the river, Cheng Yaojin will definitely not charge forward and fight to the death. Instead, he will decisively lead his army to retreat ten miles to prevent us from taking advantage of the situation to break through him. The defense line raided Chang'an and asked for help from Chang'an."
Regardless of their current relationship, the Zhenguan ministers had fought side by side for many years in the past, and they knew each other's personalities and strategies well. From the fact that Cheng Yaojin watched the fire from across the bank before, we can see his intention to preserve his strength and seek progress. Now how can he be willing to waste the soldiers and horses that support his ambitions on the shore of Ba River?
Once the momentum of a forced crossing is formed, Cheng Yaojin will definitely avoid the edge temporarily and will never fight bloody battles.
Su Jia did not dare to say anything anymore and quickly walked out of the camp. The lieutenant colonel of the anxious army conveyed the military order. Soon, people and horses in the military camp were moving, large pots were propped up, smoke was curling up, and the soldiers walked out of the camp, each group was a unit. Waiting for meal.
All the horse scouts from all walks of life were released and patrolled up and down the Ba River, paying close attention to the movements of all the troops on the other side.
The sun sets, the stars move, dark clouds gather, and the surrounding fields are vast.
When it fell to midnight, Yuchi Gong walked out of the camp with his helmet and armor on. Seeing that all the troops had formed up and the heavy baggage soldiers responsible for laying the pontoon bridge were also ready, he jumped on his horse surrounded by his own soldiers and held the horse in his hand. , Shen shouted: "Let's go!"
More than 20,000 people were fully armed. They kept silent and chewed immediately. They quietly abandoned the entire military camp and evacuated backward to ten miles away from Bashui, and then rushed southward.
I was a little confused when I saw that there were two Dukes of Qiao. The one who was granted the title of Duke first was Xu Shao. After his death, there is no historical data showing that he died and the country was eliminated. Then Chai Shao was granted the title of Duke of Qiao. After Chai Shao's death, his son Chai Zhewei He attacked the Duke of Qiao, and then during the Longshuo period, Xu Shao's son, Xu Yu, became the prime minister of Zuo and the Duke of Qiao... I really can't figure out the reason.
But there are indeed two Qiao Kingdoms, so I think that since there are two Qiao Kingdoms, there should be two Qiao Kingdom Dukes, but with different fiefdoms... If any book friends know this knowledge, please feel free to correct me.
(End of chapter)