Chapter 619: Patrol
In troubled times, if you can no longer be peaceful, then die with honor.
When Wang Yun led Yangqu's Bingzhou Army to a major defeat outside Shiling Pass and fled back to Taiyuan on his bicycle, Hu Zhen arrived in Jiexiu Dusuoyuan, 200 miles away from Taiyuan, with 50,000 Kansai reinforcements. .
At the end of October, Hu Zhen's army crossed Longmen, went north along the Fen River, and finally arrived outside Taiyuan in early November.
At this time, in as little as ten days or as quickly as seven days, the entire army can reach Taiyuan. After obtaining a supply there, they can leave the building road to the west and insert themselves directly into the flank and rear of the Taishan Army.
But at this time, Hu Zhen received an urgent request for help from Dingyuan, Taiyuan, and he learned a shocking news:
"Taiyuan is surrounded!"
When he received this bad news, Hu Zhen remembered something. When his army passed through Linfen, his old friend Wang Chang, the Linfen captain, saw him off.
Linfen, where Wang Chang is stationed, belongs to Hedong County, which has always been the basic base of Dong Zhuo Group. All major towns in its territory are Dong Zhuo's old headquarters.
And Wang Chang is no exception. He belongs to the Anding Wang family, which is not a wealthy family but is also a martial arts family with good sons. Wang Chang's generation was in the Northern Army, and later he followed Lu Zhi out of Beijing and Hebei to quell the Yellow Turban rebellion. Later, Dong Zhuo led 3,000 soldiers from Hedong to assist the battlefield in Hebei. In order to expand Dong Zhuo's military strength, Lu Zhi placed part of the northern army under Dong Zhuo's control. It was at that time that Wang Chang joined Dong Zhuo's command.
After that, Wang Chang continued to be promoted in the army based on his talents, and even saved the life of Hu Zhen from the same county on the battlefield. However, because he was not from Dong Zhuo's old team, he was only in the second echelon.
After Dong Zhuo entered the capital, most of the second-tier troops such as Wang Chang were left in Hedong, because these people had some background in the Northern Army and were not suitable to be brought into the capital.
But Wang Chang's order to be stationed in Linfen was not just a deal. On the contrary, the reason why he was in Linfen showed that his position in Dong Zhuo's group was very high.
Why?
Because Linfen is not a simple place, it is the northern gateway and transportation hub of the Hedong region.
From the Yuncheng Basin in the east of Hedong to the Taiyuan Basin in the north, there are two trunk lines, namely Sushuidao and Fenyin. Both of these places converge in Linfen. From here, you can go up the Fen River and go directly to Taiyuan by water and land.
In addition, this place is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is backed by the Emei Mountains and faces the Fen River. Controlling the army in the east of the river can keep the enemy outside the country's gates. If Bingzhou's army occupied it, they could pass through the canyon in the Liyuan area of Wenxi County and enter the Yuncheng Basin, and then follow the Shuishui Road to Pujin and enter Guanzhong.
You can also turn from Linfen to the west and cross the river through Gaoliang and Longmen to enter Guanzhong; or you can go from Longmen to Fenyin and go south along the east bank of the Yellow River to Pujin and enter Guanzhong.
In short, one sentence is that if the Taishan Army wants to threaten Kansai after taking Taiyuan, then Linfen will be the place it must fight for.
This is exactly the case in history. Its territory controls the Guan and the river, and its wings support Fen and Jin. According to the elbow and armpit east of the river, it is an important area for war and defense. Ma Sui pulled it up but his glory was in danger, Zhu Wen suppressed it and Wang Ke fell, the Five Dynasties Zhou prepared here but Hedong failed, the Jin people stationed here but Guanzhong fell, military strategists must pay attention to it.
As a top military commander, Dong Zhuo naturally understood the importance of Linfen, so he was very cautious when inspecting the candidates for the school captain here. Finally, on the recommendation of Hu Zhen, he selected Wang Chang.
In the prevailing atmosphere at that time, Wang Chang was recommended by Hu Zhen and was almost his disciple. Therefore, in the Xizhou Group, Wang Chang was always considered to be Hu Zhen's person.
When Hu Zhen passed Linfen with his reinforcements, Wang Chang saw him off and cried.
At first, Hu Zhen thought this was just Wang Chang’s emotional expression, and comforted him:
"Old Wang, we have been fighting wars for many years, but you made me cry just once during the war. It's really..."
For a moment, Hu Zhen couldn't find words to describe it.
Unexpectedly, Wang Chang actually whispered back:
"Hu Gong sent out aid to merge with the state. The general felt that this was a disaster and had little chance of success, so he was extremely sad."
Hu Zhen looked hesitant, but he was indeed kind to his own people, so he asked Wang Chang to explain at this time.
Wang Chang said:
"This time, the army gathered 50,000 troops and marched north to merge with the state. The power of the army is not bad. But among the 50,000, 60% are from the old Xiyuan army, which is unpredictable. And I, the old man from Liangzhou, act wantonly and are arrogant and domineering. . It is so difficult to coordinate between the top and bottom, even if they suppress some local bandits, they have the power to overthrow, let alone fight against the Taishan Army. According to the sentinels at the end of the army, the Taishan Army now goes south to Yangqu. Fifty thousand, of which there are more than 10,000 fine cavalry. What’s more, this is what the general is most worried about..."
"Say!"
Hu Zhen saw that Wang Chang was hesitant in speaking and was unhappy.
Wang Chang looked up at Hu Zhen's face and saw that his expression was quite natural, so he explained the current problems Linfen was encountering:
"What Mr. Hu didn't know was that after the Grand Master brought the Hedong troops into the pass, the old Hedong Yellow Turban Party was resurrecting in the Baibo Valley north of Linfen. Although they were mostly local people who fled, perhaps they were in order to echo the movement in the north. The Taishan Army has been very powerful recently, and has already broken through many local tycoon barriers in various parts of Hedong. Therefore, Hu Gong's reinforcements were fine in the Linfen area, but once they left Hedong and entered Bingzhou, the grain road was in danger. I’m going to be threatened by these white wave thieves.”
This was the first time Hu Zhen knew about this news. He asked first:
"How many troops does this Baibo bandit have now?"
Wang Chang has been dealing with the Baibo bandits during this period and is very familiar with this information. He replied:
"The thieves include Guo Tai, the great thief, and Han Xian, Li Le, and Hu Cai, the great thieves. Their number is one hundred thousand, but the final general estimates that the number of soldiers they can fight is around 2,000 or 3,000."
When he heard that there were only two or three thousand people, which was still the two or three thousand people of the Yellow Turban bandits, Hu Zhen immediately relaxed and said with a smile:
"Old Wang, you are a captain, and you have at least a thousand soldiers in your hands. With thousands of Han soldiers, why are you worried about these weak soldiers? Go on, tell me what you want from me, and don't be alarmist."
As soon as he heard this, Wang Chang knew that Hu Zhen had misunderstood. He thought about it and said this:
"Hu Gong, in order to guard against the Baibo bandits, I specially built many barriers on the north bank of Linshui. These barriers are easy to defend and difficult to attack. If Hu Gong is really disobedient in this matter, he can decisively withdraw southward. If not, That’s just because the general is overly worried. He only wants Hu Gong’s military fortune to be prosperous.”
After saying that, Wang Chang bowed deeply, but Hu Zhen didn't take it seriously and said with a smile:
"I have my own strategy for this battle. I can't say that you are wrong about a few of the points you are considering, but not many of them are right."
Wang Chang did not explain any more and just watched the reinforcements march north along the Fen River.
The flags are mighty and without delay.
……
Now, holding the letter for help from Wang Yun in his hand and thinking about what his disciple had said before, Hu Zhen's heart felt numb.
When he was numb, there was already a quarrel in the military tent.
Lu Bu, Zhang Yang, Zhang Liao and other Bingzhou army generals all shouted that they would rush north to support Taiyuan. After all, if Taiyuan loses the entire Bingzhou, it will not be safe. The clans and lands of Bingzhou generals are all local, how can they stand by and watch?
However, Li Jue, Guo Si and other powerful generals of the Xizhou Group refuted it, saying that now that Bingzhou had lost the three passes of Yangqu, the original conditions for plagiarizing the rear of the Taishan Army were no longer tenable.
As for letting them lead troops north to fight the Taishan Army in a bloody battle under Taiyuan City, no one was willing. Among them, Guo Si's words were the most crude, but they revealed the thoughts of everyone in the group. But I heard Guo Si pointing in the direction of Taiyuan, but with his face facing Lu Bu, he cursed:
"Nai Gong is the father, and Bingzhou Jun is the son. Now let's go and fight for the Taiyuan soldiers. They will guard the city and enjoy the results. So who is whose father?"
Guo Si looked at Lu Bu, and he was talking about his son. Damn it, the veins on Lu Bu's forehead popped out, and he roared:
"A good dog slave dares to humiliate me?"
After saying that, he came up and hit Guo Si.
And Guo Si was cunning enough. Even though he knew he couldn't beat Lu Bu, he still held his neck and refused to give in.
In the end, it was Li Jue and Zhang Yang who each stopped one, so they didn't really start fighting.
Only one side of Zhang Liao sighed secretly, because he understood that what Guo Bang was talking about was the aspirations of those people from Guanxi.
Yes, those people's plan is to let the people of Bingzhou shed all their blood and fight for every inch of territory with the Taishan Army. As Hu Zhen often said, "Every inch of mountains and rivers, every inch of blood." In the final analysis, these Guanxi military sects never thought about fighting a tough battle in Bingzhou. They came to support because they were worried that Taiyuan would fail too quickly and surrender directly.
Therefore, when Taiyuan was able to block the Taishan Army in Yangqu, the Liangzhou soldiers would not abandon Taiyuan, and even took the initiative to attack the rear of the Taishan Army.
But now that the three passes have been broken, the Taishan Army continues to move southward along the passage, and the water around Taiyuan has long been blocked. No one is willing to go up at this time.
This is the so-called imperial court. At this time, Zhang Liao's heart hurt, and a sense of disappointment and anger grew in his heart.
When Liu Honggang went west to Chang'an, he joined the army as a son of a good family in six counties. He never returned home after that, and kept bleeding and dying for the Han family on the battlefield of Weihan.
At that time, he only felt that the country was in dire straits and it was time for our generation to save the country. But now he understands that the reason why the country is going to perish is because it is time to perish.
Shouldn’t these dogs who only fight for power and profit in the temples die? Shouldn’t those beasts who eat Han’s wealth but don’t know how to be loyal to Han’s people die? Pity me, Zhang Liao, who devoted himself to serving the Han Dynasty, but in the end he turned out to be a joke.
Zhang Liao's inner ideals were being annihilated, but no one on the field cared about him and they were all quarreling.
At this time, Zhang Ren, who is from Yizhou, suddenly interjected:
"Now the Taishan Army has broken through to Taiyuan, and the entire basin is open to them. Dusuoyuan, where our army is stationed, is only two hundred miles away from Taiyuan. Once the enemy knows that we are here, the cavalry will arrive at night and day. At this time, If we don’t first understand the movements of the Taishan Army, what’s the use of arguing here?”
Originally, Zhang Ren felt that his words were very accurate, but who knew what Fan Chou was looking for:
"Nai Gong can't understand a word of the nonsense you are talking about. If you can't speak the correct pronunciation, don't speak. Damn it, these Yizhou people are really a bunch of trouble. They should have been driven to the front line a long time ago. Go.”
Fan Chou said the last sentence in Liangzhou dialect. Let alone Zhang Ren and the others, even Li Jue and the others who were not from Jincheng couldn't understand.
But the first few sentences were enough. Zhang Ren was shaking with anger. He didn't expect that he would be humiliated in the end after his kind reminder.
So he remained silent and sneered at the chaos of the scene.
As for the Yizhou generals beside him, such as Yan Yan, Gan Ning, Shen Mi, etc., their voices and looks were also different. Yan Yan wanted to talk but refused, Gan Ning and Shen Mi were afraid of not causing chaos.
In this way, perhaps the most useful piece of information today was missed by the Liangzhou Army.
While the armies were quarreling, Hu Zhen, the leader, was upset.
He knew that Dong Zhuo wanted to save Taiyuan, because if he didn't go up, Taiyuan would not be able to hold it without reinforcements.
When the Taishan Army takes over the Taiyuan Basin, it will move south again, and Hedong will become the front line.
This is not in Dong Zhuo's interests.
But now, judging from the behavior of people like Guo Si and Fan Chou, it is unrealistic to drive Liangzhou soldiers northward.
Because what Guo Si said is very soul-crushing, that is, who is the master.
In today's Kansai power structure, Yongliang warriors are undoubtedly the absolute core, while Bingzhou, or let's just say Taiyuan, is just a peripheral line of defense for Chang'an.
If the people under Dong Zhuo's command were like Li Yuan in the future, coming from Longxing in Taiyuan, and the core group under his command were also Taiyuan forces, then saving Taiyuan would be saving themselves.
But now, is it realistic for you to ask a group of fathers to work hard for outsiders? If there are some miscellaneous soldiers on the opposite side, that's okay, just kill them easily. But now it is the Taishan Army that is surrounding Taiyuan.
In the past, when Taishan's army numbered ten thousand, it could run rampant across the world. Now, forty or fifty thousand soldiers gather at the gates of Taiyuan. How can you keep them from being frightened?
Therefore, not to mention Guo Si and others, even Hu Zhen himself could not find a reason to rescue Taiyuan.
And if Liangzhou soldiers don't go up, those old Xiyuan soldiers won't even go up. Lu Bu and his men want to go up, but they only have three thousand people, so what use can they do?
Therefore, this entry is definitely not allowed.
But if you asked Hu Zhen to withdraw now, he would not dare to do so. He would violate Dong Zhuo's military orders in this way, because he was afraid that he would not die quickly enough.
In this way, Hu Zhen hesitated and finally said the most crucial sentence:
"Order the sentry cavalry to first explore the strength of Taishan's army and lead people to open up the passage into Taiyuan City. Be sure to let Ding Yuan know that our army is nearby. Then our army will set up camp in Dusuoyuan and dig deep ravines. That's it. .”
In the end, Hu Zhen chose a plan of no advancement and no retreat, in order to reconcile the contradiction between military orders and the morale of the soldiers.
In this way, a military strategy that was supposed to be decided ended hastily. In the end, the generals left with gloomy expressions, leaving only Hu Zhen sighing in the empty tent:
"Why did the situation that was supposed to be great suddenly deteriorate to this point?"
However, Hu Zhen still had confidence at this time. After all, he had 50,000 elite troops here. Even if the Taishan Army really came to press him, he would still dare to fight.
And maybe by that time, all the generals in the army will have a reason to fight.
But what he didn't know was that after the military meeting ended, the generals did not disperse, but formed groups of three or two and started looking for a place to discuss something.
In short, there is a strange atmosphere lingering in Dusuoyuan at this time, the clouds and waves are treacherous, and everyone has their own thoughts.
Can the Han Dynasty really count on these people to help it become great again?
(End of chapter)