Chapter 677 Kyoto
In the third year of Taiwu, on March 21, Zhang Chong set up camp in Beimang Mountain.
A battle of great political significance to the Taishan Army began on this day.
When the Taishan Army was deploying in the Beimang Mountain area, under the dispatch and arrangements of Pingxi General Zhu Jun, the city of Kyoto remained panic-free.
Zhu Jun is indeed a man of experience in planning for the country, and he sees the true colors of the sea in times of crisis.
After he took over the city defense of Kyoto, he began to prepare for the worst. He used Taicang's money and silk to mobilize people inside and outside Kyoto to build a series of small barriers in the suburbs of Kyoto, and then formed a rivalry with Kyoto to enhance the overall defense strength. .
Zhu Jun saw clearly. He knew that money and silk were already dead objects. If he could not hire people now while they were still of some use, when the Taishan Army entered Kyoto later, everything in the Taicang treasury would be cheaper for the Taishan Army. .
Therefore, Zhu Jun's reward was extremely generous, attracting a large number of people to build defensive barriers for him.
Zhu Jun has his own overall plan for the defense of Kyoto.
These warriors, who have lived in Kyoto for half their lives, can think of Kyoto's weak defenses with their eyes closed.
First of all, Kyoto is located in the Heluo Basin, and the surrounding terrain is not high. However, the terrain in the northwest corner of Kyoto is high, and it is adjacent to Mang Mountain to the north.
If the enemy builds high-rise buildings or earthen slopes here, they can form a commanding position over Kyoto and have a panoramic view of the situation in Kyoto.
Therefore, in the view of Zhu Jun, a warrior, this place is a key point in Kyoto's defense and must not be found by the enemy.
There is a question here, that is, the dynasty has been building in Kyoto for so long. Is Zhu Jun the only one who has seen this danger?
Of course not, not to mention that in the past when our country was strong and powerful, Kyoto stood guard on all sides and did not listen to the golden drum at all, so Kyoto never needed to consider security from a military perspective.
On the contrary, what would be considered is the emperor's safety.
According to Kyoto's building regulations, buildings can only be built high within the imperial palace. On the one hand, it is to protect the safety of the emperor, and on the other hand, it is also a requirement of etiquette.
Therefore, if a high-rise barrier is built in the northwest corner of Kyoto, it will be very detrimental to the imperial palace.
But things are different now. When Zhu Jun decided to build Kyoto into a real military fortress, all political and etiquette factors had to give way to military factors.
Therefore, Zhu Jun built three high-rise fortresses on the land plateau in the northwest corner of Kyoto.
These three ramparts are lined up from north to south, with doorways connecting each other. The overall plane is slightly eye-shaped. The total length of these three ramparts is about two miles, and the width from east to west is half a mile. The entire city wall is made of rammed buildings. , can be said to be quite strong.
After the completion of these three high-rise fortresses, they fully fulfilled the role of observing the enemy's situation and protecting Kyoto. After seeing it, Zhu Jun was also overjoyed and named it "Jin Yong".
The so-called gold means as solid as gold; the so-called yong means tall and tall walls.
With Jin Yong Castle, Kyoto had defensive support in the northwest, but this was not enough.
Zhu Jun also built a fortress complex in the northern suburbs of Kyoto, especially near Beimang Mountain. This was originally the largest Changpingcang near Kyoto, but was later transformed by Zhu Jun into a series of fortifications.
This series of fortifications in the north is actually just outside the Valley Gate of Luoyang, and is at an angle to the defenders inside the Valley Gate.
There is one in the northwest corner, one in the north, and there are also fortifications in the western suburbs of Kyoto. The Gushui flows from Xin'an in the east to Qianqiu Pavilion, and then passes through Yonggu River in the east and back to Xiu Yingyu. The stone road blocks the gorge. It can be said that it is in the west. Natural key.
Zhu Jun built a fort between the gorge rocks and named it Xia Shan Fort.
In addition to the distant Xiashan Fort, there are more than ten strongholds near Kyoto, all of which were originally gardens of the Han family outside the city.
For example, garden temples such as Shanglin Garden, Guangcheng Garden, Pingle Garden, Xianyang Garden, Liang Garden, Baima Temple, Xiyuan, Hongde Garden and so on in the northwest corner were all used by Zhu Jun as places where Tibetan troops were stationed.
Even in the eastern suburbs of Kyoto, where the spring festivals of successive Han emperors were held, Zhu Jun also built this suburban altar into a military station.
Buildings such as the Lingtai, Mingtang, Piyong, and Taixue on the other side of the Luoshui River in the south of the city were also appropriated by Zhu Jun as military garrison barriers.
These places that used to be used for worship and recreation by the emperor of the Han Dynasty have now become places for military strategists.
For Zhu Jun, if he wins, the Han family will be here, and these buildings will be meaningful. If he loses, who cares whether this place is a sacred hall?
But there are not many people who can be as pragmatic as Zhu Jun. Even at this time, there are still Qingliu people criticizing Zhu Jun's offense. However, at this time, Zhu Jun has won the support of most of the elders and ministers in Kyoto. A little noise can't change anything.
In fact, these ministers in the DPRK are more discerning than the outside world thinks.
When He Jin's army fell in Hanoi, these Kyoto ministers judged that Kyoto would become the final decisive battle between the Taishan Army and the Kwantung court. It was almost a fantasy to rely on Heyang to stop the Taishan Army.
Therefore, at that time, these ministers invested the most resources into the defense of Kyoto, and their support for Heyang was actually Zhu Fu's five hundred Yueqi.
That little bit of support is actually more symbolic than substantive support.
As long as these ministers have a little sense, they will realize that such a scene may become a reality.
That means those thieves and rebels may really want to take over Kyoto and change the dynasty.
In their concept of the world, once Kyoto is destroyed, the dynasty Zhengshuo they represent will also die.
And even if we don't follow this theory, if we lose Kyoto, the world will change its color. Because Kyoto is located in the world, once the Taishan bandits are allowed to gain a foothold in the capital, they can then advance into the Central Plains and sweep the world.
Therefore, Kyoto cannot be lost, and the Han Dynasty cannot be destroyed.
But the ministers decided to stick to Kyoto not because they suddenly started caring about the world and wanted to sacrifice themselves to stop the Taishan Army, but because most of their wealth and connections were in Gyeonggi. What could they do if they left here? Who can want them, the remnants of the former dynasty?
However, in the eyes of these ministers, although the matter is critical, it is not yet dead end.
First of all, the fortifications built by Zhu Jun along the outskirts of Kyoto gave them a great sense of security. In addition, the city wall of Kyoto was the strongest in the world. Under the protection of this masonry building, they thought they were very safe.
In addition, no matter what, Kyoto is the richest place in the world. There are 200,000 young people in the city alone. Once they are forcibly recruited, an army of 200,000 people can be formed in an instant.
Although these people are not accustomed to golden drums, they still have no problem standing on the city wall to guard.
Finally, and most importantly, these people think they have foreign aid.
After He Jin's army was overthrown, these people decisively sent people to contact Yuan Shao in Yuzhou. These people are inextricably linked with the powerful families in Yuzhou.
Even in Yuan Shao's shogunate, there were many nephews of these people, so they were actually betting on Yuan Shao behind his back.
And what about Yuan Shao? On the surface, the conflict with the Kanto court was the blood feud of the Jiazi years. But this is easy to handle. Didn't He Jin disappear? Then throw all the blame on his head.
In short, it’s just one sentence:
"Everyone is guilty, and the fault lies with the general."
And what about Yuan Shao? He really wanted to help Kyoto because he also realized that he was in danger.
He didn't need aides like Guo Jia to consult for him. He knew that once the Taishan Army captured Kyoto, its war in the entire world would accelerate to a faster pace.
Originally, he still had the opportunity to annex Liu Biao's Jingzhou to accumulate bargaining chips for the decisive battle with the Taishan Army in the Central Plains in the future. However, who knew that the Kwantung court was simply a shame. In less than a month, the Taishan Army arrived in Kyoto from Taiyuan.
What a bunch of pigs! No, no pig will deliver it so fast.
How long did the annexation of Kansai last? Almost half a year!
Compared with Kanto, Kansai really tried its best.
At this time, Yuan Shao has no choice. The strategic window is so short. If you fail to seize it, you will have to bear the consequences.
Therefore, Yuan Shao concluded an alliance with Liu Biao in front of the battle and stopped their troops. He returned all the Jiangxia, Xiangyang and other places that had been annexed during the war to Liu Biao, and then returned to Yuzhou with the main force and moved his troops to Yingchuan.
A few days ago, his general Zhang He had just captured Guangcheng Pass.
Guangcheng Pass is the only way for Yingchuan to enter Heluo. With this pass in hand, Yuan Shao can at least protect Yuzhou from being involved in the war.
Although Yuan Shao withdrew his troops in time, he still understood that the previous battle in Jiangxia still brought huge hidden dangers to Yuzhou.
In terms of personnel losses, during the battle for more than half a year, Yan Miasma, swordsmen, and insect snakes took away more than 3,000 core warriors in Yuzhou.
These warriors are Yuan Shao's basic base, and they have manors and tribes in Yuzhou.
Judging from the absolute numbers, Yuan Shao's losses seemed acceptable, but in fact, the Battle of Jiangxia dealt a huge blow to his prestige.
You know, three thousand Shengjia was lost, and other infantry were lost, but what was the result?
Except for taking one Yiyang Sanguan, everything gained in the war was lost. What's the use of just capturing some Jingzhou warriors? Gains cannot make up for losses.
At this time, Yuan Shao also discovered a huge problem with his warrior system.
That means you can only win, not lose! It is necessary to constantly win external victories to satisfy the appetites of the middle and lower class manor warriors.
This is not because these people are greedy, but because this system determines that the warriors must gain something every time they go on an expedition, otherwise the family estate will go bankrupt.
But war is not a child's play. Who can guarantee that every battle will be a victory? Therefore, Yuan Shao's manor warrior system has major systemic flaws.
Now Yuan Shao understands, but what can he do? At this time, he could still rely on this system to save 50,000 Shengjia and 100,000 Hoge weapons. Without this system, Yuan Shao would be dead.
Therefore, Yuan Shao could not let Kyoto fall into the hands of Taishan Army. He had to burn the war in Gyeonggi and let Taishan Army fall into the quagmire of the war in Kyoto.
But at the same time, Yuan Shao did not fight a decisive battle against Taishan's army because he was worried that Liu Biao would retaliate against him.
In the previous war in Jingzhou, he killed a son of Liu Biao, and the two parties could be said to have formed a blood feud.
The reason why peace could be made this time was because Liu Biao himself was unable to fight anymore and wanted to take a breath. And once he sends his main force to the north for a decisive battle with the Taishan Army, Liu Biao will directly attack him regardless of his ancestors' objections.
It was with this in mind that Yuan Shao still occupied the three passes of Yiyang after returning most of his territory to Liu Biao.
He is afraid!
But here is the paradox of the matter. Just because Yuan Shao still occupies his throat, he is also uneasy and understands that he is only retreating temporarily. Therefore, as long as Liu Biao has the most basic military concept, he will take advantage of his weak military strength. When the time comes, fight back.
This is not because people are dangerous, but because they also need to survive.
But what can Yuan Shao do? Hand over the three passes of Yiyang to Liu Biao? He didn't feel that safe about Liu Biao.
So, things just moved forward step by step.
And what about Kyoto?
They didn't know much about Yuan Shao's situation, but they saw that Yuan Shao's army had appeared outside Guangcheng Pass and could go north to support Kyoto at any time.
As long as they hold the capital here, Taishan's army storms the city, Yuan Shao's army marches north, and both sides cooperate internally and externally, the major issue will be solved.
Unlike the ministers who were sitting back and relax, Zhu Jun was really sleeping up and down these days, tossing and turning.
The death of his eldest son had already made him devastated, and the complicated situation in Kyoto made him even more exhausted.
Those ministers were all talking empty words, and they seemed to have arranged things properly, but the actual situation was not like that at all.
Zhu Jun has been on the frontline battlefield for many years, and he is very aware of the consumption of the elites of the Kanto court over the years.
Although Kyoto can pull out 200,000 Ding on its books, in fact this figure is what the ministers say.
After these days of personal inspections and visits, the actual situation in Kyoto is shocking.
A large number of Dingkou continued to migrate to the south during the war. They followed the Dagong Pass to the south. Then the continuous war also exhausted the elites in the army, leaving no place to replenish them.
You must know that the elite is the soul of an army. If there are not a large number of veterans to support the grassroots, the new recruits who come in will be just ordinary people with swords and spears, and they cannot be called an army at all.
The elites do not fall from the sky, nor do they grow on trees. Every veteran is tempered by a large number of wars, but wars consume a lot of veterans, so if you want the army to maintain a stable Proportion needs a steady stream of officials to supplement this.
But the result? The reserves that were supposed to replenish the western army, that is, Zhu Jun's army, were directly taken away by He Jin and formed his own personal expedition army, which was finally sent to Hanoi.
And now you and I, Lao Zhu, want troops, want us to defend Kyoto, and even want to kill the Taishan Army that has been victorious in every battle. Why don't you people let us, Zhu, go to heaven?
At this time, Zhu Jun was filled with despair.
And just when Zhu Jun was about to continue his efforts, his general Zhou Ang came in and said something to Zhu Jun with a look of embarrassment.
After hearing this, Zhu Jun became furious and finally made up his mind to do something cruel.