In early December, 15,000 sets of winter clothes and 10,000 kilograms of pill fire were sent to the front line one after another, along with more than a thousand pigs and sheep. As the New Year was approaching, this was a gift to reward the soldiers.
During this period, Liu Yu visited Mengxian, Yuxian, Gushu(1), Xiayi and other cities to boost morale and congratulate the soldiers on the coming New Year.
Liu Yu's prestige in the army was very high, and the soldiers wherever he was were rejoiced, and the originally low morale became excited again. There was great joy in the military camp, and the soldiers happily killed pigs and sheep to welcome the new year.
On December 29, Liu Yu returned to Meng County, where he was preparing to welcome the arrival of the thirteenth year of Yixi (417 AD) with his civil and military assistants.
The winter in Mengxian County is much colder than that in Jiankang. It snowed heavily on New Year's Eve. Liu Yu held a banquet in the lobby and invited the elders and colleagues in the city to stay up and welcome the new year.
The lobby of the government office in Suiyang, dozens of miles away, was also brightly lit. Zhao Tian also came to Suiyang a few years ago to have a happy gathering with Wang Zhene, Xu Chong and others.
The food and wine were fragrant, and everyone in the hall learned that Lu Gui, Wang Huilong and others had defeated the Wei army in Weilijin, Liyangjin, and Yumendu. The Yong army was full of momentum and confident of defeating the Song army.
Xu Chong raised his glass and said with a smile: "In the coming year, our army will surely regain the lost territory, seize Pengcheng, and herd horses along the Yangtze River. This glass of wine promises victory to the generals and officers of the army and new achievements."
The battle has been fought so far, and victory is in sight. Liu Yu's army still seems to have the advantage. However, the Song army has exhausted its troops on an expedition, has insufficient supplies, and the people are not attached to it. The longer it drags on, the worse it will be.
After the Yellow River melted and the Wei army was unable to threaten the south bank of the Yellow River, the Yanzhou reinforcements were sent southward and chose to attack Mengxian, Yuxian, Xiayi and other places. By then, the Song division would have to worry about being cut off by the Yong division.
Zhao Tian, Wang Zhen'e and other generals raised their glasses happily. If they could win this battle, Yonggong would definitely defeat Song Gong. People's hearts would be optimistic about Yonggong and regard him as the hero of the world. When his lord aspires to dominate the world, they will He is a founding hero.
In Yingcheng, piles of bonfires were lit in the military camp. Yang Anxuan and his subordinates sat around the fire, eating large pieces of mutton and listening to slang songs with a southern and northern accent. Everyone was excited.
During the Chinese New Year, everyone is given twenty taels of wine as an exception, and Yang Anxuan is no exception. Yang Anxuan raised his glass in the direction of Xiangyang. He was away on an expedition and this glass of wine was a blessing to his family.
In Jiankang City, Langya King Sima Dewen took the place of the emperor to have a banquet with all the ministers to celebrate the New Year. The Duke of Song was not in the main hall, and even Shangshu Zuopu She Liu Muzhi reported that he was ill. The main hall seemed to be much deserted.
The cold wind was howling outside the hall, and the wine inside the hall was not joyous. The same songs and dances seemed a bit dull to the ears. Sima Dewen slowly sipped the wine, thinking that the offerings in the palace this year were getting increasingly pitiful. If it weren't for Yang Anxuan's tribute, he might not even be able to survive the New Year.
The treasury was not owned by the Sima family for a long time. I heard that Liu Pushe plundered all the treasury of various states and counties in order to raise winter clothes and luggage for Liu Yu.
After drinking the wine in the glass, Sima Dewen showed a sneer on his lips and went into war. If Liu Yu can't come back victorious, let's see how he cleans up the mess.
From Zeng An's words, Sima Dewen learned that the elites in the capital had revealed their dissatisfaction with Liu Yu. Brothers Chu Xiuzhi and Chu Danzhi have also stopped bothering him during this period. Yesterday, he learned from Liang Wang Sima Zhenzhi Chu learned that Sima Xiu had ordered Sima Chuzhi to attack Jiangling City. If Jingzhou could be recaptured, the royal family might be able to revive.
In Pingcheng Taiji Hall, when the New Year's bell rang, the officials stood up to congratulate the emperor Tuoba Si, and the envoys from the prefectures and counties paid tribute to the emperor.
Feng Xi, the governor of Dunqiu, sent an envoy to present ten pieces of colorful cotton cloth. The five colors of red, yellow, blue, green and white sparkled under the candlelight. Tuoba Si learned that cotton cloth
The cloth was bought from the market, and each piece was worth ten thousand yuan. He sighed: "Jin people are very luxurious, so this cloth costs countless money. I gave Situ and Nanping Gong (Changsun Song) two pieces of cotton cloth of various colors, and the leader of the army, Shouguang Hou Shusun Jian, two pieces of cotton cloth of various colors. One horse, and the rest will be given to the Six Dukes."
Among the Eight Dukes, except Changsun Song and Shusun Jianzhan, Baima Hou Cui Hao and other six people were all in the court and stood up to thank Tuoba Si.
Tuoba Si said to Shanyang Marquis Xijin: "I received a report from Shouguang Marquis, saying that the Yong army at Yumen Ferry used gunpowder, and it was very powerful. I ordered you to develop gunpowder, but I don't know how effective it is?"
Xi Jin said respectfully: "
Your Majesty, Marquis Ren Cheng (Ji Ba) brought some Taoist priests from the Jin State, and with their help, I have developed gunpowder. According to those Taoist priests, it is as powerful as the Danhuo of the Jin State. "
Tuoba Si smiled and said, "Very good. We will send them to Ji County and Yewang City later this year. With gunpowder, our army will be able to compete with Yong's army."
Xi Jin looked troubled and said, "Gunpowder requires a lot of saltpeter. Our country does not produce it. At present, we can only produce several thousand kilograms of gunpowder."
Tuoba Si was stunned, what was the use of lighting gunpowder like this? He heard from his uncle Sun Jian that the Yong army used more than 10,000 kilograms of gunpowder at Yumen Ferry, and even the five or six feet thick ice was exploded and melted.
"I heard that Taoist priests also use saltpeter when making elixirs. We might as well requisition some from them," Tuoba Si said.
Xi Jin smiled bitterly and said nothing, Cui Hao said: "Wei Chen asked Kou Xianshi, he said that the saltpeter used by your Majesty to refine the golden elixir was purchased from merchants in the Western Regions at a high price. The quantity is very small. I am afraid that the Taoist priests in the capital do not have much saltpeter. Accumulate."
Tuoba Si asked: "Where does saltpeter come from?"
Xi Jin responded: "The Western Regions are rich in saltpeter. Originally, our country bought saltpeter furs from Qin and the Western Regions. However, Yang Anxuan defeated Helian Bobo and blocked the Western Road. Saltpeter was strictly prohibited from crossing the border. Traders from the Western Regions had to detour through Rouran to bring saltpeter into China. , causing saltpeter to be worth more than gold.”
Tuoba Si pondered and said nothing. Without gunpowder, it would be difficult to compete with Yong's army. He asked, "Where did Duke Song of Jin come from for his gunpowder?"
"I heard that minerals were found in Yizhou."
Tuoba Si said: "Our army suffered a setback when it went south at the invitation of Song Gong, and we need to let him make some compensation. The Yong army is strong, and I estimate that Song Gong is no match for him. It is urgent to join forces with me to fight against Yong. Since you have asked me for help, you can give me the saltpeter." Sent from the State of Jin."
"Marquis Rencheng, after the first month of the lunar month, you leave for Jiankang and discuss with the people of Jin. You can ask for more saltpeter. You might as well exchange some horses for it." Tuoba Si said, "In addition, send craftsmen everywhere to search for saltpeter deposits. The gunpowder will be destroyed. The most powerful weapon of the country must not be kept in the hands of the enemy. If I can store more of these things, I can annihilate the (Northern) Yan Kingdom as soon as possible, defeat the Weiwei (Rouran), and then go south with all my strength."
In the first month of the first month, heavy snow fell continuously for five days, with a foot and a half of snow accumulated. The scouts ran through the snow with clear traces. Such weather was obviously not suitable for battle.
Wang Zhen'e walked slowly through Suiyang City wearing a cotton fur coat, looking at the white land outside the city, stroking his beard and stopping, ready to recite a good poem. The hurried footsteps behind him disrupted Wang Zhene's thoughts. He turned around and saw Zhao Tian running towards him with a happy face.
"Brother Zhao, did you win the naval battle?" Wang Zhene asked with hope.
The communication between Suiyang and the outside world is already open, and the secret guards will send battle reports from various places every other day. Years ago, Wang Zhene learned that the Song Navy's navy was heading north, so he paid close attention to the matter.
The Song Navy Navy dispatched more than 40 ships, which could carry more than 40,000 people. Such a scale really worried Wang Zhenye.
As the head of the general staff, Wang Zhene knew that his lord had moved the Yu family shipyard from Yuyao to Beiqingzhou, and ordered Liu Zhong to build keel warships in Beiqingzhou to train the navy to deal with the Song Navy.
Although Liu Zhong's letter was full of confidence, when the letter was received, there were only five keel warships and thousands of naval forces. Even if they could add a few more ships in the past few months, they were only one-tenth of the Song Navy's navy.
Wang Zhene was not familiar with water warfare, let alone naval warfare, but he knew that it would be difficult for Liu Zhong to defeat Liu Zhong in the face of absolute numerical superiority.
Once the Song navy is allowed to land in Beiqingzhou, bypass the Great Wall of Qi and march westward, and jointly attack Liu Huaisu in the south of Daxian Mountain, Hu Fan will definitely be defeated.
If Northern Jizhou falls into the hands of the Song army, they can continue to attack Taishan, Lujun, Rencheng, and Gaoping in the west, and join forces with Liu Yu who is in the land of Liang and Pei. By then, I am afraid that the war situation will be ruined, and Yanzhou will probably not be saved, and the Yong army will We can only retreat to the land of Yongsi.
Zhao Tian handed the intelligence in his hand to Wang Zhene and said excitedly: "A great victory. Yongming defeated the Song Navy at Shuilingshan Island, annihilated more than 10,000 enemies, captured more than 6,000 people, and burned most of the Song Navy's ships. Changyu led the remnants of the navy. They fled south in such a panic that they couldn't even take care of the thousands of slaves on the island."
After Wang Zhene took the spy report and read it, he danced with joy and said with a big smile: "The overall situation is settled."
Zhao Tian slapped the wall in front of him vigorously and said joyfully: "Yongming is mighty, a great victory, a great victory."
The news that the Navy had defeated the Song Army's Navy quickly spread, and the whole Suiyang City was in a state of panic.
There was great joy, and the sound of festive firecrackers sounded in the city again. …
There was deathly silence in the lobby of Mengcheng County Government Office.
Liu Yu had just received the news of the naval division's disastrous defeat and was so shocked that he sat speechless. There had never been such a big blow since the army.
After Xie Hui and others read the news, they all looked at each other. They couldn't believe that 40,000 naval troops, 42 ships, and nearly a thousand warships would be defeated by more than a hundred Yong ships.
After a long time, Fu Liang said in a hoarse voice: "Song Gong, if the information is correct, our army must make arrangements early."
Liu Yu shuddered, as if he had woken up from a nightmare. Looking at the battle report that was put back on the case, he said in a depressed voice: "The navy is completely lost, how can we compete with Yong's army."
Xie Hui had strongly recommended Chang Yu to command the navy at the beginning. Now he was thinking about how to draw a clear line and said angrily: "Chang Yu is incompetent and has humiliated the country by losing his army. My lord should punish him by serving as a lieutenant."
Liu Yu smiled bitterly, so what if Chang Yu was cut into pieces.
Mao Dezu said in a deep voice: "My lord, beware of the Yong army's navy going south along the sea to attack Jingkou and the coastal areas. We must guard against the disasters of Sun En and Lu Xun back then.".Ь.
Liu Yu led his army in the Northern Expedition and took away most of the soldiers and horses. If the Yong army navy attacked the city along the coast, it would indeed be attacked from both sides.
Seeing that Liu Yu was still hesitating, he cupped his hands to Mi and said, "My lord, the matter cannot be done and we must make a decision immediately. It is better to abandon Mengxian, Yuxian and Gushu, and temporarily retreat to Xiayi, Fengxian and Shuqiu, with our backs to Pengcheng and Xiapi. We were afraid that Yong's army would attack. We then dispatched troops and horses to Xuzhou, ordered the Xuzhou governor to leave Zhenjingkou, and recruited soldiers to build a defense line along the coast to ensure the safety of the capital."
Liu Yu stood up, shook his arms, cheered up, and said: "Fengren is right, we should really shrink our troops now, use Pengcheng as the base, and build defense lines in Feng County, Shuqiu, and Xiayi to prevent Yong's army from eastward. Enter."
Glancing at the depressed people, Liu Yu said loudly: "This time, Yongyu captured Pei County, Daolian captured Dongguan County, Zhongde captured Anlu City, Daoji captured Jiangyang County, and Liu Cui captured Yufucheng. It can be said that the results of the battle are great. Although the navy suffered a setback, it did not damage the foundation. When spring comes, Yu will fight Yang Anxuan again."
Everyone agreed in a loud voice, and Xie Hui and Fu Liang looked at each other. They all knew that this expedition to Yong had exhausted all the national treasury savings, recruited soldiers and conscripts, resulting in a shortage of labor in the prefectures and counties. I wonder how long Liu Pushe can support the army?
Both of their eyes were filled with confusion.
"Note (1): Gushu County was established in the second year of Jianwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 26), and the county system was abolished in 1954."
