When Zhen Sheng first arrived in Liaodong, snow had just fallen in Liaodong, and it was a cold day when the food arrived. Now that Zhen Sheng comes again, although the wind is still biting and the Liao land is still frozen, the footsteps of spring have arrived, and the glaciers are moving under the sun. It glowed with silver under the sunlight, and the thawed water gurgled.
The general is still holding his long hair casually, but today he has a white jade hairpin. Wearing a tiger skin coat and deerskin warm boots, he stands to the west of the Daliao River with his hands behind his back. The wind blew his hair and his tiger fur coat rustled. The general clasped his hands in his broad sleeves and looked at the mixture of ice and water in the river, feeling the grand scene of the late winter in the North.
In fact, the Northern Kingdom at this time was far from being a prosperous place. Even though the general brought vitality across the ages, this place can still be described as 'desolate' and 'primitive'. But the natural wilderness is still beautiful.
Looking at the city across the river, the general said: "Send the order, the Weiwei Guards will immediately assemble their troops and cross the river to attack Fangxian County."
As soon as he finished speaking, the guards at the back mounted their horses and galloped to the Mighty Guard station to deliver the order.
"Liao Hua."
"The general is here." From behind, Liao Hua, who looked much rougher, responded.
Of course, the former Liao Hua could not be said to have red lips and white teeth, but he could still look good. But now, after leading the army and fighting behind enemy lines for a whole winter, four thousand troops and horses were reduced to two thousand and five. Liao Hua became stronger and uglier. His face was covered with frostbite, and he looked unremarkable. He was only two years younger than Wang Yan, but he was as rough as an old man.
The results of the battle were good. Wuhuan's rear was disturbed, and several captains from Liaodong were also attacked to varying degrees.
After leading the team back, the general organized and trained the rest of the troops into the Xiaoqi Battalion, and Liao Hua was appointed the Xiaoqi Colonel. As you can tell from the name, this is a pure cavalry unit. As for whether it will be light cavalry, heavy cavalry, or both, it has not yet been determined.
In fact, in addition to the cavalry drawn out to form separate units, each guard has cavalry, it just depends on the number. It is impossible to fight purely as infantry, that is courting death. Cavalry, archers, spearmen, shield soldiers, etc., were mixed troops in the Han Dynasty, which emphasized the coordinated operation of multiple arms.
Guoheng was destroyed by weakness, and Han alone was destroyed by strength. This is no joke. Although everything from the center to the localities is in bad shape at this time, the combat effectiveness is still quite strong. The scarce war horses were relatively abundant for the big men.
Looking deeper into the reason, perhaps it is that the distinction between civil and military officials is not very clear among current officials. Many of them can both lead the army and govern the people. For example, the talented counselors of the Three Kingdoms also wore swords at their waists. If they were to challenge soldiers in a duel, the soldiers would not be able to defeat them. This is the strength of the entire scholar-bureaucrat class.
In the middle and late Tang Dynasty, civil and military forces began to separate, and literati began to take power. By the Song Dynasty, military generals even became vassals of literati. Coupled with the country's dynasty system, the main path for advancement is through civil administration. The people's pursuit is not to be granted a title immediately, but to ride on horseback to test for the number one scholar. The loss of blood of the ruling class, that is, the group of scholar-bureaucrats, may be one of the reasons for the weakness of ancient dynasties...
"The Xiaoqi Battalion has been recuperating for half a month. It should have regained its combat strength. You led the army north to Houcheng (Shenyang), but there was an incoming army and guerrillas were used to contain it and destroy the food road."
"General, take the order." Liao Hua accepted the order with his hands, ran away, got on his horse and walked away.
The general's military order is still there: "The Guangwu Guards will assemble their troops and march 200 miles forward to attack Fuxin and guard the mountain pass. Another militia will be assembled, and the Yingwu Guards will be organized to besiege Wuli City."
If you fight at this time, you will definitely get cold, but you have to endure this cold. Otherwise, the war will be completely postponed until spring, which will delay spring plowing and production. This is absolutely unacceptable. The purpose is to fight for a year of peace before spring comes.
As the general's military order was issued, the war machine started. The entire general's subordinates were all busy. The arsenals and treasuries were opened, and the weapons and furs and clothing stored for the whole winter were distributed. In the military camp, there were rumbles of footsteps and loud slogans. Civil officials held gongs and jingled to organize the militia to regroup.
The land of Liaodong, which had been dormant for a winter, is gradually waking up. The thunder that has been brewing for a long time will eventually turn the enemy into powder.
As soon as the general's military order was issued, more than 6,000 soldiers of the Weiwei Guards had already crossed the Daliao River at noon that day and marched to the foot of Fang County in the evening. Then the enemy surrendered...
The general attaches great importance to the land of Fang County. This is the nearest large piece of fertile land. It must be obtained by Fang County. Whoever stops it will die.
The military order was given in the morning, the army arrived in the evening, and the small broken city gate was opened before it arrived.
The magistrate of Fang County, whose surname is Zhang, whose name is Xun and whose courtesy name is Boqian, is from a humble family in Ji County. He led the city officials out of the city to surrender: "The magistrate of Fang County, Zhang Xun, pays homage to General Tianwu. I have long heard that the general is righteous and treats the people kindly. Now that the general has arrived, Xun must surrender." That’s it.”
"I like to kill and torture people and officials, you have nothing to fear?"
"Xun was born in a poor family, and it is not easy to know the people. He has served here for four years and has been good to the people. He has a good reputation. He knows that the general does not kill innocent people indiscriminately, so he has no fear."
Wang Yan was noncommittal: "How is the situation in the city?"
"There are 3,526 people in the city, 2,000 Han people, and the rest are all Wuhuan. The original army of 600 soldiers was transferred by Wuhuan Shanyu Supu and 500 Wuhuan people. One died of cold and hunger. One hundred and fifty-seven people, and two thousand two hundred and sixty-nine people remained in the city.
There is a wealthy family named Liu Jian, who trades from north to south, selling furs and mountain products and herbs. Although he has land and slaves, the land in Liaodong is vast and sparsely populated, so he has not harmed anyone. This winter, he still distributes food to the people. If the general doesn't believe what I say, you can just ask people's opinions. If there is a lie, there is no need for the general to punish me. I will kill myself.
This is the roster of Fang County, which the general can view. "
Zhang Xun pointed to the bamboo slips of the carriage that came out with him and was driven by officials.
Su Puyan was a leader of the Wuhuan tribe in the Liaodong vassal state, and he was also the Chanyu of the Wuhuan people here. There are only a few thousand or two thousand people in this headquarters. Now that we are mobilizing troops and horses, the purpose is self-evident.
Without looking at the roster, Wang Yan waved his hands and said: "Listen to your words and observe your actions. I know that you are the one who asks for orders for the people, so I should trust your words. However, once the rules are established, they must be followed, so public opinion must be asked."
Of course, Wang Yan didn't believe so much nonsense, but the ancients valued promises and trustworthiness. What Zhang Xun said must be true, because the army was at his side, so there was no need to lie. It's just that the general didn't believe Zhang Xun's previous flattery.
If it was true as he said, why didn't it fall before winter? When Su Puyan mobilized his troops, he must have also grabbed food, so why didn't he stop him? There was nothing we could do. There were no soldiers and no food in the city. We couldn't hold on for long, and we couldn't count on the Han Dynasty. The various captains and Wuhuan chanyus in Liaodong are even more unreliable, and there is no way out unless they surrender.
Maybe I didn't take the initiative to surrender before, because I was waiting and watching, or I hadn't made up my mind, but now that the army is approaching, I have to surrender.
The general turned to ask: "As we head east to Pingguo (Yingkou), Anshi (Dashiqiao), and Wenxian (Gaizhou) counties, can Magistrate Zhang drive ahead of my army?"
"That's exactly what I meant. The general doesn't know. These three places are like Fang County. There are no defenders. The army is everywhere and they must surrender." Zhang Xun cupped his hands and asked instead, "I don't know when the army will set off. ?”
"I'll go tomorrow."
"General, I have something to ask of you. I hope the general will take pity on the people in my city and provide food to save their lives." After saying that, Zhang Xun knelt down and begged for food for the people.
Wang Yan waved his hand: "The army brings its own food, which is enough for the needs of the people in the city. From today onwards, I will rule the people, so why do you come to ask for help? Let's have a good rest today, and tomorrow we will recruit and surrender for the vanguard, and we will keep it for future use."
"Thank you, General."
…
The next day, the officials and militiamen of Fang County were dispatched to transfer grain to Fang County. The officials followed the previous procedures, visited public opinion, cleared the land, re-registered the people in the city, and distributed the land.
The general led the civil officials in Fang County, handled the civil affairs of Fang County, and then led his guards slowly to Pingguo County.
The army had already set off, and the truth was as Zhang Xun said before. All the soldiers and horses in the city and the Wuhuan people who could fight were transferred away by Su Puyan. There were only Han people in the city and the old and weak Wuhuan people. Before the army arrived, thousands of people in the city ran out of the city and froze. When the army arrived, they surrendered neatly.
Although the Wuhuan people are barbarians, they are not stupid. To the east of Fang County, in the four counties including Fang County, all the Wuhuan people who could fight were transferred away and a lot of food was robbed. This created difficulties for General Wang.
Moreover, the old and weak Wuhuan people are on Wang Yan's side. If Wang Yan doesn't win the hearts of the people, then just keep them all. The sons and husbands of these people will come to beat Wang Yan. This is shameless, bullying is shameless.
But in fact, the general still has some strength left, with only three to five thousand men at his left and right. Now the wealthy people are still selling him grain, and they have also made a decision that only their grain will be collected, and glass will only be sold to them, and they are not allowed to go south to sell it. , they took the glass back and harvested the small-scale wealthy families.
The rule of survival is that the big fish eats the small fish. This is the case now. If the wealthy family knows that Wang Yan wants to install glass on all the houses under his rule, they must know that the cost of glass is extremely low. But they know it, others don't. It is these big families that travel to and from Liaodong now. Therefore, he accepted Wang Yan's high price and was willing to use resources such as grain, cloth, salt, and iron to be cut off by Wang Yan, and then harvest the small family.
And the money and food of these small families are all harvesting the people's wealth. In other words, General Wang is now harvesting people with broken glass.
That's what happened, but that's certainly not how the accounts were settled. After all, without General Wang harvesting, the people would still be oppressed. The people have always suffered, but now it is the small families and wealthy households in various places who are more harmed.
Wealth will not be created out of thin air, nor will it disappear out of thin air. It is just that part of it is transferred to the general.
What the Zhen family doesn't dare to do, these big families together can really do nothing and make a lot of money...
The same is true. Although the general is still short of food, the food gap is not too big. It is no exaggeration to say that many wealthy families gathered together in one place, and their stockpile of food and grass was enough to send 100,000 troops and fight for a year.
The general has less than 25,000 formal soldiers. The food and grass that the 25,000 troops and horses eat is basically the same as the remaining 200,000. Moreover, they still guard the Bohai Bay fishing grounds and receive supplementary fisheries, so the problem is not that big.
If not, the general is not a kind person. To say that his moral level is high is certain, but to say that his moral level is low is also correct. Thousands of lives are not a big problem.
After accepting thousands of people, the general did not want the dilapidated city, but moved all the people from Anshi and Wenxian to Pingguo. He wants to adopt centralized and large-scale farming, and a few thousand people cannot occupy much land. There are more than 200,000 people, and each family is allocated so much land, but they can't allocate all the land in Fang County. There is no need for these thousands of people to live alone.
We also have to consider the situation of the incoming enemy. To the east of Pingguo, there are all mountains. This side belongs to Liaodong County, and further to the Korean Peninsula, it belongs to Lelang County. They are all Han people living together with other tribes. The situation is still quite complicated. Yes, we must take precautions.
Therefore, the mighty guards were stationed in the east of Pingguo to defend against enemies coming from the east and protect the people behind them.
Moreover, areas with densely populated areas are more convenient for commercial development. At present, the political and commercial center under the rule of the general is undoubtedly Tuhe. But as a secondary development place, Pingguo should be considered one.
Because of the convenience of trade with the eastern land of Pingguo, economic penetration and cultural invasion, over time, it will self-defeat.
At present, the Liaodong Peninsula and the Korean Peninsula are not the main targets. Because they are all mountainous, there is no need to use large armies to conquer and occupy them. The broader northeastern plain is the top priority.
If they don't harass them, they won't raise troops to fight. If they defeat them, they won't be able to occupy them. If they occupy them, they won't be of much use at the moment and are not cost-effective. Its development is driven by population growth. As the population increases and there is not enough land, we will expand. After a hundred years of this, we will eventually have a large territory...
It took a week to take care of the relocated people and preliminarily divided the fields for resettlement. And craftsmen were mobilized from the rear to build kilns, open furnaces, bake bricks and glass, and prepare to build houses and other necessary matters. Grains and farm tools for spring planting are also shipped. Just wait for the weather to warm up and thaw, and then go to work.
At this time, news from other battlefields was also passed back.
The combat effectiveness of the militia is not bad. After all, they have been training and fighting for half a year. They performed well and successfully broke through Wulu City. However, the damage was relatively heavy, with more than a thousand killed and more than two thousand lightly and seriously injured, and the Yingwu Guards were almost disabled.
It was because Su Puyan dispatched troops and generals, plus the captain of central Liaodong, the two sides merged into one place, and gained 4,000 troops. This arrangement should be to prepare for the attack on the king thief in a while, but I didn't expect the general to strike first.
Wulu City is a big city, with Wulu Mountain to the west, open plains to the east, and the mountain pass to the north where Wuhuan gathers. It is considered an important town. So it's not that they don't want more people to guard it, but that the food and grass don't support it.
Now the entire Liaodong and the entire Han dynasty group all depend on the general's face. There is no doubt that the important passage connecting the inside and outside of the pass is the Western Liaoning Corridor. No matter how bitterly cold the Northeast is, it cannot stop people who want to make money, and there is still some business dealings.
If we don’t take the Western Liaoning Corridor, but climb the Yanshan Mountains, cross the grasslands, and come via Northern Liaoning, there will be many detours. Moreover, this is the territory of the Xianbei and Wuhuan barbarians, and they are not affiliated tribes. Not to mention the detour, the level of danger will also be greatly increased, and the cost will increase exponentially. No one will engage in such a loss-making business. Therefore, Liaodong is particularly poor this year.
Of course, wealthy families also want to go north to do business. The Northeast is rich in mountain products, furs, and medicinal herbs, which can make a lot of money. They also expressed this matter to the general, but they were rejected by the general. Moreover, he sold the glass to make up for the loss of the wealthy family, so it was settled.
But this is also the reason why in Liaodong, both Han and Wuhuan people have to fight against the general. This is a struggle for survival.
The battle of Wulian City did not go well. At the beginning, the Wuhuan people looked down on the Yingwu Guards and went out to fight in the city. The opponent suffered a boring loss, and then they defended the city and did not leave. The Yingwu Guards mobilized several catapults and thousands of militiamen to move stones. After two days of smashing and another day of forced construction, the city was finally broken.
Wang Yan was definitely dissatisfied with the results of this battle. His military order said "siege", and it did not say how long it would take to capture the enemy. It was still a bit too hasty, causing such a huge loss.
This is what I want to express...
The siege battle at this time was indeed difficult to fight. In addition to opening the city gate inside, it is not easy to attack by force. With more than 6,000 and less than 7,000 people, it is quite difficult to storm a city guarded by 4,000 people. This shows the brutality of the battle at that time and the fierceness of the Yingwuwei militia.
It's just a better way, mainly in 'siege'. Wang Yan doesn't think there will be much food in Wulu City, and he can accept it until the beginning of spring. However, after the fighting was over, there was nothing else to do except take good care of the wounded and make up for the loss of the Yingwu Guards.
Yingwuwei wanted to show off, but also wanted his family to be able to farm safely in the spring. If this is investigated, it is mainly the general's problem. This winter, I brainwashed my generals a little too harshly...
Of course, he is not purely brainwashing. He mainly teaches classes to generals above the rank of marquis and teaches them how to lead troops in combat. Brainwashing is incidental. It's definitely not because the general is new to his craftsmanship. After all, he does this a lot, and when he was giving lectures, he repeatedly stressed the principle that when people lose their place, the land remains. It can only be said that the people under his command have longed for the happy days with full grain warehouses, so they are willing to fight with their lives.
They all saw how the general treated his family members when he died in the past, and they were not afraid of dying in vain. In this era when the life span of working people is only more than thirty years, people do not cherish life very much. If their death can bring a better life for their families, then their death is a death.
Very free and easy, very decisive, and very sad...
The general was hard-hearted, he just felt sorry for the loss of young people.
Along with the battle losses, there are also battle profits reported. Hundreds of war horses, 5,000 Han people, and 3,000 Wuhuan people were captured. As expected by the general, there was not much food.
It is worth mentioning that a man named Gongsun Heng was captured alive, from the Gongsun family of Xuantu, the Gongsun of Gongsundu.
The Gongsun family is not a noble family and is very powerful in Liaodong. Otherwise, Gongsundu would not have such great ability to dominate Liaodong. But the Gongsun family was started by Gongsun Du. He fled to Xuantu with his father and became a junior official in Xuantu. Along the way, he became the governor of Jizhou. The highest official of a state, and at this time, his power is much greater than that of the top leader of the provincial party committee two thousand years later. Growing a family is easy.
However, he was dismissed due to rumors, and under the influence of the party, he never resurrected.
This is the power of the Party's imprisonment. After officials have been dealt with, they will no longer be able to serve. The Ten Constant Ministers have killed quite a few people. Gongsun Du also suffered deeply from the Party's imprisonment.
According to the principle of profit and guilt, behind the Yellow Turban Uprising, there were many powerful people and dignitaries, and the support of old officials.
There is no doubt that they are intelligent people. Before the Yellow Turban uprising, Zhang Jiao had been in various states for many years. This can be seen with a little knowledge. But it wasn't until Zhang Jiao's uprising that the matter came to court. The first thing is to lift the party’s prison terms.
Speaking of the battlefield, Gongsun's people came out, one to exercise, the other to offer advice, and the third to fight against the king's thieves. This shows that Gongsun could no longer bear with General Wang and participated in military operations against the general.
Since there are people from the Gongsun family in Wulu City, there must also be people in Fuxin. In the battle for survival, one should go all out, and the Gongsun family should provide both men and food.
As expected by the general, two days later, a report from Guangwu Guard was received. They encountered more than 10,000 enemy troops in the Fuxin area. The two sides fought and suffered losses on each other. After one winter, the regular army of Guangwuwei showed a stronger combat effectiveness than Yingwuwei. With a force twice as large as our own, we faced the enemy in Fuxin. For a pure peasant army, this is a leap forward.
Of course, the creation of all this was due to General Tianwu's good leadership, good combat teachings, good training of soldiers, and relatively more abundant food. One winter can almost make up for the physical deficit and keep the body in good shape.
As for the name 'Fuxin', it was given by the general. The main reason is that this is the boundary of Wuhuan, and there is no accurate place name. So the general directly took the last ones and pushed them up. The mountains and rivers in Liaodong were named by famous ones, unknown ones, and unpleasant ones. The general appeared...
Another day, Changli came to report that according to the ranger's detection, there were enemy traces in the direction of Liucheng (Chaoyang) in the west, and they seemed to be trying to steal homes. The specific strength of the troops was not ascertained, but the ranger reported that there were more than five thousand.
The general laughed. After all, his hometown in the real world is Chaoyang. At this moment two thousand years ago, the enemy army actually sent troops to his hometown to steal his current hometown in Liaodong. Although it is a bit convoluted, if you think about it carefully, it feels quite interesting.
Another day, Liao Hua, who went out to fight guerrillas, also sent his signal troops back to report that Xuan Tu had 20,000 soldiers and horses to attack.
The situation was now clear, and the enemy committed fifty thousand troops. For the land of Liaodong, due to the disunity within Wuhuan, the disunity between Wuhuan and the Han people, the lack of materials, and various reasons, it is almost the limit to be able to mobilize 50,000 troops. No more can be achieved. That's ten thousand more.
There were wealthy households in Liaodong, but there were no wealthy families like those who did business with the generals. The main reason was that it was far away from the political and economic center. It could only be said that they were small landowners. Otherwise, Gongsundu would not have had the opportunity to control Liaodong. If a wealthy family is holding back, that is quite powerful.
This battle is a matter of life and death for the land of Liaodong. If he loses the battle, the general can only become a rogue bandit; if he loses the battle, he will all die.
However, what the enemy did not expect was that the general took action first despite the severe cold, which destroyed their arrangement. You should know that the general's cavalry dispersed in the winter and did not notice the mobilization of Wuli City, Fang County and other places. Now the general took action in advance and exposed their plan, so he had no choice but to take action passively. This gave the general the upper hand.
After all, after marching for a week and fighting for two hours, if the enemy army made large-scale movements, the rangers would definitely notice it. However, the time difference then may be two to three days faster than now, which is already the key to determining the outcome of the battle...
In Pingguo County, the general was thinking about the news of the past few days, thinking about how to arrange it, and suddenly spoke.
"Pass on my military order to establish a military guard to garrison Tuhe. Tuhe's four thousand militiamen form a military guard and station in Changli. Suizhong militiamen gather to prevent enemies from coming from the south."
"Fangxian County mobilized young men to replenish the soldiers of the Yingwu Guards who were lost in the battle. The Yingwu Guards divided three thousand troops and went north to Fuxin. They contacted the Guangwu Guards and divided them to attack them."
"Order Liao Hua to retreat behind the enemy."
"The Mighty Guard will divide three thousand troops with me to go north to meet the enemy. The remaining troops will be on guard against the enemy coming from the east. If the enemy does come, we can stop it. If the enemy is very large and cannot be defeated, the troops will retreat to Fang County and defend it."
"Strictly order all ministries not to be reckless. The most important thing is not to let the enemy hurt my family. If it is difficult to prevent the enemy from hurting the people, we must fight to the death."
There were a lot of troops coming, and the general mobilized and invested more than 30,000 troops. If you include the militia, it was a general mobilization. Without a general under his command, it is difficult to execute tactics properly. The battle is a matter of life and death, so the general has no choice but to go into battle on his own initiative.
This arrangement was to prevent the enemy from Liucheng from attacking Changli and secretly divide their troops to attack Tuhe, so the Xingwu Guards were dispatched to the north to defend. This arrangement is not because the general does not care about the head but the general does not think there is an enemy in the south. And on the other hand, he did not mobilize the Suizhong militia.
The rest of the arrangement is nothing worthy of praise. It does not require Guangwu and Yingwu to make great achievements. As long as they can withstand the enemy, prevent the enemy from advancing straight in, and fight to Changli, that is victory. As for the three thousand troops stationed in Pingguo at the mighty guard station, the militiamen were still left behind in Fang County, just to prevent enemies from the east. They just need to hold on to these directions.
The main battlefield of this battle is the 3,000 mighty guards led by the general and the 2,500 cavalry of Liao Hua's cavalry battalion. As long as the general's five thousand exceeds twenty thousand, then the battle will be won. In this regard, the general is very confident.
If he didn't go into battle personally and had several generals under his command, he wouldn't have arranged it like this. He only led a few thousand militiamen and could only defend Tuhe River. You can completely abandon the newly defeated Wulu and just attack Xuantu (Shenyang). In this way, the entire Liaohe Plain will be captured in one battle, and there will also be generals stationed there. Unlike now, even if he wins, he will not be able to occupy the Liaohe Plain. Because the current generals are out in the field, the distance is too far and there are too many variables.
To put it simply, he goes into battle personally and pays more attention to defense. He defends his home and pays more attention to offense. This comes from General Wang's absolute confidence in himself.
As the general issued the military order, all the signal soldiers who were waiting for the general's instructions in the Pingdu County government office took the order, and after leaving the county government office, they quickly rode away through the four doors.
The breath of death enveloped the land of Liaodong, and everyone was paying attention to this battle. The wealthy caravan stewards who were supposed to leave did not leave, but all stayed in Suizhong, waiting to see how the general would respond.
Perhaps the Han court had to wait until the beginning of spring to accept the sale of officials by generals, and this war was also a factor. If the king thief cannot survive this winter, there is no need to sell his official position...
Ask the land of Liaodong, who is responsible for the ups and downs?
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