Chapter 507: Attack Hetao and Defend Yinshan Mountain
The grassland war has reached its most critical moment. After experiencing heavy losses in the early stages, Xianbei was finally forced to unite under the crisis of genocide.
But in the face of the flanking attacks from the Xiongnu and Wuhuan, although Xianbei's resistance was very tenacious, it had no tendency to reverse the defeat.
Facing the aggressive offensives of the Xiongnu and Wuhuan, Xianbei considered the shortcomings of fighting on two fronts and finally decided to concentrate on solving one front first, and then deal with the other. Only in this way can the crisis be relieved.
Because Temujin's offensive was too fierce, and the relatively weak Wuhuan was regarded as a soft persimmon, Xianbei senior officials decided to attack Wuhuan first.
Xianbei's heritage is still very deep. After holding on to fight several battles, Wuhuan leader Qiu Liju "accidentally" died in battle, and Nurhachi also "followed the trend" and succeeded to the throne as the new chanyu.
According to common sense, after Nurhaci succeeded to the throne, he should first retreat his troops, and then slowly consolidate his position, then come to Xianbei to seek revenge. In this way, Xianbei can temporarily take a break.
But who would have thought that Nurhachi did not follow common sense. As soon as he took the throne, he launched the slogan of revenge for his brother, threatening that Wuhuan and Xianbei would never stop fighting.
Tianjiao is Tianjiao. In terms of attacking Xianbei, Temujin and Nurhaci have an amazing tacit understanding.
Indeed, there are only so many big forces on the grassland. If the original overlord Xianbei does not fall, how can the Xiongnu and Wuhuan rise?
Therefore, both Temujin and Nurhaci are determined not to give up until they annex Xianbei, because once Xianbei is allowed to slow down this time, it will not be so easy to annex Xianbei next time.
Gradually, the Xiongnu and Wuhuan gained greater and greater advantages. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that if this continues, it will only be a matter of time before Xianbei is engulfed by the two tribes.
Two stronger grassland tribes are about to be born. This is a bad thing for the two states of Bingyou that border the grassland in the north.
Northern Xinjiang is already unbearable, and now the two races are about to become stronger? Doesn't this allow people to live?
The two ethnic groups must be organized to annex Xianbei. Qin Wen and Liu Yu all thought so.
But Youzhou had just experienced a big battle, and Liu Yu didn't have the ability to stop it even if he wanted to.
Everything in Bingzhou was proceeding in an orderly manner, and its strength was increasing day by day, so it was naturally impossible for Qin Wen to watch the Huns grow, and the plan to conquer the Hetao was also put on the agenda in advance.
Xianbei is the overlord of the grassland and has a profound background. If the Huns want to annex it, they must use all their strength, so naturally they have no intention of worrying about the Hetao.
The Hetao is extremely important to both Bingzhou and the Huns. Whoever owns it has the upper hand, so it is normal for the Huns to return to the Hetao.
If the Xiongnu annexed Xianbei and gave up the Hetao, the Jin army would take advantage and seize the Hetao in one fell swoop.
If the Xiongnu gave up annexing Xianbei for the Hetao, the Jin army might not be able to capture the Hetao, but it would also prevent Temujin from expanding his strength, which would be a good thing for Bingzhou.
In order to win the battle with Xianbei, Temujin mobilized 80% of the entire clan's troops. The current garrison in Hetao can be said to be the lowest in history.
Therefore, as soon as the Hetao strategy was proposed, it won the support of most generals in the army, while most of the opponents were civil servants.
Taiyuan, Jinyang, Prefecture Mufu.
"Lord, during the battle with the Yellow Turbans, our army of 30,000 cavalry went south, but only 3,000 returned. At present, we should focus on restoring our military strength." Hao Tong urged.
"Lord, the troops in Hetao are as weak as ever. This is a God-given opportunity. If you miss it, you will regret it!" Qin Jian said seriously.
"It won't be too late to capture the Hetao after the military strength recovers." Sima Fang added.
"By then, I'm afraid Xianbei will have been annexed. Facing the Xiongnu who are more powerful, taking Hetao will be half the result with half the effort." Zhao Yun stood up and retorted.
Seeing that Zhao Yun, a newcomer, dared to refute, Hao Tong immediately showed a look of displeasure on his face and said coldly: "Xianbei is a veteran overlord of the grassland, can he be defeated so easily?"
"That's right, when the strength of the two tribes is almost exhausted, wouldn't it be good for our army to join again? Joining at this time will actually help Xianbei." Sima Fang agreed.
Zhao Yun was stunned when he heard this, and then showed a wry smile. He was a junior in such a big occasion, and it was really not suitable for him to talk back to his seniors. Zuo Zuo had to shake his head and retreat.
Qin Jian was not happy when he saw this. Zhao Yun is both his junior brother and the future son-in-law of the Qin family. Can you, Hao Tong, be the senior son-in-law of the Qin family and bully me?
"The difference between Mr. Hao's remarks is precisely because Xianbei can no longer hold on any longer, so our army will attack Hetao at this time. Who can predict the timing? I, Qin Jian, think now is the best time."
A trace of anger flashed in Hao Tong's eyes, and he said sternly: "Fourth Master knows how to fight, but do you know the logistics situation of our army? Without food, grass and military pay, how can we fight this war?"
Bingzhou, especially Bingbei, has received more than one million refugees in more than a year. The Yanmen Army's accumulated foundation over the past few years has basically been exhausted, so Hao Tong opposed sending troops.
Qin Jian only knows how to fight but doesn't know much about logistics. He didn't know how to respond to Hao Tong's question. Then he still showed off his strength and said: "It's so good that you can fight even if you want to sell iron."
"I'm afraid I won't be able to win even if I try to sell iron." Hao Tong said calmly.
"How can it be……"
"How is it impossible..."
"We must fight..."
"I'll beat you if you can find money and food..."
Seeing that the two people were arguing more and more outrageously, Qin Wen immediately slammed the table angrily and shouted: "Shut up, everyone."
The two men made their master angry, and they all said in unison in fear: "This subordinate (the last general) is guilty."
Qin Wen glared at Qin Jian, and then said to Xi Zhicai: "Commander, do you think our army should send troops this time?"
Xi Zhicai's brows had been furrowed since the beginning of the meeting, and he had not spoken. He pondered for a moment after being called upon by Qin Wen and then spoke.
"Lord, our army must send troops this time." Xi Zhicai said with a serious face.
Military advisor Xi Zhi was Qin Wen's most reliable adviser. It was basically a foregone conclusion that he would support sending troops, so the military was immediately delighted, while the civil servants all looked sad.
Seeing that Xi Zhicai had something to say, Qin Wen immediately asked, "What does the military advisor mean by this?"
Xi Zhicai walked to the map, pointed to the three northern and central counties, and said: "Please see, my lord, the three northern and central counties are close to the Hetao, with a vast expanse of water between them. There is almost no place that can be defended for a long time.
Temujin is much stronger than Yuvluo, so the Huns now are not the Huns before. Only by taking the Hetao and establishing a checkpoint in the Yinshan Mountains can our army completely bring the Hetao Plain under our control.
Otherwise, the Huns' cavalry could enter the three northern and central counties at any time. "
