After accidentally burning the grain and fodder of Yanzhou Governor Zhang Chong in Jiyin, Xu Zongwen's troops went all the way north, falsely claiming that they were heading to Chang'an for the army of King Qin, and ordered Puyang County to supply them with grain and fodder, and asked Puyang to collect a large number of boats. In order to prepare Xu Zongwen and others to march westward along the Yellow River and put down the rebellion of Murong Hong and Murong Chong as soon as possible.
After the Puyang County magistrate verified Xu Zongwen's edict of King Qin, he did not dare to refuse. He issued a notice overnight, offering a large reward for the people's ships, and dedicated fifty official ships under the name of Puyang County to Xu Zongwen.
Zhuge Kan and others saw that there was no need to fight, so the Qin army obediently sent food and grass and recruited ships. Everyone expressed their admiration for Xu Zongwen from the bottom of their hearts. Pei Qing and Xi Jian, who accompanied the army on the expedition, also expressed their admiration for Xu Zongwen. I appreciate the risky move and such a bold use of the enemy's resources in enemy territory. Since the Northern Expedition, Xu Zongwen is probably the only one, right?
"Don't admire me too much. Brother, I am a god-like existence. Brother Xin will have eternal life..." Xu Zongwen stood proudly at the foot of Puyang City, patting Zhuge Kan on the shoulder and said with a smile.
Zhuge Kan and others naturally tried their best to flatter him. Although they couldn't understand what Xu Zongwen said, they didn't realize how serious it was.
In fact, after the defeat at Lihu City, Xu Zongwen had doubts about his plan. He brought Pei Qing and Xi Jian to discuss many times, proposed to withdraw the troops, and went directly to Suiyang to meet with the cavalry. General Xie Xuan teamed up to kill Zhang Chong, the governor of Yanzhou, and then joined Xie Xuan's Central Army to go north to fight Mao Dang to the death and win with heads.
Pei Qing and Xi Jian were absolutely unexpected by the huge change in Xu Zongwen's attitude. For this reason, Xi Jian tried his best to advise Xu Zongwen and told him not to give up halfway.
Lihu was just an accident. They were able to come all the way from Linzi to Yuzhou, which already showed that their whereabouts could be discovered. As for Lihu, it must have been during the Battle of Linzi that some county soldiers escaped and escaped to Yanzhou. Puyang was far away from Linzi, and Qingzhou fell. I guess I haven't received any news from them, so how could anyone doubt their identity?
Sure enough, after Xu Zongwen followed Xi Jian's suggestion, he swaggered all the way towards Jiyin County. No one along the way suspected that they were King Qin's army.
After accidentally burning Zhang Chong's grain and grass, Xu Zongwen ignored the battle in Suiyang and asked the soldiers to eat immediately. He traveled day and night, and finally arrived at Puyang City after running for more than 700 miles in two days and two nights.
When Pei Qing and Xi Jian were discussing how to capture Puyang, Xu Zongwen resisted all opinions and took out the edict from King Qin sent by Fu Jian to Fu Lang. The Puyang County Magistrate read the edict and then saw that the city was in good order. The solemn and powerful army came to reward the army with wine and meat without saying a word.
Under Xu Zongwen's hard and soft tactics, the Puyang County Magistrate was led by Xu Zongwen all the way. When he was asked to hand over grain, grass and horses, he obediently handed it over. When he was asked to raise warships, he obediently obeyed. He did not dare to disobey Xu Zongwen's orders at all. I mean, this confusing operation simply blinded Pei Qing, Xi Jian, and Zhuge Kan.
Can the war still be fought like this?
"Brother, we have been away from Linzi for ten days. The warships are ready tomorrow. Can we set off for Luoyang?" Zhuge Kan asked.
Xu Zongwen nodded and replied: "Yes, soldiers are valuable and quick. If you stay in Puyang for too long, you might be exposed. It's better to leave as soon as possible!"
You can't hide it forever.
"Gather all the generals together tonight to discuss how to march."
"promise!"
Xu Zongwen took 10,000 people on fifty official ships and more than a hundred civilian ships from the old Yellow River north of Puyang all the way to the west, heading straight for Luoyang City, the old capital of the Han and Wei dynasties and the old capital of the Jin Dynasty!
"Mr. Auxiliary Machine, Luoyang is a beautiful place with great reputation throughout the history of the country. I wonder if you have ever been there?" On the deck of a large ship, the Yellow River water was rolling, the cold wind was biting in the air, and the flag was flying high. Xu Zongwen stood proudly and independently. He asked Pei Qingqing on the side.
Pei Qing traveled around the world when he was young. At that time, the Qin State destroyed the Yan Dynasty, swallowed Liang and Qiuchi, and unified the north. The Prime Minister of the Qin State, Wang Jinglue, was both civil and military, reformed the official administration, and rectified the government. Half of the country in the north gained a short-term peace.
But at that time, Luoyang was not the center of the world, but Chang'an, the capital of the Qin State. As for Luoyang, which was burned down by the Huns, it no longer had the prosperity of the past. The city of Luoyang that Pei Qing saw at that time was just ruins. , almost in ruins.
"The prosperity of Luoyang only exists in poems and poems. It has been hidden from the world for a long time in history books. If the general has high expectations for Luoyang, he will definitely be very disappointed when he sees Luoyang." Pei Qing was full of sighs. .
After hearing this, Xu Zongwen was startled at first, and then his face relaxed, and there was an evil smile on the corner of his mouth.
Apart from the person involved, probably no one knows more about the experience of Luoyang City after the fall of the Jin Dynasty (Western Jin Dynasty) than he does.
When he was in college, he couldn't put down three books about Luoyang: "Luoyang Ancient and Modern Records", "Luoyang Crisis" and "The Ancient Capital of Thirteen Dynasties". In addition, he also read "Book of Jin" and "Zi Zhi Tong Jian", and had a deep understanding of Han Dynasty. The history of Luoyang City in the Wei Dynasty and Luoyang City in the Jin Dynasty is quite familiar.
In the summer of the fifth year of Yongjia (AD 311), Hu Yanyan, a general under the Xiongnu Emperor Liu Cong of the Han Kingdom (Han Zhao), led an army of 27,000 to attack Luoyang. The Jin army lost twelve battles in a row, and 30,000 people were killed. Liu Yao, Shi Le, Hu Yanyan and others broke through Luoyang City, captured Jin Emperor Sima Chi, and burned the Jin Dynasty ancestral temple and the entire city of Luoyang. This was known as the "Yongjia Rebellion" in history.
Later, after general repairs by the State of Zhao, Luoyang gradually recovered, but only the city defenses were repaired. The ancestral temple and palace of the Jin Dynasty had long been reduced to ashes. Xu Zongwen thought that when Huan Wen arrived in Luoyang during his Northern Expedition thirty years ago, he saw The ancient capital has declined and Huangling, where the wormwood is as tall as a person, must have left some sighs and sighs.
"Although Luoyang is not what it used to be, if we capture Luoyang, we will have achieved the first success of the Northern Expedition." Xu Zongwen said to everyone.
Indeed, when Great Sima Huanwen went on the Northern Expedition, he recaptured Luoyang, and worshiped the tomb of the late Jin Dynasty emperor in the suburbs of Beijing. When the news spread back to Jiangdong, officials were shocked, and the emperor issued an edict to praise him!
If Xu Zongwen could capture Luoyang, putting aside the first achievement of the Northern Expedition for the time being, the move of regaining the old capital would definitely attract the attention of the world.
Pei Qing nodded: "Pingyuan Duke Fu Hui has only 20,000 troops. We only need to pretend to attack other cities to attract Qin troops, and then concentrate our forces to attack one place. Luoyang City will be defeated in one battle!"
Xi Jian also suggested: "What Brother Auxiliary Machine said is very much what I want! I mean the same thing, but with a slight change, maybe we can get twice the result with half the effort..."
