The 800-mile Qinchuan River is also known as the Guanzhong Plain and the Weihe Plain. From west to east, the Wei River, together with the Jing, Feng, Lao, Jian, Pou, Chan and Ba rivers, forms a landscape of "eight rivers surrounding Chang'an". In terms of defense, it can rely on the surrounding large and small passes, plus the two natural barriers of the Loess Plateau and the Qinling Mountains. It can be self-defended in seclusion, and can be exited by the West Longyou, South Bashu, North Outside the Great Wall, and East Central Plains. Therefore, it is known as the "Four Fortresses". country".
In comparison, the Heluo Plain, which is known as "the center of the world", is actually a large basin dotted by rivers and mountains; the surrounding mountains from west to east are: Weishan Mountain, Xiong'er Mountain, Waifangshan Mountain, Funiu Mountain, Jishan Mountain, Songshan Mountain and The Mang Mountains on the south bank of the Yellow River, these semicircular mountains surrounding the Heluo Basin/Plain, have not only become a natural barrier to the Heluo Plain, but also present an aura of kings coming from all directions.
Moreover, as early as the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Ling set up eight passes including Hangu, Yinque, Guangcheng, Dagu, Fuyuan, Xuanmen, Mengjin and Xiaopingjin based on the dangerous pass of the mountain. The eight pass captains were appointed to unify the military and political affairs of the eight passes and guard the safety of Kyoto. In addition, there are Tongguan in the west, Sishuiguan (Hulaoguan) in the east, Tianjingguan and Zhiguan in the north, Heyangguan in the middle of the Yellow River, etc. in the Heluo Plain.
Together, these passes serve as the gateway to Heluo, making them an important military location that can be attacked in advance and defended in retreat. Therefore, although the defense power of the Heluo Plain is not as good as that of the Guanzhong Plain, purely from a geographical and terrain perspective, it is not truly undefendable.
The Heluo Plain has a well-developed water system like the Guanzhong Plain. Its main river, the Luo River, flows from west to east like the Wei River. After converging with the Jianshui, Zhangshui, and Yinshui at different river sections, it finally flows into the Yellow River together, so it is known as the "Five Rivers". "Round Luoyi" theory.
The two plains have fertile land and rich specialties. However, the climate environment developed in two completely different directions during the Zhou, Qi and Sui Dynasties. The Guanzhong Plain suffered from deforestation, soil erosion, sharp reduction in cultivated land area, and frequent natural disasters. For other reasons, the ecological environment is deteriorating day by day, and every year there are either droughts or poor harvests or rivers flooding. The Heluo Plain is relatively pure, and floods occur frequently; if there is a heavy rainstorm, "Five waters surround Luoyi" will become "Five waters surround Luoyi".
When it rains heavily in Liaodong, it also rains in Luoyang.
The heavy rainstorm in Luoyang lasted for three or four days, and it only subsided slightly in the afternoon of the fifth day. However, the sky was still covered with dark clouds and raindrops, and another heavy rainstorm was "getting ready."
Fortunately, before Yang Guang moved the capital, he ordered Yu Wenkai to build a long moat. When he built the capital, he also cleaned up various river channels, strengthened and raised the river embankments, so no matter how much rain it rained in the past few years, it did not cause floods.
But it was Huitong Garden that made the greatest contribution.
Huitong Garden is located to the west of Luoyang Palace City, with a circumference of more than 200 miles. It is a depression formed by taking earth, burning bricks, and quarrying stones when Yu Wenkai built Luoyang City. In the process, Yu Wenkai retained many The stone mountain was slightly modified afterwards, and water from streams, valleys, and Luoshui was introduced to form a huge artificial lake. During the wet season, it is responsible for absorbing the flood water that Luoshui cannot divert away in time; during the dry season, it opens the gate to release water to ensure that the irrigation and waterways downstream of Luoshui are not affected.
The rivers in the Heluo Plain are smooth, and Huitongyuan is a big thing that absorbs the water of the river for several days. Therefore, no matter how much rain it rains in the past few years, there has been no flood disaster.
This year, floods naturally did not occur, but the Fenshui River Basin was also rising. The emperor and the general accompanying the Northern Patrol were "rushed" back to Luoyang from Taiyuan.
What "rushed" Yang Guang back to Luoyang was naturally not the flood, nor the Turks who claimed to be disrespectful, unfaithful, and unjust, but Yang Ji.
Yang Ji first conquered Youzhou and northern Jizhou, leaving a mess for Yang Guang, and then went to fight in Liaodong.
Both front and rear, internal and external are the top priority, so Yang Guang's large troops on the northern patrol were forced to stay in Taiyuan.
Yang Guang couldn't let go of state affairs, but he couldn't break his trust with others or the world, so he simply imitated Yang Ji's domineering style.
He first asked Zhang Suncheng and Shi Xiang to find fault with Qimin Khan in every possible way. When the other party was dissatisfied, he asked Yang Xuangan and Yao Junsu, the ministers of the Ministry of Rites, who were powerless to restrain the chicken, to lead the Xiaoguo army north to reason.
Within two days, Yang Xuangan fought a duel with Turkic warriors and killed more than 300 Eastern/Turkic warriors in one breath.
The Turks were afraid of this so-called weak scholar, so they invited the Sui army to fight. However, the result was even more tragic than a duel. Yao Junsu and his 10,000 Xiaoguo army killed more than 20,000 elite soldiers.
At this time, the Turks led by Qimin Khan deeply realized their mistakes, honestly followed the standards of the Sui Dynasty, and rebuilt the imperial and official roads. However, Yang Guang felt that the Turks were disrespectful and disloyal, and that the roads they had built before were completely deceptive, so he lost his temper with Qimin Khan, who went to Taiyuan to apologize in person, saying that if the Eastern Turks did not know how to build roads, they would Let Yang Ji and Yang Xuangan lead the Liangzhou Army and Xiaoguo Army to repair.
When the news came out, the people of the Sui Dynasty not only did not feel that the emperor was wrong or untrustworthy, but they praised him and praised him highly. They felt that the emperor of the Sui Dynasty should be so domineering and arrogant.
Now Yang Guang has Yang Ji, who is so radical that even he is afraid of it, as a negative example, so he has become steady and practical. Moreover, he now cares about his reputation and the people's comments. When he meets the people, they think it is good. Finally he breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, he was so angry that he took a group of people back by boat from Taiyuan.
As for when to patrol the north? He couldn't tell now, let alone set the time randomly. Everything had to wait until Yang Ji finished the battle.
Only when Yang Ji said, "The battle is indeed over" and "There are indeed no accidents" did he dare to set the time for the northern patrol. Otherwise, various accidents will definitely happen and we will definitely not be able to leave.
Yang Guang was already convinced of Yang Ji's ability to create accidents.
In the side hall of Xuanzheng Hall in Ziwei City, a group of important ministers were discussing in front of several sand tables.
"The King of Wei has a small army and few generals, and the follow-up is weak. I am afraid that the next situation will not be conducive to our army."
"That's not the case. King Wei is good at riding and fighting, and his way of using troops is no different from that of the barbarians. Even if he can't defeat the Goguryeo army with many soldiers and generals on the front battlefield, won't he escape? ? What's more, we are fighting in a foreign country, and there is no psychological burden at all to loot the enemy's troops. So no matter how you look at it, it is Goguryeo that is unlucky, not our people and our army."
"Yes, King Wei likes to kill and knows how to kill, and the people he kills are enemies, so let him kill him. Besides, the Gaoju people are not only not from our clan, but they are also very ambitious and have marched into Youzhou many times. Even if King Wei is If you kill them all, then they deserve to die. The sages said it well - 'Those who are not of my race will have different hearts.' In my opinion, King Wei is idle when he is idle. Instead of letting him enter the court and cause chaos, It would be better to let him kill all the surrounding alien races. If he kills happily, the people will benefit a lot, and we will also be happy and free, and we will achieve multiple things with one stone."
"It's too optimistic. The battlefield has always been a contest of strength, and clever tricks can only achieve temporary results. However, when the King of Wei's light division is fighting with foreign tribes, it is already at the disadvantage of being inferior to others in terms of strength. Goguryeo's reinforcements are even more impressive. Come. In my opinion, even if King Wei wins a small victory, it will not last long and will be weak in the follow-up."
"Well, troop strength, weapons, food, grass and baggage, and even transportation are indeed big problems. Once our army's food, grass and baggage are insufficient, King Wei will be in a dilemma. It is really dangerous! Have you ever thought about this?"
"Then, what do you mean?"
"The war has not started yet. King Wei temporarily withdraws his troops and returns to the court. Then he will prepare for war and fight again next year! This is the safe way."
"The saint will not allow it. Besides, you have to understand that if we wait until next year to fight again, Goguryeo will be more fully prepared. It will be even more difficult to fight again by then. This opportunity cannot be missed!"
"What you said is absolutely true. At this juncture, even if we want to retreat, the enemy may not agree. Because Gao Yuan's formation and actions of hundreds of thousands of soldiers on our border are enough to show that the other party has long had evil intentions and has long been against us. The Sui Dynasty planned to use force. If our army retreats, he will approach step by step, putting the people of Sui Youzhou under the weapons of the Zhijun. I don't want to regain the Mozhou and Liaodong counties and fall into them. Rival. In my opinion, this battle must be fought."
"That's right! Now that things have reached the current situation, we can no longer avoid war." Changsun Chi raised his head and glanced at all the important ministers. Among them, most of them were generals from the Ministry of War and the Sixteenth Guards. He paused and said in a deep voice. Said, "We still have many opportunities to turn around, and we can prepare a lot; the most important thing now is whether King Wei on the front line has sufficient troops and supplies. No matter how much we worry about other things, it is useless."
"We know nothing about the front line or the enemy's situation. And with King Wei's fighting style, he is very likely to start a war. So what we want to discuss at this time is not at all whether to fight or not, but how to make it happen. King Wei is invincible."
Changsun Chi turned his gaze to Gao Qiu, who was watching the sand table silently, and asked: "Gao Xiang, what's your opinion?"
Gao Jiong raised his head and slowly looked at the sand table in front of Sun Chi. He found that the sand table was densely covered with small flags representing the marching route. After looking at it, he frowned at Chang Sun Chi and asked: "Prime Minister Li, it's better to tell him." What’s your opinion!”
Goguryeo was the greatest shame in Gao Jiong's life and the pain in his heart; the tragic defeat that year had broken his "Taoist heart" and became an eternal knot in his heart.
Regarding the issue of dealing with Goguryeo, he had an ambivalent mentality of wanting to hit Pyongyang hard but being afraid of war. This contradictory mentality was the reason why Yang Guang did not take the initiative to ask for a battle when he appointed Sima Sima of the Liaodong Road March.
Now I am silent and do not say a word. In fact, it is this ambivalence that is at work.
"This is the battle strategy decided by the generals and I. Please correct me." Changsun Chi picked up a wooden pole and pointed at the flag on the sand table and explained: "The main army set out from Dongshan County, Liaodong, west of the Liao River, and marched all the way Go north along the Liao River to attack Xuantu, Xincheng, and Guiduan on the other side, and threaten Changtu City from the west and south; all the way across the Liao River, attack Liaodong; all the way south from Mozhou, attack the Xifeng Camp. After completing their respective strategies, the three armies will join forces in Liaodong City or Anshi City, and then join forces to enter the Liaodong Peninsula."
"While the land army was fighting, the Northern Navy seized the time to prepare for the war, and then divided its forces into three routes from the east. The northern route went north along the 'Changshan Islands', and went straight from the Bohai Sea to Beisha City on the Liaodong Peninsula to cut off the enemy. retreat and shake the enemy’s morale.”
"The middle route crossed the Wuhu Sea (Yellow Sea), captured Bobi City (Daxing City) at the mouth of the Yalu River, then went north along the Yalu River, defeated the enemy's inner city of Zhongdu, quickly recovered the lost ground on the north bank of the Yalu River, and then fought with The first group worked together to regain the Liaodong Peninsula. And prepare to cross the Yalu River."
"The navy of the south route landed in the area of Xengkou City, Baekje, and went directly to Haeguk, Duogok, Ucen, Minai, Ongwengqian, and Seoul in Goguryeo; then it went north along the Xishui River, intimidating Pyongyang City in the area of Yangyue, and for The northern armies will contain the enemy forces in the Pyongyang Plain until several armies from the north gather together to defeat Goguryeo."
Gao Jiong frowned and said nothing when he heard this. This method was clearly based on the method used in the expedition to Goguryeo back then, and it seemed much safer than before. But if the army advances step by step, it will delay for too long. Moreover, this tactic makes the troops too dispersed and easily defeated by the enemy one by one. Even if they are not defeated one by one by the enemy, they are still fighting independently and cannot be coordinated. Especially the three armies of the Navy. It will be difficult for them to fight freely because they are surrounded by enemies on all sides.
Once autumn comes, the bad weather and difficult roads in Liaodong will make it difficult for the army, and the logistics supplies will be seriously lagging behind. If the land army cannot annihilate the enemy forces in Liaodong and cannot enter the Liaodong Peninsula, no matter how great the results achieved by the Third Route Navy, it will only I'm afraid I can only give up and retreat. If I don't retreat, I will face attacks from enemies from all directions.
Even if they win in the end, the most they can do is occupy the north bank of the Yalu River, or even stop in Liaodong, but they will not be able to complete the battle in one battle.
In fact, Gao Jiong's worries are not unreasonable, because Li Shimin fought the Battle of Goguryeo in this way, and the result must be safe. However, because of the safety, too much time was wasted, causing the Tang army to be difficult to move, and the logistics supply was serious. Due to the lag, and Xue Yantuo's trouble in the north, after conquering more than ten cities, he had no choice but to return to the court.
Although the enemy was defeated in this battle, and the results and gains far outweighed the losses, Goguryeo still failed to be defeated in the end and was not fully accomplished. Therefore, even Li Shimin, who had poured his country into the war, regretted it and believed that it was a complete defeat. s failure.
"This method is very safe, but the current situation of dividing our troops in the enemy's country means that our army cannot give it a go. If it takes too long and makes the time enter autumn, it will become extremely dangerous." Gao Jiu finished his words thoughtfully. , asked: "Prime Minister, have you ever considered what I said?"
"Of course we have considered it!" Changsun Chi nodded and said: "But if our troops and weapons are far beyond Goguryeo, all worries will disappear."
Gao Jiong was shocked when he heard this.
