The water flow in the Lijiabao Daliang River section is stable and very suitable for ferrying. Therefore, the Lijiabao Pier is also one of the important docks on the Daliang River. There are also several bridges erected on the river. However, after the Sui army occupied Lijiabao City, in order to The bridge was demolished to prevent Goguryeo soldiers from going north from the jurisdiction of Xiabao Fortress and Baiyan Fortress on the south bank.
It is the rainy season, and the amount of water in Daliang is extremely large. The flood from the upper reaches makes the river surface of this gentle river section more than twice as wide as during the dry season, and is as wide as a hundred feet.
In the afternoon, the south bank of Daliang River showed a lively scene. Goguryeo auxiliary troops and heavy troops boarded the boats one after another and rowed to the other bank. Their task was not to board the north bank, but to use more than 300 ships to sail to Daliang River. Build a pontoon on the water. This is also the common way for the armies of the Sui Dynasty, Goguryeo and other countries to cross large rivers. It is not a strange thing.
If there are no ships, piles will usually be driven piece by piece to serve as bridge piers, but the speed will definitely not be as fast as the ships.
When these ships arrived at the designated location, they anchored in the river and became stable bridge piers. Then beams were placed on them and wooden planks were laid on them to form a platform-like pontoon bridge.
On the south bank, 30,000 Goguryeo elite soldiers formed a neat queue. In front were armored soldiers with swords and shields, followed closely by spearmen, crossbowmen, cavalry, and finally a vast troop of supplies.
General Gao Dayang was wearing armor, holding his hand on the hilt of his sword, and stood silently on a watchtower by the river, looking at the river and the other side with a worried look on his face.
Gao Dayang is Gao Yuan's younger brother. He is in a really bad mood at this time. Goguryeo was originally the hegemon of Liaodong, and even the late Emperor Yang Jian of the Sui Dynasty tolerated them. But since Yang Guang became emperor, everything has changed.
In the first year of Daye, the Khitan people sacked Liucheng County of the Sui Dynasty, which provoked the Sui army's revenge and led to the end of genocide. It was also when Yang Ji led his army to fight the Khitan people that Yuan Ziyou wanted to gain strategic depth for Goguryeo. Let Yuan Taizuo lead more than 100,000 northern troops to march towards Sumo Mohe, intending to destroy Sumo Mohe with lightning speed, and then occupy the area north of the weak Luoshui River, a tributary of the Liao River. If this strategic concept is realized, then the national boundary between Goguryeo and the Sui Dynasty will be the "Weak Luoshui-Liaoshui" in the shape of "".
There is nothing wrong with this strategic concept. However, Yuan Ziyou had selfish motives in appointing the general. He actually appointed the relatively useless Yuan Taizuo as the commander of the Northern Expedition. As a result, instead of destroying Sumo Mohe, he lost more than 100,000 elite soldiers. , the northern part of Liaodong, which was called Mozhou County in the Sui Dynasty, was lost.
This defeat and loss allowed the Sui army to avoid the rapid Liao River and attack Goguryeo from land.
Two years later, Yuan Ziyou once again relied on an inhumane person and lost to Yang Ji again. In less than twenty days, the Sui army led by Yang Ji reached the other side of Daliang River. The so-called first and second lines of defense turned into a huge joke.
Comparing the national power before and after, it is really embarrassing.
Gao Dayang also repeatedly considered the reasons for his failure. In addition to his opponent being too strong, another important reason was that Goguryeo had no generals. If Goguryeo's so-called first-rate generals went to the Sui Dynasty as generals, they would not even be considered third-rate generals. superior. It was precisely because Goguryeo had no good generals that all the strong wolf-like soldiers who were armed to the teeth became sheep. On the other hand, the Sui Dynasty's military had as many powerful soldiers as lions and tigers, and as many famous commanders and generals as wild dogs.
In this comparison, just in terms of military, they were outmatched by others. If we also include the number of people and national strength, Goguryeo can't stand it at all. How can they be undefeated?
"Father! Your Majesty listened to your advice to Lu and asked us to march north, leaving the two strategic locations of Xiabao City and Baiyan City empty of troops. The child always feels more dangerous." Gao Dayang's eldest son Gao Bao ran up to the watchtower. He glanced at his father and then said: "My child feels that Da Duilu sent the Southern Army to the battlefield on purpose, and his intentions are not pure."
"Shut up." Gao Dayang glared at his son and analyzed coldly: "We have more troops at this time, but Yang Ji's troops are far inferior to ours. Da Duilu suggested that the king disperse his troops at this time , in fact, it also forced the Sui army to disperse its forces so that we could concentrate our forces and defeat the Sui army one by one. If we combined with the eminent monk Luo to annihilate Han Hong's 30,000 Sui army, we would be able to attack the north with a thunderous force and regain the lost land. When Emperor Sui reacted, Yang Ji was already finished."
Then he warned: "This war is related to the life and death of our great Goguryeo. Whether it is me and the king, or my brother Lu and Silu Yitou, we have now reached a tacit understanding of working together and fighting against the outside world. I will not let you down from now on. You must stop talking nonsense that shakes the morale of the military. Otherwise, military law will be dealt with."
"My child knows that he is wrong!" Gao Bao saw that his father was angry and did not dare to talk about this topic again. He paused and then whispered: "My child also heard something, I'm afraid it is of great importance."
Gao Dayang frowned and said, "If you have anything to say, just say it. Don't hesitate."
"Yes!" Gao Bao's heart skipped a beat and he said to his father: "My son heard from General Wu Yan that Da Lu secretly sent an envoy to the north of Luoyang. This envoy seems to be Yuan Tailang!"
"Is it really what Wu Yan said?" Gao Dayang was shocked. The Gao family belongs to the Guilou tribe among the five major tribes, and Wu Yan's family is also one of the important members of the Guilou tribe. He can be regarded as the descendant of the founding father of the Gao family. To this day He is still loyal to the Gao family, and as a result, he is extremely at odds with the northern group headed by the Yuan family.
In the first year of Daye, he and Tan Yun were part of Eulji Mundeok's entourage and went on an envoy to East/Turk. It was precisely because they came back to report the whereabouts of Eulji Mundeok that Yuan Ziyou revealed to Yang Ji. . If the news his son said really came from Wu Yan, he must have some evidence.
Gao Bao nodded heavily and said word by word: "It is indeed what General Wu said."
Gao Dayang also asked why Yuan Ziyou, who was responsible for redeeming prisoners, did not redeem Yuan Tailang. It turned out that he was sent away. He pondered for a long time and ordered: "You hand over the defenses of Baiyan and Xiabao to Tan Yun and return to Liaodong City immediately. , tell the king this news."
"Baby, obey!" Gao Bao responded and left.
Gao Dayang was very disturbed by this news. Thinking about the "brainless" dispatch of troops by Li Yong from the north, Quan Ming's inaction and inexplicable disappearance, he began to become suspicious.
"General, this is the military information that the eminent monk Luo just sent." The commander of his soldiers came up and handed a letter to Gao Dayang.
"Do you know any news about the Sui army on the other side?" Gao Dayang asked after taking the letter and unfolding it.
Just like Li Zixiong of Huaiyuan Town who was preparing to cross the Liao River, now that Gao Dayang wants to cross the river, the enemy on the other side is a huge problem. Although he now has 30,000 elite troops, 30,000 auxiliary troops and heavy supplies, which is twice as many troops as Han Hong, it is impossible for his troops to form a formation on the other side to meet the enemy at once, so he is very worried about Han Hong's dispatch The heavy troops attacked half way across.
"According to reports from our army's scouts, there are 15,000 Sui army cavalry on the other side!" The commander of the soldiers reported a number, and then said: "General, our armies cannot land at the same time. At this time, the enemy has all the advantages. "
"Are they all cavalry?" Gao Dayang asked again. In fact, during this period of time, he and Han Hong on the other side were also fighting against each other. Although there was no big battle, there were constant small battles. He has also used many methods, but water warfare is different from land warfare after all, and he is on the offensive side, so he suffered heavy losses every time and was unable to gain a firm foothold on the other side.
This is also an important reason why he spent so much time and energy collecting boats and building a large pontoon.
"Exactly, all their troops are light cavalry, but this time there are no big weapons such as crossbows and catapults." The commander of the soldiers also understood the general's worries. He glanced at the general who looked down at the letter and tested. Then he said: "General, do you think the Sui army knew that General Monk Luo was about to send troops, so they used bed crossbows to defend the city..."
"You're right!" After reading the contents of the letter, Gao Dayang lost his worries and laughed excitedly: "General Gao has led an army of 30,000 people to set off and will arrive at Lijiapu in more than an hour. By then, He will station troops southwest of Lijiabao City and annihilate the Sui army outside the city. With his help, our army can cross the river calmly without worrying about the Sui army attacking halfway across the river."
"General, will Han Hong, Xue Shixiong and others lead their troops to escape?" The commander looked at Gao Dayang in confusion.
"They can't run away, and they can't run away." Gao Dayang said with a smile: "There are 30,000 Sui troops in Lijiabao. In addition to preventing our army from going north and Brother Silk Yitou and General Gao from advancing eastward, they are also responsible for raiding towns in the west. The mission, and Brother Silu Yitou and General Gao need to protect the people in the cities in the west, so they dare not spread their troops too thinly, and the progress of the southward retreat is also very slow."
"Although the Lijiabao Sui army is surrounded by us, General Gao, and Brother Silu Yitou on three sides, they are strong and still have the power to fight. Once they withdraw to Shansong City, Brother Silu Yitou and General Gao can let go Hands and feet, gather all the troops and all the young men, and work with us to surround Shansong City where Yang Ji is located. Therefore, Han Hong and others will not retreat and cannot retreat."
The main mission of Han Hong and others stationing troops in Lijiabao was actually to take the people of Juli in the west of the city as hostages, so as to make the elder brother Yuan Zicheng and the eminent monk Luo surrender.
Facing the 30,000 Sui Dynasty elite soldiers who could leave the city to fight, they neither dared to abandon the people to recover other places, nor dared to take the initiative to attack, because once they left the city, they would harm the place like rogue bandits, and Goguryeo would be even more passive. . However, this Sui army was also in a dilemma due to insufficient strength.
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They, Goguryeo, have now moved out of the deadlock, and the Sui army's reinforcements are far to the north, so Goguryeo has the upper hand and Gao Dayang feels that they will win.
"The general is wise!" The soldier commander's eyes lit up, he bowed and said with a smile.
"Although General Gao can help us cross the river successfully, and the Sui army may retreat to the city because of his arrival, we cannot let General Gao be the best at it. Order the auxiliary soldiers to seize the time to repair the pontoon bridge. If there are not enough planks, first move the cart Take it off and use it." Gao Dayang nodded. Although he and the eminent monk Luo both belong to the southern sect and are close friends, since ancient times, there is no first in literature and no second in martial arts. At this time, friendship belongs to friendship, and merit belongs to merit. It cannot be Mixed together.
"Yes!" The commander of the soldiers immediately went back to deliver the order.
As orders were issued, more and more Goguryeo auxiliary soldiers and heavy supplies were thrown into the Daliang River. Everyone came forward carrying beams and wooden boards. Some people unloaded their grain bags and loaded the carts with them. The board was also removed.
As the saying goes, when everyone adds firewood, the flames rise. With the efforts of 30,000 auxiliary soldiers and heavy supplies, the large pontoon bridge extended to the other side at a speed visible to the naked eye.
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On the north bank of Daliang River, the Sui army was also waiting in full formation.
When Han Hong received a large-scale enemy attack, he did not panic at all. While sending people to warn Yang Ji, he did not shrink his troops and wait for reinforcements. Instead, he calmly divided the 30,000 defenders according to the enemy's situation. Four.
He personally led three thousand soldiers to guard the city. Xue Shixiong was ordered to lead 10,000 Liangzhou troops to wait for the incoming eminent monk Luo at a location outside the West City. He hoped that Xue Shixiong could use the Liangzhou Army's most powerful mounted archery and "kite flying" tactics to kill some enemy soldiers and weaken them. The purpose of improving the enemy's vigor and morale was also to delay the arrival of this enemy army; while Wang Xingben led 10,000 Xiaoguo troops to face Gao Dayang who was heading north.
As for Yang Shidao and Li Zhiliang, they led 7,000 Liangzhou troops to cruise in the southwest of the city, acting as reinforcements for Xue Shixiong and Wang Xingben. No matter which side could not resist, they would divide their troops to assist, or cover their retreat to the city.
Judging from Han Hong's deployment, Wang Xingben in the south used a half-crossing attack to annihilate the enemies heading north. This was also the main battlefield he prepared. Xue Shixiong in the west focused on delaying Monk Luo. As long as he kept Gao Monk Luo at a distance from Lijiabao, Wang Xingben could deal with Gao Dayang calmly.
Wang Xingben is also a general of the Xiaoguo Army. This person seems to have no reputation, but in fact he is a man who is familiar with military books, skilled in martial arts, loyal and staunch. When he was serving in Liangzhou, he was also the only general under Yang Ji. His His style is the same as that of Han Hong and Yao Junsu, and he is especially proficient in the way of good defense.
Over the past few days, Han Hong was able to calmly keep Gao Dayang away from the other side. Wang Xingben was indispensable. He laid down many deer tips at key points on the shore as a weapon to resist the enemy. At the same time, he built some sentry towers and beacons. Taiwan, as long as the enemy takes action, they will use beacon smoke to convey the message.
Wang Xingben also asked people to build a watchtower on the other side. At this time, he was standing on the watchtower in front of the pontoon bridge to observe the enemy's situation.
The movement in Goguryeo could be seen at a glance. When he saw the huge platform-like pontoon slowly extending towards this side, his face was extremely solemn, but there was no trace of panic.
There is quite a kind of calmness that has the general trend in hand and is as stable as Mount Tai.
"General, what should we do now?" A deputy general asked: "Should we send someone to harass the enemy and delay the construction of the pontoon bridge?"
"No need!" Wang Xingben looked at the sky and said, "Let them come here early to die. If the time is delayed until night, they will come in overwhelming numbers, which will not be conducive to our army blocking the enemy. Please don't slack off, soldiers."
"Here!"
