Strategic deception is a bit different from lying.
The scope of lying is often not too large, and sometimes it is just a matter between two people.
In this case, lying can sometimes really deceive others for a lifetime.
But strategic deception is not good. It covers too many aspects. Especially after the initial stage of action has been passed, it is even more difficult to continue the deception. There will always be times where the secret will be revealed.
At this time, we must seize the main cause, just cover up the most important information, slowly release the subordinate initiative, and pull the enemy's awareness into your own rhythm.
For example, Murong Nobunaga did a great job this time. At the moment when his true purpose was about to be exposed, he took the initiative to release the specious misleading of driving the tiger to devour the wolf.
This time, Murong Nobunaga, who originally relied on Da Zhou and had strong backing, was described as Liu Xuande who was forced to have no choice.
Goryeo people also read the Three Kingdoms. This book, edited by Zhang Shengren myself, is an extremely popular book in the Three Thousand Miles Country. Even a Goryeo slave knows the name of Uncle Liu Huang.
As soon as this "Driving the Tiger and Swallowing the Wolf" came out, it was easy for the Koreans to automatically assume the role of Yuan Shu.
They really look alike! They, Goryeo, were sitting on the home court and had sufficient troops and supplies. Although they could not compete with Cao Mengde, the great Zhou Dynasty, who held the emperor in power to command the princes.
But to deal with Liu Bei (Murong Nobunaga), who is vaguely hostile to the imperial court, as long as you don't imitate Yuan Shu and directly declare himself emperor and annihilate the world, what's there to fear?
At the same time, Murong Nobunaga was concerned about the fact that he had tens of thousands of armored soldiers, fearing to scare the entire Goryeo army, and then slowly released the news that he only had 20,000 armored soldiers, and most of the rest were collected and captured by Jurchen, Bohai and others in the forest.
And this news, in the eyes of Korean people, is very true.
Who could have imagined that Murong Nobunaga had 40,000 armored cavalry under his command alone, and that the unarmored cavalry were also elite. This was completely beyond the imagination of Goryeo.
Or to put it to the extreme, if Murong Nobunaga said that he now has 50,000 super elite soldiers, there is a high probability that Goryeo would not believe it.
Goryeo was far away in Haidong, so he still lacked some intuitive feelings about the crazy martial arts of Yuan Ya soldiers in recent years.
They did not see much of the combat effectiveness of the Central Plains warriors. On the contrary, they even felt that the combat effectiveness of the Central Plains warriors was much lower than that of the Tang Dynasty because the Central Plains warriors did not go abroad to commit crimes.
Not to mention at this time, this concept is a common belief among later generations.
Generally speaking, people think that the warlords fighting at the end of the dynasty can be compared with the heyday.
After Anshi, the military power of the Tang Dynasty dropped like a falling meteor, which is in line with public perception.
Well, strictly speaking, it's not too wrong. Compared with Xiangji Temple, the combat effectiveness of the Five Generations Warriors has definitely declined.
But this range is not large. What has declined most is organizational strength and logistics supply strength, not force.
So Murong Nobunaga was deceived and was double deceived by the fact that he only had 20,000 armored soldiers.
While Wang Zhao ordered Huangfu Zhao, the lieutenant general of the Red Guard cavalry army, to lead 3,000 cavalry north and camp in Longgang County, which is only more than 60 miles away from Pyongyang, Xijing, he also quickly mobilized domestically.
The defense of the city at this time was not as imagined by later generations. I had a fortified city in hand, and I was condescending. As long as there was enough food, I could continue to defend it.
In fact, being trapped in an isolated city is a great torture for the defenders, because it means that all your hopes have been cut off, and if you are not careful, your whole family will die.
In such a situation of extreme mental pressure for a long time, the most vulnerable thing is the human heart.
Many times there will even be a strange situation where the attacking party does not have much of an advantage, but can win the city by just trying to persuade them to surrender.
All of this stems from the self-collapse process in which the city defenders have to endure huge pressure for a long time and face unknown fears.
That's why Lu Wenhuan defended Xiangyang and Zhu Wenzheng defended Nanchang in history, so they were so famous because it was really too difficult.
Under normal circumstances, without generals like Lu Wenhuan and Zhu Wenzheng, it is necessary to give the defenders some hope to support them in defending.
Therefore, Wang Zhao is indeed relatively knowledgeable. Although he was unable to mobilize the army to go north to relieve the siege in a short time, he still very shrewdly sent Huangfu Zhao to go north with the only mobile force that could be dispatched at any time.
Huangfu Zhao was born into the Huangfu family, a wealthy family in Huangzhou. His uncle Huangfu Tigong was a hero in the founding of Goryeo, and he could be regarded as a son of a general.
When he arrived at Longgang County, he saw that the Liao army surrounded Pyongyang on all sides, with flags waving and gongs and drums roaring. He immediately understood that his thousands of men might not be enough to fill the gap between the enemy's teeth.
After sending two groups of dead soldiers to rush into Pyongyang City to report the news, but both were killed by the Liao Army's cavalry, Huangfu Zhao decisively led the army away from Longgang County, which was undefended, and came to the remaining veins of the Mercy Ridge Mountains northeast of Pyongyang.
This place is about thirty miles away from Pyongyang City. Huangfu Zhao ordered his soldiers to put up red flags on the top of the mountain and set off fireworks every morning to inform the soldiers and civilians in Pyongyang that the reinforcements were still there and encourage them to hold on.
When Murong Nobunaga saw him in the distance, he actually felt a little love for talents. He smiled and said to Wang Pu:
"This man led his troops to the south. He conducted detailed marches and reconnaissance along the way. Seeing that our army was in good order, he quickly assessed the situation and set up camp in the mountains and forests.
Now I can still think of using fireworks to encourage the soldiers and civilians. If I survive, I can guard a place for me. "
Wang Pu also smiled and responded: "In my opinion, your Majesty should tell the generals about this matter, so that they don't degrade the Koreans into worthless soldiers, lest they become arrogant soldiers."
Murong Nobunaga was convinced that the combat effectiveness of the Koryo people was not yet completely certain. Since they were all soldiers and generals left behind in Xijing, they really had to pay attention to this aspect.
Immediately, Murong Nobunaga ordered the messengers to start notifying the soldiers of each battalion, and then ordered Gao Song to give part of the armor to the accompanying soldiers and civilians and the conscripted Jurchens and Bohai people, so that these people could pretend to be the main force and attack Pyongyang City with all their strength.
Huangfu Zhao was actually more daring than Murong Nobunaga imagined. He did not stay on the Mercy Ridge. Instead, he wore Jurchen attire and led dozens of knights to a place only a dozen miles away from Pyongyang for observation. Several times They were almost caught by Zhou Jun You Yiqi who was on patrol.
But it was Huangfu Zhao's bold and careful actions that further strengthened Murong Nobunaga's strategic deception.
Outside Pyongyang, he saw the "Liao Army" storming Pyongyang like a tidal wave. It was by no means the thunder and rain that surrounded the points to support them, but they were attacking with all their strength.
At the same time, he also discovered that although the 'Liao Army' had excellent armor, brave attacks, and high morale, its combat effectiveness was not very high.
It is roughly equivalent to the elite soldiers of Goryeo and the soldiers of prefectures and counties, or comparable to the elite soldiers of Goryeo, but certainly not as good as the soldiers of Wuban.
Huangfu Zhao observed carefully for several days, and after confirming that it was correct, he sent Pegasus south to inform the king Wang Zhao.
. . . .
After opening the capital, the anxious Wang Zhao was still urging the Goryeo court to operate at high speed. The matter of conscription was not an easy task in any ancient dynasty.
The Wang family in Korea seems to have more than a million people, a standing army of 20,000 to 30,000, and a reserve army of hundreds of thousands, but it is very difficult to really mobilize them.
April is a critical period for spring plowing. Whether it is the auxiliary troops of the state or county, the semi-permanent regular soldiers, or the private soldiers of various noble families and military classes, they all have to carry out agricultural production. The only difference is whether they carry out more or less agricultural production. Just less.
If Xijing and Pyongyang cannot be defended, the biggest loser will be the royal family, which has little to do with the wealthy families in various places.
They are even willing to watch the king's family suffer. In this case, King Wang Zhao will definitely not have the strength to show his teeth and claws against the wealthy families like before.
On the contrary, if he responded positively, the spring plowing affected would belong to his own family, and tens of thousands of kilos of grain would be missed in the fall, which would be a huge loss.
Therefore, even if Wang Zhao urged with red eyes, the troops gathered in Kaijing were still leisurely. Pyongyang had been besieged for fifteen days, and he could only recruit 20,000 troops.
But soon, as Huangfu Zhao's news came back from the front, the Goryeo heroes who were fishing for fish were like donkeys that had been whipped. Instead of continuing to be stubborn, they flew into the air. It's almost a spark.
The biggest reason for this situation is that Huangfu Zhao learned through investigation that as the Liao King Murong Nobunaga went south, in addition to 20,000 armored soldiers and tens of thousands of civilians, there were more than 300,000 civilians.
Soon, the eminent monk Sri Vuluo of Puji Temple also received a reply from the monks in the north, confirming that more than 300,000 people followed the King of Liao southward.
At this time, powerful people from all over the country were bombarded. If these Liao people came to plunder, then as long as they guard Kaijing and protect their interests, Pyongyang belongs to the royal family anyway.
But now, the King of Liao came to invade with a total of 300,000 people. He came not to plunder, but to occupy the magpie's nest.
This is to take their share from the powerful! That's okay, mobilize quickly and go north to rescue!
. . . .
Murong Nobunaga stood at a high place and looked at the civilian husbands and Jurchen conscripts who were being carried back from the distance. Although there was an unbearable look on his face, he did not mean to stop.
This is the only way to transform from an invincible general to an emperor.
At the top of Pyongyang City, the shouts of killing began to sound again after half an hour of stopping.
The civilians and conscripts, who were armed with heavy armor, fought evenly against the 6,000 Korean defenders in Pyongyang.
During the thirty-day siege of the city, corpses littered the ground below the city and mountains of corpses piled up on the city. Xin Kang, who was left in Xijing in Korea, rushed to the city in person to participate in the defense. The brutality of the battle was not a lie in anyone's opinion, and it was indeed the case.
But the only difference is that Murong Nobunaga's elite troops were not really used.
"Your Majesty, there is an urgent report from the Marquis of Datong. Zhao Kuangyin, the war commander, and Chen Jie, the deputy commander, have led the navy in Henghai Town with 16,000 officers and soldiers, 18,000 sailors, and 300 warships. They have arrived at Xuanzhou Port. Be prepared to go south.
The Marquis of Puyang also sent a fast ship to arrive at Henghai Town. He said that the trade wind was late this year, so he could not set off in early April. Now that the trade wind has arrived, the vanguard will arrive at Jianghua Bay at the end of May. "
The Marquis of Datong is Zhe Deyuan, and the Marquis of Puyang is Zhao Yanjin. Murong Nobunaga was overjoyed when he heard this, "If Xiang Hai'er and Sixth Brother can come together in May, there will be no worries about the sea."
After passing the order, the troops were withdrawn for three days. The soldiers were ordered to take back their armor and make preparations for the war. If the Koreans still do not go north after three days, then we will march by land and water to find them! "
After finishing speaking, Murong Nobunaga said to Wang Pu and Han Kuangtu who were beside him: "The civilians who died in the battle in Pyongyang City will be compensated according to the treatment of armored soldiers, and the injured will be treated with all our strength!"
On May 17th, in the Pyongyang Plain, Wang Zhao finally gathered the army that went north to relieve the siege.
In this battle, Goryeo dispatched 10,000 regular soldiers equivalent to the standing army, 30,000 auxiliary soldiers from prefectures and counties who could basically only be used by civilians, and 20,000 tribes of various noble families, including about 1,500 martial arts classes. Ten thousand.
There are a total of 70,000 troops, including 10,000 horsemen, 1,500 armored horses, 60,000 infantry, and nearly 30,000 armored troops.
But among them were iron armors, that is to say, there were 15,000 armored ones, and the rest were relatively inferior, including old-fashioned armors called short armors and other inferior leather armors.
Plate armor, this thing, is actually a sinkhole, because unlike pierced armor and cloth-covered iron armor, which can unload force on other areas that are not hit, plate armor can only resist.
This leads to the fact that if plate armor wants to have high defense, there is only one option, and that is to use extremely strong and sophisticated materials to make it.
In an era when smelting technology was insufficient, it was simply impossible to smelt such iron.
These large pieces of plate armor hammered out of wrought iron and low carbon steel may not be as defensive as the iron pots of later generations.
Think about it, what will happen if you hold a low-quality iron pot on your chest and someone shoots it with an arrow? Naturally, it kills with one arrow.
Therefore, although there are 30,000 Koreans with armor, their armor is not at the same level as Murong Nobunaga's 60% iron armor, chain armor, and more than 20% cloth-covered iron armor, mixed with other light armor soldiers. .
In addition to this barely 70,000 people, plus 40,000 to 50,000 civilians, but the horse-footed army of 300,000 people.
Wang Zhao also mobilized a naval force of more than 7,000 men and nearly 200 warships to go north together.
Although this navy has few soldiers and small warships, it is the force that Wang Zhao values more, because Wang Zhao's ancestors were actually rich people in Jianghua Bay, and they made their fortune by running sea trade and fishing.
Therefore, the Wang family held the strongest naval force on the peninsula. After Wang established the country, this family navy became the navy of the Goryeo court.
Wang Zhao did not think that grassland tribes like Tuyuhun would have many naval forces. Even the Khitan Liao Kingdom in the past did not have many naval forces.
Therefore, he issued an order to the navy commander Kang Chengxun. If Pyongyang's rescue went smoothly, the navy would land at Nampo southeast of Pyongyang, join the Pyongyang defenders from the side, and penetrate the Liao army's flank to attack to expand the results.
If there is a stalemate in Pyongyang, then Kang Chengxun will lead the navy to continue northward and land in the Xuanzhou area. He will use the local wealthy people who have not been killed by the Liao army to attack the Liao army's supply line and force the Liao army to retreat.
. . . .
The Pyongyang Plain is the alluvial plain formed by the Taedong River around Pyongyang City and its tributaries such as the Nam River and the Zainyeong River. On the Korean Peninsula, it is a relatively vast plain.
Historically, during the Lee Dynasty's Joseon Dynasty, about one million acres of land could be reclaimed in the Pyongyang Plain alone.
This kind of land with perfect irrigation conditions on the great plains is not comparable to the fields on the hillsides and valleys. The one million acres here are basically cultivated fields, and the yield is relatively much higher.
Even in later generations, when the country could only be closed to the outside world, the people of Pyongyang Plain were the best North Korean people ever under the rule of the three generals.
Even at this time, a lot of farmland was reclaimed from the Pyongyang Plain, which was considered to be one of the most fertile lands controlled by the Goryeo family.
Wang Zhao, who was the founding general of the country, was named Da Kuang, the inspector of the Shangshu Youpushe, and the superior general Jiang Gongzhen was appointed as the deputy commander-in-chief of the camp and the military envoy of the camp.
Yu Jing, the eldest son of another famous founding general Yu Qianbi, served as the pioneer army's military envoy.
Hongshun, the son of Hongtao, who was also the founding hero of the Uiseong wealthy family, and Park Young-gyu, a surrender minister of Baekje, served as the military envoy.
The army marched for more than ten miles and was divided into three armies: front, middle and rear. Each army was divided into more than ten teams, and each team was guarded by more than a hundred people in armor.
The more than 10,000 horse troops were divided into ten divisions, each providing the army with functions such as forward reconnaissance, concealing its whereabouts, and guarding its two wings.
At the same time, Huangfu Zhao on Mercy Ridge received the news that the army was heading north, and he also took the initiative to lead his troops to the foot of the mountain to form an array with his back to the mountains and forests. The vanguard even cruised to a place less than five miles away from Murong Nobunaga's army.
All of this was to prepare for Murong Nobunaga's sudden cavalry raid. In a wide area like the Pyongyang Plain, the power of the northern cavalry could be maximized. Wang Zhao was still a little worried.
On Murong Nobunaga's side, some of the generals also asked for orders to come forward for a surprise attack. Murong Yanchao even shouted loudly: "The thieves thought they were responding well, but in fact they relied too much on the cavalry guards.
Judging from the strength of his horse army, it is far inferior to the Khitan Pishi army in the past. If the king is ordered to attack at the end of his life, only three thousand horsemen can defeat the enemy's horse army, and take advantage of the opportunity to cover up and attack and defeat it! "
Murong Yanchao was so sure because he had just led more than fifty cavalry to fight with the Korean cavalry.
The results were naturally overwhelming, so he felt that he could defeat the more than 10,000 Goryeo cavalry with only three thousand cavalry.
As soon as Murong Yanchao spoke, the surrounding generals were afraid that he would take away all their military achievements, so they also asked for a fight.
Murong Nobunaga smiled and waved his hand, "Although he is too weak to attack, he is familiar with the mountains and rivers geography. It is not the best strategy for us to only defeat most of his cavalry army and the front vanguard.
These people are incapable of fighting in the field and in waves. If they are scattered in various places and cling to the fortified city, the harm will be great. It is better to let them go to Pyongyang City and gather them to annihilate them. "
This was Murong Nobunaga's truest thought. He was not prepared to engage in a tug-of-war with these Koreans for more than half a year, nor did he want to surround Kaijingjian City and attack it. What he wanted was to accomplish his feat in one battle and capture Wang Zhao directly. Annihilate the entire Goryeo army.
It's already May. If we fight faster, we might be able to grow some grain.
If we fight quickly, the food in the official warehouses in big cities such as Kaekyung and Suwon (Suwon) will not be wasted in the battle.
Moreover, Murong Nobunaga also has a trump card, which is the navy!
. . . .
At Tonghai Port, Zhao Kuangyin was naked and wearing only shorts, standing with the navy soldiers on a small boat that could only accommodate more than ten people, and shouting loudly.
As the red flag waved on the big ship, the sailors on the small boats suddenly rowed the boats, and the boats shot out like arrows.
The soldiers on the boat all hold a weapon similar to a net in their hands. When the two boats intersect, whoever can catch the soldier on the opposite boat's head with a net and pull him into the water wins.
For a time, the drums were thundering, the sound of falling water and cheers were endless.
Henghai Town can be regarded as Zhang Zhou's most elite naval force. Even though Zhao Kuangyin practiced for a long time, he was quickly caught in the net and dragged into the sea.
However, Zhao Kuangyin was not angry at all, but was extremely happy. After the exercise, Chen Jie beat the drum, and Zhao Kuangyin handed out rewards with his own hands. The last soldier who was independent on the boat was awarded ten strings, and the other two, three, four and even the top ten were rewarded. .
But today, besides Chen Jie, Zhe Deyuan was also there. He looked at Zhao Kuangyin and nodded with satisfaction.
"Brother Ru was afraid that you wouldn't be able to adapt to Haidong's climate, so he asked someone to bring you medicinal materials. But it seems that you, Zhao Dalang, are really a hero and don't need these things."
Although Zhe Deyuan was five or six years older than Zhao Kuangyin, there was a huge gap in their identities in history.
But in this time and space, Zhe Deyuan, as the emperor's righteous fourth son, has been guarding Datong Mansion all year round, and now he is guarding Mobei with integrity. He is also married to the daughter of the royal family, and his status is much higher than that of Zhao Kuangyin.
Zhao Kuangyin's elder brother died at the age of five. He was basically the eldest son in the family, and his parents generally called him the eldest brother.
And now Zhao Kuangyin is also a senior general commanding an army of 20,000 people, and he also has the title of earl. The only person who can convince him that he would like to recognize his brother is Murong Nobunaga, who has taught and promoted him.
Zhao Kuangyin raised his hand to Zhe Deyuan and said with some emotion: "My brother is busy with military affairs. After arriving in Haidong, I haven't gone to see my brother yet. I think it's really inappropriate. Please ask the Zhe family brother to apologize to Nobunaga on my behalf."
Zhe Deyuan waved his hand and said with a smile: "It's not like you don't know what the prince wants. As long as you can help him on the battlefield, it's better than visiting him a hundred times."
When Zhao Kuangyin heard this, he knew that if Zhe De wanted to come here, he must have a mission. He clasped his fists and said, "Brother, please tell me, the 20,000 athletes under a certain command have been prepared for a long time."
"Okay!" Zhe Deyuan took Zhao Kuangyin's hand and walked straight to his command cabin.
"The king of the county has received a secret report from the capital. The Goryeo navy, with Kang Seung-hun as its commander, has about 15,000 men heading north from Ganghwa Bay, and is expected to arrive around Nampo Port soon.
The king of the county orders you to mobilize your troops immediately, defeat the Goryeo navy first, and then march straight in to attack Ganghwa Bay. A certain family's 10,000 cavalry will also join you. "
Zhao Kuangyin looked at the map and couldn't help but feel happy. With this information, as long as the Goryeo navy was destroyed, he would be able to enter Kaijing before the end of the land war. This would be the first achievement of destroying the country.
And Zhe Deyuan was right, this was the best opportunity to repay Murong Nobunaga.
