On the north bank of the Bianhe River, in addition to city walls and ramparts, there are buildings of varying heights along the river. Standing on one of the four-story buildings, looking out into the distance, looking at the bleak autumn wind and surging waves below, Liu Chengyou couldn't help but feel a little wistful in his heart.
Kaifeng is the most important place in the world. It has all the boats and vehicles, controls the throat of the river and the river, and the canal that connects the Huaihu Lake. The foundation for building the city and the foundation for establishing the capital lies in the Bianhe River. This golden waterway connecting the north and the south has become increasingly important as the political and economic focus shifts. It is almost related to the fate of the country and is the life route of the empire.
Up here, there should have been public water transport, private business travel, and boats and boats one after another, in an endless stream. However, as far as Bianhe River is concerned at this time, those grand scenes only exist in words. Although as the Central Plains gradually stabilized, boat traffic increased day by day. However, the impact of the previous war and the destruction of the Khitan were too serious, and the sequelae were so severe. In addition, the products in the south of the Huaihai and Jiangnan were almost in the "enemy country", and the Bianhe River was The development potential is still huge.
Even though water transportation was slowed down due to the war, the cargo throughput on the river is still quite large today.
Naturally, Liu Chengyou would not have the leisure to lament the decline of river transport and to revitalize canal transport. That is a matter for the future. For now, as long as it can still be effective and support Tokyo, it is enough. At this moment, the most important thing is the war in Yedu.
Since the outbreak of the war against Du, it has always affected the hearts of the government and the opposition. He walked around the city and saw that the common people were all worried about the court or themselves. Since the fall of the previous dynasty and the Khitan invasion, the city of Tokyo has been in chaos for seven or eight months. In these two months, it has become a little more stable.
Although life was still difficult under the rule of Xinhan, it was better than no order, at least there was some hope. If the new imperial court collapses again, we don't know how long the chaos will last. Therefore, even if the current Han Dynasty's governance is lackluster and even has pests and diseases, no ordinary Li Shu would hope for his collapse. According to Liu Chengyou, this can only be explained by "people's minds".
The war in Yedu, just as Liu Chengyou had worried before, eventually went wrong, and it was because of his uncle Murong Yanchao.
When Du Chongwei first raised his troops, he used Chanzhou as the key to Tokyo, and was forced to the south of Guangjin Prefecture. He was also in trouble in Yedu, so he took the initiative to attack Desheng City (the northern city of Desheng is today's Puyang).
Although Du Chongwei screamed fiercely, he probably did not have the ambition to cross south and march to Kaifeng after taking Chanzhou. Its real purpose, more likely, is to capture Deshengkou and then attack Liyang westward to block the Han army in Henan. Waiting for news from the north, he has sent his son Du Hongsui to the north to ask for support. If the Khitan "father" can break through to the south, then he will still be saved...
On the Han army's side, the court's preliminary arrangements were not just decorations. Although all the armies had not arrived and the commander-in-chief Gao Xingzhou was not yet in place, they were not afraid of Du Chongwei's turmoil at all.
However, Murong Yanchao started to cause trouble. He was conceited about his bravery and his talent, and was quite unconvinced by the decrepit old man appointed by the imperial court, Gao Xingzhou. Hearing that Ye's troops were coming from the south, he gladly accepted the battle. Regardless of the dissuasion of the defense envoy Guo Rong, he led the 5,000 garrisoned imperial troops to attack. The two sides engaged in battle on the outskirts of Desheng City.
It would be fine if they were defeated directly. The key was that Du Chongwei's vanguard force was useless and was defeated by Murong Yanchao in one blow. As a result, Murong Yan became more and more arrogant. The word "enough is enough" probably did not exist in his dictionary, so he led his army to pursue and stay away from the city defenses. Then, they ran into Du Chongwei's Chinese army group of more than 30,000 people.
The soldiers on both sides were brave, but under the command of the two generals, they just turned into novices pecking each other. Murong Yanchao relied on the central government's righteousness and the strength of the imperial army, but he could not resist Du Chongwei's large number of soldiers. After fighting recklessly for more than an hour, he was besieged in Lujiadian in Qingfeng County.
Seeing that he was alone and in danger, the defense commander Guo Rong worked tirelessly to lead the remaining thousands of soldiers and horses in Desheng City, risking his life to break through the Ye soldiers' blockade, and forcibly rescued Murong Yanchao.
Following Murong Yanchao's defeated army, they fought and retreated all the way until they retreated to Desheng City, barely holding on.
Guo Rong had no choice. Most of the troops were led by Murong Yanchao to fight. If Murong Yanchao was completely wiped out by Du Chongwei, it would be difficult for him to resist with only the remaining thousand troops and horses. If the Desheng ferry is lost, it will inevitably affect Liyang in the west. If both ferry crossings are lost, it will be difficult for the Han army to cross north.
Even if Du Chongwei can be eliminated in the end, the price to be paid will inevitably double, and this is not just a matter of Du Chongwei's rebellion.
He has a broad vision and a good sense of the overall situation. It is precisely because he saw the possible consequences that Guo Rong just chose to take risks and make a desperate move. Of course, it is not ruled out that Guo Rong wants to take a gamble. The greater the risk, the higher the return. As a result, Guo Rong's bet was successful, and the narrow escape ended in Guo Rong's death.
And Du Chongwei was really stretched. He was disrupted by Guo Rong's thousands of soldiers, so he could only rescue Murong Yanchao. With so many soldiers, if he only needed to divide a small division to attack Desheng Beicheng, the Han army would be defeated. He insisted on fighting with the Han army, step by step, until the Han army retreated and defended the city.
Regarding Murong Yanchao, his previous efforts to persuade him were in vain, resulting in the defeat, and Guo Rong was also extremely angry. Only after experiencing working together can you truly understand how difficult this person is to take care of. Du Chongwei attacked the pass fiercely but failed to do so, and had no choice but to retreat. After he retreated, Murong Yanchao took over the command again, blaming Guo Rong for the ineffective rescue. At this time, Guo Rong was angry and sent people to Tokyo to impeach Murong Yanzhao.
The battle against Du, the first battle, ended with the defeat of the Han army, with more than 2,000 casualties. Of course, Du Chongwei failed to get a good deal. The defeat of the forward and the fierce fighting that followed resulted in nearly 3,000 casualties, more than the Han army. However, no matter from the scene or the result, it was Ye Bing who won.
In fact, the morale of the Ye soldiers was not high. The soldiers had weak fighting will and little desire to rebel. They were only coerced by Du Chongwei. But after the Lujiadian battle, the morale of the Han army was not much better.
A bad start is never a good sign.
When the news of the defeat reached Tokyo, the whole country was in an uproar and was even caught off guard. Liu Chengyou was also extremely speechless, secretly scolding Murong Yan for not succeeding enough but failing. Considering the importance of Deshengkou, the imperial court stationed heavy troops here to prevent Du Chongwei from going south.
With five thousand forbidden troops in hand, they only need to hold on firmly. When other armies of the imperial court gather together and attack in a coordinated manner, they can steadily push to Yedu. This Murong Yanchao insisted on being smart. If Guo Rong hadn't turned the tide, the situation of counterinsurgency would not have been optimistic.
However, for Guo Rong personally, he suddenly gained a lot of fame. In order to weaken the impact of the defeat, the imperial court used Spring and Autumn style writing on the Lujiadian battle, trying to avoid talking about the defeat. Instead, it emphasized that Guo Rong turned defeat into victory, defeated the rebels, and destroyed the rebels' conspiracy to seize Deshengkou.
In order to reward the heroes and appease the morale of the soldiers, Liu Zhiyuan was demoted and appointed as the commander of the Deqing army, the defense envoy of Chanzhou, and the camp formation envoy of Yedu.
As for Murong Yanchao's treatment, Liu Zhiyuan hesitated. According to the opinions of the court officials, he should be held accountable, and if nothing happened, he would be summoned back to Tokyo. As a result, Liu Zhiyuan just put it down gently, avoiding talking about his crimes and observing the consequences. He kept him in front of the army and still held his original position as Gao Xingzhou Deputy.
Murong Yanchao's defeat completely disrupted the imperial court's expected counterinsurgency rhythm. The damage to soldiers and horses was not a big deal. The key was morale. In cold-weapon warfare, morale was sometimes more important than training and equipment. Before the coach was in place, his morale was demoralized by Murong Yanchao.
After hearing the news of the defeat, under the urging of the imperial court, Gao Xingzhou, who was originally calm and unhurried, had to speed up his rush to the front of the army. The old general worked tirelessly and galloped hundreds of miles to join the remaining imperial troops and cross the river north to Desheng City. Regardless of the dust, he worked hard to wipe Murong Yanchao's butt.
It would take several days just to restore the morale of the troops. There is no doubt about Gao Xingzhou's ability to command troops, and his prestige is also very reliable. Many of the Han Imperial Guards that went out were "Jin troops", and Gao Xingzhou once served as the commander-in-chief of the Later Jin Imperial Army for a period of time. Among the generals, Many people have served under him. With this level of friendship, now we are fighting under the banner of the "big Han", and Gao Xingzhou is giving orders without much hesitation.
After everything was prepared, Gao Xingzhou led more than 50,000 horse and infantry troops and marched north from Desheng City. Du Chongwei, who probably gained confidence in the last battle, actually led his army to attack the enemy. The two armies fought in Lujiadian, still at the same place. Du Chongwei thought that the morale of the Han army must have declined due to the previous defeat, but he underestimated Gao Xingzhou's ability to control the army. The result is self-evident, and he lost troops and generals and was defeated.
As he got older, Gao Xingzhou became more sophisticated and less aggressive when it came to using troops, and he focused more on being prudent. Seeing that Ye's army was defeated too quickly, he only asked the troops to pursue and kill them cautiously, seeking safety. However, Murong Yanchao disagreed. He had lost face before and was eager to seize the opportunity to prove himself. He strongly suggested Ji Jin, which was rejected by Gao Xingzhou. Murong Yanchao angrily scolded him and counterattacked.
What kind of person was Gao Xingzhou, and why would he be influenced by a "kid" like Murong Yanchao? He withstood his pressure, fought steadily, controlled the entire army at any time, and pursued him all the way to the gates of Yedu.
Murong Yanchao suggested taking advantage of the situation to attack quickly, but Gao Xingzhou rejected it. In his opinion, the city of Yedu was strong and Du Chongwei had enough strength to attack by force, so he ordered to set up camp and garrison troops below the city. Murong Yanchao wanted to wash away his previous humiliation and was eager to fight, but Gao Xingzhou suppressed him.
The two people argued endlessly, but Gao Xingzhou finally suppressed them with military orders. He made up his mind to weaken the enemy's morale first, and then launch a fatal blow. But Murong Yanchao couldn't wait, and even insulted Gao Xingzhou in person for being timid and fearful of fighting. In his opinion, Gao Xingzhou could win because he had more troops. If he had had enough troops in the previous battle, he would have captured Du Chongwei on his horse.
Although the counter-rebellion Han army achieved victory under the command of Gao Xingzhou, the disagreement between the commander and the deputy commander cast a shadow over the war and directly affected the subsequent battle situation.
Murong Yanchao was like a stir-up stick, stationing troops under the city. Every time he made a decision, he would contradict Gao Xingzhou, which greatly affected the morale of the army. For this person, Gao Xingzhou really had the urge to kill him to show his military power, but in fact, considering his status, he was extremely helpless.
In the middle, Gao Xingzhou tried to launch an attack, but the Ye soldiers might not be able to withstand the field battle, but the defense of the city was always under little pressure and failed. Then, Murong Yanchao mocked Gao Xingzhou.
Amid the turmoil, the counter-rebellion army surrounded the rebels in Yedu, and the stalemate continues until now.
