On Liu Chengyou's side, the Western Expedition was progressing smoothly, referring to the march. The 30,000-strong army on land and water is lightly armed and simple. Apart from the necessary weapons and provisions, there are no other heavy equipment or supplies.
Follow the Bian Canal all the way north, enter the Yellow River, go west, turn to Luoshui, and arrive in Xijing in four days. A military trip was very tiring. The river channel is in a state of disrepair and is not flowing smoothly. The previous autumn rain has caused the water to sway and become unbearably bumpy. The "dragon boat" is just an ordinary boat modified and is not used for sightseeing, so it is naturally uncomfortable.
The soldiers of the Forbidden Army who were transported as "cargo" were even more miserable. Most of the soldiers were from the north, landlubbers who were not accustomed to water, and countless of them suffered from seasickness and vomiting. Time flies by quickly, and by the time we land, our combat strength of 100% has been reduced to 70%.
In comparison, the land march was much slower and equally tiring, but its combat power was relatively intact.
According to the established plan, they abandoned the boat and took the land route, reorganized in Luoyang, replenished their supplies, and then headed westward. It just took me one more day to rest than expected. By the way, Liu Chengyou inspected the situation in Xijing.
Luoyang, as the third most prosperous city in the Han Dynasty, Liu Chengyou still attaches great importance to it. Under Shi Hongzhao's vindictive management, things have not been particularly peaceful recently, and the noble old ministers who live in Xijing have basically fallen out with each other.
On Liu Chengyou's desk, Shi Hongzhao's impeachment memorial was never too short. Basically, it's the same old story, arrogant and domineering, corrupt and perverting the law, harsh punishment and so on. After Shi Hongzhao was dismissed as the commander of the bodyguards, those people were obviously less afraid of him.
As for those impeachment memorials, Liu Chengyou basically stayed in China. Shi Hongzhao went too far in Luoyang. At least this year's summer harvest, the Xijing area has a lot of taxes, and the tax evasion and evasion of the nobles has been greatly curbed. There are those who conceal the report, and Shi Hongzhao punishes them miserably. .
Therefore, when the emperor came to Xijing, Liu Chengyou especially praised Shi Hongzhao, which was quite rare. It's a very real problem. When Shi Hongzhao was the banned commander, Liu Chengyou was very disgusted with him and even had murderous intentions. However, after he changed positions and the threat became smaller, Liu Chengyou's attitude towards him changed greatly. Tolerance skyrockets.
After arriving in Luoyang, the situation in Huazhou and the war in Tongzhou were reported to the emperor one after another.
"Yao Yuanfu is always strong, Bai Wenke is a famous commander, Song Yanwo is both wise and brave, and Yang Ye is fierce and good at fighting. All four of them live up to my expectations!" After putting away the battle report, Liu Chengyou's eyebrows relaxed and he ordered: "General Here is the battle report ahead for the three armies!”
"yes!"
When the army sets off for war, news that boosts morale naturally needs to be publicized more.
"According to the investigation, Li Shouzhen's goal was to take advantage of the early stage of the rebellion and the imperial court's failure to respond, seize Tongguan in the south to control the east of Guandong, cross to Pujin in the west, and join forces with Hua and Hua's armies to combine the forces of the three states to sweep through the right side of Guan and wrap up the rebellion. According to the three assistants, after the Han Dynasty has risen up on all four sides and is overwhelmed, we can send our troops eastward..." Feng Dao, who was accompanying the emperor, told Liu Chengyou.
Hearing what he said, Liu Chengyou did not show much contempt, but rather sighed with emotion: "Although Li Shouzhen is despicable, this strategy poses a huge threat to the imperial court. If he cannot achieve his goal, the land of Guanyou will inevitably be in chaos!"
"Of course, Li Shouzhen would never have imagined that the imperial court would react so quickly, and that His Majesty would be so resolute and courageous that he personally brought a large army to attack. And before the imperial army arrived, Bai, Yao, Song, Yang and other generals had already dampened their spirit!" Feng Dao! There was a bit of relaxation in his expression, his face almost turned into a flower with a smile, and his compliment to Liu Chengyou was obvious in his words.
Liu Chengyou stared at the map of Guanyou spread out on the imperial desk, thought carefully for a while, and made a few gestures: "Since Zhao Hui has led the army to the west to aid Tongguan, and the other three troops have also moved, where is Wang Yan of Jinzhou? "
"He has reported to send troops south, but so far, there is no news!" Fan Zhi, the military counselor, reported.
Liu Chengyou's brows suddenly wrinkled, but he quickly relaxed: "I know!"
"The troops in front have frustrated the rebels and curbed their momentum. They have made a start for this counter-rebellion, which relieves me of my big worries!" After thinking about it, Liu Chengyou directly ordered: "Send the order, the army will rest in Luoyang for one more day. , wait for the arrival of the land army, and march west together. During this period, prepare the imperial army. In addition, order the transfer envoys in Tokyo and the waterway to transport the ordnance and supplies to the front line in time without delay!"
"yes!"
The good news ahead made Liu Chengyou feel more relaxed. After this expedition, it was probably the smoothest thing Liu Chengyou had done recently, at least so far.
"Your Majesty, the Yongxing, Tong'an and Baoyi armies have gathered in Fenglingjin and are confronting the rebels in Jiahe. Commander Zhou Huidu has led the Xiaodi army to cross Mianchi. Please report whether to cross the river directly from Shaanzhou?" Fan Zhi reported road.
Hearing this, Liu Chengyou lowered his head and studied the map for a while. Soon, he pointed at Shaanxian County and said directly: "Reply to Zhou Hui, after the Xiaodi Army arrives in Shaanxian County, they can directly cross the river at Pinglu, pass Ruicheng, and go straight to Fengfeng County. Lingjin, after attacking the rebels!"
...
In the defeat in Tongzhou, the rebels' losses were not particularly large, not to the point of breaking their muscles and bones, but the impact was huge. In less than ten days, Li Shouzhen changed from strategic attack to strategic defense...
The initiative in the war was directly handed over to the officers and soldiers.
Zhou Guangxun led more than 4,000 defeated troops back to Puguanjin, and was immediately scolded and reprimanded by Li Shouzhen. Another of his confidants, Zhang Yansi, took over the military power across the river and occupied Puguan to strengthen the defense of the village, with Zhou Guangxun as his deputy.
Zhou Guangxun had previously been the deputy commander in Hezhong and had some prestige among the rebels. It is unclear whether Li Shouzhen did this as punishment for his defeat or as an opportunity to suppress him.
As for Fenglingjin, Yang Ye, with less than two thousand soldiers, kept a close eye on Li Chongxun and Wang Jixun. As the three places joined forces and tens of thousands of soldiers gathered, the two no longer considered how to cross the river. Instead, they followed Li Shouzhen's order to guard Jintou and prevent the officers and soldiers from going north.
This place in the river is bordered by a large river to the west and south, and there is also the Zhongtiao Mountains to the southeast, so it can be considered a natural and dangerous place. However, this small place seemed too weak in the face of the imperial court's encirclement and suppression, and the natural dangers were simply not enough to defend.
On Feng Yi's side, after Yao Yuanfu and Song Yanwo integrated the Tongzhou army, the combined army led more than 6,000 troops and headed east towards Puguanjin, forcing them to move down the stronghold in an attack posture. To the south, Yang Ye personally led his army across the river to try to attack. Although he made some small gains, he failed to cross the river successfully. It's normal, there are many rebels, and they are guarding by the river.
When Liu Chengyou led his army from Luoyang, the war in the river fell into a balance again, but this balance was very short-lived.
First of all, something went wrong on the Fucheng side of the river. He was stabbed in the back. The person who stabbed him was none other than Wang Yan, the military governor of Jianxiong Army.
In this counterinsurgency, among the several groups of officers and soldiers that Liu Chengyou had arranged before, only Jinzhou was silent, and Wang Yan seemed very low-key. But everything is low-key, just to get a hard blow. While Li Shouzhen's attention was attracted by the officers and soldiers in the west and south, Wang Yan personally led 2,000 Jinzhou soldiers down the river and attacked directly to the east of the river.
However, when he suddenly arrived in Linjin, he was discovered. After all, the river is the territory that Li Shouzhen has managed for a long time. It is unrealistic to want to attack the city silently. Hearing that Hedong City was empty, Wang Yan of course wanted to gamble on a big success, but when he saw that he could not succeed suddenly, although he felt it was a pity, he changed his mind very decisively, attacked Linjin City, and defended Yingcheng, threatening Hedong City from a distance.
It was a pity on Wang Yan's side, but Li Shouzhen was so frightened that he cursed the northern states and counties for their inaction. It is estimated that he automatically ignored that all the rural soldiers and rebels from the counties in the river were transferred to the capital.
In fact, there are more than 20,000 Pu troops. Although the elite are out, there are still more than 4,000 soldiers in Hedong City. Wang Yan's few soldiers and horses were not a big threat to him, but Li Shouzhen didn't think so. Because of the false flag, Li Shouzhen directly felt the threat like a thorn in the back.
At the first time, a thousand soldiers were transferred from the military camp in Hexi to the east to transfer to Fucheng. Still not giving up, they mobilized troops from the southern front to defend a ferry. There was no need for so many soldiers.
Then, news from the south made him quickly change his mind. The Xiaodi Army, led by the capital commander Zhou Hui, crossed the river from Pinglu and marched westward along the Zhongtiao Mountains. This was not considered a covert move.
Seeing this formation, Li Shouzhen still dared to think of "defending the enemy outside the country's gates", so he directly ordered Li Chongxun and Wang Jixun to leave Fenglingjin and quickly withdraw to the capital.
Not to mention other things, Hedong City was built by Li Shouzhen and was still strong enough. With the army's tight defense, it would not be easy to win even if the rebels were defeated by a large army.
It is not uncommon for urban warfare in this era to last for a year and a half. In Hedong City, food is quite sufficient.
However, after all this trouble, the Pu army's original morale was not high and they dispersed. The rebels retreating north were already deserting in droves.
