Kingdom of Heaven and Han

Chapter 1047 Against the Puppet Qi

On the third day of June, Wang Xiao led Luoyang's three thousand soldiers and horses, plus three divisions, to officially launch the Northern Expedition. On the sixth day of June, the army gathered in Kaifeng Mansion.

Nothing was prepared neatly for this Northern Expedition, including how to arrange civil and military officials in Luoyang, how to occupy Xiangyang Prefecture, and other matters. Wang Xiaolie left these matters to Chen Qiudao and others, but brought troops and horses to prepare to attack the Puppet Qi.

The army set up camp in Kaifeng Mansion, and Wang Xiaolie, Wang Ruohai and others came to the city.

Looking at the desolate city, Wang Xiaolie said: "During the Xuanhe period, Kaifeng was a big city with more than one million people. In more than ten years, there were only 300,000 to 50,000 people. During the Jingkang period, it was The devastation in the Central Plains is unimaginable!"

Wang Ruohai nodded: "Yes, the damage caused by war to society is simply unimaginable."

The Zhouqiao Bridge is in dilapidated condition and has long lost its former glory. Pedestrians in twos and threes walked across the Zhouqiao Bridge, covering their heads with broken hats, giving them a shabby appearance. There is a man selling steamed buns at Qiaotou. Although he shouts loudly, the only customers are two or three kittens.

Wang Xiaolie said: "It's difficult to find a big family in this city. Moving the headquarters here will only cause trouble for the people. Let the headquarters stay in Yuetai Town. It will be more convenient in all aspects. With tens of thousands of troops, it should be Find a suitable place.”

At this moment, a large group of happy people holding placards came to Wang Xiaolie. The leader Natou bowed and said: "Peng Sanlang, a small citizen, asked the generals outside the city and said that the king came to Zhouqiao specifically to pay homage! The king commanded tens of thousands of soldiers and horses and came to fight with the puppet Qi. It's really true. What a blessing on earth!”

Wang Xiaolie hurriedly helped him up and said: "I just came here, and you led the people to come to worship, which shows your loyalty! Come on, bring a jar of wine to strengthen your performance!"

A jar of wine was brought to him personally, Wang Xiaolian poured a bowl, and the rest was given to Peng Sanlang. He said: "I'd like to thank you for leading the people here with this bowl of wine. However, I can't take care of it when we are marching and fighting, so I'm sorry. Let's share this jar of wine with the people to drink, so that they can come to see me." !”

After saying that, he picked up the wine and drank it in one gulp.

Peng Sanlang happily took the wine, picked up a broken bowl from the ground, and said: "Your Majesty is so heroic, I will accompany you with this bowl of wine!"

Pour the wine into the bowl, raise your hands, and drink it with a "dong, dong" sound.

Wang Xiaolie thanked him again and said goodbye to Peng Sanlang and his party.

Turning around, Wang Xiaolie said to Wang Ruohai: "Now that our status is different, this is not an opportunity to see the ancient ruins. I have not officially deposed Zhao Gou. The fact that the people can come to see us shows his loyalty. We can only attack quickly." Only by pretending to be Qi can we be able to live up to the loyalty of the people."

After that, he and Wang Ruohai returned to the outside of the city.

After tidying up a bit, Wang Xiaolie came to the front hall. Wang Ruohai, Ma Kuo, and Wang Yan were summoned to hold a meeting together.

The three of them sat down and saluted Wang Xiaolie together.

Wang Xiaolie said: "From the time we went out to the expedition to now when we arrived in Kaifeng Mansion, we haven't held a meeting yet. Today we officially arrived at the front line. Let's hold a meeting to explain."

The three of them said yes together.

Wang Xiaolie said: "Everything is in a hurry for this expedition, and nothing is prepared. There is no way, the situation is like this, it is better to go now than not to go. As for matters in the army, we can only prepare while marching. For the puppet On the Qi side, we formed a headquarters. I am in charge of the overall responsibility, Wang Ruohai is in charge of the staff, Ma Kuolai is the left Yuhou, Xie Linong is the right Yuhou, and Wang Yan is the secretary in charge. Although there are fewer personnel, the headquarters' The staff is generally sound." Among the staff of the headquarters, Li Yanxian is missing the position of deputy secretary, and all other staff are present. Li Yanxian and Niu Gao were responsible for the direction of Youzhou. Niu Gao went to Fengshengzhou and took charge with Li Yanxian. Xie Linong had a special status. He held the title of Duyi and Youhou, and was responsible for one direction.

Wang Xiaolie said: "In addition to us, there is also a division of Tong De who has rushed to Kaifeng Mansion. Although this division has just been established, most of the officers in it are veterans, and everything is familiar. The soldiers have also After half a year of training, it is worthy of a battle. This division is now stationed in Fengqiu and is ready to cross Huazhou and attack Kaidefu at any time. The other two divisions will arrive within a few minutes. Lin Wei's division is stationed in Dongming and aims at Xing Ren Mansion. Wei Yang's division is stationed in Chenqiao Town, with support from the left and right."

Ma Kuo frowned and said, "Are the three divisions stationed too close to each other and cannot be deployed?"

Wang Xiaolie said: "The purpose of our attack on the Puppet Qi is Daming Mansion. On Jingdong Road, as long as the Jin army does not have a large enemy force, we will ignore it. Finally, we will concentrate our forces to fight the Jin army in Youzhou, a Youzhou Decisive battle. Daming Mansion is closer to the border, so the layout was more dense at first."

Ma Kuo said: "If this is the case, some troops may not be able to participate in the war."

Wang Xiaolie said: "Wei Yang's army is stationed in Chenqiao Town as a reserve for other armies and does not necessarily participate in the war."

Ma Kuo nodded: "This arrangement is reasonable."

Wang Xiaolie said: "In this battle, the enemy's defense direction is Kaide Mansion and Puzhou. The time is too short, and we still can't tell who the enemy will send to fight. However, it will probably not exceed Liu Lin and Liu Yi. The army has already gathered in the direction of Kaide Prefecture and Puzhou, with about 30,000 people concentrated."

Wang Yan smiled and said: "Facing our 80,000-strong army, only 30,000 were gathered."

Wang Xiaolie said: "To be honest, if we gather 30,000 people, the Puppet Qi's confidence is too much. There is no other way. With their 40,000 troops guarding Linzhou and Cizhou, they can only gather 30,000 troops. I heard The Puppet Qi sent Fan Gong to the Jin Kingdom to ask for reinforcements, but after the Jin army's new defeat, they could not send any reinforcements."

Ma Kuo said: "So, the Puppet Qi can only defend Guide Mansion with 30,000 defenders? He won't be able to send out even one more soldier."

Wang Xiaolie said: "Yes, the puppet Qi only has so many soldiers. Moreover, there are constant uprisings in the country and it is not stable."

Ma Kuo and Wang Yan shook their heads, neither optimistic.

Wang Xiaolie said: "This battle is divided into two stages. In the first stage, Tong De and Lin Wei's divisions were the main force to attack Kaide Mansion and Puzhou. After they succeeded, they joined forces with Xie Linong and Li Xing's divisions. Join forces to attack Daming Mansion. In the first stage, the force strength, excluding Wei Yang, is 50,000 to 30,000. In the second stage, there are five divisions totaling 125,000, plus the troops we brought from Luoyang The 3,000 men will use all their strength to deal with the remaining troops of the puppet Qi, which is about 40,000 to 60,000."

Ma Kuo smiled and said: "Whether it is the first stage or the second stage, we have a complete advantage in strength. What is the point of this battle?"

Wang Xiaolie sighed: "Whether it's the land or the people, we have an absolute advantage. When we go to war with the Jin soldiers and the puppet Qi, regardless of the combat power, the comparison of military strength should be like this. It couldn't be done before, it was Zhao. There is a problem with the organization's mobilization policy. If we solve this problem, we will have a strength advantage."

Wang Yan said: "Since the situation is great, what are you waiting for?"

(End of this chapter)