The Legend of Shushan Xuanjian

Chapter 365
In the autumn wind today, there is a sick man in He Xiang.

The strength is weak and the stick is raised, and the heart is with whom.

Disasters and diseases are worth a thousand enlightenments, and karma and relatives are all gone.

A hundred years to get old, three defeats are not poor.

——"Sickness" Chen Shidao (Song Dynasty)

……

On the hillside of Jiange Xiaojian Mountain, there is a pine forest, and there is a small temple in front of the pine forest.The bird path up the mountain is guarded by the Jiannan Army and the Longwu Army respectively, and the guards are strict.

A scribe, wearing straw sandals and a bamboo stick, drifted over.The guards drew their swords and scolded.

When Chen Xuanli, the general of the Longwu Army saw it, he rushed over and whipped the guard twice.Chen Xuanli bowed deeply to the scribes, and greeted him salutarily: "I didn't know the Grand Tutor was here, so please forgive me!"

The handsome scribe is exactly Xu Taifu who retired from his old age and returned to his hometown for several years.He hurriedly supported Chen Xuanli, and said with a smile: "The general has escorted him for thousands of miles, what a great achievement!"

Looking back at the turmoil along the way, Chen Xuanli let out a long sigh, deeply ashamed, and personally accompanied Xu Taifu up the mountain.

When he came to the small temple, accompanied by Gao Lishi, Xuanzong came out to greet him in person.

When Master Xu saw it, he felt mixed feelings.I haven't seen him for a few years, and Xuanzong seems to have aged by more than 20 years, turning into a dying old man.It can be seen that the death of the noble concubine was hit hard by the Anlushan rebellion.

Taifu Xu hurried forward to pay respects.

Xuanzong took the initiative to step forward and support Xu Taifu.He held Taifu Xu's hand tightly, and said: "When I see Taifu, I feel relieved."

After taking his seat, Xuanzong sighed and said: "Teacher, I regret not listening to you, and now I regret it too much. I know I was wrong, and please teach me for the sake of decades of friendship!"

Seeing this, the Tai Tuo sighed and couldn't bear to be harsh.The Taifu said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, judging from the current situation, the military deployment of Anlu Mountain is roughly as follows: First, keep the base camps of Youzhou and Yingzhou. Anlu Mountain deploys large troops to defend the main passages of Taihang Mountain to prevent the Shuofang Army from entering the Tang Dynasty. Jingxing crossed the border and went straight to Youzhou from Taiyuan;
Second, because the front line is too long, it is necessary to ensure the smooth supply of the army's food roads.The most important passage from Youzhou to Luoyang is the Yongji Canal along the Anlu Mountain Canal.
Third, destroy the military supplies of King Qin's army, especially the supplies of the Shuofang army, so that its food and supplies cannot support the war consumption.Therefore, An Lushan mobilized troops to capture the Jianghuai River and cut off the main channel from the Huaihe River to the Tongji Canal of the Yellow River.At the same time, march towards Xiangyang and block the secondary road of Chencang Road or Baoxie Road;

Fourth, the aggression is like a fire, and the lightning strikes, occupying the two capitals, and disintegrating the command center of Datang.

However, with a hundred secrets and one sparse, because Anlu Mountain's march was too smooth, when he failed to take down the Hedong Road, he rashly captured Luoyang and marched into Chang'an.

This omission is the turning point of the war.Hedong Road is the chess eye for Datang to break the game.

Since Hedong Road is located on a plateau, if you don't take Hedong Road first, even if you capture Luoyang, as long as the Tang army controls Hedong Road, they can go south to attack the rebel flank at any time. "

Taifu Xu sighed secretly when he said this, he was afraid to say something, Xuanzong couldn't bear it:
After the An Lushan Rebellion, after the initial period of panic, several generals of the Tang Army inadvertently cooperated to complete the military deployment of the Tang Army:
Yan Gaoqing, the prefect of Changshan, Hebei Province, and Yan Zhenqing, the prefect of Pingyuan, raised their troops to serve the Tang Dynasty.Under the instigation of the Eryan brothers, all counties in Hebei Province responded one after another. Among the 25 prefectures and counties, [-] counties belonged to Tang Dynasty.Yan Gaoqing was defeated and killed. Yan Zhenqing led the rebel army and continued to resist.

At this time, the "Nanyang-Xuchang-Suiyang" line was blocked by the Tang army, and the Anlushan rebels were unable to advance south.

Ge Shuhan was responsible for closing the gate of Tongguan to prevent the rebels from advancing westward.

Guo Ziyi sent Li Guangbi and Pugu Huai'en to occupy Mayi and Yanmen. Through this channel, Shuofang troops entered Taiyuan mansion continuously.

Li Guangbi left Jingxing from Taiyuan Mansion, crossed Taihang Mountain and entered Hebei Road, defeated Shi Siming's army, and directly threatened Youzhou, the old nest of Anlu Mountain.

At this time, the encirclement circle has been formed, which can be described as "closing the door and beating the dog": the rebels in Anlu Mountain were forced into a narrow and long plain passage, and all the escape and roundabout roads in the surrounding areas were blocked.Reinforcements of the Tang army took turns to attack, ambushing day and night.

An Lushan will become a mouse in the bellows, exhausted under the attack of the Tang army, running around and collapsing, until it is finally wiped out.

This is the first turning point since the Anlushan Rebellion. If things continue like this, the Anlushan Rebellion will be wiped out within two years.The Tang Dynasty will not hurt the muscles and bones, and the prosperous age will remain the same.

The situation was originally good, but at the critical juncture of "closing the official", because of Yang Guozhong's selfish desire and stupidity, he forced Ge Shuhan to fight, but An Lushan broke through Tongguan and broke through the "cage" of the Tang army's ambush on all sides.

After the fall of Tongguan, Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi were forced to leave Hebei Road and retreat to Taiyuan Mansion and Shuofang.Yan Zhenqing and others who led the army to resist in Hebei Province were forced to transfer, leaving the entire Hebei Province to the rebels.After An Lushan occupied Chang'an, he gained control of the two capitals, and smashed the territory controlled by the Tang army.

……

These words reached Mr. Xu's lips, but he still didn't say them in the end.For the old Xuanzong, criticism is meaningless, and giving him confidence is more important than anything else.

Next, how to carry out military deployment, Xu Taifu said: "

Reporting back to Your Majesty, at present, although the territory controlled by the Tang army is scattered, the Anlushan rebels are surrounded by a large siege.The rebels couldn't cross the Huaihe River in the south, and couldn't occupy Taiyuan in the north. Although they occupied the capital, the outside of Chang'an was full of Tang forces.All that was left for the rebels was a narrow passage between Chang'an and Luoyang.

After An Lushan occupied Chang'an, it should have quickly pacified the pass fortresses around Guanzhong and the southern part of Hedong Road.If occupied
With the commanding heights of Taiyuan Mansion, Tang Jun will be in big trouble.

However, apart from continuing to use troops to Jianghuai and Jianghan, An Lushan had no deployment in Guanzhong, and the rebels entrenched in Chang'an and enjoyed wealth.

Fufeng County to the west of Chang'an is still in the hands of Tang Jun.The Tang army can use Fufeng and Chencang counties to establish military supply channels.

To the southeast, the prefect Zhang Xun fought bloody battles, first defending Yongqiu and then retreating to Suiyang.Zhang Xun led the Tang army to fight unyieldingly and blocked the way for the rebels to go south, preventing the rebels from occupying the granary in Jianghuai.

To the southwest, Lu Jiong, the prefect of Nanyang, set up defenses in Ye County, and then retreated to Nanyang to prevent the rebels from occupying the Nanxiang pass.

The tenacious resistance of Zhang Xun and Lu Jiong prevented the deterioration of the war situation, ensured the safety of Jiangnan, ensured the safety of the world's finances, taxes, food and grass, and had the strength to confront the rebels for a long time.

At present, grain from Jianghuai and Jianghan is gathered in the Jingxiang area, along the Hanjiang River to Hanzhong, then from Hanzhong to the north across the Qinling Mountains, bypassing Chang'an, and reaching Chencang from the west.Then, continue northward and send it to Shuofang Army through Guyuan.

Hedong Road is the bridgehead of Datang's counterattack.

After the fall of Tongguan, Shi Siming continued to attack Taiyuan Mansion, but was repelled several times by Li Guangbi.Keeping the Hedong Road, the Shuofang Army can continue to march out of Jingxing and attack Hebei Road, the base camp of Anlu Mountain.

Guo Ziyi's Taiyuan Mansion hoarded troops, occupying the roof area centered on Taiyuan Mansion to the north bank of the Yellow River, ready to go south from Shangdang County to the Yellow River at any time to attack Luoyang where Anlu Mountain is located, and complete a fatal blow to the rebels.

……

Two days ago, grandson Yanxing flew pigeons to pass on the letter. The aristocratic families who migrated to the south have hoarded a large amount of food and grass over the years, enough for the Tang army to fight for ten years.These aristocratic families are willing to donate these food, grass and supplies as military salaries for your Majesty to fight against the rebellion.

After meeting with His Majesty today, I will go out of Shu with the fleet of the Minjiang Gang and go down the Yangtze River to coordinate the money and food in the Jianghuai area for Your Majesty.Establish a supply route for food, grass and supplies for the troops of the Qin Kings from all walks of life.

As long as Jianghuai's money and food can reach Chengdu and King Qin's army smoothly, the rebels will be suppressed, and Chang'an will be restored, just around the corner! "

Hearing this, Xuanzong Longmu released a long-lost brilliance.Since Concubine Yang Guifei died in Maweipo, Xuanzong hadn't felt so relieved like tonight for a long time.

……

　Notes:
　　In this chapter, Taifu Xu’s strategies and tactics for quelling the Anlushan Rebellion are adapted from the book "Military Codes of the Central Empire", author: Guo Jianlong, publisher: Lujiang Publishing House, publication time: September 2019

　　
　
(End of this chapter)