Dahan first prince

Chapter 258

Ganquan Palace is not more than a hundred miles away from Chang'an, and when the time was ready to pack, he helped the old man onto the imperial chariot, and within a day and night, Shengjia had already returned to Chang'an.

Along the way, Liu Bang and Xiao He "spent a day together, but didn't mention anything about the court".

After returning to Chang'an, he summoned all officials of the DPRK and China to give a brief explanation, and then Liu Bang took his emperor Lubo with him without stopping, and embarked on the long journey east out of Hangu.

Liu Ying in Yongcheng knew nothing about his father Liu Bang coming out of Ganquan again and wanting to go out of Hangu in the east and return to Fengpei.

At this moment, Liu Ying's attention was almost all attracted by the Huainan rebels outside the city and a news that was supposed to arrive but failed to arrive.

"This baby..."

"What are you talking about?"

Standing on top of the turret, looking at the re-set up camp in the distance, Liu Ying couldn't help showing a hint of anxiety on her face.

Seeing Liu Ying's appearance, the generals such as Li Shang, Wang Ling, and Cao Can couldn't help showing some complicated expressions.

It has been two days since he led his army into Yongcheng. No matter how stupid Cao Shen is, he has already understood how his actions of leading the army into the city have affected the development of the battle.

——In the beginning, the Huainan army had tens of thousands of soldiers, but they planned to attack the city outside the city; although the Guanzhong army led by Liu Ying had only more than [-] people, it was able to rely on the Yongcheng barrier.

We are outnumbered and outnumbered, and the enemy is inferior in terrain and we are superior. Calculated, the two sides at that time can be described as evenly matched.

And when tens of thousands of Qi soldiers under Cao Shen's troops appeared around the battlefield, the balance of victory had been slowly tilted in favor of the Chang'an Central Committee.

——In terms of military strength, there are 10,000+ under Yingbu's command, and the defenders of Yongcheng under Liu Ying's department and the Qi soldiers led by Cao Shen are also nearly [-]. The two sides are almost evenly matched!

In terms of terrain, the rebel camp is located twenty miles south of Yongcheng, backed by the Huai River, with no access to the south or north;
On the other hand, on the side of the Han Dynasty, Liu Ying's troops stuck to Yongcheng and did not go out, while Cao Can waited for opportunities around the battlefield, and the two sides formed horns with each other.

In other words: Cao Shen's Qi army appeared on the battlefield, which had already put the Huainan rebels under Yingbo's command at a strategic disadvantage due to terrain problems while losing their superiority in strength.

But now?

Cao Shen led the army into the city, and the number of Yongcheng defenders soared to nearly [-], but the terrain of "mutual horns" that had made Yingbu a dilemma had been completely lost.

Compared with the beginning when Yingbu led the army to attack the city and Liu Ying's troops defended Yongcheng, the only change brought about by Cao Shen's arrival on the battlefield was that the defenders of Yongcheng increased from 6 to more than 10 Nearly [-] people.

In this way, the originally clear trend of the battle situation returned to the previous stalemate.

If Cao Shen hadn't chosen Fang Qi to camp the night before, attacked the rebel camp, and then led his troops into Yongcheng, then Yingbo would definitely be struggling now.

——When you attack Yongcheng, you will be attacked by Cao Shen on one side of the battlefield; if you attack Cao Shen, you will be backstabbed by the defenders in Yongcheng.

Even if you want to run, Cao Shen's troops outside the city can chase after him immediately. At the same time, Yongcheng can continue to close the gates to prevent the situation from changing.

But now, Yingbo no longer has such encouragement.

If you want to attack the city, Yingbu can send troops to attack the city without worrying about the enemies on the side and behind;
If you want to run, you can retreat south at any time, which makes Liu Ying in Yongcheng afraid to attack easily.

If there is time, Yingbo can even pretend to withdraw his troops, trick the defenders in the city to leave the city in large numbers, and then face each other on the plain, or even set up an ambush!
In any case, compared with "Cao Shen's troops are scattered around the battlefield", the current Yingbo undoubtedly has more choices.

Regarding such a depressing change, even though Liu Ying had a confidant to slander Cao Shen, she couldn't say anything.

Because of Cao Shen's reason for leading the army into the city, Liu Ying was so strong that he couldn't speak at all.

——At the order of the queen, rush to help Yongcheng to protect the place where the prince is!
In this way, let alone in front of my old mother Lu Zhi, even if it comes to her father Liu Bang, even Chang'an court, or in front of the world, Liu Ying can't fault it.

It can't be said that Cao Shen protected the crown prince, but did he protect the wrong one?

"Hey!"

"After this incident, the hope of the Marquis of Pingyang may be as close as that of the Marquis of Feng..."

"Well, after this battle, the Marquis of Pingyang will also return to the Chang'an Center."

"I just don't know, as any job..."

After muttering a few times in his heart, Li Shang smiled meaningfully at Cao Shen and nodded, before stepping forward a little, he came to Liu Ying's side.

"Your Highness, there is no need to worry too much."

"Marquis Yingyin and Marquis Boyang, although they are not as honored or honored as Marquis Wuyang, Marquis Xinwu and other folks, they are veteran generals who have experienced battles and are familiar with battles."

"—Youyingyinhou, although his meritorious service is not obvious, his ability to lead an army and defend soldiers is no less than that of Wuyanghou!"

Li Shang did not forget to smile easily when he said the words in a firm tone.

"That is to say, His Highness has issued an order earlier, and there are no obstacles along the way. The Marquis of Yingyin and the Marquis of Boyang are under the command, so there should be no risk of delay."

"Or at this moment, Marquis Yingyin and Marquis Boyang have reached the south of the Huai River, and they are looking at the rebel camp across the water. Is it unknown?"

Hearing Li Shang's warm words of persuasion, Liu Ying nodded with approval even though her brows were still furrowed.

Guan Ying and Chen Bi led the Guanzhong soldiers stationed in Huaiyang, crossed the Huai River in the south, and then marched east to the south bank of the Huai River in the south of the camp of the Yingbu rebel army. This was done by Liu Ying a long time ago. arrange.

Before the war, although Liu Ying ordered the soldiers and horses from all walks of life to separate and encircle Huainan Kingdom, but the memory of her previous life also made Liu Ying know for a long time: which direction Yingbu would step out of Huainan Kingdom, and which direction would Yingbu go to? Which direction to attack.

However, Liu Ying really couldn't explain why a young prince who "knows nothing about military affairs" could guess Yingbo's movements 100%, so she could only make arrangements that seemed reasonable but were actually useless.

But when Yingbu was in control of Jingdi and went north to seek Chu, even if Liu Ying still couldn't explain what it means to be born knowing, she couldn't control so much.

Therefore, as early as when it was decided to move the command tent from Fengpei to Qixi so that Yingbu could come, and then led to Yongcheng to confront each other, Liu Ying had already ordered Guan Ying and Chen Bi to lead their Guanzhong soldiers to cross south. Huai River, then move eastward to the south of Yongcheng, camp on the south bank of Huai River, and retreat to the enemy's rear!
Earlier, the battle situation was not clear enough, so Liu Ying didn't mention it much.

But the day before yesterday, Cao Shen attacked the rebel camp at night and led his troops into Yongcheng. The battle situation changed again. Liu Ying didn't hide it anymore and told all about it.

I can't blame Liu Ying for not being tight-lipped. It was really Cao Shen's move to "lead the army into the city", which made a very bad start...
Not to mention Liu Ying, but anyone who has an understanding of war should know: As long as the gap between the enemy and our troops is not too large, after the reinforcements arrive on the battlefield, they should not join the troops waiting for reinforcements unless it is absolutely necessary!

The most ideal solution is to implement anti-encirclement against the enemy with multiple reinforcements and troops waiting for reinforcements;

A little worse is one or two reinforcements, forming an angle or a triangle with the troops to be reinforced, so as to curb the enemy's strategic choice space.

For the troops waiting for reinforcements, that is, the defenders of Yongcheng at this moment, the effect of the arrival of the reinforcements is by no means 'come tens of thousands of people to defend the city together', but to suddenly appear from a certain direction outside the city, giving the rebels outside the city Let the army be ruthless, so as to relieve the pressure on Yongcheng!

But now, the Qi army under Cao Shen's command entered the city and joined hands with the Guanzhong soldiers and horses who were originally stationed in Yongcheng to defend the city. This undoubtedly added some impurities to the expectations of the defenders in the city for "reinforcement".

——What if the subsequent reinforcements were all the same as Cao Shen?
A support army came, causing the rebels to drive away. Yongcheng opened the city to threaten the rebels, told the rebels to turn around, and then stormed Yongcheng overnight;
The battle on the wall here is intensifying, and the reinforcements on the other side don't want to set up camp, and then burn the rebel camp, and when the rebels turn around to rescue the camp, they lead their troops into Yongcheng...

After repeating this several times, the more tens of thousands or even 10,000+ defenders in Yongcheng will naturally become more impenetrable.

But the crux of the problem is: Liu Ying came here to suppress the rebellion, not to defend the city!

It is absolutely impossible to annihilate the rebels and end the rebellion just by defending the city!

Liu Ying trapped herself in Yongcheng, not to prove that she could hold a city, but to use herself as a bait to prevent Yingbo from getting out of Yongcheng, so that reinforcements from all walks of life could trap Yingbo from the periphery, so that Yingbo could be defeated in Chu End this rebellion!
If every support army that came, like Cao Can, refused to camp outside the city, but led his troops into the city, how would they defeat Yingbo?

Even if in the end, the rebels under Yingbu's command attacked Yongcheng for a long time and their morale was low, which made Liu Ying succeed in rebelling, it was definitely not acceptable to Liu Ying.

——As the saying goes, once the cannon is fired, ten thousand taels of gold!

Whether it is Liu Ying's pacification of Huainan Wang Yingbu's rebellion at the moment, or the modernization war of later generations, as long as the war continues, every day will be a huge expense and loss!

Not to mention: At this moment, Liu Ying's Guanzhong pawns, together with the Guanying troops led by Guan Ying and Chen Bi, number more than 10!
Just these 10 people would consume tens of thousands of shi of military rations and hundreds of bolts of vinegar cloth every day!

According to the current grain price in Guanzhong, tens of thousands of shi grains cost more than 2000 million yuan!

If you add the more than 10 Guanzhong army who came with Zhang Ao, the Qi army under Cao Shen, the prince under Chai Wu, and the soldiers of Liang State under the command of Li Ji, the prince of Qu Zhouhou, there are a total of several [-] people.

Adding in the loss of weapons and equipment other than rations, post-war reconstruction of the theater, as well as pensions for fallen soldiers, rewards for meritorious soldiers, etc., such a 'civil war' can cost tens of millions of dollars a day!
Tens of millions of dollars every day, what is the concept?
——The oral tax income of the Han Dynasty last year was only 20 million!

In other words, Shaofu’s income for a whole year is only enough to support the food and grass needed by the Chang’an army for 20 days in this battle against the rebellion...

Therefore, even if it is just to save some money, so that after becoming the emperor in the future, he can hold more capital in his hands so as to rebuild this world that is waiting to be rebuilt, Liu Ying has to shorten the time of the war as much as possible.

Because such a war that "costs tens of millions of money every day", even if it takes a day or even half a day less to fight, is so precious to the future Han Dynasty.

It is also for this reason that Liu Ying revealed the movements of Guanying's troops so that the defenders of Yongcheng would not be frustrated by the fact that "the reinforcements will come to defend the city together" and mistakenly think that the end of the war is far away, so as to calm the morale of the army. .

It was not as expected by Liu Ying: After learning that there was a Han army sneaking behind the rebel army to cut off the way out, the appearance of the soldiers defending Yongcheng obviously had some positive changes.

Liu Ying even heard that there was talk in the army that the war would end before winter and the soldiers could return home.

For such a change, Liu Ying is full of satisfaction.

It's just that in this way, Liu Ying became more and more looking forward to and anxious about the "struggle" of Guanying's department.

"Ah~"

"If I had known it was so slow, I might as well have sent Guan Ying to fight Liuyi."

Tsk slandering, Liu Ying looked out of the city and complained faintly.

The greatest strategic significance of letting Guan Ying go south of the Huai River to cut off the enemy's rear is actually to disturb the morale of the rebel army.

——The rebel soldiers who were already muttering because of 'rebellion', after learning that the back route was cut off, they would definitely be in a panic.

Sending a partial army to attack the "stealing house" in Liuyi, the capital of Huainan, can obviously achieve similar effects.

But the matter has come to this point, Liu Ying can only suppress her throbbing heart and wait for the news from Guan Ying's department...
"Your Highness!"

Just as Liu Ying shook her head in a little discouragement, and turned around to walk down the city wall, Li Shang suddenly exclaimed, causing Liu Ying to stop in a hurry.

Turning around, seeing the Huainan rebels, who hadn't appeared for two consecutive days, almost pouring out of the camp and slowly walking towards the city wall, a sincere smile finally appeared on Liu Ying's face.

"The thief is coming..."

"It must be that the Marquis of Yingyin has reached the south of the Huai River. The bandits know that there is no way out, so they are desperate and want to fight against the water!"

Before Liu Ying could finish speaking, he heard Li Shang smash his fist against the wall with excitement, and his expression was immediately full of excitement!

Compared with Li Shang's unbearable excitement, Liu Ying, who finally waited for the news, slowly calmed down at this moment.

"What You Xiangguo said is true."

Smiling lightly at Li Shang and nodding, she turned around and stared deeply at the rebels outside the city. Liu Ying turned her back completely and walked down the city wall.

"As the saying goes, don't hide when you return to your teacher, and don't chase after the poor."

"Now that the thief has no way to retreat, he must try his best to escape from the city."

"The matter of defending the city will be handled by the right minister, and the generals should work together to resist the enemy outside the city..."

While walking down the city wall along the stairs, Liu Ying did not forget to deliver her last order to the ears of the generals in a flat tone.

——The final decisive battle is about to start.

But Liu Ying's task has been successfully completed.

The rest needs to be handed over to professional people, with professional means, to get a professional result...

(End of this chapter)