Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 379 Discussion of the Northern Expedition

Regardless of the strategy of the Southern Han Dynasty's Northern Expedition, why is it so difficult to conquer the North from the South?

The core lies in the unique and fragmented terrain of the south. In terms of large geographical units in the south, there are the Sichuan Basin, Jianghan Plain, Poyang Lake and Taihu Plain. The birth of each political power needs to be attached to these three plains. It can often be described as Yizhou, Jingzhou and Yangzhou are called.

However, in addition to large geographical units, the three states also have scattered independent units, such as Hanzhong Basin, Nanyang Basin, and Poyang Lake Plain. These geographical units are separated by mountain ranges, such as Wuling Mountains, Daba Mountains, Dabie Mountains, etc.

For example, in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, compared with the unified north, there were several political regimes such as Li Tang, Qian Wu, Wang Min, and Ma Chu coexisting in the south. These have a lot to do with the fragmented terrain of the south.

The sparse terrain that truly integrates the south is often a series of tributaries flowing through different plains, and finally flows into the Yangtze River that rolls eastward. The battle between boats and water will determine the winner, and they will invade and swallow up the rest of the plain.

In contrast, in the north, with the exception of Shanxi, the Guanzhong and northwest regions have independent geographical units. The Central Plains region is often a winner-take-all region and can often sweep China.

The vast plains in the north and the fragmented plains in the south are destined to be difficult to allocate resources. The south relies on scattered geographical units to fight, while the north has vast plains. In military operations, the competition is often about who can mobilize more resources.

Through the geographical unit of the south, and then analyzing the south to conquer the north, we can understand why it is so difficult to conquer the north from the south.

It seems that the expedition is from the south to the north, but it is often a large southern geographical unit that independently makes an expedition to the north, fighting against the vast Central Plains. Even if they can win in the short term, the north, which has more resources, can often push back, such as when Huan Wen conquered the former Qin Dynasty.

Therefore, unless the North is in chaos and unable to invest more resources, it will generally be difficult for the South to conquer the world. For example, Liu Yu's Northern Expedition and Zhu Yuanzhang's Northern Expedition took advantage of the chaos in the north and the difficulty of integrating resources to use troops.

After understanding the differences in geographical units between the north and the south, you may have a different understanding if you read Pang Tong's strategy of moving out of Xiangfan from the middle, or Zhuge Liang's strategy of managing Bashu and heading east to Jianghuai.

In Huo Jun's eyes, the two men's combat plans were all feasible plans to conquer the north from the south. Whether it is attacking Xiangfan or taking Shouchun, it is a strategy of leveraging one point, driving one side, disintegrating the entire front, and thus advancing into the Central Plains.

Seeing that Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang had a dispute over the direction of sending troops, Liu Bei looked at Huo Jun and asked, "What does Zhong Miao think about?"

Huo Jun pondered for a while and said: "Xiangfan is a narrow area, and the Han River is not a natural moat. Cao Cao led his army to march south, and our army faced him tit for tat. The two armies formed camps and fought. This is not the best strategy."

"The Jianghuai River is vast, and the Huaihe River flows eastward for thousands of miles. Boats and boats shuttle across the river. Our army uses the boats and boats as horses to fight between the Huaihe River. It is as easy as turning the palm of your hand. If you advance, you can capture Yan and Henan, and if you retreat, you can defend the Huaihe River. This army Home is a place of strength.”

If you ask Huo Jun which plan is the best, only by making targeted arrangements based on Cao Wei's actual arrangements may it be the optimal solution.

Huo Jun is not optimistic about sending troops to Xiangfan now. You must know that Cao Ren spent six years in Xiangfan and built many fortresses relying on the favorable terrain of Xian Mountain and Longzhong Mountain.

Without help, the Southern Han Dynasty would have fought the Northern Wei Dynasty to seize the fortresses in the Xiangfan defense line within the narrow Xiangfan area, which was hundreds of miles away, and fell into a nightmare line-filling battle.

On the contrary, Liu Bei sent troops to the Yangtze River and Huaihe River. Although Shouchun was strong, it at least had a lot of room for maneuver. After all, Shouchun was only located at the northwest corner of the Huaihe River. In the vast northeastern region, there was a lot of room for development.

Judging from the successful experience of later generations, whether it was Liu Yu's Northern Expedition or Xu Da's expedition to Yuan Dynasty, most of them found a breakthrough from Qingxu. Of course, the situation in the Southern Han and Northern Wei was different from the background of these two cases, but the Northern Expedition must always be tried hard.

After a pause, Huo Jun analyzed it for Liu Bei and said: "Your Majesty, Shouchun is the anchor of the Central Plains. If Shouchun can be obtained, Your Majesty can lead a boat into the Huai River. The best strategy is to defeat Shouchun, and send troops to Xuchang, directly towards the hinterland of the Central Plains; We sent troops to Xuzhou, sailed into the Sishui River, conquered Xiapi, took the land route to Langya, crossed the Xian Mountain, swept through Qingxu, and connected with Xuhuai."

"The next strategy is that if it is difficult to defeat the Cao thieves, we can use the advantage of boats and boats to evacuate the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers and stick to Hefei and Liu'an. In this way, we can use the boats and boats to transport food and grass. There will be no shortage of baggage. We should advance and retreat in a controlled manner, and we should be calm and unhurried."

After Huo Jun captured Hefei, Lu Su and Chiang Kai-shek had been managing the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers for five or six years. The most important Hangou and Feishui Canals from the Yangtze River to the Huaihe River were dredged, and the wasteland cultivated in the north of the Yangtze River had long since become mature land. In addition, Jianghuai is backed by Jingchu and Jiangdong, and boats can transport grain and grass. It is feasible to march from Jianghuai.

"What Huo Dubing said is indeed a wise idea, and your Majesty should follow it."

Zhuge Liang cupped his hands with his fan and said: "Cao Cao was tyrannical. He went to attack Xuzhou and massacred the people in Surabaya. The children in his hometown all remembered the hatred of their father and brother, especially the solitary graves with memorial monuments. But the king is not afraid of the small number of soldiers and saves the people from fire and water, which can win the hearts of the people."

"Now the king is marching into Xuhuai, and the people are all emptying pots of food to welcome the king's troops, and offering food and strength to help the king's troops. I hope that the king will think deeply and understand the truth and not send troops hastily." Pang Tong's narrative is too macroscopic, but Huo Jun and Zhuge Liang can Discussing the pros and cons of the two in terms of tactics and popular sentiment made Liu Bei more inclined to march from Xuhuai.

First, as Huo Jun said, it is easy to fall into an offensive and defensive battle when fighting Xiangfan. The strength of 30,000 to 40,000 troops was enough to drain the Southern Han Dynasty's troops due to the terrain and fortifications. The Southern Han Dynasty was able to win the Battle of Hanzhong by taking advantage of its defensive side.

Secondly, he worked hard in Xu Huai for several years, and many of his civil and military personnel were from Xu Huai, so he had different feelings towards Xu Huai.

Third, Zhuge Liang's analysis from the perspective of people's support is very reasonable. Attacking a place should be to attack the enemy's weak points.

Although it has been twenty years since Cao Cao massacred the people of Xuzhou, it does not mean that the people of Xuzhou have forgotten this incident. As Zhuge Liang said, "The monument of death is especially lonely in the tomb, and all the children in the hometown remember the hatred of their father and brother." 'People's support cannot be ignored.

"Your Majesty!"

Pang Tong wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by Liu Bei raising his hand.

Liu Bei is not like Yuan Shao, he is tolerant but persistent, good at planning but rarely decisive. As someone who was born in the North, he will not regret the decision he made and will continue to work hard.

After making a decision, Liu Bei stroked his beard and said: "I heard that you have heard that it is beneficial to have more people. The strategy of managing Bashu is a long-term plan, so we should plan it slowly. When the troops leave Xiangfan, they will face Cao Cao tit for tat, and they will be on the narrow road. Fighting, this is not good for our southern army."

"When the troops enter the Huai River, the terrain is wide and conducive to maneuvering. The Huai River is convenient for transporting grain. After thinking deeply about this battle, we can send troops to Xu Huai, cross the Feishui River by boat, connect the Hangou, and advance to Shouchun in the north. The troops will enter Xia Pi."

The Battle of Xiangfan is destined to be a hand-to-hand battle on a narrow road. Although the south was integrated by Liu Bei and established a 40,000-strong army, it did not mean that Liu Bei had the hard power to fight with Cao Cao in formation and gnaw at the cities and fortresses. Even if they were victorious at that time, the Southern Han army would probably be exhausted.

"Your Majesty, your Majesty is wise!" Everyone responded with their hands raised.

Seeing that Liu Bei had firmed up his determination, Pang Tong felt a little depressed, but he also agreed with Liu Bei's decision.

"Since your Majesty has sent the main force to Shouchun, I wonder how the Jiangling and Hanzhong departments should be arranged?" Fazheng asked.

Liu Bei thought for a while and said: "Xiao bluntly said that Hanzhong can send troops to Guanzhong in order to frighten the troops in Guanxi. Gushen thought so. Now let's make Yide the chief general and Boyan the deputy general. Xingba will stay in Hanzhong and send out 20,000 soldiers from Bashu. I think Feint army. So what?"

"Your Majesty, Shangyong Shen's soldiers and horses must not be used. Thousands of soldiers and horses can be drawn and ordered to join the expedition." Fa Zheng suggested.

"good!"

Liu Bei nodded slightly and said: "As for Jiangbei, let Yun Chang lead the Jiangling troops and supervise the Jiangxia army. We will advance based on the situation, and we must put the defense of Wuhan first."

Since it was the Northern Expedition to Xuhuai, the Nanjun and Jiangxia armies in the middle route could not act rashly. Liu Bei handed Guan Yu the command and allowed Guan Yu to act on his own initiative.

"In the spring of next year, I will raise an army of 100,000 to go out for the expedition. Xiaozhi and Shiyuan will join the army. Zilong, Hansheng and Shu will be the governors of the central army of 40,000. I will order Jiangzuo and Jianghuai to send 60,000 troops to accompany the expedition."

Liu Bei got up from the couch and ordered: "After the expedition, Kong Ming will stay in Wuhan and be the prime minister of the country's affairs. The prince will supervise the country and urge him to study well."

"promise!"

(End of this chapter)