My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 342: Pingcheng Past

"Therefore, I humbly believe that there was nothing that could have been done better in the Henan-Mayi campaign at the end of last year."

"——In Mayi, Cheng Buzhi of Bowang City was very skilled and daring. He abandoned Mayi to lure the enemy deeper. Although he failed to achieve his goal in the end, he had done his best."

"As for Henan, which is now Shuofang and Wuyuan counties, the war has generally progressed very smoothly, with basically no obstacles."

"The Xiongnu tribes that stayed in Henan unexpectedly defected, and the troops of Yuhou and Gonggaohou did not make any mistakes, so the war went completely according to our pre-war plan."

Weiyang Palace, greenhouse side hall of Xuanshi Hall.

Emperor Liu Rong held a tea bowl in his hand, leaning casually on the back of the rocking chair, but his attention was completely focused on Wei Qing, the attendant in front of him, who was wearing the armor and robes of a palace official.

Next to the rocking chair where Liu Rong was lying, Wei Qing was solemnly answering the homework that Liu Rong had given him earlier - that is, his own views on the past Hetao-Mayi Battle.

After saying this, seeing that Liu Rong was still contented and calm, Wei Qing took a deep breath and finally made a concluding statement: "The above is what the envoy can conclude;"

"——In the Henan-Mayi Campaign, our Han army was almost comprehensive, without any mistakes or omissions."

"Even the casualties and losses on the two battlefields were within acceptable ranges—and far lower than the court's pre-war predictions."

"In this battle, our Han family has the best timing, location, and people;"

"Compared to winning, I'm afraid losing the battle is more difficult..."

After finishing his own discussion, Wei Qing lowered his head a little nervously, and waited quietly for Liu Rong to put down the rebellion.

——Come to think of it, it has been quite some time since I entered the palace.

No matter how stupid Wei Qing was, he probably understood Liu Rong's expectations of him.

General!

Moreover, he was not the kind of general who charged into battle and showed off his bravery, but the kind of general who stayed firmly in the center camp and commanded large groups in battle!
When Wei Qing first realized Liu Rong's intention, even though he had a rough prediction of his future development direction, he still couldn't help but feel a little excited.

——Only military men know: how big the gap between a general and a commander can be!
Take the current Han Dynasty as an example.

Speaking of brave generals who are good at fighting, who can rush into the enemy's line of battle, kill the generals and seize the flags, hundreds of such strong men have emerged in just over 50 years since the founding of the Han Dynasty.

Take for example the 146 founding heroes and meritorious officials who were conferred titles by Emperor Taizu Gao. Pick any one of them out, and they are all powerful generals with no upper limit!
Even Xiao He, Cao Shen, Chen Ping, and Zhang Cang, who were famous for their literary talents, all had military qualities above the passing line.

This only counts the founding heroes who were granted titles of nobility - it does not include people like Shentu Jia who were equally brave but could not even be ranked among the founding heroes.

All in all, there were at least 200 brave generals in the reign of Emperor Taizu.

During the later Emperor Xiaohui, and the former and latter Shao emperors - that is, the fifteen years when Empress Dowager Lü was in power, the founding heroes gradually died out, but even the hundred or so people who remained were more than enough for the Han Dynasty at that time.

Later, Emperor Taizong succeeded to the throne from Dai, and brought with him a number of veteran generals including his maternal uncle Bo Zhao, Dai Lieutenant Zhang Wu, and Internal History Song Chang.

Add to that the younger generation who were discovered later - such as Li Guang, Cheng Buzhi, Zhidu, Wei Shang, Han Tuidang, Ling Mian, etc., it is no exaggeration to say that during the reign of Emperor Taizong, the Han Dynasty also had no shortage of generals who could fight.

Although the reign of Emperor Xianjing lasted only six years, a group of new generation generals emerged.

Such as Dou Ying, the maternal relative of the late Emperor Xiaojing, and Luan Bu, etc.

Even during the reign of Liu Rong, all the founding heroes of the Han Dynasty, except Li Ji, Marquis of Quzhou, had died and completely withdrawn from the historical stage of the Han Dynasty. However, Liu Rong still had no shortage of generals.

——Cheng Bushi, Marquis of Bowang, became the first general to be awarded for his merits during Liu Rong's reign with his highly personal conservative strategy!

Later, Zhidu, who was described by Emperor Taizong as "a victorious general in battle and a claw of the country", was sent to the north by Liu Rong to be trained by Cheng Buzhi.

At the same time, generals of the older generation, such as Li Ji, Marquis of Quzhou, Luan Bu, Marquis of Yu, Han Tuidang, Marquis of Gonggao, etc., were still barely usable - at least they could contribute to the Han Dynasty's final few years of glory.

All in all, the Han Dynasty had been established for more than fifty years, and there were at least three or four hundred capable generals, if not five hundred.

On the other hand, handsome...

Let me say something that I shouldn't say: Since the Han Dynasty, the number of "talented generals" who can command large armies in battle has been even less than the number of Han emperors who have sat on the throne in the past fifty years...

During the reign of Emperor Taizu Gao, Han Xin, Marquis of Huaiyin, was one of them;
One of them is Lu Ze, Marquis of Zhou.

During the reign of Empress Dowager Lu, Zhou Bo, Marquis of Jiang, was one of them.

During the reigns of Emperor Taizong and Emperor Xianjing, Zhou Yafu was the only one who could be considered a "talented general".

Gone!

The Han Dynasty was founded more than fifty years ago, and has gone through Taizu, Xiaohui, the former and latter Shaodi, Taizong, and Xiaojing. By the time of Liu Rong, he was already the seventh generation of Han emperor!

However, the Han Dynasty has only had four talented generals so far.

Even if we count Li Ji, the Marquis of Quzhou, there are only five!

Among these five people, three appeared in the reign of Emperor Taizu Gao, and two died before Emperor Taizu Gao (Han Xin and Lu Ze).

The remaining three are Zhou Bo and his son Zhou Yafu. The former was active during the reigns of Taizu, Empress Dowager Lu, and the early years of Emperor Taizong, while Zhou Yafu's military career spanned the reigns of Taizong and Emperor Xiaojing.

Until now, the only person Liu Rong could use was Li Ji, Marquis of Quzhou, who was the last remaining fruit of the founding fathers.

Even this!
Even this was only possible because of the flourishing martial virtues of the Han Dynasty and the emergence of many brave men before and after the founding of the country, which allowed these five people to be gathered together.

In peacetime, let alone five in fifty years, even if one or two in a hundred years or so were to appear, it would be a great blessing for the country!
Ordinary people have little idea about these things, or it is difficult for them to have a personal experience.

But as a warrior - or at least a quasi-warrior, Wei Qing naturally could not fail to understand what the word "handsome" actually meant.

It is no exaggeration to say that as long as Wei Qing develops according to the route set by Liu Rong for himself, then in the foreseeable future, Wei Qing will have the opportunity to command tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people in battle!

This time, he would most likely follow the precedent set by the late Emperor Xiaojing's maternal relative, the then Imperial Censor: Weiqi Hou Dou Ying - he was appointed general by virtue of his maternal relative status.

As long as he seizes this opportunity - as long as he doesn't behave too badly, or even just "as long as he can mobilize this huge army" and successfully march to the designated battlefield, Wei Qing's future will definitely be limitless!
Wei Qing couldn't say he had much confidence in his own talent.

After all, after entering the palace, the more Wei Qing read the military books in Shiqu Pavilion, the more he felt that he still had a lot to learn.

——And the more Wei Qing learned, the more he felt there was to learn!

Wei Qing now has no confidence at all in commanding a large group battle alone.

But this did not prevent Wei Qing from looking forward to the day when he would command the army and lead the troops in battle...

That day may be far away;

But Wei Qing firmly believed that no matter how far away that day was, it would surely come.

But at the moment, Wei Qing still had to give Liu Rong one answer after another that would satisfy Liu Rong and at least be qualified. - If he couldn't even talk about war on paper, what would it matter if he became a general of a foreign relative in the future?
If Wei Qing could not make achievements and produce tangible merits to shut up those who always clamor about his "birth as a relative of the emperor" and "a flatterer", what would be the point of him becoming a general?
Thinking of this, Wei Qing looked at Liu Rong with more anxiety.

Even though he had gone over it several times in his mind and made sure that there was nothing he had overlooked in the Hetao-Mayi Campaign, Wei Qing still could not completely calm down.

As the saying goes: Profit blinds the mind, desire confuses the intelligence.

In the face of sufficiently large interests, or a bright enough future, even the smartest people will inevitably feel dry-mouthed...

"Um……"

"That's about it."

"——In this battle, our Han people encountered basically no strong obstacles in Henan;"

"Except for building a bridge across the river on the night of the battle, everything else happened naturally."

···
"Over at Hetao, Cheng Buzhi did his best;"

"The fact that the main force of the Chanyu Court failed to retain Junchen can only be blamed on Junchen's lack of ambition and courage."

These words were regarded as a simple approval of Wei Qing's answer. Liu Rong smacked his lips, obviously feeling a little unsatisfied.

This question seemed a little too simple for Wei Qing, the future Marquis of Changping of the Han Dynasty...

"so."

"Don't go down and write or draw - just tell me about the Han-Xiongnu Battle of Pingcheng in the fifth year of Emperor Taizu Gao."

"If it were your servant Wei Qing, could he do better?"

"Or in other words, what aspects can be avoided or improved?"

After the test question was given, Liu Rong calmly adjusted his sitting posture and waited quietly for Wei Qing's answer.

——To be honest, there is really nothing worth talking about last year's Hetao-Mayi Battle.

Looking at the two battlefields separately, one side is a textbook-level city defense battle - boring;
On one side was a surprise blitzkrieg with nothing to lose - dull.

That is to say, the overall strategic plan of "using Mayi as bait, making a feint to the east and attacking the west to seize Hetao" has some flavor of repairing the plank road in the open and marching through Chencang in secret, which is worth pondering.

But to list it as a classic battle example for the younger generation of generals to learn from is a bit too formalistic.

—— Cheng Buzhi, who was "pedantic and conservative" on the battlefield of Mayi, looking at the tens of millions of people in the Han Dynasty today, I am afraid that few people can learn Shen Yun!

There is nothing worth talking about or teaching in class about the raid and seizure of the Hetao battlefield.

But Liu Rong's second question, that is, the Battle of Pingcheng between the Han and the Xiongnu in which Emperor Taizu Gao was trapped in the siege of Baideng, is a real classic battle example since the founding of the Han Dynasty.

Both the enemy and our side have basically come out in full force, with hundreds of thousands of troops against hundreds of thousands. It is undoubtedly a national war!
During this period, an epic 'king vs. king' battle was formed between the Xiongnu Chanyu and the Emperor of Liu Han!
The battle progressed in a thrilling manner, with many eye-catching twists and turns.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Han-Xiongnu Battle of Pingcheng is a classic battle example that almost every general in the Han Dynasty who is interested in commanding operations rather than relying solely on brute force must think about and deduce.

If it were an ordinary general, Liu Rong would probably say: I'll give you ten days or so, go down and think carefully about the Pingcheng Campaign, and then give me your experience, I want to see it.

But if it were Wei Qing, Liu Rong would not be willing to do so.

——Most generals can reflect and make a summary after going down.

If everyone can do it, it won't be clear who is better or worse.

Liu Rong had high expectations for Wei Qing.

And extremely high expectations often mean correspondingly high demands.

As Liu Rong expected, Wei Qing thought about it for a long time.

During this time, he kept frowning, lowering his head, and even squinting his eyes in thought.

After nearly half an hour, he finally raised his head after pondering for a while and bowed slightly to Liu Rong.

"The Battle of Pingcheng was caused by Han Wangxin surrendering the city of Mayi to the enemy and then switching sides."

"If we start from before the war..."

"——It starts directly from when Han Wangxin defected to the enemy and Maodun set foot in Dai."

As Wei Qing said: The cause of the Han-Xiongnu Pingcheng Campaign was that the most important border guard king of the Han Dynasty at that time, King Xin of Han, opened the city of Mayi and surrendered, then defected to the enemy and turned to attack the Han Dynasty.

Han Wangxin betrayed his country and surrendered to the enemy, which is a political issue.

Liu Rong did not need Wei Qing to discuss "how to prevent Han Wangxin from defecting", he only needed to give his own insights on the subsequent war from a purely military perspective.

Seeing Liu Rong speak, Wei Qing couldn't help but feel a little relieved;
He took another deep breath, and after a moment's thought, he finally told his story.

"King Han Xin presented Mayi to Maodun, the Khan of the Xiongnu, and a breach had already been opened in the northern wall."

"Although Emperor Taizu Gao led the army in person at the first opportunity, the distance from Chang'an to the Dai capital Jinyang is obviously much farther than the distance from Mayi to Jinyang."

"——Maodun could have attacked Jinyang earlier, or even directly controlled the entire territory of Dai, and then set his sights on Qi and Zhao!"

"The fact is: after Maodun received Han Wangxin's surrender in Mayi, he did not rush south, but passed Mayi and entered the Great Wall, plundering the Loufan area - or rather, he stayed there for a long time."

"It was not until Emperor Taizu Gao led his army from Chang'an to the Dai and Zhao regions that Maodun confronted Emperor Taizu Gao's main force."

"Then Maodun pretended to be defeated and retreated, causing Emperor Taizu Gao to underestimate the enemy and advance rashly, resulting in him being trapped in the siege of Baideng..."

As he spoke, Wei Qing's emotions became calmer;
When he uttered the last four words, 'the Siege of Baideng', Wei Qing's eyes no longer had the immaturity and naivety that a young boy should have.

"I, your humble servant, dare to speak."

"——I'm afraid that from the very beginning, Maodun wanted to do more than simply attack the northern border of the Han Dynasty!"

"In fact, as early as when Han Wangxin surrendered to Mayi, he was certain that Emperor Taizu Gao would be angry and raise an army, leading the army in person to punish Han Wang for his disloyalty!"

···
"Maodun is staying in Loufan, waiting for Emperor Taizu Gao!"

"I'm afraid Maodun's real purpose was what later became the national humiliation of the Han Dynasty: the Siege of Baideng!"

(End of this chapter)