Datang New Order

ps: Thanks to rg1969, Haina Sishuimumu, Iron Man, and Brother Jiulei Zhengtian for their rewards.

On November 40th, Zhong Shao captured Tianjing Pass, and the entire Taihang Xing Passage was in his hands.So far, the [-] allied forces of princes led by Liang Jun have been surrounded in the Shangdang Basin between Shihoubao in the north and Zezhou in the south.But this kind of siege did not do its best, because there is another Xingkou in the Taihang Eight Xings in the east of Zezhou, which is Baixing.

The north entrance of Baixing is Lingchuan, sixty miles northeast of Zezhou City. It forms a three-way corner with Zezhou and Gaoping, and it is now in the hands of the coalition forces of the princes.From Lingchuan to the southeast, through Baixing, you can reach Xiuwu outside Taihang Mountain.The allied forces of the princes marched into Shangdang in the summer. In order to gain time, some of the army chose to pass through Baixing.Only by taking down Lingchuan can the return route of the coalition forces of the princes be completely blocked.

To win Lingchuan, Zezhou must first be occupied.

On November 2, Zhong Shao used Cangzhou Army infantry as the main force, Zhaozhou Army cavalry as cover, assembled more than 2 infantry and cavalry, and stormed Zezhou.In another deafening crash, the south gate of Zezhou collapsed and Zezhou fell.The [-] Dragon and Tiger Army of Zhu Yougong stationed in Zezhou, and the [-] Chu Army of Zhao Kuangming who rushed to support from Gaoping, were defeated in Zezhou in embarrassment. A few thousand people fled back to Gaoping, and the rest died in the wild.

After this battle, Gao Ping did not find any trace of Zhu Yougong and Zhao Kuangming escaping back, and the Yan army did not find their bodies in the field. According to Jiang Zuo's report, when the explosion sounded, the two were at the south gate tower of Zezhou above.After Yan Jun searched carefully, he still couldn't tell whether there were Zhu Yougong and Zhao Kuangming among the broken limbs and flesh, so he had to let it go.

After Zezhou fell into the hands of the Yan army, the range of activities of the coalition forces of the princes was further compressed to the Changping Passage between Shihoubao and Gaoping.But at this time, the Yan army was unable to continue to march into Lingchuan.Detouring thousands of miles, a series of high-intensity battles were carried out. No matter how strong the Yan army is, it is not made of iron, and the army is still dragging behind and has not yet arrived.

Zhong Shao was also in a very anxious mood, but he could only endure his temper, and while ordering the sergeant to rest, he waited for the follow-up army to arrive.

Liang Wang, who was sitting in Gaoping, was worried, and urgently recruited Jingxiang, Li Zhen, Zhu Youning, Shi Shucong, Kang Huaiying, He Delun, Zhang Guihou, Yang Shihou, Li Hui, Ma Yin, Wang Zongji, Li Shenfu, Guo Qiqi, Wang Shike, etc. to Gaoping Emergency military meeting.

"The army of Yan has left the river. Taihangxing was captured from outside, and Zezhou fell into the hands of the army of Yan. The two generals Zhu Yougong and Zhao Kuangming have not returned yet, and their lives and deaths are unknown. At present, the coalition forces are trapped in Gaoping. Fortunately, Jiepailing is still in the hands of the coalition forces. There is still some room for maneuver..." Jing Xiang reported the military situation to the generals present, while trying his best to pay attention to his tone and words, trying not to add too much tension and pressure to everyone.

Before the military meeting, the generals in the hall had already heard about the current battle situation.But the moment when Jing Xiang got the confirmation, many people were still shocked.Many people suddenly realized with horror how similar this scene was to the battle between Qin and Zhao Changping thousands of years ago!

"How did the Yan army get around behind them? What happened to the three kings Zheng, Jin, and Han fighting in the north?" Wang Zongji asked.To a certain extent, it represents the doubts of many generals. They still don't know the news about Li Sizhao, Zhou Dewei and Li Siyuan.

Li Sizhao, Zhou Dewei and Li Siyuan each had heavy troops in the old Hedong army, and they were the three powerful generals who fought against the Xuanwu army back then.No one thought that they would fall and die now.Speaking of it, Yan Jun's combat methods are too classic, it can be said that they are as quiet as a virgin, as if they are moving like a rabbit, and they have done an excellent job of keeping secrets.After occupying Wu Township for more than half a month, no one knew about it. Once the troops were dispatched, they would sweep thousands of miles in an instant. In addition, the Yan Army has always regarded marching as the most important thing in training soldiers. Station, Yan Jun's forward has arrived at the city.

Most people never thought that Li Sizhao, Zhou Dewei and Li Siyuan had been defeated, so some people thought of another possibility.

"Could it be that the Yan army has sent troops from Hebei to defend against difficulties, and the army has crossed the river?" Most of He Delun's soldiers came from Huazhou, and the kingdom promised to him by King Liang was also Huazhou. Zhouzhou is across the river, so he is extremely sensitive to this possibility, and has been having trouble sleeping and eating for a long time.

He Delun's question woke up all the generals, especially the generals under King Liang, including Zhu Youning, Shi Shucong, Kan Huaiying, etc., all of them looked uneasy.They all couldn't help thinking of a saying circulating these days, saying that Yuan Xiangxian and Jiang Xuanhui were "suspected of collaborating with the enemy", and Liang Wang's order to confer the title of Yuan Xiangxian and Jiang Xuanhui on the country seemed to confirm this statement from the side.Now that Yan Jun appeared behind him, everyone almost believed the rumor.

Liang Wang felt restless for a while, in fact he also had the same doubts.If Yuan Xiangxian and Jiang Xuanhui really betrayed themselves, then Bianzhou is really at stake.But the most urgent thing at present is to come up with a way to deal with it. No matter how unexpectedly the Yan army appeared behind him, there is no time to think about it. Even if Bianzhou is really captured by the Yan army, it is not the focus of today's military discussion .

"There's Tongmei over there, don't you believe in Tongmei?" King Liang waved his hand, signaling not to talk about it any more. He mentioned Ge Congzhou's name, which did have a soothing effect , the discussion became quieter.

Jing Xiang continued to introduce the current battle situation. The Shihou Fort in the north has not yet been taken down. The Yan army is standing here like a rock, and the coalition forces of the princes are at a loss. It is difficult to walk, the siege equipment cannot be transported up, facing the majestic Huguan, it is difficult for people to have the courage to attack.

The situation in the south is better, but not much better. Although Lingchuan is still in the hands of the coalition forces, it can be regarded as a retreat, but after Zezhou was taken by the Yan army, this retreat immediately appeared extremely dangerous.Not to mention that the iron cavalry of the Yan army can come and go freely and cut off the supplies from Lingchuan to Gaoping at any time. Let me just say that if something happens to the army, it needs to retreat from Baixing to Hedong. In terms of the traffic capacity of Baixing, there is not much Within a month, the coalition forces would never be able to withdraw completely. Whether it was Taixingxing or Baixing, the traffic capacity was not good.And this half a month.The retreating army will be attacked by the Yan army at any time. If one is not handled well, it will easily lead to corruption of the overall situation.

There was one more thing that Jingxiang didn't say, and he didn't dare to say it. If he said it, he would be beheaded by King Liang.There is not much food in the army. If Zezhou is lost, not only two generals and tens of thousands of troops will be lost, but the biggest loss is the 20 shi of grain that has not had time to be transferred to Gaoping!

Now in Gaoping, the rations of the allied forces of the princes are not even enough for a month!

Therefore, Liang Wang is running out of time.A month later, the 40 army will be wiped out.

In fact, before the military discussion, King Liang discussed with Jing Xiang and Li Zhen, and they had already decided on a strategy for advancing troops. Without him, they had no choice but to go south and take back Zezhou!Occupying Zezhou does not mean that the immediate predicament can be resolved, and what it can do is rely on Zezhou to cover the withdrawal of the army from Baixing.

But such a strategy cannot be proposed from the mouth of Liang Wang.Neither Jing Xiang nor Li Zhen can be mentioned. Everyone knows that they are the confidantes of King Liang, and what they say means what King Liang means.

For one thing, the strategy of going south is from another point of view.In essence, it is tantamount to acknowledging the failure of the Northern Expedition. For this Northern Expedition, Liang Wang made too much noise, enfeoffing the princes, and Luoyang Huimeng.After finally getting entangled with the princes of the world to send troops, they retreated in a desperate situation, which not only made King Liang lose face.It will also greatly damage King Liang's prestige.

Second, if we tell everyone clearly that we are going to withdraw our troops, it will undoubtedly make the whole army suspicious and shake their morale. I am afraid that the 40 troops will not be able to escape at all. This is also the key point why Liang Wang is unwilling to take the initiative to announce it.

The suggestion to convene the military meeting was put forward by Li Zhen. The reason why Ma Yin and other foreign generals were involved was to let them take the initiative to raise Liang Wang's concerns.

As Li Zhen expected, Li Shenfu, who was not determined to use troops, was the first to speak. He advocated going south to attack Zezhou.Immediately afterwards, Wang Zongji and Ma Yin also echoed.It is one thing to take advantage of King Liang to send troops to strengthen the reputation of King Liang. If you want to bury the army in Shangdang for this, it will be too costly, and this business cannot be done.

Guo Qiqi and Wang Shike have always played the role of soy sauce, and of course they are eager to quit the Shangdang soon, and they also nodded.

Only the generals of King Liang felt a little regretful, but they also knew the general trend and the importance of retaking Zezhou, so they also agreed.

So Jing Xiang immediately announced the strategy of using troops and dispatched all the troops.

After seven days of preparation, until November 25th, the allied forces of the princes gathered their troops at Jiepai Ridge and used countless siege equipment to push towards Zezhou.

The battle was personally commanded by King Liang, using Zhu Youning's Jianwu Army of 4, Shi Shucong's Baoda Army of 5, Zhang Guihou's Township of 2, and Tingzi and Yuan Cong's army of 5000. Ren, Zhang Cunjing and Li Si'an's cavalry army consisted of 5000 people, and more than 17 people from princes including Ma Yin's Chu army, Wang Zongji's Shu army, Guo Qiqi's Qi army, Li Shenfu's Wu army, and Wang Shike's Qi army went out together, with a total force of [-]. Among them, the cavalry led by Zhang Cunjing and Li Si'an protected the back road between Jiepailing and Zezhou.

Kang Huaiying, Yang Shihou, He Delun and others led their troops to guard the fortresses north of Gaoping to prevent the Yan army from taking advantage of the situation and going south.

This was a decisive battle that had been anticipated by the General Staff General Administration long before Yan's soldiers left Wu Township. Zhong Shao had been ordered to take full command of this battle a month ago.

The Military Staff General Administration prepared two sets of operational plans to encircle and annihilate the allied forces of the princes. The first plan was Plan A. After the capture of Zezhou, if all went well, they would immediately occupy Lingchuan and completely block the allied forces of the princes.So far, option A appears to be unfeasible.

Plan B basically predicted the immediate battlefield situation, that is, after capturing Zezhou, it will encounter a large-scale counterattack by the coalition forces of the princes.The plan stipulates that if the coalition forces of the princes use large-scale siege equipment, it will be very difficult to hold on to Zezhou; at the same time, the plan also opposes the defense of Zezhou, because if the Yan army is besieged by the coalition forces of the princes in Zezhou City, they will lose their ability to attack Lingchuan. Threats in the direction of the enemy are strategically unable to achieve operational goals.Therefore, the Yan army should take the initiative to fight, strive to start a battle with the coalition forces of the princes in the wild, strive to defeat the coalition forces, and take advantage of the trend to occupy Lingchuan.If they cannot win, they must also maintain deterrence in the direction of Lingchuan to prevent the coalition forces from successfully withdrawing from Baixing to Shangdang.

As early as the beginning when the allied forces of the princes gathered at Jiepailing, the sentry cavalry of the Yan army sent the news to Zezhou.Zhong Shao is writing urgent documents in various ministries, urging the follow-up army to come to help quickly.

On the night of November 23, the newly formed Jinzhou Army finally arrived at Zezhou as scheduled. The Yan Army had assembled the largest force that could be assembled in the southern battlefield, forming a field group of more than [-] people, and marched to Zezhou. Twenty miles north of Zezhou, Bohe Spring, backed by Longwang Mountain, formed a large formation facing the way of the coalition forces of the northern princes.

At noon on November 25, the allied armies of the feudal princes arrived at Bohequan and stopped a mile away. King Liang ordered all the armies to spread out and then slowly approached the Yan army. The two sides approached to [-] paces and confronted each other.

It was the day, with a slight cold, and the winter wind was blowing cold, and the land of East Asia entered the coldest period in the second year of God Bless. (to be continued..)