Chapter 9 Chasing the Central Plains 56th Festival of July, Guangyang County, Youzhou, Jicheng. Before going south, Xian Yufu, the general of the left guard, summoned Wang Ze, the assassin of Youzhou, Yu Peng, the capital of Liaodong, Li Su, Xian Yuyin, the commander of the two battalions of Macheng and Yuyang in Youzhou, and other civil and military officials to gather in Jicheng to discuss matters going south.

Liaodong Protector Yu Peng explained in detail the deployment of troops in the south. The total strength of this southward march was about 70,000 cavalry, of which about 40,000 were cavalry of the Hu tribes.

The 70,000 iron horsemen went south in two ways, one was led by the eldest princess, and went south from the Flying Fox Fortress. One route was led by the general Xian Yu of the Left Guard, who went south from Zhuo County.

The two iron horsemen will meet in Handan. The eldest princess is in charge of assembling the three battalions of the Mobei Metropolitan Protectorate, Jin Xueyuan and Wuyuan in Takayanagi Castle in Dai County, and the armies of the Xianbei kings and the kings of Hakuzan and Kamiya Karasuma will also arrive in the near future.

Since the three battalions of Mobei Protectorate, Jin Xueyuan and Wuyuan had to leave half of their men and horses to guard the border fortress, the strength of the army on this road was about 40,000 people.

At the beginning of August, they will enter the Flying Fox Fortress and head south to Jizhou under the leadership of the eldest princess. The general of the left guard, Xian Yufu, was in charge of assembling the three battalions of the Liaodong Metropolitan Protectorate, Macheng and Yuyang in Jicheng, and the armies of the kings of Liaoxi and Liaodong Karasuma would go south with us.

Because the army had to be left to garrison the Huoyunyuan and Wuhou Qinshui north of Yanshan to guard against Kirby Xiong's counterattack, only half of the three battalions of the Liaodong Duhufu, Macheng and Yuyang Iron Cavalry went south, so the strength of the army on this road was about 30,000.

At present, Karasuma Daidan Yu Dun has led his army to the Gushui River, and we will be able to enter Yizhou in two days.

The livestock and horse material required by the army were brought by the iron cavalry, but because the southward journey was too long, especially after entering Jizhou, they were all large plains and could not be replenished on the spot, so the border counties should strictly follow the will of the imperial court and try their best to speed up the procurement and transportation of livestock and horse materials to ensure the needs of the iron cavalry army.

According to the predetermined plan of the imperial court, the southward army will cross the Yellow River south at the end of August or early September and enter the Central Plains battlefield to fight.

A month later, at the beginning of October, all the iron cavalry will cross the Yellow River north and return to the desert.

"The imperial court limited the combat time of the southbound army to one month, and there were various considerations. The first is that they are worried that the Hu people will flee in fear of being far away from the border fortress, the second is that they are worried that the Hu people will take the opportunity to harm the Central Plains, and the third is that there are too many iron cavalry on the battlefield in the Central Plains, and the imperial court is unable to supply food and horse feed to the iron cavalry army for a long time. In the early stage, the general led 50,000 iron cavalry to the south, and with the 70,000 iron cavalry this time, there will be 120,000 iron cavalry on the battlefield in the Central Plains. On the battlefield of the Central Plains, in order to ensure the long-term operation of 120,000 iron cavalry, the amount of livestock and horse feed required was extremely staggering. With the current strength of the imperial court, it is already exhaustive to ensure the needs of 120,000 iron horsemen for a month. Xian Yufu sighed,

"After the end of the Central Plains War, the vitality of the imperial court was greatly damaged, and we were unable to carry out large-scale expeditions for a long time."

"As long as we cross the Yellow River and take Yanzhou, plus Qingzhou, which has been appeased, we can be regarded as occupying the opportunity to pacify the world. In two or three years, when we recover, the army will sweep across the world, and no one will be able to do it. Yu Peng said excitedly,

"Now as long as we can accomplish the last goal, inflict heavy losses on the rebels, and kill a large number of rebel troops, the Central Plains War will be completely won. Since the end of the Jizhou War, the general insisted on taking risks and finishing his work in one battle, and now it seems that he is about to succeed. ”

"This is mainly due to the fact that the previous battle was fought well, all the expected goals were achieved, and we still firmly control the initiative on the battlefield." Xian Yuyin said with a smile,

"It's up to us now. If we can completely annihilate the rebels on the battlefield in the Central Plains, we will be able to successfully pacify the world. ”

"Even if you can't wipe them all out, you can still hit them hard." Li Su waved his hand excitedly and said,

"After this battle, the rebels are all broken, how long can they hold on?" Li Su looked at Xian Yufu, who had a faint melancholy look between his eyebrows, and asked with a smile,

"Could it be that Lord Fei has no faith in our Iron Horseman?"

"May God have mercy on us, and don't let the calamities fall on this devastated land again and again." Xian Yufu lowered his head and muttered.

After everyone enthusiastically discussed the battle situation in the Central Plains, Yu Peng then arranged the marching routes of each department.

"According to the requirements of the imperial court, the army must hide its tracks when it moves south, firstly, not to let the rebels get the news, and secondly, to avoid exposing Hu Qi, causing panic among the people of Jizhou. For this reason, the iron cavalry of each division marched day and night, and the speed of the march should not be too fast. Yu Peng's hand kept pointing on the map,

"The counties along the road have received the order of the imperial court, and they will block the road at the scheduled time, so that we can pass smoothly. Every time the armies arrived at a garrison point, they had to finish their encampment before dawn. ”

"Your Excellency, you must remember that you must march strictly according to the prescribed route, time, and speed, and that if you disobey, you will be killed." The generals agreed with a bang.

In July, Xiliang Longxi, Daxia City. Since April, Pang De has been shuttling back and forth between Jincheng and Longxi, trying his best to persuade Han Sui and Ma Chao.

Ma Chao is already in trouble at the moment. After Han Sui returned to Xiliang, while commanding a large army to surround Longxi and cut off the connection between Longxi and other places, he used various methods to divide and divide the Qiang tribes.

Ma Chao tried to break through the encirclement and enter Hanyang several times, but he was easily defused by Han Sui, and his living environment became worse and worse.

Because they could not get what they needed from Ma Chao, all kinds of Qiang people left Ma Chao one after another, and some of them coveted the money given by Han Sui, and turned around to attack Ma Chao.

Ma Chao's strength is insufficient, and the army is also small, so he has lost several cities in a row, so he can only stick to the front line of Taoshui. If this continues, there is no need for Han Sui to send an army, and Ma Chao himself will have to flee to Baimaqiang for refuge.

Ma Chao regretted it and paid a heavy price for his youth and impulsiveness. Now not only is there no hope of revenge, but even his own survival is in question.

Pound's appearance made Ma Chao see hope in despair. When Pound asked him if he would like to shake hands with Han Sui and make peace, he almost burst into tears.

However, Pound's persuasion and Ma Chao's self-reproach failed to calm Han Sui's anger. Han Sui said, I can forgive Ma Chao, but the officials in Longxi who were killed by Ma Chao are innocent, are they willing to forgive Ma Chao for his tyranny and cruelty in the spirit of heaven?

I can forgive Ma Chao for his betrayal, but are the Xiliang army willing to forgive Ma Chao's betrayal?

It wasn't me who he betrayed, it was Xiliang. He should pay with his life for his betrayal. Han Sui refused Ma Chao's surrender, continued to surround Longxi, and ordered the army to slowly advance to the front line of Taoshui.

Pang De was helpless, and while persuading Han Sui in every possible way, he ordered the iron cavalry army far away in Wuwei County to withdraw to the area of Anding and Beidi.

As soon as the iron cavalry in the northern Xinjiang retreated, the Qiang people who invaded Hexi would immediately approach the Yellow River and threaten Jincheng. Pang De planned to threaten Han Sui with this method and force him to agree to negotiate peace and temporarily stabilize Xiliang.

Xiliang stabilized, Han Sui and Ma Chao made peace, and Yuan Tan in Guanzhong felt the threat of Xiliang, so as to play a role in containing the forces in Guanzhong.

At this time, Yuan Tan's envoys frequently visited Xiliang and gave Han Sui a large amount of money and food. At the same time, news came from Guanzhong that the Northern Xinjiang Army in Hedong began to attack Guanxi.

Han Sui secretly rejoiced, knowing that his prediction had come true, and Li Hong really began to attack the Central Plains. In other words, the long-awaited opportunity to attack Guanzhong has come.

Han Sui categorically rejected Pound's persuasion. If he wants to attack Guanzhong, he can't let the Northern Frontier Iron Cavalry stay in Wuwei County to threaten his rear, so he will take advantage of the situation to force Pang De to return to Anding and Beidi with his army.

At the same time, he sent people to the north to carry heavy gifts to the West Sea, and made peace with Dangqiang and other Western Qiang tribes. As long as they attack Guanzhong, these Qiang people don't take advantage of the situation to cross the Yellow River and enter the hinterland of Xiliang, and they will achieve their goal.

The Qiang people who accepted Han Sui's gift thought that Han Sui had admitted defeat and was forced to give up Hexi to themselves, and they were very happy, but what they didn't expect was that they unknowingly fell for Han Sui.

When the Northern Frontier Iron Cavalry sent troops to attack Han Sui's rear in order to prevent Han Sui from attacking Guanzhong, they first had to enter Wuwei County.

Of course, these Qiang people will not let the northern Xinjiang iron cavalry enter Wuwei County, and the two sides will definitely fight on the north bank of the Yellow River.

The longer the two sides fought, the more time was left for Han Sui to capture Guanzhong. In July, after Han Sui got the exact news of the Central Plains War, he suddenly agreed to Pang De and was willing to talk to Ma Chao, but on the condition that Ma Chao must go to Daxia City alone to ask for his guilt.

Ma Chao hesitated. Pound was very anxious and urged repeatedly. He had already received a secret order, knowing that the imperial court was secretly requisitioning the desert Hu cavalry to the south of the Central Plains, for the safety of the desert, the imperial court ordered him to lead the army back to the desert with 100,000 urgently.

Ma Chao was a little relieved when he saw Pound swearing and patting his chest to ensure his safety. He rushed to the Great Xia City with three thousand iron horsemen.

Three thousand horsemen were waiting outside the city, and he went into the city to meet Han Sui, accompanied by Pang De. To Ma Chao's surprise, Han Sui did not scold him, but treated him as a child as in the past, and treated him amiably, as if the knife two years ago had not happened.

Ma Chao was moved and regretted, knelt in front of Han Sui and wept bitterly, vowing to serve Han Sui as a father in this life.

"If only you figured it out." Han Sui touched his head and smiled,

"You lost your mind because of hatred, and no one could dissuade you. If it weren't for that knife, I'm afraid you wouldn't have come out of the shadow of hatred by now. Ma Chao was speechless with guilt.

Han Sui picked up a volume of documents from the desk and handed it to Ma Chao,

"Look at it, when you read it, say anything to me." Ma Chao held the scroll and looked at Han Sui suspiciously.

"You don't want revenge?" Han Sui touched his gray-white beard and smiled,

"After reading it, you will know how to avenge your revenge." Ma Chao was overjoyed and hurriedly unfolded the bamboo slip to take a closer look.

After a while, Ma Chao's expression gradually became nervous, and a pair of sword eyebrows were tightly twisted together, looking panicked.

"Sir......" Ma Chao rolled up the bamboo slip and gestured outside the door with his eyes,

"Ling Ming (Pang De) is here, let's ......" Han Sui smiled,

"Meng Qi, don't talk about Ling Ming yet. What do you think of this plan? ”

"Sir, if I hadn't seen this, I wouldn't have known that the Northern Frontier Army had attacked the Central Plains." Ma Chao hesitated for a moment and asked,

"In Mr.'s opinion, in this Central Plains War, the best result of the Northern Xinjiang Army is to occupy Yanzhou, so we have the opportunity to seize Guanzhong and form a three-legged situation with Hebei and Luoyang. But is Sir really sure that the Northern Frontier Army will be defeated by both the Allied forces in this battle? If not, even if we take advantage of the situation to capture Guanzhong, it will be difficult to hold Guanzhong. ”

"The reason why Li Hong began to forcibly attack the Central Plains a year and a half after the end of the Jizhou War was that his purpose was very clear, he wanted to seize the strength of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, take Qingzhou and Yanzhou, and seize the opportunity to pacify the world. He was absolutely right about this strategy. Han Sui sighed softly,

"It's a pity that Hebei's wealth mainly comes from a county in Jizhou, the year before last the Jizhou War has exhausted all its strength, this year it has to support more than 200,000 troops in several battlefields to fight fiercely, you can imagine, Hebei has been difficult to do? Perhaps, this is one of the reasons why Li Hong crossed the Yellow River at all costs, because if he had taken advantage of this battle to gain a foothold in Yanzhou and Qingzhou, his pace of recovery would have greatly increased. But one thing is certain, within a year or so after the end of the Central Plains War, Hebei will not be able to launch an expedition with a scale of more than tens of thousands, and it will at most concentrate its forces to resist Yuan Shao's counteroffensive and stick to Qing and Yanzhou. ”

"So Sir thinks that as long as we defeat Yuan Tan, we will be able to capture Guanzhong, and then quickly establish a three-legged momentum. Hebei beats us, and we join forces with Luoyang. Luoyang beats us, and we will join forces with Hebei to ensure the stability of Western Xinjiang. Ma Chao frowned and asked,

"But Mr. has thought about it, in recent years, the general has taken great care of Xiliang, even when Hebei's financial resources were extremely tight after the Jizhou War, he still sent relief to Xiliang as agreed. In addition, Mr. has also been respecting the Jinyang Imperial Court for several years, and now you have suddenly changed your ways, and you have turned against the Jinyang Imperial Court and the general, and once the situation changes in the future......"

"Are you worried that not only will we not be able to kill Yuan Shao, but we will join forces with Yuan Shao to fight against Hebei?" Han Sui asked calmly.

Ma Chao was silent for a moment and said with a wry smile: "Sir, I have already figured it out, revenge is not so simple, it takes time." In the future, even if Mr. and Yuan Shao are brothers, I can bear it, but what I am worried about is not that I can't kill Yuan Shao, but that I am worried about losing Mr. and completely losing the hope of revenge. ”

"More than ten years ago, you competed with the general several times, you know the general's troops very well, and you are more familiar with his character, he is a bloody leopard, a crazy leopard. In the Jizhou War the year before last, he defeated the attack of more than 100,000 coalition troops, and he did not wait to heal his wounds, but this year he turned to lead more than 100,000 troops to take the initiative to attack the Central Plains and fight against more than 200,000 coalition troops. Just now you said that he can still win, so even if he wins this battle miserably, it is still a victory. How could a madman like him tolerate others taking away his chance to pacify the world? Sir, I remember that you have always admired him and thought that he was an amazing hero, why are you ...... now" Han Sui smiled with satisfaction, reached out and patted Ma Chao's shoulder,

"You've finally grown up, and I didn't suffer that knife in vain." Then he stood up, walked around the room twice with his hands behind his back, and then stopped in front of the window, looked out at the blue sky, and let out a long sigh,

"You know what? After this battle, the general is in danger. Ma Chao was shocked, and his sword eyebrows suddenly stood up,

"Why did you say that, sir?"

"After this battle, Hebei is facing four major crises."

"First, there is a huge loss in troops. The Northern Xinjiang Army was obviously at a disadvantage in terms of strength this time, but Yuan Shao, who had an advantage in troops, was reluctant to fight a decisive battle with it, which led to the Northern Xinjiang Army finally having to take a risk and forcibly attack based on the superiority of the iron cavalry. After the war, it would be good if the Northern Xinjiang Army could keep half of its strength. The serious shortage of troops will lead to a major change in Hebei's military strategy. Li Hong will abandon the offensive and turn to the defensive, concentrate on promoting the new policy, and strive to recover his vitality as soon as possible. ”

"The second is the huge loss of wealth. The time between the Jizhou War and the Central Plains War was too short, and Li Hong forcibly attacked the Central Plains when Hebei's financial endowment was not restored. Although he seized the opportunity to pacify the world, he will also pay a heavy price for it. We can imagine that in order to fight this war, Hebei must have implemented many emergency measures in order to raise money and food, and increasing the taxes and forced labor of the common people and borrowing a large amount of credit from the wealthy are undoubtedly the only way to solve the shortage of financial resources in Hebei, which leads to the third crisis. ”

"In order to restore Hebei's vitality as soon as possible, Li Hong will inevitably continue to levy heavy taxes and forced labor on the people, and will inevitably default on the money borrowed from the gate valve tycoons, and the people will resent the new deal because of this, and the gate valve tycoons will take the opportunity to blackmail Li Hong to revise the new deal according to their requirements, and the contradictions between the top and bottom of Hebei will become more and more intense, the new deal will become shaky in this situation, and the stability of Hebei will be in jeopardy."

"The emergence of these crises in Hebei will immediately affect the struggle for power in the court, which is the fourth crisis in Hebei and the most terrible crisis."

"Over the years, Li Hong has been on expeditions everywhere, and the time spent in Jinyang is only a handful, and all political affairs are entrusted to the eldest princess and a group of courtiers. After the Great War in the Central Plains, Li Hong, under the persecution of many crises in Hebei, must be in a hurry to take back all power, because he has too many problems to solve, and the best way to solve these problems is for him to have the final say. The power is handed over, and if you want to get it back, it will be very difficult, whether it is the eldest princess or the ministers of Jinyang, no one will obey Li Hong, in their eyes, Li Hong at this moment is Dong Zhuo in the past. Li Hong has encountered resistance to regaining power, and the easiest solution is to use force......" Han Sui turned his head to look at Ma Chao, who looked stunned, and said very puzzled: "I don't know what Li Hong has been thinking about in the past few years? But he should remember how Dong Zhuo died, does he want to repeat Dong Zhuo's mistakes? ”

"The general is really in danger." Ma Chao sighed in a low voice,

"Sir, we can send Ling Ming away." Han Sui nodded,

"You go back immediately, take the iron cavalry and quietly rush to Dasanguan, and wait for my attack order." Jump to