Chapter 10 Winning the Central Plains Section 59

"How long we can hold out in Luoyang depends on many factors and cannot be predicted, but if you only look at the amount of food hoarded......" The judge stretched out two fingers,

"250,000 people should be fine for two years." Yuan Shao's face was ugly. Feng Ji sneered,

"With the solidity of Luoyang City, no army can conquer it today, unless Li Hong attacks day and night with an army of 500,000, he has no chance at all. But Li Hong did not have 500,000 troops, and he could only attack Luoyang with an army of 200,000 at most. ”

"You're thinking too simply." The judge shook his hand and said slowly,

"If you want to hold Luoyang, it is far from enough to rely on the army alone."

"After the autumn harvest in October last year, Luoyang began to hoard a large amount of grain, but because Yingchuan was occupied by the Northern Xinjiang Army and Yangzhai City was lost, we could only transport grain from Luyang, Guangyang Pass, Yique Pass, and Dagu Pass to the north, which seriously restricted the speed of grain hoarding. In addition, since we are going to open up the battlefield on the western route, part of Jingzhou's grain must be supplied to the army of the Western Expedition. Once the Battle of Luoyang began this spring, the Northern Xinjiang Army would take the lead in attacking Luyang, and the Yingchuan and Nanyang battlefields would continue to fight, and Liu Biao and Yuan Tan had to prepare grain and grass for this, which led to a great reduction in the grain that the two states could provide to Luoyang. Therefore, if we want to stock up on food that will last for two years, we must ensure that the army can hold Luyang and Gyeonggi Baguan by June. Otherwise, we would not have been able to receive the greatest assistance from Jing and Henan, that is, the 250,000 people in the city would not be able to hold out for two years. ”

"The reason why only 250,000 people remained in the city was mainly due to the lack of food and grass. We have a finite amount of food and grass, and the more people we consume, the faster we will perish. Therefore, from now on, it is immediately ordered that, except for the 200,000 people who have been requisitioned, all other personnel should be evacuated in a hurry, and all the people within the eight passes of Gyeonggi should be evacuated to Jingzhou by March. ”

"At present, there are still 60,000 troops in Luoyang, including new soldiers who have just been recruited before the end of the year. After the Northern Xinjiang Army conquered the Eight Passes, we still had a maximum of 50,000 troops to retreat to Luoyang. Judging from the stock of ordnance in the Luoyang arsenal, the existing ordnance, especially the long arrows, is only enough to consume the 50,000 army for half a year, so we must do everything possible to raise ordnance. At present, what we need most are long arrows, sassal wood, rolling stones, fire oil, rejection horses, deer bars, firewood and grass, Zhuanguan bridges, hanging spleens, tired answers, spiked wooden stakes and other weapons to defend the city. However, due to the huge amount required, we were no longer allowed to requisition from Jing and Henan Prefectures in terms of time, so ......" judge showed a painful look on his face and said weakly: "After the people evacuated, I ordered 200,000 people to demolish all the houses within the eight passes of Luoyang. By demolishing these houses, we will have everything we need to defend the city, iron, wood, firewood, grass, stone, everything we need, and we will save a lot of time. ”

"Kiyono Fortified?" Yuan Wei asked in surprise.

"Everything that can be demolished has been demolished, including the bridge. Those that could not be demolished were set on fire, turning the area outside Luoyang City and within Baguan for nearly 100 miles into ruins. The judge said helplessly,

"If we can hold Luoyang and defeat the Northern Xinjiang Army, we can rebuild in the future, but if we fail, we must completely destroy it, and we must not let it become the rear of the Northern Xinjiang Army to attack us in the south. In fact, everyone knows in their hearts that after the Northern Xinjiang Army enters the Eight Passes, no matter whether Luoyang City can be conquered or not, all places outside Luoyang City will become ruins, which is a tragic fate that Luoyang cannot avoid. ”

"Isn't it too early to decide to clear the wilderness now?" As soon as the trial was finished, Xun Chen stood up impatiently,

"Although the Northern Xinjiang Army occupied Guanzhong last year, Han Sui died, and the Western Xinjiang will definitely be in chaos, those Qiang people have been recuperating for more than ten years, how can they miss such a good opportunity? The western Xinjiang is in chaos, Guanzhong is in danger, and the Northern Xinjiang Army is bound to withdraw. Xun Chen arched his hand and said to Yuan Shao,

"My lord, I think it's better to stick to Luoyang City. Luoyang City is extremely strong, more than enough to defend for a year and a half, plus Liu Bei who opened up the battlefield on the West Road, Liu Biao in Jingzhou, Liu Bei in Yuzhou, and Cao Cao in the Jianghuai area may also help. There are too many opponents in the Northern Xinjiang Army, and when Li Hong concentrates all the forces of Hebei to storm Luoyang, the others will not let go of the opportunity to counterattack in vain, so ......" Xun Chen turned to look at the judge with a cold expression and said,

"I think Brother Zhengnan is too pessimistic, and there is still room for recovery in the current situation."

"Do you believe Li Hong's words?" Chen Lin pointed at Xun Chen and said in surprise,

"Li Hong is a leopard who waits for others, and his words can never be trusted. We stayed in Chen for a few months, and we heard that Li Hong intended to move the capital, and set the capital in Chang'an like Dong Zhuo. Do you know what it means to set the capital of Chang'an? It means that the community is overturned. Li Hong has already made up his mind that he will not only destroy Luoyang, but also destroy my Han Sheji. Chen Lin waved his hand angrily and shouted,

"Brother Zhengnan is very sober, he has a very good personal relationship with Li Hong, knows Li Hong's personality, and understands Li Hong's intentions even more clearly. Let's stop dreaming, cheer up, and fight to the death with Li Hong. There is only a fight to the death, and there is still a glimmer of life. Xun Chen still wanted to argue, but Xin Ping, who was sitting next to him, tugged at the sleeve of his robe and motioned him to stop talking.

There was silence in the room. Yuan Shao sat behind the desk, bowing his head and pondering.

"Since Zhengnan thinks that the Northern Xinjiang Army will soon be able to enter the eighth pass and come to Luoyang, how much can the 200,000 people do?" Feng Ji suddenly stretched out his hand and knocked on the desk,

"We are to cast urns outside the twelve gates of Luoyang, to dig moats, to build fengyuan (low walls of wooden hedges or rammed earth), to lay horse-repellent belts, and to make equipment to defend the city. In this case, they also have to demolish the houses within a radius of nearly 100 miles, and ask them to transport the demolished wood, masonry and stone back to Luoyang. Feng Ji narrowed his eyes and looked at the judge whose face changed slightly, and said coldly,

"Excuse me, is 200,000 people enough? Do we have that much time? ”

"What do you mean?" The trial had a premonition that Feng Ji was going to say something, and suddenly became nervous.

"The people must evacuate immediately, and they will not be able to do so."

"Can't withdraw ......" Feng Ji turned his head to look at the thoughtful Yuan Shao, and said loudly,

"If the Northern Xinjiang Army launches an attack after the beginning of spring, then they will be able to break through the eight passes and enter Luoyang in July or August at the latest. In such a short period of time, it is difficult for us to complete the defensive deployment of Luoyang. ”

"The urn city, the moat, and the Fengyuan have been built as early as September last year, and the city-defying equipment such as the rejecting horse, the deer bar, the bamboo tip, and the Zhuanguan Bridge are currently being laid outside the city. With the current number of people, it will basically be completed in a few months. Although it took time to demolish the houses, it was too late, so we set them on fire. There are a lot of houses in Luoyang City, and if the equipment and materials are insufficient, we can demolish them nearby. The trial was directed at Yuan Shao,

"My lord, we are short of food and grass, the fewer people left, the better, it is better to let the people evacuate as soon as possible."

"We don't have enough food and grass, so is the food and grass of the Northern Xinjiang Army very sufficient?" Feng Ji twisted his short beard and said slowly,

"Leave all the people behind, let them build city defenses, demolish houses, and wait for the Northern Frontier Army to come in, except for the 200,000 people left in the city, all the others will be lost to the Northern Frontier Army. If the Northern Frontier Army kills them, the 200,000 people in the city will become an invincible army because of hatred, and if the Northern Frontier Army takes them in, they will have to be fed, which will consume a lot of food for the Northern Frontier Army. How many people are there within the eight levels? 500,000 or 600,000 people, right? When Li Hong saw the innocent people crying outside the city, what choice would he make? Feng Ji smiled proudly,

"What I admire most about Li Hong is that he took in millions of displaced people during the most difficult time and allowed them to survive. Now it is no exception, he will definitely take these people in and let them live. How much food can the Northern Xinjiang Army have? Li Hong led the army to conquer every year, how long will Hebei's financial empowerment support? Feng Ji stretched out his hand and waved it in the air, and continued complacently: "This method can not only allow us to clear the wall and strengthen the city defense before the Northern Frontier Army conquers the Eight Passes, but also allow the Northern Frontier Army to carry a heavy burden, and we can easily get the time we need." ”

"This is simply drinking doves to quench your thirst and bring about your own destruction." The judge said angrily,

"Leaving these people behind and forcing them to demolish their houses will provoke outrage. When the Northern Xinjiang Army is in Luoyang, throwing them to the Northern Xinjiang Army will make the 200,000 people who remain in the city hate us bitterly. If things get out of control and the 200,000 people in the city turn against us, we will be overturned. This is absolutely not possible. The officials of Luoyang debated fiercely, and the three of them, Xun Chen, and Xin Ping, were resolutely opposed, but Yuan Shao did not adopt their opinions, but accepted Feng Ji's suggestion.

Yuan Shao sent someone to secretly inform the wealthy men of Luoyang, asking them to evacuate Luoyang immediately. At the same time, he urgently ordered all the government offices to post a post, saying that the Son of Heaven had issued an order to temporarily recruit and transfer conscripts and give them rich rewards.

Considering that the forcible demolition of houses would anger the people, Feng Ji, Yuan Zhong, Wang Xiu and others devised a hoax, saying that anyone who demolished houses to help the court resist the rebels would be rewarded twice.

In the future, when the Northern Xinjiang army was defeated, the imperial court not only paid to help them rebuild their homes, but also gave them a certain amount of land as compensation.

Of course, anyone who disobeys the decree will be severely punished for the crime of treason. Yuan Shao originally felt that this method was not very good and it was easy to get into trouble, but Feng Ji's words made him forget about this worry.

Feng Ji said, if Luoyang is lost, what else can adults get? Can it still be supported by the people? The people are like sheep and oxen, if you feed them and clothe them, they will come after you and ask for alms, forgetting all hatred.

They are two-legged animals, if they can't fight, they will be killed, and they will be guaranteed to bow their heads and ears, and they will not dare to snort.

Things have come to this point, everything must be centered on sticking to Luoyang, and it is not easy for the judges and others to say anything, they can only take one step at a time.

In order to delay the time for the Northern Xinjiang Army to attack Luoyang, Yuan Shao asked the trial and others to visit Li Hong again with their own reply and start more detailed negotiations.

Yuan Shao said that before Luoyang's city defense is deployed, the peace talks will continue to drag on, and the longer they drag, the better.

Judging with a wry smile,

"Li Hong is not an idiot. This time to go, he will definitely give us a deadline. It is estimated that before and after spring ploughing, he will definitely give the order to attack. In order to ensure that we can hold Luoyang, I would like to ask you one of the most important questions. Yuan Shao listened attentively.

"Who guards Luoyang?" The judge asked solemnly. Yuan Shao was stunned.

"Of course it won't be an adult." Feng Ji said impatiently. The judges were taken aback. Yuan Wei, Xun Chen and others looked at each other, panicked and uneasy.

If Yuan Shao left Luoyang, how long could Luoyang hold out? New Year's Day, Yizhou, Ba County. After a long journey of more than a month, Liu Bei and Liu Pan led their troops to rendezvous with Zhao Wei and Pang Yi in Jiangzhou (now Chongqing).

Zhao Wei and Pang Yi have not only supported themselves in the past two years with the support of the Bashu people, but also increased their strength.

Ba County, Qianwei, Yizhou, Qiqi and other counties in the southeast of Yizhou were all under his control, and the army also expanded to more than 30,000 people, which Liu Bei and Liu Pan did not expect in advance.

The two were secretly surprised, and their confidence in capturing Yizhou was greatly damaged. Kuai Liang didn't care. A county of Ba has a population of nearly one million, and if Zhao Wei has the ability, how can his army be more than 30,000?

This shows that the people of Yizhou respect the emperor of the Han Dynasty very much, and they are extremely in awe of the officials sent by the imperial court, and Liu Zhang still controls considerable strength in his hands.

Zhao Wei and Pang Yi didn't expect Liu Biao to send such a huge army. They were originally very excited, but when they saw Liu Bei, the general of the chariot and cavalry, and saw the holy decree of the Son of Heaven of the Great Han, they immediately felt that things were different from what they expected, and they were fundamentally different things.

After the defeat of the Central Plains War, Yuan Shao, Liu Biao, Liu Bei, Cao Cao and others lost their strength and struggled, and Liu Bei, who lost Xuzhou, appeared in Yizhou with an army at this moment, and its purpose is self-evident.

Liu Bei read out the decree of the Son of Heaven, Zhao Wei was worshiped as the assassin of Yizhou, Pang Yi was worshiped as the general and the leader of Bajun Taishou, and Liu Zhang was naturally rebellious.

Zhao Wei and Pang Yi accepted the holy decree with smiles on their faces, but their hearts were full of fire and fear. Liu Bei was a general of the chariot cavalry, leading the army to the west to crusade against rebellion, and the reasons were high-sounding.

Liu Pan is the general of Zhenxi, Kuai Liang is the doctor of Guanglu, and the two officials are very large, but they are both controlled by Liu Bei.

By analogy, Zhao Wei and Pang Yi, whose official positions are obviously shorter, will of course be subject to Liu Bei's control.

In other words, after the Western Expeditionary Army defeated Liu Zhang, if Liu Bei Lai did not leave in Bashu, Yizhou was his final say.

My brothers have been working for nothing in the past few years, and they have been busy with Liu Bei. The more the two of them thought about it, the more angry they became, and scolded Liu Biao for a bloody squirt.

At the beginning, Liu Biao wrote clearly in the letter, asking Liu Pan and Kuai Liang to lead the army to help, neither mentioning Liu Bei nor mentioning the imperial decree, who knew that Liu Biao, the old boy, turned out to be a liar.

Of course, if Liu Biao didn't lie to them, how could the Western Expeditionary Army smoothly enter Ba County through Jiangguan?

Zhao Yun and Pang Yi found Kuai Liang and asked him what his intentions were? If Liu Biao and Liu Bei have the intention to join forces to occupy Bashu, everyone will break up.

Kuai Liang smiled calmly, who is it good to tear his face? When we fight, Liu Zhang's army will be killed immediately, and you will die.

We helped Liu Zhang defeat you, Liu Zhang will be very grateful, and we will also have the opportunity to go north to Shu County and enter Chengdu.

Zhao Wei was furious, speaking of which, you still want to occupy Yizhou. Kuai Liang shook his head disdainfully, you give us Yizhou, we don't want it.

What are we doing in Yizhou? Can you defeat Li Hong and pacify the world by staying in Yizhou? Can you go north to conquer and revitalize Sheji?

How can a great man not die with a shameless courtier like you? Zhao Wei and Pang Yi were shocked and angry, and after thinking for a long time, they couldn't figure out the real purpose of Liu Bei's army entering Yizhou, but Kuai Liang's words were right.

Now that the Northern Xinjiang Army has not entered Luoyang, Liu Bei's army should fight in Yuzhou, and he has no reason to go to Yizhou, unless the Northern Xinjiang Army is killed on the edge of the Yangtze River, he has no way to escape, and he can only go to Yizhou, a place where birds don't.

In addition, Kuailiang's threat left them at a loss. There were a large number of troops in the Western Expedition, especially Liu Bei's army, which were all soldiers who had just been withdrawn from the battlefield in the Central Plains.

It seems that it is not possible to admit it today. Zhao Wei and Pang Yi discussed. They have only one choice, there is no other way, but they must ask things clearly before admitting it.

Kuai Liang then explained the situation in the Central Plains, the purpose of the Western Expeditionary Army was to help you stabilize Yizhou first, and then Yizhou would provide grain and grass for the army, help the army enter Hanzhong, and attack Guanzhong from the direction of Hanzhong to the north.

The two suddenly realized, but they were still very vigilant. If the Western Expeditionary Army fails to conquer Guanzhong for a long time, won't Yizhou be dragged down alive?

After the defeat of Chengdu, we must find a way to send this army out anyway. After the army rested for two days, Liu Bei immediately summoned Liu Pan and other generals of the Western Expeditionary Army and Zhao Wei, Pang Yi and other Yizhou officials to discuss how to go north to fight Chengdu.

Zhao Wei was confident and stood in front of the map and talked eloquently. There are three directions from Jiangzhou to Chengdu. One is to follow the Fujiang River north to Fucheng (now Mianyang), and the soldiers are in the north of Chengdu, and this road is generally called

"Neishui", among which Fucheng and Dianjiang (now Hezhou) are the most important passes on the way. The second is to trace the Yangtze River and the Minjiang River from Jiangzhou, and go straight to the south of Chengdu, which is generally called

"Waishui", Nan'an (now Leshan) on the road is the most important city. The third is to enter the Tuojiang River from the west of Jiangzhou, and then go north from the Tuojiang River to Chengdu directly, this road is generally called

"Zhongshui", Han'an (now Neijiang) is the most important city on the way. At that time, the general Cen Peng crusaded against Gongsun Shu, and the troops were divided into two routes in Jiangzhou (now Chongqing).

One route, the general Zang Gong led the army to the inland water and killed to the north of Chengdu. One route was to personally lead the army to the outer waters, directly killing the south of Chengdu, forming a north-south attack.

"Xia Guan suggested that the army be divided into two, one going to the inner water and the other going to the outer water. The main attack of the army of the inner water was the main attack, quietly killing the northern part of Chengdu, while the army of the outer water was the auxiliary attack, attracting Liu Zhang's main army to the southern part of Chengdu. Zhao Wei pointed to the map and said,

"The internal and external water has been the main channel between Jiangzhou and Chengdu since ancient times, and the internal water Fujiang River is particularly important. Fucheng and Dianjiang are two important passes on the Fujiang River, which are located in the upper and lower reaches. Fucheng is located in the north of Chengdu, and taking Fucheng is equivalent to seizing the danger of Chengdu. Dianjiang is the place where the three rivers converge, and the terrain is extremely dangerous. Generally speaking, to protect Chengdu, as long as the upper guard Fucheng, the lower guard the Dianjiang, and control the entire Fushui, Chengdu is worry-free. Zhao Wei looked at Liu Bei and said with a slight smile: "I don't know if the adults go to the inner water or the outer water?" ”

"I'll go to the inner water." Liu Bei said without hesitation,

"The army will leave tomorrow. See you in Chengdu. "Jump to