Chinese New Year

Chapter 505 Risks and Opportunities

In Chaoge City, the bloody massacre has just ended.

Yang Dan led two thousand men and advanced along the street walls, driving the rebellious residents of Shuiwu Fort as the vanguard, killing all the remaining hundreds of enemy soldiers and even accidentally injuring a small number of surrendered soldiers.

The commanders of the fort looked at Yang Dan with pale faces.

Some people knelt beside a corpse and cried bitterly.

That was his son. After he converted early, he and his troops were besieged by the people of Wubao who were loyal to the Dahu, and they held out until the last moment.

Yang Dan led hundreds of soldiers from the Nanyang Le family and killed them all along with the besieging enemy soldiers, without distinguishing between friend or foe.

Even his son was beheaded by Yang Dan before he could say a word.

Theoretically, this was an accidental injury.

It was impossible for Li Zhong to take out his anger on Yang Dan just for a surrendered person from Hebei. He could still distinguish between what was more important and what was not.

Therefore, this loss is inevitable.

Yang Dan licked his lips and wanted to kill this man as well to prevent future trouble.

But there were too many people around, so it was not convenient to do it. I could only think of a solution later.

The private soldiers of the Nanyang noble families quickly took control of various key points in the city, drove the surrendered Hebei people out, and ordered them to pay a visit to Li Chong.

Yang Dan walked into the county government office and looked at the corpses all over the ground with an expressionless face.

What did the people of Hebei Province have to do with him if they were fighting and killing each other? The only thing that made him unhappy was that all their property was robbed, although there were not many valuables in the county government office.

The food in the city was even scarcer. I just sent someone to do a rough count and found that there were about 5,000 to 6,000 bushels of millet, more than 2,000 bushels of wheat, and less than 2,000 bushels of miscellaneous grains, which was very pitiful.

This amount of food is only enough to sustain the 3,000 defenders for a month.

There might be some food in the homes of only three or four hundred people, but how long could they last? If a real fight broke out, the defenders would be unwilling or unable to surrender, and in the end they would have no choice but to plunder all their food and cook their people. This kind of thing was not uncommon since the end of the Han Dynasty.

After inspecting the county government office, Yang Dan climbed to the top of the city wall again.

The two thousand soldiers from noble families that he brought from Nanyang were divided into groups to guard the four gates, which were the most important places.

Another four thousand soldiers from Nanyang just came in and were guarding the top of the city.

The last four thousand men were stationed in the old camp east of the city, forming a pincer attack with Chaoge.

Governor Li Chong had already told him that he was responsible for the defense of Chaoge County. This was a forward base to take over Fangtou South City, and it was very important and could not be lost, so 10,000 people were arranged to defend it.

Besides, it’s actually a reward.

Those who break into the city first will naturally be treated differently, although this one was picked up first.

There were still baggage trains heading to Chaoge from the east bank of the Qi River.

it's necessary.

If you don't take advantage of the favorable opportunity when Shi Le's main force has not yet returned and Zhi Quliu's cavalry has been repelled to transport the supplies, when do you plan to transport them?

If Li Chong planned to continue leading his troops northward, cross the Qi River and attack Dangyin, then Chaoge County would be his logistical fulcrum - Dangyin, as the name suggests, is located on the south bank of the Dangshui River.

To be honest, he felt that Li Chong's going north was not a good thing. But he was the governor, following the military orders of Lord Chen, so what else could he say? Moreover, he heard that Lord Chen was going to send more troops along the way...

Well, since it has come to this, just fight him, and so be it if he dies.

A desolate horn sounded in the wilderness.

The cavalry brigade headed north again, heading towards the Qi River - the Qi River originates in the mountains, flows from west to east within Ji County, and then turns south.

"They are really working hard!" Yang Dan looked at them with a complicated expression and sighed.

******
On May 23rd, within the Kaojo Shogunate, generals and officers were coming in and out, constantly gathering all kinds of information.

Shao Xun sat on a recliner, his eyes wandering over the map on the wall.

The recliner swayed, and his body swayed with it, looking very relaxed.

The war can be said to have begun, because the left-wing governor Li Chong has led his troops north.

On the 19th, we conquered Chaoge.

On the 20th, the vanguard cavalry advanced to the Qi River and seized the stone bridge.

On the night of the 21st, the army set up camp on the north and south banks of the Qi River.

From the south and north cities of Fangtou to Chaoge County of Ji County, the distance is about thirty miles.

Traveling northeast from Chaoge, it is about eighty miles to Dangyin County, Weijun, and you need to cross the Qi River in the middle.

From Dangyin, cross the Dangshui River to the north and it is about forty miles to reach Anyang County.

From Anyang, cross the Huan River to the north and walk another 40 miles to reach Yecheng.

The whole journey is more than 190 miles, less than 200 miles.

Of the 200-li journey, except for the first section of more than 30 miles, the remaining 160 miles could not be covered by rivers, so supplies had to be transported by land. In the middle, it was necessary to cross three east-west rivers and capture the two cities of Dangyin and Anyang that blocked the post road.

For Shao Xun, the risks gradually began to increase, while for Shi Le, opportunities gradually began to emerge.

The news coming back from Yecheng was intermittent and had completely stopped in recent times. Shao Xun didn't know where Shi Le had gone.

Perhaps, he was collecting food while heading south and was not in a hurry to return to Yecheng immediately.

Haha, this little idea is quite vicious.

Shao Xun closed his eyes and outlined another route of advance in his mind.

Light footsteps were heard, followed by the sounds of trays and bowls.

"In the past, in order to fight against Yuan Tan brothers, Cao Mengde specially built Fangtou, dredged the waterway, and headed northeast from Baigou." A familiar voice sounded in my ears.

Shao Xun didn't open his eyes and continued listening.

"In Hebei, even if people's hearts are unstable, Shi Le is more convenient than you in supplying them. If we are not careful on the way north, we may be wiped out."

"You have built the southern city of Fangtou and dredged the old canal of the Qi River. The fleet can go to Fangtou from the river. If we go down the Baigou River, wouldn't it be safer to take over Liyang, Dunqiu and other counties?"

"After Cao Mengde followed the Baigou Canal to Neihuang, he turned northwest and went up the Huan River. He brought his military supplies directly to Anyang and then headed north to surround Yecheng."

Shao Xun raised his lips slightly and sighed, "Reading is good, it makes you know everything about history and the present. Nowadays, some generals are illiterate and don't read, they are not as good as you, Hua Nu."

How did Cao Cao attack Yecheng?
In fact, it was not what most people thought, that they directly rushed to Yecheng and then surrounded it.

In fact, he faced the same dilemma as Shao Xun: how to transport supplies to the city of Ye smoothly, safely and at low cost.

Moreover, the situation Shao Xun faced was worse than that of Cao Mengde, because Shi Le had a large number of cavalry and was more difficult to deal with than the brothers Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang - it was not because of their strength or people's hearts, but mainly because of the type of troops.

It was indeed extremely risky to transport grain directly north from Fangtou.

But if we follow Cao Cao's example and use ships to form a triangle, transport the grain to Anyang by water, and then transfer it by land, it is only a journey of 40 miles, but it is much safer.

Too many wars since the Han Dynasty have been fought over food supplies.

"I'm leaving." Shao Xun sat up, picked up the tea bowl and took a sip, his eyes always on the map.

There were only cities and mountains on the map, but as the supreme commander, he who was planning the war almost day and night, could "see" the unit numbers, troop strength and positions next to the cities and mountains.

But when you go up to the central Hebei region, it's blank.

The assassinating governor was not omnipotent, and Yu Chen had only recruited a part of the people. He had no idea where Shi Le was, how he had arranged himself, and how he was going to fight.

Therefore, since ancient times, military books and strategies have always emphasized the principle of "first make yourself invincible, then make the enemy defeatable." The reason is that without a divine eye, it is impossible to know the enemy's every move, so you must first make yourself airtight, stable, and impeccable, and then seize the enemy's mistakes and defeat them in one fell swoop.

Of course, it's all easy to say but not so easy to do.

This not only tests the level of the commander-in-chief, but also the ability of the generals under him. Even the subjective initiative, battlefield reading ability, and adaptability of the middle-level officers can influence the final outcome of the battle.

In war, victory is not guaranteed just by being strong and able to fight; there is uncertainty.

"So anxious? The elite soldiers with silver spears haven't reached Fangtou yet, right?" Concubine Pei came over and massaged his head.

"Although we won the first battle, it's not so sure." Shao Xun said: "Yin Qi, the deputy commander of the Yicong Army, was seriously injured and died. I have withdrawn his troops. With such a small number of cavalry, we have to open the way to save time, cover the chariot formation, provide protection for the fleet, and even chase and defeat the enemy. It's not enough. If Shi Le wants to defeat me, he can only make a difference with the cavalry. This is his only chance."

"Since you have made up your mind, then go ahead." Concubine Pei said, "Kaocheng has 3,000 people, which is enough to defend the city. Tang Jian, Liu Qia, and Man Heng, who are deployed along the river, do you want to go north?"

"These peasant soldiers have average combat effectiveness, so they should stay in Henan." Shao Xun pondered for a moment and said, "Besides, I am also worried that something might happen in the east, or even in the south."

"Is there enough food?"

"Many places have reported that the crops are not growing well this year, and there may be a poor harvest in the fall. It is better to save some for now."

"It's good that you know what's going on." Concubine Pei straightened his robe and said, "Don't take risks. If you lose one or two games now, you won't be seriously injured."

Shao Xun nodded slightly.

There is a difference between defeat and failure.

If the defeated troops are a ragtag group of troops, it is not a big deal. To put it more darkly, it is not necessarily a bad thing.

If it was his own troops that were defeated, he would become Liu Xiu. He might even want to be Liu Xiu but couldn't, after all, his status was far inferior to theirs.

"After I leave, Yanzhou should be kept quiet. Even if there are Hu cavalry coming south to attack, you must close the gates and defend yourself, and do not act rashly. Anyone who dares to come here to ask for troops will not be allowed." Shao Xun gave his final instructions.

"Okay." Concubine Pei nodded and looked out the window.

At noon, the sun was blazing and the fighting was fierce.

She was just an outsider, but she felt tremendous pressure.

As the saying goes, a single move can affect the entire body. People who are fully involved in it have to consider far more things than she does, and the worries can be imagined.

The poem only says that the enemy was defeated in the midst of laughter and chat, deliberately concealing the thrilling step-by-step process and the detailed and tedious preparations, making people think that war is a very simple matter, which is really wrong.

"Will Liu Cong..." Concubine Pei suddenly thought of something and asked.

Shao Xun didn't answer for a long time.

Maybe this problem bothers him too.

(End of this chapter)