sweeping the world

Chapter 432 The key lies in Jijin

Xie An's conquest of Xingyang played a pivotal role in the battle. Shihu's headquarters lost Xingyang and had no way to retreat to the west. Even if Shihu wanted to retreat, it could not be heading south or east. It should be heading towards Shijie. The northern part of Zhao State's control area.

"There are seven bridges in Jijin, three of which were built during the Zhaoxuan (that is, Liu Bingji) period and have been used until today, and the other four are temporary pontoon bridges." Ji Chang walked to the shelf where the map of mountains and rivers was hung, and pointed out Looking at the map, he explained in detail: "The four pontoon bridges can be easily burned with fire, but the bridges with stone as the main structure are quite difficult to destroy. If you want to cut off the stone tiger's retreat to the north, you can only take it by force and then firmly control it. "

What Liu Yan needed to know was whether the three bridges built in Zhaoxuan could allow warships to pass through, and if so, what kind of warships should they be.

"I have collected a lot of information, and I have asked Yuan Shijie officials and military scouts who have seen the bridges with their own eyes." Ji Chang kept nodding, and said with some rejoicing: "The three bridges are all stone hole bridges. For the navigation problem of buildings and ships, the height of the holes in the middle was designed to be close to three feet at the beginning of construction.”

In the past, the Western Han Dynasty attached great importance to the use of water systems. This was the ideological awareness generated by Emperor Xiaowu of the Han Dynasty when he attacked the south. After the destruction of those countries in the south, the Western Han army did not immediately put aside the importance of boats, and even followed the attack. Jizi North Korea paid more attention to the military use of boats in the use of water troops.

By the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Western Han Dynasty had greatly reduced its emphasis on boats. However, the importance of the bridge at Jijin in connecting the north and south banks of the Yellow River cannot be overemphasized. Therefore, all dynasties of the Eastern Han Dynasty attached great importance to the maintenance of bridges.

The importance of the water army is that it was at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty that the princes fought among the princes, especially when Cao Wei was bound to go south, the northern and southern princes refocused their attention on the construction of the water army, but it must be explained that their eyes were on the Yangtze River rather than the Yellow River.

The ships under Liu Yan's command are not building ships, but more inclined to the style around 1000 AD. The ships with the highest masts are crossbow ships, and the tallest masts are less than two feet.

In the Western Han Dynasty, there were five-story boats, and three-story boats were more common. Therefore, the design of the Jijin Bridge is estimated to be three feet long to allow three-story boats to pass.

Liu Yan looked through the military report. The fleet departing from Qingzhou arrived at the Yellow River section in Zhu'a County. Without accident, it will appear near the river section in Dunqiu County within four days. The difference is whether it needs to be mobilized or not. come over.

"The fleet is moving westward in large numbers, so we can't keep it secret for a long time." Liu Yan looked at Ji Chang and asked, "Based on Tai'an's estimate, how long will it take for Shi Hu to know that Xingyang has fallen, and when will he find our fleet?"

"It takes more than 600 miles to travel from Xingyang to Puyang County. Calculated based on the speed of Kuaima's quick report, it should have been before or after we know it, and the delay will not exceed one day." Ji Chang smiled, but said again: "Thank you What An did after conquering Xingyang was to block the road immediately, whether Shihu can know the battle in the west is another matter."

Blocking the road can at most achieve the purpose of delaying, it is impossible to say that a certain message will be blocked forever.From such a matter, Liu Yan can see that Xie An is not only a person with military literacy but also understands the layout of the country.

"I thought about it carefully. It is not necessary to send troops to Yecheng or Xiangguo, but it is necessary to take the first step to capture Yangping, Dunqiu, Ji and other counties." The counties mentioned by Ji Chang are all located on the north bank of the Yellow River. It is a few counties around Puyang County.He asked: "Your Majesty, do you want Huan Wen's troops and the troops in Zhu'a to act from two sides at the same time?"

Huan Wen's troops went north and then made a detour, they could only take the Guancheng (under the jurisdiction of Xingyang County) line, and then detour through Hanoi County.He no longer has as many as [-] troops under his command. The [-] armored cavalry equipment will definitely be transferred to the Puyang battlefield, and some cavalry that needs to be used in the decisive battle will also be partly transferred. The remaining will not exceed [-]. infantry.

Zhu Ah's Han army numbered [-], part of which was transferred from the Xuzhou garrison, and [-] were promoted from auxiliary soldiers to combat soldiers, which was equivalent to a field corps that was almost half divided between old and new, and its combat effectiveness had not been tested.

"The main force of Shi Jie gathered on the Puyang battlefield, and the outer areas were basically composed of Zahu and Jin slave soldiers." Ji Chang's meaning was very clear. Whether it was the troops reorganized from the original Qin State of the Ran clan or the newly formed field corps, they actually had to deal with the The Shijie Zhao army composed of Zahu and Jin people had no obvious disadvantages.He pointed at the Yellow River and said: "Besides, the river is controlled by our army. With the convenience of the water system, the king can provide rapid reinforcements at any time according to actual needs."

Liu Yan needs to ask the most critical question: "When do you think it is appropriate to launch a decisive battle?"

"A decisive battle?" Ji Chang said in amazement: "Your Majesty, what needs to be achieved most at present is to besiege the main force of Shihu. Naturally, the real decisive battle can be done slowly."

This is what Liu Yan must know, whether he can complete the siege of Shihu, and how long it will take before launching a decisive battle.From his point of view, the civil officials headed by the left and right prime ministers thought that the later the decisive battle, the better.

"The enemy's national strength is weak, and the preparations for the war are not sufficient. On the contrary, our army is not short of supplies." Ji Chang seemed to have a smirk?He said: "In the process of encircling Shihu's headquarters, we must not expect Shihu to watch helplessly. In that case, it will be a series of battles. Fang Caichen said that the real decisive battle is the final stage. In fact, the decisive battle is when we lay a siege. It has already started when Shihu is in the headquarters."

Speaking of it, Liu Yan entered into a misunderstanding, and he immediately realized what Ji Chang said.

It is true that since Shi Hu personally led his army to join the war, the decisive battle between Han and Shi Jie Zhao has already begun. It was just that the two sides fought a little slowly in the early stage, but it cannot be denied that the fate of the two countries was determined there. moment.

"The king has ordered the recruitment of another 20 troops. The first batch of new recruits will arrive on the battlefield in September at the latest?" Ji Chang was not asking at all. That was a matter that had already been set in the national policy. He expanded this topic for the sake of the future. if.He said: "Looking at the current situation, if nothing unexpected happens, the troops from Yuzhou, Sizhou, Yanzhou, etc. will be able to gradually eliminate the peripheral enemy forces in September, and then the troops from all parties will move towards the Puyang battlefield. Compress."

The number of Han troops serving in the Puyang battlefield is very large. Counting the group led by Liu Yan, the total number of Han troops including the imperial guards has exceeded 30.

Relatively speaking, Shihu used more troops. There are 30 to 50 people in the headquarters of the Jie tribe alone. If there are [-] troops, Shihu will use nearly [-] troops.

Historically, battles in which the combined strength of both sides approached one million are rare. The more famous ones are the Battle of Changping, the Siege of Baideng, and the Battle of Out of the Fortress (Wei Qing of the Western Han Dynasty was the commander). Even if there are not many people killed or injured, it will definitely hurt the vitality of both parties involved in the war.

It is very clear that if someone becomes a soldier, the society will reduce the labor force, and production stagnation will become inevitable.So it is not crazy enough and forced, no ruler will do something that is detrimental to the national strength.

The 50 that Shihu drew were all young and strong, not Yao Yizhong's previous model of dragging his family and leading his family. According to the social customs of Hu people, young and strong and even healthy women can be regarded as soldiers who can play. It is the level of combat effectiveness.

After Ji Chang left, Liu Yan read the previous battle report.

In the past seven months, the warring parties in Puyang County alone have caused nearly 17 casualties, the Han army's combat power has been reduced by nearly [-], and the Shijie Zhao army's estimated casualties are close to [-]. Ten thousand.On the outer battlefield, [-] of Sun Fudu's troops in Shijie's Zhao army were destroyed, and the Shijie Zhao army led by Fan Tan, Cao Fu, Yinong, etc. lost nearly [-]. The battle damage exceeded [-].

Now it is a loss of tens of thousands and tens of thousands. If it were five years ago, Liu Yan's soldiers and civilians would be in the early ten thousand.

The current population of the Han Kingdom has been steadily rising. It was because the conquest liberated the Jin people (including all ethnic groups) under Shi Jie's rule, and people from the south of the Yangtze River continued to move north to seek refuge.The new census has not yet been carried out. Liu Yan's rough understanding from Ji Chang and Sang Yu is that the total population of Han State, including slaves, is close to 700 million.

In just five years, from almost nothing to a population of 700 million under its rule, the speed of its rise can be described as astonishing.The bigger the stall, the more problems and troubles it brings, the most worrisome one is the local tyrants.

By the end of August, Liu Yan, who had been in Fan County, kept listening to the development of the war situation. The progress of the war was both fast and slightly chaotic.

The headquarters of Huanwen had already crossed the Yellow River and entered the territory of Jijun. The reaction of the Shijie Zhao army was that the reinforcements from Sizhou continued to arrive and joined forces with Cao Fu's troops to block it. The two sides seemed to be fighting in Xiuwu. The Shijie Zhao army lost to the Han The army retreated to Chaoge, and Huan Wen led his army to pursue him and beat him again in the field near Chaoge.

The Han army led by Li Kuang from Zhu'a to the north first entered Qinghe County. They made great strides in the early stage without encountering effective resistance. When they advanced to Suoyang City in Yangping County, they were intercepted by the Shijie Zhao army led by Yinong. The war radiates outwards from the center of Suoyang City, and it is still in a state of war.

The key core of the whole war, that is, the battlefield in Puyang County, Shi Hu did not stay where he was, and half of the troops were once withdrawn from Baima to Wen Shijin, and it was also to assist Cao Fu in attacking Huan Wen's troops. action.During this period, Ran Min ordered Xu Zheng to lead his army to advance to Baima. Before the Han army reached the city of Baima, they encountered Shijie's Zhao army led by Shi Xuan. The third battle of Weicheng.

"Your Majesty, you can let Dahe's fleet enter the field." Ji Chang looked extremely tired. With his official position as Prime Minister Zuo, he not only had to deal with state affairs, but also acted as a counselor to regulate the war that broke out.He looked at Liu Yan, who was sitting in the head of the military tent with his eyes closed, and said in a hoarse voice, "The Habayashi Army and Imperial Guard Army who have been preparing to seize the Jijin Bridge should also be dispatched."

The Huben Army and the Yulin Army had been staying in Fan County with Liu Yan, and Huan Wen's [-] armored riding gear had also arrived in Fan County.The first batch of [-] Han troops recruited later arrived in Fan County, and the number of Han troops led by Liu Yan, including the imperial guards, was as high as [-].

The armor and riding equipment reorganized from the original Ran family's Qin army were not merged into the Huben Army. The number of Huben Army not counting the auxiliary riders was [-], and including [-] auxiliary riders, the total was [-].

The Habayashi Army is an assault cavalry that combines close combat and long-distance attack. The source of troops comes from the first batch of veterans who are good at riding.

Whether they are foot auxiliaries or auxiliary riders, they are all different types of servants. The difference is that they are mostly service-oriented and rarely have the opportunity to participate in battles. However, they are not unable to fight when necessary, but their combat effectiveness is lower than that of combat soldiers. .

Liu Yan opened his eyes, and his eyes looked a little sharp: "Prime Minister Zuo thinks that the war has reached a critical moment?"

Shi Hu has already begun to try to break out of the encirclement, how can it not be a critical moment when the war has developed to this point.Whether Jijin can be captured is related to whether Shihu's breakthrough is closed, so Jijin is a must for Shijie's Zhao army or Han army.

"Here we are." Ji Chang saluted very solemnly, and said, "The competition for Jijin is the key."

Liu Yan was silent for a moment, recalling and thinking about the control areas and troop deployments of the two warring parties. Recently, Shi Hu has continued to increase the number of defenders in Ji Jin. Most of the heavy infantry in the Dragon Guards have also been deployed to Ji Jin. It seems that Shi Hu Donggong Gaoli under Xuan was also transferred.

Judging from the past battles, the soldiers of the Jie people are both ferocious and violent, and the most elite among them are the Longteng Guards and Donggong Gaoli.

When the Han army was fighting the ordinary Shijie Zhao army, the battle loss ratio was basically in a favorable exchange, and when fighting the Longteng Guards and Donggong Gaoli, the battle loss ratio was at a disadvantage.

"Habayashi Army and [-] Imperial Guards..." Liu Yan had to ask, "Is it enough?"

"I just mentioned these two numbers in particular, not just let the two troops go." Ji Chang smiled wryly, and said, "I don't trust you so much."

Liu Yan understood that Longteng Guards and Donggong Gaoli put a lot of pressure on the Han army, and no one dared to underestimate them.He didn't need to wait for Ji Chang to say anything, he ordered Wang Meng to get the troops ready to move out, and at the same time issued orders to the troops everywhere.

It will not be easy to seize Jijin, especially since the obstacles on the road must be cleared first. The fleet that will block the Yellow River, including Huan Wen and Li Kuang, will be under tremendous pressure. After all, the Shijie and Zhao troops on the periphery can He doesn't have the guts not to rescue Shi Hu, and Shi Hu will definitely fight back for his own sake.

"I don't understand." Liu Yan was really confused: "Could it be that Shi Hu didn't realize what we wanted to do from the beginning?"

Ji Chang is not easy to answer this question, fighting is originally a matter of you plotting me and I plotting you, that's why you need to be cautious in everything.

(End of this chapter)