Chapter 1118 Tune the tiger away from the mountain
Although there is a shortage of horses in the south, it is not suitable for raising cavalry, but the south is good at boats, and even better at climbing mountains. The sailors and mountain infantry in the south are all first-class, not to mention there are many elite mountain cavalry.
Fuzhou and Hangzhou were joined by officers and soldiers from the Donghai Division one after another. By the time they arrived at Dengzhou Penglai Port on the Donglai Peninsula, the number of troops had reached 80,000.
Among them, there were 10,000 soldiers from the Sanshui Division of the South China Sea, Donghai and Beihai, and about 20,000 officers and soldiers from various places along the way.
After arriving in Dengzhou, Qin Lang also planned to go ashore and return to Luoyang.
But as soon as the ship entered the port, Niu Jinda came to greet him.
"Why is Mr. Niu here? Shouldn't you go to Pyongyang, at least you should be in Beisha?" Qin Lang was a little surprised.
Although he said that this journey was very fast, it took almost a month.
He originally predicted that the Eastern Expedition should already be in full swing.
Lao Niu, as the governor of Zhendong Dadu, the governor of Jinzhou, the governor of Jinzhou, and the hand-picked chief of the Pyongyang Road Marching, commanding the navy and horses, why did he come back to Dengzhou instead?
"You have such a large fleet going north, who doesn't know? I was also surprised in Beisha, my good guy, I have a total of 40,000 horses in my hands now, and you are lucky, you just got 80,000, this Pyongyang road march It’s up to you, Chief Manager.”
Qin Lang waved his hand, "I don't want to take your position, but there's nothing I can do about everyone volunteering to join the army."
"I will leave all the people to you and the boat to you. I will go back to Luoyang first."
The old cow took Qin Lang's arm, "Luoyang, don't rush back, the prince is not in Luoyang now."
"Not in Luoyang? Didn't you say that the crown prince is in Luoyang to supervise the country?"
"The original plan was like this, but now the prince is in Dingzhou."
Qin Lang was a little puzzled. He sailed at sea for a month, and although he often stopped at the port in the middle, he really didn't know the news, so he could only ask Lao Niu.
Lao Niu told the truth. The original plan was that the prince would return to Luoyang to supervise the country, and the emperor would go north to conquer in person.
When the emperor drove north from Qizhou, Zhang Jian, the governor of Yingzhou, and Shi Chengmingzhen, the governor of Youzhou, were also sent as forwards. Ten thousand Hu cavalry marched towards the Liaohe River.
"Could it be that Cheng Mingzhen and Zhang Jian were defeated? No way?"
Cheng Mingzhen is also an old acquaintance. When Qin Lang was ordered to go to Youzhou in the ninth year of Wude, Cheng Mingzhen was the governor of Mingzhou. During the great chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, he joined the rebel army in an uprising, and later voted for Dou Jiande and became a county magistrate.
When he was the county magistrate, Hebei was very chaotic at that time. No bandit dared to enter the country. In the battle of Liangping Liu Heitai, Cheng Mingzhen also made a lot of contributions. Afterwards, he was granted the title of Duke of Dongping County and Governor of Yingzhou. The revenge of killing his wife.
In these years, Lao Cheng has been staying in Hebei. He has a good official reputation and political achievements. He is a rare talent with all-around civil and military skills.
As for Zhang Jian, he is a relative, the grandson of the great ancestor Li Yuan, and the son of Zhang Zhi, the Duke of Liancheng County. , Zhenfu North, named Wancheng County Duke.
Although Zhang Jian is a foreign relative, he is also a general, and he is still very good at fighting.
These two are forwards, so it is unlikely that anything will go wrong.
Lao Niu explained that Zhang Jian and Cheng Mingzhen were both generals in the north of Jiuzhen. They were especially familiar with the western part of Liaoning, had a good relationship with the Xiqi tribe, and knew the Goguryeo people in eastern Liaodong very well.
Li Shimin was still on the way, so he asked these two to take the lead. In fact, he just asked them to test the Goguryeo people.
As for the two, they also acted quickly after receiving the order. It took half a month to gather 25,000 people from the Tang, Xi, and Khitan families in the White Wolf City in western Liaoning, which was more than the original plan of 13,000 people. Nearly half of the extra soldiers belonged to Xi Qi's two departments.
These two, especially the Khitan, have had a lot of friction with the Goguryeo people in recent years, because they are neighbors. The Khitan leader has a good relationship with the Tang Dynasty in recent years. soldiers, they immediately dispatched 10,000 soldiers.
The same is true for the Xi Department, who sent double troops to assist.
"The two generals Cheng and Zhang are leading the army to the end!"
From Youzhou to Liaodong, there are four roads. We are used to walking along the coast of Liaoxi. The sea lanes sometimes come and go, and they are the most passable.
When the Sui conquered Goguryeo, it was the road of Lulong. General Yan Kai of the Qin State defeated Donghu, Cao Cao defeated Wuhuan, and Huo Qubing took down the Xiongnu Zuoxian Wangting. They all took this road. From the river to Chengde, walk another two hundred miles to Lingyuan, and then follow the Daling River to Liucheng.
This road passes through mountains and ridges, and there are many rivers along the way.
The second is Gubei Road, which is not often traveled.
Go northward from Youzhou along the Chaohe River, then take a section of mountain road to Luanping, then along the Luanhe River to Chengde, then to Lingyuan, and then go up the Laoha River to Chifeng. of.
The Banghai Road actually became the main road after the Song Dynasty, which is the Beijing-Harbin Expressway in our later generations. In this era, this road is like crossing a grassland. When the sea tide rises, the road will be flooded seven or eight times. Eighth, the biggest problem is that the end of the road is Daliaoze on the west bank of the Liaohe River.
There are more than a thousand miles from north to south, and two hundred miles from east to west. Such a huge swamp area, especially in spring and summer, is simply impassable.
The Way of Infinity starts from Infinity, passes through Lulong, goes up to Bailang City along the Daling River along the Qinglong River, and then to Liucheng. This road is said to have existed since the Shang Dynasty. The twists and turns of the large intestine are particularly difficult, so this road has not been the main road for a long time.
However, Cheng Mingzhen and Zhang Jian took this endless road.
They gathered in White Wolf City, then went to Liucheng, and then ventured across Liaoze to raid Huaiyuan Town.
This Huaiyuan town was established by Yang Guang when he conquered Liao. It is on the east of Daliaoze, on the Liaohe defense line, and is an outpost of the Liaodong Great Wall defense line in Goguryeo.
Cheng Mingzhen and Zhang Jian are indeed quite capable, gathering from Youzhou to White Wolf City, then galloping to Liucheng, Yingzhou, Western Liaoning, and then crossing Liaoze to raid Huaiyuan.
It can be said that the army is advancing rapidly.
The people of Goguryeo were also caught off guard, because the Tang Dynasty did not declare war at all, and their princes were still in court on Mount Tai. Who would have thought that they would fight if they said so.
Fortunately, although Huaiyuan was built by the Sui army before, it has been occupied by Goguryeo all these years. When building the defense line of the Great Wall in Liaodong, Huaiyuan was also reinforced.
There are thousands of soldiers and horses stationed here, and a lot of military equipment and food are stored.
Facing the incoming Tang army, they immediately lit the beacon and called for reinforcements.
Seeing beacon smoke in Liaodong City in the rear, they immediately mobilized soldiers and horses to rescue.
"Cheng Mingzhen and Tang Jian attacked for several days and did not fall. Tens of thousands of horses from Goguryeo came to help. The two sides fought a battle under the Huaiyuan city. The second general Cheng and Zhang retreated with their troops. The Goguryeo army did not dare to chase into Liaoze."
Qin Lang listened for a long time, "And then?"
Lao Niu said, "Although the two generals Cheng and Zhang failed to capture Huaiyuan Town, they were just a test. They retreated into Liaoze but did not go far away. This made the Goguryeo people keep increasing their troops in Huaiyuan, and many of them came from Liaohe. The defense line has been pulled over, which has caused the strength of other parts of the Liaodong defense line to weaken a lot."
"Old Cheng has already set off from Youzhou. He is walking on Lulong Road and is rushing to Liucheng. He has already let out rumors that he will reinforce the second general Cheng Zhang and take Huaiyuan in one fell swoop. So now the Goguryeo people are starting to deploy troops again. Huaiyuan."
Qin Lang could smell some conspiracy.
Cheng Mingzhen and Zhang Jian were just trying to find out, or they deliberately tried to scare the snake away, and then diverted the tiger away from the mountain. Cheng Yaojin, the general manager of Liaodong Road, is the army coach, and he leads the main force.
Cheng Mingzhen first went to Huaiyuan to feign an attack and mobilized Goguryeo soldiers. Now Cheng Yaojin came with troops and said that he would reinforce Huaiyuan. This was obviously a lie to the Goguryeo people.
"Where does Lao Cheng want to call?"
Niu Jinda smiled and said, "Can you hide this from Saburo?"
Qin Lang took out the map and looked at it for a while, and then he understood.
"Even if Lao Cheng rushed to Huaiyuan with the main force, Huaiyuan is now heavily populated by Goguryeo, and there is a strong city like Liaodong City behind it, not to mention a newly built Liaodong Great Wall, and behind them is the Great Liaoze. If it rains, it will be difficult for Liaoze to act, and the logistical supply will be very difficult at that time, it is impossible for Lao Cheng to choose to beat the Goguryeo people here, so I guess he is trying to divert the tiger away from the mountain."
"The real goal is Tongding, isn't it?"
"Sure enough, you can't hide anything from Saburo."
Tongding City is in the north of Daliaoze, four hundred miles away from Huaiyuan. Like Huaiyuan, it was originally guarded by Goguryeo soldiers. But now Tang Jun has transferred Tongding and many nearby elites to Huaiyuan with a simple move.
"Then what does all this have to do with me? Why did the prince come to Dingzhou?"
"Of course the relationship is very important. If this strategy is successful, Lao Cheng will be able to win Tongding in one fell swoop. At that time, the natural danger of Liaohe River will be destroyed by itself. If you cross Liaohe River, you can directly take Gaimu City, an important town in northern Liaobei. By then Use Gaimu as your base, after resting, go southward to attack Liaodong City, with Gaimu City as your rear, stockpile food, grass and equipment, you will be in an invincible position."
Because the plan is progressing smoothly now, Li Shimin hastened to go north, preparing to rush directly to Liucheng in Yingzhou, and the next step is to sit in Gaimucheng.
Therefore, the emperor asked the prince not to return to Luoyang, but to go directly to Dingzhou to supervise the country, where he was responsible for the transfer of grain, grass, luggage, etc.
(end of this chapter)