Zhao Kuangyin shouted, "Hurry up and save Brother Li." A group of brothers came forward to hug Li Jixun, some grabbed his arms, and some grabbed his hands, and finally they took the sword away.
Li Jixun looked at the remaining defeated soldiers and generals around him, feeling grief and indignation. He sighed and said: "I endured the killing of my eldest son by a villain like Li Yun. But in the end, we were still defeated so miserably. How can I still live with dignity?"
He looked up and saw endless mountains in front of him. The mountains were desolate in early winter and the cold wind was howling in the miserable valley, as if there was no hope ahead.
Zhao Kuangyin hurriedly advised: The victory or defeat of this battle is not because Brother Li is inferior to others, nor is it because Guo Shao is more capable, but the strength of the troops is different. Brother Li's 20,000 local militiamen have even less fighting power, and Guo Shao also has 20,000 troops. But the troops under Guo Shao's command are elite troops left over from several dynasties and wars, and they are the imperial guards supported by the national finances and taxes; in addition to 20,000 people, he also has horses. At that marching speed, at least half of the war horses of the entire imperial guards were mobilized. 20,000 and 20,000 are completely different strengths, and cannot be judged by the number of people alone.
The troops and horses used by Guo Shao cost at least five times as much national strength as the local garrison troops. Therefore, Brother Li was restricted in all aspects of his mobility and combat power, which was beyond human control.
Li Jixun said dejectedly: The previous emperor had just passed away, and he was able to quickly stabilize Tokyo and mobilize heavy troops; he was also able to suddenly attack at this critical juncture. I always feel that it is not just luck. Maybe I am doomed to fail as soon as I start the war. It is simply like hitting a rock with an egg.
Zhao Kuangyin's face was quite embarrassed. Li Jixun was forced to start a rebellion just because he was one of the ten brothers of Yishe. Now, he is in the same situation as himself, and all the strength in his hands has been lost.
And helping Li Jixun blow up the wall also ruined things. Guo Shao was able to blow it down, but Zhao Kuangyin made it like that. It's true that different trades are like different mountains. Zhao Kuangyin thought that he might not pay attention to the seal. At this time, he remembered that the fireworks had a hole in front, and the gunpowder also rushed to the opening. With his life experience, he finally figured out the reason; but at that time, time was tight, and he really didn't pay attention to it.
Zhao Kuangyin saw Li Jixun looking into the distance, and he also looked at the mountains and rivers. Zhao Pu said that if Heaven would give me a great mission, who else could I take it? He thought it was something like fate, but at this moment, he felt that the great things in his heart seemed to be getting farther and farther away.
We can only surrender to Li Chongjin. Brother Li, when you meet Li Chongjin, don't blame him for his slowness and delay, which will only increase resentment. Zhao Kuangyin advised that no matter how bad Li Chongjin is, he is still a general from the Great Zhou Dynasty. He is the same as us and easy to talk to. If the Northern Han rulers find that we are not of much value, who will care about us
Where is Li Chongjin? Guo Shao asked in the Jinzhou City headquarters.
Murong Yanzhao said: Yesterday’s intelligence was in a dark place.
Guo Shao looked down and found that the name of Yindi was not marked on the map. He had drawn this map based on the descriptions of the border reports from Hedong from the Privy Council. It was very rough. The court had not prepared to deal with the Northern Han in recent years, and the preparations for this expedition were not sufficient.
Where is it? Guo Shao asked.
Murong Yanzhao said: "It is estimated to be more than a hundred miles along the Fen River to the north." Guo Shao asked in detail: "More than a hundred miles, how many miles?"
Murong Yanzhao shouted: Come, call the governor of Jinzhou and the chief secretary.
Guo Shao was not surprised by this. Murong Yanzhao was somewhat famous in the Zhou Dynasty and was considered a good general, but the good generals of that era would not have such a clear understanding of the terrain that was too far away. They did not pay attention to details.
Second brother. Guo Shaodao, you go to the army now and distribute Li Jixun's surrendered soldiers and the confiscated dry food to each army; we don't have much wheat cakes, so we need to replenish some military food first. Li Gu has not arrived in Jinzhou yet, but Li Jixun's camp has seized a lot of food, so our supply is not a problem at the moment.
Xiang Gong asked: Marshal Guo is ready to take the initiative to attack Li Chongjin
Guo Shao hesitated and did not answer.
Soon, a group of civil officials from Jinzhou arrived at the headquarters, and Guo Shao asked Murong Yanzhao to call the scouts of the Jinzhou army who were reporting the military situation. He asked very carefully, including where the terrain was, where the town was, and how far the distance was.
Zuo You and others were used to Guo Shao's style, but the civil and military officials of Jinzhou might find it strange. Guo Shao did not say anything about military tactics, but was absorbed in all the details. While drawing pictures, he also scribbled down everyone's descriptions in his own handwriting.
Guo Shao had almost figured out the general situation of the terrain, climate, population density, etc. from Jinzhou along the Fen River, there was a corridor, with the Luliang Mountains on the west and the Taiyue Mountains on the east. The valley 250 miles north of Jinzhou was all hilly, and the road was not very easy to walk, but fortunately the hills between the two mountains were relatively low; after more than 200 miles, you will enter the southern plain of Taiyuan, where the terrain is very flat.
One hundred miles north of Yindi is Fenzhou, which is heavily guarded by the Northern Han Army, Murong Yanzhao reminded.
After hearing this, Guo Shao hurriedly took a ruler to measure on the map, drew a circle, and wrote Fenzhou. At the same time, he said: "No matter how many troops there are in Fenzhou, they cannot be the main force of the Northern Han army. The main force of the Northern Han army should be in Taiyuan. Taiyuan is 380 miles away from the Yindi where Li Chongjin is. Unless Li Chongjin joins forces with the Northern Han army to go south, it will be too late to rescue Li Chongjin."
The information was still incomplete, and was completely different from the preparations he had made when he attacked Qin Feng; now he only had a general understanding and many things were just guesses.
Guo Shao took the trouble to confirm that Li Chongjin's troops were on the east side of the Fen River. Although this kind of thing was almost unnecessary to ask, Li Chongjin came from Liaozhou in the south of the Northern Han Dynasty; Jinzhou was also on the east bank of the Fen River. Li Chongjin was originally to reinforce Jinzhou, so of course he should march from the east bank. But Guo Shao still had to ask.
The commander of the scout camp said: It’s on the east coast.
Shi Yanchao and other generals looked at Guo Shao, waiting for his decision.
Guo Shao couldn't resist the temptation of military exploits, but he was still very cautious. His eyes were filled with mixed emotions of excitement, desire and restraint. He asked in a deep voice: Can we attack Li Chongjin
Shi Yanchao couldn't wait to say: "We have already walked a thousand miles, so why should we walk another 150 miles? Let's do it."
Xiang Gongdao: Yindi is close to the territory of the Northern Han Kingdom. The north is flat and the maneuverability is fast. When Li Chongjin heard that Li Jixun was defeated, he was very likely to retreat; if he retreated, he would be at the border of Fenzhou. If the Zhou army chased into the Northern Han Kingdom, it would be better to pay attention to the Northern Han army.
What Xiang Jie said was very true. Murong Yanzhao also reminded him that General Guo only had 20,000 men after all, and it would be a bit hasty to fight the Northern Han army now. But the Northern Han had been keeping its troops inactive for a while, so it was not certain that they would meet.
Shi Yanchao said: "The rebels were vulnerable. Li Chongjin was not much stronger than Li Jixun. He was defeated in half a day. After the battle, the Northern Han dared to chase to Jinzhou to fight against the Great Zhou. If Liu Jun had not relied on the Khitans, he would have been destroyed seven or eight times.
Guo Shao felt that the Northern Han army was not as bad as Shi Yanchao said. Back then, Chai Rong mobilized hundreds of thousands of troops to besiege Taiyuan, but failed. At that time, the Khitan only dispatched a few thousand cavalry to Xinkou for reinforcement. However, the current Northern Han leader Liu Jun is indeed not as courageous as his predecessor.
Guo Shao calmed down, ignored the generals' comments, and once again pondered the map he had just drawn and some information. When faced with temptation, anger and other emotional influences, people are prone to misjudgment. Guo Shao had already wanted to do it, but another voice reminded him: the rebels can't afford to lose, and he can't afford to lose either.
Guo Shao finally spoke up and asked General Murong to lend all the horses to the imperial guards. Shi Yanchao and other cavalrymen were given two horses, one for riding and one for combat. The infantry marched on horses. The whole army was to travel light and only carry five days' worth of food and fodder. They would march out tomorrow morning and arrive at Yindi before noon the day after tomorrow. They would pursue Li Chongjin and fight him.
Guo Shao turned to Gong and said: "If, I mean, if the war doesn't go so smoothly, after you receive my military order, you will lead the Jinzhou army and civilians to transport grain northward along the Fen River for reinforcement. Prepare some boats and send them up together. If necessary, you will be prepared to build a floating bridge to cross the river to Zuoyou. Later, you will find a few people to take my seal to Jiezhou and order Li Gu to stop sending grain. The grain seized from Li Jixun's camp is enough for us."
Xiang Gong clasped his fists and said: I will obey your command.
Guo Shao said to Shi Yanchao: General Shi is extremely brave and good at breaking through enemy lines. He was the vanguard in the battle against Li Chongjin. I would like to lend you his Zhen'an Army warhorse, and return it to you when you win.
Shi Yanchao clasped his fists and said: "I understand your order."
In the afternoon, Guo Shao summoned dozens of generals above the rank of commander of the imperial guards to the headquarters lobby to arrange military affairs, with Shi Yanchao as the vanguard and Dong Zunxun's cavalry borrowing Murong Yanzhao's Jinzhou army war horses to ride on. The next marching sequence was the Control Crane Bows and Arrows, the Straight Huben Left Wing Second Army and other cavalry infantry following behind. The Huben Left Wing, except for Dong Zunxun's troops who did not have enough horses, marched last.
Jinzhou spent the entire afternoon reorganizing its troops and preparing for battle.
In the evening, Guo Shao rode to the military camp for inspection and saw smoke rising from the camps in the city, with soldiers cooking. He walked into a camp, and the soldiers sitting around the stove made of rocks stood up immediately, clasped their fists and said: "I am honored to see you, Marshal Guo."
After eating dry food for more than ten days, I finally had a hot meal tonight. Guo Shaodao, you all have worked hard for the country in the open air.
A young man plucked up the courage and said: I came here from Qinfeng with Marshal Guo. I can always win against you. This little bit of suffering is nothing. I can get the reward when I go back.
Haha, everyone burst into laughter.
Guo Shao smiled, picked up the spoon to look at what was cooking in the pot, turned around and said: There is also pickled meat, haha.
The young man said: The soup is good, but the wheat cakes given to me have human blood on them and have a strong fishy smell.
Guo Shao turned around and looked at Yang Biao. Yang Biao said: Some of the cakes were collected from the dead on the battlefield. We can't just throw away the good food.
That's right, just eat it. Nowadays, ordinary people may not be able to eat dry biscuits during the New Year and other festivals. Guo Shao said kindly, we are already licking blood on the edge of a knife, so eating a little blood is nothing.