Chapter 38 The fight between trapped beasts
Song Dynasty, the second year of Shaosheng.

Song Zhezong Zhao Xu looked at the picture of the Tang army's iron cavalry and golden swords, the majestic war horses carrying the soldiers in armor and weapons, lined up on the Beimang Mountain, ready to charge down, cut off the enemy's formation and win the victory at any time, and he felt full of yearning.

"The prosperity and discipline of the Tang army is rare in history!" Ming Chi was enfeoffed with a sword and left his king to conquer Loulan overnight. Such brave and aggressive generals and soldiers were what he dreamed of, but what he longed for even more were these elite cavalrymen in the Tang army who charged in all directions.

Good horses! Lots of good horses. This was during the Wude period of the early Tang Dynasty, and the New Book of Tang compiled during the Renzong period also praised the good horses of the Tang Dynasty: Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, Tang horses have been the most prosperous. But what about the Song Dynasty?
Although the horse policy was implemented and great importance was attached to the breeding of war horses, and good horses were continuously purchased through trade, the number of official horses had dropped from more than 200,000 in the founding period to tens of thousands. Since the independence of Western Xia, it has become more difficult to obtain good local horses.

Among the cavalrymen in the world, generally only one or two out of ten have horses.

[Qu Tutong took the order and left. When the two armies were in close combat, smoke rose on the battlefield. Li Shimin immediately led the elite cavalry to charge down from Beimang Mountain, heading straight for Wang Shichong's weakly defended flank. He rushed into the battle formation himself and responded to Qu Tutong inside and outside.

As in the past, Li Shimin rushed into the army with his cavalry, invincible, charging all the way, killing the enemy while determining the key point of Wang Shichong's army formation, and he would soon complete the infiltration.

But an accident happened. Wang Shichong chose to line up his troops at Gumafang, which had city walls and trenches and was facing Gushui. There were naturally gullies and ravines here, and because it was next to Gushui, there was a long embankment.

The complex terrain hindered the cavalry as a whole. When Li Shimin rushed to the long dike, he found that only General Qiu Xinggong was following him, and the other cavalry had not caught up. In front of him, Wang Shichong's cavalry was gathering.

What's worse, Li Shimin's mount, Saluzi, was shot and killed.

Faced with such a dangerous situation, Qiu Xinggong gave his mount to Li Shimin, dismounted and fought on foot with a sword, killing several people and covering Li Shimin's escape from the siege.

On the battlefield, the Tang army's cavalry and infantry had worked together to charge back and forth in Wang Shichong's army several times, but this time, Wang Shichong's army was unexpectedly tenacious, "dispersed and reunited several times", and every time they were dispersed, they would reintegrate.

After breaking out, Li Shimin changed his horse and rushed into the enemy camp again.

After a whole morning of hard fighting, Wang Shichong finally couldn't stand the repeated attacks of the Tang army and began to retreat. "From noon to noon, the bandits began to retreat."

The early years of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Bang looked at the Tang army's relatively large-scale frontal battle and thought, "The Tang army's combat style attaches great importance to the coordination of infantry and cavalry." In the previous battles, the cavalry's assault and pursuit capabilities had been demonstrated, but the coordinated combat between infantry and cavalry had never been demonstrated so intuitively.

Judging from the battle in front of Gu Shui this time, the key to the Tang army lies not only in the cavalry, but also in the superb combat capability of the infantry, which also has to bear the heavy responsibility of facing the enemy head-on. The cavalry then took the opportunity to insert into the flanks or weak points of the enemy formation and began to intersperse and detour.

After that, it was the coordination between cavalry and infantry, and obviously, the level of coordination between the infantry and cavalry of the Tang army was already very high.

"However, this really did go wrong. Rushing too aggressively is not a good thing." Liu Bang sighed at the situation Li Shimin encountered.

Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

After watching several battles, Wei Qinghe finally spoke to Liu Che again: "Your Majesty, I have observed that the cavalry of the Tang Dynasty in Tianmu is very different from that of our Han Dynasty."

Huo Qubing nodded quickly: "That's right, in addition to the different ideas of deploying troops, there are also differences in horses, armor and weapons. It seems that their horses and armor are better."

Liu Che also thought about this problem. He actually discovered it. After all, he had the experience of Shanglin Garden, but he thought he would wait and see: "Armor and weapons should be related to the improvement of smelting technology in the Tang Dynasty, but horses, where did these good horses come from?"

【Wang Shichong retreated, and Li Shimin naturally led the Tang army to pursue the victory, and finally beheaded and captured 8,000 people. Afterwards, Wang Shichong retreated into the city, while the Tang army stationed under the city of Luoyang and began to prepare for the siege.

With the failure of Wang Shichong's last attempt and the continued approach of Liu Dewei from Taihang Mountains, coupled with the atmosphere of surrender of several prefectures and counties before, the remaining prefectures and counties that had not yet surrendered began to surrender to the Tang one by one.

In mid-February, first King Wang Tai of Song abandoned Heyang, which he was guarding, and then Huaizhou, which was adjacent to Heyang and had been besieged by Liu Dewei for several days, surrendered to the Tang Dynasty.

This point is crucial. From then on, the Tang army not only completely opened up the water and land routes between itself and Guanzhong, but also controlled the Yellow River port, making it difficult for Dou Jiande's reinforcements to come by water.

At this time, seeing that all around him had fallen into Li Shimin's hands, the guard of Hulao Pass, Shen Yue, secretly contacted Li Shiji on February 30, expressing his willingness to surrender. When Li Shiji and Wang Junkuo attacked Hulao Pass together, he acted as an insider, assisted the Tang army in capturing Hulao Pass and captured King of Jing Wang Xingben and Dai Zhou.

Qin Dynasty.

The First Emperor looked at the map, "Huaizhou and Heyang?" These two places held out for a long time. Liu Dewei arrived in Hanoi in August last year, and these two places held out until February of the following year. It was indeed a long time.

Wang Jian said on the side: "Huaizhou and Heyang are located on the north bank of the Yellow River and are of vital importance to Luoyang. The fact that Huaizhou and Heyang fell into the control of the Tang army this time is fatal to Wang Shichong; and the reinforcements of Dou Jiande from Jizhou mentioned earlier may not be able to advance from the north bank of the Yellow River." Not to mention, Hulao Pass also belonged to the Tang army.

Those present who had knowledge of military affairs agreed.

Heyang is the northern gate of Luoyang. To the north is Huaizhou, and to the Taihang Road, Gaodu County can be reached. Going northwest is the Chen Road, reaching Jiang County, thus threatening Guanzhong and heading north to Taiyuan. In other words, by going north through Heyang, it is possible to control the key area of ​​Shangdang County, which can be attacked or defended.

To the west, Heyang can reach Sanmenxia, ​​which is located on the ancient Xiaohan Road and close to the Yellow River ferry; to the east, it can pass through Liang County and reach the Jianghuai region directly.

The loss of such a place was a fatal blow to Wang Shichong as a whole.

Ming Dynasty, Hongwu Years.

Speaking of the Tang army occupying Heyang and Huaizhou, Zhu Chong remembered what happened in Heyang later in the Tang Dynasty: "So, I remember that when the central government of the Tang Dynasty weakened and the military governors became powerful, when the famous general Li Guangbi defended Tian Chengsi, did he directly abandon Luoyang and hold on to Heyang instead?"

Zhu Biao affirmed his words: "That's right, Li Guangbi's retreat to Heyang can be said to have saved the Tang army and also saved the key."

Zhu Di rolled his eyes and began to recall the various events in Heyang: "A lot of things happened in Heyang, just before and after the An-Shi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty. An Lushan himself sent people to cut off the Heyang Bridge, and later Guo Ziyi also cut off the Heyang Bridge..." Zhu Gang also joined the discussion of Heyang: "Before the Tang Dynasty, there were several times in the Northern Wei and Northern Zhou dynasties when the Guanlong Group existed, not to mention that there were countless key battles before that."

Zhu Yuanzhang was not very concerned about the fall of Heyang at this time. He saw Dai Zhou, one of the people captured at Hulao Pass.

"It's a good thing that Dai Zhou was captured this time. He met a wise ruler, and Emperor Taizong of Tang was pleased to gain a capable minister. It's really the best of two worlds." He admired Dai Zhou and believed that he was a person who could handle things fairly and use the law reasonably, and that "there was no injustice in the case", so he was indeed an excellent minister.

[At this point, Li Shimin marched to the city of Luoyang. Through overall layout and clever control, he finally used six armies (four armies + Li Shimin + Li Shiji) to completely destroy the defense system around Luoyang and completed the overall advancement.

This cannot help but make people sigh at Li Shimin's high military level.

When stationed at the gates of Luoyang, it was time to begin the siege.

In the siege, the Tang army was as brave as in the field battles, but the walls of Luoyang City were high and thick, and the defenses were well prepared. "The cannon's flying stones weighed fifty pounds and could be thrown two hundred steps. The eight bows and crossbows had arrows like wheel spokes and arrowheads like giant axes that could shoot five hundred steps." It can be said that Luoyang City at this time was completely a giant fortress, and their biggest problem was food and fodder.

But even with the problem of food and grass, it would still be difficult for the Tang army to capture such a strong city in the short term. 】

Han Dynasty, the fourth year of Yuanshou.

"Hmm," Liu Che's eyes lit up again after seeing the defensive weapons of Luoyang City. "The cannons and crossbows from the Tang Dynasty are pretty good. Although they are not as good as the firearms of the Ming Dynasty, we still need to study the firearms. We also need to try to make the cannons and crossbows that are as big as wheel spokes."

He happily thought about how the cannons and crossbows would be manufactured and placed in important cities, and then waved to the attendant beside him, indicating that the attendant should notify the relevant person in charge. This matter could be arranged directly.

The attendant understood and asked the official who was recording important contents for a piece of silk with the general shapes of these instruments carved on it, and then left.

"If the siege continues for a long time without success, there will definitely be problems within the Tang army." Huo Qubing frowned. The long siege itself, with men constantly dying in battle but no results, would greatly affect the morale and make the soldiers unwilling to fight. The Tang army had already been fighting for a long time at this time.

Moreover, after several months of fighting, the Tang army can be said to have achieved considerable results. With these results as a foundation, it is easier for people to think "this is fine", and thus retreat from the attack on Luoyang.

"Tang Taizong will not allow us to stop halfway, otherwise all our efforts will be wasted." At this time, they are actually going to retreat? Luoyang has run out of food! Liu Che was not worried at all. It seemed that Tang Taizong was indeed fighting side by side with the soldiers, not afraid of sacrifice, and indeed had a broad mind, but this did not mean that this person would be easy to talk to when facing things that he believed he had to insist on.

On the contrary, this person is probably very determined and not the type to be easily persuaded.

[Faced with the prolonged siege of Luoyang, the soldiers had fought unsuccessfully and were exhausted. They gradually began to think about retreating, and the generals of the Tang army were no exception. The general manager Liu Hongji, Li Shou (Li Shentong) and others began to make a suggestion to Li Shimin: How about we return home for the time being and leave Luoyang for later?

The words of these people actually represent the opinions of the Guanzhong group in the army. In their view, the credit this time is already not small. Wang Shichong only has Luoyang left, and the Tang army has been unable to capture it for a long time. The soldiers are exhausted, so it is a good thing to withdraw temporarily.

Indeed, Luoyang's defenses were strong, and the attack had been ineffective for many days. However, Luoyang was also at the end of its strength at this time, and the Tang army was only one step away from a great victory. If they gave up at this time, wouldn't it be giving up halfway?
Not to mention, Luoyang also has extremely high political significance.

So Li Shimin resolutely rejected this suggestion and ordered that "anyone who dares to say to return to the army will be beheaded", insisting on continuing the siege.

Ming Dynasty, the 13th year of Hongwu.

The palace maid brought Zhu Biao's eldest son Zhu Xiongying over. Zhu Yuanzhang hugged his good grandson and smiled happily.

Zhu Xiongying caught a word while listening to the story of the miracle: "The Guanzhong lineage? Grandpa, Guanzhong?" He looked at Zhu Yuanzhang in confusion.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt even happier immediately. He was indeed our good grandson. He could grasp the key at such a young age. He was truly gifted by nature!
He cheerfully answered Zhu Xiongying's questions: "Yes, it is Guanzhong. Xiongying, think about it, where is Chang'an, isn't it Guanzhong?" Zhu Xiongying nodded, and Zhu Yuanzhang continued, "The Guanzhong faction came from Guanzhong. They think that their achievements are enough now, and there is no point in continuing to fight. And they have Guanzhong as a retreat, so withdrawing troops at this time will not affect them too much."

Zhu Xiongying nodded his little head and said, "Grandpa, does that mean that the soldiers are exhausted and they think they shouldn't continue fighting under such circumstances? And since they have Guanzhong, it doesn't matter if they withdraw the troops."

"Yes, Xiongying is right." Zhu Yuanzhang replied kindly.

"Then, does everyone think that we should withdraw our troops?" Zhu Xiongying asked again. He felt that based on his daily experience, everyone would always have different ideas.

Zhu Yuanzhang was immediately happier: "Of course not. For example, those who surrendered to the Tang Dynasty from Wagangzhai and Liu Wuzhou would not be willing to do so." Seeing that Zhu Xiongying was a little confused, he simply said: "Those who surrendered and joined the Tang army later would be more eager to conquer Luoyang and establish merit."

Zhu Xiongying nodded, this time he understood roughly.

[The city of Luoyang is indeed on the verge of collapse.

The interruption of food supply is the most fatal problem that cannot be avoided.

Wang Shichong controlled the grain and prioritized military supplies. In the city, one bolt of silk was equivalent to three liters of millet, and ten bolts of cloth could be exchanged for one liter of salt. After ordinary people ate all the grass roots and leaves in Luoyang, they began to mix rice crumbs in the mud as food, and people starved to death everywhere. (The sky curtain will automatically change to the corresponding measurement of each dynasty)
Judging from the population size, four years ago Yang Tong relocated 30,000 families into Luoyang, but now there are less than 3,000 families left. The nobles and officials, like the ordinary people, began to starve to death.

At this time, Luoyang could barely supply the soldiers needed to defend the city, and it was only a matter of time before it completely collapsed.

What else, apart from personal factors, prompted Wang Shichong to continue to persevere with his faith?

That was Dou Jiande's reinforcements. Wang Shichong was waiting for Dou Jiande to rescue him and lift the siege of Luoyang.

(End of this chapter)