Chapter 2228: The battle situation in Guanzhong, five routes to attack Tang Dynasty

Chapter 2228: Battle in Guanzhong, five-pronged attack on Tang Dynasty

Chapter 2224: Battle in Guanzhong, five-pronged attack on Tang Dynasty

While preparations for the enthronement were in full swing in Luoyang, the war situation in Guanzhong also changed.

Ying Hao ordered Li Jing to lead an army of 140,000 troops out of Wuguan to attack Guanzhong, but Li Jing did not mobilize all the troops to the front line of Lantian and Shangluo.

Considering the terrain along the Wuguan route, too many troops could not be mobilized, so Zhang Liao left 60,000 troops at Tongguan to contain the Tang army on the Tongguan front line, and only led 80,000 troops out of Wuguan to attack the pass.

Li Jing's army was so powerful that it captured Shang County, which was closest to Wuguan. However, Li Shimin personally led the army and blocked Shangluo.

After the fall of Wuguan, the Qin army's next march routes were: Shangxian, Shangluo, and Aoguan, and Lantian was Chang'an's last line of defense.

It doesn't matter if other cities are captured, but once Lantian is captured by the Qin army, Li Jing can march straight to Chang'an City.

In order to protect the land in Guanzhong, Li Shimin mobilized heavy troops to defend the two cities of Lantian and Shangluo. At the same time, he also recruited a large number of strong men to repair the abandoned Gurao Pass.

Li Shimin planned to rely on the dangerous cities of Lantian and Shangluo, as well as the favorable geographical location of Raoguan, to build a solid defense line on the border of Lantian to keep the Qin army out of the pass.

 It’s just that Shangluo is not a Wuguan after all, and Yoguan has been abandoned for many years. It will not be possible to rebuild it in a short time. It is obviously not easy to block Li Jing’s 80,000 army based on this.

After the army led by Li Jing arrived at Shangluo City, and after the siege equipment such as ladders, wells, catapults, and battering rams were available, they immediately launched the siege, and the two fierce generals Gao Chong and Yuwen Chengdu personally participated. In the middle of the siege.

The Qin army's morale was already high and their offensive was extremely fierce. On the first day of the siege, the Tang army was beaten hard. If Yang Jian's reinforcements had not arrived in time, they might have been able to break through Lantian on the first day.

With the support of Yang Jian's reinforcements, Gao Chong and Yuwen Chengdu were repelled one after another. Li Shimin's pressure was greatly reduced, and he finally managed to hold on to Lantian, but this was only temporary, because reinforcements from the Qin Army arrived soon after.

Shortly after the Qin army defeated the Shu-Chu coalition in the Battle of Xiangyang, Ying Hao transferred Han Xin's 60,000-strong army to serve under Li Jing.

In other words, in addition to the 80,000 troops on the Lantian Shangluo line and the 60,000 troops at Tongguan, Han Xin's 60,000 troops were also commanded by Li Jing.

The total strength of the Qin army on the western front has reached 200,000, and there are 140,000 troops on the Lantian front line.

Li Jing did not transfer all of Han Xin's 60,000 troops to Shangluo to participate in the siege. After all, there was no need to use 140,000 troops for a mere Shangluo city.

 Li Jing received accurate information, and Li Shimin ordered an urgent military expansion in Hanzhong and Longxi areas. Once the training is completed, the troops in these areas will be transferred to Guanzhong.

Although these new recruits are not strong in field combat ability, they still have some combat effectiveness in defending the city.

Based on this consideration, Li Jing decided to let Han Xin lead an army of 40,000 to recover the Nanxiang counties captured by the Tang army. At the same time, he sent troops to attack Shangyong and Xincheng counties, threatening and containing the Tang army's strength in Hanzhong, making it unable to divide its troops to support Guanzhong.

After receiving Li Jing's order, Han Xin decisively divided his troops and sent 20,000 troops to support Li Jing. He personally led 40,000 troops to conquer the Nanxiang counties westward that had been captured by the Tang army.

The Tang Army's garrison in Nanxiang was not large, only five thousand in total. How could they stop Han Xin's army?

In just three days, half of the occupied Nanxiang counties were recovered by Han Xin.

When Li Xiaogong, the prefect of Hanzhong in the Tang Dynasty, learned that a Qin army was coming to Hanzhong, he was shocked. He quickly recalled the reinforcements sent to Guanzhong and reported the news to Tang Wang Li Shimin. At the same time, he went to the front line to defend against Han Xin's attack. Army.

 At this point, the Guanzhong War between the Qin and Tang Dynasties opened up the second fastest battlefield, the Hanzhong Battlefield.

Li Jing received the support of 20,000 reinforcements from Han Xin, and his total troops reached 100,000. Just when he was about to take advantage of the situation to capture Lantian, he received news that Qin Hao agreed to proclaim himself emperor. Jia Xu's previous campaign to build momentum could be described as vigorous. Even if Li Jing was fighting on the front line, it was still unavoidable and he honestly wrote a letter to support Ying Hao's proclaimed emperor.

 After experiencing many major events such as three resignations and three rejections, Ying Hao finally agreed to found the country and proclaim himself emperor, which made Li Jing feel that the burden on him was heavier.

 The founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China is scheduled for two months later, which means that Li Jing only has two months left.

Within two months, Li Jing must capture Shangluo and Lantian, enter Guanzhong, and then conquer Chang'an to completely end the War of Guanzhong.

 Otherwise, the Qin State would not have that much food and grass to support him in continuing the war, and would have to temporarily stop attacking Guanzhong for the founding ceremony.

Li Jing, who felt the pressure, continued to attack Shangluo openly, but secretly prepared to open a third battlefield to outwit Guanzhong.

Li Jing ordered Zhang Liao's troops in Tongguan to retreat, and asked Tan Daoji to command an army of 20,000 to camp at the Hangu ruins to confuse the Tang army, while Zhang Liao secretly led a main force of 40,000 to the north, waiting for a fighting opportunity.

This fighter is Huo Qubing's 70,000 cavalry.

When Huo Qubing's cavalry arrived on the battlefield and launched an attack from the west to Fufeng on the right, Zhang Liao's partial division sneaked across the Yellow River from Hanoi and attacked Fenglingdu, thereby attacking Zuofeng Ling and igniting the war in Guanzhong.

Fenglingdu has been the largest ferry on the Yellow River since ancient times. It is the chokepoint of Hedong, Henan and Guanzhong, and is a battleground for military strategists.

The ancient battlefield between Wei and Qin was here. Famous battles such as Cao Cao's campaign against Han Sui and Ma Chao, and Yuwen Tai's defeat of Gao Huan in the Western Wei Dynasty all took place at Fenglingdu.

For such an important geographical road, the Tang army must be tightly defended, but the Tang army's attention has been attracted by Li Jing, Han Xin and Tan Daoji. Huo Qubing's magic soldiers descended from the sky and launched an attack from the west to Guanzhong, causing the Tang army's defense line to be scattered everywhere. If there is an emergency, some of the defenders at Fenglingdu will definitely be transferred. Then Zhang Liao's opportunity will come.

 There are actually only three counties and thirty-eight counties in Guanzhong, and these three counties are: Jingzhao Yin, Zuofeng Ling and You Fufeng.

If Li Jing's battle plan succeeds, the three counties of Guanzhong will face the siege of five Qin armies, and these five Qin armies are from: Shangluo (Li Jing), Hanzhong (Han Xin), Tongguan (Tan Daoji), Fengling Du (Zhang Liao), Xiao Guan (Huo Qubing).

Even if the Tang State had a deep foundation in Guanzhong, under the wars everywhere, its troops were scattered everywhere and it was difficult to concentrate. It was undoubtedly extremely difficult to defend Guanzhong under the Qin army's offensive.

 This is also the only way that Li Jing and Li Jing could think of to capture Guanzhong within two months.

"At the beginning of next year, my lord will ascend the throne in Luoyang and proclaim himself emperor. Before that, Chang'an must be conquered and Guanzhong must be presented to the lord as a gift."

Li Jing pulled out the spear from his waist, swung it in the direction of Lantian, and shouted: "Attack the city."

 “By conquering Chang’an, the Qin Dynasty will surely win.”

Gao Chong roared angrily, and then took the lead in the charge again and personally participated in the siege. Yuwen Chengdu was not willing to be outdone and rushed forward.

At the top of Luo City, Yang Jian looked solemnly at the tidal wave of Qin troops below, then turned to Li Shimin beside him and said: "My lord, it is too dangerous to go to Luo. Please go to Raoguan and take charge."

Li Shimin's eyes flashed with a look of struggle, but he finally said decisively: "General Yang Jian, there is no need to persuade him anymore, I have already made up my mind. The city is there and the people are there, but the city is broken and people will die."

Li Jing divided the 100,000-strong army into five groups and attacked the city in turns day and night. However, under such a strong offensive, the Tang army ultimately failed to defend Shangluo.

Three days later, Shangluo City was captured. Yang Jian led some of the remaining troops to protect Li Shimin and retreated to Raoguan, where he continued to defend.