Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 179: Planning for Taiyuan (I)

With Man Chong's mediation, Han Fu agreed to the grain exchange relief plan out of concern for Gongsun Zan's army transporting grain across the border and the influx of refugees caused by the famine in Shangdang.

On August 28, Han Fu sent the governor Li Li to transport 150,000 dan of grain through Fukouxing to Shexian to hand over the grain and fodder to Zhang Yang.

On the same day, Liu Yu ordered his attendant Cheng Xu to supervise 300,000 dan of grain to Yijing to hand over the grain and fodder to Min Chun, Han Fu's deputy.

On September 3, Han Fu kept his promise and ordered Li Li to send another 150,000 shi of grain to Shangdang, and the handover was still in Shexian. After many days of transportation by farmers, 300,000 shi of grain was transported to Huguan for storage.

With 300,000 shi of grain in hand, Zhang Yu felt much more confident. He led his army to the northern border to fight against the rebels on the pretext that Zhang An, a thief from Dingxiang, was in rebellion. He transferred Zhang Liao from Zhan County to Nie County first, and Zhang Yang led a thousand men to guard Shangdang. Xu Huang, Xu Chu and Gao Shun followed Zhang Yu to the expedition.

According to the civil officials, Zhang Yu left Zhong Yao and Du Ji in Shangdang to allocate military supplies for the army, and the rest of them set out with the army.

On September 13, Zhang Yu led 3,500 soldiers and horses to Nie County (now Wuxiang County), where he joined forces with 1,500 infantry and cavalry led by Zhang Liao, Hao Zhao, and Meng Ning, totaling about 5,000 soldiers and horses.

Nie County, the Du Liao army camp.

Inside the big tent, Zhang Yu sat behind a desk and looked at his civil and military officers as Zhang Liao personally welcomed him. He asked, "Our troops have gathered in Nie County. I wonder what Li Jun's reaction is?"

"My lord, Li Jun knew that I wanted to cross the border to fight the bandits, so he blocked the main road between Shangdang and Taiyuan. He also sent someone to say that the bandit Zhang An from Dingxiang can be fought in Yanmen and Taiyuan counties, so there is no need for you to bother sending troops." Zhang Liao said.

"Not only that, Li Jun has summoned troops from the county and has now led them to Yuci. He has also ordered Gongcao Wen Shao to lead a thousand soldiers to station in Yangyi to guard the Qipan Mountain Valley Road to prevent our army from heading north to Taiyuan."

"Wen Shao?"

Hearing the familiar name, Zhang Yuting looked at Hao Zhao who was sitting at the side, and said with a smile: "Are you and I old acquaintances?"

"Of course!"

Hao Zhao looked indignant and said, "Wen Shao, the garrison commander of Yangyi, was the evildoer in the market back then. Now he is appreciated by Li Jun and promoted to the position of Gongcao of the county. If I were to meet him, I would kill him with a spear to vent my hatred back then."

Seeing that Hao Zhao could not forget the old grudge, Zhang Yu laughed a few times and said, "Wen Shao is not a capable person. Li Jun has appointed him to guard Yangyi, just to use his past grudge against me to stop my army from marching north."

Meng Ningzhi bowed and said, "My Lord, Wen Shao repaired Yangyi and closed the dangerous place; Li Jun stationed troops in Yuci to observe the situation. From what I have seen of Li Jun's deployment, I think he has no intention of engaging our army, but wants to take advantage of the dangerous place to occupy our army. Our army does not have much food and grass, and if the attack is difficult for a long time, they will definitely retreat due to lack of food."

Seeing these words coming from Meng Ningzhi's mouth, Zhang Yu praised and said: "Bo'an's knowledge has improved a lot. Now he can understand Li Jun's purpose in using troops."

Meng Ningzhi chuckled and said, "I have followed you in your conquests for many years. If I still don't understand Li Jun's intentions, I would be wasting your teachings!"

War can be considered one of the most challenging activities in the world.

Not to mention training troops and fighting in battle, the key lies in a series of actions before the battle, such as understanding the battlefield situation, exploring the geography, and figuring out the enemy's thoughts.

Especially when leading troops to fight alone, due to the lack of command from others, one needs to have self-awareness, dare to make decisions when necessary, and bear the pressure of making decisions.

Today, whether it is Zhang Liao, Meng Ningzhi, or Hao Zhao, the way of thinking of the three of them is much different than before they went out on their own.

"Sir, the enemy is now blocking Yangyi and defending it. What should our army do now?" asked Hao Zhao.

Zhang Yu looked at everyone and asked, "Do you have any advice?"

"In order to quickly capture Taiyuan, should we let Yu Furuo send troops from Pingyang, advancing in two directions at the same time to disrupt Li Jun's arrangements?" Xu Chu asked.

"I'm afraid not!"

Guo Tu thought for a moment and said, "Niu Fu is stationed in Hedong. If our army allows Yu Fuluo to go north, Niu Fu will be left unchecked. If Li Jun submits a petition to the capital, I'm afraid Dong Zhuo will send troops to interfere with your military operations."

When sending troops before, Zhang Yu had considered joining forces with Yu Furo, but taking into account the troops of Niu Fu stationed in Hedong and the military discipline of the Xiongnu soldiers, Zhang Yu had no intention of letting Yu Furo go north.

After all, the Xiongnu troops stationed in Pingyang were actually restraining Niu Fu in disguise. If the Xiongnu troops moved, Niu Fu would lose his restraint, and Dong Zhuo, out of consideration for balancing the power of Bingzhou, might send troops to help Li in order to prevent Zhang Yu from becoming more powerful in Bingzhou.

"Whether Dong Zhuo will intervene is indeed a critical matter at this moment."

Zhang Liao nodded and said, "Bingzhou is a commanding presence in Hedong. If you occupy Shangdang and Taiyuan, and have the Xiongnu as your wings, Hedong will be in danger. Dong Zhuo has moved his capital to Guanzhong, so he will be on guard against changes in Bingzhou."

"If you want to take Taiyuan, you must be fast, accurate, and ruthless!"

Lu Fan accurately assessed the situation and said, "If Dong Zhuo were to notice that something had happened in Bingzhou, he would definitely try to send an envoy to stop you from using your troops."

Seeing that everyone had come up with the key to military strategy, Zhang Yu nodded in satisfaction and said, "Your discussion is in line with my military strategy. Tomorrow I will lead the troops to attack Yangyi, with Wenyuan's troops as the vanguard. We must capture Taiyuan before Dong Zhuo can react."

"promise!"
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On September 14, Zhang Yu led his troops to march north along the Qipan Mountain Road. Yangyi was about 250 li away from Nie County, and the distance between the infantry and cavalry was 70 li. On September 18, Zhang Yu set up camp 20 li away from Yangyi.

At the same time, upon learning that Zhang Yu was leading his troops to Yangyi, Li Jun led his troops to support Yangyi and joined forces with Wen Shao's 1,000 men, totaling 6,000 infantry and cavalry. Although his troops were slightly larger than Zhang Yu's, Li Jun was afraid of Zhang Yu's reputation and did not dare to leave the city to fight, but instead divided his troops to defend the strategic points.

"Sir, Li Jun is unwilling to leave the city to fight, and he blames you for crossing the county to fight the enemy without the imperial edict, which is an act of rebellion. I ask you to withdraw your troops immediately."

On the hillside, Xu Shu reported Li Jun's feedback to Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu sneered and said, "As the General of Du Liao, I have the responsibility to suppress the bandits on the border. Li Jun has been defending Taiyuan, closing the main roads, refusing to deliver food, and not allowing our troops to enter the country. His intentions are not good. How can Li Jun have the face to blame me?"

Li Jun and Zhang Yu actually had similar attitudes, neither supporting nor opposing Dong Zhuo. However, they had different styles, with Li Jun preferring to defend Taiyuan, while Zhang Yu had ambitions to establish his own regime.

This war was instigated by Zhang Yu, who insisted on entering Taiyuan County on the pretext of crossing the border to fight the enemy. However, Li Jun refused Zhang Yu's entry on the grounds that he did not have an imperial edict.

Pointing at Yangyi City, Zhang Yu asked, "Li Jun is unwilling to leave the city to fight. Do you have any opinions?"

Zhang Liao looked slightly serious, and said with a cupped hand: "Li Jun dared not leave the city because he was afraid of your prestige and worried about the many new soldiers under his command. Yangyi is a low city with no water outside to protect it. It is better to attack the city to test the depth of Yangyi."

"By besieging the city, we may be able to find out more about Li Jun!"

Zhang Yu looked at the city and thought, "If we can't take it, we'll need some time to find another plan!"

"Repair the equipment, have Bo Ning and Zhong Kang lead the troops to attack the city, and have scouts spread out to investigate the surrounding situation."

"promise!"

When it comes to military campaigns, Zhang Yu's biggest headache is siege.

The defenders have the advantage. As long as the generals are smart, know some skills in defending the city, and have the ambition to hold on, they can stop the enemy even if they are several times larger than themselves. At present, Li Jun is defending the city without fighting, which will test Zhang Yu's military skills!

Now that he had a plan for how to use the troops, Zhang Yu looked for an opportunity to chat with Zhang Liao.

Zhang Yu praised: "Wang Dang firmly defended the mountain stronghold, and Wen Yuan was able to climb the mountain and break into the stronghold, defeating Wang Dang and his left and right bandits, and taking many prisoners. He fought very well."

Zhang Liao blushed slightly and said modestly, "It was not Liao's achievement alone. Bodao and Boan led the troops and broke through the siege. Only then could Liao kill Wang Dang."

As he spoke, Zhang Liao recommended him to Zhang Yu, saying, "My Lord, during this campaign, I found a brave warrior who was able to break into the camp and destroy the stronghold. He was unstoppable and had the merit of being the first to reach the camp."

"Who is he? What's his name?" Zhang Yu asked.

"Liu Yi, a native of Zhongshan in Jizhou, is quite brave and has a rough understanding of military strategies. If you appreciate him, you can promote him to a military officer or keep him as a personal soldier," said Zhang Liao.

Soon, a burly man stepped forward, bowed and said, "I am Liu Yi, courtesy name Ziqi, and I am honored to meet you, Your Excellency."

Zhang Yu looked at Liu Yi and asked, "Captain Zhang recommended you to me. I wonder what your talents are and what your life is like?"

Liu Yi looked up and faced Zhang Yu's scrutiny without being humble or arrogant. He said, "I am a descendant of King Jing of Zhongshan. However, due to my family's decline, I became a knight-errant when I was young. A few years ago, because of a friend's revenge, I fled west to Shangdang. When I arrived in Shangdang, I was taken in by a military officer in the county and learned some military tactics."

"As for his talent, Yi is quite brave. When the bandits were rampant in Shangdang, seven bandits came to steal horses. Yi fought the seven alone. Although he was covered with wounds, he killed all the bandits with his own hands. After joining the army, he followed Captain Zhang and led the way to break into the camp and beheaded five bandits."

"What a brave man!"

Zhang Yu nodded in appreciation and asked, "Why did you join the army?"

Liu Yi did not shy away from the question and said, "Although the military officer took me in, his son disliked my crudeness. In order to make a living, I came to serve the Liao army."

Zhang Yu patted Liu Yi on the shoulder and said with a smile: "It is not a shame to have a poor family background. I made a living by herding sheep and horses when I was young, and it was only through military merit and conquest that I achieved what I have today. Since Captain Zhang recommended you, I will now promote you to the position of garrison commander and select you to attend the Military Academy. Don't let me down!"

"Thank you for your appreciation, my lord. I am willing to die for you!" Liu Yi knelt on one knee and said excitedly.

Zhang Yu helped Liu Yi up and encouraged him, "Now is the time for a man to show his military prowess. I hope to see Ziqi's name in the military report soon."

"promise!"

Because he had more soldiers and horses under his command, in order to control the lower levels, Zhang Yu often encouraged the captains to recommend talented people. If the person caught Zhang Yu's eye, he would often appoint him to a higher position or grant him the qualification to study in the Military Academy.

The birth of the Military Academy originated from Zhang Yu's review of wars with the generals. Later, in order to adapt to the expansion of the army and train enough officers, Zhang Yu simply established the Military Academy system, which was attended by military officers of the rank of Qu and above. Now that Liu Yi was allowed to enroll, it was a disguised recognition, and Liu Yi could not be unhappy.

(End of this chapter)