Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 111 Prefect Liu's Bet
"It's a pity I dare not talk about the Battle of Gaoliang River."

Lu Beigu felt a little regretful in his heart.

However, the fact that this state school teacher could juxtapose the "Battle of Shallow Water Plain" with the "Battle of Good Water River" clearly shows that he has some skill.

These two battles share many similarities, from the comparison of the two armies to the location of the battle and the course of the battle, but the outcomes are quite different, which is quite thought-provoking.

Of course, if you want to find the reason in a single sentence, that's easy to find: the Song army didn't have Li Er.

However, that's not very meaningful. Today, what I mainly want to discuss is the issue of command and combat strategies.

At that moment, two ordinary-looking scholars appeared at the back door of the lecture hall.

Lu Beigu immediately recognized the person with the darker complexion among them; it was none other than Li Pan, who had now been promoted to judge of Luzhou.

"Next to him is Prefect Liu Yong, a very courageous man."

Ji Yun whispered in Lu Beigu's ear, "Two years ago, the Wuman sent an envoy to incite the people of Yujing to cause a disturbance. Prefect Liu sent his son to negotiate, but he was killed by the Wuman envoy's scheme. In the end, Prefect Liu and Supervisor Liang personally led the Imperial Guards deep into the mountains to persuade them to surrender, which put an end to the matter. Otherwise, who knows if it might have turned into a major chaos like that during the Huangyou era."

Ji Yun gave a brief explanation, and Lu Beigu finally understood.

From the first year of the Huangyou era to the first year of the Jiayou era, Luzhou had three different prefects in those seven years, all of whom were related to the Wuman people.

The first prefect, Zhang Zhaoxin, was demoted and transferred because his improper handling of the rebellion of the Liao people in Fuzhipolan Village, Yujing County, directly triggered the chaos of the Wuman invasion.

The second prefect, Li Daoning, took on this hot potato and successfully quelled the Wuman rebellion, for which he was rewarded and promoted.

The third prefect was Liu Yong, who is still in office today. He was commended for his meritorious service in quelling the riots of the Liao people in Miliao, and it was time for him to be promoted after his term ended.

"So, the Yujing Bureau is really a powder keg that could explode at any moment," Lu Beigu thought to himself.

The instructor in front of them used a sand table to give them a brief account of the Battle of Shallow Water Plain.

The reason for this explanation is that the students of the Song Dynasty today have heard of the Battle of Haoshuichuan, but the Battle of Qianshuiyuan in the Former Tang Dynasty, even though it was also commanded by Li Shimin, is far less famous than the Battle of Hulao Pass where two kings were captured. In fact, as a battle that took place in the Former Tang Dynasty, it is less well-known than the Battle of Xiangji Temple, where "whoever loses is the rebel." If this explanation is not given, they will have no idea what happened.

"The Battle of Qianshuiyuan was a decisive battle fought between Li Shimin and the Xue clan of Longxi from June to November of the first year of the Wude era of the Tang Dynasty. It consisted of two phases. In the first phase, Li Shimin was suffering from malaria and did not personally command the battle. The Tang army underestimated the enemy and advanced recklessly, resulting in a disastrous defeat at Qianshuiyuan, southwest of Gaozhi. After Li Shimin recovered from his illness, he believed that the morale of the Tang army had not yet recovered from the setback, while the Xue army was arrogant because of their victory. Therefore, he believed that they should hold their ground and wear down the Xue army's morale, wait until their food was exhausted, and then defeat them in one battle."

The students in the lower dormitory were mostly young people, the oldest being only in their thirties. As passionate young men, they were naturally very enthusiastic about war, so they listened attentively, and many even stood up to look at the sand table.

Seeing this, Mr. Jiangwu simply had the servants move the sand table to the center of the lecture hall.

He pointed to the sand table depicting the "Battle of Shallow Water Plains," and continued to manipulate and explain the different colored flags.

"Thus, the two armies began a long stalemate. The Tang army held out until November. The Xue army's food supplies were running out and their morale began to decline, while the Tang army's morale had recovered. So Li Shimin chose to fight again at Qianshuiyuan. Li Shimin sent the general Liang Shi to lead a detachment to camp on the platform of Qianshuiyuan, luring the Xue army out to fight and then holding firm."

Yuan, meaning "plateau," is a common terrain feature in Northwest China, essentially a hilly area with a large plateau on top. It's typically suitable for garrisoning troops, offering a commanding position. Zhuge Liang's decision to station troops at Wuzhangyuan during his Northern Expeditions was precisely because it allowed for long-term defense, enabling a swift retreat to Hanzhong even in defeat. Because the sand table depicts varying elevations, when the banners of the Tang army's detachment appeared on the shallow plain, the students immediately understood why the Xue army could only stand their ground and couldn't attack. Once this area was occupied, even with superior numbers, climbing uphill would be a nightmare.

Then, the gentleman took out two more Tang army flags.

"The stalemate continued for several days until Xue's army was exhausted. Li Shimin saw that the opportunity had come and ordered General Pang Yu to lead the main force of the Tang army to form a battle formation in the ravines south of Qianshuiyuan, intending to attack Xue's right flank. Xue's army, seeing that they could not break through the ridge on Qianshuiyuan in front of them, turned to fight the main force of the Tang army. The two sides fought fiercely to the most critical moment. Li Shimin personally led his elite cavalry to bypass the ravines north of Qianshuiyuan and attack Xue's army from the rear. Xue's army was thus defeated."

"There are many details here, which we will leave aside for now and compare with the Battle of Haoshuichuan later."

Looking at the students in the lower dormitory who were now quite interested, the instructor asked, "Can anyone give a brief account of the Battle of Shuichuan?"

It would have been better not to ask, because once you did, everyone fell silent.

The three major defeats that shook the nation—Haoshuichuan, Sanchuankou, and Dingchuanzhai—are naturally known to everyone.

But no one usually bothers to find out what the situation is!
"cough."

Seeing the extremely awkward situation, a cough suddenly came from the back of the lecture hall.

Upon recognizing Li Pan's voice, Lu Beigu sighed, stood up, and volunteered, saying, "This student has a general understanding, but please correct me if my statement is incomplete."

"Then you tell us about it," the man said, sounding very pleased.

"In the summer of the first year of the Qingli era, Chief Li Yuanhao led an army of 100,000 southwards. He adopted the strategy of ambush and annihilation, hiding his main force at Haoshuichuankou and sending another force to feign an attack on Huaiyuan City. Our army's commander, Ren Fu, disobeyed Han Xianggong's orders and led a light cavalry to break away from the baggage train and pursue. He underestimated the enemy and advanced recklessly, and was surrounded by the enemy. In this battle, our army suffered more than 10,000 casualties, almost the entire army was wiped out. As a result, the number of troops available for maneuver in the four northwest routes suddenly decreased, and we became increasingly passive in terms of strategy."

"Yes, that's well said! That's roughly it."

At this moment, Supervisor Liang suddenly asked, "Does anyone know how to judge the so-called 'underestimating the enemy and advancing rashly'? You should know that after Xue's general Zong Luo suffered a great defeat at Qianshuiyuan, he fled to Zhezhi. At that time, Tang general Dou Gui advised Prince Qin, Li Shimin, not to advance rashly and to be wary of ambushes. Li Shimin believed that this was the perfect opportunity to break through the enemy's defenses and should not be missed. He personally led two thousand cavalry to pursue them, occupying the south bank of the Jing River, preventing the scattered Zong Luo troops from entering the city. Xue Rengao, in fear, defended the city and dared not open the gates. So why wasn't Li Shimin afraid of an ambush?"

"Furthermore, why was it that in the Battle of Qianshuiyuan, the Tang army, despite having far fewer cavalry than the Xue army, was able to achieve a great victory by using infantry to defeat cavalry, while our army had a completely different outcome in the Battle of Haoshuichuan, where we were led by the nose by the Xia army at every turn?"

Liu Yong, the prefect of Luzhou, who was sitting behind the lecture hall, turned his head and asked Judge Li Pan in a low voice.

Do you think anyone can answer that?

"I think so."

Li Pan chuckled and tucked his hands into his sleeves as he answered.

"Make a bet?"

(End of this chapter)