Chapter 715: The decisive battle between Zhongyuan

The reed marsh is vast, and the April breeze blows, rolling up waves of waves on the river.

The vast reed marsh covered the large area of ​​land on the river bank and also covered countless hidden figures. The sky was full of red clouds, and at dusk, the already turbid river surface was shining by the sunset, as if thousands of golden tines were sprinkled with dazzling lights.

A light boat was slowly passing through the reed marsh. The ten soldiers on the boat were all wearing light armor, green cloaks, with horizontal knives hanging around their waists, and crossbows in their hands. They bowed their heads and bent over, without talking and chatting, but took turns to row the boat's sluggishly, causing ripples.

Suddenly, a group of water birds were startled from the reed marsh not far away, and many strange sounds came from the middle. A soldier at the bow of the boat stared at him and shouted softly, "Prepare to fight, there is someone on the other side."

It was time to speak, and before he finished speaking, the reed marsh opposite was suddenly knocked open. A fishing boat suddenly rushed out of it, and there were more than a dozen strong men holding knives standing on the bow of the boat.

"The bitch is raised by the Wei army spies, brothers!" shouted the green cloak at the bow of the ship.

A tragic close handover began, and the two ships quickly leaned together, shooting bows and arrows, jumping to the side of the gang to fight in close combat. The swords and weapons were added together, and gold and iron sounded. The swords were shining, the swords were burning, the curses and scoldings sounded one after another.

The battle was fierce, but it didn't last long. After a while, the battle had already been divided.

One out of ten people on the green cloak was seriously injured and three were slightly injured. However, the strong men dressed in fishermen died, two seriously injured, and the other seven were injured, all of them were captured. The bright red blood sprinkled on the two boats, and even the river surface was stained with blood.

"Captain, this was found from them." A green cloak handed a wooden box to the man in charge.

The gang opened the wooden box, which contained several letters. The literate gang looked at it quickly and immediately looked solemn, "These people were messengers sent by Li Mi to Yecheng, and they went to Wei Daoer for help. This is a big hurdle. We will go back to the camp to report to King Chen immediately."

In the General's Mansion of Jintiguan, Chen Kefu was holding a celebration banquet, and he also served as a reception banquet for Yang Neng, Yang Tong and others.

However, most generals could celebrate the commendation happily, but Chen Kefu did not have this time. He left Chen Lei to accompany Huang Junhan, Bing Yuanzhen, Yang Lei and others, but he met with Li Jing, Luo Yi and others in the study room behind.

Chen Kefu threw the letter of the captured Wei army messenger sent back by the reconnaissance battalion patrolling the Yellow River on the table and chuckled, "Li Mi has not forgotten his allies at this time, but do you think Wei Daoer will send troops to aid?"

Luo Yi shook his head and said, "Wei Daoer is just a horse thief and has no vision. Although he seems to be smarter than Wang Xuba, he seems to be a little smarter. However, his intelligence seems to be just used for internal strife and not seeing much long-term future. In fact, we gave them a lot of opportunities before. We were busy sending troops across Jiangdu, Huaibei, Shandong, and consolidating the Huaisi area. At the same time, our east Hedong is not peaceful, and we have to be restrained a lot. There were even major civil strife in various aristocratic families, which made us not have the opportunity to deal with them with all our strength. This is their opportunity. If they seize some, they will not be at the present level."

Everyone laughed when they heard this, and the facts were indeed similar. Since they entered Hebei, they first started a war with Gao Shida, Dou Jiande and others, and then went south to Shandong and Huaibei, and then involved the chaos in Hedong. Then there was a rebellion of aristocratic families in various places, and there was also a shortage of food. It was the most difficult time for the Hebei army to break down.

Unfortunately, Wang Xuba and Wei Daoer were busy building the capital in Yecheng and becoming emperor, and then busy fighting in the internal conflicts. They wasted great opportunities. Although Chen Kefu and others did not think that they could change anything by seizing the opportunity. But at least, they missed the only chance. Now the Hebei army has captured the six counties in Henan and occupied the Huzhu. Li Mi's defeat is approaching. Once Li Mi was defeated, what else could Wei Daoer, who was trapped in the southwest of Hebei? They were trapped to death.

"In fact, it is better for us to come and help." Li Jing said, "Your Highness, after Wei Daoer got angry with Wang Xuba, he has been busy cleaning up Wang Xuba's forces. On the other hand, he is also busy building cities and strengthening fortresses. Wei Daoer has been preparing for military and horses. His goal is to take advantage of the chaos in Hedong to go out to Taihang and seize Shangdang, and then based on Shangdang's geographical advantage, fight for the southeast of Hedong, and fight for the central Taiyuan from the north, and then rely on Taihang to connect Hebei and Hedong, and finally compete with us. This plan can be said to be very strategic and is their best way out now."

For Yan State, being trapped in the southwest of Hebei was their death. Although they rely on the geographical advantage of the Yellow River and Zhang River, and relying on Handan, Xiangguo, Yecheng, Weicheng and other cities as fortresses to defend, for the invincible Hebei army, this was just waiting to die. Hebei and Shandong were all Chen Kefu's territory, and Henan was the power of Li Mi, and both sides were stronger than Yan State.

Therefore, the only way out for Yan State was Hedong. In the past, there were Li Yuan, Wang Xuba, and Wei Daoer unable to advance westward. However, Hedong has long become a chaotic situation. Shangdang and Taiyuan are still guarded by the Li family. This is the last chance of Yan State to compete for Hedong westward.

"If Wei Daoer goes west with all his might and runs Hebei's old nest into a turtle formation, we will be very troublesome to fight one by one. Wei Zhao and other counties are not the six counties in Henan that we have just swept away. These places are protected by the mountains and rivers, and are blocked by the fortresses. We have to do our best to deal with Li Mi now. Moreover, the situation in Hedong has reached the most critical moment. We must send troops to Hedong as soon as possible, otherwise Hedong may lose power. We don't have time to confront Wei Daoer, and we cannot let Wei Daoer attack Hedong." Chen Kefu shook his head and said.

"Your Highness is right." Li Jing smiled, "Your Highness, I think this letter from Li Mi is our opportunity. If Wei Daoer really goes to Hedong with all his strength, we will not be able to deal with it. But if Wei Daoer comes to support Henan, we will come to besiege the city to fight for assistance. In field battles, the Yan State of Wei Daoer is one of the only two remaining peasant armies. Although Wei Daoer has built hundreds of thousands of peasant armies, these people are just mobs who cut wood into soldiers. As long as they break their main force, they will inevitably be defeated and the counties of the pseudo-Yan State can be restored."

"I'm afraid that Wei Dao'er will not come to support Li Mi with all his strength, but instead attack Hedong while we are fighting with Li Mi." Luo Cheng, who was sitting beside Luo Yi, said.

"Let's force them to come!" Li Jing said in a deep voice.

Li Jing pointed to the map and said, "We have been operating in Hedong for a long time. Now it is almost time to pick fruits. Li Yuan, Li Jiancheng, and Li Shimin are all dead. Now the remnants of the Li family are still holding on to the two cities of Taiyuan and Shangdang. Previously, with His Highness's order, Marshal Wang Rengong has been allowing Liu Wuzhou in Hedong, Liang Shidu and others to fight with the Li family, but secretly has been developing our power. Although Marshal Wang still has only 5,000 troops in his hands, in fact, there are still about 20,000 small troops scattered into Hedong. Most of them are lurking in the Taihang Mountains and the northern grassland border. Moreover, the Special Service Department has been working hard to develop the Hedong power. Now many cities in Hedong have our troops, which can be used at the critical moment."

"What do you mean is that we will let Marshal Wang Rengong gather the troops in Hedong now and recover Hedong?" Chen Kefu hesitated. It was not too difficult to recover Hedong. The key is that he did not have much force to defend Hedong. With the 25,000 troops in Wang Rengong's hands and the infiltration of the Special Service Department in Hedong, he believed that he could attack Liu Wuzhou and other local tyrants caught off guard and seized important towns in Hedong in one fell swoop.

However, after taking over the Hedong cities, how to defend is a problem. It cannot be defended by only 20,000 people. Although the Hebei army has many soldiers, in fact, the regular army has only about 300,000, and there are many coalition forces of various races.

Now there are 100,000 Hebei troops gathered under Jindi Pass, and there are still 35,000 in Luokou. The continuous wars have allowed Chen Kefu to transfer almost all the troops from Liaodong and western Liaoning to Hebei and Shandong. If he wants to draw more troops into Hedong, it will take at least 30,000 to maintain an advantage over Hedong.

But in this way, not only will the defense of Liaodong and Liaoxi are empty, but the defense of Hebei and Shandong will be very empty. All the troops are gathered in Henan and Hedong. If the war is unfavorable and there is some unexpected situation, it will be a big trouble. Especially in Liaodong, there are many tribal kingdoms. In recent years, Chen Kefu shocked them with his strong strength and used his huge interests to win them over the years. But once the Hebei army is severely damaged, he will not only be under pressure from the powerful outsiders, but also face the threat from the rear.

War is sometimes gambling, but now the bigger the family business, the more Chen Kefu is, the more he is.

"No!" Chen Kefu pondered for a while, and finally shook his head to reject the proposal. Although it is a favorable opportunity to seize Hedong, it is equivalent to completely dragging Hebei into the Hedong battlefield. The battlefield in the Central Plains is in the moment of decisive battle. At this time, a large battlefield is opened in the east. This is not only a matter of military strength, but also a variety of issues such as logistics. Even Kawamoto must be placed inside and the unfavorable disposal of the empty rear. It is equivalent to collapse this string in Hebei to the extreme. Once an unexpected situation occurs, the consequences of the rebound will be the most serious.

"I have already thought about it and immediately pass an order to Marshal Wang Rengong, asking him to summon Liu Wuzhou and other troops from Hedong to gather troops and horses in the Shangdang area, and make preparations to prevent Wei Daoer from entering Hedong. Then let him secretly transfer 20,000 troops who had entered Hedong before entering Taiyuan in batches, and assist the Li family in defense. Before we decide on the victory in the Central Plains battlefield, let him continue to stabilize the situation in Hedong."

"Shangdang's Fukou Pass leads directly to Handan, so that Wei Daoer's plan to move westward can be temporarily cut off. In my opinion, we can set up a battlefield in Liyang, Jijun and fight Wei Daoer in Tongshan area of ​​Liyang. First, fight with Wei Dao quickly, then go south to fight with Li Mi, and finally send troops to Hedong. In this way, we can set a decisive battle with Wei Dao." Luo Yi put forward his own idea.

"No, the battlefield in the Central Plains is the most important thing at the moment. Hedong and Hebei are still in our control. We must now immediately advance westward and move troops to Luokou. We will defeat Li Mi immediately while he is still trapped in Luokou, and will never give him a chance to turn over, so as not to have too many dreams. I have decided to send troops tonight, and General Luo Yi will lead 50,000 troops to defend Hulao, Jindi, and Liyang, and block Wei Daoer's troops going south. This king and Marshal Li Jing will lead 50,000 troops to Luokou immediately and fight Li Mi to the decisive battle!"

Decisive battles often represent the final outcome of one battle. Although most such battles win with a strong side, it is also because of many uncertain factors on the battlefield that the situation will eventually lead to a situation where the less is defeated.

For both sides of the decisive battle, decisive battles sometimes have pros and cons.

However, for Chen Kefu, his family is now a big business, and the decisive battle, which was often the most uncertain in ancient times, actually did more harm than good for him. With his strength, especially now they have Hebei, Shandong, Huaibei, Liaodong, Liaoxi, Henan, and even Lingnan, Hedong, and other forces that seem to be dependent on him. He can be said to have the richest resources. As long as he takes every step, no one can be his opponent.

With only a few small wins, he will eventually accumulate into the final winner. But the decisive battle is different. If you are not careful, you will have the risk of failure. Decisive battle failure is different from the failure of ordinary wars.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Yuan Shao occupied the four states, and his territory can be said to be similar to Chen Kefu's current situation, and he had a huge advantage over Cao Cao in Henan. As a result, the decisive battle between Guandu, Yuan Shao was defeated by hundreds of thousands of people, but he was defeated by Cao Cao's tens of thousands of people. Yuan Shao's power then suffered one after another and was completely destroyed by Cao Cao.

In the Battle of Feishui in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Fu Jian's army claimed to have thrown whips and cut off the current, but was defeated by Xie An's 80,000 troops, which opened the beginning of the demise of the Former Qin Dynasty.

Chen Kefu did not want to fight Li Mi in a decisive battle, but the situation in Henan forced him to fight Li Mi in a decisive battle. For Chen Kefu, now is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it is a great opportunity to annihilate Li Mi in one fell swoop. Such an opportunity is fleeting.

After careful consideration, Chen Kefu decided to seize this opportunity. However, in order to avoid accidents, he still planned to bring 50,000 troops to Luokou. First, he could leave 50,000 troops to guard the six counties just captured in Henan and stabilize the rear of the battlefield. Second, in order to avoid accidents on the battlefield, there was no soldiers to stop and no way to retreat. With the first line of defense of Hulao Jindi, he could retreat immediately if the battlefield was not good.

Moreover, the speed of soldiers is the most important. The more soldiers and horses, the slower the marching will be. Moreover, there are already 130,000 soldiers and horses in Luokou, and he will bring another 50,000 people to the war. In terms of the number and quality of soldiers, they are far beyond Li Mi. No matter how many soldiers there are, they are already a tactic of adding fuel to them.
Chapter completed!