Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 694 Chaos Reigns
In order to deal with this military action, the Guanzhong court made the following arrangements:

The Southern Army is commanded by Li Baochen, and the main force of the army is also here. It was originally stationed in Tongguan and has now captured Luoyang.

The Northern Army was led by Ma Lin and was a detachment. Its plan was to go through Chenguan and seize the three cities of Heyang, but it was still stationed in Puzhou at the moment.

The Northern Army had to obey Li Baochen's orders, and the two armies were originally scheduled to meet in Luoyang.

The logistics base is located in Huayin County, which is not far from Tongguan and Puzhou, so the food supply can be guaranteed.

This arrangement was conservative and prudent. Later battles proved that the Northern Army's deployment was of little use.

Since the troops were not moving, Ma Lin, the commander of the Northern Army, naturally had to stay out of Puzhou. He heard that Li Baochen had won a tragic victory over the Konghe Army near Xin'an County, and he didn't think much of the commander.

They were outnumbered and their troops were just remnants. It was a fight like this. It is not an exaggeration to describe it as an "unfair victory".

But no matter what, a win is a win, and Ma Lin could not openly question Li Baochen's achievements.

The best strategy is to attack the enemy's plan; when the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman gains. Being able to fisher is a skill, no matter how you look at it.

The news of the victory spread to Puzhou, Guanzhong and Chang'an, causing a great response.

The Control Crane Army massacred Chang'an, and many dignitaries died in their hands. Now that Li Baochen has dealt with the Control Crane Army, the Tianlong people in Guanzhong are all grateful.

But this has nothing to do with Ma Lin.

On that day, Ma Lin, who was closely following the war situation, received a military order from Li Baochen: the Northern Army was to set out immediately, board boats at Fengling Ferry, and then go downstream to the three cities of Heyang, where they would change guard.

The army has taken over the defense of Puzhou, so Ma Lin doesn't have to worry about it.

Currently, the person in charge of the three cities of Heyang is Li Baochen's legitimate son Li Weiyue, who has a group of weak and disabled soldiers under his command. It is common to replace strong troops to take over important places. After all, Li Baochen still has to defend Luoyang.

This order seemed to be fine, and Ma Lin immediately prepared to march out after receiving it. However, the deputy general Sun Zhizhi pulled Ma Lin aside, as if he had something to say.

"General Ma, there is something wrong with this military order!"

Inside the bond room at the top of Puzhou City, Sun Zhizhi said with a serious expression.

"Is there a problem? Ma doesn't see any problem."

Ma Lin asked with a puzzled look on his face.

Ma Lin was in his thirties, in the prime of his life. He had been in the army since he was young, so he was quite straightforward and didn't know much about complicated things.

However, Sun Zhizhi came from a powerful family in Longyou. He had dealt with many Hu merchants from the Western Regions in the past and was a meticulous person.

He noticed at first glance that this military order was unusual.

“The problem is not the authenticity of the military order, but the intention of Marshal Li.

It is not human nature to let General Ma take over the three cities of Heyang at this time."

Sun Zhizhi said calmly.

Ma Lin's expression suddenly became serious, no longer as nonchalant as before.

He asked Sun Zhizhi to sit down, and ordered his personal soldiers to dismiss the people around him. Then he came back and asked in a low voice: "What do you mean?"

"If we had not defeated the Konghe Army before, attacking the three cities of Heyang would be the most difficult and dangerous task. It is reasonable to let General Ma carry out the task, which is also in line with Li Baochen's thoughts.

But this is a different time!

After the capture of Luoyang, the three cities of Heyang had backup. To the west, there were troops from the imperial court at Chenguan, to the southwest, there were troops from the imperial court at Tongguan, and to the southeast, there were troops from the imperial court at Luoyang, so they could support each other.

Now that An Shouzhong has surrendered and Li Huaiguang has died, there are no more major or fierce battles to be fought.

It was normal for Li Baochen to let his son gain military merit in this place, but it was very abnormal to let General Ma switch guard with his son!
"If there is military merit, Li Baochen can keep it for himself, but he is so noble and upright that he gives it to General Ma. Is this possible?"

Sun Zhi said this with certainty.

Why are some people able to convince others with their words? It is because they can often speak to the point and touch people's hearts.

Ma Lin's troops were all from Guanzhong, and they were considered the direct descendants of the Guanzhong Tianlong people. Li Baochen was an outsider, and most of his soldiers were from outside Guanzhong.

Li Baochen did not take action to deal with Ma Lin because he considered the political balance and the overall situation of his career. But not dealing with him was already the limit. It was impossible to expect Li Baochen to be sincere and caring to Ma Lin.

This is not in line with the most basic political principles and goes against human nature.

People with different ideas cannot work together, and people who are not in the same circle cannot have the same interests.

Even if Li Baochen was a fool and really did this, Ma Lin would not dare to believe it!

Therefore, Sun Zhizhi thought Li Baochen's military order was very suspicious.

Otherwise, the three cities of Heyang will encounter major changes, such as encountering a powerful enemy and a fierce battle.

Li Baochen wanted to send Ma Lin to be a scapegoat!

Or, Li Baochen wanted to seize Puzhou and needed to transfer Ma Lin's troops away from Guanzhong.

One of the two is always true, or even both may be true.

In other words, in Li Baochen's view, it was enough for the people in Guanzhong to know that he could fight. It would be best if Ma Lin was a straw bag who could do nothing. This was the best.

Otherwise, if Ma Lin can do what Li Baochen can do, then why should the Tianlong people in Guanzhong rely on the protection of Marshal Baochen?

As he tried to understand these details, Ma Lin's back instantly became wet with cold sweat!
I’m afraid this transfer order is... not well-intentioned!
Ma Lin thought sinisterly in his heart.

However, it was difficult to refuse, because Li Shiyu was in Huayin, in charge of the granary and responsible for allocating food and fodder. If Ma Lin disobeyed the military order, he would immediately cut off the food supply and then dismiss Ma Lin from his post in the name of the prime minister.

At that time, Ma Lin had few options, either to fight to the death or to admit defeat.

This army belonged to the "imperial court", not his private army. If things really got out of hand, Ma Lin would not be in the right.

"General Sun, what good plan do you have?"

Ma Lin asked with a worried look on his face.

"General Ma wrote a letter saying that the Yellow River was turbulent and that floating ice could be seen from time to time. It was dangerous to take a boat and that going by water was not a good idea.

It is better to go through Chenguan, which is safer by land.

Since the commander-in-chief has already pacified Luoyang, it doesn’t matter if I am a few days late.”

Sun Zhizhi sneered and continued, "If Li Baochen has not sent any news, it would be fine. But if he writes again or sends another order to urge us, it must be a trick! General Ma, please go east slowly and take fewer people with you. I think Li Baochen wants to control Puzhou!"

Tongguan is already under the control of Li Baochen. If Puzhou is also controlled, the entrance to the east of Guanzhong will be blocked.

What does Li Baochen want to do?
Ma Lin shuddered.

It hasn’t been long since those things happened in Chang’an!

He didn't want to risk his life for certain people, but if Li Baochen wanted to do something, Ma Lin would inevitably be implicated.

How could he pretend not to see it?
"Would that be bad?"

Ma Lin asked uncertainly. To be honest, these were just his and Sun Zhizhi's inferences, and Li Baochen was just issuing military orders "normally".

If everything is just their guess, it will give others a handle to use against them later, and they might even lose their heads!
This is going to be a difficult matter.

"How about this, you take 5,000 soldiers and go through Chenguan. Ma will take 5,000 people to stay in Puzhou.

Let's see what Li Baochen is up to."

Ma Lin nodded and said.

Sun Zhizhi was helpless. This approach would not work on either side and would fail anyway, so why bother?
It was obvious that Li Baochen wanted to massacre Chang'an, otherwise he would not have been able to drive Ma Lin out of Guanzhong.

But he was not the commander-in-chief, so what he said didn't count. He could only sigh.

Soon, Sun Zhizhi led 5,000 troops to Chenguan Pass. He planned to wait until Chenguan Pass and then decide whether to exchange defense with the defenders of the three cities of Heyang based on the situation.

Ma Lin wrote a letter to Li Baochen and sent it to Luoyang by water. In the letter, he stated all the high-sounding reasons he had discussed with Sun Zhizhi.

In short, I have sent my deputy general with some troops to carry out the military order. But Puzhou is very important, so I will wait until you send troops to Puzhou before I set out. Otherwise, I, Ma, cannot bear the responsibility for the loss of Puzhou.

……

On the top of Beizhong City, Li Weiyue looked at the remnant soldiers sent to him by his father Li Baochen. He really didn't know what to say and felt full of dissatisfaction.

In Li Baochen's plan, the war was over at this moment, and the Guanzhong court had also achieved its established goals: to recover the three cities of Luoyang and Heyang, to deal with An Shouzhong, Li Huaiguang and the Konghe Army.

It can be considered a complete victory.

Now these strategic goals have been achieved. As for taking down Li Guiren in Yecheng, or even competing with Bianzhou, that is not something that can be done in this expedition.

There is insufficient preparation for war, and it is impossible to sustain the military presence for a long time, so a reckless fight will lead to defeat.

This matter needs to be discussed in the long run.

The three cities of Heyang are safer than Luoyang, smaller and easier to defend.

Li Baochen stuffed all the wounded soldiers after the war and the weak soldiers in the army into Beizhong City. In fact, he also intended to train his legitimate son Li Weiyue.

Give him an opportunity to win people's hearts.

To be honest, Li Baochen was somewhat disappointed with this legitimate son, because his ability and intelligence were obviously inferior to that of the eldest son, Li Weicheng, who was arrogant and impetuous.

This time they had already won, and the next thing to do was to clean up the battlefield, deal with the remaining soldiers, and so on. Li Baochen felt that he could let go and let his son get familiar with military affairs and exercise his abilities.

It is a bit cumbersome, but it is not dangerous and is most suitable for people like Li Weiyue.

After all, this legitimate son will inherit the family business in the future, so how can he be uneducated?

Unfortunately, Li Weiyue could not understand his father's painstaking efforts. He just felt that Li Baochen was making things difficult for him.

"General Li, the commander-in-chief has ordered us to march to Huaizhou City immediately and seize Huaizhou."

Just as Li Wei Yue was in a daze on the top of the city wall, a messenger came forward and handed him Li Baochen's military order.

Theoretically, Huaizhou City should be a "no man's land" now, but it cannot be ruled out that some remnants of Li Huaiguang or An Shouzhong are here.

These scattered soldiers are not a force to be reckoned with, their morale has been crushed, and their military spirit is scattered. Any organized army can deal with them.

This is a simple task, a truly simple task no matter how you look at it.

In previous wars, hundreds of soldiers were usually enough to do this, and there were even cases where more than a dozen people took over a city. For example, Li Baochen himself took over a city with only 16 riders.

Five thousand old, weak and disabled soldiers are more than enough to take over a city.

In the eyes of many people, Li Baochen really put a lot of effort into cultivating his legitimate son.

Sometimes it is not easy to find a simple and bright-sounding one among many military affairs.

To outsiders who don't know the inside story, conquering Huaizhou must have seemed extremely difficult, since it was, after all, just attacking a city or capturing a stronghold.

But in fact, if it is an empty city, you can just take over it directly, it is not troublesome at all. It is human nature to add a little Spring and Autumn style to the battle report to gild the son.

"I know, I know, get out of here!"

Li Weiyue scolded the messenger impatiently and was in an irritated mood.

It is quite appropriate for these old and weak subordinates to take over the city, but it just doesn't sound very impressive.

He gathered 2,500 infantrymen and 500 cavalrymen, a total of 3,000 people, and marched casually towards Huaizhou.

There is a saying about the Tang army organization that "one horse is equivalent to five steps."

That is, when the infantry and cavalry were mixed, a cavalry unit of 100 men was at the same level as a 500-man infantry unit, which was a "battalion" level unit. The transfer of officers and the allocation of food and fodder were the same, which was considered a transfer of the same level.

All for the convenience of management.

A regular field army consists of 4,000 cavalry and 20,000 infantry, totaling 24,000 people.

Of course, in the Kaiyuan era, they were all frontier troops, and their organization was based on the carrying capacity of the garrison. There was no reference value, and they were all adapted to local conditions. Where there were many horses, the cavalry organization was large.

These 500 cavalrymen were the elite troops sent by Li Baochen to protect Li Weiyue, while the 2,500 old and weak were the real weaklings.

Li Wei Yue certainly didn't want to bother with these weaklings, so he led the cavalry in front, and the infantry and cavalry quickly opened up a distance.

Further north of Beizhongcheng, there is a tributary of the Yellow River. The spring flood has not yet arrived and the water is very shallow. Li Weiyue did not take it seriously and led the cavalry to wade across the river.

Because there was unlikely to be any danger in this area, and the only threatening Bianzhou army was unlikely to appear here, Li Weiyue was very relaxed, feeling that it was similar to a spring outing.

Dad is still on his side.

Thinking about this "simple task" of taking over Huaizhou, Li Weiyue comforted himself in his heart.

Huaizhou City is located on the north side of a series of mountains. The mountain roads are not rugged and there are no natural dangers, but this place is obviously not suitable for large-scale cavalry maneuvers.

Standing at the entrance of the winding mountain road that seemed to have no end, Li Weiyue was in a dilemma.

We can go directly through the mountain road and reach Huaizhou City today, which is very close.

If we take a detour, we have to go to Meng County first and bypass a series of mountains. We will be lucky if we can get there before sunset tomorrow. This series of mountains is also the administrative boundary between Henan Prefecture and Huaizhou.

Take the shortcut or the long way around?
The young and energetic Li Weiyue immediately chose to take the mountain path directly.

This is not just an ordinary detour. The route is more than three times longer. The key point is that it will be embarrassing if it gets out.

His father, Li Baochen, was fully armed and took care of An Shouzhong and Li Huaiguang in one fell swoop. As a result, his son Li Weiyue had to take a detour to take over Huaizhou City, which was a small matter. It would not sound good if it were made public.

Li Weiyue couldn't afford to lose this person.

The five hundred cavalrymen changed their formation, with two or three horses in a row, and walked into the valley. The team instantly became very long.

Li Weiyue lacked experience in commanding troops, and because they were at their "doorstep", he even skipped the process of sending out scouts to explore the way.

What he didn't notice was that there were ghosts swarming on both sides of the mountain path.

In the dense woods on the hillside, bows, crossbows and armor appeared and disappeared when the wind blew.

There is a new player who has been waiting here for a long time!

(End of this chapter)