The gods began by supporting Guo Jing to become emperor

Chapter 194: Taking the Dragon Elephant Prajna, the First Battle
The old monk stood outside the main hall and nodded slightly, "Yes, it is the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique passed down by my Tantric Buddhism."

Su Ming's eyes focused and he took a closer look, realizing that the young monk's body was full of energy and vitality. He felt that this trip was worthwhile, and only martial arts like this were worth traveling thousands of miles to come here.

Although he wanted to learn horizontal training kung fu in order to create his own sword-finger martial arts, this martial art is also a rare top-notch martial art among the gold-based martial arts. Other martial arts may require very high qualifications, but Dragon Elephant Boluo Kung Fu is very easy to get started. The disadvantage is that it takes too long and is difficult to achieve perfection.

The young monk's attack was interrupted and his expression suddenly changed. The middle-aged monk and the old monk beside him also took action. They turned their palms into knives and slashed at Su Ming. Sharp wind swept around, and he felt the wind of the knife on their palms.

He stood still, pressed his palm with one hand, and invisible energy gathered in front of him. His hand knife landed on the Qi barrier like ripples on the water, sweeping across the water, but it could not advance an inch. He exerted his energy and the force exploded. The two had to retreat to release their energy. Every step back left a deep footprint on the stone bricks.

The old monk who was watching from the sidelines suddenly flashed a gleam of light in his narrowed eyes, and was shocked, "What a profound true energy, this person's martial arts is really at the pinnacle!"

After the first test, the three monks knew that the other party's skills were profound and extraordinary. When their eyes made contact, they had an unspoken understanding and they all opened their fists and attacked Su Ming together.

Su Ming dispersed his Qi barrier and fought the enemy with the Great Demon Subduing Fist.

"boom!"

"boom!"

The afterimages intertwined, making the crowd dazzled. The powerful fists collided with each other, and the air was filled with sonic booms, exploding like thunder. Su Ming swung his fists and threw dozens of punches in the blink of an eye, forming fist marks in the air.

The three people's true energy was mobilized, and their breath was connected as if to form a main body. The one standing in the front was actually the old monk. From Su Ming's perception, although the true energy in the old monk's body was strong, it had lost its purity and was difficult to control completely.

He was a little surprised in his heart, but having tested the opponent's strength, he knew there was no need to continue fighting. He then gathered all his energy, spread out his five fingers, and pressed hard. The surrounding air currents rolled up and swarmed over, and a huge palm force came down with a bang.

Upon seeing this, the old monk immediately said, "Young friend, you can't do that!"

As the palm force fell, the integrated aura of the three monks was broken first. Seeing that the palm force was about to fall, the middle-aged monk and the young monk immediately pressed their palms on the major acupoints behind the old monk to supply him with true energy.

In the blink of an eye, the true energy of the three people gathered on the old monk. He lowered his eyebrows, made a Buddhist seal with his hands, and suddenly threw a punch.

"puff!"

Two powerful true energies collided in the air, emitting force in all directions. The hard stone bricks were shattered and turned into rubble that flew out like bullets. They were so powerful that the people watching around them changed their expressions and quickly dodged.

The old monk's expression changed the moment he came into contact with Su Ming's palm power. He couldn't block it, absolutely couldn't block it!
The force recoiled, and the three of them were hit back. Their blood surged, and blood flowed out from the corners of their mouths. They were knocked away by the enormous force, and blood spilled, and they fell heavily to the ground.

When the dust cleared, the miserable conditions of the three monks came into view. The monks looked at Su Ming with fear and dread. Such martial arts were too terrifying!

The old monk also put on a serious expression and stopped him, "Young man, please show mercy."

Su Ming had only used a fraction of his strength in the palm strike just now. Seeing the old monk surrender, Su Ming immediately turned around and asked, "Senior, do you agree?"

The old monk had a bitter smile on his face. "If I had known that you could do it, I would not have humiliated myself." After that, he said to the monks beside him, "Take them away to heal their wounds, and leave now."

Some monks were still hesitant, but seeing the old monk's serious face, they had no choice but to leave with the crowd.

After they left, the old monk let out a long sigh, "You really make me ashamed. I am old but I am far inferior to you." He paused for a moment and continued, "I will teach you the Dragon Elephant Prajna and the Supreme Yoga Secret Vehicle in person later. However, these two martial arts are the fundamental methods of my Tantric Buddhism. Please do not pass them on to others."

After saying that, he came back to his senses and looked at Su Ming again, "Forget it, it's up to you." How could a strong man be bound by a weak person? Even if Su Ming passed on his martial arts to others, the Tantric Buddhism could not do anything to him.

What can I do if my skills are not as good as others?

Su Ming came to the Tantric Buddhism just for the Dragon Elephant Prajna. Now that he had it, Su Ming would naturally not do anything meaningless. He took out a letter from his arms, snapped his fingers, and in the blink of an eye it fell in front of the old monk.

He reached out and took it, somewhat confused.

"I won't take your Tantric martial arts for nothing. Just consider it as compensation." Su Ming smiled, and then strolled around the Tantric mountain gate. The old monk accompanied him and did not dare to neglect him.

Three days later, the old monk and a dozen other monks watched Su Ming leave, and they were not completely relieved until he disappeared.

With such people, the Central Plains is truly a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery!

Among those monks, the young monk who had fought with him before looked at the direction where Su Ming left, his eyes full of dissatisfaction. If there was someone in the temple who could practice the Dragon Elephant Prajna to perfection, he would definitely be able to stop this man!

……

Central Plains, the land of Heluo.

Luoyang is located in the center of the world and has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. It is crisscrossed with mountains and rivers, backed by Qinling Mountains in the west, adjacent to Songshan Mountain in the east, backed by Taihang Mountains and the dangerous Yellow River in the north, and overlooking Funiu Mountain and Wanye in the south. It can be said that "it is surrounded by rivers and mountains and has the best geographical location in the world". Luoyang city is also surrounded by steep passes and has many strategic passes. There are eight major passes around it, namely Hangu Pass, Yique Pass, Guangcheng Pass, Dagu Pass, Huanyuan Pass, Xuanmen Pass, Mengjin Pass and Xiaopingjin Pass, collectively known as the "Capital of the Eight Passes".

After Zhao Kuangyin established the Song Dynasty, he wanted to move the capital to Luoyang, but was dissuaded by Zhao Guangyi, who said that "Mountains and rivers lie in virtue, not in danger." In the end, the plan was shelved. After Zhao Kuangyin's death, the matter of moving the capital was naturally shelved.

In terms of population resources, Luoyang had experienced the wars of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, and people's livelihood was in decline, which was not enough to support a country's capital. In addition, the canal was blocked. Luoyang was not as well connected as Kaifeng, which had important transportation and water conservancy facilities. Therefore, after the Song Dynasty, Luoyang gradually withdrew from the stage of history and became a second-rate city.

But that was two hundred years ago. After two hundred years of development, both Guanzhong and the Heluo Plain have long since regained their former prosperity. Although they are no longer the center of the world, their geographical advantages have spared them from many wars in these troubled times.

Compared with the north, the disadvantage of the south is that its geographical situation is fragmented. In the north, there are the North China Plain, Guanzhong Plain, Heluo Plain, Sanjin Basin, Nanyang Basin, etc. These basins naturally occupy geographical advantages and are easy to develop in troubled times. In the south, there is only one Bashu worth mentioning.

On the march, Guo Jing flipped through the ancient maps of Chang'an and slowly thought about how to fight this battle. There is no doubt that this battle is a tough one that will determine the future of the world. Once the Jin Kingdom loses, they will inevitably be driven out of the north and live in the south of the Yangtze River. On the contrary, if they win, they can not only keep their current territory, but also recover the lost territory.

In this battle, Guo Jing dispatched an army of 150,000, which was all the elite troops. The army left behind in Guanzhong and the Three Jins was only tens of thousands, and the same was true for Mu Huali.

The two men attacked on their own and were not under the command of each other. Anyway, their goal was to capture Kaifeng and drive the Jin people out of Henan. As for destroying the Jin Dynasty in one go, that was impossible unless the Southern Song Dynasty also sent troops with them. Only by combining the strength of the three parties could the Jin Dynasty be destroyed.

But looking at the current situation, it is completely impossible to count on the Southern Song Dynasty. If the capital was moved to Changsha, Guo Jing felt that there might still be some hope, but he ran to Nanchang Prefecture in one breath. This shows the current situation of the Song Dynasty. The "Jin phobia" has already penetrated into the bone marrow and is incurable.

There was a classic example of attacking Luoyang from Guanzhong in ancient times, when Li Shimin attacked Wang Shichong in Luoyang. Basically, we can follow Li Shimin's tactics and first cut off Luoyang's food supply, that is, attack important granaries such as Huiluo Cang and Luokou Cang to cut off the food supply in Luoyang City, and then attack Henei along the Yellow River to cut off the supply of reinforcements.

It is true that the Eight Passes of Luoyang are strong passes, but no matter how dangerous the pass is, there must be people guarding it. The more airtight and tight the terrain is, the better the requirements for the defenders. More passes mean more loopholes. It's not like Bashu, where they can lock up the Jiange and other passes and deploy defenses along the Yangtze River to block the enemy.

In the camp, Lu Guanying asked doubtfully, "My Lord, why don't we surround Luoyang and force the Jin people to rescue us? After all, if we attack the city, the casualties will be too great."

Guo Jing looked at the map on the table and shook his head. "Although Uncle Mu Huali is willing to provide food, I don't think he can give much. The war in the north has not ended in recent years, and there are constant natural disasters. This time we can drive the Jin people out of Henan, which is the limit. It will be difficult to continue fighting in Huaibei."

Then, he glanced at Lu Guanying and said in a deep voice, "Guanying, after this battle, you will stay in Guanzhong."

Lu Guanying was stunned, a little confused, "My Lord, I..."

"My territory is too large, and I need someone to take charge of it. You have been with me for so many years and have been my deputy in the army. I feel relieved to leave you in Guanzhong."

If it weren't for Mu Huali's invitation, Guo Jing might not have demoted Lu Guanying to a local position, but with Luoyang, Chang'an became a secondary choice. There was no other way. Luoyang had the Yellow River waterway for transporting food and fodder, and Guanzhong couldn't afford to support so many soldiers and civilians, so Luoyang was more convenient. Moreover, Luoyang was quite close to Chang'an.

Since the Qin and Han dynasties, Guanzhong has lasted for thousands of years and has housed countless people. But by the Tang Dynasty, Guanzhong was no longer viable. Otherwise, why would Emperor Gaozong of Tang and his wife always run to Luoyang? It was because they had run out of food and had no choice but to run.

Luoyang is the center of the world, and it is not an exaggeration. Jiankang is too far to the south, Zhongdu is too far to the north, and only Luoyang is located in the center of the world and can control all directions.

Lu Guanying opened his mouth, but found that he couldn't say anything to refuse, so he could only bow and thank him, "Thank you, Lord."

"Call Wang Shan and Zhang Rou over here."

"I will retire at the end."

After a while, Wang Shan and Zhang Rou arrived at Guo Jing's camp.

Both of them were burly middle-aged men, in the prime of their life. However, Zhang Rou wore a military uniform, while Wang Shan often wore a scholar's shirt, and his temperament made him look more like a scholar than a general.

Guo Jing sat at the head of the group, looking down at the two men. "You two have often dealt with the Jin people in the past. This time, I intend to use you as the vanguard, leading an army of 10,000. Do you have any objections?"

Wang Shan and Zhang Rou looked at each other and quickly responded, "I obey your orders!"

Before setting out on the expedition, Guo Jing and his close confidants had already decided on a strategy for attacking Luoyang. He followed the same plan and sent Zhang Rou and Wang Shan to unite tens of thousands of elite troops and march south along the Yellow River to recapture Luocang and Luokoucang.

These two granaries are where grain is stored in Luoyang. Without the important grain, the enemy army would not be able to hold Luoyang for long even if they were trapped. There was another purpose for taking the granaries, which was to force the Jin army to come out for a decisive battle.

The Jin army now did not dare to fight Guo Jing in the field, and he had always been the one taking the initiative. This created a situation where, after he conquered the Three Jins, the Jin people often defended the city and did not dare to fight a decisive battle with him.

In fact, this battle would not last long, and it still depended on Mu Huali's men. After all, his food supply route was too long. When transporting food and grass from the Three Jins, often less than 50% of one stone of grain would be delivered to the front line. Moreover, he basically never stopped fighting in these years, and he could not afford to delay as he had little food in stock.

Seizing the Jin army's food and supplies can also reduce the pressure on logistics, killing two birds with one stone.

Afterwards, Guo Jing gave them some instructions on military matters and asked them to leave.

After leaving the military tent, Wang Shan sighed leisurely, "Before, when I first saw the Marquis, I was impressed by his youth and great talent. He has built such a large family business before he turned thirty. A real man should hold a three-foot sword and accomplish great deeds. It is wise for you and me to leave the Jin Kingdom and join the Marquis."

"Brother Zhang, thank you for your help in this battle."

Zhang Rou also nodded, expressing his deep agreement, "Brother Wang, you are joking. As both of us are Han officials, we should help each other and take those two important places for the Marquis."

……

At the end of October, Han army generals Wang Shan and Zhang Rou led an army of 10,000, divided their forces into two groups and took a detour, mainly using cavalry, to launch a surprise attack on Huiluo Warehouse and Luokou Warehouse on the banks of the Yellow River.

The Jin people had anticipated this battle, but they were still powerless against the elite Han army. In the past few years of fighting, Guo Jing's men had also trained elite infantry. In contrast, the combat effectiveness of the Jin army did not increase but decreased. The soldiers left in Henan to defend were tired and weak, and could not resist.

The main general of the Jin army was Wanyan Baisa, a member of the Jin royal family and the great-grandson of Wanyan Zongbing. He made many military achievements in the wars against the Song Dynasty. However, he was on bad terms with Wanyan Saibushi and was excluded and stayed in Henan to guard the pass.

Before the war, Wanyan Baisa fortified his city and cleared the fields, deploying tens of thousands of troops to defend the two large warehouses.

But the Han army was determined to take the Cangkou area. In addition, the Han army had horses, so they launched a direct surprise attack. The Jin army was defeated after a desperate fight. Before losing the warehouse, the Jin army burned the food, and most of the food in Luokou Warehouse was burned.

After the war broke out, both sides almost showed their cards, but the gap in strength was too big. Wang Shan and Zhang Rou were both generals who knew military skills. After a fierce battle, they captured two large warehouses and made their first contribution.

Immediately, Guo Jing sent troops to take over the granary and dispatched Lu Guanying to attack Mengjin Pass to stop the Jin army's reinforcements.

(End of this chapter)