The gods began by supporting Guo Jing to become emperor

Chapter 195: To protect oneself by keeping the enemy at bay, the Jin Kingdom cannot be beaten too badly!

At the same time as Guo Jing went on the expedition, another detachment set out from the Three Jins to prepare to attack Weizhou, which was the gateway to Kaifeng. Once Weizhou was captured, Guo Jing's army could easily cross the Yellow River and head straight to Kaifeng, which would be faster than attacking from Hebei.

The army led by Guo Jing was the main force, and the army attacking Weizhou was the detachment. Once this city was captured, the strategic advantage would be firmly in his hands. If Mu Huali could not take over the pass in Henan, he could also pass through Weizhou and take a detour from here.

After capturing the two granaries, the army arrived at Hulao Pass outside Luoyang. Hundreds of years ago, it was here that Li Shimin defeated the armies of Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande and established his rule in one battle.

Now, Hulao Pass once again faced new enemies. With the previous experience of attacking Tongguan and Chang'an, the Han army had adapted to the tactics of siege. They first tested the enemy's defense strength and then pushed in the catapults.

The whistling stones fell from the sky and landed on the city wall. The rubble flew everywhere, and some unlucky soldiers were smashed into meat paste on the spot.
The Jin army general guarding the city knew that this pass could not be defended, but he still fought desperately.

Five days later, the towers of Hulao Pass were crumbling, the walls were full of cracks, and the morale of the defenders was depressed to the extreme. During the past five days, the Han army had launched offensives day and night, and the defenders had consumed a lot of energy and could not sleep at all.

During this period, the defending general also wanted to burn down the enemy camp, but the soldiers he sent out failed as expected. Then he sealed the gate and held his ground.

With the enemy outnumbering us, the Han army finally captured Hulao Pass and opened the gateway to Luoyang. After resting at Hulao Pass for three days and leaving a part of the soldiers to garrison Hulao Pass, the army advanced step by step, swept the Jin army's strongholds along the way, and finally arrived at the city of Luoyang.

Upon learning that Guo Jing was going to attack the Jin Kingdom, Jin army general Wanyan Baisa reinforced the walls of Luoyang early and prepared supplies for defending the city. At this time, there were as many as 50,000 defenders in Luoyang, which was one of the few large Jin army in the north.

When Guo Jing arrived at the city of Luoyang, he did not rush to attack. Instead, he first swept through the counties and towns around Luoyang, cutting off the Jin army's food supply. At the same time, he attacked the other eight passes of Luoyang to completely cut off their retreat.

Over the next month, the two sides engaged in several tentative offensive and defensive battles but did not engage in a full-scale fight.

Chinese army camp.

Guo Jing stood in the center of the big tent, looking at the map in front of him and lost in thought. Wang Shan, Zhang Rou, the Shi family father and son and other generals were waiting on the side, talking about the matter. There was no doubt that Luoyang was a tough nut to crack, even tougher than Chang'an.

Compared with Chang'an, Luoyang's city defense is several levels higher. Although Chang'an is large, it is not easy to defend. Luoyang has established a solid city defense since the Jin Dynasty and has its own defense system.

If he wanted to take this city by force, he had to be prepared for more than 50,000 casualties.

Lu Guanying spoke first, "My Lord, we have already captured the passes of the surrounding counties and prefectures. Luoyang has become an isolated city. As long as the siege continues, the Jin army will surely leave the city due to lack of food and manpower. By then, we can win the battle and take Luoyang."

After the targeted explosion at Hulao Pass, the eight passes of Luoyang basically lost their defense. It was easy to stop the enemies from outside, but it was difficult to guard against the enemies from within. The Han army attacked the pass directly from behind, and the Jin army could not stop it at all, so it was natural for them to be captured.

Guo Jing's expression did not change at all. "Well done. Is there enough food in the Luokou warehouse?"

"We are still in a state of rest and recuperation. The food and fodder we have transported here is enough to last for two months."

"Two months? That's enough." Guo Jing muttered to himself and made a mark on the map.

……

Kaifeng of the Jin Dynasty.

Yang Kang and his confidants arrived at the city wall. Looking at the large ships coming and going at the ferry outside the city, he felt quite uncomfortable. More than a month ago, he was still immersed in the joy of the Jin Kingdom's conquest of Jiangnan.

Now he has tasted the bitterness of being a weakling. The Jin Dynasty has moved its capital again. It is obvious that they defeated the Song Dynasty like beating a dead dog, so why are they powerless against Mongolia?

And there is Guo Jing. He had already taken over Guanzhong, but he was still not satisfied and set his sights on Kaifeng. He is really hateful.

Yang Kang has very complicated feelings towards Guo Jing. The two are of similar age and their fathers were sworn brothers, but they have embarked on completely opposite paths. Now, one of them is the son-in-law of the Mongolian Khan and the leader of a region, and the other is the prince of the Jin Kingdom, holding a high position of power.

However, whenever he thought of the previous failure of Yanyu Tower and the losses caused by Guo Jing to the Jin Dynasty, he felt jealous and hatred in his heart. He was jealous of his achievements, jealous of his endless victories, and hated him as an enemy of the Jin Dynasty. If they met on the battlefield, he would kill him without hesitation.

But now, Yang Kang understood that the most important thing for the Jin Kingdom was to recuperate and expand its army. This time he came to Kaifeng in person to preside over the relocation of the capital. On the one hand, he wanted to maintain order, and on the other hand, he wanted to relocate the population of the counties surrounding Kaifeng.

In any case, the military and civilians in Henan cannot be left to the Mongols. To build a large army, one must rely on the support of the people. A rule without the people is nothing but rootless duckweed. The south of the Yangtze River is prosperous, but the Song Dynasty took away a large number of Han people when it went south, and the people of Henan just filled the gap.

"Your Highness, there is a war report from the north."

While he was daydreaming, his confidant came hurriedly to report.

"So fast?"

When Yang Kang learned that Luoyang was under siege and Weizhou was attacked, he was indescribably surprised. It had only been a few days and the pass of Luoyang had been breached. And there was also Weizhou, which was the gateway to Kaifeng. Once it was breached, the consequences would be disastrous.

Then, he hurriedly ended his inspection, returned to the palace with his confidants, and quickly summoned important officials in Kaifeng City to discuss matters. In the end, they chose to abandon Luoyang and rescue Weizhou.

There was no way. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that it was only a matter of time before Luoyang fell. Guo Jing had an army of more than 100,000 men. Which general would dare to touch his tiger's beard? And Weizhou was very close to Kaifeng. There was only a small army there, so it was not difficult to defend.

Yang Kang glanced at the ministers of His Highness, his eyes filled with pressure, "How many people have been relocated in the past few days?"

An old official replied, "Your Highness, since Your Majesty decided to move the capital, we have worked day and night to relocate 100,000 households, but the various government offices have occupied the boats, and it will take at least two months to take all the people in Kaifeng away."

Hearing this number, Yang Kang nodded slightly, "You have done a good job. When we reach Jiankang, I will personally ask for your credit in front of my father. In the next two months, I hope you can help each other and tide over the difficulties together. When we reach the south, life will be stable."

"Thank you, Your Highness. It is our duty to share your concerns."

Yang Kang looked at the dozen or so officials in front of him, and a hint of desire rose in his eyes. As Wanyan Honglie's prestige in the Jin Dynasty grew day by day, he, the Crown Prince, became worthy of the title, and many officials had already joined him, which was considered to be a preliminary team. After the capital was moved, these old officials of the Jin Dynasty would automatically rise in status, so why not take this opportunity to win them over? Thinking of this, he became more and more eager.

……

Inside the General's Mansion in Luoyang, a middle-aged man in a scholar's shirt was bending over his desk, writing furiously. He was the commander of the Jin army, Wanyan Baisa. As Guo Jing swept through the towns, bad news came one after another, and he knew that Luoyang had become an isolated city.

As an important official of the Jin Dynasty, he naturally knew about the relocation of the capital of the Jin Dynasty, and he also knew that Luoyang was abandoned. In fact, he could have broken out long before Guo Jing completed the encirclement, but he gave up.

He is a member of the Jin royal family and an important official. Once he abandons the city and flees, giving up an important town like Luoyang, it can be imagined that it will deal a heavy blow to the morale of the Jin Dynasty. Therefore, not only can he not leave, but he must stay to delay Guo Jing and buy enough time for the Jin Dynasty.

late at night.

There was a burst of shouting and killing outside the camp. Guo Jing, who was curled up on the bed, woke up from his meditation. Although the military affairs had been busy these days, they were much lighter than before.

The official teams in Chang'an, Taiyuan and other places have already started to operate, and many government affairs no longer need to be sent from the rear to wait for his instructions, allowing him to free himself from the busy government affairs.

He was not in a hurry for this battle, because Mu Huali had not yet officially launched his attack. At this time, they were still sweeping Zhending Prefecture. The Jin army general Wu Xian abandoned the city and fled, and his whereabouts were unknown.

It won't be long before he can enter Henan, but he can't fight too fast. After all, this war was initiated by Mu Huali, and he can't take over the initiative. He had just conquered Guanzhong not long ago. Now it would be enough to take Luoyang and some prefectures in Henan. The rest can be left to Mu Huali.

"How's it going outside?"

The guards outside the tent replied, "My Lord, the enemy burned some tents and has been destroyed."

These days, the Han army and the Jin army often carry out tricks such as night attacks. Although they are not big fights, small-scale attacks are still okay. If they can break into Luoyang or the Jin army burns their food and grass, they will make a profit.

After being woken up, he didn't want to sleep anymore, so he went to the desk and read the report. When he saw the news that Jin Dynasty had moved its capital, he was stunned. There was only one thought left in his mind: Wanyan Honglie had run away again.

A few years ago, Genghis Khan besieged the Jin Dynasty's Zhongdu. Wanyan Honglie was ordered to take charge of the situation and surrender to Mongolia. Eventually the Khan withdrew his troops. As a result, the Jin Dynasty moved its capital, which made Genghis Khan extremely angry.

They ran away too quickly, and Mongolia didn't get any benefits from taking over Zhongdu. But just a few years later, the Jin Dynasty ran away again.

After coming to his senses, he thought about it and felt that it was normal for the Jin Dynasty to move its capital. He had never thought that he could defeat the Jin Dynasty in one blow. However, Mu Huali might be disappointed.

If the Jin Dynasty moved its capital, even if it captured Kaifeng, its political position would be greatly compromised, not to mention that the Jin Dynasty would definitely take away valuable things in the city. Secret reports said that they were still relocating the people.

Wanyan Honglie is truly not an ordinary person!

At this time, Guo Jing also had a headache, and he thought about the future.

After he has completely digested Guanzhong and consolidated his strength, he will definitely take action against the Jin Kingdom. As for the Song Dynasty, he does not want to fight it for the time being. After all, he is fighting under the banner of anti-Jin. If he starts a civil war before the Jin Kingdom is destroyed, he will definitely lose a lot of people's hearts. The people here are not the people in the north, but the people in the south.

The north has been fighting for so many years, and the people's morale is low, and they have long since laid low. The migration of the Song State to the south has united the south. Sooner or later, he will have to attack the Song State, but this will definitely happen after he destroys the Jin State. This is beyond doubt.

Even though the Jin Dynasty looked weak, he had no choice but to do this. Sometimes, military power had to give way to politics.

However, a thought suddenly emerged in Guo Jing's mind. Perhaps, there was no need to rush to destroy the Jin Kingdom!

As early as a few years ago, he saw through the incompetence of the Song Dynasty court and did not have much of a good impression of those Song officials. However, he had to use them to rule Jiangnan. If the Jin Dynasty was destroyed, what would the Song Dynasty do if it owned half of Jiangnan and turned to submit to the Mongols?
By that time, he couldn't be sure whether Mu Huali would continue to move south. What if the Khan accepted the submission of Song and stopped him from attacking Song? What should he do then?
At this time, his vision was no longer limited to the battlefield in Henan, but to the entire world. He had no doubt about the integrity and kneeling of the rulers and ministers of the Song Dynasty. If they could submit to the Jin people, why couldn't they be vassal statesmen of Mongolia?

Once it really comes to that, he will have to make a choice: to continue lying dormant or to turn against Mongolia.

Thinking of the possibility, Guo Jing muttered to himself, "This is trouble..."

To be fair, he really wanted to destroy the Jin Dynasty, avenge his father, and fulfill his promise to Genghis Khan, but in the overall situation, the existence of the Jin Dynasty was not all bad for him.

They can't defeat me but they can defeat the Song Dynasty. That's their use.

Since ancient times, nurturing enemies to protect oneself and killing others with a borrowed knife have been a science. Mongolia's goal was to completely destroy the Jin Dynasty, while his goal was to unify the north and the south and establish a unified country.

The goals of both sides overlap to some extent but are inconsistent. At present, their common enemy is the Jin Kingdom. This involves national hatred and family feuds. One of the two sides must be destroyed, but destroying the Jin Kingdom prematurely is not a good thing for him.

Without the common enemy of the Jin Kingdom, it would be difficult to predict what would happen in the future, mainly because he was unsure of Genghis Khan's attitude. If it were him, he would definitely not sit idly by and watch the Central Plains become a unified country.

This has nothing to do with interests, nor does it have anything to do with one's vision or courage; it only depends on one's own stance.

Once the Central Plains is unified, it will inevitably fight against foreign races. History has proved this countless times. No matter how tolerant he is, he will not allow such a powerful enemy to appear, even if he is willing to temporarily submit to Mongolia.

Although the herdsmen on the grassland are relatively simple-minded, there are also some smart people. Can you expect them to remember their old friendship and allow you to become powerful?
Thinking of this, he subconsciously shook his head. That was absolutely impossible.

He didn't believe that the Mongols would not be tempted by such a large territory. Genghis Khan might not care, but his descendants would definitely be given fiefs, as the Central Plains was famous for its wealth.

That night, Guo Jing sat in the camp and thought for a long time. He understood that what he lacked most now was time. He had risen too quickly, his foundation was insufficient, and his rule was too short. He must buy time.

Therefore, the Jin Kingdom cannot be defeated too badly!
(End of this chapter)