Chapter 4 3. Xiao Yan's problem

In the nearly 40 years since Emperor Qiming, the southern regime has always been bounded by the Qinling Mountains and the Huaihe River with the north, except for Yuzhou and other places in the east.Emperor Xiaowen marched south several times, always fighting for the important towns in Huainan: Zhongli, Shouyang, Yiyang, and Nanzheng in the west, which we have emphasized many times before.For the Southern Dynasties, this line of defense is a loss and a prosperity.After the army of the Northern Dynasties easily occupied the bridgehead of Shouyang, the defense line, they took Hefei, like a sharp knife inserted into the confidant of the southern rule, and also broke the balance of power between the two sides.What's more, Hefei and Shouyang are not far from Jiankang, the capital of the Southern Liang Kingdom. Either the South will regain its momentum and seize the lost land, and push back this sharp knife, or the North will sweep the north of the Yangtze River, blossom in full bloom, and hit the emperor's lair in Jiankang.This is a struggle without options.

In the first stage of the war, the army of the Northern Wei Dynasty showed strong offensive capabilities, advancing in several ways and blooming at multiple points.The only setback was when Yuancheng's army on the East Road tried to attack the border town of Fucheng, they were raided by light cavalry from Nanliang and cut off the food road.However, the problem was not serious. After Yuan Cheng ordered the withdrawal of troops, he turned to besiege Zhongli with the main force. The two partial divisions of Chen Bozhi and Xiao Baokui also performed well, leaving Nanliang's army nowhere to break through.Jiang Qingzhen, the general of Nanliang, came up with a strategy of "surrounding Wei and saving Zhao". When Yuancheng attacked Zhongli, he led his troops to attack Shouyang behind him, captured the outer city of Shouyang, and part of the defenders surrendered.

The problem is that Jiang Qingzhen's wonderful method of defeating the enemy cannot receive sufficient support from the decision-making level, or there is no timely follow-up support from other friendly forces.After the outer city was occupied, the two sides formed an offensive and defensive trend. There were still many troops in Shouyang, mainly including the soldiers of the Southern Qi Dynasty when Pei Shuye offered the city, and the soldiers sent by the Northern Wei Dynasty when he accepted it.The tightness of the organization of these soldiers is questionable. The soldiers of the Northern Wei Dynasty did not trust the soldiers of the Southern Qi Dynasty, and the loyalty of the soldiers of the Southern Qi Dynasty was also greatly reduced. Without knowing it, Shouyang City is at the most vulnerable juncture.If Liang Guo's army can support Jiang Qingzhen in a big way and occupy the superior force in the siege of Shouyang, then there are two possible outcomes: the city's defense is at stake, Yuancheng returns to help, Zhongli's siege is relieved, and the opportunity can be turned around If it goes well, Shouyang City will be taken in one fell swoop, and Yuan Cheng's lair will be destroyed, and Liang Jun will be able to form a double-team situation and eat Yuan Cheng's army.

The two possibilities did not become a reality because of the failure of Nanliang's decision-making.Although Jiang Qingzhen forced Shouyang Wei Junying City to defend itself for a while, it could not form enough pressure.After the defenders in the city regained their strength, Yuan Cheng's mother, Mrs. Meng, came forward to preside over the overall situation.This old concubine is a woman, but she has a bit of the heroism of the grassland nation.She was not flustered before the battle. On the one hand, she removed officials who were not good at defending the outer city. On the other hand, she assigned generals to strictly guard the inner city, and encouraged all the soldiers in the city.After everything was arranged, she went to the city to inspect it in person, commanded the battle, and did not avoid arrows and stones.These actions really greatly improved the morale of the officers and soldiers defending the city. The commander was not in the city, but there was an even more admirable "female commander", and everyone no longer had any disagreements. (The story of Hua Mulan comes from the legend of the Northern Dynasties, and it is by no means accidental.)

Liang Jun didn't get any benefits. The nearby Xiao Baokui's army got information from Shouyang and sent troops to rescue them. What made Emperor Wu of Liang feel devastated was yet to come.Facing the tension between Zhongli and Yiyang, he sent champion general Zhang Huishao and Pingxi general Cao Jingzong and later general Wang Sengbing to support them.Zhang Huishao's task was to lead five thousand troops to escort food and grass to Zhongli. However, he was intercepted by Liu Sizu, General Pingyuan of the Northern Wei Dynasty, in Shaoyangzhou (now in the middle of the Huaihe River northeast of Fengyang, Anhui), and suffered a complete defeat.More than a dozen generals including Zhang Huishao were captured, and the food and grass were also given a meeting ceremony (Emperor Liang Wu later exchanged the captured Wei soldiers for Zhang Huishao and others).

Cao Jingzong and Wang Sengbing led the way to aid Yiyang, with a total of 30,000 infantry and cavalry (it can be seen that Nanliang still has a lot of troops), and the offensive against the Northern Wei Dynasty should not be at a disadvantage.Wang Sengbing dispatched 20,000 troops to Chiaoxian (now south of Xinyang, Henan), and Cao Jingzong took the remaining 10,000 troops as successors in an attempt to disrupt the Wei army's marching plan.After learning the whereabouts of the Liang army, Yuan Ying, the commander of the West Road of the Wei Army, sent the champion general Yuan Cheng and others to stop Wang Sengbing's Liang army in Fancheng (now Xiangfan, Hubei). , There are more than 4,000 people captured, and the rest are scattered like birds and beasts. (The army of the Southern Dynasties at this time was disappointing. The tens of thousands of soldiers were made of tofu?) When Cao Jingzong heard that his former division had been defeated, he hesitated and did not dare to reinforce Yiyang.

After finally staying in the summer, the so-called good news came from Zhongli in the east. Due to the increase in rainfall, the water level of the Huai River soared, and the Wei army who attacked the city could not be stationed, so they had to withdraw to Shouyang. Yiyang in the upper reaches of the Huai River to the west was not so lucky.Cai Daogong, governor of Sizhou, had fewer than 5,000 soldiers defending the city, and only enough food and grass for half a year. Reinforcements were delayed, so he had to fight hard.The Wei army attacked the city day and night, and Cai Daogong did not show any weakness. He used various methods of defending the city to repel the Wei army's attacks time and time again.The battle actually lasted from April to July in the third year of Tianjian. The Wei army suffered countless casualties, and even Yuanying was almost desperate.Unexpectedly, another accident happened in the city, Cai Daogong died of illness.The city of Yiyang was defended by Cai Daogong's cousin Xiaoqi General Cai Lingen and his nephew Shang Shulang Cai Sengxie.

Yuan Ying, who was about to retreat, would not let go of this opportunity to "exhaust each other and make more money".He ordered a fierce attack on Yiyang and resumed the war. Although Yiyang's defenders are united, they are made of flesh after all. Seeing that they are out of ammunition and food, and unable to recover, they have to pin all their hopes on the reinforcements from Jiankang. (Cao Jingzong's army, which has completely become an audience, can't be counted on) Emperor Wu of Liang really sent another army, this time led by General Ningshuo Ma Xianqin, to move west all the way to directly support Yiyang.Ma Xianwan was one of the famous generals in the early Liang Dynasty, famous for his bravery in battle. Emperor Wu of Liang wanted to use his fighting power to reverse the decline.

The opponent Yuanying is not a vegetarian either. This person is the son of Wang Yuanzhen of Nan'an, the younger brother of Emperor Wei Wencheng. A little medical skills, is a high IQ all-rounder.His father, Yuanzhen, was deprived of his title because of his participation in Mu Tai's rebellion (see "Ming Zhu Faint King").Over the past few years, Yuanying has held back all her energy, just wanting to make contributions on the battlefield and to avenge her shame.In this civil war, he dealt with the reinforcements of the Southern Dynasties in the right way. His tricks were: attach importance to intelligence work, make full preparations in advance, cut off the connection between the reinforcements and the defenders, and annihilate the enemies one by one.The failures of Zhang Huishao and Wang Sengbing are all his masterpieces.

It was Ma Xianwan's turn for the third time.Yuanying was in Shiya Mountain in the east of Yiyang City (this mountain was originally called Damu Mountain. During the Northern Expedition of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Zu Ti sent his family members to this mountain to take refuge. Later generations named it after Zu Ti's word "Shiya" to commemorate this mountain. Hero of the Northern Expedition) built a camp, first ordered the generals to lie in ambush in the mountains, and then sent a small army out to show weakness to Ma Xianqin. Ma Xianwan is a general who lacks scheming, and he has not encountered any real resistance along the way, so he has already let go of his vigilance.He thought that the Wei army was so vulnerable, so he went straight to Yuanying's camp.Yuanying feigned defeat, led his troops back north, and took advantage of the situation to lead Ma Xiangan's pursuers, who wanted to capture him alive, to the flat ground in the mountains.

Seeing that Ma Xianqin had sneaked into his encirclement obediently, Yuan Ying suddenly turned his horse's head and sent a signal, and the Wei army all over the mountains and plains rushed out at the same time, attacking the Liang army.Ma Xianwan was unprepared and resisted desperately, only to escape with one life, and one son died in the rebellion. Ma Xianwan was defeated so badly that he couldn't recover for a while.Seeing that Yiyang was about to be captured, he bit the bullet and continued to attack the Wei army, but in the end he lost troops and generals again. In August of that year, Cai Lingen, who was troubled both at home and abroad, surrendered in Kaesong.There are three passes in the south of Yiyang: Pingjing Pass, Huangxian Pass and Wuyang Pass. Once Yiyang was lost, the guards of the three passes all abandoned the pass.After the Northern Wei Dynasty occupied Yiyang, Yingzhou was established here.Echoing with Yangzhou in the east centered on Shouyang (Yangzhou established in the Northern Wei Dynasty, not the one in the Southern Dynasty), it forms a pair of pincers in the Huainan area. In this predicament, Nanliang moved its line of defense southward to Nanyiyang (now Anlu, Hubei), leaving only one important town in the Huaishui area, Zhongli in the east, still under control. The bad luck didn't end there.One year later (505 A.D.), Xiahou Daoqian, who was originally Pei Shuye's former department and guarded Hanzhong, surrendered to the Northern Wei Dynasty.In the Northern Wei Dynasty, Shangshu Xing Luan was the general of Zhenxi, the governor of the Liang and Han armies, crossed the Qinling Mountains, and captured Hanzhong.The fourteen counties of Liangzhou all entered Wei, and Yizhou in the south was also in danger. So, we can't help asking, what is the cause of the current predicament? In the early days of the Liu and Song Dynasties, the Southern Dynasties ruled by drawing a river with the Northern Wei Dynasty.After the death of Emperor Wu of the Song Dynasty Liu Yu, he lost four towns in Henan. When Emperor Wen of the Song Dynasty Liu Yilong still had the strength to launch the Northern Expedition many times.During the reign of Emperor Song and Ming, due to careless actions, the four states of Huaibei were lost, and they were ruled by Huaihe River with the Northern Wei Dynasty.During the more than 20 years of the Southern Qi Dynasty, there were four wars between the North and the South, none of which was an active attack by the South, but all of them were the Southern Expeditions of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty (in stark contrast to the three Northern Expeditions of Emperor Wen of the Song Dynasty, hehe).The Southern Qi was destroyed, Shouyang was lost, and the defense line was moved again. At this time, it became very difficult to keep an important town in Huainan.If we carefully compare the course of these wars, it is not difficult to find that every time the Northern Wei Dynasty marched south, it mobilized troops from several northern states. After careful preparation, they invaded in several ways, coordinated and echoed each other; These few responses were all focused on defending the city, fighting on their own, occasional support and attack, but also a headache to treat the head, a foot to treat the foot, there is no complete overall plan, so not only the city is lost one by one, but the reinforcements It is also a defeat.Therefore, so far, regardless of the differences in infantry and cavalry, the combat effectiveness of soldiers, and the comprehensive ability of commanders, the war mobilization power of the Southern Dynasties is far from that of the Northern Wei Dynasty.In modern terms, the Northern Wei Dynasty was capable of winning an all-out war, while the Southern Dynasty was only capable of winning a partial war.Such a gap, how can it be undefeated, how can the defense not retreat again and again? Fortunately, Emperor Wu of Liang seemed to have realized this.Does he have the ability to turn things around?