Chapter 33 6. Battle of Liang Wei Hanshan

Because the capital of the country was far away, Liang Jun was one step behind Yu Wentai, and in fact only won the two cities of Xuanhu and Xiangcheng on the southern border of the Eastern Wei Dynasty.Emperor Liang Wu was very dissatisfied, and naturally wanted to expand the results of the battle.To expand the results of the war, Yang Yaren's 30,000 troops were not enough, so he sent his nephew Xiao Yuanming (son of elder brother Xiao Yi) and grandson Xiao Huili (son of fourth son Xiao Ji) to supervise the generals , Leading 100,000 troops to the Eastern Front to attack Pengcheng, the Xuzhou government.

There has been no war in the Liang Kingdom for many years, and the princes and nobles have never been on the battlefield, they only know how to show their prestige and style.Xiao Huili was arrogant and arrogant, and did not take other generals seriously.Xiao Yuanming refused to accept it, and wrote a secret letter to Zhu Yi, telling Xiao Huili that he was "cowardly and planless".Emperor Wu of Liang recalled Xiao Huili, and the whole army took Xiao Yuanming as the governor. Xiao Yuanming said that Xiao Huili was "cowardly and resourceless", and he himself did not appear to be "courageous and resourceful".Nothing in his life was better than alcohol, and he often collapsed in the barracks as drunk as mud, refusing to respond.When the generals discussed with him about military affairs, he had no idea, and always said perfunctorily, "You can do it according to the situation."

Emperor Wu of Liang formulated a detailed battle plan for the Northern Expedition: Liang Jun first occupied the Hanshan Mountain (now southeast of Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province) 80 miles southeast of Pengcheng, and then blocked water and built weirs in the lower reaches of Surabaya, flooding Pengcheng by flooding. (Emperor Wu of Liang used a miniature version of the original Fushan Weir. Although the Fushan Weir failed, the water attack method is still very good. The combat effectiveness of the Liang army is far inferior to that of the Wei army. If they attack the enemy city by force, they will inevitably suffer heavy losses; The besieged city can not only avoid desperate struggle, but also force the soldiers in the city to surrender without a fight. If this plan is successful, the Liang army can go hand in hand with Hou Jing in the west, sweeping the land of Henan and Shandong in the Eastern Wei Dynasty, making Gao Cheng head to tail Unable to take care of it, so as to obtain greater results.)

The execution of Emperor Liang Wu's "good plan" went wrong.Liang Jun succeeded in building the weir, and the general Yang Kan asked Xiao Yuanming to attack the city with the force of the water, but Xiao Yuanming clung to the "be careful not to move rashly" that Emperor Wu of Liang had ordered before he left, and did not give orders for a long time.The defender of Pengcheng in the Eastern Wei Dynasty and the governor of Xuzhou, Wang Ze, were commendable for their loyalty and bravery. The water inside the city was rising day by day, and the outside of the city was besieged tightly, but the defense was still as solid as gold.

Xiao Yuanming missed his chance in Hanshan, and Gao Cheng from Hebei had no time to practice Tai Chi with him.He sent the governor Gao Yue to lead an army of 100,000, and appointed general Pan Le as his deputy to reinforce Pengcheng.Counselor Chen Yuankang reminded him: "Pan Le is weak in adaptability, not as good as Murong Shaozong. Has the king forgotten the last words of the former king? If you entrust the military affairs to this person, Hou Jing will not be in trouble." Gao Huan's words, Gao Cheng did not forget.It's just that Murong Shaozong has been "refrigerated" for so long, and Gao Cheng is not familiar with him, so he is worried that he will be reused suddenly, and it will be bad if he is frightened and rebellious.Chen Yuankang guaranteed the ticket, and wrote a letter to explain the situation to Murong Shaozong.So Gao Cheng granted Murong Shaozong the title of Southeast Dao Xingtai, and went to Pengcheng with Gao Yue and Pan Le.

Hou Jing has always looked down on the generals of the Eastern Wei Dynasty. When he was under Gao Huan, he commented on the two famous generals Gao Aocao and Pan Le: "This kind of person only knows how to run around like a pig. How can he have any skills?" When Han Gui attacked him, Hou Jing was still very disdainful, saying: "The kid who gnaws pig intestines!" This time when he heard that Gao Yue was coming, Hou Jing was more economical, and only said four words: "Soldiers are elite." Reported, accompanied by Murong Shaozong, Hou Jing's expression changed immediately.He even had doubts about the accuracy of the information: "Who taught the Xianbei children to send Murong Shaozong? If this is the case, is it possible that King Gao is still alive?" up.)

The "super substitute" Murong Shaozong left Hou Jing aside, and led his troops to Lutuoxian to confront the Liang army who besieged Pengcheng.Xiao Yuanming's laziness broke out. First, Yang Kan suggested taking advantage of Murong Shaozong's unsteady footing and attacking proactively, but Xiao Yuanming refused to listen.The next day, Yang Kan persuaded Xiao Yuanming to order the whole army to fight and give the Eastern Wei army a disarm, but Xiao Yuanming still refused to listen. Judging from the whole battle, Xiao Yuanming's strategy was consistent: hold on to power, never take responsibility, don't listen to others' suggestions, don't make decisions himself, just wait for the enemy to come and surrender, which is a typical example of doing nothing.This kind of princely demeanor may be able to be stable in the officialdom, but in the eyes of enemies on the battlefield, inaction is synonymous with failure.

Yang Kan was a surrendered general of the Northern Wei Dynasty (as was Yang Yaren, who led the army before). His grandfather, Yang Gui, was originally a general of the Liu Song Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty.Yang Kan has been familiar with the art of war since he was a child. He participated in the suppression of the rebellion in the six towns and made many military exploits. Later, he was extremely disappointed with the chaos in the Northern Wei Dynasty. A veteran who has fought tough battles.Seeing Xiao Yuanming's appearance, Yang Kan had no choice but to ask for more blessings and lead his troops out of Tunyan to avoid being dragged down by Xiao Yuanming.

General Liang Jun was eccentric, but the Eastern Wei Dynasty took it easy.Murong Shaozong's relatives led 10,000 infantry and cavalry, and first attacked the barracks of Guo Feng, the governor of Tongzhou in Liang State. The Eastern Wei army fired all arrows, and the situation was at stake. In the Liang army camp, Xiao Yuanming was so drunk that he lay on the table and couldn't get up.He ordered all the generals to rescue, but did not appoint specific candidates. Everyone stared and stared, and no one moved.Hu Guisun, the governor of Northern Yanzhou, couldn't stand it anymore, and said to Zhao Bochao, the governor of Qiaozhou, "I came here with our troops to make a difference. Now that the enemy is attacking, why not fight?" Zhao Bochao was speechless and returned to the camp. , The opponent's soldiers said: "Wei's army is powerful, and we will be defeated in battle. It is better to retreat as soon as possible, and you can save your life." Pack up and prepare to leave.

Hu Guisun didn't get any response, so he led his troops to Guofeng's camp.The two armies joined together and counterattacked the Eastern Wei army. A miracle happened, Liang Jun beheaded more than 200 enemy soldiers at once. The purpose of Murong Shaozong's attack this time was mainly to test the reality of the Liang army. He expected that the Liang army would attack easily and would be anticlimactic. Before leaving, he said to the soldiers walking behind: "I will pretend to be defeated and lure the southern army. Remember? Attack from behind them." After the contact battle, Murong Shaozong's striker was really defeated, and he retreated north before he had time to say hello.Xiao Yuanming, the commander of the Liang Army, took advantage of the strength of wine to chase happily, and the troops of other generals also followed suit.But the rear army of the Eastern Wei Dynasty was very sincere. Didn't they tell us to wait behind and besiege Liang Jun? Well, let's go, and immediately circled from the two wings to the back of the main force of Liang Jun, like two arms, enveloping Liang Jun as a whole. Into the encirclement.

Hou Jing sent people to warn the Liang army repeatedly: "The pursuit of the northern army should not exceed two miles." When cavalry and infantry confront each other, no matter whether the cavalry's retreat is true or not, once the battle line is stretched, it is often the infantry who are at a disadvantage.The faster and farther you chase, the more unknown factors will become.Hou Jing is very familiar with the tactics of the Eastern Wei Dynasty, luring the enemy deep, encircling and annihilating them. He is very familiar with the cavalry, but he is very unfamiliar with the Liang army, which is good at infantry and has been out of battle for a long time. Emphasize this to friendly forces (this set of tactics is exactly the same as the predation method of wolves on the grassland, and it is a tactic that nomads are good at).Liang Jun had completely forgotten about it.People are often used to following their instincts. A defeat is like a mountain falling, and an army is advancing like quicksilver. It is easy for one person to stop, but it is almost impossible for a group of people who do not have a unified thought to stop. Murong Shaozong, who was in retreat, saw that the rear army was exerting strength, so he turned around and attacked the various units of the Liang army.Liang Jun was attacked by the enemy, and suddenly collapsed. Tens of thousands of soldiers were separated and killed, and the rest were captured.Of the 100,000 troops, only Yang Kan, who had moved to the weir earlier, was not damaged. When he received the news, he ordered the entire army to withdraw from the battlefield and return with the whole division. Hanshan's battle report spread to Jiankang, and Emperor Wu of Liang was taking a nap in the palace.The eunuch Zhang Sengyin reported that Zhu Yi had something important to do, and Emperor Wu of Liang was promoted to the court to see him.Zhu Yi rushed to the cabinet and reported out of breath: "Our army lost in the Battle of Hanshan!" Emperor Liang Wu was so startled that he almost fell off his seat. Zhang Sengyin hurried forward to help him.After a while, Emperor Wu of Liang sighed, shook his head and said, "Could it be that my end will be like that of the emperor of the Jin Dynasty?" The disastrous defeat of Hanshan broke the established policy of Emperor Wu of Liang in the later period, that is, to sit and watch the civil war between the East and the West in the Northern Dynasties, consume their strength, and reap the benefits of fishing when the time is right. Emperor Wu of Liang's policy was impeccable, but he ignored a fundamental problem: wars are done by people.War consumes the country's strength and also exercises the country's combat effectiveness. From the supreme ruler, ordinary people, to the army, their war capabilities will be greatly developed.The Southern Dynasties blindly sat on the mountain and watched the tigers fight. The original combat effectiveness (in fact, it was not strong) gradually degraded in the peace, and finally became a sit-and-eat mountain. In case of war, it was not as good as the Northern Dynasty in the long-term civil war. The Battle of Cold Mountain is the best example.Emperor Liang Wu's combat intentions and plans were very good. He used Hou Jing's power to seize a large area of ​​​​the Northern Dynasty's territory, especially the strategic, economic, and politically significant Henan states, and then unified the world.However, no matter how perfect a strategic plan is, it needs an excellent executor to cooperate, and there is no one in Liang State who can execute Liang Wudi's battle plan well.Neither Xiao Huili nor Xiao Yuanming, nor even Yang Kan, were good executors. As for the middle and low-level generals and ordinary soldiers, their military literacy was even less important.All of this led to the defeat of Hanshan, and even greater tragedies in the future.