Chapter 79 Chapter 9 The Battle of Lueyang

Kaixiao openly rebelled against the Han Dynasty and officially became an enemy with Liu Xiu.According to the logic, of course there should be violent storms and bloody battles next.However, in the following year or so, the two sides seemed to have reached a tacit understanding, and each of them settled down in their own places, without any major wars.Kai Xiao's troops were not very effective when they left Longxi and Tianshui, but on Liu Xiu's side, they were also afraid of fighting in the mountains and did not dare to lightly offend Longshan. At this time, Liu Xiu's only relatively aggressive strategy was to order Ma Yuan to lead 5,000 cavalry to swim and intersperse in the territory of Kaixiao, looking for opportunities to persuade Kaixiao's generals and Qiang powerful men to surrender.Ma Yuan has a deep network in the northwest, and he is well acquainted with Kai Xiao's generals, so even though they are enemies, they do not use swords or guns when they meet.Before arriving at Daying, Ma Yuan shouted: "So-and-so, are you going to surrender or not?" .”

Dou Rong also wrote a letter to Kai Xiao, urging him to turn back when he lost his way, and to return to the right place.The book was written by the gifted scholar Ban Biao. After a thousand years, it is still very sad to read. Move it with emotion, then say: To understand it with reason, it is said: The reason why Dou Rong wrote to Kai Xiao was definitely not to be sentimental, but to firmly believe in the weight of what he said.The five Hexi counties under his control were like sharp knives pointing straight at Kai Xiao's back. He opened his mouth to oppose Kai Xiao's rebellion, and Kai Xiao had to weigh it no matter what.

However, in Kai Xiao's view, his Longshan defense line is solid. He has been rebelling for so long, and Liu Xiu has not done anything to him. Although there is another Dou Rong now, Dou Rong's previous record shows that he He is only good at defeating battles, so there is nothing to be afraid of.Kai Xiao then pressed Dou Rong's book and did not answer. In the spring of the eighth year of Jianwu, General Wang Zunxiang of Kaihuo came to She and surrendered.When he came to She, he paid homage to General Zhonglang, stationed troops in Qi County, and heard that Wang Zun had come to surrender.

Wang Zundao: "Longshan's defense line is connected end to end, and all the generals are defending according to the key passes. It is really difficult to break through." Lai She refused to let it go, and asked: "Could it be that there are no flaws?" Wang Zundao: "There is a flaw, but the danger is extremely dangerous, almost no different from death." Lai She's eyes brightened: "Say!" Wang Zun only gave two words: "Lueyang." When Lai She heard it, her eyes dimmed instantly. Lueyang City is located in the middle of Longshan Mountain. Once Lueyang is captured, Kaixiao's Longshan defense system can be cut in half, making it impossible for the defenders to rescue each other, and then they can be divided and broken.Why didn't Laishe ever have the idea of ​​capturing Lueyang, so why did he use Wang Zun to remind him again, but if he attacked head-on, no matter how many casualties there were, he might not be able to capture Lueyang.

Wang Zun saw Lai She's thoughts, smiled and gave two more words: "Surprise attack." Lai She asked, "How to attack by surprise?" Wang Zun said with a smile: "In Longshan Mountain, there is an ancient road that has been abandoned for many years. It can bypass the defense of Kaixiao's army and go straight to the back of Lueyang City by surprise." Laishe jumped for joy and bowed to Wang Zun again.Wang Zun sighed: "Even if you capture Lueyang City, if you go deep alone and have no reinforcements outside, I'm afraid you will still go and never return."

Lai She laughed and said, "As long as I can capture Lueyang, I will be able to defend it. As long as I can gain a firm foothold in Lueyang, I will win." Laishe led two thousand elite troops, with Wang Zun as the guide, drilled into the mountains, felled trees to clear the way, waded across the mountains, made a detour from Fanxu and Huizhong, and marched quickly for eight days. , Straight to Lueyang City, Zhan Kaixiao guarded Jinliang, and then closed the city and guarded. Kai Xiao always thought that Lai She was still in Qi County, but without any warning, he suddenly heard that Lai She had attacked Lueyang, and couldn't help but turn pale and exclaimed, "What a god!" He immediately ordered Wang Yuan to reject Longdi, Xing patrolling Fanxukou, Wang Mengsai Jitoudao, Niu Hanjun Wating, to guard against Liu Xiu's possible attack, while he personally led tens of thousands of troops to besiege Lueyang.Gongsun Shu also sent two generals, Li Yu and Tian Yan, to attack the city with Kai Xiao.

Besides, Liu Xiu was sitting in Chang'an, and when he heard that Lai She had captured Lueyang, he immediately sank into his dantian, looked up to the sky and smiled, and made an exception and opened a jar of good wine to celebrate.The people around were very surprised and asked: "Your Majesty has fought so many victories, and I have never seen His Majesty be particularly happy. Now that he just captured a small city, why is he so happy?" Liu Xiu said with a smile: "Lueyang is the support of Kaixiao. Once Lueyang is lost, Kaixiao's confidant is broken, and it is easy to control his limbs!"

The generals Wu Han, Cen Peng, Feng Yi, and Geng Yan were all overjoyed when they saw that they had come to capture Lueyang, and each led their troops to fight for support.Liu Xiu was shocked when he heard this, and hurriedly sent envoys to chase the generals back. All the generals left in high spirits and returned disappointed. They all expressed their incomprehension to Liu Xiu's decision.After nearly two years of confrontation with Kai Xiao, they finally broke the deadlock and made significant progress. It is time for the army to advance quickly and take advantage of the opportunity to expand the results of the battle. Why should they be recalled and not allowed to enter the army?

Liu Xiu explained with a smile: "You see Lueyang as Lueyang, but I see Lueyang as Kunyang." Recalling the past, Liu Xiu, who has always been calm, inevitably became agitated, and her voice raised unconsciously, saying: "In the battle of Kunyang, Wang Yi led an army of one million, stationed under the strong city of Kunyang, and could not attack for a long time. Ke, the soldiers were exhausted, and the morale of the army was slackened. I attacked them from the outside, and defeated the many with the few, and won a big victory in one fell swoop. The reason why Wang Mang subjugated the country is all because of the war."

Liu Xiu calmed down and said again: "Although Lueyang City is small, it must be rescued if it is noisy, and it is bound to be attacked with elites; after a long period of siege, the city will not be pulled out, the soldiers will be exhausted, and the morale will be low. If the army takes advantage of the danger and advances again, Kai Xiao will be destroyed in one fell swoop." Only then did the generals understand Liu Xiu's strategy, that is, to win with Kunyang, and to win without Kunyang, and to create a Kunyang.However, the generals were still worried that it was a good intention to let Lai She contain the main force that consumed Kai Xiao, but if Lai She couldn't support it and would lose immediately, wouldn't they miss the opportunity and be blinded?

Liu Xiu said with a smile: "Don't worry, gentlemen. I will save you if you come to She, and I also believe that you will be able to defend when you come to She." But Kai Xiao besieged Lueyang with an army of tens of thousands, and came to Sheguan City to defend it to the death.Kui Xiao's troops are good at mountain warfare, but they are not good at attacking tough ones.And Liu Xiu's troops have been fighting in the east for many years, and defending the city can be said to be commonplace, and they are very skilled.Kai Xiao has been attacking for several months, but he still has nothing to do with the small city of Lueyang.Under the command of Laishe, the two thousand defenders in the city became more confident as they defended. When the arrows were shot, they demolished the houses in the city, took the beams, rafters and all the wood, cut them into wooden arrows, and continued to fight. Kai Xiao had no choice but to resort to the safest but slowest move - water attack, cutting mountains and building embankments, storing water to irrigate the city.All of a sudden, the smoke cleared in Lueyang, and there was no flames of war. The attackers and defenders faced each other from a distance every day, each with their own thoughts, watching the water level slowly rise along the city wall. In May, Liu Xiudu led all the generals to march in person, and ordered Dou Rong to march at the same time.More than ten days later, Liu Xiu and Dou Rong joined forces in the first city of Gaoping, Anding County, and marched in parallel to attack Tianshui. Niu Han, the general of Kaixiao, surrendered to welcome the army, and Liu Xiu was named Taizhong doctor.Therefore, 13 generals of Kaixiao, more than 100,000 in number, surrendered, and the whole county of Tianshui consisted of 16 counties, which were then owned by Liu Xiu. The siege of Lueyang was broken, and the two thousand strong men who defended the city were rewarded.Liu Xiu set up a high-level wine meeting, and ordered her to sit alone, sitting on the right of the generals, and showing her respect and favor. Kaixiao was defeated, led his wife to flee to Xicheng, and joined Yang Guang, sent Tian Yan and Li Yu to guard Shangyu, and ordered Wang Yuan to go to Shu for help. Liu Xiu thought of Kai Xiao's merits, and still wanted to surrender, so he ordered Kai Xiao to say: "If you are willing to stop the army, you will surrender to me in person, and you will be reunited with your father and son, and your family will be safe. Emperor Gao promised Tian Heng, saying: "Heng, the elder King, little prince.' Now I will give you the same promise. If you are still obsessed with your obsession, if you want to learn tattooing and want to call yourself emperor, then you will do as you please." Kaixiao's original territory of the two counties has now shrunk to Xicheng and Shangyu, but they still refuse to surrender.In a rage, Liu Xiu beheaded Kai Xun, the eldest son of Kai Xiao, and ordered Wu Han and Cen Peng to besiege the western city, and Geng Yan and Gai Yan to besiege Shangyu. In August, thieves from Yingchuan county rose up and attacked many counties.Liu Xiu was shocked when he heard the news, and drove eastward morning and night, rushing back to Luoyang to quell the rebellion.Before leaving, Liu Xiu gave a letter to Wu Han, Cen Peng and others, saying: Cen Peng and Wu Han surrounded Kaihuo and could not go down for several months. Wang Yuan moved more than 5,000 soldiers from Shu to rescue them. It was too late to set up the formation, Wang Yuan led the crowd to fight to the death, and decided to encircle the city, rescued Kai Xiao, and left Baoji City. Cen Peng and Wu Han ran out of food, so they had to withdraw their troops, burned all their supplies, and led their troops down Long. Gai Yan and Geng Yan also retreated.Cen Peng returned to Jingzhou and stationed troops in Jinxiang, preparing for the future battle against Shu.The rest of the generals returned to Chang'an, where they were led by Laishe. The Han army withdrew from Longshan, and the two counties of Longxi and Tianshui rebelled and returned to Kaixiao. However, this is Kai Xiao's last flashback.In the spring of the ninth year of Jianwu, Kai Xiao was sick and hungry. He offered beans and rice to others, but Kai Xiao couldn't eat and sighed: "Hey, as for today, why bother!" After speaking, he died of shame and anger. After Kai Xiao died, Wang Yuan, Zhou Zong and others supported Kai Xiao's youngest son, Kai Chun, as king. In October of the tenth year of Jianwu, Laishe led the generals to attack Luomen, Zhou Zong and others bound Kaichun and surrendered, and Wang Yuan fled to Shu.Liu Xiu demoted Kaichun to a commoner and moved to Hongnong.In the eighteenth year of Jianwu, Kai Chun led dozens of guests to go north to the Xiongnu, and fled to Wuwei, where he was captured and killed by pursuers.