sbdcsierra Chapter 138 Military Intelligence Meeting
Chapter 138 Military Intelligence Meeting
"I want to fight the second battle of Haoshuichuan!!!"
Han Ming's calm voice echoed throughout the tent.
The generals below seemed to have been mentally prepared and were not overly surprised.
After all, when Jing Yu sent the information to Xue Xiang, he also brought a secret letter to Duke of Yingguo Zhang Wenbi and his entourage stationed in Jingzhao Prefecture.
They traveled day and night, starting from Jingzhao Prefecture without anyone noticing, passing through Fengxiang Prefecture and Longzhou and reaching Zhisheng Pass in Weizhou. This journey was all thanks to Xue Xiang and Chen Han who had painstakingly concealed the truth.
Now, no one knew that this new force had already ambushed at Zhisheng Pass and blocked the Western Xia army.
From the day they entered Zhisheng Pass, the entire army guessed Han Ming's intentions and the next strategy of advance.
That is Liupan Mountain, a hundred miles north of here, and Haoshuichuan at the foot of Liupan Mountain.
Han Ming wants to replicate the battle of Haoshuichuan that year, and replace or help his grandfather Han Zhang to defeat Zhang Yuan, his former rival, to complete the battle of revenge.
However, when looking at Han Ming who said this calmly, all the generals had the same opinion in their hearts - revenge is inevitable.
This is the impression Han Ming gives to everyone now. After all, there is no one else except Han Ming who can remember a grudge from more than ten years ago until now, and even sit in the front line in person and use his means to fight against the opponent.
"In my opinion, this problem is not a big deal. After all, before you arrived here, the retreating troops from the front indicated that the Western Xia had already broken through the Dingchuan and Sanchuan camps and were heading straight for Guyuan."
"According to the information you provided earlier, although the opponent is ostensibly the commander of the Xiangqing Army in Xiping Prefecture, Mo Zang Xiling, he is actually Zhang Yuan, the former prime minister of Western Xia who defected from the Song Dynasty to the Xia Dynasty and encouraged Li Yuanhao's independence."
"In this case, given Zhang Yuan's arrogant personality, he would definitely want to recreate the Battle of Haoshuichuan and annihilate all the Song troops coming to support him in one battle."
As the actual commander of the reinforcements, Duke of Yingguo, Zhang Wenbi, was fully aware of all the intelligence at the front.
He had a psychological expectation that Han Ming wanted to fight this battle and had made all preparations in advance.
After all, Han Ming was not the only one who wanted to take revenge. The entire Western Army of the Song Dynasty held this idea, and even the government and the people had this idea.
It’s okay that we were bullied by the Liao Kingdom in the past. After all, compared with them, the Song Dynasty is really nothing.
But you, a vassal of the Central Plains dynasty, dared to stand up and beat up your old master. There is no doubt that this vengeance must be exacted and you must be beaten to death.
"However, given the current situation, even if both sides wanted to fight here, given the opponent's level of sophistication, they wouldn't easily deploy their troops for a fair battle of soldier against soldier, general against general."
Yang Wenguang stroked his beard gently and pointed out the difficulties of this plan.
"General, do you think they won't easily set foot in Haoshuichuan?"
Han Ming stroked his chin and stared at Liupan Mountain, the junction of Deshun Army, Weizhou Army and Zhenrong Army on the table in front of him, and fell into deep thought.
"That's for sure. Knowing that this is the decisive battle point, the other party will definitely not just sneak in."
Yang Wenguang looked at Han Ming and said confidently.
However, General Yang's words suddenly made Han Ming's mind flash with light, as if he had grasped something.
"Wait, what did the old general just say?"
Hearing Han Ming's question, everyone present looked at him in confusion.
"What I'm saying is, knowing that Haoshuichuan is the decisive battle point, the enemy will definitely not just sneak in..."
As Yang Wenguang was speaking, he seemed to realize something was wrong and quickly shut up and started thinking carefully.
"That's right, that's it. I'm really confused! Hahaha."
Yang Wenguang slapped his thigh, stood up from his chair, and muttered to himself in the tent.
"Old General, what are you and the governor talking about?" Zhe Kerou asked in a low voice.
"Jinglüe's question just now reminded me that Haoshuichuan is what we unilaterally consider to be the decisive battle point. Of course, it's almost the same for Zhang Yuan and the others."
"But why should we only look at it from our perspective?"
"Zhang Yuan wants to annihilate the Song army in Haoshuichuan, but that doesn't mean the Song army has to follow his plan?!"
Yang Wenguang's few questions made everyone even more confused. Only Zhang Wenbi reacted instantly and nodded secretly.
"As long as our Song army pretends not to know that Haoshuichuan is the decisive battle point for the Xixia, and advances alone, the enemy will not give up such a good situation."
"Next, Zhang Yuan will definitely mobilize his entire army, imitate the previous battle, launch a surprise attack on our army, and decide the outcome in one battle."
Yang Wenguang patiently explained and resolved everyone's doubts.
"Use the trick!"
Chen Han looked at Yang Wenguang in surprise, then turned and looked at Han Ming meaningfully.
"But that's not enough. If the Xixia army fails in their surprise attack, they will know that our army is well prepared, so we need someone to stop them."
Zhang Wenbi immediately realized the loophole in this plan and spoke quickly.
"So we need two armies. We will march westward to Longde Village, and march northward to seize Desheng Village behind Xixia. We will then destroy Zhong'an Fort in the south. This way, the enemy will definitely be trapped in Haoshuichuan!"
Han Ming completed the final part of the plan, which made everyone gasp.
Because according to Han Ming's plan, he would first lead a solitary army deep into Haoshuichuan to lure out the Western Xia army, and then seize three forts to besiege the enemy army. This would be a war to annihilate the enemy!
"We'll use their own tactics to lure them out of their lair, then encircle and annihilate the Xixia army at Haoshuichuan!"
Chen Han, who was born as a civil official, was also somewhat shaken because this set of tactics was the same one used by the Western Xia army to defeat the Song army in Haoshuichuan.
Now Han Ming has copied it completely, just to tell the opposing commander Zhang Yuan that I can use the same tactics, and even fight better than you!
Han Ming's idea made everyone think that this guy was a ruthless person. Not only did he want to avenge the shame in Haoshuichuan, but he also wanted to humiliate the opponent with Zhang Yuan's tactics.
"Since that's the case, I have no objection. Please give the order and start this battle!"
After Zhang Wenbi knew all of Han Ming's thoughts, he stood up, clasped his fists and saluted, handing over the command of the reinforcements to him.
Upon hearing Zhang Wenbi's gesture, Yang Wenguang and other generals solemnly clasped their fists and shouted in unison: "Please give the order to send troops!"
"Okay! Generals, listen to my orders!"
Han Ming flicked the sleeves of his official robe, stood up suddenly, picked up the military token on the commander's desk, and began to give orders.
"Gao Zunyu, Liu Changzuo, listen to my orders!"
"The general is here!"
A burly general stood out from the crowd. He was the grandson of Gao Qiong, a famous general in the early Song Dynasty. He himself was also a general in the reign of Emperor Shenzong.
At the same time, his cousin Gao Taotao was the future Empress Xuanren Shenglie of Emperor Yingzong and the mother of Emperor Shenzong.
It is not an exaggeration to say that he is a future royal relative, but now this brave general is still a relatively outstanding general in the Central Forbidden Army.
After all, the current imperial guards can be said to be a training camp for the third, fourth, and fifth generations of military families. Any one of them can be a famous general in the Song Dynasty.
However, speaking of this gentleman, Han Ming recalled an interesting past event.
During the reign of Emperor Shenzong, there were five armies attacking Xia. In view of the fact that Gao Zunyu had guarded the western border for many years and had made many military achievements, he was appointed as the commander of one of the armies.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Shenzong's mother, Empress Dowager Xuanren Gao, said to him, "My uncle Gao Zunyu was as loyal to his country as anyone else, but he had a fatal weakness: he was too narrow-minded and too vain to tolerate others' achievements surpassing his own."
“Those who attack and defend a city always want to take credit for their achievements, and they are not allowed to take what they have gained.”
"This shortcoming can easily lead to failure. Once failed, the consequences will be disastrous. Therefore, he can only be a deputy general and cannot be appointed as the main commander."
However, Emperor Shenzong was stubborn and self-willed and refused to listen to his mother's advice. He still ordered Gao Zunyu to be the commander-in-chief of the troops and the commander-in-chief of the infantry.
Liu Changzuo led 50,000 infantry and cavalry and defeated the 100,000-strong Xia army at Moyi Pass. He then led his troops to the city of Lingzhou, a key military location, and was ready to attack the city from all sides.
After receiving the report, Gao Zunyu became jealous and decided to take credit for it, so he ordered Liu Changzuo to stop the attack.
Three days later, when Gao Zunyu led his army to Lingzhou, the Western Xia army had already made preparations. They opened the Yellow River's seven-level canal from the south of Lingzhou City. In an instant, the waves surged into the Song camp and dozens of miles of plains, drowning tens of millions of people.
It was the middle of winter, with heavy snow and no supplies.
One hundred thousand cavalrymen of Western Xia pursued and besieged the Song army from three directions. The Song army was unable to resist and was defeated on all four sides.
Gao Zunyu and Liu Changzuo's armies were defeated with only tens of thousands of remnants left. Emperor Shenzong of Song was very angry and dismissed Gao Zunyu from his post, demoting him to the deputy commander of the militia in Yingzhou.
The other Liu Changzuo is the other protagonist of the above story. He is a little older, looks to be around forty years old, and has a handsome appearance.
He was also a general of the future Emperor Shenzong's reign. He was proficient in military tactics, especially good at riding and shooting, and could shoot an arrow through the target from a hundred paces away.
This man inherited his father's merits and was appointed by the court as the Right Palace Guard, and later transferred to the Western Route Inspector.
After returning from his mission to the Liao Kingdom, Emperor Shenzong personally tested his archery skills and found that he hit the target every time. He then appointed him as a Tongshi Sheren.
"I'm here!" Gao Zunyu and Liu Changzuo immediately clasped their fists and stepped out.
"You two are to lead 10,000 troops and march northward via Liupan Mountain. Keep your flags down and do not make any noise along the way. Once the Xixia troops are dispatched, quickly seize the winning camp. Without military orders, you are not allowed to march south to kill the enemy!"
Han Ming handed the token to Gao Zunyu and looked at the two of them sternly.
"Yes, I will obey the military order!"
Hearing that they were responsible for the most meritorious mission of blocking the enemy's rear, Gao Zunyu and Liu Changzuo felt that their spring had finally arrived.
All those years spent in the Central Imperial Guards were worth it, the time to make a contribution has finally come.
Now Gao Zunyu and Liu Changzuo don’t know their future fate, which is about to be rewritten by Han Ming.
The future duo will become a powerful pair in the Song Dynasty's border defense team in the future, and will even be given the honorary title of "Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing" in the Song Dynasty by future generations.