Eight Hills in the Eastern Jin Dynasty

Vol 4 Chapter 4923: The Northern Expedition failed and they seized power

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Yu Yue took a breath of cold air: "You mean, these barbarians from the Northern Wei and Later Qin will abandon some cities, turn to guerrilla warfare, mobile warfare, and send light cavalry everywhere to intercept and harass the Jin army's grain routes? In the end, let Liu Yu's Northern Expedition failed due to lack of support and lack of food and grass? But it sounds unlikely. There are a large number of cities and Han villages in the Central Plains. Fighting in such a place, even the local output is enough to supply the army. , Besides, there are waterways for transporting grain, so how could the grain route be cut off so easily?"

Tao Yuanming smiled slightly: "It's not as simple as you said. If the Hulu had come prepared, they would not have provided food and grass supplies to Liu Yu so easily in the places Liu Yu attacked. They would have moved these places in advance. The Han people burned the grain in the fields and fortified the walls to clear the fields, but they would not leave enough supplies for Liu Yu."

Yu Yue shook his head in disbelief: "Can they really do this? Then the Han people will suffer heavy losses, so why don't they rise up and rebel?"

Tao Yuanming sneered and said: "The brutality of the Hulu is beyond your imagination. Just like when the Northern Wei Dynasty invaded the Central Plains and destroyed the Later Yan Dynasty, the Later Yan Dynasty did not give the Northern Wei Dynasty enough supplies in order to strengthen its walls and clear the country. It also forcibly moved the Han people in Hebei into various big cities. , who refused to follow, slaughtered entire villages and entire settlements, and forced the Northern Wei Dynasty's hundreds of thousands of troops to fight in Hebei for half a year without plundering anything. They were forced to withdraw for a period of time. If it were not for the civil strife of the Murong clan, only I'm afraid that the Northern Wei Dynasty is still wandering outside the wall. However, this approach did greatly harm the Han people. Many people defected to the Northern Wei Dynasty after leaving the city. Therefore, when the Wei army came again the next year, Hou Yan could not withstand it."

"When Liu Yu was fighting against Nan Yan, someone also suggested to Murong Chao that they should starve the Jin army to death with this strategy of fortifying the wall and clearing the country. It seems that it was suggested by Gongsun Wulou. However, Murong Chui considered it again and again and did not adopt it because When he experienced the fall of Hou Yan, this was a strategy of killing a thousand enemies and damaging himself by eight hundred. However, with the situation of Southern Yan, even if the walls were fortified and the country was cleared, it would be useless, let alone the powerful Han people in Qingzhou and Qilu. They will not obey the Yan army so easily. Even if they move into the city with their whole family and prevent the Jin army from receiving supplies from Qilu, relying on the transportation of grain and grass from within the Jin state will be enough to maintain the army's operations. You, the Yu family, will Our contribution is not small.”

Yu Yue smiled slightly and nodded: "Yes, we did send a lot of food and grass to the front line, but the hundreds of miles of mountain roads through Daxian Mountain Road are really difficult to walk. However, if it is Liu Yu If we want to make a northern expedition to the Central Plains, I’m afraid it’s more likely to use various waterways to transport grain.”

Tao Yuanming narrowed his eyes slightly: "Yes, now Liu Yu has the land of Nanyan, and the land of Qilu is the focus of his business, whether it is collecting grain taxes or transporting grain from the rear to Qingzhou as a military camp, He will leave food and fodder for a hundred thousand troops here for two or three years, and then move westward along the Yellow River, upstream, and seize the Henan fortresses such as Huatai, Suiao and others along the way. If everything goes well, he can directly reach Luoyang."

"As for the other route, he can send troops from Yuzhou to open up the Bianshui River and connect it to the Huaihe River in Shouchun. In this way, the grain and grass from Jiangbei, Yuzhou, and Huainan can be transported to Luoyang through the Bianshui and Si River systems. As long as we break through from Yuzhou to the west and capture places like Liangjun, Xuchang, and Yingchuan, we can approach fortresses such as Hulao Pass and Sishui Pass. If we join forces with the army from the north coming up the Yellow River, the back line of the Central Plains will be destroyed. The Qin army is impossible to guard against, and Luoyang is within its grasp at this moment!"

Yu Yue laughed: "Yes, our southern army's Northern Expedition over the years has always used waterways to transport food supplies, and the Bianshui and Sishui waterways have been abandoned for many years. The riverbeds must be vigorously cleaned before ships can pass. There is a ready-made waterway into the Yellow River from Qilu, but going upstream requires manpower to pull fiber, and you will also face the threat of the Wei army on the north bank. Oh, by the way, part of Yanzhou, including the Huatai Fortress, is still there. In the hands of the Northern Wei Dynasty, it may not be easy to pass through this section of the Yellow River. If Liu Yu were to make a northern expedition to the Central Plains, he would probably have to start a war with the Northern Wei Dynasty at the same time. If this is the case, it would be interesting."

Tao Yuanming sneered and said: "That's right. It's not that easy to move the whole body with one move. If you send troops from Jingzhou, you can go through Wuguan and enter Guanzhong, but the road is difficult to walk and it is impossible for the army to pass. It is also easy After being ambushed, another option is to go out of Yique Longmen, send troops from Yongzhou in the Nanyang Basin, and attack Luoyang directly. Once Luoyang is captured, three groups of troops can be assembled to approach Tongguan. As long as Tongguan is broken, they can directly Attack Guanzhong."

Yu Yue narrowed his eyes slightly: "It sounds like Luoyang is fortified by four fortresses and dangerous mountains and rivers, but it is not a place that can be easily defended. If Liu Yu launches a fierce attack The Central Plains can still be captured. In fact, the Jin Dynasty also captured Luoyang many times during several Northern Expeditions. However, the Central Plains area has been ruined by the tug of war between the north and the south for a hundred years. There are only few villages. Liu Yu Even if Luoyang is captured and the Central Plains is thousands of miles away, it is just a huge no-man's land. If there is no rear supply of military rations and only local output and supplies are relied on, I am afraid that it will not last for a few months. We must be forced to retreat."

Tao Yuanming laughed: "That's right. The Central Plains now is desolate and sparsely populated. If Liu Yu was attacking the Later Qin Dynasty, they wouldn't even need to build a strong wall to clear the country, and just move the garrison from Luoyang and other places to Guanzhong. Then if the Qin army forms an alliance with the Wei army, they can go south from anywhere along the Yellow River and continuously attack the Jin army's food routes in the Central Plains."

"If you are even more ruthless, you can either attack Qingzhou, or send troops to rush to the Jianghuai area along the Si River and Bian River, attack Jiangbei fortresses like Pengcheng, and cut off the Northern Expeditionary Army's food routes and return routes. In this way, Liu Yu is in the Central Plains The army becomes a lonely army with no support. It cannot attack Tongguan in the front and cannot enter the middle of the pass. There is not enough food and grass in the rear and there is nothing to plunder. It is really possible to repeat Huan Wen's defeat at Fangtou."

"If Liu Yu is really defeated like this, all his main soldiers and generals will be wiped out, just like Huan Xuan after the failure of the Northern Expedition. At this time, how can he usurp power again? What will he do to us? Where is the boss?"

Yu Yue clapped his hands proudly and laughed: "Okay, that's great. It seems that Tao Gong has a plan for a long time. As long as Liu Yu loses the battle, we who have occupied Yuzhou and even Jingzhou will have reason to take over." Liu Yu has taken control of the army and regained real power." (End of chapter)

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