Northern Dynasties Imperial Industry

Jiuqu City is located on the Banyuan on the north bank of Luoshui River. There are nine bends in the area for ten miles, hence the name. It also shows that the terrain here is complex and changeable. Within just ten miles, there are nine undulating valleys.

These nine sakaharas vary in height and lie across the north bank of Luoshui River. If you cannot control these, it will be difficult to pass through the Luoshui River Valley, and your flanks will be hit hard by the enemy.

Among the Jiuqu Sakahara, the Erqu Sakahara plateau has the largest area and steep slopes on both sides. The main city defense of Jiuqu City is set on it. The reason why it is called the main body is because there are other barracks and beacons nearby, which together form the Jiuqu City defense line.

The terrain of Jiuqu is complex and changeable. It is a key point on the east side of Nanqiao Road. It has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. As the territory of the Eastern and Western Wei Dynasties was divided into Guannan, the competition for this place also reached a fever pitch.

The most recent renovation of the city garrison here was when Hou Jing controlled Heluo. The Jiuqu City on Erqu Ban was built by Hou Jing in the 10th year of Datong. Its old city is located in the northeast of the plateau and is larger in scale. The new city is more than twice the size, and neither the topography nor the control over the Luoshui River is far inferior to the new city.

Taking advantage of Hou Jing's rebellion in Henan and the panic among the Eastern Wei defenders in Heluo, Li Yuan led all the troops in western Henan to capture Jiuqu City and open the Nangui Road in one fell swoop. Then Li Bi led the Chinese army and horses to follow this east, and Li Yuan led his troops back to Jiuqu City.

A few days ago, due to the fall of the two cities of Heyang, the situation between Heluo and Heluo reversed. The armies were defeated and fled one after another. Li Yuan was going to lead his troops north to receive support, but on the way he heard that Zhao Gui had abandoned Guanxi and encountered the enemy again. Yifeng's defeated troops were pursued by the Eastern Wei Dynasty, and they retreated to Jiuqu City in Yiyang to garrison.

Now the remaining troops of Li Yuan and Yifeng are trapped in Jiuqu New City, while Zhu Hunyuan of the Eastern Dynasty is centered on the old city a few miles away, dividing his troops to guard the strategic points around Jiuqu City, and constantly harassing them day and night.

All the troops from western Henan who were previously under Li Yuan's jurisdiction are now stationed in Fuliu City, Yishui, with Li Tai. Li Yuan's nearly 5,000 soldiers from Gao Ping's army were scattered during the diplomatic war, and there are still three who have withdrawn to Jiuqu City. More than a thousand people.

As for Yifeng's troops, the situation was much more miserable. He originally led two thousand cavalry to guard the upper reaches of the river, but Yuwenhu did not inform him at all when he was defeated and evacuated. Li Bi fled all the way from Luodong and was about to enter the Han Dynasty. When the city was closed, five hundred elite cavalry were dispatched to notify Yifeng.

However, at this time, the cavalry of the Hulujin tribe who had already entered the southern city of Heyang was pursuing them. Yifeng led his troops to flee south. They were supposed to evacuate Heluo along the Beijiao Road, but Zhao Gui, who was supposed to be here, had already arrived in advance. With the evacuation, Yifeng's entire army was almost destroyed in front of the pass.

Fortunately, due to Li Yuan's timely rescue, Yifeng was able to escape the enemy siege, but his troops were almost wiped out, with only dozens of soldiers accompanying him to break out of the encirclement. Even if the other troops were not killed in the formation, they must have been rounded up and captured by the Eastern Dynasty troops.

At this time, the defenders in Jiuqu City only had more than 3,000 defeated troops, but the Eastern Dynasty Ke Zhu Hunyuan who besieged the city had nearly 20,000 infantry and cavalry with subsequent reinforcements. In addition to the huge gap in military strength and morale, what is even more fatal is that the food reserves in the city are about to be exhausted!

In fact, at the beginning of the Western Dynasty's troops advancing towards Heluo, in addition to the grain and grass supplies they carried, they also seized a considerable amount of supplies from the Eastern Army's fortresses.

However, most of these grain and grass supplies were requisitioned with the army, especially after Li Boshan captured the Second City of Heyang and the country sent additional reinforcements. Due to the hasty mobilization and insufficient material preparation, Yifeng's troops simply set off directly from Huazhou River Defense. Heluo, of course, can only be supplied locally in Heluo.

Therefore, almost all the grain and grass seized from Jiuqu City, Hanguan City and other city garrison were transported to Heqiao some time ago, and then were sent back by Yu Wenhu in a wave.

However, the warehouses in Jiuqu City are not empty. There are still a lot of materials stored, especially the amount of silk is the most impressive, as many as tens of thousands!

Not all of these silks were trophies from Li Yuan's army, most of them were obtained from Li Boshan.

These generals, who have their own branches, naturally consume the personnel and supplies captured in battles that can be directly used in subsequent battles, while other property and loot can be freely disposed of.

Li Boshan had previously seized a large amount of trophies. Ordnance and other weapons were distributed to various people in western Henan. Food and grass were deducted for personal use and were also handed over to the public for dispatch. In addition, there was a large amount of money and silk.

Before he led his troops to the east, it was naturally difficult for the money and silk supplies to be carried out with the army. So before leaving, Li Boshan found Li Yuan and transferred the money and silk materials to Li Yuan. After calculating the price, he waited until he returned to Kansai, and then sent it to Li Yuan's brother. Li Xian only needs to pay the same amount of money and materials.

Li Yuan led thousands of soldiers to guard Hengnong in western Henan. Naturally, he had to spend money on raising the army. In addition, he had to support people from all over the western Henan from time to time. The demand for money and food was huge. If it is all shipped from Guanzhong, the cost along the way alone will be very huge.

Therefore, even if Li Yuandang agreed to these convenient suggestions, he sent people to Hanguan City to receive these trophies from Li Boshan and stored them in Jiuqu City.

"My lord, the soldiers cleaned the warehouses and collected nearly a hundred stones of old grains and rice bran. They can be mixed with bran and bran to make a meal. But if there is no improvement tomorrow, the cattle and horses will need to be slaughtered to satisfy hunger."

A general came forward and reported to Li Yuan with a sad expression: "It's just that if we kill the cattle, horses and livestock, it will be difficult for our army to break through and retreat, and it can only last for ten days at most. If If no reinforcements arrive, the future will be worrying..."

"There will be reinforcements, there will be reinforcements!"

After hearing this, Li Yuan replied decisively. He first looked to the west, then to the east, and then said in a deep voice: "Now that all the armies have retreated, people in the country are inevitably in panic. Daxingtai is trapped here. , you have to turn around and sit down to calm the crowd.

But as long as the city is still defended, all previous efforts are not in vain. Sooner or later, reinforcements will be sent! Not to mention that Li Boshan still led tens of thousands of troops to attack Yichuan. If he had known about the sudden change in Heluo, he would have led his troops back to help as soon as possible! "

Although the two "certains" are used and the tone sounds very sure, it is precisely because he knows that it is not certain, so he deceives himself and others by repeatedly emphasizing in his tone.

The situation in the country has been delicate recently, especially around the ownership of the military power in Longxi, which has attracted many people's cold eyes. Originally, the move to occupy Heqiao was a very exciting thing, but it ended up collapsing like this.

Even if Daxingtai wants to send troops to assist, it must consider the situation in the country. If the number is too small, it will not help relieve the difficulties, and how long it will take to mobilize large-scale troops still needs to be judged through the further development of the situation and situation.

As for Li Boshan, he used to be proud of his achievements, but in the end he was dismissed from his post in Heqiao and sent elsewhere. Anyone else would probably have resentment in his heart. What's more, now that the situation in Heluo is collapsing, even if he wants to return for reinforcements, he has to consider the risks, whether it's worth it, and whether he can do it.

If the factor of his father-in-law Dugu Xin is taken into consideration, then the choice Li Boshan will make will be even more variable. Although his brothers praised Li Boshan for his righteousness and reliability, Li Yuan judged that there was no friendship between them that could lead them to ignore the danger and come to the rescue at any cost. If Li Boshan had no intention of coming to the rescue, it would be difficult for the generals in western Henan to influence his thoughts.

Taking advantage of the enemy's offensive coming to an end, Li Yuan first ordered the defenders to take some time to rest, and then walked down to the top of the city to visit Yifeng, who was lying in bed recovering from his injuries.

After Yifeng briefly inquired about the situation of today's battle, he sighed with shame: "It's a pity that my bones and muscles have lost strength and I can't fight the enemy side by side with Duke Yangping. Now I am trapped in the city with food and fodder gradually running out. If I really can't hold on, Duke Yangping will Break through and go straight, don’t use me as a trick..."

Li Yuan, a brave general like Yifeng, was depressed and no longer optimistic, and his mood became quite heavy. However, he still cheered up and said: "Don't worry, Lord Leling. Jiuqu City is about advancing and retreating from Heluo." The important town itself is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Even if the bandit army is large, it is difficult to break the city. Our army only needs to stay here and wait for reinforcements to arrive, and the siege will be lifted! "

"It's not easy to get reinforcements at this point!"

Yifeng was bereaved by the army and was in pain, so he was naturally a little depressed. When he heard Li Yuan's words of comfort, he couldn't help but sigh: "Alas, the former Daxingtai ignored the Hanoi highway and worked hard. He was so anxious to replace him with Duke Zhang Wu that both internal and external officials regarded Duke Henei as a traitor, which hurt the old feelings. Now that Heluo is defeated, the situation in the country is bound to be even more panic..."

"Your Majesty is in power to declare government. The appointment of governors of prefectures and counties is within the orders of the government. How can you try to mess up your life for personal reasons! Duke Leling must not hold such dissent anymore and hinder the political voice of the country. Hanoi Honesty means hard work and merit, and the court rewards you with honors and high positions. There is no disrespect or injustice.”

Compared with the old Beizhen party members like Yifeng, Li Yuan and other generals who surrendered to Daxantai in Kansai are not involved in those nostalgia and old feelings, so their loyalty to Daxantai is purer. After hearing Yifeng say this With emotion, Li Yuan felt that it was a bit harsh and couldn't help but shouted to stop him.

When Yifeng heard what Li Yuan said, he felt he had made a mistake. He only smiled apologetically at Li Yuan and then fell silent.

After Li Yuan saw the situation, he didn't stay any longer. He told Yifeng to rest in peace and recuperate before getting up and leaving.

He then detoured to the warehouse in the city and looked at the piles of silk and silk in the warehouse. Although he knew that he was being unreasonable, he still thought viciously in his heart that if Li Boshan didn't come to the rescue, his future would be uncertain. Jui's debt must be settled. Anyway, he died without any evidence, so Li Boshan must suffer the loss of being dumb!

Thinking of the unlucky situation that Li Boshan might be speechless in the future, Li Yuan couldn't help but chuckle twice. However, the thought of having fun in the misery did not last long. The sound of fighting outside the city rang again, and he was busy. Go to the city wall.