Chapter 1158: Attack Heluo Again

Chapter 1158: Attack Heluo Again

Since they had been prepared in advance, Wei Jun's action this time was also very efficient.

As the Bafu military order was issued, the divisions and brigade stationed in the Sushui River Basin in Hedong for rest and recuperation marched eastward along the river under the leadership of Yang Zhong and others. After entering the Qin River Valley, they divided into two groups and continued eastward. Joined the Jianzhou troops in Gaodu City. The other group of troops went south via Qiziling, aiming directly at the Hanoi area.

At the same time, the troops stationed in the Guannan area in western Henan also began to gather in the direction of Jiuqu City in Yiyang, preparing to fight along the Luoshui River towards the Heluo area.

In the first stage of the war, as the main army of the Western Wei Dynasty moved north along the Fen River from the east of the Hedong River, the war mainly took place in Jinzhou and the northern area of ​​​​Shangdang, especially the main battle at the Tongdan River in the north of Shangdang. The most important battle in a stage.

In areas other than the main battlefields, the scale and intensity of the fighting were not very large. After all, both countries have invested most of their strength in the frontal battlefield of the main battle, and it is difficult to have any spare energy to open up and take care of other battlefields. Including the Western Wei Dynasty, which had the upper hand, when the main battle was launched, the activities of divisions and brigades in other places also came to a standstill.

The Heluo area, a traditional battlefield where east and west confront each other, has been quite lonely and deserted in the past period due to the change in the location of the main battlefield.

The main force of the Western Wei Dynasty was all invested in the battlefield connected to Hedong. There was almost no new investment in troops around Heluo. The Western Henan Volunteer Division led by Han Xiong, Chen Xin, Wei Fabao and others maintained the previous defense. situation. Even Wei Xuan and several other generals and their troops were transferred northward and merged into Yang Guo's troops in Shaozhou to participate in the Battle of Jianzhou. The actual number of troops retained in western Henan is less than ten thousand.

The other party that provoked this dispute in Hulao City in Northern Yuzhou was the thousands of divisions and brigades led by Zheng Wei and his son from Xingyang who came north from Xiangcheng, and the volunteers gathered in Hulao City to coordinate the defense. The situation was not the same. What a big change.

As for Northern Qi, its strength has also been weakened. Hu Luguang, who had previously served as Heyang Xingtai, was transferred and replaced by Yao Nanzong, the governor of Huaizhou, and Dugu Yongye, the governor of Luozhou, who was still stationed in Jinyong City. Naturally, the armies that had been sent here were also withdrawn, including some of the Heyang armies that were also transferred north to participate in the battle of Tongda River.

Now the total number of soldiers and horses of these two Qi armies is only over 30,000. Although the number seems to be much larger than the number of Wei troops here, this is already the weakest moment for the military strength stationed by the Northern Qi Dynasty since it occupied Heluo.

There is a more important point, that is, after the Wei army withdraws from the northern part of Shangdang, it can increase its troops in this direction at any time, but it is difficult for the Northern Qi Dynasty to do so.

Not to mention the previous loss of territory and the loss of men and horses after the defeat in the war, the current rise of civil strife in the country has made it difficult for the troops in the country to restrain each other and make it difficult to calmly maneuver around.

Following the Bafu's order, in addition to the troops originally stationed here, the Western Wei Dynasty sent an additional 50,000 divisions and brigades eastward, and all troops advanced eastward along their respective routes. The first to engage in friction and combat with the enemy was Han Xiong and other troops from the Western Henan Division.

"The former divisions and brigade were much better than that of Shangdang. Now we, the men in the west of Henan Province, must not let down our guard and show our cowardice! Attack Baiting quickly and clear the Han Pass. All the armies will join forces and conquer Jinyong City together!"

In the past period of time, Han Xiong and others in the west of Henan Province had been listening to the frequent reports of good news from the east of the river. Even the name of his son-in-law was often seen in the news. However, he had not done much here, and he was naturally depressed. It was not easy to receive it. The Bafu's military order to attack naturally required a good performance.

The routes in and out of Heluo are relatively fixed, and there are only a few strongholds that need to be paid attention to for attack and defense. Although the Northern Qi Dynasty has built some more forts between Heluo and Heluo in the past few years, with the withdrawal of the Heluo garrison, there is not enough troops to defend separately, and it can still only concentrate its troops on a few more prominent strongholds. Among them, Baiting City, which has been repeatedly captured and occupied by both sides, is naturally among them.

The Qi army in Heluo has been fighting and confronting the Wei army for a long time. The guard Dugu Yongye is also a man who knows his troops and is cautious. He has not relaxed because of the deserted situation. He has been deploying scouts to monitor the movements of the Wei army in western Henan.

When the Henan West Division began to assemble, Dugu Yongye also noticed it immediately, knowing that there was going to be trouble again. On the one hand, he sent an envoy to report to Yedu that the Wei army was suspected of launching another attack on Heluo, hoping that Yedu would be prepared and provide assistance. On the other hand, he sent additional troops to repair and garrison the cities along the two Weihan routes. The steps are painfully familiar.

As an old rival who often comes and goes, Wei Jun did not disappoint Qi Jun here. They bypassed some of the Qi army's eyes and ears and defense lines by advancing overnight, directly came to the foot of Baiting City, and launched an attack on the city.

After receiving the emergency message from Baiting, Dugu Yongye of Jinyong City personally led 3,000 divisions to rescue the siege. As a result, he encountered an ambush led by Wei General Wei Fabao on the road. loss. Dugu Yongye did not dare to stay and fight for fear of another change in his retreat, so he led the crowd back and retreated to Jinyong City.

After cutting off external reinforcements from Baiting City, the ensuing battle went relatively smoothly, and all the divisions and brigades in western Henan launched separate attacks. It only took a few days, when Tang Wangyi arrived at Hongnong on the back road, they captured Baiting City, opened up the passage into the Heluo area, and reached the outside of Jinyong City.

"The divisions in western Henan are really brave! The army will advance again and take the first city for our king's army!"

After arriving in Hongnong, Li Tai was naturally very happy to receive this good news. He couldn't help but praise it again and again. He directly sent Han Xiong's son Han Qinhu to the east as an envoy to deliver supplies and rewards to the troops, and let the father and son encourage each other.

As the Wei army's front line arrived at Jinyong City again and formed a battle array at the foot of Beimang Mountain, the scene seemed to become familiar again, making people feel familiar. However, the situation this time is still different from before. Mang Mountain is still the same, and the river bridge is not the same as yesterday. The defenders in Jinyong City today are afraid that it will be difficult to see the continuous reinforcements pouring from the river bridge to the south.

Because while the Wei army was advancing to Heluo, the Henei area in the north was also not idle. Since Jianzhou was occupied by the Wei army, it was difficult for the Northern Qi army to successfully block the entry of the Wei army by simply defending the strategic locations such as Chenguan and Qiziling as in previous years.

Now the Wei army has too many options to enter the Henei area. When Yang Yu led his division to rush out of Chenguan again, Sima Yi, the vanguard general of Jianzhou, also led his army from the mouth of Danshui River to Henei, and then attacked Yewang City, the seat of Huaizhou.

The elder brother of Yao Nanzong, the governor of Huaizhou in the Northern Qi Dynasty, was Yao Xiong, a great general in the Eastern Wei Dynasty. He played an active and important role in the Eastern Wei Dynasty's struggle and control over Henan. Yao Nanzong himself was also a very brave and capable general, so he was appointed as the Heyang Xingtai by Qi Lord Gao Yang to replace Hulugu.

However, the problems faced by Yao Nanzong at the moment have exceeded the scope of personal ability to solve. Dugu Yongye from the southern Heluo side frequently sent people to ask for help, and Yao Nanzong was also worried that the important passage of the river bridge would be attacked by the enemy, so he had to lead the army to sit in Heyang in person. As a result, the balance of power for Huaizhou, which he governed, was naturally insufficient.

Yang Yu, the general who came from the Western Wei, was an old opponent who had entered and exited the Chenguan Pass several times. He was very familiar with the in and out routes. If there were not enough troops to defend, it would be difficult to play a role. If he wanted to send more, there would not be enough troops.

As for Sima Yi, he was a descendant of the Miao of Jin and a famous tribe in Henei. Last year, he led thousands of families in Henei to flee west to Qiang. Now he led his army to come back again. With his understanding of the local conditions and situation, it was also difficult to prevent him.

While Yao Nanzong was still worried about how to deal with the attack from all sides, Sima Yi and others had led their troops to wreak havoc in Huaizhou and conquered several cities in succession. Some of them were attacked because the defenders were not strong enough, and some were simply local tyrants who took the initiative to respond.

For a time, the entire Huaizhou area was in chaos. But at least it solved a problem in Yao Nanzong's mind. Before, he was still hesitating about how to allocate troops between Heyang and Huaizhou, but now it seems that Huaizhou doesn't have to worry about it anymore. It's better to concentrate on defending Heyang first, and the premise is that Heyang can be defended.

The Wei army, with the momentum of the previous victory, is more aggressive and advances faster than at the beginning of the war. It only took a very short time to shake the entire Heluo area and Henei Huaizhou in the north. And this is the result of the Wei army not fully exerting its full strength. Once the divisions and brigades arrive and launch a full-scale attack, it will be difficult to defend with only the troops stationed here.

Therefore, at present, whether it is Dugu Yongye in Jinyong City or Yao Nanzong who is guarding Heyang, they all pin their hopes on Yecheng, hoping that Yecheng will quickly send troops for reinforcement.