Mang Mountain is a remnant of Qinling Mountains and a branch of Weishan Mountain. From east to west, there are thirty-three peaks and ridges, passing through six counties of Gongxian, Yanshi, Mengjin, Luoyang, Xin'an and Mianchi, spanning more than 380 miles.

On the south bank of the Yu River, the northern wing of the Heluo Basin, looking north to Xiangshan Mountain (Zhongtiao Mountain).

The terrain of Mang Mountain cannot be said to be very steep. The most dangerous part of the mountain range is about 100 feet. Generally speaking, the mountains on the east and west sides are towering and steep. The mountains in the middle are relatively gentle. However, the mountains are gentle in the south and steep in the north, approaching the Yu River.

It is difficult for enemy ships to cross.

In early February, the Yu River was still firmly blocked by the ice cap. Han Qian, Guo Rong, Feng Liao, Wen Bo and others stood on the mountain at the east end of Mang Mountain. With the help of a lookout, they could see that the north bank was controlled by the enemy.

In Mengzhou City, in addition to tens of thousands of soldiers and horses gathered one after another to garrison, a large number of boats were also gathered in the Navy Dazhai on the north side.

Seeing this scene, Guo Rong said with emotion: "The Mongol people have been preparing for the death of Emperor Xianwu for a long time. Then in addition to sending the Dongliang Army to enter Hulao Pass from Xingyang, Wang Yuankui and Tian Weiye led their troops to attack Tongguan.

Outside of Huazhou, he will gather an army in Mengzhou and cross the Yu River from Mengzhou to attack Yanshi, Mengjin, Gongxian and other places!"

Although the main force of the enemy forces in Mengzhou was only assembled from Huaiwei, Luze and other prefectures in the past half month, the Mongols built a navy stronghold in Mengzhou after the summer and autumn of last year and assembled large-scale boats to carry out the attack.

practice.

It's just that the rivers on the north bank are currently blocked by ice, so these boats are temporarily out of use.

However, in another half month to a month, the temperature will gradually pick up in the north. By then, the ice on the Yu River and Luoshui River will melt, and the boats and ships gathered by the enemy on the north bank will be able to play their role.

In addition, because Heluo had been occupied by Liang Shixiong before, and the Wei River and the Yu River and Hejin areas west of Hangu Pass had completely fallen into the hands of the Mongols, the boats in Heluo, Jingwei and other places were either rebelled against.

The army destroyed them, or they were all captured and carried away by the enemy.

It is now difficult to find even a few fishing boats in the Heluo area.

After the Yu River broke its embankment, the flood invaded the Jialu River from the open and shallow floodplain area on the west bank and then flowed southward into the Shaying River. This determined that as long as Xingyang was under the control of the enemy and the Yu River embankment was not blocked, the Jialu River would be connected to the Yu River.

If the gates are not repaired, the warships of the Tangyi navy will not be able to enter the Yu River directly from the Shaying River and the Jialu River.

Han Qian has mobilized a group of engineers to build a shipyard on the bank of Yique Lake in the west of Luoyang City.

However, even if there is a special process for felling large wood, it does not need to be processed for several years according to the traditional process before it can be used. Even the navy generals, soldiers, shipwrights, and sailors can all be transferred from Huaixi, but if you want to make various new ones,

Warships and the establishment of a combat-effective naval force that can resist the enemy's invasion of the Yiluo River Basin will not be possible until the autumn at the earliest.

They seem to still have 80,000 troops in Heluo, and even more than 200,000 strong men and women in the Heluo area that can be mobilized. However, after the integration of the two armies is completed and the implementation of the new system continues, the Liang army, which is weak and suffers from many injuries, will

Before they had sufficient rest and recuperation, they were unable to launch a decent counterattack. They even had to withstand the enemy's initial offensive before they could initially gain a foothold in the Heluo area.

In addition to Kong Xirong taking on the important task of containing the main enemy force in Guanzhong from the southern flank from the direction of Shangluo and Lantian after absorbing Li Qi's troops and the remaining Yongzhou army, Han Qian also ordered Feng Xuan to lead his troops into the eastern part of Gong County.

Hulao Pass blocked the offensive of Xingyang, Bianjing and other Dongliang armies from the east. Zhou Pang was ordered to lead his troops to Tongguan, and Jing Zhen, who was stationed in Huazhou City, resisted the enemy's offensive from Hejin and Yongzhou.

However, in addition to the defensive deployment on the east and west wings of the northern line, the gap currently most vulnerable to enemy attack is the Yiluo River mouth area between Mang Mountain and Hulao Pass.

The Yichuan River and the Luoshui River each have their own sources, but they merge into the Yiluo River in Yanshi County, northeast of Luoyang City, and merge into the Yu River (Yellow River) from Gong County, forming a flat and open Yiluo River in Gong County.

Alluvial plain of the lower reaches of Luohe River.

At present, they have no naval combat power in the Yiluo River. They cannot prevent enemy warships from entering the Yiluo River directly after the ice melts. It is also difficult to prevent the Mongol cavalry and infantry from landing on both sides of the Yiluo River mouth, and then

Advance along Yiluo City to Yanshi and Luoyang, and isolate Hulao Pass to the east of Yiluo River to become an isolated city.

Han Qian turned around and looked behind him at Wen Bo, Han Yuanqi, Chen Kun, Su Lie, Xue Chuan, Han Donghu and other generals and said:

"The Mongol people are extremely powerful at this time, but whether they can keep the enemy out of the Yiluo River mouth and prevent them from extending their tentacles directly into Heluo not only determines whether we can successfully gain a foothold in Heluo, but also determine whether we can successfully establish a foothold in Heluo.

It also determines the rise and fall of the Mongol people's Qi - Wusu Dashi. Xiao Yiqing must also be very aware of this truth. The generals must be prepared to wrap their bodies in horse leather on the banks of the Yiluo River! And I will also set up my big tent there.

In the mountains at the eastern foot of Mang Mountain, you should not persuade me to withdraw my tent to Luoyang City. If it comes to the point where I have to withdraw and defend Luoyang City, it will be impossible for Luoyang City to be defended..."

In addition to the troops and horses commanded by Feng Xuan and Zhou Pang to strengthen the defenses on both sides of Heluo, Han Qian currently has 8,000 elite soldiers from Su Lie and Xue Chuan brigades led by Wen Bo, as well as 20,000 infantry led by Han Yuanqi and Chen Kun.

The cavalry was deployed on both sides of the Yiluo River to guard the northern gate of Luoyang.

In addition, three thousand bodyguard cavalry led by Han Donghu, Huo Li, and Shi Ruhai will guard his commanding camp at the eastern foot of Mang Mountain.

In a short period of time, it seemed that the enemy had only assembled 40,000 troops in Mengzhou City on the other side to attack the Yiluo River mouth area. They were not at a big disadvantage in terms of military strength. However, the problem was that after the Yu River thawed, the enemy had more troops in Guanzhong.

It is difficult for a large number of soldiers and horses to attack Huazhou, Tongguan and Lantian Pass. However, they can take the Yuhe waterway and go around the mouth of Yiluo River to participate in the competition for this area.

In the past, Tangyi used the convenience of waterways and rivers to quickly mobilize troops and horses to attack the enemy. Now the situation was reversed, and it felt like it was very passive.

The only thing that can give people a little peace of mind is probably that they have a defensive advantage.

Not to mention the numerous cities and towns on both sides of the Yiluo River, Mang Mountain is a place where Feng Shui is flourishing on the north side of Heluo River. Countless princes and nobles have been buried there for thousands of years, making the southern slope of Mang Mountain extremely developed, and the roads between the mountains on the southern slope

It extends in all directions.

Only the Xixuan Temple at the eastern foot of Mang Mountain, built four to five hundred years ago during the Northern Wei Dynasty, is very spectacular.

Xixuan Temple is a temple complex consisting of three large temples, namely Wolong Temple, Lotus Temple, and Pujing Temple, and two small temples, Yongle Temple and Yongfu Temple. It is distributed along the southern slope of the East Ridge of Mang Mountain, leaning against Mang Mountain in the north and overlooking the Yiluo River in the south.

The building complex stretches for about two miles.

After Liang Shixiong withdrew from Heluo in November last year, Zhu Yu immediately ordered Chen Kun to lead his troops to Xixuan Temple, and recruited civilian labor to transform Xixuan Temple into a military garrison on the west bank of the Yiluo River.

This creates favorable conditions for defending on the southern slope of Mang Mountain, and making it easy for soldiers and horses to enter and exit.

Even when the enemy's elite troops penetrated into the north bank of the Yiluo River, the Heluo defenders could make better use of the favorable terrain of Mang Mountain to transport counterattack forces to the mouth of the Yiluo River.

When the war is unfavorable, the undefeable defenses on both sides of the Yiluo River can even be temporarily abandoned and the troops shrink to the west and south. However, the mountains at the eastern foot of Mang Mountain on the west bank of the Yiluo River must be defended to the death.

Han Qian did not retreat to Luoyang City to sit in front of the city, but set up his tent at the east foot of Mang Mountain, hoping to win the defensive battle at the mouth of the Yiluo River at all costs.

Only by keeping the enemy out of the Yiluo River could Han Qian extend his troops to Xiangshan (Zhongtiao Mountain) on the other side. Even if he could not compete with the Mongols in the plain area on the north bank of the Yuhe River in a short period of time, he would still be able to extend his troops to Xiangshan (Zhongtiao Mountain) on the other side.

Ma sent into Xiangshan Mountain and brought out the advantageous tactics of Tangyi Army, which had relied on the mountain as a city for many years and fought according to the mountain. To the north, it could threaten the Hejin area controlled by the enemy, and to the east, it could threaten the area controlled by the enemy.

Menghuai area.

After Zhu Yu died of illness, Han Qian returned to Luoyang City and stayed for two days. He met with more generals in the Heluo area and then traveled non-stop between Yiluo and Mangjiao to inspect the terrain and defenses. At this time, he was in Hulao.

Before the pass, a small-scale contact war between Feng Xuan and the Dongliang Army had begun, and the enemy forces in Mengzhou City on the north bank were also ready to move.

At present, the ice on the Yu River is still quite thick. It is obvious that the Mengzhou enemy will directly step on the ice and insert it into the mouth of the Yiluo River, instead of waiting for the ice to melt before crossing by boat.

"Li Zhigao did not choose to surrender to the Mongols during the difficult time. There is no need to worry about Liangzhou and Sichuan, but there are too many variables between Jianghuai." Han Qian turned to look at Guo Duanduo, Wen Ruilin and others said, "You guys

As we set out south today, the most important thing to pay attention to is the movement of the Chuzhou Army - under the instigation of the Mongols, we cannot rule out the possibility that Yang Yuanyan might jump over the wall..."

Even if he bows his head and bows his head, it is only in name.

No matter what the result of the subsequent negotiations is, and no matter whether the new capital is clearly in Luoyang, Liyang Academy, the central organization of the Zhizhi Mansion, as well as Wang Jun, Zhao Ting'er, Xi Lin and other women will all come to Luoyang to join Han Qian, but

The status of Liyang and East Lake will not be weakened too much.

Han Qian also decided to use Liyang, Donghu, Shiquan, Wushou, Tangyi and other places as the core, and include Chaozhou and Chuzhou on both wings to form a separate administrative region.

Not only in the past few years, but even for a long period of time in the future, this area will be the core area for the development of industry, mining, commerce and other industries in the New Liang Kingdom. It is the most important tax source of the New Liang Kingdom, and it is also the southern line of defense.

The central area where the imperial troops and horses moved was also the core area for maintaining close relations with Chu Ting for communication and material trade.

Han Qian decided to directly set up a dispatch agency in East Lake, Nannei Shifu, directly under the jurisdiction of Luoyang Central Committee, to be responsible for military and political affairs in the area.

This time, a large number of Tangyi generals and mid-level and high-level generals went north, and Han Qian also wanted to select a group of generals from Heluo to go south, in order to speed up the integration of the two armies.

Wen Ruilin had been lurking in Chu for a long time, and Guo Duanduo had been mainly responsible for the communication between Liang and Chu in the past two years. They were also the first batch of officials to be selected from Heluo to join Nansi.

Guo Duanduo has had many opportunities to meet Han Qian in the past two years. He is also one of the most determined officials in the Liang State to welcome Han Qian. He has no mental obstacles in accepting the post of Governor of Nan Neishi, nor does he feel that it is inconsistent with staying behind.

The generals in Donghu would not have good relations with each other; Wen Ruilin was a little nervous. He was even worried about the remnants of the Five Tooth Army, whether someone would remember the past and come to assassinate him.

Wen Ruilin was considered a middle-level general in the Liang Kingdom, but he only learned about the abdication after Han Qian arrived in Luoyang. Although half a month had passed, the shock in his heart had not completely disappeared.

He was so shocked, which shows how strong the shock in the hearts of Liang Jun's lower-level generals was.

Under such circumstances, Wen Ruilin could not imagine that Han Qian would make the decision to defend the Yiluo River mouth. However, when he thought about it carefully, although it was difficult to defend the Yiluo River mouth under such circumstances, if he gave up the Yiluo River mouth this spring,

At the mouth of the Luohe River, if the enemy is allowed to advance to the gates of Luoyang City, won't it make the people of Heluo become more hesitant and shaken, so that the integration of the two armies will not proceed at all in the Heluo area?

Thinking about it this way, whether it is surrendering, merging the two armies, and defending the mouth of the Yiluo River, it is actually consistent.

Only by getting through this section without fear of difficulties can the situation be considered stable.

Wen Ruilin was thinking about how to show his loyalty just right. At this moment, he heard the sound of "woo woo" horn coming from the north. They all turned their heads and looked over, and saw soldiers and horses like a colony of ants coming from Meng.

The fortresses outside the city were crowded out. Seeing this situation, the enemy army could not wait to use their troops at the mouth of the Yiluo River on the south bank.

Han Yuanqi and Chen Kun didn't talk too much. They saluted Han Qian and, surrounded by guards, rushed to the camp on the west bank of the Yiluo River to preside over the war.

…………

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Xiao Yiqing rushed to Yongzhou on the 15th of January to meet with Wang Yuankui and Tian Weiye to arrange the military deployment of the west wing. He even rushed to Qizhou in person to meet Wang Xiaoxian, the Marquis of Wei.

However, he did not stay on the Western Front for too long. Whether Wang Xiaoxian agreed to lead his troops to attack Lantian Pass, Tian Weiye took charge of attacking Huazhou, or Wang Yuankui led his troops to cross the river from Hejin to attack Tongguan, he did not need to worry too much about the war arrangements.

In fact, due to terrain restrictions, after recruiting Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian's troops, their troops on the west wing expanded to 130,000, but they were unable to effectively attack Lantian, Huazhou and Tongguan.

Considering that Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian have newly attached themselves, and Han Qian has deployed 60,000 troops on the west flank, they have no way to mobilize a large number of troops from the west flank to strengthen the offensive on the northeast flank.

Although Xiao Yiqing went to Yongzhou in the hope of persuading Zhao Mengji to lead his troops to move to Mengzhou, Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian's troops had occupied the three prefectures of Fengqi and Qin in the past two years, and the ration supply could only maintain one-third of the normal level.

The soldiers were weak and the morale of the army was extremely unstable. In the past two years, they had been restrained in the walled city to prevent them from rebelling and fleeing.

At present, Wang Xiaoxian can only agree to participate in the attack on Lantian Pass on a small scale, and Zhao Mengji's troops want to transfer eastward. If the subsequent supply of grain and fodder is sufficient, they will need to rest for at least two months before they can regain a certain combat effectiveness.

Even though everyone knows very well in their hearts, the real offensive, in addition to urging Liang Shixiong to lead his troops to attack Hulao Pass from Xingyang, mainly involves gathering troops from Mengzhou to attack Gongxian, Yanshi and other areas on both sides of the lower reaches of the Yiluo River on the other side of the Yu River.
To be continued...