Chapter 297 Victory or defeat?
The first year of Xiaochang, late June.
The news spread quickly in Yongzhou, and even people in Chang'an City were talking about it.
The weather in June was already very hot, but the windows of the weaving room could not be opened because the wind would mess up the threads.
Princess Nanyang was on the loom, and the maid wiped her sweat with concern and said:
"Your Highness, wait until the sun goes down before weaving."
Princess Nanyang insisted on operating the loom. She said:
"This brocade is almost finished. There is still some time before the autumn harvest. If this brocade is sold to Luoyang, it can also help raise some military funds for my husband."
The maid said anxiously:
"The army spends thousands of gold coins every day. How much can this piece of brocade, Your Highness, be worth?"
But Princess Nanyang shook her head and continued to operate the loom stubbornly.
The maid couldn't help but say:
"After Your Highness returned to Chang'an last time, Duke Danyang returned to Chang'an several times but never entered the palace. Why are you doing this?"
Princess Nanyang's face turned pale. After the last quarrel, Princess Nanyang returned to Chang'an and actually separated from Xiao Baoyin.
However, in order to support Xiao Baoyin in the war, Princess Nanyang not only wove brocade herself, cut down on the expenses in the mansion, but also took out her dowry.
Xiao Baoyin was like a scumbag. He accepted all the money and food sent to the military camp without even a word of thanks.
In short, Princess Nanyang was like a bootlicker who ended up with nothing.
But Princess Nanyang still said:
"Once Xiao Lang wins the battle, he will naturally return home. He is too embarrassed to see me because the war is not going well."
The maid sighed deeply and swallowed the words that were about to come out of her mouth.
People in Chang'an said that Xiao Baoyin openly kept concubines in the camp and enjoyed himself lavishly.
But the princess herself was suffering in the weaving room.
Also a member of a noble family, I heard that Princess Chenliu who married to the northwest was very happy.
And the Pingxi General Su Ze won every battle and defeated the rebels many times.
But last time a maid mentioned Su Ze in the mansion, Princess Nanyang lost her composure, and since then this word has become a taboo in the mansion.
The maid could only talk about other things.
"Your Highness, there is a rumor in Chang'an that Mo Zhetiansheng is going to withdraw his troops."
Hearing this news, Princess Nanyang finally got down from the loom, clasped her hands together and said:
"Amitabha, if Mozhe Tiansheng withdraws his troops, my husband will have less pressure this year."
In another month, August will be the time for autumn harvest.
If the stalemate on the front line continues until the autumn harvest, it will have a huge impact on the collection of military rations next year.
If Mo Zhetian withdraws his troops now, it can also ease the pressure in the court and reduce the number of memorials impeaching Xiao Baoyin.
The maid continued:
"But there are rumors in Chang'an that Mo Zhe Tiansheng wants to move all the people west of Wugong to Qizhou."
"what?"
Starting this year, Mo Zhe Tiansheng changed his previous combat strategy.
He followed Hou Gang's advice and maintained a certain friendly attitude towards the Guanzhong nobles.
This is also the reason why he was able to occupy the western part of Yongzhou.
Even Princess Nanyang knew that for the wealthy families, land and population were their lifeblood.
Land is the foundation of a family, but no matter how good the land is, it is useless if no one comes to cultivate it.
Mo Zhetiansheng wanted to force the population of the occupied area back to Qizhou, which was completely unacceptable to the Guanzhong nobles.
Princess Nanyang said:
"The Guanzhong people in Xiao Lang's army are about to make trouble again."
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Even a woman like Princess Nanyang knew about this, so it is impossible for the Guanzhong nobles to be unaware of it.
There have been fierce quarrels in the Liu Kai camp stationed south of the Wei River in recent days.
Liu Kai was from Guandong, but his subordinates were basically from Guanzhong, and most of them were wealthy families from Yongzhou.
These powerful families are closely related and intermarry with each other, forming a huge network of relationships.
Since the beginning of the war, Liu Kai's army has grown larger and larger. The main reason is that his army has many more private soldiers from wealthy families in the areas occupied by Mozhe Tiansheng.
Liu Kai recruited them. These people's lands were all in the hands of Mozhe Tiansheng, so they made the greatest effort in attacking Mozhe Tiansheng. They were also familiar with the terrain in the western part of Yongzhou and could effectively contain Mozhe Tiansheng's rear.
Now it is reported that Mo Zhe Tiansheng is going to lead the population of the occupied area to Qizhou, which is tantamount to cutting off the foundation of these powerful families. They strongly demand that Liu Kai send troops immediately to stop Mo Zhe Tiansheng from fleeing north.
In response to the request from the powerful families under his command, Liu Kai also had something to say.
You Guanzhong nobles, you just need to devote yourself to the battlefield, follow orders and fight hard. As the commander-in-chief, I, Liu Kai, have a lot to consider. Moreover, Liu Kai is from Guandong, and has nothing to do with you Guanzhong mud legs.
If we attack rashly now and end up being defeated, the commander-in-chief Liu Kai will be the one to take the blame.
When Mo Zhetian withdraws his troops on his own, and Liu Kai sends troops to recover the lost territory, Liu Kai will definitely be rewarded by the court for such a great achievement.
It's obvious which one to choose.
This is just like when the Eastern Jin Dynasty first moved south.
The commanders of the refugees who moved south, such as Zu Ti, were not like the aristocratic families like Wang Dao and Wang Dun who had already moved south long ago and had already occupied some land in the south. For them, the Northern Expedition was just a slogan.
However, even though the commander of the refugee army was a nobleman, he was also a nobleman who had lost his land in the north. They were unable to follow Sima Rui south to get the first piece of the pie, so they could only determine to march north to recover the lost territory.
This is why the Eastern Jin court was not very active in recovering the ancestral temple, but there was an endless stream of heroes who went to the north to fight.
The situation is the same now. If Mo Zhe Tiansheng is really allowed to force the people to leave Yongzhou, even if the government army recaptures the entire Yongzhou, the Guanzhong gentry will suffer huge losses.
The atmosphere in the army became increasingly tense, and there were even several attempted "military remonstrances".
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Liu Kai had to call a meeting of officers to discuss the next steps.
In the end, Liu Kai could not go against the unanimous opinion of the entire Guanzhong nobles, and could only agree to find an opportunity to cross the Weishui River and attack Mozhe Tiansheng's army that was preparing to retreat.
Such a quarrel also occurred on the Wugong front. The Guanzhong generals under Xiao Baoyin unanimously demanded to take the initiative to attack while Mo Zhe Tiansheng was gradually retreating inward to prevent Mo Zhe Tiansheng from forcing the people back to Qizhou.
In this way, Xiao Baoyin was forced into a desperate situation and ordered Liu Kai to make an agreement to attack together to stop Mo Zhe Tiansheng from forcing the people to leave Yongzhou.
On the third day of July, Xiao Baoyin personally led the troops from Wugong to counterattack Mozhe Tiansheng's defense line.
Mozhe Tiansheng's army retreated quickly. Liu Kai, who received the military order and the "victory news" from the martial arts front, led his troops across the Weishui River and began to cut off the retreat of Mozhe Tiansheng's army.
It’s a pity that the rumor of forcing the people to leave Yongzhou was just spread by Hou Gang. Mozhe Tiansheng’s army had already ambushed on the north bank of the Weishui River, waiting for Liu Kai to cross the river.
When Liu Kai was halfway across the river, Mo Zhe Tiansheng personally led the army to attack, and Hou Gang released fireboats to attack the floating bridge in the upper reaches of the Wei River.
Liu Kai's army immediately fell into chaos. Mo Zhe Tiansheng was born with supernatural powers. He led the charge and killed several leaders of the Guanzhong nobles!
Liu Kai, who had already crossed the river, was already at a loss when he was ambushed. Mo Zhe Tiansheng's charge frightened him. Liu Kai even wanted to take off his armor and cross the Wei River to escape!
Thanks to his men who stopped him, Liu Kai then remembered to organize his army for a desperate battle.
But at this time the army had already lost its morale, and Liu Kai had no prestige in the army. The army that was barely organized could not withstand Mo Zhe Tiansheng's attack.
Mo Zhe Tiansheng also found the position of Liu Kai's central army and rushed over with his elite troops.
At this decisive moment, Liu Kai lost the last bit of his courage. He took off his armor and jumped into the Wei River to escape. His men also completely collapsed because their leader had escaped.
When the battle ended that day, the Wei River was filled with the corpses of government troops.
After the great victory, Mozhe Tiansheng quickly left the battlefield with the captured war horses and military rations, as well as the captured government troops, and retreated towards Qizhou.
Xiao Baoyin, who was downstream of the battlefield, saw the corpses floating on the Wei River and felt something was wrong. He immediately sent scouts to investigate the battle situation on the front line. When he received the news that Liu Kai's army was defeated and the commander Liu Kai jumped into the Wei River to escape, Xiao Baoyin was terrified and hurriedly ordered the army to stop advancing, fearing that they would be ambushed by Mo Zhetian again.
It was not until seven days later, when Xiao Baoyin confirmed that Mozhe Tiansheng's army had withdrawn to Yongcheng, Qizhou, that he ordered an advance to gather Liu Kai's defeated army.
Liu Kai didn't know whether he died after jumping into the Wei River or he was too ashamed to see Xiao Baoyin again, and he lost contact with him from then on.
Xiao Baoyin later counted that more than 10,000 troops under Liu Kai were defeated, with as many as 3,000 killed in the battle. The rest were either captured by Mo Zhe Tiansheng or escaped from the battlefield.
More important was the loss of equipment and war horses.
Most of Liu Kai's troops were from Yongzhou noble families, and they were well-equipped with war horses and weapons.
In comparison, Mozhe Tiansheng's army was much worse equipped.
In the past, the government troops could take a certain initiative on the battlefield by relying on their advantages in weapons and equipment.
This time, if Mo Zhe Tiansheng were to snatch so much equipment, the next time a conflict comes, the battle will be even more difficult to fight.
What's more important is morale.
Since entering Guanzhong, Xiao Baoyin has suffered heavy defeats in several direct battles with the rebels.
This great defeat resulted in the loss of most of the wealth of the Guanzhong nobles.
All of a sudden, the nobles in Guanzhong joined together and sent one impeachment memorial after another to Luoyang.
Xiao Baoyin could only stabilize the army and immediately sent an envoy to Luoyang to report the victory, saying that Liu Kai had fought desperately to regain the lost land, and requested the court to posthumously honor Liu Kai and confer a title of favor on his wife.
Even Empress Dowager Hu in Luoyang was dumbfounded.
On the one hand, the nobles in Guanzhong impeached Xiao Baoyin for nepotism and harboring the enemy, which led to the defeat of the government army.
On the one hand, Xiao Baoyin reported the victory to the court, saying that Liu Kai fought to the death and died for his country, and recovered the lost land of Yongzhou. Although the government army suffered losses, it defeated the enemy army.
Empress Dowager Hu summoned important officials from the Menxia Province to discuss matters, but Prince Gaoyang Yuan Yong knew nothing about military affairs, and the only prime minister who understood military affairs, Yuan Shen, had already been sent to Pingcheng. Empress Dowager Hu retained and promoted only some flatterers, and no one could explain the situation in Guanzhong clearly.
Finally, it was the Palace Attendant and Prince of Changle Yuan Ziyou who suggested sending a responsible minister to Guanzhong to investigate the truth and then decide how to deal with the situation accordingly.
Finally, after some prevarication by the prime ministers, the court decided to summon Li Daoyuan, who was expelled from Luoyang by Yuan Yi, as an ambassador to Guanzhong to express condolences.
(End of this chapter)