Chapter 295 A Group of Tigers Devouring Lambs
When attacking Hebei, Daming Prefecture will serve as a barrier.

You can attack Shandong. There is no strong city or dangerous pass in front of Liangshan Water Park.

Liangshan could only fight the government troops in the field.

This is what Tong Guan wanted, because if you don't come to fight, once Cao Cao has stabilized Shanxi, he will lead hundreds of thousands of troops south.

Similarly, if Liangshan attacked Kaifeng Prefecture from Shandong, there would be no other strong cities to defend along the way except for a few large cities.

Compared with the Tang Dynasty, the Song Dynasty was born with deficiencies. The Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, an important pass for defending against the northern barbarians, were given to the Liao Kingdom by its puppet emperor Shi Jingtang. As a result, the Song Dynasty could only maintain a defensive posture militarily. If it wanted to defend against the enemy's cavalry on the plains, it had no other way except the human wave tactic.

In fact, as early as the beginning of the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin had considered moving the capital to Luoyang. Zhao Kuangyin's idea made sense. He believed that Kaifeng was located in a plain and there was no strategic location to defend. To guard it, a large number of imperial guards must be stationed, which would cost huge military expenditures. In the long run, the country would find it difficult to afford it, and if the finances collapsed, the country would perish.

Zhao Kuangyin moved the capital to Luoyang because it was "backed by mountains and rivers, with a dangerous and solid terrain", and he could save 200,000 troops there.

It should be said that Zhao Kuangyin's idea was very reasonable.

However, his plan was interrupted by his younger brother, Emperor Taizong of Song, Zhao Guangyi.

Zhao Guangyi believed that Luoyang's water transport had long been cut off and its economic problems could not be solved, so it was not suitable to be the capital. Kaifeng was a canal hub and had an important economic position.

It should be said that what Zhao Guangyi said is not without reason. During the Five Dynasties, there was a monarch, Zhuangzong of Later Tang, who moved the capital to Luoyang. As a result, the economy collapsed due to the blockage of water transport, which led to the rebellion of the imperial guards and the demise of the country.

Zhao Guangyi considered it from an economic perspective, because after the Tang Dynasty, the economy of northern China collapsed, and only the southeast region could provide blood transfusions to the north, which was the significance of the Grand Canal. In the Northern Song Dynasty, the canal could no longer reach Luoyang, but only Kaifeng. Therefore, Luoyang could not receive blood transfusions from the south, so it was not suitable to be the capital.

As a result, Kaifeng Bianliang of the Song Dynasty became a magnificent metropolis with a population of one million.

Back then, Zhao Guangyi used the phrase "virtue, not danger" to summarize the advantages and disadvantages of Kaifeng and Luoyang, which means that the life and death of a country depends on the morality of the monarch, not on the geographical location.

This statement seems to make a lot of sense.

However, among all the emperors throughout history, how many of them are virtuous?

The Song Dynasty had been established for more than a hundred years, but by the time of Zhao Ji, it was on the verge of extinction.

Once Kaifeng Prefecture was besieged, food and clothing for millions of people would be cut off, and Tokyo would collapse on its own without the enemy attacking.

How many Zongzes in the Zhao Song Dynasty could handle this important task? Could they turn the tide?
Tong Guan longed for a fair fight, but Sun Tzu said it well: In every battle, the first step is to use the normal tactics to unite and the second to win.

Liangshan Lake has thousands of tributaries and inlets around it, with a circumference of 800 li. It is connected to the islands in the east, Xianyang in the west, Dayejin Township in the south, and Qingqi and Yanjun in the north. There are 72 tributaries and inlets, hiding thousands of warships and battleships.

The Liangshan navy controlled the river, which meant that the Liangshan army could land at any location and launch a surprise attack on the government troops.

The Privy Councilor Tong Guan was on the platform in the battle formation, staring intently at the troops deployed by Liangshan, which instantly formed the Nine Palaces and Eight Diagrams formation. The soldiers were heroic, and the officers and soldiers were heroic, which frightened all the generals under his command so much that their souls flew out of their bodies and their hearts were shattered.

Tong Guan also kept whispering: "Today we know why the government troops were defeated. It turns out that the Liangshan bandits are so powerful!"

After watching for a while, they heard the rumbling sound of gongs and drums from the Liangshan army urging them to fight.

Tong Guan stepped down from the general's platform, mounted his warhorse, and went out to the front army again. He asked the generals, "Who dares to fight with the bandits and come out to speak?"

A brave general from the vanguard team came forward, jumped on his horse and immediately bowed to Tong Guan and said, "I am willing to go, and I beg for your permission."

Looking over, it was Chen Zhu, the governor of Zhengzhou, wearing a white robe and silver armor, riding a green horse with a red tassel, wielding a large pole sword, and serving as the deputy vanguard.

Tong Guan then ordered the army to sound three blasts under the golden drums and flags, and to raise the red flags on the stage to wave the troops.

Chen Zhu rode out on his horse from under the gate flag, and both armies shouted together.

Chen Zhu stopped his horse, held his sword horizontally, and shouted loudly: "You are a traitor without reason, a traitor and a madman. You don't surrender even when the heavenly soldiers are here. You will regret it when your flesh and blood are turned into mud!" In the southern formation of Liangshan, the vanguard leader Qin Ming, the tiger general, rode out on his horse, without saying a word, and brandished his wolf-tooth stick to attack Chen Zhu.

The two horses met, weapons raised, one with a stick struck at the head, the other with a knife chopped at the face. Four arms crossed, eight horses' hooves were in a mess.

The two generals fought back and forth over and over again for more than twenty rounds.

Qin Ming pretended to be vulnerable and let Chen Zhu rush in, but his strike missed.

Qin Ming took advantage of the situation and swung his mace, hitting Chen Zhu right in the forehead, helmet and head included.

Chen Zhu turned over and died under his horse. At the same time, a ball of flame ignited from his body, burning it into dry bones in an instant.

"hiss!"

"That's Qin Ming, the Thunderbolt of Qingzhou?" Tong Guan gritted his teeth. It was such a pity that such a brave general was taken to the mountains by the rebels.

That Murong Yanda deserves to die!

"Thunderfire" Qin Ming, "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong, and Wu Song all came from his hands.

In the southeast gate flag, the fierce general Dong Ping, also known as the "Double-Gun General", saw that Qin Ming had taken the first credit, and thought on his horse: The army is already in high spirits, why not just rush over here and capture Tong Guan? What's the point of waiting!

He gave a loud shout like a thunderbolt before the battle formation, and holding two spears in each hand, he spurred his horse and charged straight into the battle formation.

Zong Ze was sitting in the center of the army. Seeing Dong Ping going out for no reason, he couldn't help but frown.

This man is brave, but it is just the courage of an ordinary man and he is not capable of taking on big responsibilities.

When Tong Guan saw this, he turned his horse around and headed towards the central army.

In the southwest gate flag, the vanguard general Suo Chao also shouted: "We should capture Tong Guan right here, when else?"

He led his personal soldiers with a big axe in his hand to charge into the battle formation.

Qin Ming in the center saw the two sides charging forward, and looking towards the central army, he saw the command flag hanging high, so he also mobilized his own red flag soldiers and horses, and rushed into the formation to capture Tong Guan.

It is:

I have done things before, but I was not lucky enough to have them all together. It was like a few soap eagles chasing purple swallows, and a group of tigers devouring lambs.

This battle was fought in full swing, with mountains of corpses and seas of blood, not to mention the countless corpses and blood.

After nightfall, they sent out surprise attacks on their food supply routes and assaulted the county fortress in the rear, needless to say.

Jeju and Dongping Prefectures around Liangshan Lake were completely plunged into war.

Surrounding the 800-li Liangshan Lake, the Liangshan Army tied down 100,000 soldiers and officers.

War serves politics. If Liangshan wants to replace Song, it does not do so by killing all its opponents, but by consuming their food and supplies so that they collapse on their own.

Now, for every extra stone of grain consumed here, the attack on Kaifeng Prefecture in the future will be easier.

What Cao Jie did in Shanxi was to make more friends and fewer enemies.

Under the leadership of Lu Zhishen, he arrived at the foot of Mount Wutai.

(End of this chapter)