Chapter 27: Battle of Hulao, Zhang Han Analyzes the Tang Dynasty

[Before I officially start talking about the Battle of Hulao Pass. ]

【Let us first look at the situation at that time. 】

[It was the end of the Sui Dynasty, and the country was in chaos. Many heroes emerged from all over China and started the Sui Dynasty Chicken Eating Contest. ]

[At that time, there were three most powerful forces in northern China. ]

[They are Li Yuan of the Tang Dynasty who occupied the Guanzhong region. 】

【King Shichong of Zheng State occupied the heart of the Central Plains with Luoyang as its center. 】

[And Xia Wang Dou Jiande, who occupied the entire Hebei region. ]

[Among these three forces, the Hebei region occupied by Xia Wang Dou Jiande was the starting point of Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, Liu Xiu, and had the richest population and resources.]

[The second is the Tang Li Yuan faction, which occupies the Guanzhong region and has a geographical advantage. ]

[In contrast, Wang Shichong, who was entrenched in Luoyang, had already declined and was the weakest of the three major forces.]

[But after all, the Tang Dynasty started with the Eight Pillar States, with powerful troops and abundant talents. ]

[So the momentum of development in the early stage was fierce, and it had already formed the strongest position among the heroes in the world, and was therefore deeply feared by other princes. ]

[The Tang Dynasty has the advantage, and continuing to be trapped in Guanzhong is naturally not the best strategy. ]

[In 620 AD, Li Yuan asked his eldest son Li Jiancheng to garrison Puban to prevent the Turks from stealing his property.]

[He also ordered his second son, Li Shimin, to lead 100,000 Tang troops to attack Wang Shichong's forces that occupied the Central Plains.]

[The Tang Dynasty was so powerful that all the prefectures and counties along the way surrendered one after another, and soon surrounded Luoyang. ]

【Wang Shichong relied on the high walls of Luoyang City to hold out and wait for help. 】

[Luoyang's defenses were strong, and Wang Shichong's soldiers were mostly elite soldiers from Huaixi, so their combat effectiveness was actually very strong.]

【However, Li Shimin promptly controlled all strategic locations around Luoyang and focused on attacking Wang Shichong's food supply route. 】

[Soon Luoyang fell into a famine, and countless people starved to death.]

[The combat effectiveness of Wang Shichong's soldiers also dropped sharply due to lack of food. ]

[But Luoyang is a city with high walls and deep walls. Even the powerful Tang Dynasty would find it difficult to take down this eastern capital in a short time.]

【Eight months have passed, and Luoyang has always held on.】

[And the external situation began to become increasingly unfavorable to the Tang Dynasty. ]

[On the one hand, the Turkic Khan Jie Li saw that the Tang Dynasty was too powerful and did not want a strong dynasty to unify the Central Plains.]

【So he led his army southward to threaten the Tang Dynasty's rear.】

[More importantly, Xia Wang Dou Jiande, who occupied Hebei and had a large number of troops, fine soldiers and sufficient food, formed alliances with the Turkic and Wang Shichong forces.]

[After some diplomatic work, Dou Jiande no longer had any worries in Hebei, so he was able to go south to rescue Wang Shichong.]

[Dou Jiande was a kind and chivalrous man with a very high reputation and a very good reputation. He quickly conquered most of Henan and approached Hulao Pass.]

[At this time, Li Yuan had already begun to think about retreating and was preparing to withdraw the main force of the Tang army back to Guanzhong.]

【It’s not even just Li Yuan. 】

[Many generals under Li Shimin also believed that Luoyang would take too long to capture, and now there was a threat from the Turks in the rear, and Dou Jiande's army was about to arrive.]

[Many generals believed that they should avoid Dou Jiande's attack, retreat first, and find an opportunity to fight again in the future.]

While telling the story, Tianmu also used a map to show the current situation.

It can be seen that although the territory of the Tang Dynasty was large, it formed an encirclement of Luoyang.

However, the Tang army also faced threats from two external forces, the Turks and Dou Jiande, and the situation was not very optimistic.

Outside the sky.

Ying Zheng looked at the map on the sky curtain and the situation being explained, and fell into deep thought.

Ying Zheng has his own ideas.

However, Ying Zheng did not say it out loud, but instead threw the question to his generals.

Because Ying Zheng already knew that the second emperor of Qin had died. And Ying Zheng felt that even if he could not achieve immortality, the team he left for Fusu should not be too bad.

So as not to bring about the destruction of the country in the second generation.

So Ying Zheng was a little suspicious.

On the one hand, he doubted Fusu's ability.

On the one hand, I also wondered if I had made a mistake.

Were those high-ranking officials that he was going to leave to Qin II to assist him in governing the world actually fakes?
Throwing the analysis of the situation in the sky to the ministers present and asking them to answer it is actually a test and trial.

Li Si was naturally not in a hurry to answer such military questions.

Logically speaking, this question should be answered by Meng Tian.

However, the relationship between Meng Tian and Fusu is too close, and Fusu's situation is somewhat delicate now.

So Meng Tian also chose to keep a low profile.

Even Wang Li, knowing that the emperor was in a bad mood, kept Wang Jian's style in mind and did not rush to step forward.

In the end, it was Zhang Han who answered first.

Zhang Han pointed at the sky and said:

"The Tang army is strong, just like the situation of the Qin Dynasty back then."

“But we also face many enemies.”

"If we can quickly capture Luoyang after we leave for the east, everything will be fine."

"But now it is also said on the sky curtain that after Li Shimin led his army eastward, although he gained a lot along the way, he made Wang Shichong dare not go out of the city to fight in the field, and could only watch the Tang army occupy various states and counties."

"But the most crucial Luoyang could never be taken."

"The army is trapped under the fortified city."

“Morale will definitely be affected.”

"Plus, the Tang army is now being harassed by the Turks in the rear. In front of them is the 100,000-man army of the so-called Xia King Dou Jiande who occupies the land of Yan and Zhao."

"In my opinion, the Tang army should withdraw now."

Ying Zheng nodded.

Ying Zheng felt that although Zhang Han’s statement was nothing new, it was not the idea of ​​a military genius.

But it is indeed very safe and there is no major problem.

The later Pseudo-Tang Dynasty occupied Guanzhong and inherited the foundation of the Great Qin Dynasty.

Next, you can attack or defend.

As long as you find the right opportunity, you can swallow up the world!

A temporary retreat is actually a wise choice.

Zhang Han’s idea is good!
If after his death, the successor Qin II had generals of the same level as Zhang Han, how could he have defeated the Qin Dynasty in just a few years?
While thinking about the problem in his mind, Ying Zheng continued to look at the sky.

[At this time, the generals under Li Shimin were divided into the Guanzhong faction and the Wagang faction. ]

[Among them, the Guanzhong faction generally hopes to withdraw to Guanzhong first, stabilize the base and fight again in the future. ]

[Don't take the huge risk of fighting to the death with Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande in Luoyang.]

【However, the generals of the Wagang faction under Li Shimin insisted on continuing to besiege Luoyang.】

[After all, only after conquering Guandong can the Wagang Sect have its own foundation. ]

[Now is the time to make a decision.]

[If Li Shimin hesitated, it would certainly cause disunity within the Tang army, greatly affecting its combat effectiveness.]

【And Li Shimin also made his own decision decisively. 】

(End of this chapter)