Chapter 499 Wei Hui
Old Qian and Old Zhao were under immense pressure from the disappearances of Qi Rong and Lin Changning at the ferry crossing, so they were directly dispatched to attack Weihui.
While cities could be captured through surprise attacks or various strategies, the situation was different in Weihui. By this point, they were already very close to Luoyang.
After capturing Weihui and entering Mengjin, the next step is to attack Luoyang. Even if the imperial court reacts now, it will be difficult to stop them, and even if troops are mobilized, it will be difficult to arrive in time.
Distant water cannot quench immediate thirst; at this moment, the emperor was like an ant on a fire.
After the prince ordered his men to seize the ferry crossing, he immediately sent them with their army to Weihui, aiming to give the court no time to react and to quickly take control of the Central Plains.
After capturing Weihui and seizing the surrounding water resources, cutting off the imperial army's grain supply routes would be a piece of cake. With the official roads blocked and the waterways impassable, Luoyang would soon become an isolated city.
Reinforcements from other places are unlikely to be able to arrive in the short term.
Therefore, Lao Qian and Lao Zhao were well aware of the importance of this battle.
The King of Chu and his men were well aware of Wei Hui's importance, as were the court officials.
The emperor is currently extremely anxious. He has been on the throne for less than three years and has not yet fully taken control of the court. Some corrupt officials in the court are unable to take action against him even if they want to.
Moreover, he had no suitable military generals by his side, and he had always received the most orthodox royal education, which mainly focused on reading and understanding principles.
He was not skilled in warfare, and the people his father left him were mostly civil officials, with only a few important positions in the capital garrison held by his own people.
In other places, the official positions held during the emperor's lifetime are still in place. Some time ago, floods around the capital submerged many villages, and a large number of refugees gathered around the capital.
Having just finished disaster relief, it was time to distribute rations and pay. Local garrisons were running out of food, and memorials poured in like snowflakes onto his desk.
However, the surrounding grain routes were blocked, and it would take some time to clear them. His subordinates, who were just there to do nothing, were always outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant. Ever since Taiyuan released various news about him, all sorts of rumors and gossip have been flying around.
During these days, he was almost criticized to death by the censors. When it rains, it pours. Just as the grain supply route was being repaired and the grain and pay were to be distributed to the various garrisons, he heard that his ninth uncle had finally rebelled.
They captured several cities in succession, and the news that just came in was that they had even taken the Yellow River ferry. After taking the Yellow River, the next step is Weihui.
The emperor's eyes turned bloodshot with rage. He swept all the memorials off his desk with a flick of his sleeve, smashed several teacups and teapots, and only then did he let out a sigh of relief.
"Useless! All of them are useless! We sent out so many people, did they all lose? We pay them silver every year to support them, and they just surrender like that!!! They all deserve to be killed, they all deserve to be torn to pieces!!"
The palace maids and eunuchs around him trembled with fear, kneeling quietly as the emperor smashed the memorials and teacups beside them.
The emperor never expected that his Ninth Uncle, who had been enduring hardship under his nose for many years and who had sent his daughter to the capital to be abused by others, would actually dare to rebel!
How hateful, how hateful! We should have found some excuse to kill Uncle Nine back then, it would have been better than this.
After venting his anger, the emperor calmed down for a while and sat weakly on the dragon throne, slowly rubbing his temples. After rubbing for a while, he still felt dizzy and had a headache.
He randomly pointed to a palace maid and pressed her head down. He closed his eyes and leaned weakly against the dragon throne.
After being pressed down for a while, I felt my thoughts clearer, and when I opened my eyes again, my gaze was clearer.
Now that Uncle Jiu has taken control of the Yellow River, his next step will likely be to block the supply lines. Therefore, it is necessary to deliver the provisions and fodder to all the garrisons, especially those near the capital, as soon as possible.
As for the next step, Uncle Nine will probably take Weihui directly. The importance of Weihui goes without saying, so tens of thousands more troops need to be added to Weihui.
However, Uncle Nine had overcome so many obstacles and fought so fast that he hadn't had enough time to prepare. He still needed to think about where to mobilize troops and where to recruit soldiers.
Thinking of this, the emperor had a headache again. Although he was the emperor and had many capable people under his command, he had very few military officers at his disposal.
The emperor pondered for a while about the several capable generals his father had mentioned to him before his death. After thinking quietly for a while, he had someone bring out a map of the area surrounding the capital.
He began to examine it carefully, and after he finished, he seemed to calm down. After the eunuchs and maids beside him finished tidying up, he spoke to them in a hoarse voice.
"Go and summon the Vice Minister of War and Duke Ji."
The Vice Minister of War is in charge of the Ministry of War and is very good at coordinating troops. The late Emperor mentioned him many times before his death. The Duke of Ji is a veteran general. Although he is over 60 years old this year, he is still in good health.
Wei Hui was definitely not someone else could get his hands on it. After thinking it over, only these two people going together could stop Uncle Jiu.
As long as we can stall for time until the troops from various garrisons are transferred to the outskirts of the capital, Uncle Jiu will be trapped like a turtle in a jar, and there's nothing to worry about.
Old Qian and Old Zhao sat in their tent, carefully examining the map. After a while, Old Qian suddenly said, "The various garrisons certainly can't provide support in time right now, but we've been fighting for so long, the imperial court's supply lines must have been repaired by now, and they should be distributing grain to various places. So this battle should be fought quickly rather than dragged out."
Old Zhao nodded, sitting in his chair and looking at the spot Old Qian was pointing to: "I know, but Weihui must have a general in charge now, so how to get in is a problem. There are about 10,000 people inside. We just took the ferry, and the imperial court will probably send reinforcements. I calculated that the maximum number is about 20,000. A city defense battle with more than 20,000 people is not easy to take. We can definitely wear them down, but to take it quickly, tsk, that's a bit difficult."
Old Qian nodded: "I understand what you mean. I have an idea. Listen to it. First of all, the emperor has very few generals he can use right now, and Weihui is an important place. So, those who come will either be several dukes or the emperor's confidants."
I'd guess the Vice Minister of War is here. He's always been cunning and has a knack for personnel management. I just wonder who the general guarding the city is.
If it were Duke Ji, then things would be a bit difficult. So what I'm thinking is that we should first surround Weihui, cut off all supply routes, set up camp outside the city, dig trenches, and prevent a surprise attack.
Then, divide the troops into groups and harass them daily. Within three days, the enemy will be exhausted. Even with a great general leading them, if the soldiers are not in good condition, it will be difficult to defeat them. Once the enemy soldiers in the city show signs of weakness and their food supplies run out, we can launch a general offensive in one fell swoop. Taking them should not be a problem.”
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