It may be the disastrous defeat in Leizhou that completely broke the backbone of the Northern Jin Army.
Faced with the attack of the Zhenxi Army, most of the cities in Lianzhou of the Northern Jin Dynasty, including several natural fortresses, chose to open their cities and surrender.
The Zhenxi Army only encountered a certain degree of resistance at Langya Pass, but the resistance of the 30,000 Northern Jin troops only delayed the Zhenxi Army for two days.
After the Zhenxi Army captured Langya Pass, it swept across the country and captured the other seven states north of Lin River in Northern Jin State, as well as Yiyang Prefecture, where the capital of Northern Jin State was located, in less than three months.
Originally, Sun Hao wanted to take over the remaining eight states of Northern Jin State south of the Lin River and Liyang Prefecture, where the secondary capital was located, in one fell swoop.
However, at this time, the navy of Northern Jin had joined forces with the navy of Chu and blocked the Lin River.
The State of Chu was located in the upper reaches of the Lin River. The area south of the Lin River had nine states and a population of approximately 50 million. Among the five southern states, it was second only to the Northern Jin State in terms of area and population.
This time, the Chu State not only sent navy to assist in the battle, but also mobilized 350,000 elite troops and entered the southern part of the Northern Jin State, preparing to help the Northern Jin State resist the invasion of the Liang army.
In addition to Chu, Lu, which had seven states and a population of about 35 million, and Yue, which had six states and a population of about 30 million, also lent a helping hand to Northern Jin, each sending 200,000 troops.
Sun Hao actually didn't care too much about the hundreds of thousands of elite troops from the three countries of Lu, Chu and Yue. It was just that the Zhenxi Army had no navy, so it was a bit difficult to cross the Lin River.
Sun Hao had no choice but to order the Zhenxi Army to stop at Linhe River, and then began to plan the construction of Zhennan Protectorate.
Just as the Zhenxi Army was attacking the northern states of Northern Jin, the Liang court finally rewarded Sun Hao.
The Liang court did not break its promise. Not only did it confer the title of Marquis of Zhenxi on Sun Hao, it also awarded Xizhou to Sun Hao as a hereditary fiefdom.
In addition, the Liang court also issued an edict to appoint Sun Hao as the Grand Commander of the Zhennan Protectorate, and also awarded the former Northern Jin State's Lianzhou, which was under the jurisdiction of the Zhennan Protectorate, to Sun Hao as a hereditary fief.
In accordance with the imperial edict, Sun Hao ordered the other seven states in the north of Northern Jin State, as well as Yiyang Prefecture, to be incorporated into Lianzhou.
Sun Hao set up the government office of Zhennan Protectorate and the government office of Lianzhou in Yiyang City.
The Liang court had no choice but to acquiesce to Sun Hao's actions.
Next, Sun Hao transferred the North and South Guards and the East and West Guards of the Zhenxi Army to the Zhennan Protectorate, turning them into the Left and Right Guards and the Front and Back Guards of the Zhennan Army.
The 10,000 vanguard soldiers of the imperial guards, 10,000 Wei Wu soldiers, 10,000 Qin elite soldiers, 30,000 Northern Palace soldiers, 20,000 white-robed cavalry and 20,000 white-robed soldiers, as well as the ten "hundred-level" generals Li Cunxiao, Xia Luqi, Chang Yuchun, Zhang Dingbian, Luo Cheng, Yang Lin, Ma Yuan, Long Qie, Fan Kuai and Yang Zaixing.
They were all temporarily left in the Zhennan Protectorate by Sun Hao. These 100,000 elite personal guards will assist the four guards of the Zhennan Army in guarding Lianzhou.
Liu Bowen was appointed as the chief secretary of Zhennan Protectorate, and Yao Guangxiao was appointed as the deputy chief secretary of Zhennan Protectorate.
After Sun Hao led his troops away, the entire military and political affairs of the Zhennan Protectorate would be fully responsible to Liu Bowen and Yao Guangxiao.
During the Zhenxi Army's conquest of the entire northern part of the Northern Jin State, a large amount of money was seized, especially in Yiyang City, where the harvest was particularly rich.
The emperor, civil and military ministers, and nobles of the Northern Jin Dynasty evacuated Yiyang City in a hurry and abandoned a lot of money, which benefited the Zhenxi Army.
So Sun Hao used the "Hero Converter" to absorb some gold and silver and exchanged them for a group of 100-man generals under the "Annual Signing System".
Based on these newly exchanged hundred-man generals, he began to form the Lianzhou Wing Army.
According to the plan of Sun Hao, Liu Bowen and Yao Guangxiao, a Lianzhou wing army of 500,000 people will be formed, including 50,000 naval forces.
After the New Year's Eve of the 392nd year of the Daliang calendar, Sun Hao led 20,000 Huben cavalry, 20,000 Modao soldiers and 160,000 Xizhou wing troops, and set out on the return journey to Xizhou on January 5th of the 393rd year of the Daliang calendar.
Sun Hao used up the annual signing opportunity he got on January 1st and signed out two strategists: Zhang Liang (Qin and Han Dynasties) and Xiao He (Qin and Han Dynasties).
Zhang Liang and Xiao He both had intelligence values of 99 points, and were subsequently appointed by Sun Hao as deputy chiefs of the Zhennan Protectorate, meaning the Zhennan Protectorate now had four counselors with intelligence values of 99 points.
After Sun Hao led his army out of Lianzhou, the million-strong coalition army of the Northern Jin, Chu, Lu and Yue suddenly crossed the Lin River in early March of 393 in the Daliang calendar, attempting to recover the northern region that had been lost to the Northern Jin.
However, the coalition forces of Northern Jin, Chu, Lu and Yue soon encountered a head-on attack from the Zhennan Army. After losing nearly half of their troops, they had to flee back to the south bank of the Lin River in a panic.
In other words, the Zhennan Army's navy had not yet been formed, and there was no way to cross the river to pursue. Otherwise, the remaining hundreds of thousands of the four-nation coalition forces would probably have been annihilated by the Zhennan Army.
From then on, the Northern Jin State gave up the idea of recovering the north and began to build a series of defensive fortifications on the south bank of the Lin River.
Time quickly came to New Year's Eve of the 394th year of the Daliang calendar. In the Emerald City, Sun Hao, who was preparing to celebrate the festival with his wives, concubines, and children, suddenly received a shocking piece of news.
Chen Su, the King of Yong'an, who was hailed as the "Pillar of Daliang" and the "God of War of Daliang", was assassinated in the capital.
At this time, Sun Hao had no intention of celebrating New Year's Eve, so he immediately called Jia Xu, the head of the Seven Banners Guard.
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