How did the battle between Zhongli and Yiyang break out?

How did the battle between Zhongli and Yiyang break out?

From the fourth year of Jingming in the Northern Wei Dynasty (the second year of Liang Tianjian, 503) to the following year, the Northern Wei army divided its forces to attack the Zhongli (now northeast of Fengyang, Anhui) and Yiyang (now Xinyang, Henan) areas and won the battle. , known in history as the Battle of Zhongli and Yiyang.

Process:

In March of the fourth year of Jingming Dynasty, Xiao Baoyin, the original king of Poyang who surrendered to the Northern Wei Dynasty, and Chen Bozhi, the governor of Jiangzhou, requested the Northern Wei Dynasty to send troops to attack Liang. Emperor Xuanwu of Wei Yuan Ke agreed, and in April he ordered Xiao Baoyin to be the commander-in-chief of the military forces in Dongyangzhou and other three states to recruit heroes to cooperate with the southern attack; Chen Bozhi was appointed the commander-in-chief of the military forces in Huainan.

In June, Emperor Wei sent Yuancheng, the king of Rencheng, to lead an army of 50,000, together with Xiao Baoyin, Chen Bozhi and others to attack Zhongli; in August, he sent General Yuan Ying of Zhennan to attack Yiyang. The southern attack on the Wei army developed smoothly in the direction of Zhongli. In October, they defeated Yingchuan (now Yuzhou, Henan), Daxian (now northeast of Hanshan, Anhui), Jiaocheng (now southwest of Zhongmou, Henan), Huailing (now west of Xuyi, Jiangsu), etc. 8 cities. When attacking Fucheng (today's east of Quanjiao, Anhui), they were attacked by more than a hundred cavalry led by Feng Daogen, the governor of Nanliang. The grain and fodder were cut off, and the Wei army was forced to withdraw.

In the first month of the first year of Wei Zhengshi (504), Chen Bo's army defeated Liang Zhenglu general Zhao Zuyue at Dongguan (now southwest of Hanshan, Anhui).

In February, Liang general Jiang Qingzhen took advantage of the Northern Wei Dynasty to attack Zhongli. When Shouyang (now Shouxian County, Anhui) was empty, he attacked and captured the outer city of Shouyang. The wife of Yuancheng, the king of Rencheng, led the army to defend the city. Xiao Baoyin came to rescue her. The Wei army attacked Jiang Qingzhen from inside and outside and defeated Jiang Qingzhen's army. Yuan Cheng led the main force of the Wei army to besiege Zhongli. Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty Xiao Yan sent champion general Zhang Huishao and others to lead 5,000 troops to transport grain and socks to help Zhongli. At this time, Yuanying sent Pingyuan general Liu Sizu's troops to intercept Liang Jun's grain transport troops, defeated Liang Jun in Shaoyangzhou (now in the Huaihe River northeast of Fengyang, Anhui), and captured 10 generals including Zhang Huishao.

In March, the Wei army that attacked Zhongli withdrew back to Shouyang due to the surge in the Huaihe River. In the direction of Yiyang, Wei general Yuanying led troops to besiege Xianshou Mountain (today's southwest of Xinyang, Henan Province) in October of the fourth year of Jingming. The villagers let Ma Ju kill the guard general Yang You and surrendered to the Northern Wei Dynasty.

In November, Yuanying defeated Liang general Wu Ziyang in Baisha (now southwest of Guangshan, Henan) and besieged Yiyang. In February of the first year of Zhengshi, Liang Emperor Xiao Yan sent Pingxi General Cao Jingzong and Hou General Wang Senbing with 30,000 infantry and cavalry to reinforce Yiyang. Among them, Wang Sengbing led an army of 20,000 people and stationed in Zhuxian (now south of Xinyang, Henan Province), and Cao Jingzong led an army of 10,000 people to follow him. Yuanying sent Yuan Zhi and others to station in Fancheng (now Xiangfan, Hubei) to fight against the reinforcements from Nanliang.

In March, Yuan Zhi led his troops to defeat Liang's reinforcements and captured more than 4,000 people. Liang general Cao Jingzong stayed in Chixian and did not dare to reinforce Yiyang.

In July, Emperor Liang sent General Ningshuo Ma Xianpi to rescue Yiyang. Yuan Ying built fortifications in Shangya Mountain (now in Tongbai, Henan), set up defensive formations, showed weakness, and set up an ambush to lure Liang Jun. Ma Xianpi didn't know what the plan was, so he led his troops to pursue Yiyang City and attacked Yuanying's camp. Yuanying pretended to be defeated. Ma Xianpi's troops pursued, were ambushed, and were severely defeated. The Ma Xianpi tribe continued to attack, but failed. Yuan Ying took advantage of the situation to counterattack, and the Ma Xianpi tribe was forced to retreat.

In August, Cai Lingsi, the general of Yiyang of the Liang Army, surrendered to Wei when the reinforcements failed and the defenders were exhausted. The Wei army occupied Yiyang and established it as Yingzhou, with Sima Yue as the governor.

Comments:

In this battle, the Wei army had a clear main attack direction, timely reinforcements, and Yuan Ying's flexible tactics, which enabled him to win the battle in both the east and west directions. Liang Jun went into battle passively and was unable to defend, leading to defeat.