Although Shen Wenxiu, Cui Daogu, and others returned to Liu Song, the war between Liu Song and Northern Wei continued. Earlier, when Shen Youzhi was defeated from Pengcheng, wang Xuanmu's cousin wang Xuanzai was left to garrison Xia Pi, the general Shen Shao was stationed in Suyu, and Suiling and Huaiyang were also left with troops to prevent the Northern Wei army from continuing to move south.
Although Xue Andu surrendered, causing Liu Song to lose a lot of territory, Dongping Taishou Shenlu garrisoned Wuyan, Youzhou Assassin Liu Xiubin garrisoned Liang Zou, and Prefecture Assassin Shi Qinghe man Fang Chongji garrisoned Shengcheng, auxiliary general and Qinghe man Zhang Chen garrisoned Tuancheng, Jiaozhou Assassin Shi Wang Zhen, Lanling Taishou Huanxin, and the garrisons of Feicheng, Migou, and Yuanmiao all refused to defect to Northern Wei.
The Northern Wei side was also determined to take the territory of Northern Liu Song and Huaibei, so it sent the Pingdong general Sun Ling to lead an army to attack Qingzhou, and the southern general Murong Baiyao led 50,000 cavalry to continue to march as a backup. At this time, the saltless land that Shen Lu was stationed became the first obstacle on Murong Baiyao's march, and Murong Baiyao was ready to attack and take Wuyan City, but his subordinate generals and subordinates believed that the siege equipment was not yet complete and it was not appropriate to attack immediately.
Only Zuo Sima Lifan put forward a different opinion: "We use lightly armored troops to sneak attack from a long distance and penetrate deep into the enemy's territory, and we should make a quick decision." Shen Lu must have thought that we came too soon and had not yet had time to besiege, so we must not be on guard, and now if we are unexpected, we can win a battle. ”
Li Fan Zi Shi Ze, nickname Ji Zu, Fan Yang Zhuo County people. His grandfather Li Shao, who was originally the Taishou of Puyang of Later Yan, then sacrificed his own county to meet and surrender to Tuoba Jue, and the Li clan began to serve northern Wei. Li Fan's father, Li Song (郦嵩), was once the Taishou of Tianshui. Li Fan himself began to hold important positions after Tuoba Mao ascended the throne, and this time he accompanied the army to serve as the left Sima (左司馬). Of course, Li Fan is most well known, I am afraid that he is li Daoyuan's father.
Listening to Li Fan's plan, Murong Baiyao clapped his hands and shouted, so he led his troops to pretend to retreat. When Shen Lu saw that it was true, he was no longer on guard, and he had no idea that this was a plan made by Murong Baiyao. In the early morning of the third year of the reign of Tai (467 CE, the second year of The Reign of Northern Wei Tian'an), Murong Baiyao ordered an attack on Wuyan City. Because Shen Lu was unprepared, the Northern Wei attack went exceptionally smoothly, and in just one breakfast time, Wuyan City was breached. Shen Lu was hunted down and captured as he fled, and was eventually martyred.
After taking Wuyan City, Murong Baiyao planned to reward all the people of Wuyan City as war booty to his subordinates. At this time, Li Fan stood up again and said: "Qi Di's position is important, and there should be a long-term business plan." Now that Wang Shi has just entered the country, the people's hearts have not yet surrendered, and the other cities and pools are also in a state of mutual observation, all have the ambition to stick to it, if they are not appeased with kindness and credibility, it is not easy to take this place. Murong Baiyao once again adopted his advice and pardoned all the people.
Murong Baiyao then prepared to attack Feicheng, and Li Fan said: "Although Feicheng is very small, it is very time-consuming to attack, and even if we win, it will not increase our momentum, and if we lose, it will damage our military prestige." They were bound to be terrified when they saw the tragic situation of the fall of The Saltless City, killed and wounded everywhere, and if they sent a warning letter, they would flee in all directions, even if they did not surrender. ”
Murong Baiyao readily agreed, and Feicheng collapsed, and the Northern Wei army captured 300,000 yuan of corn. Murong Baiyao said to Li Fan, "On this expedition, if you don't have your advice, I'm afraid the land of Sanqi will not be pacified." Subsequently, the Northern Wei army captured the two cities of Yuanmiao and Migou. Within ten days, four cities were conquered in a row, and the sound and power were shocking.
In the face of the mighty Northern Wei army, Cui Daogu and Shen Wenxiu reacted completely differently. Cui Daogu chose to close the city gates to resist the Northern Wei army, but Shen Wenxiu unexpectedly sent people to surrender to Northern Wei and asked for reinforcements. Murong Baiyao was very happy to see the emissary sent by Shen Wenxiu and planned to send troops there.
However, Li Fan thought that this matter was deceitful, and he said to Murong Baiyao: "Shen Wenxiu's family and ancestral tomb are in Jiangnan, moreover, he still has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in his hands, the walls of Dongyang are also very strong, and the defenders are well armed, in this case, will they choose to surrender?" Moreover, I found that the messengers he had sent, looking panicked and trembling in speech, must be deceitful and indispensable. Instead of this, it is better to first capture Licheng and Panyang, then take Liang Zou and Leling, and then slowly advance forward, not afraid that they will not yield. ”
Murong Baiyao, however, thought: "Cui Daogu and other troops are weak, do not dare to go to war, we can pass unimpeded, all the way to Dongyang, Shen Wenxiu knows that he will die, so wangfeng surrenders, what is there to doubt!" ”
Li Fan did not compromise, still opposing: "Licheng has a strong army and sufficient food, and it cannot be conquered sooner or later. Shen Wenxiuxiong was based in Dongyang and was the foundation of each city. If you send too many troops now, you can't attack Licheng; too few troops are sent to subdue Dongyang. If the advance is resisted by Shen Wenxiu, the retreat is blocked by the combined forces of various cities, and the abdomen and back are attacked by the enemy, there is absolutely no reason for safety. Think again and don't fall into the trap of thieves. ”
Seeing that Li Fan's words were quite reasonable, Murong Baiyao stopped the original plan, and how would this war between Song and Wei develop?