Chapter 923 The situation is still difficult

Chapter 923 The situation is still difficult

The battle in front of the city gate was extremely fierce. Many Qi army soldiers were blocked between the city gates and could not advance or retreat. When the Wei army rushed up, they could only grab their weapons and fight back in order to survive.

However, the effect of this kind of unorganized resistance was very limited. Under the orderly charge of the Wei army, a large number of casualties soon occurred.

There were many broken limbs and broken arms in front of the city gate, and the scene was too horrific to look at. The soldiers of the Qi army, who were frightened by the killings, retreated into the city gate as much as possible while piling up the corpses of their own casualties and wounded soldiers outside, hoping for the flesh and blood. Fences can slightly hinder enemy attacks and provide them with some protection.

Inside the city gate, King Gao Rui of Zhao County was sweating profusely. While he was shouting to divert his soldiers who were crowded between the city gates, he also asked people to set up a fence near the city gate to prevent the Wei army from attacking the city.

At the same time, the officers and soldiers of the Qi army scattered in other places in the city also rushed here. When they saw the fierce battle between the city gates, they could even see the figures of the Wei army soldiers appearing between the city gates. These The people were naturally panicked, and they immediately set up a defense line, directly cutting off the robes who were still fighting the enemy between the city gates.

Outside Jinyong City, Hulujin was still riding his horse along the city wall to escape under the protection of his soldiers. More and more Wei soldiers were pursuing him from behind. Rao Shihulujin had been a soldier all his life and was proficient in riding and shooting. However, at the age of over 70, his body was no longer strong. He fled in a hurry along the way. In order to avoid the stray arrows of the pursuers from behind, he fell off his horse several times. He was extremely embarrassed.

At this time, a guard soldier on the horse side of the city wall in front lowered a hanging basket to the wall. But the pursuers from behind were getting closer and closer, giving them no chance to stop and get close to the hanging basket.

"We are fighting to the death to resist the enemy. Please, my lord, come to the city temporarily!"

At this time, those who were still following Hulujin were all his most loyal tribesmen. Seeing the pursuers approaching, the leading general roared, reined in his horse, and charged towards the enemy cavalry running towards the rear. And go. Upon seeing this, the other tribesmen followed suit. After risking their lives to fight, they were able to temporarily stop the pursuers and buy time for Hulujin to board the gondola.

"If you don't die today, I will repay you generously..."

Hu Lujin huddled in the hanging basket. As the city garrison lifted the hanging basket, he saw that the loyal tribesmen were being overwhelmed by the menacing enemy troops. Hu Lujin couldn't help but burst into tears for a while. vertically and horizontally.

When the pursuers broke through the desperate obstruction of Hulujin's personal soldiers, Hulujin had also successfully arrived at the top of the city sitting on a hanging basket. The soldiers under the city couldn't help but feel regretful after seeing this, and shouted loudly: "Old man The thief was lucky for a moment, but if he doesn't descend quickly, his bones will be buried here!"

Hu Lujin, who was lucky enough to escape, had no time to respond to these insults. As he climbed to the top of the city and escaped from danger, his nervousness relaxed slightly, but soon his whole body became extremely painful, and all new and old injuries appeared.

The battle in front of the city gate lasted for another half an hour. The Qi soldiers who were blocked were either dead or surrendered, and their bodies were piled high between the city gates. Although the Wei army took advantage of the situation and invaded the city gate, they had no choice but to retreat because the defenders set up a defense line in the city and resisted to the death.

After a day of fierce fighting, although the soldiers were exhausted, they were still in high spirits. Although it is a bit regretful that we could not capture Jinyong City in one go, the results that have been achieved are also extremely gratifying.

First, the more than 6,000 troops of Hu Luguang's reinforcements from the Northern Qi Dynasty were almost wiped out. Nearly 3,000 people were captured as prisoners alone, and only a few of them escaped from the battlefield.

Secondly, the troops deployed in Jin Yong City also suffered heavy casualties. Thousands of enemy soldiers were killed and injured on the battlefield, and nearly two thousand people were captured under the city gate. And these enemy soldiers who were killed or captured were not limited to ordinary sergeants, they also included many generals, and even the top dignitaries of Jinyang.

For example, the Northern Qi Prince Consort Mo Chen Guile was killed in the formation, and the enemy general Han Yi was captured alive by Han Qinhu, etc. Although these people are not as famous as Duan Shao and other so-called Three Heroes of the Northern Qi Dynasty, they are all He is a representative figure among Jinyang nobles. And their death or capture would be a huge blow to the morale of the defenders in the city.

In the evening, the battlefield was initially sorted out, and the barbarian soldiers who assisted in the battle began to actively repair the long sand embankment. After Li Tai arranged the camp affairs here, he returned to Henan City to reward the meritorious soldiers.

For example, he had issued a reward of tens of thousands of silks during the battle with Hu Luguang, and Han Qinhu, Li Ya and others also needed heavy rewards for their achievements in capturing and beheading generals. Although the relevant rewards were difficult to obtain immediately in the army, However, Li Tai still tried his best to distribute a batch of physical rewards.

Although he had accumulated a reputation of loyalty and loyalty in the army for many years, the meritorious soldiers were not in a hurry to cash in their rewards. However, the visual impact brought by physical rewards is difficult to replace by any other form of reward. After a war, soldiers also need such scenes to soothe their mood.

All the award-winning warriors were laughing from ear to ear. Li Ya, who was dug out of the pile of corpses and could be said to have narrowly escaped death, was even more happy. The arm that had just been treated after the fracture was resting on the silk that had been rewarded. He was reluctant to move away.

After the Jiangling War ended, this boy briefly lived as a rich man. Later, after being punished and all his property was given to Shu Feng for safekeeping, he was reduced to abject poverty. Now that he is risking his life to perform meritorious deeds, he finally has hope in life.

Li Tai knew that today's battle did not mean a complete victory, so after rewarding and encouraging the soldiers, he did not allow the soldiers to celebrate wantonly. Each camp made extra meals and enjoyed a sumptuous meal. After the delicious meal, it was business as usual.

After a big victory, although the situation has improved, the overall situation has not yet achieved a fundamental turnaround. Through the interrogation of the prisoners under Hu Luguang's command, Li Tai learned that the situation in Guanzhong had not yet developed into the worst situation, and Tongguan was finally defended, which made him secretly relieved.

But the pressure on him has not diminished yet. Hu Luguang's troops are just the vanguard of the Northern Qi army. Later, there are tens of thousands of main troops commanded by Duan Shao who are returning to Heluo along the Nanjiao Road.

Although Jin Yongcheng was severely defeated in this battle, the city was still saved after all, and the number of defenders in the city was still very considerable. It is still very difficult to launch a strong attack.

Another point is that there is also a considerable number of Qi troops stationed in Heyang, and as long as Heyang is still defended, the Northern Qi Kingdom can still mobilize a steady stream of troops from the south for reinforcements.

After so many calculations, the situation before Li Tai was still very serious. And this is only the hostile force in Northern Qi, Guanzhong has not considered it yet.

Although Tongguan was defended, it only prevented Guanzhong from being directly pillaged by the Northern Qi army. However, in fact, with the defeat of the Zhongwai Mansion and the death of Yuwentai, the impact and damage caused to the Western Wei regime was unavoidable. of.

Especially when Yiyang withdrew its troops, signs of civil strife had already emerged. No matter how high Li Tai plays here in Heluo, it is really hard to predict what kind of moths will breed in Guanzhong at the same time. After all, those guys in Guanzhong are all very subjective.

Li Tai also understood that no matter how much he thought about it at the moment, he was beyond his reach to deal with the situation in Guanzhong. Only by quickly handling the situation in Heluo could he calmly return to Guanzhong and take charge of the overall situation.

Hulujin and his son suffered a disastrous defeat both internally and externally. Although the Northern Qi's power here was greatly weakened, it was still overall stronger than Li Tai's current power in Heluo.

After confirming that the Qi army failed to conquer Tongguan and returned, Li Tai did not plan to mobilize troops from Mianbei to the north. After all, he did not want to start a fateful battle with Northern Qi in Heluo at this moment. All he needed was to use Make good use of the power in your hands to weaken Northern Qi's power as much as possible, so as to avoid the subsequent turmoil that Northern Qi will take advantage of and interfere with the Western Wei Dynasty.

Next, for Li Tai, the ideal situation is for Hu Luguang to go north to Heyang, and send the Heyang garrison south to rescue Jin Yong City. Then Li Tai repeats the previous steps again, besieging Jin Yong City and at the same time sending Heyang to the city. The army was also defeated, and took advantage of the situation to take control of Heyang Nancheng.

In this way, apart from Jin Yong City, the only thing Li Tai has to face in the Heluo area for a while is Duan Shao's troops. He can gather his troops to attack the opponent head-on. Even if the battle is unfavorable, he can turn to the west and fight. Evacuate Heluo.

However, the so-called ideal state is that the probability of occurrence may not be too high. Heyang and Jinyong City are not far apart, and it has been a long time since Li Tai marched to besiege Jinyong City, but Heyang has never sent troops. save.

After all, Hu Lujin was not Zhu Hunyuan's father, but Zhu Hunyuan certainly would not be overly emotional like Hu Luguang, who suffered a run on his moral character. Especially when Hulujin and his son were both defeated, it was even less likely that he would take the risk of leading the Heyang garrison south for reinforcements, at least not before the arrival of Duan Shao's main army.

If Zhu Hunyuan can't survive, then the next situation will be a bit tricky. It should be noted that Duan Shao still has tens of thousands of troops. Even without help from other aspects, this force far exceeds that of Li Tai's troops. If the Qi army gathers together, Li Tai will not dare to claim victory no matter how crazy he is.

Therefore, it is still necessary to pick the weakest persimmon at the moment. Li Tai first sent an order to Gao Le, who was stationed in the direction of Luoshui, to intercept Duan Shao's army as close as possible to Yiyang, and then began to arrange pressure and attacks on Jinyong City and Heyang. Lure a fight. Only by solving one of these two places can he have the confidence to fight Duan Shao next.