Chapter 1117: A different turn of events

Chapter 1117: A different turn of events

In the Xiaweiju camp, the soldiers were busy packing their luggage. Although there was not much luggage to pack, they could not just leave empty-handed.

In a small tent in the camp, several generals sat in attendance, most of them with sad faces, and the most in the middle was Heba Ren, who was about to be exiled to Huainan.

At this time, Heba Ren looked haggard and his hair was messy. Looking at the wine cups filled with wine, which were now extremely precious in the camp, he had no interest in raising his glass to drink. He had admitted his guilt before and was ready to accept the punishment. At worst, he would go back to Jinyang Jiafang to carry charcoal, and he was also considered an old man in this field.

But he did not expect the emperor to be so heartless. This punishment was even more severe than before. He was going to be exiled to the completely unfamiliar Huainan. According to his current age, it would be difficult for him to come back and he would die in a foreign land.

The generals present were all Heba Ren's colleagues, subordinates, relatives and friends who came to see him off. They were all very sad before leaving, and they didn't know how to comfort Heba Ren, who looked so sad that nothing could be greater than a broken heart.

Just when the atmosphere in the tent was sad and dull, another person walked in from outside the tent. It was Duan Shao, who had been quite annoying recently. Duan Shao's arrival immediately attracted everyone's attention, and at the same time made the atmosphere in the tent become subtle.

Duan Shao nodded to everyone, then looked at Heba Ren and said, "I am here to tell you, Grand Tutor, that a division will return to Ye City later. If you are going with this group, you need to be ready now."

After saying this, everyone looked at Duan Shao with more unfriendly eyes, and Hulugu couldn't help but said angrily, "How could Grand Tutor Heba be so evil that King Pingyuan sent a team of elite soldiers to escort him? Could it be that King Pingyuan is worried that Grand Tutor will also abandon the country and surrender to the enemy like King Baishui?"

"It's just a coincidence, not a special arrangement."

After hearing this, Duan Shao explained in a deep voice, and then bowed to Heba Ren and said, "Grand Tutor, this is The punishment was due to the incident, and they will be released as soon as they are pardoned. In terms of loyalty and bravery to the state, I am ashamed of myself. How could I suspect that the Grand Tutor surrendered to the enemy! "

When everyone heard him say this, their expressions eased slightly, and Heba Ren stood up from the table, looked at Duan Shao and said in a slightly begging tone: "I am already waiting to die. I know that I cannot escape the blame for this defeat, and I am willing to be punished. However, I do not want to be sent to a distant place. I beg the king to spread the word in front of the Supreme, and ask the Supreme to allow me to go and bid farewell. "

Hearing Heba Ren's words, Duan Shao also sighed slightly, and he understood why the emperor wanted to punish these national elders. As for Heba Ren in front of him, he kept saying that he was willing to be punished, but exiled to Huainan was not what he wanted. But punishment is supposed to be meaningful only when it goes against the wishes of the punished. If you really want to punish yourself according to your own wishes, is it a punishment or a reward?

It can be seen that no matter what these people say, in their hearts they still regard the national law as a game of favoritism and bargaining, and do not regard it as a national law.

Despite this feeling in his heart, in order to avoid further offending the masses, Duan Shao nodded and said: "I will definitely convey the intention of the Grand Tutor to the Supreme. But now the Supreme is also busy returning to Jinyang, and I am afraid he may not have time to summon him."

After saying this, he said goodbye and left.

Until the troops arranged by Duan Shao came here to urge, Heba Ren did not wait for the emperor's summons, and his eyes became more and more dim.

This team of armored soldiers are all soldiers of the imperial guards. It seems that they do not have any important tasks to go to Yedu to perform. I am afraid that it is really as Hulugu said, because they are worried that Heba Ren will escape and surrender to the enemy, so they specially arrange the escort personnel to take him to Yedu first and then exile him.

After all, these noble elders have extensive connections and complex relationships in the army. For example, although Houmochen Xiang was detained in the army, it did not affect his leaving the camp to surrender to the enemy. It is completely impossible to investigate who secretly helped and indulged him.

The generals reluctantly sent Heba Ren away from the camp. After weighing the pros and cons, Hulugu finally stepped forward to dismiss the others when he saw Heba Ren was about to leave. He looked at Heba Ren and said in a deep voice: "If the Taifu really does not want to be sent to Huainan, it is better to send an envoy to ask the King of Changshan when he returns to the capital. The King of Changshan has been in charge for a long time and can sympathize with people. Maybe there will be another turn of events."

After hearing this, Heba Ren's eyes flashed slightly, and then he nodded to Hulugu, then waved goodbye to everyone, got on his horse, and headed east under the escort of a hundred soldiers.

Not long after, Emperor Gao Yang also left Xiaweiju under the escort of tens of thousands of troops, and after a slight detour to the south, he turned north and prepared to return to Jinyang. As for Xiaweiju, only 50,000 troops were left, and the military force was not as strong as before.

After the sharp reduction of troops, Duan Shao was relieved. Because the strategic route has undergone a fundamental change, from active attack to complete defense, it does not need such a large force as before, and too many troops gathered on the front line, and the supply of food and grass alone is a headache.

Fortunately, during the previous battle, Duan Shao decided to evacuate his troops in advance. Although he still failed to get ahead of the central army, he took the time to pack up a batch of food and grass, which was barely able to maintain the consumption in recent days. Finally, he persisted until Yedu urgently sent a batch of food and grass to the front line. Otherwise, when retreating, the army would probably riot and collapse again due to lack of food.

Because the defense line of Xiaweiju has not been fully built yet, and the enemy Li Boshan has always been treacherous and unpredictable in his military operations, Duan Shao did not choose to store food and grass in the heart of Xiaweiju, but chose to stay in the rear, which is relatively safer.

As for the important task of guarding the rear of food and grass, after weighing the pros and cons, Duan Shao still chose to appoint Hulugu to go. Putting aside other factors, Hulugu's military ability is indeed impeccable.

Before, Duan Shao was still worried that his thinking was too radical, but now the good situation has been ruined by the more radical emperor. With the current situation of the Qi army, it is no longer qualified to be radical. It is necessary to work together to deal with the difficulties. An outstanding general like Hulugu should not be left idle, but should be appointed.

Hulugu naturally hoped to fight and kill the enemy on the front battlefield, but now he had no choice. He had hoped that Heba Ren would be able to promote him for the war, but now Heba Ren himself was in trouble and suffered heavy punishment, so Hulugu naturally had no hope.

So he accepted Duan Shao's appointment without much hesitation and led the thousands of soldiers assigned to him to Tunliu to guard.

Perhaps God did not want Hulugu to be too lonely. Soon after he arrived in Tunliu, there were traces of enemies in the Fajiu Valley on the west side of Tunliu. It was suspected that the enemy entered from here and intended to harass the rear of the Qi army.

After learning about this situation, Hulugu immediately cheered up and sent scouts to search and explore in Fajiu Mountain. Finally, he determined the route and position of the enemy army, and immediately led his troops to attack this incoming enemy army.

Last time, Hulugu led his army to attack the rear of the Wei army, but was ambushed by the Wei army and suffered a great defeat, barely escaping with his life. Now he encountered a similar situation again, but the difference was that Hulugu had changed from the original prey to the current hunter. After a fierce battle, he won a great victory and almost wiped out the enemy army. The enemy commander he led was also killed on the spot.

The only regret is that the number of this enemy army is a little small, with less than 2,000 soldiers in total. Not to mention the loss of the Qi army in the previous battle, even the loss of Hulugu's previous failed sneak attack could not make up for it.

After interrogating the remaining enemy soldiers, Hulugu learned that the enemy general who died in the battle was Shi Yunbao, who had surrendered from the Eastern Wei to the Western Wei. He was originally arranged to guard the Fajiu Valley to prevent the Qi army from attacking the Qinshui River Valley. After learning of the great victory on the front line, Shi Yunbao underestimated the enemy and planned to lead his troops into Tunliu to harass and explore. As a result, he encountered Hulugu, and the entire army was wiped out.

In addition, Hulugu also learned that the Qinshui River Valley, the rear of the enemy, was relatively empty, and there were only 5,000 soldiers left in Yining City. With Shi Yunbao's underestimation of the enemy and his reckless advance, the road to Fajiu Mountain was already open.

After learning this, Hulugu's mind suddenly became active, and he immediately planned to continue the attack to intercept the enemy's rear. However, before the troops were dispatched, he did not continue to act on his own. He first sent a part of his troops to the west to guard the unguarded Fajiu Pass, and then quickly sent an envoy to Xiaweiju to inform Duan Shao of the situation.

After learning that there was such a loophole in the enemy's rear, Duan Shao was also very surprised. He hurriedly sent another 2,000 armored soldiers to Hulugu and ordered him to quickly attack the Qinshui River Valley.