Chapter 1258: Kneeling

Chapter 1258: Kneeling

Fengguchuan in the northwest of Jinyang City is the main thoroughfare from Jinyang to Xishan. As early as the Eastern Wei Dynasty, when Gao Huan went south to attack Yubi City, the king of Tang led his army into Jinyang City. Later, in view of this, the Eastern Wei Dynasty and the Northern Qi Dynasty strengthened the front-line defense of Fengguchuan, and built two city garrisons in the north and south at the entrance of Fengguchuan Valley.

At this time, the battle that took place in the north of Jinyang City was concentrated near this valley. Although there were garrisons in the two cities, they were not many. Each had hundreds of soldiers. The warning was sufficient, but the fighting force was insufficient.

The Wei army's Yinshan City was the first to arrive near Xishan, and immediately launched an attack on the two cities, catching the defenders in the city by surprise. After all, the main force of the Qi army was deployed in the wilderness north of Jinyang City, where the main battlefield was located. However, the Wei army took the lead in launching an attack on the edge of the battlefield. This was naturally a bit surprising.

However, the main force of the Qi army soon launched an attack on the Wei army. Thousands of fine cavalry rushed towards the Wei army like swimming dragons. Although the Wei army was prepared, they also stepped forward with flanking fine cavalry to fight.

However, Jinyang's elites had been accumulating strength for a long time, and now they finally had the opportunity to go into battle to kill the enemy. They were full of heroic feelings to defend their homeland, and their combat effectiveness should not be underestimated. Although they were blocked by the elite cavalry of the Wei army, they were still rushed forward. Rush the Wei army division and brigade into several sections.

On the one hand, the Wei army continued to use cavalry to protect the flanks. On the other hand, they linked up the chariots in the procession and set up a defense line of chariots. While resisting the Qi army's attack within the chariot formation defense line, they continued to move toward the west mountain. go ahead. It was obvious that the Wei army was planning to go to the Western Mountains and set up camp on the mountain for defense.

Hu Luguang, the commander-in-chief of the Qi army, saw through the Wei army's intention at a glance. Thinking of the previous breach of the Great Wall at Xishan, he naturally did not want the Wei army to arrive at Xishan to form a formation, so he ordered to send out several elite cavalry troops. Within a short period of time, almost all the Chinese army's tens of thousands of elite cavalry were dispatched. Such a fierce offensive naturally caused chaos in the Wei army's front and rear formations.

However, the strength of the Wei army should not be underestimated, with tens of thousands of troops, and since they marched from the Hetao area, the number of war horses in the Wei army was also very sufficient. Although the formation was cut off at this time, many Wei army troops mounted their horses to organize a counterattack. With their own strength, they were able to outflank the Qi army's elite cavalry on the battlefield.

"Continue to increase the number of troops, and we must intercept the Wei army in its path! Send an order to King Puyang on the left to quickly lead the troops to attack!"

After Hu Luguang took a moment to observe the situation on the battlefield, he immediately gave the order. Since the Wei army did not reach the city directly, but chose to turn north from Fengguchuan and head towards the Western Mountains. At this time, the Qi army's central battle formation was nearly ten or twenty miles away from the battlefield in the northwest. It was difficult to counterattack the enemy before Before the force was completely defeated, Hu Luguang naturally did not dare to rush forward the 20,000 infantry under his command. After all, it was more difficult for the advancing infantry to resist the impact of the large group of cavalry.

At this time, the Chinese army's aircraft power was exhausted. Although it caused great trouble to the Wei army, it still did not break through the limit that the Wei army could withstand. If you want to continue to expand the results in a short period of time, you can naturally only continue to project troops on the battlefield. .

The left wing where King Lou Zhongda of Puyang is located is closest to where the battle is taking place at this moment and is also closest to the Western Mountain. He can advance along the foot of the Western Mountain and prevent the Wei army from moving closer to the Western Mountain.

However, after Hu Luguang's order was issued, there was no movement from the troops on the left. Seeing that the Wei army had adapted to the Qi army's obstruction and attack on the battlefield, and began to fight in an organized manner, Hu Luguang was naturally dissatisfied. He quickly sent people to the left side to urge Lou Zhongda to quickly join the battle.

However, more than a quarter of an hour later, Lou Zhongda's troops were still motionless. Instead, they sent several envoys to ask Hu Luguang: "My king, please ask the King of Xianyang. The Turkic troops did not join the battle and instead turned east." Why does the King of Xianyang know that Jinyang East City is located on the east bank of the Fen River and there are not many troops stationed there. If it is attacked and looted by the Turks, does the King of Xianyang have any plan to deal with it? "

Jinyang has gathered more and more personnel in recent years, and the original city is not enough, so a new city was built on the east bank of Fen River to accommodate Jinyang's military family members. However, due to the barrier of the Fen River, Dongcheng and Jinyang City themselves cannot form an overall city defense system. Now they are gathering troops to fight the Wei army, so the defense of the new city in Fendong is somewhat insufficient. At this time, the Turks did not stay on the battlefield to participate in the war as agreed, but moved to the east in a large scale, which was naturally worrying.

But the problem is, Lou Zhongda’s worries are a bit blind, right? They are now arrayed in the north of the city, and their main task is to fight and block the Wei army. The situation on the battlefield is currently unfavorable. As the troops closest to the battlefield, shouldn't Lou Zhongda's troops immediately go into battle? Although it is worth worrying about the safety of Jinyang East City, should he worry about it now?

"Instruct King Puyang to attack quickly and don't ask any questions! If you delay the opportunity to fight, I will report it to the Supreme Being and punish you severely!"

Seeing that the war was not progressing smoothly on the battlefield, Hu Luguang also lost his harmony. He shouted angrily with a gloomy face, feeling really angry and helpless towards a mediocre person like Lou Zhongda.

In the left-wing military formation, when Lou Zhongda heard his subordinates relaying Hu Luguang's order, he felt ashamed and angry. He couldn't help but said angrily: "Hu Luguang is really powerful. If he is truly unparalleled in talent, why not just tell him... If we keep the powerful enemy outside the country's gates, why wait until the troops are approaching the city before we join the battle?"

He just wanted to do things more comprehensively, but he didn't expect to be criticized by Hu Luguang so arbitrarily. He was very angry, but he still remembered to put important things first, and of course he was really worried about Hu Luguang. Guang ran to the emperor and complained about himself. After all, before leaving the city to fight, the emperor repeatedly told him to obey King Xianyang's arrangements for everything on the battlefield.

So Lou Zhongda was sulking and led his men on foot to rush to the battlefield. Although he was closer to the battlefield, it was still several miles away. He didn't want to move separately on foot, horse, and horse. He wanted to move forward together in response to each other, so the speed was naturally slower. And when it was still some distance away from Feng Guchuan, a series of cheers suddenly sounded from under the garrison, and the city was broken!

The combat effectiveness of the Yinshan City in the Wei army is not very high, and it is not even as good as the Turkic army. However, no matter how low the combat effectiveness is, the numbers are there. Tens of thousands of troops can quickly besiege a small garrison where a few hundred people are stationed. Naturally, they can be captured easily. .

As the garrison was captured, the troops inside and outside the area immediately formed military formations relying on the garrison. Lou Zhongda saw that the enemy's formation was becoming more and more compact and not as messy as before, so he simply stopped again and sent people to the direction of the Chinese army to ask Hu Luguang whether he wanted to continue the attack or reorganize and fight again.

However, Hu Luguang was too lazy to pay attention to him anymore. When he saw that the Wei army was advancing faster, he simply led the remaining hundreds of elite cavalry of the Chinese army into the battle formation, and continued to penetrate and charge, Several cavalry teams gathered together and then charged towards the leading team of the Wei army.

"The east thieves retreat quickly!"

In the Wei army's formation, Li Dao led a group of elite soldiers to rush forward, preparing to intercept Hu Luguang and his party. However, before they came into contact with each other, powerful arrows were fired from the opposite side. Li Dao swept away several arrows with a wave of his crotch. But it sank. It turned out that his mount was shot by the enemy, and he failed to take off the saddle in time, and was pressed to the ground by the fallen horse.

Once he fell to the ground on the battlefield, most of his life was lost. Li Dao still struggled hard, but Hu Luguang was already stabbing him. Several Wei knights beside him roared: "Don't hurt my lord!"

They rushed forward with all their strength, each using their swords to kill Hu Luguang. Hu Luguang temporarily gave up on assassinating the enemy general, raised his sword, knocked off the blade in front of him, and then stabbed several soldiers, and then again Rush into the enemy formation and fight with all your strength.

At this time, Yu Wengui's elite cavalry, which had been cruising on the flanks for cover, also caught up and engaged in a melee with the Qi army led by Hu Luguang. The battle became more and more intense, with soldiers from both sides falling off their horses constantly, and the Wei army's advance also completely stopped.

At this time, there was another horn blast from the side and behind. Hu Luguang looked back and saw that thousands of Wei army cavalry were rushing towards the Chinese army's battle formation. He quickly got out of the battle and returned to his own battle formation. But when he looked towards the left wing, he saw Lou Zhongda still staying several miles to the southwest. He couldn't help but roared: "Mediocre people are ruining the country!"

Although the town soldiers are a group with the most outstanding military and strategic skills in the post-Three Kingdoms period, and the elites among them are dazzling generals in any era, the minimum limit for the town soldiers is also very low, and some of them are even stupid enough to make people suspicious. How can something like this still exist in the world?

Huaishuo town soldier Gao Huan married the daughter of a wealthy family, which brought huge changes to his life, but at the same time he also shouldered a lot of burdens. The best of the Lou family was the negative asset brought by Lou Zhaojun. If you come out to hang out, you will always have to pay back. Lou Zhongda is practicing this principle personally. Even if he is as strong as Gao and owes me something, he must find a way to make you spit it out!

After a fierce battle, although the Wei army paid thousands of casualties, they finally succeeded in reaching the foot of the West Mountain and were able to build a battle camp based on Fengguchuan. At the same time, thousands of soldiers of the Qi army who were originally stationed in Fengguchuan and failed to evacuate in time were also blocked and were annihilated by the Wei army.

After a battle, the Qi army directly killed thousands of enemies, but its own casualties were not too great. The result was brilliant. And there is a very important point, that is, the Wei army was eager to move closer to the Western Mountains, and many supplies were abandoned on the way. They could be picked up by the Qi army, and the harvest would naturally be even more impressive.

But Hu Luguang, the chief general of the Qi army, was still not happy, because he originally planned to directly wipe out the main force of the Wei army in this battle. Even if he could not annihilate them all, he had to break up its military organization and then encircle it. Block and surround.

But now, the main force of the Wei army has not been damaged and has gained a foothold at the foot of the Xishan Mountain. This has brought about a more serious consequence, that is, the Wei army from the Xishan Great Wall has also been receiving continuous reinforcements from inward. This also caused the Wei army to lose a lot of baggage abandoned on the way, but the actual damage caused to the Wei army was not great.

The result of the battle was not as expected. First, the Puyang King Lou Zhongda reacted slowly and delayed the battle several times. Second, the Turks did not abide by their previous agreement and attacked the Wei army together. Especially for the latter, because the Turks not only did not stay to participate in the war, but the divisions and brigade moved in large numbers to the east of Jinyang, Hu Luguang did not dare to mobilize the men and horses commanded by King Boling on the right wing, making the interception force insufficient.

Now that the Wei army is relying on Xishan, there are still tens of thousands of people, and there are continuous reinforcements from Xishan. It may not be easy for the Qi army to achieve the results of today's battle.

After the battle, Hu Luguang returned to the city to report back to the emperor. Gao Yan saw the corpses of many Wei soldiers and horses and supplies left on the battlefield. He couldn't help but look at Hu Luguang and exclaimed: "The king is worthy of being a famous general in the world. After a battle, If you are so powerful, you will definitely lose your courage if you fight the enemy again in the future!"

Hu Luguang was far from being so optimistic. He just said in a deep voice: "If today's battle is not successful, all the soldiers of the army will die! But now the rebel army has its back on the Western Mountain, and reinforcements are constantly coming from behind. I missed the opportunity!

The immediate plan is to gather a large army to attack the enemy quickly, so that it will be difficult for them to stay here and they will have to flee over the mountains. If the war is delayed again, the fate will be unpredictable. In addition, King Puyang missed the opportunity to fight in the formation today, and was unable to attract the crowd to quickly stop the enemy's advance, resulting in the loss of Fengguchuan. What a great crime! Please collect and kill this beast to suppress the power of the army! "

As soon as Hu Luguang said this, the people present were in an uproar, especially Lou Zhongda's relatives and friends, who could not help but glare at Hu Luguang.

However, now that the Wei army has arrived at Jinyang City, they still need to rely on Hu Luguang to lead the army to fight. Even though they were angry for a while, they dared to be angry but did not dare to speak. They could only beg the emperor for mercy: "The King of Puyang may be at a disadvantage in the battle." , but the crime does not lead to death. It is really ominous to kill a general in the face of the enemy. I beg Your Majesty to be a little tolerant..."

After Gao Yan heard these words, he couldn't help but look embarrassed. He pondered for a moment and then said: "The King of Puyang is a close relative of my mother's family. Now the Empress Dowager is experiencing misfortune. I really can't bear it... I will take away his position and let him be punished. We will fight again tomorrow, and the king will lead his troops!"

Hearing what the emperor said, Hu Luguang didn't say anything more, but when he felt Lou Zhongda's resentful eyes, he stared back directly.

When Gao Yan asked when he would attack the Wei army again, Hu Luguang replied without even thinking: "The sooner the better!"

"But the Turks are wandering outside Jinyang City, and it is unknown what their purpose is. This matter is uncertain, and it is really not appropriate to rush to war with the Wei army!"

Hearing what Hu Luguang said, another minister next to him frowned and said. After Gao Yan heard this, his face suddenly darkened, and he said bitterly: "The thief Hu has no faith at all, but if he has the strength, he will be killed!"

But no matter how vicious the words are, uniting with the Turks is still the top priority right now. Especially now that the Wei army is close to the Western Mountains, it is difficult for the Qi army to defeat it quickly with its own strength. Even if Jinyang has 100,000 divisions and brigades, and the Turks are wandering around with ulterior motives, the Jinyang army will not dare to march out in full force!

Yuan Wenyao, who was previously responsible for contacting the Turks, felt that everyone was looking at him with resentment, and he quickly came out to pay homage: "The Turks have separated from the Qiang division today, which shows that the communication was still effective. The reason why they did not participate in the war today must be the U.S. Army. Zun Khan was still afraid of the Qiang masters.

However, on the battlefield the next day, the King of Xianyang and other soldiers showed great power and attacked and killed many Qiang divisions. The Turks must have seen this, and they should know that the Qiang divisions were not invincible. Moreover, Wu Zun Khan should also be worried that if this battle fails to weaken the Qiang division, he will suffer revenge from Li Boshan in the future. Please continue to lobby, and the Turks will attack the enemy together tomorrow! "

Gao Yan's face softened after hearing this, and then he pointed to the battlefield outside the city and said: "Cut off the heads of the thieves killed outside the city, send them to Wuzun Khan's camp, and report them to our country." Don’t be disrespectful, there will be a price for breaking your trust!”

After Yuan Wenyao heard this, he quickly nodded in agreement and was ready to go to see Wuzun Khan again. Although Lord Qi's tone was fierce, he still hoped that the Turks would cooperate after all, so in addition to the heads of those Wei soldiers who died in battle, he also had thousands of stones of food prepared and sent to the Turk camp with Yuan Wenyao.

At this time, the Turkic troops were mainly gathered on both sides of the Fen River on the east side of Jinyang City. Many soldiers were still confused about the situation. If they were not attacking Jinyang together with the Wei army, why was it that only the Wei army was fighting? However, in addition to being surprised, many Turkic soldiers were also very happy. Seeing the fierce battle between the Wei army and the Qi army, they were also afraid. They just stayed away from the battlefield and took the opportunity to sweep around Jinyang. of.

So while the two countries were fighting, many Turkic troops had dispersed and were preparing to plunder around Jinyang. But they will soon be disappointed, because Jinyang is now clear and clear, and the personnel and materials from the suburbs have been transferred into the city. Now there is a wilderness outside the city, and there is really nothing to plunder. Some of the more daring Turkic tribesmen searched further afield, but most of them returned to the shore of Fenshui in frustration.

The arrival of Yuan Wenyao somewhat made up for the disappointment of the Turkic soldiers. Putting aside the bloody heads of the Wei soldiers who died in battle, after thousands of stones of food were delivered, many Turkic dignitaries gathered outside the Khan's tent and waited to share the spoils. It was not until Yuan Wenyao led his troops into the camp to present supplies that the Turkic soldiers realized that their Khan had chosen to cooperate with Northern Qi again.

"Yuan Zhongshu, I'm sorry. On the battlefield today, thinking about the deep friendship with the King of Tang, I really can't bear to lead the crowd to attack him, but I don't want to violate the agreement with Qi State, so I can only lead the troops to stay aside for the time being, and let you two Competing with each other. I am here to watch the battle today. The Qi army is really brave and brave. Looking at the performance of the battle today, even if I don't participate in the battle, those Wei troops will probably not be the opponents of the Qi army!"

Wu Zun Khan was not at all ashamed of breaking his promise today. When he saw Yuan Wenyao, he burst into laughter and admitted his mistake without hesitation.

"What Khan saw today is just one of them. It will be more difficult to fight again in the future. Why did the Qiang army fight to the West Mountain? It's just because there are divisions and brigades in the West Mountain to support them, and they can advance or retreat in the future. Once the Wei army here cannot be completely wiped out, it will After escaping and returning to the country, the strength of the Qiang country has not been damaged. Even if my master will not hold Khan accountable for his breach of trust, will Li Boshan easily let Khan offend him for his unjust act today? "

Yuan Wenyao was fed up with Wuzun Khan's capriciousness and greed. Seeing his face, he couldn't help but said coldly: "What kind of character Li Boshan is, the Khan will definitely not know. Even if he is obsessed with At this moment, we should also remember why Mu Gan Khan died. Joining forces with our country to defeat the Qiang division is the only way for Khan to save himself. If Khan still refuses to help, he may never return to Jinshan!"

After Wu Zun Khan heard this, his expression suddenly changed. He lowered his head and was silent for a while, then raised his head again and said, "I know the stakes. Since I have chosen to fight against Wei with Lord Qi, I will definitely do it." I won’t break my promise! It’s very difficult for our division to sleep in the wild. I see you have a city in Shuidong where my troops can stay and rest. I will join the Qi army in the battle in the future!”

Yuan Wenyao saw that Wu Zun Khan had to temporarily increase the pressure even at this step. He was extremely disgusted with the greedy Chief Hu, but he could only convey this request to the city again.

Qi Zhu Gaoyan did not refuse this. At present, he was looking forward to joining forces with the Turks to destroy the Wei army in Xishan. Naturally, he would not go against Wu Zun Khan's wishes on such a trivial matter and let Fenshui eastward with just one order. The soldiers and civilians in the coastal city moved to the main city and quickly made room for the Turks and horses. Because of the urgent urging, many soldiers and civilians had no time to clean up their property and property and were directly abandoned in the east city.

When the Turkic troops entered the city arranged for them by Northern Qi, the Wei troops here in Xishan were not idle either. While they were building temporary forts, they were contacting friendly forces inside the western mountains. Li Yantou, who had previously conquered the Great Wall of Xishan with Yang Zhong, also took the lead in leading more than a thousand soldiers to Xishan to join together. Although not many soldiers and horses arrived, they gave great comfort to the Wei soldiers in Xishan.

With the betrayal of the Turks, they are now in a desperate situation. Although a last-ditch battle can improve their fighting spirit and morale, it can sometimes be self-defeating. The road in Xishan is smooth, which means that the Wei army is allowed to advance and retreat, and it will naturally be more confident for the next war.

Since most of the baggage and supplies were abandoned in the north of Jinyang City, most of the Wei army soldiers had to sleep in the wild that night. The conditions were naturally very difficult in this late autumn, but when they saw the tall and majestic tower not far away When they arrived in Jinyang City, their mood became hot again.

They have already penetrated into the heart of Northern Qi. As long as they fight bravely and capture this city in the future, they will be able to destroy the country, and they will be granted wives and sons, and glory and wealth will come one after another! In the face of such a huge opportunity, people are naturally excited.

While several troops inside and outside Jinyang City were resting and preparing for war, the Wei army from Jingxing also moved towards Jinyang.

In the evening, when the Wei army and the Qi army were still fighting fiercely in the north of Jinyang City, some Turkic troops were already eager to leave the area around Jinyang, which had already been cleared by strong walls, and went further to search and plunder. Among them, there were some The men and horses would inevitably encounter the front scouts of the Wei army at Jingxing.

These Turkic soldiers left the main force after arriving in Jinyang. Naturally, they did not know that Wuzun Khan had already conspired to unite with the Northern Qi Dynasty. Therefore, when they saw the Wei army scouts, instead of panicking, they were excited. Welcoming them and reporting all their activities.

Soon the information provided by these Turkic troops was passed to the king of Tang who led the main force from the rear and traveled day and night. When Li Tai heard that the troops from the north were coming from the south, the Turkic army did not immediately join the Wei army. When he attacked the Qi army but took the initiative to withdraw from the battlefield, he suddenly felt something bad in his heart.

Li Tai has never concealed his wariness and hostility towards the Turks. Including this time he jointly sent troops with the Turks, he reminded Yang Zhong and others more than once that they must be on guard against the Turks. The previous Northern Qi Gao Zhan's gift was so enthusiastic that it caused his troops to deviate from the initial battle plan. The North Route Division and Brigade alone were obviously not enough to deter the Turks. Wuzun Khan's repeated attitude did not matter. Not surprising.

Although the Turkic soldiers did not provide direct evidence that the Turks betrayed the alliance, even if it was just a guess, it was enough for Li Tai. He first ordered Pi Jinghe to lead 5,000 fine cavalry to Jinyang quickly. At the same time, he also led 10,000 cavalry to set off later. The remaining infantry and supplies and baggage were led by He Ruodun.