Chapter 1261: Leave it to fate

Chapter 1261: Leave it to fate

The melee of more than 100,000 people was extremely chaotic. In the countryside north of Jinyang Luocheng, within a radius of more than 10 miles, you can see people fighting or fleeing everywhere, and in the core area of ​​the battle, the surging figures filled every space!

Although Hulugu was still trying to maintain the military formation, the Qi army formation was still getting smaller and smaller under the constant impact. There were constantly Qi soldiers who were either rushed out of the battle formation by the Wei army or fled on their own initiative.

However, when the military formation was compressed and weakened to a certain extent, it became stable. Basically, within the area that Hulugu's military order could cover in the first time, the Jinyang soldiers' brave quality and Hulugu's exquisite command complemented each other and cooperated with each other. Not only did they withstand the continuous impact of the Wei army, but they even accelerated the speed of moving towards Jinyang City.

However, this positive change is only limited to the greatly weakened Qi army. On the wider battlefield, the situation is still developing in a direction that is favorable to the Wei army.

As Wuzun Khan was directly killed on the battlefield, the situation of the Turkic army became more and more chaotic. However, this chaos gradually intensified as the battle progressed. It is difficult to say how much role Wuzun Khan's death played in it. After all, when Wuzun Khan was alive, he failed to stop the Turkic army from collapsing.

The current Turkic army can subjectively have little impact on the war, but since they still exist on the battlefield, they will eventually have a certain effect. A considerable number of the Turkic army wandered in the north of Jinyang Luocheng under the intentional attack and expulsion of the Wei army. Although they were in a panic, they also occupied the retreat of the Qi army on the battlefield. As the Qi army accelerated its transfer, the two sides would soon be entangled.

Many more soldiers emerged on the Xishan Fenggu River and joined the battlefield. Some of these people were from Yinshan City who had escaped from the battle formation before. Seeing such a great turn of events in the war, they naturally returned to participate in the battle. Others were Han Guo and other rear divisions who finally arrived on the battlefield before the end of the battle. Naturally, they also bravely went forward to kill the enemy.

After Li Tai arrived at the battlefield, he did not directly participate in the battle on a certain battlefield. Now he is more and more playing an inspiring role. As long as he appears on the battlefield, he can inspire the soldiers to fight bravely. The role of actual command of the battle is not too great.

Although the battlefield still looks very chaotic at this time, the contrast of the situation is already very clear. The Wei army has already taken the overall advantage, while the Qi army has completely fallen behind. The only one who can still fight is the 40,000 to 50,000 Qi army led by Hulugu, but they are only for self-protection. Once they can't withstand the offensive and scatter, the situation will be even more collapsed for Northern Qi.

Li Tai is not very clear about how many troops the Qi army still has in the city. Although looking south from the battlefield, one can see that the top of the city is full of Qi soldiers defending the city, but few people dare to go out of the city to rescue and support the Qi army on the battlefield. It is expected that the troops in the city should not be very sufficient.

Li Tai noticed that the current pattern of Jinyang City has changed compared to when he came here in the early years. After all, it has been more than ten years. During this long period of time, the Northern Qi must have strengthened the defense of Jinyang City.

For example, the previously independent Jinyang Luocheng and Bingzhou Zhoucheng are now surrounded by a complete wall. However, the defense of each city seems to be independent and has not been completely connected.

In addition to the main urban area of ​​Jinyang, some small cities of varying sizes have been added, distributed around the big city.

However, most of these small cities are used to accommodate soldiers and facilitate the gathering and dispersion of troops. They are not very effective in actual defense. In the case of insufficient troops, these small cities are not worth sending troops to garrison separately. At present, many residents in the city have climbed up to the top of the city to look out, but they have no ability or intention to interfere in the war.

The city occupied by the Turks on the east bank of the Fen River before was considered to be one of the larger cities among the newly added cities. On the other side of the river from this city was the county city of Jinyang.

Unlike Jinyang Luocheng and Bingzhou Zhoucheng, which both had complete city defense facilities such as horse-faced walls and urn-shaped cities, Jinyang County City was sandwiched between the major cities and did not have a very strong city defense. The outer city walls were all relatively short earth-rammed short walls. It can be seen that as the situation of the Qi army on the battlefield became unfavorable, many people in the city were fleeing the city and running south.

Jinyang was not a complete and large city, nor was it unbreakable. In the early years, Li Tai's thousands of divisions could attack Jinyang directly. Now, despite many years, the defense of some places where civilians and slaves lived was still sloppy and had little improvement. These places also belonged to the scope of Jinyang. Of course, even if they were occupied, the loss to Jinyang was not great, after all, the important personnel were in the more core areas.

However, the existence of these places is of great significance to the attacking Wei army. Once they are captured, they can not only boost morale in the name of conquering Jinyang, but also obtain a stable base, which can be used to engage in a longer confrontation and battle with the Qi army, of course, the premise is that the Qi army can withstand it.

Li Tai saw that Luocheng and Zhoucheng were still heavily guarded, but Jinyang County on the other side was sloppy, so he immediately dispatched a thousand soldiers to go straight to Jinyang County. At present, the outcome of the battlefield was still undecided, which did not prevent the Wei army from taking a base first to rest.

In a chaotic battle involving hundreds of thousands of people, a thousand soldiers was really not that many, and they would not even be noticeable if left on the battlefield. But when these thousand soldiers rushed towards Jinyang City on horseback, the situation suddenly became a little different, which meant that the battle began to spread from outside the city to the city.

Originally, no matter what their mood, the soldiers and people in the city were still watching the battle from the sidelines, but now they were about to be involved in the war and directly bear the devastation and damage of the war. The sense of imminent crisis suddenly surged into their hearts, and they all wanted to save themselves. , but there are very few things that ordinary people can do in a war. Most of them are running around in a hurry. Their actions may not be effective, but they are full of effects in causing chaos.

When these thousands of troops rushed to the bottom of Bingzhou City, the defenders on the city quickly fired at the bottom of the city. When they saw that these Wei troops were just passing by the city and had no intention of stopping the attack, the soldiers and civilians in the city relaxed again. Take a breath. But when they saw them rushing towards Jinyang County in the south, these soldiers and civilians couldn't help but scream in surprise. Although they were very worried, they did not go out of the city to rescue Jinyang County, but just watched these Wei soldiers. He rushed to the front of Jinyang County, then broke through the defensive line formed by the government servants and servants, and rushed into Jinyang County.

The size of Jinyang County is not too large, with only a few miles to go around, but the number of people living in the city is not large. After all, there are countless powerful people in Jinyang City, and the government also needs to gather a large number of official slaves to serve them and provide various services. In a small county town, there were tens of thousands of official slaves of all kinds gathered. As the Wei army rushed into the county town, these official slaves who originally lived at the bottom of Jinyang were naturally frightened to the extreme. They immediately dispersed and fled the city in all directions, preparing to escape elsewhere.

A large number of people poured out of the city. The scene was chaotic and easily misunderstood. At this moment, a Wei army sergeant took advantage of the situation and shouted loudly: "The city of Jinyang is broken, the city is broken!"

These cheerful shouts, combined with the residents of the city fleeing in all directions, seemed to be somewhat real for a while.

At this time, the officers and soldiers of the Qi army who were still fighting hard in the battle array heard this sound, and they were all startled for a moment. They looked back and looked outside the battlefield, and saw a large number of people pouring out from the side of Bingzhou City, panicking and choosing their way. Running away towards the Fen River, it does look a bit like a city being destroyed.

"The city is broken? The city is broken!"

The officers and soldiers of the Qi army were extremely panicked. For a moment, they felt all hopeless and turned a deaf ear to Hu Luguang's orders. At this time, the Wei Army Yang Zhong and other generals also clearly noticed the sluggish response of the Qi Army, so they immediately stepped up their attack on the Qi Army's formation, especially some of the fresh troops who had just joined the battle, and now they were even more brave. , a Wei army team took advantage of this momentum and rushed into the Qi army's formation, directly attacking the center of the Qi army's formation!

"The city of Jinyang is strong and difficult to break. It must be the thieves' lies and threats! Don't panic, hold on, hold on!"

Hu Luguang was still shouting loudly, but few of the surrounding soldiers could hear his shouts, and the soldiers' repeated shouts over and over again made people feel even more noisy and disturbing.

At this time, a group of Wei army soldiers suddenly came to kill not far in front of him. Both Hu Luguang and the personal guards around him were startled. Nanfang retreated, shouting loudly: "The bandit army has broken the formation, please leave quickly and return to the city, and occupy the city to defeat the enemy!"

As soon as Hu Luguang retreated, the surrounding sergeants could no longer hold on. They turned around and ran away to the south. The Wei army officers and soldiers in the rear took advantage of the situation and advanced heavily, covering up and killing all the way. A large number of Qi army officers and soldiers were either killed on the spot by the Wei army, or were knocked down and trampled by their fleeing comrades.

After all, the military formation that persisted for a long time did not persist until it retreated into the city. As the military formation collapsed, many Qi soldiers were divided and swallowed up by the eagerly pursuing Wei soldiers in an instant!

"This is King Xianyang, King Xianyang! Open the city quickly and welcome the king into the city!"

As the military formation was breached, Hu Luguang no longer tried in vain to restrain the generals again, but escaped all the way to Jinyang Luocheng under the support of his soldiers. When the soldiers of Luocheng saw Hu Luguang approaching, they all prepared to respond, hoping that Hu Luguang could lead them to resist the Wei army's attack after entering the city.

As the city gate opened again, many Turks and defeated Qi troops wandering nearby rushed towards the city gate. Naturally, the soldiers inside the city gate would not allow these disciples to enter the city, and they waved their bows and swords against them. These people were driven out by hacking and killing.

By the time Hu Luguang and his party fled to the city gate, there was already a fight here. Fortunately, Hu Luguang's cronies were all brave soldiers. At this time, in order to enter the city as quickly as possible, they slashed with their swords without distinguishing between the enemy and the enemy. They cut a bloody path out and sent Hu Luguang into the city.

As Hu Luguang entered the city, the capstan in the city turned again, and the city gate slowly closed. Some of the Qi army soldiers who had followed Hu Luguang and fled to the city gate were immediately isolated, and they each let out desperate cries.

The fighting on the battlefield outside the city was fierce and accidents occurred frequently. When these changes were introduced into Jinyang Palace, they were like thunderous explosions. The emperor Gao Yan and the ministers who were anxiously waiting for the outcome of the war turned pale in shock. .

"How did Li Boshan come to Jinyang? How could the King of Pingyuan and the King of Pingyuan be defeated... This is not true. How could it be possible for the pillars of the Pingyuan Kingdom to fail!"

Ever since he heard the news about Li Boshan's appearance on the battlefield in the north of the city, Gao Yan seemed a little sluggish and kept talking, completely unwilling to believe this fact.

But such a thing cannot be true, especially when the Turkic army was defeated and even Wuzun Khan was killed by the Wei army on the battlefield. In addition, Hu Luguang's troops were unfavorable in the battle and were trapped on the battlefield by the Wei army. It was difficult to withdraw, and it kept hitting Gao Yan and the ministers on the head like a sap, challenging their endurance again and again.

When the news of the defeat of the army outside the city came in, Gao Yan was so shocked that his hands and feet were cold and his mouth was dumbfounded. After a long time, he murmured: "Even the King of Xianyang wants to abandon me? In such a big country, there is no one Can you resist the thieves?"

No one could answer his question, because the reactions of the ministers present were similar to the emperor's. They were all blue-lipped and pale-faced, and they were all distraught. Those brave and strong warriors in the country who dared to bravely sacrifice themselves have been killed and lost in many wars in the past. Now among the remaining people, they are either unable to fight or dare not fight. Before, The situation was once dominant and no one could go to the battle line. Now that the Wei army is so powerful, who dares to step forward to meet it?

"Your Majesty, good news, good news! King Xianyang has successfully withdrawn to Luocheng. All the cities are still guarding, but Jinyang County has been captured by thieves!"

Another waiter rushed to the palace and loudly reported the latest battle situation to the emperor.

After Gao Yan heard this, he also had a slight smile on his face, but soon his expression turned uglier than crying. He slapped the table and shouted: "Thousands of miles of territory, a country of ten thousand chariots, retreat again and again, thieves The general broke through the door and abandoned his army, even if he was still alive, what a joy it was!"

Everyone in the hall was as silent as a cicada after hearing this. Gao Yan didn't want to sit in the palace anymore, so he got up, put on a military uniform, and personally inspected the forbidden city defenses of Jinyang Palace.

Today's Jinyang Palace is several times larger than when Li Tai invaded. The palace gardens are continuous, the buildings are row upon row, and the layout is magnificent. However, when the Wei army invaded, no matter how majestic the building was, it lost its majesty and only gave people a vain feeling of being strong on the outside and capable on the inside.

Gao Yan walked among the palace rooms in broad strides, and all the palace slaves and guards he saw looked worried, which inevitably made him even more irritated. And when he went to the harem and sat down, he saw Queen Ashina and all the maids turning to greet her. His face became even more embarrassed and angry. He immediately stamped his feet and said angrily: "You humble woman, Saihu, is worthy of being the mother of the country." ? This woman is responsible for this disaster today. She must be driven out immediately and not allowed to sleep in the right place again!"

Poor Queen Ashina, who had just been shocked to hear the news of her father's death in battle, was still weeping in Linxuan. Immediately, the wolf-like imperial guards rushed in, and without any explanation, they came forward and roughly dragged her away. .

After the expansion of Jinyang Palace, the original Prime Minister's Palace was also included. To the east of Jinyang Palace is Jinyang County. Gao Yan can climb up to an attic in the palace and overlook the county outside the palace. At this time, Jinyang County has been occupied by the Wei army, and the interface is full of running figures. The Wei army sergeants are galloping in the city, driving away the fleeing people and gathering them together.

Several Wei army sergeants also noticed the movement in the attic not far away from the palace city, and unexpectedly ran towards it without knowing their strength. As soon as they approached the high palace wall, they were shot by the Northern Qi Imperial Army's arrows. He fired arrows and quickly reined in his horse and ran away. That look seemed a bit ridiculous, but Gao Yan couldn't help but laugh at all.

"Thieves, please stop being so arrogant! My lord, King Tang, will capture this city soon, and all the thieves will be killed!"

After those Wei soldiers were forced back by Liu Ya, they felt ashamed and angry, and they jumped up and cursed in the streets of Jinyang County.

After Gao Yan heard these insults, his face turned livid with anger, he gritted his teeth and went downstairs with a sullen face.

The original Prime Minister's Mansion is where the Empress Dowager's bedroom is now, and the Empress Dowager's coffin rested here after her burial. As the enemy troops invaded Jinyang City, the day for the funeral was far away.

Gao Yan came to the mourning hall of the Empress Dowager in a state of despair. He held the coffin with his hands and couldn't help but burst into tears. He used the mourning for his mother as a cover to vent the fear and uneasiness in his heart, as well as the despair of being helpless.

"Aye..."

Crown Prince Gao Baibai was now six years old and gradually began to know people. When he was led into the mourning hall by his mother's hand and saw his father holding his grandmother's coffin and crying so sadly, he couldn't help but shed tears and lowered his head. Weeping and walking to Gao Yan's side.

"My son's life is really miserable. Your father is really incompetent. He is so inferior to your grandfather. I'm afraid he won't be able to leave any legacy to my son..."

Gao Yan was crying sadly at the moment. Hearing his son's call, the sadness in his heart became more and more uncontrollable. He leaned over and hugged this docile and well-behaved son in his arms, crying continuously in his mouth.

"Wealth, poverty, honor and disgrace are all determined by heaven. I don't hope that any great family fortune can be passed on to my son. I only hope that this son will be healthy for many years! If your majesty still has plans, please be sure to save this child's life! He was born here He doesn’t know the fate of good and evil, but he is just a child with a yellow mouth, and he really shouldn’t bear the evil karma of his predecessors!”

The Yuan family also knew that the Wei army had already invaded Jinyang and was worried about the safety of her children, so she looked at Gao Yan and cried.

"No, no! My son's life is as his name suggests. He will live a long life for a hundred years. I will accept the consequences of my bad karma myself and will never harm my son!"

Gao Yan also cherished his son very much. Soon after the coup was successful, he did not hesitate to violate the agreement with his brother Gao Zhan and used both soft and hard tactics to make his son Gao Baibai the crown prince. He just wanted to make the world's most important person Leave the good things to your son.

But now that the Wei army is at the gates of the city, the pillars of the country that can be relied on are either dead or defeated. Seeing that the country is about to fall, the originally prominent family background and noble status now seem to be the way to death. Although Gao Yan repeatedly expressed his desire to save his son's life, he has no idea what to do.

"Your Majesty, the King of Xianyang sent an envoy to the palace to ask for an audience!"

An eunuch came in to report outside the hall. After hearing this, Gao Yan wiped away his tears, forced himself to comfort his wife and children, and then left the Queen Mother's mourning hall and went straight to the front hall.

"Your Majesty, I bow to you!"

The person sent by Hulugu was his son Hulugu Wudu. After being summoned into the palace by the emperor, he bowed and said, "My father lost the battle with the enemy and led his troops back to the city. He knows that he has committed a serious crime. However, the Wei army is attacking Luocheng very urgently. My father needs to stay in Luocheng to organize the army to fight the enemy. He has no time to return to see you for the time being, so I am sent to the palace to apologize. I have this, and you can punish me as you like. Even if you behead me and display my head to the public, my father and I will never complain!"

At this point, Gao Yan would certainly not severely punish Hulugu, but he was in a very bad mood and was too lazy to say anything to comfort and encourage him. , just said in a deep voice: "How many troops are there in Luocheng? How many enemy troops are there? Does the King of Xianyang have the confidence to defend the city?"

"There are still more than 20,000 troops in Luocheng. My father is recruiting men and women from the city to defend the city together. It is estimated that several thousand soldiers can still be recruited. The enemy troops suffered heavy casualties when they attacked Xishan before. There are not many troops coming from the rear, less than 20,000, and they are still fighting with the Turks in the suburbs, so it is difficult to attack the city with all their strength..."

Hulu Wudu hurriedly leaned over to answer again, of course, he also tried to say the best, making the situation sound not too serious.

However, after Gao Yan heard Hulu Wudu's modified words, his brain seemed to explode for a while. Before, there were only 100,000 troops inside and outside Jinyang City, and in order to go out of the city to fight with the Wei army, most of the troops gathered in Jinyang Luocheng and then attacked. As for the troops left behind between Jinyang Palace and other cities, there were less than 20,000 troops.

But after Hulugu Guang retreated back to the city, there were only more than 20,000 soldiers left in Luocheng. Where did the rest go?

Hulugu Wudu certainly understood that this answer was not very satisfactory, so he said: "Li Boshan's sudden attack caused the troops outside the city to retreat in fear, and many soldiers fled outside and could not be gathered. Therefore, my father was planning to select elite soldiers after a short rest in the city, and then attack the enemy army when they were proud of their victory and their morale was low. On the one hand, he defeated the enemy army, and on the other hand, he gathered the defeated people..."

"It is a good thing that the king of Xianyang still has fighting spirit, but he also needs to do it within his ability. Before, the army was strong and still returned in a great defeat. Now the enemy is stronger and we have just been defeated. It is more difficult to defeat the enemy. Let's stay in the city and wait for the weather to change!"

Before Hulugu Wudu finished speaking, Gao Yan waved his hand impatiently and said that he did not think this plan could reverse the current bad situation. As for what kind of change in the world would bring if he held on, he had no way of predicting it. He just felt a sense of despair and hopelessness, and decided to leave everything to fate.