Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 284: A Fight to the Death

The mountain road is rugged.

After the autumn harvest, the weather at the border is no longer so hot.

The whole world became a little bleak again. The wind was howling, the dense forest was swaying in the wind, the bare branches were whipping passers-by with the wind, and thorns were everywhere. This place once again returned to the past.

The huge army is advancing along the mountain road.

In the front were infantrymen, followed by many knights, and behind them were carriages and civilian laborers for transport.

The front army has already walked out of the mountain road, while the rear army has just entered.

Gao Changgong rode a horse, wore a mask, and walked in the center of the army.

War horses neighed, and dozens of people were seen galloping from the front. This place was narrow, and even these excellent knights did not dare to gallop here.

The person who came was Yao Xiong.

Yao Xiong was furious at this moment. He returned to Gao Changgong with a lance in his hand, while the knights went towards the rear army again.

Yao Xiong took off his armor with great effort, gasping for breath.

"A group of blind creatures captured three more and tried to sneak into the village at the mountain pass. I killed them all."

Gao Changgong looked at him and saw obvious bloodstains on his cuffs.

Yao Xiong frowned, "I really can't understand it. They are all farmers, and their farmland must have been destroyed by cavalry. How come they don't know how to restrain themselves after becoming soldiers?"

"I was treated like that in the past, but now I have to deal with people who are just like me back then. I don't understand."

This time, Yao Xiong and Gao Changgong led the Youyan soldiers to the front line. Yao Xiong was full of confidence before setting off, but the situation began to deteriorate as soon as they passed the Yinshan Mountains.

There were deserters and rioters, some of whom did not abide by military discipline, while others embezzled food and supplies.

Yao Xiong was greatly disappointed.

Is this the strong soldier we have trained with great effort?
Looking at Yao Xiong's disappointed look, Gao Changgong said calmly: "Chang Ying, there are good people in the world, and naturally there are bad people."

"General, whether they are officials of humble origins or soldiers of Han peasant origin, there are some who commit crimes and violate the law. This time, we led more than 10,000 soldiers from Yanzhou to the border, and so far, there have only been dozens of people who violated military discipline. I think this is already well-trained and well-drilled."

"If nothing happens along the way, and everyone says that no one has been harmed, then that's when something serious happens."

After listening to Gao Changgong's words, Yao Xiong's mood finally improved.

"Chang Ying, don't be angry. We are not far from Yongfeng. Soon, it will be time for us to show our skills. In this battle, I want to compete with Chang Ying for the vanguard."

Yao Xiong looked nonchalant, "Neither of us can be a pioneer."

"No matter how well-trained the Youyan soldiers are, they have never experienced real wars, so they are not as good as the Hengshuo soldiers. The Hengshuo soldiers include Poduoluo, Tuxiyue, Li Qinhu, Liu Chengcai and others. These guys are not easy to deal with. If we want to fight against Yang Zhong, of course we need veterans. It is not our turn to be the vanguard."

"Oh?"

"Then what did the general want us to do?"

"It should be to expand the results of the battle. Yuwen Hu is coming. I heard that he is very powerful. The more people on the general's side, the greater the pressure on the Zhou people. Yuwen Hu will not dare to go deeper."

Gao Changgong was a little surprised, "Chang Ying has made great progress."

"That's what old man Bao said."

Yao Xiong did not take credit for it. He said seriously, "He said that the situation my brother is facing is very bad. Yuwen Hu's army is coming. Although there are famous generals in the court, the person in charge is a piece of shit. He is not even as good as Yuwen Hu. He may not be able to defeat him."

"And once Yuwen Hu defeats the imperial court, Henan, Huainan, Qingxu and all of them will belong to him, and we will be in trouble."

"But in the north, it is particularly difficult to expand the results of the war."

"That's why Zhang Heizu and his men were transferred to the vicinity of Nanying. Even Kouliu was transferred to the vicinity of Sizhou. They are all keeping an eye on the front line. If the front line collapses, they will try their best to keep the enemy south of the river to ensure that Hebei will not be left with a gap."

When Yao Xiong talked about strategy, he was very knowledgeable.

Gao Changgong couldn't help but nod after hearing this.

The army crossed the mountain road and finally sped up its march.

The garrison towns near Yongfeng now became important post houses for Liu Taozi and important supply stations between the two places. These garrison towns, which were originally used to occupy Wuchuan and other places, now played an important reverse role.

Yao Xiong and his companions collected supplies along the way and finally arrived at Yongfeng City.

Yongfeng Town is still as tall as ever.

As the defense core of the frontier, all kinds of cavalry and knights were constantly traveling on the flat and wide road.

Today's military core seems to be gradually shifting from Wuchuan to Yongfeng.

There were many large parade grounds around Yongfeng. After Yao Xiong arranged the troops into the parade grounds, he and Gao Changgong went into the city to meet Liu Taozi.

The two men led dozens of riders into the city gate.

Yongfeng City was exceptionally lively.

The majority of people here are not soldiers, but merchants.

You can even see a lot of Turkic merchants. Although the relationship between Da Qi and the Turks is quite bad, they have never stopped trading, especially the trade between the people. Yongfeng used to be an important border trade town, and it is even more so now. There are even merchants from the Western Regions who come here from thousands of miles away to trade. Although severe laws are adopted at home, Liu Taozi's government still maintains a protective attitude towards merchants.

As long as commercial taxes and vehicle and vessel taxes are paid in full and prohibited goods are not sold, the government will protect the safety of these merchants and prevent them from being harmed by bandits, corrupt officials and others.

Some Zhou merchants came here secretly to do trade, and Liu Taozi did not drive them out.

There are not only two cities in the city, it is much more prosperous than Wuchuan.

Yao Xiong and others rushed all the way to the government office. When they arrived at the door, they saw Potala standing there with a smile, waiting for them.

"Meet the king."

Potala paid a visit to Gao Changgong and also met Yao Xiong.

Several people walked into the office, which was extremely busy with officers and clerks coming in and out.

When they arrived at the inner room, Liu Taozi was sitting among several generals. They were looking at the map in front of them and talking about something.

Seeing them come in, everyone stopped chatting.

"Meet the King!!"

Everyone bowed to greet him.

Liu Taozi also looked at Gao Changgong, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Gao Changgong was stunned, and hurriedly returned the greeting, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

The two looked at each other, and Liu Taozi said, "Just let me know, Your Majesty."

"Then your Majesty, please call me Chang Gong."

"Chang Gong."

"Know it."

Yao Xiong hurried forward and showed a silly face, "Brother!!"

"Let's talk business first."

The two also joined the military discussions.

The map in front of Liu Taozi was quite large, with clear markings on various strongholds and fortresses from Yongfeng to Chang'an.

"Brother, are you preparing to attack Chang'an?"

When Yao Xiong saw the map, this was the only thought in his mind.

"No, our map only covers the area around Chang'an. The situation further south is unclear."

Yao Xiong saw that Yang Zhong's army was now stationed near Shiya Mountain City, and in other areas, there were also several marked military camps, each with the names of different generals written on it.

There is only one question in today's strategic discussions: whether to go west or south.

Going west naturally means attacking Liang, Gan and other places.

Taking advantage of the huge void in the rear of the Pseudo-Zhou, he wantonly ravaged their local armed forces, and heading south, he was going to engage in a head-on confrontation with Yang Zhong to determine who would be the winner.

Tu Xiyue supported going west.

"My lord, although Yang Zhong has sent out his troops, once he finds our army approaching, he will definitely retreat to Lingwu, which will be difficult to attack. But if we leave a part of us to fight him, and the rest of us attack Lianggan and other places, the defense here will be empty, and the results will definitely be huge!"

Everyone thought it made sense and nodded.

Yao Xiong gently stroked his beard at this moment, "Why not go south?"

"Hmm? Liang Gan is empty, why bother to fight to the death with Yang Zhong?"

Tu Xiyue immediately raised his objection.

Yao Xiong said seriously: "If we attack Liang and Gan as you said, we will definitely win a great victory, but it will be of no strategic use."

"If we capture that place, it will be easy for the enemy to cut off our communication and we won't be able to withstand it. If we just plunder and cripple Liang Gan, it will hurt the enemy, but not much."

"Now the Zhou people rely more on Guanlong, Bashu and other places for fighting. Lianggan has few people and no important resources. Even if they are razed to the ground, the impact will not be huge."

"But if we can defeat Yang Zhong, kill him, or even seize Lingwu when he has the least troops, no support, and is at his weakest, the impact will be different."

"Yang Zhong is not easy to deal with."

"Although Yang Zhong only has a few thousand soldiers, if he insists on defending Lingwu, we won't be able to capture him easily, and the casualties will surely be huge!"

"I know."

Yao Xiong added: "Before I left, General Bao Lao discussed this with me. He said that Yuwen Hu is gathering 240,000 troops to the south, and the country is empty and unable to provide support. Yang Zhong is at his weakest. If we cannot defeat Yang Zhong now, then when Yuwen Hu comes back, Yang Zhong will have more troops and more reinforcements, and we will never be able to take Lingzhou." "After taking Lingwu, we will occupy the only way to Lianggan and other places. At the same time, our threat to Chang'an will increase greatly. The enemy's Lingxia defense line will collapse and will have to shrink again. We can even threaten Guizhen and other places."

For a moment, the inner room was unusually quiet, and the generals all looked at Yao Xiong with complicated expressions.

broken!

This Qihu really learned something!

Yao Xiong looked at Liu Taozi and smiled foolishly again, "What do you think, brother?"

Liu Taozi nodded slightly.

Yao Xiong looked at everyone and asked, "Who is guarding Shiya Mountain City now?"

"Shi Jing."

"Who?"

"Why don't I know him?"

"He just surrendered."

"Ah? A surrendered general?"

Yao Xiong looked anxious, "How can we let a surrendered general garrison such an important city? If there is any rebellion, wouldn't it be a big disaster?"

Liu Taozi said calmly: "Trust the people you employ."

Yao Xiong wanted to say something when he saw a boy coming out of the crowd. "Don't worry, General! General Shi is stationed alone in Shiyashan City, but his hostage is here!"

Yao Xiong looked at him in confusion, "Who are you?!"

"I am that proton!"

Shi Wansui said proudly.

The generals laughed.

Gao Changgong walked to Liu Taozi's side at this moment and said, "Zhizhi, I think what Chang Ying said makes a lot of sense."

"Yang Zhong is currently leading an army of less than 3,000 men. If we don't dare to fight him and seize his city now, what should we do when his army becomes larger in the future?"

"Now is a very good opportunity. If we can really capture Lingwu, Yuwen Hu will be restless. In the future, we can even threaten Chang'an and make the Zhou people restless."

"I agree with his idea."

Liu Taozi frowned and thought for a moment, "Okay, let's wait for the scouts from Xiazhou to come back before making a decision."

After discussing the camps where each unit would be stationed, the generals left.

Yao Xiong and Gao Changgong stayed here.

The three of them sat down, and Yao Xiong quickly complained, "Brother, I was bullied by that violent old man in Yanzhou every day. This old man doesn't take you seriously at all."

"male."

"Bao Xian is teaching you as a disciple."

"Could you have thought of half of what you said today?"

"I took the trouble to teach you, but instead of thanking you, you dare to insult me?!"

"How can you be so ungrateful?!"

Liu Taozi reprimanded him harshly, and Yao Xiong immediately shrank his neck and dared not speak.

"If you don't want to learn these, starting tomorrow, you and Potala will switch places. You will be the pioneer here, and let Potala go to Yanzhou to learn with Baoxian."

"Brother, I know I was wrong."

Gao Changgong was a little surprised. It was the first time he heard Liu Taozi say so many words in such a tone.

Yao Xiong didn't dare to speak again, but Gao Changgong slowly told him what happened in Youzhou.

“When I first took office, many people came to pay me a visit. But when they learned that the General’s Office was going to send someone to take over, they started running away.”

“A lot of people ran.”

“Even the officials are like this.”

"Some people didn't want to escape, so they came to me and told me not to let anyone from General Wei's mansion in."

"The officials and the big families over there are extremely afraid of you."

Liu Taozi was not surprised at all when he heard Gao Changgong's words. He said slowly, "The imperial court has established the Northern Dao Daxingtai. Does Changgong know about this?"

Gao Changgong was stunned, obviously not knowing.

"With the appointment of King Pengcheng as the Minister of Chancellery, many officials in the court have almost all gone to Wuchuan."

"Hu Changren can't tolerate these people."

Hearing Liu Taozi's words, Gao Changgong felt mixed emotions and his eyes were complicated.

Gao Changgong was a person who attached great importance to the country and his family.

But things are becoming more and more wrong, and many people are saying that Liu Taozi has ulterior motives.

Gao Changgong never paid any attention to these words. He didn't want to understand these things.

But now even my uncle has come to Wuchuan.
Liu Taozi said again: "The affairs of Youzhou and other places are governed by King Pengcheng. We can stop worrying about the affairs in the rear and fight the Zhou people with peace of mind."

After hearing these words, Gao Changgong nodded.

"only."

They waited in Yongfeng for two days before the scouts arrived.

According to the scouts' report, Yuwen Hu did not add troops in Guizhen and other directions. He even transferred several powerful generals under Yang Zhong and asked them to go to Chang'an and wait for orders.

As a result, Liu Taozi and others made a decision immediately.

The next day, the army gathered at the parade ground. There were more than 30,000 troops stationed here, more than ten times the number of Yang Zhong's army.

The Hengshuo soldiers and Youyan soldiers fought together for the first time, and the mighty army occupied the entire parade ground.

After performing professional military activities such as sacrifices and divination, the army set out.

Liu Taozi used Po Duoluo and Tu Xiyue as vanguards and led 4,000 cavalrymen to clear the way in front. Yao Xiong was on the left, Gao Changgong was on the right, and Li Qinhu and Liu Chengcai were in the rear.

Tens of thousands of troops raised the big banner with the word "Liu" on it, with great momentum. They included knights, infantry, archers, sword and shield soldiers, craftsmen, and civilians.

Yang Zhong's scouts had already begun to engage the vanguard and were fleeing in all directions.

Yang Zhong, who was stationed outside Shiya Mountain City and thinking about how to persuade Shi Jing to surrender, suddenly learned that Liu Taozi's tens of thousands of troops were rushing towards him. He did not dare to stay at all and immediately chose to withdraw to Lingzhou.

It’s not that Yang Zhong is cowardly, nor is it that he is afraid of Liu Taozi.

The main reason is that there are too few soldiers under his command.

Yuwen Hu asked him to send troops in advance and join forces with the Turks to attack Yongfeng.

But the Turks simply couldn't get through.

And his several thousand men couldn't even get through Shiya Mountain City, let alone Yongfeng.

With such a disparity in troop strength, if he were to be entangled by the enemy's vanguard, he would surely die in the wild.

Yang Zhong led his troops to retreat quickly, but the enemy had no intention of stopping. They kept chasing and following Yang Zhong all the way. The two groups of troops arrived at Lingwu City almost one after the other.

Potala and his men quickly started wreaking havoc outside the city, destroying the road leading to Chang'an and cutting down the surrounding trees.

Yang Zhong took the opportunity to lead his troops to attack and fought a fierce battle with Tu, Xi and Yue. He killed many enemies but failed to defeat the enemy.

The disparity in military strength is too great!

And Liu Taozi finally arrived outside the city.

Tens of thousands of troops gathered outside the city, and began to set up camp and build siege equipment.

Yang Zhong stood on the city wall, looking at the sea of ​​people outside the city, his chest heaving violently and his fists clenched.

"Liu Taozi is going to capture Lingzhou!"

Zheng Daoqian stood aside, looking at the army outside the city in astonishment and a little fear.

"General, what should I do?"

"There are less than 6,000 defenders in the city, and only 3,000 of us can fight against the enemy. The rest are auxiliary troops. Can we fight?"

"Can fight"

Yang Zhong almost said something that would shake the morale of the army, but he quickly held back and said with a dark face: "Send another person to break through and ask for help from the Duke of Jin!!"

"We have already lost Yongfeng and Shiya, Lingwu cannot be lost again!! If Lingwu is lost, Liu Taozi will attack Chang'an next!! Let the Duke of Jin send rescuers immediately!!"

"Let the three places light the beacon fires without interruption. Let all places know how critical the situation in Lingwu is!!"

Everyone hurried to prepare. Yang Zhong stood on the city wall, leaned forward, stared at the big flag with the word "Liu" erected in the distance, and laughed angrily.

"Okay, okay, boy, do you want to kill me here?"

"I will fight you to the death here. Either you die or I die!!"

(End of this chapter)