Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 469 Chaos, Peace

Dasan Pass.

At this moment, there was chaos inside the pass. Soldiers were shouting, and the road leading to the wall was almost blocked. Soldiers kept rushing up the wall. Someone lit a beacon fire, and black smoke billowed.

Outside the pass, the Han army was approaching.

Liu Taozi was riding a warhorse and was in the center of the army.

A mighty army of tens of thousands was deployed, and the entire official road for dozens of miles was occupied by the Han army.

The soldiers were divided into many formations and lined up in neat rows.

You can see generals riding war horses, wearing heavy armor, even the horses under their crotch are covered in armor, and soldiers are gathered around these generals. In many small square formations, the soldiers around them are all wearing armor.

The armor-wearing rate was visibly exaggerated. Looking around, it seemed that everyone was wearing armor. The armor was flashing with cold light. It was a large black mass. The officers guarding the wall turned pale with fright.

Flags were placed in the middle of the army, and various flags were intertwined with each other, as dense as a forest.

The Zhou people were still unaware of the large-scale attack of the Han army, but despite this, places like Dasan Pass were of paramount importance. As the gateway to Hanzhong, it was guarded by a large army.

The general stationed here is Wang Qian, Duke of Yong.

That’s right, he is the son of Wang Xiong who was shot and killed by Hulugu.

After Wang Xiong died in battle, the imperial court gave him many posthumous titles and also gave many rewards to his son. In order to appease the people, the imperial court let him inherit the title of Duke of Yong and promoted him to the rank of General, commanding the army and ruling a region.

At this time, Wang Qian looked at the Han army that suddenly appeared in the distance with a dazed expression.

He couldn't understand why there were so many Han troops here. Wasn't it said before that the enemy was short of manpower and only had a few thousand people looting everywhere?
How come in the blink of an eye, thousands of people turned into tens of thousands? ? Judging from the situation, there are more than tens of thousands of people, and there are troops coming from the rear. Is this the main force of the Han Kingdom coming directly to attack?
Wang Qian himself had no talent. He became an official and a general only because of his father. Up to now, this general had never fought in a battle.

From this we can also see the drawbacks of the Zhou Dynasty's official positions, or we can say that Qi also had such a problem. In the past, high-ranking officials from the north could not only inherit their father's title, but also inherit the official position and the army, which was very bad.

It's okay for titles to be hereditary, but it's really unacceptable for the military and official positions to be like this as well. The law explicitly prohibits such behavior, but such things happen frequently.

If the warriors are too strong, this result may occur.

Wang Qian had the highest title and official position.

After Chang'an was captured, he led his troops to defend the king, but was stopped by Yuwen Xian halfway, who asked him to use his official position and title to recapture the troops that were defending the king, move into Dasan Pass, control the surrounding areas, and deploy defenses here to provide a guarantee for his future retreat.

Wang Qian followed his orders, actively gathered troops from all over the place, and then stationed them near Dasan Pass, strengthening the pass and controlling entry and exit, which can be regarded as a great achievement.

After Yuwen Xian returned to Hanzhong, he submitted a memorial to request merit for him, and was promoted from General to Senior Pillar of the State.

Let him officially guard the gate of Hanzhong.

Yuwen Xian had many capable people under his command, but most of them were young and could not make the generals submit. Without official positions and titles like Wang Qian, it would be easy for them to split up.

Whether the local people recognize his court depends on whether the local generals recognize it.

"General!"

"We should attack before the enemy's army arrives!"

At this time, some officers had already begun to offer advice to Wang Qian.

When Wang Qian heard this, he was stunned.

"send troops??"

"Our army's morale is low, while the enemy's morale is high. I see that there seems to be the emperor's banner in the enemy's formation. Liu Taozi is still there. How can we send troops to attack?!"

Wang Qian's talents are average, but he is very cautious.

This is probably why Yuwen Xian was confident in letting him stay here.

Wang Qian immediately made arrangements, defending the city with all his strength, and never leaving the city, and asking for help from behind! !

"Boom!! Boom!! Boom!!"

The war drums of the Han Dynasty sounded.

There were carts carrying drums in the Han army formation. There were hundreds of drums distributed throughout the army. The drummers were bare-chested, revealing their strong muscles. They held big hammers and began to beat them frantically. The hundreds of drums sounded at the same time, like thunder. The morale of the Han army was high and they roared one after another! !

Guan Zhoujun was extremely shocked.

When the emperor's banner on the Han army side slowly moved forward, enough for the defenders at the pass to notice it, even the officers began to feel afraid.

Liu Taozi is here!!!
"kill!!!"

Liu Taozi raised the sword in his hand and aimed it at Sanguan.

These phalanxes gradually separated, and the military craftsmen began to advance, pushing the siege equipment prepared in advance.

The rows of catapults were located in the military formation.

"Boom~~~"

Zu Ting has spent a lot of time these days examining many siege weapons. The accuracy of these catapults is actually very low and they often miss their targets. Their destructive power is not as strong as future artillery. When they encounter a city wall that is too strong, they are helpless!
However, this thing is indeed an essential weapon to undermine morale. When the catapult makes a thunderous sound, huge stones fly towards you. Some hit the ground, some hit the wall, and some fall right in front of you. Flying stones and fragments fly everywhere. This is a huge blow to the defenders.

Wang Qian was startled and quickly retreated under the escort of several officers.

His face was pale, and he kept muttering: "Why are there so many? Why are there so many?"

I don't know whether he was talking about armor, war drums, or catapults.

Before the attack even started, the catapults had already started bombarding for a long time. This time, almost all the stones were used up, and no one knew how long they had been bombarding.

Then, ladders, battering rams, ladders, wooden shield carts and many other siege weapons moved forward at the same time. The soldiers raised their large shields and began to protect themselves, while the archers kept moving forward and tried to suppress them.

The defenders on the city wall then began to counterattack.

Arrows kept flying between the two sides.

Siege weapons were destroyed and stopped halfway, but some were successful and began to hit the city walls. The archers kept advancing, and with the knights suppressing them through mounted archery, the counterattack on the city walls became increasingly weak.

Wang Qian was terrified.

The wall of the pass was quickly suppressed. The enemy's attack was too smooth and there was no drag. If this continued, I'm afraid that in less than half an hour, Sanguan would be lost! !

Wang Qian realized that these bastards wanted to speed through the game! They were fighting with all their might, wanting to win in one fell swoop!

Wang Qian did not hesitate or hold back and directly sent the reserve troops up as well.

The wall of the pass was already filled with people, and the defenders kept destroying the ladders and pushing the Han soldiers down one after another.

The battering ram below had already begun to attack the closed door.

The door closed with a wailing sound.

The soldiers inside the pass began to reinforce the pass desperately.

The sun was shining brightly, and the sounds of fighting continued without interruption.

Zu Ting rode a fast horse and came to Liu Taozi's side at this moment, with a solemn look in his eyes, "Wang Qian is of average ability, I never thought he could resist to this extent! Your Majesty, you should choose a brave general to go first!!"

"I want to go first!!"

Shi Wansui, who had been staying beside the king, spoke.

Liu Taozi looked at him and said, "If you can take this level, I will honor you with my high title!"

"only!!!"

Shi Wansui looked around, led his elite troops, all wearing armor, holding a shield in one hand and a short weapon in the other, and rushed towards the wall.

Liu Taozi ordered people to beat the drum again.

The drums started beating again.

The soldiers became ruthless and attacked again. They saw Shi Wansui climb up the wall with a ladder and rush forward without stopping. He brought hundreds of armored soldiers and dug a passage. A large number of soldiers continued to rush towards the wall.

"boom!!"

Close the door and collapse.

Both sides entered the second phase of the war, street fighting!
The Han army entered in a stream, and the two sides continued their bloody battle inside the pass!
Wang Qian gathered a large number of troops, and the number of troops here was more than 30,000.

This is already a lot for the current Zhou Kingdom. Even when the Zhou Kingdom was at its most powerful, it was impossible for any single Shangzhuguo to have so many troops.

Yang Zhong only led more than 15,000 people on this expedition.

As the gate was broken, the bloody battle between the two sides became more intense.

At this moment, Wang Qian was holding a spear and directing the battle.

Guards came forward with horses, hoping that Wang Qian could escape.

"I am a person with no talent! It is because of your majesty's grace that I can take on this important responsibility!"

"My father died fighting for his country. As his son, how can I run away and bring shame to him?"

"There are still more than 10,000 people in the city. I will never abandon them and escape! Order people to beat the war drums and fight back against the enemy!!"

Wang Qian was extremely frightened, but he still gritted his teeth and said these words.

The guards all spoke up, willing to fight to the death for him. The drums of war sounded inside the pass, and Wang Qian personally led the army to counterattack.

The entire Sanguan became hell in an instant. The two sides continued to fight, blood and flesh flew everywhere, broken limbs were scattered everywhere, and corpses were piled up high, almost forming small hills. In order to move forward, the soldiers even needed to move the corpses in front of them away.

The scorching sun slowly sets, and the sky is filled with blood-red sunset glow.

The entire Sanguan had been beaten terribly.

Wang Qian's hand holding the sword was shaking constantly.

His army had been defeated by the enemy, some died and some fled.

Looking around, there were no Zhou army soldiers standing around, only a dozen guards were left standing around him.

Shi Wansui looked at him breathlessly, holding a spear.

"My Lord is kind and righteous. Wherever he goes, people surrender to him. Why don't you surrender?!"

Wang Qian's face was swollen and covered with scars. He looked at the army around him.

"It's not that the soldiers didn't fight hard, it's all because of my incompetence that I'm dragging down the army!"

After Wang Qian finished speaking, he swung the sword in his hand directly to his neck, blood spurted out, and he fell to the ground with a bang.

The guards cried and wailed, but only a few chose to commit suicide, while the rest chose to surrender.

The Han army shouted.

Liu Taozi rode his warhorse into the interior of the country.

Sanguan fell into the hands of the Han army. Although there were heavy casualties, as long as they took Sanguan, Hanzhong would be right in front of them.

The army moved in and Shi Wansui came to pay a visit.

"Your Majesty! I have fulfilled my mission! I have taken Sanguan Pass!"

"it is good."

"General Ru'anbei!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!!"

"Reorganize the army and march to Hanzhong in three days!!"

"only!!!"

Hanzhong.

Crown Prince Yuwen Yun officially ascended the throne as emperor.

But this time, the coronation ceremony was extremely simple.

The officials who had gathered temporarily stood on both sides and watched the new emperor change his clothes and sit on the throne.

A doctor read out the imperial edict, officially declaring Yuwen Yun the emperor.

Everyone bowed and recognized the new ruler.

Yuwen Yun could hardly hide his joy.

There is no main hall here, so they can only hold this event in the government office. Fortunately, there are still a lot of people participating, which can barely represent the ideas of the Zhou Kingdom's upper echelons.

The soldiers stood in the distance, protecting everyone's safety.

Only when Yuwen Yun put on the crown did he feel relieved.

He cleared his throat and was about to speak.

"His Majesty!!"

Gao Ying suddenly stood up and looked around.

He said: "Your Majesty is exhausted from the journey and should go back to rest first. Let the ministers discuss the rest of the important matters."

Yuwen Yun was stunned.

He said quickly: "I am not tired. I can still handle it. I can still handle it."

Gao Jiong didn't even look at him, but added: "Although your majesty has ascended the throne, you are still young and cannot rule the country yourself. I think you should select a few important ministers to assist you in governing the country, and wait until the emperor is crowned, and then rule the country yourself."

After Gao Jiong said this, all the ministers began to nod in approval.

When Yuwen Xian was in charge of Chang'an, the Zhou Kingdom was almost falling apart. In order to appease the people and in a hurry to rebuild the court, he promoted many people to officials in order to win them over and appease them. Therefore, more than 80% of these officials who were put together temporarily were appointed by Yuwen Xian for his merits and were arranged by him. Gao Jiong was Yuwen Xian's mouthpiece, so of course these people had to nod their heads at whatever he said.

If Yuwen Xian had not been undecided, even if he had welcomed Yuwen Yun, the throne would still be a question. For the throne, legitimacy is secondary, support and ability are the real thing. Take the State of Chen for example. Even if Chen Chang returned, could he really compete with Chen Qian for the throne? ? The situation of the State of Chen at that time was very similar to that of the State of Zhou at that time. Chen Qian also made many contributions. Both the army and the civil officials supported him. Except for the status of the crown prince, he had everything he should have.

Even when the queen was still in power, she was unable to restrict Chen Qian at all.

Yuwen Xian just didn't have that ambition.

Now that he wants to do it, there is basically no obstacle.

At this moment, Yang Su, the emperor's attendant standing in the distance, changed his expression drastically.

Of course, not everyone agreed. Several self-proclaimed gentlemen stood up and refuted Gao Jiong's words.

They believed that although the emperor was young and could not rule the country himself, he should still take charge of government affairs and not just send him back and not take care of anything.

In addition, if we want to appoint ministers to assist the country, it should be led by the elders of the royal family or the old ministers. How can a young boy like you take the lead here? !
Gao Jiong was not angry. He waited until these people finished speaking before looking at Yuwen Xian.

"What does the king think?"

Yuwen Xian stood up and looked at everyone.

The atmosphere suddenly became subtle.

Even the few righteous gentlemen just now fell silent at this moment.

"I think it's okay."

Yuwen Xian looked at the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, please go back and rest first."

Yuwen Yun was horrified and wanted to say something harsh. He looked at Yang Su suddenly, but found that Yang Su's face was uglier than his. Before he could react, the guards took him and ran away.

In an instant, the emperor who had just ascended the throne disappeared.

Yuwen Xian looked at the many royal family members and ministers, and his gaze finally fell on Yuchi Jiong.

"Duke Shu, the country is in turmoil and in danger. Only if we work together can we overcome the difficulties. I would like to assist you in governing the country and fight against the powerful enemy. What do you think?!"

Yuchi Jiong was a little surprised. He said calmly: "I am a straightforward person and I know what the current situation has become. I don't have the strength to compete with the king. If the king wants to be the regent alone and defeat the powerful enemy, just kill me. There is no need to pretend to invite me to assist in the administration, which is so dirty."

Yuwen Xian took a few steps and suddenly drew out the sword of the Tiger Guard.

Everyone was shocked.

Yuwen Xian took out his sword, slashed his palm, and blood gushed out.

"I am devoted to supporting the country, and I sincerely hope to assist Lord Yuchi in governing the country. If I break my oath, I will not be able to rest in peace even after my death!"

Yuchi Jiong was shocked and bowed to Yuwen Xian, "I am willing to serve the king!"

Yuwen Xian looked at Yang Jian next.

"Duke Sui, I have had many disagreements with you in the past, but now the country has indeed reached its most critical moment. You and Liu Taozi have a grudge for killing your father, a personal grudge and a national hatred. We should all join forces to deal with him and should not separate at this time!"

"I wonder if the Duke is willing to fight against the powerful enemy with me?!"

Yang Jian was somewhat moved, and hurried out to greet him, "That's what I wish for!"

Yuwen Xian spoke with several clan members, and the situation became clearer.

Just as everyone was discussing important matters, a soldier walked in quickly and looked at Gao Jiong.

Gao Jiong went out quietly, spoke to the soldier in a low voice for a few words, and then his face changed drastically.

The next moment, Gao Jiong returned to Yuwen Xian's side and lowered his voice.

"Your Majesty."

"The Han army has concentrated its forces, claiming to have 200,000 men, and is attacking Sanguan Pass fiercely!"

"Duke Yong is leading his troops to resist and is urgently seeking help!!"

Yuwen Xian took a deep breath and then looked at everyone.

"Everyone, Liu Taozi has already set out. His army is said to have 200,000 soldiers and is attacking Sanguan!"

"The situation is so critical that we shouldn't be distracted by other things!"