On the occasion of rebirth Zhou Sui

Chapter 403: Stationing troops at the foot of the ridge

Cui Che followed Yang Su to Xihe County and camped five miles outside the city, which made Yang Su very troublesome.

There is no doubt that when he storms Gaobiling, Cui Che will threaten him from behind so that he cannot attack the mountain with all his strength.

There is not much food in the army now. If we are unable to attack for a long time and are unable to recapture Gaobi Ridge and open up the connection with Linfen Basin, it will inevitably end up with the army being dispersed because of the food shortage.

On the day he arrived in Xihe County, Yang Su sent soldiers to knock on doors and force the people in the city to hand over part of their food rations.

The so-called "nothing wrong" with Min Qiu is actually just a gesture made when he is calm. If he is really pushed into a hurry, who would care about pretending in front of others.

After all, Yang Su still cherished his reputation, so he only forcibly requisitioned grain instead of plundering the entire city. Otherwise, the people of Xihe County would probably be robbed of all the millet seeds they needed for spring farming.

If you really encounter a violent person, such as Qin Zongquan in the late Tang Dynasty, he will not only steal all the people's rations, but also drive out the people in the city to use them as food rations.

But even if Yang Su obtained some food in Xihe County, Xihe is not Jinyang, but a county town with a population of only a few thousand households.

After Yang Su recalled the besieging troops from various places in the southern part of the Taiyuan Basin, he had nearly 180,000 soldiers under his command.

The rations requisitioned from Xihe County are nothing more than a drop in the bucket.

According to the calculations of Feng Deyi, who was in charge of logistics, the food in the army, even if it only provided two meals a day to keep the soldiers half full, could only supply six days' needs. After all, it took many days to go south, leaving Yang

Time is running out for vegetarians.

Early the next morning, the Sui army left the city and headed for Gaobiling.

Cui Che regained Xihe County without any bloodshed.

After the Sui army left, the Yan army came again. The people of Xihe were initially frightened, but after Cui Che learned that Yang Su had confiscated part of their food rations, Cui Che knew that the people could not survive until the autumn harvest with just that little food.

He immediately allocated part of his army rations and distributed them all to the people in the city. Compared with what Yang Su had done before, the people in the city were all grateful for Cui Che's kindness and shouted:

"Long live King Yan."

While enjoying the cheers, Cui Che smiled at the generals and said:

"A little food can win people's hearts, so why not do it? Besides, Yang Liang provided me with all these army rations."

All the generals laughed and praised:

"Your Majesty is wise!"

The Sui army arrived at Gaobiling and set up camp at the foot of the ridge. Mai Tiezhang looked down at the Sui army's camp, whose head and tail could not be seen at a glance, and asked Li Jing:

"Why didn't your Majesty come to Gaobi Ridge first and set up a fortress at the foot of the ridge? If the Sui army wanted to capture Gaobi Ridge, they had to storm the camp. They only need to hold on for a few days, and the Sui army will inevitably collapse."

Li Jing shook his head and explained:

"If your Majesty sets up a stronghold at the foot of the ridge with the main force, and the Sui army turns around to attack Jinyang, the defenders of Jinyang will be panicked and unable to hold on. Once lost, with the supplies in the city, Yang Su will be safe, and what use will it do if we trap Gaobi Ridge.

"If we send fewer soldiers, how can we hold the camp? It will just be a waste of soldiers."

Mai Tiezhang suddenly understood.

Just seeing the Sui soldiers at the foot of the mountain not resting, but making preparations to attack the mountain, Mai Tiezhang couldn't help but look solemn, this would be a tough battle after all.

Mai Tiezhang looked at Li Jing and said seriously:

"The south side of Gaobi Ridge will be handed over to the pharmacist."

Li Jing nodded and said:

"General Mai, please don't worry. Li will not let the enemy in the south get past the enemy."

With Li Jing's promise, Mai Tiezhang was relieved.

In fact, compared to the possible threats to the south, the pressure on Mai Tiezhang to defend the north is greater. After all, Yang Su's main army is gathered to the north of Gaobi Ridge.

As for the enemy forces in the south, they were only temporarily drawn from the troops that besieged Jinzhou, Luzhou and other cities in the Linfen Basin after learning of the fall of Gaobiling.

The Sui army was making preparations to attack the mountain non-stop, and Cui Che, who was stationed in Xihe County, was not idle either. He left three thousand infantry to guard the city, and then led the rest of the army to attack Shuque Valley.

Since the Yan army captured many cities when they went south, Cui Che needed to divide his troops to stay behind. Now there are only 80,000 infantry and cavalry accompanying him towards the Ratque Valley.

Cui Che has walked the road to Ratque Valley many times.

Whether following Yang Guang from Guanzhong to Jinyang, or returning to the court from Hebei via Hedong to report on his duties, Shuque Valley was the only way to pass.

During the Han and Wei dynasties, Mouseque Valley was also called Guanjuejin, which is a homophonic pronunciation of stork, meaning that only storks with wit and strength can fly over it.

Now it is called Mouse Valley, which also means that Mouse is afraid of the road.

The Fen River Valley is formed by the Huoshan Mountains (Taiyue Mountains) and the Luliang Mountains. The Fen River passes through the valley, with rapid water flow, a drop of more than 40 to 50 feet, and a total length of nearly a hundred miles.

The longest and narrowest section of the Fen River Valley is the Rat Bird Valley.

Cui Che did not rush to Mouse Valley in advance to set up an ambush. First, he knew that Yang Su could not pass through such a dangerous place without precautions.

Secondly, he was worried that Yang Su would camp outside Shuque Valley and block him in the valley.

Once blocked in the valley, even if Wei Zheng had great power, it would be impossible to transport food to the army.

By then, it will not only be Yang Su who faces the dilemma of food shortage, but also Cui Che.

This is the reason why Cui Che allowed Yang Su to pass through Ratque Valley.

When the Yan army arrived at Shuque Valley, Cui Che set up camp outside the valley and blocked the exit, effectively blocking Yang Su in the twenty-mile-long Shuque Valley with Gaobi Ridge to the north and south.

Of course, Yang Su also knew Cui Che's intention. The other party wanted to trap him in Shuque Valley.

But Yang Su doesn't care much now. As long as Gaobi Ridge is recaptured, all problems will be solved.

After opening up the connection with the Linfen Basin, whether it is to continue to confront Cui Che in Shuque Valley so that Yang Guang can open up a second battlefield and seize Hebei, or to retreat to the Linfen Basin for a short rest, the initiative will be in his own hands.

A small high-walled ridge can now influence the battle situation in Hedong, and even the fate of Cui Che and Yang Su.

The Mai Tiezhang was still distributed to Li Jing's 1,000 soldiers, and he led the remaining less than 2,000 men to resist the main force of the Sui army.

Fortunately, Yang Su's 180,000 troops gathered in Lingbei could not swarm up to attack the mountain. Yang Su could only invest a few thousand soldiers at a time, which also allowed Li Jing and Mai Tiezhang to divide his soldiers into two groups and rely on the dangerous passes.

Stick to it.

The Sui army launched attacks from the south and north at the same time. This first wave of offensive was resolved by Li Jing and Mai Tiezhang without any danger.

On the hillside, the southern and northern Sui armies each left hundreds of corpses and fled back to their military camps.

However, the same behavior has different consequences.

The soldiers from the south fled back to the barracks without being punished, while the soldiers from the north fled back, but were all beheaded by Yang Su.

(End of chapter)