Xiao Hong led his army into the high mountains near Yanmen Pass, and could already see the majestic city wall of Yanmen Pass. Xiao Hong ordered the army to set up camp in a terrain backed by mountains. Xiao Hong then prepared to lead dozens of soldiers to approach Yanmen Pass to investigate the enemy's situation. General Xiao Zhanle dissuaded him and said: "General, the Yanyun Army is unusual. If you come so close to investigate, you may encounter danger. General, please think twice!" Xiao Hong said proudly: "You are afraid of the Yanyun Army. I, Xiao Hong, But you don't take them seriously! Just stay behind at the camp and I'll come as soon as I go!" His words were full of heroism, much like Guan Yu's courage when he rode alone to explore the camp. After saying that, he ignored Xiao Zhanle's dissuasion and led dozens of soldiers to rush out of the military camp.
Xiao Zhan frowned, feeling really uneasy. He immediately called a cavalry commander and ordered him to lead his cavalry to follow him.
Xiao Hong led dozens of soldiers to a small hill only five or six miles away from Yanmen Pass. He looked at Yanmen Pass in front of him and saw that Yanmen Pass lay between two steep mountains. It is difficult to fly over. Xiao Hong couldn't help but sigh: "It's such a majestic pass and it's so dangerous that one man can't open it without ten thousand people!" He couldn't help but feel embarrassed, thinking that it would not be easy to break through such a majestic pass, but then he thought: 'I think Yan Yun must When the army saw the momentum of our army, they were so frightened that they ran away. There was no need to attack by force at all! Well, I will mobilize all my troops early tomorrow morning to approach Yanmen Pass, so that the Yanyun Army can fully experience the military might of our Daliao Army! '
Xiao Hong began to observe the situation of the defenders behind Yanmen Gate. However, the weather was not very good and the fog was hazy, so he could not see clearly at a distance of five or six miles. Xiao Hong didn't care too much. He felt that the Yanyun Army guarding Yanmen Pass was nothing more than that and shouldn't be taken too seriously.
After watching for a moment, Xiao Hong was ready to return to the camp. At this moment, the rapid sound of horse hooves was heard in the northeast corner of the hill. The first thought that flashed through Xiao Hong's mind was: 'Who is following?' "Looking around, I saw a group of war cavalry running towards the foot of the mountain at a very fast speed. The horses were like dragons and the men were like tigers, and they were full of murderous intent. Xiao Hong was struck by the momentum of the cavalry team and couldn't help but be stunned. Then he saw the other party's attire clearly. It was clearly Yan Yunjun, and he couldn't help being surprised!
Just when Xiao Hong was in a daze, the team of Yanyun warriors had roared up the hill. Seeing the fierceness of Yan Yun's army, all the soldiers hurriedly fought. In the blink of an eye, the two sides collided and started fighting. Swords and guns were coming, roars were like thunder, and under the cold light, there was blood flying all over the sky. This team of Yan Yun warriors was unexpected. He was so powerful that in just a blink of an eye, more than half of Xiao Hong's soldiers were killed or wounded. Xiao Hong was so frightened that he quickly turned his horse and galloped down from the northwest corner. The remaining soldiers protected Xiao Hong, who was running desperately, while Yan Yunzhan The cavalry roared and chased after him.
The two sides chased and ran down the hill. Screams and the clash of weapons sounded from time to time. Soldiers were constantly cut off from their horses by the fierce Yanyun war cavalry. From time to time, shrill screams echoed among the mountains. Xiao Hong's situation was very dangerous, and his heart was filled with fear.
Seeing that Xiao Hong and others could not escape, suddenly the rumble of horse hooves came from the north. Xiao Hong, who was already frightened, was startled. He quickly looked up and saw nearly a thousand of his own warriors rushing towards him! Xiao Hong breathed a sigh of relief, then waved his riding whip as hard as he could and ran towards them.
When the chasing Yanyun warrior saw this scene, he immediately stopped the pursuit, turned his horse's head and roared away. The Khitan army's war cavalry caught the frightened Xiao Hong, and stopped chasing Yan Yun's war cavalry, and protected Xiao Hong and others back to the camp. When Xiao Hong returned to the tent, he was so frightened that he was speechless for a long time. One of his palms was shaking uncontrollably. The generals stood below, silent, not knowing what to say.
After a while, Xiao Hong basically calmed down, looked up at the generals, forced a smile, and said: "The Yanyun War Cavalry is just that, such a good opportunity can't do anything to get me!" The generals said They all looked at each other and thought in their hearts: The Yanyun War Cavalry almost killed you. If General Xiao Zhanle hadn't sent a thousand-man team to follow behind, your head would have been sent to Yanmen Pass!
In order to break the awkward atmosphere in front of him, Xiao Hong asked Zhanle in a mocking tone: "This Yanyun Army is really ridiculous. They actually use the most elite cavalry as sentinels?"
Xiao Zhanle sighed and said, "Well, the general may have misunderstood. The enemy cavalry that the general encountered today were not their most elite cavalry, but indeed just their sentinel rangers!"
Xiao Hong was shocked: 'Such a fierce warrior is just a patrolling ranger? Then how terrifying are their main cavalry and even the legendary black armored cavalry? ! 'When he thought of this, he couldn't help but feel panic in his heart, and a chill rose on his back. The previous contempt for Yan Yunjun had long disappeared. In his heart, Yan Yunjun seemed to have become A bunch of scary monsters. Xiao Hong originally thought of the army attacking Yanmen Pass. This idea had been shaken at this moment, but in the end he convinced himself: No matter how powerful the Yanyun Army is, its strength is definitely insufficient. I will try to attack the key point tomorrow. If it is easier to fight, Then we will fight. If it is not easy to fight, we will follow King Gao's instructions and station troops at the most dangerous place to attack Yanmen Pass.
Then I thought: 'Yanmen Pass is a dangerous pass. A frontal attack is not a good strategy. The Yanmen Mountains stretch for hundreds of miles. Isn't there a way to bypass Yanmen Pass? 'When I thought of this, my heart lit up, and I felt that I had found a wonderful way to seize Yanmen Pass. I couldn't help but get excited, and immediately said to Xiao Zhanle: "General Xiao Zhanle, you immediately send out the rangers to capture some people. I'm useful!" The generals felt baffled. Xiao Zhanle asked in confusion: "General, I don't know why you are arresting ordinary people?" He couldn't help but think in his heart: "General Zuo doesn't mean to arrest some young people. Beautiful people come to entertain him, right? How can you do such a thing at this time? '
Xiao Hong naturally didn't know what his subordinates were thinking, so he proudly told him the clever plan he had just thought of. The generals only felt their eyes light up, and they couldn't help but look at this General Zuo who had never actually been on the battlefield with admiration. Xiao Hong, who was officially worshiped as General Zuo, was the nephew of Empress Dowager Xiao. During the Taizong period, he was named General Zuo of the Liao Kingdom. His status was second only to several princes and marshals, and was more respected than others like Xiao Lou Shida Lan. All generals of the same category have a high status. However, he did not get the title of General Zuo through military exploits. He got the title of General Zuo entirely because of his father. For a long time, the Khitan army generals, princes and even ordinary officers and soldiers did not think highly of him. They did not understand why Xiao Hong was sent as the deputy of the South Courtyard King this time, let alone why the South Courtyard King ordered him. He was on his own, but after the generals heard Xiao Hong's clever plan, their perception of him couldn't help but change. They felt that General Zuo seemed to be somewhat capable! At this thought, the demeanor of the generals became more respectful!
Xiao Hong said to Xiao Zhanle: "General Xiao Zhanle, you immediately send some rangers to capture the nearby people!" Xiao Zhanle understood that Xiao Hong wanted to get information about remote routes from the nearby people, so he suggested : "General, not all the people around us know the remote paths. Those who know the remote paths are either hunters or medicine farmers. We just need to capture these people!"
Xiao Hong nodded, "It's up to you. Go back quickly. I hope to take action tonight."
Xiao Zhanle responded and ran down. Immediately, Xiao Zhanle's light cavalry left the military camp and captured many hunters and medicine farmers from the surrounding villages and towns. Among them were white-haired and trembling old men, as well as childish children of twelve or thirteen years old. Everyone was trembling with fear. They looked panic-stricken. Judging from their attire, they were either Han or Khitan.
Xiao Hong glanced at them and said loudly: "Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you. On the contrary, if you can answer my questions, I will reward you heavily!" He pointed to a few holders beside him. A sergeant holding a plate of silver ingots. After listening to Xiao Hong's words and seeing the large amount of gold and silver, the Orion drug farmers couldn't help but lose more than half of their original fear. A strong hunter asked loudly; "What does the general want to ask us?"
Xiao Hong said loudly: "You are all hunters and medicine farmers near the Yanmen Mountains. You must know the secluded paths in the mountains, right?" Everyone nodded, and the hunter just now said loudly: "The paths in the Yanmen Mountains , although we dare not say that we know everything, but we basically know it!" Other hunters and medicine farmers nodded in agreement.
Xiao Hong smiled and nodded, "Very good!" He glanced at everyone, "Who among you can tell me the path around Yanmen Pass, I will not only let him go, but I will also reward him with the gold and silver!"
Everyone looked at each other and didn't think about whether they should tell Xiao Hong the way to bypass Yanmen Pass. They just racked their brains to think of which mountain road could bypass Yanmen Pass. However, almost everyone looked troubled. They didn't know the remote path around Yanmen Pass. An hunter shook his head and said: "I have never heard of such a path!" A herb farmer continued: "I have been living in the Yanmen Mountains for more than 20 years, but I have never heard of any path that can bypass it. Yanmen Pass! This is impossible!" Many Orion medicine farmers echoed.
When Xiao Hong saw this scene, he was greatly disappointed and said angrily: "If you can't tell us such a path, no one will be able to leave alive!" When the hunters and farmers heard this, they were all startled and started talking. He knelt down and begged Xiao Hong for mercy. Xiao Hong said sternly: "If you want to survive, tell me what I want to know! I will only give you one day and one night. If you can't tell me the answer I want at this time tomorrow, hum!" All the hunting medicine farmers were shocked.
Xiao Hong said to Xiao Zhanle: "You watch them for me, I will go back to the tent to rest." Xiao Zhanle responded. Xiao Hong turned around and returned to the tent. When I came to the map, I frowned at it and thought to myself: 'What if there is no such a path? ’ He frowned and said, ‘No, there must be such a way! Humph, those unscrupulous people are trying to trick me, but I won’t be fooled. If they refuse to tell me, I will kill some of them to scare them! I don’t believe that we can’t pry their mouths open! '
Just then, footsteps came from the door. Xiao Hong turned around and saw Xiao Zhanle leading a trembling old hunter with gray hair in. Xiao Zhanle saluted and said, "General, this old hunter said that he knows of an extremely secret path that can bypass Yanmen Pass."
Xiao Hong's eyes lit up and he said to the old man: "If you tell me this path, I will be rewarded!" The old hunter thanked you quickly, and then asked cautiously: "General, if, if the common people tell this path, I will be rewarded!" General, can you let everyone go?" Xiao Hong laughed loudly, "Don't worry, as long as you tell me this path, I will let you all go!"
The old hunter said: "As far as I know, there is an extremely dangerous remote road that can bypass Yanmen Pass!" Xiao Hong quickly brought the old hunter to the sand table, pointed at the sand table and said: "Point out that road to me! "The old hunter looked at the sand table and saw a place called Black Dragon Pond, so he pointed at Black Dragon Pond and said: "There is a small road to the south of Black Dragon Pond." Xiao Hong frowned, "I have visited Black Dragon Pond. To the south is Where can there be a road among the mountains and cliffs?" The old hunter said quickly: "I guess the general did not go deeper, but turned back when he saw the steep mountains from a distance?" Xiao Hong nodded. The old hunter said: "There is a mountain road dug by the predecessors by the cliffs in the south. Between the cliffs, it is only three feet wide and can only be passed by one horse. The general only needs to bypass the Black Dragon Pond and reach the foot of the cliff in the south. But you can see that lonely road!”
Xiao Hong was very excited and asked: "Where does the end of the path lead?"
The old hunter pointed to the back of Yanmen Pass, "That path can lead all the way to the back of Yanmen Pass!" Xiao Hong was very happy, glanced at the old man, and said sternly: "If you lie, I will kill your whole family!" The old hunter was frightened. Jumped, hurriedly waved his hands and said: "The common people don't dare! The common people absolutely don't dare! Even if the common people have great courage, they will never dare to deceive the general!"
Xiao Hong called a soldier and ordered the soldier to take the old man down. Then Xiao Hong gave Zhanle some instructions in a low voice. Xiao Zhanle was stunned and asked in confusion: "General, why is this? If you do this, I'm afraid no one will help us in the future!" Xiao Hong said: "It's just that they boldly attacked our military camp, so all of them How can others know the truth if they are killed? I am doing this to ensure that there will be no accidents in our plan! After these people are released, who can guarantee that they will not report to Yan Yuntong? So it is better to die! "
Xiao Zhanle was greatly impressed and saluted, "I'll deal with this now!" Then he hurried out of the tent. The hunters and medicine farmers eagerly waited for the Khitans to release them. The old hunter looked at the plates of gold and silver from time to time, happily thinking about how to use the gold and silver to live a happy life.
Seeing the general named Xiao Zhanle approaching, the old hunter asked impatiently: "General, I don't know, do you know the rewards from the common people...?"
Xiao Zhanle smiled coldly, "The reward will be given to you now!" The old man did not hear the underlying meaning of Xiao Zhanle's words at all, and knelt down to him with great gratitude. Zhan Le waved his right hand, and hundreds of crossbowmen came forward immediately, bending their bows and aiming arrows at all the hunters and medicine farmers. The Orion drug farmers suddenly saw such a scene. They didn't understand what was going on and were stunned on the spot. Hundreds of crossbowmen fired arrows together, and in an instant, arrows rained down. The Orion medicine farmers fell down one after another after being hit by arrows, and screams were heard. Only then did the Orion medicine farmers know that a disaster was coming, and they were panicking and running around like headless flies. They ran wildly, but wherever they could escape, they were all shot down in a pool of blood by powerful arrows. Some of them were lucky enough to escape the arrows, but they were also chopped down by the Khitan soldiers guarding the side with their swords.
In just a moment, hundreds of hunters and medicine farmers were slaughtered like animals. The bloody corpses on the ground were shocking. Xiao Hong stood outside the big tent, looking at the horrific sight of bloody flesh and blood not far away, with excitement in his eyes. Xiao Zhanle ran to Xiao Hong, saluted, and said: "Everything has been solved!" Xiao Hong nodded and ordered: "You, immediately send a large number of light cavalry to kill Yan Yun's sentry riders. I don't want my plan to be ruined by those sentry riders!"
Xiao Zhanle responded and immediately went down to do things. Soon after, more than ten thousand Khitan army light cavalry left the camp and divided into ten teams to kill Yan Yun's sentry cavalry. Seeing the enemy's menacing attack, Yan Yun's sentry cavalry naturally did not rush to pick eggs or rocks with their heads burning, and rushed back to Yanmen Pass.
Yelu Hanyu and others received a report from the sentry cavalry and learned about the massive attack by the Khitan army's cavalry. Yang Jiumei said: "The Khitan army must be preparing for a large-scale attack, so they drove away our sentries!" Yang Erya nodded, "I think so too!" Looking up at Han Bing and Yelu Hanyu, she thought Listening to their opinions, in her heart, these two sisters are the best among women, and their knowledge is always right!
Yelu Hanyu smiled and asked Han Bing: "Han Bing, what do you think?"
Han Bing glanced at Yang Jiumei and Yang Erya, and said: "Sister Yang and Sister Erya are absolutely right. The enemy must be preparing to attack Yanmen Pass in a large scale. There is no other possibility!" Looking at Yelu Hanyu, "We must be careful. Although this Yanmen Pass is a dangerous pass, it is difficult to defend and attack, but we cannot be careless!" Yelu Hanyu nodded, "What Han Bing said is absolutely true!" Han Bing said with a smile, cupping his fists: "Then please Sister Yelu, please assign tasks!"
Yelu Hanyu waved his hand and said with a smile: "That can't be done, Han Bing is the Yanmen coach appointed by the eldest brother, I can't overstep his authority!" The three women all smiled, and Han Bing said: "In that case, you're welcome, little sister! "Then he called the Feifeng female guard and ordered her to beat the drum and gather the generals immediately. The rumbling drums sounded loudly, and the generals rushed towards the big tent in a hurry.
Night has fallen, Yanmen is closed and the lights are brightly lit. Yanyun's soldiers stand on the city wall and are waiting in formation. Their armor and weapons reflect the light of the torches, shining brightly, and it looks brilliant from a distance. The two brothers Meng Hu and Jiao Ting stood on the city wall and looked outside the city. There were many shadows and silence outside the city. Mu Chun said: "Brother, is the chief manager too cautious? This Yanmen Pass is a dangerous pass. The Khitans will hit this place with their heads only if they are impatient!" Jiao Ting glared and said: "Don't talk nonsense! The steward is experienced in battles and has extraordinary resourcefulness. Since she has judged that the enemy is going to attack the key in a large scale, she must be right! We cannot be negligent in the slightest. If we make any mistakes, you and I will not spare our lives, and I am afraid we will be implicated. Thousands of brothers died miserably!" Meng Hu nodded, "I know, I just have some questions in my heart that I don't understand."
Jiao Ting patted Meng Hu on the shoulder, "We brothers, when it comes to strategy, we are fine, but when it comes to loyalty and bravery, we cannot let others down. We don't have to think too hard, let alone be self-righteous. We can just follow the orders of King Yan and the general managers. That’s it! It’s enough if you do this!” Meng Hu nodded.
Jiao Ting turned to look at the shadowy mountains outside the pass. Seeing silence, he said to Meng Hu, "Watch carefully, I'm going to the toilet." Mu Chun said, "Brother, go ahead, I'm watching!" Jiao Ting said He turned around and climbed down the city wall. Meng Hu stared outside the pass with wide eyes.
At this moment, Xiao Hong ordered Xiao Zhanle to lead the army to pretend to attack Yanmen Pass. He himself took Xiao Hu, Zhou Fang, two trusted generals and 30,000 cavalry to quietly leave the camp and rush to the Black Dragon Pond. Today, with God's help, the bright moon is in the sky, and you can see clearly in the wilderness without lighting a torch.
Xiao Hong led 30,000 elites all the way to a small lake. This small lake is the so-called Black Dragon Pool. It is located at the foot of the Yanmen Mountains. To the south is the Yanmen Mountains with mountains and cliffs. mountains. Xiao Hu said to Xiao Hong: "General, this is the Black Dragon Pond. Where is the road?" At this moment, earth-shattering shouts of killing came from the Yanmen Pass in the distance. Although it was far away, it was still thrilling.
Xiao Hong glanced in the direction of the sound, but he couldn't see it through many huge mountains. Xiao Hong smiled and said: "Xiao Zhanle has begun to tackle the key problem. Now Yan Yunjun's attention must be all on Yanmen Shuan, and our operations here will definitely go smoother." Then he said to Xiao Hu: "You, send out scouts immediately, go there Find a road at the foot of the mountain south of Black Dragon Pond!" Xiao Hu responded, ran down, and raised his voice to give orders. Dozens of scouts immediately left the group and ran around Black Dragon Pond to the foot of the south mountain to start searching. Xiao Hong frowned slightly as he looked at the scouts who were searching around. He couldn't help but feel a little anxious. He was a little worried about whether the old hunter had lied to him. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but regret that he shouldn't have killed him so early and should have kept him. Come down to lead the way.
Just when he was thinking so wildly, the sound of rapid horse hooves came from ahead. Xiao Hong retracted his thoughts and looked up, only to see a scout running towards him. The scout rushed to Xiao Hong and said excitedly: "General, we have found a way!" Xiao Hong was overjoyed: "Great!" He immediately led an army of 30,000 people around the Black Dragon Pond and arrived at the foot of a mountain with steep rocks and thick bushes. Down. Xiao Hong found the extremely secluded mountain road under the guidance of several scouts. At the entrance of the mountain road stood a huge rock that rolled down from the mountain, and it was covered by bushes, so it was difficult to see even if he walked close.
After all, what happened next will be explained later.
