Shi Hongzhao had a straightforward temperament, and he was not sloppy in marching and fighting. Early the next morning, he left with the horse army on the left side of the martial arts festival. The Fengguo infantry who had been left behind had no choice but to continue marching at a faster pace. Fortunately, the weather was good along the way and Daizhou was not too far away. After two days of rushing, they finally arrived at the foot of Daizhou City.
Overall, the terrain of Daizhou should be a narrow plain corridor extending from northeast to southwest, with the Hengshan Mountains to the north and the Wutai Mountains in the northern section of Taihang to the east. The terrain is extremely dangerous, and Daizhou is in the center of this corridor. . Since the Central Plains lost the three states of Yunweishuo, Daizhou City has become the gateway to guard the northeast of Hedong, which is of important strategic significance to Hedong.
As soon as the Han army set up camp outside Daizhou City, Shi Hongzhao began to plan the battle: he ordered the national army to capture Yanmen Pass in the north of Daizhou first, and then they would launch a general attack on Daizhou City together with the infantry on the right side of Wujie after they arrived. .
Yanmen Pass is famous in history, and it is naturally no stranger to Guo Xin. He knew that in the near future, the Song people would have a long tug-of-war with the Khitans here, especially the birth of General Yang, who was a household name in China - but he didn't know where Yang Ye was at this time. ?
The Han army scouts had already discovered the reality of Yanmen Pass. Years ago, Liu Chong was summoned by Liu Zhiyuan to gather elite soldiers from the northern states and counties to go south. Therefore, there were not many garrison troops left in Daizhou City, and there was no extra force. Go to Yanmen Pass to guard.
So after a brief night of repairs at the foot of Daizhou City, the Fengguo Army Commander Xie Hui ordered two commanders on the left and a total of more than a thousand people to march to Yanmen Pass.
Yanmen Pass is only 40 miles away from Daizhou City. After marching for more than half a day, the army could already see the shadow of Guancheng. The valley road to Yanmen Pass is extremely narrow, with Guo Xin's visual estimate that the narrowest point is only fifty meters... No wonder there is a saying that one man can pass the pass and ten thousand men cannot open it. How many people and horses can fight in such terrain.
At this time, Guo Xin found that the morale of the troops around him was very high. The soldiers were all gearing up and showed no fear of the upcoming war. He soon realized that this was not only the first battle of the northern camp, but also the first battle of the Han army since Liu Zhiyuan became emperor...
The general Xie Hui did not launch an attack rashly, but ordered all the troops to rest temporarily in a posthouse not far south of Guancheng. After a while, Guo Xin received an order, and Xie Huizhuan sent the above people to discuss matters.
The lobby of the post house has been conquered as the headquarters of the generals. After the two commanders on the left and about a dozen generals each stood beside the two commanders, Xie Hui said: "There are soldiers from Daizhou in the army. Come here." I have asked for details about this place on the way."
As he spoke, Xie Hui walked to a table and motioned for the generals to come forward as well. Guo Xin and others were confused when they saw this, but they still gathered around to watch.
Jian Hui took off the cowhide bag filled with water from his waist, poured it into a pool on the table, and then dipped his fingers in the water and began to draw on the table. Guo Xin immediately understood that Xie Hui was "drawing" a combat map.
Sure enough, Xie Hui pointed to the "map" drawn with water and said: "This is Yanmenguan City, this road is the official road... Our army is currently at this location."
Guo Xin looked at the water stains on the table and thought thoughtfully: Every general has his own style, and the Xie Hui in front of him is obviously not as rough and direct as Shi Hongzhao's military use.
Seeing that everyone nodded to express their understanding, Xie Hui continued: "Although there are not many rebels and horses in Guancheng at the moment, the forests on both sides of the place are deep and unpredictable, and it is easy to send a small group of people to set up an ambush and harass."
Wang Jin on the side clasped his fists: "Should General Mo take a group of troops to explore the surrounding area first?"
Xie Hui shook his head: "This is too laborious. As long as we stay here, we can prevent the rebels from ambush and cut off our army's retreat. In addition, there are several forts north of Guancheng, and there may be hidden treasures in them. There are a few rebels, so be careful when the army attacks the city."
Xie Hui seemed to have remembered Shi Hongzhao's teasing two days ago, and gritted his teeth and said: "This battle is of a tight schedule and cannot be delayed for a day. Order! The fifth command on the right is to guard this place strictly. No movement is allowed without my order. The rest of the armies will follow. I attack the city!"
The generals immediately clasped their fists to accept the order, and there was a sound of "order" in their ears.
The Han army soon approached Guancheng, and the terrain became slightly smoother and wider before reaching Guancheng. The Han army was lined up outside Guancheng. Guo Xin had already put on his armor, equipped himself with swords, bows and arrows, and formed a formation with his third army, waiting for the order from above to attack the city.
Guo Xin looked at Guancheng in front of him, and could vaguely see the shadows of the rebels walking behind the battlements. This battle was not only the first battle of the Han army, but also his first time in battle. It inevitably made him feel nervous, and his heart was beating uncontrollably in his chest.
Not only Guo Xin, the crowd was also restless. Guo Xin couldn't wait for the order from above. This feeling reminded him of a race. The really stressful time was not during the race, but the long time waiting for the starting order.
Guo Xin raised his head and looked at the sun. He estimated that it was already Shenshi. The sun in the mountains would set earlier, and it would get dark in a few hours.
"Brother Yi, look!" Guo Pu next to him suddenly shouted, pointing at the top of the city.
The familiar cry brought Guo Xin back to his senses. He looked in the direction Guo Pu pointed and saw that the flags with the word "Jin" on the top of the city suddenly fell down one by one. It didn't take long. The rebels inside raised another big flag, with the character "汉" written in capital letters on it!
The troops also noticed the changes at the top of the city, and suddenly they all started making noises.
"The city is open!"
"Enter the pass and kill the thief!"
Guo Xin mounted his horse and watched patiently for a while. After a while, the gate of Guancheng in the distance slowly opened from the inside.
Did you decide to vote inside? Guo Xin was surprised but felt that the development of things was reasonable.
The crowd surged bustlingly again, and the originally neat formation became disorganized.
"Stand and wait for orders!" Zhang Chenghua's scolding voice came to his ears.
At this time, I saw several people walking out of the city. After they came out of the city, they knelt on both sides of the road outside the door.
Upon seeing this, Guo Xin knew that the rebels in the pass had surrendered. With his mood settled, he felt a bit regretful that he had not fought the inevitable battle... But he quickly got rid of this dangerous thought in his mind, no matter what It is said that it is always a good thing to be able to achieve the goal without killing.
Soon a messenger cavalry galloped in front of the army and shouted: "The rebels have surrendered! Follow the command to the left and enter the city!"
The troops immediately cheered, and Guo Xin waved to his soldiers: "Enter the city!"
Entering Guancheng, the rebels in the pass have been driven into one place, and their weapons have been confiscated by the Han army and gathered on the ground.
While Guo Xin directed his men to disperse and conduct an inventory, he looked at the "rebels" in front of him who were unaware of current affairs.
He soon noticed that the defenders in Guancheng were sallow and thin, and their eyes were empty and lifeless. How could they look like the warriors he had seen in his own army? It's no wonder that they surrendered simply - no matter how you look at it, it's hard to compete with their own troops.
