Not to mention that Lao Cao was on his way in the mountains, but that Tian Hu's army was in a stalemate with the officers and soldiers in Taiyuan.
Tian Hu raised an army of 100,000 and besieged Taiyuan for more than ten days. After a series of fierce battles, the city walls were already mottled everywhere, and the city was in a mess. Broken swords were everywhere on the ground, and the soil was purple-black with blood and burned. Half of the ladder was filled with wisps of green smoke.
According to Tong Guan's order, the Northern Route Army was led by Han Cunbao, the military envoy of Yanmen in Yunzhong, and Xu Jing, the military envoy of Shangdang Taiyuan, was deputy. They mobilized 30,000 frontier troops to conquer from north to south.
When this order came into the hands of Han Cunbao and Xu Jing, they couldn't help but smile bitterly - without him, a clever woman can't make a meal without rice!
As the saying goes, "Three sides of the pass are unparalleled, and the nine fortresses respect the first pass." Yanmen Pass has been the key to Shanxi since ancient times. In the early years of the Song Dynasty, there were many bloody battles with the Liao army here. They are brave warriors. If it had been that time, not to mention 30,000 troops, but 50,000 or 80,000 troops would have been easily obtained.
However, the two countries have been at peace for a hundred years. Small conflicts are still common, but the real large-scale battles have long since disappeared. The armaments at Yanmen Pass have also gradually relaxed, and they are now considered semi-waste.
According to the Military Register of the Privy Council, Fenyuan County, where Yanmen Pass is located, should now have 50,000 border troops, taking turns to guard the pass. Taiyuan Prefecture should also have 30,000 troops, ready to go north to support at any time. Therefore, Tong Guan's view is that even if he suffers With some free money, it would not be difficult to send out 30,000 troops from two places to fight.
However, Tong Guan was so old and cunning that he could not help but overestimate the integrity of his officers and generals.
Fenyuan County can now fight with soldiers, but the generals only have 20,000.
Taiyuan Prefecture is even more unbearable. Eight of the ten counties under its jurisdiction have been swallowed up by Tian Hu. Only Taiyuan County and Yangqu County to the north are still part of the Song Dynasty. Xu Jing has only 5,000 soldiers and horses in total, including some They were escaped from the eight counties of Tunna.
Han Cunbao did not dare to abandon Yanmen Pass. After thinking for a long time, he left 5,000 men to guard the pass and sent all the remaining 15,000 troops south to join Xu Jing to conquer Tian Hu.
In the eyes of Han and Xu, 20,000 troops were just 20,000 troops, which was only 10,000 less than the court's requirement. Anyway, there was a four-pronged expedition. What big problem could there be if there were 10,000 fewer troops on the northern route?
Unexpectedly, Tian Hu faced the Song Dynasty's four-pronged attack, but happened to be on the north route, risking all his wealth——
On the east and west routes, Tian Bao and Tian Biao were in command, each with only 10,000 troops. Their plan was to unite the local defenders and take advantage of the geographical advantages to resist, only to defend but not to attack. As for Liu Yanqing and Cao Cao on the south road, there were even fewer people, and they all counted on Qiao Daoqing to use shocking means to control the water and defeat the enemy.
Only on the north road, Tian Hu decided to use offense as defense and came with all his strength. Not only did he want to resist the conquest, but he also wanted to take advantage of the situation to invade Taiyuan, seize Fenyuan County, and seize Yanmen Pass.
Tian Hu's strategy is actually good. From his perspective, once he succeeds, his territory will be bordered by the Liao Kingdom. This will give him room to have both sides. If the Song Dynasty is really eager to attack, don't you be afraid that I will dedicate Yanmen to the enemy? Liao country?
Tian Hu's heavy blow caught Han and Xu by surprise. They originally thought that they could only be one of the "Four Ways of Suppressing Tigers", but suddenly they found that they had to shoulder everything on their own - a powerful enemy with five troops. The troops came to attack the Liao Dynasty, and the crusade suddenly turned into a defensive battle. They were in a dilemma, but there was no way to retreat, and they could not retreat to the Liao Kingdom, so they had to grit their teeth and fight hard.
Little did they know, Tian Hu actually regretted it too much. He regretted that he should not have gone to rescue Duan Wu, which resulted in the loss of more than 100,000 soldiers and horses in Henan. Otherwise, if Bian Xiang, Ma Lingshan Shiqi and other brave generals were in front of him, Taiyuan City has been conquered for a long time.
On this day, Fangxuedu, the pseudo-prefect, saw Tian Hu frowning and offered advice: "Your Majesty, the weather has been getting colder these past two days, and the autumn rain is coming. In my opinion, it is better to send an army and horses to recruit several nearby counties. The common people asked them to carry stones to build dams, dig earth to surround the mountains, and directly block the Fen River. When the heavy rain comes, the water will not be released and will inevitably flow back into Taiyuan. Our troops and horses all rode bamboo rafts and went down the river. This is not only In Taiyuan, you can even get Yangqu at your fingertips."
When Li Tianxi, the fake minister, heard this, he applauded and quickly helped to stand up: "Your Majesty, what Fang Taiwei said is a good policy! Moreover, once this group of officers and soldiers is overwhelmed, Fenyuan counties will have soil but no soldiers, and they will be like picking out objects. There was only one Yanmen Pass left, and he was trapped to death."
After Tian Hu heard what they said in a logical manner, he immediately threw all his worries away from the Java Kingdom and laughed and said: "I have such capable ministers as you, so why worry about not being able to seize the Zhao family's kingdom? I will come to Dabao in the future. , you wait for all the princes and princes for eternity."
After casually making a wish, he ordered the palace commander Zhang Xiong and the two commanders Xiang Zhong and Xu Yue to command 10,000 troops and drive all the people from surrounding counties to fill the river. Zhang Xiong was also asked to tell Zhang Xiong in detail. Those people said: "They are all my subjects now, and it is their natural duty to contribute to my great cause. Therefore, they must prepare their own food and grass, and they are not allowed to be lazy in their work."
Zhang Xiong laughed evilly after hearing this and said: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, the young general is the most severe person. If anyone dares to be lazy, the young general will whip him to death."
Tian Hu chuckled and said: "Shuai Zhang, our Jin Dynasty wants to govern the country with benevolence and righteousness, but you can't be so cruel. If there is a unruly citizen who dares to be lazy, cutting him in half will kill the chicken and scare the monkey, so why beat him to death like that?" Cruel?"
Zhang Xiong flattered and said with a smile: "The king is really the master of benevolence and righteousness. The young general has been under the king's command for a long time, and I am afraid he will become a living Bodhisattva sooner or later."
Tian Hu laughed, shook his head and said: "I am a hunter in the mountains. Naturally I am aware of the sufferings of the people, and I naturally treat the people well."
Seeing Zhang Xiong being so flattering, Fang Xuedu secretly disdained him and deliberately insulted him. He smiled and said, "Zhang Dianshuai read the word white. That's not black pottery, but nurturing."
Zhang Xiong blushed and was about to find some words to cover up, but he heard Tian Hu say in surprise: "What? This Black Tao, I have always been thinking about Black Tao. For example, Fang Taiwei is very knowledgeable, and I am often criticized by Black Tao. Could it be that Is Heitao wrong?"
Li Tianxi coughed and changed the subject: "Your Majesty, although it is a clever trick to flood Taiyuan, it cannot be detected by the Taiyuan defenders. During these days, we do not need to attack the city. We only send strong generals under the city to challenge them. They are busy fighting every day. Naturally, there will be no doubt.”
Upon hearing this, Tian Hu nodded repeatedly: "That's right! Too many people died in the attack on the city, so why not challenge him to fight as a general? My uncle has the courage to be unstoppable, so I just beheaded him to demoralize him."
Immediately, he ordered 5,000 Imperial Guard troops, led 20 or 30 generals to the battle, and ordered his uncle Wu Li to go to the city to challenge.
Wu Li was bored in the tent when he suddenly heard a report from the military academy saying that Tian Hu had chosen him to fight. He was overjoyed and stood up immediately - but when he saw this man, he was eight feet tall, with an eight-foot waist, and was wearing chain-locked gold armor. , wearing a gilt lion helmet, a scarlet cloak, a sword and a carved bow hanging from his waist, he picked up his fifty-pound wind-splashing knife from the tent, got out of the tent, mounted his horse, and came to meet in front of the army.
Tian Hu cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Brother-in-law, when we fight with the Song army today, we must kill a few of his ruthless ones to destroy his majesty."
Wu Li said: "I will never let you down!"
This man was originally a powerful and wealthy man. He had the strength to wield a spear and a stick in his bones. His arms had a thousand kilograms of magical power. He was good at shooting a strong bow and was good at wielding a broadsword. Because of his extraordinary beauty, his younger sister Wu Lian'er was married by Tian Hu and granted the title of Wu Li. As a privy councilor, he was known as the "King of Divine Swords" Wu Guojiu!
Uncle Wu Guo rode to the city, reined his horse at a distance, and pointed his sword at the city head: "Hey! Listen to the truth of the Song army on the city. This general is the privy envoy under the command of the King of Jin. I have heard about your Han Cunbao for a long time. Xu Jingdu is a powerful general. He has been besieging the city for many days, but he has not received any advice. It is a pity! Today we will not attack the city, but will fight based on our own skills. Do you have the courage to fight?"
When the two Jiedu envoys in the city heard this, they laughed and said, "I haven't sent out troops for several years, and all the cats and dogs dared to come and bark at me. That's all. I'll kill a few of them today. Okay." Let the world know that although we are old, we are still invincible!"
The two veteran generals were about to go down to the city to fight. Unexpectedly, behind a white-haired deputy general, a young man suddenly took a step forward, cupped his fists and said: "Two adults, that guy is just a rebel, and it's not Tian Hu who acted in person. , how can it be worthy of the general's personal appearance? The junior Zhang DaDa is the junior of General Zong. He has also learned martial arts since he was a child, and he is willing to fight for the two generals. "
Xu Jing looked this man up and down with his old eyes, and said unhappily: "Huh, Old Han, you can teach your people yourself."
Han Cunbao said solemnly: "Zongze, he is not a soldier in our army. How can we bring him out to fight? If the enemy is inside, I'm afraid you can't afford the punishment."
It turned out that Han Cunbao had an extraordinary background and was the nephew of the old master Han Zhongyan. This Han Zhongyan was no small matter. He was the eldest son of Han Qi, the king of Wei County. After his death, Han Zhongyan was given the posthumous title "Wen Ding" and was listed among the 20 emperors of Zhaoxun Pavilion. One of the four heroes.
With such a background, Han Cunbao naturally had a high level of vision and martial arts. He was known as the "Iron Hook Silver Halberd". Later he became a bandit and acquired the habits of the gangsters. After being recruited, he made many military exploits and became more domineering, and he also managed the army. It's not strict.
Zongze was tricked by Lao Cao and was transferred to the position of deputy general of Yanmenguan. He happened to be under Han Cunbao. Who was Zongze? I was most concerned about the country and the people. After arriving at Yanmen Pass, I saw that the military preparations of this ancient and majestic pass were depleted. I was so impressed that I made several admonitions and formed a relationship with the general.
Why did Han Cunbao bring Zongze to the big battle? It was not that he valued his talents, but that he was afraid that he would take advantage of his absence to rectify the customs affairs behind the scenes, so he brought him here specially to keep an eye on him nearby.
When Zongze saw Han Cunbao taking responsibility, he was not in a hurry and said calmly: "The good leader will know that he is the grandson-in-law of the last general. If he is a thief and bandit, the last general will not be so innocent."
When Han Cunbao heard that this was the relationship, he didn't want to be too bullying. He just laughed and said, "The generals in our army are still alive, but it's not your grandson-in-law's turn to take the lead!"
He looked at Zhang Dadan again and said, "You frivolous boy, today I will show you the methods of a real general!"
After that, he ordered a thousand troops, and he and Xu Jing marched into Guancheng in high spirits.
Zongze glanced at Zhang DaDa and saw that there was no emotion or anger on his face. He couldn't help but feel happy, thinking that at his age, if he could be humiliated in public without getting angry, he would definitely become something great. He whispered: "Silly boy, I told you a long time ago that these two Jiedu envoys have been forced to recruit people and have always been domineering. Why do you bother to show your face and only cause ridicule?"
Zhang Bingdao said calmly: "The general of the Jin thief has a broad body and a heavy sword, so he must be a good hand. Although they are domineering, they have also done their best for my Han'er. Moreover, they are old. How can I bear to see him lose his reputation?" Even life.”
Zongze nodded secretly, seeing that he had such a big heart, his love for him became even stronger.
There are some teachings: The sky screams with sorrow and cannot bear to look at it, and fighting always brings misery to the people. He is famous for his reputation as a native of Jin Dynasty, and his voice is bold in Taiyuan.
Mula Today, I wish my brothers a happy holiday!
(End of chapter)
