Dashan Pass among the four passes in Guanzhong is located in Qizhou. It is mainly used to defend against enemies in the south. In addition to this dangerous pass, Qizhou actually has two dangerous passes used to defend against enemies in the west. They are the Dazhen Pass in the north of Longshan Mountain. , Anyi Pass in the south of Longshan Mountain.
The Great Earthquake Pass is located at the top of Longshan Mountain. It is determined by the characteristics of Longshan Mountain and its geographical location. According to legend, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty named Liu Che when he encountered a thunderstorm while climbing here. In the first year of Tianhe in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, it was renamed Daquan Pass to avoid taboos. Ningguan, but after the founding of the Sui Dynasty, it was renamed by its old name. Hundreds of miles south from Dazhen Pass along Longshan Mountain, you reach the intersection of Longshan Mountain and Qinling Mountains. At this strategic location, the Northern Wei Dynasty established another Anyi Pass.
Anyi Pass is located in Nanyou County, Qizhou, and is also the east gate of the Nanyou Ancient Road. When Yang Ji went to Taozhou to annihilate Dangxiang, he entered Qinzhou through this. When he came back this time, he took this strategic passage again.
Although Anyiguan was under the jurisdiction of Qizhou, because Yang Jian was seriously ill at Renshou Palace in the territory, Yang Guang was worried about turmoil during this special period, so he assigned Yang Xiong, the general manager of Yongzhou, to govern Yong County in Qizhou Prefecture and take charge of Qizhou and surrounding areas. State military and political affairs. In order to allow Yang Xiong to have the troops to deal with all changes, Yang Guang also transferred the Left and Right Military Guards, the Left and Right Preparation Offices, and the Left and Right Leading Army Offices to Yang Xiong's accountant. There were 60,000 elite troops transferred from the capital alone. people.
After Yang Xiong took over the military and political power of Qizhou, he ordered Qu Tutong, the governor of Qizhou, to temporarily sit in Anyi Pass as Zuobeishenlangjiang.
In addition to a thousand state soldiers in the pass, there were also 5,000 Zuobei Shenfu soldiers led by Qu Tutong. At this time, Qu Tutong also received the news that the saint was critically ill, and he also knew that Yang Ji was leading the army to march eastward. However, what shocked him were the rumors circulating in Guanzhong: Some people actually said that Yang Ji was visiting sick people in the name of visiting a sick person, but in fact he had evil intentions. Plotting rebellion. The 10,000 soldiers he brought were not the army from the capital that was ready to return, but the Liangzhou army that had been surrendered by Yang Ji. As long as they arrived at Renshou Palace, they would kill the saint, the prince, the king of Jin, the king of Yuzhang, and the Manchu army. The civil and military forces of the dynasty were all caught up in one fell swoop.
Qu Tutong actually didn't believe this ridiculous rumor. Although he also felt that Yang Ji was more unruly and arrogant, during the short period of getting along, he found that Yang Ji loved this country more than anyone else, and he was not like the Chao Dynasty. Hall officials love power so much. He gives the impression that he is lazy. He will never stand if he has the chance to sit, and he will never sit if he has the chance to lie down. He would rather take a group of maidservants to travel around the mountains and rivers every day than stay in the steward's house for a while longer.
If such a lazy guy is ambitious enough to rebel, then there will probably be no loyal ministers left in the world.
However, this is a special period, and Qu Tutong has to be on guard, let alone take risks. After all, he was the former general manager of Ganzhou and knew the combat effectiveness of the Liangzhou Army very well. If Yang Ji, a veteran of hundreds of battles, suddenly launched a coup after arriving at Renshou Palace, he would really have the strength and ability to fight all the way to the top of the mountain.
In the large tent of the military camp, Qu Tutong stood in front of a map and frowned in thought. For a while, he had no choice.
The deputy general Sang Xianhe also understood the general's dilemma, so he whispered: "Provincial Governor, the news about King Wei's evil intentions is just a rumor in the pass, and I think it cannot be taken seriously."
"I also think it's a rumor, and I know King Wei relatively well. If the saint hadn't been ill, I would have let him go without hesitation." Qu Tutong sighed and said worriedly: "But at this time, there are also ghosts and monsters. In this time of rampant relationships, we really cannot afford to be careless.”
Sang Xianhe said puzzledly: "The troops in Qizhou are all soldiers who are good at fighting, and there are at least 100,000 people. What can King Wei do with this army of 10,000 people?"
"I'm afraid that someone wants something to happen to the saint and the prince, and this person is definitely not King Wei." Qu Tutong smiled coldly and analyzed: "Now that rumors are spreading, it not only shows that the saint is seriously ill, but also that someone is preparing to take advantage of him. Such rumors will keep King Wei who is loyal to the prince out of Qizhou so that they can cause trouble for the prince in Qizhou."
Sang Xianhe was speechless. He knew who Qu Tutong was referring to. Didn't the Guanlong nobles who supported the former prince constantly cause trouble when the prince was in charge of the country?
At this moment, a soldier outside the tent reported urgently: "General, there is an urgent military situation coming."
Qu Tutong was taken aback and said quickly: "Come in and report!"
"Here!" A soldier quickly walked into the big account and presented a military message with both hands.
Qu Tutong quickly opened it and took a look. His face suddenly became serious. Sang Xianhe felt something was wrong and asked in a low voice: "Prince, what happened?"
Qu Tutong said in a deep voice: "King Wei's army is moving towards this direction without stopping and will soon arrive outside the pass."
"Ah?" Sang Xianhe exclaimed and was stunned for a moment. Not long ago, they persuaded Liangzhou Procuratorate Principal Shi Yang Shanhui to leave and explained to him the difficulties of Anyi Pass. Why did they suddenly come to kill him with such force?
He glanced at Qu Tutong and expressed his doubts: "King Wei is too unwise, isn't he? Isn't this a way to help others? If they don't let them pass, won't they be able to attack by force?"
"It's not enough to attack by force!" Qu Tutong let out a long sigh, and he was also very embarrassed. He knew that Yang Ji "returned the army" at this time, apparently with the secret order of Prince Yang Guang, and once the saint died of illness , then the prince is the lord of the Sui Dynasty, but the problem is that before the saint died of illness, the prince was always the prince and never had the power to mobilize troops without authorization. If they turned a deaf ear to Yang Ji's army who "rashly" entered the country, it would be a serious dereliction of duty. They will also be severely punished.
Sang Xianhe smiled bitterly: "Then what should we do?"
Qu Tutong thought for a while and said: "I'm going to see King Wei. You lead the army to sit at Anyi Pass and wait for King Ande's order. Once King Ande's order arrives, send someone to notify me immediately."
"That's all we can do now." Sang Xianhe suggested: "Although we asked King Ande for instructions, King Wei may not have the patience. I think we should first notify the defenders of Nanyou City, Liyang City, and Qishan City , let them know that King Wei’s army will march from their defense area to Renshou Palace.”
Qu Tutong sighed secretly. Now rumors are spreading in Anyi Pass. The same must be true for Nanyou City, Mianyang City, and Qishan City that Yang Ji must pass through. If the military commanders are controlled by others or listen to the rumors, I am afraid they will too. Intercept Yang Ji. If Yang Ji is offended by that time, the consequences will be disastrous. However, they have no choice now, so they can only nod and say: "Let's do it like this!"
After reaching a tacit agreement, Qu Tutong led a group of soldiers and ran towards Yang Ji's army.
Qu Tutong galloped five or six miles away when he heard the deafening sound of horse hooves coming to the west. Knowing that the army was approaching, he quickly stopped and ordered his own flag to be flown to show his identity. .
After waiting for about a moment, a long black line suddenly appeared on the horizon in the distance, and countless cavalry wearing black armor swept towards this direction with a fierce and murderous aura. In front of the army, a battle flag with the word "Sui" rustled in the wind.
The scene in front of him shocked Qu Tutong, the former Ganzhou general manager. If this is really the Liangzhou army, then this army already has the momentum of a great army. Compared with the elites of the Twelve Prefectures in the capital, its evil aura is even greater. A few points better.
After seeing Qu Tutong's flag, the army in front slowly stopped. Not long after, Yang Ji came out of the army after hearing the news.
Qu Tutong stepped forward and saluted and said: "Qu Tutong, the humble governor of Qizhou and the general of Zuo Beishenfu who inspected the school, met with King Wei."
Yang Ji saw that he was quite tanned and much thinner than before, so he couldn't help but smile: "Qutu Governor, ruling in Qizhou, is it more difficult than guarding the border?"
"Reporting to King Wei, guarding the border is hard work all year round. But now that the saint is ill, the humble governor of Qizhou is under a lot of pressure. He is worried about a rebellion somewhere, so he is basically patrolling every day. Let's get by." Qu Tutong's hidden message was that we are already troubled and busy enough, so please don't add to the trouble.
Yang Ji also heard what he meant and said calmly: "I know your situation and situation very well. It is also your responsibility to not allow us to pass. I understand all of this."
"Thank you, King Wei, for your understanding." After hearing this, Qu Tutong breathed a sigh of relief. He clasped his fists and saluted on his horse and said, "I intercepted Wang Jia without permission due to my humble position. I will definitely come to apologize in the future."
"There's no need to apologize." Although Yang Ji had an unpleasant experience with Qu Tutong, he was not an unreasonable person. After all, it was Qu Tutong's duty to intercept him. If he was a human or a ghost, he would go to Guanzhong. Let go, that would be a serious dereliction of duty. Moreover, the fact that he was able to run out of Anyiguan to meet him now shows that he also intends to reason with him and is not just stubbornly intercepting him. This move also made Yang Ji feel less angry.
He glanced at Qu Tutong, and his tone softened a lot: "I understand you very well, but you should also understand me. After all, the saint is not only the lord of the world, but also my uncle. He is now bedridden. , you can’t give me a chance to be filial, right?”
"I don't dare to be in a humble position, but Qizhou is now on strict guard and does not allow foreign troops to enter. It is really difficult to be a good person with a humble position in the middle." Qu Tutong smiled bitterly in his heart. Yang Ji and his assistant officers and staff could pass through unimpeded, but the problem is This army is really embarrassing.
Yang Ji frowned and said, "I am returning to the court on the prince's order. Isn't it okay?"
"Of course King Wei can pass, but the army cannot!" Qu Tutong shook his head and added: "I have already sent someone to ask King Ande for instructions. I believe it won't be long before instructions arrive. "
Yang Ji said slowly: "But not only do I have no time to spend here, but I also want to bring these 'personal soldiers' to Renshou Palace."
"Personal soldiers?" Qu Tutong looked at Yang Ji in astonishment.
"That's right!" Yang Ji said: "I am the prince, the general manager of Liangzhou, the governor of Liangzhou, and the general of the right guard. Each position has the power to carry personal soldiers. In addition, Liangzhou is at war. The ratio of soldiers will naturally be doubled, plus the personal soldiers of the princess, military commander, chief historian and others, even if I bring 20,000 people into the customs now, it is reasonable and legal."
Qu Tutong immediately understood that Yang Ji was giving him a chance, and it was indeed reasonable and legal. However, thinking of the rumors in Guan, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart, and told the matter exactly as it was, and finally said: "Maybe in Qizhou, There are rumors like this that are not good for King Wei. I’m afraid it’s not good for you to lead troops into the country at this time, right?”
Yang Ji was stunned, but still persisted: "The rumors stop at the wise man, what do you care about these rumors? Moreover, these rumors clearly hope that I will be afraid and dare not bring my descendants into the pass, so that the people behind the scenes will be in the saint's presence." Something bad happened while I was recuperating. If you don't let me in and I hesitate, then wouldn't we have fallen into these people's tricks? You should know this, right?"
"I know from my humble position." Qu Tutong nodded silently.
"Since you know, why are you still hesitating?" Yang Ji shook his head and said to Qu Tutong: "I won't hide it from you. The prince asked me to bring this army to prevent accidents from happening. If I Whatever happens, the prince and I will be responsible for it, and you just let me in according to the rules, so what do you have to worry about?"
When Qu Tutong heard what Yang Ji said, he suddenly felt awe-inspiring in his heart. He knew that Yang Ji would not deceive him on such a big matter. The current situation in Qizhou was turbulent, and the civil and military officials had different thoughts. As the prince, Yang Guang really needed A capable general who can be entrusted with important tasks is in place to prevent a coup from happening.
While Yang Ji was nominally visiting a doctor, he was actually helping Yang Guang suppress an unknown situation. It can also be seen that the power struggle among the senior officials of the Sui Dynasty has evolved to an extremely serious stage.
Qu Tutong thought for a moment, gritted his teeth secretly, cupped his hands and said: "In that case, then King Wei will enter the pass."
"You finally look like a soldier!" Yang Ji nodded and praised: "You will definitely feel lucky for today's decision in the future."
"I hope so!" Qu Tutong heard this and shook his head with a wry smile.
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Continuation of deduction from previous chapter:
After Yang Jian fell, Yang Guang began to consciously cultivate and train Yang Tong and Yang You. Before he went south to Jiangdu, Yang Tong and Yang You had been in Daxing and Luoyang respectively for many years and had their own teams. However, the young age of his grandson and the tense situation made Yang Guang worried that the Sui Dynasty would follow the old path of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, so he became more and more radical.
We don’t know whether Yang Guang’s original intention of going south to Jiangdu was fear or just wanting to lie down. However, his trip south was by no means a hasty escape as people often say, but he made reasonable and sufficient arrangements in advance:
Before going south, he used Yang You to control Daxing and Yang Tong to control Luoyang. In addition to the "▽" of Daxing, Luoyang, and Jiangdu, he also deployed many generals who were good at conquering and fighting. Externally, he asked Li Jing and Deng Hao to control Liaodong, Zhang Changxun to control Wuyuan, Wang Rengong to control Mayi, and Huangfuwan to control Hehuang... Internally, he also asked Xue Shixiong and Guo Xuan to control Youji and Hebei Provinces, Zhang Xutuo and Yang Zhiji The town of Qingzhou, the town of Xingyang by King Yangqing, the town of Taiyuan by Li Yuan and Wang Weigaojunya, the town of Hedong by Yao Junsu... Many confidants were also placed at various other key nodes.
Although the world was in chaos at that time, it was mostly dominated by "ragtag bandits". Judging from his arrangements and the future performance of many loyalists, it was "theoretically" possible to clean up the mess in the north. It's just that the loyal men Yang Guang arranged in the north not only failed, but because of the constraints of the rules and regulations, they did not dare to open warehouses to help the hungry people who were about to become bandits. Therefore, in people's minds, all Sui officials were Corruption, suppression of rebels, and villains who went against the general trend resulted in these officials and loyalists either dying at the hands of their cronies or being beaten to death by the anti-kings.
Only Zhang Xutuo and Yang Zhiji, withstanding huge pressure and providing timely relief to the victims, could make the situation in Qingzhou slightly better. This also laid the foundation of popular support for the repeated defeats of Wagang in the future. Yang Guang not only failed to hold Zhang Xutuo accountable afterwards, but instead issued an edict to reward him. This shows that Yang Guang was relatively sober during this period, but other officials did not have the courage of Zhang Xutuo. For example, Wang Rengong of Mayi, although he He was very good at fighting, but he didn't have the courage to release food. I am afraid that his official document asking for instructions to release food was stabbed to death by his trusted general Liu Wuzhou before it reached Taiyuan.
The successive failures in suppressing bandits in the north and the growing momentum of rebellion not only prompted Yang Guang to hide in Jiangdu Palace and become an ostrich, but also further aggravated his suspicion. The most typical example was to withdraw Yang Yichen, who had achieved initial victory. , Yang Yichen's efforts were in vain and Dou Jiande was advantaged... In this way, the Sui Dynasty fell into a vicious cycle. Later, even Yang Guang himself died, so Li Yuan and Wang Shichong, who were already ready to make a move, rebelled. (The above is just a personal deduction.)
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