The Taihang Mountains stretch for thousands of miles from north to south, like a huge dragon, dividing the northern land into Hedong and Hebei. Due to its existence, transportation between the two places is extremely inconvenient. In order to break this natural barrier, people successively explored eight important passages in the Taihang Mountains, which are the famous Taihang Eighth Routes.
Among the eight towns, Jingxing, which connects Taiyuan in Hedong and Youzhou in Hebei, is the most important. It has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. There are important military fortresses in the east and west of Jingxing. The side near Taiyuan is called Jingxing Pass, led by Yang Liang. It is guarded by troops, and in the east is the Tumen Pass, which is managed by Youzhou Dan. An endless stream of pedestrians and business travelers pass by it every day.
At noon that day, a massive caravan arrived at Mengshan Town, Shiai County, west of Jingxing Pass. The leader of the caravan was Yang Ji, who was traveling in disguise.
After he received Pei Ju's warning, he divided his troops into two groups, led by Li Zixiong, Zhang Xutuo, and Wei Yunqi. They took hundreds of guards to protect "Yang Ji" played by Dugu Pingyun. He rented a passenger ship from Guanzhong. The Guangtong Canal goes eastward and reaches the Yellow River after exiting Tongguan. It then lands in Liyang County, Weizhou, and goes north to Youzhou from here. This road not only avoids Bingzhou, where Yang Liang has strong rule, but also passes through Yanzhou, where Yang Lun is also in charge, so it is a safer and more convenient route. In addition, ships can travel day and night, and can save a lot of time, so it can It plays a very good role in confusing the enemy.
The other group of troops was Yang Ji who went deep into the tiger's den. He, Yang Shanhui, Xue Ju, Yuchi Gong, Li Daliang, Ling Jing, and Wei Zheng disguised themselves as a caravan heading to Youzhou to buy medicinal materials. In order to better make themselves look like The businessman not only brought more than fifty carts of specialties from Guanzhong, but also put them in the name of the Pei family.
There are two major gentry families in Hedong, namely the Taiyuan Wang family in the north and the Wenxi Pei family in the south. The two major gentry families have coexisted in Hedong for more than a thousand years. They have a tacit understanding of using the central part of Jinzhou as the dividing line of power. The Pei family in the southern part of Jinzhou said After all, after leaving Huoyi County in Jinzhou, it is the world of the Wang family in Taiyuan.
Yang Ji's fake caravan was so large that it attracted people's attention whenever they traveled across the state and counties. However, they had the Pei family card given by Pei Ju, so they arrived at Mengshan Town without incident.
This time he brought one hundred and fifty grooms and entourage, all dressed as royal guards. Before this, these guards had also been tasked with guarding the royal caravan, so the people selected were all highly skilled in martial arts, shrewd and capable. , quick-minded people, they are very clear about the twists and turns of customs clearance, and they are taking care of things along the way, which saves Yang Ji a lot of trouble. In addition, for convenience, Yang Ji also brought Liu Rumei, who was good at disguise.
Not far ahead is Jingxing Pass, the west entrance of Jingxing. After passing this strategic road, it is Yizhou under the rule of Youzhou. On that side, they will face a greater test.
Yang Ji looked at the high sun and said to Wei Zheng: "Old Wei, we must go through Jingxing today and find a restaurant for lunch."
"Okay, I'll make the arrangements right away." Wei Zheng urged the donkey and ran towards the most beloved wine shop on the roadside.
Yang Ji said to Xue Ju and Li Daliang, the leaders of the caravan: "Arrange for everyone to eat, feed the horses, and prepare dry food; we will pass directly through Jingxing in an hour."
"Here!" Xue Ju saluted with cupped fists and went to arrange the caravan's meals and supplies.
After Yang Ji finished his instructions, he walked into the wine shop with Liu Rumei, Yuchi Gong, and Ling Jing who were accompanying him.
It was lunch time, and the lobby was full of business travelers having lunch. Everyone was talking about the purpose of their trip, world affairs, and anecdotes from various places. Their different accents made the whole lobby noisy.
Several tables of guests at the entrance of the lobby caught Yang Ji's attention. These people were tall and had indifferent expressions. Not only did they wear swords, but Yang Ji, who had been on the battlefield, could keenly feel the strong evil aura from them. When Yang Ji and others came in, they all looked up and looked at each other, and then started eating and drinking in silence, as if waiting for someone.
Wei Zheng had already found a table in the corner. He welcomed Yang Ji and others over. After sitting down, he whispered: "Proprietor, I suggest you not to walk into Xing."
"Is it because of those people at the door?" Yang Ji said lightly. The status of merchants in the Sui Dynasty was only one level higher than that of slaves. Except for the caravans of wealthy families, most merchants exuded a humble and timid family spirit from the bottom of their hearts, and most of the guests in the lobby were such people. At first glance, , you can tell from their demeanor and temperament that they are ordinary businessmen with low status and no backing. The tables of diners at the door looked out of place among the businessmen. Judging from their temperament, they were not only martial arts students, but also had killed people.
However, these days there are many retired soldiers, bandits, bandits, and warriors, so the appearance of these people is not surprising, but they dress up as businessmen, which makes people suspicious.
"Yes." Wei Zheng did not look at those people, but said softly to everyone: "I don't think these people are businessmen, but more like soldiers. No"
"Why do you see it? Is it because of their appearance and demeanor?" Yang Ji asked.
"It's not just that!" Wei Zheng was the first person to enter the store. When he came in, he observed it carefully, so he knew these people were different from ordinary businessmen. He quickly said: "They are very polite. When moving chopsticks, there is a vague sense of strict hierarchy, which is a habit developed over many years. This deep-rooted habit is only found in elite divisions, but ordinary soldiers do not have this temperament and habit of."
Yang Ji nodded silently.
"Master, there are two people I know. They are powerful men in Yizhou." Yuchi Gong was also dressed as a bearded man. He sat aside and hesitated to speak. When Wei Zheng finished speaking, he He whispered impatiently.
"Oh?" Yang Ji glanced at Yuchi Gong in surprise, and asked calmly: "What are their names?"
"One is named Wang Xuba and the other is named Wei Dao'er. They are skilled in bow and horse, proficient in the art of war, and both have courage beyond compare." Yu Chigong introduced in a low voice: "When I was a general of chariots and cavalry in Shuozhou, , followed General Yang Yichen to fight north, and they happened to lead a group of fellow villagers to plunder the Turks. When they heard about the Sui Dynasty Northern Expedition, they decisively joined the Northern Expedition."
"Do you know what they are doing now?" Yang Ji smiled bitterly upon hearing this. Aren't Wang Xuba and Wei Daoer one of the rebel kings in the late Sui Dynasty? According to what Yuchi Gong said, the reason why they were able to pull out more than 100,000 people in troubled times was not simply grass bandits who rose up with the trend. Their ability to sweep through Hebei and Hedong was not accidental, but they had already plundered the Turks. methods, and developed rich practical experience and leadership experience.
Yuchi Gong thought for a while and then whispered: "At first, Manager Yang cherished their talents and wanted to keep them in Shuozhou. However, these two people had great ambitions and felt that Shuozhou was too remote and their chances of getting ahead were slim. , so he decided to seek refuge with Yang Liang, King of Han."
Speaking of this, Yuchi Gong's face became slightly hot. He also felt that Shuozhou had little chance at the beginning, so he resigned from the post of Chariot General in Shuozhou Military Mansion and went to join Yang Ji.
Yang Ji didn't have the ability to read minds, so he naturally didn't know what Yuchi Gong was thinking. Even if he knew, he wouldn't think anything of it. After all, it's normal for human beings to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. After all, it's normal for human beings to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. Yuchi Gong was no different. He pondered for a while and said: "It seems that these people are from the King of Han."
He asked Yuchi Gong: "Do you think they recognize you?"
Yuchi Gong smiled bitterly and said: "People probably won't recognize it, but I once competed with them in martial arts, and the steel whip behind my back made them suffer a lot. I'm afraid I can't hide it from them."
"..." Everyone was speechless after hearing this. Before the trip, everyone had already calculated everything. Even Yu Chigong, a native of Hedong, was dressed up so that he could not even recognize his wife. However, they never expected that all their efforts would be defeated. This is a steel whip.
"Proprietor, what should I do now?" Yu Chigong felt very guilty and took off the whip and wrapped it up to hide it.
"Perhaps they can't recognize it, and we don't know!" Yang Ji comforted Yuchi, but he didn't actually have much hope in his heart. After all, Wang Xuba and Wei Daoer were the most powerful rebel kings at the time. How could they have such success? Such a great achievement, how can it be done by a careless person?
Of course, he had no intention of blaming Yu Chigong. Judging from the appearance of Wang Xuba and Wei Daoer, Yang Liang obviously knew his whereabouts and mission, and had set up troops to intercept him at various important roads. Even without Yu Chigong, the secret would probably be revealed sooner or later.
Yang Ji could not help but scare the snake, and let everyone pretend to be unaware of the meal, and then led the caravan to the north. After traveling for more than ten miles, they quickly bypassed a mountain ridge, and Yang Ji gave Li Daliang instructions.
Li Daliang followed the order and rushed into a forest with ten guards, watching closely what was coming. The large army led by Yang Ji continued to move northward.
Not long after Yang Ji and others left, Wang Xuba and Wei Dao'er also rushed out of the wine shop with dozens of soldiers dressed as businessmen and followed the caravan. Li Daliang hid in the dense forest and watched all this. Chase the large army from the other direction.
They finally caught up with Yang Ji in Bailu Town, Meng County, fifty miles northeast of Mengshan Town, and urgently reported everything they saw to Yang Ji.
Yang Ji sighed inwardly, God's calculations were worse than those of others. It seemed that their whereabouts were really exposed by the steel whip.
He thought for a while and asked everyone about his doubts: "If our whereabouts had been exposed, the King of Han would have sent troops to intercept and arrest us, but they only sent people in disguise to follow us. This is a bit incredible. ”
Ling Jing pondered for a while and then said: "Proprietor, maybe they have set up a dragnet in Jingxing. As long as we get in head first, they can surround us from both ends and kill us and annihilate us."
"Proprietor, actually I think so too. If the King of Han knew about the King's mission, I'm afraid he would be frightened and have people block Jingxing. He would rather catch the wrong one than let him go." Wei Zheng looked at Yang Ji. He glanced at it and said, "I'm afraid these people's task is just to track and supervise passers-by. This is why I suggested not to go to Jingxing in the wine shop. What do you think?"
"That should be the case." Yang Ji not only knew that their mission was extremely heavy, but also suspected that his mission had been leaked by someone in the court. If they successfully captured Dou Kang and seized the military power in Youzhou, then Yang Liang would There were tens of thousands more enemies in the sky. How could this not make Yang Liang worried? If it were him, he would also try his best to capture or kill the person responsible for this task in the middle.
Jingxing Pass is the last pass for Yang Liang. If he wants to arrest them, he will naturally start here.
Xue Ju also stepped forward and said: "Proprietor, maybe they have sent people to Taiyuan to inform. We must not let them follow us, otherwise we will just sit back and wait for death, so we must change from passive to active, and the best way is, Just kill all the people who are following you and then abandon the goods, so that you can escape from the enemy's encirclement."
"It's okay to ambush them, but this place is too close to Taiyuan and it will easily attract the attention of King Han. If the army catches up, we won't be able to escape at all." Yang Ji also knew that the situation was urgent. After thinking about it, he said: "Let's go all the way. North, enter Yizhou from Feihuxing in Daizhou, and attack the pursuers on the way."
"I agree with the words of the proprietor." Ling Jing said happily: "Li Jing, the governor of Daizhou, is from the imperial court. No matter how bold the king of Han is, he will never place the first battle in such a remote place. This is incompatible with the suddenness of the war. It is in line with, and not in line with, his interests of rebellion. If we change our route to Feihuxing, we will not only be safe for ourselves, but also disrupt all the arrangements of the King of Han. Secondly, if we fight our opponents on the road, we can take advantage of our numbers."
"Yeah!" Yang Ji nodded. Seeing that Wei Zheng was about to speak but hesitated, he asked, "What is Xuancheng thinking? But it doesn't matter."
Wei Zheng sighed and said worriedly: "Actually, I am not too worried about the King of Han. What I am worried about now is Dou Kang, the general manager of Youzhou. If the King of Han knows about our mission, he will definitely inform Dou Kang. If Dou Kang gets the news, How could he be captured without hesitation? Moreover, he has a very good relationship with the King of Han. Maybe he will respond to the King of Han by raising an army and attack Jizhou directly from Youzhou."
"Now is not the time to worry about these things. There must be a road before the car reaches the mountain, and the boat will go straight to the bridge. When we enter Youzhou, I will have my own way to deal with Dou Kang." Yang Ji said calmly: "The top priority is to get rid of Dou Kang. Get rid of this tracker."
Wei Zheng helplessly raised his hands and said, "Here!"
"Let's go!" Yang Ji waved his hand, and the large army went directly to the north.
. . . . . . . .
Wang Xuba, Wei Daoer and others were the people arranged by Xiao Mohe. Although Yang Ji divided his troops into two groups for safety reasons, since he took over the task of capturing Dou Kang and taking charge of the Youzhou Army, every move around Prince Wei's Mansion was monitored, so when the two groups left, Daxing, their news was sent to Yang Liang by those people.
Xiao Mohe was beyond his reach on the water route, but he knew very well about this group of people passing by. He could not conclude that Yang Ji was in this team, and he did not think that Yang Ji risked his life. The danger was deep in the tiger's den, but no matter what, he couldn't let this group of people enter Youzhou.
