The Queshu Valley in Hedong is the choke point between the "Taiyuan Basin" and the "Linfen Basin". It is more than 70 kilometers long, rugged and steep, with Mount Daishan on the top and Jueyuan Abyss on the bottom. It is extremely difficult and dangerous. It was originally called Zhejiang Valley, which means that the road is rugged and steep, and only animals such as Zhejiang can fly.
Queshu Valley is the only way for Jinzhou to march towards Bingzhou. Gaobiling, Jiahu Fort, Queshu Valley and Fenshui Pass in the south of Lingshi County are all dangerous places for Jiezhou. Therefore, as long as Yang Liang controls the southern part of Jiezhou, he can cut off Yang Su's northern route. Yang Liang deployed an army of 230,000 troops in the southern part of Jiezhou. Apparently he planned to annihilate Yang Su's army first and stabilize the situation in the south, and then divide his army to go north to deal with Youshuo Dai's army and Li Zixiong's army in Bingzhou.
However, Yang Liang's deployment of focusing more on the south than on the north took a huge risk, because if either Youshuo's army or Li Zixiong's army broke through the rebel defense line in the north, it would open the way for another army to enter Bingzhou. "Gate" and then surrounded Jinyang City. By then, there will be turmoil in Yang Liang's rear, which will then affect the morale of the southern army. However, considering Yang Su's reputation and the many dangers in Lingshi County that needed to be guarded, Yang Liang had no other choice but to make such a desperate move.
As the commander of Gaobiling's 150,000-strong army, Zhao Zikai was under great pressure. He knew that his own army seemed huge, but elite troops were very rare. Although Yang Su's army in Huoyi County had only 30% of his strength, each of its soldiers was a strong twelve-guard force selected from the Bai Sheng Army; It is impossible to defeat a hundred with one, but to deal with our own soldiers with complex members, there is no problem at all with one against ten. If Yang Su's army breaks into the army, the miscellaneous soldiers will be defeated first, and then it will affect the journey of the elite, and then they will take Yang Liang's rear army and rout thousands of miles.
Therefore, Zhao Zikai felt that the best defense was to attack. He would first use elite troops to withstand Yang Su's army's offensive from the front, and then use miscellaneous soldiers to outflank Yang Su's army from both wings. This would give him half a chance of winning. But he still had to think hard about how to fight and how to persuade Yang Liang, the king of Han in the rear.
Seeing that the night was getting dark and the generals who were patrolling the camp were returning one after another to hand over orders, Zhao Zikai simply summoned the generals to discuss the matter: "Everyone, Yang Su came to Huoyi County in Jin Dynasty today, and the soldiers he brought were also the elite troops in Guanzhong, but he The strength of our army is only 30%, and they have come from Puzhou for a long distance. The whole army is already at the end of its war effort. If it does not take two or three days to rest, its army will not be able to exert half of its combat power. However, most of our army will be at ease, waiting for work. So I decided to take the initiative and annihilate Yang Su's army in Jinzhou. Then, before the imperial reinforcements arrived, I used the momentum of great victory to recapture Jin, Xi, Jiang, Pu and other states, and pushed the battle line back to the north bank of the Yellow River. What do you think?"
Although everyone knew that Yang Liang was rebelling, the banner of their rebellion was "Kill the traitorous king, kill the traitorous ministers, and clear the emperor's side." Therefore, the whole army believed that they were loyal ministers and good generals who were contributing to the country, not rebels. At this time Zhao Zikai still refers to him as "the imperial court", and this is also the reason.
What he said was impassioned, wise, and extremely relaxed. It really made people's blood boil. However, several of the generals had mixed emotions. They already knew from their own "channels" that Youshuo Dai's coalition forces occupied Lanzhou, Li Zixiong stormed Jingxing Pass, Changsun Sheng and Zhang Xutuo stormed Huguan, the west exit of Fukouxing, while Teng Wang Yang Lun and Shi Xiang stormed Danchuan of Zezhou from Taihangxing. So what if the Han king only relied on the few remaining states? Can he defeat the mighty imperial army? The general now plans to take the initiative to attack, and it seems that he is risking his life.
The generals who knew about it looked at each other cryptically, not knowing what to think in their hearts, advise? How to persuade? At this time, anyone who dares to speak like this would, at best, be provoking the status of a general and flouting the prestige of a coach. To put it bluntly, it is a mortal sin that shakes the morale of the army!
Zhao Zikai was a direct descendant of the Zhao family in Guanlong, and he held an important position in every Northern Expedition to the Turks. He had a high prestige in the Bingzhou Army. Even if some generals were not optimistic about this proactive offensive plan, they did not dare to say anything.
Moreover, judging from the current situation, taking the initiative to attack Yang Su is their only chance. If they defeat Yang Su, who is known as the God of War, it will definitely demoralize the imperial army, which in turn can boost their own morale and stabilize the situation. The role of military morale.
Ruru Tianbao, who had retreated to this point, thought for a long time, stood up, bowed his hands to Zhao Zikai, and said in a deep voice: "General, I will support your active attack plan."
Zhao Zikai breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that deputy commander Ruru Tianbao supported his plan. Seeing that the marching commander Wang Shizong was silent, he asked again: "What do Wang Changshi think?"
"I have no objection to my humble position!" Wang Shizong stood up and bowed to the commander, and said with some embarrassment: "But General, the King of Han wants us to stick to Gaobiling. If we send troops without permission, I'm afraid it won't be good, right? Should we ask the King of Han Could you please give me some instructions?"
Zhao Zikai nodded: "Chief Shi's concern is very good. Fortunately, Lingshi County is not far from here. I will immediately arrange personnel to ask the King of Han for instructions and explain to him the necessity of taking the initiative to attack."
"In that case, I have no objection to the humble position." Wang Shizong sat down.
Seeing that both his left and right hands agreed, Zhao Zikai finally showed a relieved smile on his face. He said to the generals: "We will attack Huoyi at dawn tomorrow. Everyone, go down and prepare!"
"I will obey your orders." The generals bowed and retreated.
. . . . . . . .
Lingshi County is located more than 20 miles north of Gaobiling. It is a lower county in the middle of the Hedong region. It is basically not disturbed by foreign tribes from the north. Therefore, the Sui Dynasty did not include Lingshi City in the defense against Turks, and the city it built was small. Not to mention, the county wall is less than two feet high.
Such a small county town naturally could not accommodate Yang Liang's 80,000 troops, war horses, and ordnance. Yang Liang simply set up camp in the open area south of the county town and lived in the Chinese army's tent.
The time gradually reached the fifth watch, and the Chinese army tent was still brightly lit. Yang Liang was pacing back and forth in the tent with his hands behind his back.
The severe situation made Yang Liang restless and restless. Whenever he closed his eyes, he would be awakened by nightmares.
At the beginning of his army, he was as powerful as a tiger. In the blink of an eye, he captured Puzhou at the junction of Yong, Bin, and Yu. His troops were directed at Pujin Pass in Tongzhou. After that battle, everything was as Pei Wen'an expected. Not only was the world in turmoil , Guanzhong was in chaos, and the troops in the capital could not assemble immediately, and the top and bottom were suspicious of each other, and people's hearts were divided. In order to leave a way out for themselves, the officials in the DPRK and the Central Government sent intelligence to those who sent information, and wrote letters of loyalty to others. Of the fifty-two states under the Bingzhou Governor's Office, 23 states took advantage of the situation and raised troops to respond; although the other 19 states did not raise armies, the "chiefs" of each state also wrote to him privately, either explicitly or covertly. expression of support. However, after the defeat of Daizhou and the 50,000 elite troops led by Qiao Zhongkui, the imperial troops from all over the country rose up to fight back, which not only defeated his various eastward expeditionary armies, but also caused the states and counties that supported him to turn against each other.
To this day, he only has Lanzhou, Bingzhou, Shizhou, Jiezhou, Luzhou, Luzhou, and Zezhou left in the Hedong region. Among these seven states, Lanzhou, Zezhou, and Luzhou are in danger. Except for the west side of Luzhou close to the Yellow River, the other three sides of Luzhou were recaptured by the imperial army, and news of its loss was imminent. This means that currently, only Bingzhou, Shizhou and Jiezhou are relatively stable. But how can these three states alone defeat the overwhelming imperial army? Isn’t it just a matter of time before we lose control?
Although he still has two to three hundred thousand troops, these troops are actually state soldiers, farmers who have just put down their hoes, and some soldiers are private troops from various major Guanlong clans.
The Guanlong clan owned a large number of manors in the Taiyuan Basin. Before Yang Liang launched his army, they gave the "farmers" in the manors to Yang Liang as capital to support and invest in Yang Liang. It was precisely thanks to the secret support of the Guanlong clan that Yang Liang had the courage and courage to rebel.
But Yang Liang knew that all the members of the aristocratic family were a bunch of people who didn't get up early. Seeing that his situation was over, those who were afraid of the world's chaos would sooner or later withdraw their capital, and then stab himself in the back. Aren't those Shandong gentry who control Hebei's military and government and promised to support them the best example?
So after all the calculations, the only army he can really use is the 40,000 elites in his hands. How can this small army turn the tide?
unless--
Yang Liang looked far to the southwest, and suddenly thought to himself: "Unless there is a meteorite rain, Yang Guang will be killed in Daxing Palace."
However, the meteorite rain he was expecting did not seem to appear. Instead, he heard bad news. The soldiers outside the door shouted loudly: "There is a fire, Gaobi Ridge is on fire!"
Yang Liang was frightened when he heard this. He quickly picked up the sword from the sword stand and rushed out of the tent. He saw flames shooting into the sky in the direction of Gaobiling. The raging fire was more than twenty miles long. It was obvious that his Gaobiling company was attacked by the enemy. Burned.
With a "dang" sound, Yang Liang's sword fell from his hand to the ground, and his heart fell into the abyss like the sword. He stared blankly at Gaobiling and whispered in a trembling voice: "It's over, it's over. !”
The only 40,000 elite soldiers he can rely on are 30,000 in the Gaobiling company camp. If the fire goes down, none of them will be left. Even if most of the soldiers are alive, they will probably disperse instead of coming back to regroup.
Yang Liang, who had this consciousness, only felt a coldness in his hands and feet, and all his strength seemed to be drained at this moment, and he sat down on the ground dizzily.
"Your Majesty! Are you okay?" Several guards were startled and hurriedly helped Yang Liang up from the ground.
"Report to the king." A group of soldiers rushed over and shouted loudly as they ran: "Information came from the scouts in front. Yang Su's main force is less than ten miles away from the camp. They..."
"What?" Yang Liang was so shocked that his hair stood on end, and he shouted sternly: "Send the order and let Xiao Mohe command the entire army and prepare for battle."
"Your Majesty, Yang Su's army has not come to attack. They have stopped advancing." The soldier said the unfinished words.
"That's good, that's good." Yang Liang's fear weakened slightly, but the sudden and severe situation still made him feel confused.
The arrival of Yang Su's main force not only cut off the retreat of Gaobiling's defeated troops, but also seriously threatened his army. Although his army numbered more than 80,000, the entire army must have been panicked and frightened by the fire at Gaobiling and Yang Su's army. If they were forced to fight, they would probably immediately defect and collapse without a fight.
The only solution for now is to withdraw to Bingzhou and rely on the heroic city of Taiyuan to resist the imperial army.
Just when Yang Liang was about to order the troops to withdraw overnight, Wang Kui, who proposed to join the army, hurried to the tent and shouted: "Your Majesty, the opportunity to win has come."
"The company camp is on fire and Yang Su is here to attack. How can we have any chance of victory?" Yang Liang picked up the sword, veins popped out in the hand holding the sword, and his eyes were full of murderous intent.
The person Yang Liang hates the most right now is none other than Wang Kun. It was because Wang Kun used "three questions" to confuse and intimidate him that he gave up Pei Wen'an's tactics of attacking Guanzhong, which caused the good situation to take a turn for the worse. Now at this critical moment of panic, Yang Liang came to talk about "opportunities to win". How could Yang Liang not be angry?
Instead of feeling the murderous intent in Yang Liang's tone, Wang Kun said happily and cheerfully: "Your Majesty, Yang Su's army has hardly rested since they arrived here from Puzhou. The whole army is exhausted. If we take the initiative to attack at this time, We will definitely be able to turn defeat into victory, easily regain all the lost territory in the southern part of Bingzhou, and then head straight towards the capital..."
"That's enough!" Wang Qi didn't mention that it was okay to directly target the capital. When Yang Liang mentioned that he was threatening him and made him give up the matter of taking the capital, he suppressed the murderous intention in his heart and said coldly: "I have decided to return to Bingzhou and rely on Haoze and Taiyuan City to resist the imperial army."
Wang Kun persuaded him hard: "Your Majesty, Yang Su's army is deep into our position alone. Your Majesty will lead the elite troops and attack in person. We will definitely win a great victory. And there will be a collision with Gaobiling troops behind, and Yang Su will undoubtedly die. If he sees the enemy coming, he will definitely win." Just retreating will make our officers and soldiers think that the king is cowardly, and will destroy the morale and morale of the three armies. In turn, it will increase the arrogance of the other side's army. The king must not return to the army!"
"Shut up!" Yang Liang was so angry that his lungs were about to explode. He tried hard to calm down the anger in his heart, and asked his personal guard general Liang Xiuluo in a calm tone: "Liang Xiuluo, tell me the truth, if our army If we attack, will we win?”
"Absolutely impossible!" Liang Xiuluo originally respected Wang Kun and felt that this man was well-informed and knowledgeable. However, after hearing his bad idea, his nose became angry. He bowed his hand to Yang Liang and said nothing. He said unceremoniously: "Your Majesty, Mr. Wang neither knows himself nor the enemy. It is completely nonsense and paper talk. Your Majesty, you must not listen to his nonsense."
He glanced at Wang Yan who was opening his mouth to argue, and then said to Yang Liang: "Your Majesty, although Yang Su's army is depleted of men and horses, but at this moment, inspired by the fire at Gaobiling, the morale of the entire army is high and its combat power has doubled. On the other hand, our army was already overwhelmed by Gaobiling. It made people panic, and the arrival of the unknown number of Yang Su's troops made the entire army morally defeated and on the verge of collapse. If the king forcibly orders the three armies to fight, our army will definitely collapse without a fight and kill each other. It is best to retreat now. Reorganize in a safe place. When the soldiers saw the enemy clearly at dawn, the panic naturally subsided. In the opinion of the general, it is best to retreat to Jiexiu County first, and then rely on the northern entrance of Queshu Valley to resist. At that time, whether to fight or retreat, Your Majesty can decide based on the number of enemy troops and the morale of our army."
Yang Liang nodded, his anger subdued a little, and ordered: "That's it, send the order, and the whole army will retreat to Jiexiu County."
"Here!" Liang Xiuluo bowed and retreated.
Wang Kun was shocked when he heard this and knelt down and said: "Your Majesty, you must not listen to the slander. This is our last chance!"
"I think what you are saying is slander!" After hearing what Liang Xiuluo said, Yang Liang thought of Wang Kun's previous advice to him to go into battle in person. This was clearly asking him to die!
At this moment, all the old and new hatreds surged into Yang Liang's heart. He grew angry and said ferociously: "Traitor, bastard, you are clearly Yang Guang's spy, otherwise you wouldn't have let me give up." We are in the capital, and now a villain is the first to complain? Go to hell!"
Yang Liang said with gritted teeth, and angrily pulled out the sword and stabbed it into Wang Kun's chest. The long sword passed through Wang Kun's chest. He kicked Wang Kun viciously and pulled the sword from Wang Kun's chest. He pulled it out, and blood spurted all over his head, making him look even more ferocious at the moment.
Wang Yan put his hand on the wound on his chest and fell on his back. He looked at the sky that was burned red by the fire, and slowly closed his eyes full of infinite nostalgia.
"Let's go! Pack up the seals and documents for me!" Yang Liang glared at Wang Kun who was as dead as a dog, then returned his sword to its sheath and strode into the tent with his soldiers.
. . . . . . . . . .
At the same time, Gaobi Ridge was blazing into the sky, and the fifty-mile company camp had turned into a sea of flames. The raging fire and billowing heat wave made Qu Tutong retreat again and again.
He and 10,000 soldiers, led by two guides, marched north along the Huoshan Mountain Road. This mountain road is steep, and some cliffs are like knives and axes. Below the cliffs are piled with various shapes and sharp objects. The rock was as sharp as a blade, and if you fell down, you would definitely die. He spent nearly a thousand soldiers on the mountain road and finally got around to the back of the company camp.
The tents of the fifty-mile company camp were densely packed, one after another, and they were simply camps set up for fire attacks. This was not because Zhao Zikai was stupid, but because the terrain in this area was relatively narrow.
In order to prevent the imperial army from attacking, Zhao Zikai built the front camp relatively sparsely, while the rear camp was built densely because he built the rear army behind him. In addition, he was also worried about a fire in the camp. Not only did he not allow the soldiers in the rear camp to carry fire, he also arranged the Huotou Army five miles away from the junction of Gaobiling and Lingshi County, and asked them to prepare meals in the "kitchen" first, and then Drag them to the military camp and feed them to the soldiers.
Zhao Zikai's more cautious arrangement gave Qu Tutong an opportunity to sneak into the military camp. He found out that the Huotou Army had to deliver cooked food to the military camp before dawn, so Qu Tutong attacked the food delivery team and then took the food on the convoy. All the food was replaced by soldiers and fire, and then they swaggered into the military camp. After killing the guards, they set fire to the company camp.
The Queshu Valley to the north of the military camp is like a vent. It collects the strong wind blocked by the mountains into the valley and rolls it southward with a turbulent force. When the fire breaks out, the fierce wind immediately blows the flames forward. Cause the fire to spread quickly.
The flames were swept to the south of Gaobi Ridge by the wind, and then spread to the east and west. In an instant, red flames flew from tent to tent, forming a sea of red flames that surged into the sky, and soon the entire Gaobi Ridge was engulfed in the fire. .
The 150,000 rebels in the camp were crying for their fathers and mothers, and they were scrambling to escape one by one. They trampled on each other and screamed in the raging fire. Outside the camp, the imperial army was waiting in a tight formation, cutting off the escape route of the rebel soldiers. Along the way, unarmed rebel soldiers were killed in mountains of corpses and rivers of blood. The air for miles around was filled with the strong smell of blood and meat.
In less than an hour, the raging fire engulfed the rebel Fifty Mile Battalion.
As the light gradually grew brighter and the fire gradually extinguished, the Gaobi Ridge that appeared in front of Qu Tutong and others looked like a dark hell. Burnt black corpses were everywhere, and the smell of burnt smell filled the long sky.
The last count showed that there were more than 120,000 corpses of rebel soldiers who had been burned, smoked, killed, and trampled to death. The number of survivors was less than 30,000. If those burned to ashes are included, the number of dead people More and fewer people managed to escape.