The reason why Yang Ji has been staying in Shansong City these days is that, on the one hand, the troops at hand and the combat effectiveness of the soldiers do not allow him to provoke Gao Yuan and continue to march to the south; on the other hand, it rains heavily every day. , such weather is not suitable for fighting. If forced to do so, the most sharp crossbows of the Sui army will not be able to play any role, because once the bows and strings of the crossbows are soaked in water, they will become soft and the arrows shot will be lost. The power was reduced by more than 90%, and it could not cause any harm to the enemy soldiers who were hit by the arrow.
Under this situation, if Gao Yuan sent his troops north to attack Shansong City and Lijiabao, Yang Ji could only withdraw his troops and retreat to the north bank of Xiaoliao River in the north. This is not because Yang Ji is cowardly, but because his strength is indeed far inferior to Gao Yuan; in the face of absolute strength, even all his tricks will not work. Fortunately, Gao Yuan didn't plant it.
Gao Yuan clearly had 200,000 to 300,000 elite troops, but not only did he not dare to provoke the Sui army, he instead took the time to ask Yuan Zicheng to gather the soldiers and civilians in the "Guiduanshui-Daliangshui" area; instead, he honestly used money and food to redeem prisoners and wounded soldiers. .
Until yesterday afternoon, 22,000 Xi tribe soldiers led by Yu Zhongwen and 8,000 direct troops of the fallen general Hu Lujin arrived at Shansong City. This unit plus 10,000 Liangzhou soldiers gathered by Yang Shanhui and Wei Yunqi The army suddenly became more abundant in Yang Ji's hands.
The 25,000 Jizhou Army led by Li Jing, the 10,000 Mozhou Army led by Pei Ju and Cui Hongsheng, the 10,000 Yuan Gaochang Tujuli Army, and the 6,000 prisoner army led by Zong Luohu and Xue Wanjun will also be present tomorrow. Arrived later.
The arrival and imminent arrival of these troops finally made Yang Ji breathe a sigh of relief, but the situation was still not optimistic for him. Because Li Zixiong sent someone to deliver a very important military information this morning, which was related to Yang Lun who had disappeared for a long time.
Yang Lun's mission was to go to sea from Wanghaitun in Liucheng County and attack Gaimou City and Anshi City to the east of Liaodong Bay, so as to cut off Gao Yuan's retreat and the southern reinforcements. When they went to sea, they encountered a storm in Liaodong Bay; fortunately, the storm was not big, and Yang Lun used a chain boat to go to sea, so his army did not suffer any losses, but the fleet deviated seriously The established waterway was taken to Changxing Island in the central and western part of the Liaodong Peninsula.
Changxing Island is more than 30 kilometers long from east to west and about 12 kilometers wide from north to south. The terrain on the island is characterized by hilly landforms, with the west being higher and the central and eastern parts being lower. It was the land of Donghu during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and belonged to Liaodong County and Wenxian during the Qin and Han Dynasties. By AD 404, when General Huan Xuan of the Eastern Jin Dynasty proclaimed himself emperor, the Liaodong Peninsula, including Changxing Island, was occupied by Goguryeo.
The Goguryeo people saw that Changxing Island was mild and humid and had four distinct seasons, so they established Changxing County on Changxing Island to manage the main island, exchange island, Fengming Island, Lianhua Island (Xizhong Island), and Luotuo Island, and encouraged the Liaodong Peninsula to settle and develop on the island. Since then, this island that has been deserted for many years has prospered.
Yang Lun was blown here, and he simply killed the small number of island defenders by mistake, and then marched eastward, using Gao Jianwu to defraud Langu City (Wafangdian City), Shicheng, Beisha City, and Muyang City, and ordered The southern end of the peninsula was owned by the Sui Dynasty. Then, in the name of Gao Jianwu, he deceived the defenders of the five cities to go to Lianhua Island, which was far away from the mainland and had the smallest number of people, to defend the Sui navy.
Afterwards, Yang Lun left Mai Mengcai, Qian Jie and 5,000 soldiers to guard Langu City and seal off Lotus Island. He led 20,000 soldiers northward along the coast under the guise of reinforcements. Since the Gaoju Army defenders in the cities on the peninsula were all looking north, and soldiers were ordered to go north one after another, they did not doubt Yang Lun. an army. When they arrived at Gaimou City and Anshi City, Gao Jianwu once again made contributions to the Sui Dynasty.
But Yang Lun's good luck may be coming to an end soon, because Gao Huizhen led an army of 20,000 to take over the defense task of the second city on Gao Yuan's order. At this time, Gao Huizhen should have arrived in Hengshan City, the logistics center of the Goguryeo army. If Gao Jianwu cannot deceive Gao Huizhen this time, a war will be inevitable. Once the two armies go to war, or the news leaks, Gao Yuan will definitely send a large army to attack Yang Lun and re-open the key node connecting the north and the south!
But it is very good now, because the Youzhou Navy encountered this storm and heavy rain, which made Yang Lun's capture of the second city a full thirteen days late; if they had not been blown off the waterway and had not had this accident In thirteen days, this strange army was probably destroyed by the army sent by Gao Yuan as early as thirteen days ago.
Now for Yang Ji, he must fight to the south as soon as possible; only in this way can the safety of this strange army be guaranteed, otherwise, they will perish.
In the lobby of the City Guards Mansion, Yang Ji carefully observed the map, his eyes glancing between Shansong City and Lijiabao City, Huaiyuan Town of Liaodong County, Gaimou City and Anshi City from time to time. After each of the three occupied a point, they formed An irregular "
Li Zixiong's Huaiyuan Town is located at the connecting point in the middle, but he is separated by the Liao River on the west bank of the Liao River. The troops and ships in his hands make him more than capable of self-preservation, but not aggressive enough, so crossing the Liao River is out of the question. Although he dispatched 5,000 soldiers by boat to support Yang Lun in time according to the changes in the situation, once Yang Lun's 25,000 men were divided into two cities, there would not be many troops. If strong enemies come to both cities, they will definitely have to divide some soldiers to frighten the Goguryeo people in the city. In the end, there will be fewer soldiers available to fight.
"Your Majesty, the war between the Sui Dynasty and Goguryeo was very involved, and the Gaimu City and Anshi City occupied by King Teng are extremely critical links. If his defeat causes Gao Yuan to reopen the road south, even if we capture the entire The Liaodong Plain will also make this battle protracted, and the sacrifices will be even greater. General Li Zixiong can no longer divide his troops, otherwise, Liaodong will be in danger!" Hao Yuan sighed and said: "Now it's up to us. As long as we fight to the other side and approach the Liaodong City where Gao Yuan is, the pressure on King Teng will be greatly reduced."
Ling Jing, who was next to him, also said: "Your Majesty, for the current plan, our army has only one way to attack by force. The sooner the better, we must not delay it any longer. As for Yuan Zicheng's army, put it aside first."
"Let's attack with force." Yang Ji also knew that the situation was out of control. Only by moving forward can he take the lead and regain control of the overall situation. Moreover, he mixed 3,000 fake wounded soldiers among the prisoners and wounded soldiers sold to Gao Yuan. As long as they successfully crossed the Daliang River and marched to Liaodong City, these 3,000 soldiers who were transferred to the wounded barracks could be used to their full potential. play a huge role.
If they cooperate inside and outside to conquer Liaodong City and capture Gao Yuan and Yuan Ziyou, it will be a perfect beheading operation. Everything else will become very simple, and Yang Lun's crisis will be easily solved.
"Your Majesty..." Just as Yang Ji was about to issue a combat order, Zhu Can quickly entered the lobby holding a letter and said as he walked: "Your Majesty, this is urgent military information sent by General Han Hong."
"Send it up!" Yang Ji said.
"Here!" Zhu Can stepped forward and handed it to Yang Ji.
Yang Ji opened the urgent report, read it ten lines at a glance, then threw the military information on the table, raised his eyes and lowered his head and said: "General Han Hong's military information said: The Goguryeo general eminent monk Luo Li is stationed in Shicheng Mountain City. Marching eastward, he led more than 30,000 elite soldiers to march towards Lijiabao. At the same time, Gao Yuan's younger brother Gao Dayang led 30,000 elite soldiers, 20,000 to 30,000 auxiliary soldiers and heavy baggage troops across the Daliang River from Xiabao City on the south bank. Its target is also Lijiabao. In addition to a large number of vehicles transporting food, the supplies accompanying this army also include many carts carrying siege equipment. The two armies will arrive at the west and south cities of Lijiabao at dusk."
After a pause, he expressed his feelings: "Judging from the materials prepared by Gao Dayang, Goguryeo is planning to attack Lijia Fort. The enemy's elite soldiers and miscellaneous soldiers add up to 80,000 or 90,000 people, and Yuanzi Once Cheng has arranged the follow-up matters, he will definitely lead his army eastward from Lishan City. Although our army has 30,000 defenders, the walls of this city are low and the defense is not as strong as the big city, so this will be a hard battle. .”
As Yang Ji finished speaking, the atmosphere in the lobby became very solemn and depressing.
Yang Yichen found that even though Yang Ji said this, his expression became much more relaxed. He just thought about it for a moment, his eyes suddenly lit up, he stepped forward and bowed his hands, and said: "Your Majesty, the general thinks this military situation is a good thing!"
"General Yang, let's talk about it!" Yang Ji actually thought it was a good thing. The arrival of this military intelligence at least meant that Yang Lun had not been discovered by Gao Yuan, but he still gave this opportunity to Yang Yichen.
"Here!" Yang Yichen responded and said, "Gao Yuan's large-scale dispatch of troops means that they have not yet discovered King Teng, nor have they discovered that Gaimou City and Anshi City have been lost. This is one of them."
"Secondly, Gao Yuan has some deficiencies in intelligence. At this time, he has not discovered that our army's various armies have arrived. As long as our army takes them by surprise and defeats Gao Sangluo and Gao Dayang in Lijiapu, Yuan Zicheng will leave the remaining The general's morale will be shaken, and the threat to our army will be reduced by at least 70%. In addition, Gao Dayang's ships can be used to cross the Daliang River and seize the already empty Xiabao City, providing a huge supply for our army's continuous and leisurely march south. convenient."
At this point, Yang Yichen saluted Yang Ji and said solemnly: "However, all this must be done quickly. The general thinks it is best to attack strongly today and attack the opponent's two armies separately. Delay will cause changes."
"Since you understand the significance of this battle, the matters of Gao Dayang and Nandu will be left to you." Yang Ji arranged the tasks for Yang Yichen, then looked at the generals below, nodded and said: "Yang Shanhui, Wei Yunqi, Tudiji, Chu and Luo, you lead your troops to obey General Yang's orders."
Yang Yichen's father, Wei Chichong, accompanied by the marching commander Da Xi Changru, led 2,000 elite soldiers to fight against the Turkic army. They were scattered and gathered several times by the Turkic army. They fought and retreated, and finally all their weapons were used up and discounted. The soldiers then used their fists as weapons and continued to fight with the Turkic army until the bones in their hands were exposed. Within three days of fighting, they killed and wounded tens of thousands of enemies.
The Turkic army had many generals and successfully surrounded the remnant soldiers led by Da Xi Changru, but they did not dare to fight in the last battle; what was even more ridiculous was that tens of thousands of Turkic soldiers ran away crying. Even fantasy authors would not dare to write such fantasy things, but this is the fact.
It was precisely because of the Turks' fantasy manipulation that Daxi Changru was able to get out of trouble. However, Daxi Changru also suffered five wounds, including two piercing wounds. Nine out of ten of his soldiers died in battle, including Yang Yichen’s father, Yu Chichong.
In memory of Yuchi Chong's achievements, Yang Jian issued an edict to give Yichen his national surname Yang and to make him his grandson. However, although Yang Yichen was accepted as a descendant of the royal family by Yang Jian, his subsequent official positions, empty posts, and civil and military casual officials were also very high, but his In the late emperor's dynasty, the title was only inherited from the Duke of Qinxing County from his father. Until Yang Liang's rebellion was put down, he was promoted to the county prince by Yang Guang for his military merits.
Yang Guang knew that Yang Yichen was wise, brave, loyal, and honest, so he was determined to promote him as the county king and make this lineage a true royal family. However, Yang Guang was undergoing restructuring and the qualifications for promotion to the title were extremely strict. However, with Yang Yichen's current reputation, achievements, and influence, he was far from meeting the conditions for becoming a county king. So before Yang Ji set off from Daxing City, Yang Guang, like others, asked Yang Ji to open the back door for some people, and the first person he mentioned was Yang Yichen, and asked Yang Ji to give Yang Yichen a chance to make great contributions this time no matter what. , even if he is not enough to be a county king, he must be enough to be a duke.
Yang Yichen was Yang Ji's teacher and nephew, so he naturally raised his hands to support him in opening the back door; what's more, Yang Yichen had a lot of ability, and all he needed was an opportunity to make meritorious deeds, and he didn't have to commit fraud or falsely report his merits. What opens the back door? What's there to hesitate about?
As for Yang Ji himself, he no longer cares about merit and promotion, and as long as Goguryeo is destroyed in this battle, even if he does not fight for it and has no personal merit, he will eventually be promoted. If he has made great achievements, he will demote himself by causing trouble after he returns. In this case, it is better to give all the opportunities to your own people.
"Yes!" All the generals came out to answer the order.
"General Yu!" Yang Ji looked at Yu Zhongwen.
Yu Zhongwen stood up and went out: "The last general is here!"
"You hand over 15,000 Xi warriors to General Yang, and then lead the army to sit in Shansong City to prevent Goguryeo from moving north from here." Yang Ji said.
"General, I obey!" Yu Zhongwen is an old man after all. He has traveled a long distance and his physical strength has been severely exhausted. Although he feels regretful, he has also won a big victory, so he has no objection.
"The eminent monk Luo is the son of Gao Baoning, and we happen to have the sons of their two enemies here." Yang Ji said: "Yin Shishi, Xue Ju, Yuchi Gong, you will follow me to command 20,000 soldiers. Let's meet for a while. This eminent monk."
"The last general takes command!"
"General Hulu Jin, I know the grudge between you and the Gao family very well." Yang Ji looked at Hulu Jin and said with a smile, "Are you willing to go to this battle?"
In fact, he knew that Hu Lujin had no feelings for his old master in his heart and had no idea that it was difficult to face the old past. Otherwise, he would not have led eight thousand surrendered troops to follow Zhongwen south. However, this statement is undoubtedly It gives the other party a very good step, which is also conducive to future control and control.
As Yang Jizhi expected, Hu Lujin did come to perform meritorious service, but he still felt a little embarrassed and ashamed in his heart. Once he heard that Yang Ji referred to this battle as a "family feud", the embarrassment and shame disappeared all of a sudden. Then he stood up solemnly and said: "Thank you very much, Your Majesty, for giving me the opportunity to take revenge. I am willing to go out with you, even if I die."
"Okay!" Yang Ji smiled and nodded: "You lead five thousand soldiers to accompany me and give the other three thousand to General Yu."
"The general will obey your orders!" Hu Lujin was overjoyed when he heard this.
"Go down and prepare! All armies must set off within half an hour. Anyone who disobeys orders or is late will be killed!"
