Under Yu Zhongwen's command was the Youyi Guards, whose combat effectiveness was extremely terrifying, but there were enemy forces to the east and west, and there was a big river to the south. In this case, he could only break out to the north, and then find favorable terrain to reorganize.
But this time he retreated, he was in trouble with the iron staff.
Hit the snake within three inches and attack the enemy's weak point. The Mai Tiezhang has this weak point right now.
Eulji Wende could see that Yu Zhongwen's tribe was not easy to chew, and after losing the Su Lie tribe, Xue Zuo tribe, Mai Mengcai tribe, and Zhu Longsheng tribe, there was only a broken formation left.
Gao Jianwu saw Eulji Wende's black-bone army abandoning Yu Zhongwen and turning to surround Mai Tiezhang. He also adjusted his troops in cooperation and gradually moved towards Mai Tiezhang.
The strength of the troops can be seen at a glance, because in the Sui Dynasty, the left and right Yi guards were the most elite of the twelve guards, and the left and right Bei Shenfu were the most elite in the world.
The two guards in these two houses can be distinguished by just looking at their heads. Five feet and seven inches is the minimum standard, which is equivalent to one meter and seven meters.
In other words, the left and right Yiwei and the left and right Beishenfu are at least 1.7 meters tall, and they are all tall and strong men. You can be thin and you don't want them.
Here in Goguryeo, there are a lot of dwarfs, who are thin and small. Small people are a little scared when they see big people.
So Eulji Wende planned to eat Mai Tiezhang first, and then turn to deal with Yu Zhongwen.
But Yu Zhongwen is not a man who works hard, otherwise Yang Guang would not let him command the You Yiwei who came to protect his children.
When retreating to the north, Tian Shishi, who was in charge of the rear, noticed something was wrong with the enemy army. The barbarians chasing behind him seemed to be driving them away, rather than truly pursuing them.
So he directly ordered the army at the rear to stop, reorganize and line up towards the rear, and the Goguryeo soldiers chasing behind him also stopped.
"Yes, are they feigning pursuit?" Tian Shishi hurriedly said to the flag officer: "Quickly report to the commander, there is a change in the rear, and Mai Tiezhang may be in danger of being surrounded."
In Yu Zhongwen's opinion, the Mai Tiezhang cannot be hung up. He has just been knighted and is His Majesty's favorite. If he lets Mai Tiezhang die here, I am afraid that the emperor will settle the score with him after he returns.
However, in the absence of reinforcements, he was at odds with the two armies of Eulchi Mundeok and Goonmu. If the losses of Youyiwei were too heavy and unable to go south, he would not be able to bear this responsibility.
After much thought, he planned to stop withdrawing northward, form a surrounding formation, and ask for help from Liaodong.
There should be more than 10,000 people in the Mai Tiezhang headquarters, and they should be able to carry it for a few days.
"Fight, it will take at least ten days to wait for reinforcements. Mai Tiezhang is now surrounded and cannot resist for that long," Zheng Detong, who joined the army and recorded the incident, advised.
Yu Zhongwen waved his hand: "In less than ten days, I ask your Majesty to send troops to support, to go to the east to make up for Xue Shixiong's gap. I have already sent someone to send a message to Xue Shixiong. He must approach our army in two days. After we join forces, we will Go south again.”
Xue Shixiong was not far from him, just a day's journey.
Wei Xuan was the general manager of the East Route Army, but when he went to Feiyanling, he only took with him more than 10,000 people, while the total number of the East Route Army was more than 130,000 people.
Ever since Xue Shixiong received the news that Yu Wenshu was crossing the river from Feiyan Ridge, he had guessed that something was going to happen to Yu Zhongwen, and his task was to protect the main force, so he had early mobilized his subordinates Duan Jin, Li Xuantong, and Huang Junhan, totaling 10,000 Eight thousand people came towards Yu Zhongwen.
Fortunately, he reacted quickly, otherwise if Yu Zhongwen's plan was followed, Mai Tiezhang would be dead.
Eulji Wende wanted to destroy Mai Tiezhang first at all costs, while Gao Jianwu and Mai Tiezhang had a grudge against Liaodong and were bent on killing each other.
Mai Tiezhang could no longer withstand it, and kept retreating southward. Further retreat would lead to Yalu River, and there was no way out.
The eldest son Mai Mengcai died in battle, and his head was cut off by the enemy. He was carried by a spear and stood in the military formation of Yiji Wende.
Mai Tiezhang, who had retreated to the forest near the bank, said to Shi Wanbao beside him:
"The defeat of our army has been determined. There are less than 10,000 troops left. You can lead your troops across the river quickly. I will help you here. It is better than being wiped out."
When Shi Wanbao heard this, his heart moved. He wanted to obey the military order and lead people across the river.
But at this time, he thought of his eldest brother Shi Wansui. If the eldest brother was in the current situation, would he abandon the iron rod?
The answer is no. Shi Wansui would rather lose than run away.
Shi Wanbao gritted his teeth: "It is the general's honor to fight the enemy side by side with General Mai. We will share life and death together, so don't mention crossing the river again."
Mai Tiezhang was quite moved, but still advised: "The war on the south bank has begun. If all my troops are buried here, even if I die, I will be ashamed of Your Majesty. Listen to me and let's go."
Shi Wanbao shook his head: "If I really leave this time, I will never look back on my elder brother for the rest of my life. He was demoted by the late emperor to be a soldier of the Dunhuang garrison. He managed to make a name for himself outside the Great Wall with one horse and one gun. The whole world, including the Eastern and Western Turks, will be frightened when they hear the name of Long Live the History. I have followed him for half my life, but today I can only die."
After that, Shi Wanbao returned to his headquarters, fastened his armor tightly, used his shield on his left and his spear on his right, and said to the soldiers behind him:
"They all say that our son-in-law of the Zuo Tun Guard is not as good as the left and right Yi Guards. I think they are farting. Whether they can fight or not, we will see the truth on the battlefield."
There are still three thousand people under his command, all of whom are Shi Wansui's old troops in Zuotunwei. They once followed Shi Wansui to put down the rebellion of the King of Han, but they also broke out with swords, guns and fire.
Then, Shi Wanbao looked at his confidant Zhu Longsheng: "You lead the five hundred people to supervise the battle team. Anyone who dares to take a step back will be killed on the spot, even me."
Zhu Longsheng looked ferocious and nodded fiercely.
After that, Shi Wanbao took a long breath and looked at the road directly ahead, where the enemy scouts could already be vaguely seen.
"Boys, kill them!"
Three thousand infantry marched north along the avenue and plunged into Ulji Mundeok's army.
About an hour later, there was a report from the other side of the river. Pei Xingyan came with four thousand heavy riders and was about to cross the river. Mai Tiezhang was immediately overjoyed and quickly arranged for his men to jump into the river to stabilize the pontoon bridge with manpower so that the heavy riders could cross the river. Come from the other side as quickly as possible.
Since Li Jing learned that Yu Wenshu crossed the river from the dam, he was worried that there would be problems here. However, he did not have many soldiers under his command, so he could only cobble together 4,000 men with Su Lie's heavy cavalry and hand them over to Pei Xingyan. Ask him to rush to Mai Tiezhang as soon as possible.
These four thousand people are life-saving.
"General Manager Zhou sent someone to report that there was movement among the enemy troops in Pyongyang City. It seemed that a large group of troops left the city and headed north last night. It is difficult to determine the number of people," General Fei Qingnu said, "Should we test it out?"
Lai Hu'er shook his head: "It's not the time. Wait and see. It's already approaching July, and Yu Wenshu should be arriving soon. We can't be in a hurry and send more rangers north to confirm whether there are really enemy troops going north. If there is, find out the strength of the troops so that I can make arrangements."
The eldest son Lai Kai said: "Our food and grass can only be used for another fifteen days. After ten days, we must attack the city, otherwise we will not be able to return with the remaining food."
The naval expedition that came to protect the children had to carry a lot of food and grass. They could not bring too much, otherwise they would not be able to carry an 80,000-strong army, and there were only 300 warships.
To be precise, they did not carry any food for the return trip, because the entire Sui Dynasty believed that they would definitely be able to capture Goguryeo this time.
No food or drink? Don't be afraid. If you take Pyongyang, you will have everything.
Since Zhou Fashang stationed troops in the front county, he has had several contacts with the Goguryeo army. Although both sides suffered casualties, Zhou Fashang's losses were very small.
First, occupying the county seat has the advantage of defense, and there is a large army of guards at the rear, who can support at any time. Furthermore, Zhou Fashang is very stable in leading his troops. If you ask him to attack the enemy, it may not work. If you ask him to defend, he will be stable.
Shi Wansui often teased Zhou Fashang for being a coward, and being a coward has the advantage of being a coward.
The character of a general often directly determines the character of the troops under his command.
Fan Zigai on the side smiled and said: "We have no intention of going back empty-handed. If we go back, we will go back with a full load. When the general manager goes south, he will have to fight the main force of the enemy's Wang Division in Sashui. At that time, it will be our opportunity to attack Pyongyang, south of Goguryeo. , trapped by Silla and Baekje, we no longer have an army, so as long as we capture Pyongyang, this expedition will be considered complete."
Cai Ju also echoed: "My army of 80,000 has been stationed here for half a month. During this period, the enemy only made a few attempts. It can be seen that they are afraid of my power and dare not leave the city. According to the general's opinion, they will not wait until the big battle." As soon as the main force of the general arrives, the enemy troops will surrender."
He was right. Pyongyang City currently only has 60,000 defenders. If it is successfully surrounded by Yu Wenshu and Yu Zhongwen, it will be almost impossible to defend it.
However, Gao Yuan can delay. As long as he delays long enough, Yuwen Shuhe will not have enough food and grass to protect his children.
How to drag? Just pretend to surrender.
First send an envoy to contact me, and then start to discuss the terms of surrender. For example, if I surrender, can Sui Dynasty make me a king and let me continue to manage this place?
And negotiation is very time-consuming because it requires bargaining.
Historically, in the late Goguryeo Dynasty, after the death of the powerful official Yeon Gaeso-moon, his three sons fought among themselves for power.
Among them, the eldest son Yuan was the first to surrender to the Tang Dynasty. He also followed Li Ji back to fight Pyongyang, and later became the Right Guard General and Duke Bian of the Tang Dynasty.
San Ziyuan was forced to surrender until he finally surrendered, and was named the founding father of Liaoyang County by Wu Zetian.
Therefore, surrendering may not necessarily lead to death, but may lead to a prosperous life.
Chuluo Khan also surrendered to the Sui Dynasty. Although he was living a useless life at the moment, it was better than being killed.
The leader of a country like Gao Yuan cannot be killed casually because the emotions of the entire Goguryeo people must be taken into consideration. To be precise, it is the Goguryeo aristocratic group that is vassalized under Gao Yuan.
Li Yuan killed Dou Jiande, and Hebei turned against him. This is the reason.
Not killing those who surrender has been a rule of China since ancient times, in order to show the name of benevolence and righteousness, but in fact, there are too many people who kill those who surrender.
When the two armies were fighting, they still didn't kill the envoy. The one who killed the envoy also went to sea.
There is no such thing as integrity since Sima Yi broke the Luoshui oath.
(End of chapter)
