In the official hall of Yique City, Meng Bangjie was checking the seizures from this battle. A soldier came in, crossed his hands and said: "Deputy General Manager, Wang Xiaolie of Ruzhou suddenly dispatched many cavalry and blocked the area around Yique City for ten or twenty miles. It was dark now and we didn't know what was going on outside, so all the cavalry had to enter the city. "
Meng Bangjie was surprised. Asked: "Wang Xiaolie has not participated in the war in Ruzhou for two months, why did he suddenly use cavalry to participate? If so, it is really worrying that he will send out a large army to attack Luoyang tomorrow. Now there are less than a thousand people around the general manager in Luoyang City, how can he resist it? live?"
After letting the soldiers go out, Meng Bangjie thought about it in the official hall, but couldn't think of any way.
According to Lian Gongjin's statement, Wang Xiaolie has not participated in the war for two months, and he will definitely not participate in the war in the future, so he can be ignored. The attack on Zhai's army was arranged accordingly. Otherwise, it would be too risky for Meng Bangjie to lead his main force out. Now that Wang Xiaolie's cavalry suddenly joins the battle, it's hard to estimate what it means.
Pengpo Town is an important town in front of Longmen Mountain. Before dawn, I heard the sound of neat footsteps coming from the street. People who got up early could see a large group of Song troops coming from south to north through the dim light. The team was divided into two lines, with a ranger scouting in front, neat and orderly.
An old man held a bundle of firewood and watched the team go straight to the dragon gate ahead without stopping. Rubbing his eyes, he said: "Yesterday, Captain Zhai's army was just defeated. Where did this army come from? Looking at their military appearance, they are more strict than Captain Zhai's army."
At this moment, a general rode up to the old man and stopped in front of him. Asked: "My father-in-law, how many miles are there from Longmen?"
The old man hurriedly said: "Back to the official, there are still fifteen miles. - Lieutenant Zhai's army was just defeated yesterday. What kind of army are you? Why are you here again?"
The general said: "We are the army of King Jieshuai of Xiangyang. We are here to take Luoyang under military orders! You can stay at home for these two days and don't move around!"
After saying that, a dozen horses headed north.
Looking at the general's leaving figure, the old man murmured: "Prince Jieshuai of Xiangyang, I heard that he arrived in Ruzhou early, why are you here to fetch Luoyang now?"
Looking at the endless army on the street, the troops were in order, no one was making any noise, and no one was harassing the people, they were just heading north silently. In the dim light of the early morning, it looked like a ghost. The old man has lived for sixty or seventy years, and this is the first time he has seen such an army.
In a short time, the streets of Pengpo Town were filled with people. Standing there, watching the army march forward without looking back, there was a lot of discussion.
In this era, when the army marches, there is always a lot of excitement along the way. This is the first time I have seen such a silent army. The soldiers in the team were not wearing armor, and their feet were wrapped in leggings. They moved neatly and moved forward unhurriedly. Every hundred or ten people, there is a team of mules and horses carrying soldiers' armor. The entire team seemed to be in good order, with no trace of panic.
Looking at this army, the people of Pengpo Town couldn't help but feel at ease. Their intuition told them that this army was different from any they had seen before.
As soon as the sun penetrated the clouds and mist and revealed his face, Zhang Zhen had already arrived in front of Longmen Mountain.
The battlefield that had been fought for two months was now quiet, with not a single soul in sight. Bodies were lying on the ground, and swords and guns were scattered all over the ground. The Luoyang defenders did not clean the battlefield at all. Maybe they won't be able to do it for a while.
There were no defensive troops at the foot of Longmen Mountain, where the two mountains faced each other. Only a few soldiers were napping near the wooden city wall built on the road a few days ago.
Zhang Zhen looked at it and said: "Commander Jie is right. The Luoyang defenders have all gone after the Zhai army, and the rear is indeed empty. Retrieving the dragon gate at this time is as straight as picking out something from a bag!"
After saying that, he took Yidu, who was at the front, and rushed straight away without even wearing armor.
The soldiers guarding were still drowsy. Seeing Zhang Zhen's army arriving, he couldn't understand what was going on for a moment and stood there in a daze. It wasn't until he saw the other party rushing towards him that he woke up from his dream and shouted hurriedly.
After the victory the day before yesterday, Meng Bangxiong ordered all the troops guarding Longmen to follow Meng Bangjie to pursue the Zhai army. At this time, there were only twenty or thirty people guarding Longmen. How could they stop Wang Xiaolie's army? In a few breaths, Zhang Zhen took the heads of the defenders and captured this natural danger south of Luoyang.
Zhang Zhen climbed up to the Fragrant Mountain next to him and saw that the surroundings were quiet and there was no one around, as if he was dreaming. Said: "In just two or three days, we took over this natural barrier that blocked Zhai Xing for two months so easily. There is really no reason to explain things in this world!"
Seeing that there were indeed no Luoyang defenders around, Zhang Zhencai went down and ordered the entire army to garrison in Longmen Town.
After attacking for more than 60 miles overnight, the army in Linru Town occupied the Longmen natural barrier with almost no bloodshed. There is nothing dangerous about Luoyang City ahead.
By noon, Zhang Chi's Chinese army arrived at Longmen Town. After a hasty meal, he and Zhang Zhen discussed how to fight next.
Zhang Zhendao: "Since Luoyang was captured by the Jin Army during the Jingkang period, it has never been repaired. Now the inner and outer city walls are crumbling and cannot be defended at all. We might as well wait here for the arrival of the deputy capital commander and attack Luoyang early tomorrow morning."
Zhang Chi said: "There are still more than thirty miles from Longmen to Luoyang. If we wait until tomorrow to set off, we will be just outside Luoyang City. By the time we attack the city, it will be the day after tomorrow. Why don't we go a little way today and camp at the temple in front. There Ten miles away from Luoyang, attack the city early tomorrow morning!"
Zhang Zhen thought for a while and said: "That's fine. The Luoyang city wall is no longer useful. All the siege equipment and the like are left here. Let's move forward lightly!"
The two left their baggage at Longmen, leaving Wang Zong, the commander on the right side of the central army, to guard them. The army moved forward lightly until they stationed themselves near Guan Temple.
In the evening, Zhang Yin arrived at the army. After asking about the situation in the army, he said: "It is best to attack Luoyang early tomorrow morning. Now Meng Bangxiong has become a turtle in the urn. If we arrive early, we can intercept his retreat. I asked clearly that there are currently less than a thousand defenders in Luoyang City. , how can we defend such a large city?"
Zhang Zhendao: "The matter is urgent. Deputy Commander, will Meng Bangxiong escape to the palace? The city walls inside and outside Luoyang have collapsed, and only the palace city can be defended."
Zhang Yin shook his head: "Meng Bangxiong shouldn't have the courage. Besides, when the Jin people came, they didn't care about the palace. They looted everything and left many of them abandoned. Even if they escaped to the palace, they couldn't save Meng Bangxiong. Life!"
Zhang Chi said: "Commander Jie ordered us not to let Yang Wei go. This man assassinated the general in front of the formation. He is a ruthless man. I'm afraid it will not be easy to catch him."
Zhang Yindao: "If we see someone with a similar appearance, we will take it. Wait until Zhai Cong arrives and let him identify it. In a word, as long as we attack fast enough, the enemy will not be able to escape. If we are delayed on the road, then it will be It’s hard to say.”
Zhang Chi and Zhang Zhen said yes together. Ordered to make food at three o'clock tomorrow morning, so we don't have to wait for dawn to set off.
In Luoyang City, Meng Bangxiong was frightened and was at a loss. Seeing Lian Gongjin and Yang Wei entering the official hall, he hurriedly stood up and said: "My lord, who would have thought that Wang Xiaolie's army could attack for sixty or seventy miles in one night and seize Longmen! Now that Luoyang City is no longer in danger, what can we do?" Is it good? What should we do?”
Duke Lian said sincerely: "I didn't expect that Wang Xiaolie would dare to join the battle. It's really unexpected. Manager, you can resist for a while tomorrow, and I will go back to Kaifeng Mansion with Taiwei Yang to bring reinforcements for you. As long as the prince sends troops, Wang Xiao can’t hunt chickens and dogs!”
Meng Bangxiong complained. He said: "Ms. sir, Wang Xiao's tens of thousands of troops have arrived ten miles south of the city. How can I resist the enemy? The defenders in Luoyang City have followed my younger brother to pursue the Zhai family's army. I don't know what the situation is now. There are only a few hundred people in the city. The city wall of Luoyang is not used properly, how can it stop the army!"
Duke Lian said sincerely: "As long as we hold on for a few days, reinforcements will come naturally. There are hundreds of people in charge, and all the strong men in the city are gathered. How can Wang Xiaolie's army attack the city in such a short time? Kaifeng Mansion is not far from here. The prince’s army will arrive soon.”
Meng Bangxiong smiled bitterly: "My lord, please don't deceive yourself. There are only more than 2,000 households in Luoyang City now, and there are not many people even in the prime of life. This time, Wang Xiaolie acted quickly. He is afraid that he will enter the city tomorrow, so what will happen if reinforcements arrive? Use? Alas, my life is at an end!"
What ideas does Lian Gongjin have? Just spinning around in circles. Finally, he said: "No matter what, I must leave the city tomorrow! The situation is critical, and I will go to Kaifeng Mansion to ask for help! The manager must guard Luoyang! As long as you guard, there will always be a way!"
Meng Bangxiong shook his head, too lazy to bother with Lian Gongjin anymore, and sat on his seat with a grimace to think of a solution.
It's nearly a hundred miles from Linru Town to Luoyang. In one day and one night, can Wang Xiaolie's army reach Luoyang? Meng Bangxiong didn't believe it. But ten miles south of the city, the military camp was actually there, which made Meng Bangxiong feel confused for a while.
