On the steps of the city tower, Yan Chang's face was ashen as he walked in a hurry. Every step he took seemed heavier than before.
The troops at Longtou Pass are in danger, reinforcements have not arrived, food and grass have been cut off, and people are hungry and cold. At dawn today, the Qiang people will lead their troops to attack, and the city will be destroyed.
As snow fell from the sky, Yan Yun took advantage of the situation and proposed a night attack. This was the only opportunity to turn things around, and Yan Chang accepted it.
According to the original idea of the father and son, the two brothers Yanhu and Yanyun each led a group of troops to make a surprise attack in disguise, and Yanchang and Yanlong took advantage of the situation to lead the army to charge.
Do not succeed or die, and the worst result is that all four of them, father and son, die in this battle.
Di You's unexpected visit changed the plan.
What Yan Chang cares about is nothing more than the family members of General Wuwei's Mansion and the continuation of the Yan family's bloodline.
The Yan family's hereditary title of General Wuwei is the supreme honor brought by the shadow of the ancestors. For Yanchang, inheriting and carrying forward this lineage, honoring the ancestors, is his mission and responsibility, and everything must give way to this. Yanlong and Yanhu each have a son, both of whom are still young. Once their fathers die, they will have nothing to rely on. The world is unpredictable, and it is difficult for their wives to support them alone. As long as one of the three sons survives, he will be able to ensure that the family survives the crisis after returning to the royal city.
Although the promise given by Di You may not be fulfilled, it at least makes Yanchang worth looking forward to.
So, which of the three sons should be left to inherit the family's subsequent business?
In terms of martial arts and intelligence, Yan Yun was the first choice, and Yan Chang was very satisfied with him.
The major events that can determine the rise and fall of a family are often not based on individual talents, but are conclusions reached after comprehensive consideration.
Since ancient times, the elimination of elders and the establishment of young ones have been the source of trouble. There is only one title for General Wuwei. If Yanyun inherits it, what will the son of Yanlong and Yanhu think when he grows up? Similarly, even if Yan Yun is righteous and returns this title to his eldest brother Yan Long's son, what considerations will Yan Yun's own son have in the future?
Yanchang had seen too many cases of brothers killing each other and brothers fighting against each other.
The best way is to stamp out the signs of trouble from the very beginning, and according to custom, the eldest son replaces the father.
Therefore, Yanchang made a plan for his eldest son Yanlong to guard Longtou Pass. If the surprise attack was successful, that would be fine.
If it fails, the father and son of Yanhu, Yanyun and Yanchang will not be spared. Yanlong withdraws from Longtou Pass and returns to the royal city.
No matter how foolish King Dayu is, with the blood service of the Yan family and his son in the past, and Di Gong as a lobbyist in the future, he will still be open to Yan Long's net, so as not to kill anyone.
In this way, with Yan Long in charge of the Yan family, even if things go wrong for a while, they will eventually make a comeback.
But Yanchang didn't expect Yanlong to be so indecisive and repeatedly asked Yanyun to guard Longtou Pass, and he himself served as the advance guard.
After Yanchang refused, Yanlong actually made this request in front of all the sergeants.
Yanlong may be purely out of brotherly love, but if his orders are like mountains, how can he just change them?
At this juncture, if Yan Chang agreed to Yan Long's request, it would inevitably leave the impression in the hearts of the soldiers that the commander was hesitant. How could he have the heart to bravely defeat the enemy?
In the current war, this is a taboo!
Yan Chang kept asking himself, is this the eldest son he has high hopes for?
Could it be that my decision was wrong?
Unknowingly, he had arrived at the foot of the city. When he looked up at the sky, he prayed in his heart: The ancestors of the Yan family would bless him.
Yin hour two quarters.
Under the leadership of Yan Yun, a team of 200 people rushed forward in the wind and snow.
In order to avoid alerting the enemy, Yan Yun strictly ordered silence, and tried to use baggage vehicles and large rocks as cover to move in a roundabout way.
The dark Qiang camp was already so close before our eyes that we couldn't see the end at a glance, and we didn't know how many people there were in this contiguous camp.
Probably because of the cold weather, few people were walking around outside the tent.
The Qiang people's camps and positions were surrounded by thick logs to build isolation fences. A torch was stuck on the fence every twenty steps. The wind was so strong that the torches were clearly extinguished, and the light they emitted could not reach far.
Every fifty feet or so, a three-foot-high wooden watchtower was built and connected to the fence, but there were not enough guards on duty, only one archer and one trumpeter.
There is a gap of about ten feet between the fence and the tent to facilitate the passage of troops and horses.
This method of setting up camps was learned by the Qiang people from Dayu. The people who taught them this method probably would not have thought that decades later, it would become a problem for tigers.
If Yan Yun wanted to surprise the enemy camp, he would have to cross the open ground at lightning speed without alerting the guards, lower the fence and enter the camp area.
Yan Yun chose a depression, stuck his head out, took a closer look at the dynamics of the enemy camp, and touched the centurion next to him with his elbow.
The centurion immediately understood, put his fingers in his mouth, and let out a night owl call.
The same night owl call came from the seemingly deserted front. In a place where the torch could not shine, three figures approached, moving extremely quickly.
These three people were spies sent outside the city long ago, responsible for investigating the enemy's situation and establishing the intended target.
As soon as the three of them entered the depression where Yan Yun was, a sergeant took out a wide leather cloth and covered Yan Yun, the two centurions and the spies led by them, a total of four people. There were still a few people caught around the leather cloth. A corner, trying to be airtight.
Inside the leather cloth, the fire folds lit up with a pop, and four big heads were squeezed together, and each other's breathing could be heard.
Yan Yun lowered his voice and said, "Long story short!"
The spy was originally going to show his courtesy as a subordinate. After hearing this, he immediately put down his bowed hands, took out a piece of parchment from his arms and quickly unfolded it.
The Qiang defense plan is painted on the sheepskin scroll, complete with fences, watchtowers, torches, etc. The tents are also depicted, but only on the side near the fence, and the entire center is blank.
The spy said: "General, the Qiang people's defenses have generally remained unchanged."
Yan Yun nodded, indicating that he understood.
On the seventh day when the troops at Longtou Pass approached the city, the enemy camp's defenses were roughly figured out. Yan Yun had already thought of robbing the camp. However, God was not kind to him. In the first month, there was almost no rain, and there was no rain. When a sandstorm comes, there is no time and no conditions to rob the camp, so we can only wait and wait.
What the Longtou Pass defenders didn't expect was that the Qiang people's revolt would last for three full months, and during these three months, it still didn't rain much.
Compared with previous years, the determination shown by the Qiang people this time was extraordinary. It was the first time that Yanchang had encountered this in his more than 20 years of military career.
The Qiang people are nomadic people who are good at riding and shooting. They drive cattle and sheep to serve as military rations in battles. If the attack on the city fails, or the cattle and sheep are eaten, they usually disperse; or if they are beaten several times by the defenders of Longtou Pass, the Qiang people run away. Got faster.
This time it was different. The Qiang people were not in a good position to take out the city. Although the losses were extremely heavy, they received a steady stream of military supplies and personnel, and they worked hard with the Longtouguan defenders until they were exhausted, lost troops and generals, until they were at the end of their rope.
Yan Yun even wondered whether King Dayu and the Qiang people had reached some kind of agreement, with the purpose of burying all four of them, father and son, here, although this possibility was slim.
The spy added: "Maybe it's because the weather has suddenly turned cold. Normally there are three people on the watchtower, but tonight it was replaced by two. With the exception of two towers, they are still full of three people."
Yan Yun perked up and asked, "You mean, that's the position closest to the Chinese army?"
The spy looked troubled and said, "I'm not sure. It may be that the commander in charge gave different orders."
The centurion on one side thought for a moment and said, "Could this be a trick deliberately set by the East Wolf King? To lure us into the trap?"
Yan Yun shook his head. If the East Wolf King who commanded the Qiang people had such a strategy, there was no way that Longtou Pass could last for three months with so few soldiers.
The spy interjected: "Third General, although my subordinates are not sure, they believe that this place is most likely to be close to the Chinese army. The Qiang people are not like our commander who loves his soldiers as his sons. The East Wolf King only cares about his own life. For subordinates, I don’t care much about life and death, so it’s reasonable for the sergeant on duty to change.”
"It makes sense! The East Wolf King is extremely afraid of death. He has not shown his face at Longtouguan for three months since the siege. Even if it is cold, how can the soldiers guarding him dare to change the number of people on duty without authorization?" Yan Yun said sternly. A smile gradually appeared on his face. Soon, the smile faded and he blew out the fire in his hand.
