In a forest behind the mountain, Song Jingang was pacing anxiously. This was a trap he set for Tang Jun. Before Li Yuanji led his army to arrive, he had carefully inspected the nearby terrain. He cut off the water in the mountain stream in order to force the Tang army to move to Jiehe. At the fourth watch last night, he took advantage of the fact that the Tang army outside the city was extremely tired and lax in their defenses. He led a large group of troops to climb down the city wall. He successfully avoided the enemy's sight and secretly came here to set up an ambush in order to completely annihilate the Tang army.
A general came over in a hurry, clasped his fists and said: "To inform the King of Song, the Tang army has entered the valley, but..." Song Jingang's face showed joy, and when he heard the word "but", he frowned and said: "But what?" ?”
"However, there is a Tang army, about two thousand people, guarding the entrance of the valley and refusing to enter."
Song Jingang looked surprised when he heard this, and then nodded and said: "There are experts in the Tang army." He thought for a moment and said sternly: "After launching the attack, you personally led 3,000 soldiers and rushed down the hillsides on both sides. We must seize the mouth of the valley and block the Tang army inside!"
"Yes!" The general clasped his fists, turned and walked away.
The fourth brother led the army into the valley and walked along the official road. There were towering mountains on both sides. From time to time, you could see cliffs standing there, like knives and axes chopping, showing the uncanny craftsmanship of nature. The old bird perched under the rock wall was frightened. It screamed "quack, quack, quack," and flapped its wings and flew over the heads of the soldiers...
The fourth brother was riding on his horse, proudly admiring the beautiful scenery of the mountains on both sides. Suddenly, he discovered that many soldiers appeared on the mountains. He thought his eyes were dazzled, so he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and took a closer look. Yes, there were soldiers wearing helmets and armor and holding crossbows all over the mountains and plains.
"No! There's an ambush!" Fourth Brother shouted and rolled off his horse. As soon as he finished speaking, war drums sounded on the mountain, and a large number of rolling logs and stones were thrown down, blocking the narrowest part of the valley in front. At the same time, arrows rained down like rain, and the soldiers beside Fourth Brother fell to the ground one after another.
The fourth brother was still clear-headed and quickly analyzed the battlefield situation. The exit of the valley had been blocked and it was impossible to rush out. The hillsides on both sides were too steep, and it was not possible to attack them. The only option was to retreat. So, he ordered the generals beside him to immediately command the army to withdraw from the valley.
The enemy troops were condescending, and arrows flew like locusts. The soldiers protected their bodies with shields, and those without shields were shot into hedgehogs. The fourth brother was blocked above his head with a shield by the guards. He kept shouting and ordered the soldiers to retreat quickly. In addition to shooting arrows, the enemy also threw down many rolling logs and stones. The soldiers who were hit screamed and wailed throughout the valley...
At this moment, at the mouth of the valley behind, countless soldiers rushed down from the hillsides on both sides, intending to seize the mouth of the valley. The "Women's Army" formed two lines of defense to guard this lifeline. Initially, the two sides fired arrows at each other, but soon entered hand-to-hand combat. The sounds of slashing, cursing, and screams were intertwined together, making it terrifying.
Song Jingang's soldiers had superior numbers and favorable geographical location, but they were still unable to break through the "Detachment of Women's Army" defense line. This was thanks to the third sister, who lent the most elite main force of the "Detachment of Women's Army" to Li Zhiyun. This troop has been battle-hardened for a long time and is very powerful in combat. Therefore, even though the opponent launched crazy attacks one after another, they were still unable to take a step beyond the limit.
Li Zhiyun had already dismounted and stood beside the war horse. His position was right in the middle of the valley entrance, with soldiers fighting fiercely on both sides. The battle was extremely cruel and the situation was extremely critical. Although he is a prince, he is powerless. Any enemy soldier can kill him. Fortunately, Zhang Zheng and Cai Hu were guarding him. They were physically strong and highly skilled in martial arts. Ordinary enemy soldiers, ten or eight of them, could not get close to them, so they should be able to ensure that he was safe.
While Li Zhiyun was observing the thrilling battlefield, he was thinking in his mind: He must make the pistol quickly, otherwise, if he encounters this situation, he will have no power to protect himself and will only become a burden to others.
The brutal hand-to-hand combat lasted for about as long as a cup of tea, and soldiers ran out of the valley one after another. When they came out, they immediately joined the fight. With the addition of a large number of effective forces, the defense lines on both sides were finally stabilized.
The fourth brother ran out with the last group of soldiers. As soon as he saw Li Zhiyun, he shouted: "Fifth brother, it's a good thing you didn't go in, otherwise, we brothers would have been here today!"
Li Zhiyun didn't say a word, but looked towards the hillsides on both sides. The enemy troops had begun to retreat because they failed to capture the valley entrance.
In the battle of Hulukou, more than half of the more than 10,000 soldiers and horses brought by the fourth brother were lost, and they were no longer able to fight anymore. After discussing with Li Zhiyun, he decided to lead his troops to withdraw to Jinyang.
After Li Zhiyun and his fourth brother returned to Jinyang with the remaining defeated generals, they reorganized their troops and prepared for Song Jingang's attack on Jinyang. However, after Song Jingang won, he did not take advantage of the victory to attack Jinyang. Because, after my father heard that his fourth brother had suffered a defeat, he sent an army led by Youwuwei General Jiang Baoyi and Marching Chief Li Zhongwen to fight Song Jingang.
Liu Wuzhou replenished Song Jingang with some troops. This time, Song Jingang did not stick to Jiexiu City, but took the initiative to attack. He left two thousand men to guard Jiexiu, while he led the main force to fight Jiang Baoyi and Li Zhongwen.
In the land of Jinzhong in May, the sun is like fire and the flowers are fragrant. The wheat in the field has begun to ear, and the breeze blows, rolling up layers of green waves. An army was walking slowly on the official road next to the wheat field. This team was so numerous that it dragged on for more than ten miles without ending. At the front of the team, two generals wearing armor sat on two tall horses. The man on the left is stout, with dark skin and a beard. This man is General Jiang Baoyi of the Youwu Guard. The man on the right is slender, fair-skinned, and has a short beard. He is Li Zhongwen, the marching director.
Jiang Baoyi was one of the generals who followed his father in Jinyang. It is said that he is the grandson of Jiang Wei, the famous Shu Han general in the Three Kingdoms period. I don't know whether it is true or not. He was the commander-in-chief of this expedition. As for the deputy general Li Zhongwen next to him, he can talk about it properly.
At the end of the Sui Dynasty, there was a man named Li Mi. This king was either rebelling or planning a rebellion. Li Mi became the leader of the Wagang Army and turned the Sui Dynasty upside down. In ancient times, rebellion was the first of the heinous crimes, and the nine tribes were to be exterminated. Li Mi was the leader of the rebels, so the Sui Dynasty officials naturally wanted to arrest his relatives.
Li Zhongwen was Li Mi's father-in-law (ancient scholars called his father's brother his father-in-law), so he was naturally hunted down by the army. Li Zhongwen was born into a noble family. His grandfather was Li Bi, one of the Eight Pillars of the Western Wei Dynasty. He originally had a bright future, but ended up being implicated by his unlucky nephew Li Mi and became a wanted criminal by the court. Li Zhongwen was not willing to sit back and wait for death, so he spent all his wealth and recruited an army to protect himself. His team made a living by robbing homes and homes in the Guanzhong area, and they were quite successful.
Li Zhongwen was surrounded and suppressed by the Sui Dynasty official army, and another group of bandits, He Panren, took care of each other with him. The two fought against the Sui army together and formed a friendship during the war. After my father raised an army in Jinyang, my third sister raised a team of several hundred people in her hometown in Hu County. She sent her slave Ma Sanbao to persuade He Panren. With his sharp tongue, Ma Sanbao persuaded He Panren to defect to her third sister. He Panren recommended his good friend Li Zhongwen to the third sister, and the third sister sent Ma Sanbao to recruit Li Zhongwen. Ma Sanbao persuaded Li Zhongwen with his sharp tongue, and Li Zhongwen led his troops to defect to the third sister.
Later, when Abba led the army to attack Chang'an City, Li Zhongwen and He Panren's troops worked very hard. After his father ascended the throne, he was rewarded according to his merits, and Li Zhongwen was appointed Taichang Shaoqing. This time, he was sent by Abba to attack Liu Wuzhou with Jiang Baoyi.
At this moment, Jiang Baoyi was sitting on horseback, setting up a pergola and looking into the distance. He saw a stretch of rolling mountains in front of him, and asked: "General Li, where is the front?"
"This place is called Quesou Valley."
Sparrow Valley? Jiang Baoyi wanted to ask something else, but suddenly he saw a fast horse galloping towards him. When the horse came to the front, the scout immediately reined in the reins, clasped his hands and said, "Inform the two generals that Song Jingang's army has entered Queshu Valley."
"I know," Li Zhongwen waved his hand, "I'll investigate again and report again."
"As ordered!" the scout said, turned his horse's head and galloped away.
Li Zhongwen turned to Jiang Baoyi and said, "General Jiang, the terrain of Queshu Valley is complicated, and Song Jingang is cunning and deceitful. We must be more careful."
Queshu Valley is a valley dozens of miles long. The official road winds and extends forward in the valley, with towering mountains and peaks on both sides. After the army entered Queshu Valley, it didn't take long before they saw a group of about five or six hundred people arrayed in front of them, blocking the official road.
Jiang Baoyi snorted coldly, "Are these few people also want to pluck the hair from the tiger's mouth? Wait for me to rush forward and kill him without leaving a trace!" After he said that, without waiting for Li Zhongwen's reply, he picked up the big knife and He rushed forward immediately. The enemy troops on the opposite side collapsed at the first touch, turned around and ran away. Jiang Baoyi wanted to pursue him, but Li Zhongwen caught up from behind and shouted: "General Jiang, don't chase the enemy when you are in trouble, or you may be ambushed!"
After hearing this, Jiang Baoyi turned his horse's head and spat on the ground, "Well, it's easy for these idiots!" Li Zhongwen looked up at the sun that was already setting in the west and said, "The terrain here is quite open. Let’s set up camp here, shall we?”
"All right."
After the army set up camp, piles of bonfires were lit in the barracks. The soldiers gathered around and began to cook rice.
At night, the weak flame of a small oil lamp swayed, bringing a glimmer of light to the tent. Li Zhongwen was lying on a simple bed and had just fallen asleep when he was suddenly awakened by a loud noise outside the tent. He heard the clash of weapons and the neighing of war horses. He quickly climbed up, put on his armor, picked up his weapon and rushed out of the tent. Not long after he ran, he met Jiang Baoyi who was riding over.
"General Jiang, what's going on?"
"It's okay. Song Jingang sent people to sneak attack the camp, but I have repelled them. You can go back and rest."
Li Zhongwen breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this. He returned to the tent, disarmed and lay down. Not long after he closed his eyes, there was another noise outside, and he had to get up again. Like this, three surprises in one night. Song Jingang was really talented. He learned sparrow fighting and sent small groups of troops to sneak attack the camp again and again. Although he did not cause any big losses, he disturbed the army and kept him awake all night and was exhausted.
