This ancient path is about eighty miles away from Tanggu Road, winding through the mountains. Although few people know about it now, it is still passed down orally in several local villages, and hunters often go up the mountain. I didn’t go very deep, so I don’t know what the situation is like inside.
Young General Liang Dan personally led his men to explore the ancient path. This path was indeed dangerous and narrow, with thorns and weeds everywhere, as well as many snakes, insects and wild animals. But after clearing the path, it was still possible to march.
It's just that the movement is very slow, and it's difficult to transport food and fodder, let alone baggage.
The exit on the other side of the ancient trail is a dense forest. There is a large lake at the foot of the mountain, which was called Yuanzhou in ancient times and is now called Qingze. It is the territory of a group of bandits.
"Let Shi Jun go to Gucheng and trip him first."
Wei Jing smiled coldly, and immediately ordered his men to clear the ancient path, and sent people out of Yi from Tanggu Road to persuade the mountain stronghold to surrender first.
It would be best if they can surrender, but if not, just kill them. There aren’t that many of them anyway.
Chen Qi took the order and left.
The bandit leader Ma Yaozi was a smart man. He saw that the man in front of him had a calm expression, but his eyes were solemn, his shoulders were straight, his waist was straight, and his posture was upright. Even though he was wearing ordinary cloth clothes, he was obviously a military officer who had seen blood. The same goes for his men behind him.
Not only did he agree immediately, he also took the initiative to make contributions.
Ma Yaozi said that he had a way to buy good horses outside the Great Wall, and he had obtained a large batch in the past few days.
War horses are the most precious strategic resource. In the past, the imperial court had extremely strict control over them. But now that the Central Plains is in chaos, many brave people with connections have begun to smuggle horses in from outside the Great Wall.
Ma Yaozi’s brother is one of them, and a batch of good goods is about to arrive. The brothers have a good relationship and are very reliable, so he is willing to join his brother.
Horses are exactly what Wei Jing lacks right now. After the vanguard troops come out of the ancient path, they must immediately raid the Tanggu Road Pass and quickly capture it. By taking over the pass, not only could the Yizhou army use both routes to speed up their exit from Yizhou, but the most important siege equipment, food, and other necessary military equipment needed to be transported out through the Tanggu Road.
This midnight raid requires speed, accuracy and ruthlessness, and the efficiency of cavalry in clearing the way is more than ten times that of infantry. Unfortunately, the ancient path is barely walkable for people but not for horses.
In an emergency, Chen Qi agreed immediately and ordered his men to follow Ma Yaozi's confidants and keep a close eye on them to avoid any fraud.
He personally led people to keep an eye on the stronghold to make sure everything was safe, and then sent people back quickly to report.
Everything was going smoothly on the other side of the pass. Wei Jing ordered to speed up the clearing of the ancient path and to assemble the army to rush to the east of Hanzhong County immediately.
With everyone working together, the ancient path was cleared as quickly as possible. During this period, Wei Jing and others personally checked it out. Shao Qing said that it was really dangerous. In some places, only one person could barely pass through. Horses could not move, let alone grain carts.
This brings up a new difficulty. The Yizhou vanguard army quietly leaves Pingyang. The road is dangerous and it will definitely take a long time. The Yuanzhou stronghold will need a batch of food and fodder.
We can't let the soldiers launch a surprise attack on an empty stomach, can we? For the Ma Yaozi brothers, it was already difficult enough to solve the problem of feeding the horses.
After some discussion, they decided there was no other way but to carry them out manually.
Shao Qing suddenly had an idea: "How about we use a wheelbarrow?"
She thought of the "wooden ox and flowing horse" from her previous life. People in later generations have not been able to clearly debate what the structure of this thing is, but a large number of people believe that it is actually a unicycle.
In fact, narrow and light wheelbarrows have existed for a long time. People in mountainous areas use them to transport all kinds of goods, so Shao Qing, who knows nothing about carpentry, doesn't need to worry about them.
Now that everyone is stationed at the foot of the mountain, it is easy to find a fellow villager and buy a wheelbarrow. After trying it out, it works and is easy to use. It is much easier and more efficient than carrying it on one's back.
The matter was decided on the spot. After Wei Jing gave the order, "Ah Qing is indeed very observant and quick-witted."
His face was beaming with joy. He was very happy to hear Ji Huan and others praising Shao Qing. He felt even happier than if he had won a great victory.
This old man was showing off, Shao Qing pinched him unhappily and said, "Go back quickly, aren't you busy?"
The people of Yizhou were indeed very busy. Preparations for war were going on intensively, and the meeting hall was busy day and night to discuss the final war strategy.
It was the season of spring returning to the earth. The vanguard troops had already emerged from the ancient path, lying in wait, and the main army had gathered in front of Tanggu Road.
On the third day of February, it is the Spring Festival, when people pray for a good harvest and offer sacrifices. During this festival when both the government and the people are celebrating, Wei Jingling leads a surprise attack on the Tanggu Road Pass.
The first battle of Chuyi was launched with the attack on Pingyang County.
The battle can only begin after a successful surprise attack on Hanzhong County and the pass is opened, but all the soldiers are ready for battle.
The guards brought the armor, and Shao Qing helped Wei Jing put it on.
After fastening the last buckle with a Qilin pattern carved on it, Shao Qing took a step back and looked at this handsome and imposing man.
Today, he was no longer wearing the crude red armor that he had worn when he conquered Tao and the barbarians in the past. Instead, he was wearing a refined set of bright halo chain mail that shone with silver light under the candlelight. He looked so heroic that one could ignore everything else.
However, Shao Qing's concern remained unchanged. She took a deep breath and said loudly, "My husband will win this battle!"
She raised her face, her eyes sparkling, her lacquered pupils reflecting only him, focused and concerned.
Wei Jing took a step forward, leaned over and kissed her bright red lips with great force: "Wait for me to come back, I will come back to pick you up after I take Pingyang."
After looking at each other for a moment, he turned around and strode away.
…
Chen Qi led the vanguard army to attack the Tanggu Road Pass at night. It went very smoothly. In less than an hour, there was a loud "bang" and the heavy city gate slowly opened.
Wei Jing ordered: "Go at full speed and cross Tanggu Road as soon as possible!"
…
In the dark night, the Yizhou army marched into Pingyang.
When Shi Zhuo received the urgent military report, it was already too late. Most of the day had passed since the pass was lost.
The nearest defenders rushed over and tried to counterattack, but the pass was already guarded by the vanguard troops, and the reinforcements were ambushed and wiped out.
The only thing to be thankful for is that the Tanggu Road is too narrow, and it will certainly take a long time for the Yizhou army to cross it, and the army is definitely not fully assembled yet.
But it won't be long.
Shi Zhuo was shocked and angry. He no longer cared about his eldest son who was trapped in Yizhou. He immediately ordered: "Quickly, send a message to the southern border. All the generals should lead their troops to Tangdaokou immediately to stop Yang the bandit!"
"Your Majesty, you can't do that!"
Tian Shang hurriedly stopped him: "No, my lord! The soldiers in the southern border are deployed to defend against Prince An. If they are all transferred away, the southern border will be in danger!"
Moreover, Pingyang County has only 50,000 soldiers, while Yizhou has many soldiers and generals, so there are at least hundreds of thousands of them at a time. Yang Ze is very good at deploying troops and battle formations. How can these 50,000 soldiers stop them? !
Shi Zhuo was already confused: "What should I do? What should I do?! Are we going to watch that Yang thief capture Pingcheng?!"
To him, Yang Ze and Prince An were the same, both were foreign enemies, so it was correct for whichever side gave emergency treatment to the other side. But the problem now is that Tian Shang is right, 50,000 county soldiers are useless!
Tian Shang was so anxious that he broke out in a sweat. He had been trying to persuade his lord to form an alliance but failed. Now that a powerful enemy had been created, he was bound to beat his chest and stamp his feet. However, he had to try his best to stay calm and think hard for a countermeasure.
"Fu Jun!"
Tian Shang stood still: "Since Yang Zecheng has become an enemy and cannot be changed, why don't we just agree to Guo Huai's request!"
Switch to King An!
The only force that can fight against Yang's bandits right now is Prince An's army.
This is a different time, and we should choose the lesser of two evils. Don’t even think about Anyang autonomy anymore. If we want to survive and preserve our strength to the greatest extent, this is the only way we can go.
Tian Shang’s strategy was ruthless, and it was ruthless to his own side, but it must be said that it was effective and timely. Shi Zhuo's face turned pale and blue, and he stood there for a quarter of an hour, then gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, I'll go find Guo Huai right away!"
Since we have decided to surrender to Prince An, there is no need to defend the southern border. We should immediately dispatch troops to resist. The handwritten letter had been sent out urgently. Guo Huai originally proposed that Shi Zhuo go to Liling in the rear to take refuge temporarily, but Shi Zhuo was unwilling to abandon his 50,000 trusted soldiers and horses. He only wanted to temporarily withdraw from Pingcheng and control the situation remotely in Qi County, a border town east of Pingyang.
…
Shi Zhuo and his party were waiting anxiously. In fact, Prince An led his troops half a day earlier than he received the former's handwritten letter of surrender.
Prince An had spies in Yizhou. Their number increased after He Xin defected to him, and reached its peak after he was severely defeated by Wei Jing.
The Yizhou army assembled and marched towards the eastern part of Hanzhong. Even if Wei Jing calculated the time just right to prevent the news from leaking, the news could not be concealed once the army set out.
The scout rushed out from Cangwu Road at full speed in the night, and delivered the news to King An half a day early.
Something terrible is happening!
King An immediately summoned a large army and marched quickly to Pingyang.
Yang Ze must be annihilated or beaten back, otherwise once the other party gains a foothold, there will be endless troubles.
The situation was not very good originally, after all, the southern border of Pingyang was heavily defended. But now it is better, Shi Zhuo has surrendered, and Pingyang is unobstructed.
He ordered again: "Go at full speed and reach Pingyang before dark."
…
When Wei Jing received the urgent letter from Prince An, the Yizhou army had already been dispatched, and he was leading them to the east.
He narrowed his eyes and immediately ordered: "Zhang Yong, you lead 60,000 soldiers to rush to Houcheng immediately and make sure to take it down before midnight!"
Wei Jing personally led an army of 70,000 to attack Wuquan, which had high walls and deep moats.
This time, he led 250,000 elite soldiers, and the other 120,000 had already been led by Fan Ya and Chen Qi respectively, to seize the two cities of Yinpen and Huishui before the Pingyang County soldiers arrived.
Nine Cities of Pingyang. Houcheng, Wuquan, Yinpen and Huishui are the four cities in the western border. If they are taken, half of Pingyang will be occupied. They form a horn with each other and the defense circle has been formed.
Wei Jing had expected Prince An to lead his army, but he did not expect Shi Zhuo to be so decisive this time and to side with Prince An so quickly and resolutely, resulting in Prince An's army arriving much faster than expected.
…
Yang Ze's attack speed was much faster than King An had imagined.
As soon as he arrived in Pingyang, he received a battle report that Yang Ze had quickly captured the four cities in Xicheng. The enemy troops divided into four groups, cleverly avoided the Pingyang County troops, and suddenly attacked the four cities with weak defenses. In less than half a day, the four cities were lost one after another.
From the time he received the news to now, in just two days, Yang Ze has already taken over half of Pingyang County. His foothold has been stabilized and all the initiative has been lost.
Prince An was shocked and angry, and threw down the battle report: "Pingyang's bunch of rubbish actually fell into the trap so easily!"
He was scolding like that, but actually he knew very well that Yang Ze's strategy of distracting people's attention was very clever. This man's strategic vision, tactical prowess, and timing were far greater than King An had imagined.
This is truly a rare and powerful enemy.
Moreover, this man’s strongest point is not the hundreds of thousands of soldiers under his command.
They must be annihilated as soon as possible, or at least blocked back to Yizhou. Otherwise, King An intuitively felt that the other party would be the biggest variable in the overall situation of the world today.
Powerful and stirring up the storm.
His heart trembled, and he immediately selected six generals including Xu Cang, divided the troops into four groups, and immediately rushed to the four eastern cities of Pingyang to station there, strictly guarding the city and being ready to fight the enemy at any time.
There are nine cities in Pingyang, and what about the remaining one?
That is actually Pingcheng, the county seat located in the center.
Pingcheng has a high city wall and a deep moat, and the terrain on all sides is open and relatively flat. It is actually a very well-defended city. But King An had to give up, because Yang Ze's army had gained a foothold before him, and if he went forward rashly, he might be ambushed by the enemy.
As a result, Pingcheng, located at the center point, was unexpectedly peaceful, and the two sides faced off across it. If nothing unexpected happened, the capture of Pingcheng would be the first battle for both sides.
After several roundabout and exploratory confrontations, neither side was able to capture Pingcheng due to the other's obstruction, but the flames of war were almost brewing, and it was very likely that the next battle would be an all-out war.
Ji Huan said: "My Lord, we should defeat King An as soon as possible. The longer the war drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for us."
The afterglow of taking four cities in a row is still there, and the morale of the enemy is high.
However, Jingzhou was King An's base camp after all, and it was more convenient for the other side to supply food and fodder, as well as recruit reinforcements, than they were.
We can't delay it. The longer we delay, the more our advantages will diminish.
Ji Huan also suggested: "We should defeat King An and drive him out of Pingyang as soon as possible."
After all, the enemy's military strength is equally strong, and it is much easier to drive them out than to completely annihilate them. The Yizhou army had just arrived, so the goal should not be set too high. It would be more practical to occupy Pingyang first and gain a firm foothold.
The road must be walked step by step, and the meal must be eaten bite by bite. Wei Jing agreed with this view and nodded: "Indeed."
The next thing to discuss is how to defeat King An in the current battle and drive him out of Pingyang County as soon as possible.
Wei Jing pointed his index finger at the map and said, "Where the Pingyang County soldiers are located is the breakthrough point."
Prince An urgently summoned an army of 200,000 and joined forces with the 50,000 Pingyang troops, just enough to equalize the number of troops.
However, the weakness that Wei Jing was targeting was precisely the joining of the 50,000 Pingyang troops.
Unexpectedly, Shi Zhuo surrendered to Prince An and replaced the commander. It is certain that the Pingyang army was not used to it and had complaints, but at this moment a great and fierce battle broke out.
Prince An's trust in the Pingyang Army is definitely not as great as that in his own army, both in terms of generals and combat effectiveness. Naturally, the Pingyang Army would be placed at the outermost edge when deploying troops.
Inevitably, the Pingyang Army will be more psychologically delicate.
There is no room for these things on the battlefield. Morale cannot be boosted, and this is a good flaw.
Of course, Prince An will do his best to make up for it. The key now lies in whether Wei Jing's side can correctly judge the position of the Pingyang Army at that time.
That’s right. Wei Jing was fully confident that he could exploit the enemy’s weakness and take advantage of the situation to defeat the enemy.
If you are wrong, this will be a tough battle with an uncertain outcome.
Wei Jing pondered for a long time, and finally pointed his index finger to the south of Pingcheng: "Pingyang County should be on the left wing of the enemy army by then."
…
This great battle finally took place in the early morning of February 14th.
In the season when grass is lush and birds are flying, the fields are dark green and light green, the soil is fragrant, and both sides deployed their troops eighty miles outside the south gate of Pingcheng.
Until this moment, the positions of the Pingyang County soldiers were finally revealed.
Right on the left.
Wei Jing's judgment was correct, and the previous arrangements had already been made.
The cowhide drum started beating, the dull "dong dong dong" sounded one after another, as if hitting people's hearts. The drum beat quickly to a certain frequency. Wei Jing drew his sword and shouted: "All soldiers, listen to my order, attack!"
Thunderous shouts broke out from both sides at the same time, and the soldiers surged like a surging tide, rushing towards the enemy to the sound of drums.
Now that they had left the Central Plains, it was impossible for them to avoid fighting in order to conceal their identities. Wei Jing still went into battle personally, but he specifically ordered his personal soldiers to be on the lookout and not get close to where Prince An was unless necessary.
Wherever his sword passed, it was invincible. A vacuum zone was formed around him for a while, and he killed two generals under King An in succession. It was really hard not to pay attention to him.
Prince An noticed this location quickly. A son of a wealthy family would not sit in the hall with his head lowered, so he did not approach. But just by looking at it from a distance, he suddenly felt a palpitation in his heart.
"Who is this person?!"
The silver armor faced the sun, and the blade reflected a dazzling golden light, like a force that could destroy everything in its path, and no one could stop it wherever it passed.
King An had never seen such a brave and incomparable person. He was surprised and his heart skipped a beat. He had a vague intuition, and for some reason, he suddenly thought of another invincible person.
I haven't thought about this person for a long time since the Yellow River burst its dike.
"No, it's impossible, he's dead!"
Prince An's clothes were soaked with sweat in an instant, but before he had time to think carefully, he saw that the left wing was in chaos.
Needless to say, Yang Ze must have guessed the location of the Pingyang Army.
With 50,000 fewer soldiers, their combat effectiveness was much weaker, but they had to face a powerful enemy like Yang Ze who was good at fighting.
The Pingyang Army had no choice but to discuss and maneuver repeatedly, but the enemy still guessed it and it became a loophole.
Wei Xu was rarely surprised and raised his eyebrows, "This Yang Ze is really amazing."
Prince An was furious: "Send an order, Generals Xu Cang and Chen Ang, lead the troops to help immediately!"
…
Xu Cang, once a powerful general under Wei Jing, was demoted to the border of Jingzhou after the great change. He was appreciated and reused by King An until now.
Prince An was prepared to be blindly sniped at the flaw of the Pingyang Army, and he reacted promptly. Unfortunately, he was slow to react. Under the fierce attack of the fierce army led by Zhang Yong, the Pingyang Army was in chaos, and it was difficult to remedy the situation afterwards.
Even if it is difficult to remedy the situation, you have to go ahead with it.
However, Xu Cang did not expect that when he glanced suddenly, he mistook the enemy general in the distance for Zhang Yong.
Zhang Yong, together with Chen Qi and others, led the Qing Zhai Guards and left the camp in anger, heading south to look for His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi, but there was no news of them afterwards.
If this is really Zhang Yong, then Yang Ze...
Xu Cang was so shocked that his sword almost slipped out of his hand.
"Brother Xu, be careful!"
Chen Ang arrived in time and blocked the sword of another enemy general for him.
Xu Cang came back to his senses and quickly accepted the challenge.
But he couldn't help but glance to the other side, looking for the enemy general who seemed to be Zhang Yong, but unfortunately the other party had gone far away and disappeared.
Afterwards, Xu Cang had no chance to look for this person, because the Yizhou army had taken advantage of the torn gap and launched a fierce attack. The battle lasted until dark and the enemy had won a great victory.
In order to preserve his strength, King An had to order his troops to retreat.
One wrong step and the whole game is ruined.
Wei Jing led his army to pursue the enemy all night, and King An had to retreat to Juqiu City on the southeast edge of Pingyang County, only then did he barely stop his retreat.
At this point, Wei Jing had captured eight cities in Pingyang and was only one step away from driving King An out of Pingyang.
The author has something to say: Xu Cang was the one who had to obey Prince An's order to set a trap to lure his former master when the search for Wei Jing was going on both sides of Qianshui River, but he actually hoped that he could not be caught.
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