Ever since Driftwood Chuanzhao appointed Chen Yingliang as the commander-in-chief of King Qin's coalition forces, Emperor Sui Yang never had a good night's sleep, and there was no other reason. A young man who was only 19 years old, with little experience and qualifications, suddenly handed over such a huge burden to Chen Yingliang, Emperor Sui Yang felt a little worried and uncertain no matter what.
But then again, apart from Chen Yingliang, Emperor Sui Yang had no better choice. In Emperor Sui Yang's mind, the ideal coach candidates were Qu Tutong, Xue Shixiong, Yang Yichen and Zhang Xutuo. Emperor Sui Yang did not know that if Emperor Sui Yang appointed one of them as the commander-in-chief, if this person did not lead the army to Qin Wang, the trouble would be even greater; only Li Yuan, who was stationed closest to the Yanmen battlefield, was the first The second choice, but what Li Yuan did not only disappointed Emperor Sui Yang, Li Yuan's background in the Guanlong family also made Emperor Sui Yang very worried, so at that time Emperor Sui Yang had no choice but to take the risk of using the absolutely loyal Chen Yingliang .
By the way, Shishi Yin was actually a choice for Emperor Sui Yang, but Shishi Yin has too few troops in his hands and his lineage is weak, and he is Li Yuan's direct subordinate. If he skips Li Yuan's appointment of him as the commander-in-chief, he will definitely come out. Trouble, at the same time, Shishi Yin still shoulders another important task, and his results on the battlefield are obviously not as brilliant as Chen Yingliang's. Emperor Sui Yang hesitated again and again, so he had to give up Shishi Yin, and made Chen Yingliang cheaper.
The extremely risky decision was made, and Emperor Sui Yang was even more worried. Before the appointment, he was surrounded by Turks in Yanmen City, but after the passing of the driftwood, Emperor Sui Yang was like three autumns every day. Worrying, waking up from nightmares every night, either because he was worried that Chen Yingliang would not be able to command the army of King Qin from all over the world, or because he dreamed that the coalition of King Qin would be wiped out under the leadership of Chen Yingliang, who still had a childish face on his face, and he would be captured alive by the Turks. Captured alive, Ling Chi executed.
Anxious and worried, Emperor Sui Yang regretted his risky decision more than once, and even quietly hoped that the nine imperial edicts would not be discovered by King Qin's army, and that King Qin's coalition forces would elect a more loyal and reliable commander on their own, so that they would be more confident. Rescued this Yanmen dead place by himself.
It was also a coincidence that only one day after the edict was sent out by the river, the main force of the Turks launched a large-scale attack on Yanmen City. The wave was higher than the wave, and more than once they rushed to the top of the city with the help of the ladder car and the flying ladder, and almost succeeded in seizing the city wall positions several times. The oil has been completely used up, and they can only rely on ordinary firewood and few eye-piercing boulders to fight against the Turkic siege weapons. Even civil and military officials have already taken swords into battle at all times, and the situation is so critical that it can hardly be described in words.
In the end, the Yanmen defenders managed to repel the Turkic attack by relying on the sudden storm in the afternoon. The Turkic bows and arrows failed in the heavy rain, and the threat to the Yanmen defenders was greatly reduced. Taking the opportunity to personally lead the death squads out of the city to attack, using axes and hammers to destroy the Turkic ladder trucks that threatened the city wall the most, it took hundreds of deaths and injuries to destroy all the Turkic ladder trucks and crash cars approaching the city wall, and it was not early after the rainstorm stopped However, the heavily flooded land below the city was not conducive to the siege party's operations, so the Turkic army retreated angrily with still a large number of siege weapons.
The Turkic army withdrew, but the Yanmen defenders didn't even have the strength and spirit to cheer. The generals of the Sui army, such as Lai Hu'er and Sima Dekan, who were injured during the assault out of the city, were all downcast, because everyone knew that Yanmen It is entirely luck that the city survived today. If it hadn't been for this sudden rainstorm, Yanmen City might have been breached by the Turks today. Whether it will have such luck next time, only God knows. Because of this, when returning to the palace to meet with Emperor Sui Yang to report the results of the battle, the guardian of the city guard did not dare to speak loudly, but only briefly reported the casualties and the course of the battle to Emperor Sui Yang.
Even though he didn't dare to tell the truth, the casualties reported by Lai Huer still made Emperor Sui Yang's face pale, and he asked in surprise: "Lai Aiqing, the casualties of the defenders are usually hundreds of people, never more than 600 people, Why did our army suffer more than 1,800 casualties in today's battle?"
The nurse did not dare to raise his head to answer. He looked at the ground and replied tremblingly, "It's all due to incompetence and incompetence in command. It is also because of insufficient rations, hunger and powerlessness of soldiers, too many wounded soldiers, and serious lack of medical treatment, so Today's casualties are so high. Another reason is that we ran out of kerosene and could not effectively resist the Turkic ladder vehicles. Wei Chen had to lead the dead to make a surprise attack out of the city and destroy the Turkic ladder vehicles. Naturally, the casualties were even greater. "
Seeing the bloody gauze on Lai Huer's forehead, Emperor Sui Yang couldn't help but sigh, and asked, "How much food is there in the city?"
"Your Majesty, the old minister is incompetent, and there is no food in the city." Fan Zigai, Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs who is also the Minister of Finance, replied truthfully, his voice was far less loud than usual, and said with his head bowed: "The old minister is about to implore Your Majesty to issue an order. To slaughter war horses to satisfy the hunger of soldiers, please allow your majesty."
Emperor Sui Yang's face became even paler, and civil and military officials such as Xiao Yu, Uncle Xiao Guo, Jianmen Pei Qiantong, Liang Gong Xiao Ju, Feng Deyi, and Yu Shiji jumped out impatiently, and all objected: "Your Majesty, you can't kill horses!" Ah, you can’t kill the horses, if King Qin’s battle is not good and you kill the horses, how will you break through the encirclement, Your Majesty?”
Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty hesitated for a while, but fortunately his favorite minister Yu Wenshu was still doing his duty, and immediately stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I can only slaughter a batch of war horses to satisfy the hunger of the soldiers. If the soldiers are starved to death and there are no soldiers to protect you, No matter how many war horses are left behind, it is useless."
Hearing this, Emperor Yang of Sui, who had lost his mind, nodded, and agreed to slaughter the horses to feed the soldiers. Unfortunately, Emperor Sui Yang didn't know, because the wood had been used to make defense equipment, and the Yanmen garrison Even the firewood for cooking horse meat is seriously insufficient, so they can only eat raw horse meat and drink horse blood to fill their stomachs. However, at this moment, Sima Dekan, the general of Huben Lang and the commander of the Xiaoguo Army, hurried to the outside of the hall to ask for an audience. After Emperor Sui Yang issued an order to summon him, Sima Dekan went to the hall without hesitation, and immediately played to Emperor Sui Yang: "Your Majesty, our military scouts just discovered an important situation. The Turkic ladder vehicles and siege vehicles were not transported back to the camp, but were parked directly in front of the gate of the camp."
Hearing this news, Uncle Xiao Guo, who didn't know much about military affairs, and other civil officials were fine, but the expressions of generals like Lai Huer, Pei Renji, and Yu Wenshu, who relied on fighting for their livelihood, suddenly changed, and Emperor Sui Yang, who had a lot of experience in the battlefield, also had a big expression on his face. Changed, and exclaimed: "The Turks directly put the siege weapons in front of the camp. Are they going to launch an attack tomorrow?"
Lai Hu'er, Yu Wenshu and others did not dare to say anything, because if they were to command the Turkic army, they would definitely continue to attack the city tomorrow without giving the Yanmen defenders any chance to breathe. But the more he dared not to answer, the more the Emperor Sui Yang, who was in need of comfort at this meeting, broke down emotionally, and couldn't help crying loudly again: "Could it be that the sky is going to destroy my Sui? Could it be that the sky is going to destroy my Sui? Why are these Turkic barbarians unwilling to stop attacking the city for even a day?"
The civil and military officials could only comfort Emperor Sui Yang with good words again, and they all persuaded Emperor Sui Yang not to be nervous and worried. The Great Sui King Qin's army would arrive for reinforcements in a few days. As long as he gritted his teeth and persisted for a few more days, there would be no worries. Only Uncle Xiao Guo muttered, "King Qin's army? Xinkou is only two hundred miles away from Yanmen, and the imperial edict has been sent out for two days. Even if Chen Yingliang and Marshal Chen climb, he should have climbed to the Yanmen battlefield, right?"
Uncle Xiao Guo muttered loudly on purpose, purposely muttering so that Pei Ju, Yang Zhiji, Fan Zigai and the others could hear, both Pei Ju and Yang Zhiji were very deep in the city, they only frowned at this, but Fan Zigai was Outspoken and quick-tempered, he immediately furiously said: "Uncle Xiao Guo, then you can climb over the old man to have a look. Xinkou is two hundred miles away from Yanmen City, and there is a Turkic interceptor in Nao County in between. You can climb the two hundred miles in two days." Show the old man here!"
"Fan Shangshu, what are you in a hurry for?" Uncle Xiao Guo said with a sneer, "Two days are not enough, how much time do you think Chen Yingliang and Marshal Chen need? Ten days, or half a month?"
Fan Zigai was at a loss for words, but Lai Huer on the other side interjected, "Uncle Xiao, we know that because of your brother-in-law, Mr. Tang, you find Fushi Chen not pleasing to you, but don't be picky, okay? King Qin's soldiers and horses come from all over the country, they are not affiliated with each other, and they are not familiar with each other. If it is changed, who suddenly provokes this important burden, and they have to be in a hurry for a while. How did the Turkic side go north? Marching and fighting is not a joke, let alone an excuse for your personal revenge!"
Lai Hu'er was able to command the waterway division alone when Emperor Yang of Sui personally conquered Goguryeo. Of course, Uncle Xiao Guo didn't dare to confront such a super important official. He wanted to shut up but was unwilling, so he simply muttered: "Then we can only wait I hope we can hold on until the day Marshal Chen comes to help us."
Lai Hu'er was also a little speechless, and could only sigh in his heart: "Chen Yingliang, hurry up, try to hurry up, we really can't hold on anymore."
After finally coaxing the crying Emperor Sui Yang back to his room to sleep with Empress Xiao, the civil and military officials gradually dispersed, and the generals of the Sui army, such as Lai Huer and Sima Dekan, also returned to the city wall, where even the torches were gradually scarce. There were wounded soldiers all over the ground, moaning endlessly, but the Turkic camp in the distance outside the city was brightly lit, and the Turkic soldiers could vaguely hear the strange and ugly grassland singing. Apart from shaking his head helplessly and sighing, he could only quickly appease the soldiers and prepare for the next day's siege battle.
It was night, and the sky that had just been washed by the torrential rain was shining again with stars, and the moon was as bright as day, indicating that there was almost no hope of rain the next day. Loyal court officials such as Lai Huer and Fan Zigai were worried and frowning. Yu Shiji and other well-behaved courtiers seized the time to secretly write a letter of allegiance, and as soon as the Yanmen City was broken, they immediately threw themselves into the warm and broad arms of Shibi Khan, and continued to enjoy high officials, high salaries, glory and wealth.
The long night finally passed, and the sky just dawned. The tormented generals such as Lai Huer and Sima Dekan had already got up quickly, organized the defenders to prepare weapons for the defense, and seized the time to eat raw horse meat to replenish their physical strength and prepare for the upcoming battle. The incoming siege weapons, but waited left and right, until the sun was in the sky, but there was still no sign of sending troops to attack the city from the Turkic camp. The news came again suddenly—the scouts who ventured out of the city to spy reported that the Turks had already begun to transport the siege weapons back to the camp for protection, and dared not take the risk of parking them outside the camp!
"Turk has given up on the siege? How is that possible?" Lai Huer's first reaction was impossible, because during yesterday's siege battle, the Yanmen defenders were obviously tired. It is impossible for Turk not to notice, and it is impossible It will give the Yanmen defenders a chance to breathe!
The impossible happened. From morning to night the next day, the Turks did not dispatch a single soldier to attack the city except for sending scouts to scout the Yanmen defenders. As a result, even Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty became very nervous. Confused, "Is the Turkic army preparing to attack the city at night? Or did the Shibi chieftain suddenly realize his conscience and let me go?"
When the night was still bright and the moon was in the sky, the Turks still didn't seize this opportunity to launch a night attack. In the middle of the night, Lai Huer, who realized that the situation was wrong, also became ruthless, and sent his most capable son, Lai, to lead a few good men to sneak down the city. I went outside the city to ambush the Turkic scouts to catch them alive, but at dusk, Laizheng actually captured a living Turkic soldier and brought it back to my father. Then Lai Huer personally tortured the Turkic soldiers to interrogate the Turkic soldiers who suddenly stopped attacking the city. reason.
The confession was finally asked, but the answer stunned Lai Nuer and all the Sui army officers and soldiers—on the same day of the heavy rain, King Qin’s Sui army had already broken through the Turkic army in Nao County, and killed the Turkic army with heavy losses. Fleeing back to the Yanmen battlefield, the back of the Turkic main force was directly exposed in front of King Qin's Sui army, and Shibi Khan was forced to give up the siege!
"How is it possible?" Lai Hu'er exclaimed, "According to the time, the rainy day should be the second day after Chen Yingliang received the edict? It took only one day for him to gather Qin Wang's soldiers and horses from all over the country. It took only one day for him to break through the Turkic partial division and directly force the main Turkic force to give up attacking the city? How is this possible? Isn’t this speed too fast?”
"Chen Aiqing has hit the back of the Turkic main force? How is this possible? How can he be so fast?" This was the unbelievable exclamation of Emperor Sui Yang.
"This is the trick of the Turks! It must be the trick of the Turks!" Uncle Xiao Guo jumped up and down and roared, "The Turks deliberately lied to us, trying to trick us into taking it lightly, and then took the opportunity to attack Yanmen City! One day to integrate the army, one day to break through the Turks Master, Chen Yingliang is really the reincarnation of Chen Qingzhi?! We can't be fooled, and we can't underestimate the enemy!"
He pissed more water on the battlefield than Uncle Xiao Guo drank. Of course, the old sparrow on the battlefield would not underestimate the enemy when he came to protect his children. For the next three days and three nights, the Turks not only did not launch a frontal attack, but also did not launch a half-time sneak attack. At the same time, Lai Huer, Yu Wenshu, Pei Renji and other veterans on the battlefield were very pleasantly surprised to find that the Turkic army actually began to move troops from the east of Yanmen City to the west to strengthen the troops in the west. , It is also proved by the facts that King Qin's Sui army is rapidly approaching the Yanmen battlefield, and it is progressing quite smoothly.
Of course, Chen Yingliang commanded King Qin’s Sui army to progress smoothly, so far it’s just a speculative analysis. No matter how happy and hopeful Emperor Sui Yang was, he had to listen to his brother-in-law’s opinion—all of this was a trick of the Turks, a Turkic army that was good at field battles It is deliberately luring the enemy, trying to trick the Yanmen defenders into breaking through or being negligent, and easily take down Yanmen City with conspiracy and tricks, thereby reducing casualties and losses in the tough battle-because under normal circumstances, prestige is not enough to suppress people and morality is not enough to convince the masses Chen Yingliang's little Zhengtai, it is unlikely to advance so fast, and it is even more impossible to beat the Turks so much that they are forced to adjust their camps.
The heaviest slap in the face was quickly slapped on Uncle Xiao Guo’s face. On the fourth day, after the time passed in the afternoon, a food transport team under the banner of the Sui Army suddenly crossed the Turkic camp under the surveillance of the Turkic army. He came directly towards Yanmen City, and at the same time, a middle-aged scribe rushed to the Yanmen City first, and shouted loudly to show his identity, saying that he was Yuan Tiangang, who served as a military officer in Qiao County in the Sui Dynasty, and was also a Dalai Lama. Chen Yingliang, the Deputy Envoy of Twelve Counties on the South Road of the Sui Dynasty, sent to meet with the envoy representative of Emperor Sui Yang, and brought Chen Yingliang's memorial, 1,000 hu of grain and some medicinal chickens and sheep to Emperor Sui Yang.
Needless to say, Yanmen City was another sensation in the whole city. Emperor Sui Yang personally boarded the west gate wall to meet Yuan Tiangang, and was dragged up by the defenders with ropes. At the same time, he also introduced the reason why he was able to come here, explaining that Chen Yingliang had led Qin Wang Sui Army to scare the Turkic army, and captured Shibi Khan's younger brother Ashina Elifer alive, and the Turks were forced to ask for negotiations Talking about harmony, Chen Yingliang didn't dare to be professional, so he sent himself here to consult Emperor Sui Yang's opinion, and also sent some food and grass to relieve Emperor Sui Yang's urgent needs.
It is conceivable how wonderful the expression on Uncle Xiao Guo's face was after learning about these situations, but fortunately, no one paid attention to his wonderful expression at this meeting. Emperor Sui Yang burst into tears holding Chen Yingliang's memorial, Fan Zigai burst into tears, Lai Huer and Yu Wenshu and other civil and military officials roared loudly, Pei Ju and Pei Yun brothers quietly breathed a sigh of relief - the Turks took the initiative to seek peace, so naturally they dared not ask Sui Yang Emperor to deal with those who actually started the war Pei Ju. The guards and soldiers cheered loudly, jumping and jumping together.
Still needless to say, Emperor Sui Yang, who had already drank rice porridge with Empress Xiao, of course immediately ordered to open the city, and let the grain transportation team sent by Chen Yingliang enter the city. Said first: "Your Majesty, you must not open the city. The Turks are so deceitful. We must prevent them from taking the opportunity to enter the city. Marshal Chen also ordered us to tie a rope on the grain bag in advance. Putting the rope down can pull the grain up to the city wall." The chickens, sheep, salt, and medicine bags brought by Weichen can also be pulled up to the city with ropes, and if there are not enough ropes in the city, Weichen has prepared ropes in advance."
"It's Chen Aiqing who thought carefully. Yes, the Turks are cunning. We have to guard against them." Emperor Sui Yang laughed loudly, and quickly ordered the soldiers to put ropes to drag the grain. Remembering to test the poison, Emperor Sui Yang laughed and accepted it, and at the same time, he had to praise Chen Yingliang and Yuan Tiangang for their carefulness.
The ropes were laid down densely like vines, and the hungry and red-eyed soldiers of the Sui army were at a loss, pulling bag after bag of urgently needed food, medicine, salt, and chicken coops and lambs up the city wall. In the end, even the vehicles carrying food and grass were blocked They were dragged up the city wall and used as firewood. The Turkic army stayed in the distance and did not move. The soldiers of the Sui army, who had been living on raw horse meat for many days, cheered happily inside the city. Emperor Sui Yang, who had been depressed for many days, laughed more than anyone else. I am happy, and I am extremely grateful that my decision-making is wise, and I have chosen such a capable and loyal minister as Chen Yingliang as the coach of King Qin.
All the food was dragged up the city wall, and Yuan Tiangang ordered the civilian soldiers he brought to camp three miles to the west, and not to approach the city wall without authorization. Emperor Sui Yang praised him again, and finally remembered Yuan Tiangang's intention, and hurried to Yuan Tiangang. Asked: "Yuan Aiqing, is it true that the Turks are seeking peace? What about the situation in Chen Aiqing's place? Are you sure you can defeat the Turks?"
"Your Majesty, to be honest, Marshal Chen has no idea whether the Turkic peace request is true or not." Yuan Tiangang replied respectfully: "The reason why Marshal Chen agreed to ask His Majesty for your opinion is that he wanted to seize this opportunity and send him a piece of paper as soon as possible." Approval of food, grass and medicines relieves His Majesty's urgent needs, and at the same time tests the Turks' sincerity in seeking peace. There is no guarantee that these grains will be delivered to His Majesty beforehand. Before coming, I have already made preparations to die for the country. Fortunately, judging from the current situation, the Turkic side should be very sincere."
"It's hard work to love you, Chen Aiqing will really train officials for me, and all the people she brings out are loyal officials who are willing to die for me!" Emperor Sui Yang nodded movedly, and then hurriedly asked: "Did Chen Aiqing tell you, Is he willing to accept the Turkic army's peace request?"
"Your Majesty, Marshal Chen has made an explanation." Yuan Tiangang replied truthfully: "He said that even if Wei Chen successfully delivered food, he still asked His Majesty to let the soldiers of the Sui Dynasty continue to guard the city strictly, and they must not leave the city easily for protection. Marshal Chen also asked Wei I report to Your Majesty that he is waiting for your holy judgment. If Your Majesty is willing to negotiate peace, you can send powerful ministers out of the city to directly negotiate peace with the Turks. If Your Majesty does not believe in the sincerity of the Turks or does not want to make peace, you can ask the minister to bring the will back. , he will continue to lead Qin Wang's army to fight bloody battles with the Turks until they defeat the Turks and welcome back the Holy Driver."
"Also." Yuan Tiangang hastily added: "Marshal Chen also asked the minister to report to His Majesty. He personally thinks that the fight should continue, because what can be negotiated is definitely not as reliable as what can be won on the battlefield. Moreover, the Turks are cunning. Even if the peace talks are successful, it is difficult to guarantee that the Turks will keep their promises.”
Emperor Sui Yang twisted his beard to figure it out. With Emperor Sui Yang's irritable character, he was bullied so badly by the Turks this time. Of course, Emperor Sui Yang wanted Chen Yingliang to beat up Shibi Khan to vent his anger, but it was natural to do so. It is extremely risky, because once King Qin's Sui army accidentally loses in the decisive battle with the Turkic main force, not only the hope of peace talks will be dashed, but Emperor Yang of Sui will also face annihilation again. It was about his own precious life, no matter how irritable and rash Emperor Sui Yang was, he had to weigh the pros and cons.
"Your Majesty, this is a very important matter, please think twice before proceeding." Fan Zigai remonstrated, "The old minister thinks that Your Majesty might as well go back to the palace first and ask Yuan Lushi to understand the situation of the enemy and our army carefully, and then decide whether to accept it or not. It's not too late to negotiate."
As soon as Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty thought it was reasonable, he immediately nodded and accepted Fan Zigai's suggestion, and led all the officials and Yuan Tiangang back to the so-called palace to discuss, and at the same time understand the current situation of the enemy and ourselves. After listening carefully to Yuan Tiangang's report on the enemy's and our military situation However, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty still decided to let the Turks go, because the current Emperor Qin and the Sui army only hoped to defeat the Turks and lift the siege of Yanmen, but they were not very sure of doing so. Considering his own safety and survival, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty He also quickly made up his mind and said: "Negotiate peace with the Turks, as long as the Turks obediently retreat to the north of the Great Wall and return the Xixing Pass to my King Qin's army, I can forgive Shibi's crime of offense, or Release all the Turkic prisoners we have captured!"
No one objected, including Fan Zigai and Pei Ju, Chen Yingliang's backers, all nodded in favor of Emperor Sui Yang's safe decision, but Yuan Tiangang sighed quietly, and secretly said: "Commander, Your Highness King Qi, I'm sorry to disappoint you all. Yes, the emperor really doesn't want to fight anymore."