The Zhai Li coalition forces were finally forced to give up their plan to attack Luokou Cang at any cost. There was no other reason. Guancheng was only 80 miles away from Hulao Pass, and it could be reached in one day by a quick march. After walking for forty miles, there were only thirty miles away from Li Mi's army's Dongying camp. In such a short distance, no matter how courageous Li Mi was, he did not dare to attack Luokou Cang with all his strength regardless of the rear.
The matter was not over yet. On the second day after Wang Shichong pulled out his camp to go north, the Sui army in Pengcheng continued to go north. Although they did not directly attack the east gate of Hulao Pass, they pointed their target at Niuzhukou on the east side of Hulao Pass. As soon as the news came out, Li Mi also wanted to rape and kill Wang Shichong even more, because Niuzhukou was not only the only way for Li Mi's army to supply food and grass, but if Li Mi's army wanted to retreat, whether it was to return to Jindi Pass, Whether to cross the Yellow River directly to the north, you must pass through Niuzhukou. Li Mi can tolerate Wang Shichong stationing troops in the southeast, but in any case it is impossible to tolerate Wang Shichong stationing troops at Niuzhukou, even if they are stationed near the Niuzhukou ferry!
Uncle can bear it, and aunt can't bear it anymore. For the safety of food roads and rear roads, Li Mi not only immediately sent more troops to Niuzhukou to garrison, but also immediately sent Yang Jishan to lead an army of 10,000 south to meet the enemy. He did not expect to be able to fight. To defeat Wang Shichong, the only requirement is to be able to prevent Wang Shichong from going north, and not allow Wang Shichong to approach Niuzhukou!
Of course, if Li Mi knew that Wang Shichong did not go north to attack Niuzhukou, choke his throat connected to Liyang Cang, and knew that Wang Shichong was only going to open up the Yellow River waterway connection with the eastern capital and obtain food and grass supplies from the eastern capital Luoyang, then Li Mi Maybe they won't be so nervous, maybe they will deliberately let Wang Shichong set up camp on the bank of the Yellow River, and in turn make a fuss about Wang Shichong's grain road. But it's a pity that Li Mi didn't know this. Yang Jishan, who was determined to stop him, collided head-on with Wang Shichong, who was determined to go northward.
The result of the war was that Li Mijun was defeated. Yang Jishan, who was lucky enough to survive to the present, is a rare brave general. Fei Qingnu who came to protect Pyongyang was enough to compete with Yang Jishan head-on. At the same time, the elite army under Wang Shichong's command was stronger than Li Mi's soldiers, and their morale was even higher. After a fight, Yang Jishan was defeated and fled back to Li Mi At the military camp, the Pengcheng Sui army marched forward triumphantly, and arrived at the bank of the Yellow River to set up camp as they wished. The camp was only about five miles away from the throat of Niuzhukou.
When the news was sent back to Hulao Pass, Li Mi was so worried that his hair turned gray. Zhai Rang also knew that the situation was not good, so he hurriedly found Li Mi to discuss how to deal with it, and discussed whether to take advantage of Wang Shichong's unstable foothold and join hands to fight back and drive Wang Shichong away, ensuring that the situation is not good. Niuzhukou is safe, but Li Mi, who has always been decisive, seldom hesitates, always uncertain whether he should act like this. As a result, while hesitating, Wagang General Xu Shiji proposed a very crazy risky tactic, and suggested: "Wei Gong, Dongjun Gong, I heard that although the two traitors Wang Shichong and Chen Yingliang are relatives of Weng and his son-in-law, they have no relationship with each other." Disharmony, often intrigues, fighting openly and secretly, may not necessarily cooperate well with each other."
"Since this is the case, let's ignore Wang Shichong at all. Wei Gong, your army will also move to the east of Hulao Pass to set up camp, continue to concentrate on attacking Luokou Cang, and rely on Hulao Pass to attack from the west and defend from the east. As long as we defeat Chen Gou It doesn’t matter if Wang Shichong completely cuts off our connection with Liyang Warehouse when the officials take down the Luokou Warehouse. With the Luokou Warehouse, we can take a leisurely rest. After a while, we can slap Wang Shichong to death with a slap back and forth, and reconnect with Li Yang Cang contact!"
If Li Mi and Zhai Rang adopted Xu Shiji's tactic, Chen Sangliang would certainly not be able to cry. However, this tactic is too risky. Li Mi and Zhai Rang will be wiped out if they make a mistake. I am afraid that it is treacherous and vicious like Li Mi. Although he was tempted by this tactic for a while, after careful consideration, Li Mi quickly dismissed this idea, shaking his head and said: "It's too risky. Once we attack Luokou for a long time and the food and grass are exhausted, we It's all over."
"But Wang Shichong's officers and soldiers are very powerful. Even if we fight him away together, we will definitely suffer heavy casualties and losses. Chen Yingliang's traitor also took the opportunity to calm down. At that time, how can we win Luokou?" Cang?" Xu Shiji asked unconvinced.
Li Mi remained silent and fiddled with the writing brush on the table without saying a word. At this time, Pei Renji, who surrendered from the Sui army, also spoke up, saying: "I agree with Xu Shiji's proposal. I told him that Wang Shichong and Chen Yingliang had a bad relationship. I also know that Wang Shichong is a person who values profits over righteousness. Binglai joined hands with Chen Yingliang, and they must have the intention of watching the fire from the other side and reaping the benefits. We will attack Chen Yingliang with all our strength, and Wang Shichong will surely die. Cang, we can turn the situation around.”
Li Mi still remained silent, and Wagang's think tanks, Bing Yuanzhen and Jia Xiong, also hesitated at this moment. They both shook their heads and said: "Although that is the case, it is still too dangerous. Wang Shichong will cut off our food road. If we are unable to attack for a long time, we will have no chance, so it is better to be on the safe side and beat Wang Shichong away first to ensure that our food roads are unblocked, so that even if the war lasts for a long time, we can have peace of mind."
"Wang Shichong is a new force, and Chen Yingliang is a tired teacher. Is there any reason in the world to first make things difficult and then easy?" Xu Shiji and Pei Renji were anxious, and they both insisted: "First break Chen Yingliang, and then break Wang Shichong. This is the right way. Give Chen Yingliang a break." After the breath is over, it will be extremely difficult for us to win the Luokou warehouse."
Of course Li Mi also knew the difference between difficult and easy, but the Wagang Army was barefoot and not afraid of wearing shoes, but Li Mi, who was holding the Liyang warehouse in his hand, had already put on shoes, and he no longer dared to risk his life like the Wagang Army, so Knowing that Xu Shiji and Pei Renji's suggestions are correct and reasonable, but out of safety and security considerations, they dare not accept them. Zhai Rang waited anxiously over there, and urged: "Duke Wei, it's time to make up your mind. Wang Shichong hasn't set up a camp yet. We still have a chance. If Wang Shichong builds a strong camp like Chen Yingliang, we want to beat him up again." If you go, you will have to pay double the price."
With a soft snap, the writing brush in Li Mi's hand broke into two pieces. After throwing down the broken brush, Li Mi stood up and said, "Tomorrow, we will attack Wang Shichong together, beat him away, and kill him! Behind us, apart from the tyrant soldiers and horses who are far away in Jiangdu In addition, only Wang Shichong, an official army, can barely threaten us, and if we kill him, we can kill Chen Yingliang's traitor without any worries, and we don't have to worry about any threats from the rear!"
Xu Shiji and Pei Renji were shocked when they heard this, and tried their best to dissuade them, but Li Mi, who had already made up his mind, refused to listen. Zhai Rang and others also agreed with Li Mi's decision. Shaking his head helplessly, he said, "It's difficult, I'm afraid there will be no chance to win the Luokou warehouse again."
In this way, the Zhai Li Lianjun who should have been entangled with Chen Sangliang was forced to turn around for safety and security, and then it was Chen Sangliang's turn to laugh triumphantly and Wang Shichong wanted to cry without tears. Letting the exhausted Chen Sangliang not fight, but to come to a decisive battle with his own new force, Wang Shichong, who had completely miscalculated, could only bite the bullet and lead the army to meet the enemy. The fateful opponents Li Mi and Wang Shichong were also on the east side of Hulao Pass. On the battlefield, a fateful duel unfolded.
As in history, the duel between Wang Shichong and Li Miqi was extremely fierce. With the help of Wagang elite soldiers, Li Mi regained the upper hand in terms of strength. Wang Shichong was also as tenacious as in history. The incomplete camp and Li Mi fought in the dark, the sun and the moon were dark. In the end, although Li Mi's army successfully captured Wang Shichong's camp and forced Wang Shichong to lead his army to retreat to the ruins of the Banzhu Palace on the east of Niuzhukou, he paid for it. After paying a heavy price and failing to achieve the goal of completely annihilating Wang Shichong's army, Wang Shichong's 30,000 troops still had the power to fight after more than 5,000 casualties, and they could still threaten the back of Zhai and Li's coalition forces.
Li Mi, who finally avenged his revenge, refused to give up. Taking advantage of the opportunity of Chen Sangliang still licking his wounds in Luokoucang, Li Mi continued to advance with the power of the victory, and continued to attack Wang Shichong together with the Wagang Army. But once again they fought tenaciously, refusing to be defeated. Although Zhai and Li's allied forces won another field battle, they failed to break through Wang Shichong's Banzhu camp again. At the same time, they sent people to contact Dongdu and Chen Sangliang to inform the situation of their own army, and also asked Chen Sangliang to enter the army as soon as possible to share the pressure on himself.
It took a lot of effort for Wang Shichong's messenger to deliver the news to Chen Sangliang. After learning about the battles between Wang Shichong and Zhai Li's allied forces, Chen Sangliang couldn't even close his mouth with a smile. Liu Changgong and Yuan Tiangang Those with a bad personality even laughed wildly, saying: "Wang Shichong, you old slicker still have today? When you hid in Guancheng and watched the fire from the other side, why didn't you think that you would have today?"
After laughing wildly, Liu Changgong, who had the worst personality, immediately urged: "Brother Yingliang, leave him alone, let Wang Shichong, an old slicker, continue to fight head-on with the bandits, and when they are completely defeated, we will not be too late to make a move."
Chen Sangliang, who also likes to take advantage, did not agree for the first time, shaking his head and said: "No, we can't just ignore Wang Shichong this time. If Wang Shichong is gone, we will have to face the pressure from the Wagang bandit army and Li Mi alone again. Only Wang Shichong can hold on and prevent the bandits from attacking us with all their strength, which is in our best interest."
"What brother said is very true, this time we must work together with Wang Shichong." Pei Xingfang also said: "If we don't save Wang Shichong, even if he consumes part of the strength of the Wagang thief, the Wagang thief can rely on it Hulao Guanjian City and Liyang Cang quickly regained their vitality and posed a threat to us again, and it is in our best interest to keep Wang Shichong."
Chen Sangliang nodded, and said, "It's decided. Tomorrow, 10,000 troops will be dispatched to attack the bandit camp west of Hulao Pass, making Li Mi hard to care about and exhausted!"
Having made up his mind, in the early morning of the next day, Chen Sangliang personally led 10,000 Sui troops to march towards Hulaoguan, and dispatched a large number of elite Sui troops including the Baoguo Army. Hao Xiaode, who was stationed west of Hulaoguan, was not to be outdone. , dispatched Li Wenxiang to lead the headquarters out of the camp to meet the ground, and the two armies would fight in the field. Chen Sangliang, who had been aggrieved for a long time, did not wait for Li Wenxiang to establish a position, and immediately ordered the Baoguo army to charge the battle. After the Baoguo army was ordered to attack, it lived up to expectations. Galloping in conflict in the formation, he slaughtered the bandit soldiers who were not in line, and then rushed out before the enemy encircled him, successfully demoralizing the enemy. Chen Sangliang took the opportunity to order Kan Leng to lead the army to attack, and was passively beaten for a long time The lecturers of the Sui Army were all vying for the first place, all of them were like fierce tigers descending down the mountain. Li Wenxiang was defeated and fled.
The matter was not over yet, that night, Chen Sangliang sent another army to attack Hao Xiaode's camp. The closely guarded Hao Xiaode's army sensed the Sui army's actions and sent troops to meet them. The Sui army feigned defeat and left. Knowing that he was tricked out of the camp less than ten miles away, Sui army ambushes rushed out on both sides of the road, and the Sui army who was in charge of luring the enemy also turned around and fought back. Under the attack of the three armies, Hao Xiaode was defeated and left with a lot of losses.
The situation on the Hulao Pass battlefield gradually reversed. Wang Shichong in the east was defeated and fought repeatedly, and he was indomitable, effectively restraining the main force of the Zhai Li coalition army. With the power of parrying, there is no power to fight back. Li Mi and Zhai Rang were at a loss, so they had to sit down and discuss countermeasures. Zhai Rang proposed to go back to his teacher to save Hao Xiaode, but Li Mi felt that Wang Shichong's defeat had been revealed, and he should continue to attack Wang Shichong to solve this worry-free situation, otherwise once Wang Shichong was relieved In the future, he will definitely follow Chen Sangliang's example and attack the Hulao Guandong Camp, making Zhai and Li's bandits exhausted and struggling to cope.
Advocating to continue to attack Wang Shichong, Li Mi asked Zhai Rang again: "Mr. Dongjun, do you trust me? If you trust me, let Hao Xiaode return to Hulao Pass and join hands with your army to defend the city. This will count as Chen Yingliang If the traitors attack, we don’t have to worry too much about the safety of the western front, and we can also use the city defense to consume a lot of Chen Yingliang’s strength, which is far safer than having Hao Xiaode stationed outside the city to resist the government army.”
Zhai Rang's expression was extremely hesitant, and he said hesitantly after a long time: "Wei Gong, I have known you for many years, of course I trust you, but I really can't trust Hao Xiaode, although he is your general, but his subordinates are all His old department only listens to his command, if... "
"Forget it." Li Mi sighed, knowing that Zhai Rang was clearly on guard against him, but he didn't say anything, he just said: "Then I will add some troops to Hao Xiaode and order him to stick to the camp and stop Chen Yingliang's traitor for us. It's just that If Chen Yingliang's traitors are in a hurry to attack the camp, please ask Dong Jungong's garrison to help in time, and don't let Hao Xiaode fight alone."
When Zhai Rang was overjoyed, he immediately patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Wei, I will also immediately give orders to Shan Xiongxin and Zhai Hong to keep an eye on Hao Xiaode's camp. If Hao Xiaode's camp is in an emergency, ask them to help immediately." !" Li Mi nodded, and Zhai Rang each sent someone to order not to mention it.
Not to mention Li Mi's arrangements, but to say that after Zhai Rang's order was sent back to Hulao Pass, Shan Xiongxin, who was in charge of staying at Hulao Pass, took the order, and out of caution, he decided to make an emergency contact with Hao Xiaode The signal tells Hao Xiaode that if the situation is critical, he will light the beacon or bonfire at the designated place, and report to Hulao Pass so that the defenders of Hulao Pass can attack and rescue him. As a result, it gave the caring people around Shan Xiongxin a chance to take advantage of it...
Taking the opportunity of patrolling the city, Mulan found Zhang Kai, the spy of the Sui army who had been lurking in Hulao Pass for more than half a year, for the second time, and asked him in a low voice if he could get out of the city to contact Chen Sangliang. Just this afternoon, I have the opportunity to go out to patrol the city. If the matter is urgent, I can try to sneak to the Luokou warehouse to deliver the letter. If the matter is not very urgent, I have a way to send the letter to Chen Sang without leaving the patrol team. good there. Mulan was overjoyed when she heard that, and hurriedly handed over a wax pill that she had prepared long ago to Zhang Kai, and asked Zhang Kai to try to deliver it to Chen Sangliang. The only channel to contact Chen Yingliang.
The method of sending the letter to Chen Sangliang without leaving the patrol team was nothing more than hiding the letter in a designated place. It was simple and common, but the simpler the method, the more effective it was. After Zhang Kai went out to patrol the city that afternoon The wax pill that Mulan handed over to him was sent to Chen Sangliang that night. After breaking the wax pill with great excitement, he took out the note and carefully read the words on the note. The handwriting was beautiful, and Chen Sangliang immediately laughed Yes, the note reads as follows:
"Zhai asked Li Mi to defeat Wang Shichong first, and asked Hao Xiaode to stick to the camp and leave the camp. Hulaoguan made an agreement with Hao Xiaode that Hao Xiaode's camp was in an emergency. On the top of the south mountain, a bonfire was lit at night, and the wolf smoke was lit every day. Hulaoguan sent troops. Believe it or not, it's up to you."
After reading this note, Chen Sangliang laughed loudly, put the note to his lips and kissed him several times, and said with a big laugh, "It's finally here, it's finally here, Hulaoguan can finally be named Chen."
Seeing Chen Sangliang so happy, Yuan Tiangang, Wei Zheng, Pei Xingfang and others were of course very curious. When they hurriedly gathered around to read the letter together, Yuan Tiangang, Pei Xingfang and others were dumbfounded and said in surprise: "Stay behind, such a long time A piece of paper with no beginning or end, even without a signature, do you believe it?"
"I believe it, of course I believe it." Chen Sangliang laughed and said: "You don't need to sign it, just believe it or not in the last sentence, I will know who the letter writer is, and I also know whether she is reliable."
Yuan Tiangang, Pei Xingfang and others looked at each other, while Chen Sangliang continued to laugh happily, but at this moment, another messenger rushed in and presented an official document to Chen Sangliang with both hands, saying that it was an urgent report from Dongdu , Chen Sangliang, who was in a good mood, took it casually, but after opening the official document, the smile on Chen Sangliang's face disappeared immediately, and was replaced by an unbelievably shocked expression. Seeing that the situation was not good, Pei Xingfang hurriedly asked, "Brother, what happened?"
"Fan Liushou died of illness." Chen Sangliang replied in a daze: "On the night of Fan Liushou's illness, Tang Guogong Li Yuan suddenly appeared in the Taiyuan Army and organized the old army to launch a mutiny. Jinyang Palace Supervisor Pei Ji opened the Jinyang City Gate to welcome Li Yuan into the city. , Wang Wei, the prefect of the county, was killed and killed, Li Yuan proclaimed himself a general, and raised his flag to rebel..."
Before Chen Sangliang finished speaking, Yuan Tiangang, Pei Xingfang and others were already stunned. Chen Sangliang's voice became lower and lower, and finally it was almost inaudible. The hall fell into silence. After a long time, two tears, Unknowingly, the corners of Chen Yingliang's eyes leaked out, and then tears flowed down into lines, sobbing uncontrollably...