The history of Li Yuan’s rise of troops in Taiyuan is similar to that in history. On May 11th, Fan Zigai, who stayed behind in Taiyuan and worked so hard for the ruined country of the Sui Dynasty, could not bear the suffering of illness. He passed away and was ordered to succeed Fan Zigai in charge. Xue Shixiong from Taiyuan also failed to arrive in Taiyuan to take over as scheduled due to various unexpected reasons, and Taiyuan fell into a situation without a leader.
In all fairness, Fan Zigai, who is cruel and easy to kill, is not a good person. In order to be loyal to Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, killing officials and people is like mowing weeds. But he can definitely be regarded as a principled person. He is honest, self-disciplined and fair. As long as he abides by the law, is loyal to Sui Yangdi, and is useful to the Sui court, he can basically live a good life under his command—for example, a certain The stuff that has lost its conscience.
Therefore, when Fan Zigai was alive, even though the five counties under his rule were raging and the bandits were rampant, the army and the city were basically able to maintain stability. Because of his fear and respect for him, he dared not do anything special. Sensing the opportunity, the members of the Li family who came to Taiyuan in advance to lurk, did not dare to take action easily because of his existence, because they were afraid of his prestige and reputation.
But now that Fan Zigai is dead, the situation is completely different. Although Wang Wei, the Deputy Left Guard Prime Minister, is also a loyal court official, loyal and reliable to the Sui Dynasty, he is far from the prestige and influence of Fan Zigai, and has no influence on the army. The control is far less powerful than that of Fan Zigai, so this naturally gave Lao Li's family a godsend opportunity. Just a few days before Fan Zigai's death, Li Yuan, who received the news, had already come to Taiyuan to preside over the important event. After Pei Ji sent the news of Fan Zigai's death to Li Yuan, Li Yuan also made a decisive decision. That night, he was in the army Under the support of the old ministry, a mutiny was launched.
Wang Wei's ineffective control of the army helped Li Yuan a lot. Yun Dingxing was also restrained by Liu Wuzhou in Loufan County. He had no time to return to the army to help Wang Wei stabilize the situation. Xu Shixu, the best friend of the clan, beheaded Wang Wei on the mourning hall of Fan Zigai, Taiyuan ordered Wen Dayou to surrender and rebellion, and the two cities of Taiyuan and Jinyang fell into Li Yuan's clutches at the same time. Li Yuan immediately proclaimed himself a great general with the support of a group of old troops, ordered Taiyuan, Loufan, Yanmen, Xihe and Mayi counties to change to red and white flags, respected Emperor Sui Yang as the Supreme Emperor, and supported the acting king Yang You as emperor , raising troops under the banner of supporting Yang You's ascension to the throne, in order to appease the officers and soldiers of the Great Sui Dynasty and publicize that his raising troops was legal and reasonable.
Whether Li Yuan's rebellion is legal or not is beyond Chen Sangliang's control, and he has no time to care about it for the time being. After receiving the news of Fan Zigai's death and Li Yuan's rebellion, Chen Sangliang cried bitterly for his old Bole Fan Zigai, and at the same time They did not dare to announce the news immediately, and asked all insiders to keep it secret for the time being, so as not to affect the morale of this sudden situation and shake the morale of the army. They just secretly sent people to the north to investigate the situation and find the whereabouts of their cousin Li Jing, and then immediately refocused their efforts on the Tigers. In the battle of Laoguan, we are determined to take advantage of the current favorable situation to recapture Hulaoguan as soon as possible, and reverse the current passive situation in the Dongdu battlefield, so as to free up our hands to deal with the changing situation in Taiyuan.
Originally, Chen Yingliang planned to use the information provided by Mulan to cheat and attack Hulao Pass, but after careful calculation, Chen Sangliang found that his thinking was too simple. Although the information provided by Mulan was credible and reliable, even if he sent it out It is very difficult to take the opportunity to get Hulaoguan back, because the Wagang Army stationed at Hulaoguan cannot go out to rescue Hao Xiaode, Li Mi's army, even if Sending aid will definitely leave sufficient troops in the pass to defend, and will not leave too many opportunities for the Sui army.
At the same time, the mere five miles between Hao Xiaode's camp and Hulao Pass provided too little space for the Sui army's surprise attack tactics. Spare time will only harm the soldiers who surprise the pass city in vain, and if a large number of ambushes are deployed outside the pass city, it will be difficult to hide from the eyes of Hao Xiaode's army and the attacking army of Hulao Pass, especially the attacking army of Hulao Pass. As long as one person runs back to turn off the alarm, the Sui army's sneak attack plan can be wiped out immediately.
Some refused to give up, so Chen Sangliang asked his staff for help, and told a few accomplices arbitrarily that the wax pill collection sent by Mulan was absolutely reliable, so you can trust it with confidence, and then asked everyone if there was a way to take advantage of the false signal to seize the tiger. locked up. However, Chen Sangliang himself has no way to take advantage of this opportunity, let alone Wei Zheng and Yuan Tiangang, who have more upright personalities. His distant cousin Pei Xingfang also directly pointed out: "Brother, this matter is too difficult. It is said that the possibility of us cheating to open Hulao and closing the city gate is very small. Even if we can successfully deceive the city gate and immediately throw a large number of troops into the city to fight in the streets, it will be difficult to quickly take down Guancheng. A large number of Li Mi's bandit army stationed outside the east gate of Hulao Pass entered the city to rescue them. The Wagang bandit army and Hao Xiaode bandit army who were tricked out of the city by us also turned around and fought with us. We successfully captured the pass. It may still be very large, but the loss is destined to be very heavy."
Chen Sangliang fell silent, and kept calculating and analyzing in his mind, but he still had no choice but to find that Pei Xingfang's analysis was indeed very reasonable. Even if the self-army deceived the city gate and invested a large number of troops in the battle, it would be difficult to take down the tiger in a short time. At that time, Li Mi's army outside the east gate will enter the city to rescue, and Hao Xiaode and Wagang's army will also turn around and kill the army when they leave the pass. Our army is destined to start a big melee with the enemy. You have to pay a heavy price—it is barely worth it to pay a heavy price, but if you can't win the Hulao Pass, you will lose too much.
"Brother, in fact, you should not be in a hurry to capture Hulao Pass. In the current situation, the possibility of us being able to take down Hulao Pass in a single battle is too small." Pei Xingfang continued: "The bandit army Hao Xiaode's troops stationed in the western suburbs of Hulao Pass , Although the strength is not enough to fear, it should not be underestimated. If we don't pull out this nail, we will have to invest a lot of troops to monitor and guard against him when we attack Hulao Pass. Weakening our strength is not enough. The younger brother thinks To be on the safe side, our primary goal should still be Hao Xiaode, not Hulao Pass."
"Chen Liushou, what you said makes sense." Wei Zheng chimed in, "For Zhai and Li's thieves, Hulao Pass is far more important than Hao Xiaode. If we attack Hao Xiaode, Hulao Pass will definitely not go all out to rescue him, but If we attack Hulao Pass, if Hulao Pass is in an emergency, Hao Xiaode will spare no effort to come back, because even if Hao Xiaode loses his camp, there is Hulao Pass to retreat to. Start Hulao Pass."
"Primary and secondary are different. Our strength advantage is not great, and we don't take advantage of the land. It is too risky to take the lead first and then the second. If we fail, we are doomed to suffer heavy losses. Instead of taking risks and advancing lightly, it is better to use troops first and then take the lead. Use troops safely and pull out Hao Xiaode first." A nail to weaken the overall strength of the bandit army, and then attempt to capture Hulao Pass."
If Chen Sangliang is a person who likes to put all his eggs in one basket, then he might not listen to Pei Xingfang and Wei Zheng's advice and take a risky gamble. Unfortunately, Chen Sangliang is not such a person. In the current situation, Chen Sangliang dare not take risks easily with his capital seeds , so Chen Sangliang finally changed his mind, nodded and said: "Yes, you can't take the risk and advance lightly, and first pull out the nail of Hao Xiaode. Fortunately, Wang Shichong can still hold on, and the main force of the bandit army is determined to deal with him first. Pack us up, we still have some time."
"Yes, yes." Yuan Tiangang finally caught the opportunity to speak, nodded repeatedly and said: "When formulating tactics, it is best to take the opportunity to verify the authenticity of the wax pill collection. If it is proved to be true, we can trust this insider to provide news."
Yuan Tiangang's words reminded Chen Sangliang, and made Chen Sangliang immediately think of an important question, that is, once he used the information provided by Mulan, then Hulaoguan would definitely know that there was a traitor in the pass, and maybe he would Mulan was suspicious. But after thinking about it, Chen Sangliang felt that not only did he not have to worry too much, but he could also plant and frame another character he had coveted for a long time. Naturally, Chen Sangliang quickly started I thought about it carefully with his head full of bad water...
…
Now it's time to take a look at the situation on Hao Xiaode's side. After suffering two big losses in front of Chen Sangliang, Hao Xiaode, who was alone outside the customs, was of course looking forward to being able to withdraw to the customs, rest assured, rest, and bandage his wounds However, Li Mi sent an order to allow Hao Xiaode to continue to be stationed outside the camp, and continue to serve as a barrier between Hulaoguan and the Sui Army in the Eastern Capital. Some troops ordered him to only defend and not fight, and Hulaoguan also took the initiative to agree with him on the warning signal, and did not completely use him as cannon fodder. Only then did Hao Xiaode's resentment subside, and he continued to be stationed outside the pass honestly, strictly guarding the camp no longer casually. go out.
What made Hao Xiaode secretly happy was still behind. After the defeat in the pursuit, the Sui Army in the Eastern Capital did not launch an attack for two consecutive days and one night. Somehow Hao Xiaode was given a chance to breathe, but Hao Xiaode did not take it lightly. After two days of respite, on the second night, Hao Xiaode arranged a large number of troops to guard the camp at night, and repeatedly confessed that the Sui army was unable to attack in a surprise attack. In order to prevent Chen Sangliang from repeating his old tricks and tricking Hao Xiaode's army out of the camp to beat him.
Hao Xiaode's worries really came true. Not long after the first watch, the bandit scouts discovered that an unknown number of Sui troops were approaching his camp. Hao Xiaode, who had already fallen asleep, heard the news and did not dare to neglect, so he quickly got up and took charge of the camp defense. I went up to the high ground to observe the enemy's situation, and found that there was indeed a Sui army with torches approaching his camp. It was a beautiful moonlight night, and the army could travel at night without torches. Hao Xiaode didn't understand the purpose of the Sui army's intentionally revealing their whereabouts, but he had suffered a loss once, and Hao Xiaode didn't dare to be fooled a second time, so he quickly ordered the whole army Get up and prepare for the battle, let the troops under your command strictly guard the fortifications of the camp, and no soldier is allowed to leave the camp without authorization.
The formation of the Sui army at the foot of the mountain has been set, and after waiting for a long time, the Sui army has no next move. When Hao Xiaode was wondering, the Sui army at the foot of the mountain suddenly blared their trumpets and drums, shouting to kill the sky, and the edge of Hao Xiaode's camp suddenly rose. Many fires and the thorns and trees on the hillside were also lit by the Sui army. Hao Xiaode was shocked, and said that the Sui army was coming to attack the camp, so he quickly ordered the whole army to step up their guard and wait nervously for the Sui army to launch an attack. However, after waiting left and right, the Sui army at the foot of the mountain did not see a single soldier approaching the fence except for beating drums and trumpets, and shouting to kill. Hao Xiaode couldn't help being very puzzled, and said: "Chen Yingliang, the dog officer, took the wrong medicine? He came at night." What are you doing feinting? Want to lure me out of the camp again? Am I that stupid?"
"Your Majesty, look!" At this moment, a soldier suddenly pointed to the top of the mountain in the south and screamed, "Our people, lit the emergency bonfire!"
Hao Xiaode was shocked, and hurriedly turned his head to look to the south, only to see that at the top of the south mountain that he had agreed with Hulao Pass, there was indeed a bonfire lit to call for help from Hulao Pass. Hao Xiaode didn't react for a while, and said angrily: "Bastard! Those idiots on the mountain didn't see the signal from our camp, what are they doing with the bonfire?"
"Could it be that they took the fire lit by the officers and soldiers as a distress signal in our camp?" A thief general analyzed.
Not waiting for Hao Xiaode to agree with this point of view, Liu Heikai on the other side suddenly changed his face, and blurted out: "Not good! There must be a traitor here, or at Hulaoguan, and told Chen Yingliang our emergency signal. , Chen Yingliang sent people to sneak attack on our beacon tower, and sent out a false signal to trick Hulaoguan into sending troops!"
"Is this signal sent by the officers and soldiers? How is it possible?" Hao Xiaode was taken aback and couldn't believe it for a moment.
"How is it impossible?" Liu Heita pointed to the Sui army's feigned attack at the foot of the mountain, and said quickly: "Otherwise, why would the officers and soldiers beating gongs and drums and shouting to kill? This is clearly to create the illusion that our camp is fighting, and to send out a fake The purpose of the signal to ask for help from Hulao Pass is to trick Hulao Pass into sending troops, and then either ambush the reinforcements at Hulao Pass, or take the opportunity to attack Hulao Pass, if Hulao Pass falls for the trick, they will suffer immediately!"
"Send someone to Hulao Pass immediately and tell them the signal is false!" Hao Xiaode made a decisive decision and immediately arranged a team of cavalry out of the camp, and rushed to Hulao Pass to call the police.
If Hao Xiaode's people can send the news, then Chen Sangliang really needn't mess around. The bandit Qingqi had just left the camp, and before they had time to go down the mountain, there were already random arrows shooting in front of them. The bandit soldiers were hit by arrows one after another. Can quickly return to the camp and report to Hao Xiaode. Hao Xiaode was in a hurry when he heard the report, but Liu Heikai analyzed it calmly, and quickly said: "Your Majesty, the officers and troops have planned for a long time, and the arrangement must be perfect. I am afraid it will be very difficult for us to send a small number of soldiers to report the letter. The only way is to send troops. Getting closer to Hulao Pass is of course the best way to lure the officers and soldiers into ambushes, if not, we can also break through the blocking of the officers and soldiers and report to Hulao Pass.”
As soon as Hao Xiaode was overjoyed, he immediately accepted Liu Heita's suggestion, and ordered Li Shicai to lead his headquarters out of the camp, and went to the city of Hulaoguan to call the police. Li Wencai, who brought his own dry food and defected to Li Mi, received this dangerous order. I felt a little dissatisfied, and the whole army deliberately delayed the attack. As a result, before Li Shicai's army came out of the camp, Hulao Pass had already been tricked.
In fact, even if Li Shicai didn't procrastinate on purpose, he still didn't have time to stop the guards of Hulao Pass from falling into the trap. The sound of war drums and horns deliberately issued by the Sui army had already alarmed the defenders of Hulao Pass. Shan Xiongxin, Zhai Hong and other guards of Hulao Pass also Immediately make preparations for defending the city and attacking for rescue, and then saw the bonfire asking for help. Although Shan Xiongxin and others felt that Hao Xiaode's request for help was too fast, but it was already dark and Chen Sangliang was notoriously scheming, Shan Xiongxin and others dared not see him If they could not save themselves, they immediately sent troops out of the city to Hao Xiaode's camp for rescue—but Shan Xiongxin, Zhai Rang and others were not fools, in the dark night, Hulaoguan only sent Wang Dangren and 3,000 troops to help, and they didn't dare All out.
As expected, Wang Dangren's army was ambushed, and just over two miles out of the city, Sui army ambush soldiers had already rushed out on both sides of the road, and another Sui army ambush soldier detoured to Wang Dangren's back, directly cutting off Wang Dangren's army. On Dangren's way back, Wang Dangren's army was not very elite in the first place, and when they were ambushed by the Sui army in the dark, they immediately went into chaos. After the chaos, they were naturally defeated.
It was the turn of Shan Xiongxin and Hao Xiaode to be in a dilemma. Wang Dangren attacked and was ambushed. Shan Xiongxin wanted to attack but was afraid of being ambushed again. He was even more afraid that the Sui army would take the opportunity to attack Hulao Pass. Ren was also afraid of ambush, and if he didn't attack, he would die without saving the reinforcements. It would be more difficult to ask for help in the future. As a last resort, Hao Xiaode could only bite the bullet and force Li Shicai to lead his headquarters to meet the reinforcements sent by Hulaoguan.
After sending out the help with a full stomach, there were no ambushes waiting for Li Shicai, but only the soldiers of the Sui Army who lined up to intercept them, or the elite soldiers of the Sui Army led by Luo Shixin. Immediately, Luo Shixin slapped him all over the ground, and the Qijun elite only used one charge, and charged Li Shicai's mob to pieces. Li Shicai was defeated and left. Butts chased them to the front of Hao Xiaode's camp. Li Shicai's army cried out loudly, begging Hao Xiaode to open the gate of the camp and let them go back to the camp to escape.
The time has come to test Hao Xiaode's adaptability. Open the camp and let Li Shicai return to the camp. The Sui army may follow and enter the camp. The reaction was the quickest, and he immediately shouted: "Your Majesty, you can't open the gate of the camp. The reinforcements are in ambush at Hulaoguan. We have no reinforcements. I don't know how many officers and soldiers are ambushing outside the camp in the dark. Once the officers and soldiers take advantage of the situation and enter the camp, Cooperate with the inside and outside to welcome foreign troops into the camp, and we are finished! Immediately shoot arrows to force Li Shicai to flee south, count as much as you can, so that we can minimize the loss!"
Gritting his teeth and stomping his feet again, Hao Xiaode accepted Liu Heitai's cruel suggestion, and ordered the army to immediately shoot arrows to prevent Li Shicai's defeated soldiers from storming the gate of the camp, and ordered the defeated soldiers to flee to the depths of the southern forest. Arrows were fired all at once to stop the crowd of defeated soldiers, and then with knives and axes, they hacked and killed fellow defeated soldiers who were already climbing the fence. Li Shicai's defeated soldiers had nowhere to go, crying loudly, Li Shicai cursed Hao Xiaode for being cruel and ruthless, but he had no choice but to He quickly led the defeated soldiers and fled to the south.
The news that Hao Xiaode's army expelled the defeated soldiers and fled to the south was sent to Chen Sangliang. Chen Sangliang, who was personally commanding the army at the foot of the mountain, was surprised when he heard the news, and said in surprise: "I don't see that this Hao Xiaode has such determination. I really underestimated him for being able to do something like a poisonous snake biting his wrist and a strong man breaking his arm."
"Stay behind, what should we do? Should we let Brother Shixin attack the bandit camp with all our strength?" Qin Qiong asked next to him.
After a little calculation, Chen Sangliang shook his head and said: "No need, Hao Xiaode is willing to kill even his own defeated soldiers, he must be very determined to defend the camp, Shixin is not sure about attacking the camp, there is no need to increase the casualties. Send an order to Luo Shixin, let him go all out Pursue and kill the defeated soldiers of the bandit army, and inflict more casualties on the bandit army, the more the bandit army loses, the more dog-eat-dog will be in the future."
At the same time, Shan Xiongxin at Hulao Pass also followed Zhai Hong's suggestion and decided not to send troops to rescue Wang Dangren, but to let Wang Dangren fend for himself, in order to ensure the safety of Hulao Pass. Come on, naturally it will be hard for Wang Dangren and Li Shicai who led the attack respectively. One was attacked by the Sui army from three sides and the corpse was strewn all over the place, and the other suffered heavy casualties under the pursuit of Luo Shixin. Wang Dangren from Guan Laiyuan was also furious, roaring and cursing hysterically, "Shan Xiongxin! Remember me the fuck, let's wait and see!"
"Hao Xiaode, remember me! Remember! Let's wait and see! Wait and see!" At the same time, Li Shicai roared wildly on the way to escape.