While Old General Yun got his wish and made Wang Shichong, Li Mihehua and their brothers suffer three losses, the battle between the Sui Army in Guanzhong and Xue Ju's army on the west front has also entered a decisive stage.
The Longxi soldiers under Xue Ju's command have two major advantages. One is the high quality of the soldiers. The soldiers are generally strong and brave. , the 70,000 main force of Xue Ju's army, the number of cavalry has reached an astonishing 18,000 or more, which is more than the sum of the cavalry of all the soldiers and horses under Chen Sangliang's command! Moreover, the Longxi soldiers learned to bow and horse since childhood, and they are skilled in riding, and their cavalry combat ability is even stronger than those Guanzhong cavalry trained by farming soldiers under Chen Sangliang's command!
Longxi soldiers also have two fatal weaknesses. One is that the number of soldiers is small and the source of soldiers is insufficient. It is difficult to get timely replenishment when one soldier dies. Raising wars to plunder supplies, and fighting a war of attrition would not exhaust Chen Sangliang anyway. In addition, Xue Jujun also has disadvantages such as relatively weak offensive ability, complex team composition, and poor organizational discipline. The advantages and disadvantages are equally prominent, but it cannot be denied that Xue Jujun is still Chen Sangliang's biggest and most dangerous enemy in Tongguan.
Both Xue Jujun and Chen Sangliang's army knew how to make use of their strengths and avoid their weaknesses. Xue Ju, who was economically weak, knew that his own army could not guarantee logistics supplies, so he simply ignored the logistics and transportation issues. Bring all the food, grass, and luggage that can be carried, and don't think about supplies at all. He is determined to support the war with war, relying on plundering An Ding and Beidi counties for self-sufficiency. At the same time, he is also planning to move his old nest. Take one of Anding and Beidi as a new base, and then look down on Daxing from a high position.
Chen Sangliang's army was not to be outdone. As soon as he received the news that Xue Ju's army had entered the bandits, Liu Gan, the acting prefect of An Ding, immediately ordered the whole county to fortify the walls and clear the wilderness, gather wild valleys in all counties and forts, and at the same time ordered the township soldiers from all counties to stick to the fortresses and increase the number of Xue Ju's troops. The difficulty of replenishment also slowed down the speed of Xue Ju's army's advance, buying time for the main force to come to the north. After hearing the news, Chen Sangliang praised Liu Gan very much, and immediately removed the word "acting agent" in front of Liu Gan's prefect. At the same time, he ordered Qu Tutong, the Minister of Rites who was familiar with the situation in Guanzhong, to lead an army of 10,000 to go northward first, and rushed to Anding to help Liu Gan. defend the city.
Both Chen Sangliang and Liu Gan underestimated Xue Jujun's combat ability, and they resisted for a day. Huating County, the westernmost point of Anding County, was captured by Xue Jujun, and almost all the defenders in the city were killed. Only a dozen or so people escaped to Anding to report the news At the same time, the several civilian docks around Huating County were all captured by Xue Jujun, and then Xue Jujun quickly marched eastward without stopping, and it took only three days to reach the city of Anding. Jingzhao County has not gone out yet.
The time has come to test Liu Gan, the prefect of Anding. Liu Gan, who was originally the general of Anding Yingyanglang, surrendered to Li Yuan when Li Yuan came to Daxing. Later, Li Yuanjun was beaten away by Chen Sangliang, and the counties and counties in Guanzhong surrendered to Chen Sangliang anyway, and Liu Gan, who was isolated and helpless, was also forced to surrender. Liang slaughtered him or at least deprived him of his official position just in case, Chen Sangliang rejected these absolutely well-intentioned suggestions in order not to be cold-hearted, and continued to let Liu Gan act as the prefect to stabilize the prefect, symbolically giving Liu Gan Some rewards, in the end, because of Liu Gan's strategy of strengthening the wall and clearing the wild, he took the initiative to remove the word "acting agent" for Liu Gan, which is not bad for Liu Gan.
Facts have proved that the deceptive effect of hypocrisy and hypocrisy has always been good. Liu Gan, who has changed his master three times, finally served the country loyally this time. With the enemy's soldiers suppressing the situation and reinforcements in sight, Liu Gan not only flatly rejected Xue Ju's surrender , Xue Ju's envoy was escorted to the top of the city and beheaded in public to show his determination not to surrender. Xue Ju was furious and immediately sent his troops to attack the city.
Liu Gan repulsed Xue Ju's attacks unbelievably many times. Every time he fought, he personally went to the front line to command the battle, inspired the soldiers, and relied on the barely strong city to compete with Xue Ju's strong soldiers. , Xue Jujun rushed to the city wall several times, but Liu Gan personally led the death squads to kill them. He killed more than a thousand soldiers of Xue Jujun's generals and soldiers, but he didn't let Xue Ju take down Anding City! In the end, Xue Ju was forced to change his strategy, changing from siege to siege, and divided his troops to take Wupu, other county towns around the stability.
In Anding County, there is only a miracle of Liu Gan. In the face of the powerful offensive of Xue Jujun, the surrounding counties of Chaona and Liangyuan both fell. Qu Tu led the way to the north to aid stability. At the same time, Chen Sangliang is thankful that after the fall of Changwu City in Beidi County, Ding'an City in Beidi County was also directly threatened by Xue Jujun, but Hu Yan, the prefect of Beidi, was also a reliable character. He rejected Xue Jujun's offer to surrender, and also repelled an attack by Xue Jujun's partial division, and successfully kept Ding'an City, preventing Xue Jujun from taking shelter in an important county town.
Relying on the desperate resistance of two local officials, Liu Gan and Hu Yan, the reinforcements led by Qu Tutong finally arrived at the battlefield before the fall of the two counties. Qu Tutong had been strangled, and as a last resort, Qu Tutong could only be stationed at the high wall next to Qianshuiyuan. First, keep this throat for advancing troops, so that Chen Sangliang's follow-up main force can advance. The Sui army's partial division Li Jing joined forces, and then attacked appropriately to share some of the pressure for Liu Gan and Hu Yan.
Qu Tutong also obviously underestimated some Xue Ju. He quickly discovered that this was a trap before he established a stable camp. Behind Qu Tutong, they attacked Qu Tutong from behind. The infantry stationed in Qianshuiyuan, attacked Qu Tutong's army from the front. Ding'an, Xue Ju's army took advantage of the momentum to pursue, and the gains were not small. Qu Tutong, who led the army alone under Chen Sangliang for the first time, lost the first battle, and could only write to Chen Sangliang in shame.
At the same time, Xue Ju's army turned to Xue Renguo's department, and also voluntarily gave up Fuyuan, which he had finally won, and led his army northward to Chaona. Fight and retreat, lure the old opponent Li Jing to go deep alone, go to the city of Anding and join hands with the main force led by Dad to kill Li Jing. However, in Li Jing's eyes, Xue Renguo's small plan was no different from a child's play house. Not only was he not fooled, but he also resolutely gave up the food in Chaona City, which had been emptied by Xue Jujun long ago, and led his army eastward. Lingtai City, the only city in the south of Anding that has not fallen, obtained some food supplies there, and at the same time deterred Gao Qiang, waiting to join forces with Chen Sangliang's main force.
History may indeed be inevitable. Between the marches of various armies and ministries, the decisive battle in Qianshuiyuan has gradually formed. If Chen Sangliang wants to save Anding and re-open the connection with Pingliang County, where the horses are raised, he must pass through Qianshuiyuan. At the same time, Li Jing's partial division stationed in Linggu and Qu Tutong's department temporarily transferred to Ding'an can also provide assistance to Chen Sangliang in the decisive battle in Qianshuiyuan. Fighting this decisive battle in Qianshuiyuan is undoubtedly an inevitable choice.
For Xue Jujun, who had no logistical supplies, luring Chen Sangliang into a decisive battle in Qianshuiyuan was undoubtedly the best opportunity for a quick battle. The decisive battle in Qianshuiyuan is also the best choice for Xue Jujun. Therefore, as soon as it was discovered that Chen Sangliang led more than 40,000 main forces to Xinping, Xue Jujun immediately concentrated heavy troops in Changwu City, waiting for Lao Shan to wait for Chen Sangliang to go north for a decisive battle.
However, it is a pity that there must be chance, because the decisive battle here is beneficial to Xue Jujun, and Chen Sangliang, whose fighting style is completely opposite to that of Li Er, did not want to fight this decisive battle in Qianshuiyuan. He spent the night resting outside Xin'an City. Facing the generals under his command who asked to be the vanguards to seize Gao Qiang and open the way to enter the army, Chen Sangliang shook his head again and again, explaining: "Don't rush, Gao Qiang is the throat of our army, but we can't rush into the army, there is a trap , if we rashly go north, we will be in danger of being defeated by the enemy one by one."
"But if we don't capture Gao, we won't be able to advance, and we won't be able to join forces with old general Qu Tu and Li Shangshu's army?" Luo Shixin asked.
"The enemy is expecting us to attack Gaoqian and join our partial division there." Chen Sangliang replied: "In this way, the superior cavalry under Xue Ju's command will be useful, and our partial division will leave the camp. And the protection of the city just gives them a chance for cavalry raids."
"Then what should we do?" Luo Shixin asked quickly.
"Of course it is to guard the danger, so that Xue Ju's cavalry is useless, and then wait for work to lure Xue Ju to take the initiative to fight us." Chen Sangliang replied smoothly, and put his finger on a position on the sand table, saying: " This is a good place for us to fight Xue Jupifu, we will set up camp here and try to lure Xue Ju to go south for a decisive battle."
Everyone quickly looked at the sand table carefully and found that the location Chen Sangliang pointed to was the pavilion mouth 30 miles north of Xin'an, about 40 miles away from Gaochao Qianshuiyuan, and it was also the throat connecting the north and the south. There is also a road leading to the Linggu where Li Jing is stationed, which is suitable for joining forces with Li Jing and for a decisive battle with Xue Ju. At the same time, the terrain around Tingkou is far less open than Qianshuiyuan, which is conducive to infantry combat, but it can give cavalry space to intersperse and detour. rare.
They all nodded and admitted that Tingkou is more suitable for the decisive battle between our army and Xue Ju than Qianshuiyuan. Du Ruhui, who was familiar with the situation in Guanzhong and went out with Chen Sangliang for the first time, said: "Prime Minister, Tingkou is a good place for our army to fight Xue Ju's thief army." However, this place is forty miles away from Qianshuiyuan, and hundreds of miles away from Changwu City, where the main force of Xue Ju's bandit army is stationed, so it may be very difficult to lure Xue Ju to go south for a decisive battle."
"It's a bit difficult, but it's not impossible." Chen Sangliang replied with a smile: "It doesn't matter even if you fail. Anyway, it consumes food and grass. We are definitely not afraid of him."
After speaking with a smile, Chen Sangliang ordered casually: "Qin Qiong, you will be the vanguard from tomorrow, leading four thousand cavalry to go north first, cross the pavilion directly for me, and set up camp twenty miles north of the pavilion, let out the wind, Let’s say we need to take down Gaoyi first, and then join our partial army there to make Xue Ju’s army happy first. The day after tomorrow, your army will stand still for me, and then let the wind go out, just say that Yu Wenhua and the common man got Li Mi Support, I am marching troops to Changpingcang, I am hesitating whether to return to the army to save the Eastern Front, so I ask you to stop advancing troops, if Xue Ju's army sends troops to attack you, retreat back to the pavilion. "
Qin Qiong smiled and clasped his hands and sang promises. Chen Sangliang smiled and turned to the other generals, and asked, "What should our main force do tomorrow? Do you still need me to order?"
"No need." All the generals of the Sui army shook their heads together, and the honest man Kan Leng said with a smile: "Tomorrow, while threatening to attack Gaoqian, he will enter the entrance of the pavilion, and then the day after tomorrow, he will stand still and let the wind go to say that Yu Wenhua and the common man will enter the army. , Threatening Chang Pingcang, our rear is in a hurry, so we can only temporarily stop advancing troops."
"I didn't expect that even Kan Leng was taken away." Chen Sangliang laughed, and then said: "But in order to pretend to be decent, we will still walk forty miles tomorrow and camp ten miles north of Tingkou. The day after tomorrow Retreat ten li and return to Tingkou to set up camp. In addition, I also need an envoy who can speak well, do you have any good candidates?"
In this way, at the request of Chen Sangliang, the main force of the Sui army continued to go north to Qianshuiyuan in the early morning of the next day. The main force led by the forward Qin Qiong and Chen Sangliang crossed the pavilion without hesitation. After that, they spent the night in camps only 20 miles and 30 miles away from Gaochai. At the same time, they also threatened to win the battle of Gaochao and fight Xue Ju's army together with other soldiers and horses. The scouts of Xue Jujun, who closely monitored every move of the main force of the Sui army, reported the news to Xue Ju. Xue Ju sneered again and again, saying that Chen Sangliang would just come here and keep Qianshuiyuan as Chen Sangliang's burial place.
Everything seemed to be in Xue Ju's expectation. However, after another day, Xue Ju received another report that surprised him. The forward Qin Qiong's troops also stood still and did not move forward. At the same time, Xue Jujun heard rumors that Yu Wenhua and Chen Sangliang's nemesis Li Mi had joined hands, and after receiving Li Mi's food support, they were marching into Weihandao, preparing to attack Chen Sangliang's largest granary on the Eastern Front, Changping. Cang, so Chen Sangliang was forced to retreat.
The roads are far away, and all the passes are controlled by Chen Sangliang's lackeys. It would be difficult for Xue Jujun to get half a catty of salt from the Hedong Yanchi controlled by Chen Sangliang, let alone the farther away Dongdu battlefield. The specific news of the battle. So after hearing the spy report, Xue Ju was skeptical, but also overjoyed, and said happily, "Okay! It's best that the rumor is true! Yu Wenhua and his husband attacked Chang Pingcang, and Chen Yingliang's little fellow had to retreat. He Get the hell out, the old man has won Anding and Beidi, and there is great hope for Daxing if he marches forward again!"
"If this is the case, it is really beneficial to us." Hao Yuan, Xue Ju's adviser, nodded and said, "Yu Wenhua and the Xiaoguo army under his command are strong and powerful. If he goes west with all his strength, Chen Yingliang must go all out." Can't deal with it."
"Yes, that's the truth." Xue Ju rubbed his hands and laughed, and then he had an idea and asked Hao Yuan: "Wei Qing, since this is the case, how about we take the opportunity to advance? Chen Yingliang is in a hurry to return to the army to rescue the Eastern Front. Surely he has no intention of fighting, and his flaws will definitely be exposed at that time, we will take the opportunity to send troops to break through, not only can we obtain a large amount of food, grass and military supplies, but also hope to smash his main force, and then win Daxing?"
Before Xue Ju finished speaking, Xue Renguo, Zong Luohu, Zhang Gui and others beside him had already cheered loudly, but Hao Yuan, who suffered from the most serious Stockholm Syndrome in the late Sui Dynasty and early Tang Dynasty, quickly objected: "Your Majesty, don't rush to make a decision. Although it is very possible to enter the Weihan Road, Chen Yingliang is notoriously treacherous, so we need to guard against this as his tactic to lure the enemy. The best plan for now is to wait and see what happens, and wait for Chen Yingliang to really retreat Later."
"Your Majesty, Hao Weiqing is justified. Our army can't take the risk of entering the army now." Chu Liang, Xue Ju's servant of Huangmen and the father of a famous person, also objected: "Chen Yingliang is not only famous for being treacherous and cunning, but he is currently retreating. The pavilion where he is stationed is also a dangerous place, the terrain is narrow and the roads are complicated, it is the place where his main infantry can be used, but it is very unfavorable for our cavalry to fight, if your majesty rushes in, I'm afraid he will fall into his tricks."
Xue Ju hesitated for a moment before giving up this plan, nodded and said: "Then don't worry, fortunately our food and grass can last for a while, let's wait and see if Mr. Chen Yingliang really retreats."
After ignoring Xue Renguo and Zong Luohu's unconvinced repeated pleadings to enter the army, and arranged for additional scouts to closely monitor the movement of the main force of the Sui army and listen to the news as much as possible, Xue Ju sighed again: "If there is any way to get Dongdu The news of the battlefield will be enough, as long as it is confirmed that Yu Wenhua and the common man are going west with all their strength, what is it to enter the pavilion? When we arrive at the pavilion, I will stick to it and not fight, let's see who can survive!"
Of course, Chen Sangliang also knew that whether Yu Wenhuaji really entered Changpingcang was very important to Xue Ju. As a benevolent and moral person in power, the magnanimous Prime Minister Chen never let his enemies down. After another day, Du Ruhui's younger brother, Du Chuke, came to Xue Jujun with a letter written by Prime Minister Chen, requesting to see Xue Ju, and told Xue Jujun directly what he was here to ask for peace on behalf of Chen Sangliang! He requested to strike peace with Xue Ju's army, sign a covenant, and promised to send Xue Ju a batch of food, grass and military supplies.