The strength of the Sui army in the Huoyi area was not very strong. The previous garrison was no more than 10,000 people. During this period of time to pave the way for the Northern Expedition, it only added 2,000 people. Although it is one of the main forces of the Hedong Military Region in terms of strength, it is It was still not strong enough. In front of the South Route Army of Taiyuan Army, which was also not too strong, it was more than enough to protect itself, but it was far from enough to win the entire Queshu Valley by itself.
The deployment of troops in the Hedong Military Region was originally arranged by Liu Heitai himself, and of course he knew it well, so even if he secretly went to the Huoyi battlefield to take command, Liu Heitai did not dare to expect to be able to take the Queshu Valley before the main force went north. Natural danger, the plan is just to take advantage of Li Er's weakness of character that likes to take risks, take the opportunity to severely injure Li Er's direct line in the field, make a good start for the army's Northern Expedition, and try to kill Li Er, who even Chen Sangliang deeply admires. A dangerous and powerful enemy to be afraid of.
The second day after the smuggled cannon went north, it was also the 28th day of February in the third year of Yining. The whole day passed, and the Li Erjun stationed in Lingshi did not move. Any unnecessary actions, and at the same time, there was no sign of the Duan Lun Department of the Taiyuan Army stationed in Jiexiu going south. In this regard, Wang Xingben and Cao Qing, who didn't really believe that Li Er dared to take the risk to fight, inevitably doubted Liu Heitai's analysis and judgment of the enemy's situation, but Liu Heitai didn't care, and smiled. Second, if you are determined to fight out of the valley, only if you are stupid will you expose the signs of gathering troops to Lingshi. Therefore, in addition to ordering the whole army to step up guard at night, Liu Heitai also asked scouts to closely monitor Lingshi to prevent Duan Lun's army from being killed at night. Quietly went south to increase the number of Lingshi.
What happened next surprised Liu Heitai. At around four o'clock that night, when he was sleeping soundly in the military tent, Cao Qing, his favorite general who had been single-handedly picked up from the army, came to the tent suddenly. Seeking to see him outside, the soldiers hesitated whether to wake Liu Heitai in the middle of the night, but Liu Heitai, who had already been awakened, thought that something serious had happened, and hurriedly ordered to summon him. As a result, Liu Heitai got up with his clothes on, and Cao Qing had already rushed there Beside Liu Heitai's bed, he cupped his hands to Liu Heitai and said in a low voice: "Reporting to Commander, Zhang Dezheng, Lingshi County Magistrate, sent his wife and brother Tang Jin as an envoy, and went south overnight to ask to see our army's chief general, General Wang Xingben, and said There is an important matter to report to General Wang. The last general is on duty tonight, and has already sent someone to inform General Wang, and he will report to you again."
"Lingshi County Magistrate Zhang Dezheng sent an envoy to see him?" Liu Heita was startled for a moment, then hurriedly asked: "Have you had any contact with this Zhang Dezheng before? Do you know this person?"
"I have some understanding." Cao Qing nodded, and replied: "Zhang Dezheng is from Pingyao, Xihe County. His family has been in business for generations. He was recommended by Li Yuan's confidant, the warrior Xun, to become an official. Wu Cong, the magistrate of Huoyi County of the Army, contacted Wu Cong and exchanged property for the magistrate Wu to persuade the general to reopen the trade route. Waiting for things, and in order to facilitate spying on the enemy's military situation, the general waited for your permission to reopen the trade, and the county magistrate Wu also contacted Zhang Dezheng privately with the general's secret consent for later use."
"You've done a good job. Only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you win every battle." After Liu Heitai praised, Wang Xingben, the honorary general of Huo Yi's Sui Army, also hurried to Liu Heitai's bedroom to ask for orders. Liu Heitai made a little more calculations, He ordered: "You don't need to bring him to see me, and don't let him know that I have come to Huo Yi in person. You go to see him together and see why he came here, and if he makes any request..."
"We just said we want to discuss it, and then come back to ask for your opinion, Commander-in-Chief." Cao Qing hurriedly replied.
"No, promise him!" Liu Heita waved his hand resolutely, and said, "No matter what request he makes, you can agree to him on the spot, stabilize him for the time being, and then come back and report to me."
Wang Xingben and Cao Qing agreed, and immediately went to the central army tent to meet Zhang Dezheng's envoy. Liu Heitai was completely sleepy, and sat down on the desk to wait in his clothes. What kind of tricks can you, Li Erlang, play!"
Liu Heitai may have misunderstood this time. After a while, Wang Xingben and Cao Qing rushed into Liu Heitai's bedroom with joyful faces. Said: "Commander, great joy! Zhang Dezheng is here to ask for the surrender of the city, and he also presented us with the bandit army's defense map of Queshu Valley and many of the bandit army's secrets. As long as we send troops to fight under Lingshi City, he will The city gates will be opened to welcome us into the city!"
"Please surrender the city? Is it true?"
Liu Heitai was full of doubts, and when he hurriedly read the letter carefully by the oil lamp, Liu Heitai was quite surprised that in the letter, Zhang Dezheng, the magistrate of Lingshi County, not only offered to surrender and expressed his willingness to dedicate the city, but also really Reported three very important military situations to the self-army. The first was that the Taiyuan army had indeed discovered that the Sui army had secretly sent the artillery to Huoyi. Beishang Jiexiu reported to Duan Lun for help, wanting to pull Duan Lun to highlight the surprise soldiers, and first to attack the Sui army camp to seize the artillery.
The third military situation is even more important. Duan Lun not only flatly rejected Li Er's request to go to war, but also secretly ordered Zhang Dezheng to secretly monitor every move of Li Er's lineage. And Zhang Dezheng made up his mind because he knew that the artillery of the Sui army had already arrived in Huoyi, and that the small town of Lingshi was difficult to defend. When the leading party surrendered to the Sui army, they were unwilling to be buried with the doomed Li family in Taiyuan.
Not to mention, Liu Heikai really couldn't tell the truth about Zhang Dezheng's surrender this time. He couldn't see whether he wanted to lure the snake out of the hole and lure the enemy in for Li Er, or because he knew that the old Li's family would not have much time to come, he was determined to Surrender to the army. Over there, Wang Xingben impatiently unfolded the enemy's defense map sent by Zhang Dezheng, and said, "Marshal, Zhang Dezheng's surrender should be true. He secretly drew the enemy's defense map dedicated to us. , not only is the same as the scouts of our army, but also marked two bunkers of the bandit army that our scouts have not found so far, and the mountain paths leading to these two bunkers."
"Also, Tang Jin, Zhang Dezheng's brother-in-law, also volunteered that he is willing to stay in our army as a hostage." Cao Qing added, "If Zhang Dezheng didn't open the city gate to welcome me when our army approached Lingshi City, When the army enters the city, Tang Jin is willing to accept any punishment from our army!"
Looking carefully at the defense map of Taiyuan Army sent by Zhang Dezheng on his own initiative, as well as looking at Zhang Dezheng's autographed letter over and over again, Liu Heitai didn't say a word for a long time, Cao Qing and Wang Xingben were a little anxious, Cao Qing hurriedly went Said: "The last general also suspected that this is the enemy's false surrender to lure the enemy, but the risk is worth taking. Zhang Dezheng's sincerity in asking for surrender is almost impossible to fake. As long as we win Lingshi City, it is equivalent to winning more than half of it." It’s going to be much easier when our main force goes north to attack Taiyuan.”
"Marshal, we should take this risk." Wang Xingben also said: "In fact, it is not very dangerous to enter Lingshi. Our army has been stationed here for almost half a year, and the scouts have long been aware of the terrain of Queshu Valley south of Lingshi. We know it well, as long as we send more scouts to detect the possible ambush on the high ground on both sides, and advance cautiously, even if there is an ambush hidden, we can easily deal with it. But if we don't seize this opportunity, hurry up and take down Lingshi City, and wait until the main force of the bandit army Going south to deploy defenses, and the construction of the bandit army’s fortifications is completed, we don’t know how much we will have to pay if we want to take the spirit stone and break through the Rat Valley.”
Here I must introduce the situation of Lingshi. Lingshi is located in the middle of Queshu Valley. It is the only intermountain basin among the high mountains and mountains around Queshu Valley. The basin area is about 7,000 mu. The only way to pass through Taiyuan, the strategic location is very important. It has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. If the Sui army can win Lingshi City, it will not only be equivalent to controlling most of the Queshu Valley, but also the natural danger of the Queshu Valley that the Taiyuan Army relies on. There is only one Jiexiu city left to defend, which is of great benefit to the main force of the Sui army's rapid breakthrough of the Taiyuan army's Queshugu defense line. That's why Wang Xingben and Cao Qing were so excited and anxious when they saw the opportunity to win Lingshi City in advance.
Furthermore, when it is basically impossible to distinguish whether Zhang Dezheng's request for surrender is true or false, Liu Heita, who is as wise and brave as he is, will inevitably be greatly moved. After thinking about it for a long time, Liu Heita could not help but decide to give it a try, saying: " Well, let’s give it a try. Tomorrow, you are going to go north to attack. The day after tomorrow, Cao Qing, you will be the vanguard and lead 3,000 infantry to go north and attack the fortifications of the bandits south of Lingshi. Wang Xingben, you will lead 3,000 troops as the rear army. Cao Qing keeps a distance of ten miles and goes north carefully. I will stay in Huoyi and wait for your news. If I can successfully capture the Lingshi, I will immediately reinforce your troops."
Cao Qing and Wang Xingben were overjoyed when they heard it, and hurriedly sang promises together, and then Cao Qing asked again: "Marshal, where are those cannons?"
After thinking about it for a long time, Liu Heita finally replied: "Stay in the camp for the time being."
In this way, after a day of intense preparations, in the early morning of the first day of March, the Huoyi Sui Army marched northward according to the order. Cao Qing led 3,000 infantry as the vanguard, and the honorary Huoyi Sui Army General Wang Xingben led 4,000 troops. Afterwards, Liu Heita still did not show his banner as the commander, and the Huoyi Sui army camp still showed the banner of Liang Naizhu, another deputy of Wang Xingben.
The smoothness of the Sui army's advancement is enough to make people happy. The fortifications of the Taiyuan army that have not been completed have little effect on the impact of the Sui army soldiers. The three road barriers were completely destroyed by the Sui army in only four charges. Dezheng's map easily pulled out the two bunkers that the Taiyuan Army was just building. The soldiers of the Taiyuan Army who were still digging rocks to open holes were either killed or captured. The captured soldiers of the Taiyuan Army were extremely strange. asked, "How do you know we're hiding here? We don't shoot arrows or show our flags, so you can't see us on the road?"
In the evening, Cao Qing's front army arrived at the outskirts of Lingshi City smoothly. Wang Xingben's rear army, who had come all the way, did not find any ambush arranged by the Taiyuan army. Qing joined hands to set up a camp on the high wall. What made Cao Qing and Wang Xingben extremely happy was that the Li Second Army not only did not send troops to fight with them, but also retreated to Lingshi City to protect themselves behind closed doors. As a result, although this increased the difficulty of the Sui army's siege , but it greatly limited the speed of Li's Second Army's attack. Even if Cao Qing and Wang Xingben were disadvantaged in the next battle, they could calmly retreat from the same path, and the possibility of being dumped by the enemy was almost non-existent.
After all, they are veterans who rely on fighting for their food. Although the situation is favorable, Wang Xingben and Cao Qing still divide their troops to go north very cautiously, blocking the road from Lingshi to Jiexiu with earth, rocks and trees. They can set fire to the road at any time to let Jiexiu Even if Duan Lun suddenly sent troops to fight, it was absolutely impossible for him to catch the Sui army by surprise. Although Li Erjun clearly saw Sui Jun's move, he did not take any action to stop it.
What made Wang Xingben and Cao Qing even more happy was that in the middle of the night, Zhang Dezheng, the county magistrate of Lingshi, once again sent someone out of the city and sent a secret letter to Wang Xingben, which truthfully reported that Li Er did not fight to the death outside the city or withdraw his troops. The reason for returning to the city was that Li Er and Duan Lun had an awkward dispute and refused to ask Duan Lun for help. He decided to stick to Lingshi City and resist the Sui army's attack alone. There was a way to deal with the Sui army's artillery, but most of the soldiers of Li's second army did not believe it. They were still very afraid of the Sui army's artillery, and their morale was greatly affected.
In the end, there was also a bad news. Zhang Dezheng reported to Wang Xingben that Li Erjun had fully taken over the city defense after returning to the city, and directly controlled the gates of Lingshi City. His own strength was insufficient to directly open the city gates. He had to wait for the Sui army. Only when an attack is launched can there be hope to open the city gates in disorder, so Zhang Dezheng asked Wang Xingben to launch an attack as soon as possible, so as not to leak the news or Duan Lun sent troops to help.
Fortunately, Wang Xingben and Cao Qing were a little undecided on this matter - the key was lack of strength, so they sent a fast horse to send Zhang Dezheng's second letter back to Huo Yi to report the matter to Liu Heitai, only to see this After the letter, Liu Heikai, who had already begun to waver, suddenly realized, and scolded: "Li Erlang, you are really treacherous! Such a vicious trick to surrender! If it is not a coincidence, if it is not for the commander-in-chief who came to Huo Yi to take command, Our army must be defeated!"
"Commander, is this Li Erlang's trick? Is Zhang Dezheng a false surrender?" Liang Naizhu, the general of Wang Xing's headquarters, asked in surprise.
"Of course it's a false surrender!" Liu Heikai replied firmly, and said with a sneer: "Zhang Dezheng was either determined to be buried with the Li family, or he was coerced, so he sent his brother-in-law to present books as a hostage. I'm sure that his brother-in-law, Tang Jin, absolutely thought that his brother-in-law was really planning to surrender, so he came to ask for a rich man to surrender without knowing it, even if we beat him to death with a horsewhip, he can't tell the truth!"
"But our former army is not in danger?" Liang Naizhu was even more confused, and said: "Li Erlang's rebel army took the initiative to withdraw to Lingshi City, and Duan Lun's rebel army could not immediately pose a fatal threat to our former army. If the situation is not right, we can withdraw from Queshu Valley immediately, the Taiyuan bandit army can't hit us hard?"
"That's why I personally came to Huo Yi to sit in the town. You are really not Li Erlang's opponent." Liu Heita sighed, and then explained: "Li Erlang's purpose is not to lure our army into the valley, let alone to severely injure our army. Our Huo Yi army only set up this trap, and his real target is our artillery. Can't you see that Zhang Dezheng's all kinds of hints in his words are to lure us to send out artillery to attack the city. Transport the cannon into the Queshu Valley and under Lingshi City, and Li Erlang has achieved his goal."
Liang Naizhu was quite smart. After listening to Liu Heita's words, he thought about it carefully, and soon exclaimed: "Understood! The artillery is heavy and difficult to carry. Whether our former army is carrying artillery or not, the bandit army can tell at a glance. Come out, if we really transport the artillery to Lingshi City, the bandit army will immediately launch a counterattack. As long as our former army is unable to hold back, it will be too late to take the artillery away, and the second Li bandit army can take the opportunity to get it. The artillery they fear most!"
"Do you think this is the end?" Liu Heita smiled, and then said: "Li Erlang must have a back move. In order to ensure his victory in Lingshi, he must not only launch a counterattack from the front, but also highlight surprise soldiers and sneak attacks. Our already completely empty Huoyi camp makes us difficult to look at from head to toe, making us even more doomed to defeat, maybe the front army and the rear battalion will be defeated together, and the losses will be heavy together!"
"Marshal, let General Wang and the others retreat quickly." Liang Naizhu quickly suggested: "Because the bandit army has not launched a counterattack forcefully, we withdraw the army and give the bandit army a chance."
Liu Heitai laughed again when he heard that, raised his hand and gave Liang Naizhu the head, and said with a smile: "Silly boy, no wonder you are still a partial general and can't fight with your head. If there is no chance to destroy the enemy, only you are willing to persuade me to retreat."
"Marshal, don't tell me you want to play tricks?" Liang Naizhu hurriedly asked again.
"Of course." Liu Heitai smiled happily, and said quite proudly: "Li Erlang is indeed very clever, and his schemes are almost perfect, even if he fails, there is not much loss, but this time he made a mistake. He made a fundamental mistake. He believed the cannons we shipped were real cannons. He tried to use a trick to seize the cannons, and then he showed his flaws. Let me see that this is his trap. Since he likes those broken pig iron tubes so much, then handsome Just send him off, but he will trade his life for it!"
After finishing speaking triumphantly, and thinking about it for a long time on the map and sand table, Liu Heitai immediately picked up a pen and wrote a book, wrote orders to Wang Xingben and others, and then told Liang Naizhu in passing: "You go to prepare for the expedition, except for the defenders in Huoyi City. , There are still 4,000 troops in the battalion, you take 2,000 escort artillery to go north, take the old and weak soldiers, and leave the elite soldiers to me. Then... "
In this way, at noon on the second day of March, Liang Naizhu, who was staying at the Huoyi camp, led two thousand troops to escort the artillery to the north to the Queshu Valley, and swaggered and surrounded the heavy artillery in the middle. At the same time, the Huoyi Camp of the Sui Army, which occupies a huge area, has not only become more empty, but Wang Xingben outside Lingshi City also started to build siege equipment immediately after receiving Liu Heita's order. , Putting on a posture of preparing to storm Lingshi City.
Naturally, it is impossible to hide such a big move by the Sui army's various ministries from the eyes of Taiyuan army scout Xizuo, and when the Taiyuan army scout sent the news to Li Er, Li Er's handsome little face was more handsome than Chen Sangliang's. On the road, he soon showed a more friendly and gentle smile than Chen Sangliang, and said proudly: "Our Taiyuan army can finally have artillery available."