"General Sun, are you saying that the real target of the Liao people this time is our Yanmen Pass?" Tian Boyuan looked at Sun Tu in surprise. At this time, a gust of night wind blew, making him shiver unconsciously. If this matter was true, it would be quite dangerous, and if it wasn't Sun Tu who said this, he would probably shake his head in disbelief right now.
Sun Tu glanced at the dark environment around him, nodded and said: "This is very possible, just think about it..." He quickly detailed his previous considerations. The matter was so important that he didn't dare to slack off at all. He just thought that if Yanmen Pass fell due to their negligence, the consequences would be terrible.
What is Yanmen Pass? It was one of the important gates that the Song Dynasty relied on to block the powerful enemy Liao cavalry in the north. Together with Piantou Pass and Wuguan, it was called the Three Northern Passes. It was also the most important of the three passes, the easiest to defend and difficult to attack, and the one closest to the hinterland of the Central Plains. Every checkpoint. Once this place is broken, the entire Central Plains and even Tokyo and Bianliang will be completely exposed to the iron hoof of the Liao people.
Of course, with the current difficult situation in which fires are burning inside the Liao Kingdom, it is naturally impossible for them to have the strength to march into the Central Plains with large numbers of troops. However, once Yanmen Pass is lost, the frontline army will inevitably fall into chaos in an instant. At that time, hundreds of thousands of troops will completely lose their fighting spirit. If Tong Guan and the others retreat in a hurry, a disastrous defeat is inevitable, and may even destroy the entire army. Song Jiangshan was all compensated.
Sun Tu could think of these things, and Tian Boyuan naturally did the same, so when Sun Tu pointed out that the Liao cavalry suddenly arrived at Yanmen Pass, it would not help the frontline war. After breaking through the pass, his face became more and more nervous and solemn, and even his breathing changed. He must be anxious: "Is this true? General Sun, I must not believe your judgment, but after all, this is a big matter, and our Yanmen Pass is a rare and powerful pass. Even if there are 100,000 elite Liao troops, they can't do it easily." Break through the barrier, right?"
"If it is a frontal attack, our Yanmen Pass can be defended with impregnable strength, but the soldiers on the battlefield are always ruthless. What's more, the situation in Guanzhong is like this now. If my prediction is correct, they must have the idea of cooperating inside and outside. Once someone secretly Once the gate is opened, there will be chaos in the pass, and it will be extremely difficult to hold on." Sun Tu said solemnly.
Tian Boyuan pondered for a long time and felt some agreement. Yes, now there are not only defenders in Yanmen Pass, but also tens of thousands of civilians. And if what Sun Tu said comes true, then there must be many Liao spies hidden among these people. They will cause chaos and set fires everywhere, and they will be able to completely disrupt Yanmen Pass. Those civilians are not generals who have experienced hundreds of battles. Once trouble occurs, these people will be used by the Liao people even if they are not intentional, and become the last link to completely lose control of Yanmen Pass.
The more he thought about it, the more panic he felt: "This... what should we do? Does General Sun have any good ideas?"
"Actually, you made a mistake early on. This is Yanmen Pass. How can we let so many irrelevant people wait in the pass? If we want to be safe, we must clear out these common people and set up another station outside the pass."
After hearing Sun Tu's first remedy, Tian Boyuan gave a wry smile: "General Sun, in fact, although the official is not talented, he has already noticed this problem. However, this is what Du Jianjun insists on doing. Even if I try to dissuade you many times, I can't change it.
ah. "
"Huh?" Sun Tu was stunned for a moment: "Then who is Du Jianjun?"
"Oh, he is an important official sent by the imperial court named Du Changguo. He has never come to see General Sun because he was ill before. But when those civilians arrived but were blocked in the pass, I planned to send them It was arranged south of the pass, but Supervisor Du thought that this was really detrimental to the court's ethics and that the people who had worked hard to come from the north should not be allowed to live outside in the open air, so he insisted on settling them in the city, which is why we have today's situation."
"Is there such a thing?" Sun Tu thought for a moment and could understand the other party's difficulties. Even at the border, it is still difficult to escape the reality that in the Song Dynasty, culture was valued more than military, and culture was used to control military. Therefore, a supervisory army could set such an extremely unreasonable strategy, but Tian Boyuan, as the guard general, was powerless.
"In this way, tomorrow morning, you will do as I say and send the people in the pass out as soon as possible. Keeping them here is not a sign of respect, but is harming them. If the Liao people really come to the pass, they will stay You will only die faster here. As for Du Jianjun, if he is held accountable, I will handle it." Sun Tu knew that the situation was urgent, so he simply issued the order in a comprehensive manner.
Tian Boyuan already had his own ideas. After Sun Tu said this, he was even more happy and quickly agreed.
Then Sun Tu said again: "There is another point, but it is more critical, and that is to find the Liao spy hiding in Yanmen Pass, especially the person who keeps telling the news."
"This is easier said than done." Tian Boyuan was a little confused. There are now 70,000 to 80,000 soldiers and civilians in Guancheng. How can this person's identity be found out unless he is asked one by one? And it is almost impossible to check them one by one, so in his opinion, this is a completely unsolvable problem. Otherwise, he would have investigated it as soon as he had suspicions.
But Sun Tu said: "There is an opportunity right now. I believe that the spy who passed the news will definitely spread some important changes in the customs in time, such as the movement route of the previous grain transport team, and for example, you sent troops to take it out. Wipe it out. And I led the army to Yanmen Pass today, which should be a big deal. Do you think he will not try every means to send him out of the pass? "
Tian Boyuan suddenly realized: "General Sun is right, but when and where will he deliver the news?"
"The military situation is on fire. If my prediction is correct, it will probably be tonight. As for how to deliver it, I don't know the means, but one thing can be concluded. It must be to the Guanqiang area in the north." Sun Tu said, heading there He glanced at the wall behind the wall and said, "Maybe, people have already gone over there now, so we have to hurry up."
These words made Tian Boyuan even more energetic. Even though it was already the third watch, he still said anxiously: "Then let's go over and take a look right now?"
"Yes, but remember to act secretly and don't alert others!"
￥￥￥￥￥
In the middle of the night at Yanmen Pass, the cold wind howled. Especially at the height of the northern wall, because there was no shelter on all sides and everyone was open, the cold wind was even more raging like a knife, blowing the scattered braziers to the point where they were almost extinguished.
In such an environment, it is certainly impossible for the soldiers who keep watch at night to grow old.
Instead of staying by the wall, they all hid in the arrow tower at the back. Only one or two people would go out to patrol every half an hour. This is not considered a dereliction of duty, after all, there are very few night attacks these days, let alone attacking such an impregnable pass at night.
They were just hiding in the arrow tower to warm themselves by the fire, but they were also a little bored. They couldn't sleep naturally, and they couldn't drink or gamble, so they could only brag and joke. Someone here just told a dirty joke that was not very funny, causing everyone to laugh, but a soldier suddenly stood up and walked towards the door.
This made the captain next to him feel a little strange: "Laoguan, it's not time for inspection yet, where are you going?"
"Oh? I drank too much water before, so I went to pee outside." Lao Guan replied with a smile: "It's a good idea to go around and look around to save the brothers from having to work hard."
"Ahem, if I say you are a brother to Lao Guan, okay, just go and have a look. Nothing will happen, as long as you get the idea." The captain was quite happy, after all, it was freezing outside, and everyone was If he doesn't want to go out, it would save him a lot of trouble if he has someone to take care of him.
Lao Guan hurriedly agreed, then opened the door and closed it skillfully. In the back, someone was praising in a low voice: "Lao Guan is an honest man. He was still guarding the south at noon. At night, he invited Xiao Qu to come here to suffer the cold. Now... "
Hearing the compliments from these brothers, Lao Guan had a smile on his face. But after taking two steps, the smile on his face turned a little weird and mocking. These fools would never have thought of themselves, so they did all this just to spread this crucial news.
Sun Tu actually led his army to Yanmen Pass. Although he only had 5,000 troops, it was a big change in the entire plan to capture Yanmen Pass. He had to prepare the people outside, so even if today was not the time to deliver the news as agreed before, he still had to give it a try.
Even though he was busy with important matters, Laoguan's mentality remained stable and he walked calmly to the top of the city, looking like he was patrolling. It wasn't until he came to a secluded corner that he untied his robe and peed. Then he picked up a bow and an arrow from the corner, took out a piece of cloth with writing on it, and skillfully wrapped it around the arrow.
He has done this kind of thing many times, so he is naturally very familiar with it. Whether it is the position of these spare bows and arrows, or the method of wrapping cloth and releasing arrows, everything can be done without thinking.
And just when he put the arrow on the arrow and opened his bow, a cold voice sounded from the city top that should have been silent: "Sure enough! The fox's tail is exposed after all!" This made Lao Guan's body suddenly become... He was shocked, but before he could react, there was a sudden sound of wind behind him, and seven or eight strong soldiers from the army swarmed forward, taking control of his hands and feet and pushing him down on the wall. , the bow and arrow in his hand failed to fire and fell to the ground.
It was only then that Sun Tu and Tian Boyuan strode up. The latter's face was even more ashen. He took the arrow, took off the cloth on it and unfolded it. He just swept the lighted torch and Knowing that what Sun Tu said was true, the spy was really eager to pass on the news that Sun Tu led his army into Yanmen Pass.