Zhu Li's expeditionary army had just arrived in Fan Yang when they ran into Zhang Guimou head-on.
Zhang Guimou led the guards at the north entrance and hastily set up a simple tent on the road from Yizhou to Fanyang, as if he was waiting for Zhu Li.
As soon as he saw Zhu Li, he hurried forward to pay his respects and said, "I am Zhang Guimou, the Northern Exit Guard, and I am here to see you, General."
Zhu Li quickly jumped off his horse, took a few quick steps, and pulled him up, complaining, "Brother Guimu, don't be like this. By the way, why are you here? Where are the people in Beikou?"
He rushed to Lulong with all his heart to repay Li Keju for his kindness, but more importantly, he wanted to protect the people, especially the people in Beikou, who he was most concerned about.
Most of the families in Beikou are the families left behind by his brothers who followed him to Shuozhou. How could he not miss them
Zhang Guimou heard this and said with a smug but puzzled look on his face: "I have sent all the people in Beikou to Shuozhou. Doesn't the envoy know about this?"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Li's face darkened and he immediately asked, "Who did you send to deliver the person? Which route did you take? Why didn't I see a single person all the way here?"
"Uh..." Zhang Guimou was also shocked when he heard this. His expression immediately became solemn. He said solemnly: "I asked General Zhang Dong and Secretary Zhao Jing to lead 3,000 guards to escort them there."
"Are you sure which way to go?"
Zhang Guimou hesitated for a moment, and a general beside him immediately stepped forward and said, "General, Your Excellency the Guardian, Zhang Dong and his men will go through Weizhou and then Shuozhou, and they should pass through Yanmen."
"Are you sure?" Zhu Li looked serious and immediately looked at the other general.
"I am sure." Zhang Guimou's lieutenant said seriously and firmly.
It was a false alarm. Zhu Li and his men's marching route was to start from Junduxing and head all the way to Fanyang. No wonder they didn't encounter them.
But even so, he was still worried, and immediately signaled Li Hanzhi. Li Hanzhi understood, and with a wave of his hand, several guards rode out of the camp on horseback.
"Go, follow the direction of Weizhou and Daizhou, and check along the way to see if there are any signs of large-scale migration of people." Li Hanzhi immediately instructed.
"Yes," several guards immediately responded.
After making such an arrangement, Zhu Li felt relieved. He turned his head to look at Zhang Guimou and said kindly, "Brother Guimou, you are moving fast. Where are you going? Will the north entrance not be guarded?"
Zhang Guimou also looked a little worried, but in response to Zhu Li's question, he still responded: "Of course I will follow the general to Juyongguan. General Pengju has already made arrangements for the north entrance. With his consent, my 10,000-plus troops can be used as a mobile force."
"General Yue has deployed troops to defend Juyong Pass. There shouldn't be any fighting at the north entrance for the time being. I want to go to Juyong Pass to see if I can help."
Sure enough, he is a warmonger. Zhu Li sighed helplessly, but did not refuse. He jumped on the Red Hare and waved to Zhang Guimou, saying, "Let's go. Juyongguan is a big canyon. One man can block the pass and ten thousand men cannot open it. It will not be easy for the Khitans to get through."
Seeing that Zhu Li agreed, Zhang Guimou was greatly encouraged and hurried back to his camp, waving his hand to signal his subordinates to follow Zhu Li's army and head directly north.
Juyongguan is an important pass on the Great Wall, located in
In Youzhou.
It can also be said that it is an important gateway to Fan Yang.
The entire pass was built in the middle of the canyon, stretching for more than thirty miles, with lush mountains on both sides. It was the pass that had to be attacked when the Di people invaded Lulong.
The terrain here is dangerous, and since ancient times it has been known as a place where one man can block the passage of ten thousand men.
When Zhu Li arrived here, a challenge was going on outside the city gate, across the Great Wall. Yue Pengju, who had not seen him for several years, heard that Zhu Li was coming and hurried over. When he saw Zhu Li, he bowed and said, "General, you are here. Please forgive me for not being able to pay my respects in full due respect due to my armor on."
"Don't worry about these. What's the current battle situation?" Zhu Li asked Yue Pengju solemnly while walking towards the city wall.
Yue Pengju was not afraid to neglect the question and said quickly, "When I received the news and rushed here, the Di people had been attacking the pass for five consecutive days. The Khitan went south and Guizhou was directly razed. The Guangbian Army originally stationed in Guizhou was destroyed. The Qingyi Army was unable to support itself and was forced to retreat to Juyong Pass. While sending people to ask for help quickly, they fought desperately. Fortunately, I arrived in time, otherwise the entire Qingyi Army would have been crippled."
"Fortunately, my subordinates came to reinforce us in time. The Khitans failed to capture the city after a long siege, so they sent out a general to challenge us in an attempt to destroy our army's will. In addition to our Zhenyuan Army and Qingyi Army, Li Quanzhong also sent people to reinforce us. Two of the Five Tigers of the Gao Family under his command came this time, one is called Gao Siji, and the other is called Gao Mian. The one with a gun who was fighting with General Di under the city was Gao Siji." Yue Pengju just briefly explained the situation, and then several people came to the top of the city.
Some people say that the number of people is over ten thousand, which is a huge crowd, but what kind of situation is it with an army of nearly two hundred thousand
Standing on the top of the city wall, you can only see heads everywhere, with no end in sight. The unsheathed scimitar can illuminate the surroundings even in the dark night.
The flags are like waves and the crowds are like the sea. There is no end in sight.
A fierce aura was blowing in the face. If one was a timid person, he would be scared to death just by seeing so many people, let alone resisting the attack.
In front of the Di army, a young man on a white horse and holding a silver spear was waving his spear and fighting a Di general who was as rough as a bear in a fierce and intense battle.
The Di general was a big and strong man, with the appearance of an unevolved chimpanzee. He held a large iron spear in his hand, which he wielded with great skill and exquisite martial arts. He was nothing like the Di people he had encountered before, who only knew how to use brute force.
Obviously, this is a rare and powerful general. Now he is in the upper hand, and Gao Siji is being suppressed by the opponent.
Who is Gao Siji? He was the most famous general in the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties. According to Yuchi Xin, he was not much different from Yue Pengju, but now he was severely suppressed. This made Zhu Li interested in that Di general.
"Who is that person, the one who fought against Gao Siji?" Zhu Li asked Yue Pengju who was beside him.
Upon hearing this, Yue Pengju quickly said, "The other party is a warrior from the Khitan Dala tribe, Yelu Sala, also known as Azhusali."
"Azhushal?" Zhu Li was puzzled.
"Azhushali, in the words of the Han people, means the master of the warriors. This man is the fourth son of Yelu Junde, who is extremely brave. Before the general arrived, he had already killed three generals under Li Quanzhong. This is why Gao Siji went to the battle in person.
"Yue Pengju's words were full of ridicule and gloating, and even a fool could sense it.
No wonder, the Khitans failed to break through the pass and came to challenge each other. According to Yue Pengju's opinion, no matter how they shouted and cursed, the Tang army just had to stand still and there was no need to pay attention to them.
What's more, most of the Di people on the opposite side did not speak Chinese. Even if they shouted and cursed, ordinary soldiers would not understand, and their morale would not be shaken at all.
But when the brothers Gao Siji and Gao Mian heard this, they thought that Yue Pengju was too cautious and did not dare to accept the challenge. Instead, they went forward to test the strength of this Khitan warrior, and the result was what it is now.
The enemy killed three generals in a row, which not only shook the morale of the army, but even Gao Siji, who went into battle personally, could not gain the upper hand at all. Isn't this a case of being unable to accomplish anything and doing more harm than good
Zhu Li looked at Yue Pengju strangely. She didn't expect that this national hero of later generations had such a petty side.
However, it was not difficult for him to understand Yue Pengju's feelings. He could have done nothing, but these guys insisted on going out to show off their power. Now they failed to do so and ended up forcing Yue Pengju into a situation where he was unable to back down. Anyone would be resentful.
If Zhu Li and others don't come, should Yue Pengju fight or not
Yue Pengju is not like Li Quanzhong and others. Li Quanzhong has been operating in Youzhou for a long time and has countless generals under his command who can stand on their own. Yue Pengju has very few capable people under his command. If he goes to fight, and the Gao Siji brothers have bad intentions and lock him outside the pass, he will not be able to save himself even if he has ten lives.
But if they don't fight, the morale of the entire army has been brought to the lowest point by these guys. If they don't find a way to boost morale and let the Di people take the opportunity to attack the city, it can be foreseen that even if they defend the city, they will suffer heavy losses. This is inevitable.
Morale is such an intangible thing. Once it collapses, even an army of one million may be defeated in an instant. No general dares not to pay attention to morale.
Now that Zhu Li is here, Yue Pengju's worries are instantly relieved. He can go into battle at any time and feel very relieved.
Although Yue Pengju was in Youzhou, he was still loyal to Zhu Li, so the soldiers he led, especially some important generals, all knew who was their real "boss".
Sure enough, Gao Siji and Yelu Sala continued to fight for more than thirty rounds. Gao Siji was careless and his opponent swept away his spear. Without any weapon, Gao Siji dared not fight again and fled on his horse.
When Yue Pengju saw this scene, his eyes narrowed slightly, and a cold light flashed. Although he was very angry, he could not give up at this time and turned around to go down the city to fight.
"Slow down!" Zhu Li suddenly stopped him, causing Yue Pengju to turn around in confusion. Zhu Li looked directly into his eyes and said calmly, "Let Han Zhi try. This guy should have been impatient for a long time."
Hearing this, Li Hanzhi's dark face suddenly flushed with two scarlets of red. He had tried hard to suppress it, but it still didn't escape Zhu Li's eyes. Hearing this, he scratched his shiny bald head and said shyly, "It still didn't escape the general's eyes. Recently, I've been itching to do it. Brother Pengju, give me this wild donkey. I'll treat you to a drink later."
As soon as he said this, he couldn't wait to walk down the city wall with his iron rod in hand. When he passed by Yue Pengju, he patted him on the shoulder. Regardless of how Yue Pengju felt, he said directly, "Thank you, brother."