After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the entire Hedong region was in turmoil, the four armies seemed to be ready to attack, and the situation became increasingly dangerous and complicated.
A group of imperial troops from Tokyo crossed the Yellow River and arrived in Luzhou, Hedong. The exact number of troops was unknown, but the battle was huge. According to various sources, the commander-in-chief appointed by Tokyo this time was not an old general, but a young man in his twenties, Dong Zunhui, and his deputy generals were Zhou Tong, Deng Fei and Li Jilong. Li Jilong was the son of the founding Duke Li Chuyun, and was only in his teens. But this also proved from another perspective that the Tokyo court was very wary of civil strife and did not dare to use a general with too high prestige.
Yang Ye, commander of the Hedong Army, ordered the troops to withdraw from Yunzhou and retreat to Yanmen, gathering tens of thousands of main forces in Daizhou, with his rebellious intentions obvious; the Daxu Imperial Army in Luzhou should have been coming for him.
The Liao army was deployed in Fengzhou and Yunzhou. Xiao Siwen, the Privy Councilor of the Northern Court and the son-in-law of the Liao emperor Yelu Xian, Xiao Duli, led the main force to enter Yunzhou and force Yanmen.
Gao Yanchou's troops in Zhangjiakou, Wuzhou, also gathered a large number of troops and were ready to take action, but their purpose was unclear.
The situation is complicated, but the main figures in Daizhou have some clues and judgments in their minds.
Fan Zhongyi and his companions thought that they only needed to enter Yanmen Pass to assist the Hedong Army in starting an uprising, and great things would be accomplished. Yang Ye and his companions only waited for the Liao Army to enter Yanmen Pass so that they could close the gate and beat the dog.
August 28
Yang Ye and Fan Zhongyi agreed that on August 28, he would order his second brother Yang Chongxun to withdraw troops from Yanmen on the pretext of changing guards, and the Liao army would take the opportunity to enter Yanmen on that day.
Unexpectedly, Yang Gun suddenly said: I suggest that all the people in the Qianying Military Headquarters be killed on the night of August 26 to avoid any unexpected complications when the uprising begins.
Yang Ye was stunned when he heard this, and said calmly, "How about killing him after the matter is done?"
Yang Gun said nothing, but watched Yang Ye's expression with interest. After a while, he said, "The Marshal has done this. The troops from Tokyo have arrived to quell the rebellion. His reputation has long been torn. He will be killed sooner or later. Why keep him as a hidden danger?"
At this moment, Yang Ye suddenly laughed out loud, clapped his hands and said: General Yang is absolutely right, there was almost a mistake.
Yang Gun also smiled, but his smile was very deliberate, and it was almost a fake smile. Fan Zhongyi also smiled, "Don't worry, Marshal, everything is ready, we just need the east wind."
After seeing the two off, Yang Ye immediately went to the upper room in the front yard to meet Lu Dosun and Yang Chongxun who were waiting there.
Yang Gun demanded that the officials of the former camp be killed. Yang Ye did not say anything else when they met, and went straight to the point.
Lu Duxun and Yang Chongxun were both shocked. Yang Chongxun asked hurriedly: Did your elder brother agree to his request
Yang Ye nodded in agreement.
Yang Chongxun immediately slapped his thigh: Isn't this going to be exposed
If I don't agree to him immediately, I will be exposed on the spot. Yang Ye frowned and said, "When Yang Gun said this, I suddenly understood. He had indeed been suspicious for a long time, and this matter was premeditated. He had done two things before: first, he looked at the detained military officials first, not only to verify the authenticity of the officials, but also to remember their general appearance, so as to compare them when killing people; second, when sending the letter, there was a casual sentence in the letter, asking them to return to Yunzhou to see Xiao Siwen, and then the Liao army would enter Yanmen again.
Yang Chongxun said: So, whether you kill someone or not, you will reveal your flaws.
That's right. Yang Ye said that if he didn't kill them, Yang Gun would think it was a trick, and if he followed the original plan and murdered those death row prisoners to make up the numbers, it would also be discovered.
Yang Chongxun asked unwillingly: What if Xiao Siwen didn't see the words in the letter and the troops entered the pass only after the people replied
Alas, we neglected the messenger, and that guy might have brought Yang Gun's message. Yang Ye raised his head and sighed.
The three of them looked at each other, and sat there motionless, very depressed.
Lu Duoxun finally spoke: Yang Gun, this fellow, has no trace of routine and does not show his true colors.
Yang Chongxun cursed: "Damn it, are you going to watch the meat that is about to be in your mouth fly away?"
Lu Duosun said: I think that before things reach the final step, I should immediately report to the emperor to release a carrier pigeon first, and then send someone to deliver the letter urgently on horseback.
Yang Ye said: There is no other solution for now.
Near Datong City, Yunzhou City, Xiao Siwen sat on a chair on the wall, looking at the endless wilderness to the south for a long time, without speaking or moving. There were patches of harvested crops and weeds, and occasionally there were villages. The terrain to the south was very open and flat. But beyond the end of the line of sight, Xiao Siwen knew there was a tall mountain barrier, which was Yanmen Mountain; the most important pass between Hedong and the north was in this mountain.
Standing next to him was Xiao Duli. The son-in-law could only stand in front of Xiao Siwen. Now in the Liao Dynasty, the only one with a higher position of power than Xiao Siwen was Yelu Xian.
Xiao Duli's deceased first wife was the sister of Yelu Jing, the last emperor of the Liao Dynasty. From the perspective of the royal faction, he was considered to be from the line of Emperor Taizong of Liao. However, he was also a member of the Xiao clan, and his wife had passed away. When the coup took place in Beijing, he immediately joined Xiao Siwen's party. Therefore, Xiao Siwen still trusted his former family members, Yelu Jing, which was beneficial to winning over and appeasing Taizong's lineage.
It is difficult to clarify the internal strife in the Liao Dynasty. One of the reasons is that marriage alliances are very complicated, just like in Xiao Duli's situation.
In the wasteland outside the city, the sound of horse hooves was very obvious, and a group of Liao cavalry were seen running back to the city. Xiao Siwen looked at the group of horsemen with interest and said: Yunzhou is a place where it is easy to lose and easy to take.
Xiao Duli said: At that time, Youzhou was defeated, the Liao emperor was assassinated, and the people were in panic. The Yunzhou garrison commander fled without a fight. Lord Xiao was kind and forgave him.
Xiao Siwen said: No matter where a civil war occurs, losing cities and land is not uncommon.
He spoke calmly and seemed very quiet, but his mind was already full of thoughts. Gao Yanchou's movements in Wuzhou should be directed at Yang Ye in Hedong. The spies reported that Xu Guo's army had arrived in Luzhou to suppress the rebellion, and would definitely pass through Jinyang and attempt to break through Xinzhou. It would take at least ten days; but time was also very urgent, and Yang Gun and Fan Zhongyi had not returned with any further news.
Xiao Siwen had high hopes for Yang Ye, but he had experienced so many ups and downs in the battlefield and officialdom, so how could he not know the dangers? He had not made up his mind yet, and he would only wait for Yang Gun to come back and would not enter Yanmen Pass until both of them arrived in Yunzhou.
In late August, all cities in Hedong were under martial law. People had not seen the enemy, but the atmosphere was already extremely urgent, as if it was suffocating.
Yang Chongxun could no longer stay in Daizhou, so he had to leave for Yanmen to lead his troops.
On the evening of August 26, a group of troops arrived at Yanmen Pass with the military order from Commander Yang Ye and escorted Yang Gun and Fan Zhongyi out of the pass. Yang Chongxun first met the military officer who delivered the letter and took the lacquer-sealed letter.
When I opened it, there were only a few short words inside: Release the person and act according to the plan.
Yang Chongxun saw that the general who delivered the letter was one of Yang Ye's personal soldiers, so he asked in a deep voice: "General, who did you kill?"
The general replied in a low voice: Those people I originally wanted to kill.
After hearing this, Yang Chongxun understood that there were dozens of officials of all ranks in the Qianying military office, and all of them were appointed by the imperial court, so Yang Ye still did not dare to kill them. He was afraid that even the emperor would not dare to kill innocent officials easily because there were too many people and the impact would be too great.
Yang Chongxun asked again: Did the two people see it with their own eyes
The general replied: They locked him up and killed him, but the two men went to see the body. It was late at night, and the blood was all over the place.
Yang Chongxun was immediately shocked. Since Yang Gun had planned this, how could he be easily deceived
Yang Chongxun looked at the letter under the lamp and read it three times. There were only a few words on it. It was really good.
He walked from the tower to the parapet wall. The troops who were about to leave the city were on the road, waiting for the order to open the city gate. Yang Chongxun looked at the two Liao envoys from a distance and finally gave the order: "We are one people. Open the gate and let them pass."
The defenders heard Yang Chongxun's order and soon heard the heavy sound of the door opening. The soldiers and horses below continued to move forward. Yang Gun rode on his horse and looked up at Yang Chongxun on the top of the city wall. The two looked at each other for a long time across the dim firelight until Yang Gun walked into the corridor.
At this point, I'm afraid there's nothing I can do. My elder brother is betting that Yang Gun doesn't see anything strange.
Yang Chongxun left the southern parapet and walked to the northern city wall, continuing to stare at the flames that were gradually moving away. He was very unwilling to accept this plan of luring the enemy after nearly a month of tossing and turning. Was it just like this
It is unlikely that Yang Gun failed to see the clues. The Liao army will not come again.
To fight a war, we have to fight head-on with strength. Yang Chongxun sighed with mixed feelings.
He stayed in Yanmen Pass for another two nights in a depressed mood, thinking about that matter all day long and still couldn't let it go.
On August 28, after getting up, Yang Chongxun tore open the secret order signed by Yang Ye sewn into his underwear: the defense of Yanmen Pass was changed, the roads in the mountains were narrow and traffic was congested, and the garrison general Yang Chongxun was ordered to evacuate the main force from Yanmen first.
He was about to complete his deployment in vain when he suddenly slapped his forehead: After abandoning Yanmen, would the Liao army have a counterattack plan
The Liao people should have known from Yang Gun that it was a trick to lure the enemy, but they would most likely take advantage of the trick and pretend that they had not seen through it, and move troops into the pass to look for opportunities to attack some of the Hedong troops, especially Yang Chongxun's troops who had just withdrawn from Yanmen. Not only were they facing the Liao army from both sides, but the army in the mountain valleys could not be deployed. It would be a disaster to be attacked at this time.
The more Yang Chongxun thought about it, the more likely it was. After the Liao army entered Yanmen Pass, the pass was in their hands. As long as they were careful and prepared, there would be little danger. Moreover, after the Liao people knew they had been tricked, they would be furious and take the opportunity to fight.
However, this plot was not only planned by his elder brother Yang Ye, but also presided over by the emperor. If Yang Chongxun disobeyed orders, he would be solely responsible. As long as he followed military orders, even if something went wrong, it would have nothing to do with him.
Yang Chongxun stood at the door of the house holding the military order, and was very hesitant for a moment.
He knew that he could not hesitate too long. If he delayed any longer and waited until the Liao army arrived at Yanmen Pass as agreed, and then decided to abandon it, what would happen to the soldiers? Yang Chongxun had no idea what would happen. After all, ordinary soldiers did not know any tactics to lure the enemy.
Go or stay
The new book "The Strongest Monster" by Night Monster has been released. It is an old urban author with good writing style and stories.
Introduction: When others blindly pursue the truth, remember that everything is false. When others are bound by morality and law, remember that everything is allowed. We walk in the darkness and serve the light. I am Xu Yangyi, I am the demon slayer
connect: