When the Taishan Army and the wealthy Liaodong forces were fighting fiercely at the North Gate, the flying army investigated and learned that the Goryeo Army was rolling down the Taizi River.
The situation is extremely critical.
But Zhang Chong has always been adept at using troops. In fact, when he besieged Xiangping City, he was prepared for the Goguryeo people to move south. After all, he came from later generations and he knew very well how tempting Liaodong was for the Goguryeo people.
Therefore, as soon as the Taishan Army arrived in Xiangping, he ordered Colonel Chen Huan to lead his troops to camp east of Xiangping, at the bend of the Taizi River.
Their camp is located in the Baiyun Mountain area. This place guards the mouth of the valley in the upper reaches of the Taizi River. It is a must-contest place in the east of Xiangping.
Chen Huan received the military order on August 29, and that night, under the leadership of Xiangping's guide, he attacked and occupied the fortress.
Originally, 500 Liaodong soldiers were stationed here, but they were all recalled, so Chen Huanbing occupied this wall without any blood.
Did the Liaodong Army in the city know about this situation? Of course they did, but they were hesitant and did not dare to intercept. The reason behind this was not complicated.
The reason why the Baiyun Mountain Barrier is important is that it is the only way for the Goguryeo people in the upper reaches of the Taizi River to leave the valley. But now the Gongsun family does not know whether the Goguryeo people will really go south, so of course they do not pay attention to it, nor do they Willing to spend troops.
But in the end the Gongsun family will pay a heavy price for this mistake.
Therefore, when at noon on August 31, the second year of Taiwu, the 30,000 Goguryeo army meandered south along the Taizi River Valley Passage, they were at a disadvantage from the beginning because they failed to capture the Baiyun Mountain barrier first. situation.
So on the one hand, they let a small number of assault cavalry continue southward to inform the Liaodong Army in the city of the source. On the other hand, they began to organize troops to attack the Baiyun Mountain barrier.
Therefore, when the flying cavalry sent news about the appearance of the Goguryeo people and the attack on the Baiyun Mountain barrier, Zhang Chong's generals had different opinions.
The powerful troops in Liaodong City took the initiative to go out of the city to engage in battle, which gave some generals the illusion that the Han troops in the city still dared to fight to the death.
There was the Liaodong Army with high morale in front of them, guarding the fortified city, and the Goguryeo troops on the side, so they were a little shaken and thought that they should withdraw to the north of Taizi River first.
There are not a few who hold this argument. For example, Colonel Zhang Nan and Zhao Jian believe that since crossing the Liao River, the army in northern Liao has been fighting almost every day. Now the officials are exhausted and homesick. But now The Gongsun family sat in Xiangping, worked hard from top to bottom, and were determined to fight.
And more importantly, with the emergence of the Goguryeo troops, the war situation is becoming increasingly chaotic. For safety reasons, the troops can be withdrawn to the north bank of the Taizi River.
In response, generals including Chen Huan and Xu Huang who were stationed at the Baiyun Mountain barrier were opposed to withdrawing their troops.
Chen Huan ordered the flying army to carry the flag and send a letter, saying that Xiangping must not be defended. There are three reasons:
First, Gongsun Du abandoned his army on the south bank of the Xiaoliao River and ran away. Although he managed to survive, his main force and prestige were actually lost. How could he defend this?
Secondly, thanks to the bloody battle between the armies yesterday, Gongsun Du's cavalry was completely annihilated. It can be said that there are no elite soldiers in the city, so how can we defend it?
Thirdly, although the unexpected appearance of the Goguryeo army made the battle situation a bit confusing, due to the existence of the Baiyun Mountain barrier they were guarding, these Goguryeo people were never able to break through the Taizi River Valley. How could they defend it without reinforcements from outside?
Therefore, Gongsun Du's power has long since faded. If he is not wiped out now, there will be more trouble in the future.
Xu Huang's meaning was more direct. He expressed that he was now only one step away from taking over Liaodong. If he retreated at this time and allowed the Goguryeo troops to join forces with the Liaodong army in the city, the campaign to conquer Liaodong would be protracted.
This is not good for Hebei, which has soldiers hanging in the northeast.
Therefore, Xu Huang suggested that he directly adopt the strategy of encircling the Liaodong Army in Xiangping without attacking, and then use elite troops to annihilate the Goguryeo people first.
As a master of military affairs, Zhang Chong naturally understands that the change between victory and defeat can often be instantaneous.
With that last breath, as long as you hold on, victory will be yours.
Therefore, Zhang Chong chose the strategy of siege and reinforcements without hesitation.
He said to the generals:
"The Gongsun family has lost its masters one after another, and now it can only survive in Xiangping. If we surround it without attacking, we will receive an unexpected surprise."
Everyone understood the unexpected surprise that Zhang Chong said, that is, someone from the back of Xiangping City would probably surrender.
The development of the war to this extent has long been different from the previous logic.
Even though the Gongsun family seemed to still have more than half of Liaodong, in fact, when Zhang Chong was bypassing Liaoze from the north, Pan Zhang on the middle road and Luo Gang on the south road both used their own methods to cross Liaoze.
After Zhang Chong attracted attention from the direction of Xiangping, Pan Zhang directly crossed the 200-mile swamp by erecting a pontoon bridge and directly reached the middle section of Liaodong.
Luo Gang's troops, who originally went south to attack the sea, also crossed the sea with Taishan Army's own ships and disembarked at the entrance of Liao River.
And with Pan Zhang and Luo Gang's troops appearing in the south of Xiangping, the last stability in Xiangping's rear will be lost.
When the time comes, these Liaodong counties will not be able to protect themselves, so how can they send reinforcements?
And without reinforcements, how could the isolated city of Xiangping be defended?
When the time comes, the desperate heroes in the city will make their own choices. This is why the fortress is afraid of internal collapse.
Seeing that the generals understood his intentions, Zhang Chong continued to comment on the Goguryeo people who appeared on the east side.
Zhang Chong said contemptuously:
"Goguryeo's mountain barbarians are lucky enough to be able to live in the mountains. They dare to come out of the mountains to fight for the Liao Dynasty. It is God's fault. Moreover, they have made great progress along the way, are arrogant, and are proud and underestimate the enemy. This is their opportunity."
After settling the generals' minds, Zhang Chong immediately made arrangements and divided the current Liao army into two groups. One group was led by Marshal Yu Jin of the Central Guard Army to continue the siege of Xiangping, and the other group was led by Zhang Chong himself.
Led three thousand elite cavalry to support directly to the Baiyun Mountain barrier.
After the decision was made, all the generals settled in their positions and began to mobilize their troops to attack the powerful Liaodong tribes in the north of the city.
Yes, if you want to withdraw your troops, you must first defeat the other side and collapse it.
The wealthy families in Liaodong were already weak in combat, and they became increasingly unable to endure the fierce attack by the Taishan Army, and began to gradually retreat into the city.
These people thought that they were able to retreat safely because of the crossbowmen on the city gate, but in fact it was the Taishan Army that slowed down the intensity of the attack.
After defeating the troops outside the north gate, the armies slowly retreated and began to set up camp one after another with their backs to the Taizi River.
At the same time, Yang Yi, the Liaodong general who had been watching the battle at the north gate, was surprised to find that the Taishan Army's assault cavalry outside the city were continuously sending troops towards the upper reaches of the Taizi River.
Yang Yi was the new general who had a foreign surname since the death of Liu Yi. He was responsible for the defense of Xiangping when Gongsun Du went north.
When Yang Yi saw this scene, she was shocked and quickly ordered:
"No, the Goguryeo people must have come down from upstream. We must leave the city immediately to block the enemy's movements and prevent them from intercepting the reinforcements."
But when Yang Yi roared loudly, he found that there was silence behind him, so he turned around angrily and glared at the Liaodong generals behind him:
"What's going on? Why don't you accept the order?"
At this time, Yang Yi's younger brother Yang Shi came up and whispered:
"Brother, stop pushing the brothers. Look at their appearance. If you push them further, they will become the opposite."
It was not until he heard these words that Yang Yi realized that the Liaodong generals in front of him did not look at him at all, their eyes were evasive, and some of them even looked fierce.
After discovering this, Yang Yi's back was wet, and she finally tried her best to squeeze out a smile:
"It's right not to go. The Goguryeo people are not good dogs either, so let them bite the dog first."
Then he laughed first, then Yang Shi laughed, then all the Liaodong generals laughed, and finally Yang Yi really laughed.
It's just that this smile is a bit bitter.
…
To run from the North Gate to the Baiyun Mountain Barrier where Chen Huan is located, you need to pass through the Taizi River again.
Because the Taizi River turns in the northeast of Xiangping, flowing from the north to the east in the shape of a streamer.
The Baiyun Mountain Barrier is to the east of this river, and Zhang Chong and the others need to cross the Taizi River first to reach it.
The risk of wading through the river is naturally extremely high, but fortunately there is a wooden bridge in this section of the river. The Liaodong soldiers did not destroy the wooden bridge when they withdrew into the city.
After seeing the wooden bridge, Xu Huang, the commander of Feihu Army at that time, congratulated Zhang Chong:
"Your Majesty, God will help your Majesty to defeat Goguryeo here. Goguryeo is a small barbarian who dares to invade our army. God is disgusted with it."
After the three thousand cavalry troops crossed the river one after another, Zhang Chong and the others could already hear the deafening shouts of murder in the deep valley in the distance.
Just when the generals were about to urge the army to support them, Zhang Chong directly ordered the generals:
"Xu Huang, where is Zhao Yun?"
The two generals called together:
"The end will be here."
Zhang Chong pointed to the valley in the northeast and ordered:
"You and others will gather their troops and lie down here."
Under the order, Zhao Yun and Xu Huang each led their troops straight to the mountains in the northeast.
Afterwards, Zhang Chong ordered again:
"Li Hu, where is Xi Shen? Your two vanguard units went to the east to hide."
The two generals sang, and then thousands of horses galloped, hiding in the mountains and forests.
After explaining this, Zhang Chong said with a smile to the person behind him:
"Ajun, you will be guarding here with your armor and cavalry from behind. When the enemy comes after you, kill them without mercy!"
The so-called Ajun is none other than Tian Jun, the general of the Taishan Army Cavalry.
At this time, he had already put on a suit of iron armor and sat on an iron horse. Behind him were three hundred armored knights wearing armor. They were all warriors selected by Zhang Chong from the army. They often set up camps around tents, so the army often used
"The tent-circling army" refers to this armored cavalry unit.
Tian Jun left the front-line cavalry command very early, and has been leading this army around the camp to serve as a wing for the country.
At this moment, under the iron bag, the short Tian Jun cupped his fists and accepted orders from Zhang Chong. Under the sunlight, he looked like a heavenly being descending into the world.
After arranging these, Zhang Chong didn't say much. He clicked on Cai Que and Guo Zu, then smiled and said to Taishi Ci:
"Ziyi, would you like to follow me to find out what Goguryeo is like?"
Taishi Ci's face turned red and he shouted:
"The general is willing to follow the king through fire and water."
Cai Que glanced at Tai Shici and felt sad.
In this way, Zhang Chong took Cai Que, Guo Zu, and Taishi Ci closely, and went straight to the Goguryeo camp at the foot of Baiyun Mountain.