Under Yu Zhongwen's command was the Youyi Guards, whose combat effectiveness was extremely terrifying, but there were enemy forces to the east and west, and there was a big river to the south. In this case, he could only break out to the north, and then find favorable terrain to reorganize.
But this time he retreated, he was in trouble with the iron rod.
Hit the snake within three inches and attack the enemy's weak point. The Mai Iron Staff has this weak point right now.
Eulji Wende could see that Yu Zhongwen's tribe was not easy to chew, and after losing the Su Lie tribe, Xue Zuo tribe, Mai Mengcai tribe, and Zhu Longsheng tribe, there was only a broken formation left.
When Gao Jianwu saw Eulji Wende's black-bone army abandoning Yu Zhongwen and instead surrounding Mai Tiezhang, he also adjusted his troops and horses in a very cooperative manner and gradually moved toward Mai Tiezhang to encircle them.
The strength of the troops can be seen at a glance, because in the Sui Dynasty, the Yi Guards on the left and right were the most elite of the twelve guards, and the Preparatory Guards on the left and right were the most elite in the world.
The two guards in these two houses can be distinguished by just looking at their heads. Five feet seven inches is the minimum standard, which is equivalent to one meter seven.
In other words, the left and right Yiwei and the left and right Beishenfu have a minimum height of 1.7 meters, and they are all tall and strong men. You can be thin and you don't need you.
Here in Goguryeo, there are a lot of dwarfs, who are thin and small. Small people are a little scared when they see big people.
So Eulji Wende planned to eat the Mai Tiezhang first, and then turn to deal with Yu Zhongwen.
But Yu Zhongwen is not a man who works hard, otherwise Yang Guang would not let him command the Youyi Guards who came to protect his children.
When retreating to the north, Tian Shishi, who was in charge of the rear, noticed something was wrong with the enemy troops. The barbarians chasing behind him seemed to be driving them away, rather than actually pursuing them.
So he directly ordered the army at the rear to stop, reorganize and line up towards the rear, and the Goguryeo soldiers chasing behind him also stopped.
"Yes, are they feigning pursuit?" Tian Shishi hurriedly said to the flag officer: "Report to the commander quickly, there is a change in the rear, and Mai Tiezhang may be in danger of being surrounded."
In Yu Zhongwen's opinion, the Mai Tiezhang cannot be hung up. He has just been knighted and is His Majesty's favorite. If he lets Mai Tiezhang die here, I am afraid that the emperor will settle the score with him after he returns.
However, in the absence of reinforcements, he was at a deadlock with the two armies of Eulji, Mundeok and Goonmu. If the losses of Youyiwei were too heavy and unable to move south, he could not bear the responsibility.
After much thought, he planned to stop withdrawing northward, form a surrounding formation, and ask for help from Liaodong.
There should be more than 10,000 people in the Mai Tiezhang headquarters, and they should be able to carry it for a few days.
"Let's fight. It will take at least ten days to wait for reinforcements. Mai Tiezhang is now surrounded and cannot resist for that long," Zheng Detong, who joined the army and recorded the incident, advised.
Yu Zhongwen waved his hand: "In less than ten days, I ask your Majesty to send troops to support, to go to the east to make up for Xue Shixiong's gap. I have already sent someone to send a message to Xue Shixiong. He must approach our army in two days. After the troops are joined, we will
Go south again.”
Xue Shixiong is not far from him, only a day's journey.
Wei Xuan was the general manager of the East Route Army, but when he went to Feiyanling, he only took with him more than 10,000 people, while the total number of the East Route Army was more than 130,000 people.
Since Xue Shixiong received the news that Yu Wenshu was crossing the river from Feiyan Ridge, he had guessed that something was going to happen to Yu Zhongwen, and his task was to protect the main force, so he had early assigned his subordinates Duan Jin, Li Xuantong, and Huang Junhan, totaling 10,000
Eight thousand people came towards Yu Zhongwen.
Fortunately, he reacted quickly, otherwise if Yu Zhongwen's plan was followed, Mai Tiezhang would be dead.
Eulji Wende wanted to destroy Mai Tiezhang first at all costs, while Gao Jianwu and Mai Tiezhang had a grudge against Liaodong and wanted to kill each other.
The iron staff of Mai could no longer withstand it and kept retreating to the south. Further retreat would lead to Yalu River, and there was no way out.
The eldest son Mai Mengcai died in battle, and his head was cut off by the enemy. He was carried by a spear and stood in the military formation of Ulchi Wende.
Mai Tiezhang, who had retreated to the forest near the bank, said to Shi Wanbao beside him:
"The defeat of our army has been determined. We have less than ten thousand troops left. You can lead your troops across the river quickly. I will help you with your support. It is better than being wiped out."
When Shi Wanbao heard this, his heart moved. He wanted to obey the military order and just led people across the river.
But at this time, he thought of his eldest brother Shi Wansui. If his eldest brother were in the current situation, would he abandon the Iron Scepter?
The answer is no. Shi Wansui would rather lose than run away.
Shi Wanbao gritted his teeth: "It is the general's honor to fight the enemy side by side with General Mai. This time we share life and death together, don't talk about crossing the river again."
Mai Tiezhang was quite moved, but still advised: "The battle on the south bank has begun. If all my troops are buried here, I will be ashamed of your majesty even if I die. Listen to me and let's go."
Shi Wanbao shook his head: "If I really leave this time, I will never look back on my elder brother for the rest of my life. He was demoted by the late emperor to be a soldier of the Dunhuang garrison. He managed to make a name for himself outside the Great Wall with one horse and one gun.
All the people in the world, including the Eastern and Western Turks, are frightened when they hear the name of Long Live the History. I have followed him for half my life, but today I can only die."
After that, Shi Wanbao returned to his headquarters, fastened his armor tightly, used his shield on his left and his spear on his right, and said to the soldiers behind him:
"They all say that the sons of our Zuo Tun Guards are not as good as the Left and Right Yi Guards. I think they are farting. Whether they can fight or not, we will see the truth on the battlefield."
There are still three thousand people under his command, all of whom are Shi Wansui's old troops in Zuotunwei. They once followed Shi Wansui to put down the rebellion of the Han Dynasty, but they also broke out with swords and guns.
Then, Shi Wanbao looked at his confidant Zhu Longsheng: "You lead the five hundred people to supervise the battle team. Anyone who dares to take a step back will be killed on the spot, even me."
Zhu Longsheng looked ferocious and nodded fiercely.
After that, Shi Wanbao took a long breath and looked at the road directly ahead, where he could already vaguely see the enemy scouts.
"My sons, kill them!"
Three thousand infantrymen marched north along the avenue and plunged into Eulji Mundeok's army.
About an hour later, there were reports from the other side of the river. Pei Xingyan came with four thousand heavy riders and was about to cross the river. Mai Tiezhang was immediately overjoyed and quickly arranged for his men to jump into the river to stabilize the pontoon bridge with manpower so that the heavy riders could cross the river.
Come from the other side as quickly as possible.
Since Li Jing learned that Yu Wenshu crossed the river from the dam, he was worried that there would be problems here. However, he did not have many soldiers under his command, so he could only cobble together 4,000 men with Su Lie's heavy cavalry and hand them over to Pei Xingyan.
Ask him to rush to the Iron Staff as soon as possible.
These four thousand people are life-saving.
.......
"General Manager Zhou sent someone to report that there was movement in the enemy forces in Pyongyang City. It seemed that a large group of troops left the city and headed north last night. It is difficult to determine the number," General Fei Qingnu said, "Should we test it out?"
Lai Hu'er shook his head: "It's not the time. Wait and see. It's already approaching July, and Yu Wenshu should be arriving soon. We can't be in a hurry and send more rangers north to confirm whether there are really enemy troops heading north.
If there is, find out the strength of the troops so that I can make arrangements."
The eldest son Lai Kai said: "Our food and grass can only be used for another fifteen days. After ten days, we must attack the city, otherwise we will not be able to return with the remaining food."
The navy expedition that came to protect the children had to carry a lot of food and grass. They couldn't bring too much, otherwise they wouldn't be able to carry an 80,000-strong army, and there were only 300 warships.
To be precise, they did not carry any food for the return trip, because the entire Sui Dynasty believed that they would definitely be able to capture Goguryeo this time.
No food or drink? Don’t be afraid, you’ll have everything if you take Pyongyang.
Since Zhou Fashang stationed troops in the front county, he has had several contacts with the Goguryeo army. Although both sides suffered casualties, Zhou Fashang's losses were very small.
First of all, occupying the county seat has the advantage of defense, and there is a large army of guards at the rear, which can provide support at any time. Furthermore, Zhou Fashang is very stable in leading his troops. If you ask him to attack the stronghold, it may not work. If you ask him to defend, he will be stable.
Shi Wansui often teased Zhou Fashang for being a coward, and being a coward has the advantage of being a coward.
The character of a general often directly determines the character of the troops under his command.
Fan Zigai on the side smiled and said: "We have no intention of going back empty-handed. We will go back with a full load. When the general manager goes south, he will have to fight the main force of the enemy's Wang Division in Sashui. At that time, it will be our opportunity to attack Pyongyang, south of Goguryeo.
, trapped by Silla and Baekje, we no longer have a large army, so as long as we capture Pyongyang, this expedition will be considered complete."
Cai Ju also echoed: "My army of 80,000 troops has been stationed here for half a month. During this period, the enemy troops only made several attempts. It can be seen that they are afraid of my power and dare not leave the city. According to the general's opinion, they will wait until the big battle."
As soon as the main force of the general manager arrives, the enemy troops will surrender."
He was right. Pyongyang City currently only has 60,000 defenders. If it was successfully surrounded by Yu Wenshu and Yu Zhongwen, it would be almost impossible to defend it.
However, Gao Yuan can delay, but as long as he delays long enough, Yuwen Shuhe will not have enough food and grass to protect his children.
How to delay? Just pretend to surrender.
First send an envoy to contact me, and then start to discuss the terms of surrender. For example, if I surrender, can Sui Dynasty make me a king and let me continue to manage this place?
Negotiation is very time-consuming because it requires bargaining.
Historically, in the late Goguryeo Dynasty, after the death of a powerful official, Yeon Gaesumun, his three sons fought among themselves for power.
Among them, the eldest son Yuan was the first to surrender to the Tang Dynasty. He also followed Li Ji back to fight Pyongyang, and later became the right-guard general of the Tang Dynasty, Bian Guogong.
Sanziyuan Nanzang carried it hard until he finally surrendered, and was named the founding father of Liaoyang County by Wu Zetian.
Therefore, surrendering may not necessarily lead to death, but may lead to a prosperous life.
Chuluo Khan also surrendered to the Sui Dynasty. Although his current life is very useless, it is better than being killed.
The leader of a country like Gao Yuan cannot be killed casually because the emotions of the entire Goguryeo people must be taken into consideration. To be precise, it is the Goguryeo aristocratic group that is vassalized under Gao Yuan.
Li Yuan killed Dou Jiande, and Hebei turned against him. This is the reason.
Not killing those who surrender has been a rule of China since ancient times, in order to show the name of benevolence and righteousness, but in fact, there are too many people who kill those who surrender.
When the two armies were fighting and they still didn't kill the envoy, the one who killed the envoy also went to sea.
There is no such thing as integrity since Sima Yi broke the Luoshui Oath.