Dong Wenzhong led his troops towards Jindou Pass. He looked up from his horse and saw the flag of the Mongolian army flying on the pass.
"Eldest brother really captured Jin Douguan?"
"Is it still fake?"
Dong Wenyong arrived a few days earlier than him, and today he came out of the pass to pick him up. He responded: "As soon as the troops you brought arrive, we can attack Tongguan tomorrow. Liu Yuan is attacking the west of Tongguan, attacking from both sides.
, can be captured in one fell swoop."
"That's good." Dong Wenzhong said: "The dangers of Tongguan are one in Forbidden Valley and the other in Jindou Pass. Since the eldest brother has captured Jindou Pass, he has a good fighting capacity in defeating the enemy camp. If he attacks from the west, he is sure of success."
"How is the war in Nanyang? Did Li Xia not send any more troops after retreating to Wuguan?"
"No." Dong Wenzhong said with a smile: "It was useful to let Liu Zheng enter Guanzhong. It really restrained Li Xia and prevented him from attacking Nanyang. After that, reinforcements from General Zudu arrived and Lu Wenhuan had already withdrawn from Dengzhou."
"Finally, the situation in Nanyang has been stabilized."
"It's our turn to attack Li Xia."
The two brothers led their troops into Jindou Pass and soon met their eldest brother Dong Wenbing.
Since Dong Wenbing asked Liu Zheng to attack Guanzhong and promised to cooperate, as soon as he received the news, he immediately led his troops to cooperate with Liu Yuan, even if he could only mobilize more than a thousand troops.
Afterwards, Li Xia withdrew his troops from the Nanyang battlefield, so he transferred Dong Wenyong back to Heluo, and finally captured Jindou Pass.
…
"You don't have to be complacent, Li Xia, Zhang Jue is definitely not that simple. They took back Xia Yangdu."
This was the first sentence Dong Wenbing and his two younger brothers spoke.
This sentence set the tone for the military meeting and dispelled the atmosphere of arrogance and underestimation of the enemy, before Dong Wenbing continued to speak.
"Don't forget, we deployed our troops to prevent Li Xia from sending troops to respond to Li Fen's rebellion. He did respond, and we were able to hold on. This is one of them.
Secondly, as long as Li Fen is defeated, at least another 30,000 to 50,000 troops from Shandong can be mobilized to attack the key points. We are not in a hurry to attack the key points at this time. Taking Tongguan is enough.
Thirdly, since Liu Zheng has sent out troops, Li Xia will definitely want to defeat Li Fen before he is destroyed, so we must not just sit back and watch..."
Dong Wenyong and Dong Wenzhong listened carefully and with respectful expressions.
Because Dong Wenbing is able to convince people.
The difference between him and Liu Zheng is not that Liu Zheng was a reduced general, and the Dong family was also a reduced general.
How many generals in the entire Great Mongolia Kingdom were not surrendered? Even the Mongolian generals, many of them surrendered to the Golden Family only after their fathers.
Dong Wenbing's high prestige lies in his strength.
And his popularity lies in his character.
He lost his father when he was sixteen and raised several younger brothers single-handedly.
When managing the local area, when droughts and locust plagues occurred, Dong Wenbing used thousands of stones of his own grain to help the victims; he sold his own land to repay the people's loans; he measured the land and gave it to poor families.
He reduced the people's taxes and resisted the government officials' endless demands. He abandoned his official position and said angrily, "You can never exploit the people for profit."
When Kublai Khan was conquering Dali in the south, Dong Wenbing resolutely rushed to join the expedition, so he was loved by Kublai Khan.
Others only think that what a prince like him does is for power and wealth.
Yes, everyone loves power and everyone loves wealth.
Dong Wenbing doesn’t shy away from these either.
But he resigned during the reign of Mongke Khan, and then traveled thousands of miles to Tubo to join Kublai Khan. He had his own ambitions.
He was called "Brother Dong" by Kublai Khan, not because of his age or status, but because of his calm demeanor, honest personality, elder brother's demeanor and reliable character.
Only Dong Wenbing himself knows best. This kind of character is sometimes the reason why he can succeed...
~~
To the west of Tongguan, there is the main camp of the Mongolian army.
"Brother, there is news." Liu Jun quickly rushed into Liu Yuan's tent.
Before Liu Yuan took off his armor, he turned around and asked hurriedly: "Is there any news about father?"
"Not yet. Dong Shuai sent someone to pass through the Song army's defense line in a small boat to deliver the news. He has captured Jindou Pass and will join forces to attack the city tomorrow."
Liu Yuan immediately met the messenger, and after confirming the authenticity of the message, he calmed down.
"As expected of 'Brother Dong', he is really reliable."
"It's true. When Xia Yangdu was lost and there was no news about my father, I felt even more uneasy. Fortunately, I got this news." Liu Jun said: "Among the princes of the North, I admire Dong Shuai the most."
Liu Yuan laid out the map and said: "When we attack the city tomorrow, we would have known that reinforcements were already attacking the east of Tongguan, but Dong Shuai still sent the news first, which shows that he values us in his heart."
Liu Jun was jaw-dropping.
Dong Wenbing only led a thousand men to attack Jindou at the beginning, and then quickly mobilized troops from Nanyang. This cannot be faked.
When the two brothers discussed military affairs again, the atmosphere was different from before.
Due to Dong Wenbing's support, the morale of the army was immediately boosted.
The next day, Liu Yuan attacked Tongguan again, and sure enough, he discovered that there was fighting to the east of Tongguan.
Viewed from the battlefield, artillery fire, fireballs, and gunpowder smoke were faintly visible.
Tongguan obviously cannot be defended for long...
~~
June 16th.
Tongguan.
An offensive and defensive battle finally came to an end in the evening.
On the west wall, Mao Yi'er let go of his hand, and the single sword in his hand fell to the ground with a "dang" sound.
He grinned, covering up the daze caused by exhaustion at that moment, and said: "The handle of the knife seems to be a little loose, but not loose."
As he said that, he picked up the single sword.
"General, Tongguan is surrounded on both sides, why haven't we seen reinforcements yet?"
The person who asked the question was a captain under Mao Yi'er, named Niu Ping, who saved Mao Yi'er's life while guarding the city today.
"Aren't the reinforcements coming?" Mao Yi'er raised his knife and pointed at it, saying, "Shuai Zhang sent troops to attack the Mongolian army in the west. Did you see it?"
"It's too few." Niu Ping muttered: "We have to send 10,000 people to annihilate these Mongolian troops as soon as possible."
"Coming soon, really."
Mao Yi'er patted Niu Ping's shoulder, smiled, showing a mouth full of teeth, and said: "Soon."
But yesterday, a messenger risked his life and took a small boat to deliver the news from the Yellow River. Zhang Jue not only wanted to chase down the Mongolian army on the plateau in the north of Guanzhong, but also supported Yan'an Prefecture. In addition, Xiayang Ferry and Pujin Ferry also had to defend... In short,
I hope Mao Yier can last longer.
He can hold it.
It's nothing more than a fight to the death.
After two more days of hard work, on the night of the 18th, Mao Yi'er was so tired that he fell asleep leaning on the tower and was woken up by someone tapping him.
When he opened his eyes, he realized that his hands and feet had been tied up, and a cold knife was placed on his neck.
"you……"
"General, don't shout. It's useless to shout. We've pushed everyone away, but we don't want to harm you."
"Niu Ping? Mao Wu? What do you want to do?"
"I want to say a few words to the general... Why don't we... surrender?"
"ha?"
Mao Yi'er never expected that there would be such a traitor under his command, and he didn't know what to say.
"General, some of the brothers who have withdrawn from Jindou Pass have surrendered to Marshal Dong of the Mongolian army. He has persuaded many people to surrender and has talked a lot with us. It makes sense."
"Yes, Tongguan can no longer be defended. Do you really want to die here? I'm not afraid of death, but what's the use?"
"Mao Wu, you don't usually say that. Have you forgotten what I said when you asked me to allow you to join the army?" Mao Yi'er said: "And you, Niu Ping, you just saved my life two days ago... …”
"General, we can't hold on any longer. It's too hard to live this life of waiting for death every day."
"General, what's the difference between Mongolia and Song Dynasty? Aren't they all working as soldiers and farming the land, it's better to die than live."
"Marshal Dong said that if we surrender, we will still be stationed in the city to protect the country and the people. We will be promoted to three ranks and become generals. Like Sai Cunxiao, who joined Mongolia and became a marshal..."
"Marshal Dong also said that more and more generals have been demoted in recent years, which is the general trend..."
"The general just won a mother-in-law a few years ago, didn't he? The baby is only one year old, how could he bear to die in Tongguan, and Xiancheng surrendered, so he went to fetch the baby..."
After being persuaded for a while, Mao Yi'er asked: "What if I don't agree? Will you kill me?"
"What we don't want to do is either take the general's head and open the city gate, or follow the general to open the city gate. That's the two ways to go..."
"All right."
Mao Yi'er was in trouble for a moment, and finally responded: "To tell you the truth, Zhang Jue didn't have time to send reinforcements. I've been lying to you all this time."
"We knew he really wanted to trick us into giving up our lives. Is the general really willing to surrender?"
"Tongguan is surrounded on both sides, and tens of thousands of troops are blocking it. Why don't you surrender and die? To be honest, I have wanted to surrender for a long time, but I regret that there is no way out." After Mao Yi'er finished speaking, he seemed to finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"real?"
"Really. On the one hand, it's about saving life and wealth, and on the other hand, it's about dying. How else can it be fake?" Mao Yi'er simply agreed and asked, "Have you convinced the generals at the city gate?"
"Not yet."
"Here I go, untie me."
"That won't work." Niu Ping said, "General, please issue a military order first to..."
"Bang!"
Mao Yi'er took advantage of their slackness and hit Niu Ping's head heavily with his forehead.
Although the single knife against his neck was moved away, his face was still bloody.
Niu Ping was knocked unconscious. Mao Yi'er had already knocked Mao Wu down and pressed his knee against his throat. He pressed down so hard that Mao Wu's face turned purple and he couldn't get away even though he struggled desperately.
Mao Yi'er was obviously very angry, his eyes were split open, and he started ruthlessly.
The two big men didn't know how long they had been entangled in this way, and Mao Wu's bloodshot eyes gradually lost their vitality.
"Well……"
Niu Ping had already climbed up on the ground and reached out to pick up the fallen sword.
Mao Yi'er suddenly turned around and threw him down again, grabbed Niu Ping's hair with his tied hands, and knocked him to the ground violently.
"Bang!"
"General...please spare me..."
"Bang!"
"Don't... General... There are all our people outside... They have been persuaded by us... Please spare me..."
Mao Yi'er gasped heavily and kept holding his hands.
"I guard Tongguan... I guard Tongguan... You want me to follow the example of Zhao Yanna who let the barbarians enter Chengdu to massacre the people... Shameful and shameless... Shameful and shameless?!"
"Bang!"
Mao Yi'er finally smashed Niu Ping to the ground.
But the sound of footsteps could be heard downstairs, and soldiers rushed in.
Mao Yi'er thought of the words "Everyone is ours outside" and turned around, his eyes full of surprise...
~~
A dim oil lamp illuminated the prison.
Liu Zheng, who had been in coma for several days due to injuries, woke up and squinted his eyes, not knowing where he was.
He struggled to get up from the thatched bed and sat thinking for a long time. Suddenly, he tried his best to shake the iron chain on his body and shouted.
"Come here! I want to see Li Xia...tell him! I can persuade my troops to surrender, I agreed..."
After a long time, I saw soldiers wearing armor coming.
At this time, Liu Zheng had gone crazy and was sitting on the thatch. He looked calm again and said, "I want to see Li Xia."
"You just said that you wanted to persuade your troops to surrender, right?"
"I want to see Li Xia." Liu Zheng said again.
"The prince will not see you, but I have asked for permission. If you plan to see your son and your subordinates, you can ask them to see you."
Liu Zheng was slightly surprised and asked, "Let me see Gaier?"
The soldier didn't answer. He glanced at Liu Zheng lightly, arranged for someone to carry a stretcher, and took him out of the prison and onto the carriage.
It wasn't until daylight that Liu Zheng was carried into a camp.
He was placed in a tent and waited for a while before seeing several people being taken into custody.
"Father?"
Liu Zing took a closer look and couldn't believe it.
"This... Yuan... Yuan'er? Where is this? How... how could you be captured so quickly?"