Yang Xuan has been in Yizhou for a few days. He visits the shops in the city every day and feels that Yizhou is more interesting than Chang'an.
That day, he was picking up ears in a brothel in Jinli. A follower hurriedly came upstairs and reported through the paper window: "Lang Jun, there is a letter from Chang'an."
"Whose letter?"
"It's Langjun, your best friend, Du Kagoro."
Yang Xuan then raised his hand to ask the beautiful lady who was picking his ears to stop for a moment, glanced at the earwax on the handkerchief next to him, and said with shame: "I listened to too much nonsense in Chang'an, and I have a lot of earwax. Please forgive me, little lady."
"Pfft."
The beautiful girl saw that he had a good appearance, but he was full of unintelligent energy, and his words were so careless, she couldn't help but cover her mouth and burst into laughter, and then she walked out in a blur.
Yang Xuan followed her for a long time and murmured to himself: "This allows me to marry the princess. I'm not stupid... Show me, what did that idiot Wu Lang say?"
He took the letter and saw that Du Wulang first asked him in the letter whether he had sent a sergeant to inform Xue Bai about Zheng Hui's return. At the end of the letter, he also euphemistically told a piece of news.
Yang Xuan was stunned for a while, then realized what he was doing, and rushed out of the wing room. Then he hurriedly ran back to put on his shoes, and rushed back to the Governor's Mansion impatiently, heading straight to the treasure room where Yang Guozhong stayed every day.
"Grandma!"
Opening the door, the treasure room was counting the newly collected Sichuan brocades, which were full of bright colors, but Yang Guozhong was not there.
Yang Xuan inquired around and found out that his grandfather had hired staff to discuss official matters in the council hall today.
He hurried over and rushed to the hall regardless of the guards' stop. He saw a map on it and everyone was discussing the military situation seriously. He forgot what he had just said and took a look.
can't read.
"What's wrong?" he asked an aide.
"Xian Yuzhong reported his success and captured the passes near Taihe City. The war will soon come to an end."
"So fast." Yang Xuan asked, "Has the message I sent been delivered?"
"It must have been delivered."
Yang Guozhong was so proud that he laughed and said, "I'm going to accomplish another great feat. Why did my son come here?"
"Aniang is pregnant!" Yang Xuan said, "I'm going to have another sibling."
Yang Guozhong was stunned. It was already late October, and he had left Chang'an at the end of his sixties. Of course, this was not important, because he and Pei Rou had not slept with each other for two years when they were in Chang'an.
"How did you know?"
Yang Xuan said: "It was said in Du Wulang's letter."
"How did he know?"
"Many people in Chang'an City are talking about it."
Only then did Yang Guozhong realize that several letters had been sent to his family, but he had never opened them and read them, so he quickly asked his maid to go to the study to get them.
In the letter, Pei Rou said that she missed Yang Guozhong, and even became ill with it. Suddenly one day, she had sex with him in her dream, and she recovered from her illness. Later, she found out that she was pregnant.
At this point, there was nothing more to say. Fortunately, Yang Guozhong also thought broadly and passed the letter to his staff for circulation. He laughed and said, "Look, my husband and I miss each other, so there is such a strange thing."
Everyone felt embarrassed, but seeing that the Yang family and his son didn't mind, they had no choice but to congratulate.
"Congratulations to my uncle, this is really a double happiness. The army will defeat Nanzhao soon, and my uncle is also happy to have a son. It's a double happiness."
~~
Longweiguan.
It has been several days since the Tang army captured Longwei Pass, and the panic caused by this surprise attack to Nanzhao has gradually passed.
After realizing that this Tang army only had less than 5,000 men and did not bring any baggage, the Nanzhao army boldly tried to leave Taihe City and counterattack Longwei Pass.
Ge Luofeng gave Duan Quange an opportunity to plead guilty and make meritorious service, not only because Duan Quange was familiar with the situation at Longwei Pass, but also because he now needed the Duan family's support.
Duan Quange was very grateful for this and vowed to retake Longwei Pass even if he died. At the same time, Duan Jian and Wei's army had returned to attack the pass from the south. The troops and horses led by the Duan brothers had formed a pincer attack.
On October 25, Nanzhao's army had been attacking the city for four days, and the Tang army had run out of food, grass, and arrows.
Xianyu Zhongtong's reinforcements have not yet arrived.
Wang Zhongsi decided to send another person to break out of the encirclement to urge him. He recruited the generals, took a look around, and thought about who to choose.
"Jie Shuai, I am willing to go." It was Cui Guangyuan who stood up first.
Cui Guangyuan was originally a doctor in the Ministry of War, and now he was transferred to Yunnan Biejia. Before the new governor was appointed, he was still one of the chief officials in Yunnan. Of course, Ge Luofeng didn't recognize him, so he was just a Yunnan Biejia.
He has no real name, it can only be said that he came to take office following Wang Zhongsi.
He comes from a famous family, has a high official position, and is good at eloquence. He is indeed a good candidate to go to urge Xianyu Zhongtong.
Wang Zhongsi was still worried.
Yan Wudao: "Jie Shuai, I am willing to go with Cui Biejia."
He was a famous prime minister, with both civil and military skills. But what reassured Wang Zhongsi most about him was that he had a strong personality and a ferocious aura.
When he was a child, Yan Wu dared to kill his father's concubine. If Xianyu Zhongtong dared to shirk the blame, I believe Yan Wu would dare not give in even an inch.
Wang Zhongsi then issued a military order and sent several good men to lead Cui Guangyuan and Yan Wu to break out of the encirclement.
Both sides of Guancheng were surrounded by the Nanzhao army, but the Tang army still had a way to send a small group to leave. They used hanging baskets to lower the group of people who had broken through before dawn.
After that, Cui Guangyuan blew up two leather bags and tied them around his waist. He quietly walked to the Xi'er River and carefully put down the leather bags. Sure enough, they floated on the river. Pushed by soldiers who were good at swimming, they swam across the Erhai Lake and on the east bank.
Landed and headed east to look for the main force of the Tang Army.
After only two days of traveling, they met Xianyu Zhongtong's sentry cavalry and were taken to the camp.
Looking up at the flag covering the sky in front of him, Cui Guangyuan was shocked and whispered to Yan Wu: "We are so close, why doesn't Xian Yu Zhongtong save Jie Shuai as soon as possible?"
Yan Wu was not afraid to speculate on others with the greatest malice, saying: "Perhaps he wants Jieshuai to die."
Cui Guangyuan was surprised. In the past, he rarely saw people speaking so bluntly in officialdom, but this was not an officialdom, but a battlefield.
Soon, they entered the big tent and saw Xianyu Zhongtong directly.
Cui Guangyuan announced his intention and sincerely requested: "Please also ask Commander Xian Yujie to send troops as soon as possible to relieve the siege of Longwei Pass, and join forces with Commander Wang Jieshuai to conquer Taihe City quickly. This opportunity must not be missed, and the time will never come again."
Yan Wu glanced at the map in Xianyu Zhongtong's tent and looked at it with interest.
"Cui Biejia, don't think that I am not saving Wang Jieshuai." Xian Yuzhong said: "Duan Jianwei is standing in front of me, so I should defeat him first."
"As long as Commander Xianyujie sends troops, Commander Wang Jieshuai will naturally cooperate at Longweiguan, attack from both front and rear, and defeat Duan Jianwei's troops." Yan Wu was young and of low status, but he was not timid in front of the vassal town of Xianyu Zhongtong.
He clicked on the map with his hand and added: "Commander Xian Yujie has already found out Duan Jianwei's military deployment very clearly, hasn't he?"
Only then did Cui Guangyuan notice that Xianyu Zhongtong should have been chasing him two days earlier, but he did not launch an offensive immediately. Instead, he was inquiring about Duan Jianwei's military deployment.
This approach is actually understandable. If Duan Jianwei can be defeated and the main force of the Nanzhao army is severely damaged, the Tang army will have won half of the battle. But even if it is too cautious, it will send troops too slowly.
"Don't worry, I will send troops."
.”
Yan Wudao: "Why is this necessary? Wang Jieshuai is occupying Longwei Pass and can overlook the Nanzhao camp. Wouldn't it be better for Wang Jieshuai to seize the time and lead his troops out of the city to cooperate?"
"The difference is that Duan Jianwei was on guard against Longweiguan, and Li Hui's cavalry took a detour to have the effect of a surprise attack."
Xianyu Zhongtong had made up his mind and said no more, just letting Cui Guangyuan and Yan Wu watch him defeat the enemy.
…
In fact, Li Hui's original mission was not to attack the flank of the Nanzhao army, but when he arrived at Longwei Pass, Duan Jianwei had already arrived in advance and blocked his way.
Seeing that he had missed the opportunity, Li Hui had no choice but to send a horse to report the news, urging Xianyu Zhongtong to come as soon as possible and attack him from both sides.
But when Xianyu Zhongtong's army arrives, they have to rest and regroup in an orderly manner to find out the enemy's situation.
Finally, everything was ready, and Xianyu Zhongtong began to launch an offensive against Duan Jianwei.
The two sides set up their battle formations and fought on the banks of Erhai Lake.
Li Hui is in the mountainous area south of Erhai Lake and has not been discovered by Nanzhao's scouting horses. So, he only needs to wait until Duan Jianwei and Xianyu Zhongtong are fighting fiercely, lead his troops out, and the battle can be decided in one battle.
In order to seize the opportunity, he sent sentries to climb high mountains to observe the battle situation. Starting from early morning, they had to report to him every moment.
I waited anxiously until afternoon and finally saw the flags waving in the mountains.
"Report to the general, Duan Jianwei has mobilized the flanking cavalry."
Li Hui made a deduction on the sand table and knew that the Nanzhao army's military strength would be exposed in this arrangement.
He immediately put on his helmet, got on his horse, and rode through among his soldiers, raising his sword and pointing forward.
"Soldiers of the Tang Dynasty, the war has begun, follow me and fight out!"
The horse's hooves stepped on the mountain road, speeding up little by little.
After turning a mountain ridge, the Erhai Lake appeared in front of us. The Tang army cheered and began to dive towards the Nanzhao army.
On the distant battlefield, Duan Jianwei's troops were already stretched thin. He arranged some troops and horses in the Xi'er River to stand in a tight formation to prevent Wang Zhongsi from fighting out of Longwei Pass. The other troops that could be mobilized had been mobilized to face the battle.
The main force against Xian Yu Zhongtong.
In this way, his central army appears to be very weak.
Li Hui was like a sharp knife, stabbing Duan Jianwei's heart.
~~
Cui Guangyuan and Yan Wu were watching the battle from a high place.
Looking at this situation, as long as Xianyu Zhongtong can win, then he is right. He defeated the main force of Nanzhao's field battle steadily and steadily, laying the key to victory in this battle. His contribution is much greater than Wang Zhongsi's sudden attack on Longwei Pass.
"Xianyu Zhongtong can still fight." Cui Guangyuan said with emotion.
Yan Wudao: "If it wasn't for the sake of fighting for merit, he would have had other tactics."
Dust and smoke rose from the sky.
Cui Guangyuan said: "Are those Li Hui's soldiers and horses?"
"Yes, the timing was very good." Yan Wu said, "Once this cavalry arrives, the Nanzhao army will be defeated... No."
He suddenly frowned, and there was doubt in his eyes.
"There shouldn't be such a big battle with a thousand riders."
"Maybe Li Hui has more than a thousand riders?"
Yan Wu squinted his eyes and saw that there seemed to be two streams of dust and smoke. This was because from his angle, it looked like there was only one army coming, but it should be one coming from the south to kill the Nanzhao army, and another one.
Coming from the west.
Nanzhao could not have more troops.
That means Wang Jieshuai fought his way out of Longwei Pass?
Suddenly, Yan Wu felt a faint vibration coming from the sky and the earth. He turned around suddenly and looked to the north.
He saw a larger puff of dust and smoke rising just beside Erhai Lake.
More and more cavalry sprang out from the dust and smoke and went straight to the side and rear of Xianyu Zhongtong's army.
"What is that?"
"Tibet."
Yan Wu uttered two words in his mouth, reacted quickly, whistled hard, and ran straight down the mountain to where Xianyu Zhongtong's banner was.
The Tibetan army is coming.
Fallen.
Xianyu Zhongtong thought he had set up an ambush and was attacking from both sides, but he didn't know that he was the one being attacked from both sides.
Everyone thought that Ge Luofeng was going to be a coward and stick to Taihe City, but they didn't expect that Ge Luofeng's ambition was to annihilate the main force of the Tang army at the Erhai Lake.
~~
Longweiguan.
Today, Duan Quangezheng led his army to attack Guancheng in the north, denying the Tang army a chance to support Xianyu Zhongtong. Therefore, the fighting at Longwei Pass was also quite fierce.
Xue Bai followed Wang Zhongsi and stood on the tower to supervise the battle. Arrows shot at his feet from time to time.
Even so, they did not forget to pay attention to the situation on the main battlefield.
suddenly.
"What is that?"
All the generals saw the galloping soldiers and horses in the distance.
Wang Zhongsi looked at it silently for a while and handed the telescope to Xue Bai's hand.
"Yixiang Yele is here."
The telescope shook a few times and locked onto a large scroll.
There are no words on the large scroll, only the fluttering horse mane, which is majestic.
…
Walking under the big banner is a huge camel with camel bells tied around its neck, making a jingling sound.
A thin old man is sitting precariously on a camel. He is the Tibetan Emperor Xiangye Le.
Thousands of troops and horses were fighting fiercely on the battlefield ahead, but Yixiang Ye Le didn't even look at it. He occasionally raised his eyes to look at Longwei Pass on the other side of Erhai Lake.
Seen from here, Longweiguan has only a small outline.
But it's strange that Yixiang Yele feels like being stared at.
He then patted the camel under him and murmured in a hoarse voice: "The most noble princess and the most humble slave are all captured there."
~~
"You take charge."
Suddenly, a command flag was handed into Xue Bai's hands.
When he came back to his senses, he saw Wang Zhongsi turning around and walking away.
"Jie Shuai?"
"I have to fight."
Xue Bai looked at the battlefield again and was frightened by the sight of thousands of troops. He could no longer believe that Wang Zhongsi's presence in the battle could change anything.
Just as he was about to say a few words of advice, exclamations of surprise could be heard from the other side of the city.
"The Nanzhao army is climbing up!"
It was a city wall connected to Cangshan Mountain in the west. A group of Nanzhao soldiers took advantage of the Tang army's unpreparedness and climbed up at some point.
"Tian Shengong! Block it!"
In a hurry, Xue Bai didn't know how to command, so he had to let people defend.
Wang Zhongsi didn't even look back, ignored the chaos on top of the city, and went to order all his soldiers, preparing to ride out of the city.
~~
"Jie Shuai! The Tubo people are coming!"
Xianyu Zhongtong didn't need anyone to tell him.
He had thought that the Tubo people would intervene in this war, but he did not expect it to be so soon. Yixiang Yele came from Langqiong faster than he came from Yaozhou, and even set up an ambush.
"Brother." Xianyu Shuming came over and said in a low voice: "The morale of the army is in great chaos. This battle cannot be won. Brother, I will retreat first, and I will stop the rear."
Xianyu Zhongtong said nothing and stood there in a daze. From the moment he saw the Tibetan army to now, he has not been able to react.
He has been a soldier all his life, and his ambition is naturally very strong. However, he has been a soldier all his life, and he already knows that he will be defeated today, and the defeat will be like a mountain. Due to the dangerous terrain of Yunnan and the large number of wounded and sick in the Tang army, this
Defeated, it was almost impossible for him to lead his troops to evacuate under the pursuit of Nanzhao and Tubo troops.
In other words, everything is over.
"Brother!" Xianyu Shuming put his hands on Xianyu Zhongtong's shoulders, shook it hard, and said: "If you keep the green hills here, you won't be afraid of running out of firewood. Please cheer up."
"I am a sinner." Xianyu Zhongtong murmured.
After saying these words, he finally came to his senses, looked around at the soldiers around him, and saw faces that were either confused, panicked, or sad and angry. He was thinking about whether he should fight to the death or order the troops to retreat.
If we retreat at this time, we may be able to preserve more troops.
Just as he was thinking about it, he felt a chill on his head, but it was Xianyu Shuming who took off his helmet and put it on his head.
"what you do?"
"Brother, please change your helmet to me and leave as soon as possible before it's too late."
"You want me to leave the soldiers and escape alone?!" Xianyu Zhongtong was furious, "Am I such a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death in your eyes?!"
Xianyu Shuming knelt down and cried: "I am not here for you and me. Today's defeat is a foregone conclusion. If I can go back alive, I can still find my uncle to save the lives of the whole family.
My brother also died in the battle, what should the Xianyu family do?!"
After hearing these words, Xianyu Zhongtong's expression froze, his anger dissipated a lot, and he was replaced by a sad look on his face.
"Take off your armor, brother."
Xianyu Shuming begged hard, but Xianyu Zhongtong finally closed his eyes and sighed helplessly.
Their intimate soldiers had already surrounded the commander's platform, but they were unexpectedly seen by the soldiers.
"Commander Jie, please see Yan Wu!"
The armor was being removed here, and suddenly a call came out.
"No." Xianyu Shuming responded directly.
"He said he had a plan to defeat the enemy."
Xianyu Shuming wanted to refuse again, but Xianyu Zhongtong said: "Recruit him over."
"Brother, you..."
"If we can defeat the enemy, then you and I will be worthy of the Tang Dynasty."
Xianyu Zhongtong had just taken off his armor and casually took his cloak and tied it on.
After a while, Yan Wu strode over, followed by Cui Guangyuan.
"Commander Jie, please give the order immediately, kill Duan Jianwei's defense line at all costs, and lead the army into Longwei Pass!"
"Is this what you call a strategy to defeat the enemy?"
"In times of crisis, the only option is to fight to the bitter end." Yan Wu looked solemn.
Xianyu Zhongtong shook his head and said: "The Nanzhao army's morale is at its peak. How can they be easily defeated? What's more, what if they enter Longwei Pass? The baggage has been cut off and they are besieged in an isolated city. Will they be defeated sooner or later?"
Yan Wu shouted: "There is still a glimmer of hope, it is much better than being wiped out!"
Xianyu Shuming was listening on the side, his eyes flashing, and he whispered: "Brother, what if I just listen to him?"
What he meant was that he could order a strong attack on Duan Jian's Wei tribe, but Xianyu Zhongtong could still escape first.
~~
When Yi Xiang and Ye Le personally led the army to attack Xianyu Zhongtong, another small force led by Gong Jiezan came out from behind Cangshan Mountain and attacked Li Hui.
Li Huizheng was leading his army to attack Duan Jianwei's central army. He was originally stabbing the enemy in the heart like a sharp knife, but in the blink of an eye he was surrounded.
If he had chosen to retreat at the first opportunity, he might have been able to escape before the two enemy armies encircled him.
But he quickly noticed the situation on the main battlefield to the east. Looking at the dust and smoke in the sky, he knew that Xianyu Zhongtong's main force was also under attack. The main force consisted of cavalry and infantry. They could not retreat easily. Once defeated, the entire army would be annihilated.
In this case, the only way is to defeat Duan Jianwei as soon as possible, so that the Tang army can enter Longwei Pass to rest and find another way.
Therefore, instead of retreating, Li Hui took the lead and continued to attack.
If Xianyu Zhongtong had given him 3,000 cavalry at the beginning, he might still have a good chance of defeating Duan Jianwei at this time. However, he only had 1,000 men, and the gap in strength was too large. After he reached the Nanzhao army line, he gradually
It seems helpless.
…
Gongjiezan commanded the Tibetan army to complete the siege, cutting off the retreat of the thousands of Tang cavalry, and vowed to annihilate them all.
At the same time, he had some other worries in his heart, because the Tubo princess was still in the hands of the Tang army. His eyes turned from the battlefield to Longwei Pass in the distance, wishing he could rush into the pass immediately and rescue Nalanzhen.
The next moment, he couldn't help but rub his eyes, thinking that he had seen it wrong.
In a daze, he seemed to see the city gate of Longweiguan open... It really opened, and the suspension bridge was lowered.
The Tibetan soldiers guarding the south bank of the Xi'er River were looking at the battlefield here and did not notice it. They did not turn around until the sound of horse hooves sounded.
"Fire the arrow!"
Oncoming was a hail of arrows.
A troop of Tang Army cavalry in Longwei Pass rushed out of the city gate like a dragon out of the sea and stepped across the suspension bridge.
A spear tied with an explosive pack arced through the air and entered the Nanzhao army.
"boom!"
The loud noise was like the roar of a dragon.
The Nanzhao soldiers guarding the Xi'er River had just marched from Paojiang with Duan Jianwei. They had never seen such a thunderstorm and were frightened and panicked.
The cavalrymen of the Tang Army, armed with long spears, crashed into the panicked queue.
"kill!"
Amidst the roaring shouts of death, a large flag was raised, fluttering in the wind, and they were quickly pressed.
Gongjiezan stared at the flag for a long time, and then opened his mouth in horror.
"Wang Zhongsi?!"
Of course he knew Wang Zhongsi, there were few Tibetan soldiers who had not heard of this name.
At that time, in the Qinghai battlefield and the battle of Xinluo City, the Tubo army had killed the Tang army and was retreating steadily. Wang Zhongsi rushed forward on a single horse, galloping left and right, killing hundreds of people alone, and the Tubo soldiers and horses trampled each other, and returned in defeat.
Gongjiezan didn't believe this rumor. He didn't believe there was such bravery in the world.
But he knew that the reason for such rumors stemmed from the fear of Wang Zhongsi among the Tibetan soldiers on the battlefield in Qinghai.
He did not expect that this time, it would be Wang Zhongsi who came to Nanzhao in person, with only a few troops and horses...
"Hold them off!"
When Gongjiezan came back to his senses, he found that the Tang army had driven dozens of steps forward in a short period of time, forcing them into his formation. He quickly ordered his soldiers to resist.
He wanted to see how Wang Zhongsi "killed hundreds of people alone".
In his sight, he saw a fast horse rushing over from the rout of troops, and in a blink of an eye, he was less than a hundred steps away from him.
"Whoosh!"
The arrow was as fast as a meteor, and it hit the face of the soldier carrying the flag in front of Gongjiezan with a "pop" sound. The soldier immediately fell off his horse, and the Tibetan army's flag also shook.
"The Tubo general is dead!"
The Tang army shouted loudly and began to rush towards Gongjiezan's defense line...
~~
Over there, on Xianyu Zhongtong's handsome stage.
A military order was passed on, and the horn sounded.
Xianyu Shuming looked at Yan Wu, waved his hand and said, "Step back."
"Here."
Yan Wu bowed, glanced at Xianyu Zhongtong, and turned around.
He just turned around, but in an instant he pulled out a dagger, quickly rushed to Xianyu Zhongtong's side, and waved his hand.
"ah!"
A cold light flashed, and Xianyu Shuming exclaimed.
Looking closely, he saw that Yan Wu had put the dagger on Xianyu Zhongtong's neck and pressed it mercilessly, leaving a bloody mark.
"Don't move!"
Yan Wu shouted coldly.
He really dared to take action. When he was a child, he dared to knock out people's brains.
"Shuai Xian Yujie, he doesn't even wear armor. Do you want to escape?"
"No, you misunderstood..."
"No matter if I misunderstood or not!" Yan Wu shouted: "Move the flag forward to show your determination not to retreat."