It was only three hundred miles to the left and right, and the horse could arrive in one day. Furthermore, before dividing the troops, Li Liang had made an agreement with Huangfu Rang: within half a month, all the cities and counties to the north of the Salt Lake and the Huangshui River and to the east of the river would be captured.
Therefore, it does not make any difference whether we have to go to Yuwei County sooner or later, whether it is earlier or later.
When he received the report, it was already noon, so Li Liang set off immediately and arrived at Yuwei County at midnight.
The scouts came to report first, and Da Xi had already heard the news and had been guarding the city tower. When the people in the city checked the order and confirmed that it was Li Liang who had arrived in person, he hurriedly came down from the city wall and greeted him in the cave.
Then he ordered his confidants to inform Sima Zhang Jingzhi. Li Liang then stepped into the city gate, and Zhang Jingzhi also arrived.
Seeing Zhang Jingzhi, Li Liang suddenly realized: It turned out that Da Xi was not leading the army alone.
With Zhang Jingzhi's help, Da Xi was suspicious and could not find out what was going on. Moreover, these two people had worked together for more than ten years and were already familiar with each other, so they complemented each other well.
And in this way, for the newly surrendered generals who have surrendered to Xihai, the surrender is of great significance: Xi Kangsheng is still organizing the army in Beizhen, fighting to the death with Li Chengzhi. And Li Chengzhi still dares to reuse Da Xi, which shows how broad-minded he is?
At least it can stabilize the morale of the army...
After a few words of greeting, Da Xi asked suspiciously: "Why is Master Li here?"
This sentence made Li Liang a little confused.
Shouldn't he be the one to ask?
Knowing something was wrong, Li Liang raised his hand and said politely: "Now there are no invincible troops on the west bank of the river. It's time to recover the city and wipe out the captured troops!"
Are there no invincible troops on the west bank of the river?
Da Xi was shocked: "Where have you gone?"
Li Liang was even more surprised: "Does General Daxi not know that the enemy army has been completely defeated?"
The enemy army was completely routed... What kind of bird eggs are you talking about?
That's an army of 400,000...
Seeing the look of his eyes almost bulging out, Li Liang knew that the order was not flowing smoothly. Da Xi still didn't know that Cui Yanbo and Murong Xiao had been defeated.
He pondered for a moment and then spoke eloquently: "On the night of April 25th, the Tuyuhun army was defeated outside the South Gate Pass and dispersed. General Huangfu made a decisive decision and ordered me and his troops to separate into two groups, and then we killed him:
One way is in the south, starting from Heguan County (now Guide County, Xining, Qinghai, when it was Shanshan Town in the Yuan and Wei Dynasties), and going east along the north bank of the river (Yellow River). All the way in the north, starting from Beiqiang County (now Menyuan County, Qinghai, when it was
It belongs to Wuwei County) and is surrounded along the south bank of Huangshui River.
The two armies rushed forward at the same time, advancing towards Shanshan Town. Because Tuyuhun's defeated army panicked and had no choice but to flee towards Shanshan Town between the two rivers. Because it was late at night, the order was not smooth, and it was difficult to distinguish between ourselves and the enemy, so Cui Yanbo was caught off guard.
The military formations and camps were broken through by the defeated army. We followed closely behind and bombarded the middle formation and Dazhai with suppressing artillery. Before dawn, the Shanshan town was defeated, and Cui Yanbo's front army was defeated. We had no choice but to let the Chinese army and the rear army
The army retreated urgently.
We covered the rear and attacked, pursuing for three hundred miles day and night. At noon on the 29th, we defeated Cui Yanbo on the west bank of the river in Xiqiang County. At this point, Shanshan was settled. Afterwards, General Huangfu thought that we should strike while the iron is hot and pursue the victory while it is hot.
We are ordered to divide our troops into separate groups again. With the river as the boundary, all cities to the north and east must be conquered. Any defeated troops must be ambushed..."
After a pause, Li Liang asked again: "In the early morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, General Huangfu had already rushed to report this news to Langjun. Why didn't Xi Zhonglang not know?"
"hehe……"
Apart from giggling, Da Xi could no longer react in any way.
My mind felt as if it had been licked by a dog, and I seemed to be unable to think anymore.
On April 19, Li Chengzhi received a report from Huangfu Rang, saying that Tuyuhun had recruited more than 90,000 elite cavalry, known as 200,000, and they would meet in Salt Lake on April 18. Huangfu Rang, who had hidden his troops at the racecourse, was less than a hundred miles away.
The next day, his troops were divided into six groups, four of which followed Murong Xiao, King of Zuoguli, and stationed at Nanmen Pass. Only nearly 30,000 elite cavalry in the south of Tianzhu were temporarily stationed in the north of Yanzhi. Huangfu Rang said in the letter: He has made arrangements.
On the night of the 21st, we will cooperate with Xizuo Liyingwai lurking in the south of Tianzhu and attack the Salt Lake at night.
On April 23, Li Chengzhi received another good news from Huangfu Rang, saying that he had defeated the troops stationed south of Tianzhu, south of the racecourse and north of Salt Lake, and had wiped out and captured Hu soldiers, more than 30,000 herdsmen, and countless cattle and sheep.
Due to adequate preparations, the road to the east was blocked before the enemy army collapsed, so the news did not leak out. Huangfu Rang thought that he could repeat his old tactics and cooperate with Li Hanli, who was already Murong Xiao's former camp commander, to attack again.
Nanmen Pass.
This was an established strategy. Huangfu Rang and Li Chengzhi had already discussed it and deduced it countless times. At the beginning of the dispatch of troops, Li Chengzhi said frankly: The situation is changing rapidly. If you ask for everything, you will miss the opportunity. Huangfu Rang has long been granted the opportunity.
Arbitrary power. Therefore, Huangfu's resignation was just a normal report.
Therefore, when he sent envoy Bing to meet Li Chengzhi, Huangfu Rang had already made an agreement with Li Han: on April 25, he would send troops from Salt Lake to attack Nanmen Pass at night through the hinterland of Tuyuhun.
At that time, Li Han only had to let Tuyuhunxiao camp and burn the grain and grass.
It was also at that time that Li Chengzhi was afraid of Tuyuhun's counterattack, and even more afraid that Yuan Yao, who had already deployed his troops in Hequ Division, would send troops to attack the racecourse, so he ordered Da Xi and Zhang Jingzhi to send troops overnight to garrison in Wuwei to assist Huangfu Chang and Li Liang.
The two men led 80% of the new army, that is, they were recruited from the six towns of Luo Jian, Yuan Zhi and the Dunhuang town army. Since they only joined for half a year, it would be self-deception to say how stable the morale of the army is and how high the morale is.
.
When it comes to safety, it is natural to treat people well and to be vigilant, and military law is not too harsh.
In addition, in order to prevent Tuyuhun from suddenly crossing the Qilian Mountains and attacking halfway across the mountain, the march was not very fast. Although there were many chariots and horses, it only took about 150 miles a day, and it took seven days to reach Wuwei.
On that day, they were temporarily stationed outside the city. At the same time, Da Xi immediately sent an envoy to the racecourse to summon Huangfu for military orders.
But half a day later, a messenger came back with an order saying that Huangfu Rang and Li Liang were not at the racecourse, and only Wei Commander Huangfuzhong and his three thousand troops were stationed at the Mojin River south of the racecourse.
When Huangfu Rang and Li Liang were asked where they were going, Huangfu Zhong actually said that they each led three guards and divided their troops into two groups, one to fight Murong Xiao and the other to fight Cui Yanbo.
Upon hearing the news, Da Xi was so frightened that he almost fell off his horse.
How many soldiers does Cui Yanbo have?
When he first entered Shanshan Town, Cui Yanbo claimed that he had one million troops. Li Chengzhi naturally didn't believe it, but he claimed that even with a discount and a strong people, there should be 300,000.
In addition to Murong Xiao's more than 60,000 troops, this is an army of nearly 400,000 people.
And how many soldiers did Huangfu Rang have?
There are only six guards in total, which is just over 30,000. Add in the miners who transport grain and artillery, and the herdsmen and herdsmen at Shandan Racecourse, and there will be more than 40,000.
The enemy's soldiers were ten times their own. Who gave Huangfu Rang and Li Liang the courage to attack a stone with an egg?
Not to mention that about 600 miles north of Wuwei County, there is the garrison of Yuan Yao, the general who conquered the north, and an army of 200,000 was stationed here.
Da Xi had no choice but to report urgently to Li Chengzhi first, and then discuss with Zhang Jingzhi how to send help.
No matter how anxious he was, he couldn't make any moves. Da Xi could only divide his troops into two groups: one was handed over to the deputy commander Zhang Xinzhi, and he led 10,000 troops to garrison Wuwei to prevent Yuan Yao from advancing south.
The other road was divided into two groups. He and Zhang Jingzhi each led 10,000 troops, one group heading east along the border wall, and the other group crossed the border wall to patrol Shanshan.
We also had to divide our troops, food, and artillery, which delayed us for a day. And with a strong enemy on the side, we had to be extremely careful, so we naturally did not dare to march too fast. In this way, even though they were all cavalry, they only had artillery with them.
A small cannon can travel more than a hundred miles in one day.
On the third day, Daxi encountered Li Liang's Tangqi troops in Changsong County (today's Gulang County, Wuwei). Only then did he realize that Huangfu Rang and Li Liang were fighting in the south and north, and they were almost reaching the west bank of the Yellow River.
When asked again, Tangqi did not dare to say more due to military orders. He only said that Xi Zhonglang could march with confidence and that there would be no hindrance along the way.
This sentence alone made Da Xi extremely surprised. He suspected that Huangfu Chang and Li Liang had most likely defeated Cui Yanbo.
Otherwise, Tangqi would never dare to say something like, "Everything west of the big river will travel unhindered."
But then I thought about it: defeating 400,000 by 40,000 is like a fantasy, it is really unbelievable.
In shock and uncertainty, Da Xi and Zhang Jingzhi did not dare to believe Tang Qi's words. Although they no longer went south but east along the ancient Silk Road, they still fought steadily and made camp step by step.
It was indeed as Tangqi said, the journey was smooth, but we still walked for another three days before we arrived at Yuwei County, which is nearly 300 miles away from Wuwei and on the west bank of the river.
Although Changsong is a county, the number of residents is no more than a thousand households, and the county soldiers are no more than a few hundred. The city wall has been in disrepair for many years, so when the army came to the city, the magistrate of Changsong surrendered the city.
When asked about the military situation, of course he didn't know anything about it.
But when they met Li Liang again, they realized that what Tang Qi said was true.
Da Xi was so shocked that he was frozen on the outside and tender on the inside. Not to mention responding to Li Liang, he didn't even listen carefully to what Li Liang asked. All he could think about was "Cui Yanbo lost...Murong Xiao lost..."
Thoughts like that.
Even Zhang Jingzhi, who had always been as calm as a mountain, was so shocked that his face flushed and his eyes shone.
Fortunately, he still had some sense left, and he guessed that Huangfu Rang should be the victor. Li Chengzhi was already overwhelmed, and he was even more afraid that overstepping his authority would disrupt Huangfu Rang's rhythm, so he simply obeyed the order and let Huangfu Rang go.
play.
Of course, Li Chengzhi must have sent a message to Huangfu Rang, informing him that Da Xi had led 30,000 new troops to the north for reinforcements. Naturally, he could not help but give Huangfu Rang the order to control Da Xi. But in all likelihood, Huangfu Rang ran too fast, and Huangfu Rang ran too fast.
Moving east and west, the messenger might not have caught up yet, that's why he and Da Xi didn't know the current military situation, and Huangfu Rang and Li Liang didn't know that Li Chengzhi had sent a large army to help them. It was a combination of Yin and Yang.
wrong.
But it’s more than just a mistake?
Zhang Jingzhi really couldn't imagine that with 40,000 people against 400,000 people, he was not brave enough to win, or was it a huge victory, and the victory was so fast, less than 20 years before and after?
How did Huangfu Rang and Li Liang do it?
His heart was like a huge wave, and the long-lasting injustice made Zhang Jingzhi unbearable and surprised. But as soon as he opened his mouth, his voice was hoarse and trembling, and his tongue seemed to be knotted: "Master Li: Really...defeat Murong Xiao...and...and...
Cui Yanbo?"
"Military law is like a mountain. How dare Liang report the military situation in a hurry? He will naturally win?"
Hearing the word "win", Da Xi suddenly became excited, as if he was waking up from a dream: "How did you win?"
This question was too abrupt and rude. But Li Liang knew that Da Xi had an honest nature and was just too surprised to speak out, so he didn't care.
"My great fortune is all due to luck!"
Although Li Liang was neither reserved nor aggressive, he was neither arrogant nor impetuous, but he couldn't help but show his white teeth, "This great victory was only possible because General Huangfu could predict the enemy in advance and make a decisive decision before letting the good opportunity pass by."
…”
It's really luck.
Because even Huangfu Rang and Li Liang did not expect that Tuyuhun would be so vulnerable to artillery, as if it were paper in front of the artillery. As soon as they heard the sound of the artillery, whether it was the southern part of Tianzhu or Murong Xiao's 60,000 fine cavalry,
It turned into a mess in an instant.
Nor did he expect that Murong Xiao was not the ordinary greedy for life and afraid of death. Although the army was in chaos, it was not defeated, so he escaped first.
As soon as the coach fled, his troops were leaderless, and chaos naturally aggravated the situation. Defeat was inevitable.
What was even more unexpected was that Murong Xiao neither went south nor north, but fled east?
Nanmen Pass is hundreds of miles away from Shanshan Town, and in order to facilitate marching and transporting grain, Cui Yanbo built the road as smooth as a flat river.
Therefore, Murong Xiao was like a beacon that guided the way, and the defeated troops who followed him were even more like southern goats. They only knew how to run with the leader, even if there was a cliff in front of them.
By some strange combination of circumstances, Cui Yanbo's camp was destroyed?
Then he followed the same pattern. After several rounds of artillery, Cui Yanbo's front army did not last long and collapsed...
Li Liang felt that even words like "God is wise and I am lucky" are not enough to describe the success of this battle.
Just like picking it up for free!
In this one battle, Huangfu Rang and Li Liang's names will be heard all over the world...
He was filled with joy. After hearing Zhang Jingzhi's praise, Li Liang calmed down.
"It is true that heaven is full of great blessings. God bless us in the West Sea... Just this one battle can lay the foundation of our West Sea for eternity... General Huangfu and Chief Li's achievements can be learned from the sun and the moon..."
Zhang Jingzhi blushed as if he was drunk. Before he finished speaking, he bowed deeply to Li Liang.
After all, he was Li Chengzhi's maternal uncle, and now he was even more powerful, so how could Li Liang dare to take advantage of him? But Zhang Jingzhi's movements were too fast, and even Li Liang couldn't even avoid him, let alone stop him.
Da Xi had long lost the ability to think. He would do whatever Zhang Jingzhi did.
This time, Li Liang reacted. But Naihe Daxi Kongwu was strong. In terms of strength, he was slightly weaker than brothers Li Chengzhi, Li Zhang and Li Xian. Li Liang couldn't hold on at all.
He had no choice but to say: "You two are serious in your words. This battle is all due to General Huangfu's planning. I feel ashamed to accept it..."
"Why does Mr. Li need to be humble?"
Zhang Jingzhi stood up and calmed down a little: "But now that the military situation is urgent, we don't need to be polite. We should treat military affairs as important... I would like to ask Mr. Li, Murong Xiao and Cui Yanbo have already been defeated. I don't know if we should retreat now."
Where will we go and how much strength will we have left?"
"Both of these two men and Yuan Cheng were defeated and fled to Yuzhong. The soldiers under their command panicked in the chaos and did not choose their way. Nearly half of them threw themselves into the river and Huangshui... General Huangfu and I also covered up the killing, and Li Shi led it.
The rear army gathered along the road, and captured fifty or sixty thousand soldiers who were defeated...Roughly calculated, Cui Yanbo's troops were only one hundred thousand at most, and they were all defeated, with almost no military morale and morale to speak of..."