Zhang Xutuo has been silent for several years since the death of his boss Shi Wansui. His military position is not high, he is just a general of chariots and cavalry. He was awarded the title of Yi Tong for his contribution to quelling the barbarian rebellion in Nanning Prefecture. He has always been a mid-level officer in the past few years.
He was stationed in Hanzhong and his lack of promotion made him depressed.
This time Yang Liang rebelled, he thought it had nothing to do with him, but unexpectedly, he was transferred to the capital with a letter from the Ministry of War, joined Yang Su's counter-rebellion army, and was appointed by Yang Su as the runner-up general of the first army. This made him
Zhang Xutuo was extremely pleasantly surprised. Only when he met Yang Su did he realize that this was actually recommended by his apprentice Yang Yuanqing. This made Zhang Xutuo feel sad and happy at the same time, and he was deeply moved.
Ten years ago, he became the master of the five-year-old naughty boy Yang Yuanqing. At that time, he was thirty years old and was just a regiment leader in the army. Ten years later, his apprentice was a prodigy at the border, made many military exploits, and became a great leader.
A rising star of the Sui Dynasty, Zhang Xutuo was forty years old and middle-aged.
In fact, he only taught Yang Yuanqing for three years. He originally thought that Yuan Qing was just a passer-by in his life. Although Yuan Qing's achievements made Zhang Xutuo happy, he was also unhappy about his failure.
Unexpectedly, his apprentice did not forget him. Ten years later, he finally got the most critical opportunity in his life. When he learned that it was Yuan Qing's recommendation, his eyes became wet at that moment.
As he reached middle age, Zhang Xutuo cherished this opportunity. As a pioneer, when crossing the Yellow River at Pujin Pass, he led 500 scouts to successfully cross the Yellow River and defeated the keeper of Pujin Pass with 500 men against 3,000.
General He Shangui made the first contribution to Yang Su's army to cross the Yellow River. It was this battle that won Yang Su's appreciation.
Yang Su's 100,000-strong army marched northward with overwhelming momentum. When the governors of various states and counties heard that the army was led by the imperial servant Yang Su himself, they all surrendered without a fight. In just three days, the army advanced to the north of Huoyi County.
Huoyi County is located to the north of Jinzhou. It is the junction of the three states of Jin, Lu, and Qin. Its strategic location is very important. Especially to the north of Huoyi County is Gaobi Ridge. The mountains are undulating and steep, like a huge barrier blocking the road to the north.
, and there are also mountains to the east of Huoyi County. Three major mountain ranges, Jieshan Mountain, Huoshan Mountain and Wuling Mountain, stretch for thousands of miles and divide the southern part of Bingzhou into two.
Yang Liang then ordered Xiao Mohe to be the chief general and General Zhao Zikai to be the general. They led the main force of 150,000 troops to garrison on Gaobi Ridge. From a commanding position, the army set up a company camp on Gaobi Ridge, stretching for fifty miles. Yang Liang personally led 80,000 troops.
The backup is stationed in Lingshi County, less than 20 miles away from Gaobi Ridge.
After Yang Su's army captured Huoyi County, 120,000 troops came to Gaobi Ridge, and the final decisive battle began at Gaobi Ridge.
Zhang Xutuo walked quickly through the camp and walked to Yang Su's commander's tent. He bowed and saluted, "Please report to the commander, General Zhang Xutuo is here to see you!"
The soldiers went in to report. After a while, they came out and said with a smile: "General Zhang, the commander-in-chief invites you to come in."
Zhang Xutuo quickly walked into the commander's tent and saw Yang Su standing in front of a map, meditating for a long time without saying a word. Zhang Xutuo stepped forward and knelt down on one knee to salute, "Zhang Xutuo meets the commander!"
"General Zhang rises."
Yang Su sat down and smiled at him again: "General Zhang, what do you think about attacking Gaobiling?"
Zhang Xutuo has also been thinking about this issue. If there are only a few thousand people on the mountain, then it is okay to attack and capture Gaobi Ridge. However, there are hundreds of thousands of troops stationed on the mountain. This is not as simple as capturing the mountain. This is a decisive battle between the two armies.
If you attack Gaobiling by force, you will pay a heavy price.
Zhang Xutuo then bowed and said: "In my humble position, I believe that surprise troops are the top priority and strong attacks are the bottom priority."
Yang Su nodded, thinking the same way, and asked with a smile: "What kind of surprise attack is that?"
"I thought that the army could go through Queshu Valley, bypass Gaobiling, and directly attack the Han army in Lingshi County. The Han army would definitely ask for help from the troops stationed on Gaobiling, and then ambush a crossbow army behind Gaobiling.
Be prepared to ambush halfway, this battle will be won."
Yang Su clasped her hands and laughed, "Sure enough, the heroes think alike!"
He clapped his hands twice, and several soldiers led two Taoist priests into the big tent. The two Taoist priests were wearing black robes and cloth belts. They were both around forty years old.
Yang Su pointed at the two of them and introduced to Zhang Xutuo: "These two are Taoist priests from the Sanqing Palace in Huoshan. They know that there is a secret valley in Huoshan that leads directly to Gaobiling. You can lead an army of 10,000 as a surprise attack on Gaobiling.
I’ll leave it to you.”
Zhang Xutuo generously accepted the order: "The final general will never let down the commander-in-chief Mingwang!"
Zhang Xutuo took Yang Su's arrow and turned around to leave the camp. Yang Su immediately ordered his commander Sun Sheng to lead 30,000 troops to pretend to be the main force to confront the enemy troops on Gaobi Ridge.
Rat Valley, heading straight towards Lingshi County.
Huoshan Mountain is steep, with peaks towering into the sky. The mountains are covered with dense forests, and occasionally large straight cliffs are exposed. The cliffs are either barren of grass or covered with vines. These cliffs look like they have been cut with a knife.
It is filled with rocks of various shapes, some as small as goose eggs, and some as huge as three-story buildings. A long and winding mountain road passes through these large and small rocks.
As night falls, the mountain road is extremely quiet. There are rustling sounds from the woods and rock gaps on both sides. Occasionally, a night owl will rise from the big tree and make a scream. It is creepy, but soon, on the mountain road,
The silence was broken by a marching team. Ten thousand infantry and cavalry were lined up in two rows, walking quickly on the wet but not muddy mountain road, with the clatter of horse hooves, the clang of swords and occasional gentle conversations.
From time to time, a group of birds were awakened by the sound of the big tree beside the mountain road and flew up.
Zhang Xutuo was riding on a war horse. As he walked, he talked to a Taoist priest, "Taoist Priest Chongbi, you said that this mountain road only appeared at the beginning of the year. What do you mean?"
Two Taoist priests, one named Chongbi and the other named Chongyuan, are both locals. Their Taoist temple is located to the east of Huoshan Mountain. They came down the mountain to purchase items. When they heard that there were rebels blocking the road on Gaobiling, they took the initiative to find the camp.
, willing to lead the way for the imperial army. After some cross-examination, Yang Su finally believed that they were truly willing to serve the imperial court.
Taoist priest Chongbi was riding on a donkey. He stroked his beard and said with a smile: "This valley is called Yong'an Valley because it leads all the way to Yong'an County. In fact, this valley has always existed, but it is blocked by a huge rock in front of it.
After the huge rock, you have to climb over it. Livestock cannot walk through it, so this valley road is not very attractive. People would rather walk from Gaobiling, which is not far away and the road is easier to walk. But at the beginning of this year, the huge rock suddenly broke.
A narrow rock path appears in the middle, as if it has been split with a knife, so that livestock can pass through the rock path, making this valley path truly usable. After passing the giant rock, walk another ten miles and you will reach another valley behind Gaobi Ridge.
It leads directly to the north of the rebel camp.
Speaking of this, Taoist Chongbi pointed in front of him, "General, that's the huge rock!"
Zhang Xutuo also saw a huge rock falling from the sky like a Buddha. It was embedded right in the middle of the narrow cliff and blocked the entire valley. The rock was about eight feet wide and more than ten feet high.
Covered with vines, a crack less than a foot wide appeared in the middle of the rock, just right for a horse to pass through. The crack was very new. As the Taoist said, it only opened at the beginning of this year.
The team began to shrink into one group, holding torches, and passed through the stone cracks that were dozens of feet long. After passing through the stone cracks for about ten miles, two forked roads appeared in front, one leading to Yong'an County, and the other
The valley is Gaobiling.
At this time, they had arrived behind Gaopiling, less than five miles away from the rebel camp. All the torches were extinguished. Under the guidance of two Taoist priests, the 10,000 Sui troops walked into the dark and humid valley and attacked the rebels.
The camp moped away.
Lingshi County is a small county. The city wall is short and dilapidated. It is less than two feet high and has basically no defensive value. Moreover, the city is small, with less than a thousand households. You can light a stick of incense to circle the city, which can only accommodate at most
More than 10,000 people.
Of Yang Liang's 80,000 troops, only 3,000 personal guards and him were stationed in the city. The rest of the army was stationed outside the city. Yang Liang placed a temporary camp in the county school, which is also the best group of buildings in the county, with about 20 buildings.
A few rooms away, Yang Liang lived in Wenchang Pavilion in the county school.
It was already the fifth watch, and the lights in Wenchang Pavilion were still brightly lit. Yang Liang had not slept all night again. He had not slept for three days. The severe situation made him more and more anxious. Nineteen states had originally responded to his move.
However, after the defeat of Daizhou, the states and counties that supported him defected one after another. He now only has a small piece of territory left, including the southern part of Taiyuan Prefecture including Taiyuan City, and Luzhou where Lingshi County is located.
A small area.
He began to feel the pain of being at the end of his rope. Although he still had an army of more than 200,000 people, in fact these armies were weak soldiers from various states. The real elite army was less than 40,000 people. What's worse, his military rations were only
It can support an army of 200,000 for ten days. After ten days, his army will be cut off from food, and it will inevitably collapse across the board.
He was like a prisoner sentenced to death, waiting day by day for the day when food would be cut off. He was extremely depressed. If he had listened to Pei Wen'an's advice and taken advantage of the lack of preparations by the court, he went straight to the capital...
If he could tolerate Qiao Zhongkui's difficulties and send 30,000 troops to support him, he would have directly killed Yang Yuanqing and kept Doukang in Youzhou...
All ifs mean that he made mistakes one by one, or even made only one right decision, then the situation will never be as passive as it is today. Unfortunately, everything can no longer be undone.
Now that Yang Liang's ambition to become emperor has been completely eliminated, he now only thinks about how to protect himself and preserve the glory and wealth for the rest of his life. Yang Guang is his brother. If he surrenders, can his second brother spare him?
"Your Highness, take a nap!" An old eunuch next to him whispered to him.
"I can't sleep!"
Yang Liang sighed lowly. At this moment, someone outside the door exclaimed: "Fire, fire!"
Yang Liang was stunned. The door was slammed open, and a guard shouted: "Your Highness, the fire on Gaobi Ridge is soaring into the sky."
Yang Liang was so shocked that his heart almost jumped out of his chest. He ran to the courtyard and saw that the high mountain ridge was indeed filled with flames. The fire belt was more than ten miles away. It was the company camp on the mountain ridge that was burned. Yang Liang seemed to
One step was missed, and his heart plummeted into the abyss. It was over, he was all over.
He stared blankly at Gaobiling. At this time, another guard rushed in and said loudly: "Your Highness, the scouts sent intelligence and found that Yang Su's main force is only five miles away from us."
Yang Liang jumped up in shock and shouted: "Hurry! Ming Yu's army rises and prepares to fight."
"Your Highness, Yang Su's army did not attack at night, they have stopped advancing."
Yang Liang felt relieved a little. He hurried back and forth in the yard with his hands behind his back. His mind was in a mess. What should he do now?
He has no hope of the army on Gaobi Ridge. Even if most of them escape, he won't be able to feed them. Besides, Yang Su's main force is behind them and there is no way they can escape.
No, he must retreat, retreat to Taiyuan City, and rely on the solid walls of Taiyuan City for defense. He has been operating in Taiyuan City for nearly ten years, so he should be able to defend it.
Just as he was about to give the order to withdraw the troops, Wang Mei, who was proposing to join the army, hurried into the courtyard and said, "Your Highness, the opportunity has come."
Yang Liang's face sank and he said in an extremely dissatisfied tone: "Where are the opportunities?"
He was very angry with Wang Mei. It was this person who persuaded him to give up attacking the capital, causing him to lose the most important opportunity. Now he came to talk about the opportunity. This made Yang Liang happy.
Wang Juan did not realize Yang Liang's dissatisfaction. He still said excitedly: "Your Highness, Yang Su personally led the army to enter alone. If your Highness can defeat him, then Your Highness can turn defeat into victory, then regain all the lost ground, and lead the army to the capital...
…”
"Enough!"
Yang Liang scolded angrily. It was okay that Wang Mei didn't mention the troops and pointed the capital. When he mentioned the troops pointing the capital, Yang Liang immediately remembered that he had persuaded him to give up taking the capital, which made Yang Liang furious.
"I have decided to withdraw my troops immediately and return to Taiyuan. Anyone who dares to persuade me again will be killed without mercy!"
Wang Juan was shocked. He fell to his knees and said in tears: "Your Highness, Yang Su's army marched two hundred miles in one day, and his army was already exhausted. If Your Highness can personally lead the army to attack Yang Su, he will definitely defeat the enemy."
, Now Your Highness is retreating in the face of the enemy, which will make the three armies think that we are cowardly and destroy the morale of the officers and soldiers. Your Highness, we cannot withdraw our troops, this is our last chance!"
"Someone is coming!"
Yang Liang was furious, pointed at Wang Juan and shouted: "Beat me with a stick."
More than a dozen guards carried Wang Juan out with sticks. From a distance, he could be heard shouting: "Your Highness, this is our last chance!"
Yang Liang had no fight left, so he immediately ordered: "Send orders to the three armies to withdraw to Taiyuan City."
On Gaobi Ridge, Zhang Xutuo discovered that the enemy's defenses were lax, and the mountainous area was narrow. The tents were densely packed, one next to the other, and the wind was extremely strong. This was simply a camp set up for a fire attack. Zhang Xutuo resolutely adjusted his plan.
.
According to the original plan... Yang Su's main force would feint to attack Lingshi County, forcing Yang Liang to ask for help from the army on Gaobi Ridge, and then Zhang Xutuo would ambush the rebels in Lingshi County to rescue them. However, at this time, he did not need to ambush and directly manipulated.
Fire the camp.
The fire burned rapidly, and the raging flames were carried by the wind to the west of the mountain. Red flames flew from tent to tent, forming a sea of fire that stretched for more than ten miles. The entire Gaobi Ridge seemed to be engulfed in fire.
Inside the camp, hundreds of thousands of rebels cried for their fathers and mothers. In the raging fire, they trampled each other, screamed and scrambled for their lives. Outside the camp, 10,000 Sui troops rushed out, cutting off the rebels' escape route and killing them.
Heads were rolling, dead bodies were piling up, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of blood and burnt odor.
Zhang Xutuo swung his sword to kill in the enemy group. Wherever the sword passed, there were many corpses. He had killed the rebel general Zhao Zikai. At this time, he saw the Xiaomo River at a glance. He urged his horse to gallop, and his sword
It passed through the firelight and struck Xiao Mohe's neck. Although Xiao Moding was seventy-three years old, he was once an unparalleled warrior. Seeing Zhang Xutuo's sharp sword, he moved backwards, and the blade came from the tip of his nose.
He had been slashed, but after all, he was old and lacked waist strength, so he was a step too slow to get up. Zhang Xutuo stabbed him with a backhand, and the sharp blade struck him from the back of the neck with a "click" and blood burst out, Xiao Mohe's head was huge.
Flying more than ten feet away, the headless body spurted out blood and slowly fell to the ground.
Several soldiers swarmed up, picked up Xiao Mohe's head on a bamboo pole, and shouted loudly, "Xiao Mohe is dead! The rebel leader has met."
Xiao Mohe was killed, and the thousands of soldiers who resisted in the end became disheartened and fled in all directions. Zhang Xutuo shouted sternly: "Block the exit. Anyone who does not surrender will be killed on the spot!".