Chapter 536 Escape from Luoyang
Chapter 536 Escape from Luoyang
There were corpses lying all over the corridor, all killed by one sword. Xiong Kuohai easily jumped down from the wall and picked up his eldest son Yang Yan, followed by his second son Yang Yu, and then his father Yang Yong. Yang Yong was very weak, but with the help of his sons, he still climbed over the wall. Xiong Kuohai held his legs and slowly picked him up.
Yang Yong looked around. It was now four o'clock in the morning and the mansion was extremely quiet, with no movement at all.
"Are there any secret sentries?" Yang Yong asked.
Xiong Kuohai laughed and said, “There were some before, but now they are all dead.”
He then called his other four sons, Yang Yong, Yang Ke, Yang Gai and Yang Shao one by one. Except for Yang Yong who was calm, the other six sons were full of excitement and anticipation. Although they didn't know what going to Chang'an meant, it would definitely be much better than now.
Xiong Kuohai built a ladder on the opposite wall again and helped the seven father and sons to climb over the high wall one by one. They squatted in a small forest. They were in the back house, and the backyard wall was just a few dozen steps ahead.
Pointing to a dark cave entrance, inside of which was a ladder leading deep into the tunnel.
"Who will go in front?" Xiong Kuohai asked his sons.
"Let me do it!"
The first person to stand up was the eldest son Yang Yan, who had lost one hand. He longed for freedom more than anyone else.
Yang Yan walked down the ladder slowly, followed by his second son Yang Yu, and then Yang Yong. They entered the cave one after another. The cave was not narrow and two people could walk side by side or squatting.
The last person to enter was Xiong Kuohai. He slowly moved the huge rock back from the bottom and sealed the cave entrance again.
The exit in front had been opened and the air was still flowing. Everyone lit a fire and moved forward step by step. It took less than a hundred steps and a full quarter of an hour before they finally climbed out of the exit.
Xu Shiji has been waiting here for a long time.
"We are still in danger, everyone take a rest, eat something, and then change clothes!"
"Change clothes?" Everyone was stunned.
When they walked into the room and saw a pile of women's clothes and cosmetics on the table, they immediately understood.
The city gate opens at 1:15 a.m., while the block gate opens at 1:15 a.m., which is a quarter of an hour earlier than the city gate.
But the mute servant who brought breakfast to Yang Yong and his son came in at 3:30 am. In fact, they were very pressed for time and had only 3:45 am to leave the city.
The gate of Jingshanfang slowly opened, and a carriage drove out from the square. On the carriage was a triangular apricot yellow flag with the words "Da Nei Cai Ban" written on it. It was the flag of the imperial palace.
As soon as he walked out of the gate, he met a team of patrol cavalry from the Right Wuhou Guard, led by a captain.
He was surprised to see the carriage with the imperial flag coming out of Jingshanfang, and he could not help but shout, "Please stop!"
Next to him was Xiong Kuohai, who was wearing a guard's uniform and riding on a horse. He looked extremely burly.
He waved the guard badge in front of the captain, who was shocked to find that he was a captain of the Qianniu Guard.
"Excuse me! Excuse me! Are we going back to the palace?"
The car window opened, revealing a pretty face of a woman, dressed as Xu Shiji. He was holding a round fan and placed it in front of his chin, just covering his Adam's apple.
Xu Shiji pinched his throat and said in a delicate voice: "We are dancers from the Qinghe Music House, going to the palace to perform dances. Do you want to go with us, sir?"
The captain had already seen the situation inside the carriage clearly. It was filled with a group of women in brightly colored clothes, each holding a round fan that covered most of their face.
"I dare not! I dare not! Please!"
The windows were closed, and Xiong Kuohai escorted the carriage forward.
The captain watched the carriage go away and asked again, "Is there a music house in the town?" "It seems there is a music house!" his subordinate replied.
"Strange, why is there only one guard but no eunuch?"
Although he felt strange, the captain did not delve into it. After all, he did not know that the former crown prince Yang Yong lived in Jingshanfang.
The carriage drove out of Luoyang City and came to Yique County. The imperial palace flag was also taken down. About five miles away from the county town, it turned onto a small road heading west and walked for another ten miles. A relatively remote village appeared in front of them. At the same time, the gate of a mansion opened.
The carriage drove straight into the gate, which then slowly closed.
Yuan Wendu walked out of the room and said with a smile: "Thank you for your hard work!"
Emperor Yang Guang was unaware of Yang Yong's escape. At this time, he marched from four directions to attack the rebel king Yang Ling. The main force was Emperor Yang Guang who led the army in person to attack Ji County from Henei County. The other three armies were just for cooperation. Yang Yichen had captured Jingxing and sent 20,000 troops into Hengshan County. Luo Yi sent 30,000 troops to attack Hejian County.
The eastern army cooperated very well. Zhang Xutuo openly repaired the plank road while secretly marching through Chencang. He sent people to build a pontoon bridge in Baima County, but secretly prepared all the boats and materials for building the pontoon bridge in Weinan County a hundred miles away.
At night, Zhang Xutuo left thousands of people to continue to confuse the enemy, while he led 30,000 troops to march rapidly overnight towards Weinan County.
At noon the next day, 30,000 troops arrived at Weinan County. Weinan County had built a pontoon bridge overnight, and the army immediately began to cross the Yellow River.
At this time, tens of thousands of defenders were still eyeing the other side of Baima County covetously, but Zhang Xutuo's army had already crossed the Yellow River, and 30,000 troops headed straight for Liyang Warehouse, fifty miles away.
The main commander of the garrison on the north bank was Yu Gongli, who was also a rebel general under the command of Han King Yang Liang. After Yang Liang's rebellion failed, Yu Gongli also surrendered to the Sui army. Although he was not dismissed from his post and severely punished, he was still demoted to Lang Jiang, and his honorary title was reduced from Zhuguo to Yitong.
Yu Gongli was extremely depressed in the past few years. After Yang Ling took charge of Hebei, he sent a letter to summon him. Yu Gongli immediately ran to join the army and was named General Hu Ben and a candidate for Shang Zhuguo. What does "a candidate for Shang Zhuguo" mean? It means that he was recognized by Yang Ling, but not by the court. To put it bluntly, it was just a blank check.
Although his official position was not recognized by the court, his treatment was not lower at all. His salary was exactly the same as that of the Shangzhuguo, which made Yu Gongli grateful.
Yu Gongli defeated Shi Wansui very beautifully more than a month ago and wiped out all of Shi Wansui's troops that were crossing the river. Shi Wansui was forced to commit suicide and die for his country.
Yu Gongli led 30,000 troops to strictly guard the north bank of the Yellow River. He discovered that a pontoon bridge had been built on the other side of the river the day before yesterday afternoon. He immediately prepared for another attack while the troops were halfway across the river, in order to completely annihilate the Sui army that had crossed the river.
Unexpectedly, after waiting for almost two days, the other party's floating bridge had not even been completed halfway, which made Yu Gongli feel a little uneasy.
One of his generals warned him, "General, could it be that the Sui army has already crossed the Yellow River from somewhere else?"
Yu Gongli frowned. This was actually what he was most worried about, but he was unwilling to admit it. Admitting it would mean that he had made a wrong judgment.
At this moment, a cavalryman came quickly from behind and reported: "General Yu, Liyang Warehouse urgently needs help. Tens of thousands of Sui troops are attacking Liyang Warehouse. The situation is very critical!"
Yu Gongli was shocked. Now he understood that Zhang Xutuo had actually crossed the river to attack Liyang Warehouse.
He immediately ordered: "The whole army will set out and rush to Liyang Warehouse!"
Liyang Warehouse is of utmost importance and a strategic location that must not be lost. The order given to him by the King of Qi was that he would rather lose the north bank of the Yellow River than lose Liyang Warehouse.
Yu Gongli led an army of 30,000 and rushed all the way. They were still 20 miles away from Liyang Warehouse. The 30,000 troops were also stretched to ten miles. This was the most dangerous time. Once they were ambushed, the consequences would be disastrous.
At this time, Yu Gongli was extremely anxious and he couldn't care less.
But in this world, what you fear often comes true. Just as the 30,000-strong army passed through a forest, arrows suddenly rained down on them. Yu Gongli's army was caught off guard and was shot to the ground, with people screaming in agony.
In the woods, Zhang Xutuo shouted, "All troops, attack!"
"Kill!" The 20,000 soldiers ambushed in the woods rushed towards the enemy.
(End of this chapter)