Chapter 601 Change of tune
Chapter 601 Change of tune
After Yang Xuangan's army captured Hulao Pass, the army marched westward and happened to meet Pei Hongce, the governor of Henan Province who came to support Hulao Pass. Pei Hongce led 20,000 troops to meet Yang Xuangan head-on. A fierce battle broke out between the two sides. Yang Xuangan was extremely brave and quickly defeated Pei Hongce. Countless people surrendered, and Pei Hongce only fled back to Luoyang with a few hundred people.
Yang Xuangan's army was in high spirits and arrived at Luoyang two days later. However, they had no siege weapons, so they built hundreds of simple siege ladders in an attempt to capture Luoyang City in one fell swoop. However, they suffered a strong counterattack from the Luoyang defenders led by Yin Shishi.
Yin Shishi is an old subordinate of Xiao Xia. Like Fan Zigai, he left a deep impression on Emperor Yang Guang because of his successful reception of the emperor in Hexi. Both of them were given important positions. Yin Shishi first served as the governor of Hexi Road, and was transferred to Luoyang last year to serve as the Minister of Justice. After Emperor Yang Guang led his army to the north to fight against Goguryeo, he again appointed Yin Shishi as the governor of Luoyang to assist King Yang Tong of Yue in defending the capital.
Luoyang originally had 50,000 troops, but Pei Hongce lost 20,000 troops in the defeat. Yin Shishi only had 30,000 troops left. He immediately recruited soldiers in the city and got 30,000 civilian laborers. He did not even bother to train them and directly put them into the city defense.
Fortunately, Yang Xuangan did not have powerful siege weapons, so they could only demolish houses and use beams to build simple siege ladders. As soon as the soldiers attacked, the ladders were overturned by the defenders with iron forks.
After attacking for seven or eight days, they still failed to capture Luoyang. The city gradually calmed down from the initial panic. In the afternoon, Yuan Xiaoju found Dugutuo.
Yuan Xiaoju was very dissatisfied and asked, "What's wrong with this Yang Xuangan? Why is he always staring at Luoyang?"
Dugu Tuo smiled bitterly and said, "This Yang Xuangan is still not smart enough. He is stubborn and likes to stick to his own ideas. Li Mi has repeatedly advised him to move westward, but he just won't listen and is determined to take Luoyang."
Yuan Xiaoju added: "Do we need to send someone to explain it to him directly?"
Dugu Tuo shook his head. "It's better to go through Li Mi instead of contacting Yang Xuangan directly. How about this! Brother, send one of your disciples to find Li Mi, help Li Mi plan, and persuade Yang Xuangan to leave for Guanzhong as soon as possible."
The Dugu family had always been in contact with Li Mi. The situation deviated somewhat from their plan, so Dugu Tuo had to give in and let the Yuan family get involved.
Yuan Xiaoju nodded and reminded: "The storm in Chang'an will come soon, we should set off as soon as possible!"
Dugu Tuo smiled and said, "Let's set off before the emperor returns. There's still time!"
When Yuan Xiaoju returned home, he immediately called his nephew Yuan Wuben, handed him a letter, and gave him some instructions.
Yuan Wuben nodded repeatedly. That night, Yuan Wuben secretly went down the city and found Li Mi in the rebel camp.
Li Mi asked Yuan Wuben to sit down. He read the letter written by Yuan Xiaoju, smiled bitterly and said to Yuan Wuben, "Yang Xuangan is stubborn and stubborn. I have repeatedly advised him to go to Chang'an according to the original plan and use Guanzhong as a base, but he just won't listen. He always says that I am too wordy and always complicate simple things. Now he is obsessed with capturing Luoyang, as if the capture of Luoyang will bring down the Sui Dynasty. There is nothing we can do about him."
Yuan Wuben nodded and said, "Yang Xuangan won't listen to advice, so we need to find someone who can make him listen to advice. My master asked you to go find Li Zixiong and give it a try. He is the former Minister of Revenue and has a very good relationship with Yang Su. Yang Xuangan should listen to his advice."
Li Zixiong's mansion was outside the city. When the army came, he had no time to escape and became a prisoner of Yang Xuangan. Although Yang Xuangan treated him well, Li Zixiong never said a word.
"How can I persuade Li Zixiong?"
"Tell him that his mother, wife and children are all safe in the city. As long as he is willing to persuade Yang Xuangan to leave Luoyang, the King of Yue will not hold him accountable."
Li Mi nodded, "Let me give it a try!"
Li Zixiong really agreed to Li Mi's advice. He sent a message to Yang Xuangan, wanting to talk to him. Yang Xuangan was overjoyed and quickly invited him to his camp. Li Zixiong drank a sip of tea and said slowly, "I have a few words from the bottom of my heart. I wonder if you are willing to listen?"
Yang Xuangan immediately clasped his fists and said, "Please, old minister, please speak clearly!"
Li Zixiong said slowly: "If you want to do great things, you must first have a foundation. In layman's terms, you must go to your own territory, just like the King of Jin's strategy to conquer Jiangnan. The entire Jiangnan became his territory, and the court could do nothing about him. You have been eyeing Luoyang. Even if you conquer Luoyang, what will happen? Can Luoyang become your foundation? Will the powerful and noble families in Luoyang support you? Once the emperor leads his army back, most of the emperor's army will be Luoyang people. Will the people of Luoyang help you fight to the death against their own army?"
Li Zixiong's series of questions struck Yang Xuangan's heart hard, and Yang Xuangan finally came to his senses. He hurriedly asked, "I beg you to enlighten me, old minister, what is the foundation?"
Li Zixiong smiled and said, "Although Hebei and the Central Plains have a large population and rich land, they are surrounded by wars and cannot establish a foundation. Although Longyou and Hexi are safe, they are remote and have too few people to support an army. In my opinion, there are six major foundations in the world. The top three are Guanzhong, followed by Jiangnan, and Bashu. The second best are also three places, one is Hedong, the second is Jingxiang, and the third is Youzhou. Guanzhong is the closest to you. Why don't you go to Guanzhong and occupy the three auxiliary places to recuperate and build up your strength to achieve great things?"
Yang Xuangan felt as if he were in a dream. After a while, he stood up and said, "Senior, your words are so valuable. I am enlightened. If I succeed in the future, I will definitely thank you handsomely!"
Li Zixiong stroked his beard and said, "If you decide to go to Chang'an, I suggest you take the Wuguan Road. The Xiaohan Road is difficult, and Tongguan is even more difficult to attack!"
"I understand. Senior, are you willing to go to Chang'an with me?"
Li Zixiong shook his head. "My old mother, wife and children are all in Luoyang City. I can only wish you a safe journey!"
Yang Xuangan did not force Li Zixiong and sent someone to escort him out of the military camp.
Yang Xuangan immediately called Li Mi over and said to him, "Since we cannot capture Luoyang, I don't want to stay here any longer. Let's go to Guanzhong right away!"
Li Mi was delighted and said, "This is the best strategy!"
Yang Xuangan looked at the towering walls of Luoyang and could only sigh. He gave an order: "Pass on my order. The army packs up and prepares to march to Wuguan!"
Yang Xuangan also planned to take the Wuguan Road, but at this moment, his brother Yang Minxing arrived.
In the big tent, Yang Minxing said to Yang Xuangan, "My family has recruited 500 strong warriors who are willing to help you capture Hangu Pass. When you lead your army to Hangu Pass, we will seize Hangu Pass from inside and outside, and then send a surprise attack on Tongguan. Tongguan is within your reach, so why do you want to go to Wuguan?"
Yang Xingmin's words persuaded Yang Xuangan, and he changed his mind and decided not to go to Wuguan anymore. Instead, his army took the Xiaohan Road.
The next morning, hundreds of thousands of troops changed their route and headed towards Chang'an. The commander of Tongguan was the famous general Chen Leng, who was also responsible for the defense of Hangu Pass. Chen Leng had 10,000 troops under his command. He had long known the news that Yang Xuangan was rebelling and attacking Luoyang, so he knew that if Yang Xuangan failed to capture Luoyang, he would definitely lead his army to Guanzhong.
When Chen Leng learned that Yang Xuangang had left, he immediately ordered the entire army to be on high alert.
(End of this chapter)