Chapter 678: New Lord of Wagang
Chapter 678: New Lord of Wagang
Lu Chu was also the teacher of Prince Yang Neng of Yan. Yang Neng was shocked and asked, "How can you tell?"
"Your Highness, you may not know that among the heads of captives that Wang Shichong presented to Your Highness, there were old people and children. I did not believe it, so I went to see for myself. I saw wild dogs digging out the buried heads, and there were indeed heads of women, children and the elderly. I am afraid that he did not kill the thieves, but ordinary people."
Yang Dan was stunned, "What's going on?"
Lu Chu asked again: "Your Highness, is Yang Yichen's request for reinforcements still available?"
Yang Dan quickly took out the military report and handed it to Lu Chu. Lu Chu took it and read it carefully, then shook his head and said, "Although Yang Yichen is a military general, he grew up in the palace, is diligent and studious, and has excellent calligraphy. However, the signature on this military report is like the handwriting of a reckless man, and it is definitely not Yang Yichen's handwriting. In addition, the seal is rough and the carving is poor, so it should also be a counterfeit military seal."
Yang Dan's scalp exploded when he heard this. He had never heard of anyone daring to forge a military newspaper.
"He took away the military power. What should I do?"
Lu Chu asked in a deep voice: "How many guards are there around His Highness?"
"Another thousand guards?"
Lu Chu gritted his teeth and said, "Why not invite him into the palace, discuss countermeasures against the enemy, and then order the guards to kill him? This is the only way."
It can only be said that Lu Chu was ignorant and Yang Tan did not understand that the army had been controlled by Wang Shichong's brothers and nephews. If they killed Wang Shichong, how could Wang Shichong's army let it go and would definitely attack the palace.
Just when Yang Dan decided to adopt Lu Chu's strategy and kill Wang Shichong, an unexpected news came that Yang Yichen was defeated by Dou Jiande's army. Yang Yichen and his deputy general Tu Wanxu were unfortunately killed in the battle. Both of them died for their country.
This was true news. The situation in Hebei was critical. Yang Dan suppressed his urge to kill Wang Shichong and could only watch Wang Shichong grow in power.
In Dongjun, Zhang Xutuo led an army of 30,000 and attacked when he was about a hundred miles away from Wagang Mountain. He was intercepted by the Wagang Army. However, Zhang Xutuo sent scouts to discover the ambush of the Wagang Army. He sent his army directly to attack the ambush. The Wagang Army was defeated and countless people surrendered.
Zhang Xutuo rode on horseback to inspect the surrendered soldiers and found that they were poorly equipped, all wearing coarse clothes and holding homemade, low-quality weapons. They were very different from the Wagang Army he had ambushed before.
He ordered the captured Wagang civilian official Fang Yanzao to be brought up and asked him, "What is your name and what position do you hold in Wagang?"
Fang Yanzao said timidly: "I am Fang Yanzao, a descendant of the famous Fang family in Qi County. Unfortunately, I lost my virginity to the thief. Please spare my life, General!"
"You are a descendant of a noble family, but you work for bandits. You really bring disgrace to your family!"
Fang Yanzao said ashamedly: "I have been living in this chaotic world and I am too ashamed to see my ancestors."
Zhang Xutuo waved his hands and said, "Let me ask you, why are the Wagang troops so poorly equipped? The last time I ambushed Zhai Rang's army, they were well equipped. Why is this happening?"
Fang Yanzao smiled bitterly and said, "Zhai Rang is the leader of the Wagang Army. His army must have the best equipment. That was a batch of weapons and armor given to them by the National Protection Association. The number was very small. The other Wagang Army were bandits after all. How could they have good equipment? What the general saw today was the mainstream of the Wagang Army."
"Morale seems to be very low, what's the reason?"
Fang Yanzao sighed and said, "Zhai Rang was shot by a poisoned arrow and died shortly after returning. The generals of the Wagang Army have been fighting for power all day long, and the people's hearts have been scattered. How can there be any morale in the army?"
Zhang Xutuo was overjoyed. He knew that Zhai Rang was shot and fell off his horse. It must have been a poisoned arrow. He vaguely guessed that Zhai Rang was dead, and now it was finally confirmed.
Without any worries, Zhang Xutuo decided to wipe out Wagang in one fell swoop.
"The army is advancing faster!"
The 30,000-strong army quickened its pace and marched towards Wagang.
Just as Zhang Xutuo's army was charging at full speed towards Wagang Mountain, an army quietly appeared thirty miles away. It was the 10,000-man army led by Hao Xiaode. His target was Zhang Xutuo's logistics and food team. Zhang Xutuo's logistics and food team consisted of more than 700 food carts and 2,000 soldiers as guards. Zhang Xutuo was in a hurry and the food team was left behind.
Just two hours after Zhang Xutuo's army had marched, Hao Xiaode suddenly appeared with an army of 10,000 and attacked the grain convoy from all directions.
It was already dark when Zhang Xutuo's army arrived at Wagang Mountain. Zhang Xutuo ordered the army to temporarily camp in the open space in front of the mountain.
The soldiers brought dry food with them, so even if the food convoy did not arrive today, they would not starve.
But Zhang Xutuo vaguely felt that something was wrong. There was also a small cavalry in the grain cart team. Every hour, a cavalryman would come to report the location of the grain cart. But now more than two hours have passed, and the cavalry on the grain cart still have not come to report.
Zhang Xutuo stood up again and checked the surrounding terrain. Although he was stationed on flat ground, they were still in a low-lying area compared to the surrounding areas, and there was no place around to accommodate his 30,000 troops.
At this moment, countless dark shadows appeared on the mountain and shouted together: "Your grain cart has been robbed!"
Immediately afterwards, dozens of catapults started up, shooting countless black balls into the group of soldiers. The soldiers then discovered that they were actually human heads, the heads of their brothers who were escorting grain.
The soldiers were in chaos and began to feel timid. At this time, dozens of huge fireballs hit the soldiers. They were big balls woven from wheat straw, and each one was huge.
The fireball rushed into the crowd, and the soldiers dodged one after another. Many soldiers' blankets and tents were set on fire. Zhang Xutuo was furious and shouted, "Shoot arrows at the mountain!"
The soldiers raised their crossbows and shot at the mountain, but it seemed to have no effect. Countless fireballs were still shot at the soldiers. The soldiers began to gradually become confused. More and more soldiers were set on fire by the fireballs, and there were cries and shouts everywhere.
"Retreat eastward!"
Helplessly, Zhang Xutuo had to order a retreat, which was extremely dangerous in the chaos and could easily be defeated by the enemy.
But there was no way. The opponent's fireballs were increasing in number, and his soldiers could not withstand it anymore.
The 30,000-strong army retreated eastward in chaos.
At this moment, thousands of arrows were fired from both sides. Zhang Xutuo's army screamed in agony. The leather armor could not withstand the penetration of the crossbow arrows. Countless soldiers were shot down and began to flee in a hurry.
Li Mi saw that the time had come and shouted, "Blow the horn!"
“Woo—woo—”
A low horn sounded, and Shan Xiongxin and Xu Shiji each led 10,000 troops to attack from both sides. Zhang Xutuo's army was defeated, and the soldiers rushed forward crying and fleeing, abandoning their weapons and armor along the way.
The Wagang Army was chasing after them, and countless soldiers surrendered.
Zhang Xutuo, escorted by dozens of his personal soldiers, rode his horse at all costs to break out of the encirclement and fled to the southeast.
At daybreak, Zhang Xutuo had escaped for more than fifty miles, and the Wagang Army stopped pursuing him. By noon, Zhang Xutuo had only gathered a few thousand remnants of the army. He could only sigh and evacuate towards Liang County, where his office was located and where he still had three thousand troops.
This was a strategy set up by Li Mi to lure Zhang Xutuo into their encirclement, then cut off the food supply team, causing chaos in the enemy's morale, and then used fire attack to finally force Zhang Xutuo's army to retreat, thus entering their ambush site.
Zhang Xutuo's 30,000-strong army was almost wiped out, with more than 25,000 surrendering. This was a well-equipped elite army that was accepted by Li Mi.
Although Zhang Xutuo was not killed in this battle, Li Mi's military talent was unanimously recognized by the generals of the Wagang Army, and he was elected as the new leader. Li Mi finally became the master of Wagang with his ability and talent.
(End of this chapter)