Chapter 720: The Hero's Bones Withered
Chapter 720: The Hero's Bones Withered
Wang Shichong fled all the way westward, but the Xue brothers and Su Dingfang's 30,000 cavalry had been waiting for a long time. The cavalry chased and killed him. The 30,000 troops were all Wang Shichong's direct troops. Under the leadership of Wang Renze, they fought desperately. After more than an hour of fierce fighting, they were finally wiped out by the 30,000 cavalry. Wang Renze was also stabbed in the throat by Su Dingfang, ending his sinful life. Most of the Wang family members also died in the chaos.
Wang Shichong fled all the way westward under the desperate protection of his 3,000 Qiang and Hu personal guards. After they climbed several hillsides, the cavalry behind them could no longer catch up, so they had to go back and give orders. The pursuing army became 20,000 infantry led by Luo Shixin.
After fleeing for three days, the army was extremely tired. Seeing that it was getting dark, Wang Shichong ordered the army to rest on a hill. The hill was covered with dense pine forests. The army hid in the forest and could not be seen from the outside. More than a hundred steps below was the upper reaches of the Luo River, with gurgling and very clear water.
The troops drank water and ate dry food, and fell asleep exhausted. Wang Shichong looked at the map for a while, and was extremely worried. Even if he escaped to Longyou, he only had 3,000 troops. How long could he hold out? Could he withstand the attack of Xue's father and son?
Wang Shichong thought for a long time but could not come up with a solution. He could only sigh and take things one step at a time. Soon he fell into a deep sleep.
Wang Shichong was not sure how long he had slept when he was suddenly awakened by thick smoke. He opened his eyes and saw thick smoke all around him. He could not see any human figures and could hear the cries of soldiers everywhere.
Wang Shichong was shocked. Was it the Sui army that was burning the mountain?
Several guards ran up and stuffed a wet cloth into Wang Shichong's hand. They carried Wang Shichong and rushed south. "Your Majesty, cover your mouth and nose with the cloth!"
Wang Shichong ran a few steps before he missed a step and fell headfirst into a valley full of bushes.
All around were soldiers trying to break out to the south. There was a river at the foot of the mountain to the south. The only way to survive was to jump into the river. This was the instinct for survival.
However, the other side of the creek was filled with thousands of Sui soldiers, holding crossbows and shooting dense arrows at every enemy soldier who escaped from the woods. The riverside was filled with corpses.
Wang Shichong's three thousand guards were all Qiang and Hu people. They were extremely loyal to Wang Shichong, but also extremely cruel. They never treated the Han people as human beings. Any one of them would be a great disaster if released among the people.
Xiao Xia issued a killing order, not only them, but also Wang Renze's 20,000 internal guards, who were equally guilty of serious crimes and killed people like crazy, even children of a few months old. Wang Renze and his 20,000 troops were also strangled to death by the 30,000 cavalry.
As the fire grew bigger, fewer and fewer soldiers escaped. It was no longer possible to escape from the fire. The fire spread rapidly and soon engulfed the entire hill. Desperate screams were heard in the last pine forest.
The fire burned until noon of the third day when it gradually died down. Teams of soldiers went up the mountain to clean up the bodies. They soon found a set of golden armor and a golden helmet in a shallow valley. Real gold is not afraid of fire. In the fire, the golden armor was preserved, but the body wrapped in the golden armor was burned to charcoal. The soldiers confirmed the identity from the left hand of the corpse. Half of the ring finger of the left hand was missing. This was Wang Shichong.
The most embarrassed person was Li Jiancheng who was blocked on the Qiaohan Road. They were the typical case of trying to steal a chicken but ended up losing the rice instead.
Li Yuan wanted to take advantage, and it was normal for him to have such an idea. For example, after the Wagang Army occupied Luokou Granary, they wasted two million shi of grain and then retreated. There were still three million shi of grain left in Luokou Granary. Whoever occupied Luokou Granary at this time would make a big profit. So Li Jiancheng also led 50,000 troops to garrison in Shan County.
Of course, Li Jiancheng did not take advantage of the Luokou Warehouse leak, as Wang Shichong fought back in time. But their thinking was correct. Once the Wagang Army captured Luoyang, they would also withdraw after looting. The Tang Wang Army would get this huge advantage. This is why 50,000 troops were stationed in Shan County.
But this time it was the Jin Prince's army that attacked Luoyang, and Li Yuan was seriously short of troops. After hesitating for a long time, Li Yuan finally sent his son Li Jiancheng to lead an army of 30,000 to garrison in Shan County.
Li Yuan did not expect the Prince of Jin's army to withdraw from Luoyang, but he was considering that Wang Shichong's defeated troops would flee westward, and they could at least rescue tens of thousands of defeated soldiers, which was the resource Li Yuan needed most at the moment.
Even if they could not defeat the enemy, they could occupy the entire Xiaohan Road and expand the defense line eastward, which was a strategic gain, and they would not suffer any losses. However, Li Yuan had overlooked Hongnong County, which led to Xiyang County in the south. Xiyang County was the gateway to Jingxiang, and the northern exit of Hongnong County was the Xiaohan Ancient Road, which was just east of Hangu Pass.
Li Yuan's judgment was correct. Wang Shichong's 30,000 defeated soldiers did flee westward, but they did not take the ancient Xiaohan Road, but instead took the Luoshui Road. The Luoshui Road can only be used by infantry, and carts and horses cannot pass through it, so ordinary armies would not take the Luoshui Road.
But Wang Shichong chose the Luoshui Road, using the inconvenience of the Luoshui Road to block the pursuit of the Sui cavalry, and Li Yuan's wishful thinking fell through.
However, Li Yuan never expected that Zhang Xutuo had already stationed an army of 30,000 in Hongnong County. At this time, they had captured Hangu Pass, cutting off the retreat route of the 30,000 Tang Wang troops 20 miles away.
The Jin prince's army was getting closer and closer. Li Jing's army in the east was only five miles away from Shan County, and in the west it was only three miles away from Shan County. What made Li Jiancheng even more scared was that the Sui army's warships occupied the Shan County wharf and looted all the granaries on the wharf.
The occupation of the dock means that there is no water support.
To make matters worse, Li Jiancheng's army was about to run out of food.
In the room, Li Jiancheng sighed and paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. He had few opportunities to lead troops in battle, and faced with such a predicament, he was helpless.
At this time, the deputy general Shi Wanbao advised: "Your Highness, the only way now is to plunder food from the people of Shan County. If we collect all the food, our army can still support it for ten days or half a month, and perhaps reinforcements will arrive. If Your Highness does not make up his mind, we will run out of food tomorrow."
Li Jiancheng sighed, "I understand what you mean. Either the army will starve to death, or the people will starve to death. Thirty thousand people! How can I bear it?"
"Your Highness, a merciful army is not for the people. If you are so merciful, the soldiers will mutiny in the end. My brother said that if they can't bear it any longer, they will even eat human flesh."
Shi Wanbao's elder brother is Shi Wansui. What he said is a taboo, especially in front of the ruler. Unfortunately, Shi Wanbao is a Sogdian Hu from the Western Regions. He does not understand these things. He just speaks the truth. When the army is forced into a corner, it will eat people, especially the Hu people.
Li Jiancheng's face immediately turned gloomy. He was forced to eat human flesh. Could this cannibalistic prince finally ascend the throne?
"Get out of here!" Li Jiancheng shouted sternly.
Shi Wanbao didn't expect that the prince would turn against him, and he was so scared that he quickly retreated.
As Shi Wanbao retreated, a soldier came running over and said, "Your Highness, His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin has sent someone to deliver a letter!"
Li Jiancheng nodded, "Please let the messenger in!"
(End of this chapter)