Chapter 733 The End of Wagang
Chapter 733 The End of Wagang
Thirty thousand cavalrymen stared at Li Mi's fifty thousand hungry soldiers from several miles away. They had no breakfast, and no lunch either. They starved until they arrived at Jiaocheng County. The soldiers thought they could go into the city to eat, but when they saw the county town, the fifty thousand soldiers all knelt on the ground and cried.
There is also the Fen River between them and Jiaocheng County.
Thirty thousand cavalrymen surrounded the fifty thousand Wagang troops from three directions, only one mile away. The horse lances in their hands flashed coldly. The soldiers sat on the ground, dizzy with hunger, and didn't even have the strength to draw their bows.
At this time, the 50,000-strong Sui army also appeared. Li Mi had originally expected Zhang Tong'er's 30,000 troops to rescue him. Now he finally realized that Zhang Tong'er's 30,000 troops had been destroyed long ago. Fang Yanzhao had already surrendered to the King of Jin in Xingyang, but he still let him be his military advisor. Li Mi only hated himself for being stupid and misusing one person to ruin the entire army.
At this time, a cavalryman rushed up and shot an arrow. The sentry picked it up and ran to give it to Li Mi.
It turned out to be a personal letter from the Prince of Jin, which asked him to surrender immediately so that he could continue to be granted the title of Duke of Pushan County and enjoy wealth and glory for the rest of his life.
Li Mi had no choice but to sigh and say, "Order the whole army to lay down their weapons and surrender!"
The last 50,000 Wagang troops surrendered and the Wagang Army disappeared completely. Although Hao Xiaode was still fighting with Dou Jiande in Wei County, he was no longer a Wagang Army soldier and proclaimed himself King of Wei.
After surrendering, Li Mi was named Duke of Pushan County by Xiao Xia and lived the life of a wealthy man in Luoyang. Three years later, Li Mi was assassinated by a man while having dinner in a restaurant. This young man was the only son of Zhai Hong who escaped.
After a hearty meal, the 50,000 surrendered soldiers were escorted south, but Xiao Xia did not stop. The 100,000-strong army continued to march north. At the same time, 100,000 camels and 100,000 donkeys and mules carried a large amount of logistical supplies to the Sui army.
Of course Xiao Xia wanted to take advantage of this northern expedition to eliminate Liu Wuzhou as well.
Xiao Xia did not think that Liu Wuzhou would be very strong, nor would he have many troops. This was not underestimating the enemy, but the basis of Liu Wuzhou's separatist regime. He occupied Mayi County and Yunzhong County, with a total population of only more than 100,000. Excluding the elderly, the weak, women and children, even if all men joined the army, there would only be 50,000 people.
But according to the information obtained from merchants, Liu Wuzhou had only about 30,000 troops. The key was that he had the support of the Turks. Among the 30,000 troops, 20,000 were cavalry, and he also had cattle and sheep for food.
Among them, 10,000 vanguard cavalry were led by the fierce general Yuchi Jingde, so Li Yuan's army was defeated when fighting against him, defeated Yong'an King Li Xiaoji, captured Dugu Huai'en alive, and even lost Taiyuan. Only then was Liu Wuzhou able to rapidly expand his army from 30,000 to more than 100,000. This was mainly because Li Yuan gave Liu Wuzhou the opportunity.
But now is different from history, Liu Wuzhou's army has not yet broken through Loufan Pass.
Five days later, Xiao Xia led an army of 100,000 to Loufan Pass. Although Loufan Pass was not as famous as Yanmen Pass, it was also a famous pass in northern Dai. It was tall and majestic, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Since Zhang Tong'er led an army of 30,000 south to support Taiyuan, there were only 1,000 soldiers guarding Loufan Pass and Yanmen Pass.
The leader of Loufan Pass was called Chen Xiaoyi, an old general of the Sui Dynasty. He had been stationed here since eight years before Daye. No matter whether Li Yuan rebelled against Sui or the Wagang Army seized Hedong, he was not troubled and was still allowed to guard Loufan Pass. As long as he was there, Liu Wuzhou's army could not kill him.
Chen Xiaoyi is not only the commander of Loufan Pass, but also the commander of Yanmen Pass. Currently, Yanmen Pass is guarded by his son Chen Changping, who leads a thousand troops.
Upon hearing that His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin had arrived, Chen Xiaoyi hurried out of the city to greet him.
"I am General Chen Xiaoyi, and I am here to see His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin!"
Looking at the Sui army flag still flying on the top of the city wall, and then looking at the white-haired veteran in front of him, Xiao Xia was really moved. He quickly dismounted and helped him up. "General Xu's family is full of loyal and brave people. It is a blessing for our Great Sui Dynasty."
Chen Xiaoyi also said excitedly: "I have waited day and night for the Great Sui army to finally arrive!"
Xiao Xia went up to the Guancheng Pass, accompanied by Chen Xiaoyi. In the distance were vast mountains, and a gravel road led all the way to the distance. There was no green, and everything was gray and yellow.
"Your Highness, about five days ago, a cavalry of five to six thousand men suddenly attacked, led by Liu Wuzhou's deputy general Song Jingang. They threatened the pass with bows and arrows, demanding the restoration of the caravan, otherwise they would march south and smash Loufan Pass to pieces."
Xiao Xia was stunned. Sending troops to threaten and demanding the resumption of the caravan's northward movement? What was the logic behind this? Was Liu Wuzhou going to be cut off from some important supplies?
"General Xu has been guarding the pass for many years. Do you know what they are short of?" Chen Xiaoyi nodded gently. "There are many things that Mayi County lacks, including various daily necessities, but I think the only commodity that is related to life and death is salt. In the past, merchants transported a large amount of salt to Mayi County. Not only did the local people use it themselves, but they also sold it to the grasslands. Mayi County and Datong County do not produce salt. Once the merchants stopped sending salt, they would soon be unable to support themselves."
"How long has the caravan been interrupted?"
"In order to stabilize Liu Wuzhou, Li Yuan had maintained normal trade with the caravans before, but after the arrival of the Wagang Army, he ordered a suspension of trade for about two months!"
Xiao Xia nodded. In two months, the stored salt should be gone, and all the salt in people's homes should have been snatched away.
Salt is not only used for food, but more importantly it is a must-have for forging and quenching weapons, and it is consumed in large quantities.
The second-in-command Song Jingang actually came to warn Loufan Pass, which means they are in big trouble.
An intuition told Xiao Xia that Liu Wuzhou's army would arrive in the next two days.
"How far is this place from Shanyang County?" Xiao Xia asked.
"Very close, probably more than a hundred miles."
Xiao Xia pondered for a moment and asked, "Are there any other small paths around this official road ahead?"
Chen Xiaoyi shook his head and pointed to the mountains on both sides and said, "Your Highness, please look at the mountains on both sides. The Great Wall has been built on the mountains. This is exactly the pass of the mountains. Our Loufan Pass is located at the southernmost part of the pass."
Xiao Xia seemed to understand something. "General, do you mean that there is actually a canyon ahead?"
"You can say that, but the canyon is quite wide, more than ten miles wide and dozens of miles long. It doesn't look like a canyon. If Your Highness wants to get behind the enemy, there is a way!"
"Old General, please speak!"
Chen Xiaoyi smiled slightly and said, "Go through Yanmen Pass!"
Xiao Xia immediately understood that there were several major basins in Shanxi: the Xinding Basin of Loufan County and Yanmen County, and the Datong Basin of Mayi County and Yunzhong County to the north. The two major basins were separated by Hengshan Mountain and were connected by only two canyon passes, one was Loufan Pass and the other was Yanmen Pass.
"Will Liu Wuzhou attack Yanmen Pass?"
Chen Xiaoyi shook his head. "Yanmen Pass is known as the best pass in Hedong. It is not only far away from Liu Wuzhou, but also impossible for his 30,000 troops to attack. Loufan Pass is close and easy to attack. Why would Liu Wuzhou choose a faraway pass over a near one?"
Xiao Xia pondered for a long time and finally made a decision. He decided to send Pei Xingyan and the Xue brothers to lead 30,000 troops and 30,000 camels to bypass Yanmen Pass and ambush on the north side of Hengshan Mountain. He then sent 2,000 soldiers to the Great Wall. Once Liu Wuzhou's army attacked, they would immediately light a wolf smoke signal.
At this time, Chen Xiaoyi seized an opportunity and whispered to Xiao Xia: "Your Highness, we have a spy in the city who was bribed by Liu Wuzhou!"
Xiao Xia was stunned, "Who is it?"
(End of this chapter)