Fenghou

Luoshui Road to Luoyang is about [-] miles farther than Luoyang Avenue, which is equivalent to walking on the back. Although it is much farther, the [-] signings have no choice, they can only divert to the south.

At this time, Li Muqing led [-] cavalrymen [-] miles away, and he also received news from the former army's scouts that the [-] soldiers had diverted to the south.

This was within their expectations. Of course, the Song Army also had a plan. Li Muqing immediately ordered General Yang Duan to lead [-] cavalry to continue to intercept on Luoyang Avenue, while he personally led [-] cavalry to Luoshui Avenue.

Wang Zan led an army of [-] troops all the way south, and the sky was getting dark. The soldiers were tired, hungry and thirsty, so they had to stop to rest, but Wang Zan had no choice but to order the whole army to rest for two hours.

The soldiers were sitting on the grass, nibbling dry food and drinking water. The news that they were surrounded had spread throughout the army, and people were panicking.

At this moment, Su Qian sat beside Shi Dawu and whispered, "What do you think, do you really want to go back to Luoyang?"

Shi Dawu shook his head and said, "How could it be possible to return to Luoyang? With [-] cavalry, if we go south, will others not know? They will catch up with us soon, maybe they will intercept us in front, and there is Yang Zaixing's army behind us .”

Su Qian was silent for a moment and said: "Since Yang Zaixing recruited us to surrender and said that we have no great evil, I want to surrender."

Shi Dawu sighed, "I want to too! If I give my life to Jin Bing, I won't have the face to go back to my hometown."

Su Qian looked left and right, and said in a low voice, "It's not enough money to surrender like this. It's better to kill Wang Zan and take his head to surrender."

Shi Dawu shook his head and said: "It is enough for us to bring our own troops to surrender. He is very skilled in martial arts, and with Xie Zhensheng's support, I'm afraid I won't be able to kill him, and I will be killed by him."

"Then do it!"

Su Qian made up his mind and said: "Gather our six thousand brothers, turn around and head north"

Chapter 967 Annihilation

Wang Zan closed his eyes and leaned against a boulder to rest. He seemed to be resting, but he was actually thinking about retreating. Wang Zan was not a fool. He also knew that the risk was high, and the entire army might be wiped out. He also knew that he would surrender to the Song army. It was a good strategy, not to mention that Yang Zaixing even wrote a letter to recruit him.

It's just that Zheke treats him well, and his family is in Luoyang. If he surrenders, what will his family do?

Wang Zan was also conflicted in his heart, but he finally chose to retreat and could only take one step at a time.

At this time, Xie Zhensheng rushed over and shouted anxiously: "Brother, something is wrong!"

Wang Zan opened his eyes, "What's the matter?"

"Shi Dawu and Su Wu led the army and headed north!"

"what!"

Wang Zan stood up and looked to the west, only to see that thousands of people in the distance had assembled and started to go west.

Wang Zan was furious, got on his horse, and chased after him with his gun.

After chasing two ways, a thousand soldiers behind him pointed their crossbows at him. Wang Zan quickly reined in his horse and cursed, "Are you crazy? Put down the crossbows for me!"

Thousands of soldiers ignored him, at this moment, Shi Dawu urged his horse out and shouted: "General Wang, everyone has his own ambition, why bother to force each other!"

Wang Zan sternly said: "The commander-in-chief treats you well, and you are given enough food and salary, why rebel?"

Shi Dawu said in a high voice: "I don't want my children and grandchildren to be scolded as the descendants of traitors in the future, and my descendants will not be able to lift their heads. Ask the brothers, are they willing to continue to be traitors?"

"We are not traitors!" A thousand soldiers shouted angrily.

Wang Zan had no choice but to sigh, turned his horse's head and left. Shi Dawu saw him go far away, waved his hand, and led a thousand crossbowmen to retreat westward with the brigade.

The 6000 army left 4000 people in an instant, leaving only [-] people, all of them looked lonely, watching the army go far away, and they wanted to follow!

"Assemble the whole army and continue eastward!"

Wang Zan knew he couldn't stay any longer, otherwise the morale of the army would completely collapse.

Four thousand troops set off in formation, Wang Zan walked in front, Xie Zhensheng stayed behind to prevent deserters.

But after walking less than three miles, they passed through a large forest, and many soldiers in the middle of the team took advantage of the cover of night to sneak into the forest. Wang Zan heard something unusual behind him and turned around hastily, just in time to see a group of soldiers entering the forest.

He shouted anxiously, "Don't enter the woods, stop them!"

At first, many soldiers were still hesitating, but when he shouted, the soldiers suddenly realized that this might be their last chance to escape, and another group of soldiers went straight into the woods.

Wang Zan and Xie Zhensheng yelled and cursed, and led the rest of the soldiers away from the woods. There were less than 4000 soldiers left in the 800-man army, and they were basically soldiers directly under them, so they didn't run away.

Wang Zan had no choice but to speed up and run towards the official road. There were still five miles away from the official road. Wang Zan and Xie Zhensheng suddenly found that they were surrounded by Song soldiers in all directions.

They encountered Su Zunyi's [-] troops. Su Zunyi had sent people to watch their every move, including their escape. Su Zunyi knew that their morale had collapsed, so he decided to surround the enemy in advance.

"Put down your weapons and surrender immediately, or you will be shot!" Su Zunyi shouted from a distance.

"Drop your weapons and surrender, or you will be shot!" Thousands of soldiers shouted together.

More than 800 soldiers trembled and looked at the commander Wang Zan in panic. Suddenly, a soldier shouted: "I still have a wife, children and old mother to take care of, I can't die!"

He dropped his weapon and ran over, raised his hands and shouted, "I surrender! Don't kill me."

"Dang Bang! Bang Bang! Bang Bang!"

The sound of weapons falling became more and more. Groups of soldiers ran over and knelt down. Xie Zhensheng was about to stop it, but Wang Zan stopped him, "Let them go!"

The chief general didn't care, more and more soldiers surrendered, and the generals also surrendered. After a quarter of an hour, only Xie Zhensheng and dozens of soldiers were left beside Wang Zan.

Wang Zan glanced at Xie Zhensheng and said, "Little sister is still pregnant, you go! Don't follow me."

Xie Zhensheng was silent for a moment and said, "Brother, I'm sorry!"

"Go!"

Xie Zhensheng took off his helmet, got off his horse and walked towards the opponent. Seeing Xie Zhensheng walk more than twenty steps, Wang Zan waved his big iron gun and shouted: "Break out with me!"

Thirty bodyguard cavalry galloped on horseback, and followed Wang Zan to break through to the east.

Seeing that someone wanted to break out, Su Zunyi ordered coldly: "The crossbowmen are ready!"

Two thousand crossbowmen pointed their crossbows at the dozens of cavalry rushing towards them, and Su Zunyi shouted, "Fire the arrows!"

Two thousand army crossbows were fired at the same time, and the dense crossbow arrows shot at Wang Zan and dozens of soldiers like a storm. Wang Zan was hit by hundreds of arrows and shot like a hedgehog. He fell off his horse and died tragically on the spot. They were all shot, and none survived.

……

At dawn, Su Zunyi took Wang Zan's head and thousands of soldiers to deliver orders to Yang Zaixing, including those soldiers who fled into the woods halfway, and most of them were also captured by Song soldiers.

Yang Zaixing was very satisfied with the results of the battle. Out of 500 soldiers, [-] surrendered, and only a few hundred escaped, which can be described as outstanding military exploits.

He ordered Wang Zan's head to be passed on to the three armies. Su Zunyi said in a low voice, "Would you like to bury Wang Zan in a dignified manner to commend his loyalty? I would rather die than surrender!"

"Loyalty?"

Yang Zaixing sneered and said, "I will not bury the loyalty to the Jurchens generously, just dig a hole and bury them directly!"

Su Zunyi said ashamedly: "The general is right, but Xie Zhensheng is his brother-in-law, why not hand over the corpse to him! It will save our soldiers the trouble of digging a hole."

"Okay, you go and deal with it!"

Yang Zaixing immediately ordered his generals to escort [-] surrendered soldiers to the prisoner-of-war camp in Shan County. These soldiers basically surrendered voluntarily, so they will receive preferential treatment. At least they will not be sent to mines. Most of them will be released home, and a small number of them have special skills. Those who will join the Song Army.

Although surrendered soldiers and prisoners of war soldiers both surrendered, they are completely different in nature. The main difference between them is the time of surrender. One surrenders before the outbreak of war, one surrenders after the outbreak of war, one surrenders voluntarily without wanting to fight, and the other surrenders. Passive surrender in order to avoid death.

At this time, Li Muqing also led [-] cavalry to arrive. Li Muqing stepped forward to salute and said with a smile: "This time I went around in a big circle and it was a waste of time. I didn't even touch a single hair of the enemy."

Yang Zaixing smiled slightly and said, "Without your cavalry, the opponent would have fled back to Luoyang directly. We would not be able to catch him. After all, Mianchi County is [-] miles away from Xin'an County, so it would be useless to charge and run."

"If they all command [-] cavalry, don't enter Mianchi County, and hide the opponent's spies, they can wipe out the enemy army."

Yang Zaixing shook his head, "This is an afterthought military counsel. How could the [-] cavalry not be discovered? If we rely on the fact that the opponent is a fool, then we must be the last fool."

"Humble job understands!"

Yang Zaixing smiled and said, "Everyone go back to Xin'an County to rest for a day, and tomorrow the army will leave for Luoyang."

……

Hulao Pass is located about two hundred miles east of Luoyang. It is actually located between Sishui County and Xingyang County, so it is also called Sishui Pass.

Hulao Pass is the east gate of Luoyang, which is used to defend Luoyang from the Central Plains army's attack. It is also known as the two major passes along with Hangu Pass in the west.

In "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", the eighteen princes crusade against Dong Zhuo, it was in front of Hulao Pass, where Huaxiong was warmed and killed, and the three heroes fought against Lu Bu, all happened here.

However, Hulao Pass is the enemy that defends against the attack from the east. Its fortification and majesty are also on the east side, while the west side is an ordinary pass city. Just majestic.

Li Fuxing led an army of 800 troops to Hulao Pass. Hulao Pass is currently a border pass, not as important as Mengjin Pass. There are only [-] troops stationed in the pass city.

At this time, Hulao Pass also received the news sent by the magistrate of Yanshi County that the Song army had broken through Mengjin Pass, requiring all pass cities to pay attention to precautions.

The [-] defenders of Hulao Pass were extremely nervous. They knew that once the Song army rushed from Mengjin Pass, Luoyang City would bear the brunt, followed by Hulao Pass.

Chapter 968 The Siege

The [-]-strong army arrived at Hulao Pass at dawn. They did not carry luggage, nor did they bring food, grass, or tents. Each soldier only carried four days of dry food and drinking water, and eight black rhino iron fire mines. With the remaining three days of dry food, they had no time to consume it at Hulao Pass, so they had to take it immediately.

Li Fuxing stood on a small mound and looked at Hulao Pass. Hulao Pass faces east and backs west. The military city, military camps, tax customs and taverns, inns, brothels, etc. are all in the military city.

The military city is about two feet high, and it is also built with blue bricks, but the city head is not wide, only less than one foot wide, so it cannot use large defensive weapons, and there is no moat. When you leave the city gate, you will directly enter the border of Henan Prefecture.

At this time, there were hundreds of soldiers standing on the city wall. Judging from experience, this military city can accommodate up to 3000 soldiers, but there are only a few hundred soldiers on the top of the city, which means that there are only about a thousand soldiers in the city.

Under the coercion of the [-] army, this small military city is far from being as majestic as the Hulao Pass in front, and it was easily crushed.

Of course, the Song army did not carry siege ladders or other siege weapons. They only carried eight iron fire mines, which was enough to break through the city. Bringing 2 people was mainly to prevent a large number of troops stationed east of Hulao Pass. He attaches great importance to intelligence, but he still can't get some information, such as the deployment of troops inside and outside Hulao Pass.

Therefore, the Song army can only use 2 people to attack Hulao Pass, and kill chickens with a butcher's knife.

Li Fuxing gave an order, "Five thousand crossbowmen in the first army, and three thousand spear guards!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The drums of the Song army were loud, and [-] soldiers rushed out with crossbows in their hands, followed by [-] spear soldiers. This was to prevent the cavalry from suddenly killing the cavalry from Hulao Pass.

The [-] god-armed crossbow troops rushed to two hundred paces, lined up in three rows, and shot arrows at the top of the city together.

The overwhelming arrows shot at the top of the city, and the five hundred soldiers on the top of the city squatted down one after another to avoid the arrows of the Song army.

At this time, four people rushed out from the spear army, each holding their shields high, carrying a large box and rushing towards the city gate.

A soldier saw four people from the shooting hole and shouted, "The Song army is going to blow up the city!"

Even ordinary soldiers knew that the Song army's firearms were powerful, and the general on the top of the city shouted: "Throw the oil barrels of fire and stop them from approaching!"

Dozens of kerosene barrels flew out of the city, fell to the ground and smashed into pieces, black kerosene overflowed, and then a few torches were thrown down, and a raging fire ignited in front of the city gate, preventing the four soldiers from advancing .

The four soldiers turned to the city wall again, blowing up the city wall is one thing, but at this moment, a dozen gunpowder barrels were dropped from the top of the city, and they exploded in an instant, sending poisonous nails flying everywhere. In the middle, he knelt down on the ground, and the other three soldiers carried the iron fire thunder and fled back with the wounded soldier on their backs.

The first time the siege failed, Li Fuxing discovered that things were really difficult. The other party had kerosene and gunpowder barrels, especially kerosene, which was simply a sharp weapon for defending the city. At critical moments, thousands of bales of hay were added. , dry firewood, is simply a nightmare for the besiegers.

They underestimated the enemy a bit, even if they brought hundreds of kerosene skin bags, they could attack the enemy with fire.

But fortunately, it can be remedied. The number of Song Jun is twenty times that of the opponent. With this, they can suppress the opponent.

Li Fuxing immediately ordered: "press in three directions at the same time, [-] troops suppress the opponent with bows and crossbows, and shoot the enemy with rockets."

Li Fuxing is also betting that there is a high probability that there are a lot of fire igniters in the opponent's city. Although he doesn't know where they are, if he shoots arrows in three directions at the same time, he will definitely find the target.

Fifteen thousand troops fired rockets at the top of the city and everywhere in the city.

There are only 750 defenders in the city. Even if they all go to the city, each city can only be allocated 250 people, which is simply a drop in the bucket and unusable.

But the target of the Song Army is no longer people, but the fire starters in and around the city.

Sure enough, the three thousand bundles of wheat straw piled up in the west city were ignited by the rocket, and a raging fire quickly ignited. The city was filled with thick smoke, and the entire city was covered in thick smoke. , have retreated to both sides.

When the opportunity came again, hundreds of soldiers rushed forward carrying wet bedding. The wet bedding extinguished the oil fire in front of the city gate. A 120-jin iron rhino held the gate, and on the other side was a huge boulder, which held it tightly. Iron Rhino.

The matchlock had already been lit, and the soldiers ran fast, and the crossbowmen stopped shooting and covered their ears one after another.

"boom!"

There was an earth-shattering explosion, and the entire military city was shaking. The city gate was filled with thick smoke and dust, and there was chaos. The thick smoke inside the city and the thick smoke outside the city mixed together, and the entire city wall was covered. No one knew what happened. what.

"General, the city gate has completely collapsed!" A soldier shouted to the general in the city.

"Order the entire army to retreat!"

The chief general also knew that Hulao was closed, and he was lucky to be able to withdraw the army.

The east gate of Hulao Pass opened, and hundreds of soldiers descended from all directions and rushed outside...

The main force of the Song army was unable to enter the city for the time being, and thousands of tons of wheat straw were piled up on both sides of the west gate, and it would not burn out without burning for an hour or two.

But this did not affect the Song Army's squadron to enter the city. They climbed up the walls on both sides with ropes. More than 1000 Song Army soldiers occupied Hulao Pass, and then closed the east gate.

The wheat straw burned for an hour and a half before it was completely burned. The ground and the walls were scorching hot. The soldiers brought hundreds of buckets of water from Sishui to wash the ground and reduce the temperature. The army began to march into the city and occupied Luoyang. At the same time, it also cut off the channel for the Jin soldiers to support Luoyang. This is the fundamental purpose of taking down Hulao Pass.

Li Fuxing did not stay long at Hulao Pass. He left the deputy commander Peng Kuang to lead 5000 people to guard Hulao Pass.

The supplies in the Hulaoguan warehouse are enough for 5000 people to use for a month, and the Song army's supplies will arrive soon without waiting for a month.