Peach and plum spring breeze and a glass of wine

When the sun is three poles high.

Yang Ge returned to Datong and fell on the city wall.

Liu Tang and Yu Guanhai, the commander-in-chief of Datong, who were waiting for him on the city wall, saw him and hurriedly held up their meals to greet him.

Liu Tang handed a kettle to him: "Second Master, how is the situation?"

Yang Ge took the kettle, unscrewed the lid without thinking, and took a big sip.

"puff……"

He looked at Liu Tang speechlessly: "Why is it wine?"

Liu Tang laughed awkwardly: "This...hahaha..."

Yang Ge threw the kettle back into his arms: "Bring me some water, I'm so thirsty!"

Liu Tang quickly turned around and shouted: "Old Zhang, hurry up and make a pot of tea for the second master!"

Yang Ge pointed at the roast goose on the tray held by Yu Guanhai and made two strokes horizontally and vertically. The whole roast goose was divided into three parts.

He grabbed the goose leg and brought it to his mouth, tore it into a bite, and said while eating: "Your guess is correct. The Tatar army is divided into three groups. The left army outside Datong Pass only has more than 100,000 troops, including 20,000 cavalry, There are more than 80,000 infantrymen."

"The Chinese army went straight to Jizhou Town with heavy troops, with no less than 200,000 troops, 30,000 cavalry, and more than 178,000 infantry."

"The light army of the Left Army went straight to Liaodong Town. Although the number of troops was less than 100,000, the cavalry accounted for more than half..."

"The total strength of the Tatars is at least 400,000!"

Liu Tang and Yu Guanhai both looked a little calm after hearing this, but neither of them looked shocked.

This made Yang Ge's heavy heart slightly lighter... The two armies were facing each other. They were not afraid of the enemy's overwhelming numbers, but they were afraid that their own generals would be at a loss and be led by the enemy's commander.

After the two of them pondered for a moment, Liu Tang said in a low voice: "It seems that the Tatars are really serious this time."

Yu Guanhai's face was as heavy as water and he nodded in agreement: "In the reign of Emperor Taizong, when the Meng Yuan's vitality was still there, and the Tatars rarely had 400,000 troops, they must have used this battle to make a turnaround!"

After the two sighed softly, they said in unison: "Xiahou Xiong has harmed the country!"

If Xia Houxiong had not suffered a disastrous defeat when he surrounded and suppressed a mob of more than 100,000 chieftains with an army of 300,000 in the southwest, allowing the Tatars to see through the lax military preparedness of the imperial court, how would they have dared to fight this battle with all their might?

Yang Ge stuffed the remaining half of the goose leg with the bone into his mouth: "I have informed Zhou Fu, the commander-in-chief of Jizhou, and Jiang Kui, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, about the Tatars' movements. The most important thing now is to seize the time to report to Jizhou. There are more troops in Zhou Town, Jizhou Town only has more than 60,000 troops, and Liaodong Town has even fewer troops. If Jizhou Town is defeated, the Tatars will immediately control the entire Yanyun Land, so take it easy..."

"this……"

Liu Tang and Yu Guanhai suddenly looked hesitant.

Yang Ge raised his eyebrows and immediately spoke with a displeased look on his face.

Seeing this, Yu Guanhai quickly handed the tray in Liu Tang's hand, clasped his fists and said: "I will immediately send the book to Xuanfu Town and Shanxi Town, and ask the general soldiers of the two towns to organize their troops and prepare to support Jizhou Town!"

After saying that, he turned around and ran away without waiting for Yang Ge to speak.

Before leaving, I didn’t forget to grab a piece of roast goose from the tray...

Yang Ge looked at Liu Tang in confusion.

Liu Tang quickly explained: "Second Master, General Yu, as the general general of Datong, has the responsibility of guarding the territory. If he doesn't have the upper hand, how dare he mobilize the troops and horses without authorization... This matter requires General Liuyang Hou Lan to come and take charge of the overall situation. become!"

Yang Ge immediately said: "Where is he? I will bring him here right now!"

Liu Tang: "The document sent yesterday said that General Lan has arrived in Taiyuan..."

Yang Ge nodded and said "Okay", then turned into a golden sword light and soared into the sky, speeding towards the south.

At the right time, Lao Zhang hurried over with a pot of tea and glanced around curiously: "Where is the second master?"

…

The next day, 80,000 troops were mobilized from Datong, Xuanfu, and Shanxi towns and rushed to the aid of Jizhou Town.

In the early morning of the third day, the Jizhou offensive and defensive battle broke out. An army of 200,000 Tatars sent troops to storm Jizhou Town at midnight!

The Tatar soldiers all over the mountains and plains, under the cover of hundreds of artillery pieces, rushed to the top of Jizhou Town in a swarm. Even Zhou Fu, who had been prepared for a long time, was stunned by this hail-like intensive artillery offensive. Sixty thousand Ji The state defenders were overwhelmed by the Tatar artillery offensive.

Who would see this scene and not gnash his teeth with hatred, wishing he could go back to the capital and chop off the heads of the Gongun princes with a sword?

The Tatars were so short of supplies that they had to trade cattle and sheep for iron pots from the Central Plains. How could they build so many artillery?

How dare they? ? ?

Even Yang Ge, who had arrived in Jizhou in advance, thought to himself when he saw this scene... No wonder...

No wonder the Tatars did not send troops early or late. He killed half of the court with his front foot, and the Tatars sent their troops southward.

It's hard to say that the Tatars were just making small fuss earlier, but this time they dared to drag their families into trouble.

At the critical moment, Yang Ge stepped forward...

He first walked around the city wall, cleared away the thousands of Tatar soldiers who had swarmed up the city wall, and stabilized the city defense.

Then he rushed out of the city alone and went against the charging Tatar army all the way to the Tatar artillery position. He lit the gunpowder barrels in the artillery position one by one like a firecracker...

In a burst of rumbling flames, the Tatar artillery position turned into a sea of ​​​​fire, and hundreds of artillery pieces turned into wreckage.

Amid the panic and frantic shouts of the Tatar army, Yang Ge calmly retreated to the city, hiding his merit and fame.

Seeing that the Tartars had lost their artillery cover, the morale of the Jizhou soldiers on the top of the city was greatly boosted. Officers at all levels organized their soldiers to stabilize the city defense line. Zhou Fu, who commanded the army, made a prompt decision and sent a group of elite soldiers out of the city gate to disrupt the enemy's army while the enemy was in chaos...

The fierce battle lasted for nearly three hours. It was not until dawn that the Tartar army completely retreated, leaving 20,000 to 30,000 corpses outside Jizhou City, and the bloody smell was overwhelming.

On the evening of the third day, the Tartar soldiers organized their troops to attack again.

Although the Tartar high-level officials investigated for a whole day and could not find out how the artillery position was blown up, through the offensive and defensive battle last night, they had already tested the real strength of Jizhou Town, which made them think that their strategy of deceiving the world was effective.

So even without the cover of artillery fire, they had to capture Jizhou Town before the reinforcements arrived, and cut the nine-border defense system of the Great Wei in half with one knife!

Strategic transfer?

There is no room for transfer!

From the moment the battle of Jizhou broke out, their strategic intentions have been exposed. If they shift the focus of the attack now, it will not only be difficult to see results, but also turn from active to passive.

The Wei Dynasty can afford it, but they can't!

So even if they know that the siege will cause heavy casualties, they must fight to knock out their big teeth and chew up Jizhou Town!

This time, the commander of the Tatar Central Army and the chieftain of the Tatar tribe, Haobai, sent a large number of martial arts masters mixed in the first landing camp and sent them out together, hoping that these martial arts masters could break through the city defense of Jizhou Town as soon as possible and minimize casualties.

With the expectation of Haobai, the commander of the Tatars, the battle started. Under the cover of the rain of arrows, the 20,000 soldiers and horses of the first landing climbed up the city wall one after another along the ladder.

Once the battle started, it was pushed to a climax again. The soldiers of both sides fell into a life-and-death bloody battle along a city defense line.

There were constantly brave Tatar warriors who were hit by falling rocks and bloody, and shot like porcupines by arrows, jumping onto the top of the city wall, howling and waving scimitars to fight with the Jizhou Town soldiers who were defending the city.

There were also constantly fierce Jizhou Town soldiers who were defending the city, roaring and hugging the Tatar soldiers who jumped onto the top of the city wall and rolling down from the top of the city wall together...

Rain of arrows and flying stones like locusts.

Rolling stones and wooden beams like rain.

The cruelty of cold weapon war was demonstrated vividly between this thin wall.

Even the air was full of blood.

In such an environment, everyone had a thought in their mind that was constantly magnified: 'Even if I die, I will never let the enemy have an easy time! '

The fierce fighting made both the attackers and defenders look like they were about to fall.

Both sides were constantly sending troops to the top of the city...

Faced with such a fierce battle, Zhou Fu, who was in charge of the battle, could not even think of sending a troop out of the city to disrupt the enemy's attack rhythm and give the brothers defending the city a chance to breathe. He could only hold on to the limited troops in his hands and constantly replace the troops defending the city to maintain the city defense line.

This fierce offensive and defensive battle lasted from the evening of the third day when it was still dark until the dawn of the fourth day.

The Tartars once again left 20,000 to 30,000 corpses outside Jizhou City.

And Zhou Fu only had more than 40,000 Jizhou Town soldiers left, and after two rounds of rotation, they were almost at their limit. Even the arrows, stones, and wood stored on the top of the city had been exhausted.

As a last resort, Zhou Fu could only order the fierce fire oil at the bottom of the box to be sent to the top of the city and poured down along the city wall.

"Boom..."

Rolling flames surged over the piles of corpses under the city wall, and the Tatar army, which had been advancing one after another, finally retreated like a tide.

But this time, the Jizhou garrison on the top of the city wall no longer had the energy to cheer for victory...

And the morale of the Tatars was extremely low...In the two sieges, they left nearly a quarter of their comrades on the top of the city wall. If they continued to fight, I don't know how many more corpses they would leave in Jizhou Town.

And the Tatar commander Haobai, who had high hopes for the martial arts masters in the Xiandeng Camp, was also furious at this moment. Hundreds of martial arts masters rushed to the city wall, and even his own personal guard leader Bater went up, but they didn't even cause a wave of breaking the city...Even if a few hundred stones were thrown into the river, there would still be two bubbles, right?

This made him realize that there must be a Central Plains martial arts master in Jizhou Town, and it is very likely that he is a peerless master... because his personal guard leader Bater is a top master comparable to the Seven Heroes of the Central Plains!

Haibai angrily overturned the food table full of beef and mutton: "The Central Plains martial artists are too unethical!"

When the sun was high in the sky, the raging flames outside Jizhou City were extinguished. In order not to give the Jizhou Town garrison on the top of the city a chance to breathe, Haibai organized his army to rush up again... The garrison on the top of the city had the advantage of the city wall. In the absence of internal support, if he wanted to break the city, he could only rely on the advantage of military strength, take turns to attack the city without interruption, and drag down the garrison on the top of the city.

But just as he was about to issue the order to attack, he suddenly heard a distant cheer.

His heart suddenly sank, and he quickly stepped out of the general's tent and looked up. He saw on the right side of the Great Wall, a group of flags higher than the parapet quickly approached the direction of Jizhou Town. On the flag in the front, there was a big "Blue" word clearly written.

"Merciful Changshengtian..."

Haibai lamented in despair: "Have you abandoned the children of the grassland?"

The reinforcements arrived, and the grand strategy of quickly conquering Jizhou Town, cutting off the nine border lines of defense, and dividing the Yanyun Land as a bridgehead for the Central Plains was completely ruined.

Their remaining supplies were no longer enough to support them in fighting other important towns, looking for opportunities to break through Jiubian during the long confrontation.

Now the problem before them is no longer how to break through Jiubian and rush into the rich land of the Central Plains to burn, kill and loot...

But how can we get out of the whole body!

Based on his understanding of Lan Ying, his old enemy, that guy would never let go of this good opportunity to take advantage of his illness and kill him!

…

Above the city head of Jizhou Town.

Lan Ying, who was dressed in military uniform, stood on the top of the city, looking resolutely at the Tatar military tent outside the pass. After listening to Zhou Fu's battle report, he said categorically: "Hey, I'm going to run away! "

Yang Ge, who was full of fishy smell on one side, suddenly spoke and asked softly: "General Lan, can you create an opportunity for a decisive battle?"

Lan Ying turned her head to look at Yang Ge, cupped her fists and said, "What does Mr. Lu Ting mean by this?"

Yang Ge looked outside the pass and said slowly: "I need an opportunity for a decisive battle to force out the person in charge behind the Tatars and solve the problem together with the main Tatar forces once and for all!"

Lan Ying frowned and pondered for a long time, then replied: "Before the general left the capital, His Majesty repeatedly told the general that if Duke Lu Ting comes to the northern border in person, everything will be obeyed by Duke Lu Ting, but... counterattack on the grassland After all, the matter is of great importance, and it will take some time to plan and deploy.”

Yang Ge: "How long?"

Lan Ying pondered for a moment: "Half a month..."

Yang Ge shook his head: "Too long!"

Lan Ying immediately changed her words: "Seven days?"

Yang Ge shook his head again: "It's still too long!"

Lan Ying glanced at Yang Ge and asked cautiously: "How long does Mr. Lu Ting think is appropriate?"

Yang Ge pondered for a long time, raised his hand and pointed at the endless military tents outside the pass: "Whenever they retreat, we will bite them."

Lan Ying quickly calculated the strength comparison between the two sides in his mind, and the result made him sigh quietly... I'm afraid I won't be able to keep this pig any longer!

He replied respectfully: "Everything depends on Duke Lu Ting!"

Yang Ge glanced at him and said calmly: "Survey the battle carefully and try to force the 200,000 Tatars from Datong and Liaodong to join the 150,000 Tatars outside the pass... We are going to destroy the country. Only when I gain momentum can I be sure to force out the people behind the Tatars.”

After a pause, he continued: "If you don't have the right to send troops outside the customs, I can go to Beijing to find the emperor and ask for an imperial edict for you."

Lan Ying:......

If it were someone else, he might be able to say something like, "I will not accept military orders abroad."

But in front of this man, he had no doubt that if he dared to say this, his head would fall to the ground in the next breath!

This man is so good at killing officials...

So he could only repeat again: "Everything depends on Duke Luting!"

Yang Ge waved his hand: "Then seize the time to prepare food and grass supplies. If the food and grass are insufficient, then send a light force to capture the main Tatar force, and the main force can follow later."

Lan Ying quickly replied: "Before leaving Beijing, the imperial court had allocated 600,000 shi of grain and grass to go northward. Now that the canal is still in the flood season, the grain and grass will arrive in Jizhou in the near future."

Yang Ge nodded casually: "You are the general of Zhenglu. I will not interfere in your military affairs. If something goes wrong anyway, I will only look for you..."