People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1644: Conquering Shanzhou City and Entering Xishi Pass

On a rainy night, at the east gate of Shanzhou.

A thousand soldiers suddenly rushed out of the city and rushed towards Gaomiao Mountain on the east side.

These thousand cavalrymen did not rush towards Xishi Pass and Yanling Pass, but chose the east side.

The even taller and steeper Gaomiao Mountain.

There, there is a secret path that leads directly to Mianchi County.

But the path is extremely rugged and steep. Even for an old man who has walked that road for years, there is only an eleven percent chance that he can walk out alive.

In this case, even if these cavalrymen can break out of Dongqiao Mountain, there will be no more than a hundred people left.

But they still choose to do it.

This must be done even if there are heavy casualties.

Because they held in their hands the final memorial that Yang Zaisi and Yang Zhirou submitted to Empress Wu.

This memorial will directly affect the victory or defeat of the entire battle in the Luo River Plain.

If this memorial cannot be delivered to Empress Wu, Luoyang will surely be defeated.

Yang Zhirou stood at the east gate, looking at the thousand cavalrymen with worry in his eyes.

Pray in your heart...

"Thump, thump, thump!" The loud sound of horse hooves came from the north.

Under Yang Zhirou's horrified gaze, countless cavalrymen rushed out directly from the rainy night on the north side, then brutally crashed into the group of one thousand cavalrymen and quickly tore them apart.

Finally, he rushed out and headed towards Dongshan, and even reached the top of Dongshan faster than them.

After that, it poured down again, killing everyone into mud.

The blood mixed with the dirt on the ground and was crushed directly by the horses' hooves.

Seeing countless cavalrymen in blue and black armor rushing toward the north again, Yang Zhirou clenched his fists tightly and said through gritted teeth, "Li Duozuo."

Yang Zhirou was extremely familiar with the styles of all the generals in Li Xuan's army, and the only one who had this style was the Right Army Guard under Li Duozuo.

Yes, how could Li Xuan really just leave the entire Shanzhou city behind him?

Although he passed by the west gate and south gate of Shanzhou City and headed directly for Jiaokou Township, he arranged for Li Duozuo to lag behind in the north of Shanzhou City. Once someone came out of the east gate, Li Duozuo would lead the cavalry to kill them all.

Even if we don't know what their purpose is.

Kill them all without sparing any one.

Yang Zhirou looked towards the mountains on the east side and vaguely saw a group of cavalry rushing out of the mountains, and then killing several people who had managed to escape.

Soon, something seemed to be found on one of them, and a team of cavalry quickly headed south.

Yang Zhirou closed her eyes and cried out helplessly in her heart, it’s over.

The cavalry finished the killing and then quickly headed towards the north gate.

Faintly, there seemed to be more cavalry running, ready to kill at any time.

This night!

I'm afraid it won't end that easily.

……

Li Xuan took the memorial from the right army guard, opened it and read it, then handed it to Tang Zhenxing who was standing beside him.

Tang Zhenxing took a look, his expression changed slightly, and he said unconsciously: "Autumn grain."

"Yes, autumn crops." Li Xuan nodded indifferently, and then said calmly: "Many people are concerned about whether the king has accumulated enough flood water in the summer for water attack. However, many people have not noticed that the rain this summer is actually less, much less."

Li Xuan sneered and said softly, "They only noticed that less rain is not good for me, but they never noticed that less rain is not good for the world. Today is definitely a year of food shortage. Although it is not a drought or famine, there is less food than in previous years, especially in the north."

"So, the food from Jiangnan?" Tang Zhenxing looked at Li Xuan carefully.

Li Xuan nodded calmly and said, "The grain from Jiangnan will not be shipped for a few days. If we act quickly enough and if the grain ship is delayed on the way, then it is very likely that the grain will fall into our hands instead of being sent to Luoyang."

"Emperor Taizong's old plan to capture Luoyang?" Tang Zhenxing looked at Li Xuan with a hint of fear in his eyes.

You know, Emperor Taizong besieged Luoyang for more than half a year. In the end, the people in Luoyang City ran out of ammunition and food, and even ate each other. Finally, he had to surrender.

Such a scene was enough to make even a warrior like Tang Zhenxing, who had fought on the battlefield for many years, shudder at the thought.

Li Xuan shook his head slightly and said, "It is also a strategy of attacking the heart, but I will not use the old strategy of Emperor Taizong. Because as long as the army surrounds Luoyang and Luoyang City is short of food, the people in Luoyang City will immediately think of the old incident when Emperor Taizong surrounded Luoyang. Fear will make them take the initiative to do something."

"Yes!" Tang Zhenxing felt relieved, but deep down in his heart, he felt even more awe for Li Xuan.

"The common people, officials, aristocratic families, royal family members, and relatives by marriage, Brother Tang, as long as we fight our way to the city of Luoyang, Luoyang will be ours." Li Xuan's eyes were terrifyingly bright.

"Yes!" Tang Zhenxing bowed his head.

Li Xuan looked up and saw a gold and silver mountain dividing Mount Xiao into East Mount Xiao and West Mount Xiao, and the north and south were North Xiao Road and South Xiao Road respectively.

Li Xuan looked at Tang Zhenxing calmly and said, "Brother Tang, you take the South Yao Road, and I will take the North Yao Road. Be careful. Although we know where the traps are, don't rush in. Remove all the traps before breaking through."

"I obey your orders." Tang Zhenxing bowed solemnly, and then said seriously: "I will definitely not be slower than you in breaking through the barrier."

Li Xuan smiled, nodded, and said, "Let's go. We'll meet at Luo River Plain tomorrow morning."

"Yes!" Tang Zhenxing bowed, then led five thousand left guards, five thousand left brave guards, and five thousand left martial guards towards Nanqiao Road.

Li Xuan looked back in the direction of Shanzhou city. In the darkness, he seemed to be able to hear countless war horses galloping.

The horses were indeed running. Every once in a while, a thousand cavalrymen would run around the East Gate from the north, then return to the Yellow River ferry in the north, and then head straight for Hulao Pass along the Yellow River. They only had tonight, and by tomorrow, the Yellow River might be filled up again.

But tonight, even if there is water in the river, there will not be much.

It is convenient for people to walk on war horses.

It is four hundred miles from Shanzhou City to Hulao Pass. If they travel entirely along the river, Li Xuan doesn't know whether the dam behind them can support them until they reach Hulao Pass in time.

But fortunately, if they walk another sixty miles east, they will reach Caochuan Town, Puzhou, Bingzhou.

From Caochuan Town, you can quickly reach Puzhou Yanqu County along the mountain road on the north bank of the Yellow River. It is much easier to go east from Yanqu County.

As for how to choose, it is up to Li Duozuo.

Li Xuan’s requirement was that the cavalry must travel 400 miles to Hulao Pass within two days.

He joined forces with Wang Fangyi who rushed down from Hebei, and finally broke through Hulao Pass directly.

Hulao Pass is on the south side of the Yellow River, with Mang Mountain on the left, Song Mountain on the right, the natural barrier of the Yellow River to the north, and the Heluo Plain to the south.

Once they broke through Hulao Pass, they would be able to head directly to Luoyang from Xingyang and threaten Luoyang from the north.

Li Duozuo was responsible for breaking through Hangu Pass from the north and meeting Wang Fangyi in Bingzhou.

Li Xuan attacked Xishi Pass, and Tang Zhenxing attacked Xiaoling Pass.

Further south in Hanzhong, Qu Chongyu was leading 10,000 elite troops, preparing to ambush the imperial army heading towards Hanzhong.

Behind Li Xuan, General Nan Ju of the Right Tunwei Army was rushing to Shanzhou City. Before Li Duozuo's army completely evacuated Shanzhou, he would directly take over the external defense of Shanzhou.

As for whether to continue besieging Shanzhou City or to directly capture Shanzhou City, that is Nan Ju's business.

Over the years, Li Xuan commanded an army of nearly 100,000 and gradually gained his own experience.

The person in charge of guarding the Xishi Pass opposite him was Cheng Wuting.

……

In the darkness, a hundred cavalrymen wearing conical hats ran quickly along the mountain path holding torches.

In the drizzle, even with torches, the area they can illuminate is still limited.

From time to time, people fell off their horses, fell to the ground, and could never get up again.

But the others on the horses didn't even look back, they just kept running in the darkness.

In the night sky above their heads, flashes of thunder and lightning flashed from time to time, illuminating a way forward for them, allowing most people to continue moving forward.

After most of the night, a group of people finally arrived at Xishi Pass.

On a rainy night, the gate of Xishi Pass had already been closed, with only a dozen soldiers patrolling back and forth.

Everyone held a heavy gong and drum in their hands. Once the gong and drum sounded, it would immediately alarm the entire city.

Further south of the city wall, a military camp of 10,000 people stood quietly, and another military camp of 10,000 people was in Mianchi County in the rear.

When they arrived at the city gate, the cavalry slowed down.

However, as soon as they looked up, they suddenly discovered that the city wall was already full of people without them knowing when.

Everyone held a crossbow in their hands, loaded with arrows, pointing them straight at the people below the city with cold eyes.

The people under the city immediately let go of the reins and put their hands on their swords.

On the city wall, Cheng Wuting walked up from the back with a stern face, looked at the vigilant cavalry below, and asked in a cold voice: "Who are you?"

"General." The people under the city immediately breathed a sigh of relief and bowed to Cheng Wuting, saying, "Greetings, General."

Cheng Wuting on the city wall frowned and asked directly, "Who are you?"

At the foot of the city wall, a lieutenant rode up on horseback and bowed to Cheng Wuting, saying, "I am Yue Ju, the Guoyi lieutenant of Lingbao Zhechongfu, and I am honored to meet you, General."

Although it was Mandarin, Cheng Wuting could still hear a Henan accent.

Cheng Wuting narrowed his eyes, looked at everyone and asked, "Why did you suddenly come to Xishi Pass on a rainy night? Shouldn't you be in Shanzhou now?"

"General." Yue Ju quickly bowed and said, "We fought our way out of Shanzhou City. There were 300 of us along the way, but only a few dozen of us made it here."

"Killed his way out?" Cheng Wuting was startled, and looked at Yue Ju and asked directly, "Something happened in Shanzhou?"

"Shanzhou has been besieged by King Peng. We have been ordered to go to Luoyang and have a memorial to present to the Queen Mother." Yue Ju bowed solemnly.

Cheng Wuting frowned immediately, looked at everyone and asked, "Shouldn't you ask for help? Why are you going to Luoyang to submit a petition?"

"I don't know about that. Yang Shaoqing has ordered us to send the memorial to Luoyang without delay along the way." Yue Ju looked bitter, and then said, "In fact, it was not me. Two thousand people rushed out from Shanzhou and went in different directions. The three hundred men of this general were just one of them."

Cheng Wuting raised his eyebrows. He didn't know why Yang Zhirou didn't think of asking for help under such circumstances, but instead sent someone to deliver a memorial to Luoyang. What exactly happened?

"Put the memorial in the hanging basket. After I have read it, I will immediately arrange for someone to send it to Luoyang." Cheng Wuting made the decision immediately.

Yue Ju frowned instantly, looked up at Cheng Wuting, and said with a vigilant look: "The Shaoqing has ordered me to personally deliver the memorial to Luoyang. If the general wants to verify the authenticity of the memorial, he can, but the matter of submitting the memorial is not for the general."

Cheng Wuting narrowed his eyes and looked at Yue Ju, a trace of anger rising in his heart, but he suppressed it in an instant.

He sneered, looked towards the city and said, "Open the gate."

The gate of Xishi Pass opened instantly, and Yue Ju led his men into Guanzhong without any hesitation. However, when he entered the city gate, he was immediately stunned, because under the city gate, twenty infantrymen were holding spears and pointing directly at them, and there was only a passage in the middle that could accommodate one person.

The spear blade is cold.

(End of this chapter)