Jiuxi

Chapter 725 [Yaoshan Pass]

The mountains and rivers are continuous, with only one road connecting the east and the west.

This road was once one of the official roads of the Great Qi Dynasty. It starts from Heluo City in the west and ends at the shore of the Hanhai in the east, crossing the Heluo area and the entire Dingzhou.

In the western half of this road, there are two passes occupying dangerous terrain, namely Qingliu Pass close to Dingzhou, and Yaoshan Pass, which is only 140 miles west of Heluo City.

Three years ago, Yaoshan Pass experienced a brutal and tragic battle.

At that time, Lu Chen and Xiao Wangzhi worked together to set up a plan to lure Qing Yu Zhongwang to lead his troops to make a big circle and raid the northern part of Dingzhou, while he led a detachment to advance rapidly from the western front.

First take Gongcheng, then go down Yaoshan Pass, then pass through Anxian and Shenzecheng, and arrive at the suburbs of Heluo.

In the Battle of Yaoshan Pass that year, Lu Chen led the Ruishi Battalion, Lai'an Army, Feiyun Army and Panlong Army to attack. The Jing Army suffered due to insufficient manpower. Qing Yu Zhongwang did not expect that Lu Chen would dare to launch a surprise attack on the western front, let alone that he could capture Heluo in just a few days.

In the end, Lu Chen used the lives of Qing Yu Huaijin and thousands of Jing army prisoners as a condition, extorted tens of thousands of excellent military horses from Emperor Jing, and leisurely withdrew his troops from Heluo.

The two sides agreed to use Gongcheng as the boundary, with the east belonging to the territory of Da Qi and the west being garrisoned by Jing’s army.

After Lu Chen arrived in Dingzhou and took up the post of Grand Commander, the first thing he did was to send troops to retake Gongcheng and prepare to march westward.

But Wu Yanshu was not fooled at all. Although he was personally stationed at Yaoshan Pass, he sent all his cavalry to the south. If Lu Chen had not received the information from the Weaving Bureau in time, Li Bingxue and the Feiyu Army would probably have died on that battlefield.

In the first battle between the two sides, Lu Chen still had the advantage in terms of war, but from a strategic perspective, there was no doubt that Wu Yanshu had the last laugh.

Wu Yanshu was an experienced military commander. Although the focus of Jingjun's attack was on the western battlefield this time, he would not ignore Lu Chen's existence. Therefore, he deployed heavy troops to guard both the northern part of Dingzhou and the Yaoshan Pass area.

The Yaoshan Pass today is completely different from the situation three years ago when there was insufficient manpower.

There are 6,000 troops stationed inside the pass, all of whom are elite soldiers with rich fighting experience.

In the southwest, there is a military camp that is in a pincer position, with 20,000 infantrymen of the Jing army stationed in it.

The purpose of this military camp is to guard the flank of Yaoshan Pass and prevent the Qi army from bypassing the pass and launching an attack. This is what Wu Yanshu learned from the lessons three years ago.

At the beginning, it was Lu Chen who ordered the Feiyun Army and the Lai'an Army to take turns attacking from the front, and then the Panlong Army made a detour of nearly two hundred miles and launched a fierce attack from the rear of Yaoshan Pass. The defenders inside the pass were attacked from both sides and their defense system was eventually breached.

In addition, behind Yaoshan Pass and the southwestern military camp, there are 15,000 elite cavalry of the Jing army.

If the Qi army shifted its target, put Yaoshan Pass aside, and gathered its forces to attack the Jing army camp, then the Jing army cavalry would appear at any time, intercept the Qi army's rear and disrupt the Qi army's formation.

At this moment, in the meeting hall inside Yaoshan Pass, several generals of the Jing army gathered together to listen to the report from the cavalry scouts.

It is reported that a large number of Qi troops appeared in the Gongcheng area more than 30 miles to the east. Judging from the flags alone, there are Dingzhou Laian Army, Ningyuan Army, Feiyu Army, Guangling Army, etc., which can be said to be strong and powerful.

The commander of Yaoshan Pass was named Wuyantuo, a member of the same clan as Wuyan Shu. Because he was trusted by Wuyan Shu, he was able to guard such an important place.

He looked at Pucha, the deputy commander of Nanjing Road, who was standing in the middle, and asked, "General, it seems that the Qi army wants to use the same old trick again. Should we report this news to the garrison commander immediately?"

"Not urgent."

Pucha looked calm. He turned to look at Chelimu, the general who commanded 20,000 infantrymen in the southern camp, and said, "What do you think?"

Che Limu was a burly man with a face full of flesh. He said in a deep voice, "Will Lu Chen of Southern Qi really ignore the dangers of the western battlefield and put all his energy here?"

“That’s what I’m worried about, too.”

Pu Cha showed his approval, and then said: "Looking at his past military tactics, he is extremely treacherous and cunning, and never takes a head-on approach. Of course, we must report the situation here to the garrison commander in a timely manner, but we must first find out Lu Chen's strategic intentions, at least to determine whether he really intends to storm Yaoshan Pass. Only by understanding this most important issue can the garrison commander make the right response, otherwise it would be a false report of military intelligence and delay military operations."

At this moment, the battle of Luwu Mountain quietly emerged in his mind.

That was the worst defeat he had ever experienced since he joined the army.

Nearly 20,000 infantrymen of the prison army were surrounded and annihilated by the Qi army, and nearly half of his cavalrymen were also killed. After the war, Qing Yugong took all the responsibility. He was lucky enough not to be held accountable, not because of his performance in that battle, but because he was the deputy commander of the cavalry of the Loyalty Army and a close confidant of Emperor Jing. That was all.

Although he escaped punishment, that battle left a deep psychological shadow on Pucha, so much so that when he faced Lu Chen again, he inevitably felt a little timid.

Wu Yantuo frowned slightly and said, "General, do you think we can only wait now?"

"Since the Qi army has made its move, they will definitely not hesitate to move forward. That would be equivalent to exposing the truth that they are strong on the outside but weak on the inside."

Pu Cha's expression remained calm, and he said slowly: "If Lu Chen really wants to make a breakthrough from here, our army will definitely be able to give him a head-on blow."

Che Limu nodded and said, "That's right. I heard that this Nanqi Lu Chen is very powerful. I want to see if he has three heads and six arms!"

Wu Yantuo also said: "As long as he dares to come, the warriors under my command will definitely let him know what it means to fight one against a hundred!" Looking at the ambitious expressions of his two colleagues, Pucha wanted to remind them to be careful, but then he changed his mind and thought, how could he boost others' morale and destroy his own prestige at this time?
Lu Chen is not a god!
At this moment, a centurion walked into the hall quickly and bowed, saying, "General, there is an urgent report from the front that the Qi army is approaching Yaoshan Pass!"

The journey of more than thirty miles can be completed in half a day at most.

Wu Yantuo turned to Pucha and said, "General, do you want to attack them halfway?"

Pucha's mind was stirred. Judging from the Qi army's posture, they must want to camp outside the pass. If they could harass the enemy with cavalry while they are marching...

He quickly suppressed this impulse and shook his head, saying, "Lu Chen is an experienced military commander after all. He will not be unprepared. If our army attacks rashly, we may fall into the enemy's trap. You two, the duty entrusted to us by the garrison commander is to guard this important road. As long as we prevent the Qi army from threatening Nanjing City, it will be a great achievement. I know you are brave and good at fighting, but now our army is focusing on attacking Jingzhou in Southern Qi, so we must be extremely cautious on the eastern front."

Wuyantuo and Chelimu looked at each other. Although they felt a little uncomfortable, Pucha was the commander sent by Wuyanshu to lead all the troops here, so they could only bow their heads and obey orders.

The next day, early in the morning.

Pucha, Chelimu and Wuyantuo arrived at the city wall on the east side of Yaoshan Pass.

Looking eastward, one could see the endless Qi army camps with flags fluttering several miles away.

The three men were veterans of the battlefield and had rich experience. After a rough calculation, they knew that judging from the size of the Qi army's camp, there were at least 50,000 Qi troops outside the pass.

"As far as I know, Lu Chen now has more than 120,000 soldiers and horses under his command."

Pucha looked solemn and said slowly, "Except for the defenders in the north and southwest of Dingzhou, this should be all the troops he can mobilize. In other words, if what we saw is not a false image he deliberately created, it means that he doesn't care about the battlefield on the western front. You can rest assured to deal with the Southern Qi Jingzhou Army."

“Maybe it’s not that I don’t care.”

Wu Yantuo was, after all, a close confidant of Wu Yanshu. Although he did not have as many troops as the other two, he had a strong say. He continued, "As long as Lu Chen could lead his troops to break through Yaoshan Pass, and Heluo would be in danger, the garrison commander would have to withdraw his troops to support them. Then Lu Chen could reverse the disadvantage on the western front."

"It's a beautiful thought."

Che Limu couldn't help but shook his head and laughed: "The so-called Southern Qi Lu Chen is nothing more than this."

They are all veterans who have been fighting on the battlefield for many years. How could they not know the most obvious truth?

Assuming that the strength gap between the two sides is not big, defense is much easier than offense.

Wu Yanshu deployed nearly 40,000 troops in the Yaoshan Pass area. With the support of this majestic pass built against the mountain in the north, and with more than 10,000 elite cavalry under Pucha ready to maneuver at any time, it was an impregnable configuration no matter how you looked at it.

Even if Lu Chen was a military genius, how could he break through this line of defense with only 50,000 or 60,000 soldiers?
The sun gradually rose higher, and the earth was filled with a solemn and murderous atmosphere.

There was suddenly movement in the Qi army camp in the distance.

I saw more than a thousand cavalrymen galloping out of the camp and heading towards Yaoshan Pass.

There was no need for Wu Yantuo to give any orders, the Jing army in Guanshang immediately took to their full potential.

It was obviously impossible for these more than a thousand cavalrymen to rush through the pass rashly. They gradually slowed down when they were more than a mile away from Yaoshan Pass, then pulled the reins and stopped in a safe area.

There was a big flag fluttering in the wind, with "Lu, the Grand Commander of Dingzhou of the Great Qi" written on it.

In the bright sunshine, a young military hero in armor rode forward a few steps, looked up at the Jing army on the city wall, and said in full force: "Where is General Pucha?"

All the soldiers of the Jing army frowned, and Che Limu asked coldly, "Could this person be Lu Chen?"

Pucha nodded.

Chelimu said with a fierce look in his eyes: "General, this man is so arrogant that he dares to challenge us openly outside the pass. I am willing to lead the troops out of the pass to capture this thief!"

"Don't fall into the trap!"

Pucha almost instantly determined that it was Lu Chen who deliberately lured Jing Jun out of the pass. He certainly would not repeat the same mistake. After all, Xiao Wangzhi used the same method to lure Jing Jun into the trap at the foot of Luwu Mountain.

After calming down the arrogant soldiers around him, Pucha came to the parapet and shouted, "Lu Chen, I am here, why don't you dismount and surrender?"

Lu Chen held the reins with both hands and said calmly: "General Pucha, don't joke. I came here to advise you to send a message to Wu Yanshu immediately and ask him to lead the troops back to support Heluo. Otherwise, I will take Yaoshan Pass first and then Heluo City, and he will be trapped!"

Pucha exerted a little force with his hands, his face gloomy and uncertain, and finally turned into a sneer: "Daydream!"

On the city wall, the soldiers of Jing Army could be heard laughing continuously.

(End of this chapter)