Thief Emperor

Chapter 859: Dangerous Pass Full of Blood

Jiameng Pass is backed by Niutou Mountain on the left and the Jialing River on the right.

Since ancient times, it has been a place where one man can guard the pass.

Although it is a bit exaggerated to say that even birds cannot cross it, the geographical advantage here is really a huge advantage for the defenders.

Even if no action is taken, as long as the gate is closed, it will be difficult for people who are not familiar with the terrain to cross the pass and enter Jiannan Road.

This is also the reason why Zhang Han dared to leave only one thousand people here to guard the pass. As long as these one thousand defenders can perform their duties conscientiously, the enemy may have to pay ten times or even dozens of times the casualties before Jiameng Pass can be captured.

At this time, Gongsun Hao did not expect that he could capture Jiameng Pass in one fell swoop. He just wanted to give it a try to see how difficult Jiameng Pass was now.

Or how chaotic is Jiannan Road? How many defenders are there in Jianzhou? How many defenders are there in Jiameng Pass?

A thousand Jiangdong cavalrymen dismounted, picked up siege supplies, and rushed towards Jiameng Pass under the leadership of Gongsun He.

The defenders of Jiameng Pass also quickly discovered the movements of the Jiangdong Army. At this time, there were only one or two hundred defenders on the city wall, but facing a defender that was ten times their number, they were not panicked at all. Some even crossed their arms and watched the Jiangdong Army climbing up Jiameng Pass quietly.

Because of the terrain, the Jiangdong army, which came from the Jiangnan Plain, found it extremely difficult to even climb Jiameng Pass, let alone capture this pass built on the mountain.

Gongsun He's troops were scattered before they even reached Jiameng Pass. By the time they reached Jiameng Pass, they had no formation at all. Looking up at the tall Jiameng Pass, these soldiers had lost all will to fight.

Because even ladders are difficult to get to the front of the pass, forcing your way through would just mean committing suicide.

Gongsun He stood in front of Jiameng Pass, hesitating for a while. Finally, he gritted his teeth and was about to rush forward when he heard the sound of a bugle behind him.

He looked back and saw that the base camp in the rear had already started to call back the troops.

More than half an hour later, Gongsun He returned to his father, covered in dust. Recalling the bold words he had said when he set out, he blushed with shame and lowered his head, not daring to speak.

Gongsun Hao looked at him, then at the soldiers behind him, shook his head slightly and said, "It will be difficult for us five thousand men to attack Jiameng Pass. Let's stop for a while and send a message to General Zhao."

Gongsun He opened his mouth and was about to speak when he heard his father continue, "Most of the soldiers in our army are from the Jiangnan Plain. They will not be able to achieve anything in such a dangerous place. Starting tomorrow, you will lead the brothers in the army to find a way on the nearby mountains, and go up and down the mountain once a day."

Gongsun He looked towards Jiameng Pass and said slowly, "Until our main force arrives."

Gongsun He immediately bowed his head: "I obey your command!"

…………

In a blink of an eye, another four or five days passed.

He Jun finally arrived outside Jiameng Pass with the follow-up infantry and stationed outside Jiameng Pass.

This time, he brought about 15,000 infantrymen. At the same time, Zhao Cheng, who received a letter from Gongsun Hao, also followed He Jun to the front line.

After Zhao Cheng arrived at the front line, he took Gongsun Hao and He Jun to the vicinity of Jiameng Pass without any rest and observed the terrain with a telescope.

The three of them observed for a long time, and Zhao Cheng shook his head again and again: "It's dangerous, too dangerous."

Gongsun Hao nodded and said with a wry smile: "Back then, the Wu Zhou court established its capital in Guanzhong and used Jiannan Road as its backyard. It was for this reason that Jiannan Road..."

"Born to be a separatist."

Zhao Cheng looked at Gongsun Hao, then at He Jun, and asked, "You two, on my way here, I received a document from the Nine Departments. The incident in Jiannan Road has become a commotion. Now the military strength of Jianzhou will not exceed 3,000."

"We divided the troops at Jianmen Pass and Jiameng Pass into half each. Currently, the garrison at Jiameng Pass may only have more than a thousand people. This is..."

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

He Jun, who usually kept quiet, looked up at Zhao Cheng, then lowered his head slightly, and said in a hoarse voice: "General, I'm afraid many people will die."

"Only then can we capture Jiameng Pass."

Zhao Cheng looked up at Jiameng Pass with a burning gaze. After a long while, he said in a hoarse voice, "I think it's worth it."

"We will have to fight for Xichuan in the future if we don't fight now. When the number of garrisons in Jianzhou increases, it will be more difficult to take this pass. The superior has already made it clear that he will take office in Luoyang in the first month of next year."

Zhao Cheng took a deep breath and said, "We need to occupy Jiannan Road as a congratulations to the superiors."

As he said this, he looked at Gongsun Hao, who leaned forward and bowed his head: "Subordinates, we all obey the general's orders."

"Well, we will prepare for two more days. After two days, we will start attacking Jiameng Pass. At the same time, we will write a letter to our superiors to report the situation here at Jiameng Pass."

Having said that, Zhao Cheng looked up at Jiameng Pass with an even more fiery gaze.

For him, this pass means more than just success and fame.

Behind this pass are the emperor who has been hiding for many years and the Wu Zhou royal family who have been hiding for many years!
As long as we can take over this pass, we can enter Jiannan Road, and then...

Go and face the hatred of that year!

At the same time, he made great achievements!
Thinking of this, Zhao Cheng's voice became hoarse: "You two should go and prepare. I will ask Deputy General Chen and Yu Ye to bring the follow-up troops here. We have 40,000 to 50,000 troops."

"I don't believe that we can't take down Jiameng Pass!"

…………

A few days later, in Luoyang, Li Yun woke up early in the morning and saw the report from the front line. He just read it once and closed it immediately, and then did not speak for a long time.

It was not until Queen Xue called him several times that he came to his senses, refocused his eyes, and looked at the document in his hand again.

Xue Yun'er was a little surprised and asked, "Husband, what happened? It's rare to see you lose your composure like this."

Li Yun was silent for a while, shook his head slightly, and said in a hoarse voice: "Many people are going to die."

The document he received was sent by Zhao Cheng three days ago, which means that at this moment, Zhao Cheng had probably been attacking Jiameng Pass for three days.

Li Yun had no idea how many casualties there were during these three days, but he was clear that it was definitely not small.

Although he felt distressed, he had no way to stop Zhao Cheng's actions.

To attack a city or stronghold, especially a pass like this, you either have to surround the enemy or use this method. There is no other way.

Behind Jiameng Pass is the entire Jiannan Road, and it is impossible to siege it, so the only way left is to storm it.

Taking advantage of the fact that Jiameng Pass is short of troops, now is the best opportunity. No matter how sad we are... there is nothing we can do.

This is the reason why a kind person should not be in charge of an army. When you hold military power, sometimes you just don't have any emotions and have to be... absolutely rational.

Moreover, even if Li Yun was soft-hearted and wanted to stop the siege, it was too late.

In three days, countless soldiers have been sent in. If they cannot take Jiameng Pass, these soldiers will have died in vain.

Li Yun could not accept this kind of sunk cost.

So, after a long silence, he picked up the brush and wrote two lines in reply to the document.

"I will comply with all the requests from the front line."

After finishing writing, he stood up and asked someone to deliver the document to the front line. Then he returned to his study with his hands behind his back, his mood still restless.

Queen Xue poured him a cup of hot tea and said softly, "My husband, Zheng'er is now old enough to start school. I would like to ask Minister Tao to teach the children at home."

"I asked you for a long time, but you didn't say anything."

Li Yun came back to his senses and said as if waking up from a dream: "Okay, okay."

He glanced at Xue Yun'er and warned her, "But remember one thing. You can only study for half a day in the morning. You still need to move around in the afternoon. Our family doesn't need to take exams, so there's no need to bury yourself in books all day long."

He added: "They should be able to put their knowledge into practice. When they have nothing to do, they can ask Li Zheng to take them to the agricultural institute, the workshop, or the city for a walk."

"correct."

Li Yun remembered something and continued, "Let Shuer go to school with you."

Queen Xue responded and nodded, then looked at Li Yun, a little worried: "Why is my husband so distracted? Did something happen..."

"My husband just said that many people will die..."

Li Yun looked up at her, and there was another silence. After a long while, he stood up and took a long, deep breath: "It's okay, it's not a big problem."

"It's too stuffy here, I'm going out to get some fresh air."

Queen Xue accompanied him and walked out of the study. Not long after they walked out of the study, a servant reported that the Minister of Works Zhuo Guangrui wanted to see him.

Zhuo Guangrui was quickly brought to Li Yun. He bowed and saluted to Li Yun and said, "Your Majesty, the imperial city has been repaired. Your Majesty, the queen, the princess, the ladies, and the princes and princesses can move in at any time."

Li Yun nodded silently, thanked him for his hard work, and then he said silently: "Let's keep it empty for now and talk about it at the end of the year."

"correct."

Li Yun rubbed his brows and asked, "When will Xiao Heng be escorted to the scene?"

Zhuo Guangrui was stunned: "Superior, this...I don't know."

Li Yun then realized that Zhuo Guangrui was not responsible for this matter. He rubbed his eyebrows and shook his head slightly, saying, "I've been too busy recently and I'm confused."

"Brother Zhuo, do you have anything else?"

Zhuo Guangrui bowed his head and said, "I came here to ask if the king and his family would like to go to the imperial city first to take a look?"

Li Yun thought about it, shook his head and said, "Maybe after a while."

Zhuo Guangrui nodded his head and said a few more words before bowing and leaving.

After Zhuo Guangrui left, Li Yun quickly called Meng Hai again and asked about Xiao Heng. After learning that Xiao Heng would arrive tomorrow, Li Yun nodded slowly.

"Let me know when you get here."

Meng Hai lowered his head immediately.

"I obey my orders."

(End of this chapter)