Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 396: No Skill

Wuxiang.

"kill!!!"

Gao Yanzong's eyes were wide open, and he suddenly appeared at the foot of the city with his troops.

Wuxiang City never thought that it would encounter an enemy attack, and there were few soldiers guarding the city. There was chaos inside and outside the city, and people fled in all directions. In order not to alarm the soldiers on the city wall, Gao Yanzong did not bring too many knights this time, only more than 30 people.

Gao Yanzong waved a spear in his hand. Although he was fat, his movements were extremely agile and powerful. He killed several soldiers at the city gate directly and then occupied the city gate.

This kind of cavalry raid and siege tactic is also unique to the Northern Dynasties. In the past, the Duke of Liang of the Pseudo-Zhou Dynasty once led a dozen people to capture the city. As long as they controlled the city gate and allowed their own people to directly kill their way in, they would be considered to have captured the city.

The knights behind came galloping together and quickly rushed into the city.

The division of states and counties in the Pseudo-Zhou State was even worse than that of Qi State. Just looking at the ten county governors and nineteen state governors in their country, you can find clues.

Especially those prefectures and counties near Chang'an. Although they are called prefectures, they are just county towns and do not even have subordinate townships.

Such a state had to support an army. Fortunately, according to household registration documents, these states were "rich in population" and "plenty of food", so there was no need to worry about the people being burdened too heavily.

The Han army entered Wuxiang, and Gao Yanzong ran straight to the government office.

In front of the government office, we officially encountered the local army. There were only two or three hundred people on the other side, and many of them were dressed as officials.

Gao Yanzong led the way, running left and right, killing people one after another, and no one could stop him.

After quickly capturing the government office, Yao Xiong and others could finally take a break.

They had not rested since they came from Longmen, and the entire army was exhausted to the extreme. Fortunately, they successfully captured the city this time.

Gao Yanzong followed behind Yao Xiong, looking through various maps taken out from the government office, including the garrison map near Chang'an.

"Yanzong, you take the soldiers to rest in the city first, I will be in charge of the guard."

"I'll rest after you rest."

Yao Xiong frowned, "Among the surroundings, only Da Xiwu in Yunzhou has the ability to send troops, but the situation over there is very complicated. Without the emperor's order, he dare not leave the defense zone at all."

"Ah? Is there still such a thing?"

Gao Yanzong was very surprised at first. Since they climbed the cliff, Yao Xiong led them to run all the way, eager to leave Da Xiwu's defense zone. He thought it was just to avoid being entangled by Da Xiwu, but he didn't expect that there were other reasons.

Yao Xiong said disdainfully: "This bunch of Zhou people are scheming against each other. The emperor doesn't trust the generals, and the generals don't trust the emperor. How can they accomplish anything great?"

"This Yunzhou was established for Wei Xiaokuan. Wei Xiaokuan was stationed here for many years and was not allowed to come out. Later, because there was no general who could stop my heavenly soldiers, I asked Wei Xiaokuan to move to another place and asked Da Xiwu to come here."

"Da Xiwu is also a duke. This place is very close to Chang'an and the location is strategic. How can the emperor not be on guard against him?"

"The emperor doesn't trust him, so he won't let him come out on his own. Da Xiwu doesn't trust the emperor either. Who knows if the emperor will blame him if he goes out to help the king?"

"If the king and his generals are not in harmony, they will always be defeated."

Yao Xiong's analysis was so logical that Gao Yanzong was stunned.

This doesn't sound like something Yao Xiong would say at all.

General Yao usually looks big and strong, how could he see the relationship between the enemy's king and generals so clearly, and even use this as the enemy's weakness? ?

Looking at Gao Yanzong who was stunned, Yao Xiong continued to show off, "Besides, there is no need to worry even if he comes after us. He is not sure whether we are the only army crossing the river. After the first time, he will be on guard for the second time. Even if he comes to chase us, he dare not lead a large army."

Yao Xiong then analyzed the situation of the garrisons and generals in various places for him.

After saying a lot, Yao Xiong patted Gao Yanzong on the shoulder and said, "Okay, you should go and rest first. We have to set off again tomorrow. We still have some things to do in Huashan County! Go and rest!"

Gao Yanzong bowed and then turned and left.

After sending Gao Yanzong away, Yao Xiong felt very relieved. He was really good at showing off what the old man said. Good!
The entire Longmen strategy was the idea of ​​old man Bao. Of course, the matters concerning Da Xiwu and others were all told to Yao Xiong by Bao Xian. Bao Xian had thought about this matter for a long time and had thought a lot about it. He had basically thought of everything that could be thought of.

The Zhou people's way of going on expeditions was too fixed, and there were always only two routes.

Bao Xian knew very early on that his strategy would come in handy one day.

After Yao Xiong and Gao Yanzong took turns to rest, they hurriedly left Wuxiang the next day and headed straight for Huazhou.

By this time, all places had received reports that the enemy was coming and people were in a panic.

Fortunately, the officials of Zhou State were of relatively high quality. Unlike Qi State, they did not surrender when they learned that the enemy was coming. Although they had no army under their command, they still thought of all possible ways to stop the enemy, including destroying roads, strengthening city walls, and even setting fire to the dense forests on the road.

However, these methods were of little use in the face of the oncoming knights, as there was simply not enough time for them to prepare.

The next day, Yao Xiong led his troops to capture Huayin County.

The city wall of Huayin County was short, and after three shots from the cartwheels, most of the western wall collapsed. Then the soldiers rushed in directly.

After Yao Xiong entered the city, he quickly occupied the government office and then captured several prisoners.

He asked his first question.

"Where is Yang Su's home?"

Changan.

The knights came running wildly, causing everyone to flee in all directions.

These knights were all urgent scouts, and no one dared to stop them. They rushed all the way to the inner city, handed the letters to the guards at the city gate, and fell down exhausted.

Within the palace.

Yuwen Yong was sitting in his study, checking memorials sent in from various places.

He is now making every effort to curb the powerful families in the country and forcibly distribute their farmland, slaves, tenants, etc. All the officials in various places who have been procrastinating and deceiving the emperor have been dismissed one by one by Yuwen Yong.

He replaced local officials with young people from the royal family who were energetic and willing to work.

These young men from royal families are really powerful. Relying on their royal status, they are not afraid of the local big families and are ruthless in their actions.

Soon, good news began to come from all over the country.

Yuwen Yong's face was full of joy as he looked at these documents.

Using royal family members to fight against big families is indeed a feasible strategy.

Speaking of big families, the royal family is the largest one. Local officials come from different families and are in collusion with each other. They will not implement the emperor's orders or take action against their own family members.

But it was different for these royal family members. They would do whatever the emperor told them to do without any hesitation and did not care about the size of the clan at all.

No matter how powerful your people are, can they be more powerful than my people? ?
As Yuwen Yong looked at the reports from his younger brothers and nephews, a smile appeared on his face more and more.

The letters submitted by these younger brothers were simple and crude. When it came to treating their own family members, there weren't so many rules and formalities. Most of them were just showing off to Yuwen Yong, saying how many big families they had killed, how many good things they had robbed, and so on.

Yuwen Yong nodded slowly.

It seems that more members of the royal family will have to be promoted in the future. The big families and nobles in the country are becoming more and more powerful, and only enough members of the royal family can suppress them.

Just as Yuwen Yong was thinking, Gao Jiong's voice suddenly came from outside the door.

"His Majesty!!!"

This exclamation directly interrupted all of Yuwen Yong's thoughts, and Yuwen Yong was furious.

But when he realized that it was Gao Ying who spoke, his anger immediately subsided.

"Let him in!"

The next moment, Gao Jiong was brought in by several soldiers. Gao Jiong was holding documents and looked distraught.

"Your Majesty!! Something big has happened!!"

"Don't panic, what happened?"

"The bandits have crossed the Longmen Pass and have broken through Wuxiang. They are heading towards Chang'an."

"what?!"

Yuwen Yong stood up quickly.

He snatched the document from Gao Jiong's hand and began to read it.

After looking at it for a few times, his face turned red.

"Great, what a great Da Xiwu!" "I asked him to stay in Yunzhou and take charge of the defense, but this guy stayed in Yunzhou like this? Thousands of enemy troops broke through right under his nose? Great, very good!"

Yuwen Yong gritted his teeth and said, looking at Gao Jiong, "Someone wrote to me earlier, saying that Da Xiwu didn't take the defense of Yubi City seriously, and spent all day eating, drinking and having fun. He also said to his subordinates: This is a garrison for the elderly."

"I didn't believe it then, I just thought it was a disagreement between the generals, but now I know that Da Xiwu really used the jade disc as a place to retire!!"

Gao Jiong understood the emperor's anger, but now was not the time to hold him accountable.

He said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, there are no large troops guarding the capital at the moment, only in Chang'an there are still troops."

"The enemy is heading straight for Chang'an. If we cannot evacuate in time, the villages and towns around Chang'an will be looted by the bandits!"

"We should quickly send people to let everyone outside the city enter, and then strengthen the defense to stop the enemy."

"In addition, we need to send people to the surrounding military headquarters to ask them to send troops to support the king. We must not let Liu Taozi's troops destroy the capital again."

Yuwen Yong was really furious.

This is already the second time.

Why is Liu Taozi so diligent in coming to Chang'an? He is more diligent than his own generals!
But he was powerless. Chang'an was a huge city. How huge was it? It could accommodate two Ye cities.

For such a huge city, there are naturally countless farmlands, villages and garrisons outside the city walls.

And the defense is also very strong.

It was because the city was too big. If 50,000 soldiers were defending Yecheng, they could definitely fill up the city walls. But in Chang'an, the soldiers were so scattered that it was extremely difficult to defend the city.

Yuwen Yong quickly gave orders and summoned everyone in the city to discuss how to repel the enemy.

"Brother! I am willing to lead the troops to repel the bandits!!"

Duke Weiguo Yuwen Zhi knelt in front of Yuwen Yong with a solemn expression.

Yuwen Yong was summoning his ministers to discuss how to repel the enemy. Just as he was about to go back, Yuwen Zhi followed him.

He just knelt down in front of Yuwen Yong and asked to lead the troops to war.

Yuwen Yong looked at his immature brother and said helplessly, "Zhi, the current situation really does not allow you to lead the troops to fight. You should stay in the mansion and wait for my order."

Yuwen Zhi raised his head quickly, his face full of resentment, "Brother, Yuwen Xian can lead troops to fight the enemy on the front line. How can I be worse than him, since I am your Majesty's brother from the same mother? Many of the other cousins ​​can also lead troops and govern in various places. Why do I have to obey orders in the palace?"

Yuwen Zhiren was as arrogant as his name suggested and spoke bluntly. Yuwen Yong was not angry, but just pulled him up and asked him to follow him as they walked towards the study together.

As they walked along the road, Yuwen Yong said, "You also know that you and I are brothers from the same mother!"

"Look at what you do every day. Everyone else is studying and thinking about serving the country, but you are the only one who doesn't like to study. You spend the whole day having fun in your house. It would be fine if you just had fun, but you hired someone to buy furniture for your house, but why didn't you even pay them this little money? Your servant is even more vicious. Not only did he kill the craftsman, he even dared to beat the Chang'an Ling. Do you know what kind of official the Chang'an Ling is? How could your servant beat him?"

Yuwen Yong became more and more anxious as he spoke, and his words became a little impatient.

He was really worried about his younger brother.

Yuwen Yong had many brothers, but they were all half-brothers. The only one who had the same father and mother was Yuwen Zhi.

But this younger brother is the most domineering one among them.

Yu Wenzhi slowly lowered his head and wiped his tears, "Brother, I already know my fault."

"I am different from those people. They are pretentious and have ulterior motives, so they try to deceive others' respect. But I don't need that. I just want to assist my brother, so I act eccentrically and can't hide things like them."

Yuwen Yong glared at him again.

"Does not bullying the people mean you have ulterior motives?"

"How do you read this book?"

Yuwen Zhi stopped talking and just wiped his tears secretly.

Yuwen Yong said, "Don't cry anymore. I don't let you go out, not because I don't trust you, nor because I look down on your ability. It's just that the enemy is coming aggressively. Although Chang'an has a lot of troops, they are not enough to defend. How can we go out of the city to fight again?"

"We can defend the city now and wait for reinforcements from all over the country. If we rashly leave the city and fail, the consequences will be disastrous."

Yuwen Yong analyzed the situation to Yuwen Zhi very seriously and explained the reason.

Yuwen Zhi didn't know how much he had heard, and finally nodded with a smile, "Brother, I understand."

"In that case, can I be the one to defend the city?"

"I will never let my brother down!"

Yuwen Yong was silent for a moment. He certainly understood his brother, but he had just rejected him once. If he rejected him again, he might go to the empress dowager to cry and complain, and then the empress dowager would come to him again.

After all, they have the same father and mother, and it was he who killed Yuwen Hu.

Yuwen Yong decided to give his brother a chance. He said seriously, "Chang'an is too big for one person to guard. The northern wall is newly built and is the most dangerous. I will let you guard it."

"Thank you, brother!!"

Yuwenzhi raised his head, his eyes sparkling, "What Yuwenxian can do, I can do too, brother, don't worry!!"

Watching his brother leave in a hurry, Yuwen Yong became even more distressed.

How tiring it is to deal with domestic affairs.
The Duke of Wei’s Mansion.

Yuwen Zhi sat in the study, with many of his confidants gathered around him.

Most of these confidants were Hu slaves, who were proficient in riding and shooting and had excellent martial arts.

Yuwen Zhi usually liked to recruit these powerful Hu people as his followers, and select those who were good at fighting among them to be his confidants, and he was particularly indulgent and protective of them.

Therefore, his reputation in the city is the worst.

Yuwen Zhi raised the tiger talisman in his hand with a smile.

"Everyone, Yuwen Yong has assigned me a battalion of more than 3,000 people, which is under my command."

"If it weren't for the enemy attack, I would never have been able to get these people."

“Now is the best time.”

"We can seize the palace while he is off guard, capture Yuwen Yong alive, and have him issue an edict to abdicate the throne to me. Then we can issue orders to all places and ask the generals to surrender."

Most of the warriors looked terrified when they heard his words.

Even though they usually brandish swords and guns and show off their power in the streets, they dare not take such a big incident lightly, as their entire clan may be killed.

Immediately, a Hu man began to persuade them, "My Lord, although you have troops at your disposal, there are still Liu Taozi's troops outside the city. If we act rashly and cause unrest in the city, wouldn't Liu Taozi be able to take advantage of the situation and invade?"

"Why not wait until Liu Taozi's army is defeated and begins to retreat, and when His Majesty Yuwen Yong begins to collect the tiger talismans from the generals, we can act quickly and capture Yuwen Yong alive!"

“Time waits for no one!!”

Yuwenzhi stood up, his face full of anger.

"I helped him kill Yuwen Hu, but he didn't thank me and made things difficult for me. Yuwen Xian was Yuwen Hu's lackey, but he was able to use him, while I was trapped in the mansion and even had to ask him before going out!!"

"If I wait until the enemy retreats, and there are troops outside the city to support the king, how can I attack him?!"

"We will attack the palace, and then control Chang'an with the emperor's decree. Chang'an will not be in turmoil. Liu Taozi's thousands of men will not be able to enter Chang'an City even if they are piled up!"

Seeing that Yuwen Zhi was so determined, everyone did not dare to persuade him any further.

"So where do we attack the palace?"

"Suzhang Gate!"

"The palace is under martial law now. Generals are guarding the various gates. The Suzhang Gate is closest to us, so we will attack from there."

Yuwen Zhi looked around and asked, "I asked you to find out the news about each city gate. Who is ordered to guard the Suzhang Gate now?"

The Hu warrior reacted and quickly stood up and said:

"My lord, he is a young general with no skills."

"Call him He Ruobi!!"

(End of this chapter)