Chapter 251: A surprise attack on Rongcheng

Zijing Pass is located between the high mountains and ridges east of the Taihang Mountains. The Juma River under Zijing Pass winds through the Taihang Mountains, forming a narrow valley called Futuyu, which makes it a military secret passage across the Taihang Mountains. If it is in the summer when the water rises, it will be difficult to pass through a large group of people here. But it is February, and the spring water has not risen, and the Juma River is still in the dry season. The long section of the riverbed in Futuyu is exposed, making it possible for the army to pass through.

It was an early spring night. The sky was covered with dark purple clouds. Occasionally, a pale crescent moon would appear in the gaps of the clouds, exuding a dim and solemn atmosphere. Just under the moonlight that appeared and disappeared, a mighty army was walking south quickly. The army marched silently. It was only by chance that the jingle of weapons hitting the rocks. No loud conversations were allowed, no ignitions were allowed, and the war horses were trying not to neigh. Moreover, this army had no supplies, and all were light soldiers and simple movements.

This army was the vanguard of the Yan army. It rushed from Shanxi, with a total of 30,000 people, led by General Zhang Yu. At this time, King Yan Zhu Di personally led an army of 200,000 to the Wanquanwei further north, and was also moving towards Hebei.

At this time, the 30,000 vanguard brigade had already passed Zijing Pass and ran straight to Yixian east, ten miles away from Yizhou. On a flat huge rock, General Zhang Yuzheng looked at the narrow road in the distance with serious eyes. The advice of the King of Yan was still echoing in his mind: "The southern army came from afar, and the soldiers had no food to win, and the horses had no chance to go deeper. This is the way to defeat. Wu Gao, the Marquis of Jiangyin, led the troops to plunder the people, and the military discipline was not in order. It can be seen that the person was incompetent. The Duke of Jiangyin should be incompetent and lead the soldiers to fight to the death to break it. Once the flanks were broken, Li Jinglong's main force should be unstable."

Zhang Yu's heart was ups and downs. The general was planning his plans, but he could win a thousand miles away. He was the wise leader and how could he not fight bravely to kill the enemy and establish merits? At this time, a scout reported that the cavalry was coming. The rapid sound of horse hooves broke the silent march. The cavalry rushed forward, turned over and dismounted, and ran up the giant rock and half-kneeled to report: "General Zhang, here is the latest information of the Southern Army."

Zhang Yu took the letter and looked at it. His brows couldn't help but frown. At noon, the 50,000 army of Wu Gao, a 50,000 army of Wu Gao, a 400,000 army of Li Jinglong had already arrived in Bazhou, but instead rushed to Wu Gao's front. This shows that Wu Gao was timid and refused to take the risk first.

Zhang Yu looked at the night scene. It was just after Hai's hour, and there were about seventy miles from here to Rongcheng. He immediately ordered: "Order the army to advance at full speed. Be sure to arrive at Rongcheng County before dawn."

Rongcheng County is a small county. More than a thousand families in the county fled almost all before the imperial army came. Li Jinglong's army was not disciplined, and he robbed people's wealth and despised his wife and daughters. Especially this Western Army was even more notorious.

At this time, it was drizzling in the sky, and the spring was cold. In Rongcheng County, the army of the imperial court was already stationed. In the wet and cold spring, the soldiers were hiding in their own camps, gathering to gamble, drinking, and eating meat. There were long queues in front of the tents where there were women. The entire military camp was filled with a lazy and indulgent atmosphere. Indeed, the army of the King of Yan was blocked in Shanxi, and the main force of the imperial court had already gone to the front. They were far away from danger, and both the chief general and the soldiers almost lost their vigilance.

This army was led by Wu Gao, the commander of Guangdong, Jiangyin Hou. It was originally a Japanese defense defender stationed in Guangdong. Since Li Wei attacked the Japanese pirates' nests, the Japanese pirates on the coast of Guangdong have almost disappeared, so this army has become an ordinary local defender. During the army integration last year, this 100,000 Guangdong defender was transferred back to the capital and renamed the Yingwu Army. This time, with Li Jinglong, the main task was to defend the Yan King's army from Shanxi. Now Jingxing has been occupied, Li Jinglong ordered him to leave 30,000 troops to defend, and the remaining 70,000 troops to attack Beiping together.

Marquis of Jiangyin Wu Gao replaced Marquis of Heqing Zhang Yi as the commander-in-chief of Guangdong in the Guangdong military ration case five years ago. During the great purge of Feng Fu case, he escaped by chance because of the distance. Now he has become the pillar of the court. Due to his old qualifications, he gradually became unruly. Although the emperor repeatedly urged the army to prohibit the army from disturbing the people, in order to bribe the morale of the army, Wu Gao did not take the emperor's will at all. With Li Jinglong's tacit approval, Wu Gao indulged the army to burn, kill, rob the people of the people and robbed the women of the people as military prostitutes. Although Li Jinglong ordered him to go north several times, Wu Gao had the idea of ​​preserving his strength and refused to go north for a long time.

Wu Gao lives in a large mansion in Rongcheng County. The owner has already escaped, and this place has become his residence. At this moment, Wu Gao is sitting at a small table drinking and having fun. Three pretty women with thick makeup are drinking beside him. The sound of orioles and swallows are scattered, and Wu Gao laughs from time to time. He is already drunk. At this time, a general's report came from outside the door, "General, someone has found traces of an army in the Yi County area."

Several women were so scared that they dared not speak, but Wu Gao waved his hand indifferently and said, "Don't pay attention, that must be the small Yan army obtained from the stationed in Zijing Pass."

The deputy general did not dare to come in and still said outside: "But the general was worried that the Yan army would cross Wuhui Mountain from Futuyu, so the general should be careful."

Wu Gao was a little unhappy, and he said angrily: "Don't you bully me and don't understand soldiers? The Futuyu River is turbulent, and the large group of people can't get through at all. If you dare to disturb the morale of the army, I will kill you to sacrifice the flag!"

A low sigh came from outside the door, and there was no sound anymore. Wu Gao drank several more glasses, hugged the three women and said with a smile: "Tonight, you three will accompany me together and see how sharp my golden spear is."

"The general is a general of war, and we are willing to serve with all our hearts."

After a while, the lights went out, and Wu Gao's pride laughter came faintly from the room. The spring rain became denser and denser, and the night was deeper. The military camps inside and outside the county gradually fell asleep. At the fourth o'clock in the morning, in a forest five miles away from Rongcheng County, Zhang Yu led 30,000 troops to arrive quietly. The army was not in a hurry to attack, but took a rest in the afternoon to eat dry food and accumulate strength. Zhang Yu stood by the forest and stared at the distance in the confusion of the rain.

Now is the opportunity for a surprise attack. Nothing can be seen a few dozen steps away. At this time, a scout rushed over and reported in a low voice: "General, 60,000 of the 70,000 troops of the Southern Army are stationed outside the city, and only 10,000 people are in the city. The patrols are incomplete and the defense is very relaxed."

Zhang Yu looked up at the sky. It was the darkest time of night. He immediately turned around and shouted sternly to the army: "The Southern Army burned, killed, looted, and gravitated to my sister Yanzhao. Now is the time for our revenge. Let them taste the power of the thunder of our Yanshan Iron Cavalry. The army set out and judged the rewards based on military merits!"

The troops in the forest shouted in a low voice. Thirty thousand troops were dispatched. The sword was unsheathed and the arrow was lifted. It was like a sharp sword, and it rushed straight towards the enemy camp. After a moment, the sentry had already discovered them and began to warn, but it was too late. Zhang Yu waved his spear and roared, and rushed into the enemy camp first. The 30,000 Yan troops broke out like a mountain torrent, instantly submerged the enemy camp.

The sound of killing was shook the sky, and cried everywhere, people rolled in their heads and blood flowed into rivers. The Western Army of the imperial court quickly collapsed. The soldiers trampled on each other and rushed to flee. Countless surrendered people. The defeat outside the city soon affected the city. Without orders, the 10,000 troops stationed in the city also began to flee. Wu Gao's personal soldiers rushed into his room, and without saying a word, he raised him and left. The three women screamed in surprise, but were killed by the personal soldiers.

Wu Gao was already awake when he heard that the Yan army had arrived. He was so scared that he didn't bother to gather the defeated soldiers. He rode on his horse and fled south in a panic. He no longer cared about the Yan army in Shanxi, and withdrew the 30,000 troops stationed in Jingxing and retreated south of the Yellow River.

During the battle of Rongcheng, more than 20,000 troops of the imperial court were killed, and the rest of the soldiers fled or surrendered. At this point, the entire Western Army was wiped out, and the 30,000 Yan Army led by Zhang Yu had less than a thousand casualties.

After defeating Wu Gao's army, Zhang Yu did not go north, but turned around and rushed to Hejian Prefecture to cut off the food route of the imperial army.

At this time, thousands of ships gathered in the sea outside Hejian Prefecture, sails covered the sky and sun, and 100,000 Liaodong troops were also preparing to land. There is a natural port here, called Baihua Bay, which is named because a hill not far away looks like a white horse.

The bay is surrounded by low hills, and the water in the harbor is deep and the shore is straight. Large ships can directly rely on the counter. It is at night. Hundreds of torches were lit on the dock, and the lights were brightly lit. Hundreds of large ships were docked on the shore in turn, sending ships of soldiers ashore. After the soldiers got ashore, they immediately reorganized their troops to defend. Then the material ships docked, and the soldiers unloaded the tents, grain and other military supplies from the ship.

Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the national policy of maritime ban was implemented for a long time, so that the coastal areas of Hejian Prefecture were deserted and covered with large forests, and residents lived in concentrated areas along the canal. Therefore, the Liaodong Army landed in Hejian Prefecture, and the Yan Army or the imperial army could not get the news at all. Despite this, the Liaodong Army still sent hundreds of patrol teams to guard dozens of miles away to prevent them from being discovered.

Just as dawn the next day, behind a hill covered with trees, a military camp that stretched for several miles appeared. A white tent appeared on the beach overnight, less than two miles from Baihua Bay, and you can clearly see the dense ships anchored in the harbor.

After several days of sailing at sea and a night of busyness, the soldiers were exhausted and had already fallen asleep. The barracks were quiet, and only patrols were patrolling back and forth. Three gazebos, which were seven meters high, had already been set up on the hills. Assuming three large cliffhangers, the sentries on the watchtower were observing the situation in the distance, and from time to time they used flags to tell the sentries in the barracks that everything was safe.

Li Wei came ashore in the middle of the night and he did not fall asleep. At this time, he was writing a letter in front of the table, and a middle-aged scholar next to him was waiting for his letter with a smile.

This middle-aged scholar is no one else. Shao Wenda, the former chief aide of the King of Qin, chose Liaodong between Beiping and Liaodong when the kings entered Beijing, so his spy status was reported by the angry King of Yan. However, Shao Wenda was prepared for it. He rushed back to Xi'an Prefecture, picked up his wife and children, and then came to join Liaodong, becoming a subordinate of Li Weizheng. From last year to the present, he has been in charge of collecting money and grain in Goryeo. Not long ago, he was transferred back to the Liaodong Army to serve as the marching Sima of the army. Now he has to accept a secret mission from Li Weizheng and prepare to go to Li Jinglong's military camp.

After Li Wei finished writing the letter, he stamped his own seal, and then handed the letter to Shao Wenda and said, "This matter is of great importance, so please sir."
Chapter completed!