Chapter 1056: No Crime of War

When Houmo Chenxiang finally led his troops out of Queshu Valley, he was in a very bad mood when he saw the burnt and destroyed Jiexiu City.

Unlike the cities south of Queshu Valley, Jiexiu is already part of the Taiyuan Basin. Although it is still located on the southern edge of the Taiyuan Basin, it is flat to the north and there is no place to defend.

Jiexiu City was invaded and destroyed by the enemy, which means that if the enemy wants, they can easily march to Jinyang City!

Since it takes a certain amount of time to withdraw from Queshu Valley, and they have to guard against the enemy soldiers who are tracking very closely in the south, when Houmo Chenxiang led his troops back to Jiexiu, the enemy troops that came along the way had already fled far away. No matter how angry Houmo Chenxiang was, he could only grit his teeth and digest it.

"My lord, what should we do now?"

When the generals saw the dilapidated scene in Jiexiu City, they felt like crying but could not. They looked at Hou Mochen and asked.

This time, they came south and fought for several days in Queshu Valley, but they gave up halfway. Not only did they fail to open the passage of Queshu Valley, but even Jiexiu City, the old nest of the rear road, was harassed and destroyed by the enemy.

If such a battle situation was reported back to Jinyang, how furious His Majesty would be and what kind of punishment would be given to them, they could not imagine for a while.

Houmochen Xiang was naturally a little flustered at this moment. He took a deep breath and then said in a deep voice: "The invading bandits are powerful, far exceeding the previous estimate. Moreover, they must recruit spies in the southern border to guide them, so that they can move freely after advancing north. The Jinzhou division did not block them at all, allowing many bandits to easily move north..."

When he generously asked for orders in the Jinyang Palace before, Houmochen Xiang also boasted that he would not let the bandits pass through Queshu Valley in order to avenge the national hatred and family hatred, but now the enemy did not pass through Queshu Valley, but came from thousands of miles away. Such a situation cannot be fooled by a clever trick.

As the main general here, Houmochen Xiang naturally has to bear the greatest responsibility. If things go wrong, not only will his later years be ruined, but even his own life may not be saved under the emperor's rage.

Since he can't bear such a big responsibility, he can only shirk it. Jinzhou was not completely powerless to fight back. There were tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in the city, but they just watched the enemy army march north in such a short time. Can Changle Wang Wei Can and others be blamed? Moreover, the enemy army had never set foot in this place before, but this time it was like entering an empty place. How could it be done without the help of spies?

As Hou Mochen Xiang proposed such an idea, other generals were immediately reminded, and then someone said: "According to the soldiers who stayed behind, the invading thieves this time were only a few hundred. According to common sense, even if the enemy soldiers were all brave and invincible, it would be difficult to easily conquer the fortified city and cause such serious harm. There were also soldiers' families who reported that when the thieves attacked the city, many strong men in the city responded, entered the treasury, and looted the goods..."

Hearing that someone attributed the strong men in the city to the enemy's internal response, someone else said unwillingly: "The enemy army has already occupied There is a prisoner ridge in Queshu Valley, but Jiahu Fort, which is not far from the prisoner ridge, has not been disturbed. The Hu merchants in the fort are cunning and greedy, ignorant of loyalty and righteousness. Will they be used by profit and become guides for thieves? "

"Yes, the Qiang bandit Li Boshan invaded Jinyang that year and passed through here..."

With the addition of everyone's mouths, the reason for the failure of this war was immediately outlined clearly and completely. It turned out that the reason for the failure of this war was not only because of the incompetence of the Jinzhou soldiers, but also because the enemy was treacherous and cunning. It was a conspiracy that lasted for more than ten years!

Not to mention whether these reasons make sense, at least it is a comfort for the soldiers who are not doing well in the current battle. Not only did they find the reason and target to shirk their faults, but they also found the target to attack.

Located in the southwest of Jiexiu City, Jiahu Fort got its name because Hu merchants often came and went, and the place where Hu merchants gathered was naturally closely related to treasures and precious goods. In the past, these Hu merchants relied on their wealth and treasures to make friends with a group of Jinyang nobles, thereby obtaining the protection of these dignitaries. Even if the Jinyang soldiers coveted their property, they did not dare to easily demand and plunder.

But now if these Hu merchants are accused of colluding with foreign countries and invading Jinyang, the so-called umbrella of protection will naturally be gone, and they can be arrested and charged with crimes with justification, and Jiahu Fort will be looted by the way!

Therefore, the generals became more and more excited as they spoke. At the beginning, they still had a tone of false accusation, but gradually their words became more and more determined, more serious, and more anxious.

However, Hou Mochenxiang had not buried his reason. At present, his troops had just retreated, and Jiexiu City was attacked, looted and destroyed by the enemy, and the two main roads of Queshu Valley and Qianlijing were all out of control.

Under such circumstances, it would be fine to shirk the blame and responsibility, but it is not appropriate to cause complications due to momentary greed and send the already damaged and relatively weak military force to other places.

So he waved his hand to stop everyone's discussion, and then said: "The situation here is like this, and we should report the truth to Jinyang. The bandits and robbers who are in and out of Jiexiu must be immediately investigated and eliminated. As for the personnel risks elsewhere, you must wait for the Supreme to execute them, and you can't act on your own!"

After hearing this, everyone was a little disappointed. However, with the enemy at hand, they were not willing to ignore the danger of the country for their own selfish desires, so they could only nod their heads and agree. Then, under the order of Houmo Chenxiang, they divided their troops to guard the two northern passages of Queshu Valley and Qianlijing, and patrolled the countryside to search for the robbers who had participated in the looting of the storehouse.

When the envoy sent by Houmo Chenxiang arrived in Jinyang, Qi Lord Gao Yang had already known the news that Jiexiu City had been breached and looted by the enemy. After all, the fleeing soldiers and civilians in Jiexiu City also spread the news that the enemy had invaded Bingzhou around Jinyang City, making the atmosphere inside and outside Jinyang City even more tense and solemn.

Gao Yang also knew about military affairs for a long time, so he would not be easily fooled by Houmo Chenxiang's report. No matter how many other excuses and reasons there were, there was no doubt that Houmo Chenxiang, who led the army to fight on the front line, would bear the main responsibility for this defeat!

"The dog thief is incapable of resisting the bandits, and he wants to blame others. He really deserves to die!"

After reading Hou Mochen Xiang's report, Gao Yang tore it into pieces in anger, and cursed loudly, and then shouted: "How many troops do you have now? Gather all at Jin Temple. I will go south to defeat the bandits myself and see if the Qiang bandits are really uncontrollable!"

"Your Majesty, please calm down, calm down!"

After hearing this, everyone in the hall was a little panicked, and they hurriedly kowtowed to persuade him.

Although Hou Mochen Xiang's battle was indeed ugly, it cannot be denied that he is indeed a prudent veteran who has been in the military for half his life. The failure of the war must have been due to objective difficulties, and this report may not be entirely shirking responsibility.

Although the Jinyang Armored Forces had gathered nearly 50,000 troops, the Queshu Valley and Qianlijing were already under the control of the enemy, and it was still unknown how many troops the enemy had gathered in the north of Pingyang. Under such circumstances, it was not a good idea for the monarch to rush out rashly, and the fate of the country could depend on this battle at any minute.

Moreover, in recent years, the emperor's ambition and strength had declined, and he was no longer as wise and brave as he was in the early years of Tianbao. Naturally, they did not dare to let the emperor go to the front line to take risks without superior military strength.

Under the repeated persuasion of everyone, Gao Yang temporarily gave up the idea of ​​going south to fight in person, and immediately ordered the minister Tang Yong to speed up the gathering of the troops. At the same time, he sent Hedong King Pan Zihuang to lead another 10,000 troops to the south to reinforce Jiexiu and prevent the enemy army from returning to the territory. As for Houmo Chenxiang, he was stripped of his official title and made to serve as a commoner to make meritorious contributions.

The Northern Qi was in chaos because of the loss of the main road. After looting Jiexiu City, He Ruodun and his entourage spent another two days to retreat to Jiqiyuan via a thousand-mile path.

This time Gao Le finally did not miss it. After receiving the report from his subordinates, he stood outside the gate early and waited. When he saw He Ruo Dun and his party returning with a full load, he smiled and bowed, saying: "Congratulations, Mr. He Ruo, the division has just arrived and won the first battle, boasting to the enemy country!"

He Ruo Dun rode his horse until he was close to him without getting off the horse. He looked down at Gao Le from a high position and said in a nonchalant tone: "The reason why I fought bravely this time is not to compete with you, Gao Wu. The children in the household followed the troops. They are impetuous and noisy but shallow in knowledge. Therefore, I led them north to see the scenery of the bandit territory and killed some bandits along the way. It is not worth mentioning."

While speaking, he raised his hand and pointed to his son He Ruobi in the team, indicating that he was really just taking the child out for a walk this time. He casually rushed to the front of Gao Le and other vanguard divisions and picked up the credit by the way.

Gao Le knew what kind of character this guy had, but after hearing this, he couldn't help but get so angry that his temples throbbed. He simply ignored He Ruo Dun and pointed at He Ruo Bi and praised him with a fake smile: "This boy is really brave, and he is very impressive in the enemy's territory. Are you willing to join my army and help you become famous in the country in this battle?"

"This, this... Thank you General Gao for your praise. I still want to be selected as one of the three guards and be taught by the leader. This time I followed my father to the battle, just to accumulate experience and make progress..."

After hearing this, He Ruo Bi waved his hands and said, he didn't even think highly of his father, so how could he agree to Gao Le's recruitment.

But this answer still made Gao Le laugh, and naturally he couldn't help but praise this kid for being more knowledgeable than his father, and then he looked back at He Ruo Dun and asked: "Since you have marched here, has the master ordered you to pass on any instructions? Should our vanguard continue to attack or stay here?"

"Before the departure, the master was already close to Fenqu. Neither you nor I are the good choices for the master to guard the important road. For the time being, we will stay here and wait for orders."

After hearing this, He Ruo Dun replied again, and immediately invited Gao Le to enter the camp to discuss in detail.