Chapter 1064 Jianzhou Is Suitable for Taking
As Hulugu left the battlefield with his personal soldiers, the Qi army soldiers in the valley became more chaotic after losing the command and dispatch of their leader. The formation that was dispersed by the heavily armored soldiers led by Yang Zhong was difficult to reorganize.
Although these soldiers were brave, they still needed cooperation between the troops to truly exert their combat effectiveness on the battlefield. As the situation became chaotic, many soldiers had no intention of fighting and simply fled to the two ends of the valley and even the mountains on both sides.
Although Yang Zhong saw where Hulugu and his party were going, it was not convenient to climb and chase them in armor, and the number of enemy troops in the valley was still not small, so it was not convenient to take off the armor and chase the enemy directly.
So he was not in a hurry to chase the enemy, but instead ordered the armored soldiers around him to form a dense battle formation with overlapping front and back at the bottom of the valley, and then turned around and killed them again along the way they came.
This time, the battle formation was no longer the long snake formation that was easy to penetrate deep into the valley, but an arrow-shaped battle formation that seemed to suddenly burst out like a mountain torrent and filled the valley. The solid armor and sharp long swords pushed straight out from the inside of the valley, rushing towards the already undisciplined Qi army soldiers in the valley, becoming more and more unstoppable.
Although the team's advancement speed was not fast due to the mountain terrain and its own weight, the suffocating sense of oppression was as real as it was, making the Qi army soldiers in the valley more and more frightened.
At this time, there were still two or three thousand Qi army soldiers in the valley. As the heavy armored infantry fought back from the inside, there were also Qi army generals who tried to reorganize the soldiers around them and put together a combat team of hundreds of people to try to break through the enemy formation.
However, such attempts are often futile. After suffering certain casualties, the soldiers retreated and lost the courage to fight. So they fled to the other side of the valley where there seemed to be no enemies, hoping to break out of the valley and escape from the battle by relying on the complex terrain here.
However, the outside of the valley had already been set up with a net of heaven and earth, and all the dangerous places were guarded by Wei soldiers. When these Qi soldiers were driven out of the valley, they subconsciously fled, but they were blocked without exception, or captured, or killed on the spot. Only a few were able to escape the encirclement.
As more and more enemy soldiers were captured and killed after escaping from the valley, Yang Yu, who had been fighting unfavorably before, gradually regained his status. He actively dispatched the troops near him outside the valley, gradually shrinking the encirclement, and finally joined forces with Yang Zhong and his party who had re-emerged at the exit of the valley.
Regardless of the outcome of this battle, after Yang Zhong led the soldiers to fight back and forth in the valley, the group was exhausted. When they reached the valley, some soldiers even had no strength to stand and fell directly on the rocks.
"Take off the helmet first, and wait for the armor to be removed!"
Yang Zhong was already exhausted and sweating profusely. He needed the soldiers to come forward to help him stand steadily. His helmet was removed, revealing a wet face as if washed by water. He told the soldiers in a hoarse and tired tone to relieve the fatigue after the fierce battle.
Although heavy armor provided reliable protection for the soldiers, it also added a heavy burden. When they were on the battlefield, they could still maintain their spirits, but as the battle ended, all kinds of discomfort suddenly surged from their bodies. Some soldiers fainted and went into shock on the spot because of their extreme strength, and even died of ruptured internal organs and bleeding from the mouth and nose. They had to be properly relieved and treated.
After leaving the battle, Yang Zhong and other heavily armored soldiers gradually took off their armor and relieved their fatigue, while Yang Yu directed other soldiers to finish the battle, continue to hunt down the remaining enemies, clean up the battlefield, and collect armor, weapons, horses and other items on the battlefield.
"Lord Anlu, a great victory! This battle killed more than 3,000 bandits, and the number of armor, horses, weapons and sticks is also considerable! According to the prisoners, the number of bandits who came this time was less than 5,000. Excluding those who stayed along the way, most of them were killed, and there were only more than 1,000 who fled."
When the inventory on the battlefield just came to a rough result, Yang Yu couldn't help but report to Yang Zhong to share this joy, and then bowed his head and said: "Fortunately, Lord Anlu worked tirelessly and feared no danger, and decided to immediately launch an offensive against the bandits in the mountain valley. The bandits did have a plan to break out at night, trying to break through the obstruction here and disturb Fenqu, Puzhou and other places."
Speaking of this, Yang Yu shouted for relief, and couldn't help but secretly feel lucky in his heart. He was the main person in charge of this direction of Guzhongdao. Although there were many reasons for the previous unfavorable battle, one of the more important factors was that he underestimated the enemy. He did not expect that the enemy would still be so tenacious and able to exert strong combat effectiveness after crossing many mountains, forcing him to withdraw from the valley and let the enemy settle here.
If Yang Zhong had not arrived and assumed the main counterattack mission, once the battle here was delayed until night, the enemy would break out after a short rest. According to the enemy's performance when he fought in the valley before, he really did not dare to say that he could continue to firmly block the enemy in the valley.
If the enemy fled into other areas of Hedong because of his unsuccessful interception, causing great turmoil, then Yang Yu's crime would be really serious. Even if Tang Gong remembered his old merits and did not kill him, he would no longer have a face to stand in the court.
After hearing the result, Yang Zhong nodded with satisfaction, and sighed: "Huolu Mingyue is also a leader among the bandits. He has inherited his father's style and dared to disturb our army's rear with thousands of soldiers. In terms of this intention, it is almost like the raid on Jinyang by the master last year. Fortunately, the master has made a thorough plan and arranged our troops here to wait for the enemy. Although the bandits have retreated, we still need to prevent them from returning and still need to be on high alert."
"After this incident, I feel deeply ashamed. Fortunately, with the help of Lord Anlu, it did not cause a big disaster. I will definitely cheer up and never let the enemy go again!"
After hearing this, Yang Yu hurriedly bowed his head and said that the reason why his attitude was so humble and respectful was that in addition to his gratitude to Yang Zhong and his fear of the past, he also had awe for Yang Zhong in his heart.
Yang Yu was also a veteran general of the time, active in the forefront of the confrontation between the East and the West, often thwarting the military actions of the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi, and even Hou Jing, a devil of the world, was thwarted by him. Naturally, he was somewhat arrogant in his heart, thinking that he just lacked the background of a garrison, otherwise his achievements might not have stopped at the moment.
But today, he not only personally experienced the power of Hulugu, the rising star of the Eastern Dynasty, but also witnessed Yang Zhong's strong control on the battlefield. Not to mention that he is now old and weak, even if he was strong and brave in the past, it would be difficult to do this, so the arrogance in his heart was greatly restrained.
Not to mention Yang Yu's self-examination, Yang Zhong couldn't help but show a thoughtful expression after seeing the Qi army's armor, horses, weapons and canes that he had confiscated.
During this period, Yang Zhong had been stationed on the west side of Mount Li in the east, preparing to attack Jianzhou from the east.
However, the attack on Jianzhou from here is also mountainous and rugged. After crossing Lishan, you will reach the Qinshui River Valley. From Qinshui to the east is Kongcangling, where Qin and Zhao once confronted each other in the Battle of Changping in the pre-Qin period. The road of Kongcangling is also winding and rugged, and the terrain is steep. After crossing Kongcangling and rushing out of Gaoping Pass, you can reach the Jincheng Basin where Jianzhou is located.
Although the Northern Qi did not deploy heavy troops on this line, the winding and rugged road itself is a considerable limitation, and it is inevitable to encounter the conventional city defense set up by the Northern Qi along the way, and it cannot ensure the secrecy of the march.
Once the news is known to Jianzhou, in addition to strengthening its own city defense, Jianzhou can also seek help from nearby Henei, Heyang and other places south of Taihang Mountain. At that time, if you want to successfully occupy Jianzhou, it will inevitably take a lot of effort.
Therefore, when the plan was first made, Yang Zhong wanted to cooperate with the main force of Pingyang. After the main force occupied the upper reaches of Qinshui and took control of the river valley, Yang Zhong's troops would cross the mountains and enter Jianzhou to shorten the enemy's reaction time.
But now, Hulugu, the main general of Heyang, really chose to take the risk and attack from the drum bell road. It can be imagined that Heyang did not regard Jianzhou as a target that needed support and reinforcement.
At the same time, a large number of Qi army horses and weapons were seized in this battle, which made Yang Zhong think of a way to disrupt the eyes and ears of the enemy in the east. He selected soldiers from the army to pretend to be scouts of Hulugu of Northern Qi, and went east in the name of a successful sneak attack and informing Jianzhou to support, so as to launch an attack on Jianzhou in advance.
After all, Hulugu escaped and retreated in this battle. With his strategy and wisdom, he might be able to infer Yang Zhong's intention to attack Jianzhou. Therefore, it is a very favorable choice to take Jianzhou directly while Hulugu has not yet retreated to Heyang to mobilize troops to reinforce Jianzhou.
Once the war begins, various variables and opportunities will arise. The various strategic concepts and plans before the war are only used as a reference. In the actual war process, generals need to adapt to the times and local conditions.
So after a little hesitation, Yang Zhong sent an envoy through Fenqu and rushed to the Pingyang front to report the situation here to Tang Gong and his own ideas. At the same time, he ordered Sima Yi, a general who was still stationed in the Lishan Camp, to receive the armor, horses, and canes seized in this battle, select elite soldiers as the front division, and prepare to cross the mountains to advance to Jianzhou.
As for Guzhong Road, although the possibility of the enemy attacking here again is not great, we should not relax our vigilance. Before Lord Tang on the Pingyang front made adjustments, Yang Yu was still in charge of staying here.
After making these arrangements, Yang Zhong had no time to stay here for long. He arranged for his men to stay here for a while to rest and escort the prisoners and supplies back, while he returned to the army first to prepare for the attack.