Northern Dynasties Imperial Industry

The main force of the Wei army has arrived at Dingzhou City and launched an attack, but the Qi army in the Tumen camp still made no move. Even though Li Boshan personally came to the camp and shouted that the corpses of his countrymen and elders should be wiped out, King Duan Shao of Pingyuan still did not order the attack. .

Such a passive and conservative attitude naturally made the soldiers very dissatisfied. Even some non-Dingzhou generals couldn't help but join the ranks of seeking war. They really couldn't stand such arrogant provocation by the Wei army.

However, in response to the generals' invitation to fight, Duan Shao just responded with a straight face: "The enemy is coming with anger, and it is difficult to contain its momentum. We need to wait for the veterans of the division to become tired and the arrogant generals to lose their temper before we can defeat them quickly." Now, the city of Dingzhou is strong and the soldiers are loyal and brave. They are not in danger for the time being and can withstand the enemy's attack. You and other generals are stationed in their camps to wait for the opportunity to go to war. "

Duan Shao always had a high prestige in the army. Although the generals were eager to go to war now, after hearing this, they all restrained themselves and returned to the camp to appease the sergeants.

Although he did not directly send troops to stop the Wei army's northward advance, Duan Shao would not turn a blind eye to his military actions. He still sent many scouts to the battlefield in Dingzhou City to closely monitor the Wei army's actions in case he failed to rescue and was really captured. The Wei army captured Dingzhou City.

Because whether Dingzhou City can be defended is not only related to the stability of the situation here, but also related to the communication with the northern states. There are still tens of thousands of border guards stationed in the northern states such as Youzhou and Yingzhou. If the domestic situation deteriorates further, these troops will inevitably have to return to the country to aid. If Dingzhou is lost, these troops will have difficulty entering and exiting Hebei.

The governor of Youzhou was Hu Luxian, and Duan Shao didn't know what Jinyang's instructions and arrangements were for this group of people. But even without this reason, he could not sit back and watch Dingzhou City fall. Once Dingzhou was also captured by the Wei army, his troops would really be trapped in Jingxing and lose control of their advance and retreat.

On this day, Gao Changgong and several other troops walked into the tent with hurried steps and ugly expressions. Duan Shao couldn't help but feel depressed when he saw their expressions, and he quickly asked: "What happened?"

"The Wei army came out with all its elite cavalry and captured our scouts. Many of the soldiers were unable to retreat and were captured by thieves."

Gao Changgong came in and reported in a low voice. Duan Shao also frowned after hearing this. However, seeing Gao Changgong's expression as if he still had unfinished business, he quickly asked, "What else is there?"

"The captured scouts have been released, but they were humiliated by the rebels..."

At this point, Gao Changgong couldn't help but show anger on his face, and said bitterly: "The Qiang thieves are so shameless. They will do anything to destroy the morale of our army!"

After hearing the words, the other generals all nodded in agreement, with angry expressions on their faces, which showed that they were really angry.

After Duan Shao saw this, he went out of his tent and summoned the sergeants who had been released. In the meantime, these sergeants were all stripped of their military uniforms. The linen blankets they were wrapped in were probably put on to cover their bodies after returning to camp, and the others Words such as "cowardless rats" were tattooed on their chests and backs.

After seeing this scene, Duan Shao finally understood why Gao Changgong and others were so angry. It is said that soldiers can be killed but not humiliated. It is indeed unbearable that Wei Jun actually made such provocations.

However, based on past experience, Duan Shao also knew that when fighting Li Boshan, various unexpected situations would occur, and he was mentally prepared for this.

Although he was very angry in his heart, he quickly regained his composure and comforted the scouts who had been released. Then he arranged for them to be placed in a separate camp so as not to mix with the ordinary camp soldiers, and then returned. In the tent, he said in a deep voice: "This behavior of Wei Jun is indeed hateful, but it also shows that he is very eager to fight with me. Li Boshan has lived up to his reputation as a hero and even used such despicable methods.

If I were really provoked and went to fight, I would undoubtedly play into the enemy's hands. Whatever the thief wants, I will not do it. Now that the enemy is marching here, there is a fortified city in front of them that is difficult to defeat, and there is a strong army threatening behind them. If their troops are old, they will definitely lose their foothold in advance and retreat. At this time, it is even more important to maintain control and not to attack rashly, lest the enemy forces attack them separately! "

"Can't we cooperate with the division and brigade in Dingzhou City to attack and annihilate the enemy?"

Although he knew that what Duan Shao said was indeed true, Gao Changgong was still full of resentment when he thought of being so humiliated by Wei Jun, and he still wanted to retaliate harshly.

"There is no need to discuss this matter again. If such a thing happens again, personnel should be properly arranged as soon as possible. Don't let it shake the morale of the army!"

Although Duan Shao said he was very calm, he was still feeling agitated in his heart and did not want to discuss this issue any further, so he waved his hand again and said.

Jingxing is not a dangerous pass that Maruni can block. As long as you guard the Tumen, you will have no worries. The enemy forces in Hebei are not the only ones active in the surrounding area. There is also an enemy force in the direction of Bafu Ridge that is constantly launching attacks. Moreover, Jingxing still needs to maintain effective response to Jinyang, so the timing of the attack must be carefully chosen.

Now that Yedu has been lost, the Qi army has also lost a strong support for its attack. If it just chooses to fight in the field with the Wei army, its own advantages will not be fully highlighted. Of course, the most important point is that Duan Shao was not confident that he could quickly defeat the main force of the Wei army in Hebei led by Li Boshan, so he chose to use Dingzhou to consume the enemy's combat effectiveness.

The provocative actions of the Wei army against the Qi army at Tumen Pass are endless, and there are new tricks every day, which directly raise the blood pressure of the soldiers in the Qi army camp at Tumen Pass. If it were not for Duan Shao's high prestige, he would not be able to suppress the angry soldiers.

Just as the Qi army's patience was constantly challenged at Tumen Pass, the envoy from Jinyang also arrived at the Tumen Pass camp to convey the emperor's order. When Duan Shao learned that the emperor wanted him to withdraw some troops to return to Jinyang for cooperation, he frowned and felt troubled.

Although it is said that there is no formal battle with the Wei army in the east, in theory, the defenders here can indeed withdraw part of it to save Jinyang. But the problem is that the commander of the Wei army here is Li Boshan. Duan Shao personally led the army and sat here, and he still felt like walking on thin ice. If a group of troops were withdrawn to Jinyang, it was unknown whether he could defend Jingxing.

But if he didn't respond, Jinyang was in a critical situation. If Jinyang was in chaos, it would be meaningless for him to defend Jingxing. And if Jinyang could hold on, he would be a bit ruthless if he kept his troops on standby when the emperor ordered him to do so.

After weighing the pros and cons, Duan Shao decided to return to Jinyang to see how the situation was. If Jinyang responded appropriately, that would be the best. If the situation continued to deteriorate, they would naturally need to reach a consensus to overcome the difficulties together.

However, before leaving, he still had to make careful arrangements for military affairs. He summoned Gao Changgong and several trusted generals and said, "The distance between Tumen and Dingzhou City is 300 miles. Even if it is a light cavalry, it will take a lot of time to go back and forth. Now I will stay here and the enemy will find it difficult to tell the real situation.

I will return to the court in a few days. You should stay in the camp and don't go out lightly. Li Boshan's military tactics are quite cunning. Although his troops are heading north, since he intends to attack me, he will ambush them on the way. Even if you have something to do, you must go back and forth..."

Gao Changgong and others saw Duan Shao's serious expression, so they nodded in agreement, but they couldn't help but He said, "If Dingzhou is in danger of being broken, should we still hold on and not help?"

Duan Shao was about to say that the defense of Dingzhou City was still strong, but then he thought of Li Boshan's past record between He and Luo, and he no longer had much confidence in this. After a moment of silence, he said, "If Dingzhou is really difficult to defend, you can't save it. Just hold on to the camp and wait for me to return. Remember, remember!"

When he said this, his eyes fell directly on Gao Changgong. He knew that he was young and arrogant, underestimated the danger, and might not be willing to abide by his orders, so he gave him more instructions.

After hearing this, Gao Changgong certainly felt a little uncomfortable, but when he saw Duan Shao's serious and heavy eyes, he slowly nodded and said, "Please rest assured, Prince Lu, I will never attack rashly!"

After explaining these things, Duan Shao led a team of personal soldiers to leave the Tumenguan camp and head west along the Jingxing Mountain Road to Jinyang. In order to avoid being discovered by Li Boshan, he did not dare to directly dispatch the troops in the Tumenguan camp. If he really needed to dispatch troops here to cooperate in the battle after returning to Jinyang, he could also dispatch the garrison in Yangquan, where there were thousands of elite soldiers to assist in the defense of the Bafuling line.

When Duan Shao quietly returned to Jinyang, the situation in Jinyang had changed again. Before, Hulugu volunteered to go to Yangqu to fight the enemy. Not long after he arrived, he encountered a surging enemy from the south. After a fierce battle, he temporarily forced the enemy back to Sizhou City and did not directly invade the vicinity of Jinyang.

The reason why Hulugu was able to temporarily block the enemy was, on the one hand, because the Qi army fought bravely, and on the other hand, the enemy's offensive was relatively chaotic.

After entering from Xingling, the Western Wei army was still able to advance and retreat in an orderly manner, but the Turkic army that entered the Great Wall for the first time was like a mouse falling into a rice jar. For a while, they couldn't help but forget themselves and roamed and looted in Sizhou.

The Turkic Uzun Khan also learned more about the latest battle situation from the Qi army captives. When he learned that although the King of Tang had captured Hebei, he still hadn't broken through the Jingxing Pass to reach Jinyang.

Although he didn't know the significance of these passes, when he heard that the King of Tang had not yet arrived in Jinyang, his previous awe of the King of Tang was inevitably replaced by contempt, and he returned to his previous casual attitude in marching cooperation. It was the Wei army that was eager to capture Jinyang, but he didn't care about it. It would be better to slow down the offensive and loot in Sizhou first.

For the sake of safety, the commander of the Wei army, Yuwen Gui, saw that the Turkic army had become scattered again, so he did not rush to advance directly. Instead, he first marched southward with Yinshan City as the vanguard. As a result, he encountered stubborn resistance from the Qi army in Yangqu, so he temporarily stationed troops in Sizhou City.

The defense line around Jinyang was broken before, and the situation was extremely critical. However, after the initial panic, when the soldiers and civilians of Jinyang found that no enemy army could directly reach the city of Jinyang, the panic was calmed down.

This was also the case with Qi Lord Gao Yan. Although he knew that this situation was only temporary and that there was no danger to defend around Jinyang, he was more or less calm in his heart. However, when Duan Shao returned to Jinyang, Gao Yan still expressed his hope that Duan Shao could return to Jinyang: "Although the enemy troops in Hebei are formidable, the dangerous pass of Jingxing is also difficult to break through. The two places are not far apart, and it is still in time for Wang Zaigui to take charge when the bandit leader advances westward."

Gao Yan was deeply touched by Hulugu's advice before he left. He felt that Jinyang was in danger and that Hulugu alone could not handle it. If Duan Shao could return, the situation would be more stable.

But Duan Shao still frowned and said, "Li Boshan is not an easy person to deal with. I am at the front line and dispatching troops, but I dare not say that I will win. If I am far away from the battlefield and have no news, I will inevitably be more nervous. So please allow me to return to the east. If I don't die, Li Boshan will not be able to easily enter Jingxing!"

Hearing Duan Shao's serious answer, Gao Yan couldn't help but feel sad. He walked down the hall and held Duan Shao's wrist, sighing and saying, "The king is the pillar of the country, the king If it doesn't exist, the country will also be in turmoil. Alas, in a few years, the situation has become so dangerous. I have failed my country and my ancestors... If I can survive this disaster, I will cry to the heavens and ancestors, summon the kings and other meritorious people, and then select the wise men to occupy the honorable position for the country. "

"Your Majesty, I will never obey your words! Your Majesty is the legitimate son of the God of War and the eldest of the clan. You are in an honorable position and are destined by heaven. A moment of weakness is not eternal. The monarch and his subjects will definitely turn the tide when they are united!"

After hearing this, Duan Shao kowtowed and said.

After hearing this, Gao Yan was moved again. He personally took out the hood and cloak for Duan Shao to put on, and sent him out of Jinyang Palace all the way before waving goodbye reluctantly.

Duan Shao's trip to Jinyang this time took less than two days, but the situation outside Tumen Pass had changed greatly.

Although Li Tai's original intention was to draw out the enemy troops in Jingxing, it did not mean that he was not serious about attacking Dingzhou City. In order to continue to put pressure on the soldiers and civilians in Dingzhou City, he used all his means after arriving at Dingzhou City. In addition to the basic siege methods such as earthen hills, long sieges, cloud ladders and tunnels, he naturally did not hide the Heyang Cannon, a siege weapon, and arranged them all for Dingzhou City.

In previous years, the cities such as Jinyong and Heyang between Heluo enjoyed such treatment. Now, thanks to Gao Sihao and the Li family of Zhaojun, the soldiers and civilians of Dingzhou have also witnessed the power of the thunder-like Heyang Cannon. Moreover, since the Wei army participating in the attack on Dingzhou City this time had more troops than ever before, Dingzhou City also enjoyed the extreme pressure of the day and night attack.

The destructive power of the Heyang Cannon itself was not that great, but the psychological impact and shock it caused was unparalleled. The high corner towers on the Dingzhou city wall became the target of the Heyang Cannon. As long as the soldiers and civilians of the entire Dingzhou city raised their heads, they could see those corner towers being blown into pieces by the cannonballs that fell like meteors and meteorites. Everyone was shocked and their hair stood on end.

Many things are often heard but not seen. Although Gao Sihao is also a brave general in the country, he mainly guarded the northern border in previous years and did not have much experience in participating in the war between the east and the west. Therefore, compared with those generals who suffered between Heluo and Luoyang, they did have less respect for Li Boshan. But now that the King of Tang personally led the division to attack, the lack of respect was immediately made up, and even doubled!

"The Wei army's offensive was so fierce... They were shouting outside the city to persuade us to surrender before. It was really a trick! Who would believe such inconsistency and fickleness?"

When people are extremely worried, even basic emotions will be blurred. Facing such a fierce offensive by the Wei army, Gao Sihao didn't even know whether to be frightened or glad that the Wei army exposed its hypocrisy.

This fierce offensive was also very effective. With the bombardment of the tunnel and the Heyang cannon, at dusk on the second day of the offensive, a corner of the wall in the southwest corner of Dingzhou City collapsed, revealing a gap. Hundreds of elite soldiers of the Wei army directly attacked the city. Gao Sihao personally led the city guards to defend the city. The fierce battle lasted until nightfall before the Wei army that entered the city was temporarily expelled from the city, and then the gap was quickly repaired with fences in the city.

Although the Wei army did not take advantage of this to break through Dingzhou City in one fell swoop, the fact that a gap was made in the defense of Dingzhou City so quickly shocked the soldiers and civilians in the city.

Although the pressure brought by the Wei army's siege was huge, Gao Sihao did not succumb. He knew that once the city was broken, he would inevitably die, so he was determined to die with the city.

However, the Dingzhou city defense, which he had great confidence in before, was so vulnerable that he was more or less worried. Although he recaptured and repaired the city defense, he was still worried. When he retreated to the city to rest, he even considered whether to kill someone else to stabilize the morale of the army?

After nightfall, in view of the substantial progress made in the siege today, Li Tai also ordered a temporary halt to the offensive and another wave of persuasion to surrender to shake the morale of the army. Whether the soldiers and civilians in the city believed it or not, it was always beneficial without cost. Moreover, the Wei army surrendered and disintegrated those middle and lower-level soldiers and ordinary people. Even in the persuasion, Gao Sihao and other upper-level generals were named and must die.

In order to prevent the Wei army's persuasion from really taking effect, Gao Sihao ordered the residents near the city wall to retreat to the city, and at the same time had people beat drums on the city walls to suppress the voices of persuasion. However, in this way, the soldiers and civilians in the city could no longer expect to have a quiet rest environment.

In this noisy area, there were indeed some undercurrents.

In a private house in the city, in the dark inner hall shrouded in darkness at night, a figure sat by the window and asked in a low voice: "Have you decided whether you want to go out and surrender to the King of Tang Dynasty? The Wei army's offensive is fierce, and we have seen it today. The city defense is really strong." It is difficult to maintain for a long time. Before the war started, King Nan'an was already so scared that he wanted to kill his wife to scare the people. If the situation worsened, there was no telling what crazy behavior he would do.

The former Li family in Zhaojun were forced by him and had completely turned against Wei. Now my brother is also involved in the Wei State. If the King of Nan'an wants to strengthen his determination to die with him, he may also want to target our brother. I heard that because of our uncle’s kindness to the King of Tang, he was very honored in the Wei Kingdom. If we are willing to go out of the city to work together, the King of Tang will definitely welcome us..."

The three figures in the room are three brothers. Their father's name is He Bayun, and the uncle they call is He Basheng.

The three brothers of the Heba family were at the top of their game at the beginning of the Six Towns Mutiny. Needless to say, He Basheng and He Bayue, their elder brother He Bayun was not an unknown person either. Unlike He Basheng and He Bayue, who each dominated one side, He Bayun chose to cooperate with Gao Huan. Back then, Gao Huan was able to win the leadership of the six town soldiers from Er Zhu Zhao, and He Bayun also came out. It took a lot of effort, but because after Xiaowu fled to the west and the East and West split, Gao Huan still killed He Bayun out of suspicion.

However, He Bayun's sons, Gao Huan, still stayed and were placed in Dingzhou. They are the three brothers who are currently conspiring against each other in the dark room. Their names are He Bashiwen, Heba Shile and Heba Shile. He Bananda.

Hearing their elder brother's suggestion, the other two brothers also nodded quickly and said: "The Gao family is a cruel and unethical family. It has been unkind to steal the country and enjoy it for so many years. Now there are finally warriors who have come to attack and destroy the thieves to defend the way. Let's Even though our brothers are weak, they should rise up and avenge their father!"

To be honest, their brothers' life in Northern Qi was not that bad. At least compared to their uncle He Basheng's sons, they were able to save their lives and live in Dingzhou with no worries about food and clothing. But if anyone thinks crocodile tears are sweet and nostalgic, then they really have something wrong with their brains. Now that they see the opportunity to take revenge on the Gao family, of course they can't hold back.

However, Gao Sihao's control over the city is still quite strong at the moment. Although the Heba Shiwen brothers have no worries about food and clothing, with such a life experience, it is destined to be difficult to establish any considerable influence in the city. Even if they are plotting an uprising now, they are just taking advantage of the strong pressure from the Wei army to stir up popular sentiment in the city and secretly gather some like-minded people.

Not to mention the undercurrent surging in Dingzhou City, such a fierce offensive by the Wei army also caused a great shock to the enemy forces in Jingxing.

Although there is some distance between the two places, there are always scouts coming and going to send messages. The Wei army encircled and suppressed a part of it before, but they were unable to completely seal off the wilderness around Dingzhou City. There were always fish that slipped through the net, and they deliberately let some go. The Qi army scouts asked him to send a message back to the Tumen camp to create a sense of urgency that time cannot wait.

At this time, the people in the Tumen camp were furious and everyone was eager to fight. Duan Shao was able to restrain the generals in a fashion, but after Duan Shao left, no one could take charge of the overall situation. Although Gao Changgong had a distinguished status, his qualifications were relatively low. Duan Shao did not dare to directly appoint him to be in charge of the military affairs temporarily because he was worried about his young impulsiveness.

As the bad situation in Dingzhou continued to spread, and the Wei army continued to engage in provocative actions, without sufficient restraint, a small Qi army finally couldn't stand it anymore and took advantage of the patrol. On this occasion, he left the camp and headed towards the Hutuo River, hoping to wait for an opportunity to take revenge on the Wei army.