Tibet

The topography of northern Dengzhou is high in the west and low in the east. The Funiu Mountains stretch for thousands of miles, while to the east is Fangcheng Mountain that stretches for hundreds of miles. In fact, Fangcheng Mountain is the remnant of Funiu Mountain. There is a fault zone between the two mountains. There are large and small canyons, and it is these canyons that form the passages going south.

Luyang Pass is located in the southernmost part of the canyon, guarding the official road that must pass through. To the south is the low-lying Nanyang Basin.

It is about 500 miles from Liang County to Luyang Pass. Six thousand cavalry have to run for three days. The last supply is in Ye County. After passing Ye County, there is a hilly area with complex terrain and no supplies. They need to run in one breath. Two hundred miles.

At dusk that day, the cavalry team arrived at the Long Snake Valley. The Long Snake Valley is about twenty miles long and relatively narrow. As the name suggests, it looks like a long snake.

The commander-in-chief Wu Lingnan waved his hand and said: "Slow down!"

The team slowed down, and the cavalry behind them also followed up. The team that was originally more than ten miles long was reduced to about three miles in a short period of time.

The team entered the valley, which was still sixty miles away from Luyang Pass. Although there was no possibility of enemy troops, Wu Lingnan was still very cautious out of a general's instinct and ordered spies to explore the road ahead while the team advanced slowly.

After walking for about ten miles, the sky gradually darkened. Wu Lingnan looked at the mountains and forests on both sides. There were many shadows on both sides, hiding murderous intent. He had an uneasy feeling.

Suddenly, there were frightened birds flying in the sky above the forest on the left. Wu Lingnan's expression suddenly changed and he shouted: "No, there is an ambush!"

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a rapid bang sound, "Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The Tang army ambushing on both sides raised their crossbows and fired arrows like rain. The Yan army cavalry were unable to dodge and fell off their horses one after another, screaming in agony.

The soldiers who reacted hurriedly raised their shields to resist. Wu Lingnan waved his sword and shouted: "Follow me to break out!"

The remaining five thousand cavalrymen accelerated their horses and ran southward following Wu Lingnan.

After running for several miles, a huge pile of logs suddenly appeared in front of them, with hundreds of logs in them, blocking the way.

Wu Lingnan saw that the sides were steep and could not be climbed on horseback, so he turned around and shouted: "Move the wood quickly!"

Hundreds of soldiers jumped off their horses and tried their best to carry the wood. At this moment, a general exclaimed: "Why is there black mud under my feet?"

The soldiers all discovered that the ground was covered with a thick layer of black mud and the smell was pungent.

Suddenly, several rockets were fired from both sides and landed on the black mud, causing the black mud to burst into flames.

Thousands of cavalry were suddenly plunged into a sea of ​​flames. The soldiers screamed, the horses neighed in fear, and the soldiers behind them turned around and ran north.

At this time, countless burning trees fell on the mountain road. The soldiers were in a mess, and the retreat was blocked by huge trees. The mountain road was full of burning trees, with thick smoke billowing and flames flying.

The soldiers of the Yan army fell into extreme panic. They jumped off their horses one after another and climbed up the hillside on their hands and feet.

But soon, the pine forest on the hillside also caught fire. The fire became more intense and spread extremely quickly, far exceeding the running speed of the soldiers.

The more than 3,000 soldiers who had just climbed up the mountain could not escape the speed of the flames, and were engulfed by the raging fire amidst desperate screams.

The official road below also turned into hell. The entire official road was filled with thick smoke, and it was impossible to see the fingers of one's hand. The soldiers could not breathe and fainted from being choked.

This was a carefully planned fire attack and ambush. Only three hundred barrels of kerosene were used. The fierce fire engulfed a valley more than ten miles long with pines and cypresses on both sides. Six thousand Yan troops were also swallowed up at the same time. Hussar.

The five thousand troops led by An Taixuan were responsible for this fire attack. After lighting the fire, they quickly retreated towards Luyang Pass.

In the night, Li Ye stood on the gate of Luyang Pass, looking at a little fire and thick smoke in the distance. The fire was soaring into the sky, but sixty miles away, all he could see was a small spot of fire.

"How did the military advisor know that they would go south with light troops?" Li Ye asked with a smile.

Li Mi stood next to him. He put his hands behind his back and smiled slightly: "In the final analysis, it is still a matter of underestimating the enemy. They will definitely think that we are too late to go north. There is no force in Luyang Pass. There is also intelligence telling them that the general has just led 20,000 troops to go north. .”

"Underestimating the enemy and false information?" Li Ye laughed.

"right!"

Li Mi said calmly, "Don't underestimate these two points. This is the root of almost all failures. Underestimating the enemy and false information successfully deceived the Yan army generals and counselors. They thought we were still struggling northward south of Nanyang."

Li Ye nodded, and he ordered Pei Xiu to lead an army of 10,000 men under his own banner, disguised as an army of 20,000 men, and march northward with great momentum. However, he himself led 10,000 cavalry to the north quietly six days ago.

Although I don’t know where the other party’s intelligence point is? But just deceive all your own people.

Then the other party can also be deceived.

"Yes! Why would An Qingxu think that we will abandon Luyang Pass? If he has the intention to underestimate the enemy, then they will definitely lose."

Three days later, An Qingxu received an express report that his six thousand light cavalry had been ambushed and the entire army was destroyed. This news made An Qingxu furious and cursed his counselors and generals.

"They are all a bunch of losers. I told you to play it safe and steady, but you all go to Qingqi for a sneak attack. Who knows Li Ye? Is it me or you!"

All the counselors and generals lowered their heads in shame.

Lieutenant General Tian Chengsi stepped forward and said: "Your Highness, we have indeed underestimated the enemy. Luyang Pass is very important. We know that the other party also knows that Li Ye deceived our intelligence spies.

The intelligence spies sent us a false message, which actually tricked us..."

Tian Chengsi wanted to pass the responsibility to the intelligence agents, but An Qingxu impatiently waved his hand to interrupt him, "Now is not the time to pursue the responsibility. Think about what to do next?"

Tian Chengsi was a little embarrassed, so he could only say reluctantly: "Your Highness is right, we really need to fight steadily. Now we have to consider how to attack Luyang Pass and how to establish a logistics base?"

An Qingxu glared at the counselors fiercely, "Go ahead! Don't underestimate the enemy again this time."

Zhang Tongru felt ashamed and said: "His Highness knows Li Ye. I have passed through Luyang Pass before. This pass is still very dangerous. This means that it cannot be captured in a short time. Then the logistics of our army need to be well guaranteed. It can be We regard Yexian County as a logistics center, but Yexian County is two hundred miles away from Luyang Pass, so I suggested building two transit warehouses along the way, which would greatly ease the difficulty of transporting logistical materials."

Tian Chengsi worriedly said: "If we build a transit warehouse, we are afraid of a sneak attack by the Tang army!"

Zhang Tongru shook his head and said, "We can't stop raising pigs because we're afraid they will get sick. If we add more troops for defense and the transit warehouse is built stronger, it shouldn't be a big problem."

Another general, Wu Lingyu, said: "It is better to find a way around the mountain and attack Nanyang. Once Nanyang is occupied, the Tang army will retreat!"

Zhang Tongru sneered and said: "This is the same as the previous sneak attack on Luyang Pass. It is easy to capture Nanyang, but won't Li Ye have a defense? Once Nanyang cannot be captured, how will this army be supplied? There is no logistics, no Reinforcements, unfamiliar with the place, will be wiped out in the end."

An Qingxu shook his head, "In front of Li Ye, don't think about making surprise attacks, you should still fight steadily."

Speaking of this, An Qingxu glanced at Niu Jieting and asked, "Why is Mr. Niu so silent today?"

Niu Jieting said slowly: "I am thinking about my humble position. In fact, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty sent King Xiang Li Huan to Xiangyang, which means that he did not know that Li Ye was in Xiangyang. We should tell Li Longji this news, and then sow discord between Li Longji and Li Ye, so that they can If the conflict intensifies, Li Longji will definitely remove Li Ye from military power and recall Li Ye to Chang'an. Once Li Ye returns to Chang'an and Li Huan takes charge of Xiangyang, we will easily capture Nanyang and Xiangyang."

An Qingxu nodded, "This countermeasure is good, but it should not be implemented by us. I will write a letter to my father and ask him to arrange for Liu Luogu to implement it. We will attack Luyang Pass according to the original plan."

An Qingxu was determined. He wrote a letter to his father An Lushan, asking him to implement counterintuitive schemes to provoke conflicts between Li Longji and Li Ye. He led more than 50,000 troops and a team of grain and grass supplies to advance towards Yecheng. .

In Xiangyang, Liu Xun came to a mansion, where King Xiang Li Huan was under house arrest.

Liu Xun finally chose to be loyal to Li Ye and was appointed governor of Xiangzhou, becoming Li Dai's right-hand man.

Today he came to Li Huan to persuade Li Huan to face reality and save his life.

Li Ye did not treat Li Huan badly. He hired more than a dozen prostitutes to accompany Li Huan to eat, drink and have fun. They also provided him with a dragon beard pill at night, and he lived an extremely debauched and decadent life.

Li Huan was startled when he saw Liu Xun, "Weren't you killed by bandits, sir?"

Liu Xun shook his head, "Like His Highness, I was captured by bandits and went up the mountain, and was also rescued by officers and soldiers. It's just that when I was rescued, Your Highness had already left."

"I see, what is sir doing?"

"I work for the observation envoy Li Dai. I would like to serve His Highness, but it seems that there is no place for me to be useful."

Li Huan sighed and said: "I am under house arrest here by Li Ye. I have no power at all, not to mention military power. Sir, tell me, what should I do now?"

Liu Xun lowered his voice and said, "Your Highness is in a very dangerous situation now. Once the Emperor and Li Ye turn against each other, the first person Li Ye will kill will probably be Your Highness."

Li Huan was shocked, "What should we do?"

"The key is to make His Highness useful. As long as His Highness is useful, Li Ye will not kill His Highness!"

Li Huan understood this sentence deeply. It was precisely because he was useful that the bandits did not kill him.

Li Huan looked frustrated and said, "What else can I be used for?"

Liu Xun suggested: "His Highness should formally declare to Li Ye that he is willing to be the supervisor of the army, and then write a letter to the emperor to support Li Ye in guarding Xiangyang, and His Highness is willing to be the supervisor of the army. In this way, His Highness will not threaten Li Ye's military power. , you can live in peace with each other, and if the emperor thinks about His Highness, he will also accept the reality."

It seemed that there was no other way besides this. Li Huan had no choice but to sigh, "Okay! I follow your husband's suggestion and I will write a letter to my father."

Historically, the Tang army was ambushing the rebels in Snake Valley. They were all new soldiers and had no experience in ambushing. However, they were discovered by the rebels, who in turn burned the Tang army. The Tang army was defeated miserably.