Chapter 79 The War between Sui and Tang Dynasties (9)
The arrows were as fast as lightning. The two sentries on the sentry tower were not prepared at all. They both screamed and collapsed. They were handled cleanly. Xiao Yannian and the other crossbowman looked at each other and made an excited gesture at the same time. Xiao Yannian Looking back and waving, twenty Sui soldiers hiding in the ravine jumped up and ran towards the camp on the top of the mountain carrying heavy kerosene bags.
Black kerosene was sprayed on the outer fence of the enemy camp, and sprayed into the camp from the gaps in the fence. Twenty Sui troops were busy in a group. At this moment, several Tang Jun sentries were alerted and hurriedly walked. I ran over to check and saw a group of black shadows outside the camp.
"There is an enemy!"
The sentry of the Tang Army suddenly shouted, "There is enemy situation!" A sentry ran and shouted, and the shout was particularly harsh in the night sky.
Seeing that there were still more than forty bags of kerosene, Xiao Yannian shouted: "Unplug the plug and throw it in directly!"
The soldiers pulled out the plugs one after another and threw the kerosene directly into the camp. At this time, hundreds of Tang Army soldiers in the camp rushed out of the tents and rushed towards the camp fence to the west. They fired arrows in a volley, and the two Sui Army scouts were unable to avoid them. , was hit by an arrow, screamed, and rolled down the hillside.
Seeing the critical situation, Xiao Yannian shouted, "Quickly retreat!"
The remaining Sui soldiers stumbled and ran down the mountain, but Xiao Yannian took three steps and two steps at a time, jumped into the ravine, and took out several kerosene bats from his pocket, which were actually on a thin wooden stick. , wrap the fire oil cloth in circles into a ball, ignite it and throw it out to start a fire. It is more practical than a rocket at short distances.
When a Sui soldier saw him jumping, he immediately lit a fire. Xiao Yannian lit a kerosene bat and threw it towards the camp fence. He threw five or six sticks in a row, and then the two of them rolled down the mountain with their heads in their hands.
The kerosene was quickly ignited, with red flames boiling and thick smoke billowing. The camp fence and dozens of tents on the top of the mountain were ignited. The fire was so fierce that it engulfed the entire camp in a moment. Five hundred Tang Army soldiers were burned and screamed. At one point, many people desperately rushed out of the camp and fled in all directions. Many people panicked and rolled down the cliff on the east. Dozens of people ran down the hillside on the west and were killed or captured by the Sui army scouts waiting here.
At this time, Cheng Yaojin appeared just as the credit was about to be settled. He brought three thousand Sui soldiers and rushed towards him. He ignored Xiao Yannian and shouted loudly: "Charge up the mountain and occupy the top of the mountain!"
Three thousand Sui soldiers rushed to the top of the mountain without any obstruction, and successfully occupied the top of the mountain. By this time, dozens of large tents had been burned to ashes, and only the camp fence was still burning, but the fire had obviously weakened.
Of the 500 Tang soldiers on the top of the mountain, except for more than a hundred who perished in the fire, all others escaped. Some fell down the cliff on the east, and some went down the mountain from the west and were captured by the Sui army. Most of the Tang soldiers fled southward along Centipede Ridge. Centipede Ridge is about twenty miles long. Once you run away, you will never come back.
Cheng Yaojin stood on the top of the mountain and looked at Jinsuoguan at the foot of the mountain. He couldn't help but laugh. On the top of the mountain, not to mention the mountains firing thousands of arrows, even one person could urinate and flood Jinsuoguan.
General Yin Kaishan of Jinsuoguan Pass was woken up by his own soldiers at night. Something happened on Centipede Ridge. He ran to the top of the city and looked up at the raging fire on the top of the mountain, but his heart gradually became colder. Yin Kaishan knew very well about Centipede Ridge. What does it mean to lose ground.
Yin Kaishan¡¯s mood was extremely complicated at this time. He knew that Jinsuoguan would definitely not be able to be defended, so what should he do? If he abandons Jinsuo Pass and retreats southward to Guanzhong, will Li Yuan spare him? But if he surrendered to the Sui Dynasty, what would happen to his wife and daughter in Chang'an?
"General, what should we do?" Several generals gathered around and asked nervously.
Yin Kaishan thought for a moment, sighed, and asked everyone: "Do you want to withdraw or surrender?"
The generals looked at each other, and an older man said: "Actually, we are also willing to surrender, but our families are all in Chang'an, and we are afraid that surrender will harm our families, so we might as well wait."
Yin Kaishan understood what everyone meant. If you surrender first, you will definitely be punished by the court. He nodded, "Okay! Tell the brothers to evacuate Jinsuoguan overnight."
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That night, Yin Kaishan led more than 2,500 Tang troops to evacuate Jinsuoguan overnight and returned to Guanzhong. Early the next morning, when Cheng Yaojin was about to order people to go up the mountain to shoot arrows, he got the news that Jinsuoguan was already an empty city. .
"These bastards are running away fast!"
Cheng Yaojin urged his horse into the city and looked at the empty Jinsuo Pass. He couldn't help laughing and felt much relieved. He immediately ordered someone to report to Yang Yuanqing. Cheng Yaojin attacked Centipede Ridge at night and outsmarted Jinsuo Pass. The soldiers were wounded and they captured Jinsuoguan.
Cheng Yaojin now knows Yang Yuanqing very well. The words Yang Yuanqing likes to hear most is not hurting a single soldier. It is more effective than his victory over Jinsuoguan. In fact, the Sui army still has two injured scouts, and that one he only??Hidden it up, now as long as he can be promoted to a noble title, he won't lose his old face.
Cheng Yaojin immediately ordered, "Raze this pass to the ground and knock down all the city walls and gates!"
"General, this is not necessary!" someone next to him advised.
Cheng Yaojin's eyes widened, "Why is it unnecessary? What if I retreat from the pass and my escape route is cut off? Knock them all down!"
Thousands of soldiers started working together, and soon they demolished the city wall of Jinsuoguan. At this time, another general advised Cheng Yaojin, "General Cheng, why don't you go directly to Guanzhong now to shake the morale of the Tang army? We can also grab it." Top job."
This general's suggestion touched Cheng Yaojin's heart. This was exactly what he planned. It seems that some bird man once said that the first person in Guanzhong will be the king. Cheng Yaojin didn't want any king, he just wanted to be named the Duke of the country. , I am satisfied.
"Everyone, bring some dry food and follow me south to Guanzhong."
The main logistics camp of the Sui Army is still south of Luojiao County, Shangjun. A large amount of grain and materials are stored here. A steady stream of grain and grass is transported to the main force of the Sui Army in Qianshui Plain every day. The Sui Army mobilized a total of 30,000 grain-carrying oxcarts. Nearly 50,000 civilians traveled through hundreds of miles of logistics support lines.
The logistics chief of the Sui army will be Jia Runfu. He leads an army of 10,000 to protect the safety of logistics and transportation. Of course, 10,000 troops alone cannot guarantee the safety of the camp and transportation lines. Especially in the final decisive battles such as the Sui and Tang Dynasties, logistics support is very important. , it goes without saying that once there is a loss of food and grass, it may cause the entire army to collapse.
There are many battles like this in history, and Yang Yuanqing also has a deep understanding of it. When the Turkic army marched to Yanmen Pass, it was not because their logistics were attacked by the Sui army and the whole army was defeated. Yang Yuanqing has experienced hundreds of battles, and he will never be at such a critical moment. This issue gave Tang Jun an opportunity to take advantage of it.
On the second day after Yang Yuanqing led 80,000 troops south to Qianshuiyuan, General Zuo Wuwei came to protect his son and led 30,000 Hebei Sui troops to the Sui army camp in Shangjun.
In this way, the number of troops protecting the logistics has reached 40,000. Lai Hu'er and Jia Runfu each performed their duties. Lai Hu'er assigned 10,000 troops to Jia Runfu. Jia Runfu led 20,000 troops to guard the logistics camp. Lai Hu'er will be strong and strong. , leading 20,000 troops to be responsible for transportation safety along the way.
It is about three hundred miles from the Sui Army's camp in Luojiao County to the Sui Army's former camp in Qianshuiyuan. It spans Shangjun and Beidijun. The road is not a flat road, but has undulating hills and crisscrossed ravines. The grain-carrying oxcart takes three days to reach its destination.
Because the road was long and the mountains were undulating, grain trucks were easily attacked by the Tang army. Jia Runfu divided the 20,000 troops into ten teams of 2,000 men each and followed the grain trucks westward along the way.
At noon that day, a grain transport team consisting of 3,000 grain trucks arrived at the junction of Beidi County and Shangjun. This area is called Ziwu Mountain and is under the jurisdiction of Xiangle County, Beidi County. Like other areas along the way, this area The loess is deep, the mountains are heavy, and huge ravines seem to tear the ground apart.
In a huge ravine about twenty miles long, three thousand bullock carts were crowded together. Thousands of civilians were hiding in a shady forest to rest and eat dry food. More than a thousand Sui army cavalry escorts were also resting on the other side of the ravine. .
At this moment, a patrolling sentry galloped up on horseback from a distance, shouting from a distance: "Evacuate quickly, the Tang Army cavalry is coming!"
The chief guard of the Sui army was a general named Lou Zhong. When he heard the shouting, he stood up and shouted: "Everyone mount their horses!"
More than a thousand Sui army cavalry mounted their horses one after another. At this time, dust was flying at the entrance of the ravine in the distance, and the sound of horse hooves was as fierce as thunder. General Lou Zhong's face turned pale. Judging from this momentum, the Tang army's cavalry numbered at least five to six thousand. And there were only twelve hundred of them.
Lou Zhong immediately made a decision and turned around and shouted: "Tell the people to run up the mountain and escape, and leave the bullock cart alone!"
"In fact, before he gave the order, thousands of people in the woods were like a nest exploding. They ran out of the woods in panic. Some people went to drive the ox cart, but most people ignored the ox cart and ran towards the road.
More than a dozen Sui army cavalry rushed over and shouted to the peasants who were still driving the cattle carts: "Don't worry about it, go up the mountain and run for your life!"
They caught up with the peasants again and shouted: "Run to the mountains!"
Thousands of civilians then rushed toward the mountain like a dream. At this time, five thousand Tang Army Xuanjia light cavalry had already arrived. General Liu Hongji saw that the Sui Army only had more than a thousand people, and shouted, "Kill!"
The two cavalry collided violently and fought fiercely in the mountain col. The Tang army's cavalry charged forward layer by layer. Lou Zhong led more than a thousand Sui army cavalry to resist desperately, creating time for the civilians to escape.
"General Lou!"
A school captain shouted: "Brothers can't stand it anymore."
Lou Chong saw that the left wing was about to be eliminatedThe enemy's army broke through. Once the Tang army's cavalry broke through a hole, their retreat would be cut off. They would be surrounded and flanked by front and rear, and eventually the entire army would be annihilated. At this time, Lou Zhong could no longer care about the civilians and shouted loudly: "Retreat!"
More than a thousand Sui army cavalry moved their horses to the east and ran towards the other side of the mountain col. Thousands of Tang soldiers were chasing after them, firing arrows from time to time. Sui army soldiers kept screaming and fell off their horses, but three thousand ox carts saved the Sui army. As soon as the cavalry was killed, the Sui army's cavalry passed by with lightning speed, and the arrows from behind shot at the ox cart. The oxen pulling the cart immediately became confused, running left and right, filling the road, blocking the Tang army's pursuit.