Autumn turns to winter, covered with snow, mountains of corpses and seas of blood. The Zheng Army, which has an absolute advantage in military strength, finally enters Xin'an City. Zheng Army soldiers wearing green military uniforms board the city in an endless stream, and all kinds of defense materials are basically used. Guang's Xin'an Sui army counterattacked several times but failed to drive away the Zheng army. Instead, the Zheng army soldiers successfully seized the upper city steps and the city gate corridor, and then they were cut off and locked, and the city gate was opened. Seeing that the situation had reached its extreme, Yun Dingxing, who had successfully dragged the Zheng army into a war of attrition for nearly three months, made a decisive decision and immediately ordered the city to be abandoned and break out, and lit a smoke signal in the city to prepare He Yanyu's troops in the Xiaohan Road to respond. Seeing the Sui army abandoning the city, the officers and soldiers of the Zheng army not only did not cheer at all, but instead red-eyed and devoted most of their troops to the pursuit. Gao Bi and Hao Xiaode were stationed at Quemen Mountain and were responsible for intercepting the Sui army's reinforcements of Xin'an City. The Zheng army troops did not hesitate to devote all their strength to intercept the defeated Sui army. Slogans to capture Yun Dingxing were heard one after another. Countless Zheng army soldiers roared crazily during the pursuit, "Chase! Capture old man Yun! Skin him and cramp him." ! Chop this old man up with a thousand swords! "Our old general Yun is really good at drawing hatred. Originally, after regaining Hulao Pass, the main soldiers of the Zheng army could relax and take a rest. Relax the wounds accumulated over three years of continuous hard work, relax the nerves that have been tense for many years, and use the considerable amount of food left in the Luokou warehouse to comfort the stomach that has been suffering from hunger for many years, and reunite with the family members in Dongdu City who have been away for a long time. Reunion and enjoying the happy life of wife and children. But it was our old General Yun who shamelessly started the war between Chen and Wang, forcing the Zheng Army soldiers to join the Western Front immediately after they withdrew from the Eastern Front. They fought fiercely from autumn to winter. In the past three months, they were forced to They were forced to sleep in the open air, crawling among broken limbs and bloody cement slurry. They did not sleep well, and their nerves were always under high tension. Countless brave and tough Zheng Jun soldiers fell at the moment of victory. Countless Zheng Jun soldiers who were about to go home to reunite with their families died tragically at the last moment before returning home. Of course, the extremely exhausted Zheng Jun soldiers killed our Mr. Yun. The general hated him to the bone. Even if he tore Old General Yun into pieces and swallowed him alive, Zheng Jun's officers and soldiers would never need to be dipped in soy sauce! However, it is a pity that our General Yun, who is more slippery than a greased loach, dares to attract so much hatred, so we are sure to avoid these angry revenges. The Zheng Army soldiers have just climbed to the top of the city and have not yet broken the city. Our General Yun The general quickly changed into the soldier's uniform he carried with him very skillfully. He also put on some makeup to look like a hapless veteran who could be seen everywhere in troubled times. When he was escaping from the war, he ordered Yao Yi to put on his own flag and lead his army to retreat. Under the protection of several confidants and his beloved nephew Yun Fu, he infiltrated into the defeated army on foot. As soon as he found an opportunity after leaving the city, he immediately got into the dense forest of Xiaoshan Mountain in the south. No matter how angry the Zheng Army soldiers were, they pursued the defeated Sui Army soldiers. The brigade can't even hurt a hair of our old General Yun. It's just that the poor Yao Yi and Xian Yuzhi and other general Yun's subordinates suffered a lot. Yao Yi, who was ordered to put up the banner with the word "Yun" as the temporary commander-in-chief, naturally became the focus of the Zheng army's pursuit. Not to mention that Xian Yuzhi, who was ordered to rear, also fell. Bad luck. The rear group of less than 1,200 people was blocked and chased by Zheng Jun Wang Renze, Li Junyi, Xu Shiji and Zhang Zhenzhou. Before they could retreat into the narrow section of Xiaohan Road, they were surrounded by more than 1,000 soldiers. Most of the rear army was killed, and almost all the rest were captured. Only a handful of soldiers escaped by chance. Xian Yuzhi, the brother-in-law of Chen Sangliang's uncle Gao Shilian, was also wounded and captured alive by the Zheng army. It was extremely unlucky to become the leader of the Yining Sui army. The highest-ranking general ever captured by the enemy on the battlefield. Yao Yi also almost died on the Weihan Road. The Gaobi tribe of the Zheng army firmly blocked his way. He Yanyu led troops to meet him, but Gaobi himself led his troops to stop him. He lit a fire in a narrow place on the road to block the Sui army's eastward march. , He Yanyu led his troops to attack several times but failed to break through Gao Bi's interception. If it weren't for the Zheng Army general Hao Xiaode who joined the Xin'an battlefield in the later period, he had some friendship. Remembering that Chen Sangliang had let him go at Hulao Pass, he quietly let him go. With some water, Yao Yi and his army were lucky enough to seize a narrow mountain road and fled into the depths of Xiaoshan Mountain in embarrassment. Yao Yi himself and the last more than a thousand Sui army officers and soldiers had to die in the Xiaohan Road. But even so, of the more than 4,000 Sui soldiers who abandoned the city and broke through, only a thousand of them managed to escape back to Mianchi, suffering very heavy losses. The Battle of Xin'an, in terms of tactical victory and defeat, can definitely be regarded as the biggest defeat in the history of the Yining Sui Army. Tens of thousands of defenders were killed, injured, captured and missing, with up to 90% of them missing. The strategically important city of Xin'an fell, and the Henan Road Marching Deputy The general manager Xian Yuzhi was captured, more than fifty generals of the rank of captain and above were killed or captured, more than 800 war horses were lost, and all the remaining military supplies and food and grass were lost. The defeat was so severe that it could not be defeated again. Can't lose again. But from a strategic perspective, the loser was Wang Shichong. Facing the stubborn resistance of the Xin'an Sui Army, which was only considered a second-line force, the main force of the Zheng Army, which was exhausted and in urgent need of rest, was forced to send more troops to the Xin'an battlefield twice, investing 50,000 troops in succession. Many troopsThey barely managed to capture Xin'an City, and lost nearly 10,000 troops in siege battles and reinforcements. They were forced to consume a large amount of scarce and precious military supplies, but what they gained was an empty city of Xin'an and a small amount of leftover grain, grass and baggage used by the Sui army. For the Zheng Army, which had been depleted of military supplies in successive wars, such losses would naturally be a crippling injury. But for the current Sui Army in Guanzhong, this loss was trivial, not even a scratch. Even more serious are the injuries and fatigue of the soldiers. Sergeant Zheng, who has been in high-intensity combat since the 13th year of the Daye, is exhausted. His combat effectiveness has been severely reduced, and his morale has also been seriously affected. That's why he is doing this. For a long time, there was nothing they could do against the second-line Sui army under Yun Dingxing. As a result, after finally fighting the Battle of Xin'an, Wang Shichong's direct line led by generals such as Wang Renze and Gao Bi were basically exhausted. At the same time, Zheng Jun also exposed very serious internal problems. Generals such as Hao Xiaode, Xu Shiji, and Li Junyi, who were forced to surrender after the decisive battle between Wang and Li, were obviously ineffective on the battlefield. Intentionally or unintentionally, they were trying to protect them from Li Mi's army. Among the troops brought there, it was Wang Shichong's old army that really exerted the greatest strength, and all of this was because Wang Shichong was forced to go to war with his son-in-law as soon as he defeated Li Mi. There was no time to reorganize and integrate the newly surrendered troops. There was no time to twist the newly surrendered troops and the main force into a rope and use them effectively. Then again, a victory is a victory. No matter how empty Xin'an is, the strategic location of the exit of Jingjiaohan Road is placed there after all. With this city in hand, Wang Shichong at least does not have to worry about the main force of the Sui army coming to Luoyang at any time. Under the city, you can feel a little more at ease when sleeping at night. Therefore, after the good news reached Luoyang City, Wang Shichong, who had proclaimed himself the Emperor of Dazheng, still issued an edict to celebrate. He exaggerated the results of the Xin'an battle tenfold and announced it to the people to encourage the people of Luoyang. At the same time, he also issued an edict to hold Xianyu and other captured Sui soldiers captive They were escorted to Luoyang together to show off their military prowess. They also personally came forward to recruit and surrender Xian Yuzhi and other Sui soldiers, hoping to use Xian Yuzhi to set an example for surrendering. Wang Shichong underestimated Xian Yuzhi. Although his life was on the line and he was related to Chen Sangliang, even if he surrendered, he would at least be able to save his life in the future. However, Xian Yuzhi still flatly refused Wang Shichong's offer of surrender and spoke ill of Wang Shichong. Xiang Xiang, scolded Wang Shichong with the most vicious words in the world. Wang Shichong became so angry that he ordered Xian Yuzhi to be pushed out of the palace and beheaded. The descendants changed the title of county duke. After executing Xian Yuzhi and more than ten Sui army generals who refused to surrender, Wang Shichong was still angry and ordered generals such as Hao Xiaode, Xu Shiji and Li Junyi to lead his troops south to help Pei Renji attack Yiyang City, and ordered Pei Renji to attack Yiyang City in the first month of the year. Capture Yiyang before the first day of the new year and end the first year of enlightenment on a good note. Pei Renji complained after hearing the order, but had no choice but to bite the bullet and step up the attack on the city. Generals such as Xu Shiji and Hao Xiaode were also unwilling to lead the equally exhausted direct troops south to Yiyang and continue to fight. No one expected that the Sui army's counterattack would be so fast. Xin'an City had just fallen on the 12th of the twelfth lunar month. On the 22nd of the twelfth lunar month, Liu Heitai, the famous Sui army general who succeeded General Yun as the general manager of the march in Henan Province, led the Hedong partial division. More than 15,000 people crossed the Yellow River from Shaanxian County and took over He Yanyu's tired division to take charge of the eastern front battlefield. He Yanyu's army and the remnants of the Sui army in Xin'an withdrew to Changpingcang to rest. The Sui army Fanghuang's 4,000 troops who had previously guarded Changpingcang for He Yanyu The rest took the Xiong'er Mountain Trail to reinforce Yiyang. As soon as these adjustments were completed, Liu Heitai immediately led his army eastward and launched a counterattack towards Xin'an. The main force of the Zheng Army did not even have time to breathe, nor did it even have a good year. He was forced to fight again. At the same time, the Hanoi partial divisions led by Qin Qiong and Fan Wenchao also launched an attack on Heyang again. Qiu Huaiyi and Xi Bian, the generals of the Zheng Army who were guarding Heyang, were forced to fight. The Zheng Army's northwest front lines resumed fighting, and old wounds were not healed but new ones were added. Sergeant Zheng was on the verge of crying, and his fatigue index continued to rise sharply. The war has progressed to this point. No matter how confused Wang Shichong is, he understands that his unfilial son-in-law is going to drag him down in a wheel battle, but it is useless to see that. Chen Sangliang's military strength and economic strength are several times greater than Wang Shichong's. Elite soldiers and generals are emerging one after another. The least fearful thing is to fight a war of attrition with Wang Shichong. No matter how Wang Shichong understands the evil intentions of his unfilial son-in-law, there is nothing he can do about his lack of overall strength. At his wits' end, Wang Shichong gritted his teeth and stamped his feet. He simply decided that he was no longer old and personally led the main force to march westward to confront Liu Heitai. He tried his best to annihilate Liu Heitai and demonstrate to the Sui army, forcing his unfilial son-in-law to give up such rogue tactics. Wang Shichong naturally found the wrong person. Everyone knows how fierce Liu Heitai, who used to be Wang Shichong's general, is. What's even more rare is that Liu Heitai is very smart in fighting. He just found out that Wang Shichong personally led the main force of 40,000 people to the west. Entering to reinforce the Xin'an battlefield, Liu Heitai immediately led his troops back to Xiaohan Road, using the narrow terrain to avoid a decisive battle with Wang Shichong's main force. Wang Shichong rushed into Xiaohan Road with red eyes, and Liu Heitai was tenShamelessly, he continued to retreat, leading Wang Shichong's main force into the depths of Xiaohan Road. Wang Shichong, who had very serious internal problems, did not dare to stay away from his hometown in Luoyang for a long time. He was so anxious that he was still unable to do anything. At this time, another unexpected bad news suddenly came from Yiyang. Pei Renji, the Zheng army whose strength far exceeded that of the Yiyang defenders, was defeated, and the defeat was quite miserable. Under Chen Sangliang's secret order, Liu Heitai wrote a letter He persuaded his old master Hao Xiaode to surrender, and along with the letter he brought a letter and a reward from Chen Sangliang to Hao Xiaode. There is the example of former Liu Heitai. Hao Xiaode, who looked down on Wang Shichong and envied Liu Heitai to the core, immediately accepted the surrender without blinking an eyelid. After quietly getting in touch with Li Keshi, Hao Xiaode took advantage of Xu Shiji's opportunity to lead his army westward to intercept the Sui army Fang Huang's troops. He led his troops to suddenly attack the Zheng army camp late at night, switched sides and attacked Pei Renji's Chinese army camp. Pei Renji, who was too tired in the city battle, was caught off guard, and Hao Xiaode easily broke through the camp. Pei Renji, who was sleeping soundly, didn't even have time to put on his shoes, rushed into the snow barefoot, grabbed a war horse, and fled back to Luoyang. Li Keshi He also took the opportunity to go out of the city to counterattack, and joined forces with Hao Xiaode to kill Zheng Jun and drove away. Then, Hao Xiaode and Li Keshi joined forces to enter the Xiong'er Mountain path, and Fang Huang attacked Xu Shiji from both sides. Xu Shiji's army was defeated from both sides and suffered numerous casualties. Xu Shiji was forced to lead a small number of soldiers to flee deep into the dense forest. His troops were almost destroyed. The Sui army was completely wiped out, and the situation in Yiyang was immediately completely reversed. After receiving the report that the battle situation in Yiyang was collapsing, Wang Shichong was so frightened that he no longer dared to confront Liu Heitai, and quickly led the main force to withdraw to Luoyang City. Liu Heitai took the opportunity to make a comeback and fight back to the gates of Xin'an City. Wang Shichong did not dare to He paid no attention to it and just ordered Gao Bi to defend the city. When he hurried back to Luoyang and saw Pei Renji, Wang Shichong, who was full of anger, naturally scolded Pei Renji bloody. Pei Renji was ashamed and left, but Wang Shichong still refused to give up and cursed at Pei Renji's retreating back, " Old man! He failed more than he accomplished! I really don¡¯t know what was going on in this old man¡¯s head. He went to dig up Chen Yingliang¡¯s ancestral grave and formed such a deadly feud. Even if I wanted to fight Chen Yingliang, "Reconciliation is also difficult." "In Chen Yingliang's words, Pei Shangshu is habitually confused. He often did this before, ignoring the thick thighs of the family leader Pei Ju and running to give Yuwen Shu a hand. After the dog was sold, he helped Yu Wenshu count the money. " Wang Shichong's most trusted subordinate Duan Da sneered. He also looked down upon Pei Renji, who had the reputation of being a famous general but had no real ability. Then, Duan Da asked Wang Shichong out of curiosity. He said: "Your Majesty, you just mentioned that you want to reconcile with Chen Yingliang? Could it be that you have already had such a thought?" "I have never thought about starting a war with him. My army has just defeated Li Mi and needs time to rest, so what do you think? Are you going to continue fighting like this?" Wang Shichong replied gloomily: "I just hate that little guy who is cruel and ruthless. Not only did he refuse to return Xin'an Yiyang, but he also took the opportunity to drag me into a war of attrition! The ancestral grave of Chen Yingliang, a young man, caused me and Chen Xiaothi to form a sworn hatred and put me in a dilemma. "If your Majesty is determined to reconcile with Chen Yingliang, there is no way out," Duan Da said gloomily. The excavation of Chen Yingliang's ancestral tomb was not done by Your Majesty. Everyone can testify to this. If Your Majesty intends to reconcile with Chen Yingliang, just hand over Pei Renji's family to Chen Yingliang. This will calm Chen Yingliang's anger and allow you to take the opportunity to discuss reconciliation. ?¡± Wang Shichong, who did not ask Pei Renji to dig up his son-in-law¡¯s ancestral grave, was greatly moved, but after careful consideration for a moment, Wang Shichong still shook his head and said, ¡°This is not urgent. We can still hold on. Before we get to that point, I will do it again. It would be too much of a loss to my dignity to hand over ministers to the enemy just after I ascended the throne. "That's right. It would be too shameful to send Pei Renji over now." Duan Da agreed. , and said with a sinister smile: "Anyway, Pei Renji is in your Majesty's hands. Your Majesty can push him out whenever you need him." Wang Shichong had no expression on his face and just nodded slightly. He had formed a friendship with Pei Renji as early as when the Four Great Remainers were left behind. The resentful Duan Da smiled even more happily, but what Duan Da and Wang Shichong ignored was that when they said this, not only were many guards and maids present, but also the deputy palace manager of food, Shang Shizhang Yu Wenwen, was present. Yu Wenwen, who directed the maids to serve Wang Shichong with royal meals, heard that although Wang Shichong and Duan Da remained calm on the surface, he was secretly happy Yu Wenwen, Li Mi's old aide who was well treated, naturally would not miss such a good opportunity to sow discord. That night, Yu Wenwen quietly brought the words to Pei Renji. Pei Renji was shocked when he heard this, his hands and feet were cold, and his whole body was sweating like rain. There is no way not to be so scared. After all, PeiRenji had just dug up Chen Sangliang's ancestral grave. If Wang Shichong had dedicated Pei Renji to Chen Sangliang, Pei Renji would certainly have died a miserable death! In fear, Pei Renji, whose head was full of mushy water, naturally had water in his head again. He gritted his teeth and stamped his feet and decided to launch a coup. He tried to hijack Wang Shichong and force him to abdicate, and helped Yang Tong reset to protect himself! Then Pei Renji not only dragged his precious son Pei Xingyan into the water, but also Yuwen Wen's brother Shangshu Zuocheng Yuwen Rutong and Sanqi Changshi Cui Deben. He planned to kidnap Wang Shichong with a dagger during the court meeting and kill Duan at the same time. Da and other Wang Shichong's buddies asked Yang Tong to come out of the palace to reset him! The scholarly rebellion has not been completed for three years. It is certainly more difficult to expect Pei Renji, a professional deceiver, to do such a delicate thing. No, Pei Renji and his son, Yuwen Rutong and others have just made up their minds. Before they start, they don¡¯t know what to do. There was a flaw in the link, and Wang Shichong knew about his coup plan in advance. The furious Wang Shichong immediately sent Wang Shiyun and his son to lead the army to capture Pei Renji, Yuwen brothers and others. When the Zheng army soldiers rushed into Pei Renji's house, although Pei Renji and Pei Xingyan and his son tried their best to resist, they were still outnumbered. Pei Xingyan, who refused to surrender, was killed by the Zheng army. The soldiers trapped him in the room and set fire to him and burned him alive. Pei Renji was seriously injured and then captured. Brothers Yuwen, Cui Deben and others didn't even have time to resist, so they were immediately slipped in front of Wang Shichong. Even the kind-hearted Chen Sangliang couldn't bear such a thing, let alone the ruthless Wang Shichong. After giving the order, the heads of Pei Renji, Yuwen brothers and Cui Deben fell to the ground together, and their family members were also slaughtered. Almost exhausted. Only Pei Renji's daughter Pei Cuiyun was named by Wang Shichong to stay. Pei Cuiyun saw her father and brother being tortured with her own eyes, and she took the initiative to accept the death penalty together with her father and brother. However, Wang Shichong flatly rejected her request and said with a sinister smile: "Want to die? Yes?" Is it that easy? I have known for a long time that you have an affair with the little thief Chen Yingliang, and that little thief is a lustful person. Keeping you will definitely be of great use in the future!" After saying this with a grin, Wang Shichong shouted again. Pei Cuiyun was thrown into a sky jail, and she was under strict supervision and would never allow her to commit suicide. Pei Cuiyun, who had been imprisoned several times, burst into tears and cried bitterly, "Let me die, let me die, how can I have the face to see him? I still have How can I face him?!" After saying that he was unwilling to let Pei Cuiyun die as he wished, Wang Shichong, who was still angry, felt that leaving Yang Tong behind was a real disaster. When he came out to harm himself, another one came and never stopped doing anything. He simply sent his nephew Wang Renze and his slave Liang Baibai to send Yang Tong a glass of poisonous wine, forcing Yang Tong to commit suicide! Yang Tong's request to see his mother one last time before his death was flatly rejected. In the end, he had no choice but to drink the poisoned wine. Before dying, Yang Tong prayed to heaven and prayed: "May I never be born in an emperor's family for the rest of my life." Of course, it was not all bad news that Wang Shichong received. On the 30th and last day of January in the second year of his enlightenment, good news suddenly came from the north of the Yellow River. He had ascended the throne in Linming and proclaimed himself emperor and established the Xia Kingdom. Dou Jiande defeated Yu Wenhuaji in Jijun, annihilated Yu Wenhua and his remaining troops who were at the end of their rope, and executed Yu Wenhua and his brothers to avenge Emperor Sui Yang, and by the way, Wang Shichong also got a bad breath. It is a trivial matter to express ill will. For Wang Shichong, there are two good things. That is, after Dou Jiande took control of Ji County, it was actually bordering the area controlled by the Sui army, and seriously threatened the safety of Li Mi's remnant troops entrenched in Baima. It was equivalent to simultaneously Wang Shichong contained two powerful enemies, Li Mi and Qin Qiong. So after receiving this good news, Wang Shichong, who had been depressed for a long time due to the betrayal of his subordinates, finally showed a rare smile. While ordering a banquet to celebrate, he decided to send someone to ask Dou Jiande for an alliance to jointly deal with the two damned Chen Sangliang and Li Mi. Rebel! When there is good news, there is bad news. Just when Wang Shichong and the civil and military officials of the Dazheng court were exchanging glasses at the banquet, an official covered in snowflakes suddenly stumbled into the Jinluan Hall and screamed before he could salute: "Your Majesty, things are going badly! The puppet king Chen Yingliang issued a proclamation to denounce you, and decided to personally lead an 80,000-strong army to march eastward to Luoyang. The date of the expedition has been announced in the proclamation, and it is set for the eighth day of February!" Bang Bang Bang Bang Wine Glass There were constant falling sounds, including the golden cup in Wang Shichong's hand. Cold sweat quickly rolled down Wang Shichong's forehead in the late spring weather when water dripped into ice.