A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 614 Breaking Dingxiang on a snowy night

Jieli felt a headache.

Ever since Yehuling was defeated by Wu Huaiyu and returned in embarrassment, Jieli had actually developed some Tangphobia.He originally thought about defeating Tuli, and then taking advantage of the situation to attack the back of the mountain, grab a piece of Youzhou, and then turn around to recapture Yunshuo and Yunzhou.

He blocked the Tang army within Yanmen Pass to gain more buffer space and prevent the Tang army from taking the opportunity to expedition to the north. Then he turned around and destroyed Xue Yantuo in Mobei.

This idea is good. Mobei is losing ground and Xue Yantuo is rising, so Monan cannot be in chaos.

But who would have thought that he would lose one after another?
After returning from the defeat, Jieli even gave up on himself. Not only was he afraid of the Tang Dynasty, but he also became suspicious and jealous. He no longer trusted the little khans and designers who established the feudal dynasty in the Khanate. He felt that everyone was incompatible with Tuli. , Yu Sheshe also wanted to betray him and replace him.

I often drink drunkenly to numb myself.

Occasionally when he was sober, Jieli also wanted to cheer up. He proposed to his confidants a plan to gather troops and send troops to capture Yunshuo. However, at this time, there were not many people who supported him. Even his confidants Kang Sumi and Zhili Wansi Li, Zhao Deyan and others all believed that this plan was out of date.
"Yu Chigong makes a surprise attack to occupy Evil Yang Ridge, and he will never go deep alone!"

Jie Li took a big sip of wine, his eyes were red, "I heard before that Li Jing had secretly arrived in Mayi a long time ago. Zhang Gongjin, the governor of Daizhou, was also stationed in Northern Zhou City, and Li Ji of Bingzhou arrived in Yunzhong.

And that damn Wu Huaiyu, he also returned to Youzhou from Chang'an a long time ago,"

Originally, these people arrived at the border fortress in the autumn, which made Jieli very vigilant, and many troops were gathered for this purpose. However, they did not make any move for several months, and Jieli gradually relaxed his vigilance, and various troops also They gradually returned to the tribe to spend the winter.

After entering the cold winter, Jie Li believed that it was impossible for the Tang army to launch another offensive.

But now Yuchi Gong suddenly led his elite cavalry to attack Evil Sun Ridge.

This made Jieli's scalp numb, and he suddenly realized that he had been deceived.

"Li Jing, Li Ji, Zhang Gongjin and others may be behind. The Tang army may have left the Great Wall at this time and is rushing towards Dingxiang City in a steady stream!"

Jie Li concluded that he did not believe that Yuchi Gong came with only 8000 men. Either he would not come, or if he came, it would definitely be a decisive battle.

"Great Khan, if the Tang army launches a large-scale Northern Expedition, Dingxiang City may not be able to be defended," Zhao Deyan was also a little panicked. He was a Han. Although he had never been an official in the Tang Dynasty, he was a Turk who had surrendered to the Sui Dynasty, but he was a Han after all. Turk has served for many years. If he were captured, Datang would probably not be polite to him.

Zhi lost his mind but thought that it was not a good time for the Tang army to choose this time to send troops because it was freezing, windy, snowy and heavy.
"If the Tang army really attacks in large numbers at this time, I don't think we need to be afraid of them and fight them,"

"The Immortal Heaven will help us. This strong wind and heavy snow will cause the Tang army to run out of supplies and cause them to freeze and starve to death in the wild."

Jieli's face looked uncertain.

He suddenly asked, "Has Wu Huaiyu really been in Youzhou since he returned to Hebei from Chang'an?
Is he still in Youzhou City at this moment? "

The battle at Yehuling cast a huge shadow on Jie Li. He is now very afraid of that guy, even more so than Li Ji and Li Jing. After all, Jie Li has fought against Li Jing and Li Ji many times, and he has basically never been at a disadvantage. Only under Wu Huaiyu, he returned in defeat.

"Back to the Great Khan, my spies reported that Wu Huaiyu has been in Youzhou since Chang'an returned to Hebei. He has not left in the past few months. He has not even been to Guiyan State behind the mountain. I heard that he has been there all the time. I am accompanying my concubine and holding the child in Youzhou."

"It's impossible. If the Tang army invades in large numbers, Wu Huaiyu will definitely participate, and he will definitely be the main force."

"Great Khan, maybe Yuchi Gong is really just here to harass you."

"It's even more impossible. If there were only [-] cavalry, it would be possible. But now tens of thousands of cavalry are coming and occupying Wuyang Ridge. This is not harassing and looting. This is attacking the Khan Court, Dingxiang, and our university. It’s sweat,”

Jieli is a bit crazy,

After deliberation for a long time, no results were achieved.

Jieli drank too much and finally fell asleep drunk, and the meeting ended.

The next day, Jieli woke up and was in a daze for a long time.

After a long time, he gave the order to send people to test and attack the Tang army in Xianyangling.

As expected, the troops sent were defeated and suffered considerable losses, but they did not injure Tang Qi at all. The Tang army occupied a dangerous position and built simple fortifications, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.

If the Turks attack Evil Yang Ridge, it will be the same as attacking Badger Zui of Yehu Ridge.

After leaving behind hundreds of corpses, no one wanted to attack again.

But it can't be surrounded.

In the evening, the Tang army launched a counterattack. The Tang cavalry on the mountain and behind the mountain attacked together. The Turks suffered another heavy loss. The camp was trampled through, hundreds more were killed and injured, and they retreated in embarrassment.

Can't attack, can't surround,
I can't even set up camp at the foot of the mountain.
There is no way to fight this battle.

What was even more troublesome was that Yuchi Gong did not stay on the mountain without seeing the main force of the Tang army. For many days in a row, Tang Qi ignored the wind and snow and attacked in small groups day and night, harassing everywhere.
Can't stop, can't catch up,
The city of Dingxiang is in a panic every day, with all kinds of rumors and false news flying around.
It was obvious that there were Tang spies in Dingxiang City, but they could not be found.

Tang envoys such as Tang Jian, An Xiuren, Cui Dunli, and Pang Xiaotai were all imprisoned by Jieli, but nothing could be changed.

Jie Li had no choice but to send Fu Li with his Golden Wolf Order Arrow in the heavy snow of winter, and to order the young and strong warriors from all tribes to gather in Dingxiang urgently.

Jie Li was both afraid of the appearance of most of the Tang army and seemed to be looking forward to their appearance.

But just like this day after day,
The main force of the Tang army was never seen appearing, but the Turks themselves made a fool of themselves, and a large number of young men braved the wind and snow to come to Dingxiang to gather.
There were many people and horses, and they consumed a lot. In winter, there was no grass to eat, so they had to eat hay. The soldiers even had to be dragged around by Tang Qi, and they were tired and tired.

Kang Sumi, who was in charge of logistics supply, was whipped severely by the drunken Jie Li because of his poor performance. The whipping left his skin and flesh torn.

At night, Kang Sumi was lying on the couch recovering from his injuries. Uninvited guests came to the house.
Three days later,
When Kang Sumi led his team to escort a batch of hay out of the city to supply the troops, he took several thousand of his barbarians with him, hauling grain, grass and arrows all the way to the Evil Sun Ridge.
This former logistics manager of Jieli, Sogdian Hu, who was deeply trusted by him, actually switched sides in the face of battle.

When Jieli's troops came to the Wei River, Kang Sumi led 2 Hu troops to fight the Tang army in Xianyang, but was captured alive by Qin Qiong.
Although he was later released after the Weiqiao alliance and still had Jieli's trust, Kang Sumi, who was whipped this time, believed that Jieli was gone and chose to join the Tang Dynasty.

The uninvited guest that night was a member of the Six Gates of the Tang Dynasty who was lurking in Dingxiang City. He reported his identity as Li Dejiang, a member of the Six Gates.

Li Jing's second son.

He revealed his identity and issued an imperial edict. The emperor knighted Kang Su's seal officer, made him a third-rank Huaihua general, and granted him the title of county marquis. After receiving these promises, Kang Su Mi decisively defected.

Because Jieli was stationed in Dingxiang City and had gathered many soldiers and horses, they did not think of offering Dingxiang City or even capturing Jieli Khan and surrendering to the Tang Dynasty. Instead, they looked for opportunities to go out of the city with a large number of grain and livestock. Evil Yang Ridge sent a lot of supplies to Yuchi Gong,

He also added three thousand servants to his army.

Jieli was confused when he heard the urgent report that Kang Sumi had led his troops to Evil Yang Ridge with food and grass.

At first I thought he was ambushed, intercepted and captured by Yuchi Gong.

But later I heard that he took the initiative to surrender to the enemy.

Completely flabbergasted.

Kang Sumi was a Sogdian Hu, but he was deeply trusted by Jie Li. How could he defect to the Tang Dynasty just because he said he wanted to?
But that's what happened.

Kangsumi also surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, how many other Sogdian Hus were still loyal?

Are the other Turkic agents and Qijins still trustworthy?

Jie Li felt that everyone made him suspicious.

In the evening, Jieli once again summoned the leaders of various tribes to discuss matters.

"Dingxiang can't be defended anymore."

Jieli let out a long sigh.

Although the main force of the Tang army never appeared, the Turks were in disarray, and now Kang Sumi defected to the Tang Dynasty.

"Evacuate to the north of Yinshan Mountain for temporary shelter."

Jie Li had to sigh, if this continues, the main force of the Tang army did not show up, and they were dragged down in the wind and snow first, but they did not dare to disperse their troops.
After much deliberation, the only option was to retreat to the north of Yinshan Mountain first, widen the distance, and even rely on the dangers of Yinshan Mountain to block the Tang army. Wait until they can survive this battle, and then come back next year.

After some discussion, Jieli planned to lead the main force to retreat to the north of Yinshan Mountain. Dingxiang did not give up, but sent a special agent to lead some troops to stay and garrison.

Continue to confront the Tang army in Evil Sun Ridge.
He still had some luck,

From the original plan to capture Shuozhou and Yunzhou, the main force of the Tang army has not yet been seen, so they decided to evacuate Dingxiang and retreat to the north of Yinshan Mountain to temporarily avoid the enemy. Jieli's strategic transition strategy is still very radical and bold.

Solstice.

This is an important festival in the Tang Dynasty.

In Chang'an, Li Shimin led hundreds of civil and military officials to the southern suburbs to offer sacrifices to heaven. The great court met with the monarchs and ministers and envoys from various countries, and also granted amnesty to all the people and rewarded the ministers.

There is also a seven-day long holiday in total on the three days before and after the winter solstice.
People also reunite with their families, visit relatives and friends, and celebrate the festival.

However, Jieli chose this day to evacuate Dingxiang with his main force in a very embarrassed manner in the wind and snow, and retreated to the north of Yinshan Mountain.

It had only been half a month since Yuchi Gong appeared on the Eryang Ridge south of Dingxiang.

And just at midnight on the winter solstice,
Yuchi Gong on the Evil Sun Ridge was like a bad wolf, leading his men to attack the already empty Dingxiang City.

The moon is dark and the wind is high,

The snow is falling,

Kang Sumi led the way, and Li Dezhang in the city responded. The gate of Dingxiang City was suddenly opened in the wind and snow, and Tang Qi, wearing bright armor and brocade robes, rushed into the city.

The special agent left behind is still sleeping, and Dingxiang City has been destroyed.

Li Dejiang immediately led his men to the Sui Palace.

When Li Wujie saw the signal, he opened the door and responded. As a result, the Sui Palace fell. Emperor Yang Zhengdao of the Sui Dynasty, Empress Dowager Xiao, etc. were all captured.
The small imperial court of the Sui Dynasty, which was a puppet supported by the Turks, was finally taken down. Immediately afterwards, all the civil and military officials of the Later Sui Dynasty in Dingxiang City were also captured.

At dawn, the entire Dingxiang City was captured by Yuchi Gong.

"The Duke of Ju and Duke Shen were all taken away by Jie Li and are no longer in Dingxiang City." Li Dejiang reported to Yuchi Gong,

Although Yuchi Gong is still wearing a white robe and has no official or title, he still has the job of being a pioneer in the middle.

"I'd be happy to have Yuan Li escort Xiao, Yang Zhengdao and others back to Chang'an."

Yuchi Gong summoned Kang Sumi and asked him to act as a guide and lead the team, leading the cavalry to continue pursuing Jie Li.

"Should we wait for Prime Minister Li to arrive before pursuing him?"

"No need, Dingxiang has already fallen. Now Jieli is a lost dog. Don't let him have a chance to breathe. Keep chasing him."

According to the original plan, Jie Li was not expected to abandon Dingxiang so quickly, so Li Jing's main force in the middle would not come so quickly.

The plan was to use Yuchi Gong's men to harass Jie Li too much, but he didn't expect Jie Li to be so unusable that he just ran away. But the plan couldn't keep up with the change.

But Yuchi Gong quite likes this situation, so he doesn't have to follow the plan all the time, and he can finally express himself freely.

"Chase, chase him through the Yin Mountains and across the desert, and we must catch up with him!"

(End of this chapter)