Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1092 1087 [The Gao family is still fighting internally]

"Criminal General Yang Zhongsu, kowtows to the Supreme General of the Heavenly Dynasty!"

Yang Zhongsu brought a group of Dali generals and hurried over to kneel down to Yang Zaixing.

Yang Zaixing stopped his horse and nodded in approval: "Your Yang family did a great job. You turned against us at the critical moment and helped me win this victory."

Yang Zhongsu said quickly: "The general is so brave, he is like a god descended from heaven. We ordinary people cannot figure out the general's tactics no matter how hard we try. Originally, the 6,000 soldiers of Yang County wanted to rebel, but the general led the heavenly soldiers and arrived too quickly, and those infantrymen were all defeated before they could turn against him."

“I can’t stop it!”

Zhang Zheng suddenly cried out, "My three thousand county soldiers were ready to defect, but they were frightened by the general's divine power three or four miles away. In an instant, they fled and only a few dozen of his personal soldiers were left. I... I... Alas!"

"Hahahaha!"

Yang Zaixing laughed out loud at these words, feeling extremely pleased, and he also looked at these surrendered generals with a better liking.

The other generals also spoke out, saying that they had wanted to surrender a long time ago, but their troops had been defeated before they could do so.

Each of these guys has a cavalry unit.

When their infantry were disbanding one after another, they saw Yang Zhongsu leading the cavalry to defect, so they followed suit and chased after Gao's army.

Although the action was taken late, at least the attitude was shown and it finally made some small contribution.

Unable to find Yang Zaixing, Li Shao faced an enemy army that had collapsed for dozens of miles. He urgently ordered these defected generals to reveal their identities and gather the defeated soldiers along the way.

When Yang Zaixing returned, the surrendered generals had gathered more than 8,000 defeated soldiers, and the Ming army also captured tens of thousands of defeated soldiers along the way.

"You did a great job." Yang Zaixing praised Li Shao in public.

Li Shao said happily: "Gao Zhenming, the younger brother of Dali Prime Minister Gao Zhenshou, was captured alive by General Yang Zhongyan."

Yang Zhongyan immediately straightened his back and waited for Yang Zaixing to praise him.

Yang Zaixing nodded and said, "Excellent, I'll record your achievement."

Yang Zhongyan immediately shouted: "Be loyal to the emperor and serve the general!"

Yang Zaixing said: "For those defeated soldiers who were gathered or captured, you go and find your own troops and continue to lead them. I will distribute the remaining leaderless soldiers. After a simple reorganization, immediately head north. Also, hand over your cavalry, and let Cao Xun lead them to attack Guandu City immediately!"

"Yes!"

The chief generals of each clan handed over their cavalry to their brothers or nephews, and gathered them all together for Cao Xun to command.

Together with the Guangxi cavalry troops, Cao Xun now had more than 2,000 cavalrymen under his command, and they were heading towards Guandu City in a hurry.

The remaining infantry began a temporary reorganization, and at the same time Li Shao was ordered to lead his troops to continue cleaning up the battlefield.

Yang Zaixing led 800 cavalrymen to charge in a thrilling way, but only about 40 cavalrymen were killed or wounded. More than 20 of them died on the spot, mainly because their horses were shot by arrows or their horses lost their front hooves, causing the cavalrymen to fall to the ground and die or be trampled to death.

Bi Jin, who stayed behind in the mountain stronghold, soon came to report: "When the general was fighting, many enemy ships came from Dianchi Lake. Before they could reach the shore, they saw some defeated soldiers fleeing, and they were so scared that they quickly turned around and retreated to the north.

Yang Zhongsu said: "Those were the county soldiers of the Gao family and the barbarian soldiers under the jurisdiction of Shanchan Prefecture. There were originally 6,000 people, and 200 to 300 died when attacking the mountain. The boats they took were merchant ships and fishing boats forcibly requisitioned near Guandu."

Yang Zaixing then inquired in detail about the situation in Shanchan and Guandu. The surrendered generals answered enthusiastically, all wanting to take the opportunity to gain some recognition.

Yang Zhongsu later said:

"In Zuining Prefecture and Xiushan County in the south, the number of county soldiers is small, and they also have to defend against the barbarians. The general can send someone with Gao Zhenshou's large banner to take the city with a single order."

"Huichuan Prefecture and Dongchuan County in the north are under the jurisdiction of my Yang family, so they will naturally submit to the Ming Dynasty court."

"Weichu Prefecture to the west of Shanchan is the territory of the former Prime Minister Gao Liangcheng. Gao Liangcheng has been keeping his troops on hold this time. If the general advances west, he should be careful of Gao Liangcheng."

"..."

Suddenly, a surrendered general named Yao Xianshou gnashed his teeth and said, "East of Dali and north of Weichu, it was originally called Nongdong Prefecture (Yao'an, Dayao, Yongren), and it has been the territory of our Yao family for generations. More than ten years ago, it was taken away by the Gao family and changed to Tongshi Prefecture, which is ruled by Gao Yuchengsheng and Gao Yuchengguang, father and son."

Yang Zaixing said: "I know the situation in Tongshi Mansion, but the names of those people are hard to remember."

Yao Xianshou said: "These four brothers neither accept Gao Liangcheng nor Gao Zhenshou as prime minister. They have been secretly accumulating strength, and this time they did not really send troops. They only asked me to bring 500 soldiers to make a show. When the news of Gao Zhenshou's defeat spreads, these four brothers will definitely send troops to Dali and take the opportunity to control the ruler of Dali and seize power."

Gao Yuchengsheng, Gao Yuchengguang and others are all old villains.

Historically, after Prime Minister Gao Zhenshou passed away, his two sons and his younger brother repeatedly fought for the position of prime minister. In every coup, some guys got involved and tried to strengthen their own power by deposing and enthroning prime ministers.

They were the hidden manipulators behind the scenes, making Dali's politics a mess.

……

However, Cao Xun led the cavalry north and soon discovered that Guandu was unguarded and countless merchants were fleeing with their goods and money.

Cao Xun left 300 cavalrymen to capture Guandu City, and immediately headed north to Shanchan Prefecture City (Kunming).

As a result, Shanchan became an empty city and all the troops had fled.

Along the way, Cao Xun encountered some deserters. He captured more than ten deserters and questioned them, and learned that Gao Zhenshou had led his troops to abandon the city and flee westward. The deserters he captured were all local soldiers from Shanchan Prefecture, who were unwilling to flee to Dali with Gao Zhenshou. A few days later, Gao Zhenshou led his troops to flee to Lufengdian (Lufeng).

Along the way, many barbarian soldiers and militiamen fled. They were unwilling to follow us to Dali and just wanted to return home as soon as possible to reunite with their families.

The troops that escaped by boat from Dianchi Lake, the elite soldiers who escaped from the battlefield, and the defenders taken away from Shanchan and Guandu, Gao Zhenshou still had more than 10,000 troops. Some of them escaped one after another, and there were about 10,000 left. He also forcibly recruited young and strong men along the way to make up 13,000.

An army of 13,000 soldiers, carrying the Gao family's property, suddenly stopped at the border of Luqindian.

Can't walk anymore.

Gao Liangcheng led his troops to block the mountain passage!

"Go and tell your father to hand over his troops obediently. I can save the lives of you and your son." Gao Liangcheng said to the young man beside him.

This young man was Gao Shouhu, the second son of Gao Zhenshou, who was sent to trick Gao Liangcheng into sending troops.

Gao Shouhu hung down from the pass in a basket, ran to see his father in a panic, and asked in fear: "Are we really defeated?"

Gao Zhenshou asked back, "Has the news of my defeat reached Weichu?"

"Father has already brought the remaining troops here, how could the news of defeat not have reached us yet?" Gao Shouhu looked sad.

Gao Zhenshou asked, "What does Gao Liangcheng want to do?"

Gao Shouhu said: "He asked my father to hand over his troops and horses, which can ensure the safety of my father and me."

Gao Zhenshou fell silent.

After a long while, Gao Zhenshou asked, "Has he surrendered to the Ming Dynasty?"

"I don't know." Gao Shouhu shook his head.

Gao Zhenshou looked at the pass and mountains ahead, then at the demoralized army behind him, and sighed, "Forget it. Whether he wants to serve the king or surrender to the Ming, just leave these troops to him. What other choice is there when he is at the end of his rope?"

There's really no choice.

The Ming army was chasing them from the east, and Gao Liangcheng was blocking them from the west. It was impossible to take a detour. More than 10,000 soldiers with baggage and heavy equipment could escape by crossing mountains and ridges.

Gao Shouhu suddenly asked, "Where are my brother and uncle?"

Gao Zhenshou could not answer this question.

When he fled, he took advantage of the speed of his horse and threw his son behind. He waited for a while in Guandu City but his son did not return. When he asked the elite soldiers who had escaped, they all said that they had not seen the son. They did not know whether he died in the chaos or was captured by the Ming army.

As for his younger brother Gao Zhenming, he certainly could not escape because he was trapped too deeply at that time.

After a while, Gao Zhenshou, Gao Shouhu and his son, along with their generals, arrived at the pass, where they were hung in a basket by Gao Liangcheng and tied up immediately.

Gao Liangcheng had only a few thousand soldiers, but after defeating Gao Zhenshou's 13,000-strong army, his military strength suddenly increased to nearly 20,000.

However, morale became even lower.

Gao Liangcheng did not say that he had surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, but instead marched towards Dali under the banner of serving the king.

Before he left his territory of Weichu Prefecture, he suddenly received news: Dali City was controlled by the Gao father and son from Tongshi Prefecture.

The country has reached the brink of destruction, but the Gao princes are still fighting for power!
Gao Liangcheng was very depressed, and he was still hesitant, especially after annexing Gao Zhenshou's troops. He wanted to surrender to the Ming Dynasty as originally planned, but he also wanted to take a gamble and lead the entire country's troops to repel the Ming army.

Now, there is no need to hesitate any longer, the only way left is to surrender to the Ming Dynasty.

The army stopped and camped at the border of Weichu Prefecture. Gao Liangcheng found Gao Zhenshou who was under house arrest, picked up a wine pot and threw it to Gao Zhenshou, saying: "The bastards in Tongshi Prefecture heard that you were defeated on the front line, and actually sent troops to control Dali City. Gao Yuchengsheng, that guy, appointed himself prime minister and Duke of Ningguo, and also made his sons and brothers marquises and generals. He even sent a messenger to ask me to lead the troops to Dali to defend the king."

Gao Zhenshou was startled when he heard this, then burst into laughter: "Hahahaha... They have never suffered any hardship and don't know how powerful the Ming army is. Jumping out at this time is simply courting death!"

Gao Liangcheng sighed and said, "You and I have fought for many years, but now the position of prime minister has been taken away by Gao Yuchengsheng. Why bother?"

Gao Zhenshou stopped laughing and drank from the spout of the pot, saying with regret: "If we don't fight, the Dali Kingdom won't be destroyed so easily, right? Even if we can't defeat the Ming army, at least we can easily defeat the rebellious barbarians."

"Damn it!"

Gao Liangcheng gnashed his teeth and said, "I accept you as the prime minister, but what are those bastards?"

Gao Zhenshou asked: "Have you contacted the Ming Kingdom secretly?"

Gao Liangcheng did not give a direct answer, but said: "I just sent an envoy to Shanchan, asking the Ming army to come quickly to join forces to attack Dali City. The Dali Kingdom is about to be destroyed, and the Gao family must continue, and cannot be destroyed in the hands of those monkeys."

"Indeed." Gao Zhenshou agreed.

Gao Liangcheng said: "I plan to hand you and your son over to the Ming army to apologize."

Gao Zhenshou: “…”

(End of this chapter)