Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 549 Unbelievable
Puzhou is an important town in Hedong.

It borders the Yellow River to the west and the Sushui River to the east. It is a key point from Hedong to Guanzhong and has an extremely important strategic position. After taking Puzhou City and crossing the Puzhou Stone Bridge to the west of Puzhou, you have already entered the territory of Guanzhong.

This place is one of the gateways to the east of Guanzhong, and its importance is unquestionable. It is both an important town and a commercial port, with a tall and large city wall.

Fang Youde carefully selected 20,000 elite soldiers and led them to Puzhou to defend the area.

As for Gao Xiuyan's troops who had already defected to Huangfu Weiming, when they heard that troops were approaching from Chang'an, they had already abandoned Puzhou City and fled to Yuxiang, which was separated from Puzhou by a river.

Waiting for Huangfu Weiming's reinforcements to arrive.

After Fang Youde led his troops to Puzhou City, Li Guangbi suggested to him that 5,000 troops be divided to garrison Tongguan.

But Fang Youde didn't want to hear anything about "Tongguan" at all.

However, he agreed to Li Guangbi's suggestion to divide the troops, and let the other party lead 5,000 troops to garrison Chaoyi City west of Puzhou as a backup.

This order was a bit strange and not quite in line with common sense. But Fang Youde himself was not a person who liked to take the ordinary path. Li Guangbi had nothing to say, so he had to leave Puzhou with 5,000 soldiers and horses and go to Chaoyi to garrison as a backup.

Three days after Fang Youde and his troops arrived in Puzhou, Li Guiren also arrived in Yuxiang with 20,000 elite troops.

Facing Gao Xiuyan who abandoned Puzhou, Li Guiren despised him but did not blame him. He just accepted Gao Xiuyan's surrender and let him serve under his command.

In fact, with the few soldiers and horses Gao Xiuyan had, defending Puzhou was tantamount to selling his life, and it was only natural for him to run away.

However, Gao Xiuyan's retreat meant that he handed over the geographical advantage to others, causing Li Guiren to lose the strategic initiative.

Standing in the way of the Hebei rebels was a seasonal river: the Sushui River.

When the water level of this river is at its highest, it can be tens of meters wide and more than one meter deep.

However, before the freezing period in late autumn, the river will dry up in advance and become a ditch, so there is naturally no problem of whether it will freeze in winter.

Now the water in the Sushui River has receded a little and is not so deep anymore, so you can cross it by riding a horse. But the river is still only about 10 feet wide, even up to the knees of a horse.

This distance, which is both possible and difficult to cross, is quite tricky.

On the second day after arriving in Yuxiang, Li Guiren led a mixed team of infantry and cavalry to the bank of the Sushui River to form a battle line.

He came from Chenguan, and there was not much food and fodder left in the army, so a quick battle was needed.

Fang Youde, who had already learned of the military situation at this time, also led his troops to line up on the other side of the river.

The two sides faced each other across the river, and neither side took the first move.

"Marshal Fang, the enemy is estimated to have about 20,000 troops. We can take our time and there is no need to rush."

Gao Xianzhi rode his horse forward and spoke in a low voice.

To be honest, the number of soldiers Fang Youde brought this time was a bit small, although they were all selected elite soldiers.

If all the troops in Chang'an were brought along, it would not be a problem to gather 30,000 or 40,000 men. However, Fang Youde only selected the brave and strong and offered them generous rewards, and stopped recruiting after 20,000 men were gathered.

Seeing Fang Youde's face as gloomy as he stared at the enemy on the other side, Gao Xianzhi continued to suggest: "The enemy came from afar, so they must have gone through Chenguan Pass, which makes it very inconvenient to transport food and fodder. Twenty thousand people is not a small number, and they need a lot of food and fodder. It is better for our army to defend the Sushui River and delay for a few days. If there is no food, they will starve to death even if they are hungry."

It must be said that Gao Xianzhi's suggestion made sense. Li Guiren came with 20,000 troops in full force.

The smart way is to avoid the enemy's attack, take advantage of their lack of food and grass, and delay the time.

If they wait for a few more days, the Hebei rebels will inevitably reveal their weaknesses.

"Pass the order down, and raise my flag!"

Fang Youde didn't want to pay any attention to Gao Xianzhi at all, and directly gave an order to the soldiers around him.

"Order!"

The messenger quickly informed the flag-bearing officer, and a huge flag with the word "Fang" written on it was raised.

It was so eye-catching that even Li Guiren on the other side of the river could see it clearly.

"You are responsible for holding the line, and follow up after I defeat the enemy."

Fang Youde casually gave Gao Xianzhi an instruction.

Because the horse snorted at this time, Gao Xianzhi thought he had heard it wrong.

"Marshal Fang, what are you doing..."

Gao Xianzhi wanted to ask more, but he heard Fang Youde order the messenger: "The Control Crane Army will attack, follow me across the river and charge into the battle!"

"Order!"

The messenger hurriedly waved the five-colored flag. When the commanders of the various units of the Control Crane Army saw the flag, they began to pass on the order to charge.

Gao Xianzhi was dumbfounded watching from the side!
"Marshal Fang, are you going to cross the river and charge into the enemy line? Do you want to test the waters first?"

Gao Xianzhi asked in a tone of doubt about his life. He was not feeling well at the moment.

What do you think of Fang Youde’s current behavior?

Gao Xianzhi is lustful and knows a bit about playing with women.

If I really have to make an analogy, Fang Youde is now like seeing a stunning beauty, and without saying a word, and regardless of the onlookers, he just rushes up to take off the beauty's clothes.

It's so abstract that I don't know how to describe it.

Marshal, this is not the way to fight a war!

Before Gao Xianzhi could say anything, Fang Youde had already led his cavalry into the Sushui River, with their horses' hooves splashing the water.

Like a surging tide, it moves forward unstoppably.

On the other side of the river, Li Guiren looked at the surface of the Sushui River with a puzzled look, and at the cavalrymen galloping towards them from the other side.

He was completely unprepared and had no concerns at all, and was so shocked that he was speechless for a moment.

My goodness, after fighting for so many years, this is the first time I’ve seen such a fool!
"Arrange the infantry in battle formation and attack when they are halfway across the river!"

Li Guiren gave the order calmly.

At this time, the cavalry on our side had started, but they could no longer charge. It would be foolish to cross the river to fight against the enemy cavalry. It would be better to use infantry to attack them halfway across the river.

Of course, Li Guiren knew that there was no way he could fail.

Do you think you are brave just because you cross the river and charge into the enemy camp without saying hello?

Do you think you can be invincible like this?

Li Guiren sneered in his heart. If a war could be won just by being reckless, then all we need to do when selecting generals is to choose those with well-developed muscles and strong bodies. There would be no need for anyone to read any military tactics.

However, as if sensing his inner thoughts, with the sound of a horn, the enemy's charging cavalry turned from the front team to the rear team, turned their horses around, and fled to the other side of the river.

This scene not only stunned Li Guiren, but also made Gao Xianzhi's scalp tingle.

Marshal Fang, you are showing off your extreme escape skills this time, which is really amazing.

But we still have to protect the bandits who have already crossed the river. Aren’t you cheating them?
Gao Xianzhi felt his heart sinking as he watched this, and was afraid of blocking Fang Youde's way back, so he did not dare to order a change in formation.

His heart had sunk to the bottom of the valley, but the soldiers of Li Guiren's army who were chasing the cavalry were so excited that they were about to explode.

These infantrymen no longer wanted to maintain any formation, they roared excitedly and rushed towards the fleeing cavalry. After crossing the river, they would also rush to break down Gao Xianzhi's formation.

The infantry formation of the Hebei rebels is being deployed, and they will soon go around and attack the infantry formation controlled by Gao Xianzhi.

In less than an incense stick of time, the vanguard of these infantrymen had already rushed to the shore on the other side of the Sushui River, and their feet were about to leave the river and step onto the rocky riverbank.

At this moment, the horn sounded again in the cavalry team where Fang Youde was! The rear team became the front team again and rushed back towards the direction of the river!

Eh?
Gao Xianzhi stared in amazement at the extreme operations one after another, his mouth almost opened into an "O" shape.

The situation on the battlefield at this moment was completely beyond his expectations.

In other words, Fang Youde's extreme pulling turned them from being the prey who were "attacked halfway across the river" into hunters who were "attacked halfway across the river"!
As for the infantrymen under Li Guiren, most of them were in the river, in a "half-crossing" state!
The hunter and the prey instantly exchange identities!

Now the formation of these Hebei rebel infantrymen had long been scattered, and they were charging in groups of two or three. Because they wanted to outflank the enemy from behind, the overall formation was wide and thin, with holes everywhere.

The cavalry under Fang Youde's command had accelerated again along the river bank, and by the time they rushed into the river, their speed had almost reached its peak!

"kill!"

The burly Li Jiaqing and his eldest son Li Huaiguang took the lead and instantly rushed the enemy infantry in front of them into the river. The cavalry in a triangular formation, like an awl, pierced through the infantry line of Li Guiren's troops!

At this moment, Gao Xianzhi finally understood what Fang Youde meant by "follow up" before he set off!
I create the opportunity for war. If you can't seize it, you might as well go home and farm!

Gao Xianzhi seemed to hear Fang Youde's unique mocking voice.

He quickly ordered his personal soldiers: "Beat the drums, general attack!"

dong dong dong!dong dong dong!
dong dong dong!dong dong dong!
dong dong dong!dong dong dong!
The soldiers in the military band who had been watching the battle were so excited that their blood boiled and they began to beat the drums with all their might.

"kill!"

Gao Xianzhi shouted loudly.

Li Siye was faster than him. Gao Xianzhi didn't move before he saw this brave general rushing out on horseback.

The remaining several thousand infantrymen and sword and shield soldiers threw their shields on the ground, and ran wildly towards the other side of the river with their ring-handled swords in hand.

On the other side of the river, Li Guiren was in a daze, staring blankly at the disastrous defeat in front of him.

His lips trembled, but he couldn't utter a word.

Damn it, I haven’t even started to exert my strength yet and I’m already defeated?

Li Guiren was so angry that he was shaking all over, and was about to order the cavalry to charge. However, the brave general Liu Longxian beside him shouted at him: "General Li, the enemy is in front of us, like a landslide or a tsunami. We can't resist it. It's better to lead the cavalry to retreat thirty miles, avoid their sharp edge, and take it slowly!"

People with high EQ can understand this as a strategic shift, while people with low EQ can understand it more simply as the word "run".

Thanks to Liu Longxian's loud roar, Li Guiren woke up from his confusion. He quickly ordered the messenger beside him to strike the gong hanging on the horse!
Dang Dang Dang! Dang Dang Dang!
Dang Dang Dang! Dang Dang Dang!
Li Guiren turned his horse around and ran, while he ordered the messenger following him to sound the horn to call back the troops.

He took the lead in running away and ordered the troops to retreat, so the morale of his troops naturally collapsed.

The cavalry were lucky because they did not charge into the battle formation, so they still had a lot of energy to spare. When they saw Li Guiren running away, they turned their horses around and ran with him.

With sufficient horsepower, these deserters ran faster and faster and soon lost contact with Fang Youde and his men.

And those rebel soldiers from Hebei who only had two legs were in big trouble.

Fang Youde led the cavalry and shuttled back and forth in the loose infantry formation, killing people like cutting wheat. Many infantrymen never ran to the shore and fell into the river and could not get up again.

Because there were too many bodies, the water was temporarily blocked, and this section of the river was full of floating bodies. The bodies washed up on the shore were piled up in several thick layers, and it made people feel numb when looking at it from a distance.

The calm river surface was dyed red with blood, like water from hell. For the next year, the local people in Puzhou did not dare to eat the fish caught in the Sushui River.

Some of Li Guiren's infantrymen still fled to the shore and fled towards Yuxiang.

Fang Youde did not give the Hebei rebels any face and chased them all the way to Yuxiang. He found that the city gates were closed and the enemy was heavily guarded, so he led his team back to Puzhou City.

Before leaving, Fang Youde ordered Gao Xianzhi to plant a flag on the west bank of the Sushui River with four words written on it: Anyone who crosses the river will die!

……

"Ah sneeze!"

Huangfu Weiming sneezed.

Standing under the Tongguan city wall at this moment, he was in a very unhappy mood, feeling ashamed and annoyed as if he was being teased.

This time when conquering Tongguan, he, or An Shouzhong, was thinking of the same method.

That's a detour.

This is also considered as “great minds think alike”.

The danger of Guanzhong lies mainly in the eastern pass, specifically the narrow route from Tongguan to Hulaoguan.

From the pre-Qin period to the Han Dynasty, it was Hangu Pass, not Tongguan, that guarded Guanzhong. Later, Tongguan was chosen as the gateway to Guanzhong because soil erosion caused a huge change in the terrain, and Hangu Pass could no longer block the army from Guandong from advancing to Guanzhong.

That’s why we had to choose Tongguan as a “secondary choice”.

In other words, if the terrain of Hangu Pass still existed, later generations would never choose Tongguan.

The hidden thread behind this incident is that the terrain of Tongguan is actually not impeccable from a defensive perspective.

Hangu Pass is located in Chousangyuan, while Tongguan is located on Linzhiyuan, 550 meters above sea level. There are deep ditches on both sides of Linzhiyuan, one is Yuanwanggou and the other is Jingou. The impact of the water flow in the two ditches makes the walls of the two ditches as sharp as knives.

Tongguan’s weakness lies in these two ditches.

After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, the government clearly stipulated that people were not allowed to walk along Yuanwanggou and Jingou, and this had become a mechanical memory in people's minds.

But being prohibited from leaving by regulations and actually being unable to leave are two completely different things.

Especially the forbidden ditch, which is not only walkable but also not difficult to walk on!

By taking a detour through the forbidden ditch, they could get to the rear of Tongguan. In this way, the armies on both sides of the Tongguan tower could launch a general attack together. In that case, would conquering Tongguan still be an impossible task?

I’m afraid that may not be the case?

To put it bluntly, the supply lines of Tongguan were blocked at that time. How many days could the defenders hold out? They would starve to death!

This is exactly what Huangfu Weiming thought, and he actually led his troops to bypass the forbidden ditch, and even attacked from both sides, capturing the Tongguan city wall!

However, what surprised him was that there were almost no defenders in Tongguan.

Only five hundred people were deployed symbolically!

With just such a small number of people, there's actually no need to take any detours, just go straight ahead.

Standing under the city wall at this moment, Huangfu Weiming felt that he had been fooled by fate.

"General, no matter what, Tongguan has been captured. From now on, there will be no more natural barriers when we reach Chang'an."

An Shouzhong clasped his fists and bowed to Huangfu Weiming.

He was too ashamed to look up.

It felt like two stupid thieves were breaking into a house and robbing it, scouting the area beforehand, preparing tools for digging holes, and choosing a time when the owner of the house and his family were traveling.

After working hard for a month to dig a hole, they finally entered the house, only to find that the owner had carelessly left the door unlocked.

If you don't curse yourself as an idiot in your heart, you are considered a fool.

"That's fine. If you don't take what God gives you, you will be punished.

Pass the order down and march to Chang'an immediately."

Huangfu Weiming ordered An Shouzhong that neither of them should mention the fact that they had taken a detour and wasted a lot of time.

(End of this chapter)