Late Tang

(Thanks to Xiaoxiaojizu and Kuaihe for their support, thank you!)

Zhang Zimian, the father commander of Zhang Yu in Jinzhou City who had been waiting so hard for him, was quietly hiding outside Yanmen Pass with [-] cavalry led by generals Wang Yanzhang, Gao Siji, Yang Shihou, Song Wen, etc. In the southeast of the Huihe River in Shuozhou, in the Shijie Valley to the north of the Great Wall.

A few days ago, Zhang Zimian, who had been going south from Yunzhou to sweep down the Shatuo forces, received an urgent order from Qin Jing to return quickly and retreat to Yunzhou to wait for backup, and to face the 20 Huns who went south.

After receiving this urgent order, Zhang Zimian immediately ordered the Military Intelligence Department to provide the latest North Army intelligence report, and then ordered an inventory of equipment and food.On the same day, he ordered in Shenwuchuan City, south of the Shuozhou Great Wall, that all Shatuo prisoners of war had their thumbs cut off and discarded in the wild.

Shatuo Tanma from Yanmen has been hiding in the distance and watching the soldiers of the Qin army's westward expedition return north. After the Qin army withdrew from the Great Wall, they hurriedly reported to Cheng Huaiyi from Yanmen that the Qin army had left Shuozhou.What these Shatuo people don't know is that Zhang Zimian did leave the Great Wall with [-] cavalry and return north, but what they don't know is that on the second night, Zhang Zimian took two more cavalry. Thousands of soldiers quietly crossed the Great Wall in batches, returned to Daishuo, and hid quietly.

Zhang Zimian was planning a ferocious attack. For this reason, he even went against the military order of Qin Wang Li Jing and put his son Zhang Yu in danger.

As an excellent marshal, he will judge the situation and make the most suitable choice.

But now, Zhang Zimian believes that he should not retreat north.

An excellent marshal must never let the enemy lead him by the nose.

20 Hu people went south and Li Siyuan was defeated. These did not scare Zhang Zimian. He believed that this was not a big crisis for Qin Wang Li Jing.He believed that Li Jing was capable of dealing with the barbarians in the north. He sent troops this time to deal with the Shatuo people. Therefore, he did not give up on his enemies. He was waiting for an excellent opportunity.

The Hu people went south in a big way and defeated Li Siyuan's soldiers and horses. This was an excellent opportunity for him.

However, although Zhang Zimian was trusted by Li Jing after entering Qin Dynasty, he was a recent voter after all.Now the [-] fine cavalry under him are nominally under the command of him, the Marshal of the Western Expedition.But in fact, the leaders of the [-] cavalry troops are all very powerful. They are Li Jing's three capable disciples Wang Yanzhang, Gao Siji, and Yang Xionghou, as well as Song Wen, the former governor of Dengzhou and Qizhou.

These four are not ordinary generals, they are all princes of the state, and they are also full of prestige in the Qin army. Whether they can implement his decision depends on their support.

When Zhang Zimian summoned the four military leaders together again, Iron Spear General Wang Yanzhang was very rude in his first words. He saluted Zhang Zimian with a dark face and said: "Shuai Zhang, now that the barbarians are moving south, Li Siyuan The army was defeated, Yunzhou was besieged, King Qin urgently ordered us to return north, but Zhang Shuai took us to hide in this valley instead, why?"

"Ben Shuai is waiting for someone!"

Gao Siji with the white horse and silver spear bowed his body and cupped his fists: "I don't know how long the commander will have to wait. If it takes too long, I'm afraid the marshal of Jincheng won't be able to wait that long. Someone from the Military Intelligence Department said that the barbarians have divided up [-] troops to besiege Jincheng." , Yingcheng, Hunyuan, Heyin, and Huairen cities. There we only have [-] auxiliary soldiers guarding the cities, and the strength of the troops is very different, but there is our logistics base and our only retreat. If the cities fall, then we will They will be trapped in Shuozhou by Beihu and Shatuo people from north to south."

"The commander-in-chief heard that the king of Qin has summoned troops and is rushing into Daibei. With the king of Qin here, there is no need to worry about Yunzhou."

"But what about Jincheng, don't we have to worry?" Yang Shihou sneered. Zhang Zimian was appreciated by the King of Qin. Show your true skills.Anyway, he didn't see the old sesame seeds and rotten millet of the so-called conquest of grass thieves in the past.Besides, exterminating some mobs is nothing.However, Zhang Zimian dared to disobey King Qin's military order, which made him a little impressed. Isn't he afraid that the four army leaders will leave him and return north?

Zhang Zimian caressed his beard and said slowly: "Jincheng, don't worry. As long as I wait for someone, it doesn't matter if Jincheng falls."

Now even Song Wen was surprised: "It doesn't matter if Jincheng is lost? I don't seem to understand. Does Zhang Shuai not know that Jincheng is our only escape route?"

"No!" Zhang Zimian shook his head, "We still have other ways to go."

"Another way, what way?"

"Who is Zhang Shuai waiting for? Could it be a local guide? Does he know any shortcuts?"

Gao Siji's four generals were all confused.

The situation in Jincheng is critical, and the situation in Yunzhou is critical, but at this time, Zhang Zimian can still hold his breath and lead them here to squat in the valley. Who is he waiting for?Is he really not afraid of accidents between Zhang Yu and Jin Cheng?

At this moment, there was a rush of footsteps outside the tent, and the Marshal's personal guards reported loudly outside, "Report to the Marshal, the Military Intelligence Department has an urgent military report."

A burst of joy suddenly flashed across Zhang Zimian's calm face, "Please!"

"Report, the military situation is urgent, and there is movement in Yanmen Pass. This morning, a soldier and horse from Yanmen Pass is coming to Shuozhou."

"How many people?"

"About a thousand people, all cavalry!"

Hearing that there were only a thousand people, Zhang Zimian sighed in disappointment, "Well, this commander already knows that he will closely monitor this army and continue to monitor Yanmen. If there is any movement, we will report it immediately."

"Yes!"

Yang Shihou's heart moved, he looked at Zhang Zimian and said: "The commander-in-chief took us to hide here, is it the idea of ​​the Shatuo people who want to fight the Yanmen army?"

Zhang Zimian nodded.

He was really playing against the Shatuo people. Li Siyuan was betrayed by his soldiers and was forced to retreat from Yanmen to Yunzhou.The Xindai Erzhou in Yanmenguan fell into the control of Li Keyong again. After Zhang Zimian eliminated the Shatuo rebels in Shuozhou, he wanted to continue going south, but Yanmen was dangerous, and he only relied on [-] cavalry. But he didn't have the slightest confidence in storming Yanmen.

At this time, the Hu people went south in a big way, Li Siyuan was defeated, and the situation in Datong was critical, but Zhang Zimian saw an opportunity instead.According to normal circumstances, he should follow Li Jing's order and lead his army back to Yunzhou at this time, so the land of Shuozhou will be vacant again.He did not believe that the defenders of Yanmen would miss this great opportunity to 'recover' Shuozhou.Especially when Li Keyong is not in Yanmen at this time, and there are not many generals in Yanmen Town who can live there.

As long as he cheated and returned to the north, he believed that the Shatuo soldiers on the Yanmen side would eventually come out to recover Shuozhou.But at this time, he suddenly rushed out, hitting the Shatuo people by surprise, and attacking them unprepared, was an excellent opportunity to wipe out the Shatuo people who came out of Guan.There are not many Shatuo people in Yanmen at this time. If they can be lured into Shuozhou and wiped out most of them, then it is not impossible for him to take the opportunity to kill Yanmen Pass and invade Daizhou.As long as the moves are good, this is even a great opportunity to win Yanmen Town in one fell swoop.

There is such a good opportunity in front of him, and the opportunity is huge, how can Zhang Zimian miss it.Even if because of his plan, the pressure on Yunzhou temporarily increases, and the son of Jincheng may be in danger, but compared with the benefits of the whole plan, annihilating Yanmen Shatuo and capturing Yanmen Town, everything is worthless. It's all worth it.Even if it would make him violate King Qin's order, even if it might put his son in danger, he thought it was worth it.

Li Jing made him the Marshal of the Western Expedition, so he could focus on the overall situation of the battle.

It's just a pity that he waited here for five days, and the Shatuo people from Yanmen haven't come out yet.They were very cautious, as if they had received an order that they could not stick to.

But Zhang Zimian is still waiting. He believes that the generals of Yanmen can't refuse such a temptation, and they will definitely come out.Just now, he finally became more convinced.Although Yanmen only sent a thousand-man cavalry, it seems that they only sent a scout.But the more this is the case, the more it means that the Shatuo people in Yanmen will make big moves soon.

Sending out scouts is just their last careful investigation before they go out.

Yang Shihou, Gao Siji, Wang Yanzhang, and Song Wen were all shocked. No one thought that at this moment, Zhang Zimian actually had such a plan.Bold, very bold.But they have to admit that this plan is indeed very feasible.

"Over there in Jincheng?" Gao Siji asked hesitantly, "Should the last general lead his headquarters to reinforce?"

The guard of Jinzhou is Zhang Zimian's son, Zhang Yu, who is guarding it, and it is also the logistics, food, grass and armament replenishment base of the Qin army in Shuozhou. It is also in case the Shatuo people of Yanmen are determined not to come out, and they will have no choice but to return north. the only way out.Gao Siji's proposal was not only for Zhang Zimian's consideration, but also for the whole army.

After a while of silence, Zhang Zimian shook his head with difficulty.

"No!"

They don't have many soldiers and horses, only [-] light cavalry.Even if it seems weak against the Yanmen Shatuo Army, how can we divide the troops at this time, not to mention that the mere [-] cavalry returning to the defense may not necessarily change anything.

"Concentrate on one thing!" Zhang Zimian said: "Winning Yanmen Town is our greatest victory. The commander will send a messenger to tell Zhang Yu to give up Jincheng and return to Weizhou."

The night of the first day of July was a sleepless night for Zhang Zimian.

The Military Intelligence Department reported that the thousand-man cavalry had occupied Shenwuchuan City, and then sent a group of cavalry back to Yanmen Pass.

If there is no accident, Yanmenguan will make a final decision the day after tomorrow, whether to send troops to recover Shuozhou.Zhang Zimian thought that the possibility of sending troops was very high, and his only worry was that he didn't know how many troops would be sent from Yanmen Pass.If they feel that the situation in Daibei is very good now, they may go out of Guanbei to echo Hu Bing.If they only sent some soldiers and horses out of the customs in the end, then their plan might not make much sense.

However, Zhang Zimian still made tense arrangements and made preparations for Shatuo's large-scale dispatch of troops.

After a busy night, the [-] light cavalry of the Western Expeditionary Army made full preparations for battle, and then, when the scorching sun had risen to the right sky, they finally rode a flying horse to report.

"Sha Tuo made a big move, with about [-] cavalry, and about [-] infantry and auxiliary soldiers accompanying the army." Tan Ma was drenched in sweat and reported loudly out of breath.

[-] cavalry, [-] auxiliary soldiers?Zhang Zimian was taken aback, how could the Shatuo people still have so many soldiers?If Sha Tuo really had so many soldiers and horses, how could he fight with only [-] cavalry?Impossible, this is impossible.Zhang Zimian calmed down and analyzed carefully in his heart. In the end, he believed that among the army that left the customs, only the [-] cavalry at most were Shatuo soldiers, and among them, only a few were real cavalry, and the rest were just horsemen. infantry.Moreover, the so-called [-] auxiliary soldiers are more likely to be civilian husbands who were forcibly conscripted as auxiliary soldiers after the Shatuo people drove away Li Siyuan. .

If this is the case, even if there are 7 Shatuo people, he will not be afraid at all.The [-] elite cavalry of the Qin army are fully capable of defeating this mob.Moreover, Yanmen sent so many troops out of the pass at once, which means that there must not be many soldiers and horses left in the pass at this time, and Yanmen pass is extremely empty.

As long as you defeat the Wuhe army at the gate, and then take advantage of the victory and go south, you will have a great chance to take down Yanmen, and then take down the even more empty Xindai two states.

"Send the order, the whole army is ready to attack!" Zhang Zimian clenched his fist and swung it hard. (To be continued.)