Chapter 284: Shattered Dreams
Fifty-five thousand versus thirty-five thousand, and with the blessing of [Po Jun], won't I be able to push forward all the way? Maybe I can even take Taiyuan in one fell swoop.

I took Liaozhou and Zezhou, and didn't pay attention to Pingbei for a while. You have been developing quietly, and you have accumulated such a huge fortune. Your military strength is comparable to that of the other two states.

Lao Zhu, Lao Zhu, you are so awesome.

Seeing that Yang Chang had been staring at him with a very strange expression, Zhu Tong thought that he did not believe him, so he explained: "The troops just reported are not false. Sanlang should still remember the time when Fenzhou destroyed Loushi? Most of the captured war horses were left in Pingbei, plus the ones captured by Yin Shuke before, so we have this cavalry scale."

"Of course I remember."

Yang Chang nodded in affirmation and murmured, "Most of the war horses stayed in Pingbei because you have grasslands suitable for raising horses here, but the number of cavalry is indeed astonishing. In addition, the increase of 2,000 navy is also reasonable, but the increase of 20,000 infantry is too exaggerated, isn't it?"

"No."

Zhu Tong shook his head innocently, and replied with a bit of Versailles: "The main reason is that the weapons cannot be manufactured, and the armor is less than 10% of the whole army. Otherwise, it would be no problem to recruit another 20,000. You also know that the people of Fenzhou have basically moved to Pingbei Army for resettlement. In the past, there was not enough food and they dared not recruit soldiers. Now there are potatoes to solve the food shortage. Moreover, Sanlang has a very good reputation here, and the militiamen from all over the country are vying to join the army."

"Good, good, good!"

Yang Chang nodded heavily, clapped his hands and said happily: "Brother did a good job and gave me a big surprise. By the way, how many soldiers are there in Yangliang Pass now? Are the logistics and food supplies sufficient?"

"There are 8,000 infantry at the North Pass, 10,000 cavalry and 15,000 infantry at the South Pass. The food and fodder at the two passes will last for half a month. The subsequent military rations are stored in the official warehouse along the Fen River, and the three Ruan navy will deliver them as planned."

"Where is the navy now?"

As soon as Zhu Tong finished speaking, Yang Chang's voice suddenly became louder, thinking that the existing resources were enough to start a war and there was no need to spend time assembling them.

"Xiao Qi leads 2,000 sailors to guard the river near Beiguan to prevent the Jin army from bypassing by water. Xiao Er and Xiao Wu are in Linfen and Huoyi respectively."

"very good."

Yang Chang nodded solemnly and said, "Send someone to Linfen and Huoyi immediately to pass on the order to have the second and fifth brothers lead their troops to immediately go north along the Fen River and head towards Jiexiu, Xiaoyi and other directions."

"Ah? What are you doing?"

As soon as Zhu Tong said this, he immediately understood Yang Chang's intention, so he clapped his hands in joy and asked, "Yes, Sanlang came here in military uniform, so he must be here to fight. However, the commander of the Jin army this time doesn't seem to be very famous. Is Puluhu very powerful? Do you need to deal with him personally?"

"Whether he is powerful or not, he is probably not as powerful as Lou Shi and Nian Han, but his identity is not simple, he is the eldest son of the Jin emperor."

"Then why"

"Last year, the Jin people fortified their city and cleared the countryside in an attempt to lure us north. I will break through here and fight all the way to Taiyuan!"

Yang Chang spoke so powerfully that Zhu Tong took a deep breath, licked his lips, and asked, "Is Sanlang going to attack Taiyuan this time? Can Fenzhou be taken? In order to feed these war horses, Pingbei has wasted a lot of land to grow food. It's a pity that such a large area of ​​Fenzhou has been left barren."

"Not only Fenzhou, I also plan to take Taiyuan!"

"Is it such a big deal?"

"If you don't make a sound, it will be a blockbuster!"

Yang Chang said solemnly, "We need to take most of the generals with us when we go north to fight. Brother, choose a general to stay behind and help Xiao Rang allocate food and military supplies. I met Cao Zheng in Hongdong. He said that officials in Jiangzhou are afraid of our policies. I'm afraid the same is true in Xizhou and Cizhou. We need to guard against spies who take advantage of the chaos to sneak in and cause trouble."

"Um"

Zhu Tong pondered for a moment, stroked his beautiful beard and said seriously: "I went with the army last time, this time I have to let Han Tao go, Sanlang will lead the army personally, and I will stay behind to guard Pingbei."

"That's good. There will be many opportunities in the future, and brother will definitely make contributions."

While Yang Chang was communicating in front of the pass, Liu Tang and Xuan Zan also came to say hello after hearing the news.

Zhu Tong took the opportunity to hand over the Nanguan army, and then led a team of guards south to Linfen to ensure that the army's logistics were not affected.

Yang Chang then ordered the entire army to assemble, and then used his night vision to lead the way, and only gave the order to rest after they reached Yangguan.

With the warning from the Night Owl Army ahead, Deputy Chief Han Tao went to the North Gate in person to take charge. He had been fighting with Puluhu for two days. When he was feeling the pressure doubling, a scout reported a small amount of fire on the road behind the pass.

Han Tao originally thought it was a convoy delivering supplies, until the sound of footsteps like thunder approached, and then he realized that a large group of reinforcements had arrived.

Beiguan is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and the passage behind the pass is relatively narrow. It is not suitable to station a large number of troops in the valley, as this will affect supplies.

According to previous experience, usually when a group of soldiers were killed at the North Gate, they would be replaced by another group of soldiers at the rear, so Zhu Tong stationed a large number of troops at the South Gate.

"This is ridiculous. I didn't even ask for reinforcements."

"Who dares to act on their own? It's stupid."

Han Tao cursed all the way and arrived behind the pass with a lot of anger.

When the guards used torches to illuminate the front, they suddenly saw the familiar white horse in golden armor.

Boy, I almost did.
"General, why are you here? And we are marching at night, so we only have torches like this."

"I'm afraid there may be Jin scouts in the high places, so I don't want to alert them. Let's go, prepare some food for the brothers, and tell them about the battle situation over the past two days."

"Yes."

Han Tao led the crowd to the city wall on the top of the pass, set up two tables of food and wine to entertain the guests, and then reported the military situation to Yang Chang.

"The Jin army just arrived yesterday afternoon and immediately launched an attack on the city. However, they did not let go on the first day. Today, they used all kinds of equipment. Our defense pressure has increased dramatically. I was still waiting for Ling Zhen to come to reinforce, but I didn't expect the general to come in person."

"good."

Yang Chang nodded in affirmation and responded calmly, "This Jin prince is quite methodical in deploying troops and seems to be very imposing. Unfortunately, he met me. Where is Brother Xiaoqi now?"

"Just across the river, at the shallow beach where the boats are moored."

"Find a way to contact him. Have him come to see me tonight. We will launch a counterattack tomorrow morning."

"Ah? Tomorrow morning."

Han Tao's voice gradually became lower when he finished speaking, and his eyes seemed to say, "You just arrived, why don't you take a break?"

"We'll cook at 5 a.m. tomorrow, and we'll assemble outside the pass before dawn, and then catch them off guard."

"Uh, cooking at five o'clock is no problem, but the enemy's situation is still unclear."

Seeing Yang Chang speak so firmly, Han Tao couldn't help but give a reminder, but then he saw Yang Chang stand up straight.

"I will go to the enemy camp to check it out. No matter if he is the marshal of the Jin army or the prince, I have no chance of winning. I still say 'I guarantee victory'."

"The commander said we must win."

"It's so cool to fight with my brother!"

"Will Puluhu be scared to pee his pants tomorrow?"

When Liu Tang, Xuan Zan, Shi Qian and others were flattering Yang Chang and belittling Puluhu (Wanyan Zonghan), the same scene occurred in the Jin camp outside the Great Wall, except that the object of the flattery was Puluhu.

In fact, no matter how big the Jin army is, they are skilled in archery and horse riding, and those who can stand out are not useless.

As the eldest son of Wuqimai, Buluhu had always fought on the front line on behalf of his father. However, his brilliance was overshadowed by the shining stars of his peers such as Nianhan, Wuliebu, Erliduo, and Talai.

At night, all the camps of the Jin army had rested, and only the central army tent was still lit.

The three commanders, Puluhu, Saili and Pucha, were eating roasted lamb and drinking wine, while chatting about the battle at Yangliang Pass. The Jin army on the western front totaled 35,000, of which 5,000 were brought by Saili from the eastern army to escort the eldest prince Puluhu, and the remaining 30,000 were led by General Pucha.

Pucha is Wanyan Pucha, the son of Wanyan Yingge (Emperor Muzong of Jin) and the brother of Marshal Zuo Jianjun Talan (Wanyan Chang). Both of them are cousins ​​of Wuqimai, so Puluhu has to call him uncle.

Famous generals such as Basuli, Yin Shuke and Lou Shi lost their heads one after another at the hands of Yang Chang, which damaged the strength of Nianhan's Western Army. Marshal Xieye (Wanyan Gao) followed Wuqimai's advice and took the opportunity to place a group of generals in Taiyuan for service. Pucha was one of the generals among them.

"I watched the battle today and saw that the defenders on the pass were having a harder time than yesterday. As long as we continue to increase our strength and use the siege equipment, we can take the pass in a few days. We are definitely the fastest along the way. Just wait for your contribution, my prince."

"That is required."

After Wanyan Pucha gave his summary speech, Saili, who was full of oil, quickly followed up and agreed: "I have studied Yang Chang's tactics. This guy has always played like a turtle. He likes to use the pass to consume the enemy and then counterattack. As long as we capture Yangliang Pass in front of us, won't Pingbei be easy to capture without Yang Chang?"

"Having said that, we can't be overly optimistic. Don't forget that after defeating the North Gate, there is still the South Gate. The North Gate has a large attack surface due to the terrain, and the South Gate, the end of the Queshu Valley, should be the opposite, so a tough battle is still to come."

Seeing Saili talking so excitedly, Puluhu couldn't help but pour a bucket of cold water on him, but the other party didn't care.

"Don't you know the habits of the Han people, Your Highness? If they don't lose, it's fine. But if they lose, they can't stop. Once we take over the North Gate, won't they abandon the city and flee?"

"But according to what Shi Xiu and Dai Zong said, Zhu Tong is a very loyal person and I'm afraid he won't abandon the city."

"It doesn't matter. Even if he puts up a desperate resistance, we have so many siege weapons and countless arrows. We can crush him all the way. How can Zhu Tong defend himself? General Pucha, what do you think?"

In order to reassure Puluhu, Saili did not forget to mention Wanyan Pucha at the end of his speech.

"It is also."

Wanyan Pucha pursed his lips and nodded in affirmation, but then he changed the subject and frowned and added, "But there is one thing that I have not figured out all this time. Wushi and Nianhan are close friends, so why did they let Buluhu choose first? And letting him choose first would be fine, but the key is that all the equipment in Taiyuan was given to the western front. This is unreasonable."

"Unreasonable? It's very reasonable!"

Sai Li interrupted Wanyan Pucha and said seriously: "Wushi and Nianhan have a good relationship because they have worked together for a long time. Now that Nianhan has retired and become the prime minister, if Wushi still supports him, it will inevitably arouse the suspicion of His Majesty. Most of his clansmen are in Shangjing, and he must always consider his family.
As for the siege equipment, giving them to us is what the Song people said, 'Do good to the end.' Both the Yelu Yudu and Pucha Shijianu lines have no access to waterways, so we can't carry them all the way across, right? If we need them, we might as well make them now."

"Maybe I'm overthinking it."

Wanyan Pucha put down the meat-cutting knife, slapped his hands on his thighs and stood up, muttering, "I have to command the battle tomorrow morning, so I won't continue chatting with you. I'm going to rest first."

"We are similar. We will also get up early tomorrow to cheer up and try to take this pass as soon as possible."

"Ah."

Puluhu stood up as well and patted Saili on the shoulder, signaling this guy to stop eating and drinking for the time being and get up quickly to see his elder off to see the commander.

Saili pretended not to understand and picked up the lamb leg and shook it towards Wanyan Pucha, which was his farewell gesture.

Pu Luhu sent his men back to the tent. Before he even sat down, he said in a deep voice, "You've been eating all night, but you're still not full? We have to get up early tomorrow. We can't let Pu Cha work alone. Otherwise, when we conquer Pingbei later, the soldiers will only remember him!"

"Your Highness knows me well. I am only interested in wine, meat and beautiful women. There are no women in the camp now. I can only eat meat and drink to my heart's content, otherwise I won't be able to sleep at night."

"I just tried to persuade you with all my heart, but you didn't listen to a single word I said?"

"Don't worry, my prince. If I get up later than you tomorrow, you can whip me at will!"

Saili shook his head and finished speaking, then pounded his chest with his right fist to show that he was as good as his word. After hearing this, Puluhu stopped trying to persuade him.

March 21st, just before dawn.

Saili drank too much last night and was woken up by the urge to pee as if he had set an alarm. When he opened his eyes, he found that the whole camp was quiet.

Then he came out of the tent in disheveled clothes, and was shaken by the breeze when he urinated. He suddenly remembered the early morning appointment last night, and immediately shook his head to wake himself up.

"Hehe, we keep our promise. We will get up early if we say so."

Saili yawned and pulled up his trousers lazily. Feeling a little dizzy, he wanted to go for a ride outside the camp.

At that time, the wildness was like early night, and the view in front was full of spots. Although the visibility was low, it did not affect the riding.

Saili spurred his horse and rode straight south.

Before he knew it, he had ridden his horse two miles away and suddenly realized something was wrong.

As time passed, the surrounding scene gradually became clear, but the front was still pitch black.

咈哧
The familiar sound of a horse neighing made Saili shudder.

Could the dark mass ahead be a gathering of troops? Zhu Tong was going to attack? Why?
I am drunk and still in a dream?
Snapped.
Saili covered his aching face and immediately turned his horse around and ran back.

Da da da.
The hurried sound of horse hooves was finally discovered by Yang Chang's scouts, who was organizing the army with Liu Tang at the time.

"Brother, we have been discovered by the Jin army scouts. Maybe they have already made preparations. Do we still need to carry out a surprise attack as planned?"

"of course."

Yang Chang said with a serious face: "I went to check half an hour ago. The scout just now must have been accidental. The Jin army definitely did not prepare in advance. Even if they did, it was impromptu. You should prepare the infantry as soon as possible and follow Han Tao. Xuan Zan and I will lead the cavalry to attack first."

"Yes!"

After a while, the cavalry galloped like thunder, and the darkness was gradually dispelled.

When Yang Chang got the news, Saili had already run half a mile away, but the Zhaoye Jade Lion was faster and led its master to the target in an instant.

Tsk tsk, this guy isn't even wearing any armor. He's even more arrogant than the Jin army at Fengyue Pass.

The angle was not suitable to aim at the neck, so Yang Chang chose a larger target.

He took out the bow while running, and his special skill [Flying Feather] immediately provided balance. The arrow flew straight to Saili's vest, just like hitting the bull's eye in a shooting competition.

Come on down, how could you?

Yang Chang was surprised to find that the scout did not fall off his horse after being shot by an arrow, so he picked up his bow and arrow and continued shooting.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh.
Saili was hit by five arrows in the back, but he still held the horse's neck and ran forward. His tenacity was unbelievable, but the Jin camp was just ahead.

Li Kui in the Jin army? Does he also have defensive attributes?
When Yang Chang stopped his horse in surprise, Xuan Zan led the cavalry to catch up.

"Captain, did you hit it?"

"He was shot, but he doesn't seem to be dead. Follow me and kill him!"

"Yes!"

Thousands of horses galloped like thunder, shattering the golden man’s beautiful dream.

With his strong willpower, Saili was carried back to the gate of the Jin camp by a warhorse like a hedgehog. He left a few words before dying.

"Tell the eldest prince that there is an enemy attack."

The scout who was supporting him had already seen the cavalry that covered the sky and the sun, and thought that your news was too late, and then he shouted in panic with a bitter face: "Hurry up, General Saili has been shot by an arrow!"

(End of this chapter)