xymnovel Chapter 40 The Unsuccessful General with Iron Spear
Chapter 40 The Unsuccessful General with Iron Spear
The Yacheng, the inner garrison city where the commander-in-chief resides, is where elite troops are concentrated and its defenses are extremely tight. As long as this place is suppressed, the snake cannot move without a head; military orders cannot reach the surrounding areas, and chaos will inevitably ensue within the city.
Although Jiedushi Dai Siyuan was not in Yunzhou City, Liang generals such as Cui Dang, the deputy Jiedushi in charge of the prefecture, Liu Suiyan, the inspector and prefect of Chenzhou, and Yan Yong, the commander of the prefecture, were left to guard the city. Upon learning that the Tang army had breached the city gates, they hurriedly roused the soldiers to organize a defense.
More than a thousand defenders, nearly half of whom were gathered here, were unable to break through despite several attacks by Li Congke and Gao Xingzhou. The defenders were also trapped inside the main city and could not leave, resulting in a stalemate between the two sides.
At dawn, as the rooster crowed, Li Siyuan arrived at the city of Yunzhou and burst in through the east gate.
But there was no sign of the five thousand men behind him, only Shi Jingtang leading fifty cavalrymen as his bodyguards. The commander-in-chief was actually going into danger alone!
"A distant attack by a flanking force is like a high-stakes gamble; there is only success or failure, and there is no such thing as strategic planning or decisive victory."
Li Siyuan said calmly, "Twenty-three, Gao Xingzhou was the first to breach the city. The battle situation is changing rapidly, and we cannot let them down."
He was not reckless or ignorant of military strategy. This time, he led a surprise attack with 5,000 elite troops, of which only 200 were cavalry.
As the deputy commander of both Han and non-Han troops, he was only assigned two hundred cavalrymen, which sounds unbelievable, but it was indeed the case.
When Li Keyong rose to power in Taiyuan, his cavalry numbered no more than seven thousand; Li Cunxu waged war year after year, yet his horses numbered only ten thousand. Warhorses were extremely valuable strategic resources, so he once ordered that cavalrymen were not allowed to ride horses unless they encountered the enemy.
It was a harsh reality that a large number of elite cavalry could not be deployed in a risky military operation.
……
Li Siyuan rode his horse into the city first. After passing through a street, he was blocked by hundreds of Liang soldiers who were on their way to reinforce Yacheng. They bumped into each other!
Liang Jun, leading the military academy, loudly encouraged his men: "The Shatuo people are brutal and bloodthirsty, raping and plundering. Think of your parents, wives, and children. Look, they don't outnumber you, charge!"
His mobilization had an effect; the local soldiers mustered their courage, drew their guns and knives, and charged toward the invaders.
The streets were narrow, allowing only two horses to ride abreast. Fifty horses, head to tail, were lined up in a long, serpentine line, making the terrain extremely unfavorable.
If cavalry cannot charge and instead remain stationary to fight infantry, they will find it difficult to fully utilize their combat effectiveness.
The two cavalrymen at the front were immediately pierced by the stray spears and fell off their horses. Boots trampled over their heads and bodies, and after a few weak groans, they soon fell silent.
"How could Li Congke do things like this? He doesn't even clean things up properly."
Shi Jingtang complained, brandishing his gleaming silver dragon halberd to meet the attack. This weapon, with its single-edged, crescent-shaped blade, could be used for thrusting, slashing, locking, and grappling. The halberd head was forged and coiled with several silver strands to enhance its slashing power, hence its name.
Hooking onto several thrusting spears, Shi Jingtang used his strength to deflect them to the side, then turned back and shouted, "Taishan, the road here is narrow and not suitable for cavalry combat. Let's retreat to an open area."
The idea of Mount Tai originated from Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, who sent Zhang Yue, the Grand Secretary, as an envoy to perform the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai.
According to precedent, after the Fengshan ceremony, all officials below the Three Dukes were promoted one rank. Zhang Yue's son-in-law, Zheng Yi, was originally a ninth-rank official, but he was the only one who was suddenly promoted to the fifth rank and granted a scarlet robe.
When Li Longji heard that Zheng Yi's official position had risen so rapidly, he was surprised and asked him about it, but Zheng Yi had no answer.
A court entertainer cleverly defused the situation, saying, "This is the power of Mount Tai."
From then on, Mount Tai became a synonym for father-in-law, which led to the development of terms such as father-in-law and father-in-law.
Li Siyuan knew that his son-in-law and adopted son were always at odds, so this statement was perhaps too harsh: "How can a military operation guarantee complete success? On the 23rd, they captured the city gate and trapped the defending army in the main city, which was already quite good."
He served under Li Keyong's father, Li Guochang, from the age of thirteen. Now fifty-five, he has fought on the battlefield for forty years, remaining completely calm even when ambushed.
"Withdraw your troops temporarily."
Seeing the enemy retreat, Liang's soldiers' morale soared. The five men lined up in a row, spears in hand, and advanced side by side.
Behind Shi Jingtang was Li Siyuan, who could not retreat an inch. Faced with the continuous barrage of spears, he could only parry. Several long spears flew up, down, forward, backward, left, and right, like venomous snakes flicking their tongues, as if about to devour him.
Fortunately, Liang Jun was also limited by the terrain and could not flank from the left and right sides; otherwise, the situation faced by the father-in-law and son-in-law would have been even worse.
Shi Jingtang stepped forward to shield Li Siyuan, taking the brunt of the attack. As he parried left and right, he inevitably created openings. In the brief moment before he could retract his silver halberd, a spear struck him squarely in the ribs!
The sturdy armor jammed the spear tip, and the gunman continued to thrust forward, finally piercing the body through the gaps in the armor plates.
Shi Jingtang grunted, reached out and gripped the spear shaft, then swung the halberd head down heavily, breaking the hardwood spear shaft in two.
A soldier with a purple face and white eyes leaped forward, swung his sword and cut down the Liang soldier, shouting, "Commander Shi, you should step back too. Leave this to us."
Shi Jingtang pressed his hand against the wound on his waist, shook his head to refuse, and continued to shield the wound with his body, remaining unmoved.
Li Siyuan finally retreated to an open area in the main street, where dozens of his personal guards blocked the street, surrounding him completely. (Note 1)
Just when things were at their most critical, a troop of Tang soldiers clad in yellow armor arrived and joined the battle. Their leader shouted, "Liang soldiers, cease your arrogance! Zhang Tingyun is here!"
Zhang Tingyun was originally a squad leader in the Xuanwu Army. In his early years, he defected to Taiyuan and was taken in by Li Keyong as a junior officer.
Li Cunxu rescued Shangdang, fought at Baixiang, attacked Jimen, and captured Xingwei. Zhang Tingyun accompanied him and was greatly favored. He was appointed as the Inspector of the Ministry of War, the Commander of the Infantry, the Commander of the Garrison, and the Commander of the Imperial Guards.
His elite force joined the battle, instantly turning the tide of the war.
Street fighting is a close-quarters battle with no clever tactics. One falls, another rises to fill the gap; numbers are the only measure of success.
Before them came a relentless stream of enemies, while their own rear was empty. With each fallen soldier in the front ranks, the battle line drew closer. The morale that Liang's army had painstakingly built up crumbled little by little.
It is unclear who started it, but the garrison suddenly scattered and ran away.
All 5,000 men under Li Siyuan's command entered the city, and the overall situation was settled.
The city fell, Cui Dang was captured, and Liu Suiyan and Yan Yong successfully broke through the siege and escaped back to Bianliang.
Li Siyuan ordered strict military discipline, prohibiting burning and looting, and pacified the people, thus pacifying Yunzhou.
Zhang Tingyun stormed into the government office and captured a civil official. Seeing that the official's face was pockmarked and covered with scars, the man guessed he was a fierce and ruthless man and closed his eyes to await his death.
Unexpectedly, although Zhang Tingyun was illiterate, he respected scholars and asked, "Judging from your appearance, you must be a scholar. Do not conceal your true nature."
"I am Zhao Feng, a judge of the military governor of Yunzhou, and a native of Youzhou. Because Liu Shouguang, the Prince of Yan, had all the able-bodied men in his army tattooed on his face, I shaved my head and became a monk. I hid with my brother Liu Shouqi and later followed Liu Shouqi to Liang..."
If Gao Xingzhou were here, he would most likely recognize this fellow townsman. Zhang Tingyun inquired about the situation and introduced him to Li Siyuan.
Li Siyuan ordered that the prisoners be sent to the military headquarters along with the other prisoners. (Note 2)
When the good news reached Xing Tang Prefecture in Tokyo, Li Cunxu was overjoyed: "General, your strategy is truly ingenious; our mission is accomplished!"
The emperor appointed Li Siyuan as the military governor of Tianping Army, governing the three prefectures of Yun, Cao, and Pu. Upon hearing of Zhao Feng's reputation, he was immediately appointed as a scholar of the Imperial Guard.
Although Li Siyuan nominally controlled three prefectures, he actually only had Yunzhou as his base. Five thousand Tang soldiers were isolated in enemy territory, and if the enemy launched a major counterattack, the fate of this force would be uncertain.
Now it remains to be seen how the Liang Kingdom will respond.
……
Since losing the two prefectures of Wei and Bo in Hebei, the battle lines have shifted to both banks of the Yellow River. The armies of Jin and Liang fought on both sides of the river, with Wang Yanzhang often serving as the vanguard. He was appointed as the military governor of Huazhou and the deputy commander of the northern expeditionary force.
After Zhu Wen's death, many ministers and veteran generals were slandered. Although Wang Yanzhang was nominally a deputy general, he was often not put to use and was ostracized by petty people.
Zhao Chou was a renowned hero. Back then, he and his two brothers defended Chenzhou to the death, resisting the rebels for three hundred days.
His second son, Zhao Yan, survived the siege and married the daughter of Emperor Taizu, becoming his son-in-law. How could he then indulge in pleasure?
I heard that Zhao Yan spends tens of thousands of yuan on a single meal; it seems the front lines are struggling financially while the rear is feasting. (Note 3)
Wang Yanzhang took a bite of the pancake and thought bitterly.
There were also Zhang Guiba and his two brothers, who came from the prestigious Zhang family of Qinghe. They assisted Ge Congzhou in fighting against the Jin army at the Huan River, and captured Li Keyong's beloved son, Li Luoluo. They also fought against the Yan people at Neihuang, killing more than 30,000 of Liu Rengong's soldiers. What a glorious feat!
What kind of person is Zhang Hanjie, the son of the emperor? He actually allowed Duan Ning, a petty man who rose to power by offering his sister as a hostage, to become the commander-in-chief of the northern army, wielding great military power, while he himself was relegated to a subordinate position. (Note 4)
Wang Yanzhang clenched his large, strong hands—the same hands that had once punted the Yellow River—and looked at the hundred-pound double iron spears that were stuck on the weapon rack and could only lie flat on the ground. He recalled the glorious past, and names silently escaped his lips.
"Ge Congzhou, Pang Shigu, Shi Shucong, Li Tangbin, Xie Yanzhang, Yang Shihou, and Liu Xun... you all died too young."
Back then, the Liang Kingdom had many famous generals, and Zhu Wen's Ten Friends were enough to rival many powerful generals of the Jin army.
Wang Yanzhang then thought of the opponent who died by his iron spear and sighed, "Isn't it a blessing to die at the hands of a formidable enemy early on?"
After years of silence and the passage of time, the once invincible general has unknowingly grown up to be over sixty.
"Report! Tang troops have captured Yunzhou!"
Wang Yanzhang raised a few graying eyebrows: "What did you say?!"
At that time, no one could have imagined that this battle and the series of conflicts it triggered would become the ultimate battle in the struggle for hegemony between Jin and Liang.
At the same time, it allowed the frustrated Wang Yanzhang to once again display his talents and burst forth with the last brilliance of his life, and also finally brought an end to the feud between Gao Xingzhou and him.