At the end of a battle, the army of the Western Wei Dynasty, under the command of Zhuguo Li Bi, formed an array in front of Tongguan Pass. After a fierce battle, they finally repelled the enemy and won a long-lost victory. However, the whole sky above Tongguan was still filled with
A gloomy and gloomy atmosphere.
Even those soldiers who had just returned to the city after victory had little joy on their faces. Instead, they all had solemn expressions, either sad or angry, making the atmosphere in the city extremely depressing.
This situation is normal. Since the defeat at Mangshan, the situation in the Western Wei Dynasty has taken a turn for the worse. They have been defeated one after another, from Mangshan to Yiyang, then Hongnong, and now they have been defeated to Tongguan.
In addition to the collapse of the front, what was even more damaging to morale was the massive casualties. In the previous battle in Hongnong, nearly 30,000 soldiers had originally gathered in Hongnong City, but they were able to leave the battlefield and escape into the city.
There are only a few thousand people in Tongguan.
Even if Yang Jue, who was in charge of Jianzhou, had not led his troops south to support him in time, and ambushed the enemy general Hu Luguang who was still chasing after him on the way, the thousands of defeated soldiers might not have been able to escape back to Tongguan.
Thinking back to the beginning of the Eastern Expedition, the army of more than 100,000 people was strong and strong, and its morale was like a rainbow. Now, just over a month later, it was defeated. The army of more than 100,000 people was gone. The total number of defeated troops in Tongguanzhong was
There were only a little over 20,000 people in total, and even their leader Yu Wentai died during the journey.
This defeat, both in terms of casualties and loss of territory, exceeded the Battle of Mangshan in the ninth year of Datong. Although the Battle of Mangshan in the previous year was also a huge defeat, at least the main generals were relatively successful.
Wang Sizheng, who withdrew from the front line and was ordered to do so at the critical moment, also successfully blocked the pursuing troops east of Hongnong.
Aside from these losses of troops and land, the most fatal thing for the Western Wei army was the death of Yuwentai, the leader of the Bafu, which caused the remaining forces to fall into a leaderless chaos.
Because Li Bi returned to Tongguan earlier, and his military organization was considered the most complete, there was basically no major loss of personnel from the expedition to the withdrawal, and he also recruited some of Da Xiwu and Wang Xiong's defeated soldiers in Heyang Nancheng.
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When the enemy army continued to attack Tongguan, Li Bi took the initiative to fight in front of the pass, thwarting the enemy's attack this time and saving some face. However, when he returned to the city of Guan, there was no crowd to welcome him and congratulate him.
Xinsheng, on the contrary, must immediately resolve internal disputes and conflicts.
"Yuchi Poluo comes out quickly! Dog thieves always boast of their bravery, but when faced with a fierce battle with the enemy, they pull out the fence and flee first, abandoning our division and brigade to the thieves, causing heavy casualties to my sons!"
In front of the palace of the Lord of Guancheng City, Li Yuan was wearing a blood-stained military robe, holding a sword and standing in front of the palace. He kept shouting and cursing at the palace gate opposite, which was guarded by armored soldiers. All the guards around him were also there.
The man was injured and looked miserable.
On the long street in front of the mansion, there were also many governors and generals standing here to watch, and they kept whispering to each other. Gradually, an outline of the matter was outlined, and it became clear why Li Yuan was so angry and blocked the door of the mansion to accuse Yuchi Gang.
It turned out that the two of them stayed behind in Hongnong, Li Yuan was responsible for defending the city and the east defense, and Yuchigang was responsible for the west defense and supervising the rear battle. As a result, Li Yuan was leading his troops to engage in a fierce battle with the enemy, but Yuchigang directly led his troops to flee towards Tongguan.
, immediately caused the collapse of the Hongnong front, and even Li Yuan was directly besieged by the bandits. His cronies fought hard and suffered heavy casualties, and finally Li Yuan was able to escape back to Tongguan.
Li Yuan was in an extremely angry mood at the moment, and of course Yuchi Gang did not dare to show up, but having him block the door and shout insults would have a bad influence. Especially everyone knew that Li Yuan was a close general of Otsuka Zai Fang, and now that Otsuka Zai Fang had suffered a misfortune, his closest confidant
Being on the verge of turning against your relatives will undoubtedly make people even more distracted.
Yu Wenhu also had the courage to go out and try to persuade him, but he did not have much face in front of the furious Li Yuan. Li Yuan still stubbornly insisted on asking Yuchi Gang to come out to see him quickly.
After Li Bi returned to the city, he learned of this incident and rushed in without having time to disarm. He first comforted Li Yuan and then went into the house to personally lead Yu Chi Gang out and asked Yu Chi Gang to pay homage to Li Yuan and ask for forgiveness.
This dispute.
Next, under Li Bi's call, the generals gathered in the central hall of the mansion to discuss what to do next.
"Although the rebel army has been defeated, it is still entrenched in Hongnong City and may continue to attack at any time. The current situation is extremely critical. Only by working together can you overcome the difficulties. If you still have other plans,
If we cannot work together to fight the enemy, the country will be destroyed by thieves, and as a slave of thieves, it is not a threat!"
Feeling that people were distracted at the moment, Li Bi took the lead in speaking seriously.
After hearing this, all the generals nodded in agreement, including Li Yuan, who couldn't help but attack Yuchigang before, and they all expressed their opinions that they would not disturb the matter with their personal anger again. They all knew in their hearts that if this continued,
If we continue to complain and fight against each other, the situation will only become more critical.
After saying these words, Li Bi sat back at the table and said nothing more. Although he was already the most powerful person among everyone present and had just repelled the enemy's attack, in this battle
During the campaign, he was only a commander of a partial division. He didn't even know much about how the main army was defeated all the way, so there was no point in shouldering the responsibility.
Yu Wenhu had been lowering his head in thought, but when he saw that Li Bi stopped speaking and everyone turned their attention to him, he could only bite the bullet and said: "The Lord passed away on the journey, and the injury is heartbreaking. Right now.
Tongguan was also affected by the spread of war, and it was really inappropriate to leave coffins and coffins on the front line for a long time.
Da Situ is a veteran of the country. He is proficient in military affairs and is highly regarded both internally and externally. He has previously faced off against the rebel army and was defeated. He is the perfect candidate to receive orders in times of crisis. He should be in charge of military affairs at Tongguan to resist the rebel army. Please help me first.
After returning the coffin to the country and burying the Lord, he then reported to the imperial court that all the strong men from Guanxi should be recruited as soldiers to assist in the war at Tongguan..."
The army was defeated one after another, and the authority of Yu Wenhu, the man who was temporarily in charge of military affairs, was greatly reduced. Now there are not many people left, and they may not obey his orders. Now it is just in time for Li Bi to win a new victory, and he will take this heavy responsibility and
The mess was left to Li Bi, who left the front line in the name of helping the coffin return home, even though he returned to Tongzhou to clean up the internal situation. For Yu Wenhu, this was undoubtedly the best choice at the moment.
However, although Yu Wenhu was shrewd, the others were not stupid, especially Li Bi, who was named by him to blame him. He immediately frowned after hearing this.
"Although Tongguan is near the front line, it is still as solid as a rock. If Tongguan is in danger, so is the middle of the pass! It makes no difference whether Otsuka Zai Ling sets up Tongguan or Chang'an. Moreover, many Kansai princes died in the defeat of this expedition.
When it comes to state affairs, all the people become ghosts, and one spirit returns alone. When the elders ask questions, how can Duke Zhongshan respond?"
Li Bi did not speak, but his younger brother Li Ge looked at Yu Wenhu politely and said.
After Yu Wenhu heard this, he was speechless for a while, and then Li Bi spoke again: "I have been a soldier for half my life, so why should I be afraid of war? Prime Minister Otsuka treats me as a national scholar, and I will not hesitate to sacrifice my country to repay him! Tongguan
If everything is safe, Kansai will be safe. The former divisions and brigades have been defeated repeatedly, so we know that it is better to fight than to escape. Mr. Zhongshan is the legacy of Otsuka Zai, and it is natural to be in charge of the military. He will defend the gate and attack the watchman, but if there is an appointment, no one dares to disobey!"
While speaking, Li Bi stood up, bowed to Yuwen Hu and said. The rest of the people were already dissatisfied with Yuwen Hu in their hearts, but seeing Li Bi making this statement, they all stood up and still worshiped Yuwen Hu.
This is the leader of Guancheng.
After seeing this, Yu Wenhu could only accept the recommendation of the masses and did not dare to say anything about withdrawing in advance. As for Dugu Xin, Zhao Gui and others who had escaped before the battle, he could only appoint his confidants to report to the Chinese and Foreign Affairs Office in Tongzhou, hoping that the Chinese and foreign
The people left behind in the government can be alert. At least if he can't stop the rebel army here, it will be difficult to escape from the Tongguan front line in a short time.
Although Li Bi strongly recommended Yuwenhu to take charge of military affairs, in view of Yuwenhu's previous performance, he did not dare to entrust all the affairs to him. He still inspected and arranged various defenses in Guancheng with Da Xiwu and others, and did not dare to be careless.
Probably because their fortunes had reached rock bottom and they were beginning to have troubles, while Tongguan was still carefully arranging defenses, the scouts in front of the pass reported that the enemy troops stationed in Hongnong seemed to be showing signs of withdrawing. After further inquiring, they
I learned good news that the king of Taiyuan, Li Boshan, had led his army into Heluo to fight, forcing the enemy to withdraw and return to defense.
When the news came back to Tongguan, all the lieutenants in Guancheng could not help but heave a long sigh of relief, and some even cried with joy: "The King of Taiyuan is here to kill us, and everyone is saved!"
Although Yu Wenhu had a prejudice against Li Taiduo in his heart, but after learning that he had indeed led his army to Heluo, he couldn't help but sigh with mixed emotions: "Li Boshan is really a man of righteousness, and he has indeed lived up to his righteousness."
It’s my uncle’s request on his deathbed! It’s a pity, it’s a pity, if Yiyang hadn’t been evacuated at that time, the situation might not have been possible to turn defeat into victory!”
The arrival of the Taiyuan King's Brigade gave the entire Tongguan garrison a shot in the arm, and the subsequent actions of the enemy troops in Hongnong to destroy the city and flee also proved that Li Boshan's army had caused huge damage to the enemy just after arriving in Heluo.
Due to military pressure, they had to retreat hastily.
With the withdrawal of the enemy troops, the crisis in Tongguan has been resolved. Han Xiong and other generals in Western Henan who had previously retreated to Tongguan with the army expressed their hope to lead their troops back to the southern region of Guannan in Western Henan to cooperate with King Taiyuan in fighting the enemy.
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Yu Wenhu did not stop this. Although he was still worried about Li Boshan's forces entering Guanzhong, it was obvious that the most critical issue at the moment was to defeat the enemy first. He also hoped to use this to convey a kind signal to Li Boshan, so as to
Next, strive for a larger negotiation space.
However, just when Yu Wenhu was still imagining that everything was going to be stable and good, what happened in Tongzhou Zhongwai Mansion behind him gave him a heavy blow!