The sky gradually dawned, and in the hazy morning light, Xiaoguan City was in a mess. The war was over. The Xiaoguan defenders were shocked by the explosion. Under the powerful offensive of the Hexi Army cavalry, the Xiaoguan soldiers quickly collapsed and were defeated. Countless people surrendered.
Pan Nong, the commander-in-chief, was not as lucky as he had been in escaping last time. In the final melee, he was shot by random arrows, and it is not known who killed him.
Liang Wu ordered deputy general Zhang Chu to lead 5,000 troops to guard Xiaoguan. He led 25,000 cavalry along the Qin Straight Road to Zhipinggao County, Yuanzhou Prefecture. In just one day and one night, the Hexi Army cavalry reached Pinggao City. At this time,
The 20,000 Zhu Si troops supporting Xiao Guan had just arrived in Jingzhou. The army had not yet entered Yuanzhou, and there were only less than a thousand defenders in Pinggao City.
Li Qiunian, the governor of Yuanzhou, knew that he could not defend Pinggao County, so he opened the city gate and asked the Hexi Army to surrender. Liang Wu entered the governor's office and asked Li Qiunian to sit down. "I would like to ask whether Li Qiushi is familiar with General Tian, the general guarding the two passes?
"
The two generals guarding the two passes refer to the generals guarding the Longshan Pass and Liupan Pass. Currently, the chief general guarding the two passes is called Tian Xijian. He leads 5,000 garrison troops to guard the two passes.
Li Qiunian nodded, "Of course we are familiar with each other. Speaking of which, we are fellow townsmen and quasi-in-laws. Tian Xijian's daughter will marry Quanzi next year."
Liang Wu added: "His Royal Highness the King of Jin knows that Tian Xijian is not Zhu Si's best friend. He made great achievements in the battle against the Tuyuhun people in Longyou. His Highness hopes that he can lead his army to surrender and stop working for Zhu Si!"
After speaking, Liang Wu took out another letter from his arms, "This is an autographed letter from His Highness the King of Jin to Tian Xijian. I hope Li Shi will send someone to deliver it!"
Li Qiunian thought for a moment and said, "Let my dog deliver the message! He is Tian Xijian's prospective son-in-law, so he can talk better."
Liang Wu was overjoyed, "Then please ask Li Qishi, I will report truthfully to His Highness the King of Jin!"
...........
Longshan Pass and Liupan Pass are located in the south of Yuanzhou, about a hundred miles away from Pinggao County. It is the west gate of the pass defense and mainly defends against the Hexi Army coming from Huizhou.
The characteristic of the two towers is that it is more difficult and dangerous to attack from the west, but from the east it is a flat plain and there is no danger to defend.
Tian Xijian is about fifty years old. He is a subordinate of Xin Yunjing, the former Longyou Jiedu envoy. Twenty years ago, he served as the military envoy of Hezhou. He made great achievements in the defense of Tuyuhun. He once served as the deputy envoy of Longyou Jiedu.
, but was dismissed due to the Yuan Zai case. After Li Shi ascended the throne, he was re-appointed as the military envoy of Yuanzhou. However, he was dismissed again because he offended Lu Qi. He had despaired of the Tang Dynasty. After the Jingyuan mutiny,
He surrendered to Zhu Si and was named General Longwu by Zhu Si, and the envoy of the two passes.
But he was not Zhu Si's confidant. After Zhu Si ascended the throne, Tian Xijian's subordinate Pan Nong was promoted to the rank of general and duke. However, Tian Xijian was still a general, and his title was still county prince, but he was under Pan Nong.
It would be fine if Pan Nong had good command and outstanding ability, but he couldn't read a single Chinese character and lost Xiao Pass. He needed ability but not ability, and needed qualifications but not qualifications. Just because he was Zhu Si's personal soldier, he was granted the title
As a general, Tian Xijian was extremely dissatisfied with such unscrupulous nepotism.
Tian Xijian has learned that the Hexi Army has captured Xiaoguan and that the Hexi Army has moved south. At the same time, he has received news from the court that 20,000 reinforcements sent by Zhu Si have also arrived in Jingzhou. The situation is very tense. Tian Xijian is very worried about the situation of his wife and daughter. He wants to
It was too late to get his wife and daughter out, so he could only watch the changes in the situation uneasily.
Five thousand defenders led by Tian Xijian were stationed in Liupan Pass. It was a board-walled military camp covering an area of 500 acres. Although Liupan Pass was connected to the city, the city was too small and could only accommodate a thousand people, so another military camp could only be set up.
, Tian Xijian spent most of his time in the military camp.
That afternoon, a soldier reported at the tent door, "General Qi, Mr. Changqing is here."
Mr. Changqing is Tian Xijian's prospective son-in-law Li Changqing, the son of Li Qiunian, the governor of Yuanzhou. Tian Xijian was worried about the situation of his wife and daughter in Pinggao County. When the prospective son-in-law arrived, he quickly said: "Let him in quickly!"
Li Changqing was only twenty years old, and his fiancée was Tian Mengniang, the youngest daughter of Tian Xijian. The two were just one step away from going to the church to get married. The auspicious day was set for the fifth day of November, which was less than a month away.
Li Changqing came in and knelt down and kowtowed: "My son-in-law, I would like to pay my respects to my father-in-law!"
Tian Xijian has experienced ups and downs in the past ten years. He has learned the painful lesson of civil officials governing people and military generals governing people. He has no sons but only two daughters, so he hopes that his son-in-law will no longer be a military general.
To become a civil servant was the main reason why he decided to marry Li Qiunian.
Li Changqing passed the Northern Tang Dynasty Ming Dynasty Classics Examination last year and is currently a civil servant in Yuanzhou, ranking ninth grade. This is Zhu Si's way of giving face to his father, Li Qiunian. Otherwise, if he passed the Ming Dynasty Classics Examination, he would only be a prefecture and county clerk, not an official.
qualifications.
"My dear son-in-law, please ask. How is the situation in Pinggao County?" Tian Xijian asked anxiously.
"Reporting to my father-in-law, the Hexi Army reached Pinggao County yesterday morning, and my father has already marched to the city to request surrender."
"ah!"
Tian Xijian was stunned, and he confirmed after a while: "Your father really surrendered?"
"I can't say surrender. I can only say that my father is willing to be loyal to King Guo Song of Jin. My father-in-law, there are less than a thousand defenders in the city, and 25,000 Hexi troops are coming. If they don't surrender in a deadly battle, I'm afraid my son-in-law and Meng Niang will both be killed."
I can’t survive.”
Tian Xijian thought about it, how could Pinggao County withstand an army of 25,000 people, but he was slightly relieved to know that his wife and daughter were safe.
"Then the good son-in-law is here..." Tian Xijian looked at his son-in-law doubtfully.
"I'm mainly here to assure my father-in-law that he's safe!"
Speaking of this, Li Changqing looked both sides and lowered his voice: "This is not the place to talk!"
Tian Xijian hurriedly brought his son-in-law to the tent. He hesitated and said, "Isn't your good son-in-law here to persuade me to surrender?"
"I have a letter here for my father-in-law. It is an autographed letter from King Guo Song of Jin Dynasty." Li Changqing took out the letter and handed it to Tian Xijian.
Tian Xijian was shocked. Guo Song wrote a letter to him personally. How could he know about him? He and he had never crossed paths!
As his thoughts changed, Tian Xijian suddenly thought of a person, his close friend Zhang Feng. Now that Zhang Feng is serving as the governor of Longyou Jiedu Prefecture and the governor of Shanzhou, he must have recommended him to Guo Song.
Tian Xijian took the letter and saw on the cover that it read "General Tian Xijian, the envoy to guard the two passes", and it was signed by Guo Song, the military governor of Longyou.
That's right, he wrote to himself as the military governor of Longyou, so it must have been recommended by Zhang Feng.
Tian Xijian opened the letter and wrote at the beginning: "Last year, Zhang Changshi of Longyou recommended General Tian to my king, and he received many praises. Especially when General Tian guarded Hezhou in his early years, he never suffered a defeat. My king fought fiercely with Tubo and Tuyuhun many times, and was deeply affected by it."
Knowing how difficult it is to defend against the enemy...'
Seeing this, Tian Xijian suddenly felt a warm current in his heart. Guo Song praised himself from the bottom of his heart. Only those who have experienced it personally can be so sincere. He immediately felt like he had met a confidant.
Tian Xijian slowly read the letter. In the letter, Guo Song did not try his best to belittle and vilify Zhu Si. He just mentioned in a plain tone that Zhu Si was not in the right position and would not achieve great things. This sentence touched Tian Xijian's heart.
He and many local officials were only loyal to the Northern Tang Dynasty, not Zhu Si. After Zhu Si usurped the throne, many people began to alienate him, especially Zhu Si's unfair rewards and punishments, which allowed a talentless and unscrupulous person like Pan Nong to seize high positions.
, Tian Xijian was even more dissatisfied.
Tian Xijian held back the emotion in his heart and continued to read. The letter ended with a promise. Guo Song did not explicitly promise him any official position or title. He only said that he would be appointed based on his lifetime merits.
This makes Tian Xijian a little confused. Of course, his achievements have two parts. One is his previous achievements. There is no doubt about this, but the other is his own achievements. How much can this have?
At this time, Li Changqing asked hesitantly: "Father-in-law, are you willing to accept it?"
Tian Xijian sighed, "You are all in Pinggao County. What's the point of my stubbornness not to surrender? I will definitely surrender. Needless to say, but I don't quite understand. Since the Hexi Army has occupied Pinggao County, what's the point of the Sixth Army?
Panguan and Longshan Pass should have no meaning anymore, why do they still value them so much?"
Li Changqing said quickly: "Before I leave, General Liang Wu asked me to tell my father-in-law that there is a cavalry team coming from Hexi just outside Liupan Pass. If my father-in-law is willing to serve His Highness the King of Jin, we will open it at the appropriate time."
Close the door and let this cavalry in."
Tian Xijian was shocked. There was actually a cavalry hidden outside. Why didn't he know it? He asked again: "When is the right time?"
"My father believes that this cavalry is to cut off the reinforcements' retreat. Once the 20,000 Zhu Si reinforcements move north to Pinggao County, it will be time to switch on the switch."
Tian Xijian's eyes suddenly narrowed into slits. How could Guo Song expect that reinforcements would come north?