The 20,000 reinforcements sent by Zhu Si passed through Danzheng Gorge overnight and rushed towards Pinggao County in the north. This army was led by Zhu Si's confidant general Liang Xiong. Their mission was to support Xiaoguan and prevent the Hexi Army.
Open the passage to Xiao Pass.
Although Zhu Si's intelligence was accurate, there was still a time lag. When the army arrived at Jingzhou, Pinggao County had already been lost. However, the 20,000 reinforcements did not receive the news and continued to march towards Pinggao County.
Xikong Town is the fork between Liupanguan in the west and Pinggao County in the north. At dawn, an army of 20,000 troops came in force. Almost all of them were infantry, wearing leather armor and carrying spears.
Wearing swords on their waists, ration bags and water bottles on their backs, the soldiers had traveled a long distance and seemed a little tired. However, the commander Liang Xiong still kept urging the soldiers to speed up.
"Hurry! Hurry, bastard, no rest allowed!"
Under Liang Xiong's strong urging, in less than a quarter of an hour, the 20,000-strong army passed through Xikong Town and headed north. In the woods outside the town, several scouts observed the movements of Zhu Si's army and waited until the 20,000-strong army was gone.
Going north, they came out of the woods, hit their horses and ran towards Liupanguan.
An hour later, Tian Xijian received the report from the scouts, and he immediately ordered the city gate to be opened. The reason why Tian Xijian waited until now to order the city gate to be opened was mainly because he was worried that the news would be leaked and affect the Hexi Army's strategy.
Ten thousand Hexi cavalry outside the city entered Guancheng under the leadership of Zhonglang General Gan Xin. With rolling iron hooves and a mighty momentum, the ten thousand cavalry galloped towards Pinggao County.
At this time, Liang Wu had received news that 20,000 enemy troops were heading north, but he was still waiting for the pigeon message from Liupan Pass. On top of the city, Liang Wu stared at the south. He had to admire Guo Song's precise planning to use Xiao Pass
There are two passages through Liupanguan, and a pocket trap is deployed, waiting for the enemy reinforcements to move north. It is a very beautiful siege and reinforcement strategy.
At this time, a soldier rushed over and presented a pigeon letter, "General, six sets of pigeon letters!"
Liang Wu was refreshed and quickly opened the pigeon message. Sure enough, it was the news he had been waiting for. Ten thousand cavalry led by Gan Xin had entered Liupan Pass.
Liang Wu immediately ordered: "The army comes out of the city!"
Twenty-three thousand cavalry had already been assembled, the south gate of Pinggao County was opened, and the army rushed out of the city gate and headed south.
Liang Wu's army stopped moving less than thirty miles south. There was an open land of dozens of miles ahead, which was very suitable for a cavalry battle. At this time, Liang Wu had received news from the scouts, and Zhu Si's reinforcements were less than twenty miles away from them.
inside.
Liang Wu gave an order, and 23,000 Hexi cavalry quickly gathered and formed a formation. The Hexi army formed a large formation seven or eight miles wide, like a black dragon across the wilderness.
Not long after, a mighty army appeared in the distance. 20,000 Zhu Si reinforcements finally arrived on the battlefield. The cavalry suddenly discovered by Zhu Si's army stopped moving forward one after another. They had already run to report Liang Xiong. Liang Xiong was shocked.
, hurriedly urged the horse forward to take a closer look, and there was indeed a mighty cavalry in the distance.
Liang Xiong immediately realized that the Hexi Army must have captured Xiaoguan and had already come to kill him. Fear suddenly arose in his heart. How could his infantry be the opponent of the opponent's cavalry? Before he could decide whether to fight or retreat, he was far away.
Suddenly a low horn sound sounded: 'Woo——'
The horn of attack sounded, and 23,000 cavalry suddenly launched into action. Thousands of horses galloped, rolling up yellow dust. The dust covered the sky and the sun, as if a sandstorm was coming from a distance.
Liang Xiong was horrified and shouted anxiously: "Form up! Form an formation!"
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a chaos in the rear army. Some soldiers shouted: "General, there is also a cavalry coming from behind! The brothers in the rear army can't resist it."
Liang Xiong was desperate. He was actually flanked by two cavalry. At this time, the army began to flee and the formation could no longer be assembled. Many generals abandoned their soldiers and fled for their lives. Twenty thousand soldiers fell into chaos and panic.
Liang Xiong had no choice but to order the entire army to retreat to the east! To the west was the Maling River, which the army could not cross, so they had to retreat eastward.
Zhu Si's army was in chaos and scrambled to flee to the east. The soldiers threw away their helmets and armor, threw away their weapons, and ran desperately.
However, the 20,000 soldiers in Zhu Si's army were all infantry and could not outrun the high-speed maneuvering cavalry. They were overtaken in the blink of an eye, and the cavalry charged into the enemy's ranks waving their spears and sabers.
A cavalryman shouted while running: "The King of Jin has an order, but those who surrender will not be killed! The King of Jin has an order, but those who surrender will not be killed!"
The shouts of surrender had a huge effect. Zhusi soldiers stopped running away and knelt down to surrender. The Hexi Army stopped killing and began to draw a big net, surrounding nearly 20,000 enemy troops.
Twenty thousand enemy troops were kneeling in a wilderness nearly ten miles long, but Liang Xiong and dozens of his own soldiers escaped on horseback and fled toward Gyeongju...
This encirclement and annihilation battle ended in less than a quarter of an hour. More than 18,600 of the 20,000-strong army surrendered, and more than a thousand stubborn resisters were killed. Liang Wu gathered all the surrendered soldiers and headed towards Pinggao County.
Gan Xin led the soldiers to clean up the battlefield.
Of the 35,000 Hexi Army cavalry, Liang Wu left 5,000 to guard the prisoners of war. He led an army of 30,000 to kill in the direction of Gyeongju...
The 30,000-strong Hedong Army had already crossed the Yellow River. They had logistical supplies in Yanfu County. After the army took a short rest, Guo Song personally led the 30,000-strong army to advance toward Yanzhou.
Before the army set off, Guo Song had sent a letter to Liu Chongjing, the governor of Yanzhou, asking him to make a choice.
The army was still ten miles away from Fushi County. Liu Chongjing led a group of officials to greet Guo Song. Everyone knelt down and saluted. Liu Chongjing said loudly: "Zhu Si usurped the throne and caused chaos. I do not want to follow him. I am willing to serve His Highness the King of Jin!"
"
Guo Song smiled slightly and said: "Liu Inspector, please rise, all envoys, please rise!"
Everyone stood up, and Guo Song said again: "We will discuss it in detail when we return to the city. Everyone, please mount your horse!"
The officials all came on horseback. Everyone got on their horses and led the army towards the county seat.
Liu Chongjing saluted and said to Guo Song: "I received news from Chang'an yesterday that 30,000 Zhu Si's troops were coming from Guanzhong, but I don't know where they are?"
"I also know that Zhu Si sent troops to the north. Please don't worry, Governor Liu. Everything is under my control. The troops sent by Zhu Si will have no meaning except to die in vain."
"Could it be that His Highness has other plans?"
Guo Song smiled and nodded, "I can tell Governor Liu that my other army is coming from Qingzhou. I have dropped a total of 70,000 troops in the pass, which is enough to deal with any situation."
Liu Chongjing suddenly breathed a long sigh of relief.
The main reason why Guo Song attaches great importance to Yanzhou is that Yanzhou is the main producer of kerosene, a strategic material. Although kerosene is also produced in other places, the quality is far inferior to Yanzhou's Gaonu kerosene. Yanzhou kerosene is
A kind of light kerosene, which is not as viscous as kerosene produced in other places. It does not need to be refined and can be used directly to light lamps. It can also be used to make a large number of fire attack weapons.
There is a special kerosene warehouse in Yanzhou. A large amount of kerosene is packed in ceramic jars, each jar weighs fifty kilograms. There are more than 13,000 jars in total.
"Our 13 kerosene warehouses originally had 20,000 cans of kerosene. From the beginning of the year to now, more than 6,000 cans have been transported to Chang'an. Now there are still 13,500 cans left."
Guo Song had previously obtained thousands of barrels of kerosene from the Gongsun family, but in comparison, the official kerosene had better quality, fewer impurities, and greater output.
Guo Song patted the pots and asked, "Where did you buy these pots, or were they made locally?"
"It was sent from Chang'an. We don't know exactly where it comes from. It seems to be the Central Plains region."
Guo Song nodded and said with a smile: "It happens that pottery is produced in Yunzhong. The pottery is relatively bulky and not suitable for home use. I was worried about finding a buyer for them. Now that I have found a buyer, I will make arrangements later. From now on, Yunzhou will
Come and undertake the making of clay pots.”
Liu Chongjing chuckled and said: "That would be the best. Yunzhou is still close to here, and water transportation is convenient. It can be transported by raft."
At this time, a soldier quickly stepped forward and saluted: "Your Majesty, General Liang has sent someone to deliver a message!"
"Where are the people?"
"Already waiting at the military camp!"
Guo Song said to Liu Chongjing: "I'll talk to Governor Liu about the advantages of Yanzhou later. Now I have to take a step forward!"
"This humble post is always waiting for the King of Jin!"
........
Guo Song's 30,000 troops were stationed outside the city. The tents were all sent from Yanfu County. The soldiers were still setting up tents in full swing. Guo Song saw the messenger from Liang Wu in front of a tent.
The messenger knelt down on one knee and saluted: "See you, Mr. Envoy!"
"Get up and talk!"
"Thank you, envoy!"
The messenger stood up and presented a letter to Guo Song. Guo Song took the letter and asked, "How is Liang Juer's injury?"
"It's just a flesh and flesh arrow wound, no injuries to the muscles and bones. He is currently recovering from his injuries in Xiaoguan."
Guo Song opened the letter and read it hastily. He was overjoyed. Everything was completed according to his arrangement. Twenty thousand enemy troops were wiped out. Liang Wu led an army of thirty thousand and was on his way to Yanzhou to join him.