Liu Sigu has led 20,000 troops back to Guanzhong. They are stationed at Lantian Pass. Lantian Pass is located in the southernmost part of Lantian County, close to Shangzhou. In fact, Shangzhou and Guanzhong are bounded by Lantian Pass.
This area is the Zhongnan Mountains, with high mountains, dense forests, deep ravines, and complex terrain. Even a million troops can hide.
In a large cowhide tent, Liu Sigu was standing in front of the map, thinking silently. This battle was not easy to fight. Their troops did not have an absolute advantage, but they were just slightly more than the opponent. Their biggest advantage was that the Tang army did not know
The existence of our 20,000 troops is the key to defeating the opponent.
There are four roads from Hanzhong to Guanzhong, Ziwu Road, Luogu Road, Baoxie Road and Chencang Road. These four roads are all to the west of Chang'an. Among them, the fastest way to reach Chang'an and the best way to go is Ziwu Road.
Liu Sigu was almost certain that the Tang army would take the Ziwu Road to reach Chang'an.
Because the prerequisite for their march north is that Chang'an is unguarded, they must seize Chang'an as quickly as possible without worrying about being ambushed by the enemy. It is inevitable that the army will take the Ziwu Road.
The plan is getting clearer and clearer. The key to them winning this battle is to be precise, accurately block the enemy's troops, and accurately cut off their retreat route. It doesn't matter one hour earlier or one hour later.
Liu Sigu looked at the distance from Lantian Pass to Ziwu Valley. It was one hundred and twenty miles, a day and a half of marching, and it was time to set off.
Liu Sigu thought for a long time and said: "Pass my order, the army is ready to set off!"
.......
After marching for three days, the Southern Tang Army finally walked out of Ziwu Valley. It was already the first watch of the night, and the soldiers were all exhausted. Wei Gao immediately ordered the soldiers to rest on the spot.
At this time, Tian Xiuwen came angrily and asked: "Marshal Wei, why don't you march all night and capture Chang'an before dawn?"
Wei Gao was extremely disgusted with this eunuch supervising the army who kept interfering in military affairs. He forced himself to send troops and kept urging the soldiers to speed up along the way. Now the soldiers could no longer hold their physical strength and were not allowed to rest. They had to march all night. This was treating the soldiers as
Livestock.
Wei Gao restrained his anger and said: "Tian Supervisor Army, we have only rested for three hours after two days of marching. Some soldiers have already fallen. If we march further, we will only fall more. We have not encountered the enemy, but we have suffered losses."
Half, how to explain to the emperor? What if the soldiers rebel and disperse, and there are no soldiers available?"
Fighting fire with fire, Wei Gao also used the emperor to talk things over, and even moved his soldiers to rebel. Tian Xiuwen was speechless for a long time, so he could only say angrily: "Then rest for two hours!"
After saying that, he turned around and left the tent, and walked toward the outskirts with an angry face. He wanted to go out and breathe some fresh air, and he was so disgusted that he felt like vomiting among the army that was full of sweat and body odor.
Tian Wenxiu walked to the outskirts and saw several scouts rushing in with a man. He asked, "What's going on?"
The leading scout brigade commander said: "To inform the supervisor, this is a confidant sent by the enemy's deputy general Zhang Xiaolong. He came to report that the 30,000 troops leaving Chang'an was a trap and they have returned."
Tian Wenxiu narrowed his eyes and asked, "Has the 30,000 troops returned to Chang'an?"
"Not yet!" Zhang Xiaolong's personal soldier said.
Tian Wenxiu nodded and said to several scouts: "I understand. You continue to patrol the sentry. Leave this man to me and I will take him to see the commander."
The scout and brigade commander did not dare to disobey, so he bowed and led his men away.
Tian Wenxiu said to the messenger: "Go to my place and talk! Once you have made it clear, I will take you to see Marshal Wei."
"Follow the order!"
The soldiers who reported the news followed Tian Wenxiu and walked south. A hint of murderous intent flashed in Tian Wenxiu's eyes, and he winked at his subordinates, who nodded knowingly.
As soon as the messenger followed them into the tent, one of Tian Wenxiu's followers stepped forward, covered his mouth, and stabbed him in the back of the heart with a sharp dagger.
Tian Wenxiu watched coldly as the messengers died in extreme fear and confusion. He would never let Wei Gao find an excuse to withdraw his troops.
While receiving the emperor's gold medal, Tian Wenxiu also received a secret letter from Song Chaofeng. Wei Gao's Jiannan Army supports Nanya and the prince and is always a threat to the Shence Army. It is best to take advantage of this opportunity.
Get rid of them. If Chang'an is really a trap, let Jiannan's army jump.
........
Two hours later, at the fourth watch, the army continued to move north. The Southern Tang Army's goal was Chang'an. They no longer stopped and fought towards Chang'an with full breath.
Tian Wenxiu unknowingly fell to the rear.
At dawn, the team passed through a forest. Suddenly, drums sounded loudly in the forest. A cavalry force of 3,000 people came out and cut the marching team in two. The Southern Tang Army was caught off guard, and there was a sudden chaos.
At this moment, the north kept thinking of the sound of trumpets, and an army of nearly 30,000 people appeared hundreds of steps away. They lined up neatly and filled with murderous intent.
Zhu Jinqing raised his sword and shouted, "Kill!"
"Kill--"
Thirty thousand troops attacked and attacked the Southern Tang Army hundreds of steps away. Zhang Xiaolong did not expect that the final result would be the same. The Southern Tang Army did not listen to his advice and went north anyway. He let out a long sigh in his heart.
At this time, the Tang army was disrupted by three thousand cavalry and was unable to organize an effective formation. Wei Gao saw that it was too late to form a formation, so he had to shout: "All armies, fight!"
The armies of the Southern Tang Dynasty formed separate formations, shouting and killing each other. Their strength was originally greater than the other, but the three thousand cavalry kept running and attacking in the formation, tearing the army of the Southern Tang Dynasty into pieces, making it difficult to organize effectively.
The battle formation was defeated by Zhu Si's Qin army.
At this moment, the sound of horns was also heard from behind. Tian Wenxiu, who was rearing the army, discovered that an army was also coming from the south, and hurriedly led his guards to the west to escape.
Tian Wenxiu led a very bad leader. He fled first, and the soldiers in the rear army also fled. The morale of the army was defeated. Twenty thousand Zhu Si's army came up from behind to cover up and kill them. The Southern Tang army completely collapsed. The soldiers discarded their helmets and armor and headed west.
Escape from the front is like a domino, affecting each other forward layer by layer.
Wei Gao suddenly heard the soldiers shouting: "Commander, all our troops have fled."
Wei Gao turned around and saw that the soldiers behind him were running away in all directions. Only less than 10,000 people were left in the army of more than 40,000. The enemy's cavalry was killing the fleeing soldiers wantonly while the soldiers were on their knees and begging, but they could not escape.
As soon as he died, in the distance, an enemy army of 20,000 people was coming towards his back.
Wei Gao burst into tears, and he could only shout: "Retreat! Retreat to the west!"
The last 10,000 soldiers retreated westward under the leadership of Wei Gao, with Zhu Si's army in hot pursuit. The Southern Tang Army was defeated and was chased and killed by Zhu Si's army. Corpses were scattered all over the ground, and countless people surrendered.
At noon, Wei Gao fled to Sizhuyuan, which was very close to Luogu Road. He began to collect the remnants of the army, more than 40,000 troops, and finally collected less than 5,000 remnants. His deputy general Li Yuanliang was also killed by Zhu Jinqing, and even the prisoner
Gunda Wenxiu also disappeared. It is not known whether he died in the rebel army or whether he had escaped.
Wei Gao did not know that it was Tian Xiuwen who took the lead in fleeing and caused the entire army to collapse.
Wei Gao waited until the afternoon and found that there were no more remnants. He had no choice but to sigh and led more than 4,600 listless remnants to retreat towards Luogu Road.
When Wei Gao arrived in Hanzhong, the supervisor Tian Wenxiu was already waiting for him with the gold medal and the sword of Shang Fang.
Tian Wenxiu immediately announced that Wei Gao would be removed from all positions and titles and escorted back to Chengdu to hear the emperor's announcement.
He also ordered Guo Yao to temporarily serve as the military governor of Hanzhong and reorganize the army to garrison Hanzhong.
Tian Wenxiu personally led more than a hundred soldiers to escort Wei Gao back to Chengdu. At this time, his express report had already been sent to Chengdu.
'Eager for success, unprepared, regardless of the soldiers' hard work, they marched with high intensity, so that the soldiers were exhausted and unable to resist Zhu Si's army. Facing the attack of Zhu Si's army, they failed to organize an effective formation in response to the loss of ground, and were eventually defeated by the enemy.
The army was defeated, and Wei Gao should bear the first responsibility...'
When the news reached Chengdu, the government and the public were in an uproar. Wei Gao and Li Yuanliang were both famous generals who were good at leading troops in battles, but they were defeated by the simple-minded Zhu Jinqing and their entire army was destroyed. It was simply unimaginable.
At this time, news came out that the supervisor Tian Wenxiu was responsible for the defeat. Wei Gao did not want to send troops, but was forced by Tian Wenxiu to send troops, and finally fell into the trap set by Zhu Jinqing.
This news made the ministers extremely angry. Ministers headed by Prime Minister Zhang Yanshang wrote letters one after another, asking the emperor to conduct a thorough investigation. They must find out the reasons for Wei Gao's defeat and severely punish those who were really responsible.