Chapter 10 Smart Man

In fact, Yang Xun himself did not expect that the advance would be so smooth. Since crossing the Yellow River in Ji County, all the government troops along the way surrendered, including the important pass of Hulao Pass in Guandong, and even the Luokou warehouse that stored tens of millions of military rations. The defenders directly surrendered and offered grain, which was enough for the rebels to use for several years.

Dongdu sent troops to quell the rebellion, but they were easily defeated by Yang Xun's two brothers, Yang Shancai and Yang Xi, and tens of thousands of sets of armor and thousands of war horses were seized, which greatly alleviated the rebels' urgent need for weapons, ordnance and infantry.

What made him most proud was the people's support for him. Emperor Murong Ying squandered national strength, levied heavy taxes, built Luoyang City, built the Grand Canal, and launched an eastern expedition to Goguryeo. These huge mountains weighed on the people, and had brought the entire Great Yan court to the brink of collapse.

The common people, who had long been looking forward to changing the status quo, rushed to join the rebels. Since the uprising in Liyang, thousands of people have joined the rebels every day.

Yang Xun was also a man who knew how to win people's hearts. After conquering a place, he would certainly open the granaries and release grain, making the place where the rebels recruited soldiers more lively than the north and south markets of Luoyang.

In just half a month, by July 18, the size of the rebel army had exceeded 70,000 and was still expanding rapidly.

Now they have an army, weapons, armor, horses and supplies. The military rations stored in Luokou Granary are enough to last for several years. For the rebels, it seems that the Eastern Capital can be captured at any time.

Although they had just suffered a setback in their siege, losing hundreds of people and dozens of newly built ladders still covered with bark were all destroyed.

But both Yang Xun and his brothers and most of the rebels believed that the reason for their setback was the lack of siege equipment, and that Luoyang would be captured by them sooner or later.

Of course, there are always exceptions, and there are still people who remain sober.

Outside the rebel camp, a middle-aged scholar looked at the magnificent city that had taken a year and a million men to build, and was filled with worry.

"There are 22 towers, the city wall is 45 feet high and 30 feet thick, which is 9 feet higher and 7 feet thicker than the Western Capital Chang'an. The moat is 20 feet wide and 15 feet deep, connecting to the Luo River. There is a Hanjia granary in the city with sufficient food and grass. It is difficult to attack such a strong city head-on."

Looking at the majestic city and muttering to himself, the middle-aged scholar who was still thinking about how to break the city was named Yang Sui. He was Yang Xun's cousin and also his military advisor.

He was familiar with classics, history, and the art of war since childhood, and was well versed in military strategy. His uncle Yang Su said that he had the talent of a king's assistant and the tools of three ministers.

After Yang Xun started his rebellion, he rushed here from Huayin County, Hongnong Commandery, his hometown in Guanzhong, to join the army. He was accompanied by dozens of Yang family members and hundreds of recruited knights.

In fact, he was not optimistic about Yang Xun's rebellion against Yan this time, and thought it would be difficult to succeed.

However, as a member of the Yang family, they are of the same blood and share the same fate. If his cousin Yang Xun rebels and fails, he will be implicated and punished even if he does nothing.

Moreover, he also knew that his uncle was too famous, and he had been a general and a prime minister, and his students and former officials were all over the court and the country. The emperor was already afraid of him, and even if he did not rebel now, the court would sooner or later take action against the Yang family.

It is nothing more than a situation of "death is death, and failure in carrying out a major plan is also death".
"Mukuro."

Yang Sui is the sixth child in the family, so the one who calls him must be his brothers. When he turned around, he saw that it was the brothers Yang Xun and Yang Xi.

Yang Xun was the eldest son of Yang Su. He had a majestic appearance and a beautiful beard. He loved reading since he was young and was good at riding and shooting. However, he was very dull when he was young, so people at that time thought he was an idiot. However, because Yang Xun looked a lot like himself, Yang Su told people close to him that the child was not mentally retarded.

As expected, as he grew older, Yang Xun not only made rapid progress in his studies, but also, under the influence of Yang Su, he was unmatched in riding and shooting. So people at that time began to sigh and say that he was a talent for the country.
Later, due to his father Yang Su's meritorious service, he was appointed as the governor of Nanjun by the previous emperor. At that time, Nanjun was corrupt and the people complained.

After Yang Xun took office, he sent out many informants to inquire about the daily behavior of his officials. After he had a certain grasp of the situation, he began to rectify the administration of officials. Because he had evidence, local officials dared not conceal it, and the trend of corruption and bribery was greatly reduced. The officials and people of Nanyang thought he was talented and praised him, and his reputation increased greatly.

After that, he was transferred to the positions of Honglu Qing, Minister of Rites, inherited the title of Duke of Chu, and was promoted to Shangzhuguo. It can be said that he held the highest position among officials.

Yang Xi was the third son of Yang Su. He looked very similar to his elder brother Yang Xun, and was also tall and mighty, known for his bravery. He was originally a general in the central army, and Yang Xun specially sent a secret letter to recall him from the Liaodong battlefield before he started the rebellion.

Yang Sui turned around and saw his two cousins. After greeting them, he took the secret report handed over by Yang Xi. He unfolded it and raised the corners of his mouth slightly.

It’s a good thing that troops have been dispatched from Guanzhong.

Gaoyang King Murong He, who was stationed in Guanzhong, led 30,000 troops out of Tongguan. The secret report even included detailed routes and troop composition, as well as the generals of each unit.

This is the influence of the Hongnong Yang family and the late Grand Tutor Yang Su.

Before we even meet the enemy, we already know ourselves and the enemy.

After seeing the secret report, Yang Sui already had a way to defeat the enemy in his mind.

"The key to breaking the city lies in the reinforcements from Guanzhong." Yang Sui said firmly.

Yang Xun's expression brightened up, "What's the plan?"

Yang Sui said: "Luoyang is a strong city. It will take a lot of time and effort to attack it head-on. But the reinforcements from Guanzhong are coming. As long as we defeat the reinforcements and surround them but don't annihilate them, the defenders of Luoyang will definitely go out to fight! If we sit back and watch the reinforcements being destroyed without helping the city, the emperor will definitely punish us after he returns. Luoyang has no elite soldiers now, only the old and weak. They can still defend the city, but will surely lose in a field battle. Then we can attack the city and it will be easy to break it."

After the tentative siege in the past few days, Yang Xun also knew that with a strong city in hand, even if there were only the elderly, the weak and the sick in the city, it would be extremely difficult to break through head-on.

The only way to break the city is to lure the defenders out of the city to fight.

He also understood what Yang Sui meant. Now, as long as they defeated the reinforcements from Guanzhong, or gave the defenders in the city hope, they would have the opportunity to attack the rebels from both sides together with the Guanzhong government troops and lure the enemy out of the city.

Having come up with an idea, Yang Xun immediately turned around and went back to the camp, walking towards the big tent.

Yang Sui was responsible for making plans and strategies, while commanding the generals, deploying the troops, and making decisions on the battlefield were all the responsibilities of Yang Xun, the commander-in-chief.

At this time, Gaoyang King Murong He led an army of 30,000 and had already passed through the Qiao-Han Passage.

Murong He was a member of the Yan royal family, the youngest son of Murong Lin, the Prince of Wei, the younger brother of Emperor Taizu Murong Yi. He was considered the uncle of the current sage Murong Ying. However, he was not very old, only about 30 years old, and had always lived a life of luxury. He had never experienced war and was not well-respected by people.

In the Murong family, which was full of talented people, he was considered a very mediocre one. However, he was trusted by Emperor Murong Ying, who ordered him to guard Chang'an, serve as the governor of Xijing and supervise the military affairs in Guanzhong.

Although his abilities were average, Murong He had great ambition. He put all his efforts into suppressing the rebellion this time, hoping to gain some credit in order to improve his reputation.

Who knew that just after passing Tongguan, they received a military report from Gao Shizhe, the governor of Dongdu.

Murong He thought that he was being urged to march forward and lift the siege of the Eastern Capital as soon as possible, but the military report was full of reminders that the traitor Yang Xun was now powerful and had an army of 100,000. He was told not to worry about the situation in Luoyang and to march carefully to avoid being ambushed by the enemy.
After reading this military report, the "smart man" Murong He imagined a different situation.

Is this old man kidding me? If the rebels were really strong and had surrounded Luoyang, he should have urged me to rescue them quickly. Why would he tell me not to worry about Luoyang, but to be careful and march steadily?

Are they afraid that I will march too fast and steal their credit for suppressing the bandits?

When the rebel Yang Xun started his uprising in Liyang, he only had a few thousand people, but now he has nearly 100,000 people? Where did these people come from? Are they heavenly soldiers and generals?
"Order the entire army to speed up the march."

(End of this chapter)