Chapter 25 Battle of Dongduyuan

With the war approaching, Yang Xun made many preparations, striving to make Dong Duyuan's camp very strong to fight against the Yan army.

After the rebels had moved their camp, dug trenches and erected fences, the cavalry led by Gao Huang was actually unable to launch an attack alone.

The cavalry under his command came from the central army and the garrison troops of Youzhou and Jizhou. They were the most elite cavalry of Dayan. They attacked the Turks in the north and Tuyuhun in the west, making those Hu people terrified.

However, facing the rebel camp that was holding its ground and constantly improving and strengthening its fortifications, the only role we could play was to block the enemy's possibility of escaping.

Cavalry attacking a camp? No such thing.

This also gave Yang Xun enough time to build the camp.

Five days later, General Murong Ding, the General of the Eastern Expedition, arrived, and with him came the main force of the Yan army, more than 200,000 infantry and cavalry. The rear army led by General Duan Yihong, the General of the Auxiliary State, did not arrive with Murong Ding because they were carrying a large amount of baggage.

Prince of Gaoyang Murong He, General Zhenxi Pang Lingxun, Gao Huang who had arrived earlier, as well as Hongnong Prefect Zhang Yanru, Hongnong Palace Supervisor Dugu Qi and other civil and military officials, all stood in front of the palace gate to welcome them.

A tall old man slowly stepped down from the carriage. He was wearing a brocade robe with precious patterns and a jade crown on his head. He was a little overweight and did not look like a veteran warrior. Instead, he looked like an ordinary wealthy man.

"Meet the king."

Everyone shouted in unison, and then knelt down one after another to pay their respects.

This old man is Murong Ding, sixty-six years old. He is the only royal family general who has experienced all the major battles when Murong Xianbei took control of the Central Plains and has a very high prestige.

Then, in front of everyone, the old prince walked up to Prince Gaoyang Murong He and kicked him to the ground.

Murong He got up from the ground in panic, knelt respectfully again, and then kicked again.

"You are such a good-for-nothing, you almost ruined everything!"

The embarrassed Murong He immediately replied, "Your Majesty, please forgive me."

Li Yuanhui, who was kneeling behind the welcoming team, took a few peeks and thought to himself that this old man had a really bad temper.

"Hmph, how to deal with you is your majesty's business, but I ask you, are you convinced by what happened today?"

"I accept it, I accept it. I failed in my mission and almost ruined the national affairs. I accept whatever the king does to me."

"Although you are guilty of defeating the army, you still managed to stop the rebel Yang Xun from entering Guanzhong. I will spare you today. Now, everyone, get up."

As everyone stood up, Murong Ding asked again: "Which one is Li Yuanhui?"

Li Yuanhui, who was standing at the back of the team, was still sighing at the old man's bad temper when he heard his name being called. He immediately stepped out of the line and said, "I am Li Yuanhui, the boy, and I am here to meet the king."

Murong Ding glanced at Li Yuanhui, frowned, and then nodded.

There was no encouragement in his eyes, and there seemed to be a hint of disappointment. This look made Li Yuanhui feel a little puzzled.

When Murong Ding heard that the heroic young man who shot and killed Yang Xi in battle and saved the defeat was also in Hongnong Palace, he planned to meet him.

I thought he was a burly warrior, eight feet tall, with a waist that was ten times bigger than his waist. Such a strong general must be well supported. But I didn't expect him to be a handsome man. His figure looked very thin.
Li Yuanhui didn't think about what the old man opposite him was thinking, he just lowered his head and maintained a very respectful attitude.

Although Murong Ding felt that Li Yuanhui was not the brave general he had expected, he did not make things difficult for him and waved his hand to let him leave.

Then, surrounded by the crowd, he walked into the Hongnong Palace and started discussing military intelligence without even having time to eat.

On August 25, less than two months after Yang Xun raised his army in Liyang, the main force of the rebels and the returning main force of the Yan army had a decisive battle at Dongduyuan.

Due to the terrain, the Yan army was unable to deploy all of its troops into the battle, but the army directly participating in the battle still numbered 120,000.

As for the rebels, there were less than 60,000 people.

Murong Ding himself commanded the central army and handed over the command of the war to Gao Huang of the front army.

Gao Huang first ordered archers to suppress the rebel camp with arrows. The arrows flew like locusts and rained down on the rebel camp, causing considerable casualties to the rebels who lacked armor.

Afterwards, the auxiliary soldiers and civilian laborers used carts to transport soil, filled the trenches, and paved a path for the soldiers responsible for attacking the camp.

As for the rebels, they were able to fire a few rounds of arrows at the beginning, but after a few rounds, the arrows were almost exhausted. By noon, the Yan army had filled several trenches, and then the heavy infantry attacked.

The Yan soldiers, armed with axes, chopped down the rebels' wooden fences frantically under the cover of shields, while the spearmen of both sides stabbed each other through the gaps between the fences.

The balance of victory and defeat was gradually tilting towards the Yan army.

Yang Xun stood in the formation, but could do almost nothing. He just stared at the crumbling camp in a daze, and turned a deaf ear to the suggestion of his seventh brother Yang Shancai who advised him to escape.

Li Yuanhui was in the rear army, commanding less than 300 cavalrymen, who were originally brought by Murong He from Guanzhong. He was almost the last in the participating troops, and basically had no merit.

Then several captains sat on the ground, spread out a blanket for marching, and started playing the landlord game directly.

The sound of drums and whistles from the front army seemed to be audible even from more than ten miles away.

The battle lasted from dawn until noon, when a military order came: the front army had broken through the enemy's camp, and all cavalry were dispatched to encircle the enemy from both wings, and the main force of the rebels must not be allowed to escape.

Riding on war horses, Li Yuanhui and more than 300 cavalrymen under his command followed the flag of General Pang Lingxun, the General of Zhenxi, bypassed the central army, and quickly rushed to the side and rear of the rebels.

At this time, the Yan army that broke through the camp and the rebels had become a one-sided chase.

The rebels who had lost their camp were completely routed and had no ability to engage in a head-on battle with the government troops. The cavalry on both sides continued to intercept and drive away the rebels who tried to escape in the east and west directions.

To the north, there is only the Yellow River.

The battlefield was so huge that the government troops were chasing and killing the defeated soldiers all over the mountains and plains, and the rebel leader Yang Xun had disappeared.

There were too many defeated soldiers, and they were running in very scattered positions, so the government cavalry could only keep dispersing.

The military order that Pang Lingxun left for everyone was, "Don't let the thief Yang escape."

In other words, everyone should keep a close eye on him and not let Yang Xun get away.

Seeing the eager expressions of several captains, Li Yuanhui was very open-minded and asked them to divide into several teams to search everywhere.

Who doesn’t want to capture Yang Xun alive?

This is a great achievement.

Li Yuanhui didn't think of capturing Yang Xun alive. He had heard that Yang Xun was extremely brave and was the reincarnation of Xiang Yu.

Let's leave this kind of powerful man to those who need him to deal with. As for any credit, it doesn't matter to him.

So he led the remaining two cavalry teams to stroll around casually. When they encountered the fleeing rebels, Li Yuanhui also spoke up to stop his subordinates from chasing them, "Why chase them? What good can it do? There are a lot of fleeing soldiers. It's important to find Yang Xun now. That will be a great achievement."

The two teams under my command thought that it made sense!
As a result, these more than a hundred cavalrymen basically fought without getting their hands dirty, allowing many defeated soldiers to escape.

Of course he had no interest in Yang Xun, he just didn't want to kill anyone.

Most of these rebels were farmers and boatmen who couldn’t make a living. Otherwise, who would rebel?
When Yang Xun started his army, he had less than 10,000 men, but by the time he arrived at the city of Luoyang, he had 100,000 men.

The human heart.

But sometimes, even if you try hard to plant flowers, they may not bloom, but even if you plant willows by accident, they may grow into a shade.

Li Yuanhui led his men to the bank of the Yellow River, which was surrounded by reeds. Suddenly, he saw a group of cavalrymen in the west, chasing two knights towards him.

The cavalry team on the west had about several dozen horses, and judging from the flags they were the elite troops of the Yan army.

Although the two people being chased were in a very bad state, they were by no means easy to deal with. They were wearing armor and holding long spears, which were not ordinary items.

The two team leaders under his command led their men to meet the enemy without Li Yuanhui's orders, and helped the friendly forces block the two men's way.

Li Yuanhui felt something was wrong. Could one of these two people be Yang Xun?

Don't come over here, I really don't want to catch you.

(End of this chapter)