Chapter 39 Wagang
After meeting Murong Jiayin in Prince Gaoyang's Palace, Li Yuanhui had to be Jingze for once. He was really good at applying the law of true fragrance.

But he had no time to think about these romantic things, as the army was about to set off. As a general commanding 5,000 cavalrymen, he had a lot of preparations to do.

First of all, to know yourself and your enemy, you have to first understand the situation of the Wagang Army. You won’t know until you see it, and you’ll be shocked.

This Wagang Army has many overlapping characters with the Wagang Army in his memory.

For example, the leader Zhai Rang, his brother Zhai Hong, but his nephew was not called Zhai Mohou, but Zhai Xing. He also had a son Zhai Sixun. The battle report said that Zhai Sixun was very brave, always the first to climb the ladder in every battle, and was a "fierce bandit."

In addition, some well-known figures of the Wagang Army can also be seen, including Xu Maogong, Shan Xiongxin, and Cheng Zhijie.
Although history has been affected, there are always some people whose original names can still be seen, such as Yang Su and the people mentioned above.

The Wagang group is almost the same as the original group in history.

There is a saying: I would rather learn from the three sworn brothers in Peach Garden than from the incense burner in Wagang.

When I listened to books in the past, I really liked the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Later, there were TV series such as "Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties" and "Romance of Sui and Tang Dynasties".

So he still had a good impression of those heroes of Wagang. What about Qin Shubao, the little Mengchang from Shandong, who rode his horse on both sides of the Yellow River, beat three states and six prefectures with his mace, and the forty-six friends of Jiajialou? What about Luo Cheng, the handsome man with a cold face and a silver spear, Cheng Yaojin, the great emperor and the devil, and Luo Shixin, who shot birds with flying stones and pulled out ox horns.
But it was the time and the fate, and now he had to follow the Great Yan version of "King Yang Lin", Prince Wei Murong Ding, to fight against these rebel forces.

All he could say was that fate was playing tricks on him. He was now very curious about how he would appear in novels, movies, and TV dramas thousands of years later.

The first hero of Yan Tang, Li Yuanhui, the King of Zhao in the Western Palace? Forget about this, just don't let the stupid King of Qi be killed at Xuanwu Gate.
Under the city of Suiyang, tens of thousands of Wagang troops surrounded the city tightly and had already begun to attack the city like ants.

The defenders on the city wall fought desperately.

This put the Wagang Army, which was not good at attacking cities, into a tough battle and suffered heavy casualties.

At the same time, it also made Zhai Rang, the leader of the Wagang Army, doubt whether his decision to attack Suiyang under the instigation of his brother and nephew was correct.

Zhai Rang was originally a legal official in Dongjun. Because he was eager to do good for others and let a criminal go, he was imprisoned and sentenced to death.

Perhaps it was the law of retribution that good deeds would be rewarded and evil deeds would be punished. He was sent to prison for letting an innocent criminal go, and he was released after being imprisoned.

The jailer Huang Junhan who spared his life said to him: "The general trend of the world is very clear. Do you think you should wait to die in prison?"

Zhai Rang said: "I am like a pig in a pen. I have no control over my life or death. It is all in your hands."

So Huang Junhan opened his shackles and let him escape.

Zhai Rang was also a man of great importance, and he asked worriedly, "Thank you for saving me, but if I leave, what will you do?"

Huang Junhan rebuked, "What are you talking about? I saw that you have an extraordinary bearing and must be someone who can do great things. In the future, you can save the people from danger, so I let you go regardless of your safety. Why are you crying like a child? Go and do great things!"

So after Zhai Rang parted with Huang Junhan, he ran back to his hometown from Dongjun, and together with his brother Zhai Hong, as well as fellow local tyrants Xu Maogong and Shan Xiongxin, raised the banner of anti-Yan righteousness, went to Wagangzhai, and plundered along the canal.

Xu Maogong suggested to Zhai Rang: "This is our homeland. We cannot plunder here. The counties of Liang and Song are located along the Grand Canal. There are many merchant ships and official vessels. If we can intercept them, we can use them for our own benefit."

Therefore, starting from the ninth year of Tiansheng, the Wagang bandits started a no-cost business around the canal, robbing merchant ships and government ships.

The power of the group grew rapidly, and by the time Yang Xun started the rebellion, it already had tens of thousands of followers. Now it has captured several counties in succession and besieged Suiyang, the seat of Liang County. Among the various groups that have raised the banner of anti-Yan, it is one of the most powerful.

Once Suiyang was lost, the canal of the Yan court would be cut off, and the grain, taxes and salt from the Yangtze River and Huai River would no longer be transported to Luoyang.

Therefore, Murong Ying directly played the biggest card in his hand and directly let his uncle Murong Ding, who was currently the pillar of the Great Yan State, be responsible for destroying the Wagang Army.

Zhai Rang, who was in his forties, had a dignified appearance, a neat short beard, and sharp eyes. He felt a little reluctant when he saw the rebel soldiers climbing the city wall.

He was originally imprisoned for releasing an innocent person, and after he raised the banner of rebellion, it was also to fight against the tyranny of the imperial court. However, in terms of experience in commanding troops, he did not have as much as Li Si.

"Mr. Zhai."

Zhai Rang looked back and saw that it was Xu Maogong, a brave warrior from the same county. He was famous for his military strategy and was only eighteen years old. He was the son of Xu Gai, a powerful man in Weicheng. Without the strong support of Xu and his son, the Wagang Army would not have been able to develop so rapidly.

"Mao Gong, what is the so-called origin?"

"The court has sent troops. It is the old villain, Prince of Wei Murong Ding, who is leading the army. They will reach Liang County in half a month. We must make preparations early."

Zhai Rang nodded, and then asked, "What good plan does Mao Gong have?"

Xu Maogong said: "Murong Ding is leading a large army, at least 100,000 strong, all of whom are elite soldiers of the Yan army. Our army was formed not long ago, and our weapons are incomplete. We are simply unable to compete with the imperial army. We cannot resist them, but can only avoid their attack and retreat to Jiyin, Shanyang, or retreat to Wagang. Although the Yan army is large, it consumes a lot of energy every day, so we cannot sustain it for a long time. When the Yan army retreats, we can send troops again to cut off the canal and attack other places."

Xu Maogong's strategy was very simple, which was not to engage in direct combat with the Yan army, but to preserve his strength, extend the battle line, and wait for opportunities to fight.

This is also more in line with the current situation of the Wagang Army. An army composed of tens of thousands of refugees facing the well-trained and well-equipped Yan Army, these gaps cannot be filled by morale and will.

At this time, Zhai Rang's nephew Zhai Xing said, "So we have to give up all the places we have conquered, such as Xingyang, Shangqiu, and Junyi? I think it would be better to divide our troops and defend them instead of fighting."

Xu Maogong said: "Yang Xun had 100,000 people within a month of starting the rebellion, while the Yan court army was defeated and killed within a few dozen days of returning. Although the people of Great Yan have lost the support of the people, they still have a million troops with strong fighting power and cannot be defeated. Moreover, the aristocratic families have not turned against him. We only have tens of thousands of people, which is not as powerful as Yang Xun. How can we fight the enemy?"

Zhai Xing had always been dissatisfied with Xu Maogong. After all, he was several years older than Xu Maogong. However, his uncle Zhai Rang always obeyed Xu's words and rarely listened to his own opinions.

Sometimes he had to admit that this Xu guy was quite capable, but it seemed like he was just used to it. When Xu Maogong proposed a plan, he always wanted to say something counter-intuitive.

But this time, did he think that he had to give up the territory he had conquered with great difficulty? Since he had already rebelled, of course he had to fight the imperial court. If he couldn't win, he would just flee. He had done that before.

This time, Zhai Rang rarely agreed to Xu Maogong's suggestion immediately, "I'll think about it."

Xu Maogong shook his head helplessly, then said goodbye and left.

Not far from the military tent, his good friend Shan Xiongxin said, "I think Lord Zhai is not a wise leader with great ambitions. Can we really achieve success by following him?"

Shan Xiongxin was from Jiyin, not Erxianzhuang in Shanxi as described in novels of the Sui and Tang dynasties. He was good at using a horse lance and had extraordinary bravery. He was a close friend of Xu Maogong and it was at his invitation that he joined the Wagang Army.

Xu Maogong shook his head and said, "We started the rebellion with Lord Zhai for the sake of rebellion against Yan. This is for the sake of justice. Now the rebellion against Yan has just begun. The situation is unclear. The Yan army is coming to attack. We must not turn away. We should lie low and wait for the right opportunity. If there is a change in the situation, we can make other plans."

(End of this chapter)