Chapter 81: The Siege of Guangwu (I)

Murong Ying was still thinking that after meeting Qimin Khan, he would take him to inspect the troops and let him see the elite troops of Dayan.

It's just a warning.

In addition to rewarding him with some rare treasures and fine wines, he could also be allowed to exchange cattle and horses for some salt and iron, but the quantity had to be strictly controlled.

It's a sweet treat.

With both kindness and force, Qimin Khan should be more obedient.

But plans are always slower than changes.

After the army arrived in Yanmen County, it did not stop but continued to move north.

Because Zuo Pushe Pei Hongde suggested to Murong Ying that since the emperor was on a northern tour, he would not be far from Dai County. He could stop by Dai County and summon Dai Guogong Tuoba Yuqing to the court.

In the past, the Tuoba Xianbei occupied Dai County, which was like a vassal state, and they only obeyed orders but not announcements.

It would be better to take this opportunity to follow the example of Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi, in dealing with Zang Ba's past affairs, bring him back to the court, and then let his brothers and sons lead their tribes. The Tuoba clan will be leaderless and will certainly not become a threat to the court.

After thinking about it, Murong Ying felt that this plan was very good, and immediately decided to go to Dai County on the way.

Who would have thought that just two days after leaving Yanmen County, when the army was marching along the Sanggan River, the governor of Loufan delivered a warning letter from Princess Ningling.

Murong Ying was still skeptical after reading it. Emergency military reports from Yunzhong County and Dingxiang County also arrived, saying that the Turkic army was heading south and had crossed the Yinshan Mountains towards Bingzhou.

It was only then that Murong Ying realized the seriousness of the matter.

He immediately led the officials who were accompanying him to change the guard army and fled southward. However, the marching speed of the nomadic Turkic cavalry was naturally not comparable to that of the Central Plains dynasty army which was a mixture of cavalry and infantry. Two days later, Murong Ying and his entourage had just entered Guangwu County, the seat of Yanmen County, when the Turkish army had already arrived at the city and surrounded Guangwu City.

Among the entourage, Prince of Liang Murong Zan saw that the situation was not good, so he immediately led the Hehoufu Army under his command to escape southward, but the Turkic army that came out in full force quickly caught up with them, and finally they could only flee to Gang County for refuge.

On the city wall, Murong Ying and his accompanying ministers looked at the endless Turkic army with worried expressions on their faces.

A total of 100,000 people, including the entourage and the central army serving as guards, followed Murong Ying to take refuge in Guangwu.

Some of the other tribes were directly defeated by the Turkic cavalry. In addition to Murong Zan and the tens of thousands of people who were surrounded in Gang County, the original 200,000-strong army was divided and surrounded in two cities, unable to respond to each other.

General Duan Yihong said: "Although the Turkic cavalry is numerous, they are vulnerable to the iron cavalry of Great Yan. I am willing to lead thousands of elite troops to escort the saint to break through the siege."

As soon as Duan Yihong finished speaking, Murong Ying was somewhat tempted, but he did not dare to take the risk. It was hundreds of miles from Yanmen to Jinyang in the south, and the Turkic cavalry was very fast. Even if he broke through, he would have to face their endless pursuit.

While hesitating, another general, Master Lou, saw Murong Ying's thoughts and said, "Although the Turkic army is large, they are not good at siege warfare. We can rely on the city to defend it and issue imperial edicts to mobilize the army to go north to support the king."

Murong Ying was also wise at this critical moment. He adopted the advice of Master Lou and resolutely defended the city, asked for help from the government troops in various places, and tied the imperial edict to a floating log and threw it into the Xutuo River under Yanmen City, ordering all counties and prefectures to organize troops to go north to defend the king.

It is slightly different from the original history. Yang Guang issued the edict to defend the country twelve days after being besieged, while Murong Ying, who was very sensible to the times, issued the edict on the next day.

The floating wood with the imperial edict tied to it was picked up by the people as soon as it floated to the vicinity of Xinkou, and the news was immediately spread to all parts of the country through various channels.

For a moment, the world was shaken.

Fortunately, the prestige of the Great Yan court was still there, and all of a sudden, troops to support the king were like a flood of carp crossing the river, and they all went north.

Among them, Zhao Yi, the left general and the prefect of Chenliu, who was leading his troops to attack Wagangzhai, was on the bank of the Yellow River. After receiving the news, he abandoned all unnecessary baggage and the fortified camp, and headed north to Baimadu.

The Wagang Army was shocked and confused after hearing the news. Whether it was Zhai Rang, Yang Sui or Xu Maogong, they were all confused as to why Zhao Yi suddenly led his troops north.

But they didn't dare to pursue easily.

During these days, the combat effectiveness of the Zuo Lingjun and the soldiers from Chenliu and Xingyang counties under Zhao Yi was extremely strong, forcing the Wagang people to retreat.

Now that they were all gone, who would dare to pursue Zhao Yi's elite troops without knowing the truth? After repeated investigations, Zhai Rang found that Zhao Yi had not arranged an ambush, so he led his troops to pursue them. As a result, he ran into the elite troops led by Zhao Yi himself, and was hit on the head and bleeding. He retreated dozens of miles in panic.

It was not until Zhao Yi's entire army crossed the Yellow River, passed Linqing Pass and entered Henei County that Yang Sui received news from secret channels that Murong Ying was besieged in Yanmen.

After crossing the Yellow River, Zhao Da's troops took only three days to cross Henei County in the southern section of Taihang Mountains, advance westward into Jiang County, and then take the flat official road directly north to Taiyuan. The speed of their advance was astonishing.

When Zhao Yi's troops crossed Henei County, the other troops who were originally stationed south of the Yellow River had not yet crossed the Yellow River.

The flat official road provided a good foundation for Zhao Yi's 30,000 troops to march quickly, and they did not encounter any bandits or refugees along the way. After all, seeing such a mighty team, the bandits who just wanted to have a full meal would go crazy and go back to cause trouble for the army.

So in less than ten days, Zhao Yi advanced to Linfen.

Moreover, he never took off his armor, and his war horses were used to carry food. He cried every day, his hair was unkempt, he slept on the straw, and from time to time he burned incense and prayed, asking God to bless the saint with safety. Even his brother Zhao Jiong felt that his elder brother was overacting.

But as the commander led by example, the soldiers under his command naturally marched nearly a hundred miles every day without complaint, so that when they arrived in Taiyuan with Zhao Yi's army, Yuwen She's army had just arrived in Xinkou.

In Guangwu, after half a month of siege, Li Yuanhui's cavalry began to take turns guarding the city walls. The Turkic offensive was fierce, and among the more than 40 cities in Yanmen and Mayi counties, only Guangwu and Gang County were still in the hands of Dayan, and they were still under heavy siege.

Murong Ying, the emperor who always attached great importance to his own dignity, was actually depressed all day and refused to see his ministers.

The defense of Guangwu City was undertaken by three generals, Li Shenfu, Lou Jushi, Duan Yihong, and King of Qi Murong Ju, each of whom was in charge of a side of the city wall.

The Xiaoguo Army was divided into two parts, one part followed Li Shenfu to guard the west gate, and the other part followed King of Qi Murong to guard the north gate.

Li Yuanhui's troops were under the command of the King of Qi.

At this time, Li Yuanhui, who had been besieged in the city for more than ten days, was calculating all day whether there was enough food.

More than 100,000 people were crowded in Guangwu, and there were people everywhere. Even Li Yuanhui had to squeeze into a small courtyard with a few colleagues, but this was not a problem.

The biggest problem is that people eat what horses chew.

After the Turks besieged the city, food and fodder soon ran out and had to be reduced.

Before setting off, Li Yuanhui specifically asked Liu Xuanji and Guo Xiaoke to prepare some food and mix it with the baggage.

This caused his Xiaoguo Army to complain a lot, as they thought that these were all personal belongings carried by the prince consort, and there were more than ten extra carts of supplies.

Even now, Li Yuanhui still has not used these last few hundred stones of stored grain, nor has he mentioned it to anyone.

Prepare for use in desperate situations and breakout operations.

Even in this exhausted state, the army managed to resist the Turkic offensive.

The main problem is that their means of attacking the city were too poor.

After more than 20 days of siege, the army that was sent to support the king finally received news.

The messenger sent by Zhao Yi took the small path of Mount Wutai, then swam across the river to deliver the letter to Guangwu City.

Murong Ying cried with joy when she heard the news.

"General Zhao is truly a loyal minister."

　Let me explain here. Historically, the place where Emperor Yang of Sui was besieged was not Yanmen Pass, but Yanmen County, which is today's Dai County. It was originally named Guangwu and was established in the Qin Dynasty. It was not until the Sui Dynasty that Guangwu County was changed to Yanmen County to avoid the taboo of Yang Guang.

　　In this time and space, if there was no Yang Guang, the name would not be changed and it would still be Guangwu.

　　The terrain of Yanmen Pass is built in the Hengshan Mountains, so it is impossible to surround a city.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)