Chapter 63 Counterattack
After the Princess of Han left, Dou Luyu personally led his troops to attack, pierced Zhu Tao's throat with a spear, completely controlled the Palace of the Prince of Han, and then ordered the release of Huangfu Dan and others who were imprisoned for advising the Prince of Han.

Then he, together with Huangfu Dan, Panshi Hou, Su Qinwu and others, closed the city and refused to surrender. Naturally, such a big news could not be concealed from Yang Liang. He led his army back in anger and sent people to persuade them to surrender but was insulted again.

Yang Liang had never been bullied like this in his life. How could a mere few thousand defenders stop the Han King's army of more than one hundred thousand? What's more, there were many treacherous people in the city, so it was captured after only a half-day delay.

Dou Luyu attempted suicide but failed and was brought before the King of Han. The King of Han drew his sword and pressed it against Dou Luyu's neck. Facing the King of Han's angry threats, Dou Luyu responded with only one sentence: "Thief!"

The King of Han gnashed his teeth and said, "Drag him away and behead him!"

After a while, someone came back with a bleeding head, still glaring with anger.

Yang Liang's anger subsided, and he felt an endless chill and sadness in his heart. This man was not just anyone else, but his brother-in-law, a person who truly shared honor and disgrace with him. Yet he was willing to betray him regardless of his life. What about the others?
The sword in his hand softened and fell to the ground. At that moment, Pei Wen'an's victory report came, but it did not bring Yang Liang any joy. He just felt that if he left Jinyang City, someone would rebel again.

He could only summon his ministers to discuss the matter again. When they learned that Pei Wen'an had achieved such an achievement, they were all envious and excited, and they all urged the King of Han to pursue the victory.

They also said that they had many old friends and relatives in the capital, and as long as the King of Han deployed his troops outside the capital, they could persuade them to make contact, and then the capital would surely fall without a fight.

But Yang Liang's will had suffered a severe blow. He now did not think that this was something that could be achieved. He had begun to regret that he should have obeyed the imperial order and returned to Beijing, which might have saved his life.

But there was no turning back now. Yang Liang struggled for a long time and finally decided to give up conquering cities and just concentrate on defending his own territory. It would be enough for him to be a king and preserve his wealth.

As soon as this idea was put forward, Yang Liang's subordinates were stunned with shock. What do you think we are doing now? We are rebelling. We are taking the initiative and not attacking now, but after a while, the emperor will gather troops and let us secede?
They hurriedly explained the pros and cons, hoping that the King of Han would wake up. However, how could they persuade the King of Han who had just suffered a blow? Just as Dou Lu Yu and others failed to persuade the King of Han not to rebel, now these people failed to persuade the King of Han to strengthen his will to rebel.

The next day, the King of Han issued an order, ordering Pei Wen'an to quickly dismantle the floating bridge on the Yellow River and rely on Puzhou Pass to defend Puzhou City.

Pei Wen'an, who had just made great contributions, certainly could not agree, but he had no prestige in the army. The King of Han's military order was implemented and the pontoon bridge was destroyed.

Pei Wen'an ignored Yang Liang's order to stay behind and rushed back on horseback hoping to persuade the King of Han. He must have lost the opportunity. Who among them could survive?
He rushed back and cried, "Your Majesty, as long as you advance, the capital will be in turmoil, the troops will not have time to gather, the left and right will be suspicious of each other, and the people will be terrified. When the time comes, your Majesty will present the troops and give the orders, who will dare not surrender? Then your great cause will be assured!"

However, Yang Liang refused to advance any further. He only thought that if the other armies went well, he would occupy so many places that would be enough to establish his kingdom. Then he could negotiate with his second brother and be self-sufficient and wealthy.

At present, his general Qi Liang attacked Cizhou, but encountered resistance and turned to attack Xiangzhou. General Yu Gongli led his troops out of Taihang Pass and went to Henei, attempting to occupy Shanxi and Hebei, but was resisted by the Right Guard General Shi Xiang stationed in Heyin.

Zhuguo Qiao Zhongkui set out from Yanmen and besieged Daizhou, and Daizhou Governor Li Jing tried his best to resist.

.........

The Sui army had no idea what had happened in the rear of the King of Han, but such an obvious thing as the destruction of the pontoon bridge naturally did not escape the Sui army's eyes. Yang Su summoned all the generals to discuss the matter.

Everyone was pleasantly surprised to hear the news. No matter what, the originally sturdy floating bridge was gone, and no matter how hard they repaired it, a large group of troops would not be able to cross the Yellow River in a short period of time.

This gave them the most precious time, which the court could use to mobilize the troops from all over the country. The originally tense situation eased a lot, but Yang Su, who was always cautious, still ordered scouts to monitor day and night, and there must be no negligence or slackness. Those who disobeyed orders would be executed together with their superiors.

Yang Su's orders would definitely be implemented in the army. He used decades of practice to make his soldiers understand that they must not be caught making any mistakes, otherwise he would definitely kill them.

But Li Jiancheng also had to admire Yang Su. No matter what he was like in other aspects, he was definitely a commander that the monarch could trust on the battlefield.

The emperor didn't care whether his military tactics were too cruel, he just wanted him to win the war. The rest were just minor details and not worth mentioning.

Moreover, isn't it a good thing for the emperor that an invincible commander does not enjoy the respect and trust of his soldiers?
Everyone suggested waiting for the arrival of the rest of the troops to come to support the king, and then crossing the river to wipe out the rebels, which would be a foolproof way.

But Yang Su had keenly noticed the flaws revealed by the other party. He was very tempted, but he was hesitant. Could someone in his position get such a credit?

As an excellent commander, he was unwilling to give up such an opportunity, but as the highest-ranking official in the Sui Dynasty, the three provincial governors were all held by his family. He did not dare to lose, but he also did not dare to win too beautifully.

Li Jiancheng nudged Li Jing with his elbow. The two had been together for a long time and had already reached a tacit understanding. He stepped out and said, "I would like to fight. Tomorrow night, I will lead 5,000 brave soldiers who are proficient in water to cross the river and attack Pujin Pass by surprise."

Yang Su looked at Li Jing deeply. Only natural generals like them could have such strategic intuition, but the word "strange" also proved that there was a possibility of losing.

However, without the pontoon bridge, the offensive and defensive situations are different now. We just need to defend ourselves strictly to prevent the enemy from crossing the river and launching a surprise attack at night.

Even if Li Jing's surprise attack failed and he lost several thousand men, the remaining troops in his hands were enough to rely on the natural barrier of the Yellow River to prevent the rebels from landing.

Moreover, in two days, another 20,000 troops will be able to arrive under his command, so the problem now is that Li Jing is not worthy of taking the responsibility of risking the loss of troops at this critical moment.

Li Jiancheng walked silently behind him, and Yang Su nodded immediately: "Yes!"

Then he sent some soldiers and horses. Li Jing and Li Jiancheng withdrew to select them personally. When they returned to the tent late at night, Yu Wenzhi came with a dark face and said, "Let me make it clear in advance that I will not go with you."

Li Jiancheng said with a little tiredness: "I didn't count on you, go back and rest."

"Hey, thank you."

Yu Wenzhi left happily. Who could have thought that such a fellow would be brought back by imperial decree and promoted to the rank of Shaoqing of Taipu Temple, the fourth rank, just two days after he set out on the expedition.

…………

(End of this chapter)