On a certain day in the first month of the twenty-third year of Hongde, Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, stood on the gate tower of Shanyang City, looking at the snowfield outside the city in the cold wind. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

From time to time, he could see groups of Korean cavalry, their horses walking through the snow, heading westward as if no one was around.

Whenever he saw those Korean cavalry, Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, subconsciously clenched his fists, eager to lead his army out of the city.

But reason told him that at this time, rashly going out of the city to fight the Korean army was only a dead end.

Does Wei still have a chance to win this battle?

Yan King Zhao Hongjiang couldn't help but be a little dazed.

In fact, at the moment of this battle, Wei had completely fallen into passivity in northern Xinjiang: the Shanyang army of Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, retreated to "Shanyang", and the rebel army of Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Southern Liang, was forced to be helpless, and part of them withdrew to the west to garrison "Huaiyi", and part of them crossed the river to garrison "Yuanyang"; On the other hand, the Korean army, with its momentum, was in full swing, dividing its troops into three routes, attacking "Hanoi", "Yuanyang", and defending the country.

It is no exaggeration to say that under the ferocious offensive of the Korean army, the Wei state was completely at a disadvantage.

Although Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, is still guarding Shanyang County, he actually understands in his heart that the threat of Shanyang to the Korean army is already minimal, look at the Korean cavalry who arbitrarily rode their horses on the snowfield outside Shanyang City, those Koreans did not take Shanyang County in their eyes at all, and bypassed Shanyang again and again, putting pressure on "Yewang", "Qinyang" and other places.

During this period, these Korean cavalry occupied one Wei village after another and captured a large number of Hanoi Wei people.

Obviously, he had made a promise to defend the northern frontier for the country, but now, he could only watch those compatriots being captured by the Korean army, and every time he thought of this, Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, felt a strong depression in his chest.

Time gradually passed, and it was approaching dusk in a blink of an eye, and Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, who had stood on the city gate tower for a few hours, sighed secretly - he still hadn't waited for the person he was expecting.

Wrapped in his battle robe, Zhao Hongjiang turned around and walked down the city wall, took two ordinary guards, and rode slowly towards the Yanwang Mansion in the city.

"His Royal Highness King Yan!"

"Your Highness!"

The Shanyang soldiers or local county residents encountered along the way all greeted Zhao Hongjiang eagerly.

Zhao Hongjiang nodded in response one by one, with a calm and calm smile on his face, not daring to reveal his inner hesitation.

When he returned to the Yan Palace, his wife, Princess Sun of Yan, was sewing battle robes, winter clothes, and armor for the soldiers of the Shanyang Army with two side rooms and the maids in the palace.

On the side, the eldest son, second son and eldest daughter of Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, sat on the bench with their heads tilted and watched.

The inner lining of the Wei people's armor is generally made of thick cowhide, and in order to pass the slender needle and thread through these cowhides, the two side chambers of Sun and Zhao Hongjiang can be said to have suffered enough.

Especially the Yan princess Sun, she was born in the Wei country's celebrity and aristocratic "Waihuang Sun", her mother's family used to occupy the mine, lying on the ground, and she didn't have to worry about eating in her life, how could she have done this kind of hard needlework.

The ten fingers do not touch the spring water, which is the true portrayal of the daughters of such famous nobles on weekdays.

Suddenly, Princess Yan frowned, it turned out that the needle and thread accidentally stabbed her finger, but this noble princess Yan just put her finger in her mouth and sucked it for a while, and after the bleeding stopped, she continued to sew the armor in her hand - as if she was used to it.

『……』

Seeing this scene, Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan standing outside the hall, was in a very complicated mood, he was distressed, but he also felt a little proud.

"Daddy."

The chubby eldest daughter Tuan Tuan saw Zhao Hongjiang standing outside the hall and ran over happily.

Zhao Hongjiang laughed and picked up his daughter.

Seeing this, Princess Yan and the women in the house stopped the needlework in their hands and saluted Zhao Hongjiang respectfully.

There are also Zhao Hongjiang's two sons, Zhao Bowu and Zhao Zhongwu.

After saluting, Princess Yan Sun stepped forward, took her daughter from her husband's hand, and motioned for the two side rooms to lead the three children to the side hall.

It's a pity that her daughter clamored for her father to hug her, so that in the end, only Zhao Hongjiang's two sons honestly followed the two aunts to the side hall.

After everyone retreated in interest, Princess Yan Sun poured a cup of tea for her husband, and watched her husband tease her daughter with a smile.

Although the daughter Tuan Tuan came from the side room, because the two side rooms were originally cousins and cousins that Sun had known since childhood, Sun has always regarded them as his own.

After a while, she cautiously asked, "Husband, is my brother still not coming?" ”

The brother in her mouth is her own brother and the brother-in-law of Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, Sun Hao.

Speaking of which, the relationship between the Waihuang Sun clan and the Yan King Zhao Hongjiang is really not shallow, first of all, the biological mother of the Yan King Zhao Hongjiang, Sun Guiji, is the daughter of the Waihuang Sun clan, according to the generation, the Yan princess Sun has to call Sun Guiji a cousin.

Therefore, Zhao Hongjiang took the Sun family, and the Waihuang Sun clan can be said to be close to each other, and it is precisely because of this that the Waihuang Sun clan will vigorously support Zhao Hongjiang to form the Shanyang Army.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Shanyang army of Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, has been able to develop to this point today, and the Waihuang Sun clan has contributed a lot.

Especially in the second half of last year, when the war between Wei and Han broke out again, because Wei was in urgent need of a large number of weapons and equipment, and the smelting bureau and the military casting bureau of Daliang were too late to build, the imperial court authorized local nobles to privately cast weapons and armor to form a private army to defend the country.

Under this special decree, the princes and nobles of Wei, who seemed to be moths of the country in the past, took action one after another, and did not hesitate to invest heavily in forming private soldiers to build weapons, such as Zhao Shen, the king of Chengling, and Zhao Tan, the marquis of Anping, who are currently stationed in the army of "sour dates", which were raised by these two princes of the Zhao family themselves.

Another example is the Waihuang Sun clan, which occupied the mines of its own country in the past years and refused to let go, but now when the Wei State is facing the threat of collapse, the Waihuang Sun clan immediately spent a huge amount of money to forge weapons and armor for the Shanyang army and raise military rations for it.

It cannot be denied that the nobles of Wei, especially the big nobles, try their best to use their power for personal gain and exploit the loopholes of the imperial court on weekdays, but when the country is threatened, they will still contribute money and efforts without hesitation.

Thinking about it, there are still very few greedy and visionless nobles like the Juyang Jun Xiong Carp of Chu State, and the vast majority of nobles, even if they rely on the status of princes and nobles to make a fortune in the country, but when the country faces the threat of collapse, they will still contribute their own strength, that is, the so-called "skin does not have hair and will be attached".

And Sun Hao, the elder brother of Princess Yan's Sun, has been responsible for transporting grain and grass to Shanyang in recent months, but somehow, three days later than the scheduled date, Sun Hao's grain transportation team still did not arrive in Shanyang.

This made Zhao Hongjiang and his wife have an ominous premonition - could it be that they were robbed by the Korean cavalry?

This speculation is very likely, because objectively speaking, the Wei army has lost control of at least seventy percent of the territory of Hanoi, and in the face of the Korean cavalry, which is said to be tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands, the Wei army in northern Xinjiang now does not even dare to leave the county seat where they are stationed, and can only watch the Korean cavalry gallop arbitrarily on the snowfield, cutting off the connection between the cities in northern Xinjiang and the Wei land south of the river.

"Maybe it's because of the wind and snow, don't worry."

Zhao Hongjiang comforted his wife.

Although he didn't believe it himself.

In the evening of the same day, Sun Hao fled to Shanyang with two or three domestic servants covered in blood.

Sure enough, Sun Hao's escort team was attacked by the Korean cavalry, and seeing that the situation was irreversible, Sun Hao hastily ordered the servants and the people to burn the cart of grain and grass, so that the grain and grass would not be captured by the Korean army.

Afterwards, with the desperate protection of more than 20 domestic servants, Sun Hao finally fled to Shanyang and reported the bad news to Zhao Hongjiang.

Looking at Sun Hao's embarrassed and embarrassed appearance, Yan King Zhao Hongjiang shook his head, and in turn comforted the former.

He didn't mean to blame Sun Hao, after all, with the current situation in northern Xinjiang, Sun Hao led a team to transport grain and grass to Shanyang, which was originally an extremely dangerous matter, and it was possible to encounter an attack by the Korean cavalry at any time.

But even though he knew this, Zhao Hongjiang was still disappointed in his heart, because the food in his Shanyang County was no longer abundant.

Although Shanyang Province has been frugal in the past two months, after all, there are nearly 18,000 Shanyang troops and more than 4,000 Southern Yan troops stationed in this city, in addition to tens of thousands of Wei people from or near Shanyang.

And this is not the worst news, the worst news is that in recent days, the South Korean cavalry has been moving more and more frequently in this area, and it has become more and more careful about attacking the grain routes of Shanyang, Huaiyi and other cities.

This made Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, come to a conclusion: the Han army is about to use troops against Shanyang, Huaiyi and other places!

The next day, Zhao Hongjiang summoned Cao Yan, Liu Xu and other Zongwei, as well as the generals of the Shanyang Army, to the Yanwang Mansion to discuss countermeasures with them.

Also present were Zhao Hongjiang's uncle, Sun Hao.

In the course of the deliberations, everyone was worried.

In all fairness, Shanyang County will not be captured by the Han army in a short period of time, after all, Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, has been operating in Shanyang County for four or five years, and both the city defense and the popular support of the Wei people in the city are extremely reliable.

The problem is twofold:

First of all, judging from the current war situation in northern Xinjiang, the strategic significance of Shanyang County is already very small, because there are various indications that after the beginning of spring, the ROK army will cross the river in a big way to attack the territory of Wei and Wei south of the river, and the person responsible for attacking Hanoi County at that time may only be a partial division of the ROK army in the direction of Handan.

Under these circumstances, although the pressure on Sanyang County was greatly reduced, it could no longer play a role in sharing the pressure of the ROK army, and there was no way to support the country.

Secondly, under the infiltration and attack tactics of the South Korean cavalry, Shanyang County, Huaiyi County and other places have become isolated cities, and the South Korean army has cut off the connection with their own country.

Therefore, Zongwei Liu Xu suggested that while the Korean army had not yet begun to move, he quickly withdrew to Huaiyi, joined up with the part of the rebel army in Huaiyi, managed to cross the river, and rearranged the defenses at Yuanyang and Nanyan—that was the main battlefield of the Wei-Han War after the beginning of spring.

But Zongwei Cao Yan immediately raised an objection: "Shanyang County, in addition to our Shanyang Army and Nanyan Army, a total of more than 20,000 people, there are tens of thousands of Wei people, how can they all quietly withdraw to the south of the river?" Are you blind when those Korean cavalrymen are blind? ”

After a pause, he said again: "What's more, if the Han army occupies Shanyang, what will happen to Tianmen Pass?" ”

Yes, in Tianmen Pass, there are 5,000 garrisons led by Lu Zhan, a 3,000-strong general of the Shangshui Army, who are guarding the Tianmen Mine, and at the same time guarding the main road between Hanoi and Shangdang.

If Shanyang is captured by the Korean army, Tianmen Pass will be difficult to defend for a long time, and if this pass is lost, the Korean army will be able to drive directly to the territory of Shangdang County.

"Well, that's not allowed!" Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, also shook his head and raised objections.

I remember that after retreating to Shanyang, he contacted Lu Zhan, the guard general of Tianmen Pass, and Jiang Cong, the Wei general who guarded Mengmen Pass, and the Northern Third Army, so that Tianmen Pass, Shanyang, and Mengmen Pass supported each other, so that they survived until the cold winter under the attack of the Korean army.

Whether from a friendly or strategic point of view, it is impossible for Zhao Hongjiang to give up these two friendly forces.

"Or will our army retreat to Tianmen Pass?" A general of the Sanyo Army suggested.

Hearing this, Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, was faintly moved.

It is undeniable that this is a good idea, after all, Tianmen Pass is not far from Shanyang County, and Zhao Hongjiang is very likely to move more than 20,000 troops and tens of thousands of Shanyang people into Tianmen Pass.

When the time comes, he Zhao Hongjiang and Tianmen Pass guard Lu Zhan converged, with nearly 30,000 troops, enough to resist the Korean army.

As for the tens of thousands of people in Shanyang, they can move into the county seat of Shangdang County, after Zhao Hongrun, the king of Su, defeated the Shangdang, the Donggong Party and other princes' forces to help the nobles, also in Shangdang County, although the harvest is not much, but after all, there is some food.

The only problem is that once the Shanyang army abandons Shanyang and retreats to Tianmen Pass, although Tianmen Pass is easy to defend and difficult to attack, it will not be so easy for the Wei army to fight again.

What's more, after the beginning of spring, the offensive of the Korean army will sweep through the two counties of Hedong and Hanoi like a mercury outlet, and at that time, Shangdang County will become an enclave isolated from the Wei mainland, and in this case, Shangdang County will not be able to hold on for long.

Because of this, although the main army of Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Southern Liang, retreated to the area of Yuanyang and Nanyan, he still left an army to garrison Huaiyi, plus Shanyang, where Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, was stationed, and Tianmen Pass, where 5,000 merchant and water troops were stationed, it was difficult to connect Shangdang County and Wei proper.

Subsequently, everyone in the room put forward all kinds of suggestions, and Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, listened quietly.

After a long time, Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, made a decision that surprised everyone very much: to defend Shanyang!

I have to say that this is the most dangerous decision, because once the South Korean army launches an offensive after the beginning of spring, Shanyang will be a lonely city at that time, and this is undoubtedly a lifeless situation - there is still a glimmer of life in retreating to Tianmen Pass, but if you defend Shanyang, you will definitely die!

Of course, in fact, the safest strategy is to leave the people of Shanyang, regardless of the safety of Tianmen Pass and Shangdang County, and quickly withdraw to the south of the river, and then join the main army of Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Southern Liang, at least Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, will not be in any danger.

But obviously, Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, can't do this kind of thing, how can he, who vows to guard the country for the country, abandon the people of Shanyang County and the friendly army of Shangdang County?

And hearing the decision of Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, everyone in the house was shocked, after all, this is the most "worst" and most dangerous choice.

Before the generals persuaded him, Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, explained: "This king also has this king's considerations. …… You don't know, my wife's brother Sun Hao came this time, although the grain and grass escorted was intercepted by the Korean army, he brought an excellent news. ”

"Excellent news?"

The generals looked at Sun Hao in surprise, but saw the latter with a heavy head.

At this time, I listened to Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, continued: "Daliang has received the good news from the battlefield of Weixi, saying that my Great Wei has formed an alliance with Qin, and the war between Wei and Qin has ended at the end of last year......

"Really?" Sect Guard Chief Cao Yan asked in surprise.

Looking at the other generals, they also snorted heavily, and their faces were full of surprise.

"It's true!" Sun Hao nodded and said: "This matter has already spread in Daliang, and it is said that His Royal Highness King Su and the reinforcements of the Qin State have as many as 400,000!" ”

Hearing Sun Hao's confirmation, Cao Yan, Liu Xu and other generals were overjoyed.

A full 400,000 reinforcements!

This is a force that is enough to turn the battle situation in the northern frontier upside down!

It is enough to reverse the advantages and disadvantages of the Wei and Korean armies today!

"Therefore, our army must hold Shanyang!" Looking around at the generals in the house, Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, said: "As long as Shanyang is still there, the Han army in Hedong and Hanoi will not be able to unite as one, and my Great Wei will have a chance to regain the lost territory!" …… But if Shanyang is lost, the Korean army will have no scruples to stop Hongrun's reinforcements, and at that time, Hongrun's reinforcements will be dragged by the combined efforts of the Korean troops in Hedong and Hanoi, and they will not be able to support Yuanyang and Nanyan as soon as possible......"

The implication is that Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, is ready to attract firepower to prevent the Korean armies in Hedong and Hanoi from converging, and create an opportunity for the reinforcements led by Zhao Hongrun to attack quickly.

"I understand what Your Highness means, but it's just ...... I wonder when His Royal Highness King Su's reinforcements will arrive? Cao Yan turned his head and asked Sun Haodao.

"This ......" Sun Hao hesitated for a moment and said, "As far as I know, the imperial court guesses that it is the beginning of March......"

"...... in early March" The expression on Cao Yan's face became solemn, and the rest of the generals also looked at each other.

Because they estimated that the Korean army might launch an offensive in mid-February, it meant that they would have to defend Shanyang for at least half a month before the arrival of Zhao Hongrun, the king of Su, and the reinforcements of the Qin state.

Half a month, with the not-so-high walls of Shanyang, a lonely city, and more than 20,000 soldiers in the city, can it hold for half a month?

When the sky dawns, how many troops will the Korean army send to besiege Shanyang?

"Can't you go any faster?" A general of the Shanyang Army said with some bitterness.

The generals were silent when they heard this, and after half a sound, Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, sighed slightly and said: "I'm afraid this is already the fastest speed, you must know that the situation in Hedong County is not much better than my Hanoi County......"

Hearing this, the generals were silent.

Indeed, at this time in Hedong County, the Wei army was also defeated and retreated, although there was Lintao Jun Wei Ji, a famous general from the Wei clan in Longxi, but because the local Wei army and the Taiyuan army led by Han General Le Cheng were very different in strength and strength, so that the Wei army was also defeated in Hedong County.

But in any case, when they learned that Zhao Hongrun, the king of Su, was about to lead his army to northern Xinjiang in early March to help in the war, the generals had some hope in their hearts.

When the meeting was dismissed, Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, called out to his brother-in-law Sun Hao: "Brother in-law, I have something to ask you." ”

Sun Hao was slightly stunned, then seemed to think of something, and nodded slightly.

A moment later, Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, led his wife and brother Sun Hao to the side hall.

Seeing the arrival of her husband and brother, Princess Sun, who was doing needlework, put down the work in her hand and got up to salute.

However, before she could speak, Zhao Hongjiang pulled her to the inner room.

"Is there anything going on with Your Highness?" Princess Yan Sun said in confusion.

Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, did not hide this virtuous wife, and said truthfully: "In the middle of next month, the Han army may launch an offensive against my Shanyang, so I hope that the three of you sisters will take Bowu, Zhongwu and Tuan Tuan Na to follow your brother-in-law back to Daliang as soon as possible, and I will send two hundred cavalry to escort you." ”

Princess Yan Sun was stunned when she heard this, and then said quietly: "What about you, Your Highness?" ”

Zhao Hongjiang was silent for a moment, then chuckled and said, "How could this king easily give up Shanyang to Han Jun?" ”

Hearing this, Sun shook his head and said, "Your Highness is in Shanyang, how can the concubine and the others leave lightly?" ”

may have guessed Sun's thoughts, Zhao Hongjiang said with a smile: "Is my beloved wife worried about this king?" Hahaha, you don't have to worry about this king and the three armies. Let me tell you, the eighth brother Hongrun is about to lead 400,000 reinforcements to the northern frontier, if he arrives in the northern frontier and I lose Shanyang, won't I be laughed at by him? …… In short, don't worry, this king will be fine! ”

Sun Shi looked up at her husband, and suddenly said, "In this case, even if the concubine stays with His Highness, it will be fine, right?" ”

Zhao Hongjiang, the king of Yan, was not a person who was good at words, and was speechless by his wife's words.

He scolded angrily: "I let you go first, you go!" ”

However, Zhao Hongjiang's rude reprimand did not frighten the Sun family, only to see her gently hugging her husband, and said in a low voice: "The concubine's home (Yanwangfu) is in Shanyang, and the concubine's husband is also in Shanyang, where can the concubine go?" As he spoke, he raised his head and looked at Zhao Hongjiang, and said gently: "Four years ago, His Royal Highness moved the palace to Shanyang, and asked the concubine if she was afraid, and the concubine said "not afraid" at that time...... Ah, as long as you are by Your Highness's side, the concubine body is not afraid of ......"

Looking at the firm eyes of the weak Sun, Zhao Hongjiang opened his mouth and was speechless.

Subsequently, Zhao Hongjiang summoned his two side rooms, however, the second daughter also said the same words as the Sun family.

In desperation, Zhao Hongjiang could only entrust his wife and brother Sun Hao to bring his three children to Daliang.

Facts have proved that Zhao Hongjiang still underestimated the urgency of the Korean army to conquer the entire territory of Hanoi County, and waited until the fourth day of the second lunar month, when the scouts of the Shanyang army who ventured to the outside of the city to inquire about the news, found that a Han army of 50,000 people was rapidly approaching Shanyang.

Judging from the banner, the chief general of this Korean army is one of the top ten heroes in the northern plains, and he is the acting county guard drama Xin.

At the beginning of February of the 23rd year of Hongde, the war in northern Xinjiang between Wei and Han was first started by the "Battle of Shanyang".