Wulugu, the leader of the Tiefu Tribe, was given the surname Liu after returning to the Han Dynasty, changed his name to Liu Hu, and was named the Duke of Loufu County.

Last year, Liu Yao was in Gaonu, humbly and thickly, and asked Liu Hu to lead troops to harass Feng Yi, Liu Hu led thousands of elite horsemen to come proudly, but was defeated by Tao Kan, and then Tuoba Yulu took the opportunity to cover up the attack on Luchuan, and his brother Liu Lugu had surrendered...... In desperation, Liu Hu had to rely on Liu Yao and become his general.

But after Liu Yao entered Pingyang Bingzheng, he was not promoted to Liu Hu because of this--it was also because Liu Hu's position was already very high, and it was inconvenient to be promoted again-Liu Hu inevitably felt resentful. In his mind, if I hadn't been invited by Liu Yao that day, how could I have been left in my hometown and forced to send someone under the fence? Then I have paid such a big sacrifice, Liu Yao, you have to at least make me a king......

Anyway, I already have the surname Liu, how can I not be the king?

Liu Cong and Guo Yi took the opportunity to send people to win over Liu Hu, wanting to use it for their own use. Waiting until Liu Yao and Chen soldiers were in front of the palace gate today, Liu Cong knew that there was only one battle, so he hurriedly summoned the forbidden army, and at the same time sent eunuchs to sneak out of the palace from the side door to contact the ministers who were not Liu Yao's party.

The key is also that Liu Cong pretended to be drunk every day, and Guo Yi passed on false news, since he had concealed Liu Jun, how could Liu Yao not be fooled? Although the palace was forced to fight, it was not ready for a full-scale war. In Liu Yao's mind, as long as I threaten, the forbidden army will naturally open the door to welcome the surrender, I rushed in directly and pulled Liu Cong off the couch, no matter whether he was awake or asleep, put his hand on the seal, and directly issued an edict to abdicate, wouldn't he live?

It was inevitable that there would be some negligence, and a group of eunuchs sneaked out of the palace, and took advantage of Guo Yi's delay to call Liu Hu and others.

Liu Cong's hopes for foreign aid, one is Liu Hu, and the other is his several adult sons-such as Liu Yi, King of Hejian, Liu Yi, King of Pengcheng, Liu Kui, King of Gaoping, etc.—although these vassal kings were deprived of military power and confined to the palace, after all, even the subordinates and domestic slaves were able to gather hundreds or even thousands of people, and when assembled, they were a force to be reckoned with.

Therefore, he deliberately drafted the edict in a hurry, ordering Liu Hu to lead the Tiefu soldiers to crusade against Liu Yao, and promised that after the matter was completed, he would be crowned the king of Guangping County. Liu Hu coveted the king, and immediately gathered troops and horses to attack Liu Yao.

Liu Cong is also an old fighter, although he has been living in the deep palace in recent years, and his martial arts have basically been put down, but the battlefield intuition is still there after all. As soon as he saw the Tiefu soldiers coming, he immediately ordered to open the palace gate and kill the whole army. Liu Yaojun was flanked from the front and back, and it was on the streets of Kyoto, and it was difficult to arrange a large formation—no matter how wide the Tongtuo Street in front of the palace was, it was still just a road after all—and it couldn't help but be in chaos.

About two moments into the battle, Liu Yao was defeated, Ping Xianwei escorted him to break through the siege, fled back to the Yongwang mansion, and Yang Yi opened the door to enter. Liu Gan, Hu Yanmo and others all ran away, but the general Liu Hei died in the chaos.

Immediately, the kings also joined forces, and together with the Tiefu soldiers and some forbidden troops, they surrounded Liu Yao's mansion and attacked from all sides. Liu Yao commanded his soldiers to resist, and at the same time asked left and right: "Where is Liu Yue, is he also betrayed?" ”

Liu Yue was Liu Yao's confidant general, and was ordered to guard the city gates, and when Liu Yao began to attack the Forbidden Palace, he had already sent someone to send an order, asking him to send a part of the army and horses to reinforcements. However, Liu Yue thought that with Liu Yao's soldiers, it was enough to break through the palace ban, and he had more than 20,000 soldiers and horses in his hands, so it was best to guard the city gate carefully and not let the Son of Heaven or the kings escape, so he was not enthusiastic and acted slowly.

Soon after, a court minister came to him, showed Liu Cong's edict, asked him to defect to Liu Yao, and promised that after the matter was completed, he would also be crowned a prince. Liu Yue didn't see this edict, and when he saw the edict, he couldn't help but be anxious - "The Son of Heaven has time to issue an edict, and he ordered the minister to hold on to me, which shows that the king's situation is dangerous!" Only then did he personally lead the soldiers and horses to save Liu Yao.

Because of the lag in the news, he killed in front of the palace gate in one breath, Liu Cong did not leave the palace, he was shocked when he heard the report, and hurriedly ordered to close the palace gate again, and the forbidden army went to the wall for the second time. Liu Yue immediately asked in a loud voice outside the que, "Where is King Yong?" Liu Cong made people wonder: "The head has been awarded, then you will not bow down and ask for sin, but when?" ”

Liu Yue couldn't help crying, but fortunately, someone came to report immediately, saying that King Yong was defeated and retired to the mansion. Liu Yue hurriedly led his troops out of the palace gate and came to rescue Liu Yao. The two sides fought, and most of the kings' subordinates were improvised patchwork of troops and house slaves, and the organization was scattered, and when they suddenly encountered Liu Yue's army, they collapsed at the first touch, and even the Tiefu soldiers were defeated and left.

The kings and the forbidden army hurriedly fled to the forbidden center and closed their doors. Liu Hu did not enter the palace, gathered his troops and horses slightly, and then turned around and occupied the Great Xia Gate in the north of the palace, and the forbidden middle was in a fierce situation. Half of the 100 officials in the court closed the door of the palace and did not dare to go out-most of them were mainly scribes of the late Jin Dynasty--Sancheng led slaves and maids to help Liu Yao, and 20% entered the forbidden palace to protect Liu Cong.

In this way, Pingyang City was completely transformed into a Shura killing field, and the two sides fought every day, ambushing corpses everywhere, and even setting fire to the enemy, causing half of the houses in the city to be reduced to ashes. The people all took the old and the young, and wanted to escape out of the city to take refuge, but Liu Yue or Liu Hu ordered the city gate to be closed tightly, and they did not let go of any of them, and even drove the people with knives, whether they were women or children, and they were beheaded if they did not retreat......

During this period, Liu Gan led the army to occupy the arsenal, but the remaining weapons in the arsenal were less than 1,000...... Liu Hu made one occupy Taicang, scrape the ground three feet, and only had hundreds of brown rice. As a result, the two sides broke into large households and even the mansion of the minister, demolished the house to make weapons, searched for food for military funds, and occasionally killed innocent people and raped ** women, which emerged in an endless stream and could not be contained.

Although Liu Yao had the upper hand because of the large number of soldiers, Liu Cong strictly guarded the palace ban, and Liu Hu fiercely controlled the Great Xia Gate, so that he could not succeed for three consecutive days. Seeing that the situation was so chaotic, Liu Yongming couldn't help but sigh: "If Ziping is still alive, he will not make the situation as it is today...... Even today, there will be a solution! ”

The Taiwanese property who joined the army reminded him: "Since Wulugu occupies the north gate, the Son of Heaven can send people out and summon Liu Cang to the north." Count the time, if Liu Cang comes in a hurry, he will arrive at the city in three or five days, and he will join forces with the Son of Heaven, and we will have no reason to win! The king should have planned early. ”

Liu Yao paused and said: "It's all you who persuaded me to break into the palace and forbid me, and even that...... What are the best solutions now? ”

Yang Yi hurriedly defended: "Even if the king does not break into the palace ban, with the heart of the Son of Heaven, even if Guo Yi plots to kill Liu Ziping, his plan for the king is only a matter of the past few days." The king is now preemptive, and he can't break the palace ban, if he is controlled by others, he doesn't know what to do. ”

General Liu Yue suggested: "Please send a group of soldiers and horses out of the city to protect Liu Cang." Liu Cang's troops are all defeated in the army, and the food is insufficient, or can be destroyed on the road, so the Son of Heaven has lost foreign aid, the army will be chaotic, and the king's victory can be expected. ”

Liu Yao shook his head and said: "No matter how weak Liu Cang's soldiers and horses are, there are tens of thousands of people after all, if I have a chance to win, I would have already led Qing and others to lead the division south to Linfen and Jiangyi, why wait for today?" Now I am the internal enemy of the Son of Heaven and Wulugu, and if I seek to seek Liu Cang, I will only send 5,000 soldiers at most, what are the chances of victory? ”

Liu Yue pointed to the map and analyzed: "If you don't rush to send troops, the southern emperor Liu Cang, and when he approaches the city, the king will have no chance of winning." If you send troops in a hurry, there is a Chongshan Mountain fifty miles south of Pingyang, which is choking the east bank of the Fenshui River, and if you can go down to the village in danger, you can also be 50,000 or 60,000 people......"

Liu Yao twisted his beard, stared at the map, and was silent for a while.

Pingyang is roughly equivalent to Linfen City in later generations, but one is on the west bank of Fenshui and the other is in the east, and in terms of general topography, it is in the middle of the Linfen Basin. Linfen Basin is based on Luliang in the west, Taiyue and Zhongtiao in the east, and Yuncheng Basin in the south, and Fenshui flows through it, like a long and narrow road.

In fact, the whole Shanxi Province is a long and intermittent stretch from southwest to northeast, with the Yuncheng Basin as its southern end, the Linfen Basin, the Taiyuan Basin, the Xinding Basin in the north, and the Datong Basin.

Therefore, due to the limitations of the terrain, it is easy to predict the route of Liu Cang's march north to Pingyang, but there are only two roads in Fenxi and Fendong. Although Pingyang City itself is in Fenxi, the road in Fendong is relatively straight and wide, and it comes from between Linfen and Jiangyi, which is so close to the road of Fenxi. Therefore, Liu Cang is a father in order to give first aid, and it is very likely that he was killed from Fendong.

Chongshan was later named Ta'er Mountain, located in the middle of Pingyang and Linfen, just clamped the road with Fenshui left and right, it is indeed a good battlefield to set up a fortress to resist the enemy.

Liu Yao tried mental arithmetic, and after planning for a while, he finally spoke: "If Liu Cang comes from Fendong, and I go down with Chongshan, it is indeed possible to stop him from going north." However, if Liu Cang is refused, he will cross the Fenshui to the west and make a detour to the city of Pingyang...... Unless, relying on the mountains and danger, setting up an ambush and breaking it......"

Yang Yi hurriedly said: "As General Zhendong (Liu Yue) said, if Liu Cang can be destroyed, the enemy will be depressed, then the palace of the great king can be forbidden, and Pingyang can be fixed." "Pull Liu Yao with all his might, and divide the troops to go to Chongshan to set up a formation.

Liu Yue, Liu Gan and other generals all surrendered their hands to ask for their lives, one said to give me 5,000 troops, and Liu Cang will be broken, and the other said that I only need 3,000 people, if I can't win, I will come to see him. Liu Cang was still groaning, and Yang Yi spoke again: "Minister's will, only if the king personally goes to the army, there is a chance of winning......"

Whether it is prestige or the ability to command the army, Liu Yao is naturally stronger than Liu Yue and others, so Yang Yi believes that only if Liu Yao personally attacks Liu Cang, the chance of victory will be greater. More importantly, he did not think about victory but first thought about defeat - "If the war is unfavorable, or if Liu Cang cannot be broken and made to go around to Fenxi and north, we can only temporarily abandon Pingyang, retreat to Xiangling first, and then find land to survive for later." Then the king will go out of the city first, which is the most secure, and if he can't win, he can also urgently consolidate the defense of Xiangling. ”

Liu Yao thought about it carefully for a while, and also felt that there were fewer enemies in this battle, and the chances of winning were not very great, maybe only he could take on this important task. So he entrusted the city guard to Liu Yue, entrusted his wife and children to Yang Yi, and entrusted Liu Heng to Taisan on behalf of the king, and ordered Liu Gan, Hu Yanmo and others to lead troops to continue to exert pressure on the palace and Daxiamen, in order to confuse Liu Cong and Liu Hu, and he himself personally sent 3,000 soldiers and horses out of the city in a hurry to set up an ambush in Chongshan.

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Besides, Liu Cang received a message from the fast horse in Pingyang, hurriedly gathered troops and horses, and went north. It's a pity that although there are many soldiers under his command, because of the lack of food, the people are not in order, no matter how he urges, the speed of the march can never be improved. In the end, Liu Cang was in a hurry, so he ordered Jin Zhun to lead the rear army, and led two thousand cavalry to gallop in front with Liu Ji's brothers.

In order to hurry, they really took the road of Fendong, and after two days of marching, they arrived at the southern foot of Chongshan. Liu Ji is also very familiar with the nearby geography, so he reminded his brother: "The road ahead is narrow, the left water and the right mountain, if Liu Yao sets up a formation there, I am afraid it will be difficult to break through." It's a pity that Liu Cang is in a hurry-he is afraid that he will be a step late, and his father will be destroyed by Liu Yao first, but how good is it-he didn't think about his brother's warning, just shook his head and said: "Liu Yaofang and the Son of Heaven are fighting fiercely in Pingyang, and An has the spare strength to defend Chongshan in the south?" ”

Raising the whip and pointing forward, he said: "The army is speeding up, but you can rush past Chongshan and reach the city of Pingyang!" ”

As soon as the words fell, I heard a drum, and countless flags appeared at the western foot of Chongshan Mountain......

In fact, Liu Yao led the army to Chongshan, and was just about to set up a formation, looking for a hidden place to set up an ambush, and suddenly came out to report to the horse, saying that Liu Cang personally led the cavalry, and it was already close to Chongshan. Liu Yao couldn't help but beat his chest with his fists, and said loudly: "Stop the difference for half a day, and it can't be done, is it the will of heaven that wants to kill me?!" ”

He knew that he didn't have enough time to set up an ambush or set up a formation, and if he turned around and returned to Pingyang, according to the horse exploration report, Liu Cang's front army was all cavalry, and he would definitely spur his horses and catch up with him. In the plain duel, there are only 3,000 men and horses under his command, and there is no chance of winning, not to mention that he has shown his back to the enemy......

At this point, it was difficult to retreat, so he had to rush forward with his head covered, and took a desperate risk - so Liu Yao was helpless, immediately beat the war drums, drove the soldiers, and rushed straight towards Liu Cang's department.

Liu Cang's army suddenly encountered the enemy, caught off guard, and the queue was immediately chaotic - originally two thousand cavalry galloped all the way, naturally it was impossible to spread the sentry too far, then before it was discovered, the enemy flag had appeared, how could the generals not be surprised?

When Liu Yao saw Liu Cang's Daxu in the array, he wanted to hold a spear and leap on a horse and go to the enemy in person. The fierce general Ping Xian grabbed the reins of his horse and advised: "The weight of the king's daughter, how can you risk the arrows and stones?" The minister is willing to take Liu Cang's head for the king to dedicate! So he took the lead, holding an iron halberd in his hand—the one he snatched from Zhen Sui's hand—and rushed towards Liu Cang's face, and everywhere he went, the army was routed like a wave splitting.

Liu Ji hurriedly stepped forward to protect his brother, but was swept away by Ping Xian's halberd, and another halberd stabbed off his horse. Liu Cang panicked, instinctively flicked the horse's head, turned around and left, and chased after him first.

Fortunately, Wang Teng, the general of the right chariot, was afraid that the crown prince would lose first, and the second was unwilling to obey Jin Zhun's command, so he led his troops to chase after him, so he arrived in time, drove Ping Xian, and saved Liu Cang.

Ping first made someone tie up the injured Liu Ji, and returned to report to Liu Yao, Liu Yao sighed: "It's a pity that you can't capture and kill Liu Ji, and it's useless to stop Liu Ji after all." He ordered a good life to heal Liu Ji, so he planted a false flag on Chongshan, led his troops back, and turned to Xiangling.

The county seat of Xiangling is east of Fenshui, located in the south-east direction of Pingyang City, less than 50 miles away. Liu Yao knew that he could not defeat Liu Cang in one fell swoop, so when Liu Cang collected the defeated army, he would inevitably cross the Fenshui and enter Pingyang from the West Road, and he would not be able to stop him at all. In this case, it is better to temporarily abandon Pingyang, retreat to Xiangling, and then seek countermeasures.

So he sent people to Pingyang City to summon his subordinates and carry his family.

Whoever wanted the envoy to go for a short time, an urgent message sent by Liu Yue sent to Xiangling, asking Liu Yao to return to Pingyang as soon as possible......