Chapter 160

Chapter 160

Han Zongping had long known that if the army attacked Tai Yuan, Imperial Uncle Dou would certainly order Shizhou to send reinforcements.

Therefore, as soon as Han Zongping arrived in Xinzhou, he and Xiao Mu, leading the right-wing army, launched fierce attacks on Xinzhou and Xiangcheng, aiming to make Imperial Uncle Dou anxious and try to get Shizhou's reinforcements to Quan County before Lu Gong.

On the night when Xinzhou and Xiangcheng were both under their control, Xiao Zhen and Zhao Jin each led five thousand cavalrymen from their own camps. They took a detour north of Xiang County to reach Tai County in the east, then moved south to catch up with Lu Gong's army. After a brief rest, they surpassed Lu Gong's army and approached Quan County first. However, their goal was not to attack the city, so they didn't even get close to Quan County. Instead, they took a shortcut to the east towards Xiantai Mountain, then moved south from there, ambushing in the rugged mountains outside Niangzi Pass before Dou Dechang's seven thousand reinforcements could arrive.

It wasn't Dou Dechang's fault for not anticipating that Han Zongping would dispatch such cavalry. He had already arranged for Lu Gong's army to head to Quan County, and Han Zongping himself was fighting fiercely in Xinzhou. The next step was clearly to directly assault Tai Yuan. How could he possibly send cavalry to take such a winding mountain route and actually arrive ahead of him?

Dou Dechang felt wronged, and Zhao Jin felt frustrated. Their journey had been arduous. Some mountain paths were so steep that they had to lead and push their horses through, and even on relatively flat sections where they could ride, the continuous jolting for three or four days had nearly split their buttocks in two.

This was his duty as a cavalry commander, and Zhao Jin was glad he had completed it, but he also needed to vent his frustration!

With one move, he forced Dou Dechang off his horse and had his men tie him up, then charged into the mountain path to fight the enemy!

Arrows and stones rained down from the halfway point, and ruthless cavalry blocked both sides. The seven thousand infantry, trapped in the middle, had barely escaped the ambush when they were forced back into the trap by the cavalry. The living struggled to fend off the arrows and stones, while the dead and wounded lay everywhere, blood covering the ground.

"Spare us, General, spare us!"

"We were forced by the court, we are willing to follow Commander Han, please don't kill us, General!"

When the seven thousand imperial troops were reduced to about half, the small soldiers who were being attacked from both ends by Xiao Zhen and Zhao Jin began to kneel down, their cries of despair echoing around them.

Xiao Zhen looked at the two groups of ambushers on the hillside: "Stop!"

The rain of arrows ceased, and the boulders and logs that could crush a man stopped being thrown down.

Xiao Zhen rode his horse and held his spear, blocking the western end of the mountain path, while Zhao Jin was on the eastern end. In between lay countless bodies and kneeling, pleading soldiers.

Zhao Jin looked at Xiao Zhen and frowned: "You're not going to be merciful and let them go, are you?"

If they were released, these people would return to Shizhou and continue serving the court. If they were absorbed into the army, the food supplies would be stretched thin, unable to support the additional thirty thousand mouths. Killing them all, though cruel, would be the most beneficial for the army.

Xiao Zhen first addressed the kneeling soldiers: "If you kill all the commanders of your units, from the hundred-man leaders and above, I will spare your lives."

Upon hearing this, the soldiers immediately looked around at each other. The small soldiers wanted to live, and the commanders also wanted to live. Seeing the once meek soldiers now staring at them, the commanders instinctively grabbed their weapons and retreated to the side, then ran to other commanders, eventually forming a small circle of two or three hundred men.

These two or three hundred men, some of whom had risen through political connections, were mostly tall and imposing, skilled in martial arts. In the old days in Lingshui Village, with them around, the villagers wouldn't have feared an attack by five hundred bandits from Imprisoned Dragon Ridge.

But now, their opponents were thirty thousand small soldiers.

The small soldiers picked up their weapons, hesitated, and finally mustered the courage to charge at their former commanders.

The sounds of clashing weapons grew intense, then gradually faded to scattered clashes, and finally disappeared entirely.

The inner circle of small soldiers, covered in blood, looked at each other, then dropped their weapons and knelt down, begging the two leaders to spare them.

Xiao Zhen rode closer, and the first soldier in his path instinctively moved aside. Xiao Zhen continued forward, and the other soldiers followed suit, clearing a bloody path for him.

Walking on such a path, he could be ambushed by the kneeling soldiers at any moment, but Xiao Zhen remained calm, riding like a force of nature until he reached Zhao Jin.

Zhao Jin watched this scene and felt as if these kneeling soldiers were already part of Xiao Zhen's army, kneeling to welcome their...

General?

Soldiers did not need to kneel before their general, but this posture seemed more like...

Before Zhao Jin could complete that thought, Xiao Zhen stopped beside him and said, "Sir, please follow me."

Then, Xiao Zhen dismounted.

Zhao Jin had to put aside that absurd notion, dismounting and following Xiao Zhen to where Dou Dechang was bound.

Xiao Zhen asked, "Who is this man?"

Zhao Jin replied, "Dou Dechang, the younger imperial nephew. He previously garrisoned in Wanping and showed off his power in Da Tong, so I recognize him, and he recognizes me."

Zhao Jin then introduced Xiao Zhen to Dou Dechang: "This is General Xiao Zhen, a fierce general under Commander Han."

Dou Dechang hadn't heard of this person, but he had just seen how ruthlessly Xiao Zhen killed the enemy, one spear thrust at a time!

Dou Dechang, with a pained expression, said to Zhao Jin, "My dear nephew Jin, the Zhao family has always been loyal. Why do you follow Han Zongping in such treacherous deeds? If you release me and take me back to the capital, and write to your father to attack Han Zongping's rear, I guarantee that after this war, your father will be ennobled as a Duke! Ah, and this General Xiao, my brother will enfeoff you as a Marquis!"

Xiao Zhen smiled faintly, drew his sword, and pressed it against Dou Dechang's double-chinned neck.

Dou Dechang trembled, his eyes fixed on the cold blade: "Let's talk, let's talk..."

Xiao Zhen said, "How many troops are left in Shizhou? Speak, and I will find a soldier to verify your words. If you lie, I will cut off one of your fingers."

Dou Dechang: "Fifty thousand! We originally had a hundred thousand, but I brought twenty thousand from Baozhou, and my brother ordered me to lead seventy thousand here, leaving fifty thousand to guard Shizhou!"

Xiao Zhen and Zhao Jin exchanged glances, and Xiao Zhen asked, "How many troops are left in the capital?"

Dou Dechang: "There were originally three hundred thousand, but after sending a hundred thousand to Tai Yuan and Shizhou, only two hundred thousand remain."

Xiao Zhen asked more about the Shizhou commander Cheng Lun, then led Zhao Jin a short distance away, stopping at the foot of the mountain.

Zhao Jin asked, "What do you plan to do?"

Xiao Zhen looked in the direction of Xinzhou and said, "The Great General indeed only ordered us to ambush the reinforcements from Shizhou, but he couldn't have anticipated that these reinforcements would be so reckless, allowing us to preserve our full strength. Therefore, out of caution, he made no further deployments. But if the Great General were here, he would certainly adopt the same tactics as I am."

Zhao Jin: "What tactics?"

Xiao Zhen used the tip of his sword to draw a horizontal line on the ground, then added a short vertical line in the middle: "This is our current position."

He pointed to the left end of the horizontal line: "This is Niangzi Pass."

He pointed to the right end of the horizontal line: "This is Shizhou."

Zhao Jin nodded.

Xiao Zhen: "With Dou Dechang and the military token he carries, you and I alone can capture Niangzi Pass and Shizhou."

Zhao Jin looked up in shock, seeing the serious expression on Xiao Zhen's face. He glanced at the lines on the ground, pondered for a moment, then glanced at the bound Dou Dechang in the distance, lowering his voice, he said, "You intend to use these surrendered soldiers to trick the defenders of Niangzi Pass and Shizhou into opening their city gates?"

Xiao Zhen smiled: "Do you think this plan could work, Young Master?"

Zhao Jin frowned: "Niangzi Pass has at most a few thousand defenders; luring them out and ambushing them wouldn't be difficult. But Shizhou has fifty thousand defenders. Even if we bring all ten thousand of our cavalry, if these surrendered soldiers defect back to the court, and the thirty thousand surrendered soldiers join forces with the fifty thousand defenders inside the city, they could surround us under the walls of Shizhou. Wouldn't that mean total annihilation?"

Xiao Zhen: "If this plan fails, it will end as you described. But if everything goes smoothly, we can capture Shizhou, a key stronghold in Ji Province, with just one cavalry unit. South of Shizhou is all plains. Once General Lu captures Quan County and moves east to Shizhou to join forces with us, the tens of thousands of troops from the left flank can advance directly to the Yellow River and then cross to capture Kaifeng."

"At the same time, the Great General will follow the original plan and move from Jinzhou across the Yellow River. If there are reinforcements from Chang'an, he will engage them. If Chang'an sends no reinforcements, the Great General will advance directly from the west to Luo City. With the two armies attacking from both east and west, Luo City will inevitably fall."

As he spoke, Xiao Zhen drew two routes of march on the ground.

Zhao Jin was stirred by the plan but hesitated due to the lack of orders from the Great General.

Xiao Zhen: "Jinzhou is mountainous, making it difficult to transport supplies. Shizhou, located on the plains, can serve as our new granary. Even if the Great General does not support advancing south from Shizhou to capture Kaifeng, we can still use Shizhou to supply Tai Yuan. Therefore, the Great General will certainly support our capture of Shizhou. Once we have Shizhou, we won't be in a hurry. We can seek further instructions from the Great General for subsequent tactics."

Zhao Jin was thoroughly convinced, sighing, "The key is whether we can capture Shizhou. It's too risky. I don't know if I should support you."

Xiao Zhen smiled: "Will three thousand men be enough for you to take Niangzi Pass?"

Zhao Jin: "..."

He understood Xiao Zhen's meaning. Xiao Zhen wanted him to take the risk of capturing Shizhou and had no intention of involving him.

Zhao Jin wanted to boldly compete with Xiao Zhen for Shizhou, but since Xiao Zhen had come up with this strategy, his displayed wisdom and decisiveness made it clear that Xiao Zhen was the best person to lead the attack on Shizhou.

Since Xiao Zhen was determined and capturing Shizhou would indeed benefit the entire army, Zhao Jin stopped hesitating and punched Xiao Zhen on the shoulder: "A mere Niangzi Pass, give me a thousand men and it will be enough. Take the rest with you. Four thousand of them are elite troops from Da Tong. You must bring at least half of them back, or I'll go to the Right General for replacements!"

Xiao Zhen nodded, and when he met Zhao Jin's gaze again, the young general's passion and ambition were evident without words.