News of the fall of Huoyi and Yindi reached Taiyuan on the morning of the next day. Along with it was a letter from Jiexiu County asking for help.

This news shocked Pei Ji and Li Shenfu.

Inside the military camp.

Li Shenfu stood in front of the map worriedly. He could see deeper and more clearly than Pei Ji. He had already understood the strategic intentions of the Sui army. If Queshu Valley was completely lost, Taiyuan City would become an isolated city.

At this time, a soldier reported at the door, "Report to the manager, Prime Minister Pei is here."

Li Shenfu smiled coldly: "Invite him in!"

It is not an open secret that Taiyuan will be at odds with each other. Since the breakup, the two have almost no contact with each other.

Pei Ji strode over and said in a deep voice: "General, does he know that something happened in Queshu Valley?"

Li Shenfu said coldly: "Not only do I know that Huoyi and Yindi were lost, I also know that Pei Yang, a descendant of the Pei family, gave it to the Sui army!"

Pei Ji could see Li Shenfu's sarcasm and dissatisfaction, but he had something to ask for, so he endured it and said: "I will bear the responsibilities that are mine! Now is not the time for internal strife. Please put the overall situation first, general."

Li Shenfu glanced at him in surprise. It was the first time he saw Pei Ji humiliating himself, so he said slowly: "Please say it!"

"Xihe, Longquan, and Linfen are empty of troops, while the defenders of Shangdang and Changping have to fight against the Sui army. They have no skills. The enemy army will sweep through the counties in southern Shanxi in the next step! Queshu Valley is easy to defend but difficult to attack. If the whole line is attacked,

If Taiyuan falls, even if we have millions of elite soldiers, we will not be able to rescue it! At that time, the enemy will only need to use exhaustion tactics to destroy the isolated city of Taiyuan. Therefore, we must recapture Queshu Valley at all costs and reopen the north-south fortress.

"Pei Ji and Li Shenfu thought of going together."

Li Shenfu smiled bitterly and said: "Of course I know the consequences of the fall of Queshu Valley. I also think that we must protect Jiexiu County and use this foundation to retake Queshu Valley! But you have to know that the road from Taiyuan to Jiexiu,

It is a road of death, very, very difficult to walk.”

Of course Pei Ji also saw this.

Loufan and Lishi counties were all lost, and the northern, eastern, and southern parts of Taiyuan County also became the sphere of influence of the Sui Dynasty. Li Jing's army has been roaming around Taiyuan, playing the role of containing the Taiyuan defenders!

It's just that Pei Ji's main task was to drag the Sui army in Taiyuan to buy time for the Guanzhong army. Therefore, he adopted the passive defense tactic of standing still and waiting for reinforcements. Apart from strengthening scouts and exploration, he never fought a big battle with the Sui army.

This was also the fundamental reason why he strongly opposed Li Shenfu's participation in the war. However, the unexpected loss of Queshu Valley completely ruined his plan to hold on to Taiyuan.

Now, he finally knew that the Sui army had no intention of fighting a critical battle in Taiyuan City, but adopted the strategy of encroaching on the entire Bingzhou area and finally consuming Taiyuan.

The key to changing the situation now lies in whether we can recapture Queshu Valley.

But as Li Shenfu said, it takes at least more than 400 miles to go from Taiyuan to Jiexiu County. During this period, there are dense jungles and crisscrossing mountains. It also has to go around Wuze, which is hundreds of miles away. This section of the road is

The road to death is absolutely correct. Because Li Jing, who is acting as a spectator, will never let them rescue Jie Xiu calmly.

Currently, the only general in Taiyuan City who is qualified for the rescue mission is Li Shenfu, but this is a thankless task with a narrow escape from death. Pei Ji, who has to bear all the responsibility, is embarrassed to say that no matter how thick-skinned he is.

In this regard, Li Shenfu had another opinion. He said in a deep and unhurried voice: "The Queshu Valley was lost from south to north. It can be seen that this was done by another Sui army, and the number of troops was not too large.

! Until now, Li Jing and Li Jing may not know about the incident in Queshu Valley. If we set off first, then this section of the road will become the road of death for the Sui army."

Pei Ji's eyes lit up and he said, "General, are you planning to eat Li Jing and Li Jingbu on this road?"

"That's right!" Li Shenfu said with a smile: "The important task of eating Li Jingbu, rescuing Jie Xiu, and regaining Queshu Valley is naturally mine."

Pei Ji thought for a while and felt that this was an opportunity to break the situation in the crisis: "I wish the general a victory!"

"Taiyuan City is handed over to you!"

Li Shenfu beat the drums to gather the generals and issued a battle order to rescue Jiexiu. He first led 3,000 Qingqi as the vanguard, and then personally led 30,000 troops to rescue Jiexiu County.

…

Southwest of Taiyuan, on an abandoned official road in Wenshui County, an army of about 20,000 people was resting eight miles away from the official road. The army was brightly armored and silent, showing good training quality. The leader of the army was none other than Li Jing, Minister of War.

Li Jing knew that as long as there was movement in Queshu Valley, Pei Ji and Li Shenfu would not sit idly by and would definitely go south to rescue them. With Taigu falling into the hands of Yang Shanhui and Su Dingfang, the only way for the Tang army to go south was through Wenshui.

County! So as early as when Yang Dong suggested that he send a surprise force to capture Queshu Valley, Li Jing had already made preparations to completely wipe out Taiyuan's reinforcements from the south.

He asked Hengshan County Governor Li Jing and Xue Wanche to lead an army of 40,000 under his banner to continue to confuse the Tang army in Taiyuan. He personally led an army of 30,000 to secretly enter Lishi County, and then sneaked into Wenshui County of Taiyuan from Lishi County.

According to Li Shenfu's analysis, he did not get in touch with Shen Guang, but he kept sending scouts to keep an eye on Taiyuan City.

As soon as the Taiyuan army was dispatched, he already knew that Queshu Valley had fallen into the hands of the Sui army, so he immediately led the army into the selected ambush point.

Before that, he also ordered Yang Shanhui of Taigu County and Su Dingfang to be prepared to attack Qi County in Taiyuan, because Wenshui was not far from Qi County, and if there was a change here, the Qi County defenders would never ignore it.

At this time, a cavalry scout rushed over, clasped his fists and saluted Li Jing and said: "General Qi, Governor Yang, and General Su are ready and have been deployed north of Wuze in the south of Qi County. After they eat up the reinforcements, they will

Take the opportunity to capture Qixian and ask General Li to give it a go and fight."

"General! General Pei Xingyan's 10,000 cavalry troops are ready!" Another scout Pegasus reported urgently.

Li Jing smiled slightly and said to Xue Wanche: "According to the report from the scouts just now, Li Shenfu will arrive in another hour. Enter the pre-ambush point immediately and prepare for the battle."

The two men immediately issued the battle order, and the Sui troops who were resting stood up to prepare, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

…

noon!

Li Shenfu's main force of 30,000 Tang troops has entered Wenshui territory. They are still about 300 miles away from Jiexiu County. It is said that Li Jing has dispatched 20,000 troops to rush south. He must rush to Wuze as soon as possible to set up an ambush. Therefore, he crossed the city and

Without entering, the marching pressure was extremely high, and the Tang army tried to reduce rest time as much as possible along the way.

Although it was a rapid march, Li Shenfu still cautiously sent several scout teams to explore along the way, and kept in contact with the vanguard at all times to prevent being ambushed by the enemy.

Generally speaking, marching scouts only explore within ten miles of the road, which is five miles on each side of the official road. This can ensure that the army will not enter the ambush circle. As for the enemy troops five miles away, don't worry too much. Once discovered,

The army still has time to respond and gather to fight.

At this moment, a line of smoke appeared in front, which meant that the scouts had discovered the enemy's situation. Li Shenfu was taken aback and immediately raised his hands and ordered: "Stop the march and assemble immediately!"

The 30,000 Tang troops who had been lined up for six miles on the official road began to quickly shorten and gather together. There was a faint thunder-like sound in the sky, the dust in the distance covered the sky and the sun, and the earth began to tremble.

The soldiers of the Tang Army looked at each other with fear in their eyes. They all had experience. This was the cavalry coming to kill them.

"General, it's the cavalry!" the soldiers shouted in horror.

Li Shenfu's expression changed drastically. If it was really a cavalry, the situation would be dire. At this time, a dozen scout cavalry rushed back and shouted: "Ten thousand cavalry are coming to kill."

Li Shenfu's face turned pale with shock, and he shouted in a trembling voice: "Retreat, retreat quickly!"

He knew in his heart that if 10,000 cavalry faced 30,000 infantry, the infantry would only be massacred. There happened to be a forest more than ten miles away to the north. If he retreated into the forest, he might still be able to escape disaster.

The Tang army was so frightened that they turned around and ran northward without any urging from their commander. Although the soldiers were exhausted, with the support of their belief in escaping, the Tang army still showed great potential and rushed northward.

At this time, ten thousand cavalry led by Pei Xingyan had appeared two miles away. They divided into two groups and chased along both sides of the official road. Gradually, they had caught up with the slower Tang army. In an instant, finally,

Facing the Tang army falling into the hell of death, the cavalry and lances stabbed rapidly, and the soldiers screamed and rolled on the ground. The Tang army was so frightened that they knelt down and surrendered.

The Tang army led by Li Shenfu was not optimistic either. They ran less than ten miles when a Sui army of about 20,000 people suddenly appeared in front of them, with a neat three-tiered arrow formation, and 20,000 cold hand crossbows aimed at them.

.

With an ambush in front and pursuers behind, the Tang army was cornered.

Li Shenfu's eyes were red. He waved his iron gun and roared, "Come out of the siege! Charge out!"

He raised his shield high and took the lead towards the Sui army's arrow array two miles away. The Tang army followed him and ran, roaring and charging towards the intercepting Sui army.

Li Jing looked coldly at the Tang army, which was getting closer and closer. Thousands of people at the head of the army had already rushed within a hundred steps, and the large army behind them was rushing towards them.

"Shoot!" Li Jing ordered.

The Sui army fired thousands of arrows, and the crossbows shot at the oncoming Tang army like a storm. The powerful rain of arrows was invincible. Li Shenfu's shield was shattered by the random arrows. He let out a long scream, and his men and horses were hit by hundreds of arrows.

The arrows shot like hedgehogs, and the Tang army was shot down in pieces!

After three rounds of volleys, the Sui army formed a formation and launched a bloody massacre. Mo Dao's hands were invincible, their sharp blades were dancing wildly, heads were flying, torsos were torn apart, and corpses were piled up on the ground. There was not a single complete corpse, which was horrific to watch.

This was a ferocious army that the Tang army had never seen before. They marched in formation like an iron wall, and were as violent as mowing grass, sweeping through all enemies that stood in their way.

At this moment, Pei Xingyan's 10,000 cavalry were like huge waves, rushing into the chaotic Tang army from behind.

Li Jing said: "Give me my order, and those who surrender will be spared death, and those who resist will be killed without mercy!"

The war reached such a stage that the fighting spirit of the Tang army collapsed in the chaos, and they all knelt down and surrendered. Hundreds of soldiers who broke out to the south were surrounded by cavalry and were all killed. At this point, except for a few of Li Shenfu's 30,000 troops, they successfully broke through.

About 23,000 people surrendered, and the entire army of 30,000 elite soldiers was wiped out.

Later, Pei Xingyan led his elite cavalry troops to the north and captured Qingyuan County in one fell swoop. The materials and personnel of Jinyang Palace built on Longshan Mountain had already been moved outside Taiyuan City by Pei Ji. At this time, it had become an empty city.

After the occupation, the strategically important Longshan Mountain was used as the base, which blocked the way for the Tang army from Taiyuan City to go south.

After hearing the news, the Qi County defenders came to rescue, but were eaten up by Su Dingfang. When they were about to return to the city, they found that the city had been replaced by a banner with the word "Sui". They had no choice but to flee north to Taiyuan.

In this single battle, Taiyuan City completely became an isolated city.

Early next morning

Pei Ji received an urgent report that Li Shenfu and his 30,000 reinforcements had been wiped out. Soon after, the news that the Jiexiu garrison surrendered was delivered to him.

Pei Ji sat there for a full hour when he suddenly realized that the Battle of Bingzhou seemed to be over before it even started.

Only then did I realize that the key to the Battle of Bingzhou was not Taiyuan City, but Queshu Valley.

After a long while, Pei Ji sighed and issued an order to strictly guard Taiyuan City.

The fall of Queshu Valley across the board meant that Taiyuan became an isolated city, and even if the Guanzhong Tang Army wanted to come to rescue it, it would be impossible.

Going out of the city to fight?

That is courting death.
Chapter completed!