If the three passes of Baishui, Jiameng and Zitong are the gateways to central Shu, then Mianzhu Pass is the gateway to Shu County. It is located in the Lutang Mountains, bordering Mianshui to the north and across the river from Mianzhu County. The terrain is steep and it is also the center of the Chengdu Plain and

As long as we keep this place as the only way to connect to the outside world, Shu County will have no worries.

When Li Yuan first entered Shu, he was restrained by the power of the Sui Dynasty. In his policy towards the Sui Dynasty, he took advantage of the dangers of the terrain and adopted a layer-by-layer defense method. Mianzhu Pass became one of the key dangerous passes in his management. Compared with

Li Yuan and Li Shimin were not only proficient in military affairs, but also traveled here many times, so they knew more clearly the importance of Mianzhu Pass to the Li and Tang dynasties. Once Mianzhu Pass was lost, the Sui army could take advantage of the situation and enter Shu County, trapping the city of Chengdu, and then

Destroying the imperial capital in one fell swoop. Therefore, even though Li Shimin divided his troops in various places and there were three dangerous passes in the north that could resist any invading enemies, he still sent his confidant general Xu Shiren and two thousand soldiers to guard Mianzhu Pass to prevent accidents from happening.

On this day, a ragged army was running towards them from a distance, and it soon attracted the attention of the defenders at Mianzhu Pass.

"Close the city gate!" Xu Shiren looked at the defeated army and ordered decisively.

"General, these seem to be our soldiers and horses!" A captain looked at Xu Shiren in embarrassment.

"Where did the defeated army come from at Mianzhu Pass? The situation is unclear now, and the Sui army invaded in large numbers. We must not be careless!" Xu Shiren was also Li Shimin's confidant. He had made great contributions in the Xuanwumen Incident, so he could be arranged by Li Shimin

When stationed at this choke point, both his personal ability and his loyalty earned him Li Shimin's trust.

"Here." Although the captain was a little displeased, he still faithfully carried out Xu Shiren's order and sent people to quickly close the city gate and put away the suspension bridge.

Seeing the defeated army slowly approaching, the archers on the city stretched their bows and nocked arrows, shooting at the defeated army's feet and intercepting it within an arrow's reach. Seeing that the enemy was stopped, Xu Shiren, who was standing on the female wall, asked loudly:

"Whose troops are under the city? Why are they here?"

Among the defeated troops at Mianzhu Pass, a flying horse came out and saluted Xu Shiren from a distance: "General Xu, the last general is Li Liang, the captain of General Feng Ce, the defender of Zitong Pass. Zitong Pass was suddenly attacked by the Sui army.

, General Feng Ce died in battle, and only General Mo and others are left fleeing here!"

All the soldiers at Mianzhu Pass were shocked when they heard this. If Zitong Pass was defeated, it would only take a few days for the Sui army to reach this point.

"Zitong Pass is one of the three most dangerous passes in the north, and there are more than 100,000 troops in the north. Why did the Sui army come here? How was Zitong Pass defeated by the Sui army?" Xu Shiren shouted sternly: "Don't disturb the morale of our army here.

.”

"This is absolutely true. The general will never dare to deceive the general." Li Daliang, who continued to play the role of deceiving the city, said hoarsely: "Not long ago, General Duan Yuanzhe led his troops through Zitong Pass. Four days ago, the army was defeated.

It was said that General Duan Yuanzhe's army was defeated and fled back to Zitong Pass. General Feng followed his instructions and let him enter the pass. Unexpectedly, the defeated army was actually Sui soldiers disguised as soldiers. When they entered the city, they broke into a rebellion. General Feng Ce was nowhere to be seen.

Unprepared, he was beheaded by the enemy on the spot, leaving our soldiers without a leader and a great chaos, which allowed the Sui army to take advantage of the situation, causing Zitong Pass to fall into the enemy's hands."

At this point, Li Daliang pointed to the soldiers behind him and said loudly and sadly: "We fought our way out with all our might, leaving only these people left in the Zitong Pass garrison. Please let us enter the pass, general!"

"General, what should we do?" A general looked at Xu Shiren.

"First send someone back to Chengdu to report to His Highness the Crown Prince." Xu Shiren shook his head and said: "Whether the other party is really our army's defeat or the Sui army's disguise, their appearance here already means that the three passes have been lost.

.And this Mianzhu Pass is the last pass in Shu County, so we must not be careless."

Judging from the current situation, the three passes have obviously been lost. How do you know that these people are not soldiers sent by the Sui Dynasty to deceive the city? If they were allowed to enter the pass based only on the other side's words, then they would be the sinners of the Tang Dynasty.

"What should we do with these people outside the city?" The deputy general beside him said with some embarrassment: "If they are our soldiers, if they are left outside the customs like this, wouldn't it chill the hearts of the soldiers? I am worried that the soldiers will feel uneasy if they are locked up.

, after all, they are all soldiers who fought bloody battles for the Tang Dynasty."

The implication is very obvious, he was afraid that the Mianzhu Pass defenders would feel sad because of the defeat outside the pass, and he was afraid that one day he would also be shut out.

"Your considerations are not unreasonable. Let's do this. You will first let them choose a place to station outside the city, and provide them with some rations through hanging baskets. After their identities are verified, you will let them enter the customs." Xu Shiren has made such arrangements.

This is the end of benevolence and righteousness.

"General, I understand." The deputy general also knew that this was the most appropriate arrangement. He nodded and said loudly to the "broken army" under the city: "You first choose a place to station nearby, and send a group of soldiers to collect the goods in front of the pass.

Ration. As long as your identity is verified, we will open the city gate and let you in!"

"General, we are extremely grateful for your kindness." Li Daliang did not pester him endlessly, but retreated as he was told. This also made Guan Guan tense and his solemn aura suddenly relaxed.

…

"General, the Tang army is being very cautious in locking up the gate. What should we do now?" A captain came up to Li Daliang and asked in a low voice: "There don't seem to be many people in Mianzhu Pass, and the vigilance is not too high. Should we attack by force?"

Although Mianzhu Pass is very steep, the city itself is not too majestic. The height of the city is only two feet high. With the skills of the Black Ice Platform warriors, they can make use of the mountains on both sides of the city to climb into the city.

.

"Our arrival has put the Tang Army in Guanzhong on alert. If we attack at this time, we will definitely not get any benefits. Therefore, we must obey the other party's arrangements for the time being and do not act rashly. If the other party relaxes their guard, let us enter the pass and then proceed.

Even if the gate to Guancheng is not opened, the alertness will not be as heavy as it is now, and it will not be too late for us to make a decision by then." Li Daliang rejected the current plan of attacking by force. He knew that the losses in the attack would be huge.

The Black Ice Terrace warriors are all the elite among the elite. Each of them has both civil and military skills. They can fight on horseback and rule the common people on horseback. They are the most outstanding and loyal warriors in the Sui Dynasty. Every loss of one person will make Yang Tong feel heartbroken. Even if he attacks by force,

At Mianzhu Pass, I'm afraid there are not many of the 800 warriors left.

After thinking about this, Li Daliang ordered again: "After dark, immediately send someone to inform the Holy One to explain the situation here, and ask the Holy One to postpone the advance. First, let the defenders think that we are defeated, and wait until Xu Shiren's mind of defense gradually disappears."

, it’s not too late for us to take action again!”

"I humbly obey my orders." The captain also agreed to this plan.

Li Daliang ordered the soldiers to retreat, and then said to the garrison on the city: "General Xu, it is okay to station here with a humble position, but we have been running for three days and have not had a full meal. General, can you give us some food first?"

Some food to keep you hungry?"

Although the other party had already said that they would give them food rations, Li Daliang still wanted to test them further. If Xu Shiren followed his instructions and gave them food rations, it would prove that the other party subconsciously believed in him; if he did not agree to give them food rations immediately, his vigilance would not lessen.

When Xu Shiren heard Li Daliang's request, he did not answer immediately. He first looked at the "broken army" under the city and saw that these soldiers had spicy faces and haggard faces. After thinking for a moment, he said to the deputy general: "Let someone use a hanging basket."

Hang down 800 rations of dry food and let them fill their stomachs first. By the way, take a look at their performance. If he is really a soldier of our army, they will naturally stay safe; if it is the Sui army, I am afraid they will choose the opportunity to attack."

The food rations are only enough for seven or eight hundred people, and Mianzhu Pass can fully afford them.

"Here!" the deputy general agreed, then turned around and ordered people to prepare dry food.

Until the soldiers hung the dry food in hanging baskets, the Tang soldiers on the city did not relax their alert, and the honest behavior of the soldiers below the city also made the soldiers on the city heave a sigh of relief.

"Although Xu Shiren has believed in us, he did not give us the slightest chance. He is a cautious general." Li Daliang stuffed dry food into his mouth hungrily and secretly looked at Mianzhu Pass, thinking silently.

The main force led by Yang Tong has already sent troops from Zitong Pass and will soon reach Mianzhu Pass. However, the terrain of Mianzhu Pass is very dangerous and it is also an important place that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Only then did Yang Tong order Li Daliang to lead Hei Bing first.

The Taiwanese soldiers took the first step to see if they could have a chance to attack the city. Now it seems that it may not be possible today and tomorrow.

However, this level is not only important to the Sui Dynasty, but also to the Black Ice Terrace soldiers. Because the Black Ice Terrace soldiers had always walked in the darkness before, even if they made great achievements, they were unknown. However, this battle between the Sui and Tang Dynasties was their escape from the darkness.

Turning to the battle under the sun. Once they have made a great contribution, they will not only receive an official title, but their emperor can also take the opportunity to implement the previous rewards on them based on their merits. This is not because Yang Tong is reluctant to give rewards, but

The Black Ice Terrace warriors did shady things. If they were to award large amounts of rewards, others would know about it. This would not be a good reputation for the Sui Dynasty. If they achieved great achievements through upright wars, then stacking rewards would also fool them.

Win the world.

As the commander-in-chief of the Black Ice Terrace soldiers, Li Daliang also knew many of Black Ice Terrace's deeds. He had high respect for this special military unit under his command that had made great contributions to the Sui Dynasty, and he also hoped that these soldiers could become a powerful force in the world.

A powerful force, they openly became regular soldiers.

"General, do we want to camp as instructed?" A brigade commander came to Li Daliang and asked.

"Just put up a straw hut to protect us from the wind and rain. Don't let the enemy see our flaws. We must remember that we are now a defeated army, and a defeated army will look like a defeated army."

The soldiers of the Sui army were specially trained on how to build camps, but ordinary armies did not have this ability. If they built a military camp that was both offensive and defensive, the enemy general Xu Shiren would definitely have seen their flaws with his caution, so the army should be defeated.

It looks like the army has been defeated.

"General, I understand." The brigade commander smiled knowingly.

…

"What on earth are they doing? What kind of army is this? They are more like rogue bandits than rogue bandits." After about an hour, the soldiers at Mianzhu Gate looked at the defeated army who had just put up some crooked straw huts and had nothing to do.

They all felt incredible.

The more Xu Shiren looked at it, the darker his face became. He saw seven to eight hundred defeated troops gathered together in small groups to chat. Some were sleeping in huts with drafts on all sides, and some simply lay on the ground chatting and spanking.

, and what is even more speechless is that one or two of the crooked straw huts fell down from time to time, but these defeated troops did not care, just lying on the thatch, basking in the sun comfortably. This made the originally serious and tidy Guan Guan

The open space in front gives people a sense of smoke and smoke.

"With Feng Ce leading the army like this, it's no wonder that Zitong Pass allowed the Sui army to flee easily. If this kind of army couldn't be defeated, Yang Tong wouldn't be able to dominate the world." Looking at the defeated army, Xu Shiren said coldly.

Even though he said this with such disdain, even Xu Shiren himself didn't realize that when he saw the dissatisfied look of the 'defeated army', he actually believed in his identity a little bit more.

"General, these people are doing nothing outside. I'm afraid it will affect the morale and fighting will of our army. Based on my humble duty, I simply put them in the city for strict supervision and training. If the Sui army attacks, it won't be too much."

We have seven to eight hundred combat troops." Vice Admiral Xu Shiren suggested.

"What's the use of this bunch of rabble?" Xu Shiren snorted disdainfully, turned around and walked towards the city gate. His voice came from afar: "Be sure to strengthen your vigilance. Once the Sui army invades, people will immediately light the beacon fire and ring the bell.

Warning."

"General, I obey." The deputy general saluted Xu Shiren's back. He turned his head and glanced at the "broken army" outside the city. He couldn't help but shake his head and sighed. None of these foreign generals would treat us like Yizhou.

People's lives and lives are at heart.

But Xu Shiren had forbidden the city gates to be opened, and he did not dare to open the city and let these people into the city. Seeing that the sky was getting dark, he ordered people to take some more dry food and put it in a hanging basket under the city to serve as dinner for the defeated army.

As night fell, Li Daliang leaned against a pillar in a hut and stared at Mianzhu Pass. A brigade commander beside him said: "General, the Tang army has changed its guard three times, and it seems that it is still not wary of us."

Less."

Li Daliang nodded: "Xu Shiren is Li Shimin's spy lurking around Li Yuan. He has not been exposed for so many years, and he has been promoted step by step by Li Yuan. Not to mention his scheming and resourcefulness, his cautiousness alone is extraordinary.

.I think his planning is also very perfect. It will be very difficult for us to break the city tonight. By the way, where are the rest of our troops?"

"General Xie's army has arrived at Wan'an County, Jinshan County, General Luo has also arrived at Shenquan County, Jinshan County, and the Holy Spirit will arrive at Mianzhu Pass at the latest the day after tomorrow." The brigade commander continued: "It takes less than two days from Shenquan County to Mianzhu Pass.

A hundred miles, judging by His Majesty's marching style, it can be reached in one day at most."
To be continued...