Chapter 215 New Mission, Wuzhangyuan
After watching the battle, Su Ze patrolled along the Wei River. He opened the map casually, only to find that a new task had appeared on the map!
[Mission: Capture the New City]
The task was simple and straightforward. When Su Ze saw the task reward, his eyes lit up again.
[Quest Reward: Goods column +1, inventory column reaches 12, obtain the new store function - directional summoning (5). ]
Su Ze’s eyes lit up immediately. Are there new functions in the system?
He quickly checked out the new feature.
[Directed Summon (5): You can specify a store to refresh a specific "affix" or "series" follower. The number of slots you can specify for each refresh is 5.]
Su Ze became excited again. The system store was too random, which was also what troubled Su Ze.
Now that we have targeted summoning, can't we spawn a group of followers that we need?
Su Ze looked at the new city greedily. It seemed that he had to take over this new city!
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Guanzhong, the middle and lower reaches of the Wei River, Wugong County, and the Northern Wei Western Expedition Camp.
Cui Yanbo walked into Xiao Baoyin's tent wearing armor.
Cui Yanbo has been in a very bad mood recently.
Originally, Xiao Baoyin appointed him as the vanguard, and Cui Yanbo was eager to lead his troops back to Qizhou to avenge the previous humiliation.
But when the army reached Wugong County west of Chang'an, it stopped again.
Xiao Baoyin did not enter Chang'an City, but continued to meet with the noble families of Guanxi in Wugong County and feasted all day long.
However, Cui Yanbo's vanguard army had not been supplied with either soldiers or food supplies. Until now, Cui Yanbo, the vanguard general, had not been able to engage in battle with the enemy.
Cui Yanbo asked Xiao Baoyin for men, horses, food and fodder several times, but Xiao Baoyin always gave him a perfunctory response. Cui Yanbo was so angry that he almost burst into a curse.
But the other party was the commander-in-chief, and he was just a former governor of Qizhou who had lost Qizhou. Xiao Baoyin did not punish him, which showed his magnanimity. Cui Yanbo could not even say a word to curse him.
Since he felt aggrieved, Cui Yanbo simply did not stay in the Wugong County camp. He took some soldiers and set up camp on the front line. He would only return to the Wugong County camp when Xiao Baoyin summoned him.
Today, Xiao Baoyin urgently summoned him to the camp. Cui Yanbo followed the messenger into the tent, but found that only a few of Xiao Baoyin's close confidants were present in the tent.
Feeling the subtle atmosphere in the tent, Cui Yanbo knew that something big had happened.
All that was seen was Xiao Baoyin in military uniform. After Cui Yanbo entered the tent, his men immediately left the tent to stand guard. Xiao Baoyin said solemnly:
"Mr. Cui, the Prince of Qinghe was executed for treason."
Even though Cui Yanbo had a premonition, he did not expect such a big thing to happen in the court!
His mind raced. If Prince Qinghe was executed for "treason", then the only one who could kill him would be Prince Jiangyang Yuan Yi.
Prince Jiangyang was his backer, and he, the former governor of Qizhou, was able to redeem himself with merit because of Prince Jiangyang's protection.
Cui Yanbo asked quickly:
"Where is King Jiangyang?"
Xiao Baoyin said: "Prince Qinghe was executed for treason, and the Queen Mother was frightened and withdrew from power. Your Majesty, Prince Jiangyang was appointed as the regent and took charge of the government together with Prince Gaoyang."
When Cui Yanbo heard the news, his eyes lit up and he knew that his chance had come.
As expected, Xiao Baoyin said, "Mr. Cui, the secret order from King Jiangyang has arrived, asking us to achieve some results in the near future."
Cui Yanbo understood.
King Jiangyang gained power through a coup, but his prestige was insufficient.
Prince Qinghe was the son of Emperor Xiaowen, the young emperor's uncle, and a close member of the royal family.
Yuan Yi, Prince of Jiangyang, was also a prince after Emperor Xiaowen determined the five degrees of mourning, but he was a distant relative of the royal family.
It is common in ordinary families that the uncle temporarily takes charge of the family when the nephew has not grown up.
But it is unreasonable for a distant uncle to be the head of the family, even for ordinary people.
Moreover, Prince Qinghe had a good reputation, so Prince Jiangyang naturally needed a victory in order to legitimize his rule.
Now, suppressing the rebellion in Guanzhong is the war that the government and the public are most concerned about, so Xiao Baoyin really can't delay it any longer.
Cui Yanbo was overjoyed because he could finally fight!
Xiao Baoyin could not delay any longer, and allocated all the 30,000 troops he had promised to Cui Yanbo, and replenished the food and war horses. Then he reminded Cui Yanbo not to advance rashly, and just to repel Mo Zhe Tiansheng who was besieging Chen Cang first. As for retaking Yongcheng, the capital of Qizhou, he would have to wait until the siege of Chen Cang was lifted.
Cui Yanbo agreed immediately, but did not take Xiao Baoyin's words to heart.
Cui Yanbo was a veteran. When he was fighting on the battlefield, Xiao Baoyin was still drinking milk!
Cui Yanbo was quite disapproving of Xiao Baoyin's caution and carefulness.
In his opinion, although the Qinzhou rebels were numerous, they were just a mob. His defeat from Yongcheng last year has always been regarded as a lifelong shame for him.
Finally, the opportunity for revenge came. After the troops were deployed, Cui Yanbo immediately swore an oath to his troops in the camp and then marched towards Chencang.
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The middle reaches of the Wei River, Chencang.
"Grand Sima! The pseudo-Wei army is coming!"
After Hou Gang "became king", Mozhe Tiansheng was conferred the title of Prime Minister, and his several sons were also granted official titles such as Grand Marshal and Grand Chancellor. In short, the official titles of this makeshift team were very sloppy, and mixed with the official systems of many dynasties.
However, no matter how the title changes, the power structure is the same. Mo Zhe and his son are the leaders of the entire rebel army. After Mo Zhe Dati went to war in Liangzhou, the entire battle situation in Qizhou was handed over to his son Mo Zhe Tiansheng.
Mo Zhe Tiansheng had been besieging Chen Cang for two months. This world-famous dangerous pass was indeed worthy of its reputation. Mo Zhe Tiansheng tried every possible means but still could not break into Chen Cang Pass.
However, Mo Zhe Tiansheng's target was not Chencang Pass. The siege for the past two months was just a show and a way to train troops.
He sent his rebellious military leaders to attack Chencang Pass to deplete their military strength, while he ordered his own men to sweep through nearby government military villages.
During the attack on Chencang, Mozhe Tiansheng had completed the reorganization of his soldiers.
Mozhe's natural strategy for fighting a war is different from that of generals who are trained in military training.
During the time he led the refugee army, he developed a set of "weird martial arts". Now is the time to test this set of military tactics.
Mo Zhe Tiansheng immediately ordered the troops attacking Chencang Pass to withdraw, leaving a detachment to defend in front of Chencang Pass, and he took the main force to Fufeng to prepare to fight against Cui Yanbo's vanguard army.
Zhengguang first year, May 15th.
The middle and lower reaches of the Wei River, Fufeng.
Cui Yanbo's vanguard army fought with Mozhe Tiansheng's vanguard in Fufeng County on the banks of the Wei River. Mozhe Tiansheng's army was defeated and lost thousands of soldiers.
Cui Yanbo hated these Qinzhou rebels and ordered them to be drowned in the Wei River. Liu Kai, who was sent by Xiao Baoyin to serve as Cui Yanbo's military commander, tried to dissuade him by saying that killing prisoners was unlucky, but Cui Yanbo still insisted on doing so. Liu Kai saw that many of the so-called "rebels" were actually unarmed civilians. They were just peasants who were forced into the army by Mo Zhetiansheng. He could only sigh as he looked at the Wei River.
Immediately afterwards, Cui Yanbo took advantage of the victory and defeated Mozhe Tiansheng's army again on May 18th. Mozhe Tiansheng led his troops across the Weishui River and stationed in Wuzhangyuan, south of the Weishui River.
Cui Yanbo sank the captives again, and the floating corpses on the Wei River flowed downstream. The people nearby did not dare to fish in the Wei River.
When Xiao Baoyin in Wugong County heard the news, he immediately reported the victory to Luoyang. This was the best gift to Jiangyang King Yuanyi.
After winning both battles, Xiao Baoyin also increased his support for Cui Yanbo, transporting weapons and war horses to the front line, hoping that Cui Yanbo could achieve greater achievements.
As long as Xiao Baoyin can drive the rebels out of Qizhou, he will have made a great contribution, and King Jiangyang Yuanyi will certainly not be stingy with his rewards.
As for the rebels in Qinzhou and Liangzhou, there is no need to rush. As long as he can get a stable Chang'an, Xiao Baoyin can stay in Guanzhong and develop.
Xiao Baoyin had a good plan, and Cui Yanbo marched to Wuzhangyuan on May 23rd.
Wuzhangyuan is the place where Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi fought fiercely.
In the battles of the past few days, the rebels were defeated at the first touch, which also verified Cui Yanbo's judgment that Mozhe Tiansheng's troops were a mob.
Although they were a motley crowd, these were also military achievements, and among the rebels, many soldiers carried a large amount of property.
These are the properties looted by the rebels from Qinzhou to Qizhou. After all, they are rebels, and they will carry the spoils with them. It is also because of these properties that Cui Yanbo's army is very enthusiastic to suppress the rebellion, because Cui Yanbo has issued a military order that all these spoils will belong to the soldiers.
Killing enemies on the battlefield would earn you military merit, and the captured property would belong to you. Cui Yanbo's army was in high spirits, and all the generals volunteered to fight.
However, this time Cui Yanbo did not agree to the generals' request for battle. Instead, he personally observed the terrain of Wuzhangyuan across the Wei River.
As a famous battlefield in ancient times, Wuzhangyuan is a plateau that is higher than the plain. Traces of the camps from that time can still be vaguely seen. It is said that Zhuge Liang once laid out the Eight Diagrams Formation in Wuzhangyuan, but it can no longer be seen now.
In Cui Yanbo's opinion, Mozhe Tiansheng had fallen into a desperate situation.
After the defeat at Fufeng and the second defeat at Weishui, Mozhe Tiansheng did not flee northwards back to Yongcheng, but chose to enter Wuzhangyuan, a place of death. This only shows that the rebels were in a panic and had no choice but to go.
Although Wuzhangyuan is strategically located, Zhuge Liang had Hanzhong as his rear base and relied on the logistical support of Baoxiade to confront Sima Yi at Wuzhangyuan.
What do the rebels have now?
Cui Yanbo also ordered the Wei army in Chencang to advance along the Wei River to Wuzhangyuan to attack the rebels trapped in Wuzhangyuan.
What made Cui Yanbo feel that the rebels were a mob was that when they fled to the south bank of the Wei River, Mozhe Tiansheng did not burn the floating bridge built over the Wei River.
Mo Zhe Tiansheng left an army north of the Wei River, attempting to use this army to guard the pontoon bridge, which was simply wishful thinking.
The army guarding the pontoon bridge has been surrounded by Cui Yanbo's army. As long as the pontoon bridge is captured tomorrow, Cui Yanbo's army can cross the bridge and surround Wuzhangyuan.
At that time, together with the Wei army in Chencang, they can trap and kill Mozhe Tiansheng's army.
After confirming that the enemy was just a mob, Cui Yanbo ordered wine to be served in the military camp, and ordered to seize the Weishui floating bridge and attack Wuzhangyuan tomorrow!
On May 24, Cui Yanbo personally put on armor and supervised the battle in the front army. The soldiers rushed fiercely towards Mozhe Tiansheng's camp on the pontoon bridge on the north bank of the Wei River. As expected, they were defeated after one battle. Mozhe Tiansheng's army abandoned the camp and began to retreat to the south bank via the pontoon bridge.
Cui Yanbo supervised the battle again and ordered the soldiers to cross the pontoon bridge and pursue the remnants of Mozhe Tiansheng.
Cui Yanbo observed Wuzhangyuan again and saw that the rebels on Wuzhangyuan had no reaction to the friendly forces who lost the pontoon bridge, and did not send troops to Wuzhangyuan to support them. He knew that Mo Zhetiansheng must have been frightened by the government troops and did not even dare to rescue the friendly forces.
Cui Yanbo was even more arrogant and ordered the entire army to cross the pontoon bridge and surround Wuzhangyuan today.
At this time, the military commander Liu Kai stopped Cui Yanbo and said:
"General Cui, should we first station troops on the south bank of the Wei River and completely control the pontoon bridge before we can lead the army across the river?"
Cui Yanbo said indifferently: "Sima Liu is too cautious. This is just a group of rebels. No one destroyed the pontoon bridge when they retreated. Will they attack them halfway across the river? Besides, the rebels have no navy, so how can they destroy the pontoon bridge?"
"As long as our army surrounds Wuzhangyuan, the rebels there will surrender, and the liberation of Qizhou will be just around the corner!"
Liu Kai wanted to persuade Cui Yanbo to be more cautious, but when he opened his mouth he didn't know how to persuade him.
Since the war began, Cui Yanbo has won many victories and beheaded countless people. The rebels were indeed disorganized as he said and collapsed at the first touch.
Seeing that the front army had already surpassed the floating bridge, Liu Kai swallowed his words of persuasion and could only say:
"Then I will lead the rear army to stay on the north bank of the Wei River to support you, General."
Cui Yanbo nodded indifferently. He didn't think much of Liu Kai, thinking that he was afraid of death. However, according to military strategy, it was indeed necessary to leave troops behind to provide support, so he handed over a small part of the army to Liu Kai.
Cui Yanbo personally led the army across the pontoon bridge, but the bridge was narrow, and it took from morning to afternoon for only half of Cui Yanbo's army to cross the river.
At this time, scouts from the front army came to report that the rebels on Wuzhangyuan were making movements, but Cui Yanbo did not take it seriously. He only stopped himself from crossing the river now, and his reaction was really too slow.
Now more than half of the army has crossed the river, and the remaining soldiers are also preparing to cross the river. Even if Mo Zhe Tiansheng leads all the rebels on Wuzhangyuan down the mountain, it is impossible for him to be driven back to the north bank.
At this time, another scout from the front army came to report that the front army was still pursuing the retreating pontoon bridge defenders.
Cui Yanbo frowned. The army had already crossed the river, so why was the vanguard still chasing?
Under interrogation, the scout finally explained the reason. It turned out that the rebels guarding the pontoon bridge were all rich and carried a lot of property.
When the front army was pursuing, some rebels threw their belongings on the road in order to survive, and the front army soldiers stopped to pick them up, so they have not been able to completely defeat these defenders until now.
Cui Yanbo was not angry after hearing this, but smiled and said:
"Let the front troops move faster, or else the central troops will give chase!"
The generals around Cui Yanbo laughed. This kind of thing had happened countless times in the battle the day before yesterday. Cui Yanbo also deliberately condoned it to stimulate the soldiers' warlike spirit.
Now Cui Yanbo's soldiers regard these rebels as cash cows, and each army actively requests to fight, so the battle can be fought so smoothly.
However, Cui Yanbo also came from the regular army. He did not order the central army to pursue, but instead ordered the soldiers to start building a camp and meet the remaining soldiers crossing the bridge, preparing to encircle Wuzhangyuan again tomorrow.
But soon, scouts from the front army came to report that the front army had completely defeated the defenders of the pontoon bridge, but they were fighting with the rebels coming down from Wuzhangyuan. After a battle, they defeated the rebels coming down from Wuzhangyuan, and the front army was still pursuing them.
The generals around Cui Yanbo were not happy about this. If all the military merits and spoils were taken away by the front army, then what was the point of fighting so hard?
The captains of the central army around Cui Yanbo all requested to fight, but Cui Yanbo hesitated as he looked at the sky.
However, thinking that they could defeat Mozhe Tiansheng soon and avenge the loss of Yongcheng that day, Cui Yanbo finally gave in and ordered the central army to march up as well.
However, Cui Yanbo still ordered the troops to pursue only below Wuzhangyuan and not to pursue beyond Wuzhangyuan.
All the soldiers obeyed the order.
On Wuzhangyuan, Mozhe Tiansheng saw the Wei army camp by the Wei River finally move out, and a smile appeared on his face.
Transition Chapter
(End of this chapter)