Chapter 223 The Fall of Mozhe Dam (Happy Dragon Boat Festival)
"Attack Dingjun Mountain?"
Mo Zhe Dati looked at Hou Gang. He had just captured Yangping Pass and the army almost mutinied. Now he was going to attack Dingjun Mountain?
Hou Gang said sincerely:
"Grand Prime Minister! Yang Kan is not from Liangzhou. Fu Shuyan asked him to lead the troops, but the soldiers were unwilling to obey. Now that you have captured Liangzhou's dangerous pass Yangping Pass, if you attack Dingjun Mountain again, the Liangzhou army will surely lose its morale."
"As long as we capture Dingjun Mountain, Hanzhong City will be an isolated city. If we capture Hanzhong City, the entire Liangzhou will fall into our hands."
Mozhe Dam had just been involved in a mutiny, so he was reluctant to mobilize troops. He said:
"That's not what the king said last time! You also said that Yang Kan had rules for training soldiers and the soldiers obeyed him. Why are you asking me to fight Dingjun Mountain now?"
Hou Gang's heart skipped a beat. This old fox really wasn't so easily fooled.
But he had already prepared his words:
"Grand Prime Minister, this is a different time. At that time, Yangping Pass was still in the hands of Liangzhou, and the Liangzhou soldiers did not know how powerful the king was. Yang Kan led the troops to guard Dingjun Mountain, and naturally everyone was united."
"But now the morale of the Liangzhou army is unstable, and Yang Kan has no merit, so how can he suppress these soldiers?"
Mozhe Dati thought it made sense. The fact that the army almost mutinied this time also made Mozhe Dati feel a sense of urgency.
If he doesn't feed these tigers, leopards, jackals and wolves under his command, they will cause chaos.
Yangping Pass has been almost completely looted. If Liangzhou is not captured as soon as possible, I am afraid that I will be retaliated against.
Even if we cannot capture Dingjun Mountain for the time being, we can let the army that led the mutiny attack Dingjun Mountain and consume their strength, then we will be safer.
But there is still a problem, that is Fu Shuyan in Hanzhong City.
Mo Zhe Dati asked, "What if Fu Shuyan comes to rescue us?"
Hou Gang immediately said, "Impossible! Our army has just won a victory. No matter how brave Fu Shuyan is, he would not dare to attack at this time. Moreover, it would be best if Fu Shuyan came to rescue us. He has given all the elite troops to his son and Yang Kan. As long as we defeat him, Hanzhong City will be taken naturally."
After listening to Hou Gang's analysis, Mozhe Dati also felt that there was nothing wrong with it, so he made up his mind and prepared to gather all the generals to prepare to attack Dingjun Mountain.
Mo Zhe Dadi asked again: "If I go to attack Dingjun Mountain, who will guard Yangping Pass?"
Although Mozhe Dati obeyed Hou Gang's words, he was still wary of Hou Gang. He asked this question deliberately. Once Hou Gang took the initiative to ask to stay in Yangping Pass, he would find a reason to kill him.
Hou Gang said decisively: "Grand Prime Minister, this is your business, I'd better not talk nonsense."
Seeing that Hou Gang was very clear about his position, Mozhe Dati's suspicion was slightly dispelled, but he still decided to bring Hou Gang with him when attacking Dingjun Mountain and tie this guy up well.
Mo Zhe Dadi thought for a moment and said, "Let Du Can take charge of Yangping Pass temporarily."
Du Can was a general under Mozhe Dati when he was still the military commander in Qinzhou. Mozhe Dati valued him so much that he married his niece to him.
Hou Gang's expression remained calm, and he still let Mozhe Dati control him. However, when he left Mozhe Dati's camp, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes.
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Zhengguang first year, July 3rd.
With the momentum of conquering Yangping Pass, Mozhe Dadi led his troops southward to attack Dingjun Mountain.
At the foot of Dingjun Mountain, Mozhe Dati once again personally challenged the enemy. Holding Fu Jingshao's head in his hand, he challenged the Liangzhou army on Dingjun Mountain. He also ordered the army to shout in unison, "Yangping Pass has been broken", in order to shake the morale of the defenders on Dingjun Mountain.
Sure enough, upon hearing that Yangping Pass had been breached, the morale of the Liangzhou troops on Dingjun Mountain also became unsettled.
Yangping Pass is more dangerous and solid than Dingjun Mountain, but it was also conquered by Mozhe Dike. Doesn’t that mean Dingjun Mountain is even more dangerous?
Moreover, Mozhe Dadi's army had just won a victory and their morale was high, which made the Liangzhou army on Dingjun Mountain even more afraid of fighting.
Yang Kan saw that the army's morale was wavering, and he understood that if this continued, Dingjun Mountain would certainly not be able to be defended.
There was nothing that could be done about it. Dingjun Mountain was not Yangping Pass and it had been abandoned since the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. The fact that Yang Kan was able to block the Mozhe Dike showed his outstanding ability in defending the city.
Now that Mozhe Dam has led the victorious army here, the morale of the Liangzhou army on Dingjun Mountain is low. More importantly, Yang Kan himself is an outsider general and does not have much reputation in the army. His efforts to boost morale are not very effective.
Yang Kan finally thought about it and decided to carry out a risky plan.
At the same time, he selected and recruited a thousand elite soldiers from the army during his recent leadership and summoned them to his tent.
On the one hand, he reported the news to Fu Shuyan in Hanzhong City, asking Fu Shuyan to go out of the city to attack the army at Mozhe Dike and create an opportunity for himself.
These one thousand men were a group of people that Yang Kan had raised with great difficulty after he led the Liangzhou army. Some of them knew Yang Kan when his father was the governor of Liangzhou, and the other part were good family boys that Yang Kan had won over by spending all his money and property.
After stationing at Dingjun Mountain, Yang Kan took a thousand people to eat, live and train together, and gave them treatment better than ordinary soldiers. Today it was finally time to use them.
Yang Kan first drank with these elite soldiers, then smashed the wine bowls and swore an oath of allegiance. He then ordered them to bring only three days' worth of dry food, and personally led a thousand elite soldiers down the mountain to ambush near Zouma Valley at the foot of Dingjun Mountain.
This is also an ancient battlefield. When Liu Bei led his troops to attack Hanzhong, the veteran general Huang Zhong killed Xiahou Yuan in this battlefield and finally won the victory for the Shu Han army.
Zouma Valley is rich in water and grass and is the most suitable place to camp near Dingjun Mountain. Yang Kan ordered his soldiers to ambush there, waiting for the army of Mozhe Dam to appear. Fu Shuyan in Hanzhong City first received the bad news that his son died in the battle, and then waited for Yang Kan's messenger to receive Yang Kan's plan.
Yang Kan's plan was also very simple. He asked Fu Shuyan to send troops to attack the army of Mozhe Dike to create chaos, and he would raid the army of Mozhe Dike in Zouma Valley.
Fu Shuyan also saw through Yang Kan's intention. After Yangping Pass was lost, they no longer had any basis to defend it relying solely on Dingjun Mountain and Hanzhong City.
If Mozhe Dam advances steadily and surrounds Dingjun Mountain, the defenders on the mountain will not be able to hold out for long.
So we have to come up with a surprise attack.
Enduring the pain of illness and the loss of his son, Fu Shuyan put on his armor and led the troops in Hanzhong City out of the city to attack the Mozhe Dam!
On July 6, at the foot of Dingjun Mountain, in Zouma Valley, the scouts of Mozhe Dike learned that Fu Shuyan in Hanzhong City had led his troops out to fight them. They became very excited and formed a battle line in Zouma Valley, ready to fight against Fu Shuyan's army.
The two sides fought hand-to-hand combat for a whole morning. Fu Shuyan was defeated and set fire to the food and grass he carried with him before retreating. Mozhe Dati was even more excited and sent a large army to pursue him.
When the food and grass in Zouma Valley were set on fire, Yang Kan, wearing a bright light armor, said to his 1,000 elite soldiers:
"If we lose today, we will all die. My Yang clan members are not in Liangzhou, but your relatives and families are all here. If we don't fight, we will die. If we fight, we will also die. Is it okay to wait for death and die with the country?"
After saying this, Yang Kan cut off a piece of his hair, vowed to die on the battlefield even if he could not defeat the enemy, and then he personally led his troops to charge forward.
His soldiers were also inspired by him and followed him to charge.
Yang Kan’s goal is to prevent the dam from breaking.
The Mozhe Dike army that was in pursuit suddenly discovered an army rushing towards Mozhe Dike's flag. Some troops began to intercept them, but soon they found that it was a tough nut to crack, so they gave way.
The reason is very simple. Chasing Fu Shuyan is like chasing a defeated army, which will bring merit and spoils. Intercepting Yang Kan is like biting a hard bone, which will require breaking teeth.
Moreover, Mozhe Dam had experienced a mutiny, and all the untrusted troops were placed on the front line. The relationship between the camps was very loose, which gave Yang Kan an opportunity to break in.
Yang Kan attacked from both sides and actually managed to get to a place not far from the Mozhe Dam and the flag.
At this time, Mozhe Dati and Hou Gang both knew that it was Yang Kan who led the troops in a surprise attack.
Hou Gang, who was behind Mozhe Dati, was also shocked. He had originally instigated Mozhe Dati to attack Dingjun Mountain, but he thought that Yang Kan was knowledgeable about military affairs and could consume Mozhe Dati's prestige at the foot of Dingjun Mountain. He could then continue to win over a group of people and finally escape from Mozhe Dati's control.
But no one expected that Fu Shuyan and Yang Kan would take such a risk. One went out of the city to fight despite the pain of losing his son and illness, while the other led his troops into the army, ready to fight to the death.
Hou Gang regretted it at this time. If he had known that you were so reckless, he would not have persuaded Mo Zhe to attack the dike in a hurry!
The Liangzhou government troops were defeated in this battle, and Mozhe Dati's reputation is unmatched. How can I escape from his control?
Mozhe Dadi didn't think much of Yang Kan's thousand men. He had trusted guards around him, and Yang Kan would be exhausted at most after rushing to a distance of a hundred steps, and there was no way he could hurt himself.
Mozhe Dati even stood up and watched Yang Kan fight bravely with an expression of watching a show.
As expected, when Yang Kan rushed to a place a hundred steps away from the Mozhe Dam, he could no longer move forward.
But he did not panic, but took out a longbow.
Yang Kan took a deep breath, stared at the Mozhe Dike under the banner, put an arrow on the bow, drew the bow, and shot!
The action was done in one go. After Yang Kan shot, he didn't even have time to check whether he hit the target. He threw away his longbow and picked up his long sword to fight again.
The arrow was flying, and before Mozhe Dadi could react, he felt a sharp pain.
The mail armor around his neck could not block the power of the arrow, and the arrow accurately pierced Mozhe Dati's throat. Blood spurted out, and Mozhe Dati's tall body fell down with a bang.
Hou Gang, who was beside Mozhe Dike, quickly lay on the ground, but he immediately shouted:
"The Grand Prime Minister was shot dead!"
With Hou Gang's assistance, the news of the commander's death was immediately spread. Hou Gang fled quickly with his newly recruited confidants and headed straight for Yangping Pass.
After the news of Mozhe Dati's death spread, there was no one to command the central army, so Yang Kan immediately led his troops to break out.
The news of Mozhe Dati's death spread to the front army, and the chaos intensified. Fu Shu saw the chaos of the rebels and quickly concluded that Yang Kan's plan was successful. He immediately led the Liangzhou army, which had been defeated, to counterattack.
On July 6, Mozhe Dati's army was defeated at the foot of Dingjun Mountain, and the Qinzhou rebel leader Mozhe Dati was shot to death.
On July 16, Su Ze led his troops into Liangzhou along the West Han River. He captured cities and strongholds along the way and quickly advanced to the Huicheng Basin, facing Lü Bodu who had stationed his troops in Wuxing County.
Happy Dragon Boat Festival!
(End of this chapter)