As Ren Chen introduced that because the Sui army in Daxing strictly blocked the road barriers, the Taiyuan army could only go back to Yan'an County and send a letter back through Longquan. Not only wasting the journey and delaying time, the news was delivered to the Li brothers on the Huoyi battlefield. As a result, although the Li brothers were mentally prepared for this, after truly confirming the bad news, Li Jiancheng was still shocked to the ground with a tea bowl in his hand, his face turned pale, and Li Er also stood up, his face suddenly turned terrible.

The Taiyuan army and civil and military officials present also looked better than the Li brothers, and they couldn't see where they were because they knew very well that the critical moment that determined their life, death, honor and disgrace had arrived, and they could not escape or hide, so they could only face it with a tough bullet. Some people began to think about how to fight, some people fantasize about how to defeat Chen Sangliang, and some people were already secretly thinking about how to sell themselves in front of Chen Sangliang. It was almost half a stick of incense, and there was no sound in Li Jiancheng's central army tent.

Finally, Li Jiancheng made a sound first and slowly picked up the falling teacup. Li Jiancheng said in a very calm tone: "I finally came, it was later than we expected, but it doesn't matter. It's the same as coming early and coming late. It's all the same, it's all the same, it's just a fight, just fight with all your strength."

"Brother, Chen Yingliang's time to send troops is very mysterious." Li Er also spoke and sneered: "Chen Yingliang threatened to attack our army more than two months ago, and he had already asked the Hedong side division to take the initiative to provoke the battle. However, the main force did not officially send troops until April 17th. This seemed to be of great purpose, as if it was for a certain opportunity."

"Brother, do you mean the Fen River flood season in July and August?" Li Jiancheng asked.

"Isn't it?" Li Er asked back, and sneered, "On April 17th, the main force went north slowly, attacked the Queshi Valley and broke through our army's blockade, swept away our army's periphery defenders, and then surrounded Taiyuan City. If the time rhythm is well controlled, isn't it at that time?"

Li Jiancheng lowered his head, then thought about it before saying, "With his personality, I'm afraid I won't be able to use that tactic."

"My brother, Viasha (Li Jiancheng's nickname), do you think Chen Yingliang is like you?" Li Er sneered even more and said, "Yes, Chen Yingliang has always shown himself to be generous and polite, but when it is time to be cruel, everyone will be cruel! If he is really a kind gentleman, would he deliberately fall out with Yang Tong despite Yang Guang's will? Will he steal our father's title and proclaim himself the King of Tang? No matter how many people there are in Taiyuan City, can there be many people who die in his hands?"

Li Jiancheng was speechless and after a while, he said: "No matter whether Chen Yingliang has such a vicious heart or not, we should do our best to defend the Cricket Rat Valley, and strive to let Chen Yingliang's main force stop south of the Cricket Rat Valley and protect our Taiyuan foundation."

"It is certainly impossible to block Chen Yingliang's main force with the Que Rat Valley forever, but as long as we can persist in the Que Rat Valley until the rainy season comes in July, there is hope." Li Er rarely agrees with Li Jiancheng on major events, saying: "As soon as the rainy season comes, the roads are muddy and difficult to move, and the Fen River will also rise sharply, which is not conducive to Chen Yingliang's main force's large-scale progress. As long as we persist until then, we have hope to survive this crisis. But if we cannot block Chen Yingliang before the rainy season and are forced to retreat to Taiyuan City by him, then we will be in great trouble."

"Immediately prepare to retreat to the Jiexiu Spirit Stone and build the defense line of Bird and Rat Valley." Li Jiancheng made a quick decision and immediately said: "Contact Cao Dan and Yin Kaishan, and ask them to give up attacking Linfen to retreat their troops. Didn't the one who was called Wang Fubao say that he was going to retreat to Yueyang and restrain Chen Yingliang's main force? This is a wonderful move. Please ask Cao Dan to lead his army to retreat to Yueyang, so that Chen Yingliang's main force dare not go north with confidence, and force Chen Yingliang to divide his troops to attack Yueyang, so that we can relieve the positive pressure."

"I'm afraid it's too late to go in time." Li Er pointed out: "Chen Yingliang ordered Cheng Yaojin and Xue Renguo to lead 10,000 troops as the chief and deputy vanguards. This vanguard will definitely advance very quickly. If it is fast, it may be three days before it can reach Taiping Pass and directly join the Linfen battlefield. Even if they are tired from afar and cannot enter the Queshi Valley battlefield for the time being, they can also rotate Chen Thief Army Qin Qiong, Huo Shiju and other troops to go north to Queshi Valley first, delay and destroy our plan to build fortifications in Queshi Valley, and never give us any chance to rest or breathe, creating fighter opportunities for their main force."

"There are also Liu Heita's husbands in Huoyi City." Li Er pointed to Huoyi outside the tent again and said: "With that man's cunning and viciousness, once he found out that our army retreated, he would inevitably take the opportunity to launch a counterattack, try every means to harass and restrain our army, and do not give our army a chance to retreat smoothly, nor give us the opportunity to build solid fortifications in Queshi. If the troops are used properly, there would even be a chance to annihilate our army's partial army Yin Kaishan tribe outside the Queshi Valley Mountain Road, weakening our already insufficient power."

Considering that Liu Heita's tactical purpose of using the Hedong partial division to consume his own army's strength was very clear, Li Jiancheng did not dare to take it lightly. After nodding, Li Jiancheng pondered again: "Dou Jiande's general named Wang Fubao had proposed to first attack Taiping Pass to defend the dangerous pass so that he could win response time when Chen Yingliang's main force attacked. At that time, we did not agree to win Linfen City in order to fully strive to capture Linfen City. I wonder if Dou Jiande can still divide his troops to seize Taiping Pass and win the critical time for us to retreat and deploy defense..."

"It should be no problem." Li Er rushed to say: "Yin Kaishan has already found out that Wang Fubao and Dou Jiande's wife and Cao Dan have personal grudges. Cao Dan is obviously deliberately trying to kill Wang Fubao in Linfen. If we ask Cao Dan to send Wang Fubao to attack Taiping Pass, temporarily block Chen Yingliang's main force's road north, and lure the enemies in Linfen City to attack Wang Fubao south, Cao Dan must agree. After all, if you use Chen Yingliang's hand to kill Wang Fubao, Cao Dan can also bear less reputation for avenging his personal grudges."

"Then let's do it this way, send Ren Chen to try it with all his might." Li Jiancheng did not hesitate, and immediately agreed to try this luck, and said, "Wang Fubao is a general. Although it's a pity that he died like this, he doesn't care about so much for the sake of the overall situation. Besides, it's Cao Dan that we need to please now, so there is no need to make Cao Dan unhappy for him."

So, under the unanimous decision of the Li brothers, Ren Guan rushed to Linfen to stop Dou Li's coalition from continuing to attack Linfen City, and Ren Guan pretended to ask Wang Fubao if he still had a chance to attack Taiping Pass. Although Wang Fubao replied that the Taiping Pass defenders must have received the news that the main force of the Sui army had sent troops. In order to ensure the smooth progress of the main force of the Sui army, they would definitely stick to Taiping Pass with all their might. The difficulty of successfully attacking Taiping Pass was far greater than before, but Ren Guan refused to give up and asked to have a secret talk with Cao Dan, and talked with Cao's brother-in-law sneakily in the back tent for a long time.

There must also be a fair word for brother-in-law Cao. Brother-in-law, who hated Wang Fubao, wanted Wang Fubao to die without a burial place, but he wanted an army to accompany Wang? Bao went to die, but brother-in-law Cao had to consider whether he would be pursued and scolded by his brother-in-law in the future. He was a little hesitant for a moment. Seeing Brother-in-law Cao's thoughts, Ren Guan said generously: "Please rest assured, General Cao, our army will not let your army fight alone, attack Taiping Pass and temporarily block the main force of the bandit army. Our army will also send two thousand troops to participate in the war, and obey the orders and commands of your army, with the command of your army as the main general!"

Brother Cao was still a little hesitant, and Ren Guan hurriedly pointed out that doing so was also very important for Dou Jiande's army, because Dou Jiande's army also needed to be wary of the Sui army sending troops to chase after the battle. At the same time, Brother Cao also needed time to strengthen the city defense and build fortifications after retreating to Yueyang City to make long-term plans. Brother Cao took into account these situations and nodded gradually and gradually wanted to agree.

What really made Brother Cao decide was his brother-in-law Yuan Yan. At this moment, Yuan Yan, who served as the military supervisor in Wang Fubao's army, suddenly came to report that Wang Fubao's soldiers were going to serve as the vanguard of the attack on Linfen City and all scolded Brother Cao's ancestors for the 18th generation. Some people secretly threatened that they would shoot cold arrows on Brother Cao on the battlefield if they had the chance! Brother Cao was furious and did not hesitate. He immediately agreed to Ren Guan's request and agreed to let Wang Fubao lead his headquarters together with the two thousand Taiyuan troops to attack Taiping Pass together to fight for time for Dou Li's coalition to retreat and deploy defense.

At this time, we are not only very sure of attacking Taiping Pass, but it is difficult to break through the siege after success. After hearing Brother Cao's orders, Wang Fubao certainly understood that Brother Cao still wanted to let him die on purpose, but if he continued to resist the order, the outcome might be even worse. The Taiyuan Army also offered some sincerity to send troops of 2,000 troops. At the same time, Brother Cao also promised to allow Wang Fubao to break through the siege and withdraw back to Yueyang County ten days later. Ren Guan also repeatedly explained the importance of attacking Taiping Pass at this time. Wang Fubao hesitated for a while, and finally took on this task, took the injury, and led two thousand people from the headquarters and two thousand Taiyuan Army to attack Taiping Pass, which had been easily accessible before.

It was also on the way to lead the army south to Taiping Pass that Wang Fubao gradually realized that the situation was wrong. The two thousand Taiyuan troops sent by Yin Kaishan to assist were scattered during the march, with uneven weapons and equipment. The generals and soldiers were obviously very nervous. It didn't seem to have received strict military training. After asking about the origin of this army, Wang Fubao almost blew out of his throat. It turned out that these two thousand Taiyuan troops were all recruits recruited by Yin Kaishan when he took advantage of the situation to attack the hinterland of Linfen County. Almost all locals in Linfen County, supplemented by a small number of old soldiers who were separated when the Li brothers were defeated. Such an army was not only unreliable in combat effectiveness, but could also become a burden to Wang Fubao's army at any time!

The furious Wang Fubao of course immediately sent someone back to complain to Brother Cao. Brother Cao also asked Ren Guan to question the reason. While Ren Guan explained that he wanted to help Wang Fubao's army understand the situation in Linfen, he also said that these two thousand troops were actually very capable of fighting. Many of them had followed Li Yuan to enter the Daxing of Guanzhong, and said that all the heroes in the world started with such an army. No one had thousands of elite soldiers available as soon as they debuted. Brother Cao was slutty and had already set up a withdrawal to return to Yueyang, so he did not continue to pursue the matter, leaving Wang Fubao's accusation aside.

Wang Fubao, who had never received a reply, could only continue to lead his troops and arrived smoothly outside Taiping Pass, which was not far from Linfen in the evening that day. He hurriedly observed the terrain of Taiping Pass under the last sunset. Wang Fubao found that although the Sui army guarded the pass was closely guarded, the terrain that was not steep enough greatly restricted its defense ability. Overall, it was not difficult to fight. - When the old Li family fought from Taiyuan, they directly forced the pass to surrender without taking a single arrow. When Chen Sangliang was chasing Li Er, he also relied on the Sui army soldiers to bite weapons and climbed empty-handedly and seized the pass. How fragile this pass is can be seen.

After probably having a clear mind, Wang Fubao did not hesitate and immediately arranged a plan to solve problems. The waste was used to let the Taiyuan Army first go to the pass to establish a camp, and ordered the Taiyuan Army to launch a feint attack at the pass every half hour or a moment, and it was necessary to alarm the entire pass to prevent the enemy from being tired and disturbing the enemy. Then Wang Fubao ordered the army to hurry up and take a rest, eat and drink and maintain good energy, get up at the middle of the fourth and gather at the fifth hour to obey orders, and select 300 elite masters Hou Ming in advance.

Wang Fubao's harassment tactics were very useful. That night, the Taiping Pass defenders were indeed tossed by the Taiyuan Army. They were awakened by the Taiyuan Army's shouts and drums every half hour or half an hour. They were constantly forced to get up to prepare for the war. They worked so hard but never reached half an enemy. They gradually became numb by this repeated harassment and disturbance, and gradually lost their vigilance. Then after the fifth hour, it was about to dawn, and when the exhausted Sui army soldiers were drowsy, the truth among the ten false finally came.

Taking advantage of the last dark cover before dawn, three hundred Dou Jun, who had been following Wang Fubao in the south and north for many years, carried simple climbing tools such as ropes and rakes, quietly touched the low wall of Taiping Pass. Taking advantage of the opportunity of Guanzhong's guards taking a nap in exhaustion, they climbed up the wall with almost no sound. In the end, more than twenty Dou soldiers had climbed to the top of the wall. The defenders on the wall finally found that the enemy was attacking and rushed to ring the gongs and drums to issue warnings.

In the dawn, Dou's soldiers quickly climbed up the wall with less than twenty simple flights, either stomped on the ladder, or climbed empty-handedly with their weapons, leaned on their companions who had successfully reached the gate to death to cover them, rushed up the wall one after another, and then rushed into the gate and cracked the locks. Miraculously, the northern gate of Taiping Pass was opened in less than half an hour. Dou's soldiers flocked in. The Taiping Pass defenders, who had only more than a thousand people, could only open the south gate and escape to Taiping County. Wang Fubao took the opportunity to urge the army to enter the gate and successfully seized the small gate before the sun crossed the top of Taihang Mountain.

After succeeding, before the Dou Li coalition was cheering, or before the Taiyuan army could transport a small amount of food and grass into the city, a sudden change occurred. With the sound of horse hooves, Sui cavalry was already coming to Linfen, and the battle was still the banner of Qin Qiong, the Sui army general. Wang Fubao was shocked and quickly ordered the Taiyuan army to come forward to fight. At the same time, he sent people to transport food and grass into the city. When the Taiping Pass defenders, who had just escaped, found that reinforcements had arrived, they immediately turned around and rushed, forcing Wang Fubao to close the south gate of Taiping Pass and command the soldiers to climb the wall to guard.

The Taiyuan Army's performance on the battlefield was worse than Wang Fubao was worried. After turning around in a hurry, Qin Qiong led the Sui cavalry to collapse and scatter the Taiyuan army, and then the Sui cavalry kept working and immediately rushed towards the Dou army soldiers who were urgently transporting food and grass supplies. Wang Fubao was forced to helplessly, so he could only order the soldiers to give up the food and grass supplies that had not yet entered the pass, and retreated to the pass, and closed the north gate in a dangerous and timely manner, without giving the Sui cavalry a chance to enter Taiping Pass.

When the sun shone on Taiping Xiaoguan, the Sui army's infantry brigade had already arrived outside the northern gate of Taiping Pass. The flags were like seas and swords and guns were like forests, completely blocking Wang Fubao's army's retreat route to the north. Yin Kaishan sent perfunctory Taiyuan soldiers to knelt all over the ground outside the pass, and surrendered in groups, begging for mercy and begging for their destiny. However, Wang Fubao and other Dou soldiers looked grimly on the wall, silently watching the ugly behavior of the Taiyuan army scrambling to surrender and show their charm, and most of them did not say a word.

While the flag was flying, Qin Qiong, who had already had many dealings with Wang Fubao on the battlefield, took a photo of his horse to the gate and shouted loudly at the wall: "General Wang Fubao! Cao Dan's husband had already run away with his army last night. Yin Kaishan's old husband led the Taiyuan thief army to run faster. You are now alone. Cao Dan and Taiyuan thief army cannot have reinforcements for you. Our main army is also driving here. You have no way to escape! If you don't surrender, when will you wait?!"

Wang Fubao didn't say anything, but Qin Qiong shouted at the bottom of the pass: "General Wang, we also understand your situation under Dou Jiande! Dou Jiande has no eyes, listens to slander, and owes you a lot. Cao Dan's husband has personal grudges with you, but Dou Jiande still sent him to serve as the head coach, allowing Cao Dan's husband to avenge his personal grudges, and frame you in every way. What are you still obsessed with? Didn't you hear that good birds choose trees to live on, and wise ministers choose masters to work? His Highness the King of Tang is wise and martial, respects the virtuous, and knows people and responsibilities. If you surrender, His Highness the King of Tang will definitely use it more! Although I am enemies of you, I still admire you very much. I am willing to break the arrow to make an oath and guarantee you to be in front of the King of Tang..."

"Shoot the arrow!"

Wang Fubao finally spoke and gave a calm order. The Dou army soldiers next to him did not hesitate, and immediately pulled the bow and shot Qin Qiong. Qin Qiong was furious. While avoiding the arrow and returning to the horse, he pointed at the closing with a horse spear and cursed: "Wang Fubao! A man! I kindly save your life, and you also shot me with an arrow! Okay! Since you insist on seeking death, I will fulfill your wishes. I want to see how long you can stay in this small tax collection gate!"

Wang Fubao ignored Qin Qiong's scolding at all, but turned to the left and right orders and said, "Send the order and start to set up defense immediately and prepare to defend the pass. The Chen thief army may launch an attack soon."

The left and right agreed, and then someone asked timidly: "General, we are already alone, what should we do next?"

"Stay on the Nine Heavens." Wang Fubao replied calmly: "General Cao ordered our army to break through ten days yesterday, stand firm on the Nine Heavens, and we will break through and withdraw back to Yueyang."

"Nine Heavens? Break through the siege after nine days?" The subordinates on both sides were stunned and asked, "General, this Taiping Pass wall is only 1.5 meters away, and there are no antlers and horses and trenches. The main force of the bandit army is coming soon. Can we defend the nine heavens? Even if we defend the nine heavens, the nine heavens will definitely have heavy casualties after nine heavens. How can we break through?"

"If you can't defend, you have to defend." Wang Fubao replied lightly, and said, "I can only find a way to break through the nine heavens."

Wang Fubao's efforts were not without gains. At least because he went south to attack Taiping Pass, Qin Qiong's troops, who were afraid that the main force would be blocked, missed the opportunity to chase Cao Dan and Yin Kaishan, and sent troops to rescue Taiping Pass first. However, Qin Qiong really didn't expect that Wang Fubao would take Taiping Pass so quickly. Cao's brother-in-law took the opportunity to run away and fled to Yueyang County, which could withdraw to Shangdang County at any time. Yin Kaishan ran faster. As soon as he divided his troops with Cao's brother-in-law, he rushed to Huoyi. At the same time, Yin Kaishan and Ren Guan and other Taiyuan civil and military officials were still complacent. "The left and right governors made a clever trick. Wang Fubao is indeed a erectile slaughter!"
Chapter completed!