Chapter 91: Surround and Ambush

  There were also guarding troops on the city wall, and they should have been able to see Tai Shi's approaching army from their higher position. However, it was winter now, and the accumulated snow had not yet melted. The glare of the snow everywhere made it impossible to see far ahead, and instead, the guards at the foot of the city were the first to hear the sound.

  "Close the city gate..." The leader of the garrison on the city wall shouted hoarsely.

  Without him shouting, the guards knew what to do and quickly dispersed the crowd and closed the city gate.

  Tai Shi Zi led the five hundred cavalrymen, suddenly bursting through the reflective snow, and appeared on the horizon, rushing towards the city gate like a whirlwind.

  The civilians who had gathered at the city gate were already in a state of panic, and upon seeing Taishi Ci's cavalry, they suddenly burst into tears and rushed towards the city gate, with several guards trying to stop them but to no avail, watching helplessly as the city gate was pushed open by the crowd.

  Seeing that the city gate could not be closed, the soldiers on the city wall were all red-eyed and immediately shouted loudly: "Who dares to rush at the city gate will be killed by me!"

  But it was too late, Taishi Ci's cavalry had already charged within fifty paces. "Whoosh...whoosh..." dozens of feathered arrows shot forth, turning the gate guards into hedgehogs.

  It must be said that apart from Tai Shi Ci, the remaining soldiers' archery skills were not reliable at all. As a result, many ordinary civilians were also shot down by stray arrows and cried out in agony, rolling back and forth on the ground.

  At this time, there was no time to sympathize with others, Taishi Ci shouted loudly: "Those who block my way will die..." He charged into the crowd on horseback, swinging his long spear back and forth, sending people flying, and the sound of wailing echoed incessantly. However, these people did not die, Taishi Ci's heart was not cruel, he just used his spear to push these civilians away from the city gate, at most breaking their bones.

  However, the remaining cavalry did not have Tai Shi Ci's martial arts skills, nor did they have his kind heart. They didn't care about the lives of the common people and rushed straight into the city gate, trampling countless civilians to death with their war horses, leaving behind a bloody mess.

  Tai Shi Ci killed the remaining guards and did not stay at the city gate, but rushed straight to the county government of Yangdu. Immediately afterwards, the remaining 1,500 cavalrymen also entered in a fish-like manner, completely controlling the city of Yangdu.

  At this point, if the county magistrate of Yuyang still refused to surrender, he would be truly foolish. Therefore, the county magistrate of Yuyang promptly handed over the official seal and household registration book to Taishi Ci and surrendered.

  Taishi Ci did not lose a single soldier or officer, and took down the county of Yangdu. He was naturally overjoyed, and immediately declared that the entire army would take turns resting while waiting for Li Tong's large army to arrive.

  Yu County is just ahead, then it's Langya County. The two counties are about 40 miles apart. Originally, Taishi Ci still wanted to continue the surprise attack on Langya, but seeing that his soldiers were already exhausted and their morale was low, he could only put this idea aside and let the soldiers rest well.

  The next day at noon, Li Zhong's army arrived in Yuxian County and rested for only one night before directly sending troops to Langmen. The more than 1,000 surrendered soldiers in Yuxian County were all reorganized by Li Zhong into the army, with Liao Hua leading 500 soldiers to garrison Yuxian County and transport grain.

  Li Chong had a reason to attack Langmen so hastily. Firstly, Yun County was very close to Langmen County, only a day's journey away. Li Chong had experienced rapid military campaigns before, and the defending troops of Langmen County simply did not have time to prepare defensive materials such as rolling logs and thunder stones.

  Secondly, the garrison of Langmeng County will definitely ask for help from Jinyang, and Zhang Yang will not sit back and watch Langmeng County fall. Otherwise, the counties in Taiyuan Prefecture will be in chaos without a fight, surrendering at the sight of the wind. Li Chong's tactic is to surround and attack the reinforcements sent by Jinyang, ambushing them.

  Upon arrival at Langmen County, the defending forces of Langmen County did not dare to come out and fight, closing all four gates and holding on tightly. Li Zhong immediately gave orders: Taishi Ci led 500 cavalry and 2,000 infantry to intercept the reinforcements from Jinyang, while he himself led the main army to besiege Langmen, taking action as circumstances allowed.

  Langmen County is one hundred and twenty miles away from Jinyang City, the road is mountainous, the road is rugged, and it's easy to hide tens of thousands of troops anywhere. This road has been walked by Taishi Ci once, so he is very familiar with it, knowing that thirty miles away from Langmen County, there is a narrowest place called Yinfeng Valley, which is just right for an ambush.

  Yin Wind Valley is a typical two-mountain-one-gorge terrain, with the two mountains only about 500 steps apart. The official road passes through the valley between the two mountains. When Taishi Ci arrived at Yin Wind Valley, he immediately ordered his men to cut down trees and build a stockade.

  During the Three Kingdoms period, there were many trees on both sides of the road, which could be taken and used without end. At night, Taishi Ci built a wooden wall as high as one person. Following Li Chong's instructions, he melted the accumulated snow, poured water on the wooden wall, and in an instant, a layer of ice formed, not only preventing fire but also increasing the difficulty of climbing.

  The rest of the things are to pitch camp, prepare dinner, set up sentry posts and other trivial matters.

  The next morning, the scout came to report that the reinforcements sent by Jin Yang were only thirty miles away from Yinfeng Valley. Judging by the flag, the general leading the troops should be Yang Chou.

  "Yang Chou..." Tai Shi Ci stroked his chin, chuckled and said: "This is an old acquaintance, if it's really him, we must treat him well."

  Yang Chou had just received news from his scouts that Taishi Ci was setting up a large camp in the Valley of the Dark Wind, preparing to ambush his reinforcements.

  Tai Shi is a very rare surname, so it's not hard to guess. Yang Chou immediately determined who the visitor was and scolded loudly: "Li Zhong, Tai Shi Ci, you two despicable villains, greedy and shameless... ungrateful and disloyal, you will not die a good death!"

  The soldiers below heard that and looked at each other, thinking: "General Yang is really muddled. We all know you were bullied by Li Chong and Taishi Ci, but where did this phrase 'forgetting kindness and betraying righteousness' come from?"

  "Give me a way in, I must have Tai Shi Ci cut into a thousand pieces!" Yang Chou shouted sternly.

  Yang Chou gave the order, and his three thousand troops immediately quickened their pace. The rumbling sound of their footsteps shook down the snow that had accumulated on the branches, startling countless birds into flight.

  Five miles away from Taishi Ci's camp, Yang Quan An set up his own camp and began to think about how to defeat the enemy. This was also a good opportunity for him, as Taishi Ci was preparing to intercept the reinforcements of Jin Yang, so he didn't bring many cavalrymen. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for Yang Quan An to safely set up his large camp.

  However, Yang Chou was not entirely at an advantage. Of the 3,000 troops he led, 1,000 were cavalry, and these 1,000 cavalry would definitely not be used to attack Taishi Ci's camp unless absolutely necessary. The remaining 2,000 troops found it somewhat difficult to break through Taishi Ci's camp.

  Should we ask Zhang Yang to send some reinforcements? As soon as this thought arose in Yang Chou's mind, he shook his head and rejected the idea. He was not one of Zhang Yang's old subordinates, but a latecomer who had joined Zhang Yang later. This was his first time leading troops into battle, and he hadn't even encountered the enemy yet, let alone lost a single soldier. How could he ask for reinforcements? What face would he have left to stand alongside Zhang Yang's other generals?

  Yang ugly one bite teeth, immediately decided, just relying on their own military power and Taishi Ci fight to the death, must open a bloody road.

  It has to be said that this is an extremely foolish decision.