On the occasion of rebirth Zhou Sui

Chapter 401 Attacking the Dangerous Pass
As Yang Subao endured the humiliation and was unable to hold on, and Yang Guang planned to open up a second battlefield, the situation for Cui Che took a turn for the worse.

He didn't want to retreat immediately, and he didn't want to sit still. After discussing with Li Jing, Cui Che summoned the generals. He pointed to the map and asked everyone:
"Who can defend Gaobi Ridge alone?"

Gaobi Ridge was previously guarded by Xiao Mahe, a [-]-year-old veteran under Yang Liang's command, but was broken through by Yang Su's army. It is located at the necessary place from Linfen Basin to Taiyuan Basin.

At this time, Cui Che asked the general who could defend Gaobi Ridge, and his intention was very clear, that is, to send a general to lead the army southward to attack Gaobi Ridge and block the supply channel of Yang Su's army.

There are three difficulties in this matter. The first is naturally to pass through Xihe County and other places quietly.

The second is how to capture Gaobiling.

And the third point is how to defend Gaobiling under the onslaught of the Sui army.

Although Li Jing and Cui Che worked out this risky battle plan, he was not the right person.

To stick to Gaobi Ridge, one must be a brave general who has great prestige in the army and can lead the way.

Li Jing is a newcomer and has not yet established his prestige among the Yan army, so he cannot inspire the soldiers to fight with him to the death.

When Cui Che set his eyes on Mai Tiezhang, everyone knew that Mai Tiezhang was the best candidate in King Yan's heart.

Although Qin Qiong had fought against all the generals under his command after he abandoned his position to vote, and gained the title of the number one brave general, but this time the generals who followed Cui Che to help Jinyang, the one with the most prestige in the army was Ziping Ding Since the Rebellion of the Five Religions, Mai Tiezhang has been following Cui Che in all his wars.

Everyone's eyes were also on Mai Tiezhang, but Mai Tiezhang didn't back down, he strode forward and replied loudly:

"Report to the king, the general is willing to go!"

Going south to Gaobiling is indeed dangerous, but compared to King Yan's kindness to him for many years, even if he goes through fire and water, Mai Tiezhang will never frown.

Cui Che's expression was serious, and he didn't show the slightest bit of joy. He solemnly nodded and said:
"The ownership of Hedong depends on General Mai."

On that day, Mai Tiezhang went from the silver saddle Khitan under his command to [-] cavalry soldiers, selected [-] warriors, and only brought [-] days' rations, and went out with him at night, bypassing the Sui army's camp. Go to Gaobiling.

At this time, Yang Su was sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai in the camp, and had no idea that the crisis was quietly approaching.

Jinyang is only more than 330 miles away from Gaobiling. If it is changed as usual, the cavalry can attack in one day and one night.

However, in order to hide his whereabouts, Mai Tiezhang had to travel day and night. Fortunately, there were no shortage of mountains and forests along the way, allowing the army to hide during the day.

After three days of rapid march at night, Mai Tiezhang bypassed Xihe County, where Yang Yichen was stationed, and the narrow passage, Queshu Valley, which was tens of miles long, to the foot of Gaobi Ridge.

Li Jingjin, who accompanied the army, said:
"Yang Su divides his troops to besiege the city along the way, and he has to confront the king in Jinyang, so he will not leave too many soldiers to guard Gaobiling.

"Also ask General Mai to divide Li's 1000 men and horses, and Li will lead the troops to cross Huoshan Mountain (now Taiyue Mountain in Shanxi Province) and go around to the south of Gaobiling.

"Tomorrow Mai Gong will make a big show in the north to attract the attention of the enemy on the mountain. If Li takes advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness and leads the attack from the south, the enemy army has no time to react. Under the attack from both sides, we will definitely be able to capture Gaobi Mountain!"

This is not the first time Mai Tiezhang and Li Jing have partnered.

When Goguryeo united with Khitan and sent troops to plunder western Liaoning, Cui Che sent troops to plunder the Khitan tribe under the strategy of besieging Wei and saving Zhao.

At the time of the squadron, Li Jing was left to assist Mai Tiezhang to ambush the Khitan pursuers who came back to help.

For Li Jing's request, Mai Tiezhang did not hesitate, he agreed directly, and sent a thousand Khitan cavalry soldiers from his command to follow Li Jing over Huoshan Mountain and march along the steep cliff, the narrowest point, only one person could pass through.

This small road is okay for smuggling, but it is extremely difficult to use it for transporting grain and grass, and grain trucks simply cannot walk through it.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in the first year of Daye (AD 605), the Lantern Festival was originally a festival worth celebrating, but a thousand Sui troops staying at Gaobiling suddenly discovered a Yan army cavalry pawn in the north of Lingbei.

'Could it be that the Marshal lost? '

A question arose in the mind of Sui army guard Qian Jie.

Yang Su has never been defeated in the past, but considering that the opponent in this battle is Cui Che, who is even more famous than him, it seems that failure is not impossible.

But Qian Jie immediately put this absurd idea behind him, even if it was a big defeat, how could he not escape back in a rout, this is clearly the Yan army's sneak attack on Gaobiling.

The cavalry of the Yan army in the north of Lingbei had already dismounted and acted as infantry to attack the mountain.

Qian Jie immediately mobilized the defenders on the mountain to defend against the invading enemy from the north. He has a thousand defenders stationed under his command. Not to mention that there are only 2000 troops of the Yan army at the foot of the mountain, even 2 people. He also has the confidence to rely on the dangerous terrain of Gaobi Mountain hold fast.

However, when the attention of the defenders on the mountain was all attracted by the wheat and iron rods, and they were fighting fiercely with the soldiers of the Yan army attacking from the north, there was a deafening shout of killing suddenly from the south, which made Qian Jie's face turn pale.

He was about to command the army to turn around to resist, Li Jing had already led a thousand soldiers to Gaobi Ridge, and Mai Tiezhang also took advantage of the situation to intensify his offensive.

Just as Li Jing expected, the Sui army was caught off guard. Under the double attack of him and Mai Tiezhang, the Sui army was defeated, and more than [-] people died. The army seized Gaobiling in one fell swoop.

Mai Tiezhang quickly separated some of the horses and brought all the horses left behind to the mountain.

From bottom to top, when attacking high ground, cavalry is not as good as infantry, and cavalry with less impact is a cumbersome living target.

However, charging from top to bottom can increase the impact of cavalry in some places with gentle slopes.

What's more, when the mountains and rivers are at the end of the day, you can still kill horses to satisfy your hunger.

While Mai Tiezhang sent people to rush to repair the fortifications, he personally asked Li Jing what to do with these Sui prisoners.

In a few days, Yang Su received the news that he must go south to attack Gaobiling. It is impossible for Mai Tiezhang to take care of these prisoners, and he has to prevent them from making trouble.

Li Jing pondered and said:
"There are only seven hundred soldiers left and right. If they kill them, they may hurt the king's reputation. It's better to drive all of them to the south and let them go."

Mai Tiezhang immediately acted on Li Jing's suggestion, and he released all the seven hundred Sui soldiers captured.

As for whether some of them would bypass Huo Shan and report to Yang Su, Mai Tiezhang couldn't control it.

Mai Tiezhang and Li Jing were preparing for a fierce battle on Gaobiling. They not only repaired the fortifications in the north, but also did not relax their defenses to the south in order to prevent the Sui army from launching a simultaneous attack from the south.

In fact, after the soldiers of the Sui army were released, they fled to Guanzhong. It was the grain transport convoy who found that Gaobiling had been captured by the Yan army and was impassable, so they sent someone to report to Xihe County via a small road.

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(End of this chapter)