Volume 2 Clouds Chapter 13: Famous Generals of Later Shu
Qingni Ridge!
As the only way for Qin and Long to enter Shu in ancient times, Qingniling is known as the "barrier of Qin and Long and the throat of Bashu".
This place is what Li Bai meant by the line “The green mud is so winding, winding around the rocks and mountains in nine turns in a hundred steps” in his poem “The Road to Shu is Difficult” .
Li Tinggui of the Shu army sat on the rocks washed by rain with his horse and sword, looking at the mountain road below with a hint of anxiety in his eyes.
Since childhood, Li Tinggui served Meng Zhixiang, the governor of Taiyuan in the Later Tang Dynasty. In the third year of Tongguang, Meng Zhixiang was ordered to lead an army to destroy the Former Shu Dynasty. Li Tinggui followed the army as a member of Meng Zhixiang's Qubu and made many military achievements. In the first year of Yingshun, Meng Zhixiang proclaimed himself emperor and established the Later Shu Dynasty. Li Tinggui was also granted a military post and became the chief guard of the crown prince Meng Chang. He assisted Meng Chang in eliminating Li Renhan, the first general in Shu who was too powerful to be trusted by the emperor.
It was also because of this relationship that Meng Chang trusted Li Tinggui very much. Li Tinggui was one of the very few former generals of the previous dynasty who had not been liquidated, and he was also one of the few capable generals in the current Shu Kingdom.
Although he was defeated by Wang Jing in history, he also gained the advantage in many fights, causing Wang Jing and Xiang Xun to suffer a lot.
His defeat to Wang Jing was not necessarily due to his lack of ability, but rather the gap between the Later Zhou and Later Shu.
At this moment, he and Gao Yanchou hid their troops in the Iron Mountain of Qingni Ridge.
There are only a few roads out of Shu: Chencang Road, Qishan Road, Baoxia Road, and Ziwu Road.
Qingniling is located in the middle and rear section of Chencang Road.
The Zhou army left Dasan Pass and followed the upper reaches of the Jialing River into Fengzhou, taking the Chencang Road.
If Li Tinggui wanted to save Chengzhou and Jiezhou, he should follow the old route of Zhuge Liang's northern expedition to Qishan, and go up the Baishui River from Lueyang to reach Chengzhou and Jiezhou.
Li Tinggui did not appear in Qishan Road, but hid his troops in Chencang Road, which undoubtedly confirmed Luo Youdu's speculation.
From the very beginning, Li Tinggui had no intention of passively defending.
His target was Fengzhou, where the military strength was weak.
As the central general stationed in Chengdu, he was well aware of the internal situation of Shu. Fighting a protracted war would be tantamount to suicide for the current Shu.
A quick victory is the only option.
Suddenly, Li Tinggui stood up from the big rock and saw a group of more than ten people walking up the mountain.
The leader was his good friend Gao Yanchou.
“Brother Gao!”
Li Tinggui walked quickly, but because the mountain path was difficult to walk on and it was raining, he slipped while walking.
"Be careful!" Gao Yanchou exclaimed when he saw this.
Li Tinggui stood firm and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter, this little mountain road can't do anything to me!"
He was not from Shu, but after entering Shu, he knew that mountain warfare was the best way to mobilize troops in Shu, so he specially practiced the methods of climbing and descending mountains.
"How is it?"
Li Tinggui looked at the dozen or so people in ragged clothes behind Gao Yanchou and asked with a serious expression, "Are these the only ones who came back?"
Gao Yanchou pointed at a junior officer and sighed, "Let Changyi speak."
Chang Yi licked his cracked lips and said, "We are a group of thirty people, with three woodcutters, we went from Fenghuang Mountain to bypass Fengzhou and arrived at Huanghua Valley four days ago. We have already found out the movement of Zhou Jun's food and grass. They left Dasan Pass 11 days ago and are now almost past Weiwu City. They will arrive in Fengzhou in about five days."
Li Tinggui said silently: "So, we have no chance to bypass Fengzhou and directly cut off their food supply."
Chang Yi shook his head and said, "It's too difficult. The road is too dangerous. The places we walked on were all small paths walked by wild animals, which are not suitable for the army. We were led by a woodcutter who was familiar with the terrain, and we lost eleven people on the way, including a woodcutter. It was smoother on the way back, but we also lost nine people. The subordinates I selected are all good mountain warriors. If we really want to replace the army, even if we don't count the losses, there will not be enough time. By the time we bypass Fengzhou, the Zhou army's grain team will almost enter Fengzhou."
Li Tinggui no longer hesitated and said, "Then we must attack the enemy and rescue them! We can't wait any longer. If we wait any longer, Wang Jing and Han Lingkun of Chengzhou and Jizhou will find out that we didn't send reinforcements to the two states, and they will definitely see through our intentions. Unlike Luo Youdu, who is a rookie, these two are veterans with rich experience. Once they react and send troops to help Fengzhou, all our efforts will be wasted."
Gao Yanchou nodded and said, "Then I will stop their grain transport troops. After Luo Youdu sends troops to rescue them, Brother Li will block them from the rear in Chencang Road. We are not in a hurry to eat them, but to lure Fengzhou City to send more troops to support them."
"Okay! Let's do it! Wait for another three days. When the Zhou army's grain transport team has penetrated deep into Chencang Road and has nowhere to retreat, we will find an opportunity to send troops. I not only want Fengzhou, but also their grain. Since they have the guts to invade my Great Shu, I will make sure they never return."
Li Tinggui made the final decision.
Li Tinggui's secret sentries had already discovered the situation in Fengzhou.
Luo Youdu of Fengzhou knew nothing about military affairs and handed over the defense of the city to an unknown young general. He took Zhang Jianxiong, Yang Yuan and Zhao Yan, who all had rich combat experience, to Cuihong Tower to drink wine and linger there, reciting a few poems from time to time.
Li Tinggui has seen this kind of situation too many times.
The person he pledged allegiance to was this kind of person, Meng Chang, the Emperor of Shu, who prided himself on his literary talent and spent every day enjoying the mountains and rivers, drinking and reciting poetry with his beautiful wife and concubines.
The first thing he said when he learned that Zhou soldiers were coming was, "Damn the bandits, they ruined my poetic nature."
The military environment was terrible, and Luo Youdu, a scholar who was good at living a life of drunkenness and dreaming, suffered in the wilderness for several months. It was only natural for him to vent after finally arriving in a town.
But Li Tinggui did not take it too seriously. Luo Youdu might not understand military affairs and was a fool. But Zhang Jianxiong and Yang Yuan were both famous generals, especially Zhang Jianxiong.
After the Battle of Gaoping that year, the Khitan came to rescue the Northern Han and met the Zhou army at Xinkou. Zhou army general Shi Yanchao was ambushed and died in battle.
The Khitans pursued the victory, hoping to defeat the Zhou army in one fell swoop.
At this critical moment, Zhang Jianxiong personally covered the rear and led a hundred cavalrymen to attack, directly killing through the Khitan's thousand-cavalry formation, curbing the Khitan's momentum and allowing the Zhou army to retreat safely.
His reputation for bravery was well known to Li Tinggui, who was far away in Shu.
With Zhang Jianxiong and Yang Yuan around, Fengzhou would be difficult to capture even with Luo Youdu holding them back.
In a siege, the defender has too great an advantage.
So it is true that Li Tinggui set his target on Fengzhou, but he did not plan to launch a surprise attack on Fengzhou directly. Instead, he targeted the grain transport team heading to Fengzhou.
If we can bypass Fengzhou City and directly cut off the Zhou army's food supply, everything will be fine and victory will be assured.
It’s a pity that the Shu Road goes all the way to the end, crossing the mountains and bypassing Fengzhou City, which is not practical.
The only option was to attack Zhou’s army’s food supply route head-on.
If Luo Youdu was timid, he would not dare to leave the city.
They happily accepted the army's food.
Once the Zhou army ran out of food at the front line, they had no choice but to withdraw.
If it is to support the grain team, we will surround the point and attack the reinforcements.
They eat as many as they can, and they have the advantage in terms of military strength.
Not afraid of field battles.
After consuming the military forces in Fengzhou City, it will be much easier to attack the city.
