Shanhaiguan was called Yuguan in ancient times, the whole city is connected with the Great Wall, the city of the square is the pass, the city is 14 meters high and seven meters thick, there are four city gates, the observation deck at the highest place stands on the Great Wall, the majestic view of the four fields, looking down on the whole picture of the Shanhaiguan City and the wilderness outside the Guan, the majestic posture of the Great Wall of the North Wangjiao Mountain, looking at the vast sea in the south, like a dragon lying on the edge of the Bohai Sea.

In the fourteenth year of Hongwu, Xu Da, the Duke of Wei, was ordered to repair Yongping, Jieling and other passes, because the north leans on Yanshan, and the south connects the Bohai Sea, so it is named Shanhaiguan.

In the dense forest under the Horn Mountain, Xu Hao once again looked at the map in his hand, and vaguely remembered that the first pass in the world in later generations had built four other urn cities that were easy to defend and difficult to attack, making Xiongguan impregnable.

Shanhaiguan is full of places of interest and magnificent scenery, but now there is nothing surprising except for the unremarkable square city and the rolling Great Wall in the dark night.

There are poems: the mountain temple is majestic and too clear, and it is rainy below and sunny above. Looking down at the dragon bucket in front of the steps, the sun and moon are hanging high outside the threshold.

This is the poem that Xu Hao remembered when he traveled to Shanhaiguan, there is a simple and elegant Qixian Temple on Jiaoshan Mountain, there are many historical celebrities who have lived in it, there is a very spectacular Kuixing Pavilion on the cliff in the temple, the northern scholars like to come here to stay for a period of time, and have left a lot of ink treasures, so it is known as the cradle of Shanhaiguan culture, among which Ruilian holds the sun, the mountain temple is rainy, the sea of clouds in Jiaoshan, and the Buddha light of Qixian is called Jiaoshan Four Wonders.

"No matter how majestic and magnificent the pass is, it is in vain if you can't stop the enemy."

Xu Hao sighed with emotion, nodded lightly at Mu Yi, who was ready to go, and in an instant, twenty agile sergeants climbed up along the rope, and the captain with the best martial arts had already stepped up and stunned the defenders. Soon after they quietly occupied the city walls. Lay down the soft ladder of character.

Due to the heavy rain in Hebei, the 200,000 army of King Yan and the 600,000 army of the imperial court fought fiercely in Hebei, Xu Hao analyzed that Yang Wen would inevitably withdraw to the hinterland of Liaodong with confidence, and now it is April, and it is the time of spring ploughing, and it is impossible for more than 100,000 troops to continue to be stationed in Shanhaiguan.

Yang Wen had to go back to sit in the town if he didn't have a firm foothold in Liaodong, and Xu Hao led 5,000 people to come day and night, and Lulong County, Funing County, and Changli County outside Shanhaiguan were already empty, and Geng Xuan had already moved the people to outside the Guan, and Yongpingwei and Shanhaiwei stationed in the local area existed in name only. There are more than 1,000 people guarding the Liaodong Army.

Xu Hao's goal was to capture the Shanhaiguan, and he obtained the key secret from the builder Xu Da, in order to prevent the pass from being seized by the enemy, there was a relatively low section of the city wall in Jiaoshan with a climbing depression, so that the tunnels on the Guò Great Wall could be secretly infiltrated into the Shanhaiguan.

Few people knew about this secret, in order to prevent the plan from leaking, Xu Hao publicized to the outside world that he wanted to seize Zhigu to build a sailor, and if he could hold the Shanhaiguan Pass, the Liaodong Army would have to enter the customs by boat in addition to crossing the mountains and mountains.

Mu Yi, who went up to the Great Wall in the first wave, took the thirty elites and touched it up. After unexpectedly eliminating the patrolling soldiers, he captured the twenty guards in the battlement, who were sleeping soundly.

Mu Hui led a hundred people to sneak south, all wearing black night clothes, and also quickly eliminated the guards. Found the secret door.

Xu Hao, who received the signal, said in a low voice: "Go, remember not to kill people indiscriminately, especially not to kill people, violators will be punished!" ”

Two hundred sergeants began to climb upwards. Ropes are used to lift up a wooden ladder up to 100 meters long. Half an hour later, Mu Hui, who had sneaked into the city, hooked the rope and set up the ladder at the head of the city in the middle of the tugging. A large number of Yan soldiers below immediately bit their swords and struggled to climb up.

According to the pre-plan, Mu Hui led people directly to the east gate, and Li Qiu led a thousand cavalry to gallop outside the city.

"King Yan is under the city, and you will be captured before you can tie your hands."

In the dark night, the five hundred Yan legions surrounded the city gate, and the unknown captain hurriedly looked out, and saw the smoke and dust billowing under the starlight, and countless flags shaking in the night wind, and his soul was scattered.

"I'll wait for my wishes."

Hundreds of defenders had no choice but to throw away their weapons, and Mu Hui ordered: "Open the city gate and welcome the army." ”

Twelve strong men pushed the wooden stakes hard, the drawbridge creaked down, and the three thousand Yan troops outside the city cheered and poured in across the five-zhang wide moat.

Xu Hao stood at the head of the city and said with a smile: "Go and sue Wang Zhou, limit him to a stick of incense to surrender, otherwise he will not stay at the Shanhai Pass." ”

Wang Zhou, the commander of the guard's mansion who was sleeping with his concubine in his arms, was woken up by his subordinates, frowned and asked, "What's the matter?" ”

"It's not good, sir." The housekeeper looked panicked, "King Yan's army has occupied the east city gate, and more than 100,000 people are coming to the city, the prince salutes first and then soldiers, if you don't surrender, you will order the whole city to be slaughtered." ”

Wang Zhou shivered excitedly, pushed away the sleepy-eyed concubine, hurriedly put on his clothes and said angrily: "That's a fart!" Send someone to call all the generals over, and ask the soldiers to tie them all up, and go with me to see Chitose. ”

When the sky was just dawning, Wang Zhou led people to escort dozens of generals with different expressions to walk quickly, and said with a smile on his face: "Where is Chitose, the next official asks to see me." ”

Xu Hao strode over and said with a straight face: "Chitose is in the military tent outside the city, and he ordered me to take over the city defense first." ”

Wang Zhou looked at the young young general in front of him in a daze, and asked, "Who are you?" ”

Xu Hao said: "Jinling Xu Hao! ”

"Oh, it's General Xu, I'm glad I will." Wang Zhou hurriedly nodded and bowed, didn't he know that Xu Hao, one of King Yan's right-hand men, was the left-behind general of Beiping?

Xu Hao showed a smile and said softly: "How many local soldiers are there in Shanhaiguan?" How many Liaodong soldiers are there? ”

Wang Zhou said without thinking: "There are a total of 8,600 local soldiers, 30,000 people, and 5,000 Liaodong soldiers left by General Yang, these two are deputy generals Kang Yong and Huo Chi'er. ”

Xu Hao looked over and saw Kang Yong, who was tied up by five flowers, in his forties, and sneered and scolded: "Rebellion." ”

Huo Chi'er, a thin Mongolian, shouted: "I have been a personal guard of the Yan Palace, quickly release me." ”

Xu Hao immediately smiled and said, "Untie the two of them." ”

At that moment, a sergeant stepped forward and cut the rope with a knife, Xu Hao said to Kang Yong, who was swinging his shoulders: "You can take people away, go back and tell General Yang that King Yan is lenient and doesn't care about the past, I hope he can do it himself." Remember that you are guarding the military and civilians of Liaodong, and you are defending against the alien races in the northwest, so you must be involved in the affairs of the pass. ”

Kang Yong sneered: "I'm waiting for the matter of the Eater's Lu Loyalty." Please don't be delusional! Do you want me to walk with my brothers on my feet without weapons? ”

Xu Hao didn't care, and said: "How did you come here, how to go back, the grain, grass and baggage are all taken away." ”

Kang Yong's expression softened, and he clenched his fists and said, "Thank you, if you are captured by me in the future, Ben will also let you go." ”

Huo Chi'er said: "According to the rules of the Mongols, I and the eight hundred tribesmen are your servants, so I will not leave. ”

Xu Hao laughed, turned his head and ordered Mu Hui to lead thousands of people to send the letter to Kang Yong, who was suspicious, to gather his 4,000 people and return to Liaodong safely from the West City Gate. The Liaodong sergeant couldn't help whispering, and they all expressed their admiration for King Yan who did what he said, and Kang Yong was helpless about it.

Xu Hao seized the opportunity to investigate the guards, and in the past two years, he was escorted to Beiping by the people sent by the imperial court, and the generals of local origin continued to be retained, and the vacated positions were placed in henchmen, and the situation was initially controlled at night, and then Wang Zhou was suddenly deceived.

The mobilization of the people to return to their homes did not show any twists and turns. The people who had long wanted to go home and cultivate their fields immediately burst into joy when they heard the news, and more than 8,000 officers and soldiers also smiled. Originally, Shanhaiguan has always been subordinate to Beiping Mansion, and the geographical location is important, and it is impossible for Zhu Di not to pay attention to it, because most of the soldiers are old subordinates of King Yan for many years. If Geng Xuan hadn't taken control of the army first, he would have returned home like the Yongping army and civilians.

Historically, Shanhaiguan has been controlled by peace for a long time, and the generals loyal to King Yan have been purged several times, plus a Xiongguan that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. As long as there are a few thousand garrisons, it can resist a long-term siege of more than 100,000 troops, just like Juyong Pass.

During the Battle of Jingjing, Zhu Di did not attach importance to the barren Liaodong, and it was enough to have the important town of Yongping. In addition, even if Shanhaiguan is captured, there is a sea route that can connect the two places.

Wang Zhou was timid and cowardly, so he was naturally driven to Beiping by Xu Hao, waiting to send a new guard.

At the same time that Xu Hao effortlessly took Shanhaiguan, a bloody battle in Baihegou fell, the Yan army suffered tens of thousands of elite casualties, and under the command of Zhang Yu, Zhu Yong and other generals, the infantry rushed out of the fleeing cavalry and slowly withdrew from the battlefield.

The charging Zhu Di's personal guards were killed and wounded, and only escaped with three people, lost his way at night, and then hurriedly crossed the river along the way, gathering the scattered cavalry along the way to catch up with the army.

Zhu Di, who lost for the first time, was not discouraged, he took off his armor tiredly, and walked out of the tent with his hands behind his back, and the bonfires under countless stoves flashed with faint firelight.

Looking up at the starry night sky and smelling the aroma of food, the people within a radius of 100 miles on both sides of the Baigou River have fled, the houses have been demolished to make fires, and the whole army is orderly eating horses in the neighing of horses.

Although he lost more than 20,000 cavalry, Zhu Di still had nearly 100,000 cavalry in his hands, and it can be said that in addition to the Liaodong Army, almost all the northern soldiers who had followed him over the years in the Northern Expedition served him, and they faced 600,000 southern troops who had not been in battle for a long time.

Even if the odds of victory or defeat on the battlefield are uncertain, Zhu Di believes that the soldiers who can fight well will usher in a brilliant victory for him again tomorrow.

Due to the loss of most of the guards, Zhu Di appointed 300 Mongolian knights who had just surrendered as the guards. At the same time, Xu Hao's guards at night were also Huo Chi'er and other 800 Mongolian men.

In the room, Mu Hui couldn't help but say: "It's too dangerous to let Tartar be a personal guard, it's better to kill them all." ”

Xu Hao said: "Don't be merciful when you should kill, and use it when you shouldn't kill, you can rest assured that the Mongols keep their promises, in fact, where are they still Tartars on the grassland?" It has long belonged to the half-Han and half-Mongolian, given the Han surname as an official, and it has been an authentic Han people for several generations, and now they are ordered to use knives to kill their fellow clans without the slightest hesitation, believe it or not? If you don't believe it, you'll see when you wait for the war with the Tartars. ”

Mu Hui smiled and said: "Among our old brothers of Jinyiwei, there are Mongolians who return to the human color, don't I know this truth?" It was feared that if the 800 Mongols rebelled, it would definitely be a catastrophe. ”

Xu Hao nodded and said, "That's right, leave a hundred people to serve as my personal guards, and the rest go to the military camp outside the city, you call Huo Chi'er in." ”

Then Huo Chi'er strode over and arched his hand: "What do you send?" ”

Xu Hao pointed to the wine and food in front of him and said with a smile: "I want to talk to you about the customs of Liaodongfeng, come, sit down and chat while eating." (To be continued......)