When the Northern Zhou Dynasty attacked the Chen Dynasty, a cable ladder was built in a narrow part of the Yangtze River in Qiting Town. It was twisted with thick ropes and laid with reed wooden boards on it to form a simple crossing cable bridge. After the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, this rope bridge was replaced with an iron cable bridge, becoming an important channel connecting the north and south of the Yangtze River.

The Northern Zhou army also built a military fort on the south bank of the Suoqiao Bridge, called Dingshu Fort. It had troops stationed until the Sui Dynasty. After the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the military fort gradually became deserted.

However, after the Tang army occupied Jingxiang, the Yiling Road connecting Jingxiang and Bashu became the focus of the Tang army's defense. Not only did they station 3,000 troops in Yichang County, but also 300 troops in Dingshu Fort to protect this iron chain bridge connecting the two banks of the Yangtze River.

As night fell, a 5,000-man Tang army was driving from the north, bypassing Qiting Town, and directly stepped onto the Iron Lock Bridge and heading towards the south bank of Chang'an. The Tang soldiers of Anshu Fort had no doubts. They received a document from Xingtai in Jingzhou in advance. General Wang Yi was appointed as General Yiling and led 5,000 troops to garrison Yiling and Yichang counties.

Anshu Fort was undoubtedly under General Wang's command. The three hundred Tang troops of Anshu Fort lined up under the military fort under the leadership of the captain, waiting for General Wang to come for inspection.

The Tang army's red and white battle flags fluttered in the river breeze. Five thousand Tang army's stairs were neatly arranged and stepped onto the south bank. A general in the team rode on a tall horse with silver helmet and iron armor.

The captain of Anshubao hurried forward and knelt down in front of the chief general of the Tang army on one knee, "Li Jin, the captain of Anshubao, met General Wang."

‘General Wang?’

Wang Junguo sneered. He was indeed surnamed Wang, but this king was not the other king. He pointed at the captain with a whip and said, "Take it down for me!"

...........

Yichang County in the Sui Dynasty was not Yichang in later generations. It had to go west dozens of miles further west, located at the entrance of today's Xiling Gorge. The county town was built behind Huangniu Mountain.

This area has many water and reefs, with dangerous shoals, steep mountains on both sides, and steep roads. There were originally passages on the north bank of the canyon, but a few years ago, the rocks collapsed and thousands of huge rocks destroyed a section of the plank road built on the cliffs, which required huge manpower and time to repair and clear.

In the chaotic times at the end of the Sui Dynasty, local governments were unable to repair the plank roads. So in recent years, they could only enter Shu from the southern mountain road. Yichang County, which was built in a dangerous place, became a must-fight place for military strategists.

Yichang County is not big, it can only be considered a small county in the Central Plains, with a circumference of only ten miles. The city wall is made of huge stones. It is old and the city wall is covered with moss and vines. It has merged with the surrounding canyons and mountains.

The county town has a small population, only more than a thousand households. Because the county town is a little small, it cannot accommodate too many troops. Currently, there are only 3,000 troops garrisons, but only these 3,000 people. With the danger of the county town, it is enough to withstand the attack of tens of thousands of people.

The reason why Yang Yuanqing sent 10,000 cavalrymen to attack Yichang County was actually a deeper meaning, that is, the soldiers were directed at Bashu.

It was getting deeper and deeper, and it was already three o'clock. Dozens of torches were inserted on the head of the east city of Yichang County, illuminating the head of the city as daylight. There were hundreds of stone steps below the city gate, which slowly narrowed downwards. In the distance, there was a mountain road excavated on the cliffs, extending all the way to the distance.

On the top of the city, more than a hundred soldiers were walking back and forth on the city. The city had not been attacked by the enemy for decades. The long-term safety developed a careless style among the people of Yichang County.

However, Li Xiaogong's strict orders made the defenders more alert, and they did not dare to leave only one or two soldiers to watch the night as before. The number of soldiers patrolling at night increased to one hundred.

Suddenly, several soldiers looked at the plank road drowned in the depths of the darkness, and they seemed to hear some movement.

After a moment, a clattering sound came from the depths of the darkness. More than a hundred defenders suddenly became nervous, and they set off their bows and arrows to point at the plank road in the distance.

"It's the sound of horse hooves!" A soldier heard the origin of the clattering sound.

I saw a Tang army soldier walking out of the darkness with his war horse and walking up the stone steps towards the city gate above.

"Stop!" Hundreds of bows and arrows pointed at him.

A stern shout in the middle of the night frightened the Tang army soldiers. He stopped and looked for a while before shouting: "I was ordered to deliver the letter!"

With a pure Yiling accent, the soldiers in the city relaxed a little nervously. A lieutenant on duty poked his head out of the city and asked, "Where did you come from?"

The soldiers under the city bowed and said, "Come on the order of General Wang to deliver the letter. Can General Ma be there?"

The defenders on the city knew that Wang Yi had been appointed as General Yiling. A few days ago, Jingzhou Xingtai had sent a pass to him. The captain nodded and ordered his left and right, "Det the cage cart!"

This chapter Madman Hand-kill)

The garrison of Yichang was named Ma Ling. He was originally one of the small bandit leaders in Guanzhong. After Li Yuan occupied Guanzhong, the bandits in Guanzhong collectively surrendered to the Tang army and each was granted the title of official position. Ma Ling was named a partial general and was ordered to station in Yichang County two years ago.

Two months ago, Ma Jianang married the daughter of a small local family as his concubine, and the mansion was arranged not far from the East City Gate.

It was the third update, and Ma Ling's concubine was sleeping soundly. A slight knock on the door woke him up. Ma Ling was sleepy and asked in great displeasure: "What's the matter?"

"General, General Wang has sent a messenger."

"Which general is the king?"

"It's the new Yiling General Wang Yi."

"General Yiling, a bitch!"

Ma Ling cursed in a low voice, helpless, he had to get up, but the concubine next to him grabbed him, "General, don't you sleep for a while?"

Although Ma Ling was angry, he had to get up. After all, Wang Yi was his boss, and Li Xiaogong was extremely strict in the army. If he was superior to him, Li Xiaogong would know that he would have to kill him. Ma Ling sighed and said, "A general Yiling has come, and he has to go and meet him."

He put on his clothes, walked to the outside room and opened the door and asked, "Where is the messenger?"

Several personal soldiers brought the messenger up, and the messenger knelt down on one knee and saluted, "See General Ma!"

Seeing that he was about forty years old, Ma Ling asked, "Where are you from? Do you hold any position?"

This messenger was naturally the veteran. He had been in the army for nearly twenty years and had become a soldier. After training for a little while, he looked decent, "In Wuping, a native of Yiling County, he is now a captain under General Wang and sends letters to General Ma at the order of General Wang."

After saying that, he took out a letter from his arms and presented it to Ma Ling. The letter was true. It was a letter intercepted by the scout of the Sui army in the early morning. It was a handwritten letter written by Wang Yi to Ma Ling, the governor of Yichang. The letter meant that his army would station in Yiling County and asked Ma Ling to see him in Yiling County, or he would come to Yichang County to inspect. His tone was very polite and full of hypocrisy.

Ma Ling roughly understood a few words. After roughly understanding the meaning of the letter, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Wang Yi would have stationed in Yiling County. He asked again: "Where is General Wang now?"

"Report to the general, General Wang has now entered Yiling County, and he is a little sick. He can't come to Yichang County for inspection. He specially sent Deputy General Zhou to inspect. He is already on the way and will arrive in Yichang County soon."

Ma Ling didn't know any Deputy General Zhou, but Li Xiaogong had hundreds of soldiers under him. He didn't know too many people, so he didn't take it seriously, but it made him unhappy when he came to inspect in the middle of the night. He frowned, "What are you doing in such a hurry?"

The messenger smiled bitterly, "The King of Jing has set a report time. We have been delayed a little time on the road. If we don't report, it will be too late. General Ma also knows the temper of His Highness King of Jing, so we cannot be vague."

This is true. Li Xiaogong has always been strict in military orders and said the same thing. Ma Ling understood Wang Yi's difficulties and nodded, "Let's wait at the top of the city."

.........

When the time was almost four o'clock, a rapid sound of footsteps came from the plank road in the distance, and there were clusters of figures in the dark. It was an army that was coming. Ma Ling was waiting impatiently on the top of the city. The sound of footsteps from afar immediately made him excited and shouted: "Light the torch again!"

Dozens of torches were lit on the top of the city, illuminating the fire further. Soon, a Tang army with more than a thousand people appeared. It was the general who was burly, with thick eyebrows and deep eyes, and a dignified appearance. It was Wang Jungu's deputy general Zhou Wencong.

Zhou Wencong was originally a captain of the Youzhou Army. In the ninth year of Daye, he followed Yang Yuanqing to Fengzhou. He has now accumulated merits and was promoted to the secondary general and was granted the title of Marquis of Yongping County. Because Wang Junkuo was very famous when he was a bandit in Taihang Mountains and was worried that Ma Ling would know him, Zhou Wencong came forward and pretended to be a deputy general.

A Tang soldier on the stone steps had been waiting for a long time. He rushed forward and asked, "May I ask, is Deputy General Zhou?"

“That’s right!”

Zhou Wencong coldly agreed and took out the command arrow and handed it to the soldiers. The soldiers came forward to ask for the command arrow. This was not Ma Ling was cautious, but the military rules set by Li Xiaogong. Only by combining the orders can you enter the city. The certificate was an official document, which was issued by the Ministry of War of Xingtai and was stamped with a seal from the general manager of Xingtai. Generally, they would notify the place where they were appointed in advance.

The xingtai letter from General Wang Yi as General Yiling spread to various counties and military forts in Yiling County two days ago, so at this time, the command arrows were required to be checked. The command arrows were issued by Li Xiaogong, and were made of silver command arrows, and there were patterns everywhere.

The soldier passed the command arrow to the top of the city through the cage cart. The soldiers on the city took out the command arrow and handed it to Ma Ling. Ma Ling took the command arrow expressionlessly and looked carefully. There was no problem with the command arrow. There was a number engraved below, which was the command arrow No. 14, which was consistent with the document.

Ma Ling looked at Zhou Wencong again. He didn't know this Deputy General Zhou, but he looked like a northerner. At this time, the veteran messenger next to him was so nervous that he was about to jump out. He was afraid that Ma Ling would see the flaw, but Ma Ling waved his hand and said, "Open the city gate!"

The city gate opened rumblingly, Ma Ling welcomed out of the city, smiled and fisted, saying, "I have let Deputy General Zhou wait for a long time. There is no way. The military rules are strict and I dare not be careless at all. Please don't blame General Zhou!"

Zhou Wencong sneered and announced loudly: "Ma Ling, the governor of Yichang, embezzled military rations, and the amount is huge. He is specially ordered by His Highness Jing to investigate and take it down for me!"

Two soldiers rushed up and cut Ma Ling's arm back and bent over. Ma Ling was furious and shouted, "No evidence, when will I embezzle military rations?"

Zhou Wencong snorted, "Go and explain to Your Highness Jing!"

He waved his hand and said, "Go into the city!"

A thousand soldiers under him rushed into the city. Hundreds of Tang soldiers on the city were stunned. They didn't know what to do, and watched the army enter the city.

Ma Ling was still shocked and angry. He was a little unclean, but whoever garrisoned in various places had no problem? Why did he just arrest him? At this time, he suddenly realized something was wrong. These soldiers were tall and burly, and they were not as tall as Bashu and Jingxiang people.

He was puzzled and looked up at Zhou Wencong, but saw Zhou Wencong looking at him with a smile. At this moment, Ma Ling suddenly realized that he was fooled. This was the Sui army. He pointed at Zhou Wencong and shouted: "You..."

But he had no chance. A ball of rag was stuffed into his mouth. He whimpered and couldn't scream, his eyes were red. Zhou Wencong sneered and whipped him with a whip, scolding: "Bastard, dare to argue, take me for strict trial!"

Zhou Wencong shouted to the city wall again: "All officers above the lieutenant will call me and interrogate them one by one!"
Chapter completed!