In the twelfth year of Yuanhe, on October 15, 817 AD, Li Yu issued an order, ordering Li You and Li Zhongyi to lead 3,000 people as the vanguard, himself and the eunuchs of the prison army to lead 3,000 people as the middle army, and Li Jincheng to lead 3,000 people to the palace, and the whole army marched eastward.
Although everyone's hearts were full of doubts, no one dared to ask about the destination. They knew that they just had to follow the big army and move forward.
Departing from Caizhou, walking sixty miles, as night fell, Li Yu's army arrived at Zhangchai Village. The defenders of the rebel general Wu Yuanji were stationed here, but they did not expect that a crushing defeat awaited them.
Under the command of Li Yu, the imperial army poured up like a tide and quickly solved the Huaixi defenders. After the occupation of the camp, everyone rejoiced, and at this time it was late at night, and the wind was biting outside, and they could finally find a place to rest.
In one mural, the Tang Dynasty army is assembled on standby. However, the order was swift: 500 men remained behind to resist Huaixi reinforcements from Langshan. Ding Shiliang led 500 men to attack at night, destroying the bridge that was the only way to go to Caizhou.
The remaining soldiers immediately rearmed themselves and moved on. Hearing the order, there was a lot of noise in the army, and the generals ran to Li Yu to inquire about the destination. Li Yu replied firmly: "We are going to Caizhou and take Wu Yuanji's dog head!" ”
Li You's strategy alarmed the barracks and sparked a heated discussion. However, the eunuchs of the overseer army were distrustful of the generals, making them reluctant to accept his plan. Although they did not dare to disobey the orders of the commander, they still braved the snow in the cold night.
They were attacked by the cold wind, and some of the soldiers even fell, but their march could not be slowed down, because it was Li Yu's steel knife that was waiting for them in front of them.
After a difficult 70-mile march and an attack on the rebels, Li Yu finally had a vague view of Caizhou City. This was the first time in more than thirty years that the imperial army had come so close to Caizhou City.
Outside Caizhou, there was a pond full of geese and ducks, and Li Yu immediately ordered someone to drive them away. The loud chirping of birds managed to drown out the marching sound of the army.
At three or four o'clock in the morning of October 16, thousands of soldiers led by Li Yu arrived at the city of Caizhou, and at this time, the city of Caizhou was quiet, and no one knew that the imperial army had arrived in the city.
Li Yu, Li You and Li Zhongyi were originally Wu Yuanji's old subordinates, and they knew Wu Yuanji's city defense well. They took the lead and climbed the city wall without any problems.
Most of the soldiers in the city were old, weak, sick and disabled, and their thoughts were paralyzed, and their combat effectiveness was very limited, so they were easily defeated in battle, and finally all of them were controlled. As the sky gradually brightened, the outer and inner cities of Caizhou had all been breached, and Li Yu's army had approached the Yacheng of Wu Yuanji's mansion.
On a cold and snowy night, Wu Yuanji was still sleeping in bed when he suddenly heard a report from his subordinates that the official army had arrived under Yacheng. He rubbed his eyes and asked suspiciously, "This can't be nonsense, right, the officers and soldiers who came?" ”
Then, news came that the officers and troops had really entered the city. Wu Yuanji was surprised, and he thought that the Huanqu garrison might have come to ask him for winter clothes, so he wrote to him.
However, after listening to the report twice, he did not dare to take it lightly anymore and immediately put on his clothes and walked into the courtyard.
Faced with the noisy sound of the siege, Wu Yuanji panicked, and there seemed to be a crowd of 10,000 people. He originally thought that the imperial army was already in the city, and even close at hand. However, he did not completely despair, after all, there were still 10,000 elite soldiers stationed in Huiqu, which was equal to the strength of the imperial court entering the city.
Closer, they are very close to Caizhou, and if they can contact the commander of the garrison, Dong Chongzhen, in time, there should still be a chance. However, Wu Yuanji didn't know that what he was thinking had long been considered by Li Yu.
Dong Chongzhi had already received a letter from his son, telling him that Li Yu had led a large army to attack Caizhou, and also went to Dong Chongzhen's house to visit, leaving a rich gift.
When the soldiers came to the city, Dong Chongzhi understood that the imperial court attacked Caizhou, and Wu Yuanji was at a critical juncture of life and death. If he continues to fight against the imperial court, not only may he bring destruction to Wu Yuanji, but his own family will also be implicated.
For the sake of Wu Yuanji, is it worth it? Therefore, Dong Chongzhen, who Wu Yuanji was looking forward to, entered the city and did not bring reinforcements, only himself. He found Li Yu, fell to his knees, and returned to the arms of the imperial court.
Wu Yuanji still resisted, but Li Yu no longer persuaded him to surrender and ordered an attack. Although Yacheng was strong, Wu Yuanji was weak in his heart as a thief, and the army quickly entered his armory. In order to reduce **, Li Yu ordered the south gate to be set on fire.
The people of Caizhou also came to their senses and came to assist in preparing firewood for the officers and soldiers. Eventually, Wu Yuanji realized that there was no point in resisting and formally surrendered to Li Yu.
Caizhou has been disobedient to the orders of the imperial court since Wu Shaocheng, and now, the return of Wang Shi is an exciting time. After three years of hard fighting, the finances were exhausted, the people were displaced, and countless soldiers were killed, but the battle of Huaixi finally ended.
Li Yu is worthy of being a famous general!