Chapter 473
After Xie Xuanchen severely defeated Ye Luji at the Meng Mountains, the man in question escaped with 20,000 of his men. Xie Xuanchen did not rush to pursue him. Instead, he returned to Enzhou City to replenish food, grass, soldiers and horses while allowing the army to rest for two days before taking Mu Mingtang with him. After stopping for 2 days, naturally, they werent as fast as Ye Lujis troops, but when he arrived at Zhending Mansion, he still caught up easily.
After the Sixteen Prefectures were cut off, the Ye Dynasty could rely on three major military towns in the north to defend against their foreign enemies. Among them, Taiyuan was in the west of the Taixing Mountains whereas the other two flanked at its sides, firmly blocking Ye Lujis northward escape.
Therefore, Xie Xuanchen was not in a hurry at all. The two cities of Zhongshan and Hejian had already been suppressed for a bit. Nevertheless, after receiving Xie Xuanchens letter, they learned that Ye Luji only had 20,000 troops left, so they all came out to be a part of the battle glory. Hence, Ye Luji was stopped by the garrison of Zhongshan City.
Ye Luyan kept besieging Taiyuan, which only managed to survive for two months with only about 3,000 men. Later, Ye Luyan received the news of Ye Lujis defeat, so they abandoned Taiyuan, which was about to be lost, and headed straight for the capital.
Ye Luyan only led 60,000 people, while the emperor had 100,000 imperial troops and 100,000 of King Qins troops. Feeling that he was sure of victory, he boldly sent the men to fight. As a result, this battle resulted in a disastrous defeat because two civilian officials were trying to snatch the war credit, so they changed their orders at every given moment, leading to a failure in command.
20,000 people were captured while the rest fled as fast as they could. Ye Luyan shot and killed 5,000 prisoners of war in front of the city gates of the capital. At that time, bloodshed flowed like a river. The blood of the captured soldiers flowed into the city gates and soaked the floor tiles of the main street in a shade of red.
Various teams of King Qin tried to rescue the situation at the capital, but they were all defeated at the hands of Ye Luyan. Ye Luyan surrounded the capital, forcing the Emperor to surrender to Beirong. At the same time, he also asked the Emperor to relieve Xie Xuanchen of his military power and immediately release King Dongdan from seclusion.