Chapter 1189 - 867: Eight Passes
Upon hearing Shang Ruyi’s words, Yu Wenye said nothing more, but his eyes slowly squinted, revealing a hint of a smile.
Shang Ruyi knew then that she had guessed right.
She then said, "Speak quickly!"
Yu Wenye chuckled before saying, "He’s not targeting Shen Tu Tai, so Shen Tu Tai hasn’t provoked him either, but we’ve sent someone to investigate. Xiao Yuansui is leading an army of fifty thousand eastward, lingering near Hejian County."
"Hejian County?"
Shang Ruyi frowned, silently calculating in her heart before saying, "Neither he nor Liang Shide ever extended their influence to Hejian County before. Now, he’s leading fifty thousand troops there. Is he attempting to take that area?"
Yu Wenye nodded, "It seems so."
Shang Ruyi immediately wanted to say more, but after considering for a moment, she paused, only to stare at him and ask, "What else?"
"What else?"
"Stop pretending, I just saw Shen Tu Tai’s letter — it was lengthy. How could it only describe this one matter? Besides, occupying Song and Xu States isn’t as simple as holding those two places, right?"
Upon hearing her question, the smile in Yu Wenye’s eyes deepened.
He no longer hid anything, leisurely saying, "Besides tracking Xiao Yuansui’s whereabouts, he’s been spending effort these days to gather intelligence on Liang Shide’s troop placements and arrangements around Luoyang."
"Oh?"
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi was somewhat surprised. To know, Jiang Chong’en once lured Yu Wenquan to Longmen Crossing, nearly succeeding because he handed over half of Luoyang’s city defense map, falsely claiming he still had the remaining half. Later, when his plot was uncovered, he was captured and thrown into the Ministry of Justice in Chang An, dying after being tortured to extract more accurate information.
Yet, they also guessed that given Liang Shide’s shrewdness, he might use Jiang Chong’en to set up this trap but wouldn’t truly let that fool grasp such crucial matters. Should it leak, Luoyang would be in danger.
And now, Shen Tu Tai was taking the initiative on this matter.
By comparing information from both sides, distinguishing truth from falsehood became easier.
Shang Ruyi hurriedly asked, "Has he found out anything?"
Yu Wenye nodded, suddenly looking down at the bundle in Shang Ruyi’s arms. It turned out that Little Yuanzi, whom they had just picked up, was tired and had fallen asleep in the swaddle. He smiled, reaching to take the chubby son from his wife’s arms.
Shang Ruyi whispered, "What are you doing?"
"It’s nothing. This kid sleeps through thunderstorms."
Sure enough, when he was carried over, Little Yuanzi stirred slightly but did not wake. He smacked his lips and continued sleeping. Yu Wenye smiled, wrapping the swaddle gently, waited until the child was fully settled, then softly tapped his nose: "For example, here is Luoyang."
Shang Ruyi was alarmed, repeatedly saying, "Be gentle!"
Yu Wenye ignored her, sliding his finger from the child’s chubby chin toward the left cheek, consecutively saying, "This is Dagu Pass, with twenty thousand garrisoned troops; this is Huanxuan Pass, also with twenty thousand; this is..."
Finally, he moved to the left ear: "This is Hulao Pass, with fifty thousand troops."
Hulao Pass is the very pass Yu Wenye mentioned earlier, stating that if Yu Wencheng could conquer this place, he would view him with newfound respect.
Shang Ruyi’s gaze rested heavily on her son’s chubby earlobe, then glanced at the places Yu Wenye had just gestured on his face: Yique Pass, Huanxuan Pass, Dagu Pass—these were historically significant Eight Passes. It was evident that Liang Shide was highly strategic, deploying varying numbers of troops according to the importance of these crucial passes, encircling Luoyang City like an iron barrel.
This battle would indeed be difficult to fight.
Yet—
She calculated quickly in her mind, suddenly looking up at Yu Wenye, "How many troops does Luoyang have?"
Just now, estimating from what Yu Wenye shared, Liang Shide deployed nearly two hundred thousand troops across the Eight Passes surrounding Luoyang and other locations such as the Huilu Storehouse—which is closer to Luoyang City and smaller than Xingluo Granary.
When Liang Shide captured the Eastern Capital, he commanded over a hundred thousand troops. Over the years, Xiao Yuansui brought Wanggang Village forces to join, subsequently reclaiming several rebel armies near Luoyang. Recently, Wang Shaoqiu’s remaining forces also submitted, greatly strengthening his power, yet his forces couldn’t possibly exceed three hundred thousand.
With almost twenty thousand deployed elsewhere and Xiao Yuansui taking five thousand, wouldn’t that leave Luoyang—
Yu Wenye said, "I estimate Luoyang City’s defenders won’t exceed thirty thousand!"
Shang Ruyi took a deep breath.
The entirety of Luoyang City’s defense not exceeding thirty thousand meant Liang Shide placed heavy troops on the outskirts, first to create a solid defensive line, keeping any force attempting to storm Luoyang controlled outside the Eight Passes; second, even if someone broke through one of the passes near Luoyang City, the city’s defenses were solid, not easily breached in a short time. As long as he immediately issued orders, mobilizing other pass defenders back to defend Luoyang, those attacking would become trapped quarry.
In this way, anyone contemplating attacking Luoyang must assess their military capability against the enemy’s strength.
This was nearly an infallible plan.
Shang Ruyi said, "Liang Shide is indeed a master."
Yu Wenye also gazed at their son’s peaceful sleeping face, calmly saying, "If he weren’t a master, he wouldn’t be worthy of facing us in such a standoff now."
Shang Ruyi looked at him, "Then what is your plan?"
Since Yu Wenye was certain that Yu Wencheng couldn’t even breach Hulao Pass and was determined to personally lead the troops in the future, he must have his plans and military strategies.
Shang Ruyi asked, "If King Qi can’t break through Hulao, how do you plan to approach Luoyang?"
"..."
Yu Wenye didn’t immediately answer her, but slightly curved his lips, giving her a half-smile, saying, "First hand over the money, gather enough for three thousand troops, and then we’ll talk."