Jiuxi

Chapter 232 230 [The army enters the southeast]

It was November [-], the thirteenth year of Jianwu in the Southern Qi Dynasty.

At dawn, Captain Lu Chen of Huaizhou Ruishi Battalion led [-] strange soldiers and attacked Yongquan Pass on a snowy night. In just two hours, he killed more than [-] Yanjing soldiers and captured more than [-] people. Hu Linzhong and the four lieutenants, the commander of the Yan army's military and horse department, were killed. Only Shi Ge, the captain of the Jing army, and more than a dozen of his own soldiers managed to escape.

At this point, the southeastern gateway of Dongyang Road in Beiyan changed hands, and Yongquan Pass became the possession of the Huaizhou Army.

On the morning of the [-]th, Huaizhou Zhenbei Army and Lai'an Army arrived at Yongquan Pass.

In the afternoon of the same day, Huaizhou Feiyun Army advanced towards Qingtian City in the west and set up camp five miles outside the city, shocking the eight thousand defenders in the city.

The Taixing Army, the Guangling Army, and the Pingshan Army set off northward one after another. One hundred thousand troops gathered from Qingtian City to Yongquanguan. Countless grain and grass began to be transported north, and the baggage line was established accordingly.

On the afternoon of the [-]th, the Zhenbei Army came out from the north of Yongquan Pass, then turned westward, and captured the empty Tongshan City in only half a day.

This place is located at the northern end of Yongfeng Road, and to the south is Qingtian City in the valley.

At this point, Qingtian City has been completely reduced to an isolated city.

Letters for help from various military and fortresses in Beiyan flew to Ruyin City in the north like snowflakes that have been falling in recent days.

In the general's mansion, the hall was filled with dead silence.

Li Shouzhen stared blankly at the general who reported the news. He didn't say anything for a long time, and suddenly his body swayed back.

"General!"

A group of staff members hurriedly stepped forward to help him, only to see that Li Shouzhen's face turned pale and his eyes were closed tightly.

Everyone was worried, pinching people and asking people to call a doctor.

"No need."

Li Shouzhen slowly opened his eyes and spit out three words through his teeth with difficulty.

Everyone nervously helped him to the handsome position.

Li Shouzhen managed to calm down, stared at the general and said coldly: "In other words, all the passes on the southern line are now lost?"

The partial general said with a dejected look: "Back to the general, Yongquan Pass and Tongshan City have fallen, but Qingtian City is still in the hands of our army. The walls there are strong and there is enough food and grass, so the defenders can hold on for a long time."

"Ah……"

Li Shouzhen sneered and said, "How long can they hold on? There are Qi troops on all sides. They are isolated and helpless. Do you think they can hold on for a long time?"

The general shrank his neck, knowing that the general was suppressing his rage at the moment, so he did not dare to answer.

Li Shouzhen calmed his breathing slowly and asked: "Where are the people in Yongquan Pass? Are they all dead? Or did they surrender to Nan Qi?"

The general said cautiously: "Back to the general, only Brother Shi, the captain of the Jingjun army, escaped with more than ten people."

"boom!"

Li Shouzhen slapped the armrest and said angrily: "Where are the others? Why don't you come to see me?!"

The general lowered his head and said, "General, Captain Shi Qian only sent a message here, and he took the soldiers directly to the capital."

"Damn it!"

Li Shouzhen couldn't help but swore a curse word, and said through gritted teeth: "I will never let him go if he is greedy for life and afraid of death!"

The staff and officials in the hall all lowered their heads, and could not help but lament in their hearts. Although Brother Shi was only a mere captain, and Li Shouzhengui was the general of Dongyang Road, he might not be able to punish the other party. Because Brother Shi was a military general of the Jing Dynasty, if His Highness the Princess didn't say anything, Li Shouzhen really couldn't do anything to him.

Although they sighed in their hearts, no one would openly provoke Li Shouzhen's anger at this time.

One of them mustered up the courage and said: "General, the Qi army will definitely not stand still. Our army must respond early."

Li Shouzhen frowned. The biggest problem he faced now was the lack of troops, especially veterans who had been tempered by war.

Four thousand men were lost in the battle at Yongquan Pass, and the southeastern gateway that blocked the Qi army from moving north was lost, making the already difficult situation of the Dongyang Road defenders even worse.

He stood up and came to the sand table, staring at Yongquan Pass and Qingtian City in the south. His eyes immediately moved up and looked at Gushu and Ningling cities on the south side of Dongyang Road.

Gushu is located to the northeast of Yongquan Pass, and Ningling is located directly north of Tongshan City. They are both strategic points for entering the heart of Dongyang Road from the south.

After a long silence, Li Shouzhen asked coldly: "What do you think Qi Jun will choose next?"

An official said: "General, I believe that after the Qi army captures Yongquan Pass and Tongshan City, they will take Gushu City as the main attack direction. Gushu City is located at the southern end of the official road within Dongyang Road, and can Go straight to Ruyin City via the official road. At present, the Qi army will not expand their front line to the west as they wish. Their target must be Ruyin City."

This inference won the approval of some people. Ruyin City is an important southeastern town of Beiyan, and it is the core of the entire Dongyang Road. The rich merchants and the grain and grass in the city alone are enough to feed the Huaizhou Army of the Southern Qi Dynasty.

From this point of view, it is imperative to send troops to reinforce Gushu City.

However, the problem was that the Qi army moved too quickly, and the fall of Yongquan Pass caught Li Shouzhen off guard. He had not made any plan in this regard. After all, no one could have imagined that Xiongguan, which had been as stable as a mountain for ten years, would fall overnight. In short, it takes time for Li Shouzhen to mobilize troops to support the border. Reinforcements from the rear cannot fly directly over, and hasty actions will cause greater hidden dangers.

At this moment, another staff member shook his head and said: "General, I don't think the Qi army will rush north to attack. Although Yongquan and Tongshan have fallen, Qingtian City is still stuck there like nails. How could the army leave this place alone? From the villain's point of view, the Qi army will definitely use Tongshan City and Yongquan Pass as strongholds to cut off our army's reinforcements, and then gather heavy troops to attack Qingtian City. Only by winning this place can the enemy attack north with confidence. .”

Li Shouzhen looked at him and asked, "In your opinion, how should our army respond?"

The man replied: "You can send an order to the generals in Gushu and Ningling to strengthen their vigilance and be careful, and then report to the capital to ask the court to send reinforcements quickly. At the same time, the general can dispatch an elite army to carry grain and grass. Go south to support Gushu City."

This is indeed a relatively safe approach, but the premise is that the Qi army will adopt the same safe and step-by-step approach.

Li Shouzhen fell into hesitation.

He paced back and forth with his hands behind his hands, and after a moment he said solemnly: "Immediately report to the capital with an eight-hundred-mile horse and ask the court to send reinforcements as soon as possible. Judging from the current situation, the goal of the Southern Qi border army is Dongyang Road and Moyang Road. There shouldn't be too much pressure on Hejiang North Road for the time being, we just need to maintain the existing defensive strength."

A clerk stood up and said: "Follow the order!"

Li Shouzhen looked at Cheng Weimin, the deputy general manager of troops and horses, and said sternly: "Deputy general manager Cheng, you will count five thousand troops from the garrison in the city, and then take my general order to Fengfu City and Gaoyuan City to collect the total number of soldiers in those two places. We will also bring ten thousand soldiers and horses with us, and bring all the grain and grass all the way south to help defend Gushu and Ningling."

Cheng Weimin said proudly: "The last general takes orders!"

Li Shouzhen glanced at the sand table again, his eyes seemed to be turbulent, but he was slightly worried in his heart. However, this worry could not be eliminated in a short time, so he could only sigh secretly.

The urgent military information was sent to Heluo City at an extremely fast speed with an eight-hundred-mile horse.

It was already the third day of December when the imperial court received this urgent report. After a brief discussion among several important ministers in the palace, but the emperor did not give an effective decree, they hurried to Zhuoyuan, Xicheng.

Now that the Qi army is coming fiercely, Dongyang Road is in a difficult situation. Moyang Road in the south has to deal with an army of more than [-] people under Jingzhou Li Tianrun. The army on Jiangbei Road cannot save the people near and far. If they want to relieve the crisis on Dongyang Road, they can only Ask for help from the main force of Jing's army stationed in Heluo City with strong troops and horses.

In the Jade Tea Hall, Qingyu Huaijin held a tea cup in his hand and his eyes were quite cold.

Privy Councilor Pang Shigu said solemnly: "This time the Qi army moved faster than we expected, especially that Lu Chen. Not only was this man very scheming, he was also extremely courageous. He dared to lead a surprise attack with three thousand men on a snowy night. Yongquan Pass, thus creating an extremely passive situation for our army."

Qingyu Huaijin lowered his head and looked at the tea leaves floating in the teacup, his red lips slightly parted and he blew them gently.

Pang Shigu continued: "The situation on Dongyang Road is now critical. Li Shouzhen has sent someone to send an urgent report asking for help, but how can the imperial court come up with tens of thousands of elite troops to rush to the border in such a hurry?"

Everyone looked at Princess Jingchao who was sitting on the main seat.

Qingyu Huaijin naturally felt the attention of these eyes. She turned to look at Pang Shigu and asked calmly: "Master Pangda, did Li Shouzhen mention his follow-up arrangements?"

Pang Shigu nodded and said: "Yes. Now that the Qi army has captured Yongquan Pass and Tongshan City, Qingtian City, which is isolated in the south, is probably in danger. I don't know how long they can hold on. Li Shouzhen judged that the Qi army's next goal should be It’s Qingtian City, and then we go north to Bigusu City, because there is an official road connecting this place with Ruyin City.”

Qingyu Huaijin slowly put down the tea cup and asked, "How is he going to deal with it?"

Pang Shigu replied: "He said in the military intelligence report that a total of [-] troops and horses will be mobilized from Ruyin, Fengfu, and Gaoyuan, and will be led by the deputy general manager of troops and horses, Cheng Weimin, to go south for reinforcements. Gushu and Ningling are two cities."

Qingyu Huaijin's complexion changed slightly.

Upon seeing this, Pang Shigu asked, "Your Highness, is this inappropriate?"

Qingyu Huaijin said in a deep voice: "Didn't Pangda tell Li Shouzhen before that if the Qi army invades in a large scale, they must not mobilize their troops at will and must stick to one city and one place?"

Pang Shigu said slightly puzzled: "Of course we have been notified. It's just that Yongquan Pass and Tongshan City were lost too quickly, Qingtian City has become a desperate situation again, and the southern border of Dongyang Road is already very dangerous. If Gushu City is again attacked by the Qi army If they fall, they can send their troops north to attack Ruyin City, which Li Shouzhen did as a last resort."

"Li Shouzhen, this idiot."

The evil aura on Qingyu Huaijin's face flashed away, and he said slowly: "He still hasn't understood that Lu Chen is best at pulling chestnuts from the fire. This person will never attack Gushu City by force. He will definitely take advantage of the siege to attack Li Shouzhen." Send reinforcements!”

As soon as these words came out, the expressions of everyone in the hall changed.

Pang Shigu murmured: "Your Highness, are you serious about this?"

Qingyu Huaijin slowly exhaled a breath and said: "My father once said that Lu Chen is young and energetic. This is a shortcoming and an advantage. It is destined that he can lead troops to fight without being tainted by old age and dare to take risks. Make decisions. Whether it was last year's border war or this year's fighting in the Baotai Mountains, the characteristic he showed was to mobilize our troops and find opportunities to use more to defeat fewer in the process."

Pang Shigu hesitated a little, but finally decided to tell the truth: "According to the messenger sent by Li Shouzhen, he has asked Cheng Weimin to mobilize his troops south. At this time, he may be approaching Gushu City."

Qing Yu Huaijin raised his hand and pinched the center of his eyebrows. He recalled Qing Yu Gong's earnest teachings last time. He suppressed the irritability in his heart and said to Pang Shigu: "Master Pang Pang, please immediately send someone to reply to Li Shouzhen and ask him to stick to it." The strategy for waiting for help is to never fight the Qi army in the wild. I will go to Mou Lianghu now and ask him to send a main force to Dongyang Road for rescue."

Not only Pang Shigu was overjoyed, but others also breathed a sigh of relief immediately.

The Jing Dynasty cavalry is rampant in the world. As long as they are dispatched, the Qi army will definitely be defeated.

Qingyu Huaijin gave some instructions to others, just to maintain the stability of the court and the supply of food and grass for the frontier soldiers, and this short meeting ended.

After a while, Prime Minister Wang An walked out of Zhuoyuan and said goodbye to his colleagues. Before getting on the carriage, he suddenly turned his head and glanced at the plaque on the gate of this elegant garden.

At this moment, his expression seemed extremely meaningful.

(End of this chapter)