Jiuxi

Chapter 282 280 [Unstoppable]

Qingliu Pass is located more than seventy miles west of Fengfu City. It is the east gate of the capital of Yan State. The official road of Yan State from Heluo to Ruyin passes through the pass.

When Lu Chen went to Baotai Mountain, he went all the way north from Ningling City, so he never passed this pass.

Unlike Panlong Pass and Yongquan Pass, the external terrain of Qingliu Pass is not particularly dangerous. Although it is built between two mountains, the distance in between is very wide, and the mountain is gentle and easy to climb. Therefore, this place is more like Qingtian City guarding Yongfeng Road to the south of Dongyang Road, but it was habitually named after the pass.

Qingliu Pass is not large in area and is garrisoned by more than 3,000 Yan troops.

When traces of the Qi army appeared on the east side of the pass, Dong Ban, the general guarding the pass and supervisor of the army and horses, immediately sent out fast horses to Heluo to ask for help, and then worriedly organized the army to prepare for war.

Although Qingliu Pass is well-defended and three thousand defenders are enough to protect the city wall, Dong Ban feels cold sweat running down his back whenever he thinks of the Qi army's achievements in the past two years.

However, time passed quietly, and there was still no movement from the Qi army outside. Dong Ban did not dare to let the ranger scouts go too far out of the city. He could only see the Qi army encamped on a flat ground about four or five miles outside the pass, as if to do something. Be prepared for a long-term battle.

This made Dong Ban puzzled. Qingliu Pass was definitely not as strong as Yongquan Pass in terms of city defense, and no reinforcements arrived in a short period of time. So what exactly was Lu Chen planning?

The quieter the Qi army became, the less Ban Dong dared to be careless. These days, he stayed on the city wall day and night.

From the very beginning, the Yan army guarding the pass was ready to fight, and then they repeated the boring state of facing the enemy every day. After all, they were not tireless machines, and they gradually became a little slack.

In the Qi army camp outside the pass, the flags of the Ruishi camp and the Lai'an army were set up respectively. The two armies were somewhat curious about each other. Just because their respective generals are in the camp, no one dares to come and go freely, and they get along fairly harmoniously.

Outside the Chinese army commander's tent, the soldiers on duty looked a little strange as they heard the excited voices coming from inside.

Outsiders must have thought that the two tiger generals of the Huaizhou Army were discussing military affairs, and might even be arguing over how to attack Qingliu Pass, but in fact -

"General!"

"Uh?"

"Brother Duan, you lost again."

"Wait... I just saw it wrong. Let me think about it again."

"No, you have to regret at least three times in a game of chess. You can't do it this time."

"Brother Lu, you must show respect for the elderly and love the young. I am more than ten years older than you."

In the handsome tent, Lu Chen looked at Duan Zuozhang quickly regretting his move with an annoyed and amused look, and said helplessly: "Okay, one last time."

The only chess game he loved in his previous life was chess, so last year he asked the manager of his family's business to make a chess box. When unfolded, the back of the box turned out to be a simple chess board.

These days, he is very quiet and restless. Besides, it is impossible to talk about military affairs with Duan Zuozhang every day, so he teaches the other party the rules, and the two occasionally play chess to pass the time.

Although Lu Chen is not a top expert, he is extremely powerful in front of Duan Zuozhang, a beginner, and has never lost.

Seeing that he was about to lose again, Duan Zuozhang took advantage of his age to rely on his old age and once again activated his magical skill of regretting chess.

However, there was a big gap in chess strength between the two sides, and Duan Zuozhang finally lost the game after a while.

Looking at the tragic endgame on the chessboard, Duan Zuozhang sighed: "Let's call it a day. If we continue to lose like this, I won't have the confidence to compete with you."

Lu Chen smiled and said: "Brother Duan, don't be depressed. It hasn't been long since you learned the rules. You have made great progress compared to the first day. After you practice for a while, you will be roughly close to my level."

"I accept your good words."

Duan Zuozhang smiled heartily. Of course he would not really take this matter seriously, it was just a joke.

He helped Lu Chen pack up the chess pieces and added: "This chess is really suitable for people in the army. Although the killings on the chessboard are not as complicated as real wars, they still have the same principles. Especially your style of playing chess is different from your usual style. It’s quite different, which is quite interesting.”

"Oh?"

Lu Chen packed the chess box and asked with interest: "What's the difference?"

Duan Zuozhang stood up and fetched the teapot, filled both of their cups, and said unhurriedly: "In reality, you use troops to move around, and you are very good at finding opportunities in roundabout maneuvers. In other words, you try to avoid head-on confrontation and try your best to Create a strength advantage in local confrontations. But you are like a reckless man when playing chess, and you like to use the tactic of exchanging stones from the beginning to the present. This method of exchanging lives for lives by opening and closing, in reality, is on you Never appeared."

He put the teapot back in its place and continued to smile: "It can be seen that you essentially advocate a straightforward approach to warfare, but you are forced by reality and have to try your best to be circuitous."

Lu Chen looked at him with a smile and said, "I didn't expect Brother Duan to study me so deeply."

Duan Zuozhang said solemnly: "Don't forget who was fighting alongside you in Guangling City when you were still a white man?"

"It's you."

Lu Chen praised him dutifully.

Duan Zuozhang nodded and said, "Yes, although it was the Governor who promoted you and put you in a high position, I am the one who knows you best. I have watched you step by step until now."

Lu Chen finally couldn't help laughing, and then said without courtesy: "Brother Duan, is there another possibility? Your chess skills are relatively poor. I don't need to beat around the bush. You can win faster by using the tactic of changing pieces." ?”

"This……"

Duan Zuozhang was immediately speechless. Lu Chen picked up the tea cup and took a sip, then smiled and said: "But Brother Duan is right about one thing. I racked my brains to make plans before, not because I was afraid of the strength of the Yan army, but because I wanted to reduce the losses of our army as much as possible. After all, our real enemy is the main force of Jing's army far in the north. If our army's military strength is the best in the world, I don't have to worry so much, we can just push forward all the way."

Duan Zuozhang's attention quickly shifted to business and asked: "So what are you waiting for now?"

Before setting off this time, he had been told by Xiao Wangzhi that the decision-making power of the war would be left to Lu Chen. Therefore, even if Lu Chen decided that the two elite main forces would wait outside Qingliu Pass, he would not be able to change the other party's mind.

Lu Chen did not answer the question directly, but instead asked: "Brother Duan, how long do you think it will take for our army to capture Qingliu Pass?"

Duan Zuozhang had deduced it many times during this period and answered without thinking: "Five days at most."

Lu Chen nodded and said: "The morale of the Yan army has hit rock bottom. As long as Heluo doesn't send reinforcements, they won't be able to hold on for long. You and I both know this, and the fake Yan monarchs and ministers in Heluo City also know that Qing Yu Zhongwang I won’t ignore it either, so I’m waiting for his reaction and for that I have to give him enough time to think.”

"What response do you want him to give?"

"The best answer is that he immediately sends reinforcements, so that our army can continue to implement the tactic of encircling the point and attacking for reinforcements, and gradually eat up the troops in Qingyu Zhongwang's hands. However, judging from the current situation, Qingyu Zhongwang cannot He would be so stupid. He has obviously studied our previous strategies and would rather abandon Qingliu Pass than take risks. For him, as long as he holds Heluo, he will complete Qing Yugong's instructions and wait until the Marshal of the South Campus has finished handling what he has at hand. By leading the army southward due to the above, Jingjun can rely on its strong strength and sufficient troops to allow us to spit out the regained territory again."

"What's next?"

"The second is that our army will continue to advance beyond Qingliu Pass. Qingyu Zhongwang may allow us to capture two or three more cities. By then, our army's front will be very long, and we will be far away from the main force attacking Ruyin City. Not only will it be difficult to get timely support from the main force if it is far away, but its own baggage line will also be exposed to Qing Yu Zhongwang's sight."

Duan Zuozhang stood up and walked to the simple sand table, looking at the route from Qingliu Pass to Heluo City in the west, and pondered: "Do you think that when our army goes too deep, Qing Yu Zhongwang will lead his troops from Heluo City? Come out and try to encircle and annihilate us?”

Lu Chen raised three fingers and said, "It's 30% possible."

Duan Zuozhang frowned and said, "So low?"

Lu Chen came to his side and said slowly: "Qing Yu Zhongwang has rich experience in leading troops, and he must have carefully studied our army's tactics in the past two years, so he will definitely suspect that this is still our strategy. In From his perspective, we left Ruyin City alone and attacked the western front in a paranoid manner, in order to lure him out. Maybe there are a large number of ambushes hiding behind Rui Shi Camp and Lai'an Army."

Although the whole logic is a bit convoluted, Duan Zuozhang, as a veteran on the battlefield, can sort out these details. He nodded and said: "Indeed, Qing Yu Zhongwang has Qing Yu Gong's words and deeds, so he will definitely be very cautious in using his troops."

But after all, he is Qing Yugong's eldest son, and the young prince who is well known to everyone in the Jing Dynasty, how could he not have his own pride...

Lu Chen did not say this emotion out loud, and returned to the original topic: "Brother Duan asked me what I was waiting for. In fact, I was just waiting for some news."

Duan Zuozhang looked at him with enlightenment.

The next morning, several messengers arrived at the camp one after another, bringing the latest battlefield intelligence to Lu Chen and Duan Zuozhang.

The first is Xiao Wangzhi's personal soldiers. According to him, the main force of the Huaizhou Army fought and won with great success. During this period, they successively captured Zhonglu, Nanzhang, and Wenping on the periphery of Ruyin's defense line, and successively annihilated and forced Yan to surrender. The army of more than 10,000 people gradually approached Ruyin City.

The Puppet Yan Dongyang Road General Li Shouzhen was beaten so unconscious that he actually chose to fortify the wall and clear the country at this time, directly abandoning the auxiliary cities and passes outside Ruyin City, and concentrated all his troops into Ruyin City, seemingly to defend a city to the death. For half a year, they waited for the main force of Jing's army to go south for rescue.

The second one was the spy sent by Su Yunqing. According to the situation recently discovered by the Weaving Department, Jing Jun in Heluo City did not choose to go out of the city to rush for reinforcements. Qing Yu Zhongwang only transferred more than 20,000 reserve Yan troops from Henan Road and sent them to various cities on the eastern front to increase defensive strength. However, he did not send troops to Qingliu Pass. Obviously, he did not want to be ambushed by the Qi army outside the pass. Opportunity.

The last messenger came from Ningling City, and the news he told shocked Lu Chen and Duan Zuozhang at the same time.

"Prime Minister Wang asked you to tell me, Qing Yu Zhongwang is determined to defend Heluo? Will he not send a single soldier to support everywhere?"

Lu Chen asked solemnly.

The messenger replied: "Hui Duwei, it is indeed true."

Lu thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "I understand, please make the trip if you'd like."

The messenger didn't dare to say anything, and then bowed and left.

The atmosphere in the handsome tent was a little solemn. Duan Zuozhang looked at Lu Chen's slightly frowning brows and asked, "Is there something wrong?"

Lu Chen shook his head and said with a faint smile: "Since Qing Yu Zhongwang is ready to be a coward, then our army can take action."

Duan Zuozhang's expression perked up and he said boldly: "Okay, we will leave the first attack to us to stabilize the army."

Lu Chen didn't object, he held up his hands and said, "I wish Brother Duan and the brothers who came to An'an Army a great victory!"

The battle went more smoothly than Duan Zuozhang had expected. He had obviously overestimated the Yan army's will to resist.

Three days later, on the sixth day of February in the 14th year of Jianwu, Lai'an's army broke through Qingliu Pass.

The army continued to advance westward the next day.

On February 14th, Lai'an Army and Ruishi Camp took another city, and the flag of the Qi Border Army was flying at the top of Raoyang City.

At this moment, these two elite divisions were only more than three hundred miles away from Heluo City in the west.

Countless emergency reports for help flew to the thousand-year-old city like snowflakes.

(End of this chapter)