Jiuxi

Chapter 286 284 [The Realm of the Self]

To the east of Gongcheng is the Qi army camp.

Qing Yu Zhongwang's guess was correct. The Qi army had suffered little losses in the previous two small-scale battles. Because the Yan army had been losing from two years ago until now, it was weak when facing the Qi army. Not even half of the effect can be exerted, and the resistance it can cause to the Qi army is almost negligible.

Another reason that supports Qing Yu Zhongwang's conclusion that there is an ambush behind Lu Chen is that he received reports from the Gongcheng defenders and the three thousand cavalry. What appeared in the east of Gongcheng was still the complete Ruishi Battalion and Lai'an Army. Judging from the size of the camp and the flags, the other side has not divided its forces.

In this case, who will guard Qingliu Pass and Raoyang City that the Qi army has captured?

In today's era, the city passes occupied by the army during its march are very important, because it can become a key node on the logistics line, which can provide protection for the baggage team and serve as a transfer point on this line.

Obviously, there are a large number of hidden Qi troops behind the Rui Shi Camp and Lai'an Army.

However, Qing Yu Zhongwang never expected that the third general who appeared in the Qi army camp was not Su Zhang, the commander of Xunyang army, nor He Gui, the commander of Jianghua army, nor Li Bingxue, the commander of Feiyu camp. It was Song Shifei, the commander-in-chief of the Feiyun Army who was supposed to be responsible for guarding Pingli City and Ningling City.

Inside the commander's tent, Song Shifei's voice was as loud as ever, and he said with a smile: "Old Duan, Brother Lu, I was so bored guarding the city in Ningling that I went crazy. I heard that you were advancing by leaps and bounds on the Western Front, and you made great achievements one after another. I almost gave up." I’m so greedy!”

Lu Chen and Duan Zuozhang looked at each other and smiled, and the latter joked: "You are not stealing Su Zhang's mission and deliberately bullying the new commander, are you?"

Song Shifei waved his hands carelessly and said: "Even if I, Old Song, have the ability, I don't have the courage. Although Su Zhang was promoted to the commander of the First Army just last year, if I dare to take his job by force, the Governor will not take my skin off." ?”

Lu Chen smiled and said: "So now the Xunyang Army takes over from your Feiyun Army and is stationed in Pingli and Ningling?"

Song Shifei nodded and said: "Yes, this is the Commander-in-Chief's command. That boy Su Zhang seems to be polite, but in fact he must be unconvinced. But there is nothing we can do about it. Our army has always been about first-come, first-served. Back then we When these people followed the governor on the battlefield, he was still a leading soldier. Now that he has the opportunity to participate in the war, he naturally has to line up behind him."

The smile on Lu Chen's face was a little strange.

Duan Zuozhang was thoughtful and scolded with a smile: "How dare you, Song Mangzi, to say such slanderous words in front of Brother Lu?"

"Eh……"

Song Shifei was not stupid at all, and he immediately reacted.

Here he was joking about Su Zhang's young age and lack of qualifications, but he forgot that Lu Chen was the real junior. After all, he joined the Huaizhou Army in less than two years.

"Brother Lu, don't mind, that's not what I meant. That boy Su Zhang doesn't have much military exploits. He rose up solely on the basis of seniority, so I say this, but you are different! When it comes to military exploits, except for the Grand Governor, , there is no one in the Huaizhou army who can compare with you, so the Governor asked you to take charge of military affairs on the Western Front, and I, Old Song, am convinced!"

Facing Song Shifei's straightforward explanation, Lu Chen smiled and shook his head: "Brother Song, I will definitely be proud if you praise me without reservation."

Song Shifei touched his forehead and said, "Don't misunderstand me. In the army, military merit is the most important, followed by seniority and age. This will never change."

"Okay, okay, you haven't been able to keep your mouth shut for so many years. You don't listen no matter how many times the Governor tells you."

Duan Zuozhang stopped his ramblings, then smiled and said: "Let's get down to business."

There was another person in the tent who had been watching these generals chatting with an indifferent expression before. He was Su Yunqing, the Huaizhou Inspector of the Warp Weaving Department.

During this period, in order to conceal battlefield information, the spies of the Beiyan Procuratorate and the enemy's scouts were isolated to the west of Gongcheng. The Weaving Department was full of elites, not even a bird was spared. Su Yunqing even led a group of confidants to sit here personally, and cooperated with the Ruishi Battalion cavalry led by Li Chengen, so that the enemy could only see a fog from beginning to end.

When it came to business, Lu Chen said to Su Yunqing, "Can you please Sir Su, briefly introduce the latest situation to us?"

Su Yunqing nodded slightly and said calmly: "This morning the Weaving Department received two more military reports. One is about Yaoshan Pass, which is more than 40 miles west of Gongcheng. Yesterday, a large number of Jingjun infantry were stationed in the pass. The number of people About five to six thousand. The reason why they didn't come directly to Gongcheng is because they didn't want to give our army a chance to attack them halfway."

Lu Chen continued: "From another perspective, Qingyu Zhongwang intended to abandon Gongcheng and use Yaoshan Pass as a stronghold to prevent our army from advancing." Duan Zuozhang said: "In other words, the three thousand people outside Gongcheng Will the Jingjun cavalry continue to withdraw to the vicinity of Yaoshanguan?"

Lu Chen nodded and said: "That's probably true. Gongcheng is just a small county town. The city wall is low and in disrepair. Qing Yu Zhongwang would not choose to defend here. On the contrary, Yaoshan Pass is the strongest barrier to the east of Heluo City. Now it is Reinforced by thousands of Jingjun infantry, the total strength of the pass is close to 10,000, and flanked by 3,000 cavalry, which is a tough nut to crack for us."

Song Shifei had recently received an order from Xiao Wangzhi to take over the defense of the two cities with the Xunyang Army led by Su Zhang. He led the Feiyun Army to take a detour behind the Ruishi Camp and Lai'an Army.

Xiao Wangzhi asked him to obey Lu Chen's instructions. In fact, he didn't quite understand his mission. Could it be that more than 30,000 people really wanted to attack the city all the way to Heluo?

After hearing Lu Chen's analysis, he couldn't help but ask: "Brother Lu, are we really going to attack Heluo City?"

Lu Chen smiled faintly and said: "Actually, I was just testing Qing Yu Zhongwang at the beginning, and at the same time dispelling his idea of ​​rescuing Ruyin City, but now it seems that the situation is developing in a direction that is favorable to us."

Song Shifei was confused when he heard this, and couldn't help but look at Duan Zuozhang for help.

Everyone has their own strengths, and the same goes for the tiger generals under Xiao Wangzhi. Song Shifei, for example, has been on the battlefield for a long time and is best at attacking tough battles. The Feiyun Army he trained with his own hands can be ranked as the highest among the Huaizhou armies in terms of ferocity. First.

But when it came to the strategic level, the Song commander was lacking. He was very weak in this aspect. Fortunately, he was able to realize his own shortcomings and always strictly implemented Xiao Wangzhi's orders. He was an extremely sharp mountain axe.

Among the generals of the Huaizhou Army, only one could keep up with Xiao Wangzhi's vision and thinking, and that was Chen Lanyu, who was left in the capital by the emperor.

Upon seeing this, Duan Zuozhang said: "What Brother Lu means is that Qing Yu Zhongwang still refuses to give up Dongyang Road. Otherwise, if he insists on defending Heluo, we really can't do anything to him."

Lu Chen nodded and said, "Yes, if he can't retreat, we will have to withdraw our troops and return to assist the governor in regaining the entire territory of Dongyang Road."

Song Shifei became increasingly puzzled and asked: "Could it be that Qing Yu Zhongwang sent thousands of infantry to garrison Yaoshan Pass just for the next step to engage in a head-on battle with our army?"

Lu Chen did not sell out and explained: "Brother Song, this is actually a guessing game. From Qingyu Zhongwang's perspective, if the Rui Shi Camp and Lai'an Army go deep into the distance, there must be a large number of reinforcements behind them. He is not sure about me Under the premise of the actual strength of the army, he would definitely not repeat the mistakes of the Battle of Leize, so he sent troops to guard Yaoshan Pass to prevent our army from really rushing to the Heluo City. However, he was not willing to give up Dongyang Road. Therefore, he deliberately abandoned Qingliuguan, Raoyang and Gongcheng in order to attract our partial division to go deeper and further away from the main force led by the governor."

Song Shifei suddenly said: "I understand. He thinks that our army wants to fight an ambush, so it must ensure enough troops. In this way, the strength of the Governor's side will be weakened, and he will have an opportunity to take advantage of it." . Once he really appears outside Ruyin City, we will definitely not be able to respond in time."

Lu Chen smiled and said: "Yes, any conspiracy will have flaws when implemented. No one can make it perfect."

Song Shifei asked again: "But how did he appear quietly outside Ruyin City?"

"Normally speaking, if Jingjun wants to rush to Dongyang Road from Heluo City, the most convenient route is naturally the official road we currently occupy. The second is to start from Teng County in the southwest and cross the Leize Plain, and then from Turn to the northeast near Ningling City. Both of these routes seemed inappropriate until Mr. Su brought another urgent military information."

Lu Chen looked at Su Yunqing calmly, and the latter answered: "Everyone, the Governor sent someone to deliver a message. The 5,000 Jing Army stationed at the Fengqiu line at the north end of Dongyang Road has divided into 3,000 people. They have gone south recently. They are in Ru Stop in Luoshan County, north of Yin City, and maintain a relatively safe distance from the main force of our army."

Song Shifei frowned slightly and said, "What does Qing Yu Zhongwang mean by doing this?"

Lu Chen said calmly: "If the enemy doesn't make any movement, we will definitely not be able to judge his strategic intentions, but as long as he moves, there will be clues. The Jing army on the front line of Fengqiu is to defend the Seven Stars in Baotai Mountain Army, now they are dividing their forces and heading south. It seems to me that their intention is quite obvious, which is to reduce the pressure on the defenders of Ruyin City, and at the same time, it may also be to create conditions for the main force of Jing's army to attack."

Duan Zuozhang pondered: "Are you trying to say that Qing Yu Zhongwang will not give up Ruyin City directly?"

"Actually, from the moment I learned that Qing Yu Zhongwang was going south, I had a hunch that he would not be going south just to defend Heluo City."

Lu Chen looked around at everyone and said unhurriedly: "Qing Yu Zhongwang is Qing Yu Gong's eldest son after all. He has made many military exploits in the war when Jing Dynasty annexed Zhao State. Such a person must be very proud. If he just wants to hold the river Luo, why bother with this young prince coming in person? Now that he is here, I don’t believe he will huddle in Heluo City."

"This has nothing to do with any strategy or tactics, but the nature of human nature."

(End of this chapter)