Jiuxi

Chapter 58 058 [The world is in turmoil]

The Shuangfeng Mountains range from the west of Panlong Pass in the north to the bank of Hengjiang River in the south, completely separating Huaizhou in the Southern Qi and Moyang Road in the Northern Yan.

Without the obstruction of these rolling mountains and uninhabited primeval forests, it would be difficult for Southern Qi to hold Huaizhou for ten years with only Panlong Pass and the northern border security line.

At that time, the Jing Dynasty army discovered several ancient roads naturally formed between the mountains, and tens of thousands of elite light chariots rushed out. In less than two days, they arrived at Guangling City, almost breaking the city and cutting off the retreat of the Qi army on the border.

Fortunately, the Guangling army commander at that time was calm and decisive, nearly [-] soldiers were brave and tenacious, and with the strong support of the rural gentry family in the city headed by the Lu family, they finally defended the city with united efforts, laying the foundation for a subsequent victory across the entire territory.

After this battle, no one will continue to ignore the ancient roads between the mountains.

The Huaizhou Governor's Office and the Governor's Office worked together and spent a lot of manpower and time on surveys along the eastern foot of the mountain range. They finally determined that there were three ancient roads in total. From north to south, they were the Wangmei Ancient Road, the Pingjing Ancient Road and the Qiling Ancient Road.

For the Guangling Army, guarding Guangling City and ensuring the transportation of grain and grass throughout Huaizhou are naturally top priorities, but these three ancient roads cannot be ignored, especially the Qiling Ancient Road in the south, which is only more than [-] miles away from Hengjiang River.

There are four thousand troops stationed here, and they are personally led by Qi Tai, the commander of the Guangling military capital. At the same time, he also has to take care of the two ancient roads to the north.

"Recently, the spies of the Pseudo-Swan appear more and more frequently."

On a relatively flat rock, a military general in his late fifties with frost-stained hair on his temples looked to the west, his eyes falling on the winding mountain path.

Standing next to him was a young general in his 20s, Xiao Hong, the second son of Xiao Wangzhi, the governor of Huaizhou.

He listened to the deep emotion of the veteran and said calmly: "It is unlikely that the Puppet Yan will attack the ancient road in the mountains. This is a very unreasonable choice. No matter Chen Xiaokuan, the people in the Puppet Yan Privy Council, or Qing Yugong himself, No such order will be issued.”

The veteran said leisurely: "But you have also seen these days that there are indeed traces of the Yan army on the west side of the ancient road, and the same discoveries have been made in Pingjing and Wangmei. From this, it seems that the Pseudo-Yan and Jingchao will eventually launch an attack, otherwise Why should they waste these troops and food? After all, our army does not have the strength to attack the west through the ancient road."

Xiao Hong muttered: "General, after careful consideration, I still insist that the enemy will not attack by force."

The veteran general is Qi Tai, the commander of the Guangling Army. He and Xiao Wangzhi have a life-long friendship. He is calm and experienced in military tactics, has a down-to-earth temperament and can endure loneliness, so he took over the important task of commanding the Guangling Army.

Qi Tai narrowed his eyes slightly and shook his head: "It doesn't matter whether we attack by force or not. The key is that you and I both understand that this time the Puppet Yan's target is not only the security line from the north, they also have a secret weapon aimed at Guangling. Yesterday You have also read the urgent report sent by the Guangling Yamen of the Sutra Weaving Department. Wang Shidao's disciples in the puppet Yan Inspectorate are restless and are obviously trying to conspire to seize Guangling."

Xiao Hong did not rush to ask "where did the enemy come from?" After many years of teaching by Xiao Wangzhi, he gradually became accustomed to thinking about the problem from the overall situation as much as possible.

He looked up at the towering peaks on both sides of the ancient road and frowned: "Could the Puppet Yan Army really be able to cross mountains and forests?"

Qitai sat down on the stone and said calmly: "It's difficult."

It's just difficult, not impossible.

Xiao Hong said in a deep voice: "The Puppet Yan Army will never be able to do this unless Jing Chaoqing Yugong transfers the main force of the Xia Shan Army under his command. After all, this army was established in the mountains and forests and was accustomed to climbing mountains and wading. . But even so, if he wants to cross these vast mountains, at least half of the elite troops he sends will be lost on the way. Can Qing Yugong bear such losses?"

"The Governor must have considered this a long time ago. He probably doesn't believe that Qing Yugong would do this. It's just that anything can happen in a war. Just in case, he sent you to my side and asked you to Bring a thousand elite personal guards."

Qi Tai spoke unhurriedly, and then sighed: "But if the enemy can really come over the mountain, Huaizhou will be short of troops overall."

After hearing this, Xiao Hong reminded: "We should send a warning to the defenders of Wangmei and Hejing."

Qi Tai nodded and said: "After receiving the urgent report from the Weaving Department yesterday, I sent people to rush to the north to remind them. But... the major general should understand that we guard the ancient road day and night and are heavily guarded, but if the enemy crosses the mountains Appearing behind our army, it is not a question of whether you are alert or not."

Xiao Hong naturally understands this truth. However, the Guangling army has limited strength. Guangling City and the three ancient roads cannot be given up. They can only wait passively for the enemy to appear. If their speculation becomes reality and the enemy's elite troops really come over the mountain, who will We don’t know where exactly the opponent will appear, and which defender of the ancient road they will target.

He stared and said slowly: "General, I understand."

Qitai turned to look at him and said, "What do you mean?"

Xiao Hong said: "My father asked me to quietly go south with a thousand personal guards to assist the general in guarding the ancient road. It is not to kill the possibility of the enemy's attack, but to regain control of the ancient road after the enemy's surprise attack and cut off their retreat." !”

A gentle smile appeared on Qi Tai's old face, he raised his hand and pointed to the side and said: "Sit down."

Xiao Hong sat down as he was told.

Qitai added: "My conclusion is similar to yours, so we can only do one thing right now."

Xiao Hong said respectfully: "General, please give me some advice."

Qitai's expression was calm, and his eyes gradually became rippled: "Wait."...

More than twenty miles north of the Wangmei Ancient Road, in the dense forest at the eastern foot of the Shuangfeng Mountains, dozens of veterans wearing armor and holding swords were struggling to open the way. Behind them was a long team.

Among the crowd, Qin Chun, the deputy general manager of the troops on Dongyang Road in Beiyan, described himself as embarrassed, but his eyes were glowing like evil wolves.

After the war broke out in the northern border of Huaizhou, he appeared on the frontline battlefield. Later, his flag was still left in a certain camp, but the people quietly retreated.

Half of the elite troops of Jing Dynasty under Qin Chun remained on the Lai'an battlefield, under the command of deputy generals, and continued to participate in the fighting under the command of General Zhang Junsi of Dongyang Road.

He led the other half of the old soldiers to quietly withdraw from the battlefield, sneak all the way to Anping County on Moyang Road, which is to the west of the Shuangfeng Mountains opposite where they are at the moment, and then led 3000 of them into the vast mountains.

Most of these three thousand old soldiers had been trained in the Xiashan Army of Marshal Qing Yugong, and they were all members of the Jinglian tribe who were good at crossing mountains and ridges, so they were able to carry out this extremely difficult task.

Wang Shidao prepared nearly a thousand strong old soldiers in advance. These people did not participate in the battle and were only responsible for carrying extra rations for the soldiers of Jing Dynasty.

In addition, there are nearly a hundred secret agents from the Prosecutor's Office in the team, who are the guides for this trip.

For several years in the past, the Procuratorate has been trying to explore the road in the Shuangfeng Mountains for the current battle of Huaizhou.

Qin Chun raised his head and glanced at the sky, then looked at the detective from the Procuratorate who had been following him, and asked, "How far is it?"

The spy had been observing the situation along the road and was already prepared in his heart. He quickly replied: "General, we have about twenty miles before we can leave the mountain. Then we should go twenty miles south to reach the exit of Wangmei Ancient Road. There is Nanqi." There are about 2000 defenders.”

Qin Chun thought for a moment and said in a deep voice to the soldiers behind him: "Give me the order. Walk ten miles further and rest where you are. Sleep until noon tomorrow before continuing on your journey."

"Follow the order!" the soldier responded solemnly.

After eleven days of arduous journey, Qin Chun felt that his body was very tired, and the same must be true for those soldiers.

Even though Qing Yugong and Wang Shidao had made adequate preparations, the difficulties and obstacles along the way were still beyond everyone's expectations, and more than 300 people were lost along the way.

Thinking of those subordinates who died unexpectedly, Qin Chun's heart bleeds, but he also knows that this is the price that must be paid.

As long as they can capture the Wangmei Ancient Road, lead the main force through the mountains, and capture Guangling with a thunderous blow, this will be enough to determine the outcome of the Battle of Huaizhou.

Until he fell into a deep sleep, Qin Chun was still thinking about his ambition to occupy Guangling and then take Huaizhou.

At noon the next day, Jing Chaorui, who had slept for seven or eight hours, had regained a lot of energy.

Before walking out of this seemingly endless mountain, Qin Chun climbed up to a high place and said something very straightforward and fiery to everyone.

"I know you are all angry, and so am I, so now I will lead you to appear in front of the enemy, kill them all, and seize the Wangmei Ancient Road so that our colleagues can come over and no longer have to be blocked in the mountains. head."

"Next, I will take you to Guangling. You should all have heard of this rich city. After seizing the city, you will not be sealed for three days, and you will have all the women and money you want. You can take as much as you want. I will never I can say no."

"If this battle is successful, the Generalissimo will show his merit to everyone. At that time, you will no longer be ordinary warriors, but great contributors to the Jinglian clan! Everyone will look up to you! The wives, children, and children at home will also because of this You are superior to others!”

"Tell me now, do you dare to fight the enemy to the end?"

What responded to him were countless low but manic voices.

"kill!"

Qin Chun roared angrily, raised his arm and pointed directly to the east: "March!"

In the 12th year of Jianwu's reign in the Southern Qi Dynasty, it was May 22nd, in the evening.

Three thousand Jingchao veterans crossed the mountains and appeared near Wangmei Ancient Road. After nearly an hour of fierce fighting, they defeated the Guangling defenders and successfully opened up this deadly passage.

The main force of Jing's army, which had been waiting for many days, began to cross the Wangmei Ancient Road. After entering Guangling Mansion, the main force divided into two groups, one going south to contain the main force of Guangling's army, and the other moving eastward.

Point directly at Guangling City.

(End of this chapter)