Jiuxi

Chapter 60 [Under the torrent]

Jingzhou, Pingyang City.

In the festival hall of the Dudu Mansion, Marching Sima Li Liangyu said calmly: "I would like to report to my father and generals that the Puppet Yan has been making frequent moves recently. To the northwest, the Puppet Yanjiang North Road's [-]-strong army is divided into two groups. One is from the south of Gaotang City. Next, the two troops marched eastward from Anxi City, and the two troops pressed forward at the same time, approaching our line from Shahe to Pingxiang."

"Directing to the north, the [-] soldiers and horses of the Pseudo-Yan Moyang Road, using Liyang as a springboard, are now approaching our Boxing City, and launched a tentative attack three days ago. At the same time, the enemy troops are in Weilin and Queshan. There are also signs that the earth is ready to stir.”

"Judging from the current battlefield situation, the Puppet Yan may launch a full-scale attack at any time. If the Huaizhou side is fighting hand-to-hand and risking their lives, Jingzhou is full of dark clouds and a storm is coming."

Li Liangyu summarized the latest information and reported it, and the hall immediately fell into silence.

Of course, Jingzhou's territory in the north of the Yangtze River is not limited to Pingyang City. If there is only one isolated city, Beiyan and Jingchao will definitely not be far away from each other. They will take this city even if they have to spend their lives to fill it.

This is actually with Pingyang City as the defensive core and Boxing City in the north as the base, extending a strip of territory of nearly [-] miles to the east and west.

The line from Shahe to Pingxiang that Li Liangyu just mentioned is the defense system northwest of Pingyang.

This time, the attack from the north was fierce, especially among the troops dispatched, there were many elite soldiers from Jing Dynasty. It seemed that they wanted to wash away the shame of the defeat in the Mengshan area in the sixth year of Jianwu, which resulted in the loss of more than [-] main troops.

In the eyes of these battlefield veterans in the hall, the Jingzhou defense area is as stable as a mountain, and there is no need to worry at all. Unless Jing Chaoqing Yugong leads the main force out, Chen Xiaokuan alone will be able to break through the defense system outside Pingyang City. It’s even harder than reaching the sky.

But at this moment, their brows were furrowed and their expressions were solemn, just because the Governor Li Tianrun had previously proposed an unexpected strategic idea.

After a long time, a military general named Fan Wending said: "Grand Governor, in my humble opinion, our army only needs to hold on to the fortresses in various places, and the Puppet Yan and Jing Dynasty will have nothing to do. The risk of taking the initiative to fight is high, and it is difficult to obtain enough Victory, if something goes wrong along the way, it is very likely that the entire line of defense will become loose, so please think twice."

This is almost the consensus of most generals in the hall.

The task assigned by the imperial court to the Jingzhou Governor's Office was to hold on. The great victory at Mengshan in the sixth year of Jianwu was not caused by the Qi army's initiative. It was Li Tianrun who seized the opportunity of the enemy's vanguard and underestimated the enemy's advance, and mobilized heavy troops to fight within the defense zone. A fast and exciting ambush and annihilation battle.

In short, after ten years of repeated polishing, the Jingzhou defense line has long become an iron barrel array.Beiyan seems to have a lot of momentum recently, but in fact it doesn't dare to go too deep at all, and only makes some superficial explorations on the edges.

But Li Tianrun decided to take the initiative to send troops, which was obviously not in line with the way of using troops.

Giving up the advantage of a strong city and going to the wild to seek combat or even attack the enemy's city is undoubtedly using one's own shortcomings to attack others' strengths.

Li Tianrun was not in a hurry. He looked around calmly, and finally his eyes fell on a person's face, and asked calmly: "What do you think, Commander Huo?"

The person he pointed out was named Huo Zhen, and that day he was the first to suggest that Beiyan would most likely cross the Shuangfeng Mountains to attack the rear of Huaizhou.

Huo Zhen said thoughtfully: "To the Governor, I think that if it is just a small-scale attack, it may not be impossible to try it. But how to choose the direction of the attack and what kind of effect we want to achieve, these issues need to be carefully considered."

The Jingzhou Governor's Office is not incapable of taking the initiative, but it is definitely not prepared to launch a full-scale counterattack because the court will not support such a move.

In Huo Zhen's opinion, the Governor should have defeated the enemy's spirit with a clean victory, using offense instead of defense to prevent the situation from being too passive.

Li Tianrun nodded slightly and said concisely: "Even if we win this battle, we won't gain much."

This sentence left the generals a little confused.

Li Tianrun continued: "I plan to use the Anqiu Army and Changle Army to launch an active attack on the line from Zhai to Yingze of the Puppet Yan, and then let the Guangji Army advance north along the Juyu Mountain to reach the heart of the Moyang Road of the Puppet Yan. Guqiu Village.”

All the generals looked at the map hanging on the wall, and then they suddenly realized.

This is clearly to entangle the opponent's troops deployed to the west of the Shuangfeng Mountains, and at the same time make a counterattack northward, forcing Beiyan and Jingchao to adjust their strategic focus.

From the intelligence analysis in recent days, the Jingzhou Governor's Office is almost certain that the opponent is going to cross the Shuangfeng Mountains and go straight to the southern border of Huaizhou.

Li Tianrun's decision was obviously not to take advantage of the situation, but to disrupt the enemy's deployment and prevent them from sending troops to the rear of Huaizhou, thereby reducing the pressure on the Huaizhou Governor's Mansion.

However... what benefit does this have to the Jingzhou Governor's Mansion?
If you want to achieve Li Tianrun's strategic plan, you must use elite soldiers to take the initiative to attack, otherwise it will only become a big gift to the enemy.

Factions in the military are not uncommon, and it is natural to add insult to injury, but not many people are willing to sacrifice themselves to help others, because war is not a dinner party, and large-scale casualties may occur at any time.

For any army, veteran soldiers are the most valuable asset. Once they are lost, they will definitely not be able to recover in a short time.This is probably the reason why the generals in the hall were silent.

Li Tianrun coughed lightly and said slowly: "I understand your concerns, but this matter cannot be taken too seriously. The reason why I made such a decision was not because of my friendship with Governor Xiao, but because of Jingzhou and Huaizhou 's fate is closely linked."

The generals raised their heads and looked at him.

Li Tianrun continued: "If Huaizhou is lost, the puppet Yan will focus all its energy on the Jingzhou front, and the pressure on our army's defense will increase exponentially. I believe you all understand this truth, but you think too much and are too complicated. , Gradually losing the most authentic belief of a soldier. Perhaps the peaceful years in recent years have worn away your will, and you have gradually become like those scheming people in the court."

His tone remained calm, without the slightest hint of anger.

But everyone had already stood up and stood in silence.

Li Tianrun looked over one by one, looking at the guilty expressions on their faces, and said without a doubt: "Huo Zhen, you are leading the Guangji Army to take on the main offensive mission. We must win the first battle and beat the enemy hard. Remember, we only need this The battle will allow Chen Xiaokuan to stay in the city, and at the same time gather most of the troops at key points along Moyang Road, so that we can achieve our goal."

Huo Zhen said solemnly: "The last general takes orders!"

"Xu Gui, Zhang Zhan, you two will each lead your troops to feign attack on the puppet Yanyang Zhai to Yingze line, cooperate with the Guangji army, and be sure to clear their flanks."

"The last general takes orders!"

Li Tianrun stood up and said calmly: "The rest will stick to their respective defense areas and cannot move without the order of the Governor."

"Follow the order!"

Everyone agreed in unison. These simple words seemed to take them back to the prosperous days of the past, and the blood in their hearts boiled suddenly.

After they resigned, Li Liangyu came over and replaced Li Tianrun with new tea. He considered it and said: "Commander Father, General Fan and the others are not hesitating because of the benefits, nor are they entirely worried about the loss of their elites, but..."

Li Tianrun took the tea cup, his eyes stayed on the map opposite, and said calmly: "If you have anything to say, just say it."

Li Liangyu said cautiously: "They just think that it is the responsibility of Nanya's [-]th Army to assist Huaizhou. However, in every war in the past, Nanya's expedition was always slow and often took a month or two. Wait until they arrive. On the battlefield, the most critical stage of the war is over, and the frontier troops should give them a share of the credit."

These words were obviously not unfounded speculations on his part. In fact, ever since Li Duan, the seventh son of the emperor, ascended the throne in Yongjia, the conflict between the border army and the Beijing army had never been resolved.

The Sixth Army of Beiya and the Twelfth Army of Nanya enjoyed the best treatment in the army. They were stationed in the most prosperous and wealthy areas of Daqi and were promoted the fastest. However, operations were often delayed, which naturally aroused the resentment of the border troops.

Li Tianrun was silent for a moment, and suddenly said something that seemed completely unrelated: "It's actually not easy for Your Majesty."

Li Liangyu was slightly startled.

"Eighteen years ago, on the eve of my father's promotion to the commander of the capital, I had a long conversation with Marshal Yang. At that time, the ambitions of the three northern tribes had been revealed, but the court was preparing to criticize Marshal Yang. I asked him at that time, since the emperor It is not like a wise king to listen to slander, so why does he still work so hard to guard the northern border?"

Li Tianrun's eyes were deep and he continued: "Marshal Yang said that he was not loyal to the emperor, but could not bear the people of the North to be ravaged by the foreign cavalry."

Li Liangyu nodded thoughtfully.

Li Tianrun's tone was solemn and he said slowly: "In the end, it's just...how can the common people deserve it."

Li Liangyu suddenly understood the reason why his father made this decision today.

If Huaizhou is lost, millions of people will be displaced and their families will be destroyed.

Seeing his serious expression, Li Tianrun smiled slightly and said, "No matter what, your Majesty will be stronger than the late emperor after all."

Li Liangyu did not dare to refute, but he could not help but hesitate in his heart, because the reputation of the emperor did not seem to be very good. Some people said that he was obsessed with power, while others said that he carried the banner of the Northern Expedition to regain his homeland but never made any move.

Li Tianrun could obviously see what he was thinking, and did not continue to explain, leaving only a simple sentence: "You will understand in the future."

(End of this chapter)