Jiuxi

Chapter 61 061 [The wind, flowers and moon are not seen in the world]

Guangling, a private house in Dongcheng.

There were about a dozen tall and powerful men standing in the main room. They looked at the young woman who walked in slowly, neatly raised their hands and saluted: "I have seen the eldest lady!"

Lin Xi nodded slightly, walked to the main seat and sat down, and said to everyone: "Everyone, please sit down."

Xi Jun and Ji Shan, the burly man, were ranked first on the left and right. The latter said in a rough voice: "Miss, Guangling doesn't look very peaceful. It seems like there is going to be a war."

Lin Xi said calmly: "That's what I came here for today. The Yan-Jing coalition is now attacking crazily on the border, just to attract all the troops from the Huaizhou Governor's Mansion, and then use surprise troops to raid Guangling. Whatever happens next, Guangling Whether you can hold it or not, I hope you all stay here peacefully and wait until the situation stabilizes before you go back."

Ji Shan smiled naively and said, "Okay, just follow the arrangements of the eldest lady."

Xi Jun looked at Lin Xi's calm expression, suddenly his heart moved, and asked: "Miss, are you planning to help Mr. Lu?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone looked at the host in unison.

Lin Xi said calmly: "Yes."

Ji Shan's expression changed slightly and he said straightforwardly: "Miss, we can also help!"

Lin Xi shook his head and said: "Junior Brother Lu is participating in the defense of the city. I can't stand by and watch, but you have nothing to do with this matter. In the past, the killing of officials from the Northern Yan court was both an arrangement by my father and out of justice, so I will take it with me. You live and die together. However, this time is different. I helped him because of my friendship with the same family. It is considered a personal relationship. How can I put you in danger? "

Everyone was silent.

To the Qixing Gang who were struggling in a difficult world, Beiyan and Jingchao were like wolves, but the Southern Qi court was not much better.

Not to mention that the royal family and dignitaries rushed southward in a hurry and abandoned the common people at will. In the past 12 years, the emperor of Southern Qi has stated more than once that he wanted to regain his homeland in the north and save the people from the fire and water. However, they were just empty slogans and never took actual actions. .

In the eyes of these green people, the battle between Qi and Yan is a dog-eating-dog affair, and it is best to just sit on the sidelines.

That's why Lin Xi made such a decision.

Although she is the young leader of the Seven Star Gang and can directly order these masters to act, as she said before, this is a private matter between her and Lu Chen, and she is not willing to let others risk their lives.

In the silence, Xi Jun said with a smile on his face, "Miss, you are mistaken."

Lin Xi turned to look at him.

Xi Jun continued: "The people responsible for attacking the city must be the elites of the Jing Dynasty. You also know the nature of these tigers and wolves. Once the city is broken, they will burn, kill, loot and commit all kinds of evil. Although we look down on the Southern Qi court, the people in Guangling City are very innocent. Even if we can only do a small amount, it’s better than doing nothing.”

Ji Shan touched his forehead and said suddenly: "Yes, Lao Xi is right."

The rest also echoed the words.

Lin Xi smiled brightly and said warmly: "Then let me make it clear to you in advance. When assisting in defending the city, you must obey Junior Brother Lu's arrangements and do not act on your own initiative."

Xi Jun said seriously: "Miss, please don't worry."

"Okay, thank you all."

Lin Xi left the house and walked in the bright summer sunshine. She suddenly felt that she needed to prepare a long knife.

……

In the afternoon, the Guangling Army commander sent to the Yamen.

Duan Zuozhang said unhurriedly: "I have sent people to send urgent military information to the Governor's Mansion and the Governor's Mansion. Calculating the time, the Governor only needs to receive the emergency report and at the same time dispatch the first part of the Feiyun Army and the Taixing Army to go south for support. This should be able to resolve the crisis in Guangling."

In the past two days, he had been busy reinforcing the city's defenses, and at the same time sent a small number of ranger sentries to the west to guard the city.The situation in the city was relatively stable, and the details of the Procuratorate's Office that had not yet been exposed did not stir up the situation anymore. What made him more worried was that there had been no military orders from the Governor's Mansion.

When Ou Zhiqiu and the Gu family were arrested, the Sutra Weaving Department sent news to the Northern Governor's Mansion. It was said that even Lu Chen and others would be aware of Bei Yan's conspiracy, and it was impossible for the Governor Xiao Wangzhi to have no reaction at all.

Lu Chen put the teacup in his hand on the table and said thoughtfully: "General, I have a hunch that the Governor may not send troops south to rescue Guangling."

Duan Zuozhang was slightly startled.

Guangling is not only a city, but also the granary of the entire Huaizhou. There are countless grains stored in the city. In other words, this city is the logistical support for the frontline soldiers of Huaizhou.This is the hub of Huaizhou. If the Yan army takes Guangling, they can attack the back of the Lai'an defense line to the north, attack Taixing to the east and threaten the governor's office, and block the imperial reinforcements from heading north to the south.

In the past two days, Duan Zuozhang discovered that Lu Chen also had some attainments in military affairs. Although this young man had some strange ideas, it could be seen that he had worked hard in this area and was not just a blank slate of ignorance, so he asked curiously Said: "Why not?"

Lu Chen said: "General, just think about it, if the governor lets the Taixing army stay where it is, can the Lai'an defense line be held?"

Duan Zuozhang had naturally seen the military intelligence briefing on the front line and said slowly: "The offensive of the Puppet Yan army is very fierce and has broken through several fortresses on the border, but this is far from enough to break through the security line. There is a governor who is personally stationed at the border. In addition, the Zhenbei Army assumes the main defense task, so even without reinforcements, it will not be a problem to hold on for a year and a half."

"In other words, the Taixing Army does not have to go north, and the 6000 people of the Feiyun Army can stay still, right?" Lu Chen asked.

Duan Zuozhang nodded slightly, then his eyes lit up: "You mean, the Governor is looking for an opportunity for a decisive battle?"

Lu Chen said: "Junior just feels that the enemy is coming this time fiercely, and it would be too passive to defend blindly. Perhaps the Governor is retreating the defense line to paralyze the enemy, secretly accumulating strength for a backhand attack."

"It makes sense, but——"

The words stopped suddenly, and suddenly a person hurriedly walked into the main hall.

"Deputy Commander, urgent military order from the Governor's Mansion!"

The visitor walked up to Duan Zuozhang, holding up a letter that was completely inked in both hands.

Duan Zuozhang took it and opened it, his eyes fell on the letter paper, and his expression changed slightly.

Lu Chen had already turned around and looked away when he heard Duan Zuozhang's voice: "As you said."

Apart from the letterhead and seal, there are only four words on the letter: Defend Guangling.

Duan Zuozhang and Lu Chen looked at each other, their expressions becoming solemn.

In fact, regardless of whether there is this military order, they will do their best to defend the city, but the four words written by Xiao Wangzhi have a deeper meaning, that is, Guangling will become a target to attract the enemy's attention in a short period of time, and it should not Reinforcements are arriving.

Duan Zuozhang frowned slightly. He only had 4000 men in hand. With the towering and solid city walls, he should be able to withstand the first few rounds of attacks. However, if time goes on for too long and there are not enough new troops to replenish it, it will be difficult to stop such attacks by willpower alone. The old pawn of Jingchao who is like a wolf and a tiger.

"This military order..."

Lu Chen hesitated.

Duan Zuozhang asked: "What's wrong?"

Lu Chen's eyes narrowed slightly, and he shook his head and said: "There is nothing wrong, but the general's urgent report was sent three days ago. Such a short time was obviously not enough for the messenger to make a round trip. In other words, Governor Xiao had already discovered the anomaly in the south, but he We cannot send reinforcements south, so we are required to defend Guangling."

In other words, Lu Chen's previous guess became a reality.The Governor's Office has obviously made a decision. No matter what kind of crisis Guangling suffers, the main force of the Huaizhou Army will complete the battle in the north and will not follow the opponent's rhythm.

Duan Zuozhang had no time to admire Lu Chen's keen vision at this moment. He stood up and walked to the simple sand table and said in a deep voice: "If the ancient road is lost and the puppet Yan army crosses the Shuangfeng Mountains, there will be at least 3 to [-] people. Generally speaking, there are [-] people in the city. The defenders can handle it. After all, the terrain restrictions of the ancient road mean that the enemy cannot bring large siege equipment, but..."

He paused for a moment, then turned to Lu Chen and said, "I'm afraid that it's not the puppet Yan army that will be responsible for the siege, but the Jing Dynasty veterans under Qing Yugong's command."

Lu Chenyi walked to the side, looked at the Shuangfeng Mountains to the west of Guangling on the sand table, and said slowly: "Is the old soldier from Jingchao so strong?"

Duan Zuozhang said calmly: "How can they break Heluo if they are not strong? The city defense of the old capital was many times stronger than Guangling, but it was still broken through by Jing's army. I am not trying to make others more ambitious, but because generals must consider defeat first. We cannot underestimate the enemy’s strength.”

Lu Chen said calmly: "The Sutra Weaving Department and the government office are making preparations. The people in the city already know that the enemy may attack the city, and the gentry and wealthy merchants are also willing to support the city defense. We only need three days at most to complete the battle. General preparations beforehand.”

"Three days..." Duan Zuozhang was about to elaborate, but suddenly stopped.

Lu Chen turned his head and looked outside.

The sudden sound of the bell was like a big yellow bell, drifting from nowhere and reaching the ears of the two of them.

Immediately afterwards, a soldier ran in slightly panicked, and said hurriedly before he could stand still: "General, sentry report, Jing Chao's army appeared more than [-] miles west of the city, and they are rushing in quickly! According to the general With the order, the drum tower bells sounded as a warning, and the entire city's defenders entered a state of war!"

(End of this chapter)