Jiuxi

Chapter 70 070 [Tiger Ju]

The northern border of Huaizhou is located in Heyin County, Lai'an Prefecture.

Due to the ongoing anxiety of the border war, the Governor's Mansion moved here a few days ago.

As Beiyan continued to increase its troops, including some veterans of the Jing Dynasty and new recruits who were tempered on the battlefield for the first time, the pressure on the Huaizhou border was increasing.

As early as many days ago, the 6000 people of the Feiyun Army stationed in Wuhe County, Baoying Prefecture, had been transferred to the northeast of Panlong Pass. There were seven fortresses including Lianning Village on the flanks of the Lai'an Defense Line.

The fighting on the center line was particularly fierce, and the Zhenbei Army faced the strongest enemies, especially those Jing Dynasty recruits who were responsible for the second wave of attacks.Although they were not as experienced as the old soldiers, they all only wanted to make meritorious deeds on the battlefield and brought out the fierceness of the Jinglian people to the fullest.

If the Zhenbei Army, trained by Xiao Wang, had not resisted, it would have been very dangerous to come to the security line.

Therefore, it is logical for the Taixing Army to go north to support.

However, after a military order was issued by the Dudu Mansion, the Taixing Army stopped near Lai'an Fucheng in the rear and did not go north to enter the battle line.

In the county seat, the temporary governor's office was extremely busy, with an endless stream of officials and clerks.

When Su Yunqing walked into the duty room, Xiao Wangzhi was listening to Xiang Zan's military report, holding a rice bowl in his hand.

This situation is very common these days. Sometimes I am too busy to take care of eating time.

Xiao Wangzhi interrupted Xiang Zan's report, put down his job and said to Su Yunqing: "Sit down."

Su Yunqing took his seat upon seeing the ceremony and said: "To the Governor, the arrangements made by the Weaving Department on Dongyang Road in Pseudo-Yan have paid off. Judging from Qinglang's reply, Zhang Junsi should believe that our army will dispatch troops south to rescue Guangling."

Xiao Wangzhi showed approval, nodded and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

Su Yunqing is also very busy during this period. On the one hand, he must maintain the stability of the northern governments and prevent those lurking Beiyan minions from stirring up the situation. On the other hand, he must contact the spies lurking in Beiyan and arrange for them to perform various tasks, including Inquiry into Beiyan's troop configuration and logistics arrangements, and at the same time, they must cooperate with the military's plan.

Now that he had finally completed the task entrusted by Xiao Wangzhi, he could barely breathe a sigh of relief.

However...Su Yunqing still couldn't worry about Guangling City after all. She frowned slightly and said, "Grand Governor, I'm afraid the situation in Guangling will be very difficult."

"I did have such worries when the war broke out."

Xiao Wangzhi looked gentle and continued: "Your subordinates are very capable. They dug out all the details sent by Puppet Yan and allowed Duan Zuozhang to direct the city defense wholeheartedly. He is very capable and has a good way of training and commanding troops. , but sometimes it is easy to have random thoughts, but as long as he is determined, there is no way that the [-] enemy troops can attack Guangling."

Su Yunqing didn't find it easy to answer this question.

He had read the detailed report sent by Li Jin, knew that Lu Chen had dug out the Gu family and Ou Zhiqiu, and had discovered You Pu's identity in advance. It could be said that he single-handedly solved the conspiracy of the Beiyan Procuratorate.

Li Jin did not hide the issue of Duan Zuozhang not reporting the matter. The matter was suppressed by Lu Chen, but he still said a few good words for Lu Chen because Duan Zuozhang was of great significance to city defense.

At this moment, Xiao Wangzhi took the initiative to bring up this matter, but his intention was not difficult to guess.

After pondering for a while, Su Yunqing said: "The Governor is serious. Deputy Commander Duan is not at fault. This is the strategy he discussed with Director Lu Chen."

Xiao Wangzhi smiled slightly and said straightforwardly: "Actually, I was going to have someone hammer out the chapter, but the current situation is not bad. In any case, this matter is thanks to the Weaving Department."

Su Yunqing humbly agreed and said, "Guangling Yamen has made great achievements this time. Lu Chen is really impressive."

His words contained a hint of temptation.

Now it is obviously impossible for Lu Chen to lurk in Beiyan. Ou Zhiqiu and You Pu both fell into Lu Chen's hands, and the plan to surprise Guangling was in vain. This young man will inevitably become the focus of the Procuratorate. At this moment, his portrait has been sent to Wang Shidao.

If Lu Chen is sent north at this time, it will not mean that he will perform meritorious service, but that he will die.

Furthermore, Lu Chen's contribution this time was indeed considerable, and the capital would definitely know about it. Su Yunqing was sure that this young man would attract the attention of Qin Zheng.

Xiao Wangzhi asked meaningfully: "Su Inspector still wants Lu Chen to go to Beidi?"

Su Yunqing shook his head and said: "This matter was caused by a lower-ranking official's abruptness."

"From your point of view, this idea is not too outrageous." Xiao Wangzhi picked up the tea cup and took a sip, then continued: "When the Lu family was involved in the crime, that boy did really well. , thoughtful and courageous, and with an unknown family background, it is very suitable for him to lurk in the North, so it is normal for him to win your favor. However, I said before that I let Lu Chen make his own decision because Lu Tong only has this only son, so he is sure Reluctant to part with it.”

Su Yunqing smiled bitterly and said, "If I had known that Lu Tong knew the Governor, I would not have been so rash."

Xiao Wangzhi did not deny the matter, nor did he decide Lu Chen's future as Su Yunqing suspected.

He stopped continuing this topic and said: "Although Guangling is important, we cannot let it become an issue that affects us in the north. Therefore, the battle in the north is still the top priority. We hope that the Sutra Weaver Department will do its best to cooperate during this period. Create more fog for Zhang Junsi and Wang Shidao outside the battlefield to cover up our real plan."

Su Yunqing immediately stood up and said: "I will accept your order."

After he bowed and resigned, Huang Xianfeng, the commander of the marching army, came in and reported: "Grand Governor, everyone has arrived."

Xiao Wangzhi nodded slightly, stood up and came to the festival hall.

There are already more than ten generals waiting here, including the three commanders of the Zhenbei Army, Lai'an Army, and Feiyun Army who have rushed over.

"Today we will make a long story short."

Xiao Wangzhi set the tone, looked around the crowd and said: "Now the puppet Yan army has captured the Wangmei Ancient Road, and 2 people have attacked Guangling City in advance, at least half of them are veterans of the Jing Dynasty, and the opponent will definitely increase their troops in the future. Guangling, we must use the safety of this important town to mobilize our troops."

The generals looked solemn, but did not show any panic.

It has now entered late May, about 20 days have passed since Beiyan launched its troops to invade. According to the news from the Sutra Weaving Department, the imperial court has finally stopped arguing about reinforcements and will dispatch [-] troops from the Nanya Twelve Army northward to support Huaizhou. .

According to the usual speed of action of the Beijing army, it will be at least half a month before they arrive in Guangling. The premise is that the main force of the Guangling army can still hold the most important Qiling Ancient Road and the Baishi Ferry on the north bank of the Hengjiang River.

The current situation in Huaizhou is not optimistic. After the fall of Wangmei Ancient Road, Beiyan has a channel to attack Guangling. Whether it is the four thousand defenders in Guangling City or the main force of Guangling Army led by Qi Tai in the southwest corner, this period will Will be under great pressure.

If Guangling is to be rescued, the troops on the northern battlefield will be stretched thin, and a small amount of reinforcements will not be able to solve the crisis in Guangling.

However, if reinforcements are not sent, once Guangling falls, Huaizhou's granary will fall into the hands of the Yan army, and the main retreat of the Huaizhou army will be exposed to the enemy's sight, creating a situation where they will be attacked from the north and south by the opponent.

Song Shifei, the commander of the Feiyun Army, said in a deep voice: "Grand Governor, I will ask you to go south! The Taixing Army can take over our defense line. The general will ensure that we can retake the Wangmei Ancient Road in one fell swoop, cut off the channel for the puppet Yan to continue sending troops, and at the same time let the enemy besieging Guangling The army becomes a lone army!”

Xiao Wangzhi shook his head and said, "No need."

Song Shifei frowned, but he still refrained from arguing.

Xiao Wangzhi looked at the map on the wall and said slowly: "The Pseudo Yan Moyang Road may not be able to continue sending troops. It is impossible for the other party to hide such a big movement from the Jingzhou Governor's Mansion. Governor Li will not sit back and watch the Puppet Yan Chen Xiaokuan deploy troops to pass through. Cross the Wangmei Ancient Road and attack Guangling. As long as he deploys a few elite troops to pretend to attack the east side of Moyang Road, Chen Xiaokuan will definitely focus on self-protection. To put it simply, there is still room for Guangling to hold on, and this is the opportunity we need to seize. ."

The generals suddenly understood, and Song Shifei couldn't help but nod in agreement.

Xiao Wangzhi muttered: "The Feiyun Army will gradually retreat from now on. If necessary, the three northernmost fortresses can be abandoned."

Song Shifei said solemnly: "The last general will take orders."

Xiao Wangzhi stood up and walked to the sand table, and said: "The Lai'an Army and the Zhenbei Army will retreat fifty miles in the next two days, returning to the line from Nanton Town to Shangshui Village. Three days later, the Lai'an Army will continue to retreat. , but pay attention to the speed and do not withdraw too quickly, just let the enemy know that your troops have left the second line of defense."

The two commanders responded at the same time.

Xiao Wangzhi said slowly: "Since the enemy wants us to shrink the defense line and mobilize troops to return to Guangling, then at least on the surface, we must follow the enemy's plan."

Chen Lanyu, the commander of the Zhenbei Army, gradually brightened his eyes and said unhurriedly: "The Commander-in-Chief wants our army to abandon the first line of defense in order to put a pocket inward and wait for the main force of the Puppet Yan Dongyang Road. Come in?"

Xiao Wangzhi nodded approvingly and said: "It's not difficult to guess what Zhang Junsi and Wang Shidao were thinking. They knew that the security line was strong and chewing it hard would only break their teeth, so they used Guangling as the target, intending to make our army head and tail. We can't take care of both, and then we are exhausted and expose our flaws. In this case, we will follow his wishes and return to Guangling to support him, but in fact we will fight decisively here."

He pointed to a place on the sand table called Qingxia, located more than a hundred miles north of Heyin County.

Everyone's breathing gradually became faster.

Xiao Wangzhi's tiger eyes were shining brightly, and he said proudly: "Let's see whether they take Guangling first, or our army will decide the tripod in Qingxia!"

(End of this chapter)