Jiuxi

Chapter 95 094 [Jump out of a corner of the world]

July 12, the 27th year of Jianwu in the Southern Qi Dynasty.

before dawn.

Everything in Lai'an City is silent, except for the occasional barking of wild dogs in the streets and alleys.

In the side hall of the Huaizhou Dudu Mansion, the lights are brightly lit and the atmosphere is solemn.

Xiao Wangzhi's personal soldiers have been placed outside the hall to guard against any possible prying eyes.

There were several generals sitting in the hall, including Chen Lanyu, the commander of the Zhenbei Army, He Gui, the commander of the Lai'an Army, and Kang Yanxiao, the commander of the Taixing Army.What is unexpected is that the general Pei Sui, who was supposed to be stationed at Panlong Pass, and Duan Zuozhang, who stayed in Guangling to organize the army, also appeared in this side hall.

Lu Chen sat quietly at the bottom. He met the generals when he came in. There was no particularly enthusiastic exchange between him and Duan Zuozhang, but some things did not need to be kept superficial.

The experience of living and dying together is enough to make them natural partners.

In silence, everyone remained patient enough and waited quietly.

Footsteps suddenly sounded outside, and then Huang Xianfeng, the commander of the marching army of the Governor's Mansion, walked in quickly carrying a box, his expression hurried but unable to hide his excitement.

After seeing the ceremony, he said to everyone: "Generals, I have come here to deliver the order on the order of the Grand Governor. When I returned from the front line, the Grand Governor had already decided to capture Xu Wen, the commander of the Dingwei Army who had collaborated with the enemy and treason. According to the plan, we started the work last night, and the warp weaving department, Su Inspector, has already made preparations."

"Okay, it's not a pity for this son of a bitch to die!" He Gui, who was fierce in nature, said viciously.

Huang Xianfeng smiled slightly, and then said calmly: "Next, I will briefly introduce the situation in the north to the generals."

"It has been proven that there are at least [-] enemy troops stationed in Yongquan Pass, and more than half of them are veterans of the Jing Dynasty. This should be the capital of the puppet Yan coach Zhang Junsi."

He stood next to the map, raised his finger and pointed to the pass between the mountains to the north of the security line. Then he moved a distance to the left, stopped at Qingtian City, and continued: "There are more than [-] defenders in Qingtian City. From the time our army launched its counterattack to the Northern Expedition until our vanguard army arrived outside Qingtian City, Zhang Junsi did not send any additional reinforcements to Qingtian City. Even if only a few thousand more troops were added, it would make our army's attack extremely difficult."

"It can be seen that Colonel Lu's judgment of the battle situation is very accurate, so I asked him to explain it in detail to the generals."

Huang Xianfeng stopped talking and looked at the young captain sitting at the bottom with a gentle smile.

Lu Chen knew that this must be Xiao Wangzhi's arrangement, because out of absolute confidentiality considerations, only the two of them knew the complete combat plan. Now that it was time for a showdown, the generals responsible for execution could not remain confused.

He walked up to Huang Xianfeng, saluted everyone and said: "Generals, I have been ordered by the Grand Governor to formulate a strategy for this battle. We have made various plans from the beginning. First of all, our army's first goal must be Qingtian City and Yongquan Pass were chosen, but after discovering that Xu and Wen collaborated with the enemy, the governor revised the strategy and waited for the enemy's reaction before making a decision."

"Normally, Zhang Junsi's choice should be to use Qingtian City's peripheral defense system to continuously delay and block our army's strength. But they did not do this. Instead, they took the initiative to retreat and shrink the defense line. At the same time, they did not send additional reinforcements to Qingtian City. . From this we can see that they are preparing to take advantage of our army’s idea of ​​encircling the point for reinforcements and massing heavy troops to fight our army decisively in the Qingtian Valley. This is the first stage of the war.”

"After confirming the enemy's strategy, the governor personally led the Pingshan Army to the front line and assembled the Nanya Army, Feiyun Army and Pingshan Army to besiege Qingtian City to confirm the enemy's ideas. At the same time, he allowed the generals to continue to rest and recuperate. sharp, and prepare dry food for a quick march, so that the soldiers under his command will be in the best condition to deal with the upcoming war."

"There are many possible changes in this. For example, if Zhang Junsi does not want to fight our army, but sticks to Qingtian City and Yongquan Pass, then our army must adjust its strategy in time. Now it seems that Zhang Junsi and Puppet Yan Deputy Privy Councilor Chen Jingtang just wants to paralyze our army first and then defeat our army in the Qingtian Valley."

Lu Chen's tone was neither urgent nor slow, and the narrative logic was very clear. All the generals in the hall nodded.

Duan Zuozhang said: "Actually, I don't quite understand the thoughts of Zhang Junsi and Chen Jingtang. They suffered heavy losses in the Qingxia area. How can they still have the courage to continue to seek a decisive battle in the wild?"

Lu Chen replied: "Because they believe that the failure of the Battle of Qingxia was a strategic error rather than the lack of strength of Yanjing's army. Another point is that they want to use the decisive battle in the wild to create more trouble for the governor. Even if this battle They only achieved a weak victory, and they can also accuse the governor of being arrogant and underestimating the enemy's advance. If the governor can be allowed to leave Huaizhou, this is the outcome they most want to see."

Although what he said was not particularly thorough, others could hear the unfinished meaning.

Huang Xianfeng sighed inwardly, Colonel Lu was so courageous that he actually pointed out that the gentlemen in Yongjia City had bad intentions towards the Governor. Fortunately, these people in front of him were all the Governor's absolute confidants.

Lu Chen pointed out that there was no need to go too deep, and then he said to the marching Sima beside him: "May I ask Master Huang, how many of the puppet Yan troops have been assembled?"

Huang Xianfeng said: "The news that has been confirmed so far is that Chen Jingtang, the deputy envoy of the Puppet Yan Privy Council, has transferred nearly 4 people from Moyang Road and tens of thousands of people from Jiangbei Road, plus tens of thousands of troops and horses in Zhang Junsi's hands. The enemy's total strength of the defenders in Qingtian City is more than 15. The Grand Governor estimates that the enemy troops will be assembled in seven or eight days, that is, in early August."

He raised his hand and pointed at the map, drew a distance up from Qingtian City, and said to everyone: "The enemy's gathering place is at Tongshan City at the northern end of Yongfeng Road. This place is about sixty miles away from Qingtian City. The enemy can start from Yongfeng." Fengdao went directly south to the Qingtian Valley."

All the generals looked at him solemnly.

Huang Xianfeng turned around and opened the box, and took out the transfer order stamped with the governor's seal. Everyone present, including Lu Chen, had a copy. After delivering it, he said seriously: "Generals, please act in accordance with the military order without delay."

Everyone responded in unison: "I will obey the orders of the Grand Governor!"

He Gui looked at the contents of the transfer order and became excited. He praised: "The Governor's plan really made the enemy confused."

Huang Xianfeng remembered Xiao Wangzhi's instructions before leaving, and then interjected: "The Governor said that this is Colonel Lu's hard work, and I hope you generals will not let it down."

Chen Lanyu, who had been silent all the time, looked at Lu Chen steadily, a smile appeared on his usually calm face, and he nodded and said: "Colonel Lu is young and promising, and it is amazing. If the Governor hadn't taken action in advance, I would have definitely killed you. Transfer to Zhenbei Army."

Lu Chen cupped his hands and said, "The general praises you so much that you will never deserve it."

All the generals looked at him with approval, and Duan Zuozhang even sighed: "Why did Colonel Lu think of this move?"

Lu Chen thought for a while and answered honestly: "Because the Governor mentioned it before, the world is bigger than Huaizhou."

The generals nodded thoughtfully.Huang Xianfeng said at the right time: "Generals, please invite me, I don't want to delay important events."

Everyone left the side hall with military orders, while Lu Chen joined Li Chengen and others who were waiting outside the Governor's Mansion, and quickly rushed back to the Bieyuan.

"Assemble everyone to gather at the school ground wearing armor and holding swords. According to the previous arrangement, one person and two horses and bring dry food."

Lu Chen's words were short and concise, and his voice was slightly excited in the dark night before dawn.

"Follow the order!" Li Chengen responded with the same excitement.

Lu Chen quickly returned to the inner house. He first put the dagger in a fixed position in his boots, then put on a suit of light armor and took the long and short swords he had chosen these days. He suddenly stopped when he was about to go to the front house.

Lin Xi stood in front, also wearing a heroic military uniform.

"Senior sister, this is..." Lu Chen didn't plan to take Lin Xi on the expedition because he had received so much help from her during this period that Lu Chen didn't know how to repay her in the future.

He is not the kind of heartless person, on the contrary, he attaches great importance to the word kindness.

Lin Xi's expression was gentle, and there was a slight surge in his eyes, and he said softly: "You have already learned the Xuan Jing and the outer sect skills. Next, you just need to improve step by step. There are still many things to do in the north, and I can't leave for too long. I originally planned to say goodbye to you in the near future, but it happened that you were going to participate in this war."

She paused and smiled: "In that case, let me protect you one more time."

Lu was silent for a moment, then took a few steps forward and came to her side, looked into her eyes and said, "Senior sister, thank you."

Lin Xi shook his head and said, "Let's go."

"it is good."

Lu Chen kept that affection deep in his heart and strode out.

……

The rising of the sun and the setting of the moon never depend on human will.

As time goes by, Tongshan City on Dongyang Road in Beiyan is filled with a soaring air of murder.

Several armies arrived one after another, and the total number of troops in the city exceeded [-], preparing for the battle.

"Sir, thirty thousand soldiers and horses from Moyang Road should arrive in two days."

Zhu Zhen, the general manager of Moyang Road's military and horse capital, looked at Chen Jingtang, the deputy privy envoy, and said.

Wang Shidao, who was sitting next to him, also said: "General Hu sent a messenger to convey that Jiangbei Army should be able to arrive here in four days."

Chen Jingtang exhaled a breath, and finally let go of the stone hanging in his heart, and said slowly: "I believe that since Xiao Wangzhi wants to send reinforcements outside Qingtian City, he will definitely use all his troops to achieve the goal in the shortest possible time. Target. In addition to the troops outside the city and the elites hiding in the rear, the Feiyun Army stationed outside Yongquan Pass may also enter the battlefield from the side."

Zhang Junsi pondered and said: "Your Majesty, our army can dispatch another elite force to go south from Yongquan Pass and follow the enemy Feiyun Army to implement counter-encirclement?"

Just as Chen Jingtang was about to speak, there was suddenly a burst of urgent footsteps outside the festival hall, and then someone came outside the door and said: "Your Excellency, there is an urgent report from Yongquan Pass!"

The expressions of everyone in the hall changed. Chen Jingtang frowned and said, "Come in."

A captain walked in quickly and announced his identity and said quickly: "Your Majesty, the defenders of Yongquan Pass are on guard in secret in accordance with the general's order. However, they recently discovered that something is not right with the Qi army outside the pass. Starting about six days ago, the Qi army has been retreating. Withdraw, but the distance retreated every day was not very large, so the defenders did not notice it. But after comparison yesterday, our army found that the enemy retreated at least ten miles!"

"Back up?"

Chen Jingtang was confused.

Both Zhang Junsi and Zhu Zhen were slightly puzzled. Could it be that the Feiyun Army of Southern Qi, which was famous for its ferocity, suddenly became wary?
Unlike the ongoing offensive and defensive battle in Qingtian City, Yongquan Pass has been in a calm situation. Feiyun Army only camped outside the pass to contain it and never attempted to attack the pass.

Chen Jingtang calmed down and muttered: "Tell the guard of Yongquan Pass that the enemy may be deliberately showing weakness, and ask him to continue to be vigilant to prevent the enemy from being caught off guard."

The lieutenant led the way.

The atmosphere in the hall was solemn. It was about to be the decisive battle, and any slightest disturbance might affect the change of the battle situation.

Chen Jingtang looked at everyone and said slowly: "The war is coming. Don't mess up your position. Everything will be carried out according to the established plan."

"Follow the order."

Zhang Junsi and others responded in a deep voice.

Wang Shidao did not hesitate, but at this moment, he suddenly felt strong uneasiness in his heart.

(End of this chapter)