Hengdao Sixteen Kingdoms

Chapter 553 Offense and Defense
"Is there any news about Qin and Jin?" Murong Ke's voice was much calmer. He was not asking the scouts, but Feng Yi in the carriage.

"Di Qin has gathered a hundred thousand troops in Chang'an and is about to march eastward. The Jin army in the south is stationed heavily in Ruxu and Fancheng. The Northern Expedition is imminent!" Feng Yi's voice was brisk, with a hint of joy inexplicably.

He is in charge of the intelligence of Yan State, and these are all his duties.

"This is very good. Attacked from three sides, the Liang Kingdom will be defeated this time, and the revival of Yan is expected!" Ku Lai Guanwei laughed.

Zhai Shu glanced at the carriage in confusion, then turned to look at Pang Yue, but the latter lowered his head and could not see his expression clearly.

The faces of the surrounding Yan Army soldiers were obviously much more relaxed. They were not afraid of a strong enemy army, but were most afraid of fighting alone.

With [-] Qin troops plus tens of thousands Jin troops, no matter how strong the Liang Kingdom is, it will inevitably be weak on the left and right.

The news spread rapidly among the Yan army, and morale suddenly failed to recover. It seemed that the dark clouds hanging over Juyang City had dissipated a lot.

Liang Jun's body was quickly buried, and according to Murong Ke's request, a monument was erected for Zhang Shengye with the word "Yonglie" written on it.

"Grand Governor, the main force of Heiyun has arrived at Zhongshan!" After only one day of rest, the scouts came to report again.

Not only did the main force of Heiyun come, but generals such as Jia Jian, Lu Bozao, Li Du, Duan Zhu and others also came to surround them.

"Send the order, give up going up the valley, the whole army will rise, the infantry will follow, and the cavalry will follow me to defeat Jia Jian's army first!" Murong Ke appeared in front of everyone wearing a black mink velvet cloak.

His face was still pale and his body was still upright, but his cheeks were thin and lacked the handsomeness of the past.

Although Liang Jun was surrounded from three sides, each unit had only a small number of troops.

The strength of the Yan army was cavalry. Of the 3 troops under Murong Ke's command, [-] were cavalry, and most of the remaining [-] were moved by horses and camels.

It is both a mount and military ration.

For this battle, Murong Ke even spent his capital from Yan State...

Zhongshan Wuji City.

"Your Majesty...Murong Ke abandoned the attack on Jicheng and instead attacked Shanggu. 930 Seven Heiyun elites and 27 Shangwutang disciples were killed...General Zhang Shengye committed suicide due to exhaustion..." reported Lu Qing, who was accompanying the army.

"I know." Li Yue frowned.

This kind of casualties is not small, but in the future when the world is unified, more people will fall on the road.

Zhang Shengye was originally sent to Shanggu mainly for training, but he didn't expect to encounter an opponent of Murong Ke's level in the first battle.

But in the decisive battle between the two countries, death in battle is inevitable, let alone facing Murong Ke.

This is also the reason why Li Yue wanted to quickly go north to face the Yan army. Historically, Murong Ke basically defeated all the invincible opponents in the world.

Although the Yan State is weak, its combat power will not decline as long as Murong Ke is still there.

"The pension for fallen soldiers was doubled. Zhang Shengye... was awarded the title of General of Brave Heroes, and his son was awarded the title of seventh-level military meritorious service. Orders Jia Jian, Lu Bozao, Li Du, and Duan Zhen to guard the walls and not to advance rashly!"

Having no time to remember the dead, Li Yue quickly collected his thoughts and devoted his energy to the battle.

All tribes in Youzhou are infantry, but the Yan army has many cavalry, which can move through quickly, and can form an advantage in local battlefields of using the fast to defeat the slow.

This time Shanggu fell because Murong Ke took advantage of it.

"only."

Lu Qing went out to deliver the order, and the scout came back, "Your Majesty, Murong Ke abandoned Shanggu and led his troops eastward to attack General Jia Jian!"

"The whole army immediately goes east to support Jicheng!" Li Yue was shocked. Sure enough, Murong Ke was not greedy for the land and the city.

From this, it can be seen that his purpose in this battle is to kill as many Heiyun elites as possible, severely damage the Liang Kingdom, and buy more time for the Yan Kingdom.The Yan army can only wait for death if they stay in Shanggu. Only by taking action can the Yan army have a chance to survive.

The infantry was too slow, so Li Yue could only let Lu Guang and Liu Laozhi lead [-] cavalry to advance first, while he slowly caught up with the infantry and cavalry behind.

As soon as they entered the realm of Fan Yang, all kinds of battle reports came pouring in.

Jia Jian was a veteran general with rich experience. When he saw the city of Juyang was broken, he immediately established his camp and defended it. However, Murong Ke made a false shot and led his cavalry to attack Lu Bo Zao's troops. Lu Bo Zao was also a veteran general and remained calm in the face of the battle. Most of them were Lukou's elite troops. After a bloody battle, they blocked Murong Ke at the cost of more than [-] casualties and retreated to Anci City.

"If we fight like this, I will suffer a bit!" Li Yue looked at the slowly advancing cavalry around him. There were [-] elites and [-] civilians behind him. He couldn't move faster even if he wanted to.

In this situation, the army must protect the grain road at all times.

Cui Hong suggested: "It's very difficult for our army to pursue him. It's better to attack the Youxiao stronghold and cut off Murong Ke's food route first."

"If you attack the enemy, you must save it; if you defend it, you must attack it, yes!" Li Yueran said.

Hebei is very large and empty. Murong Ke concentrated his troops and did not come to attack the city and seize territory, while Li Yue needed to defend everywhere, which was a strategic disadvantage.

Murong Ke's active attack did disrupt Li Yue's rhythm.

He is worthy of being a famous general with long-standing reputation.

A famous general may not be able to prevent a country's demise, but it can greatly delay its demise.

Just like the Zhao State in the Warring States Period, the presence of Li Mu restrained the Qin army's arrogant offensive momentum, forcing the Qin State to use a divorce plan to remove Li Mu, and then destroyed the Zhao State.

The same was true for the Chu State. Xiang Yan defeated Li Xin in Chengfu (now southeast of Bozhou, Anhui) and killed seven captains. The Qin army was almost completely wiped out. In the end, it was the veteran general Wang Jian who came out and crushed the Chu State with a 60-strong army.

Li Yue ordered the army to go north again.

After only two days, the movement of the Yan army changed again. Murong Ke abandoned the Wenfang stronghold and moved the entire army to attack Cangzhou.

By the way, he received a wave of food, grass and baggage sent from Tuhe.

The officers and soldiers of the Liang Army were quite tired after going back and forth like this. In the past, they could march through waterways, but now the navy ships followed Ma Gu across the sea to attack Liaodong, so they could only rely on two legs to travel.

"We must rescue what we attack and attack what we defend. Send an order and let the army rest for two days. Then they will follow me out of Yinxiao Village and walk north of Yinshan Mountain to attack Longcheng!" Li Yue reacted.

You can't follow Murong Ke's rhythm.

If this fight continues, the Black Cloud Army will be exhausted and collapsed, so let's just let the Black Tiger take out the heart!
Originally, the purpose of this battle was to annex the Yan Kingdom, but Murong Ke disrupted the rhythm and dazzled the eyes. Now it is back to the main topic.

There is Tuhe on the Liaoxi Corridor, guarding the Jieshi Road. One man can guard the gate and ten thousand men can't open it. Murong Ke must have made arrangements.

Once the attack fails and Murong Ke attacks from behind, Li Yue may capsize in the ditch.

To harm the enemy but not to kill him, the biggest taboo in using troops since ancient times is to be led by the enemy.

Of course, it is not impossible to contain Murong Ke.

However, the manpower and material resources consumed were too great, and there was also the risk of Murong Ke breaking through the encirclement or severely damaging several armies, which was a thankless task.

"If this is the case, our army's food route is long, wouldn't it be easier for it to be cut off by the enemy?" Cui Hong worried.

"First transport the grain and grass to Jicheng, and then leave [-] Heiyun Xiaoqi to protect the grain road. Following Murong Ke's example, I will bring more donkeys, mules, camels and horses with me on this trip!" Li Yue did not believe that Murong Ke would leave Longcheng alone.

The army then marched towards Jicheng.

(End of this chapter)