Gentlemen, listen to the sword chant

Chapter 75 On the eve of the alliance, the dark tide surges

As soon as the news came out that the imperial court issued an appeal against thieves, calling on princes from all walks of life in the fourteen prefectures to jointly send troops to Wuyue to fight, the soldiers and civilians in Wu in the east of the Yangtze River were excited, and the king of Wu breathed a sigh of relief. This meant that the imperial court formally declared war on Dongying and regained Lost ground is just around the corner.

Outside Huaiyin, where the Chen family’s army was stationed, the princess was not very happy to hear the news. Over the past few days, Chen Ci repeatedly persuaded her to leave and go to the capital to escape the chaos of war, and come back to reunite after the war subsided. Dongying's declaration of war means that soldiers and horses from various states will go to Wuyue one after another. If they can be together, why should they separate?But Chen Ci couldn't be happy, and was depressed all day long. He saw far and knew the truth that far water can't save near fire.

The princess asked out her doubts, so Chen Ci had no choice but to prevaricate indiscriminately, saying: "Your Highness, you don't understand, not to mention that soldiers and horses from all walks of life rushed to Wubei, and the soldiers and horses were exhausted all the way; besides, the generals of each state are all Whoever refuses to accept, Wuzhou Mu Xishen, although he is the Marquis of Zhou Mu, may not be able to make the allied forces implement the military orders uniformly. I think, if a real fight really happens, they will still go their own way. Going through the motions, there are always a few people who really want to help the country and serve the country with death. In short, I guess that in the next few years, Wu Nan will only be a battlefield. As for the recovery of Yuezhou, it is even more idiotic. So, Your Highness, you are obedient , I will ask Fan Chu to take you to the capital first, lest there will be a real fight, and it will be too late to leave."

The statement was moved with emotion and reason, but the princess still couldn't listen to it. She had a stubborn temper and a hard heart. After hearing the words, she said: "Husband, you must be too disappointed with the princes from all walks of life. No matter how bad it is, Wu Yue will My Great Liang territory has been an inseparable part of Great Liang throughout the ages. I admit that there are many factions in our Great Liang, fighting endlessly, but fighting behind closed doors is always a family. Now it is the Dongying people who start the war. No matter how big the hatred is, It’s time to let go of the estrangement and share the same hatred with the enemy, right?”

Chen Ci chuckled, rolled the shredded tobacco with yellow paper, lit it, and took a deep breath, "Your Highness, you are still too young. If the Dongying people are really invincible and a serious problem, then your statement is correct. I believe that the princes of all states will let go of their selfishness and form a united front for the whole nation, but do you know, princess? Although the Dongying people are strong, they just took advantage of the loopholes. They don't want much. As long as Wu Yue is there, the fire will not be so strong It will spread, and those princes only care about their own interests, as long as they guard their one-acre three-point land, everyone will be happy, why would they go to the muddy water to fight with the Dongying people at any cost?"

Although the princess was ignorant of world affairs, she quickly understood the truth of the statement.In short, the Dongying people have seen the selfish intentions of the princes from all walks of life, and there is no conflict of interest between them. It may even be said that the Dongying people will promise benefits.For the other princes, it has nothing to do with who Wu Yue is in power. Life is still going on, money is still being earned, and even... If the Dongying people win, the imperial power of Zhongzhou will be completely disintegrated, and the princes of the states can also take this opportunity to declare Break away from the control of Great Liang, become independent from now on, and rule one side separately.

"No, I can't go."

Chen Ci sighed, and did not continue to persuade.

However, since Yu Changling and Matsui Yi died together, the Second Allied Forces of Dongpu have no signs of continuing to attack, but this is just a sign of the coming rain. They are brewing, waiting, and making the final pre-war preparations, just waiting for Dongpu The cabinet and the military government airborne a general to Wunan to command the war. At that time, the war will be ignited again.

Another day later, Chen Ci and Fan Chu were invited to the prefect's mansion to discuss matters.

This discussion is nothing more than a matter of appealing to thieves.

King Wu lost two generals in a row, and his heart was heavy. To him, Sun Liang and Yu Changling alone were comparable to a hundred thousand soldiers. Now that Sun Liang and Yu Changling left him one after another, King Wu felt guilty and regretted his own incompetence.The current king of Wu is really driven to a dead end. His son died in battle, his beloved general was sacrificed, and the mountains and rivers are occupied by Dongying people. Enemy flag.After all this, King Wu's temples were already gray, his face was deeply wrinkled, his eye sockets were sunken, and his body was full of smoke, like an old man who had been devastated.

"King Wu."

When Chen Ci came, all the generals from all armies and ministries had arrived, and he was the only one left. Strictly speaking, the Chen family army also belonged to King Wu's establishment, but it was relatively independent.

"Nephew, sit down." King Wu waved his sleeves, glanced at everyone, and said solemnly: "On the 31st, the imperial court issued a call to arms, officially declaring war on Dongying."

Everyone knows the news.

It is estimated that by the end of February at the latest, soldiers and horses from all over the Fourteen States will rush to the Wubei area to form an alliance.

"The location of the 28th princes' meeting should also be in Xuzhou City. In this way, Huaiyin will definitely become the front line of the Allied forces, and our army will be reduced to pawns. This is not a scene I want to see."

King Wu's worry is not unreasonable. The place of the alliance must be in Xuzhou City, which is the base camp of Mu Xishen in Wuzhou. In this way, Huaiyin will become the main battlefield for the Dongying people to attack Wubei. It was the first line of defense for the Allied forces against Japanese pirates.The king of Wu is so pitiful now that he almost fights a little less. If this is the case, the alliance will be meaningless to the king of Wu.

General Xu Xiaolang, Governor General of the Hailing Army, said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty, you are also a hereditary marquis, and you are also within the scope of the invitation. How about this, you lead an elite army of 50 banners to Xuzhou City to meet the League, while our troops stay in Huaiyin. "

King Wu sighed: "If I leave again, I will be ridiculed by the world."

Now the king of Wu is really in a dilemma. If you don’t go to Xuzhou city to meet the alliance, you will become an abandoned son of the allied army and become a victim of the allied army resisting Japanese pirates; if you go to Xuzhou city to meet the alliance, you will be ridiculed by all the princes again Greedy for life and afraid of death, selling generals to survive, let his subordinates defend against the enemy on the front line, and hide in the rear to enjoy the happiness.Some people would say, what face do you need if you lose your life?This is a good statement, but it is not necessarily correct. As the saying goes, a tree has a skin and a person has a face. King Wu is the leader. If he bears the infamy and shame, he will lose support and influence, even in the future. After regaining the lost land, the counties in southern Wu will no longer be the Murong family's community.

Chen Ci's heart moved. He knew what King Wu was worried about. It was nothing more than worrying that after the lords from all walks of life joined the alliance, they would obey and violate the law, and eat the imperial rations allocated by the court. "King Wu, why don't you let me go to Xuzhou City to represent Wu Nan in the alliance, what do you think?"

"you?"

King Wu narrowed his eyes, as if he was thinking, and all the generals began to whisper.

"King Wu, I am the imperial son-in-law, and my father is the prime minister of the imperial court. If I go to attend the alliance instead of you, no one will comment or criticize me." Chen Ci said with his head held high.

Military advisor Qi Lianzi said with a smile, "Your Majesty, what the son-in-law said is good, and the son-in-law is rolling around in Xuzhou, so he can speak well."

In this way, the King of Wu was not hypocritical, and immediately held Chen Ci's hand seriously, and said heavily: "Nephew, I order you to bring 50 banners of elite soldiers and horses from all ministries to the Xuzhou Huimeng."

Chen Ci thought to himself, it seems that the king of Wu really intends to live and die with Huaiyin. He asked Chen Ci to take away the elite troops of 50 banners, almost half of the army under the command of the king of Wu. Rui, the children of Jiangdong and Wunan cannot be used as cannon fodder for nothing to bleed and sacrifice, and the fire must always be left behind.

After returning to the camp, Chen Ci tossed and turned, tossing and turning at night, unable to sleep, in order not to disturb the princess, Chen Ci put on his coat, and walked out of the military tent. It was cold at night, and the camp was silent, only occasionally one or two groups of soldiers were patrolling. With a kerosene lamp, I came to the big tent of the Chinese army, unfolded the map and looked at it carefully.After a while, Fan Chu walked up silently, he was always guarding Chen Ci's safety, and when he saw Chen Ci getting up at night, he also came out as soon as possible.

Chen Ci stared at the map in a daze.

Huaiyin is just a county town at the junction of the north and south of Wu. On the line of defense, there are Xiaxiang and Piaocheng. These two places are relatively weak in strength and are guarded by soldiers from the two counties and soldiers who retreated from Huaiyin.

……

Uesugi was finally appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Second Allied Army of Dongying. On February 24, [-], he received the transfer order from the cabinet and the military government. He left Yuhang overnight by boat and went to Suzhou to command the Second Army. The Allied forces conquered the Wubei area.It's not because of Uesugi's supernatural powers, but because after Matsui Yizhan's death, the supporters of the Beichen Kendo school couldn't select a suitable outstanding young man who could take the lead on his own in a short time.In addition, the Great Liang imperial court drafted an appeal against thieves and formally declared war on Dongpu. All the soldiers and horses were rushing to Wubei one after another. The situation was tense and there was no need for delay.Of course, it doesn't mean that the supporters of the Beichen faction in the cabinet and the military mansion can just watch Shang Shanqi monopolize the military exploits. On the contrary, they wait to see the joke, because Shang Shanqi will not only face Wu Bei's army this time, It was a million-strong army composed of princes from all walks of life in the fourteen prefectures. The two sides were fighting, and regardless of the situation of the battle, when the Beichen faction finally found out when the general would be, they would naturally lead the second allied army.

An old marshal in the military mansion hinted in the letter that Uesugi Qi, this battle should be fought as fast as he can, and there is no need to worry about it. As long as he can achieve certain military exploits, they will put pressure on the Prime Minister and award him the rank of Cong Yipin. At that time, Whether Wuzhou is Longtan or Tiger's Den, it has nothing to do with him.

(End of this chapter)