After becoming the villain

Chapter 272 "The Jin Kingdom Moves South" and "The Fall of Hexi"

time flies.

Daqian North.

The Zhenbei Army relied on the fortresses and fortifications built in the north over the years to confront the Jin army at the border.

In the land of Hexi, Jin Kingdom Wanyan Lie's offensive was rapid and fierce. The Daqian border army was unable to resist and collapsed thousands of miles away. Hexi was more than half occupied. The Daqian court was mobilizing reinforcements from all over to support.

Go south.

Shu land.

During this time of turmoil, the former Han Dynasty rebelled and raised troops to support the Liu family's orphan as King of Han. They joined forces with the vassal kings to reestablish the Han Dynasty.

Duan Lang, the general of Xizhu Kingdom, was originally leading his army to confront King Pingxi on the Yunnan-Guizhou front line. He was suddenly attacked from behind by the Han army. He was attacked from both sides and was severely defeated.

On the road to defeat, Duan Lang was overtaken by Pingxi King Wu Zesan and beheaded by himself.

The Pingxi Army and the Han Army joined forces and formed an alliance to advance eastward, with their troops directed towards Jinling.

On the Baiyue battlefield in the south.

After the death of General Yuan Tiankai of the Nanzhu Kingdom, the southern army of Daqian was scattered and unable to form a strong resistance.

Under the leadership of King Dingnan, the Dingnan army continued to move northward and marched to Jinling.

Echoing the Pingxi Army and the Han Army.

……

Faced with the rapid offensives of the two vassal kings and the Han army in Shu at the same time, Daqian successively lost its two most senior generals, General Yuan Tiankai of the South Zhu Kingdom and General Duan Lang of the West Zhu Kingdom.

The frontier army lost the command of a powerful general, was seriously in pay arrears, lacked military rations, and had extremely low morale. They fled thousands of miles and lost countless cities and territory.

Daqian Jinling urgently mobilized garrison troops from various places and went to the south to support them.

But this could not stop the southern vassal coalition from advancing vigorously.

Geng Zhonger, the king of Dingnan, was originally a bloodthirsty and cruel person.

And his army took the "plunder to support war" policy to the extreme.

Wherever Dingnan's army passed, no chickens or dogs were left, and all life was devastated.

All the cities captured in the early stage were slaughtered.

Later, it was only under the coercive decree of Dingnan Prince Geng Hongcheng that the Dingnan army restrained itself, stopped massacring the city on a large scale, and began to occupy and operate the city.

But Dingnan's army is still looting, and the robbery, rape, and killing they committed during this period have made Dingnan's army become a more terrifying existence than a scourge.

……

Wu Zesan, the king of Pingxi, was a bit more normal except for his lustful behavior.

The bravery of the Pingxi army is not inferior to that of the Dingnan army, but it is not as brutal and murderous as the Dingnan army.

So much so that many Daganqun counties located between the fiefdoms of the two vassals were praying silently, hoping that the Pingxi army would come to attack the city instead of the Dingnan army...

However, many corpse soldiers appeared as vanguards in the Pingxi Army. ...Those are the legacies of the Corpse Immortal Sect.

……

Most of the Han troops gathered in Shu to fight against Daqian.

After the death of General Duan Lang of the Xizhu Kingdom, the King of Han assigned some Han troops to go out of Shu to join forces with the Pingxi Army and attack Jinling all the way.

Just as the war intensified, the coalition forces of the vassal kings were overwhelming.

The Western Barbarians and Tibetans suddenly marched eastward with a large army.

Daqian's senior management was overjoyed when they first heard the news.

They originally thought that Pingxi King Wu Zesan would have to divide his troops and return to defense.

...just like what King Zhenbei did when faced with the invasion of Jin foreign enemies.

But who would have thought that Pingxi King Wu Zesan would form a bloody alliance with the Tubo leader and let the Tubo army enter Pingxi Pass.

The two armies merged into one, and the soldiers pointed directly at Daqian Jinling.

For a time, even though there were many treacherous ministers and corrupt officials in the court, Pingxi King Wu Zesan's behavior still brought him infamy and disrepute in Daqian territory.

Correspondingly, King Zhenbei, who faced the same similar situation and made a righteous act, has a high reputation and has great prestige and favor in the Daqian court, the world and the people.

Even many celebrities in Daqian who used to think that the Zhenbei King was ambitious and the same as the southern vassal kings all changed their minds.

They began to feel that King Zhenbei had the overall situation in mind and the Central Plains in mind, and he was indeed a hero.

……

Northland border.

The main force of the Jin Kingdom led by Wanyan Lingxu approached the border.

Hundreds of thousands of Hu cavalry troops threw their whips to cut off the river. With every move, dust flew up and the momentum was like a mountain.

When the army knocks at the pass, it's like "black clouds are pressing down on the city to destroy it."

Its forward troops have already fought with part of the Zhenbei Army.

Both sides have their own winners and losers.

Most of the soldiers and horses of the Zhenbei Army have been stationed at various fortresses and are ready for battle.

The main tent of the Chinese army was set up at Yanmen Pass, where the King of Zhenbei and a group of senior military generals commanded the entire battlefield on the northern border.

The regular military strength of the Zhenbei Army totals 35.

In the past three years or so, the King of Zhenbei has also developed some militia training, but these, similar to the Daqian garrison, cannot really be regarded as the main force to fight against the Jin Kingdom's Huqi.

"There are orcs in Liaodong, and Qiling will help us share most of the pressure. Therefore, here we only need a small number of Zhenbei Army, plus the militia to defend the key passes."

King Zhenbei pointed at the sand table map with his sword.

The surroundings were full of generals such as Zhu Gongqi, Wu Yuechang, Yan Tiange, Guo Wei, Ye Changtian, Li Mieling, Nanchuanyue and so on.

"The main force commanded by Wanyan Lingxu is attacking in the north. According to the analysis of the information sent back by the army's detective horses and the Zhenbei secret guards, there should be about 50 people, far more than our army."

"...The most advanced fortress in the Northland has already been attacked by the Northern Xinjiang people, but fortunately, it is still in the trial stage, and no fierce battle has erupted."

King Zhenbei said.

He looked at the generals, but found that they all looked solemn and silent at this moment.

"What's wrong with you generals? Do you think that the disparity in strength this time makes you afraid of the people from Northern Xinjiang?"

"Back to the king, of course not!" Zhu Gongqi was the first to speak with his fists clasped.

"...It's just that Daqian has never had fewer means to protect us than Northern Xinjiang. In recent years, they have tried their best to reduce the vassal. Now that the people from Northern Xinjiang are invading south, they want us to defend them."

"...I feel aggrieved, and I feel unworthy for you, Your Majesty."

Zhu Gongqi cupped his fists and said, tilting his head slightly, feeling that he was indeed resentful.

Although Generals Yan Tiange and Guo Wei did not speak, they seemed to have the same attitude.

Wu Yuechang looked directly at the sand table map and said bluntly: "Your Majesty, why don't we cooperate with the Kingdom of Jin like King Pingxi."

"...As long as the people from Northern Xinjiang don't disturb the Northern Territory, we will let them enter the pass and go south?"

When the King of Zhenbei heard this, he said nothing.

He looked around gently, his eyes extremely indifferent.

Finally, he sighed softly and couldn't help but smile lightly -

"We are fighting against the people of Northern Xinjiang now, not for Daqian, but for Northern Territory, and for...our own homeland."

"The people of Northern Xinjiang are greedy for land. How could they really let go of the Northern Land that borders them constantly?"

"If people from the northern Xinjiang region are allowed to go south, the Central Plains will naturally be unprotected, and the northern lands will also be unprotected."

King Zhenbei's words were upright and impeccable.

Although several generals still had some dissatisfaction in their hearts, they had no problem seeing that the king insisted on doing so.

Tiger Roar General Ye Changtian was the first to come out, respectfully clasping his fists and echoing -

“Protecting the home and the country, and ensuring the peace and stability of the country are what a man should do!”

"...Changtian vows to follow the king in his life and death and to move forward indomitably."

King Zhenbei chuckled upon seeing this.

He found that Ye Changtian was really a heroic and good man.

Faced with these acts of justice and selflessness, Ye Changtian must be the first.On the contrary, he was somewhat out of tune with the generals in their army who followed the "villains".

Li Mieling, Nan Chuanyue, Zhu Gongqi and other generals also followed Ye Changtian and took the oath in unison.

King Zhenbei waved his hand for them to stand up.

He said frankly——

"Compared to the commander-in-chief of the Jin Kingdom in the northern border, in terms of ingenuity, I am not as good as Wanyan Lingxu; in terms of commanding the army, I am not as good as Wanyan Lie; but, I have you!"

"...I believe that your talents are far superior to those of Wanyan Jinguo!"

"...In this battle, the Zhenbei Army will win! The Northland will win!"

When all the generals heard this, they shouted in unison, "The Army of Zhenbei will win" and "The Northland will win"!
Morale is high.

Then it was time to get down to business, continue to deploy military forces and weapons, allocate defense areas, and unify command.

……

After all the generals retired respectively.

Yi Qiuyue entered the tent wearing the uniform of Zhenbei's senior spy, dressed in men's clothing.

She came to King Zhenbei, very close to him.

After that, everyone seemed to be pressed forward, closely reporting information about the Beidi border, Liaodong and Hetao.

The king of Zhenbei didn't squint his eyes, sat calmly in his arms, and asked bluntly——

"Qiuyue, how is the situation in Hexi?"

Seeing this, Yi Qiuyue stopped trying to seduce the other party and said seriously——

"Your Majesty, the situation in Hexi is not good."

"The Daqian border army is completely unable to resist Wanyan Lie's attack, and Hexi has been overrun by half."

"If Hexi is completely lost, then the people from Northern Xinjiang can not only attack the Central Plains, but also attack our rear areas in Beidi and Hetao."

"... I'm afraid that if this is the case, our army in the north will be attacked from both sides, and even the north will be difficult to defend."

After listening to Yi Qiuyue's report and analysis, King Zhenbei couldn't help but stretched out his right hand and gently pinched his chin.

He hadn't done this for a long time.

...In order to maintain the majesty that the King of Zhenbei should have.

But at this moment, perhaps because of the difficulties he was facing, or perhaps because he was alone with Yi Qiuyue, he unconsciously moved his hands to make this action.

Yi Qiuyue felt something in her heart when she saw this, and it also brought back many memories of the time when Yan Wulu was the heir apparent.

Just as Yi Qiuyue was in a daze, King Zhenbei suddenly asked again——

"So, where is Qiuyue and Yuwenhu?"

"Still watching from the wild, I still don't know what his mind is."

"Is Yumen Pass still in Da Gan's hands?" King Zhenbei asked.

"Yumen Pass has currently gathered a large number of defeated Dagan troops. Although they are still in Dagan's hands, I'm afraid that if the situation continues like this, they won't be able to defend it for long."

Yi Qiuyue said, and then couldn't help but test: "...Your Majesty, do we need to support Hexi?"

"Hexi cannot completely fall into the hands of the northern Xinjiang people, but at this moment, we are unable to support Hexi."

King Zhenbei said directly.

After all, what he faced was the main force of the Jin Kingdom, commanded by Queen Mother Wanyan Lingxu, with more than [-] elite Huqi.

This is much scarier and more difficult to deal with than the two partial armies of Wanyan Lie in Hexi and Liaodong.

"Since Yumen Pass is still there, it means that the situation has not reached a truly irreversible situation.",

"Let the people over at Jinling think about it."

"...They are probably going to have more headaches than us now."

King Zhenbei concluded.

He then suddenly spoke inexplicably: "However, I want to send a secret letter to Zhao Lingfeng and recommend someone to him. This may save Zhao Lingfeng from making some detours."

When Yi Qiuyue heard this, she listened quietly, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

……

The feudal king rebelled.

The Kingdom of Jin went south.

Nowadays, the Western Yi Tubo and the former Han rebel armies have also intervened in the Central Plains.

Daqian has reached a critical stage of survival.

The Hu cavalry of the Jin Kingdom plundered thousands of miles of land.

More than half of Hexi in the north was lost, and it was urgent.

Zhao Lingfeng, the prince of the Supervisory State, suddenly, for some unknown reason, overcame all opinions and re-activated the former Beizhu State general Yu Wenhu.

On that day, Zhao Lingfeng single-handedly suppressed the treacherous officials of the royal party in the court, and used his own life to guarantee that Yu Wenhu would become the general of Beizhu Kingdom again.

As for Prime Minister Wang Zhaomin and others, it was rare that they did not stop him. Some members of the royal party even recommended Yu Wenhu.

It was as if they were also preparing to use Yu Wenhu.

After Yuwenhu arrived at Yumen Pass, he once again served as the general of Beizhu Kingdom, commanding the remaining frontier troops in the north of Daqian and the Daqian reinforcements transferred from various places, and actively defended against the southern invasion of Wanyan Jin Kingdom in northern Xinjiang.

He competes with Wanyan Liexiang and is always ready to send troops to regain the lost land in Hexi.

Simultaneously.

Daqian continued to lose cities and territory on the battlefield with the vassal king in the south.

For many years during the Great Qian Dynasty, martial arts fell into disrepair and was controlled by the Jinling family.

After many veteran warriors died at the hands of the feudal lords, there was no one available in the court for a while.

At this moment, Prince Zhao Lingfeng missed the time when King Jin was still there.

The King of Jin is known as the "King of Generals". He is the best general himself, and he has been in the army all year round. He must know which generals in the army are useful.

But in the end, fate has its way with people.

Zhao Lingfeng is responsible for supervising the country. At this moment, no matter how difficult it is, he still has to work hard to find a chance for this turbulent Daqian Dynasty.

At this critical moment, Zhao Lingfeng suddenly received a secret letter from King Zhenbei.

In this secret letter, the young King Zhenbei mentioned a person - Xiao Tianzuo.

That was Daqian's former Bingma General, and he was also the only one alive to win the title of "Shangzhu Kingdom" except for Yan Dong, the former king of Zhenbei.

Zhao Lingfeng suddenly realized.

This is the person he is looking for!

And when Zhao Lingfeng searched for traces and found Xiao Tianzuo.

This old man, who is nearly seventy years old, is wearing ragged clothes and is farming in the countryside.

Although he is nearly seventy years old, he still has a ruddy complexion, full of energy, a tall body, and conspicuous muscles can be seen under the ragged clothes.

If it weren't for some mottled white hair, this man is a man in his prime.

He must be a powerful warrior, not an ordinary person.

Back then, when Da Qian initially unified the Central Plains and ended the chaotic times of war among the various kingdoms, Xiao Tianzuo's military exploits were not as conspicuous as those of the three vassal kings.

The army led by Xiao Tianzuo did not kill as many enemies as the three great vassals.

But as the saying goes, "He who is good at fighting does not have great military exploits."

With sufficient military superiority, Xiao Tianzuo's priority is to minimize his own casualties.

Subduing the enemy's troops without fighting is what Xiao Tianzuo believes is the highest state of war.

……

(End of this chapter)