Jiuxi

Chapter 498 Chapter 496 [Be a rock]

The fourteenth year of Jianwu is gradually coming to an end, and it is less than half a month before the New Year's Day. However, in the land of Jiangbei, especially in Dingzhou, there is no festive atmosphere at all.

After the Jing army captured Dingfeng Road by force, because the main force of the Dingzhou army was still encircling and annihilating the Yan army led by Mou Lianghu in the southeast of Leize Plain at that time, by the time they withdrew their troops and went north to strengthen the Jishan Tun defense line, the Jing army had already completed the attack on Dingzhou. Northern encroachment.

At present, except for Fengqiu City held by Feiyun Army, nearly one-third of Dingzhou's territory has fallen into the hands of Jingjun.

It includes one prefectural city, nine county towns and countless villages and towns.

Although this time Jingjun did not commit any inhumane actions such as massacre of the city under Qing Yugong's strict orders, it is obviously unrealistic to expect these Jinglian soldiers to be as friendly to the local people as the Qi army under Lu Chen's command. extravagant hope.

With the fall of northern Dingzhou, the Qi people in the south inevitably fell into panic. Now their only hope is that the Jishantun defense line can be held.

This line of defense, which is about seventy miles long and thirty miles wide, is the only barrier to Ruyin City and the vast surrounding areas.

Unlike Dingfeng Road, which is narrow and constricted, and Qingliu Pass, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack, the Jishantun defense line is actually an open area with no natural dangers to rely on except for the fortress.

This meant that the Qi army had to face the offensive of the Jing army head-on, and its only support was the interconnected system of forts.

From late November to now, Jingjun has launched four offensives, each one more fierce than the last, posing a great threat to the Pingshan Army guarding the front.

Jing's army relied on powerful cavalry to raid the formation, forcing Pingshan's army to huddle in the stronghold and defend.

From ancient times to the present, the art of city defense is by no means just about defense. A wise coach will definitely adopt a strategy of both offense and defense. Only by seizing the opportunity to take the initiative while holding on, can he defeat the enemy. Otherwise, he can only be passively beaten. .

Pingshan Army Commander Kang Yanxiao certainly understood this, but he had no choice.

In the cold winter sunshine, thousands of Jingjun infantry came forward for the fifth time and launched a fierce attack on the military city guarded by the main force of the Pingshan Army.

After so many years of development, especially the tempering of last year's battle to destroy Zhao, today's Jingjun may not be as good as its heyday fifteen years ago in terms of military force, but in terms of formations, military discipline and use of equipment, they are Much stronger than before.

In the fifteenth year, it took only twelve days for the Prospective Army to conquer Heluo City. This was not because everyone in the army could fly to the sky and escape, but because Heluo City's defenses at that time were extremely empty, and some northern noble families acted as internal agents. What an incredible result.

Today's Jing army has no internal support, but they already have extremely complete siege equipment that is not even weaker than the Qi army's equipment.

The large forests in the north of Dingzhou also gave Jingjun craftsmen convenient conditions.

The sound of killings was heard all over the military city.

The situation of the Pingshan Army became increasingly difficult, and finally even Kang Yanxiao himself joined the battle group with his own soldiers.

This battle lasted for nearly three hours from morning to afternoon.

Although Jing Jun retreated in the end, there was no joy in Kang Yanxiao's eyes.

He looked at the blood on the faces of the soldiers around him and the extremely tired eyes, and his heart became heavier.

At this moment, a rush of footsteps suddenly came from behind, and then the deputy commander Ye Shunqing came closer and said with a joyful face: "General, the Zhenbei Army has arrived to support, General Pei has arrived behind the city!"

Kang Yanxiao's expression perked up, and he quickly led a group of generals to the rear of the military city.

I saw the flags of the Zhenbei Army flying, and countless elite troops in neat appearance.

Kang Yanxiao and Pei Sui were both veterans under Xiao Wangzhi. They had known each other for more than ten years, so they naturally did not need those polite greetings.

He glanced at the Zhenbei Army behind Pei Sui and asked, "The Grand Governor asked you to personally lead the troops to provide reinforcements?"

"It's not a backup, it's a defense change."

Pei Sui handed over the military order stamped with the governor's seal and continued: "The governor has ordered that the Zhenbei Army will take over from the Pingshan Army to garrison this city. Your troops will temporarily retreat to rest."

Kang Yanxiao smiled bitterly.

As a soldier, of course he must obey orders, but this military order represents Xiao Wangzhi's prediction of the battlefield situation. The Pingshan Army can no longer support it. If it does not adjust, it is very likely that the Jing Army will break through the defense line.

Xiao Wangzhi transferred the strongest Zhenbei Army under his command, which meant that Jingjun's offensive would become even more crazy. At this time, only the Zhenbei Army, known as the Iron Army, could compete.

Thinking of this, Kang Yanxiao said with shame: "I let the governor down."

Pei Sui stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder, comforting him and said: "Old Kang, this war has just begun. Do you, the Pingshan Army, want to fight it from beginning to end? You have to give us a chance to fight against the bastards in the north. You don't have to either. I'm anxious. Just because you go back to rest doesn't mean you can just lie down. The Governor has always had far-reaching plans for the war. Now that Jing Jun has made it clear that he won't give up easily, are you still worried that there won't be a chance to fight? "

Kang Yanxiao's expression gradually relaxed and he smiled: "That's right, you still understand."

Pei Sui said: "Okay, no more rambling, let's take advantage of this while Jing Jun retreats and complete the handover as soon as possible."

The two walked side by side towards the city, and then the soldiers of the Zhenbei Army began to take over the city defense, while the Pingshan Army prepared to withdraw.

Before leaving, Kang Yanxiao looked at Pei Sui and said solemnly: "Old Pei, be careful, Jing Jun is going crazy this time." Pei Sui smiled slightly, raised his hand and patted his chest.

The sun gradually turned to the west, and the soldiers of the Zhenbei Army stood on the city wall, looking resolutely at the vast northern sky.

They seemed to be integrated with this solid military city, turning into an unbreakable barrier in front of countless Daqi people.

……

In Jishan Tun, more than thirty miles away from the front line, the temporary governor's office has been stationed, and military orders are issued from here one after another to continue to consolidate the front line of defense.

"Although Qing Yugong made great efforts this time, Emperor Jing Guo still didn't do his best. Jing Lian's Nine Armies are currently only using the Xiashan, Fangcheng, and Dingbai armies as well as the servant armies. If Emperor Jing hadn't been afraid of Qing Yugong, If we want to use this battle to consume the Qingyu clan’s strength, I’m afraid our situation will be even more difficult.”

Xiao Wangzhi poured a cup of tea himself and placed it in front of the dusty Lu Tong.

Lu Tong looked at his face and asked bluntly: "What are you going to do next?"

Xiao Wangzhi sat down opposite him and said in a calm tone: "You should first talk about the situation in the capital and the plan of the kid Lu Chen."

Although Lu Tong didn't mention it, Xiao Wangzhi was very clear about his purpose. He had previously received a secret order from the emperor, ordered by an eight-hundred-mile horse, ordering him to avoid fighting and lure Jing's army south. Now Lu Tong was trekking through mountains and rivers. I must have come here to explain the specific details in person.

"His Majesty the Emperor is not in good condition."

Lu Tong made Xiao Wangzhi frown with just one sentence.

After he finished listening to Lu Tong's narration, he couldn't help but sigh softly.

Lu Tong understood the origin of his sigh and sighed: "The commander-in-chief was born at the wrong time. If he could live until now, how could he..."

For a moment, the two middle-aged men, who had been together through thick and thin for decades, both looked unhappy.

If Yang Guangyuan could live until now, how could Jing Jun dare to be so strong? He only regretted that he had not met a good emperor.

Xiao Wangzhi collected his emotions, raised his eyes to look at the simple map hanging on the wall, and said slowly: "Your Majesty used his body as a bait, Lu Chen planned the back-up plan in advance, and Governor Li personally went into battle, even if Qing Yugong was as cautious as before However, even if Qing Yugong leads the main force into the trap, he will not be left to be slaughtered, and the troops on the eastern front may not be enough. "

Lu Tong's heart moved slightly, as if time had been turned back twenty years ago. At that time, he and Xiao Wangzhi were the best juniors around Yang Guangyuan, and they often had disputes over the military affairs of the Jinghe Defense Line.

This time he did not refute Xiao Wangzhi's judgment, only nodded and said: "I also thought about this issue on the way here. Li Tianrun has nearly 110,000 people in the Ninth Army, but it is impossible for him to devote all his troops to the decisive battle After all, the Jingzhou defense line is so long, we have to be careful of Qing Yugong's false shot. Once the battle on the eastern front begins, the Beijing army can send troops north to support, but they can't go out in full force. That will make Qing Yugong wary, I guess. There are only 40,000 to 50,000 troops at most.”

"After all, it's still a hundred thousand."

Xiao Wangzhi took over and continued: "Captain Li should be able to tie up a bag with these 100,000 troops, but the question is whether he can eat the main force under Qing Yugong's command?"

Lu Tong thought for a moment and said solemnly: "I'm afraid it's a bit difficult."

Xiao Wangzhi said in a deep voice: "It's more than a little difficult. You haven't seen the Jing army's offensive in the north during this period. They are not the most elite troops in Qing Yugong's hands, but they have already made it very difficult for the Pingshan army to defend, so I Only then did the Zhenbei Army be sent up. If we want to deal with Qing Yugong’s main force on the frontal battlefield, we must not underestimate him at all, and we must have an absolute advantage in strength.”

The two people's words gradually outlined the battlefield situation more clearly.

On the east and west fronts, Jingzhou and Dingzhou, every troop and horse was considered by them.

Lu Tong suddenly came to his senses. Perhaps this was the reason why Lu Chen asked him to rush north. After all, Xiao Wangzhi's presence on the front line in person would definitely provide extremely useful supplements to the entire strategy.

He expressed this idea and then asked, "Where do soldiers come from?"

Xiao Wangzhi stood up and came to the wall, looking at the signs on the map, his eyes suddenly moved to the south, where Dingzhou and Huaizhou border.

Qingtian City and Yongquan Pass.

He smiled slightly and said: "Do you still remember that after the Battle of Qingxia, I led the Huaizhou Army and the Jingying Army to counterattack Qingtian City, and then the main force of the Huaizhou Army left Panlong Pass to the west?"

"Naturally remember."

Lu Tong also stood up and came to him and said, "You want to do the same trick again? I'm afraid it's not that simple this time. Jing Jun has made it clear that he wants to bite off a big piece of meat from you, and they won't care if you feign defeat." , once there is an opportunity, the army will definitely go south."

Xiao Wangzhi said calmly: "It's definitely not possible to imitate a cat and a tiger. To underestimate the enemy is to ruin yourself. However, I think I can act more like the same this time, just retreat and advance, and exchange the defeat of Dingzhou for the great victory of Jingzhou." "

Lu Tong gradually came back to his senses. He looked at his close friend who had known each other for decades and said solemnly: "What you do... may ruin your reputation for the rest of your life."

Xiao Wangzhi turned to look at him and said calmly and firmly: "A famous name? It's just a false name."

"As long as Daqi can achieve the final victory, my personal honor and disgrace are not worth mentioning."

(End of this chapter)