Jiuxi

Chapter 523 Chapter 521 [A corner of the world]

More than twenty years ago, before Niu Cunjie entered the army, Li Tianrun was already a rising young general of the Qi Dynasty's frontier army.

By the time he entered the ranks of the Yan army, Li Tianrun was already famous all over the world. He was the mainstay on the border of Da Qi and the pillar of the country praised by the Emperor of Qi himself.

If you are not a member of the military, it would be difficult to understand Niu Cunjie's mood at this moment.

There is envy, there is also awe.

After the fall of Yongqiu, Niu Cunjie was kept alone in this house. The Qi army elites were inseparable from him. He could not see other people at all, let alone Li Tianrun's status.

At this moment, when he saw with his own eyes this famous Southern Qi general who could be described as thunderous, a strange look appeared on his face uncontrollably.

What appeared in his sight was a tall and thin middle-aged man with thin cheeks and obvious pathologies.

There is no doubt that this is far from Niu Cunjie's imagination of a generation of famous generals with majestic weapons and towering mountains.

Fortunately, he was also a person who had seen big scenes. He quickly came to his senses and saluted: "Sinner Niu Cunjie, pay your respects to Governor Li!"

This situation made Niu Cunjie both surprised and curious.

He realized that this was a rare opportunity. After all, not just anyone could listen to Li Tianrun's analysis of the battle situation in person, so he sat upright and listened attentively.

Niu Cunjie asked curiously: "I wonder if the Governor has gained anything?"

Li Tianrun said calmly: "Throughout the ages, siege warfare has been both complex and simple. For the attacking commander, the complexity lies in the fact that commanding troops is a very difficult task. Ordinary people can't even figure out how to arrange dozens of people. When the number of people When the number rises to tens of thousands, it is very difficult just to set up camp, eat, drink and have sex, not to mention forcing these people to take great risks and rush into mountains of swords and seas of fire.”

Li Tianrun explained the cards in Qing Yugong's hand in a few words, and then said calmly: "Of course, Qing Yugong has another way, and that is to dig a tunnel that connects the inside and outside of Yongqiu. When our army's defenses are lax, the surprise attack Seize the door and the army rushes in. "

"From another perspective, if you don't care about the probability of success, attacking a city is also a very simple matter, because there are only so many ways, such as storming, flooding, internal response, building mountains, siege, etc. At the moment, "Yongqiu has two inner and outer cities, and the four city gates are covered by Wengcheng. There are no big rivers outside the city, and there is no internal response from Jing's army."

His lips moved, but he finally suppressed the impulse in his heart, because the secret he knew was related to whether Jingjun could successfully counterattack Yongqiu.

Once Qing Yugong achieves his goal, as long as Niu Cunjie can survive, just by keeping the secret, he can at least wash away the shame of his successive defeats and retain a glimmer of hope for a comeback.

Ever since Li Tianrun arrived with his personal guards, Zhu Zhen had been sitting quietly on the other side. Seeing the expression on Niu Cunjie's face, he soon knew that the former Shangguan was hesitating again.

Zhu Zhen had repeatedly persuaded him before, and he was moved with emotion and reason. Naturally, he was shaken in his heart, but he did not make up his mind immediately, so he asked to see Li Tianrun.

Li Tianrun sat down at the main seat and said with a smile: "General Niu, there is no need to be polite. Please sit down."

As the Yan Army coach in this battle, Niu Cunjie certainly knew Qing Yugong's plan, and it was no surprise that Li Tianrun was able to analyze it thoroughly.

Niu Cunjie couldn't help but feel sad. He nodded convincingly and said, "What the Governor said is absolutely true."

Li Tianrun said straight to the point: "Now that Jing's army is besieging Yongqiu, Qing Yugong seems to be sure of victory. I wonder if General Niu can help me clear up my doubts?"

He suddenly had a very strange feeling.

This gentle tone made Niu Cunjie filled with emotion. He automatically ignored the fierce and fierce guards around him, sat down respectfully and said, "How dare a sinner be called a general? Thank you, the Governor, for giving me a seat."

Upon seeing this, Li Tianrun continued: "The battlefield situation is ever-changing, and unforeseen accidents may occur at any time. Furthermore, thinking about defeat before thinking about victory is the most basic ability of a general. I believe Qing Yugong will not ignore this. . So after landing in Yongqiu, I have been thinking about a question, if I am Qing Yugong, how can I prevent the fish from biting the bait and running away. "

Niu Cunjie didn't expect that the other party would be so direct.

Now Li Tianrun came in front of him, without any deliberate greetings or even promises to him about the future. Just a plain word made him want to reveal all the secrets he knew.

He looked into Niu Cunjie's eyes and said calmly: "In other words, if Yongqiu falls accidentally, how can I get it back?"

Li Tianrun looked indifferent and said slowly: "Actually, since the Battle of Xifengyuan, Qing Yugong has been tempting our army to go north. Normally, General Niu does not need to take the initiative to fight. If you had guarded Xinxi and other places at that time, In a short period of time, our army can only look at the city and sigh. The two sides are in a draw. From Xifengyuan to Yongqiu City, Qing Yugong forced you to use real defeats to lure our army away from the southern garrison and come to Yongqiu City. Then he And he just sat back and watched our army besiege Yongqiu. From what I know about him, he was constantly paralyzing our army."

Niu Cunjie was suddenly shocked.

He looked up and saw a calm face.

It's hard to describe his mood at this moment in words.

In addition to shock, there was also a bit of fear.

After Li Tianrun said that, he took the water bag from the soldier, which contained clean water that Xue Huaiyi personally prepared for him.

Niu Cunjie quickly understood the other party's intention.

In fact, in wars from ancient times to the present, digging tunnels has been common. In many cases, faced with tall and solid city walls, the attackers can only find another way. However, the probability of success of this method is extremely low. The reason is simple. The defenders on the city are not blind.

In this era, there is no help from mechanical power. It will take a long time to dig a tunnel of several hundred feet just by manpower. All this will inevitably be done under the eyes of the defenders - no one will dig more than ten miles away. To be honest, that is extremely stupid.

As long as the attacker's digging of tunnels is discovered by the defenders, they can easily block it in the city.

Even if the defenders did not see it in advance, any experienced commander would have people place listening urns under the city wall for defense.

But the situation in Yongqiu City is different.

Before the Jingzhou Army settled in, this had always been Beiyan's territory, and Niu Cunjie had been stationed here for more than two years.

From the outbreak of the war half a year ago to now, if Qing Yugong wanted to lure the Jingzhou Army to go north from the beginning, then he could have asked Niu Cunjie to prepare in advance, and the latter would have enough time to dig a tunnel connecting the inside and outside.

Use this as a trump card to hold down the bottom of the box.

The atmosphere in the room was very quiet and somewhat solemn.

Niu Cunjie's mind was racing at this moment, and he suddenly understood that Li Tianrun deliberately put the tunnel method at the end, which was nothing more than a reminder to him that the Jingzhou Army was already on guard against this possibility and was checking for risks everywhere in the city.

This is his last chance.

If he still insists on not saying anything, the Jingzhou Army can probably find the authentic location, but it will take more time and energy. And the defenders are currently in great momentum. As long as the defenders are not exhausted, Jingzhou Army will definitely I won't use that only opportunity lightly.

Once the Jingzhou Army found the tunnel before Jingjun launched a surprise attack, Niu Cunjie would no longer be of any use.

When he thought of this, he stood up, bowed to Li Tianrun, and said with great shame: "Grand Governor, the sinner knows the location of the tunnel exit and is willing to go and identify it."

Zhu Zhen, who was sitting opposite, breathed a sigh of relief.

It is good news that Niu Cunjie finally spoke, and as he reveals this secret, the hidden dangers in the city will no longer exist, and the defenders can devote themselves to dealing with the powerful enemies outside.

Li Tianrun also stood up and said warmly: "If Yongqiu can be defended this time, General Niu will be credited with a meritorious service. I will report this matter to His Majesty at that time."

At this point, Niu Cunjie was finally convinced and bowed his head and said: "Thanks to the Governor, I will not give up and give the sinner a chance to atone for his crime. How can the sinner dare not try his best again if he feels deeply about it?"

"No need to be polite."

Li Tianrun motioned to Zhu Zhen to help him up, and then said: "In the past, everyone had their own masters on the battlefield, and grudges and grudges were unavoidable. But now that you and I are both citizens of Daqi, we don't have to worry about those past events. We only need to focus on Just serve the country. You can rest peacefully during this period, and you will definitely be useful in the future."

Niu Cunjie had a thousand twists and turns in his heart, and he saluted again: "Thank you very much, Governor, for your forgiveness!"

Zhu Zhen looked at the excited and moved expression on his face and couldn't help but sigh secretly.

The former Shangguan's mind was a bit simple. He didn't realize at all that Li Tianrun didn't give him a chance just because he revealed the specific location of the tunnel.

In fact, since the day the Jingzhou Army entered the city, Li Tianrun had people start to carefully explore around the four city walls. It was only a matter of time before they found the secret passage connecting the inside and outside.

The reason why he came here specifically was to give Niu Cunjie a reasonable step. Even if the tunnel did not exist at all, as long as Niu Cunjie could tell some of Jing Jun's secrets, Li Tianrun would persuade him to surrender and accept him.

Because he is the only remaining powerful commander in the Beiyan army, if he can sincerely submit to Da Qi, this will have a profound impact on the subjects of Beiyan.

Whether officials, generals, or powerful gentry, with the existence of a vivid example like Niu Cunjie, they would not have much resistance in their hearts when faced with the recruitment of Da Qi.

Following Li Tianrun out of the house, Zhu Zhen kept looking at the thin back of the Jingzhou Governor.

Although he seems to be suffering from illness, and although he is now trapped in an isolated city, surrounded by powerful enemies, he still has his eyes on the world and is still working hard for the national destiny of Da Qi.

Zhu Zhen became the internal correspondent of the Jingzhou Army because of the Wang family, but now he couldn't help but said: "Grand Governor."

Li Tianrun stopped slightly and said with a smile, "What's the matter?"

For some unknown reason, Zhu Zhen's chest surged with passion that had been dormant for many years, and he said loudly: "The final general is willing to follow the governor and fight for his life on the battlefield!"

Li Tianrun didn't say much, just nodded.

"it is good."

(End of this chapter)