Horse on the World

Chapter 819 Retreat

On the Lantern Festival on February 15, the bad news was rushed to Ningzhou via eight hundred miles.

Zhong Ziqi held on to Liaozhou's word Shungang and fell, and when the Dingzhou navy organized a large number of marines to attack Liaozhou, when the letters rushed into the mansion of Prince Ning, another urgent letter that made them even more distraught had already galloped in. Ningzhou City.

Li Qing personally led tens of thousands of troops across the vast and dangerous sea, captured the key city of Quanzhou in one fell swoop, controlled the front line of Quanying, cut off the food and logistics supply channels of hundreds of thousands of troops on the front line, and completely blocked hundreds of thousands of troops in Weizhou.

King Ning, who had just managed to digest the news that the Dingzhou Navy had conquered Anshun Port in Liaozhou, had not yet had time to catch his breath, spurted blood from his mouth and collapsed to the ground under the huge blow.

Prince Ning's Mansion was in chaos.

Riding a fast horse, they galloped out from Prince Ning's Mansion and galloped towards the mansions of various officials in Ningzhou City. The high-ranking officials and dignitaries were called out from the banquet or from the warm quilt, and rushed into Prince Ning's Mansion against the cold wind.

The people of Ningzhou City knew that something important must have happened, because in the middle of the night, the sound of horseshoes kept ringing, and when it dawned, they saw that the streets that were quiet in the past were full of heavily armed soldiers.At the same time, messengers with flags on their backs galloped out of the city, heading in different directions.

An ominous premonition lingered in everyone's heart.

The meeting hall of Prince Ning's Mansion was deathly silent. The officials who had just arrived at Prince Ning's Mansion were shocked by the two news. Everyone knew what this meant.Apart from heavy panting, there was no sound in the hall.

After the doctor's first aid, King Ning woke up faintly, ignoring the doctor's request for him to rest, and sat on the bed with the quilt in his arms, his face extremely pale.

"The situation suddenly deteriorated here. Li Qing actually led an army of tens of thousands to cross the vast sea of ​​death in the cold winter, cutting off our army's retreat. My lords, plan to make sure?" King Ning's eyes swept over everyone in the hall.

"Your Highness, is there a mistake in the information? There are [-] elites stationed in Quancheng, and there is a strong city to rely on. How could it fall overnight?" A general stood up and asked inexplicably.

Zhong Ziqi explained with a wry smile, "Li Qing first attacked Yingcheng, and the guard of Yingcheng Li Shanbin surrendered to the enemy, and then opened the gate of Quancheng. Heroic, how can he be an opponent of tens of thousands of cavalry, and Li Qing has more than ten thousand infantry closely following him, so the information will not be wrong. General Lu Xin, who was guarding the spring city, was killed on the spot, and his head hung above the spring city. "

"Bastard bastard!" The general yelled, "Li Shanbin, who deserves to die, should be punished by the whole family. Master Zhong, didn't his family be arrested?"

"People have already gone to the empty house, it seems that it was premeditated!" Zhong Ziqi sighed.

"Forget it, don't talk about it, things have already happened, so what if Li Shanbin's family is cut to pieces? Now we should discuss what to do with the hundreds of thousands of troops trapped in Weizhou, even if Zeng Yifan is not There are 15 elite troops directly under our Southern Army. This is the last seed of our Southern Army!" A gray-haired civil servant stood up tremblingly, and said to King Ning: "Your Highness , Hu Ze should be sent back immediately, taking advantage of the surplus food, to grab back to Quancheng and open the escape route. Once the army food is exhausted and there is no food in the army, the army will lose its morale, and if you don’t fight, you will be defeated!"

"Boss Lei, please sit down!" Ning Wang said: "Hu Zejun is a veteran, he has rich experience, and he should have received the news earlier than us. Presumably, the withdrawal of troops has already begun at this time. What we are going to discuss today is, what are we going to do?"

"Please speak out freely, no matter what strategies you have, speak out boldly, presumably everyone should also understand that if our army in Weizhou is completely wiped out, our southern states will definitely be lost. It will all be wiped out."

The meeting lasted from late at night until noon the next day, when all the officials walked out of the gate of King Ning's Mansion tiredly and with a touch of despair, and rushed to their respective yamen.

All regions under the jurisdiction of Ningzhou will implement military control from now on.

A curfew will be imposed from the day the order arrives.

A general mobilization order was issued, and all those under the jurisdiction of Ningzhou who had reached the age of [-] and were under the age of [-] were all recruited into the army.

After all the officials dispersed, King Ning, who was strong and energetic, seemed to be falling apart on the bed. Only Zhong Ziqi and Qin Kaiyuan were left in front of the bed.

"Ziqi, what do you think of the current situation?" King Ning asked weakly.

Zhong Ziqi gritted his teeth, and said for a while, "Your Highness, forgive me, we are going to plan for the worst."

King Ning smiled miserably, "The worst plan? Do we have anything else to plan? What else can we do other than fight to the death? Back then, when the Zhou Dynasty was destroyed by the Great Chu, the prince of the Zhou Dynasty was still able to go on a boat and escape. Overseas, now we don’t even have this possibility, Heishuiyang is completely in the hands of the Dingzhou Navy, and the Pang Jun Navy is already invincible, and we will lose our bones if we go boating on the sea.”

"Your Highness, we have not yet reached the end of the mountain. General Hu Zequan may be able to lead some soldiers to break out. Ningzhou, Dengzhou, and Bozhou. Your Highness has been operating for many years and has a strong influence. Based on these three states, we can still fight against the enemy. Counterattack, there are many lakes, wetlands, ditches, and rivers in the south. This is not the best battlefield for the cavalry in Dingzhou. Although General Pang can no longer compete with his opponents at sea, he gave up the big ships and mainly used small boats. Withdraw into the inland river, and still deal with the enemy."

"That's right!" Zhong Ziqi's words cheered up Qin Kaiyuan, who was depressed, "Father, with a general mobilization order, we can still gather hundreds of thousands of troops to fight the enemy, and the outcome is still uncertain. There is still a lot to be done for the common people to fight to protect their homes, to fight for their own lives and property."

King Ning was noncommittal. The new policy of Dingzhou was mainly to mobilize the masses, use the land as bait, and lure the bottom masses to join in. However, the basis of his rule was dominated by the gentry and nobles. The people of Zengtong who were oppressed by the tyrants might welcome the arrival of Dingzhou soldiers with joy.

"Ziqi, tell me, what is the worst plan?" King Ning asked.

Zhong Ziqi turned his eyes to the distance, "King Ning, one hundred thousand mountains."

King Ning sat up abruptly, "You mean Mata's lair."

"That's right!" Zhong Ziqi said, "Since King Ning handed over Qingzhou to Mata, Mata began to slowly move the Qiang people into Qingzhou. Within the Hundred Thousand Mountains, his lair is empty. At this time, His Highness only needs to send a With a strong army entering the mountain, we can wipe out the barbarians within the [-] mountains, and hold the [-] mountains in our hands. As a last resort, we retreat into the [-] mountains. There are some natural barriers, even if Li Qing is talented, he cannot find them. Following our whereabouts, even if we find them, there are countless natural dangers in the [-] mountains, which are enough to keep Dingzhou soldiers at a loss, helpless."

King Ning hesitated for a while, "I'm afraid this move will anger Mata!"

Zhong Ziqi smiled, "So what if I get angry? As long as I take control of the Hundred Thousand Mountains first, I'm afraid he won't come. Besides, he's in Qingzhou, how can he get away easily? Guo Shanfeng is watching him covetously." Well, His Highness’s chess move back then was really wonderful.”

King Ning felt bitter. Didn't this mean that he knew that he would lose back then, so he reserved a way out? Knowing that this was Zhong Ziqi saving face for himself.

"Can you recruit Mata and advance and retreat with him? In this way, with tens of thousands of Qiang soldiers helping each other, we will compete in strength."

"No way!" Zhong Ziqi said decisively: "Your Highness, if Mata really has to return to the Hundred Thousand Mountains with us, then when he returns to his old lair, he will be the master and we will be guests, and he will be obedient. Is it? He and us are just using each other, if it really gets to that point, I wouldn't be surprised if he sells us."

"The best way is to eliminate future troubles forever, kill them, and cause the Qiang soldiers in Qingzhou to fall into chaos and civil strife. Then, the prince can take advantage of the relationship with the concubine to recruit some Qiang soldiers to increase our strength."

"Kill Mata?" Qin Kaiyuan exclaimed in surprise. "How can Lanhua cooperate with us?"

King Ning glared at his son with dissatisfaction, and pondered: "In the current situation, I am afraid that Mata will not come to Ningzhou easily?"

"Your Highness can call him to Ningzhou to discuss the big plan. If he comes, he can take the opportunity to cover up and kill him. If he doesn't come, he has a different heart, so there is no need to say more. On the one hand, use various passes to block him. In Qingzhou, the road back to Shiwanda Mountain was cut off, and on the other hand, assassins were sent to conspire to assassinate him. Once Mata died, the Qiang soldiers would split up, and they would inevitably become chaotic. The various tribes of the Qiang people are trying their best to fight back." Zhong Ziqi said.

King Ning took a deep breath, "You are right. You will preside over this matter. Kaiyuan, you immediately lead your [-] elites to the [-] mountains. Let's go together."

"Your Highness is wise!" Zhong Ziqi said.

"Go and do this!"

Zhong Ziqi bowed and left.

Qin Kaiyuan looked at his father, "Father, I still don't understand, if we really kill Mata, or block Mata in Qingzhou, how can Lanhua cooperate with us and help us take over Shiwan Dashan?"

King Ning looked at his son with resentment, "Confused, Ziqi didn't explain some things in front of you. You are such a grown-up man, and you have been acting with me for so long, why can't you understand? It's really here At this point, how can Malanhua be left behind? The day Mata dies or when he turns against us is the date of Malanhua's death. As for taking over the Shiwan Dashan, isn't there still Ping'er? Ping'er is Mata's direct descendant Grandson, with Ping'er, and Mata and Malanhua both died, wouldn't it be justifiable for us to take over the Hundred Thousand Mountains? If we divide and win over, why worry about the Qiang people's grievances?"

Qin Kaiyuan gasped, he never expected that the hidden meaning in Zhong Ziqi's words was that he wanted to kill his own wife too!
"Kaiyuan, at this time of life and death, love between children is absolutely unacceptable, and when it is broken, it will be broken, and it will continue to be chaotic. What's more, Dad knows that you have always been dissatisfied with Malanhua, isn't it? You immediately go to organize the team and start. "

"Yes, father!" Qin Kaiyuan backed away without a word. When he married Malanhua, he really couldn't understand Ma Lanhua's savagery, and he didn't have the gentleness and obedience of southern women. After Ping'er was born, the relationship between the two gradually heated up. Qin Kaiyuan felt another style from Ma Lanhua, and now he suddenly heard that the two of them were going to end in this way, and he couldn't help being upset for a while.

(End of this chapter)