Emperor Taizong's Growth Plan

Chapter 487 Fighting on the battlefield, like a battle between immortals and gods
Xunyang County of Xia State, outside the capital city of Qichang Mansion.

The sound of military drums and horns sounded one after another.

The pawns of the two armies of Yun and Xia, who were dressed in black and white armor, heard the order from the army at this time, raised their spears in their hands, stood up as a forest of guns, and rushed forward brazenly.

The two armies of Yunxia and Xia are both elite soldiers. They march like a wall of a mountain city, but their military appearance is not scattered at all.

The muffled sound of military boots stepping on the ground was heavy and powerful, like the rumble of thunder when they stepped heavily on the ground.

The next moment, the two soldiers and horses collided like mountains and seas.

In an instant, the sound of shouting and killing, the sound of roaring, the collision of swords, the sound of flying arrows...

All kinds of sounds, mixed together, together with the pungent bloody smell, the thick smoke from the war, the broken bloody sword, and the casualties of the Yunxia and Xia armies who fell on the ground, together constitute a bloody battle map of the battlefield. !
Looking away, this awe-inspiring army formation, the flanks of the two armies that can't be seen at a glance, and the elite cavalry teams from Yunxia's two sides, unexpectedly chose to outflank from the side, trying to kill the other side by surprise.

At this time, the two cavalry teams roared towards them, and they met on a narrow road, and they collided head-on!

Without the slightest hesitation and retreat, the cavalry commanders of the two sides ordered each and rushed forward to the enemy.

The sound of horseshoes roared, rolling up billows of smoke and dust.The formation of the two armies, like ten thousand raging waves, collided together, and the sound of shouting and roaring made the world full of blood.

The two armies were fighting fiercely, and the bloody and fierce aura shot straight into the sky.

The dark power between heaven and earth was drawn by the force of the army, and suddenly manifested the vision of the army's luck.

The visions of many elite soldiers from both sides of Yun and Xia are condensed and manifested on the battlefield at this time, either echoing each other, connecting with each other, or coming and going, fighting each other to the death.

The singing of birds and beasts affects the weather of heaven and earth, sets off strong winds, rolls up smoke and dust, blocks vision, and blocks flying arrows.

The ferocious beast roared up to the sky, showing its cruel appearance, and exerting supernatural powers, so that the knives and swords swung by all the soldiers, the bows and crossbows and arrows shot were all blessed with different powers, making them irresistible!
There is also the power of the four images and the five elements, which are condensed into solid visions, driven by the army, and engulfed in the power of heaven and earth.Wherever it passed, the earth shook and the mountains were destroyed, almost as powerful as a fairy.

……

This mighty momentum is no longer like a fight between mortals.Under the blessing of the vision of the army, the destructive power displayed by the two armies is like the battle between gods and gods in the myth!
The two armies fought until night fell, and then they stopped fighting.Xia Jun retreated into Qichang City, while Yun Jun set up camp outside Qichang City.

In Qichang city, in the Xia army garrison, a group of generals gathered here, all of them looked deep and worried.

"Commander, our army's scouts have also found out that the Yunnei River Navy has already flowed down the river. The Panlong Water Village is probably already occupied..."

"Commander, the Yun army's offensive is fierce this time, which has never been seen before. Only one day after the start of the battle, all the camps and military strongholds outside our city have been wiped out!"

"Today's casualties have been roughly counted. There are nearly ten thousand casualties among soldiers..."

"The [-] Beisai Jingqi who were ordered to attack from the flanks directly ran into the Yunguo Guanning cavalry who were also planning to attack from the flank. In order to prevent the Guanning cavalry from rushing into the central army, the Beisai Jingqi charged desperately and did not retreat. Survivors after the war, not enough, not enough...less than two hundred!"

Every time the military situation was reported, the faces of the generals became even more ugly.

Liao Gu commanded a total of 25 frontline Xia troops in Xunyang and Nanyang counties.Among them, 18 soldiers and horses were stationed in the counties and critical passes under the Qichang Mansion to prevent the cloud army from going down the river and raiding Jinling, the capital of Xia Kingdom.

And in the big camp outside Qichang City, there are even [-] elite Xia soldiers stationed there!

But even so, in today's battle, the Yun army's fierce offensive and tyrannical combat power were even worse than two years ago, which caught Xia army off guard and made it difficult to resist.

In a day's time, all the military strongholds and camps outside the city were surrounded and captured by the Yun army.

Even though Xia Jun fought desperately, it was difficult to restore the decline.In the end, in desperation, he had no choice but to abandon the camp outside the city, and all the troops withdrew into the prefecture, hoping to rely on the city to hold on and resist the cloud army.

"As soon as the Yun army started the battle, they first divided up their troops and pulled out the camps. The momentum was like a broken bamboo, and finally they came from all sides and directly captured the camp outside the city. With such an arrangement, I am afraid that the deployment of our army is completely clear!"

A Xia army general said with a sad face and even a little despair in his tone.

Another general sighed bitterly;

"Sigh, Yun Kingdom uses spies to monitor all countries in the world, and its power has penetrated into the imperial court, and its hands and eyes are open to the sky. I'm afraid it has already found out the situation of our army before the war..."

"Damn! Those embroidered envoys are so arrogant and majestic on weekdays. Why do you face the spies of Yunguo, as if you are dead, useless at all!"

Some people felt aggrieved and unable to vent their grief and anger, and even began to curse the embroiderer who hadn't dared to offend before.

Facing the grief, indignation and despair of the generals, the chief general, Liao Gu, was in a daze.

"Master, master?"

It wasn't until the people around him called out a few times that Liao Gu suddenly came back to his senses.

He calmed down, looked up at Xia Jun's generals, took a deep breath, and said:

"Order, withdraw troops!"

Hearing this, the generals were startled, looked at Liao Gu suddenly, and exclaimed in unison:
"Withdraw?"

After a moment of silence, some generals blushed and shouted angrily:

"Marshal, why do you want to withdraw the troops?"

"Although we lost the camp outside the city today, the city of Qichang is high and deep, so it can be considered a strong city. Our army can still rely on the city to defend against the Xia army!"

"Marshal, I can't wait to retreat so easily!"

The reason why these generals of the Xia army reacted so excitedly was because the sense of honor of the soldiers made them unacceptable. Facing the offensive of the Yun army, they could only stick to Qichang City for one day!
Secondly, it was also because, if he abandoned Qichang City so easily, he would retreat without a fight, and the Jinling court would definitely punish him, so these generals of the Xia army were naturally unwilling.

Facing the angrily protested by the generals at this time, Liao Gu was sullen, shook his head and said:
"The Yunguo Naval Division has already broken through the Panlong water stronghold. Tomorrow, the Yunguo Navy's army will surely go down the river and directly capture the county town of Chaisang!"

"Our elite army is all in the Qichang Mansion. If we don't withdraw our troops and come back to aid, I'm afraid that Chaisang will be lost, the two counties of Xunyang and Yuzhang will fall, and the capital will be in danger!"

How important is Chaisang, the county seat of Xunyang County?
This Chaisang city is located on the Yangtze River waterway. It is the intersection point of many water veins in Yuzhang County and the Yangtze River waterway.

Moreover, because there are many mountains in Yuzhang County, the roads are not suitable for a large army to march, and if they march by force, they may lose too much damage and be detrimental to the morale of the army.Therefore, it is obviously not a wise choice for the Yunguo army to attack from Shaoyang County to Yuzhang County!

But if Yunguo's army controls this Chaisang City, it will not only be able to continue to the east, go down the river, and attack Jinling.And you can go south to capture Yuzhang County, which can be defended no matter how strong the city is.

It can be said that the gains and losses of Chaisang City are related to the survival or loss of the two counties of Xunyang and Yuzhang, and even the key places for the safety of the capital of Xia Guo and the counties in the south of the Yangtze River!

Speaking of this, Liao Gu looked around at the generals again, and said in a low voice:

"If Chaisang City is lost, this Qichang City will be a lonely city, just like Rongcheng City, it will become a place of death..."

As soon as these words came out, the hearts of all the generals trembled.

In the first battle of Rongcheng, Liao Gu was the commander in chief. He personally led hundreds of thousands of Xia army's frontier troops to death, and they were wiped out here, which made Wu Zixu the prestige of General Yun.

Since Liao Gu rose again, no one in the army dared to mention this matter in front of him.

But I never thought that Liao Gu would tell the matter openly today in order to persuade the generals to retreat, without any shyness!

After the generals were silent again for a while, someone gave Liao Gu a complicated look just now, cupped his hands and said:
"I would like to obey the command of the commander-in-chief and come back to help Chaisang!"

The rest of the generals, after looking at each other, got up one after another, bowed their heads to Liao Gu Qiqi, and expressed their obedience.

Seeing this, Liao Gu nodded slightly, looked at the generals complicatedly, and said in a deep voice:
"All the generals will lead all the ministries back to aid Chaisang, and this commander will personally sit in Qichang City and cut off the rear for the army!"

The generals heard the words and did not object.

In the eyes of the generals, after today's battle, the morale of Xia's army has been seriously hit.

At this time, a sudden order to withdraw the troops will inevitably shake the army's morale.

If there is not a person with enough weight to sit in Qichang Mansion to maintain the morale and fighting spirit of the soldiers who are responsible for the end, I am afraid that once the army withdraws, the soldiers and horses in charge of the end will suddenly collapse.

If the cloud army is not blocked, they will chase after them, eventually leading to the collapse of the army.

Therefore, the prestige in the army is not low now, and Han Chuanhou, who is the commander of the army, is the best candidate to sit in Qichang City and take charge of the end!
It's just that Liao Gu, the Marquis of Hanchuan, is the person with the highest official status among Yun Guo's spies in Xia Guo.

Liao Gu issued such an order at this time, is it really because he wants to keep Chaisang City?

I'm afraid it is, not necessarily...

In order to send him to the throne, Xiao Cheng and Wu Zixu planned for several years, handed over countless military exploits, how much effort did it take?This is not just for the purpose of obtaining the defense map of Xia Jun on the front line!
-
At this time, outside Qichang City, in the camp of the Yun Army.

Zhou Yu, who had just led his navy to join the army, walked quickly into the tent, saluted Wu Zixu with fists, and said loudly:
"I've seen the handsome man!"

Wu Zixu turned around when he heard this.

Looking at Zhou Yu in front of him, Wu Zixu showed a smile of approval on his stern face, nodded and said:

"Panlong Water Village blocked the river and prevented my navy from going down. It's like a thorn in my throat. I can't use it skillfully. I can only attack by force. You should capture this village within a day, and it will be your first success!"

For Zhou Yu, Wu Zixu really appreciates it!
After all, he was full of thoughts, all of which were to invade the Xia Kingdom and destroy the Xia Kingdom's Sheji Ancestral Temple.But relying on him alone, he is powerless, and it is difficult to take care of the more than 20 soldiers of the land and water armies.

With Zhou Yu, the general who is best at water warfare, it is to share a lot of worries.It also made him more confident that this time he could break through the heavily guarded Yangtze River coast and take Jinling directly!
Zhou Yu bowed again and said with a smile:

"Last General, thank you, Marshal, for your attention!"

Wu Zixu nodded and waved to him again, motioning for him to come forward.

Zhou Yu stepped forward, came to the table, and saw a very detailed map of the county government along the Yangtze River, placed on it.

Wu Zixu pointed to the city marked Chaisang on the map, and said:
"Chai Sang City is a crucial place, and it must be taken as soon as possible! Otherwise, Xia Guo will react and mobilize heavy troops to guard it, and it will be troublesome!"

Seeing this, Zhou Yu nodded in agreement.

After all, only by taking Chaisang can the Yun army capture Yuzhang County and continue to attack Jinling City!
Wu Zixu looked at Zhou Yu and said in a deep voice:
"Tomorrow, you don't need to wait for the main force of the army, you can directly lead the navy and go down the river."

Hearing this, Zhou Yu frowned slightly, and said in deliberation:
"The commander-in-chief will go straight to Chaisang?"

"Chai Sang City must be empty of troops now, but it is the throat of the southeast of the Xia Kingdom after all. The city is high and the pond is deep. With only [-] sailors under the command of the last general, there are no siege equipment, and there is no main force of the army to help. I am afraid that it will be difficult to conquer this place. what!"

Navy officers and soldiers are no better than ordinary soldiers, because they need to fight on water, so their armor and weapons are not as good as ordinary soldiers.Even though they are fierce and elite on the river and sea, once they are on land, their abilities will be reduced a bit.

And the strong and tall Chaisang City, if you want to conquer it, you need at least tens of thousands of soldiers and horses with enough siege equipment to be able to capture it.It is obviously difficult to complete such a task with the inland navy alone.

Wu Zixu can naturally see the problems that Zhou Yu can think of.

Regarding Zhou Yu's question, Wu Zixu just shook his head slightly, and said in a deep voice:
"No, don't rush to attack Chaisang City!"

"Tomorrow most of the Xia army in Qichang City will rush back to defend Chaisang. This commander wants you to stop this army!"

Having said that, Wu Zixu pointed to a city on the map and said in a deep voice:
"This Ruichang County is the place where the army of Qichang City must pass through when they retreat to Chaisang."

"The Commander wants you to lead the naval force overnight, go down the river, use the Saihu waterway in the tributary of the Yangtze River, to raid Ruichang County, and intercept Xia's soldiers and horses!"

"In addition, after midnight tonight, the Xia Army beacon towers along the Yangtze River will be taken over by the people at the sticky poles. You don't need to worry about it. To ensure nothing goes wrong, this commander will send you another three thousand heavenly troops, Go with you to capture Ruichang County."

Nearly [-] elite Xia troops were trapped in a city, and even the elite Yun army led by Wu Zixu found it extremely difficult.

What's more, even if Qichang City is captured, there will still be Chaisang afterward.After capturing Chaisang, there is also Shuzhou in Yicheng County, and Dangtu, an important military town guarding the capital of Xia Kingdom!

These places are all painstakingly managed by the Xia army, easy to defend but difficult to attack, and heavily guarded.

If they attack the key points of each strong city one by one, even with the elite of the Yun army, I am afraid that there will be almost no casualties!

In order to reduce casualties, preserve the vitality of the army, and ensure that there is enough energy to capture Jinling, Wu Zixu came up with this plan.

Let Liao Gu cooperate, and in the name of returning to defense, withdraw the Xia army in Qichang City to Chaisang, and then send the Yun army to raid Ruichang County, where the Xia army must pass, intercept most of the Xia army here, and defeat it head-on!

Zhou Yu's eyes moved slightly when he heard this.

Why is the commander-in-chief so determined that the commander-in-chief of the Xia army will order the army to return to defend Chaisang City?
Although he had doubts in his heart, but with Zhou Yu's ingenuity in planning, it was actually just a little thought, and there was a hidden guess in his heart.

Of course, Zhou Yu didn't ask too much at this time, but immediately clasped his fists and saluted, and said loudly:
"Yes, the last general will lead the troops there!"

(End of this chapter)