Jiuxi

Chapter 511 Chapter 509 [Everyone has their own agenda]

Beiyan, Yongqiu City, the capital of Moyang Road.

After the Battle of Xifengyuan, the Yan army retreated all the way. Niu Cunjie tried every means to gather the defeated troops. However, countless failures and confusion about the future made the Yan army soldiers completely lose confidence. At least half of the soldiers who survived the Xifengyuan retreat were defeated. Become a deserter on the road.

When Niu Cunjie came to Yongqiu, there were only 20,000 soldiers left with him, which meant that 80,000 soldiers and horses were lost in the battle of Xifengyuan.

Although these two thousand people are the confidants of Niu Cunjie and other generals, the skeleton of Moyang Luyan's army, and can recruit hundreds of thousands of people as long as there is enough time, Li Tianrun will definitely not give him this time.

Now, including the original garrison in Yongqiu City, the Yan army has about 32,000 troops, and the Jingzhou army outside the city has more than 90,000 people, completely surrounding this largest city in the north of the Yangtze River.

It is said in the art of war that encirclement is ten times. If there is not much difference in strength between the two sides, it is obviously unrealistic for Li Tianrun to surround Yongqiu City with three times the number of troops. But now the morale of the Yan army has fallen to the bottom. West Wind They were killed by the Jingzhou Army in a head-on confrontation, and the ground was covered with blood. They no longer had the courage to confront the Jingzhou Army.

Without Yongqiu's towering and solid city wall as a barrier, the only option for these Yan troops was to continue to flee north.

During this half-month period, the Jingzhou Army did not directly attack Yongqiu. Instead, they slowly cut off the territory of the Yan Army outside Yongqiu, turning Yongqiu into an isolated city. At the same time, they systematically attacked Yongqiu outside the city. Set up large siege equipment and assume a posture of long-term siege.

Outside the city, there are continuous military camps in Jingzhou with great momentum.

"General."

It is difficult for others to imagine how much the defeat of Xifengyuan affected him, especially since Li Tianrun did not use any tricks and relied on the hard power of the Jingzhou Army to defeat the Yan Army, which made all Niu Cunjie's ambitions come to nothing.

Zhu Zhen, the general manager of the military and horse capital, came to him and said calmly: "The reinforcements led by Marshal Qingyu will arrive in about six or seven days. The subordinates have already informed the soldiers in the city of the news. By now, the morale of the soldiers has been stabilized. few."

Zhu Zhen looked around and lowered his voice and said, "General, I have something to say. I don't know whether to say it or not."

If we talk about fighting for ourselves, Yan and Qi are one family. Which of their ancestors is not from Qi? Why is there any need to kill each other to death?

He would not be like some old-school generals of the Yan State, who would refuse Jing Dynasty but still welcome him, nor would he hide his intentions like others. In his heart, he was only passionate about fame and power, and just wanted to be Qing Yugong. Such a famous general.

This question appeared on the head of the military capital, which was really unexpected. However, Niu Cunjie did not show too much shock. He could probably understand the origin of Zhu Zhen's doubts.

Who is the Yan army fighting for?

This has always been a taboo topic, but even the most ordinary soldiers knew that they could not fight for the five-year-old emperor in the palace of Heluo City.

Until Li Tianrun took action and trampled his pride into the mud.

Niu Cunjie stood under the south tower, looking at the Jingzhou military camp outside the city, his brows furrowed into a "sichuan" shape.

Zhu Zhen hesitated slightly and said: "General, I am a little confused now. I don't know why we are fighting."

He is a very pure soldier. He only thinks about making achievements and leaving a name in history. It doesn't matter who he fights for.

Niu Cunjie still looked outside the city.

Niu Cunjie nodded and said: "Okay."

Now he can only defend the city. Even if he wants to regain the city, his soldiers have lost the courage to face the Jingzhou Army again.

Niu Cunjie turned to look at him and said calmly: "Tell me."

A calm voice sounded behind him.

When he thought of this, he pressed his hands hard on the city wall, and his knuckles immediately turned white.

In the past two years, he succeeded Chen Xiaokuan as General Moyang Road and built a solid line of defense to block the Jingzhou Army, preventing Li Tianrun from continuing to move north. Such achievements would inevitably make him feel complacent.

Be it Yan or Jing, he is willing to serve whoever can give him a stage to display his ambitions.

After all, they were fighting for Jing Chao.

Niu Cunjie said slowly: "Although I can understand your mood, why do you have to torture yourself on this issue."

Zhu Zhen sighed lightly: "General, I just think it's not worth it. If you had followed the general's idea, the defeat of Xifengyuan would not have happened at all, and our army's losses would not have been so heavy. Even if Marshal Qingyu wanted to induce When the Jingzhou army goes north, can't he set up an ambush behind Xifengyuan? "

Niu Cunjie frowned slightly and pressed his hands on the wall.

Zhu Zhen continued: "From the lower official's point of view, Marshal Qingyu is clearly taking advantage of the overall situation and deliberately consuming the general's troops."

"Okay, don't say these words anymore."

Niu Cunjie was still looking forward, but from his somewhat ugly face, we could tell that he had some resentment in his heart. After all, Xifengyuan lost 80,000 soldiers and horses in the battle, and his strength suffered a heavy blow. If he wanted to It became very difficult to get a place in Dajing Chaotang.

I don't know if he was trying to persuade Zhu Zhen or himself, but Niu Cunjie said in a more serious tone: "We are facing a powerful enemy, so we cannot mess up our position."

"The lower official made a mistake, I hope the general will not blame you."

Zhu Zhen lowered his head and lowered his eyebrows in a respectful manner, and a strange look floated deep in his eyes. …

Outside the city, inside the Chinese military headquarters of the Jingzhou Army.

Xue Huaiyi watched Li Tianrun drink a large bowl of dark medicinal soup with his own eyes. He ignored the bitter look on the face of the Jingzhou Governor and said with satisfaction: "As long as the Governor does not work too hard, he can get enough rest every day." With time, my body will definitely get better and better. I don’t dare to boast, but at least the golden needle technique once every seven days can be temporarily stopped. "

Li Tianrun rinsed his mouth with water and said with a wry smile: "Old miracle doctor, I would rather receive a golden needle every seven days than drink a bowl of bitter medicine every day."

"Good medicine tastes bitter."

Xue Huaiyi obviously didn't care about the patient's identity when facing the patient. He took Li Tianrun's pulse and said with a smile after a moment: "It seems that the old man was too worried before. It is also possible that the enemy is not worthy of his name. The governor's recent condition is worse than the old man expected. Be better."

Li Tianrun said: "Thank you for the old miracle doctor's trouble."

In fact, Xue Huaiyi's concerns were correct. With Li Tianrun's current physical condition, directing such a laborious national war would be an act of overdrafting his life. The reason why his condition has not worsened recently is, on the one hand, because the emperor and military ministers such as Lu Chen planned the overall situation for him, and he only needs to focus on the Jingzhou front line. On the other hand, as Xue Huaiyi said, Yan Cunjie led by Niu Cunjie The army is indeed relatively weak and cannot pose much threat to the Jingzhou Army.

However, this is just an appetizer. The main force of Qing Yugong and Jing Jun who are heading south is the real challenge.

Of course, Li Tianrun would not elaborate on this matter in front of Xue Huaiyi. There was no point in worrying the other party.

Xue Huaiyi observed Li Tianrun's complexion again and said with concern: "Captain, please rest for half an hour after taking the medicine."

"it is good."

Li Tianrun smiled and agreed, and then ordered his soldiers to take the old miracle doctor back to his tent.

After Xue Huaiyi left, Li Tianrun did not go to the back tent to rest. He came to the case and read the military reports of the recent period. After a while, he said to the soldiers: "Go and call Li Bingxue."

"Yes, Grand Governor."

The soldiers took the order and left.

Li Tianrun closed the information, stood up and walked to the sand table, quietly looking at the area east of Yongqiu City.

Since the siege of Yongqiu City, the Jingzhou Army has not launched an offensive against the city wall, and is still focusing on siege.

One reason is that Yongqiu City is strong and difficult to attack, and another consideration for Li Tianrun is the movement of Jingjun.

He would never underestimate Qing Yugong's ability, but Jing Jun's speed was obviously a bit slow.

Normally, with the strength of Jing's army, the rush march from Heluo to Yongqiu can be completed within six days, and the slowest only takes about ten days, but now Jing's army is still in the Beiyan Jingji area and Moyang Road At the junction of , this speed is not consistent with common sense.

"If you attack me, you will save me?"

Li Tianrun whispered to himself, his expression slightly solemn.

There was a sound of footsteps, and Li Bingxue strode into the handsome tent, came forward and saluted: "Father."

Li Tianrun turned to look at her and said warmly: "How is the Feiyu Army resting?"

Li Bingxue immediately understood the meaning of this sentence and said proudly: "The soldiers have high morale and can go to war at any time!"

"very good."

Li Tianrun smiled slightly, picked up the wooden stick and pointed at the point on the sand table, and said unhurriedly: "Ask the soldiers of the Feiyu Army to bring dry food and set off for this place immediately."

Li Bingxue looked around and saw that the place was located to the north of Dongfang Shiquan City. It was called Cuiting. It was a relatively important forward fortress on Jingzhou's eastern defense line.

Cuiting serves as a barrier between Shiquan City and Xunyang City, and is currently garrisoned by three thousand soldiers of the Yingze Army.

She thought for a while and asked: "Father, do you suspect that Jingjun wants to raid Cuiting?"

Li Tianrun nodded and said: "Jing Jun's marching speed is a bit abnormal. Based on my understanding of Qing Yugong, since he has decided to lead his troops south, he will not sit back and watch our army calmly attack Yongqiu. Now the situation on the three frontiers of the border is different, and our army is in There are Xileng Pass and Gaotang City on the western front, and the main force is relatively close and can be supported at any time. Only the eastern front is currently in a slightly weak situation. If Qing Yugong wants to come up with a surprise force, a surprise attack on the eastern front is the best option. Cuiting is on their only path.”

Li Bingxue said seriously: "My daughter understands, please don't worry, father."

Li Tianrun warned: "If you encounter the enemy this time, don't be too eager to fight. Just help the Cuiting defenders to hold on. In addition, I have a military order for you to take with you and hand it over to Huangfu Yu and others when you get to the Eastern Front."

Li Bingxue responded.

She stuffed Li Tianrun's hurriedly printed military order into her sleeve, and before leaving, she suddenly asked: "Father, if Jingjun not only raids with surprise troops, but also attacks the eastern front with its main force, how should our army respond?"

Li Tianrun looked at her clear eyes and said calmly: "Then retreat south along the western foot of the Shuangfeng Mountains and stop when you reach Jianghua City."

Li Bingxue understood this, bowed and said: "General, take your orders!"

(End of this chapter)