Jiuxi

Chapter 561: 559 [Chaotianque] (VI)
March 24, the 15th year of Jianwu in the Great Qi Dynasty.

The two Qi armies marched towards Yongqiu City at the same time.

The Huwei Army and Changwei Army of the Beijing Camp, the Qingxu Army and Heyang Army of Jingzhou, and the Feiyu Army cavalry led by Li Bingxue set out from Baimaqiao and headed north. When they were still six or seven miles away from Yongqiu, they turned northeast and joined the Eastern Route Army.

Xiao Wangzhi led the Huaizhou Zhenbei Army, Guangling Army, Taixing Army, Jianghua Army, Jingzhou Anping Army and Dingzhou Dingbei Army to the designated location.

The two Qi armies set up camp a few miles southeast of Yongqiu. The camp was long and full of flags, and the scene was grand and majestic.

The Qi army had more than 117,000 combat soldiers. If the auxiliary troops and civilian laborers transporting food and fodder in the rear were included, the total number reached more than 200,000.

During this period, Qi Jing's cavalry fought back and forth extremely fiercely. Dozens of small-scale fights involving dozens of people occurred. Both sides won and lost, and were unable to prevent the other side from detecting the situation on the battlefield.

When the Qi army set out, the Jing army's cavalry had already noticed it and quickly informed the central army of the intelligence.

At present, there are 20,000 infantrymen of Jing's army in Yongqiu City, and more than 40,000 infantrymen and more than 20,000 cavalrymen are stationed in the camp north of the city. In terms of military strength alone, they are only slightly inferior to Qi's army, and they are fully capable of a head-on decisive battle. This is also the reason why the imperial edict of Emperor Jing was able to gain the support of all the officials in the court.

If it were more than ten years ago, when the Jing army and the Qi army, which had a similar strength, met in the wild, there would be no need for Emperor Jing to issue a special imperial edict. The military heroes in the court would clamor to wipe out the enemy, and the generals would take the initiative to attack to prevent the enemy from retreating into the defense line.

Times have changed, and the Qi army has proved its strength through its performance in wars over the past few years.

Although Xiao Wangzhi and Li Tianrun have not yet achieved a victory that determines the fate of the country when facing the Jing army, there is no need to elaborate on their ability to train troops. The troops that have performed outstandingly in the wars in recent years are all from their command.

Even in Lu Chen's surprise attack on Heluo that shocked the world, the soldiers he led were the elite of the Huaizhou Army.

Therefore, when the Qi army took the initiative to advance, the Jing army did not underestimate the enemy. Of course, some generals of the Jing army also advised Qing Yugong to take advantage of the opportunity when the Qi army was not yet stable to launch a surprise attack, but Xiao Wangzhi did not give them this opportunity.

Tens of thousands of elite troops of the Qi army rushed forward to provide cover, while the rest set up camp on both wings to cover the auxiliary troops and civilians in the rear who were setting up camp.

This time, the Qi army's camp was not a simple type, but a large camp with connected vertical and horizontal structures, trenches dug outside, and antler barriers set up, which could easily deal with the attack of the Jing army's cavalry.

After hearing the report from the scouts, the generals of the Jing army knew that if their cavalry rashly attacked the camp, they would suffer a miserable end.

The dark clouds of war hung over the sky, and the air seemed stagnant on the plain southeast of Yongqiu City.

More than a thousand cavalrymen appeared leisurely and observed the Qi army camp closely while maintaining a safe distance.

The Qi army was unmoved by this. As long as the enemy's thousand-plus cavalry did not threaten the Qi army's front line, they remained extremely restrained and calm. After all, in wars throughout history, such small groups of elite troops actively lured the enemy and were not uncommon.

Moreover, even if the Qi army wanted to eliminate these more than a thousand cavalrymen, unless the Jing army's spies disappeared instantly and the enemy stupidly stayed where they were, the Qi army would have no chance of surrounding the highly mobile Jing army's cavalrymen.

Among the more than one thousand cavalrymen, Qing Yugong was among them. Next to him was the fourth prince Alihehaige, and around him were a group of Jing army generals.

Everyone silently observed the Qi army's camp that stretched for several miles in the distance.

It was difficult to see the details at such a distance, but these generals were experienced in the battlefield, and even if they just took a cursory look, they could see the rigor and organization of the Qi army camp.

The fourth prince came closer and asked, "Your Majesty, will the Qi army have a problem of confusion in command this time?"

Although the Jing army also had complicated factional problems, Qing Yugong was able to control the overall situation. Neither Pucha, Jingdi's trusted aide, nor Wulinda, Sagai's confidant, dared to disobey his military orders.

Even if we can't do it as easily as with our own arms, at least we can ensure that our orders are carried out.

But the Qi army was different. Not to mention that the more than 100,000 soldiers came from the three military governorates, there were commander-in-chiefs like Xiao Wangzhi, Li Tianrun and Lu Chen, as well as Liu Shouguang, the chief military minister of Southern Qi.

Such a lineup may seem luxurious, but it may not be a good thing on the battlefield.

Everyone has the ability and qualifications to command a war, and everyone has his own trusted and trusted subordinates. So whose orders does the army obey?
Hearing the Fourth Prince's question, the other Jing Army generals looked over curiously.

Qing Yugong said calmly, "No. Li Tianrun's body can no longer support him to continue commanding a war of this scale. Lu Chen is young and inexperienced, and Liu Shouguang can't command the Southern Qi border troops at all, so the commander in chief for this battle can only be Xiao Wangzhi."

Everyone couldn't help but feel solemn.

Xiao Wangzhi must be a tough opponent.

Although they firmly believed in Qing Yugong's military talent, after experiencing the wars in the past few years, no one would continue to look down on Xiao Wangzhi.

Pucha, Gulijia, Shubulie, Tuoman Ulu and others who returned after being defeated at the foot of Luwu Mountain felt even more deeply about this and could not forget Sahele and the 20,000 loyal soldiers who died on that battlefield.

Qing Yugong did not try to comfort them, but said in a deep voice: "Xiao Wangzhi is calm and experienced in using troops, and does not seek to use surprising tactics. Such a person is extremely difficult to deal with. Especially when the two armies are facing each other head-on, our army's strategy of strength and weakness will hardly affect his judgment. If we want to win, we must rely on continuous and tough battles."

All the generals nodded.

More than a thousand cavalrymen continued to march northeast, forming a semicircle, and observed the Qi army camp for a long time.

The purpose of Qing Yugong doing this was to make them have an intuitive perception of the difficulty of the upcoming war, especially the generals of the Xiashan Army under his command, and try to dispel the arrogance in their hearts.

After returning to their own camp, the generals followed Qing Yugong to the central army commander's tent. Before they were about to start the military meeting, a messenger suddenly came with news.

"Your Highness, I am here on orders from the Crown Prince of the Eastern Army, Mie Gudi and Xi Lie, the two Great Hermits, to report urgent military information to Your Highness."

"speak."

"Your Majesty, in the middle of the night of March 11, 5,000 cavalrymen from the Seven Stars Army in the Baotai Mountains attempted to launch a surprise attack on Luoshan County where our army stored its grain and fodder, but were immediately driven into an encirclement by our army. Later, Li Jingda, the governor of Dingzhou in Southern Qi, led his troops to attack, forcing our army to return to the front line for support. The Seven Stars Army cavalrymen then broke out of the encirclement and fled to the south of Jishantun, where they joined up with the Qi army garrison."

The messenger looked anxious.

This was another piece of bad news. The generals in the tent looked solemn, but they did not show any signs of being too nervous.

Although the Eastern Army failed to complete the stranglehold on the Seven Star Army Cavalry, it would not affect the situation on the Western Front. It is just a pity at best.

However, Qing Yugong frowned slightly.

Seeing this, Pucha asked respectfully, "My Lord, is there anything wrong?"

Qing Yugong shook his head slightly and said, "No problem, let's continue the military discussion."

Seven Star Cavalry?
To be precise, they are Lu Chen's real trusted subordinates. They will definitely not stay in Dingzhou obediently. Maybe they are already taking a detour to the Yongqiu battlefield.

Is this the opponent's trump card?

The atmosphere in the tent gradually became heated. Qing Yugong listened quietly to the generals speaking freely, but in his heart he had already made a mark on that fierce cavalry born out of the green forest.

It seems that in the subsequent decisive battle, this elite cavalry of 5,000 people may very likely become the secret force that determines the outcome of the battle.

Qing Yugong looked calm, he had experienced too many tests and hardships in his life, now that he was on guard, he would definitely make corresponding preparations.

But for some reason, he felt vaguely worried.

At the same time, in the central camp of the Qi army.

Outside the general's tent stood the flag of Duke Rong Xiao Wangzhi. All ordinary soldiers still believed that Xiao Wangzhi was the commander-in-chief of this battle. Li Tianrun stayed in Baimaquan to recuperate. Only the generals at the level of commander-in-chief of each army knew that the real decision maker was Marquis Shanyang Lu Chen.

During this period, they have held many military meetings to discuss how to deal with the main force of the Jing army outside Yongqiu City.

There has been some progress, but no final resolution has been reached.

The reason why they advanced without a decision was very simple. This time it was not the Jing army that wanted to fight, but the Qi army that wanted to seek a decisive battle, and they could not let the Jing army withdraw calmly.

"That's good news."

Inside the commander's tent, Xiao Wangzhi looked at Lu Chen who was sitting opposite him with a smile on his face.

There was another person here, the dusty Tao Baochun.

He briefly recounted the recent news from Dingzhou, emphasizing that Lin Xi had already set out with 5,000 cavalrymen of the Seven Star Army, and asked him to rush over on horseback to report the news. He also hoped to get more detailed and clear instructions from Lu Chen.

Lu Chen said gently, "Uncle Tao, you have worked hard. You should go and rest for a while. Let me discuss this with the Grand Commander."

Tao Baochun bowed to the two of them and left.

Xiao Wangzhi knew at a glance that Lu Chen had other plans, so he asked, "Aren't you planning to use the Seven Star Army as a surprise force?"

"Five thousand elite cavalry can really play a miraculous role at a critical moment."

Lu Chen stood up to help Xiao Wangzhi pour tea, and said calmly: "It's just that I don't think Qing Yugong will ignore this."

Xiao Wangzhi groaned and said, "Indeed."

Lu Chen said, "He may not know that Senior Sister is planning to lead troops to Yongqiu, but the commander of the Eastern Route Army of the Jing Army must have informed him of the Seven Star Army's escape. Qing Yugong knows the relationship between me and the Seven Star Gang, and the Seven Star Army cavalry can only play a limited role in the Jishantun defense line, far less effective than coming to the Western Front battlefield as a surprise force. In this way, Qing Yugong only needs to leave some cavalry to deal with it, and it will be difficult for the Seven Star Army to catch him off guard."

Xiao Wangzhi asked: "So what are your plans?"

"In fact, I have been struggling with a problem before. If I rashly let the Feiyu Army or Dingbei Cavalry leave, it is very likely to attract the attention of Qing Yugong. Now the arrival of the Seven Star Army has provided me with a better strategy."

Lu Chen smiled slightly, and then said: "Uncle Xiao, I want the Seven Star Army to quietly go north and not come to the western battlefield."

Xiao Wangzhi was stunned and asked, "Northward? Heluo?"

Lu Chen nodded and said, "Yes, this move is to cut off the firewood from under the cauldron!"

Why draw fire from under the cauldron?

Xiao Wangzhi only thought about it for a moment and already understood what Lu Chen was planning.

He picked up the teacup and took a sip, then said slowly, "You want to paralyze the Pseudo-Yan imperial court system, completely cut off the logistics supply, and thus destroy the foundation of the main force of the Jing army on the front line?"

Lu Chen nodded.

Xiao Wangzhi looked at him steadily, then suddenly chuckled. After a moment, he said, "So you have already discussed this with Zhai Lin Wang? When did you make the arrangement?"

"It's been a while."

Lu Chen thought for a moment and smiled, "When I leave the capital, I'll have Miss Wang pass a secret letter to Zhai Lin Wang through Zhu Zhen, so that we can deal a fatal blow to the main force of the Jing army at a critical moment."

Xiao Wangzhi said: "This move is somewhat risky, but it is worth a try."

Lu Chen's eyes were calm as he drank the warm tea in the cup.

(End of this chapter)