Jiuxi

Chapter 737 [Sudden Change of Situation]

Taikang City.

This fortified city has become the core of the Jingzhou Military Governor's Office. Now, as the Jing army is invading the outskirts of Yongqiu, only Taikang is left to guard the north gate of Yongqiu.

As long as Taikang did not fall into the hands of Jing's army, they would not be able to calmly besiege Yongqiu, because Liu Shouguang could send troops to attack Jing's army from behind at any time, or at least cut off Jing's army's food supply.

This is why Lu Chen asked Liu Shouguang to defend this place to the death.

When Yuan Yuji was driven back to the capital by Liu Shouguang and Yuan Xingqin led his troops to garrison in Yongqiu, and Han Zhongjie was still lying in bed, Liu Shouguang's ears finally became quiet. He could concentrate on implementing the strategy set by Lu Chen, and no one would say anything.

And his persistence finally paid off.

There was a festive atmosphere inside the Marshal's Mansion.

The good news from the north came over many miles away. It was undoubtedly a precious shot in the arm for the generals who had been worried about the difficult situation recently.

"Great! Lord Lu has taken Yaoshan Pass. All we need to do next is to continue advancing westwards. The main force of the Jing army will surely come back to support us, and the siege of Jingzhou will be easily resolved!"

Someone said so, and many people agreed with him.

Liu Shouguang was also delighted, but he was obviously much calmer than some of his generals. He turned to look at Fan Wendi, who was sitting in the first seat on the left, and asked, "What do you think, Commander Fan?"

Before the outbreak of this war, Liu Shouguang followed the emperor's order and tried his best to eliminate Li Tianrun's influence in Jingzhou Military Governor's Office. Naturally, he did not dare to use generals like Fan Wendi, who could be regarded as Li Tianrun's right-hand man. However, in the course of the war, Liu Shouguang increasingly felt the differences between people.

He could not go against his conscience and ignore Fan Wendi, a veteran and experienced man, so he gradually changed his attitude towards him. Now Fan Wendi has become a general he relies on very much.

Fan Wending pondered and said, "Grand Commander, the Duke of Shanyang led his army to break through Yaoshan Pass. It was indeed an inspiring victory, but I don't think Wu Yanshu will withdraw his troops obediently. The defeat at Kaocheng has left our army stretched to the limit. The Jing army has been running rampant recently, and the situation is very good. Wu Yanshu must want to make a final push at this time, and our army cannot underestimate him."

These words sobered Liu Shouguang up instantly. He nodded and said, "That makes sense. However, our army is too passive at the moment. We can only continue to hold on and wait for the Duke of Shanyang to pose a substantial threat to Heluo. I believe that Wu Yanshu will not be able to turn a blind eye at that time."

At this moment, hurried footsteps sounded outside the hall, and then a lieutenant strode in, saluted and said, "Reporting to the Grand Commander, Bai County is under siege!"

Liu Shouguang stood up suddenly, and the other generals also stood up.

Bai County?

Zhang Zhan, the commander of the Heyang Army, subconsciously said, "Is this a trick used by the Jing Army to lure our army into attacking?"

Of course he knew where Bai County was. Now it was the only connection between Yongqiu and Taikang.

In the past two months, the Jing army had used similar tricks many times. They first besieged the city of Da Qi to lure the Qi army to rescue, and then mobilized troops to ambush on the way, causing the Qi army to suffer considerable losses.

Later, Liu Shouguang had no choice but to order all troops to strictly guard their garrisons to prevent the already small number of troops from being defeated one by one by Jing's army.

After hearing the urgent report from the captain, Zhang Zhan and some of the generals intuitively believed that this was the Jing army repeating its old tricks.

Fan Wending looked solemn and said slowly: "Not necessarily. If Bai County is lost, Taikang will become a desperate place, and all of us will be surrounded by the Jing army."

"Bring the sand table."

Liu Shouguang gave an order and soon his personal soldiers brought up the sand table.

He and his generals came to the sand table and looked around. They saw that a large area in the north of Jingzhou was already under the control of the Jing army. The only territories belonging to the Qi army in the north of Yongqiu were Baixian and Taikang.

"as expected."

Liu Shouguang's tone was slightly deep, and he said with a strange look on his face: "Wu Yanshu's target is not Yongqiu, but the main force of our army inside and outside Taikang City."

The expressions of the generals also became serious.

Zhang Zhan frowned and said, "Grand Commander, since Wu Yanshu has such a plan, we can't just watch Bai County fall."

Fan Wending said, "If we send troops to rescue at this time, I'm afraid we will fall into Wu Yanshu's trap. He would like us to leave the city and fight."

Both of them had their reasons, and fortunately, they were comrades-in-arms and had not had any intense argument.

The generals couldn't help but look at Liu Shouguang. Now the decision would have to be made by this great commander-in-chief.

After a long silence, Liu Shouguang slowly said: "Send a message to the Bai County garrison, and tell them to hold on as long as they can. If they unfortunately lose, I will not blame them."

When Zhang Zhan heard this military order, he couldn't help but open his mouth slightly, his face full of grief.

Since they had already learned about the great victory at Yaoshan Pass, Wu Yanshu would certainly know about it as well. However, the other side did not lead the troops to retreat, but instead further plotted to attack Bai County. Their determination to continue attacking Jingzhou was self-evident.

If Liu Shouguang sent troops to rescue Bai County at this time, it would obviously be exactly what Wu Yanshu wanted.

Fan Wending said in a deep voice: "Wu Yanshu actually doesn't care about the safety of Heluo City? Or does he have someone else to rely on?"

"The latter possibility is more likely. Perhaps we have already stepped into the trap woven by the other party from the very beginning."

Liu Shouguang recalled the words relayed by the young man from the messenger sent by Lu Chen that day. His thoughts suddenly became clear, and he said to himself: "The civil unrest in Jing State was the origin of the trap, which led to our army's defeat in Kaocheng. Next, the Jing army will definitely take advantage of the situation to counterattack. Our army can only fight and retreat. It seems that the only solution is for the Duke of Shanyang to attack Yaoshan Pass and then threaten Heluo. But there is another possibility. Wu Yanshu had long expected that the Duke of Shanyang would do this, so he chose to do the opposite."

Fan Wendi said, "He is betting that the Duke of Shanyang will not be able to capture Heluo City, but he can break our defense line in Jingzhou into pieces. So far, he has achieved most of his goal. As long as--"

Seeing that he was hesitant to speak, Liu Shouguang sighed and said, "As long as he can complete the final round of action." Then he pointed to Taikang City on the sand table.

The atmosphere in the hall was very solemn.

Seeing through the enemy's layout is one thing, and breaking it is another. The difference between the two is extremely difficult.

Throughout history, countless military generals have died on the battlefield. Could it be that they were all confused and at a loss?
Many times, even though they know what their opponents are going to do, they may not be able to crack their opponents' strategies.

This is what we mean by "not being able to do something".

Zhang Zhan and others were no longer obsessed with rescuing Bai County at this moment. To do so would be like giving the other party a pillow when they were sleepy.

Liu Shouguang thought for a moment and said slowly: "Generals, you can convey the news of the great victory at Yaoshan Pass to your soldiers, but remind them to stay alert. This great victory may not necessarily resolve the crisis in Jingzhou. Our enemies are still fierce and powerful, and we cannot afford to be careless. Next, the Jing army will definitely besiege this place with all their strength. Whether we can stop the enemy's offensive will directly affect the final outcome of this battle."

All the generals obeyed the order loudly.

At this moment they still have hope. What if Jing’s army fails to take Bai County?

However, just three days later, an urgent message dashed everyone's hopes.

With the fall of Bai County, Taikang became a completely desolate place.

The Jing army bared its fangs and advanced towards Taikang from all directions.

In the side hall of the Governor's Mansion, Liu Shouguang and Fan Wendi sat opposite each other. They both looked relatively calm and were not flustered by the news of the fall of Bai County.

"In the secret report I sent to the Duke of Shanyang three days ago, I wrote that Bai County would fall. I didn't expect the Jing army's offensive to be so fierce that it only took three days."

Liu Shouguang spoke in a dull tone and raised his hand to pinch his tired brows.

Fan Wending said with a sigh: "Grand Commander, if Wu Yanshu is determined to attack Jingzhou regardless of Heluo, our army will be in great danger."

This may be the normal state of life with ups and downs.

It was thought that the victory at Yaoshan Pass would force the Jing army to withdraw, but the other side's determination this time was unexpected, and it seemed that they only had Jingzhou in their eyes.

The situation faced by the Jingzhou Army took a sharp turn for the worse.

Liu Shouguang nodded and said, "In the beginning, the Duke of Shanyang asked me to defend Taikang to the death. He said that the Jing army might have several options, and Wu Yanshu's decision is one of them. He said this would be the worst situation."

"Master Lu had anticipated this?"

Fan Wendi's eyes lit up.

Liu Shouguang said: "Yes, do you know the three armies of Huaizhou?"

Fan Wending replied, "Of course I know."

The three armies of Huaizhou are the three wing armies headed by the Tai'an Army, but their combat effectiveness is definitely stronger than the wing armies responsible for maintaining stability in the hinterland states of Jiangnan, because they are the foundation of the border army after all, but they were streamlined by the court because of their relatively weak strength.

If it weren't for Lu Chen's insistence, these three armies would probably have been directly disbanded.

Liu Shouguang's eyes showed admiration, and he said slowly: "More than a month ago, the Duke of Shanyang ordered the three armies of Huaizhou to cross the Shuangfeng Ancient Road and arrive in Jingzhou. Now they are stationed in Boshan City. This is the confidence he gave me. Originally, I wanted to wait for the Jing army to come back for help, and then our army would pursue them."

Fan Wending suddenly realized, "This is indeed Lord Lu's style."

Liu Shouguang smiled bitterly and said, "The war situation is in chaos now. I don't know whether to mobilize the three armies of Huaizhou. After all, this is our only reserve force. Once it is mobilized, there will be no more trump cards. Now I can only hope that the Duke of Shanyang can make a decision early, otherwise Jingzhou may really fall into a desperate situation."

Fan Wendi understood his feelings very well, as he was also like that when he was under Li Tianrun.

Commanders like Li Tianrun and Lu Chen are the real backbone of the soldiers.

……

The two military heroes who were in a depressed mood certainly could not have imagined that the Duke of Shanyang, Lu Chen, whom they placed all their hopes on, was not confident at the moment. Instead, he looked at the woman in red in front of him with a headache and asked cautiously, "Jiujiu, why are you here?"

Luo Jiujiu's eyes were clear, and she said with a smile: "I'm here to give you a war horse."

Lu Chen breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, "Thank you for your hard work in traveling all the way."

Luo Jiujiu had accumulated a lot of things to say to him on the way here, but at this moment she could only smile foolishly.

Until she noticed that Lu Chen's eyes looked a little strange and he was staring at her intently.

"what happened?"

She first looked at her clothes and then asked in confusion.

Lu Chen answered irrelevantly and said softly: "I understand."

"I see... No wonder you are so determined."

(End of this chapter)