Jiuxi

Chapter 748: 746 [Death Place]

Wu Yanshu adjusted very quickly. The Jing army temporarily stopped the attack on the southeast auxiliary city. Then two Jing army infantry units marched south and rushed directly to the two sides of the Qi army reinforcements.

At the same time, five thousand Jing army cavalrymen circled behind the Qi army reinforcements, intending to cut off their retreat.

In this way, Wu Yanshu's strategic intentions gradually became apparent.

He would not continue to attack the three cities of Taikang under the noses of the enemy reinforcements. Instead, he would let Liu Shouguang watch Jing's army encircle and suppress the reinforcements.

In fact, this is not such a magical method. Encircling a point and attacking its reinforcements has always been a strategy emphasized in military books. The key lies in Wuyan Shu's extremely decisive response, which resulted in the Qi army's reinforcements having to retreat to the military camp more than 20 miles southeast of Taikang, unable to further widen the distance between themselves and Jing's army.

If it were someone else, they would most likely fall into a period of hesitation and desperation, because Liu Shouguang actually ignored the safety of southern Jingzhou and directly transferred reinforcements to Taikang. This was obviously a weird and strange choice, and there was no guarantee that there would not be a conspiracy trap.

Wu Yanshu would not hesitate, because ever since Jing Jun laid a solid foundation through the Battle of Kaocheng, he has always firmly held the initiative on the battlefield.

No matter what Liu Shouguang did, it was within his calculations. Even if Liu Shouguang asked the Qi army reinforcements to return to the south, he could still strangle the main force of the Jingzhou army in the Taikang area with thundering force. In any case, the Jing army would gain the advantage.

From the second day after the Qi army reinforcements arrived, the battlefield suddenly became eerily silent.

The Jing army did not launch another siege, nor did they directly attack the Qi army's reinforcements. Instead, they used their superior military strength to firmly trap the Qi army's reinforcements.

The Qi army reinforcements were composed of the Ningcheng Army, the Yangdi Army and the fixed army, with a total strength of about 30,000.

They were originally stationed in the southern part of Jingzhou, mainly responsible for guarding Shahe, Pingyang, Weilin and Queshan. After receiving Liu Shouguang's military order, the various units quickly gathered and rushed north to support Taikang.

When they arrived at Baimaqiao, they received an urgent report from the south, informing them that another Jing army had broken through Feiniao Pass in Shazhou and was approaching the southern part of Jingzhou. They wanted to go back despite the trouble, but they received an order from Liu Shouguang to continue marching north.

Fortunately, they arrived in time, otherwise the Southeast Auxiliary City would have been in the hands of Jing's army, but they themselves were surrounded by Jing's army.

Inside the somewhat crude camp, three main generals were discussing countermeasures.

Qiu Jixun, the commander-in-chief of the Ningcheng Army, is the oldest and most experienced, so he naturally becomes the backbone of the three.

He looked at the auxiliary city vaguely visible in the northwest and said slowly: "Now our army has no way to retreat."

Qin Guangfu, the commander of the Yangdi Army, looked solemn and said in a deep voice, "Brother Qiu, I just asked someone to do a count, and the food and grass we brought this time is only enough for half a month at most."

"Food and grass are not a problem."

Qiu Jixun stood with his hands behind his back and said confidently, "Wu Yanshu will not wait that long before attacking our army. Right now he just wants to wear out our army's morale and use this method to disrupt the judgment of our comrades in the city. Within ten days at the latest, the Jing army will definitely launch a fierce offensive."

Qin Guangfu and the fixed army commander Gu Kui couldn't help but frown.

According to the intelligence they had, the Jing army had deployed at least 120,000 troops on this battlefield.

Even if he separated half of his men to continue attacking the city, Wu Yanshu would still have enough troops to besiege the Qi army reinforcements.

Gu Kui glanced at Qiu Jixun and said, "Generals, should we try to get in touch with the Grand Commander first?"

Although the reinforcements arrived in time, they were blocked by Jing's army on the outskirts of the three cities of Taikang and were temporarily unable to contact the defenders in the city.

Qiu Jixun thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "The enemy will definitely defend this place to the death, so why lose manpower for nothing? Our army and the Jing army will have to fight next, and I hope you two can advise your subordinates to be determined to die with the enemy, so that there is a chance of survival."

Qin Guangfu nodded in agreement, and Gu Kui agreed on the surface, but he was a meticulous person, and vaguely felt that there might be another mystery behind this matter, because Qiu Jixun was too calm and composed, and did not seem to be worried about his own situation at all.

After the two left, Qiu Jixun looked up at the clear sky in the northwest and said silently in his heart: "Grand Commander, soldiers like me are brave enough to die. I just hope that the young county lord will not let you down for your trust in me."

He sighed softly again.

As he said, this state of silence will not last long, and the Jing army on the periphery gradually showed signs of stirring.

The reason they did not launch an attack was because Wu Yanshu never gave the order.

Inside the central army tent, all the generals looked at their commander with bated breath.

"Report!"

A centurion walked quickly into the general's tent.

Wu Yanshu raised his head slightly and said, "Speak."

The centurion said respectfully: "Reporting to the remaining garrison, our scouts have confirmed that there is no unusual movement of the defenders in Yongqiu and other places in Southern Qi!" Wu Yanshu's face remained calm, but he secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

He ordered his men to only besiege but not attack. In addition to trying to eliminate the morale of the Qi reinforcements, another very important reason was to prevent Liu Shouguang from following his example and imitating the methods he used in the Battle of Kaocheng, openly repairing the plank road while secretly passing through Chencang, completely abandoning the defense of Yongqiu and other places, and mobilizing all his troops to come to Taikang to fight a decisive battle with Jing's army.

Although the Jing army was not afraid, Wu Yanshu did not want any unexpected situations to occur in this battle. He wanted to strangle the main force of the Jingzhou army without any suspense.

So he has been waiting for accurate information from various places these days.

Until now, he finally confirmed it, and put aside his hesitation. He stood up and said, "Everyone, there are only two enemy forces standing in front of our army. One is the main force of the Jingzhou Army in the three cities of Taikang, and the other is the tens of thousands of reinforcements of the Qi Army that have been besieged by our army. When the time of the decisive battle comes, which general dares to lead the troops to fight and help me to eliminate the reinforcements?"

Guyu did not hesitate at all and immediately stood up and said, "I am willing to go!"

Wu Yanshu looked at him approvingly and said loudly: "The enemy's support troops will not exceed 30,000. I will give you 50,000 infantry. You can test them for a while, and then do your best to annihilate the enemy."

"The last general takes command!"

Guyou showed a slightly ferocious look. He had previously led his troops to capture Xinping City. Now, if he could make one more achievement, he would be able to stand out among the many generals of Jing Army.

The next morning, Jing Jun, who had been silent for several days, finally took action.

Under the command of Guyuk, nearly 50,000 infantrymen began to narrow the encirclement towards the station of the Qi army reinforcements.

As daylight dawned, the Jing army suddenly launched a fierce attack.

The military camp is not a city, and the camp wall is not a tall and solid city wall. The role it can play is relatively limited. At most, it can only block the impact of Jing’s cavalry, but it cannot stop the offensive of Jing’s infantry.

The offensive of the Jing army was like a tide, but the Qi army defended with great determination.

No matter generals like Qiu Jixun or ordinary soldiers under them, everyone knows their own situation. If they let the enemy enter the military camp at this time, the final result will inevitably be the annihilation of their entire army. They have no other choice. If they want to survive, they must defend the last inch of land.

The two armies fought from early morning until noon, until the sound of a gong was heard from the rear, and the Jing army slowly retreated.

Although they repelled the enemy, Qiu Jixun and others knew that this was only the beginning. The Jing army would inevitably intensify its offensive because the Qi army was already isolated and helpless.

The two places were more than twenty miles apart, but the generals in Taikang City were not completely unaware of the situation of the reinforcements.

Thanks to the selfless efforts of the elite scouts, the news that the Jing army was besieging the reinforcements was promptly delivered to the main hall of the Governor's Mansion.

At this time, there were not many generals who could remain calm, and some even couldn't help but secretly blame Liu Shouguang.

If the Grand Commander ordered 30,000 reinforcements to return to the south, they could not only deal with the Jing army coming from the upper reaches of the Hengjiang River, but also avoid their current desperate situation. As for the situation on the northern front, it would indeed be very dangerous, but it would not be so easy for the Jing army to break through Taikang City.

Not only is the main force of the Jingzhou Army stationed here, but the supplies in the city are piled up like mountains, and the food and fodder can last at least a year.

After a whole year, couldn't Lu Chen, the Duke of Shanyang County, take down Heluo City?
If people didn't know that Liu Shouguang was not a coward, they would probably ridicule him to his face.

Liu Shouguang seemed unaware of the emotions of his generals. He said calmly, "The Ningcheng Army and other troops are in a critical situation. We cannot stand by and watch them die."

This sentence instantly shocked all the generals in the hall.

They looked up at Liu Shouguang in disbelief and were unable to recover for a long time.

Someone finally couldn't suppress the disappointment and confusion in his heart, and shouted: "May I ask, Grand Commander, where did you get this from?"

Liu Shouguang narrowed his eyes and said slowly, "This battle has continued until now. The enemy and our army are in a life-and-death situation. Wu Yanshu will definitely not withdraw his troops. We can't just watch him defeat us one by one. If we do nothing, Wu Yanshu can calmly deal with our reinforcements and then launch a final assault on Taikang."

A cold look finally emerged on the general's face, and he said bluntly: "Grand Commander, our army has only about 60,000 soldiers, while the Jing army has at least twice as many! If our army holds the city, we can still close the gap to the maximum extent. But if we force our way out of the city to fight, what's the difference between this and walking into a trap? Grand Commander, please think twice!"

Liu Shouguang was not angry. He looked at the man and said, "Commander Liao, I am not asking for your opinion."

Liao Xiangping choked, and seeing that he looked gloomy, Fan Wending interrupted at the right time and said, "Please give your orders, Grand Commander!"

Liu Shouguang stood up and said, "You all should go back and prepare yourself immediately. When the time is right, follow me out of the city to kill the enemy!"

The generals had different thoughts. Some were confused, some sneered and despised, and some secretly understood. But no matter what kind of emotion they had, when Liu Shouguang showed the authority and posture of the Grand Commander of Jingzhou, they could only suppress their surging thoughts and saluted in unison, saying, "I obey your orders!"

Liu Shouguang and Fan Wendi looked at each other and nodded slightly at the same time.

(End of this chapter)