Jiuxi

Chapter 750 748 [Dawn]

In the north of Jingzhou, there is Taikang City.

Liu Shouguang stood under the east city tower, looking at the endless Jing army camp outside the city, and his gaze then fell to the southeast.

Even though he couldn't see the situation there, he knew that the situation of the 30,000 reinforcements would only become more and more difficult.

Four days had passed since he made the decision at the military meeting to launch an offensive at any time, and judging from the situation outside, the reinforcements were still holding on.

But no one knows how long those comrades can hold on.

There were footsteps beside him. Liu Shouguang did not turn around, and then he heard Fan Wendi say: "General, the soldiers are ready."

Liu Shouguang nodded, and then said with a complicated expression: "Commander Fan, do you think I will regret this decision for the rest of my life?"

Fan Wendi remained silent.

At first, he did not know the strategies set by the two commanders Liu Shouguang and Lu Chen, so he questioned Liu Shouguang's decision. However, as the war progressed, and Liu Shouguang revealed part of the plan to him, he wholeheartedly supported Liu Shouguang.

Now when he heard Liu Shouguang's question, he knew how much pressure this great commander-in-chief beside him was under.

From sending Yuan Yuji back to the capital without hesitation to ignoring the emperor's interference in the border war, Liu Shouguang made his attitude clear with practical actions. He chose to stand on Lu Chen's side and completely obeyed the other party's authority to supervise the military affairs of Jiangbei.

Then Liu Shouguang defended Taikang to the death, lured the main force of Jing's army here, and transferred the only reserve forces he had here, even disregarding the safety of Pingyang Prefecture in the south. This was a strategy of risking one's life in order to survive.

If the southern defense line collapses in the end and the northern line cannot gain any advantage over Jing’s army, Liu Shouguang will be the culprit who destroys the overall situation in Jiangbei.

Not to mention the capital punishment, it is possible that the emperor would confiscate the property and exterminate the entire family.

The reason why Liu Shouguang chose to bear such heavy pressure was simply because of his trust in Lu Chen.

Fan Wendi said in a soothing voice: "Grand Commander, the Duke of Shanyang will definitely live up to your trust."

Liu Shouguang looked at the vast world in the east, and suddenly laughed at himself, "When Lord Han promoted me to the commander of the Beijing Camp, he told me earnestly that people should know themselves. You are not born to be good at making strange plans, and your strength is to train soldiers steadily. All along, I have always taken Lord Han's words as my guiding principle, and never thought about how to be glorious. But your majesty insisted that I come to guard Jingzhou, how can I compare with the Duke of Wei?"

Fan Wendi sighed inwardly. How could he not want to continue leading troops under Marshal Li?
It’s a pity that Marshal Li’s body was already full of holes and he could no longer hold on.

However, from the current perspective, although Liu Shouguang is not as good as Marshal Li, he is at least on the right track. Fortunately, he is not a self-important mediocrity like Han Zhongjie.

Liu Shouguang continued, "After this battle, I probably won't continue to lead the army alone. I will do my best to recommend you as the next Grand Commander of Jingzhou. You can also ask someone to tell Duke Wei. I believe he would like to see you in charge of the military power of Jingzhou."

Fan Wendi was stunned.

He stared at Liu Shouguang's face, which had experienced many vicissitudes of life and seemed to have aged a lot during this period, and for a moment he didn't know how to respond.

The reason why Liu Shouguang said this was because he had forgotten the emperor this time and followed Lu Chen's arrangements meticulously. Even if he had made contributions, the emperor would no longer trust him, so he spoke frankly.

"Grand Commander... it's not that bad."

Fan Wendi felt mixed emotions, but in the end he could only feel relieved.

Liu Shouguang smiled, raised his hand and patted his shoulder, and said sincerely: "I am far inferior to Lu Chen in leading troops to fight, but when it comes to court disputes and human hearts and minds, I have some insights. There is no need to talk about this matter. Anyway, Your Majesty will not treat me harshly. Maybe this time I can get the title of a county duke, but I can't continue to lead troops. The future of Jingzhou Governor's Office and the stability of the border are in the hands of Commander Fan."

Fan Wendi bowed and said no more.

Liu Shouguang looked towards the southeast again and said slowly, "I have informed Qiu Jixun in advance. He is very clear about our army's detailed plan. I hope he can hold the last line of defense, completely anger Wu Yanshu and those arrogant Jing army generals, and drag them into the quagmire."

Fan Wendi followed his gaze and said with great determination: "The men of Daqi are not afraid of death or powerful enemies. They can definitely do this."

Just as they had guessed, the battlefield in the southeast had reached a fever pitch.

The Jing army launched attacks for five consecutive days, with many elite troops taking turns to fight. However, the 30,000 Qi army soldiers relied on their not-so-majestic military camp and their extremely tenacious will and determination to repel the Jing army time and time again and firmly guard their positions.

Qiu Jixun, Qin Guangfu and Gu Kui work in perfect harmony with each other. Each of them is responsible for the defense of an area, with Qiu Jixun in the middle to coordinate. No matter where the crisis occurs, he can dispatch troops in time to resolve it.

Before the battle, the soldiers might be a little confused, because they seemed to be surrounded by Jing's army in a daze, but when the war drums beat, these Jingzhou men forgot all the trivialities, threw themselves into the fighting, and built a solid wall with their flesh and blood, preventing Jing's army from ever setting foot into the camp.

But as time went on, the pressure on the soldiers grew greater and greater, and the string was completely stretched tight.

The Jing army relied on its superior forces to rotate at all times, always maintaining a high-pressure situation, and striving to completely defeat the psychological defenses of the Qi army.

The enemy was like a surging tide, constantly rushing in, or like a haze covering the sky and the sun, looming over the heads of the Qi army's soldiers.

There was no light between heaven and earth, only the flash of swords and axes, and flying blood and flesh.

At this time, Qiu Jixun had already arrived at the rear of the position, and he was seen wearing armor and holding a sword, with a determined look on his face.

He had only a hundred or so personal soldiers around him, and all the reserve troops were sent to fill the weak points in his defense line.

The personal soldiers tightly surrounded the commander, looking at the enemy in the distance with fearless eyes. On the Jing army's position, the general in charge of commanding this battle, Guiyou, gradually showed a cold smile on his lips.

The tenacity of the Qi army was beyond his expectations. These days, they were like a rock blocking the way of the Jing army. However, manpower is always exhausted. Guiyou strictly followed the strategy set by Wuyan Shu and calmly crushed the enemy with his momentum. The Jing army did not use any fancy tactics. They simply relied on their superior forces to break through the Qi army's defenses bit by bit, continuously squeezing the opponent's living space, consuming the opponent's manpower, and finally breaking the taut string.

"almost."

Two words popped up in Guiyou's mind, and he became more excited.

The enemy is obviously at the end of its strength and will collapse in three or four hours at the latest. When the Qi army coming to rescue is destroyed, the Qi army in the three cities of Taikang will become lambs to be slaughtered.

Guyu subconsciously turned his head to the north, thinking that Wuyan Liushou was waiting for his victory report in the general's tent at this time.

But he didn't know that Wu Yanshu was not in a relaxed mood at the moment.

Inside the commander's tent, a dusty messenger hurriedly said, "Reporting to the governor, His Majesty ordered General Shanyang to lead 20,000 Dingbai troops southward. They should have arrived at the southern end of Henan Road and are about to enter Nanjing Road. But our scouts found that the Southern Qi Dingzhou Army suddenly began to retreat. They had previously tried to attack Nanjing City, but they could not threaten the city defense at all. Nanjing City is impregnable. But for some reason, the Qi army suddenly retreated seven days ago. Our scouts followed them to investigate and found that they had retreated all the way to the vicinity of Yaoshan Pass."

The generals were relatively calm. They thought that the Qi army knew that they could not take Nanjing, so they retreated in disgrace. However, after hearing this, Wu Yanshu suddenly stood up and asked, "What did you say?!"

The messenger looked up at the nobleman, who usually kept his emotions to himself, and repeated it carefully.

Wu Yanshu frowned, walked to the side of the map and looked at it, whispering: "Yaoshan Pass... The Qi army actually retreated to Yaoshan Pass..."

Seeing this, the generals looked at each other in bewilderment.

Wu Yanshu turned to look at the messenger, his eyes gleaming with a sharp light: "Has Lu Chen ever been with the army?"

The messenger nodded quickly and said, "His flag has been standing in the Qi army formation, but our scouts cannot get too close, so they cannot see Lu Chen himself. However, the elite main forces such as the Southern Qi Feiyu Army are still under our surveillance."

"I'm afraid all you saw was the Flying Feather Army."

Wu Yanshu said something that puzzled everyone, and then said to his confidant: "Go and tell Guiyou quickly to break through the Qi army's reinforcements within an hour. If he can't do it, he must prepare to retreat, and I will send troops to support him. Tell him that this is a military order, and if there is any delay, I will kill him without mercy!"

By the end, it was already extremely sharp.

The confidant did not dare to hesitate and went forward to pass on the order immediately.

After receiving this severe military order, Guyu was naturally very confused.

Although the combat effectiveness of the Qi army was constantly weakened, the enemy was not yet vulnerable to a single blow, so one hour was not enough.

It is still morning. If the time limit is extended to before sunset, Guyu will be confident enough to tear through the Qi army's defense line.

Full of doubt, he asked, "Only one hour?"

The messenger nodded and said, "General, this is an order for the remaining troops. There must be no disobedience."

Guiyou forced a smile and replied, "Please tell the people left behind that I will do my best!"

He then rode forward several dozen feet, wanting to observe the Qi army's formation up close. However, he found that the Qi army's defense line, which had been precarious, suddenly became strong again.

Time passed by little by little, and an hour was about to end, but the Jing army still could not break through the Qi army's position.

Guiyou became uncontrollably impatient. It felt like there was a string in front of his eyes that seemed like it could be broken with a casual pull, but no matter how hard he tried, the string remained the same.

At this moment, the second messenger came and shouted from afar: "Stay put, withdraw your troops immediately!"

Guiyou frowned, and before he could tactfully refute, he heard the other party say without question: "General, retreat quickly, a large number of Qi reinforcements have appeared in the east and southeast!"

Guyu was horrified and did not dare to hesitate at this moment. He just gave an order and the sound of the horn resounded between heaven and earth.

On the Qi army's position, Qiu Jixun, who had already joined the fight and was covered in blood, supported his exhausted body with his spear. He listened to the horn sound of the Jing army in the distance, watched the Jing army retreat in some confusion, gritted his teeth and said sternly: "It's too late to retreat now!"

As if in response to the roar that burst from his chest, the vast land was suddenly filled with the smell of war.

In the far east, a large Qi cavalry swept in like a torrent.

A huge flag fluttered in the wind, with the words "Dingbei" written on it.

In the southeast direction, countless elite soldiers of the Qi army crossed the mountains and seas, following the flag of the young county lord, raising billowing smoke, and the army was united in purpose.

Under the commander's flag, Lu Chen rode his horse, his eyes as sharp as a knife!

……

(Today's third update has been completed.)
(End of this chapter)