Jiuxi

Chapter 751 749 [Fighting Three Thousand Miles Away]

Guyu's reaction was very decisive and Jing's army retreated in a timely manner, but someone would not let them get their wish so easily.

Qiu Jixun had been looking forward to this moment.

Before leading his troops north, he received a secret letter from Liu Shouguang, in which he learned of the two border army commanders' plans for this battle, but he had to pretend that he knew nothing and dared not reveal a single word to the outside world.

In short, among this force of 30,000 reinforcements, only Qiu Jixun knew that they were not seeking their own death.

From the very beginning, Lu Chen was setting a trap for Jing Jun.

He ordered Liu Shouguang to defend Xinping and Taikang to the death, in order to attract Wu Yanshu's attention and gather the main force of Jing's army there, thereby reducing the pressure on the defenders in other places.

The 30,000 reinforcements heading north, even disregarding the safety of southern Jingzhou, was also a not-so-miraculous sleight of hand, because Lu Chen had quietly sent tens of thousands of Huaizhou troops into Jingzhou a few months ago.

Lu Chen originally wanted the Huaizhou wing army to play the role of a supporting force at the moment, to help Liu Shouguang hold his retreat at the critical moment. Here we have to talk about his original strategic conception.

At the beginning of the war, Lu Chen planned to take Yaoshan Pass first and then Heluo City, and then march south to intercept the main force of the Jing army from behind, and complete a shocking double team with the Jingzhou army. However, when he deduced the real intention of the Jing army from Pucha's mouth, he immediately revised the overall strategy.

He ordered the Huaizhou wing troops to guard the southwest of Jingzhou, and then sent all the reserve forces of the Jingzhou army to the north, so as to achieve a very clear purpose, which was to induce Wu Yanshu to divide his troops.

As long as Wu Yanshu wanted to win, he had to divide his troops into several places and try to first eliminate the Qi army reinforcements led by Qiu Jixun and others.

The order Qiu Jixun received was very simple, which was to have Jing's army surround the 30,000 reinforcements, block the enemy's offensive, and wait for the arrival of his own army.

Just a simple sentence, but Qiu Jixun and his 30,000 soldiers endured unimaginable pressure and paid the price of more than 4,000 lives to avoid being broken through by Jing's army.

The reason why Qiu Jixun kept the secret deep in his heart and dared not reveal it to anyone was because this battle was of great importance and all possibilities of leakage had to be eliminated.

But now he doesn't have to hide anymore, because his own army has arrived and their counterattack will be like a raging fire.

"All soldiers, listen to my orders!"

Qiu Jixun felt the blood in his body boiling, and his originally tired body seemed to be injected with infinite strength.

He gripped his spear tightly and mounted his mount, his loud voice echoing across the battlefield.

"General Lu of Dingzhou has arrived with his army. Now is the time to settle accounts with those Jinglian bastards!"

He raised his spear and stepped forward, shouting: "Today is the day to kill the enemy for our country!"

"Kill the enemy for the country, today is the day!"

Countless roars burst out from the throats of the young soldiers.

Under the leadership of their respective commanders, more than 20,000 Da Qi men gathered all their strength and rushed towards the retreating Jing army.

Most of them had blood on their faces, and many of them were already injured, but no one cared at the moment and no one flinched.

Using murderous intent as their blade and their blood as their shield, they launched a roaring charge towards the enemies ahead.

After all, Guiyou was a veteran who had been on many battlefields. He had truly experienced the tenacity of the Qi army reinforcements and knew that the enemy would not stand there and watch the Jing army retreat. Therefore, he specially ordered 10,000 of his most elite infantrymen to cover the rear and block the retreat, buying enough time for the majority of the troops to retreat.

On one side were the elite troops of the Jing army who were good at close combat, and on the other side were the brave soldiers of the Da Qi army who were determined to defend their country. The two forces collided in an instant, causing blood to splash all over the sky.

At this moment, the army led by Lu Chen himself was still some distance away from the battlefield. Judging from the marching speed, when the army arrived at the battlefield, the Jing army should be able to calmly retreat to the camp more than 20 miles to the north.

If the current situation continues, Guyu can successfully complete the retreat mission, but one army disagrees.

In the east of the battlefield, thousands of cavalrymen are coming on the clouds.

Over the past year or so, the Dingbei Army has been stationed in Ningling and other places southwest of Dingzhou, responsible for patrolling and inspecting the defense lines in various places, assisting the garrisons in various places to find and fill in the gaps, with the focus on guarding against surprise attacks by the Jing Army's cavalry.

After the war broke out, the Dingbei Army became the target of the Jing Army's cavalry's key surveillance. After all, the Feiyu Army followed Lu Chen north to Yaoshan Pass, and the Dingbei Army became the only mobile force of the Qi Army.

However, what the generals of Jing's army did not expect was that the Dingbei army quietly left Dingzhou and entered Huaizhou, quickly rushed out from the west of Panlong Pass and headed straight for Taikang area. The speed of its advancement was as fast as lightning, giving the Jing army no time to react.

By the time Guyu realized the danger, the Dingbei Army had already detoured to the north of the Jing Army and successfully intercepted their retreat.

If a melee broke out between the two sides, the cavalry could cause extremely terrible damage to the infantry of the Jing Army. As a general of the Jing Army, Guiyou was naturally well aware of this, so he had no choice but to let his infantry form a formation on the spot to deal with the surprise attack of the Dingbei Army.

But this is not the way to go.

The main force of the Qi army was on its way at an accelerated speed. If the Jing army could not evacuate before the other side arrived, it would be completely surrounded by the Qi army.

Guyou was extremely anxious and kept looking towards the north. At this time, only Wu Yanshu could solve the crisis.

However, this place is more than 20 miles away from the Jing army camp. This seemingly short journey may become a natural barrier in front of the Jing army. The shouts and cries on the southern battlefield naturally could not reach the Jing army's tent, but the generals here were already aware of the current situation, and they could not help but look nervously at the commander standing beside the sand table.

Wu Yanshu stood with his hands behind his back, his expression grim.

Now the strategy of the Qi army is very clear. Lu Chen played a trick. After leading his troops to capture Yaoshan Pass, he quietly moved south. The subsequent capture of Anxian, Shenze and even approaching Heluo were just a cover to deceive the Jing army. In fact, Lu Chen had no intention of attacking Heluo by force, but instead placed the main battlefield in Taikang.

Perhaps Wu Yanshu had considered this possibility at some point, but the fog of battlefield always exists, and every choice may have unpredictable consequences.

If Lu Chen only wanted to attack Heluo, but Wu Yanshu led his troops to retreat because of his suspicion, and finally gained nothing on the western front and instead handed over Yaoshan Pass to Southern Qi, wouldn't he become the biggest joke of this battle?

The most crucial question is that Wu Yanshu still can't figure out why Lu Chen is so sure that the main force of the Jing army will not retreat, or why he can guess that Emperor Jing is going to attack Shazhou?
Wu Yanshu just felt a headache.

"Stay, General Guyuk might be in danger."

Seeing that the commander remained silent, General Nipangu gave a cautious reminder.

Wu Yanshu raised his hand and pinched his brows, then slowly said, "Although the Qi army caught our army off guard this time, the enemy must have suffered some losses after mobilizing a large number of troops and traveling a long distance. Guiyou is experienced in leading troops, and his soldiers are brave and good at fighting. If they just want to withdraw, it won't be that difficult. Moreover, the main force of our army has been resting for a long time, so they have the advantage of being well-rested when facing the enemy."

The generals nodded repeatedly after hearing this.

Wu Yanshu said to Ni Panggu: "You lead 20,000 infantrymen to the south to support Guyu's army."

Nipangu quickly stepped forward and said, "I obey your orders!"

Wu Yanshu looked to the other side and said calmly, "Agu."

The thirty-something Tiger General said loudly: "I am here!"

"You lead 10,000 light cavalry and go around from the northeast to entangle the Southern Qi Dingbei cavalry. Remember, this cavalry is Lu Chen's trump card. Its strength is not inferior to ours. You must not underestimate the enemy. You don't need to fight to the death this time. Just try your best to force the enemy to leave the main battlefield, and I will commend you for your merit."

"The last general takes command!"

Agu looked resolute, but felt a little melancholy in his heart.

Once upon a time, the confidence of the Jinglian people in dominating the world was their 100,000 cavalry, especially on the open battlefield. Any enemy facing the Jing army cavalry could only adopt a passive resistance method and had no ability to engage in a fight.

However, starting three years ago, with the rapid rise of the Southern Qi border army, the Jing army suffered several consecutive losses and no longer had the invincible prestige of the past.

In the previous battle of Yaoshan Pass, Wuyan Shu gave Pucha nearly 20,000 cavalrymen, but they were defeated by the Qi army, which directly affected the situation on the western battlefield.

At this moment, Wu Yanshu only had more than 10,000 light cavalry in his hands, all of which were handed over to Agu's command. The only purpose was to delay the Southern Qi Dingbei Army. If it were a few years ago, how could Wu Yanshu be so embarrassed? How could the Dingbei Army be so calm?

There is a deeper reason that Agu doesn't even dare to think about.

If there had not been a dispute between the Emperor and the Prince of Changshan, how could the elite cavalry of the Xiashan Army have been sent to the northwest border?
Wu Yanshu's calm voice woke Agu from his chaotic thoughts. He only heard the Nanjing Road garrison say to Ni Panggu: "When you support the retreat of the front army, tell Guyou not to retreat too hastily. You must keep the formation relatively intact. It would be best if the Qi army could catch up."

Nipangu was a little confused at first, but then a light bulb suddenly lit up in his mind and he said with great admiration, "Yes, sir!"

The other generals also realized that the commander wanted to lure the Qi army to continue attacking and then look for an opportunity to turn the situation around.

As expected, Wu Yanshu said in a deep voice: "Namoulu."

"The general is here!"

A burly and majestic general stepped out in response.

Wu Yanshu looked at him steadily and said with expectation: "Immediately get your soldiers ready to fight the enemy!"

"Yes!"

Namuru's answer was concise and powerful, with a cruel smile on his lips.

The generals suddenly became excited.

Namouru's official position was not high, but he was the commander of the Tiger and Leopard Battalion, a group of heavy armored cavalry that was rare even within the Jing army.

In the Battle of Kaocheng a few months ago, Wu Yanshu used the Tiger and Leopard Battalion to defeat Han Zhongjie's central army.

There is no doubt that he will use the same trick again today. Even though Lu Chen's appearance was beyond his expectations and even though the current battlefield situation is unfavorable to Jing's army, Wu Yanshu still did not give up fighting for victory.

While Wu Yanshu was calmly and quickly deploying his troops, a centurion rushed towards the general's tent with a pale face and panicked steps.

"Report! The Qi army in Taikang City is leaving the city and heading towards our army!"

(End of this chapter)