Jiuxi

Chapter 753 751 [Lu Chen's Sword Dance]

As the sun sets, the earth gradually returns to tranquility.

In this battle, more than 12,000 people from Guiyou's tribe were killed and thousands were injured. It was not a fatal blow to Jing's army, but it was an indisputable fact that the entire army had lost its fighting spirit.

Therefore, even if Wu Yanshu woke up, he was just fooled by Lu Chen's tricks this time and would not be able to organize an effective counterattack afterwards.

For the soldiers of the Qi army, especially the Jingzhou army which had been in a difficult situation in the past few months, this precious victory was enough for them to vent their depression and hatred.

The main camp of the Jing army was located seven or eight miles northeast of Taikang City, and the camp stretched for several miles.

Originally, the Jing army was galloping freely in the Taikang area without any worries. There were only more than 40,000 troops stationed in the main camp, and the other more than 80,000 troops were deployed around Taikang and the two auxiliary cities. Now they have all retreated to the main camp.

In other words, the three cities of Taikang finally saw the light of day again, no longer surrounded by Jing’s army as before and completely isolated from the outside world.

Before sunset, Lu Chen led more than ten generals and arrived at Taikang City surrounded by his personal soldiers.

The South Gate was opened, and generals including Liu Shouguang, Fan Wendi and Zhang Zhan came out to welcome them.

"Greetings, sir!"

Although Liu Shouguang was equal to Lu Chen in military rank, he was only a marquis, so he and his generals saluted meticulously.

"Old Liu, you are being polite."

Lu Chen stepped forward and held Liu Shouguang's arms, his tone full of kindness.

Hearing this unique title, Liu Shouguang couldn't help but laugh and said with emotion: "The defense line of Jingzhou was once in danger, but fortunately, you managed to turn the tide. I admire you very much."

This is what I really think.

Fan Wendi and others also thought so.

The defeat at Kaocheng dealt a heavy blow to the Jingzhou Military Governorate, resulting in the subsequent loss of more than ten cities, and the situation was indeed precarious.

If Lu Chen had not been wise and decisive, and had not sent the Huaizhou wing troops to rescue Jingzhou early, and then promptly corrected the strategy and led the troops to support, Jingzhou would probably have been in the hands of Jing's army.

Facing the respect expressed by the generals of Jingzhou, Lu Chen did not act pretentiously and said frankly: "Commander-in-Chief Liu and the generals have the courage to take responsibility, and the soldiers of each army have fought bravely and risked their lives. You have tried your best to stop the enemy's offensive, so that the reinforcements have room to play. Our army was able to achieve a very valuable victory under extremely unfavorable circumstances. This is the result of everyone fighting side by side, not just my own achievement."

These words made all the generals smile.

Lu Chen and Liu Shouguang were in the front, and the others followed closely, arriving at the hall of the Governor's Mansion in the city.

After sitting down, Lu Chen asked first: "Commander Liu, how many soldiers and horses has the Jingzhou Army lost in the past six months?"

Liu Shouguang looked gloomy and said sadly, "My Lord, the Jingzhou Military Governor's Office originally had nine armies and one battalion under its jurisdiction, totaling more than 130,000 soldiers and horses. From the Northern Expedition until this war, our army has lost more than 46,000 soldiers and more than 7,000 soldiers were seriously injured and had to leave the army. As for the casualties of the 40,000 Beijing soldiers led by Marquis Yongyi, they will be calculated separately."

The atmosphere in the hall became very heavy.

This heavy number is basically a chain reaction of the defeat in Kaocheng. Faced with the strong counterattack of the Jing army, the Jingzhou defense line, which was already stretched to the limit in terms of manpower, was full of loopholes. In addition, Wu Yanshu's command was flawless, and he continued to use superior forces to strangle the Jingzhou army's vitality, causing the Jingzhou army's situation to become increasingly worse.

Lu Chen couldn't help but sigh, and then asked in a deep voice: "Where is Han Zhongjie?"

Liu Shouguang replied: "Marquis Yongyi was seriously injured. The doctor said he would need to stay in bed for at least half a year. He was initially recuperating in Taikang, but later I had him sent to Yongqiu. More than 10,000 soldiers of the Beijing Army led by General Yuan Xingqinyuan are currently stationed in Yongqiu."

Lu Chen snorted coldly, temporarily suppressing his anger, and asked again: "How much territory has been lost in the northern part of Jingzhou now?"

Liu Shouguang immediately asked his personal soldiers to fetch the map and explained it to Lu Chen personally.

It can be clearly seen from the map that the area of ​​hundreds of miles in the north of Jingzhou, from Yanwu in the west to Taikang in the east, was occupied by Jing's army, and fourteen cities fell into the hands of Jing's army.

The former emperor of Great Qi and the generals of the border army had taken great pains to recover nearly half of the territory, but now only the three cities of Yongqiu and Taikang are still in the hands of the Qi army.

If there were not a strong pass like Baimaqiao to the south of Yongqiu, the Jing army could even continue to advance southwards.

Lu Chen looked at the symbols on the map and fell into long contemplation.

All the generals held their breath and concentrated, even Liu Shouguang did not dare to speak out to disturb them, because they knew that Lu Chen convened the military meeting to determine the specific strategy for the next step.

"The lost cities must be recovered, there is no doubt about that, but we don't have to rush."

Lu Chen first set the tone, and then further boosted everyone's confidence, slowly saying: "Your vision cannot be limited to one city or one place. Although the Jing army has taken advantage of Kaocheng, our army has already fought back at Yaoshan Pass. Now they seem to have reaped a lot of rewards, occupying the fourteen cities of Jingzhou in one fell swoop, but the most important Yongqiu and Taikang are still in the hands of our army. On the contrary, the importance of Yaoshan Pass is self-evident, and it is even more important than the fourteen cities combined, because it is the last barrier to the east of Heluo. In the future, if our dynasty wants to recover the old capital, the eastern line is already flat, and the Dingzhou army can reach the outside of Heluo City in one day and one night."

Factional differences still exist in the army, but Lu Chen is now the commander-in-chief of Jiangbei military affairs. Both Jingzhou and Dingzhou are soldiers under his command. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with this judgment that focuses on the overall situation. Liu Shouguang and the generals of Jingzhou all nodded.

Lu Chen continued, "Wu Yanshu is in a dilemma right now. He is naturally unwilling to withdraw his troops. After all, he has invested nearly 200,000 troops and has achieved certain results in the early stage. But it is also a pipe dream for him to continue to implement the established strategy. Even if he still has 100,000 troops in Taikang, he can only form a balance of power with our army at most. This time, the governor brought 50,000 troops, and the Feiyun Army and Guangling Army are also on their way. Perhaps the Emperor of Jing will continue to send troops to the south, but the governor believes that you will not be afraid at all, right?"

"Of course!" The first person to speak was still the deputy commander of the Zhenbei Army, Xu Gui. He and Fan Wendi and others had been comrades for more than ten years. Returning to Jingzhou seemed like a fish in water. He then said eagerly: "My lord, are we going to force the Jing army to fight a decisive battle next?"

The area outside Taikang City is an excellent battlefield. The armies of Qi and Jing have similar strength for the time being. If they were to engage in a direct confrontation, it would undoubtedly be an earth-shaking battle.

Lu Chen said with a half-smile: "This governor also has this idea."

The generals could not help but rejoice, but some, like Fan Wendi, were a little hesitant.

The Jingzhou army was exhausted and the Dingzhou army had traveled a long distance. Although Lu Chen took advantage of Wu Yanshu's weakness to gain the upper hand, if the two sides deployed their chariots and horses to fight head-on, the Jingzhou army would not be without the ability to fight.

Just as Fan Wending was about to make a suggestion, he heard Lu Chen say, "Da Qi is an upright country. Even if the enemy is Jing Lian, we must make them die clearly. I will have someone write a letter of war and send it to Jingying to arrange a date for the decisive battle with Wu Yanshu. At that time, both sides will compete with each other based on their abilities. You can use this time to rest your men and let the soldiers recuperate and prepare."

All the generals were stunned, even Liu Shouguang had a strange look on his face.

They stared at Lu Chen in amazement, wondering how he could have the nerve to say such a thing?

Looking back on the performance of this young duke on the battlefield in the past few years, everyone can only be thankful that they stand with him, otherwise they would most likely die in his hands without knowing why.

You might as well ask Qing Yugong, Wu Yanshu and those Jinglian generals who died on the battlefield, what image of Lu Chen do they have in their minds?
"But before that, our army needs to take back Bai County in the southwest and open up the connection with Yongqiu."

Lu Chen took in all the generals' reactions, then smiled and asked, "Which general is willing to lead the troops into battle?"

Fan Wending immediately stood up and said, "I am willing to go!"

Seeing that he took the initiative to come forward, neither Pei Sui and other Dingzhou generals nor Zhang Zhan and other Jingzhou generals fought with him. Even a war-loving man like Xu Gui just sat there obediently.

Lu Chen looked up at him and said approvingly: "Okay, I will give you 20,000 soldiers and horses to recapture Bai County as soon as possible."

"The last general takes command!"

Fan Wendi bowed and spoke in a sonorous tone.

Lu Chen then made more specific arrangements for the generals. After all, it was impossible for all 100,000 troops to be stationed in Taikang City. How to place the troops was a crucial matter.

The next morning, Chief Clerk Liu Yuan followed Lu Chen's instructions and wrote a sharp letter of war. Then someone rode out of the city and headed straight for the Jing army camp in the northeast.

Inside the commander's tent, Wu Yanshu held the letter of war in his hand, his expression as cold as ice.

Yesterday, he vomited blood in public due to a fit of rage. For Wu Yanshu, who possessed superb martial arts skills, this was not a serious blow. Perhaps ordinary people would think this was a very shameful thing, but Wu Yanshu did not take it to heart.

The issue that really concerned him was that because of his fear of Lu Chen, he misjudged the situation on the battlefield and ended up giving the other party a big gift for nothing.

If he had been resolute enough yesterday and had led his troops south to fight Lu Chen, he might have won, or at least avoided the loss of Guyuk's tribe.

The past is gone and one cannot dwell on it. Wu Yanshu naturally understood this truth, but the feeling of regret was like a thorn that pierced deep into his heart, causing him great torment.

After a sleepless night, the thorn not only did not disappear, but instead reminded Wu Yanshu all the time that because of his cowardice and timidity, Jing's army missed the best opportunity to fight a decisive battle with the enemy and lost more than 10,000 elite soldiers.

It's a pity that there is no regret medicine in this world.

This made him begin to doubt himself, wondering whether he had the courage and confidence to fight against Lu Chen.

Noticing the gazes of the generals in the tent, Wu Yanshu suppressed his chaotic thoughts and said slowly: "This is a letter of war. Lu Chen wants to fight a decisive battle with our army in the east of Taikang. Our army will decide the date of the fight."

All the generals looked at each other.

They naturally understood what the battle table was, the question was when did Lu Chen of Southern Qi become like the ancients?
How could such a sinister and cunning person do things in an orderly manner?
After a brief silence, General Ni Panggu said cautiously: "Stay here, this must be a conspiracy by Lu Chen of Southern Qi, don't be fooled by him!"

"Yeah, stay, this guy will never keep his promise!"

"He must want to arrange a date with our army first, and then launch a surprise attack in advance. We must be on guard!"

"Please stay and think twice!"

Amidst the hustle and bustle, Wu Yanshu remained silent.

Looking at the generals who seemed to have suddenly become extremely rational, his heart sank involuntarily.

Because he saw an emotion in the eyes of these people that they were trying their best to hide.

It's called fear.

(End of this chapter)