Jiuxi

Chapter 863 861 [The Real Torrent]

Ever since Li Duan ordered the reform of the Beijing Army five years ago and split the Twelve Armies of the Southern Yamen into three major Beijing camps, competition between the camps has gradually heated up.

The Jinwu Camp made a big splash in the Battle of Yongqiu. Chen Lanyu led 30,000 elite soldiers on a long journey of more than 2,000 miles, completing an incredible surprise attack and interception, which became the last straw that broke the camel's back for the Jing army led by Qing Yugong.

The Wuwei camp was slightly inferior, but it did not fail to achieve anything. Under the leadership of Zhang Xu, they marched to the southwestern border and defeated the 100,000-strong army of Nanzhao with more than 20,000 troops, helping Da Qi to stabilize its position at the most difficult time. They were naturally proud of themselves after their triumphant return.

The Brave Camp also wanted to achieve success, so they followed Han Zhongjie northward and took up the banner of the Northern Expedition together with the Jingzhou border troops. However, they suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Kaocheng, with nearly 20,000 soldiers dying on the battlefield. Han Zhongjie was defeated as a result.

However, it was precisely because of Han Zhongjie's downfall that Yuan Xingqin was able to take advantage of the situation and rise to power, jumping from being the marching chief assisting Han Zhongjie to becoming the de facto commander in chief commanding 50,000 troops.

The current Brave Camp is very different from when Han Zhongjie was there. The three commanders-in-chief and six deputy commanders-in-chief are all old faces in the Beijing army and generals who have a close relationship with Yuan Xingqin.

In other words, they have a close relationship with the Jinlin Li family. They are either Li Shizhi's confidants secretly promoted, or they were dragged into the water by bribes from the Li family early on.

Although Li Shizhi had no way to replace all the generals in the Brave Camp with his own people, relying on Yuan Xingqin and these main generals was enough to drive the 50,000 troops in the camp.

At noon, Yuan Xingqin summoned the generals of various armies to a meeting, because today Empress Dowager Xu and Li Shizhi would settle accounts with Lu Chen in the palace. Although 50,000 imperial guards were enough to control the palace and the capital, Li Shizhi did not dare to be too careless and asked Yuan Xingqin to prepare for unexpected events in advance.

The Brave Camp has two garrisons, one is fifteen or fifteen miles away from the north gate of the capital, and the other is more than twenty miles to the north. Because the situation in the capital was tense during this period, all 50,000 troops were stationed in the garrison closer to the capital.

Inside the hall, the military meeting had ended and Yuan Xingqin was resting with his eyes closed.

A burst of hurried and chaotic footsteps suddenly sounded.

When Yuan Xingqin opened his eyes, he saw the captain of his personal guards walking in quickly with a man.

He couldn't help but narrow his eyes, sat up straight and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Master Yuan."

Li Jinshan's face turned pale, he saluted, and said with a heavy breath: "Something happened in the capital. Qiao Shan, the deputy commander of the left army of the imperial guards, opened the east gate to let the Sharp Cavalry into the city. This cavalry then went to the palace, and no one could stop them on the way."

Yuan Xingqin's expression changed drastically, and he immediately asked, "Where are Chen Lanyu and the Jinwu Camp?"

"I don't know."

Li Jinshan shook his head and explained, "The three thousand cavalry are certainly brave, and the more than ten thousand imperial guards guarding the palace are also not weak. The Sharp Warriors Battalion should not dare to rashly attack the palace. But this means that the variables have increased greatly. I can't wait for the master's secret order, and I am afraid that others will not be able to gain the trust of the Earl, so I rushed here to report the news as soon as possible, and ask the Earl to make a quick decision."

Yuan Xingqin frowned. He did have an imperial decree prepared by Li Shizhi to mobilize troops so that he could lead them into the capital at a critical moment. However, taking this step meant there would be no chance of turning back.

Up to this moment, Li Shizhi and Empress Dowager Xu wanted to win the support of the civil and military officials in the court through fair and honest means, and then deal with Lu Chen and Xiao Wangzhi. This way, they could minimize hidden dangers and move forward more steadily.

Once he leads his troops directly into the capital, it will mean a fight between us and there will be no excuses.

He only thought for a short time before he said in a cold voice: "Order the commanders of all armies to follow me into the capital to exterminate the rebellion!"

The captain of the personal guards immediately took the order and left.

Li Jinshan said seriously: "Thank you, uncle."

Yuan Xingqin shook his head and said, "No need to thank me, this is my duty."

About two quarters of an hour later, the 50,000 brave soldiers in the camp, who had been on high alert for battle, began to rush south. The Changwei Army led the way as the vanguard, and Yuan Xingqin personally led the main force following closely behind.

After walking about seven or eight miles, the majestic outline of the capital city was still not in sight when the vanguard army in front suddenly stopped.

Yuan Xingqin's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous feeling suddenly surged up.

Several riders turned back quickly, and the one who came was Cao Ze, the commander of the Changwei Army. He said solemnly: "My Lord, the Marquis of Linjiang has led tens of thousands of soldiers and horses to block our way!"

Yuan Xingqin felt a darkness before his eyes.

In fact, when he learned that the Sharp Warriors Battalion had broken into the capital, he realized that something had happened to the Jinwu Camp, but he still had some hope in his heart. What if the Sharp Warriors Battalion just unexpectedly broke out of the Jinwu Camp's encirclement, or if Chen Lanyu adopted a neutral attitude and refused to be involved in this vortex, then the situation would still be within the controllable range.

"Uncle!"

Cao Ze and two other commanders who rushed over shouted anxiously.

Yuan Xingqin tried his best to calm down, grabbed the reins and said, "Go."

The generals quickly called on their personal soldiers to follow, and more than a hundred cavalrymen quickly bypassed the Changwei army's formation and came to the open area ahead.

When Yuan Xingqin saw the scene clearly, his heart sank.

On the only way to the capital, the three armies of the Jinwu Camp formed a strict defensive formation. Although they could not carry equipment such as chevaux de frise, Yuan Xingqin's troops did not have a complete cavalry, so it was a pipe dream to forcibly break through the opponent's formation. Of course, the Jinwu Camp could not block this plain tightly. The problem was that the opponent was not a wooden man. If Yuan Xingqin commanded the army to bypass, Chen Lanyu would naturally make corresponding adjustments.

More importantly, under the premise that the two sides had similar military strength, Yuan Xingqin did not have the confidence to defeat Chen Lanyu. After all, he was a fierce general trained by Xiao Wangzhi himself, and he had fought many tough battles with Jing’s army on the border.

Yuan Xingqin took a deep breath, rode his horse forward and shouted from a distance of 40 to 50 feet: "Is Marquis Linjiang here?"

After a while, a gap opened up in the central army formation of the Jinwu Camp in the distance. Chen Lanyu rode a tall horse and took a few steps forward surrounded by several personal soldiers. He asked with full vigor, "Why did Lord Jiangyang lead his troops to trespass into the capital?"

Yuan Xingqin frowned and said, "My Lord, I am following the Queen Mother's order to lead the troops into the city to exterminate the rebels. How can I say that I am trespassing? I would like to ask you, the Queen Mother ordered you to trap the cavalry of the Ruishi Battalion and find the assassin hidden by the Duke of Qin. Why did the Ruishi Battalion suddenly rush into the capital? Do you know that this is an act of treason?"

Chen Lanyu said calmly, "I, the Marquis, am following the Queen Mother's order to assist the Sharp Soldiers Battalion in entering the city to clean up the emperor and rectify the government. At the same time, I am on guard against you leading your troops to raid the capital and rebel. Jiangyang Bo, traitors like Li Shizhi are punishable by all. Do you want to lead tens of thousands of soldiers from the Brave Camp to help the rebellion? Do you know that this is a serious crime that will implicate all nine clans?"

Yuan Xingqin felt a little uncomfortable with these words.

Of course he knew that the other party would never have the Empress Dowager's decree, but now neither side had the formal procedures for mobilizing troops. They relied on the so-called Empress Dowager's decree and each other's control over their generals. Judging from the posture of the opposing army, Chen Lanyu's influence in the Jinwu Camp was no weaker than his.

Although he knew it would be difficult to reach an agreement, Yuan Xingqin still tried to make a final effort and said loudly: "My Lord, there is solid evidence that Duke Qin is plotting treason and murdering the king. His plan will never succeed. I hope you will not persist in your delusion and end up with your own death and the extinction of your clan! Please order the road to be cleared and the soldiers of the Jinwu Camp to return to the camp for the time being. I am willing to guarantee with my own life that my Lord and all the soldiers will not have any trouble!"

The wind howled.

The two armies were in a stalemate.

Chen Lanyu raised his head slightly and said expressionlessly, "I will not let you go today. If you are willing to help Li Shizhi, you can directly break through the Jinwu camp. Yuan Xingqin, I hope you understand the principle of timely remedy when the situation is hopeless. This is all I have to say."

After saying this, he turned his horse around and returned to the rear army formation.

As flags appeared and trumpets sounded, tens of thousands of soldiers in the Jinwu camp were ready for battle, awaiting the fight with solemn expressions.

Looking at the situation on the opposite side, Yuan Xingqin returned to the formation with a grim face.

Cao Ze whispered, "Master, it seems we have no choice but to force our way in."

Yuan Xingqin looked up and saw that the other two commanders had the same attitude. He shook his head and said, "Unless the imperial guards in the city attack from both sides, we alone will not be able to defeat the defense line built by Chen Lanyu."

"But……"

Cao Ze wanted to say something but stopped.

Yuan Xingqin turned to look at Li Jinshan, who looked anxious, and asked, "Did you ask someone to notify Han Zhongjie?"

"He must know about the Sharp Warriors' Camp entering the city, but the Imperial Guards may not dare to leave the capital."

Li Jinshan looked depressed and said solemnly, "Before I arrived, I sent someone to inform the two generals of the front and rear armies, but they certainly cannot act without the order of Lord Han."

At this time, Yuan Xingqin gradually came to his senses and said in a deep voice, "We have no choice but to wait a little longer."

Before he finished speaking, more than ten riders came rushing over from behind, and the leader shouted hastily, "My Lord, something terrible has happened!"

Yuan Xingqin frowned and asked, "Why are you so panicked?"

The scout panted and said, "My Lord, a large group of cavalry appeared more than 20 miles to the north. Almost all of them were riding two horses each. They are rushing towards us!"

"What did you say?!"

Yuan Xingqin's face suddenly changed. He immediately realized where this large group of cavalry came from. He shouted in a stern voice: "Are all those sentries blind and deaf? The main force of the border cavalry has been to the edge of the capital and no one has noticed?!"

The scout obviously couldn't answer this question. He said in a trembling voice: "My Lord, those cavalrymen are coming too fast. Moreover, they are not rushing from the official road in the north, but from the straight road in the northwest!"

northwest?

Yuan Xingqin suddenly understood at this moment. A strong smell of blood surged in his throat and his whole body shook on the horse.

"Uncle!"

There were exclamations from all around.

"I'm fine, Marshal!"

Yuan Xingqin supported the saddle with both hands and shouted sternly: "Send an order to the rear troops immediately to form a battle array to meet the enemy!"

(End of this chapter)