Jiuxi

Chapter 890 888 [Sitting in the Southeast]

As the commercial exchanges between various places in Jiangbei became more frequent and close, Guangling City, as a hub, developed rapidly. The permanent population in the city continued to increase, and merchants and travelers from all over the world came and went.

Most of the time, the people of Guangling behaved modestly and kindly, except when they talked about the Prince of Huai'an who was born in Guangling. The pride and arrogance on their faces could not be concealed at all, while outsiders were filled with envy and admiration.

Especially in recent days, the Dingbei Army and the Feiyu Army were temporarily stationed outside the city, while the Ruishi Camp was inside the city, and the folks of Guangling City felt even more secure.

Lu Garden and the Prince's Mansion next to it had long been forbidden areas, and even the Xiangyunfang in the West City where they were located had become heavily guarded.

Today, there is a guard post every three steps and a sentry every five steps inside and outside the palace, because a high-level military meeting is being held here.

In the center of the main hall, there is a large sand table.

The first on the left is the Grand Commander of Jingzhou and Marquis of Anlu Liu Shouguang, followed by the Commander-in-Chief of Guangji Army Fan Wendi and the Commander-in-Chief of Feiyu Army Li Bingxue.

The first person on the right was Zhang Xu, Marquis of Yongding, commander-in-chief of the Wuwei camp of the Beijing army. Next to him sat Li Chengen, commander-in-chief of the Dingbei army, Huangfu Yu, deputy commander of the Feiyu army, and Ye Jitong, captain of the Ruishi camp.

The terrain on the sand table extends from Hengjiang River in the south to Jinghe River in the north, from Shazhou in the west to the vast sea in the east. Although it is not possible to be extremely detailed, all important strategic locations have been marked out.

Lu Chen sat high on the main seat, looked around at everyone and said, "According to the latest news from the Textile Bureau, Dai State has already surrendered to Jing State. It is expected that by the end of this year at the latest, Jing State will be able to complete the final steps and completely eliminate the hidden dangers in its rear."

This is obviously not good news.

The loss of Dai's restraining effect means that Jing can unload all its burdens, shift its focus again, and put all its energy in the south.

Liu Shouguang pondered and said, "Your Majesty, I estimate that after the Jing army resolves the threat from Dai, it will take about half a year to regroup and prepare for war."

Fan Wendi said, "I think the time may be later, because it is not suitable to send troops in the middle of summer. The Emperor of Jingguo obviously wants to achieve success in one battle this time, so he will not ignore such details."

"Even if we assume that the Jing army will send troops next autumn, we still have less than a year."

Lu Chen spoke calmly, "We have to build Dingzhou and Huaizhou into an impregnable defense line in less than a year. You should all understand how heavy the burden is. As for Shazhou, you don't have to worry. When I left Beijing, I sent a message to Chengzhou Governor Tong Shiyuan. He will cooperate with Shazhou Lord Luo Yaozong to defend Feiniao Pass and will not give Jingjun another chance to raid south."

Everyone nodded.

Looking at the border situation, Shazhou is not the territory of Da Qi after all, and the location of Feiniao Pass is too important. Fortunately, Luo Yaozong's daughter has been betrothed to Lu Chen, Shazhou will not side with Jing State, and there are 30,000 troops from Chengzhou Military Governor's Office to help, so it seems that they can be foolproof.

But this is only a tiny node on the thousand-mile battle front. The key lies in the two main battlefields of Dingzhou and Jingzhou.

Lu Chen looked at the silent commander of the Beijing Camp on his left and asked, "What does Yongding Hou think?"

Zhang Xu said calmly, "Your Highness, the Jing army will surely come with great force this time. Although our army is not afraid, we do not need to fight them head-on. It is better to build strong defenses, dig deep trenches and raise high fortifications to increase the depth of the defense line, and use step-by-step resistance to weaken the enemy's spirit and drag them into a continuous siege."

This is a mature and prudent response strategy.

According to Liu Shouguang and Fan Wendi's speculation, Jing's army may move south in early autumn of next year, so the first and most fiercest wave of offensive may be in late September.

A year is indeed not a long time, but it is enough for the Jingzhou border troops to set up multiple lines of defense along the border.

Even if the first line of defense cannot stop Jing's offensive, as long as the follow-up can hold and the war enters a stalemate, Jing's army's advance will inevitably slow down.

Although Zhang Xu's military achievements are not as good as Lu Chen's, he is definitely not the ambitious but incompetent person like Han Zhongjie. His early resume and the experience of repelling the Nanzhao Kingdom three years ago are both remarkable.

Lu Chen thought for a moment and asked, "What if my army can't hold on?"

Zhang Xu was not dissatisfied with this seemingly competitive question. As a general, he should consider defeat before victory. He said calmly: "Your Majesty, even if the defense line north of Yongqiu cannot stop the Jing army, I and Commander Liu will definitely be able to hold Yongqiu for at least a year."

Liu Shouguang also nodded in agreement.

"not enough."

Lu Chen shook his head and said calmly: "You should prepare for the worst, which is that the situation in Jingzhou will return to the situation five years ago."

Everyone's expressions couldn't help but become serious.

What was the situation five years ago?
The Jingzhou Military Governor's Office in Jiangbei only has a narrow area less than two hundred miles long from east to west, with Pingyang City as its core. It cannot reach the Shuangfeng Mountains in the east and cannot establish direct contact with Huaizhou.

"Yes."

Li Bingxue said solemnly under the gaze of others: "Our army must consider a realistic problem. According to the information obtained by the Textile Bureau, Emperor Jing's injury should be difficult to heal, which means that he will do his best to fight this battle. In other words, the Jing army's early offensive will be extremely fierce. Compared with the terrain restrictions of Dingzhou, the northern part of Jingzhou is flat and will definitely become the main attack direction of the Jing army."

Fan Wending said slowly, "Princess, what you said makes sense. At present, our army in Jingzhou has only more than 110,000 troops at most. It is not enough to build three lines of defense. There is basically no extra mobile force. Facing the Jing army's mercury-like offensive, our army may be in a difficult situation."

Lu Chen and Li Bingxue looked at each other, then stood up and walked to the sand table, and everyone quickly gathered around.

He picked up the horizontal bar and pointed to the location of Yongqiu, and said to Liu Shouguang and Zhang Xu: "The first line of defense in Jingzhou starts from Yanwu City in the west, passes through Yongqiu and Taikang, and ends at Xinchang City in the east. Brother Liu will be stationed in Yongqiu personally, and Marquis Yongding will go south to Baimaquan. This is the second line of defense. From Mengshan to Pingyang Prefecture is the third line of defense, and it is also the last one, because further south is Hengjiang." The two nodded in response.

Lu Chen continued, "Just now, Marquis Yongding said that we should fortify our defenses and clear the fields. I agree with this. When you return to Jingzhou, you should immediately start working on this matter, especially in the northern parts of Jingzhou. Let the people migrate south as soon as possible and tell them that they can definitely return to their homeland in the future. This is just a temporary measure. I will send a message to Jingzhou Governor Xie Dongyang to ask him to lead the government at all levels to cooperate closely."

Liu Shouguang replied: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will not leave any food for the Jing army in the wild."

Lu Chen said: "The reason why I set up three lines of defense is not to ask you to retreat immediately when the situation becomes bad, but to hope that you can make timely choices. When the Jing army's offensive is unstoppable, you must decisively give up those unimportant places and then hold on to the key points. Even if the entire Jingzhou is swept by the Jing army, I want these more than ten strong cities to stand firmly on the land of Jingzhou and become a solid nail between the chest and abdomen of the Jing army."

Liu Shouguang and Zhang Xu both looked solemn.

Through Lu Chen's description, these two veteran generals could imagine how brutal the entire battle would be at that time.

At this time, no one raised the foolish idea of ​​why they had to take a defensive stance. Once Emperor Jingdi led his troops south this time, the entire country would be mobilized. Perhaps Jing Lian's nine armies and the emperor's personal army would appear on the battlefield, rather than the small and medium-scale battles of the past.

Regardless of whether the strength of Qi and Jing’s armies are at the same level now, it is an undoubted fact that Jing’s army has the advantage in terms of manpower.

It was inevitable for the Qi army to adopt a defensive stance in the early stages.

Lu Chen added: "If the situation forces us to do so, Yongqiu City can also be abandoned. This will be decided based on the specific situation during the war. I will inform you in time. Please remember that before the Jing army breaks through Dingzhou Dingfeng Road and Yaoshan Pass, Jingzhou will definitely be the main battlefield. I ask you to advance step by step, occupy key points, retreat south in an orderly manner, and defend Pingyang to the death."

Liu Shouguang and Zhang Xu said in unison: "Yes, sir!"

"Another point--"

Lu Chen paused for a moment, and said in a deep voice: "I will give you full wartime command, with Marquis Anlu as the main commander and Marquis Yongding as the auxiliary commander. You just need to follow the main tone set by me. However, if my military order arrives, you must obey it regardless of whether you understand it or not, otherwise I will directly dismiss you from your military positions."

Although he gave instructions to two people, he mainly focused on Zhang Xu, Marquis of Yongding.

Liu Shouguang bowed first and said, "Your Majesty's order, I will keep it in mind."

Zhang Xu looked at Lu Chen calmly, and then said solemnly: "Your Majesty, as a soldier, how could I disobey the commander's orders and act on my own? If I disobey orders in front of the battlefield, please behead me immediately."

"it is good."

Lu Chen stopped there.

Next, he made detailed arrangements for the Jingzhou defense zone. The military meeting lasted until the evening.

Liu Shouguang, Zhang Xu and Fan Wendi said goodbye in a hurry, without even staying for dinner, and rode away with their personal soldiers, rushing back to Jingzhou to make various preparations.

Li Chengen and others also returned to their respective armies.

Under the illumination of the sunset glow, Lu Chen stood in the courtyard and looked up, his expression slightly solemn.

Li Bingxue came to stand beside him and said softly, "Husband."

Lu Chen turned his head and looked at her.

Li Bingxue hesitated a little, as if she was a little embarrassed, but she still said frankly: "I think... I don't want to have children for the next two years."

At this moment, Lu Chen suddenly remembered why she said many years ago that she insisted on staying in the army, because there were seventy-six heroic souls of the Li family sleeping on the battlefield.

She wants to carry on the last wishes of her relatives and fight the alien enemies till her last breath.

Even though she is now married and a princess respected by everyone, she still remains true to her original intention and remains consistent.

Lu Chen nodded seriously and said, "Okay."

"My husband, can Da Qi win this battle?"

“The process may be bumpy, but we will definitely win in the end.”

Li Bingxue said no more and leaned gently on Lu Chen's shoulder.

The setting sun shines on the two of them, and there is peace and tranquility around them.

A serene smile appeared on her face.

……

……

(Hello, book friends, the eighth volume "Moment in Peking" has ended, and the next volume is "Picturesque Landscapes".)
(End of this chapter)