Jiuxi

Chapter 906 Chapter 904 [Entry]

In the northwest corner of Jingzhou, there is Yanwu City.

It took only two days from the time when Jing's army launched the attack to the time when Qi's army fled in a panic.

This important military town has changed hands several times in the past few years. It was first occupied by the Yan army, then captured by the Qi army. The year before last, Wuyan Shu sent a large force to capture it, but it was later recaptured by the Qi army. This is the fourth time that the flag on the city wall has changed.

However, Jing Jun, who easily captured Yanwu City, was not excited at all.

To ordinary soldiers, the city was deserted. There were no beautiful women or readily available gold and silver. Even the food and supplies were scarce. The Qi army resolutely implemented the policy of building strong defenses and clearing the countryside, and even set fire to the scarce food and supplies before fleeing.

For the two generals Miegudi and Guiyou, this battle was too easy to win. Even though they would not deliberately underestimate the strength of their soldiers, they could sense that the Qi army did not put in its best efforts.

"What exactly is Liu Shouguang planning? Does he no longer want to defend the western front?"

Guyuk looked like he had a toothache.

Mie Gudi, who was sitting opposite him, said calmly, "It seems that the other side is making a choice now. They don't have enough troops to deal with the war on the entire front, so they are forced to give up part of the defense line in order to gather enough troops to organize a counterattack on the other side."

Both of them were aware of Wu Yanshu's strategic plan. They advanced on both the east and west fronts at the same time to lure the Qi army out of the city for a decisive battle.

The reason why Wu Yanshu dared to make such an arrangement was that he had more than 50,000 light cavalry who could come and go like the wind, enough to change the battlefield situation in a short time.

Guyu said eagerly: "In this case, should we continue to march southward and strive to further expand our victory?"

This is to take advantage of his weakness to kill him. Since the Qi army on the western front was forced to retreat, how could they miss this great opportunity?

However, Mie Gu Di shook his head and said, "General Guiyou, I suggest that we temporarily postpone our advance to the south."

Guiyou frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"

Mie Gudi pondered and said, "The fact that the Qi army intends to shrink its defense line in the west does not mean that they have no power to fight. The situation on the battlefield may change at any time. Our mission is to capture Yanwu City. Now that we have achieved this goal, we might as well stop and take a look. In my opinion, you and I can decide that one of us will guard this city, and the other will lead the troops to retreat northward. In this way, if there is an accident on the other two battlefields, we can rush to help in time."

There was a clear difference of opinion between the two people.

Guiyou narrowed his eyes and his tone became stern: "You should be very clear about the Marshal's military orders. Our mission is to break through the Qi army's western line. How can we stagnate just because the other side took the initiative to give in? Regardless of whether the Qi army is really weak or deliberately showing weakness, if we can't put enough pressure on the other side, then the Marshal's plan will not be implemented."

Mie Gu Di pondered in silence.

Guiyou continued, "According to your previous analysis, Liu Shouguang is going to give up the defense of the western front on the premise of ensuring the number of defenders from Taikang to Yongqiu, and then organize a counterattack in the eastern area of ​​Tengxian. So why should we be hesitant? The enemy's weakness has been exposed. Instead of taking advantage of the situation to expand the victory, we have to retreat on our own initiative. What kind of logic is this?"

Mie Gudi said in a deep voice: "Don't get excited, I'm just being cautious."

"I know you're not a coward."

Guiyou sneered, his eyes flashing: "If the commander of the front army was the Prince of Changshan, I think you would definitely not be so hesitant."

This sentence directly pointed out his dissatisfaction and exposed a long-standing problem within the Jing army.

Although Emperor Jing used various means to weaken Qing Yugong's prestige in the army, he could not change the fact that he had trained many generals, and it was even more impossible to abandon all these capable and brave generals.

The bone-destroying ground is a typical example.

He started as a centurion in the Xiashan Army, and made rapid progress under the guidance of Qing Yugong. He eventually grew into Qing Yugong's right-hand man and made many military achievements in wars such as the destruction of Zhao and the conquest of Dai.

With his ability and qualifications, even if he could not replace Wuyan Shu and lead the army alone, he would not be relegated to the position of vanguard general. This was obviously what Emperor Jing intended.

Mie Gu Di seemed calm and composed on the surface, but who knew if he had any resentment in his heart?

As Wuyan Shu's confidant, Guiyou was naturally also a loyal supporter of Emperor Jing. He did not hesitate to express his suspicion about Miegudi.

Even though Mie Gu Di had a good temper, he couldn't hold back his anger at this moment: "I have no selfish motives, so don't talk nonsense!"

"So best."

Guiyou said, "I was just in a hurry, please don't blame me! Since you agree with the commander-in-chief's arrangement, please follow the military order. Don't worry, I will lead my subordinates to attack Qiliu City in the south tomorrow, and you just need to wait here for the victory report!"

Mie Gudi couldn't help but clench his right fist, looking at the other party's stern face, and finally slowly loosened it, saying indifferently: "Okay."

The next day, Guyuk personally led 10,000 infantrymen southward, with another 5,000 light cavalry raiding the flanks.

Miegudi stood on the top of Yanwu City, with his hands on the parapet, looking at the scene of the army moving south, with a deep and helpless worry in his eyes.

Two days later, Miegudi received a piece of good news.

Guiyou did not lose too many troops to capture Qiliu City, which was more than 30 miles to the south. This time he did capture a lot of food and grass. It is likely that the Qi army did not expect the Jing army's offensive to be so fierce, and they did not have time to burn it during their retreat. The messenger sent by Guiyou was to report the victory and to ask Miegudi to dispatch 10,000 elite soldiers to reinforce.

Miegudi hesitated for a long time, and finally had to send 5,000 infantrymen south, while warning Guyu not to advance rashly.

He compiled a military report on the situation on the Western Front, attached his own analysis and concerns, and sent a messenger by Pegasus to deliver it to the main camp far away.

……

When Wu Yanshu received this urgent message, it was already late June.

He paced back and forth in the tent, his brows gradually wrinkled into the shape of a "川" character.

Judging from the current situation, the smooth progress on the western front is completely in line with his expectations. This also shows that the Qi army will focus on the Tengxian area on the eastern front, otherwise they would not easily lose Yanwu City and Qiliu City.

However, Wu Yanshu could never calm down, and he couldn't let this emotion affect the morale of his subordinates.

He stopped and turned to ask, "Are there any unusual movements by the Qi army in Taikang City?"

A confidant bowed his head and said, "Replying to the Marshal, not yet."

Wu Yanshu walked to the sand table and drew a line on the western battlefield, from Yanwu City to Qiliu City and then to Gaotang City in the south, and finally to Xifengyuan. He pondered and said, "The Qi army should defend Gaotang City to the death. If they lose this place, Xifengyuan will be a smooth road for our army. Going eastward, we can threaten the flank of Yongqiu's defense line. Liu Shouguang will definitely not accept such a situation."

General Chelimu came closer and said, "Marshal, could it be that the enemy is trying to lure our troops deeper into the territory?"

"will not."

Wu Yanshu made a very accurate judgment on this. He said calmly, "I will ask Guiyou to temporarily suspend the offensive and continue to oppress the Qi army on the western front. Moreover, if Liu Shouguang wants to show his weakness, Yanwu City is enough. There is no need to abandon Qiliu City. This shows that he does not have enough troops on the western front and can only delay time in this way."

At this moment, another messenger quickly walked into the commander's tent, knelt on one knee and said, "General, urgent military information on the eastern front!"

Wu Yanshu said sternly, "Speak."

Under the concerned gazes of the other generals, the messenger quickly said, "General Shu Hu ordered me to report to the commander-in-chief that our army climbed the wall of Teng County on June 17th. When we were about to break through the city, thousands of elite soldiers suddenly emerged from the city and forced our army to retreat. On the 19th, our scouts discovered traces of enemy reinforcements in the southwest of Teng County. Judging from the enemy's flags and troop strength, they should be the troops of the Wuwei Camp of the Southern Qi Jing Army."

Upon hearing the news, Wu Yanshu not only did not change color, but instead showed his first smile in many days.

"Wuwei Camp... Zhang Xu finally made a move?"

Wu Yanshu asked calmly, "How many soldiers did he bring?"

The messenger replied, "General, our scouts dare not get too close, so we can only roughly estimate that the enemy's support troops number about 20,000."

Wu Yanshu nodded slightly, then returned to his seat and sat down, looking around at the generals and said, "Let's calculate the chips that both sides have currently placed on the eastern front."

Actually, this question is very simple.

According to pre-war reconnaissance and analysis of the situation during the war, the Jingzhou Military Governor's Office of the Southern Qi Dynasty deployed 25,000 to 30,000 troops on the western front, and there were about 40,000 to 50,000 defenders on the central Taikang to Yongqiu line. The maximum number of defenders on the eastern front would not exceed 20,000.

If the 20,000 Beijing troops brought by Zhang Xu, as well as the Guangling Army and Panlong Army of the Dingzhou Military Governor's Office are included, the Qi army on the eastern battlefield would have a maximum of 50,000 to 60,000 troops.

"Once Lu Chen decides to take action, he will definitely be fully prepared. At present, the opponent's Feiyu Army's movements are unknown. We also count this cavalry on the eastern battlefield, which means that the opponent has assembled about 70,000 troops on the eastern front."

Wu Yanshu looked calm and said slowly: "At present, our army has 30,000 infantrymen in the north of Teng County. Xi Lie led 15,000 infantrymen to hide more than 40 miles northwest of Teng County. Wu Yanxiong led 20,000 light cavalry to support Gulijia and Shuhu more than 30 miles behind. The total strength of the eastern front is only slightly less than that of the Qi army. Chelimu."

"The end will be here."

"I will give you another 15,000 light cavalry, and send them to the eastern battlefield immediately."

Wu Yanshu looked fierce as he said word by word, "Wait for Gulijia and Shuhu to lead the main force of the Qi army out and retreat to the plain east of Qifeng Mountain. You, Xilie and Wu Yanxiong will lead your respective troops to surround the battlefield from three directions. Remember, you must do everything possible to inflict heavy damage to the Qi army in this battle. At that time, I will personally report to His Majesty and ask for credit for you and your soldiers!"

Chelimu's eyes were bright and he said loudly: "I obey your orders!"

Wu Yanshu ordered his clerk to draft a military order and personally handed it to Chelimu, saying sternly: "Regardless of winning or losing, we must inflict as many casualties as possible!"

"Please don't worry, Commander!"

Chelimu bowed and said, "I am willing to fight to the death!"

Although this strategy of exchanging pieces is clumsy, it is the wisest choice for Jing Jun at the moment.

Looking at Chelimu's back as he walked away, Wu Yanshu's eyes showed a heroic look.

(End of this chapter)