Jiuxi

Chapter 913 [Recalling the Past]

Jingchao, Yingyang Prefecture, Henan Road.

The army outside the city stretched out in a continuous line, with no end in sight.

The city is heavily guarded and outsiders are not allowed to move around without permission, because this is where the emperor's carriage is.

The distance from Dadu to Yingyang Prefecture was nearly 900 miles, and it took the army of more than 200,000 a full month to reach the destination.

To the south are Changshui and Lichuan, two important towns on Nanjing Road. Continuing south from the west of Changshui, you can reach Nanjing City. Going along the east side of Lichuan, you can enter the border between Henan Road and Dingzhou of Southern Qi, which is the line of Dingfeng Road and Baotai Mountain.

The main force of the Jing army temporarily stayed in Yingyang Prefecture, one to rest and the other to divide the troops.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the most spacious and exquisite mansion in the city was very solemn.

"Your Majesty, on the fourth day of July, the main force of the enemy army appeared outside Taikang City and launched a direct attack on our army. General Wu Yanshu led his troops to fight, but was defeated by Lu Chen, the Prince of Huai'an County of Southern Qi. In this battle, our army lost more than 34,000 soldiers and horses, the Tiger and Leopard Battalion was completely wiped out, and General Wu Yanshu was killed in the battle. As for the enemy's casualties, we are not yet able to know."

A dusty general of the Jing army knelt on one knee, his head lowered and his voice trembling.

All the important civil and military officials in the hall changed color.

The Qi army was not a weak force, and victory and defeat on the battlefield were common, and they understood this truth.

However, Wu Yanshu lost this battle so completely that he even died on the battlefield, which was a very demoralizing result for Jing's army.

At this moment, some people couldn't help but feel gloomy in their hearts. Could it be that Lu Chen of Southern Qi was really invincible?

Others quietly looked up at the emperor sitting in the main seat.

Emperor Jing's eyes were slightly cold, but he was not furious. He looked at the young general who came to report and asked, "Where are the others?"

The general quickly replied, "Your Majesty, our army has captured Yanwu City and Qiliu City on the western front. We were originally going to continue to attack Gaotang City. After learning the result of the Battle of Taikang, Generals Miegudi and Guiyou decided to temporarily suspend the offensive and hold on to the two cities they have already occupied, waiting for your Majesty's subsequent orders. Our army assembled a large force on the eastern front, but the Qi army made a feint and did not choose to confront our army head-on, but continued to take a defensive stance. After discussing with the five generals including Gulijia, they temporarily retreated to the Tongbai line and did not dare to act rashly."

This is a series of reactions triggered by Wu Yanshu’s death.

Without clear orders from their commander, neither Gulijia and others on the eastern front nor Miegudi and Guyuk on the western front had the power to make further strategic decisions. Moreover, they were worried about falling into a land-sinking trap and could only adopt conservative tactics, either holding on to the cities they had already captured or retreating directly to the defense zones under their control.

On the surface, compared with the nearly 500,000 troops of the Jing army, the loss of more than 30,000 people in the Battle of Taikang was not a devastating blow. Moreover, judging from the details of the war, Wuyan Shu had tried his best to inflict casualties on the Qi army.

Given the large gap in military strength between the two sides, it is not impossible for the Jing army to accept this head-on confrontation.

The problem was that Wu Yanshu's defeat destroyed Emperor Jing's early arrangements. He was unable to exert effective pressure on the Qi army before the main force arrived, giving the other side room to maneuver.

"Wu Yanshu still underestimated the enemy."

In the silence, Emperor Jing raised his hand and pinched his brows, then said: "He saw the intention of the Qi army, but wanted to use the Tiger and Leopard Battalion's heavy cavalry to recreate the Battle of Kaocheng. However, Lu Chen is not Han Zhongjie. Besides, he will definitely learn from the experience and lessons of two years ago. How could he be unprepared?"

Seeing that no one else dared to speak, Qing Yugong could only console them, "Your Majesty, fortunately this battle did not lead to particularly serious consequences. The most urgent task is to appoint a commander to take over."

"of course."

Emperor Jing looked up at the young general in the hall and said calmly, "You can go down."

As if the generals were pardoned, they would bow respectfully and leave.

Emperor Jing looked at the Jinglian nobles on his left, and what comforted him a little was that no one was cowardly or shrinking because of the news of defeat. Regardless of whether they had the ability to defeat Lu Chen, at least they were not afraid or running away.

"Shan Yang."

"The minister is here."

Although Shanyang was not from one of the five major surnames of Jing and Lian, he, like Wuyan Shu, had rich experience in commanding troops, and was a commander-in-chief within the Jing army second only to Qing Yugong.

He was cautious and meticulous by nature, and was more trusted by the emperor than Sagai.

Emperor Jing pondered for a moment and said slowly: "After this battle, the morale of the Qi army will be even higher, which will bring great trouble to our army. The northern part of Dingzhou is rugged, the Baotai Mountains are complex, and the Seven Stars Gang has been entrenched for many years and is well versed in geography. The Qi army has set up a dense system of forts in Dingfeng Road. A strong attack is not a good strategy. I order you to be the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Route Army, lead 80,000 infantrymen to the southeast, and station in the northern section of Dingfeng Road to wait for the opportunity to fight."

Shan Yang bowed and said, "I accept your order."

Emperor Jing said again: "Shen Gu, I order you to be the deputy commander of the Eastern Army to assist Shanyang in deterring the enemy."

General Shen Gu, whose name and appearance resembled those of a Qi person, had a rough and bold voice. He responded in a resounding voice, "I obey your command!"

"Sa Gai."

"Chen is here!"

"You will draw 30,000 infantrymen from the Changsheng Army and transfer them to Shanyang's command."

"I obey your order!" After making these arrangements, Emperor Jing said calmly, "Okay, all the ministers can leave, and the prince can stay."

The ministers were puzzled because the emperor had not yet decided on the most important commander of the Western Army. Who would take over the mess left by Wuyan Shu?

Someone soon reacted and glanced at Qing Yugong before leaving, with strange emotions in his heart.

They all knew that since Qing Yugong was dismissed as the Marshal of the Southern Court four years ago, the emperor had never given him the opportunity to lead troops into battle. Coupled with various developments in the court in recent years, the emperor's intention to suppress the Qing Yu family has become very obvious. Although Qing Yugong will accompany the emperor on the expedition this time, it is unlikely that he will regain command.

But now it seems that with Wu Yanshu's death on the battlefield, the rise of this former military god of Dajing is unstoppable.

The hall fell silent.

Emperor Jing took a sip of tea, looked at Qing Yugong and said, "Are you not surprised, Prince?"

Generally speaking, Qing Yugong should have shown confusion at this time, or more precisely, played dumb, as this was the emotion that a minister who had been suppressed for a long time should have.

After all, when they need you, they will show you all kinds of favors, and when they want to suppress you, they will abandon you like a worn-out shoe. No one can remain calm.

Qing Yugong pondered for a moment and said slowly: "Your Majesty, Lu Chen's preemptive move this time has greatly boosted the morale of the Qi army and successfully relieved the pressure on the Jingzhou defense line of Southern Qi. Next, he should focus on the Dingzhou border. Although Liu Shouguang and Zhang Xu are not top-notch commanders, if they only implement the strategy of clearing the countryside and holding on to each place, there shouldn't be too many mistakes, not to mention that Lu Chen has helped them through the most difficult stage."

What he meant was that he was not opposed to taking over the mess left by Wuyan Shu, but the real decisive battle between the Jing army and the Qi army should be in Dingzhou, and he hoped to display his talents in a more important battlefield.

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Emperor Jing put down the teacup, a trace of emotion floated in his eyes, and suddenly changed the subject and asked: "When did the prince guess that my injury was not that serious?"

To this day, Emperor Jing still maintains the image of poor health in front of civil and military officials.

Qing Yugong finally showed some surprise. He looked at the peaceful eyes of Emperor Jing and immediately understood the emperor's thoughts, so he said frankly: "I don't remember, it was probably at the turn of summer and autumn last year."

One asked directly, the other answered promptly.

If Sa Gai and other Jinglian nobles saw this scene, their heads would definitely be full of questions.

Why is there such a harmonious atmosphere between a king and his subjects, whose conflicts are clearly irreconcilable?

Shouldn't they be wary of each other, suspicious of each other, and calculating, trying every possible way to set traps for each other until the final winner is decided and one of them reaches the end of his life?

Emperor Jing suddenly laughed softly.

The laughter was full of relief.

Qing Yugong was also smiling, but his smile was more reserved, not as full of imperial arrogance as the emperor's.

After a long while, Emperor Jing said with a sigh, "Do you still remember what happened twenty-four years ago?"

Qing Yugong recalled the past and said with some emotion: "I remember. At that time, the late emperor was hesitant, and it was your majesty who persuaded the late emperor to march south. Before the siege of Nanjing City, your majesty personally formulated all the strategies of our army, laid the overall situation in just half a year, and finally captured Nanjing with an unmatched momentum. Although Qi was corrupt at that time, its military preparations were not too lax, and it was still a behemoth for us Jinglian people. But your majesty's talent was earth-shaking, and there was no rival after Yang Guangyuan's death."

"That's not honest enough."

Emperor Jing smiled and shook his head, saying calmly: "The credit of the past years can only be shared equally with you at most."

Qing Yugong did not refuse and said calmly: "Your Majesty said that once Yang Guangyuan died, Qi would no longer have a commander in charge of the three armies. Xiao Wangzhi and Li Tianrun are good at leading troops, but they have a fatal flaw, which is that they can only plan for a certain place but not the overall situation. Even if they can rely on the geographical advantages to achieve a temporary victory, they cannot bring the entire Qi army together. I didn't expect that in just seven years, a young genius would emerge in the south."

"Lu Chen is indeed an interesting young man. I have a feeling that he is like a gift from God to Qi."

Emperor Jing remained calm, but there was a hint of pride in his eyes: "But it is because of his existence that the prince and I can reminisce about the past and look back on the hardships and glories we have gone through."

Qing Yugong smiled slightly, stood up and looked at the emperor. Decades of disputes disappeared at this moment. He clasped his hands and said, "Qing Yugong is willing to serve you."

This is a very ordinary promise.

Emperor Jing had heard too many similar words of loyalty in the past twenty years, but his thoughts had returned to that early spring afternoon twenty-four years ago.

At that time, he was the crown prince of Jing State, and Qing Yugong was one of the countless powerful generals in the military.

Just one promise can overthrow a huge and corrupt dynasty.

At that moment, at this moment.

The smile on Emperor Jing's face became more and more warm, and he nodded and said, "Please ask the prince to take over as the commander of the Western Route Army and conquer the entire Jingzhou for me."

Qing Yu bowed again and said word by word: "I will definitely live up to your trust."

No big words needed, only a firm commitment.

Just like before.

(End of this chapter)