Jiuxi

Chapter 918 Chapter 916 [Watching the Clouds Rise]

This was not the first time that Emperor Jing came to Heluo City.

Twenty years ago, the Jing army broke through this place under the actual command of him and Qing Yugong, and he stayed in the city for more than half a year.

This time, he personally led the army to revisit the old place. Emperor Jing, who had always been focused on government affairs, suddenly became interested and took a tour of various scenic spots in the city, naturally including the magnificent Qi Palace.

However, compared with other landscapes, Emperor Jing did not have much interest in this historic imperial palace and only took a quick look at the outer imperial city.

There is an elegant garden in the south city, which is where Emperor Jingdi stayed.

This garden has a history of nearly a hundred years. It was originally built by a favored prince of Qi State. Later, it became an official residence. Thirty years ago, Emperor Chengzong of Qi gave it to Yang Guangyuan to reward his military achievements. In fact, Yang Guangyuan never lived in it once. Until he was imprisoned and died unjustly, he never set foot in this Zhuo Garden.

Many years ago, Qing Yu Huaijin traveled south for a trip and fell in love with Zhuo Garden at first sight. From then on, it became her residence in Heluo City.

On the basis of this century-old famous garden, Qing Yu Huaijin carried out some renovations, making it even more secluded, exquisite and elegant.

"Yongping is a very thoughtful kid. He can add some charm to the painting without changing the original pattern."

Emperor Jing walked with his hands behind his back, looking at the scenery in the garden with his slender eyes and a gentle smile on his lips.

Sagai and Abuhan, two leaders of the Jinglian clan, followed behind, and the latter echoed, "Princess Yongping is naturally intelligent and talented, no wonder His Majesty favors her so much."

Emperor Jing took the opportunity to joke, "I heard that your third son was quite fond of Yongping at first? I wonder if he has let it go now?"

Since Qing Yu Huaijin turned fifteen, many young nobles of Jinglian have admired her, and many have fought over her. Abuhan naturally knew the stories of these young people, so he was not panicked and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, my third son has already given birth to a pair of children, so how can he not let go of what happened in the past."

Emperor Jing was just speaking casually, and he continued to walk forward to enjoy the scenery, seeming to be very interested.

Sagai and Abuhan looked at each other and could see deep confusion in each other's eyes.

Most people don't know that Emperor Jing was not only good at governing the country, but also had outstanding talents in leading troops to fight wars. It was only because Qing Yugong had performed well enough in recent years that Emperor Jing did not directly intervene in military affairs too much.

Sagai and other bigwigs had experienced the war against Qi twenty years ago, and naturally knew the emperor's skills in military affairs. They originally thought that this time the emperor would lead the army personally, and if not command the army on the battlefield himself, he would at least show his unique military skills and make the Qi army suffer severely.

Not to mention that Jing's army suffered a defeat on the western front, with 30,000 soldiers killed in the battle, and the commander Wu Yanshu and more than a dozen generals becoming victims of the Qi army.

The top priority should be to fight back immediately and boost the morale of our own troops.

However, Emperor Jing only let Qing Yugong take over the army on the western front, and let Wen Gusun and Shan Yang each lead an army to approach Dingzhou. Apart from that, he did not take any other actions and only came to the old capital of Southern Qi to tour the scenery.

Could it be that the sword in the emperor's heart had become rusty because he had not personally commanded a major war for more than ten years, or was it that the shocking assassination two years ago caused the emperor to lose all his energy?

But judging from the emperor's mood these days, he doesn't seem to be in a state of serious injury that is difficult to recover.

Full of confusion, Sagai and Abuhan followed the emperor to a waterside pavilion in the garden.

Emperor Jing sat down at the stone table, looked at the pool of clear water in front of him, and said calmly: "Sagai."

"The minister is here."

"I didn't let you lead the troops in person this time. Are you unhappy?"

"Your Majesty, how dare I harbor resentment?"

Sagai's old face showed a bit of embarrassment, and then he smiled and said, "This battle is of great importance. Your Majesty's various arrangements are naturally based on overall considerations. If you need me to lead the troops, I will do my best."

Emperor Jing smiled slightly and said, "Then what is the key point of this battle?"

In his early years, Sagai was a brave general who dared to charge into battle. However, since his father passed away, the elite soldiers and generals accumulated by the Huiluo family for decades were handed over to him. He failed to hold up the situation several times when he acted on his own.

For example, during the war to destroy Zhao, Emperor Jingdi originally wanted to give this Northern Court Marshal a chance to become famous. However, Sagai failed to achieve decisive results and instead made a joke of his 30,000 elite soldiers being defeated by Zhao's 800 death warriors.

If not for this, Emperor Jing would not have appointed Qing Yugong as the commander-in-chief of the three armies.

Hearing the emperor asking for advice, Sagai thought he was going to be scolded again, but when he saw the emperor's indifferent look, he suddenly realized what was going on and said cautiously, "Your Majesty, I only have some superficial knowledge."

Emperor Jing nodded and said, "You can go ahead and tell me what you want."

Sagai felt relieved and said, "Although the Qi army won the first battle, it did not change the huge gap in the strength of the two sides. Therefore, I think the Southern Qi will still hold on and use the city's attack and defense to consume our army's strength. I dare to say that the key to this battle is to lure the main force of the Qi army out of the city and have a fair and open decisive battle with our army."

The smile on Emperor Jing's face deepened, and he asked, "Then how do we lure the enemy's main force out?"

Sagai's expression changed slightly, and he bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I haven't made up my mind yet."

"You..."

Emperor Jing shook his head and said with emotion: "I am far inferior to my father."

Sagai lowered his head with increasing guilt. Emperor Jing stopped there and did not continue to criticize him. Instead, he looked at Abuhan beside him and said, "You tell me about it."

Abuhan had actually been thinking about it for a long time, and now he said cautiously: "Your Majesty, if we just keep attacking, I'm afraid the Qi army will shrink further in the city pass. Earlier, the Prince of Changshan sent back news that the Qi army retreated instead of advancing after the battle of Taikang, and Lu Chen even took the initiative to give up Teng County, which shows that he is ready to defend it for a long time. In this case, if we want to force the main force of the Qi army to fight a decisive battle with our army, we must let Lu Chen see a chance of victory."

“What is the chance of winning?”

"For example, one of our troops underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly, and stepped into the trap set by the Qi army."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Jing smiled without saying anything, tapping the table lightly with his slender fingers.

Abu shut up when he saw this rare situation.

Sagai felt a little annoyed and unconvinced, because Abuhan's proposal sounded good, but in reality, marching and fighting was not that simple.
How could Lu Chen of Southern Qi be so cunning that he easily fall into the trap? In order to make him have no doubts, it is necessary to send out a real elite force and create a situation that is completely disconnected from other armies. But wouldn't that be equivalent to giving the Qi army a great victory for nothing?
However, Sagai knew that he was not good at planning and Abuhan was a deep-thinking person, so he did not dare to argue in front of the emperor.

Just at this moment, a senior eunuch came hurriedly, with a hint of joy in his eyes.

"Your Majesty, urgent military report from the Western Army!"

"speak."

"Your Majesty, on July 29, the Prince of Changshan personally led his troops southward, directly attacking the western line of Jingzhou, and captured Gaotang City on August 8. The Prince of Changshan then divided his troops into two groups. He ordered Mie Gudi to lead an army of 30,000 to approach Xifengyuan to intimidate the Qi army in Yongqiu. The Prince personally led an army of 50,000 to continue southward to Xileng Pass."

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Sagai and Abuhan bowed and said, "Our army has won a great victory. Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

In fact, taking down a city was not really a big victory, but under the premise that Wu Yanshu had lost a battle first, Qing Yugong's tough attitude in destroying the western defense line of Jingzhou of Southern Qi could naturally boost the morale of the Dajing army.

Emperor Jing narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled, "Sagai, let me test you again."

Sagai suddenly wondered if he had disturbed some gods before leaving the house today. He did not dare to show it on his face and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, please speak."

Emperor Jing asked, "Where do you think Qing Yugong won this victory?"

Where is the victory?

Sagai was a little confused for a moment. Although he didn't know the details of the battle of Gaotang, judging from the duration of the war, Qing Yugong should not have used too many strategies, but relied on the strong strength of Jing Army to force his way into the city.

Looking at the emperor's calm eyes, Sagai suddenly had an idea and tried to say, "Your Majesty, the Prince of Changshan knows that our army's advantage lies in its manpower, so he no longer plays tricks with the Qi army, but crushes them all the way with integrity. Even if Lu Chen has more conspiracies and tricks, he can't conjure up thousands of soldiers out of thin air."

"Not so stupid after all."

Emperor Jing smiled with satisfaction.

Sagai was overjoyed and said, "Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty!"

Abuhan next to him looked a little worried.

He was loyal to Emperor Jing, and even when Emperor Jing promoted Sa Gai to the position of Marshal of the Northern Court, he did not feel resentful, because he knew that the emperor only wanted to use the power of the Huiluo family to check and balance the Qingyu family, even though Sa Gai's talents were not worthy of the position of Marshal of the Northern Court.

He also knew that the emperor had high hopes for Wuyan Shu. Not to mention that he wanted him to surpass Qing Yugong's prestige in the army, but at least he had to make some achievements so that the army could be more balanced.

Unexpectedly, Wu Yanshu was defeated so easily, but Qing Yugong turned the situation around as soon as he took over.

Taking down Gaotang City was not a big deal. The key was that Qing Yugong did not get carried away by victory and blindly attack the Qi army's Yongqiu defense line, but instead led his troops straight to Xileng Pass.

From a strategic point of view, taking Yongqiu will radiate to the entire Jingzhou. Xileng Pass is located at the border, but it is the most important barrier to the north of Jingzhou Pingyang Prefecture.

Once Xileng Pass was captured, the Jing army's cavalry would be able to gallop down and attack Pingyang directly.

The strategic significance of Pingyang City needs no elaboration. It controls the only place in the middle and upper reaches of the Hengjiang River that does not require the aid of boats to cross the river. With only a floating bridge of several dozen feet, the army can easily move southward to capture the heartland of Qi State!

Emperor Jing looked at Abuhan's expression and knew what he was thinking. He asked calmly, "What are you thinking about?"

"minister……"

Abuhan hesitated to speak.

Emperor Jing looked at the confusion and hesitation on his face and smiled, "Are you still hiding it from me?"

"I dare not!"

Abuhan gritted his teeth secretly and said bluntly: "Your Majesty, the Prince of Changshan has made outstanding contributions and is highly respected by the people. He has many supporters in the army. If we can take Pingyang in one go, we will be able to completely reverse the situation in Jingqi. However, it will also bury hidden dangers. I dare to ask Your Majesty to take precautions early!"

Sagai was stunned.

In this waterside pavilion, the originally warm breeze seemed to have frozen into ice.

(End of this chapter)