Jiuxi

Chapter 928 Chapter 926 [Who is the Rival of the Heroes in the World]

North of Hengjiang River is Pingyang City.

After twenty years of continuous reinforcement, this majestic city is like an indestructible iron wall.

The west of the city is blocked by Quejing Mountain, and there is only a narrow path in the mountain connecting to the west gate of Pingyang.

To the east of the city, the Lu River meanders and slowly flows southward into the Heng River, like a naturally formed moat.

To the south of the city is a road that resembles the mouth of a trumpet, which becomes increasingly narrower as it approaches the city gate. However, even in this area where the offensive can barely be launched, the Qi army has built forts to eliminate potential dangers.

There are natural barriers on three sides, and only the north side of the city faces the enemy, which is relatively flat and wide.

The strategic location of Pingyang makes it one of the strongest cities in the world, extremely easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Not to mention that there were mountains of food, fodder and military equipment in the city, enough to sustain the defenders for two or three years.

Faced with such a solid wall of iron, even the most powerful army would frown, and Qing Yugong was no exception.

More than half a month ago, under his command, the Western Route Army of Jingjun took down the tough nut of Xileng Pass. After a short rest and deployment of defenses along the way, Qing Yu respectfully followed the imperial edict of Emperor Jing, assembled more than 60,000 infantry and more than 10,000 light cavalry, carried a large amount of food and supplies, and marched south, slowly arriving outside Pingyang City.

With camps set up and cavalry deployed in all directions, the Jing army was ready for a long and fierce battle.

Even though they had known for a long time that Pingyang City was dangerous and had seen the terrain here on the map, when the Jing army's brave generals saw the environment around the city with their own eyes, even the bravest of them could not help but look gloomy.

To capture such a city, I wonder how many years it will take and how many lives will be lost!
Compared to the solemn expressions of others, Qing Yuzhong also looked relaxed, but he breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

Now he fully understands his father's difficult situation.

Although the Western Army has 180,000 people, the soldiers who are truly loyal to the Qingyu family are only the more than 20,000 people led by Miegudi and the more than 10,000 infantry under Xilie. Now Xilie's troops are stationed north of Tengxian County on the eastern front, while Miegudi's troops remain in Xifengyuan in the north, together with 20,000 light cavalry to intimidate the troops under Liu Shouguang and Zhang Xu.

In the Jingjun camp outside Pingyang City, Qing Yugong's direct subordinates only had 3,000 personal guards. Other generals such as Gulijia, Shuhu, Wuyanxiong and others would certainly follow the commander-in-chief's orders, but once these orders conflicted with the emperor's will, they would definitely stand on the other side.

In short, Emperor Jing used the righteous cause to force Qing Yugong to continue moving south, and was ready to control the situation at any time.

This is an open conspiracy and there is no way around it.

Qing Yuzhongwang was very angry at first, and couldn't help but have the idea of ​​destroying himself along with his father. After all, he couldn't endure humiliation like his father.

But on the way from north to south, he gradually understood the true meaning of the word forbearance, especially when he learned that the emperor personally led the army to the border of the three states of Southern Qi, he understood more and more why his father never went against the emperor's will.

The situation is becoming clearer now. The Jing army's main purpose in other areas is to delay the main elite forces of the Qi army. The two main battlefields will ultimately decide the outcome.

One is Pingyang City where Qing Yugong’s lone army penetrated deep into the western front, and the other is the vast area south of Teng County on the eastern front.

The Qi army would certainly respond, and Qing Yugong predicted that Lu Chen would appear on another battlefield.

In this way, if Emperor Jing defeats Lu Chen, the Qi army will have no power to fight back, and Qing Yugong can focus on attacking Pingyang City without worrying about being surrounded by the Qi army's heavy troops. Moreover, Mie Gudi and Xi Lie's Xiashan army will not suffer any losses, which is enough to ensure that Qing Yugong will not suddenly fall into danger.

If Emperor Jingdi was defeated by Lu Chen, Qing Yugong was also confident that he could bring the army back. After all, the commander was incompetent and exhausted the army. Fan Wendi in Pingyang City was far less capable than Lu Chen, so it would be very difficult for him to keep the Jing army.

After sorting out these details, Qing Yuzhongwang withdrew his gaze and looked at his father with even more respect.

"How do we capture this city?"

After a long silence, Qing Yugong finally spoke. He looked at the generals around him and asked, "Do you have any good ideas?"

Gulijia and others frowned. This time they attacked cities and strongholds from north to south. The Qi army never left the city to seek a decisive battle. Now it was even less likely to give the Jing army a chance to prepare for a fight.

In other words, the Jing army had no choice but to attack head-on.

If it were summer or autumn, they might be able to use the Lu River east of Pingyang to build dikes and dams, divert the water to flood the city and force it to break in. But now it is winter, and although the Lu River has not dried up, it is a pipe dream to store enough water to flood the city.

After a long while, Wu Yanxiong said in a muffled voice: "Your Majesty, I am willing to lead an army to bypass Quejing Mountain to the west and go around to the south of Pingyang City. Our army can then form a pincer attack from the north and south, which can at least increase the pressure on the defenders."

If the defenders of Pingyang only had to deal with the enemy on one side, it would naturally be very easy.

Gulijia shook his head and said, "That's not right. If you lead a lone army south and are surrounded by the Qi army, how can we rescue them?"

Wu Yanxiong asked, "Does the Qi army still dare to go out of the city to fight?"

Gulijia smiled helplessly, and then said: "General Wuyan, even if Southern Qi is at a disadvantage, it is not to the point where it cannot even muster tens of thousands of troops."

"rational."

Seeing that everyone was in a dilemma, Qing Yugong said calmly: "Our army has traveled 300 miles from Xileng Pass to Pingyang City without any obstruction. The Qi army seems to have completely given up resistance and is only waiting to fight to the death in this world-famous city. In my opinion, the Qi army may be using Pingyang City as bait to attract our army to stay here, and then secretly dispatch troops to implement a counter-siege strategy. You all know how difficult it is to attack a city. In order to prevent us from falling into the enemy's trap, my intention is..."

He didn't finish his words, but the others understood the hidden meaning. Gulijia said quickly: "Your Majesty, if the Qi army really has this plan, it may not be a bad thing for our army. Now we are not afraid that they will not come to fight, but we are afraid that they will keep retreating. Your Majesty's decree clearly stated that the Qi army has few troops to mobilize, so why should our army be afraid?"

The rest echoed.

Qing Yuzhong couldn't help but sneer when he saw this.

"Alright."

Qing Yugong did not refute the opinions of the generals, and said slowly: "Gulijia, you will lead the troops to attack the city tomorrow to test the quality of the Pingyang defenders."

Gulijia said loudly: "I obey your command!"

Qing Yugong said to Shuhu: "Move a thousand light cavalry to Shahe City in the west. If a large number of enemy troops come from the southwest, report back immediately."

The generals were startled.

Southwest direction?

The word Shazhou emerged in their minds, but Shazhou had at most a few thousand soldiers, which had little impact on the current war situation.

Shuhu bowed in response.

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Qing Yugong immediately turned his horse and headed towards the camp in the north, and the generals and personal soldiers hurriedly followed.

The Battle of Pingyang began on the fourth day of the eleventh month of the first year of Yongning in the Great Qi Dynasty.

South of Hengjiang River, within the territory of Daozhou.

A baggage convoy stretching for several miles was traveling on the official road, with thousands of infantrymen accompanying it as guards, and all travelers passing by gave way to them.

In the back half of the team, in a seemingly ordinary carriage, sat a slightly older man.

There were two more people in the carriage, one of whom was a steady man in his thirties who reported, "My Lord, Chengzhou Governor Tong Shiyuan is personally leading 20,000 infantrymen and 8,000 warriors from Shazhou. They are marching along the south bank of Hengjiang River and will arrive at Shahe City west of Pingyang in five days."

The old man was the Chief Military Minister of Da Qi, Duke Rong, Xiao Wangzhi.

He had to return home to recuperate due to a serious illness some time ago, and temporarily entrusted all powers of the Military Academy to Li Jingda, but for some reason he appeared in this carriage.

After hearing the report from his subordinates, Xiao Wangzhi thought for a moment and said, "Feiniao Pass cannot afford to fail."

The subordinate bowed his head and said, "Please rest assured, Duke. Commander Tong has left behind 10,000 infantrymen to assist the people of Shazhou in guarding Feiniao Pass. In addition, the Lord of Shazhou, Luo Yaozong, is in charge there personally, so there will definitely not be a crisis like last time."

Xiao Wangzhi nodded slightly.

The subordinate said, "The 40,000 infantrymen of the Valiant Camp will arrive at the south of Pingyang City in three days. In addition, Linjiang Marquis Chen Lanyu will lead more than 20,000 elite soldiers to cross the Shuangfeng Ancient Road. They will arrive outside Pingyang City before November 12, the date set by the Duke."

When Xiao Wangzhi heard the name Chen Lanyu, a hint of emotion appeared on his face.

He recalled the glorious years in Huaizhou, and also the various twists and turns after Chen Lanyu came to Beijing. In the end, the other party did not disappoint his earnest expectations, and restored order in time, putting the nail in Li Shizhi's coffin.

Time flies, and they can finally fight side by side again.

Noticing his subordinate's hesitation, Xiao Wangzhi collected his thoughts and asked with a smile, "Are you worried about something?"

The subordinate mustered up his courage and said, "My Lord, isn't it too risky for the Prince of Huai'an to make this arrangement? Even if Qing Yugong is a master of war, it won't be easy for him to capture Pingyang City. Why don't we move all our mobile troops to the border between Ding and Huai?"

Xiao Wangzhi did not comment and looked at the middle-aged man who had been silent beside him: "What do you think?"

Yuchi Gui said succinctly: "Lu Chen has never been a conceited person. I think there must be a way to defeat Emperor Jing."

"Qing Yugong is advancing alone this time. This is intentional by Emperor Jing. It also shows that Qing Yugong is good at forbearance. If we miss this opportunity, it will be difficult to trap him on the battlefield in the future."

Xiao Wangzhi half explained and half sighed, and then said: "It is meaningless to hesitate now. If we want to keep this pair of Jingguo monarch and minister, we have to take some risks. Of course, there is no perfect good thing in this world."

Yuchi Gui was silent for a moment, then asked solemnly, "What are your chances of winning?"

“It’s all up to us.”

Xiao Wangzhi placed the military report on the small table and said calmly, "I heard about Qing Yugong's reputation 20 years ago. Later, we fought many times in Huaizhou, and it was barely a draw. Now I am old, and I probably won't live for many years after this battle. Since I have been fighting for Da Qi all my life, it is only natural that I will devote my last blood to it. Dying on the battlefield should be the fate of my generation."

Sadness appeared on the faces of his subordinates, and Yuchi Gui's expression also became solemn.

Xiao Wangzhi smiled slightly, with a majestic look in his eyes: "Letting the military god of Jing country accompany me to the underworld will also be a good story passed down through the ages."

(End of this chapter)