Jiuxi

Chapter 948 946 [The only difficulty in the history is death]

November 26th, the day after the Battle of Lei Ze ended.

Southwest of Jingzhou, more than 170 miles north of Pingyang City, there is a small town called Jinsha.

This place is more than 180 miles away from Xileng Pass in the north.

More than a month ago, when the Jing army was heading south, they passed by Jinsha City. At that time, they were full of ambition, as if Pingyang City in the south was within their grasp, and then they crossed the river and headed south, sweeping across the wealthy land of Southern Qi.

At this moment they were trapped in this small town, with the Qi army following closely outside.

Recalling the previous battles, everyone couldn't help but curse the Qi army as a group of lunatics who were not afraid of their lives.

From November 13th to 24th, the Jing army and the Qi army engaged in a brutal battle outside the city of Pingyang.

Qing Yugong personally commanded the army, and more than 70,000 Jing troops went into battle.

The commander of the Qi army was Duke Rong Xiao Wangzhi. His troops included the Jinwu Camp of the Beijing Army, the Xiaoyong Camp, the Chengzhou Military Governor's Office and the Jingzhou Pingyang garrison, with a total strength of more than 130,000.

The first battle was on the 13th, the second battle on the 15th, the third battle on the 18th, and the final battle on the 24th.

The two famous generals of the time gave their all, from deploying troops to making decisions on the battlefield, and almost exhausted all they had learned in their life.

The two armies won and lost against each other in the beginning, and then they used various tricks and strategies to attack each other, until the final battle, which was simplified and completely based on the strength of each army.

On the battlefield on the 24th, Qing Yugong and Xiao Wangzhi tacitly abandoned those fancy techniques. The two armies fought a decisive battle in a seemingly clumsy way. Each army sent an army to fight, and when the front army could no longer support, the second team would immediately take over.

Through the previous three battles, both of them were able to see through each other's intentions. No matter if one side lured, ambushed, flanked, or made a detour, the other could always make an accurate response.

We can only return to the most primitive form of war to decide the outcome.

Judging from the individual abilities of the soldiers alone, the Jing army led by Qing Yugong was slightly better than the Qi army. However, this time Xiao Wangzhi carried the coffin into battle and held the flag without retreating from beginning to end. In addition, Chen Lanyu personally went into battle several times to repel the Jing army. When they got through the most difficult time, the Qi army gradually gained the upper hand relying on its advantage in military strength.

The situation of the two armies was like a replica of the Battle of Lei Ze, except that Qing Yugong did not have Lu Chen's magical weapons that could turn the situation around.

In the final battle, Jing's army was defeated after fighting for more than four hours.

When Qing Yugong led his troops to retreat to Jinsha City with great difficulty, he was able to gather only more than 13,000 people. The rest either died on the battlefield or got lost in the final retreat.

How could Xiao Wangzhi sit idly by and watch him withdraw? The various units of the Qi army followed him like a shadow.

At night, the cold wind howled outside.

The generals in the room looked exhausted and gloomy, and were speechless.

Although the Qi army had more troops than the Jing army, with 60,000 to 70,000 more soldiers, they did not have the strongest Dingzhou border army to participate in the battle. In the eyes of these Jing army generals, the only opponent worthy of attention was the Pingyang garrison under the Jingzhou Military Governor's Office. The two Beijing armies were barely impressive, and the Chengzhou army was obviously just making up the numbers.

However, in such a head-on confrontation, the Jing army was ultimately defeated. What excuses could they find?

"Report!"

A centurion hurried in, knelt on one knee and said, "Your Highness, the Xiling Pass garrison sent an urgent report that they were blocked by a Shazhou native army of 7,000 to 8,000 people and could not come to support us!"

All the generals were stunned.

"Understood, let's go down."

Qing Yugong was relatively calm. He looked at everyone and said, "Everyone, after fighting to this point, you and I have no regrets. The Qi army is not a weak force that can withstand a single blow, and Xiao Wangzhi is certainly not an incompetent man who does not live up to his reputation. In addition, the Qi army has tens of thousands more soldiers than ours, but ours suffered more casualties. This result is more than enough to live up to your majesty's trust."

There was a new scar on Gulijia's face. It was caused by him personally fighting in the final battle the day before to stop the Pingyang defenders under Xiao Wangzhi's command.

He looked into Qing Yugong's eyes and said slowly, "Your Highness, the Qi army is also exhausted and has suffered heavy losses. They should not have the strength to continue attacking. Even if Jinsha is just a small city, our army can hold the city for a while. Even if the Xiling Pass defenders cannot come to support, Your Highness has deployed tens of thousands of troops in the north. As long as they receive the news, they will definitely come to rescue. This city is not a dead end for our army."

This is not blind self-confidence on his part.

Before Qing Yugong went south to attack Pingyang City, he deployed thousands of infantry in important towns along the way, namely Xileng Pass, Gaotang City, Qiliu City and Yanwu City. In addition, there were more than 20,000 elite soldiers of the Miegudi tribe stationed in Xifengyuan, and 20,000 light cavalry to intimidate the Qi army from Taikang to Yongqiu.

In short, the Jing army still has about 60,000 troops in the vast area north of Xileng Pass.

For the more than 10,000 people trapped in Jinsha City, what they need most now is time.

As long as the Jing army in the north received the defeat report and rushed to the south to rescue in time, the main force of the Jingzhou army on the Yongqiu line might not be able to intercept the Jing army's retreat in time, and they still had hope to retreat from the original route on the west line and return directly to the Tongbai line. But this time will definitely not be short. Gu Lijia expected that if everything goes well, they will have to hold on for at least ten days.

Jinsha City is a stop on the Jing army's way south. Although the stored food and grass are not particularly large, it is enough for more than 10,000 people to use for two months. Although the city defense is not strong, the Qi army outside is now exhausted.

Therefore, holding on for ten days is not a pipe dream.

Qing Yugong glanced at Gulijia and said with emotion: "Your Majesty, the winner should have been decided by now, right?"

The southwest of Jingzhou and the Lei Ze Plain are far apart. The last communication between the two sides was half a month ago. Qing Yugong informed Emperor Jing that a large number of Qi troops had gathered outside Pingyang City. Emperor Jing then sent a message ordering him to fight a decisive battle with the Qi army, because Lu Chen personally led a large army to appear in the Lei Ze Plain, which meant that the Qi army in the southwest of Jingzhou was not the main force.

Emperor Jing hoped to advance on both battlefields simultaneously, so as to completely destroy the Southern Qi's will to resist.

The generals were uneasy. General Guiyou said, "Your Majesty is leading an army of more than 100,000. Although Lu Chen of Southern Qi is as cunning as a fox, how can he be a match for Emperor Dajing?"

"I don't think so."

Qing Yugong sighed and continued, "If your majesty wins, the Qi army in Yongqiu and other places will definitely not dare to move rashly, and the troops I left in the north will naturally go south to rescue. But if your majesty is defeated by Lu Chen, given Lu Chen's decisiveness, he will immediately march west to cut off our retreat. If the troops in the north rashly go south, we will all be surrounded and eaten by Lu Chen in the end."

Except for Qing Yuzhongwang who was injured in his right arm and could remain calm, the other generals all changed color. Gulijia frowned and asked, "What do you mean, Your Majesty?"

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

Qing Yugong said calmly: "Before the decisive battle the day before yesterday, I sent people to the north to pass on the order that if your majesty wins, they can act according to the situation. If your majesty is unfortunately defeated, they don't have to worry about our isolated army anymore and need to retreat north immediately."

There was dead silence and the generals were stunned.

After a long while, Gulijia said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, it's not that I am disrespectful, but why didn't you inform us of such military intelligence and plans?"

"presumptuous!"

Qing Yu Zhongwang said sternly: "Father is the commander-in-chief of the Western Army. He can decide all military affairs. Why should he inform you?!"

In the suddenly tense situation, Qing Yugong waved his hand to signal Qing Yuzhongwang to withdraw. Looking at the gloomy generals, he said calmly: "You should be satisfied with what I did. Now our army is weak and trapped deep in the heart of Southern Qi. The Qi army outside the city does not need to rush to attack. They will wear us out sooner or later. Isn't this the result you expected to see before you sent out the troops?"

"Why do you say that, my lord?"

Guiyou's expression changed drastically and he couldn't help but raise his voice.

"Don't worry."

Qing Yugong smiled, rubbing his hands and said, "I know that you received a secret order from His Majesty before the expedition, to use this battle to kill me at the hands of the Qi people, preferably in battle. This will also fulfill the decades of loyalty between His Majesty and me, and will be a good story in history books in the future. Gulijia, you should have the secret order from His Majesty, right? If I refuse to lead the troops south, or if I flee in battle, you can ask for my head to be beheaded."

Gulijia lowered his head slightly and did not answer this sharp question.

The other generals were all silent, but from their expressions it could be seen that Qing Yugong's inference was correct.

At this moment, Qing Yuzhong's eyes were red and murderous.

Qing Yugong didn't take it seriously and continued, "Your Majesty is wise and brave. In the past two years, you have broken up the Xiashan Army and the Fangcheng Army. For example, you sent Xi Lie with 10,000 people to defend Teng County, sent Tuoman Ulu to Wen Gusun's command, and brought Shu Bulie with him. At the beginning, the Western Army had 180,000 people, and only the 20,000 or so people under Mie Gudi were from the Qing Yu clan. The rest were all soldiers and horses transferred by Your Majesty from various tribes, in order to ensure that the king would march all the way south until he died in battle."

"If the king makes any unusual moves, His Majesty can justifiably punish him by military law. You are the swords in His Majesty's hands, just to chop off the king's head."

"Now that things have come to this, this king has no chance of survival. What are you dissatisfied with?"

From beginning to end, Qing Yugong's tone was very calm and there was no disturbance.

Gulijia and others recalled the previous battles outside Pingyang City. They did have the intention of luring the Qi army to attack the central army, but strangely enough, Xiao Wangzhi seemed unable to see these flaws. He could clearly see through Qing Yugong's intentions, but he always turned a blind eye to the central army of Jing Army.

Could it be that this prince is collaborating with the enemy?

Qing Yugong knew their intentions very well. He shook his head and said, "You wanted to lead the Qi army to kill me, but you didn't think that Xiao Wangzhi didn't know this. The flaws you exposed were so obvious, almost telling Xiao Wangzhi that there was a trap here. How could he do as you wish? Everyone, His Majesty wants me to die on the battlefield. I have decided to obey His Majesty's will. As His Majesty's respected ministers, you are not afraid of death, right?"

"Your Majesty..."

"Of course, it's meaningless to say this now."

Qing Yugong smiled and said slowly: "Now the king and you are on the same boat, no one can survive alone. Since you are destined to die, I hope you will cheer up and don't bring shame to the reputation of our Dajing soldiers."

(End of this chapter)