Thief Emperor

Chapter 379 The battle to build the foundation!

At this moment, Li Yun and others have returned to Yangzhou, so even though the enemy is advancing towards Yangzhou, there is no need for them to move in a hurry.

The good news is that things are developing in the direction Li Yun expected.

The bad news is that the situation remains dire.

It seemed that it was not difficult for Li Yun to defend Yangzhou. His existing troops could probably defend Yangzhou. However, if the fighting continued, the Pinglu Army would surround Yangzhou, and it would not be easy for Li Yun to break out.

What's even more fatal is that the disparity in military strength between the two sides is quite large. The Pinglu Army can even leave part of its troops to guard Yangzhou, and the rest of the troops cross the river to take Jiangnan, and Li Yun has almost no means of counterattack.

After thinking carefully, Li Yun turned around and looked at Zhao Cheng.

"I will take the guards back to Yangzhou first."

"General Zhao, take these two thousand men and respond accordingly in Huainan Road."

He paused and continued, "If we are discovered by the Pinglu Army, we will lead them to circle around Yangzhou."

Zhao Cheng thought for a moment and said, "If the Pinglu cavalry comes after us, we won't be able to escape."

This is indeed a problem.

In order to fight a mobile warfare, the most basic prerequisite is that the mobility of both sides is not much different. The two thousand people brought out now are basically all infantry, and they are in a large plain area. Once they are entangled by cavalry, they will easily be caught up by the enemy's large force and wiped out.

Li Yun pondered for a moment and said, "Then how about this. After dawn, General Zhao will lead them to Yangzhou, and then send scouts to clear the surroundings. When they are almost to Yangzhou, they can make a feint and bypass Yangzhou."

"This way, we can probably hide it from the enemy."

In this era, information flow is a big problem.

Not only was Li Yun, who had weak intelligence capabilities, covered in the "fog of war", but the Pinglu Army and all the armies were also like this. Once they arrived on the battlefield, most of them were completely in the dark.

Sometimes, the biggest challenge on the battlefield is not how to defeat the opponent, but how to find the main force position of the enemy.

As long as Zhao Cheng's troops make some false moves, there is a great chance that they can deceive the Pinglu Army.

Zhao Cheng lowered his head and thought for a while, then said, "Sir, how about I lead the troops back to Yangzhou with you? With more people, it will be easier to defend the city."

Li Yun still insisted on his own opinion and shook his head and said: "Let's go into the city together, there will be no troops outside the city, then..."

"There's no chance to fight back."

Li Yun patted Zhao Cheng on the shoulder and said softly, "The worst case scenario is that General Zhao is discovered by the Pinglu Army and is chased all the way. At that time, General Zhao will go to Liuhe Ferry, cross the river and temporarily take shelter in the south of the Yangtze River."

Zhao Cheng thought about it before lowering his head and agreeing.

Li Yun stood up, took a big bite of the roasted rabbit at hand, and was full of confidence.

"This battle is a threshold for us."

“We don’t need to win.”

Li Yun said firmly: "As long as we hold on, Jiangdong... will be completely stable!"

Previously, Li Yun only defeated the vanguard of the Pinglu Army in Yangzhou. Nearly ten states and counties in the eastern part of Jiangnan came to submit to him. This time, if he could resist the attack of the Pinglu Army head-on.

Then, his position as the lord of Jiangdong will be completely solidified and almost unshakable.

The fact that the Pinglu Army couldn’t defeat them meant that even if other Jiedushi came, it would at least be quite difficult.

At this critical juncture, no governor would be willing to suffer too much damage in the area of ​​Jiangnan.

At this point, Li Yun patted Zhao Cheng on the shoulder and said with a smile: "At that time, General Zhao's position as a captain can be promoted again!"

If the current Li Yun can only be regarded as a medium-sized local armed force, after fighting with the Pinglu Army, he will become a serious separatist force.

In other words, become a de facto "local lord"!
Zhao Cheng bowed his head and clasped his fists towards Li Yun: "I... don't care about these things."

Li Yun smiled and said, "It still needs to be taken seriously."

"In the future, the Zhao family may be able to rebuild under the general's leadership."

Hearing this, Zhao Cheng looked up at Li Yun, and his eyes brightened.

The Zhao family was once prominent when General Zhao was alive, but now... the family has dwindled down.

He was the only male left in the Zhao family.

In terms of blood relatives, there are only two older sisters who have already married, and several nephews and nieces.

It’s not long before the incense is cut off.

Previously, Zhao Cheng had stopped thinking about family inheritance, but now Li Yun brought it up.

Hope began to grow in his heart again.

The Zhao family...can indeed take root again and flourish in his hands!
…………

In the early hours of the morning, Li Yun, with his hundred or so guards, left the camp on horseback and headed straight for Yangzhou.

Because they were in Yangzhou, they rushed into the city at noon. After entering the city, Li Yun, without getting off his horse, ordered Meng Hai to call Du Qian, Zhou Liang, Xu Ang, and Deng Yang, who had just rushed to Yangzhou from Xuanzhou, to discuss matters.

When Li Yun dismounted in front of the governor's mansion, Du Qian, who had received the news, had already come out to greet him. Looking at the bloodstained Li Yun, he frowned and asked, "Did Erlang fight with the Pinglu Army in Chuzhou?"

Li Yun smiled and said, "Isn't it to fight them that we led the troops out of the city? Don't worry, brother Shouyi. The battle outside the city went smoothly, and at least nearly 500 enemies were killed or wounded." "Our own casualties were quite limited."

In the battle last night, Li Yun acted deliberately, and coupled with the huge disparity in numbers between the two sides and Li Yun's own dominance on the small-scale battlefield, the casualties on his side did not even exceed a hundred.

Du Qian nodded slightly. He looked at Li Yun and said with emotion: "Erlang is very good at predicting things. It seems that the Pinglu Army did not advance westward, but ambushed in Chuzhou and wanted to move southward."

"Not that I want to."

Li Yun strode into the governor's mansion and said, "Instead, they have already started heading south."

"It is estimated that in four or five days, or even shorter, the Pinglu Army will arrive at the city of Yangzhou."

Large groups of infantry cannot move very quickly, usually only about fifty miles a day.

No matter how fast they are, even if the troops are tired, it will be difficult to start fighting immediately after arriving at the destination.

Moreover, except for well-trained elite troops, for normal troops, being able to march fifty miles is already a remarkable achievement. After all, when an army moves, it is not only the soldiers that move, but also the baggage, logistics, and so on.

While the two were still talking, Zhou Liang and Deng Yang had already arrived at the governor's mansion one after another.

Xu Ang was originally working in the governor's office.

Li Yun sat in the main seat in the main hall of the Governor's Mansion and pressed his hand: "Everyone sit down and talk."

After several people sat down, Li Yun lowered his head and drank a sip of tea, then slowly said, "The Pinglu Army is about to march south in a big way."

In the early hours of the morning, the news Li Yun received was still a little vague, but now, he has received more accurate news.

The Pinglu Army, with at least 10,000 or even 20,000 troops, is marching southward.

"But there's no need to panic."

Li Yun put down the tea bowl and said, "We have about 5,000 soldiers in the city. I have also prepared a lot of food during this period. As long as we work together, the Pinglu Army wants to capture Yangzhou..."

"It's wishful thinking."

Geographical advantage is one of the most important factors in war in the era of cold weapons.

In Li Yun's world, it was not uncommon for a city to be defended by a few thousand defenders against attacks by tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of enemy troops.

Of course, most records of such a disparity in military strength include the logistics troops and even civilian laborers.

Now, the number of Pinglu troops heading south is about 20,000.

Including the civilian laborers who provide logistical support, there are about 40,000 to 50,000 people, or even more.

The pressure faced by Yangzhou City is not small.

At this point, Li Yun lowered his head and drank a sip of tea, then continued, "This battle is related to whether we can gain a foothold in Jiangbei for a long time in the future."

"It is even more important to be able to occupy Jiangdong."

"Deng Yang."

Deng Yang quickly stood up and bowed his head and said, "I'm here!"

"You lead a thousand men and guard the southern gate."

Deng Yang quickly bowed his head: "I obey your command!"

"Zhou Liang."

Zhou Liang also stood up and bowed his head and said, "I am here."

"Split your troops into two and guard the east and west gates."

At this point, Li Yun paused and continued, "Half of the troops in Lieutenant Li's battalion are still in the city. I will lead them personally to guard the north gate."

The Pinglu Army came from the north, and the chance of them directly attacking the North Gate is the greatest, so the pressure on the North Gate will naturally be the greatest.

"Brother Du, Brother Xu."

Li Yun looked at the two civil servants and said in a deep voice, "The gates of Yangzhou City will be closed in three days. During these three days, you must do everything you can to get as much food as possible into the city."

"We need manpower. You can mobilize all the soldiers in the city."

Xu Ang stood up and said in a calm but somewhat cold voice: "Sir, I will take care of this matter."

"Envoy Du... is a kind and righteous gentleman. I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to handle these matters."

Du Qian, who was standing by, shook his head and smiled bitterly, saying, "This should be done by Brother Ziwang."

"Then I'll leave it to Brother Xu."

Li Yun stood up, looked at everyone, and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, if we fight well in this battle, we will be able to have our own foothold in this chaotic world!"

"In the future, we will all have a future."

Everyone stood up and bowed to Li Yun.

"Everything shall be subject to the Lord's arrangements!"

(End of this chapter)