Thief Emperor

Chapter 454 Breaking the siege!

According to the news from Jiusi, almost all the Pinglu military forces in several prefectures and counties near Liuhe County, including Hezhou, Chuzhou, Chuzhou, Haozhou and other prefectures and counties, have taken action.

The two states of Chuzhou and Yangzhou are located between Luzhou and Yangzhou. Some time ago, Li Yun led his troops from Luzhou to Liuhe, and Su Sheng led his troops from Luzhou to Liuhe, passing through Chuzhou.

However, at that time, in order to conceal and get to Yangzhou as quickly as possible, Li Yun did not mobilize the Pinglu Army in Chuzhou. Now the Pinglu Army in Chuzhou has begun to move, with a tendency to cut off Li Yun's connection between Yangzhou and Luzhou.

Su Sheng frowned when he heard this, then he pulled Li Yun's sleeve and said seriously, "Sir, should we withdraw from Liuhe Ferry back to Liuhe County and use Liuhe County as a base to fight these Qingzhou soldiers?"

He continued, "As long as we can occupy Liuhe, we can hold out for a longer period of time. By then, both Zhao Cheng and General Zhou will have time to send support."

Li Yun shook his head slightly and said, "If Liuhe is a big city, we can still fight like this, but the wall of a county is so low that one or two people can climb over it. If we rely on Liuhe County to fight against the Pinglu Army, which may be as large as tens of thousands of people, we will not only have no geographical advantage, but will also be hindered by Liuhe County and lose flexibility."

He looked at Su Sheng and continued, "Brother Su, you continue to fight them at Liuhe Ferry, and I will handle the rest. But Brother Su, remember one thing."

He looked at Su Sheng and said in a deep voice: "Whether Brother Su has occupied Liuhe Ferry or not, when I give the order to withdraw your troops, withdraw immediately without any hesitation."

Su Sheng nodded and said, "I'll remember it."

As they were talking, Li Yun had already arrived at the gate of the tent. Su Sheng escorted him all the way out of the camp. After arriving at the gate of the camp, Su Sheng hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Sir, I have a suggestion."

Li Yun was ready to mount his horse. Hearing this, he pulled the reins, looked back at Su Sheng, and said with a smile, "Brother, please go ahead."

"The Pinglu Army has expanded rapidly this year. If they are really determined to move all their forces to Jiangbei, you might consider..."

"Step back a little."

Su Sheng said in a deep voice: "I know that the envoy is very covetous of these prefectures between the Yangtze River and the Huai River, and wants to push the defense line to the Huai River, but we have been established for too short a time."

"Preserve the main force, return to Jiangnan to stabilize for two years, and then it won't be too late to fight for Jiangbei."

Li Yun nodded silently and said, "I have considered this retreat route, but once we choose this retreat route, it means that the Yangzhou defenders must break out of Yangzhou, no matter how smoothly we support them or how successful their breakout is."

"At least half of our troops will be lost, or even more."

Su Sheng looked at Li Yun and said with a wry smile, "I am not as good as you in judging the situation. You should decide for yourself."

He was not saying this to flatter. After all, Li Yun could basically be said to be General Su's student now. In this era, he and Su Sheng were brothers in the same sect.

In private, Li Yun always called Su Sheng "brother", and there was no need for Su Sheng to flatter him in such matters.

The fact is, Li Yun's vision is indeed good. From the third year of Xian De until now, Li Yun has seized almost every opportunity he could get. Only then was his Jiangdong Group able to be created out of nothing and has reached its current position.

Li Yun got on his horse and said with a smile, "Don't worry, brother. If it is really impossible and I have to make a decisive move, I can still make up my mind."

"But now, I don't think it's time to make drastic changes. Even though they have more people, I won't be satisfied unless I fight them."

"If I lose, I will have to break my wrist, but if I win, I will have the chance to take over the whole Huainan. Then..."

Li Yun rode on his horse, looked at Su Sheng, and said with a smile: "We will soon become one of the few powerful forces in the world!"

Taking over the area south of the Huai River means that Li Yun can rely on the Huai River to build a strong northern defense line, creating a stable and peaceful environment for his sphere of influence.

At that time, whether to play by himself behind closed doors or accumulate strength and send troops to Jiangdong one day, it all depends on Li Yun's thought.

This is why he spent so much effort to gain a foothold in Yangzhou.

Now, it is time to make a real decision. Li Yun cannot just roll back to Jiangnan in disgrace and give up Yangzhou without firing a single shot.

If he really has this kind of ambition, even if he can take over Jiangbei in the future, he will probably only be able to defend his base in Jiangdong.

Su Sheng didn't say much, just smiled at Li Yun and said, "I won't persuade Erlang anymore. Erlang, you helped to bury my father and gathered the defeated troops under my father's command. I, Su Sheng, will follow Erlang for the rest of my life!"

"Whatever you say, we'll do it!"

"it is good."

Li Yun turned his horse around and said in a deep voice: "Brother, continue to argue with them at Liuhe Ferry and wait for my news!"

After saying that, he turned around and took Zhou Bi, Yang Xi, Meng Hai and a few others and rode back to Liuhe County.

Even the guards were not brought along.

Liuhe Ferry is not too far from Liuhe County, so when it was daybreak in the morning, he rushed back to Liuhe County. At this time, Chen Da was leading his troops to guard Liuhe County.

Chen Da originally had 3,000 troops, and the reinforcements led by Su Sheng had 7,000 to 8,000 troops. He only brought 5,000 troops to fight for territory with the enemy at Liuhe Ferry, and the rest stayed in Liuhe County for preparation. Now there are about 5,000 troops in Liuhe County. After arriving in Liuhe County, Li Yun did not waste any words and directly issued military orders: "Chen Da, you lead 1,000 troops to guard Liuhe as a base to support General Su, and the remaining 4,000 troops, all of them are assigned to me."

Chen Da immediately bowed his head and clasped his fists in response, then looked up at Li Yun and asked, "What do you want, sir?"

"Stop talking nonsense."

Li Yun narrowed his eyes and said, "The situation is urgent. I don't have time to explain to you. I will arrange for the Nine Departments to manpower you. In an emergency, I will convey the military order to you through the Nine Departments."

As he spoke, Li Yun took out a seal from his arms and said in a deep voice, "Stretch out your hand."

Chen Da quickly stretched out his hand. Li Yun breathed out and pressed his hand on his palm. When he raised his hand again, the words "Jiu Si" were already stamped in seal script on Chen Da's hand.

This is the highest-level seal within the Nine Departments. Even Liu Bo, the head of the Nine Departments, does not have the same seal.

Chen Da looked down and memorized the appearance of the seal script, then lowered his head slightly and said, "I've got it."

Li Yun said "hmm" and said in a deep voice: "Gather the troops for me in one hour."

Chen Da replied yes and went downstairs to do his work immediately.

Li Yun took advantage of this break to eat a bite of food and rest for a while. An hour later, his guards also rushed back to Liuhe. Li put on his armor and held his gun and got on his horse again.

Four thousand people have gathered outside Liuhe County.

Li Yun rode on his horse, leading the way, and waved his hand, saying, "Follow me, let's go!"

He turned his horse and galloped straight towards the west of Liuhe County.

At this time, no matter which army, most of the middle and lower-level generals recognized Li Yun, and many of them were from the anti-theft team. After seeing Li Yun, they were very excited. After hearing Li Yun's words, they turned their heads to their subordinates and shouted loudly: "Follow the envoy and set off!"

"Be careful not to mess up the formation. Anyone who messes up the formation will not be allowed to eat for a day!"

The food of the Jiangdong Army can now be said to be the best in the world. Li Yun's investment in food is even comparable to that of equipment and military pay.

Not being allowed to eat was still an extremely severe punishment within the Jiangdong Army. All the soldiers immediately perked up and followed Li Yun, moving forward in an orderly manner.

Chen Da, who was not far away, watched Li Yun leave with 4,000 troops. He was quite excited at first, but after seeing the direction Li Yun was heading, he became a little confused and scratched his head.

"Yangzhou is in the east, why did you go west? We came from the west..."

Chen Da thought for a long time but still couldn't figure it out. After Li Yun walked away, he returned to Liuhe County. He took out a somewhat simple map from the backpack on his horse. After finding the location of Liuhe County, he looked west on the map.

To the west of Liuhe County, there are two counties, one is Yongyang County and the other is Qingliu County.

And Qingliu County...is exactly the capital of Chuzhou.

Chen Da scratched his head, as if he understood something, but not completely.

…………

Near Yongyang County, more than 2,000 Pinglu Army soldiers were stationed near the county.

They were all Chuzhou garrison troops who came from Qingliu County, that is, from the Chuzhou provincial capital.

Following their superior's orders, they set out from Qingliu County and headed eastward, preparing to surround the Jiangdong Army together with other Pinglu Army troops.

However, at this moment, they had just arrived in Yongyang County from Qingliu County and had not yet had time to join the main force.

The commander of these two thousand soldiers was a captain in the Pinglu Army, whose surname was Wu and who was also a fierce general in the Pinglu Army.

Although he has the same surname as the royal family, he is not a member of the royal family.

That night, Captain Wu had just finished reading the order from his superiors when a messenger came running over and knelt directly in front of him.

"Captain Wu, something bad has happened!"

The messenger was in a panic.

"In the east, there are a large number of Jiangdong soldiers heading towards Chuzhou!"

(End of this chapter)