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In the following days, Xue Poye's plan for reorganizing the army and building divisions, under the auspices of Song Fei himself, began a large-scale reorganization with Liu Xiao, Yang Yijun and many other generals as his team.

For the soldiers, the north-south division is a great thing, lest everyone get together unhappy.

The Southern Cavalry Regiment and the Northern Cavalry Regiment each have a cavalry guard, and the two cavalry guards are directly under the jurisdiction of Xue Poye. Under Xue Poye's order, the two cavalry regiments were pulled to a large grassland in the east of Taizhou City for training. Soldiers on both sides fingered wooden sabers, practiced formations and fought against each other. Maybe they couldn't fundamentally improve their combat effectiveness, but even if there was a slight improvement, Xue Poye's thoughts were not in vain.

This group of cavalry was at a loss, ignorant, and chaotic from the very beginning. After nearly ten days of practice, at least they were able to carry out a simple formation attack and defense according to the general's intention.

As for the various arms of the infantry, after reorganization, they all practiced with all their strength.

Before Xue Poye came to Taizhou, the soldiers were very disorganized, but after the commander arrived, the soldiers began to enter the real fighting state from the disorganization.

Soon, the follow-up troops with siege weapons also arrived at the assembly point. Just like other arms before, they were divided into two battalions, north and south.

This was the first time Xue Poye saw the catapult.

He had seen the ladder before. When the royal family rebelled, the royal family used a large number of ladders to attack the capital city.

These catapults also look very simple and not advanced, but there is no doubt that they are definitely powerful when used to attack cities.

In addition, there are two extremely strange weapons that Xue Poye has never seen before. After careful inquiry, he found out that these two weapons are also indispensable in siege warfare.

The same is called a building car, also known as a nest car.

This is a kind of siege observation vehicle. The hopeful building on the vehicle looks like a bird’s nest. Two long pillars are erected on an eight-wheeled cart. There is a plank house between the two pillars, which can be raised and lowered. Observe the enemy's situation on the city, so that you can judge the strength of the enemy's defense force on the city, and then get information, then you can focus on attacking the enemy's weak defense area through the flag according to the strength of the opponent's defense.

The other is called the spray gun, which is an extremely strong and sturdy siege vehicle. It can protect the siege soldiers from being hurt by enemy arrows, stones, arson, and wooden beaters when digging the walls and tunnels. .

The spray gun can accommodate more than ten people. Under its cover, soldiers can carry out operations relatively safely.

Of course, there is also the tiger hammer, which is an absolute weapon used to hit the city gate.

These weapons are used to attack the city, and they are naturally powerful, but they are quite fragile. In addition to the operators, it is natural that many soldiers must be protected.

Xue Poye could tell that although these siege weapons looked old, they were not damaged in any way. Presumably they had been kept in the warehouse and had never been used. He ordered the siege troops to conduct drills at the moment, at least to ensure that they could Skillfully utilize these siege weapons.

……

The news from Sima Feng has never been delivered, but Xue Poye has received news about Yizhou.

This is shocking news.

"Commander, according to the report from the spies, it is confirmed that Yizhou has fallen!"

The very brief return made the generals of the Northern Expeditionary Army turn pale with fright. The faces of all the generals gathered in the commander's camp were gloomy and terrifying, and their eyes were full of angry flames.

Xue Poye bent over, together with Sein Fei, looked at the military map on the case, and was listening to Liu Xiao's report.

"Please look, Commander. This is the Yi River, which is also a small barrier at the junction of Yongzhou and Yizhou. The water is deep and fast. If you want to cross the river, you need to prepare a large number of ferries. The army gathered on the north bank of the Yihe River, and blatantly built a ferry, which looked like they were going to cross the river, but it took 2 people to cross the river, and at least [-] ferryboats were needed to cross the river. , Yizhou sent [-] troops to defend, most of them are archers, and they are equipped with rockets. Once the Northwest Army crosses the river, even if the Northwest Army crosses the river, the casualties of the Northwest Army will be extremely heavy." Liu Xiao said solemnly: " Although the cavalry of the Northwest Army are brave and good at fighting, they may not know how to cross the river, and even if they cross the Yi River and fight hand-to-hand, the Northwest Army may not be able to win even if reinforcements can be sent from Yizhou City.”

"Then why was Yizhou City suddenly captured?" Xue Poye asked with a frown.

Liu Xiao slid his fingers across the map and followed the Yi River upward until the mark of the Yi River disappeared on the map: "Commander, Song Shuai, this is the source of the Yi River, Kunlun Lake, [-] cavalrymen in the northwest The [-] infantry bypassed the Yi River, and from here they suddenly entered the city of Yizhou."

"A detour?" Song Fei said in a deep voice, "From this point of view, if you want to bypass the Yi River and pass through the Kunlun Lake instead, it would be hundreds of miles longer."

"That's right." Liu Xiao said, "It's an extra seven hundred miles, and the roads are extremely difficult to walk. Even cavalry will take five or six days to reach the city of Yizhou. But according to the spies, the 5 horsemen in the northwest , Hiding by day and going out at night, it was extremely secretive, and the Yizhou side was negligent in guarding against it, thinking that the Northwest Army was going to fight across the river, so they ignored the route of Kunlun Lake, which allowed the Northwest Army to take advantage of the loophole, and it was only when the soldiers approached the city that they suddenly realized."

"If it is day and night, and the cavalry and infantry are required to advance in coordination, then this surprise army obviously started to take action half a month ago." Xue Poye clicked on the Yihe River: "And it is deployed in the Yihe North The Northwest Army on the shore is building ships with great fanfare, in fact, to attract the attention of the Yizhou Army, they are not the main attacking force."

Song Fei roared angrily: "Such a grandson from the Northwest is very cunning." Chong Liu Xiao asked: "In addition to the 1 people who are stationed by the Yi River in Yizhou City, there are still 2 people in the city, why? It was captured in a day?"

Liu Xiao shook his head and said, "Shuai Song, speaking of it, Yizhou City was not captured, but...it was surrendered!"

"What?" Xue Poye and Sein Fei asked in surprise at the same time.

"The soldiers of the Northwest Army approached the city, and Yizhou City guarded for half a day, and the defenders on the south bank of the Yihe River heard that Yizhou City was attacked, so they hurriedly abandoned the Yihe River to help, and the Northwest Army on the north bank of the Yihe River took the opportunity to cross the river. The Northwest Army under the Yizhou City Instead of forcibly attacking the city, they turned their guns and attacked the Northwest Army crossing the river back and forth, trapping the reinforcements in Yizhou and killing them for half a day. The army captured Yizhou City without a single soldier."

"boom!"

Sein Fei slammed his fist heavily on the case, and the case cracked open with a "click".

Everyone was startled, Sein Fei also knew that he had lost his composure, and hastily knelt down on one knee: "Commander, I...I...please forgive me, Commander!"

Xue Poye stepped forward to help him up, and sighed: "I understand Song Shuai's mood, and I hate and hate it."

"They only need to persist for three days...!" Seong Fei's eyes were cracked: "The city of Yizhou is strong and strong, and there are 40 soldiers and civilians in the city, and there is enough food and grass... We only need to persist for three days, and we can rescue... How can the Northwest Army be undefeated if Yizhou City cooperates with us inside and out? But... that bastard...!"

Yang Yijun frowned and said: "Commander, Commander Song, General Yimo, in my humble opinion, there are three reasons why Yin Houzhang surrendered to the enemy."

"you say?"

"First, Hou Zhang was greedy for life and afraid of death, and was frightened by the Northwest Army, so he surrendered in Kaicheng. Second, Hou Zhang surrendered in desperation in order to save the people of Yizhou City from being wiped out." Yang Yijun looked solemn. : "The last one, the last general may be careless...Hou Zhang has been persuaded by Yongzhou, and he has already taken refuge in Yongzhou secretly. He persisted in Yizhou City for half a day, but it was just for show...!"

Song Fei said with a sullen face: "What a Hou Zhang, when I capture Yizhou, I will peel his skin."

Liu Xiao's expression was extremely serious: "Commander Song, Commander Song, Hou Zhang made an act of surrender, but... but the soldiers of Yizhou and the people of Yizhou welcomed the entry of the Northwest Army without any objection. ...This is probably the most dangerous."

Yang Yijun nodded and said: "Exactly, this shows that the hearts of the people in Yizhou are not toward the imperial court, but toward... King Mingyue."

"Rumors abound in every prefecture. Yizhou is the closest to Yongzhou, and the propaganda is even more serious. If Hou Zhang has not imposed control before, then the people there will definitely spread rumors and believe those rumors...!" Liu Xiao said seriously: "Yes So we not only have to face the pressure of the Northwest Army, but also pay attention to the minds of the people."

Xue Poye nodded and said: "The Holy Majesty and the Prime Minister have already taken care of this, so you don't need to worry about it." But he thought to himself: "I don't know if my father-in-law and the others have come forward? That is also a dangerous battlefield."

"The task now is how to deal with the current situation." Song Fei said in a deep voice, "As for the war of literati, leave it to the Prime Minister. The Holy One and the Prime Minister will surely solve our worries."

Xue Poye nodded and asked, "How is the movement of the Northwest Army?"

"The spies reported that the Northwest Army has left 5000 soldiers in Yizhou, and the rest of the soldiers have already started marching north. If they guess correctly, they are preparing to advance into Qingzhou and intend to take Qingzhou City. In addition, Yizhou The whereabouts of the Northwest Army also appeared in the lower reaches of the river, and the exact number of troops is still unclear, but that army is supposed to join forces with the Northwest Army from Yizhou to attack Qingzhou." Liu Xiao was worried.

"What?" Song Fei frowned, and said to Xue Poye: "Commander, look." Pointing to the map, he said solemnly: "Yizhou is located in the southeast of Yongzhou, and this Qingzhou is located in the northeast of Yongzhou, forming a triangular shape. For a long time, Yizhou and Qingzhou have been the horns of each other. If the Northwest Army wants to enter Kyoto, it must break through these two states. Taizhou is connected behind Yizhou, and Huizhou is connected after Qingzhou. It stands to reason that no matter how strong the Northwest Army is, it must It is by no means easy to break through these places. But now that the Northwest Army is hiding in secret, and Yizhou surrendered without a fight, one of the two horns is missing, and the pattern is broken. But we can go straight to Qingzhou, once Qingzhou is taken, then this pair of horns will turn into the horns of Yongzhou, forming a triangle, if our army wants to attack Yongzhou at that time, I am afraid it will be even more difficult."

Liu Xiao said bitterly: "This guy Hou Zhang... In this way, our army is already in a passive position." Sighing, he said: "Commander, it was also said in the military book of the Chu family that when the founding of the country, Marquis Wu To pacify the world, this battle of Yongzhou captured Yizhou, and then captured Qingzhou with a thunderous force, forming a momentum of horns, and also laid the foundation for pacifying the world. According to the book of war, the Marquis of Chu can finally These two battles are fundamental to unify the world, because in that way, the Marquis of Chu will not only rely on the triangular power to form a solid defensive posture, but also can send troops from Yizhou and Qingzhou at any time to attack any place, which is also a retreat and defense. , The strategic pattern of attacking and attacking made the Marquis of Chu finally become the hegemony... Now it seems that the road that the Mingyue King walked is the road that the Marquis of Chu used to take."

Seong Fei frowned, staring at the military map, clenched his fists and said, "Qingzhou must not be lost. Once Qingzhou is lost, even if the Northwest Army can't plot the world, this place will no longer belong to Dachu from now on." After finishing speaking, he slapped a large area of ​​Northwest China including Qingzhou and Yizhou.

"Is the governor of Qingzhou reliable?" Xue Poye asked with a frown.

Song Fei nodded and said: "Don't worry, Commander, Yin Luo Wuyan of Qingzhou Prefecture was single-handedly promoted by the late emperor. When he was still in the capital, he even had disputes with King Mingyue's subordinates. He is loyal to the court, even if the Northwest Army When soldiers are approaching the city, he will support it even if he dies... But although this person has excellent management skills, he is not good at commanding battles, and there are very few famous generals in Qingzhou City, so... our military needs to send reinforcements to rescue Qingzhou. Qingzhou... absolutely Don't lose!"

Xue Poye pondered for a long time, and finally said: "Shuai Song, you attack Yizhou, and I will lead the army to save Qingzhou."

Song Fei walked to the front of the case and knelt down on one knee: "Commander, please go to rescue Qingzhou at the end... Commander attacks Yizhou by himself, and I hope that Commander will make it happen."

In fact, everyone present knew that attacking Yizhou was obviously easier than going to Qingzhou for rescue.After all, Taizhou is a place of logistics support, very close to Yizhou, and now there are less than [-] Northwest Army in Yizhou. Even with the Yizhou Army that has surrendered, with the current strength of the Northern Expedition Army, there is still great hope. Yizhou City.

The situation in Qingzhou is obviously much more dangerous.

[-] to [-] Northwest Army marched out from Yizhou to attack Qingzhou and the lower reaches of the Yi River. There was even an unknown number of Northwest Army forces attacking from two directions. If Song Fei wanted to rescue Qingzhou, he would probably catch up with Yizhou on the way. The Northwest Army encountered in the past, it was a big battle.

The Northwest Army from Yizhou will never let the reinforcements from the Northern Expedition to rescue Qingzhou, and the Northwest Army on the lower reaches of the Yi River will attack Qingzhou with the main force. Live the attack of the Northwest Army.

Since the people of Yizhou were bewitched by the rumors, the people of Qingzhou must have been affected as well. This added a bit of unpredictability.

Therefore, going to Qingzhou for rescue is really an arduous task, and the ultimate goal is to keep Qingzhou, otherwise it will be a fatal blow to the Northern Expeditionary Army.

Xue Poye stood up, stepped forward to help Song Fei, and said seriously: "Shuai Song, you are old, and you are going to Qingzhou for a long journey...!"

Song Fei immediately said: "Commander, thanks to the favor of the Holy Majesty this time, he appointed me as the deputy commander of the army. It is the supreme honor of the last general. The last general joined the army at the age of 16 and fought many battles. There is no battle to fight, but the general has never slackened his heart to serve the country. Although I am old, the commander can eat half a head of cow, drink ten jars of wine, and open a bow of three hundred shi... ...The commander-in-chief allocated 5 troops to me, and the general will keep Qingzhou safe. If there is any loss, the general will come to see me, and I would like to issue a military order!"

Seeing Seong Fei's excited expression, Xue Poye's eyes were full of incomparable fighting spirit and self-confidence, and he was very moved by what he said, "Okay, Shuai Song, I will entrust you to Qingzhou." Here it is. I will assign you one hundred thousand infantry, and the Northern Cavalry Regiment, all under your command. I only hope that Shuai Song will succeed in this battle!"

"Thank you, handsome!"

"Liu Xiao!" Xue Poye said in a deep voice.

Liu Xiao stepped forward and knelt down: "The end is here!"

"This commander ordered you to follow Song Shuai and assist Song Shuai. You must ensure Song Shuai's safety."

"The end will obey orders!"

"Commander!" Song Fei reported, "At the end of the day, Qingzhou will be kept. After the commander captures Yizhou, I will advance to the northwest from the lower reaches of the Yi River. The commander can also send troops from the upper reaches of the Yi River. The troops will divide into two groups and besiege Yongzhou. City, then a battle can be won! Now that the Northwest Army is starting from Yizhou, the final general must arrive at Qingzhou before the Northwest Army, so he will lead the army out."

Xue Poye held Song Fei's hand: "Shuai Song, take care."

Seong Fei opened his mouth, but finally didn't say anything. He cupped his fists and saluted, then turned around and left the tent.

"General Liu Xiao stays here, you go down to organize the army first, and pass on the order to march to Yizhou overnight." Xue Poye ordered.

"Yes!"

After all the generals retreated, Liu Xiao said respectfully, "What orders does the Commander have?"

Xue Poye walked back and forth in the camp with his hands behind his back, with a serious expression on his face. Seeing this, Liu Xiao felt a little nervous.

"Do you know why I sent you to follow Shuai Song?" Xue Poye finally asked.

"The commander-in-chief will either assist Song Shuai, or protect Song Shuai." Liu Xiao said.

Xue Poye smiled faintly, walked up to Liu Xiao, and said in a low voice: "This is one of them. Besides, there is another important matter for you to do. Remember, it is not the commander who ordered you to do it, but... ...The meaning of His Majesty...!"

Liu Xiao hurriedly fell to his knees: "The final general swears his allegiance to the Holy Majesty to the death, and he will not hesitate to die!"

Xue Poye smiled faintly, whispered in his ear, Liu Xiao was startled, frowned, and immediately said firmly: "The last general will do his best to live up to the expectations of the Holy Majesty and the Commander."

"As I said, that's just a hypothesis." Xue Poye looked solemn, and said in a low voice: "If there is no sign that Song Shuai is different, you must do your best to assist Song Shuai and protect his safety." From the arms He took out a scroll and handed it to Liu Xiao: "This is an imperial decree with a jade seal. If the situation changes, you can take it out."

Liu Xiao took the imperial decree carefully, and after putting it away, he said: "Don't worry, Commander, I will not let any unruly people get close to Shuai Song!" His words were very strong and resolute.

That night, Song Fei and Liu Xiao led an army of [-], set out from Taizhou to rescue Qingzhou with all their strength, and at the same time, Xue Poye commanded the army and went straight to Yizhou.

The war is finally here!