ps: Thanks to Brother Iron Man for the reward, and thanks to Long Tianxia for the monthly ticket encouragement.
In December of the first year of Tianyou, bad news came one after another, and people in Jiangzhou City were in a state of confusion.
The first thing that came was the military report sent back from Shannan East Road. After the Xichuan Army Wang Zongbi and Wang Zongruan attacked Xiazhou, they stopped their eastward advance in Dangyang, Jingzhou. Not only did the Xichuan Army and the Jingnan Army not fight, but they were very
With a tacit understanding, they changed direction and advanced together to the north. Xichuan troops raided Fangzhou and Junzhou in the north, while Jingnan troops aimed at Xiangzhou.
The Xuanwu Army stationed in Fangzhou and Xiangzhou organized troops to resist, and at the same time flew to Jiangzhou to report that Shannan was in danger!
In early December, Huainan general Li Shenfu led 10,000 troops out of Shouzhou and captured Fuli. General Wang Maozhang led 20,000 troops and marched north to Xiapi. Xuanwu army Yang Shihou and Li Hui strode back to Xuzhou and urgently recruited.
With the support of various armies, the Xuanwu troops in the Huaisi area are gathering towards Xuzhou, preparing to start a battle with the Huainan troops.
In mid-December, Li Maozhen, the king of Qi who had just recovered his breath, led his troops south to attack Fengzhou with Guo Qiqi as his general. If Fengzhou was lost, it would be equivalent to cutting off the connection between Qinzhou and Henan, and Longyou's war horses would no longer be able to fight.
It cannot be transported to Xuanwu. Zhang Cunjing and Li Sian, who are in charge of Ma Zheng in Qinzhou at the same time, will also face the risk of supply interruption.
In late December, the fierce attack launched by the Hedong Army on Yicheng finally took effect. Li Siyuan's adopted son, Li Congke, known as the Xiaoyazi of Hedong, was the first to ascend and attacked the head of Yicheng with his sword. Zhu Yougong's troops could no longer hold on.
, abandoned the city and fled in embarrassment. The flag of the Hedong Army finally appeared under Jiangzhou City.
The atmosphere in Jiangzhou City suddenly became tense, and the civil and military generals were panicked. For many years, Xuanwu had never encountered such a critical situation. Could it be that the Xuanwu Army, which had been prosperous for more than ten years, was about to collapse?
At the end of December, a piece of news from Shangdang was like thunder on the ground, completely shocking the civil and military forces in Jiangzhou City. Lu Longjun defeated Gaoping in one battle, and the city was left alone. If the city was lost, the entire Zezhou would be destroyed.
If it will be lost, the Lulong and Hedong coalition forces can march southward to Taihang and threaten Dongdu!
Gaoping is such a fortified city, and Hou Yan is a well-known general in the Xuanwu Army. Even if they are defeated by Lu Long's cavalry in the field, 20,000 people are stationed in Gaoping. It should be a foolproof situation. How could it be lost? Even if Lu Long's army is indeed powerful.
He is strong, but behind Gao Ping there is He Delun in Zezhou City who can provide support at any time. Why did He Delun sit back and watch Gaoping fall?
Jingxiang waited anxiously for the follow-up news. It took another two days before Hedren's detailed military report was officially delivered. Jingxiang immediately started reading it impatiently. After reading for a long time, he frowned and remained silent for a long time.
He Delun said in the military newspaper that for several months, he and Hou Yan had been adhering to Ge Congzhou's strategy of joining the party, that is, using Gaoping as the front corner and Zezhou as the backing, giving full play to their military superiority, attacking steadily, and limiting the enemy.
Military and cavalry battles. Because Gaoping is an important town of Shangdang and extremely difficult to conquer, for several months, the Xuanwu Army successfully withstood the offensive of the Lulong Army and at the same time contained part of the Hedong Army. The battle line was secured to the south of Danzhu Ridge.
During this period, the Lulong Army attacked the city three times, and He Delun personally led a large army to reinforce it. They repelled the invading Lulong Army three times in a row and beheaded thousands of people.
He Delun described his military exploits in large sections in the military newspaper, which made Jingxiang very impatient, but he had to read on for fear of missing any information.
Immediately afterwards, the military report changed the subject. He Delun said that on December 15th, Gao Ping did not report to Zezhou as usual, so he himself very vigilantly sent a messenger to Gaoping to inquire. However, when the messenger came back, he said that he could not get closer.
Gaoping, surrounded by Lu Longcavalry, Gaoping has been surrounded.
Seeing this, Jingxiang quickly checked the military newspaper files in the Shangdang area. There were a total of eighteen military reports, eight of which mentioned the enemy's troop strength. The Hedong Army's troop strength was mentioned three times, both of which were between two thousand and two thousand.
Three thousand men, Jingxiang estimated that this was a real number. As for the strength of the Lu Long Army, it was mentioned seven times. Therefore, in Xuanwu's understanding, there is no doubt that the main force of the enemy's combat force in Shangdang is the Lu Long Army, and this is also the consensus.
In the military reports that mentioned the Lulong Army's strength, only the first time it was said to be in the thousands, and the other six times it was said to be more than 10,000 people. The exact number was never given an accurate range. However, the cavalry strength was clearly stated, roughly.
Around three thousand. Jingxiang followed General Xuanwu's habit of exaggerating and erased half of this number, and came up with a number that shocked him.
The total number of troops invested by the Lulong Army in the Shangdang area ranged from 5,000 to 7,000, including about 1,500 cavalry.
With only a few thousand men in Lu Longjun's hands, they dared to besiege Gaoping, who had tens of thousands of soldiers and a total strength of more than 20,000? Jingxiang was stunned for a moment, and then became furious, with a hint of sadness in his anger - when did it start?
, Lu Longjun showed such contempt when facing Xuanwu Army?
Suppressing his anger, Jingxiang turned around and continued to read Hedren's military report. He saw in the military report that after the messenger came back, Hedren immediately mobilized 10,000 troops to support Gaoping. However, halfway through, he encountered a group of people who had broken out from Gaoping.
He Delun had no choice but to collect the defeated troops, and then repelled Lu Long's pursuers three times in a row, beheading hundreds of people, and then steadily withdrew to Zezhou City.
Jingxiang was stunned again. Thousands of people besieged the fortified city with several times the strength and captured it in one day? How is this possible? So he speeded up, skipping the words He Delun described how he was not afraid of danger and stabilized the situation in Zezhou, and went directly
Find the reason.
According to reports from the defeated troops, after Gaoping was besieged, Hou Yan organized troops to defend the city and mobilized thousands of sergeants to prepare to leave the city to counterattack. However, suddenly the earth shook and the north gate of Gaoping collapsed with a loud noise. The morale of the troops was immediately shattered.
It collapsed. So Lu Longjun took the opportunity to enter with heavy armor and seized Gaoping.
So that's it... Jingxiang let out a long sigh. I've long heard that Lu Long's old coach Liu Rengong was good at digging tunnels, and I also heard that Li Chengzhong started his career following Liu Rengong. I guess he is also good at this, right? Could it be that... Li Chengzhong has reached the top?
party?
Thinking of this, Jingxiang immediately broke out in a cold sweat. If Li Chengzhong had indeed arrived at Shangdang, then the strength of the Lulong Army would not be the five thousand as he had estimated before. It is very likely that He Delun and Hou Yan's previous military reports were not adulterated as usual.
Moisture, and they even seriously underestimated the strength of the Lulong Army in the Shangdang area!
Thinking along this line of thought - Li Chengzhong arrived at Shangdang in person and gathered a large number of troops here. What did Lu Long's army want to do? Jingxiang understood Lu Long's intention at the first reaction: they were preparing to fully occupy Zezhou and send troops out of Taihang.
Entering the Eastern Capital!
If this is the case, then the strategic focus of the Xuanwu Army will immediately change. In addition to deploying troops from the Jinzhou battlefield to reinforce the Shangdang, Jingxiang felt that maybe he should try to suggest to the King of Liang that he should temporarily put aside the grudges of the past ten years.
In conclusion, the primary combat target is Lu Long.
Jingxiang continued to look down, preparing to find out about Hou Yan, the first witness to the battle at Gaoping. However, the military report ended there, leaving only one sentence at the end, saying that Hou Yan was missing and was working hard to search.
Could it be that Hou Yan died in the battle? Jingxiang felt quite troubled. If all the important generals like Hou Yan died in this battle, it would definitely be a rare shame for the Xuanwu Army in recent years.
Jingxiang immediately drafted an official document, asking He Delun to search for Hou Yan with all his strength. He wanted to see the person alive and the body after death. He must be found and find out the details of Gao Ping's disappearance. Of course, the most important thing was to know if Li Chengzhong was there.
Appeared at the foot of Gaoping City.
The official document was sealed with wax and rushed to Shangdang at an 800-mile speed. It only took two days to reach Zezhou. However, less than a day after the messenger set out, He Delun's second urgent military report was delivered to Jingxiang.
's desk.
Jingxiang unfolded it and swayed, trying not to faint and fall to the ground.
Hou Yan has surrendered! This is the first general to surrender to the enemy in Xuanwu in the past five years!
The absent-minded Jingxiang suppressed his anxious thoughts and finished reading the general report. However, He Delun's determination to defend Zezhou resolutely, not to lose an inch of territory, and to defend Dongdu and Pingfan in the north of Bianzhou to the death made Jingxiang no matter what.
He couldn't muster the confidence. Of course, he still tried his best to send an official document to Hedron to encourage his fighting spirit, and announced that he would quickly mobilize troops to support him, telling Hedren to hold Zezhou.
After the official document was sent, Jingxiang felt powerless. He was almost certain that there was at least a 90% chance that King Yan Li Chengzhong had arrived at Shangdang, and the Lu Long Army's next combat goal was naturally self-evident.
Dongdu is in danger, Bianzhou is in danger, Xuanwu is in danger!
In addition to the serious threat from the Lulong Army, Jingxiang also thought of the sharp front of the Hedong Army, the Fengxiang Army taking advantage of the situation, the Xichuan Army and the Jingnan Army marching north hand in hand, and the Huainan Army's troops entering Xuzhou... The land of Henan is in turmoil.
…
Your Highness, we can no longer wait and see! This was what Jingxiang thought from the bottom of his heart. He immediately stood up, took Hedron's two military reports and rushed towards Xingzai.
The King of Liang still claimed to be ill and was missing, so Jingxiang sternly asked the guards on duty to send He Delun's official documents in while he waited outside.
After waiting for a long time, the guard on duty finally came out and summoned: "Your Majesty, Your Highness is in the study."
Jingxiang nodded, took a deep breath to calm himself down, and then followed the guards inward.
King Liang rolled up a blanket and sat on the desk chair. He pointed at the embroidered pier beside him, asked Jingxiang to sit down, and ordered someone to make tea.
Jingxiang leaned over and sat down, looked at King Liang's complexion, and saw that King Liang's face looked a little haggard. He knew that King Liang was not really ill, and that the discomfort was probably caused by a heart disease. He didn't know either.
King Liang hid for a month without seeing anyone. What was he thinking about? Jingxiang even speculated that maybe King Liang was actually waiting and watching during this month.
The scene of the military meeting in the festival hall that day reappeared in Jingxiang's mind. He could understand the anger and sadness of King Liang that day. As a big man with imperial ambitions, he suddenly discovered that his generals had the heart to be independent.
No matter what, I won't be happy.
But no matter what, Jingxiang must persuade King Liang today. Only when King Liang accepts his strategy can Xuanwu, a vassal town that has finally developed into the world's hegemony, not be disintegrated, and this group can take a further step!