Chapter 72: The fire of war is temporarily extinguished
On the south bank of Yongzhou, on the Yun Army's position, military drums rang out, stimulating the morale of the army. Crossbowmen, crossbow carts, and catapults all fired at the same time. Arrows rained and rocks fell continuously, heading straight towards the other bank.
At the Xia Army camp on the other side, the counterattack was very weak at this time.
On the surface of the Yongjiang River, the Leizhou navy, which had been blocking the river for this period of time and preventing Di Qing from reaching the other side, only resisted briefly, then turned the bow of the ship and headed southeast down the river to retreat to Leizhou.
.
Countless Yun troops took boats, crossed the Yong River, and finally completely captured the Wuzhou camp that had blocked them for more than several months.
Just looking at the messy empty camp in front of them, the faces of the generals of the Yun Army were a little ugly, and they all said to Di Qing:
"Commander, look at the traces, it hasn't been a few days since the Xia army withdrew!"
"Please give the commander-in-chief's order to send the cavalry to chase and kill!"
"Commander, the last general is willing to lead the troops!"
"..."
Now among the several armies of the Yun Kingdom, Anbei General Cheng Bushi's troops captured Jiangyang County, Shicheng County Wu Zixu defeated the Xia Kingdom's southwestern frontier army and captured Dejiang County, and Andong General Yang Dayan destroyed the Li Dynasty navy in one battle and forced it to land in Li Dynasty.
They are both famous all over the world and powerful in all directions.
Only their Yongzhou army has the most soldiers and the strongest combat power. However, for several months, because of the obstruction of the Yongjiang River, the Yun army, without naval assistance, could only station on the south bank. In addition to killing those
The more than 3,000 Xia troops who attacked and killed Di Qing did not achieve any glorious results except for the fine cavalry of Beisei.
After finally reaching the other side, they found that the Xia army had already withdrawn, leaving only an empty camp for them.
This result made the generals of the Yongzhou camp, who were already filled with depression because of the previous military turmoil in the camp and the stoppage of the Yongjiang River in the past few months, become even more excited, and they all asked for war and wanted to lead the troops.
Chase and kill to relieve the pent-up indignation and resentment in the army for months!
At this time, when Di Qing heard the invitations from his generals to fight, he looked solemn, shook his head and refused:
"The Xia army did not flee, but evacuated in an orderly manner. The Xia army's commander, Deyang Hou Qimo, I have fought against for several months, but I can only see that he fought with a certain degree of advance and retreat, and was very organized. Presumably, he must have arranged a back-up plan when he evacuated.
If our army pursues it rashly, we are just afraid that it will fall into Xia’s army’s plan and cause more damage!”
The Marquis of Deyang of the Xia State was extremely careful in arranging his troops, advanced and retreated in a measured manner, and was decisive and courageous. He is worthy of being a famous general in the world.
Although he personally led the troops to besiege Di Qing before, because all the plans were understood by Xiao Cheng, he almost died in the rebel army. But when the two armies faced off later, even if they faced a being like Di Qing, for several months
However, they were able to hold their position firmly, preventing the Yun army from attacking the north bank.
With such an existence, Di Qing would not think that there would be any back-up arrangements when he evacuated!
Seeing the indignation on the faces of the generals, Di Qing softened his expression and said warmly:
"Your Majesty, in the hope that our army will fight abroad, has issued a decree to reward the army. Now that Wuzhou has been captured, it will take a few days to reorganize the troops and horses. The wine, meat and money needed by the laboring army will arrive soon, so we must give it to the soldiers below.
Let’s take a rest!”
Xiao Cheng issued an order to reward the army on New Year's Eve, but he was still fighting before that, so it has been postponed until today.
Di Qing paused and then said:
"And this time, the Wuzhou camp was captured, and all the officers and men died in service. Once the results of the battle have been accomplished, I will also report to His Majesty, and the DPRK will approve it..."
Hearing that there was no shortage of food, wine, gold and silver, and rewards for meritorious deeds from the imperial court, although the generals still had a sense of resentment in their brows, they finally calmed down a little.
Seeing this, Di Qing looked around at the generals, his expression turned serious, and he said with a sharp voice:
"Now that Wuzhou has fallen into the hands of our army, Xia State's Hechi County no longer has any key points to guard. After a few days of repairs, the army dispersed and took over the cities and towns in Hechi County, imposing temporary military control and restoring order. Waiting for officials to be dispatched from the DPRK, and then officially
Hand over people's livelihood... Wherever the army goes, there will be no offense in the autumn. Anyone who violates military orders and disturbs the people will be killed!"
At this time, Di Qing first offered rewards, and then made it clear that the military regulations strictly prohibited large armies from intruding on the local area. This was obviously an intentional arrangement.
The people in the southwest of Xia Kingdom, because of the plague, most of them did not resist surrendering to Yun Kingdom.
This people's support is hard-won. It was gained by the government spending a lot of manpower and material resources. It must not be lost just because the army disturbed the place! Especially next to it, there is Xiangzhou County, which expelled Xia officials and established self-governance for the villagers, watching secretly.
Although Di Qing came to the Yongzhou camp not long ago, the corpses of the generals who originally planned the mutiny and his performance in running the army during this period have already given him enough prestige.
After his warning, the generals immediately looked serious, cupped their fists and cupped their hands and said:
"I will obey the Commander-in-Chief's orders!"
--------------------------
In the Dejiang County Mansion, Wu Zixu looked at a scholar standing in the hall and lowered his eyebrows.
The person in front of me has a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, and a cunning aura about him. He looks very much like a dog-headed military advisor to a bandit.
In fact, this person's profession is really not that different.
Lu Xingxian, the Shaoyang County Commander-in-Chief, is now the deputy of Shaoyang County Commander-in-Chief Murong Fu, and is temporarily in charge of clerical and political affairs.
Lu Xingxian looked at Wu Zixu, who still looked young even though his hair was half white. A trace of envy flashed in his eyes.
The Emperor of Yun State appointed talents and talents, and only valued talents and learning, regardless of origin or age.
Wu Zixu, the Wu Zixu in front of him, was only thirty years old, and he was able to command a large army, and thus had the opportunity to become famous in the world in one battle. All the ambitious scholars in the world could not help but yearn for him.
If such a king had decisively gone to Yun State to participate in the imperial examination, would he be able to achieve something now?
"Shaoyang County Commander-in-Chief Lu Xingxian?" Wu Zixu asked in a deep voice.
Lu Xingxian came back to his senses slightly, gathered his thoughts, and immediately leaned over and bowed, saying:
"Lu Xingxian, I have met Mr. Wu!"
Wu Zixu smiled slightly and said:
"Your General Murong sent you here, but you admire me as the King of Dayun and want to join you?"
When Lu Xingxian heard this, he immediately showed admiration and said:
"Master Wu is really powerful. He can see what my general is thinking at a glance!"
"The court of the Xia Kingdom treats the common people as nothing, and my general has long been dissatisfied. But before, Xia Kingdom's forces were everywhere, and he had to bear the humiliation for the sake of the big plan! Now, the Heavenly Soldiers of Dayun have arrived, and my general is determined to bring order to the chaos, so I have specially ordered me to come and explain.
Gentle!"
After Murong Fu rejected Ju Meng's proposal and sent troops to respond to the Yun Kingdom's army's suggestion, the people inside Niangan Department had concluded that Murong Fu could not be trusted and cut off all ties with him.
After Murong Fu discovered that the forces at Sticky Gate were hidden, he didn't take it seriously at first. After all, the Xia State was strong and separated by Dejiang and Hechi counties, so it was impossible for the Yun army to attack Shaoyang County in one go.
Who would have thought that in just a few months, the situation in the southwestern part of the Xia Kingdom would have collapsed, and the six counties would have been reduced to four counties. The two armies of the Yun Kingdom had already arrived near his Shaoyang County, and an encirclement was about to begin.
momentum.
The Xia State, on the other hand, was urging him to send troops to resist the Yun State army, and at the same time, it was hurriedly dispatching troops and horses to take over the defense of various parts of Shaoyang County. One look at this posture, and it was clear that they wanted to swallow up his power in one go.
mean.
In front of him was the army of the Yun State, which was in full swing and unable to resist. Behind him was King Xia Guoqi, who was eyeing him with evil intentions. In this case, how could Murong Fu sit still? Without saying a word, he immediately dispatched the recently recruited scholar Zilu under his command.
Xingxian came and secretly contacted the Yun Kingdom army, hoping to get a chance of survival for himself!
After Wu Zixu heard Lu Xingxian's words, he nodded casually and said:
"In this case, what does your General Murong want to do?"
When Lu Xingxian heard this, he immediately became energetic and said quickly:
"Now the Xia army wants to use Wuling Mansion and Yongzhou in Shaoyang County as its base to mobilize large armies to strengthen defense in an attempt to resist the Dayun Tianbing. I, General, want to invite Mr. Wu to join us and capture Wuling Mansion by coordinating internal and external cooperation.
Welcome the Dayuntian soldiers into Shaoyang County!"
When Wu Zixu heard this, he raised his eyebrows and said in a deep voice:
"I would like to ask directly, what does your General Murong want?"
Wu Zixu obviously didn't believe what he said about admiring Wang Hua!
The fact that Murong Fu was born in the Yun Kingdom and once worked for Xiao Cheng was also a secret of Nianganzhu, so naturally Wu Zixu didn't know about it.
Therefore, in Wu Zixu's view, Murong Fu was a very resourceful man. He took advantage of the turmoil in the southwest and took advantage of the situation. Later, he was recruited by the Xia Kingdom and became the actual controller of Shaoyang County.
For such a person to dare to make small moves at this time, it is obviously impossible for him to truly join in!
Hearing Wu Zixu's culture, Lu Xingxian hesitated slightly, remained silent for a while, then gritted his teeth and said:
"Your Excellency is wise! My general wants to serve His Majesty the Emperor Dayun and guard Shaoyang County forever to resist the Xia Kingdom's invasion!"
Upon hearing this, Wu Zixu suddenly fell silent.
After a long time, he just said in a strange tone:
"Why does your general have this idea?"
Hearing this, Lu Xingxian's face turned slightly red.
Even he himself found this request a bit unreasonable.
Why would his general take it for granted that Yun Jun would help him drive away Xia Jun and then hand over the entire Shaoyang County to him?
At this time, Lu Xingxian's eyes were a little wandering, he lowered his head and said:
"My general has made preparations. He will immediately open the gate of Wuling Mansion as soon as Mr. Wu arrives with his troops. At that time, the Xia army will have no place to defend, and even Yongzhou will have to abandon its defense. At that time, it will only be Shaoyang.
The counties, not even Anshun County, and even Jiangcheng Mansion cannot be defended, and the entire hinterland of the Xia Kingdom is at the mercy of His Majesty Emperor Dayun to take whatever he wants."
"His Majesty Emperor Dayun was able to defeat the Xia Kingdom and become the hero of the world. Your Majesty, you are powerful in the world and become a famous general in the world. You have high officials and nobles under your control. My General Murong can also serve in the Dayun Kingdom. Working together, everyone will get what he deserves.
Please. Wouldn’t it be beautiful if this were the case?”
Now Xia Kingdom's second southwest defense line is Xingyuan Prefecture, Wuling Prefecture, and Yongzhou, with Jiangcheng Prefecture as the center to resist the Yun army's attack. If Wuling Prefecture is breached, there will be a loophole in this line of defense, and Xia State's entire
It is possible to abandon all of the southwest, and even allow the Yun army to invade the hinterland of Xia.
Of course, all of this is only possible under the smoothest circumstances.
After all, not all the people in the Xia Kingdom are incompetent and mediocre!
The most likely scenario is that Wuling Mansion was defeated, but due to the lack of troops under Wu Zixu's command, it was difficult to occupy the entire Shaoyang County at the first time. The other two Yun armies were not allowed to follow up immediately, and the Xia army, which had withdrawn from Wuzhou, chose to resist desperately.
.In the end, the war between Yun State and Xia State, which had calmed down slightly, continued to fall into a tug of war.
Thinking of this, Wu Zixu's eyes suddenly flashed, and he couldn't help but show some struggle and hesitation.
He has a family feud, and what he thinks about every moment is to lead troops to attack Jinling City. So at this time, the choice he wants to make the most is to take a gamble. If he can succeed,
, then the Xia Kingdom will definitely be severely weakened and its defeat will be accelerated. The day when his family's revenge will be avenged is not far away.
But in his rational mind, he kept telling Wu Zixu that the chance of success of this method was too small!
Even though the Yun Kingdom seems to be invincible, its military is at its peak, and the world is bowing its head, in fact, even if the newly acquired four states of Yongzhou and the four southwest counties are included, the national strength of the Yun Kingdom is far away.
Not as good as Xia Kingdom.
In terms of population, the Xia Kingdom has a large population, more than three times that of the Yun Kingdom. In terms of territory, the Xia Kingdom occupies all the richest lands in the world. It has a vast territory and is larger than the four Yun Kingdoms combined. There is a gap between the national power of a small country and a big country.
The gap cannot be changed overnight. If it really falls into a long-term war, Yun Guo will definitely not be able to hold on!
Lu Xingxian didn't know why Wu Zixu was so entangled at this time, so he just continued to persuade:
"If Mr. Wu can say a kind word for our general in front of His Majesty Emperor Dayun, my general will be able to offer you a generous gift!"
At this time, Wu Zixu came back to his senses. Hearing Lu Xingxian's words, he raised his head and stared at him for a while, then suddenly laughed.
The original hesitation in his eyes disappeared at this time, and was replaced by a hint of ridicule.
In the current situation, whether the Xia army consolidates its defense line or the Yun army invades Shaoyang County, Murong Fu, who took advantage of the chaos, will definitely not be able to continue to occupy Shaoyang County!
If he makes up his mind to join any party in Yunxia and Xia, he will not lose his wealth and title. But if he still can't see the situation clearly at this time, it is just a fool's dream to think that he can maintain power between Yunxia and Xia!
Putting the hope of seizing Wuling County on such a person, when I calm down and think about it, I feel very ridiculous!
With their IQs, maybe these small actions at this time will be seen by Xia Guo. Don't let Xia Guo play a trick again...
Thinking of this, Wu Zixu shook his head slightly and was too lazy to continue talking to Lu Xingxian. He raised his hands in the direction of Zhongqing City and said:
"Although I am very excited, unfortunately, I have received your Majesty's imperial decree some time ago, and the army has suspended the offensive. Your Majesty has issued an express decree, and I will not be able to disobey it. So, please come back!"
Lu Xingxian was shocked when he saw that Wu Zixu, who was still hesitating just now, suddenly changed his attitude and said quickly:
"Master Wu, we can discuss this matter again!"
Even if he doesn't give the entire Shaoyang County, but a few cities as rewards, he can go back and do business. Wu Zixu's flat refusal is really hard to understand!
"My general is really interested in serving the Dayun Kingdom. Mr. Wu, if you continue..."
Wu Zixu, however, was too lazy to bother and signaled his soldiers to take him away.
After driving the people away, Wu Zixu pondered for a while, then stood up and went to the desk. He wrote down all the pros and cons of today's matter on the memorial, then called his soldiers and asked:
"Hurry and send this secret document back to the capital and present it to His Majesty!"
"Yes, sir!"
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
There is one more chapter, probably a little later...