On the surface of the Yangtze River, more than a dozen Xia warships, fully loaded with elite soldiers, were sailing upstream, cutting through the waves, and heading towards Chaisang City at a very fast speed.
As for the warship at the head of this fleet, there were flags with the words "Marquis Wu of Raoyang County" and "General Wu of the Right" hanging on it.
The Xia Kingdom's warship was flying such a flag again. It was obvious that the people in the boat were none other than Raoyang Marquis and Wu Zhengping of Xia Kingdom, who had led his troops to defeat the Turkic army two years ago and thus shocked the world!
Two years ago, due to his military exploits, he was promoted to General Right, one of the four generals of the Xia Kingdom. Even his title was promoted from Tinghou to County Marquis.
After that, Wu Zhengping was transferred back to Jinling City and was responsible for sitting in the middle of the court and organizing military training.
The Xia State was able to train two to three hundred thousand elite soldiers in just two years because of this man!
At this time, the reason why Wu Zhengping appeared in Yicheng County was because the battle reports on the front line were sent back to Jinling City. The Xia Kingdom already knew that the situation on the front line was extremely tense and difficult.
In order to defend the crucial city of Chaisang, the Xia court reacted very quickly and quickly asked Wu Zhengping, who was training soldiers and horses in Dangtu, an important place in Gyeonggi Province, to immediately lead his troops from Dangtu and march to the waterway for reinforcements.
At this time, Wu Zhengping, wearing armor, dismissed the soldiers around him and came to the deck with only one person.
And the person behind him is quite famous in the Xia Kingdom.
It was Yun Kaige who served under Wu Zhengping and led troops to raid the Turkic camp from the rear, thus laying the opportunity for a great victory and achieving great feats!
During the past two years, Yun Kaige was ordered to lead his troops to clear out the rebels in Hailing County and Zhang Shicheng's troops.
Although Zhang Shicheng had the secret support of Yun State, he was unable to compete with the elite Xia army in the north. In the past two years, he had been retreating steadily, and his territory was beaten down to the last one or two counties.
He was about to wipe out the rebels, but in the end, because he acted domineeringly and did not know how to restrain his edge, he made the soldiers of various counties dissatisfied. Chen Youliang took advantage of him, which directly led to the defeat of the Xia army. The four counties of Qi fell into the hands of the thieves, and the situation in the southeast of Xia State was completely
corrupt.
With such a huge defeat, Yun Kaige would naturally be punished, and his military title would be directly deprived of him.
But after all, he is the only master in the land of gods and celestial beings in the Xia Kingdom. Naturally, he cannot be abandoned.
This time Wu Zhengping was ordered to rush to the aid of Chaisang City, so he specifically requested an order to let Yun Kaige return to serve under his command in order to make up for his mistakes.
Perhaps due to the blow of Hailing County's defeat, the sharp edge of Yun Kaige's body in the past has been greatly reduced, and his aura has become deeper and more dignified.
Wu Zhengping looked at Yun Kaige's aura, nodded slightly, and said with appreciation:
"I thought you would be demoralized by the defeat, but now it seems that I am overly worried!"
Yun Kaige lowered his head slightly and said in a deep voice:
"Previously, the general was too sharp, and he didn't know the principle of "too much is too much". Although I feel deeply ashamed of this defeat, I also have a lot of insights, and even my martial arts cultivation has improved a little because of it."
I have to say that Yun Kaige is truly a born warrior!
At the age of less than thirty, his martial arts skills are already the best in the world. After being promoted in the world and the world changed drastically, he took advantage of the situation and entered the realm of land gods.
If other people encountered a big defeat, they would be demoralized, lose all their edge, and no longer have the enterprising spirit of the past. On the contrary, he had a lot of enlightenment, eliminated the excess edge of the past, and improved his martial arts.
Wu Zhengping smiled again, patted his shoulder and comforted:
"Now in the southeast, the rebels Zhang Shicheng and Chen Youliang have become entangled because of the competition for Langya prefectures and counties. They are wary of each other and have constant friction. The current chariot general, General Dong, has personally gone to take charge."
"That Chen Youliang has secretly contacted the court, saying that he was just being coerced and now wants to abandon the dark side and turn to the bright side. And Zhang Shicheng, because the Hailing County where he raised his army was in a state of corruption, was unable to compete with Chen Youliang, so he frequently showed his favor to the court.
.”
"In this way, we can take advantage of the conflict between the two thieves and consume the forces of both sides first. Once the troops from the front line are dispatched to suppress it, the southeast can be pacified. You don't have to worry too much!"
Hearing this, Yun Kaige frowned slightly and said in a deep voice:
"Chen Youliang... At first, the general thought that this man was capable of commanding troops, had high martial arts skills, and was quite talented, so he valued him very much. However, after the defeat, when he carefully thought about his past words and deeds, he found that he was deeply scheming and extremely good at playing tricks.
He uses power and tactics to do things both ways, but his nature is extremely sinister."
Having said this, Yun Kaige paused and said firmly:
"This person cannot be trusted and must be guarded against!"
When Wu Zhengping heard this, he laughed, shook his head and said:
"Betraying the imperial court, what do you think will happen to him?"
Hearing this, Yun Kaige nodded and said nothing more.
Wu Zhengping looked at the surging river ahead and said:
"As for the military title you lost, just follow me and get it back on the battlefield!"
His tone at this time was calm and collected, not like he was motivating others at all, but like he was telling the truth.
The generals of Xia State feared the Yun State army as much as tigers. To him, it seemed that there was nothing worth fearing.
Confidence and pride come from the front.
Yun Kaige's eyes lit up, his spirit perked up, and he immediately held up his hands and said:
"yes!"
But at this moment, a speedboat suddenly appeared on the river ahead, flying a red flag symbolizing an urgent military situation, and sailed down the river.
At this time, Wu Zhengping happened to see this warship, which was responsible for conveying urgent military information. His brows suddenly stood up, and he immediately pointed forward and said:
"Urgent military information! It must have come from the front line. Send someone quickly to ask for it!"
"Yes!" Yun Kaige responded quickly and left in a hurry.
Among the fleet, a clipper came forward, and with the help of Wu Zhengping's command seal and military command talisman, he learned the latest military reports from the front line.
"Master Marquis, urgent military report from the front line!"
"The Yun Army relied on the advantage of its navy to defeat the Jinling Navy stationed in Chaisang City. Then it crossed the Yangtze River and made a surprise attack on Ruichang County, cutting off the Qichang Prefecture's army's retreat route. Then it sent troops to storm Chaisang City. Chaisang City
The city was depleted of troops, and after holding on for three days, it fell into the hands of Yun's army."
"The remaining defeated troops have fled into Yuzhang County. Lieutenant General Sun Qianfang has collected the defeated troops and led 70,000 men under his command. He has abandoned the rest of Yuzhang County and defends Hongzhou City, the county capital, waiting for the army to counterattack!"
Hearing this, Wu Zhengping's face couldn't help but look ugly.
Chaisang City was actually lost!
Why was the Yun army's offensive so fast?
Because they knew that the battle between the two countries was coming, all the troops on the front line were well prepared.
Only two days after Yun State officially launched its troops, Jinling City had already received the news and immediately ordered Wu Zhengping to lead his troops to rush for reinforcements.
Wu Zhengping immediately abandoned his baggage and supplies, and only led 4,000 elite troops from his headquarters to rush for reinforcements. Within five days, he had reached Dongzhi County, Yicheng County, and was only one day away from Chaisang City.
The reaction before and after is already quite fast!
But even so, the Yun army was able to defeat Panlong Water Village in less than ten days, surrounded Qichang City, attacked Ruichang County, and stormed Chaisang City.
On Xia Jun's side, before he even had time to react, he lost the throat of the Yangtze River to Yun Guo.
The Yun Army's army was so sharp, and the Yun Army's general was so bold in using his troops, even Wu Zhengping, who had a high self-esteem, couldn't help but take a breath at this moment...
——
The Chaisang City in front of us is surrounded by water on three sides, with the Yangtze River in the north, Baishui Lake in the east, and Jingxing Lake in the west. In the southeast, there are many mountains and hills, and the terrain is dangerous, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.
The Xia army built a fortress here, standing side by side with Xiaochikou on the north bank of the Yangtze River and Hukou County to the east of Chaisang City, forming horns with each other. By sticking to this city, they could easily gather together through the Yangtze River veins and Poyang Lake waterways.
The two counties of Xunyang and Yuzhang have no shortage of manpower and material resources, food, grass, weapons, and young men!
If most of the Xia army is really allowed to calmly withdraw here and store up heavy troops to defend it, no matter how brave and elite the Yun army is, they won't be able to win it by storming for two or three months.
However, because the Jinling Navy stationed here had been defeated, the Yun army could use the Yangtze River waterway to calmly mobilize heavy troops from the rear to attack the city.
Moreover, due to the lack of troops in the city, there had been no reinforcements for a long time. Chaisang City, which was easy to defend and difficult to attack, was completely defeated by the Yun army before it could even defend for three days.
At this time, the damaged city gate opened to welcome the arrival of the Yun Kingdom army.
The soldiers of the Yun Army poured into the city, took over the city's defenses, cleared away the remnants of the Xia Army, established a list of people, and imposed martial law on the city... After the entire process, the entire Chaisang City was completely in their hands!
Surrounded by his own soldiers, Wu Zixu rode his horse to the city gate.
The vanguard generals of the Yun Army, who had been waiting for a long time, saw Wu Zixu's arrival and all bowed their hands in salute.
"Commander, all important government agencies in Xunyang County have been taken over by our army. The county governor's official seal, household register, archives, and warehouse keys are all here!"
Next to these generals of the Yun Army, there were also a group of local officials of the Xia State who had been captured by the Yun Army before they had time to evacuate. They were all escorted here, waiting for the fate of Wu Zixu, the commander-in-chief of the army.
Wu Zixu sat on the horse, looked down at the Xia officials who were being escorted by the Yun army, and then said in a deep voice:
"I want to appease the people and keep the affairs of the city running, so I need manpower. Is there anyone who knows the current affairs and is willing to abandon the dark side and turn to the bright side?"
"My Majesty, Emperor Dayun, has a reputation of loving people and understanding people. If you sincerely serve me, you will be of great use!"
Although the Yun State court had already reserved enough talents to support the operation of conquering the city.
But these officials of the Xia State are familiar with each other. If someone can understand current affairs, fully cooperate with the Yun State court and take over Xunyang County, a lot of unnecessary troubles will definitely be reduced!
After hearing Wu Zixu's words, the detained Xia officials subconsciously looked at their colleagues around them, then lowered their heads again and remained silent.
Only a middle-aged man in his forties with a strong and solemn face suddenly stood up at this time, with a livid face, and shouted angrily:
"You and I have agreed to stop fighting and make peace. But today, the Yun State has invaded without any reason, occupied our territory, ravaged the prefectures and counties, tortured the people, and reignited the war..."
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a Yunjun soldier standing nearby. He frowned and stepped forward quickly, kicking the man to the ground.
Even though the middle-aged Xia official was kicked down and fell to the ground, there was still anger on his face, and he struggled and shouted:
"The evil desires and ambitions in Yun Ren's heart are now fully exposed. How dare you have the audacity to surrender!"
The officers and soldiers of the Yun army on the side were furious when they heard this. They pulled out their swords from their waists and killed these rebellious and arrogant people on the spot.
But before they could start killing people, Wu Zixu, who was riding on the horse, slightly raised his whip and signaled the Yun army soldiers to stop.
At this time, he was not angry at all because of these words, and he did not even look at this Xia official who spoke fiercely and looked determined to die.
Instead, he looked away and glanced at the remaining Xia officials who continued to lower their heads and remained silent.
Then the corners of Wu Zixu's mouth curved slightly, revealing a smile.
In this world, there are so few people who can face life and death calmly!
Otherwise, if all these captured officials were those who vowed not to surrender, they should all follow this person at this time and angrily curse Yun Guo for raising troops to invade, which is an unreasonable violence.
At this time, the remaining officials of the Xia Kingdom still just lowered their heads and remained silent, with a hint of retreat. This was in sharp contrast to the middle-aged officials who looked indignant, shouted, and spoke impassionedly!
Wu Zixu knew very well that the reason why these Xia officials did not take the initiative or refuse when faced with his offer to surrender was that they did not want to be the first to take refuge in the Yun State and ruin their reputation.
Or maybe it's just because they haven't found an honest reason to convince themselves to surrender!
Thinking of this, Wu Zixu stopped asking questions, but pointed at these captured officials and said directly to the deputy general beside him:
"Single out all the officials of the Xia State who have their families around them, and ask them to cooperate with the army to take over Chaisang City. Anyone who disobeys, violates the rules in disguise, or neglects government affairs will be punished by their families!"
"The rest of the people will be escorted to the capital of Jiangling and handed over to His Majesty for your disposal!"
As soon as this was said, almost all the detained Xia officials breathed a sigh of relief.
The officials of Xia State, who had no family members, felt relieved knowing that they would not be killed by Yun's army today.
And those who have families have found reasons for themselves to surrender to the military front of the Yun Kingdom!
We are family members who were detained. We had no choice but to bear the war on the people in the city, so we were forced to obey the Yun people. We are not disloyal and unjust people!
At this time, only the middle-aged official was still cursing, and then the Yun Army soldiers who really took the trouble found a rag and stuffed it into his mouth, and then he was clean...
After the Yun army captured Chaisang City, the entire Xunyang County no longer had any force that could stop the Yun army.
As for Yuzhang County in the south, there is no dangerous place to hold on to. The Yun army can use the Poyang Lake waterway to directly attack Hongzhou, the capital of Yuzhang County, and completely occupy Yuzhang County at any time.
As soon as Wu Zixu started this battle, he aimed to capture Jinling City, the capital of Xia Kingdom.
At this time, Wu Zixu's troops were only separated from the Xia Kingdom's capital by Yicheng County...
