Liu Mian, the chief lieutenant of the Lu State Military Department, then said to Emperor Jiang Sheng: "Your Majesty, at present, in the border area close to Zhezhou and Fuzhou of the Jin Kingdom, our military department has arranged two main army corps and four ordinary army corps, once there is any change in the battle situation in the southeast of the Jin Kingdom, these six army corps will go to the battlefield in the southeast of the Jin State at any time. ”

Emperor Jiang Sheng thought about it for a moment and asked, "Captain Liu, the new batch of five ordinary legions, can we fight now?" ”

Liu Mian, the captain of the military department, nodded slightly and said: "Your Majesty, although the combat effectiveness of the five newly formed ordinary legions is worse than that of the previous ordinary legions, these five newly formed ordinary legions have been reorganized for nearly half a year, and even if they are pulled into the battlefield now, there should not be too much of a problem." ”

Emperor Jiang Sheng immediately said: "Then all these five newly formed ordinary legions will be dispatched to the border near Zhezhou and Fuzhou of the Jin Kingdom, since the formation of that Liu Ji, the Broken Army has not tasted a defeat so far, we must not be careless when fighting with the Broken Army, it is better to prepare more troops!" ”

At this time, Zhang Xiang, the commander of the Black Butterfly, opened his mouth and asked: "Your Majesty, now that the southeast wing army of the Jin State has retreated to Suzhou, the focus of our Lu State attack next, is it Suzhou guarded by the southeast wing army, or Suzhou and Hangzhou, which are about to be occupied by the broken army?" ”

Emperor Jiang Sheng pondered for a moment and asked Liu Mian, the chief lieutenant of the military department, "Taiwei Liu, what do you think our Lu State should do next?" ”

Liu Mian, the chief lieutenant of the military department, immediately said: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that after our Lu army has completely captured Qiongzhou and Lianzhou, we should concentrate on dealing with the broken army first, and as for the southeast wing army in Suzhou, there is no need to worry. ”

Emperor Jiang Sheng shook his head and said: "I think that our Lu army should pursue the southeast Xiang army by victory, after all, the Broken Army and the Southeast Xiang Army are both the army of the Jin State, once our Lu Army lets the Southeast Xiang Army alone, the Southeast Xiang Army is likely to insert a knife in the back of our Lu State Army when our Lu State army and the Broken Army are decisive, so I feel that we should send some troops into the territory of Suzhou now, even if we can't completely defeat the Southeast Xiang Army, we must contain the Southeast Xiang Army in Suzhou, Let the southeast wing army lack skills, and it will not be able to add chaos to our Lu country. ”

As soon as Liu Mian, the chief lieutenant of the military department, heard Emperor Jiang Sheng's words, he immediately changed his words and said: "Your Majesty is wise, but the ministers are a little ill-considered, how many troops does Your Majesty think should be sent to Suzhou?" ”

Emperor Jiang Sheng asked, "How many troops can the Southeast Xiang Army have in Suzhou?" ”

Zhang Xiang, the commander of the Black Butterfly next to him, replied: "Your Majesty, there should be three or four million people in the Southeast Xiang Army at present, but most of them are new soldiers, and their combat effectiveness can be said to be not strong. ”

Emperor Jiang Sheng touched his chin again and said, "Then mobilize two main legions and three ordinary legions, enter the territory of Suzhou first, and try the water!" ”

On the evening of November 12, 432 of the Great Jin Dynasty, in a study room in the Governor's Mansion in Jianyang City, Suzhou, Zhang Mingqi, the governor of the southeast, said to the strategist Tang Yan and Fan Dongying, the deputy commander of the First Legion, Yuan Tianba, the deputy head of the Praetorian Guard Legion, and Liu Fengbao, the commander of the Fourth Legion, in a lonely voice: "How many people are left in the seven legions now? ”

At this time, the First Army, the Fourth Army and the Praetorian Guard Army of the Southeast Xiang Army were all gathered in Jianyang City, the capital of Suzhou, and the other four army corps were divided into various counties and counties in Suzhou.

Fan Dongying, the deputy commander of the First Legion, sighed and said, "Lord, six of the twelve guards of our First Legion can be said to have been wiped out, and the strength of the other six guards combined, there are less than 500,000 people left. ”

Yuan Tianba, the deputy commander of the Praetorian Guard Legion, continued: "My lord, the situation of our Praetorian Guard Legion is better, only the loss of the three Wei Cheng formations has been lost, and the remaining nine Wei have a total of more than 800,000 people, which should have been more, but on the way to Suzhou, there are more than 100,000 recruits who have deserted halfway. ”

Liu Fengbao, the commander of the Fourth Legion, said in a mournful voice: "Lord, there are not many people in my Fourth Legion, most of the recruits who were replenished before fled on the way to Suzhou, and now although the eight guards of the Fourth Legion are all there, they add up to less than 300,000 people, alas——"

Strategist Tang Yan finally said: "My lord, there are about 350,000 people left in the Second Legion, about 400,000 in the Third Legion, and only 450,000 in the Fifth Legion and the Sixth Legion combined. ”

Zhang Mingqi said with a gloomy face: "After so many years of hard work, it can be regarded as a waste of work. ”

Strategist Tang Yan said comfortingly: "Lord, our southeast Xiang army still has a chance, the troops of the Broken Army in the southwestern states have almost occupied Suzhou and Hangzhou, and the Lu army is about to complete the occupation of Qiongzhou and Lianzhou, so that the two sides will inevitably break out into a fierce battle, our Southeast Xiang Army only needs to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, wait for the Broken Army and the Lu Army to be defeated, and then recapture the other six states in the southeast." ”

Zhang Mingqi hesitated for a moment and asked the strategist Tang Yan, "Mr. Tang, is it true that the army of the Lu State will not enter Suzhou?" ”

Strategist Tang Yan swore and said: "Rest assured, the millions of troops of the Broken Army are now heading straight for the southeast, and the Lu State will not be able to take care of our southeast army at this time!" ”

As soon as the strategist Tang Yan's words fell, a personal guard of Zhang Mingqi ran into the study in a panic, "Lord, the big thing is not good!" The army of Lu was divided into two routes, and had already invaded the territory of Suzhou, and General Zhao Lianjin, the commander of the Second Army, and General Zhou Jiling, the commander of the Third Army, sent a letter of help from carrier pigeons, and arrived at Jianyang City almost at the same time! ”

The guard's words made the strategist Tang Yan's face suddenly black as charcoal, and the face of Zhang Mingqi, the governor of the southeast, became even more ugly, "Mr. Tang, what should we do now?" ”

"This ...... Lord, even if the Lu army invades the territory of Suzhou, it should only be a small part of the army, after all, the threat of the broken army is greater, and the subordinates feel that they can send the fifth army and the sixth army to support the second army and the third army respectively, and some troops can also be drawn from the Praetorian Legion, after all, of the seven major legions of our Southeast Xiang Army, only the Praetorian Legion has the most troops. ”

"Then do as Mr. Tang said! In addition, let all legions immediately start conscription, Suzhou is also the base camp of our Southeast Xiang Army, and the people should still be able to support our Southeast Xiang Army! ”

When the Lu army had not completely captured Qiongzhou and Lianzhou, it sent troops to invade the territory of Suzhou, and launched a series of fierce battles with the southeast Xiang army.

By 22 November, the Lu army had committed two main army corps and three ordinary army corps in Suzhou, and had seized almost two counties in Suzhou.

At this time, the Guards Corps of the Broken Army had completely controlled the two states of Suzhou and Hangzhou, and the Lu army had also completed the occupation of Qiongzhou and Lianzhou, but what was surprising was that the Lu army did not take advantage of the fact that the main force of the Broken Army had not yet arrived in the southeast, and sent troops to attack Suzhou and Hangzhou.

In a palace in the imperial palace of Mengyuan City, the capital of the Lu State, Jiang Sheng, the emperor of the Lu State, frowned and asked Liu Mian, the chief lieutenant of the military department: "Why don't you let the troops in Qiongzhou continue to attack Suzhou and Hangzhou?" At present, it will take some time for the millions of broken captives led by Liu Ji to enter Suzhou, and our Lu army can completely seize some counties of Suzhou and Hangzhou before this! ”

Liu Mian, the captain of the military department, said with a wry smile: "Your Majesty, the sudden rainstorm in Qiongzhou has made the roads muddy, and the grain and grass cannot be transported at all. ”

At present, Qiongzhou, Lianzhou, Zhejiang, and Fuzhou are controlled by the Lu army, and only Qiongzhou is adjacent to Suzhou and Hangzhou.

Emperor Jiang Sheng patted his head and said, "This rainstorm is really not the right time, so is there any rainstorm in other states in the southeast of the Jin Kingdom?" ”

Liu Mian, the captain of the military department, shook his head and said: "Of the seven southeastern states of the entire Jin Kingdom, only Qiongzhou has a heavy rainstorm. ”

Emperor Jiang Sheng said categorically: "Then mobilize some troops in Suzhou, and strive to solve the southeast wing army first, so as to reduce a hidden danger!" ”

The sudden heavy rain in Qiongzhou made the situation of the southeast Xiang army even worse, because it was temporarily impossible to attack the broken army in Suzhou and Hangzhou, so the Lu army invested a main army and two ordinary army corps in Suzhou, so that the total strength of the Lu army in Suzhou reached three main army corps and five ordinary army corps, and there were more than one million young people responsible for transporting grain and grass.

On November 26, Wu Zhan, the commander of the Fifth Army of the Southeast Xiang Army, was killed on the battlefield.

On 28 November, Chen Hongxin, the commander of the Sixth Army of the Southeast Xiang Army, was shot in the face by a stray arrow and died on the spot.

In three days, two corps commanders were killed in a row, which made the morale of the Southeast Xiang Army troops who blocked the two armies of the Lu State Army fall greatly, and under the onslaught of the Lu State Army, General Zhao Lianjin, the commander of the Second Army of the Southeast Xiang Army, and General Zhou Jiling, the commander of the Third Army Corps, had to lead the troops to retreat to the state capital Jianyang City.

On the evening of December 1, in a study room of the Governor's Mansion in Jianyang City, Suzhou, Zhang Mingqi, the governor of the Southeast Metropolis, said to the strategist Tang Yan, the deputy commander of the First Legion Fan Dongying, the deputy commander of the Praetorian Guard Legion, and Liu Fengbao, the commander of the Fourth Legion: "Wu Zan and Chen Hongxin died on the battlefield one after another, Zhao Lianjin and Zhou Jiling have led the army to retreat to Jianyang City, and at present, the Second Legion, the Third Legion, the Fifth Legion and the Sixth Legion combined, there are less than 400,000 people left. In addition, of the 300,000 troops sent out by the Praetorian Guard, there are only more than 100,000 left. ”

Strategist Tang Yan said in a deep voice at this time: "Lord, the people of the Lu State want to deal with our Southeast Xiang Army first, and then deal with the Broken Army, counting the 500,000 troops who retreated to Jianyang City, as well as the 200,000 recruits we have just recruited near Jianyang City, our Southeast Xiang Army can still gather about two million people in Jianyang City." ”

Zhang Mingqi shook his head and said, "Mr. Tang, with these two million people, can our Southeast Xiang Army hold Jianyang City?" ”

Strategist Tang Yan smiled bitterly and said: "Lord, my subordinates are not sure, after all, there are not many elite troops in our Southeast Xiang Army. ”

Zhang Mingqi hesitated for a moment and said: "In this situation, the governor of this country is ready to surrender to Lu Guo, I don't know what you think?" ”

As soon as Zhang Mingqi said this, the faces of Fan Dongying, the deputy commander of the First Legion, and Yuan Tianba, the deputy commander of the Praetorian Guard Legion, changed greatly, you must know that Fan Dongying was originally a general of Gu Guo, one of the four subject countries in the southeast of the Great Jin Dynasty, and Yuan Tianba was originally the first fierce general of Jiao Guo, one of the four subject countries in the southeast of the Great Jin Dynasty, and he was still the concubine of Jiao State, and both of them can be said to have a grudge against Lu State.

Liu Fengbao, the commander of the Fourth Legion, immediately said loudly: "No matter what decision the Lord makes, our Fourth Army is willing to follow the Lord Gong!" ”

Strategist Tang Yan sighed and said: "In the current situation, it is also a good choice to surrender to Lu Guo, but we must have a good discussion with Lu Guo about the conditions." ”

Zhang Mingqi asked Fan Dongying and Yuan Tianba, who were standing side by side in front of him, "Dongying, Tianba, what do you think?" ”

Yuan Tianba was just about to speak out against it, but at this time, Fan Dongying touched Yuan Tianba with his elbow without leaving a trace, and then Fan Dongying preemptively said: "Lord, now our southeast wing army has reached a situation where there is no way to retreat, whether it is war or surrender, Dongying is willing to follow the lord." ”

Yuan Tianba gritted his teeth and said, "Tianba is also willing to obey the lord!" ”

Zhang Mingqi heard Fan Dongying and Yuan Tianba say this, and said with a little relief: "Whether it is a battle or a surrender, let's wait for Zhao Lianjin and Zhou Jiling to come back and study it!" In the future, all the legions must step up their preparations, and if they continue to fight with the Lu army, Jianyang City will be the final decisive battle between our southeast Xiang army and the Lu army. ”

Then Zhang Mingqi let Fan Dongying and Yuan Tianba leave, but left the strategist Tang Yan and his cousin Liu Fengbao behind.

"Mr. Tang, the people you Red Fox sent to Fan Dongying and Yuan Tianba's side, you must closely monitor the two of them these days, this Metropolitan Governor is worried that the two of them will cause some trouble, after all, both of them have a national enmity and family hatred with the Lu State!" Zhang Mingqi said in a deep voice.

Strategist Tang Yan nodded and said, "Don't worry, my subordinates know what to do!" ”

Liu Fengbao immediately said: "My lord, since you are worried about Fan Dongying and Yuan Tianba, it is better to get rid of these two people, anyway, the military power of the First Legion and the Praetorian Guard Legion has always been in the hands of the lord." ”

Zhang Mingqi sighed and said: "Fan Dongying and Yuan Tianba, in the First Legion and the Praetorian Guard Legion, they still have cultivated a lot of henchmen, and the Metropolitan Governor doesn't want any big chaos within the Southeast Xiang Army at this time." ”