In May of the seventeenth year of Hongwei, both Tianqiwei and the Northern Dynasties entered the most difficult moment, and the news of successive defeats on the frontal battlefield kept coming.

And Xiao Jinwu's unexpected defeat made him unable to meet with the main force of the 12 guards of the Beijing division in time, and the 12 guards of the Beijing division who lacked a commander fought separately, and they were defeated one after another.

On the other hand, the Apocalypse Guard, after a few major battles, was extremely weakened, and after running several cities around the continent one after another, none of the cities opened their doors to accept them.

There are three reasons for this.

First, after being cut off from the center by the Southern Dynasty army, the cities around the continent fell into a panic of fighting their own battles, and everyone swept the snow in front of their doors, praying behind their backs that the Southern Dynasty army was as far away from themselves as possible, and did not want Xu Rui, the so-called Qincha, to drag his territory into the quagmire of war.

Second, the Great Wei is very similar to the Han and Tang dynasties in another world, and there are extremely powerful local snobbery or power in many places, and in the late Han Dynasty in the Middle East and the second half of the Tang Dynasty, the local army was even several times that of the central army, and the Great Wei was better than these two eras.

The situation in Huanzhou is similar to that of Xichuan, although there are no giants such as the four major families, but the snobbery of the local tyrants is still very strong, and it can even balance the central government.

The king of Wuling was mighty, the army of the Southern Dynasty was invincible, and the authorities in Huanzhou were generally not optimistic about the outcome of the Great Wei, and had begun to look for a new way out, so they were naturally unwilling to have anything to do with Xu Rui at this time.

Third, the war started extremely suddenly, and there was a lack of intelligence in all parts of Huanzhou, so Xiao Jinwu thought that the Apocalypse Guard had been completely wiped out before the defeat, and sent a report to the whole country at the last moment.

At first glance, the Apocalypse Guard, who had been wiped out in the Di newspaper, appeared in front of him, and when the information was unknown, many officials who wanted to the empire did not dare to rashly open the city to accept the Apocalypse Guard.

As a result, it caused a situation where the Apocalypse Wei traveled through the state and the province but was given a cold reception.

At the most difficult moment, Xu Rui ordered the Apocalypse Guard to temporarily stop and hold an important combat meeting.

Due to the limited time and conditions, Xu Rui did not let people set up a marshal tent, but just asked the guards to circle a flat land, and then convened all the officers and staff officers above the company and platoon level to discuss the matter.

With Xu Rui as the center, everyone formed a loose circle, sat on the ground, and An Ge temporarily made a cameo appearance as the secretary of the meeting, recording the content of the meeting, and everything was carried out according to the standards of a modern combat meeting.

Although the Apocalypse Guard has not been established for a long time, some differentiation can already be seen from the number of seats.

Cao Siyuan was born in the rivers and lakes, brave and strategic, strong in martial arts and righteous Bo Yuntian, and most of the Tianqiwei officers who were born in the northwest were the most suitable, although they joined the shortest time, but quickly established their prestige in the battle, and most of the officers present surrounded him.

Zhang Zuofeng is a square person, and he gets along with those officers who are not informal, and have some bad problems, but under the training of Xiao Jinwu and Xu Rui, his military literacy is extremely strong, his will is outstanding, he has the style of a general, and he is good at fighting tough battles, and has also attracted a lot of followers.

Then there is Lin Shaodong, who was trained by Xu Rui, this person has a lively mind, a lot of ghost ideas, and a big view of the overall situation, under the guidance of Xu Rui, he actually undertakes the important task of "chief of staff", and most of the staff officers of the army who were born in Guozijian are around him.

Finally, the company commander of the artillery company, Guo Shengbao, who was born in the Northwest Frontier Army, is extremely talented in the use of artillery and ballistic calculations, coupled with the tactical core position of artillery in the Apocalypse, he has become the leader of the Northwest Department of soldiers.

As the saying goes, things gather by like, people are divided by groups, and where there are people, there will be groups, which is inevitable, although these five people have faintly had their own circles, but they have a harmonious relationship with each other, so that no matter what personality people can find like-minded partners, Xu Rui is also happy to see it.

It's just that compared with the combat meeting before the expedition, half of the officers who participated in the meeting have been reduced, and half of them are newcomers who were promoted on the battlefield at zero hour after the previous officers died, so that this combat meeting had a faint solemnity from the beginning.

After Xu Rui arrived, all the officers immediately stopped talking and stood up and saluted in unison.

As the spiritual pillar of the Apocalypse, he is here to hold the moon in everyone's hearts, which is far from being comparable to the above five people, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he is the soul of the Apocalypse.

Xu Rui waved his hand, sat on the ground with his buttocks, and nodded directly at Lin Shaodong without any superfluous opening remarks.

The officers sat down and waited for Lin Shaodong to speak, Tianqiwei had already developed a habit, and the first part of the combat meeting was for Lin Shaodong to introduce the general situation.

Lin Shaodong didn't take any notes, and said directly: "After a series of battles, our army suffered heavy casualties, with as many as 716 soldiers killed in battle, and 142 seriously injured and lost their combat effectiveness.

Including all the officers, staff officers, and logistics personnel, as well as a small number of people recruited along the way and the border troops brought by Lord Han, there were only 322 people left who could still fight.

In addition to the loss of personnel, several major battles consumed nearly 20,000 shells, more than 17,000 grenades, and more than ninety percent of all kinds of crossbow arrows.

In addition, the consumption of various types of repeating crossbows is also very large, and after fierce shooting, many bowstrings are broken, the wooden rifling is smoothed, and the replacement modules are also exhausted.

The only surplus was grain, grass and other ordnance, with the replenishment of Bandung City, it was enough for a large army for three months, but these baggage also consumed a lot of manpower and slowed down the march.

At present, our army is full of vehicles and horses, but the speed of the march has dropped to the point of being on par with the infantry. ”

Lin Shaodong finished talking about the situation of the Apocalypse in one breath, and everyone was surprised by his erudition, but he didn't expect that in just half a month, a team of thousands of people would consume so many resources, you must know that they are all valuable things, and if they are converted into silver, I am afraid that there will be at least tens of millions of taels.

Although Xu Rui already knew it, he couldn't help but sigh for a while, if it wasn't for the fact that he had just moved out all the ordnance stocks at home under the banner of testing artillery this time, the consumption of shells, grenades and crossbow arrows alone would be unbearable.

"This is the situation of our army, the battle situation on the frontal battlefield must be clear to everyone, there is no waste of time here, now everyone will talk about it, what should we do next?"

Xu Rui waved his hand, motioned for Lin Shaodong to sit down, and then said to the group of young officers.

"I'll talk about it first."

As soon as Xu Rui's words fell, Cao Siyuan was the first to stand up and said loudly: "Our army is only more than 1,000 people, and it is a miracle that we can hold the Southern Korean army for more than 20 days by surprise.

Even so, we should still understand that the number of Apocalypse Guards is too small, and if they leave the city and position, even if they are in their heyday, they will not be able to do much on the frontal battlefield, not to mention that at present, our army has suffered great casualties, ammunition and weapons have bottomed out, and the combat effectiveness has declined sharply.

We've done everything we can, and what we need to do now is to keep the last roots of the Apocalypse, and not to bury all the hard work of the adults on the battlefield.

Therefore, I think that we should withdraw from the battlefield to the west, and repair to the northwest, which has not been affected by the army of the Southern Dynasties for the time being, and make plans after we have recovered. ”

As soon as these words came out, many officers nodded slightly.

Cao Siyuan, who was born in the rivers and lakes, is extremely mountain-oriented, and although he has a sense of identity with Tianqiwei after being subdued by Xu Rui, he does not necessarily have a good impression of the imperial court, and it is not surprising that he will say this Xu Rui.

But there was one person who was very disgusted by his statement.

"Don't do that!"

Zhang Zuofeng got up without hesitation and said: "At present, the army of the Southern Dynasties has won successive battles, and it is approaching Changxing, and my Great Wei is in danger of losing the country at any time, let's retreat to the northwest at this time, it is tantamount to being a deserter, we are all soldiers, and we don't want to protect our families and defend the country when the country is in trouble, do we want to watch the Great Wei perish?"

Don't forget, if the Great Wei destroys the country, not to mention our homeland, how will the Apocalypse itself deal with itself? ”

Seeing that Zhang Zuofeng became more and more excited, Cao Siyuan hurriedly explained: "Of course I don't want everyone to be deserters, but I don't want to hit a stone with an egg, knowing that I am invincible, I will hit the enemy's knife, just with our people, without positions and artillery, how can we take the army of the Southern Dynasties?" ”

"Who said we were going to hit a stone with an egg? We only need to go back to Changxing City, we can get supplies from the factory, although we have few people, but artillery, grenades and apocalypse chariots are a great threat to the army of the Southern Dynasties.

The purpose of the Southern Dynasty army this time was Changxing City, and with our force, it would be impossible for them to forcibly capture Changxing City! ”

Zhang Zuofeng said conclusively.

Cao Siyuan smiled bitterly: "Zuo Feng, you think too simply, we are extremely slow at the moment, and we have to go around a big circle to return to Changxing City, do you think we can outrun the cavalry-based Southern Dynasty army?"

What's more, if the army of the Southern Dynasties really hits Changxing City, it means that the main force of our Northern Dynasty has been defeated in the decisive battle, and when the main force is lost, how can we defend Changxing City? Isn't this an egg hitting a stone? ”

"Raise soldiers for a thousand days, use soldiers for a while, since my generation is in the army, even if you hit a stone with an egg, you have no hesitation, if you go to the northwest as a deserter, and watch the Great Wei die, what face do you have to live in the world?"

Zhang Zuofeng did not retreat and fought with reason.

Cao Siyuan sighed: "Integrity is important, but we have to face the reality, Zuo Feng, don't be too pedantic." ”

Zhang Zuofeng snorted coldly: "This is not pedantry, but the bottom line of a soldier!" ”

For a while, the two of them didn't give in to each other and were about to quarrel, Xu Rui lowered his head thoughtfully, and didn't speak, but Lin Shaodong couldn't stand it and opened his mouth first.

"Both adults have a point, but neither is feasible."

His words immediately interrupted the two who were arguing, drawing everyone's eyes to him.

Lin Shaodong cleared his throat and said: "According to Cao Zuoling's words, it is indeed tantamount to desertion, if the Great Wei wins this battle, there will inevitably be countless officials who will seize this handle and die to the adult, and if the Great Wei is defeated and the country is destroyed, I am afraid that before we recover our vitality, we will be wiped out by the Southern Dynasty army in one fell swoop." ”

These words reached Zhang Zuofeng's heart, but before he could rejoice, he heard Lin Shaodong's words change.

"General Zhang's method is also not feasible, we now want to fight head-on with the army of the Southern Dynasty is almost tantamount to suicide, and the twelve guards of the Beijing Division are dispatched, Changxing City is very empty, with our marching speed, when we return to the capital in a big circle, I am afraid that the enemy has already broken the city several times."

"Since you're saying that neither of us can do anything, what do you think it should be?"

Zhang Zuofeng asked in a deep voice.

Lin Shaodong said: "There is only a limit to what we can do now, but we can't help it, the best way is to return to Xichuan, destroy the enemy's supply line, and slow down the enemy's pace as much as possible." ”

"No!"

This time, Cao Siyuan and Zhang Zuofeng finally unified their thoughts and said in unison.

The two didn't expect such a tacit understanding, they were both slightly stunned, Zhang Zuofeng came back to his senses first, and said: "The enemy has broken several cities in a row out of Xichuan, which is enough to fight to support the war, and destroying the supply line has no effect at all." ”

Cao Siyuan also said: "Although the main force of the Southern Dynasty has left Xichuan, there are still tens of thousands of puppet troops and 5,000 iron cavalry of the Southern Dynasty in Xichuan, and we have no artillery, grenades and repeating crossbows, as long as we are surrounded and suppressed a few times, the whole army may be wiped out." ”

This doesn't work, that doesn't work, for a while, the public said that the public was reasonable, and the mother-in-law said that the mother-in-law was reasonable, but no one could think of a good way, and the combat meeting gradually fell into a stalemate, and the generals subconsciously looked at Xu Rui.

Whenever there is no way, it is when Xu Rui makes the decision, and the generals are also used to such a process, and Xu Rui will never let them down, and this time is of course no exception.

"Ahem......"

Xu Rui came back to his senses and coughed lightly: "Actually, I have a foolproof strategy, which can not only kill and injure the army of the Southern Dynasties, but also protect myself, but now is not the time."

First, it will take some time for the opportunity to appear, and second, the Apocalypse Guard is too tired and must be repaired before he can act.

However, the only problem is that the cities around the continent are closed, and we have not repaired the respite, and everything has become empty talk. ”

As soon as these words came out, all the generals fell silent, no one thought that Huanzhou would become like this, those places who only care about themselves are snobbish and selfish, but they are all appointed by the imperial court.

With the shield of the imperial court, the Apocalypse Guard has no way to take them, before Xu Rui shelled Bandung City, he didn't know what the consequences would be, if he did it again, I am afraid that even if he could win this battle, Xu Rui would end up miserable.

What to do?

Who would have thought that the Apocalypse would have to make such a difficult thing for such a ridiculous thing?

This time, not only the generals, but even Xu Rui was a little sitting.

At this moment, Han Qi, who had been listening behind Xu Rui, suddenly spoke: "Eh...... This, I know a place to go, and I will definitely accept the Apocalypse Guard for temporary repairs. ”

"Where are you talking about?"

Everyone was overjoyed and hurriedly looked at him.

Xu Rui also looked at him in surprise.

"Hechun County in the northeast of Huanzhou!"

Han Qi glanced at Xu Rui and said loudly: "The surname of Hechun County Ling is Ruolin, and like Zaixia, he is also a protégé of King Liao." This person has a upright temperament and is dedicated to serving the country, as long as the lower official repairs a letter in advance and explains the matter, he will definitely open the city to accept the Apocalypse. ”

Hearing this, everyone was overjoyed.

Xu Rui looked at the map, and saw that Hechun County was just close to the battlefield, but it was in the rear of the Southern Dynasty army, and the Southern Dynasty army was bent on going north, and it was unlikely that it would attack here, which was very suitable for the cultivation of the Apocalypse.

It's like drowsiness encountering a pillow, but is it really such a coincidence?

Xu Rui looked at Han Qi, who was expressionless, and said in his heart, what is this guy paying attention to?

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