Since there were many powerful armed riots in Qizhou a few months ago, Ji Xiang and Yang Wu were ordered by Wang Yong to lead a total of more than 3,000 cavalry under their respective commands to sweep through the eastern prefectures and counties of Sanqi to destroy a number of powerful armed forces who participated in the riots one after another.

Although the two of them have suppressed the killing intent in their hearts, and they have not stood with the blood of the Buddha on their hands like Chu Honghang and others in the Futu Sect, but they have also gained a reputation for wantonly slaughtering the people from the Northern Qi historians, but who cares about some senseless noise except for some mediocre people, at least in the next few months, all parts of Qidong will be relatively stable.

After pacifying the restless and powerful forces in the prefectures and counties of Qidong, the two did not stay in Qidong for a long time, and have been stationed in Qizhou after returning to defense, they are not only responsible for protecting the safety of the logistics and grain routes from Qizhou to Jeju, but also responsible for defending the water surface of this section of Qizhou.

In fact, Ji Xiang and Yang Wu were particularly looking forward to participating in the battle between the front line of Jeju and Jibei County and the Northern Qi army, but because the cavalry battle between Wang Yong's army and the Northern Qi army on the front line at that time was mainly to disturb each other, what was needed was a speed-type light cavalry, and their light and heavy cavalry troops, which were slightly slower and suitable for frontal combat, were not suitable for the battle at that time.

When Wang Ze followed Wang Yong to the courtyard outside and saw Ge Wei, Ji Xiang, Yang Wu and others, he was also taken aback, Ge Wei was just that, after all, he fought with the Qi army when he blocked the Qi army crossing the river on the south bank of the Yellow River before, and he was not lightly injured, and now one arm is still hanging with a white bandage and cannot move, and the white bandage is stained with a lot of blood.

The two of them in front of Ji Xiang and Yang Wu turned out to be wounds, the leather armor made of rhinoceros leather and the steel plate inlaid on it specially bought from Nanchen Lingnan were covered with traces of knives and arrows, and Ji Xiang, who has always shown an elegant image, had a lot of wounds, obviously they returned to Qingzhou after many fierce battles.

Wang Yong didn't wait for a few people to come to him, so he hurriedly walked up to a few people and said eagerly: "General Ge, Ji Duwei, Yang Duwei, it's great that you can come back, but I don't know if Mr. Puyang, Cheng Xueying, and Zhou Cheng in Jinan City came back with you that day?" ”

Ge Wei, who was hanging on one arm, immediately straightened up when he saw Wang Yong, raised his body and replied: "General, I met the two captains not far from Linzi on the east side of Changbai Mountain, and we went back here after we met. ”

Seeing Ge Wei say this, Wang Yong cast his longing eyes on Ji Xiang and Yang Wu, these two people have been responsible for the safety of this section of the Jishui coast in Qizhou, and from time to time they will interact with Pu Yangxun, the assassin of Qizhou, and they must know some information.

Ji Xiang also has a lot of wounds on his body, but after coming to Qingzhou City, he has undergone a preliminary bandage, although his body is bandaged with white bandages everywhere, but it does not affect Ji Xiang's temperament at all, his face is still calm and unhurried: "General Qiyu, Mr. Puyang, Cheng Xiaoniang, and Zhou Daochang They have always been with us, but later because the cavalry was inconvenient in the mountains, so we acted separately later, thinking that they should be about to go to Dongping County now!" ”

Ji Xiang's words made Wang Yong and Wang Ze's faces suddenly look ugly, Ji Xiang, Yang Wu and all the troops of Ge Wei's department added up to nearly six or seven thousand cavalry, and they were also cavalry with relatively strong combat effectiveness, but so many cavalry did not escort Cheng Xueying, Pu Yangxun and others back safely, but only cared about their own return.

Seeing that the faces of Wang Yong, Wang Ze and the others had changed greatly, Ji Xiang was afraid that Wang Yong and the others would misunderstand, so he hurriedly explained: "In fact, it was Cheng Xiaoniang and Mr. Puyang who were in charge, let us come back first to assist the general in the battle, and they were still guarded by nearly a thousand soldiers at that time!" ”

Hearing Ji Xiang say this, Wang Yong's heart was slightly relieved, but he still had a gloomy face and said, "Then tell me about the situation that day!" In fact, what Wang Yong is most worried about now is that Ji Xiang and Yang Wu will leave Cheng Xueying and Pu Yangxun behind and run back in order to escape for their lives, of course, this is just a possibility.

Ji Xiang looked up at Wang Yong and said slowly: "That day, I was preparing to escort a batch of baggage transported from Qizhou to the front line of Jezhou, and Captain Yang led the army to patrol the Jishui River near Qizhou, but before I could set off from the city, I received an urgent report from General Ge, saying that the Qi army had crossed the Yellow River from the area between Ande County and Leling County, and asked us to be careful!" ”

Hearing Ji Xiang mention his urgent report, Ge Wei, who was weak from his wounds, didn't say anything, just shook his head slightly, obviously regretting that he hadn't discovered the freezing of the Yellow River in advance!

After glancing at Ge Wei, Ji Xiang continued: "At this time, Captain Yang and I didn't dare to slack off, so we hurriedly went to Mr. Puyang and Captain Qizhou Bu to discuss the matter, but less than half an hour later, the Hu Lawyers Association had already led 100,000 Qi troops to the north gate of Qizhou!" ”

As soon as he heard this, Wang Yong was extremely remorseful, if he hadn't received Jeju and Jibei County at the beginning, he would have just been stationed in Qizhou, and there would be no such things later, but what is the use of regretting now!

Ji Xiang continued: "Originally, there were tens of thousands of people stationed in Qizhou before, but then the frontline was tense, so when the Hu Law Association attacked, the defenders in Jinan City were only about 2,000 people, and the Hu Law Association soldiers did not take off their armor and horses and immediately began to attack the city, but the defenders only lasted for less than an hour and were captured by the Qi army The north gate! ”

It may be that Ji Xiang also felt a little guilty in his heart, the infantry army of 2,000 people dared to hold the city, and he would rather die than retreat, and in the end, more than 1,000 people died in battle, and Ji Xiang and Yang Wu's two cavalry of more than 3,000 people fled from the city without a fight! Although Ji Xiang also used the overwhelming strength of the Qi army to convince himself, but the facts are the facts, how can the reason be covered up?

Speaking of this, Ji Xiang looked up at Wang Yong and Wang Ze and said: "At that time, Yang Duwei and I couldn't do anything, so we had to escort Mr. Puyang, Cheng Xiaoniang, Zhou Daochang, and the families of many people and soldiers in the city to flee south into the mountains outside Jinan!" At that time, the front army of the Qi army was in a hurry to occupy Jinan City, so they did not chase us much, and when the rear army of the Qi army wanted to pursue, we had already entered the mountains! ”

Wang Ze nodded secretly in his heart, he had fought with the Qi army in Jinan City, of course he knew the terrain of Qizhou, in the south of Jinan City, Qizhou is a rolling mountain range, stretching to the Taishan Mountains, although the peaks of Qizhou are not high, but because of the undulating large area, and most of the mountains and forests are dense, it can also be regarded as a place to escape in times of crisis.

But Wang Yong didn't just think about it so much, now it is winter and he escaped into the mountains, if he didn't prepare enough food, he would be starved to death sooner or later, and the cold winter in the mountains was far colder than on the flat land, where was it as simple as Wang Ze thought.

So Wang Yong continued to ask: "Since you have entered the mountain safely at that time, why do Mr. Puyang and they want you to come back first?" ”

Ji Xiang still said respectfully: "After escaping into the mountains that day, we had a total of six or seven thousand people all the way, in addition to more than 3,000 horses and horses of the two cavalry of me and Yang Duwei, there were also nearly 1,000 infantry troops of the remnants of the defenders of Jinan City guarding Mr. Puyang and Cheng Xiaoniang, although the captain was too injured to command the battle when I came, but Cheng Xiaoniang had already taken over the command of this infantry army!" ”

"At that time, Yang Duwei and I were originally going to follow and escort Cheng Xiaoniang and Mr. Puyang all the way through the mountains to Qingzhou, but Cheng Xiaoniang saw that the cavalry under my command was impassable in many places in the mountains, but it was not as convenient as the infantry army in the mountains, and the general had to face the attack of the Qi army here, so after some discussion, Mr. Puyang and Cheng Xiaoniang agreed that the two of us should come back to help the general fight!"

"Ji Duwei, Yang Duwei, didn't the Hu Lawyers Association lead an army of 100,000 to occupy Qizhou, so how did you break through the blockade of the Hu Lawyers Association's Qizhou army?" Wang Ze was also a little curious about Ji Xiang and the two leading the army to break through the occupied area of the Qi army and return safely, and it was not easy for more than 3,000 cavalry to escape safely from the occupied area of the 100,000 army.

Ji Xiang laughed miserably and said: "Where is it so easy, it was easy at the beginning, at that time, after the Hu Lawyers Association occupied Qizhou, it was in a hurry to attack the back road of the army of Jeju and Jibei County; Therefore, after occupying Qizhou, he went to Changbai Mountain and Jeju that night. In Jinan City, only 10,000 infantry troops were sent to defend the city, and the cavalry was only about 1,000 people, which was less than our cavalry, so when we quietly came out of the mountains and went east, the Qi army in the city did not come out at all! ”

Saying that, Ji Xiang's voice changed and said: "But when we left Jinan City and went east to Changbai Mountain, the number of Qi troops, especially the cavalry, increased, and we couldn't hide for a while so we had to fight with a team of Qi cavalry, and there were more and more Qi troops behind, so we had to fight and walk, and later met General Ge and the Qi army fighting together, so we gathered General Ge to repel those Qi troops, so we were able to return to Qingzhou safely!" ”

Ge Wei heard Ji Xiang's words and said angrily: "In those days, I was fighting with the Qi army between Changbai Mountain and Linzi in Qizhou, and the Qi army continued to rush from Qizhou to the east, so that I didn't dare to go to Qizhou, nor dare to come to Qingzhou, if it weren't for the two of you passing near Changbai Mountain, if we didn't get it, we would have to let the Qi army on both sides of the east and west make dumplings!" ”

Hearing Ji Xiang's detailed narration, Wang Yong was somewhat relieved, although it is now winter, the weather is cold and covered with thick snow, and the danger of escaping in the mountains is very high, but there is at least two or three percent of the hope of escaping into the mountains, but if it is surrounded and captured by the Qi army, it will be even more lifeless!

Although the loss of soldiers on the battlefields of Jeju and Jibei County alone is more than 50,000, even Qin Lang, an old man from the cottage, may have died on the battlefield of Jibei County, but at least most of the officers mainly from Wang Yong's old department have basically fled into the Taishan Mountains, and they are still safe for the time being.

So far, most of the troops on the front line have news, but Cheng Chong, Xun Yun and others, who led the cavalry to fight a counter-charge of the Qi army, and covered the withdrawal of most of Hu Bingchang's troops, have never had any news, and Wang Yong has to be very worried. see

Just when Wang Yong and Wang Ze were still worried about Cheng Chong and other cavalry, Jinyang, the place where the leaders and emperors of the Northern Qi Dynasty, including the current emperor Gao Yan, was located, became a sea of joy.

In fact, the victory of the Qi army does not have much to do with the ordinary people of the Northern Qi Dynasty, they are at most concerned about when the imperial court will be able to cut out the taxes increased in the first two years due to the siege of the Northern Qi by various countries, but according to the current financial situation of the Northern Qi Dynasty, it can be said that it is far away.

Of course, those Xianbei people who are closely related to the fate of Northern Qi are more excited, after all, as a special group of people in Northern Qi, they don't need to pay food, and the Xianbei people have the most important military merits, and their families who join the army will be beneficial if they win a battle, and the name of the first powerful country in the world in Northern Qi still makes them quite proud.

Of course, the happiest person in Northern Qi these days is, of course, the emperor of Northern Qi is now performing, and it is precisely because the emperor is happy that Jinyang will have such a festive atmosphere.

Since a few days ago, the Qi army besieging the rebels of the Three Qi has continued to receive good news, first of all, the Governor of the Hu Lawyers Association successfully took advantage of the favorable opportunity of the freezing of the Yellow River to lead the army to cross the Yellow River and Jishui two major rivers successively, and also successfully occupied the city of Jinan, which ruled the city of Qizhou, cutting off the retreat of the rebels in Jezhou and Jibei counties.

Then there was the Qi army of General Murong Yi commanding Jeju and Jibei County, and after several days of fierce attack, he broke through the defense line formed by hundreds of thousands of troops of the three Qi rebels in Jeju and Jibei County, and also recovered Jeju and Jibei County successively, killing more than ten traitor generals and the army of the Hu Lawyers Association as a whole.

Then there was the original general Pi Jinghe, who encircled and suppressed the traitors of Zhangwu, and after leading the army to attack the territory of Qingzhou, he fought a succession of battles, and had to fight until the territory of Gaomi County, cutting off the connection between the states and counties in the east of Qizhou, and the day when the Qi army recovered the entire land of Sanqi is probably not far away.

Tens of thousands of Qi troops also crossed the Yellow River and Jishui under the leadership of the general Jing Xianjun, and the soldiers of Pijing and the army pointed directly to Qingzhou City, where the rebel Wang Yong of the Three Qi was located!

With the news of the great victory that continues to come from the front, I am really happy that Gao Yan is currently living in the Jinyang Palace, these days can be said to be the happiest moment for Gao Yan in the past one or two years, even if he deposed Gao Yin and ascended the throne as emperor with the support of Gao Zhan, Gao Guiyan and other Xianbei nobles and Gao clan relatives, he was not so happy now.

After all, when his elder brother Gao Yang was in power, he founded the first power in the world, and it was Gao Yan's dream to restore the past glory of Northern Qi, and when his nephew Gao Yin was in power, Northern Qi was besieged by various countries and seemed to be crumbling, but after he took over, Northern Qi began to recover again, how could Gao Yan not be happy?

In addition, the continuous good news of the Qi army on the front line of the three Qi days also made Gao Zhan, who served as the right prime minister in Yecheng, temporarily extinguish that restless heart, Gao Zhan did not dare to make friends with many ministers all day long, and began to be honest and quiet, and made a humble and respectful appearance all day long.

In the past few days, Gao Yan has pressed all the good news under his pillow, and he will open it from time to time to take a look, and even wake up with a smile in the middle of the night, and then Gao Yan will order the palace people to hold the lamp, continue to open a good news and read it again before he can sleep peacefully!

Hey? Something seems wrong, right? Gao Yan looked at the several good news unfolding side by side on the case in front of him, and while he was happy, he suddenly felt a little wrong.

Damn, didn't Pi Jinghe say that he had taken the lead in attacking Qingzhou and Jiaozhou with tens of thousands of troops? Why is it now that Jing Xianjun is leading the army to Qingzhou City? And it was Pi Jinghe who led the army to join Jing Xianjun's army.

It is said that it was not a day or two before crossing the Yellow River at the speed of Pijing and cavalry and attacking the city of Qingzhou. In addition, Pi Jing and this person Gao Yan still know a little, this person has always liked to eat alone, how could he go to attack Qingzhou with others?

Although Gao Yan did not lead troops to fight in the real sense, he had also participated in many military operations in Jinyang, and he still knew some hidden evil deeds in the army, and he suddenly felt that the old boys on the front line were not using Lao Tzu's money and food to fool Lao Tzu!

In fact, I can't help but muttered in Gao Yan's heart, in the previous spring and summer season, Liu Damo led 50,000 troops to garrison Ande County on the north bank of the Yellow River, and the good news continued to come every day, but it couldn't cross the surface of the Yellow River, and then not long after, tens of thousands of troops were suddenly swept away by the Sanqi traitors.

Immediately afterwards, the general Dugu Yongye led the 50,000 town army, first swept through North Xuzhou, South Qingzhou and other places, and it was really like a plough court sweeping holes, and in just more than ten days, it recovered many states and counties that had been divided by powerful and traitors from all over the country for more than a year, and recovered thousands of miles of rivers and mountains in Northern Qi.

At that time, after the news reached Yecheng and Jinyang, Dugu Yongye was in the court for a while, and he also admired Dugu Yongye very much, and was ready to reward Dugu Yongye again.

But I didn't want to wait for the reward on my side to be sent to Dugu Yongye, Dugu Yongye was defeated and lost in Jiaozhou City, and almost fled back to North Xuzhou on a single horse.

With worries in his heart, Gao Yan began to eat badly, couldn't sleep, and gradually lost weight, but fortunately, a few days later, the Dadu Governor Hu Lawyers' Association, who was still loyal to Gao Yan, sent a messenger to send war reports from all over Sanqi, which made Gao Yan temporarily put his mind at ease.

Now on the battlefield of Sanqi, the Qi army has indeed fully gained the upper hand, and Wang Yong's hundreds of thousands of troops in Jeju and Jibei counties have indeed collapsed and lost, but most of the rebels took advantage of the chaos to flee into the mountains, which made the glorious achievements of the Qi army somewhat discounted.

Although there is Pi Jinghe in the middle who suffered a defeat under the city of Gaomi County because of the light enemy's rash advance, and has lost nearly 20,000 cavalry, but the Qi army still has the absolute upper hand on the overall battlefield, even if Wang Yong has successively pulled out tens of thousands of horses in Qingzhou, but when hundreds of thousands of Qi troops gather in Qingzhou, Wang Yong can only flee from the wind.

Seeing this, Gao Yan was finally relieved, as for the remnants of the Sanqi Haoqiang who were eliminated by Wang Ze and others, they were unknowingly ignored by all parties, and I don't know how these people will feel in the sky!

When the time gradually enters December, that is, at the beginning of the month, the weather once again ushered in a strong cooling, which is good news for Wang Yong, who is stationed in Qingzhou, because the activities of people will become sluggish after the cold weather, which will be very unfavorable to the siege side, which is conducive to Wang Yong's defense of Qingzhou City.

But on the other hand, this is very bad news, for the army that is traveling through the mountains, this cold snap is even worse for them, so Wang Yong is even more worried about entering the army in the Taishan Mountains.

The Qi army was faced with the problem of cooling the weather, and some Qi generals felt that the overall situation was now decided, so they suggested that the departments take advantage of the cold weather to take a temporary rest, but Hu Lu cooperated with the public opinion and demanded that the departments continue to clean up the rout of Wang Yong's side in the vast area from Qingzhou to Jeju.

In this way, with the advancement of time, by the end of the month, the Qi army had cleared Wang Yong's army in the vast area between Linzi and Jibei County, Qizhou, and hundreds of thousands of Qi troops began to march towards Qingzhou, where Wang Yong was stationed.

At this time in Qingzhou, Wang Yong had already fought with Jing Xianjun, Pi Jing and the two armies many times, and in general, the two sides had their own victories and defeats.

Although the two-way Qi army outside Qingzhou City has been consumed from the beginning of the 70,000 army and only more than 50,000 people remain, but behind the Qi army there are Hu Lu Xie and Murong Qi army who are rapidly advancing to Qingzhou, and the loss of tens of thousands of troops by the Qi army has no impact on the overall situation, if Wang Yong fails again, then Wang Yong will have no capital to resist the Qi army.

Looking at the Qi army outside the city, Wang Yong was also beating drums in his heart, but even if he wanted to retreat, he had to buy some time for the people behind him who were evacuating to the Jiaolai area.