Thirty miles to the north of Xiangyang City, the two military camps that stretch for more than ten miles, covering an area comparable to the county seat, are separated by more than ten miles, and stand against each other.

Flags fluttered, trumpets sounded, and there were soldiers and horses walking around the barracks, and it seemed that a large-scale battle could start between the two sides at any time.

Here, naturally, is the battlefield where the imperial army and the Liangzhou army are now facing each other, and only this wide plain and wilderness can allow these two armies of nearly 100,000 together to completely spread out their positions and have a head-to-head duel. 33

In the past ten days, the two sides have indeed had a number of tentative attacks on each other, and the result is that each side has won or lost, at least for now, neither side has fallen into the upper hand.

This judgment is known to many soldiers, but only some generals at the top can grasp the truth beyond this appearance - for the imperial army, the war situation is not optimistic.

In the imperial court camp, Chen Qingyun sat down, frowning as a scout scout was detailing the newly obtained information: "General, according to the information I have obtained from the rear, there are still a large number of Liangzhou troops coming to our Xiangyang line, I am afraid that the enemy army will soon increase to seventy or eighty thousand."

"In addition, the enemy army has repeatedly sent small groups of troops to our rear from the side mountain roads and other places, which should be headed for cities other than Xiangyang. I just don't know their exact purpose......"

Listening to these reports, Chen Qingyun's face became gloomy for a few minutes, and it wasn't until the scout finished reporting everything that he waved his hand: "I've worked hard for you, let's go down and rest." Remember, this information must be kept confidential and not leaked. ”

"Obedience!" The scout hurriedly agreed, and then hurried away.

It wasn't until only he and another henchman were left in the tent that Chen Qingyun exhaled a long breath and said in a deep voice: "It seems that what I was most worried about has happened." ”

"General refers to the Liangzhou Army, is the real target of this march our Huguang and Xiangfan lines?" General Fan Ming asked nervously.

He was a capable general who was promoted from the local army after Chen Qingyun was transferred to Huguang to guard the town. This man is capable and loyal in both command and judgment of military affairs. Therefore, when there is a military situation, Chen Qingyun will call him to discuss the decision together.

"Yes, it seems that the Liangzhou army is pressing the border this time, and the soldiers are pointing directly at Lianghuai, but in fact, our Huguang is what they really want to take. In other words, Xiangyang, the gateway to the lake, is the goal of their march this time! ”

After Fan Ming was silent for a while, he nodded thoughtfully: "What the general said is that although the two Huai are an indispensable part of the Yangtze River, I also have a road in Huguang that can go straight to the south of the Yangtze River. And ......"

"Moreover, compared with the complexity of the terrain of the two Huai, there are many waterways and horizontals, which is not conducive to the advance of the Liangzhou army on horseback, as long as Xiangyang, the gateway to my lake and Guangzhou, is convenient to be a horse and a flat river, and it can be allowed to go straight to the south!"

Chen Qingyun said, and quickly pointed his finger at the Huguang defense map on the case: "What's more, most of our Huguang garrison has been transferred to the Lianghuai line for fortification, and now is the time to be empty." Once they really attack with elites, we are afraid that we will really not be able to stop it! ”

In this way, the expression on his face became more and more heavy, and Fan Ming couldn't help but ask after carefully examining the defense map in front of him: "In this case, why didn't the general defend Xiangyang, but brought out the already small number of soldiers and horses to confront the enemy here?" ”

"Can't you see that?" Chen Qingyun asked rhetorically.

Fan Ming lowered his eyes and said in a low voice: "The last general only sees one thing, that is, stubbornly defending Xiangyang cannot keep Huguang and the rear road. ”

"Yes, if we only defend these two cities of Xiangfan, with the strength we have now, we can naturally block the strong attack of 100,000 or even more soldiers and horses.

"But there are only two cities that we can defend. But the enemy wants to invade Huguang, but we can't do anything. Moreover, because Huguang was already empty of troops and rich in food, they didn't even have to worry about us cutting off their way here......

"Therefore, holding on to Xiangyang is by no means a good strategy to deal with the current situation, only by taking the initiative to catch up can we hold them back, and give us the opportunity to report to the imperial court and ask for reinforcements."

After a pause, he spoke again: "This is just a countermeasure drawn from the battlefield, but in fact, for this battle, the battlefield strategy is secondary, and the battle for people's hearts is the key." ”

Glancing at his subordinates who seemed to think of something, Chen Qingyun said in a deep voice: "You are a member of the Xiangfan clan, don't you know the rumors of the people today?" ”

Fan Ming's body shook slightly, he had naturally heard people talk about some thoughts and ideas, and there were many people with such thoughts.

That is, the Huguang army and civilians did not have any inclination as to which side to return to, just as they were able to be easily taken by the Liangzhou army before, and then they were willing to accept the rule of the imperial court, once the war changed again and the Liangzhou army recaptured Huguang, these local soldiers and civilians were also willing to be loyal to the Guo clan again.

"The vacillation of most people is not the key to the problem, what I am most worried about is that some big clans in Huguang will directly defect because they see the strength of the enemy's army.

"Maybe they don't dare to be an enemy of the official army, but it's too easy to spread some rumors that are not good for us. If I really defend Xiangyang, I will definitely be easily defeated in the end because of the instability of the people in the city.

"So in order to stabilize the hearts and minds of the army, so that those restless guys do not dare to act rashly, I must lead the army to take the initiative to attack......"

War has always been a continuation of politics. For the current situation in Huguang, the rule and influence of the imperial court on this is still too weak, and the army needs to give confidence to the people, so that they can unite and resist the enemy wholeheartedly.

This is the real reason why Chen Qingyun gave up defending Xiangyang City, and it is also the only choice he has the most helplessness at the moment. Even if you know that the enemy army on the opposite side is strong, you can only give up the support of the city.

"But general, can we really stop them and repel this Liangzhou army?"

"There are 10,000 Jiangnan elites in our army, and when there are 30% of them, they can support more than half a month. I only hope that within this half month, the imperial court reinforcements can arrive in time and cooperate with us to retreat from the enemy! ”

The answer given by Chen Qingyun was actually quite pessimistic, he could only hold on to the end, but he didn't even have the slightest certainty of retreating from the enemy.

Fan Ming was silent, and in the end he could only sigh with him, and he only hoped that the imperial court could mobilize reinforcements here in time. However, when the two Huai fronts are also facing the main force of the Liangzhou Army, can the imperial court really send troops and horses to save Huguang?

Anyway, he, a local general in Xiangfan, is very optimistic about this result.

Some people died, but not completely......