A series of changes that happened in the imperial capital, in fact, there was no need for the old housekeeper of the Horse Mansion to send a letter, and the generals on the front line had already heard about it.

Less than a month after Li Bing's poisoning, the Suzaku Legion was the first to change. Gong Chengze came to the front line by order, and with the tiger talisman given by the emperor, he directly transferred half of the men and horses, and turned to attack Bashu to the west.

This time, Ma Hongjie, who had just led the army to cross the river, was caught off guard, and could only rely on the remaining half of the troops to fight against the Xie Bao Army defending Li County.

It didn't take long for Li Jiangyao to also receive an order, asking him to show his attitude towards the reward of Jiuxi, and he had the posture of not giving up until he made his true thoughts clear.

Murong Xue and Xu Youchang, who were commanding the attack on Yueyang City, had to try to appease the army and temporarily slow down the pace of the attack because of the drastic reduction in military salaries.

All of a sudden, the soldiers on the front line were talking a lot, and the news of the coup d'état in the imperial capital and the unwarranted arrest of a large number of courtiers was spreading.

The rebels also received this good rumor and could not help but boost their morale. Li Jiong immediately led the 100,000 guards of Hangzhou to the north, joined Ye Rongcheng's division in Huzhou, and immediately launched a counterattack against the first and sixth armies of Zhenjiang.

The task of the First Army of the Wind and the Sixth Army of the Furious Waves was originally to feint and contain and create favorable conditions for the main force of Zhenjiang in the north to attack the city and pull out the fortress, so they did not expect that the rebels would suddenly gather heavy troops and counterattack them.

After several medium-scale offensive and defensive battles, the commanders of the two armies decided to take the initiative to retreat to the line of Guangde County between Huzhou and Xuancheng to avoid being outflanked and besieged by the enemy, temporarily establishing a firm foothold and looking for opportunities to fight again.

Hearing that the First Army was forced to retreat, Xu Youchang was worried that his subordinates would lose, so he said goodbye to Murong Xue, left the Yueyang battlefield, and hurried all the way to the east, rushed to Guangde to join the troops, and personally commanded the battle against Li Ji and Ye Rongcheng.

At the same time, Li Jiangyao's troops were divided into two routes, one was Du Jian's Agni Second Army, which continued to attack Wuxi County, an important town in Taihu Lake, and threatened Suzhou; On the other hand, he personally commanded the Fifth Army and the Ninth Army to move south around the west side of Taihu Lake, directly approaching Yixing, cooperating with the Sixth Army of the First Army, and attacking the main force of the rebels stationed in Huzhou on both sides.

The Eighth Army, which had been in the rear, advanced to Changzhou to take over the defense, and at any time as needed to respond to the two-way operation.

Just when the Zhenjiang army was adjusting its deployment, Bao Yuchun also led his troops back from Mingzhou, leaving only his nephew Bao Xinyan to guard here and prevent the Kunpeng fleet from landing. Bao Yuchun passed through Hangzhou without entering, and directly took over the tens of thousands of recruits who were training in Yuhang, and then quickly marched westward as a second-way reinforcement to assemble in Huzhou.

At this point, the four armies under Li Jiangyao's command, about 150,000 soldiers and horses, and the main force of nearly 300,000 rebels gathered by Li Zhi, confronted the triangular area formed by Huzhou, Yixing, and Guangde, preparing to launch a large-scale battle.

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"The enemy took the initiative to abandon Yixing, obviously because he didn't want to waste his troops in this place and cheapened us for nothing. But that's fine, you don't have to fight to storm the city. ”

Xiong Yunjie looked at the map and said loudly: "Right now, Li Jiong has personally stepped out and almost taken out all the capital, which can be described as a desperate gamble. Dadu Hu, it seems that we can settle the battle in one battle! ”

Li Jiangyao nodded silently and did not answer. Duan Jun, who was standing on the other side, looked a little worried: "I'm afraid I can't be so optimistic at the moment." The total strength of the Huzhou rebels is around 300,000, and even if we count the First Army and the Sixth Army, we are only half of the other side, and we must not take it lightly. ”

"Where is Xu Youchang now?" Li Jiangyao opened his mouth and asked, "Is it still far from Guangde?" ”

Xiong Yunjie replied: "According to the report of the soldiers, Xu Shuai set off the day before yesterday, if there is no delay on the road, it is estimated that he will soon arrive at Poyang Lake." ”

Li Jiangyao muttered: "Along the way, there are many places that are still occupied by rebels, and Xu Youchang and they will inevitably have to take a detour. No matter how fast it is, it will take at least another six or seven days to get there. No, it's a bit of a rush. ”

Duan Jun said curiously: "What does Dadu Hu mean that the enemy will be the first to attack?" ”

Li Jiangyao pointed to the map: "Yixing is in the north of Huzhou, Guangde is in the west of Huzhou, the two places are one hundred and twenty miles apart, and the strength of the rebels is more than double ours, if you are Li Jiong, what will you do?" ”

Duan Jun nodded: "Well, if it were me, I would take advantage of the distance between the two places to concentrate superior forces to defeat one opponent first, and then turn back to deal with the other." ”

"That's why I think Xu Youchang may not be able to catch up." Li Jiangyao thought for a moment and ordered: "Immediately pass my order to the First Army and the Sixth Army, let them pay close attention to the enemy's movements, and once they find that the rebels are passing towards them, they will quickly retreat in the direction of Xuancheng." ”

"What should the enemy do if he continues the pursuit?" Xiong Yunjie asked.

Duan Jun said with a smile: "If Li Ji dares to pursue the First Army and the Sixth Army, then I will be happy to die, just take advantage of the good opportunity to lure the enemy deep and let my Ninth Army pocket his ass from behind." ”

Li Jiangyao nodded: "That's right." However, Li Bing is not the first time to go to the battlefield, in terms of qualifications, he is the Sima Du Lieutenant of the Xuanjia Legion back then, so it is unlikely that he will make this kind of mistake. Besides, Bao Yuchun and Ye Rongcheng are also there, so they should be very cautious in using soldiers. ”

Xiong Yunjie agreed: "I came out of the Xuanjia Army, and I know a little about Li Jiong. This guy does have a hand in war, and he is good at taking tricky ways, and he is deeply appreciated. ”

Li Jiangyao pondered for a moment, and said in a solemn tone: "The enemy has gathered heavy troops to fight with us this time, whether it is the morale of the army or the corresponding preparations, it will definitely be different from the past, you two must remember, and be sure to tell the soldiers under your command to sweep away the pride of the enemy and fight the rebels as the main force of the Turks." ”

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Xu Youchang traveled all the way through the starry night, and the whole person almost fell apart on horseback. When he arrived at Jing County, southwest of Xuancheng, he suddenly received news from the front Tanma: the First Army and the Sixth Army had withdrawn from Guangde and were currently moving towards Xuancheng.

Hearing this, Xu Youchang's heart suddenly tightened: Could it be that he lost the battle?

Tanma didn't know much about the specific battle situation on the front line, so he couldn't answer Xu Youchang's doubts.

There was no way, so he had to order his subordinates to adjust the direction and not go to Guangde, but to Xuancheng, and strive to join the First Army on the road.

After running for another day and a night, Xu Youchang finally intercepted the retreating troops near Zhaishan, sixty miles away from Xuancheng.

Looking at the state of the army, Xu Youchang's hanging heart finally relaxed. The officers and men were neat and unhurried, and it was obvious that they were actively retreating, rather than being routed by the enemy.

He summoned the generals of the two armies to inquire about the situation, and they told him that these were all orders from the Great Protector to keep the Tempest and Furious Waves out of the enemy's edge.

"After that, what will happen next, do you say anything about it?" Xu Youchang asked with concern.

An adjutant general replied: "Most of the guards have orders, as long as Xu Shuai comes back, we can immediately launch a counterattack, repel the rebels, retake Guangde, and drive the enemy back to Huzhou again!" ”

Xu Youchang laughed loudly when he heard this: "Most of the protectors really trust me, and the co-authors are waiting for me." ”

"Not really." Another general smiled: "With you here, which turn is Li Zhi's turn to be arrogant." ”

"Brothers, don't underestimate the enemy." Xu Youchang's expression suddenly became serious, and he seriously warned everyone: "The arrogant soldiers will be defeated." I've worked with Li Bing before, and I know the depth of this guy. Although his character is not very good, his ability to march and fight is also a leader in the Xuanjia Army, and Ye Rongcheng can't compare to him in some places. Most of the protectors let us launch a counterattack, which is the trust of the First Army and the Sixth Army, we can't disgrace him, let alone fall into the prestige of the Zhenjiang Army, right? ”

"Yes!" The generals responded one after another: "Please rest assured Xu Shuai, we will never take it lightly." ”

Xu Youchang nodded, galloped up a hill, and in the face of the thousands of Zhenjiang troops around, he raised his luck and shouted: "Soldiers, you retreated from Huzhou to Guangde, and retreated all the way from Guangde to here, are you aggrieved?" ”

"Aggrieved!" Suddenly an earth-shattering roar sounded in the dense forests of the hills.

"I'm going to lead you back now, so that the rebels know that they know the power of the wind and waves, are you willing?"

"Yes!"

"The number of enemies is more than ours, and the combat power is also very strong, answer me, can you level them?!"

"Yes! Pacify the rebels! Pacify the rebels! ”

The roar of tens of thousands of soldiers and horses shook the valley and frightened the plains, and even the wind and clouds changed color.

Xu Youchang boosted the morale of the sky, and immediately ordered the whole army to turn back the same way, the first army was responsible for the assault to open the road, and the sixth army followed up and went straight to Guangde County!

At this time, the rebels had more than 20,000 troops stationed in Quang De.

Their previous attack, as Li Jiangyao expected, did not rashly pursue the Sixth Army of the First Army after occupying Guangde, but left more than 20,000 people, ready to gain a foothold here, and the other troops set up positions on the line from Guangde to Huzhou, and then attacked the Zhenjiang Army in Yixing to the north.

Unexpectedly, the soldiers and horses who "fled from the wind" before turned around and killed them again. And they moved quickly and without hesitation, and launched a fierce attack as soon as they arrived at the place.

In Guangde County, the sound of city killing in an instant shook the sky, arrows rained down, countless heavy cavalry swept through the barracks outside the city like a whirlwind, and hoplites with long knives and axes attacked the city gates, unstoppable.

After a day and night of fierce fighting, the rebels defending the city suffered heavy casualties and could not sustain themselves, so they had to abandon the city and retreat in a hurry.

The retreat of the defeated army to the east immediately produced a chain reaction, and the rebels along the way also retreated one after another, returning to Huzhou to assemble along the road they came.

It is not difficult to see from this that both Li Zhi and Bao Yu Chunye Rongcheng are very cautious about the strategy of using troops in this battle, and they will never give the Zhenjiang army any opportunity to take advantage of.

With the return of Xu Youchang, the Zhenjiang army reoccupied the county seat of Guangde, and the enemy and us returned to the situation of triangular confrontation again.

Hundreds of thousands of troops on both sides are waiting for the decisive battle.