Qingliu Pass is located more than 70 miles west of Fengfu City, it is the east gate of the land of Gyeonggi of Yan Kingdom, and the official road of Yan Kingdom starts from Heluo and finally Ruyin passes through the pass.

When Lu Shen went to Baotai Mountain, he went all the way north from Ningling City, so he didn't come to this pass.

Unlike Panlong Pass and Yongquan Pass, the external terrain of Qingliu Pass is not particularly dangerous, although it is built between two mountains, the distance between them is very wide, and the mountains are gentle and easy to climb. Therefore, this place is more like Qingtian Castle on the south side of Dongyang Road guarding Yongfeng Road, but it was customarily named after the pass at the beginning.

The area of Qingliu Pass is not large, and there are more than 3,000 Yan troops stationed in it.

When there was a trace of the Qi army in the east of the pass, the general guarding the pass and Dong Ban, the supervisor of the soldiers and horses, immediately sent fast horses to Heluo to ask for help, and then worriedly reorganized the army for battle.

Although Qingliu Pass should be fully defended, and the three thousand defenders are enough to protect the city wall, as long as he thinks of the Qi army's achievements in the past two years, Dong Ban feels cold sweat on his back.

However, time passed quietly, but the Qi army outside never moved, Dong Ban did not dare to let the ranger scouts out of the city too far, and could only see the Qi army camped in the flat terrain about four or five miles outside the pass, and seemed to be ready for long-term combat.

This made Dong Ban puzzled, Qingliu Pass alone is definitely not as strong as Yongquan Pass, and there are no reinforcements coming in a short time, so what is Lu Shen's idea?

The quieter the Qi army became, the more Dong Ban didn't dare to be careless, these days he stayed on the city wall day and night, and when he couldn't stay up, he retreated into the city tower to sleep.

From the beginning of the strict battle, to the boring state of facing the enemy every day, they are not tireless machines after all, and they are gradually a little slack.

The Qi army camp outside the pass, the Ruishi camp and the Lai'an army each set up one place, and the two armies were a little curious about each other. Just because their main generals are in the camp, no one dares to come and go at will, and the well water does not interfere with the river water, and they get along quite harmoniously.

Outside the tent of the commander of the Chinese army, the soldiers on duty listened to the passionate voices coming from inside from time to time, and their faces looked a little strange.

Outsiders must have thought that the two tiger generals of the Huaizhou Army were discussing military affairs, and maybe even fighting over how to attack Qingliu Pass, but in fact-

"General!"

"Huh?"

"Brother Duan, you lost again."

"Wait...... I've just mistaken it, so let me think about it again. ”

"No, you have to regret at least three times in a game of chess, and this time it will definitely not work."

"Brother Lu, you have to give full play to the virtue of respecting the old and loving the young, I am more than ten years older than Ling."

Inside the handsome tent, Lu Shen looked at Duan Zuozhang angrily and funny and repented of his chess, and said helplessly: "Okay, for the last time." ”

The only chess game he loved in his previous life was chess, so last year he specially asked the steward of the family business to find someone to make a chess box, and after spreading it out, the back of the box was a simple chessboard.

These days, he is very quiet, and it is impossible to talk about military affairs with Duan Zuozhang every day, so he teaches the rules to the other party, and the two occasionally play chess to pass the time.

Although Lu Shen is not a top master, he is extremely strong in front of Duan Zuozhang, a beginner, and he has never lost.

Seeing that he was about to lose again, Duan Zuozhang took advantage of his age to rely on the old and sell the old, and once again launched the magic skill of regretting chess.

It's just that there is a big gap in the chess strength between the two sides, and after a while, Duan Zuozhang still lost the game after all.

Looking at the tragic endgame on the chessboard, Duan Zuozhang sighed with emotion: "Let's stop here today, I'm afraid I won't have the confidence to compete with you if I lose like this." ”

Lu Shen smiled and said: "Brother Duan, don't be frustrated, you haven't learned the rules for a long time, you have made great progress compared to the first day, and after a period of exercise, you will be able to roughly approach my level." ”

"Promise your good words."

Duan Zuozhang smiled heartily, of course he wouldn't really take this matter to heart, it was just a joke.

He helped Lu Shen pack up the chess pieces, and said: "This chess is indeed suitable for people in the army, although the killing on the chessboard is not as complicated as the war in reality, but there is a common reason." Especially when you play chess in a very different style, it's interesting. ”

"Oh?"

Lu Shen put the chess box in it and asked with interest, "What's the difference?" ”

Duan Zuozhang got up and took the teapot, filled the cups of the two of them, and said unhurriedly: "In reality, you pay attention to tossing and turning with troops, and you are very good at finding opportunities in roundabout maneuvers, or you will try to avoid hard encounters and try your best to create an advantage in strength in local confrontations. But you are a reckless man when playing chess, and you like to use the switch tactic from the beginning to the present. This kind of method of opening and closing for life has never appeared in you in reality. ”

He put the teapot back in its place and continued to smile: "It can be seen that you essentially advocate straightforward tactics, but you are only forced by reality and have to try your best to detour. ”

Lu Shen looked at him with a smile and said, "I didn't expect that Brother Duan would study me so deeply. ”

Duan Zuozhang said solemnly: "Don't forget, when you were still a white body, who fought side by side with you in Guangling City?" ”

"It's you."

Lu Shen dutifully praised him.

Duan Zuozhang nodded and said: "That's right, although it was the Metropolitan Governor who promoted and reused you, I am the one who knows you best, and I have personally watched you step by step to get to the present." ”

Lu Shen finally couldn't help laughing, and then said unceremoniously: "Brother Duan, is there another possibility, it is that your chess skills are relatively poor, I don't need to beat around the bush, I can win faster by changing the tactics?" ”

"This ......"

Duan Zuozhang was speechless.

Lu Shen took a sip of the teacup, and said with a smile: "But Brother Duan is right about one thing, I racked my brains to make plans before, not because I was afraid of the strength of the Yan army, but because I wanted to reduce the losses of our army as much as possible, after all, our real enemy is the main force of the Jing army far in the north." If my army is proud of the world, I don't have to bother so much, let's push all the way. ”

Duan Zuozhang's attention quickly shifted to business, and asked, "So what are you waiting for now?" ”

Before setting off this time, he was advised by Xiao Wangzhi that the decision on the battle was in Lu Shen's hands, so even if Lu Shen decided that the two elite main forces would wait outside Qingliu Pass, he would not be able to change the other party's mind.

Lu Shen didn't answer this question directly, and asked rhetorically: "Brother Duan, how long do you think it will take for our army to capture Qingliu Pass?" ”

Duan Zuozhang had already deduced many times during this time, and replied without thinking: "Five days at most." ”

Lu Shen bowed his head and said: "The morale of the Yan army has fallen to the bottom, as long as there are no reinforcements sent from Heluo's side, they won't be able to hold out for long." You and I all know this, and the pseudo-Yan monarchs in Heluo City also know that Qing Yu Zhongwang will not ignore it either, so I am waiting for his reaction, and I must give him enough time to think about it. ”

"What do you want him to reply?"

"The best answer is that he immediately sends reinforcements, so that our army can continue to carry out the tactics of encircling and sending reinforcements, and eat up the troops in the hands of Qing Yu Zhongwang step by step. However, judging from the current situation, Qing Yu Zhongwang would not be so stupid, he had obviously studied our previous strategy, and would rather abandon Qingliuguan than take risks. As far as he is concerned, as long as he holds Heluo, he will complete Qing Yugong's entrustment, and when the marshal of the Southern Courtyard finishes handling the matter at hand and leads the army south, the Jing army can rely on its strong strength and sufficient troops to let us spit out the recovered territory again. ”

"And next?"

"The second is that our army will continue to advance across the Qingliu Pass, and Qingyu Zhongwang may let us take two or three more cities. At that time, our army's battle line will be very long, far away from the main force attacking Ruyin City, not only will it be difficult to get timely support from the main force, but its own baggage line will also be exposed to the sight of Qingyu Zhongwang. ”

Duan Zuozhang got up and walked to the edge of the simple sand table, looked at the route from Qingliu Pass to Heluo City in the west, and muttered: "Do you think that when our army goes too deep, Qing Yu Zhongwang will lead his troops out of Heluo City and try to encircle and annihilate us?" ”

Lu Shen raised three fingers and said, "There is a thirty percent possibility." ”

Duan Zuozhang frowned and said, "So low? ”

Lu Shen came to his side and said slowly: "Qing Yu Zhongwang has a lot of experience in leading troops, and he must have carefully studied the tactics of our army in the past two years, so he must suspect that this is still our strategy." From his point of view, we must have tried to lure him out by leaving Ruyin City alone and attacking the Western Front paranoidly, and maybe there were a large number of ambushes behind the Ruishi Battalion and the Lai'an Army. ”

Although the whole logic is a bit twisted, Duan Zuozhang, as a veteran of the battlefield, can also sort out these details, and nodded: "Indeed, Qing Yuzhong hopes to have Qing Yugong's words and deeds, and he will definitely be very cautious in using soldiers." ”

But after all, he is the eldest son of Qing Yugong, the little prince who is well known in the Jing Dynasty, how can he not have his own pride......

Lu Shen didn't say this emotion, and turned back to the original topic: "Brother Duan asked me what I was waiting for, but in fact, I was just waiting for a few news. ”

Duan Zuozhang looked at him thoughtfully.

The next morning, several messengers arrived at the camp one after another, bringing the latest battlefield intelligence to Lu Shen and Duan Zuozhang.

The first is Xiao Wangzhi's personal soldiers, according to his words, the main force of the Huaizhou army has won successive battles, during this time successively conquered Zhonglu, Nanzhang, Wenping on the periphery of the Ruyin defense line, successively annihilated and forced the Yan army to surrender more than 10,000 people, and gradually approached Ruyin City.

Li Shouzhen, the general of the puppet Yan Dongyang Road, was beaten to a delirium, and at this time he chose to clear the wilderness, directly abandoned the auxiliary cities and passes on the periphery of Ruyin City, and concentrated all the troops in his hands in Ruyin City, it seemed that he was going to hold on for a year and a half, waiting for the main force of the Jing army to go south to rescue.

The second is a secret agent sent by Su Yunqing, according to the recent investigation by the Warp Weaving Division, the Jing army in Heluo City did not choose to go out of the city to help. Qingyu Zhongwang only transferred more than 20,000 reserve Yan troops from Henan Road to increase the defensive force in various cities on the eastern front, but did not send troops to Qingliu Pass, obviously not wanting to be ambushed by the Qi army outside the pass.

The last messenger came from Ningling City, and the news he said made Lu Shen and Duan Zuozhang stunned at the same time.

"Prime Minister Wang asked you to tell me that Qing Yu Zhongwang is determined to defend Heluo? Won't send a single soldier to support everywhere? ”

Lu Shen asked with a solemn expression.

The messenger replied, "Lieutenant, it is true. ”

Lu pondered for a moment, nodded and said, "I know, I have to ask you to run this trip." ”

The messenger did not dare to reply, and then bowed and withdrew.

The atmosphere in the handsome tent was slightly solemn, Duan Zuozhang looked at Lu Shen's slightly frowning brows, and asked, "Is there something wrong?" ”

Lu Shen shook his head and said with a faint smile: "Since Qing Yu Zhongwang is going to be a shrinking turtle, then our army can act." ”

Duan Zuozhang's expression perked up, and he said heroically: "Okay, the first attack will be handed over to our Lai'an army." ”

Lu Shen did not object, and arched his hand: "I wish Brother Duan and the brothers who came to Anjun a victory!" ”

The battle went even more smoothly than Duan Zuozhang had predicted, and he had obviously overestimated the Yan army's will to resist before.

Three days later, on the sixth day of the second month of the 14th year of Jianwu, the Lai'an army broke through the Qingliu Pass.

The next day the army continued to advance westward.

On February 14, the Lai'an Army and the Ruishi Battalion went to the next city, and the banner of the Daqi border army fluttered at the head of Raoyang City.

At this moment, these two elite divisions were only more than three hundred miles away from Heluo City in the west.

Countless urgent reports for help flew like snowflakes to that thousand-year-old city.

(End of chapter)