The fourteenth year of Jianwu is gradually coming to an end, and it is less than half a month away from the New Year's Festival, but in the land of Jiangbei, especially in Dingzhou, there is no sense of the slightest festive atmosphere.

After the Jing army forcibly captured the Dingfeng Road, because the main force of the Dingzhou army was still encircling and annihilating the Yan army led by Mou Lianghu in the southeast of the Leize Plain, by the time they collected their troops and went north to strengthen the Jishantun defense line, the Jing army had already completed the invasion of the northern part of Dingzhou.

At present, except for Fengqiu City, which is held by the Feiyun Army, nearly one-third of Dingzhou's territory has fallen into the hands of the Jing Army.

It includes a prefecture city, nine county seats, and countless villages and towns.

Although this time, under Qing Yugong's strict orders, the Jing army did not make any more inhumane moves such as slaughtering the city, but it was obviously an unrealistic luxury to expect these Jinglian warriors to treat the local people as friendly as the Qi army under Lu Shen.

With the fall of the northern part of Dingzhou, the Qi people in the south inevitably fell into panic, and now their only hope is that the Jishantun defense line can be held.

This defense line, which is about 70 miles long and more than 30 miles wide, is the only barrier in Ruyin City and the surrounding vast area.

Different from the narrow cramped Dingfeng Road and the easy to defend and difficult to attack of Qingliu Pass, the Jishantun defense line is actually an open area, and there is no natural danger to rely on except for the walled fort.

This meant that the Qi army had to face the Jing army's offensive head-on, and the only reliance was on the interconnected walled fort system.

In the fifteenth year, the prospect army broke through Heluo City in only 12 days, not because everyone could fly to the sky, but because the defense of Heluo City at that time was extremely empty, and some northern clans acted as internal responses, so that there was such an incredible result.

Pei Di handed over the military order with the seal of the Governor of Dadu, and continued: "The Governor of Dadu has an order, the Zhenbei Army will take over the Pingshan Army to garrison this city, and your troops will temporarily retreat and recuperate. ”

He glanced at the Zhenbei Army behind Pei Di and asked, "The Governor of the Metropolitan asked you to personally lead the troops over to help?" ”

The situation of the Pingshan army became more and more difficult, and in the end, even Kang Yanxiao himself brought his own soldiers into the battle group.

The large forests in the northern part of Dingzhou also gave Jingjun craftsmen convenient conditions.

After so many years of development, especially the tempering of the battle to destroy Zhao last year, today's Jing army may not be as strong as the heyday of fifteen years ago, but they are much stronger than they were in the formation method, military discipline and use of equipment.

The Jing army relied on strong cavalry to sweep the formation, forcing the Pingshan army to retreat in the walled fort and defend to the death.

"It's not help, it's a change of guard."

At this moment, there was a sudden sound of hurried footsteps from the rear, and then the deputy commander Ye Shunqing came to the front and said with a happy face: "General, the Zhenbei Army has come to support, and General Pei has arrived behind the city!" ”

Although Jing Jun retreated in the end, there was no joy in Kang Yanxiao's eyes.

From late November to the present, the Jing army has launched four offensives, each one more ferocious, posing a great threat to the Pingshan army guarding the front.

Up and down the military city, the sound of killing is like a tide.

In the cold winter sun, thousands of Jingjun foot soldiers came up for the fifth time and launched a fierce attack on the military city defended by the main force of the Pingshan Army.

Today's Jing army has no internal cooperation, but they already have extremely complete siege equipment that is not even weaker than the Qi army's equipment.

The battle lasted nearly three hours, from morning to afternoon.

Kang Yanxiao and Pei Di are both veterans under Xiao Wangzhi, and the two have known each other for more than ten years, so they naturally don't need those polite greetings.

Kang Yanxiao's expression perked up, and he hurriedly led a group of generals to the rear of the military city.

He looked at the bloody faces and exhausted eyes of the soldiers around him, and his mood became heavier.

From ancient times to the present, the art of defending the city is by no means just a defensive word, a wise commander will inevitably adopt a strategy of both offense and defense, and seize the opportunity to take the initiative to attack under the premise of sticking to it, so that it is possible to defeat the enemy, otherwise he can only be beaten passively.

I saw the banner of the Zhenbei Army fluttering, and countless elite troops were neatly organized.

The commander of the Pingshan army made Kang Yanxiao understand this truth, but he had no choice.

Kang Yanxiao smiled bitterly.

As a soldier, of course, he has to obey orders, but this military order represents Xiao Wangzhi's prediction of the battlefield situation, and the Pingshan army can no longer continue to support, and if he does not adjust, it is very likely that the Jing army will break through the defense line.

Xiao Wangzhi transferred the strongest Zhenbei Army under his command, which meant that the next Jing Army's offensive would be even more crazy, and at this time, only the Zhenbei Army, known as the Iron Army, could compete.

Thinking of this, Kang Yanxiao said ashamedly: "I disappointed the Metropolitan Governor." ”

Pei Di stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder, and said with relief: "Lao Kang, this battle has just begun, do you Pingshan Army want to fight from beginning to end?" Gotta give us a chance to play with the bastards from the north. You don't have to be in a hurry, just because you can go back and recuperate doesn't mean you can lie down. The Grand Governor's plans for the war have always been far-reaching, and now that Jing Jun is clearly not going to give up easily, are you still worried that there will be no desperate opportunities in the future? ”

Kang Yanxiao's expression gradually relaxed, and he smiled: "That's right, you can still see it." ”

Pei Di said: "Okay, don't be verbose, take advantage of this time Jingjun to retreat, hurry up and complete the handover." ”

The two walked side by side towards the city, and then the soldiers of the Zhenbei Army began to take over the city defense, and the Pingshan Army prepared for withdrawal.

At the time of parting, Kang Yanxiao looked at Pei Di and said solemnly: "Old Pei, be careful, Jing Jun is like crazy this time." ”

Pei Di smiled slightly, raised his hand and patted his chest.

The sun gradually turned west, and the soldiers of the Zhenbei Army stood on the city wall, looking at the vast sky in the north resolutely.

They seemed to merge with this sturdy military city, turning into a barrier that stood tall in front of countless people of Great Qi.

……

In Jishantun, which is more than 30 miles away from the front line, the Provisional Governor's Office has been stationed, and military orders have been issued from here, continuing to consolidate the defense line ahead.

Although Qing Yugong's hand was very big, Emperor Jingguo still did not do his best. Jinglian's Ninth Army, at present, only the three armies of Xiashan, Fangcheng, Dingbai and those servant armies are currently used. If it weren't for Emperor Jing's jealousy of Qing Yugong's strength and wanted to use this battle to consume Qing Yugong's troops, I'm afraid our situation would be even more difficult. ”

Xiao Wangzhi personally poured a cup of tea and put it in front of Lu Tong, who was in the dust.

Lu Tong looked at his face and asked bluntly, "What are you going to do next?" ”

Xiao Wangzhi sat down opposite him, and his tone was very calm: "Let's talk about the situation in the capital first, as well as Lu Shen's child's plan." ”

Although Lu Tong didn't mention it, Xiao Wangzhi was very clear about his intentions, before he received a secret decree from the Son of Heaven to send eight hundred miles of fast horses, ordering him to avoid the battle and lure the Jing army to the south, and now Lu Tong came by trekking through mountains and rivers, definitely to explain the specific details in person.

"His Majesty the Emperor is not in good condition."

Lu Tong only used one sentence to make Xiao Wangzhi's brows furrow.

After he listened to Lu Tong's narration, he couldn't help but sigh softly.

Lu Tong understood the origin of his sigh, and also sighed: "Dashuai was born at the wrong time, if he can live until now, how can he ......?"

For a while, the two middle-aged men who have been in the same boat for decades have not looked very good.

If Yang Guangyuan could live until now, how could Jing Jun dare to be so strong, he only hated that he hadn't met a good emperor.

Xiao Wangzhi sorted out his mood, raised his eyes to look at the simple map hanging on the wall, and said slowly: "Your Majesty is taking the bait, Lu Shen is planning in advance, and Li Dudu is personally in battle, even if Qing Yugong acts as cautiously as before, Emperor Jing will not tolerate him delaying the military plane." It's just that even if Qing Yugong steps into the trap with the main force, he will not be a fish to be slaughtered, and the troops on the Eastern Front may not be enough. ”

Lu Tong's heart moved slightly, as if he had turned back to twenty years ago, when he and Xiao Wangzhi were the best juniors around Yang Guangyuan, and they often had disputes over the military affairs of the Jinghe defense line.

This time, he didn't refute Xiao Wangzhi's judgment, only nodded and said, "I also thought about this problem on the way here." Li Tianrun has nearly 110,000 people in the Ninth Army in his hands, but it is impossible for him to put all his troops into the decisive battle, after all, the Jingzhou defense line is so long, he must beware of Qing Yugong's false shot. Once the battle on the Eastern Front starts, the Beijing army can send troops north to support, but it can't pour out, which will make Qing Yugong vigilant, I estimate that there are only 40,000 or 50,000 soldiers and horses at most. ”

"It's still a hundred thousand."

Xiao Wangzhi took over the conversation, and then said: "Li Dudu should be able to use these 100,000 soldiers and horses to tie up a pocket, but the question is whether he can eat the main force under Qing Yugong's command?" ”

Lu Tong pondered for a moment, and said with a little solemnity: "I'm afraid it's a little difficult. ”

Xiao Wangzhi said in a deep voice: "It's not just a little difficult. You haven't seen the offensive of the Jing army in the north during this time, they are not the most elite soldiers and horses in the hands of Qing Yugong, but they have made it very difficult for the Pingshan army to defend, so I sent the Zhenbei army. If we want to deal with Qing Yugong's main force on the frontal battlefield, we must not take it lightly in the slightest, and we must occupy an absolute superiority in troops. ”

The two of them gradually outlined the situation on the battlefield more clearly.

On the east and west lines, Jingzhou and Dingzhou, every soldier and horse was taken into account by them.

Lu Tong suddenly came to his senses, maybe this was the reason why Lu Shen asked him to go north in a hurry, after all, Xiao Wangzhi's personal visit to the front line would definitely be an extremely beneficial supplement to the entire strategy.

He spoke the idea and asked, "Where did the soldiers come from?" ”

Xiao Wangzhi got up and came to the wall, looked at the signs on the map, and suddenly moved his eyes to the south, where Dingzhou and Huaizhou bordered.

Qingtian Castle and Yongquan Pass.

He smiled slightly and said: "Do you remember that after the Battle of Qingxia that year, I led the Huaizhou Army and the Jingying Army to counterattack Qingtian City, and then the main force of the Huaizhou Army went west out of Panlong Pass?" ”

"Naturally, I remember."

Lu Tong also stood up, came to him and said, "Do you want to do it again?" I'm afraid it's not that simple this time, Jing Jun has made it clear that he wants to bite off a large piece of meat from you, they won't care if you feint or not, once you have the opportunity, the army will inevitably go south. ”

Xiao Wangzhi said calmly: "It's definitely not okay to paint a cat and a tiger, to underestimate the enemy is to bury yourself." However, I think I can act more like this time, but one retreat and one advance, and exchange the defeat of Dingzhou for the victory of Jingzhou. ”

Lu Tong gradually came back to his senses, he looked at his best friend who had been friends for decades, and said with a solemn expression: "You do this...... It could ruin your reputation. ”

Xiao Wangzhi turned his head to look at him, and said calmly and firmly: "Yingming? It's just a name. ”

"As long as Daqi can achieve the final victory, my personal honor and disgrace are not worth mentioning."

(End of chapter)