The Battle of Sishui County was quite a surprise to Shen Yi.
Because in terms of overall military strength, Xue Wei's troops were not much larger than the Yizhou Qi army, only five or six thousand more.
In Shen Yi's original plan, he did not expect Xue Wei's troops to be able to defeat the enemy. As long as they could repel or stop these Qi people so that they could not support Yanzhou, that would be good.
But now, Xue Wei's vanguard army not only defeated the Qi army, but also did so in just two days, which surprised Mr. Shen.
He pulled Xue Wei and asked about his injuries before asking: "What are the casualties of our army?"
Xue Wei thought for a while and replied: "Almost five thousand people."
At this point, Xue Wei let out a breath and said: "Most of them are brothers who stayed in Surabaya with the last general to stop the Qi people. At that time, the strength of the troops was very different, and we had to try our best to retain people. We can't spare our lives in the fight."
"After fighting for a day and a night, Wan Zhong returned with the main force of the vanguard army. At this time, the Qi people almost lost their fighting spirit and were defeated in one day."
Shen Yi nodded and asked, "Have the wounded soldiers in the army received proper treatment?"
"They all stayed in Surabaya County."
Xue Wei replied: "My subordinates have left two thousand-household camps in Surabaya. In addition to the wounded soldiers, the prisoners also stayed in Surabaya County."
After a pause, he continued: "There are two thousand people staying here. If the Qi people who fled north come back, there will be a reaction on the Surabaya side."
Mr. Shen looked at Xue Wei in surprise and smiled heartily: "I haven't seen you for a few days, and you are starting to think about things!"
"It's really rare."
Xue Wei scratched his head in embarrassment and said, "Mr. Shen, don't harm your subordinates."
"My subordinates used to follow you. Naturally, they will fight how you tell them to fight. There is no need to think blindly. If you think too much, problems may arise."
"Now that I am leading troops outside, I have to think more about things."
He sighed and said with some distress: "To tell you the truth, after leaving your side and leading troops outside, I often feel anxious. Sometimes I look at the map all night and have trouble sleeping."
He looked at Shen Yi and sighed: "I used to follow you, even if I was injured, I would fall asleep. I never had such troubles."
"I am leading the troops outside."
General Xue sighed in a rare moment: "It's much harder."
Mr. Shen smiled hoarsely and wanted to pat his shoulder, but then remembered that he was injured, so he retracted his hand and smiled happily: "Sooner or later there will be such a day."
"Unless you stay with me and become the commander of the guard camp with me, sooner or later you will have to go out and take charge of your own affairs. You must step over this hurdle. If you step over it, you will be General Xue in the future."
"Can't get past it."
Shen Yi smiled and said: "In the future, at most you will return to your Zhejiang capital and become an inconspicuous military attache."
Having said this, Shen Yi coughed, became slightly more serious, and said, "Besides, you don't have much time."
"The Huai'an Army is growing, and you must keep up with the growth of the Huai'an Army. Otherwise, you will be left far behind by Ling Su Su Ding and the others in the future."
From a macro perspective, everyone in the Huai'an Army is a direct descendant of Shen Yi.
However, if the Huai'an army is divided into subdivisions, Xue Wei is probably the only one who can obey Shen Yi unconditionally and without hesitation.
From the Anti-Japanese Army to the Huai'an Army, even though Xue Wei's early growth rate was not fast, because of his lovable personality, Shen Yi has been sparing no effort to train him.
Now, Xue Wei finally has some general-like qualities, and Mr. Shen is quite happy.
It was almost noon now. He had people prepare meals and took the future General Xue to have a meal together. After the meal was almost done, Mr. Shen smiled and said: "Wait until the battle in Shandong is over. , the war has eased a bit, you go back to Guangdong and move the two women at home to Jiankang."
"It just so happens that the boy in my family is six or seven years old this year. You can go to my house to have a few meals and get to know him."
"By the way, let my wife be in Jiankang and find you a girl from a good family so that you can start a family."
Before Xue Wei's Northern Expedition, he served as the commander of the Guangzhou Guard in Guangzhou. According to Shen Yi's instructions, he took two concubines in Guangdong. After both concubines were pregnant, he went north to Huai'an. By now, the two women had already given birth. , gave birth to a son and a daughter to Xue Wei, both of whom are already over two years old.
Xue Wei bowed his head deeply and said: "I obey my orders!"
After he said these four words, he thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Shen, when will the war in Shandong end?"
Hearing this question, Shen Yi was silent for a while, shook his head slightly and said, "I don't know."
"After Yanzhou is captured, the reinforcements from the Northern Qi court are almost here. When the time comes, they will inevitably have to fight head-on with the Qi people."
"This battle will determine the situation in Shandong."
Mr. Shen lowered his head, took a sip of tea, and said slowly: "If you want to end the war in Shandong, you must win this battle first."
It is estimated that reinforcements from Northern Qi will arrive in Shandong in ten days and a half.
At that time, a large-scale army battle will inevitably occur.
In wars of this scale, the outcome is often not determined by one or two battles. It is very likely that a stalemate will result in a long and protracted war.
By that time, in most situations, it will not be the case that the troops are sharp and disadvantageous, and the soldiers will not be brave.
What matters more is a country's national strength and wartime mobilization capabilities.
After the two of them finished their meal, Mr. Shen stood up and said, "You are injured, so don't move anymore. I'll have someone prepare a tent for you so you can take a rest."
"As for the vanguard army moving closer to Yanzhou, we are not particularly anxious. Yanzhou has no shortage of troops for the time being."
"Just come over within five days."
Xue Wei stood up and said, "Mr. Shen, I would like to take a look at the Yanzhou battlefield."
Shen Yi was startled, then nodded with a smile and said: "That's fine, I just want to go to the frontline battlefield to take a look."
"While you were away, a group of black armor guards appeared in the left army under Su Ding. They fought very bravely. I will take you to take a look."
Having said this, Shen Yi paused and sighed: "It's a pity that the leader of the Xuanjia Guard is injured and is currently recovering from his wounds. Otherwise, I could let you see his style, and you might just hit it off."
Xue Wei thought for a moment and said, "Is it General Zhong Mingzhong?"
Shen Yi had already reached the door of the camp and looked back at him after hearing this.
"you know?"
Xue Wei nodded: "Mr. Shen, you have forgotten that my subordinates were also in the left army in the past."
General Xue smiled honestly: "This Zhong Ming, my subordinates took him with me earlier. He has practiced martial arts since he was a child and likes to fight with others in the army."
"Recently, he was the first to conquer two cities in the Left Route Army, which made him very popular. His subordinates in Fei County also heard about it."
Shen Yi suddenly realized that he reached out and patted his forehead.
"Yes, you should know each other. I don't know why I have been forgetful lately."
Xue Wei followed Shen Yi and lowered his head slightly: "Mr. Shen, you have many things to do and deal with many things every day. You shouldn't remember these irrelevant things."
Mr. Shen glanced back at him and cursed with a smile: "Why have you imitated them? You have a smooth tongue."
Xue Wei scratched his head, looking straightforward.
"My subordinate is just telling the truth."
…………
That afternoon, Shen Yi took Xue Wei, and the two of them inspected the frontline battlefields. At the same time, they also met Su Ding, who was personally directing the war.
I don’t know if the news of the defeat of the Qi army in Yizhou reached Yanzhou. On this day, the morale of the Yanzhou defenders was obviously low. In one afternoon, the Huai’an army advanced more than a hundred feet to the north, occupying a large area. place.
In the evening, Xue Wei, who was following Shen Yi, looked at the battlefield with a telescope, lowered his head slightly and said, "Mr. Shen, we have almost occupied half of Yanzhou."
"As long as a hole is opened in the northern pocket, I believe these Qi people will not be able to hold on for long, and they may retreat north."
Shen Yi nodded and asked with a smile: "What if we tighten the pockets in the north and don't let them go?"
Xue Wei thought for a while and replied: "The trapped beasts are still fighting. I'm afraid it will take more than half a month, or even longer, to clear out these Qi people in Yanzhou."
Mr. Shen looked towards the north and said slowly: "I have been thinking about this issue these past few days."
"Should we let them go or not?"
Shen Yi rubbed his temples and said, "I have estimated that if we forcefully eat them, it will take more than a month, and our Huai'an army will have to pay more than 20,000 casualties."
Xue Wei was a little surprised when he heard this: "Twenty thousand people?"
"This is still a conservative estimate."
Shen Yi glanced back at him and said lightly: "These Qi people are not made of mud."
"Now, they have room to retreat, and the casualties will naturally be small. If their retreat is blocked, when they have no way to retreat..."
"Sacrifice 20,000 people may not be able to retain them."
Xue Wei opened his mouth and was about to speak when a messenger hurried over, knelt down in front of Shen Yi, lowered his head and said, "Sir!"
"General Ling is fighting with reinforcements from Dongping Prefecture!"
Shen Yi's expression changed slightly and asked: "When did it happen? How is the situation?"
"Almost four hours ago."
The messenger soldier bowed his head deeply.
"The situation of the battle is unknown, but General Ling said..."
