Under the blue sea and sky, the gentle sea breeze caresses, and the pleasant scenery makes people feel relaxed and happy...
Of course, it would be nice if there were no snare drums roaring in my ears and the constant shouting of killing!
The main force of the Leizhou Navy of the Yun Kingdom gathered together, and the mighty force spread across the sea. The drums shook, and instantly the bows and crossbows were fired, the trebuchets sounded, and arrows and stones fell like rain, heading towards the Yun Army Navy in the distance.
go.
However, they saw that the warships of the Yun Kingdom Navy were not willing to fight, and they quickly evacuated with the speed of their ships, showing no intention of continuing to get entangled.
Watching the Yun Army warships leave, the warships of the Leizhou Navy suddenly stagnated. Flags were flying on each warship, asking the commander for instructions whether to pursue.
The commander of the Leizhou Navy looked at the warships of the Yun Kingdom Navy that were leaving quickly. He hesitated for a long time. After all, he did not dare to order the pursuit. He gritted his teeth and ordered:
"withdraw!"
Once the military order is given, the sound of ringing gold is heard, which is the signal to withdraw troops.
Upon hearing the order, the officers and men of the Leizhou Navy had calm expressions on their faces, but they could only endure the grievances in their hearts and silently watched the Yun army evacuate.
Now on this sea, in terms of overall strength, Leizhou Navy, which has many warships, has the upper hand.
However, the Yun Kingdom Navy inherited all the warships from the former Li Dynasty West Route Navy.
The navy of Li Dynasty was the most powerful in the world, and its shipbuilding skills were unrivaled in the world. The ships they built were tall, strong, and fast, which were unmatched by the warships of Leizhou Navy of Xia Kingdom.
Therefore, although the Yun Kingdom Navy currently commanded by Zheng He only had more than a hundred warships under its command, it had the upper hand in naval battles because it was able to take the initiative to attack.
Even though the Xia Navy had many ships and a mighty battle formation, it could only gain the upper hand at the beginning of the battle.
However, once the Yun Army retreated, the Leizhou Navy could not catch up with the Yun State warships, and was also worried that Leizhou would be attacked by the Yun State Navy, so it never dared to pursue it, and it was always difficult to expand the results of the battle.
Even now that it has developed, even though the overall strength of the Leizhou Navy is stronger than that of the Yun Kingdom Navy, it has been reduced to the point where it can only control the waters near Leizhou.
The officers and men of the Leizhou Navy once again watched the Yun Kingdom Navy retreat calmly after being harassed. Their morale was inevitably low.
But when they returned to Leizhou for repairs without success, the urgent report from Chuchuan Mansion made the Leizhou Navy's morale even worse.
"General, it's bad! General Yang Dayan of the Yun Army Anton led a large army to attack our Chuchuan Prefecture a few days ago. Leizhou has been completely cut off from the mainland and has become an enclave..."
When the Leizhou Navy Commander heard the news, he was immediately confused and sat blankly on his seat, with a look of panic on his face.
All the generals were even more shocked at this time, and they all exclaimed:
"After Zhu County was captured by the Yun Army, the Chuchuan Prefecture mobilized more than 10,000 troops to garrison. Why didn't they hold on for even half a month?"
"Is Yun Jun really so brave?"
"Didn't Marquis Deyang already mobilize elites from Yongzhou to garrison in Chuchuan Mansion? Where are the reinforcements?"
"Di Qing of Yun State took light cavalry directly to Lingzhou, and then the army pressed forward and attacked Yongzhou. The situation in Shaoyang County is critical, where are the reinforcements coming..."
"Damn it, I, Leizhou, are now facing enemies from both sides. Isn't this like a situation of death!"
The leader of the Leizhou Navy, who was in charge, was already panicking. Hearing the depressing remarks of his generals, he became even more agitated. He slammed the table and shouted angrily:
"Shut up, everyone!"
The angry voice caused a sudden silence in the commander's tent. The generals were as silent as cicadas and bowed their heads.
The Leizhou Navy Commander took several deep breaths and forced himself to calm down before suppressing the evil fire in his heart.
"The situation in Leizhou is so critical now. You must not mess up your position!"
All the generals lowered their heads and clasped their fists together, and responded in a deep voice:
"The general will eventually realize his mistake!"
The Leizhou Navy Commander gritted his teeth and continued:
"How much ordnance, supplies, food and grass are there in the army?"
The quartermaster immediately came out of the queue and responded with his hands raised:
"There are less than 20,000 arrows, and the kerosene can only be used for three or four battles now. The parts of the trebuchet are badly worn and urgently need to be redeployed. There is no shortage of other ordnance for the time being... In addition, there is a problem of food and grass!
The food and grass currently in the army is only enough to last the army for one month."
The problem of food and grass is actually the most serious! The number of people under Leizhou's rule is not as high as that in prosperous places. It is difficult for one place to provide the food and grass needed by the tens of thousands of troops of Leizhou Navy.
At this time, the chief of Leizhou Navy clenched his fists tightly, with the veins on his forehead exposed, and said angrily:
"Previously, the Yun army had been harassing us, but the main force had been unable to avoid the battle. I think it was purely to consume our Leizhou ordnance storage!"
When there was a general, he said:
"General, at this time, we can only rely on sea routes to transport supplies!"
Upon hearing this, the Leizhou Navy Commander nodded silently and said:
"This is the only way now..."
Having said this, he gritted his teeth and shouted:
"In short, the current war situation is unfavorable and the ordnance is insufficient. If the Yun army provokes another provocation in the future, our army will not be able to avoid the battle and defend Leizhou!"
As long as Leizhou is not lost, it will be difficult for most of the Yun Kingdom's navy to bypass Leizhou and harass the Xia Kingdom's coastal areas.
When the generals heard this, they immediately clasped their fists and said -
Anshun County, Xingyuan Prefecture, and under Yangping Pass, Qiu Tianlu, the commander-in-chief of the Xia Army in Jiangyang County, led the vanguard of the army and marched quickly.
Looking at Yangping Pass, the Yunlong flag and the general flag with "Yijun General Zhao" floating in the wind, Qiu Tianlu closed his eyes regretfully and said with despair:
"How did the Yun army get here, and how did they capture Yangping Pass so easily?"
Earlier, Qiu Tianlu was leading his troops to storm Jianzhou Pass, when he received a report from the defenders of Guangyuan Prefecture, saying that the supplies and grain from Xingyuan Prefecture had been overdue for two days and had not arrived.
The Guangyuan Prefecture sent troops to investigate, only to find on the Jinniu Road the corpses of soldiers and burned supplies left behind after the Xia army's supply troops were defeated.
At this time, the generals of the Xia Army only thought it was the Yun Kingdom cavalry, so they did not pay attention. It was not until they discovered that Yangping Pass seemed to have fallen into the hands of the Yun Army that the Xia Army in Guangyuan Prefecture panicked and hurriedly reported revenge.
Heavenly Road.
Qiu Tianlu had long felt uneasy because there was no movement from the Yun army in Xiangzhou County. Hearing the military report that Yangping Pass seemed to have been lost, he was shocked and quickly led his troops to retreat from Guangyuan Mansion.
At this time, when Qiu Tianlu personally led the vanguard of the army to Yangping Pass and saw the fall of Yangping Pass with his own eyes, his heart was suddenly filled with regret and annoyance.
Once Yangping Pass is lost, Xingyuan Prefecture can be considered to have fallen, and the Xia Kingdom's southwest defense line is about to collapse. What's even worse is that the 40,000 elite troops under Qiu Tianlu's command will be cut off. If they are not careful, they will be in danger of overthrowing!
At this time, an embroidery envoy from the Xia Kingdom hurried to Qiu Tianlu, with a bitter look on his face and whispered:
"General Qiu, the embroidery envoy from Xiangzhou County came to report that thousands of Yun troops came from the Yinping Trail. After repairing in the small town of Xigu County for a day, they took the Yinping Road again and made a surprise attack on Yangping Pass..."
When Qiu Tianlu heard this, his pupils shrank and he exclaimed:
"Yinping Trail? How is it possible..."
Having said this, Qiu Tianlu hesitated slightly and froze on the spot.
Although the Yinping Trail is rugged and difficult to navigate, it is not really inaccessible to anyone, otherwise the name "Yinping Trail" would not exist.
It's just that it's difficult for a large army to march on this road. No one in the world thought that someone would lead a large army to cross it, so Qiu Tianlu naturally didn't take precautions subconsciously.
But I never expected that there would be such elite soldiers and horses in the Yun army, and they could really cross Yinping and attack Yangping Pass by surprise.
Qiu Tianlu looked shocked and remained silent for a long time. When the general of the Xia Army heard this, he immediately became furious and couldn't help but cursed angrily at the embroiderer:
"What's the use of telling this kind of information now?"
"You embroiderers used to be so majestic, and even the courtiers' jokes could reach His Majesty's ears. Why are you so useless against the Yun army?"
"A bunch of rascals!"
…
Facing the accusations from the generals, the embroidered warrior was still willing to give in at first, but the generals' words became more and more offensive, and he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed, and he retorted angrily:
"I just received the news too! The Embroidered Clothes Messenger is not a god, and it takes time to deliver information. Xigu County is remote, and the Yun Army deliberately blocked it. By the time the news reaches Jiangcheng Mansion, it will be too late before it reaches me.
Already..."
After all, the Embroidered Clothes Envoy and the army are not in the same system. If there is any information, the Embroidered Clothes Envoy must first pass it to Jiangcheng Mansion. Only after the second-grade Embroidered Clothes Envoy in charge of the Southwest Embroidered Clothes Envoy makes a decision can it be passed to the army.
.
After this process is completed, by the time the information reaches the military, it will naturally be too late!
At this time, seeing that the generals and the embroidered clothes envoy were still arguing, Qiu Tianlu frowned and shouted coldly:
"If there is any argument in this situation, we will be punished with the crime of rebelling against the army!"
Everyone was wary of Qiu Tianlu's strict military laws, so they suppressed their anger and stopped arguing with the embroiderer. They turned to look at Qiu Tianlu and asked respectfully:
"Commander, what should I do?"
"Now that the way back is cut off, I would like to ask for orders to lead my troops to attack and recapture Yangping Pass!"
"Recapture? Yangping Pass is not as good as Jianzhou Pass. The walls are tall and majestic, easy to defend and difficult to attack. How to recapture it?"
"The survival of the 40,000-strong army is at stake. If we don't fight to the death, why don't we sit back and wait for death?"
At this time, among the generals of the Xia army, some looked panicked and spoke at a loss. Others, inspired by the desire to fight bravely and bravely, spoke out to ask for a fight.
Qiu Tianlu thought for a long time, gritted his teeth and said:
"Order the army to take a detour to Zaomaling, go to Chengxian County, and withdraw from Chencang Road to Jin."
Compared with Deyang Hou Qimo who was leading the troops in Yongzhou at this time, Qiu Tianlu seemed more cautious in using his troops.
Faced with the current situation where Yangping Pass was lost, Qiu Tianlu had already made a conclusion about the situation in the southwest, even though he did not say it explicitly.
Completely broken and irreparable!
With Qiu Tianlu's military habits and cautious temper, what he was thinking about at this time was not whether to capture Yangping Pass, but how to protect the 40,000 troops under his command!
There are tens of millions of people under the rule of Xia State, but the elite soldiers and horses cannot be achieved by recruiting young and strong civilians and training them for a year or two.
If ordinary soldiers want to become elites, they must first practice military martial arts and become familiar with military rules and regulations, then practice military formations and go into battle to kill the enemy to strengthen the morale of the army. In addition, they must also work hard to train middle- and lower-level generals.
Completing many processes requires a huge amount of materials, manpower, and effort, and it takes several years to build such a military force!
This is also the reason why there are tens of millions of people in Yunxia and Xia, but the number of elite soldiers and horses in the country is only a few hundred thousand.
The Xia Kingdom has a vast territory, and the Yun Kingdom in the south is as strong as the rising sun. The Turkic tribes in the north are eyeing the grasslands, intending to release their horses in the Central Plains. In addition, in the previous battle of Rongzhou City, most of the hundreds of thousands of southwest frontier troops were destroyed, and Xia
The country's available troops are stretched thin.
When the situation in the southwest was irreversible, Qiu Tianlu could only conserve his strength and did not dare to risk attacking Yangping Pass.
Even though some people wanted to refute Qiu Tianlu's words at this time, they immediately shut up when they saw the majestic and dangerous Yangping Pass in front of them and the Yun army that was about to pursue them from Jianzhou Pass behind them.
All the generals lowered their heads and clasped their fists in response.
The 40,000 elite troops of the Xia Kingdom immediately changed their direction and marched towards Chengxian County.
Above Yangping Pass, Zhao Yun and Yang Zaixing looked at Xia Jun who was retreating and looked at each other.
"The Xia army is leaving. Are they going to retreat to Chengxian County?"
"General, Master Zhuge said before that after taking Yangping Pass, if we can go from Mamingge Road to Chengxian County and block the Xia Army's retreat to Chengxian County, all 40,000 troops will be destroyed here!" Yang Zaixing looked unexcited!
typical.
Having said this, Yang Zaixing immediately straightened his expression and asked for orders:
"The general is willing to lead his troops there!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yun looked at Yang Zaixing with his eyes condensed. After pondering for a moment, he finally spoke:
"Xiangzhou County's 60,000 elite troops of the Xia Kingdom were blocked by General Zhengbei on the Longnan front line and were unable to advance. I am afraid that most of the 60,000 soldiers and horses will still remain in the county. In addition, the 40,000 soldiers and horses of the Xia Kingdom's Qiu Tianlu
, I’m afraid there are nearly 100,000 troops... and the number of soldiers and horses I can allocate to you now is only a thousand, do you really want to take the risk?"
Leading only more than a thousand soldiers and horses to block an army of 100,000 in total, this could even be regarded as a suicide. Because of such difficulty, Zhuge Liang had only mentioned it casually before, and did not seriously warn the two of them.
Zhao Yun admired Yang Zaixing's uprightness and bravery, and was full of courage. He couldn't help but persuade him:
"You are a descendant of the Yang family, and you have a bright future. This time you climbed to Yangping Pass first, and you have made enough achievements. It really doesn't deserve this!"
Yang Zaixing shook his head slightly and said firmly:
"Only by working hard can I repay His Majesty's generous treatment and the kindness of Empress Zhaoyi's recommendation! Please do it, General!"
Hearing this, Zhao Yun moved slightly, patted Yang Zaixing's shoulder heavily, and said in a deep voice:
"Ask you eight hundred cavalry and three hundred soldiers to march from Maming Pavilion Road to prevent the Xia army from retreating to Chengxian County!"
"Yes!" Yang Zaixing responded quickly.
After Zhao Yun was silent for a moment, he spoke again and warned:
"When Mr. Zhuge sees the Xia army in Guangyuan Prefecture withdrawing, he will definitely pursue and kill them, and they will arrive in the near future. I will also ask the guards at Niangan to pass the news to General Zhengbei's camp in Xiangzhou County, and ask General Zhengbei to lead the troops to attack the enemy fiercely.
County, I will contain the enemy forces in the county for you..."
Yang Zaixing twisted his lips, showed a bright smile, and responded proudly:
"Please rest assured, General! After this battle, I will at least earn the reputation of General Si'an for you, General!"
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
I wrote more than 7,000 words, but I just stopped at the climax...
This is the first post, I will see if I can add more tomorrow, and try to end the Southwest War in one breath!