The people in the pavilion seemed to be stunned. They stood in the pavilion in a daze. Thunder seemed to explode in their minds. Just now, Luo Qingyan said what did the secret guard say? He said that the prince and the military advisor led an army of 40,000 to the court.
Coming to Jingyang?
Shouldn't the prince and his military advisors attack Kangyang? The message from last night still said so. The 400,000-strong army was almost all of the prince's army. Did they abandon Kangyang to attack Jingyang?
Countless questions flashed through his mind, mixed with Luo Qingyan's slightly frightened, angry and disappointed eyes, flashing back and forth in Hua Guogong's mind. Hua Guogong looked at Prince Jing's figure more and more.
Far away, gradually reaching the foot of the mountain, I came back to my senses. No, the prince must have known Luo Qingyan's true identity and knew that Luo Qingyan was in Jingyang City, so he dared to take such a big risk. Hua Guo
Thinking of this, the father hurriedly left the pavilion, took the horse with some staggering steps, and got on the horse. Even though he was anxious, he sat up straight on the horse, whipped his horse whip hard, and ran down the mountain.
On the way back to the camp, the secret guard had told King Jing the details of what happened in Kangyang City. King Jing secretly calculated the time in his mind. If he went by the time reported by the secret guard, Xia Houyan and Liu
Yinfeng's army could reach the outside of Jingyang City in less than an hour.
"The princess is heading here with about 100,000 people. In addition to the tens of thousands of soldiers originally stationed in Kangyang, they will also be divided into several groups to come to support." The secret guard continued without waiting for Prince Jing to ask.
King Jing nodded, feeling a little bitter in his heart. Xia Houyan and Liu Yinfeng were willing to sacrifice the lives of 100,000 soldiers to use this deception. There must have been major changes. Moreover, the strategic position of the city of Jingyang was originally higher than that of Kangyang.
The difference was too big. Taking Jingyang might not be of any benefit to Xia Jun. From this point of view, Xia Jun was just coming here for his life.
It seems that his true identity can no longer be concealed.
Although he was shocked by the sudden news, King Jing did not reveal anything on his face. After entering the camp outside Jingyang City, he threw the horse's reins to the personal guards aside and hurried into the camp.
Zhang Qi and a group of generals in the camp must have known about this, and they were all standing in front of the sand table discussing something. King Jing heard someone saying, "There are only 200,000 people in our camp, and the 400,000 more brought by Prince Xia
Including the original 250,000 people on the other side, there are 450,000 more of us. Even if we have the ability to reach the sky, I'm afraid this time we will be in danger."
Zhang Qi was the first to notice that Prince Jing had entered the camp. She quickly stood up straight and looked at Prince Jing and said, "Your Highness is here."
Prince Jing nodded and stepped forward. Everyone moved away, allowing Prince Jing to walk to the center. Prince Jing had long been very familiar with the situation around Jingyang City. Even if he didn't look at the sand table, he actually understood it very well.
.
"The Xia army came down along the Jing River. The march route was on the south bank of the Jing River. We retreated to the south bank of the Jing River." King Jing pointed his finger to the other side of the Jing River.
"Does that mean we have to abandon Jingyang City? What will happen to the people in the city? Moreover, the water in the Jingyang River has long since dried up, so it is of no use to the enemy." A general with gray hair frowned and whispered.
Prince Jing narrowed his eyes, but he was a little happy in his heart, "Now, I'm afraid there is water in the Jing River. Zhang Qi sent troops to take a look. Last night, the princess had someone blow up a pole above the source of the Jing River.
As for the large lake, 100,000 Xia Army soldiers were buried at the bottom of the river. Although I didn’t know how long the water in the lake could hold it, I had to use the Jing River as a barrier to resist for a while before making any plans. Jingyang
The city must be abandoned. We only have 200,000 people. If the enemy attacks the city, we may not be able to resist it for long. All the people will move to the north of the Jing River. After everyone has crossed the river, the bridge on the river will be destroyed and all the wood in the city will be destroyed.
Wait until all the things that can be used to make ships are destroyed."
He seemed to think for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No, set fire to the city. Nothing in the city can be left to Xia Jun."
Everyone's faces turned pale when they heard this. They have been stationed in Jingyang City for some years, and they also have some feelings for Jingyang City. Such a big city can be burned at will...
"Your Majesty..." Someone wanted to speak, but was interrupted by Zhang Qi, "This is the only plan for now. Listen to Your Majesty. Saving the lives of the people in the city is the key. Go down and make arrangements quickly."
Hearing this, the other generals were silent for a moment, but they also knew that Prince Jing's method was the only one available, and then they slowly withdrew from the camp.
Prince Jing did not dare to delay any further. Although he had thought about how he would respond if one day his life experience was revealed, he never thought about how he would deal with it in such a situation.
After pondering for a while, he took the pen, ink, paper and inkstone, quickly wrote a letter, called the secret guard out, "Send this letter to the imperial city quickly."
Although the imperial city was still some distance from the border, the news might not reach Emperor Ning's ears quickly, but he did not dare to gamble, otherwise, he was afraid that the world would really be in chaos.
The secret guard sent the letter away, and King Jing left the camp and entered Jingyang City. There was a sound of crying and fighting in Jingyang City. King Jing stood on the city gate, looking at the people running around in panic, and his heart gradually became infected.
He felt a bit melancholy. He had been on the battlefield for so many years and was used to seeing life and death. He originally thought that he had already become hard-hearted, but now he sees so many people leaving their homes and becoming homeless, just because of him, but it is still difficult.
Turn a blind eye.
"Your Majesty, all the soldiers in the camp outside the city have entered the city and are leading the people to retreat to the other side of the river. The Jing River has indeed swollen..." Zhang Qi said softly, "Xia Houyan and Liu Yinfeng's troops still have
You can be outside the city in an hour."
Prince Jing nodded, "Let them evacuate as quickly as possible." After saying that, he raised his head and looked at the sky that was almost darkening, smiled slightly, and said, "Today, I will sing a song for Xia Jun."
We have a plan to get out of the empty city."
Zhang Qi looked at Prince Jing's confident look and felt a little relieved. With Prince Jing here, everything would be fine.
Prince Jing turned around and called the secret guard out, smiling and saying, "Go and get my jade flute."
Zhang Qi didn't know why, but she didn't say anything. She just watched the secret guard hurried away, and soon took the jade flute over. Prince Jing stroked the jade flute and smiled softly, "Come on, let's go to the east wall to meet him."
Xia Jun goes."
When the Xia army arrived, the city had already been mostly evacuated by King Jing. Only a few secret guards with higher martial arts skills had worn the armor of the defenders and stood on the city wall.
Xia Houyan looked at the dark city wall, smiled and said, "Military advisor, we have finally arrived at Jingyang City." However, there was no trace of joy in his eyes, and he frowned at the big characters of Jingyang City, "It's just,
Although we deceived Qi Lang with a cover-up, Qi Lang should have received the news that we were coming to Jingyang. King Jing is a victorious general on the battlefield and has fought countless battles. He certainly has the means.
They shouldn’t be unaware of our whereabouts, but why doesn’t Jingyang City show any signs of preparing to meet the enemy?”
Liu Yinfeng also looked at Jingyang City, without any emotion in his eyes, "I'm afraid this is Prince Jing's plan."
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the sound of a flute coming from the city wall, a shadowy, whimpering sound that sounded a bit strange.
"What is this?" Xia Houyan's eyes widened and he looked at the dark tower with only two lanterns hanging on the gate.
Liu Yinfeng pondered for a moment and then said, "I remembered a story I once saw in the Art of War. The name of the story is called the Empty City Strategy. It was about a battle between two armies. The enemy was outnumbered and we were outnumbered, so the military advisor ordered the soldiers to evacuate.
In the city, he took a harp with him, went up to the tower, burned incense, played the harp, sang loudly, and deceived the enemy garrison."
As soon as Liu Yinfeng finished speaking this paragraph, he saw a lantern suddenly lit up on the city wall. From a distance, he saw a person standing on the city wall. He could not see his appearance clearly. He only saw a black shadow with his hand in his hand.
Lift it up and put it next to your face, as if you are playing the flute. The faint sound of the flute must be coming from there.
"Empty city plan?" Xia Houyan bit his lip and snorted coldly, "This man is quite bold. He dared to play the flute alone on the city wall in front of an army of 400,000. I was still saying just now that Prince Jing could not possibly not know.
We came here, but we didn’t know that King Jing actually arranged such a wonderful trick. Since it was an empty city plan, I had to go and have a look. It was a trick, and when I conquered the Jingyang City, I would take it.
Please take care of Luo Qingyan."
But Liu Yinfeng shook his head and said to stop him, "Your Highness, you must not do it."
Xia Houyan didn't know why, so he turned around and said doubtfully, "Didn't the military advisor say that there are no soldiers in the city for a long time, so what are we afraid of?"
"Your Highness, this empty city strategy is just a strategy in the book. What if Prince Jing just uses the empty city strategy to lure us in? I don't know whether there is anyone in this city or not." Liu Yinfeng frowned and said softly.
.
Xia Houyan had never thought of this level. Hearing this, he thought about it and then raised his voice, "What are you afraid of him for? This little Jingyang only has 200,000 Ning troops. Even if he doesn't plan an empty city, I don't believe it.
He can still beat my prince's 400,000 yuan with 200,000 yuan. Moreover, this prince has already sent a message to General Lin Yu's camp, who originally attacked Jingyang City, asking him to find a way to attack from the south gate. We will attack from this side and attack from both sides.
, he couldn’t run away even if he wanted to.”
Liu Yinfeng was silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head, "Prince, no, Prince Jing is cunning. Even if we have 400,000 people, we can't fight head-on. If we have General Lin's 250,000 people, we can be safe."
, But Prince, now Duke Hua is in the camp over there, and Lin Yu is Duke Hua’s old subordinate, so those 250,000 people may not be able to come."
"Does Lin Yu still dare to rebel? He doesn't even obey my prince's orders? Why doesn't Duke Hua let Lin Yu send troops?" Xia Houyan snorted coldly, but he was a little unconvinced.
Liu Yinfeng sighed, "Your Highness, why did we attack Jingyang?"
"I wanted to kill Luo Qingyan." Xia Houyan said without thinking.
Liu Yinfeng nodded, "Yes, in order to kill Luo Qingyan, but, Your Highness, what is the relationship between Luo Qingyan and Hua Guogong, has Your Highness ever thought about it?"
"Hua Guogong?"
, his brows furrowed even more, "We finally rushed to Jingyang City in a hurry, just to kill Luo Qingyan before the Ning army's reinforcements arrived. Now we are waiting in this city.
What's going on outside? If we don't fight, what will I do here?"
Liu Yinfeng pondered for a moment before saying, "It's not that we won't fight, it's just that we need to investigate more about the situation in the city. Don't worry, Your Highness, reinforcements from the Ning Army have not arrived so soon."
Xia Houyan no longer cared about it, waved his hand casually and said, "Just go ahead and make arrangements. I believe in you. However, my patience is limited. In one hour, at most, I will attack by force."
"Yes." Liu Yinfeng responded and hurriedly retreated on his horse. When Xiahouyan saw him leaving to make arrangements, he waved his hand and said, "The army will rest here."
Perhaps because he felt that the disparity in strength was too great, Xiahouyan did not let the soldiers camp. He just wanted to fight quickly. After finishing Xiahoujing quickly, he then returned to kill Xiahoujing, taking advantage of the empty defense in Kangyang City to seize the opportunity.
Going to Kangyang is the best option.
Liu Yinfeng ordered dozens of archers, taking advantage of the darkness, approaching Jingyang City little by little, "Everyone just point at the man on the city wall and shoot. That is King Jing. If
Shoot him and you will be rewarded heavily!"
Liu Yinfeng's voice was not loud, but it was a bit confusing, which made the dozens of archers behind him look excited. Liu Yinfeng smiled coldly and said, "You use the night as a cover to come forward.
Go within the shooting range, and do not act without authorization. Wait until your captain calls out one, two, three, and then take action together, so as to alert the enemy.
Everyone responded one after another and hurried forward a short distance away, setting up their bows and stringing their bows, waiting for the captain to give the order. However, before they could hear the captain's order, they only heard a sound coming through the air.
"No, there's an ambush." Someone raised his voice, but as soon as he finished speaking, a group of thirty or forty people all fell down.
Xia Houyan, who was among the army behind, did not see what happened in front of him, but Liu Yinfeng saw it very clearly, so he quickly turned around and rode to the side of Xia Houyan before saying, "Your Highness, I brought more than thirty people with you."
All the archers were destroyed..."
Xia Houyan was stunned for a moment, then said, "Did you just want to shoot Luo Qingyan?"
Liu Yinfeng nodded, "I just want to test whether he is really the only one on the city wall."
"It's not just him? Is it really a trick to deceive the enemy? In this way, the two hundred thousand soldiers are waiting in Jingyang City? Is there no empty city plan?" Xiahouyan asked several questions in succession.
Liu Yinfeng pondered for a moment, then said, "I think that on the contrary, it is indeed an empty city plan. Prince Jing just wanted to create a maze to make us think there was someone in the city, but Cai Chen could see clearly just now that the opponent's archery skills were very good."
It is so accurate that it can be considered that the arrows are almost perfect, so we know that they are definitely not ordinary soldiers. I heard that King Jing has cultivated a group of secret guards around him, I am afraid they are secret guards."
Xia Houyan trusted Liu Yinfeng very much. When he heard what Liu Yinfeng said, he said, "Then what are you waiting for? The generals have given orders to go down and prepare to attack the city."
However, before Xia Jun was ready, he saw the city of Jingyang suddenly light up, as if there were bright lights. Xia Houyan's expression changed slightly, "Didn't the military counselor say there is no one? Is this light?"
Liu Yinfeng was also a little strange, but not long after, he saw that Jingyang City was getting brighter and brighter, and there seemed to be thick smoke rising, and the wind with a burning smell floated faintly. Liu Yinfeng's expression changed.
, "Prince, I'm afraid that Ning's army set fire to the city."
"What?" Xia Houyan was stunned when he heard this. His eyes were fixed on the seemingly brightly lit city. He also saw some clues and said quickly, "The army quickly organized and set off immediately."
He wanted Luo Qingyan's name, but he also wanted to capture Jingyang City. Although Jingyang City didn't seem to be that dominant, if he captured it, if he wanted to attack Kangyang in the future, Jingyang could also do it.
If you take more care of it, reinforcements will be more convenient. And although Jingyang is a small city, there are at least certain supplies in the city, at least enough to feed the hundreds of thousands of troops for a period of time. If Luo Qingyan burned the city, he would get this
A dilapidated city is of little use.
The fire in the city was getting brighter and brighter, threatening to spread. When Xiahou Yan saw this, he felt anxious and could not care about anything else. He turned around and said, "The vanguard quickly followed this prince to attack the city."
There was a neat response from behind, and Xia Houyan quickly got on his horse and waited for the general of the vanguard to lead his troops. When almost half of the soldiers had left, he followed them to Jingyang City.
When the vanguard was about to reach the bottom of the city, a shower of arrows flew in, and the sound of arrows being fired kept coming. The team became somewhat scattered. Xia Houyan yelled loudly, "Spread out! Speed up!"
Speed up and go down to the city gate."
After saying that, he turned around and took a look, and saw Liu Yinfeng also leading a team of people to catch up. Xia Houyan felt a little calmer. The rain of arrows kept falling, and people kept falling, but they also
Getting closer and closer to the city wall.
After walking for a while, there was suddenly no sound of arrows being fired. Xia Houyan raised his head and looked around, and saw that there was really no one on the city wall.
"Attack the city!" Xia Houyan roared, and everyone climbed up ladders and prepared siege equipment. But just as they got close to the city wall, they felt a heat wave coming, making it almost difficult for everyone to get close.
"Prepare the battering ram." Xia Houyan said in a loud voice, and many people brought the battering ram over in carriages. They lifted the big wooden hammer and smashed it down towards the city gate.
Only a "bang" sound was heard, and the city gate did not move at all. Everyone smashed it several times, and then they faintly heard signs of the city gate being loose, so they smashed it hard, and only heard a rumbling sound.
The city gate slowly fell backwards in front of everyone... (To be continued)
