"Overnight, Rencheng changed its owner, and this Tian Dan..."
Sitting astride the back of BMW Chifeng, Prince Zhao Run of Wei State looked at the battle report in his hand, and his heart was filled with emotion.
Although the commander of the Qi-Lu coalition this time was Gao Xi, the high minister of Qi, in Zhao Hongrun's view, Gao Xi was just a decoration. Thinking about the incident of "rencheng changing hands overnight", it must be Tian Dan, the Qi official.
The famous general showed his talents.
I have to say that this incident was really beyond Zhao Hongrun’s expectations.
He originally thought that Rencheng was garrisoned by three generals: Li Qi, Zhou Kui, and Cai Qinhu, and the Dredging Army, Chenggao Army, and Fenxing Army under their respective leadership. Even if they faced the Qilu Allied Forces, they would still be able to fight.
, after all, as far as he knew, this time Qi State
The only troops stationed in the Song Dynasty were the Northern Navy and the Langya Army, which totaled 50,000 to 60,000 people. Even if the Lu State's 20,000 to 30,000 troops were added, they were only 89,000 to 90,000 troops, which was far less than what King Lu Xi of Qi once conquered.
The size of the 'allied army' during the Chu State.
In comparison, although the three armies led by Li Wei and others only totaled about 50,000 people, no matter how you think about it, if these 50,000 people persisted until the Shang Shui Army supported Rencheng, it was more than enough, right?
But who would have thought that Rencheng would be captured by Tian Dan so quickly.
But having said that, after carefully reading the battle report and learning the specific process of the fall of Rencheng, Zhao Hongrun couldn't get angry at all. He could only say that Tian Dan was worthy of being Tian Dan. He knew the enemy like a god and was able to master the plan with one move.
Make the fire perfect.
Of course, although Zhao Hongrun believed that Li Wei, Zhou Kui, and Cai Qinhu had done their best, those who deserved to be punished had to be punished, otherwise it would be difficult to convince the public.
Thinking of this, Zhao Hongrun ordered the Green Crows who came to deliver the battle report: "In the name of this king, I give an order to Li Qian, Zhou Kui, and Cai Qinhu, ordering the three of them to go after this battle is over.
"Tiance Mansion" was punished with a year's salary to serve as a warning to others. I hope they will realize their shame and become brave, guard against arrogance and impetuosity, and be more cautious in using troops in the future... Go ahead."
"yes!"
The green crows clasped their fists and accepted the order, turned around and left.
A fine of one year's personal salary was really a very light punishment for a defeated general. After all, Zhao Hongrun's original intention was to make Li Qian, Zhou Kui and Cai Qinhu feel 'shameful', not to depose them.
——But to be honest, after reading the battle report of the fall of Rencheng, Zhao Hongrun actually didn’t think losing this battle was anything worth being embarrassed about.
Losing to an opponent like Tian Dan, and losing to such a clever strategy, it doesn't matter even if he loses. Of course, Zhao Hongrun can only think about this in his mind, but it is difficult to say it out loud.
At this time, Zongwei Chief Lu Mu asked from the side: "Your Highness, is this the battle report from Rencheng?"
"Well, Rencheng is lost." Zhao Hongrun nodded casually and handed the battle report to the surprised Lu Mu, but he thought of Tian Dan.
Zhao Hongrun is an old acquaintance of Tian Dan. He still remembers that in the seventeenth year of Hong De's reign, his sixth brother Zhao Zhao, who had become the son-in-law of King Lu Xi of Qi and also served as the right minister of Qi, brought his newlywed wife with him.
Kuan Ji, under the protection of Tian Dan's team, returned from Qi to Daliang of Wei.
At that time, Zhao Hongrun, who had spent five months to capture eighteen cities of Chu, met for the first time Tian Dan, a famous Qi general who had captured more than forty cities of Chu in ten months.
As for the second meeting, it was when King Lu Xi of Qi gathered Qi, Lu, Wei and later Yue to jointly attack Chu. At that time, Zhao Hongrun and Tian Dan both served as King Lu Xi of Qi
The former is the commander-in-chief of the West Route Army, and the latter is the commander-in-chief of the East Route Army.
Precisely because there is no distinction between positions and responsibilities, Zhao Hongrun and Tian Dan inevitably have competing ideas with each other.
As for the result, well, Tian Dan's general flag is still displayed in Zhao Hongrun's collection room as a souvenir.
"Hehehe."
Recalling that Tian Dan admitted defeat, put on a face that looked like he was constipated, and reluctantly handed his flag to Zhao Hongrun, Zhao Hongrun couldn't help laughing at this moment.
"After learning that I personally led the army to Song County, Tian Dan, instead of stabilizing the defense, went on the offensive and captured Rencheng in one go. Are you planning to fight me in Rencheng? Haha, what a pity..."
Zhao Hongrun touched his chin and muttered to himself.
At this moment, the Wei soldiers in his formation burst into cheers of joy.
"The enemy city has been captured!"
"Whoa whoa--!"
Zhao Hongrun raised his head and looked at the city about two miles away, with an inexplicable smile on his lips.
At this moment, he was outside the "Ningyang" county on the border between Song and Lu. This city originally belonged to the Song State, and was later occupied by the Lu State after the fall of the Song State. But now, this city is filled with the flags of the Wei army.
"You didn't expect that, Tian Dan?"
With a sly smile, Zhao Hongrun clamped his legs under the horse's belly and led the soldiers of the formation slowly toward the Ningyang City in front of him.
In the next few days, Zhao Hongrun's Wei army remained stationary in Ningyang County.
On the other side of Rencheng, Wei generals Li Ji, Zhou Kui, and Cai Qinhu retreated to "Kangfu" after losing Rencheng.
It must be said that the three of them were upset and anxious after their defeat.
Regrettably, after suffering a defeat this time, there is no need to consider the expansion of the army for the time being. However, what is disturbing is that the imperial court and Prince Zhao Run still do not know what kind of punishment will be imposed on them after learning about this incident.
"For the current plan, we can only make up for our past mistakes by taking back Ren City!"
At the county government office of "Kangfu County", Cai Qinhu said with a fierce expression.
Different from the comfort he felt when he won the battle last time, Cai Qinhu at this time had a straight face and a pair of tiger eyes that seemed to be shining brightly. Even though his naked body and the bandage on his shoulders were still faintly soaked with blood, there was no trace of blood.
No sign of discouragement.
However, the suggestions he made did not receive the support of Li Wei and Zhou Kui.
"The Qi-Lu coalition forces have war weapons crafted by Lu craftsmen to assist in defending the city and attacking... I'm afraid it will be difficult to win."
Li Wei shook his head and persuaded: "Right now, we can only wait for His Royal Highness the Prince to lead the merchant navy to arrive in person before making any plans."
It's not that he doesn't want to recapture Rencheng and make up for his past mistakes, the problem is that he feels that there is almost no chance of winning. Rather than letting his soldiers make unnecessary sacrifices, it is better to stay alone and wait for the prince Zhao Run to lead the Shang Shui army to the Kangfu area.
Attack Rencheng together.
As for what kind of punishment His Highness would punish them, Li Qi had some concerns, but it was not enough to affect his judgment as a general.
In this way, about two days later, Li Ji and others received a report from the soldiers that a Wei army was coming slowly from the west, and the flag was that of the Shang Shui Army.
After learning about this incident, Li Qian, Zhou Kui and Cai Qinhu personally welcomed him out of the city, preparing to welcome the prince Zhao Run who led the merchant navy.
But what surprised them was that they only saw Zhai Huang, the deputy general of the Shang Shui Army, and Nanmen Chi, but not the prince Zhao Run and Wu Ji, the general of the Shang Shui Army.
Seeing this, Li Qi asked Zhai Huang in shock: "Vice General Zhai, where is His Highness the Crown Prince? Didn't he say that His Highness the Crown Prince is on the expedition himself this time?"
Zhai Huang said with a smile: "This time, it is true that His Highness the Prince led our Shang Shui Army to personally conquer, but it was not on my side... General Mo's side was just to attract the attention of the Beibo Army and the Qilu Allied Army.
,too
His Highness Zi and General Wu Ji actually led another army to "Ningyang"." At this point, he added with a little joy and a little show off: "By the way, they are from "Shangshui Youma"
Light cavalry!"
After that, he waited for the reactions of Li Qi, Zhou Kui and Cai Qinhu, but unexpectedly, he saw the three of them looking at each other, which made Zhai Huang a little embarrassed.
Fortunately, at this time, Nanmen Chi, another deputy general of the Shang Shui Army, smoothed things over and said: "Old Zhai, the three generals are all in Song Dynasty these days. How do you know about our Shang Shui Army? If you don't explain, how can they do it?"
Do you understand your nonsense?"
With that said, he briefly explained to Li Qi, Zhou Kui and Cai Qinhu.
It turned out that since the 400,000 Wei army captured the Hetao area last year, the Wei state had harvested countless war horses. Therefore, Zhao Hongrun gave an order and ordered Ma You, the general of the Youma Army, to reorganize a light cavalry force of 30,000 people.
The army still uses the army designation "Yuma" - that is to say, the "Yuma Army" now has not only 5,000 heavy cavalry, but also 30,000 light cavalry.
Of course, the establishment belongs to the establishment. As for the actual number of people, the light cavalry of the Yuma Army is currently only more than 3,000, and they are all soldiers who have been converted from infantry to cavalry. They have almost zero experience in horse warfare.
The reason why Zhai Huang was so happy was because the Youma Army was affiliated with their Shang Shui Army, which was equivalent to their Shang Shui Army having a cavalry army.
"Congratulations."
After listening to Nanmen Chi's explanation, Li Qi, Zhou Kui, and Cai Qinhu looked at each other in tacit understanding, sighing inwardly, and congratulating Shang Shuijun.
Although they were envious of the Shang Shui Army, they were not jealous. After all, the Shang Shui Army did not take advantage of the "direct line under the command of Prince Zhao Run". In fact, the military achievements of this army were greater than any other in the Wei Kingdom at present.
Every army needs more.
After inviting Zhai Huang and Nanmen Zhi to the county government office in Kangfu County, Li Qian briefly told them about the fall of Rencheng, which made Zhai Huang feel a little embarrassed.
After all, Li Wei and others had suffered a defeat, but just now, because he was extremely happy, he brought up the matter of "the Yuma Army's expansion of the Light Cavalry Army" at an inappropriate time, which was inevitably a bit annoying.
However, apologizing to Li Qi and others now would only make the three of them more embarrassed, so Zhai Huang quietly shifted the topic to the Qilu Allied Forces.
This is exactly what Li Wei, Zhou Kui, and Cai Qinhu want. After all, they lost Rencheng, and now they are trying hard to regain the lost city and make up for their mistakes.
But unexpectedly, Zhai Huang said with regret: "I will not understand the intentions of the three generals. It's just that when they came this time, Zhai and Nanmen received an order from His Highness the Crown Prince, which only ordered the two of us to take up the post.
City, put up a posture to attack the Beibo Army and the Qilu Allied Forces, but we are prohibited from teasing the Qilu Allied Forces too much..."
"This...how do you say this?" Li Wei asked in confusion.
Upon hearing this, Zhai Huang looked around and signaled several soldiers to leave the room.
At this time, he lowered his voice and said: "Perhaps the three generals don't know that the purpose of His Royal Highness's personal expedition to the Song Dynasty this time is to lure South Korea into a decisive battle with the Wei Dynasty in advance. In other words..." He licked his lips.
, Sansan said: "Before South Korea takes action, even if we have the ability to defeat the Qilu coalition, we cannot expose it. In short, it is just one word, drag!"
From the side, Nanmen Chi also added in a low voice: "The two of us trust the three generals, so we secretly revealed that we asked the three generals to keep their mouths shut... We, the Shang Shui Army, came to Song County this time not for a decisive battle with the Qilu Allied Forces.
, but for the purpose of sneak attacks on South Korea in the future... And before that, our Shang Shui Army was also responsible for scaring the armies of Qi and Lu. Therefore, the three generals do not need to be upset about the fall of Rencheng. The battlefield here
The gains and losses of a mere place are not at all considered by His Highness the Crown Prince."
"..."
Li Ji, Zhou Kui and Cai Qinhu looked at each other in confusion.
The next day, several Qingya people came to Kangfu and conveyed the order of Prince Zhao Run to Li Qian, Zhou Kui and Cai Qinhu.
After learning that the punishment was only a one-year salary fine, although Li Wei and others felt relieved, they also felt a little uncomfortable in their hearts.
They admired the foresight of His Highness the Crown Prince. It was undeniable that the Qi people were working hard to compete with their Wei army. However, in the eyes of His Highness the Crown Prince, competing with the Qi army was just a matter of hope.
It's just a dispensable appetizer - it's ridiculous that most of the Qi people are still complacent about capturing Rencheng at this moment, but they would never have thought that His Highness the Crown Prince of Wei State would not bother to invest too much in them.
energy.
However, does this also mean that the status of their Dredging Army, Chenggao Army, and Fenxing Army in the Wei State is far inferior to that of the first-echelon strong armies such as the Shang Shui Army? So much so that they were sent here
Play games with the Qilu Allied Forces.
"That's all, I went to drink."
Cai Qinhu, who looked gloomy, left the table to drink with some frustration.
Thinking about it, after learning that the so-called "Battle of Song County" was just a trick played by Prince Zhao Run to fool the Qi people, Cai Qinhu felt a little unmotivated.
Not to mention, in order to prevent the Qilu Allied Forces from being defeated so quickly, they had to accompany the former to act until South Korea saw that the Wei State and the Qilu Allied Forces were in a stalemate for a long time in Song County and suddenly launched an attack.
Watching Cai Qinhu leave, Li Qian and Zhou Kui also sighed secretly.
Seemingly noticing the disappointment in the eyes of Li Qi and Zhou Kui, Zhai Huang took the initiative to show his kindness in order to make up for his previous mistakes: "Why are the two generals doing this? Although the overall situation must be the most important thing, it does not mean that the two generals have not expressed their concern.
The Qilu Allied Forces have regained their bad temper for the loss of Rencheng... However, for the time being, they can only make small fuss, all with the main purpose of "bringing the battlefield of Song County into a stalemate."
Li Qi and Zhou Kui nodded silently after hearing this, but they were still a little dissatisfied. For the sake of the overall situation, they always wanted to take back the bad breath from the Qilu Allied Forces, so they could only stay put for the time being.
The news that the Shang Shui Army had arrived in Kangfu County and was stationed outside Kangfu County reached the ears of Qi's famous general Tian Dan within two days.
During the meeting to discuss the battle, Tian Dan vowed: "According to the news, Wei Gongzi Run has led the merchant navy to Kangfu County. I believe that he will lead his army to attack Rencheng in the next two days..."
In fact, Tian Dan was already ready to fight at this time, waiting for Wei Gongzi Zhao Run to personally lead the Shang Shui army to attack Rencheng, and fight with the heroic lord of Wei on this land.
After listening to Tian Dan's arrangements, General Dongguo Subaru of the Langya Army was the first to express his support for Tian Dan.
There was nothing he could do about it. He lost the bet with Tian Dan two days ago. As a result, he didn't eat a single bite of food at the celebration feast afterwards. He drank ten bottles of wine in one go and vomited to the ground. How could he dare to doubt it?
Tian Dan’s judgment.
However, just when Tian Dan was about to end the meeting and go to the Qi army camp outside the city, suddenly a Qi soldier came in and reported: "My lords, a group of Lu people have just entered the city, and the leader calls himself "
"Ji Ping" said that he was an envoy sent by King Lu and asked to see General Ji Wu on important matters."
"Third brother?" Ji Wu, the general of the Lu State, frowned and ordered, "Please come in quickly."
After about an hour of burning incense, Ji Wu's younger brother Ji Ping hurriedly brought several Lu soldiers to the city guard's mansion.
Seeing his younger brother dusty, Ji Wu asked in shock: "Little brother, why do you... look like this?"
I saw Ji Ping bowing his hands to Gao Xi, Tian Dan and others in the room, and then said eagerly: "Second brother, something bad has happened. Ningyang has been captured by the Wei army!"
"What?!" Ji Wu exclaimed, with a look of horror on his face: "How is that possible? Isn't Liang Lu Canal completely blocked? Where did the Wei army come from?"
You must know that Ningyang is only about three days away from Qufu, the capital of Lu State. If the Wei army really captures Ningyang, this means that the Wei army can march at any time to threaten their capital of Lu State.
Ji Ping shook his head.
Seeing this, Ji Wu asked with an ugly face: "Which Wei army is it? Who is commanding it?"
Ji Ping breathed a sigh of relief and said in a solemn tone: "According to the defeated soldiers who escaped from Ningyang, they are the Shang Shui Army of Wei State!"
"Shang Shui Army?"
Everyone in the room was stunned when they heard this and looked at each other.
Ji Wu frowned and said doubtfully: "Seriously? Brother, you are not mistaken, are you? The Shang Shui Army of Wei State is currently in Kangfu County..."
"It can't be wrong!" Ji Ping shook his head and said: "That cavalry army was indeed under the banner of "Shangshui Wandering Horses"... The Wei people seemed to have arranged some internal support in Ningyang in advance, so that on that day
When this Wei cavalry suddenly appeared in Ningyang, the garrison army had no time to react, and the thieves attacked the city gate and put the Wei cavalry into the city."
Hearing this, Ji Wu cursed angrily: "What is the captain of Ningyang doing?! Didn't he notice it at all?"
"It is said that the Wei army arrived so fast that the city defense army had no time to react." Ji Ping explained in a low voice.
From the side, Tian Dan listened quietly to the conversation between Ji Wu and Ji Ping, feeling a little chilly in his heart.
You must know that "attack and seize the city" is the specialty of Wei Gongzi Zhao Run. Especially during the "Five Parties Attack on Wei", Wei Gongzi Run led his troops to rush 800 miles in three days to attack Qin's rear defense.
The empty royal capital of Xianyang is still talked about by people after it was introduced to the Central Plains.
"We have been fooled, Mr. Wei is in Ningyang!"
Very suddenly, Tian Dan said expressionlessly.
Hearing this, Xiang Xiang looked thoughtful, while Ji Wu was extremely anxious. Only the minister, Gao Xi, was still a little confused and asked puzzledly: "Why, why? Why did Mr. Wei go to Ningyang?"
"
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard Xiang Qi explain on his behalf: "Because the Liang-Lu Canal turns in Ningyang, it can lead to Qufu, the capital of the Lu State, to the northeast, and to Weishan Lake through Si River to the south... At the beginning, our Beibo Army was
They once stationed troops on the west side of Ningyang and cut off the Lianglu Canal, but were later expelled by the Wei Wujun of the Wei State. Now, the Wei Army has occupied Ningyang, which means that the Wei State can use this canal at any time to continuously send troops and war
Weapons were transported from the mainland of Wei to Ningyang... In this battle, our opportunity has been lost."
Gao Xi frowned and glanced at Xiang Xiang, then turned to look at Tian Dan, only to see that Tian Dan also looked ugly.
As he said before, everyone here was fooled by Wei Gongzi Run. The other party deliberately called the main force of the Shang Shui Army and entered Song County from Dingtao with great fanfare, making the Qilu Allied Army and the Beibo Army mistakenly think that the Wei Army
He went straight to Rencheng, but unexpectedly, Wei Gongzi Run personally led a strange army to attack Ningyang of Lu State.
"……what to do?"
Tian Dan scratched his forehead and had a strange expression.
Because he suddenly discovered that their group's current situation was a bit embarrassing: they had clearly captured Ren City and were fully prepared to attack Wei Gongzi Run, but unexpectedly Wei Gongzi Run did not follow common sense and did not come to Ren at all.
city and directly attacked Ningyang. In this case, should we continue to stay in Rencheng? Or should we lead the army to Ningyang?
If he continues to stay in Rencheng, Wei Gongzi Run can send troops to directly threaten Qufu, the capital of Lu, and then force the Lu army led by Ji Wu to return for reinforcements - in fact, whether reinforcements are sent from Qi to Lu or Ji Wu
The Lu army led by Wu was too late to come back for reinforcements. If Wei Gongzi Run insisted on attacking Qufu, the capital of Lu, then the only people he could rely on at the moment were the local garrison troops of Lu.
However, can the local garrison of Lu State stop Wei Gongzi Run?
What's more, although it is called the Qi-Lu Alliance Army, the military power of the Lu Army is still in the hands of Lu General Ji Wu. When the King of Lu is threatened, how can Tian Dan have the nerve to force the Lu Army led by Ji Wu to continue?
Stay in Rencheng?
If he dared to do this, the Lu army would definitely turn against the Qi army.
Therefore, they can only simply lead the army to Ningyang. But in this case, what is the meaning of their previous actions of capturing Ren City and deploying heavy defenses in this city?
After all, once they drive troops from Rencheng to Ningyang, the troops left behind in Rencheng will obviously not be able to withstand the attack of the Wei troops in Kangfu County.
In this way, the Wei army in Kangfu County could advance eastward and directly threaten the Song Dynasty in Tengdi.
Then the question arises, should we aid the Lu State or the Song State?
Looking at Ji Wu, the general of the Lu State, and Xiang Deng, the leader of the Beibo Army, both of whom looked anxious, even Tian Dan couldn't help but feel a headache at the moment.
Although it seems like one city was exchanged for another, in fact, the Qilu Allied Forces suffered a heavy loss.
Maybe this is the so-called, win the war, lose the strategy.
At the same time, in Ningyang County, Zhao Hongrun wrote a letter in his own handwriting, asking the Green Crows to go to Qufu, the capital of the King of Lu, and deliver it to the King of Lu, Shu Pan.
During this period, Zongwei Chief Lu Mu saw the contents of the letter and said rather unexpectedly: "Your Highness wants to invite King Lu to drink and reminisce about old times? I am afraid that King Lu will not come."
"He will come."
Zhao Hongrun smiled slightly and said meaningfully: "Because if he doesn't come to Ningyang, then I will have to go to Qufu."