The confrontation between the Shang Shui Army and the Eastern Route Army led by Tian Dan, a famous Qi general, begins after the Shang Shui Army captured Qixian County.
As Zhao Hongrun and Duan Pei promised, the Shang Shui Army captured Qixian County exactly half a day earlier than the Yanling Army captured Qi County.
This is no wonder, after all, the Shang Shui Army was assisted by the Nanmen clan, who cooperated internally and externally to help the Shang Shui Army capture half of Qi County, which was much easier than the Yanling Army's attack on Zhi County.
But having said that, although this battle is simple, it is actually not easy.
You must know that Zhi County is the fiefdom of Ju Yangjun Xiongli, so the 30,000 Chu soldiers led by Sun Shuke are actually private troops affiliated to Juyang Lord Xiongli. Although they are fully equipped with weapons and equipment, they cannot actually be called
This is the main army of Chu State.
But Qixian is different. Qixian is a subsidiary city of Fulisai. Together with Fulisei, it is regarded as the northern barrier of Shouxing, the capital of Chu King. Therefore, those stationed here are all serious Chu people.
The national army, which numbered 40,000 to 50,000, was guarded by a general named "Ji Cong".
Ji Cong was born in the Ji clan of the Chu State. Some people may be unfamiliar with the "Ji clan", but if you mention one point, you can understand whether the clan is strong or not: the Ji clan and the Lian clan, these two clans are
It is a branch of the Ji Lian family; and the Ji Lian family is the family lineage left by the brothers of the first king of Chu State, and is a great noble among the great nobles of Chu State.
Although the Ji clan is only a branch of the Ji Lian clan and cannot even be called a branch, in front of this clan, the Nanmen clan, which is also very famous in Chu State, is nothing at all.
All in all, the State of Chu deployed heavy troops in Qixian and appointed noble generals like Ji Cong to guard it, which is enough to prove the importance of Qixian.
It is no exaggeration to say that if it were not for the assistance of the Nanmen clan, the Shangshui Army would not have been able to break through the city and capture half of the city in such a short period of time with its 20,000 troops alone.
No, the course of this battle fully proved this point: even if half of the city was captured, the Shang Shui Army still suffered a fierce counterattack from Ji Cong.
Fortunately, the Nanmen clan gave great help to the Shang Shui Army. Faced with the threat that Qixian County was about to be attacked by Qi General Tian Dan, the Nanmen clan contacted the noble forces in the city and finally assisted the Shang Shui Army.
Ji Cong drove out of the city.
Now, Ji Cong's defeated army retreated to the north bank of the Huihe River and camped there, trying to prevent the Wei army from forcibly crossing the Huihe River.
I thought I could relax temporarily, but I didn't expect that the East Route Army led by Tian Dan would arrive so quickly.
It has to be said that the results of the West Route Army led by Zhao Hongrun are really remarkable these days, but the progress of the East Route Army led by Tian Dan is not inferior. In fact, Tian Dan's East Route Army is even worse than the West Route Army.
Nothing less.
Since this army left the "Pi" fortress, it first captured "Zhongwu" and then divided into two groups, attacking "Lanling (Donghai County)" along the way and Liyang along the way.
Waiting for August 9, "Lanling" was breached first.
In the northeast of Lanling, there is a "Yushan Fortress" built by the ancestors of Qi kings to resist the attack of Chu. After Lanling was captured, Tian Dan got in touch with the Qi general who guarded the "Yushan Fortress", and the two worked together to attack
"Haizhou (near present-day Lianyungang)".
After that, the "Yushan Army" was subordinated to Tian Dan's East Route Army and sent his troops south to attack "Yangling", while Tian Dan returned to Lanling and commanded the attack on "Liyang".
From August 11th to August 13th, Tian Dan led the Eastern Route Army to storm Liyang, defeated Liyang Jun Xiong Sheng several times, and finally captured "Liyang".
Of course, after the war, there will inevitably be a lot of carnage in the city.
Just as Nanmen Chi told Zhao Hongrun at the beginning, Tian Dan took advantage of the Eastern Route Army's repairs in Liyang and hanged all the Chu nobles in Liyang City, regardless of gender, old or young, on the city wall.
Japan continued to move its army southward.
On August 15th, the Eastern Route Army captured "Si County".
On August 17, the Eastern Route Army captured "Shan Dao".
In front of the overwhelming Eastern Route Army, Chu Liyang's army Xiong Sheng's army could not stop them at all, and they retreated one after another, losing cities and territory.
It was not until August 18th that the East Route Army attacked "Zhongli" and encountered strong resistance.
Because "Zhongli" is also a city on the lower reaches of the Huihe River, it is already very close to the Chu King's capital Shouying. In addition, Tian Dan's reputation was so fierce that the people of Chu panicked and actually mobilized twenty people.
Ten thousand troops arrived at Zhongli to intercept Tiandan.
However, Tian Dan's real goal is not "Zhongli".
After all, he only had about 60,000 to 70,000 troops under his command. Even this famous general from Qi State could not reach the capital of Chu State, Shoying, with this small force alone.
You know that further south, there is a million-strong army of Chu gathered, leading 60,000 to 70,000 people to attack an army of more than one million?
This is not called bravery, this is called stupidity.
Therefore, Tian Dan set up a suspicion formation at Zhongli and pretended to cross the Huihe River by force. While frightening the Chu army to defend the Huihe River, he quietly led the main army towards the northwest.
Yes, "Qi County" is Tian Dan's real target.
Because according to the strategy designated by King Lu Xi of Qi, Zhao Hongrun's West Route Army and Tian Dan's East Route Army will capture Zhi County and Qixian County respectively. The two will work together to launch an offensive against the fortress from the rear of Fuli Fortress.
Assist Qi King Lu Xi to break through the blockade of Fulisai.
After that, the allied forces of Qi, Lu, and Wei, with more than 300,000 troops, will unite their front and forcefully cross the Huihe River.
Unexpectedly, when Tian Dan led the East Route Army to quietly arrive at the foot of Qixian City and was about to attack the city, he was surprised to find that the military flag of the "Wei Shang Navy" was actually erected on the wall of the city.
"Qixian... was captured by the Wei army? What does this mean?"
Staring attentively at the flag of the Shang Shui Army, even Tian Dan was a little dazed for a moment.
Because as far as he knew, Qixian County should not be the target of the Western Route Army.
Furthermore, the Western Route Army actually captured Qixian County so quickly?
"..."
The appearance of a young man appeared in Tian Dan's mind. It was the young man named Zhao Hongrun whom he had seen when he served as a bodyguard to protect the newlyweds of Wei Kingdom Prince Ji Zhao and Qi Kingdom Princess Kuan Ji when they went to Daliang, the capital of Wei Kingdom.
, or Ji Run’s boy.
"Tian Shuai, what should I do...?"
Several generals under their command rode their horses and came to Tian Dan. Presumably, they also noticed the Wei army flag on the top of the Qixian city, so they temporarily left their troops behind and came to Tian Dan in person to ask what the Eastern Route Army commander meant.
One of the generals asked suspiciously: "Could it be a trick of the Chu army?"
"You mean to pretend to be Wei Jun?" Tian Dan glanced at the general with a half-smile.
Although he looked down on the Chu people and hated the Chu people, he still did not believe that the Chu people would be "shameless" enough to hang another enemy's flag on the top of the city.
At this time, Qi general Zhongsun Sheng said with a smile: "Isn't it easy to find out? Ask the generals in the city to come out and ask questions."
"Hmm." Tian Dan nodded, followed a single horse near the east gate of Qixian County, and shouted in the direction of the city tower: "I am Daqi Tian Dan, who is in charge in the city, come out to meet Tian!"
While shouting, Tian Dan carefully observed the suspicious troops on the upper floor of Qixian County.
He was surprised to find that he had clearly arrived within a stone's throw of Qixian County on horseback, but the army on the city did not fire their bows at him.
"Is it true that Qixian County has been captured by the Wei army?"
Tian Dan muttered secretly.
As the saying goes, he knows his own affairs, and Tian Dan naturally also knows his reputation in Chu State. There are countless people in Chu who want to kill him in their dreams.
However, the suspicious army on the top of the Qixian city now showed no intention of showing any hostility.
Maybe it really is a friendly force?
Just as Tian Dan was muttering secretly, a young voice came from the tower of the east city gate of Qixian County. It was Wu Ji, the general of the Shang Shui Army.
"Wu, I have met General Tian!"
Tian Dan squinted his eyes and looked at the Qixian city tower. He vaguely saw a young general. He was secretly surprised and asked, "Who is planning the move?"
After hearing this, Wu Ji replied on the city tower: "Wu is the commander-in-chief of the Shangshui Army under His Royal Highness King Su of the Great Wei Dynasty, Wu Ji."
Tian Dan was slightly startled when he heard this. Seeing that Wu Ji was young, he originally thought that Wu Ji was just a young general. Unexpectedly, after asking, he found out that he was actually the commander-in-chief of one of the three armies of the Wei army.
In terms of status, I am qualified to talk to him.
Therefore, Tian Dan said with no trace of anger: "General Wu, as far as Tian knows, Qixian County is the prey of our East Route Army. Why did your West Route Army shoot it down?"
Wu Ji was a very honest man and was not good at lying, so he replied: "The Nanmen clan in Qixian City has surrendered to the Wei Dynasty. Therefore, our Shang Shui Army has the responsibility to protect their safety."
Tian Dan was such an astute person. After a little guessing, he guessed the reason: it must be the Nanmen clan in Qixian City. When he learned that Tian Dan was going to attack Qixian, he was greatly frightened and quickly took refuge with the Wei army to avoid any mishaps.
Thinking of this, Tian Dan laughed loudly and said: "General Wu, it seems that you owe Tian a favor." As he said that, he shook his head slightly and had no intention of asking Wu Ji for this favor, so he said casually: "
Forget it, since Qixian County has been captured by your army, it saves Tian a lot of effort... General Wu, please hand over Qixian County to Tian."
He said this not to snatch away the achievements of the Shang Shui Army. After all, Qixian County was located here, and Wu Ji could not bring him back to the Wei State.
The reason why Tian Dan wants Qixian is because it should be a stronghold city belonging to the Eastern Route Army. Their Eastern Route Army will be stationed here and launch an offensive against Fulisai.
Unexpectedly, Wu Ji in Qixian City said in an awkward tone: "Can General Tian please wait for a moment? ... The city is packing up."
The implication was that Wu Ji was willing to transfer Qixian County to Tian Dan, but he wanted the Eastern Route Army to wait for a while.
It's no wonder, after all, it is not an easy task for the Nanmen clan and other nobles in the city to clean up their property.
But after hearing this, the generals of the Eastern Route Army were a little annoyed: What do you mean? Let them stand outside the city and drink the wind?
Immediately, a Qi general shouted displeased: "It's okay to take away the merits of our army, but you actually want me and tens of thousands of soldiers to stand outside the city? What are your intentions?"
As soon as he finished speaking, all the generals of Qi State agreed.
The more they talked, the more angry they became, and in the end, they actually threatened, "If the merchant navy does not open the city gate immediately, they will attack the city."
After hearing this, Wu Ji on the tower was also very angry.
He raised his hand and pointed in one direction, and shouted to the Qi generals below the city: "Look at this flag, do you dare to say that you want to attack my Shang Shui Army?!"
All the generals in the city were still shouting and cursing, but Tian Dan's eyes narrowed slightly and he remained silent.
Because the flag Wu Ji pointed to had the words "Wei, Su Wang" written on it.
In other words, this is the royal flag of Zhao Hongrun, King Su of Wei State.