After hearing Han Qian explain in an understatement the reason why he insisted on killing Xia Zhen in an attack, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became much more depressing.
Zhang Ping, Chai Jian, and Li Chong looked at each other. Today, this method was used on Xia Zhen to scare Zheng Hui, but was it not a warning to them?
They could also see just now that when Han Qian cut off Xia Zhen's head with his own hands, the third prince felt a little uncomfortable, but then his eyes revealed uncontrollable excitement, as if he had just swallowed the first A young beast with a mouthful of human flesh.
In order to resist the suppression of Wan Honglou and Marquis Xinchang, did Han Qian not hesitate to train the third prince into a brutal beast that one day would be uncontrollable?
Shen Yang sighed slowly, not knowing how Han Daoxun's family history taught him such a Han Qian, but now was not the time to pursue these details.
In any case, killing Xia Zhen was an extremely risky act, but if it succeeded, it would shock people's hearts, which would be extremely beneficial to the subsequent war.
Especially after killing Xia Zhen, they left the guard camp outside the city and followed Zheng Hui into the city. If he were Zheng Hui, he would definitely do something to deserve the trust of the third prince.
Shen Yang put aside these details, stared at Han Qian for a while, and asked, "According to what you said, Liang Jun is determined to win Jingxiang and other places this time, but what confidence do you have that His Highness will be able to defend the Dan by sitting here?" Jiang, blocking the passage for soldiers and horses from Liangguo Pass to the west?"
Knowing that King Yong of Liang was in Wancheng, Shen Yang guessed Han Qian's intention to trick the third prince into heading west to achieve great success. However, he did not know what confidence Han Qian had. Only the Dragon Bird Army and a few other miscellaneous soldiers could defend Dan. Along the river.
"Jingxiang is related to the fate of the country of Chu. His Highness has no other responsibility than guarding the gate of Chu."
Han Qian didn't want to give Shen Yang another chance to persuade the third prince to return to Xiangzhou City, so he spoke in an unusually firm tone and said decisively,
"All the soldiers and horses on the western front have retreated to Jingzikou and Xichuan City. Your Majesty will not sit back and watch Jingxiang fall, nor will the Shu Kingdom sit and watch Jingxiang be annexed by the Liang army - as long as Jingzikou and Xichuan City can be defended, In the end, even if Xiangzhou City falls, Jinling still has a chance to regain Jingxiang. At that time, the elite Liang army does not want to lose all Xiangzhou, so they can only withdraw their troops and leave."
"Canglang City, which you have worked so hard for several months, is just giving up?" Shen Yang asked.
"The only solution now is to abandon it as a last resort." Han Qian said.
Although Liang Jun attacked Tieguling and Canglang City as soon as possible, before completing the deployment, he realized that the defenders in these two places were unexpectedly tough, so he postponed the offensive.
In fact, neither Han Qian nor Li Zhigao had yet experienced the true strength of Liang Jun.
After the main force of the Liang Army, especially Xuanjia, entered the Nanyang Basin, it was extremely foolish for Han Qian to think about holding on to the Danjiang River and maintaining constant contact with Xiangzhou City.
The only feasible strategy is to accumulate three or four months' supplies of food and grass and defend Jingzikou and Xichuan.
There is a section of abandoned ancient road from Xichuan to Wuguan built by the previous dynasty. Among them, there are four or five miles of plank road built between the cliffs. Although the plank road has become decayed and cannot withstand the passage of people and horses, the stone holes are still intact and it is easy to repair. .
Otherwise, even Xichuan would not be defended, and the Longque Army and other scattered generals would retreat to Jingzikou, waiting for the arrival of reinforcements from Jinling.
As for giving up Canglang City, there is nothing to regret.
Under the current situation, Liang Jun's Guanzhong soldiers, horses, and food cannot be blocked in the Qinling Mountains. All his operations will be in vain. If Liang Jun can be defeated in the end, the loss of Canglang City that he gave up at this time will be in vain. What does it count?
Shen Yang knew that Han Qian had made all the plans. Looking at the third prince's firm attitude, which he could not change, he also felt a little frustrated that others were leading him in everything. He leaned forward slightly and said, "I hope Everything goes as you expect.”
Zheng Hui finally decided to separately supervise Xia Zhen's close relatives and ordinary Yingzhou state soldiers. At this time, the men and horses escorting grain and grass in Yingzhou were also detained first.
After handling all this, Xichuan City gradually became clearer under the morning light.
"..."
After dealing with everything, Zheng Hui returned to the back house of Zhenjiang Mansion. When he learned everything, he was also so shocked that he didn't know what to say for a long time.
"In order to defend the mountains and rivers of Dachu, His Highness has spared no effort to sit in Xichuan. If Mr. Zheng is timid, we can arrange for the Huangzhou troops to withdraw south and replace them with other brave generals." Han Qian stood behind the third prince and looked at Zheng Hui and said. .
Zheng Hui subconsciously grinned bitterly, but then he felt that Han Qian's gaze was as sharp as a blade.
Knowing that Zhu Yu, King Yong of Liang Dynasty, was in Wancheng, Zheng Hui was panicked. At this time, he could also think clearly about the consequences of his withdrawal of Huangzhou soldiers with the three princes personally stationed in Xichuan.
If he is lucky enough to win this battle and finally defeat Liang Jun, the best outcome for him would be to resign and go into seclusion.
If the third prince is unfortunately captured or dies in battle, the best outcome would be for him to be beheaded alone without affecting his family.
What's more, the three princes killed Xia Zhen in public, how could they let him go?
Thinking of this, Zheng Hui cheered up, knelt down in front of the third prince, and said: "The emperor's kindness is so great that Zheng Hui only wishes to be shrouded in horse leather and serve His Highness."
Although Zheng Hui's respectful attitude at this time was somewhat forced, Yang Yuanpu was still extremely excited.
The whole thing was full of dangers, and he might lose everything, but for the young and passionate man, the adventure at this time gave him an overflowing spirit.
Yang Yuanpu had not slept all night and was in high spirits. He couldn't wait to take Han Qian with him to inspect the military camp and the city wall.
"When the guard camp enters the city bravely, Mr. Zheng will first accompany His Highness to the military camp and inspect the city wall. I will also learn about Xichuan's material reserves with Mr. Shen Yang to see how to coordinate the defense of Xichuan and Jingzikou." Han Qian Rubbing his slightly numb cheeks, the time left for them was too limited.
After the guards camp and Zuo Si scouts entered the city, Yang Yuanpu, accompanied by Zheng Hui, Chai Jian and others, went to inspect the military camp wall. Han Qian and Shen Yang stayed in the town general's office and looked through the scribes under Zheng Hui. A large number of documents were brought here to calculate the wealth of the family in Xichuan and to formulate a comprehensive plan for the next defense.
"The men you left in Xiangzhou City should report this matter to the defense commander at this time, right?" Shen Yang put down a stack of documents and looked at Han Qian and asked.
"When the gate of Xiangzhou City opens today, I arranged for the scouts outside the city to ride fast horses and carry the letter I wrote into the city to see Guo Rong," Han Qian said, "We can't admit that we knew about this a long time ago. Bar?"
"No matter what your ambitions are, you shouldn't waste these two days and two nights. Do you know how many fewer people will die if the defense is prepared for two more days?" Shen Yang asked.
"Master Du may be the number one figure, but if this matter is reported to the Defense Envoy in advance, can Mr. Shen guarantee that all the generals and officials of the Defense Envoy will be as selfless and not messy as Mr. Shen?"
Han Qian put down the document in his hand and said calmly,
"Once Liang Jun's scouts lurking in Xiangzhou City learn that Zhu Yu's whereabouts have been exposed, will the main force of Liang Jun go to kill Zaoyang and Yingzhou in the east as originally planned, or will the front be reversed? , first gather heavy troops to attack the front lines of Tieguling, Xichuan, and Canglang City? No matter what you think of me, Mr. Shen, I can't take this risk!"
Shen Yang thought about it for a long time, but couldn't find anything to say to refute Han Qian, especially since Han Qian predicted that Liang Jun's planned plan would most likely attack Zaoyang City first, which was guarded by Ma Xun, the prince of Tanzhou Jiedushi, so he knew that Han Qian It is even more impossible to reveal this matter in advance.
However, from the perspective of Da Chu, whether to lose the elite Dragon Bird Army of his direct lineage or to sacrifice the always ambitious Tanzhou soldiers and horses, even Shen Yang did not think he could resist this temptation.
Who in the world can be truly selfless and ask for life for the people?
Shen Yang sighed softly and said to Han Qian: "If Xichuan cannot be defended, I hope you can find a way to save His Highness's life. No matter what happens, don't let His Highness fall into the hands of Liang Jun instead of trying to sell His Highness at a good price. ."
"..." Han Qian did not respond to Shen Yang's words and changed the subject, "After Du Chongtao learns about this matter, he will definitely send someone to invite His Highness to return to Xiangzhou City. When the time comes, Mr. Shen will be asked to write an impassioned letter for His Highness. A letter to inform the generals of Jingxiang. Mr. Shen Yang should also know that what ultimately determines the outcome may be the morale of the generals that ordinary people cannot figure out..."
…………
…………
Guo Rong panicked and knocked on the door of the camp supervisor Xu Zhaoling's house. What he held in his hand was a letter he had just opened.
Han Qian wrote this letter before nightfall the day before yesterday, and specially arranged for someone to guard it until then, before entering the city and delivering it to Guo Rong.
"Snapped!"
Xu Zhaoling read the letter and hurriedly swept his favorite white porcelain tea cup to the ground with his wide sleeves and smashed it into pieces.
"Zhu Yu's son is in Wancheng in the north?! How is this possible?" Xu Zhaoling stared at Guo Rong in shock and asked, unable to believe that all this was true.
"I'm afraid this is true,"
Jin Rui, the head of the house of Deng Xiang of the Staff Department, also received the notification from Guo Rong. He rushed over panting, sat down under Xu Zhaoling, and pondered for a long time and said,
"A few days ago, a secret agent from the Zhongfang Division sent back news that more than ten thousand Liang Army infantry units from Wancheng were advancing toward the Tanghe River at an extremely fast speed. And this infantry unit came from Fangcheng. Even though the road was muddy, it continued for several consecutive times. Marching day and night, there was no sign of fatigue. Wherever we went, there was order and no sign of disorder. It was not like the ordinary troops and horses assembled by Liang Jun in Ruzhou or Xuzhou. I didn't pay much attention to it at first. I thought to Liang Jun Even if the army wants to contain this side, it will have to send some well-disciplined elites here, but now that I think about it, it is indeed possible that they are disguised as the elites of Xuanjiadu."
"Young boy Yang Yuanpu left Xiangzhou City to go to the Western Front. Does he know about this?" Xu Zhaoling asked hesitantly.
Although this letter was sent by Scout Zuo Si who had just entered the city, Guo Rong tended to agree with Xu Zhaoling's judgment, but in his heart he admired the courage of the child Yang Yuanpu.
"How dare Yang Yuanpu hide such important news for two days before revealing it?" Xu Zhaoling slapped the table and shouted, "What does he want to do?"
"The third prince probably wanted to defend the mountains and rivers," Jin Rui said calmly, "but it can still be said that the third prince did not confirm the matter until he arrived at Canglang City or Tiecrocodile Ridge, and sent someone to deliver the letter as soon as possible.
come over."
"Let's go see Du Chongtao and see how they arrange it." Xu Zhaoling stood up and asked Guo Rong and Jin Rui to go with them to see Du Chongtao.
However, when he stepped out of the courtyard and was about to get into the carriage, Xu Zhaoling remembered something and called a leader of the family soldiers behind him to give him a few instructions. He then handed a waist badge to the man and said: "You will be the singer in the house."
Load all the treasures and treasures into the car, and go out of the city with my command talisman. No one will stop you. Yingzhou is not safe either. You go directly to Jingzhou, and then find a boat in Jingzhou to send everyone and everything back to Jinling."
Seeing Xu Zhaoling arranging these things, Jin Rui glanced at Guo Rong, and neither of them said anything.
