"After the first capital withdrew to Nantang Village, King Xin Yang Yuanyan led 800 elite cavalry to arrive at the north bank of Meizhu River. However, he did not stay for too long and escorted the remaining troops of Zhao Zhen's troops to Liyang City for rest and recuperation. Except for ten
We have several scouts and scouting horses from the west of Tianyin Mountain to the outside of Xuancheng. The scouts have not yet seen any signs of the Chuzhou army moving south to join Gu Zhilong!"
The sun was setting in the west, and Han Qian stood at the top of the dilapidated city, listening to Guo Que report the intelligence gathered from the northern front.
Xi Ren, Yuan Guowei, and Feng Yi were standing behind Han Qian. When they heard the news, they all breathed a sigh of relief. This battle has been extremely difficult so far. If it continues, they are all worried about whether the Chishan Army can
Can hold up.
After Han Qian pondered for a long time, he ordered Guo Que to say: "Send the latest information on the northern line to Gao Shao and Zhao Wuji. As for the third capital, the cavalry camp slowed down the speed of approaching Xuancheng and selected a location on the north bank of Xiadu River at night.
Camp, detach a small number of soldiers and horses, and choose a location to set up sentry posts on the west bank of Nanyi Lake. Before the new military order, it is not advisable to cross the Xiadu River for the time being. Be careful that the Xuanzhou soldiers may still organize soldiers and horses to counterattack on the south bank of the Xiadu River..."
"I will go there myself and then transport Guo Nuer's body to Langxi for burial," Guo Que said.
Han Qian nodded tiredly and motioned to Guo Que to go and deliver the message in person.
The casualty rate of the 6,000 elite soldiers stationed at Nantang Village was more than 40%; the subsequent reinforcements transferred to Nantang Village from the eastern front had a casualty rate of nearly 30%.
Xiao Dahu and Lin Jingzong commanded more than 2,000 soldiers and horses. After the third capital army surrounded Langxi City, they all rushed to Honglinbu to participate in the interception of Xuancheng reinforcements, and less than a thousand people were left.
There were more than a thousand elite members of the cavalry camp, and they were dispersed to support three battlefields. In the end, less than 400 people were left.
Guo Nuer, a son of his family soldier who had been following him for many years, also rushed to Honglinbu on his behalf to supervise the battle. Unfortunately, his skull was pierced by an enemy's iron arrow during the night battle and he died heroically. In addition to Guo Nuer, there was also a deputy capital officer.
Shi Ji, a senior general at the general level, was also a disciple of Taowu Ji who first rushed back to Jinling from Xuzhou with Han Qian. He died heroically in the battle to reinforce Nantang Village.
In the third attempt to capture Langxi City, more than 2,000 corpses died under Langxi City!
Guo Que and others had a deep brotherhood with Guo Nuer, so they wanted to send Guo Nuer's body back and choose a place for burial. Han Qian was heartbroken and felt that this should be the case.
Seeing the female battalion nursing soldiers gathering the corpses of the generals who died in the battle at the city gate, Han Qian felt sad at this moment, but also felt a deep sense of luck. He secretly felt that if the Chuzhou Army sent more elite troops south to follow him,
When Gu Zhilong joined forces, he had to further squeeze the potential of the Chishan Army to carry out interception operations. He really didn't know how damaged the Chishan Army's vitality would be.
Feng Zhang was ordered to temporarily recruit 2,000 new soldiers from the villages in the south of Guangde. Most of them did not have armor and only had a mace and wore straw sandals. They entered Langxi City in time. After meeting Feng Xuan, they boarded the
Go up to the East Tower and see Han Qian.
Seeing that there were still many corpses of generals burnt by kerosene on the city wall that had not been put away, Feng Zhang was also sighing. He did not expect that after the elite of Gu Zhilong's tooth army was tricked out of the city, the attack on Langxi would be so cruel and bloody.
Fortunately, it was captured, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable.
Of course, this is also the case. The elite of Gu Zhilong's Ya army were deceived out of the city in advance, which makes it even more critical.
Otherwise, it would be impossible for them to capture Langxi City in such a short period of time. If they cannot capture Langxi City, they must rush into Huzhou before their supplies run out. Then there will be another arduous battle.
A tough battle awaits them.
However, after this battle, just like the Dragon Bird Army's sudden rise, no one in the world dared to trust the Chishan Army, which was composed of low-life bastards.
"Gu Zhilong is really an ambitious man. He has stored up 110,000 to 20,000 shi of food in Langxi City, which is enough for us to breathe a sigh of relief!" Feng Xuan took an excited breath and added what he had just said.
He went to various grain depots to take a rough look at the situation and reported it.
Gao Shao led the 4,000 soldiers and horses in the Third Capital who still had some remaining strength to squeeze south to join Zhao Wuji. The 3,000 soldiers and horses in the Third Capital were left behind, of which two-thirds were wounded. Commander Feng Xuan stayed behind to assist Han Qian.
Staying in Langxi - Han Qian also asked him to be fully responsible for the military and political affairs of Langxi.
Fortunately, Feng Zhang arrived in time with two thousand new troops from Guangde, and he was relieved.
Otherwise, just guarding 2,780 prisoners would make them afraid to sleep at night.
"Gu Longzhi hoarded so much grain in Langxi?" Yuan Guowei asked in surprise.
It wasn't that he didn't believe it, but he was a little shocked, but he also understood better why Feng Xuan said that Gu Zhilong was an ambitious person.
The Langxi garrison had only 6,000 people at most before. Even if 50,000 to 60,000 shi of food were prepared in the city, it would be enough to supply the garrison for a year.
Gu Zhilong had hoarded far more food in Langxi City than they had expected, which meant that Gu Zhilong actually wanted to gather all the soldiers and horses in Xuanzhou to Langxi when the Chuzhou army and Anning Palace were fighting inextricably.
To demonstrate his pivotal role and status in the upcoming battle.
After all, Gu Zhilong just wanted to sell it at a good price.
Gu Zhilong's calculations came to nothing, and they now have a harvest of 112,000 shi of grain. In addition, the autumn grain harvest in Guangde Jiuxian County and Langxi is coming in a month. Even if the Chishan Army no longer goes to the south of Langxi,
The central and southern Xuanzhou area will expand into Huzhou, and the 300,000 old, weak, women and children should be able to support it until the end of the year.
This will buy the Chishan Army at least three months of precious rest time.
Yuan Guowei has been with Han Qian these days, and he knows very well how difficult it is to protect so many old, weak, women and children under such simple conditions, and to exercise great restraint not to rob civilians and small families.
Although the women and children who were evacuated to the northern foot of Fuyu Mountain were able to obtain some food sources from the deep mountains and old forests, the rations allocated were still too small. Some elderly people even secretly gave the rations to the younger ones, so that dozens of them were eaten every day.
An old man died of severe hunger and edema.
Yuan Guowei certainly knew how difficult it was for the Chishan Army to maintain high fighting spirit in such a difficult environment and successfully capture Langxi City, thus obtaining relatively sufficient supplies and rest time and space for the next three or four months.
It can be said that such brilliant results were achieved entirely through the bloody battles of the soldiers who were not afraid of death.
At this time, after capturing Langxi and seizing nearly 6,000 sets of armor, as well as using the iron, coal, leather, cloth and many workshops with better conditions than those in Guangde Village, the equipment of the Chishan Army was greatly improved in the next two or three months.
It can also be improved a lot.
"Has Gu Zhao's body been buried in a coffin?" Han Qian asked Feng Xuandao.
Gu Zhao is the second son of Gu Zhilong and the chief general of Langxi City.
Although Han Qian ordered to keep Gu Zhao alive as much as possible before attacking the city, Kong Xirong led the troops to attack the city first, and the generals on both sides were killed. Gu Zhao also dared to fight and led his guards to defend the east gate tower.
He retreated, and finally died under the knife, leaving no intact place on his body.
It was impossible for Han Qian to blame Kong Xirong and the others for disobeying orders. He only ordered Feng Xuan to bury Gu Zhao's remains in a coffin, and then imprison all the female family members of the Gu family in the city protectively to prevent the generals from rioting.
"The burial has begun, and Zhou Yuanhe is at the bottom of the city." Feng Xuan said.
"Bring him up." Han Qian said.
Zhou Yuanhe was a civil servant and was not on the east gate tower when the siege was most intense.
After Gu Zhao died in battle, the entire garrison collapsed and surrendered. Zhou Yuanhe was captured at the county government office without any help. Therefore, apart from being punched and kicked and having a few old teeth knocked out when he was captured, he did not suffer any serious injuries.
He was brought to the city wall with a bruised nose and swollen face, but Zhou Yuanhe was also quite embarrassed.
"This battle was too bitter and miserable for both sides. The generals were impatient, rude, and disrespectful. I hope Master Zhou can forgive me." Han Qian looked at Zhou Yuanhe and said calmly.
No matter how much he looked down on the dandy son of the Han family before, Zhou Yuanhe still knew the principle of "the winner is the king, the loser is the bandit". He just didn't know Han Qian's intention of dragging him to the east city gate tower at this time, and remained silent.
Say something.
"Although I ordered you and Young Master Gu to be spared as much as possible before the war, under the fierce battle, the swords and arrows had no eyes, and Young Master Gu unfortunately died in the battle. It was not what Han wanted to come. I hope Mr. Zhou can see Mr. Gu.
Can you apologize on my behalf later," Han Qian said calmly, "Tomorrow I will send someone to escort Mr. Zhou and the female family members of Gu Zhai to Xuancheng. After Mr. Zhou sees Mr. Gu, he will tell Mr. Gu and the heads of the families in Xuancheng that I am
Patience is very limited. Within ten days, Xuanzhou has not taken any concrete action to surrender to His Highness King Tan and to Hunan Province. When I lead the elite Chishan Army to attack the city, don't blame me for letting my soldiers slaughter the entire city's aristocratic families.
Door valve!"
Having said this, Han Qian did not signal to Feng Xuan to take Zhou Yuanhe down first.
Seeing Zhou Yuanhe being taken away, Ren Yan asked: "Is it possible that Gu Zhilong will be frightened by you?"
"Scare may not be enough to scare him away, but if he surrenders now, he can still get a good price at least. If we delay it for another two or three months, the Chishan Army will become stronger. If he is huddled in Yishan, who can he sell himself to?
What price can it be sold for?" Han Qian said.
Feng Xuan glanced at Yuan Guowei, hesitated for a while, and said: "Gu Zhilong may not be willing to surrender at this time, and we don't need to push too hard..."
Yuan Guowei coughed and said, "I'll go to the city to have a look."
If Gu Zhilong can be asked to surrender to Yueyang at this time, it will of course be more conducive to the current situation tilting towards Yueyang. However, Gu Zhilong's strength has not been greatly damaged, but if he is eager to win over and surrender, then he and the Xuanzhou aristocratic family members can only be allowed to retain a considerable amount of power.
With his strength joining Yueyang, Gu Zhilong will become one of the powerful figures in Yueyang in the future.
After this battle, even if Gu Zhilong and the aristocratic families in Xuanzhou surrendered to Yueyang and His Highness, their hatred for Han Qian and the Chishan Army would only deepen and could not be easily resolved.
In other words, if Han Qian wins this battle, instead of increasing the support he can get within Yueyang, it is possible that the forces targeting him and opposing him will be strengthened.
What Feng Xuan meant in his words was that he actually wanted to wait for the Chishan Army to be fully rested and strengthened before he marched to the gates of Xuancheng and forced Gu Zhilong to unconditionally hand over his troops and surrender. The Chishan Army would then fully integrate the surrendered troops from Xuanzhou and take over everything in Xuanzhou.
resource.
That is what is most beneficial to Han Qian and the Chishan Army.
Yuan Guowei felt that he was really not suitable to stay and participate in discussions on this topic, so he had to find an excuse to go down to the city gate tower.
"The recruitment and surrender of Gu Zhilong is His Highness's will, and we cannot violate it. We sent troops to attack Langxi City to urge Gu Zhilong to serve His Highness!" Han Qian looked at Yuan Guowei who was about to descend the city wall and asked, "Mr. Yuan, what do you think?
?”
"Using a strike to promote surrender is a brilliant idea, Mr. Han." When Yuan Guowei heard what Han Qian said, he smiled and said politely, "The Chuzhou Army has withdrawn to the north. Mr. Zhang Ping should come back from Nantang Village. I'll go
Let’s take a look at the north of the city and wait for Mr. Zhang Ping to come back - at this time, maybe Mr. Zhang Ping and I can do something for Yueyang and His Highness, and welcome Mr. Han back safely!"
Yuan Guowei naturally did not want to see Han Qian have a disagreement with the third prince, so he and Zhang Ping rushed to Xuancheng to see Gu Zhilong immediately. If they could persuade Gu Zhilong to surrender and save the lives of Han Wenhuan, Han Daochang and others, maybe they could
The hidden dangers caused by Han Qian's undeclared war and the attack on Langxi were also used to make the Marquis of Xinchang and the people of Yueyang have nothing to say and no blame for Han Qian's sending troops to attack Langxi.
"Then I'll bother Mr. Yuan." Han Qian returned the courtesy to Yuan Guowei.
"It's just because of Mr. Han's achievements that you are shy." Yuan Guowei smiled and walked down the city wall.
Seeing Yuan Guowei leaving, with only Xi Ying, Feng Xuan, Feng Yi and others on his side, Han Qiancai said to Feng Xuan: "It's not that I don't think about Xuzhou and the many hard-working and courageous sons and daughters. The most important thing now is that I still don't know
When will Emperor Liang be able to fully control the situation in the Central Plains? If possible, he must drive the Chuzhou Army to the north of the Yangtze River as soon as possible. Otherwise, Huaishou and other places will fall into the hands of the Liang Army and it will be too difficult to defend the Yangtze River alone - Guarding the River
I remember I mentioned to you the strategic significance of must-defend the Huai River. You need to look far ahead and not care about temporary gains and losses. Otherwise, how are you and me different from Gu Zhilong? We must pay attention to military power, and we must not be afraid of showing military power, but we must also
We must remember that military power cannot solve all problems, and even the display and use of military power can only pave the way for solving problems..."
"Understood." Feng Xuan responded in a muffled voice, still somewhat unwilling to do so, but thinking that the old man was still in Gu Zhilong's hands, he thought that a compromise to adapt was a last resort.
Han Qian smiled inwardly. There were too many experiences and lessons in the dream world. He had some deeper understandings at this time, and he didn't expect Feng Xuan and others to understand them more thoroughly than him. The school had already taken shape. At worst, he could print more small prints.
The brochure is a bit more verbose.
At this time, a fast horse galloped from the east. When he arrived at the city, he saw a guard from the county prince's palace serving Li Yu. He was wearing a white linen mourning garment outside his leather armor. Han Qian saw
Seeing this scene, I sighed slightly in my heart. The famous general Li Yu passed away peacefully in Guangde Village...