When Sun Tu defeated nearly 50,000 Wu troops in the south with more than 20,000 people, and captured Huzhou, achieving a hearty victory. At the same time, near Suzhou in the north, the Song army also defeated the army led by Fang Shifo in one battle. Although an elite Wu army was able to win, it relied on overwhelming the minority with its numbers.
Fang Shifo was ordered to go north. It was originally a wishful thinking. One could cut off the Song army's food route and disrupt the morale of the troops in front. The other could launch an attack on Suzhou, which already had few troops stationed there. In the worst case, they could set up an ambush halfway. The Song army, which was fighting back for reinforcements, was caught off guard. But the response of the Song army was far beyond his expectation. The number of soldiers and horses sent back by Sun Tu for rescue actually reached 70,000 to 80,000!
Originally, he had already led his troops to guard a dangerous place that was easy to attack and difficult to defend. However, the continuous incoming Song troops shattered his entire plan. During this period, their whereabouts were quickly noticed by the Song Army, so an ambush turned into an encounter.
Even though Fang Shifo bravely won the three armies, his men were all elite Wu troops, and he had a certain geographical advantage, but soon after the battle started, the disparity in strength still made the battle no longer suspenseful. After a day and night of fierce fighting, the Wu army was defeated and fled in panic. Even Fang Shifo himself was seriously injured because his two fists were unable to defeat his four hands. If it weren't for the desperate rescue and cover by his own soldiers, he might have fallen into the hands of the Song Army.
As a result, the Wu army suffered two consecutive defeats, which greatly weakened their vitality. Both the government and the public were in a state of gloom. Many people were panic-stricken and no longer knew how to deal with it.
It was only at this time that various problems with the unstable foundation of Wu State's new regime were exposed. In the past, things were going well when things were going smoothly, but once they encountered setbacks, not even the officials could come up with a plan to deal with it, let alone ordinary people. What's even more frightening is that Sun Tu has not let go of this opportunity. The relevant revolt has been distributed to all parts of Jiangnan again, and people's hearts have changed again...
Today, there is also a panic in the city of Hangzhou. Even the soldiers of the Royal Forest Army guarding the gate of the palace have sad faces. It is obvious that even they are no longer optimistic about the current situation. When Fang Fei and Jiang Shihu entered the palace hand in hand, their brows furrowed even more tightly after seeing this scene.
But the two just looked at each other and said nothing. If we continue to blame them now, it will only make the situation worse, so they can only pretend that they can't see anything. What they are most worried about now is Emperor Fang La's mood. Today they are also here to persuade the emperor not to lose heart.
As usual, the two of them met Fang La in the palace soon. However, the once heroic Jiangnan hero was now frowning and nervous, and he seemed to have aged ten years. After meeting these two confidants, he forced himself to cheer up and said with a smile: "How about it, are the two brothers Shifo and Wanchun okay?"
Just a few days ago, Pang Wanchun, who had lost Huzhou and returned to the south after a great defeat, was sent back to Hangzhou. Because he was seriously injured, his subordinates did not dare to send him back in a hurry, and there was a lot of delay along the way. On the other hand, Fang Shifo, although he was seriously injured, at least his life was not in danger. He was able to ride a horse to see Fang La and confess his sins. However, he fell ill and was bedridden afterwards, and it was difficult to get up for a while.
These two people are what Wu Guo can rely on most now.
Compared with them, other generals lacked ability or prestige, so it was difficult for them to shoulder the important task of leading troops to resist the Song army's offensive. Therefore, Fang La was extremely concerned about their injuries. He went to visit them in person yesterday, and asked them again when they met today.
After Fang Fei glanced at Jiang Shihu, he said: "Your Majesty, please rest assured. The injuries of the two generals have been stabilized. As long as they continue to rest and take medicine, they can recover in as little as one or two months and as much as half a year." .”
"That's good, that's good..." Although Fang La said this, the sadness on his face did not ease at all. In fact, he knew very well that for the current Wu State, ten days and a half months might not be enough to wait, let alone half a year. By then, the Song army might have already entered Hangzhou City and he himself would be a prisoner.
But as the king of Wu, the backbone of everyone, even if he is pessimistic and desperate, he can only hold on at this time, otherwise they will only collapse faster.
Fang Fei also understood his difficulty, and hurriedly comforted him: "Your Majesty, don't worry too much. Judging from the frontline intelligence, the Song Army has no intention of going south after taking Huzhou. After all, they have also been injured in successive battles." It’s not small, it needs to be recuperated and replenished before we can enter the army again.”
"Of course I know that the Song army can't kill them yet, but how long can this drag on?" Fang La looked at Jiang Shihu with a wry smile: "Commander, are you here to comfort me with these words?"
Jiang Shihu forced a smile: "Your Majesty, there is no need to be so pessimistic. Although our army has been defeated in a row and faced many crises, it has not reached the point where it is desperate and unable to recover. It was because I thought of some ways that I came here with Prime Minister Fang. Advising."
Fang Fei also followed up and said: "Yes, Your Majesty, the matter is far from that point, we still have a chance. You are the backbone of all of us, so we must not mess up the situation."
After all, Fang La was also a hero. Even though he was in a low and pessimistic mood at this time, he finally calmed down a little after the persuasion of his two cronies: "Then tell me, are there any other ways to save the day?"
Jiang Shihu glanced at Fang Fei, and after seeing the other party making a gesture, he said: "Your Majesty, after these successive battles, I have to admit that our Wu army is far from the enemy of the Song army, especially not that Sun. The opponent of Tu's Shandong Army!" When he mentioned Sun Tu, his enemy, there was still unconcealable hatred and murderous intent flashing through his eyes, and at the same time he was full of helplessness.
After a pause, he continued: "So I think that if we fight in the future, we will never be able to confront them head-on. Instead, we should focus on defending the city, just to drag them down with a drag."
Fang Fei also echoed: "I have already inquired about the cause and effect of the previous defeats. In the final analysis, it was our soldiers who were eager for success, and they played into the Song army's hands and were defeated by them. In fact, Huzhou this time During the battle, Pang Wanchun had intended to hold on, but his subordinate generals disobeyed military orders and attacked without permission, which led to this huge defeat and the loss of Huzhou."
Seeing that Fang La continued to remain silent, Jiang Shihu knew what he was thinking, so he added: "Of course, just sticking to it will only treat the symptoms but not the root cause, so I think we can make two preparations. As long as these two strategies can be achieved, there will be seven We are 80% sure to reverse the current predicament.”
"What's the countermeasure? Let me tell you." Fang La finally got excited.
Interested, he asked quickly.
"One is to send trustworthy people to pretend to surrender. During this period of time, Sun Tu has spread the message of protecting Confucianism to various places, which has caused many places to start to stir up trouble. Who knows when there will be chaos again in some cities. , some people will even surrender the city. This is naturally a big trouble for our country of Wu, but it is also an opportunity. We can let trustworthy generals lead their troops to surrender. Once they suddenly take action against the Song army at a critical moment, the effect will be far greater than Our frontal attack is much greater.
"The second is to use a counter-insurgency strategy to send people to Tokyo and Bianliang to make the Song Dynasty suspicious of Sun Tu. It would be best to seize his military power and replace it with someone else to lead the army. In my opinion, we The biggest enemy is still Sun Tu, as long as this person is gone, the rest will not be a concern."
Jiang Shihu's narration made Fang La fall into a brief thought. After a while, he said: "Are these two strategies really feasible? Especially the former, wouldn't Sun Tu be on guard, or even just be ruthless?"
"Your Majesty, don't worry about this. I have already inquired about it. Sun Tu claims that he is a majestic and benevolent teacher. Not only does he do no harm to the people of Jiangnan, but he also treats prisoners kindly and never kills indiscriminately. It is precisely for this reason that he always Wherever we go, many people will defect to the army. Even without our plan, once the message is known to everyone, there will inevitably be people who will take advantage of the situation and suddenly defect to the army. We are just making some credible people It’s not a problem at all for soldiers to mix in.”
Fang Fei said and glanced at Jiang Shihu again. The latter cooperated clearly and continued: "As for going to Bianliang to make countermeasures, it would be easier. In fact, Sun Tu has always had a close relationship with many officials in the Song Dynasty. They are also worried that if this person really makes great achievements, it will be detrimental to their own family. As long as we know the benefits, we can always bribe some people. What's more, there are Zhu Men's mistakes before them. This is a real example."
"Of course, the most important thing for us is to hold on first. So what I mean is to give up some small counties in the front and shrink the troops back to a few important big cities. As long as we survive this period, once we wait for Wanchun and Shi Now that the Buddha has recovered from his injuries, and with the help of another stumbling block within the Song court, we will turn defeat into victory and defeat the enemy to win!" Fang Fei finally gave a clear strategy for the enemy, and then looked at Fang La: "Your Majesty, all this is I need you to come forward and tell your subordinates about all these things in order to stabilize the morale of the people and the army!"
At this time, Fang La's mood was much better than before. The words of two close advisers finally calmed him down, at least he was not as desperate as before. So he quickly adjusted his mentality and cheered up: "What the two brothers said is reasonable. It is far from despair now. We just encountered setbacks occasionally! Just do what you want, and it will be done." If we start again, defeat will only mean death. I, Fang La, can start from the market and conquer half of the south of the Yangtze River, which is enough to leave a name in history. Are we afraid that he will not succeed as a grandson?"
"Your Majesty's wisdom is really a blessing to our country of Wu!" The two people praised him hurriedly. But there was a sigh in their hearts. Although Fang La spoke so boldly, in fact, he was still worried and didn't have much confidence. But this is not something they can resolve in a short period of time. Even the gloomy cloud hanging over the city of Hangzhou cannot be dissipated in a short period of time. We can only wait and see whether this last gamble can come true!