Three days later, Zhuozhou City.
The turmoil of that night has become a thing of the past. The killing of Yaoshi Guo does not seem to have had a great impact on the entire victorious army. Except that the big flag with the word "Guo" on the city was replaced by the word "Dong", and a larger one was added. Except for the banner of the Song Dynasty, everything else is as it was before.
Dong Kuang indeed had the style of a general, and his quick words really calmed the turbulent military morale in Zhuozhou City. Especially after he magnanimously acquitted the Ximen garrison that had attacked him, the Changsheng Army finally felt completely relieved, and at the same time they were convinced by him, and they never acted rebelliously or because of Guo Yaoshi's death. Unruly behavior comes.
At least on the surface, today's victorious army has returned to its previous appearance. No, it even looked like the morale was higher than when he was under Guo Yaoshi. Even the soldiers on duty at the top of the city and patrolling inside the city actually looked more energetic.
The reason for such changes was not only because there was such a Song Dynasty flag in the city, which made the soldiers feel that they had a backer, but also because Dong Kuang behaved more selflessly and won the support of the soldiers. This is not just talk, he actually achieves consistency, almost eating and living with ordinary soldiers. This is something that the previous Yaoshi Guo could not do. This alone has given him a harvest He won the hearts of 20,000 soldiers of the Ever-Victorious Army and completely replaced Guo Pharmacist's position in the hearts of the entire army.
The military morale is available and the city can be defended. The biggest problem facing Dong Kuang now is the shortage of military rations. In this regard, he could only hope that Sun Tu and the Song Dynasty court behind him would keep their promise and transport the promised food to Zhuozhou as soon as possible. Fortunately, to show their sincerity, Sun Tu and the others did not leave as soon as the important matter was decided. Qingzhou soldiers still stationed in the city, which gave them reassurance.
However, the lack of food for several days still made Dong Kuang feel uneasy. Today he found an opportunity to see Sun Tu again and asked him about the army rations: "General Sun, when will the army rations you promised me be delivered to Zhuozhou? You have also seen that there is a shortage of food in the city now, and the soldiers' food is being cut again and again. If this continues, I am afraid that even I will no longer be able to make them hungry and obey orders!"
Faced with such a question, Sun Tu behaved quite calmly: "I also know the current situation in Zhuozhou, but you should also know that the transportation of military rations is not as simple as imagined, and you have to avoid the interception of the Liao army. Please also ask General Dong Please be patient and calm, I, Sun Tu, will always stay here and there is no way I can break my promise and deceive you."
His words were somewhat convincing, and made Dong Kuang, who was already a little anxious and dissatisfied, calm down a little, but the worry on his face was still full: "Although I trust you, this matter is of great concern after all... "
"I know. I have sent people to the south several times to urge them. I think the first batch of military rations will be delivered within five or six days." Sun Tu comforted again, and also gave a fairly clear promise, This made the other party's face relax again. But then, Sun Tu's words made the atmosphere tense again: "But General Dong, in my opinion, our biggest trouble right now is probably not the lack of military rations, but the upcoming foreign enemies."
"What do you mean by that?"
"In the past few days, I have been thinking about a question. Jinren sees the general trend
So it is reasonable to escape from Zhuozhou, but what about the Liao people? Why did they start moving so early? And not only did they escape from the city, but they even had the idea of building an armory. What was their intention? "
"It's not because they knew it would be difficult to recruit my ever-victorious army, so they hurriedly left before danger came."
"Then let me ask you again, if they were still in the city now, would you really kill them?"
This question really stunned Dong Kuang, and after being stunned, he finally got the answer. Seeing this, Sun Tu added: "So, even if you really wanted to surrender to the Song Dynasty, you would not dare to risk killing the Liao envoy. Then why did they flee Zhuozhou at night? The only explanation is that they have a guilty conscience. Because they know very well that once the Ever-Victorious Army refuses to surrender to the Liao Kingdom, it will surely lead to a large-scale attack by the Liao Army, and by then, they who are still in the city will be in real danger."
At this point, Sun Tu's face became extremely solemn: "In other words, all the threats that Xiao Sixun said before are actually true, and they are definitely not empty words to intimidate! The elite of the Liao army are really here On the way to Zhuozhou!"
"What?" Even though Dong Kuang's mind was extremely determined, after hearing this inference, his expression changed drastically and he exclaimed, almost jumping up from his seat. Then, he gasped for breath and stared at Sun Tu: "You... In fact, you have already thought of such a result, but you have never told me the truth... "
Sun Tu looked back at him honestly, half-smiling: "Actually, I didn't dare to confirm this speculation before. It wasn't until Xiao Sixun and the others escaped overnight that I was more than 80% sure. They also planned to build an armory. In addition to I wanted to attract the North Gate defenders to make it easier to escape, and also to weaken the defensive power of the city even more. Fortunately, my brothers occupied it earlier at that time, and finally did not let them succeed easily."
Hearing the hidden meaning in Sun Tu's words, Dong Kuang was angry, but he could only suppress his anger temporarily. Sun Tu's meaning was very obvious. If he had said it before, it would only make Dong Kuang fall to the Liao people, which would run counter to his interests. Only then, when both parties are in the same boat, can these matters be fully open and honest.
Moreover, he, Sun Tu, did not just sit back and watch. At least he saved the armory in the city and did his part to defend the city for the victorious army. This made Dong Kuang a little confused when he wanted to get angry, so he could only snort: "So you are sincere by staying here? Or are you worried that once the Liao army comes to attack in a large scale, I will change my tune and surrender on the spot? ?”
"At this point, I'm afraid it's too late for you to surrender to the Liao people." Sun Tu shook his head and said: "The Liao people also have their own pride, not to mention that they may not really continue to believe in your ever-victorious army. Before There was a time when Yaoshi Guo surrendered and rebelled again, so how could they not learn a lesson today?"
Dong Kuang was silent. He also knew that his ever-victorious army was already at odds with the Liao people. How could it be so easy to surrender again? As for Pharmacist Guo, he was still taking chances and thinking that all three companies could take advantage of him.
Sun Tu looked at him and continued: "As for why I still lead people to stay here, it's not because I don't trust you, nor is it because I want to atone for my sins.
At the end of the day, it’s because I believe that Zhuozhou can and must be defended. This is the key point in my overall plan to advance northward, and there is absolutely no room for error! "It wasn't until the last sentence came out that Sun Tu suddenly revealed a frightening aura!
It was a powerful aura that had been tempered by many years of fighting and killing countless people. Even Dong Kuang felt his breath shortness and his body tremble when faced with this aura. At the same time, somehow, his originally anxious mood was calmed down. It seemed that as long as he obeyed the command of the person in front of him, all powerful enemies would no longer be a problem!
The thought came suddenly and went away quickly. Soon, Dong Kuang regained his composure and looked at Sun Tu, who looked confident: "Are you really sure?"
"If Medicine Master Guo was still the commander-in-chief of the Ever-Victorious Army, I would not dare to say such a thing, but if it were you Dong Kuang, I would be at least 70% sure of holding Zhuozhou until my reinforcements from the Song Dynasty arrive. Don't worry, I won't If you really let your Ever Victorious Army fight with the Liao Army to the point of losing both sides, there will be arrangements made."
"I hope everything will be as you said..." Dong Kuang smiled bitterly, already acknowledging the current situation, but at the same time he did not have much confidence, because he thought of one thing, if it was like what Xiao Sixun threatened before, A large number of Liao troops are coming to kill. Could it be that the terrible Liao Xi King Xiao Qian is leading the troops
This Xiao Qian can be said to be a nightmare-like existence in the minds of the soldiers of the Ever Victorious Army. Their several major defeats were almost all due to their confrontation with him. Even Dong Xiaoxiu was defeated that day because of him. Now that this powerful enemy is coming again, can the ever-victorious army, which is now seriously short of military supplies, really be able to withstand it
Seeing the worry in his heart, Sun Tu smiled again: "It's not like you are just going to lead the troops to fight the Liao army head-on. We are relying on the city to defend. Could it be that we can't hold on for a while until reinforcements arrive?"
"Having said that, Xiao Qian has always been cunning and changeable in his military use..."
"What are you doing, Xiao?" Sun Tu's eyes flashed, and his expression became more serious.
By the way, in the past two years, as the War between Song and Liao continued to deepen, the names of some generals of the Liao Kingdom continued to spread among the Song Dynasty and the public. Among them, Xiao Qian is undoubtedly the most famous one. Although it was Yelu Xiongge who really faced off against Tong Guan in the north, King Xi of the Liao Kingdom still made the Song army officers and soldiers fear and hate him with several small-scale killings.
This is a terrible guy who uses his troops completely unorganized, and once he wins, he goes on a killing spree, never leaving any prisoners alive. When they heard before that he was sent by the Liao court to deal with the Jin people in the north, the Song army was relieved. But unexpectedly today, he actually turned around and headed south again, heading straight for Zhuozhou. Obviously, the Liao court had also seen the importance of Zhuozhou in this Song-Liao war, and wanted to complete its achievements in one battle.
After slowly exhaling, Sun Tucai calmed down and said: "Then let us work together to defeat this powerful enemy. By the way, can you tell us about some of the character habits of this terrible enemy? As someone who has fought against him many times, Chang Shengjun, you must know him very well, right?"
As the saying goes, the person who knows a person best is often his enemy. Because only your enemy will do anything to understand you and ultimately defeat you!