"A defeat is a defeat. Even if you defeat me with conspiracy and a series of despicable means, I, Xiao Qian, will not deny it, let alone be ridiculous enough to use any words to preserve my dignity. I am just sorry So I was not defeated in an upright manner at the hands of your elite soldiers of the Song Dynasty, but fell into the villain's scheme." Xiao Qian looked back at Sun Tu and said slowly.
Sun Tu smiled. His words seemed to have no problem at first, but if you think about it carefully, there are many contradictions in them, just like his words and deeds at the moment. However, he didn't mind chatting with her for a few more words at this moment, so he followed the flow and said, "What about the failure that you can accept according to your wishes?"
"Of course it's an upright battle, where you and our armies each show their strengths, rather than relying on the ever-victorious army to carry out this series of conspiracies."
"That's well said." Sun Tu suddenly raised his hands and smiled: "I really didn't expect that such words would come from your mouth to ridicule King Xiao Qian. As far as I know, you Xiao Qian also used to be very deceitful in the Liao army. He is famous for his military exploits over the years, so why are you now emphasizing the need to fight openly and honestly?"
"This..." Xiao Qian's face froze, and he didn't know how to respond. Originally, his words were just to save some face for himself and his subordinates. Who would have thought that Sun Tu would actually argue with him? This really surprised him.
"Also, your so-called fair battle must be that the two sides have laid out their troops and horses, and they have a head-on confrontation outside the city. That is really a wishful thinking. You Liao people are good at cavalry, and I The Song army was mostly infantry. Do you think such a decisive battle was really fair and just
"Besides, I can't guess what your intentions are when you go south this time. If you capture Zhuozhou, you can put this elite army in the strategy of our main force in the Song Dynasty. Then you can cooperate with the main force on the front line. At the same time, Raise the troops and kill the main force of the Song Dynasty. It is hard to take care of the left and right. In this way, the battle situation can be decided. I want to ask you, can this kind of strategy really be considered aboveboard? "
A series of questions were thrown out, like sharp arrows hitting Xiao Qian's face, shattering all his excuses and making his remarks just now even more ridiculous. Immediately, the surrounding Song soldiers burst into laughter, and countless contemptuous glances were thrown at him like arrows, making Xiao Qian a little confused as to how to speak again.
Sun Tu's words continued: "The way of using troops is inherently uncertain. Each one depends on his ability and only looks at the last resort, no matter what tactics are used in the middle. Now I only know one thing, you lose and I win. I don't know about you, King Xi. Anything else to say?”
After grumbling for a while, Xiao Qian finally lowered his arrogant head: "That's what happened. I am a defeated general and a prisoner under my command. I have nothing to say. If you want to kill or behead, please do as you please."
"King Xi, you can rest assured. We, the Song Dynasty, are a country of etiquette, and I, Sun Tu, am not a murderous person. Since you sincerely surrender, I will not inflict any axes on you. Someone, take King Xi down to rest. , Haosheng is keeping an eye on him, but we can’t let anything bad happen to him.”
Following this order, soldiers immediately stepped forward and escorted Xiao Qian and other surrendering troops into the city. This made Xiao Qian and others finally feel a little relieved. At least they were not in danger of their lives for the time being, and it seemed that the Song Army did not follow their lead.
He got some secret plans from the military.
And just as they were gradually walking forward, thinking about how to deal with themselves next, a voice suddenly asked: "Do you have any guards from Nanjing here?"
These words made several Liao generals suddenly stop in their steps, and the expressions of a few of them changed even more. The remaining ones subconsciously focused their gazes on them. And at this moment, Xiao Qian, who had already accepted the fact of the disastrous defeat, felt his heart skip a beat, and his face suddenly turned pale. He suddenly turned back and looked at Sun Tu, who was looking at him and others with a smile. The words just now came from him.
These Liao generals didn't understand what was going wrong until Sun Tu said slowly: "Sure enough, it seems that in order to capture Zhuozhou and settle the battle in the south as soon as possible, you Liao Kingdom have taken desperate risks. , desperately mobilized all the troops and horses that could be mobilized and sent them here." Then he suddenly woke up, and everyone's face was pale, and the bodies of the Nanjing garrison began to tremble a little.
"What are you talking about, general? Why did you scare so many Liao people with just a few words?" Most of the Song army officers still couldn't understand what was going on. Only Song Jiang, Yue Fei and others The man showed a surprised smile, and when he looked at Sun Tu again, the admiration on his face was about to overflow.
Just now, they were all wondering why Sun Tu would spend so much time arguing with Xiao Qian. To be honest, as far as the current situation is concerned, as the victors, there is no need for them to say this to the prisoners. After all, facts speak louder than words. But now, they finally understood that Sun Tu said all this just to paralyze the enemy and make them relax their vigilance. He said so many words just for the last sentence of temptation.
Ever since the Liao army arrived at Zhuozhou City and Sun Tu had a clear look at their strength, he had a question in his mind: Where did the Liao people mobilize all these elites
In normal times, with the might of the Liao Kingdom, it would be extremely ordinary to mobilize 50,000 to 60,000 men to attack Zhuozhou. But now it is no better than before. The Liao Kingdom is now at a critical juncture with internal and external troubles and enemies from the north and south. It can be said that every soldier and horse along the way is related to their life and death. How can it be possible to mobilize so many troops from elsewhere easily
It is impossible for the 100,000 troops that are confronting the main force of the Song Army in the south to separate their troops. The situation in the north is even more unbearable, but maybe Xiao Qian can really mobilize some, but the number will definitely not be large. Coupled with the elite soldiers of the Xi tribe under his command and the 10,000-strong Feiyan Cavalry of the descendants, no matter how Sun Tu calculated, they could not reach 50,000.
The only one who could still send troops and horses to help was the city defense garrison of Youzhou City in Nanjing, the Liao Kingdom, which was not far away. Because of the importance of Nanjing, a large number of soldiers and horses have always been stationed in the city. As far as Sun Tu knew, there used to be no less than 50,000 or 60,000 soldiers there.
However, judging from the previous situation in which the Liao army mobilized multiple garrison troops in the south to form a main force of 100,000 for a decisive battle with the Song army, part of Nanjing's defense force should have been mobilized, and there should only be two troops left that were barely enough to cope with the city's defense. Thirty thousand people.
Although the strength of the troops has been reduced by half, judging from the situation here in Zhuozhou, plus the Youzhou city defense is even more difficult in Zhuozhou.
Above the state, these few soldiers and horses are enough to make Youzhou impregnable. At least with these soldiers and horses under Sun Tu, it is difficult to break through this important city in a short time.
But now, as Sun Tu deceived them about the actual strength of their troops in Youzhou, everything was completely different. It turned out that in order to capture Zhuozhou and defeat the Song army as soon as possible, Xiao Qian actually brought out all the defense troops in Youzhou this time, which almost emptied the garrison there. It was almost an empty city!
This is indeed an extremely important piece of information, and it can even be said to be related to the outcome of the Song-Liao war. Because the Song Army went north to attack Liao this time, its ultimate goal was not to destroy the Liao Kingdom, but to recapture the important Sixteen Youyun Prefectures, and among them, Youzhou City was the most critical point. As long as this city is captured, given the current situation in the Liao Kingdom, I am afraid that I will have to give up this large city and choose to negotiate with the Song Dynasty.
When Sun Tu summoned the generals, explained everything, and pointed his finger on the city named Youzhou on the map, the breathing of all the generals in front of him became heavier. This is truly an unparalleled achievement that is placed in front of everyone. As long as they can capture Youzhou, they will become heroes and heroes known to the world. No matter what they have done before, they will be recognized by this Covered up by his great achievements, he no longer has to worry about his origins and past sins.
"General, this is indeed a God-given opportunity. We must not miss it!" Song Jiang took the rare opportunity to speak first, as if he was gearing up to send troops.
"Yes, General, as long as Youzhou is captured, the main force of the Liao army will definitely collapse without a fight. This has a better chance of winning than if we rely on Zhuozhou to attack the Liao army from the side." Dong Ping also agreed.
Then, other generals also followed suit, all of them looking impatient and wanting to immediately send troops north to attack Youzhou. All they had to do was shout slogans that winning Youzhou would be a sure thing.
But at this time, Sun Tu seemed quite calm. After scanning these subordinates who were eager to send troops, his eyes finally fell on Yue Fei, who had remained silent: "Pengju, do you have any different opinions?"
After his reminder, everyone noticed that there seemed to be some hesitation on the face of the youngest general, as if he was in trouble. Obviously, Yue Fei has gained quite a reputation in the army in the past two years. Someone actually asked with the same concern: "Brother Yue Fei, is there anything wrong with this?"
"General, brothers, Fei just feels that this is not as easy as he thought. Could the Liao people not think of the things we can think of? Since Youzhou is so critical, they knew that the city's defense force was insufficient. , we will naturally try our best to mobilize troops from elsewhere. If we arrive too late, we may not be able to accomplish anything."
"Isn't it better to send troops as soon as possible?"
"There is also a problem with this, because it will be so powerful that even the main force of the Liao army in the rear will know about it. Once they pursue them regardless of the consequences, how should we respond? Even if we can really fight against them, we can win Youzhou’s plan will definitely be difficult to achieve, and our casualties will also be huge."
As soon as these concerns were expressed, the generals who were still full of enthusiasm and confidence immediately fell into silence as if they had been poured cold water on their heads.