The clouds floating in the sky are slowly moved forward by the wind, just like an old man lying on a rocking chair, enjoying the happiness and comfort of his children and grandchildren gently rocking the chair to lull him to sleep. The wind is so gentle, as if afraid of waking him up.
Although Nanyan is small compared to Sui Dynasty, there is no doubt that Nanyan is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. The scenery of the Sui Dynasty lies in its solemnity, the scenery of the Meng and Yuan Dynasties lies in its magnificence, and Nanyan is a typical Xiaojiabiyu's shyness, full of gentleness. If Emperor Zhenzong visited the rivers and mountains in person, he would have designated this place as the southern imperial garden of the Sui royal family in a whim of greed.
The white lion is big enough and has a wide enough back.
Fang Jie was lying on the back of the white lion and looking up at the long white clouds, clear water and blue sky, he was a little lost. The team had been marching for a day and a night, and resting in the mountains, forests and grasslands here made people forget for a while that this trip to the south was not for war, but for war. It is as pleasant and natural as traveling in mountains and rivers.
He glanced back at the tallest tree, the camouflaged scout would be hard to spot if he didn't look carefully. The scout with clairvoyance stared at Taniguchi more than a dozen miles away, and looked down from a height with excellent vision.
"General, are we going to copy the back route of Feng Ping's army?"
Kirin asked
That day, after the people from the Xiao Riding School set off overnight to deliver a letter to Feng Ping, Fang Xie ordered 5,000 infantrymen to set off. After a day and a night of rapid marching, they stopped suddenly when they arrived here. Fang Xie just ordered everyone to rest on the spot.
These 5,000 people were carefully selected elites from each battalion, and they were all veterans of many battles on Langru Mountain. Put in anyone's team, such veterans will be valued by the generals. Not only because they are all powerful killing machines, but also because of their unparalleled experience.
A veteran can influence several or even dozens of recruits.
They are an asset.
And Fang Jie mobilized these 5,000 elites this time, obviously not here for sightseeing.
"more than."
Fang Jie shook his head.
"The Fengping Army has been handed over to Chen Dingnan. The garrison in Fengping City is at most no less than 30,000. Zhu Chengtian and Fu Zhengnan are friends who have forgotten years. To save Qingyuan City, Zhu Chengtian will definitely send troops, but absolutely not. More than 15,000 people. Sending half of the troops to fight is already the limit, and the remaining troops must be able to guarantee Fengping's defense."
Zhu Chengtian was a general when he was in the Shang Kingdom, and at most he had 100,000 troops under his command. But when he was stationed in Fengping later, his troops were reduced a lot.
can't afford
This is the most fundamental reason.
When he was a big merchant, he only asked the imperial court for food, grass, and military pay. Although the big merchant was corrupt, the national treasury was still abundant, and the food, grass, and supplies that were delivered to the people led by such a powerful and famous family as the Zhu family would not be severely deducted. Well, none of the people in the Ministry of War is an idiot who knows who can be greedy for what and what is not.
But after the great merchants destroyed the country, it was absolutely impossible to rely on a single city to support a hundred thousand troops. In Feng Ping's total, there are only a few hundred thousand people. One person can support one soldier, and even if he is exhausted, he will not be able to support him. Therefore, Zhu Chengtian started to downsize his army a long time ago, and 70% of his troops were disarmed and returned to the fields. As a result, there were 60,000 to 70,000 more middle-aged people farming and opening up wasteland, and their income was at least doubled. And the remaining 30,000 or so elite troops were enough to keep Feng Ping.
The friendship between Zhu Chengtian and Fu Zhengnan is not only because they are on the same page, but also because they both understand that if you want to defend Qingyuan City or Fengping City, you must have a good relationship with each other. Obviously, people like them who have been in the officialdom for many years understand this truth more deeply.
Feng Ping and Qing Yuan depend on each other as lips and teeth, if one is broken, the other won't last long. If the two cities support each other and serve as horns for each other, it will be a long-term solution.
Therefore, even if there is no fatal friendship, Zhu Bingtian will still send troops for his own sake.
As Fang Jie said, the advantage of the Black Banner Army now is that they can break through Qingyuan City fast enough, so fast that Feng Ping has no reaction at all.
This is the only opportunity available.
"coming!"
When Nie Xiaoju saw the scout on the big tree sending out a signal, he immediately reminded Fang Xie. Fang Xie got off the white lion, went up to a high place, stood on a boulder and raised his clairvoyance to look across the valley. I saw a group of Fengping troops coming out of the valley and immediately set up a defensive formation.
"The leader of the army is quite scheming."
Fang Jie nodded: "The brigade is still behind, this team is the first to come out to test. The reason why I didn't put the ambush in the valley is to paralyze the Fengping army. According to common sense, the best place to ambush is naturally In the valley, I am not like this. Feng Pingjun will inevitably breathe a sigh of relief when they come out of the valley without incident. When they go out of the valley, their defenses are the weakest. It is like a person crossing a single-plank bridge, trembling with fear He must have felt relieved after stepping on it, and at this time someone suddenly pushed him, probably he was unprepared. But judging by the posture of Feng Ping's army, the military discipline is quite strict, and he didn't rush out rashly."
Qilin was a little worried and said: "If General Chen can't hold his breath, he will fight out, and the Feng Ping army behind him may turn around and go back immediately."
"If Chen Dingnan is so useless, I won't let him lead the army alone."
Fang Jie pointed in the direction of the valley: "Send scouts over there, keep a close eye on the Feng Ping army behind, and see how many troops are left behind. After the large group of troops is entangled by Chen Dingnan, I want the remaining troops to be useful."
…
…
Feng Pingcheng
Santo's Mansion
study
Zhu Bingtian held a bowl of wine in a daze, and Chunqiu, who had read the book dozens of times without feeling disgusted, could not read anything today. He is seventy years old, but he still maintains an incomprehensible but admirable habit, that is, he never drinks tea, only drinks.
Even, he never drinks water.
Drink when you are thirsty, drink when you are resting, drink when you are happy, and drink when you are not happy. His stomach seemed to be made of rubber, and he poured three to five catties of liquor without any reaction. Over the years, he has only committed two crimes. The first time was when he stole alcohol for the first time when he was a child. The six-year-old drank nearly a catty of old wine in one breath. He was so drunk that he fell unconscious and slept for two days and two nights. The second time, when the great merchants fell, he heard that Yongzhou had been captured by the Sui army, and when he saw the thirteen imperial edicts on the table in front of him, he only drank a few glasses of wine, but he was completely drunk.
At this time, on the table in front of him was a book of Spring and Autumn, which had been turned and rolled up, and a letter that had been soaked in sweat so that he was blurred.
He read the letter three times.
The messenger came in a hurry, handed the letter to the city gate guard, and left in a hurry, saying that he was going to Peicheng to ask for help. Bai Kaishan, the city lord of Peicheng, and Fu Zhengnan were casual acquaintances. If the messenger was indeed sent by Fu Zhengnan and rushed to Peicheng, it could be seen that Qingyuan City was really in danger.
So Zhu Bingtian hardly hesitated, and dispatched his general and his nephew Zhu Ding to lead an army of 10,000 to Qingyuan City, and then he wrote a letter in his own hand and sent it to Peicheng and Jin'an overnight. City, ask the city lords of these two cities to send troops to rescue.
After everything was arranged, the team had already set off, and the messenger had already set off, but after calming down, Zhu Bingtian's heart became more and more uneasy. He always felt that this matter was a little weird, and he clearly felt that he had caught something wrong but he just couldn't figure it out. It feels like there is a thread in my heart, as long as I grab it and pull it, the truth will be pulled out, but the thread is too wobbly and difficult to grasp.
"Definitely..."
He handed the letter to a young man beside him: "What do you think about this matter?"
The young man named Dingcheng took the letter and read it carefully again. He had read it once before and found no flaws. He compared the previous letters of the city lord and Fu Zhengnan and found that the font was hardly imitated. Especially when it was already wet with sweat, it was even more difficult to recognize. Even the city lord couldn't see it, so he was even more uncertain.
The letter is very short, and it is difficult to infer whether it conforms to a person's habits from the wording. The font looks a bit hasty and scribbled, as if it was written in a hurry.
"I don't know City Lord Fu. After all, I have only been in Fengping for two years, and I only met City Lord Fu once. But I still know Fang Xie a little bit about him. I had some past with this person in Chang'an City."
"I heard you mention it."
Zhu Chengtian nodded: "This person has been outstanding since he entered the Chang'an City Martial Arts Academy when he was still a teenager. It is not unexpected to have the current achievements. I have never been to Chang'an, but I can guess it." What kind of place is that place where dragons are hidden and tigers are hidden. Even people like you can’t be ranked ahead of him. I have never underestimated this person. Now he has a strong army, and the southwest is far away from the disputes in the Central Plains. The place is rich and fertile. His share Ambitious... ”
"but… "
Zhu Chengtian sighed slightly: "Based on your character, study and cultivation, if it weren't for the great changes in your family, your achievements will not be inferior to him. The world is changing too fast. When your father led the army to the south, I had a letter with him. I never lost contact afterward, you chose the right path when you voted for me."
"City Lord, since I stayed in Fengping, I have already forgotten my family background, I forgot that I am from the Sui Dynasty, and I just remember that I am the subordinate of the City Lord. It is the City Lord who has saved my life. The humble job is to risk this life. We must also keep out foreign enemies for Feng Ping."
"Um!"
Zhu Chengtian nodded: "I know your heart, so I came to you. After all, I am old, and my children are not around, so I can only help me share more of the affairs in this city. From today, the city defense If it is more important, I will leave it to you, you have to be careful."
"Thank you, the city lord, for your trust!"
The young man with the word Dingcheng took two steps back, lifted his robe and knelt down and kowtowed three times vigorously: "The kindness of the city lord's rebuilding, the humility is unforgettable!"
"Get up."
Zhu Chengtian smiled and said: "You go down first, do what you have to do, you have talents, I can see clearly."
"Thank you, City Lord, for your appreciation!"
The young man stood up, clasped his fists again and exited the study.
He walked out of the door, looked up at the sky and murmured: "Fang Juexiao...you and I are destined to meet each other even after I took refuge here...hehe...you overwhelmed me when I entered the Chang'an Martial Arts Academy , now you are here again, how can I let you gain the upper hand again?"
…
…
valley
Qilin and Nie Xiaoju led their troops to clean up the battlefield. About 1,500 people in the Fengping Army's rear were dumped by their surprise attack, and none of them escaped. It had to be said that Feng Ping's army was indeed much more elite than Fu Zhengnan's men, and their combat strength was not at the same level. Even if they were suddenly attacked, they still caused some troubles for the Black Banner Army.
However, compared to these five thousand veterans, Feng Ping's army was still a bit worse.
"General!"
A group of soldiers escorted a General Feng Ping who had his battle helmet knocked off, and the leader was Chen Dingnan: "General, this man's name is Zhu Ding, he is Zhu Bingtian's collateral nephew, and he led the army to rescue Qingyuan City. The subordinate captured him alive, did not dare to delay, and immediately brought him here."
"Stay here."
Fang Jie said calmly: "The people who lead you follow behind my team, don't follow if you don't see the signal. Liu Xuri guards Qingyuan, Qin Yuan and Xiahou's troops will arrive later, wait for my order after you meet up."
"Here!"
Chen Dingnan agreed, and turned back to make arrangements.
Fang Xie glanced at Zhu Ding: "I'll give you a chance to survive, only once."