***
Qin Mu paced back and forth in the second hall. How could this be possible? How could Lanzhou be lost suddenly
On the one hand, he asked Niu Wanshan to find a military doctor, and on the other hand, he sent people to gather Sima An and others back to the second hall in order to discuss a contingency plan as soon as possible.
Military doctor Bai Shiliang was carried by Niu Wanshan to the second hall. Just as he was about to salute, Qin Mu pointed at the unconscious messenger and shouted, "Save him first, wake him up!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Sima An and others also hurried over at this time: "Your Majesty, what happened?"
Qin Mu nodded and said, "At present, we only know that Lanzhou has been lost. The specific situation is... Bai Shiliang, hurry up and save the people."
"What? Lanzhou has been lost!"
Sima An and others couldn't help but exclaim in shock, Lanzhou has fallen, how could this be possible
Bai Shiliang used acupuncture to wake the messenger. Qin Mu stepped forward and asked, "Tell me quickly, how did Lanzhou fall? What is the current situation?"
The messenger was injured and had been running all the way. Although he was rescued, he was still very weak. "Your Majesty, General Sun... General Sun Deyuan led his men out of the city for a night attack, but unexpectedly... the enemy was well prepared, and General Sun's 1,000 men were ambushed and wiped out... The enemy took the opportunity to set fire to the city and attacked it overnight. General Ma Wannian led his troops to defend, but unfortunately he was injured by a stray arrow and fell into a coma... The army in Lanzhou was in chaos, and Bailutuhu saw the opportunity and personally led his troops to attack. Lanzhou... Lanzhou was lost just like that..."
Qin Mu frowned after hearing this.
Sun Deyuan was the deputy general of Lanzhou. He was ambushed first, and then the main general Ma Wannian was also injured by a stray arrow and fell into a coma. The main general and the deputy general lost their command ability one after another. It is not surprising that the Lanzhou defenders were in chaos under the fierce attack of the enemy.
Misfortunes never come alone!
"Tell me quickly. How is Ma Wannian now? What about the defenders in the city? Were they completely wiped out?"
"Your Majesty, after the enemy broke into the city... ..the captain Lin Yihu escorted the unconscious General Ma to break through the siege and retreated to Yangpizigou in the south. Most of the defenders in the city were defeated, and there were less than 1,500 people who followed General Lin to Yangpizigou... ... ..When I came to report the news, General Ma was still in a coma, and his life or death was unknown."
There were tens of thousands of defenders in Lanzhou City. Now there are less than 1,500 people who have retreated to Yangpizigou. This can be said to be an unprecedented defeat since the founding of the Qin Dynasty.
Qin Mu took a deep breath. Could he blame Ma Wannian for this defeat
Unexpected events happen all the time, and Ma Wannian's life or death is uncertain. Now is not the time to hold him accountable.
Moreover, most of Qin Liangyu's descendants died in battles for the Ming Dynasty. She is now old and only has this one grandson. If Ma Wannian died, I don't know if she can still bear such a blow.
Sima An said urgently: "Your Majesty, Lanzhou has been lost, and the enemy may advance eastward in large numbers. What is urgent now is to strengthen the defense of Tianding to prevent the enemy from approaching Gongchang directly."
Li Yuan even said: "Your Majesty, I suggest that Your Majesty move to Qinzhou and dispatch Prime Minister Hui Deng's 5,000 troops to reinforce Gongchang Prefecture."
Gu Jun'en said: "Lanzhou was defeated. I'm afraid it will cause panic among the troops besieging Na Risong. We must take precautions as soon as possible..."
Yu Shangyou said: "Your Majesty, the most urgent matter is..."
"Shut up, everyone!"
Qin Mu shouted and said to Bai Shiliang, "Take the man away and treat him with all your strength."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Qin Mu then glanced at all the ministers, took a few deep breaths and said, "I think the most urgent thing is not to lose our composure."
"I acknowledge my guilt!"
Qin Mu said that there should be no chaos, but that does not mean that the armies will not be in chaos. In history, there are many cases where the armies of various directions collapsed completely because one army was defeated in battle.
Song Shenzong attacked Xia with five routes, but one route was defeated, and the other four routes all panicked and retreated. The Mongols broke through the city of Xiangyang, and the Southern Song Dynasty was completely defeated. The Ming army attacked the Later Jin with several routes, but one route was annihilated, and the rest all fled... ... ..
The list goes on.
Lanzhou's strategic location is very important. If Lanzhou is not lost, it will be like a stabilizing force in Longyou, making the enemy cautious and the Qin army feel at ease.
Now that Lanzhou has been lost, Bailutuhu's army can attack with all their might whether heading east, west, or northwest to Liangzhou, without any worries.
In Lintao Prefecture in the south, Na Risong received the news of the great victory in Lanzhou, and his morale must have soared. The Qin army, on the contrary, might be panic-stricken and unwilling to fight. When the difference in strength between the two sides is not too big, it is not surprising that the attack and defense will switch positions.
What is even more fatal is Hexi. Under the current situation, no one can be sure whether the tens of thousands of troops in the Hexi Corridor will collapse completely for fear of being cut off from the outside world.
The fall of Lanzhou caused the well-planned situation in the northwest to take a sharp turn for the worse. This was really a disaster.
what to do
Qin Mu was about to speak when Sima An seemed to have anticipated what he was going to do. He bowed solemnly and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Your Majesty, we have just suffered a major defeat and the army is unstable. It is not appropriate for Your Majesty to lead the army in person at this time. I hope Your Majesty will think twice before acting."
Li Yuan, Gu Jun'en, Yu Shangyou, Yang Chao, Wei Yuan and others also came to their senses, and they all bowed down and urged in unison: "Your Majesty, we beg you not to put yourself in danger."
Qin Mu clenched his fists unconsciously. This time it was said that he would lead the army in person, but originally he really had no intention of going to the front line in person. But now that the situation has become so bad, is there any other choice
"I understand the intentions of the ministers. But is there a better way than for me to lead the army in person?"
When Qin Mu asked this question, Sima An and others didn't know how to answer for a moment.
As far as the current situation is concerned, Lanzhou, the stabilizing force, was suddenly pulled out by the enemy. Only by quickly replacing it with another one can the various armies be stabilized again.
Apart from Qin Mu rising to the challenge as an emperor, there was really no other way to quickly stabilize the various armies.
"Your Majesty, you only have 6,000 soldiers and horses at your side now, while Bailutu has 20,000 troops, and they are a newly victorious army with high morale. Your Majesty is so respected..."
"If you don't have a better solution, then there's no need to talk about it. This matter concerns the safety of the entire Longyou, Hexi, and Hetao regions, and concerns the lives of hundreds of thousands of troops and millions of people. Even if there is some danger, as the ruler of a country, I can only face it head-on."
"His Majesty!"
Qin Mu glanced at the ministers coldly and shouted, "All ministers, listen to my orders."
Sima An and the others knew that they could not stop the emperor, so they could only bow and say, "We will listen to the emperor's order."
"Order the cabinet ministers Sima An and Li Yuan to stay in Gongchang and be responsible for the logistics of food, winter clothing, weapons, medicine, etc. for the various armies."
"I obey your order."
"Gu Jun'en, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War."
"I am here, and I order you to go to Lintao immediately to supervise the army and order the three armies to fight bravely. Anyone who fights ineffectively or is afraid of the enemy will be executed!"
"I obey your order."
"Also, order Gao Yigong to change his strategy from besieging a point and attacking its reinforcements to encircling and annihilating Na Risong's troops with all his strength. I give him ten days. If he fails to completely annihilate Na Risong, all guerrilla commanders and above will be executed!"
"I... obey your order."
Gu Jun'en's heart couldn't help but tremble. It would take him at least one or two days to reach Lintao within the ten-day period, which meant that Gao Yigong and his men only had about eight days. At this moment, he had no doubt about the emperor's determination. If he couldn't completely wipe out Na Risong's troops, he was afraid that all the generals would really be executed.
"Inform all parties. I will lead 6,000 soldiers to fight against Bairutuhu's army. I will not retreat a single step before the outcome is decided. The soldiers of each army should decide for themselves how to deal with it."
“Yes!”
"Your Majesty, do you want to transfer more troops from Sichuan..."
"No need for that. Water from far away cannot put out a nearby fire. Now, let's each do our own thing."
After Qin Mu finished speaking, he immediately returned to the back court. Hong Niang had already heard the details of the incident. She opened her mouth to speak, but in the end said nothing. She put on her armor first, then took the emperor's golden armor and put it on him.
"Ying'er..."
"Your Majesty, there is no need to persuade me, and I will not persuade you either."
"I don't mean to persuade you. I just want to tell you to follow me closely."
"Your Majesty... I will. I will definitely follow Your Majesty closely."
After putting on his armor, Qin Mu took the Juque sword, rode on Wuyun Gaixue, and rushed to the military camp east of the city with Hong Niangzi, Niu Wanshan, Li Shi and other personal guards.
In the military camp, the six thousand elite cavalry led by Zhao Jian and Han Gang had been ready for battle, awaiting the order to attack at any time.
"Long live Long live Long live!"
As Qin Mu's dragon flag rushed into the military camp, all the soldiers in the camp immediately shouted in unison, and the sound shook the whole city.
Qin Mu rushed to the front of the three armies with a rolling yellow dust and shouted: "I will not waste my words today. My sword has not drunk blood for a long time. It is thirsty. Very thirsty! I will lead you to kill people today! Kill them so hard that the mountains and rivers change color and the ghosts and gods are terrified. Do you dare?"
"dare!"
The three armies roared, and murderous intent rose to the sky!
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.(To be continued..)
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