〖The ruler of the Northern Han Dynasty heard the defeat of Qinzhou, and gathered a large number of troops to defend Jinyang. On April 22, Princess Jiaping led the remnants of the army back to Jinyang. The people were all afraid of the revenge of the Yong people. Ten miles away, General Long's favorite general, Duan Wudi, was known for his arrogance.
When Taizong entered the Han territory, he heard that the Han lord was retreating to Jinyang, and he laughed and said, I should cut off the foreign aid first, then abandon Jinyang, take a detour to take Loufan Pass, and Chen Bing between Xin and Dai.
— "Zizhi Tongjian·Yongji III"〗
The General's Mansion in Qinyuan City, inside an accordion, pointed to the black and white chess pieces on the chess flat, and I said earnestly: "A game of chess can be roughly divided into three stages, layout, mid-game and closing. Officer, if you use the metaphor of war, the layout is the process of gathering the strengths of both sides before the war, testing each other, and arranging the forces. If the layout is different, it is equivalent to giving the enemy a handle, so the layout of chess must be careful, just For example, this attack on the Northern Han Dynasty was initially just a battle between my Dayong Zezhou Army and the Northern Han Qinzhou Army. However, the Northern Han Dynasty joined Southern Chu as support, and provoked internal changes in Dayong, except for the Qinzhou Army. , and mobilized the Daizhou army to strike a thunderbolt. The layout is not far-reaching, and the means are fierce and fierce. However, the court took advantage of the internal contradictions in Nanchu to cut off this foreign aid, and took measures to control the development of internal disturbances. Don't let it affect the overall situation. As for the official battle, in addition to the Zezhou army, we also secretly dispatched General Changsun to come to the rescue. Our army has surpassed the Northern Han in terms of the previous temple calculation and the gathering of troops, so we have laid the foundation for victory. Base.
As for the middle game, it is the process of strangulation between the two sides. It can be said that most wars can be decided in the middle game. The battle between our army and the Northern Han army in Qinzhou can be said to be a game between the two sides. If you are not careful, you will be completely defeated. Anze, Qinyuan, Qinshui River Valley, our army can be said to have lost three consecutive battles, but due to timely information, coupled with the fact that His Highness has taken the lead, and after the hard battle is over, we can lure the enemy into the encirclement, if not so , I'm afraid the ambush we set has become the biggest joke.
The end is the process of ending the battle. Now our army has taken control of the overall situation, but if we do not fight for the camp step by step, there is still the possibility of failure, or the enemy will fight to death. "
It is now April 23rd, our army has captured Qinyuan, but rather than capturing Qinyuan, it is better to say that the Northern Han army voluntarily gave up Qinyuan. On April 20th, Lin Bi brought The remnants of the Daizhou army and the Qinzhou remnant joined, and Duan Wudi responded and returned to Qinyuan. According to the news that our army spy has heard, the lord of the Northern Han Dynasty has already ordered Lin Bi to withdraw to Jinyang. Gathering heavy troops in Jinyang can also preserve strength. Moreover, Jinyang is the capital of the Northern Han Dynasty, and the terrain is dangerous. If Jinyang cannot be captured, even if Dayong attacks the cities in the future, it will be difficult to defend these cities, so retreat has become the only option. But of course our army could not allow the enemy to retreat so easily, so the army began to advance step by step with thunder. At this time, I naturally didn't need to go with the army, so I stayed in Qinyuan to sit in town. Of course, I was not alone, and Jing Chi also stayed in Qinyuan to recover. This time he was seriously injured, although he saved his life, but without half a year of recuperation, it is impossible to re-enter the battle. As for military affairs, others will naturally worry about it. I was idle and idle, so I pulled Jing Chi to play chess with me. Jing Chi has a rough temperament and is not interested in Go, but I naturally have the means to get him to learn it obediently, and I also take the opportunity to teach him some military strategies, so that he does not only know how to kill and wants to be handsome, but he is still poor now. far.
Sitting on the soft couch opposite me, Jing Chi, who was pale but still looked good, looked at the chessboard. Seeing that I was so excited, he secretly yawned and I glared at him. He smiled awkwardly and thought about it. Wanting to perfunctory, he asked, "Sir, how did our army end?"
I shook my head lightly, Ruzi can't be taught, let me talk about the current situation, and how much he can understand is up to him.
Put away the chess pieces, tidy up the chess floor, and ordered Huyanshou to fetch a map of the Northern Han Dynasty and place it on the chess floor, and then put a few white chess pieces on Jinyang's place, saying, "Jinyang now gathers most of the Northern Han Dynasty. The military strength, in addition to the original 100,000 defenders, also has 50,000 troops gathered from various places. The combat strength of these troops is uneven, but they can still fight, and Qinzhou still has 30,000 defeated troops, and Duan Wudi also has tens of thousands of troops. Coupled with Princess Jiaping's Daizhou Army, at least 50,000 people can be assembled to return to Jinyang. So now the Northern Han Dynasty has concentrated all the strength of the whole country in Jinyang, they hope to defend Jinyang, Jinyang millions of soldiers and civilians, city With high water depth, food and grass can be supported for more than a year, and if there are elite soldiers and strong generals to defend the city, we can drag our army into the territory of the Northern Han. Jinyang is a place of hundreds of battles. Therefore, the final battle is not an easy one. What the court wants is a complete victory, not a lose-lose situation and a broken net. Therefore, the first step for our army to end the war is to compress the enemy's living space. Cut off its foreign aid."
When Jing Chi heard this, his eyes immediately fell to Daizhou, and he pointed at Yanmen and said, "Sir, didn't the military report say that barbarians knocked at the gate a few days ago, is Daizhou still capable of rescuing Jinyang?"
I smiled and said: "The situation in Daizhou is very tense now. Now that the Eight Barbarians have re-established the Khan King Wanyan Najin and stormed Yanmen Pass, the main force of the Daizhou army was taken away by Lin Bi. Once Yanmen Pass is broken, the barbarians will definitely drive straight in. The looting is inexhaustible, and it will even occupy Daizhou and spy on Xinzhou and Jinyang. If Daizhou can resist the barbarians, we can still let it go, but in the current situation, if Daizhou is not guaranteed in the end, the army and the people will inevitably be withdrawn. In Xinzhou, when the Northern Han was attacked on both sides, the Daizhou Army would join forces with Jinyang. Not only would Jinyang receive strong aid, but the barbarians would also invade the border. I am afraid that it would be our army who would directly face the barbarians. If someone from the royal family of the Northern Han Dynasty proposes to make peace with the barbarians again and use the gold and silk land to induce the barbarians to become enemies with our army, our army will be really in trouble. Moreover, Princess Jiaping is not under Long Tingfei's military strategy. Being elected as the commander-in-chief and leading the army back to Jinyang, if she is in charge of the military affairs of Jinyang, it can be said that it would be difficult to capture Jinyang."
Jing Chi looked at the map for a while, and said, "Princess Jiaping knows about the military situation in Daizhou. I am afraid she will travel day and night to return to Daizhou. How can she have the heart to guard Jinyang."
I smiled and said: "It's not bad if you can think of it, but now Lin Bi can't go back to Daizhou. After the emperor left Tongguan, he didn't go directly to Jinyang, but went around Loufanguan. Xinzhou and Jinyang are isolated. According to my original plan, as long as the army defends Loufan Pass, the barbarians can be blocked in Daizhou. Our army can sit back and watch as both the Daizhou army and the barbarians lose. After Jinyang is leveled, we can take care of the mess. By then, the barbarians will definitely have attacked Daizhou, and our army can take advantage of the situation to eliminate the main forces of the eight divisions, so that the barbarians will not regain their vitality within a dozen years, and Daizhou will be severely damaged, which will also facilitate future rule."
Jing Chi felt a chill in his heart and said, "Sir, you are too cruel, so, wouldn't the Daizhou warriors die cleanly? Although I was chased by them, I still admire Princess Jiaping and Daizhou very much. Army." He was dissatisfied, and his tone was a little strange. If it was normal, he would definitely not dare to do this.
I glared at him and said, "If you don't reduce the strength of the enemy, why don't you fight with the enemy?"
Jing Chi hesitantly did not dare to refute, but there was a clear objection in his eyes, I smiled and said, "You don't need this expression, the emperor has already dismissed my plan, the emperor has more far-reaching considerations, it is impossible for a barbarian to do it all at once. If it is eliminated, Daizhou will still be an important town to defend against barbarians. If Daizhou’s vitality is seriously damaged, it will definitely have a great impact on defending against barbarians in the future. Moreover, Daizhou’s Lin family has guarded the frontier for generations, and they don’t pay much attention to power and wealth. Although they have a prominent position in the Northern Han Dynasty, it is said that the family has no money left, and all their salaries, gold and silk are used for military expenses and pensions, and they do not completely obey Jinyang's orders. Except this time when the Northern Han Dynasty lived and died, the Daizhou army never left the country to help. Even this time, it was not because of the in-law relationship between the two families, but because of the assistance of the Northern Han royal family to Daizhou over the years. In this way, the Lin family is not a loyal minister of the Northern Han Dynasty. Their loyalty is only towards the people of the society, not towards any court. Such a Lin family is a pure minister. Therefore, the emperor not only does not want to destroy the Lin family, but also wants to preserve the power of the Lin family. The emperor said that the Lin family has made great contributions to the hometown of Daizhou, and it is an iron wall in the northern Xinjiang. It cannot be easily shaken. If I follow my plan, it will not only be a pity for the Lin family and self-destruction of the Great Wall, but also make the people of Daizhou hate me Dayong. It is not conducive to future rule, so the emperor decided to appease the Lin family, even the royal family of the Northern Han Dynasty, the emperor did not want to kill them all."
Jing Chi was overjoyed and blurted out: "What did I say, the emperor would not adopt such a sinister strategy. The emperor loves and cherishes talents the most in his life, and he is even more respectful to those who are loyal and righteous. Even killing the Lin family is not surprising, but using barbarians to deal with the Lin family is not something the emperor could do."
After saying this, Jing Chi only felt that the back of his neck suddenly stood up with cold hairs, and immediately remembered that his words had scolded Jiang Zhe so much, he couldn't help but steal his eyes, only to see Jiang Zhe's expression was like a smile, not a smile. He seemed to play with the pieces in his hands carelessly, but Jing Chi felt that there was a murderous streak in his smile, and moved back a little in fear, Jing Chi said indifferently: "That, sir, I'm not scolding. you."
I smiled and said: "I don't blame you, you see, now His Royal Highness King Qi and General Changsun have started to divide their troops to attack, His Royal Highness King Qi is chasing the Qinzhou army, and General Changsun is responsible for pacifying the Quartet. Before our army joins forces in Jinyang, we must Eliminate and subdue all the resistance forces in the Northern Han Dynasty, or expel them to Jinyang, but you can't participate. Who made you so credulous, let the secret spy of the Northern Han Demon Sect get close to your side, so that you are seriously injured not to mention, but also Let the Northern Han army rush out 50,000 to 60,000 people. When you discuss merits after the war, you first entered the Huguan and attacked all the way, and the killing was extremely heavy. Even if the emperor did not mind, he would inevitably punish you heavily. , Second, to follow by example, from Qinyuan to Ji clan, although you fought hard all the way, but after all, it was a defeat, and at most you made up for it. It's a pity, for such a great contribution to the siege of the Northern Han army, you were derelict of duty because of the assassination. It seems that this time you only have hard work and no credit."
Jing Chi just felt very suffocated. Hearing the words that seemed to be regrettable but were actually sarcastic, he became more and more depressed, but he didn't dare not to listen. Fortunately, Jiang Zhe quickly stopped taunting and began to point to the map to continue talking. Jing Chi With a sense of relief, he knew a little about Jiang Zhe's temper. Since he mocked himself immediately, he would no longer hold grudges, so he listened to Jiang Zhe's continued explanation of how to "close the office" with confidence.
I used chess pieces to mark the positions of the enemy and our army, and I pointed to Qinzhou City Road: "Qinzhou City is the capital of Qinzhou, where Long Tingfei Commander's Mansion is located, and now the Northern Han Army is rectifying its troops here, preparing to continue to retreat, in order to force The enemy army was further divided, and His Royal Highness King Qi spread rumors that the Yong army was going to meet the city and massacre the city along the way. Now the people on the route of our army are flocking to Qinzhou City, and the people of Qinzhou have supported Longting Feihe for many years. Our army was wary, and when Long Tingfei died, they had no confidence, so they would help the old and bring the young, and wanted to flee north. People can be cruel to drive the refugees out of the city. But this kind of thing is done by the generals of the Northern Han Dynasty, and it is difficult to appease the Qinzhou army who is inextricably linked with the Qinzhou people. The Han army had only one choice, which was to return north to Jinyang. Originally, I just hoped that the northern Han army would lose the hearts of the people, but I never imagined that there would still be fools. Duan Wudi had taken the initiative to stay behind. Now the refugees can only travel dozens of miles a day. After the death of less than 20,000 people in the headquarters, it should be caught up by His Highness now. By the way, do you know why the Northern Han people believe so much that our army will massacre the city? King Qi made your name to be in the vanguard. It's just an injury, and now he's wounded and ready to take revenge on the massacre."
This time Jing Chi's eyes widened and he looked at me aggrieved, but I laughed out loud.
After a while, the Governor of Jingchi said in a snarl, "Anyway, I am unlucky. If you really want me to go to massacre the city, that's all. It's just a false name." My expression didn't change, but I forced a smile. Although he spoke softly, I could hear him clearly. Seeing that Jing Chi was tired, let him recuperate, and I returned to my study.
This study was originally used by Duan Wudi, and there are still many manuscripts in the study that Duan Wudi could not take away. Although he is a military commander, he is quite knowledgeable in the history of scriptures. Look at the notes and some manuscripts he left in the study. The text is a little rough, but the mood is quite profound. I took a note that I hadn't finished reading yesterday, and then I read the above. Most of it contains the experience he recorded while reading, some essays, and some similar notes. This is the best way to understand a person. Especially if you want to end the game, he is one of the keys. Regarding Jing Chi, I just said some things about the military, and there are some things that he doesn't need to know.
After Duan Wudi was in charge of the breakup this time, he had an important hostage in his hands, namely Xuan Song. I have already received news from Xiao Shunzi and Su Qing, and learned that Xuan Song was still alive, but was injured and detained. Although He found someone, but no matter how powerful Xiao Shunzi was, there was no way he could rescue Xuan Song from the siege. Although Su Qing tried every means possible, Qin Yuan was controlled by Duan Wudi like an iron wall, let alone rescue Xuan Song. It took a lot of effort to get in touch with him. Especially after Lin Bi entered Qinyuan, it was impossible to save people. Originally, Xiao Shunzi and Su Qing had already given up. Who knew that after the Northern Han army retreated to Qinzhou City, Lin Bi would lead the army north the next day. In Jinyang, after Duan Wudi asked to cut himself off, Xuan Song was secretly left behind. It is also a coincidence that not many people know about Xuan Song's capture, and most of the people who do know, except Lin Bi, Xiao Tong, and Duan Wudi, have already died in the Ji clan, so after obtaining Lin Bi's acquiescence. , Xuan Song was held hostage by Duan Wudi. Knowing this news, I naturally guessed Duan Wudi's intention, but I hoped to exchange some conditions through Xuan Song, but he would not be too much, and I have already arranged it properly, and I will never cheap him. This time, Duan Invincible is destined to have no chance to return to Jinyang.
The overall situation on the Beihan battlefield has been decided, but the so-called ending is not just here. I passed a letter to the East China Sea a few days ago and asked them to release Qiu Yufei. When Qiu Yufei returned to Beihan, the overall situation was settled. He is determined, and I can negotiate with Mozong through him. How could I not use such a good middleman, otherwise why would I have to spare his life in the first place? Dangerous, how could I indulge my emotions and make friends with him if I hadn't used him for it. Also, Dongchuan should also be pacified. Thinking of this, I paced to the leftover chess game under the window, placed a chess piece lightly on the southwest corner of the chessboard, and one piece settled the world. , I don't know what it's like to fall from the highest point, I snickered a little maliciously. Huyanshou, who was standing guarding outside the study room, had a cold war, and thought to himself, who would be unlucky.
At this moment in Nanzheng City, the former residence of the King of Shu and the residence of King Qing is now the Palace of the King of Shu who has just "recovered". The new King of Shu, Meng Xu, is just a little baby, playing around under the care of his mother-in-law and a group of maids. The current Queen Mother of Shu, Qi, is just a young woman in her twenties. She used to be Mrs. Jinlian's maid, so she had the chance to be favored by the King of Shu. At most, she was just an ordinary concubine in the harem, and her son was just a lowly prince. But now, she has become the banner of the old Shu remnant to restore the country. No matter how lucky or unfortunate this matter is for her mother and son, she is a puppet who is incompetent, so although she is the empress dowager, she still looks melancholy. It was only after seeing Aiko's naive attitude that she occasionally showed a smile.
With the help of the palace maid, Meng Xu finally broke off a peach blossom. He ran and jumped with the peach blossom and rushed into his mother's arms. He held the flower branch high for his mother to hold. Hold your beloved son tightly, thinking in your heart, if you can spend a peaceful life with your beloved son without any worries, how much it would be. At this moment, there were a few muffled hums in Qi's ears, and Qi's raised his head, just to see that the last servant was stunned to the ground, and the person who shot was a middle-aged man wearing a guard costume. With a refined appearance and a gloomy expression, Qi shi exclaimed: "Guardian Gu!"
Qi shi looked around in panic, and saw that two middle-aged guards on the left and the right had restrained all the other guards and palace ladies. One of these two guards had a long beard and a mighty appearance, and the other had eagle eyes and thin lips. is not seen. She suppressed the urge to call for help, and looked at these malicious middle-aged men with force. Since the fall of Shu, she escaped from the palace under the orders of the King of Shu and Mrs. Jinlian, and was later betrayed by the servants to King Qing. Although King Qing did not harm him in order to take advantage of their status, the Qi family has also experienced disasters, and it is not the same as in the past. The ignorant woman, she knew that if she called for help indiscriminately, it would only make the three people in front of her suffer a killer, so not only did she dare not call for help, but she reached out and hugged Meng Xu tightly in her arms, and covered Meng Xu's mouth so as not to surprise him. call out.
The other two guards had already retreated behind Gu guards. Qi knew that Gu guards were the head of the three. She vaguely remembered that this person was called Gu Ning, and his status was quite high. Many people have great respect for him. Moreover, this person is usually well-mannered, and has never shown contempt because of her mother and son's status as a puppet, but why this person suddenly killed the killer, she looked at Gu Ning with fearful eyes, and said: "Guardian Gu, you have to treat this palace. What are you doing with Wang Er?"
Gu Ning sighed lightly, put his hand on the handle of the knife, walked slowly to Qi's face, bowed down and said, "The Caomin was ordered to come and take the king's life." He entered the palace of the King of Shu on the order of Huo Jicheng. For convenience, he only brought The two sworn brothers, Zhang Han and He Yun, both have little interest in the great cause of restoring the country, and only advance and retreat with him for the sake of brotherhood.
Qi's face was pale and said, "Is it under the order of King Qing? He should not dare to kill us now."
Gu Ning's heart moved when he heard this, and he said, even this woman knows this truth, how can the lord not know, why he forced me to offend the king, maybe he has some tricks, but in any case, it is difficult for him after all. Get out of that person's control.
He said sadly: "The queen mother, this minister is also a last resort, and please forgive the queen mother." After that, he got up and drew his sword, hesitated for a while, and slashed with the sword.
Although Qi shi was powerless to resist, her mother's instinct made her do her best to hold her beloved son in her arms and use her body to block the steel knife, even if she died, she would die in front of her beloved son, and she still had a little hope in her heart, From this man's tone, it can be heard that his intention to kill is not serious, and he seems to be forced to do it. If this man kills him, he can't bear it, and perhaps the killing intention will subside even more, and maybe his beloved son can stay. get life.
The steel knife stopped abruptly, and it was only one line away from Qi's. Gu Ning's forehead burst into blue veins, and the knife could not slash no matter what. He was a loyal person, how could he kill the members of the royal family, even if Qi's Mother and son are not like this. As a chivalrous person, how could he do this to women and children.
Seeing this, Mrs Qi hurriedly knelt to the ground and wept: "Guardian Gu, please show mercy and spare my mother and son's life, concubine mother and son will be forever grateful."
Gu Ning's eyes were hesitant, with a struggling look on his face. At this time, the middle-aged man with eagle eyes and thin lips said coldly: "Brother Gu, don't forget that Yan'er and Bao'er are still in Huo Yi's hands, Ying'er's life and death are even more unknown. If you don't obey the command of the leader, what will happen to the children? Their mother and son are just puppets of King Qing, do you really think they are some kind of king, queen mother?"
Qi Shi hurriedly pleaded: "Guardian Gu, the identity of concubine and Xu'er are not false, but body of concubine does not dare to ask for forgiveness, I just ask guard guard to spare our lives for the sake of our orphans and widows. It's inconvenient, as long as I can spare Xu'er's life, I will slash my concubine's body with thousands of swords, and my concubine's body will not complain." She heard that Gu Ning seemed to want to take his own mother and son's life because his son and nephew were forced to take his own life, so she politely Move your heart with the love of mother and child.
Hearing this, Gu Ning finally let out a long sigh, put down the steel knife, and said sadly: "For the time being, I don't care if this child is the flesh and blood of the ancestors, just talking about the morality of the rivers and lakes, can I, Gu, save my own flesh and blood by killing other people's mother and son? Well, brothers, I have decided to leave the Jinxiu Alliance. The leader of the alliance is surly and will kill us one by one sooner or later. If you are willing, just leave with me and protect their mother and son. Whether it is King Qing or the leader of the alliance, they are all ruthless. I can't bear the late king's posthumous death at the hands of those ambitious people."
The two middle-aged men looked at each other, the bearded man asked, "Brother, what about the children?"
Gu Ning said bitterly: "The alliance leader's methods are vicious, I can only try to save them, you take the king and mother and leave first, I will go to the customs, and find a way to save Yan'er and Bao'er. As for Ying'er, I'm afraid There is no way to save it."
The middle-aged man with eagle eyes and thin lips sighed: "I stayed in the Jinxiu Alliance because of my brotherhood with the eldest brother, otherwise, even though Huo Jicheng's methods are powerful, how can he drive me, since the eldest brother has decided to join the Jinxiu Alliance En Duanyijue, of course I have no objection. Are you willing to leave with us?" The last sentence was to ask Mrs. Qi. Mrs. Qi was uneasy. Although these people originally wanted to kill herself, it seemed that they were not evil people. She also had no confidence in King Qing. Besides, if she didn't agree, she was afraid that this seemingly ruthless man would kill her mother and son, so Qi Shi quickly nodded and said, "The concubine mother and son will ask a few chivalrous men."
The bearded man said: "Brother, I will go to the customs with you, and let Lao Zhang take their mother and son to go first." Gu Ning was grateful, if the martial arts among the three were the most brilliant of this man, he was the one in the Splendid Alliance. One of the best masters, with him by his side, the chances of rescuing a few children are much greater.
The middle-aged man with eagle eyes and thin lips said with a frown, "Big brother, the third brother, although his martial arts are brilliant, his temperament is rude, and he needs to rely on scheming and means to save people. Enhui, eldest brother can let them hide the news first, so we still have a good chance of rescuing a few nephews."
Gu Ning knew that although his second younger brother Zhang Han was a little bit vicious, but he was very scheming and resourceful. If it weren't for this person who only saw himself in his eyes, with his talent, he would have been reused by Huo Jicheng long ago, and his strategy must have been There is a high probability of success, so he bowed to the tunnel: "Thank you brother for helping me." Zhang Han smiled and said: "Thank you, if it wasn't for the big brother who saved my life, I'm afraid there would be no Zhang Han in the world. , and to be honest, I'm tired of this kind of life. It's better to live in seclusion than precarious times. I built a secret village two years ago. Is it good?"
Gu Ning sighed and said: "Just by looking at King Qing's actions, we know that he is not really helping our country to restore the kingdom of Shu, and the leader of the alliance of Huo is ambitious and hopeless to restore the country, but we can rescue the blood of the former king and make the former king's ancestors continue to worship. It's all about loyalty."
When Qi shi heard this, she really felt relieved. She was a woman who knew how to advance and retreat. She was a puppet supported by others, not her will. Doubt, dare not reveal what was in his heart, so he remained silent. At the moment, He Yun took Qi's mother and son, and escaped from the palace with the assistance of several trusted disciples and disciples of the Jinxiu League who did not know the truth, while Gu Ning and Zhang Han went straight to Sanguan. In fact, although the three tried their best to cover up, how could such a major event be concealed from many eyes and ears, but after the three of them left, someone would help them to erase the traces and hide the news, but this is not what the three of them can know. .