Chapter 127 The Situation (1000 words added) It's not just her...

Lu Wei led several thousand elite troops, fighting and retreating, heading straight for the capital of Pingzhou.

According to his plan, after entering Pingzhou, he would redeploy his troops and wipe out all the rebel forces pursuing him.

Afterwards, he returned to the capital, reorganized his army, and purged all the rebels one by one.

But to his utter surprise, as soon as he entered Pingzhou Huicheng, a rebel army blocked his way.

It was as if they had known all along that he would lead his army here.

Lu Wei's eyes flickered, and many speculations came to mind: Who dared to betray the truth?

How could he have imagined that the mastermind behind it all was his capable subordinate and good son-in-law?

Xue Rang and He Qinglan joined forces. Xue Rang provided false information and hindered Lu Wei's progress, while He Qinglan dispatched troops, determined to trap Lu Wei in Huicheng.

Ning Huai'an rode on a fine horse, holding a long spear.

The cavalry charged toward the enemy camp, their hooves clattering and kicking up clouds of dust.

Zhu Youchuan, standing at the back, held a copy of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" in his hand and said to the person next to him, "The Four Great Classical Novels truly live up to their reputation."

"Strategist, what are you going to do?" someone asked curiously. "Which plan will you use?"

Zhu Youchuan unfolded his folding fan and shook it, saying, "In the past, there was Zhou Yu's burning of the Red Cliffs, and in the future, there was Lu Xun's burning of the seven hundred li of camps."

He glanced up at the city not far away and smiled slightly, "Fire attack is really good, I like it very much."

The two armies began a standoff that lasted for several months.

The imperial army was stationed around Huicheng, and the Jinzhou army surrounded them. However, their purpose in the battle was not to annihilate them, but to harass them: to launch a surprise attack at midnight today and to provoke them at dawn tomorrow.

The imperial army was furious, but they were unable to break through the enemy's encirclement.

Lu Qingxiang quickly realized something was wrong and said to Lu Wei, "The rebels want to trap us here."

"But why?" Li Dinghui was greatly puzzled. "If they keep dragging this out, and our reinforcements arrive, they'll be caught in a pincer attack, and they'll be doomed." Didn't they think of that?

Lu Qingxiang was silent for a moment, then said, "Unless..."

Lu Wei's gaze was deep and unfathomable. "Unless the rebels are certain that my reinforcements will not arrive."

Li Dinghui was shocked: "Why?"

Why?

Lu Qingxiang sighed and analyzed, "Either the rebels intercepted our reinforcements; or our letter for help won't reach the capital; or the court won't send troops."

Either way, the consequences would be unbearable for them.

Li Dinghui's pupils constricted.

Lu Wei's face was grim.

He said to a military officer, "You personally take my letter and tokens to Pingzhou to mobilize troops."

The military officer replied, "Yes!"

Lu Wei then said to the other military officers, "Now that we know the rebels want to trap us, let's concentrate our forces, attack their weak points, and break through the encirclement."

The officers: "Yes!"

Ning Huai'an and Zhu Youchuan weren't fools either.

As they looked at the newly made sand table, Pan Songshi held a slender bamboo pole and pointed to a spot on the sand table, saying, "This is the 'weak point' that my vanguard battalion specifically left for Lu Wei."

Ning Huai'an nodded in agreement, but reminded him, "You have to make your act convincing, so that no one can tell."

Pi Baoshan said, "Don't worry, General! We'll put on a good show."

Looking at the sand table, Shi Zhongliang asked, "If Lu Wei sends someone to Pingzhou for help and they really send a large army, won't we be caught in the middle?"

Zhu Youchuan tapped his palm with his folding fan and said, "Of course we won't be sandwiches; we're hedgehogs covered in thorns."

He smiled and said, "Then these reinforcements will never return."

Lu Hong and Sun Yannan are not to be trifled with. If necessary, they can be lured over. They will not let go of such a large territory as Pingzhou.

Pan Songshi volunteered, "General, strategist, please assign the task of intercepting reinforcements to my vanguard battalion!"

Zhu Youchuan remained silent and looked at Ning Huai'an.

Ning Huai'an thought for a moment and agreed, "Be careful in everything."

Pan Songshi was very confident: "If reinforcements break through the defense line, I, Pan Songshi, will offer my head to you!"

Everyone: "..."

Ning Huai'an: "?" You swear right off the bat, what books have you been reading lately?

The others continued to surround Lu Wei with all their might, determined to deprive him of food and reduce his fighting strength.

Zhu Youchuan said, "The order to our inside agent is to hold back for now, so as not to arouse suspicion. We will wait until the morale of the army wavers before we use our strategy to sow discord."

Xi Baolu said, "Yes, I will inform them to handle things appropriately."

Undercover agents and spies are a double-edged sword; they must be used appropriately.

The front lines in the southwest region are advancing rapidly.

The soldiers in Jinzhou were indeed not very adapted to the local climate and environment, but firstly, the local soldiers were not as strong as the Burmese army in this other world; secondly, they gained the support of the local people with the help of the goddess's divine power; and thirdly, they conducted investigations and collected intelligence in advance, and made full preparations.

Therefore, faster than originally expected, Hu Dazhu led his army to conquer half of the southwest region.

The local officials all hated Hu Dazhu.

This region, thanks to its terrain, has always been easy to defend and difficult to attack. Throughout history, dynasties have tried to completely reclaim it, but have never succeeded.

They had grown accustomed to being local tyrants, but unexpectedly, Hu Dazhu pierced through like a sharp knife, causing the local government troops to suffer repeated defeats.

How did this man from Jinzhou manage to do that?

And that woman surnamed Gu!

A woman in her forties or fifties, instead of staying home to discipline her son and daughter-in-law and take care of her grandchildren, actually went to the battlefield just like a man!

Where does the energy come from? Aren't you afraid your body won't be able to take it and you'll die on the road?

The most deadly thing is that He Qinglan, the governor of Jinzhou, can actually conjure up an endless supply of food!

Those commoners and the lowest classes who never had enough to eat, and who hadn't eaten meat in most of their lives, treated He Qinglan like a goddess after eating the fresh food she provided!

They were so eager to please her that they wished they could capture officials as gifts to He Qinglan in order to gain her long-term protection.

The officials were furious, but there was nothing they could do.

Mei Leshu clapped in admiration, "Aunt Gu, your publicity department is really amazing, you won without bloodshed."

Gu Lanying was very modest, "This is not just our achievement. First of all, we must thank the goddess for the five dishes and one soup! Secondly, we must thank our soldiers for standing behind us and deterring the enemy."

There's a saying in another world: what you can't get on the battlefield, you can't get at the negotiating table either.

The power of her words lies not only in her skill.

Hu Dazhu laughed and said, "Dr. Mei also deserves credit! If it weren't for your superb medical skills that won over the female relatives of those high-ranking officials, we wouldn't have been able to gather so much intelligence."

Upon hearing this, Mei Leshu coughed lightly, "This is not just due to my efforts as a doctor; all the doctors who came to the Southwest from Jinzhou are excellent!"

Xiang Yuesheng couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, alright, the current results are the result of everyone's efforts. Don't be modest, but don't be arrogant either. Our ultimate goal has not yet been achieved."

He Qinglan, who was far away in Shengzhou, received the battle report sent by Hu Dazhu. After reading it, she nodded.

In just a few months, they took control of half of Southwest China. Hu Dazhu and his team did a fantastic job.

It shouldn't be long before we gain control of the entire southwest.

He Qinglan picked up her pen and wrote a reply to Hu Dazhu.

He first acknowledged everyone's efforts during this period, and then stated that they would make their own decisions regarding matters on the battlefield.

"I will cooperate with you."

He Qinglan took the second letter from Fang Wangshu. It was from Zhou Xinglu, reporting the results of their investigation team's investigation in Hekou County, Wulan Prefecture.

In the letter, Zhou Xinglu used more than 400 words to express his gratitude that no one had died, and then used more than 1,600 words to describe how many people had suffered losses in this major corruption case.

The remaining few thousand words are all about how these despicable corrupt officials embezzled the goddess's money and how much they embezzled.

Finally, he strongly condemned these scoundrels and said they must be severely punished as a warning to others.

He Qinglan calmly handed the folded letter to Fang Wangshu.

He continued writing a reply to Zhou Xinglu: "In accordance with the Jinzhou Law, the criminal suspect shall be given a public trial and a judgment shall be rendered in accordance with the law."

She reminded Zhou Xinglu, "Don't let your emotions affect your judgment. To be a qualified Minister of Justice, one must not be elated by external gains or saddened by personal losses, and must strictly abide by the law."

Sun Yannan received a letter from He Qinglan, which stated that Lu Wei was sending people to Pingzhou to mobilize troops.

He took the letter and looked at it over and over again: there really was only this one sentence!

Sun Yannan was silent for a moment, then asked Zhu Yunze and the others, "Do you think she wants me to help intercept the reinforcements, or is she suggesting that I take the opportunity to occupy Pingzhou?"

Zhu Yunze thought for a moment and said, "It doesn't matter."

He Qinglan clearly intended to ambush and kill Lu Wei, so whether Sun Yannan led troops to block the reinforcements or attacked Pingzhou to cut off the reinforcements' retreat, it would be advantageous for her.

Xiao Yong said, "I don't know if He Qinglan has written to Lu Hong. My lord, please make a decision as soon as possible."

What decision should be made?

Of course, we should seize the opportunity to take Pingzhou!

Otherwise, if Lu Hong had entered Pingzhou first, what would they have done there? Would they have helped He Qinglan and Lu Hong to besiege and kill the reinforcements sent by Pingzhou?

Zhu Yunze nodded, "That's right, my lord, give the order as soon as possible."

Sun Yannan stood up and said in a deep voice, "Mobilize the troops immediately!"

It is unknown whether the army sent by Pingzhou to rescue Lu Wei will continue to rescue him or turn back to support the city when their main force arrives in Pingzhou and attacks the city.

Sun Yannan's gaze was cold and sharp.

Ye Hui looked at the letter with surprise. "Is He Qinglan trying to stall for time and trap Lu Wei? Isn't she afraid that Lu Wei will actually bring reinforcements?"

Li Xianyu seemed thoughtful. "She wrote to us, and I suppose she also wrote to Lu Hong and Sun Yannan."

Ye Hui smiled, "Oh, Pingzhou."

Pingzhou is now a tempting prize, how could Lu Hong and Sun Yannan not be interested?

If these two attack Pingzhou, the reinforcements will be in a dilemma.

Xu Dongyang said, "If it were me, I would go to rescue Lu Wei first, and then return to retake Pingzhou after rescuing Lu Wei."

General Hou Xinhai disagreed, saying, "Attack a city is not necessarily easier than defend it. Once Lu and Sun capture Pingzhou, their army can rest and replenish its strength and supplies."

Zhu Yunwei nodded and continued, "The Pingzhou army was raided, their supplies were cut off, and they were on the road the whole time."

Xu Dongyang understood what they meant: the place where Lu Wei was located could not meet the needs of the army.

Ye Hui smiled and said, "The battlefield is ever-changing, and anything can happen in the blink of an eye."

How can things possibly develop as expected?

Li Xianyu asked, "Madam Ye, what should we do next?"

Ye Hui said, "Since He Qinglan has asked for help, we will send troops to rescue her."

Zhu Yunwei said, "If we go and snipe those reinforcements, He Qinglan, Sun Yannan, and Lu Hong will all owe us a favor."

Their Ningzhou army blocked the reinforcements, preventing them from attacking the Jinzhou army near Lu Wei's side or returning to rescue Pingzhou.