Chapter 679 This is Duke Yun (Two in One)
The sky was just getting light and the dawn drum had just been struck.
Many people had already gathered at the gate of Xuandefang, waiting for the drum to sound and the gate to open to let people pass.
Several restaurants are open on both sides of the street closest to the gate.
Hu San, who was selling Hu pancakes, was beating the dough constantly, looking at the passers-by and shouting loudly, "Fifteen cents for a Hu pancake."
The pancake was as big as half a face, sprinkled with sesame seeds on both sides, stuck to the edge of the pan, and baked little by little until it turned brown. The aroma made people drool.
"Master Li, wouldn't you like a Hu pancake?"
"No!" Lord Li was starving, but when he thought of the news, he didn't dare to waste any time and ran to the yamen.
When he arrived at the county government office, he found that almost all his colleagues were already there.
"What's going on?"
Colleagues looked at each other tacitly. Everyone knew that Lord Li belonged to Duke Yun's group. Could it be that he really didn't know this news?
"Sir Li, the entire Henan County has fallen into the hands of the rebels." The person who spoke quietly looked at Sir Li's expression.
Lord Li raised the corner of his mouth, then quickly suppressed it, coughing twice: "What a pity, I didn't expect Lord Xie didn't make it in time."
Another official continued, "I heard that the emperor was furious when he received the news last night. He called all the officials into the palace and scolded them. He even canceled today's morning court session."
They discussed it privately and concluded that the emperor probably didn't want to be laughed at, so he simply canceled the morning court.
Lord Li touched his empty stomach, and his thoughts inevitably went back to the Jiang family restaurant he passed by this morning. Their rice balls looked hot and delicious.
It has been a long time since I last visited Su Dalang who was imprisoned in the mansion. I will find time to buy some rice balls for Su Dalang to try later.
Su Dalang had been locked up in the mansion for such a long time that he must have never seen something new like rice balls.
"Master Li!"
"Huh?" Lord Li came back to his senses and looked at his colleague who called him in confusion.
"Lord Li, in your opinion, where should Duke Yun be now? Don't worry, we will talk about this in private and will never make it public."
Lord Li frowned: "How would I know?"
"You really don't know?" The colleague was a little disappointed. "The biggest gambling house is open again. This time the bet is on where Duke Yun is."
Others were curious: "What are the odds?"
"Jianping and Suining counties have the highest odds. The next highest odds are Xuanzhen County. Li Shaoyan guards Xuanzhen County like an iron barrel. Unless Duke Yun can become invisible, it is absolutely impossible to find no trace of him."
"Then there is Tongli County. Originally, the odds of Tongli County were higher than Jianping, but there have been frequent movements in Tongli County recently, so many people in the court believe that Duke Yun has used the same old trick again and went behind the enemy lines to Tongli County!"
"There is also a small group that believes that Duke Yun is actually still staying in Anwu County."
"The lowest odds are that Duke Yun has returned to Hezhong Prefecture."
After all, judging from every confrontation between Duke Yun and the imperial court, she didn't really want to completely break off relations.
This time, the emperor even sent out General Longwu Li Aotian, so it is very likely that Duke Yun will not attack Guangde Prefecture again.
Everyone had their own reasons, and both the court and the people were arguing endlessly about the whereabouts of Duke Yun.
Even the people in the harem were curious about this matter.
In Suining County, Li Aotian frowned.
Tongli County reported that a group of thieves always attacked the military camp. The thieves were extremely cunning and would run away if they could not defeat them.
Until now, no one knows where these thieves came from.
But Li Aotian always felt that they should be from Yunzhou, but he didn’t know whether Gu Nanxi was among them.
Kong Wei: "Maybe Duke Yun has already returned to Hezhong? The emperor is serious this time, and you and Xie Yunzhang have been sent out. Even though Henan County has been occupied, with Xie Yunzhang's ability, it is only a matter of time to recapture Henan County."
Kong Wei felt that Duke Yun had already achieved great results and would not take any more risks.
Li Aotian's eyes were deep, and he tilted his head slightly, as if thinking: "No! She will definitely not go back to the river!"
"Where will she go then?"
Li Aotian stood in front of the window, his eyes staring through layers of snow at the blurry scene in the distance. His fingers tapped on the window frame unconsciously as he fell into a long period of contemplation.
“Xuanzhen County!”
"Ah? But General Li said that he didn't find any trace of Duke Yun!"
Li Aotian's eyes showed appreciation and wisdom that saw through everything: "Gong Wen of Yun State always takes one step and looks ten steps ahead. We think that she will go behind the enemy lines and attack Tongli County as she did before. But she will definitely be able to predict our prediction! Therefore, her target must be Xuanzhen County!"
Li Aotian raised his lips and ordered Li Jin to lead 3,000 people to Xuanzhen County: "As for how she escaped Li Shaoyan's search, since we can't figure it out, then don't even think about it! Strength can defeat skill. No matter how many conspiracies and tricks there are, they will be vulnerable in front of strength."
Li Jin took the order, checked the troops, and set off.
The weather was not very good on the day of the expedition.
The sky was overcast and the wind was howling.
The flags were torn in the wind, making a rustling sound that was terrifying.
The soldiers in the line whispered among themselves that this might be a bad sign.
"It is a bad omen to set out on a campaign without even seeing the sun."
"Yes, the person opposite is Duke Yun!"
But someone immediately retorted: "So what if she is Duke Yun? No matter how brave she is, she is just one person! I heard that she only brought less than a thousand men. Our forces are several times greater than hers, so we will definitely win!"
"General Li, what do you think?"
Li Jin curled his lips and said, "Kneel down and watch. Who do you think the Duke of Yun is? Not only is she powerful, but her subordinates are also powerful!"
Li Jin sighed deeply, "In the academy competition back then, I was no match for Boss Li. In the past few years, Duke Yun must have trained many generals as powerful as Boss Li, and they often go to the battlefield. Sigh, the gap between me and Boss Li is probably even bigger."
Well……
The soldiers looked at each other.
Before we officially set out on the expedition, the commander-in-chief has taken the lead in shaking the morale of the troops. What should we do?
Although Li Jin was destroying his own ambition, as a military commander with aspirations, what an honor it was for him to fight with the military god, Duke Yun.
"Set off!"
Gu Nanxi also set off.
Through the unremitting efforts of the Taoist priests, the route of surrounding the cities from the countryside achieved unprecedented success in Xuanzhen County.
All the villages and towns under him changed hands, but Li Shaoyan was completely unaware.
However, this strategy cannot be adopted in the county seat of Xuanzhen County.
The closer to the county town, the tighter the defense.
Gu Nanxi narrowed his eyes slightly. It was time to narrow the encirclement and tighten the reins!
After receiving Gu Nanxi's order, various troops set out from various villages and towns and assembled twenty miles north of the county seat.
The members who participated in the war were very complex, including Yunzhou soldiers, Taoist priests, disaster victims, and the defending troops who defected.
The gathering place was in a mess. Some people were meditating and chanting, some were chatting in groups, and some were huddled in a corner like mushrooms.
As a figure slowly appeared on the platform, the soldiers below fell silent.
Jiucheng Palace master Wei Wushuang and defender Bao Jie also went up to the platform.
It is called a high platform, but in fact it is just a wooden platform built in a relatively high place. It looks very simple, but when Gu Nanxi stood on it, everyone's eyes were on her.
The scene was silent.
She is the Duke of Yun.
Many people present joined the Duke of Yun as soon as they heard her name, without having seen her in person.
When the living Duke Yun appeared before them, their minds went blank.
Gu Nanxi was wearing a leather armor and a gray robe. The robe fluttered violently in the wind, but it did not cause her body to shake even a little.
She wore a long sword on her waist and on the other side, she wore a sacred weapon that was said to be a musket, which was particularly conspicuous.
But what is more oppressive than the artifact is the look in Duke Yun’s eyes.
Perhaps because of the cold, her voice was a little hoarse.
The soldiers needed to concentrate very hard to hear clearly in the wind, and no one at the scene was distracted, for fear of missing a word.
"You chose me and Yunzhou! From today on, you must follow my banner and obey my orders!"
Gu Nanxi explained the military regulations again.
Everyone had been told of these military regulations before they joined the army, and now listening to Gu Nanxi explaining them again, it was as if there was a magical power that engraved these rules in their minds and hearts.
The soldiers couldn't help but straighten their chests.
"My fellow soldiers," Gu Nanxi glanced at everyone and said loudly, "War always involves bloodshed. Those standing beside you are not only your neighbors and comrades-in-arms, but also your brothers."
The atmosphere was somewhat heavy.
Death is never an easy topic.
Gu Nanxi: "We are going to the war for ourselves, for you, and even more for your brothers, your parents, your wives and children, and your homes!"
"I want you to fight alongside me so that we can live a better life!"
"Do you want to see natural disasters coming, but you can only cry helplessly? Do you want to see firewood everywhere on the mountain, but you dare not cut it, so you can only freeze to death? Do you want to see schools of fish and shrimp in the river, but you can't catch them, so you can only starve to death? Do you want to work hard for a year, but the grain you harvest is not enough to pay taxes?"
"Do you think that you have worked so hard to accumulate wealth, but your family is destroyed because of military service? Do you want your children and grandchildren to continue to live the same life as you?!"
She stared into those angry eyes, her voice hoarse but with unquestionable power:
“Follow me, let the light of Yunzhou shine on this land, and fight for a better life!”
"Fight! Fight! Fight!"
The herald waved the command flag and the soldiers began to march towards the county town in an orderly manner.
The sun came out, and a beam of heavenly light shone through the clouds.
Li Shaoyan, who had always wanted to find out where Gu Nanxi was hiding, finally saw Gu Nanxi.
"Oh no! General Li, we are surrounded!"
Li Shaoyan has always believed that leading troops is like leading a pack of wolves.
Wolves roam in packs, have extraordinary combat power, and have strict discipline within the pack. Therefore, Li Shaoyan is very strict in commanding his soldiers and is very ruthless.
Under normal circumstances, no soldier dares to blatantly violate military discipline.
The panicked soldier who came to report the news felt a chill all over his body when he met Li Shaoyan's cold eyes.
Li Shaoyan frowned, his eyes as cold as ice: "Anyone who shakes the morale of the army will be executed."
The soldier knelt down with tears streaming down his face. "General, it's true. We are surrounded!"
Li Shaoyan didn't believe it. It was impossible for Gu Nanxi to have so many soldiers.
It was even more impossible for her to break through the encirclement with so many soldiers and arrive at the county town without being noticed.
However, the defenders from the other three sides all sent troops to report that a large force was gathering outside the city.
Li Shaoyan's heart was moved. Could it be true? But where did these soldiers come from? He had clearly laid a trap!
Before Li Shaoyan could respond, dozens of sharp whistles were heard over the county town.
Li Shaoyan looked in the direction of the sound and vaguely saw dozens of arrows shot from outside the city.
Li Shaoyan quickly climbed up the city wall and saw that Gu Nanxi's troops were already at the gate of the city.
What kind of team is this?
Some wore Taoist robes, some wore leather armor, and some were dressed like refugees. They looked like a mob.
But the one who took the lead was Duke Yun, Gu Nanxi!
Li Shaoyan could see the frightened expressions of the refugees, but what was strange was that although the legs of this group of rabble were clearly trembling with fear, they stood there motionless as if they had taken root.
Duke Yun’s ability to command the army is indeed top-notch!
Li Shaoyan took several deep breaths, recovered from the initial shock of seeing Gu Nanxi falling from the sky, and regained his rationality.
"Close the gates, and do not leave the city to fight!"
Although one of the most important points in "Record of Defending a City" is to emphasize that defending a city must be "defending while attacking", the most taboo is to blindly defend, which means handing over the initiative in the war.
Unless it is absolutely necessary, the defender should constantly look for the right opportunity to counterattack, so that the enemy cannot deploy and rest at will, and it can also boost their morale.
But this time it was different, Li Shaoyan was not afraid of the siege.
There was no shortage of food or water in the county town. The longer the siege lasted, the better it would be for him.
Before, Daddy and the tens of thousands of troops in Suining County had been silent, all because they couldn’t find Gu Nanxi.
Now, Gu Nanxi has shown up on his own initiative. Once my father receives the news, he will definitely send a large army.
By then, Gu Nanxi will be unable to escape.
Gu Nanxi, who was standing under the city wall, naturally knew this.
She gave all her gunpowder to Ada. Without the help of gunpowder, this siege would have to be fought with flesh and blood.
Gu Nanxi pursed her lips. She had to take the county town with lightning speed. Otherwise, once the reinforcements arrived and the troops were integrated, even if she could win, it would be a miserable victory!
Gu Nanxi took a deep breath and decided to find a way to lure Li Shaoyan out of the city!
Gu Nanxi found a second gangster and went up to him to start a verbal fight.
But no matter how he scolded, Li Shaoyan refused to come out.
Gu Nanxi sighed. It seemed that they had to take the conventional route of siege.
The temple master Wei Wushuang consoled him, "Sir, there will always be casualties in war. We also have catapults, rockets, and ladders. We have made all of these."
"Yes." Gu Nanxi glanced at the sky, "Rest for a night and attack the city tomorrow morning!"
"Yes, sir!"
Compared with Yunzhou, the county wall is just a little brother. Yunzhou soldiers said that they don’t even need ladders, they can just use ropes to climb up.
Unfortunately, Gu Nanxi only brought two hundred such soldiers.
Therefore, during this siege, Gu Nanxi adopted the strategy of disturbing the enemy from all sides while actually attacking from one side.
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