Shanhe Festival 304. King Zhennan's plan, Jiangnan strategy

With the help of Mr. Xiuting, the situation in Biancheng was much better than they had imagined. After all, in this chaotic world, it was not only Biancheng that was at war. These ordinary people would not easily choose to leave their hometown unless they had no other choice. Although Chen Xiufu was not as famous as Mr. Qingyun, he at least had enough prestige in Biancheng. Although some people had some gossip about his return to Shunding Palace, after hearing and seeing the notice written by him, most people still chose to return to Biancheng.

These ordinary people are easy to appease. Long Yang's actions on the tower of Biancheng gave the Mohist Army enough reasons that were easy for them to understand to explain Mo Xiuyao's previous actions. Although they were all frightened and still a little afraid of the Mohist Army, after all... the Mohist Army didn't kill a single ordinary citizen in the end, right? Perhaps the good reputation of the Mohist Army over generations played a big role in this.

It took two days to settle some important affairs in Biancheng, including burying Longyang and Zhu Yan with great ceremony. Such behavior also made the originally cautious people of Biancheng more favorable to the Mohist Army. After dealing with these matters, the Mohist Army should set off again to continue the next journey. Although it is believed that with Lu Jinxian blocking the way, the King of Zhennan will not be able to come back to rescue so quickly, but it is better to fight this war quickly. Mo Xiuyao left a small number of soldiers and the temporary commander of Biancheng in Biancheng, and set off again with his people early on the third day. In a few days, the Northwest will naturally send people to take over Biancheng. It is impossible for them to leave a large number of troops to guard along the way, especially when the number of troops sent by the Mohist Army is not large.

As soon as he left Biancheng, Mo Xiuyao received a battle report from Da Chu. Not only was Leng Huai in the north struggling to resist the northern army at Zijing Pass, but the Beirong army in the north of Da Chu finally broke through Da Chu's border. Countless grassland nomadic cavalry rushed into the pass, burning, looting and killing people along the way. At the same time, a large number of Da Chu people poured into the northwest, and the Beirong people often appeared in the Feihong Pass area. Although Xu Qingchen had no intention of provoking the Mo family army for the time being, he had to be on guard.

However, the court of the Chu Empire was still not a monolithic entity, and the struggle for power was even more intense than before. As the regent, Mo Jingli did not devote all his energy to the war. Instead, he secretly prepared to abandon Chujing and retreat to Jiangnan as soon as the enemy army approached Chujing.

After reading the letter he had just received, Mo Xiuyao threw it on the table with a gloomy face and said in a cold voice: "Mo Jingli, that idiot!"

Ye Li, who was sitting next to him, picked up the letter and read it. She smiled faintly and said, "The Northern Border, Beirong and Xiling are all brave and good at fighting. With the armies of the three kingdoms coming together, it's no wonder that Mo Jingli retreated before being defeated. Leng Haoyu and the others may not be able to hold on any longer." Mo Xiuyao pulled Ye Li to sit down next to him, lowered his head and rubbed her dark hair, saying, "Leng Huai has been able to hold on until now, and he has finally lived up to his reputation for half his life. If there hadn't been any disturbances from Beirong and Xiling, and if the Great Chu court had supported him wholeheartedly, the outcome would have been unknown. It's a pity... It's bad luck, not the fault of the war."

"Lei Zhenting really doesn't plan to withdraw his troops from Da Chu?" Ye Li asked with a frown after looking at the letter in his hand.

Mo Xiuyao snorted and said, "There are 400,000 troops of Lu Songxian blocking the way in front, and hundreds of thousands of troops of Da Chu watching from behind. Nanzhao is eyeing them covetously in the south, and... there is also Murong Shen leading 200,000 troops to the north. Lei Zhenting can't retreat even if he wants to. If he turns back and is blocked by Lu Jinxian, and Murong Shen catches up and joins forces with Da Chu to surround him on three sides, it is not impossible for the Xiling God of War... to be annihilated again. The most important thing is, even if he breaks through Lu Songxian's defense line and catches up, how many troops will he have? He will also have to face the offensive of Nanzhao and the small countries in the Western Regions. By then... he will have nothing."

Ye Li frowned and thought for a moment, then asked, "Then, what do you think he will do?"

Mo Xiuyao rubbed his brows, pondered for a moment and said: "If we can't retreat... then we can only advance. If he can seize Jiangnan before Murong Shen and Mo Jingli... Tsk, that's really a bit troublesome." Ye Li also had to admit that if Lei Zhenting seized Jiangnan, it would be a bit troublesome. Apart from other things, the rich land of Jiangnan is far from comparable to a place like Xiling. Once Lei Zhenting occupies there, it will only take a few years for Lei Zhenting to become the overlord of Jiangnan, and from then on get rid of the identity and constraints of the King of Zhennan in Xiling and have more powerful strength than now. If this is true, it is really hard to say whether they have gained or lost in this battle.

"Forget it. Even if we lose, it's Mo Jingli and Da Chu who will suffer. We must take Xiling." Mo Xiuyao said solemnly. Northwest has no other choice. For the sake of reputation, they can't take action against Da Chu. In this case, the only option is Xiling. We can't let all the Mo family troops go out to compete with the northern Rong people for land and become nomads, right?

Ye Li frowned slightly, thought for a long time before smiling: "Maybe we are worrying too much. Da Chu still has a million troops, and Mo Jingli is not stupid enough to let Lei Zhenting easily occupy his territory. Besides, if it really doesn't work, why don't we let General Lu help them again? Maybe we can still go back in time." They didn't plan to occupy the entire Xiling. Even if Xiling is weak, it is still a vast country. It would be impossible to occupy the entire territory even if it goes smoothly for three or two years. As long as they can capture the imperial city of Xiling in the shortest time, things will be much easier in the future.

Mo Xiuyao smiled, lowered his head and kissed Ye Li's forehead, and said with a smile: "Ali is right. Let me think about it... Leng Huai is powerless, let Leng Haoyu go back to the northwest." Of course, he will bring back a famous general for them. Although Leng Huai is old, his level of leading troops is definitely not inferior to Zhang Qilan and Lu Jinxian. The Mo family army has not fought for many years. There are basically no veterans in the army, and the younger generation is not able to stand on their own, so Mo Xiuyao has led the army to fight many times. As for how to make Leng Huai willing to work for the Mo family army, it depends on Leng Haoyu's ability.

Ignoring all this, Mo Xiuyao casually put the battle report aside and studied the map in front of him with Ye Li in his arms. Since having the Qilin trained by Ye Li, Mo Xiuyao had to admit that at least the exploration of terrain had improved a lot compared to before. In the past, even the most experienced scouts in the Mo family army could not explore and draw such a perfect map with few errors. Or even create a perfect battlefield sand table.

"Now Lei Tengfeng is retreating to Fengcheng with 30,000 defeated soldiers. Together with the original defenders of Fengcheng, the total number is no less than 150,000. It doesn't look difficult. Let Chen Yun take the lead in this battle." Mo Xiuyao said, pointing to the location on the map.

Ye Li nodded in agreement, thought for a moment and said, "However, Fengcheng is different from Biancheng. It is located at the intersection of the north, south, east and west of Xiling. We must be careful of the reinforcements that may come from various places. If Chen Yun is surrounded by them, he may not be able to cope with it." Mo Xiuyao thought for a moment, tilted his head and said, "The reinforcements should not be many. Nanzhao has already sent troops. After the news of Longyang's death spread, the countries in the Western Regions are also ready to move. Even if they want to support, I am afraid they are powerless. What's more... I don't think that the King of Xiling really wants Lei Tengfeng to be alive..."

"Emperor Xiling?" Ye Li had an idea and said, "Lei Zhenting is leading troops outside, and now Lei Tengfeng is trapped in Fengcheng. This is indeed an opportunity for Emperor Xiling..." Although Emperor Xiling is weak and incompetent, such a weak and incompetent emperor has been in power for more than 20 years without being succeeded by Lei Zhenting. He must have some ability. Although the current situation is not favorable to Xiling, if Emperor Xiling wants to get rid of the Zhennan Palace, it is a perfect opportunity.

"Have you sent someone to look for Emperor Xiling?" Ye Li raised her eyes and asked softly.

Mo Xiuyao smiled faintly, "Fourth Young Master Xu." Of the five sons of the Xu family, apart from the genius Xu Qingchen, the most capable and most suitable lobbyist is the fourth young master Xu Qingbai. Most importantly, most people, including Lei Zhenting, still thought that the fourth young master of the Xu family was still farming in the northwest, and how could they have thought that Xu Qingbai had secretly run to Xiling Imperial City to cut off Lei Tengfeng's retreat.

"Will this be too dangerous?" Ye Li frowned and said with some worry. Everything they said was based on the assumption that the Xiling Emperor was really willing to destroy the Zhennan Palace regardless of everything. If the Xiling Emperor still had reason or was unwilling to do this, then Xu Qingbai would be in danger.

Mo Xiuyao played with Ye Li's bare hands and said softly, "Don't worry, I have hired someone to secretly protect him, there will be absolutely no problem."

Ye Li was somewhat surprised at his confidence, "Who?"

"Ling Tiehan, there is also a team of Qilin." Mo Xiuyao said with a smile, "Besides, even if the Xiling Emperor really turned against him and detained Xu Qingbai, he would definitely not dare to kill him in this situation. At most, he can be used to negotiate with us, and I will naturally try to rescue him. Ah Li, I said that as long as you value someone, I will protect him. I will not let him take risks."

Hearing this, Ye Li's heart softened, and she gently moved closer to Mo Xiuyao's arms. It was impossible for Mo Xiuyao to let Ling Tiehan protect Xu Qingbai without paying any price, and this alone showed that he was really attentive. Moreover, Xu Qingbai was also an adult man, and he also had his own ambitions and aspirations. Ye Li could not stop him from doing everything for his safety, and if he was not willing to go, Mo Xiuyao could not force him. It was just that she was a little unhappy, and she didn't know anything about this.

"Your Highness is really scheming... You have made so many arrangements without making a sound?" Ye Li smiled softly, leaning against Mo Xiuyao's chest. They have been married for many years, and Mo Xiuyao knew she was unhappy just by her voice. He hugged Ye Li and laughed softly, saying, "Doesn't Ah Li dislike these? Can't I do anything Ah Li doesn't like? Besides, this was decided before the expedition. If Ah Li knew about it, wouldn't she be embarrassed in front of Madam Xu?"

"Your Highness is so considerate. Should I thank you?" Ye Li raised her head and looked at her with a smile.

Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Of course, this king is the most considerate husband. Ah Li, have you ever seen anyone better than this king?"

Ye Li rolled her eyes at him in displeasure, "Good man? Is there anyone in this world who is more evil-minded than you, Prince? I have to be careful because I might be deceived by you one day."

Mo Xiuyao laughed out loud and said, "My wife can see through my dark thoughts, which proves that you are not that innocent. Aren't we a match made in heaven? I will never lie to you, Ah Li."

Feng Zhiyuan, who was standing outside the door, was confused, and couldn't decide whether to go in and disturb them. Who knows, the prince might be telling his true feelings to the princess. They are a perfect match... Prince, you are so shameless!

"Feng San, what's wrong? Why don't you go in?" Zhang Qilan, who followed behind, frowned as he looked at Feng San standing at the door.

Feng Zhiyao coughed lightly, glanced at Zhang Qilan unhappily, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, I have something to ask for your attention." After being stared at inexplicably, Zhang Qilan touched his nose in even greater confusion. Did he say something wrong?

"Come in." Mo Xiuyao's voice said lightly in the big tent.

After entering the tent, he saw the prince and princess looking at him calmly. Feng Zhiyao suddenly felt that the embarrassment in his heart just now was a little awkward. He was really too upset. Feng Zhiyao spit on himself in his heart. Ye Li looked at him with a smile and asked, "Feng San, General Zhang, what's the matter?"

Zhang Qilan looked at Feng Zhiyao strangely, and reported loudly: "Princess, we are less than 20 miles away from Fengcheng. I request to lead the troops to the front." Ye Li smiled and said: "General, you came at the right time. I have just discussed with the prince. Let Chen Yun lead the front. They are young and have no experience. These little things are not worth the general's personal action." Zhang Qilan is a straightforward person, and he has no idea of ​​stealing credit. Hearing Ye Li's words, he felt that it made sense, and nodded: "In that case, I will obey your order."

Mo Xiuyao said, "The terrain near Fengcheng is complicated, and Chen Yun and the others are still young. You have to watch over these things from behind, lest they fall into an ambush and suffer losses."

Zhang Qilan nodded and said seriously: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I won't worry." Mo Xiuyao nodded and looked at Feng Zhiyao on the side. Zhang Qilan came to challenge for a fight, and what was Feng Zhiyao here for?

Feng Zhiyao also came to challenge, but he was a beat slower than Mo Xiuyao, who had just overheard his words, and was beaten to the punch by Zhang Qilan. Now that Mo Xiuyao rejected Zhang Qilan's request, he naturally had nothing to say. In order to avoid Mo Xiuyao taking revenge later, he quickly followed Zhang Qilan out.

On the border between Da Chu and Xiling, the two armies were in a stalemate. Over the past hundred years, there have been many cases of confrontation between the two armies on the border between the two countries. But this time was completely different from the past. The Mohist Army, which was supposed to protect Da Chu in the past, stood on the border of Xiling. The Xiling Army, which had been eyeing Da Chu, stood on the land of Da Chu and wanted to break through the defense of the Mohist Army and return to Xiling. However, neither the Mohist Army nor Lu Jinxian was a pushover. Even though the King of Zhennan in Xiling was famous throughout the world, it would not be easy to break through the blockade of 400,000 troops overnight, not to mention that Lu Jinxian had made it clear that he did not seek to kill the enemy, but only to defend. After nearly half a month, the Xiling army still failed to push the Mohist army's defense back even a mile. However, Murong Shen's 200,000-man army, which had already marched north from the south, was approaching day by day.

"Your Highness, here's the battle report from Xiling." A soldier hurried into the big tent, handed over a letter, and then left.

King Zhennan opened the letter and his face, which had not been clear for more than half a month, was so gloomy that it seemed as if water was about to drip out. The soldiers gathered in the tent hurriedly asked, "My Lord, what happened in Xiling?" King Zhennan frowned and said lightly, "Zhu Yan, Longyang died in the battle, and Tengfeng was trapped in Fengcheng."

Everyone was shocked. Zhu Yan and Long Yang were not ordinary people. Before Lei Zhenting, they were the most famous generals in Xiling. The era of Long Yang and Zhu Yan represented the strongest period of Xiling Army. Even Lei Zhenting, who was known as the God of War of Xiling, had to admit that the combat power of Xiling Army declined after losing Zhu Yan and others. After all, no matter how powerful Lei Zhenting was, he was still a human being. He had to lead the Xiling Army and take care of political affairs. And people often cannot do everything well.

Now, in less than a month, Xiling has lost four or five cities and even two world-famous generals. How powerful is the Mohist Army, or Mo Xiuyao?

"How is this possible? Mo Xiuyao captured Biancheng in less than ten days?" someone exclaimed.

Lei Zhenting said in a deep voice: "To be precise, it was six days. In six days, not only did they break through Biancheng, but they also wiped out the hundreds of thousands of troops that Zhu Yan had hidden near Biancheng." Although Lei Zhenting was also angry that Zhu Yan had hidden hundreds of thousands of troops, Zhu Yan was dead now, and the National Protection Army was also annihilated. It was meaningless to say these things anymore.

Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but gasp.

"My Lord, what should we do now? Prince..." Everything else is easy to deal with, but Lei Tengfeng being trapped in Fengcheng is a big problem. To rescue him, who should we send to rescue him? Not to rescue him, the King of Zhennan only has Lei Tengfeng as his son, how could he not rescue him?

Lei Zhenting took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "Send out the Golden Guards immediately to get Teng Feng out of Fengcheng no matter what!"

"My Lord, what about Fengcheng..." the general asked cautiously. Lei Zhenting lowered his eyes, pulled up the fist on his leg under the table, and said in a deep voice: "I can't care about so much now. Tomorrow morning, turn around and lead the troops south!"

"Your Majesty! What about Xiling..." After all, they are still Xiling's generals. It is impossible for them to remain indifferent when they know that Xiling may be occupied by the Mohist army. They all looked at Lei Zhenting with some embarrassment. Lei Zhen frowned and said in a deep voice: "We have been fooled by Mo Xiuyao. It is not reasonable for Mo Xiuyao to attack Da Chu, so he led us to deal with Da Chu and took the opportunity to attack Xiling. We can't go back now. Once we are entangled with Lu Jinxian's army for too long, Murong Shen and the Da Chu troops behind him will rush up and surround us from three sides. It is still unknown how many of us can return to Xiling by then."

Everyone present looked unhappy. "My Lord, what should we do?"

Lei Zhenting said calmly: "Since we can't retreat, then... we have to move forward and conquer the southern part of Da Chu all the way south. Now Murong Shen is heading north, and we just happen to go south to miss him. By then, the worst case scenario is that we will occupy the Yunlan River and divide the river with Da Chu. In the short term... Da Chu does not have the ability to go south to fight us again. The Northern Border and Beirong in the north are enough to keep them busy. In addition, Mo Xiuyao cannot occupy all the land of Xiling in a short period of time. At most... he will withdraw his troops when he reaches the capital. At that time, we can still respond to Xiling from a distance. If... Tengfeng can control the situation in Xiling..."

Everyone was silent, and no one asked what would happen if the prince couldn't control himself?

At least Lei Zhenting found a seemingly good way out for them. Occupying the south of the Yangtze River in Da Chu, that rich land was what they dreamed of, and it was also the reason why they had been having dirty fights with Da Chu for hundreds of years. They were obviously from the same source, so why did Da Chu have such a prosperous and rich land, while they could only blow the cold wind and eat dust in the northwest?

Everyone exchanged glances, discussed quietly for a moment, and finally said in unison: "We will obey your orders, Your Majesty."

Lei Zhenting nodded with satisfaction. Although he had been tricked by Mo Xiuyao this time, he knew in his heart that he would still choose to do so if it happened again. With Mo Xiuyao and the Mo Army in the northwest, they could only take risks if they wanted to break the previous situation. Compared with the land of Da Chu, the land of Xiling was too poor.

"Now, deputy general, I will give you 300,000 soldiers. Go north and join forces with the Northern Rong to attack Feihong Pass! The rest of you will follow me south!" After organizing his thoughts, Lei Zhenting quickly issued the order.

The deputy general was stunned, and asked in confusion: "Prince, is it a bit too much for us to provoke Prince Ding's Mansion now..."

Lei Zhenting snorted and said, "Don't worry. We don't need to really break through Feihong Pass. We just need to pretend to attack. After I lead my troops south, don't let Lu Jinxian have time to cause trouble for me!" The deputy general understood Lei Zhenting's thoughts and asked, "If we attack Feihong Pass, will Lu Jinxian return to rescue us? If so, can we break through the blockade of the Mohist Army and return to Xiling for reinforcements?"

Lei Zhenting shook his head and said, "Lu Jinxian is not that stupid. If we go back to Xiling, he will stop us at all costs. But if we go south... in his opinion, the northwest is much more important than the Jiangnan that belongs to Mo Jingli."

The deputy general surrendered, "Your Majesty is wise, it is me who has not thought it through. I will obey your command."

Lei Zhenting nodded and said, "Go ahead, but don't act rashly. I have already sent someone to contact the commander of the Northern Rong army. There should be news soon. After the Northern Rong and the Northwest Mohist Army start fighting, you can act accordingly."

"I obey your orders."

After sending back a group of generals, Lei Zhenting looked at the northwest direction in a trance. After a long while, he sneered and said, "Mo Xiuyao, you have won half the battle this time. But when I take over Jiangnan..."

－－－－－－－A side note－－－－－－－

Mo Jingli is such a loser. If I were him, I wouldn't go to the capital to fight for the position of Regent or Emperor. It would be much better to guard the rich land of Jiangnan with the emperor far away. When I have a strong army, I will destroy you guys one by one.

Oh… I think I wrote this. King Li, I’m sorry…