The Qi army also quickly began to attack the city.
Liu Chengce tightened his military forces and returned all of them to Beiyan City.
Beiyan is said to be a city, but its south side is backed by the Yanshan Mountains, and it is more like a pass facing the northern Qi State.
In order to defeat Northern Yan, Zhou Yan continuously dispatched nearly 50,000 elite troops, which lasted for nearly six days.
Until the sixth day, when they saw that the offensive of the Qi army outside the city had eased, and looked at the crumbling Beiyan City, Liu Chengce and Shi Qingxue both had a determined look in their eyes.
"General Liu, the Qi army's attacks are becoming increasingly intense. In my opinion, it's time to make a strategic retreat."
Beiyan City is the northern gateway of Anguo. Although it is a gateway, it is not the most suitable pass to defend against the invasion of Qi army.
Faced with such a fierce attack from the Qi army, Beiyan City would fall in three days at most.
Instead of doing this, it would be better to retreat to Yanjing City where our defense capabilities would be much better.
As early as when the Qi army marched south, the people around Beiyan City had already moved to Yanjing, so there was no need to worry about the people being massacred if Beiyan City fell.
"Hmm...it's better to abandon Beiyan City now. The terrain in the Yanshan area is very changeable. We can ambush and defeat the Qi army here at any time."
Faced with Shi Qingxue's decision, Liu Chengce also reached a consensus.
Seeing this, Shi Qingxue immediately gave the order:
"Send the message!"
"All soldiers defending the city should retreat from the southern pass to Yanjing in units of 500 households! Abandon Northern Yan!"
As the military order was issued, the Yan army soldiers who remained in Northern Yan began to retreat one after another. By the evening, the last team of cavalry also galloped away.
The huge Beiyan City, the northern gateway of An State, quickly became a deserted city.
On the second day after the Yan army retreated, the Northern Qi army entered the Beiyan city, which was also the first city they occupied since they marched south.
Afterwards, the Qi army continued to move south to Yanshan, and fought with the Yan army in this area for a full half month.
After a period of advancement, the Qi army successively captured two cities in Anguo and Yandi, making a good start in the southward attack on An.
When the news reached Shengjing, the whole country of Qi celebrated.
"Okay, okay!"
After receiving the good news from the front line, Emperor Yangwu finally got rid of the gloom of the past.
"It seems that the men of our Great Qi are still brave and valiant. In just one month, they have already captured large tracts of land in Qi and Yan!"
There had been no new developments in the south, which had made him worry that he had chosen the wrong time to go south. Fortunately, news of a great victory finally came.
As the emperor, he and all the civil and military officials of Qi had been looking forward to this victory for a long time.
It was also because he had enough confidence in the Qi army that Emperor Yangwu finally revealed something that had been hidden in his heart for a long time.
He looked at the officials in the court:
"Since we have already taken the three cities of Anguo, I believe that this time we march south to Daqi, we will surely win. I would like to lead the army in person. What do you think?"
This idea, which was very abrupt and seemed to be in line with the temperament of the current emperor, instantly frightened all the officials, and they all knelt on the ground in the hall.
"Your Majesty, absolutely not!"
"Your Majesty's life is worth a million gold. The Qi army has only achieved initial success. We don't know what the situation will be like after they march south to Anguo. Your Majesty must not put yourself in danger!"
The civil officials and military generals discussed their views one after another, and their attitudes towards the emperor personally leading the army were surprisingly unanimous.
That’s not possible, don’t even think about it.
The civil officials were worried that something might go wrong if His Majesty led the army in person, while the military generals were worried that His Majesty would go to the battlefield and give orders at random, causing chaos.
No one knows how capable Your Majesty is in commanding a war. If he is only good at talking on paper and ruins a good situation, that would be disastrous.
But after being directly rejected, Emperor Yangwu was very unhappy, "You all said that it was dangerous for me to lead the army in person. Don't you think that the men of Great Qi can't be trusted?"
“No…”
A civil official immediately stepped forward to explain, "Your Majesty, as the old saying goes, victory and defeat are unpredictable in war. Even if the soldiers of Great Qi are brave, there will always be defeats. The war has just begun, and nothing is certain. Your Majesty must not risk your life. It won't be too late to personally congratulate the men of Great Qi once the outcome is settled!"
Emperor Yangwu was not someone who would give in easily, and he immediately retorted with a cold face.
But today, this group of court officials seemed to have made an agreement, and in the end he was helpless and almost got angry.
Fortunately, after a long silence, he had an idea in his mind.
If I can’t lead the army in person, I can at least travel, right?
Well, I will go to Nankang, the southern capital of Da Qi.
With a roll of his eyes, Emperor Yangwu changed his tone, "Since that's the case, I won't lead the army in person, but will go to Nankang. What do you think, my dear ministers?"
After saying this, his expression was still very serious when he looked at the ministers in the hall, as if he would get angry if they refused again.
The civil and military officials in the hall looked at each other in confusion for a moment.
They naturally knew what His Majesty's plan was to go to Nankang, but Nankang was still far away from the border between Qi and An, so it was safe enough.
As for the concern that His Majesty would make random commands if he personally led the army to fight, there is absolutely no need to worry about this since we have not yet reached the front lines of the war.
After a long time, someone finally agreed to this request.
"Your Majesty, if you want to tour the south, there is nothing wrong with that..."
Emperor Yangwu finally smiled. "Very good. Then everyone go back and prepare for the Southern Tour. I will set off immediately!"
After Emperor Yangwu decided to go to Nankang, he prepared quickly and finally decided to set off five days later.
In Shengjing, in addition to the civil servants needed by the crown prince to govern the country, most of the ministers also accompanied him.
In the harem, Concubine Ci became inexplicably excited after hearing the news.
In just one month, she was completely bewitched by Fu Xi and was always thinking about when to force the emperor to abdicate and rebel.
Because she also understood that according to His Majesty's current thoughts, the Crown Prince would never be deposed unless he rebelled himself.
But the prince obviously had no reason to rebel, and even if he wanted to frame someone, there was not enough evidence.
Concubine Ci must hope that her son will become the future emperor, otherwise, when the prince ascends the throne, given the queen's cruel heart, she will surely die.
"Your Majesty has gone to Nankang now, the capital must be empty. If we start a rebellion at this time, it is very likely to succeed!"
In the bedroom, Concubine Ci paced back and forth, feeling inexplicably excited.
Now the main forces of Qi are in the south, and Your Majesty will go to Nankang soon. Shengjing is empty. With such good conditions, there is no better time to force the emperor to abdicate.
But she was still a little worried. After all, this kind of thing was not 100% certain. What if there was a chance...
What's more, his son is only twelve years old. If he really forces the prince to death and takes the opportunity to control Shengjing City, it will be difficult for him to ascend the throne and rule the country.
Of course, if it really came to pass, she could also rule the country from behind the scenes and live out her life as a regent queen dowager...
…
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