Chapter 693: Continuous Victory
Chang'an, Imperial Palace
When Xie Zhan arrived at the palace, the urgent news from the front line had already been delivered to the emperor.
Song Mo was shocked and angry at this moment.
Xie Zhan took a deep breath and went to meet Song Mo.
Song Mo looked at Xie Zhan who was kneeling in the middle of the hall. "What did you say? Did Lu Songli give birth to a baby girl safely?"
When he heard the news of Lu Songli's unexpected premature birth, combined with the news from the front, he was happy for a moment. He thought that Xie Zhan's plan had worked and Lu Songli was in trouble, so Pingzhou went crazy and launched a large-scale attack on Xianbei and Dali.
Now Xie Zhan told him that Lu Songli was fine?
"Yes."
"Waste, all waste!" Song Mo, who was in a bad mood, swept the objects on the dragon table to the ground.
Song Mo, having vented his anger, gasped and looked at him unkindly. He had previously tried his best to protect him in front of the aristocratic families, and now this was his reward?
"Your Majesty, I am incompetent." Xie Zhan apologized to the emperor!
"Besides this, I am also worried about one thing."
"What's the matter?" Song Mo asked gritting his teeth.
"As far as I know, after Lü Songli's premature birth, the Pingzhou government has been thoroughly investigating the matter. Although my people have tried their best to clean up the traces, some clues are inevitable. Lü Songli is a vindictive person. After this ordeal, I'm afraid he won't let it go. Dali is probably in trouble."
Since ancient times, sending troops has always been about having a legitimate reason.
He had already figured out Lü Songli's methods, from the uprising he had undertaken when negotiations with Youbei Pingxian broke down, to his invitation to march to the East China Sea, and this year's expedition because merchants from Zhuozhou and Qingzhou had broken their contracts...
She acts very "righteously", and this righteousness means that when she sends troops out, she always likes to come up with a legitimate reason to boost morale.
It would be impossible for Pingzhou to launch such a large-scale attack on Dali without a valid reason. However, Pingzhou has not given a reason yet, which makes him have to be wary that Lu Songli will put the blame on him for the military action.
Song Mo sneered, "If Pingzhou wants to fight, then let it fight. How can Dali be afraid of a small Pingzhou?"
"Your Majesty is absolutely right. In the past, with Dali's strength, there was no need to fear a small Pingzhou. However, I feel that Pingzhou must have relied on something to send a large army this time. I'm afraid Dali will suffer a great loss this time."
"Humph, alarmist!"
"Your Majesty, I just hope that I am worrying too much. If it really comes to that, I am willing to take all the blame." Xie Zhan expressed his loyalty and demonstrated his value at the same time.
What he wanted to tell Song Mo now was that he was far-sighted and foresighted.
Although he lost more than he won when he played against Lu Songli, he was not very good at dealing with Lu Songli, but others were even worse.
If he died, there would be no hope for Dali.
Xie Zhan was gambling on how the situation would develop.
Song Mo looked at him gloomily. Of course he heard that Xie Zhan was predicting the situation that would follow.
Forget it, let’s keep him for now.
…
Yang Yingqin and Dong Guowei both retreated to Yangping and the southern part of the plain to deploy their defenses.
Xie Wei also withdrew from Shangdang County in Bingzhou and retreated to Hedong and Henei areas in Yongzhou.
After Yang Yingqin and Dong Guowei joined forces, their faces looked heavy when they met again.
Dong Guowei said, "Our defeat is not due to the war."
Yang Yingqin nodded silently.
I didn’t expect that Pingzhou actually had such a magical weapon to break the city. How can we fight such a battle?
The generals on both sides looked at each other.
"I heard that the artifact is called dynamite."
Dynamite? Judging from its power, the name is quite appropriate.
Yang Yingqin asked, "I just wonder how many such weapons Pingzhou has?"
"It shouldn't be much, right?" Dong Guowei said uncertainly.
Dong Guowei and Yang Yingqin looked at each other with serious expressions. If Pingzhou had a large amount of explosives, Dali would be in trouble.
Finally, Dong Guowei sighed and said, "I have sent someone to report the battle situation over 800 miles away and go back to consult the emperor." This is a major change and must be reported to the court. The emperor needs to make the decision on how to deal with it later.
As for the current strategy against the enemy...
We can't win the battle, we can't even defend the city, and we can't retreat...
This was the first time that Yang Yingqin felt that being a military general was so difficult.
Dong Guowei: "During this period of time, let's try our best to stop them." Try not to let the Pingzhou army move south again.
But the question is, can they stop it? Yang Yingqin doubted it.
Wait, there is one more point, Yang Yingqin said, "Qin Heng said before that this battle must take the entire Jizhou. If we retreat to Yangping and Pingyuan, I am afraid Qin Heng will still not give up." Pingyuan, Yangping and Weiyi still belong to Jizhou.
"There is a way to delay it."
"What method?"
"Let's do this..."
Leping, the Xianbei royal tent
At this time, Tuoba Khan had the same idea as Yang Yingqin and Dong Guowei. How could this war be fought?
After going through untold hardships, and even having a field battle with a small team of Sun's army in Xinxing City, Yuchi Rui and Yang Min finally returned to Leping County.
When Tuoba Khan heard that Yuchi Rui and others only brought back more than a thousand people, he felt difficulty breathing. He seriously doubted whether the general Yuchi Rui could still make it.
You have to know that those who can be sent out are the elite of the army. Of the 50,000 elite soldiers, only more than 1,000 were brought back.
Tuoba Khan asked angrily, "What's going on?" Even if these 50,000 cavalrymen were like cabbages, it would take them a long time to chop them down, right?
Tuoba Yu below tried hard to show a look of heartache, but he was actually relieved in his heart. His father Khan always regarded the defeat he had suffered before as a shame. After all, he was ambushed and killed by the Jintai army on the way, and the battle ended in failure.
Now we have General Yuchi for comparison. He was also ambushed by the Jintai army, but at least he brought back 20,000 soldiers, right? Compared to Yuchi Rui and others who only brought back a thousand or so remnants, he doesn't seem so bad, right?
Yuchi Rui anxiously replied, "Khan, there's a reason why we were defeated so badly. Pingzhou possesses a weapon..."
He then described the power of dynamite.
After listening to Yuchi Rui's statement and Yang Min's supplement, the whole royal tent was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
After Yuchi Rui finished speaking, he stood quietly aside, waiting for his fate.
Through his narration, everyone present could understand that his disastrous defeat was inevitable. It was not easy for him and Yang Min to escape and bring back such important news.
Before Tuoba Khan felt that he had recovered, the Royal Court Liaison Department received another piece of bad news: Yanmen was lost, and General Helan Yan and his 10,000 defenders in the city were wiped out.
Upon hearing this news, the members in the king's tent were speechless again.
Someone asked a soul-searching question, "How many troops did Pingzhou actually send out?" They were ambushing and attacking the city. After all, judging by the news, the ambush of the 50,000 reinforcements led by Yuchi Rui and the fall of Yanmen should have happened at the same time.
Tuoba Khan said angrily, "Let's not even mention how many troops Pingzhou has dispatched! Do you have any good ideas for dealing with Pingzhou?"
Since the battle with Pingzhou, they have lost 120,000 to 130,000 soldiers and horses!
The people below looked at each other. They all knew very well that after losing hundreds of thousands of soldiers, they probably couldn't win the battle.
With such a powerful weapon in Pingzhou, Xinxing will sooner or later change hands.
There is also the Sushen tribe. There is no news yet, but their situation is probably not going to be good when they face the powerful Pingzhou.
"Khan, why don't you let General Dugu withdraw first?" Yuchi Rui suggested that continuing the fight before finding weapons to restrain Pingzhou would be a meaningless sacrifice.
Some disagreed. "Field combat is our Xianbei cavalry's advantage. General Dugu must mediate between Xinxing and the Sun family army in Pingzhou to find a way to defeat the enemy. Even though we don't have the advantage against the Sun family army now, Khan, some sacrifices are necessary."
At this time, Tuoba Jin made a suggestion, "Father Khan, we can see what's going on in Dali."
"Pingzhou has obtained such a sharp weapon. I don't believe it can resist attacking Dali."
Tuoba Yu sang a counter-tune, "Not necessarily? Pingzhou Lu Songli's malice towards us Xianbei foreigners is much greater than his malice towards Dali!"
This time Pingzhou took no prisoners. The two sides had fought so many battles that everyone present could see it.
Tuoba Khan said, "Second brother, tell me what you think."
Tuoba Jin replied, "Pingzhou has launched a massive attack on us Xianbei. On the one hand, they hate us Xianbei and want to expel us. On the other hand, they are of course targeting the cities we have occupied. It is obvious that Pingzhou wants Bingzhou."
"Since Pingzhou is determined to take Bingzhou, it's impossible for it to ignore the city that lies between them. Think about it, if Pingzhou officials have to go through a long detour to take office in the southern part of Bingzhou, do you think Pingzhou can tolerate it?"
"With such a powerful weapon in hand, could Pingzhou resist seizing those cities in Jizhou?"
Someone replied, "I can't help it."
"So Pingzhou will definitely take action against Dali."
Tuoba Jin's insights made everyone present look at him with admiration.
Facing his father Khan's approving eyes, Tuoba Jin couldn't help but feel proud of his unique information channel.
He didn't know that Cao Huating had revealed this news to him on purpose in order to gain his trust and make him stand out.
Tuoba Khan nodded, "Okay, let's do this. Let's see what's happening in Dali first." If necessary, we can join forces with them. We will definitely find a way to restrain Pingzhou!
"Besides, we can't just sit there and wait." Tuoba Yu said unwillingly, "The autumn harvest is almost here. Most of our previous cities have been captured by Pingzhou, and the autumn grain we were preparing to harvest is gone. We must head south!"
"Isn't this a bad idea?"
"There's nothing wrong with it." Tuoba Khan waved his hand. If Dali had encountered a massive attack from Pingzhou like the Xianbei, Dali would have had to cooperate with them even if they had robbed the city.
In Pingzhou, there was a continuous stream of good news.
Qin Heng commanded the army to expand southwestward with Pingzhou in the northeast as the center.
Along the way, if you meet a god, kill the god; if you meet a Buddha, kill the Buddha.
Countless cities were incorporated into Pingzhou's territory, and countless grassroots officials were transferred.
"Governor, General Qin Sheng has led the Jintai Army to capture Yanmen!"
"Governor, General Sun Ming and Military Advisor Guo Chong have taken over Changshan with the Sun Family Army."
While the good news was coming back, the Sun family army and the Jintai army were working together to capture Xinxing.
"Governor, General Qin Heng has led his troops to capture Zhongshan, Julu, Zhaojun, Anping, Qinghe, Pingyuan and other places."
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