As the first line of confrontation with the Qinghe forces, Cambodia has deployed its limited mobile forces in Jingdong and Daqima, and has strengthened the city defenses as much as possible in the past year. Whether it is strengthening the city walls, deepening the moat, or building a new low wall outside the city walls, everything is done in an orderly manner and there is no problem at all.
Facing the murderous Qinghe vanguard, the defenders of the two places turned around after a brief contact, ran back in big strides, retreated directly into the defense line and never showed their heads again. Then they sent letters to the rear one after another, as if the reinforcements did not arrive and the two places would be lost in the next minute.
On July 13, the vanguards attacking the two places reported that the attack had been thwarted.
Immediately, Lin Hai ordered the troops to be divided into two groups according to the original plan. The Second Army of the Qinghe Army, which had just completed its reorganization, arrived at Daqima under the command of Lu You, while Lin Hai personally commanded the First Army to complete the encirclement of Jingdong.
The Khmer court had little discussion about whether to rescue these two fortified cities. While Kengtung was closer to Bangkok, both cities were considered gateways to Bangkok. While there were many other major cities in between, if either Kengtung or Tachmachakra was captured, the city would be completely undefended. Therefore, rescue was imperative.
But how to save them is a big problem.
Yang Yizhen's suggestion was to dispatch the reorganized and supplemented Taijing Garrison Corps, plus his own newly mobilized soldiers, to form a large decisive battle force group, and go directly to Jingdong to seek a decisive battle with Lin Hai.
The advantage of doing this is that once the Cambodian side wins the decisive battle, or even captures or kills Lin Hai, then no matter what kind of results Lu You achieves in Daqima, it will be of no avail, and the Cambodian side will in fact have achieved a complete victory in the Qinghe battle.
Of course, if you only think positively about everything, the prospects will seem so tempting.
The disadvantages of this were obvious. If the Decisive Battle Corps failed to defeat Lin Hai's Qinghe First Army within a short period of time, it would be very likely that Lu You, who had broken through Daqima, would cut off their retreat. The remaining Khmer forces would likely be annihilated by Qinghe in a field battle, leaving them with no chance of a comeback. It would be better to rely on the sturdy defenses of Taijing City.
If Lu You was more ruthless, he could even ignore Lin Hai who was fighting hard and march straight into Taijing. By then, the empty Taijing City might not be able to withstand the attack of a hundred-man team.
Therefore, Yang Yizhen’s plan actually had a prerequisite, that is, the central government would order Xin Yuetu, who was confronting the Chen Dynasty, to abandon the newly built position and return with the field army directly to provide support.
"For the sake of fighting against the Chen Dynasty, even if Xin Yuetu cannot bring back the main force, as long as we can send tens of thousands of capable soldiers back to strengthen Daqima's defenses and make it difficult for Lu You to break through, then our plan to forcibly consume Lin Hai's First Army will be feasible."
Yang Yizhen said this at the "Qinghe Invasion Countermeasures Meeting" in the Imperial Study.
No one spoke.
It’s not about whether Yang Yizhen’s plan is feasible or not, but there is a crucial point in his plan: he needs Xin Yuetu to lead his troops back to provide support.
We are not stupid.
Qinghe's invasion intentions had long been exposed. Compared to other generals who constantly asked the central government for reinforcements or inquired about countermeasures in advance, Xinyuetu had been eerily quiet from the beginning to now.
As the commander of Cambodia's largest field army, he seemed to have not seen or heard any news related to the Qinghe invasion from beginning to end. Even when the central government sent him a letter asking him what he thought about the upcoming Cambodia-Qinghe war, he did not reply.
Therefore, no one is sure that this covenant will suddenly obey the order and return to help.
"Ask." Apparently, long meetings were bad for his health; the Khmer King Sin Dioc Ping looked weary. Considering that the King hadn't visited any of his concubines since the outbreak of the war, the ministers had reason to believe his fatigue stemmed from worrying about state affairs.
"Your Majesty, the military situation is urgent. If these documents are sent back and forth, I'm afraid it will cause delays." Yang Yizhen saluted.
"That's fine. The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works took a lot of money and food to strengthen the defenses in Jingdong and Daqima. I believe that with such a huge amount of fortifications, we can hold off Lin Hai for two months."
Ruan Shiping looked at the pale faces of the Minister of War and the Minister of Works, sighed helplessly, and said, "Even if the corruption is rampant, it should be possible to hold it off for ten days or half a month, right?"
The Minister of Works turned to look at the Minister of War, nodded, and then saluted Ruan Shiping and said, "Your Majesty, with the strength of our fortifications, we can hold out for ten days or half a month, as long as..."
"My dear, please feel free to speak."
"If there are any soldiers in these fortifications."
"Bang!" A teacup flew from Ruan Shiping's hand onto the Minister of War's forehead, then instantly shattered into several pieces. Not only did the Minister's forehead bleed profusely, but two nearby people were also struck by the broken pieces, causing severe pain.
I didn't expect that His Majesty, who looked half asleep, could shoot so accurately. I should have dodged earlier. This was probably what the Minister of War was thinking at the time.
"Your Majesty, please do not listen to the slanderous words of others!" Although blood mixed with tea flowed down his face, and tea leaves still clung to his eyebrows and nose, the Minister of War did not wipe them off. Instead, he saluted and said, "I can guarantee that there are sufficient troops in the two fortress cities."
"That's all." Xin Yueping took the tea that the eunuch had just handed over and drank it all in one gulp. He said, "I know your style of doing things. I just hope you understand that state affairs are difficult and don't overdo it."
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