"General Zhang Fu, what's going on?"
Why did Qin Yong leave with his large cavalry force?
Such a large-scale troop movement, and you didn't even report it? Are you planning a rebellion?
Inside the Tushu Fortress, Wang Zhen stood beside Emperor Zhu Qizhen, angrily rebuking Zhang Fu in front of him.
Zhang Fu suppressed his anger and did not answer Wang Zhen, but instead spoke directly to Zhu Qizhen:
"Your Majesty, I dispatched General Qin Yong with a large cavalry force to block the traitor Li and buy time for the army to prepare."
Upon hearing Zhang Fu's words, Zhu Qizhen, who was sitting on the throne, immediately stood up.
Wang Zhen, who was standing next to Zhu Qizhen and had just been sternly reprimanding Zhang Fu, heard Zhang Fu say that Li Qin had arrived.
He immediately shut his mouth in fright.
Zhu Qizhen then walked over from in front of the throne and asked Zhang Fu in front of him:
"You mean, Li's rebel army is already around us?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, Li's rebel army has already reached the vicinity of our army."
However, our army's formation was chaotic and we were completely unprepared. Once Li's rebel army charged, we would all be finished.
That's why I ordered General Qin Yong to lead the army to resist Li's bandit, giving my army time to prepare.
I have now ordered generals such as Fan Zhong and Jing Xing to reorganize the army and construct defensive fortifications such as deer antlers.
This halted Li's continued attack.
Zhang Fu explained his arrangements to Zhu Qizhen in detail.
Zhu Qizhen, still looking tense, asked Zhang Fu:
"General Zhang, you are a loyal subject and the foremost general of our Great Wu. Can you defeat the traitor Li and protect me?"
Zhang Fu immediately said to Zhu Qizhen:
"Your Majesty, as long as I have a breath left, I will absolutely not allow the villains to touch a single hair on Your Majesty's head."
Your Majesty, I will protect you with my life.
Please rest assured, Your Majesty.
"well."
After hearing Zhang Fu's words, Zhu Qizhen nodded repeatedly and returned to his throne to sit down.
At this moment, he was filled with regret. Why did he have to personally lead the expedition?
Now we've actually fallen into such a predicament.
If I were in the safe capital, I would be having fun inside the Forbidden City.
Zhu Qizhen sighed regretfully at the last moment, and looked at Zhang Fu in front of him, asking:
"General Zhang, do you have any good strategies to repel the enemy?"
Zhang Fu shook his head after hearing Zhu Qizhen's words.
"Your Majesty, we can now reorganize the chaotic army and build some simple defensive fortifications before Li arrives."
"Stopping Li is already a success."
Zhang Fu was quite helpless in the face of Zhu Qizhen's question.
You should have listened to me sooner; if you had, you would have won.
Now I'm in a desperate situation, and I have no other options.
The army's morale is low, its formation is chaotic, and the soldiers are exhausted from the continuous march.
Most importantly, the army's supplies and provisions were left behind, and because the emperor was in a great hurry to lead the expedition in person, the hundreds of thousands of troops were already unprepared and did not bring much food. Now the army has almost no food reserves in Tushu Fort.
Moreover, Tushubao is a place with no natural defenses. To defend such a small military fortress would be extremely difficult.
That was extremely difficult.
Most importantly, His Majesty took all the troops around the capital with him when he went on the expedition, and now they are all surrounded here.
The elite troops of Jizhou have also been wiped out by Li Zicheng.
In other words, at this point, there was no force around them that could provide rapid assistance.
The troops that needed to provide support had to be transferred from places like Xuanfu and Shandong.
When news of their siege reached the capital, the high-ranking officials there mobilized troops and issued official documents to these areas, which then dispatched troops all the way here.
He estimated that the grass on his grave was already two meters tall.
It can be said that at this time their army was in low morale, in a dangerous situation, in disarray, short of food and supplies, and isolated and helpless.
Even if he managed to reorganize his army and temporarily hold Tushu Fortress, blocking Li's attack.
That only provides temporary relief.
As long as Li Ze besieges them, they will eventually collapse due to running out of food supplies.
Thinking of this, Zhang Fu could only sigh inwardly, looking at the panicked emperor in front of him and the trembling Wang Zhen beside him.
He thought to himself that he had protected His Majesty with his life, and that he could at least meet Emperor Taizong after his death.
He then continued speaking to Zhu Qizhen in front of him:
"Your Majesty, if there is anything else, please summon me at any time. I will go and coordinate the army and organize the defense."
"Alright, alright, General, go quickly."
Zhu Qizhen quickly got up and gestured for Zhang Fu to coordinate the troops and organize the defense.
After all, he was now truly facing a life-or-death situation.
If the army were to be routed, he would truly be in mortal danger.
You have to understand, he has been born into a life of luxury and has been heavily protected.
Never before have I faced such a life-threatening situation.
Therefore, he appeared unusually panicked at this moment.
After bowing to Zhu Qizhen one last time, Zhang Fu went out and began to formally organize the army for defense.
At this moment, not far from Tushubao, the battle between Li Qin's army and Qin Yong's tens of thousands of cavalry finally came to an end.
The battlefield in Liqin was a scene of utter devastation, with mountains of corpses piled up everywhere.
"Young Marshal, Young Marshal, we've found him."
Qi Duchen then dragged a corpse in front of Li Qin.
The corpse was none other than Qin Yong, the commander who had come to intercept them.
It can be said that he completed his mission with his own life.
He led tens of thousands of cavalry to successfully halt the advance of his main army, buying time for the remaining 100,000-strong army of the imperial court.
They truly deserve to be called the elite among the imperial nobles.
Li Qin looked at Qin Yong's corpse and sighed.
If only He Xiuwu, the garrison commander of Shanhaiguan, had half of his ability and courage.
How could their army of over 100,000 possibly have entered the pass?
Li Qin looked at Qin Yong's corpse, waved his hand, and said:
"We should guard his body well; we can use it to disrupt the enemy's morale."
He then looked at the prisoners of war being escorted in groups in the distance and asked Qi Duchen beside him:
How many prisoners were captured this time?
Qi Duchen looked at the devastated battlefield in the distance and said:
"Back to the top, these figures haven't been tallied yet, but it's estimated to be around 30,000."
Qin Yong should have brought all his cavalry with him this time, probably around 50,000.
These were the most elite cavalry of the imperial court, and they were incredibly powerful even when they dismounted and fought on foot. In addition, Qin Yong, as their commander, led the charge and fought recklessly.
It certainly took us a lot of effort.
Li Qin nodded after hearing this and said:
"Hand these prisoners of war over to Li Xuanshang and have him keep a close watch on them."
They then quickly cleared the battlefield and headed for Earth Tree Fortress.
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