Chapter 522 Man-Made Disaster
Northern Frontier Military Camp.
"The enemy no longer has those damn artillery pieces. The 400,000-strong Northern Frontier army is still unable to capture a single Qingshi Pass. They are such a waste!"
King Zhenbei threw the battle report in his hand to the ground, burning with anger.
Mu'er walked forward, picked up the battle report from the ground, hesitated for a while and said:
"Your Majesty, I thought that once Mu Zha died, General Cheng Lian and his men were no longer in the camp. Although we have a large number of people, the generals currently leading the troops were promoted temporarily. They lack experience and are easily panicked when encountering problems."
King Zhenbei snorted coldly.
"Does it mean that I have to personally lead the charge to attack a small Qingshi Pass?"
"The prince's old illness has not yet healed, so he naturally shouldn't take risks." Mu'er said softly, walked behind the King of Zhenbei, and gently massaged his solar plexus for him.
"I wonder... should we call General Cheng Lian and his men back?"
King Zhenbei closed his eyes and said:
“Cheng Lian only has 30,000 to 40,000 men under his command. Once they are recalled, the 200,000-strong Sky-Breaking Army led by the second son of the Dong family will be unstoppable.
Once the 200,000 reinforcements arrive at Qingshi Pass, our advantage will be completely gone."
Mu'er smiled slightly, "Your Highness forgot that the terrain of Xiaoyao Mountain is extremely dangerous. It is not so easy for 200,000 Potian troops to pass through."
Upon hearing this, King Zhenbei slowly opened his eyes a crack, as if he had thought of something.
"you mean……"
“General Cheng Lian and his men are now occupying Xiaoyao Mountain. We just need to order them to retreat while burning all the plank roads in the mountain.
If the 200,000 Po Tian soldiers want to cross Xiaoyao Mountain again, they must first rebuild the plank road.
By the time they finally cross Xiaoyao Mountain, General Cheng Lian will have already led his troops to capture Qingshi Pass. Then we can disguise ourselves as imperial troops and go back to support the Potian Army, setting up an ambush on the road... Are we still worried that we won't be able to catch them all in one fell swoop?"
King Zhenbei looked back at Mu'er with some surprise.
"Why didn't I realize before that you have such a strategy? In this respect, you are better than Jing'er."
Mu'er's cheeks were slightly red, "It's all because of the good training of the prince."
King Zhenbei laughed, raised his hand and gently grasped Mu'er's hand.
“It seems that I am really old, and it is fortunate that I have you by my side to give me advice.
You are right, then send someone to Xiaoyao Mountain and ask Cheng Lian and the others to find a suitable time to withdraw."
…
Capital city, Censorate.
Zhu Lan was handling government affairs. There were piles of documents on her desk. She sometimes concentrated on thinking, and sometimes wrote quickly.
Now, not only has she resumed her position as Chief Censor, she also serves as regent. The burden on her shoulders is much heavier than before.
An unknown amount of time had passed before Zhu Lan put down his pen and rubbed his wrists. Just then he heard someone knocking on the door, so he let the person in.
"Master Zhongcheng, the military inspector Zhou from the Military Equipment Bureau wants you to come over. He said there is something very important."
Since Zhou Da said it was an urgent matter, Zhu Lan naturally did not dare to delay for a moment and immediately rushed to the outskirts of Beijing.
This time Zhou Da did not lock himself in the room.
When Zhu Lan saw him, Zhou Da was squatting in an open space with black iron blocks of different sizes piled in front of him. When he got closer, he could smell the pungent smell of gunpowder.
Zhu Lan walked up to him and asked, "Is this the fragment of 'Wanjun'?"
It seems that Zhu Qingyan had just ordered someone to send it back from the northwest.
"Yes." Zhou Da nodded, and he looked a little more normal than the last time they met.
He picked up one of the fragments with pliers and turned around to call Zhu Lan to come and have a look.
"I checked it, and there is absolutely no problem with the material of Wanjun's gun barrel being able to withstand the impact of ten shells.
Look here, there is a crack with a very strange shape. Logically speaking, this alloy material has a certain flexibility, and even if the barrel explodes, it is impossible for a crack like this to appear. "
Zhou Da then went on to talk about many professional terms, some of which Zhu Lan could understand, but some of which he had never heard of before.
She finally asked Zhou Da what his conclusion was.
Zhou Da said: "The explosion of the gun barrel was not accidental, but someone deliberately damaged the barrel."
Zhu Lan thought for a moment and suddenly raised his eyes: "You mean, there is a traitor among the government troops in the northwest?"
Zhou Da shrugged:
"I'm only stating my conclusion. You'll have to investigate whether there's a traitor. Of course, we can't rule out the possibility that the barrel accidentally bumped into something."
"Understood."
Zhu Lan's heart sank slightly. If there really was a traitor in the northwest, then Qingyan's current situation would be extremely dangerous. She must be informed of this as soon as possible!
…
Qingshi Pass.
Ever since Yan Xiuyun arrived with 50,000 reinforcements, the originally arrogant Northern Frontier army seemed to have received the news and suddenly stopped its movements. It even retreated dozens of miles and stationed near Mingsha Beach.
This action made Yan Xiuyun very puzzled.
After all, even if he brought 50,000 troops, in terms of numbers, the Northern Frontier Army under the King of Zhenbei still had a slight advantage.
Everyone had been discussing for several days how to deal with the next attack by the rebels and the strategy of turning defense into offense, but the rebels' retreat left everyone a little confused.
Long Buqi asked: "Your Majesty, are we ready to gather our troops and go out to pursue the rebels?"
Yan Xiuyun asked Zhu Qingyan and Murong Jing for their opinions.
Zhu Qingyan noticed that Murong Jing was a little absent-minded, and worried that Yan Xiuyun might be suspicious, so he immediately said:
“I think the King of Zhenbei’s move is very strange and may be a trick.
We might as well send spies to the vicinity to observe the situation first, and then make a decision."
Yan Xiuyun glanced at Murong Jing, nodded, sent people to the west to inquire about the situation, and ordered the troops in Qingshi Pass to remain on hold for the time being.
…
In the military camp of the Potian Army, Gu Chaoyang was discussing the strategy of attacking the mountain with Dong Changjun.
"Second Master, we can't let Cheng Lian drag us down any longer. We have an army of 200,000 people, and it takes a lot of food every day just to eat. If this continues, we won't even have enough food and grass."
Dong Changjun looked a little sick. He nodded but didn't say anything, and there was also anxiety in his eyes.
Since Dong Mian's death, Dong Changjun seemed to have aged dozens of years in an instant, and his spirit was not as good as before.
Nowadays, most of the affairs of the Potian Army have been handed over to Gu Chaoyang, but Gu Chaoyang has always been humble and self-disciplined, and reports everything to Dong Changjun.
Gu Chaoyang asked:
"Second Master, if it really doesn't work... I want to take a few brothers with good skills to explore Xiaoyao Mountain at night to see if we can find a chance to sneak in and capture the leader first."
Dong Changjun shook his head and said that those guards were not easy to deal with, especially Cheng Lian, who was both civil and military and was a powerful figure.
Gu Chaoyang took the risk to explore the camp. If something unexpected happened, the Potian Army would probably be in chaos.
At this time, a figure hurried into the tent. It turned out to be the military officer Fu Honghui.
"Second Master, Chaoyang, the spies just reported that they saw black smoke rising from Xiaoyao Mountain, which should be caused by a fire.
That location... seems to be the plank road behind the mountain!"
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