The only person the emperor was afraid of was the King of Qi.
If we can successfully kill this man, even if we fail to win the battle, we will at least have passed; if we can take advantage of the fact that the Yizhou army is leaderless and defeat them later, it will be an even greater military achievement and make us famous throughout the world.
Catch the leader first.
At first glance, it seems like a good idea.
Gao Ben was annoyed when he heard this: "Killing the King of Qi sounds easy. The King of Qi is in the central tent, with hundreds of thousands of troops guarding him. If any assassin can sneak in, I will tear off his head and use it as a chamber pot for him!"
It’s too easy to say. Everyone knows that I’m a woman.
To catch a thief, you must first catch the leader. Who wouldn’t say that? The question is, can you kill him?
Slogans, patrols, layer after layer, cross-distributed and tightly fitted, no matter how skilled the assassin is, he cannot sneak into the tent. Once you are discovered, you are dead. The military camp has never been a place where personal strength is valued. No matter how good you are at fighting, you are just one person.
Let’s put it this way, the King of Qi must have hated him and Qi Tian to death, but he didn’t see him sneak into his own camp and kill himself and Qi Tian directly?
It's just a daydream!
Gao Ben was already annoyed, and since most of the generals were rough and unruly, he sneered and spit all over Li Liang's face.
Xie Liang didn't mind, he wiped his face with his sleeve and said, "General, you are wrong."
"Before the war, I had inquired about this rebel king in detail. I heard that whenever he went to war, he would lead the troops in battle and never lag behind. May I ask, General, is this true?"
"Yes." That's absolutely true.
Xie Liang smiled and said, "Then how can we not get closer to the Rebel King when the two armies face off?"
It is possible to get close, but the enemy troops who get close will be either killed or seriously injured.
Gao Ben thought that Xie Liang would be able to say something, but he was greatly disappointed and shook his head: "The rebel king is so powerful that he is rarely seen in the world. He enters the enemy's camp like a tiger entering a flock of sheep. He is invincible and no one can match him."
These people had never seen with their own eyes the King of Qi enter the enemy camp, move freely among the troops, and where the blade of his sword passed, blood splattered everywhere, and a large number of people fell down. Anyone who had witnessed it with their own eyes was shocked.
The most important thing is that he had abundant energy, which was astonishing. He once fought against the Tatars for three days and nights without stopping, but he was still not exhausted.
After hearing this, Qi Tian's face darkened.
As a former confidant of Marquis Pinghai, Wei Jing knew firsthand how strong his martial arts skills were. After a few years, he was likely to have only increased.
There was a moment of silence in the tent, and then Jie Liang laughed: "General Gao, although the Ni King is very powerful, he is not unmatched!"
Gao Ben turned around suddenly: "What do you mean?"
Xie Liang straightened his clothes and bowed to Qi Tian: "I heard from my lord last year that your majesty is protected by five great masters. Is that true?"
This happened in the year Ding Hua died. At that time, the search in Shanglin Garden was extremely tense, and some people were worried about the safety of the emperor. Qi Tian then told a few of his confidants that the emperor had experts guarding him, so there was nothing to be afraid of.
Now that he said that, Qi Tian also remembered it. He hissed, "You mean..."
This is true. All the emperors of the Great Chu had secret guards around them. It is said that they were the descendants of Taizu’s guards, who were responsible for personally protecting the emperor. After Wei Xian succeeded to the throne, he was surrounded by five masters.
These five masters, three of them, were the childhood teachers of King Wei Jing of Qi.
It is said that Wei Jing is extremely talented and was able to combine the strengths of various schools. He was even better than his teachers and at a young age, he caught up with the old man who taught him.
But catching up does not mean surpassing him, after all, he is still young.
So, what if several masters attack him together?
"When the two armies are facing each other, we can use bows and crossbows to strengthen the formation." Xie Liang said solemnly: "We will definitely be able to annihilate the rebel king!"
This sentence was like thunder in a dry land, shaking people's hearts. Qi Tian and Gao Ben looked at each other, and their breathing immediately became rapid.
It has to be said that this plan is very feasible and has a very high success rate.
The two of them were very nervous at the same time.
Gao Ben hesitated: "But, but this is a master who protects your majesty's safety, this, this..."
The most secretive card among secret cards, the one that concerns your life the most, will the emperor agree to this?
Qi Tian calmed down and said, "No matter what, let's give it a try."
He immediately took out a pen and ink, wrote a secret letter in person, signed it together with Gao Ben, and immediately ordered his confidant to deliver it to Luojing overnight.
…
Yizhou Army Camp.
The central military tent.
Wei Jing summoned all the generals and counselors to discuss the matter. After everyone sat down, he looked around and said, "The two armies have been facing each other for more than a month. Within half a month, the imperial army will have to go out."
Gao Ben was cautious and did not go out, and Wei Jing was not in a hurry either. He knew the character of the imperial court best and knew that the other side would not be able to hold out for long, no more than two months at most, so he would have to send out troops.
Ji Huan agreed: "The court has a hard time raising food and fodder, Gao Ben really has to go out."
For many years, natural disasters and man-made disasters have occurred frequently in the Central Plains, and grain production has been declining. The central government's control over local governments has gradually weakened, making it difficult to collect grain. Yizhou was just the opposite. It was isolated and not affected by disasters, and its land was fertile and resources were abundant, and its people were prosperous.
In terms of resource consumption, the imperial court could definitely not compete with Wei Jing.
He waited patiently. During this period of time, the most important thing was to guard the gate tightly and not let the other party get any chance.
The results were very successful.
Wei Jing cast his eyes on the regional map on the long table: "In the next battle, the court must fight our army head-on."
Gao Ben, who had lost hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers, had to lead the coalition forces of princes to the battlefield no matter what.
The opportunity to defeat the enemy that Wei Jing had been waiting for had finally arrived.
Han Xi, Chen Qi and the others looked at each other with delight. Zhang Yong slapped the long table in front of him and said, "Damn it, these bastards finally showed up. We can finally have a good fight!"
Ji Huan shook his head helplessly at this rude man, and ignored him, cupping his hands and saying, "My lord, the location of the allied forces of the princes is the key to defeating the enemy."
Using the coalition forces of the princes as a breakthrough point, this coalition force has more than 100,000 troops. Once a major chaos occurs, it will inevitably have a great impact on the entire enemy army.
Once the enemy was in chaos, our army took advantage of the situation and launched a fierce attack. Once we had the upper hand, it would be difficult to reverse the situation.
The first difficulty at present is how to accurately infer the position of the coalition forces of the princes before the war.
Ji Huan looked at Wei Jing, who had been looking at the map for a long time. He pointed his index finger at one point and drew a line: "Gao Ben, the allied forces of the princes must be placed in the middle and rear of the right wing."
In fact, for Wei Jing, the most difficult thing is not guessing the location.
Gao Ben had served under Wei Jing for five years, and Wei Jing was quite familiar with his fighting style and troop deployment techniques. Gao Ben is a very cautious person. There is no doubt that after careful consideration, he will still place his weak point in the safest place.
The two armies are now facing each other across the Jingshui River and Tongchuan River. The Jingshui River is on the right, so the battlefield must be in Tongchuan River on the left. The edge of Tongchuan is hilly, but the middle is very flat, making it suitable for a battlefield.
To the east of the imperial coalition forces' formation, only the center and rear part of the right wing was the safest. The adjacent hills are low and sparsely wooded, and there is not much room to hide many soldiers. Even if Wei Jing had anticipated this before the war and wanted to send his troops to hide there and wait for the start of the war to launch a surprise attack, it would not have been possible.
The enemy had the advantage of terrain, so even if they figured out the location, they still had no idea where to start.
Zhang Yong let out an "ah", Ji Huan frowned, and so did the others. The atmosphere in the tent suddenly became heavy.
"Perhaps, we can defeat them from the inside."
"My lord, the war is not going to start in the short term. How about we try to attack the enemy camp first?"
Wei Jing and Ji Huan's voices sounded at the same time. After they finished speaking, the host and the guest looked at each other and saw the same thing in each other's eyes.
…
Whenever there is chaos, the princes will always place spies among forces near and far, no matter how big or small, friend or foe.
The market, the countryside, the army, the government office, or any industry. It may not be a very good identity, such as a small soldier in the army, a laborer in the government office, casting a wide net, collecting various clues, analyzing the movements of the opponent, and preparing for emergencies.
Wei Jing was certainly no exception, as he happened to be in need of this opportunity.
…
The imperial camp.
The camp of the 180,000-strong coalition army of the princes was at the left rear. It had hardly been moved since the war began, and there had been no casualties, but the low morale had not improved much.
Can it get better?
Even a fool knows that those who were chosen to make up the numbers are those the princes are prepared to sacrifice.
Although from the moment you join the army you have to put your head on the line to make a living and may lose your life at any time, but is that the same as being pushed out to die openly?
At least we were provided with food in the camp, but this bread tasted really bland.
"I heard that they will go to war soon." Having lost hundreds of thousands of troops previously, they must go into battle this time.
The news had spread quietly, and the atmosphere became even more depressing. A young soldier who looked only fourteen or fifteen years old and still had a childish face suddenly cried, "Will we be put at the front?"
The King of Qi is famous for his bravery and he has won two battles before. Will those of them who are not his personal soldiers be arranged to the front to serve as meat shields or bait or something?
It was the first time for the young man to go to the battlefield. He cried, "I don't want to die. I have an old mother at home. I am her only son. My elder and second brothers died in the war...."
The crying sounded like a plague. Several low cries arose from different places. Everyone in the area had red eyes and the atmosphere was depressing.
A military officer sent by Gao Ben rushed over upon hearing the news and shouted, "Who dares to speak nonsense? Anyone who shakes the morale of the army will be executed immediately!"
The boy was so scared that he dared not say a word, but fortunately, the people around him were silent and no one betrayed him.
Unable to find anyone, the military marquis angrily cursed for a few times, and finally his expression eased: "Don't worry, General Gao sees you as no different from the other soldiers in the camp. There is no need to worry. The talk of bait is pure nonsense."
He looked around: "Don't worry."
In fact, the military marquis's deliberate appeasement did not reassure people much. On the contrary, the commotion here accelerated the spread of the gossip.
Like a virus, it quietly spread among the 180,000-strong coalition army of princes in just two days.
Then another statement emerged.
"If that's the case, it's better to sneak away and go home. You can still have a chance of survival."
"The court and our Lord are not on good terms, and the investigation is not thorough."
"There are so many people killed in every war that it's hard to tell who they are. At worst, just consider them dead and find another place to make a living."
The speed at which opinions that are beneficial to oneself, in line with one's own psychology, and can solve immediate difficulties spread is often astonishingly fast.
In the end, new conclusions have been reached even without any guidance.
"If the situation is not favorable after the battle, we can pretend to fight a few times and wait for an opportunity to scatter in all directions so that we can no longer find them."
Not everyone agrees, but there are almost no rebuttals.
…
"very good."
After reading the letter, Wei Jing curled his lips slightly and said, "Chen Qi, you will lead a thousand soldiers, raise more flags, beat more drums, and move immediately when the battle begins."
The mountains and forests in the middle and rear part of the enemy's right wing are indeed impossible to sneak in for a surprise attack, but a thousand people should be enough.
Ji Huan clapped his hands and said: "The allied forces of the princes have a total of hundreds of thousands of troops. Once they are scattered, the enemy's formation will be disrupted. We will take the opportunity to launch a fierce attack and will surely defeat them."
This battle will decide the outcome of the battle.
Everyone clapped their hands in joy. The atmosphere in the tent was heated. The war had finally made great progress. Wei Jing was not shy. He watched with a smile for a moment before raising his hand to suppress it.
"Everyone, there is one more thing."
He picked up another secret report and handed it to everyone to read in turn: "The enemy camp has reorganized its tents in the past two days."
During wartime, military camps are set up according to the number of soldiers. If there are any damages, they will be adjusted in time to avoid gaps.
The imperial army had more than 600,000 soldiers, and the living quarters were a bit crowded. But later I lost hundreds of thousands of dollars and suddenly I was left with a large loss. Some of the empty tents were packed up, and the remaining tents were rearranged to make the crowded places evenly spaced.
But now suddenly adjusting the camp?
Han Xi's mind was moved: "My lord, could it be that the enemy has reinforcements?"
It’s almost right.
Wei Jing said slowly: "It's just that the current court can't spare more soldiers and generals."
It is even less likely that the princes will provide reinforcements.
Then, the only possibility left.
"Jingzhou."
Gao Ben forced Prince An to send more troops?
If you think about it carefully, this possibility is quite high.
However, when it comes to reinforcements, it makes no difference whether it is 10,000 or 20,000, the minimum number must be 50,000 or more. But as far as Wei Jing knew, the number of garrison troops left in various counties of Jingzhou was about 100,000.
When Wei Jing heard the news, he was moved.
Ji Huan said: "Jingzhou is bordered by Yangzhou in the east and Pingyang in the north. Yangzhou Qu Mouhe and the Lord, this King An..."
There are enemies on both sides. Wei Jing is much more ferocious than Qu Mou. Under normal circumstances, he should be more wary of Wei Jing.
But the situation is a little different now. Wei Jing is facing a powerful enemy, and King An does not know that Wei Jing has a plan to defeat the enemy, so he may have judged that Wei Jing has no time to split himself.
Wei Jing and Ji Huan looked at each other, and then looked at the regional map at the same time, their eyes fixed on the two inner counties of Jingzhou adjacent to Yizhou.
Nanling County, Wuling County.
If King An chooses to focus on guarding against Qu Mou, he will most likely transfer more troops from the two inner counties, and by then, the two inner counties will be empty.
Once Wei Jing wins a battle, he can immediately turn his sword and attack the two counties of Nanling and Wuling.
Jingzhou is as big as Yizhou. If we get the three counties plus Yizhou, we will have controlled one quarter of the world.
He could travel freely along the Cangwu Road and the Tanggu Road. The mountains and hills of Yizhou could no longer hold him back, and he would no longer be constrained by the rear when he conquered the Central Plains in the future.
Wei Jing pointed at the long table with his index finger. Of course, the above is just a guess. Now the key is to see how Prince An deploys his troops and whether there will be a vacuum drill.
"Someone come."
He was about to give the order to immediately send more scouts to Nanling and Wuling counties for a thorough investigation. But who knew that at this moment, he heard hurried footsteps coming from outside and quickly arrived in front of the central tent.
"My Lord! Urgent news!"
The man was Fan Qing. He knelt down as soon as he entered the tent and presented a letter: "My lord, this afternoon, a little beggar delivered a letter to Linxiang!"
Linxiang, this city is used as the food and fodder camp of Wei Jing's army, and Fan Qing and Zhuang Yan, one civil and one military officer, are stationed there to garrison. But during the routine patrol of the city this afternoon, a little beggar delivered a letter.
Wei Jing's identity was exposed by a letter, so he decided to issue a proclamation to the world. Fan Qing, as one of the core members, also heard about it afterwards.
When he saw the little beggar delivering a letter, and that it was to "His Highness Wei", his heart immediately tightened. In an emergency, Fan Qing opened the letter without permission. He was shocked after seeing it, but did not dare to ask outsiders to deliver it. He arranged the defense himself, rode his horse for two hours, and delivered it personally.
"Please forgive me for opening the letter without your permission."
"You are not guilty."
Wei Jing immediately took the letter and unfolded it.
"Prince An dispatched the garrison troops of the two inner counties to reinforce. This is a method of deceiving the eyes. When the enemy is weak, it is strong, and when the enemy is strong, it is weak."
The writing is vigorous, broad and unrestrained, and it seems to be the same person as last time.
Just a dozen words confirmed Wei Jing's previous guess.
Zhang Yong was standing close by and caught a glimpse of it. His heart was pounding: "My Lord!"
Wei Jing was not convinced and ordered in a deep voice: "Han Xi, select people immediately and rush to Nanling and Wuling counties to observe carefully, especially the important towns. Don't miss any of them."
"yes!"
…
The matter was of great importance, so Han Xi selected dozens of good fighters and brought them to Wei Jing. Wei Jing gave them personal orders, and they immediately took the orders and rushed to the two counties.
As for the original scouts, they had already reported the situation and were on high alert.
Three days later, the news came back one after another.
As expected, under pressure, King An had to dispatch garrisons and food supplies from the five counties of Jingzhou to the front line. Not to mention the food supplies, what Wei Jing wanted to find out was the garrison.
This was quite difficult. Guo Huai's method of concealing his true colors was indeed excellent. If Wei Jing had not been prepared, he would have almost gotten away with it.
On the seventh day of June, the garrisons in the five counties of Jingzhou began to move one after another, coming in and out, and more than once, exchanging positions in an orderly manner with the garrisons in nearby cities and passes.
So many people went out, and it seems like a change of defense.
The rotation should be done during the day, but for some places that are far away, it is not surprising that they arrive at the place at night.
After two days of going in and out, the entire Jingzhou was in motion. When the rotation of guards was most frequent, the troops were dispatched.
It was a night, and there were also people coming in and out, with 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers being transferred out, but the number of people returning to defend the five counties was almost the same, as if they were being evenly deployed.
But after careful observation, the scouts still found clues.
At the end of the third watch, a large number of soldiers were transferred back to the two counties of Nanling and Wuling, and important cities such as Jijiang, Dasang, and Chenyang.
From the sound of horse hooves and the sky full of dust in the night, it can be judged that the number of people is not much less than when they went out. This was already safe enough for daily gathering of information, but the scouts who received special orders from Wei Jing did not give up. They took the risk and cautiously moved closer.
In the dust, they could finally see clearly at close range. They saw that the defense soldiers were actually sparse. They tied branches and leaves with horsetails, and each of them held seven or eight flags. They ran and walked back and forth, pretending that there were more than ten times as many people returning to the city.
The scout was overjoyed and retreated cautiously.
…
The same is true for the two inner counties of Nanling and Wuling, which are completely empty inside.
However, the garrisons of several cities bordering Pingyang County were quietly increased. It seemed that King An was still very wary of Wei Jing.
But, this is enough.
As long as they blocked Prince An and prevented him from coming to the rescue, and then seized the opportunity to capture those cities at the passes, the two counties of Nanling and Wuling would be as easy as taking candy from a baby.
A godsend.
After reading the letter, Wei Jing's deep black eyes looked stern, "Once we defeat the imperial coalition forces, we will lead our troops to capture the two counties!"
…
Recently, the two armies have begun to test each other again. After several small-scale confrontations, the sky over Tongchuan is now filled with smoke and a major war is about to be triggered.
Wei Jing carefully arranged the personnel to block Prince An's return for reinforcements, and then arranged the soldiers from Jingzhou who were to lead the army after the great victory. After everything was arranged one by one, it was already midnight when all the generals and their subordinates dispersed.
He was full of energy and not tired. Whenever he had some free time, he began to miss his wife who was far away in Hanzhong.
He quickly picked up his pen, dipped it in ink, and wrote a letter to his wife.
"Ah Qing, my wife, if everything goes well, the war will be over within ten days. After we take over the two counties of Nanling and Wuling, I will return to Hanzhong to pick you up. I heard that the Xunyang Gorge in Wuling County is very magnificent, and I want to take you to see it. Is that okay?..."
He smiled slightly, wrote the letter, dried it carefully, sealed it himself, and ordered his personal guards to deliver it immediately the next day.
If all goes well, I'll be able to see her soon.
…
However, on this night, a very important thing happened quietly in the imperial camp.
Gao Ben and Qi Tian finally received a reply from the emperor.
There were three other people who quietly entered the camp at the same time.
As soon as they opened the letter, they were overjoyed.
"Your Majesty is wise!"
It turned out that the emperor hesitated for a long time, and finally gritted his teeth and gave out three secret guards, who were the best ones.
He ordered that the Rebel King must be annihilated at all costs!
Gao Ben and Qi Tian were overjoyed, but they were also nervous.
There must be no room for error, otherwise I really won't be able to return to Luojing to see the emperor.
How can I be more secure? More sure of safety?
Xie Liang had an idea: "My Lord, General Gao, the place where you two are must be where the sword of the Rebel King is pointing."
If the commander of an army dies in battle, the morale of the army will immediately fall into chaos. In addition, these two are the great enemies of the King of Qi.
Wherever the two of them are, that must be the place where the rebel king will take it directly, and there is no chance of error. It is both a bait and an open conspiracy.
Gao Ben and Qi Tian understood it immediately, but when they thought of the bravery of the King of Qi, they felt a chill on the back of their necks, and their hearts began beating uncontrollably.
Especially Qi Tian, he was a civil servant.
Xie Liang thought for a moment and said, "Why not use Prince An as a shield? That would weaken Prince Ni's personal guards and confuse the view."
King Tian An of Qi was a political enemy, and Xie Liang was naturally one too. Without hesitation, he proposed to push King An out.
"Okay, now that we have the experts, General Gao, please make sure to carefully select this powerful array of bows and crossbows."
"Don't worry, General Qi. I'm fully prepared. There will be no failure this time. Even if the rebellious king has wings, he will not be able to escape."
All he lacks is this master.
Gao Ben and Qi Tian looked at each other, and a fierce look flashed in their eyes.
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