The Grandmaster Strategist - Chapter 139

[Chapter 10 The First Battle of Qinshui]

In Wuyin, the first year of Longsheng, on February 16, Taizong issued an edict to send King Xian of Qi and Hou Jiangzhe of Chu Township to attack Qinzhou, and the war between Yong and Han began.

——”The Chronicle of Emperor Taizong of Yongshi”

On February 27, the first year of Longsheng, the southernmost line of defense in Qinzhou, Lingyuan Fort, was covered with clouds of war, and the Dayong border was blocked for one winter. Even the most shrewd and capable scouts could not spread the news, but everyone knew that. Dayong will not give up like this, the war will start.

A castle stands alone on a small hill, and below the hill is the south stream of Qinshui. In early spring every year, the melting of ice and snow makes the Qinshui soar. Every place along the river should beware of the flooding of the Qinshui, but this year it seems that the water level is not high, there should be no Obstacles, the river is wide, the water is gentle, and the land is fertile. There are dozens of villages on both sides, and the Lingyuan Fort on the hill is where the Northern Han Army is stationed. This is also the front line of Qinzhou. It is the county seat of Jishi, along the Qinshui River, there are bunkers and castles everywhere, which are easy to defend and difficult to attack, and Anze, Qinyuan, and Qinzhou City are the most important passes.

A group of soldiers from the Northern Han Dynasty stood on the city wall, paying attention to the movement in the south. Since the beginning of the year, there has been a military order from above, telling them to always be on guard against the attack of the Dayong army, so they did not dare to relax.

One of the soldiers was probably a little tired. He turned around and wanted to gossip with his comrade, but when he turned around, he saw his comrade staring at the front in a stunned manner. He turned his head subconsciously, and saw a blue-black line suddenly appeared on the horizon. , but in an instant, the blue and black became more and more thick. Although it was very far away, in the eyes of the soldier, he seemed to have seen Dayong’s military flag. He shouted hoarsely: “Ring the alarm bell.” , rushed to the bell tower in three steps and two steps, the bronze bell rang, and then the horn sounded in the castle, and many neatly dressed Northern Han soldiers rushed out from the barracks.

A general wearing a general uniform rushed upstairs to the fort, and said angrily: “Why didn’t the scouts sent out have returned, hurry up and light the beacon.” His personal guard hurried to the top of the castle and lit the beacon.

The billowing wolf smoke pointed straight to the sky. Since the 22nd year of Dayong Wuwei, the Dayong army set foot on the Northern Han territory for the first time.

Xia Ning, the pioneer of the Dayong Army, trusted and loved by the King of Qi, saw the smoke billowing in the distance, he couldn’t help laughing, reined his horse and whipped his whip, and pointed forward: “Even if they discover our army, what can a small Ling Yuan do? Can the fort be able to block what our soldiers are pointing at? The army obeyed the order and took down Lingyuan Fort in one fell swoop. Following the order of the King of Qi, the army will clear the field.” After speaking, the Yong army in blue and black armor shouted loudly. Shouting, with Xia Ning rushing, the little Lingyuanbao stood up to resist, but it was just a man’s arm as a chariot.

Within half an hour, Lingyuan Fort had already been breached, and the Yong army was surrounded on all sides, but none of the Northern Han army survived.

Lingyuan Fort was originally an outpost responsible for investigating the enemy’s situation. Once the Yong army attacked, Lingyuan Fort would not be able to stand firm, so the sergeants who were sent here were all determined to die. Down, flesh and blood into mud.

Xia Ning saw that Lingyuan Fort had been breached, causing people to destroy the city gates and defense equipment, and then the army rushed to the countryside on all sides. This time, King Qi issued a strict order not to leave enemies behind.

Villages were burnt down. Although most of the young and strong men joined the army, the northern Han people were sturdy. Even strong women, children and old people could pick up swords and attack Yong Jun’s soldiers at any time. Therefore, under Xia Ning’s order, Yong Jun’s iron cavalry almost These village fortresses were crushed into ruins, and the surviving civilians were driven by swords to Duanshi and Anze.

The Dayong Army did not advance on light cavalry, but steadily advanced step by step, leaving abandoned villages and uncultivated fields wherever they passed.

The only thing that made the civilians of the Northern Han Dynasty fortunate was that the Yong Army commanded King Qi’s military orders not to kill civilians indiscriminately, so as long as they did not resist, they would not only be able to save their lives, but even have the opportunity to bring some belongings. However, in addition to going north, they There is no other way to go.

On the shore of Qinshui, a group of ragged old and weak women and children supported each other and walked north with difficulty.

There were only a few broken cars in the team with some rice grains on them. A few children and old people who were really unable to walk were sitting in the cars, their expressions were full of dread. It has already fallen to the end, and Yong Jun’s iron cavalry has passed countless times, and they often encounter Yong Jun who is searching for it.

The Yong army general who expelled them from their homes made it very clear that if they could not reach the Duan clan before March 10, they would be executed as spies of the Northern Han army.

The cold spring breeze blew from the river, causing some thinly clothed old and weak to shrink into a ball. The spring in Qinzhou is still very cold, and the future is uncertain. Thinking that Yong Jun might be executed as a spy, some old people in the team are already in tears. Weeping blood.

Who would have thought that Yong Jun would use such a method?

Six years ago, the Yong army also invaded Qinzhou, but they did not commit any crimes against the villages along the way, but now they are all flattened. Several old people talked about it in private and said that it is no wonder that the current emperor Dayong was the one who commanded the army in the past. Li Zhi, this time it is the King of Qi Li Xian, who doesn’t know that Li Zhi is generous and the King of Qi is cruel?

A child sitting in a car glanced across the river inadvertently. He suddenly pointed at the heart of the river in surprise and said, “Grandpa, there is a big boat there.” Now, in the middle of the Qinhe River, more than a hundred boats of various sizes were going upstream. One of the building boats was the most gigantic and sturdy. There was a big flag on the bow with a big river character on it.

There are many soldiers on the ship, and more than 20 warships around them protect the building ships in the center, followed by cargo ships full of Yong Jun’s baggage.

The old man’s exclamation made the others turn their heads to look, and saw Yong Jun’s navy clippers and the brightly armored soldiers on board, they were almost unable to walk anymore. Using so many naval forces, this time, Dayong must be inevitable, right?

At this time, there seemed to be some commotion at the bow of the building ship. A few half-old children with better eyesight clearly saw three people walking out of the cabin on the top floor. One of them came out of the crowd. , looking towards the shore.

This man was dressed in a plain robe and a cyan cloak. He could not see his face from a distance. He could only see the man with light gray hair. He should not be young. Other than that, everyone could only see a pair of clear and cold eyes. , Although they were far apart, those eyes could almost see through their internal organs, making them feel an inexplicable chill in their hearts.

In the crowd, a simple-looking middle-aged farmer flashed a cold light in his eyes the moment he saw the building boat, but he immediately lowered his head, still looking depressed and worried, from time to time Touching his right leg, there were some strips of cloth wrapped around it, it should be an injured leg, no wonder he fell behind.

At this time, there was a quiet sound of horse hooves behind everyone. Although the sound was not loud, the vibration of the ground still made them aware of the crisis. Several farmers picked up their hoes and scythes, trying to protect their families as much as possible. Those Yong Jun Don’t know when it will kill.

What fell into their sight was a small cavalry team of no more than 20 or 30 people. The leader was a female general wearing blue-black soft armor. Although she was wearing an indistinguishable armor, this woman was unparalleled and had long eyebrows. , At first sight, it is known that this is a heroine, she is wearing a black cloak, with a long sword hanging from her waist, and a crossbow hanging behind her back.

And the followers behind her are all wearing soft armor and crossbow bows, but their weapons are all kinds of, almost indistinguishable.

When the cavalry team approached the refugee team that was forced to go north, it naturally dispersed and surrounded the refugee team. After tomorrow, if you can’t enter the Ji clan, it means your time of death has come.” The voice was clear and moving, but it was also a woman.

An old man staggered forward and said: “Master, we are all old and weak women and children who are unable to walk fast, so we missed the trip, please forgive me for one or two.”

The woman turned her head to look at the female general at the head. The female general’s gaze swept past everyone one by one, her eyes piercing to the bone, and everyone who was staring at her felt the shadow of death looming over.

The woman’s eyes fell on the injured middle-aged farmer, a sneer appeared at the corner of her mouth, and she pointed at the whip: “You, come out.”

The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment, then limped forward, the woman kept her eyes fixed on him, until he got to the horse, the woman asked coldly, “You are under Xiao Tong’s command. spy?”

The farmer’s expression was dazed, as if he didn’t know what the woman was going to say. He just explained in panic, “The villain is not a spy, but a dutiful peasant. It was only because he broke his leg that he was abandoned by the villagers and fell behind.”

The woman smiled coldly and said, “I, Su Qing, are a good spy, how can you hide from my eyes?” After that, the long whip in her hand stabbed the farmer’s throat like a poisonous snake.

The farmer’s eyes flashed, and he didn’t seem to be able to react in time. He just screamed and closed his eyes, and the long whip turned back at the touch of a button.

The farmer was in a cold sweat and fell to the ground in fright.

The woman looked down at him coldly for a long time, then turned around and said loudly, “Su Qing, the frontline chief, asks to see the supervisor.” The heart of the river was far away, but there was some commotion on the boat, apparently Su Qing’s voice was heard.

Not long after, a fast boat came to the shore, the female general took the horse to the shore, and the other knights also drove away, but they went along the shore, obviously not ready to get on the boat, and the first one The woman who spoke fell behind.

The middle-aged farmer breathed a sigh of relief and was about to get up, but he felt that a cold and sharp foreign object had pierced his throat. As he struggled to look up, he saw the woman behind him staring coldly. Own.

Fierce anger and confusion flashed in the farmer’s eyes.

After dismounting and walking to the shore, Su Qing’s eyes were as calm as water, as if he didn’t know what was going on behind him, even though the refugees let out a suppressed exclamation.

It wasn’t until the young woman rushed to her side that she said calmly: “Ruyue, I would rather kill the wrong one than let it go. You did a good job.” The woman immediately saluted, “Thank you for your praise, Miss.” Then she took it. The reins of the horse thrown by Su Qing.

Su Qing leaped onto the warship and said to the tiger guard in pure black armor, “Thank you for your response, how are you, Lord Superintendent?” The tiger guard smiled and said, “My lord is used to riding a boat, there is nothing wrong with it. I’m not feeling well, General Su must have brought a military report, and your lord is waiting.”

I stood on the building boat and looked at the refugees on the shore lightly. Although the spring breeze was cold, it could not penetrate the cloak I was wearing. Although it was only a mere five hundred steps away, it was two different fates. The well-dressed and powerful high-ranking officials of the enemy country are refugees whose lives are as cheap as grass.

Born in troubled times, and from the beautiful south of the Yangtze River to Saibei where the frost is condensed for many years, this kind of situation has long been commonplace. Even with the prosperity of Dayong, it is difficult to avoid this situation, not to mention the northeast that has been fighting for years. What about Han?

Just by looking at the fact that most of these refugees are old, weak, sick and disabled, you can see how the situation in the Northern Han Dynasty was.

Sighing lightly, I turned my eyes to the front. The strategy I made with my own hands cannot be overturned. If these people can’t escape to the Ji clan, they will have no choice but to die. Since I pushed them to the brink of death, why should I use cheap sympathy? To cover up the guilt in my heart, let’s let the pity in my heart be ruthlessly covered up. As long as Dayong dominates the world, I don’t have to watch such human tragedy repeat itself.

Xiao Shunzi who was standing behind me suddenly took a step forward and whispered, “Young Master, let’s go back to the cabin.”

I looked back at Xiao Shunzi, and I could see from his eyes that he didn’t want me to feel sad because of those homeless people. Although there are people I respect and love in this world, only Xiao Shunzi is my confidant. , I smiled lightly and said in a low voice, “Don’t worry, I’m always selfish and afraid of death, but it’s not like you don’t know, how could you be tempted by these irrelevant people.”

Xiao Shunzi didn’t say anything, stood behind me and didn’t step back, my heart became more and more warm, and what I just said was not all comforting words, I was just an ordinary mortal, unable to take care of the world, except myself and the people around me. Relatives, close friends, colleagues and subordinates, I can’t care about more people.

Huyanshou raised his voice at this time: “Sir, General Su Qingsu, the frontline commander, is asking to see you.”

I nodded and said, “General Su, please come aboard.” Su Qing is a general I admire very much. Although she is a woman, she is calmer and smarter than most men, and her mind is even more ruthless and ruthless. This time I agree with King Qi. Let her serve as the front-line scout chief, responsible for investigating the military situation and intercepting the scout spies of the Northern Han Army. This time, it must be passing through Qinshui and seeing my building ship, so come and see me, the military supervisor, this is also a military brigade. It is an unwritten practice in China, and according to my estimation, our army and the Northern Han army have not yet fought head-on, so there should be no emergency military situation.

Not long after, Su Qing got on the boat. As expected, there was nothing important, but from Su Qing’s tone, I could hear her doubts. For the needs of the army to clear the field, she has been still in the air for more than ten days. Qinzhou borders lingering, if you march with all your strength, you can reach the Ji family in just two days, but in order to clear the bunkers and villages along the way, the army is still lingering in this area.

However, her temperament was calm, and she did not express doubts, but only showed her dissatisfaction with the speed of the march.

I had no intention of explaining it to her and asked, “General Su, have our army spy sent to the refugees already entered the Ji family?”

Su Qing shook his head and said, “The Ji’s guard is very cautious, keeping all the refugees out of the city, and letting them arrange their resettlement according to the village, and set up a system of security guards, although our spies have been lurking for many years, so they have not been eliminated. However, it was difficult to act, and the news could not be delivered. I am afraid it would be useless when attacking the Ji clan. Moreover, the Ji clan will receive information at the end, and the Ji clan has been ordered to move those refugees and civilians from the Ji clan into Qinzhou. In the hinterland, only some young and strong men are left to help defend the city.”

I chuckled: “Beihan’s defense puts Duan Wudi as the top priority. It must be his idea. They must have decided to fight against the wall and clear the field step by step. This is not bad. Our first step is to clear the field and let the two There are no civilians in the military battlefield, and they helped us in this way, but they have to do it, if not, without our army attacking, the Ji family will be destroyed by the refugees.”

Su Qing hesitated for a moment, and finally asked: “Sir, there will be something unclear at the end, these civilians are harmless to the overall situation, why does the lord insist on clearing the four fields first, is it because you want to threaten the people as the forerunner? I am a great country, Why use this method, in this way, there may be many obstacles to Dayong’s rule in Qinzhou.”

A light flashed in my eyes, I never imagined that Su Qing had such insight, not only a spy’s talent, he said with admiration: “General Su can see this, it can be said that he has far-reaching vision, and driving the people north is also a last resort, and the key is temporarily. I can’t tell you yet. I ordered His Royal Highness King Qi to strictly enforce the military order and try not to kill innocent people indiscriminately. In this way, most of the civilians can always escape safely, and Qinzhou has always been the front line of the Northern Han Dynasty and Dayong’s enemy. Here The people of our country are also quite hostile to Dayong, so even if they hate our army even more, they can’t take it seriously, just like the people of Zezhou, why don’t they hate the Northern Han!”

At this time, there was a sudden commotion in front of me. I looked subconsciously and saw a warship with the flag of the Northern Han army suddenly appeared at the turn of the river more than ten miles away. I couldn’t help being surprised. The establishment of a navy army costs countless. For the Northern Han Dynasty, horses are easy to obtain, cavalry is easy to train, but the navy is difficult to train. There is no example of using naval combat.

She couldn’t help but glance at Su Qing. She had been in the Northern Han for many years, but why didn’t she discover the existence of the navy?

Su Qing’s face was also ashen. She was in charge of the intelligence network in Beihan, but she didn’t realize the existence of this navy in the Beihan army. This was not only a major dereliction of duty, but also a great shame. Her cold eyes crossed the river. At that time, the warships in front of the Yong Army had already set up to meet the enemy. Although the Yong Army’s navy was not as good at fighting as the Southern Chu navy, it should be better than the Northern Han navy, which had never been heard of before. Quite powerful.

The Northern Han navy was going down the river, but it was clearly visible in a moment. When I saw those warships, I couldn’t help but sighed in my heart. They were clearly the common warships of the Southern Chu navy. A year and a half later, if you look closely, those warships are clearly brand new. They must have been preparing for the navy before the battle of Zezhou last year. Judging from the appearance of the warships, Nanchu should have provided craftsmen. Isolation is no longer a problem. It is no wonder that Beihan can also build a naval army. However, considering the manpower and material resources spent, it is not easy for the Beihan army to have such courage.

Today, although our army has one building ship and more than 100 warships, it is inferior in speed and attack and defense compared to the Beihan Navy’s warships. What’s more, our army is still in the lower reaches. In this situation, the Zezhou navy is not strong enough, and it seems that our army will suffer.

The Qinhe waterway is not wide. I saw that the bow of the ship was equipped with antlers, and the hull of the ship was divided into three columns. It collided with the Yongjun warship. I couldn’t help but sighed, thinking of the naval battles I had seen in Nanchu in the past. The situation, hesitating whether to intervene in the command of the Dayong Shui army general.

At this time, Zhuang Ru, the commander in charge of the Zezhou navy, had already stood by my side, and he didn’t bother to ask me for instructions, waving the flag and handing down the military order. , even in Southern Chu, it is possible to fight, not to mention the new Northern Han navy.

I saw that he ordered the Yong Army’s warships to spread out, avoid the frontal attack of the Northern Han Navy, and attack the two wings with all their strength. Above the Qinshui, the bows and arrows were like rain, and the bows and arrows were the first to fight on the water.艨艟, taking advantage of the small and high speed of the ship, is like the defense line of the Northern Han navy.

For a while, the sound of killing above the Qinshui shook the sky, and the guns covered the sun.

I watched the two armies fight. Although the ships were of different quality and the tactics of the generals were different, there were still some remarkable things. It seemed that they all worked hard on the navy. It can be seen that they all have ambitions to go south. However, in addition to the fact that Prince De built a cavalry army against all opinions, Southern Chu is still dominated by navy and infantry. As far as I know, after the death of Prince De, Xiangyang The cavalry has been reduced a lot by the Nanchu court, and its elite level is not as good as before. Just looking at the military investment of various countries, it is known that Nanchu is the last.

Just when I was feeling melancholy in my heart, Zhuang Ru came over and said, “Sir, we are about to lure the main force of the enemy into the siege, and we need to use the high-rise ship as a bait. Please take refuge in the cabin temporarily, or go to the other warships for a while. How are you resting?” I glanced at him lightly, Zhuang Ru, twenty-seven years old, with a dark face, a flat appearance, a medium stature, a majestic body, and a quiet temperament. His temperament is too upright, and he despises the civil servant who is greedy for life and fear of death. I can even see the hidden contempt for me in his eyes.

He is still young, maybe to him, I’m just a weak scholar, good at intrigue, good luck, and get the eyes of the royal family. After all, a lot of my affairs are hidden in the clouds, not his kind The identity of the generals can be known.

Deliberately ignoring the contempt hidden in his words, I said lightly: “Since I want to lure the enemy ships to fight, prolong life, and make the guards of Hu Ji shout loudly, it is said that it is the Zezhou camp supervising the army, and Jiangzhe, the marquis of Chu Township, is here. .”

Huyanshou hesitated for a while, but was shocked by my calm but firm tone, and when he gave the order, he took the lead and shouted loudly: “Zezhou Great Camp Superintendent, the Marquis of Chu Township Jiangzhe is here, if the enemy general has the guts, he can Coming to fight?”

On the main ship of the Beihan Navy, a tall general’s eyes flashed with fiery light, and he raised his arms and said, “My sons, capture Jiang Zhe alive and break the Zezhou water camp.” Following his orders, the Beihan Navy attacked. It became more and more violent. The two armies were fighting desperately. I saw warships coming and going, and warships capsized and sank from time to time. After a while, the three scorpions of the Northern Han Army had rushed to the side of the building, and there were already enemy troops climbing on the building. Climb up.

I said loudly, “Huyanshou, you all listen to General Zhuang’s orders.”

A flash of gratitude flashed in Zhuang Ru’s eyes, and he passed down the military orders again and again, commanding the navy on the building ship to fight against the tiger guards. Although these tiger guards are not good at water warfare, they are all fighters with high martial skills, and they are already able to fight. It is often the case on the building boat, at least on the Qinhe River, which is relatively calm, so the Northern Han army, except for a few warriors, could not attack the building boat at all.

Zhuang Rude said emptyly: “Sir, it’s too dangerous here, you should rest in the cabin first.” This time his tone was very sincere.

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I smiled slightly and said loudly: “Although Jiang is weak, but I have the protection of my warriors from Dayong, why should I be afraid of the Northern Han attack, Jiang is here today, watching you win the enemy.” Those sailors and tigers The guards were all shocked, and shouted loudly: “Your Excellency trust me, I will fight to the death.” In a short time, he showed his might and forced back and killed the Beihan naval forces who had attacked the ship.

A handsome and upright young general commanded on the top of a stern shouted sharply: “Look at the arrows.” With the sound of the bowstring, three eagle-feather arrows were shot at my face very quickly. With my eyesight, the arrows were also as fast as Meteor, some sailors and tiger guards on the straight line between the two of us all shouted angrily and tried to block the feather arrow, but they all slowed down a line, only one tiger guard slashed with a horizontal knife and cut off a feather arrow , but the front half of the feather arrow was shooting towards me almost at an unabated speed, while the guard was shocked, the horizontal knife almost let go, and the distance between the two sides was only more than twenty feet, so it was no wonder that they couldn’t stop it.

Just as the two half-feather arrows were about to approach, a palm as white as snow suddenly appeared in front of me, the middle finger flicked, and with three crisp sounds, the two half-feather arrows were knocked back.

I had long known that Xiao Shunzi could keep me safe, and his expression did not change at all. His eyes fell on the young general of the Northern Han Army who shot me with an arrow. The reward is fifty taels of gold, and if the person is captured alive, the reward is one hundred taels of gold.”

Everyone was even more invigorated, and the worry of suddenly encountering a powerful navy had long since disappeared. Since the coach wanted them to capture the enemy, it seems that his side has the upper hand.

Several loud-sounding tiger guards had already shouted loudly: “The enemy general will be captured before he can, but the 100 taels of gold will be decided.” Endlessly, the sound of killing shattered the clouds.

[End of this Chapter]