Sure enough, it didn't take long for Jingyi to get the news from Sun Wu first. Sun Wu has successfully captured Dongyu, and all this was expected by everyone. After all, Dongyu was just a small town in the final analysis, and it was not originally the focus of Danqi's defense.
And Sun Wu has always been good at attacking cities and strongholds. At the same time, Sun Wu said in the success report sent by his people that he had established a firm foothold in Dongyu.
In this way, Chengzhou had another stronghold around Luoyi. This also provides a way out for Kuan Cong's actions, and also paves the way for subsequent entry into the Zhou Dynasty.
However, Wang Zichao was not happy about this for a few days. Soon bad news came from the front. The 15,000 men led by Wu Ge were ambushed on the way and suffered a major defeat.
To cover the withdrawal of troops, Po Ge was unfortunately captured and taken directly to Chengzhou by Danqi, where he was burned alive in the market.
Shan Qi's intention is also very obvious, that is, to kill one person as a warning to others. He also knows that most of the hundreds of people in the Zhou Dynasty support the prince's dynasty, and now there are various signs that these people seem to have been instigated again and are preparing to kill him. Conspiracy and treason.
The great defeat of the Prince's Dynasty and the burning of the soldiers alive in public were nothing more than a shock to the workers, and their morale and determination were bound to be dampened.
In comparison, the Dongyu captured by Sun Wu seemed insignificant in the eyes of the people of Chengzhou.
The current situation seems to be extremely bad. Let alone taking Chengzhou directly, it is hard to say whether the capital can be defended.
Guan Cong's work of instigating rebellion also reached a deadlock for a while.
Wang Zichao naturally regretted this very much. He regretted that he should not have listened to Li Ran's good advice and put himself in such a dangerous and passive situation again. Therefore, his mood is also extremely depressed.
Li Ran entered the hall again and was very knowledgeable. He did not comment too much on this. He just knelt down and encouraged:
"Your Highness, although this is a new defeat, victory or defeat is a common thing for military strategists. Your Highness does not need to worry too much about this. Now we should regroup, and everything can still turn around!"
Wang Zichao's expression softened slightly when he heard this:
"I know I made a mistake, but I wonder if you, sir, have any good ideas?"
Li Ran thought about it in his mind for a while:
"Your Highness, the Jin army has joined Danqi. If we want to take the initiative to attack again at this time, I'm afraid we will be unable to do anything. But we obviously can't sit here and wait for death. Now that Dongyu has been acquired, maybe we can attack from above Make some more articles!”
"Oh? Sir, please elaborate."
"On the south side of the east city is Qianyi, which is the only way to capture the capital. After the Zhou and Jin coalition forces rest for a while, they will definitely raise troops to capture it. Now Sun Changqing can be ordered to set up an ambush around Qianyi, and Fan Li will be sent to lead the troops. Ten thousand, rush to the aid of General Sun!"
When Wang Zichao heard this, his eyelids jumped. When Li Ran attacked Jingyi, he did not hesitate to use Wang Zichao as a bait to take the risk. To defeat Gan Loach, one must first become invincible and then take the initiative to attack.
But when the prince suddenly left Chengzhou, he became cautious and suggested not to send troops hastily. But now, almost the entire army was mobilized. You must know that they originally had 30,000 or 40,000 troops, but 15,000 had been lost. Sun Wu was stationed in Dongyu with 5,000. Even if the troops surrendered by Dongyu and the retreated troops secured by Wu Ge are included, the total attack can only be counted as more than ten thousand.
The current strength of Jingyi is less than 20,000. If another 10,000 troops are sent, Jingyi will appear very empty. If someone takes advantage of the opportunity and breaks in, Wang Zichao may be in direct danger of being captured.
Li Ran's strategies were so unpredictable, sometimes aggressive, sometimes conservative, and combining the real and the false. Not only the enemy couldn't figure out the rules, but even the princes and dynasties didn't know the details.
In fact, it’s no wonder.
After all, the battle situation was changing rapidly, and Li Ran could only adjust in time according to the situation. This was really normal.
But Po Luo, the son of Po Ge, came forward and knelt down on one knee, cupped his fists and said:
"Your Highness, Luo is willing to lead these 10,000 troops and horses to cooperate with General Sun in fending off the enemy!"
Li Ran disagreed with this:
"General Wu, I know you are eager for revenge, but this battle will definitely be a fierce battle. Don't act out of anger. It's better to let Fan Li go!"
Luo Nai is the son of Po Ge. His father died so tragically, so of course he wants revenge. But everyone knows that the more this time comes, the less likely he will be able to accept the order. He is eager for revenge, and if he refuses to obey the plan, he is afraid that he will miss something important.
What's more, the father and son are Qiang people with similar temperaments. They are both brave and good at fighting, but not good at thinking. On normal days, he would be a good enemy-killer, but things are different now, and Luo Luo can only use him when his mood is stable.
Luo Luo's eyes widened.
"Sir, don't you look down on Luo Luo?"
Li Ran waved his hands repeatedly.
"General Wei, I don't have this intention. It's just that Fan Li and Sun Wu have been together for a long time, and the two of them will take care of each other more smoothly. That's why I made such an arrangement. I hope General Wei can be considerate of my intentions."
Luo Luo said loudly:
"You are born as a son, but you cannot avenge your father. As a minister, you cannot share your master's worries. What's the point of living in this world? Your Highness, please send Luo to kill the enemy!"
The prince's court failed miserably last time because he didn't follow Li Ran's advice. But now that the opponent is the Zhou and Jin coalition forces, their power has increased greatly, and the situation is not good. At this time, he dare not disobey Li Ran.
"Luo, I'd better listen to Mr. Ziming this time and leave it to General Fan!"
When Luo Luo saw the prince speaking to the court, he didn't say much, but his anger was beyond words.
The prince acted according to Li Ran's plan and immediately ordered Fan Li to lead 10,000 troops out of the city to assist Sun Wu.
At this time, the favored ministers around the prince were Yin Buyi. Because of their previous mistakes in decision-making, they naturally did not dare to say anything more.
Only Nangong Lao, after waiting for Li Ran to retreat, spoke:
"Is Your Highness obeying his advice now?"
The prince took a deep breath.
"All I can do now is to rely on Mr. Ziming. I have said before that when it comes to marching and fighting, you are not experts, so why are you so suspicious?!"
"Your Highness, we are indeed not talented. However, if His Highness only listens to Li Ran because of this, won't he be afraid that he will become the second single flag in the future? This is really inappropriate if the tail is too big to fall!"
"Huh! Before I took over the capital, I didn't have a city or a pond. I know the benefits and disadvantages of it! You have the right to step back and wait for me to be quiet!"
Wang Zichao did not answer any questions and turned a deaf ear to Nangong Yan's words.
At least that's how it looks on the surface.
Fan Li led the 10,000 soldiers and horses to Qianyi, and used scouts to convey information to Sun Wu of Dongyu. Sun Wu learned of Li Ran's intentions and once again prepared for war, ready to respond to the enemy at any time.
As expected by Li Ran, after Shan Qi defeated Wu Ge and killed him, he immediately took advantage of the victory to raise his troops. At this moment, he was leading his troops towards Jingyi to kill him.
After Sun Wu heard the news and settled down in Dongyu, he left only 3,000 men to garrison, while he took 8,000 men and horses to cooperate with Fan Li, intending to block Shan Banner's army in Qianyi.
(End of chapter)
