Gong Chengze knew very well that Murong Xue's words were a warning to him: he was not allowed to bypass his general and report directly to the emperor like before, let alone mobilize troops without authorization.
Before the initial expedition, Li Bing had a clear intention, with Murong Xue as the leader and Gong Chengze as the assistant. Therefore, the other party now issued a warning. Even if Gong Chengze was unhappy, he could only agree honestly. He had to accept everything including the adjustment of the strength of the soldiers.
To be honest, Murong Xue's adjustment made Gong Chengze feel very embarrassed. Not only did the number of troops on hand drop to 20,000, but they also broke away from the protection of the solid city and ran to guard the temporary military camp.
For Gong Chengze, it would be better not to have reinforcements!
He thought twice and wrote another letter, sending someone to secretly send him back to the Eastern Capital, asking his cronies to try to rescue him. It would be best if he could transfer Murong Xue directly.
Of course Murong Xue knew what Gong Chengze had in mind, but he couldn't bear to spend time on such people now. Bao Yuchun outside the city was the biggest problem.
Since the reinforcements arrived in Nanyang via a detour, the rebels outside the city have rapidly shrunk. Not only have they lifted the siege of the city, they have also taken the initiative to retreat ten miles and set up camp on both sides of the Baihe River.
The navy also specially mobilized five warships and docked them on the Baihe River. This could not only provide support and cover for the army, but also ensure the safety of materials transported on the river. The water and land teamed up and the camp was stable. They were worthy of being a skilled general and an elite legion.
Murong Xue understood that what Bao Yuchun did was in line with the gist of the art of war of "become invincible first, and wait for the enemy to be victorious". He first ensured the safety of hundreds of thousands of rebels, and further observed and tested the actual and false advantages of the Nanyang Army. Inferior, looking for key fighter opportunities.
Next, if Bao Yuchun didn't move, it would be like thunder.
Taking advantage of this precious time, Murong Xue urged his men to work day and night, constantly reinforcing the fortifications of the city and the military stronghold, determined to deal with Bao Yuchun's unpredictable methods in a defensive manner.
No matter what tricks you play, as long as I can't stand it, there's nothing you can do about me. When the overall situation on other battlefields is settled and more reinforcements come to join, they can then launch a counterattack to completely eliminate the rebels.
Murong Xue's plans could not escape the eyes of veteran Bao Yuchun. Based on the performance of the Nanyang defenders in the past few days, he made an accurate judgment: Murong Xue planned to wait for work, defend the city, and spend time with himself.
Objectively speaking, the "time-consuming" strategy is indeed more beneficial to Murong Xue.
Nanyang is close to Dongdu and has convenient transportation of grain and grass. It has a more obvious supply advantage than Bao Yuchun who came from afar. As long as Murong Xue sends more men and takes precautions, the Xuanjia Army's previous tactics of sneak attacks on the grain road will not be as effective again.
Secondly, to the east of Nanyang is the Lianghuai battlefield. The Liaodong Protectorate has seven to one hundred thousand troops, and to the west is the southern army Ma Hongjie's hundreds of thousands of troops. As long as any of them frees up their hands from their respective battlefields, they can indeed quickly rush to Nanyang's aid and reverse the situation here.
More importantly, pure city defense warfare will cause the defenders the least losses and the lowest possibility of falling into traps. It can be said to be a wise choice.
"You want to be like a turtle hiding in its shell, right? Do you think that's enough?" Bao Yuchun smiled coldly: "It seems that I really need to teach you, a student boy, a good lesson."
On the seventh day after Murong Xue arrived in Nanyang City, the rebels made new moves.
First, a group of large ships came from the south, traveling from Xiangcheng to Nanyang via Baihe River. Immediately afterwards, 20,000 elite rebels boarded those large ships in front of Murong Xue and the others, and then continued northward, disappearing from the sight of the defenders.
The Baihe River is a tributary of a large river. It runs north-south in general and leads directly to Duck Lake, a hundred miles north of Nanyang City. After passing the extremely large Duck Lake, the Baihe River changed its course to the west, crossing Nanzhao County and reaching as far as Baiyun Mountain and Laojun Mountain.
This is equivalent to saying that the 20,000 rebels can ignore Nanyang and use the convenience of the warship waterway to penetrate directly into Duck Lake behind the defense line. Then, they can continue to take boats upstream and attack Nanzhao, Lushi and other county towns, or they can just find a lake to land on and go in other directions.
Even, to harass Luoyi!
Although 20,000 people is not a large number, it is extremely destructive. Especially at this time, the three battlefields in the Central Plains had already drained most of the imperial court's troops, and the area from Luoyang to Nanzhao did not have enough power to contain or encircle this lone army.
After listening to the scout's report, Dong Tianxing said in a deep voice: "It seems that they are indeed heading for Duck Lake. Fortunately, the general guessed that the opponent would make this move in advance and deployed watchtowers along the river early to prevent the enemy from being completely lost. whereabouts."
Murong Xue shook her head and sighed softly: "That's of no use. You know where the enemy is, but you can't do anything about it, alas."
Dong Tianxing knew that he was upset and quickly persuaded him: "If you know the enemy's movements, you will always have a way to deal with them. Bao Yuchun's intention is very obvious, which is to send troops to harass our army's rear. The rebels of 10,000 to 20,000 people are It is impossible to capture the big city, and the most it will cause is some chaos."
"You can't say that!" Gong Chengze snorted coldly from the side: "What if that enemy goes directly to the Eastern Capital and disturbs the Holy Master? None of the three of us can get away with it!"
Dong Tianxing frowned: "Then according to General Gong, how should we deal with it?"
Gong Chengze was waiting for his words and quickly said to Murong Xue: "General, I am willing to lead a cavalry to pursue and intercept the enemy's fleet. No matter where they disembark, I can give them a head-on attack!"
Murong Xue glanced at Gong Chengze silently and said nothing, while Dong Tianxing couldn't help but sneered: "General Gong is so brave."
Of course Gong Chengze heard Dong Tianxing's sarcasm, but he had his own interests and calculations, so he pretended not to know and continued: "Be brave or not. I didn't think so much about it in my humble position. I was just worried that the rebels would threaten the safety of Dongdu. Your Majesty was furious." , instead blamed General Murong."
Murong Xue knew in her heart that this guy was not trying to intercept the rebels. He was clearly worried about the dangerous situation in Nanyang and wanted to leave this place of right and wrong as soon as possible. If the battle goes well, Gong Chengze will come back to grab the credit; if the battle doesn't go well, he will use the excuse to chase the rebels and keep going in circles behind them.
To be honest, he hated the other party's shameless behavior of fearing death and shrewd calculations. However, Gong Chengze was right about one thing. The rebels could not be allowed to go north and harass Luoyi, the eastern capital.
This is not only a consideration for the emperor's safety, but also related to the court's face and morale.
Dong Tianxing saw Murong Xue's thoughts, cleared his throat and said, "General, even if we want to pursue that lone army, General Gong should not be responsible."
"Why?!" When Gong Chengze heard this, he immediately became angry: "Dong Tianxing, what do you mean? Do you look down on me?"
Old Dong smiled and said: "General Gong is serious. Not only do I not look down on you, but I think very highly of you. That's why I said I can't let you take responsibility. You know, when His Majesty approved the defensive strategy, he specified that Nanyang was to be guarded by you. , now General Murong and I have come to reinforce, but you, the protagonist, have left Nanyang, what's going on?"
Gong Chengze was stunned when he heard this, and then retorted: "How can there be such a reason? The battlefield situation is changing rapidly, and the commander cannot decide the death of one person. Besides, the Nanyang Army is now led by General Murong, and I have already handed over the power. ”
Murong Xue raised her hand to stop him from continuing, and said in a deep voice: "I can agree to your request to go to war, but there are two conditions. First, I can only give you eight thousand cavalry, no more; second, you must make a decision The military order states that the rebels must not be allowed to cross the Ruzhou line, let alone approach Luoyi, otherwise... military law will be dealt with!"
Hearing what Murong Xue said, Gong Chengze couldn't help but hesitate. After some calculation, he suddenly thought loudly and said loudly: "I am willing to issue a military order for my humble position!"
Gong Chengze wrote the pleading in his own hand, signed and stamped it, then took the command arrow from Murong Xue and strode away.
After he left, Dong Tianxing asked in confusion: "General Murong, why did you agree to Gong Chengze so easily? Can't you see that he has selfish motives?"
"Why can't I see it?" Murong Xue said with a bitter smile: "As soon as this guy proposed the idea of pursuing me, I knew what he was thinking. However, I have no reason to refuse. Think about it, old Dong. It's really disappointing. Bao Yuchun's rebels are at the gates of Luoyi City, will we be able to eat something good?"
Dong Tianxing nodded in understanding: "You will indeed be held accountable by the court. However, you can completely change this to another general to handle this matter."
Murong Xue waved her hand: "There is no one more suitable than Gong Chengze. To be honest, I am even more worried about leaving him here in Nanyang. I can't tell when he will cause trouble for us, which will affect the overall situation. Hasn't he issued a military order? Okay? Well, as long as the rebels can’t be stopped, then all the responsibilities will be his, let him take the lead!”
Dong Tianxing heard Murong Xue speak so decisively and knew that the young general was completely disappointed in Gong Chengze and had murderous intentions. Once the pursuit and interception of the rebels failed, the emperor and the court blamed him and pushed Gong Chengze directly to the guillotine.
Lao Dong secretly sighed in his heart. The real war has not yet begun, but the general and deputy generals have made such a fuss. It is really not a good sign. However, given his status, it was hard to say much.
However, neither Dong Tianxing nor Murong Xue expected that on the second day after Gong Chengze led his army to set off, a new batch of large ships appeared on the Baihe River. This time, another 20,000 to 30,000 Xuanjia troops lined up to board the ship, and then headed straight to the north.
Seeing this scene, Murong Xue immediately lost her composure.
Counting the previous troops, the rebels had about 40,000 to 50,000 troops heading north through the White River Channel and running behind them.
What exactly does Bao Yuchun want to do?
