The series of changes that happened in the imperial capital actually didn't need to be sent by the old housekeeper of the Prince Consort's house. The generals on the front line had already heard about it.
Less than a month after Li Bing was poisoned, the Suzaku Legion first showed changes. Gong Chengze came to the front line according to the order. With the tiger talisman given by the emperor, he directly transferred half of the troops and turned to the west to attack Bashu.
This time, Ma Hongjie, who had just led his army across the river, was caught off guard and could only rely on the remaining half of his troops to fight against the Xie Bao Corps defending Li County.
Not long after, Li Jiangyao also received an order, asking him to express his attitude towards the reward of Jiuxi in a formal way, showing that he would not give up until he made his true thoughts clear.
Murong Xue and Xu Youchang, who were commanding the attack on Yueyang City, had to try to appease the morale of the army and temporarily slowed down the pace of the attack due to the sharp reduction in military resources and pay.
Suddenly, the soldiers on the front line were talking a lot, and the news spread about a coup in the imperial capital and the arrest of a large number of courtiers without reason.
The rebels also received this good news, and their morale was boosted. Li Zhang immediately led the 100,000 Guards troops from Hangzhou to the north, joined forces with Ye Rongcheng's troops in Huzhou, and then launched a counterattack against the First Army and the Sixth Army of Zhenjiang.
The mission of the First Army of Gale Wind and the Sixth Army of Nulang was to create a feint attack and containment, creating favorable conditions for the main forces in the north to attack the city. Therefore, they did not expect that the rebels would suddenly gather heavy troops and attack them. Fight back.
After several medium-sized offensive and defensive battles, the leaders of the two armies decided to take the initiative to retreat to the line of Guangde County between Huzhou and Xuancheng to temporarily stabilize their positions and look for opportunities to return. war.
Hearing that the First Army was forced to retreat, Xu Youchang was worried about the loss of his men, so he said goodbye to Murong Xue, left the Yueyang battlefield, and rushed eastward to join the troops in Guangde, and personally commanded the battle against Li Zhang and Ye Rongcheng.
At the same time, Li Jiangyao's troops were divided into two groups. One group was Du Jian's Fiery Second Army, which continued to attack Wuxi County, an important town on Taihu Lake, threatening Suzhou; the other group was under his personal command, leading the Fifth Army and the Ninth Army southward around the west side of Taihu Lake. Approaching Yixing, they cooperated with the First and Sixth Army to attack the main force of the rebels stationed in Huzhou from both sides.
The Eighth Army, which had been in the rear, advanced to Changzhou to take over the defense and coordinate the two-pronged operations at any time as needed.
Just as the Zhenjiang Army was adjusting its deployment, Bao Yuchun also led his troops back from Mingzhou, leaving only his nephew Bao Xinyan to guard the place and prevent the Kunpeng fleet from landing. Bao Yuchun passed through Hangzhou without entering, and directly took over the tens of thousands of new soldiers training in Yuhang, and then quickly marched westward, serving as the second line of reinforcements, and assembled in Huzhou.
At this point, Li Jiangyao's four armies, with about 150,000 soldiers and horses, and the main force of nearly 300,000 rebels gathered by Li Zhang faced off in the triangle area formed by Huzhou, Yixing, and Guangde, preparing for a large-scale battle.
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"The enemy took the initiative to abandon Yixing. Obviously he didn't want to waste his troops in this place and gave us an advantage in vain. But this is good, as it saves the effort to attack the city."
Xiong Yunjie looked at the map and said loudly: "Now Li Zhang is personally taking action and spending almost all his capital. It is a desperate move. Protector General, it seems that we can decide the outcome in one battle!"
Li Jiangyao nodded silently and did not answer. Duan Jun, who was standing on the other side, looked a little worried: "I'm afraid we can't be so optimistic at the moment. The total strength of the Huzhou rebels is around 300,000. Even including the First Army and the Sixth Army, we are only half of the opponent. It must not be taken lightly.”
"Where is Xu Youchang now?" Li Jiangyao asked, "Is it still far from Guangde?"
Xiong Yunjie replied: "According to the soldier's report, Xu Shuai set off the day before yesterday. If there are no delays on the way, he will probably arrive at Poyang Lake soon."
Li Jiangyao murmured: "There are many places along the way that are still occupied by the rebels. Xu Youchang and the others will inevitably have to take a detour. No matter how fast they go, they will have to walk for at least six or seven days to get there. No, this is a bit It’s too late.”
Duan Jun asked curiously: "What do you mean by Protector General, the enemy will be the first to attack?"
Li Jiangyao pointed to the map: "Yixing is in the north of Huzhou, and Guangde is in the west of Huzhou. The two places are one hundred and twenty miles apart, and the rebels' strength is more than double ours. If you were Li Yan, what would you do? "
Duan Jun nodded: "Well, if it were me, I would take advantage of the distance between the two places to concentrate superior forces to defeat one opponent, and then turn around to deal with the other."
"That's why I think Xu Youchang may not be able to make it in time." Li Jiangyao thought for a while and ordered: "Immediately pass my order to the First Army and the Sixth Army, asking them to pay close attention to the enemy's movements. Once they find that the rebels are moving towards them, they will Quickly retreat towards Xuancheng."
"What should we do if the enemy continues to pursue us?" Xiong Yunjie asked.
Duan Jun said with a smile: "If Li Zhang dares to pursue the First Army and the Sixth Army, then I will be happy to death. I just take advantage of the good opportunity to lure the enemy deeper and let my Ninth Army pick him up from behind. "
Li Jiangyao nodded: "That's right. However, Li Zhang is not the first young man to go to the battlefield. In terms of qualifications, he was the Sima Captain of the Xuanjia Army back then, so it is unlikely that he would make such a mistake. Besides, Bao Yuchun and Ye Rongcheng are also there, so we should be very cautious in using troops."
Xiong Yunjie agreed: "I came from the Xuanjia Army and know a little about Li Zhang. This guy is really good at fighting. He is good at taking tricky paths and is highly regarded by Xie Guang."
Li Jiangyao thought for a moment and warned in a solemn tone: "The enemy has gathered a large number of troops to fight with us this time. Both the morale and the preparations are definitely different from the past. You two must remember this and be sure to tell the officers and men under your command to eliminate the pride of underestimating the enemy." We are determined to fight the rebels as the main force of the Turks."
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Xu Youchang traveled through the starry night, galloping all the way, almost falling apart on the horse. When he arrived at Jingxian County, southwest of Xuancheng, he suddenly received news from the scouts in front: the First Army and the Sixth Army had evacuated Guangde and were currently moving towards Xuancheng.
Hearing this, Xu Youchang suddenly felt nervous: Could it be that he had lost the battle?
Tan Ma didn't know much about the specific battle conditions on the front line, so he couldn't answer Xu Youchang's doubts.
He had no choice but to order his men to adjust their direction, not to go to Guangde, but to Xuancheng, trying to join the First Army on the road.
After running for another day and night, Xu Youchang finally intercepted the retreating troops near Zhaishan, sixty miles away from Xuancheng.
Looking at the status of the army, Xu Youchang finally felt relieved. The soldiers were well-organized and calm. It was obvious that they were retreating on their own initiative rather than being defeated by the enemy.
He asked the generals and captains of the two armies to inquire about the situation, and those people told him that these were orders from the Great Protector, allowing the Gale Wind Army and the Raging Wave Army to avoid the enemy's edge.
"After that, did the Protector tell you what to do next?" Xu Youchang asked with concern.
A lieutenant general responded: "The Imperial Guard has an order. As long as you come back, Marshal Xu, we can immediately launch a counterattack, repel the rebels, recapture Guangde, and drive the enemy back to Huzhou again!"
When Xu Youchang heard this, he laughed loudly and said: "Daduhu really trusts me. He is just waiting for me."
"That's right." Another general smiled and said, "With you here, it won't be Li Zheng's turn to be arrogant."
"Brothers, don't underestimate the enemy." Xu Youchang suddenly became serious and warned everyone seriously: "A arrogant soldier will be defeated. I have worked with Li Zhang before, and I know the depth of this guy. Although his character is not very good, The ability to fight in the army is also considered outstanding among the Xuanjia Army. Ye Rongcheng cannot compare with him in some aspects. The Chief Protector allowed us to launch a counterattack because of his trust in the First Army and the Sixth Army. We cannot embarrass him. Let’s not let the majesty of the Xinjiang Army fall, right?”
"Yes!" The generals responded one after another: "Please rest assured, Commander Xu, we will never take this lightly."
Xu Youchang nodded and galloped up a hill. Facing the thousands of Xinjiang troops surrounding him, he raised his voice and shouted: "Soldiers, you retreat from Huzhou to Guangde, and then retreat all the way from Guangde." Are you feeling aggrieved by being here?"
"Aggrieved!" A thundering roar suddenly rang out from the dense forest on the hills.
"Now I will lead you to fight back and let the rebels know how powerful the storm is. Are you willing?"
"willing!"
"The enemies are more numerous than us and their combat power is also very strong. Answer me, can you defeat them?!"
"Yes! Crush the rebels! Crush the rebels!"
The roar of tens of thousands of soldiers and horses shook the valley, frightened the plains far away, and even the wind and clouds changed color.
Xu Youchang encouraged the morale of the army and immediately ordered the entire army to turn back the same way. The First Army was responsible for the assault to clear the way, and the Sixth Army followed up and headed straight for Guangde County!
At this time, the rebels had more than 20,000 troops stationed in Guangde.
Their previous attack was indeed as Li Jiangyao expected. After occupying Guangde, they did not rush to pursue the First and Sixth Army. Instead, they left more than 20,000 people behind to prepare to stand firm here. The other troops followed Guangde built positions along the line to Huzhou, and then attacked the Zhenjiang Army in Yixing northward.
Unexpectedly, the two groups of soldiers and horses who had "fleeed in the face of the wind" actually turned around and came back to fight. Moreover, they moved quickly and without hesitation, launching a fierce attack as soon as they arrived.
In an instant, the sound of killings in Guangde County was loud and arrows rained down. Countless heavily armored cavalry swept through the barracks outside the city like a whirlwind. The heavy infantry with swords and axes violently attacked the city gates, which was unstoppable.
After a day and night of fierce fighting, the rebels defending the city suffered heavy casualties and were unable to survive, so they had to abandon the city and retreat hastily.
The defeated troops retreated eastward, which immediately caused a chain reaction. Upon seeing this, the rebels along the way also retreated and returned to Huzhou along the way they came from to gather.
It is not difficult to see from this that both Li Zhang and Bao Yuchun Ye Rongcheng were very cautious about their military strategy for this battle and would never give the Zhenjiang Army any opportunity to take advantage of it.
With the return of Xu Youchang, the Zhenjiang Army reoccupied Guangde County, and the enemy and we once again returned to a triangular confrontation.
Hundreds of thousands of troops on both sides were heavily prepared and waiting for the decisive battle.
