Blocking out the sky and blocking out the sun, completely blocking out the sky and blocking out the sun.
Ever since the Chu army crossed the river, in one day, it seemed as if the shadow of the Chu army had appeared throughout Qingzhou.
They are like air and water, pervasive and constantly seeping into every place in Liang Kingdom.
With the infiltration of the Chu army, beacon fires were ignited all over the Liang Kingdom.
Beam.
Since April, the capital city of the world's largest empire has been experiencing three surprises a day.
First, in early April, an urgent report came from the south. The Chu army crossed the Yangtze River and launched the Northern Expedition against the Liang Kingdom.
When the news came back, although the monarchs and ministers in Daliang City were also surprised and solemn, they had expected it and were prepared, so they were not panicked.
He just ordered the army on the southern front to be on strict alert, stick to the city, and wait for reinforcements.
At the same time, among the 200,000 forbidden troops stationed in Daliang, another 100,000 people were mobilized, led by the generals of the country, to rush south to support the front line.
At the same time, the northern border was stationed in Jiyin County, and the troops and horses used to defend Zhao were also transferred back to 100,000, and an innate master was appointed as the commander to rush to the south as the second wave of reinforcements.
In this way, there were 200,000 reinforcements, plus 700,000 troops on the southern front, and a total of 11 innates.
With such strength, even if the Chu army came to attack with a million troops, as long as Liang Jun insisted on holding on, relying on the strong city and the favorable geographical location, it would be enough to keep them firmly in the south.
Therefore, after making these arrangements, Liang Guochao felt relieved.
Although the war in the south was occasionally mentioned, it was no longer the focus. More energy was still put on the discussion of the Eastern Front battlefield.
As long as the Eastern Front battlefield can be won, then the 1.5 million troops can be freed and used elsewhere.
By then, no matter how powerful the Chu army is, it will not pose much of a threat.
As for Daliang, after defeating the Chu State, with the power of victory, it was enough to frighten the countries in the world that were ready to move, and it was able to sit safely in the entire Qingzhou and win the final victory in this nine-state competition.
But within a few days of such a sweet dream, things took a turn for the worse.
Only half a month later, in late April, the first wave of reinforcements sent by Da Liang had not yet left Liang County, Gyeonggi Province!
Worse news came from the south.
A report came from Donghai County that a large number of Chu troops had appeared in their own territory, numbering hundreds of thousands. They attacked cities and captured areas, and beacon fire continued everywhere.
In just a few days, a large area of prefectures and counties had fallen, and Chu troops even appeared near the prefectures.
The situation is extremely critical.
The whole county of Donghai was at risk of falling. The county government alone could no longer resist the Chu army and urgently asked the court for support.
When the news came back, Daliang was shocked again.
Although Donghai County is located in the hinterland of Liang State, it does not border with other countries and is not considered a border area.
But the county faces the sea to the west and has thousands of miles of sea territory.
In recent years, due to the raging pirates in the East China Sea, the Liang Kingdom deployed a large number of garrison troops in coastal counties and built fortresses to prevent the pirates from landing.
Therefore, in order to guard against pirates, in addition to the original garrison, the two countries also sent a large number of soldiers and horses, bringing the number of defenders to 100,000.
However, times have changed.
With the conflict between Chu and Liang last year, the relationship between the two countries deteriorated rapidly, especially the unfolding of the Jiaodong battlefield, which put Liang in a dilemma of shortage of troops and horses.
So after Yan Yunqing reported serious losses of troops and horses and requested reinforcements, Liang Guo began to mobilize troops and horses from various parts of the country to support the front line.
Donghai County was among those selected.
There are 100,000 troops in the territory, except for 20,000 prefecture and county soldiers who are less capable and are only responsible for local security.
The remaining 10,000 county soldiers and 70,000 combat soldiers had been mobilized not long ago and sent to the front line of Jiaodong County to support Yan Yuntian.
So when the Chu army came over, there were only about 20,000 regular troops left in the entire Donghai County, which were still relatively weak second-line local troops.
With this little strength, how could he be the opponent of the Chu army entering the country?
Lu Yuan sent nine groups of vanguards, each with 100,000 people, to quickly advance into the hinterland of the Liang Kingdom and quickly capture the territory.
As the second echelon behind the Jiangbei defense line of Jiangxia and Guangling counties on the front line, together with Xingyang County, it is a great honor that Donghai County has received special care from the Chu army.
Five armies, half a million soldiers and horses, and five Lu Yuan clones entered this place with their soldiers and horses.
With the cooperation of the five clones, they echoed each other, made attacks in the east and attacked in the west, diverted the tiger away from the mountain, and other strategies, all of which were played out through instant messaging.
In Donghai County, the hastily organized defense and the local government's spontaneous blocking and rescue operations were torn to pieces in an instant.
In less than ten days, all the prefectures in the southern part of Donghai County fell.
At the beginning of May, the county town was captured in just one day by three armies and three clones.
In the following days, Chu army flags were hung on various city walls in Donghai County.
At this time, one group of the five armies was left to guard various places.
The remaining four groups divided into two groups to go to Liangjun. On one side, they sniped at the reinforcements sent by Liangjun, and on the other side, they harassed the other country's capital in order to shake the hearts of Liangjun and undermine the prestige of the two countries.
The remaining two groups continued eastward and attacked Chengyang County.
Prepare to go all the way eastward and penetrate the three counties of Chengyang, Rencheng and Yingling according to the original plan. Then he and Yangxia's camp army attacked Yan Yunqing's army in Jiaodong, completing the purpose of joining forces between the two armies.
Not only Donghai, but Xingyang County nearby was also attacked by the four Chu armies. The county was lost and most of it fell.
The reason was that only most of it fell, not the whole territory.
The main reason is that Xingyang County is located on the border and borders Weiguo to the west. In addition to the location, Liangguo also stationed 100,000 border troops here, and three innate masters testified here.
Overall, the county's military strength is pretty good.
In the face of an invasion, it is not impossible to urgently recruit some civilians to gather together and come up with 200,000 troops and horses.
Therefore, although the Chu army here fought smoothly in the early stage, by the time it conquered the county, its 100,000 border troops in the east had also completed their mobilization and assembly.
Together with the recruitment of civilians, they finally gathered 150,000 troops and horses, and joined the Liang army in Jiangxia County to resist the Chu State in the east.
Facing these Liang troops who resisted resolutely, the Chu army in Xingyang County only numbered 400,000 people in four groups.
In the face of Liang Ren's resolute defense, it was difficult to defeat the opponent in a hurry.
So after a few tentative strikes, I found that the opponent was too tough to do anything.
The four Chu armies in the county did not force it, but left two groups to stay and stick to the existing territory.
The remaining two groups continued northward and entered Jiyin County.
However, at this time, Liang Jun in Jiyin had just completed mobilization, and the second wave of troops preparing to go south had already been assembled.
So one went north and the other went south, and the two sides collided.
No surprises.
Facing the Chu army, which had twice the number and came suddenly, Liang Jun, who was unprepared, was caught off guard in an instant.
From the time the two sides came into contact to the battle, in just one day, Liang's army of 100,000 men was defeated and returned.
The remaining soldiers fled back to the county, and the Chu army took advantage of the situation to attack.
In a few days, it swept through the southern prefectures of Jiyin County, and there were strong signs of replicating the events in Xingyang County.
And this time.
Daliang City finally realized how serious the matter was.
The East China Sea is in emergency, Xingyang is in emergency, Jiyin is in emergency, Chengyang is in emergency...
Even Liang County, where the capital is located, was threatened by memorials from the southern counties.
In an instant, the entire western, southern, and central parts of Liang Kingdom seemed to be shrouded in flames of war.
There is no peace in the east either.
The only place that seemed peaceful was the northern land.
After receiving all this news, the entire court felt like the sky was falling.
"How come there are so many Chu troops? Where did they come from?"
"Fake, all fake."
"What are the troops on the southern front doing? What are they doing? How can they let the Chu army enter the hinterland of the country without any hindrance and approach the capital of the country?"
This is the reaction and fear of the monarchs and ministers in the DPRK after receiving the news.
If we say that the Chu army's Northern Expedition has just crossed the river, it is still on the southern front.
Many monarchs and ministers in Daliang City can still stand high and give advice to the country.
After the Chu army approached Xingyang, Donghai, and then Jiyin, Liangjun, and Chengyang counties, the beacon fire reached Daliang.
The court ministers, like chickens whose necks were strangled, began to tremble and become frightened.
King Qin!
Immediately, immediately, summon all the county guards and generals to lead King Qin!
This was the first time Chu soldiers and cavalry arrived in Daliang City. After causing panic in the entire city, the entire court responded unanimously and made a decision.
The 200,000 border troops in Dongping County in the north were immediately transferred back.
Troops and horses from Shanyang, Jiaoxi, Donglai, Rencheng and Yingling counties in the hinterland should also immediately gather towards Daliang.
The millions of troops in Jiaodong County can stay put for the time being.
After all, the threat from the millions of Chu troops in Yangxia County is still there.
If they were transferred away and the Chu army came in to cover them up, the consequences would be even more serious.
Liang Guo might really be doomed.
But the 500,000 reinforcements just sent out must be brought back immediately.
There are also 100,000 border troops in Qingping County in the northeast, half of which must be transferred back.
The monarchs and ministers in Daliang City began to search everywhere for the local troops and horses that could be mobilized in the country.
The Chu State is coming with great force.
This can be seen from their ability to quickly conquer Donghai and Xingyang counties, and at the same time attack Jiyin, Liang, and Chengyang counties.
The number of people in the other party's Northern Expedition was by no means the so-called million expected.
Two million or even three million people are possible.
Only a strength gap of several times can quickly overwhelm the 500,000 defenders on the Jiangxia front line in Guangling.
Before they could react, they quickly broke through the defense line and rushed into the hinterland of Liang Kingdom, while leaving enough power to contain them.
Yes.
After careful discussion and evidence, although the monarchs and ministers in Daliang City were panicked, they all agreed that the troops on the southern front should not have been defeated, but were only forced into the city by the Chu army and temporarily restrained.
The important cities in Jiangxia and Guangling should still be in the hands of Liang Guo.
The Chu army that broke into the hinterland of Liang State at this time should only be the vanguard of the Chu army in the Northern Expedition, not the entire main force of the Chu army.
However, despite confirming this, the monarchs and ministers of the Liang Kingdom still felt a sense of despair.
Judging from the news coming from various counties within the territory, the Chu army advancing into the hinterland should have as many as one million soldiers and horses.
There are millions of people in the vanguard and partial army alone.
So what is the total strength of the Chu army in the Northern Expedition?
Two million is just conservative, three million is normal, and four million is not impossible.
But where did the Chu army get so many people?
You must know that they have millions of troops in Yangxia and Helong each!
From the news coming from these two battlefields, it can be seen that the strength of these two Chu armies is not weak. They are not sheep soldiers used to confuse people, but the real main force.
In order to eliminate the necessary left-behind forces in Chu State.
So now the main force of the Chu army already has six million troops?
Six million people…
Well, this number is indeed not unattainable.
More than ten years ago, when the Liang Kingdom was at its peak, an army of six million was formed under extreme mobilization.
Considering that Chu State occupies the entire Yangzhou, as well as a small part of Xueyuan and Yongzhou, if we really want to be serious, it is not impossible to produce such a large army.
But now, haven't the immigrants in Chu State begun, and the scale has reached tens of millions?
Under such circumstances, how did he get out an army of six million?
Even if there are not six million, looking at it now, at least four million soldiers and horses are extremely scary.
The kings and ministers of the Liang Kingdom couldn't figure it out. They really couldn't figure it out.
But regardless of whether they can figure it out or not, the Chu State is now invading on a large scale, and half of the country in the west is about to fall, and even the capital is at risk of falling.
In this critical moment, something must be done to save the situation.
Mobilizing troops from all over the country to serve the king is just the beginning.
Because no matter how much Daliang mobilizes, they can only assemble a million soldiers and horses at most, which is already the limit.
But there are only a million people. Facing the Northern Expedition of the Chu State, we should conservatively estimate the strength of two million, and if it is more, it may be three or four million troops. Even if there are some remnants of the southern defense line to help contain it, the emperors and ministers of Daliang still have no confidence.
Therefore, millions of soldiers and horses were mobilized just to defend Daliang City first.
As long as the beams are not lost and the imperial capital remains, the eight or nine counties that are still safe in the rear will be able to continuously recruit troops and horses and send them to the front line to support them.
As long as these territories are still there, Liang Guo can still support it.
But if the beam is lost, the country will fall.
Even if the emperor can hunt eastward and the court's airs are still there, can the monarchs and ministers who have lost the beams really still be able to command the governors and princes everywhere?
Moreover, there are no large beams as a barrier to intercept the Chu army.
The Chu army could then continue to penetrate deep into the rear without any hindrance, using the entire eastern counties as a place of attack. They would attack and wreak havoc without restraint, leaving Liang with no hinterland.
Therefore, whether it is for one's own legitimate status or to preserve the last hinterland for the Liang Kingdom, Daliang City cannot be lost.
And there are millions of troops guarding it, which is enough to firmly stop the Chu army and buy time for the rear to react.
Therefore, in addition to ordering the local Qinwang, the monarchs and ministers of Daliang also conveyed orders at the same time, asking the various counties to immediately recruit soldiers and horses, and recruit as many people as they could and send them all the way to Daliang.
In order to repel the Chu army's Northern Expedition, even if they were unable to repel the enemy, if they wanted to hold Daliang, at least two million troops and horses must be secured near Daliang.
At the same time, the hinterland in the rear and some border areas have become extremely empty after so many soldiers and horses were removed.
Xu State in the north and Tang State in the northeast may take this opportunity to send troops to attack and add insult to injury.
In this situation.
After a large number of soldiers and horses were depleted, local and border areas also urgently needed to reorganize a large number of new troops to fill these military vacancies.
After all these calculations, it is conservatively estimated that Liang State will need to recruit at least two million more new troops to meet its military needs.
Therefore, at this time, what Liang Guo has to do is to defend Daliang City first, delay time, and strive to get these new soldiers in place.
After the two million new troops are formed, the number of soldiers and horses that Liang can control will reach 4 million; and the number of soldiers and horses that can be used to fight against Chu on the eastern front will be 2.5 million. above.
At that time, we can try to counterattack eastward and regain the lost ground.
However, I don’t know if many of the troops and horses in the eastern and southern defense areas were still there at that time?
It's just that the current Daliang monarchs can no longer think about it that much.
Because by mid-May, Chu's vanguard had already broken Liang Jun's blocking defense. Tens of thousands of Chu troops' cavalry were approaching Daliang City.
The beacon fire really burned this most majestic city in the world.
…
Jiangxia City.
Just as the beacon was burning in Daliang in the north, at the same moment, the core of the southern defense line between the two countries and the capital of Jiangxia County finally opened its door to the Chu army.
The soldiers with high morale entered the city through the wide-open city gate and flags waving.
The flag of the Liang Kingdom hanging high on the city tower was lowered directly and replaced with the dragon flag of the Chu Kingdom.
Lu Yuan rode a snow-white horse, surrounded by countless soldiers in golden armor, and majestically entered this majestic city in the north of the Yangtze River.
On the streets on both sides, Chu soldiers lined up cheering.
In the houses next to the street, pairs of frightened eyes watched this scene through the gaps in the windows and doors.
Feeling this rich atmosphere, Lu Yuan felt a surge of passion in his heart, and couldn't help but whisper: "Liang Guo, Zhongzhou, I'm here."
Conquering the southern defense line was easier than he expected.
The main reason is that Liang's southern line is too wide, with half a million troops and nine innates, and there are too many places to be garrisoned.
On average, the strength that can be allocated to various important towns is somewhat less.
Under normal circumstances, these are few, but actually nothing.
As long as an important town is attacked, even if it falls quickly, news will always spread, and then the troops and horses of other important towns can be assembled to deal with the invaders.
With this mechanism, defending the southern front is naturally a piece of cake.
But this time, the strength mobilized by Chu State was too much.
Nearly 10 million soldiers and horses, 60 innates, a gap of more than ten times, enough to crush everything.
Liang Jun on the southern defense line had no time to react. The Chu army, which was several times stronger than him, surrounded him.
They didn't have time to assemble, and with only a few troops, they received a heavy blow from the Chu State.
Millions of soldiers and horses besiege tens of thousands of people; millions of soldiers and horses besiege hundreds of thousands of people; three or five innates besiege one innate; more than a dozen innates besiege one innate...
There are simply too many examples of this.
Under such circumstances, the 500,000-strong army in the southern part of Liang State was defeated by the Chu army more easily than expected.
The two counties of Jiangxia and Guangling in the north of the Yangtze River also fell to the hands of the Chu State after less than a month of support.
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