Qian Jinhang, who was fighting hard in Xicong, almost fainted when he heard the news that Teng Yun was missing. His adjutant quickly helped him with his eyes and hands, so that the Dahua general did not make a fool of himself in public.
However, it is an indisputable fact that the situation has taken a turn for the worse. The hundreds of thousands of Dahua troops gathered near Xicong can almost be said to be hanging by a thread.
Although Qian Jinhang knew that about 200,000 troops were retreating and gradually approaching the Nanfeng Pass, he was still extremely nervous.
God knows whether the Tang army captured Nanfengkou first, or whether his retreating troops arrived there first to stabilize their position.
These days, he has been waiting for news that the 200,000 troops who had withdrawn in accordance with the order had indeed arrived at Nanfengkou.
If his troops had arrived there first, the Dahua army, which had stabilized its retreat, could still have a chance to turn defeat into victory.
But if what we are waiting for is the news that the Tang army captured Nanfengkou first, then he, General Dahua, will almost have to be found here in Xicong.
What pained him the most was that, despite waiting and waiting, he still could not wait for Feng Kezhi's new order for him to follow the retreat.
In other words, in Feng Kezhi's view, withdrawing 200,000 people from the front line to strengthen the defense of Nanfengkou is already the best choice.
As for giving up Xicong, Feng Kezhi never considered it from beginning to end: it was very likely that this was some kind of tacit deal between Feng Kezhi and Emperor Zhao Kai.
That is to say, Emperor Zhao Kai acquiesced to Feng Kezhi's withdrawal of 200,000 men to protect the Nanfengkou retreat, and Feng Kezhi acquiesced to His Majesty the Emperor's strategic plan to continue attacking Xicong.
Therefore, Qian Jinhang has been attacking Xicong these days, and he knows that this is what he must do. The huge losses were unbearable for the Dahua troops, and the huge pressure also made Qian Jinhang exhausted physically and mentally.
These days, Qian Jinhang has not even had a good meal. Even though his troops have controlled more than half of the city, he still thinks that he has half his foot in the coffin.
Just when Qian Jinhang was sitting in his room in a daze, looking at the Xicong map hanging on the wall in a daze, there was a knock on the door.
"Good news! General! Good news!" An officer opened the door of Qian Jinhang's room and excitedly handed a telegram to the weak Dahua general.
Like his opponent, Qian Jinhang has been very nervous these days, too nervous to sleep well. Although he moved his headquarters into Xicong and found a relatively good house to use as his bedroom, he still couldn't guarantee his sleep.
There is no other way. It would be really strange if anyone could still sleep during this life-and-death situation.
He took the telegram with dark circles under his eyes, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the news on it - although the Tang army occupied Tengyun, Nanfengkou was saved.
Although this was not what he most wanted to see, a message ordering him to retreat, Ding Hong defeated a Tang army attack at Nanfengkou. The news still sounded very exciting.
The rain outside the room had stopped for some time, the sky was still cloudy, and the air still smelled of moisture.
However, Qian Jinhang was more or less relieved, because it seemed that the Tang army's rampage in the southeastern region of the Great China Empire had finally been restrained.
Stationing in the wild in rainy weather is more or less punishing, so Qian Jinhang lived in a house on the outskirts of Xicong City.
Fortunately, several houses here were not damaged during the battle, so they became Qian Jinhang's temporary headquarters. Although it is a bit crude, it can at least provide shelter from the wind and rain.
With these rooms, Qian Jinhang no longer has to endure the noise of rain hitting the tent every day, nor does he need to sleep on a small camp bed.
Although being too close to the front line seemed a bit unsafe, after all, it was impossible for the Tang army to know Qian Jinhang's position accurately, so the artillery bombardment could not be so accurate.
In fact, the Tang Army never fired artillery aimlessly. Those who did so were often the artillerymen of the Dahua Army...
"If our troops return to Nanfengkou, it will be basically safe here." The officer who came to deliver the message comforted his general with a happy face.
Qian Jinhang nodded slightly, then stood up and sighed: "Make me something to eat... I... seem a little hungry."
He hadn't eaten well in the past two days, and suddenly felt a little hungry after hearing the good news.
After hearing his words, the adjutant and the guard captain were obviously relieved, because Qian Jinhang's condition was indeed not very good a few days ago.
So everyone quickly got busy, and the general's exclusive chef began to work on the stove next to him, preparing all the best ingredients he could find.
Even in a difficult environment, even on the march, a senior general's food must be standard. But no one knows how long this standard can be maintained - when Yuan Shu wanted to drink honey water, wasn't he also beaten by the cook?
At this moment, the Dahua army was far from being exhausted, so Qian Jinhang's food was still very rich when it was served.
The main course was pork and a piece of fish. It is estimated that this fish was caught from the nearby river and is still very fresh.
Qian Jinhang, who was in a good mood, immediately felt refreshed after having a hearty meal. Then the general, who had not slept well for several days, made simple arrangements and went back to catch up on his sleep.
…
On the other side, Redman, who suddenly couldn't sleep well again, felt the huge pressure on his shoulders: If he couldn't take the Nanfeng Pass, then the Dahua army might use this Nanfeng Pass to destroy the entire battle. Revitalized.
Therefore, for him, he must capture Nanfengkou before he could continue to carry out the mission assigned to him by Tang Mo.
The extremely anxious Redman wished he could go up and supervise the battle in person, but soon a bolder plan came from Chang'an.
Dahua general Ding Hong deployed defenses at Nanfengkou. Obviously, it is impossible to completely capture Dahua's important strategic material base in a short time.
In terms of military strength, after Ding Hong obeyed the order and gathered Teng Yun's defenders, he gathered another 20,000 troops around him. Now the number of Nanfengkou garrison troops is close to 50,000, which is not easy to eat in one bite.
Even if Redman tried his best to gather together, the troops he could assemble to attack Nanfengkou in a short period of time were only 20,000 to 30,000 troops, which was obviously not sufficient for street fighting.
What's more, according to previous intelligence calculations, more than 100,000 Dahua troops who retreated from Xicong are returning to defend Nanfengkou. Once this army enters Nanfengkou, it will be even more impossible to continue to seize Nanfengkou. .
Time is obviously on the side of the Great China Empire. As long as Ding Hong persists for a day or two, the situation will become very unfavorable to the Tang Kingdom.
However, he was not very familiar with this delicate situation, but Tang Mo was all too familiar with it: the enemy troops were trapped in a city, and there were a large number of reinforcements outside...
Isn't this what a certain rabbit is best at gathering support? After hearing the news, Tang Mo immediately realized that this was probably an opportunity!
So he immediately sent a telegram to Redman, ordering him to take advantage of the favorable situation that the Dahua army was eager to defend the Nanfeng Pass and evacuate the surrounding troops. After replenishing supplies, he would lead the armored troops to bypass the Nanfeng Pass and boldly penetrate the area. Dahua reinforcements at Nanfengkou!
This is a bold plan, but it is quite feasible! The armored forces of the Tang Kingdom may not be so advantageous in attacking strongly fortified cities, but they can be said to be professional counterparts in attacking enemy troops on their way in the field.
Compared with Rabbit's light infantry interspersed to engage in encirclement and annihilation battles, Tang Mo's armored troops interspersed to engage in head-on collisions was more concise and clear.
"Your Majesty is still Your Majesty after all." Looking at Tang Mo's unreasonable plan, Redman really couldn't say anything else except admiration.
This general, who is known as the world's famous general, is actually a bit arrogant. Speaking of which, he has never looked down upon even Feng Kezhi.
But every time he heard something new from Tang Mo, he would be shocked.
He really didn't know how his Majesty the King's head grew so long. After designing so many advanced weapons, his understanding of tactics could reach such a high level.
Of course, Redman didn't know that Tang Mo had copied these tactics from a real master tactician, so he was really shocked.
If the armored forces of the Tang Army defeated the Dahua army that returned to defend Nanfengkou, it would buy more time for the attack on Nanfengkou. For the armored forces in Redman's hands, this is really much easier than storming Nanfengkou.
After Dahua's troops who returned to defend were defeated, it would be easier to turn their guns and come back to deal with Nanfengkou. By then, almost all the follow-up infantrymen of the Tang Army had arrived, and it would be much easier to storm Nanfengkou.
What's more, Redman felt that it was still questionable how much courage the Dahua troops guarding Nanfengkou had to continue fighting to the death after hearing the news of the destruction of the reinforcements.
Knock on the mountain to frighten the tiger and kill the chicken to scare the monkeys. I hope that when the time comes, the Dahua general Ding Hong who is guarding Nanfengkou will truly swear to be loyal to the death and persist until the last moment.
"Urge the follow-up supply convoys to get them to the predetermined location as soon as possible! All armored units, as well as mixed combat teams, after the supplies are completed, carry as much fuel and ammunition as possible and bypass the south wind outlet!" Lei Deman held the telegram sent to him by Tang Mo and issued a series of orders.
More than an hour later, the vanguard of the Tang Army chose a relatively hidden distance and began to bypass the Nanfengkou.
Because all the nearby Dahua troops had been transferred to Nanfengkou, they implemented the policy of strengthening the walls and clearing the country, and even took away all the nearby civilians... so they almost did not notice the large-scale mobilization of the Tang army this time.
What's interesting is that at this time, Ding Hong is resting, Qian Jinhang is sleeping, and Dahua's frontline commanders are all dreaming of their own dreams...
(End of chapter)
