In the fifteenth year of Qianyou's reign, in the tenth month of winter, on the fourth day of the lunar month, the Han army camped in Shaozhou. Several successive pieces of news from the south made Pan Mei, the commander-in-chief of the Han army in Pingyue, overjoyed and immediately raised his account to discuss the matter.
There are three sources of this information. One is the intelligence of the Wude Division, the other is the spies of the Military Intelligence Division, and the third is the secret work of some dead soldiers recruited by Pan Mei. But regardless of the source of the intelligence, it all points to one thing. The South Guangdong reinforcements from Panyu have finally moved north, and the leader of the army is Xu Yanzhen, the chamberlain supervisor.
"Master Nanyue really lived up to my expectations!" Pan Mei felt very happy after learning about the reinforcements.
Twenty days have passed since the emperor ordered Hunan to send troops to Pan Meitun to station troops at the foot of Qujiang City and Shaozhou was in danger. However, it was not until twenty days later that reinforcements from southern Guangdong arrived, which was considered too slow.
Of course, there are reasons for being slow. The most important problem is that in the southern Guangdong court, there has long been a smog, with witches wielding power and eunuchs dictatorship. It may be possible to let these people cause harm to the country and chaos, but when it comes to a real crisis, there is no effective response at all. Measures come. As for Liu Yuan, the leader of Southern Guangdong, when he learned that the Han army was going south, his first reaction was that he couldn't believe it. He had already reduced his imperial title and confessed to the court and asked for peace. Why would he send troops to conquer him?
The Han Emperor's Pingnan Edict, after time fermented, has also been spread to the Lingnan states. People are panicking, but most of the scholars and people are actually full of expectations. There is no undercurrent, and they are all silently waiting for the arrival of the heavenly soldiers.
When the news of the Han army's southern expedition was confirmed, Liu Yu panicked. After being severely beaten by the court three years ago, this young and dissolute monarch had become much more honest and no longer dared to do anything to disobey the court. Nowadays, there is even more talk about Master Han’s change of attitude.
Of course, in order to deal with the Han army's attack, Nanyue still did some work, such as recruiting and concentrating troops from various states. This was a time-consuming matter. Speaking of which, for the imperial court in Pingnan, the Jiangnan side was still prepared from top to bottom, but the Nanyue side was not mentally prepared at all. In other words, no one listened to the knowledgeable voice when it was released. It’s hard to stop the trend.
In a hurry, the discussion alone took three days. Later, as news of the battle ahead spread, the main force of the Han army in the north was blocked in Shaozhou, and Hezhou in the west was still in his hands, so Liu Yuan was no longer in a hurry. The Han army failed to break through last time. This time as long as they defend well, they may be able to block it.
After discussion, it was decided to add more troops to support, but the first problem faced was who should be the commander-in-chief to lead the rescue. Because in the past few years, Liu Yuan had massacred the heroes and old generals, and there were not many generals left in the Southern Guangdong Kingdom.
In the end, the ministers jointly recommended General Pan Chongche, who was known as the first general in the South Guangdong Army. When Ma Chu was in civil strife, he and Wu Huaien worked together to capture all the Lingnan states and even invaded Hunan. However, after Liu Yuan succeeded to the throne, he was suspicious of him, and because of the eunuchs' slander, he was dismissed from his position.
Now that it was in crisis, the court thought of Pan Chongche again. However, Pan Chongche was also discouraged at this time. He had a clear view of the situation in Nanyue Kingdom being tortured by the ignorant master and his slaves. At this time, he did not want to serve for him anymore, so he excused his illness and refused to serve as commander.
Liu Yuan, who was also young and vigorous, was very angry about this. Without you, Pan Chongche, we couldn't resist the Han army? Therefore, on the recommendation of the witches around him, two "generals" were sent, one was Wu Yanrou, Wuzhou's defense envoy, and the other was Xu Yanzhen, the chamberlain. They led the troops to rescue Hezhou and Shaozhou respectively. Needless to say, the importance of Shaozhou, but the purpose of aiding Hezhou was to fear that it would fall and the Han army would come from the east and attack from both sides.
Although Wu Yanrou was not a famous general, he was from the army after all and had experience in leading the army. As for Xu Yanzhen, he was an out-and-out eunuch, good at flattering people and wielding power. His strengths were in fighting, but he was chosen and the main army in Panyu was given to him to lead. Most likely, Liu Yuan used him as Wu Huaien, the great eunuch who was known for his proficiency in fighting and opening up territories in southern Guangdong.
In the commander's tent of the Chinese Army, more than 20 generals of the Han army who had marched to the south gathered together. The army that was attacking Nanyue this time was the one with the least use of the imperial army among all the Pingnan armies, and it was also the first of its kind in the past. On Cui Yanjin's side, he mainly composed soldiers and horses from eastern Sichuan, supplemented by Yao people to form the Pingqian Army. Pan Mei's army was mainly composed of Jinghu soldiers and horses, supplemented by barbarians. It could be said that they were from the south conquering the south. There were also several military academies from Miao Yao who participated in the military discussions.
"Today's promotion is just for one thing!" Pan Mei, dressed in military armor, sat behind the commander's desk, looked around the generals, and said directly: "The Lord of Southern Guangdong has sent 40,000 troops to the north to assist Shaozhou. Their troops will arrive in three or two days. Qujiang!"
Upon hearing this news, most of the generals looked solemn and surprised, because Pan Mei seemed very happy to hear that enemy reinforcements were coming. Murong Chengtai, the governor of the capital, asked everyone's doubts: "May I ask the commander-in-chief, if the reinforcements of the Guangdong army arrive, their military strength will be better than ours. If they continue to occupy the fortified city, how can they defeat it?"
Murong Chengtai can be regarded as a descendant of the clan. After many years of military career, he has been fully trained. He is a rare general among the close relatives of the royal family. Before Pingnan, Pan Mei asked the imperial court to support some cavalry troops, so Liu Chengyou used Murong Chengtai to lead three thousand cavalry troops south to assist in the battle, and he was appointed as the governor.
"Since ancient times, the way to use troops has not been based on the number of troops. Although the enemy army is numerous, how can it be the opponent of our elite soldiers!" Pan Mei was proud and looked very confident: "As you know, the leader of this reinforcement army is Xu Yanzhen, the chamberlain of the Southern Guangdong Palace. , one general is incompetent, and the three armies are exhausted, and what's more, he is incompetent to flatter the eunuchs? The eunuchs in the court and the public in Southern Guangdong have been suffering for a long time, and the soldiers in Southern Guangdong are also full of resentment. Why should such an enemy army be troubled? "
Hearing Pan Mei's analysis, the generals couldn't help but show contempt, and their dignity dissipated a bit. Thinking about it carefully, what is there to be afraid of such an opponent?
Murong Chengtai also nodded, with a look of contemplation on his dark face, and he cupped his hands and said: "Dushuai, the enemy is deserted in Qujiang. They did not rush to attack the city because it is difficult to break. Tens of thousands of reinforcements are coming now, Dushuai." Do you have any plans to think that it is easy to attack? Otherwise, if the Guangdong army still chooses to hold on and fight fiercely, how will it be broken? By then, even if it is a strong attack, it will be too late!"
There was a hint of doubt in Murong Chengtai's words. Pan Mei looked at him and gave some face to this clan warrior. She chuckled and said: "What General Murong said is reasonable, but it is just as you said, I fear a fortified city with few soldiers but united forces, but I rejoice in an enemy army with many soldiers but inconsistent orders!"
"Listen to the order!" After saying that, Pan Mei stood up and shouted loudly, and the generals immediately listened. However, Pan Mei gave a shocking order: "Let the entire army pack up and retreat when reinforcements from the Cantonese army arrive. Set up camp at Baixing Mountain! Be prepared first, don’t be in a hurry when the time comes!”
Although he was shocked and full of doubts, due to the overwhelming military orders and Pan Mei's usual toughness, no one raised any objections. However, after the accounts were settled, Murong Chengtai came up to him, and Liu Fang followed him. Although this boy didn't want to be special, his privileges were always there.
"The commander-in-chief wants to retreat, maybe because he wants to induce the Cantonese army to take the initiative to leave the city and pursue them!" Murong Chengtai frowned and asked directly.
Looking at Murong Chengtai, Pan Mei smiled faintly and nodded: "That's exactly it!"
Noticing Pan Mei's relaxed expression, Murong Chengtai's face became more serious and said: "With all due respect, the Guangdong army may not go out of the city to pursue us. Even if we pretend to retreat, they may not be fooled!"
"General, don't worry, the Cantonese army will definitely come out of the city to pursue us!" Pan Mei said calmly.
"Why is the Commander-in-Chief so sure?" Murong Chengtai was puzzled: "If we place our hope in the enemy's judgment, then this military and national event would be taken too much for granted and would be too much of a child's play!"
"How can I dare to treat important military matters as child's play!" Pan Mei's expression became serious, staring at Murong Chengtai with stern eyes, and said: "This is a pretense of retreat to lure the enemy, even if it is only an attempt, even if it fails, it will not Injuring our soldiers will not harm the overall situation!"
"But it will delay time, delay the opportunity to fight, and affect the morale of the army!" Murong Chengtai's tone finally became stern, and he met Pan Mei's eyes and said: "I have been ordered to Pingnan. If I stay here for a long time and cannot move forward, how can I explain to the court?"
Previously, among the generals, there were those who wanted to fight urgently, and Murong Chengtai was one of them. According to his judgment, Qujiang could be captured by force, but Pan Mei suppressed the voice of fighting urgently.
"Regardless of success or failure, Pan will bear all the blame if he deserves it!" Seeing his attitude, Pan Mei's voice became a little colder.
Seeing his toughness, Murong Chengtai took a deep breath, his face trembled a few times, and he cupped his fists and saluted him: "I have no intention of quarreling with Pan Dushuai, but I hope your majesty has not hired the wrong person! Farewell!"
After saying that, she retreated. Looking at Murong Chengtai's back, Pan Mei secretly said: "How dare I betray His Majesty's trust!"
