In the Chinese army's tent.
Wei Qing took the lead and said: "Your Majesty, a few days ago, I wanted to launch a second strong attack on Bakou. Unexpectedly, the city's defender left without fighting. It is really unexpected."
"This must be because of Xue Wu's military order. Otherwise, as a guard general, how could he dare to abandon the city."
Having said this, Lin Chu also walked in quickly.
Seeing him, all the generals will naturally stop talking, because he will bring vital information.
Xiao Yuan also asked: "How is the situation?"
Lin Chu cupped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, I just found out that after the Liang army contracted Youzhou, it has begun to retreat across the board."
"What?" This news somewhat surprised Xiao Yuan, and all the generals also showed doubtful expressions.
But after the accident, he immediately stood up from his position and walked to the map in three steps and two steps.
The generals quickly followed and gathered behind him, looking at the military map hanging on the wall.
After a while, Xiao Yuan drew his fingers on the map and said in a solemn voice:
"Now Huan's army has advanced to the Cangcheng area."
"The reason why Liang Jun chose to retreat at this time is probably related to the pressure it caused."
As soon as he finished speaking, Jia You received the message: "Your Majesty, King Liang is wise. This must be the case. Due to the participation of the Huan Army, the current situation facing the Liang Kingdom has only two options. One is to defend on two lines. The second is to retreat to Yanzhou and use Yanzhou to block the coming armies of Qin and Huan."
"This decision seems to give up some of the cities in front, but it does have the effect of aggravating the defense."
Xiao Yuan looked away from the map, turned around, and all the generals also returned to his left and right.
He shook his head and said: "The total strength of the Liang Army now is more than 300,000, and Yanzhou is an important place in the Kaguan Pass. If the army seizes this place, our army will face an unprecedented hard battle."
This is also the battle he least wants to see.
It's like all the troops of the Liang Army have blocked a narrow intersection, and you have to fight for it.
Moreover, the opponent is occupying the city and has a defensive advantage. With the current strength of the Qin army, it may be difficult to capture it.
Seeing this, Shangguan Wenruo stepped out and said: "Your Majesty, please don't hesitate. At this time, the Liang Kingdom has no room for maneuver and has retreated to Yanzhou. It seems to be heavily guarded, but in fact, it shows that this is King Liang's last move." It’s a desperate move, and the more this happens, the more our army will be unable to retreat!”
"Wei Chen agrees with Lord Shangguan's suggestion." Jia You followed.
Seeing both of them saying this, Xiao Yuan immediately looked stern: "Okay! Keep marching!"
Three days later, the Qin army entered Youzhou City.
At this time, Youzhou no longer had any garrison due to Xue Wu's transfer of troops.
Moreover, due to the previous war, traffic was blocked and people were staying at home. The huge city looked empty.
In the city, the canvases of the street tea shops were still fluttering in the wind, but no shop dared to open their doors.
Xiao Yuan was riding a war horse, followed by countless soldiers of the Qin army. As far as he could see, the whole street was covered with black armor and red tassels.
Walking all the way to the county governor's house, there was no one here, and the Youzhou county governor had already fled with Liang Jun.
Naturally, all the property in the treasury has been swept away. Looking at the huge empty mansion, Xiao Yuan still held the riding whip in his hand and couldn't help but sigh: "What a Youzhou City. This Sheriff's Mansion is comparable to Our Qin State's county governor's office is much more impressive."
Youzhou is indeed very big.
This state connects the vast desert and controls the throat of the five northern counties.
This is why Jia You said at the beginning that by taking Youzhou, the Liang Kingdom would have no room for maneuver, because occupying this place would completely block the Liang army in the north and prevent them from getting out.
After inspecting the governor's house, Xiao Yuan said to Zhao Mu: "I am sending an order to the entire army to rest in Youzhou for two days."
"No!" Zhao Mu took the order and left.
Afterwards, he also went to the county study room, picked up some bamboo slips on the bookshelf, opened them and looked at them.
Some bamboo slips were quite dusty, so Xiao Yuan deliberately found them, opened them, and saw what was written on them:
"Jinggong came out of Youzhou, united three tribes, and started to send troops, but he went to Beidi..."
The Jinggong here should be Liang Jinggong.
Xiao Yuan looked again.
"There were dragons causing trouble, so Jinggong sent Tang Yuchun to destroy the dragons in Youhe River..."
Seeing this, he was somewhat curious. Holding the bamboo slip in his hand, he couldn't help but glance at Shangguan Wenruo behind him: "Who is Tang Yuchun?"
"It should be Tang Yue's grandfather." Shangguan Wenruo returned.
"Oh." Xiao Yuan responded, put away the bamboo slips and said, "There were quite a lot of major events in Youzhou's past."
"Youzhou is the place where Liang Jinggong originally raised his troops to conquer Beidi, so there should be a lot of official books here." Shangguan Wenruo explained.
Xiao Yuan was noncommittal. He could see these important events now or not. He searched for a while and found things like county annals, which recorded in detail Youzhou's past changes, population and other things.
"A big city..." Xiao Yuan looked at it and couldn't help but sigh again.
Shangguan Wenruo said: "Under the rule of Youzhou, the population is indeed very large. If possible, the king should govern this place as the largest county in the north."
"Let's talk about this later." Xiao Yuan waved his hand, put back the bamboo slips and said, "Collect all these official books and keep them."
"Wei Chen understands." Shangguan Wenruo responded.
Nothing happened during the two-day stay in Youzhou. After the entire army rested, Xiao Yuan marched towards Yanzhou again.
Yanzhou is more than a hundred miles away. Xiao Yuan was not in a hurry, so he arrived here three or two days later. Then he set up camp and prepared to attack Yanzhou.
At this time, Xue Wu had already deployed his defenses in Yanzhou City, and the defenses were very tight. Not only were there countless stones and rolling trees, but from a distance, there were many soldiers standing on top of the city, constantly changing defenses.
The terrain here is even more dangerous, with mountains on both sides and a large city in the middle.
To put it simply, if you want to continue heading towards Liangdu, you must pass through this city gate!
But how could Liang Jun open the door for you? The only way seems to be to attack by force.
During the military discussion, after studying the situation here, all the generals also showed worried looks.
The Qin army is not afraid of hard battles or vicious battles, but with 300,000 Liang troops stationed in Yanzhou City, the situation is conceivable.
This is also the reason why the Liang Kingdom is so confident. With this city guarding the main road and the existing military strength, there is really no problem in guarding it for a year and a half.
In front of the makeshift sand table, the generals gathered around, all staring down in silence, as if they were thinking about something.
Xiao Yuan also frowned, thinking hard about how to defeat the enemy.
At this moment, Lin Chu walked in quickly, clasped his fists and said:
"Your Majesty, Huan's army is approaching Yanzhou."
Xiao Yuan was interrupted from his thoughts, and at the same time he raised his head and asked: "How far is it?"
"It's less than two hundred miles away."
