Strangely, after the war reached a stalemate, the two armies did not continue to fight to the death. Instead, they retreated to two places and faced each other to the death.
In the huge coalition camp, Xu Mu frowned and led his guards to check on the wounded soldiers. After several days of fighting, many people were killed not only in Donglai, but also in Xishu.
Of course, to be serious, Zuo Shiren's side had to suffer the most casualties.
Following the passage where the wounded were densely packed, Xu Mu walked forward and soon entered Donglai's main tent.
This time, seeing that he was unable to kill Zuo Shiren, Yuan Song, who was seventy years old, became so angry that he vomited blood and fell from his horse. At first glance, the situation looks a bit ominous.
"King of Shu." In the military tent, Shen Tuguan saw Xu Mu and raised his hand steadily.
"General Shentu, how about Prince Yuan?"
Shen Tuguan's face became a little gloomy, "The military doctors have changed several times... My lord is getting old after all, and he has suffered this shock. I'm afraid the worst is worse. I have asked the young master Yuan Chong to rush to the front line quickly. .”
Xu Mu's heart sank.
Although Yuan Song's death will not have much impact on the coalition alliance. After all, the father and son of the Yuan family, as well as Shen Tu Guan, now understand that only by working together with Xi Shu can Donglai be saved. But if Dongling knew about it, I'm afraid it would boost morale.
Watching Yuan Song sleeping, he was afraid of disturbing the tranquility. Xu Mu and Shen Tuguan walked carefully outside the military tent together with thin steps.
"The King of Shu should know that there are at least 50,000 troops in Dongling's camp now. Moreover, Lingsu is extremely cunning, and many Dongling generals are also following him to death."
"This battle will be difficult to fight."
Not only because of the enemy troops, but also the terrain in the nearby area was not conducive to the Tibetan army. As long as there is any abnormal movement between the people between the two sides, they will be exposed under the nose.
And the most critical point is that this Dongling army now has its back on the river. It is estimated that the naval force from Dongling will cross the river very soon to meet Zuo Shiren.
Something is not right.
There is no problem with the tactics of encirclement and annihilation. In fact, up to now, they have achieved quite a victory, forcing Dongling to withdraw from Kezhou and regaining the strategic position.
It's a pity that even now, Zuo Shiren still hasn't been killed.
Now on the front line, the combined strength of Donglai and Xishu is less than 40,000. No wonder Shen Tuguan said that the next battle would be difficult.
"There is nothing wrong with the King of Shu's strategy. Zuo Shiren will abandon Kezhou at this time and retreat to Dongling. But both Xishu and I, Donglai, want to take advantage of the opportunity... to wipe out everything in one fell swoop. Kill Zuo Shiren. Let the tiger return to the mountain, and there will be endless troubles."
"The navy from Dongling should be here soon."
With Lingsu's reinforcements here, there is no way to intercept the information. Soon, Dongling Navy will cross the river to join the battle. Of course, Xu Mu had thought about whether to transfer Dou Tong's navy here, but he found that doing so would easily drag the entire Western Shu into the quagmire.
Therefore, he did not intend to touch Dou Tong's people.
However, Dou Tong's navy did not move. But he believed that his little strategist was extremely good at sizing up situations and would be able to make the clearest judgment in situations like this.
"King of Shu, General Shentu, my lord is awake!"
Just as Xu Mu was thinking, suddenly, a personal guard hurriedly walked out of the tent.
Just when they heard it, Xu Mu and Shen Tuguan looked at each other, and they immediately turned around and walked back into the tent.
At this time, Yuan Song had woken up, his eyes were cloudy and his face was pale. With the support of two attendants, Yuan Song finally leaned on the bed.
"Lord." Shen Tuguan looked excited.
But Xu Mu could tell that Yuan Song looked like he was dead. At Zhi Tianming's age, and being hit by such a blow again...it is very likely that he will not be able to survive.
"Guan'er...has my son Yuan Chong arrived?"
"My lord, the young master is already on the way."
Yuan Song coughed a few more times before turning his face and looking at Xu Mu seriously.
"Prince Yuan, there is no need to be polite, it is important to protect yourself." Xu Mu stepped forward hurriedly.
"King of Shu, if it hadn't been for King of Shu's help over and over again, our three states in Donglai would have been swallowed up by Zuo Shiren long ago."
After besieging Cangzhou, Zuo Shiren wanted to attack Yuan Song in the name of the Alliance. But later, Xu Mu persuaded him.
This time, because of the cold lips and teeth, Xu Mu also led troops into Kezhou to help Donglai resist Zuo Shiren.
"The King of Shu knows that when Zuo Shiren returns to Dongling, he will definitely become a shrinking turtle."
Xu Mu didn't know. However, the war was already unfavorable. With the support of troops, Zuo Shiren and Ling Su had gradually stabilized the situation.
"I fell down from my horse. I originally thought I was going away. But I never thought I could wake up. Doesn't this mean that the King of Hell allowed me to return to the sun, which meant that he gave me the last chance to finish speaking. .”
Yuan Song is like a candle in the wind.
"Shentu Guan, you will organize the army later."
"Lord, do you want to attack the enemy camp..."
On the bed, Yuan Song closed his eyes in pain, "No, the whole army will retreat, and then we will capture Kezhou with the King of Shu as quickly as possible."
Shen Tuguan was stunned and nodded silently.
"Of course I'm not convinced, but no matter what, I can't risk the fate of the entire Dongling. We have completed our strategy by forcing Zuo Shiren to withdraw from Kezhou."
"in addition--"
Yuan Song continued to cough a few more times, his eyes flashing with brilliance, "It was the help of King Shu that resolved the crisis in Donglai. Therefore, I plan to kill the four nearby areas including Chen Shuiguan. All the big towns were given to the King of Shu."
Xu Mu listened and suddenly understood.
Yuan Song knew that he was going to die, so he planned to tie Donglai and Xishu together tightly. If the Shu army settles in Kezhou, at least in the short term, there will be no conflict of interest with Donglai. Instead, the two militaries will continue to cooperate under pressure.
After all, there is Toshiro in the north and Zuo Shiren in the south. Seriously, neither one of them can win Torai in the middle. But with Xi Shu by his side, the situation was different.
Xu Mu had to admire that Yuan Song, who was about to die, had such foresight.
"Thank you so much, Prince Yuan." Xu Mu nodded and accepted without hesitation. It would be the same if it were Jia Zhou and Dongfang Jing.
Although it is considered an enclave, no matter what, as long as Zuo Shiren's momentum can be curbed, it will have great strategic significance.
And there is one more thing, although it is somewhat beautiful. But what if the entire Cangzhou was captured? Then, the west side of Kezhou and the entire Cangzhou on the other side can be truly connected together. By then, the strategic significance will be extraordinary. Advance can be a bridgehead, retreat can be a front line of resistance.
As a king, you should be far-sighted.
…
