Chapter 145: The Situation in Guanzhong
In other words, Song Sheng's decision most likely represents the best choice for a group of people.
It’s hard to lead the team when people’s hearts are scattered.
Song Sheng will definitely not be the last one. Geng Bingwen cannot believe what the situation will be like.
However, he quickly cheered up and wiped away the vomited blood, and for a moment he seemed to have regained his energy. Organize a retreat immediately. The end point of the retreat was Xi'an.
Geng Bingwen first needs to secure Xi'an.
Xi'an City is here, and the Guanzhong Plain can at least be evenly divided with its opponents. Once Xi'an is gone. Tongguan is also difficult to defend. After all, Tongguan today is no longer the Tongguan in history. Tongguan in history was indeed an iron wall and a copper wall, which was difficult for birds to cross. But today's Tongguan has undergone terrain changes due to the perennial erosion of the river, making the front of Tongguan not so dangerous. Not to mention the past battles, several trails have been opened near Tongguan that can be detoured.
More importantly, Tongguan was defended to the east. Instead of defending to the west, it would be very difficult to attack Tongguan from the east. But going to Tongguan from the northwest is different.
Now there is another variable. That is the Lam Tin Railway.
This horse-drawn railway has been repaired. Large-scale transportation of materials could have been carried out. But something happened. The rear has suspended the delivery of supplies to the front line and has not yet fully recovered.
But this transportation line has been opened. Read the book
Therefore, he must nail Xi'an, occupy the eastern part of Guanzhong, and blockade Wuguan Road, the newly built Danyang Road, and Tongguan Road. The Northern Army cannot be allowed to bypass the Yellow River defense line and directly attack the Xiangfan area. Once the Northern Army took root in Xiangfan.
For Nanjing, it was a disaster.
Geng Bingwen must persist and he must cheer up.
However, it's hard to say how long his body can sustain it.
It's not that Geng Bingwen has never thought about whether he should surrender. His son took the daughter of Emperor Zhenzong, Prince Zhu Biao, and he could talk to both emperors. If he surrenders, he will be treated better than Song Sheng.
But so what?
For Geng Bingwen, these are no longer important.
Geng Bingwen was such an old man. Even if he didn't die on the battlefield, he wouldn't live for a few more years. Why do you still wrong yourself at this time for a mere false name? Maybe he wasn't in the mood to die for Zhu Yunwen.
After all, veterans of such an old age are rarely so stubborn, which is why many emperors hate veterans and are not easy to fool.
But Geng Bingwen has the arrogance of a veteran.
When he replaced his father and brother to guard Changxing, he never gave up no matter what situation he faced. Yes, Zhang Shicheng's military luck seemed to have been consumed in the battle of Yangzhou. Since then, he has hardly won any battles, but this does not mean that Zhang Shicheng is a soft persimmon.
Geng Bingwen and Zhang Shicheng have been working hard for ten years, but they have never seen anything like this.
At that time, Geng Bingwen was still very young and was considered a young general. During such a long-term war, Geng Bingwen learned a lot from literature and had a deep understanding of defensive warfare. This meaning allowed Geng Bingwen to quickly master defense even if the version was updated. In fact, If the logistics are sufficient, he can prevent the Northern Army from taking any further step. If he dares to come, I dare to kill him. If he dares to die, I dare to bury him.
But the outcome of victory or defeat often does not depend on a certain general.
It also cultivated Geng Bingwen's character and perseverance, and he would never give up as long as there was a chance on the battlefield. In fact, he can accept Beijing's domination of the world, but he cannot accept his own surrender. He can't pass his own test, but he has plans for his children and grandchildren.
They have already evacuated the frontline battlefield.
As mentioned before, he is the Zhu family's son-in-law after all. As long as he doesn't commit suicide, he will still have something to eat in the future. As for more, Geng Bingwen can't control it.
He had to keep at it anyway.
Things can't be done, there is only death. It is humiliating for a man to die on his bed. Moreover, what is more important is leaving a reputation as a loyal minister to his descendants or leaving military connections for his descendants. Everyone has their own opinion.
Geng Bingwen's hands and feet are very fast.
When it was time to retreat, Geng Bingwen was very decisive. He almost threw dozens of cities on the front line, a complete defense line in northern Shaanxi, and hundreds of thousands of grain reserves to Qu Neng, so he could only reach Xi'an.
Even when Qu Neng took down these things, some of them still didn't recover.
After all, there was no progress before. But every step forward must be paid in blood. Now, it's so easy.
But Geng Bingwen's retreat was also very wise.
Because almost after Geng Bingwen entered Xi'an, Qu Neng joined forces with Song Sheng.
The area on the north bank of the Weihe River in Guanzhong was almost entirely occupied by the Northern Army. Only a few cities are still under Geng Bingwen's control. This is also the first major victory for the Northern Army since the war started this year.
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"The guilty general Song Sheng has met the Privy Councilor. The guilty general is late in surrendering. Please forgive me." Song Sheng saluted as soon as he saw Qu Neng.
Qu Neng quickly helped Song Sheng up and said: "Old General Song, why do you say this? Today we are a family. There is no need to mention the previous things. Everything is moving forward. Now you are the Shaanxi military commander of the imperial court. , control the troops as before. This Shaanxi ground is your place. What do you think of the current situation?"
Song Sheng was silent for a moment and said, "Sir, I thought we should repair it for a month or two before making preparations."
Qu Neng said: "Why do you say this? Don't you have some people here? If you don't take advantage of this moment to go south and seize Guanzhong, and wait for Geng Bingwen to gain a firm foothold, wouldn't it be even more difficult?"
Song Sheng said: "Sir, I don't know something. It is very difficult to find flaws in Marquis Changxing. Marquis Changxing is experienced in using troops. He considers defeat before victory. If Marquis Changxing is allowed to lead troops to attack the city and pull out the stronghold, it will be nothing. He, the Marquis of Changxing, thought too much. There were so many changes on the battlefield that it was impossible to account for them all. When the Marquis of Changxing felt that he was sure, the fighting opportunities were lost. At this point, the Marquis of Changxing lacked vigor. But in terms of defense, But it has become the strength of Marquis Changxing. Marquis Changxing must have thought of everything you and I can think of. He also thought about it very carefully. Our army met here all the way and basically encountered no obstacles. Even if there were, many of them were spontaneous resistance. It is not the arrangement of Marquis Changxing. But the next step will be different."
"Marquis Changxing needed time, so he gave up these places. Now he has established a firm foothold. But our army fought all the way here and occupied so many places. Although there are my old memories here, how can there be no Marquis Changxing's? We are old and attack rashly. Marquis Changxing will give us two nails after all."
"What a morale booster."
"Furthermore, Xi'an Jiancheng is the largest city in the world, second only to the Northern and Southern Capitals and Kaifeng Prefecture. If you want to capture such a city, you can't do it without preparation. With Geng Bingwen here, don't even think about deceiving the city. If you don’t believe it, I bet that within a day, you will hear the news that Marquis Changxing has eliminated the female cadres in Xi’an.”
Qu Neng didn't believe it because he didn't know much about Geng Bingwen. Although they are all considered to be the Huaixi Group, they are not very close to each other.
However, he couldn't help but disbelieve this matter.
Someone immediately came to report that Geng Bingwen had entered the city of Xi'an. A large-scale investigation was immediately carried out, and more than 10,000 people were arrested. Without any careful identification, they were put into prison.
Whether it was Qu Neng's or Song Sheng's intelligence network in Xi'an, everything was paralyzed. No news can be spread, let alone difficult operations such as opening city gates and defrauding the city.
Immediately, Geng Bingwen sent troops to build defenses outside Xi'an. Coupled with the original city wall of Xi'an, it was like a copper wall and an iron wall. It is almost impossible to win by any tricks.
Qu Neng said: "Old General Song still knows Geng Bingwen? It's just a great opportunity, so just sit back and ignore it?"
Song Sheng said: "I have sent several light troops to attack Dasanguan in the west and march east across the Yellow River to conquer Shanxi. The main force of our army is ready here to strengthen the Wei River, between Xi'an and Tongguan." Song Sheng made a knife gesture and said sternly: "Cut Geng Bingwen's troops in two here."
