Meng Gong was captured and 30,000 Song troops surrendered.
As soon as the news came out, Quan Chu was shocked.
Who is Meng Gong? What kind of person he was, the officials of the Song Dynasty in Chu probably knew very well in their hearts.
In this war between Qi and Song, Meng Gong was the commander-in-chief of the Song army in the Chu region, and formulated a strategy for the defense of the Qi army in Jingxiang.
Now that Meng Gong surrendered, how could the Song army not be surprised!
Wuchang City.
Zhao Tai secretly led the army northward. When the number of soldiers in the Qi army camp decreased, Song general Li Tingzhi noticed it.
Zhao Tai's plan was concealed from Lin'an, thousands of miles away, but Li Tingzhi did not completely believe it.
Therefore, when he learned that Meng Gong led his troops out of Xiangyang and Zhao Tai suddenly disappeared outside the city, he had a premonition that something bad was going to happen.
On this day, Li Tingzhi was handling official duties. A man hurriedly broke into the public room and reported breathlessly, "Senior Zhang, something serious has happened. Mr. Zhizhi has surrendered to the traitors."
Li Tingzhi's face was full of shock, and the brush in his hand dropped in shock, "What did you say?"
The visitor said it again, but Li Tingzhi still couldn't believe it, "How could Mr. Zhizhi defect to the Qi thieves?"
Someone coming...
Meng Gong was not the only one who received Lin'an's order and sent troops to reinforce Wuchang.
On the road from Changsha to Wuchang, a group of Song soldiers marched slowly.
At this time, a cavalryman galloped over, rushed to the general, and reported urgently, "Report, the military situation is extremely urgent!"
General Song reined in his horse, frowned and asked, "What's the matter?"
The cavalryman rolled off his horse, ran to the general's side in a few steps, and whispered a few words. Song Jun's eyes suddenly bulged in shock.
"Since Mr. Zhizhi has surrendered!" General Song's eyes were dull and he murmured.
After a while, he pulled the reins of his horse and suddenly ordered, "Stop the march and go back to Changsha!"
When the Song Army in Changsha turned around, the Song Army that set out from Nanchang also stopped when it reached Jiujiang.
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The so-called West Route Qi army will leave Sichuan to join Zhao Tai in Wuchang, but it is just a rumor spread by Zhao Tai.
The Qi army on the west route entered Sichuan, but was unable to control Sichuan in a short time.
Therefore, after Zhao Tai captured Meng Gong and forced the surrender of 30,000 elite Song troops, he immediately killed another carbine and pulled the army back to Xiangyang City.
At the top of Xiangyang City, Liu Zheng was holding on to the wall with a worried face. He couldn't believe that Meng Gong actually surrendered to the Qi army.
When Meng Gong left the city, Liu Zheng was in a very sad mood.
Because he knew very well that after Meng Gong left the city, he would definitely have a narrow escape from death, most of which would be a misfortune.
Over the past few days, he had thought about many of Meng Gong's endings, most of which were leading his troops to fight hard and finally being loyal to Lin'an, but he never expected that Meng Gong would actually surrender.
Liu Zheng knew Meng Gong well.
He was well aware of Meng Gong's personality and loyalty to Lin'an, and believed that even if he died in battle, he would not betray the Song Dynasty.
Therefore, when the news of Meng Gong's defection to Qi came, Liu Zheng was extremely shocked. He couldn't believe it at all.
"Ms. Xian Gong! The Xian Gong has been ordered to surrender to the Qi State. How can we defeat him with such a small number of troops?"
On the top of the city, a Song general was worried, with no fighting spirit on his face.
Liu Zheng turned around and glanced at everyone. Seeing that the morale of his men was low, he could only comfort him, "Mr. Zhizhi is loyal to the Song Dynasty. Don't listen to rumors and mess up the position. First, defend the city!"
Everyone reluctantly agreed, and Liu Zheng sighed in his heart, feeling anxious about the future.
Liu Zheng was born in the Jin Kingdom. After the Jin Dynasty was destroyed, he took refuge with Meng Gong.
In the Southern Song Dynasty, he was considered a marginalized northerner, but Meng Gong didn't talk about this. He thought he was very capable and kept using him.
As a northerner, Liu Zheng didn't have much loyalty to Lin'an. He was completely repaying Meng Gong's kindness.
Now that Meng Gong surrendered, his heart was shaken instantly.
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Under Xiangyang City, the Qi army, which had disappeared for a long time, set up camp again outside the city.
Zhao Tai, wearing golden armor and a sword hanging on his waist, led a group of troops out of the camp.
At this time, Zhao Tai and his entourage galloped to two miles outside Xiangyang City, looking for a high slope to station their horses, overlooking the Xiangyang City Wall.
Zhao Tai took out his telescope and observed Xiangyang City again. He found that the defense facilities on the city were still complete, but the defenders at the top of the city were much sparser.
There were originally 50,000 Song troops in Xiangyang City, but now 30,000 of them have surrendered. There are only 20,000 people left in the city. The city is sparse.
Now that the Song army in the city learned that 30,000 Song troops had surrendered, their morale was bound to be shaken. Coupled with the lack of troops defending the city, the soldiers could not even stand on the city wall, and there was an immediate problem with the defense.
"Haha~ Xiangyang City is not that difficult to defeat!" Zhao Tai put away the telescope with a smile on his face.
All the generals heard the words and immediately agreed.
Wang Bin said: "Your Majesty, the current garrison force in the city is insufficient and the people's hearts are shaken. I think it is better to shoot the book again to attract surrender!"
Zhao Tai nodded slightly and glanced at Meng Gong beside him out of the corner of his eye. Seeing that he looked unnatural, he couldn't help but smile and said: "Shuai Meng has been taking a good rest recently. When the war is over and Gubei attacks Mongolia, he will make great achievements again!"
When Meng Gong heard this, he was just slightly stunned and said: "Yes!"
A few days ago, Meng Gong was surrounded. For the sake of his 30,000 soldiers, he prepared to commit suicide in front of the battle line, but Zhao Tai intervened to stop him.
Meng Gong was not dead, and had no intention of committing suicide for the time being, but he would definitely not be able to do it if he were asked to immediately seek refuge with Zhao Tai and help Zhao Tai deal with the Lin'an court.
Zhao Tai understood Meng Gong's thoughts and did not embarrass Meng Gong.
Therefore, Zhao Tai had no intention of forcing Meng Gong to contribute in the Qi-Song war, and planned to wait for the war to end before using Meng Gong to fight against Mongolia.
Of course, if Meng Gong can figure it out and is willing to help him now, then Zhao Tai will naturally be even happier.
Seeing Meng Gong's reaction, Zhao Tai felt a little disappointed, but he still smiled and said, "As you wish, I will write another letter to persuade Liu Zheng to surrender!"
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It was night, at the top of Xiangyang City, soldiers of the Song Dynasty were patrolling back and forth with torches.
Liu Zheng carried his tired body and came to the top of the city to check, and bumped into several military schools whispering.
Liu Zheng frowned, "What are you doing?"
Hearing this, everyone quickly dispersed in panic, with unnatural expressions on their faces.
Liu Zheng walked up to them and scanned everyone with his sharp eyes, waiting for their explanation.
He glanced across, and many Song soldiers lowered their heads, not daring to look at him.
"What are you doing?" Liu's face darkened and he asked again.
At this time, a person stood up and bowed his head in salute, "Sir, we were just looking at this!"
After finishing speaking, he presented a letter.
Liu Zheng took it and with just one glance, he knew it was a surrender letter from Qi Jun.
If it were in the past, he would have reprimanded his subordinates and told them that this was an attempt by the Qi army to disrupt his military morale.
Today, he took the letter and quickly opened it to read.
A general on the side came up and looked at Liu Zheng's expression quietly. He suddenly had the courage to say: "My lord, I heard that the king of Qi did not make things difficult for those who surrendered. Liu Tongzhi and Li Tongzhi are all the same." Hired for the original position!"
Liu Zheng heard this and turned to look at him. The general quickly lowered his head, but the imaginary reprimand did not come.
Liu Zheng packed up the letter, with a complicated look on his face, and said in a deep voice for a long time: "Early tomorrow morning, you go out of the city to the Qi army camp and talk to the King of Qi!"
