Chapter 861 Besieged on All Sides

"Report!!!!!!"

"Report!!!!!!"

One military report after another began to converge towards the command tent, but they were all intercepted by Liu Dahu and Zheng Man, and then immediately sent to the tent next to the command tent where Sword Saint originally lived.

Chen Xianba sat there, reading the military reports by candlelight.

Liu Dahu and Zheng Man squatted nervously beside Chen Xianba. The military reports were basically sent in the second half of the night, but this meant that there had already been actual contact in the first half of the night. There was bound to be a time difference, so when they received these military reports, the enemy was actually closer.

Sword Saint held Long Yuan, sat beside him, drinking herbal tea, watching his son and Zheng Man send one report after another. Seeing how urgent the situation was, he couldn't help but ask:

"Are there many Qian soldiers?"

Although Chen Xianba had the mindset of a "general" who looked down on simple martial artists, he wasn't stupid enough to offend Sword Saint to his face, so he immediately said:

"A lot, very many. Dahu, the map."

"Okay."

Liu Dahu took out the simpler map from his arms and spread it out. The more detailed map was in the command tent, but the Prince was sleeping and had ordered not to be disturbed.

"Our command tent is currently in this position.

From the east, the Xishan Camp, with at least sixty to seventy thousand soldiers, is heading towards us. The Xishan Camp is still a little capable, not to the point of collapsing at a single touch.

And from the west, there are Qian cavalry, no less than twenty thousand."

"Cavalry?" Zheng Man immediately asked in confusion, "Aren't the Qian cavalry in Liang Province?"

Due to the corruption and neglect of horse administration in the Qian Kingdom, the cavalry had never been numerous. Although it seemed like there was cavalry everywhere, and neither the common people nor the government lacked horses, to form a large cavalry corps and maintain its scale required a continuous logistical supply in one specific area.

The only cavalry corps in the Qian Kingdom was currently in the hands of Prince Consort Zhong Tianlang. It was formerly the cavalry of the Western Army, and later incorporated cavalry from various routes in the border regions, plus those supplemented in recent years, that it was formed and could be used on the front lines.

But even if he had already moved away from Liang Province, he couldn't possibly appear here suddenly like a divine soldier descending from heaven.

"From the east, four captains have sent back military reports that corroborate each other. The scale shouldn't be too different. I speculate that the Qian must have borrowed troops."

He paused,

Chen Xianba said, "Most likely, it's Northern Qiang cavalry. Only there could the Qian mobilize so many cavalry in a short period of time.

The Qian have always had a tradition of mobilizing guest soldiers; they used to mobilize local soldiers often.

Mobilizing Northern Qiang cavalry is actually the same as our Prince's Residence mobilizing servant soldiers from the snowy plains before."

Liu Dahu asked, "What's the standard of the Northern Qiang cavalry?"

Zheng Man scoffed, "What kind of appearance can those people, suppressed by the Qian Kingdom to the point of recruiting servant soldiers, have?"

Chen Xianba then said, "We can't calculate it that way. The Northern Qiang once established a country in the past, which was later pacified by the Tattooed Face Minister. The factors restricting the development of an ethnic group are not only combat power, but also many others.

And most of the time, the Qian treat the Northern Qiang mainly by pacifying and dividing them. If they could eradicate them once and for all, the Western Army would have done so long ago.

Let's assume that the combat power of the Northern Qiang cavalry should be below the barbarian tribes, and above the wildlings without a Wildling King.

Of course, they definitely can't compare to our Jindong Iron Cavalry and the Great Yan's Northern and Southern Pacification Armies."

Sword Saint asked curiously, "You know all this?"

It was like a parent seeing another child with good grades and habitually wanting to ask about study methods.

Chen Xianba replied, "When I was a child, I always had a teacher responsible for teaching me. He wasn't my father, but he was better than a father."

Sword Saint nodded, so the responsibility lay with him, the father, for not teaching well?

Sigh, shouldn't have asked.

"As for the north, it's Han Xiangong's branch that has been confronting us all these days. Its scale is between sixty and seventy thousand, mostly composed of local militia, county soldiers, and garrison troops. Their combat power is not strong, but I think the other side should have something to rely on, and may even have a hidden elite force inside the camp.

To the south, according to these military reports, it should be the Qian Kingdom's Imperial Guards who have been mobilized.

The Qian Kingdom's Imperial Guards were said to number eight hundred thousand in the past, but the number that are actually alive has to be halved twice.

When the Prince attacked Qian that year, the Qian Kingdom first pulled out one hundred thousand, loosely organized, and collapsed at a single touch on the battlefield.

Later, the Qian Kingdom wanted to pull out another Imperial Guard force to the north, scraped together tens of thousands of soldiers, but before they even left Bianzhou Prefecture out of the capital, most of them deserted.

After that, the Qian must have reorganized the Imperial Guards. Judging from the military reports from those captains in the south, it's probably got to be sixty thousand strong."

Zheng Man counted on his fingers and said:

"Good heavens, that's more than two hundred thousand troops? The Qian Kingdom really has a lot of people."

No wonder Zheng Man was amazed, because the Qian Kingdom still had heavy troops in the border regions, and real heavy troops at that, and there was a field army corps of the Qian Kingdom in Liang Province.

Now, the Qian Kingdom could actually gather so many troops again in the heartland in such a short period of time.

Most importantly, the troops from Jiangnan in the Qian Kingdom hadn't had time to mobilize yet, and at the same time, the king-protecting armies from more remote areas hadn't arrived yet either.

"This is the Qian Kingdom," Chen Xianba said, "When you become familiar with the Qian Kingdom, you will find its strength incredible, and then you will find it even more incredible that it was once the weakest of the four countries and suppressed so severely by our Great Yan."

Liu Dahu asked, "What about the Prince's side..."

"Since the Prince has ordered it, we must do as the Prince has ordered. The Qian can't complete the encirclement in one night, and even if they barely form a four-sided response, they won't have time to launch an offensive tomorrow. The Prince can sleep soundly.

Furthermore, don't be shocked when you hear about the scale of the enemy's forces. Back then, Generals Li Bao and Li Fusheng were able to directly break through the Qian Kingdom with only sixty to seventy thousand soldiers, which shows how poor the combat effectiveness of the Qian army is.

Even on the snowy plains, my ten thousand Jindong Iron Cavalry can chase fifty thousand wildlings away. What does this little formation count for?"

As he said that,

Chen Xianba looked at Liu Dahu and asked;

"Have all the captains returned to camp?"

Liu Dahu replied, "According to the messengers, they should all have retreated back to camp as previously ordered once they had contact with the Qian army. They should be on their way now. Most of them should be back before dawn."

Chen Xianba nodded and said, "That's good. Everyone rest too, lest we be out of energy when the Prince wakes up."

……

Zhao Mugou ran into Zu Xinyue as he walked into the command tent.

Zu Xinyue saluted Zhao Mugou. No matter how awkward the position of the Rui Prince's Residence was in the Great Qian, as an external general, the etiquette could not be lacking.

Zhao Mugou returned the salute very seriously;

Afterwards, Zu Xinyue went out, and Zhao Mugou walked into the command tent.

The elderly Han Sui was not reading this time, but standing by the brazier, warming himself by the fire.

"The Emperor has personally led the army here."

"The Son of Heaven is personally leading the campaign?"

"Yes." Han Sui nodded, "He's separated from us by, more or less, that Yan army's fortress."

Since knowing Han Sui's true identity, Zhao Mugou no longer needed to hold back.

What he didn't know was that he had also inexplicably not done any hiding before, and these things, in Han Sui's eyes, were symbols of bloodline in the dark.

Affection for grandchildren, affection for grandchildren, it was more or less this feeling.

His little grandson was "unrestrained" in front of him, which was a kind of goodwill and trust towards him. How could Han Sui be angry about this?

"The last time our Great Qian Emperor personally led a campaign was during the Taizong Emperor's reign, ha ha."

Zhao Mugou's words were full of disdain.

The Taizong Emperor's personal campaign led to the loss of five hundred thousand elite founding soldiers of Great Qian, and since then, the Emperor's personal campaign has been regarded as extremely ominous.

Han Sui shook his head and said, "Actually, the ancestral military system of our Great Qian was established by the Taizu Emperor, and the Taizu Emperor was an emperor on horseback.

When he formulated the system, he also absorbed the lessons of the military leaders standing and complicated divisions of ancient Xia, emphasizing centralization in the center.

Using the power of the central government to control all directions.

But the Taizu Emperor's mistake was that he miscalculated one thing. He was an emperor on horseback, who obtained the world through conquest, but his descendants might not have his courage and structure, let alone his ability."

Zhao Mugou then said, "What he didn't expect was that his descendants wouldn't have anything to do with it."

Han Sui sighed and said, "Thinking of the late Emperor of Yan, in order to centralize power, he did not hesitate to trample on the noble families and completely delegate military power to the two Princes of the North and South;

And our Qian Emperor had actually completed all of this long ago, and had long possessed the situation that the late Emperor of Yan had dreamed of.

It's a pity that the system of our Great Qian requires a strong emperor to truly operate it. An emperor in the deep palace will only allow the system left by the Taizu Emperor to gradually become deformed and decadent.

As you said to me a few days ago, but you only saw that our Great Qian emphasized literature over martial arts. In fact, in our Great Qian, when the martial generals are suppressed so miserably by my literati, the real leader of the martial generals should be the Emperor.

The reason why our Great Qian has been out of balance all along is partly because my literati despise the martial men and deliberately suppress them. The other half of the reason is that since the Taizong Emperor, our Great Qian has never produced an Emperor who looked like a martial man.

This Emperor, I watched him grow up, he is definitely not an emperor who loves to show off, and he deserves the title of wise ruler. The reason why he is personally leading the campaign this time;

First, if this battle can be won, after the great victory in Liang Province, another main force of the Yan can be eaten, or even the Yan Prince can be eaten, then the pattern of Qian and Yan will be completely reversed;

Second, the Emperor has clearly seen where the system of our Great Qian lies. By relying on this personal campaign, he will formally take over the loyalty of all the military leaders of our Great Qian.

From then on, he can become a true Nine-Five Supreme of a country, like the late Emperor of Yan.

Gou'er,

You are very intelligent. At your age, you can be called a child prodigy, but child prodigies are always prone to making a mistake, which is to think that they are smart while looking at others, as if they are all fools.

This problem must be changed."

Zhao Mugou immediately knelt down and said;

"Grandfather, grandson understands."

There was some tacit understanding.

But to what extent Han Sui was willing to indulge him, and where the grandfather and grandson could go, was still unknown.

Would Han Sui be willing to devote everything from the Han family for a grandson who suddenly appeared?

Zhao Mugou did not dare to think about this possibility, because the Han family was originally a large clan, and there were also many grandsons of Han Sui.

But at least,

He had a chance,

And this opportunity was created by his grandfather.

Even knowing that he was Han Sui's biological grandson, Zhao Mugou still believed that he was a member of the Rui Prince's Residence, the Heir Apparent of the Rui Prince's Residence.

"Now, I'm worried about one thing."

"What are you worried about?"

"Do you still remember what the Prince of Pingxi said when I took you to meet him that day?

He said,

Isn't the Emperor,

Right here?

I thought at the time that he was teasing you, but now I think, is it possible that he meant something else, or had guessed something?"

……

"Heh, I was just using the Heir Apparent of the Rui Prince to ridicule and tease Han Sui at the time, how could I have meant anything else.

Besides, how the hell would I know that the Qian Emperor would be so fierce this time and dare to play the game of personally leading a campaign? Am I a god?"

The Prince of Pingxi, who had slept a long and good sleep, sat on the bed and couldn't help but smile and scold the Sword Saint, who was sitting beside him asking him, as he received the newly arrived military report.

"Really don't know?" Sword Saint was still a little disbelieving.

Because the latest military report clearly pointed out that the Golden Crow banner was standing in the Imperial Guards in the south.

"Sigh, Lao Yu, you are often by my side. It doesn't matter what the people below mythologize me into, but what kind of person am I, don't you know in your heart?

Why are you learning to be like a literati now, nitpicking here."

Zheng Fan stretched his waist,

He slept from yesterday evening until almost noon today.

It could be said that he was in high spirits before going to sleep, and after waking up, he was directly besieged on all sides.

"Xianba, I'm hungry."

Chen Xianba brought in food, and the food was very good, four dishes and a soup, made especially for the Prince.

Everyone else had eaten long ago.

The Prince sat alone behind the command table, holding chopsticks, eating slowly and deliberately.

Outside the command tent, Zhao Yuannian, with his family except for his mother, had been waiting early, and obviously they also knew the situation outside.

After finishing the meal,

The Prince waved his hand, signaling to take away the dishes, and then walked out of the command tent.

Zhao Yuannian saluted the Prince with his Princesses.

The Prince of Pingxi, who was full, paused his gaze on the Millstone Consort for a moment longer,

Then he pointed at Zhao Yuannian,

Said:

"Where's your mother?"

"In response to the Prince, my mother is in the tent, wearing her most splendid attire."

"Your mother is sensible. Go, and have your wives put on their most splendid attire, and show off your grandeur."

"Yes, Prince."

Zhao Yuannian immediately took his three Princesses back.

His steps were unceasing, but he turned his head every three steps, after all, he was extremely frightened in his heart.

Erbizi (a derogatory term for collaborators), are most afraid of being purged, because he understands how miserable his end will be at that time.

In comparison,

The Prince of Pingxi, who was already surrounded by more than two hundred thousand troops, seemed very calm.

Outside the command tent, many Yan soldiers, except for the patrols, the rest were either brushing their horses or simply dozing off.

The veterans knew what they should do now that was most beneficial and practical for themselves, and at the same time, their experience and emotions would be contagious to some of the new soldiers around them.

Zheng Fan grabbed his chin with his right hand, wrapped his left hand around his neck, shook it, and then made a "crack" sound;

Hu,

Comfortable.

A Ming touched his wine pouch. If he hadn't gone out to hunt down the Northern Qian army's sentries in the middle of the way, he might have run out of food long ago.

Now, he seemed a little excited instead.

He enjoyed war, because only on the battlefield could he choose the blood of those dead strongmen, which tasted completely different from the blood of ordinary people.

Xu Chuang was silently sharpening his sword.

The Prince of Pingxi looked at the great weather today and smiled: "More than two hundred thousand troops, not bad, the Qian are giving us face.

Another four-sided encirclement, they want to repeat the great victory against Li Fusheng in Liang Province, and want to swallow this Prince alive like the Tiger Might Earl!

In this way, there must be a problem with the fortress where Han Sui is in the north!"

Chen Xianba immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Highness is wise, the method of encirclement depends not on the strongest link, but on the weakest link, because only..."

"Next time, just say the bucket effect."

"Huh?"

"The amount of water a bucket holds depends on its shortest plank."

Chen Xianba nodded vigorously and said, "Your Highness is wise!"

Zheng Fan shook his head dismissively,

Said;

"He wants to weave an iron cage for this Prince, but he also has to guard against this Prince jumping out. Southeast, northwest, the miscellaneous army in the north should be the weakest, and it just so happens to be the north, which is the direction of this Prince's retreat.

No wonder the old thing Han Sui is cooperating with this Prince to put on a show. He's not afraid of this Prince attacking at all. He has the confidence to make it difficult for this Prince to break through it in a short period of time.

Hehe, this Prince has discovered that these Qian people are really carved out of the same mold as this Prince. Whatever moves are easy to use, whatever moves win, they are too lazy to change the script.

Not bad, we are really isolated and surrounded now. This Prince's boots are really soaked this time.

That Qian Emperor is also petty. Didn't this Prince just point at his nose and say that he didn't know anything about the military back then? This time, he actually came in person to get back at me.

This Prince is also very troublesome,

The same words,

To the same people,

Have to say it twice, why bother?"

The Prince of Pingxi waved,

And asked Chen Xianba:

"Alright, since they have already pressed on from all sides, Xianba, how many soldiers and horses are there in our fortress right now?"

Chen Xianba replied:

"Including the captains who retreated from the periphery from the second half of last night to this morning,

Inside the fortress,

All available soldiers and horses,

Will be just ten thousand!"