Chapter 870: Defeated and Requesting Alliance
Outside the main hall of the Jingkou Military Mansion, a general in uniform prostrated himself on the ground, kowtowed and begged: "I beg Situ Yun to return home to fight the Qi army. I don't need strong troops, but a thousand soldiers are enough! The village of Qin County is located, On the day I left my hometown, my father and I sent him off with his bridle. Even though we have not yet achieved our achievements, how can we bear to sit back and watch the people in our hometown be in ruins?"
In the main hall, Chen Baxian listened to Wu Mingche's call for battle outside the hall, and his face was quite troubled. However, Hou Andu next to him said seriously: "We are facing a national crisis and facing a powerful enemy. Is this a rural game? Wu Mingche has returned to his account. Inside, you should think about my lord's plan. Guangling City is also trapped for a long time, and our army has the shortcoming of exhausted teachers and teachers.
Qinzhou was originally guarded by Wang Taiwei, and Jiankang's soldiers and horses were strong. If the rules were followed, there would be no need to transfer reinforcements from elsewhere. If they could not be defended, how could Wu Mingche alone be able to reverse the situation? This man, with his nostalgia and selfish desires, has violated the laws of our army and deserves to be punished! "
"Hou Lang's words are too much. People love their hometown and birds love their old nests. This is the nature of things. The plan cannot cover Qinzhou. It's my shortcomings. What's Ming Che's fault?"
When Chen Baxian said this, the look of helplessness on his face deepened: "Comrades today should not have any sectarian views on the rise and fall of our comrades. No matter where we are defending, if our Liang land is robbed, we should come together to rescue. But now Guangling has been fighting for a long time. Shili was exhausted, and only by consolidating the old formation could we hope to defend it.
Pei and Xu Yi of Qinzhou were both brave and famous generals at that time. When the Qi army came from afar, the arrogant troops easily picked them off. Because the city was a formation, it was not difficult to hold on. If the attack fails and morale declines, then a counterattack may yield miraculous results. "
It's not that Chen Baxian is unwilling to rescue Qinzhou, but he just feels that now is not the best time. It should be noted that he had withstood the Northern Qi offensive in Guangling for several months with the strength of his troops alone.
As for Qin County, which is too close to Jiankang due to its geographical location, it has always been in the hands of Nanliang and has not been lost. It has a relatively complete city defense foundation. In addition, Pei Zhiheng and Xu Sihui were both veteran generals who participated in quelling the Hou Jing Rebellion, and Wang Sengbian was able to mobilize much more troops than Chen Baxian, so it was very possible to withstand the enemy's first wave of offensive.
As Hou Andu said, if Qin County fails to defend, it must be that the defenders have made a very fatal mistake. Whether Chen Baxian sends reinforcements or not, it will not be the decisive factor.
On the other hand, if Qin County can hold on and the Qi army fights for a long time without any results, some chain reactions will occur in all aspects. At that time, we can gather elite forces, patiently look for loopholes waiting for the enemy to be exposed, and then launch a counterattack against the enemy. This is a good way to defeat the strong with the weak.
Of course, aside from these strategic assumptions, there is another more profound reason, which is that the middle school does not have high recognition of the Guangling and Jingkou river defense systems that Chen Baxian has carefully managed, and there have always been voices that want to abandon them. Due to Chen Baxian's stubbornness, these opposing voices have departed from the scope of discussing the matter and turned to personal attacks on Chen Baxian through conspiracy theories.
Since Guangling was besieged by Northern Qi shortly after he succeeded, Chen Baxian had been busy fighting the battle and was unable to show the masses the significance of Guangling to Jiangbei's management. In addition, he only controls the limited areas of Jingkou and Guangling, and has relatively few human resources to dispatch. This also limits the pace and scale of his investment in Jiangbei, and cannot bring out the value of Guangling more effectively.
Nowadays, there are many voices in the country accusing Chen Baxian's previous cooperation with Wei Li Boshan as the direct cause of the fall of Jiangling. Since Hefei was controlled by the Western Wei Dynasty, Chen Baxian's capture of Guangling caused Nanliang to lose the opportunity to negotiate peace with Northern Qi and ask for help, leaving Jianghan completely Captured by the Western Wei Dynasty. Chen Baxian must at least bear part of the responsibility for this series of sudden changes!
This is of course a very unreasonable and serious accusation for Chen Baxian. Wang Sengbian's personnel arrangement of surrounding Jingkou with his protégés and intentionally or unintentionally compressing the scope of his activities also made Chen Baxian feel that mutual trust had been in a state of depletion.
Now he not only needs to consider his own safety, but also the future and destiny of the soldiers under his command. Not putting himself in dangerous situations is also a responsibility to others and himself. Therefore, he had been cautious in speaking out on the new king's enthronement before, and he was also worried about whether he would be allowed to stay in the court after entering the court. Even if there is only a slight delay, the already tense Guangling War may collapse.
Wu Mingche's concern led to chaos and he was eager to ask for a battle, but Chen Baxian refused because it was too early. Although he does not intend to interfere in Qin County's war now, Chen Baxian is also paying close attention to the progress of the war.
Soon the Northern Qi army arrived in Qin County, and after a short rest, they immediately launched an offensive against Qin County. Pei Zhiheng and Xu Sihui lived up to their high expectations. They organized the defenders to successfully repel several Qi army attacks and initially withstood the Qi army's pressure.
Originally, the war situation might have turned into a stalemate. However, Pei Zhiheng, perhaps because the war was going too smoothly, was arrogant. Taking advantage of the tired truce outside the city and retreating to camp, he led his disciples out of the city to camp at night, hoping to create a Wonderful feat.
It went relatively smoothly at the beginning, and several enemy camps were broken. However, as the Qi army reacted and began to effectively organize a counterattack, Pei Zhiheng and his followers immediately doubled their pressure. They fought and retreated, and fought fiercely in the middle of the night. In the end, due to Xu Sihui, who was guarding the city, did not send troops to respond in front of the city gate as agreed. Pei Zhiheng and his party died fighting to the death, and were surrounded and killed by the Qi army in front of the Qinjun city.
Pei Zhiheng's death in battle brought a huge psychological shock to the Liang army defending the city. Then the Qi army attacked the city with hundreds of ants, and the sound of fighting resounded across the river for a while.
Wang Sengbian, who had been paying close attention to the war at Zhongshan on the south bank, was panicked when he learned that Pei Zhiheng died in the battle and Luocheng of Qin County was occupied by the Qi army. He hurriedly dispatched general Cheng Lingxi to lead the boat division. Zhang Gongzhou quickly sent reinforcements to the Yangtze River, and finally he was able to stabilize the war situation, and all the remaining cities were captured by the Qi army.
But even so, the fall of Luocheng in Qin County gave Jiankang a huge shock. It's really because Qinjun's geographical location is too close to Jiankang, and fortunately there is a Yangtze River blocking them. Otherwise, it doesn't even take a day to get from Qinjun to Jiankang.
Originally, Wang Sengbian still had the confidence to stop the enemy forces in Jiangbei, but the battle here in Qin County was unfavorable and a new general was lost, which also put pressure on him. Leaving aside the menacing foreign enemies, the lack of positive attitude of all parties, especially Chen Baxian, became a straw that weighed on his heart.
The battle on the front line was unfavorable. Xu Sihui came south by boat to plead guilty, but he soon pointed the finger at Chen Baxian: "Lieutenant, Chen Baxian can't be trusted! This person is not an old follower. He relies on his old track record to network with party members, including Hou Andu and others under his command." They are all greedy for power and fond of chaos.
Now it is based in Jingkou, and its use is not unimportant, but before, it still hated the lightness of its position and coveted Guangling. It conspired with thieves and provoked powerful enemies, just to increase its power. Now that his country is invaded again, he puts himself first in Beifu and waits to see whether he will succeed or fail. His scheming is as deep as that of Jiang Hai!
It’s not that the generals and others dare not continue to fight to the death with the enemy, they are just worried that they may be in danger of being attacked from both sides in the future! Now Liang Ye's survival depends on the Taiwei. Although the people of Qi are arrogant, they are not the culprits who want to destroy our country. Instead of wasting your strength and fighting inhumanely, it is better to recruit strong support and strengthen the foundation! "
After Wang Sengbian heard this, he immediately showed a look of hesitation and struggle on his face. Indeed, even though the battle here in Qin County was unfavorable, the navy of the boat division was the weak point of the Northern Qi Dynasty, and it was still possible to block the river and defend it in a battle. But compared with external enemies, internal worries should not be underestimated.
Nowadays, it is very difficult for him to order all parties and coordinate the situation. If too many troops are consumed due to fighting with Northern Qi, his prestige and deterrence in the country will only become weaker in the future. Under such circumstances, maintaining strength and waiting for a turnaround is a wiser choice.
"But, but, the late emperor died unexpectedly in a foreign country, and only the blood of this heir was paid to me. If I don't protect him, I will be responsible for the failure of my father and the people of the country!"
Although the fighting spirit in his heart had been shaken, when he thought of the excessive demands made by Beiqi, Wang Sengbian shook his head and sighed in embarrassment. He is too closely tied to the late emperor Xiao Yi. If he commits such a disobedient act, he will be despised by the whole country. At that time, his prestige will also be greatly damaged, and he will be defeated even if he is not defeated.
"The Marquis of Zhenyang was defeated and humiliated the country in the old year, which was a shame for the clan. Although now he relies on the Qi people to return with military power, how can people take it seriously? Even if he returns to the country to perform his duties, the state affairs still need to rely on the Taiwei. King Jin'an Although he is the blood heir of the late emperor, he is still young and cannot convince the public. It is better to welcome Marquis Zhenyang back to the country and show his respect to the emperor, while the king of Jin'an prepares the throne for the second son. This way, he can not only live up to the late emperor's kindness, but also solve the current situation. Urgent need!"
After Xu Sihui pondered for a while, he proposed such a workaround.
After Wang Sengbian heard this, his eyes suddenly flashed. Indeed, no matter who ascends the throne as emperor, he is just a puppet on the table. The military and political power of Nanliang can only be in the hands of Wang Sengbian. It's certainly not worth it to use up all your elite power just for the sake of a puppet's false reputation.
Now, by making Marquis Zhenyang the emperor first to meet Northern Qi's requirements and solve the current crisis, and then making King Jin'an the crown prince, he is also keeping his bottom line. If there is hope for ZTE in the coming year, it will also be a matter for the king to argue with him.