Chapter 1339: Moving to Qiantang
In the Prince's Palace of Linchuan, Qian Dao, who had just withdrawn from the Songjiang front line, went into the palace to plead guilty without taking off his uniform. He knelt down in front of the hall with a dejected look and said: "The last general is incompetent and has failed the king's trust. The Tang army is more ruthless than before. With good predictions, his army attacked with all his strength. The Songjiang armies resisted for less than two days before they captured the enemy's formation..."
There were many people in the hall, but all of them, including Chen Qian, were silent, frowning and listening to Qian Daoji's account of the battle.
After telling the story of the battle, Qian Daoji still couldn't respond, so he could only bite the bullet and continue: "The last general has seen personally that the Tang army has excellent armor and is good at riding and shooting. It is good at attacking fortresses, breaking formations, and attacking long range. If you are facing an enemy, be careful not to be careless, as you cannot rely on anything but extraordinary danger..."
"According to what General Qian sees, is it possible that the Tang army is really invincible, and that someone's plan to defend their country is in vain?"
Although the rapid breakdown of Songjiang's defense line made people feel frightened and stressed, when they heard that Qian Daoji praised the Tang army so much and praised the heavenly soldiers who descended to earth, some people still felt unhappy and couldn't help snorting.
The faces of other people in the hall were also a little ugly. Chen Qian also had a cold expression. He was also dissatisfied with Qian Daoji's efforts to magnify other people's ambitions and make the crowd even more frightened, so he said in a deep voice: "The Tang army is indeed powerful, but everyone knows about this." I know. But to say that it is difficult to compete is an exaggeration. As long as we are human, we will always have shortcomings, and we will make mistakes easily. How can we say that we are invincible?"
In this battle in Songjiang, Qian Daoji was indeed a little confused by the fierce offensive of the Tang army, and was cast into a shadow. He was also very afraid of the Tang army in his heart and did not dare to fight head-on.
However, when he couldn't help but express his thoughts, he was criticized by the King of Linchuan, which made him even more nervous. He hurriedly paused and said: "The general is not flattering the enemy, nor is he praising the enemy. It's not that they are afraid of the enemy and they are timid. It's just a matter of fact. You need to be cautious when fighting the Tang army.
The so-called strong camp with high walls cannot stop the enemy. Once fighting in the wilderness, the Tang army's cavalry and archery offensive will become even more fierce. In previous battles with the Northern Barbarians, one could still rely on vehicle and boat barriers and wait for the enemy to weaken before counterattacking. However, now the Tang army's artillery fire is powerful and indestructible. It may not be a good idea to gather the masses to fight.
According to what the last general sees, it may be necessary to disperse the soldiers in the countryside, each according to local conditions, and occupy a position to divide the enemy's army, so that the soldiers are scattered in the wild, unable to gather their strength, and it is difficult to win a quick victory. The men and horses will be tired of running for their lives, and they will run out of supplies in the long run. …”
"It's getting more and more ridiculous! Qian lost our division and humiliated our army. There is a powerful enemy ahead. Spare your life for the time being, return to camp quickly to reorganize the troops, and wait for the opportunity to avenge his crime and make meritorious service!"
After Chen Qian heard this, her face darkened again, and she couldn't help but scolded.
Gathering Wuzhong Xiangqu under his command was a strategy he had been implementing with all his strength. As a result, after Qian Daoji returned from defeat, not only did he not reflect on it, he even questioned and opposed his strategy. This naturally made him lose face and Very annoyed.
After repelling Qian Daoji, Chen Qian looked at the subordinates in the hall who were also solemn and heavy, and said in a solemn voice: "Songjiang has been defeated, and the enemy has no cover. The current situation is extremely difficult, do you have any good plans to resist the enemy?" ?”
He asked everyone again this time, not to let everyone express their opinions like the last time, and then he would make the final decision, but because he was in a mess and had no clue at the moment. He really wanted to hear everyone's opinions in order to give himself some advice. Bring some inspiration.
When everyone heard King Linchuan's question, they didn't know how to respond for a moment. At the moment, their respective moods are not much different from Chen Qian's, and are even more messy.
Most of the people present had no experience fighting against the Tang Army. The previous assumptions and opinions were basically based on positions and emotions. Now at the beginning of the battle, the Tang Army has shown such a powerful destructive power, which is beyond their previous understanding. Know.
Now that the Songjiang defense line was broken, the Tang army was about to arrive in a moment. On the eve of this huge danger, they could not even adjust their mentality, let alone develop any new strategies to deal with the enemy based on the changes in the situation.
Chen Qian looked around, but didn't hear anyone answer. Then her eyes fell on Shen Ke who was nearby, and she said in a deep voice: "Do you have any plan to teach me, Chief Shi?"
When Shen Ke heard the question about him, he could only stand up and said while pondering: "The collapse of the Songjiang defense line is indeed unexpected. But the situation is like this, and there are actually clues. After all, the Tang Army was a annexation force. The enemy's new and cutting-edge division has crossed the river years ago. It is arrogant and has accumulated strength for a long time. If it does not have such a record, it will make people wonder whether it is not worthy of its name.
Therefore, there are many reasons for this defeat. The Tang army used all their skills to achieve this victory. After all, we, Wuzhong Xiangqu, have recently gathered and are not an elite and powerful army specializing in killing. There is indeed a gap in power between us, but as long as the fighting spirit of the countrymen like us to defend our country remains unchanged, the Tang army will not be invincible, and I will not be vulnerable! "
In this situation, even if there is a good plan to defeat the enemy, it will ultimately need to be implemented to test whether it is effective. Now that the crowd is frightened and their will is low, the most direct way is to boost their morale so as not to lose the courage to continue fighting.
After Shen Ke said this, everyone's expressions improved. Although the Tang Army is very strong, it is not unreasonably strong. As long as you know why the enemy is strong and what the upper limit of its strength is, you can find ways to target it.
"Then I would like to ask Chang Shi, how should we face the next battle? The Heyang artillery was already seen in the battle in Wu County. Later, when the Tang army came south, they would definitely not abandon this important weapon. With the current palace alone, I am afraid it is difficult... "
Although they felt a little more relaxed, when they thought about having to face the Tang army in the near future, everyone's faces could not help but be filled with sadness. Despite these words of encouragement, they still needed actual strategies to implement, so someone asked again.
After hearing this, Shen Ke nodded: "Yes, it is indeed difficult for the palace to resist the enemy's offensive alone. Therefore, it is best not to continue to be stubborn in the previous plan, or to make new adjustments as soon as possible."
At this point, he glanced at Chen Qian, who was sitting at the top, and then said after hesitating for a moment: "General Qian's new battle with the Tang army has made him feel deeply, and what he said makes sense. Now most of the troops are gathered and arrayed. I'm afraid it's not a plan to fight with the enemy. Looking at the strength of the Tang army, I'm afraid it won't be able to force them back in just a few battles. However, if our army is unfavorable in the battle, there will be no more room for maneuver..."
The reason is very simple. If both sides gather their main forces for a battle, even if the Tang army is defeated, they can temporarily retreat to the north and come back after taking a short rest. But once Wu Zhongwu loses the battle, the Linchuan Palace itself is nothing. It is a powerful city that can be defended for a long time, and the Wuzhong Division Brigade itself is not very mobile. I am afraid that it will not even be able to break away from the battle.
After hearing this, Chen Qian's eyes flashed, but she did not interrupt Shen Ke's words. It's not that he can't listen to different opinions, and the situation is also obvious now. It is indeed difficult to defeat the Tang army based on strength alone, not to mention which side has more troops. It's hard to say.
Previously, he advocated gathering the Wuzhong Division and Brigade in Changcheng County, mainly to strengthen his control over the rural situation. But now a truly powerful and fatal blow has come. The rural situation in his hands seems to be difficult to match. Naturally, another force is needed. Make other plans.
Seeing that King Linchuan did not rebuke him, Shen Kecai added: "The southern boat and the northern horse each have their own strengths. Now that the enemy is strong and we are weak, we need to pay more attention to our own strengths. The former traitor surrendered to the enemy and the river was lost, and the boat master regretted it. It is useless. Taihu Lake is shallow, which is not conducive to the advancement and retreat of the boat division and disrupts the enemy's rear path.
The current plan may be to temporarily avoid the enemy's sharp edge, and lure the best soldiers south to Qiantang, while the rest of the countrymen disperse back to their hometowns. If the Tang army comes to attack in a hurry, it will be blocked by the Qiantang River. If it patrols Wuxing, the villagers will reject it. All we have to do is delay the war until spring, when the spring tide rises and the rivers and canals are open. The enemy's cavalry will no longer be able to gallop freely, while our division and brigade can sail northward and regain the lost territory one by one! "
Shen Ke's strategy was similar to Qian Daoji's, both of which were to break up the Wu Zhongqu gathered into pieces and scatter them in the countryside, so that the Tang army was trapped by local forces and unable to make a quick victory.
The difference was that Shen Ke's strategy was more comprehensive and included a plan to move the main force southward and wait for the arrival of the spring floods before relying on the navy to recover Wuzhong. Of course, maybe Qian Daoji had similar thoughts, but he just didn't have the chance to talk about it.
"What Chang Shi said is indeed a prudent plan, and it is really uncertain whether it will be good or bad to rush to a decisive battle with the enemy at the moment. What's more, the reason why the Tang army came south is to conquer Kuaiji. Now that we in Wuxing are on top, we have to fight, but Kuaiji can't either Just stay out of it. Only by uniting the two places can we have a chance to defeat the powerful enemy!"
After Shen Ke finished speaking, everyone else present nodded in agreement.
Letting them fight with the Tang army now, they were really a little worried. If they could use space transfer in exchange for a change in time, it would be a good choice for them.
Moreover, this time the Tang army targeted Hou Andu in Kuaiji. As a result, they fought tooth and nail to stop the enemy for Hou Andu in Wuxing, but he was leisurely in the south of Zhejiang. Thinking about it, it makes people feel a little unbalanced.
Chen Qian also secretly wanted to retreat in her heart. Seeing that everyone had reached a consensus, she nodded and said in a deep voice: "The thieves' flames are so fierce that it is difficult to stop them, so they have to temporarily move. But this temporary retreat is by no means an escape. After going south to Qiantang, you should remember this humiliation and work hard to regain your homeland!"
Next, he quickly explained the evacuation matters. In view of the strong strength of the Tang army's cavalry, he did not dare to relax, leaving Shen Ke and several other subordinates to clean up the mess, while he led more than a thousand elites on horseback to Qiantang.