bookcurios Chapter 232: Kuanzhou Changes Ownership
Chapter 232: Kuanzhou Changes Ownership
The ancient town, also known as the ancient town of Shangjun, was occupied by Shi Yongzhi with the purpose of monitoring Shangjun. It is also an important passage to Shizhou.
Li Jixian had escorted Yan Ruxiang northward that night, traveling from Hancheng to Guyi. After the people and troops of Shangjun evacuated, Liang State immediately sent troops to occupy the area.
Zhao Qin was afraid of death and worried about the weakness of Qin's defense. He was especially afraid that the Huns would attack again from Shangjun. He reluctantly ceded Shangjun to Liang State to resist the forces from the north.
When Yan Ruxiang learned about this, it was already too late and he could only let the situation continue. The only thing he could do was to consolidate a solid fortress for Qin.
After General Conikoda of Liang led his troops to the area, they had difficulty adapting to the bitter cold. All edible and cold-weather supplies had been taken away, and they were barely getting enough food and fodder.
Although there are old merchants and immigrants from Liang State here, it is still difficult to meet the various needs of so many soldiers.
So, when he heard that another batch of grain had been transported to Gu Yi, he started to think about stealing it.
"Chaqima, how did you do it? I have transferred their people away, but you haven't succeeded yet?" A general of Liang State was furious and shouted at the thousand generals kneeling on the ground.
"General Cheqian, my subordinates are incompetent. Two waves of people came to rescue them at once. In a panic, I accidentally set the torch on fire and the grass..." Chaqima was ashamed. The carefully designed plan had already been carried out, and they had already attacked the camp where the food and grass were stored, but such a major accident occurred.
"Report, the Zhou Dynasty army has gathered troops and is heading towards us." A guard ran in front of the tent and said to General Kurgan.
"How many troops are here?"
"About 50,000. It seems that there are also war horses and equipment from Longxi."
"How could this be? This is Qin territory. Why are people from Longxi here?" Kurgan was a little confused, but facing the appearance of these coalition forces, he felt a little unsure.
"Retreat. It is possible that Qin's move is to attack our Liang State." With a command, the Liang army that came to steal the camp hurried back on horseback.
Li Jixian originally wanted to chase after him, but considering that this was not within his authority, he reined in his horse and looked at Yan Ruxiang beside him.
"Where is that Sima Diaomao? Does this have anything to do with him?"
"Sima Yan is stationed in Yanqing, and he is also stationed in Kuanzhou behind us. It is not surprising to meet him, but what happened today is quite strange." Yan Ruxiang did not harbor any malice and take the opportunity to get rid of Sima Yan because of his seemingly unfavorable behavior behind his back.
After all, Sima Yan's army is also the defensive force of Qin. If he really did this, it would probably weaken the internal defense.
After the Liang army retreated, Sima Yan also learned about what had happened. He felt that the matter was quite tricky and that he might be implicated if he was not careful.
However, in Qin, their Sima family still has a certain say.
When Yan Ruxiang came back, he saw Sima Yan was still there, so he asked someone to invite him over to discuss the matter.
"General Yan, if I say that this matter has nothing to do with me, would you believe it?" Sima Yan took the lead in shirking responsibility to prevent unnecessary trouble in the future.
"We must defend our Qin territory. Guyi is a strategic location. What do you think, General Sima?"
"Of course it's excellent. I agree with General Yan's arrangement."
"The grain and fodder Li Jixian brought has now been burned by the Liang army. General Sima, could you please allocate some? Also, Kuanzhou serves as the rear defense for Guyi. For strategic reasons, we'll leave over 10,000 soldiers here. Please let General Shi take over."
Although Sima Yan was unwilling, he did not have many troops at his disposal, and the area he was defending was quite large. Giving up Kuanzhou at this time might not be a bad thing.
"Okay, I'll make the arrangements right away. Leave behind more than 10,000 infantrymen to defend the city, and Lieutenant General Qi Zhengfei will be the commander-in-chief of the defense."
"Yes." Yan Ruxiang did not say much. As long as he could hand over the military power, it was more important than anything else.
"Li Mi, escort the general to Kuanzhou and take the tiger talisman with you."
Qi Zhengfei used to be the guard of Kuanzhou. In order to win him over, Sima Yan promoted him to the position of commander-in-chief, leading an army of 10,000 people, most of whom were actually old and weak soldiers.
Li Mi was the deputy general of the Guyi garrison, under the command of Shi Yongzhi. Yan Ruxiang felt right at home in this army. After all, this army was once his own.
After completing the arrangements, Li Mi escorted Sima Yan away with 5,000 men.
When he came, Sima Yan brought with him a thousand personal guards. When he left, he brought with him an army of ten thousand people from Kuanzhou. Although their combat effectiveness was not good, they could at least serve as a deterrent.
"General Yan, I don't think it's wise to take Shangjun right now."
Li Jixian also understood the whole story. Zhao Qin's move was intended to create an isolation zone. Shangjun was not lost, but was ceded to Liang State for management.
As for whether it can be taken back in the future, it depends on the ability of this prince.
"General Li is still leaving?"
"We formed the Li Family Army and went to Dingzhou to protect the reputation of our Li Family in Dingzhou. The king of a different surname bullied us wantonly. Doesn't this mean that our Li Family has no one left?"
Yan Ruxiang also received similar secret reports, and learned that after the Lu family failed to fight against the Zhao family, 100,000 troops were sent to Bingzhou, with Li Xin's Dingzhou in the middle as a quarantine.
At this time, the Lu and Li families had friction over the Dingzhou issue. Logically, this was a conflict between the aristocratic families, and the court could mediate, but...
Zhao Hengzhen had lost his mood at this time. He had been hiding in Huaishugang for a year. The court was in chaos, so he decided to leave.
"Eunuch Cao, make arrangements in the imperial city these days. I plan to return to the palace in the next few days."
After receiving the order, Cao Dezhi left the palace and found the commander-in-chief Xia Ren.
"Go down and gather the people from the left and right courts in the capital, and then the people from the left court will come to the palace."
Xia Ren was not a eunuch, but he knew that all the people in Zuochang were eunuchs, and their purpose of entering the palace was to protect the safety of the royal family.
"Eunuch Cao, we already have some of Zuochang's men in the palace."
"I've told you so many times, from now on, call me Commander. I don't like people calling me Eunuch Cao."
"Yes! I'll remember that."
Xia Ren looked at the eunuch in front of him with contempt. Without that thing, he felt very abnormal.
Currently, the people in the left and right fields of the Guard Bureau are not eunuchs, but they are not liked by Eunuch Cao. Field work is already hard, but the salary is pitifully small.
Everything is as planned. The guards' main duty is defense, and spying is just a side job.
Xu Hu's Dark Cavalry Division was not only responsible for gathering intelligence, but also for assisting the emperor in eliminating hidden dangers.
In the imperial city.
Some people around Zhao Wei have been disappearing inexplicably recently, which makes him feel uneasy.
"Could this be the work of Crown Prince Zhao Kang?"
In a corner of the study, there is an open window that overlooks the pond in the yard. Although it is December and the water plants in the pond have withered, there is no trace of clutter.
It seems as if there is still some green left in it.