diskusbooks Chapter 263: Surrounded from Front and Back
Chapter 263: Surrounded from Front and Back
The Wang family, who were in power in Bingzhou, had some opinions on the actions of the Li family army. However, since the Li family's actions seemed to have solved some of the refugee problems, they acquiesced to the matter.
Before Li's army reached Mayi, they turned east, which was the best route to Weizhou.
At this time, the Jin army, which had suffered a defeat in Lingqiu County, was still there and had originally planned to withdraw gradually. However, the money given by the Lu family fell into the hands of the Wang family, and they still had not given up on Guangchang County.
Zhao Long has received intelligence about the whereabouts of those coming to Weizhou. They have requested assistance from Guangchang County. If necessary, they can also take over Lingqiu County.
Lingqiu County has 50,000 troops stationed there. They lost more than 10,000 men in the last battle, and there was a food shortage last winter. The troops and the people here have a very difficult life.
"What? An army of 200,000 is approaching, why is there no notification?" Upon hearing the news, the general who came to Lingqiu County immediately sent someone to find the county lieutenant of Lingqiu County.
The county lieutenant of Lingqiu County was named Donnie Yen. He was originally from the Xianbei tribe. Later, his family came to Luzhou to develop. They were good at business and became a prominent family in Yuzhou. The branch in Lingqiu County was just a side branch.
The Jin army commander summoned him, and he did not dare to neglect him. He hurried to the camp and asked, "General, why do you summon me?"
"There are two hundred thousand troops approaching. Do you know what the situation is?"
"We just received an imperial decree today, saying that the Li family is passing through Weizhou."
"How could this happen when 200,000 people went to Weizhou?" The commander-in-chief of the Jin army was obviously confused, but he had to carry out the imperial edict issued by the governor of Bingzhou.
Just as he was thinking hard, a messenger suddenly came to report.
"What's the matter?" The commander-in-chief looked displeased.
The messenger looked at Donnie Yen and replied, "The postman has delivered the handwritten order from the prefect, Lord Wang."
"Let him present it."
When the postman delivered the package, it had to be presented in person, unlike the couriers of later generations who could pick it up in person.
A moment later, the postman delivered the document, confirmed that the paint seal was intact, and then retreated outside the hall to wait.
The commander-in-chief was Liu Qizhi, from Jinzhong, and was part of the Lu family's military. The letter came from Wang Danwang, and was considered an internal document, but his expression suddenly changed after reading it.
"Go give a tip to the person who came, but there's no reply."
Liu Qizhizi shouted to the guards in front of the door.
After the response from outside the door and the postman's thanks, the hall fell silent for a moment.
Donnie Yen didn't know whether he should stay, so he stood up to say goodbye, but heard Liu Qizhi say.
"County Lieutenant Zhen, I have something to discuss with you."
"Oh, please speak, General."
"Li's army of 200,000 men rushed to Weizhou, taking tens of thousands of refugees and craftsmen along the way. Prefect Wang wants us to keep these people."
Donnie Yen was full of doubts. The order he received in the morning also came from the prefect and was conveyed personally by the county magistrate, asking them to let them go.
"But the decree we received..."
"There is no conflict. We are only keeping those people who originally belonged to Bingzhou and not allowing them to leave Bingzhou. This is also the order of the prefect."
Liu Qizhizi waved the letter in his hand and his meaning was obvious.
"What does the Commander-in-Chief intend to do?"
"I will mobilize the army, and you, County Lieutenant, will send the government troops to maintain order."
There are only a thousand or so soldiers in the county. Facing an army of 200,000, the role they can play is minimal. This is simply courting death.
But... it's just to maintain order.
Liu Qizhi waited until Li Jixian's troops approached, then led his army to block them in front of the team.
"General, tens of thousands of troops have appeared in Lingqiu County ahead, blocking our way."
"Report..." At this time, another urgent voice came: "General, there are tens of thousands of people approaching from behind us."
"Tens of thousands more." Li Jixian's brain was working rapidly. He had seen scenes of being attacked from both sides, but he had never encountered such a situation of hitting a rock with an egg.
"Pass the order and prepare for battle."
Li Jixian issued an order and asked the left general Li Xianchu, who was left behind, to prepare to intercept the troops in the rear.
However, the rear team did not have any intention of attacking after the interception.
"What does this mean?"
Yu Lei, who was beside him, came to ask whether to move forward. Encountering this situation, he asked in confusion.
"Who knows what they are up to? Just prepare for war." Li Jixian has many soldiers and generals under his command. He doesn't care how many people are in front of him. He just needs to attack.
"Report, a letter has been sent from the front team." A messenger came from the front army and handed over a letter.
Li Jixian took it and took a look. It said that he was ordered to intercept refugees crossing the border.
"Asshole, we've already discussed with the Bingzhou prefect about bringing these people who can't survive, and we have to pay for them. It's like we bought them, why should we give them to them?"
Li Jixian was furious and said angrily.
"General, why don't you ask the other party to come over and explain what exactly happened?"
"Alright..." Li Jixian felt that Yu Lei's words made sense and ordered, "Please ask their leader to come to our military camp for an interview."
After receiving the order, the messenger walked towards the front camp.
Qin Ke was the commander of the front camp, and Qin Ming was the deputy commander. They each led 10,000 men to be on full alert, and the troops behind were constantly being replenished.
When Liu Qizhi received Li Jixian's message, he smiled secretly and thought to himself, "I'm just waiting for you to negotiate."
When we arrived at the military tent of the front camp, Li Jixian had not yet arrived.
Qin Ke clasped his fists and apologized, "Our general will be here soon. Please have some tea first."
Liu Qizhizi nodded and smiled slightly, but did not reply. Instead, he picked up the teacup and blew gently. It seemed that the tea was a little hot. Unexpectedly, a silver thread emerged from the ring on his index finger and stretched into the tea.
The silver thread did not change color, so Liu Qizhizi took a sip with confidence.
If you don't dare to drink tea, you will inevitably be looked down upon by your opponents.
"Well, tea is produced in Qin, right? You don't produce tea in Longxi."
Liu Qizhi took a sip and commented with interest.
"Yes, this was given to me by a friend when I passed by Hancheng."
There is always a kindred spirit in the world, Qin Ke said arrogantly, showing off his connections.
"Indeed, you are young and promising. You have friends and old acquaintances in Qin and Longxi. You will also be able to make a difference in Bingzhou in the future. Would you like to make friends with me, Liu?"
Liu Qizhizi was not angered by Qin Ke's words, but asked with a lack of interest.
At this time, a man walked into the tent, clasped his fists and said, "General, you are so respectful to the wise and humble. It will surely become a good story in the future if you make friends with our vanguard."
The person who came was Li Jixian.
Qin Ke clasped his fists and saluted: "Greetings, General."
Seeing Qin Ke saluting, Liu Qizhi also stood up and said, "I am Liu Qizhi, the commander-in-chief of the Jinyang Army. I am honored to meet the general of the Li family army."
The two men met, one was a government army and the other was a mercenary. In Longxi, the Li family army was just a palace soldier. In terms of commanding troops, the government army was the orthodox one. Liu Qizhizi's behavior was considered low-key.
"You are too polite, Commander Liu. Logically, I should be the one to pay you a visit."
Since the other party took the initiative to greet him, Li Jixian didn't want to be arrogant and found a way out for himself.
"It doesn't matter. Great minds think alike. Why bother with these details?" Liu Qizhizi waved his hand, showing his generous spirit.
Li Jixian's main seat was in the center of the tent. After taking his seat, he looked at Liu Qizhi who had also taken his seat, and a hint of doubt arose in his heart...