bookrebus Chapter 361 Planning to Join Forces
Chapter 361 Planning to Join Forces
Xi Fenglie narrowed his deep eyes, his voice filled with certainty, "The court of Tiansheng may have doubts, but Tuoba Yu will definitely persuade them, and the final result will definitely be that our Great Liao and Tiansheng join forces to resist the Great Zhou!"
"But Your Highness, the ministers in our Great Liao Dynasty may not agree to this. The problems of several noble tribes in Shenxi have not yet been resolved. Shouldn't we quell the internal uprisings first?"
Gore frowned and offered his opinion.
"Lord Gore, you're thinking too simply. Do you think we can live in peace just because we've quelled the internal uprising and guarded the border? Let me tell you, it's impossible! If Emperor Beizun controls the Jiangxi Fortress, and Sikong Jin launches a surprise attack from the east of our Great Liao, and if they reach an agreement to join forces and send two armies to encircle and annex our Great Liao, we'll die even faster! Moreover, Ji Jiucheng's army is stationed on the northwestern border of Dayong. In this situation, we might as well take a gamble!"
In fact, when Xi Fenglie said these words, even he himself felt a little pessimistic deep down. The worst-case scenario was that the Great Zhou would also join forces with the Great Yong!
If they don't form an alliance with Tian Sheng, then the future looks very pessimistic to him, and Tian Sheng probably feels the same way.
This situation made him feel somewhat ridiculous. He had originally planned to launch an eastern expedition, but after all the fighting, he was now being threatened and forced to form an alliance with someone. And the person he was allied with was none other than Tian Sheng, with whom they had just fought several battles!
"Your Highness, how can we persuade the Emperor and the court officials? And what should we do now?"
After careful consideration, Gore had to admit that Xifenglie's analysis made a lot of sense. After a long silence, he could only ask this question.
Xi Fenglie took a breath, feeling a headache coming on. A serious expression appeared on his pale and thin face. "I will immediately write a letter and send it back to the court by express courier. Father and the wise ministers in the court will see the implications. Moreover, I may have to go to see Tuoba Yu in person. As for our army, we can only do as you said and temporarily withdraw from Hanyang City to preserve our strength."
"Your Highness is going to see Tuoba Yu in person?"
Upon hearing this, Gore's eyes widened again, and he objected, "Your Highness, please reconsider! It would be extremely dangerous for Your Highness to go there. It would be better for Your Highness to personally write a letter, which this old minister will then deliver to Crown Prince Tuoba, explaining the pros and cons of the matter to him. This way, everyone can feel more at ease. Your Highness is of noble birth and cannot take such a risk yourself; otherwise, this old minister will not be able to explain to the Emperor!"
Xi Fenglie flicked his sleeves and said with a sigh, "This trip is one I must take personally. It is of great importance. Otherwise, I will not feel at ease. You will temporarily manage military affairs. Now, immediately pass on my orders to command the entire army to reorganize and assemble as quickly as possible, and to withdraw from Hanyang City overnight, heading towards the southern border of our Great Liao."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Gore then responded and rushed out in a hurry.
So, that very night, before the Northern Emperor of the Great Zhou's army could even reach the city, Xi Fenglie had already gathered all the troops of the Great Liao and evacuated Hanyang City overnight. Of course, when they left, they left nothing behind, including the city's stored grain and other supplies, leaving Hanyang City practically an empty city.
The Imperial Northern Army, acting with utmost speed, rushed through the night and arrived at the gates of Hanyang City the afternoon after Xi Fenglie's army withdrew. However, the scouts sent out reported that Xi Fenglie had already led his troops to withdraw from Hanyang City at midnight the previous night, leaving the city empty.
Emperor Beizun sent a vanguard to search the city, but found nothing. Sure enough, they were left with only an empty city; not a single grain granary or warm clothing remained.
Later, when he learned that Xifenglie's army was approaching the southern border of the Liao Dynasty, Emperor Beizun was furious. He ordered Yi Wang to lead 100,000 troops to join forces with the 200,000-strong Third Legion of the Northern Army led by General Fengyang on the border of Dayong, and to advance towards the southern part of the Liao Dynasty, pursuing Xifenglie's army at full speed.
The cruel and bloodthirsty Emperor Bei Zun continued his brutal method of using war to sustain war, controlling Hanyang City. Using Hanyang City as a base, his 200,000-strong army began to approach Tian Sheng's Jiangxi Fortress. Meanwhile, the Wing King and Feng Yang, who had been sent to pursue Xi Feng Lie's army, suddenly changed course and headed straight for Ningzhou City, north of the Jiangxi Fortress, launching a surprise attack on Ningzhou City at night.
Since the last battle on the Jiangxi Plain, Ningzhou City was originally garrisoned by Tuoba Yu's hundreds of thousands of troops. However, after learning that Xifeng Lie had withdrawn his troops back to Hanyang City, Tuoba Yu transferred some of his troops from Ningzhou City, leaving only 80,000 troops to guard Ningzhou City. The rest of his troops were stationed near the Jiangxi Fortress to guard against Xifeng Lie's next invasion.
Therefore, after a night of fierce fighting, Ningzhou City fell and entered the hands of the Great Zhou.
This news came very suddenly, catching Tian Sheng completely off guard!
Because Tuoba Yu's 300,000-strong army was heading to the vicinity of the Jiangxi fortress, attempting to block the 200,000 troops led by Di Beizun, they never expected that Di Beizun would have such a trick up his sleeve, using the pretext of pursuing Xifeng Lie's army to actually launch a direct attack on Ningzhou City!
Emperor Beizun's actions were incredibly swift, displaying a mastery of military strategy that left Tuoba Yu in awe. He could hardly predict Emperor Beizun's next move; such an unfathomable person could only be met with inaction.
After Yi Wang and Feng Yang's army captured Ningzhou City, they swept through several passes near Ningzhou City with great speed and force. Meanwhile, the 200,000-strong army led by Di Beizun remained stationary and set up camp on a small plain less than 300 li northeast of Jiangxi Fortress, less than 200 li from Hanyang City, a major border city of the Liao Dynasty.
Emperor Beizun remained inactive, and Tuoba Yu dared not make any rash moves. He continuously sent out scouts to gather the latest battle reports from the vicinity of Jiangxi Fortress, because he had no idea what Emperor Beizun intended to do next. Troops mobilized from various departments of Tiansheng continued to rush to Yingzhou City to join Tuoba Yu's army. The entire Tiansheng was extremely wary and vigilant against Emperor Beizun's army.
That afternoon, Tuoba Yu ascended the city wall, still somewhat restless as usual, constantly pondering Di Beizun's intentions. Logically, he should be leading his hundreds of thousands of troops from Ningzhou City in a swift attack to capture the Jiangxi fortress, but why was he remaining inactive?
But before he could figure out what was going on, Blackwater suddenly came to report—
"Your Highness, Crown Prince Xifeng of the Great Liao Dynasty is with his guards at the West Gate tower. He says he has urgent business to discuss with you immediately!"
"The west wind is fierce?"
Upon hearing Hei Shui's words, Tuoba Yu was also somewhat surprised. A glint of light flashed in his deep eyes as he pondered for a moment with some doubt. After a moment, his eyes flashed as if he had suddenly thought of something, and he turned to Hei Shui and asked, "How many people did he bring in total?"
"Your Highness, including him, there are fewer than twenty people. Judging from his tone, it seems that he really has something important to discuss. However, Your Highness, Xi Fenglie dared to come here so rashly. Be careful, it might be a trap!"
Hei Shui thought for a moment, then clasped his hands in response.
Tuoba Yu paused for a moment, gazing thoughtfully in a certain direction opposite the city gate. After a long while, his expression turned slightly grave. He then turned and walked down the city wall.
"Let's go and have a look!"