Chapter 639 Reinforcements Arrive
Chapter 639 Reinforcements Arrive
At night, You Junda led 5,000 cavalrymen and finally arrived at Liu County. They bypassed Pengcheng County and came from Xiao County without being discovered by Chen Leng's patrol.
In the darkness of night, the cavalry rested and waited in a forest in the west. Not long after, the scout reported, "The six thousand soldiers outside the east city are the Sui army. I found that they were making simple siege ladders."
You Junda was shocked, "They are attacking Liu County?"
"I heard that they attacked Liu County during the day, but were unsuccessful."
You Junda was secretly annoyed and immediately ordered: "Pass my order, the army is ready to attack the Sui army's base!"
Before he set out, he received instructions from the King of Jin that the Jiangnan Army would not participate in any battle, but would strike without hesitation at any party that dared to infringe on the interests of the Jiangnan coalfields, no matter which party it was.
Five thousand Sui cavalry left the woods and quietly approached the six thousand Sui troops in the east of the city.
At this time, 6,000 Sui soldiers were lying in the open air to rest, wrapped in blankets and falling asleep. In another corner, the lights were bright and full of torches, illuminating the night as if it were day. Hundreds of soldiers were making simple siege ladders.
A simple siege ladder was made by nailing ten horizontal bars on two three-meter-long tree trunks.
Six thousand soldiers were suddenly awakened from their deep sleep. They all felt the ground shaking. Someone suddenly pointed to the distance and shouted, "Cavalry! Cavalry is coming!"
A mile away, a vast army of cavalry was charging towards this side. Black dust was rolling and the earth was shaking. The soldiers were so scared that they stood up and ran away. They didn't even bother to pack their weapons, armor, blankets, and personal belongings. They ran for their lives.
Wang Shishou could not stop them after repeated calls, so he had to turn his horse around and flee with the soldiers.
Five thousand cavalrymen charged into the enemy troops behind. After all, they were all Sui troops. As long as they surrendered, their lives would be spared, but if they resisted, they would be hacked to death by the cavalrymen.
Five thousand cavalrymen chased for more than ten miles in one breath. When the horn sounded, the cavalry stopped chasing.
Not many enemies were killed, only more than 300 rebels were killed and more than 2,000 surrendered.
You Junda gathered several captured generals and said to them in a stern voice: "I am You Junda, the general of the Sui army in Jiangnan. I am here to protect Liu County under the order of the King of Jin. Go back and tell your commander that if he dares to attack Liu County again, my 5,000 cavalry will surely attack you from behind at the critical moment. In addition, His Royal Highness the King of Jin has ordered Chen Leng to enforce military discipline. If he dares to let his soldiers harm the people again, His Royal Highness the King of Jin will definitely execute his entire family!"
After a severe reprimand, You Junda released all the prisoners of war. Several generals led the prisoners to escape back to the Sui army camp in a panic.
The whole city of Liu County cheered, and the people beat drums and gongs to welcome the 5,000 cavalry into the city.
In the Sui army's central army tent, Chen Ling was shocked after listening to Wang Shishou's report. His army was attacked by the cavalry of the King of Jin in Liu County. Is the King of Jin still a member of the Sui Dynasty's royal family? He actually helped the rebel army.
His staff member Zhao Weiming advised: "There must be a reason for this. Liu County must be unusual. General, why not ask the local officials!"
Chen Leng immediately sent someone to find Pengcheng County Chief Secretary Zheng Hong for questioning. At this time, a soldier came to report, "General Zhou Wei has returned with more than 2,000 captured soldiers!"
Chen Leng quickly had Zhou Wei brought up. Soon, Zhou Wei walked into the tent, knelt down and apologized, saying, "I am incompetent and was captured by the Jin King's army. I am willing to accept the general's punishment!"
Chen Leng asked anxiously, "We'll talk about the punishment later. Now I want to know what's going on. Where did the Jin Wang Army cavalry come from? Who are they?"
"Reporting to the general, the enemy is You Junda, the general of the cavalry under the command of the King of Jin. Following the order of the King of Jin, he led 5,000 cavalry from Jiangdu to protect Liu County. He just arrived tonight. He attacked us because we attacked Liu County during the day."
"What's going on in Liu County?"
Chen Leng angrily asked Zheng Hongdao, the chief official of Pengcheng County who had just walked in.
Zheng Hong bowed quickly and said, "Liu County is quite special because the Jiangnan General Administration Office has a large coalfield next to it, about a hundred miles in radius. The thousands of laborers they hired are all from Liu County, and their supplies and food are all stored in Liu County. The county magistrate was also recommended by the King of Jin. Although Liu County is nominally under the jurisdiction of Pengcheng County, in fact, Liu County has become the territory of the Jiangnan General Administration Office."
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Chen Leng was really depressed. If he had known that Liu County was the territory of King Jin, he would not have gone to trouble himself. Zheng Hong lowered his head and said, "I thought the general knew!"
"I know shit!"
Chen Leng was so angry that he waved his hand and said, "Everyone, get out!"
Zhou Wei whispered again: "You Junda asked us to pass on another message. It is a warning from the King of Jin to the general."
"What warning?"
"The King of Jin asked the general to enforce military discipline. If the general is allowed to harm the people, the King of Jin said he would not forgive him."
Chen Leng felt upset. It was a bit late to enforce military discipline now. Before, he had allowed his soldiers to rape and plunder in order to boost morale.
"I understand, all of you retreat!"
Everyone left. Zhao Weiming, the staff member, saw that Chen Leng was in a bad mood, so he advised: "General, you are the emperor's confidant. With the emperor's support, no matter how powerful the King of Jin is, he dare not do anything to you. Why should you worry about the King of Jin's warning?"
Chen Leng sighed and said, "I am not worried about the present, I am worried about the future. King Jin is a man who bears grudges. In the future, when the emperor declines, he may not be able to protect me. King Jin will definitely not let me go, or even my family!"
Zhao Weiming thought for a moment and said, "In that case, the general should write a letter to the King of Jin, promising to enforce military discipline. The signature date should be today, and it will start from today. Before that, I will not care about it."
Chen Leng had no choice but to do this.
At the same time that You Junda led the cavalry to attack the Sui army, Du Fuwei also sent Fu Gongyou to represent him in negotiating with Li Zitong.
Fu Gongyou pointed to the map and said to Li Zitong: "My general has led 50,000 troops to ambush about a hundred miles to the south. My general suggests that Li Gong pretend to be defeated and lure the enemy deep into the territory. He will lead his troops to cut off the enemy's retreat from behind, and the general will lead his troops to counterattack. We will attack from both sides, and the Sui army will surely be defeated."
Li Zitong was a little unconvinced, "Is General Du really leading 50,000 troops to ambush a hundred miles away?"
Fu Gongyou smiled and said, "With me as a hostage, what does Lord Li have to worry about?"
Li Zitong thought about it and it made sense. He immediately summoned all his generals to arrange the troops.
Li Zitong sent General Zhu Can to lead 10,000 troops to launch a surprise attack on Xiao County, which was the logistics and food supply base of the Sui army.
He also sent Wu Yunzhao to lead an army of 20,000 to attack the right wing of the Sui army, and Wu Tianxi also led an army of 20,000 to attack the left wing of the Sui army. He personally led an army of 30,000 to confront the main force of Chen Leng's central army.
On the last day of April in the eleventh year of Daye, the decisive battle finally broke out. Although Li Zitong's 80,000 troops outnumbered Chen Leng's 50,000 troops, the Sui army was far superior to Li Zitong's army in terms of soldier equipment, training, and combat capabilities.
The battle between the two sides ended with the collapse of Li Zi Tong's main force. Li Zi Tong's army was defeated, and Li Zi Tong, Wu Yunzhao and Wu Tianxi each led their troops to flee south.
Chen Leng pursued the enemy, but when he had chased them for a hundred miles, Du Fuwei suddenly attacked from behind with 50,000 troops and defeated Chen Leng's rear army. At this time, Chen Leng received news that Xiaoxian, an important logistics base, was attacked by Zhu Can and his 10,000 troops, and Xiaoxian was lost.
Li Zitong was just pretending to be defeated. He quickly reorganized an army of 60,000 and counterattacked the Sui army. Du Fuwei attacked the Sui army from the rear, and the morale of the Sui army was shaken due to the loss of important logistical bases.
Chen Ling's army was defeated and tens of thousands of soldiers fled in panic. Du Fuwei and Li Zitong took the opportunity to chase and kill them, killing 20,000 Sui soldiers and countless others surrendered.
Du Fuwei also divided his troops into two groups. He led 30,000 troops to pursue the Sui army, and sent his trusted general Wang Xiongdan to lead 20,000 troops to loot food and supplies. The northern part of Pengcheng County was not Du Fuwei's territory, so he naturally would not show mercy. Wang Xiongdan burned, killed and looted along the way. At noon the next day, the army arrived at Liu County.
(End of this chapter)