Fu Shanhe

Chapter 385 Sunset
Faced with the raging fire, even though the Yu army took action immediately, it still took two hours to put out the fire.

Fortunately, it is not winter now, otherwise the fire would spread faster due to dead branches and leaves, making it more difficult to put out.

After a delay of two hours, the Vietnamese army, whose ambush failed, successfully completed the evacuation.

Shi Yufeng, the main general, did not show any joy on his face.

"Whose subordinates are you and why are you still staying here?"

It was really infuriating. He led his troops to fight hard against the enemy and buy time for the army to evacuate.

After fighting a battle with the enemy halfway, they unexpectedly met soldiers from the rear army during their transfer.

It is acceptable for one or two people to be left behind, but now there is an organized unit that is stranded.

"General, we are the troops under General Weiwu's command, responsible for transporting food and fodder for the army.

It's not that we want to stay, but the road ahead is blocked and vehicles can't pass. General Weiwu is leading people to repair the road."

After hearing the middle-aged captain's explanation, Shi Yufeng became more furious.

If the soldiers and horses are not moving, the grain and grass will go first.

According to normal arrangements, in this kind of strategic evacuation, food and supplies should be transported away first.

The Vietnamese army made the decision to break out after much consideration and it was not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

An orderly evacuation is theoretically possible.

Now the order is reversed, and the grain transport troops, which should have been the first to evacuate, have become the rear troops.

After a brief moment of distraction, Shi Yufeng reacted quickly.

These unlucky guys in front of us must have most likely offended someone in the court, which led to this unreasonable arrangement.

“Tell General Weiwu that the enemy has caught up with us, and ask him to speed up the evacuation.

Pass the order down, and the whole army will set up camp on the spot."

Shi Yufeng waved his hand and said.

We are all frustrated people, there is no need to make things difficult for each other.

This troop that fell behind was lucky to be able to evacuate smoothly.

If they are caught by the enemy, they will just be unlucky.

As the rear guard force, he did not have many soldiers under his command and had no time to be kind.

If the conditions were not ripe, he would have wanted to use these people as bait to plot against the enemy once more.

The success of a general is the result of the sacrifice of thousands of soldiers, and the thing that a general lacks the most is ruthlessness.

……

Guangzhou Prefecture.

"Pass the order down, have all the troops prepare themselves, and march to Annan by sea in two days!"

After looking at the order in his hand and confirming that it was correct, Zhang Ning immediately gave the order.

From a distance perspective alone, boarding a ship from Lianzhou Port is closest to the Kingdom of Annan.

However, in war, one must not only consider distance, but also the secrecy of action.

If tens of thousands of troops were stationed in Lianzhou Port, any normal-minded Annan people would consider the enemy coming from the sea and would not be able to concentrate their forces to attack Zhennan Pass.

The enemy did not initiate an offensive, but instead waged a defensive battle on the spot.

If you want to conquer Annan, the price you need to pay will at least increase several times.

If Annan had not been internally empty, there would have been no piracy.

Without pirates causing trouble, the White Lotus prisoners of war could not be sent over so easily, and there would not be so many rebels in Annan.

In addition to military considerations, there are also political considerations.

With the fact that Annan sent troops to attack Zhennan Pass, it became legitimate for Li Mu to lead his troops to destroy Annan.

……

Thang Long City.

"Master Lin, are you sure you didn't make a mistake?"

Cui Ziyan asked in disbelief.

It is an unwritten international rule in East Asia that two countries do not kill envoys when they are at war, and it was the Dayu Dynasty that established this rule.

As a country of etiquette, the Dayu Dynasty has been maintaining its reputation with practical actions over the past two hundred years.

Now hearing that his own delegation had been killed, Cui Ziyan's first reaction was that it was impossible.

He would rather believe that the delegation's shipwreck occurred halfway or was killed by pirates than believe that it was done by the Dayu court.

“Prime Minister, this was witnessed by intelligence personnel, it cannot be false.

The heads are now hanging on the city wall of Qiongzhou. If you don’t believe it, you can send someone to verify it.”

Lin Zeliang assured immediately.

In order to rebuild the intelligence system, he put in a lot of effort and only then was the network extended to Guangdong and Guangxi.

Of course, calling it an intelligence network is just a self-flattering move.

The personnel were selected on a temporary basis and did not even have time for professional training. It was a purely makeshift team.

Apart from collecting public information, no secret intelligence is ever touched upon.

For safety reasons, they even had to stay away from the government's sight, let alone infiltrate the court.

"What did those idiots do to cause the Yu people to start a killing spree?"

Cui Ziyan asked with a frown.

Dayu's international reputation is so strong that even if his own delegation was killed, he still suspected that the members of the delegation had caused trouble.

He had no doubts about the reasons announced by the Dayu court when the delegation was detained last time.

After all, domestic official documents have always used the Dai Viet Dynasty and the Dai Viet Emperor.

It is normal for officials from the Ministry of Rites to write state letters according to past custom.

The officials of the mission were negligent in checking, which led to a big mistake and landed them in jail. This makes perfect sense logically.

There are all kinds of birds in a big forest. Similar oolong incidents have happened more than once in Dai Viet.

The more you see, the better your ability to bear it will be.

"It is said that an assassin was found in the delegation. After the Qiongzhou prefectural government received the news, they imprisoned all the members of the delegation.

After the report was sent to the capital, Emperor Dayu directly ordered the execution."

Lin Zeliang replied helplessly.

That was all the information he received, so he could only tell the truth.

No matter what the truth is, the intelligence organization under his command has no ability to investigate it, let alone rescue it.

When the news was received, the heads of the delegation members were hung on the city wall.

Before he saw the head, he had thought that the delegation had arrived in the capital of Dayu and was negotiating to end the war.

"The journey from Qiongzhou to the capital of Dayu is not short.

After such a long time, didn't you notice that the delegation was arrested and imprisoned? "

Cui Ziyan immediately questioned.

The killing of the envoys was a minor matter; the key point was that it cut off the hope of peace talks.

The Emperor of Dayu directly ordered the killing, which showed that he was enraged. Sending people to negotiate at this time would not yield the desired result.

The current situation of the State of Yue is extremely dangerous, and the hope of negotiation has been dashed, which means that both sides can only fight to the death.

The sudden change in the situation disrupted their previous plans, and many strategic plans had to be started over again.

“Prime Minister, this is the responsibility of the previous Minister of Public Administration.

Ding Weiqi, that old thief embezzled intelligence funds, so that the overseas intelligence organization is in name only.

I have only been in office for a few months, and it is not easy for me to plant spies in Dayu.

If you want to infiltrate the imperial court of Dayu, it will take decades of effort to see results. "

Lin Zeliang quickly passed the buck.

The dead cannot speak. The grave of the former Minister of Finance is covered with grass, so it doesn’t matter if he takes some blame.

This kind of handling result is beneficial to everyone.

If the responsibility lies with the dead, it means no one else is responsible.

"Well, it's not easy for you either.

I will explain this matter to Your Majesty.

However, the intelligence system under the Ministry of Public Security must be restored as soon as possible.

The court can't give you decades to develop slowly, so intelligence personnel must be sent out as soon as possible. We need to grasp every move of the Dayu court."

Lin Zeliang simply ignored the latter part of Cui Ziyan's words.

The Dayu Dynasty required household registration to be checked, and the presence of foreign personnel was like a beacon of light in the dark night.

Living under the spotlight, the slightest movement could lead to your identity being exposed.

... "Why aren't you moving again?"

Hu Xinbo asked with a frown.

Three days had passed since the army evacuated from Zhennan Pass, and they had only advanced less than sixty miles.

If it was a daily march, he would be able to tolerate this speed.

But now there are pursuers behind us. If we keep delaying like this, it will be troublesome if the enemy catches up with us.

"Your Majesty, there was an explosion ahead, which caused a landslide and blocked the army's path."

After hearing this explanation, Hu Xinbo's expression suddenly became serious.

He did hear the explosion just now, but he didn't take it seriously.

Over the past few days, small groups of Yu's army have been constantly carrying out attacks on the road.

The camp was attacked three times last night alone, and he was used to it.

Fighting on our own turf, we actually felt like the whole world was our enemy.

It’s all due to the lax military discipline.

"The soldiers pass by like a comb" is not a joke.

Wherever the Vietnamese army passed, most of the people along the way suffered disasters.

Not to mention helping them fight, not helping the Yu army to fight them would be considered giving them face.

Even if they discovered a small group of Yu troops sneaking in, the simple logic of ordinary people was to pretend not to see it.

What's more, influenced by the Central Plains culture, the Yue army learned many aspects from the Yu army, and there are many similarities in their military uniforms.

It is also quite difficult for ordinary people who have never left their homes to distinguish the differences between the two countries' armies.

"Can we take a detour?"

Hu Xinbo asked with concern.

He no longer had the energy to care about how to encircle and wipe out the small enemy force that had infiltrated.

I was full of anger and it almost came out in the past few days.

The domestic situation was critical, and he had no time to engage in a fight with the Yu army. He just wanted to quickly withdraw from this poor and remote area.

“The detour would add fifty miles, and the road is very bad.

No one can guarantee that there are no enemy ambushes on other roads.

Judging from the current situation, there may be people in the Lang Son area colluding with the enemy, otherwise the enemy's actions would not be so smooth.

It is better for the army to take the main road to avoid causing more trouble."

Chen Chuyang reported nervously.

If he had known there would be so much trouble, he shouldn't have come along.

Being a minister of war in the country, enjoying delicacies from land and sea, fine wine and beautiful women, is much better than eating dirt in the mountains.

Now that we have suffered a defeat, someone must be held responsible when we return.

If things go wrong, he, the Minister of War, will become the scapegoat.

"Um!

It seems that it is right to give up Lang Son temporarily, otherwise the army will be in danger if the internal and external forces collude. "

Hu Xinbo nodded and said.

Choosing to abandon the defense of Lang Son has nothing to do with collusion between internal and external parties.

The main reason for making this decision was that the domestic situation deteriorated too quickly.

Nearly half of the land of the Dai Viet Dynasty was out of the control of the imperial court.

If we continue to fight with Yu’s army, even the most important Henei area may be lost.

Although the Lang Son area has high strategic value, it is a money-loser economically.

There is no practical meaning in defending this place except wasting a lot of money and food.

The most crucial thing is that after the main force retreated south, the small number of troops could not hold on at all.

If we cannot keep it militarily, then we can get it back through diplomatic means.

After their ancestors were defeated in the war, they were all considering the issue of surrender, but the Dayu Dynasty suddenly gave up Jiaozhi.

This is enough to prove that the Dayu court did not value this land.

Relying on their experience in dealing with Dayu, the Yue State's top leaders felt that as long as they gave enough face and bribed the ministers in the court with generous gifts, the matter would be settled.

"Report!"

"Your Majesty, an urgent report has been sent from Thang Long City."

“Our delegation was killed by officials of the Yu Dynasty when they were passing through Qiongzhou Prefecture and docked for supplies.

In addition, the Guangdong and Guangxi naval forces have made unusual movements, and it is suspected that the enemy will launch a large-scale landing operation in the near future."

After receiving two pieces of bad news in a row, Hu Xinbo almost couldn't breathe and his body was shaking.

It was so exciting.

First, the negotiations broke down, cutting off the path to ending the war through diplomatic means, and then news came that the enemy was about to land across the sea.

Compared with attacking from land, attacking from the sea is obviously much easier.

The Dai Viet Dynasty now has the sea but no defense, and with a long coastline, it can land anywhere.

The most important thing is that by attacking from the sea, we can bypass the Lang Son area, which will greatly reduce the logistical pressure on the army.

Before provoking the war, Hu Xinbo also considered launching an attack from the sea, but the navy was not strong enough.

In addition, we are naturally afraid of the sea.

The plan was rejected in the court as soon as it was proposed.

Things are different now.

First, the pirates acted as the vanguard, and then a group of White Lotus rebels were sent over, which helped the people of the Yu Dynasty accumulate experience in cross-sea warfare.

It just so happened that the enemy was in Guangzhou, and the three towns had not yet recruited soldiers.

If a landing operation were launched at this time, Hanoi, which was short of troops, would become very dangerous.

"Why, are you frightened by such a small matter?

As officials of my Dai Viet Dynasty, where is your arrogance!
What's there to be afraid of with just a few Yu troops?

Li Mu is still too young.

If we had launched a landing operation before our troops withdrew, we might have achieved some results.

But now we have evacuated dozens of miles away, and it is only ten days' journey from Thang Long City at most.

When the enemy launches a landing operation, we will rush back and make sure they will never return.

I will definitely let Li Mu know about this battle..."

Hu Xinbo scolded while pretending to be calm.

Although he was shouting loudly, he was more panicked than anyone else in his heart.

The enemy's garrison soldiers couldn't win, so who knows how capable the recruited soldiers with stronger combat effectiveness are!
It would be fine if he could deceive the ignorant people about the combat effectiveness of the Vietnamese army, but he himself did not dare to believe it.

You should know that Xiao Yunfan, a veteran general in the army, led tens of thousands of troops back to the country to suppress the rebels, but was defeated and died.

A series of facts prove that the combat effectiveness of the Vietnamese army is worrying.

But now is the time to stabilize people's hearts. No matter how the strength of both sides compares, we must first brag.

Once the morale is lost, it will be even more difficult to fight.

……

"People on the mountain, listen up."

"You are surrounded."

"Put down your weapons and surrender!"

"We treat prisoners preferentially!"

Hearing the shouts from below, Shi Yufeng, who had several scratches on his face, gave a bitter smile.

As the rearguard unit, he fought and retreated. Although he failed to stop the enemy at Zhennan Pass, he was able to fight with Yu's army for three days with the help of the terrain.

As a price, of the 7,000 elite soldiers who followed him, only less than 300 were left.

Except for a few who got lost, most of them died on the battlefield.

Mission accomplished, mission failed.

Time was delayed, but the distance between the two armies did not widen as expected.

This place is less than fifty miles away from the rear military camp.

The army's progress has been slow, and given the enemy's speed, it won't be long before they catch up.

However, this general, who was about to die, did not need to worry about these problems.

(End of this chapter)