Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Chapter 316 Showing His Edge! Ximen Tang Refuses to Send Troops
The chief strategist Sima Ming's meaning was very clear.

He didn't want Prince Li Ben of Han to fight Ximen Tang head-on.

The Ximentang army defeated the 130,000-strong Western Waldersee coalition army and also routed the 100,000-strong Eastern Sakata army.

Given the current situation of the Great Qian Dynasty, there is absolutely no need to fight to the death with Ximentang.

There is no benefit to winning.

Having lost the battle, the forces under Prince Li Ben of Han collapsed.

Therefore,
The best course of action is to abandon the attack on Xianning and instead take Nanjing directly.

Once Nanjing is captured, southern Jiangsu can be occupied, posing a threat to Shandong in Ximentang.

In this case, Ximentang will definitely have to withdraw his troops from Xianning.

in fact,

After capturing Wuchang Prefecture, Prince Li Ben of Han fought a major battle with Prince Li Mu of Ning in the Northwest at Xiangyang.

There are only two paths before him.

The first route is to establish the State of Chu, using Xiangyang as a dividing line, and then sail down the Yangtze River to take Jinling directly.

If we can capture Jinling, we can establish the position of the 'Chu Kingdom' and reap the benefits of the fertile lands of Jiangnan.

However, stabilizing the situation will be very difficult.

After all, Prince Ning, Li Mu, in the northwest, would definitely not let this go easily.

in addition,

The Daqian royal family would not easily allow him to establish a kingdom.

Another option is to follow Sima Ming's advice, capture Jinling, and then head north to take the capital.

If he could replace the Great Qian imperial family, then Prince Li Ben of Han would truly be able to rule the world.

From the perspective of Prince Li Ben of Han, he naturally wanted to attack the capital of the Daqian Dynasty.

Because he was also a descendant of the Li family, his deep-rooted idea was to make his branch of the royal family the legitimate line!
He wouldn't have had this kind of courage before.

However, the Great Qian Dynasty is currently beset by internal and external troubles, presenting a golden opportunity that comes at a time.

Prince Li Ben of Han felt he had gained the upper hand. After equipping his troops with cannons and muskets from the Japanese, he was confident he could seize the entire Daqian Dynasty.

But to be honest,
Both of these paths were difficult for Li Ben, the Prince of Han.

Because Li Mu, the Prince of Ning in the Northwest, had a stronger army, more soldiers, and better horses.

The two sides are old rivals, having fought many times, with the former losing more often than winning.

Meanwhile, in western Sichuan, the Shu King's elite troops were also watching with predatory intent.

During this period of time, Prince Li Ben of Han had thought a lot but had not yet made up his mind.

right now,

After Sun Zhong's 100,000-strong army was annihilated by Ximentang.

He had to make a choice.

After listening to Sima Ming's advice, Dong Chuan's expression turned serious.

"A direct attack on Nanjing is naturally the best option at present."

"However, if Ximen Tang is not eliminated, they will become a stumbling block for our sweeping across Jiangnan."

"Don't forget, Hanzhong is our base of operations."

“Simon Hall has occupied Xianning Prefecture. If we take Wuchang Prefecture directly, all the foundation we have worked so hard to build will have to be handed over.”

"Therefore, Xianning Prefecture must be taken back!"

"Even if we attack Nanjing, we must eliminate Ximentang in order to ensure the safety of our rear."

Dong Chuan truly lived up to his reputation as a great general under Prince Li Ben of Han, possessing profound wisdom and foresight.

He knew very well that if he didn't retake Xianning...

Then,

Once Ximen Tang and the Ministry of War of Daqian join forces, Prince Li Ben of Han will be in a very precarious situation.

Therefore,
From any perspective, Ximentang must be eliminated.

Prince Li Ben of Han couldn't help but take a deep breath and nodded, saying, "That's exactly what I was worried about!"

in fact,

Dong Chuan wanted to lead his army to recapture Xianning Prefecture, which was also the idea of ​​Prince Li Ben of Han.

After all, this time, the army under the command of Prince Li Ben of Han suffered a crushing defeat.

With an army of 100,000 men routed like this, how could Li Ben possibly swallow this insult?

He boasted an army of 500,000 and established the state of 'Chu'!
This battle was inevitable sooner or later.

Once Ximen Tang occupies Xianning Prefecture, Prince Li Ben of Han will be unable to bypass Ximen Tang and will have to eliminate this threat.

otherwise,

Even if he leads his army to attack Nanjing, Ximen Tang is in his rear. Can he really feel at ease?

then,

Without any hesitation, he ordered Dong Chuan to lead an army of 100,000 to Tongshan County to garrison and find an opportunity to retake Xianning Prefecture.

"Dong Chuan! You will lead an army of 100,000 to garrison Tongshan County first."

"If Ximentang dares to attack Tongshan County, do not fight him head-on. Retreat to Chongyang Prefecture."

"I will immediately lead the army to outflank Xianning Prefecture. We will surround Ximentang from both sides and make sure to completely crush him!"

"Remember, we are now facing the Ximen Tang, the most powerful army in the Great Qian Dynasty. Do not be careless!"

Upon hearing this, Dong Chuan immediately knelt on one knee and said earnestly:

"As you command! Rest assured, Your Majesty, I will spare no effort to completely crush Ximentang and bring Chen Jie's head to Your Majesty."

Prince Li Ben of Han nodded, seemingly having great confidence in Dong Chuan.

Then,

He turned to look at Sun Zhong beside him, and snorted coldly:

“Sun Zhong, this great defeat is not your fault, so I will spare your life for now.”

"From now on, you will stay by Dong Chuan's side and go with him to Tongshan County to atone for your crimes."

finished,

Prince Li Ben of Han said to Hoshino Kozo, "Lord Hoshino Kozo, we need your assistance this time when we go to Tongshan County to deal with Ximentang!"

"We hope you can provide us with another 1,000 Japanese field guns, 100 Japanese heavy machine guns, and 50,000 Japanese muskets."

"In addition, we hope to be equipped with 50,000 artillery shells and 2,000 boxes of ammunition!"

Although Hoshino Kozo was nominally an advisor under Prince Li Ben of Han, his true identity was that of a liaison between the Kwantung Army and Prince Li Ben of Han.

In general,

Whenever Li Ben, the Prince of Han, needed weapons, he would seek out Hoshino Kozo.

Whether it's buying on credit or paying in cash, etc.

As long as Prince Li Ben of Han makes a request, Hoshino Kozo will, barring any unforeseen circumstances, fulfill it.

because,

Han King Li Ben is now heading to the Ximen Hall.

Although Hoshino Kozo had not been in the Hanzhong region for long, he had managed to procure a large number of Japanese weapons for Prince Li Ben of Han.

Therefore,
King Li Ben of Han was able to raise the banner of rebellion, conquer such a large territory, and establish the 'Chu Kingdom'.

Kozo Hoshino was a great and indispensable help to him.

but,

Kozo Hoshino was not a great philanthropist.

To obtain Japanese weapons, one must naturally pay a price.

There's no such thing as a free lunch. How could you possibly get Japanese weapons from Hoshino Kozo without paying a price?

However, this time, Hoshino Kozo's reaction surprised the rebel generals.

Unconditional funding!

That's right,

This time, the Kwantung Army did not raise any other conditions, but provided unconditional financial assistance to Prince Li Ben of Han.

The purpose is self-evident: to defeat Ximentang.

A moment later, the rebel generals dispersed.

Chief strategist Sima Ming had a persistent bad feeling.

but,

He couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

He felt that Prince Li Ben of Han's decision to abandon the attack on Jinling and instead divert all his forces to deal with Ximen Tang would be the biggest strategic blunder.

Just as Li Ben, the Prince of Han, made the decision to temporarily abandon the attack on Jinling, first recapture Xianning, and then focus all his efforts on dealing with Ximen Tang.

Guo Feng, from the Ministry of War of the Great Qian Dynasty, led an army of 50,000 men away from Huangshi Prefecture and returned to Ezhou.

original,

Li Qiong received Chen Jie's reply to his order and was dissatisfied with Chen Jie's refusal to send troops to Tongshan County.

Although he was very clear in his heart that Ximen Tang was the one who advocated fighting this time.

However, he felt that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to easily take over Wuchang Prefecture.

As long as Ximentang attacks Tongshan County, he can hold back the main force of Prince Li Ben of Han.

As a result,
He appointed Guo Feng and Yang Xishan to lead an army of 100,000, which would easily capture Wuchang Prefecture.

Unexpectedly, Ximentang did not send troops to attack Tongshan County.

Arrogance and complacency!

Although Li Qiong knew that Chen Jie's identity was special.

but,

On the surface, he was, after all, the general in charge of suppressing this rebellion.

Chen Jie refused his order; wouldn't that just make things difficult for himself?
If things were kept behind closed doors, perhaps Li Qiong would have let it go.

but,

After being stirred up by several advisors around him, Li Qiong couldn't hold back any longer.

He even began to doubt Simon's motives.

What is Ximentang trying to do?
Is it not enough for them to be stationed in Shandong? Do they also want to amass military power and rebel like Li Ben, the King of Han, and seize Hanzhong?
Once he had this thought in mind, the more he thought about it, the more convinced he was that his judgment was correct.

Because in the past few days, the Daqian army has won a series of great victories.

Not only did Hebei's main general Hong Yanchuan hold back Ning Prince Li Mu's main force, but he also won a battle.

Simultaneously,

His subordinates Yang Xishan and Guo Feng even captured Huangshi Prefecture, achieving a great victory.

Therefore,
Li Qiong's confidence swelled up instantly!
The rebel leaders, Prince Ning (Li Mu) and Prince Han (Li Ben), weren't very strong either.

His own army easily captured Huangshi Prefecture.

Therefore, it seems that Ximen Tang's capture of Xianning City was nothing special and not a big deal.

Now is the perfect time to seize Wuchang Prefecture in one fell swoop; we absolutely cannot miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

What he didn't know was that...

Guo Feng and Yang Xishan of the Daqian army were able to capture Huangshi Prefecture because Sun Zhong led his army away from Huangshi Prefecture.

This gave Guo Feng and his companion an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

If it weren't for Ximen Tang wiping out Sun Zhong's 80,000-strong army and holding back the main force under Han King Li Ben,

Then,

The 100,000-strong army under Guo Feng and Yang Xishan will be easily defeated by the rebels.

The Daqian army is in its current state entirely because Ximen Tang blocked the main force of the rebel army.

Many people in the army of the Daqian Ministry of War shared the same thoughts as Li Qiong.

General Guo Feng shared the same idea.

He saw that Ximentang had captured Xianning Prefecture and dared to take credit for his great achievements, refusing to obey the orders of Li Qiong, the Grand General of the Ministry of War of the Great Qian Dynasty.

Suddenly, he got angry!
He didn't know Chen Jie's background, nor did he know that Chen Jie held a secret decree and a tiger tally, which allowed him to take command of the battlefield at any time.

and,

Chen Jie has a secret order to execute someone immediately!

After Guo Feng easily captured Huangshi Prefecture with his army, he was flattered by his subordinates and his ego suddenly became inflated.

He didn't think Ximentang was that strong in combat.

Ximentang's ability to defeat the rebels and capture Xianning Prefecture was purely due to luck.

All of this is because the rebels are too weak in combat.

Isn't this how you easily conquer Huangshi Prefecture?

If I were to lead the troops to annihilate Xianning Prefecture myself, I would certainly be able to take it down easily, and perhaps even do a better job than Ximentang.

When he heard that Chen Jie was defending the city of Xianning.

Guo Feng volunteered to Li Qiong to lead an attack on Tongshan County.

If he can take Tongshan County, his next goal is to seize Chongyang Prefecture.

Li Qiong was naturally delighted to see that Guo Feng actually wanted to take the initiative to attack Tongshan County.

Therefore,
He immediately issued an order, commanding Guo Feng to lead an army of 50,000 to Tongshan County.

in addition,

He also handed over the 20,000 newly recruited soldiers to Guo Feng's command, bringing the total to 70,000 troops.

Simultaneously,

He then ordered that the 10,000 troops of Meng Ying and Lin Rui stationed outside Xianning Prefecture be placed under the command of Guo Feng.

That is,

He took back command of Meng Ying and Lin Rui's 10,000 troops from Chen Jie.

Therefore,
Guo Feng's army suddenly grew to 80,000.

Li Qiong did this to give Xi Mentang a warning.

Of course, he didn't dare to openly cause trouble for Chen Jie.

After all, Ximen Hall does not belong to the Ministry of War of the Great Qian Dynasty. If Chen Jie is really angered, Li Qiong will also have a hard time.

His father, Li Zhen, the Grand Marshal of the Ministry of War of the Great Qian Dynasty, had given him a stern warning, telling him to listen to Chen Jie.

Guo Feng was overjoyed upon receiving Li Qiong's order.

Once everything was ready, he immediately led his army from Ezhou to Xianning Prefecture.

After arriving in Xianning Prefecture.

Guo Feng ordered his army to camp outside the city, and then went to Xianning Prefecture to show Chen Jie the orders of General Li Qiong.

Upon seeing Li Qiong's order, Chen Jie couldn't help but sneer.

How could he not know what the other party was thinking?

but,

He didn't say much, but readily allowed Guo Feng to lead the armies of Meng Ying and Lin Rui.

From beginning to end,

Chen Jie did not allow the two men's armies to fight alongside Ximentang.

Meng Ying and Lin Rui's troops were always responsible for cleaning up the battlefield.

Now that Guo Feng is in charge of them all, it has saved Chen Jie a lot of trouble.

then,

He quickly sent someone to inform Meng Ying and Lin Rui, and relayed Li Qiong's orders to them, telling them directly that from now on they should follow Guo Feng and no longer need to follow Xi Mentang.

After all military affairs were handled.

Guo Feng took a deep breath and said:
“Your Excellency, I am acting on the orders of General Li Qiong of the Ministry of War to lead troops to attack Tongshan County.”

"I hope Ximentang can lend me a hand and help me take Tongshan County in one fell swoop."

Chen Jie smiled calmly, shook his head, and said:
"The time to attack Tongshan County has passed!"

"Dong Chuan's army has already arrived in Tongshan County. It will be very difficult for you to take Tongshan County at this time!"

King Li Ben of Han abandoned his attack on Jinling and led his army back.

Although he only had 200,000 elite troops under his command, his total military strength was 500,000.

and,

He once again received assistance from the Japanese and acquired a large amount of weapons and equipment.

Although Ximen Tang defeated Sun Zhong's army, he did not fundamentally harm King Li Ben of Han.

His current fighting strength should not be underestimated.

Even Chen Jie dared not underestimate Li Ben, the Prince of Han.

not to mention,
The man who led the army to Tongshan County was Dong Chuan, the most capable general under Li Ben, the Prince of Han.

This man is brave and skilled in battle, resourceful and wise, and has a long-standing reputation!

He led an army of 100,000 to Tongshan County, and Chen Jie was not confident that he could defeat them.

Although the Daqian army under Li Qiong's command has improved its combat effectiveness considerably.

but,

Compared to the main force under Dong Chuan, their combat effectiveness was far inferior.

Chen Jie is waiting for the arrival of 20,000 reinforcements from Shandong.

He has already transferred 20,000 elite troops from Shandong and has also gathered another batch of artillery shells, which will arrive in Xianning Prefecture in five days.

Therefore,
Chen Jie had no intention of sending troops to Tongshan County at this time.

He was even worried that Dong Chuan would attack Xianning Prefecture. In the past two days, he ordered the people and his troops to start digging trenches and setting up defensive fortifications around Xianning Prefecture.

What he didn't expect was that
Li Qiong, the Grand General of the Ministry of War of the Great Qian Dynasty, is in such a hurry!
He ordered Guo Feng to lead an army of 80,000 to attack Tongshan County. Wasn't that just sending them to their deaths?
When Guo Feng heard that Chen Jie refused to send troops, he immediately laughed disdainfully.

"These mere rebels are nothing to worry about. Opportunities are created, not waited for!"

"Others may fear Dong Chuan, but I, Guo Feng, have never taken him seriously."

"Even if Prince Li Ben of Han personally leads his army to Tongshan County, I will definitely be able to completely defeat them!"

“You Ximen Tang are afraid of death, but none of the soldiers under my command, Guo Feng, are afraid of death!”

(End of this chapter)