Chapter 356: The three armies meet and talk about the decisive battle

After Dong Zunhui retreated twenty miles, Liu Yanzhen finally climbed the hills near Xiacai Town under the escort of Xian Shilang. Looking at the catapult carts that were smashed to pieces on the hills, Liu Yanzhen said proudly: "Don't look at the arrogant and proud Zhou army, we were smashed into pieces by our army in the end!"

Seeing that there were no outsiders around, Xian Shilang whispered: "Master, these catapults were smashed by the Zhou army themselves, not the ones we did. I think it was because the Zhou army was afraid of delaying the trip, so he took the initiative to destroy all the catapults."

Liu Yanzhen smiled and said, "If our army had not had the fierce offensive, how could the enemy retreat easily?! After all, with our efforts, we forced the Zhou army to retreat. I will report to Your Majesty to ask for your contribution!"

Xian Shilang quickly bowed and expressed his gratitude, and said tactfully: "If it weren't for the clever command of the adults, how could the last generals force the enemy to retreat? It's mainly due to the adults!"

So the generals and generals were harmonious, flattering each other, happily directing the fleet forward. However, more than 20 wrecked ships in Xiacai Town and thousands of corpses of Southern Tang soldiers were selectively ignored by Liu Yanzhen and Xian Shilang.

After leaving Shangcai Town, Liu Yanzhen's troops were not blocked by Dong Zunhui. A day later, they came to the vicinity of Shouzhou smoothly. Liu Renzhan, the governor of the Qinghuai Army, and Zhang Quanyou, the governor of Chizhou, had also heard of Liu Yanzhen. He knew that this guy was a little petty, so the two of them dared not be negligent, so they hurried to meet Liu Yanzhen and held a banquet for him.

However, this time Liu Yanzhen was very determined. Not only did he not have the opportunity to receive Cheng Yi from the reception banquet, he also said to Liu Renzhan and others: "I fought a fierce battle with the Zhou army in Xiacai Town not long ago, and won a lot of results, which made the Zhou army Dong Zunhui's troops flee in a panic. Now, after hearing what you said, it turns out that Li Gu was also frightened to escape back. I will urge the soldiers to pursue them!"

Liu Renzhan quickly dissuaded: "General, don't be anxious. Now your main force has not arrived yet, only the vanguard force is here. The enemy Li Gu team escaped, and I think it is because they are afraid of your reputation (Liu Renzhan is very disgusting about this statement, but when he sees Liu Yanzhen coming to rescue, he will praise him for a while). Now as long as you command the army to move forward slowly, you can recover the lost territory. Why bother rush to fight with the enemy? Besides, if the battle is unfavorable, it will lead to the general situation!"

Liu Yanzhen sneered and said, "Fire comes to block water, soldiers come to control the generals. Since the enemy is timid and flee, we are just taking advantage of the opportunity to pursue it, why not go?! General Liu Renzhan, did you fail to fight back the day before yesterday, lose confidence, and scare you! "

After being ridiculed by Liu Yanzhen, Liu Renzhan was also angry. He loved him so much that he was too lazy to care about you!

Chizhou Governor Zhang Quanyou felt that what Liu Renzhan said was also reasonable, so he tried his best to dissuade him, but Liu Yanzhen sneered and said, "The timid fighters will naturally find a large number of reasons. I wonder if General Zhang stayed in Shouzhou or moved forward bravely?"

Zhang Quanyou was agitated by Liu Yanzhen and immediately said: "Of course, it's hard to move forward, yes...yes..."

"It's nothing, but I'll wait for you on the boat, it won't be overdue!" Liu Yanzhen said with a sneer and turned around and left.

Liu Renzhan sighed and whispered to Zhang Quanyou: "Liu Yanzhen is arrogant and has no military talent. If he confronts the Zhou army, he will definitely suffer defeat if he commands blindly. It's a pity that we have no right to control him! If Liu Yanzhen is defeated, I will try my best to guard Shouzhou and leave you a way out. I hope you will also try your best to gather troops and withdraw back to Shouzhou."

Zhang Quan asked to salute Liu Renzhan solemnly and turned away. Liu Renzhan sighed and said to his general: "I, Liu Renzhan, have received the kindness of the country in the world, and I will definitely repay you with death. The city will survive and the city will die!"

After saying that, Liu Renzhan couldn't help but shed tears. The generals were moved and all swore all their loyalty. So Liu Renzhan immediately led the troops to strengthen the city defense, store food, grass and supplies, and prepare to defend the situation.

Besides, Dong Zunhui blocked Liu Yanzhen's troops in Xiacai Town and achieved great results. Although he was forced to retreat, he successfully delayed the advancement speed of Liu Yanzhen's troops and supported the retreat of Li Gu's troops. After Dong Zunhui led his army back to Kaiyang, Li Gu's troops and Li Chongjin's troops quickly met with him. The Later Zhou army finally had the confidence to fight head-on with Liu Yanzhen.

After the three armies met, it was logical that Li Gu should take over the commander's seal, Li Chongjin and Dong Zunhui should be his subordinates. However, Guo Rong was already very dissatisfied with Li Gu who burned food, grass and supplies without authorization and withdrew troops without authorization. He specially sent someone to summon Li Gu to relieve Li Gu of the front military camp of Huainan Road, and appointed him to judge the Shouzhou Prefecture. At the same time, Li Chongjin was appointed to temporarily command the entire army and serve as the position of the main deployment.

Li Gu handed over the seal of the general with a gray face. Shouzhou is still under the control of Liu Renzhan. His judgment on Shouzhou's administration was just a false position. If I had known the emperor would handle this, if I had known Li Chongjin, Dong Zunhui's reinforcements came so quickly, I would never have burned food and grass and retreated without authorization! Unfortunately, there was no regret in the world!

Looking at Li Gu who was staggering away, Li Chongjin shook his head gently, why bother?! Then he turned around and said to Dong Zunhui: "Daoan, you just fought with Liu Yanzhen, how powerful do they feel?"

Dong Zunhui smiled and said, "The combat effectiveness is not bad. He can persist in attacking with the whistling sound of the catapult. These soldiers are all trained elite soldiers. However, their generals are all pig-smarts and only know how to attack head-on is not worth worrying! Moreover, Liu Yanzhen is very proud and arrogant. The only problem now is that their navy is very strong, and our army has almost no navy! However, the catapult can suppress their warships. I heard that Lord Li Gu burned all the catapults, and I wonder how many General Li brought?"

Li Chongjin touched his nose and said with a wry smile: "No one is there. Our troops are eager to rush to go, so how could they bring those things? You just said that you used a catapult to teach the Southern Tang army a lesson in Xiacai Town. Have you brought a catapult to transfer?"

Before he finished speaking, Li Chongjin couldn't help but smile bitterly. Dong Zunhui was busy evacuating at that time, and it was good that he was not stuck by the Southern Tang army. How could he bring out a catapult? But after losing the long-range strike weapon, how should they defeat the Southern Tang naval army?

The two frowned, and Dong Zunhui slapped his thighs suddenly and said loudly: "Whoever wins when we meet on a narrow road is still afraid of them?! Since there is no catapult, we will fight them on land. Anyway, they will come over with fierce force and will definitely not give up fighting with us."

Li Chongjin's eyes lit up and said with a smile: "Well, the brave will win when we meet on a narrow road! And we can also set up a battlefield and repair the fortifications in advance! Tomorrow, I hope to defeat the enemy with you!"

……


Chapter completed!