GBP Chapter 455: Shizhou Rescue
Chapter 455: Shizhou Rescue
As soon as Du Ziqing received Shizhou's letter asking for help, his expression instantly became serious, and he immediately mobilized troops from several surrounding states and counties without hesitation.
Time flies, and another day passed, and battle reports from Shizhou came one after another.
The letter gave a detailed account of all the details of the battle the day before.
The number of troops deployed by both sides, the various weapons used, the specific number of casualties, and even the extent of damage to the city are all clearly presented without omission.
Jinyang and Shizhou are only 250 miles apart. The situation in Shizhou is critical. Once it falls, not only Jinyang will face the threat, but the neighboring Pingyang will also be ruthlessly pushed to the forefront of the war.
"Sir Governor, the enemy troops currently invading Shizhou number as many as 400,000. If we delay any further, it won't be long before Shizhou is trapped in a desperate situation surrounded by enemies on all sides.
We must send troops to support immediately. Not only Jinyang must send troops, Pingyang is also obliged to do so. Otherwise..."
The person who spoke was Li Ke. Although he did not get a promotion this time, the power he wielded was no less than that of the Jinyang prefect.
Du Ziqing was recently promoted to the position of Governor of Bingzhou. It was difficult for him to adapt to such a high position so suddenly.
After hearing what Li Ke said, he thought about it for a moment and felt that it made a lot of sense, so he asked, "Who is the prefect of Pingyang?"
Li Ke was amused when he heard Du Ziqing ask this question, but he didn't show it on his face. He just replied respectfully, "Li Ya is currently serving as the garrison commander of Pingyang Prefecture. The prefect position is temporarily vacant and Fan Jin is taking over."
Du Ziqing felt dizzy after hearing this. The official system of the Great Zhou was complex and chaotic. The official titles granted to border towns and inner cities were very different, and the differences between vassal states and ordinary prefectures were also quite large.
If it weren't for the officials in the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel who were well versed in this matter, it would be difficult for ordinary people to understand the situation.
In addition, Bingzhou has recently replaced many officials, and many of the appointments have been suspected of nepotism, making the situation even more complicated.
Hearing that the garrison commander was Li Ya, Du Ziqing immediately thought that this person was probably closely related to the Li family, and couldn't help asking, "Is he a relative of yours?"
"That's right." Li Ke answered frankly.
"You can write a letter immediately and order them to send troops immediately. My Jinyang army will also set out tomorrow." Du Ziqing gave the order decisively.
Li Ke thought to himself that his achievements were still few and far between. If the Li family could help support Shizhou this time, he would be more confident in getting the position of Jinyang prefect.
While the two were discussing, Wang Kui happened to walk in.
"President Wang, you've arrived just in time. How are the weapons needed to reinforce the Shizhou troops being prepared?"
When Du Ziqing sent troops this time, he specifically instructed Wang Kui to prepare some key weapons, especially mortars and tiger barrel cannons.
Mortars are good at attacking, while tiger barrel cannons are good at defense. The two complement each other.
Therefore, they planned to mobilize 200 mortars, 1,000 tiger barrel cannons, and 30,000 troops and sufficient food and fodder to support Shizhou.
However, the military situation in Jinyang was not optimistic.
Most of the artillery in the city is large-caliber, and there are no more than 200 mortars at most. The number of tiger barrel cannons is similar, and most of these artillery are used for defending the city.
The Wang family has recently devoted all their energy to the smuggling business of Yi Yu and has long lost interest in the armaments of the Jinyang army.
Now that Wang Danwang has been dismissed, they are even less concerned about this matter.
"Sir Governor, you were once in charge of the army, so you must be well aware of the situation of the military in your palace. To raise the weapons you require, I'm afraid I can only ask my family for help, but it's difficult to gather them all at once."
Wang Kui looked embarrassed and said helplessly.
"The army will be setting off tomorrow. What should we do?"
Du Ziqing looked at the letter sent by Shizhou and said worriedly.
Li Ke, who was standing by, suddenly had an idea and said, "Sir Governor, if you send your deputy general to lead the troops this time, how can we fight if there is a shortage of weapons?"
Du Ziqing's deputy general was named Wang Biqing, who was recommended by Wang Danwang.
"Yes, Wang Biqing was recommended by Prefect Wang. If he is defeated this time due to lack of weapons, I will not be able to explain to Prefect Wang."
Du Ziqing mentioned Wang Danwang vaguely in his words, and there was something behind his words.
Wang Kui was very shrewd. He understood everything immediately after hearing this. A meaningful smile appeared on his face. He said, "It's not completely impossible to raise funds. We can allocate more than a hundred mortars, and there should be no problem gathering 300 tiger barrel cannons. I wonder if that will be enough?"
"The number is a little small, but it's better than nothing, anyway."
Du Ziqing looked helpless, but in fact he really had no choice.
Although the court appointed him as governor, military supplies were delayed in arriving.
Seeing that things had come to this, Wang Kui said goodbye and left the government office on the pretext of moving weapons.
The next day.
Wang Biqing received the order and led 25,000 soldiers, carrying 200 mortars, 300 tiger barrel cannons and sufficient food and grass, and embarked on a journey to rescue Shizhou.
At the same time, Li Ya of Pingyang Prefecture also received a letter from Li Ke, urging him to send troops to support Shizhou City.
In fact, Li Ya had also received a letter from Qiao Mang asking for help before, also hoping that he could lend a helping hand.
At that time, he was organizing his troops and originally planned to send 10,000 people to support. After receiving Li Ke's letter, he thought for a while and added another 10,000 people. He ordered General Ren Chaohui of Cavalry to lead the team and set off immediately.
The Pingyang army was not treated as well as the Jinyang army. They used conventional weapons such as spears and bows and arrows. Although they had cannons, they were only used for defending the city. There were no other firearms in the army.
After a day of truce, the situation in Shizhou City suddenly became tense.
Scouts sent out reported that the Xiongnu army had received new reinforcements. As expected, as soon as the intelligence arrived, Shizhou City was surrounded on all sides.
When Qiao Mang learned that the city was under siege and reinforcements had not yet arrived, he was extremely anxious and had to give a death order to his soldiers: You must hold on and wait for reinforcements!
At the same time, he secretly sent someone to deliver a secret letter outside the city. The letter only said that the camp would be attacked immediately, but did not mention the specific time and target.
After seeing the letter, Fang Zhixing hurriedly called his capable generals Qi Niuhe and Wang Sili.
"Now that Shizhou is under siege, the garrison commander has ordered us to attack the camp. Tell us what you think."
Qi Niuhe and Wang Sili were both military men. When they saw Fang Zhixing asking questions, they looked at each other and didn't know where to start for a moment.
"Chief, you tell us how to fight, and we two brothers will absolutely obey you, without hesitation!"
Wang Sili patted his chest and said with great pride.
Qi Niuhe also echoed: "Me too!"
Among the crowd, Fang Zhixing is considered to have some brains, but he cannot be considered a military talent.
He smiled bitterly and said, "We are not the only ones here, we are also five thousand government officials. We have to be responsible for them."
After saying that, he turned around and paced back and forth in the tent. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly looked up and said, "Let's go straight to the Xiongnu's base camp and destroy their lair!"
When Wang Sili heard this, a smile immediately spread across his face: "Chief, I will lead the way for you!"
Fang Zhixing was pleased to see the two men so loyal. He straightened his face and said seriously, "Since they are going to attack the camp, we must catch them by surprise and beat them hard. It would be best if we can capture the leader first!"
Upon hearing this, Qi Niuhe leaned forward and said "hmm" heavily.
Fang Zhixing pointed to Gaddafi's camp and said, "Our prior investigation revealed that this is the enemy's main camp. The two of you split up and attack the enemy camp, leaving them a gap."
As he spoke, he pointed again, "Stay here. I'll set up an ambush here. When they try to flee this way, I'll give them a fatal blow!"
However, Fang Zhixing did not know that the intelligence he had obtained was wrong. The place where Gaddafi was located was just the camp of the Huns' vanguard troops, not Gulizar's tent, nor the camp of the subsequent reinforcements.