Dingjiangshan

Xinyang Mansion, located between Anqing and the Central Plains region, the westernmost border of Changle King's fiefdom, is his sharp sword piercing the hinterland of the Central Plains.

——It was also the first battle between Ning Yan and Ning Zheng where they officially fought.

On the first day of October, the Zuo army led by Zheng Shaohui received a military report jointly issued by Xie Jue and Ning Yan, ordering him to set up camp fifty miles away from Xinyang and attack Xinyang City by chance.

Zheng Shaohui really had some skills, he had never dealt with Ning Zheng before, so he was more than cautious, and chose Zhengyang County as the place where the army settled.

Zhengyang County is under the jurisdiction of Nanyang Prefecture. Its geographical location is quite good. It is located between Xinyang and Nanyang. The two lines are connected, and it happens to be able to form a triangle with Xinyang and Nanyang. It can be attacked, retreated or defended. The counterattack was so strong that Zheng Shaohui could ask Nanyang for help at any time.

The defender of Xinyang is Ning Zheng's confidant. Ever since the Zuo army started to move, they did not dare to take it lightly. These days, they have strengthened their defenses and distributed rations. It is obvious that they are ready for the battle.

However, although Xinyang City has already made preparations, both Xie Jue and Ning Huaijin are well aware that Zheng Shaohui's actions in Zhengyang County this time are just an introduction—everyone knows the importance of Xinyang City. There must be a lot of defenders that Ning Zheng put on top, and it would be foolish to want to take it down so easily.

In fact, Ning Huaijin had already made preparations and set her sights on Tongbai County not far away.

Thanks to Ning Yan, Ning Huaijin got a lot of news about Tongbai County from the Shadow Guard these days.

Just as Ning Yan expected, Feng Yuan, the defender of Tongbai County, was not Ning Zheng's nominal subject, but a Yeluzi who did not know where he came from. It is said that his family background is not very "clean", so even if he is handsome, There is no way to enter the court and become an official.

Ning Yan didn't necessarily trust his ability very much, and the number of soldiers assigned to him was only a mere [-].

For a small county town, this number seems to be a lot, but Tongbai County is backed by Xinyang and acts as the vanguard of Ning Yan's march into the Central Plains, so the number of troops is not enough.

Moreover, according to the news sent back by Qin Liu, Feng Yuan seems to have sensed danger from the changes in Xinyang City, and the guards in the city have become stricter.Because of this, there are fewer and fewer people entering the city from outside, for fear that one day there will be an accident and they will be imprisoned.Most of the shops on the street were closed, and almost everyone was in danger.

"Feng Yuan doesn't have enough soldiers, which is a good thing for us." Standing in front of the sand table, Ning Huaijin put a wooden stick in front of "Tongbai County": "Xinyang City is fighting together, Anqing Mansion He will definitely not sit idly by. Zheng Shaohui has a real army of 20 in his hands. If a fight really breaks out, Xinyang will definitely ask Anqing Mansion for help. At that time, Tongbai County will be just an isolated island whether it withdraws or defends to the death. A matter of time."

"Not necessarily." Xie Jue was not as optimistic as he was, and said, "Tongbai County is too close to Xinyang. If Tongbai County is attacked, Xinyang will definitely receive news. By then, no matter what the defenders of Xinyang Anyone must find a way to send reinforcements. Otherwise, as long as Tongbai County is lost, our army will occupy the two big counties of Zhengyang and Tongbai. The Xinyang garrison will not take this risk and pin their hopes on Anqing's reinforcements, they will definitely help Tongbai and save themselves from being in a dilemma."

"But what if Xinyang doesn't have reinforcements?" Ning Huaijin asked rhetorically.

"What?" Xie Jue asked.

"Even if Ning Zheng has more soldiers and horses, it is impossible to have millions." Ning Huaijin said: "I guess, there are only a million at most. If this is the case, the defenders of Xinyang City must not be as good as Zheng Shaohui At that time, as long as Anqing's reinforcements can be held back, Xinyang will not have time to protect itself, so how can we have the leisure to manage Tongbai County."

"My lord, that's not the reason." Xie Jue shook his head, seeming to disagree.

Xie Jue conveniently pulled out a straight wooden stick from under the sand table, tapped it on the sand table, and said, "My lord, turn around and think about it now, if you are Ning Zheng and want to fight in Chang'an, you Which way will it go?"

"It must be the way to take Xinyang." Ning Huaijin said: "From Xinyang to Nanyang, and then from Luoyang to the capital, this road is flat and wide, and there are few defenders. It is the fastest way to go directly to the capital."

"What about the two prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River?" Xie Jue asked again.

"There are not enough defenders in the two prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River, so there is nothing to be afraid of. It is enough to keep a hundred thousand defenders." Ning Huaijin said.

As soon as Ning Huaijin finished speaking, she suddenly remembered something and stopped suddenly.

Seeing his expression, Xie Jue knew what he had guessed, and said, "My lord has found out."

— Indeed, Ning Huaijin thought, he had overlooked a problem earlier.

He has been in the cabinet all year round, and he has a lot of knowledge about the defenders of state capitals in various places. Most of them have an idea of ​​how many soldiers and horses can be left in each place and how much food and grass.

But Ning Zheng is already a person who wants to rebel, so there is no need for Ding Kemao to scatter his troops around the territory. After all, his goal is not to keep the territory safe, but to take down the capital.

"I don't know how many defenders there are in Xinyang, but when His Majesty personally conquered, Ning Zheng had already approached Nanyang Mansion and almost took it down." Xie Jue said, "It seems that Ning Zheng and the prince have the same idea. , I don't want to take any roundabout way, I just want to fight this battle head-on with His Majesty."

Ning Huaijin looked at the sand table for a while with her hands behind her back, and said, "Then what does Zhaoming think?"

"We don't wait for Zheng Shaohui, let's do it first." Xie Jue said categorically, "Tongbai County is not big, and Qin Liu is there to support it. Surprise attack is the best. Our side will do it first, and Zheng Shaohui's side will follow up immediately. It can catch Xinyang by surprise."

Ning Huaijin thought for a while, and seemed to think that what he said was reasonable, so she nodded and said, "Then listen to Zhaoming."

Xie Jue and Ning Huaijin had already fought Tongbai County once before, so they felt a bit confused.They discussed in the tent for two days and decided to send troops to Tongbai County at dawn on the eighth day of October.

This time the troops were dispatched no more than the last surprise attack, it was a real attack to attack the city, not to mention all the preparations for the attack had to be made, and the marching route had to be changed, otherwise it would be bad if Feng Yuan noticed it.

In the past two or three days, Xie Jue was busy training troops and deducing the sand table. Ning Huaijin also sent a letter to Qin Liu with the shadow guards around him in advance, explaining to him the plan of the army's arrangement, and asked him to choose an opportunity in Tongbai County Collision.

All this was done step by step, but what Ning Huaijin didn't expect was that Ning Zheng could do it even faster than him.

On the sixth day of October, the defenders of Xinyang City received the news from nowhere, and suddenly changed their conservative style of closing the gates of the city in the past, and went straight to Zhengyang County with a clear goal.

Not long after Zheng Shaohui arrived in Zhengyang, he was still in the process of reorganizing the army. He was caught off guard and failed in the battle. In just one day, he lost a thousand people.

When the news came back to Ning Huaijin, he was counting the rations and weapons he had brought with him. Xie Jue strode in from the outside with a serious expression, and the first thing he said when he saw him was "My lord, the situation has changed".

"Zheng Shaohui is young after all." Xie Jue said: "The defenders of Xinyang are able to attack Zhengyang County so boldly, it must be because of the traces of Zheng Shaohui's left army."

"On the battlefield, there are spies on the battlefield, you and I have spies on the opposite side, and there is nothing on the opposite side." Ning Huaijin said, throwing down the wooden stick on the sand table in his hand, walked aside, and took off his armor from the wooden frame. .

"In any case, since Xinyang has made a move, we have to change our previous plan." Ning Huaijin said: "Zheng Shaohui has lost the opportunity, if we lose the opportunity again, there is no need to fight this battle gone."

"I know." Xie Jue said in a deep voice: "I have just ordered to go down, and the troops will be dispatched in half an hour—but it's still early in the day, so I'm afraid I'll lose money if I fight like this."

"I can't help it." Ning Huaijin simply put on the armor, bent down and took out her bow box from under the bed, took out the bow and held it in her hand, and said, "I can only be faster than anyone else."

"Tongbai County has [-] defenders, and Feng Yuan is in charge. Fighting has already started in Xinyang. Feng Yuan may not go out of the city to fight, and he will definitely defend to delay." Seeing that he had tidied up, Xie Jue raised the curtain, As he followed Ning Huaijin out, he said: "Xinyang dares to fight, it must have been prepared and has nothing to fear. To be on the safe side, the prince might as well split up with me, and you take a team of soldiers and horses to go from the north. The reinforcements stopped him, and if there were no reinforcements, they would help Zheng Shaohui from behind."

"How many people do you bring?" Ning Huaijin said.

"Thirty thousand." Xie Jue said, "The remaining [-] is for the prince."

"No." Ning Huaijin flatly refused, saying: "It is not easy to siege a city, and it is even more taboo to fight more with less."

"What's more, this king has never led troops to fight, and he is not good at ambush, so it's better to change." Ning Huaijin said: "Zhaoming will lead [-] soldiers and horses to go north, and this king will go to take Tongbai County."

Xie Jue frowned slightly, and opened his mouth to refute.

Compared with attacking the city, it is obviously much safer to support Zheng Shaohui. Not to mention that Ning Zheng's reinforcements may not come from which direction, but the [-] defenders in Tongbai County. It must be a real fight.

Although Ning Huaijin and Xie Jue led the troops together, Xie Jue still remembered that this prince was the treasure in Ning Yan's heart, and he didn't dare to really let him go to a dangerous place in his heart.

"If Zhaoming is relieved of the king, there is no need to persuade him." Ning Huaijin stopped and said seriously: "Besides, Qin Liu is still in Tongbai County. If Zhaoming is asked to attack the city, how will you get news from him? .”

Xie Jue was taken aback.

——This is a problem, there is a potential shadow guard in Tongbai County, which is obviously a great help, and it would be a pity for Xie Jue to abandon this help for nothing.

"Then the prince must pay attention to safety." Xie Jue sighed and said, "If it doesn't work, then retreat in time. Even if it is to withdraw to Nanyang Mansion, His Majesty will not say anything."

Xie Jue reminded him vaguely that Ning Yan obviously paid more attention to his safety than a city or a pool.