dognovel Chapter 307: Rapid March Blockade
Chapter 307: Rapid March Blockade
The entire capital city was very busy. Many households, both large and small, began to pack up their belongings. Large numbers of carriages and pedestrians, carrying their families, headed south.
On the surface, Emperor Wu said that this was just a small force of barbarians and there was no need to worry.
However, Emperor Wu had already asked several important concubines to pack their things, and also had 20,000 elite imperial guards ready to set off south at any time.
Everyone felt that it would be difficult for the capital to hold on if the barbarian army of 100,000 came to attack it.
One is that there is no support near the Beijing camp.
The army at Hushan Pass is desperately resisting the barbarian army's attack. They are seriously short of supplies, and it is already quite good that they can hold on to the main city.
It is very difficult to withdraw more troops to support the south.
Another thing is that the nearby King Ji, although he nominally has an army of 70,000 to 80,000, no matter how he increased his troops, at least he has that many.
However, King Ji heard that Hongfeng County had been captured and a 100,000-strong barbarian army was heading south, aiming directly at the capital.
King Ji was so frightened that he quickly withdrew all the soldiers who had just been recruited and were being trained madly back to Jizhou.
Prince Ji was no fool, and he knew that his army of 80,000 seemed like a significant number.
But compared with the 100,000 elite barbarians, they are not even on the same level.
That’s not all. Once we have to fight against the barbarians, it will be a head-on confrontation, regardless of whether we can defeat the barbarians’ detachment or not.
I will definitely suffer heavy losses, and the imperial court will certainly stand idly by, hoping that I, a vassal king, and the barbarians will fight to the death.
The other princes were busy with their own affairs, so how could they possibly fight with the barbarians at this time?
King Ji retreated and even lost some areas of Jizhou that he had forcibly occupied.
It was a good opportunity for the barbarian detachment, but they also robbed a lot of things.
However, the barbarian detachment did not seem to pay any attention to the fleeing King Ji. They just hurried towards the capital.
Because they had received a death order, they had to forcibly seize the capital before the capital of Wu State could react.
We can't even let that little Sixth Prince Wu Lingyun catch up with the army that is coming to reinforce the capital.
Otherwise, if the Sixth Prince withdrew tens of thousands of troops from Hushan Pass and went south to forcibly support the capital.
It is estimated that it will be difficult for this detachment to capture the capital. When the time comes, they can only find ways to fight for cities in the territory of Wu State to maintain all expenses.
However, if it were within the territory of Wu State, this large army would most likely be surrounded by the enemy once they had recovered.
Therefore, the Barbarian Khan gave the general of their detachment a death order: no matter what, no matter what, they must go straight to the capital.
Once the capital of Wu State is captured, Hushan Pass will fall without a fight.
The barbarian Khan was still madly letting the rebels attack, but they suffered no casualties.
Delaying the army at Hushan Pass prevented them from withdrawing a large number of troops to support the capital.
It can be said that the Barbarian Khan's move really caught many people off guard.
Ning Yi is also marching quickly now. He must intercept this barbarian group on the way.
The speed of this detachment was not slow, but Ning Yi's marching route was not to the capital, but to Yuanzhou in the southwest. He wanted to completely intercept this barbarian detachment in Yuanzhou and then inflict a crushing defeat on them.
On the way, a eunuch who was delivering an imperial edict came hurriedly.
The old eunuch received the emperor's order and had to go to Hushan Pass immediately to convey the imperial edict.
But when they arrived at Hushan Pass, they found out that the Sixth Prince had already led his troops westward, heading for the barbarian detachment.
The old eunuch sent someone to send a message to the emperor in the capital while riding his horse at full speed to catch up with Ning Yi's army.
When they arrived, Ning Yi was marching.
Looking at the old eunuch who was sweating from exhaustion, Ning Yi felt amused: "Eunuch, why are you so anxious?"
The old eunuch immediately took out the imperial edict in a serious tone and said, "Sixth Prince, please accept it."
However, Ning Yi did not dismount to receive the order, but instead bowed and said, "Eunuch, we are currently marching to intercept the barbarian army."
"If this is an imperial decree, the entire army will stop and kneel, which will seriously delay the march. Could you please convey the emperor's will to me alone?"
"If there is anything wrong, this prince will go to the emperor to apologize after the battle."
Now is not the time to fall out with the old emperor, otherwise the group of soldiers at Hushan Pass who are still loyal to the emperor would never be so honest and obedient.
The old eunuch was no fool and nodded slightly: "In an emergency, we must make decisions based on our circumstances. This old servant naturally understands."
He opened the imperial edict and read it word by word, and Ning Yi just bowed his head and listened attentively.
The entire imperial edict was surprisingly not very long-winded. After all, this time it was intended to urge Ning Yi to rescue.
The imperial edict was very clear, it was to scold Ning Yi first, asking what he, the commander of Hushan Pass, did.
Such a strong defense allowed the barbarian army to break through the defense line and head straight for the capital.
Then he asked Ning Yi to quickly lead the army south to support the capital.
We must ensure the safety of the capital, but we must also ensure the safety of Hushan Pass.
After all, Hushan Pass is still there, which can stop the remaining 300,000 barbarian troops.
If Hushan Pass were lost, the 400,000 barbarian troops would besiege the capital, and the capital would definitely not be able to hold out.
Ning Yi was speechless. The old emperor wanted Hushan Pass and the capital city at the same time.
But you also have to provide me with sufficient supplies. My soldiers are still marching in thin clothes.
And now he could only immediately accept the order: "Go back and tell the emperor."
"This prince has already led the army to intercept them. I will not allow this group of suicidal barbarians to lay a foot on the capital."
The Sixth Prince did not support the capital, but took the initiative to lead a large army to fight against the barbarian forces.
Anyone who hears this will feel their blood boiling.
The old eunuch didn't think so. He frowned and said, "Your Highness, His Majesty asked you to lead the army back to the capital because it is better defended by the city walls."
"But if it's a decisive battle in the wild, it's easy to suffer losses. If something unexpected happens to your army and you suffer heavy casualties, the capital will be left with no soldiers."
I guess many people think this way. Everyone thinks that the barbarians are good at fighting in the wild, and their best thing is to defend themselves on the spot.
But Ning Yi was still stubborn: "Don't worry, eunuch. This prince has defeated more than one or two barbarians in the wild. It's more than enough for me to deal with them."
"If they want to go to the capital, they must first cross this prince's body."
Ning Yi had already made such a promise, and the old eunuch knew that no matter how much he said, it would be useless.
Ning Yi is not just refusing to support the capital, but is going straight to fight the enemy. Can you say that he does not respect the emperor?
After the old eunuch led his men away, Ning Yi immediately ordered: "Tell the brothers to speed up and rest after reaching Yuanzhou. Whether we can grab winter clothes depends on whether we can stop this wave of barbarians."
Except for his own cavalry and a part of the Northwest Cavalry, the rest of the army he brought were all wearing single clothes.
Just shout and grab the winter clothes.