Chapter 816: Sunrise in the East (41)

"Faster, faster!" A senior officer of the Eastern Expeditionary Army rode a war horse and stood on the side of the road, shouting loudly at the large and small carriages, mule carts and soldiers on foot who passed by, with a look on his face. The anxious look on his face is beyond words

His name is Huang Zhan, the commander of the Second Division under Zheng Xiaoyang. He is also regarded as a veteran figure in the Eastern Expeditionary Army. He followed Gao Yuanqianli to raid Yulin, and participated in the expedition against Donghu with the Western Liaoning Army. After the Yan Army was defeated, he led the army again. Breaking out from Donghu, due to the drastic changes in western Liaoning, the eldest son Zhang Junbao launched a coup and killed his father Zhang Shooyue. He led his troops to ambush his younger brother Zhang Shubao who had returned from Donghu and completely defected to the Eastern Army. In recent years, with the Eastern Army All the way forward, the power is rising. The young generals back then have now become the mainstay of the Eastern Army.

The State of Qi invaded the State of Yan, and the army swallowed up the territory currently held by the Yan Dynasty like a whirlwind. The troops came to the Tianhe River. One of the soldiers and horses had already divided up and headed towards Langya. At the node of Langya Xintian, the Eastern Expeditionary Army was only stationed. With the strength of a battalion reduced, Huang Zhan followed Zheng Xiaoyang's order and led his troops to rescue quickly.

Zheng Xiaoyang has three divisions under his command: Ding Wei Division, Huang Zhan Division, and Peng Chao Division. Among them, Ding Wei Division suffered greater losses when attacking Xiaoshan Pass and is still being repaired and replenished in western Liaoning. Peng Chao Division was recruited into Donghu by Commander Ye Zhong, and the remaining Huang Zhan Division became the garrison. Langya's main force, a division of nearly 10,000 people, was stationed in various places in Langya. The troops were already stretched thin. When the war broke out suddenly, Zhengdong Mansion was caught off guard. Ding Wei's division had already rushed from western Liaoning towards Langya. Before they arrived, Langya's defense was only I can rely on Huang Zhan as my teacher.

According to the establishment of the Eastern Conquest Army, the strength of a division is about 15,000 people, but because the Eastern Conquest Army has strict regulations on recruiting soldiers. This means that they have never been full, and Huang Zhan's division has less than 10,000 people now/

The problem is that Huang Zhan wants to leave most of his troops in Langya County, which is the top priority. There must be no mistakes. This makes the rescue force he brought to Xinhui appear to be a single one. Although it is a regiment, it actually has less than 3,000 people. Including a battalion in Xinhui, Huang Zhan only has nearly 100 troops at his disposal. Four thousand other troops. They were all left in Langya County and handed over to Zheng Xiaoyang for unified control. The more than 5,000 main forces he left behind, plus Zheng Xiaoyang's army headquarters, barely managed to assemble a combat strength of 10,000 people. Start setting up defenses in Langya. By the time Ding Wei's troops arrive in Langya, they will probably be able to gather 20,000 people.

When Zheng Xiaoyang issued an emergency order to Huang Zhan, Huang Zhan's troops were still scattered throughout Langya. As soon as he received the order, Huang Zhan mobilized the troops stationed in several nearby counties as quickly as possible to form a regiment. The troops and horses set out immediately, and the county governor Fan Dengke also did his best. Recruiting chariots and horses, a force of 3,000 men, plus a large amount of military supplies and equipment. Within three days, they set off. Such an efficient execution would be enough to make any country’s army stunned.

Even so, Huang Zhan still felt that there were only a few soldiers in Xinhui City, more than a thousand people. How to stop the Qi* troops that are attacking like a tide?

Huang Zhan always has a bad premonition in his heart, this time. I'm afraid it's a bit mysterious

Just when Huang Zhan was desperately leading his troops towards Xinhui,

The battle of Xinhui has begun

Xiang Shenkang looked at the smoke and dust rising not far away with some bitterness. The overwhelming Qi troops had already appeared in his field of vision. This attack came so suddenly that the entire Zhengdong Mansion did not react. The Xinhui where he was stationed had only one battalion of troops, a thousand The troops want to defend Xinhui and block the tens of thousands of Qi people, but they are not just talking nonsense.

Looking around at the soldiers on the city, he couldn't help but sigh. There were less than 300 veterans in the entire battalion. Others were still fresh on the battlefield. In the last battle of Langya, the main attackers were Ding Wei and the Second Army. Soldiers and horses, and their division only participated in the subsequent pursuit and quelling the bandit rebellion. Compared with other troops, his battalion was worse. These soldiers were just recruited this year. The war at the beginning of the year , was the first war they participated in, but it was just a participation. When they joined, the most tragic point of that war had passed, and what was left for them was more pursuit, mopping up, and cleaning up the battlefield. Human work and cruelty on the battlefield, these soldiers have not yet experienced

"Inform officers above the platoon leader to come to the city tower for a meeting!" Xiang Shenkang glanced at the Qi army in the distance again, and said expressionlessly to the guards around him.

No matter how small Xinhui is, it is still a city. The Qi army pursued speed and the effect of surprise attacks. The accompanying army certainly did not carry siege equipment. It will take time for them to build these things. Today, there will be no war and strode towards the tower. , while looking back at the lush green of the forested mountains around Xinhui, in his heart, he wished that a fire would fall from the sky and burn all these mountains into a bare piece.

More than a dozen company platoon leaders gathered in the tower. Everyone's face was not very good. Obviously, no one was sure about the sudden war.

"Brothers" Xiang Shenkang looked at everyone and said slowly: "You are all veterans, and I don't need to say more. This war was not planned by our Eastern Expedition Army. It came suddenly, and reinforcements will not be sent in a short time." In addition, in Langya County, it is difficult to send reinforcements quickly. Everyone knows that our Eastern Expeditionary Army is fighting in Donghu, and the annihilation of Donghu is just around the corner. All our large troops have gone there. In Langya, Commander Huang is the only one with less than 10,000 troops, and the only thing we can count on is the strength of Commander Ding Weiding who is resting in western Liaoning."

He paused and then said: "Of course, this is also relative to the entire Langya, and for the Xinhui under our feet now, can we be the only ones to hold it?"

Silence below

"Can we hold it?" he shouted loudly

"Yes!" This time, there was finally a response.

A smile appeared on Xiang Shenkang's face and he nodded vigorously, "Brothers, I also know that we alone cannot defend Xinhui City, but we can decide how long we can hold on. One day , or five days, or ten days!”

He looked at the crowd and his voice gradually became louder, "Every extra day we hold on, we can buy one more day for the Eastern Expeditionary Army, allow Commander Huang to mobilize more troops, and allow Commander Zheng more time to make arrangements." The defense of Langya County will allow the Eastern Expeditionary Army to mobilize more reinforcements to Langya, giving our governor one more day to attack Donghu and complete the great task of taking back the Liaodong Peninsula."

Xiang Shenkang's enthusiasm began to infect all the officers.

"You and I are all veterans who have participated in many wars with the Eastern Expeditionary Army. To be honest, we can live to this day and become officers. How could we have ever thought that starting from the first battle? Too many familiar brothers have left us. Compared with them, we have actually made a profit. Everyone's home should be in Liaoxi or Hejian, or in Jishi County, right?"

Seeing everyone nodding, he smiled and said: "We all have our own houses in our hometown, we have wives, we have children, we have fields at home, and we have money in our pockets. Compared to the early years, I don't know how many times better off we are? In this life, we still have our own houses." What is there to regret? What we have to do now is to protect everything that has been hard-won."

"We may die in battle and follow the brothers who left before to go under the Nine Springs, but we must never let others take over our home, our mother-in-law and doll, and be bullied by others to do what we want to do. So far, our soldiers have kept winning battles until no one dared to fight us anymore. We may fail, but the Eastern Expedition Army will never fail."

"The Eastern Army will be victorious!" The officers roared from the tower.

"If Xinhui defends for one more day, our army will have an increased chance of winning. Brothers, let us use our blood to defend our honor! Let Xinhui become the tomb of Qi people and their dream heir. Let these Let the people of Qi see the power of the Eastern Expeditionary Army!" Xiang Shenkang pulled out his sword, made a false strike in the air, and said

"Kill!" the officers shouted in unison

"Each ministry has selected a certain number of veterans to form a commando team of 100 people to serve as guerrillas. The other ministries will each defend the city wall. Let's all go and prepare to fight the enemy to the death!" Xiang Shenkang took the lead and strode out.

At the foot of Xinhui City, Tian Jingwen, the vanguard general of the Qi army, reined in his horses. This was the first obstacle in front of them, but he did not think that this small city wall would hinder them for long. According to the report from the detective horse, Xinhui's conquest The Eastern Army's garrison numbered no more than a thousand people, and the remaining soldiers and horses of the Eastern Expeditionary Army in Langya were only over ten thousand. The chief assistant's action this time captured the weak threat of the Eastern Expeditionary Army, and they were in the midst of a fierce battle with the Donghu people. When he was in the heat of the moment, he suddenly sent out troops and was caught off guard.

As a son of the Tian family and a general of the Qi State, Tian Jingwen admired the foresight of his chief minister. According to rumors, the Eastern Expedition Army had never been defeated on the battlefield. This time, their first defeat occurred in The hand of Qi Jun

"The order was sent to the whole army to set up camp. All ministries sent out men to cut down trees. The craftsmen accompanying the army were building siege equipment as quickly as possible. Tomorrow at dawn, I want to see ten siege vehicles and fifty city assault vehicles. One hundred ladders appeared in the team, one is missing, military law is engaged!" Tian Jingwen said loudly!

As soon as the military order was given, the Qi army's vanguard of more than 10,000 people immediately began to take action. Some of them set up camp, and more of them separated into groups and rushed toward the surrounding mountains. A smile appeared at the corner of Tian Jingwen's mouth. His brother Tian Zongmin was ordered to go to Donghu. Later, he died on the battlefield with the Dongzheng Army. After his death, his body was not even returned to his hometown. This time, he can avenge him.

Looking at the top of Xinhui City again, a trace of contempt flashed in the corner of Tian Jingwen's eyes.

Small town ears, you can play with one drum! (To be continued)