PNB Chapter 117 Shen Changgong's First Battle
Chapter 117 Shen Changgong's First Battle
After Yan Gaohui finished crying, Shen Changgong asked,
"How many troops does King Rui have now?"
"Your Highness, my father's troops are all in the barracks outside ** City. There are approximately 15,000 of them. ** County has 1,000 soldiers. The County Magistrate, Zhao Kuo, is on the same page with my father. If the court sends troops to attack, he will definitely bring all his troops into the city and fight to the death."
"The number of people this king is asking about is not just the regular army, but also civilians, reserves, and the number of people who can be armed, etc. These are all forces that can influence the outcome of the war."
"There aren't many of them, only a few thousand at most. My father is very stingy. Even if he had money, he wouldn't support an army. He wouldn't spend it on himself or give it to his son. He would save it all for his own funeral."
Shen Changgong nodded and said to Yan Fuyao,
"Your Majesty, the situation is now clear. Prince Rui and his son have disobeyed the imperial order, pretending to obey but secretly disobeying it. They are plotting treason and murdering loyal officials. I request Your Majesty to order the troops to suppress them."
Yan Fuyao nodded majestically and said,
"I understand, Prince Lanling. I will give you two days to prepare. Two days from now, at dawn, you will lead the Changning Army, a hundred thousand strong, and immediately head to ** County to suppress the rebellion of Prince Rui!"
"The minister obeys the order."
After hearing this, Yan Gaohui finally felt relieved, knowing that he could finally avenge his wife and children.
"Yan Gaohui, you will stay at the clan residence for the next two days. In two days, follow Prince Lanling's army to ** County to suppress the rebellion."
"Minister! Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"
Yan Gaohui burst into tears.
The guards took him to the clan residence.
After all, he is a royal family member and it is appropriate for him to live in the clan residence.
After he left, Shen Changgong asked Gongsun Wan'er to take out the map and pointed at it and said,
"Your Majesty, the capital's Jingji County is south of ** County. However, ** County's capital is located farther south, nestled between two mountains. It's the only way to the south of our country. Its walls are tall, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.
I intend to take these 100,000 men, first destroy King Rui, capture ** City, and then head south to enter Qingping County. The southernmost part of Qingping County is Yaoguan, and the road ahead will be unobstructed.
When we reach Yaoguan City, we will break through Yaoguan, eliminate King Ning, and completely control Yaoguan in our hands.
In addition, I will ask the East Factory to speed up the production of gunpowder and make bombs in the next two days, and try to bring as much as possible.
The bombs produced subsequently will be transported south along with the food and supplies train, and I will receive them and use them for the attack on Yaoguan Pass."
The Queen nodded and said,
"The problem is, when you capture ** City and continue south, Prince Ning will definitely get the news. Knowing that disaster is imminent, will he defect to Kun Kingdom?
A hundred miles south of Yaoguan, there is a 300,000-strong army of Kun State stationed there to guard against our country. It will take only three days to reach Yaoguan.
If Prince Ning were to defect to Kun State, there's no way you could capture Yao Pass before the Kun State army within three days."
Hearing this, Shen Changgong smiled and said,
“But if Prince Ning wants to surrender to Kun Kingdom, he needs to discuss it with the Emperor of Kun Kingdom first. Only with the Emperor’s order can the Kun Kingdom army march out and enter Yaoguan Pass.
And the distance between Kun State's capital and Yao Pass is more than a thousand miles, isn't it? "
Yan Fuyao nodded upon hearing this.
"You're right. Let's do this. First, attack ** City, then pacify Yaoguan."
"The minister obeys the order."
After Shen Changgong left, he went to the East Factory in person and ordered the people there to work overtime as quickly as possible to make bombs.
He even sent more manpower to the East Factory and told them to hurry up.
After doing all this, he went to the Central Army Camp and asked the people there to prepare for the expedition.
Two days passed quickly. Early in the morning of this day, Shen Changgong put on his ferocious armor, took a carriage, and left the capital with his warhorse.
Leaving the capital with him were Tu Queling, Yan Gaohui, and a carriage full of unstable bombs.
Why is it unstable?
Because we worked overtime to make it quickly, we were lucky that it didn't explode on the way.
After arriving at the military camp, Shen Changgong summoned all the generals of the Changning Army.
Li Wei, Wang Hao, Mo Hei and others all came, as well as Shen Changgong's deputy generals Guan Shouchang and Zhang Yide.
Guan Shouchang was really feeling depressed during this period. Apart from the one day when he had a great time watching the powerful people fighting in the Imperial Guards training ground, he practiced martial arts in the Central Army camp every day, sparring with other generals, and he was almost invincible in the entire Central Army.
But he was never able to fight in a war, which made him very depressed. If he didn't fight, how could he display his talents and ambitions?
On the other hand, Zhang Yide was heartless every day. He ate meat and drank wine with big mouthfuls, and sighed that the food of the Central Army was not as good as that of the Security Army.
Shen Changgong told them the goal of this time.
"Everyone, the young man standing next to me is King Rui's fourth son, Yan Gaohui, the same one who stopped the emperor in the capital two days ago to file a complaint.
According to him, Prince Rui was extremely dissatisfied with the Enfeoffment Order issued by Your Majesty. He talked about Your Majesty behind his back, was full of resentment, and even threatened to rebel.
He even allowed the prince's brothers to kill each other, his own flesh and blood, and his other sons to kill, and harm loyal and good people.
When His Majesty learned of this, he was extremely furious and ordered me to lead the Changning Army to immediately capture Prince Rui.
Gentlemen, it takes a thousand days to raise an army and only a moment to deploy it!
The late emperor and Your Majesty knew how to select the right people for the right positions and were very kind to you.
You are all commoners. If it were not for the mercy of two generations of emperors, you would still be oppressed by the powerful.
Now, it's time for you to repay His Majesty!
This is the first battle the Central Army has taken the initiative to attack since Your Majesty ascended the throne. We must fight brilliantly and beautifully to eliminate King Rui in one fell swoop! "
"Three feet of dragon spring water, ten thousand volumes of books, what is the will of heaven for me?"
"If I cannot serve my country and bring peace to the world, I am unworthy of being a man."
Shen Changgong's words completely aroused the passion in the hearts of these generals. Li Wei, Mo Hei and others all knelt on one knee and shouted loudly,
"We swear to be loyal to Your Majesty until death. We will charge into battle and fight to the death!"
"Okay, everyone, get up, the army is moving, let's go!"
Following Shen Changgong's order, ten generals immediately went out and commanded the army to break camp and set off.
In the past two days, all the food, supplies, weapons, etc. for the expedition have been prepared. The crossbows manufactured by the arsenal have also been given priority to the Changning Army. Although not every soldier has one, two corps have been equipped with them.
All kinds of baggage, catapults, etc. were also dismantled and loaded onto trucks.
The Changning Army, with a force of 100,000 soldiers, set out from the south of the capital, marching towards the south in a mighty force.
Shen Changgong sat in the carriage, holding his iron mask in his left hand and a map in his right hand. Tu Queling was sorting out news from local governments and matters related to supplying food and fodder to the army along the way.
This was the first time Shen Changgong led troops into battle, and it also marked the beginning of a war that swept across the world.