Frontier Army Warrior

Chapter 862: Pick the soft persimmon

Luo Yunfei stood in the first seat on the right and bowed to play.

"Your Majesty, the traitor Zhao Zhen is currently hiding in Jingxi Prefecture, protected by the Zhenxi Army, and cannot be apprehended for the time being."

"What about the rest?"

Imperial Preceptor Lan Yu quickly reported, "Your Majesty, some of the other rebels have retreated to Jinggao Prefecture, led by Zhao Xun, with 30,000 troops within the city."

Zhao Zheng waved his hand and said, "Let's take down Zhao Xun first."

Qiu Jie bowed and said, "Your Majesty, if the Taisho Imperial Army wants to reach Jinjiang, they have to go around Xuncheng. It would be better to take Jingnan Prefecture first and then Jinggao Prefecture."

Zhao Zheng shook his head: "Yufu Mountain is in front of Jingnan Prefecture, so we can't move for the time being. Besides, Jingnan Prefecture is the last barrier against pirates, so let them hold out for a while first."

"Your Majesty is wise."

Zhao Zheng pondered for a moment. "Luo Yunfei will be stationed in Jingdu City. Qiu Jie and Jing Zhaoheng, each of you will lead an army. One will march west from Qiancheng, cross the river, and approach Jinggao Prefecture. The other will leave Beicheng, pass Gencheng, march west, cross the river, and reach the foot of Jinggao Prefecture."

The three generals bowed together in agreement.

"Hehehe, Zhao Xun, I want to show you how the Son of Heaven receives the mandate of heaven."

Prince Rui Zhao Xun led 30,000 imperial guards, and brought Prince Lu Zhao Bing, the commander of the imperial guards Ma Buxuan, Tang Bingqian, ministers Zhao Wentian, Lin Cangshi, and two generals Ju Chaoyue and Wei Ming.

After crossing Jinjiang, they entered Jinggao Prefecture.

Kyōgo Prefecture is far away from Kyoto and is a remote area in the southwest.

The land here is barren and the population is sparse. It is a very poor city.

With the arrival of tens of thousands of troops, food became the biggest problem.

The people in Jinggao Prefecture were already hungry, and now they had nothing to eat. They fled everywhere and left their homes.

Jinggao Mansion became a military camp.

The army needs to eat, and they will not get any food if they just stay in the city. King Rui ordered Ju Chaoyue, Wei Ming and Dang Guihong to lead 10,000 royal guards each and take turns to go out of the city to collect food and fodder.

Suddenly, all the counties, towns and villages under the jurisdiction of Jinggao Prefecture were in trouble. The food was looted by the army, as if they had suffered a locust plague.

Lin Cangshi was a senior official in the Ministry of Revenue and knew that this would not be a long-term solution.

There are not only tens of thousands of imperial guards in the city, but also the families and servants of these ministers, each of whom is a large family.

Many imperial guards also fled Kyoto with their families.

Therefore, the entire Jinggao Mansion is full of their people.

There were only a very small number of former government officials and their families.

Not a single ordinary person has disappeared.

Lin Cangshi analyzed the pros and cons and immediately went to see King Rui to state the disadvantages.

"Your Majesty, our army is now like a fish in a dried-up pond. Once all the fish are gone, they will die. We must find a way to expand outward."

"Master Lin, what good plan do you have?"

"Your Majesty, why not let tens of thousands of soldiers, both soldiers and civilians, cultivate the fields and grow crops?"

King Rui sighed, "This place is not one we can stay in for long. We are surrounded by powerful enemies. I am seeking a plan for independent development."

Although Tang Bingqian, the Minister of War, looked sick, he still insisted on following the team to Jinggao Mansion.

At this time, he pointed at the map and spoke breathlessly.

"To the northeast of Jinggao Prefecture lies the rebel Zhao Zheng, commanding over 100,000 men. The southeast has become the domain of invading pirates. To the north lies the territory of the Zhenxi Army. We can only head west to seek a safe haven."

Prince Lu hesitated and said, "Why not contact the Zhenxi Army and see if we can borrow their place for temporary shelter?"

Everyone had a sullen face and remained silent.

These people all had grudges against Lin Feng. If he wasn't a prince, someone would have scolded him long ago.

Prince Rui sneered: "Don't think Lin Feng is stupid. He knows everything we are doing."

Prince Lu immediately shut up.

He knew what King Rui was referring to.

The room fell silent.

Seeing these once glorious figures now become like this, everyone feels very miserable.

The entire sect was torn apart, and if any side met, it would be a life-and-death battle.

A group of people discussed for a long time but couldn't come up with a good idea. As they were frowning and thinking, suddenly a soldier reported from outside the door.

The Royal Guards sent cavalry along the way to deliver the message.

More than 30,000 rebel troops were marching westward from the direction of Kyoto City through Qiancheng, and their goal was suspected to be to cross the Jinjiang River.

Everyone was shocked and thought that Zhao Zheng was going to take action against the Jinggao Mansion.

Ma Buxuan said anxiously, "Zhao Zheng definitely doesn't dare to attack the Zhenxi Army. He can only take it out on us. I'm afraid their target is Jinggao Mansion."

Tang Bingqian said disdainfully: "Just relying on these 30,000 people?"

As if to echo his words, a soldier came to report.

To the north of Kyoto, after passing Gencheng, another 30,000 rebels were discovered. They bypassed Kancheng and marched along the Jinjiang River. Their goal was suspected to be to cross the Jinjiang River.

King Rui quickly leaned over to look at the map on the table.

He slid his fingers along the movement direction of the two lines of rebels for a moment, and then took a breath.

It was obvious that the two groups of rebels wanted to reach Jinjiang and then surround Jinggao Mansion from two directions.

The others also saw it clearly and were very sure that Zhao Zheng really wanted to fight.

Jinggao Prefecture is the farthest from Kyoto City and is also located in a remote area, but Zhao Zheng chose it.

To put it bluntly, it's like picking on the weak.

All the senior officials in the room were stunned.

Further west from Jinggao Prefecture, there is a desolate land with no human habitation except for the occasional villages and towns.

Then there are the national borders.

Where else can I escape to?

How could these 30,000 exhausted soldiers, with little food and clothing, defeat the 60,000 rebels who were coming to take advantage of the victory?

It’s okay to bully people, but you can’t bully them like this, right?

Prince Lu slammed the table and said, "What are you afraid of? At worst, I can just fight them!"

His passionate voice echoed in the space, but unfortunately no one responded.

Everyone has a large family behind him in the city. Even if he doesn't care about his own life, how can he let his wife and children be dragged down?

Everyone's face was pale and a feeling of weakness spread throughout their body.

They are all weighing the pros and cons in their minds.

It is obvious that the 30,000 imperial guards in front of them cannot resist the 60,000 rebels.

The result is obvious: either die in battle or be captured.

Death is not scary, but what about the family?

Perhaps the rebels would not kill the elderly, the weak, women and children, but they would be taken to Kyoto and become slaves or servants of others.

In short, life will be worse than death.

Prince Lu is a rough man and doesn't like to use his brain.

"Fuck his grandma, how could such a good battle turn out like this?"

No one dared to respond to him, and no one dared to tell the reason.

Prince Rui just kept a sullen face and said nothing.

Prince Lu glanced around and fixed his eyes on Ma Buxuan. He was the commander of the Imperial Guards and it was he who led the final defense of Kyoto.

"Ma Buxuan, please explain to me how this battle ended up like this?"

Ma Buxuan had sweat on his forehead and his face was red from holding it in.

"Your Highness... well... our Royal Guards are outnumbered, and the rebels... are too numerous."