Chapter 400: Cao Wenzhao's Defeat and Hong Chengchou's Plan
"Go! Get out!"
"If you don't leave now, you really won't be able to leave!"
Cao Wenzhao rode a top-grade dragon-scale horse out from the south of Mayi City. After arriving at the large pier outside the city, he directly controlled the psychic warhorse under him and jumped up to the flagship treasure ship that had been waiting for a long time, and gave hurried orders to his generals.
No one expected that as soon as the army led by Huang Taiji fled from the interior, the Fuxing Army immediately launched a fierce attack on Xuanfu and Datong Prefecture.
To date, the vast area west of the Sanggan River has fallen into the hands of the Fusion Army.
The city of Mayi was the last fortress of the imperial army west of the Sanggan River. However, under the attack of Hongmei, who had recently broken through to the initial level 6, and personally led an army of 100,000, the city was officially declared lost after holding out for an hour.
Under the order of Hong Chengchou, Cao Wenzhao, who rushed to assist the defenders in defense, had already made preparations to evacuate immediately if he was defeated before the city defense formation was broken. He deployed his Cao family army at the large dock outside the south city in advance, and the soldiers boarded the treasure ship early, ready to evacuate at any time.
The moment the city defense formation was broken, Cao Wenzhao, knowing that continued resistance was futile and would only lead to death, quickly rushed out of the city on his magical horse and ordered the large fleet that had been prepared to escape to set sail immediately and leave the Mayi city along the Sanggan River.
"damn it!"
"If Jiao'er was still in the army, she wouldn't allow a woman to be so rampant!"
The large fleet sailed rapidly towards the other side of the Sanggan River. Cao Wenzhao stood on the deck at the stern, looking at the Mayi city that was getting farther and farther away. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and he couldn't help but curse.
He now regretted having a falling out with Cao Bianjiao, which forced him to leave Cao's army.
Nowadays, the destiny of the world has changed drastically. More and more peak level five experts have, with the help of their own good fortune and encounters, broken through to the early stage of level six.
Cao Wenzhao was very clear that with Cao Bianjiao's extraordinary talent, he must have broken through to the sixth level of cultivation by now, and would not be worse than Lu Xiangsheng.
Although he did not see Cao Bianjiao's breakthrough with his own eyes, this was the only reasonable thing to do.
Otherwise, Cao Bianjiao would not have been able to maintain his status as the world's number one master for so many years.
But Cao Wenzhao did not think that the fundamental reason for Cao Bianjiao's departure was caused by himself.
He was blindly loyal to the Ming Dynasty and was blinded by greed. He was obsessed with making achievements and receiving awards to bring honor to his family, and completely ignored family affection, which forced Cao Bianjiao to angrily leave Cao's army.
"General, our defeat this time is not due to our own fault."
Cao Sheng, who was standing nearby, sighed secretly and advised, "Before the war, we could never have imagined that Hong Mei, the rumored chief steward of the Renaissance Army, would actually break through to the sixth level at such a young age."
"What's even more surprising is that Hongmei actually has an extremely powerful divine weapon. Previously, our Cao family army went out of the city to fight the enemy, but we only lasted less than a quarter of an hour before being completely defeated, and we lost nearly 10,000 of our 50,000 soldiers."
The attack and defense of Mayi City that just ended was not as simple and easy as it seemed.
Cao Wenzhao, who was confident in the strength of Cao's army, led 50,000 Cao's soldiers out of the city when the Fuxing Army attacked the city. He engaged in a head-on battle with Hongmei's 50,000-strong army. As a result, he was easily defeated and fled back into the city in a panic.
Cao Wenzhao is so furious now because he has personally experienced the power of Hongmei, the general manager of the Fuxing Army.
"Hey... why is it so?"
"I was defeated by a woman who just turned 29. I am ashamed of the high regard of the Grand Commander!"
Cao Wenzhao covered his face and sighed, saying, "When I led the army to Mayi City to assist in the defense, I still vowed to the commander-in-chief that I would firmly defend this last strong city on the west bank of the Sanggan River before he personally led the army to help. As a result..."
Over the past year, the Cao family army, which had never suffered a defeat, suffered repeated defeats after the Fuxing Army entered the pass, and had long lost its reputation as an invincible army.
It is obvious that the strength of Cao's army has doubled, but after facing the Fuxing Army, it seems so powerless. Where can Cao Wenzhao go to seek justice?
"General, we need Commander Lu Xiangsheng to come here to deal with this girl Hongmei."
Cao Sheng, as the second-in-command of the Cao family army, is both civil and military. In terms of combat skills, he is better than Cao Wenzhao. As a family man, he is very clear about Cao Wenzhao's character flaws, so he patiently persuaded him, "It's a pity that we are now under the command of Grand Commander Hong Chengchou. For the time being, we can only avoid Hongmei, the female demon."
"It is said that the second best person in the Fuxing Army is not Hongmei, but Li Dingguo's sister Wan'er. God is so kind to the Fuxing Army!"
Even Cao Sheng couldn't understand why Li Dingguo, the leader of the Renaissance Army, was so lucky that he could get a life-saving artifact. It was amazing that the two little girls, Hongmei and Wan'er, also had such great fortune. It was really enviable.
A level six warrior, with the help of his innate magic weapon activated by the military killing formation, could not resist the Cao family army, which had no trump cards at all.
No matter how elite the soldiers of Cao's army were, their small numbers were a fatal flaw. Without elite soldiers that were several times more than the enemy, they could not withstand the attack launched by such a strong man.
Only the 230,000 elite guards led by Hong Chengchou himself could compete with the 100,000-strong army led by Hongmei.
Today, Datong Prefecture and Xuanfu are under the jurisdiction of Lu Xiangsheng. He will soon lead his army to arrive in time. It is still feasible to defend Datong Prefecture and Xuanfu areas east of the Sanggan River.
After the Fuxing Army launched a full-scale offensive against Xuanfu and Datongfu, the troops were divided into ten groups and advanced simultaneously. Lu Xiangsheng, who already had few soldiers under his command, was overwhelmed and had to ask Hong Chengchou, who had not yet returned to Qin, to send troops for help.
It was under such emergency circumstances that Cao Wenzhao was ordered to come and help defend the city of Mayi.
However, they were defeated in a battle by Hongmei's army, and even the last important town west of the Sanggan River, Mayi, was lost.
Fortunately, after the Fuxing Army captured a large area west of the Sanggan River, they stopped their offensive and no longer launched offensives on the areas east of the Sanggan River, ending this round of lightning attacks on Xuanfu and Datong Prefectures.
With Cao Sheng's persuasion, Cao Wenzhao finally stopped his annoyance. His face was extremely gloomy and he was no longer furious. He looked sternly at his own fleet that was rapidly sailing towards the east bank of the Sanggan River. He stood there motionless, and no one knew what he was thinking.
As expected, he must be full of regret for forcing his nephew Cao Bianjiao away.
If Cao Bianjiao, who would have broken through to the sixth level of cultivation, had been present at this time, their Cao family army would definitely not have been defeated in Mayi City and forced to flee.
But there is no if. No matter how bitter the bitter wine he brewed himself is, he has to swallow it himself.
Once anything happens, there is no regret.
If Cao Wenzhao knew that Cao Bianjiao had now defected to the Renaissance Army and was leading the Renaissance Army's Taotie and Pixiu legions together with You Shilu to kill all around on the grasslands outside the Great Wall, I wonder if he would be so angry that he vomited blood and died on the spot?
……
"All the towns in Datong and Xuanfu west of the Sanggan River have been captured by the Restoration Army in this lightning operation?" "What is Lu Xiangsheng doing? This is more than half of Datong and Xuanfu! How could it be captured by the Restoration Army in just three months?"
Hong Chengchou, who had just led his army south back to Pingyang Prefecture, was shocked after receiving the report from the intelligence department.
With his shrewdness, he would naturally not stay in the northernmost border area of Xuanfu after the Later Jin Tartars were completely expelled from the country. Instead, his top priority was to lead his troops back to the Yellow River basin as soon as possible.
Otherwise, if the large fleet of the Fuxing Army cut off the waterway back to Qin, the consequences would be disastrous.
He knew very well that there were no elite forces of the government army in the southern part of Qin now. Once the Fuxing Army launched a new round of offensive, there would be no power to resist at all.
By then, even if he had made great contributions in this battle and joined forces with Lu Xiangsheng to expel the Later Jin Tartars from the country, he would inevitably be punished by the court.
Due to the limited number of treasure ships in the assembled fleet, he led the Qin army south at a moderate speed, and at least returned to Pingyang Prefecture, an important town on the eastern bank of the southern Fen River in time. However, he heard such terrible news.
There is no need to think about it. The Fuxing Army has already occupied more than half of the Xuanfu and Datongfu areas. The next target is Pingyangfu and Fenzhou areas west of the Fen River.
Only in this way can the territory controlled by the Fuxing Army be connected into one piece, with the Sanggan River and Fenshui River as the boundary, and the territory controlled by the official army of the Ming Dynasty be divided along the river to facilitate management and defense.
This extremely unfavorable news put Hong Chengchou in an extremely passive state, and he had to deploy troops to defend the vast area east of the Fen River.
Most importantly, he himself needed to return to Chang'an City to deal with the next round of offensive launched by the Fuxing Army against the southern part of Qin.
This made Hong Chengchou, who was overwhelmed, anxious and angry, like an ant on a hot pan.
"Grand Commander, I think we can't defend the territory west of the Fen River in Jin Province no matter what."
Hong Yuanfeng looked unhappy, and he suggested to Hong Chengchou, "Instead of dividing our forces and causing them to be scattered and unable to defend anywhere, it is better to lead the guards directly back to Chang'an City and arrange the defense of the southern Qin area in a leisurely manner, so as to avoid a total collapse in the end."
"As for the defense of Jin Province, just leave it to Zuo Liangyu and his guerrillas to garrison there."
"Let them each lead their troops to station in the area east of the Fen River and stabilize the defense line. As for the area west of the Fen River, since the Fuxing Army wants it, leave it to them."
"We also need to submit a letter to the imperial court as soon as possible, exaggerating the fact that the Fuxing Army is so powerful, and ask the imperial court to continue to send a powerful army to garrison Jin Province and jointly fight with Lu Xiangsheng in defense."
"Isn't Sun Chuanting's reputation rising rapidly recently? He must be a very capable Confucian general. Recommending him to guard Jin Province is also a very good choice."
Sun Chuanting is now unemployed at home in Zhenwuwei City, his hometown of Daizhou, but his reputation is rising.
Daizhou is located not far southwest of Yanmen Pass. This time, the brothers Dorgon and Duoduo led their troops to invade the Ming Dynasty. When they arrived at the city of Zhenwuwei, they were blocked by Sun Chuanting and his family guards. They had to bypass the city of Zhenwuwei, which made Sun Chuanting famous all over the world.
Rumor has it that the imperial court intends to re-employ Sun Chuanting, and Hong Yuanfeng is just taking advantage of the situation to make the recommendation.
He was the only one in the Ming Dynasty who could lead a medium-sized family to stop Dorgon's 600,000-strong army. One can easily imagine how evil Sun Chuanting was.
According to rumors, Sun Chuanting, like Lu Xiangsheng, was loyal to the royal family and was rather old-fashioned, so he was excluded by the civil service group.
But this does not mean that Sun Chuanting has no ability.
"Well, this Sun Boya is a talented person. It is said that he has already reached the late fifth level. His two family sons, Wang Chengsi and Sun Jian, are rare generals. They have even reached the peak of the fifth level. In the battle of Zhenwuwei City, they fought against the brothers Dorgon and Duoduo and the result was a draw."
It has to be said that Sun Chuanting was a man who made a stunning debut by keeping quiet.
A few months ago in Zhenwuwei City, he led the Sun family's servants and guards, and with the help of the city defense formation, he fought against 600,000 Tartars and successfully forced back the Tartar army, thus becoming famous throughout the world, and even Hong Chengchou was extremely surprised.
If we recommend him to join forces with Lu Xiangsheng, it won't be a problem to defend the areas east of Sanggan River and Fenshui River in Shanxi Province.
In addition, Hong Chengchou himself was fully committed to the defense in Qin, so it was not a big problem to curb the rapid expansion of the Fuxing Army in the short term.
"Yuanfeng, you're right."
Hong Chengchou affirmed the advice of his trusted general and said approvingly, "Our focus and foundation are in the Chang'an area, so we should naturally focus on Chang'an City."
"Instead of dividing our forces to defend in vain, it is better to gather the Qin army in the south of Qin and leisurely block the next round of offensive by the Fuxing Army, so that our army can take this opportunity to grow stronger again."
"After a year or two, even if we cannot defend the southern part of Qin, our strength will be doubled. By then, we can retreat to Hanzhong and protect ourselves."
"Then join forces with Qin Liangyu in Shuzhong. Even if Li Dingguo's Fuxing Army is powerful, it will be difficult to attack Hanzhong and Shu because of the natural barriers."
Hong Chengchou had been thinking about his own and the Hong family's future for a long time and had already made his own plans in mind.
It has to be said that Hong Chengchou, who was selfish and ambitious, was much more terrifying than the established history.
The two men discussed and decided, then began to act separately.
Hong Yuanfeng began to mobilize troops and make preparations to lead the royal guards back to Chang'an City.
Hong Chengchou immediately returned to his study and wrote a memorial in his own hand, emphasizing that the Fuxing Army had become too powerful to be controlled. He requested the court to send reinforcements and recommended Sun Chuanting, the Zhenwu Guardian of Daizhou, to replace him in guarding Shanxi Province.
The news that the Fuxing Army had defeated two million-strong Tatar armies led by Huang Taiji and Yuetuo had already spread throughout the country, and the imperial court could not have been unaware of it.
Therefore, Hong Chengchou was not worried that his memorial would become useless.
As long as the current aristocratic families, wealthy merchants and tycoons do not want to die and do not want to be confiscated and exterminated by the Restoration Army in the future, they will inevitably pay great attention and agree with my opinion.
Three days later, Hong Chengchou, who had arranged the defense work in areas east of Fen River in Pingyang Prefecture, led 230,000 personal guards and left Pingyang Prefecture on a treasure ship, going downstream and heading rapidly towards Qin.
Zuo Liangyu and other generals who stayed behind to guard the area east of Fen River in Shanxi Province were helpless but dared not disobey orders. They sighed and led their troops towards their designated defense zones.
In their panic, they could only hope that their luck would be better and that the Fuxing Army would not force their way across the Fen River to attack them in the short term. They could only leave it to fate.
(End of this chapter)
