Chapter 836: Covering

Early morning.

Guan Tong stood on the Jinling Drill Ground; before him were the soldiers of the Third Army.

At this moment, the soldiers were taking off their military uniforms one after another, changing into ordinary civilian clothes.

Because Jinling City had been taken suddenly, a large amount of supplies had been left behind in the city, including the clothes usually worn by the Shizu soldiers.

In order to conceal the existence of the Qin-style Rifles, the soldiers first strapped the rifles to their backs, then put on the clothes, and finally put on their packs.

"General Guan, I have brought the people; you only need to hand the soldiers over to them." At this time, Zhang Hang walked over, followed by fifteen people dressed as civilians.

They were all members of the Four Courts, and each member was responsible for the migration of civilians in a different area.

Guan Tong nodded, "How many soldiers each of them needs, you divide them yourself."

Civilians in different areas were guarded by different numbers of Shizu troops; he was completely in the dark and could only rely on Zhang Hang to decide.

Nodding, Zhang Hang took a piece of paper from his bosom.

He had prepared it last night, "It is all on this paper; the General only needs to divide the troops according to it, and we will set out at night."

Without a doubt, there must be Shizu eyes watching around Jinling City.

Even if so many civilians suddenly left the city, it would attract their attention.

Therefore, they prepared to hide during the day and travel at night; once they reached their destinations, they would coordinate from the inside and outside with the Four Courts members to mix the people in with the civilians.

Guan Tong took the note and nodded, then he said solemnly: "Zhang Hang, my soldiers are now in your hands; you must keep casualties to a minimum."

"General Guan, rest assured; we all work for His Highness and are like brothers, so we will not easily let them take risks," Zhang Hang said.

Guan Tong felt a warmth in his heart and nodded.

After dividing into fifteen groups and sleeping for an afternoon, the soldiers of the Third Army disappeared into the darkness with the Four Courts members that night.

Their largest group had five thousand men, and the smallest group had only five hundred.

They were heading to Jiangzhou, Xiangzhou, Jiaozhou, and other places to rescue the Jiangnan civilians.

"I hope this great undertaking succeeds." Zhao Xu did not sleep, but personally saw the soldiers off as they left the city.

This time, his main goal was to completely detach the civilians from the Shizu's grasp.

In the future, the Jiangnan civilians would live and work in peace, while he would continue to annihilate the remaining Shizu forces, avoiding too much destruction to Jiangnan caused by this civil war.

"It will certainly succeed," Chang Wei echoed, "The Prince's Personal Army will never let His Highness down."

Zhao Xu nodded, then he said: "To cover them, tomorrow order the main army to advance along the south bank of the Jiujiang toward Ba City."

"Yes, Your Highness," Chang Wei said.

This was another step he had discussed with Yan Wang: to feign an attack on Ba City in order to mobilize the Shizu troops and reduce the pressure on the Third Army.

After all, once they judged that the Prince's Personal Army was going to attack Ba City, they would inevitably concentrate their troops near Ba City.

In this way, their troop strength guarding the civilians would be even weaker.

And they would have no time to attend to the coerced civilians.

Having settled this matter, the next day sixty thousand of the Prince's Personal Army headed west along the Jiujiang.

Twelve Steamships towed boats filled with grain and fodder upstream.

Although the Prince's Personal Army was moving together, the momentum was massive.

It seemed as if they were going to attack Yizhou and Bazhou from two sides with the Qin Army from the direction of Jiameng Pass.

As soon as the Prince's Personal Army moved out, the Shizu's eyes immediately detected it.

They immediately transmitted the news back.

Changcheng.

After the armies of the Han, Wang, and Xie families of Jinling withdrew from Su City and Song City, they were stationed here, commanded by Wang Xie and Xie An.

When the news of the Prince's Personal Army moving west along the river arrived, the two were shocked.

"Brother Wang, we must immediately dispatch troops to the west of Xiangzhou to stop Yan Wang's army," Xie An's brows were tightly furrowed, "If Bazhou is lost, everything is over."

Hearing this, Wang Xie was silent for a while, then he said: "Brother Xie, stay calm. The eighty-thousand-strong army of Wu is hoarded in Xiangzhou, which is enough to deal with the Prince's Personal Army; it may not require us. It is better to wait peacefully for orders from Bazhou."

Pausing, his eyes narrowed, "Actually, I think that instead of intercepting these sixty thousand of the Prince's Personal Army, it would be better to send troops to Jinling and take the opportunity to take Jinling back. Moreover, Yan Wang is in Jinling City right now; if we could take the opportunity to kill him, hehe."

Xie An's heart stirred; losing Ningzhou was naturally most painful for their Xie family.

During this time, the Xie family descendants dreamed of taking back Jinling.

Now, with the Prince's Personal Army heading toward Xiangzhou, the troop strength left near Jinling was much weaker.

If they could mobilize a large army to move south, it might be possible to achieve success in one battle.

"As expected of Brother Wang, brilliant, truly brilliant. Taking Jinling would not only kill Yan Wang but also cut off the retreat of the Prince's Personal Army, leaving the westward-moving Prince's Personal Army in a state of confusion, making it easy to annihilate them," Xie An said.

"That is exactly what I mean," Wang Xie said, "I am preparing to send a letter to Bazhou to convey my advice and the situation we have detected."

Xie An nodded, "In war, speed is of the essence; be quick."

Having decided this, Wang Xie wrote a letter and immediately ordered a fast horse to send it to the west of Xiangzhou, then to take a boat to reach Bazhou.

At the same time, the soldiers of the Third Army were heading toward their destinations.

Only because they were hiding during the day and traveling at night, their speed was not as fast as the Shizu's eyes.

When Wang Xie received the movement of the Prince's Personal Army, they had only walked half the distance.

At the same time, they also understood that Yan Wang was covering them and deliberately mobilizing the Shizu troops.

Therefore, they were even less in a hurry to travel.

Because once they arrived, they would have to mix in with the civilians; the longer they stayed, the easier it was to be exposed.

It would be more appropriate for them to act after the Shizu troops had mobilized.

Five days later, Wang Xie's letter arrived in Ba City.

The Wu army in Xiangzhou also sent over the situation they had detected.

"General Luse, Ambassador Brook, Yan Wang is trying to attack the Yizhou area from two sides; you must find a way," Liang Kai's hands trembled slightly.

The news that Zhongling Pass and Jian Pass had been breached by Yan Wang had long since reached Bazhou.

Even Ashuer had lost, so naturally, he was even more terrified at the mere mention of Yan Wang.

He spent his days full of anxiety, fearing that Yan Wang would attack Bazhou.

He had not expected that the troops of Yan Wang would arrive so soon.

Wang Zi'an, Han Zheng, and Xie Duan exchanged glances, their expressions equally gloomy.

After arriving in Bazhou, they had been happy for a period of time.

The steepness of Ba City was well-deserved, and they believed that here, their lives and property could be preserved.

But they had not been happy for many days before the fall of Zhongling Pass and Jian Pass slapped them hard in the face.

"The Yan King Army's operation this time is simply a gamble; do they think a mere sixty thousand men can defeat the million-strong armies of Jiangzhou and Xiangzhou?" Luse frowned deeply, "I believe this must be a trap; it does not resemble the combat style of the Yan King Army."

"If it were before, perhaps not, but now, perhaps they can." Brook pinched his brow in pain, "The Yan King Army has been equipped with a brand-new type of musket; do not forget, it was this very musket that defeated the armies at Zhongling Pass and Jian Pass. With the characteristics of this musket, the Yan King Army is more flexible than ever before."

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