Chapter 531
The 200,000 allied forces immediately caused a massacre in Guilin County.
Strictly speaking, the garrison force in Guilin County still exists and has not been transferred to Tianjing City by Hong Xiuquan. After all, Guilin County was Hong Xiuquan's back road planned before, and he would never ruin his future.
In addition to the garrison, there is even a field army of more than 20,000 people stationed in Guilin County.
With Yang Xiuqing in charge of the Kingdom of Heaven, Guilin County suddenly fell into chaos. Because the field army stationed in Guilin County can be said to be Hong Xiuquan's confidant direct line troops.
Seeing the death of the Heavenly King with his bones still cold, his successor Yang Xiuqing surrendered to Shanhai City immediately.
The furious army was naturally unwilling.
But if they wanted to kill them all the way to Tianjing City, they didn't have the guts.
The soldiers' anger had nowhere to vent, and in the end they could only pour it out on the people in the county.
However, the attitude of the local garrison in Guilin County is much more ambiguous. Their loyalty to the King of Heaven has not yet reached the point of avenging him and being desperate.
In addition, most of the soldiers in the local garrison were born in Guilin County, and they were also responsible for guarding the soil. Naturally, they would not tolerate the reckless actions of the field army in the county.
The two major military forces are quietly competing in Guilin County.
This is also the reason why Ouyang Shuo arranged for the Shanman Independent Division to station at Guiping Pass and Xuanwu Pass. It is to prevent this riot from spreading to Xunzhou County.
Originally, Ouyang Shuo could lead his troops to quell the disturbance in Guilin County first.
Regrettably, the situation in Tianjing City is still unstable, and Ouyang Shuo is urgently needed to go to sit in the city. Weighing the pros and cons, Ouyang Shuo decided to put Guilin County down temporarily.
When Han Xin led his troops to arrive, all problems would be solved naturally.
Besides, Ouyang Shuo had another "sinister" intention. He just wanted to use this riot in Guilin County to let the irrational field army destroy the local people's hearts gathered by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
As the saying goes, the hearts of the people are against each other.
Ouyang Shuo also didn't want the people under his rule to have nostalgia for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
Isn't this riot in the field army just digging its own grave?
As for the civilian casualties caused by this, it was out of Ouyang Shuo's consideration.
As a king, how can he be soft-hearted all the time? !
Undoubtedly, Ouyang Shuo was very proud of his plan.
Unexpectedly, it was such an inconspicuous negligence that allowed the cunning enemy to seize the opportunity.
How can Guilin County, which is in chaos, be the opponent of an army of 200,000 tigers and wolves.
In addition, among the enemy army, it seems that there are some masters to guide them, and there are also generals to lead them. Naturally, they are invincible, invincible, and invincible.
In just three days, more than half of Guilin County fell.
At this time, the commander of the coalition forces unexpectedly divided the army into three.
The 60,000 troops stayed in Guilin County to continue the unfinished task of mopping up. The 80,000 troops drove straight in, all the way south, and went straight to Guiping Pass.
The remaining 60,000 troops were going to attack another pass—Xuanwu Pass.
It was this division of troops that completely established the coalition's chances of victory.
If the coalition forces were to cross the pass, break into the territory of Xunzhou County, and fight a life-and-death battle with the army of Shanhai City, the coalition forces naturally did not have the confidence and strength.
However, it is necessary to occupy the two passes and completely block the passage for the Shanhai City army to go north. Otherwise, Guilin County, which has just been occupied, will always face the threat of Shanhai City's army.
Thinking about it, it makes people feel uncomfortable.
Therefore, only by occupying the main pass, their battle plan can be regarded as a complete success.
That's it, everything is fast.
The coalition forces must complete the occupation of the two passes before the Shanhai City army returns to aid.
Otherwise, don't mention it all.
Therefore, whether it is the coalition forces or the Shanhai City army, they are all racing against time.
***********
The time went back to two days ago, that is, on November 20, Guiping Pass.
In Guiping pass, there are more than 8,000 elite mountain barbarian soldiers stationed, and the person in charge of commanding this mountain barbarian army is the young general Shi Hu who is highly favored by Ouyang Shuo.
On the second day after the coalition forces invaded Guilin County, the secret letter from the Military Intelligence Department was sent to Guiping Pass.
Whether it is the Military Intelligence Department or the Black Snake Guard, the infiltration of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom by the two major intelligence agencies is mainly concentrated in Xunzhou County, with Tianjing City as the core.
Because of limited personnel and limited energy, their penetration into Guilin County and Zhen'an County was somewhat insufficient. Even so, it was not easy for the Military Intelligence Division to obtain accurate information the next day.
Shi Hu was shocked when he got the news.
The 200,000 elite army suddenly attacked without any warning.
The sudden heavy pressure made this young general almost out of breath.
Strictly speaking, this is Shi Hu's first time leading an army alone, and he is about to face such a test of life and death. This is indeed too cruel for a young general.
Outsiders cannot understand this pressure without experiencing it firsthand.
Some generals in the army, some even collapsed instantly under heavy pressure. On their shoulders, they carried the lives of thousands of people. If you make a mistake, you may fall into the abyss.
Fortunately, there is another capable person in Guiping Pass at this time, and he is Pei Ju.
At the critical moment, Pei Ju stood up and served as the temporary military adviser of the garrison. During the days of attacking Xunzhou County, Ouyang Shuo kept Pei Ju by his side and often asked for advice.
Therefore, Shi Hu trusted the veteran Pei Ju very much.
It was Pei Ju's relief that made Shi Hu calm down quickly and think about countermeasures.
Compared with the young Shi Hu, Pei Ju's eyesight was so sharp, he immediately concluded that the enemy's expedition to Guilin County was unusual, and as long as the enemy was not stupid, they would eventually attack Guiping Pass.
Therefore, Pei Ju immediately arranged for several messengers to ride on fast horses to notify the army of princes and lords who were already on their way. At the same time, he began to order the improvement of the city defense facilities of Guiping Pass.
Guiping Pass, like Zhennan Pass, is an original fortress building in the wilderness.
The basic city defense facilities in the pass are relatively complete. After Hong Xiuquan took over Xunzhou County, he also arranged for craftsmen to repair the pass.
The materials in the customs are also considered sufficient.
The only regret is that the treasure in Hong Xiuquan's hand - the artillery, was not arranged at the pass.
Therefore, Pei Ju's so-called repairs were only to repair the damage caused by the Shanman army's attack on Guiping Pass. At the same time, a large amount of supplies for defending the city were moved to the city wall.
***********
November 21, at noon.
The strong sunlight, through the red clouds, scorched the wild land.
On the horizon in the distance, a cavalryman in light armor suddenly appeared. On the side of the cavalry, there was an empty war horse running past all the way, rolling up waves of smoke and dust.
At this moment, there was a hint of joy in the eyes of the cavalry.
Just in front of him, an army of tens of thousands of people was moving forward.
"Your Majesty, there is an urgent military situation!"
The cavalry ran all the way, constantly waving the flags behind them, and shouting loudly.
"Your Majesty, there is an urgent military situation!"
...
On this ordinary afternoon, it took only a day and a half for the messengers sent by Pei Ju to catch up with the large army led by Ouyang Shuo. For this reason, there were three excellent war horses on the way, who were exhausted to death.
Even the messenger passed out instantly after completing the task.
During the march, Ouyang Shuo could not receive the secret letter.
Therefore, he was two and a half days late before he got the news that the coalition forces were attacking Guilin County. At this time, Ouyang Shuo was only less than two days away from Tianjing City.
Calculated according to the time, at this time, the Leopard Army led by Han Xin was at least three days away from Guiping Pass. During the march, I couldn't contact him again, so I'm afraid I can't hope for it for the time being.
Hearing the news, Ouyang Shuo's heart trembled, and then he flew into a rage.
"Little thief, dare to break ground on Tai Sui's head!"
Ouyang Shuo really didn't expect that the lords of Northern Sichuan Province would collude with [Shunan City-State] so soon, and what's even worse, they dared to provoke Shanhai City.
On second thought, Ouyang Shuo could only smile bitterly.
I have to say that the timing chosen by the enemy is really ingenious.
At this time, Shanhai City seemed to be at the pinnacle of its hegemony, but it happened to be at its weakest. There is an incomparably vast territory in the sky, but there is no army to match it.
Only when the reorganization of hundreds of thousands of Taiping troops is completed, Shanhai City can be considered truly strong.
Unfortunately, the enemy seized this gap.
It seems that the enemy is determined, and Shanhai City dare not start a large-scale war with them at this time.
"I'm afraid that behind the coalition forces, there are expert guidance."
Ouyang Shuo gradually calmed down, thoughtful.
What he didn't know was that when the coalition forces broke into Guilin County, the 100,000 coalition troops of [Lingnan City-state] frequently provoked troubles at the border, obviously cooperating with [Shunan City-state] and responsible for containing the energy of the Lingnan theater.
There is no doubt that this is an elaborate conspiracy.
After Shanhai City was flattened to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the lords and players around Shanhai City's fear of Shanhai City reached the peak of history.
This time, the forces of the three provinces were linked together in order to curb the rise of Shanhai City.
Ouyang Shuo shook off his thoughts, and immediately ordered the army to turn around and go straight to Guiping Pass.
The coalition forces knew the importance of the pass, how could Ouyang Shuo not? Therefore, he didn't even think about it, and led his troops back desperately.
Hope, Guipingguan can hold on.
Unfortunately, the two mountain barbarian independent divisions led by Ouyang Shuo were completely infantry. Even if it is a quick march all the way, it will take at least two days to rush back to Guiping Pass.
By then, I'm afraid the day lily will be cold.
Fortunately, Ouyang Shuo still has a cavalry in his hand, which is the three thousand Shenwuwei.
Ouyang Shuo immediately decided to personally lead the Shenwuwei and set off first. As for the Shanman Independent Division, they followed behind and advanced towards Guiping Pass at the fastest speed.
Everything is really a race against time.