Baisha County, Barbican.
Qi Guangbo, dressed in a military uniform and a scarlet cloak, stood in front of the map of Qingzhou that was propped up on a shelf and looked at it attentively.
Behind him were the generals of the Yunzhou Army. Ji Xuan was wearing armor and a saber at his waist, sitting on the left.
The generals looked relaxed. Although they remained silent, their eyes were full of joy.
In just three days, they had uprooted the nine counties at the border of Qingzhou and completely destroyed the first line of defense, giving the army a stable base.
Qi Guangbo's eyes did not leave the map. He said calmly, "Everyone seems to be in a good mood. It's a great victory. Why don't you get drunk tonight?"
The generals were stunned. They looked at each other silently. No one said anything.
Qi Guangbo ordered the deputy general next to him.
"Tell me about the situation in the city."
The deputy general stood up, looked around the table, and said in a deep voice,
"Before the Qingzhou garrison retreated, they burned the provisions in the granaries in the city. At the same time, a large number of quilts and cloth were burned. In addition, the rich families and merchants in the city had already evacuated in advance. Now, in Baisha County, there are only hungry poor people and refugees.
"It's the same for the other nine counties."
"What?"
The generals were shocked.
The deputy general continued,
"Before this, the Qingzhou administrative office had already ordered to strengthen the walls and clear the fields. The villages outside the city were empty, and not a single grain could be found."
Qi Guangbo, who had his back to the crowd, sighed.
"Yang Gong is a good one. I didn't expect him to be even more ruthless to the people. Do you still have the mood to drink now? "
The generals were silent.
They had taken down the defense line at the border of Qingzhou and had a base, but it was hard to say whether it was stable.
Ji Xuan said,
"Yang Gong did not intend to defend the nine counties at the border from the beginning. He evacuated the rich families in advance, leaving only the refugees and poor people. He planned to leave this mess to us."
Qi Guangbo pointed at the map of Qingzhou and nodded.
"The Qing Province stretches for tens of thousands of miles, there's plenty of space for him to move about. Why does he have to defend the borders to the death? Now that the imperial court's reinforcements have yet to arrive, he has chosen to tangle with us instead of fighting to the death. This is the correct decision.
"This move of giving him a taste of his own medicine, what a brilliant use."
When besieging a city and uprooting a stronghold, the worse the enemy's situation was, the better. It would be best if the enemy ran out of ammunition and food, and there were refugees everywhere.
However, once they occupied the cities, the rebel army would have to maintain stability. If there were riots in these places, they would be a burden.
Of course, if he only wanted to plunder, these could be ignored. At most, he would just kill everyone.
This kind of situation was only suitable for foreign invasions. The rebel army of Yunzhou wanted to gather the hearts of the people and claim righteousness, so it was not appropriate for them to do so.
"He wants to use the poor and refugees to drag us down. Humph, it just so happens that the militia who attacked the city this time are all dead and injured. These are all excellent sources of soldiers."
A general said.
There were always two sides to every strategy.
Ji Xuan glanced at him and said,
"Yang Gong fortified the walls and cleared the fields. He burned the provisions and did not leave a single grain of rice for us. The pressure on our side will increase exponentially. This is like cutting our flesh with a blunt knife, slowly consuming our foundation. Of course, we're not afraid. "
Yang Gong's goal was obvious. He wanted to weaken the strength of the rebel army as much as possible in Qingzhou.
The generals present were all smart people with rich experience. It was not difficult for them to figure out this problem.
Qi Guangbo said calmly, "The Imperial Tutor has been preparing for many years and has a deep foundation. How can a small Qingzhou waste it? We can use this opportunity to promote our righteous master. "
The generals looked at each other and smiled.
Qi Guangbo said, "It's time for the monk soldiers of the Western Region to appear. I've already sent someone to ask the Imperial Tutor."
…
Qingzhou's administrative office.
In the backyard, the round table in the hall was filled with delicacies. Lina and Xu Lingyin were sprawled on the table eating and drinking.
The master and disciple's faces were the same, bulging like buns.
"I eat fish and cured meat every day. I have to squat for a long time to go to the toilet." Lina said vulgarly without any psychological burden, even though she had delicate features.
There was a lack of fresh fruits and vegetables on the ship.
"Master, I can poop." Xu Lingyin announced loudly, showing that she was better than her master.
"Should we leave some for Brother Erlang?"
Although Lina said that, the speed at which she swallowed her food increased.
On the way to Qingzhou, Xu Erlang's master, Zhang Shen, and Li Mubai came to visit and brought their disciples to Qingzhou first.
Xu Erlang could not let Lina and Lingyin stay on the ship, so they set off together.
"Erguo, Erguo is not hungry."
Xu Lingyin forcibly defined Xu Erlang.
"Not hungry? Then there's no other way …"
Lina said seriously.
In the administrative office's meeting hall.
Xu Erlang picked up the blue and white porcelain teacup and took a sip of the boiling hot tea. He remained silent and listened.
At the head of the long pear wood table sat the Qingzhou administrative official, Yang Gong, dressed in a scarlet robe. This Recluse Zi Yang, who graduated from the Yunlu Academy and was famous in the Central Plains, had lost a lot of weight.
He had not slept for half a year. His thin face could not hide the fatigue, but his eyes were still sharp, and his spirit was still strong, as if he had endless strength.
"… This is the current situation in Qingzhou. We can't hold the border."
Yang Gong ended his long speech and picked up the teacup to moisten his throat. He turned to look at Zhang Shen.
"What do you think, Jinyan?"
Among the two classmates who came from afar to serve as an advisor, Zhang Shen majored in the art of war. He was a talent that Yang Gong urgently needed.
Zhang Shen nodded and said,
"If it were me, I wouldn't let those merchants and nobles leave. The rebel army will definitely choose to fight to the death. The day the city is breached will be the day their families die.
"If you don't want your family to die, then help defend the city to the death. That's the only way to reduce the rebel army's military strength. However, this is under the condition that the imperial court has reinforcements. Ziqian, you've done a good job with this compromise. "
As he said that, he looked at his proud disciple and smiled with the intention of testing him.
"Cijiu, analyze the situation in Qingzhou for everyone."
The magistrate of Qingzhou, the commander-in-chief, the disciplinary inspector, and the civil and military officials under them all looked over.
Xu Xinnian did not have stage fright. He straightened his back and slowly swept his eyes across the crowd.
"I think how long Qingzhou can be defended and how to defend it. First, everyone needs to understand three points.
"One: the environment of Yunzhou!
"Yunzhou's climate is warm and humid, the land is fertile, and every household has surplus food. Furthermore, it's backed by the ocean and has countless salt pans. In the past 20 years, the rebels have secretly invaded the imperial court's transport office and secretly transported countless iron ores. There's no shortage of salt, iron, or grain.
"In such a rich and populous land, Chief Minister Yang wants to use refugees and poor people to drag them down. It's like trying to put out a cart of firewood with a cup of water."
"According to your excellency Xu, Chief Minister Yang's strategy is inappropriate?" The magistrate of Qingzhou frowned.
Xu Xinnian shook his head. "Chief Minister Yang's strategy naturally won't be wrong, but the focus needs to be changed. Don't think about dragging them down. Instead, you need to kill their elites."
He looked at the map of Qingzhou and Yunzhou posted on the wall behind Yang Gong and said in a deep voice, "Let's return to Yunzhou.
"Let's go back to Yunzhou. Do you still remember the other name of Yunzhou?
"Bandit Prefecture!
"Ever since Emperor Gaozu, Yunzhou has been occupied by the rebels of the previous dynasty. They turned into mountain bandits and caused trouble. In the past 600 years, the bandits in Yunzhou have never been solved.
"Do you all remember the population of Yunzhou when the yellow book was remade?"
The officials looked at each other in dismay. No one knew.
They were the officials of Qingzhou. How could they know about Yunzhou?
Yang Gong tapped the table with his fingers and glanced at the officials with some dissatisfaction.
"The last time was in the 30th year of Yuanjing. There were 830,000 households recorded in Yunzhou, with a population of about 3.5 million."
This was the data from eight years ago.
Xu Erlang cupped his hands and continued with a calm expression.
"If I remember correctly, the population of Yunzhou has been sharply reduced every time the yellow book was remade. This is the price of bandits running amok. "
At this time, the officials already understood what he wanted to say.
"The population limits the number of their troops. In addition, in the past few decades, the training of soldiers has been carried out in secret." Xu Erlang tapped the table with his fist and said in a powerful voice.
"The lack of elite soldiers is the biggest flaw of the rebels. No matter the cost, we must use up all of their elites. That's what we need to do. "
"That makes sense!" Everyone nodded slowly.
Zhang Shen, Yang Gong, and Li Mubai looked at each other and smiled.
Xu Xinnian stretched out two fingers and said,
"Two, combat power!
"The combat power of a Transcendent is a factor that cannot be ignored in a war. Sometimes, a Transcendent can even change the outcome of a conventional war."
The reason why he used a "conventional" war was that there were large-scale wars in this world, such as the Shanhai Pass Campaign.
It was difficult for a Transcendent to change the outcome of a war that involved all the major forces of the nine states. It was not that the Transcendent was not strong enough, but that there were too many Transcendent masters.
Of course, if it was a Supreme Grade or a Grade One Warrior, it would be a different story.
Li Mubai suddenly asked, "Who is the commander of the enemy?"
Yang Gong said, "His surname is Qi, and his name is Uncle Guang. He is a nobody."
Zhang Shen raised his eyebrows. "A nameless person leading the three armies?"
Yang Gong said slowly, "A nobody doesn't mean he has no talent. On the contrary, this person is very powerful. He sent troops to drive the refugees away, and then let the masters blend in with the refugees to paralyze the defenders. He easily approached the city wall. Huangling County, which is at the border, was caught off guard and only lasted a day before it was breached. "
Zhang Shen sneered. "The commander guarding the city was merciful and allowed the refugees to approach. He deserved to be executed!"
Qingzhou's Commander Meticulousness sighed. "He died in the line of duty."
Li Mubai said, "In other words, we don't know if this commander is a Transcendent for now."
Yang Gong hummed in acknowledgment.
"Other than Galo Tree Bodhisattva and Xu Pingfeng, who are in charge of restraining the Supervisor, there are no Transcendents in the rebel army. However, it is very likely that they are hiding and have not shown themselves. "
As a Grade Four master of the Confucian School, a famous scholar of the Central Plains, Yang Gong did not have any obvious flaws or shortcomings in terms of talent and character.
He would not underestimate the enemy due to his arrogance.
"The imperial court also has no lack of Transcendents," Xu Xinnian said.
At this moment, the first thing that flashed through the minds of the officials was not the Celestial Commissioner, Sun Xuanji, but the famous Xu Qi 'an.
"The third point is reinforcements!"
Xu Xinnian's expression was solemn. "I mean reinforcements from both sides. The Buddhists have already colluded with the rebels of Yunzhou, so the armies of the Western Regions will sooner or later invade the border.
"Once the imperial court is forced to fight on two fronts, the reinforcements and military supplies available to Qingzhou will be greatly reduced. On the other hand, the rebel army of Yunzhou will be like a tiger with wings. This is also related to the second point, the issue of combat power. "
The atmosphere in the meeting hall became solemn. Everyone frowned, their eyes filled with worry.
The rebel army of Yunzhou was fierce, and the refugees of the Central Plains were a disaster. It was already difficult for Qingzhou to stop the rebel army.
Now that they were facing the invasion of the Western Regions, the imperial court would definitely not be able to take care of Qingzhou when fighting on two fronts, because everyone knew how powerful the Buddhists were.
There might even be a situation where Qingzhou was still fighting a bitter battle while the Western Regions army attacked the capital.
"It would be great if the armies of the Western Regions dared not invade the border," the Qingzhou magistrate sighed.
"What a fool's dream …" Commander Zhou, who was a military general, sneered in his heart. If Duke Wei was alive, perhaps the Buddhists would be afraid to start a war.
Who in Daibun could make the Buddhists afraid?
Even if it was the Supervisor, the Buddhists were not afraid, because this behemoth that dominated the Western Regions had no shortage of top masters.
However, there were only a handful of rare talents like Wei Yuan in the Nine Provinces.
"This is a dead end!"
Li Mubai, who was good at chess, shook his head slowly. "We can't contain the Buddhists. It is inevitable that they will send their troops east."
Yang Gong slowly exhaled. "Therefore, what we have to do is to risk our lives and try our best to kill the elites of the rebel army. The rest of the matter will be left to you to handle. "
There was nothing he could do.
"As soon as Duke Wei died, the rebels of Yun State rebelled. The Buddhists of the Western Regions took advantage of the fact that the Central Plains had no one. They tore up the alliance and turned against us. We can't do anything about it … "The Qingzhou magistrate lamented.
Xu Xinnian was silent. The Buddhists of the Western Regions were powerful and had a large army. Moreover, there were Arhats and Bodhisattvas in Alantuo. Such a behemoth could not be controlled by schemes.
At this moment, he suddenly saw two people in the corner of the meeting hall. One of them was dressed in white. His appearance, temperament, and height were ordinary. The other person had a thunderous mouth. His facial features were as ugly as a monkey's, and his blue eyes were clear as if they could see through people's hearts.
"Senior Brother Sun, why are you here?"
Xu Xinnian was shocked.
He knew this second disciple of the Supervisor.
"When did he come …" Yang Gong and the others were stunned. They turned their heads and looked.
Guardian Yuan glanced at the crowd and said, "Who is this?
"Their hearts tell me: Who is this? "Their hearts are telling me, 'Who is this? Sun Xuanji? Is there not a single disciple of the Supervisor who is normal? "
After saying that, Guardian Yuan was shocked. He quickly distanced himself from the matter and pointed at Xu Xinnian.
"The last sentence was said by him."
Xu Xinnian, "!!!"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
