A carriage leisurely drove towards the granary. The coachman was Song Keli's delicate servant. Yuan Benxi, who sat in the carriage, kept the curtain drawn and looked at the formation of geese in the sky, lost in thought. The bird that sticks out takes the brunt of the wind. But no matter if it was a family, a clan, or a country, there would definitely be someone who would stand out.
After Song Keli left Weize County, there were no more imperial court bulletins to read. However, Mister Yuan would talk to him every once in a while, intentionally or unintentionally 'revealing the secrets of heaven'. Song Keli believed him without a doubt. The battle of the scattered cavalry was the first great defeat the Emperor had suffered in the territory south of Great Peace City after he ascended the throne. During the Yong Hui era, they had gone to Nanzhao twice. Although they had returned without any achievements, they had won and lost several large and small battles. In the battle of the first year of Xiangfu, the great general Yan Zhenchun had died in battle and thirty thousand elite cavalry had been completely annihilated. There was no way to cover this up anymore. The Li Yang court was terrified. If it was said that Yang Shenxing being trapped could be understood as underestimating the enemy, then the Yan Family's cavalry and the West Chu rebel army had met force with force without any tricks. The result was a crushing defeat, forcing the court officials to reevaluate West Chu's strength. Song Keli, who wholeheartedly served his country, was even more worried. It was only when Mister Yuan spoke to him openly that this young phoenix of the Song Family truly understood the treacherous nature of the imperial court.
"Did you see something? Yang Shenxing's forty thousand Southern Ji soldiers, the five to six thousand newly created cavalrymen, and Yan Zhenchun's thirty thousand elite cavalrymen guarding the capital are all someone's army? "
Song Keli exclaimed, "But isn't the price a little too high?"
Yuan Benxi smiled faintly, "On the court's side, it's mainly the Ministry of War and the 'study' where the Daily Manager works. These places don't think that Yang Shenxing and Yan Zhenchun, the two veteran generals with meritorious service, will be defeated. They should have lost after the backbone of West Chu, Cao Changqing, showed up. However, since the capital's military 'seems' to have suffered a heavy blow, then what reason does Prince Guangling, Zhao Yi, have to not make any moves? "
Song Keli sighed, "First restraining the military, then removing the vassal state is a matter of course. This is an open conspiracy."
Yuan Benxi did not comment. He hesitated and said self-mockingly, "I've read some military books, but I don't dare to say that I'm familiar with military affairs. Therefore, I've always tried my best not to interfere in the layout of war. of course. It's important to know one's own strengths and avoid one's weaknesses. Many times, as long as you don't make mistakes, opportunities will come. Yang Shenxing had lost because of the Imperial Court. Otherwise, with Ju Xiao's frontline military strength, both sides were evenly matched. If Yang Shenxing was allowed to fight steadily and steadily, he would still be able to gain an advantage. However, Yang Shenxing had been fighting wars for most of her life. When she got older, she no longer thought of herself as a feudal official. Instead, she thought of herself as a 'courtier'. In the end, it was reasonable that she lost outside of the battlefield. Song Keli, you must learn from this. "
Song Keli nodded vigorously.
Yuan Benxi continued, "Yan Zhenchun was implicated by Yang Shenxing and had no choice but to retreat to the south. West Chu's cavalry waited for him to exhaust himself. Then, unexpectedly, three thousand heavy cavalry appeared at the crucial moment to disrupt the situation. The more Yan Zhenchun managed his army and the more his soldiers fought to the end, the more they fell into West Chu's trap. With Yan Zhenchun's experience, he would have guessed that West Chu's twenty thousand light cavalry had an ambush behind them. He just didn't expect that the twenty thousand cavalry would be defeated by the thirty thousand cavalry. The Imperial Court made one wrong step after another, while West Chu took one step after another. It seemed like West Chu had a successor. The Ministry of War had a record of several youths and four of them were the best. Two of the four had appeared. The Pei Clan's Pei Sui was in charge of government affairs. This person was young and old, with a profound family background, but he was lacking in spirit. Xu Yunxia, who led twenty thousand light cavalry to fight to the death with Yan Zhenchun, was full of spirit. However, he couldn't grasp the timing of the heavy cavalry's attack. It seems that the northern front is the work of Kou Jianghuai or Xie Xibian. "
Song Keli said slowly, "I've heard of Kou Jianghuai. His ancestors were all generals of West Chu. He studied military strategy and was a brilliant figure in Shangyin Academy in his early years. He became Teacher Ji Shang before he was twenty years old. He was also brave enough to break through enemy lines. He's a rare talent in both the pen and the sword. As for who Xie Xibian is, I've never heard of him. Teacher Yuan, is West Chu's northern front plan really not the Confucian Sage Cao Changqing's plan? "
Yuan Benxi shook his head. "Without these outstanding young people, how would Cao Changqing dare to revive his country?"
Yuan Benxi suddenly laughed. It was the kind of laughter that wouldn't stop. Song Keli was stunned. His impression of Teacher Yuan was that he was calm in the face of change. He had great wisdom, but he was shrewd and rarely revealed his true feelings. After laughing heartily, Yuan Benxi took a sip of wine and said, "I've been cooped up in the Hanlin Academy all my life. I've heard a lot of famous scholars talk and talk. Although I'm pedantic, I'm still one of the most knowledgeable people in the world. There's no lack of merit. I've either dealt with a group of people who can't see the light of day, or I've dealt with a group of people behind the scenes. These people are even more knowledgeable. Each of them has their own outstanding talents. Some of them are flawless in small details. Some of them have great foresight. When I left the capital this time, I stayed in those inns in towns and listened to the boasting of poor scholars and country bumpkins. Only then did I realize that there's a different flavor to it. "
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