Hsu Fengnian laughed self-deprecatingly, "It seems meaningless to talk about this now."
Chen Yunchui said seriously, "Almost two hundred thousand Beimang barbarians' heads, especially Yang Yuanzan's head! Your Highness, how can this be meaningless?! "
Hsu Fengnian was silent for a moment, then said slowly, "Earlier in the meeting hall, I only said some empty words to boost morale. Since you, Zhou Kang, have taken the initiative to come to me, then I'll be frank."
Zhou Kang said resentfully, "If you want to beat or scold me, do as you please. I'm already very satisfied that I'm able to walk into this courtyard today without being refused the door."
Hsu Fengnian waved his hand and said, "In terms of cavalry, you, Zhou Kang, have gathered thirty thousand left cavalry, Qidang's Iron Stupa, Yuan Nanting's White Feather Guard, and He Zhonghu's scattered forty thousand right cavalry. In total, there are more than eighty thousand. It can be said that the majority of Beiliang's cavalry is here. As for infantry, apart from the troops that have entered Huaiyang Pass and Liuya and Fuling Towns, Great Ancestor Gu still has thirty thousand. Old General Chen also brought some Youzhou infantry with him. It's not wrong that you, Zhou Kang, don't want to hide in the Grave area, but Great Ancestor Gu is worried that the thirty thousand left cavalry will be used in the exchange of troops. Great Ancestor Gu's words hit the nail on the head. Now, anyone and any soldier outside Liangzhou Pass can die. As long as the new city can be built smoothly before the autumn of the third year of Xiangfu, then it can be considered a worthy death. Then, from now on, with Huaiyang Pass and Grave as the center of attack and defense, all the troops and attacks must be carried out around this principle. "
Hsu Fengnian poured a full cup of wine, dipped his finger in the cup, and quickly pointed on the stone table, "The first complete line of defense outside Liangzhou Pass is with Hutou Town as the core. The cavalry of Liuya and Fuling Towns on the two flanks will act as a distraction. Huaiyang Pass, which is located in a dangerous area, and Grave Site and Qingyuan Towns, which are more inclined to defense, will act as the second small line of defense under this framework. Even if Hutou Town falls, we won't lose everything. Now that we don't have Hutou Town, this thorn in our flesh, Beimang's army has spread out on all fronts. Now, excluding Grave Site, not only Huaiyang Pass, but also Liuya, Fuling Town, and Qingyuan Town are facing Beimang's infantry siege. In my opinion, Fuling and Liuyang Pass can be lost, but Qingyuan Town cannot fall. If we lose Qingyuan Town, which controls the west gate of Liangzhou Pass, not only will He Zhong's forty thousand cavalry be forced to withdraw, it will also allow Dong Zhuo to attack Liuzhou however he wants. Therefore, Zhou Kang, you need to reinforce Qingyuan Town and intercept Dong Zhuo's cavalry. Not only do you need to stop them from moving south too smoothly, you also need to try to take down this forty thousand cavalry in one go. For this reason, I will ask Yuan Nanting to transfer half of the White Feather Guards to cooperate with you, so that we can form an advantage in the battlefield around Qingyuan Town. "
Zhou Kang frowned and said, "If that's the case, then Grave Site's Gu …"
Zhou Kang suddenly noticed Hsu Fengnian's strange look and quickly changed his words, "Won't Commander Gu be under too much pressure? With only six thousand Iron Stupas and half of the White Feather Guards, Grave Site will completely lose the initiative in the battle. "
Hsu Fengnian glanced at the partridge and said in a low voice, "Therefore, Great Ancestor Gu is paying the price of Grave Site's infantry being beaten like a tortoise, so that you, Zhou Kang, can gallop on the battlefield in Qingyuan."
Zhou Kang didn't say anything.
Hsu Fengnian reminded him, "Beiliang cares a lot about the gains and losses in Qingyuan, and Dong Zhuo can probably see that whether Qingyuan will become a trap for Beimang to besiege the city and attack the reinforcements will be up to your Left Cavalry to judge on the battlefield. At that time, I hope that you can resist the military merits of thousands or even tens of thousands of people. Once you fall into the blockade of Beimang's main cavalry, you should know that no one has the ability to make soldiers out of beans, so there's no way to make thirty thousand cavalry soldiers for you to send into the Qingyuan battlefield. What's more, after the Left Cavalry and half of the White Feather Guards are surrounded by Beimang, let alone Qingyuan, Grave Site, I, Great Ancestor Gu, and Old General Chen can only retreat to He Zhonghu's army in one breath, and there's only a newly built city behind us."
Zhou Kang suddenly asked in a low voice, "In the battle of Qingyuan, both sides' intentions are still not hidden. I believe that with Dong Zhuo's insight, Beimang's barbarians are very likely to besiege the city and attack the reinforcements. At most, they didn't expect that not only would my thirty thousand Left Cavalry be mobilized, but even the White Feather Guards would cooperate with them. In that case, Your Highness, why don't we just directly target Beimang's ambush? I have confidence in our crossbowmen. In our own territory, we can definitely accurately find out the Beimang's backup plan. Moreover, even if we meet on a narrow path and have to fight in pairs, Dong Zhuo's crow pen won't be enough! Your Highness, don't worry. I, Zhou Kang, guarantee that I won't act according to my whims. We'll listen to Great Ancestor Gu. All the battles of the Left Cavalry are to preserve our strength. "
Hsu Fengnian shook his head without hesitation and said, "Fighting this battle in Qingyuan is only to do our best to prevent Beimang from being too passive. It's not that I don't want to take risks, it's not that I don't want to gamble with Dong Zhuo on the sand table. It's just that I can't. Beimang can afford to gamble, and they can afford to lose. At the very least, they can afford to lose again. But we can't squander even a single opportunity. "
At this point, Hsu Fengnian asked with a smile, "General Zhou, the toad wants its life and the snake wants its fill. Do you feel very sullen?"
Zhou Kang chuckled and said, "I do feel a little cowardly. But I'm an old soldier who has followed the Great General for many years. I know what's important and what's not. But to be honest, after arriving in Beiliang, everything has been smooth sailing for so many years. This time, if Your Highness hadn't come to the grave, Great Ancestor Gu might not have been able to stop me. "
Chen Yunchui, who had been quiet all this time, said thoughtfully, "We do need to reflect on ourselves. Your Highness, you've seen and heard with your own eyes what happened in the meeting hall today. Other than Commander Gu, I'm afraid that even I can't stand this. Yes, for the past 20 years, our Beiliang Frontier Army has been competing with the Beimang barbarians. Not to mention a battle with a few hundred people, we've never lost a battle with more than ten thousand people. So this time, we've suddenly lost Hutou City, which greatly reduced the battle results we were about to obtain at Hulukou. We seem to be a little stunned. If we can't turn this around, we might suffer a big loss this time. Your Highness, it's not that I, Chen Yunchui, want to flatter you, but you've come at the right time. "
When Hsu Fengnian sent Zhou Kang and Chen Yunchui to the door of the small courtyard, he said to Zhou Kang without reason, "If Dong Zhuo has set up two or more large-scale ambushes in Qingyuan, your Left Cavalry should consider retreating to the west. If that doesn't work, you can take a detour and return to the grave."
Zhou Kang was stunned. "The west? Your Highness, if we go further west, we'll be at the border with Liuzhou. "
Hsu Fengnian didn't say anything.
Zhou Kang's eyes suddenly lit up. He asked carefully, "Your Highness, are you saying that we can win the battle at Liuzhou?"
Hsu Fengnian laughed softly. "Kou Jianghuai and Shi Fu are both generals who can turn the tide. As for whether they can do it, whether they can make the Qingyuan cavalry battle the third turning point of the Liang Mang war, let's wait and see. "
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
