Hsu Fengnian said softly, "Before Beimang went south to the Central Plains, there were two paths they could choose from. One was to enter Beimang and occupy Xishu, going east from the west and looking down. The other was to go south from Jizhou and enter the Central Plains. That was why they entered Dafeng Dynasty's capital three times. Now there are three paths. Other than attacking Beiliang's Jizhou, there are two more Liao. The reason is simple. Liyang's capital is too far north. Emperor Zhao Li used the reason that the monarch should guard the border to reject the suggestion of moving the capital south to Guangling River. Therefore, according to common sense, Beimang's army can attack Liao Dong. As long as they win, they can go straight to Great Peace City. It's almost a one-time thing. "
The old monk said with a smile, "Your Highness, you can say 'but' now."
This time, not only did the old spy have to be held down by Yuan Zuozong to not pull out his sword to attack, even Xu Yanbing, who had been watching coldly from the side, started to frown. He was a bit angry.
Hsu Fengnian said calmly, "But, but there are three hundred thousand border soldiers from Beiliang. Most importantly, there are hundreds of thousands of elite cavalry. Of course, there are also the two Liao border fortifications built with half of the country's resources. The two coexist, so Beimang doesn't dare to act rashly. Once they attack Great Peace City for more than a month, Beiliang's cavalry can use the northern border with Jizhou as the core as support to attack Liao Dong. In this way, Beimang's army can only fight like a cornered beast. When the army from the south of Liyang arrives, Beimang will have no chance of winning. As for Beimang's army using Jizhou as a breakthrough point, even the country's scholars who only know how to talk about strategy on paper know that it's a move that only fools would do. In that case, does it mean that our Northern Liang Border Army is duty-bound to Li Yang and the Central Plains, and that our contributions cannot go unnoticed? "
The old monk asked back, "Isn't it?"
Hsu Fengnian smiled, "No, it's not. The key is that both the imperial court and Beiliang think that the Beiliang cavalry is the private army of the Xu family. They only recognize the Xu flag, not the imperial edict or the emperor of the Zhao family. Then, there was a question that was placed on the table of the Xu and Zhao families. Neither side could avoid it. Xu Xiao had thought about this question back then. If his eldest son was an embroidered pillow who neither followed his father nor his mother, then could he go to Tai 'an City and be a prince consort who enjoyed himself regardless of the wind and rain? Or go to the Central Plains and change to a random vassal state and become a Prince of Taiping? I think the late emperor of Liyang, Zhao Duan, had thought about this problem many times. How could he ensure that Beimang and Beiliang would fight to the death and that Beiliang's military power would be stable? Could he change the surname of the unruly Beiliang and change the master? Many people in the Central Plains have said that during the Spring and Autumn War, if it were Gu Jiantang, who debuted later than Xu Xiao, he could still destroy the six states. However, because Xu Xiao destroyed six of the eight states of Spring and Autumn outside of Liyang, Gu Jiantang could only helplessly follow behind the Xu family's army and pick up scraps. There was nothing he could do about it. After all, he was younger than Xu Xiao by more than ten years and joined the army ten years later. Otherwise, Great General Gu Jiantang wouldn't have stopped at two states. Perhaps Great Master would be unable to resist asking 'Isn't that so?' "
The old monk couldn't help but laugh.
Even the little monk, who was confused from the beginning to the end, felt amused.
Yuan Zuozong smiled knowingly. Xu Yanbing also loosened his frown.
Xu Fengnian sighed. There was a smile at the corner of his mouth, and there was a rare sense of pride. He shook his head and said, "The answer is yes and no. Because if it were Gu Jiantang, he wouldn't have been able to win the Battle of Western Fortress, let alone defeat West Chu, which was still capable of fighting after being defeated. "
The old monk didn't express his opinion. Apparently, he was skeptical. Although the old man was a remnant of West Chu, he had resigned long ago and became an itinerant man in Jianghu. At first, he was a civil official who liked to talk and was not good at military affairs. He was deeply hurt by the war between the two states, but he didn't have a deep understanding of it.
Hsu Fengnian held back his laughter and said, "It was Gu Jiantang himself who said that he couldn't win the Battle of Western Fortress, and he said it to Xu Xiao when there was no one around."
The old monk, who was a little embarrassed, subconsciously raised his arm as if he wanted to touch the bald head, but he only touched the old leather hat.
Hsu Fengnian suddenly asked, "Great Master, why did you say that only Xu Xiao could guard the northwest of Yong Huichu?"
The old monk didn't hide anything and said, "It was something that Dragon General Xu Gong, who was from the Gangnam-do Gumu Xu family, told me. I know what it is, but I don't know why, so I borrowed it. "
Hsu Fengnian smiled bitterly and said, "To tell you the truth, Xu Gong, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War, was the general who stopped the Beiliang cavalry from going to Guangling."
The old monk was speechless.
Hsu Fengnian changed the topic and said, "When I first traveled Jianghu, Zhao Gou tried to assassinate me many times. As for the first few assassinations in Beiliang Palace, I believe that Great Master wouldn't believe that it wasn't Zhao Gou's arrangement."
The old monk nodded. He didn't doubt this at all.
Hsu Fengnian smiled and said, "I also came to the capital later as the Crown Prince. Only then did I know that the Empress, who is now the Empress Dowager, had tried to stop Zhao Gou in private."
"Why did she do that?"
"Personally, at that time, she probably felt that the relationship between the Xu and Zhao families was still a little bit. Or maybe she felt a little guilty about the White Clothes Case in the capital. But the real crux of the matter was that she considered the long-term and was more beneficial to the country. That is, Beiliang had a dandy son, His Royal Highness. Having the eldest son of the Xu family, who had the opportunity to become a puppet of the imperial court, was far better than Xu Xiao who rebelled in a fit of anger. In fact, at that time, she and the man on the dragon throne were very different. The late Emperor Zhao Dun had always hoped that Beiliang would be surnamed Chen. He hoped that the White-clothed War Sage, Chen Zhibao, whom he greatly admired, would guard the country for the Zhao family. But the Empress Dowager Zhao Zhi was not only afraid of Chen Zhibao, but she also had selfish motives. That is, in order to break the rule of the Zhao family in Liyang, she wanted her eldest son, Zhao Wu, to be made a vassal of Beiliang. He would remove the character 'North' and replace it with 'Liang', and become the Liang Prince. At that time, he would have two sons. One would sit on the dragon throne and wear a dragon robe to rule the world, while the other would spread his whip across the desert. This could be considered a form of compensation for Zhao Wu's failure to become the Emperor. Everyone would be happy. "
"Master, let me ask you. If I suddenly died, and Xu Xiao also died, or if something similar happened, and I didn't want to suffer outside the border, I just wanted to go to the capital and live a peaceful life in the Central Plains. Moreover, Xu Xiao also agreed to it. Then, if the generals in Beiliang didn't have internal strife, and if Gu Jiantang came to lead the army in Beiliang as the Great General of the Pillar of the State, what would the situation be like?"
"Although I don't know about military affairs, I think it would be a good thing. If Gu Jiantang led the Beiliang Frontier Army to fight to the death, the imperial court would also promise to let Gu Jiantang be conferred the title of King after his death. However, it probably wouldn't be hereditary. Otherwise, it would be the second Xu family. After all, I also know about the matter of the army's morale. It is built through continuous fighting, and also through the deaths of people."
"Yes, it's indeed the best ending. Then, if I take a step back and say that Xu Xiao and I are dead at the same time, will the generals in Beiliang obey Gu Jiantang's command? "
"Well … I don't dare to make a presumption."
The night fell into silence.
Yuan Zuozong said indifferently, "Master, can you trust that I will say something fair?"
The old monk was a little surprised and smiled, "So you are General Yuan Baixiong, who fought in the Princess' Tomb! Tell me, this Penniless Monk believes you. "
Yuan Zuozong said slowly, "Under the premise that my adoptive father and the Prince ordered me not to make any trouble, I will only say the words of the 'old men' in Beiliang. I will leave Beiliang and may go to the Western Regions. I will never enter the Central Plains of Beiliang again. As for the other two adoptive sons, Chu Lushan will establish himself as King in Liuzhou. He may even go to Beimang after his adoptive father's death. Qi Dang will take off his armor and become a retainer for the Prince. Among those commander-in-chief commanders of the Northern Liang Border Army's cavalry, Yan Wenluan might run straight to Mount Qing Liang to risk her life. Even if she didn't go, most likely she would die of anger. If she didn't die of anger, she would shut herself in and not come out. Chen Yunchui, Zhou Kang, He Zhonghu, and the others all left the border army. Among the young generals, Liu Jinu, Hu Kui, Shi Fu, Ning Emei, Wang Lingbao, Li Mofan and others would all leave the frontier army. In the end, among those who stayed in the border army, there was no need to think about the old man. Only people like Cao Xiaojiao could be considered useful. Once these people leave, even if Gu Jiantang brings all his old subordinates from the Spring and Autumn Period to Beiliang, even if the framework of the 300,000 border army is still there, I think the fighting power will be less than half of the original. Maybe you will think that half of the fighting power will still be 150,000 soldiers. With the addition of Cai Nan's army, someone's Western Shu, the support of grain and endless reinforcements from the Central Plains, such as the Qingzhou Army, you can even mobilize the Capital Army to the northwest. In the end, you still have a chance to stall the Beimang army and slowly exhaust Beimang's national strength, right? "
It was the third time that the old monk said this tonight. "Is it not?"
Yuan Zuozong took a deep breath and sneered, "Is it? Of course not! You know, in the battle of Liang Mang, Beiliang defeated Beimang by a fluke. Why, when you heard that only 100,000 Beiliang died and only 30 Beimang died, you think it was easy to win? I don't mind telling you the truth. At that time, Beiliang was fighting on three fronts. As long as one front collapsed, the whole line would be defeated. At that time, it was not only 100,000 Beiliang that died, but also 300,000 border soldiers plus 300,000! "
Hsu Fengnian looked up at the night sky and murmured in a low voice that only he could hear, "Only 100,000 died."
Yuan Zuozong realized that he had lost his composure and tried to calm down, "But these are not the real deadlock. The real hidden danger is …"
Hsu Fengnian directly called his name and interrupted Yuan Zuozong, "Yuan Zuozong!"
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