The old woman put away her thoughts and slowly said, "The order of peace will arrive soon. Then, right now, in this large room, pretty much all of Northern Mang's influential figures have gathered. We hope that everyone can speak freely. However, before we discuss the country's affairs, we have a small matter for you all to do."
Everyone immediately acted as if they were facing a great enemy. They all put on a respectful posture and listened attentively.
The old woman raised the dagger that was stained with some ice shards and pointed at Dong Zhuo and Liu Gui. "Beiliang scouts wander freely in the Longyan Plains near Hutou City and the northern border of Liuzhou. People say that the White Horse Crossbowmen are the best scouts in the world. I don't want to believe that. Dong Zhuo, your Crow Pen and Liu Gui, your Black Fox Pen are the most elite horse pens in Beimang. I hope that before autumn, no matter how many of you die in battle, I don't want to see even a single Beiliang crossbowman."
Dong Zhuo's face was full of pain. Liu Gui wanted to say something but stopped.
The old woman didn't put away the dagger. She sneered and said, "Three hundred thousand of our men died outside Beiliang. What's the big deal about a thousand more deaths? Throw out all the fences of crows and black foxes! "
The old woman's face became colder and colder. She said sternly, "Let's not talk about the Imperial Bulletin of the provincial governors of Liyang imperial court. We can even get the Imperial Bulletin of the Jiedushi and the Administrator. However, the war with Beiliang is imminent, and we can't even get a single useful spy report on the specific deployment of the Beiliang Frontier Army. Not a single one! What a joke! "
Liu Gui bowed and said in a deep voice, "My Black Fox Pen was willing to die before the war!"
Dong Zhuo had no choice but to agree. "Crow's nest is the same."
At this moment, the Imperial Decree of Peace walked into the main hall with a scroll in his hands. Under the instructions of the Empress of Beimang, a huge map of the Liang Mang confrontation was spread out at the bottom of the stairs. It was more than ten feet long and wide. It included Hutou City, Huaiyang Pass, Liuya Fuling Grave, and the three military towns, as well as Beiju City, which was being rapidly built. The map had a panoramic view of the entire Liangzhou Pass. As for the passes of the four prefectures, it was even more detailed and accurate, down to the county level. Apart from the geography, Beiliang's Great Snow Dragon Cavalry, the Left and Right Cavalry, the Long Xiang Army, the two heavy cavalry armies, and all the other main forces in the field were also marked in the vicinity of a certain encampment. From the leading general to the approximate number of soldiers and horses, everything was written in red ink.
The old woman stood up and casually threw the dagger into the porcelain basin mixed with ice water. She walked down the stairs and lowered her head to look at the huge map. "Ever since I ascended the throne, other than appointing the leading generals, I have never made any decisions regarding military affairs. This time, I will make an exception."
After she finished speaking, she concentrated on looking down at the map. The Imperial Decree of Peace stood by her side and said calmly, "The second southern expedition will be held at the beginning of autumn. There will be no commander. In order to avoid certain situations, Tuoba has already stepped down from his position as the King of the Northern Courtyard. He will only lead a personal army."
The Imperial Decree of Peace looked calmly at the King of the Southern Courtyard, Dong Zhuo.
The fat man's face was impeccably blank.
Beimang's elder, Yelu Hongcai, sneered, "Fatty Dong, playing dumb won't work this time."
Dong Zhuo remained "blank" for a long time under everyone's gazes. In the end, he could not resist the Imperial Decree of Peace's gaze. He first looked with a tearful face at the Emperor and found that the old woman remained unmoved. Dong Zhuo quickly returned to his carefree state and said with a smile, "Since our Military God is no longer the King of the Northern Courtyard, I, Dong Zhuo, have no virtue or ability to lead a group of officials alone. I will also not be the King of the Southern Courtyard."
Only after Dong Zhuo had relented did the Imperial Decree of Peace continue, "The first line consists of four armies: Dong Zhuo, Huang Songpu, Murong Baoding, and Liu Gui. Each of them will have a deputy. They are Hong Jingyan, Zhong Tan, Yelu Dongchuang, and Tuoba Qiyun."
It wasn't strange to set up four armies, but the idea of a deputy general was worth pondering over. Dong Zhuo and Hong Jingyan had once been rivals in the fight for the King of the Southern Courtyard. The Dong family's private army and the Rouran cavalry were all top elites of Beimang. It could be said that enemies were bound to meet.
Huang Songpu and Zhong Tan, this pair of old and young, were very exciting. There was no need to mention the old general Huang Songpu. In the past, he was nominally the leader of the officials of the Southern Dynasty. He was also one of the thirteen generals of Beimang with real power. Zhong Tan had already proven in the first battle of Liang Mang that a tiger father would not beget a dog son. Although Beimang had suffered a great defeat at the Battle of Hulukou, this could not deny Zhong Tan's brilliant achievements in the previous three sieges. As the eldest son of General Zhong Shentong, it was already a foregone conclusion that Beimang would have a father-son pair of Great Generals in the future. As for Murong Baoding and Yelu Dongchuang, just the two surnames alone were enough to make people's imaginations run wild. Great General Liu Gui and the head of the Four Great Banquets, Tuoba Qiyun, were both leading the same army. This was enough to place high hopes on them.
The Taiping Decree said in a low voice, "After Dong Zhuo and Murong Baoding's armies pass Hutou City and head south, they will be in charge of the battle outside Liangzhou Pass. Huang Songpu will attack Qingcang City in Liuzhou and cut off the connection between the Long Xiang Army in Liuzhou and Jbeicheng City in Liangzhou. They will also need to involve the Iron Stupas of Qidang and Yuan Nanting's White Feather Light Cavalry. Liu Gui will station his troops outside Hulukou in Youzhou to prevent the Youzhou cavalry from using this place as an exit. During this time, Zhong Tan will pay special attention to the movements of the Beiliang cavalry general Cao Wei's troops to prevent them from breaking into our Southern Dynasty territory in the area of Linyao Army Town. Dong Zhuo's infantry must take Huaiyang Pass, where the Beiliang Protectorate is located, before winter. Murong Baoding, your mission will be to annihilate the Beiliang cavalry in Liuya, Fuling, and the other military towns. "
The Taiping Decree looked at the eight generals with different expressions. "Perhaps you all want to ask, if He Zhonghu and Zhou Kang's two main Beiliang cavalry forces head north, how should we deal with them? The answer is extremely simple. Other than the first line, we have a second line of battle that will coordinate with you. Similarly, there are four main armies, Zhong Shentong.
Wanyan Jinliang, Helian Wuwei, Wang Yong, each of you will lead an army. When the time comes, you will be stationed in the Longyan Plain north of Hutou City and wait for an opportunity to move. When He Zhonghu's left cavalry forces head north, Zhong Shentong and Wanyan Jinliang will head south. For the same reason, Helian Wuwei and Wang Yong will target Zhou Kang's right cavalry. "
Without waiting for the people in the hall to raise their objections, the Taiping Decree continued, "His Highness the Crown Prince and Tuoba will each lead an army as the third line of reinforcements. They will follow the army of the second line of battle and head south. As long as there is an accident on the battlefield outside Liangzhou Pass, they will definitely rush to the battlefield within a day."
This kind of deployment of troops made people dumbfounded.
It wasn't too unconventional, nor was it too high up in the air. Instead, it was too "straight". It was like a fight between young children. They only knew how to use brute force. Punches and kicks were exchanged back and forth. There were no moves to speak of, so it seemed particularly ordinary.
This did not seem like a big move that Beimang's Imperial Preceptor should have made after racking his brains. Almost any ordinary commander from Beimang's army would be able to make such a deployment.
The most important thing was that this kind of deployment revealed an obvious cold-blooded cruelty. It was obvious that they wanted to force the four armies on the front line, especially the two in the middle, to fight to the death with Beiliang. There was no fancy, no room for maneuver. They were just going all out to exchange troops with the Beiliang Frontier Army. They would either win a pyrrhic victory or die.
In short, there would be no good ending.
Dong Zhuo's eyes were gloomy, and Murong Baoding's face was filled with anger.
Deputy General Yelu Dongdao, who had unknowingly become a grasshopper on a string with Murong Baoding, did not look any better. He turned to look at his grandfather, Yelu Hongcai, but the old man only shook his head, indicating for him to calm down.
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