"A temporary ceasefire with Li Ming's forces in the south is necessary!"

Zhao Bingzhang nodded and continued, "However, this ceasefire is not a real ceasefire. It's just that our main field forces in Dongning have ceased fighting with Li Ming's forces in the south. The special operations forces that were previously dispatched will still need to develop their strength and build up militia forces in various places."

During the ceasefire, we don't need to worry about Li Ming and his troops launching a counterattack.

After all, there are special operations forces in various places, which distract Li Ming and others.

Secondly, Li Ming and his troops have just arrived in the southern regions, and it will inevitably take some time to digest and control all these provinces.

This was also true for the troops under the Dian King.

As for the tribes of the King of Han, the King of Qin, the King of Qing, and the King of Su, their strength was already relatively weak. Even if they wanted to launch a counterattack, they were powerless to do so.

Therefore, we don't need to worry.

After the analysis, Zhao Bingzhang continued, "With this premise in mind, we also need to consider the next strategic direction."

A ceasefire and development are one aspect; however, regarding the threats from the other three sides, deciding which side to target first requires careful consideration.

"No need to consider it."

Li Xin waved his hand and said, "First the north, then the south, and then the west!"

In just eight words, Li Xin's entire strategic plan has been revealed.

Wei Dahai was stunned and asked, "Your Highness, why attack the north first? The northern grassland bandits are powerful, and attacking the north will consume a lot of our troops. What if Li Ming's troops in the southern provinces counterattack northward? How will we deal with that?"

General Wei, you've misunderstood!

Zhao Bingzhang smiled and explained, "Your Highness's strategy of going north first and then south was probably based on the fact that the grassland bandits are quite powerful, which is why we made this arrangement!"

"Yes, Mr. Zhao is indeed the smartest."

Li Xin smiled and nodded.

Wei Dahai was even more puzzled, scratching his head, unable to understand.

"Come on, let me explain it to you."

Zhao Bingzhang said with a smile, "Previously, we had already analyzed the predicaments of the southern tribes such as Li Ming and the Dian King, as well as the northwestern tribes such as the Han King, the Qin King, the Su King, and the Qing King."

They all have their own issues to address, and a short-term ceasefire would naturally leave them with insufficient troops to support their counterattack northward.

Inadvertently, this bought us some time.

Therefore, our northward campaign against the grassland bandits will not provoke a counterattack from the southern tribes. Instead, they will use this time to develop themselves.

In this way, we can focus our full efforts on attacking the grassland bandits, and for the time being, we won't have to worry about the southern tribes!

"on the contrary,"

Zhao Bingzhang continued, "If we take advantage of this time to attack the southern tribes, with all our main forces deployed, the northern base will be extremely vulnerable."

Would the powerful grassland bandits, who suffered no losses, let go of this opportunity to eliminate us?

No!

They definitely won't!

If we go all the way south, the grassland bandits will surely take advantage of our struggle with the southern tribes to launch a full-scale eastward attack on Dongning and Liaodong!

This situation is the most dangerous situation, and it is the situation we least want to see!

Therefore, to avoid this situation, we need to change our strategy.

First the north, then the south, launch a full-scale attack on the grassland bandits and eliminate the threat from our rear!

Only after we have completely eliminated the bandits on the grasslands can we devote all our efforts to competing with the southern tribes for control of the world!

Do you understand what I'm saying?

Wei Dahai's eyes lit up, and he nodded thoughtfully, replying, "I understand!"

"Now that we've decided on the strategy of going north first and then south, we need to deal with the grassland bandits properly!"

Li Xin took a deep breath, frowned as he looked at the map, and said, "After we occupy Zhili, Hedong and other places, the area bordering us with the grassland bandits will be even larger."

We will have more routes to attack the grassland bandits heading north.

Since we're going to fight the grassland bandits, we should give them a good beating, until they dare not have any more improper thoughts about us!

"If we could wipe out all the grassland bandits in one battle, that would be even better!"

"Defeating the grassland bandits is no easy task!"

Zhao Bingzhang shook his head and said, "There are many cavalry bandits on the grasslands. If we launch a long expedition to the grasslands, that will be their advantage. They come and go like the wind. How can we deal with them?"

Unless we can assemble a powerful cavalry force!

"A cavalry unit?"

Li Xin returned to his seat and said, "Yes, we still need a strong cavalry force!"

The elite cavalry under Mu Yunyan's command is far from enough!

Although the current elite cavalry has nearly 20,000 soldiers, it is still too few in number compared to the grassland bandits.

That's settled then. Instruct Mu Yunyan to divide the Xiaoji Army in two and form the Piaoji Army in the second place!

At the same time, the elite cavalry and the cavalry will be expanded to more than 20,000 men!

We need to get started as soon as possible and build a strong cavalry force!

This counterattack will likely begin no earlier than the start of spring.

At that time, we will use the Divine Might Army, Divine Resolute Army, Divine Blessing Army, Divine Machine Army, and Divine Strategy Army as the main force, and the Valiant Cavalry Army and the Flying Cavalry Army as the vanguard, to strive to severely damage and inflict heavy losses on the grassland bandits in one battle!

"Fight them until they dare not easily advance south!"

"good!"

Zhao Bingzhang quickly agreed.

After a military discussion, Dongning's policies quietly changed.

Once the strategy of prioritizing the north over the south was decided, all units in Dongning began preparing for it.

Half a month has passed, and Zhang Fuchen's nearly 200,000 troops in Yuguan City have been completely disbanded.

More than 20,000 elite soldiers were selected, their formations were broken up, and they were assigned to various armies.

The remaining 100,000 soldiers were all discharged and dispersed to Liaodong, Dongning, Sanjiang, Xinluo and other provinces to reclaim wasteland and cultivate the land!

At the same time, the Shenyi Army marched to Shuofang, the Shenyou Army marched to Xuanfu, the Shenji Army was stationed in Jizhou, and the Shence Army was stationed in Yuguan.

The Shenwei Army continued to guard Liaodong and Dongning.

The newly formed Flying Cavalry Army, together with the Valiant Cavalry Army, entered the Dongning and Liaodong areas to assist the Divine Might Army in resisting the grassland bandits.

In the southern region, the Shenwu Army was stationed in Heluo Province, simultaneously defending Daiyue and Heluo against enemy forces from the south.

The Divine Valiant Army has been stationed in Hedong Province to support the Divine Might Army and defend against enemy forces in the northwest!

After the deployment and adjustments were completed, the first snowflakes fell in Yuguan City.

Snowflakes fluttered and danced in the air.

Before long, a layer of white snowflakes fell on the ground.

On this day, Li Xin, Zhao Bingzhang, and Wei Dahai's Tiger Warriors officially left Yuguan City and headed to the capital.

Heading to Beijing!