Chapter 571 High Evaluation
Kuaiji, Juzhang County
Xie Zhan was discussing matters with his men when a subordinate reported, "Grand Commander, the King of Jin has given Qu Tao to Pingzhou!"
"What?" Xie Nan exclaimed.
"And it's free!" the subordinate who came to report the news emphasized. The news was spreading like wildfire outside. Even if he didn't say anything now, the Grand Admiral would know about it later.
Jiang Boya looked at Xie Zhan.
The Pingzhou Expeditionary Force currently only occupies Dongtai County and Jiangdu in Xuzhou, facing the sea to the east and Qutao to the south.
When they were besieging the Prince of Jin, they sent Xie Wei to lead troops to deploy heavy troops on both sides of the northwest of the Pingzhou expeditionary force.
They all felt that Pingzhou would sooner or later attack Qutao and capture it.
Unexpectedly, Qu Tao did fall into Pingzhou's hands, but in such an unexpected way.
Xie Zhan pinched his brows, realizing that the King of Jin was planning to actively shrink the front. The talented retainers under the King of Jin were not just good-for-nothings; there were still some capable people.
Hearing this, Xie Nan was indignant, "Pingzhou has become the one who got away with it."
They took great pains to attack Donghai, and this city should have been in their possession.
Jiang Boya thought to himself that since the imperial court had attacked the Prince of Jin so harshly, it seemed understandable that the Prince of Jin gave the marginal cities to Pingzhou when he was shrinking the battle line.
If it were someone else, they would do the same to vent their anger and disgust the imperial court.
General Liu Mao said, "Grand Commander, the troops that the King of Jin withdrew from Qutao will definitely be deployed to other cities. This will increase the defenses of these cities, making it more difficult for us to attack them."
Xie Zhan said, "Notify Dong Guowei and Wei Kuang to speed up the encirclement and suppression."
"As for the Pingzhou expeditionary force, there is no need to worry. Pingzhou's food supply has been cut off. It doesn't matter how much territory the King of Jin gives them." Xie Zhan said lightly.
Upon hearing this, everyone's confidence instantly soared. Yes, without supplies, what good would the Pingzhou Expeditionary Force do?
It's just two grasshoppers huddling together in autumn.
After discussing the matter, Xie Zhan let everyone go.
He was the only one left in the meeting room at this time.
Unlike the calmness and strength he showed just now, he was now looking at the map with a frown on his face.
Xie Zhan always knew that he didn't have much time left.
Now, we have to admit that the move made by King Jin was the right one.
In addition, his original strategic plan was to quickly destroy the Prince of Jin and then encircle and suppress the Pingzhou expeditionary force. Now it seems that the strategic plan may need to be adjusted.
When fighting a war, especially a defensive battle, the size and depth of the territory are very important.
Now that the King of Jin can give the Pingzhou expeditionary army the first city, he can also give the second one! He has to be on guard.
Another issue was the supply of food and fodder for the Pingzhou expeditionary force. Besides shipping, was it possible to supply the Pingzhou expeditionary force by land? Xie Zhan thought it was impossible because he had deployed heavy troops in the northwest of the Pingzhou expeditionary force and had not discovered any food and fodder transport teams.
In this case, unless the King of Jin is willing to help them, but as far as he knows, the King of Jin does not have abundant food and grass.
Xie Zhan ultimately decided to speed up his attack. In all martial arts, speed is the only way to defeat them, and this also applies to warfare. If they could destroy the Prince of Jin with lightning speed, dealing with the Pingzhou expeditionary force would be much easier. They couldn't afford to give the two sides time to reconcile!
In addition, after Jiang Boya came out, he thought about it and went to Dong Jichuan.
When Xie Zhan went to the East China Sea, he brought Dong Jichuan with him.
He thought about it later and felt that such a counselor should not be placed in the rear.
First, he hadn't conquered him yet, and second, in order to conquer him, the restrictions on him were not strict. If Dong Jichuan had bad intentions, he could easily disrupt his rear.
So before leaving, he felt it was inappropriate and took it with him.
When Jiang Boya arrived, he found Dong Jichuan pruning a dwarf pine tree with a pair of small scissors.
"You are still comfortable." Jiang Boya sighed.
Dong Jichuan didn't even raise his head, "You can do it too."
"I can't do it. I was born to work hard." Jiang Boya shook his head with a sad look on his face.
Dong Jichuan was amused. "Are you worried about the King of Jin giving away the city of Pingzhou for free?"
Jiang Boya rolled his eyes at him. He wasn't surprised he knew about this, after all, it had spread everywhere. Besides, was he worried about the King of Jin giving Pingzhou a city for free? He was worried about the hidden dangers that might arise.
Needless to say, this news must have come from King Jin, and the purpose was to anger them.
Jiang Boya was right. The news was indeed spread by the King of Jin. After Qin Zhao, Guo Chong and others knew about it, they simply added fuel to the fire.
"Don't worry, it's too early to worry now."
I guess there will be more things like this in the future.
Both of them are smart people.
Jiang Boya certainly understood what he had not said.
"Brother Dong, don't you really consider joining the Grand Commander's army?" Jiang Boya changed the subject.
Dong Jichuan replied decisively, "Prince Cheng's body is still warm. I don't want to think about this right now."
Jiang Boya stared at him and asked, "Brother Dong, tell me honestly, do you want to surrender to Pingzhou?"
"You said that, not me." Dong Jichuan neither admitted nor denied it.
Jiang Boya went to Pingzhou. He now realized that Pingzhou would be a serious threat to the court and the commander-in-chief.
"I admit that Pingzhou is good, but since ancient times, there have been many who have initiated events, but how many have succeeded?"
"The Dali Dynasty has gone through two hundred years. Although it has various drawbacks, the country's foundation is there." It can withstand construction, and the behemoth will not fall easily.
"Now with the assistance of General Xie, Dali is expected to prosper once again. Now is the time for you and me to make great achievements."
In response to Jiang Boya's persuasion, Dong Jichuan smiled and said, "Objectively speaking, given the current situation, the chances of the imperial court and Pingzhou being victorious are 50-50."
The relationship between the imperial court and Pingzhou is actually like that between a sick tree and a sapling. The sick tree needs spring to revive, and the sapling also needs opportunities to grow into a towering tree.
"I admit that General Xie is extremely wise, but the one from Pingzhou is not bad either." Just look at the performance of the Pingzhou expeditionary force.
Dong Jichuan, Jiang Boya and others could vaguely see that Xie Zhan wanted to use the emperor to control the princes, although he had not shown any signs of doing so yet.
Jiang Boya frowned. Dong Jichuan actually gave such a high evaluation?
"Pingzhou has a shallow foundation. Most of those who have emerged and occupied high positions in Pingzhou are from humble origins. They have no experience in local governance." They will inevitably take a detour.
Sometimes, a thriving emerging force can die out simply by a single wrong decision made by a decision maker.
In general, Jiang Boya is more optimistic about the imperial court. No, it should be said that he is more optimistic about the imperial court with Xie Zhan's assistance.
"If you say so, then so be it." Dong Jichuan shrugged and stopped arguing.
Just one chapter tonight, good night everyone.
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