"What Mr. Lu said is right." Zhao Jiu had a blank expression on his face and nodded before Wang Yan could.
"On the other hand, it was also right for Li Yanxian to seize Tieling Pass... Just think about it and you will know why the Jin army stationed a large army in Longde Prefecture. It was because this place was the most convenient place for support between the east and west." Lu Yihao continued to sigh. "To Hezhong Prefecture, there is the Chenguan Pass. To Daming Prefecture, it is directly in Huguan in Longde Prefecture. Then it is flat and even if there is a slight discord on the front line, you can retreat to Taiyuan in the northwest and Zhending in the northeast... The right time, the right place, and the right people, in the national war, everything must be considered to determine the victory or defeat."
"Something is still not right." Wang Yan, who definitely knew the geography of the place better than Lu Yihao, frowned even more when he heard this. "It's not impossible for Taiyuan to send a large-scale support to Hezhong. It's nothing more than what I just mentioned. Taiyuan knew the news of the death of the Third Prince and guessed that we might have to formally launch a large-scale northern expedition. In addition, Hezhong Prefecture was the first place to bear the brunt, so Balisu rushed to send reinforcements to the south at all costs... But since Taiyuan Prefecture knew the news of the death of the Third Prince, there is no reason why Longde Prefecture would not know, right? Taiyuan Prefecture sent reinforcements, there is no reason why Longde Prefecture would not send reinforcements, right?"
After Wang Yan said this, the people around him were all thoughtful, but soon, everyone around the imperial carriage was divided into two, half of the people almost immediately thought of something, and the other half were as confused as Wang Yan.
Perhaps he felt that the atmosphere was better today, and Wang Yan also maintained respect and restraint, or perhaps it was a bit awkward for Jun Qian to talk about this topic, so Lu Yihao hesitated to speak, and finally said nothing more.
Zhao Jiu did not explain directly, but glanced at Ren Baozhong.
The latter got the hint and quickly responded with a smile:
"Wang Jiedu, in my humble opinion, just as Taiyuan Prefecture probably knew about the death of the Third Prince, so they hastily sent their troops south without hesitation, Longde Prefecture probably also knew about the death of the Third Prince, so they did not dare to send troops."
Wang Yan was stunned for a moment.
Ren Baozhong saw the official looking at the roof again, so he continued to laugh:
"Think about it, Wang Jiedu. The route is the route, and the information is the information. Although Taiyuan and Longde both have the main force of the Jin army, and they all know the news of the death of the Third Prince of the Jin Kingdom, are they fundamentally the same? Wanyan Balisu, the governor of Taiyuan and the commander-in-chief of the military division, is a veteran of the Jin army, and the younger brother of Yin Shuke. He is the actual commander of the Western Army. The Jurchens did not dare to give him a kingship because they were afraid that he would live up to the title. When such a person heard the news of the death of the Third Prince, he would make a decision and dare to quickly march south to send troops."
Wang Yan finally seemed to understand.
Although Ren Baozhong knew that the other party had understood, since he had received the order from the emperor, of course he had to make it clear: "But what about Longde Prefecture? Not to mention that the four Wanhu in Longde Prefecture originally belonged to the Eastern Route Army, but the current commander of the Marching Division of Longde Prefecture, Wanyan Bendu, is only thirty-five or thirty-six this year. The north has always been compared to Yue Jiedu... But in fact, this person came to power because he is a close relative of the royal family. He was raised in the tent of Jin Taizu Aguda since childhood. He was known as the Golden Prince and was a confidant recognized by the three ruling kings of the former Jin Dynasty. Similarly, there is Wanyan Erluguan, the governor of the Western Capital of the Jin Dynasty in Datong... Such people, after hearing about the death of the third prince, without instructions from Yanjing or an order from a king, how could they make a decision on their own and send a large army to Hezhong Prefecture? Even if he later heard the news that our Song Dynasty sent an entire army to the north and prepared to rescue, he would probably first focus on Daming Prefecture, which has the greatest momentum of the war, is connected to the internal foundation, and belongs to the Eastern Route Army."
Wang Yan nodded repeatedly.
In fact, it’s not that he didn’t understand, it’s just that his mindset hadn’t changed. He had already come to his senses long before Ren Baozhong took the lead... This was the so-called strategic advantage brought to him by the Third Prince alone.
Erlido was just one person and not a famous general. There were always people from Yanjing to replace him in the rear. Why would the death of one person force the Song army to hastily launch a northern expedition half a year in advance?
The current situation speaks for itself.
In Hebei, Gao Jingshan did not dare to gather troops on his own to launch a decisive battle, so he could only watch Yue Fei and his men calmly swallow up Dizhou, Dezhou, and Bozhou in the two branches of the Yellow River East Road, and push the battle line to Daming Prefecture. In Hedong, the east and west routes were not well coordinated... Otherwise, with Balisu's keen battlefield sense and smooth command, he would probably send all the 80,000 households in Longde Prefecture and Taiyuan Prefecture to rush south at a high speed to enter Jiezhou. At that time, the Song army might really retreat directly for protection as they did in the previous rounds of battles.
The death of the Third Prince is priceless, literally priceless.
"Ba Lisu and Gao Jingshan are not in cahoots with each other."
Zhao Jiu's expression remained unchanged, but he continued to speak. "I had some hope before, thinking that Gao Jingshan might not dare to directly pass the news of Erliduo's death to Taiyuan, but only sent it to Yanjing... But now it seems that Gao Jingshan is still conscientious and responsible. And Balisu is even more calm and daring to make a decision."
"But it's still too late for the emperor." Ren Baozhong quickly flattered. "After all, Li Jiedu got in the way."
"It may not be in time, and it may not be possible to stop the enemy." Zhao Jiu replied expressionlessly. "The Taiyuan Marching Division under Balisu is almost the most powerful of the four marching divisions of the Jin army. He can dispatch more than just three million households. The three million households are just the first batch of combat forces hastily summoned from the surrounding areas of Taiyuan. Although Li Yanxian is outstanding, the troops under his command are of mixed quality. In such a narrow pass, they may not be able to stop the successive attacks of the Jin army... Moreover, Han Shizhong has not crossed the river yet, so he dare not send all the troops in Pinglu over."
"It's not just that." Wang Yan also stood up and reminded him immediately. "Your Majesty, Han Shizhong is arrogant, and Li Yanxian is also arrogant. I'm afraid that these two will compete for credit and make mistakes without reminding each other..."
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