Chapter 225 Collection
War is dynamic and chaotic. From a micro perspective, today's arrangements may be useless tomorrow, but may work wonders the day after tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow may become Achilles' heel.
But, you can't just ignore it, right?
After all, quantitative changes lead to qualitative changes. Only by continuously making rational and correct responses can we improve fault tolerance from a macro perspective and make the command system, like logistics, manpower, morale, and climate, a real factor in determining whether something will be successful or not.
Of course, the outcome of such a large-scale battle will ultimately be determined by a decisive battle of main forces or the gain or loss of strategic locations. Everything that came before was just a prelude, just to create better conditions for the end.
At the moment, Qu Duan traveled west overnight and returned to Fuzhou. This time, he and the Wu brothers would be under the unified leadership of Hu Yin and become one of the three military commanders in northern Shaanxi. From the perspective of actual power, it seems that his power has been weakened a lot. After all, he actually controlled the command of two armies before... But there is no doubt that his rank has gone up, because this time he is a real general, the pinnacle of life that the Western Army generals dreamed of before Jing Kang.
In fact, even in the Guanxi region now, there is only Liu Xi, the son of Liu Zhongwu, as the governor of Xihe Road, who barely maintains the qualifications of a traditional Western Army general.
But it is conceivable that as the importance of the Guanxi war was raised to an immeasurable level, according to Emperor Zhao's previous generosity, as long as the military performance was strong, the commanders of the Western Army would receive unprecedented rewards. This was their opportunity, and Qu Duan's return was a very representative signal.
After Qu Duan left, Zhao Jiu did not delay. The next morning, he led his troops through Sishui Pass and continued westward. Then, in just three days, he returned to Luoyang City, a "strategic location" that was once able to determine the direction of the world.
The reason why I said "in the past" is because this thousand-year-old capital had already been massacred and burned once by the Jin people. It was still a wasteland at this time last year. One year is not enough for it to truly rejuvenate and rebuild its own glory.
However, this does not mean that Luoyang has no value.
"Although Luoyang City is gone, the Luoyang Basin is still a strategic point in the world, and it is also the location of the Western Capital of the Song Dynasty." This afternoon, Zhao Jiu, dressed in military uniform, led a force of more than 3,000 people to the front of the old city of Luoyang. He stopped his horse and looked around for a long time, and sighed from the bottom of his heart. "Zhang Rong has limited ships. Once the Jin army crosses the river in multiple directions, it is very likely that they will not be able to take care of both ends, but this place cannot be ignored."
"To be honest, Your Majesty." Liu Ziyu, who was wearing a cowhide belt, rode forward and spoke. "The Privy Council had concerns before. The last time Your Majesty stopped in Luoyang, the Jin people only sent Wanyan Saba to Jijin with only 5,000 soldiers. The general was also a general that Li Taiwei had defeated several times. They were defeated when they first arrived, and the whole army was wiped out when they retreated. It was like a joke..."
"Do you think Wanyan Loushi deliberately sent a useless person and a few thousand weak soldiers to make us think that Luoyang would not be attacked by Hedong?" Zhao Jiu thought. "But in fact, this time the Jin army attacked in a large scale, and Hedong gathered 100,000 people. Who knows, there will be an elite force coming south from Jijin to attack Mianchi?"
"We have considered this, but it may not be just Jijin, Changquan and Mengjin are also possible." Liu Ziyu responded calmly. "In any case, Luoyang must also be properly protected."
Zhao Jiu nodded but did not say anything. Instead, he looked directly at the two people who had been standing not far in front of the horse for a while... The two were generals Zhai and Da Zhai, who were born into powerful local families in Henan and entered the imperial camp because of their effective battles against the Jin people. Behind the two generals was the old city of Luoyang, but the city wall had collapsed and had never been repaired. One could clearly see hundreds of soldiers standing solemnly in the city.
"I will certainly perform my duties conscientiously and serve as a barrier to the north for the emperor." Zhai Xing, also known as the big Zhai among the small and big Zhai, had been waiting for this opportunity. He stepped forward and quickly responded.
Little Zhai Zhaijin also stepped forward quickly and said respectfully: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty. We have been raised in Luoyang for generations. We know where to cross the north and where to defend. With us brothers in the north, Your Majesty can rest assured in Luoyang."
Zhao Jiu nodded, still without saying a word, but turned around to look at the Prime Minister Wang Boyan who was a little out of breath behind him... This man was already very old.
"I will certainly perform my duties conscientiously." Wang Boyan bowed on his horse, and then dismounted carefully.
Zhao Jiu acted quickly and got off the horse before Yang Yi Zhong, and helped the somewhat agitated Lord Wang off the horse.
Wang Boyan got off his horse, looking a little embarrassed, but he still managed to bow to Zhao Jiu: "Please forgive me for making fun of you, Your Majesty. I have been living a life of luxury for many years, and I have become old and feeble. I am no longer as brave as I used to be when I carried a bow and followed you."
Zhao Jiu couldn't help but laugh when he heard this: "It's a pity that we still can't let Mr. Wang be the Jingzhao Yin, and we have to make him the Henan Yin."
Wang Boyan was stunned for a moment, and then he burst out laughing.
It is said that what the two of them talked about was the scene when they first met in theory... That was four years ago, Zhao Jiu had not yet climbed out of the well. At that time, King Kang's body was on a diplomatic mission to the north, passing through Hebei. Halfway through the journey, the Jin army broke through the Zhending Prefecture guarded by Liu Ziyu and his son, and the cavalry went directly south to Cizhou and Xiangzhou. At that time, everyone came to persuade him not to go north anymore, and Wang Boyan, who was in Xiangzhou, personally led his troops with a bow and armor to meet King Kang.
The two met at the bank of the Yellow River. King Kang was deeply moved and comforted the other party, saying that when he returned to see the emperor, he would definitely recommend Wang Boyan as the Jingzhao Yin and make him his confidant from then on.
But now, things and people have changed. Wang Boyan had long thought that the emperor had forgotten the old events, and Zhao Jiu certainly had 'forgotten' it... it was just that Yang Yizhong had mentioned it to him unintentionally... However, no matter how many coincidences and falsehoods there were in between, like Lu Haowen, as a prime minister retained in the beginning to stabilize the situation, the two of them had been a monarch and a minister for a time, and the truth or falsehood of some things did not affect their respective feelings.
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