Zhao Jiu frowned slightly: "Will the Jin army really act as we expected?"
"Of course not." Liu Xi immediately replied. "Sir, this is just the best course of action for our army right now. We should set up camp here and integrate with the four surrounding cities to block the Jin army from entering Weibei. If the Jin army has other responses, we will have other responses..."
Zhao Jiu looked at the surrounding terrain again and nodded slightly... He roughly understood what Liu Xi meant. Although they said they would march north to meet Lou Shi, it was impossible for them to directly agree on a date and then deploy their troops to fight together. Instead, they had to seize advantageous terrain, deploy their troops, and then, like playing chess, test, move and force each other, and finally, based on changes in the situation, launch or lure the other side into a decisive battle.
This is an ongoing dynamic process.
The current situation is that the Song army has just made the first move according to their own ideas. The Jin army's response or non-response will change the situation...and it all depends on what Lou Shi thinks and does.
"When you arrived the day before yesterday, didn't the Jin army send cavalry to harass your camp?" With this thought in mind, Zhao Jiu continued to ask.
"The day before yesterday, when the army was marching, a few Jin cavalrymen crossed the front Pucheng and fought with our front scouts. Yesterday, there was a battle with more than a hundred cavalrymen near Changle Town where the Beiluoshui Bridge is located. However, because the other side of the river, Han Taiwei, sent troops to help, the battle did not last long and they withdrew. There has been no report today, but there is no smoke in Pucheng and Meiyuan ahead." Liu Xi answered fluently. "In general, the Jin army did not really fight."
This time, Zhao Jiu was completely speechless. To be honest, he was a layman in deploying troops, and listening to the report only helped him understand the situation better.
However, Zhao Jiu remained silent, but Liu Xi still had his own problems.
"Your Majesty." Liu Xi hesitated and asked tentatively. "Where will the emperor be stationed?"
"I will use Prime Minister Yuwen's banner as the commander, the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Camp Right Army Front Army as the central army, and the Imperial Camp Commander Wang Yuan as the general manager of the central army camp. I will set up camp behind you." Zhao Jiu answered simply. "If you have any military intelligence, just come to me directly."
Liu Xi was silent for a moment, but finally spoke out through gritted teeth: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty is the ruler of all people, the emperor of the Song Dynasty, and your status is precious. I'm afraid it's not good for you to get involved in war yourself... and now that General Liu is not here, there are nearly 80,000 royal troops within dozens of miles around here, but the king's general and I are here, and Pucheng and Meiyuan each have a deputy king's general..."
"No need to say more, I have made up my mind." Zhao Jiu interrupted him as if he didn't understand what he meant. "I will live and die with the army, so you don't need to persuade me."
Liu Xi was silent for a moment, but he didn't dare to say much. He could only nod reluctantly, then he followed Emperor Zhao and reined in his horse, turned around, went down the hilly land on the plateau, and returned to the water.
When the imperial camp was just being established and the "Yuwen" flag was hastily hoisted, Liu Xi, Zhao Zhe, and Liu Qi returned to their respective camps, but finally couldn't help but complain to his own brother halfway through:
"When we set up the camp the day before yesterday, we received a message saying that Qu Duan entrusted his troops to Zhang Zhongfu and his brother, and rode alone on the Iron Elephant to go south. I knew it was not good, but who would have thought that after so many years of fighting, this position of commander was still taken away by Qu Da. It can be seen that no matter how hard you work on the border, it is not as good as showing more face in front of the emperor, and it is even worse than passing the imperial examination!"
Zhao Zhe pretended not to hear anything. Liu Qi was helpless and could only give a few words of advice, but did not say much.
Besides, everyone knows that Emperor Zhao cannot lead the troops himself, and this emperor has always advocated that those who do not know how to fight are not qualified to be commanders. Therefore, no matter how many identities and flags the emperor has, there must be someone who will be the military commander-in-chief of this army of more than 100,000!
With the army in the imperial camp split into two and Wang De and Wang Yan having difficulty commanding each other, it is very likely that Liu Xi and Wang Yuan were competing for the position of commander. In fact, they had already started fighting overtly and covertly in Chang'an. When Liu Xi went out on this expedition, he was ordered to act at his own convenience and almost thought he would take the position of commander.
Who would have thought that the government's attitude was ambiguous and Qu Duan went south at a very fast speed, which made Liu Xi completely lose hope.
After all, Qu Duan was the number one general in Guanzhong and the actual military leader of the three northern routes. In the Western Army, which emphasizes seniority, Liu Xi was really helpless when he jumped out to snatch the position of commander-in-chief.
In fact, even Liu Xi's complaint this time seemed to be a sign of admitting defeat.
But in the evening of that day, before it got dark, several riders rushed directly from the north to the hastily built central army camp to see the emperor. As Liu Xi was the commander-in-chief, his scouts saw it and reported it hastily. According to the scouts who saw the scene from afar, they could not see the faces and flags, but everyone recognized the famous iron elephant in Guanxi, which showed that Qu Da had really returned.
At this point, Liu Xi gave up his last hope and just waited for the government to gather everyone tomorrow and appoint the commander-in-chief in public.
"Are you Wu Jinqing?"
Zhao Jiu was halfway through his archery when he saw a yellow-faced general led by Wang Yuan and Yang Yizhong entering the shooting range behind the central army tent. He collected his arrows and turned around to greet them with a smile. "Is it okay for me to let Qu Duan guard Fangzhou for you?"
"I am terrified." Wu Jie, who had been running all day, was sweating profusely. He knew that the young man in front of him, who was wearing cotton clothes that were more expensive than silk, must be a member of the Zhao Song government. He was really terrified, but the military situation was urgent, so he knelt down hastily to salute, while trying to raise his head to ask. "I am also an old subordinate of Qu Jinglue, so it's no problem. I just don't know what your majesty wants me to do by calling me here alone? Please let your majesty know."
"It's like this." Zhao Jiu, who didn't sweat much, probably because this place was next to the water, simply threw down his bow and arrow, stepped forward to support the other party, and smiled slowly. "Jin Qing should know that the country will have a war. Here in Guanxi, Han Liangchen should be the one to issue orders and command the military for me, but although he is in Tongzhou on the other side of the Beiluo River, he has another important task, so I want to entrust the only 100,000 troops in Guanzhong to you, and ask you to help me destroy Loushi... But I don't know if Jin Qing is willing?"
Wu Jie was stunned... And the first thing he thought of was not to express his gratitude, but the reluctance on Qu Da's face when he came to Fangzhou to borrow his iron elephant so that he could go south to visit the emperor.
It seemed as if he didn't owe a horse, but owed Qu Da a military governor.
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