"Military affairs are serious. Don't slander your colleagues without evidence." After a while, Zhao Jiu came to his senses and rarely scolded Liu Ziyu. "But military affairs should also be lenient... It's better to take into account the gains and losses of Fangzhou City."
"I made a mistake." Liu Ziyu struggled to stand up and apologized, then quickly returned to the main topic. "In fact, at this point, with the Baishui River falling, Lou Shi's intentions are clear. He will either turn southeast at the Baishui River and head to Tongzhou to attack Han Taiwei with the Hedong troops; or turn southwest at the Baishui River and head south from Pucheng or Fuping to Jingzhao..."
"Then how should we deal with it?" Zhao Jiu said calmly.
"I think we should remain unchanged in the face of ever-changing situations, continue to defend the city, and resist layer by layer." Liu Ziyu's military strategy remained the same. "Of course, Tongzhou, Weishui, and Chang'an City are three major nodes, and we should focus on managing and deploying them carefully to preserve our troops as much as possible. In this way, no matter the victory or defeat, as long as we can drag it out until the autumn rain and mud, the Jin people will be unable to hold on from logistics to morale, and Guanxi will naturally be saved."
Yuwen Xuzhong nodded directly, and Liu Xi and Zhao Zhe also nodded. However, Zhang Jun and Liu Qi stared at Emperor Zhao under the candlelight without saying a word. It was obvious that the two confidants of the emperor, one new and one old, were waiting for the emperor to express his opinion.
"Let me ask Yan Xiu (Liu Ziyu's pen name), if the Jin army in Hedong cannot cross the river in a short time, just talking about Loushi, how many soldiers can he lead south?" Zhao Jiu suddenly asked a strange question.
The reason why it is puzzling is that the Privy Council has already discussed this issue many times, and Zhao Jiu and many ministers and generals have also asked it many times, but they don't know why they are asking it again.
"Forty thousand!" Liu Ziyu repeated patiently. "Among them, thirty thousand are the elite troops under the command of Meng'an and Mouke, and ten thousand are auxiliary troops...but this does not include Wanyan Huonu's ten thousand troops."
"So that's 50,000 at most...right?" Zhao Jiu took a deep breath, attracting the attention of many people present. "How many soldiers would be needed to stop all 50,000 people at Baihe and prevent them from entering the plain?"
Liu Ziyu stared at the emperor above him, then stood up and solemnly advised: "Emperor, it is not advisable to take risks at this time. There are more than 100,000 Jin troops in Hedong. Although there are more Han troops among them, they are still more than 100,000 Jin troops. Under such pressure, Pinglu will definitely not be able to be defended, and the Yellow River will definitely be crossed... Since ancient times, it has never been heard that someone controlled Hedong but could not enter Guanzhong!"
"I'm just asking." Zhao Jiu also became serious. "If the Jin troops in Hedong cannot cross the river, how many soldiers will it take to block these 50,000 Jin troops in the northern plateau and the river mouth?"
"This question is unreasonable. I have been ordered to lead the Privy Council's Personal Affairs Department, and I should plan state affairs for Your Majesty. I am sorry that I cannot answer such fictitious questions." Liu Ziyu bowed deeply, and his expression became more serious when he stood up.
"No problem." Zhao Jiu nodded, and then directly called Liu Xi's name: "Mr. Liu, you are the commander-in-chief of the three armies. How much do you want?"
"The Baihe area has hills and plateaus on one side, and rivers and swamps on the other side." Liu Xi stood up. Unlike Liu Ziyu, he did not dare to hesitate at all. "It is reasonable to say that there are some geographical advantages, but the Jin army is really brave. If we really want to stop the enemy in the wild, we must be prepared for a field battle. Once a decisive battle in the wild, the plateau can still charge on horseback. So I think we need three times as many soldiers to use..."
"That's just 150,000." Zhao Jiu frowned.
"We don't need that many." Liu Xi added hastily. "One hundred and thirty thousand will be enough. Among the fifty thousand, only forty thousand are real captives. The ten thousand or so soldiers are either surrendered soldiers from Yan'an Prefecture or soldiers from the three states outside the Yellow River. They are no different from the soldiers of our army in terms of fighting power. Besides, doesn't the emperor have an extra backup? The guards in front of the emperor and the elite soldiers dispatched from various places in the imperial camp are so powerful that they are not comparable to the subordinates of our army."
Zhao Jiu nodded slowly, but then looked at Zhang Jun: "If we gather so many troops, will the logistics be sufficient?"
"Good instructor, you know that the transportation in Shu has not stopped yet, so it must be sufficient..." Zhang Jun answered quickly.
"Your Majesty!" Liu Ziyu, who had not returned to his seat, was angry and could no longer bear it, so he interrupted his friend's words. "Don't rely on luck in military affairs. How could the Jin army in Hedong not be able to cross the river? Don't think of fighting in the field. The situation in Yanling is different now! There was no way out at that time!"
Zhao Jiu laughed again when he saw this: "Since you know that the Jin army in Hedong will definitely cross the river, why do you worry that I will take it seriously? Moreover, even if the Jin army in Hedong cannot come to help, according to what Liu Jinglüe said, how can we gather 120,000 or 30,000 soldiers? Han Shizhong has to guard the river and cannot move at all. There are only 30,000 or 40,000 troops in the imperial camp, and the five routes of the western army plus Xingyuan Prefecture can only barely make up 50,000 or 60,000 people. If Fangzhou is lost, it will be reduced again... What can I use to fight in the field?"
"I lost my composure." Liu Ziyu took a deep breath and apologized again. "I saw that the elite troops in Chang'an were gathering day by day, and I was afraid that the emperor would kill with a sharp knife in his hand, but he forgot that Lou Shi was not an ordinary Jin general, and the Western Route Army had never been afraid of a hard battle!"
Zhao Jiu nodded and changed the subject: "Qu Duan disappeared without a trace. Hu Mingzhong said that he passed through Ningzhou. After a quick meeting, he went west and north to Jingyuan to gather troops... Although the main purpose is to harass Loushi, we still need to find a messenger to inquire about the situation as soon as possible."
This statement seemed appropriate, and Liu Ziyu and others nodded in agreement.
From then on, Emperor Zhao never mentioned any nonsense about field battles and blocking Loushi again. The emperor and his ministers discussed the military situation for a long time, and determined the plan for Han Shizhong's troops to retreat safely when necessary, as well as the layout of the Wei River defense line, etc. Just like the previous few days, the discussion ended late at night.
After the meeting, the emperor left first, followed by Yuwen Xuzhong and others.
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