After listening to Gu Deyuan's words, Li Qin nodded in satisfaction.
Then he looked at the generals and other advisors in front of him and asked:
"Everyone, do any of you have any other ideas?"
Just after Li Qin finished speaking, Fu Wengu, who had been sitting next to him, stood up and said:
"Shangwei, although Deyuan's analysis is quite good, we still need to do more preparation."
Be prepared for the worst.
"If Wanyan Jian doesn't come to our aid, but instead takes advantage of Liaodong's vulnerability to launch a surprise attack, then things will be very bad."
Listening to Fu Wengu's words, Li Qin realized that they really needed to be prepared for both possibilities.
We cannot put all our eggs in one basket, especially Liaodong, which absolutely cannot be compromised.
It's important to understand that the more than 100,000 soldiers under his command are not just a number.
They are all living, breathing people; they also have wives, children, fathers, and mothers.
They followed him on his expedition, but their families remained in Liaodong.
If Liaodong is lost and his family falls into enemy hands, he will be completely finished.
The collapse of his army of over 100,000 occurred in an instant.
"So, gentlemen, how many troops do you think we should leave in Liaodong?"
Li Qin looked at the crowd in front of him and slowly began to speak.
Fu Wengu immediately stood up and said to Li Qin, "Your Excellency, the cities in Liaodong are now impregnable thanks to the old general's decades of management."
The cities of Liaoyang and Shenyang, in particular, are virtually impregnable. I believe that we should leave at least 30,000 infantrymen and recruit another 10,000 local militiamen to assist them.
Most importantly, General Zhang Hengshuo should be sent to oversee and command the operation.
Moreover, in Wanyan Jian's north, there were 20,000 Jurchen cavalrymen opposing him, making it impossible for him to send out his entire force.
They would inevitably leave behind more than 10,000 cavalry to guard their stronghold.
At most, they could mobilize 30,000 Jurchen cavalry to march south. At that time, General Zhang Hengshuo would have 30,000 infantrymen and 10,000 local militia to assist in the battle.
Thanks to years of development in Liaodong, the fortified cities built there are basically capable of protecting Liaodong from loss.
After listening to his words, Li Qin also fell into deep thought.
Currently, the forces he can mobilize in Liaodong are basically his 80,000 infantrymen and the 10,000-plus cavalrymen in Jinzhou.
We need to leave 30,000 troops in Liaodong, and after attacking and clearing out the cities in Liaoxi, we also need to send at least some troops to guard them to prevent the connection from Shanhaiguan to Liaodong from being cut off. This will require several thousand people.
Moreover, the attack and clearing of various cities in western Liaoning will inevitably result in casualties. After deducting those casualties, there will also be some non-combat losses.
In that case, he could transfer reinforcements to Shanhaiguan, which would actually amount to about 50,000 troops.
Adding the 28,000 soldiers currently stationed at Shanhaiguan, the maximum number of troops he can mobilize is around 78,000.
Although this power is extremely powerful no matter where it is placed.
However, Li Qin knew that he was facing a unified imperial court that could mobilize the manpower and resources of the entire country.
This number of troops is rather insufficient.
Then Li Qin picked up the letter Wanyan Jian had given him. The contents of the letter seemed to be from the perspective of an elder brother, offering him his full support.
Is this a gesture of goodwill from him?
If Gu Deyuan's analysis is correct, then he can at least gain the help of 30,000 Jurchen cavalry.
Most importantly, once Wanyan Jian's Jurchen cavalry leaves Liaodong, he will no longer need to leave 30,000 men there to defend against him.
This way, more people can be mobilized to come and help in the battle.
Li Qin then discussed some other matters with the people in front of him, as darkness fell.
Everyone left the residence where Li Qin lived.
At this time, Li Qin's more than 20,000 cavalrymen had already entered Shanhaiguan Pass.
Around Li Qin's residence, Qi Duchen deployed his most elite 8,000 personal guards to protect his safety.
After everyone left, Li Qin put away the letter he had written earlier.
Based on the decisions made at this meeting, several letters were rewritten.
They were written to Wanyan Jian, accepting his offer to bring Jurchen cavalry to support him.
The second letter was written to the original owner's younger brother, who is now his younger brother, Li Wenqi.
He was instructed to hand over Liaodong to Zhang Hengshuo for defense, and to leave 30,000 infantrymen for Zhang Hengshuo to guard Liaodong.
He was then sent to Jinzhou to meet Wang Taihe and the more than 10,000 cavalrymen there.
Afterwards, Wang Taihe was appointed as Zhang Hengshuo's deputy general to clear out the cities in western Liaoning that had become isolated.
They then quickly went to Shanhaiguan to meet up with him.
In the letter, Li Qin repeatedly instructed his younger brother Li Wenqi to take General Wang Taihe's advice seriously when fighting abroad.
Never try to operate the micro-operations yourself.
He knows your true worth better than anyone else.
Don't let him get caught off guard and lose his way.
Then, in his last letter, he wrote to Zhang Hengshuo, in which he emphasized his trust in him and the kindness shown to him by his father and son.
That was a serious emotional appeal, and of course, Li Qin also emphasized in the end that he must be careful of Wanyan Jian.
If Wanyan Jianzhen were to attack Liaodong, he must defend Liaodong well and not allow it to fall.
If Wanyan Jianzhen were to bring a large army to his aid, after confirming that there was no threat to Liaodong...
He also needed to immediately bring a large army to support him.
After writing the three letters, Li Qin immediately summoned a messenger and ordered him to take his men and deliver the three letters to their respective destinations as quickly as possible.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
