The third year of Tiande passed, and the first year of Daxia arrived.
Ever since Fu Xiaoguan returned to the palace on the night of December 29th, the third year of Tiande, he has never gone out again.
During the rest days, he occasionally went to Guangming Hall to chat with Jia Nanxing, occasionally accompanied the children to build snowmen and have snowball fights, and spent more time playing mahjong with his mother Xu Yunqing.
Lost a lot.
But he lost happily.
In this way, time came to the eighth day of the first lunar month of the first year of the Great Xia Dynasty, and it was time to go to work.
He held a symbolic court meeting, encouraged all the officials, and handed all matters to the three prime ministers. Fu Xiaoguan brought Liu Jin to Guanyuntai.
The sun was bright, but the temperature was very low. Liu Jin ordered the eunuchs to bring three heaters. He thought that His Majesty wanted to look at the sea of clouds here, but he didn't expect that someone would come a moment later - Ji Yungui, the master of Tianji Pavilion!
"This is the situation in the Great Xianbei Mountains. Your Majesty, please review it."
"sit."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Fu Xiaoguan took it and his pupils contracted when he saw it——
"After investigation, it was found that there was a secret military camp built in the Great Canyon of the Great Xianbei Mountain, stretching for dozens of miles!
The entire Daxianbei Mountain was heavily defended, with numerous secret sentries. Thirty ants from the ant colony entered the mountain in eight directions, and twenty-six of them were killed by the secret sentries, leaving only four unharmed.
According to reconnaissance, there are at least 400,000 troops stationed in the Great Xianbei Mountains, but the exact number cannot be determined.
Four spies are already lurking there, and more detailed intelligence will be transmitted later."
He put down the information, and Ji Yungui handed him a map. "The terrain is fine, but the secret outposts and the layout inside cannot be fully mapped."
"Well, this is enough."
Fu Xiaoguan carefully examined the map. The Great Xianbei Mountains stretched for over 800 miles and were over 100 miles wide. The great canyon was located in the center of the mountain range, and hundreds of secret posts were marked within a radius of 100 miles.
To reach this mountain range, one has to pass through the Hexi Corridor south of Western Xia and travel another 600 miles to reach the Great Xianbei Mountains.
There is no human trace along this road, not even a road, it is a barren land.
Fu Xiaoguan tapped his index finger rhythmically on the table. He looked at the map and read the exercises for half an incense stick of time. The tapping sound stopped, and he pointed at the map and asked:
"Are the Liao Dynasty and the Western Xia still at war?"
"We've been fighting intermittently, and we haven't been able to take Maoshan Pass yet."
Ji Yungui paused and added, "However, judging by the situation, if we don't intervene, Maoshan Pass will most likely be breached. Western Xia is seriously short of strategic supplies, and even food and fodder are scarce. The Liao army is stationed outside the pass and doesn't seem to be in a hurry. They're dragging their feet, as if waiting for Maoshan Pass to collapse on its own."
Fu Xiaoguan thought for a moment and did not comment.
"Coming out of the Great Xianbei Mountains...if we head directly south, then cross the Yanduan Mountains and cross the Baigou River, you see, this army will end up here—Zhending Prefecture in western Hebei."
Ji Yungui frowned, and Fu Xiaoguan suddenly laughed. He circled Yan Duan's side with his hand and said, "This area should actually be called the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun! I'm a little interested in this place now."
That is clearly the Xijing Road of the Liao Dynasty. Why did he say it should be called the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun?
Ji Yungui didn't understand, so he didn't dwell on the question. Instead, he said, "Yan Duan Mountain is a thousand-edged mountain, extremely steep, and nowhere to be found... Can he climb over it?"
"Originally they couldn't, but now they have an army similar to the Excalibur Army."
"But this time I'm not going to wait for them to climb over..."
Fu Xiaoguan turned to Liu Jin and ordered, "Send someone to invite Zhuo Bieli and Bai Yulian here."
Liu Jin took the order and turned to leave. Fu Xiaoguan's eyes narrowed slowly. "The Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun should have been the territory of Daxia. We must take this place back this time."
Ji Yungui was stunned for a moment, "Your Majesty, are you planning to use force against the Liao Dynasty?"
"The Liao Dynasty wants to oppress the Western Xia. Our Great Xia is mobilizing troops to support the Western Xia. Then this 400,000-man army is very likely to take advantage of our military weakness and march directly south."
"This battle won't start so soon. Their emperor or envoy is still waiting for me to meet him in March. Also, Yanduan Mountain is covered in snow at this time of year. Even if the army wants to come out, they'll have to wait until the snow melts... which is roughly in June."
Then Fu Xiaoguan didn't say anything else. He continued to look at the map. After a while, Zhuo Bieli and Bai Yulian came here.
After the two sat down, Fu Xiaoguan looked up and briefly explained the situation to them.
Zhuo Bieli and Bai Yulian were shocked to realize that there was a powerful enemy in the north who was eyeing them covetously.
"Just now I told Ji Yungui that in this battle, I want to take the initiative."
"Now that the domestic situation has stabilized, we need to discuss how to fight this battle. My suggestion is: Guan Xiaoxi's troops of the First Army will cross the Helan Mountains and enter the Western Xia territory, carrying a large amount of food and fodder to support the Western Xia in resisting the Liao Dynasty."
"The Second Army under Feng Xi, the Third Army under Wei Wubing, the Fourth Army under Chen Po, and the Fifth Army under Wang Xiaozhuang will all march to the western Hebei Route. They will assemble at the line between Zhending Prefecture and Hejian Prefecture in western Hebei by the end of April. This is the Army's plan."
"As for the navy, this map is incomplete. I think we should go out to sea from the Yangtze River, all the way south, into the waters near Goryeo, and into the Bohai Sea... Liu Jin, get a piece of paper!"
Fu Xiaoguan began to draw the map in his mind. Under the shocked gaze of Zhuo Bieli and the other two, he drew the coast of Daxia.
After an incense stick of time, he spoke again, "Look, after entering Bohai, there are two options. One is to land here in Laizhou and go directly to Dadingfu, the capital of the Liao Dynasty."
"Secondly, if we landed at Tianjin, the army could go straight to Xijing Prefecture of the Liao Dynasty and then to Datong."
"The first naval route can reach the Liao Dynasty capital, Dadingfu, in the shortest possible time, while the second route can outflank the 400,000-strong army in the Great Xianbei Mountains from behind."
Fu Xiaoguan put down his pen and looked at the three people. "What do you think we should choose?"
Bai Yulian first asked a question: "Does this waterway really exist?"
Fu Xiaoguan nodded affirmatively, "Korea came to Daxia by this route, there's no mistake. So if the plan is finalized, the navy must go first."
"According to your arrangements for the army... the four armies are going to cross Yanduan Mountain and attack?"
"Yes, this time, we will take the initiative to attack them, because I want this piece of land, and even more."
It's not a problem to have an army of 400,000 soldiers against an enemy army of 400,000 soldiers. The problem is that Yanduan Mountain is too long. If we miss it... Zhuo Bieli looked at Ji Yungui, "Then, for intelligence on this battle, the scouts can only gather information within a radius of 20 to 30 miles. For anything further, you, Tianji Pavilion, will have to rely on us."
"Don't worry, Minister Zhuo."
"Then I think that since we are going to launch a war against the Liao Dynasty, the navy can land in Laizhou and surprise attack the Liao Dynasty capital, Dadingfu!"
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