"What's wrong?"
Emperor Xuan frowned and asked.
Now, whether it is Emperor Xuan or Yan Beixi and others, they are no longer surprised by Fu Xiaoguan's denial of His Majesty's views - this kid often denies His Majesty's views, and now, what he denies seems to be very reasonable.
However, there seemed to be nothing wrong with Your Majesty's arrangement, so Emperor Xuan also stood in front of the map.
Fu Xiaoguan looked at it for a moment, then turned and said, "I believe that if Yu Chunqiu wanted to travel from east to west to Shuzhou, he would have to go around Shanzhou, cross the Qinling Mountains, and enter Jianzhou... The difficulty of this Shu Road is no different from entering the Western Wilderness. I'm afraid it will take him two months to reach Shuzhou.
Therefore, I think Your Majesty should issue an edict to the governor of Shuzhou. No, you should issue an edict to the governors of the east and west Jiannan circuits. The defenses of Shucheng and even the important towns in these two circuits... must be strengthened, and the garrison soldiers must be armored and trained.
In addition, I have been sending a hundred red-coated cannons to the eastern border troops these days. If the war breaks out early..."
Fu Xiaoguan turned around and looked at the map again, his finger falling on Qipan Pass - this is the first pass of Western Qin from Shuzhou to Shanzhou!
"I think it would be more appropriate to have Yu Chunqiu's troops guard Qipan Pass."
Yan Shidao also came to the map, examined it carefully, and asked, "If the enemy army takes Lingzhou or Yuzhou and goes down the Yangtze River to the south of the Yangtze River, how should we respond?"
Fu Xiaoguan shook his head. "With today's shipping capacity, a 300,000-man army plus its entourage would require at least 400,000 men. Just 400,000 men would require at least 100 large warships. If Xue Dingshan's troops wanted to gather 100 large warships, it wouldn't be a simple task. It would delay him for at least a month."
If Xue Dingshan were to rebel, he would have to do so quickly. Therefore, I believe that Xue Dingshan would definitely go through the Qinling Mountains to Shanzhou and then head south. I have three reasons for this:
First, winter and even spring are the dry seasons of the Yangtze River, which is not conducive to the passage of large ships.
Secondly, Xue Dingshan's troops were not naval forces. Even if they were not fighting on the water, the Yangtze River was still flowing through Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge, and Xiling Gorge... right here."
Fu Xiaoguan pointed to these three places on the map and said, "The water in these three long gorges is turbulent and there are complex underwater reefs. When soldiers on land get on these waters, many of them will get seasick... You know what seasickness is, right?
If they get seasick, their fighting capacity will be drastically reduced for at least five days after they land. If our army launches a surprise attack at this time, the enemy will surely suffer heavy losses. This is definitely not what Xue Dingshan wants to see. Since he is able to become the commander of a faction, he must understand the reasoning behind this.
Fu Xiaoguan turned around and continued slowly, "As for the third point, I'm worried that Xue Dingshan won't obey Your Majesty's order to enter the Western Wilderness. If he really wanted to rebel, he would definitely raise an army directly after receiving Your Majesty's order and take the Jiannan East Road to Jianzhou..."
He turned back to look at the map, his finger landing on the Jinniu Ancient Road. "He must take the Jinniu Ancient Road to cross the first pass of Western Qin, enter Baocheng in Shanzhou, follow the Baohe River through Shimen, cross the Qinling Mountains, exit the Xiegu Valley, and reach the 800-li Chunchuan."
He walked back to the tea table, took a sip of tea, and continued, "So I think Xue Dingshan's troops will never go to Shuzhou Prefecture on the Jiannan West Road. Then Yu Chunqiu's troops, stationed at Qipan Pass, will completely strangle Xue Dingshan's throat and the road leading west out of the Qinling Mountains.
As long as Qipanguan is not lost, the Central Plains will be safe, and there will be no threat to Nanjing. However, the garrisons on the east and west roads of Jiannan must have a certain level of combat effectiveness. Once Xue Dingshan's troops are restrained at Qipanguan, the garrisons on the east and west roads must be integrated into a single army and launch an attack on Xue Dingshan from behind. Otherwise..."
Fu Xiaoguan took a deep breath and raised his brows, "Otherwise, I am worried that Xue Dingshan will turn around and seize Jianzhou. In this case, it will be difficult for our army to enter Jiannan and Nandao.
Once Jiannan and Nandao fall into Xue Dingshan's hands, he will have the Chengdu and Du Plains, one of the world's granaries, and the Western Rong will become his rear base. At that time, this war will be really difficult to fight!
Emperor Xuan frowned as he looked at the map, pondered for a long time, and then returned to the tea table and sat down.
"You have a point, but the city's garrison's combat effectiveness is worrying. Who has the talent to integrate the various garrisons into one?"
Fu Xiaoguan raised the corner of his mouth and said, "I think Fei An is capable."
"Your Majesty only needs to give Fei An a secret decree, giving him the power to command the two garrisons of Jiannan, and he will definitely be able to accomplish this. However, I cannot guarantee whether this group of people can defeat the western border troops in the end, so I also ask Your Majesty and Yan Shumi to understand one thing -
If we lose this battle, it will not be due to Fei An's incompetence, but rather the huge disparity in combat power between the garrison and the border troops. Therefore, I ask Your Majesty not to blame Fei An when the time comes."
"If Fei An loses, won't this battle be a failure?"
"No, as long as Fei An can delay Xue Dingshan's troops for half a month and stretch Xue Dingshan's army, Yu Chunqiu will have the opportunity to pursue and nibble away at them."
Yan Shidao thought for a moment and asked, "What if Xue Dingshan were to defend Jianmen?"
"If Xue Dingshan fails to capture Qipan Pass, he will definitely retreat to Jianmen. However, Jianmen alone is meaningless to him. He will definitely send troops to capture Chengdu Prefecture first, so he will not leave too many troops guarding Jianmen.
By that time, even if the Red Cannon were carried, it would have been enough to reach Jianmen. With the power of the Red Cannon, blasting Jianmen would be a piece of cake. What I fear is that Xue Dingshan will actually capture Chengdu Prefecture, causing massive casualties among the people. Furthermore, the autumn grain reserves in Chengdu and Chengdu Prefectures will be sufficient to tide them over until the next autumn harvest.
Yan Shidao nodded slightly. "So the purpose of your strategy is to use Yu Chunqiu to block Xue Dingshan's way out of Sichuan, and to use Fei An to gather the city defense forces to delay Xue Dingshan's progress in taking Chengdu Prefecture, giving Yu Chunqiu ample time to pursue Xue Dingshan?"
"That's right. In my opinion, if Fei An is smart, he should use guerrilla warfare to keep Xue Dingshan's troops in constant fear. Meanwhile, Yu Chunqiu's troops should advance slowly and steadily, ensuring there are towns in the rear for supplies and garrisons. Otherwise, if Xue Dingshan counterattacks, I'm worried that Yu Chunqiu will suffer a great loss. After all, Yu Chunqiu only has a little over 150,000 troops."
Emperor Xuan pondered for a moment and made his decision: "Then do as I say. I will give Fei An a secret decree and send him to Jiannan and Liangdao immediately."
The matter was settled, and Fu Xiaoguan finally felt relieved. His Majesty went to the Dragon Case to write the secret decree. Fu Xiaoguan looked at Yan Beixi and asked, "Is the evidence conclusive?"
This of course refers to Xue Dingshan's possible rebellion.
Yan Beixi nodded, "All signs indicate that Prince Jin may not be able to wait any longer."
"If Prince Jin were to collude with the Moon Worship Cult, I'm afraid we'd have to increase our military strength by at least another 100,000!"
Yan Beixi was shocked and looked up at Fu Xiaoguan.
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