At the command of the Grand Eunuch Liu Zhen, several armored Imperial Guard soldiers, each wielding a sword, stepped forward, their right hands already gripping the hilts of their blades.
Liu Zhen snorted coldly again, glanced at Minister of War Shen Guangming, and then swaggered into the Emperor's camp.
"Eh—"
Shen Guangming sighed and tightly grasped the memorial from Guo Dingfang, the General of Anxi, which had been sent from Longcheng to the Ministry of War overnight by express courier.
The memorial reported that the Tibetan king Dama, taking advantage of the fact that General Guo Dingfang of Anxi was dispatching 100,000 Anxi border troops to Longcheng to quell the rebellion on the emperor's orders, led a large army to attack the prefectures of Longyou and Hexi, causing the passage between the four towns of Anxi and the General's Office, as well as the imperial court, to be cut off.
This means that the four garrisons of Anxi, which were responsible for protecting the Xin Dynasty's access to the Western Regions and the Silk Road, would become isolated forces fighting their own battles.
If the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions were to seize this opportunity to launch a joint attack on the Four Garrisons of Anxi, the consequences would be unimaginable!
As Shen Guangming watched the departing figure of the Grand Eunuch Liu Zhen, he looked up to the sky and cursed, "Eunuchs are ruining the country!"
"I, Shen Guangming, the Minister of War of the Great Xin Dynasty, cannot even get past a eunuch to meet the Emperor. If the late Emperor knew this in the afterlife, he would probably be so angry that he would crawl out of his mausoleum and punish me, Shen Guangming, with a cane!"
However, Shen Guangming could do nothing but look up to the sky and lament, and could only continue to kneel and wait outside the emperor's camp.
at the same time.
Longcheng, the fiefdom of the Prince of Jin, is a thousand miles away. Outside the city, in the Beichuan area, lies the Anxi border army camp.
Inside the central command tent, Guo Dingfang, the General of Anxi and the Great General of Zhenxi of the Great Xin Dynasty, paced anxiously back and forth, his expression grave and restless.
Zhang Yude, the deputy general who stayed behind in Chang'an, sent an urgent letter every day, informing Guo Dingfang that the prefectures of Longyou and Hexi were in dire need of help and requesting the general to send troops back to reinforce them as soon as possible.
At that time, when Guo Dingfang was hesitant about accepting the yellow axe and bow and arrows bestowed upon him by Emperor Zhao Gan, as well as a military order to launch a campaign, he received an urgent military report that the Tibetan king Dama was leading a large army to invade the border of Daxin.
At that time, Guo Dingfang naively believed that Dama had done a good deed, saving him and his Anxi border army from a fierce battle with Chen Huai'an's Longcheng Polu Army.
Who would have thought that when he presented the urgent military intelligence about the Tibetan invasion to the Ministry of War, which then forwarded it to Emperor Zhao Gan, not only did he fail to get the emperor to abandon his conscription as he had hoped, but he was also ordered to set off immediately and capture Longcheng, the fiefdom of the Prince of Jin, before winter.
As for the Tibetan invasion of the Daxin border, Zhao Gan didn't take it to heart at all, and even blamed Guo Dingfang for being cowardly and afraid of war.
They claimed that the city walls in various parts of Anxi were high and the food supplies were plentiful, and that even if 100,000 Anxi border troops were dispatched to Longcheng to quell the rebellion, they could still defend the city with their strong walls and powerful weapons.
After Zhao Gan personally led the expedition to quell the rebellion, he then led a large army westward and destroyed the Tubo Kingdom in one fell swoop.
Therefore, Guo Dingfang had no choice but to bite the bullet and send 100,000 border troops to Longcheng to quell the rebellion.
No sooner had he left than the Tibetan king, Dharma, personally led a large army to attack the prefectures of Longyou and Anxi.
Guo Dingfang had just led his troops into the territory of Longcheng when he received an urgent message from his deputy general Zhang Yude, informing him that the prefectures of Longyou and Hexi had fallen, and that the four garrisons of Anxi had lost contact with the general's headquarters.
Furthermore, Dama, having successfully occupied the prefectures of Longyou and Hexi, was still not satisfied and seemed poised to march his troops directly towards the General's Office in Chang'an.
"Damn it, that bastard Dama really knows how to pick his timing. None of the remnants of the Po Lu Army stationed in Longyou and Hexi are any good!"
Guo Dingfang roared and cursed in his tent: "If it weren't for the collusion of the remnants of the Po Lu Army, how could that bastard Dama have captured Longyou and Hexi prefectures in such a short time? I'll write my name Guo backwards!"
"Messenger!"
"exist!"
Guo Dingfang shouted towards the outside of the tent, "Is there any news from the Ministry of War?"
Outside the main tent, a messenger reported, "Reporting to the General, not yet!"
Guo Dingfang said, "Issue my order to dispatch another urgent messenger on an 800-li journey to request the Emperor and the Ministry of War to quickly decide on the Anxi war!"
"General, we dispatched two riders this morning with urgent messages that travel 800 li each way!"
"Send more, keep sending them all the way to the Ministry of War to get back the news!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
......
Longcheng, the council hall of the Jin Prince's Palace.
Prince Chen Longxiang of the Prince of Jin's Mansion, who stayed behind at the main camp, Chen Qingzhi, the deputy marshal of the Longcheng army, the black-robed old monk Dongfang Xiao, and a group of generals gathered together to discuss the war.
News that Guo Dingfang, the General of Anxi, had led 100,000 Anxi border troops to Longcheng to resist Beichuan and set up camp 30 li outside Longcheng had already reached the Prince's Palace.
Along with this news, the Tibetan king Dama also reported that he had led an army of 200,000 to conquer Daxin, successively capturing Longyou and Hexi prefectures, with his forces pointing directly at Chang'an.
In an instant, Chen Qingzhi, as the deputy marshal of Longcheng and in full charge of military operations in Longcheng, became very active and prepared to launch a surprise attack on the Anxi border army that came to quell the rebellion.
Before the battle, Chen Qingzhi thought it over and over and finally decided to first consult with Prince Chen Longxiang and Dongfang Xiao, the teacher of Prince Jin.
Inside the council hall, Chen Qingzhi cupped his hands to Chen Longxiang and Dongfang Xiao respectively, and said, "Young Prince, Master, the imperial army of Anxi has set up camp in Jubeichuan."
"This general intends to take advantage of the enemy's exhaustion and demoralization to lead the Xuanjia Army in a preemptive strike and deliver a crushing blow to the enemy!"
"good!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Longxiang, who had gained some maturity after his experiences, immediately stood up, clapped his hands, and deliberately adopted a condescending attitude, saying:
"General Chen is absolutely right. We should take advantage of the enemy's unstable foothold and their exhausted state to launch a surprise attack!"
With that, Chen Longxiang patted his chest and continued, "This prince is willing to be the vanguard general and personally go to the front lines to meet the enemy commander Guo Dingfang!"
As Chen Longxiang spoke, he glanced at the old monk Dongfang Xiao out of the corner of his eye.
Upon seeing the latter's eyes suddenly open, revealing two sharp, piercing gazes fixed upon him, Chen Longxiang quickly added, "..."
"Master, rest assured, I will only kill the enemy's commander-in-chief, and will never indiscriminately kill innocent people, hehe!"
Dongfang Xiao shook his head with a wry smile, but ignored Chen Longxiang.
Seeing this, Chen Qingzhi frowned slightly and looked at Dongfang Xiao, asking, "Master, what are your thoughts?"
Dongfang Xiao stroked his white beard, stood up, and said with a smile, "General Chen, as the art of war says, the best strategy is to attack the enemy's plans; the next best is to disrupt their alliances; and the next best is to attack their army!"
"The skillful strategist subdues the enemy without fighting!"
Chen Qingzhi asked, "Master, what do you mean by that?"
Dongfang Xiao smiled mysteriously and said, "General Chen, Your Highness, this humble monk's consideration is as follows..."
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