Faced with Chen Huai'an's question, Chang Yuchun, the deputy marshal of Longcheng and the general who led the southern expedition, first nodded, then thought for a moment and shook his head.
Finally, he spoke, "Your Highness, after much thought, this humble general believes that the Tumu Fort area is indeed the best location to ambush the enemy forces on their northern expedition."
"In this way, the enemy's 400,000 troops will be unable to defend themselves from both ends, which is equivalent to having no troops at all!"
At this point, Chang Yuchun paused and continued, "However, between Yunzhou and Wuzhou, there are Yingzhou and Xinzhou, which are both enemy cities."
"Even if His Highness leads the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to detour through the northern desert and directly enter the Tumu Fort area through Wuzhou to set up an ambush, the difficulty is no less than that of directly sending troops from Yunzhou and launching a strong attack on Yingzhou and Xinzhou along the way."
As he spoke, Chang Yuchun, with his professional skills in leading troops and fighting battles, began to analyze each point one by one:
"Firstly, the weather on the northern grasslands becomes harsh and unpredictable after winter sets in. If the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were to detour through the northern grasslands without a guide, they would easily lose their way. Missing a battle opportunity would be a minor matter, but causing His Highness to be disgraced would be a major one!"
"Secondly, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry are elite cavalry, skilled in field battles but not in siege warfare. Wuzhou City has high walls, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. Using the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to attack the city is clearly using one's own weakness to attack the enemy's strength, which is a terrible strategy!"
"Thirdly, Your Highness's ambush at Tumu Fortress is a surprise attack. Once the war in Wuzhou breaks out, the enemy will inevitably be alerted. Even if Wuzhou is captured, the strategic significance of taking the enemy by surprise will be lost."
After speaking, Chang Yuchun cupped his hands to Chen Huai'an and said, "Your Highness, this is merely my humble opinion. I hope Your Highness will forgive me if I have offended you!"
brush!
Upon hearing this, all the generals of the Dragon City Pacification Army in the council hall of the Prince's Mansion frowned and unconsciously looked at Prince Jin, Chen Huai'an.
Hahaha!
At this moment, Chen Huai'an burst into hearty laughter, and glanced, seemingly unintentionally, at the black-robed old monk Dongfang Xiao, who sat calmly to the side.
The latter stroked his gray beard, his old face, seemingly calm and composed, as if it bore the words, "All the major events in the world are within my expectations."
That's right, Dongfang Xiao had already taken care of everything for Chen Huai'an.
Liu Ziyu, the general of Daxin who was guarding Wuzhou City, was the adopted son of Liu Xinwu, the Prince of Wuning!
Chen Huai'an finally understood Dongfang Xiao's good intentions in proposing a marriage alliance between the Prince of Jin's Mansion and the Prince of Wuning's Mansion.
Assisting Chen Huai'an in leading troops to ambush the reigning emperor Zhao Gan is not a simple crime punishable by death, but by the extermination of nine generations of one's family!
Compared to the rewards of being a future minister who would help the emperor rise to power, such as being granted titles and honors, what could be more tempting for Liu Xinwu, who was already one of the eight kings of different surnames in the Great Xin Dynasty, than the father-in-law of the founding emperor?
On the road to becoming a great emperor, there is not only fighting and killing, but also human relationships and worldly wisdom!
While Chen Huai'an was thinking this to himself, he said aloud to Chang Yuchun and his generals, "General Chang is absolutely right, but what I want to say is—"
"These problems may be problems for others, but for me, they are not problems at all!"
Then, Chen Huai'an changed the subject and said sternly, "All generals, listen to my command!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
Inside the council hall, all the generals straightened their backs and looked at Chen Huai'an with firm eyes.
Chen Huai'an said, "Deputy Marshal of the Army and General Who Conquers the South, Chang Yuchun, receive my command—"
"Your subordinate is here!"
"I hereby order you to depart immediately and lead the Longcheng Expeditionary Army to defend Yunzhou, awaiting my further orders. Do not fail to comply!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Chang Yuchun clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, accepting the order on the spot.
Chen Huai'an then said, "Deputy Marshal Chen Qingzhi, listen to my command—"
"Your subordinate is here!"
"I hereby order you to command 80,000 Xuanjia soldiers to defend Dragon City and ensure that the land of Dragon's Rise is not disturbed by the Anxi border army of the imperial court. Await my further orders and do not fail to comply!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Chen Qingzhi, a scholar-general in white robes, also stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and acknowledged the order.
Chen Huai'an spoke again: "General Huo Qubing, the vanguard commander of the Northern Expeditionary Army, listen to my command—"
"Your subordinate is here!"
"I hereby promote you to vanguard commander, leading the elite Tiger and Leopard Cavalry scouts to scout the way for the main Tiger and Leopard Cavalry army, which will detour through the northern desert and directly attack Wuzhou, to ensure that the army arrives at the walls of Wuzhou on time without any delay!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
The young General Huo Qubing, with his sharp eyes, accepted the order.
Chen Huai'an continued his troop roll call: "General Wang Jian, Valiant General Pang Xianchu, and Deputy General Fan Wuji, listen to my command—"
"Your subordinate is here!"
The three men stepped forward in unison, awaiting orders.
Chen Huai'an said, "The three of you will each lead your respective troops: the Dragon City Iron Cavalry, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, and the Qin Elite Warriors. Each infantryman will be equipped with two horses, each cavalryman with three horses, and each heavy cavalryman with four horses."
"Follow me from Yunzhou out of the northern desert, and head straight for Wuzhou. There must be no mistakes!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
The three men clasped their hands in unison to accept the order, their eyes gleaming with a desire to achieve great deeds and wipe out the enemy army.
"The entire army will set off in three days, without fail!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
......
The capital, the imperial city of Jinling.
Today is the day that Emperor Zhao Gan, the second emperor of the Daxin Dynasty, personally leads his army on a military expedition.
It was noon.
Inside and outside the imperial city, banners fluttered, swords and spears stood like a forest, and the sound of gongs and drums was deafening.
Led by Prime Minister Qin Ruhui, all the civil and military officials lined up outside the imperial city to respectfully see Zhao Gan off.
Outside the city, 20,000 armored and sword-wielding Imperial Guards of the Great Xin Dynasty were already fully prepared for battle. All the soldiers had solemn and cold expressions, and their eyes flashed with murderous intent.
Finally, Emperor Zhao Gan, clad in golden armor, wearing a golden helmet, and even his boots embroidered with five-clawed golden dragons, rode a magnificent Akhal-Teke horse from within the imperial city.
Behind him followed a carriage drawn by six fine horses. The carriage was not only inlaid with gold, silver, jade, gemstones and pearls, but also carved with dragon and phoenix patterns, clearly the emperor's dragon carriage.
Seated atop the imperial carriage was a woman of natural allure and captivating charm, none other than Wenren Yu, the emperor Zhao Gan's favorite concubine.
Seeing this scene, Sun Heling, the Vice Minister of Rites who had been stripped of his official robes by Zhao Gan and incorporated into the Northern Expeditionary Army to serve as a groom in front of the emperor, couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.
Throughout history, the only emperor who would allow his favorite concubine to accompany him on a personal military campaign was probably Emperor Zhao Gan, the second emperor of the Xin Dynasty.
The rest of the court officials were not surprised by this.
Riding on his Akhal-Teke horse, Zhao Gan looked at the court officials kneeling to see him off, and then at the 20,000 elite Imperial Guards. He couldn't help but feel a surge of pride and pride.
Zhao Gan turned to Wenren Yu on the imperial carriage and said, "My beautiful Wenren, do you see this? This is my Imperial Guard. On this northern expedition to quell the rebellion, I will show you my magnificent empire!"
"The day the royal army returns victorious from its northern expedition will be the day I bestow upon you the title of Empress of the Great Xin Dynasty!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com