Changle County (Ji County) is the seat of Jizhou Prefecture of Wei State, and Hou Mo Chen Dao led the Hu cavalry who assisted Ye County, and was stationed here earlier. Ye County was lost, and after Murong Zhan's desperate battle, Murong Quan was able to break through and escape, and he was the first to flee here.

However, Murong Quan did not stop long in Changle County, and Murong Yan, the lord of Wei, quickly summoned him to Jixian County (Beijing), the prefecture of Youzhou. At the same time, Murong Wutai, who had previously gone north to Zhao County, was transferred to Changle County by Murong Yan, Murong Yan added a title to Murong Wutai as the assassin of Jizhou, and ordered Hou Mo Chen to obey his command, Murong Wutai and Hou Mo Chen Duo two troops and horses, plus some of the soldiers and horses left by Murong Quan, totaling 20,000 foot horses, guarding Changle together, and now they are the last barrier to resist the Qin army to continue north.

The two counties of Guangping and Yangping are located in the north of Ye County and south of Changle County, and these two counties are one in the northwest and one in the southeast, and the distance from Ye County is almost the same as the distance from Changle County, which is about 200 miles.

That is to say, if Hebei's intelligence is correct, and Pu Qin is indeed about to use troops in the direction of Guangping and Yangping, then Pu Mao and Meng Lang's intentions will be obvious, that is, Xin Er said, "I want to take advantage of the victory to advance north, capture Changle, and take Jizhou", and if Pu Qin really wants to make persistent efforts, take advantage of the victory to advance straight forward, and defeat Jizhou in one fell swoop, then not to mention that Murong Yan of Youzhou has tens of thousands of foot cavalry after this period of large-scale conscription, in order to keep Youzhou, he will definitely try his best to support Changle, Just say that the existing more than 20,000 Wei army infantry in Changle County cannot be underestimated, then the main force of the Qin army is obvious, and it will not be able to return to Guanzhong for the time being.

If the main force of the Qin army cannot return to Guanzhong for the time being, after the defeat of Qin Guangzong's department in the Shiping Department, there are only more than 10,000 cavalry now, and it is enough to defend the border, but if it is used to attack and invade Longxi, Nan'an and other counties, even if it is added to the mobile troops that can be called up in addition to the suppression of Puqin Yongzhou in the north of Tianshui and other counties, it is also insufficient,—— as for Xianyang and other places in the east of Tianshui, there are now Pu Qin's heavy troops stationed, but this army and horses are related to the stability of Guanzhong today, and they will definitely not move lightly.

In such a situation, Qin Guangzong used it vigorously, so was he to make intelligence preparations for Pu Qin's counterattack on Qinzhou, or to prevent Tang Ai's attack on Tianshui, Luoyang and other counties? That's a question.

If it was the former, then Gu Yin would need to immediately deploy backup for Tang Ai and prepare the people and grain.

If the latter is the case, the deployment of reinforcements, the preparation of men and the preparation of grain and straw can be somewhat relieved.

But it was said that since it has been concluded that there will be a big war in Qinzhou, and the reinforcements, people, and grain will be sent over sooner or later, why not do these things now? Why wait until the Qin army is really going to attack Qinzhou?

The reason is simple.

First, in terms of reinforcements, it is easy to send reinforcements, in fact, once there is a war situation in Qinzhou, which troops to send to rush to help, Xin Er and others have already decided on this, one is the Wangcheng garrison of the bald Boye and other departments, and the other is the garrison of the eight counties in the southeast, but the reinforcements are easy to send, and the grain and straw needed after the reinforcements arrive are not easy to handle. The output of the four counties of Qinzhou is not enough to supply the local garrison, so the grain and straw needed by foreign reinforcements can only be adjusted, and this other adjustment, there will be loss of transportation on the road, ten days and a half months of loss, Dingxi can afford to consume, but if you wait for March and two months, and the Qin army has not yet come to attack, this loss is too great, and Dingxi cannot afford it.

Second, in terms of the people and the grain, the grain is better, and now it is being transported to Qinzhou one after another, the people are not easy to do, the people are all strong men, and they are the pillars of every family. It will affect the livelihood of the people, make it worse for most of them who are already poor, and even cause public resentment because of this.

All in all, Dingxi still uses troops for many years, and the treasury is not rich, so whether it is reinforcements, people's husbands and grain, they have to wait until it is clear that Pu Qin is going to counterattack Qinzhou before they can start mobilizing.

Yang Chao, Zhang Seng Cheng, and Zhang Gui listened to Xin Er's inquiry, and they all fell into deep thought.

There was a moment of silence in the hall.

Seeing that the water bowl on Zhang Gui's case was empty, Xin Er stayed on the ground and personally carried the pot to fill him with buttermilk.

Zhang Gu was busy, and he wanted to get up and thank him.

Xin Er pressed him and said with a smile: "You have inconvenient legs and feet, so don't be so polite." Observing his expression, he said, "The snow has just stopped, it has been cold for the past two days, and you have not been sick for a long time, so pay more attention to keeping warm and don't get sick again." ”

Zhang Guiying said: "Yes." The cheap body is not enough to worry about the teeth, and there is a Lao Ming public body thought. ”

"How? Changling, what do you think Qin Guangzong is doing with it? ”

Zhang Gui twisted his beard and said: "The turtle thinks that Qin Guangzong can't look at him, but he still has to look at the main force of Qin Yu in Hebei." ”

Zhang Seng Cheng clapped his hands in approval and said: "Changling's words are in one word!" He said to Xin Er, who was standing in the hall with a pot, "Duke Ming, Qin Lu will definitely counterattack my Qinzhou, this is undoubted, but the counterattack on my Qinzhou, in the final analysis, depends on Qin Lu's soldiers and horses, no matter how much Qin Guangzong sends the faction, is it difficult to do it, can he still rely on some fine work to defeat my Qinzhou?" ”

"Whirl, what do you mean?"

"Since Qin Yu's main force is still in Hebei, and there is no movement to return to Guanzhong for the time being, then Qin Guangzong's wanton use, in the opinion of the following officials, he should not be to fight for Qin Yu's counterattack, but to prevent our army from advancing into Tianshui and other counties!"

"Really?"

"Ming Gong, Seng Cheng thinks that it is actually because the main force of Qin Yu cannot return to Guanzhong for the time being, so Qin Guangzong will not stop using it!"

"You mean?"

"Qin Guangzong knows that Pu Mao and Meng Lang are going to attack Jizhou next, so he will inevitably be worried, I Dingxi will take this opportunity to use troops again to attack Tianshui and Luoyang, so in order to protect himself, he is using the opportunity to observe my Qinzhou movements."

"Your logic sounds reasonable."

Zhang Seng Cheng heard the skeptical attitude in Xin'er's words, and said: "Doesn't Ming Gong agree with the judgment of the lower official? ”

"Meng Lang is scheming, skilled in military strategy, Huilang, Changling, Shidao, you see if there is such a possibility......

Zhang Gu asked: "Dare to ask Ming Gong, which is possible?" ”

"Going north with soldiers Yangping and Guangping, is it really Pu Mao and Meng Lang who did it for us to see?"

Zhang Seng Cheng was stunned, his eyes widened, and said: "Ming Gong's intention is that Pu Mao and Meng Lang marched into Yangping and Guangping, and it is false to try to take Jizhou as much as possible, and they have or are quietly returning to Guanzhong, in order to take advantage of our unpreparedness, is it true to attack my Qinzhou?" ”

"Do you think it's possible? …… Shidao, what do you think? ”

Yang Chao thought about it and said: "This possibility can't be said to be no, but, Ming Gong, I have more than 10,000 troops in the four counties of Qinzhou, and after Nan'an is obtained by me, Nan'an and Longxi are opposite, and the location is also in the hands of my Dingxi, and there are eight counties in the west, which can be reached in a few days, and there are soldiers from Hanzhong Shu in the south, and they can be reached in a few days, if you want to capture my Qinzhou, you must ride forty or fifty thousand steps!"

"Counting Qin Guangzong and other available troops, Qin Yu needs to transfer at least another 30,000 soldiers and horses,...... The mobilization of 30,000 soldiers and horses, no matter how resourceful Meng Lang is, I am afraid that he will not be able to hide his traces, so we are at a loss! ”

Xin Er nodded, asked Zhang Gui and Zhang Seng Cheng, and said, "Changling, Hui Lang, where do you see each other?" ”

Zhang Seng Cheng agreed with Yang Chao's opinion and said: "The lower officials think that Yang Jun is very analytical. The mobilization of 5,000 or 10,000 infantry and cavalry may be able to hide their whereabouts, but the mobilization of 30,000 soldiers and horses, foot, cavalry, baggage, and people's husbands, is huge. ”

"Changling, what do you think?"

Zhang Gu said: "The turtle has two strategies. ”

"What's the strategy?"

"Ming Gong is not suspicious, going north to use soldiers in Yangping and Guangping, maybe Pu Mao and Meng Lang deliberately did it for us to see?"

"Not bad."

"In response to this, the turtle has two strategies."

Xin Er stroked his short mustache and said with a smile: "I haven't heard of your upper and lower strategies for a long time, let's listen to it." ”

Zhang Guiying said: "Yes." Then he said, "The best policy is to fly to Hebei and Guanzhong, so that it is the only way for Qin Lu to enter the customs, so that once Qin Lu's soldiers and horses enter the customs, whether it is stealth or not, or fanfare, Ming Gong can be informed in time at the first time, and I will be able to respond at the first time." ”

"What's next?"

"The next strategy is to start sending reinforcements to Qinzhou now in case of an emergency."

If the country is rich and strong, the next policy is really the best policy, but the west is short of food and people's power, this policy is not a last resort, it must not be used, so the ambush is carefully made in the main road, monitoring whether there is a Qin army entering the customs, in desperation, it is the best policy.

"The best strategy can be used, the next strategy, and that's it."

"Ming Gong is wise."

"Changling, then this matter is up to you to arrange."

The intelligence system established by Xin Er himself was originally in charge of Zhang Gui, and now Zhang Gu has been appointed to the military department as a deputy, and the entire intelligence system in Dingxi is under his control.

Zhang Gui responded: "No." ”

Yang Chao, Zhang Gui, and Zhang Seng Cheng are the only three people in the current Wangcheng Valley Yin, Xin Er can discuss important military affairs with them, and the three of them all think that Meng Lang, who Xin Er is worried about, may "repair the plank road in the open, and Chen Cang in the dark" is unlikely, and what the three of them said is very reasonable, the logic is self-consistent, and the reasoning and analysis are reasonable, so Xin Er can only put away his own concerns.

He thought: "The three of them are all wise and resourceful, and they all think that Meng Lang is unlikely to cultivate the plank road openly and Chen Cang secretly, so I hope I am suspicious!" After all, his suspicions were not dispelled, and he told Zhang Gu and said, "Elder, take care of this matter, and you will start arranging it today, without delay." ”

Zhang Guiying said: "Yes." ”

Xin Er picked up the bowl of water, drank the buttermilk, and although he was still worried, he changed the topic and said with a smile: "Qianli wrote me a letter with the official document, do you know?" He was married. ”

All three were stunned.

Yang Chao and Tang Ai have the best relationship, Tang Ai was recommended to Xin Er by Yang Chao at the earliest, and he couldn't help but ask in surprise: "Thousands of miles into marriage?" With whom are you married? Why don't you make a sound, and don't say a word. ”

"The daughter he married, her name is Qitong."

"Nothing? I don't know that I have a name in Longdi! ”

Xin Er smiled and said: "The gateway of the Qi family can't match Qianli, but if you talk about this woman, the strange woman is also, but she is not enough to match Qianli." ”

At the moment, Xin Er told the story of Qitong from Tang Aixin's letter to Yang Chao and others.