A cough broke the eerie silence in the study.

Hearing Xu Ling's cough, Chen Ji came back to his senses, his eyes turned slightly, Xu Ling, who was coughing just now, looked at his nose, nose, mouth, and mouth at this time, and sat very upright, and it can even be said that the whole person was about to become a sitting Buddha, without any movement, as if the cough just now did not come from him at all.

As an old fox who has been in the officialdom for decades, Xu Ling has already cultivated this kung fu of "nothing to do with himself and hang high" to the extreme.

And Wu Mingche said such a long paragraph just now, his body obviously couldn't stand it, at this time he was covering his mouth slightly, coughing twice in a low voice, and then picked up the water cup and took a few sips of water slightly. The eunuchs who are serving in the palace know the physical condition of these old ministers, and instead of waiting for His Majesty's orders, it is better to send them up first.

After all, in the palace, the most important thing is a "eyesight price", and Chen Ji is the kind of monarch who has always been very respectful to his ministers.

I don't know if my body can't stand it after saying so many words, or if I just don't want to be the first to speak, Wu Mingche bowed his head slightly, obviously resolutely not planning to be a bird.

Wu Mingche and Xu Ling were speechless, Xiao Maha was about to stand up, but Chen Ji took the lead and said: "Originally, the Northern Qi Dynasty, with a quarter of the world's national strength, was still able to hold on to the land of Luliang, but now that the north is unified and the Northern Zhou is strong, I can also expect it······ As Sikong said, since this Huaibei road can't be walked, where should it go? West Beam? ”

After a pause, Chen Ji did not rush to ask Wu Mingche, but continued to look at Xiao Maha: "I don't know what General Zuo Wei thinks?" ”

Xiao Maha solemnly arched his hand: "What Your Majesty said has actually been thought of by the ministers. ”

"Oh?" Chen Ji raised his eyebrows, "Are you planning to use troops against Xiliang?" ”

Xiao Maha nodded: "Xiliang is backed by Xiangyang and occupies Jiangling, all the places are the richest places in the world, and the place where Xiliang is located has been the land of my Southern Dynasty for hundreds of years, if it weren't for the support of the Northern Zhou barbarians, I'm afraid that Xiliang would have been taken as early as the time of Gaozu." ”

After a slight pause, Xiao Maha got up and walked in front of the map: "Your Majesty, please see, this Xiliang is not big, but it blocks the road for our army to attack Xiangyang from Jingzhou to the north and then attack the Central Plains, and it is precisely for this reason that our army can only choose to attack from Huaibei, Xiliang is the pawn of the Northern Zhou barbarians, and it is a nail on the road of our Northern Expedition!" ”

"Even if we don't go north to attack from Jiangling, but from Huaibei, we have to always beware of the barbarians attacking my hinterland from Xiangyang to the south, which is also the reason why the imperial court now has to station a large army in Jingzhou, this cantonment army occupies one-third of the total military strength of our Dachen, if we can liberate this army, even if it is the main force of the barbarians in the upper northern dynasty, what are we afraid of? This time the battle of Luliang is to suffer a loss in the soldiers, as long as the West Liang is taken, this loss will not be eaten again! ”

Xiao Maha's words were loud, and Chen Ji's face showed a look of appreciation. At the same time, Xu Ling, who was sitting under Chen Xu's hand, slowly raised his head, glanced at Chen Xu, and bowed his head slightly.

Chen Ji didn't stand up directly in excitement, his fingers lightly tapped on the table, obviously this emperor of Southern Chen was still hesitating: "It is true that attacking Xiliang is the best policy, but the last time I attacked Xiliang, although the Qing family was not in the army, I must know it." ”

For Xiliang, Nan Chen is not without contacts.

Nine years ago, Han Zigao's rebellion failed, and Shi Huajiao, the assassin of Xiangzhou, who had a relationship with Han Zigao, was afraid that the imperial court would investigate and blame, so he surrendered to Xiliang, and Xiliang and Northern Zhou naturally would not let go of such a good opportunity, and took this opportunity to launch a large-scale attack, hoping to kill Nan Chen, whose internal affairs were also turbulent. It's a pity that their opponent Wu Mingche is not so easy to mess with, and soon Xiliang and Northern Zhou were defeated.

And take this opportunity, Chen Ji, who has just abolished Chen Bozong, also hopes to be able to swallow Xiliang in one bite, firstly, to solve the border problems of Southern Chen for several generations, and secondly, to be able to establish authority, after all, it is more affordable to kill chickens and monkeys, and this chicken is still a foreign chicken.

It's a pity that although Nan Chen made a big fanfare, Xu Du, Chun Yuliang, and Wu Mingche gathered the stars, and even conquered Jiangling for a time, but in the end they had to retreat under the full counterattack of the Western Liang and Northern Zhou armies, and the success fell short.

It can be said that the great battle nine years ago was a battle in which Nan Chen was infinitely close to defeating Xiliang, but in the end it still failed. Chen Ji, who had just ascended the throne, also left a shadow in his heart, and turned the western front from offensive to defensive, trying to maintain the current line of defense, no longer easily provoking Xiliang and the Northern Zhou behind it, but surrendering his eyes to Huainan.

This led to the later battle of Wu Mingche to recover Huainan, and the later battle of Luliang.

But who would have thought that after going around and around, nine years have passed, and in the end, Nanchen has returned to the position of transferring the strategic direction back then, but the current Nanchen is no longer the Nanchen of the year, with Huainan and other buffer places and strategic places north of the Yangtze River, there is no need to worry about the Northern Dynasty army drinking the Ma Dajiang River day and night, but the current Northern Zhou, how can it be the Northern Zhou of the year?

The Northern Zhou, which annexed the Northern Qi Dynasty, was now left with only the two worries of Southern Chen and the Turks who often harassed the border in the north.

Although the Northern Zhou Emperor Yuwen Yong was young, he was a first-class and a talented master, compared to Yuwen Yong, although the Southern Chen Emperor Chen was in his fifties, he was old after all. And under the command of Yu Wenyong, whether it is Wang Rail, Wei Xiaokuan, or Yang Jian, or Wei Chi Hui, they are all recognized famous generals in the world, and if you pull out a Nan Chen, you have to send a famous person like Wu Mingche to deal with it.

On Nan Chen's side, there are not many famous people like Wu Mingche who have been fighting on the battlefield for many years. After attacking Xiliang ten years ago, Sikong Xu Du died of illness, and Huang Fayan, the general who cooperated with Wu Mingche in the Northern Expedition last year, also died. Although the starry sky of Nanchen is still bright, no one can deny that this starry sky is gradually dimming.

This is also why Chen Ji has such a great interest in Xiao Maha, because Chen Ji, as the emperor of Da Chen, is really aware of the current national conditions of Nan Chen. The current Nan Chen needs a hero who can boost morale and support the entire sky.

Wu Mingche is already old, and Pei Ji is rarely on the battlefield after all, and only a few people such as Xiao Maha and Jingzhou Thorn Shi Fan Yi are left who can really stand up and compete with the famous generals of the Northern Dynasties.

Now that Chen Ji has brought forward the great battle that was a failed battle nine years ago, he naturally has his worries. Nine years ago, the Northern Zhou and Northern Qi fought inextricably, and they could still have the strength to support the Western Liang, so that the Western Liang actually relied on the accumulation of troops in Jinan City to defeat Wu Mingche across the river when even Jiangling was lost.

Now that Nan Chen has changed the direction of his attack, will he repeat the mistakes made nine years ago?

Xiao Maha gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice: "So the last general thinks that now in my Da Chen, the best countermeasure is to aim at Xiliang and wait and see what happens, but if there is an opportunity, he will make a decisive move, and the blow will be fatal, and everything will be on a fast service." ”

"······ at the end of the day" Chen Ji's face was a little hideous, "Or is it a word?!" ”