Late at night, the chamber was brightly lit. In front of the big sand table, including Qin Shubao, all the soldiers sat around and listened to Qin Mubai's analysis of the situation between the enemy and us, and discussed tactics together.

"According to the detailed reports made by the past few days, within a month and a half, Tubo has increased its troops five times in a row, with the number ranging from 3,000 to 7,000 respectively." Qin Mubai pointed to the area of Qinghai Lake and Dafeichuan and said, "They are all stationed in the throat of Dafeichuan, close to Qinghai Lake, which is convenient for getting water, and the pasture is lush and the horse material is sufficient. The total number of soldiers and horses has reached 60,000. More than all the soldiers and horses under the rule of my Lanzhou Governor's Mansion. ”

At this time, Qin Shubao said: "Obviously, after the defeat of Tubo in Songzhou, he was still angry and did not give up, and wanted to open a breakthrough from Lanzhou, intending to attack Helong and completely annex Guhun. In the past six months, the development and growth of Lanzhou must have made them very jealous and panicked, and they will not allow us to continue to sit big. War is imminent. Even if we don't attack, the Tibetans will definitely attack. ”

"What the Governor says is true." Xue Wanjun's voice was still a little weak, and he said, "Traditionally, late spring and early summer is a good time for the Tubo people to leave the plateau and plunder the counties of Datang Prefecture. They are not yet equal to the Turkic tribes that preceded them. The Turks generally only raided after autumn, because at that time we had harvested grain and the cattle and sheep were fattened. The Tibetans were even more barbaric than the Turks, and they preferred to destroy and exterminate. The end of spring and the beginning of summer is the critical time when the Central Plains agriculture is busy, and they prefer to invade at this time, the purpose is to destroy our farming and pasture. The plateau transportation is not convenient, and they can't take much of it. As a result, destruction became the thing they were most willing to do. At present, Tibet is constantly increasing its troops, and it is time to start a war according to past habits. In addition, they suffered a big defeat in Songzhou recently, and they were also severely repaired by the major general in Shanzhou before, can they take revenge? ”

When everyone heard Xue Wanjun's words, they all understood. He deliberately emphasized the matter of "the young general repairing the Tubo people in Shancheng", obviously intentionally showing goodwill to the Qin family's father and son, and he did not hesitate to mention the trouble. This also made him show some of his mind.

Qin Mubai nodded and smiled at him kindly, and said, "What General Xue said is true. Since the Tibetans will come to intrude, it is better for us to take the initiative to attack. Offense is the best defense. ”

"But our troops are already inferior to Tibet, and now we are still scattered in three places, and there are less than 20,000 people on the front line of Shancheng, how to use troops?" Some generals raised doubts.

"There are not many soldiers, but refinement. As long as you use the method properly, it is not difficult to win more with less. Qin Mubai said, "This time, we not only have to take the initiative to block the disaster of the war in Lanzhou and Dafeichuan, but also pull out this poisonous fang embedded in our body - drive the Tubo people out of Dafeichuan!" ”

"Huh?" Everyone couldn't help but be taken aback, "It's unlikely!" ”

Xue Wanche immediately raised an objection: "Major General, our army is outnumbered and the enemy is numerous, if it is said that the field battle is strong against the enemy for a while, this general has confidence. If you want to defend the city step by step, it is not a problem. However, it is not the last general who will destroy his prestige, and the soldiers of Tibet are never bad! ”

"Indeed." Xue Wanjun took over and said, "The governor is here, presumably you are also well aware of the combat power of Tubo. Historically, if we talk about equal confrontation, it would be good if our cavalry could be on an equal footing with the Tibetan cavalry; If the two armies face each other head-on, our cavalry is generally used to sweep the formation, and most of them still use the Modao infantry formation to fight against it. If you fight like this, you will not dare to say that you have an absolute chance of winning without twice as many enemies. Today, there are 60,000 iron horsemen in Tibet, most of whom are elite soldiers. They were defeated twice, and they were furious and eager for revenge, and they erupted with terrifying strength. The total of our army is only 50,000, how can we gather and annihilate or expel these 60,000 troops and occupy Dafeichuan? ”

"The two generals are worthy of being battlefield generals, with rich experience and a good understanding of the enemy and me." Qin Mubai smiled, he wanted to ridicule the fact that when he pacified Tuyuhun a few years ago, he was also so cowardly, but he thought about it and saved him some face, but said, "But the two generals also said that such a comparison of combat power is under the general situation of equal combat." Obviously, there is no need for us to stumble with it. Isn't the art of war used to deal with the war in front of you? ”

"San Lang, don't sell off, talk about your tactics." Qin Shubao said.

"Yes, Father." Qin Mubai took a stick and pointed to the terrain of Dafeichuan and said, "Everyone, please see, the terrain around Dafeichuan leading to Shancheng has many plains and grasslands, and the Tubo cavalry has an advantage, so we can't fight head-on with it unless we have to, it's not cost-effective." We must find a way to limit their cavalry shock superiority. My idea is that the ambush on all sides, the suspicious tactics of the soldiers, make the Tubo people hesitate and obediently retreat back to Dafeichuan to stick to the camp! ”

"Ambush on all sides, suspicious tactics?" The crowd roared together.

"Not bad!" Qin Mubai said, "Although the terrain is flat, there are hills on both sides of a flat avenue, and we can ambush our troops. I plan to let Xue Rengui lead a brigade of elite iron cavalry to challenge the Tubo people at the forefront, and lay an ambush for us to pay the bill. The ten-way ambush soldiers did not use cavalry and infantry, and lay in the hidden places on both sides of the hills from Dafeichuan to Shancheng. There are more strong bows and crossbows, wooden cannon stones and fire-burning grass. When our army is ready, we will release a letter cannon to Xue Rengui in front of him, so that he can return from defeat. When the Tibetan pursuers arrived, our army neither attacked nor released arrows, but only beat drums and thought that they were suspicious, and the Tibetans would inevitably retreat in horror. ”

"Just scared off? Why not ambush? The generals questioned.

"Our army is outnumbered, and the Tibetans are very numerous. The terrain around the Dafei River lacks grass and trees, the hills are not high, the fire attack is not favorable, and the ambush is not strong, so it is impossible to carry out a devastating blow to the enemy. Moreover, as long as the war is unfavorable here, the nearby Tibetan army will pour out to rescue. This short distance is really nothing for their cavalry impact. When the time comes, we will be passive. Qin Mubai said, "So, we can only scare them off first." Then, let Xue Rengui challenge, if Tubo does not come out, it is best; If it comes out, it will be defeated again and scared back again. If they see through our frightening tactics and continue to chase and fight, there will be ten ambushes and ten scares along the way, who can withstand it? Moreover, I will send another elite soldier to meet Xue Rengui at the end of the ambush in case of accidents. ”

"What if the Tibetans are angry and go to kill the ambushes on both sides?" The congregation will continue to be questioning.

"Didn't we have a strong bow, a crossbow, a wooden cannon stone, and so on? It's not enough to deal a devastating blow to it, but it's definitely more than enough to protect itself. And as long as they dare to take risks, Xue Rengui can wave his army to cover up and come back. At that time, it will be difficult to take care of the beginning and the end, can the Tubo people really fly into the sky and become immortals? Qin Mubai said.

The generals couldn't help but laugh, and Qin Shubao said: "It is impossible for the Tubo people to attack our army's ambush. They were cavalry, and attacking from the bottom of the slope to the top of the slope was a no-no, and they would never do that. Moreover, they do not know how many people are ambushed in the mountains. Unless the Tibetan general is crazy, he will not do such a thing. ”

"What the Governor said is very true! In this way, the arrangement of the major general is really exquisite. All the generals nodded in praise.

"Ambushed on all sides, scared back several times, I don't believe that the Tubo people are still so stupid, they will be killed again and again." Qin Mubai said, "At this time, it is time for the decisive battle. We blocked the narrow throat of Dafeichuan, quickly built fortifications such as camps and arrow towers, gave full play to the advantages of our infantry and crossbowmen, turned the attack to defend its throat, and first limited the battlefield to Dafeichuan - this is the art of war, choking its throat and making it impossible to enter. In this way, it will be easier for our army to first stand undefeated and grasp the initiative, and then use tactics. ”

"What's next?" The generals all asked curiously.

Qin Mubai smiled slightly, but his smile was a little mysterious: "When the time comes, I will adapt measures to local conditions, and naturally I will have a clever plan to defeat the enemy." Tell the Tubo army, lose the armor and scatter, and the remnants of the defeated soldiers obediently roll back to the plateau! ”

The generals were stunned, but it was not good to ask any more. For a long time, such a key military deployment is a high-end military secret, and it is reasonable that the chief general does not explain it to the deputy general in advance.

"How many people do you have to use?" Xue Wanjun asked.

"Ambush on all sides, more than 10,000 people. Xue Renguiyi's Mansion rode 2,000 fine horses, and the 10,000 people who responded were 3,000 fine horses. At most, thousands of handymen and reservists will be used. A total of 20,000 soldiers and horses is enough! Qin Mubai smiled, "No more, no less, it just happens to be the total number of soldiers and horses on the front line of Shancheng plus Yifu." ”

"Plus the miscellaneous fire head and backup, a total of 20,000?" The generals all looked at each other, obviously unable to believe it.

Even Qin Shubao had to question: "San Lang, if you want to choke him by the throat and make him unable to enter, 20,000 people, I believe it can indeed be done." However, if the 60,000-strong army of Tibet were to be driven out and recaptured from the camp, would this be unlikely? ”

"It will work." Qin Mubai nodded very affirmatively, "Father, please believe me!" ”

The faces of the generals became serious together, looking at Qin Mubai, and then at Qin Shubao, waiting for the father and son to make a decision.

"It seems that you are the only one to command this battle? San Lang, you will be in command temporarily and attack Dafeichuan, right? Qin Shubao said.

"No, Father. It will only talk about troops on paper, command such a big battle, and dispatch troops to dispatch generals on the spot, and it is not available to non-generals. Let's let General Xue Wanjun take command! Qin Mubai said.

"What?" Everyone was taken aback, and Xue Wanjun was even more panicked, and hurriedly hugged his fists and said, "Major General, the general of Xue's defeated army ......"

Qin Mubai waved his hand to interrupt his words, and said with a smile: "It is precisely because he is the general of the defeated army that he is ashamed and brave." General Xue, with your talents, you will definitely do it. Qin Mouwei was only a general in Zuo Weiwei, and he could not command the whole army. You are from the third rank of the general, it is appropriate for you to command. The father is the lord of Lanzhou, and he has to stay in the governor's mansion to command the overall situation. Therefore, the candidate for the commander of this battle is none other than you. ”

Xue Wanjun ...... Thanks to Major General! Xue Wanjun stood up excitedly and bowed to Qin Mubai.

Clear-eyed people can see that Qin Mubai intends to take care of Xue Wanjun at this time. His strategies and tactics have been explained very clearly, and there is nothing very complicated in their implementation. As long as there are no major mistakes in execution, we can make our army invincible - this is already a great achievement!

As for how to achieve a decisive victory in the end, Qin Mubai said that he "has his own clever plan", can he not dedicate it to Xue Wanjun when the time comes? This is clearly taking care of him nakedly!

"Why did General Xue say this? We are all ministers in the same hall and generals in the same army, but we want to contribute to the country together, what is the word of thanks? Qin Mubai returned the salute with a smile and said, "Father, General Xue Wanjun has never recovered from his serious injuries, so it is better to make General Xue Wanche his deputy." The plan of 100,000 ambushes is enough to use the troops of Shancheng. The last general, together with Xue Rengui, Yuwen Hongtai and other generals, led the elite cavalry of Yifu to help. At that time, we will try to ensure that the Tubo soldiers do not reach the city of Shancheng, and sooner or later, they will be able to take the Dafeichuan! ”

Qin Shubao stood up, his sword eyebrows slightly locked, stroked his long hair, and said solemnly: "Then old man, just sit back and wait for your good news!" ”

All the generals stood up together, and at the same time clenched their fists and said in a deep voice: "Please rest assured!" ”

Late at night, the father and son still fell asleep. Qin Shubao hesitated in his heart and couldn't sleep, so he simply got up and lit the lamp, and woke Qin Mubai up.

"Why doesn't Dad go to bed early?"

"San Lang, it's not that I don't believe you, I'm still uneasy in my heart." Qin Shubao said, "If I had gone out in person, I wouldn't have been so worried. You say you'...... When you ride with 20,000 steps, but only 5,000 fine steps, can you really defeat the 60,000 Tubo elite iron horses and take Dafeichuan? ”

"Dad, if I wasn't afraid of scaring you and Xue Wanjun and the others, I would still be ready to use only 10,000 people!" Qin Mubai said half-jokingly and half-seriously, "You can sleep in peace, sooner or later, you will receive good news in the Governor's Mansion!" ”

"Stinky boy, sell it with your father? Say, what's the plan?! Qin Shubao was a little angry.

"Hehe, you'll know tomorrow, go to sleep first, sleep first!!"