Of course, another reason why Emperor Wen is willing to use him is that Huo Qinglin's sister is Emperor Wen's concubine and has served in the harem for more than twenty years. In terms of intimacy, he is still Emperor Wen's brother-in-law. Without the support of the Taishi Mansion, Huo Qinglin had no choice but to be loyal to the monarch and rely on his sister for maintenance.

Huo Qinglin was attached to the Taishi Mansion back then, and occasionally received some guidance from Mu Yunyou in the way of using soldiers. In fact, Mu Yunyou taught him far less attentively than he did to Su Xiaochen, but Huo Qinglin was very proud, and often regarded himself as the successor of Mu Yun's art of war, and he was also mentioned a lot in the army.

Although Emperor Wen hated the Taishi Mansion, he didn't mind this.

Who would fight the dead against the living? The most important thing is to be able to use it.

After a while, a black-armored and black-robed general stepped into the tent with a picture scroll in his hand.

"It's Qinglin, is there anything important about being so anxious to see me?" When there is no one around, Emperor Wen often calls him by his name to show his closeness.

"The minister really has something important that he wants to report to His Majesty in person."

Emperor Wen stretched out his hand to the side to signal for a seat, but Huo Qinglin walked directly to the sand table in the middle and had no intention of sitting.

"The confrontation between the two sides of the strait has been going on for some time, and now the north wind has frozen both sides of the Hanjiang River, and there is no way to advance or retreat. However, the soldiers are very fast, and the minister wants to ask His Majesty what he plans to do next. ”

Emperor Wen said sullenly: "Qinglin, there are some things you know. The world says that although I have a large army in Cangwu country, but there are no warships, but as early as more than ten years ago, I followed the advice of the left and right Taishi, and lurked some craftsmen and spies on the wharf on the west bank of the Hanjiang River all the year round. I have been hiding this matter from the Bihai Kingdom, I thought that I would be able to take the lead by surprise, but I don't know that this person is not as good as the sky, and these warships of mine are sealed on the shore and cannot be moved at all, you ask me what I plan to do next, but now I can only wait for the day when the ice disappears before making plans. ”

"Your Majesty, the minister is here for this matter today, and I heard that the three clans of Imuran stationed in Taiye City have planned to open to the Hanjiang River, and there are signs of westward expansion. The minister heard that the cavalry of the blood clan was very brave and fast, and it was all flat from the capital of Taiye to Binzhou. If we march in a hurry, I am afraid that the vanguard troops will arrive within five days, and then our army will lose the first opportunity, and the battle will become a stalemate, which is both a pity and a disadvantage. ”

"Qinglin, since you have seen this, what good plan do you have?"

"The minister brought a map."

"Maps?" Emperor Wen was puzzled, "Isn't this sand table in my tent detailed enough?" ”

"Your Majesty's sand table does mark the important points on the battlefield in great detail, but this map of the minister is slightly different."

"Oh? How is it different? Emperor Wen was a little surprised.

"This map of the minister was obtained from the prefect of Jingzhou Mansion, and it is an attached map of Jingzhou Landscape Chronicle."

"Drawings of landscapes?" Emperor Wen was a little strange.

The local landscape chronicles are just records of the customs and customs of various places, and the occasional drawings are only drawings of some famous rivers and strange mountains, which can only be used for reference when people visit the mountains and rivers.

"Exactly, Your Majesty, please see." Huo Qinglin slowly unfolded the map and spread it on the table, and there were nine words written on the side of the map: "Jingzhou Mansion Landscape Chronicles with Map".

"Your Majesty, although this Jingzhou has a wide area, its scenery and landform are different from most of the prefectures and counties in my Cangwu country, which can be described as poor mountains and bad waters, and the terrain is strange. However, it has also created a lot of unique landforms. Take this one, for example. ”

Emperor Wen looked at the place Huo Qinglin pointed to.

"This mountain peak is called Bairenyan, the mountain is not steep, more like a slope, only more than 30 miles away from the southwest bank of the Hanjiang River. The periphery of this hundred rocks is lush and green, and the mountains and forests are dense, but only the mountainside below the hundred rocks is bare, and there is almost no grass. ”

Emperor Wen still didn't understand what he wanted to say, but he didn't want to interrupt him, and quietly listened to him continue.

"There are hundreds of large and small springs below the mountainside, and all the hot spring water that comes out of them makes the surface boiling hot and no grass grows. These springs flow down the hillside and gather at the foot of the mountain to form a pool, known locally as 'Nosebleed Pool'. ”

Emperor Wen knew that Ah Bi meant "Infernal Hell", and frowned at the moment: "How did you choose such a fierce name." ”

"The hot spring water is rusty red, thick as plasma, and looks like a pool of blood from a distance, so it has such a notoriety."

"I can't imagine that at this juncture, you still have the leisure to visit strange mountains and rivers, don't you already have a strange strategy."

Huo Qinglin lowered his eyes and arched his hand: "Your Majesty, the minister does have a strategy. Now the river bank is frozen, and the ice is thick, especially to the north of the wharf, so thick that it can't even be chiseled. But the farther south you go, the thinner the ice becomes, and if the ship can reach the southeast corner of the riverbank, it will be able to make a detour from the mouth of the sea and sail across the Hanjiang River! ”

"I don't know what you're talking about, but now that the warships are frozen on the shore and can't get out, I know that the ice in the southeast corner is thin, and I can't get through, which is my headache." Emperor Wen shook his head.

Suddenly, he seemed to realize something.

"Qinglin, what do you mean by ......?"

"Yes, Your Majesty really thought of it. It was the intention of the minister to dig a channel by the nosebleed pool of Naa to bring a steady stream of hot spring water into the river. The minister had personally ridden his horse to the edge of the pond yesterday, not only the water temperature was hot, but the pool was not small, and the water was enough to melt the ice near the warships on the riverside! ”

"Sure enough!" Emperor Wen slapped the table and couldn't help but praise, "In this way, our army can march freely, and the Imurans are still frozen there." ”

"What the minister thinks is that after the Hanjiang River, he will not take Binzhou on the east bank."

"Oh?"

"Since the Imulans know that our army is arrayed on the west bank, they are bound to have some countermeasures, and the minister wants to take the southwest waterway of the Bihai Kingdom from the south of Binzhou and rush into the capital of Taiye Kingdom, and unknowingly take Nanhua Island first, and then take Luoxiawan! The army of the Imurans is gathered in Binzhou, but our army occupies the capital of Taiye State, which can cut off the supply of the Imurans and disrupt their positions, and secondly, it can become the name of benevolence and righteousness of His Majesty to save the blue sea, and win the hearts and minds of the people of the blue sea country. ”

This time, Emperor Wen did not praise, but lowered his head and pondered.

Huo Qinglin was a little surprised, this was obviously a good plan, why did Emperor Wen nod in agreement before, but now he didn't speak? Isn't there a flaw?

After a long while, Emperor Wen finally asked, "Qinglin, although this plan is wonderful, it is only a little. If you cross the river with a large army to secretly take Nanhua Island, how many men and horses will you have to bring along the way? If all the 100,000 troops are dispatched, if the siege does not take too long, how should the rear supply be dealt with? It must be known that there is also Liu Mingyan in the Southern Xinjiang Governor's Mansion next to the southwest waterway, and her Kuntou ship is still unknown, and her strength cannot be underestimated. ”

"Liu Mingyan's Kuntou ship is indeed very powerful, but the minister will not be in love. As the saying goes, can't you hide if you can't fight? If Liu Mingyan was encountered at sea, Chen's warship would be much smaller than the Kuntou ship, and she would only hide outside the range of the artillery and swim in all directions at the same time, and she would not be able to pursue her with only one ship. ”

"But the border of my Cangwu country on the side of the Hanjiang River has become an empty defense, when the river will freeze away, and the Imuran people will see that the Taiye country has been taken away, in case the cauldron is sunk and crosses the river to take my Wanhua imperial capital, wouldn't it be like entering a no-man's land? Therefore, it is very inappropriate for you to bet 100,000 troops on the way to attack the national capital! ”

Huo Qinglin was speechless for a while.

He has always been offensive and defensive in marching and fighting, as long as the enemy is caught off guard and unable to parry, he naturally does not need to think too much about defense. However, Emperor Wen said that it was indeed the truth, after all, after crossing the river, he was facing the forces on both sides of the Bihai Kingdom and the Imuran Kingdom, which was not the same as the situation of the neighboring small countries that crushed the surrounding Cangwu Kingdom in the past.

"What Your Majesty said is extremely true, the minister feels that if Your Majesty is at ease, the minister is willing to lead 70,000 horses to the south border of Bihai, and the remaining 30,000 will stay in Jingzhou to defend."

Emperor Wen shook his head.

"I can only fight with you at most, and the remaining 50,000 soldiers and horses are of other use!"

"Your Majesty! These 50,000 horsemen are really ......" Huo Qinglin wanted to bargain again, but Emperor Wen stretched out his hand to stop him.

"Fifty thousand is the maximum I can allow you, needless to say. The matter of diverting the hot spring water to melt the ice is your miracle, but you can do it immediately, and I will remember it for you. As for the surprise attack on the national capital, as long as the affairs in the territory are certain, I will immediately send troops to reinforce you, and before that, it will depend on Aiqing's means. I know that Qing has the ability to attack, and you will not disappoint my expectations in this surprise attack! ”

Huo Qinglin had no choice but to bow his head and receive the order.

He thought to himself, what does Emperor Wen mean by domestic affairs? Could there be other variables?

He didn't know that the number of troops left for defense by the Hanjiang River was actually not different from what Emperor Wen estimated, and 30,000 people were enough. However, the other 20,000 people left by Emperor Wen were intended to be used to quell the rebellion in the imperial capital. What he didn't know was that Emperor Wen's current desire to crusade against the party was no less than his desire to take the blue sea.

An army of 100,000 seems to be a lot, but it has to be divided into three battles, among which the disadvantages Emperor Wen understands very well that he is not just concerned about the momentary anger. Now that the Imperial Capital has been flanked by the rebels and the Imurans, the best thing to do is to quickly break through the relatively weak side, resecure the supply lines, and then turn around against the enemy. Therefore, the imperial capital and the border must be guarded against, and the surprise attack is the first opportunity, and it is the most appropriate helpless move to divide the troops into three ways.

Huo Qinglin went out of the tent, and Emperor Wen picked up the attached map of the landscape on the sand table and looked at it carefully for a while.

This Huo Qinglin really has a bit of the true transmission of Muyun's art of war, and can adapt measures to local conditions and come up with a way to divert hot spring water to melt the ice. If he hadn't been entrusted with the task of a surprise attack, he really wanted him to return to the imperial capital to pacify the rebels.

Thinking of this, Emperor Wen called: "Spread my will, from tonight, closely investigate all movements on the south bank of the river, but if there are suspicious ships, they will be seized!" ”

Be careful to sail the ship of ten thousand years.