Shuoquan, Governor's Palace.

When Chu Huan returned to the Governor's Mansion, before his buttocks were hot, Gongsun Chu had already hurried over with a solemn expression, "My lord, something happened to Beishan, Xiao Huanzhang's second son was killed. ”

Chu Huan was stunned and asked, "Who killed it?" ”

"Until now, no one knows the truth." Gongsun Chu said: "It is said that Xiao Jingqian suddenly left Yutian one night, rushed to Yuchang overnight, and was intercepted and killed in the middle of the road. ”

Chu Huan frowned and said, "When did it happen?" ”

"It's been more than twenty days." Gongsun Chu said: "The adults are not in Shuoquan, so in order not to delay the adult's trip, so I did not send anyone to report." Xiao Jingqian has already mourned, but the most serious problem now is that the Beishan Army has moved. ”

"Got a move?" Chu Huanqi said: "What do you mean?" ”

"The Beishan Army has begun to move." Gongsun Chu said solemnly: "Yesterday, I just sent a report from General Xuanyuan's mansion, Beishan has mobilized thousands of soldiers and horses into Danyang, and a large number of supplies are also being transported to Danyang. ”

"Bring me the map!" Chu Huan's face sank.

Soon, a map was placed on the table, this is a map of the northwest, the terrain of the three northwest provinces is included, the mountains and rivers are also relatively clear, and the cities of the three state capitals and counties are also marked on it.

"Here!" Gongsun Chu stretched out his hand and tapped on the map.

Danyang City is a county seat under the jurisdiction of Qingzhou, Beishan, bordering Xiguan.

The border between Xiguan and Beishan does not have any natural hazards, or even checkpoints, Danyang County in Beishan is a county at the forefront of Beishan facing Xiguan, and Xiguan is at the forefront, Qingtang County.

The road between the two county towns is actually less than a hundred miles away, and in the middle is a flat river, far away.

When Chu Huan saw the location of Danyang City, his face suddenly became solemn, and he pondered for a long time before asking, "Lord Gongsun, this news is completely reliable?" ”

"No problem." Gongsun Chu Zhengse said: "This is General Xuanyuan sent someone to report, and it is sealed with red wax." ”

The so-called red wax means that the seal of the letterhead is sealed with red wax, which represents an emergency.

Chu Huan's eyebrows tightened, and he sat down slowly.

"My lord, Xiao Jingqian has just come out of the funeral, Beishan quickly mobilized the army and assembled in Danyang City, and its intention is already very obvious, that is, to come to our Xiguan." Gongsun Chu's expression was grim, "My lord, Xiao Huanzhang has always been a person who doesn't see rabbits and doesn't scatter eagles, he is more than cautious, and he never acts rashly, but this time he is so aggressive, it is very abnormal, and there is only one possibility. ”

"What?"

"If the humble position is right, Xiao Jingqian was killed, this battle, Xiao Huanzhang has already been counted on the head of our Xiguan." Gongsun Chu said in a deep voice: "Xiao Huanzhang must have felt that Xiao Jingqian's death was implicated in our Xiguan, so he wanted to avenge his dead son, so he began to mobilize troops and horses on a large scale...... My lord, the situation is already very serious, how should we deal with it next? ”

Chu Huan didn't speak, just thoughtfully, the corners of his eyes twitching slightly.

After a while, Chu Huan said: "Lord Gongsun, send someone to gather all the officials, especially the Praetorian Guard, to summon Pei Ji and the generals back, you should take a letter of resignation now, send someone to General Xuanyuan, and tell General Xuanyuan to strengthen the garrison of Qingtang, and don't act rashly before the Beishan Army crosses the border." ”

Gongsun Chu nodded immediately.

Before dark, the head of the six divisions, Pei Ji and others arrived at the governor's mansion, and everyone heard that Beishan had transferred troops and horses to Danyang, and they all changed color slightly.

"Beishan transfers?" Pei Ji was also a little stunned, "In this way, Xiao Huanzhang thinks that Xiao Jingqian's death has something to do with our Xiguan?" ”

"It must be so." Gongsun Chu said: "Otherwise, with Xiao Huanzhang's temperament, he would never be so aggressive." ”

"He Xiao Huanzhang wants to fight, let's accompany him." Fat Liu, the commander of the Lin Zi Battalion of the Praetorian Guard, immediately looked like he didn't care.

After Fat Liu and Wang Han moved their family from Yunshan to Shuoquan, they were immediately entrusted with important tasks by Chu Huan, and when they were in Yunshan, they were the generals of the Praetorian Guards of Yunshan Mansion, and they were very familiar with the Praetorian Guards.

It's just that the Praetorian Guards rebuilt in Xiguan, under Pei Ji's training, are very different from other Praetorian Guards, although the source of soldiers is excellence, and the training methods are also extremely harsh, even if the military regulation system, under the control of Situ Liangyu, the prison army, no one dares to offend, and it is extremely strict.

Fat Liu personally felt the strictness of the Xiguan Praetorian Guards in training, although it was not for a long time, he felt that under Pei Ji's training, the combat effectiveness of the Praetorian Guards was extraordinary.

Because of this, he only felt that with this Praetorian Guard trained by Pei Ji, there was no need to fear any enemy.

As soon as Fat Liu's words fell, Xu Shao had already said: "You can't fight!" ”

Fat Liu looked over, frowned, and said, "What's wrong?" Can't we defeat the rabble in Beishan? ”

"It's not a question of what can't be beaten, it's a matter of overall strategy." Xu Shao Zhengse said: "Compared with the troops, the Pingxi Army plus the Praetorian Guard, there are indeed tens of thousands of people, on the card, we do not lose to Beishan, if we only need to compete with Beishan, we can carefully plan and give Beishan a fight, but the truth is not so simple." ”

"What do you mean?"

"If Xiao Huanzhang really wants to devote all his strength to attack my Xiguan, we must transfer all the soldiers and horses to Jiazhou." Xu Shao said slowly: "On the side of Jiazhou, General Xuanyuan led thousands of soldiers and horses to sit in the town, and the troops are definitely not enough, and the soldiers that can be used can only be transferred from Shuoquan." The total strength of our Pingxi Army and Praetorian Guard Army is less than 40,000, and 10,000 of them are still guarding Jinzhou and Hezhou, and even if we do not transfer a single soldier to Jinzhou and Hezhou, the number of troops that can be transferred to Jiazhou is less than 30,000. ”

Everyone nodded slightly.

"Shuoquan has annexed more than 20,000 people, everyone, these 20,000 soldiers and horses, do you think they can be transferred to Jiazhou?" Xu Shao shook his head and said: "Shuoquan is the capital city of Xiguan, according to the location, once Shuoquan is empty, some people who do not have different intentions will also have different hearts." ”

Gongsun Chu nodded and said: "Yes, the bandits in Xiguan have not been cleaned up, and the governor has sent gravity to suppress the bandits, and they have all broken into pieces and hidden, but once they find an opportunity, they may not make a comeback." ”

"Therefore, on Shuoquan's side, there must be no shortage of garrison troops, so that there will be fewer troops that can be mobilized to Koshu." Xu Shao frowned and said: "If you want to ensure the safety of Shuoquan's side, the troops that can be mobilized to Jiazhou in the end can only be about 20,000...... There are tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in Beishan, and if we rush to our Xiguan regardless of everything, the pressure we will face is really not small. ”

"20,000 soldiers and horses, against the Beishan Army, should be enough." Fat Liu said: "The Praetorian Guard was trained by Mr. Pei, needless to say, the soldiers of the Pingxi Army are also experienced in battle, compared to the rabble recruited by the Beishan Army for a short time, the combat effectiveness is much stronger, if you really want to fight, they are not our opponents." ”

Pei Ji said slowly: "Water is not normal, soldiers are impermanent, things on the battlefield are changing rapidly, and you must not have the heart of underestimating the enemy in front of the station." ”

Xu Shao continued: "What I just said is only when we are competing with Beishan, but in fact, we must beware of the other side of Tianshan Mountain. Once we gather our forces in Koshu and fight to the death with the Beishan Army, do you think the Tianshan Army will make no move? Once the Tianshan army makes a move, the first to bear the brunt of the threat is Hezhou, Hezhou is now only a few thousand soldiers and horses, and it is impossible to resist the Tianshan army's ......! ”

Pei Ji bowed slightly, "If you really want to fight, the biggest threat is not Jiazhou, but Hezhou." Commander Xu is right, there is no need to have illusions about Tianshan, with the war in Jiazhou, Tianshan will never let go of such a good opportunity, he will definitely find a good reason to enter Hezhou...... Once that time comes, our Xiguan will inevitably be attacked on both sides, and the situation will be extremely unfavorable. ”

Wei Wuji, the head of the Household Division, finally said at this time: "As soon as the war starts, the implementation of the Juntian Order will definitely be dealt a serious blow...... Once the war starts, the soldiers and horses have not moved, the grain and grass will go first, and the grain that was originally used for cultivation can only be transported to the front line...... And the most serious thing is that once there is a war with Beishan, Qingzhou will be blocked, and our road to Guannai will be cut to death...... We have just received a letter of entry from the imperial court, and we are preparing to sell salt to the customs, once the road is cut to death, the new salt will not be able to enter the customs, and once the war continues, even if we have the money to buy grain, grass and weapons from the customs, but the road is blocked, and the goods cannot be delivered at all. ”

The expressions of everyone present suddenly became solemn.

"Is it possible to send someone to Beishan?" Fan Xuan, the director of the Ministry of Rites, was silent, and finally said at this time: "Governor Chu, Xiao Huanzhang is a governor, and he is an official of the imperial court, how can he use swords and soldiers?" He has no reason to pose a threat to my Xiguan, and he is only afraid that there will be a big misunderstanding, can he send someone to negotiate? ”

"What Master Fan said is reasonable." Han Hai, director of the Ministry of Industry, also said: "Governor Chu, Xiao Huanzhang has always been cautious, and the transfer of troops to Danyang may not really be aimed at our Xiguan. And he should understand that Beishan and Xiguan are not good for each other, but they are cheap for Tianshan...... Beishan also sent a lot of supplies before, looking at their appearance, they want to make friends with our Beishan, and they shouldn't turn their faces when they say they will turn their faces. ”

Gongsun Chu said: "Who to send?" ”

"If Chu Du allows it, he is willing to go in person." Fan Xuan Zhengse said: "I want to ask Xiao Huanzhang, why did he Chen soldiers cross the border twice and three times?" ”

Pei Ji shook his head and said: "Since Xiao Huanzhang is a cautious person, he will not act rashly until the critical time, but now that he has moved, it means that he has been well thought out...... The two tigers compete, Tianshan benefits, this is the simplest truth, Xiao Huanzhang can't not understand, but even so, he still wants to provoke a war, it can only show that he has made a desperate gamble at all costs......! After a pause, he said with a little doubt: "It's just that I can't figure it out, why did Xiao Huanzhang pull Xiao Jingqian's death on our Xiguan's head, does he have conclusive evidence in his hands?" ”