On the third day of the fourth month, Huaiyuan Town, Liaodong, the headquarters of the Eastern Expedition.

Yu Wenshu and Guo Rong received an urgent report from the Andong Expeditionary Force.

After arriving at Buyeo City on 25 March, Li Pingyuan, the deputy governor of Anton, reported to the headquarters of the Eastern Expeditionary Force on the eastward march of the Anton Expeditionary Force in the name of jointly signing with Li Hun, the deputy commander of the Eastern Expeditionary Force, and informed in detail of the current size of the Anton Expeditionary Force, the planned march route, and the serious shortage of money, food, and weapons.

Based on the current situation, Li Pingyuan and Li Hun estimated that if everything went well and Huaiyuan Town provided a large amount of grain and grass supplies, the Andong Expeditionary Force would not arrive in Huaiyuan until late April at the earliest, and it might not be until early May at the latest.

One is to resolutely obey the edict of the Holy Lord and go south to Huaiyuan to rendezvous according to the predetermined policy, but Anton has already explained its own difficulties clearly, and whether the Anton Expeditionary Force can reach Huaiyuan within the scheduled time is also subject to whether Huaiyuan Town can provide grain and grass in a timely manner, so once the Anton Expeditionary Force fails to arrive in Huaiyuan within the scheduled time, the responsibility is everyone's, and everyone has a share.

For this reason, Li Pingyuan and Li Hun put forward a second suggestion, that the Andong Expeditionary Force should form its own way, attack Pyongyang from the direction of Buyeo City, and form a two-way attack with the main force of the expedition in the direction of Huaiyuan Town.

This suggestion is in line with the High Command's intentions.

For Li Jing, Xue Shixiong and other generals of Weifu, Andong's army is an uncertain variable, this variable seriously affects the results of the Third Eastern Crusade, and seriously affects the vital interests of the Twelve Weifu and their individuals, so they do everything possible to obstruct Andong's army from going south to Huaiyuan to rendezvous, and for Yu Wenshu and Guo Rong, the two main and deputy commanders, they not only need the victory of the Third Eastern Crusade, but also need to borrow a knife to kill, and they need to use the power of Goguryeo to attack and weaken Anton's strength. So they urgently needed Anton's army to charge on the battlefield of the Third Crusade.

Li Pingyuan and Li Hun's second suggestion just met all the needs of the decision-making level of the high command, and it can be said that everyone was very happy.

However, this policy violates the edict of the Holy Lord, once implemented, Li Pingyuan and Li Hun not only resist the decree, but also abuse power, the responsibility is too great, and the merits and demerits cannot be offset, so Li Pingyuan and Li Hun's attitude is very clear, I can meet the wishes of your command, but your command must give me the authorization, let me justifiably attack Pyongyang all the way, otherwise I will continue to implement the predetermined policy, but when I can reach Huaiyuan, it depends on how many military supplies you provide me, after all, my Andong expeditionary force has the scale of more than 200,000 people, Even if you do your best to deliver me food and grass, it will not be enough to satisfy me. Of course, you can also be perfunctory or even disobedient, but in this way, the consequences are far more serious than you think.

Yu Wenshu and Guo Rong read this urgent report, and they were both happy and worried.

Happily, Li Pingyuan fulfilled his promise and led Andong's main army to Buyeo City all the way, entered the Goguryeo battlefield, and reached a tacit understanding with the general headquarters that he would no longer go south to Huaiyuan to rendezvous, so as not to have a fierce conflict with the Weifu side, and was willing to attack Pyongyang all the way.

What worries is whether the Holy Lord and the Central Pivot will agree to the strategy of "water 6 advancing simultaneously and attacking on three fronts" proposed by the Command?

If there was no sudden change in the king of Qi going north to meet Li Pingyuan, if he did not actively save the series of bad consequences caused by this change, the headquarters would not have paid attention to Li Pingyuan's threats at all, if you did not come to Huaiyuan to rendezvous, it would be your guilt, and if you did not participate in the third crusade, it would be your own death, the headquarters represented the holy lord and the center, and it was absolutely impossible to compromise with Anton and make concessions to Li Pingyuan.

Of course, you Li Pingyuan explained your difficulties to the command, expressed your attitude, and tried to excuse yourself for the crime of resisting the will and abusing power, which is okay, but if you want the command to change its decision and authorize you to attack Pyongyang all the way by yourself, this will definitely not work, after all, the goal of the Holy Lord and the center is to eradicate this hidden danger of you, and now that you have finally put a noose on you, how can you show mercy to your subordinates?

However, the king of Qi went north to meet Li Pingyuan, which suddenly changed the situation. The combination of the two forces of King Qi and Li Pingyuan not only endangered the Third Eastern Crusade, but also endangered the security of Middle-earth, so the high command had no choice but to choose the lesser of two evils, and could only compromise with Anton and make concessions to Li Pingyuan.

It's just that will the Holy Lord and the Central Authority agree with the decision of the High Command?

Yuwenshu and Guo Rong were both nervous, although they were quite sure, but the Holy Lord and the Central Authority were bound to be angry with them, and blamed the unfavorable changes in the situation in Liaodong on their improper handling of the King of Qi who went north to meet Li Pingyuan without authorization, and the fact was that they were dumb and ate Coptis chinensis, and they couldn't tell the bitterness, and they were caught between this father and son who were fighting openly and secretly, what could they do? can only knock out teeth and swallow blood, and would rather be injured than provoke right and wrong.

But there is a limit to his injury, and he can't give away his life, so Yu Wenshu urgently summoned Li Jing, Xue Shixiong and Cui Hongsheng to discuss the army. At the critical moment, it is definitely better to share the blame with a few more people than to carry it alone.

Li Jing, Xue Shixiong, and Cui Hongsheng hurriedly came, and after reading Li Pingyuan and Li Hun's urgent report, the three generals of the Weifu looked at each other with solemn expressions.

The Anton expeditionary force numbered more than 200,000 men, a scale far beyond the expectations of the generals. Everyone's first reaction was to make a false report, and Anton used various purposes, such as defrauding grain and grass to carry weight, such as deliberately putting pressure on the high command, etc., in short, this matter is not credible.

However, if this is the case, if the Anton Expeditionary Force does have more than 200,000 men, how much impact will it have on the Third Crusade?

Guo Rong, Li Jing, and Xue Shixiong were all veterans of the Weifu who had been in war for a long time and had been fighting on the border all year round, and their judgment on this matter was authoritative, especially Xue Shixiong, who had also gone to fight in the lower reaches of the weak Luoshui River last winter, and had a considerable degree of understanding of the various species of Donghu and the current situation in the northeast, so they carefully studied the joint letter of Li Pingyuan and Li Hun, and after some careful and detailed analysis and deduction, they finally came to the conclusion that although the possibility of bluffing on this matter was very great, it could not be ruled out that it was genuine.

Li Fengyun, Li Zixiong, Han Shige and others swept Anzhou and Northeast China with lightning speed, and they couldn't do it without strength; Pei Shiju and Li Hun are actively cooperating with Anton, which can also prove that Anton has quite strong strength; Last year, the Xi and Khitan conquered each other and suffered great losses, and if the two tribes wanted to quickly recover their strength and grow stronger, it would be the best convenient and effective way to plunder Goguryeo with the help of the Eastern Expedition of Middle Earth, so the Xi and Khitan had the possibility of pouring out; During Anton's main crusade, Li Fengyun was definitely unwilling to leave the hidden danger of the Turkic Ashina Dar in the northeast, and Ashina Tar was also very afraid of Pei Shiju, so Ashina Tar, whether active or passive, would appear in the Eastern Crusade team; At the beginning of the year, the Flying Fox rebels went north out of the customs and entered Anzhou, dragging more than 100,000 people with their families, and this army did not make an inch of success in the process of capturing Anton, so there was no reason not to participate in the Third Eastern Crusade to consolidate and strengthen its interests in Andong.

In addition, there is more important that the high command may have seriously underestimated the determination of Li Fengyun and Li Zixiong to attack Goguryeo.

"With Anton's existing strength, if the desert does its best to launch a counteroffensive, Li Fengyun and Li Zixiong will definitely not be able to hold it, after all, in order to survive, they must preserve their strength, and it is absolutely impossible to fight with the Turks. Xue Shixiong stroked his long hair and said unhurriedly, "As long as Pyongyang is conquered and plundered, Li Fengyun and Li Zixiong will be able to strengthen themselves by destroying Goguryeo and firmly occupy the initiative. ”

Speaking of this, Xue Shixiong glanced at Yuwenshu, who had a stern expression, and said solemnly, "If our analysis is correct, then Li Pingyuan's promise not to take Pyongyang and not to retreat from Yalu Water can be reasonably explained, the goal of those people has been shifted from Andong to Goguryeo, and they have begun to plot the entire Great Liaodong." ”

As soon as these words came out, everyone was speechless.

It doesn't matter whether Li Pingyuan plotted against Liaodong or not, that is a matter for the future, and the top priority is the victory of the Third Eastern Crusade. It is the destruction of Goguryeo, and if Xue Shixiong's analysis is correct, the situation will be very favorable to the high command.

How many people are there in the expeditionary force in Huaiyuan at present? In addition to more than 100,000 expeditionary soldiers, there are more than 200,000 people, craftsmen, etc., the total number is nearly 400,000, the scale is very large, even if it is a daily station, the cost is very amazing, if the eastern crusade begins, continuous months of fierce fighting, military consumption will increase several times.

However, at present, the domestic situation is very bad, Gyeonggi and other localities are in rebellion, the security of the North-South Grand Canal is not absolutely guaranteed, and even the stability of the Jiangnan is difficult to guarantee, so in this unfavorable situation, the Eastern Expedition Command has not to say that it has the determination and confidence to conquer Pyongyang, and it is difficult to ensure even the food and grass support for the Andong Expeditionary Army.

Now that the high command is unable to ensure the supply of the Andong Expeditionary Force, if Li Pingyuan's requirements are not met, the Andong Expeditionary Force is allowed to attack Pyongyang all the way by itself, and Li Pingyuan is granted all the battlefield command, then under the treacherous situation that the King of Qi has gone north to join him, any unforeseen crisis may explode.

Yu Wenshu pondered for a long time, looked up at Xue Shixiong, and asked, "What Wuyin Gong said just now, can it be understood that even if there is no Holy Lord's edict and our decision, Andong's army will do its best to attack Pyongyang?" ”

Xue Shixiong nodded without thinking, "This possibility is very high, just like last winter when they suddenly went out to attack Anzhou, although it was unexpected, nine deaths, but in hindsight, it is also inevitable, the price of a desperate fight is that they won the greatest benefits." The same is true of the Eastern Crusade, once Andong's army conquered Pyongyang before us and got the greatest credit for the destruction of Goguryeo, then it is conceivable that they not only succeeded in smashing all the conspiracies and tricks against them, but also became the biggest winners of the three-year Eastern Crusade, while our blood and sweat in the past three years made wedding dresses for others, and it was a waste of hard work. ”

This meaning is obvious, the credit of the Wei Mansion cannot be snatched away from Anton, take 10,000 steps back and say, even if Xue Shixiong's speculation unfortunately becomes a reality, it is the correct decision of the Command to take the credit, and the Wei Mansion can still rely on this credit to protect its own interests.

Yu Wenshu looked at Guo Rong, Li Jing and Cui Hongsheng.

Guo, Li, and Cui are very clear about Yuwenshu's thoughts, which is nothing more than pulling everyone to share the responsibility, although they are unwilling, but the matter has come to this, and there is no choice.

Now that the King of Qi has gone north to meet Li Pingyuan, and the Command has also made the policy of "Water 6 Advancing Simultaneously and Attacking on Three Paths", at this moment, it is not meaningful to continue to wait for the Holy Lord to issue an edict agreeing to the decision of the Command, if the Holy Lord is stubborn and has been bent on attacking and weakening Anton, and has not replied for a long time, what should I do? Is it just to let King Qi and Li Pingyuan rush forward on the road out of control?

Li Jing took the lead in expressing his position, immediately replied to Li Pingyuan and Li Hun, agreed that the Andong Expeditionary Force would attack Pyongyang all the way, and granted Li Pingyuan all the battlefield command rights, allowing him to act cheaply and deal with the opportunity before joining the main force in Pyongyang, and make decisive decisions according to the battle situation.

Then Guo Rong and Cui Hongsheng also expressed their support.

Yu Wenshu hesitated for a moment, and said to Xue Shixiong, "What is discussed today is not very detailed, and it is written in detail in the chapter. Then he turned his eyes to Guo Rong, Li Jing and Cui Hongsheng, and said, "You and I jointly signed a report to show the attitude of the Guardian Mansion." ”

Guo, Li, Xue, and Cui agreed.

＝