Section XXXIII

"Having said all this, in fact, the most important thing is to give you a comprehensive understanding of the current situation, even if the two of us become one, the road ahead is still full of thorns, and there is a long way to go." Speaking of this, He Xiaotian turned to the north and said, "Now, let's take a look at the situation in the north. ”

As he spoke, he picked up a few of the dozens of green flags representing Simon from the Kamphiga steppe to show his battle damage. The green flags were moved in the direction of Lanning, indicating that this army had suffered defeat and was retreating in the direction of Lanning. He then moved the small red flag representing the main force of Dongmeng forward, and said, "Do you know what is the main reason for Simon's defeat this time? ”

Wu Mingqi said: "That Yan Da was seriously injured and fell into a coma, and the morale of the whole army plummeted, isn't that so?" ”

"Yes and not quite."

He Xiaotian glanced at Wu Ming, and then said: "The lord of the country was injured and fell into a coma, and the morale of the whole army plummeted, which was certainly an important factor in the defeat. But don't forget, Simon established the country by force, and his military power is only higher than that of Dongmeng. And Simon Youxian Wang Huyan Haiyun Wen Yunwu was even more personally commanding on the front line. If only the lord of the country is injured, at most the whole army will be at a disadvantage, and it will not be easy for Dongmeng to achieve a decisive victory with this. ”

Is that so? Wu Ming's eyes fell on the sand table, and he still couldn't think of a reason for a long time.

He Xiaotian nodded to the east of Ganbiga and said, "Speaking of which, Simon was also defeated by the lack of food and grass. ”

Wu Ming raised his head and said strangely: "Grain and grass? ”

He Xiaotian nodded and said, "Yes, grain and grass." He stared at Wu Ming and said with a smile: "To be honest, Tai Benshu can really speak and grasp people's hearts, and I was almost moved by him." ”

Wu Ming was unnatural by him, and he regretted shaking out Xuanyuan Ling's matter at first. Hurriedly asked, "Father-in-law, what conditions does Dongmeng have?" ”

He Xiaotian drew a circle with his right hand in the grassland south of Lanning and said, "Tai Benshu promised that as long as I don't send troops, I won't provide food and grass assistance to Simon. Once Dongmeng occupies Lanning, this large piece of land will be my He Xiaotian. ”

"What?" Wu Ming was taken aback. Taibenshu actually offered such a high price, which is really a bloody investment. No wonder Governor He is still haunted by it, this is indeed a fragrant bait. If this area is really under the rule of the northwest, this is the work of opening up the territory and expanding the territory, and the He family's forces will further penetrate to the north.

He Xiaotian smiled and said, "How is it, my heart is moved." And the condition he offered was just for me to sit on the sidelines. I almost said yes at first, but when I think about it, it looks tempting, but if I want to actually eat it, I'm afraid I can't do it. ”

Seeing that Wu Ming was still pondering, he continued to pat the place and said, "My He family has been able to crisscross the northwest for nearly a thousand years, relying on the desert, snow, mountains and other complex environments in the northwest. Northern Mongolia had previously tried to occupy this place and then moved south. But they were all beaten by my He family, and they retreated to the grassland in disgrace. Why is that? People's hearts are certainly one thing, in fact, the most important point is that Beimeng is almost all cavalry, and they can be kings on the grassland, but when they really reach the complex terrain of the northwest, they can only eat the dust of my camel camp. Once here, I can drag him to death. But on the other hand, if I enter the grassland, I will only be beaten. So although Taimotoshu's gift is big, my teeth are not good, and I can't eat it. ”

Wu Ming suddenly understood. Even if Tai Benshu allocates this grassland to the He family, what can it do? When Simon is solved, you can take it back for any reason. He Xiaotian's camel rides in the desert, and the desert area may be powerful, but in the grassland of a flat river, why should he compete with the opposing cavalry? But having said that, people always have a sense of luck, and if they really want to negotiate, they can add some rules and regulations to prevent Dongmeng from breaking its promise in the future. Therefore, it is still admirable that Governor Ho can see the essence of the matter and reject it.

He Xiaotian continued: "At such a great cost, Tai Benshu only asked me not to support Simon's grain and grass, which shows that Simon's logistics supply is very problematic. Speaking of this, he took out a letter from his bosom and handed it to Wu Mingdao: "This is a secret letter from King Youxian to me, after reading the content on it, you will be more sure that what I say is true." ”

Wu Ming took the letter and unfolded it, and then took a quick look. The letter paper was very small, probably brought by the pigeons, so there was not a lot of room on it, only a brief introduction to the battle of Xiagan Biga, and then began to make requests. In the letter, Hu Yanhai did not admit defeat, believing that it was just a setback in the battle, and only said that it was a retreat, in order to gather troops and prepare for a head-on attack on the enemy. But at the end of the letter, Hu Yanhai admitted that Simon was short of food and grass and asked the northwest for support.

He Xiaotian looked at the sky with his hands in his hands, and said slowly: "In the letter asking for help, Hu Yanhai did not mention soldiers but only food, which shows that Simon's supply of grain and grass is very tight. However, it is no wonder that although Simon's military strength is strong, most of the pastures in the control of zhì are barren, and the output is not enough, far enough for people to eat and chew. ”

Wu Ming said: "Support grain and grass? But the war in the northwest has just ended, are we still rich in grain and grass? ”

"Naturally." He Xiaotian said: "My He family has been operating in the northwest for thousands of years, and there are many hidden strongholds like Bailing Fort. If you want to transfer some food, you can. ”

Wu Ming bowed and said, "In this case, let my guard battalion be responsible for this grain and grass escort." ”

Hu Yanhai only asked for grain and grass support, and the matter of the shortage of grain and grass was definitely not false, but since he was frank about his weaknesses, he should have nothing to hide in the war. In this way, Simon in Taibenshu's mouth has a lot of water in the collapse of the whole line. It will definitely take some time for them to attack the city of Lanning. Now that it has been decided to send troops to Simon, it is better to send troops sooner rather than later, otherwise the war will spread, and once the connection with the northwest is severed, it will be more difficult to support Simon.

Nazhi He Xiaotian shook his head and said, "Simon wants to support." But their grain and grass holes are too big for anyone to bear if they give them away for free. ”

He turned his head and smiled at Wu Ming: "You need to remember that this is not only as a soldier, but also as a businessman. The first batch of grain we provided free of charge to repay Nayanda for relieving the siege of our northwest. But the subsequent grain and grass need to be exchanged for Simon with war horses and other materials. Anyway, Lanning lacks everything, and this thing is the only one. ”

Simon is now in dire need of grain and grass, and the northwest needs war horses. In doing so, it's a win-win situation. However, the competition between the East and the West and Mongolia has reached a white-hot stage, and this can only relieve the pressure on Simon's side at most, and it is absolutely impossible to turn the tables around. Wu Ming was a little uneasy in his heart, and vaguely felt that this fact was a little strange. He Xiaotian seemed to know what Wu Ming was thinking, and said, "Wu boy, what are you thinking?" ”

"If we really don't send troops, I'm afraid Simon will be defeated sooner or later......"

He Xiaotian sneered, looked out the door, and then lowered his voice and said, "Wu boy, is it really out of sincerity that Yan Da helped me in the northwest?" ”

Seeing that Wu Ming was still pondering, he continued: "With the current situation in the northwest, there are still surplus troops to support them?" The two provinces of Qingting and Nanban are far away, and it is really not suitable for labor expeditions. Besides, the two provinces were initially decided, and you should not deploy troops on a large scale, so as not to make the remnants of the Liao clan feel guilty. Therefore, there are only about 20,000 rich troops now. In the dispute between Mongolia and Mongolia, the main battlefield was in the grassland, and tens of thousands or even tens of thousands of cavalry groups charged at every turn. And the 20,000 troops are mixed in horseback, and if you want to make achievements here, it is tantamount to a fool's dream. ”

Wu Ming stared at him and said, "What does your father-in-law mean?" ”

He Xiaotian's gaze fell on the sand table again, and he sighed for a long time before he said, "As long as Na Yan Da's health improves, then there will be a real chance of victory." Otherwise, no matter how much we do, it will be in vain. That being the case, it is better to go to the army less, so as not to cause misunderstanding on the Lanning side. ”

Indeed, Simon is extremely strong. If Na Yan Da's injury improves, the morale of the army will naturally be greatly shaken, and it will be extremely easy to turn the tide of the battle. And now Simon is going to die, even if he pours the strength of the northwest, it will be difficult to compete with the hundreds of thousands of troops in Dongmeng. Wu Ming pondered for a long time, stared at He Xiaotian and said: "If you don't expect to win anything, you will lose first." If Yan Da really has three longs and two shorts, what will he do? ”

He Xiaotian's eyebrows jumped: "What else?" Gather all your forces and prepare to face the combined invasion of Eastern Mongolia and Northern Han. After a pause, he continued: "So on this expedition, I am also going to ask Doctor Gu to go to Lanning with you to have a look." Those witch doctors on the grassland may be good at doing some things that gods and gods talk about, but when it comes to medical skills, they are far from us Han people. Dr. Gu's medical skills may be of great use. ”

Doctor Gu should be the same Doctor Gu who diagnosed He Yixi's pulse. When Sun Yunni told Wu Ming that He Yi was pregnant, he rarely praised a few words, so Wu Ming also took it to heart.

Na Yanda's injury not only affects everyone's hearts, but also affects the national fortunes of countless large and small countries, and Wu Ming is also a little emotional when he thinks about it.

He Xiaotian said: "I'll start collecting grain and grass tomorrow, you also go back to prepare, select the elite, if you want to set off, it's these days." ”

Wu Ming said: "Okay." Since it is not appropriate to send troops on a large scale, then I will select 5,000 elites from the outer battalion and take charge of this matter with me. ”

He Xiaotian looked at the sky and said, "It's decided, you go back early, and accompany Xiaoyi these days." ”

Wu Ming bowed and said, "Father-in-law, I'll leave first." ”

He Xiaotian let out a "hmm", still staring at the sand table, but ignored him.

When Wu Ming walked out of the chamber, it was already dark, and the sky was full of stars, twinkling and twinkling. The wind blew, and the brilliant Milky Way in the sky seemed to roll up, surging. For example, if the board is still unsettled, it will become a pot of porridge, just like this starry night sky.

He Xiaotian showed a new world on the sand table, which made him feel like he was suddenly opened. But what followed was an indescribable heaviness.

The greater the power and the more things to protect, the more difficult it is to do things according to one's heart. I think that I still introduced Na Yanda as a close friend back then, and treated Xuanyuan Ling as a relative. But now, the calculation has not changed. But what can be done about it?

He smiled wryly and made his way to his lodgings.