At the same time that the battle outside Ningyang was about to begin, there was a small military meeting being held in the Chahan Mansion in Linfen. There were not many people who participated, just a few people such as Li Chahan, Wang Baobao, Sun Zhu, and Li Weixin. They did not yet know that Haidong had launched a surprise attack on Jining Road, and the focus of the discussion was still on Polo Timur in Datong.

Although the battle between Chahan and Polo on Jining Road has been going on for several days, just as two heavyweight fighters will always cautiously test each other to find each other's weaknesses more before the fight officially begins, the same is true for their two strong armies. Since the beginning of the war, except for a few contacts, most of the time, the two armies have mainly maintained a posture of confrontation.

On the surface, this situation is favorable to Richard. Because, at least so far, Polo Timur was still on the attacking side, and Richardhan was on the defensive side. On the side of the defenders, it is of course best for the enemy not to move. When the Polo Timur guest army fought, logistics, baggage, grain, military salaries, and other things needed to be transported and supplied from the rear, and the long journey was very expensive. He was stationed outside Jining Road with thousands of men, and if he didn't move for a long time, he would naturally be paid for his labor, and secondly, it would be bad for morale.

It's just that, although it is beneficial to Richard on the surface, Richard Han does not have much joy at this time.

Why? His enemy was not only Polo Timur. For him, it was not his intention to fight Polo Timur, and the reason why he started a war with Polo Timur was that his fundamental purpose was to benefit the capital. If he doesn't defeat Polo for a day, he won't be able to free up his hands and go all out to capture Yidu.

Therefore, he felt a deep headache about the posture of Polo Timur who was now stationed outside the city, defending without fighting.

"What does this Polo Timur mean? 5,000 men have been stationed outside our Jining Road, and they have been here for more than ten days, but they are only busy digging ditches and building fortifications every day, but they just refuse to engage our army. Handsome, how to ponder the humble position, how do you think that there must be a mystery in it! "The speaker is Li Weixin. I saw him frowning, twisting his beard with two fingers, and walking around the room, looking puzzled.

Sun Zhu said: "Yes, it is indeed strange! Thinking that Polo Timur came with great vigor, beating gongs and drums, I thought he wanted to fight, but unexpectedly, he was stationed fifty miles outside the city. Logically speaking, he is a guest army, and his Datong does not have much grain reserves, so it should be decided quickly. But he stopped outside the city and didn't move forward! ......, Dashuai, this matter is very suspicious. ”

Li Chahan sat cross-legged on the Hu bed, his eyes slightly closed, as if he was listening to Sun Zhu and Li Weixin, but he didn't seem to be listening. After a moment, he opened his eyes and held out his hand. Wang Baobao handed over the tea on the table, he took it, took a sip gently, not in a hurry or slowly, and said, "What about the two gentlemen?" May I ask you two, what kind of mystery do you think Polo Timur's move contains? ”

Sun Zhu said: "Judging from the humble position, Polo's purpose may be twofold. ”

"Oh?"

"One, maybe he knew that the marshal had received a secret decree from the crown prince, so he stopped moving. The ears and eyes of the marshal arranged in Dadu, didn't there be a report a few days ago, saying that he seemed to have seen the messenger of Polo Timur in the city? Perhaps, he sent someone to ask to see the emperor. If you want to compete with the crown prince, you have to be the emperor. ”

"You mean to say?"

"So the Polo garrison is not moving forward, waiting for the emperor's secret decree."

Richard nodded and said, "This is one of them. You say he has two purposes, but what about the other? ”

Second, perhaps he wasn't well prepared. Therefore, I only dug ditches and fortifications outside our city, and purely defensively. Its purpose was nothing more than to wait for the arrival of subsequent reinforcements. The marshal placed it in the same place, and there have been many urgent reports in the past few days, saying that Polo is deploying troops in the rear, and looking at his posture, it seems that he intends to send the capital to Jining. ”

The two reasons put forward by Sun Zhu are both reasonable.

5,000 people attacked Jining Road, it would definitely be difficult to fight, and Li Chahan had the secret support of the crown prince of Mengyuan. In order to win this battle more steadily, Polo Timur had to be tough on both hands. One hand, yes, also from the majority of the support; On the other hand, to reinforce the besieging army.

Li Chahan was noncommittal, took another sip of tea, asked Li Weixin, and said, "What is Sir's opinion?" ”

Li Weixin is a very talented person, and she has always been deeply relied on by Chahan. He was not in a hurry to reply, but paced to the map hanging on the wall, stared at it for a long time, and then turned around and said, "What Mr. Sun said is very true. It is very likely that Polo Timur's garrison did not advance because of these two reasons. It's just that, in addition to these two points, there is another speculation about the lowly position,......。 ”

"What speculation?"

"It's just an idea of humility, and it's not mature. Maybe that's not right. ”

"Please sir, just tell me."

"I don't know if the marshal still remembers, a few days ago, Polo sent a military horse out of Datong to the west."

Richard Han remained silent and said, "The old man remembers. ”

"Polo's military horses that went west of the city, according to the detailed report, are also about 5,000 people. So far, they have been out of the city for seven or eight days, but there is no news or whereabouts. Dashuai has laid more than a dozen sentry posts along the road from Datong to Jining, covering avenues, paths, and even mountains and forests, and ferries, but he has never been able to find their traces, as if they have suddenly evaporated. ......, from the humble point of view, this military horse may be the fundamental reason why Polo did not move. ”

"What do you mean by that?"

"Whoever uses soldiers, with the right and the odd. Although Polo was lucky enough to gain a foothold in Datong thanks to his father's prestige, in the end, he also came out of the fighting array, and he should not be underestimated. Looking at the Polo military horses outside Jining Road today, it turned out to be completely defense-oriented. Is there any one who attacks the country of his enemy, and takes precautions first? I thought that it was very likely that the Polo army outside Jining Road was not only waiting for the holy decree of Dadu, nor waiting for follow-up reinforcements, but they were also waiting for these 5,000 men and horses to go out of the west of the city! ”

"Can you elaborate more, sir?"

"Jining Road is a place that Polo has coveted for a long time. He has long coveted this place, and has sent fierce generals and colonels to compete with our army many times. Although, firstly, because of the commander's command, and secondly, because of the courage of our army, he did not take advantage of it once. However, he has sent troops many times, and he is also very familiar with the terrain and situation of Jining Road. 'Know yourself and know your enemy. Since he can't win on the frontal battlefield, will he be handsome, will he highlight the tricks? ”

"Sir is saying that the real intention of the Polo Timur garrison is actually to want this 'garrison' to attract the attention of our army, and then take advantage of my unpreparedness to highlight the strange army and use the trick to take me Jining?"

"Exactly."

Sun Zhu shook his head, disapproving, and said: "Mr. Li Shicai also said that the handsome man has already been on the main road from Datong to Jining, full of fine work and sentry posts. So far, the 5,000 men of Polo have not appeared. With such a tight defense and vigilance of our army, how can he 'stand out the trick'? ”

"Dashuai, please look at the map."

Tsahan got up and walked to the map. Li Weixin pointed and said: "Between Datong and Jining Road, there are many mountains, especially the Wutai Mountain in the east is the most rugged and difficult to walk. Wutai Mountain is continuous and covers an extremely wide area. After crossing Wutai Mountain, even if it is to my Jining Road. Marshal, although our army has a lot of fine work and sentry posts along the line from Datong to Jining, there are not many eyes and ears in Wutai Mountain! What if Polo Timur sent an army, walked the Wutai Mountain, and suddenly appeared on the flank of my Jining Road? ”

"Take Wutai Mountain?"

Wang Baobao interjected and said: "However, Wutai Mountain is in the east, and Polo's army and horses are going out of the city to the west. ”

"Even though they go out of the city to the west, they don't necessarily go west." The sound of the east striking the west', so it is also common to set up suspicious arrays. ”

Li Weixin paused for a moment, and then said: "If you make such a bold assumption, suppose that Polo's military horse that went out of the city to the west actually detoured to the east and sneaked into the Wutai Mountains. In this way, it can be explained why there has been no news of them in the meticulous work and sentry posts of our army. Moreover, it can also explain why this army has disappeared for seven or eight days in a row. After all, it is still very difficult to walk on the mountain road! It can also explain why the 5,000 men and horses outside my Jining Road are still standing still! ”

Seems like a correct inference. As a result, all aspects of the suspicion have been resolved. But Richard was silent. Wang Baobao said: "Father? ”

Mr. Lee's assumption is quite reasonable. In Mr. Nayi's opinion, if Polo is really like this, how should our army respond? ”

"Wutai Mountain is very big, and there are many roads out of the mountain. It is obviously impossible for our army to block them in the mountains. If you want to deal with it, there are two strategies: upper and lower. ”

"What's the best policy?"

"The best strategist, our army pretends not to know about this. There is no need to rush to a decisive battle with the Polo army on the frontline battlefield on the Jining Road, as before, they do not move, and our army does not move. Another army was sent to copy the small road to the area of Mengzhou and ambush left and right. Mengzhou is the only place to pass from Wutai Mountain to my Jining Road. Just waiting for the 5,000 people of Polo to pass by, our army suddenly attacked and made a dumpling for him! Fight a war of annihilation. As long as these 5,000 people are destroyed, the 5,000 people who do not move will be a problem. ”

"Sir, this plan is to send reinforcements?"

"Not bad!"

"What a plan. There has always been only a 'siege of the city', but Mr. did the opposite. Wonderful, wonderful. Li Chahan's unintentional sentence happened to be about the battle outside Ningyang City on Jining Road. Haidong's attack on Ningyang is a standard siege sent by the attacking side. However, Li Weixin's plan was to take the initiative from the defending side to attack and travel a long distance to fight the enemy's reinforcements.

Wang Baobao asked, "I don't know what Mr.'s strategy is?" ”

"The 5,000 men of Polo do not know when. The next step of the humble position was not to wait for his 5,000 men, and directly launched an offensive against the 5,000 people outside the garrison Jining Road. As long as these 5,000 people can be defeated quickly, even if the other 5,000 people of Polo pass through Wutai Mountain and appear on the flank of my Jining, they will definitely be useless. ”

"The difference between this plan and the Fang Cai strategy is only in which way to hit first. Why does the gentleman call this the next policy? And call it the right talent that is the best policy? ”

Li Weixin smiled slightly, talked eloquently, and said: "The reason is very simple. The best policymaker is our army, and the initiative is 100% in the hands of our army. And this plan, although it seems that the initiative is also in the hands of our army, but because the 5,000 Polo military horses outside the Jining Road have been digging ditches and building fortifications for several days, the defensive momentum has been achieved. Our army rashly launched an offensive, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to achieve a quick victory. If a quick victory is not possible, and the other 5,000 Polo men arrive in time, the situation on the battlefield will easily become protracted and stalemate. Therefore, compared to the best policy, this plan can only be the next policy. ”

"That's right. Is the gentleman inclined to adopt the best policy? ”

Li Weixin slowly bowed her head and said, "That's right. ”

The room was quiet. Richard looked at the map and was silent. Everyone exchanged glances, and Sun Zhu asked, "I don't know what the big handsome wants?" ”

Li Chahan did not answer him, but after looking at Datong, Wutai Mountain, Jinji and other places for a long time, he turned his eyes to Dadu, nodded twice on it, sighed, and said: "The life of the emperor and the crown prince is not easy!" Everyone looked at each other, and they didn't know why he suddenly sighed.

Wang Baobao's mind turned quickly, and he said: "Father, I suddenly sighed, but because I remembered the conditions proposed by the crown prince? ”

He went to Dadu to form an alliance with the crown prince of Mengyuan, and it was impossible to only get benefits and not pay. Crown Prince Meng Yuan put forward three conditions at that time. One is that after defeating Polo, he hoped that Chakhan Timur could personally lead his army and horses to Dadu to support the crown prince and force Emperor Yuan to concede.

First and foremost, this has to do with politics. Secondly, it is related to food.

Deng She has gained a firm foothold in Yidu, and his sailors patrol back and forth in Bohai Bay. Zhang Shicheng used this as an excuse to refuse to send grain to Dadu by sea. If you don't take the sea route, you can only take the land route. There are two troubles with transporting grain by land. First, it is difficult to transport on a large scale; Second, even if it is a small-scale transportation, there are many thieves along the way, and it is difficult to ensure safety. Therefore, the crown prince of Mengyuan asked Chahan to ensure the safety of land transportation while fighting Polo. - If Zhang Shicheng transported grain by land, most of the routes would be under the control of Chahan.

Third, it is related to food.

Although it is said that the envoy of Dadu has already gone to Songjiang Mansion, it may not be too difficult to persuade Zhang Shicheng to transport grain by land, but far water cannot quench his thirst. In March and April, when the harvest is not in place. Last year, Zhang Shicheng sent 110,000 stone of grain to Dadu at this time, and after a year of consumption, it was about to run out. In the capital, there is once again the danger of food shortage. The crown prince of Mengyuan asked Li Chahan and ordered him to transport a part of the grain from Jin Ji and send it to Dadu. Moreover, he also demanded that this part of the grain should not be handed over directly to the imperial court, but to be controlled by Wei Sijian and Pu Buhua.

Richardan said: "Most of them are short of food. Although the crown prince only asked the old man to guard the land transportation route and transport some grain to Dadu first, needless to say, you must be able to guess that what the crown prince wants the most, I am afraid that it is still the same as our army, hoping that our army can quickly defeat Polo, sweep away the worries, and then the army will go east and capture Yidu! ”

Li Weixin said: "What the marshal said is very true. If the thief is not eliminated for a day, most of my capital will not be stable for a day. ”

"Therefore, although the best strategy of the gentleman is good, it is difficult to ask our army to sit and wait. When will the 5,000 men of Polo arrive? Even the gentleman's heart is not counted. If our army waits for a long time, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in the capital will definitely be very dissatisfied. ”

"Dashuai is decided?"

"Choose Mr.'s decision!" Richard made his choice. The people in the room were the closest people around him, and they knew him very well. Hearing his decision, everyone glanced at each other, and they all came up with the same idea, all of them thought: "The handsome man has always been steady, and those who can win by skill will never fight hard." Just because he was afraid of the rank of the crown prince, he gave up the best strategy and chose the lower policy instead, which is definitely not the style of the handsome. ”

Sun Zhu thought, "There must be another reason. Li Weixin's eyes rolled, and she made a guess, thinking, "Maybe you don't want to wait for Polo to also get the secret decree from Dadu?" Wang Baobao followed Richard's line of sight, looked at the map, and asked, "Since my father has decided to choose the next strategy, when will I use the army?" ”

"Pass the old man's military order, tomorrow and night, make the first counterattack!"