"Report ——, Yang Xingtai, the protector of Liaodong, Xue Wei, the governor of Yinshan, and Chai Jingbin, the head of the march of Hebei Province, ask to see him."

Hearing that the military general was waiting outside to meet him, Xiahou Ning Han looked at Master Hui Dian and said softly: "Your Highness has military affairs to deal with, so Ning Han and Master will retire first." ”

Li Bing hurriedly waved his hand and said, "It's okay." Master Huidian and the sect master are not outsiders, so you can stay and listen to it together, so that you can give ideas to the palace. ”

While he was talking, the three generals of the Holy Tang Army walked into the room and saluted the prince at the same time.

Liaodong Metropolitan Protectorate, together with Zhenjiang Metropolitan Protectorate, Lingnan Metropolitan Protectorate, and known as the three major metropolitan protectorates of the Shengtang Dynasty, are mainly responsible for defending the northern frontier of the imperial dynasty and resisting the various ethnic tribes on the grassland. Their scale is not as large as the original Zhenjiang Protectorate, and the main force is only more than 50,000 soldiers and horses, but all of them are all cavalry, and they have been competing with the Hu people for a long time, and their combat power is strong.

The Yinshan Governor's Mansion has fewer troops in comparison, but they are similar to the Liaodong Governor's Mansion, and they are also to prevent the rebellion of the grassland peoples in the north, so they have a lot of combat experience.

Compared with the two of them, the soldiers of Hebei Province seem a little ordinary. The advantage of the government soldiers is that they have a large number of people, and they are also the core force that constitutes the prince's army, so they are quite valued by Li Bing.

After the three generals finished their salutes, Yang Xingtai, the chief protector of Liaodong, said: "Your Highness, today's ministers and the other three people are here to report to His Highness the situation of the great military war, and to ask for instructions on the next step. ”

Li Bing nodded slightly, and solemnly responded: "The generals have worked hard. Please tell us about any new developments. ”

Yang Xingtai complied with the order and briefed Li Bing on various matters concerning the assembly, placement, and training of the troops, while Xue Wei occasionally added a few words on the side.

Chai Jingbin, the military governor of Hebei Province, as the host, mainly focused on the preparation of military supplies and grain, grass and weapons.

Li Bing listened very carefully, asked some questions from time to time, and did not let go of the tiny details in the reports of the three people, and repeatedly verified them to the bottom of the matter.

After more than an hour, Yang Xingtai and the others finally finished speaking, Li Bing thought about it, and finally asked, "What suggestions do you have for the next action?" ”

Yang Xingtai replied loudly: "Your Highness, the minister has already discussed it with Xue Dudu and General Chai before. The ministers and others believed that our army should take advantage of this favorable situation and first move its army to Xiangzhou and seize several strategic bases on the south bank of the Great River as a springboard for advancing into the hinterland of the Central Plains. After that, we divided our troops into two routes, all the way along the line of Guanzhou, Xingyang, Chenliu and Bianzhou, so that we could go straight to the Tiger Pass, retreat to hold the main grain-producing areas of the Central Plains, and at the same time cut off the retreat of the traitor Xie Guang, and prevent him from escaping back to the Yanzhou base camp when he saw that the situation was not good. ”

Xue Wei continued: "On the other hand, go south along the Tongji Canal and attack the anti-king Li Kui who is entrenched in Huaiyang. According to the spies, the rebel army assembled by Li Kui is close to 100,000 and should be dealt with as soon as possible. After we have completely pacified the Huaiyang rebels, we will be able to open the road to the south of the Yangtze River, so that our army can receive material support from the rich areas and become stronger. At that time, we will return to the west and destroy Xie Guang and his Xuanjia Army in one fell swoop! ”

Li Bing thought seriously for a moment and asked, "If Emperor Brother Huaiyang does not intend to confront us head-on, but chooses to lead his troops into Jiangnan, then do we want to pursue him?" ”

Yang Xingtai replied: "The situation that His Highness said has also been considered by the ministers. If Li Kui avoids our edge, directly abandons his lair, retreats to the southeast, and then occupies the capitals of the southern states in the south of the Yangtze River, then we can only continue to pursue, so as not to give him a big chance. ”

"If this is the case, then the distance between our two armies will inevitably be widened," Li Bing frowned and muttered: "If you do this, will it be cheaper for Xie Guang, and take the initiative to attack while our two forces are scattered?" ”

Chai Jingbin nodded and said, "Your Highness is wise." There is indeed this risk in the two-way division of troops. Our army started from Hebei, all the way to the southwest, all the way to the southeast, gradually advancing, gradually moving away. If the two armies are not far apart, they can fight each other; But if one of them goes all the way to Jiangnan, then the troops who stay in the Central Plains will have to face the main force of the Xuanjia Army alone. ”

Yang Xingtai arched his hand and said loudly: "Your Highness, the minister has confidence and leads the Liaodong soldiers to make every effort to block Xie Guang's eastward advance!" Until Xue Dudu destroyed the King of Huaiyang and returned to the Central Plains to join us! ”

Li Bingxian nodded with satisfaction, and then turned to ask Shen Lie, "What kind of relationship do the Turks have with Xie Guang now?" ”

Shen Lie replied: "According to reliable intelligence, the relationship between the Turks and Xie Guang has gradually changed from the original state of hypocrisy and detached appearance to a situation where they can tear their faces at any time. If it weren't for Lao Jianhua's desperate mediation in the middle, I'm afraid Helian Xiong would have already been on the way to Luoyi. ”

"Are the Turks waiting for something?" Li Bing suddenly asked curiously.

"Probably waiting for two things," Shen Lie bowed slightly: "One is to wait for the battle of the imperial capital to be completely over, and the other is to wait for Xie Guang to completely succumb." If the Turkic army recovers from the battlefield in the imperial capital, and Xie Guang still has not agreed to be their puppet, then the first one the Turks will use to open the knife, which must be the Xuanjia army occupying Luoyi. ”

Li Bing couldn't help asking: "Then do you estimate, will Xie Guang obediently comply?" ”

Shen Lie frowned: "The minister feels that this point is difficult to say. Xie Guang only has himself in his heart, and there is no country, morality, honor or disgrace to speak of. As long as there was the slightest opportunity, he would never be willing to submit to the Turks. However, when the situation develops to the point where it is difficult to sustain, he will also not hesitate to sell his country for glory. ”

"So, what we are going to face next is very likely to be more than just Xie Guang's rebels," Li Bing turned his head to look at Yang Xingtai: "If Xie Guang feels cornered and really worships the Turks as the new master, are you sure that you can stop the enemy from advancing eastward before Xue Wei rushes back?" ”

Yang Xingtai was slightly stunned, hesitated for a moment, and then shook his head.

Chai Jingbin, the head of the Hebei Provincial March, asked curiously: "What does Your Highness mean that we should not divide our troops?" ”

Li Bing got up and walked to the wooden frame and pointed to the map hanging on it: "The division of troops still has to be divided." However, the focus of attack and defense needs to be changed. Your plan is to defend the west and move south, but what this palace wants is to defend the south and move west. Specifically, it is to temporarily let go of Li Kui, the king of Huaiyang, or force him to the south of the Yangtze River, or launch a defense in the direction of Huaiyang, and deal with it with only a small number of troops. The main force of our whole army was placed to the west, and we were fully prepared for a strategic decisive battle with Xie Guang and even the Turks! ”

Hearing this, the generals couldn't help but look at each other, and some didn't know how to speak. Shen Lie coughed softly twice and said, "Your Highness Mingjian." The generals advocated attacking the anti-Wang Li Kui first, but in fact, there was another consideration, that is, he had royal blood. ”

Of course, Li Bing understood the meaning of his words, and couldn't help but laugh dumbly, turned his head and asked Xiahou Ninghan and Hui Dian: "What Shen Changshi said, do you understand?" ”

The old monk Huidian shook his head blankly, and Xiahou Ninghan smiled: "The key to this is actually not difficult to understand. No matter how Xie Guang tosses, he is just a traitor who deceives the king, and his behavior is despised by the world. Except for the Xuanjia Army, no one is really willing to support him and follow him. But in comparison, Li Kui, the king of Huaiyang, is very different. He is the eldest son of the emperor, and he has forged a holy decree to confuse the public, saying that he has been appointed as the new prince. In this case, if we first fight with Xie Guang and the Turks, then Li Kui can sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, and finally pick up a big bargain. After all, he is currently the only person who can compete with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in terms of Taoist identity. ”

Shen Lie nodded: "Miss Xiahou is right in her analysis. Because of this, we unanimously believe that we should attack King Huaiyang first and completely get rid of this guy who threatens His Highness's throne. ”

Li Bing smiled bitterly and said, "Your intentions, this palace understands. But what this palace reads is different from yours. Once the war in the imperial capital ended, regardless of whether Xie Guang surrendered on his knees or not, the Turks had to march into the Central Plains. That means that there will be more Shengtang people who will be killed and bullied by foreign races. On the other hand, no matter how fierce the Huaiyang Imperial Brother is and how fierce the battle for the position of the prince is, it is only an internal matter of the Holy Tang, and he will not be like the Turks and kill his own people. As the prince of the Holy Tang Dynasty, this palace should not put the struggle for imperial power in the first place, and ignore the people! ”

He paused for a moment and continued: "Dispatch an elite army to attack Tiger Prison Pass and the Eastern Capital, not only to eliminate the Xie Guang rebels, but also to resist the Turkic eastward advance. As long as the palace still exists, Ashina will never be allowed to take one more step forward! ”

Yang Xingtai and the others didn't expect the prince to be so righteous and abandon his personal interests, and they couldn't help but admire in their hearts, and at the same time they responded in unison: "The ministers obey His Highness's decree!" ”

Li Bing was quite relieved to see that his idea had been supported by the military generals, and then he carefully discussed the matter of transferring troops and sending generals.

In the end, everyone unanimously decided to change the 50,000 soldiers led by Chai Jingbin, the marching chief of Hebei Province, to advance south and contain the soldiers and horses of Li Kui, the king of Huaiyang. Yang Xingtai and Xue Wei served as the left and right marshals, commanding an army of 300,000 and marching westward, striving to completely defeat Xie Guang before the Turks left the pass.

And Li Bing personally led 50,000 troops, stayed in Zhending Mansion, and responded in the center.

At the same time, Shen Lie sent messengers to contact the Yizhou Imperial Court, asking them to organize the requisition of troops from the various prefectures south of the Great River, and strive to assemble in the Jingxiang area within three months, ready to go north to reinforce the prince's army at any time.

It is preliminarily estimated that the total size of the reinforcements gathered in the south can at least exceed 300,000, or even reach 500,000!

At that time, the comparison of the forces of Shengtang and the Turks could basically maintain a balanced situation, and even have a slight upper hand, even if Xie Guang suddenly fell to the Turks, there was no need to worry too much.

In other words, as long as Li Bing and the others can seize the eastern capital first, and build a defensive line from north to south with Luoyi as the center, and support it for more than three months, the entire battle situation will develop in the direction favorable to Shengtang.

The more time passes, the more combat power the Holy Tang Army will mobilize, and the greater the pressure on the Turks!

Yang Xingtai couldn't hide his excited emotions, and said loudly: "Your Highness, my Holy Tang Kingdom is rich and strong, has a large number of soldiers, and there is no problem with gathering millions of iron armor!" The Turkic ghosts dare to come and offend Tianwei, sooner or later they will regret being humans! ”

Li Bing said solemnly: "Yang Daduhu is right. However, although we will have the advantage in numbers, we will not necessarily be stronger than the Turks. In the future, step by step to recapture Tongguan and recover the imperial capital, I am afraid that there will be countless bitter battles. If you want to completely repel the invading enemy, you must have another strategic layout. ”

Yang Xingtai was very curious, and was about to ask "what is the other strategic layout", when he suddenly heard the guards outside the door report loudly: "Your Royal Highness, the secret envoy of the imperial capital escorted the treasure of the town and asked for an audience." ”