"Dong Aiqing, are you back?" Li Bing put down the brush in his hand and said to Dong Tianxing with a smile: "In less than a month, it is really hard for you to run to Jing Xiangjun's side three times in a row." How is Ma Hongjie? ”

Dong Tianxing arched his hand and said: "Back to Your Majesty, the Jingxiang army is going very smoothly. By the time the minister returned, the six counties south of Shangluo had all been recovered by Ma Hongjie, and Wuguan would not be threatened by the enemy's counterattack in a short time. ”

Li Bing's eyes lit up: "So, have you gained a firm foothold?" Haha, good! The first step is to stabilize the position, and the second step is to counterattack the imperial capital! ”

After that, he reached out and took a fold on the table, and asked the chamberlain to show it to Dong Tianxing: "Dong Aiqing, take a look, what is written in it?" ”

Lao Dong agreed, held it in his hand and looked at it carefully, and couldn't help but be stunned on the spot.

Edicted, Dong Tianxing was promoted to the head of the military department, received the fourth rank, walked in front of the emperor, and mentioned the military of the school.

"Dong Aiqing, you are loyal and have made great contributions to me, and I naturally can't treat you badly." Li Bing said with a smile: "First do the errand of the squire of the military department, and when the imperial capital is recaptured and the world is decided, I will allow you to do a book again, hahaha." ”

Dong Tianxing hurriedly replied: "The old minister is panicked. From the fifth grade to the fourth grade, it was suddenly promoted by two levels, and the minister was really ashamed. ”

A middle-aged official with a white face next to him smiled and said, "Hey, Lord Dong, the emperor has rewarded you, you should be grateful, why did you refuse?" ”

Li Bing heard him say something funny, and laughed along: "Zixuan, you don't know, Dong Aiqing is really an indifferent person. He worked hard in the court for thirty-five years to achieve the fifth grade, so you don't have to blame him. ”

Wei Zixuan said loudly: "My lord is Shengming! Lord Dong is so capable, but he has not met talent for many years, and now he is serving His Majesty, and in just a few months, he has been promoted to the fourth rank of the military department. This is enough to show that Your Majesty not only knows people, but also makes good use of them. With this holy monarch, he will be able to gather all the talents in the world and serve my dynasty! ”

These two sycophants not only made Li Bing excited, but also hinted that he himself was also a rare talent.

Flowing water, without a trace.

Dong Tianxing couldn't get used to this kind of face in his life, and his heart suddenly became angry, and he smiled lukewarmly: "Lord Wei has won the award." Old and dull, I have not been promoted for 35 years, not because I have not met talents, but because there are many talents in the DPRK and China. ”

As soon as these words came out, not only Wei Zixuan was a little confused, but even Li Bing didn't know how to answer.

Lao Dong's words are quite sharp.

In just two sentences, it not only expresses self-humility, but also says that no matter what cats and dogs can climb up now, it does not mean that they have any outstanding skills, but because those real masters are no longer there.

This slap in the face almost brought the emperor Li Bing in.

However, fortunately, Li Bing is in a good mood now, smiled a little awkwardly, and then changed the topic: "Dong Aiqing, you have always served in the military department, and you can be regarded as an old military officer, come to analyze the current battle situation between the east and the west for me?" ”

Dong Tianxing and Shen Lie had already arrived at Li Binghui to ask him about his views on the battle situation, so they had been waiting for this opportunity, and now that the emperor really mentioned this matter, Dong Tianxing hurriedly cleared his throat and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive the old minister for being blunt." The current situation is 30% favorable to us, 30% is unfavorable, and the remaining 40% depends on God's will. ”

"Huh? Only three percent advantageous? Li Bing was quite surprised: "I think the situation in the world is already clear, why are you so cautious?" ”

Dong Tianxing replied seriously: "Your Majesty, it's not that the minister is too pessimistic, but the truth is still very cruel. We took Wuguan and blocked Zijin Pass, which is basically equivalent to blocking the main Turkic force in the Guanzhong Plain, and the armies of all walks of life are working together to resist the enemy, adding up to more than one million troops, which is indeed a positive side. But at the same time, the disadvantages are very obvious. ”

Li Bing's face gradually turned cold: "I know, you mean to say that there are still traitor kings Li Kui and the Xuanjia Army in the east, as well as those poisonous soldiers and monsters, right?" ”

"It's just one aspect, or one out of three." Dong Tianxing said unhurriedly: "Those threats in the east will certainly affect the entire decisive battle, but after all, the distance is still far away, and we can always find a way to block it." The real downside, mainly in the Turks. ”

Li Bing said in a deep voice: "Then tell me what I haven't considered." ”

No matter how stupid the person is, he can see that the emperor is a little displeased at this time, but Dong Tianxing doesn't care at all, and continues: "Excluding the subordinate army in Western Xinjiang, the main force of the Turks is still maintained at about 350,000. They are good at surprise attacks, can fight tough battles, and have the two advantages of high mobility and strong impact when facing the infantry-based Shengtang army. Therefore, whether it is east or west, the road to the imperial capital is not easy to walk. This is one of them. ”

"Second, there are four ways to fight against the Turks. First of all, His Majesty's direct legions, including the Hebei Provincial Governor's Mansion, the Liaodong Metropolitan Protectorate, and the Yinshan Metropolitan Governor's Mansion. Then there was the Jingxiang army commanded by Ma Hongjie, or the Southern Army, and then there was Li Jiangyao's Zhenjiang Army, which could be called the Western Army. Finally, there was also a small number of Western Shu troops in the hands of the imperial court. If you look at these armies together, they are indeed very large and imposing. However, in reality, the combat strength of various units is uneven, and there is still a lack of unified coordination and command, which is very fatal on the battlefield. ”

Hearing Lao Dong mention the word "fatal", Li Bing couldn't help but show a thoughtful look.

He is not a stupid person, but because he has never led troops or fought in a war, although he has seen some military problems, he has not been able to immediately pay attention to them and think deeply about them.

Including Li Jiangyao's previous strategic concept, although Li Bing also carefully read it three times, there were already deep prejudices and fears in his heart, which made it completely impossible for him to seriously consider its interests and losses.

Now Dong Tianxing was not afraid of annoying him, and bluntly said that it was "fatal" and dangerous, which suddenly made Li Bing wake up.

"Dong Aiqing, I planned before that the southern army and the western army would launch their own attacks, including ordering the soldiers and horses of Xishu to also attack Hanzhong, that is, considering that the Turks were strong in battle, and they would act at the same time in multiple ways and advance to the imperial capital together, which could make the enemy army lose one and the other and scatter their forces, is there anything wrong with this?"

Dong Tianxing nodded: "Of course, Your Majesty's idea is correct, but it ignores a key issue. ”

"What's the key question?"

"Will the Turks certainly do what we think?" Dong Tianxing said lightly.

Li Bing was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly said: "You mean...... They don't necessarily lose sight of one or the other, and their power is scattered? ”

Dong Tianxing said in a deep voice: "If Ashina Jin is not afraid of losing the imperial capital, then he can concentrate his superior forces and choose one of the southern or western armies first, and intercept, ambush or surprise attack on his way into the imperial capital." And whether it is Ma Hongjie or Li Jiangyao, with their current strength, they cannot face the main Turkic force alone on the battlefield of the plains, and the final result can only be more than lucky. When one of them is completely defeated by Ashina Jin, the other will not be far from death. ”

Li Bing's brows tightened when he heard this, and he muttered, "Will the other party really be like you say?" ”

"Even if there is only a 1 in 10,000 chance, we must pay attention to it." Dong Tianxing said: "This is also the necessity of unified command of the actions of the whole army. The exchange of intelligence, logistical support, cooperation and cover, troop deployment, and so on are by no means as simple as the two armies advancing against each other. The slightest carelessness can turn into a catastrophe that will completely destroy the current favorable situation. ”

Li Bing's original confident and high-spirited mood was poured cold by Lao Dong on the spot. He was silent for a long time before he said quietly, "This matter...... Let me think about it again. ”

Dong Tianxing knew that his words had already played a role, so he didn't say anything more, and arched his hand: "Your Majesty, the old minister still has something to tell." ”

Li Bing looked at him with a little resentment: "What's the matter?" ”

"It's about the poison soldiers." Dong Tianxing said: "Yesterday, Wu Rong and Amunta came to tell the minister that the antidote they developed has been basically completed, and many consecutive tests have achieved good results, and in the future, they can be implemented on a large scale. ”

Li Bing nodded: "That's good, this is another good news." What are you going to do next? ”

Dong Tianxing arched his hand: "We want to set up a special clearance battalion, with a strength of 3,000 people, and use the antidote to gradually sweep away the poisonous soldiers in the Central Plains." The clearance battalion was only aimed at those large groups of poisonous soldiers, and those who were left alone were handed over to the garrisons in various places for disposal. I beg your Majesty's permission. ”

Li Bing didn't agree immediately, but said: "Murong Xue went to the front line, you go to Gong Chengze to discuss the matter of transferring troops." Let's discuss a specific strategy, and I will approve it again. ”

"Lord Gong?" Dong Tianxing was stunned: "Is he in charge of the military now?" ”

Li Bing nodded: "Well, I just promoted him to be the general of Yulin Qianniu, and he is also the captain of the guard." When Murong Xue was away, he was temporarily acting in military affairs. Dong Aiqing, when you become a squire in the military department, you have to cooperate well with Gong Chengze. ”

Dong Tianxing responded to the order, and at the same time thought in his heart: Let Gong Chengze, the disciple of Deng, act as the military officer? That's too hasty, isn't it?

Out of Ziwei Palace, Lao Dong went straight to the Luoyi Governor's Mansion, which was originally the command post of the Xuanjia Legion, and now it has been changed to the central yamen of the prince's army and horses.

Gong Chengze was tall, ugly, and his face was full of wine. As soon as he heard that Dong Tianxing was coming, he hurriedly greeted him from the house with a smile.

It is not difficult to see that this guy is quite proud of the spring breeze at this time.

"Oh, Lord Squire, there is a loss of welcome, there is a loss of welcome." Gong Chengze looked very enthusiastic: "The last general will give you congratulations first." ”

"It's easy to say," Dong Tianxing knew that he was referring to the promotion, and said indifferently: "General Gong, the official appointment has not yet come down, and the old man is just advising the doctor." Besides, even if you are promoted to the squire of the military department, you are also the fourth grade, and General Yulin Qianniu is from the third rank, you call yourself the last general, and you can't afford to be old. ”

Seeing Lao Dong's rejecting people thousands of miles away, Gong Chengze was secretly unhappy, but he still smiled on his face: "Hey, what is from the third grade to the fourth grade, let's not care about this." Master Dong is an old-timer in the Ministry of War, Gong has always admired him, and it is not an exaggeration to call himself the last general. ”

As he spoke, he made a gesture of please: "Sit inside and talk slowly." ”