Seeing off Tanley, Bao Yuchun couldn't help but say: "Brother Lao, the Turks let us go north to participate in the war, obviously because they didn't have any good intentions, why did you promise them?" ”

Lao Jianhua turned his head to look at Bao Yuchun: "Bao Shuai, do you think I want to do this?" Ashina decided to start a war against Li Jiangyao, no matter whether he succeeds or fails, Li Bing will be the beneficiary party, if he doesn't try to contain him at this time, I'm afraid he will really let him develop later. ”

Bao Yuchun was about to speak, but he heard Lao Jianhua sigh and then sighed: "Since ancient times, it has been the north to the south and the west to the east, why?" Because of the terrain advantage and population. Don't look at Li Bing's current strength, but he occupies the north and the Central Plains, as long as there is enough time, his military strength will eventually develop faster than ours. Therefore, we can't help but join forces with the Turks, or in other words, we can't help but take over Ashina's branch and continue to drag down and consume Li Bing's army. ”

Bao Yuchun is a famous general who is good at fighting, so he naturally understands this meaning, but he has other concerns: "Let's not say for the time being whether the Turks will keep their promises, and from now on they will leave the borders of the Holy Tang Dynasty, just attacking the Eastern Capital, it will be absolutely difficult to do it with our current strength." ”

"Who said you had to attack Luoyi?" Lao Jianhua smiled faintly: "We just need to make a gesture of going north, at most advance to the Nanyang line." If you are fighting, just let Helian Xiong do it. ”

Bao Yuchun thought for a while and praised: "Gao Ming! Helian Xiong is in the west, Li Kui is in the east, and we are in the south, and we are acting on three sides at the same time, and Li Bing will definitely feel that it is difficult to take care of the end. In my opinion, Ma Hongjie's southern army will definitely focus on preventing the Turks from attacking Luoyi, while Murong Xue and Chang Tao will deal with the king of Huaiyang. ”

"Yes, Bao Shuai." A grim smile appeared on Lao Jianhua's face: "Our purpose is to contain Li Bing as much as possible. If he does not come to meet the battle, then we will take advantage of the situation to seize the land on the north bank of the great rivers such as Namyang, Gwangju, and Suiju; If he divides his forces to fight us, then we will gradually retreat to the south, so that Helian Xiong and Li Kui have a chance to win. ”

Bao Yuchun laughed: "I can also play a trick to lure the enemy in, lead the pursuers into the ambush circle, and let them have no return." ”

Lao Jianhua nodded approvingly: "That's right." As long as Li Kui is exhausted by the three-way people, our development in the south can be more calm. In the future, no matter whether Ashina keeps his promise or not, we can compete with him with strength. ”

"Well, that's it!" Bao Yuchun said: "Brother Lao, you mobilize the Xuanjia Army, I will go and gather the sons of the water army, and we will deploy it immediately." ”

The news that the Xuanjia Army and the Sailor Division had begun to assemble soon spread back to the western frontier. When Li Jiangyao and others learned about it, they immediately made a judgment: Lao Jianhua and the Turks had reached a secret agreement. It is likely that the rebels' actions were aimed at pinning down the imperial court soldiers and horses, so that the Turks could use troops against the two passes.

The messenger of the Intelligence Department quickly sent this analysis of the Zhenjiang Army Command to the imperial capital and Wuguan, and at the same time reminded them to strengthen their vigilance.

Li Jiangyao specifically pointed out that Lao Jianhua's move was by no means isolated, and that the Turkic army in Tongguan and Li Kui, who was entrenched in Lianghuai, might both attack and harass the imperial court from three directions.

Murong Xue of course supported the judgment of his good brother, and he immediately suggested to Li Bing that he rely on the city to implement a fortification in two directions, and then concentrate his superior forces to attack the invading enemy in one direction.

After this road is completely resolved, we will look for opportunities to attack the other two enemy forces.

Li Bing and others basically agree with this strategy, but the only question is, who to deal with first?

Turkic? Li Jiong? Or Lao Jianhua?

According to Murong Xue's thoughts, of course, the Turkic army was preferred.

Only by hurting the Turks and directly threatening the safety of Tongguan can it be conducive to distracting Ashina Zhijin's attention and thus reducing the pressure in the direction of Zijin Pass.

However, Gong Chengze raised objections.

His reason was straightforward and simple: the Turkic cavalry was agile and had a very strong impact, and they should rely on the city to defend it.

Among the three enemies, Li Kui, the king of Huaiyang, was the weakest. If the Huaiyang Army really dares to come, it is natural to pick this soft persimmon and pinch it.

Faced with the different opinions of the two generals under him, Li Bing thought for a long time.

In the end, he neither listened to Murong Xue's suggestion, nor did he adopt Gong Chengze's idea.

Li Bing's chosen target was Lao Jianhua.

There are three reasons behind this.

First, since Bao Yuchun's sailors blocked the river, half of the mountains and rivers of the Shengtang Dynasty were completely out of his control. The power, land, wealth, and population of the South all fell into the hands of the rebels. Li Bing couldn't bear this matter.

Second, he was used by Xie Guang and Lao Jianhua back then, which eventually led to the tragedy of the dynasty. Now, the culprit Xie Guang is dead, but the sinister Lao Jianhua is still there. Li Bing couldn't bear this hatred.

Third, if the Xuanjia rebels had been hiding in the south by virtue of natural hazards, Li Bing would be unable to deal with them even if he wanted to. Now the other side has taken the initiative to go north to provoke, which is tantamount to creating an opportunity for a decisive battle. Li Bing couldn't bear this bureau.

Therefore, the young emperor decided to set up a strong defensive line in the east and west directions with Luoyi as the center to resist the possible offensive of the Turks and the king of Huaiyang, and his main army was placed in the south to meet the Xuanjia rebels.

"Murong, this battle is up to you." Li Bing instructed: "Ma Hongjie, they have long said that they will only deal with the Turks, so the southern army is placed in the west to block the Turks; Chang Tao was stationed in Bianzhou, and he was responsible for guarding against Li Kui, so it was relatively stable. You led my soldiers and horses to teach Lao Jianhua, a traitor, a lesson. ”

Murong Xue nodded, and was about to open her mouth to agree, but she didn't expect Gong Chengze, who was standing on the side, to rush and say: "Your Majesty, since Weichen came to the Eastern Capital, he has been deeply favored by the emperor, but he has not been able to establish the size of the merit. This time the rebels are coming, and the minister also wants to go into battle to kill the enemy, and I hope that Your Majesty will allow me to assist General Murong in destroying Xuanjia. ”

Li Bing smiled and said: "That's good, since Chengze has the heart to serve the country, how can I disagree?" In this way, you and Murong Xue will each lead an army, and they will advance in two ways, and they can also take care of each other. Murong, what do you think? ”

Murong Xue was a frank person, so naturally he didn't care about this kind of thing, and said cheerfully: "The minister is willing to cooperate with General Gong to face the Xuanjia rebels together." ”

"Alright, I'm done." Li Binglang said: "Of the 200,000 soldiers and horses currently stationed in the Eastern Capital, the two of you each command 50,000, Murong Xue as the main commander and Gong Chengze as the deputy commander, and at the same time advance to the south. In addition, let Dong Tianxing bring another 20,000 people, follow the rear and respond in the center, and provide reinforcements for you at all times. ”

Murong Xue and the others received the order and immediately started to act. In less than three days, the 120,000-strong army was ready, and they set out for the south one after another.

According to Murong Xue's arrangement, his troops and horses were located eastward, entered Yingchuan, and went south from Ruzhou, aiming directly at Caizhou. Gong Chengze's road of soldiers and horses, the location is west, close to Ma Hongjie's defense area, through Yichuan, to Nanyang.

After arriving at the designated place, the soldiers and horses of the two routes immediately set up a defensive line to form a pincer system, and Dong Tianxing's reinforcements were stationed at the southern foot of Wufeng Mountain between the two places.

These three locations are like an upright triangle, and the area facing them happens to be the line of Xiangcheng, Suiju, and Gwangju.

As soon as Lao Jianhua's troops landed on the north shore and advanced towards Suizhou Gwangju, Murong Xue could immediately wave his army and give them a head-on blow.

At the same time, Ma Hongjie's unit in Wuguan also began combat mobilization. 200,000 infantry moved northward and laid three lines of defense in Lingbao County, Luoning County, Yiyang County and Xin'an County between Tongguan and Luoyi, preparing to intercept Helianxiong's eastward advance.

Chang Tao of Liaodong Protectorate led 70,000 elites to build a new defense system in the triangle area surrounded by Bianzhou, Songzhou and Chenzhou to guard against the army of King Huaiyang in the southeast.

At the same time, the imperial court of the Eastern Capital opened up at full speed, sending a large number of hoarded grain, grass and weapons to the three fronts in a steady stream.

Following the beginning of the 827th year of the Shengtang calendar, after the first full-scale battle of all forces in the world, after a year or so, the fierce contest between the east and the west was repeated again.

The second full-scale wrestling between Shengtang and the Turks and rebels is about to begin.

Unlike the last time, which had its own offense and defense, this time, the Shengtang side was on the defensive side in the east and west battlefields.

The main Turkic forces poured into the nest and prepared to attack the two passes and the western frontier.

Helian Xiong, Lao Jianhua and Li Kui divided their troops into three routes and besieged the Central Plains with Luoyi as the core from the west, south and east.

In the two battlefields, the total number of troops invested by the attackers is estimated to be as high as 800,000, while the defenders, the nine legions of the Zhenjiang Army are about 380,000, and the soldiers and horses of the emperor Li Bing are also around 390,000.

The offensive and defensive sides can be said to be evenly matched and inseparable.

As far as the overall strategic situation is concerned, the current situation is also as Li Jiangyao envisioned at the beginning: the Shengtang army, which occupies a key position, whether it is Luoyi in the east or Zijin Pass in the west, does not need to rush to find the enemy to start a war, but only needs to rely on complete fortifications and wait for the opponent at leisure.

On the other hand, the Turks and rebels, each of whom had great concerns and had to risk launching a large-scale attack before they had the upper hand.

In other words, as long as the Shengtang side can hold the battle line, the enemy's losses will multiply and become even weaker.

At that time, the opportunity for a strategic decisive battle will gradually ripen.

Of course, the premise is to be able to hold the battle line.

Compared with Zijin Pass and Shengyu Pass, Li Jiangyao was more worried about the situation on the Central Plains battlefield on the Eastern Front.

Defending two levels is a simple, straightforward positional warfare, as long as you have the determination to defend to the death, it is not an exaggeration to say that one man should be a pass.

However, the situation on the Eastern Front turned out to be extremely complicated.

It is completely plain, the area is open and extensive, and although many of the cities are large and have a well-developed defense system, the enemy can also gallop freely and weave around.

So it's more of a sports war over there.

This will be a huge and difficult test for the command system of the Shengtang army.