In this era, the military book was strictly controlled by the imperial court, and ordinary officials and eunuchs did not dare to hide it privately, so there was a saying that the children of the generals appeared.

This was not a problem for Lu Shen, with Xiao Wangzhi's permission to consult any military book at any time, but when he opened those heavy pages, the fragments of his memory seemed to be awakened - thanks to Lu Tong's training, he had indeed read most of the military books, and now it was not difficult to pick them up.

However, the content of the war book did not help him immediately, because the words on the paper were subtle and meaningful, and there were not many specific records of the war.

Lu Shen read a lot of content, recalled the ancient war examples he had learned in his previous life, and at the same time sorted out the troop allocation, possible reinforcements, and northern terrain of the two sides involved in the war.

Originally, he was very anxious and worried, but when Lin Xi quietly accompanied him every night, his thoughts were like a spring, and a big framework strategy that encompassed the whole gradually took shape in his mind.

On this day, as usual, he came to the Governor's Mansion under the escort of Li Chengen and others, and as soon as he walked into the vestibule, he saw the marching Sima Huang Xianfeng waiting with a smile.

"I've seen Huang Sima." Lu Shen stepped forward to salute.

Huang Xianfeng also saluted: "Captain Lu, the majority of the governors ordered me to wait for you here and take you to the festival hall to discuss matters." ”

"Jietang?"

Lu Shen's expression remained unchanged, and his tone became a little heavier.

Huang Xianfeng said as he walked: "Yes, today, the commanders of the three armies of the Southern Ya have arrived, and the governor of the capital has summoned the chief generals of the various armies in Huaizhou to hold the first military meeting for the next counteroffensive. The Governor said that this was a rare opportunity to learn more, so he asked for a roll call. ”

Lu Shen said: "I see, there is Lord Lao waiting for you." ”

Huang Xianfeng shook his head and said: "Although you and I are not familiar with each other in the past, but now that we are working under the command of the Metropolitan Governor, we should be closer." ”

Lu Shen knew that this marching Sima was Xiao Wangzhi's very trusted confidant, and he must have received Xiao Wangzhi's advice, so he smiled and said: "Thanks to the fact that the adults do not dislike it, the younger generations will definitely ask for advice from time to time in the future." ”

The smile on Huang Xianfeng's face became more and more sincere, and he said gently: "Don't dare to give advice, there are very few places where the foolish brother can help you, at most it is just some process matters." By the way, today, except for the three commanders of Nanya, everyone else is the old subordinate of the Grand Governor, if the Grand Governor asks you to express your opinion, you can speak boldly and bluntly, and you don't have to be cautious. ”

"I understand, thank you Brother Huang for your advice."

Between talking and laughing, the two of them had already come to the vicinity of the festival hall, and they all smiled and walked into the core of the Huaizhou Governor's Mansion.

There were not many people in the hall, and Huang Xianfeng took Lu Shen to the chair by the wall and sat down.

After about half a burnt incense, a group of generals with big shoulders and round waists came in one after another, and the atmosphere suddenly became noisy.

Huang Xianfeng whispered in Lu Shen's ear: "Sitting first on the left is Chen Lanyu, the commander of the Zhenbei Army, he was born in a family of generals, but he does not have those arrogant habits, and he is very respected by the governor. When the governor of the capital came to Huaizhou, he took over as the commander of the Zhenbei Army and trained this army into an iron army. ”

Lu Shen bowed: "I heard General Duan mention it in Guangling, and he said that Commander Chen is the first tiger general under the command of the Metropolitan Governor, and he is especially good at tackling tough battles. ”

Huang Xianfeng said: "This is true, but more importantly, the Metropolitan Governor laid a solid foundation for the Zhenbei Army back then. In the first battle of Qingxia, the Zhenbei Army was responsible for the main attack, and frontally defeated the old soldiers of the Jing Dynasty hidden in the puppet Yan army, contributing to the great rout of the enemy army. ”

Lu Shen could only see Chen Lanyu's back, which was slightly different from the others, this person looked relatively normal and not very burly.

Huang Xianfeng said again: "The second on the left is Pei Di, the commander of the Panlong Army, the third is Song Shifei, the commander of the Feiyun Army, and the fourth is He Gui, the commander of the Lai'an Army. ”

In addition to Qi Tai, the commander of the Guangling Army, the main generals of the Huaizhou Sixth Army have all been present, and Huang Xianfeng introduced them in turn.

At this moment, three more generals walked into the festival hall, their faces were indifferent and their expressions were slightly arrogant, and they went straight to the row of chairs on the right to sit down.

After these three people came in, the Huaizhou generals still turned a blind eye, as if they didn't see each other at all.

Lu Shen knew it when he arrived, and he had already heard Duan Zuozhang talk about the relationship between the border army and the Beijing army, which can be seen from this small detail.

Huang Xianfeng said again: "These three are the commanders of the three armies of the Southern Ya, and they are also the cronies of Xiangyuan Bo and General Li Jingda. ”

While listening to his narration, Lu Shen quietly observed the faces of the three people opposite.

He was suddenly a little worried about Xiao Wangzhi, because in the follow-up counteroffensive battle, it was impossible for the 40,000 Beijing troops to sit on the sidelines, and they would definitely have to undertake very important battlefield tasks.

However, this scene in front of me ...... Can the generals of the Beijing army really cooperate with the generals of the border army?

After a while, with a loud "The Governor of the Metropolis has arrived!" There was a sound outside the door, and everyone in the hall stood up solemnly, including the three commanders of the Beijing Army.

Xiao Wangzhi strode in, his eyes swept over Lu Shen in the corner, then looked around at everyone, and said indifferently: "Sit down." ”

Everyone still stood with their waists straight, and they didn't return to their seats until Xiao Wangzhi sat down on the handsome seat.

Xiao Wangzhi looked at Huang Xianfeng, who then got up and briefly explained to the generals the causes and consequences of the Huaizhou war, as well as the current confrontation situation on the border.

“…… In the northwest of Panlong Pass, there are 20,000 troops of the pseudo-Yanmoyang Road, stationed in Liyang and Dingyuan. To the north, there are 30,000 soldiers and horses standing on Dongyang Road of Pseudo-Yan, which are stationed in Qianshan and Yongfeng and other places. In the farther place, there is the main cavalry of the pseudo-Yan, once our army chooses to go north from Panlong Pass, it will soon fall into the encirclement of the enemy. ”

"In the northeast direction of the Lai'an defense line, the enemy army took Yongquan Pass as the core and established a defense line integrating three villages and four forts. Even if our army can break through this line of defense, Yongquan Pass will be a very difficult hard bone to gnaw. ”

"To the northwest of Juyang County, Pseudo-Yan's Qingtian City is entrenched in the only way, this military city also has a perimeter defense system, and the Pseudo-Yan and Jing Dynasty armies can rush to support from the rear at any time."

"To sum up, on the premise of not considering the several ancient roads in the Shuangfeng Mountains for the time being, if our army wants to counterattack north, it can only choose between the three roads of Panlong Pass, Qingtian City and Yongquan Pass."

Huang Xianfeng finished speaking unhurriedly, and then bowed to Xiao Wangzhi.

Xiao Wangzhi bowed his head, and then said to the generals: "Let's discuss it." ”

There were only three counteroffensive routes, and it seemed that the troops from Panlong Pass would encounter the least obstacles, but in fact they would be the most dangerous.

In comparison, Qingtian City and Yongquan Pass are still battlefields for foot soldiers, and due to the limitations of the terrain, there is not much room for the cavalry of the Northern Army to exert their strength.

Panlong Pass is different, once you choose to send troops from here, you will inevitably be harassed or even encircled by the cavalry of the Northern Yan and Jing Dynasty.

The commander of the Panlong army kept Pei Di silent, he knew very well that his duty was to guard the Xiongguan, and it was impossible for Governor Xiao to transfer the Panlong army to the Lai'an defense line as the main offensive force, and his attitude in this case was actually irrelevant.

In the silence, Song Shifei, the commander of the Feiyun Army, said decisively: "The Governor of the Great Metropolis, the last general is willing to lead the Feiyun Army to storm Qingtian City!" ”

After the commander of the Lai An army made He Gui unwilling, he immediately said: "Governor, the last general is invited to fight!" ”

Xiao Wangzhi nodded slightly, and his gaze turned to the three generals from the capital.

Sitting first on the right, Yuan Xingqin, the commander of the Southern Yahu Mighty Army, felt Xiao Wangzhi's gaze, coughed lightly, and said unhurriedly: "Yu Dadu, the last general does not know the situation on the border very well, but judging from the current situation, Pseudo Yan should not have lost control of the strategic points in the border area. ”

Xiao Wangzhi's expression was indifferent, and he said leisurely: "You want to say that it is unwise to counterattack the northern front?" ”

"The last general will not dare."

Yuan Xingqin bowed slightly, and then said calmly: "The last general is just worried that the enemy army has already prepared and is waiting for our army to attack. Whether it is Qingtian City or Yongquan Pass, it is the place of death of the soldiers. The so-called war will survive, and those who do not fight will die. To storm these two dangers, our army must line up with elites, which will require a great price. ”

Song Shifei said in a deep voice: "General Yuan doesn't have to worry, this battle can be led by the Feiyun Army, and it is not too late for the Huwei Army to rest properly." ”

Another commander of the Beijing army, who was sitting next to Yuan Xingqin, said, "General Song, what does this mean? Since our army is heading north, will it still be afraid of the enemy? ”

He Gui, the commander of the Lai'an army, sneered: "I heard that the three armies of the Southern Ya have been stranded on the south bank of the Hengjiang River for more than ten days, so they must not be able to find enough ships to cross the river, right?" ”

This is also in front of Xiao Wangzhi, he will also pay attention to his words, if he usually meets in private, he will already be blunt and sarcastic.

Yuan Xingqin's face was slightly gloomy, and the eyes of the other two were obviously angry.

Song Shifei and He Gui and others are naturally not afraid, in the past ten years, the border army and the Beijing army have never been able to pee in a pot, and this kind of battle is not worth mentioning at the moment.

Xiao Wangzhi glanced left and right, and everyone immediately stopped verbally arguing.

However, at this time, Chen Lanyu, the commander of the Zhenbei Army, suddenly spoke: "Governor, the last general feels that General Yuan's suggestion is not unreasonable. ”

There was a sudden silence in the hall.

is a fierce general like Song Shifei, who is also convinced of Chen Lanyu's status, and some people even think that Chen Lanyu is the successor that Xiao Wangzhi has focused on cultivating.

Chen Lanyu did not live up to Xiao Wangzhi's weight, he fought very beautifully in the first battle of Qingxia, which played a decisive role in the final victory.

At this moment, even Huang Xianfeng was slightly stunned, he thought that even if everyone did not support Xiao Wangzhi's decision to counterattack on the Northern Expedition, Chen Lanyu would unswervingly follow, but he didn't expect that he would stand on the side of the generals of the Beijing army at this moment.

Lu Shen watched quietly, and he suddenly understood why this General Chen wanted to go against Xiao Wangzhi.

Xiao Wangzhi said calmly: "Tell me your reasons." ”

Chen Lanyu looked at the middle-aged man in the handsome position, a pleading flashed in the depths of his eyes, and said slowly: "Dadu Governor, Yongquan Pass is a line of heaven, and Qingtian City is the defense hub that Pseudo Yan and Jing Chao care about the most, and it is difficult to attack both places. The last general has made a deduction these days, and if the main attack is in one place, at least 120,000 soldiers will be needed. If the two fronts advance together, our army needs to prepare 200,000 troops. Putting aside the heavy pressure of logistics for the time being, it can be considered satisfied, but our army is seriously underwhelmed. ”

He stood up and said in a deep voice: "Unless the imperial court continues to send reinforcements, this battle will be unsustainable, and the last general implores the metropolitan governor to think twice!" ”

There were some things he couldn't say in public.

Once the war does not go well, it will give many people in the court the opportunity to attack Xiao Wangzhi, and it will directly erase his previous credits.

The atmosphere in the hall was solemn.

A lot of people are coming back to it.

Lu Shen sighed lightly in his heart, in fact, he also felt that Chen Lanyu's consideration was very reasonable.

Are Qingtian Castle and Yongquan Pass important?

This does not need to be discussed.

However, Xiao Wangzhi could have not taken this risk.

Even if the status quo is maintained, he is still the governor of Huaizhou, who is as stable as a mountain, and his position in the army is unshakable, and a little gossip in Yongjia City can't hurt him at all, not to mention that the merits of the Qingxia War are enough to make him an official and a knight.

But...... As Xiao Wang said to him a few days ago, some things have to be done after all.

In contemplation, Xiao Wangzhi's calm tone sounded again, but Lu Shen's heart suddenly shook.

"Lu Shen, you come."

(End of chapter)