"Now the Yan army is defending the city pass with a strong wall, and it is clear that it will not fight with our army in the field. A strong assault is a desirable option, but it will be done slowly, and our army will not be able to avoid massive casualties. ”

In the council hall of the Governor's Mansion, Duan Zuozhang, the commander of the Lai An Army, said with a solemn expression.

There are not many people in the hall, except for Xiao Wangzhi, the governor of the capital, and Sima Huang Xianfeng, who is in charge of the records, there are only the main generals of the various armies and Lu Shen, the captain of the Ruishi battalion.

This is the highest-level military discussion of the Huaizhou Governor's Mansion, and the discussion is naturally the details of all aspects of the Northern Expedition.

Recently, similar military meetings have been held many times and most of the problems have been resolved, but there is still no consensus on the most important strategic objectives.

War is not child's play, the enemy army will not look at the wind and surrender, there seems to be only one way in front of the Huaizhou army, that is, to choose the main direction of attack, and then fight all the way through the hard bridge.

Duan Zuozhang's concerns represent the attitude of some generals, because the enemy of the Huaizhou army is not only the Northern Yan, but the Jing Dynasty in the far north is the real confidant. If in the early days of the Northern Expedition, the Huaizhou army pursued the gains and losses of one city and one place too much, and used valuable troops to gnaw down the passes, and when the Jing Dynasty finished cleaning up the Zhao State and moved south, how would the exhausted Huaizhou army respond?

Of course, generals can't just consider temporary gains and losses, and under the cultivation of Xiao Wangzhi, these generals in the hall do not lack strategic vision at this level.

Pei Di, the commander of the Zhenbei Army, asked: "Then according to General Duan's intentions, should our army continue to endure?" ”

Duan Zuozhang glanced at Xiao Wang, and said thoughtfully: "Ben will have a not very mature idea, please ask the Metropolitan Governor and the generals to correct it." Since the Yan army will not go out of the city and blindly defend during this period of time, can we form a strange army to pass through the defense line of the Yan army from Panlong Pass, and penetrate into the territory of the puppet Yan in a large area interspersed with maneuvers, so as to cause chaos in the territory of the puppet Yan and force the main force of the enemy army to fight a decisive battle with us? ”

Xiao Wangzhi was silent.

Song Shifei was quite interested in this proposal, he has always been known for his bravery in the Huaizhou army, and he wants to compete for the responsibility of the vanguard every time he fights.

At the beginning, Chen Lanyu, who was older than him and had more military achievements than him, was pressed, so he could only wait patiently for the Zhenbei Army to pick it first. Now the commander of the Zhenbei Army has become Pei Di, although he has guarded Panlong Pass for many years without merit and hard work, in Song Shifei's opinion, he is naturally inferior to Chen Lanyu.

Seeing that everyone else fell silent, Song Shifei took the initiative to ask for his life: "Metropolitan Governor, the last general is willing to lead the Feiyun Army deep into the enemy territory, and he will definitely turn the Pseudo Yan upside down!" ”

Pei Di immediately shook his head and said, "It's not proper." ”

Song Shifei frowned and said, "What's wrong?" ”

Pei Di was not afraid of him, and replied bluntly: "It is taboo for soldiers to go deep alone, although the Yan army takes a defensive position, it does not mean that they are empty. General Song led more than 10,000 soldiers and horses deep into the enemy's territory, what if he was surrounded by an ambush? ”

Although Song Shifei was as fierce as fire, he did not lack the military qualities of an excellent commander, and retorted: "General Pei, this general will not be easily blocked by a Jedi. If the Yan army wants to mobilize the main force to encircle and intercept our troops, they need to mobilize at least five times the number of troops. Well, even if they really have such ability, wouldn't the Metropolitan Governor send troops to respond well? There is no absolute way to win a war, so how can you win without taking any risks? ”

Pei Di said coldly: "How do you ensure that the response of the main force of our army can appear in time?" Of course, you have to take risks on the battlefield, but you don't make decisions with a bang on your head like you! ”

Song Shifei's face was flushed with anger when he boarded, and Duan Zuozhang, as the initiator, smiled bitterly twice, and hurriedly came out to play a round and said: "Two generals, don't be angry, say it well." ”

Xiao Wangzhi coughed lightly, and then suppressed the conflict between the two, he raised his eyes to Song Shifei and asked, "If this governor allows you to lead troops deep into the enemy's territory, how much grain and grass can you carry?" And how to replenish it on the march? ”

Song Shifei was slightly stunned, and immediately replied subconsciously: "Back to the Metropolitan Governor, since it is in the territory of the enemy, of course it is to fight to raise the war. The Yan army was strong on the border, and it was impossible for all the people in the territory to hide in the heavily guarded city. ”

Xiao Wangzhi said with a little disappointment: "Idiot." ”

Song Shifei didn't dare to contradict it, looking a little aggrieved.

Xiao Wangzhi said to Lu Shen, who was sitting at the bottom: "You come and tell him the reason." ”

Lu Shen smiled apologetically at Song Shifei, and then said calmly: "Brother Song, the purpose of our army's Northern Expedition is to recover the homeland, capturing the city pass and defeating the enemy army are only means, the most important thing is to appease the people and let the people of the north accept the arrival of our army, so as to lay the foundation for the continuation of the Northern Expedition." If you take your soldiers to plunder and raise war in the Northland, it will inevitably make the people of the Northland hate our army and lose the support of the people, and our army will not be able to move an inch in the future. ”

"Look at my pig brain."

Song Shifei raised his hand and touched his head, and said ashamedly: "It's that I thought too simply, thank you Brother Lu for solving your doubts." ”

Lu Shen smiled and said, "Don't dare to be." ”

Xiao Wangzhi looked around at the generals and turned to the topic: "During this time, your suggestions and suggestions have played a good supplement to the planning of the Northern Expedition. Next, Lu Shen will give you a brief explanation of how to fight this battle. ”

Everyone has not forgotten that in addition to being the captain of the Ruishi Battalion, Lu Shen also has the official position of the prosecutor of the Governor's Mansion, and he is one of the core staff members around Xiao Wangzhi.

Lu Shen didn't refuse, got up and walked to the map hanging on the wall next to him, and said unhurriedly: "Generals, in this battle, our army must first clarify its strategic goal, is it to take Qingtian City and Yongquan Pass?" Or take advantage of the situation to regain the entire Dongyang Road? Or is it where to hit the whole line? Or is it a direct restoration of the old capital of Los Angeles? In the previous more than ten military discussions, our army did not determine this issue, and the word Northern Expedition was more like an empty slogan. ”

The generals listened intently.

Lu Shen glanced at Xiao Wangzhi and continued: "After the Governor of the Metropolitan asked His Majesty for advice, the goals of our army in this battle have been determined, one is to recover Dongyang Road and Moyang Road, and the other is to severely damage the main force of the Yan army as much as possible. ”

"Good!"

The commander of the Taixing army made Kang Yanxiao slap his hands and praise angrily, and the rest also echoed, and everyone's eyes were shining eagerly.

The Huaizhou army has been lying on the salary for more than ten years, and last year it defeated the Yan army one after another in the front, and it was when the morale was high, and these generals naturally wanted to go further.

Joining the army is not only to protect the territory and the people, but also to make meritorious contributions and wait for the generals, which is the most true thought in the heart of every soldier.

"On this basis, the Battle of the Northern Expedition will be divided into three phases."

Lu Shen calmed down, turned around and pointed to the two markers on the map on the north of Huaizhou: "In the first stage, our army will target Qingtian City and Yongquan Pass. There is a difference between this, first take Yongquan Pass and then go down to Qingtian City, and then use this as a transit place, and the troops are divided into two roads to sweep the periphery of the pseudo-Yan Dongyang Road, and gradually clear the Yan army around Ruyin City, the capital of Dongyang Road. ”

The terrain of Yongquan Pass is steep, and it is not so easy to take it, and the generals have long been mentally prepared for this, and at the same time, they also know that the road to the Northern Expedition is not a smooth road, and there are always some tough battles to gnaw down.

The calm reaction of everyone made Lu Shen bow slightly, and then said: "In the second stage, our army besieged Ruyin City without attacking, this place is extremely important to Pseudo Yan, it is the first important town in the southeast, and controls the main road of east, west, north and south, Pseudo Yan will definitely not allow Ruyin City to be recovered by our army." At that time, they will have to draw troops from elsewhere to help. ”

Pei Di's eyes narrowed slightly, and he continued: "Lu Duwei wants to surround and send reinforcements?" ”

This is a new word, which was proposed by Lu Shen in last year's war, and the generals learned this set of tactics.

Lu Shen smiled: "It can be said, but our goal is not these reinforcements, but to tear apart the defense line of the Yan army from the overall strategy." After all, there is an upper limit to the enemy's strength, and it is impossible to replenish it indefinitely. The addition of soldiers and horses here means that the side will inevitably weaken the strength of the guards. In the second stage, the Jingzhou Governor's Office will cooperate with the actions of our Huaizhou Army and launch an offensive on the northern part of the Puppet Yan Moyang Road to further squeeze the enemy's mobile forces. ”

Song Shifei asked curiously, "What about the third stage?" ”

Lu Shen didn't answer, Xiao Wangzhi took over and said: "Lu Shen has made four plans for the third stage, in order to avoid disunity of will in the army, the plan for this stage will not be announced for the time being, and it will depend on the progress of the war." All in all, for our Huaizhou army, the first battle of the opening of the mountain was to pull out the two nails that hindered our army from going north, and then the troops pointed directly at the pseudo-Yan Dongyang Road. ”

The generals commanded in unison.

Xiao Wangzhi then ordered: "In the first stage, the Feiyun Army is responsible for coming out of the security line to enter Qingtian City, not forcibly attacking the city, only to deter the defenders in the city, and clear out the ranger scouts arranged by the enemy in the battlefield area. ”

Song Shifei got up and said, "The last general is ordered!" ”

Xiao Wangzhi continued: "The Zhenbei Army and the Lai'an Army will go to the northeast, and they will go to meet them immediately after the capture of Yongquan Pass, and at the same time, you will be responsible for forcing back the reserve reinforcements of the Pseudo-Yan Dongyang Road. ”

Pei Di and Duan Zuozhang led the order in unison.

"The Taixing Army, the Pingshan Army, and the Guangling Army are ready for battle, and after receiving the order of the governor, they immediately rushed to the north of the Lai'an defense line and cooperated with the Feiyun Army to capture Qingtian City."

The congregation will rise and fall.

At this time, they couldn't help but have a strong question in their hearts, Xiao Wangzhi had arrangements for all the armies, and the question was who would attack Yongquan Pass?

Pei Di was the first to react, he looked at Lu Shen with a calm expression meaningfully, and secretly said that it seems that the Metropolitan Governor pressed the treasure on the Ruishi Battalion, but I don't know if this army that has been training for nearly a year can bring surprises?

Sure enough, Xiao Wangzhi immediately said: "The Ruishi battalion will attack Yongquan Pass. ”

Lu Shen took a deep breath and arched his hand: "The last general will take the order." ”

Xiao Wangzhi looked around at everyone and said in an accentuated tone: "Before the Governor orders the Northern Expedition, you must not leak the news, you only need to train the soldiers as usual, and the subordinate officials of the Governor's Mansion will assist you in the logistics work." Remember, it is necessary to create the illusion to the outside world that our army will not attack within the year. ”

"Obey!"

The generals responded awe-inspiringly.

Xiao Wangzhi and Lu Shen glanced at each other, the expectation in their eyes was undoubtedly revealed, and Lu nodded heavily.

After this military discussion, there were no obvious changes in Huaizhou, and it seemed that everyone was waiting for the arrival of winter.

On November 23, the first snow fell on the world, staining the vast world between Laiancheng and Dongyang Road in Beiyan.

(End of chapter)