Emperor Taizong's Growth Plan

Chapter 259
Hearing Wu Zixu's remarks, Xu Heng was taken aback for a moment, and asked subconsciously:
"Why do you say that?"

Wu Zixu suppressed his excitement, and said:
"I have received a transfer order yesterday to organize people to start drawing a map of the southwest of Xia Kingdom. The East Factory has sent detailed information on the pass fortresses of the southwestern counties! The Weapons Department under the Ministry of War has also received orders to step up casting armor Order……"

When Xu Heng heard this, a strange look appeared on his face, and he interrupted immediately:

"Brother Wu, tell me about this matter, is it suspected of leaking military aircraft?"

Although Xu Heng is now an official of Yunguo.But this matter is related to the layout of the Xia Kingdom by the court. If there is a real sign of attacking the Xia Kingdom, the fewer people should know about it, the better.

When Wu Zixu heard this, he was slightly taken aback, and immediately said:
"This is all my own guess, and the Ministry has never ordered a ban on this matter..."

That's what he said, but Xu Heng's words made Wu Zixu, who had been dazzled by excitement, a little sober.

Seeing Wu Zixu like this, Xu Heng sighed slightly, and said:

"Brother Wu, I waited for the two of us to chat after drinking. You once complained that His Majesty only placed you in the Ministry of War to be in charge of deducing the situation of the war, and did not send you out to command the troops. But now it seems that such an arrangement is at the discretion of His Majesty." Deep meaning!"

Wu Zixu was brought by Xiao Cheng to beat King Qi face to face once, and then he was arranged to join Cao Guanzheng as a white body, and he has been serving in Cao Cao since then.Some time ago, the imperial court was restructured, and because of his own ability, he was promoted to be a doctor in the Ministry of War.

The so-called Fangsi of the Ministry of War is in charge of map, military system, city god, town and garrison, conciseness, and conquest.The main responsibility is to make judgments on the form, so as to formulate military plans.In addition, it also includes providing military maps, ensuring marching routes, early warning and protection, organizing residents to provide marching support, and retreating.

Its status and responsibilities are equivalent to the Ministry of the General Staff (Anti-harmony).

The position of the staff commander is neither as prestigious as the command and training of soldiers and horses in the Fifth Army Commander's Mansion, nor is it as easy as the military department above to coordinate logistics.But there is a little omission, that is, double-sidedness, which is not a good position.

However, with Wu Zixu's talent, these positions obviously cannot embarrass him.The only thing he was dissatisfied with this position was that he couldn't personally lead the army and stationed at the Yunxia border.

Hearing what Xu Heng said at this time, Wu Zixu frowned, and said in a deep voice:
"Brother Xu has something to say, just speak up!"

Xu Heng sighed softly, pointed to Wu Zixu's slovenly appearance because he hadn't slept all night, and said:

"Although I, Dayun, signed a peace treaty with Xia Guo, anyone can see the undercurrent and turbulence. Therefore, collecting information and secretly drawing a map of Xia Guo is not what it should be. It's just a little wind, so Brother Wu You are so hard to hold on to yourself, how can His Majesty feel relieved if you are really asked to lead the troops to garrison the front line?"

What Xu Heng wanted to express was actually very clear.

Wu Zixu wanted to attack Xia with all his heart, and with this mentality, if he was really sent to lead the troops to garrison the border, he might secretly plan a "walking alone" and provoke war between the two countries.

Hearing Xu Heng's words, Wu Zixu frowned, but said with some dissatisfaction:

"Brother Xu looks at me like this, but you look down on me! Although the family feud is unforgettable, but since I have served Your Majesty, how can I disregard the king's order and lightly start the war when the court has not prepared everything?"

Regardless of other things, Wu Zixu is also very aware that there is still a gap in strength between the two countries.Although Dayun has lost the two countries in a row and has the same limelight, it is because Xia Guo has not done his best.

At the beginning of Yunguo's seizure of power by Xiao Cheng, the generals of the frontier army were worried that the emperor would take the opportunity to purge them, and refused to listen to the imperial court's orders, and wanted to occupy the four states of Yongzhou.The Buddhist sect took advantage of this opportunity to secretly inform and contact Xia and Li to attack together, causing the situation to collapse, and the society was once in danger of being overthrown.

King Qi also wanted to take the opportunity to purge the Southwest General's influence in the army, so it hit it off, and he immediately raised troops to attack the northern border of Yun Kingdom without notifying Xia Guochaotang.

So strictly speaking, what Yun Kingdom defeated at that time was only the southwestern counties that accounted for only one-fifth of Xia Kingdom, and the southwestern frontier army of Xia Kingdom led by King Qi!
The subsequent peace talks were also due to the turmoil among the people in the southwestern counties due to the fact that the various forces in the Xia Kingdom were restraining each other.

But just as he was about to make a move, compared to Xia Guo, Yun Guo still lacked a bit of background!
The Kingdom of Xia occupies the Central Plains, and its territory is too large.Under Wang Xiao's governance, Yunguo fought north and south and expanded the country for thousands of miles.The southwestern counties of Xia Kingdom are comparable to half of Yun Kingdom, and the population is only slightly inferior to Yun Kingdom.

If all the forces in the Xia Kingdom are forced to put aside their disputes and work together to deal with the Yun Kingdom, then even if the Yun Kingdom's army is victorious, as long as the Xia Kingdom's court does not collapse and continues to resist, it will be difficult to maintain the troops occupying the city. is an astronomical figure.

Xu Heng shook his head slightly when he heard Wu Zixu's defense, and said:
"It's not that I see you that way, but perhaps because of this, His Majesty is unwilling to send you out to lead the army..."

When Wu Zixu heard this, his mouth froze immediately.

He also knew that his previous resentment towards Xia Guo and his eagerness to avenge his family really made people feel uneasy.

Xu Heng looked at Wu Zixu and said seriously:
"Brother Wu, if you really want to avenge your family, you need to put away the urgency of hatred in your heart. Otherwise, how will His Majesty let you go out to command the army at ease in the future?"

Wu Zixu's lips trembled. After a long time, he breathed a sigh of relief and said in a deep voice:

"Thank you brother Xu for reminding..."

Xu Heng looked at Wu Zixu who had calmed down a little, and nodded slightly, feeling a little relieved in his heart.

Speaking of Wu Zixu's gloomy, paranoid appearance when he was in Jixia Academy back then, it made him worry about it.It's a good thing that he can put down a little bit now!
-
Shaoyang County, Huang'an County under Yongzhou rule.

Countless emaciated, barely human-shaped refugees got the news of the delivery of the imperial court's supplies from nowhere, and their desire for life forced them to drag their sick bodies closer to this place.

These refugees surrounded Huang'an County outside the county seat and blocked the gates of various cities.He didn't attack the city, and he didn't cry to the sky. He just raised his head in a daze, staring closely at the city wall with dull eyes.

There was no wailing or weeping all over the place, it was just so quiet, it was just a sense of dead silence and despair permeating here.

The few soldiers on the city wall felt indescribably complicated when they saw the situation below.Although they were still standing on the city wall, they kept away from the city wall one by one, unable to bear to look down.

Because of the ravages of the plague, the people had to abandon their fields and flee their hometowns in order to survive.However, most of those who can walk outside Huang'an County due to lack of food and clothing are not people from other places.

These officers and soldiers are also human beings, and they are all fellow villagers. Seeing this desperate scene, they will inevitably feel compassion in their hearts.So no matter how the superior scolded, all the soldiers were unwilling to stand near the city wall.

A burly and cold Xia general in full armor just stood on top of the wall and looked down, meeting the desperate eyes of the refugees. Trembling, he couldn't help but take a few steps back.

The soldiers following behind quickly supported him, and said softly:

"Commander!"

Zhou Quan shook off the support of his subordinates slightly, resisted the urgency in his heart, and gritted his teeth:

"I'm afraid His Highness can't wait any longer, and can't wait here any longer!"

This general is none other than Prince Qi's personal guard Commander Zhouquan.

At the beginning, King Qi led only a few soldiers, lightly rode into the southwest, and took over the command of the army again.But at that time, Yu Yingyao was supposed to be in the harem of Yun Kingdom, so King Qi was really worried about letting her go back to Jinling City by herself.

Just in case, he ordered his subordinate Zhou Quan to escort Yu Yingyao back to Xia Kingdom with a group of loyal soldiers.

Now that Yu Yingyao has settled properly, she has fully taken over King Qi and Feng's forces in Beijing, so there is no need to worry about anything else.Zhou Quan was worried about King Qi's safety, so he immediately asked for orders to go to Jiangyang County with the supplies.

It's just that when they arrived at Shaoyang County and walked a few days to Jiangyang County by water, a group of refugees suddenly appeared and surrounded Huang'an County.

There are quite a lot of people and horses transporting supplies. It is impossible to be like the army. When encountering such a thing, they rush to kill them, and they can only be trapped here helplessly.

The soldiers behind him also said eagerly:
"Commander, we have been waiting here for almost half a month, why hasn't Yongzhou sent troops to disperse the refugees?"

Yongzhou, guarding Tanjiang, is an extremely important existence among the many cities in the southwest.

Because the Tanjiang River is one of the tributaries of the great river, connected with various water veins, connecting the entire southwestern counties in series.Occupying here, with the help of water veins, advancing can threaten the entire southwestern land, and retreating can cut off the supply of most of Xia Guo and the southwest.

Previously, the Xia Kingdom had stationed [-] elite troops here.

In a place that is not the front line, such a huge army is stationed.Just looking at it from this point, one can know the importance of this place to the Xia Kingdom.

And Huang'an County is the county seat under the rule of Yongzhou, not far from Yongzhou.

Logically speaking, what is trapped in Huang'an County is the urgently needed supplies in the entire southwest.It is also not far from Yongzhou, where the army is stationed. There should never be such a thing as refugees trapped in the city.

Hearing this, Zhou Quan frowned, sighed with concern, and said:
"In today's Yongzhou, where did the army come from?"

Today's counties in the southwestern part of the Xia Kingdom, due to the invasion of Yunguo cavalry, the looting of the generals, the raging plague, etc., the prestige of the local governments has been lost, and they have collapsed, causing the Xia Kingdom to lose most of its administrative power in the southwestern counties.

However, King Qi wanted to ensure that the scale of the rebellion in Anshun County would not expand here, and that the imperial court's rule in the southwest would not completely dissipate.

As a result, the army under King Qi's command was naturally insufficient in number, so he had to draw troops from other places.

In the southwest of Xia Kingdom, apart from Jiangyang County, there are also Wuzhou and Yongzhou with large troops stationed there.

But Wuzhou is across the river from Yongzhou Camp in Yunguo, so it is really impossible to transfer soldiers and horses, so they have to be transferred from Yongzhou.

It is also because of this that the Yongzhou garrison was transferred to only [-] soldiers and horses, which can only maintain the order of Yongzhou and ensure that the city of Yongzhou is not lost.For Huang'an County, which is besieged by tens of thousands of desperate refugees, it can only be powerless.

Thinking of this, Zhou Quan gritted his teeth suddenly, and said harshly:

"His Royal Highness, we can't wait any longer! We must gather troops and horses out of the city, and we must expel these people as soon as possible!"

Hearing the words, the soldiers subconsciously glanced at the densely packed refugees outside the city, swallowed, and said:
"Commander, can you really drive them away?"

After all, it is within the borders of the Xia Kingdom. In order to reduce the loss of food and grass during the transportation process, they did not mobilize too many people.Not counting civilian husbands, there are less than a thousand soldiers and generals.

And everyone has the idea of ​​survival, and the tens of thousands of refugees in front of them are really in a hurry, and the situation will be difficult to say when the time comes!
When Zhou Quan heard the words, his mouth froze slightly.

And at this moment, I saw a soldier running up the city wall, cupped his hands at Zhou Quan, and said:

"Commander, there are people coming from Miss!"

Now that Yu Yingyao has thrown away the restriction of name and identity, she is able to flex her muscles.As a result, naturally she cannot be called a princess.These soldiers are all loyal to King Qi, and those who know Yu Yingyao's identity are all honored as Miss.

When Zhou Quan heard the words, he suddenly lit up and said:
"Quick, take me to meet someone!"

However, after being guarded by Yu Yingyao's side for a period of time, Zhou Quan was already convinced by the various methods of the direct sister of His Royal Highness.At this time, people from Jinling City must have brought Yu Yingyao's order.

And just as Zhou Quan left the city wall excitedly, among the refugees below the city, several people in ragged clothes who were mixed among the refugees raised their heads together, then gathered together, and exchanged a few words with each other.Immediately turned around and left, squeezed into the crowd of refugees, and disappeared in a flash.

But he didn't expect that at this moment, on the hill beside him, several capable people watched these strange people with cold eyes.

The first person said in a deep voice:

"Yiwei envoy sends a message, and the guards of all departments obey orders!"

"Follow orders!"

"It's too strange for the refugees here to gather here all of a sudden. Those people just now acted suspiciously! Chen Ke's bodyguards immediately mixed in with the refugees, approached those people secretly, and investigated the cause and effect of this matter. But if there is any result, report it quickly! "

"As ordered!"

"Mao Ke's bodyguard, who clearly has the identity of the Operation Department's Yamen, entered the city tonight in the name of being ordered by the Operation Department to investigate the news in the city, collected the defense map of the city wall, and then withdrew!"

"As ordered!"

"Shen Ke's bodyguard, holding Zhong Yiwei's token, in the name of King Qi's secret dispatch, entered the city to assist in the defense, waiting for the opportunity to wake up!"

"As ordered!"

"The guards of Haike, secretly link up with the refugees, give a little favor, and organize the manpower. Wait for the order of the Yiwei envoy, and immediately attack the city!"

"As ordered!"

"The guards in each department do their duty, and do their best to handle the errands, and there must be no mistakes!"

"Yes!"

As soon as the voice fell, the guards at the sticky pole immediately dispersed.

(End of this chapter)