Emperor Taizong's Growth Plan

Chapter 374
The [-] Chinese troops led by General Zhengbei, who did not know their own plans, arrived in a hurry as reinforcements half a day after Cheng County was breached.But it was within half a day that the banner of the Xia Army had been erected on the city of Cheng County.

Cheng Bushi was riding on a war horse, silently looking at the Xia army flag flying on the wall of Chengxian County in front of him, with an extremely deep expression, and remained silent for a long time.

The faces of all the generals of the cloud army were flushed, and all of them were ashen-faced, all of them looked unacceptable.

When Wang Xiao was in power, the Yun army swept across the small countries in the south, and threatened the Li Dynasty in the north, and they were invincible.After Xiao Cheng ascended the throne, he even defeated Xia Guo several times. His soldiers were so sharp that his movement shook the world.

Under such circumstances, the entire cloud army has already cultivated the spirit of a proud soldier.

Cheng County was attacked and destroyed by the Xia Army, which was the first defeat the Yun Army had suffered since entering the Xia Kingdom.In this way, how can we not let the generals feel indignant in their hearts!
At this time, a general of the Yun army gritted his teeth suddenly, stepped forward and cupped his hands and said:

"It has only been half a day since Xia's army breached Cheng County, the city walls have not yet been repaired, and the ordnance and supplies must have not been properly placed. At such a time, please give the order to retake Cheng County!"

"Marshal, the last general is willing to lead the army and retake Cheng County!"

"The last general is also willing to go!"

Hearing the words of his generals, Cheng Bushi came back to his senses slightly, but shook his head slightly at them, saying:

"The top priority is to gather the defeated soldiers in Cheng County. Ask clearly why Cheng County, where [-] elite soldiers are stationed, will be destroyed by Xia's army!"

Although Cheng County is small, it is not as dangerous as Yangping Pass in Xingyuan Prefecture and Jianzhou in Guangyuan Prefecture, but it can definitely be called easy to defend but difficult to attack.In addition, there are [-] elites of the Yun Army stationed in the city, why was it broken before even three days?

If you don't understand this point, it is absolutely impossible to use Cheng's cautious temperament to easily mobilize troops!

And at this moment, Jiang Wei galloped towards Cheng Bushi, and said to Cheng Bushi:

"Big guy!"

"How?" Cheng Bushi asked hastily.

When Jiang Wei heard this, he immediately said:

"Cheng County was forced, and only [-] of the [-] soldiers broke out, and now they have all been gathered by the last general..."

As soon as this remark came out, all the generals on the side were in an uproar.

The casualties of more than 2000 people, the cloud army captured the entire four southwest counties before, and it only lost so much.Now that the Three Thousand Cloud Army, as the defender of the city, has suffered such serious losses?

When Cheng Bushi heard that only [-]% of the three thousand elite had withdrawn, he frowned slightly, and said in a deep voice:
"Have you ever asked me why Cheng County was destroyed so quickly?"

"The defenders in the city said that tens of thousands of elite Xia troops attacked. They were divided into several teams, and they took turns to attack day and night. The defenders in the city were exhausted and could only defend hard. They held on for two days and lost half of them. But Unexpectedly, just this morning, another elite army of the Xia army suddenly attacked from Chencang Road, the city was attacked on both sides, and the soldiers' morale was scattered, and the city was broken."

All the generals of the cloud army said one after another:
"This, so possible!"

"Why did Xia Jun come out from Chencang Road?"

"Chen Cang Road leads directly to the Jin land in the northern border of Xia Kingdom, so it must be the elite soldiers and horses from the northern border!"

"However, Jin is nearly a thousand miles away from Cheng County, and it will take more than a month for the army to march... Xia Guo must have plans!"

If it hadn't been for planning to attack Cheng County, how could Xia Guo have dispatched troops from the northern border more than a month in advance, came from Chencang Road, and attacked Cheng County in one fell swoop?
At this moment, Cheng Bushi's face finally turned ugly, and his voice became louder, and he scolded:

"I once ordered that the Duobu army on Maming Pavilion Road and Chencang Road should scout horses to prevent Xia's army from attacking. Cheng County guard, why did you withdraw the scouting horses?"

Even before, none of the generals in the army would have thought that Xia Jun, who had been beaten to the brink, would dare to attack.But Cheng didn't know how to be cautious in using troops, so he strictly ordered the guards of Cheng County to spread more horses on the main roads to prevent Xia's surprise attack.

Hearing that Cheng County was so breached at this moment, he subconsciously thought that it was because the chief general of Cheng County had not carried out his military orders, and he immediately became angry.

Seeing this, Jiang Wei quickly explained:
"It's not that the general of Cheng County didn't respect the military order, but Xia Jun seems to have dispatched a large number of masters to attack and kill Tan Ma on Ma Ming Pavilion Road and Chen Cang Road, and quietly paralyzed the army's eyeliner. The county was destroyed..."

Jiang Wei's words extinguished the anger in Cheng Buzhi's heart.

In fact, unless it is a high-level martial artist above the eighth rank, ordinary martial arts masters can't get any bargains in front of soldiers who form an army formation.

And the scout horses sent by the army are even better in the army on horses, so they are generally not afraid of attacks by martial arts masters.

The Maming Pavilion Road and Chencang Road near Kecheng County, these two important roads, are in narrow terrain, and it is difficult for the cavalry in the army to use their speed and escape.If there are really masters setting up an ambush secretly, I'm afraid they really can't escape!
All the generals of the Yun army heard the words, and only then did they know that the Xia army was well prepared, and it was by no means a sudden intention to attack Chengxian County, so they stopped mentioning the idea of ​​taking back the city when the Xia army's foothold was not stable.

At this moment, Cheng Bushi felt something was wrong in his heart.

However, Xia Jun's tens of thousands of elite soldiers pointed at him, which really made him feel pressured, so he immediately ordered:

"Xia's army came prepared, don't underestimate the enemy and rush forward. Withdraw troops from Longnan Mansion and call back soldiers and horses from all over the place to prepare for battle!"

No matter what, it is always the safest way to withdraw troops from Longnan Mansion first, report to Jingzhong urgently, and then gather troops and horses from all over to organize and prepare for war.

But at this time, without waiting for the generals to respond, Jiang Wei suddenly said:

"Commander, the last general only feels that Xia's army is moving strangely! Among the six counties in the southwest, Xiangzhou County is geographically the most biased. Even if it is won, it will not have much impact on the situation in the southwest. I'm afraid it's not for the Xia army's effort. From Xiangzhou County!"

Hearing this, Cheng Bushi opened his eyes and was suddenly woken up.

"This is very true. Xia Jun is not here for Xiangzhou County...Jiangyang County! Xia Jun wants to drag most of our army here, and then go straight to Jiangyang County!"

The reason why Jiangyang County was chosen by Xia Guo as the location of the southwestern frontier army camp was naturally because this was the most critical point of the entire southwest situation.

Take back Jiangyang County, go north, and cut off the connection between Xiangzhou County and Yunguo.To the east, you can enter and disturb the back of Dejiang County.It is even possible to use Jiangyang County as the base to attack the northern border of Yun Kingdom, which is now extremely empty of troops, and spread the flames of war to the territory of Yun Kingdom!
Everyone at the scene wanted to understand this, and immediately trembled.

Xia Guo's plan this time can really be called ruthless, hitting Yun Guo's vitals.If they really succeed, the situation in the Southwest will be completely reversed!
"But even if the Xia army is attacking, if you want to enter Jiangyang County, you still need to go through a dangerous situation. It is difficult to attack Jianzhou at Yangping Pass. The commander stayed there before with [-] elites. How can the Xia army easily break through it?" ?” A general couldn’t help but ask.

Cheng Buzhi heard the words, but said in a deep voice:

"Jianzhou is as dangerous and difficult to attack as Yangping Pass, because the city pass was built as a pass in the mountain, and the widest point is only seven or eight feet wide. It is difficult for soldiers from both sides to form an army formation, so only a thousand people are enough to withstand tens of thousands of troops... ..."

Having said that, Cheng Bushi changed the subject and continued:
"But it is precisely because of the limited terrain that it is difficult for soldiers on both sides to form an army. Therefore, if you want to break through, it is easier than Yangping Pass! You only need to send dozens of masters to rush to Jianzhou Chengguan, It can be broken easily."

However, the pass is seven or eight feet wide, and there can only be more than a hundred soldiers piled up at a time.With the cooperation of the army, and enough martial arts masters are organized to make a surprise attack, it can be said to be a piece of cake to win!
Hearing this, the generals only felt a sense of urgency welling up in their hearts, and felt urgent.

Cheng Buzhi swept away the generals, and finally stopped on Jiang Wei, a young general, and shouted in a deep voice:

"Jiang Wei!"

When Jiang Wei heard this, he cupped his fists and shouted:
"The end is here!"

Although Jiang Wei was young, with insufficient qualifications and official positions, who made him the only ninth-level master under Cheng Bushi's command!

"I order you to lead the [-] cavalry from the headquarters, quickly detour, and go to Jianzhou for help!"

When Jiang Wei heard this, he cupped his fists and responded immediately:
"The last general takes orders!"
-
Yunguo, in the palace of Zhongqing City.

The entire Hall of Mental Cultivation was extremely oppressive at this moment.The cabinet walkers in the outer hall and the attendants in the palace didn't even dare to show their breath. They were all cautious in speaking and doing things, for fear of disturbing the inner hall by making any noise.

And in the inner hall of Yangxin, Xiao Cheng sat on the dragon chair with a pale face.

In front of him, the well-known supervisor of the East Factory, Du Yiwei at the sticky pole, Feng Bao and Guo Xie both knelt down on the ground with pale faces, buried their heads tightly, and let their foreheads The cold sweat was dripping down, and he didn't dare to reach out to wipe it.

Xiao Cheng looked at the two, and said in an extremely cold voice:
"Last year, I allocated 37 taels of silver from the internal treasury and gave it to Shangyu's spare office. Over 8000 and 41 taels of silver were allocated to the East Factory. The sum of these moneys is the same as that of the first emperor. At that time, it was almost the balance of the entire court for a year. But I don’t care! Because I think that Dongchang and Shangyu’s spare parts are my eyes, and I can’t do without you... But you, now give me such a result? "

Xiao Cheng is such an emperor who wields power, has a great reputation, lives and kills, and when he gets angry, it is like a great change in the world.

"The Xia Kingdom has mobilized troops on such a large scale, and your subordinates are all over the Xia Kingdom's spies, but they haven't noticed it? Then, what's the use of supporting you!"

A sound of fury, like thunder roaring from heaven, resounded throughout the Hall of Mental Cultivation, making everyone in the inner and outer halls suddenly feel fearful and trembling.

Feng Bao and Guo Xie were so panicked at this moment that they could only keep kowtowing and apologizing.

"Your Majesty, calm down, don't let yourself get so angry! It's the servants who listened to the news from Jinling City and didn't find out. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

"Xia Jun set up a suspicious formation this time. First, he secretly transferred the elite soldiers, horses, supplies and ordnance of Wuling Mansion to Xingyuan Mansion in batches. Mistake, please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

From the many arrangements of Xia Guo this time, it can be seen that Xia Guo obviously put a lot of thought into it, just to catch Yun Guo by surprise.

But even so, as long as the two pay attention to the secret reports of eyeliners everywhere, they will never be fooled so easily!

Xiao Cheng couldn't calm down the anger in his heart at this time, and couldn't help but continued to reprimand:
"While listening and trusting? Negligence? Back then, the Xia State Embroidered Clothes Envoy's two schemes in the country caused quite a storm. I felt that since the East Factory and the Shangyu Spare Office were just established, it was inevitable that they would be negligent and have not committed any crimes. But You can do one thing and do two things, never do it again and again!"

At the beginning, Yu Yingyao made troubles many times, and Dongchang and the sticky pole were all belated, but Xiao Cheng always felt that the two of them were mainly focused on Li Chao and Xia Guo at that time, so they didn't convict too much.

But now the East Factory and Sticky Rod have been developed for two years, and they have swallowed so much money every year, and now they have committed such a mistake, it is really unbearable for Xiao Cheng!
When the two heard the words, they no longer dared to speak, so they had to kowtow heavily to make amends.

"Boom, boom, boom", the successive heavy muffled sounds have already made the foreheads of the two of them flush, and even Feng Bao's head has been smashed, and blood oozes out.

Xiao Cheng looked at the two people in the hall, and suddenly shook his head.

Back then, Xiao Cheng had no choice but to control the East Factory and Shangyu Backup Office with the two of them.But looking at it now, I found something inappropriate!
Feng Bao's political attributes are as high as [-], which is higher than many of the six major officials in the court.In any dynasty, it is not a problem to be a high-ranking official of the six departments, and it is more than enough for Xiao Cheng's side.And with enough wisdom, it wouldn't be a big problem for him to be in charge of the affairs of the East Factory and be responsible for spying on intelligence.

However, his energy is not enough after all, while serving in front of Xiao Cheng, he also has to be in charge of the affairs of the East Factory. Over time, it is inevitable that there will be omissions.

Guo Xie, on the other hand, was born in the Jianghu.When Xiao Cheng was dormant back then, he was able to quickly subdue the ranger and libertine in Zhongqing City to serve under his command, which is enough to prove his interpersonal charm.At the beginning, he was in charge of the sticky pole. With his ruthlessness, during Xiao Chengyu's personal conquest, he killed countless officials of the DPRK and China with ulterior motives, stabilizing the situation in the DPRK and China.
But as the authority of the sticky pole increased, Guo Xie's ability became more and more difficult to control this big ship!

Thinking of this, the anger in Xiao Cheng's heart calmed down a little, and he said coldly:

"Because of your contributions in the past, you two will be fined for half a year. Feng Bao will resign from his post in Dongchang today, and he will concentrate on being your eunuch with a pen by my side in the future. And Guo Xie, you will be dismissed from the post of envoy of Du Yi Wei, come here Serve in our Forbidden Army..."

After all, these two were old people who accompanied Xiao Cheng all the way, Xiao Cheng remembered the old relationship and did not punish them too much.They even let Feng Bao continue to serve as his eunuch Bingbi, and arranged for Guo Xie to join the imperial army so that he would not lose his power and official position.

It is already a great grace to be treated like this!

Hearing Xiao Cheng's words, Feng Bao breathed a sigh of relief, raised his head with tears in his eyes, bent over and kowtowed, and said in a trembling voice:
"Slave, thank you Your Majesty for your kindness!"

On the other hand, Guo Xie, whose eyes were reddened, gritted his teeth and said:
"I thank your majesty for your kindness...but I want to make up for my negligence! Please order me to stay in the spare room of Shangyu. Even if I am a low-level guard, I have to go to Xia Guo to serve in person to make up for this. The next crime!"

When Xiao Cheng heard Guo Xie's words, his eyes moved, and seeing that his loyalty value had risen to full value on the golden finger, he knew that these words were definitely not angry words of dissatisfaction with his arrangement, but indeed sincere words.

Xiao Cheng pondered for a moment, and then said in a deep voice:

"In this case, you will be exempted from the post of Yiwei envoy, and demoted to the first-class bodyguard of Shangyu's spare office, and go to Xia Kingdom to serve under Jumeng's command, so as to make up for the crime with meritorious deeds!"

Guo Xie's expression was immediately moved when he heard the words, and he immediately bowed respectfully and said in a trembling voice:
"Sir, thank you Your Majesty for your kindness..."

Xiao Cheng asked the two of them to retreat and pondered for a long time alone in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, before he said:

"Decree, Wang Zhi, the chief eunuch of the department, will be the governor of the official school of the East Factory today! Lu Bing, the head of the East Factory, will be removed from the official position of the East Factory, and will work in the Shangyu Reserve Office. He will move to Yiwei and take charge of Du Yiwei Make a big seal!"

"Yes!" The little eunuch answered quickly.

A governor of the West Factory recorded in the annals of history, and a commander of Jinyiwei should be suitable for these two positions!
　Rest tomorrow, so much for today.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)