Jiuxi

Chapter 674 Chapter 672 [Constraints]

In late autumn, Yongjia City is still as prosperous and bustling as before.

On the Imperial Street northwest of the imperial palace, there is an extremely solemn and majestic government office. Pedestrians passing by here will consciously lighten their footsteps.

Because this is the Military Academy of Da Qi, which controls all the troops in the world.

Inside the main hall, the scent of sandalwood incense curled up into the air, and all the clerks held their breath in concentration.

Their expressions were somewhat strange, as if they didn't know whether they should be happy or solemn. The root of the problem was the urgent military report sent from the northern border yesterday afternoon.

To the north of the long table, Chief Military Minister, Duke Rong, Xiao Wangzhi, looked calmly at the military newspaper in his hand.

Five ministers, Han Zhongjie, Zhang Xu, Chen Lanyu, Shen Yulai and Li Jingda, sat on the left and right, each holding a copy of the military report.

Xiao Wangzhi cleared his throat, looked around at everyone and asked, "What do you think of this military report?"

There was silence.

Li Jingda sat at the last seat, looking at the others calmly.

Today, the Military Academy is headed by Xiao Wangzhi. His reputation and qualifications can naturally intimidate others. Han Zhongjie, Zhang Xu and Chen Lanyu each lead a Beijing camp, and Shen Yulai is the commander-in-chief of the imperial guards. Only Li Jingda is just a minister of military affairs, looking particularly lonely and helpless.

This seemed to be inferior to his situation in Dingzhou. At that time, he at least had two trusted confidants, Hou Dayong and Zheng Xiuqi, and the Dingwei Army and Fengfu Army would not have any intention of disobeying him.

But anyone with a discerning eye could see that Li Jingda's demeanor had changed greatly since he had been in the frontier for two years. He was no longer as irritable and irritable as before, but rather calm and composed.

His gaze finally fell on Xiao Wangzhi. Just as he was about to break the silence, someone suddenly said, "Duke, this is a great victory!"

Xiao Wangzhi turned around and saw Han Zhongjie looking a little excited, so he smiled and said, "It shouldn't be considered a great victory, right?"

"Why not?"

Han Zhongjie held the military report in his right hand and said happily: "For decades, our border cavalry has never defeated the Jing army cavalry head-on. Now, under the command of the Duke of Shanyang, Commander Li personally led the Feiyu Army deep into the enemy's territory and annihilated nearly 7,000 main cavalry of the Jing army in one battle. This is truly an inspiring victory!"

His expression didn't seem fake, and in fact, his feelings were understandable.

As he said, the Jing army's cavalry has always had an overwhelming advantage in the past twenty years, forcing the soldiers of the Great Qi to passively defend.

The results achieved by the Feiyu Army this time were enough to shatter the pride and confidence of the Jing Army Cavalry. It was indeed a great victory of great significance.

The only thing that was not perfect was that the Feiyu Army itself paid the price of more than 3,000 cavalrymen, but considering the strength of the Jing Army's cavalry, the Feiyu Army's casualty ratio of nearly one to two was not unacceptable.

Li Jingda glanced at Han Zhongjie and said silently in his heart: "Pretending."

Zhang Xu, who was sitting opposite Han Zhongjie, put down the military newspaper and said calmly, "Great victory? Not necessarily."

Han Zhongjie was slightly startled and asked in confusion: "Why did Lord Zhang say that?"

Zhang Xu lowered his eyelids and said expressionlessly, "If the frontier infantry had achieved such a result, it would be a good thing to exchange two for one, not to mention one for two, but cavalry cannot be used in this way. As you all know, our dynasty has always lacked war horses, and it is even more difficult to train a qualified cavalry. Unless it is absolutely necessary, we cannot use cavalry to exchange lives with the Jinglian people. The other side has many horse breeding sites, and the Jinglian people have grown up on horseback since childhood, so they can continuously replenish cavalry."

Han Zhongjie frowned slightly, but Xiao Wangzhi still looked gentle.

Zhang Xu continued, "The Feiyu Army lost nearly 4,000 cavalry this time. How long will it take to recover? I think the Jing Army will gladly accept this exchange, because every cavalry loss in our army requires a great price to fill the gap, and the other side does not have such concerns. If we continue to win in this way, when our border cavalry is exhausted, who will fight against the Jing Army cavalry? In the future Northern Expedition, who will cover the flanks of the army? Who will deal with the Jing Army cavalry raids?"

Han Zhongjie pondered and said, "Zhang Hou is right. I didn't think it through."

Zhang Xu shook his head and said, "That's too much."

The hall fell silent again.

Xiao Wangzhi took a sip of tea and said calmly, "According to the opinion of Yongding Hou, the Dingzhou Governor's Office did not achieve any success in this battle?"

Li Jingda couldn't help but raise his head when he heard this. Just as he was about to express his opinion, he saw Xiao Wangzhi looking at him.

There was a hint of dissuasion in his eyes.

He suppressed the impulse in his heart.

Zhang Xu said calmly, "Please allow me to report this, Duke. In my opinion, the Feiyu Army did contribute to the Great Qi in this battle. At least on the surface, it was our army that won. Not only did they successfully drive away the enemy cavalry, preventing them from continuing to harass our border troops, but they also achieved tangible results. They deserve praise."

Han Zhongjie seemed to be relieved and nodded, "It should be so." "On the surface..."

Xiao Wangzhi smiled faintly, and then said: "Lord Zhang must have something to say, so why not tell me directly."

Zhang Xu met his gaze and said slowly, "From the military report, although the Duke of Shanyang was responsible for the decision-making, he was far away in Ruyin City when the Feiyu Army marched, and then hurriedly led the Ruishi Battalion and Dingbei Army to support. It can be seen that he did not know the determination of the Feiyu Army in advance, otherwise he would not have let the Feiyu Army fall into a desperate situation and asked Commander Li to lead the main force and elite troops to cover the retreat. Therefore, it was Commander Li who decided on his own that the Feiyu Army stepped into the enemy's trap this time."

Xiao Wangzhi said calmly: "As a general, you should have the right to act according to circumstances. If you have to wait for the commander's order every time, you will inevitably miss military opportunities."

Zhang Xu said in a deep voice: "What the Duke said is absolutely true, but the results afterwards showed that Commander Li underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly, which led to heavy losses for the Feiyu Army. This is an indisputable fact."

"Underestimating the enemy and advancing rashly?"

Xiao Wangzhi put down the teacup and raised his eyebrows slightly: "Lord Zhang, please be careful with your words."

As the smile on his face faded, Zhang Xu suddenly felt a pressure coming towards him.

Xiao Wangzhi had been in Beijing for some time and usually showed a gentle temperament. When handling military affairs, he respected the opinions of several military ministers very much and did not seem to be autocratic at all.

Although he was not angry at the moment, his solemn expression revealed a bit of fierce power, as if he was telling everyone in the hall that he, Xiao Wangzhi, was not a lucky person like Guo Congyi, nor was he a dull and honest person like Liu Shouguang.

He has been in the army for more than 30 years. He has risen from an ordinary person with no family background to the number one person in the military of Da Qi today. He relied on fighting with swords and guns on the battlefield, and his path was paved with countless heads of Jing army.

Seeing this, Han Zhongjie tried to smooth things over by saying, "Please calm down, Duke. I don't think Marquis Zhang meant that."

Xiao Wangzhi turned his head and looked at him, and asked meaningfully: "Where does your anger come from?"

Han Zhongjie couldn't help but remain silent.

Zhang Xu had calmed down by now, but he said stubbornly, "My Lord, I still think that this battle seemed like a victory but was actually a defeat, but it was not the fault of the Feiyu Army. These men of Daqi fought bravely on the battlefield, and they were not afraid even in desperate situations. This was enough to demonstrate the power of Daqi, and they should be highly rewarded. However, Li Bingxue, as the commander of the Feiyu Army, was unable to distinguish between the real and the fake, was arrogant and conceited, and did not take the enemy seriously at all, which led to the Feiyu Army falling into a dead end."

He paused for a moment, stared at Xiao Wangzhi and said, "If the Duke of Shanyang County had not noticed something strange in time and personally led the army to rush to the battlefield, the elite soldiers of the Feiyu Army would have died heroically. What a tragic loss this would be for the border army. This battle is enough to prove that Li Bingxue lacks the ability to lead the Feiyu Army alone. For long-term considerations, she should be transferred out of the Feiyu Army!"

Han Zhongjie did not wait for Xiao Wangzhi to speak, and hurriedly said: "Lord Zhang! Duke Wei has devoted everything to the Great Qi, how can you say such a thing!"

Zhang Xu raised his thick eyebrows and said bluntly: "I am very confused by what Marquis Yongyi said. Could it be that the Feiyu Army is the private army of the Li family?!"

Han Zhongjie was suddenly speechless.

From a certain perspective, the Feiyu Army, which was created by Li Tianrun himself and led by Li Bingxue throughout, does bear the imprint of the Li family. It may be a bit of an exaggeration to call it a private army, but the Li family will inevitably have control over this cavalry.

The question is how can such words be made public?

That is to say, since everyone present in the main hall of the Military Academy were important military officials, Zhang Xu's words would not cause an uproar.

The atmosphere in the hall became increasingly solemn.

Chen Lanyu, who was promoted by Xiao Wangzhi, came from a frontier army and is now the marching commander of the Jinwu Camp, lowered his head slightly, his face calm, and his true thoughts could not be seen. It seemed that he did not want to get involved in this dispute.

Shen Yulai, who was in charge of the Imperial Guards, had a calm expression and remained silent as usual, with only a pair of eyes and a pair of ears, determined not to get involved in military topics that were not related to the Imperial Guards.

Han Zhongjie glanced at Xiao Wangzhi, who narrowed his eyes, and forced a smile, "What are you talking about, Lord Zhang? I just think that Duke Wei, Minister Li, and Commander Li are all meritorious officials of the Great Qi. Commander Li's decision may not have been sound this time, but he still achieved impressive results in the end. This is enough to prove that Commander Li is good at training his troops. Otherwise, how could the Feiyu Army have such strong strength? Besides, Duke Wei is ill and is now recuperating in the capital. He especially needs to maintain a good mood. We must always take this into consideration."

"The Feiyu Army was formed by drawing on the elites of various armies in Jingzhou. It should have such strength."

Zhang Xu spoke in a steady tone, and then said seriously: "As for Duke Wei, if the Military Academy finally decides to transfer Commander Li, I will take the initiative to go to Duke Wei's mansion and apologize to him in person."

Han Zhongjie couldn't help but sigh helplessly.

Xiao Wangzhi looked at Zhang Xu, the only military minister in the court of Da Qi who had changed from a civil official to a military official, and said calmly, "If Marquis Zhang agrees to transfer Li Bingxue from the Feiyu Army, then do we need to let the Feiyu Army return to the Jingzhou Governor's Office?"

The rest of the people were instantly nervous.

Zhang Xu did not answer immediately this time. He seemed to think calmly for a while before he said decisively, "It might be possible."

Xiao Wangzhi suddenly laughed softly.

(End of this chapter)