Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1636 Good idea!
After receiving An Miaoyi's instructions, Qiqige was about to turn around and retreat, and pass An Miaoyi's order to Ren Hai. However, at the moment of turning around, Qiqige suddenly had an idea, and she turned around again.

Seeing this, An Miaoyi asked with some confusion:

"Qiqige, do you have anything else to say?"

"My lady, I suddenly have a good idea!"

"good idea?"

"Well! Your Majesty, although there is a way to get through this bond issue, it is really unfair that His Majesty only allows you to buy bonds!"

Hearing what Qiqige said, An Miaoyi seemed to realize something and immediately asked:

"Qiqige, do you mean to ask other concubines in the palace to buy it as well?"

Qiqige nodded and said:
"Your Highness, His Majesty always asks you for money under the pretext that you are doing business privately, but you are not the only concubine in the harem who is doing business privately!"

"Murong Qingwu also has a lot of businesses outside. The number of shops under her name is not much less than yours. Even Shen Yutong has businesses outside as well!"

"Although Bai Yuanyuan and Chen Rouer are not engaged in business, their families have been relying on their information activities and have made a lot of money behind the scenes, especially the Bai family. In just a few years, their business is almost spread all over the world!"

"Every one of these people is extremely wealthy. Your Majesty, why doesn't he allow them to buy bonds? Why is he targeting you alone..."

Listening to Qiqige speaking up for her, An Miaoyi fell into deep thought. If Qiqige hadn't said it, she hadn't thought about it in this way, but after hearing Qiqige say that, An Miaoyi felt more and more unbalanced!
Qiqige is right!
Which of the concubines in this palace is not rich?
Even if someone's business is smaller like Shen Yutong, she still owns a house, a restaurant, and three shops. As for Bai Yuanyuan and Chen Rouer's parents have bought them more than a dozen properties in Yijing!
Not to mention Murong Qingwu, even if her property is not as much as mine, it is not much less than mine!

So I need to pay money to buy bonds, so why can these people just sit back and watch the show leisurely?
Didn’t Your Majesty ask you to actively participate and take the lead?

Then you concubines must also actively participate!

Shen Yutong gets five thousand taels, Bai Yuanyuan and Chen Rouer get ten thousand taels of silver, and Murong Qingwu, you should stop pretending to be dead. With the size of your wealth, you have to buy at least one hundred thousand taels of silver. And your sister Murong Xinyun can't just stand by and watch!
If you want to buy bonds, let’s buy them together. Don’t always bully me alone!

Thinking of this, An Miaoyi's expression became more determined, and she immediately instructed Qiqige:

"Qiqige, you are right. I have already spent 150,000 taels of silver to buy bonds. Why shouldn't others buy them?"

"You must convey this news to every concubine in the palace, and encourage everyone to actively participate in the construction of the country..."

"As you command! I'll do it right away!"

·············
·············
July 21, Golden Horde, Turty Steppe
The military camp of the Luobei and Daqian coalition forces
In a large tent, more than a dozen generals from Daqian and Luobei gathered together. Dariyachi sat in the main seat, and Xunke, Jirigel and others sat on both sides of him. Seeing that everyone was present, Dariyachi looked at his trusted confidant Dana and said:

"Please introduce the current situation!"

"Yes!"

After hearing Dariyachi's instructions, Dana walked to the map without hesitation, and introduced it in front of everyone:

"Everyone, the place we are currently in is called Had. According to the captives, the Cuman army in front of us is the main force of the Cuman Khanate, led by Makhachev, a close confidant of the Cuman Khan Habib!"

"The enemy claims to have a total force of 100,000, but according to our investigation and speculation, the number is just an exaggeration. The total force is probably around 50,000 to 60,000. Most of them are Cumans, but there are also a few thousand Romans!"

"The Romans' commander-in-chief is Roman General Slutsky, who is also the governor of the Far East appointed by Empress Sophia of Rome herself!"

"The enemy is mainly equipped with about fifty to eighty Roman artillery pieces, all of which are in the hands of the Romans. The number of enemy firearms is about ten thousand. In recent months, the Romans have been training the Cumans to use firearms!"

"Judging from the combat situation over the past two days, the Romans' muskets are very powerful and have strong penetrating power. The iron shields and leather armor equipped by our soldiers can't provide effective protection at all. However, the firing rate and accuracy of the Romans' muskets are poor. They mainly rely on volley tactics, using quantity to cover up the lack of accuracy..."

"Their artillery position is on a small hill behind their camp!"

After that, Dana pointed out the location on the map. Because Dana was using a map to introduce it instead of a sand table, it was not possible to intuitively feel the geographical advantages. However, Xun Ke had observed it with a telescope, so he also added at this time:

"This artillery position was set up with great experience. The artillery is set up there, and the surrounding area is within the range of the artillery for several miles. If you want to attack the Cumans' camp, you have to brave their artillery fire. If you don't destroy this artillery position, the casualties of attacking the enemy's camp will be very heavy!"

Hearing what Xun Ke said, Dariyachi couldn't help but ask:
"Your Daqian artillery is also very powerful. Can you destroy their artillery positions with artillery?"

Xun Ke shook his head upon hearing this and said:
"The artillery we brought are all light artillery weighing about a thousand pounds. The advantage of this type of artillery is that it is relatively easy to transport because of its light weight, but the disadvantage is that the range is short and the power is far less than that of heavy artillery!"

"The maximum range of our artillery is about five miles, but the effective range is only two to three miles!"

"I used a telescope to observe at the front line. The weight of the Romans' artillery is about the same as ours. I have felt it in the battles over the past two days. The range of their artillery is shorter than the artillery I have now, but they control that high point and have a geographical advantage. Moreover, their artillery is more powerful than ours."

"So if we want to launch a brute force attack and engage in an artillery battle, we probably won't have much of an advantage. Also, although it hasn't rained in the past few days, the humidity is quite high. Nearly 20% to 30% of our gunpowder has become damp and cannot be used..."

Dariyachi couldn't help but frowned when he heard Xun Ke's introduction. Xun Ke hesitated for a moment, but after thinking it over, he still expressed his thoughts truthfully. "Everyone, our forces are equal, and neither of us has a big advantage. So if we don't destroy the artillery positions and attack the enemy camp, I think our chances of winning are slim and it will be difficult to capture the enemy camp!"

When Xun Ke said this, Dariyachi's brows furrowed even deeper, and Tumenden Beile, a general under Dariyachi, said loudly:

"Xun! How can we defeat our opponents without forcing us to attack? Are you Daqian people afraid?"

As soon as these words were spoken, several Luo Bei generals in the tent all showed mocking smiles, and Xun Ke couldn't help but narrow his eyes when he saw this.

But before Xun Ke could get angry, Dariyachi slammed the table and shouted:
"You bastards! Shut up!"

Hearing Dariyachi speaking, Tumenden Beile and the others quickly stopped smiling.

After dealing with these people, Dariyachi also asked Xun Ke:
"General Xun, do you have any good ideas?"

Xun Ke heard this and said in a deep voice:

"Mobilize the enemy troops and make them fight our army in the field!"

"Field battle?"

"Yes! If it's a field battle, I think our chances of winning are 50-50!"

"Then how do we get the enemy to come out of their camp and fight us in the field? We have been challenging them these past few days, but they won't come out!"

Faced with this question, although Xun Ke already had an answer in his mind, he still hesitated when facing Dariyachi's gaze and said:
"The enemy didn't come out because they thought we had come so far and were eager to fight, so they wanted to wear us down!"

"So if we challenge them at this time, they will definitely not come out. Frequent challenges will even make them firm in their confidence. So I think at this time, we should not insist on fighting head-on!"

Dariyachi didn't have the patience to listen to Xun Ke's analysis. Seeing that Xun Ke had been talking for a long time without expressing his specific ideas, he just said directly:

"General Xun, do you want to withdraw your troops?"

Seeing that Dariyachi had seen through his thoughts, Xun Ke did not deny it anymore and nodded in acknowledgement:
"Yes!"

"I think if our army withdraws, the enemy must follow if they want to win!"

When Dariyachi heard that Xun Ke wanted to withdraw his troops, a look of disappointment immediately emerged on his face!
Although Dariyachi knew from the beginning that these people from the Central Plains were not of the same mind as himself, and they did not really want to help him repel the Cumans!
But seeing that Xun Ke wanted to withdraw his troops because he encountered some difficulties, Dari Achi was very angry. If Xun Ke was a Luobi general, Dari Achi would definitely slap him in the face. But Xun Ke was not a Luobi, but a general of Daqian, and now Luobi needed Daqian's help!

Without Daqian's help, this expedition would not have been possible, so at this moment Dariyachi could only suppress his anger and asked Xun Ke:
"What if the enemy doesn't follow us?"

Faced with this problem, Xun Ke really wanted to tell Dari Achi that if he didn't come out, he would end the war. But looking at Dari Achi's expression at that time, Xun Ke knew that if he said that, Dari Achi would definitely be angered by him!
So Xun Ke hesitated for a moment and said:

"My Lord Prince, I think the enemy will follow us! The Cumans also want to win this war!"

Dariyachi became even more angry when he heard this. Although Xun Ke did not say it directly, he understood the subtext of Xun Ke's words.

Seeing that Dari Achi and Xun Ke were in a stalemate, Dana on the side tried to smooth things over and said:
"It's already noon! Let's have lunch first!"

After hearing what Dana said, both sides backed off. During lunch, Xun Ke also found Dana and asked:
"General Dana, I want to ask you something. Is it convenient for you?"

Dana was a little surprised by Xun Ke's sudden question, but he did not answer. Instead, he glanced at Dariyachi beside him. After Dariyachi nodded slightly, Dana replied:
"General Xun, what do you want to ask?"

"It's nothing serious, but Sun Tzu said that knowing yourself and knowing your enemy will ensure victory in every battle, so I just want to ask Makhachev and Slutsky! I wonder if you can introduce them to me?"

Seeing that Xun Ke was only asking this, Dana nodded and said:

"No problem. Let's talk about Makhachev first. He is Habib's confidant. The Kipchak and Roman Empire are adjacent to each other, so there are many Kipchak people in Roman Empire. Makhachev is a Kipchak born in Roman Empire. It is said that he once joined the army in Roman Empire and returned to the Kipchak Khanate later..."

"Because of his experience in the Roman Empire, Makhachev is very good at firearms combat, especially the coordinated combat of muskets and cavalry. In the past, we Robes have suffered a lot at the hands of this bastard. He is also regarded as Habib's number one general and is deeply trusted by Habib!"

"As for this Slutsky, he is a Roman. I don't know much about him, but what I do know is that this Slutsky is said to be a Roman of some Kipchak descent, and he and Makhachev knew each other in the Roman Army. Slutsky seems to be Makhachev's superior, and they have a very good relationship!"

"Among the Romans under Slutsky, only more than a thousand are Roman soldiers. The remaining thousands are mostly Roman prisoners, bankrupt craftsmen, and the like. Therefore, the combat capabilities of individual Roman soldiers vary!"

"What is the relationship between the Roman soldiers and the Cuman soldiers? Are there any infighting or anything like that?"

"Yes! In the past battles, the Cumans always charged in the front, and the Romans used firearms to support them. However, after each battle, the Romans would take half of the spoils, so the lower-level Cumans often complained about this!"

Xun Ke nodded slightly when he heard this, and after a moment's silence, he asked again:
"In previous large-scale military campaigns like this one, the Khan of the Kipchak Khanate would always accompany the troops. Didn't Habib come along this time?"

“General Xun, you are right. In the past, Habib would always come with us in main battles like this. But this time, Habib did not come. This time is indeed a bit strange. Habib himself should still be in Lesa City…”