Traveling the Heavens in Thunderbolt

Chapter 1113 Rejecting North City

A military meeting is being held in the Qingliangshan Palace. In addition to Yuan Zuozong, the commander of the Beiliang Cavalry who is guarding the Yanyun Road to prevent a sneak attack from the Beimang, even Yu Luandao who is in Western Shu has rushed back to attend the meeting with Yan Wenluan, He Zhonghu, Chen Yunchui, and Zhou Kang, as the highest-ranking infantry and cavalry generals in the border army.

Other participants included the deputy generals of the two cavalry armies on the left and right outside the Liangzhou Pass under the Protector General Chu Lushan, the generals of Liangzhou Shi Fu and Youzhou Huangfu Ping, as well as more than 20 powerful captains such as Fuling Liuya Chongzhong and the commanders of the four military towns in Liuzhou.

Of course, it also includes the popular Anxi Protectorate Grand Protector Yue Pengju, Deputy Protector Wu Jie, and the commanders of the four Anxi towns.

A total of more than 40 Beiliang generals attended the meeting.

If we use the Northern Mang Queen's rule of calculating military merit based on the number of heads killed, then whoever can conquer this meeting hall will truly have made an enormous military achievement.

The main purpose of Xu Fengnian convening this grand military meeting was to prepare for the northern expedition to Beimang.

Now, Li Yang was in a state of desperation because of Xi Chu, and with Xu Fengnian in the capital, he traveled extensively in the Jing'an Road area and defeated countless enemy troops.

Li Yang's combat power has been greatly damaged, and he will no longer be able to interfere in the affairs of the north in the next two years.

Beiliang can take advantage of this opportunity to march north to Beimang and take over the remaining five states of Beimang in one fell swoop, thus achieving an unprecedented feat.

Since you have sent a large number of troops to attack my Liangzhou Pass, now it is my turn to attack your Beimang and Beichao.

The place for the decisive battle designated by Xu Fengnian was in the heartland of the former Beimang and Northern Dynasties, and now it was the newly built Jubei City with the efforts of the entire Beiliang.

When this city was first built, Xu Xiao was still alive and the Northern Mang's combat power was greatly damaged, so no one dared to move.

After Xu Xiao's death, Beimang made several moves, trying to send Zhu Wang to sneak into the city.

Especially during the Youyun Dao rebellion led by Taiping Ling, Jubei City was given special attention.

In the end, they even sent out the Rouran cavalry.

It was only when Yuan Zuozong led his cavalry to suppress the rebellion that the rebellion was finally suppressed.

Both sides understood that Jubei City was Beiliang's nail in Beimang.

If Beiliang sends troops from here, they can attack Beimang's imperial court directly and force Beimang to fight a decisive battle.

If Beiliang attacks from other places, with the Jubei City there, it can also tie up a large number of troops and disperse Beimang's combat power.

This is also the reason why Beimang tried to capture this city several times.

The future war will start with the rebellion against the North City. This is also the main reason why Yuan Zuozong is stationed in Youyun Road.

Among all the generals of Beiliang today, only Yuan Zuozong can use the cavalry to achieve the state of "distant water can quench nearby thirst".

Military strategists of the time generally acknowledged that Yuan Zuozong was the undisputed greatest contributor to the Battle of Concubine's Tomb, which determined the decisive battle of the Western Wall. Therefore, it can even be said that without Yuan Zuozong's leadership of the long-distance raid, it would be hard to say whether there would be a Zhao or a Jiang in the Central Plains today.

This time, Xu Fengnian planned to mobilize 400,000 troops to personally attack Beimang after the autumn harvest next year, forcing Beimang to use its last 400,000 troops for a strategic decisive battle.

Yan Wenluan looked at the Liangmang map hanging high in the center of the meeting room, and said with some worry: "Your Highness, is this move inappropriate? Your Highness is going to lead 300,000 troops to Jubei City in person. Facing the desperate 400,000 troops of the Northern Mang Imperial Court, there is already a disadvantage in terms of military strength. It is still unknown whether the cavalry from the Western Regions and Liuzhou led by Yue Pengju and Wu Jie can advance all the way to the hinterland of the Northern Mang and cut off the retreat of the Northern Mang. In addition, Yu Luandao and Ning Emei will lead their troops to advance westward together, and the disparity in military strength between the two sides will increase further. Once Jubei City is broken, Youyun Dao will inevitably be in chaos."

Then he pointed at the map and suggested, "Why don't I lead 100,000 infantry and cavalry to guard Jubei City and attract the main force of Beimang. Your Majesty will lead our Beiliang elite troops to march out from Youyun Road and capture Beimang's Yuchanzhou, Jinchanzhou, and Liaoxizhou, further reducing Beimang's living space. Even if Beimang manages these three states like a copper wall and an iron fortress, it will be difficult to stop Beiliang's cavalry if its fighting power is dispersed."

He Zhong, the commander of the Left Cavalry, suddenly said in a hurry, "No, absolutely not! Everyone here is one of us. There are some things that everyone understands whether I say them or not. Jubei City is an isolated city. Many of the defense facilities inside have not been completed. The damage caused by the last rebellion has not been repaired yet. Once the war starts, Beimang will definitely come with all its strength. Yan Wenluan, are you going to give the Beimang barbarians a chance to become king?"

Yan Wenluan sneered and said, "Giving Beimang a king in exchange for Beiliang's overwhelming advantage over Beimang and the land of three states is not a loss."

He Zhong looked at Xu Fengnian in the center and said, "Your Highness, it's not that I, He Zhong, underestimate those young military commanders from Liuzhou. In fact, whether it's Yue Pengju and Wu Jie, or Cao Wei and Yu Luandao, I admire them all. In time, I may not even be worthy of carrying their shoes, but we can't afford to lose in the next battle. Our army has finally gained such an advantage, and except for a few old camps such as the Dragon Elephant Army, most of them are surrendered and newly recruited cavalry. Take Yue Pengju's Beiwei Camp and Wu Jie's Qiangnu Camp as examples, both of which were formed after the Liang-Man War. I don't deny that they have experienced the tempering of the war in the Western Regions. But there is no tacit understanding between them and our Beiliang Army as a whole that can only be cultivated after going through battle after battle. If there is a loophole in any link, if we are not careful, won't we lose everything?"

Zhou Kang frowned and suggested with some lack of confidence: "If General He is worried that Liuzhou does not have a backbone, why not let Commander Yuan take charge of the situation himself?"

Chu Lushan shook his head and said, "No. Commander Yuan is indispensable for the cavalry battle outside Youyun Road. That's why the prince arranged for the Liuzhou cavalry to fight outside from beginning to end in this battle, and not to cooperate with the main army."

In the battle between Liang and Mang, although Beiliang relied on King Yan's layout to cause Beimang to lose nearly one million troops, it minimized its own losses.

However, after several major battles, Beiliang had lost most of its combat power, especially the loss of elite veterans.

Even with the reinforcement of surrendered soldiers from Northern Mang, it would be difficult for Northern Liang to recover its combat effectiveness in a short period of time.

This is also the reason why Xu Fengnian chose to personally lead a small number of elite cavalry south to Tai'an City and Jing'an Road.

When the war breaks out, Yuan Zuozong must participate in the main battlefield.

Wherever Xu Fengnian is, there he and Chu Lushan will be.

Xu Beizhi, who had just secretly returned to Beiliang from the residence of the Governor of Lianghuai Road, stood in the corner without saying a word. The long journey made him a little exhausted, so he simply stood there with his eyes closed to rest.

Yan Wenluan counted on his fingers and said, "Protector Chu, Cao Wei's 10,000 cavalrymen withdrawn from the border army, Yu Luandao's 10,000 You cavalrymen, Yue Pengju's Beiwei Army, which was newly formed only a year ago, 30,000 cavalrymen, Wu Jie's Qiangnuying, 20,000 cavalrymen formed at the same time, and Ning Emei's Iron Pagoda, which was urgently supplemented after losing more than half of its combat power. The combined age of these five is only two of Yan Wenluan's young cavalry generals. Do we really want to bet that they can complete the mission? Aren't we too demanding of the old men in Liangzhou and Youzhou?"

(End of this chapter)