The prince is more stable

Chapter 205: Advice from the Undertaker
The undoubtedly bad news made Zhao Xiaoqian feel a little uncomfortable.

It was clearly just a battle between tens of thousands of soldiers, but Xixia suddenly assembled an army of 300,000. This was obviously not a small war, and Xixia was going to make it bigger.

So, what was going on? Xixia would not have mobilized its entire nation's military to launch a war of this magnitude without a valid reason. This was clearly intended to destroy the Song Dynasty.

The atmosphere in the main hall of the Jinglüe Division was very depressing.

Originally, the Song Dynasty's defense was quite passive. It finally waited for 30,000 reinforcements from the Dragon Guard Camp, including 5,000 muskets, but who knew that Western Xia suddenly increased its troops.

Zhang Qi stroked his beard and frowned. The situation was critical and as the head coach, he had to remain calm.

"Who among you dug up Empress Dowager Liang's ancestral tomb?" Zhao Xiaoqian couldn't help but ask.

The ruler of Western Xia was young and the country was in turmoil. The young ruler Li Qianshun was only eleven years old, so Empress Dowager Liang controlled the government. The forces in the court all came from Empress Dowager Liang's maternal relatives. It could be said that she had absolute power, even more than the Empress Dowager of the Song Dynasty.

Zhe Keshi sat on one side, smacked his lips and said, "I'd like to dig up her ancestral grave. Who knows where her ancestors are buried..."

Zhao Xiaoqian glanced at him. He didn't expect this burly general to be so eccentric. Zhao Xiaoqian thought he could make friends with him and discuss the burial place of the Liang family's ancestral tomb in private.

Zhang Yu looked at Zhao Xiaoqian. At this time, Zhao Xiaoqian's position as military supervisor became prominent. As Zhong Jianzhong said, the commander-in-chief had to seek his opinion.

"Three hundred thousand Xixia bandits are sweeping towards Hongzhou. I wonder if the county lord has any way to repel the enemy?" asked Zhang Yu.

Zhao Xiaoqian thought for a moment and said, "...Hongzhou might not be able to bear it."

Zhang Qi: “…………”

Isn't this nonsense? Hongzhou certainly can't withstand the attack of 300,000 troops.

Zhao Xiaoqian then asked, "How many troops are there in all the cities and forts of our Northwest Army combined?"

Zhang Yu said without hesitation, "Including the garrisons in various cities and forts, including the Imperial Guard, the Zhe Family Army, the Xiang Army, and the Rural Army, there are about 340,000 in total. Among them, there are 50,000 cavalry, 4,000 heavy armored soldiers, and the rest are infantry."

Zhang Yu's expression was a little bitter. Although there were a lot of people, the combat effectiveness of the Xiang army and the Xiang army... was simply hard to describe. Saying that they were just making up the numbers seemed a bit hurtful to their self-esteem, but in fact they were just making up the numbers.

In fact, there are only about 200,000 soldiers in the northwest who are truly capable of fighting.

With 200,000 troops against Xixia's 300,000, especially with 200,000 scattered across various cities and forts in the northwest, it was impossible to assemble them in such a short time...

Zhao Xiaoqian felt a headache.

I thought I had brought 5,000 musketeers to the battle, which was a great start, but I didn't expect the situation to be like this.

No matter how powerful the musketeers were, their numbers were still limited. Five thousand people were facing three hundred thousand. If the Western Xia army launched a fearless charge, theoretically, the five thousand musketeers would soon be overwhelmed by the enemy.

A head-on battle is obviously irrational.

Zhang Yu had the same idea as Zhao Xiaoqian. He had witnessed the power of muskets with his own eyes, but he also did not think that 5,000 musketeers could repel an army of 300,000. The difference in numbers was too great.

"General Zhang is the General of Strategy and Pacification, and you are the commander-in-chief. You can decide how to deal with the enemy, and I will obey your orders." Zhao Xiaoqian said with a smile.

You still have to distinguish between the primary and secondary issues. Although the military inspector is qualified to make suggestions, if you, as a military inspector, jump out and complain when the commander-in-chief has not spoken, it will easily cause resentment.

Judging from the current situation, Zhao Xiaoqian's luck is pretty good. At least Zhang Qie and Zhe Keshi are both good people. They have temporarily formed a team. The team is not involuted or wasteful, and the atmosphere is harmonious and everyone respects each other. In fact, he is already very lucky.

Zhang Qie was a little surprised by Zhao Xiaoqian's statement, and a question popped up in his mind: Is this guy really only eighteen years old?

He has a perfect grasp of the ways of the world and the rules of officialdom, just like an old fox who has been in the court for half his life.

The military situation was urgent, and Zhang Yu refused to refuse. He cleared his throat and looked at the generals in the main hall. "Well, I'll give you a plan." "First, Hongzhou cannot be defended. With 300,000 troops attacking, Hongzhou will surely fall. Immediately send a messenger to the governor of Hongzhou to evacuate the people and leave this empty city to Xixia. The Great Song Dynasty must preserve its strength first."

As he spoke, Zhang Qie couldn't help but look at Zhao Xiaoqian, and saw that he had no reaction, not even his expression changed at all.

Zhang Yu then continued, "At the same time, immediately mobilize the troops from all the cities and divisions in the northwest. After gathering in Weizhou, immediately head north and attack Yanzhou..."

A huge map of the northwest was spread out in the middle of the hall. The map was quite rough, with only cities, towns, a few important roads, mountains, etc. marked on it.

Zhang Qi pointed at the map, and everyone's eyes followed his finger.

"Yanzhou is only a hundred miles away from Hongzhou, but it is the vital route connecting Western Xia and the Great Song. With 300,000 Western Xia troops pouring out, if we seize Yanzhou, we will be able to hold the Western Xia capital, Xingqing Prefecture, hostile. The 300,000 enemy troops that invaded the Great Song will have to withdraw and return to support us. This way, the crisis can be resolved."

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded suddenly.

As expected of the commander-in-chief, he is indeed a shrewd and calculating man. This strategy is a typical example of besieging Wei to save Zhao, which means attacking the enemy while rescuing them.

If the Song army occupied Yanzhou, it would be very close to the Western Xia capital Xingqing Prefecture.

Empress Dowager Liang and the young ruler of Western Xia are still in the capital. How dare she not withdraw her troops to provide support?

But a new problem arises...

Zhao Xiaoqian raised his hand weakly.

Zhang Qie's attention was always on him, fearing that the Prince of Chu, who could be said to be an imperial envoy, would do something unexpected.

Seeing Zhao Xiaoqian raise his hand, Zhang Qie's heart sank, but he smiled and said, "If you have anything to say, please speak frankly. I am not a stubborn and self-willed person."

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded and said, "What happens after the 300,000 enemy troops return to reinforce us? Our army occupies Yanzhou. If the enemy troops return to reinforce us, they will surely surround Yanzhou completely. How should our army deal with them?"

Zhang Qie breathed a sigh of relief. As long as nothing unexpected happens, it's fine. We can just chat and communicate normally and not ruin the atmosphere.

"Does the Marquis have any method to defeat the enemy?" Zhang Qi asked tentatively.

Zhao Xiaoqian hesitated for a moment and said, "After our army relieves Hongzhou, we should abandon the city immediately before the enemy encircles Yanzhou. If General Zhang's generals are in command, it would be best to disperse our forces and spread them throughout the territory of Western Xia to carry out harassing operations."

"Xiazhou, Longzhou, Dingzhou, the Southern Army Headquarters, the Jingsai Army Headquarters, and even the more distant Xiliang Prefecture City, etc. In short, we will divide our forces and attack them. We will not seek to kill the enemy, but will mainly harass them. They will retreat at the first sign of trouble, and attract 300,000 enemy troops, forcing them to split up and pursue them."

Zhang Qie and all the generals in the hall were stunned.

It has to be said that Zhao Xiaoqian's suggestion was very bold. Zhang Qie had served as a border commander many times, but he had never heard of such a suggestion.

"It is feasible to divide the troops to harass the cities within the enemy's territory, but the combat effectiveness will be low after the troops are divided, and they will be easily surrounded and suppressed by the enemy. How should the county lord deal with it?" Zhang Qie asked.

Zhao Xiaoqian resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Didn't I just say that? The main purpose is harassment, and we'll retreat as soon as we're attacked. The main goal is to draw in 300,000 enemy troops and follow suit."

"What happens after the 300,000 enemy troops are divided?"

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled and said, "If they divide their forces, won't my five thousand musketeers be put to good use?"

Zhang Qie's eyes lit up: "Defeat them one by one?"

"That's right, we'll defeat them one by one. Of course, I can't defeat 300,000 people with just 5,000 of us, but if we only fight 10,000 or 20,000 of them, I guarantee we'll completely subdue them."

Zhang Qie and the other generals in the hall suddenly realized that the real killer move was here.

(End of this chapter)