Horse on the World

Chapter 117 The general trend
Chapter 2 is here, and the chrysanthemum of the tomato has exploded. I am very happy, brothers and sisters, let me be happy for a few more days!

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An Guogong Li Huaiyuan's power is deep in his bones. It was the result of killing the battlefield in the early years, and then he has been in a high position and immersed in it for a long time. Such a skinny little withered old man, half lying on the soft couch, his half-closed eyes gleamed with kindness, still let Li Qing feel his strength, and he had a feeling of being stripped under his gaze. Naked feeling.It seemed that any of his thoughts and thoughts could not be hidden under the gaze of those eyes, and the original shape was revealed, which made him very disturbed.

Even in the Fuyuan city where the arrows were raining like rain, Li Qing, who was still at ease under the gaze of these eyes, felt as if he was sitting on pins and needles, and subconsciously twisted his body.It was this slight movement, but the old man on the couch showed a smile, which made his high cheekbones more prominent, and the gray beard under his chin slightly raised, "Very good." He said softly.

Li Qing didn't know what Li Huaiyuan's sudden words meant. If it was because of what he did in Dingzhou, then there was no need to praise him again, but if it was because he was sitting in front of him and under his gaze He praised himself after such a short period of time, but he couldn't justify it. Could it be possible that a grandson can still keep silent in front of his grandfather?

Li Qing actually doesn't know that in the Li family, Li Huaiyuan is the sky, not to mention the grandchildren, but his father. The uncle and uncle are silent in front of Li Huaiyuan, even though the three of them are all officials. Lord Hou is in the first rank, but as long as the old man glances at him, all three of them will be a little shorter.

Li Huaiyuan sat up half-supporting his body, Li Qing quickly stood up, walked over, wanted to help this old man who looked a bit frail, Li Huaiyuan laughed and pushed his hand away, "I'm not that old yet ? Could it be that someone needs help here?" Li Qing smiled awkwardly, wanting to flatter him but hit the horse's hoof.

"I heard about the few battles you fought in Dingzhou. You fought very well, especially the offensive and defensive battle between Fuyuan and Wanyan Bulu, which was perfect." Li Huaiyuan stroked his gray beard and looked over Li Qing threw himself into the past, and seemed to have seen the extremely tragic attack and defense under Fuyuan City.

"Grandpa praised it absurdly. This is just the result of the people fighting the enemy with one heart and the soldiers fighting to the death. The grandson didn't go to battle in person, at most he just sat on the tower." Li Qing said modestly.

Li Huaiyuan chuckled, looked at Li Qing, and said, "You are quite introverted. At the beginning, your elder brother Li Zheng just led the crowd to wipe out a few bandit villages in Yizhou, and he boasted himself to the sky. Well, back then he It's that big too!"

Li Qing knew that the Li Zheng that Li Huaiyuan was talking about was the only son of his uncle Yi Ninghou Li Sizhi, who served in the Yizhou Army and was quite brave. "Brother is brave, Qing'er has known it since he was a child."

"Compared with you, he is like a firefly, not worth mentioning." Li Huaiyuan sighed: "You are just 20 years old, and you have built a world on your own. Under the protection of the wings, until now, there is no ability to command an army alone, so it can be seen that a tiger raised in captivity is no match for a beast that can only survive on its own!"

Li Qing was speechless to the old man's metaphor.

"You were wronged when you were young, and I only found out not long ago. Speaking of which, your father is very strict, and actually kept me completely secret. Hey, he is really old, and he doesn't even know about family affairs. "The old man laughed at himself.His gaze turned to Wei Yuanhou who stood aside in shame, Wei Yuanhou stood up in shame, bowed his head and was speechless.

"You sit down. Fortunately, Qing'er has already returned home, so there is no need to mention the past. What you should do in the future is to save yourself." Li Huaiyuan said lightly.

"Yes!" Wei Yuanhou wished he could find a crack in the ground and get in, and being scolded by the old man in front of his son made him extremely ashamed.

Turning his eyes back, "The defensive formation you designed in Fuyuan is very good. I have brought soldiers all my life. These seemingly simple things can have such great power, but I have never thought of it. After returning Tidy it up and send it to me, by the way, there is also the Weibao, you have also redesigned it, and draw his structure diagram too."

"Yes!" Li Qing said respectfully, "Grandpa, this bastion is the latest type of fortress. Its structure is still unknown to outsiders. After grandson draws it, Grandpa needs to keep it secret."

Li Huaiyuan laughed: "Good boy, do you need to remind Grandpa? Do you know why I asked you for the blueprint of this bunker? Well, you call him Bastion, right?"

Li Qing thought for a while, "Grandpa, although my Yizhou of the Li family is a place of four wars, it is rich but there is no danger to defend. If something happens, it will be surrounded by enemies. Grandpa wants to build a large number of forts like this in Yizhou?"

Li Huaiyuan nodded: "By drawing inferences from one instance, you really deserve to be a general. That's right. I think your fortress can be expanded, right?"

Li Qing nodded and said yes, "It can be expanded, but Qing'er only needs 300 people to defend this kind of bastion built in Fuyuan, and it is absolutely impossible for two to three thousand enemies to capture it. If this kind of bastion is doubled in size , the number of guards will increase to 1000, but it can resist tens of thousands of enemy sieges. Of course, this is only a theoretical value, because limited by the size of the bastion, it is impossible to store so many materials and ordnance.”

Li Huaiyuan smiled slightly: "What if I hollow out the underground of this bastion and make it a warehouse?"

ah!Li Qing was taken aback, "Grandpa, the cost of building this bastion is too high? The gain outweighs the loss!"

Li Huaiyuan sighed, "There's nothing we can do about it. Yizhou doesn't lack money, what it lacks is a dangerous city, an iron wall that can make the enemy look intimidated. No matter how elite our Yizhou army is, we can't hold back the wolves. !"

A slight chill appeared on Li Qing's body, is the old man so pessimistic about the situation in the Central Plains?Want to expand the bastion without limit at any cost, so as to turn it into a flesh and blood mill?
"Grandfather, has the situation reached such a point now?" Li Qing asked. Naturally, he who has lived in the border for a long time cannot be like Li Huaiyuan, who has lived in the center for a long time and has a keen eye on the general situation of the world.

"I'm afraid it will be more serious." Li Huaiyuan paused his head heavily, appreciating Li Qing's quick response. "What do you think?"

"Grandson originally thought that nothing would happen in three to five years." Li Qing said hesitantly.

"Maybe three to five years, maybe soon." Li Huaiyuan closed his eyes, "Do you know about the rebellion in several southern states?"

"Xingzhou, Gaizhou, Qingzhou, and the three states rebelled. Qing'er heard a little bit about it, and found it a little strange." Li Qing said carefully.

"Where's the strangeness?" Li Huaiyuan's dull eyes suddenly shot out a substantive light, which made Li Qing's back feel hot.

"The rebellion in the three southern states broke out twice before and after, but the two times were completely different. The first time was quickly suppressed, but the second time, it was like a prairie fire. There was a node between these two times, which was the rebellion. The sudden disappearance of bandit leaders Lu Xiaobo and Zhang Wei." Li Qing walked to the map that Li Huaiyuan hung in his study, and pointed to the map.

"For the first time, Lu Zhang and Zhang were purely bandits. Wherever they went, they co-operated with the villagers and robbed their property. The people were in dire straits. Although they claimed to have hundreds of thousands of soldiers in their heyday, most of them were ordinary people. The people seem to be powerful, but they are actually vulnerable, and the more the number, the greater the logistical pressure on him, and he can only plunder more. How can this move win the hearts of the people? It is only a matter of time before they are defeated. "

Li Huaiyuan nodded slightly, while Marquis Weiyuan also listened attentively to Li Qing's analysis.

"But the second time, it's obviously different." Li Qing nodded heavily at Qingzhou, "The second rebellion started here, but this time Lu and Zhang are completely different from the last time. Like a person, the remnants and defeated generals who escaped at the beginning turned out to be like a regular army, and this time after they conquered an area, they stopped looting and arranged officials to rule them on the spot. This is exactly what made Sun Er suspicious place."

"What's there to doubt?" Wei Yuanhou was puzzled, "If you suffered a loss the first time, how could you repeat the same mistake the second time? Naturally, you will change course."

Li Qing shook his head, "Talent? Where did they get so many talents? As far as I know, after the two rebellions of Lu and Zhang, local officials and scholars were either killed or fled north. In a short period of time, How did Lu and Zhang find so many literate people and persuade them to govern the place for them?"

Heaving a sigh of relief, Li Qing said with emotion: "When I first came to Chong County, I was very troubled by this matter. I couldn't find so many literate people. At that time, many officials under my command were illiterate."

Wei Yuanhou's face changed color, "You mean they have someone behind them?"

Li Huaiyuan glared at him, "Unexpectedly, you didn't realize until now that you have been an official for so many years, and you are not as knowledgeable as the young Qing'er."

Li Qing said to Wei Yuanhou: "Father, you are also a veteran who has experienced many battles. How do you feel when you face off against Lu and Zhang?"

Li Muzhi didn't hesitate to think, "Lv and Zhang are extremely well-educated in military affairs, and the troops they lead are quite capable. Of course, this is also related to the fact that the troops I lead in the three states are too weak."

Li Qing smiled and said: "Father, it was the first time that Lu and Zhang were defeated by the army of the Sanzhou town, and after you took over the army, you could barely keep the front line from moving north. Is it not as good as the original general of the Sanzhou Town Army? If that is the case, why should you be transferred there?"

Li Muzhi's face suddenly darkened. The generals of the Sanzhou Town Army are now under his command. In his opinion, they are just a few empty pockets, but he just couldn't take care of Lu who was defeated by the three of them. Zhang Er, the reason for this is really unclear to him. Could it be that these two people got the heavenly book after their first defeat?The military quality is gradually increasing, and it is a joke to say this.

"Then what do you say it is for?" He asked angrily.

"I suspect that the two of them are not in command of Lu Zhang's army this time, and someone else is in charge of the army, and their army must be tricky." Li Qing said decisively.

Li Huaiyuan nodded slightly: "That's right, the analysis is so penetrating, penetrating to the bone, Mu Zhi, don't you understand? You are brave in battle, and there are many strategies on the battlefield, but you don't quite understand these things. This battle , it is very difficult to win. Neither can you."

Li Muzhi, Marquis of Weiyuan, also had a general understanding at this time, sat blankly for a while, and said, "Father, so what? As long as I am still in command of the army, I will try my best to win."

Li Qing shook his head and said: "Father, this is a war that is doomed to be unwinnable, unless the imperial court grants you the full power to control these three states and mobilize all the rich and private troops, but is this possible? The imperial court will let our Li family control it again Do these three states have great power?"

"Then tell me, what should Mu Zhi do?" Li Huaiyuan asked Li Qing.

"Get away! Get away as soon as possible!" Li Qing said without hesitation: "Since we know we can't win, why waste our energy and leave this mess to others. Our Li family must concentrate on dealing with the upcoming chaos in the Central Plains."

"That's right, it coincides with me." Li Huaiyuan clapped his hands and said, "Muzhi, do you understand why I forced you to come back this time? Taking this opportunity, you present to the emperor The memorial says that you are sick and unable to act, please ask the imperial court to send another person to suppress the rebellion."

"Isn't this a runaway?" Li Muzhi said sullenly. He wanted to step on the battlefield again to regain his strength and make new achievements, but he never expected such an ending.

"Are you afraid that there will be no wars to fight? I'm afraid that you will have many wars to fight in the next few years, and it may not be over until you get tired of fighting." Li Huaiyuan's eyes shone with wisdom, "And the next war You will fight for our Li family, if you want our Li family not to be swallowed up in this troubled world, you must now claim your illness, resign, resign from all public positions, and return to Yizhou to assist your elder brother in preparing the army."

Li Muzhi was also inspired by the old man, "I understand father."

(End of this chapter)