Qi Ning pondered for a moment and finally said, "Is there a map here?"

"Yes, Duke of the State." Wei Shu stood up and went to pick up a map in person, spread it on the table. When Qi Ning saw this map, it was actually quite simple. The terrain in Chu was quite complete, but the boundary area of ​​the Northern Han Dynasty seemed very blurry. In addition to some extremely important city landforms, many mountains, rivers and rivers were actually ambiguous.

Qi Ning knew that it was not easy to make a map, but Chu State had always dreamed of getting a map of the Northern Han Dynasty, but it was unavailable. It was precisely because of this that Chu State had always wanted to get the Universe map from Prince Yu of the Northern Han Dynasty.

"The main force of Dongqi is currently stationed in Puyang." Wei Shutong extended his fingers to a map: "This place is not too far from Maling Mountain, but Maling Mountain has been occupied by our army. If the Qi army wants to return to Linzi, they must conquer Maling Mountain."

Qi Ning held his hand behind him and found Dingtao on the map. Dingtao is located southwest of Puyang, but it is not far from Puyang. Maling Mountain, Puyang and Dingtao just happened to be a triangle.

"The Han army deployed heavy troops in Liang County." Wei Shutong said again: "It is said that when our army headed north, the Han army first stood on the front line north of the Huai River to fight to the death, but later quickly withdrew its troops and retreated to the Dingtao line. After being taken down by the Qi people, the Han army abandoned Dingtao and retreated to Liang County."

Liang County is located in the northwest of Dingtao, but is directly west of Puyang. Judging from the map, Liang County forms a triangular force with Puyang and Dingtao.

Qi Ning was quite surprised to see that the battle situation was in such a complicated situation.

The strategic plan of the Chu army to go north actually had two purposes. The first purpose was naturally to lure the main force of the Qi army out, and the second purpose was to take advantage of the emptiness of Qi to attack, while the main force restrained the main force of the Han army and the Qi army, and gain time for the partial army that attacked the Eastern Qi army.

In the civil strife in the Northern Han Dynasty, the Chu army headed north, and seemed to fight to the death with the Han army. Naturally, Qi State mistakenly believed that the real purpose of Chu State was to take advantage of the opportunity to attack Han. Qi and Chu became in-laws and allies. Naturally, the people of Dongqi could not have thought that the target of Chu State's Northern Expedition would be them.

Dongqi is a corner of the country, with a small land and a sparse population. During the civil turmoil in the Northern Han Dynasty, it was the time for expansion that Dongqi had always dreamed of. The people of Dongqi naturally could not miss such an opportunity. Chu State had figured out the thoughts of the people of Dongqi and planned for a long time, just to wait for the people of Dongqi to come out and take the opportunity to attack.

Qi Ning thought that in order to confuse the people of Dongqi, the Chu army would inevitably conquer the cities and land north, but would not do their best. However, in the current situation, the progress of the Chu army was obviously much deeper than Qi Ning's expectations, and Dingtao had entered the hinterland of the Northern Han Dynasty.

"Zhongli Ao did not control the enemy on the Huai River line and retreated to Liang County. Is it because of Qu Yuangu in the northwest?" Qi Ning asked.

He had received a report of war before. After the Chu army headed north, although it crossed the Huai River, it was blocked by the Han army. Zhongli Ao was a veteran on the battlefield. Although the Northern Han palace had drastic changes, Zhongli Ao did not neglect the defense of the front line due to the changes in the palace. He expected that the Chu army would take the opportunity to go north, so he built a defense line north of the Huai River. The war between the two sides was as stalemate again, just like the previous situation.

Qi Ning knew that if there were no accidents, the Qinhuai Legion commanded by Yue Huanshan would be difficult to break through Zhongli Ao's defense line, and the Han army retreated to Liang County after that, because of Qu Yuangu.

Wei Shutong nodded and said, "That's right, Qu Yuangu went out of Tongguan to attack Luoyang. The fire broke out in Zhongli Ao's backyard. Naturally, he could not continue to stalemate with our army and quickly withdrew his troops, but...!" His fingers slid towards Luoyang: "After Tongguan was blocked, Qu Yuangu had no way to retreat, and he had no great progress in attacking Luoyang with all his strength. If it weren't for Beitanghao's sudden assassination, Qu Yuangu's Northwest Army would probably have been wiped out under Luoyang City."

"Beitanghao was assassinated?" Qi Ning was shocked, and Xuanyuan Po suddenly changed color.

Wei Shutong nodded and said, "That's right, Beitanghao was assassinated and was in chaos in Luoyang City. Someone saw that the situation was not good, so he secretly contacted Qu Yuangu. It is said that Qu Yuangu bribed the general guarding the gate, and the city gate was wide open. The Northwest Army rushed into Luoyang immediately. However, the Northwest Army did not plunder in Luoyang City. Instead, it maintained order. It only killed Beitanghao's best friends and did not implicate too many people. In addition, the border army led by Beitangzhao had a mutiny. Beitangzhao was escorted to Luoyang by his soldiers. Beitangfeng killed Beitangzhao in the name of rebellion. The battle for the throne of the Northern Han Dynasty was finally defeated."

Qi Ning never expected such a result.

There is no doubt that the important reason for changing the situation in Northern Han was that Bei Tanghao was assassinated and asked, "Who was stabbed by Bei Tanghao?"

Wei Shutong shook his head and said, "The official really doesn't know the specific truth of the matter." Just after he finished speaking, a voice came from outside: "Sir, I'm in urgent need of reporting!"

Wei Shutong quickly got up and went out, and came back soon. He held a letter that had been opened in his hand and presented it to Qi Ning: "Duke, Beitangfeng has ascended the throne and become emperor. Qu Yuangu was named the prime minister and was awarded the title of King of Jin. Zhongli Ao was awarded the position of Grand Sima and the title of Duke of Anguo."

Qi Ning glanced at the letter a few times and handed the letter to Xuanyuan Po.

Wei Shutong was the governor of Xichuan. Now that the Chu army is heading north, he naturally cannot ignore it. After all, there are spies under his command inquiring about the information on the front line.

"Duke, it seems that Zhongli Ao and Beitangfeng have reached an agreement." Xuanyuan Po glanced at him and said, "If the humble position is not wrong, if Qu Yuangu attacked Luoyang, Zhongli Ao's logistics supply could not be provided, so he could only withdraw his troops. However, after Beitangfeng took Luoyang, he knew that there was no one in the Northern Han Dynasty except Zhongli Ao, but no one could stop our Chu army from advancing north. Therefore, he immediately reused Zhongli Ao and promoted his title. Zhongli Ao had no worries, so he led his troops to the front line of Liang County. He defended Liang County and guarded the necessary place to Luoyang. As long as Liang County was not lost, Luoyang would not be broken."

Wei Shutong nodded and said, "What the Captain Xuanyuan said is very much. Zhongli Ao has never participated in the prince's fight for the throne. For him, no matter who ascends to the throne, it has nothing to do with him. He is a general on the battlefield, and all he has to do is to guard his country. Since the overall situation of the throne of the Northern Han Dynasty has been settled and Beitangfeng supports him, naturally there is no need to be unable to get along with Beitangfeng." He raised his hand and stroked his beard and said, "But the result now is not a bad thing for our Chu State. Among the princes of the Northern Han Dynasty, Beitangfeng has the weakest ability, and Qu Yuangu is also a mediocre and incompetent person. These two people have mastered the government of the Northern Han Dynasty, which is definitely not a blessing for the Northern Han Dynasty."

"Now where our Chu army is heading, the Northern Han needs to rely on Zhongli Ao to block our army." Qi Ning said: "But Zhongli Ao is not a close confidant of Beitangfeng. He holds heavy troops, so Beitangfeng will never feel at ease. Since Qu Yuangu was the Grand Sima and possesses the power of the Northern Han army, of course he will not always let Zhongli Ao holds heavy troops."

Wei Shutong smiled and said, "What the Duke of the Kingdom said is very much. Now that Beitang Feng wants to use Zhongli Ao, he will naturally be promoted to him and even grant him a duke. When Beitang Qing crossed the battlefield and met a talented person with the general of Qi, he can be said to be the pillar of the sky of the Northern Han Dynasty, but he was only granted the Marquis of Changling. Although Zhongli Ao is also a general, he is far from Beitang Qing's strength and was actually named Duke. It is really ridiculous." He smiled and said, "The lower officials can assert that if the dilemma of the Northern Han Dynasty is solved, Beitang Feng will be the first to deal with Zhongli Ao. Zhongli Ao will never have any good ending."

"That's the funeral." Qi Ning frowned and said, "The Huai River has been blocked by the Dongqi Navy, blocking the logistics supply of the Qinhuai Legion. How long can the Qinhuai Legion last?" He raised his hand and touched his chin: "I am only worried that Dongqi will make peace with the Northern Han Dynasty. When the Qi army leaves Puyang and join forces with Zhongli Ao to attack our army."

Wei Shu said: "Since the court knows this situation, the emperor will naturally come up with a complete solution. Although Xin Ci's Donghai Navy was defeated, he still retained some of his strength. I heard that Xin Ci returned to the East China Sea, the court also issued an order to speed up the construction of warships...!"

"Building warships cannot be completed overnight, and it is not possible to cultivate an elite naval army in a short time." Qi Ning sighed: "The East China Sea Navy suffered a severe blow and was unable to pose a threat to the East China Navy in a short time."

"Don't worry too much," Wei Shu said: "Although the logistics of the Qinhuai Army was cut off, our army has now controlled three counties in the Northern Han Dynasty. It can support it for a while if the Dongqi Navy can only cruise on the water. Their logistics is the real big problem. Without logistics supply, they can't hold on for long now. It depends on who can last longer on both sides."

Xuanyuan Po pondered for a moment before saying, "Our army collects grain on the spot, which may... cause civil unrest."

Qi Ning nodded slightly, knowing that the nearly 100,000 Qinhuai Army had no logistics, so he could only recruit food and grass locally. However, how could the local people give their food and grass? It would inevitably lead to forced food collection. This would naturally cause greater hostility among the local people, and thus arouse unrest among the local people. This is also an inevitable thing.

"Can we reclaim grain and grass from Qi to supply pottery?" Qi Ning thought for a while and asked, "If we can raise grain and grass from Qi State, it doesn't matter even if the Dongqi Navy blocked the Huai River."

Wei Shu said, "If Duan Shao is dead, the Duke's method is naturally excellent. However, Duan Shao is still alive now, and Qi knows that their prince survives from death, so they will not surrender so easily. It is natural to let the soldiers stationed in Qi collect food and fodder, but it is not easy to transport them from Qi to Dingtao. The rioters in Qi will inevitably intercept the troops along the way. The troops stationed in Dong Qi are weak, and they must not be divided to protect the food at present, so...!"

Qi Ning nodded slightly, and naturally knew that what Wei Shutong said was not false.
Chapter completed!