"The man hiding in the cell with the number T is Yue Hailou, the Marquis of Yu, the former capital of the Jingsheng Army."
Lu Xiong walked into the room and sat down, and said worriedly,
"Sixteen years ago, Yue Hailou was only a commander under the sixth general of the Jingsheng Army. Cai Qing issued an imperial edict to punish Wang Xiaocheng. When most generals were still hesitant to wait and see, it was Yue Hailou and others who
He immediately stood up and acted according to the order. After Cai Qing officially took charge of the Jingsheng Army Capital, he also promoted these generals on a large scale; Yue Hailou also step by step from the Jingsheng Army Capital Yuhou, to the commander of the capital, until he became the deputy commander. In
During the ten years when Cai Ting was officially in charge of the armies in the northwest, Yue Hailou helped Cai Ting adopt orphan soldiers to form the Zhongjie Army, and made them his personal guards. He can be said to be Cai Ting's most beloved general in the army.
He was transferred to the Central Committee to take charge of the Privy Council. As usual, the command of the Zhongjie Army was handed over. As a close general of Cai Qing's direct lineage, Yue Hailou no longer directly commanded the troops as usual, but was transferred to the Huanqing Road Capital Deployment Institute as the capital.
Deployment deputy envoy. However, Yue Hailou had a disagreement with Wu Cunhao, the envoy of Huanqing Road, so he resigned and returned to Beijing to join Cai Zheng's family again. He had a good relationship with Cai Yuanyou, Cai Zheng's son, and escorted Cai Yuanyou on his mission early last year.
Cai Yuanyou of the State of Yan returned south to the DPRK after spying on the reality of the State of Yan, while Yue Hailou sneaked to the western foot of the Xianbei Mountains to observe the situation of the Chihu people and the Tibetan tribes in the northwest. He was very unoptimistic..."
Xu Huai stood in front of the window and listened to Lu Xiong talking about how Yue Hai brought Chen Zixiao, Zeng Run and Zhu Xiaotong into the official residence of Shichang late last night. He looked out the window at the cluster of thatch on the courtyard wall.
He did not doubt that what Yue Hailou said was false. Wang reported that Lu Xiong had already met Guo Zhongxiong and got confirmation from Guo Zhongxiong. Yue Hailou returned to Bianjing at the beginning of the year and reported his investigation to the court in a confidential document.
At the beginning of the year, the officials officially issued an order to the Privy Council to officially launch the deployment of conquering Yan. A very important factor was Yue Hailou's secret memorial.
When Xu Huai was in Tongbai Mountain, he was worried that the Chihu people would be in great difficulty. If he was not satisfied with replacing the Khitans one day, the army would sweep across the Central Plains at any time. Wang reported that Lu Xiong once thought that his worries were unfounded.
What Yue Hailou saw about the situation of the Chihu people and the Tibetan tribes in the northwest at the western foot of the Xianbei Mountains also confirmed his worries to a certain extent: the Chihu people, who had only risen in the Mobei grassland for thirty or forty years, were indeed going to
It is far more powerful than people imagined in the past.
Xu Huai walked back to the desk near the west wall and spread out the map of Vietnam's borders that he had kept close to his body - the large paper maps of the time were not convenient for personal collection, so Liu Qiong'er spent a lot of time on this map.
The work is embroidered on thin silk.
The current geographical survey and mapping was very crude, but the main terrain and orientations such as the Hetao, Yinshan, Yanshan, Daxianbei Mountains, Mobei Grassland, Monan Grassland, and Helan Mountain can still be reflected on this map.
When the power of the Khitans was at its peak, the area they controlled once extended westward to the Jinshan Mountains (Altai Mountains), covering a vast area of thousands of miles, but its core area mainly included two areas:
One is the Liaohe Plain east of the Daxianbei Mountains, with Linhuang Prefecture in Beijing, Dading Prefecture in Zhongjing, and Liaoyang Prefecture in Tokyo as its core. The other is the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun captured from the Central Plains before the establishment of the Yue Dynasty. On this basis, the Khitan people
, Xijing Datong Prefecture (Xijing Road) and Nanjing Xijin Prefecture (Nanjing Road) were demarcated for governance, and Han and Tibetan people lived together in the territory.
The vast area (Mongolian Plateau) west of the Daxianbei Mountains and north of the Xijing Road (Yinshan Mountain) is the northwest Tibetan area controlled by the Khitans for more than a hundred years.
The Chihu people are one of the tribes in the northwest and were once the vassal tribe of the Khitans.
Yue Hailou saw that the Khitan's once invincible cavalry was defeated by the Chihu people at the western foot of the Great Xianbei Mountain, so he had to use the border wall camp they built two hundred years ago on the eve of their expansion at the western foot of the Great Xianbei Mountain to build defense. Line, this not only shows that the main force of the Khitan people has been completely at a disadvantage in the confrontation with the Chihu people, but also shows that the northwest Tibetan tribes should have been completely integrated by the Chihu people at this time, completing the shaping of the core power circle, and also Be prepared to invade the surrounding areas on a large scale.
The Khitans have never been good at defense. When the defense line they hastily built in the Daxianbei Mountains is torn apart by the Red Husbands, the Red Husbands' hundreds of thousands of cavalry will be like a torrent, sweeping away the Khitan people's heartland in the Liao River Basin. Completely engulfed.
By then, the Chihu people will have completely occupied the vast areas on both sides of the Xianbei Mountains, and after completely eliminating the threat on the flanks, if their ambitions are not satisfied and released, the Iron Hoof will surely head south brazenly.
When the time comes, will the Yanyun area fall into the hands of the remaining Khitan forces, which will be more beneficial to resist the Red Husband's advance southward, or will it be more suitable for Dai Viet to take the opportunity to send troops to seize the Yanyun area, and for the elite Forbidden Army to build a new line of defense relying on Yanshan, Yinshan and other majestic mountains? profit?
Not to mention that Cai Zheng, Wang Yongqi and others had already made their choice in the court. Wang Zhen sent Lu Xiong to Huanglongpo Station at this time, which shows that he believed that the latter was more beneficial to Dai Viet at this moment.
At this time, the most intimate area in the northern part of the Khitan people was under direct threat from the iron hoofs of the Red Husbands. In a short period of time, not a single soldier was transferred south. It could even be said that this was the last opportunity to seize Yanyun's hometown from the Khitan people.
To be honest, if the fragment of memory that flashed in his mind was not so clear and unmistakable, Xu Huai would not have doubted the judgments of Wang Zhen, Cai Qing and Wang Yongqi at this time.
However, at this time, he became more and more certain that Vietnam had too many disadvantages, perhaps even worse than the Khitans.
From this point of view, even if the Khitan people reach Xishan at sunset and their defenses in Yanyun and other places are empty, and Dai Viet assembles hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses to attack Yan, there can only be two results:
Either they were defeated by the weaker Khitans and failed to capture the Yanyun states;
Either they had to use up the few elite Imperial Guards to barely capture the Yanyun Prefectures or part of the area, but they were unable to use the majestic mountains of the Yanyun Prefectures to build an effective defense line when the Chihu troops were heading south.
However, his judgment was mainly based on the results that have not happened yet. Not to mention Guo Zhongxiong and Yue Hailou, they would not believe it. Tang Pan and Xu Xin'an could not believe it either.
Along the way from Tongbai Mountain to Lanzhou, they saw extremely serious problems in the administration of officials. It was undeniable that there were many problems in the training, mobilization, and command from the Privy Council to the forbidden army. However, the Khitan people had been a country for nearly two hundred years. All kinds of accumulated shortcomings are also serious, otherwise the Chihu people would not be able to become powerful.
It is also clear now that the Khitans are unable to mobilize a single soldier from the northern front for reinforcements, while Dai Viet can mobilize a large number of elite combat forces from the northwest armies into Lanzhou and Daizhou, forming an absolute military advantage.
Without that clear memory to wake him up, Xu Huai himself would not have believed that Dai Viet would be easily frustrated this time in conquering Yan.
Xu Huai thought for a long time and determined that he could not delay the process of conquering Yan through the grain matter. He sighed softly in his heart and said to Lu Xiong:
"If Guo Zhongxiong wants to calm down the incident, he must kill three or five grain officials to bring the whole matter to a clear conclusion. He cannot say that the prisoners are making noises for no reason. Another thing, Mr. Lu went back and told Guo Zhongxiong that Guo and Pan were worried about the consequences afterwards.
I am willing to make amends for my sins and lead the five hundred prisoners to go north with the army to defeat Yan..."
"Are you sure you want to go north?" Lu Xiong asked doubtfully.
"..."
Xu Huai also stared blankly at the flowing clouds above the distant mountains.
Of course it would be much safer for him to stay in Guanluishan, but earth-shaking changes are coming. If he stands on the bank where the torrent cannot reach, can he really seize any opportunity?
Of course, as they follow the army north to conquer Yan this time, they will have many insecurities in the army and will inevitably encounter many unpredictable dangers. However, as long as the troops and horses of conquering Yan are not defeated in a battle of annihilation, Xu Huai believes that they will face many difficulties in a short period of time.
It won't be a near-death situation.
Xu Huai nodded and said to Lu Xiong: "Well! If everything goes well, it will be an opportunity for us to make a lot of military achievements - and Xu Xin'an, Tang Pan and I are also qualified to be recommended as generals at this time, and maybe we can come back.
After all, those who are upright and have eight classics can work as a commander."
At that time, the Xiang Army was mainly used as an auxiliary force, but some Xiang Army maintained daily training to prepare for defensive wars, and even had the opportunity to be directly promoted to the Forbidden Army.
The training, deployment and appointment of grassroots military attachés of the Xiang Army are all in the hands of the State Military and Horse Supervisory Department. Although there are certain requirements, they are much looser than the appointment of generals in the Forbidden Army.
With the conquest of Yan imminent, the Xiang armies in Landai and other places had an urgent need to expand greatly. It was normal to upgrade the local soldiers to the Xiang army, or to organize the prisoners into the Xiang army.
Even on the eve of the expedition against Yan, Xu Huai would not be surprised if prisoners from various prison camps in Lan expedition and other places were organized into the Xiang army for the expedition.
The key is that they want to intervene and have the opportunity to directly control an army and have a certain initiative in the battle against Yan, instead of completely following the crowd. This is the only good opportunity now.
At this juncture, as long as no one wants to cause trouble and cause trouble, no one will be able to clean up the mess. Five hundred prisoners were officially organized into a Xiang army. Guo Junpan and Pan Chenghu originally had the title of chief and deputy commander of the Xiang army. They were adjusted.
Commanding this Xiang army, Xu Huai, Xu Xin'an, and Tang Pan had a record of suppressing bandits in Tongbai Mountain. At this time, they were incorporated into the Xiang army as low-level military attachés, which was completely in line with the regulations.
It is no problem for Wang Kong, Yan Xiaoyi, Shen Zhenyi, Zhu Chengjun and others to be directly incorporated into the Xiang Army as prisoners of the Imperial Guard. Prisoners of the Imperial Guard have always been the main source of troops for the Imperial Guard Army. They have no military merit and cannot be directly appointed as military attachés.
There is no problem with this either.
Xu Huai and Xu Xin'an now ask Wang Kong and the others to give up their positions as generals. What opinions will Wang Kong and the others have? The prisoners below will not be uneasy!
