No one from the peace-seeking faction dared to refute.
"Retreat from the court, Su Changning, please come to my imperial study. I have something to discuss with you privately."
In the imperial study, Qin Chushang asked directly: "Su Changning, Anxi, and Beiting have become two isolated armies. What do you think?"
Su Changning responded: "The general will not accept the emperor's order. After all, the two Jiedu envoys have been commanding the army for many years, and they have rarely worried the emperor in these years. They can decide all matters big and small by themselves. If the emperor's order is not fulfilled, your majesty does not need to be overly concerned about this.
Worry."
"I believe that the two armies now have two ways to go. One is to defend with all their strength and wait for the opportunity. The other is to take the initiative to attack, encircle Wei and rescue Zhao, and reduce the frontal pressure on our army."
"The worst thing I'm afraid of is taking the third path, collaborating with the enemy and surrendering in order to preserve our glory and wealth."
Qin Chushang said calmly: "Even if you have the idea of collaborating with the enemy and surrendering, you still have to wait and see. Then I will send a special person to send a letter to the two Jiedu envoys, asking them to wait for the work, wait for the opportunity, and be ready to fight with the three armies of Longxi at any time.
Cooperating inside and outside, we defeated the army of Beidi Xirong."
After Su Changning was surprised, he understood what the Queen meant. First of all, these two lone armies should be full of confidence. No one would be willing to be a slave of the country unless they had to. Secondly, these two lone armies could become extraordinary soldiers as the war changes.
"Your Majesty, our country has just sent food and wages to various important towns. Beidi and Xirong have chosen to start a war at this juncture. They must be fighting to support war and to conquer Chang'an in one go. If Lingzhou, Taiyuan, and Shanzhou fail again, the armies of the two countries will
This is a stronghold, and there is plenty of food and grass to supplement the logistics, so Chang'an is in danger."
"I know it, so I plan to go there in person to pull the strings and supervise it personally."
Su Changning was shocked: "Your Majesty, the country cannot live without a king for a day. Please think twice."
Qin Chushang said: "Su Changning, I'm not in Chang'an, so all the state affairs and military logistics will depend on you and Xiao Zouqing."
At this time, Xiao Zuoyi was led in by the eunuch: "I have met your Majesty."
"Xiao Zuogui, you are issuing an order today to order the Xiaoqi Guards, Xiongqu Guards, Leopard Cavalry Guards, and Shesheng Guards to mobilize all the soldiers and horses from all over the country to accompany me to fight against the enemy. You also order the Yulin Guards, the Second Flying Guards, the left and right prison guards, and the left and right Qian Guards.
Niu Wei and Liu Wei led the troops to guard the capital and the entire country."
Xiao Zuo was surprised and immediately accepted the order.
One month later, the Queen personally led the Xiaoqi Guards, Xiong Qu Guards, Leopard Cavalry Guards, and Shesheng Guards to fight against Beidi and Xirong in the west.
At this time, Xirong and Longyou armies were in full display in Shanzhou, Beidi and Shuofang, and Hedong towns were in Lingzhou and Taiyuan for more than a month.
The Longyou Army was still able to deal with the Xirong army with the strength of one town. Although the two towns of Shuofang and Hedong guarded the city gates, the Beidi army was too strong and lost several city gates in just one month.
When the Queen arrived with her army, the situation began to slow down, and she even took advantage of the morale gained from the initial victory to recapture the two city gates.
Two months later, the Xirong army captured the defense line of Prince Yang's Mansion and used it as a breakthrough to advance northward, intending to join the Beidi army.
Zhao Wangfu led his troops to pursue and block the attack, but they never returned.
The other royal palaces did not dare to advance rashly. In addition, they fought fiercely with the Xirong army for several months and lost troops and generals. They had to make adjustments first and then make plans.
After the Xirong army and the Beidi army merged,
The pressure from Shuo's army on Guannei Road increased greatly, and Her Majesty the Queen personally led the army on the frontal battlefield between Guannei Road and Beidi's army.
The Hedong Army had no choice but to mobilize a large number of troops to march westward to support the Shuofang Army in Guan Nei Dao, and finally withstood the enemy's fierce offensive.
However, as the Hedong Army drew troops and marched westward, Hedong Road was depleted of troops and was captured from the north by another Beidi army in less than half a month.
With the total loss of Hedong Road, Beidi was like a sharp knife approaching the hinterland of Daguan Kingdom.
The Daguan Allied Forces at Guannai Road were besieged on three sides in the west, north and south, and were trapped in the middle. As for the Longyou Army in the southwest, they fought fiercely with the Xirong Army for several months. Both the Yang Palace and Zhao Palace armies were wiped out, and the remaining troops also suffered heavy casualties. Ni Bodhisattva
It is difficult to protect the crossing of the river itself, let alone support the inner road of the pass.
The allied forces on the Guannai Road became a trapped beast. With the complete fall of Hedong Road, even the logistics supply routes were cut off. They continued to besieged for several months without attacking, and they were defeated without a fight after running out of food and grass.
Of course, the Daguan Kingdom in Guan Nei Dao could also gather its forces to attack the Beidi army in Hedong Dao, but this would be equivalent to handing over the dangerous pass within Guan Nei to the enemy.
After losing the city gate and entering the open plains, facing Beidi and Xirong's most brave and skilled cavalry, this battle was even more unwinnable.
Beidi's knife, which has been sharpened for more than 20 years, is too sharp. It is difficult for the Allied Forces in Guan Nei to defend and retreat.
The battle situation on the front line was critical, and Su Changning was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot.
In these days, he was busy collecting grain, grass, clothing and quilts from all over the country to prepare for the winter, so that he could fight a protracted war with Beidi and Xirong. If Beidi could not be captured before the cold winter came, he would definitely choose to retreat.
Now that the food and grass supplies have been collected, all the elite soldiers and generals have been mobilized to fight on the front lines. The remaining troops are guarding the capital and the whole country, but they have become a dilemma with no available soldiers.
After repeated discussions with Xiao Zuoke, they decided to take the risk and remove half of the troops, and then asked Fan Yang Jiedushi to mobilize his troops to the west. The two armies attacked the Beidi army in Hedong Road from the west and north, and retook Hedong Road.
The military situation was urgent, Xiao Zuowei was responsible for withdrawing half of the troops from the capital, and Su Changning was responsible for contacting Fan Yang Jiedu envoy Lu Huimi and asking Lu Huimi to lead the army to the west.
As the letters came and went, Lu Huimi asked Su Changning to replenish food and grass supplies in the name of the cold weather in recent winter before he was willing to send troops.
Seeing Lu Huimi's reply, Su Changning, a scholar, was so angry that he scolded his mother. This summer, the imperial court only sent supplies to Fan Yangjun. How could Fan Yangjun have a shortage of food and grass? Moreover, Fan Yangjun was stationed in Fanyang. This was not the case in previous years.
How could there be a lack of winter clothing for the winter? It’s not like the army is stationed in a warm place in the south of the Yangtze River.
It was clearly an excuse for not wanting to send troops. The imperial court had spent countless financial and material resources to support Fan Yangjun over the years, but when it was about to be used at the critical moment, it came out with this trick to drain the firepower.
From Lu Huimi's point of view, it is understandable that he has been operating in Fanyang for many years and has long relied on his own troops. How could he be willing to send these troops to die? If the frontline battle is successful, it will be the icing on the cake, but it is useless to provide help in the snow.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Xiao Zuo is worthy of being the governor of Zhongshu Province. It only took half a month to mobilize half of the troops stationed in the capital.
Only a former important minister like him had such operational ability.
Find Su Changning and ask Fan Yangjun how the situation is going.
Su Changning complained bitterly to Xiao Zuogui, saying that Lu Huimi respected his own troops, cherished his troops and generals, and found excuses not to send troops to the west for reinforcements.
Xiao Zuogui said: "The Fanyang Lu family is a powerful family group headed by the Luoyang Li family. Even if Her Majesty the Queen personally orders this matter, it will be useless. The Luoyang Li family needs to make a decision."
Su Changning suddenly realized that since Her Majesty the Queen came to the throne, she had carried out drastic reforms and had long been in conflict with the various powerful families. She said angrily: "The powerful families are harming the country."
Then he said: "The Li family in Luoyang must not know the importance of it. Once the country is destroyed and they become slaves of the country, the Li family in Luoyang will no longer exist."
Xiao Zuogui pondered and said: "Maybe the Li family in Luoyang also has their own plans. Maybe the Li family in Luoyang wants to take this opportunity to weaken the power of the Emperor Qin family, or maybe the Li family in Luoyang has the confidence to expel foreign enemies."
Su Changning exclaimed: "This sword of Beidi has been sharpened for twenty years. The three princesses of Beidi are the heroes who have swept through all the countries in the Western Region. How can we dare to invade eastward if we are not sure? The enemy is now overwhelming. We should fight against the enemy together. How?
They also engage in infighting and consumption.”
Xiao Zuogui remained silent. The Qin family had been the emperor for two hundred years and couldn't solve the family problem, so what else could they do.
The two were silent for a long time, and Su Changning said softly: "Master Xiao, what should we do now? If Lu Huimi is unwilling to send troops, there is no way you can retake Hedong Road from the Beidi army with just the troops you mobilized."
Xiao Zuoguai sighed and said, "Give Lu Huimi whatever he wants. Retaking Hedong Road is the most important thing. He, Lu Huimi, takes advantage of the situation and robs him, so that he can settle the accounts with his wife."
Su Changning had no choice but to send people to deliver grain and grass supplies to Fan Yang, and at the same time wrote a letter to Lu Huimi to receive the supplies, and then send troops to the west to help.
After waiting for more than half a month, Su Changning received a letter from Lu Huimi, asking Su Changning for military supplies in the name of needing good horses and heavy armor to fight the Beidi Army in a vast area.
Willing to send troops to Hedong.
After Su Changning saw the letter, he banged the table angrily. Not to mention that he didn't have a good horse and heavy armor now, even if he did, he wouldn't be deceived by Lu Huimi again.
If we continue like this, it will be almost winter, and we will miss the opportunity to fight.
I found Xiao Zuowei again and the two discussed countermeasures.
The result is that Lu Huimi is unreliable. Even if he is finally willing to send troops, he will be lazy and refuse to really contribute.
The plan was feasible, but there were no soldiers available. The two of them thought about it for a whole day, but they couldn't figure out where to dig out the soldiers.
The next day, a servant came to report that Lu Tao, the governor of Suzhou, wanted to see him. Su Changning was in a state of turmoil and was not in the mood to meet the visitor. However, Lu Tao was a big boss after all, so it was impossible not to meet him.
After a few polite words, Lu Tao got to the point: "The battle on the front line is urgent. The Shuofang Army, the Hedong Army, and Her Majesty the Queen's troops are trapped in the Guannai Road by the coalition forces of Beidi and Xirong. As the minister, how can Master Su remain indifferent."
The problem was serious. How could Su Changning not know that he had thought of a solution, but he couldn't implement it without the troops available, so he simply asked: "Master Lu, do you have any good ideas?"
Lu Tao did not give in. He said bluntly: "It is natural to send troops to Hedong Road to recapture Hedong Road and relieve the siege of the allied forces in the pass."
Lu Tao has been the governor of Suzhou for more than 20 years and is the head of the Lu family. It is not surprising that he wants to go with him. He simply said from the bottom of his heart: "Master Lu, to tell you the truth, I and Mr. Xiao, Zhongshu Ling, have been together since more than a month ago.
So we made a battle plan to retake Hedong Road, but it was a pity that Lu Huimi, the envoy of Fanyang Jiedu, relied on his own troops and refused to contribute in the face of national calamity..."
Su Changning told the story of how Xiao Zuowei had withdrawn half of his troops from the capital's strongholds to prepare for northern reinforcements, but Lu Huimi had perfunctory twice in a row and defrauded him of food, wages and supplies.
After hearing this, Lu Tao laughed and said, "It turns out that Mr. Su is worried that he has no troops to spare."
"Exactly."
As he spoke, Su Changning listed out the countless treasures of soldiers and horses in the world, and then asked: "Master Lu, besides Fan Yang's army, do you think there are any other troops and horses available?"
Lu Tao smiled and said, "Su Changning forgot that there is another Jiedu Envoy?"
Su Changning was confused: "Who?"
"Xie Fu, the governor of Huainan Road."
After hearing this, Su Changning said: "Master Lu, please stop joking with me at this time. Xie Fu, the Jiedushi of Huainan Road, has long gone to Lingnan to be the Xiaoyao Prince. Although the post of Jiedushi of Huainan Road has not yet been
I am resigning, but it is also a false title."
Lu Tao smiled and said, "It's just like Mr. Su said."
Su Changning continued: "Even if Fu Xie now holds real power, this place in the south of the Yangtze River is not as important as other towns. Where can we mobilize troops to fight in the front line? Where are the government troops stationed? These troops can fight bandits and suppress local riots.
, When we actually go to the front line, we don’t even have the equipment and horses. Facing the Beidi army, we will be chopped off.”
Lu Tao said calmly: "Before Xie Fu went to Lingnan, he sent the troops stationed in Jiangnan East Road and Huainan Road in the name of Huainan Road Jiedushi, so that the soldiers could disarm and return to the fields to recuperate and store grain to enrich the people."
Su Changning was stunned for a moment: "Since we don't have any soldiers, Master Lu probably wants to send those agents to the front line to fight."
Lu Tao smiled lightly: "Although these soldiers work in the fields, they are still serving in the military. They only need to be recruited. If they abandon their hoes and pick up their swords, all the people will become soldiers."
Su Changning was surprised: "Is this true?"
Lu Tao then explained a series of measures by which Xie Furang allowed the soldiers to disarm and return to the fields, retain their military service status, reclaim wasteland for personal ownership, and exempt them from taxes for three years.
Su Changning is now a minister and worries about state affairs every day. He immediately understood the cleverness and said in surprise: "It's wonderful. Only a genius can come up with such a wonderful measure. It relieves the heavy burden of military tax and allows the soldiers to be self-sufficient. 2.
When farmers are lightly taxed, the people will be rich and the country will be strong. Thirdly, troops will be kept at all times to serve as farmers in leisure time and as soldiers in time of war."
In fact, Xie Fu was not the first to come up with the military system of integrating soldiers and farmers. The military system that originated from the Northern Wei Dynasty and has been followed to this day is not exactly like this.
The government military system sounds nice: go out as soldiers, enter as civilians, and hide soldiers in the army. But in fact, it is military service imposed on farmers.
Just imagine, you usually work in the fields, but suddenly you have to go to the battlefield empty-handed and naked. How much fighting power does the temporarily recruited army have? It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a ragtag group of people.
Such a ragtag army without complete equipment may still be useful in suppressing riots and suppressing bandits.
When we come to the battlefield between countries, how can we fight against those troops who have experienced hundreds of battles and are well-equipped? I am afraid that a ragtag army of tens of thousands of people will encounter an elite division of 5,000 people. Seeing the radiance emanating from the opponent
The murderous spirit came out, and he ran away without even daring to fight.
It is a joke to ask farmers to fight formal wars.
Of course, not all Zhechong soldiers are just gangsters. Some wealthy and famous families maintain soldiers in the name of government soldiers. The wealthy families secretly support them with food, wages, weapons and equipment. They are armies composed of real soldiers, such as Suzhou Zhechong.
Mansion, Zhechong Mansion, Changzhou.
However, such an army has become the private army of wealthy and famous people, and is used by wealthy and famous people. It is difficult for the court to recruit them into the battlefield.
Dadong Kingdom nominally has ten guards. Apart from the elite guards guarding the capital, only twenty-three out of ten of them can actually be sent to the battlefield, and these two or three are firmly in the hands of local wealthy families.
The actions taken by Xie Fu seem to be similar to those of Youfu's military system, but they are actually very different.
One is a farmer carrying military service, and the other is a soldier who has been discharged and returned to the fields. They are real soldiers, and once they are recruited, they become a real army.
Lu Tao said solemnly: "Seriously! I have recruited a force of 60,000 troops! I will then obey the imperial court's orders."
Su Changning was taken aback. He let out a cry, and then asked softly: "Mr. Lu, are your 60,000 soldiers and horses fully equipped and what is their combat strength? You must know that this time we are fighting a tough battle. We are not going to fight."
Suppress the riots."
Lu Tao laughed loudly: "These 60,000 people are originally well-disciplined soldiers, not just a mob as Mr. Su thought." He said in a low voice: "Mr. Su, I won't hide it from you. These 60,000 people are from Jiangnan East Road and Huainan.
The net worth of a local family."
When Lu Tao said this, Su Changning understood that these soldiers were elite private troops cultivated by local wealthy families who spent financial and material resources, and they were only in name known as Zhechong government soldiers.
"Master Lu, are there any shortages of food, grass and equipment?" How can we lack these two things in a war?
Lu Tao smiled lightly: "There are three major granaries in the south of the Yangtze River, the Jinling granary, the Suzhou granary, and the Hangzhou granary. They are all full. The people's homes have abundant grain stores, and they can be levied at any time without the court having to worry."
Su Changning said happily: "Okay, in terms of equipment, I can raise 3,000 war horses, 8,000 pairs of leather armors, 3,000 infantry armors, cloth back armors, Fu silk armors, and white cloth armors for you, totaling 11,000.
vice."
Armor is no better than a weapon and is expensive to make. Lu Tao is so loyal to the country. This is the greatest sincerity Su Changning can show.
Lu Tao smiled slightly: "I'm afraid they won't wear it?"
Su Changning was confused: "Why is this?"
Lu Tao smiled lightly and said: "These 60,000 soldiers and horses wear armors ranging from bright light armor and red iron armor to fine scale armor and mountain wen armor. How can they think so highly of your leather armor and cloth armor, Mr. Su?"
"
"this……"
But Su Changning was so shocked that he couldn't speak. He was completely frightened. There was a huge difference between having armor and not having armor. Today's battle of defeating more with less relied on well-equipped equipment.
Seeing Su Changning's expression, Lu Tao couldn't help but feel a little proud: "Not only that, half of the horses he rode came from Wenren Ranch, half of the weapons used were forged by the Su family in Jiancheng, and the arrowheads used were armor-piercing arrows made by the Su family in Jiancheng.
, can penetrate ordinary armor and kill the enemy."
Su Changning was so surprised that he opened his mouth wide and couldn't even say the word "ah". It was so ordinary that it would not be an exaggeration to say that he transformed from a human soldier into a heavenly soldier.
Why should such an army be afraid of the Beidi army? You can imagine a picture of them standing in armor and allowing the enemy to grab and chop them with swords, but they are also invulnerable.
It took a long time to recover from the shock: "Where can I find so many war horse armors?"
Lu Tao said lightly: "This is all because Master Xie spent his family wealth and purchased from everywhere based on his personal connections to create such a fully armored division."
Su Changning sighed: "It is unimaginable that the power of the imperial court can overwhelm the country..."
Lu Tao echoed: "Yes, it's unimaginable and amazing. I thought only gods could do it, but the reality is right in front of me."
"Okay! Good! Good!" Su Changning said three good words in a row. As a scholar and a civil official, his blood boiled with enthusiasm for a general.