In July of the 15th year, the two armies of Da Chen's Northern Expedition began joint operations for the first time.
Pei Jun of the West Route Army attacked Guidefu, Chenliu and Lanyang areas in Henan.
Ling Su, the right army of the East Route Army, divided his troops into two groups. One of them continued to march to Dongchang Prefecture, and the other, with Zhang Meng as the main general, attacked Kaizhou, Jun County, and Changyuan of Daming Prefecture in the west. county.
These two places are bordering each other.
In other words, at this moment, in this large place, a large part of the Eastern and Western armies of the Northern Expeditionary Army are gathered together. Although it is not a large area, it is already highly dense.
With a force of this size, even Qi people would not dare to rush in rashly.
Just as the war was in full swing, Pei Jun, the commander-in-chief of the West Route Army, wrote about the Huai'an Army, with the general idea that he wanted to meet Shen Yi.
Since they were friendly forces, Shen Yi did not refuse, and the two parties agreed to meet in Dongming County, the first county town to be breached in Daming Prefecture.
In mid-July, the two coaches set off one after another and came to Dongming County.
Pei Jun arrived first, and Shen Yi was half a day behind him. By the time Shen Yi arrived, it was almost dark.
However, Dongming County was defeated by Zhang Meng, and the troops stationed in the city were still Huai'an troops. The Huai'an troops had been waiting at the gate of the county for a long time, and led Shen Yi all the way to the county government office in Dongming County.
When Mr. Shen entered the main hall of the county government office, he found that Pei Jun was already waiting in the main hall. He hurriedly handed over his hands and said with some embarrassment: "A batch of medicinal materials arrived. I rushed to take a look. I wasted time and talked with you. The general will apologize."
This is the Huai'an Army garrison, which means Shen Yi is the master. It is indeed a bit rude for him, the master, to arrive later.
Pei Jun quickly stood up and returned the courtesy, waved his hand and said with a smile: "It's not in the way, it's not in the way. Pei only arrived in the afternoon."
After the two people greeted each other, they took their seats. Pei Jun looked at Shen Yi and asked curiously: "Zhongcheng is a high official in the border area. Why does he have to personally deal with medicinal materials and other things?"
Mr. Shen reached out to pour tea for Pei Jun, and said with a smile: "The general also knows that Shen is a scholar, and for military matters..."
"I can't say that I know nothing about it, but I'm definitely not a master of military skills."
"Now that the two countries are at war, most of the things that need to be directed on the battlefield are beyond my reach."
"In the Huai'an army, I really know how to personally deal with it, that is, medicinal materials, food, soldiers' armor, and..."
He paused and said softly: "There is also intelligence and the formulation of some combat strategies."
"In real wars, I didn't participate much."
He pushed the hot tea over.
"After all, I am a scholar. It seems that I can only fight in this way, which makes the general, an expert, laugh."
Pei Jun took the tea with both hands and looked serious.
"Zhongcheng, this is the style of a handsome man, but it is Pei."
He shook his head and said with a bitter smile: "It has been more than a year since the West Route Army was established, and it has been more than a year since the actual battle began. Up to now, Pei has been running around but has made no achievements."
He looked at Shen Yi and said sincerely: "To be honest, I have wanted to see Zhong Cheng for a long time."
"I just kept busy, and the distance was too far, so there was no way to escape."
Pei Jun said with emotion: "I heard that Zhongcheng is now near Daming Mansion, only one or two hundred miles away, so I immediately came over to ask Zhongcheng for advice."
Shen Yi lowered his head and took a sip of tea, and said with a smile: "I have read a lot of battle reports in Henan. The general has also captured many cities now, so why ask for advice?"
"Don't mention it."
Pei Jun shook his head slightly and said helplessly: "To be honest with Zhongcheng, many people have died in the past year or so..."
"But I haven't had any particularly big achievements yet."
Pei Jun whispered: "A hundred thousand troops, plus the subordinates, will eat up a lot of food in a year. Last year was fine. All the government offices provided enough food and grass. This year..."
He said helplessly: "Zhongcheng, you know that Pei is not a civil servant..."
Shen Yi nodded slightly to express his understanding.
So far, the Huai'an Army has been able to maintain relative independence on the battlefield, and has even been isolated from politics by Shen Yi alone, only undertaking combat tasks.
A large part of the reason is that Shen Yi is a civil servant and has connections with all aspects.
The Ministry of War is his old unit, and his old boss's eldest grandson is in the Huai'an army, so the Ministry of War will naturally not embarrass him.
As for Tobe...that's almost the same as him.
And those closely related to the war were actually these two yamen.
As for the generals in the Dudu Mansion.
They were already suppressed by the civil servants. In the past, only Anping Marquis Zhao Lu could stand up to the civil servants. Now even Zhao Lu is suppressed by Mr. Shen, and the generals dare not say anything.
In all aspects of relationships, Shen Yi has everything right.
Coupled with the good relationship with the emperor and his wealth and connections, the Huai'an Army was able to become what it is now.
But in the same combat mission, Pei Jun was far less able than Shen Yi.
After all, the civil servants of this era, by nature, did not look down upon military generals very much. They considered them vulgar and were wary of their rebellion.
When Mr. Shen faces those stinking civil servants, he could just roll his eyes and ask what year you are a member of the Imperial Academy, but Pei Jun...
Sometimes, you just have to grit your teeth and accept the anger.
This is also the reason why the West Route Army has been in existence for a year and a half, and its paper strength is no worse than that of the Huai'an Army, or even better, but it has never achieved any military success.
Being restricted by rules and regulations is too severe.
However, these rules and regulations against military generals are extremely difficult to remove in this era.
Shen Yi thought for a while and asked: "General, what do you think when you see me?"
Pei Jun was silent for a while and then said: "Zhongcheng, Pei has read the battle report of Shandong in detail. If the Huai'an army's war goes smoothly, they can take over the entire province of Shandong this year."
"This is an unprecedented achievement."
He looked up at Shen Yi and whispered: "If Zhongcheng succeeds this year, next year Pei wants to invite Zhongcheng to become the head coach of the Northern Expedition and command the east and west armies!"
Pei Jun stood up directly, lowered his head and said: "Pei, I am willing to be the pioneer of Zhongcheng!"
"I just want to kill the enemy, serve the country, and make achievements!"
Shen Yi was startled, then stood up, supported Pei Jun, and said with a wry smile: "I thought the general called me to meet to discuss the cooperation between the two armies..."
Pei Jun shook his head slightly.
"Zhongcheng, I have the Western Route Army in my hands. If we fight for another three years, it will be difficult to achieve any results."
"I'm afraid Zhongcheng doesn't know that the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office require the West Route Army to submit two military reports a day."
"and…"
He smiled bitterly and said: "Both these two yamen have sent combat instructions to the West Route Army, more than once."
He raised his head and looked at Shen Yi, his voice full of helplessness: "I'm afraid Zhong Cheng has never received it even once."
Shen Yi shook his head slightly.
Naturally, he has never received these things.
Just kidding, he didn't even give Cui Yu face. He slapped Cui Yu in the face in front of the court. If these two yamen dare to give Shen Yi these things, Mr. Shen can go back to Jiankang immediately. Old Man Jiang His beard was slapped on the table of the Governor's Mansion!
After all, the Huai'an Army can be said to have made numerous military exploits by now.
Pei Jun lowered his head slightly and continued: "The war in Henan is not going well, and the adults in the court have long been dissatisfied. If Zhongcheng does not take up this responsibility next year, I am afraid that the Western Route Army's Northern Expedition will be unsustainable."
Shen Yi shook his head: "General, it is so inappropriate to tell me this now."
"Besides, it's not up to you or me to decide whether to shoulder this burden or not."
"Pei, I have already secretly reported to Your Majesty."
Pei Jun said in a deep voice: "For the Northern Expedition, we must have you, the Prime Minister, as the person in charge."
"Only you can protect the soldiers from the ups and downs coming from the imperial court."
Shen Yi still shook his head.
"How can I carry such a heavy burden?"
Pei Jun reached out to pour tea for Shen Yi and said calmly: "As long as we can capture Shandong this year, Zhong Cheng can afford anything."
Mr. Shen blinked and said nothing.
Pei Jun said softly: "In the second half of the year, the Western Route Army will fully cooperate with Zhongcheng to attack Shandong."
Shen Yi lowered his head to drink tea, and then let out a long sigh.
"If His Majesty really plans this next year, General Pei will really hurt me."