The reason why Shen Yi did not go to the front line but returned to Jinan as soon as possible was because he knew very well that he would face a counterattack from Northern Qi in as long as one year or as short as half a year.
Moreover, it is a desperate fight.
Under this situation, Shen Yi's current idea is to take advantage of as many advantages as possible by letting the left and right armies move north before the Northern Qi soldiers gather.
Once the Northern Qi army takes shape, Shen Yi's current consideration is to enter the strategic defense stage first, take a look at the specific situation, and then respond to the situation as the opportunity arises.
At that time, he will gather most of his troops to Jinan Mansion to prepare for the main force of the Qi people to attack the city.
At that time, it would not only be a matter of the Huai'an Army, but Shen Yi, who was under Pei Jun's command, would directly take over the command and unite them under his command.
After all, that is the real national war. At this time, it is no longer the time to be polite, and a backbone must be needed.
Zhang Jian chatted with Shen Yi for half an hour, then looked up at the map of Shandong hanging in Shen Yi's study, thoughtfully.
"Does Zi Heng want to keep it based on the Yellow River?"
The line of the Yellow River is not far from Jinan City.
Shen Yi's original goal when he went north was to reach the Huaihe River, occupy most of Shandong, confront the Qi people across the river, and then slowly kill them.
Shen Yi also looked up at the map and said, "Retreating to the south of the Yellow River is the best option."
"The best thing is to be able to replace defense with offense on the battlefield, so that we don't have to give up the land in Shandong that we have already obtained."
Having said this, Shen Yi thought for a moment, shook his head slightly and said, "However, I haven't figured out yet how powerful the army assembled by Northern Qi is, so it's hard to make a decision yet."
"If the front is really unstoppable, then we have to stick to the Yellow River for the time being."
The Huai'an Army's strategy and operational guiding ideology have always been fixed, but the specific tactics have varied. Shen Yi gave the following generals the greatest autonomy.
Even if it is a Qianhu, as long as he has enough reasonable reasons, he can make a sudden decision on the battlefield and temporarily change his combat goals.
This is also the reason why the Huai'an Army can shine in this world.
Putting aside personal combat effectiveness factors, this kind of combat thinking is already many, many years ahead of this era.
Zhang Jian took a deep breath and sighed: "Now that I am serving as the governor of Shandong, I sometimes can't sleep at night. I just feel that the burden on me is very heavy. I have to give up the people of Shandong who have been separated from the Great Chen Dynasty for seventy years." Come back with education and make their lives easier."
"Now that I hear what you say, Ziheng, I feel that the burden on me is not that heavy anymore."
He looked at Shen Yi and said with emotion: "Zi Heng, you are young, and the burden on your shoulders now is probably greater than that of the current ministers and ministers of Zhongshu."
Shen Yi was silent for a while and said silently: "The times are forcing us to move forward step by step."
He also sighed, shook his head slightly, and said with a wry smile: "The Northern Expedition is progressing so smoothly, far beyond my expectations."
"Before leading the Huai'an army..."
Mr. Shen said softly: "My idea is to spend five to ten years to conquer Shandong and Henan provinces. It has only been three years at most since I crossed the Huaihe River and headed north. The Northern Expedition has reached this point. "
"If it were slower..."
Mr. Shen narrowed his eyes and said softly: "That confused emperor of Northern Qi may not be so alert, nor may he be able to make such a big decision so quickly."
Zhang Fantai smiled dumbly.
"No one can complain that the battle was fought too smoothly."
Shen Yi also smiled: "Although it sounds weird, it is the fact. It progressed so fast that Beiqi knew it hurt, so he had to start a desperate fight immediately."
"If you attack slowly, by the time they notice it, they may not be able to save you."
This is the principle of boiling a frog in warm water, but Shen Yi boiled the pot of water too quickly, which made Bei Qi's frog feel pain.
Now, this huge frog is trying to accumulate strength and wants to jump out of Master Shen's big pot.
Therefore, this decisive battle took place.
Zhang Jian chatted with Shen Yi about the recent situation in Jinan and Shandong. At the end, when things were almost finished, he hesitated for a moment, then reached out and patted Shen Yi on the shoulder, and said softly: "Zi Heng, this burden is too heavy. Just do what you should do, and don't think too much, lest you crush yourself before things happen."
Mr. Shen shook his head slightly and smiled.
"Senior brother, don't worry, I have a big heart."
"Moreover…"
Mr. Shen narrowed his eyes slightly and said softly: "On this battlefield, the more people there are, the stronger it is not. From the thirteenth year of Hong De's fighting to the present, I have discovered one thing."
"The degree of internal corruption in Northern Qi far exceeds my previous expectations."
"Moreover, there are still differences between Hu and Han within them. Even if they fight to the death, they cannot be united and monolithic."
"It's hard to say what this decisive battle will look like when it actually starts."
Zhang Jian nodded, he stood up and said, "It's good that you think so, Ziheng."
"I was supposed to pick you up, but you have come all the way back and dealt with so many official matters, so you must be tired. We brothers will talk in detail tomorrow."
"Brother, I'm going back to the Chief Envoy's Office."
Shen Yi stood up to see each other off, and the two senior brothers bowed their hands to each other at the gate of the governor's office.
…
Three days later, Liu Mingyuan, deputy general of the Left Army, hurried back to Jinan. He came all the way to Shen Yi, knelt down half-kneeling, lowered his head and clasped his fists and said, "Mr. Shen!"
Shen Yi put down the brush in his hand, helped him up, and said with a smile: "General Liu has had a hard journey."
Liu Mingyuan didn't even dare to say it.
He lowered his head and said, "Mr. Shen is anxious to call the general over. What are your orders?"
Shen Yi smiled and said: "When the Huai'an army was divided into three groups, I asked you to stay in Yanzhou. You did a good job in guarding Yanzhou. I told you at that time that one day, I would let you take charge of your own affairs."
"Now, the opportunity has come."
Liu Mingyuan lowered his head slightly and said in an excited tone: "Mr. Shen's orders!"
Shen Yi said softly: "General Liu should know that when Xue Wei was in Dengzhou and Laizhou, he surrendered a large number of Qi troops and recruited many new troops in these two places."
"Later Xue Wei left, leaving about 10,000 troops in Dengzhou Prefecture."
Liu Mingyuan was a little disappointed when he heard this number.
He has already commanded an army of ten thousand people. When he was defending the city in Yanzhou, Yanzhou's army had already exceeded ten thousand.
Shen Yi looked at Liu Mingyuan and said with a smile: "You go to Dengzhou Prefecture and command this part of the army. I will allow you to expand the army by 10,000 people in Laizhou, Dengzhou."
Recruitment can be said to be Liu Mingyuan's specialty. He was the one who went to the southeast to recruit troops before.
It can be said that he is the explosives expert of the Huai'an Army.
He was a little excited now, lowered his head and said: "General, I will obey your orders!"
Shen Yi patted him on the shoulder and said softly: "All the ships I have are now in Dengzhou Mansion. I want you to go to Dengzhou Mansion and train a navy that can fight."
"Especially train how to use the ship's cannon."
At this point, Shen Yi narrowed his eyes and said softly: "You only need to recruit troops and train them, and don't care about the Huai'an Army's war. Without my order, you don't have to pay attention to anyone's transfer."
Liu Mingyuan bowed his head respectfully: "General, I will obey your orders!"
Shen Yi pulled him to sit down, then brought him the document he had already written, and said with a smile: "Many people in the world have forgotten that the predecessor of our Huai'an Army was the Anti-Japanese Army. General Liu's We need to train the navy in one trip."
"If you train well, the navy will be the fourth route army of the Huai'an Army in the future. General Liu, you can really take charge of your role on your own."
Liu Mingyuan knelt half-kneeling on the ground again, lowering his head deeply, and his eyes were a little red.
"The last general was quite disrespectful to Duke Shen before, and Duke Shen also entrusted the last general with an important task."
"In this lifetime, I will never be able to repay Mr. Shen's kindness in knowing you!"
"If the navy fails, I will no longer have the face to see Duke Shen, and I will immediately throw myself into the sea!"
Mr. Shen laughed dumbly.
"How can it be so serious? You just go about your business."
Liu Mingyuan thanked him profusely, and then he stood up and quickly left Jinan to go to Dengzhou to set up a navy.
…
At the same time, appointments to the imperial court were also issued.
Cheng Tingzhi, the former governor of Fujian, was appointed as the new governor of Henan.