Su Zhong stood at the city tower and looked at the Imperial Preceptor beside him and said: "National Preceptor, the bandits surrounding the pass are now less aggressive in attacking the city. I heard that the Chu State's firearms frightened the grassland people into ghosts and gods. In one fell swoop, they will
The morale of those wolf cubs on the grassland has been hit to the lowest point, but our army is full of energy because of the encouragement from the national division, and is bound to defeat the bandits besieging us outside the Zhouguan Pass!"
A few days ago, when Su Zhong rushed out to fight back, the National Preceptor stopped him. The National Preceptor couldn't stop him this time, right?
Half of the main force in the grassland was transferred to fight with Chu and suffered a lot of losses. It was worth retreating to the north.
Now it is 100% certain that the group of grassland people outside the Zhouguan Pass have no plans or ambush.
The Zhou Kingdom has defeated the Chu Kingdom so many times, so it’s his turn to win this time, right?
But the Imperial Master still shook his head: "No, wait a moment."
Su Chong gritted his teeth and said: "National Master! Why do you have to wait any longer? If you wait any longer, the Chu State may occupy half of the grassland? Now the army has already criticized the imperial court's passive attitude of avoiding war.
Are our Chu soldiers afraid of the barbarians from the grasslands?"
The Imperial Master shook his head and said: "How can a leading general be led by the nose by his subordinates?"
Su Zhong clenched his fist hanging under his body and said, "But..."
This is not my subordinate's idea, it is also his idea.
The Imperial Preceptor said calmly: "You are the leading general. If you insist on sending troops, no one can stop you here. However, His Majesty's imperial edict is for you to stay here. You are not allowed to fight unless the edict is issued."
Su Chong took a deep breath and said: "National Adviser, our army is now 50% or 60% sure of winning against the grassland. Why does Your Majesty still want our army to hold on to the danger? As the leader of the army, I also need to show my support to you.
The soldiers under my command will tell you!"
The Imperial Preceptor looked at Su Zhong and said: "You are actually very similar to me back then. You are very high-spirited and hope that your army will be invincible. The only thing you consider is success or failure, only victory or defeat."
Su Zhongdao: "The person whom I admired most at the end of the year was the Imperial Master."
The Imperial Preceptor said, "Later, I became the Imperial Preceptor of the State of Zhou, and it was only after I often accompanied His Majesty that I understood more things."
Su Zhong asked: "What does the Imperial Master mean?"
The Imperial Preceptor said: "It costs money to send out an army. The imperial court was defeated by the Chu State. It not only compensated the Chu State for the military expenses of the expedition, but also compensated the Chu State for a large amount of indemnity. The imperial court no longer has much money to spend on the army.
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"The cost of holding on is much lower than that of going on an expedition, so even if we are 50 to 60 percent sure, we still have to defend. Not to mention that our army's morale cannot afford to fail, and our Zhou Kingdom's treasury cannot afford to fail."
"Tell the soldiers, it's not that we are afraid of the grassland, but that the court's eyes are on the entire Zhou Kingdom, not just some barbarians. A man should have a long-term vision and have the world in mind, rather than just a temporary ambition."
When Su Zhong heard what the Imperial Master said, he clasped his fists and said, "The general will understand what the Imperial Master said."
The Imperial Advisor continued, "But you don't need to be discouraged. Now is not the time to counterattack. When the time comes, you will have the opportunity to send troops."
Su Zhong asked: "I wonder when is the opportunity to go on an expedition?"
The Imperial Preceptor said, "The grassland suffered a defeat in the Chu State. The Chu State pushed it a hundred miles and even wiped out the place where Wanyan tribe moved its capital. The Chu State's firearms are something we Zhou State does not have, and our military formations are
It is not as good as Chu State, and its cavalry is not as good as Chu State. Even if it faces half of the grassland army, there is still a 50% chance of defeat, so now we have to wait for Chu State to defeat the grassland spirit again, so that Wanyan Khan will mobilize more
We will send many elite cavalry to resist the Chu State. Only when we, the Zhou State, are more than 80% sure of winning, will it be time to fight back."
"The imperial court does not want you to use all the elites of the Zhou Kingdom to defeat the army on the grassland, and to open up territory for our Zhou Kingdom. If you try your best to defeat all the elites of our Zhou Kingdom in Beiguan, even if you win,
What will the grassland army use to expand its territory?"
When Su Zhong heard this, he cupped his fists and said, "The general understands what the Imperial Master means."
Border town of Zhou Dynasty
In a restaurant
A young man in silk clothes sat here, sipping tea.
Although there is no expensive tea in the border city, fortunately, Li Xun has never drank good tea several times in his life, so he is still used to it.
In the past few days, Master has disappeared after settling himself in the inn. He only said that he had to do some things.
Then the next day, news came from the border that the national division commander had arrived in person, and the morale of the army was greatly boosted.
These days, he has come into contact with many generals in the army. In fact, he didn't pay much attention to them, but they all come to this famous restaurant to drink.
Now the war has turned to a defensive state, and the Zhou State is well prepared. Half of the main force of the grassland has been transferred to the east to attack the Chu State. In addition, the grassland is not good at attacking tough battles. Although the attack may not be successful, the defense is more than enough.
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Anyway, the grassland army is outside the pass and is not besieging the city. Their generals are on duty in rotation, so they are still very leisurely. It is not a problem to go to a famous restaurant for a drink.
In particular, most of the border guards love to drink, and the wine in this restaurant is Zhuyeqing, a strong liquor purchased from Chu State. If it is placed here in the border city, there will be even fewer border guard generals and even junior officers who can endure it.
Taking a sip and tasting a cup is a way to relieve fatigue.
Moreover, many of these generals gathered around them on their own initiative, which made Li Xun wonder if his national master was secretly exerting his strength again.
Then the cover of this restaurant allowed me, a concubine prince, to have such contact with several generals who held military power.
The true purpose of this Zhou Guoshi is still a big mystery in Li Xun's mind.
Li Xun was wary of someone who approached him without knowing his true motives.
At this moment, another middle-aged man wearing a military uniform and a vicissitudes of life walked in from the door of the restaurant.
After he saw Li Xun, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief, walked to the empty seat next to Li Xun, sat down, and said, "Bring me a pot of good bamboo leaf green!"
Then the middle-aged man looked at Li Xun and lowered his voice: "Sixth Prince, we meet again."
This middle-aged man with a vicissitudes of life is naturally Yang Mingzhi, the head of the Yang family. Half of the Yang family has joined the army, while the other half is dormant in the capital and will never set foot in the court again.
The past glory of the Yang family can only remain in legends at this time.
As the target of Emperor Zhou's suppression, even if the Yang family temporarily avoided being completely annihilated in the capital, they would still be unable to hold a heavy fist on the battlefield. Even Yang Mingzhi could only serve as a general at this time.
Li Xun looked at Yang Mingzhi and said calmly: "I didn't expect to meet the head of the Yang family here again."