Xiao Yu's meaning is very clear. We must stabilize our defense and not give the enemy an opportunity to take advantage of it, but we must not take the initiative to provoke, which will cause the situation to deteriorate and the peace talks to collapse.
He felt that His Highness the Crown Prince should restrain Fang Jun, otherwise this lawless and extremely independent man would mobilize troops to attack the rebels at any time.
After all, the entire army outside the Xuanwu Gate is now under Fang Jun's command, and the prince's immense trust in him makes Fang Jun extremely independent. He can completely ignore the established instructions and do his own thing. Regardless of the grievances between Fang Jun and the Changsun family.
, or the military is striving for interests, both public and private, which shows that Fang Jun must not be willing to be lonely.
Li Chengqian understood Xiao Yu's concerns, thought about it for a long time, and said to Fang Jun: "The troops outside the palace will focus on defense for the time being and cooperate with Song Guogong in peace talks."
Fang Jun did not hesitate and nodded immediately.
Li Chengqian's stance determined that he was not willing to see both sides suffer heavy losses in the end of this war. As long as he could secure his position as the crown prince and successfully ascend the throne in the near future, he would accept any request from Guan Long that was not too excessive.
After all, this is about to be his empire. Whether it is the Sixth Army of the East Palace or the Guanlong army, they are all the vitality of the empire and the people of the dynasty. If this battle reaches the final stage and leads to a sharp decline in the population of Guanzhong, it will take thirty years.
The cost of taking time to recuperate, accumulate national strength, and multiply the population is too high.
Even if he has a weak character, once he becomes an emperor, he also has some ambitions. How can he be willing to waste his best years on restoring national strength?
This is the so-called "butt determines the head"...
*****
From Luoyang to Guanzhong, there are only two roads, which are the "North and South Xiaodao Road". If you go from Guanzhong to Luoyang, there will be another ancient Yellow River water transport road. However, at the end of winter and early spring, the Yellow River ice has not yet melted. This road
The road is impassable.
The "Nanxiao Road" was dug very early. According to the "Xia Hou Gao Tomb" on the ancient road not far from Yanling Pass, it is estimated that it has a history of several thousand years. "Gao" is the monarch of the Xia Dynasty, and it is said that he is the tyrant "Xia Hou Gao".
"Jie"'s grandfather, it can be seen that this road has been an important road connecting Guanzhong and Luoyang since ancient times, so it is also called the "Zhou-Qin Ancient Road".
The "Beikiao Road" was excavated during the Eastern Han Dynasty. It is said that Cao Cao ordered the construction to facilitate the Western Expedition, so it is also called the "Cao Wei Ancient Road".
Li Ji led hundreds of thousands of Eastern Expedition troops into Guanzhong, taking the "Bei Xiao Road"...
Hundreds of thousands of troops fluttered their banners, and their chariots and horses rumbled. The endless procession stretched like a snake between the ancient roads and mountains. It was difficult to see the beginning and the end, and the movement was extremely slow.
On the second day of February, having just arrived at Xia Shi Pass, which was still a hundred miles away from Hangu Pass, Li Ji ordered to station and rest on the spot, and the entire army camped nearby, giving up the entire ancient road to facilitate many people in Hedong and other places.
The powerful army entered the customs smoothly...
In the newly built Chinese army tent, Cheng Yaojin drank a large cup of tea in one gulp, touched his tea-stained beard, glared at Li Ji and said dissatisfiedly: "We left from Luoyang to Hangu."
For more than half a month, I have grown fat on my belly. I have never marched like this since ancient times."
He was going crazy now. Although he knew that Li Ji must have a plan, he was very tight-lipped about what the plan was. He just walked slowly and leisurely, even sitting back and watching countless sects and armies passing by, arriving at Hangu Pass via the ancient road, and then
Rush east to Tongguan and enter Guanzhong.
What kind of trick was being played?!
Li Ji was standing in front of the hanging map, looking up and observing, and ignored Cheng Yaojin's complaints.
Cheng Yaojin was used to another glass of water. His copper-bell-like eyes rolled and he asked tentatively: "How about... I take the troops and horses of my army to take the first step and enter Guanzhong? Don't worry, you are the commander-in-chief. If there is no
I will definitely stand firm under your orders and we will not help each other!"
As if he thought Cheng Yaojin was too noisy, Li Ji turned around, glared at the man, returned to the desk without saying a word, sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, and took a slow sip.
Cheng Yaojin was an impatient man, and he couldn't stand this unhurried manner. He scratched his ears and cheeks anxiously, his facial features twisted into a ball, and begged: "Maogong, Marshal, the British Lord! Please do a good job and give it to me."
Can we give it a try? I feel at a loss every day, I feel anxious, and my urine is yellow and bubbling... Where should we go from here? You have to give us a direction!"
From the bottom of his heart, he did not believe that Li Ji led hundreds of thousands of troops outside to gain benefits for himself and the Shandong family. With his status at Li Ji's level, although he needed the support of the Shandong family, he would not
Being coerced by the Shandong family, he did things he didn't want to do.
What's more, with Li Ji's cunning and scheming, who can coerce him?
Every move must be based on his own weighing and deliberation, and it is difficult for him to be influenced by others.
However, as of today, Guanzhong has been left with corpses after a great battle. Now the two sides have temporarily suspended the war to promote peace talks. If both sides take a step back and the peace talks succeed...then this road will drag on and give Guanzhong all the time.
What is the purpose of a huge deterrent that has been ignored?
Just to facilitate peace talks between Donggong and Guanlong?
But once the peace talks are successful, the bottom line for the East Palace must be that the prince stays in office. When the news of His Majesty's death is announced, the prince will naturally become the new emperor, and everything Guan Long did before will be concluded and confirmed to be treason. Perhaps because of the peace talks.
Due to the conditions, the prince had to endure Guan Long's rebellious behavior, but what would his attitude be towards Li Ji who led his troops outside to face the desperate situation of the East Palace but still remained indifferent?
I'm afraid I hate him even more deeply than Guan Long...
If Guan Long is allowed to capture the Taiji Palace, depose the prince, and allow Qi Wang Li You, who is supported by Guan Long, to take the throne, then all government affairs will fall into Guan Long's hands in the future, and Li Ji will be displeased both inside and outside.
In this case, why not enter the pass, end the chaos in one fell swoop, and achieve the goal of protecting the sky?
This Xu Maogong is full of evil intentions, and I really can't figure out his intentions. Could it be that he is smart against being smart...
Li Ji rubbed his forehead and felt helpless in the face of Cheng Yaojin's entanglement. He said perfunctorily: "Now we are only a hundred miles away from Hangu. After Hangu, we will reach Tongguan. Entering the pass is just around the corner. It has taken so long to survive.
Why make a fuss all the time when the final blow comes?"
"Hmph!"
Cheng Yaojin sneered twice, stared and said: "Don't do this, but it's only a hundred miles? With your procrastinating style, I'm afraid it can take a month to walk less than a hundred miles! I'm confused.
No matter what your plans are, you should enter the Pass before the East Palace and Guanlong have reached peace talks or decided the winner. Otherwise, your behavior of watching the fire from the other side will be hated by both sides. You are as stupid as a pig!
"
It doesn't sound nice, but it's true.
Li Ji knocked on the table and said displeasedly: "Explain your ideas!"
Cheng Yaojin shook his head and said worriedly: "The dissatisfaction in the army has reached its peak. All kinds of delays have been made along the way. All the generals and soldiers are full of resentment. Although they were severely suppressed by General Guan Long's uprising.
, but as we get closer to Guanzhong, this resentment becomes more and more serious. If the generals revolt, they can be suppressed, but if the soldiers mutiny, what should we do?"
In terms of the ability to command troops, Li Jing may be the only one in the current dynasty who can be slightly better than Li Ji, and the rest will have to be defeated. However, the current Eastern Expedition army of hundreds of thousands has a complex composition. Among the Zhongfu soldiers, there are people from Hedong, and even some
There are troops recruited from Hexi, Shandong, Jiangnan and other places. Such a large and complex army is not only difficult to manage, but also has various plans.
During the Chang'an War, the rebels plotted rebellion, and the Eastern Palace was weak. Who wouldn't want to break into Guanzhong at this time and make unparalleled achievements in one fell swoop?
Whether you support the Eastern Palace or vassal Guanlong, as long as you can win the final victory, it is a great achievement. Compared with the massive but ultimately futile Eastern Expedition, gaining a feat that can be passed down to the family is even more important.
This is the common expectation of all parties in the military.
As a result, Li Ji, as the commander-in-chief, procrastinated and refused to return to Guanzhong, which will inevitably make the generals and soldiers on all sides become anxious - who can bear to see a huge feat slipping away from their hands?
The morale of the military is unstable, as it should be.
Under such circumstances, even if Cheng Yaojin and others suppressed them repeatedly, as Guanzhong got closer and closer, the resentment became more and more serious, and there was a faint tendency to explode.
Li Ji looked solemn. He stood up and stood in front of the map again. He pondered for a long time before he said, "It's time... tomorrow morning, command your Zuowuwei to set off early and quickly cross Hangu Pass and arrive at Tongguan Pass."