"After all, we are not in the Central Plains, Jiangnan. The speed of message transmission in the courtyard is much slower."
Liu Ling handed the secret report from the Supervisory Council to Zhaoxian and said: "The Emperor of Zhongshan Kingdom, Shang Dingtian, is in Dadaocheng, which is only more than a hundred miles away. He only relies on his feet to deliver the news back and forth. I'm afraid
At this time, Dingtian has already left. It is a pity that if Di Fuzhou and the others killed the Zhongshan Kingdom's spies and found out that the Zhongshan Kingdom Emperor was in Dadaocheng, they quickly sent back the news and sent their elite cavalry to attack.
Shang Dingtian captured him."
After reading the secret report, Zhaoxian sighed and said, "It's such a pity."
He put down the secret report and said: "Your Majesty, if we send elite cavalry to attack overnight, we might be able to catch up with Shang Dingtian. If we can capture him or kill him, it will be much easier to capture Zhongshan Kingdom."
Already."
Liu Ling shook his head and said: "There are dense forests of thorns along the way, and the cavalry can only be launched when they reach Dadaocheng. If we blindly pursue them, the people of Zhongshan Kingdom may be prepared. They occupy a favorable location, and the cavalry may not be able to find them. If they continue
If you get caught in an ambush, the gains outweigh the losses."
He stood up and looked at the deep night outside: "Most of the area on Liuqiu Island is uncultivated wilderness forest, which is not suitable for cavalry combat. Now that Shang Dingtian knows that my army has landed on Liuqiu Island, he
He also guessed that there would be news that scouts would come to explore Dadaocheng. Although the Zhongshan Kingdom is small, he is also the king of a country, so he would not dare to take risks."
He paused for a moment, then suddenly smiled and asked: "If he has some strategy, will he take the opportunity to mobilize troops to set up an ambush in Dadaocheng? Use himself as bait to lure my army forward?"
Zhaoxian stood up and bowed and said: "The army on Liuqiu Island has limited combat power, so what if there is an ambush? I am willing to lead 3,000 infantry soldiers to surround Dadaocheng!"
Liu Lingdao: "After so many years of fighting, why do you still have a bad temper? Gu often mentioned to you that arrogant soldiers will be defeated. No matter how limited the combat power of the Liuqiu people is, if they hide in the wilderness and jungle, and the army sneaks up on them and then runs away,
Can you catch up? You have no plan to win, so how could I easily hand over the lives of three thousand soldiers to your hands? There have been too many victories in the past few years, which has given rise to arrogance in your hearts!"
Zhaoxian panicked and quickly lowered his head and said: "Your Majesty, please calm down. I realize my mistake."
Liu Ling snorted and said: "Shang Dingtian has the right location and people. Even if his troops are not good at fighting, he still has a 50% chance of winning. How can a large army sailing from a long distance compare to the Zhongshan people's familiarity with the terrain? What if they attack rashly?
If so, the army will be gradually consumed by the people of Zhongshan Kingdom. It would be unwise to use one's own weakness to attack the enemy's strength."
"In the past few days, we still have to get familiar with the nearby terrain and wait for the Zhongshan Army to attack. If he comes, can we still let him go back unscathed? In addition, the water stronghold is the top priority. Ruo Gu is
Shang Dingtian will definitely send people to attack the water stronghold. It is best to burn it all. Our army is trapped and lacks food and grass, so it will be defeated. As the leader of the navy, you should pay more attention to the construction progress of the water stronghold these days.
Put some on."
Zhaoxian bowed his head and said: "I obey my orders."
Liu Ling nodded and said, "Go ahead. Tomorrow morning, I will go to the water village to take a look."
Zhaoxian bowed and left the tent. Liu Ling called Chen Xiaoshu and said, "Tell the spies in the courtyard to find out what is the fastest way from Shannan Kingdom to Zhongshan Kingdom. Try to believe it."
Many of the pirates who went to Lantau Island knew the dialect of Liuqiu Island. Don't scare the people, and don't let them see that the spies are not from Liuqiu Island."
Chen Xiaoshu bowed and said: "As ordered!"
"Also, let's explore the shortest way from Dadaocheng to the capital of Zhongshan."
Liu Ling thought for a while and said: "You can spend a lot of money to hire some locals from Liuqiu Island to be your guides, but you can't trust the people you hire. You have to ask them separately and compare them to see if there is any difference."
Chen Xiaoshu responded, bowed out of the tent, and went to order the secret agents of the Overwatch Council to do their work.
Liu Ling leaned on the chair and closed his eyes to rest, but he kept thinking about the three brothers of the Shang family. These three brothers traveled thousands of miles from the Central Plains to come to Liuqiu Island, and established these three small countries. Are they just to escape from the world?
Or is it that the three brothers have some big plans? Especially Shang Dingtian. If he really studied his military skills, he would not be a strong enemy. Fortunately, Liuqiu Island has limited troops due to geographical restrictions, and
The military equipment is also far inferior to the elite troops of the Central Plains. Most of Liuqiu Island is covered with barren mountains and mountains, and the people are too poor to support a large army.
If Shang Dingzhen really has the ability to defend himself, and creates various traps, and mobilizes all the indigenous people on the island to join forces, this battle will not be easy to fight. It will be like the well-equipped US military arriving in Vietnam.
They may fall into a quagmire and be unable to extricate themselves. Moreover, these aborigines are rough and barbaric. Even if they kill the three Shang brothers, it will be extremely difficult for the people to surrender. Liuqiu Island always has to set up a government, and it cannot be withdrawn without a large army. The government
Just get smashed by those aborigines.
Liu Ling didn't have time to play Zhuge Kongming's trick of capturing Meng Huo seven times. It was not difficult to win the battle, but the difficulty was how to conquer these aborigines on the island.
Liu Ling breathed out a sigh of relief and smiled slightly.
In fact, no matter where you want to subdue the people, you can't escape the old routine of adding carrots and sticks. The stick should be used hard, but not too hard. The carrots should be given, but not too full.
The key is to control the strength.
It is not difficult to occupy Liuqiu Island, but it requires a capable minister to manage it. Liu Ling frowned slightly, constantly thinking about who in the court was qualified for this job. Several bachelors in the Military Aircraft Department were among the best.
It is impossible to choose a person. In matters of civil affairs, Zhou Yangong, Xie Huanran, and Hou Shen are all rare talents, but compared to the entire Han Dynasty, sending a bachelor to Liuqiu Island is obviously overqualified.
. But if you appoint someone at will, I'm afraid you won't be able to subdue this uncivilized land.
Suddenly, a name emerged from Liu Ling's heart.
Wang Xiaoniu, this guy should be a good candidate. Wang Xiaoniu was born in the military and worked as a county guard in Yingzhou for several years. He has good civil and military capabilities. Moreover, this guy is a bit cunning and ruthless, so he is suitable for coming here.
.Thinking of this, Liu Ling did not delay, wrote a warrant, and ordered people to cross the sea and send him to Jinling overnight.
After transferring Zhao Ba to Jinling General, Wang Xiaoniu immediately went south to Liuqiu with 500 soldiers.
Five days later, in a dense forest five miles southwest of Dadaocheng, a small patch of grass suddenly shook a few times, and a man slowly climbed up from the grass. This man had a dark face, and his naked upper body could still be seen.
The fine wound had just healed. He licked his chapped lips, sighed, turned around and ran away.
This person is Xiaohu. He has been lying in ambush here since he woke up to monitor whether any Han troops have arrived.
After running behind a high slope a few hundred meters away, Xiaohu stopped and knelt down on one knee: "Your Majesty, there is still no trace of the Han army."
Shang Dingtian, who was sitting on a rock to rest, frowned, stood up, walked over, patted Xiaohu on the shoulder and said: "Tell the soldiers to withdraw, the Han army will not come."
Xiaohu advised: "Your Majesty, we have been in ambush for five days, just wait a few more days! The Han army must be busy building a stronghold. Once the stronghold is built, they will definitely send troops to attack Dadaocheng. I feel that it is too
It just happened in the past few days."
Shang Dingtian shook his head and said: "The commander of the Han army is very powerful. He knows where the Han army's weaknesses are, so he will not attack Dadaocheng rashly. He is waiting for me to lead troops to attack his Dazhai. This way
, the Han army has the best chance of winning if it waits for work. The reason why he didn't come to attack Dadaocheng was because he was afraid of falling into the ambush I set."
After thinking for a while, Shang Dingtian sighed: "I just don't know if the commander-in-chief of the Han army will be Liu Ling, the king of Han."
Xiaohu said: "Your Majesty, then we will not attack their stronghold. The Han army is far away from the vast sea. Even if their navy is strong, it will be very difficult to transport grain and grass. The Han army has at least 30,000 people, and the needs are huge.
, they will send troops to attack the village soon. As soon as the Han army makes a move, we will kill them without leaving any trace behind!"
Shang Dingtian smiled and said: "It would be great if it was as simple as you think. Although the Han army is far away, if its navy is as powerful as you said, it will not be difficult to transport food and grass. Moreover, if the Han army fights steadily,
If they gradually eat away at one village after another and feed the war with war, they will not be short of food and grass. So... I am the one who can't wait. Since the Han army won't come, we have no choice but to go. If we don't burn the Han army's
If it is lost, the Han army will continue to bring in a steady stream of weapons and it will be difficult to fight in the future. You have seen the powerful firearms of the Han army. If the Han army gradually brings those huge firearms, how can you resist them?"
"Xiaohu... I want you to go back and find out more about the situation in the Han army's water stronghold!" (To be continued)
