After being contradicted by Han Qian, Yao Xishui didn't feel relieved. After all, the information Han Qian said was too shocking.
After Han Qian told her and Li Chong about this, he immediately burned Zhu Yu's portrait. It seemed that he had no intention of sending someone to inform the defense envoy, especially Yao Xishui. Li Chong was shocked and suspicious for a while.
I can't figure out Han Qian's true intention.
Han Qian hid such crucial information because he wanted to find an opportunity to lead the Zuosi troops to withdraw first?
But if Han Qian really has this intention, then tell them what to do?
Yao Xishui stared at Han Qian with her beautiful eyes and asked: "What exactly do you want to do? You probably won't just invite us over for a heart-to-heart talk, right? What does your seizure of Yingzhou's grain ship have to do with this matter?"
"There is no doubt that King Yong of Liang Zhu Yu has indeed entered Wancheng. If we assume that the 30,000 Liang troops advancing towards Wancheng from the direction of Fangcheng at this time are actually the elite of Xuanjiadu, tell us what Liang Jun will do to Deng Xiang
How to use troops in the direction? And if you are Du Chongtao, how should you deploy your troops for defense?" Han Qian pointed to the middle of the hall and briefly sketched the sand table of Xiangzhou's landscape, and invited Li Chong and Yao Xishui to go over and talk about military affairs on paper.
Although Li Chong has no direct experience in leading troops in combat, he has been exposed to it since he was a child, and his analysis and judgment of battle situations are far beyond what a low-level military academy can achieve.
In fact, Yao Xishui just blurted out Liang Jun's strategic intentions more thoroughly. It is obvious that she has also been trained in this aspect.
Although the Chu State had gathered nearly 50,000 troops near Xiangzhou at this time, facing the 60,000 Liang Army who were gradually entering Penyang, Nanyang, with the terrain and the advantage of defending the city, there was generally no need to worry about the Liang Army breaking through the Han River.
Those on the defensive line can at most detach a small number of troops and horses, enter Suizhou, and attack Yingzhou.
The Liang army is already stronger than the Chu army, but half of the 60,000 Liang army are the most elite Xuanjiadu of the Liang army, so the meaning is completely different.
The organization of the Central Army of the Liang Kingdom is similar to that of the Chu Army. It is divided into the guard army and the forbidden camp army system. However, the highest level of the forbidden camp army is military, while the highest level of the eight guard troops is "du", but the scale is larger than that of the Chu army.
An army has equal numbers of soldiers and horses.
At first, Xuanjiadu did not make a breakthrough among the eight capitals of Emperor Liang's bodyguards, and the number of people was just over 10,000. In the early years of God's blessing, Emperor Liang handed over Xuanjiadu to his second son, King Yong Zhu Yu, who had just turned 20 that year, to lead him out of Luoyang.
No one expected King Yong of Liang to perform outstandingly.
However, from the early years of Tianyou, Emperor Jin shifted the strategic focus of the Liang Kingdom from the eastern front to the western front, and repeatedly sent heavy troops to attack the prefectures and counties along the Yellow River north of Luoyang.
King Yong Zhu Yu not only brought great rule to Luoyang Prefecture and County, but also led Xuanjiadu to fight the Jin army. The fighting became more and more fierce, forcing the Jin state to switch from offense to defense on the western front, and became exhausted. Xuanjiadu's troops gradually expanded to about 30,000.
Such a force is neither elite cavalry nor armored infantry, but an elite combat force composed of horse and infantry.
This elite Liang army, with Du Chongtao leading the elite Zuowu Guards with only 15,000 troops, did not dare to fight with them in the field. Even if the 60,000 Chu troops in the Dengxiang area came out in full force, there was a possibility of defeating Xuanjiadu in a field battle.
It can't be more than 30%.
What's more, King Yong Zhu Yu was an extremely rare military master in this world.
He left the town of Luoyang and led Xuanjiadu in the north of Luoyang to fight more than 30 battles with the Jin army's elites, large and small, without losing a single defeat. Not to mention the large and small forces near Luoyang who were once unwilling to surrender to the Liang Kingdom, and I don't know how many of them were defeated.
In his hands.
Yao Xishui stood in front of the sand table, secretly feeling that if she were King Yong, she would abandon the heavily defended fortified city and directly pass through the gap to capture Yingzhou City and cut off the Han River channel. Then, whether from upstream or downstream, she could take her time
He crossed Hanzi and attacked Xiangzhou City, which was defended by Du Chongtao himself.
At that time, more soldiers and horses will pile up at the foot of Xiangzhou City.
If this is the case, it will be difficult for the Chu State to decipher Liang Jun's strategy. After all, we cannot expect Tanzhou troops to come out in full force, and the nearest reinforcements to Xiangzhou City can only be mobilized from Jinling.
From the time of sending the message to the mobilization of reinforcements to march westward and their arrival at Yingzhou City, it was probably three months later.
Can Xiangzhou City be defended for three months?
If Xiangzhou City is lost, Liang Jun's offensive and defensive momentum in the Deng-Xiang area will be completely reversed.
Yao Xishui frowned and realized that no matter how hard the Chu army struggled in a short period of time, it would be difficult to crack Liang Jun's secret plan of seizing the east and attacking the west. Perhaps the best way is for the Longque Army to decisively abandon the Danjiang River and retreat to Xiangzhou.
City, and Du Chongtao defended Xiangzhou City and waited for reinforcements from Jinling!
"If you tell us this, you probably don't want the Dragon Bird Army to retreat into Xiangzhou City, right?" Yao Xishui looked into Han Qian's eyes and asked.
"Smart!" Han Qian couldn't help but snap his fingers and praise Yao Xishui, saying, "Miss Yao is really studying hard these days, and my previous hard work is not in vain!"
Yao Xishui's pretty face was slightly cold and she said, "What is your intention?"
"When we retreat to Xiangzhou City, we actually hand over the Danjiang Waterway to Liang Jun. By opening up the channel with Guanzhong, Liang Jun will be able to gain the ability to fight long-term fierce battles in the Deng-Xiang area and dare to send more soldiers and horses.
Come in, its will to snipe the Jinling reinforcements in Yingzhou will become more determined. If the Shu Kingdom is ultimately too timid to join the war, Xiangzhou City may still be difficult to defend in the end," Han Qian said, "But with General Li and I
My reputation, in such a bad situation, is not enough to defend Danjiang alone..."
"Do you want us to help you kidnap the third prince to Canglang City?" Yao Xishui stared at Han Qian in shock. She had never seen such a shameless and shameless person in her life.
You must know that not long ago, the man in front of him persuaded Li Zhigao to join forces and take the third prince away from their control.
Only then did Li Chong understand Han Qian's intention, and he was extremely shocked.
"Why do you need to be so surprised, and why do you need to go to the level of 'hijacking'?" Han Qian sat behind the long desk, stared at Yao Xishui and Li Chong's faces, and said, "I just want you to work with me to persuade Shen
It’s just Mr. Yang.”
The real crux of Liang Jun's strategy of seizing the east and attacking the west lies in Danjiang.
The Liang army could not control the Danjiang waterway and could not pass through the Wuguan Pass. The Danjiang River continuously transported food and soldiers and horses from the pass. They could finally enter the Dengxiang area to fight with only a limited number of soldiers and horses, and it would not last long.
After all, it was all overland from Fangcheng Gap, and the flanks were threatened by the Shouzhou Army.
If the Liang army cannot capture Xiangzhou City within three months, and the reinforcements from Jinling come forward, they will be trapped in food and grass and forced to retreat.
If the Chu army wanted to ruin Liang Jun's strategy, in addition to the defense of Xiangzhou City, the gains and losses of the Danjiang waterway were equally important.
But how to protect the Danjiang Waterway!
This was the problem that troubled Han Qian the most after it was confirmed that Zhu Yu, the second son of Emperor Liang and King Yong of Liang, arrived in Wancheng secretly.
The soldiers and horses on the Western Front are too complicated. There are more than 5,000 Longque Army, more than 1,500 Shanzhai Recruitment troops, more than 1,500 Xiangzhou Army, and more than 3,000 Yingzhou and Huangzhou reinforcements. In total, there are nearly one thousand people.
With 2000 people, the military strength is barely enough.
The problem is that when the situation is not so dangerous, Han Qian and Li Zhigao cooperate well and can control the situation on the Western Front. Once King Yong of Liang raises his flag, Xuanjiadu kills and destroys people from Zaoyang to Yingzhou, destroying everything, and then turns around.
When he turned back to attack Canglang City, Tiecrocodile Ridge and Xichuan City, Han Qian knew very well that the prestige of him and Li Zhigao was far from enough.
Let alone Xia Zhen, who has a bad record in the past, the copycat mercenaries will inevitably become untrustworthy.
The copycat mercenaries have no intention of being loyal to Da Chu, and their family members are not controlled hostages. They are willing to participate in the war now because Han Qian can bring them some benefits.
And once they judge that surrendering to Liang Jun will bring them greater benefits, and when they may be killed if they don't surrender, what hope can they have for them?
If the third prince visited the Western Front in person, the meaning would be completely different.
The arrival of the third prince will first bring higher profit expectations to the village leaders such as Zhou Pang, and can also directly suppress generals who are not part of the Longque Army system such as Xia Zhen, Zheng Hui, and Zhang Bao, thus making it possible to turn the scattered West into
The line condensed into a force and stood firm along the Danjiang River.
Han Qian did not find it difficult to persuade the third prince to take the risk of coming to the Western Front, except that he and Li Zhigao had won the trust of the third prince. In fact, the third prince had always been eager to have the opportunity to personally command the troops on the Western Front.
The key to the problem lies in Shen Yang.
Shen Yang was loyal to Da Chu, not the third prince. He had to consider how serious the blow would be to Da Chu and Emperor Tianyou once the third prince was captured or killed in battle.
If Han Qian really wanted to tell the truth, Shen Yang would not be too passive and give up on the Danjiang Waterway, but he would more likely suggest that Du Chongtao send other generals with sufficient weight to Canglang City or Tieguling to preside over the war on the western front, which he would never agree to
Let the third prince take risks.
Of course, Han Qian and the others had no chance to withdraw to Xiangzhou City.
What Han Qian has to do now is to take the third prince to Canglang City.
It's just that even if he blocks the news now, he still has no ability to persuade Shen Yang to agree to the third prince coming to Canglang City. But when Li Chong, Zhang Ping and Chai Jian stand with them again, things will be different.
To be honest, Han Qian did not expect that the situation would turn around so suddenly and turn into what it is today in such a short period of time, otherwise he would have been a little more polite to Li Chong and the others.
Yao Xishui and Li Chong looked at each other. They never expected that Han Qian would tell them this matter so calmly. Didn't his grandson feel any guilt or embarrassment?
"If the situation develops as expected, even if His Highness stays in Xiangzhou City and ultimately helps Du Chongtao hold on until the moment Liang Jun withdraws his troops, the world will not think that His Highness is only fifteen years old and has any merit. But His Highness came to the Western Front.
Defending Danjiang in the end will have a completely different meaning." Han Qian stared at Li Chong and Yao Xishui and said, "The mountains are blocked by heavy snow and the roads are muddy. Liang Jun's 30,000 troops are still one or two days away from Wancheng. We have time left.
It’s also very limited. Miss Yao can go see Mr. Chai and Mr. Zhang at this time, and we can discuss the conditions - don’t think that you control me and I control you, everyone is too tired, isn’t it? "
Seeing Han Qian's face, Yao Xishui felt itchy with hatred, but she also knew that the decision whether to cooperate with Han Qian again rested with Chai Jian and Zhang Ping, not with her and Li Chong.
"Does Li Zhigao know about this?" Li Chong still held a grudge against Li Zhigao's betrayal and asked.
"There was no fighting at Tiecrocodile Ridge yesterday, so why did I go there so hard?" Han Qian asked.
