Within a few days, Hong Ling Express arrived from Hebei Province and Yan Road, reporting the arrival of envoys.
That's right, there is indeed an internal problem in Liaoxia.
In the past few days, scattered details about the offensive and defensive battle at Yanmen Pass have been revealed.
After Di Qing arrived in Hedong, he asked Daizhou to carry out the task of strengthening the walls and clearing the country, and did not increase the number of troops at Yanmen Pass. After receiving Di Qing's order, the Yanmen Pass defender decisively abandoned Yanmen Pass just as the Liao-Xia coalition forces were coercing the people to attack the city.
The five thousand soldiers not only withstood the ten-day siege, but also caused tens of thousands of casualties to the Liao-Xia coalition forces.
What is even more frightening is that after the Liao-Xia coalition forces entered Yanmen Pass, before they had time to digest the joy of conquering Guancheng, the soldiers who were ambushing the gunpowder depot in Guancheng set fire to the gunpowder depot, once again causing nearly 2,000 casualties to the Liao-Xia coalition forces.
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It was precisely because of the two completely different circumstances of the victory in the Yanmen Pass and the excessive casualties that the Liaoxia internal dispute arose.
In the end, they took advantage of the victory at Yanmen Pass and sent envoys to Bianliang again to seek benefits...~ It should be like this, and only in this way can all the situations be straightened out.
"Since you're here, let's meet you. We are a country of etiquette, and etiquette cannot be abolished. It will also give the east and west armies some time to assemble."
Everyone was quite relaxed when they saw the envoys sent by Liao and Xia. When they heard Fu Bi's teasing, even Wang Anshi bared his teeth and smiled.
Indeed, these past few days have been really torturous. The unclear military situation, the strange alliance, and the previous plans did not go smoothly at all.
Now it was better, the envoy had driven away all his anxieties, everything was proceeding almost according to the settings, and he couldn't help but feel playful.
"Whether it's Xixia or Northern Liao, it's impossible not to pay attention to the movements of the border troops. The assembly of the east and west armies still needs to be cautious to avoid failure."
This is not redundant, but it is useless. Lu Gongbi is not a civil servant who knows military affairs, or he knows nothing about it at all.
"Bao Chen is overly worried. Both Guo Kui and Zi Zheng are veterans who have been on the battlefield for a long time. Besides, there are also Cao Lin, Gao Jingxian and others who followed the official family in the north and south, and fought many ambush battles, mobile battles and
It’s a stealth fight.”
"I think back when I led 20,000 imperial troops, I was defeated by the 2,000 guard battalions led by the officials. They have mastered the essence of the officials in terms of stealth. Don't worry!"
Wen Yanbo also showed a rare smile in many days.
It feels like victory is in sight.
"Your Majesty, this escort requires an imperial edict. Originally, Zhang and Su Che accompanied the army to Hebei, and they were ordered to help Mr. Lu handle border affairs, but they actually went out with Guo Kui's army..."
"As for the accompanying envoys of the Xixia envoys... Cai Que's official duties in Xihe have come to an end. Besides, Cai Que is in Xihe and has an order that affects the defense of Xihe. Your Majesty, let Cai Que be appointed as the accompanying envoys.
, follow the Xixia envoy back to the court!"
Wang Anshi is still worried about Wang Shao. What's the big deal? Anyway, Zhao Xi already knows about Wang Shao's matter.
Others also looked at Wang Anshi a little strangely... He was so stubborn about his husband, he was really protecting his shortcomings.
"Your Majesty, Hebei Province can send Dou Bian there. Cai Que graduated in the fourth year of Jiayou's reign. To accompany Bei Liao, he still needs to be higher than Cai Que in terms of qualifications. Dou Bian passed in the second year of Jiayou's reign. So there is nothing to pick.
Come on."
We've already fought each other, and you're still talking about etiquette?
Zhao Xi also knew that this was Fu Bi's way of expressing his happiness.
It’s really a pleasure. This is a big battle in which a collective strategy is formulated! Now, the military situation is increasingly developing in the direction of the success of this big plan. How can everyone be unhappy?
These are all nonsense, and Zhao Xi doesn't care. In fact, Zhao Xi is really worried about Kai at this time, worried about the schedule of the east and west armies, and whether they can form a large encirclement with the central army before Liao Xia can react.
It's one thing to talk around the sand table, but it's another thing to actually march on the ground.
Although the sand table made by Zhao Xi is already quite accurate, the Imperial City Division responsible for the field survey found out that it was all taught mathematics by Jia Xian's senior brother Zhu Ji, and also learned the altimetry method from Zhao Xi'er.
But a real march cannot be described clearly on the sand table. There are too many uncertain factors.
It may be relatively easy for the Western Route Army. After all, they have fought against Xixia for many years. The Western Army has almost traveled through the entire topography of Yan, Huanqing, and Linfu. Even after crossing the Yellow River eastward, it is still a relatively densely populated area.
But the march route of the Eastern Route Army was much more difficult.
Since ancient times, there are only a few roads going west from Hebei Road to Hedong Road: Jingxing Pass, Niangzi Pass, Dongyang Pass, Hu Pass...
But this time it was heading north, and it was not easy to enter the Daizhou area without the knowledge of the Bei Liao forces on the Zhongjing Road and the Liao-Xia coalition forces that had already entered Daizhou.
Zhao Xi just told Guo Kui the approximate marching route on the sand table... He vaguely remembered the Daqin Railway and Xinfu Expressway in later generations. He was not sure of the specific locations, but he knew they were both in northern Shanxi.
All these require the Eastern Route Army to explore the route before the battle... The Taihang Mountains are long, steep and undulating. In the long Taihang Mountains, thieves are everywhere and there are many hills.
No one would believe that these thieves were simple thieves.
Located on the border between the Northern Liao Dynasty and the Song Dynasty, it would be more appropriate to say that they are smugglers rather than thieves.
This time the East Route Army traveled westward and needed to be stealthy, so the army had to clear out the thieves in the Taihang Mountains along the way.
In this way, how to successfully complete the three tasks of sneaking, exploring the road and eliminating thieves will test Guo Kui's wisdom.
This is also the reason why Zhao Xi moved Zhong'e to the west and Guo Kui left Hebei Province.
Zhong'e tends to be radical and is the kind of fierce general who invades like fire, while Guo Kui is relatively more cautious and has a steady and progressive temperament.
At the same time, when Zhao Xi made the original arrangements, the distance from Yan and Huanqing to Daizhou was longer than the westbound distance from Hebei Road, which also took into account the personalities of the two coaches.
From Tang County in Hebei Province...~ Within the territory of Hebei Province, there should be no problem with the army sneaking.
Go west from Tang County and enter the long Taihang Mountains, which are all high and steep mountains. At this time, the Taihang Mountains were still in the wild... Alas, it was difficult for Lao Guo.
Although Zhao Xi sent additional soldiers from the old guard battalion to the East Route Army when dispatching troops, he was still worried about the East Route Army.
Hope it goes well!
When the Imperial City Division measured the topography, they roughly marked the thieves scattered in the Taihang Mountains. This was the greatest help to Guo Kui's Eastern Route Army.
But they are thieves! They are a group of desperate people who have no sense of shame, no sense of family and country, and even lack of humanity but are familiar with the terrain...
"Your Majesty, I believe in Guo Kui's ability... I can only believe it now!"
Zhao Xi was so focused on the sand table that he didn't even notice Fu Bi and others entering the council hall. He watched with him for a long time and understood his worries based on his concerns.
"I also know that it is useless to worry, but the stealth of the Eastern Route Army is indeed the key to this battle."
An encirclement must be formed so that the plan for this war can be victorious. Both are indispensable.