Gu Baiyi suddenly realized: "So that's the case, then everything that happened before makes sense." He immediately understood: "I learned before that the saint asked you to go out to train soldiers, which was a little strange. After all, you are young.
Although I have made great achievements in suppressing the rebellion in Suzhou, I have not experienced too many wars and have not had much experience. To hand over the military power of Long Rui Army to you so easily is unprecedented since the founding of the Tang Dynasty."
"I have always found it unbelievable. It was not until I learned the truth that I understood why the saint was so caring." Qin Xiao said: "The saint thought that I was the auxiliary star of the Seven Kills, so he would not pursue the things I committed in Kyoto.
Otherwise, the saint will definitely not spare me if I just kill a few guards of Duke Chengguo's mansion."
Gu Baiyi nodded slightly and said: "You just said that the saint sent you to the Northeast not for training, but for testing. How can you say this?"
Qin Xiao said: "Brother, I don't know, the saint even suspects that he is not the Ziwei Emperor Star."
This time Gu Baiyi did not show surprise, and said very calmly: "The Li family founded the Tang Dynasty, and the Li family is the orthodox royal family. Although the current saint ascended the throne, he once caused great chaos in the world. Three states and seven counties rebelled one after another, and even Wutuo
Renhe and Tusun tribes also took advantage of the situation. If it were not for the deep foundation of the Tang Dynasty, I am afraid that the banner of the Tang Dynasty would not have been flying in the country. Today's saints kill countless people in order to securely sit on the throne. There was really a river of blood back then, but even if
In this way, to this day, everyone in the world still cannot be made to surrender. Among other things, although Murong Murong of Southern Xinjiang openly submitted to the imperial court, the decrees of the Tang Dynasty could not enter Southern Xinjiang at all. Li Tuo of Xiling even asked Li
The name of a descendant of the royal family, and the self-proclaimed emperor, all this makes the current saint doubt herself. She suspects that she is not the real Ziwei Emperor Star, and it is not incomprehensible."
Qin Xiao smiled and said: "She even doubts herself, so naturally she won't be completely convinced that my Seven Kills Auxiliary Star is real."
Gu Baiyi understood instantly and said with a smile: "Taibai should be in the northeast when he enters the moon. Once there is a military disaster, you will be in charge of the northeast. If you are really the Seven Kills Auxiliary Star, you can naturally put down the disaster. If you can't put down the rebellion,
You are not the Seven Kills Auxiliary Star in your destiny. Even if you die in the northeast, it will not cause much loss to her. She ordered you to leave the border. Training is not the main purpose. The real purpose is to determine whether you are a good person or not.
Seven Kills Auxiliary Star."
"Brother hit the nail on the head." Qin Xiao said with a smile: "The best result is, of course, that when there is a war in the Northeast, I can put it down. In this way, not only will I be confirmed to be the Seven Kills Auxiliary Star, but I will also be a dragon who has been baptized by the war.
The sharp army will also gain experience and become a truly iron-blooded force. When the time comes, these soldiers and horses can even be used to recapture Xiling. This is the true purpose of His Majesty the Emperor."
Gu Baiyi smiled and said: "The worst result is, of course, that the entire Long Rui army is annihilated, and you are also lost in the northeast. But in this way, it proves that you are not the Seven Kills Auxiliary Star, and life and death are no longer important to the saint. Long
Many of Ruijun's brothers are remnants of the Qingzhou Army, and many are members of the Queen Mother's congregation. If the entire army is wiped out in the Northeast, it will only be a sage's method of killing people with a borrowed sword, and it will not cause much loss to her."
Qin Xiao smiled lightly and said: "Brother now understands that it is not a good thing that I have military power in my hands." After a pause, he continued: "Since the day I left Kyoto, I have been thinking about Taibai Ruyue.
Although this matter is a bit mysterious, as the elder brother said, this astrological destiny is profound and abnormal, and we ordinary people cannot understand it. However, since the great heavenly master of Yutiantai has such a prediction, if it really comes true, this prediction in the Northeast
I'm afraid that there really is a knife coming."
Gu Baiyi thought for a moment and then said: "Judging from the current situation, there are only two forces that can cause catastrophe in the Northeast, the Bohai Kingdom and the Liaodong Army. The death of Yuan Gai Wushuang in Kyoto will inevitably make the Bohai Kingdom resentful.
If Yuan Gaijian fanned the flames and used this incident to stir up the hatred of the entire Bohai Sea against the Tang Dynasty, it is not impossible for the Bohai Navy to invade the Northeast. However, Yuan Gaijian is not a man who is motivated by impulse. He has been in power so far, although he has frequently attacked the surrounding tribes.
We have not actually sent any troops to invade the Northeast, but only sent a small number of troops to pretend to be bandits to harass the border area."
"The Bohai people don't dare to act rashly, so is it possible that the Liaodong Army will make any changes?" Qin Xiao looked grim: "The saint sent troops out of the border, which was actually a stimulus to the Liaodong Army. The Liaodong Army regarded the four northeastern counties as a taboo, and foreigners
It is difficult for the force to penetrate. This time we will directly lead the troops out of the border. The Liaodong Army is naturally very hostile to us, and may even suspect that the imperial court may take action against them."
Gu Baiyi calmed down and said with a smile: "We don't need to think too much, just pay close attention to their movements."
"What the elder brother said is true, but no matter who starts the war in the Northeast, we are bound to be involved in it since we are in the Northeast." Qin Xiao said solemnly: "If you want to survive on this land, there is no other way.
We can only strengthen ourselves. At present, our strength is far from enough to compete with the Liaodong Army, let alone the Bohai Navy. Once something happens, although we can't talk about being a mermaid, it will be difficult to protect ourselves, so the top priority is to
Quickly strengthen your own strength."
Gu Baiyi said with a smile: "Then what do you think?"
"The brothers who have left the customs have shared life and death with us. They have also had battlefield experience and will not be timid when facing the enemy." Qin Xiaodao: "The Jiangnan family's military resources can provide us with logistical support, so whether it is a soldier's
We lack neither experience nor logistics, which is our biggest advantage at the moment. But in addition, we also have many weaknesses. The first is war horses and equipment. Now we have less than a thousand war horses in total, and according to statistics
I know that the Liaodong Army has tens of thousands of fine war horses. The Bohai people not only raise their own war horses, but also use Bohai merchants to buy a large number of war horses from surrounding areas. Their number of horses is not inferior to that of the Liaodong Army. If they go into battle, they have many cavalry. We
But the infantry is the main force, and fighting between the two armies is equivalent to being massacred by the other side."
Gu Baiyi nodded and said: "The northeastern plains are suitable for cavalry charges. If we use infantry to deal with cavalry in this land, it is indeed equivalent to suicide."
"There is also equipment." Qin Xiao said: "Although the Ministry of War allocated weapons and equipment this time out of the customs, the quantity is extremely limited. Dou Fu, the Minister of the Ministry of War, is a member of the Prime Minister, and the Prime Minister treated me because of Xia Houning's death.
I am also resentful. I am only worried that even if we use military resources to obtain equipment from the Ministry of War in the future, they will not allocate the best equipment to us, and will even hinder us. And once the war breaks out, equipment and equipment will be transferred from Kyoto to Northeast China.
, the journey is long, not only cannot it be replenished in time, but there may even be various dangers during transportation. If an army does not have enough ordnance and equipment, how can it go into battle to kill the enemy?"
Gu Baiyi stared at Qin Xiao and said happily: "I am very happy that you can think of this. Do you know the reason why the Liaodong Army can gain a foothold in the Northeast and is even feared by the imperial court?"
"Brother please enlighten me!"
"Back then, Emperor Wuzong handed over the Northeast to the Liaodong Army for guarding, leaving behind 20,000 troops. Since then, without the court's will, the Liaodong Army could only have 20,000 troops." Gu Baiyi said slowly.
: "Emperor Wuzong was a wise king. He stationed the Liaodong Army not only to intimidate the Bohai Sea, but also to monitor and intimidate the surrounding tribes. The Sile tribes in the north and the forest tribes in the Black Forest were all inaccessible.
Enlightenment is extremely ferocious. If there is not a strong army in the Northeast, these tribes will inevitably invade the four northeastern counties from time to time and disturb the peace here. The generals of the Liaodong Army left behind by Emperor Wuzong are all with great military exploits.
, were also loyal to the imperial court, so Emperor Wuzong not only valued these people very much, but also trusted them very much."
Qin Xiao nodded slightly, knowing in his heart that Gu Baiyi's understanding of the Liaodong Army must be as good as any official in Kyoto.
"At that time, the Bohai Sea was initially settled, and the surrounding tribes also surrendered. However, Emperor Wu Zong knew that the surrounding tribes, including the Bohai people, were all capricious and might rebel again at any time, so he left a decree and allowed the Liaodong Army to go on its own.
War horses are raised at major horse farms in the Northeast, and half of the taxes in the Northeast are used for military supplies of the Liaodong Army. In addition to military salaries, a lot of these military supplies are also used for raising war horses." Gu Baiyi explained: "At that time, the equipment of the Liaodong Army was still the same.
It was allocated by the imperial court, but things changed due to the Ma Tong Rebellion."
"The Ma Tong Rebellion?" Qin Xiao was a little confused: "Brother, what does the Ma Tong Rebellion mean?"
Gu Baiyi said: "There is no need to delve into the cause of the matter. Ma Tong is a fierce bandit with hundreds of people under his command. He is not a big deal. That year, a batch of ordnance was transported from the pass to the northeast and was to be handed over to Liaodong.
However, they were suddenly attacked by Ma Tong on the way, and all the ordnance was robbed. It only took less than half a month for the Liaodong Army to wipe out Ma Tong and the bandits and recapture the ordnance.
Because of this matter, many generals of the Liaodong Army jointly submitted a letter, requesting the imperial court to allow the Liaodong Army to build some of its own weapons, and to mobilize personnel from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry to supervise."
"The court agreed?"
Gu Baiyi sighed: "At that time, the entire situation in the Northeast needed to be maintained by the Liaodong Army, and many generals signed a petition. In addition, the Liaodong Army took the initiative to request the court to send personnel for supervision, so the court agreed to the request and set up ordnance in the Northeast.
This has also become one of the reasons why the Liaodong Army has grown stronger in the Northeast. Over the past few decades, the Liaodong Army’s ordnance and equipment have long been built in the Northeast instead of being allocated by the Ministry of War. Although there have always been personnel from the Ministry of War and
Officials from the Ministry of Industry supervise the Northeast Ordnance Department, but these officials are collaborating with the Liaodong Army and are just decorations. With the addition of the Ordnance Department and the maintenance of war horses, it is natural that half of the taxes in the Northeast belong to the Liaodong Army."
Qin Xiao frowned and said: "The Liaodong Army has military power and half of the financial power in the Northeast. It can also raise its own war horses and build its own weapons. This is almost equivalent to self-reliance."
"Once some holes are opened, it is not easy to close them again." Gu Baiyi stared at Qin Xiao and said: "The gap between Long Rui Army and Liaodong Army is not just about the strength of the troops, nor the equipment, but the power held by the Liaodong Army. We
If we want to have the power to compete with the Liaodong Army, we must solve these problems. The war horse equipment you mentioned is among them. We need a stable source of war horses, and we even need the ability and right to build our own weapons. These two things
Besides, there is another thing that is our biggest hidden danger."
"What do you mean, big brother?"
"Military resources!" Gu Baiyi said calmly: "Now that the Jiangnan family can provide continuous military supplies to the Armament Department for our use, have you ever thought about what kind of situation Long Ruijun will face if Jiangnan's financial resources are cut off one day?