The next day, as the sound of the horn spread throughout Yingzhou City, Liu Mingzhi put on his armor and hurried out of the mansion.
Such an urgent sound of the horn indicated that Yunzhou's infantry reinforcements had arrived one day in advance as scheduled. Naturally, Liu Mingzhi would not delay the military mission just because he was indulging in the warmth of his home.
After Liu Mingzhi said something to Qi Yun, he led his horse out. At the same time, several carriages that were not luxurious but exuded nobility were slowly driving towards the east gate outside the mansion.
The third princess Li Yan, escorted by five hundred elite soldiers of the royal palace, detoured to the south of Jeju and returned to Beijing to marry her.
As for the purpose of the third princess returning to Beijing to visit the bride, only Liu Mingzhi and herself can figure it out.
Liu Mingzhi looked at the convoy of the third princess disappearing at the corner of the street, made a few gestures to the corners outside the house, and then rode away.
Not long after Liu Mingzhi left, several majestic golden eagles flew out of the palace and circled over the palace for a few times before soaring towards the capital.
When Liu Mingzhi arrived at the general's mansion, the mansion was bustling with people, voices were rising and falling, and there was an endless stream of generals coming in and out of the mansion.
Some Liu Mingzhi looked familiar, and some Liu Mingzhi didn't recognize them at all.
It is human nature not to know each other. There are hundreds of generals and generals in the hundreds of thousands of troops. If Liu Mingzhi can call out the name of each one, then there is something wrong.
Liu Mingzhi handed the horse's rein to the bodyguard of the General's Mansion, and walked towards the mansion at a fast pace, holding the hilt of his sword in his hand.
After arriving at the martial arts arena, familiar figures came into view, Yunyang, Yunchong, Nangong Ye, Dongfang Ming, Lu Chengjie...
Almost all of the dozens of generals, big and small, were familiar with Liu Mingzhi, and many of them had dealt with him.
At this time, these veteran generals who rarely get together are chatting with each other. After all, they are guarding northern Xinjiang and are not allowed to leave the defense line privately. Apart from taking a break at the end of the year, it is a rare opportunity for these old brothers to get together at this time.
Liu Mingzhi stopped and hummed. Only then did everyone who was chatting notice the figure of Young Master Liu. They hurriedly stopped their greetings and chatted, and joined hands to greet Liu Mingzhi.
"I will wait until I see you, King Side by Side!"
All the generals saluted Young Master Liu in unison. Even though the old man Yunyang was among them, Liu Zhi'an still called Yunyang uncle based on his seniority, let alone Liu Mingzhi.
However, this was a temporarily designated military base, and Yunyang was Liu Mingzhi's subordinate, so saluting was just a matter of course.
No matter how junior Liu Mingzhi is, he is always a vassal prince personally granted by the imperial court. This is not private. If Yunyang disrespects the prince, once he is found out, he will easily be charged with disrespecting the imperial court.
Liu Mingzhi smiled lightly and nodded, without putting on any airs: "My colleagues, no courtesy!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"Colleagues, please take your seats!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Liu Mingzhi watched as hundreds of people were added to the martial arts arena again and walked towards the sand table.
"Everyone, I have already said what I need to say two days ago. Now that all the troops in the Northern Territory of Dalong have gathered, it is time for us to counterattack the combined forces of the two countries."
"I have decided that after the soldiers of Yunzhou have recuperated for a day, the army will set off tomorrow morning and go south to recapture our city occupied by the two countries!"
Yunyang looked at the somewhat high-spirited Young Master Liu and hesitated before standing up and walking slowly towards the sand table.
"Your Majesty, I have a question. May I ask if you can clarify it?"
Liu Mingzhi turned around and looked at Xiang Yunyang. His attitude was neither arrogant nor too low-key. He was neither humble nor overbearing.
"Shuai Yun has any questions, but it's okay to ask!"
Yunyang glanced at the flags on the sand table a few times and got a rough idea of the current situation south of Yingzhou.
"Your Majesty, I would like to ask if we go south to seize the city, are we waiting for the new soldiers from the imperial court and the reinforcements from the Western Regions to join forces with Yingzhou to attack the city together, or are we just the six guards from the Northern Xinjiang plus the six guards from the new army to recapture the city on our own?"
Liu Mingzhi waved to some generals around him and motioned them to walk towards the sand table.
Although the generals were puzzled, they walked over without hesitation.
Before all the generals gathered on the sand table, Liu Mingzhi picked up the bamboo pole and waved it on the sand table.
"Before you arrived at Yingzhou for reinforcements, I had already sent ten urgent letters to the Ministry of War and the imperial court. So far, I have still not received any reply."
"Whether the new recruits can arrive as scheduled to join forces with us in Northern Xinjiang is still an unknown matter!"
"Zang Kuang, the Protector of the Country, is also aware of this matter. At this point, I have no choice but to tell you the truth!"
"Perhaps new recruits will come, but no one can guarantee the specific time. There should be something happening in the court that we don't know about. We can't get away at the moment. This national war, I think, will probably have to be done by ourselves to a large extent.
Got it!"
After listening to Liu Mingzhi's words, Nangong Ye and the other generals looked at Zhang Kuang with a slight frown on their brows. Seeing Zhang Kuang's helpless nod, they looked at each other a few times and didn't know what to say.
The imperial court's reinforcements could not arrive as scheduled, which was like a bolt from the blue for the generals who came to join forces with full confidence.
The battle in the field has been difficult due to the tacit alliance of forces between the two countries. Now that the two countries have officially joined forces and have taken advantage of the city, no one has the slightest confidence in relying solely on the current troops.
Everyone present was a veteran who had guarded Northern Xinjiang for many years, and they knew all too well the losses caused by siege warfare.
In field battles, evenly matched enemies can still suffer casualties one to one, but in siege battles, one has to pay at least three times the enemy's casualties.
Nangong Ye pondered for a moment: "Your Majesty, since there is a high possibility that the imperial court's reinforcements will not arrive as promised, why did you order General Zhang Mo and the reinforcements from the Western Regions to raid the hinterlands of the two countries?"
"Although they can be invincible in the hinterlands of the two countries because of their military strength, they have also greatly increased the difficulties on our side!"
"Originally, our military strength does not hold an advantage. Although we have many troops, we do not have too many elites!"
"Now the two countries have about 800,000 combined troops, and they occupy 15 cities south of our Yingzhou. We only have half of their troops. We have been suppressed by them in field battles because of their strength, let alone sieges.
A one to three attrition battle?"
"If the general says something unpleasant, it is no different than asking the brothers to die!"
"The general really doesn't understand. Since the prince has transferred reinforcements from the Western Regions, why doesn't he let them go south with us to seize the city? Wouldn't it be more reliable this way?"
Nangong Ye's words made the surrounding generals look a little heavy, and they subconsciously glanced at Liu Mingzhi's expression.
Liu Mingzhi was not angry because of Nangong Ye's words. He knew in his heart that Nangong Ye just asked his own questions. Perhaps it was not just Nangong Ye's questions, but everyone present was filled with confusion.
Liu Mingzhi fixed the bamboo pole on the sand table at the location of Yingzhou's treasury and glanced at everyone.
"Do you know what we are most in need of right now?"
Zhang Kuang thought for a moment and understood what Liu Mingzhi meant, and said loudly: "Food and grass!"
Looking at everyone's puzzled looks, Zhang Kuang sighed with a bad expression: "We asked for half a year's supply of food and grass, but the imperial court only delivered two months of food and grass. Now that so many soldiers have been added, the supply of food and grass is even more scarce.
!”
Liu Mingzhi glanced lightly and frowned, while everyone smiled thoughtfully.
"Now you understand the king's intention of letting Zhang Fushuai and the others go to the Turks and the Kingdom of Jin?"
"The Jin Kingdom, the Turks occupied our city not only to reverse the geographical advantage, but also to cut off our rear supply line of food and grass. You can understand it just by looking at the cities they occupied!"
"These fifteen cities are interconnected and can not only support each other, but at the same time, the location of these fifteen cities can be said to have completely cut off all our nearest routes to replenish food and grass!"
"They intercept our food and grass, and we intercept their food and grass to supplement our own."
"At the same time, they don't know that they are actually at a disadvantage!"
"What do you mean, Your Majesty?"
"My lord, please speak frankly!"
Liu Mingzhi took out the notes he had compiled from his arms and placed them in front of Yunyang and others.
"Because not only our reinforcements may not arrive as scheduled, but it is also unknown whether the food and grass can be transported in time!"
"Our grain and grass cannot be intercepted, and their grain and grass have been intercepted by us. When the supply of grain and grass is difficult to sustain, who do you think is more anxious?"
Everyone picked up the note and passed it around, their faces filled with shock and anger. They glanced at Liu Mingzhi, who looked gloomy, and looked at each other in confusion, not knowing what to do.
Could it be that the imperial court has become so chaotic that it can no longer even support the Northern Expedition’s army with food and fodder?
Liu Mingzhi gently knocked on the sand table to signal everyone to return to their senses.
"The military strength that Marshal Nangong just mentioned was just subjective!"
"But the victory or defeat of a war is related to the strength of the troops, but it is not an absolute thing. There are still many factors that need to be taken into consideration!"
"When we meet on a narrow road, the brave one wins!"
"When brave men meet, wise men prevail!"
"Military strength is very important, but it also depends on how you use it!"