Hearing what Wu Zixu said, Xu Heng was stunned and subconsciously asked:
"Why do you say that?"
Wu Zixu suppressed his excitement and said:
"I have received an order yesterday to organize manpower to start drawing a map of the southwest of Xia Kingdom. From Dongchang, detailed information on the pass fortresses of the southwest counties has been sent! The Ordnance Department under the Ministry of War has also received instructions to step up the casting of armor.
Order……"
When Xu Heng heard this, a strange look suddenly appeared on his face, and he immediately interrupted:
"Brother Wu, if you tell me about this, is it suspected of leaking military aircraft?"
Although Xu Heng is now an official of the Yun State, this matter is related to the layout of the DPRK and the Xia State. If there are really signs of attacking the Xia State, the fewer people should know about it, the better.
When Wu Zixu heard this, he was slightly startled, and then said:
"This is all my own speculation, and the ministry has never ordered a ban on this matter..."
He said so, but Xu Heng's words made Wu Zixu, who was originally overwhelmed by excitement, wake up slightly.
Seeing Wu Zixu like this, Xu Heng sighed slightly and said:
"Brother Wu, before we and I were chatting after drinking, you complained that His Majesty only placed you in the Ministry of War to be responsible for deducing the battle situation, and did not send you out to lead the troops. But now it seems that such an arrangement is His Majesty's fault.
What a profound meaning!”
Wu Zixu was first used by Xiao Cheng to beat King Qi once, and then he was assigned to the Bingcao Guanzheng as Bai Shen, and he has been working in the Bingcao ever since. Recently, when the imperial court was reorganized, he was promoted to the Ministry of War due to his talents.
Fang Langzhong.
The so-called Department of Military Affairs is in charge of maps, military systems, city gods, garrisoning, conciseness, and conquests. The main responsibility is to judge the form and formulate military plans. In addition, it also includes
Provide military maps, ensure marching routes, provide early warning and protection, and organize residents to provide marching support and retreat, etc.
Its status and responsibilities are equivalent to the General Staff (Anti-Harmony) Planning Department.
The position of the Staff Department is not as prestigious as the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion, which dispatches and trains troops, nor is it as easy as the War Department above, which coordinates logistics. However, there may be an oversight, that is, it is not a good position to be criticized on both sides.
However, given Wu Zixu's talents, these positions obviously could not embarrass him. The only thing he was dissatisfied with about this position was that he could not personally command the troops and garrison the Yunxia border.
Upon hearing what Xu Heng said, Wu Zixu frowned and said in a deep voice:
"Brother Xu, if you have something to say, just say it bluntly!"
Xu Heng sighed lightly, pointed at Wu Zixu's unkempt appearance because he had not slept all night, and said:
"Although I, Dayun, have signed a peace treaty with the Xia Kingdom, there is a turbulent undercurrent, and anyone can see it. Therefore, collecting intelligence and secretly drawing a map of the Xia Kingdom is not what it should be. Just a little bit of wind, and let Brother Wu
You are so unable to control yourself, how can Your Majesty feel relieved if you are actually asked to lead the troops to the front line?"
What Xu Heng wanted to express was actually very clear.
Wu Zixu was determined to raise troops to attack the Xia Kingdom. With this mentality, if he was really sent to lead the troops to guard the border, he might secretly plan a "walk alone" and provoke war between the two countries.
Hearing Xu Heng's words, Wu Zixu frowned, but said with some dissatisfaction:
"Brother Xu looks down on me when he looks at my soldiers like this! Although the family feud is unforgettable, since I have served your majesty, how can I ignore your orders and start the war when the court has not prepared anything?"
Regardless of anything else, Wu Zixu is also very aware that there is still a certain gap in strength between the two countries. Now, although Dayun has defeated both countries in a row and is in the limelight, it is only because Xia Kingdom has not used its full strength.
When the Yun Kingdom seized power due to Xiao Cheng, the border army generals were worried that the emperor would take the opportunity to purge, disobey the court's instructions, and attempt to occupy the four states of Yongzhou. Buddhism took this opportunity to secretly spread the news and contacted Xia and Li to attack together.
As a result, the situation collapsed and the country was once in danger of overthrowing.
King Qi also wanted to take the opportunity to cleanse the southwestern generals from their influence in the army, so they hit it off immediately. Without reporting to the Xia court, they immediately launched an army to attack the northern border of Yun Kingdom.
So strictly speaking, what the Yun State defeated at that time were only the southwest counties that accounted for only one-fifth of the Xia State, and the Xia State's southwest frontier army led by King Qi!
The peace talks that followed were only due to the fact that all the forces in the Xia Dynasty and China were restraining each other, and the people of the southwest counties were in turmoil.
But just when he was about to take action, compared to Xia State, Yun State still lacked some knowledge!
The Xia Kingdom occupies the Central Plains, and its territory is too large. Under the governance of Wang Xiao, the Yun Kingdom conquered the south and north, and expanded its territory thousands of miles. The Xia Kingdom's southwest counties are comparable to more than half of the Yun Kingdom, and the population is only slightly
It’s just inferior to the Yun Kingdom.
If all the forces in the Xia Kingdom were forced to put aside their disputes and work together to deal with the Yun Kingdom, then even if the Yun Kingdom's army would be victorious in every battle, as long as the Xia Kingdom's court did not collapse and continued to resist, it would only be enough to maintain the troops and horses occupying the city.
It's an astronomical number.
When Xu Heng heard Wu Zixu's excuse, he shook his head slightly and said:
"It's not that I look at you like this, but maybe it's because of this that His Majesty doesn't want to send you out to lead the troops..."
When Wu Zixu heard this, his mouth immediately stopped.
He also knew that his previous resentment towards Xia Guo and his eagerness to avenge his family were a bit uneasy.
Xu Heng looked at Wu Zixu and said seriously:
"If Brother Wu really wants to avenge his family, he needs to put away the hatred and urgency in his heart. Otherwise, how can we convince His Majesty to let you go out to lead the army in the future?"
Wu Zixu's lips trembled. After a long time, he breathed a sigh of relief and said in a deep voice:
"Thank you, Brother Xu, for the reminder..."
Xu Heng looked at Wu Zixu, whose expression had calmed down slightly, and nodded slightly, feeling slightly relieved.
Speaking of which, when he was in Jixia Academy, Wu Zixu was always gloomy and paranoid, but he was worried about it. Now he can let go of it a little bit, which is a good thing!
------------------
Shaoyang County, Huang'an County under the jurisdiction of Yongzhou.
Countless refugees with emaciated bodies and almost no human shape received news of the arrival of supplies from the imperial court from unknown sources, and their desire for survival forced them to drag their sick bodies and come closer to this place.
These refugees surrounded Huang'an County, blocking all the city gates. They did not attack the city, nor cried incessantly. They just raised their heads in a daze, staring at the city wall with dull and gray eyes.
above.
There was no wailing or crying, it was just so quiet, there was just a sense of deathly silence and despair that permeated the place.
The few soldiers on the city wall felt indescribably complicated when they saw the situation below. Although they were still guarding the city wall, they all moved away from the city wall and couldn't bear to look down.
Because of the raging plague, the people had to abandon their fields and flee their hometowns in order to survive. However, due to lack of food and clothing, most of the people who were able to go outside Huang'an County were not people from other places.
These soldiers are also human beings, and they are all from the countryside. Seeing this desperate scene, they will inevitably feel compassion in their hearts. Therefore, no matter how much the superior scolds, none of the soldiers are willing to station near the city wall.
A burly and cold general of the Xia Kingdom, who was fully clothed in armor, just stood on the top of the wall and looked down, meeting the desperate eyes of the refugees. Even though he had a heart that was tempered in bloody battles, he was still fighting for it.
He shuddered and couldn't help but take a few steps back.
The soldiers following behind quickly supported him and said softly:
"Commander!"
Zhou Quan slightly shook off his support, suppressed the anxiety in his heart, and gritted his teeth and said:
"I'm afraid your Highness can't wait any longer and can't wait here any longer!"
This general is none other than Commander Zhou Quan, the personal guard around King Qi.
At the beginning, King Qi only brought a few soldiers with him, and rode into the southwest to take over the army again. But at that time, Yu Yingyao was apparently already in the harem of Yun Kingdom, and King Qi was really worried about letting her return to Jinling City by herself.
Just in case, he ordered his subordinates to escort Yu Yingyao back to the Xia Kingdom with a group of loyal soldiers.
Now that Yu Yingyao is well settled and has fully taken over King Qi, Feng is in power in the capital and does not need to worry about anything else. Zhou Quan is worried about King Qi's safety and immediately asks for orders to go to Jiangyang County with the supplies.
Just when they arrived at Shaoyang County and walked on the waterway for a few days to reach Jiangyang County, a group of refugees suddenly appeared and surrounded Huang'an County.
There are many teams of people transporting supplies. It is impossible for them to rush in and kill them when encountering such a thing like in the army. They can only be trapped here helplessly.
The soldiers behind him also said eagerly:
"Commander, we have been waiting here for almost half a month. Why haven't Yongzhou sent troops to disperse the refugees?"
Yongzhou, guarding Tanjiang River, is an extremely important presence among many cities in the southwest.
Because Tanjiang is one of the tributaries of the river, it is connected with various water veins and connects the entire southwestern counties. If you occupy this place, you can use the water veins to threaten the entire southwestern land when advancing, and cut off most of the Xia Kingdom from the southwest when retreating.
Material movement.
Previously, the Xia Kingdom had stationed 40,000 elite troops here.
In a place that is not the front line, such a huge army of soldiers and horses is stationed. Just from looking at it, you can know the importance of this place to the Xia Kingdom.
Huang'an County is the county seat under the rule of Yongzhou, and it is not far from Yongzhou.
Logically speaking, what is trapped in Huang'an County is the supplies that are urgently needed in the entire southwest. It is not far from Yongzhou where the army is stationed, so there should never be refugees trapped in the city.
Hearing this, Zhou Quan frowned, sighed worriedly, and said:
"Where did the army come from in Yongzhou today?"
Today, in the southwest counties of the Xia State, due to the invasion of the Yun State's cavalry, the plundering of generals, and the raging plague, the official prestige of each place has been lost and has collapsed, causing the Xia State to lose most of its administrative power in the southwest counties.
King Qi wanted to ensure that the scale of the rebellion in Anshun County did not expand here, and also ensure that the foundation of the imperial court's rule in the southwest was not completely dissipated, so he had no choice but to send his troops to important cities in various places to barely maintain the situation.
As a result, King Qi's army was naturally insufficient in number, so he had to draw troops from other places.
In the entire southwest of Xia Kingdom, in addition to Jiangyang County, there are also large armies stationed in Wuzhou and Yongzhou.
But Wuzhou was across the river from the Yongzhou camp of Yun State, so it was really impossible to transfer troops and horses, so they had to be transferred from Yongzhou.
It is because of this that the Yongzhou garrison was redeployed to only 3,000 soldiers and horses, which could only maintain order in Yongzhou and ensure that the city of Yongzhou was not lost. For Huang'an County, which was besieged by tens of thousands of desperate refugees, it could only
It is powerless.
Thinking of this, Zhou Quan gritted his teeth and said harshly:
"Your Highness, we can't wait any longer! Call the troops and horses out of the city, we must expel these people as soon as possible!"
Hearing this, the soldier subconsciously glanced at the dense crowd of refugees outside the city, swallowed, and said:
"Commander, can we really drive them away?"
After all, it was within the borders of the Xia Kingdom. In order to reduce the loss of food and grass during transportation, not many people were mobilized. Not counting the civilians, the total number of soldiers and generals was less than a thousand.
And everyone has the desire to survive, so the tens of thousands of refugees in front of us are really in trouble, and the situation will be dire by then!
When Zhou Quan heard the words, his mouth paused slightly.
At this moment, he saw a soldier quickly running up the city wall, cupping his hands towards Zhou Quanyi and saying:
"Commander, someone is coming from Miss!"
Now, Yu Yingyao has thrown away the restrictions of her name and identity and is able to flex her muscles. As a result, naturally she cannot be called princess. These soldiers are all loyal to King Qi, and those who know Yu Yingyao's identity are all addressed as miss.
Hearing this, Zhou Quan suddenly brightened up and said:
"Quickly, take me to see the person!"
However, after guarding Yu Yingyao for a period of time, Zhou Quan was already convinced by the various methods of His Highness's biological sister. At this time, people coming from Jinling City must have brought orders from Yu Yingyao.
And just as Zhou Quan happily left the city wall, among the refugees below the city, several people in ragged clothes who were mixed in with the refugees all raised their heads, and then gathered together and exchanged a few words with each other.
He immediately turned around and left, squeezed into the crowd of refugees, and disappeared in a flash.
But he didn't expect that at this moment, on the hillside, several capable people were watching these people with abnormal behavior with cold eyes.
The leader said in a deep voice:
"The Yi Guards sent a message, and the guards of each department listened to the orders!"
"I obey!"
"It is too strange that the refugees here suddenly gathered here. The behavior of those people just now was also quite suspicious! Chenke's guards immediately blended in among the refugees, secretly approached those people, and investigated the cause and effect of the matter. But if there are results, report them as soon as possible!
"
"As you command!"
"The guards of Mao Ke, who are obviously members of the Yamen of the Operations Department, entered the city tonight, under the pretext of being ordered by the Operations Department to investigate news in the city, collected the city wall defense plans, and then withdrew!"
"As you command!"
"The guards of Shen Ke, holding Zhong Yi's guard token, entered the city to assist in the defense in the name of King Qi's secret dispatch, waiting for the opportunity to wake up!"
"As you command!"
"The guards of Haike secretly contacted the refugees, extended some favors, and organized manpower. Waiting for orders from the Yi Guards, attack the city immediately!"
"As you command!"
"The guards in each department perform their duties and do their best to do their jobs without making any mistakes!"
"yes!"
As soon as he finished speaking, all the guards at the stick-stick area dispersed immediately.