The capital of the Yun Kingdom, Jiangling City, the Imperial Palace, and the Chui Gong Hall.
Under the leadership of Lu Bing, the Duyi Guard envoy of Stickang Department, all the senior officials of Stickang Department knelt down and buried their heads on the ground, not daring to lift them up.
Lu Bing hit the gold bricks in the palace with his forehead, and with a hoarse voice, he confessed:
"Your Majesty, please forgive me for not thinking carefully!"
Xiao Cheng didn't even raise his head. He was reviewing the memorial and said casually:
"Although Zhang and Chen have extraordinary abilities, they have always been ambitious and difficult to control. Although they were supported by you, once they have a place to settle down, they naturally have different intentions and will not listen to you.
The pole is dispatched.”
The Zhang and Chen people that Xiao Cheng was talking about at this time were obviously Zhang Shicheng and Chen Youliang who were causing chaos in the southeast of Xia Kingdom!
Chen Youliang had previously incited Xia's army to rebel, resulting in a disastrous defeat of 20,000 Xia troops.
After that, someone from Niangan secretly contacted the two of them and gained the support of the salt merchants in the four counties of Qidi. In the end, the four counties of Qidi also lost control very smoothly.
Jiaodong and Taishan counties were acquired by Chen Youliang.
Because Zhang Shicheng resisted the Xia army's encirclement and suppression for two years, Hailing County was completely destroyed, so Donghai County, the most prosperous county in Qi, was acquired by him.
Among the five counties, there was only one Langya County left. It could not be divided, so the two of them were asked to send troops to take over. Whichever one captured it first would be the one to occupy it.
However, it was precisely because the two competed with each other for Langya County that the conflict intensified. The two sides were on guard against each other, and the various ministries often had frictions, and the hatred deepened day by day.
Xia Guo took the opportunity to use his methods and sent people to provoke and check the situation, which actually eased the already rotten situation on the southeast coast.
Having said this, Xiao Cheng looked up at Lu Bing and said calmly:
"I once told you carefully that when dealing with these two people, we must use both precautions and checks and balances. But you listened and it turned out that the checks and balances were too much, causing conflicts between the two and causing the situation to get out of control."
When Lu Bing heard this, he quickly kowtowed to the ground again and said with sincerity and fear:
"I know that I am guilty, and please punish me, Your Majesty!"
In the Chui Gong Hall, after a moment of silence, Xiao Cheng was heard saying in a deep voice:
"If you fail to do things well, you will be fined for half a year, demoted to one rank, and removed from the scarlet robe as punishment. You are allowed to continue to be in charge of affairs. If you make any more mistakes, you will be dismissed!"
The Shangyu Preparatory Office has the Yiwei Envoy. He is quite powerful, but his rank is not too high. He is just a person who has been downgraded from the fourth rank. Even if he is a full fifth rank, he can no longer wear the red official robe.
toward.
This kind of punishment seems to have no real loss, but it makes Lu Bing the most uncomfortable!
Sticky Rod Department and Dongchang have always been competing with each other.
Wang Zhi, the factory supervisor of the East Factory, and the eunuch who supervises the Dongjishi Factory are from the fourth rank. The Duyi guards who were originally at the sticky pole are also from the fourth rank. There are two parties, one oversees the domestic government and the opposition, and the other oversees all the countries in the world.
, each has his or her own duties, and they are evenly matched.
But after Xiao Cheng was punished like this, the dignified chief officer of Shangyu's Preparatory Department was reduced to a fifth-grade official. This was a disadvantage in front of Dongchang, which made all the high-level officials in the sticky department feel extremely uncomfortable!
Lu Bing gritted his teeth, leaned over to salute again, and shouted:
"Thank you for your mercy, Your Majesty!"
In the hall, all the high-ranking officials in the stick-stick department who knelt down and confessed their sins were already furious in their hearts.
After going back, I must find a way to make a big contribution so that I can wash away this sin and let my Lord Du Yiwei return to his official rank as soon as possible.
After the disposal was completed, all the guards at Sticky Rod leaned over and left.
After a while, Feng Bao was seen. With a happy face at this time, he hurriedly walked into the hall, saluted Xiao Cheng who continued to bend over the desk to review the memorial, and then congratulated loudly:
"Slave, congratulations to Your Majesty!"
"The frontline army reported that Wu Zixu, Marquis of Qujing, has led his troops to capture Chaisang City, an important town in the Xia Kingdom. Nearly 100,000 Xia troops in Qichang Prefecture were trapped to death. The Xia Kingdom was shaken by it, and the government and the public were in panic!"
Xiao Cheng, who was reviewing the memorial, raised his head slightly when he heard the military report.
At this time, although there was a happy look on his face, he did not show any ecstasy, as if he had known the result for a long time.
He puts
He put down the ink pen in his hand, nodded repeatedly, and said with a smile:
"Yes, in just a few days, we captured Chaisang City, an important town in the Xia Kingdom. It was all thanks to the dedicated efforts of the soldiers on the front line."
"My decree! Allocate five hundred thousand taels of silver from the inner treasury to reward Wu Zixu's meritorious officers and men!"
In the past few years, with the increase in territory and the implementation of the "One Whip" law, the Yun State's national strength has been booming, its economy has developed rapidly, and its tax revenue has increased.
In addition, every year Anguo's taxes were all sent to Xiao Cheng's palace treasury in the name of tribute, which resulted in Xiao Cheng's own inner palace treasury being extremely full!
At this time, with such a light word, five hundred thousand taels of silver were allocated to reward the meritorious soldiers.
If Emperor Xia Yu Zhaoling finds out about this kind of handwriting, his eyes will turn red!
Feng Bao quickly agreed and kept it in mind, preparing to supervise the matter later.
After Xiao Cheng pondered for a moment, he stood up again, brushed his sleeves and said:
"Go to the military aircraft!"
When Feng Bao heard this, he quickly bowed and stepped forward to lead the way.
Well, actually there is no need to guide the way.
Since the imperial court moved to the capital of Gangneung, the military aircraft office and the interior no longer need to be crowded together to work, but have been moved to the wing rooms on the left and right sides of the Chui Gong Hall.
When Xiao Cheng wanted to go to the military aircraft office, he just took two extra steps.
At this time, the military aircraft office seemed very busy.
On the sand table map in the military aircraft office, the city marked "Chaisang City" had just been decorated with the Yun Army's flag, symbolizing that this place, the throat of the Yangtze River, had fallen into the hands of the Yun Army.
Obviously, military reports from the front line have also been received here.
Seeing His Majesty's arrival, all the officials in the Military Aircraft Department quickly stopped what they were doing, saluted Xiao Cheng in unison, and said loudly:
"My lord, please see your Majesty!"
Xiao Cheng raised his hands to help everyone, then walked straight to the sand table and asked in a deep voice:
"Now that Chaisang City has been captured, is there any mobilization of the troops on Xia's front line?"
Sun Bin, counselor of the Military Aircraft Department, slightly cupped his hands and said in a deep voice:
"Back to Your Majesty, based on the secret reports from various places, the mobilization of the Xia Kingdom's frontline troops is under my eyes, Dayun!"
"Liao Gu's nearly 100,000 troops are now trapped in Qichang City, in a dilemma. However, Qichang Mansion is an important frontline location for the Xia army, and there are countless stores of food, grass, ordnance. Liao Gu is dedicated to defending, and our army cannot ignore casualties.
To attack by force, we can only send troops to besiege Qichang City for the time being."
"In Yuzhang County, the Xia army commander in Rong County, Xia Lieutenant General Sun Qianfang, gathered the defeated troops in Xunyang County, abandoned the remaining prefectures and counties in Yuzhang County, entangled more than 70,000 troops, and defended Hongzhou, the capital of Yuzhang County."
"Previously, the Xia Kingdom had also sent the Xia Kingdom's Raoyang Marquis and right general Wu Zhengping to lead their troops to aid Chaisang City. However, Qujing Marquis used his troops as quickly as
God, Wu Zhengping was one day too late to defend Chaisang City. Now Wu Zhengping has led his troops to garrison Yicheng County on the spot, and is constantly recruiting troops in the rear, intending to stop our army from continuing to advance eastward."
I have to say that the intelligence work of the Yun State has been done very well! The mobilization of all the troops on the Xia Army's front line is now under the control of the Yun Machinery Office.
While Xiao Cheng listened to Sun Bin's explanation, his eyes wandered above the sand table.
The extremely fine sand table clearly shows the situation between Yunxia and Xia.
Qichang Mansion's 100,000 troops were trapped and unable to move, but their vitality was not completely cut off.
The Yun army's soldiers were sharp and unstoppable, pointing eastward at Jinling, the capital of the Xia Kingdom.
However, Hongzhou City in Yuzhang County, south of Chaisang City, was still firmly in the hands of the Xia army, threatening the back of Wu Zixu's tribe, making it impossible for this army to ignore all odds and attack Jinling with all its strength.
At this time, the military strength of the two armies of Yunxia and Xia on the front line, although it is said that the Yun army has the upper hand. However, if you think about it carefully, it shows a strange scene of a lot of different canines, and you have me.
After Xiao Cheng pondered for a moment, he said in a deep voice:
"Do you think we should let Wu Zixu continue to advance eastward and attack Jinling next? Or should we capture Qichang and Hongzhou first, kill the main force of the Xia army with all our strength, and completely solve the future troubles?"
Upon hearing Xiao Cheng's inquiry, all the officials in the Military Aircraft Department looked at each other.
Then Sun Bin stood up again, bowed and said:
"I have deduced this situation before, so I have already made a conclusion."
Having said this, Sun Bin stepped forward to the sand table, pointed at the city above it, and explained to Xiao Cheng:
"To the west of Yuzhang County is our Shaoyang County. The mountain roads are difficult for the army to march. To the east is the vast Poyang Lake, which can be easily isolated by our inland navy. And the Rong County in the south is still under the control of the Xia army.
, but it is too barren to support an army.”
"Only the city of Chaisang in the north needs to be defended. However, the Xia army is not as brave as our soldiers. They have enough defense but not enough offense, so there is no need to worry. You only need to send a veteran general and lead more than 10,000 troops to garrison Chaisang.
Then you can strangle the Xia army in Hongzhou City to death!"
The location of Hongzhou City is important, and it seems to be threatening the rear of Wu Zixu's army. If it is not removed, it will be difficult to continue the march.
As Sun Bin said, when Yunnan's river navy defeated the Xia Kingdom's Jinling navy and could not hold its head up, the Yuzhang County, the high mountains and the vast Poyang Lake that had previously been used as barriers, became a barrier to Hongzhou City.
Get reinforcements and supplies!
Xia Army general Sun Qianfang's troops seemed to be in an important position, but in fact they were just weak and could only hold one city.
"On the contrary, the Xia army in Qichang City is large in number. They can attack everywhere, harass the army's retreat, and attack Jiangcheng prefectures and counties. Moreover, the commander of this army, Liao Gu, has fought many times with the Marquis of Qujing, and he has not been defeated.
He is one of the famous generals in the world, so you must guard against him!"
A famous general in the world?
Hearing Sun Bin's words, Xiao Cheng frowned and wanted to laugh.
He held back his smile, shook his head and said:
"I have a way to deal with Liao Gu, so there is no need to worry! Therefore, Wu Zixu should be ordered to continue sending troops to the east, and try to capture Shuzhou City in Yicheng County before the follow-up reinforcements from Xia Kingdom arrive.
!”
After capturing Shuzhou City, the Yun Kingdom's army will be able to reach Xia Kingdom's capital!
Hearing Xiao Cheng's words, everyone in the military aircraft department moved their eyes and looked at each other.
What means does your Majesty need to use today to ensure that he can deal with a person like Liao Gu who is under the strict protection of a hundred thousand troops?
Xiao Cheng didn't tell him the specific means, so naturally no one dared to ask.
After a moment of silence, Zhao She, who was standing next to Sun Bin, came out of the queue, bowed to Xiao Cheng, and then said in a deep voice:
"Your Majesty, the war situation in Xunyang County is tense at this time. Just as a precaution, it is better not to advance rashly until Liao Gu's troops are resolved!"
The land and water armies under Wu Zixu's command totaled 200,000, and were now the main force on the Yun Kingdom's front line. When it comes to defeat in the national war, one must be cautious.
And Xia Junrui of Qichang Mansion is really like a carp in the throat. If he is not careful, Xia Kingdom may reverse the situation.
If there are losses due to rashness and slowing down the process of unifying the world, it will obviously be more than worth the gain!
Therefore, even if Xiao Cheng, who had high prestige and served both the government and the public, said it himself, the counselors of the Military Aircraft Department did not dare to take the risk.
Xiao Cheng couldn't explain much at this time, saying that Liao Gu had secretly defected to Yun State.
After pondering for a while, he finally said:
"Let's do this. Send an order to Wu Zixu and allow him to act expediently. He must know in his mind whether to continue to use troops. This will prevent him from delaying the opportunity to fight and losing a good situation because he has to report military information."
Wu Zixu's reputation was here. Having said this, everyone in the court could not say anything else. They all raised their hands and said:
"Your Majesty, Holy Ming!"
Xiao Cheng pondered again for a moment, then looked at the sand table and said in a deep voice:
"However, this little movement is still not enough to mobilize all the Xia Kingdom's troops!"
While he was speaking, Xiao Cheng's eyes had already left Xunyang County on the sand table where the battle was fierce.
"How about here?" Xiao Cheng pointed at the sand table and looked at the military aircraft department officials with burning eyes.
Everyone's eyes turned and they were shocked to see that the places His Majesty was pointing to were Xiangzhou County of Yun State and Daxing County of Xia State.
The junction of Beisai.
When Wei Liao heard this, he nodded immediately and said:
"The Di Qing tribe in Xiangzhou County has a powerful army of 100,000. Once they attack Daxing County in the Xia Kingdom's Jin territory, the entire Xia army in the north will be contained!"
Seeing this, Zhao She hesitated and said:
"Xiangzhou County has one hundred thousand soldiers and horses, not only to stop the troops staying in the northern border of Xia Kingdom, but also to guard against the Tibetan attacks behind them. I'm afraid that once they are used, the Tibetans will also make changes, and the intensity of the war may be out of control!"
Once Tubo moves, the Yangtong tribe and the Western Regions that Xiao Chengluozi previously planned will also start a war.
Although the ministers of the Yun State did not pay much attention to the Tibetans who were weak in military strength. However, it would be inappropriate if the Yun State was attacked on three sides due to being too aggressive and impetuous.
Wouldn't it be better to deal with the Xia Kingdom and then gradually deal with the Tubo?
When Xiao Cheng heard this, he laughed loudly and said:
"Tubo was not a fool to abandon Nie Qi. Now he will not sit back and watch Xia's defeat like before. Tubo will definitely intervene this time, and it is unavoidable!"
Having said this, the proud and heroic look between Xiao Cheng's brows became more vigorous and sharp, and he said again:
"There's nothing wrong with being more anxious! It's just the right time to wipe out the world and unify the world in one fell swoop!"
Xiao Cheng has been extremely restrained in the past two years, not just to give Xia Guo time to take a breath.
Instead, they have been developing national strength, accumulating talents and foundation, and preparing to unify the world!
If the time comes, Xiao Cheng obviously doesn't mind taking advantage of the situation to unify the nine states and the four seas!