Lu Liqing sat aside, looking up at the roof, with a hint of worry in his expression.
He actually didn't care about being dismissed from the post of general. He was walking on thin ice in this position and had been suffering for nearly three years.
In the past three years, he has not been back home once. Now that he was recalled to Beijing, it was actually a good thing for him personally, but he was worried about the war on the Western Front.
The imperial court exhausted its national power before driving the zombies back to the west of the Han River, and suppressed the southern counties, leaving the entire country in a fragile balance.
Now that King Yong has invaded with an army of more than 100,000 people, if the Western Front Army is not careful, the situation may be destabilized.
Of course, now that he has stepped down as the commander-in-chief of the Western Front, it is useless to worry any more.
At this moment, Zhang An, who had been appointed as the general, appeared alone at the door of the room.
Looking at the two soldiers in the room, Zhang An said solemnly: "You all go out, the general and I have something to say!"
He was the general now, so the two soldiers naturally wanted to listen to him. Seeing that Lu Liqing did not object, the two of them carefully exited the room.
Turning around, Lu Liqing picked up a cup from the coffee table, picked up the teapot and poured tea.
"You should accompany Meng Zhengqing, what are you doing here!"
Zhang An walked to the other side of the coffee table and sat down on the chair.
"He doesn't believe us, so staying with him is asking for trouble!"
The mission of Meng Zhengqing and others was to understand the situation of the Yong Army, which showed that the imperial court did not believe the report of the Western Front Army.
Speaking of this, Zhang An said helplessly: "Look at what they mean, they are still thinking of persuading King Yong to surrender!"
"Persuading them to surrender? That's one way to do it. It's better not to fight if you can!" Lu Liqing expressed his point of view.
Zhang An asked back: "Sir, do you think it is possible to persuade people to surrender?"
After glancing outside the room to make sure there was no one there, Zhang An lowered his voice and said, "Back then, King Yong and his son coveted the throne of the crown prince, and they almost succeeded. Now that he has more than 100,000 strong soldiers, will he give up?"
Lu Liqing didn't understand these principles, he just had illusions.
Seeing that Lu Liqing was silent, Zhang An picked up the tea cup and sighed: "General, your position is not easy to sit in!"
Zhang An has always wanted to take the position of commander, but now that it has become a reality, he feels unprecedented pressure.
"Everyone in the Yong army has been building ships these days. They may forcefully cross the Han River at any time. What does the general think...how should we fight this battle?"
Lu Liqing didn't want the situation to collapse, but when Zhang An asked, he told his plan.
"We must fight steadily and rely on the natural dangers of the Han River to block them to the west of the Han River. If we drag them for two or three months... we will exhaust their food and grass!"
Zhang An nodded, he had also thought about this.
If Yong's army comes from Longyou, its supply line is not as long as usual, and there are zombies in the middle making trouble. It is very likely that they will be consumed in the Han River.
Just listen to Lu Liqing continue to say: "We want to kill them, Yong Jun must want to win quickly, so we have to fight a tough battle!"
"We must win. If we win, we will win in the end!"
"If possible, you should report to the imperial court and ask the imperial court to send reinforcements to prevent any unexpected events!"
Zhang An asked in a deep voice: "What's the unexpected?"
"Have you ever thought about what happens if the Han River cannot be defended?"
The Han River cannot be defended. Zhang An has never thought about this. After all, it is too far away.
"You don't expect victory before you expect defeat!" Lu Liqing said seriously.
After thinking for a while, Zhang An replied: "If the Han River cannot be defended, even an isolated city in Donghe Prefecture cannot defend it...so we can only retreat to Jishui!"
After all, he is a veteran general. Zhang An's military skills are not bad and he can see key problems.
"As the general said, if our army cannot hold the Han River, we should organize a defense in Jishui in advance!"
"But east of Jishui, the only ones who can fight are the left and right prison guards and the left and right Jinwu guards..."
As soon as Zhang An said this, Lu Liqing interrupted: "These four guards of the Forbidden Army... don't think about it!"
These four imperial guards were tightly held in the palm of the emperor's hand, and anyone who made any plans would only be suspected of their intentions.
"Except for these four guards, it is impossible to adjust from the southwest, and it is not easy to adjust from the southeast, so we can only adjust from the north!"
At this point, Zhang An himself shook his head and said: "I'm afraid those ten thousand people in the north cannot serve as the second line of defense!"
Lu Liqing nodded and said calmly: "There are 80,000 troops in the southeast and they can be mobilized!"
Zhang An said: "Sir, you don't know that the 80,000 troops in the southeast are not only for killing monsters, but also for other errands!"
Lu Liqing glanced at Zhang An and said in a serious tone: "For other errands, do you mean to scare the five southern counties? If Yong's army crosses the Han River, do you think it will be the rebellion of the five southern counties that will be more deadly, or the rebellion of King Yong that will be more deadly!"
This is of course obvious, so the southeast can be adjusted, and they must assume the second line of defense.
While Zhang An was thinking, Lu Liqing sighed: "Actually, in my opinion, it is best to gather more than 100,000 soldiers at the Han River. This way, we will be more confident in blocking Yong's army and not giving them a chance to cross the Han River!"
This is certainly worthy of sighing, because this is the best way, but it is a pity that it is impossible to implement it.
"Okay, I've said it all, you have to choose the responsibility of the Western Front well!"
Hearing these words, Zhang An felt even heavier.
…………
To the west of the Han River, the Yong army's garrison posts are preparing a large number of ships.
A few days ago, Zhao Yanxun ordered people from the Guards Department to cross the river by boat, but unfortunately he was discovered in the middle of the river.
When the ship docked, there was already a strict military formation on the other side.
The large shields and spears are arranged neatly, and there is an arrow array at the rear. The defense power is basically full.
Before the people of the Guards Department even got ashore, they were beaten so hard that they couldn't even lift their heads. After they got ashore, they had difficulty moving, and they had to retreat in order to avoid excessive casualties.
After this incident, Zhao Yanxun decided to postpone crossing the river until all the armies were ready, and then cross the Han River in one go.
So at the moment, Yong's army is not in a hurry to cross the river, but is doing its best to build ships.
Of course, Zhao Yanxun did not let the Guards Department build a boat, but arranged for them to divide into small teams and secretly cross the Han River.
The team is small and difficult to detect. They will lurk after crossing the river. When waiting for the decisive battle, they will appear in the rear and attack the imperial army from front to back with the main force of the Yong army.
At this moment, Zhao Yanxun was walking on the bank of the river, but his eyes were looking towards the other side of the river.
Yong's army can closely monitor the other bank, and the other bank can also keep an eye on them. Now the armies of both sides are only separated by a river.
At this moment, Zhao Yanxun said to himself: "It's time for them to arrive for today's discussion!"
Every day he would convene the chief officers of various ministries to discuss matters, mainly to communicate the situation of various ministries and achieve overall control of the entire army.
In fact, Zhao Yanxun also faced great pressure when he led a large army to garrison the Han River.
On the one hand, zombies seek to gather in crowded places. The longer they stay in one place, the more zombies they need to kill.
Therefore, in addition to building ships, they also have to kill a large number of zombies every day, which is an arduous task.
On the other hand, distributing grain and military supplies is also a troublesome matter and tests the ability to transport materials.
Although he can exchange grain, the grain exchange alone is not enough, not to mention that a large army needs more than just grain to fight a war.
So Lu Liqing's guess was correct, Zhao Yanxun's life was not easy, and there were many things worth worrying about every day.
Just as Zhao Yanxun was about to return to the city, a guard came quickly from a distance with a piece of paper in his hand.
The guard reported from a distance: "Your Majesty, this stuff is scattered on the shore, and the wind blows it everywhere!"
Zhang Meng took it from the guard and handed it to Zhao Yanxun.
"A letter of persuasion to surrender!" Zhao Yanxun read out the first three words of the sentence.