Thirty-one years of Rising Sun, Northern Barbarian Grassland
The winter snow in December is like a gray sky pressing down on the ground. On the snow-covered grassland, there is only a vast expanse of white... just a vast expanse of white...
But on the snow outside Shanhaiguan, there is a strange scene that is invisible in winter:
The continuous military tents are connected together. From a distance, they look like the bun on the head of the Buddha's Dharma image, but the bun is spread out flat and square.
A young military general who looked to be in his early thirties, dressed in military uniform, stood alone on the hillside on the side of the military camp, looking out, but he didn't know what he could see from the flying snow in the sky...
At this time, it was the cold winter of December, a time when war should not have occurred. However, the Zhengyang Kingdom used all its strength and sent 300,000 troops to march into the Northern Barbarians. inner troubles.
The cause of this battle was that Emperor Xu Yang of the Zhengyang Kingdom was seriously ill and his life had come to an end. But he was not satisfied with all the princes. Some of them who were capable either rebelled or were framed or even killed by their brothers. In the end, those who are left are those who lack ability and cannot maintain their integrity. Therefore, Emperor Xuyang could only place his last hope on his clever young son.
But now the youngest son is young after all, only thirteen years old, and the Northern Barbarians are gradually gaining strength and have repeatedly violated the border in the past ten years. Even every border crossing is dangerous and dangerous to hold, and the disaster of breaking through the border may occur at any time.
It happened that Emperor Xuyang was seriously ill and felt that he did not have much time left. Another important minister warned him about the Northern Expedition, so he gritted his teeth and made up his mind to mobilize the whole country.
If this battle can be won, the emperor's youngest son will naturally be left with a stable life. If not... the country is about to perish anyway, and the emperor should have the determination to make a desperate move and treat the dead horse as a living doctor... This is the man The important minister's last words broke the camel's back.
As a result, the right army was led by General Jinwu, Liu Xin, the Central Military Governor of the Fifth Army Governor's Office, and assisted by the Admiral of Dongchang and the eunuch Mi Yusong.
General Longhu, the commander-in-chief of the northern army of the Fifth Army Commander-in-Chief, Shangguan Ba, is the main one; General Zhenguo, the commander-in-chief of the southern army of the Fifth Army Commander-in-Chief, Du Yuanjin, is the auxiliary left army.
Emperor Xuyang was in charge personally, and the Chinese army was assisted by General Hussars and Zuo Changyu, the Commander-in-Chief of the Western Army of the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion.
They marched in three directions and slowly advanced into the Beiman grassland from Pianguan, Juyongguan, and Shanhaiguan. The three major tribes of the Beiman rushed to attack, but before the official war started, the Wanggu tribe suddenly rebelled, and the Wanggu tribe prince He led 150,000 troops from his headquarters and affiliated tribes to surrender to the Zhengyang Kingdom. The prince himself even went to the tent of Emperor Xuyang's Central Army to beg for surrender, so he was favored by Emperor Xuyang and incorporated into the Central Army.
This news was quickly spread throughout the three armies by Emperor Xuyang. For a time, the three armies were excited!
The Northern Barbarians fell, and the six-character motto of Zhengyang Xing began to be widely circulated among the army. At this time, no one thought that Zhengyang Kingdom would lose this battle!
...
The right army of Zhengyang Kingdom commanded the camp.
Liu Xin, General Jinwu of the Zhengyang Kingdom, is the youngest governor of the Fifth Army Commander's Office in the history of the Zhengyang Kingdom. He is in charge of military power and is a proper big shot.
Although he is young and has just passed his age, his resume is extremely shocking.
He joined the Jinyi Guard in his early twenties. He first solved an extremely difficult case involving a secret spy organization of the Northern Barbarians in the imperial capital, and thus came into the emperor's sight. After that, he solved the Zhengyang Chao's sky-high tax bill case and rose to prominence, becoming one of the top executives of Jinyiwei.
Later, he solved Zhao'an in Liangshan, wiped out mountain bandits and other activities, and accumulated military merits. Until the South China Sea Rebellion broke out, he led the Jin Yiwei to sneak into the provinces of the South China Sea. His actions delayed the start of the South China Sea Rebellion, allowing the court to have time to react, so as not to damage its foundation. Later, the northern and southern dynasties were divided. Liu Xin led his army to defeat the southern army many times and won military honors. When the chaos in the South China Sea was completely subsided and rewards were given based on merit, Liu Xin directly accepted the post of Governor of the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion. At this time, he was less than thirty years old, but there was not much opposition in the court.
Subsequently, a sudden change occurred in the domestic martial arts world, and Liu Xin led his troops to suppress it. Liu Xin showed his extraordinary bravery and killed the enemy chief among the rebels, quelling the martial arts turmoil at an extremely fast speed.
Later, the coast of Zhengyang was attacked by pirates. When they were overwhelmed by the disturbance, the Northern Barbarians came to the pass again. At that time, Tuoba Yunhan and Zhu Guangxiao, the two pillars of Zhengyang's military, were no longer there. The young military general was inexperienced and was caught in a dilemma.
So Zhengyang Kingdom barely survived several years of embarrassing situations where both sides fell into corruption. This year, Emperor Xuyang was seriously ill, so he made up his mind to sweep across the Northern Barbarians regardless of everything!
This led to the current situation of Liu Xin commanding the Northern Right Army.
Coming down the hillside and arriving at the commander's tent, Liu Xin shook off the snow on his uniform. There were already a dozen people in the tent, all of them with solemn faces.
The leader was white and beardless. Although his face was old, his whole person was like a green pine, exuding an eye-catching power.
Mi Yusong, the admiral of Dongchang, was the last great master of the Zhengyang court.
Logically speaking, with his status, he should stay by the emperor's side, but he ended up appearing in the right army. (This is to prevent the Right Army from rioting after Liu Xin’s death)
Although the other dozen generals were not as powerful as Mi Yusong, they all exuded the majestic aura that a major general should have.
Seeing Liu Xin entering the camp, this group of generals, whose average age was much older than Liu Xin's, all clasped their fists in salute and said in unison:
"I've seen the commander (commander)!"
Those who call him "Captain" are basically the generals of the Chinese Army's Governor's Mansion. They are used to calling Liu Xin "Captain".
Liu Xin was called Marshal because he was transferred from other armies.
"Everyone, please stop standing and sit down and talk. The weather here on the grassland is really cold. There is plenty of fire in my tent. There are many things to discuss today, so we are all blessed."
Liu Xin's joke made everyone smile, at least they no longer kept a straight face. Everyone sat down one after another, and then a deputy general distributed a booklet to everyone.
"It contains information about military supplies, grassland geography, information about Northern Barbarians generals, etc. This time, His Majesty went to the Northern Barbarians for the expedition himself. Before departure, he swore an oath that he would not return to the imperial capital until the Northern Barbarians were defeated! His Majesty's current physical condition is not very optimistic. If something unexpected happens to His Majesty during the Northern Expedition... none of us will go back alive! Therefore, we met at the Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army before setting off, discussed it, and decided that this time we must fight quickly. Deal with the Northern Barbarians!"
Liu Xin just stood up, and before he could ask any questions, a general stood up:
"Commander!"
Liu Xin raised his eyes and saw that this man was the commander of the Western Army Governor's Mansion, a fourth-grade military general, Jiang Chong.
This man is not much older than Liu Xin, but he is already the commander of the First Guard, and he can be considered young and promising.
There is still some connection between him and Liu Xin, but there has been no intersection between the two for a long time. If it hadn't been for this Northern Expedition, it might be difficult for the two to meet for the time being.
Now Liu Xin and Jiang Chong are known as the successors of Zhu Guangxiao and Tuoba Yunhan. Liu Xin is deeply appreciated by Tuoba Yunhan, and Liu Xin is also a disciple of Tuoba Yunhan. Jiang Chong, on the other hand, simply joined Zhu Guangxiao's sect and became Zhu Guangxiao's only disciple. He then entered the army and started from the bottom. If not for his low starting point, his current achievements may not be inferior to Liu Xin's.
But Jiang Chong has always been in a seemingly invisible struggle with Liu Xin. He doesn't like it when others compare him and Liu Xin. Now it's even to the point where he has to refute Liu Xin at every turn, but there are He also understood what he said, so Liu Xin couldn't do anything to him, and the others naturally looked like they were watching the show.
Jiang Chong saw that there was a bit of joking in everyone's expressions, and knew that they were watching him and Liu Xin quarrel again, but in fact, that was not what he meant. He was just expressing his own opinion.
"Commander! I don't think we can just be quick now!"
Jiang Chong expressed his attitude. He was not against Liu Xin, but had a slightly different opinion on the current policy.
"Then tell me what you think. We are here to discuss it today." Liu Xin seemed unhurried and very steady.
Jiang Chong cleared his throat and continued: "First of all, it is snowing heavily at this time. It can be said that all roads are difficult to move forward, let alone finding directions on the snow-covered plains is not what we are good at. The snowy and foggy weather changes the vision. If the direction is extremely poor and a large group of troops is advancing, if there is a discrepancy in the direction, the entire army will be in disarray. This is the first point. The current time and place are extremely unfavorable to us."
"Secondly, it is the people and people. We have more than 300,000 soldiers and horses on the Zhengyang Third Route. We have recruited more than 200,000 civilian women for them, and there are countless grain and grass supplies. There have been complaints in the country for a long time. But now that we have set off, the arrows It is a foregone conclusion. But we must not let this situation continue to deteriorate. To put it harshly, once any of the three-pronged military horses has problems, it will be destructive to the last trace of domestic stability. No one knows what will happen at that time. The country has just been relieved of the southern crisis and has not yet completely settled down. It is really inappropriate to start a war at this time!"
"Then if you say this now, it will not help the matter. Aren't you wasting my time?" A deep voice said. Jiang Chongxun looked around and saw that it was Liu Xin's general who was commanding Zhao Shaolei.
The relationship between this man and Liu Xin is irresistible. He is a good player in battle, brave and fearless. His Majesty the Emperor once praised him as a great general in the world. As Liu Xin's deputy, this man could no longer listen. He only felt that Jiang Chong What he was talking about was all nonsense, so he stopped talking.
Zhao Shaolei's official position was one level higher than Jiang Chong's. Jiang Chong couldn't do anything to interrupt him like this, so he could only pretend that he hadn't heard and continued:
"Commander! What the general said so much means that we can't be too impatient and can only take things slowly. Only in this way can we minimize the possibility of defeat!"
When Zhao Shaolei saw that Jiang Chong was still talking nonsense, he couldn't help but became anxious. He stood up and was about to speak, but Liu Xin reached out and pressed him down. Liu Xin stood up and said:
"Jiang Chong is right. This battle is indeed at the right time and the right place, and neither we nor we have it, but this battle is actually related to the fate of our country, Zhengyang. There are some things you may not be aware of. Farther away in the wild land of the west, There is a country called Holy Rome, and it was only because of an accident that Jinyiwei arrived so far away. Only then did our country know a terrible fact! That is, there is a tiger lying next to our bed! Not even It's just a tiger, but a huge dragon! After preliminary investigation, the news reported by Jin Yiwei is that this country has at least one million armors and a population of more than 10 million. It is comparable in size to Zhengyang, but the other party has been at peace for a hundred years and has accumulated a lot of savings. I’m afraid only God knows how powerful it is!”
The news revealed by Liu Xin at this moment caused the tense atmosphere in the tent to suddenly stagnate, and then was replaced by an emotion of disbelief.
"Captain! Is what you said true?" Zhao Shaolei was the most impatient and couldn't help but ask!
Liu Xin nodded, and then turned his attention to Mi Yusong, who had been closing his eyes to rest, and everyone immediately looked at the latter.
Mi Yusong opened his eyes quietly and looked around. The impatience on everyone's faces calmed down a little.
Mi Yusong can be said to be the first master of Zhengyang. His status is like a huge stone, giving everyone peace of mind.
"Captain Liu is right. This news came a year ago, and it has only been circulated in a small area so far. It is because of this that His Majesty did not care about it. He is determined to capture the Northern Barbarians, resolve internal troubles, and concentrate on dealing with foreign enemies!"
Mi Yusong's words immediately convinced everyone, and they all understood why the dispatch of troops seemed too hasty and careless.
Liu Xin then said: "So Commander Jiang's idea is certainly correct, but our situation now is not what Commander Jiang thought. It is an extremely dangerous situation, similar to hanging with half a foot on a cliff. If we cannot make a desperate move now, this last chance may be fleeting. It is true that the foreign enemies in the west will not invade at this time, but His Majesty has no time, and Zhengyang cannot afford to wait. Your Majesty has grown up!"
In fact, these words are a bit treasonous and can even be judged as treasonous words. But everyone here would not think so, because Mi Yusong is still on one side, and no rebel in Zhengyang dares to speak his rebellious words in front of Mi Yusong, not one!
After Liu Xin finished speaking, everyone was still silent. Jiang Chong's face turned green and red. His judgment was completely wrong, but this was not his problem, but stemmed from the imbalance of intelligence. Now that he knew the news, he began to make new calculations.
After a long time, Liu Xin saw that everyone was still silent, so he said: "Since everyone has nothing to say, you might as well listen to me first. I have a plan here, which was formulated based on this situation. It includes a group of people who are in the snow." Objects that move quickly on the ground, strategies for fighting, etc..."
For a full hour after that, Liu Xin revealed all his plans and arrangements, which not only solved the problem of favorable location and people raised by Jiang Chong, but also even caused the new prince to defect to Zhengyang after civil strife broke out in the Wanggu tribe of Beiman. At the same time, some of the smuggled goods between Zhengyang and Wanggu tribes over the years were also contributed. Most of them were grain, which was enough to support 200,000 troops and horses for a winter.
When he said this, Mi Yusong opened his eyes again and carefully looked at every face in the big tent. But in the end, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Liu Xin's account did not collude with the smuggler. Mi Yusong trusted his own vision on this point.
The surrender of the Wanggu tribe occurred after the Third Route Army and Horses left the border. The emergence of smuggled goods also meant that the smugglers behind it and the backers behind the smuggling merchants were also betrayed by the Wanggu tribe. This will undoubtedly make the official The situation in Yang's country has become extremely difficult. Although this news is only for senior generals, there will inevitably be some senior generals who are related to these smugglers, so this test is needed.
Mi Yusong was very satisfied with the situation here in Liu Xin, but in order to prevent the news here from leaking, he still made some arrangements, and even the other two armies made the same arrangements.
After the matter of the right time and place was resolved, it was time to allocate the work of the generals. Almost everyone expressed their desire to join the vanguard army and serve as a vanguard. Liu Xin also fulfilled everyone's wishes. Almost all the generals in the account had their own Except for Jiang Chong, he took over the rear army's task of attacking the enemy in front of everyone's puzzled eyes.
Apart from surprising everyone, his choice didn't really matter too much.
In the following month, the Right Army penetrated into the hinterland of the Northern Barbarians at an extremely fast speed, and then used a valley as a base to bloom in all directions. In fact, the Northern Barbarians were at their most vulnerable at this time. Cattle and sheep put on fat in autumn to survive the winter. Most of the troops and horses of each tribe were disbanded and became leaders of small tribes. They transformed into herdsmen and led other herdsmen through the winter. Therefore, the right army continued to expand its offensive tentacles and did not encounter any enemies for a month. A cavalry force of more than a hundred people passed by. Under such circumstances, wherever the right army passed, it was like soldiers from heaven descending to earth, without a single general.
Every day, good news reached the central tent of the right army. At this time, only three senior generals, Liu Xin, Mi Yusong and Jiang Chong, were left in the central army.
Mi Yusong is doing his job: ballast stone.
Jiang Chong was constantly making arrangements, his feet never touching the ground.
On the contrary, Liu Xin seemed to have nothing to do, but in fact he stood in front of the map every day and was calculating all the time.
On this day, Mi Yusong arrived outside Liu Xin's tent. Grandmaster-level warriors could already 'see' some scenes through their breath, even if the tent was blocking them. He stood outside the tent for a long time, and saw Liu Xin frowning in the tent, thinking. Then he sighed softly, and the breath he exhaled was like a snow dragon spinning and flying in the air, and finally turned into a Invisibly dispersed.
That night, Zhao Shaolei returned to the Chinese army. His troops marched two hundred miles north, slaughtering all the northern barbarians they encountered along the way, beheading more than 4,000 people, but suffered huge losses. Less than a hundred people, and even a dozen people died of the cold.
Zhao Shaolei's movements were the fastest among the troops, which may have something to do with his temperament. Liu Xin would naturally entertain the victorious general when he returned to the camp, especially since this person was not only his confidant general, but also his junior brother. However, this identity is unknown to outsiders.
