Cui Dunli said respectfully: "We have carefully analyzed the situation of the garrison troops in various places in Guanzhong. At present, except for the left and right garrison guards, most of the other fourteen guards have only left a few soldiers to look after the military camp. The large troops have followed your majesty on the eastward expedition. The number of soldiers Probably between 60,000 and 70,000. Among these soldiers, including the left and right military guards, Guanlong couldn't get involved at all, so it was impossible to win over and divide them. According to the minister's estimate, they could win over the regular army in the past, and the total number was absolutely There won’t be more than 20,000 people.”
The Ministry of War is in charge of all the troops in the world. Cui Dunli knows all the locations, numbers, and movements of all the troops. At this moment, he speaks in detail.
Li Chengqian nodded, and the other ministers also breathed a sigh of relief. After all, the 20,000 regular troops must have been a little less than the Sixth Army of the East Palace, and the situation was not out of control yet.
But then, Cui Dunli poured cold water on everyone: "Your Highness, in addition to guarding the rebels' onslaught, solid defense and waiting for opportunities to counterattack, the more important thing is the Chengnan Foundry Bureau! In order to support the Eastern Expedition, the huge consumption of firearms , the Foundry Bureau worked overtime to expand production. Because the Liaodong army retreated, the newly manufactured firearms were not sent to the Liaodong front line, but were hoarded in the Foundry Bureau's warehouse. Once the Foundry Bureau fell into the hands of the rebels... the consequences would be disastrous."
As soon as these words came out, the monarchs and ministers in the palace fell silent for an instant.
The power of firearms has already shocked the world. It was first used on a large scale in the army during the Battle of Mobei. Fang Jun only led an army of one guard out of Baidao and plunged into the Gobi and grasslands of Mobei to control the strings. With 200,000 soldiers, Xue Yantuo marched across Mobei and defeated Xue Yantuo until he lost his helmet and armor, and the wolf ran wildly. In the end, he tied up Shi Yanran, sealed the wolf in Xu, destroyed the Dragon Court, and overthrew his country!
This battle can be regarded as the pinnacle of the Han people's foreign war since Huo Huiqi. The Hu people who lingered in the north of the empire and threatened the frontiers were wiped out. Without a hundred years of life, there was no hope of recovering.
Since then, firearms have officially entered the eyes of the world, and they have realized their extremely powerful power.
Then, Fang Jun formed a navy, equipped the navy with firearms on a large scale, and used it to make the navy invincible in the world. It subverted the enemy's country, escorted caravans, and fought on the battlefield, all of which showed that firearms were enough to destroy the world. The power!
When it came to the Eastern Expedition, although the entire army unanimously rejected the generals and troops of Fang Jun's line and tried their best to downplay the power of firearms, in fact, in every tough battle, firearms were often relied on to open a breakthrough. On the battlefields in Liaodong, Above, firearms show their full power.
Especially in the battles in Jian'an City, Anshi City and other places, the destructive power of firearms on solid cities was simply indescribable, which shocked everyone in the army.
If the Foundry Bureau falls into the hands of the rebels and allows them to obtain a large number of powerful firearms, then the towering and solid city walls of Taiji Palace and Xingqing Palace will no longer be relied upon. The powerful firearms are enough to blow some into rubble. Then he entered the palace.
Xiao Yu felt something bad and hurriedly said: "Can you send an army to break out of the city and defend the foundry? Even if you can't hold it, destroy the firearms. They must not fall into the hands of the rebels!"
He has an inextricable relationship with the Guanlong clan and has been dealing with them for most of his life. He is well aware of the crazy nature of those people in Guanlong. Once he ignores them, not to mention the Taiji Palace and Xingqing Palace, even the entire city of Chang'an will be destroyed. It can explode to the sky!
They only want power and will do anything to seize it. As for whether Chang'an will be riddled with holes after they get it, they don't care at all.
In today's world, the strength of the Guanlong clan may no longer be the best, but when it comes to destruction, no matter whether it is a Shandong family or a noble family in Jiangnan, they are not worthy of carrying shoes for the Guanlong clan...
Before Li Chengqian could speak, Li Jing had already shaken his head and said: "This is basically impossible. At present, the Guanlong rebels have broken into the city from Jinguang, Anhua and other city gates, advancing all the way to the imperial city. The reason why the war broke out is because of us. Blindly give in to prevent the war from spreading to all areas and causing damage to innocent people. However, once the troops are sent to break out, they will inevitably come into contact with the oncoming rebels. At that time, there is no way to avoid it, and the war will inevitably break out. In the case of a melee in the city , how can we break through? Not to mention that the troops of the Sixth Army of the East Palace are weak. If we divide our troops, the difference in strength between the enemy and ourselves will become even more disparate. When the time comes, we will not be able to defend Taiji Palace and Xingqing Palace, and everything will stop."
Having said this, he once again admonished Li Chengqian: "Your Highness clearly knows that the endless rebel army is powerful and has occupied many city gates. The troops in the city are fierce. Our troops are weak, but we still have to defend Taiji Palace and Xingqing Palace respectively. In both places, the situation is becoming increasingly unfavorable. Why not ask His Highness to move to Tai Chi Palace? We can also concentrate our forces to protect Tai Chi Palace."
Li Daozong frowned at the side and said: "Of course, Duke Wei's move can maximize the concentration of troops to defend against the enemy, but the Taiji Palace may not be safe."
This is not the first time this topic has been mentioned, but it has been rejected every time. There is only one reason, and that is that no one is sure about the safety of Xuanwu Sect...
Unlike Xingqing Palace, which is entirely located within the city, Taiji Palace is connected to the military camp outside the site through Xuanwu Gate. Under normal circumstances, the garrison outside Xuanwu Gate can play a role in guarding the imperial city. Once a war breaks out in the city, the army can quickly reach the imperial city through Xuanwu Gate. All over the city, they defended tall and strong walls to defeat the rebels.
However, at present, the position of General Chai Zhewei of the Zuo Tun Guard outside Xuanwu Gate is unclear and wavering. If this person defectes to the enemy and leads troops to attack Xuanwu Gate, it will be difficult to rely only on half of the Right Tun Guard and the thousands of Beiya Imperial Guards guarding Xuanwu Gate. Can defend the Xuanwu Gate.
Once the Xuanwu Gate is lost, the Taiji Palace will open its doors, and all the princes, princesses, and concubines in it will become prisoners of the rebels... This is absolutely unacceptable.
If the prince moves back to Taiji Palace and Chai Zhewei rebels and leads his troops in from the Xuanwu Gate, it will be equivalent to stealing the prince's escape route and leading to defeat.
In the past, whenever this point was mentioned, Li Jing remained silent, but today he was uncharacteristically insistent: "Everyone, the Zuo Tun Guard is indeed a full force of one guard, but its combat power may not be as strong as half of the right guard. Tun Guards, after all, the Right Tun Guards were elite soldiers who followed Fang Junbing out of the White Road and overthrew Xue Yantuo. How can those lack of training in the Left Tun Guards compare? There is also Zhang Shigui leading the Beiya Imperial Army to guard the Xuanwu Gate! And the Xuanwu Gate must be impregnable! If His Highness is still here at Xingqing Palace, we will have to divide our troops into two groups, just in case the rebels are in a hurry, and the situation will be too passive."
He has always believed that Fang Jun's Right Guards are far ahead of Chai Zhewei's Left Guards. Even though there are only half of the Right Guards left outside Xuanwu Gate, and even Fang Jun, the soul of the entire army, is in the Western Regions, this is still the case.
Cui Dunli also said: "The entire army of Youtunwei is equipped with firearms and has received brand-new tactical training, which can maximize the power of firearms. Now this set of tactics has been further studied and improved in the Ministry of War and the academy. I believe Soon after, all armies equipped with firearms will be implemented. Therefore, it is not wrong to say that the combat power of Youtunwei is the best among all armies. It is only from the two battles of Yue Guogong in Dadou Bagou and Alagou. This can be seen by defeating a powerful enemy.”
He is Fang Jun's trusted confidant, and now he is in charge of all affairs of the Ministry of War. He is very familiar with the strength of Youtun Guard. These words were the result of his always low-key character, otherwise he would have said something like "even if you have half a guard on the right, you can still hit the left hip."
Li Daozong stroked his beard, thought for a while, nodded and said, "Wei Chen agrees."
There are many ministers in the palace, but when it comes to military ability, Li Jing ranks first, followed by Li Daozong. Now the two of them agree to move to Tai Chi Palace. Cui Dunli, who is in charge of the Ministry of War and knows the military affairs well, also agrees. The others have basically no room to refute.
Again, the Sixth Army of the East Palace is already at a disadvantage in combat strength. If they have to divide their forces to defend Taiji Palace and Xingqing Palace, their forces will be really stretched thin and they will probably be defeated by the rebels one by one. The prince moved to the Tai Chi Palace and concentrated all his power in the Tai Chi Palace, making the defense easier.
Just changing the camp before the battle will affect the morale and strategic deployment of the army, this requires great courage.
Fortunately, in this crisis, the prince showed the decisiveness to kill that he always lacked. He just pondered for a moment and then made up his mind: "Then move immediately and go to Tai Chi Palace!"
"Here!"
The ministers promised that there would be civil servants, military officers and officials from the East Palace ready to go down.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Jing made another suggestion: "Your Highness, although we cannot send troops to break out of the city to garrison the foundry bureau at the moment, we can send scouts to sneak out of the city and go to the academy to issue an order to Xu Jingzong, ordering him to lead the academy students, distribute weapons, and go to the foundry bureau. , try your best not to lose anything!”
