Pinghai County, the base camp of the East China Sea Barrier.
"There is another meeting. When will this meeting be held?" Lu Yulong walked in with his brows furrowed and muttering.
As always, few of the generals in the conference room turned to look at him.
Lu Yulong twitched the corners of his lips, not surprised at all.
Decades ago, the last Duke of Xiao fell off his horse, and the Xiao family never recovered.
As for the East China Sea barrier they created with their own hands, it was washed again and again by the second emperor. Many subordinates of the Xiao family were scattered to death, and now there is only one Jade Dragon Fleet left.
A few years ago, Xiao Zheng was finally able to take the order and go on an expedition. However, when others arrived at the East China Sea Barrier, almost all the generals hid away.
In the end, only Lu Yulong followed Xiao Zheng to Beiguan. Later, the Yulong fleet was stationed at Baekje Golden Dragon Beach for a long time.
Now that Xiao Zheng and the Yulong fleet are in Baekje, Lu Yulong is just a mere commander, so it is normal for no one to pay attention when he comes in and out.
Ahem.
Xin'ou, the deputy general of the legion, coughed twice, "Is everyone here?"
Buzz~
"It's here, it's here."
"It should be ready."
"Back to the general, except for those stationed outside Huayang County, all other generals have arrived."
…
Listening to the chaotic echoes like a wet market, Yu Xinou's face turned dark, but he was also a little helpless.
His name is the deputy general of the East China Sea Barrier. He actually has no power. The reason why he can sit in this position is purely because of nepotism.
When General Lu Fuhai was here before, Yu Xinou's words still had some authority.
In particular, the generals of the ships could not and did not dare to stand in front of Lu Fuhai. They had to communicate everything through him, so they were respectful to Xinou.
Now Lu Fuhai has not returned yet, and it seems that he will not be able to get out. At this time, Yu Xinou stood up to speak again, and it was inevitable that he would be unable to suppress the powerful generals below.
Lu Yulong curled his lips, and after sitting down, he immersed himself in the sea chart, turning a blind eye to everything around him.
But even if he didn't listen, he knew what was being discussed at this meeting.
The recapture of Beihaiguan is imminent. Unlike the Dingxi counterattack, this is also the main battlefield for their East China Sea barrier.
Therefore, the commander should decide as early as possible which fleets will attack, which fleets will defend and which fleets will be in reserve.
It's just that Yu Xinou doesn't have enough prestige, and he can't finalize the detailed combat plan and battlefield layout.
Although the generals of each fleet are of different ages, many of them are of the same rank. These people were dissatisfied with me and dissatisfied with you, so they argued endlessly about who would be on the reserve team and who would be on the reserve team. In the end, there was no result in the quarreling.
"Silence, silence!"
Yu Xinou banged the table.
"Everyone, in recent years, because of the frequent incursions by Japanese pirates ashore, the people along the coast have complained about our East China Sea barrier. The patrol censor has repeatedly reported that we have neglected our duties, are content with pleasure, are greedy for life and fear death, and regard the suffering of the people as colorless. …”
The conference room finally became quieter.
"Nonsense." Someone stood up unhappily, "General Yu, he is just a censor, what does it matter what he does? They are just following the news, and they like to make things out of nothing and make trouble out of nothing. These guys rely on a bad pen in their hand to make trouble. Since they have direct access to Heaven, they like to make some shocking news from time to time. If they don't do this, I'm afraid they will be embarrassed to receive the salary from the imperial court."
Ha ha.
"Indeed." Many people burst into laughter and nodded in agreement.
Yu Xinou was noncommittal and glanced at Zhong Lifu who stood up.
"What General Zhong said is absolutely true. However, I still remember that I once intercepted a letter. The censor reported that General Zhong liked to use his power to bully others and took five civilian girls as concubines, which caused great resentment among the local people..."
Ha ha.
There was laughter all around again.
Pooh!
Zhong Lifu blushed and spat harshly.
"These censors really have too much to eat and have nothing to do. When a real man is alive, what does it mean to have a few concubines? How can he deal with such a trivial matter? Besides, the general did not sell or buy by force. They all volunteered..."
As he spoke, he quickly sat back.
"I have no intention of paying attention to your household affairs." Yu Xin'ou withdrew his gaze calmly, "But there are many tricks such as General Dancing the Bell. I can tell you clearly that the East China Sea Barrier has served as a frontier army in these years. In the hearts of the people in coastal counties, it is an indisputable fact that they are dissatisfied, complained, and their weight and respect have declined."
Before the generals below could retort, Yu Xinou continued to bang on the table.
"Everyone, this general is not an alarmist."
"We don't have the appeal of the Rock Frontier Fortress or the Zhenguo Palace. If we lose the people, we can recruit troops from all over the empire, and we can recruit enough troops quickly. It can be said that if we lose the people of the coastal counties trust, the East China Sea barrier will have no foundation in the future. Everyone here doesn’t want to be a mere commander, unable to sail even if there is a ship, right?”
The entire conference room fell silent. The generals' expressions became more serious and they shook their heads in unison.
"Very good." Yu Xinou let out a long breath.
"Everyone, because of the newspapers, the people of the entire empire will be closely watching this battle to recapture the Beihai Pass. Among the five major armies of the empire, in addition to the Yingling Army, the other Xingluo, Central, Yanhui and our East China Sea Barriers Everyone is involved.”
"As the saying goes, we are not afraid of not knowing the goods, but we are afraid of comparing goods. When we come down to kill the enemy, we dare not say that we are fighting for the first place, but at least it cannot be worse than the blood camp after the wild goose returns."
"No, not really." The generals shook their heads.
Starfall!
Everyone quickly ignored this name.
Wei Junqian is really strong;
As for Yan Hui Houying's blood, it is not on the same level as the East China Sea Barrier, and it would be embarrassing to compete with it.
The only one that can be compared is the Central Corps, and judging from their disastrous performance at Dinghai Pier last year, I guess there is no need to worry too much.
"It's hard to say." Zhong Lifu, who had been shouting just now, stood up again, "Brothers, we are navy, and we don't have to go ashore or even break the city to kill the enemy. I'm afraid we can't compare with them..."
cough.
A bunch of generals around him couldn't help but turn their heads and look over.
Where did this idiot come from, how could he become a fleet commander?
Yu Xinou was also speechless for a while, and he ignored Zhong Lifu.
"What I have said so much is not because I want to end the quarrel as soon as possible, but because I want to finalize the battle plan. Otherwise, in the coming war, our East China Sea Barrier may not be a help but a drag."
There was another unspeakable silence in the conference room.
boom.
Zhong Lifu, who was standing dumbly, suddenly smashed the table in front of him.
"What's the fuss about? No one wants to be the vanguard, right? I'm not afraid of death. I, the Takumi Fleet, will go first."
"Who is afraid of death? Who do you think is afraid of death?" A veteran stood up angrily, "Which of you here has experienced hundreds of battles? Who would be afraid of mere Japanese pirates! But war is not about a bunch of fleets swarming up randomly. If you want to have command, you also need to be able to distinguish between front, back, left, and right.”
"What General Luo said is true. The sea is very big. We must not only block the North Sea to prevent Masato Nei from coming out, but also guard the Sishan Islands and prevent Ishikawa Taki from going north to support or land on our mainland. Therefore, we must have unified command. You must not come here in a mess.”
At this time, another young general couldn't help but stand up.
"Everyone, many of you went to Baekje last year, but my fleet has not moved its base for a long time. Why don't you send me north first."
"You can't do it." People who were familiar with this man shook their heads, "Many of the soldiers in your hands are new and haven't been trained well enough. It's okay to serve as a transport team or reserve team in the back, but when you go into battle and serve as the main force, they are just cannon fodder."
"Fuck! Who said my soldiers are incompetent? If you have the guts, pull them out and practice..."
After a while, the voices of accusations, excuses, and arguments started to sound one after another, causing the veins on everyone's foreheads to jump.
well.
"It would be great if General Lu was here." In the commotion, someone murmured and shook his head, "With this kind of quarrel, I'm afraid the Beihaiguan War will start, and we won't be able to send troops."
"Indeed, it's just that General Lu is afraid..." A general raised his head silently and looked in the direction of the imperial capital, "I don't know what His Highness King Qi is doing. How about he stand up and say something."
Last year in Baekje, the East China Sea Barrier completely fell in favor of Chen Xiuzhu.
Although it was the commander-in-chief Lu Fuhai who made this decision, it would not have been possible without the full support of most of his generals.
Although there is a prince now, almost no one in the East China Sea Barrier thinks that this incompetent man will finally sit in that position.
Therefore, as long as the King of Qi steps forward, for example by temporarily appointing a speaker in the East China Sea Barrier, it may be possible to change the chaos in the conference room.
I recommend a book, "The Doctor in the Late Ming Dynasty" which is also a history book.
