Many shortcomings
Yan Qi nodded and remembered the words of Guopingren.
It seems that this is also the case with the news that the emperor learned.
This sentence is quite important.
He thought for a while and then asked the people in Guoping: "What happened next?"
Guoping Humanity said: "Prime Minister Cao and the prince held on until the fiftieth day. Although nearly two-thirds of the soldiers were killed or injured and their combat effectiveness was sharply reduced, Prime Minister Cao composed a homesick song to boost morale with homesickness and give the soldiers the greatest hope. Soldier With loyalty to Dahua and longing for his family, he mustered up the courage to fight to the death, but Hongcheng remained as solid as a rock."
"At the end of the battle, the Annan coalition forces were tired of attacking the city and had lost the confidence to attack Hongcheng. They even had the idea of returning home. After all, this offensive and defensive battle was too thrilling, and the Annan coalition forces did not have the courage to fight on. "
Yan Qi sighed with emotion: "Prime Minister Cao created Homesick Brother to boost morale. He is really a strange person and has to be convinced."
The Guoping man added: "I thought that Prime Minister Cao and the Crown Prince had saved the city and could return safely, but an accident happened."
Yan Qi asked: "What do you mean?"
The Guoping man bit his dry lips and said, "There was a fire in the Hongcheng granary. All the grain was burned, and not a single grain was left."
Yan Qi felt cold all over after hearing this!
In ancient times, wars were fought for food and grass.
There is a saying in the art of war: before the army moves, food and grass go first.
How can we fight without food?
Hungry and starved to death.
Without weapons, we can use stones, rubble, sticks and bricks, or even hand-to-hand combat.
If you lose morale, you can create Homesick Brother.
But what should we do if there is no food?
Make bricks without straw.
No matter how high your morale is, it can't be used as food?
Moreover, once the food is empty and the soldiers have no hope, they will instantly become depressed and their combat effectiveness will be sharply reduced.
Yan Qidao: "Prime Minister Cao fell short."
The eyes of the Guoping people were red: "The food was burned, and the soldiers were very depressed and almost numb. But here, Prime Minister Cao made an eye-popping move."
"What move?" Yan Qi asked.
The people from Guoping said word by word: "Prime Minister Cao asked the prince to defend the city, but he pretended to be an ordinary soldier and escaped under the protection of his personal bodyguards."
"What?"
Yan Qi's hair stood up when he heard this: "Old Master Guo, are you serious?"
"Can this be false?"
Guoping Human said: "This is what the emperor told me personally, and I also learned it from the mouths of the fortunate soldiers on the front line. It is absolutely unmistakeable. In any case, Prime Minister Cao abandoned the city and fled at the last moment, leaving the prince alone to hold the position. This is a stain in itself. It can never be washed off.”
Tang Bufan was also shocked: "If Prime Minister Cao died in the battle in Hongcheng, he could be said to be brave and loyal, and his reputation would last forever. However, at the last moment, he abandoned the prince and ran away alone. This is too... too tasteless. Where is the reputation, where is the loyalty?”
Yan Qi also felt strange, and then asked the people of Guoping: "Prime Minister Cao escaped. Where did he go? What happened next?"
Guoping Ren said: "Prime Minister Cao did not run to Dahua, but ran to the direction of Annan Kingdom. Therefore, the Eight Sages and the Young Prince concluded that Prime Minister Cao had surrendered to the enemy, and his behavior was very abominable."
Yan Qi asked: "Why do the Eight Sages and the Young Prince think that Prime Minister Cao has surrendered to the enemy?"
Guoping Ren said: "The Eight Sages and the Young Prince have said that if Cao Tong had not surrendered to the enemy, how could he have abandoned the crown prince? How could he have run away in the direction of Wang Anan? He should have fled towards Dahua."
Tang Bufan said: "The Eight Wise Kings are right, this is indeed a stain."
Yan Qi asked again: "Does this person think the same thing, the Emperor?"
The Guoping man nodded, but then shook his head: "The emperor did not express his position, but he acquiesced in the Eight Wise Kings' conviction that Cao Tong was guilty of surrendering to the enemy."
Yan Qidao: "What happened next?"
Guoping Human said: "Later, Cao Tong hanged himself in the Annan Kingdom. His body was discovered by the Annan Allied Forces, and the Annan Allied Forces erected a monument for Cao Tong. The inscription greatly commended and praised Cao Tong. It was this inscription that made the Eight Sages and the Young Prince even more convinced that Prime Minister Cao was suspected of collaborating with the enemy. Alas, a generation of famous ministers did not expect to end up like this in the end."
Yan Qi meditated for a while and suddenly asked the people of Guoping: "Did Zhang Yongwu break through the capital of Annan, Shunnei, and capture the leader of Annan after Hongcheng was destroyed?"
The people of Guoping were astonished: "How do you know?"
"Just a random guess."
Yan Qi smiled, with amusement in his smile.
A person from Guoping recounted: "On the second day after Hongcheng was destroyed, Zhang Yongwu broke through Shunei, the capital of Annan, captured the leader of Annan, and achieved a decisive victory."
"Zhang Yongwu forced the leader of the Annan Kingdom to sign a defeat agreement, confiscated a large amount of gold and silver, and killed Annan's top ten famous generals, which completely destroyed the arrogance of the Annan Kingdom. From then on, the Annan Kingdom had no famous generals! In addition, from then on, the Annan Kingdom had no famous generals. , Annan has also become a nominal vassal state of Dahua."
Yan Qi squinted his eyes and said in a strange tone: "Zhang Yongwu has made great achievements."
The people from Guoping nodded: "With the illustrious military exploits of capturing Annan Kingdom, Zhang Yongwu rose to great heights and became the God of War of Dahua. He is as famous as Leng Wanshan, famous all over the world, and powerful in all nine states."
Yan Qi laughed wildly when he heard this.
The people in Guoping were surprised: "Why is Dean Yan laughing?"
Yan Qidao: "Isn't this old master just curious?"
"Where are you curious?"
"Zhang Yongwu didn't attack Shunnei earlier than he did later. Why did he attack Shunnei only after Hongcheng was defeated, the prince was killed, and Prime Minister Cao hanged himself?"
The people in Guoping were stunned for a moment and felt strange, but they still said: "Maybe Zhang Yongwu was furious when he learned that Hongcheng was destroyed, and attacked the city violently. He turned his grief into strength, and then he broke through Shunnei and captured the leader of Annan."
"Absolutely impossible." Yan Qi waved his hand without any doubt.
Guoping Ren asked: "Why does Dean Yan say this?"
Yan Qi pointed at the map: "Master Guo, everyone from Tang, look at it. From Hongcheng to Shunei, it is only four hundred miles at most. You should also have a rough idea of the speed of Dahua's march."
Guoping Ren said: "The military book says that Dahua will march seventy miles a day."
Yan Qidao: "In other words, it only takes five days for Zhang Yongwu's army to rush from Hongcheng to Shunei, right? Even if it accelerates its march, it only takes three days, right?"
"right!"
The Guoping man nodded.
Yan Qi added: "However, Zhang Yongwu led the army to rush from Hongcheng to Shunei, but it took him ten days. Is he just enjoying the scenery along the way? Is he traveling?"
"this……"
The Guoping people were stunned for a moment.
This is a huge gap that cannot be explained!
Tang Bufan was also confused: "Yes, soldiers are valuable and fast. It is impossible for Zhang Yongwu not to know, especially when the situation is critical and the prince is trapped. How can he march so slowly? No, no, there is something going on here, there is a mystery! There’s something fishy!”
