On the other side, in Dingtao County, the situation has reached an extremely serious level.
Zhao Yulong originally planned to compete with Qin Feng on the battlefield, but the result was more cruel than he imagined. He was about to lose without even seeing Qin Feng's face.
Urgent military reports that supplies were in short supply kept coming back from the northern border.
The troops who advanced to invade the northern border achieved certain results in the early stages of the battle, but then fell into endless blocking battles, unable to retreat or attack.
But now, as supplies are in short supply, all troops invading the northern border are facing the desperate situation of running out of supplies and unable to fight.
Not to mention the frontline troops, even the defenders in Dingtao County were unable to receive logistical support.
Although the generals had always obeyed Zhao Yulong's words, as the war situation became more and more unfavorable, strange voices began to appear among the generals.
"It's already reached this point, why haven't we withdraw our troops yet?"
"The whole front is collapsed. If we continue to fight, we will lose. Apart from increasing casualties, what's the point?"
"If the general has any other means to turn the situation around, then use it quickly."
Facing the general's questioning, Zhao Yulong responded silently and did not give any explanation, because even Zhao Yulong was almost desperate.
He knew that there was a big gap between him and Qin Feng, but he didn't expect that the gap was so big.
In this situation, how can we defeat Qin Feng?
After being silent for a long time, Zhao Yulong could only grit his teeth and said solemnly: "The order from Kyoto has not been issued yet, so we must continue to fight."
"Although I am the frontline commander, I do not have the right to retreat privately."
The generals also knew that Zhao Yulong was innocent, and they should not put all the blame on Zhao Yulong. However, one person must be responsible for this wrong war.
They were unable to meet His Majesty, so they could only point their finger at the supreme commander on the front line.
"Since we cannot retreat, we cannot continue to attack rashly."
"That's right. The logistics line has been severely attacked. We can't even protect the logistics line. If we continue to fight, we are just asking for death."
"We should be stationed in Dingtao County, temporarily give up the offensive, do our best to rescue the logistics line, and repel the guerrilla cavalry in the north."
There is nothing wrong with the suggestions of the generals.
Although Emperor Liang devoted everything to the Northern Expedition, he did not set a time limit.
Therefore, taking this opportunity to fully switch to defense and stabilize the backline first is indeed the right approach.
But the question is, will Qin Feng really give them a chance to rescue logistics?
Zhao Yulong understands Qin Feng. When Zhao Yulong reaches out to the civilians in the north, Qin Feng will no longer show mercy.
As Zhao Yulong expected, once the army turns to the defensive, Qin Feng will be more confident in counterattacking. By then, the situation may not be as good as now.
At the same time, Qin Feng has begun to formulate the next strategic deployment.
"Ning Hu, your next task is to pin Zhao Yulong's army to death on the battlefield."
"You will mobilize all the guards of the Tianji Battalion. In addition, the first and third battalions of the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade will also be mobilized by you."
"If Zhao Yulong goes all out with his army, I will also send a large army to attack, but if I only send a small force, I will let them come back without any chance."
Ning Hu nodded heavily: "Yes!"
Qin Feng planned to directly turn Dingtao County into an isolated city. Neither reinforcements nor supplies from the court could be delivered to Dingtao County.
Moreover, Qin Feng will not attack the city. He only needs to turn everything except Dingtao County into a restricted area for the imperial court.
"Zhao Zhenhai!"
"King Qin, my subordinates are here."
Qin Feng walked out of the gate with his hands behind his back, looking in the direction of Dingtao County, his eyes getting sharper.
"You immediately rush to the front line, take over the command of the cavalry troops, merge the guerrilla cavalry, divide them into two groups, and launch an attack on Kyoto."
"Cavalry cannot attack towns without the coordination of infantry, so when encountering a city, you can just avoid it. You only need to continuously attack the garrisons everywhere and eliminate as much of the imperial court's effective forces as possible."
"Due to the lack of logistical support, in terms of material replenishment, we can only rely on you to support the war with war."
"Remember, you can lose or escape. The only thing you have to do is not to be wiped out by the enemy. As long as the cavalry is still there, it will be like a poisonous thorn stuck in the lifeline of the imperial court."
Zhao Zhenhai understood that Qin Feng had planned a full-scale counterattack, and he was extremely excited. He took the order without any delay.
It is simply unrealistic to rely solely on cavalry to defeat the imperial court.
Qin Feng did not intend to overthrow the imperial court. He only needed to keep applying pressure. When the pressure reached a certain limit, the imperial court would naturally collapse from within.
In addition to taking the initiative to attack, Qin Feng also launched a targeted elimination of those imperial troops who invaded the territory.
The situation on the battlefield is now extremely clear. Qin Feng takes the initiative across the board, while the imperial court is forced to adopt a defensive posture across the board.
In Qin Feng's view, no matter how this battle is fought, the court has already lost.
"Liu Ming."
"King Qin, my subordinates are here."
"What's going on in Kyoto?"
Facing Qin Feng's inquiry, the corners of Liu Ming's mouth raised slightly, outlining a proud arc.
"Everything is going according to plan. Officials headed by Chen Zheng have begun to put pressure on Emperor Liang. In addition, Li Yong's power is rising again."
Qin Feng nodded: "In that case, it's time for the prince to come back."
Liu Ming's eyes also flashed with depth: "I will send someone to Beidi to invite the crown prince to return home."
Although Qin Feng superficially intended to let Li Yong replace Emperor Liang, Li Yong and Emperor Liang were so similar that when Li Yong came to power, there would probably still be a Northern Expedition in the future.
Therefore, Qin Feng had no intention of letting Li Yong inherit the throne at all. Everything was just a cover.
Qin Feng's real trump card is the crown prince Li Zhang.
Li Zhang is not only an orthodox royal family, but also has outstanding abilities. The most important thing is that Li Zhang knows the importance of the Northern Territory and how to get along with the Northern Territory.
and……
The reason why Qin Feng left Li Zhang in Beidi as the "regent" was to allow him to accumulate experience in governing the country.
It can be said that no royal family is more qualified to serve as the king of Liang than Li Zhang.
As long as Li Zhang takes over Daliang, Qin Feng can truly retire and live the pastoral life he longs for.
Under Qin Feng's careful arrangements, everything was proceeding in an orderly manner.
In just half a month, the impact of the Northern Expedition began to backfire on the court.
In the main hall of the Kyoto Palace, Emperor Liang was on pins and needles, because in addition to Chen Zheng's lineage, more and more officials opposed Emperor Liang.
Almost two-thirds of the officials were already on the opposite side of Emperor Liang.
All the officials said in unison: "Your Majesty, please give way!"
