"Dong Aiqing, are you back?" Li Bing put down the brush in his hand and said to Dong Tianxing with a smile: "In less than a month, it was really hard for you to make three consecutive trips to the Jingxiang Army. What's wrong with Ma Hongjie? Sample?"
Dong Tianxing cupped his hands and said: "Reporting to your majesty, the Jingxiang army is progressing very smoothly. When I return, all six counties south of Shangluo have been recovered by Ma Hongjie. Wuguan will not be threatened by the enemy's counterattack in the short term."
Li Bing's eyes lit up: "So, have we established a firm foothold? Haha, okay! The first step is to stabilize the position, and the second step is to counterattack the imperial capital!"
After that, he reached out and took out a folder on the desk, and asked the chamberlain to show it to Dong Tianxing: "Dong Aiqing, take a look, what's written in it?"
Old Dong agreed, holding it in his hand and looking at it carefully, he couldn't help but be stunned on the spot.
After the imperial edict, Dong Tianxing was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of War, with the rank of fourth rank, and walked in front of the emperor to inspect and inspect the military affairs.
"Dong Aiqing, you are loyal and have done great service for me. Naturally, I can't treat you badly." Li Bing said with a smile: "First do your job as Minister of War. When we recapture the imperial capital and the world is settled, I will promise you A minister does it, hahaha."
Dong Tianxing hurriedly raised his hands and said, "I am scared. From the fifth grade to the fourth grade, I have been promoted two levels in a row. I am really ashamed."
A middle-aged official with a fair face next to him smiled and said: "Hey, Mr. Dong, the emperor has given you a reward. You should be grateful. Why are you declining it instead?"
Li Bing heard what he said was interesting, and he also laughed: "Zixuan, you don't know something. Dong Aiqing is really an indifferent person. He worked hard in the court for thirty-five years before he could reach the fifth rank, so Don’t blame him either.”
Wei Zixuan said loudly: "My lord Shengming! Mr. Dong is so capable, but he has not recognized his talents for many years. Now, serving your majesty, he has been promoted to the fourth rank of Minister of War in just a few months. This is enough to show that your majesty not only knows people, but is also kind. Employers. With this holy king, he will surely be able to recruit all the talents from all over the world to serve our dynasty!"
These two words of flattery not only made Li Bing very happy, but also hinted that he himself was also a rare talent.
It flows smoothly without leaving any trace.
Dong Tianxing disliked this kind of expression the most in his life. He suddenly felt angry and said with a lukewarm smile: "Master Wei, thank you for your praise. I'm old and stupid. I haven't been promoted in thirty-five years. It's not because I don't recognize the talent, but because there are so many talented people in the court. A mere firefly like me can hardly compete with the bright moon."
As soon as these words came out, not only Wei Zixuan was a little confused, but even Li Bing didn't know how to answer the words.
Lao Dong's words are quite sharp.
These two simple sentences not only express a sense of self-effacement, but also say that no matter how cats or dogs can climb up nowadays, it does not mean that they have any extraordinary skills, but because the real masters are no longer there. .
This slap in the face almost brought Emperor Li Bing in with him.
Fortunately, Li Bing was in a good mood now. He smiled slightly awkwardly, and then changed the subject: "Dong Aiqing, you have been working in the Ministry of War, and you can be considered an old military affairs officer. Come and analyze the current situation for me. How is the battle going?"
Dong Tianxing and Shen Lie had already arrived at Li Bing's meeting to ask him about his views on the war situation, so they had been waiting for this opportunity. Now that the emperor actually mentioned this matter, Dong Tianxing quickly cleared his throat and said: "Your Majesty, please forgive me for speaking frankly. At present, The situation is 30% favorable to us, 30% unfavorable, and the remaining 40% depends on God’s will.”
"Ah? Only 30% beneficial?" Li Bing was quite surprised: "I think the world situation is already clear, why are you so cautious?"
Dong Tianxing replied seriously: "Your Majesty, it's not that I am too pessimistic, but the fact is still very cruel. We captured Wuguan and blocked Zijin Pass, which basically blocked the main Turkic forces in the Guanzhong Plain, and all armies fought together The enemy has a combined strength of more than one million troops, which is indeed an advantage. But at the same time, the disadvantages are also very obvious."
Li Bing's face gradually turned cold: "I know, you want to say that there are rebel king Li Kuang and the Xuanjia Army in the east, as well as those poisonous soldier monsters, right?"
"This is just one aspect, or only 10% of the 30%." Dong Tianxing said calmly: "Those threats in the east will certainly affect the progress of the entire decisive battle, but after all, they are still far away, so we can always think of them. There is no way to block it. The real disadvantage is mainly in the Turks."
Li Bing said in a deep voice: "Then tell me, what are the things I didn't consider?"
No matter how stupid you are, you can see that the emperor is a little unhappy at this moment, but Dong Tianxing doesn't care at all and continues: "Excluding the Western Xinjiang subordinate army, the current main force of the Turks is still around 350,000. Scale. They are good at raids and can fight tough battles. When facing the Shengtang army, which is mainly infantry, they have the two advantages of high mobility and strong impact. Therefore, no matter east or west, the road to the imperial capital is not easy Let’s go. This is one.”
"Secondly, there are four groups of soldiers and horses fighting against the Turks. The first is the army directly under His Majesty, including the Hebei Daofu soldiers, the Liaodong Governor's Mansion and the Yinshan Governor's Mansion. Then there is the Jingxiang Army commanded by Ma Hongjie, or the Southern Army. Then, there is Li Jiangyao's Zhenjiang Army, which can be called the Western Army. Finally, there is a small number of Xishu troops controlled by the Yizhou court. If you look at these armies together, they are indeed very large and powerful. But in fact, the combat capabilities of various ministries are uneven, and there is a lack of unified coordination and command, which is very fatal on the battlefield."
Hearing Lao Dong mention the word "fatal", Li Bing couldn't help but look thoughtful.
He is not stupid, but because he has never led troops or fought in a war, although he saw some military issues, he failed to immediately pay attention to them and think deeply about them.
Including Li Jiangyao's previous strategic concept, although Li Bing also carefully read it three times, he already had deep prejudices and fears in his heart, which prevented him from seriously considering its pros and cons.
Now Dong Tianxing is not afraid of annoying him and bluntly talks about the "fatal" danger, which immediately wakes up Li Bing.
"Dong Aiqing, I had previously imagined that the Southern Army and the Western Army would launch separate attacks, including ordering troops from Western Shu to attack Hanzhong. This was because the Turks were powerful and could move simultaneously on multiple fronts to advance toward the imperial capital, which would defeat the enemy. The army is focused on one thing and not the other, and its strength is scattered. Is there anything wrong with this?"
Dong Tianxing nodded: "Of course your Majesty's idea is correct, but he overlooked a key issue."
"What's the key question?"
"Will the Turks definitely do what we want?" Dong Tianxing said lightly.
Li Bing was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized: "You mean... they may not care about one thing at the expense of another, and their strength is scattered?"
Dong Tianxing said solemnly: "If Ashina Zhijin is not afraid of losing the imperial capital, then he can concentrate his superior forces and first choose one of the Southern Army or the Western Army to intercept, ambush or raid on his way to the imperial capital. And Neither Ma Hongjie nor Li Jiangyao, with their current strength, can face the main Turkic force alone on the plain battlefield, and the final result can only be disaster. When one of them is completely defeated by Ashina Zhijin, The other one is not far from death."
Li Bing frowned when he heard this, and murmured: "Will the other party really do what you said?"
"Even if there is only one chance in ten thousand, we must pay attention to it." Dong Tianxing said: "This is exactly what is necessary for unified command of the entire army's actions. Intelligence exchange, logistics support, cooperation and cover, troop deployment, etc., are by no means It is so simple for the two armies to advance against each other. If you are not careful, the two armies advancing together will turn into a disaster and completely ruin the current favorable situation."
Li Bing's original confident and high-spirited mood was completely poured out by Lao Dong on the spot with a basin of cold water. He was silent and waited for a long time before he said quietly: "Let me think about this... let me think about it carefully."
Dong Tianxing knew that his words had already had an effect, so he said no more and said, "Your Majesty, I have one more thing to report."
Li Bing looked at him slightly resentfully: "What's the matter?"
"It's about poison soldiers." Dong Tianxing said: "Yesterday Wu Rong and Amonta came to tell me that the antidote they developed has been basically completed. Several consecutive tests have achieved good results. Next, they can be implemented on a large scale. .”
Li Bing nodded: "That's great. This is another good news. What are you going to do next?"
Dong Tianxing cupped his hands: "We want to set up a special suppression camp with a strength of three thousand people, and use antidotes to gradually clear out the poison soldiers in the Central Plains. The suppression camp will only target those poison soldiers that have reached a large scale, and those who are isolated will be Leave it to the garrison in various places. Please grant your permission."
Li Bing did not agree immediately, but said: "Murong Xue has gone to the front line. You can go to Gong Chengze to discuss the troop deployment. Let's discuss a specific strategy together and I will approve it."
"Master Gong?" Dong Tianxing was stunned: "Is he in charge of the military now?"
Li Bing nodded: "Well, I have just promoted him to the rank of General Yulin Qianniu and also the captain of the guard. When Murong Xue is away, he will be the temporary agent in charge of military affairs. Dong Aiqing, when you become the Minister of War, you have to follow Gong Chengze Cooperate well.”
Dong Tianxing complied with the order, and at the same time thought to himself: Let Gong Chengze, a scumbag, handle military affairs? Isn't this too hasty?
After leaving Ziwei Palace, Old Dong went straight to the Luoyi Governor's Mansion. This was originally the command post of the Xuanjia Legion, but now it has been transformed into the central government office of the Prince's troops.
Gong Chengze was tall, ugly in appearance, and his face was full of alcohol and lust. As soon as he heard that Dong Tianxing was coming, he quickly came out of the room with a smile.
It is not difficult to see that this guy feels quite proud of himself at this time.
"Oh, Sir, some of you are welcome from afar, some are welcome from afar." Gong Chengze looked very enthusiastic: "I will give you my congratulations first."
"Easy to say, easy to say," Dong Tianxing knew he was referring to the matter of promotion, and said calmly: "General Gong, the official appointment has not been made yet, I am just admonishing the officials. Besides, even if he is promoted to Minister of War, he is still a fourth-rank official, and Yulin Qianniu The general is from the third rank, you call yourself the last general, you are too old to bear it."
Seeing Old Dong's attitude of rejecting people thousands of miles away, Gong Chengze was secretly unhappy, but he still smiled on his face: "Hey, we don't care about those who are from the third to the fourth grade. Mr. Dong is an old man from the Ministry of War, and Gong has always been I admire him, and it’s not an exaggeration to call myself the ultimate general.”
As he spoke, he made an invitation gesture: "Sit inside and chat slowly."
