Xiacang County City, the governor's residence.
A large group of people sat together. These people were all important figures in Jiaozhou, including senior officials in Jiaozhou and military generals.
Huo Cheng, Huang Wenyan, Wu Yong, Su Yong, and Song Biao were among them. Among them was Su Qi'an who had returned from Yuezhou.
Everyone was very excited to see Su Qi'an. They were now also the mainstay of Jiaozhou, but Su Qi'an was always their backbone.
Now that they see Su Qi'an returning, everyone's tense hearts can feel a little more relaxed and they feel more confident.
Looking at the old acquaintance in front of him, Su Qian smiled and said, "Haha, I really didn't make a mistake. It's good to leave Jiaozhou to you."
"Look, you've all lost a lot of weight in about a month."
Su Qian's joking relieved the tense and serious atmosphere.
"Sir, please stop teasing us. Your absence during this period has exhausted us. Those Heilu barbarians didn't know where they found out that you had left Jiaozhou, and they actually gathered 50,000 troops to attack Xiacang County. , Fortunately, we reacted quickly and were able to stabilize the formation."
"Now that sir is back, I can finally give these guys a good beating."
"Yes, sir, now it's our turn to fight back."
I don't know who raised the topic, and most of the people in the mansion started shouting.
This is not because they are arrogant. They have been in a stalemate with the barbarian Heilu for half a month. Even though they have brought an army of 50,000, they have the momentum to conquer Xiacang County.
But they were not in vain. They had 20,000 troops from the First and Second Divisions of the Jiaozhou Army, and they were also greatly assisted by the three elders of the Priest Alliance.
This time, the Priest Alliance was supported by two elders and 30,000 elites were directly drawn from the Priest Alliance.
Now the strength of the two sides is basically the same. In the battle half a month ago, they were caught off guard and suffered a small loss.
But here, a total of 50,000 soldiers and horses have gathered in the six counties of Xiacang County, and the logistics from the rear are continuously transporting grain and grass.
In the last battle of Jiaozhou, they did not consume too much food and grass, plus they collected tens of thousands of stones of food and grass from Li Kang's warehouse.
This time with these barbarian Heilu, it would take him a month, but it was more than enough.
It can be said that everything is ready and troops can be sent out at any time. This time their backbone, Su Qian, is also back. This is their east wind.
In the face of these barbarian Helu, there will definitely be no one-to-one battle losses, no matter what, the shame of the sneak attack will be washed away.
Seeing everyone's anger, Su Qi'an waved his hands, and his high-pitched voice suddenly became quieter.
He didn't answer what everyone said, and his eyes swept around and landed on an inconspicuous old man standing aside.
He smiled and said, "Two elders, we haven't seen each other for only a month, why are we so different? This is not in line with the status of two dignified elders."
Su Qi'an's joke made the two elders smile and step forward, looking at Su Qi'an with a little admiration.
Although he is much older than Su Qi'an in terms of age, Su Qi'an is much better than them in managing the boundaries of Jiaozhou.
The reason why he changed his previous attitude towards Su Qi'an was not only because of his fight with Su Qi'an.
Mainly because Su Qi'an's promises to them were fulfilled one by one.
After overthrowing Li Kang, Su Qian'an promised that there would be no changes in their territory and that they would continue to maintain their previous high degree of autonomy.
Moreover, in terms of the combat effectiveness of the indigenous people, Su Qi'an even sent some elite members of the Dongshan Army to serve as instructors to guide them in their military training.
They even provided a large amount of weapons and equipment for free. Within a month, under the training of the Dongshan Army, the strength of their natives increased rapidly.
Like before, I couldn't read a single word and didn't know any military tactics. Later, I was able to execute simple tactical coordination.
Don't think these are nothing, but for the natives, their strength has greatly increased, and those natives who have become Jiaozhou soldiers.
Su Qi'an even allowed them to return to the indigenous army and gave what he had learned to these indigenous people without reservation.
It can be said,
With the addition of these truly elites, their combat effectiveness continues to rise.
Half a month ago, the fight against the barbarian Heilu verified everything.
Before, when they encountered the Barbarian Heilu, it was basically a one-sided massacre, but now, at least they could use tactics to catch the Barbarian Heilu by surprise.
This gave the two elders a big surprise. The shadow brought to them by the barbarian Heilu was really too great.
It's better now. Although they are still no match for the barbarians in one-on-one terms, they can at least see hope of victory, instead of being hopeless like before.
This is an important reason why the two elders immediately led troops to support when they heard about the war in Xiacang County.
Su Qi'an's generous donation, the two elders naturally knew how to reciprocate the favor, which can be regarded as each getting what they need.
As for such unreserved giving, will the indigenous people's fighting power become stronger, will they pose a threat to Su Qi'an in the future, and will the priests' alliance have any inner changes because of their stronger strength.
I believe that with the wisdom of the three elders, they should know how to choose.
Of course, this does not mean that Su Qian is not wary of them at all.
This kind of unreserved learning even included the Soldier Committee and the three major disciplines.
Moreover, those natives who joined the Jiaozhou soldiers served as squad, platoon, and company-level officers in each division.
Even though they are grassroots officers, it is precisely these grassroots officers that can reflect the combat effectiveness of an army.
Those who can take on the role are, without exception, the most determined executors of the three iron laws set by Su Qi'an.
Such people, enriched into the indigenous army, are like the backbone, which increases not only their combat effectiveness.
It also subtly changed the minds of the natives. Normally, nothing happened, but if the three elders wanted to use them to counterattack Su Qi'an.
These people are afraid that if they are the first to refuse, they will only suffer the consequences in the end.
This is Su Qi'an's defense. Focusing on attacking the heart is the best strategy.
Seeing the two elders approaching, Su Qian said, "Thank you to the Priest Alliance for your help. I will keep this feeling in my heart."
"What did Mr. Su say? We are on the same page in Jiaozhou. How can we be different from each other? There is an invasion from a foreign enemy, not to mention the enemy of the Priest Alliance. This dispatch of troops is a matter of course, so how can we talk about it? Thanks."
"Now that Mr. Su is back, sir, please give the order. As long as you give the order, these barbarian Black Lu will be driven out of Jiaozhou."
Su Qian nodded, looked at everyone and said, "Well, I understand how you feel, but this time, we have to change our approach. Instead of driving them out, we let them in."
"Put it in?"
Su Qian's words made everyone stunned.
It's not that I don't understand. Su Qi'an's release tactic, to put it bluntly, is to lure the enemy deeper and finally catch the turtle in the urn.
They understand this tactic, but this method of luring the enemy deep and catching turtles in the urn will only reduce the number of troops. Or they can use the excellent terrain such as valleys and chasms to divide and encircle them, which can also be effective.
But this time we are facing 50,000 barbarian Heilu, and the only one in Xiacang County who meets the conditions is Xiacang County City.
But it is impossible to lure 50,000 enemies in one breath, not to mention whether Xiacang County is such a big place.
With such a large force, the barbarian Heilu is not a fool. How can he be so obedient? According to your ideas, he stupidly enters the city and waits for you to close the door and beat the dog.
This style of play is extremely difficult, almost impossible.
Seeing everyone's puzzled expressions, Su Qian said with a smile, "The purpose of letting people in this time is not to close the door and beat the dogs. Huo Cheng, Wen Yan, and Wu Yong, remember what I told you before leaving, in Xiacang, It is a matter of building plank roads on the main dangerous roads in the important border town of Chencang and Cangjun."
The three of them nodded.
How could they forget this matter? When this matter was first implemented, there was a lot of fuss.
In addition to internal incomprehension, they were also ridiculed by barbarians from the outside world. For this reason, many of the soldiers below had many experiences.
dissatisfaction.
If it weren't for the pressure of the three division commanders, it would have been easier for the three of them.
Building a plank road is not a bad thing, but Su Qi'an asked them to build a plank road in the two border counties. It was not only a matter of the amount of work, but also a futile effort.
Xiacang and Chencang are both important border towns, responsible for resisting the invasion of the barbarian Heilu or Xizhou all year round.
Within a decade or two on the border, there have been basically no large-scale wars, but small frictions and local invasions, such as plundering the counties under their jurisdiction and running away in a hurry, can be seen almost every month.
Therefore, the only option was to increase the number of checkpoints and increase the density of soldier patrols, but Su Qi'an chose to build a plank road.
If these plank roads were located in the interior and rear of the two counties, there might not be so much criticism.
But most of them are on the front line, and every time they are repaired, it will indeed make it easier for soldiers to attack.
But it can't stop the destruction caused by the next barbarian attack. It can be said that the plank road will be repaired and destroyed, and destroyed and repaired. It is convenient for a while, but it will cause trouble for a long time.
Therefore, in order not to waste manpower, material resources, and financial resources, it was canceled in Li Kang's era.
But on the eve of going to Nanzhou, Su Qi'an picked up the matter of building a plank road again. Wouldn't this make their opponent, the barbarian Heilu, laugh at him?
But Su Qi'an gave the order and had no choice but to execute it.
Therefore, when Su Qian mentioned this matter, how could they forget it? It can be said that they were deeply impressed.
It is not unreasonable for the three of them to be trusted and appointed by Su Qi'an.
Seeing Su Qian's smiling face, the three of them looked at each other. In an instant, an idea flashed through their minds.
Suddenly, deep shock flashed through the eyes of the three people who smiled bitterly, and they spoke with hesitation.
"Could it be that...could it be that Sir wants to take advantage of the plank road construction to make a big deal?"
Su Qian nodded with a smile and said, "Yes, this time, I will build the plank road openly and visit Chen Cang secretly."
Hearing Su Qi'an say this, the shock in the eyes of the three people could not be greater.
They were shocked not only by Su Qi'an's decision-making methods, but also by the fact that a month ago, they could predict that there would be a war in Jiaozhou later.
And their seemingly ridiculous move of building a plank road was actually laying the groundwork for the subsequent counterattack.
This kind of inadvertent action was revealed one after another in the end. It can be said that every decision made by Su Qi'an was not wasted, but the time was not yet up.
Who else in Great Liang could achieve such a strategy and such a foresight?
At this moment, their admiration for Su Qi'an reached its peak.
