Putting the official document in his hand on the eucalyptus, Wang Xiaolie was stunned for a while. Cursed: "Crazy!"
Wang Ruohai was startled and hurriedly picked up the official document and read it. The official document was sent by the Privy Council, appointing Cao Zhiyan as the governor of Ruzhou and Yingchang Prefecture, and also knowing Ruzhou; appointing Xie Linong as the governor of Caizhou, Huaining Prefecture, and Shunchang Prefecture, and also knowing Caizhou. Tomorrow spring, the two of them will choose the opportunity to go to the palace.
After reading the official document, Wang Ruohai handed it to Li Yanxian who was standing aside. He said to Wang Xiaolie: "Commander Jie, the court still doesn't trust us—"
Wang Xiaolie said: "I am the Zhizhi envoy of the South Jing Road, so the territory of the North Jing Road is difficult to manage. It just so happens that it makes sense to let Cao Zhiyan and Xie Linong be the governor of the town to form a force of its own. - Xing Are all these officials here pig-minded? Will Cao Zhiyan and Xie Linong listen to their orders if they take the wrong medicine? Sometimes, I really don’t know what they think!"
Li Yanxian said: "What if——Cao Zhiyan agrees to reconcile with Li Nong?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "If they agree, let the court pay to build a yamen for them to serve as officials, and I will send people to lead the troops again! Forget it, the court is just trying to do this kind of thing. It would be better if there are jujubes, but there are no more Nothing is lost. This kind of thing does not require too much discussion. I believe that Cao Zhiyan and Xie Linong know the right balance. The most important thing is the last one."
Wang Ruohai hurriedly took the official document and saw the item he had ignored just now. It is said that Yinque Town was promoted to Yinchuan County, and the county magistrate was appointed by Zhai Xing, the magistrate of Henan Prefecture. Wang Xiaolie's army immediately withdrew from Yinchuan and handed it over to Zhai Xing to protect their respective territories.
After being stunned for a while, Wang Ruohai pondered: "What does the court mean?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "The imperial court knows that asking Cao Zhiyan and He Linong to be the governor of the town will probably not work. It is just a talk. But if we withdraw from Yinque Town, it is no longer a joke. We will defend Yinque and Zhai Xing. An Xin is training his troops, and it can be said that the army has become strong in the past two years. However, because Yinque Town is across from Luoyang, there are fewer battles with the Jin army. If Yinque Town is handed over to him, the court is afraid that he will let him attack Meng Bangxiong."
Yinque is an important place to enter Luoyang from the south. After Wang Xiaolie took possession of this place, he strengthened the defense and never caused any trouble. It was peaceful for two years. Now all forces are ready to move and are restless.
With Wang Xiaolie around, Meng Bangxiong wouldn't dare to provoke him no matter how brave he was. If it were Zhai Xing, that might not be the case.
After thinking for a while, Wang Xiaolie said: "We can't disobey this matter, so we can only inform Zhai Xing and ask him to send people to take over the defense. Meng Bangxiong has lived a comfortable life in the past two years, and the last battle with Zhai Xing has not happened. good."
Li Yanxian and Wang Ruohai nodded. He said: "If this happens, the north will probably enter into troubled times."
Wang Xiaolie nodded: "Yes, the previous peaceful days are over. Our army has not yet completed its training, so it is a bit regretful that we cannot make the northern expedition. Alas, since entering Xiangyang, I have trained this army several times. I don't know whether it is right or wrong. . Sometimes I wonder if I have too many worries. In fact, I don’t need to worry about it like this.”
Li Yanxian said: "Leading troops to practice for half a year, I feel that such a long time is not good. It is best to plan carefully and limit it to three months. If it exceeds three months, the soldiers will be a little tired. It's hard to get anything out of practice. Although many achievements were achieved in half a year, most of them were completed in the first three months. In the next three months, the biggest achievement was to make the soldiers literate."
Wang Xiaolie nodded: "It makes sense. I'll think about it again. Drills must be really effective, and you can't just drill for the sake of drills."
"The Beauty of the Sun and the Moon"
After saying that, he turned around and looked at the map of Luoyang nearby spread on the eucalyptus.
After looking at it for a long time, he raised his head and said: "Without occupying Luoyang, the rebels on Hedong Road will always have hidden worries. The road from Dengfeng to Gong County to Mengzhou Jiyuan County is basically smooth. But from Jiyuan to Hedong, the road is really difficult. To go If we want to gain a foothold in Shenshan County, nine percent of our energy must be spent on the road, which is too wasteful. Meng Bangxiong's stay in Luoyang really delays a lot of things."
Wang Ruohai said: "Jie Shuai means that he wants to go north to Luoyang."
Wang Xiaolie sighed: "Luoyang is not an ordinary place. A single move can affect the whole body. If you occupy it, you will have to face the counterattack of the Puppet Qi and the Jin army moving south. It can be said that if you capture Luoyang, there will be no peace. ”
Li Yanxian nodded: "When I was in Shaanzhou, the Jin army attacked every year. For the same reason, if Luoyang is occupied, the war will not stop every year."
Wang Xiaolie said: "Yes. Once we occupy Luoyang, we will cut off the connection between Liu Yu and Shaanxi. How can he give up? Now is not a good time. We will have to wait until the Jin army is frustrated in Sichuan and Shu and shows its decline. Have the opportunity."
After saying that, he stared at the map on the eucalyptus again.
After a while, he said: "We can't raise many soldiers by Shenshan County alone. If we can't take Jiangzhou in the south, we must at least control Yicheng, Quwo, Jiangxian, and Yuanqu counties in order to raise an army." A force capable of fighting. With the combined strength of these counties and rear support, I estimate that we can support a team of two to three thousand people in Shenshan County. Just to defend the place, the force should be enough."
Wang Ruohai said: "Although Jiang Min is naturally smart, he is still too young after all. Can he accomplish such a big thing?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "I brought him back from Caizhou. Jiang Min has been with me for several years. Although he learns things quickly, he is naturally not talkative. Who knows if he will work? At least now it seems that he is enough in Shenshan County. We are diligent and methodical in doing things, and it is worth our while. Although I said that I would fully support Jiang Min, the journey is too far, and food and grass are difficult to come by. Whether things can be accomplished or not depends on whether Jiang Min can do it."
Li Yanxian said: "Now there are Li Songchen on the west of Hedong Road and Liang Xing on the east. If it doesn't work, we can rely on the two of them."
Wang Xiaolie said: "Judging from the news Jiang Min sent back, it is not easy to develop power on Hedong Road. The land there is barren and the people are poor, so it is difficult to develop a large army. In my opinion, Li Songchen and Liang Xing, I'm afraid that the strength is also limited. It's just that Wanyan Yinshu doesn't have enough troops, and he has to defend Taiyuan, so he is unable to encircle and suppress him for a while. Without support from the rear, it is difficult to achieve great results."
The land on Hedong Road is barren. Unless the Taiyuan Valley and Fen Valley are occupied, the land and population in the rest of the area are not enough to support the army. Just like the Shenshan County chosen by Jiang Min, only the riverside and valleys at the foot of the mountains can grow food. The county's population of 10,000 to 20,000 is already the limit. Even if all the land is used to raise soldiers, it will not be able to support many people. In the Central Plains region, the same area can support ten times the population.
Having said this, Wang Xiaolie sighed: "This is the case on Hedong Road. There are many mountains, and it is easy for the rebels to survive. But without the support of the Central Plains, it is difficult for these rebels to achieve great results. It is precisely because of this that Luoyang is so important. With Luoyang As a base, they can support the development of the rebel army in the south of Hedong Road and even seize the Fen River Valley. Without support from the rear, how can we defeat the Jin army based in Taiyuan area?"
After finishing speaking, he looked at Luoyang on the map. After several years of development in Xiangyang, Wang Xiaolie really wanted to go to the Northern Expedition. The goal of the Northern Expedition was Luoyang. After occupying Luoyang, we can move to Shaanzhou in the west and then compete for Guanzhong. The north can support Hedong and then compete for the Fen River Valley. Dong can capture Zhengzhou and thereby control the Central Plains region. It can be said that if you occupy Luoyang, you can compete in the Central Plains.
But Wang Xiaolie understood that although he wanted to, now was not the time for the Northern Expedition. We still need to wait for opportunities and wait for the situation to change.
