Chapter 127 The Eve of the Decisive Battle
"Your Highness, you absolutely cannot do that!"
"Your Highness, please think twice!"
"The army has just been defeated and the morale is unstable. How can we counterattack now?"
When the soldiers heard this, they knelt down immediately and begged bitterly.
Even the people around Crown Prince Xie Fang were terrified.
Yesterday, he insisted on going to recover the lost territory, which resulted in a direct loss of 100,000 soldiers in Longyan's army! He just escaped, and he wants to go again? Is this prince crazy about making achievements?
Prince Xie Fang shouted, "What do you mean by this?"
"The Xiongnu army has poor discipline and many internal conflicts. If they are defeated, they will be nothing more than chickens and dogs. What is there to be afraid of?"
Xie Fang's eyes flashed with murderous intent: "This is the best opportunity to counterattack , we must not miss it!"
Zheng Yuxing said with a gloomy face: "Your Highness, although that is true, our army has not yet been reorganized. This matter cannot be rushed!"
"you……"
Xie Fang was so angry that he had completely forgotten who had fought bloody battles to protect him. He looked at Zheng Yuxing with murderous intent: "General Zheng, do you want to disobey the prince's order?"
Zheng Yuxing was complaining in his heart.
Didn't I say this yesterday? Is it still fresh to say it again now?
The third prince, Xie Ling, also said, "Brother, this matter really needs to be carefully considered! War is not a joke!"
Xie Fang was furious again: "Do you think I'm kidding?"
Seeing so many people disagree, even the soldiers looked at the prince with strange eyes. In order to avoid the assassination incident yesterday, Chen Ping also said: "Everyone, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince means that we should discuss how to fight the Huns today. Please follow me!"
Prince Xie Fang snorted coldly.
In a large camp, all the above generals participated.
The Crown Prince Xie Fang, the Third Prince Xie Ling, Prince Lu, Yang Ke, Zheng Yuxing, Chen Ping, as well as Liu Zheng, Jiang Xuan, etc.
At this time, Xie Fang walked to the huge sand table and said in high spirits: "Everyone, time is running out! Last night, scouts heard that the Xiongnu returned empty-handed yesterday, and the Eastern and Western Xiongnu had already disagreed and even fought each other. The so-called grassland military advisor has also been exhausted. If we don't counterattack now, when will we counterattack!"
Everyone looked at each other.
Liu Zheng also smiled.
This prince doesn't look like a fool, he knows how to judge. That's right, the Huns, who are scattered and guerrillas, can't stand defeat. Once they are defeated, they will push each other and make trouble for each other. In this situation, even if the grassland military advisor Cheng Mu is smart, after all, it is still a bit annoying for an outsider to be able to control the situation.
These few days are the best time to counterattack.
But Liu Zheng believes that it can be done within three days, neither too early nor too late.
This internal conflict among the Huns will take a day or two to ferment.
It's too late. By the time their military morale has settled down, there will naturally be no chance.
Zheng Yuxing stood up and said, "Your Highness, but our army has not yet been reorganized..."
Xie Fang said impatiently: "Don't we have the Yinzhou Army? The Yinzhou Army is very powerful and has strict military discipline. Why do we need to reorganize it? Once the Yinzhou Army appears, we only need to one or two battles, and our army's morale will naturally rise!"
Everyone smiled bitterly when they heard this.
Liu Zheng was also at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
Although this statement sounds reasonable, the reality is unavoidable. How about the treatment of the wounded? How about the replenishment of food and supplies? How about the support of military equipment? How about the rest required for physical exhaustion? These are all things that require real work, and they cannot be replenished just by being energetic.
How could this prince know that war is not fought with spirit and energy?
In fact, war itself is a cold political game.
Morale is just one of the factors to consider, not the real determining factor.
This kind of armchair argument should not come out of this camp.
Liu Zheng looked at Chen Ping beside the prince, with a cunning face, and of course he knew in his heart that this strategy was proposed by this bastard Chen Ping! Let the Yinzhou Army be the vanguard, then wouldn't it be easy for the Yinzhou Army to become cannon fodder like the Baiya Army?
But knowing that he had no way to avoid it, Liu Zhen also stood up and walked out, clasping his fists and saying, "Your Highness, please lead by example. Liu Zheng is willing to go!"
Prince Xie Fang was overjoyed: "Liu Zhoutong is a hero!"
Liu Zheng took a deep breath: "But, Zheng thinks that today is not the best time!"
“Bold!”
"Are you questioning His Royal Highness?"
"Liu Zheng, I advise you not to be arrogant because of your talent!"
Several people led by Chen Ping arrived and were furious.
Liu Zheng knew that Chen Ping wanted to take this opportunity to get rid of him, or at worst to consume the Yinzhou Army. Facing this situation, Liu Zheng planned to go all out. He looked up and smiled, "Your Highness, may I ask you a question?"
Xie Fang said proudly: "Ask!"
"Does the prince want to win or lose?"
Liu Zheng looked at him boldly.
Xie Fang's expression suddenly changed: "You bastard insulted me!"
Others also cursed.
They all criticized Liu Zheng for what he meant. Who doesn't want to win a battle? Did he want to lose? Didn't Liu Zheng mean that the prince lost yesterday on purpose? This was indeed a bit disrespectful and hurtful.
Liu Zheng laughed loudly: "If the prince really wants to win, then he can listen to what I say!"
"After three days, I promise not only to counterattack the Xiongnu, but also to help the prince recapture the five lost fortresses!"
The whole audience was in an uproar.
Everyone had a look of disbelief on their faces.
"Master Liu..."
"Liuzhou Tong?"
"this……"
Shocked! No one is not shocked. Is it really okay to say such big words at this time? Although it is a bit excessive that the prince intends to use the Yinzhou army as cannon fodder, you can't just fall into the prince's trap, right?
The third prince, Xie Ling, couldn't help but sneer.
Crown Prince Xie Fang and Chen Ping looked at each other with triumphant laughter.
One day or three days, is there a big difference?
Anyway, he just wanted this to steal his limelight and severely slap his own Yinzhou Army in the face and make them cannon fodder. That's enough!
“Hahahaha good!”
Crown Prince Xie Fang deliberately looked satisfied and looked around: "Did you see that? Liu Zhoutong is the real soldier of our Longyan Dynasty!"
"How does that saying go? Who dares to call himself a hero when he is young if he has never met Liu Zhoutong?"
"That's right!"
"If Liuzhou Tong has any difficulties, please tell me!"
Originally, this was just a polite remark, but Liu Zheng quickly seized the opportunity and continued, "Your Highness, I have no other requests. I just hope that you can agree. No matter how I win, you will not punish me!"
The prince was surprised and said, "If we can drive the Xiongnu away, it will be a great achievement for Liuzhou. What crime has he committed? It's approved!"
Liu Zheng laughed and said, "Zheng would never dare to take credit for it. If we can defeat the Xiongnu, it must be a reward from Heaven for the Crown Prince!"
Upon hearing this, Xie Fang became even happier. He waved his hand and announced that the military meeting had concluded successfully. Then he left with a group of people in a swagger.
The third prince also looked at Liu Zheng with amusement, snorted and left.
People left one after another, shaking their heads.
Some told Liu Zheng to be careful, some sighed and dared not speak. Some looked sympathetic, they felt that the three-day deadline was just a delaying tactic by Liu Zheng. After three days, his Yinzhou army would still serve as cannon fodder!
When a rabbit dies, the fox mourns.
At this time, no one came to mock Liu Zheng.
In the end, only Liu Zheng, Jiang Xuan, Qin Changfeng and Zheng Yuxing were left in the entire tent.
Zheng Yuxing also smiled bitterly and said, "Mr. Liu, in three days, I will do my best to protect your Yinzhou Army!"
Liu Zheng smiled bitterly and said nothing, making an excuse to stay here and continue observing the sand table.
Zheng Yuxing sighed and left.
…
"Failed again?"
"Or a miserable defeat?"
at this time.
Military reports from the front were also sent back to Beijing.
The old emperor was furious: "A hundred thousand lost in one battle, what a prince!"
All the civil and military officials took a deep breath, and no one dared to speak nonsense.
The old emperor's dissatisfaction with the prince has been made clear. At this time, who dares to say a word more?
Only the prince's loyal supporter, the Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Xiongnu army has been preparing for this battle for a long time and is strong in both men and horses. Logically, it is not the prince's fault. The prince has many generals around him, and General Zheng is stationed at Longhu Pass. He was still defeated miserably. It seems that the Xiongnu army is too brave!"
Many people seconded the motion.
The old emperor smiled coldly: "What do you mean, Grand Secretary? Are the Longyan soldiers really so vulnerable?"
The Grand Secretary knelt down in fear.
The old emperor felt exhausted and sighed deeply: "It's like this again, like this again, every year, I'm tired! King Qin!"
"exist!"
"Get ready to go to Longhu Pass and negotiate with the Xiongnu! You can decide the exact amount of compensation. No need to report to me. I am tired..."
Civil and military officials cried out in grief and wept together.
The old emperor slowly left with the help of Butler Zhou.
This huge Longyan Dynasty has lasted for a thousand years, but for many years in a row, it has relied on compensation and cession of territory to seek stability in its territory.
How long will this situation last?
The mighty Longyan Dynasty has no army to fight against!
The Longyan Dynasty was on the verge of collapse, just like the old emperor who needed several people to support him even when walking.
…
For two days in a row.
The Xiongnu army clamored outside the pass several times, which made Long Yan's army panic.
But as Zheng Yuxing and Liu Zheng expected, the Huns did not launch large-scale military operations in the past two days.
The scout reported.
The Huns' general offensive hit a snag, and Rogel and Gerdan of the Eastern and Western Huns came to blows at a banquet, which even triggered a large-scale armed conflict between the Eastern and Western Huns, who had always had deep hatred for each other.
Fortunately, the grassland military strategist Cheng Mu was there, and the situation was gradually stabilized.
But Rogel and Guldan also signed a life-and-death battle.
Rogel believed that the reason why they returned empty-handed last time was that Ge Erdan's Xiongnu soldiers did not put in enough effort. The next time they launched an attack, the Eastern Xiongnu would be responsible for the charge. If he could not take Qingfeng Gorge and Longhu Pass, he would commit suicide on the spot! If he could take them, Ge Erdan would be his mount and he would ride all the way back to the grassland.
Gerdan couldn't stand such provocation and agreed on the spot.
Therefore, the Huns' military morale has gradually stabilized in the past few days.
But in fact, the contradiction between the East and West Xiongnu was only temporarily hidden, or even accumulated. As time went by, the hidden dangers of the Xiongnu army would still exist. Once it broke out, it would be impossible to control it. As the saying goes, if they kept going forward, the Xiongnu would be invincible.
But if they were obstructed, the Huns would immediately turn into a pile of clay chickens and dogs!
Therefore, Cheng Mu was sitting on the Wangwang Tower at this time, feeling worried and sighing deeply: "Tomorrow, it will be the final attack..."
"All the variables will depend on the Yinzhou Army!"
The people around him said, "Military Advisor, why should we be afraid of the Yinzhou Army?"
Cheng Mu sneered: "Can't you see it?"
"In the entire Longhu Pass, only the Yinzhou Army's camp is well-organized and disciplined. If the Xiongnu Army had such military discipline, even though the world is vast, it would be in the hands of the grassland warriors!"
Everyone was speechless.
Cheng Mu sighed deeply.
The grassland soldiers were brave and good at fighting, but they were defeated in internal strife.
This is mainly because the grassland still lacks a dominant leader who can look down on the world.
In this regard, although the Han people of the Longyan Dynasty are physically weak, they often produce extraordinary talents...
If there is a hero on the grassland, the world can be conquered.
But Cheng Mu was afraid that he would not be able to wait any longer ...
