Chapter 520 Miaoyu's Invitation
"My Lord, Miss Miaoyu sent a message saying that she wants to invite you to have tea!"
After entering Chengdu Prefecture, the living conditions of both the commanders and their soldiers improved a lot. Jia Cong stationed some of the soldiers outside the city, and the others moved directly into the military camp inside the city!
Although Jia Cong and a group of generals also lived in the main camp, the layout of the central military tent was not inferior to that of a house.
Nowadays, Jia Cong’s central military tent is actually a house built in the military camp, but it is different from that of ordinary soldiers. It is an independent area and a two-entry courtyard.
Jia Cong did not say much about this privilege. When the army was deployed outside, it was the duty of the generals to live in the main camp, but now that they were living in the city, there was no need to be too deliberate.
Moreover, to put it bluntly, this military camp is just a large area of buildings, but it is much more compact and has horse trails, horse farms, training grounds, etc.
This is when the troops are deployed outside. If it is to guard the border or where the army is stationed for a long time, then the military camp is almost the same as where the people live, except that it is not the people who live there, but the soldiers and their families.
"Miaoyu?" Jia Cong glanced at Lu Feng, thought for a moment, and then said, "I'm going to call all the generals together for a meeting later. It will probably be in an hour!"
Lu Feng took the order and left. Not long after, Shi Nai and other generals and officers came.
In the huge hall, all the generals gathered, saluted Jia Cong, and then sat down in rows!
Jia Cong had a survey map of Sichuan and Shu hung up, and then he said to everyone, "We have been fighting for several months, and the current situation has gradually become clear."
"Right now, the Southern Xinjiang troops have been forced back to the Yazhou and Jiading Prefecture lines!"
"Our achievements are clear, but the casualties are also extremely heavy! Over 20,000 soldiers and horses from various units have been killed or wounded!"
"This number should shame me and all of you! The war will continue, and it may even be more brutal than before. However, before issuing each order, you should also consider whether this order will lead to the death of your brothers in vain!"
"I led 120,000 soldiers out of the capital. When I return, how many orphans and widows will you make me face?"
Originally, the generals came here today with joy. After all, in the past few months, the Daqian side had rarely suffered defeat in the successive battles. However, they did not expect that Jia Cong would give them the first blow.
"I don't wish to trade my brothers' lives for my own merits and titles. Do you understand?"
"I understand!"
Jia Cong nodded slightly, and then said in a slightly softer tone, "It will be freezing cold, and the situation ahead is unclear, so the pace of the war will slow down temporarily. However, this does not mean that we can rest."
“There are three things we need to do!”
"First, immediately send spies to investigate the situation in Yazhou, Jiading, and even the areas south of the Dadu River!"
"Hou Jing, Ma Chuang, Xie Yun, I'm entrusting this matter to you. Do you dare to accept the order?"
The three of them immediately stood up and said, "We have received your orders!"
"I permit you to select men from the various armies, but the maximum number must not exceed five thousand! Whether it's the geological survey maps of various places or the deployment of troops in various places, I want them all. Do you understand?"
"I understand!"
When it comes to deploying troops or even fighting on the battlefield, they may not be as good as others, but they are much better than people like Xie Jing when it comes to this kind of thing.
"Secondly, gather the scattered troops from various places and form a separate army! Xie Jing will be the lead, and Guo Wei will be the assistant!"
The two of them stood up and responded!
"Third, Hou Xiaokang and Guan Jin will lead 20,000 troops southeast through Longzhou and Shaoxi Prefecture and enter Fushun Prison. They will then station their troops at Hutou Mountain, the border between Fushun Prison and Xuzhou!"
"Xuzhou and Changning are mostly occupied by the tribes of Wumeng Mountain, but Fushun is the salt conservancy area and cannot be lost!"
Daqian succeeded the Song Dynasty, so except for the change of "lu" to "sheng", other prefectures, counties and districts were mostly divided according to the Song Dynasty. The same is true for the salt supervision.
Salt and iron had always been the exclusive domain of the imperial court, so separate administrative agencies were set up in some salt-producing areas. This was the Salt Inspectorate! The Fushun Inspectorate, located north of Xuzhou and Luzhou, was one such institution.
"Meng Hua, Guan Jin, the two of you command 15,000 troops stationed in Danleng. Although the troops from Southern Xinjiang have retreated to Jiading Prefecture, there may still be resurgences. Set up camp at Yisimengshui and keep an eye on the troops in Jiading."
"Besides that, I need another force to advance and launch a surprise attack on Hongya!"
"Hongya is located at the border between Yazhou and Jiading, and is also the necessary route for Yazhou's troops heading east! If we capture Hongya, we can sever the connection between the tribes of southern Xinjiang and those of the western mountains and rivers, which will be extremely important for our next campaign."
"However, Hongya is within Jiading Prefecture. If a large force were to go there, it would undoubtedly be detected by the Southern Xinjiang troops. Therefore, only a small force can be sent. Furthermore, after taking Hongya, we would have to face a siege from at least tens of thousands of troops from the Western Mountain tribes within Yazhou. This is extremely risky!"
"But who dares to go?"
After a brief thought, all the generals stood up and asked for orders.
However, one person stepped forward, bowed, and said, "General, I will go!"
The person who spoke was Sun Ze!
Seeing Jia Cong hesitate, Sun Ze bowed and said, "General, I was the garrison commander of Jiading before. Although I retreated to Chengdu Prefecture at the order of the Nan'an Palace, Jiading was ultimately lost in my hands. I and my brothers feel sorry for the hundreds of thousands of people in Jiading!"
"If we're going to fight back now , I'll be the first to do so! Furthermore, when it comes to my familiarity with the topography and terrain of Jiading Prefecture, the other brothers are far less familiar than me!"
"Please, Marshal, allocate three thousand soldiers to me. I am willing to sign a military order to capture Hongya and not let the Xishan tribes pass through Hongya!"
Looking at Sun Ze kneeling on one knee, Jia Cong sighed softly. Chengdu had such a general, but was confused by the tribes in southern Xinjiang. This was the fault of the Nannan Palace!
"Get up, I agree to this matter!"
"However, this matter is not urgent. You have at least a month to prepare! You can choose the time of your advance, as long as you capture Hongya before the main army reaches Jiading Prefecture. In addition , I will allocate 5,000 elite troops to you, and all necessary weapons, equipment, and food will be provided first!"
"A large number of troops from the various tribes of Southern Xinjiang are stationed in Jiading Prefecture. This is also the place where I will have a decisive battle with them! And Hongya is behind me. Here... I leave it to you!"
"Thank you, Marshal. I will obey your command!" Sun Ze said in a loud voice.
"The rest of the troops must not slack off during this period and must train strictly in preparation for the war after the New Year!" Jia Cong said finally.
All the generals stood up and responded in unison!
