Chapter 69: Taking Zhenwu Mountain
Seeing Lao Gao's look, Chai Jia said in a very conscientious manner: "It's only half done? How much profit? The new town is now a land where money can flow.
Zhenwu Mountain was the northern gate of Dali when it was first established . If not now, when will we use it as an excuse to launch a military operation?
Prime Minister Gao then took over and said that Ma Hujiang's Shenwei Army was growing very fast, and intelligence reports showed that the army had reached over 10,000 people. If we fight now, Dali can easily take Zhenwu Mountain. If we sit back and do nothing and allow them to grow stronger, there will be no peace for Dali.
The young emperor asked Lao Gao how many troops were needed to fight this battle?
Lao Gao replied that based on the current reconnaissance, most of the Shenwei Army's forces are along the Minshui River. On the Mahu River is a battalion of 5,000 troops led by Zhao Yulin. The two sides have had a small-scale encounter, and Dali showed weakness and did not use its full strength. It can be judged that the Shenwei Army is a disciplined militia.
The generals in the army thought that five thousand soldiers were enough, but I believe that speed is of the essence in war. We must prevent the Shenwei Army from concentrating and also demonstrate the national prestige of our Dali Kingdom. Immediately dispatch ten thousand soldiers and one hundred ships, and there will be no problem in taking Mahujiang in one fell swoop.
Prince Zhennan said that we and Lin'an are in a vassal relationship. Once the war starts, how will it end?
The Chai family confidently let their fists speak. We will occupy Zhenwu Mountain and then report to Lin'an. There are wars everywhere in the north of them. Will they care about a small Shenwei Army?
At this time, the little emperor spoke.
The Northern Legion was allowed to send 15,000 soldiers and 100 ships to start the war. If they failed to win, Lao Gao would go to Lin'an to apologize, and the Northern Army should not interfere in the defense of the north.
Lao Gao was stunned for a moment, then agreed confidently and left.
The young emperor asked his younger brother to follow him to the back hall. Prince Zhennan asked him why his brother was so eager to agree when he knew there were risks.
Once the war started, money was lost like a river. The Gao family only knew how to fight, and the little money they got from the new town was gone in a flash.
What's the point of fighting a battle so badly that the loss outweighs the gain?
The little emperor smiled and said that he didn't understand this. Even though the new town was only the size of a palm, the great emperor of Lin'an would never spit it out once he put it in his mouth.
Even if Lao Gao wins the fight, he won’t get it.
If he loses, it will be just right for me to put an end to his arrogance.
Prince Zhennan then realized that this was his brother's secret.
His brother wanted to take advantage of the situation to weaken the power of the Gao family.
After Zhao Yulin invited Qu Zhengxiang and Chen Xiaomin to explain the security matters, he and Zhu Congwen boarded the ship and headed west under the cover of night.
Zhu Congwen asked him if he was so confident that he could entrust tens of thousands of people to him to play with?
Zhao Yulin smiled and said if you don't want to do it, he will do it.
Old Zhu finally got the chance to lead a large-scale military operation, but he immediately backed down.
The two men ate, drank and chatted on the warship.
Zhao Yulin said that the people he had fought before were all bandits. He had not known any military skills for many years, so he followed his senior brother to learn some more.
Old Zhu began to reason with him, telling him that fighting a war was an art, 30% depended on tactics, and 70% depended on luck. Whether the battle of Xinshi Town could be won or not, the lord's luck was very important.
Damn, Lao Zhu starts to act like Zhuge Kongming.
Zhao Yulin laughed, threw a fried soybean over and said that he had read too much Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It was useless to just remember the word "lord". Now he was a feather fan military strategist sitting on a four-wheeled vehicle, and he had to use all of Zhuge Liang's tricks.
Zhu Congwen said with a smile: "With such a small number of soldiers, we still have to capture Meng Huo seven times by the Lushui River? Wouldn't that mean we will end up drowning in the river?"
The next day, the two rushed to the military camp in Xinshi Town.
Fire Phoenix introduced the current enemy and our situation. Dali has gathered 7,000 soldiers and 80 ships a hundred miles to the south, and they are sharpening their knives and ready to attack.
When Zhao Yulin heard her description of sharpening the knife, he quickly covered his mouth with his hands and laughed, thinking that this barbarian woman could speak elegant Chinese.
Miao Gui pointed to the battlefield sand table and explained that Dali might attack Xinshi Town along the Mahu River from the west, the middle, and the east.
The Jinsha River in the west can be advanced by land and water, and it is estimated that the focus is here. After carefully inspecting the battlefield, they planned to defend the enemy south of Mahu Lake, depending on the enemy's advance, lure the enemy deep into the country, and destroy part of it first.
Based on the intelligence he had collected, Lu Youpeng judged that the invading force of Dali this time was about 20,000. The enemy had invaded from the north and had requisitioned the official quarters and granaries of the three tribal chiefs of the Wumeng tribe. Food was also being transported in continuously by land and sea, and it was obviously not preparation for feeding thousands of people.
Dali's tax officials have also been busy, gathering intelligence at several garrisons in the new town these days.
Zhu Congwen turned to look at Zhao Yulin and said that the ten battalions had less than 30,000 people in total, and asked him how to fight.
Zhao Yulin didn't say how to fight, he just said calmly: Go back to grandma's house.
Zhu Congwen began to analyze the assets of the Shenwei Army. The 9th Battalion could not move in order to maintain the stability of the Mahu River, and the other battalions had to draw out all their mobile forces for concentrated use, with less than 15,000 people. The navy could concentrate 100 ships to ensure the transportation of materials in the Mahu River, but less than 30 ships could be used in combat.
Zhou Ping stood up and asked for a fight, saying that even if his navy had only thirty ships, they would still dare to fight and would guarantee to destroy Dali's fleet.
Zhao Yulin summarized the situation and said that we have too few men and are unable to deal with Dali, but we are a new army built with new combat concepts. If we cannot even defeat Dali, it means that our approach is wrong.
He told Zhu Congwen that the number of combat troops on the front line was planned to be 15,000, and the rest would be concentrated to ensure absolute safety along the Mahu River, so that the brothers who went up would have a stable rear base and could kill the enemy with confidence.
After some discussion, a strategy was decided upon and the captains of each brigade immediately went back to deploy their troops.
The next day, Zhao Yulin accompanied his Si Niang, Zhao Sihan, Chen Zhongshun and others on the boat back. The two sisters stood at the bow of the boat to enjoy the breeze. The little girl leaned her head on his shoulder and said that there was going to be another war. Xiao Linzi and his men were greedy and did not abide by the contract. It was so annoying.
Zhao Yulin told her that it had nothing to do with Xiao Linzi, this was a country fighting for its own destiny.
But they were too late and didn't get any chance.
His sister pulled him listlessly into the cabin. Chen Zhongshun said, "It's only been a short time, and things are getting chaotic again."
Zhao Yulin smiled and said, "What are you afraid of?"
Anyway, the ships heading east are loaded with wine and silver.
Chen Zhongshun said that he could sell it for a few days, but the key point was that he was free again.
Zhao Yulin ignored his complaints. If the old man kept brewing wine 24 hours a day, he would not be able to sell any new wine at a high price.
Si Niang said it would be a good idea to go back and have a rest. She had been in Xinshi for more than half a year, and Sanjiangkou must have changed a lot.
Zhao Sihan leaned on her mother and said that she had changed a lot, and that the young lady had come to live with us.
The little girl hated evil and was still thinking about the little girl harming them.
Zhao Yulin told Si Niang to rest for a while in Sanjiangkou. If she really couldn't stay idle, she could go to Yujin in Jianwei to work. The Mahujiang area might be in chaos for a while.
After returning, Zhao Yulin immediately crossed the river to the government office. When Chen Yun saw Zhao Yulin, she said that he had come at the right time as he had just returned home.
After Zhao Yulin reported the situation in Xinshi Town to him, Chen Yun told him that the incident happened suddenly and Dali had no written negotiations and started a confrontation, so we can only bear it ourselves. He has reported to Lin'an and asked the housekeeper for instructions; Jiazhou's troops need to protect the territory and the people, and they cannot be withdrawn for the time being. The real master has allocated some food and weapons to support them; the Zhizhisi is discussing the deployment of troops.
It seems that for now he can only rely on the Shenwei Army to withstand Dali's first wave of attacks.
This is called wiping your own ass and covering your own shit.
He returned home and took Xiaomin to find Chen Zhongshun. Coincidentally, Manager Ju and Qu Zhengxiang were there. Zhao Yulin said that Sanjiangkou would be handed over to them and he had to go to Xinshi to take command.
Shopkeeper Ju said that everyone saw that the ports on both sides of the river were busy and warships were constantly heading west to the Mahu River, and they had guessed that a war was going to break out. The shopkeepers of the Chamber of Commerce asked if anything else was needed?
They are going to donate their own boats to help with transportation.
Zhao Yulin said that he had this idea. He asked Manager Ju to organize all the merchant ships, and Master Qu to coordinate and mobilize them to ensure the needs of the team.
The Shenwei Army Navy has too few warships, so logistical transportation must be separated.
Chen Zhongshun said that he would go out for a walk tomorrow and tell everyone that the Shenwei Army would definitely be able to protect the country and the people, and that there would definitely be no sound of gunfire in Cuiping Mountain.
Zhao Yulin nodded and said that this was the best way.
He rested at home for a night, and went out to the west again at dawn. Chen Xiaomin was reluctant to let him go, and held him tightly. Zhao Yulin gave her a deep kiss, and said with a smile, "Where is his queen? I have to go to war, Cuiping Mountain depends on you."
The woman burst into laughter and said, "She is waiting for the emperor to return safely."
Zhao Yulin laughed loudly, got on the carriage and headed straight for the dock.
After arriving at Xinshi Town, the enemy situation had changed significantly. The Dali soldiers indeed invaded in three directions, but their strength had reached 20,000.
Miao Gui looked at the Fire Phoenix and said, “We also have 20,000 people, and Captain Phoenix has more than 5,000 men under him.”
The Fire Phoenix immediately volunteered to fight.
Zhao Yulin disagreed. He believed that the tribes along the Mahu River had just joined their side and were still very unstable, especially those militiamen who had already put on militia uniforms. If a tribal chief was bribed by Dali, any move he made would destabilize the morale of the Shenwei Army and plunge it into an abyss of no return.
Zhu Congwen said that the Ninth Brigade's defense of the territory was a great achievement. It's not that we can't do anything. When the enemy invades, our Ninth Brigade takes the lead, fighting and retreating, isn't it luring the enemy?
Zhao Yulin said that luring the enemy did not mean just running away, but could be counterattacked. The enemy forces in the middle and east were few in number, and Feng Guiqi's Tenth Battalion, with more than a thousand people, went to cooperate with Fenghuang in the battle, delaying these two enemy forces and allowing the main force to concentrate on eliminating the enemies coming up the Jinsha River.
Lei Man agreed to his arrangement and told Fenghuang not to be afraid and to speak up if she had any difficulties.
Phoenix shouted that she would ensure the mission was completed.
Zhao Yulin told her that she should show weakness in the first battle and not use cannons. She should not use cannons if possible before the battle on the western route was launched.
Fenghuang didn't say a word. She stood up, saluted everyone, and then told Feng Guiqi to leave.
Lu Youpeng told everyone: There are at least 20,000 enemies on the other side of the Jinsha River, carrying a large number of heavy weapons and advancing continuously, not including their navy. The situation is very dangerous.
