Just after the two carriages drove slowly through the deep city gate opening and merged into the street, the two men who had been waiting in the small grocery store next to the city gate opening exchanged glances and turned into the darkness.
"Are they these two cars?" The man in gray asked in a deep voice, looking in the direction where the carriage disappeared.
"Well, that's right, there are just this group of six people." The man in green shirt who followed behind nodded and replied, "This group of six people didn't seem to know each other when Partridge Pass came into our sight, but they seemed to get to know each other very quickly afterwards. The two leaders got together, especially the two leaders, both of whom were young women. They quickly became entwined, which made us a little confused, but it seemed like they were not from the same group."
"Well, it seems that the monitoring needs to be tightened, but how come our people didn't get anything valuable to report?" The man in gray was obviously a leader, and asked with some dissatisfaction, "I don't know anything about the situation. This How can I report to the superiors?"
"Sir, there is nothing suspicious about the identification of these people, and there is nothing to criticize about their departure. We really can't find any loopholes. How about we take them down directly and examine them first?" The man in green shirt was a little confused. He suggested aggrievedly.
"Fart! You want to cause trouble for us, don't you? There is no evidence to doubt, why should we ask people to examine it? It doesn't matter where this place is. If it is in Bonan, it may be possible. If nothing is found here, If the city guard knows about it, won't there be another big commotion? That guy has long disliked us. If he seizes the opportunity, why not get a copy of our security bureau in front of Mr. Li? Last time The turmoil hasn't subsided yet. Master Diao and Master Tong have already given us greetings. Now it's the limelight. Who dares to act rashly without much suspicion? Let's save it. I would rather brothers work harder and spend more time. Put some thought into it." The man in gray sternly interrupted his subordinate's suggestion, probably the boss's warning was still ringing in his mind.
"Then aren't we going to be oppressed by them all the time? We are directly under the direct control of the higher-ups. Although Mo Lun is the city guard, he may not be able to control us, right?" The man in green shirt was still a little unconvinced.
"Humph, just bear with it for a while, and we'll talk about it after this period of limelight." The man in gray clothes was also a little dissatisfied, but he also knew the influence of the eyeliners and did not dare to disobey the warnings from above without authorization, so he had no choice but to repeatedly tell his subordinates, "Arrangements The people below are keeping a close eye on them, I have to report to the superiors, these guys are definitely not good birds, let’s see what the superiors say.”
Maili stared at the map in front of him coldly. He, who was always as calm as a mountain, was a little uneasy at this time. He didn't expect that Li Wufeng would use such a huge military force, almost all the elite troops in the northwest were mobilized, and they were all pressed into this victory. Locke comes to the battlefield, does he really want to stop him from taking Merington City at all costs? There are more than 110,000 people in the five divisions in the west, and there are actually more than 60,000 people in the three divisions in the south. A total of 180,000 troops have been assembled, which is very menacing.
A sneer flashed across the corner of his mouth, and Maili weighed in his mind the overwhelming force of the Northwest Army, more than 110,000 people in front of him. Although he wiped out his own army of 20,000 people in one fell swoop, he also successfully raided the South Camp, causing great losses. , which made Maili heartbroken, but Maili still believed that as long as there was a head-on confrontation, the remaining 200,000 troops in his hands would still be enough to crush the 180,000 Northwest Army, making it impossible for them to come or go.
It is obvious that what is coming from west to east is the main force of the Northwest Army. What is coming from the south is just to contain its own flanks. Although it can contain its own side, the same dispersion of forces will affect the Northwest Army, which is slightly inferior in both quantity and quality. This is not a good thing for the army. As long as the time is right, he can mobilize superior forces to deal with this partial division in the south. But Li Wufeng is not a good person. How could he not see this? Could it be that Li Wufeng also knew that due to the barbarian riots in his country, the Prime Minister asked him to resolve the battle and return to the army as soon as possible
Thinking of this, Maili couldn't help but feel a little irritable, and the Prime Minister's autographed letter came to mind again. If Li Wufeng learned this news, he would definitely use the opportunity to entangle him endlessly, making it impossible for him to escape. I am afraid that his own calculations are also the same. It's hard to succeed.
Seeing the ever-changing expressions on the coach's face, the subordinates at the bottom exchanged glances with each other, as if they wanted to say something, but were afraid of interrupting the coach's train of thought, so they all had to wait silently for the coach's words.
It took a long time before Maili looked away from the map. There was still a thoughtful expression on his slightly pale cheeks, "Hoffman, where are the enemy troops who attacked the South Camp now?"
"Come back to the commander, the enemy army is currently camped one hundred and twenty miles west of us. There is no other action now. They are probably waiting for their main force to come and join up." Viscount Hoffman couldn't help but bite when he mentioned this army. His teeth were clenched and veins popped out on his forehead. This was a shame in the history of the Second Corps. It was unexpectedly successfully raided by the opponent, causing great losses to one's own side and a huge blow to morale. Although the coach did not blame himself too much, As a corps commander, no matter what the objective reasons were, he himself knew that he was actually involved.
"Hmm, how far are their two troops from us?" Mailly ignored the eager expressions of his subordinates and turned his eyes to the intelligence adjutant beside him, "Have there been any unusual movements among the Jerok people in the city?"
"Back to the commander, the enemy troops on the southern front have crossed the Lulong border and entered Jerok territory, and are now heading towards Merrington City. They are still about 160 miles away from us; the enemy troops on the western front are making great progress. They have now taken control of the entire southwestern region of Jerok we originally occupied. However, they did not disperse their military forces. Instead, they handed over all local management to the local gentry for maintenance. Their main force is now two hundred and fifty miles away from us. The speed seems to have slowed down a bit."
Nodding silently, Maili didn't say anything more, and turned to look at the heads of several corps: "Everyone, what do you think of the Northwest Army's intervention this time?"
Seeing the coach's question, Viscount Hurley, commander of the Fourth Corps, immediately replied: "Commander, the Northwest Army has mobilized such a huge force this time, almost all their elite forces in the northwest. Do you really want to fight us head-on?" Fight a war? I doubt this very much. The northwest territory is extremely empty now. If the Hesi Luo people take the opportunity to go south, I am afraid that Li Wufeng will lose sight of one thing and be in a state of embarrassment, right? Moreover, if the Taiping Sect launches an offensive in Lulong, the only remaining people in Lulong will be Can a security division withstand it? Is there something going on in the middle?"
Hurley's words revealed the doubts in the minds of the three corps commanders present. The northwest under Li Wufeng's control was originally a place surrounded by enemies, including the Taiping Religion in the east, the Sisi Luo people in the north, and even the Western Region in the northwest. Both the Luo Bei people and Li Wufeng were not on good terms with each other. The reason why they dared to boldly want to swallow up Jerok in one fell swoop was of course after analyzing all aspects of the situation and concluding that Li Wufeng would not be able to intervene in a short period of time. This is why they came up with such a plan. Unexpectedly, to his own surprise, Li Wufeng not only intervened, but also mobilized a huge military force to intervene suddenly, causing his unprepared side to suffer huge losses from the beginning.
Marquis Dominici also echoed: "Mr. Hurley is right, Marshal, we have to analyze carefully what is going on. Why did Li Wufeng dare to be so bold and ignore his own roots and come to Jeroke here?" A trip into troubled waters. There must be something mysterious in this episode. What are the Taipings and the Sisloans doing now? Aren't they our allies?"
In fact, Maili had already considered this issue, but he knew that Li Wufeng was definitely not a mindless general. His ability to rise in the northwest proved this. He dared to mobilize an army of 180,000 to march into Jerok, which could only explain one problem. , he has already had countermeasures to deal with the enemies in the east and north. The question now is no longer to consider why Li Wufeng dared to send troops to Jerok, but to consider how to solve the dilemma at hand.
"Everyone, the issue of the Taipings and the Heathrow people is not within the scope of our consideration. Now we need to think about how to deal with the current situation. The attack on Merrington City has just begun, and we encountered such a situation. Indeed, It was beyond our expectations, and the Prime Minister asked us to capture Merrington in a short time. Now it seems a bit unrealistic. But we can't just leave like this. We must teach the Northwest Army a lesson and let them Don't dare to go north easily to ensure that Fanlin City and Jiama area fall into our hands." Maili carefully spoke out a few words through his teeth, "Li Wufeng is a wolf, if we don't give him some injuries that he will remember. If it hurts, he will bite you tightly and won’t let go.”
"Commander, do you mean we have to abandon Merrington City?" The three regiment commanders were shocked when they heard this. The impatient Viscount Hoffmann, commander of the Second Corps, even ran to the commander's case: "Commander, you can't! How much did it cost us to fill in the moat? How can we give up so easily when we are about to win it?"
A bayonet-like gaze swept over Hoffman. The anxious Hoffman couldn't help but shrink back. He quickly took two steps back and begged: "Commander, please think about it. This is a rare opportunity. This is what our empire has been waiting for." It will take a long time. If Li Wufeng takes the opportunity to expand his power to Jerok, it will be extremely difficult for the empire to find such an opportunity again."
With a long sigh, Maili showed a rare look of aftertaste on his face: "Hoffman, in fact, I feel the same as a few of you. Why don't you want to take Merington City in one fell swoop and achieve your goal? However, I received a request from the Prime Minister in the early stage. The secret order is that the rebellion of the Baiyin barbarians in the north of the country is very fierce. His Majesty the Emperor attaches great importance to it and needs to return to the army immediately. The walls of Merrington here are high and thick, and it is not possible to move down in a hurry. If we attack blindly, we will only lose men and horses in vain. . Now that Li Wufeng's army is pressing on the border, the situation has changed. We have lost the opportunity. If we try to force it again, the wise will not do it." Maili pondered and analyzed the current situation, but there was one more thing he did not say. The Prime Minister has already been in the court. Faced with great pressure, a group of nobles were clamoring in front of His Majesty the Emperor all day long, slandering the military for its slow action, which made His Majesty very unhappy. Of course, these messages were informed by confidential letters from his close aides arranged in the court. Once the Prime Minister loses power, I am afraid that the current good situation of military power in the country will change. It's just that these words can only be known to oneself, but they are not enough for outsiders to know.