The cannons fired continuously, and the infantry of the two armies separated by a thousand meters began to gradually retreat. The cavalry on both sides were even more vigilant than at this time. The leading generals watched the movements of the other side intently. If there was any abnormality, a new battle would break out. Great war. The wide area in front of the two armies was in a mess. Corpses, weapons and flags discarded by both sides were scattered in the middle. The blood-soaked ground had re-solidified under the scorching sun, showing a dazzling purple-black color everywhere. Several consecutive charges and battles left both sides exhausted. After a day of fierce fighting, neither side was sure of breaking through the other side's defense line. It became the consensus of both sides to fight another day.
Situ Tai stood in the tent and walked back and forth with some hesitation. Dressed in military uniform, he looked particularly energetic at this time, while the officers on both sides were quietly whispering to each other, seeming to be discussing the progress of the war in the past few days. Sitting next to the handsome case was a middle-aged man wearing a golden robe and armor, who was carefully reading the battle reports passed down from the front line.
"Chenghuai, do you think we are sure that we can solve the Yunzhong Mansion within half a month? Why do I feel more and more suspicious the more I look at it? At first it was overwhelming, then we resisted stubbornly, and now we are fighting endlessly. What will happen in this? Is there any problem?" After walking around the handsome tent for several times, Situ Tai finally couldn't bear it anymore.
"Your Highness, there is no need to rush. The Yunzhong and Cangzhou mansions have been in the hands of the Taiping Cult for such a long time. It won't be a big deal to let them occupy them for a few more days. If your Majesty is in a hurry, you might as well make a show of it. , anyway, we have actually controlled most of Yunzhong Mansion, and the military department has an explanation." The middle-aged man is the commander of the northern military region of the empire Zhao Chenghuai, an old soldier who has long guarded the northern border of the empire, and the Pu people The long-term battle with the Kaman people gave him great military exploits. Although the Imperial Army has always been at a disadvantage in terms of military strength in the north, despite all the efforts of the Puer and Kaman people in the past ten years, they have never been able to defeat the enemy in the north. Dare to take a step deeper into the long border.
Maturity and prudentness are Zhao Chenghuai's greatest characteristics. Years of experience in guarding the border have allowed him to develop a calm character. Facing the overwhelmingly superior Kaman and Poole armies, he retreats to widen the distance in depth, widen the distance between the opponent, strengthen the wall and clear the field, and harass and cut off the opponent's attack. On the supply line, concentrating superior forces and annihilating them is his magic weapon that has been effective every time. "But..." Situ Tai hesitated, and after thinking for a while he said: "The third child has already captured Jincheng Mansion, and he has also recruited more than 20,000 elite Taiping troops. My father is very happy about this. If we don't have any achievements here, I'm afraid my father will become suspicious."
"Your Highness, the current situation still allows us to advance deeper into the enemy. After such a long period of training, the combat effectiveness of many units of the Taiping Army has begun to take shape. I have observed that the activities of the Taiping Army in the past few days are very suspicious. They advance and retreat, and circle around. Our attack on the enemy is somewhat different from the steady retreat in the early stage. Although our army has the advantage, we must not be careless. As long as we work step by step, Yunzhong Mansion will fall into our hands sooner or later. Even if your Majesty has some opinions by then, I am afraid It's hard to say. Besides, this is very beneficial to the preservation of our effective forces. We are different from the Taiping Army. They can be replenished at any time, but we have lost one less one. If we want to replenish it, we have to be restrained by the military department. This is not good for us. We are at a disadvantage." Zhao Chenghuai's last few words were so profound that Situ Tai immediately gave up the idea of taking risks and making rapid advances.
Strength determines everything, this is Situ Tai's motto. Preserving strength is a top priority. Situ Tai noticed very early that his father was not very interested in him, so he also made a lot of preparations in advance. He began to cultivate his own power in the army as early as ten years ago. At that time, Zhao Chenghuai was just a small division commander. With his vigorous activities and support, coupled with Zhao Chenghuai's own strength, he quickly climbed to the position of commander of the Northern Military Region, the most powerful of the four major military regions of the empire, and controlled as many as ten Three divisions, nearly 300,000 troops, and most of Zhao Chenghuai's two corps commanders and division-level cadres are direct descendants of Situ Tai. The entire Northern Military Region can be said to be dominated by Situ Tai, even if his Several adjustments made by his father, Situ Mingyue, still failed to fundamentally change the situation. Situ Tai was quite proud of this, which was also the capital of his survival.
"Well, this issue is worth considering, but..., alas," Situ Tai hesitated, but finally did not say it.
"Your Highness, don't worry too much. Since His Majesty has released you, it means that Your Majesty has no intention of letting His Highness inherit the treasure. I think His Highness the Third and His Highness the Seventh can see clearly, unless they can do something that will make His Majesty extremely This satisfying event has greatly changed His Majesty's opinion. Otherwise, hey, no one can tell what happened next." A cold smile slowly appeared on Zhao Chenghuai's face, and he stroked a few short beards under his chin. Squeezing out a few words from between his teeth, "Don't hope that His Majesty will change his mind. Everything in the future needs to be fought for by Your Majesty with your own strength. I am thinking that His Highness the Third and His Highness the Seventh may also think so. Of course, Yunzhong Mansion must be recovered. Firstly, it can block His Majesty and the voices opposing His Highness, and it can also win some reputation for His Highness. Thirdly, Yunzhong is originally your Highness's sphere of influence, and it is necessary to regain it, but we are here We need to be more strategically focused.”
Situ Tai cast his eyes on Zhao Chenghuai's face with some doubts, then looked at the thin old man sitting on the other side of the desk who had not spoken a word before clearing his throat and said: "Chenghuai, I heard you say that, it seems that there Does it seem like there’s something else hidden?”
"Haha, Your Highness, let's talk about this later. In short, we just need to advance steadily. With the combat effectiveness of our army, the Taiping Army cannot take any advantage. Your Highness, just rest assured." With a quiet wink, Zhao Chenghuai avoided this The question was covered up with a haha.
Situ Tai nodded knowingly and did not ask any more questions. Although there were all his confidants in the tent, it was not advisable for too many people to know about certain things.
There were only three people left in the handsome tent. They retreated to the left and right. The three of them murmured for a while. Situ Tai couldn't help but asked loudly: "What did you say? Are you serious? How is this possible? ?"
"Haha, Your Highness, nothing is impossible in this world. As long as there is interest, there will be a deal." A sneer hung on the corner of the skinny old man's mouth. "As long as the conditions are right, the deal can be concluded. There is nothing wrong with that."
"It's just that this is too sudden." Situ Tai still couldn't believe it. "What do they want to do? What is their purpose? Don't let them fool us."
"Hey, the initiative is in our hands. What can they do? Even if they do something, it is enough that it will not cause harm to your interests, Your Highness. As for the rest, I think we should not be too lenient. It is not the time for Your Highness to interfere with matters that have nothing to do with the overall situation." Zhao Chenghuai interjected with a dark smile.
"Old Leng, what do you mean..." Situ Tai was still a little hesitant.
"Well, I have already discussed this matter with Mr. Zhao. This will not only allow us to achieve our goal without losing any blood, but also buy us some rest time. This is really a win-win situation for us. As for what they are planning on , I think there are only two possibilities, either the situation in Kansai is tight and they need to go south for reinforcements, or they are trying to trick Heshuo." Feeling that the old man was Situ Tai's number one adviser Leng Qian, his narrowed eyes were half-opened Closed, a trace of light leaked out from time to time.
"Oh? The idea of attacking Heshuo?" Situ Tai was startled and immediately turned his attention to the big map hanging behind the commander's tent. "Yusuf, this idiot, can't see the opponent's reality at all, and let the opponent lead the way." , Qinghe Prefecture is flat, and the city guard army's combat effectiveness is much stronger than that of the Taiping Army. He only needs to maintain enough supplies, quickly advance directly into Qinghe Prefecture City, and everything will be fine if he takes Qinghe Prefecture City in one fell swoop. However, he is good at playing with the Taiping Army in the field. In the game of hide-and-seek, when the enemy advances, I retreat, when the enemy retreats, I advance, advancing and retreating, retreating and advancing, I really don’t understand what he is planning.”
"Yes, Yusuf should not behave in such a strange way. Did the victory of Qinghe really cause serious losses to the City Guards, or was the Taiping Army's troops deployed in Qinghe strong enough to contain the City Guards?" Situ Tai also felt a little strange. It was really unreasonable that Yusuf had been soaking in the Qinghe River and not pushing further west. He couldn't figure out how a seasoned guy on the other side could make such a mistake.
"Let's ignore Yusuf's affairs for now. Your Highness, their people have already arrived, and I have also met and talked with him. I asked them to withdraw from Yunzhong first and then we can talk about other things. Of course, I also asked them not to retreat too fast, so that We can keep up, but of course we have to do some face-saving things, at least we can’t let the central government see anything.”
Situ Tai had always trusted Leng Qian's arrangements, but he hesitated about this matter. After all, once this matter was exposed, he might really find it difficult to gain a foothold in the empire, let alone anything else. Thinking of his father's cold expression The look in his eyes made Situ Tai shudder, "Old Leng, can this matter be slowed down for a while? I think we should take a look at the situation before talking about it?"
Sighing, Leng Qian and Zhao Chenghuai exchanged glances before saying: "Your Highness, there is no turning back now. Since Your Highness has made up his mind to give it a try, don't be benevolent as a woman. A man can do great things without hesitation." In small sections, history will only write about the glorious side of successful people, and will not take into account the means of successful people, especially the common people."
Nodding in confusion, Situ Tai did not say anything, but slowly sat back in the chair and put his hand on his forehead, falling into deep contemplation.