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Su Jin of Yulin had just received a report that the enemy cavalry's activities had expanded, and then came the news that the enemy had launched a large-scale attack on Linkezhai, Hengshanbao, and Shileizhai.
"Are you sure it's Qitate's main force?" Su Jin asked urgently to the messenger who came to report the news.
"General, the enemy is indeed fighting under the banner of Qitate, and even if the number of troops is not 20,000, it is probably more than 10,000. It is very likely the main force of Qitate."
"Explore again!"
“Yes.”
Regardless of whether it was Qitate's main force or not, Su Jin had to respond immediately to the sudden attack of tens of thousands of enemy troops. He quickly sent Zhao Zhensheng to lead a thousand cavalrymen who had just been equipped with Type 69 flintlock rifles to support the three forts of Linke, Hengshan and Shilei.
On the other hand, Su Jin was also a little surprised. The severe cold had not yet subsided and the snow had not melted. Although it was not a problem for the light cavalry to attack, the logistics transportation was quite difficult. It was a bit abnormal for Qita to attack in a large scale at this time.
Is he sure he can quickly capture the castles along the line and seize the food and fodder needed by the army
Besides, Ma Yongzhen's army has begun to advance westward. Although the movement is slow due to logistics, it will always put a lot of pressure on Qitate's northern line.
It is strange that he did not strengthen the defense of the northern line of Hetao, but instead launched a large-scale invasion to the south. There are only two possibilities: either he is very stupid and arrogant, or he has other intentions.
After Su Jin's analysis, he found it difficult to determine Qitate's specific intentions because there was no more information to confirm it.
While increasing his reconnaissance efforts in the Dongtao area, he was also actively formulating a combat plan. Based on the principle of "fighting the enemy with our troops and blocking the water with earth", he prepared to encircle and annihilate the invading enemy first.
The smoke of war from the Wuding River soon reached Chang'an. These days, Qin Mu was discussing with his ministers the feasibility of building an asphalt road from Chengdu to Chang'an.
After receiving the battle report, Qin Mu immediately summoned Sima An, Gu Junen, Li Jiu, Hao Yaoqi, Hui Dengxiang, Zhao Jian, Qin Zuoming, Han Gang and other generals to Wuying Palace to discuss the matter.
"Gu Qing, what do you think is Qitate's intention?" Qin Mu didn't believe that Qitate would really invade northern Shaanxi, let alone threaten Guanzhong. That's why he asked this question.
Gu Jun'en replied, "Your Majesty, Commander Ma has 50,000 troops advancing westwards, preparing to block the northern part of the Hetao. I think Qitate is desperate."
"A desperate dog will jump over the wall?" Qin Mu lowered his eyelids and asked thoughtfully, "Where do you think he will jump to?"
"Your Majesty, there is too little information to be sure. But I think Qitate is very clear that with Norbu and Bailutuhu being annihilated by our Great Qin one after another, he has lost all the outer barriers. When Ma Yongzhen blocks the Yinshan and Langshan lines in the north, he will be trapped in the Hetao. At this time, he launched a large-scale attack along the Wuding River. His purpose is nothing more than to muddy the waters so as to seize more initiative."
Sima An went on to say, "Your Majesty, if Qitate is really desperate and abandons Hetao, we must be on guard against one thing."
"Master Sima, please speak."
Sima An pointed at the map and said, "Your Majesty, please look, this is the Juyan Lake. You can reach the Juyan Lake by crossing the Helan Mountains and heading west through the desert. If the northern route is blocked by Ma Yongzhen, Qitate will most likely take this route to escape."
Juyan Lake is a lake similar to Qinghai Lake formed in the desert after the Zhangye River, which originates from the Qilian Mountains, flows northward from Suzhou. Due to the nourishment of the lake water, the area around Juyan Lake is lush with water and grass. Yan Yingyuan and his men first crossed the Juyan Lake and then the vast sea to raid the western desert grassland.
"Your Majesty, the cold wave has not subsided yet. The desert is still covered with ice and snow, so drinking water is not a problem. As long as we bring enough food and grass, it will not be difficult to cross the desert and reach the Juyan Lake. Once Qitate really succeeds in occupying the Juyan Lake, not only will all our current deployments fail and the battle line will be greatly extended, but we can also advance south along Zhangye Sea and enter the Hexi Corridor to attack Suzhou and Jiayuguan, and once again form a situation of mutual response with Batur in the Western Regions. If this is true, it will be extremely disadvantageous to our dynasty."
Qin Mu nodded repeatedly after listening to this. Because the Juyan Lake is surrounded by deserts on all sides, and only the green corridor along the Zhangye River connects to Suzhou, it is not easily invaded by foreign enemies. Therefore, the Qin army stationed in the Juyan Lake has only 800 troops.
If Qitate's main force really decided to cross the desert and head for the Juyan Lake, it would be difficult to hold the place with only 800 Qin troops.
Gu Jun'en also said, "Your Majesty, what Sima Ge Lao is worried about is very likely to happen. Therefore, I think it is not appropriate to march into Hetao on a large scale at present, so as not to force Qitate to take risks. The most urgent task is to strengthen the defense of Juyan Lake and cut off all escape routes of Qitate."
As the saying goes, even the wisest of plans can still make mistakes. I almost overlooked this point before. In fact, there is no shortage of water in the desert in winter. Grab a handful of snow and put it in your mouth to melt, and you can solve the problem of drinking water.
Although the climate was worse, it was relatively easy for the army to cross it as long as they were familiar with the desert in that area.
Qin Mu immediately issued an order: "Immediately send an urgent message to Li Dingguo at a distance of 800 miles, and send an additional 5,000 troops to garrison the Juyan Sea to prevent Qitate from making a surprise attack."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Li Jiu said, "Your Majesty, the enemy has a lot of troops attacking along the Wuding River this time. General Su has 10,000 soldiers to guard various cities and fortresses, which is inevitably a bit stretched. I suggest sending more troops to prevent the Wuding River defense line from being breached and the enemy from spreading the war to northern Shaanxi."
Although Qin Mu did not want to alert the enemy, he had to consider that the enemy might fight to the death and really attack the northern Shaanxi area with all his strength. He was recruiting the leaders of the various tribes in Mobei and Qinghai-Tibet to hunt together;
If Qitate were allowed to invade northern Shaanxi at this time, it would be tantamount to slapping him in the face as the emperor.
What will the leaders of various tribes who come to participate in the hunt think
Qin Mu thought for a moment and said, "General Li."
Li Jiu was delighted and immediately stood up and saluted, saying, "I am here."
"I will order you to lead 5,000 cavalry to reinforce Su Jin, but you must remember not to rush ahead and rush ahead. You only need to temporarily defend the Wuding River to avoid alerting the enemy."
"I obey your order."
After receiving the order, Li Jiu hurried out of the hall.
In the Wuying Palace, generals such as Hao Yaoqi, Hui Dengxiang, Zhao Jian, and Qin Zuoming, who did not get the combat mission, could not help feeling annoyed.
Qin Mu knew what they were thinking. After a winter of rest, the armies had fully recovered their combat power. They were also equipped with a lot of Type 69 flintlock rifles, so everyone regarded the Qitat of Hetao as lambs to be slaughtered.
Moreover, after defeating Chitate, the army might not have many opportunities to fight, so Chitate was regarded by them as their last supper.
Qin Mu didn't bother to care what they thought, and asked slowly: "Generals, do you have anything to add?"
Hao Yaoqi spoke first, "Your Majesty, Commander Ma's army is advancing westwards, threatening the northern line of the Hetao. Qitate must not be unaware of this. But he is attacking the Wuding River in the south at this time. I think Qitate may have other intentions."
Qin Mu smiled and said, "General Hao, what do you think he wants to do?"
"Your Majesty, I think Qitate's move is not very smart. It is very likely that he wants to raise a beacon fire on the southern front to paralyze General Ma, and then send out surprise troops to attack General Ma's troops. Your Majesty, in this season, both people and horses are more dependent on logistics. Once Qitate cuts off General Ma's food and grass supply line, it may cause chaos in the army... Your Majesty, although General Ma has 50,000 troops, if the army is unstable, it is not surprising that Qitate can defeat the enemy several times his size even if he uses a few thousand surprise troops..."
"Haha, what on earth does General Hao want to say? Do you still want to reinforce Ma Yongzhen?"
The generals in the hall couldn't help laughing. Ma Yongzhen had an army of 50,000 at least. It was too outrageous for him to send reinforcements before the battle even started.
Hao Yaoqi really meant this. Of course, the reinforcement was fake, and the real intention was to find an opportunity to attack Hetao. Seeing the emperor's smile, he had to say embarrassedly: "Your Majesty... reinforcement... is not necessary. I just want to remind Your Majesty that you should send someone to remind Commander Ma to be careful of Qitate's sneak attack."
"Why should I remind Ma Yongzhen?"
"Well... ... ."
Now not only Hao Yaoqi, but all the generals present were a little surprised. They didn't know why the emperor said that. Wasn't it a matter of course to send someone to remind Ma Yongzhen
Qin Mu paused and explained, "Ma Yongzhen is also a veteran on the battlefield. If I have to remind him of this, what's the point of having him?"
Sima An was thoughtful. He felt that the emperor was too lazy to send someone to inform Ma Yongzhen. It was definitely not the reason he said on the surface. He might have other intentions.
The more Sima An thought about it, the more he found it unbelievable. Ma Yongzhen's 50,000 troops were all composed of troops from various tribes in the south of the desert. Could it be that the emperor really intended to use Qitate to destroy them... ... ... .
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.(To be continued..)
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