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After Ma Yongzhen received the information provided by the abbot Lama Nada Tuwo at Lingzhao Temple, although he still failed to detect the enemy's trace, he made a temporary tactical adjustment:
He ordered Guo Yunlong to lead 20,000 troops to continue westward, while he himself led 30,000 troops to pause at Lingzhao Temple and did not continue advancing westward.
This was totally beyond Yatu's expectations, and she couldn't help but secretly groan.
Ma Yongzhen's stop made their wish to attack Ma Yongzhen's food route come to nothing. And if they couldn't win by surprise, with only 8,000 soldiers, they had no chance of winning in a direct battle.
what to do
Yatu was like an ant on the hot pan, extremely anxious in the Black Mountain. If Ma Juzhen delayed for a few more days, not only would they have no chance to rob Ma Yongzhen's food supply, but they would also starve to death in the valley.
When the eight thousand troops arrived, in order to conceal their tracks, they advanced quickly on horseback and hid in the Black Mountains. The food and fodder they carried were very limited and could not sustain them for more than a few days.
Even Sukhbaru could not care less about indulging in Yatu's beauty. After receiving another report from the spy that Ma Juzhen's 30,000 troops still showed no signs of advancing westward, he hurried to Yatu's tent and asked, "Princess, what should we do? Princess, please make a decision quickly."
In this situation, Yatu, who always has many ideas, was at a loss as to what to do. Her beautiful eyebrows were almost frowned together.
Sukhbaru suggested: "Princess, why don't you send two thousand soldiers to attack Guo Yunlong? If you succeed, maybe Ma Yongzhen will come over."
Yatu stroked his chest and shook his head, saying, "No, if we send troops out at this time, it is very likely that our whereabouts will be exposed, and the consequences will be even more serious."
"But…."
This doesn't work, that doesn't work either, is he going to wait here to die? If it wasn't Yatu, Sukhbaru would have cursed his mother long ago.
"But Princess. If we wait any longer, the consequences will be just as serious. The army only has two or three days' worth of food and grass left, and Ma Yongzhen has no intention of advancing westward for the time being. Are we going to starve to death in these black mountains?"
Yatu clenched and released her fists, and finally said through gritted teeth: "Okay, at night, let Meng En lead two thousand troops out of the mountain in the dark and hide their tracks. Tell him not to attack by force, and focus on attacking Guo Yunlong."
"Princess, Guo Yunlong needs food supplies. Wouldn't it be better to let Meng En attack Guo Yunlong's food supply route?"
Yatu quickly stopped them, saying, "No, attacking Guo Yunlong's food supply route will only force Guo Yunlong to retreat, which will be even more disadvantageous to us."
"Okay, I'll ask Meng En to prepare for the attack at night."
"Tell him to be careful and not expose our hiding place at any cost."
"yes."
Although Yatu repeatedly told him to be careful, what would be the consequences of sending 2,000 troops to attack Guo Yunlong? Could he really guarantee that his hiding place would not be exposed
Tuya was not sure about this, after all, Ma Yongzhen's scouts were active everywhere. The density of scouts was very high, and no one could guarantee whether Meng En would encounter Qin's scouts as soon as he went out.
But now apart from taking a risk, Yatu, who is in trouble, has no other way to deal with it.
Damn Ma Yongzhen. Why did he stop at Lingzhao Temple
It was true that plans could not keep up with changes. While Yatu in Heishan was in trouble, Habater in Wuding River was also in a state of disgrace. He assembled nearly 10,000 troops and prepared to encircle and annihilate the 1,000 Qin troops that Zhao Zhensheng had sent to support him.
As a result, as soon as the first wave of 1,000 troops were sent to launch a tentative attack, they were slaughtered in droves by Zhao Zhensheng with his Type 69 flintlock rifle. It was a horrific sight.
The massacre-like scene frightened him so much that he dared not stay any longer and fled with the remaining troops.
Of course, the reason for fleeing was not entirely out of fear, but mainly because he had no food left.
Hadanbaatar retreated so quickly that Su Jin, who had already formulated a plan to encircle and annihilate the enemy, had no time to implement it before the enemy had already gone far away.
Afterwards, Su Jin received an order from Chang'an, asking him not to send troops too deep into the enemy's territory for fear of scaring away Qitate. Everything had to wait until Li Dingguo in the west defended the Juyan Lake and Ma Yongzhen in the north completed the encirclement.
It was already February, but the temperature in Chang'an was still very low. It even snowed that day. The sky was covered with red clouds, and snowflakes were flying diagonally. The entire Xianyang Palace was shrouded in a sea of white snow.
Sima An put his hands in his sleeves and came to the imperial study. The white marble steps outside the palace were covered with snow. In the corner of the palace, a green pine tree was covered in silver and looked as white as a flower.
After the eunuch reported, Qin Mu invited him into the hall. Sima An bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am Sima An. I pay my respects to you."
"Mr. Sima, please don't be polite. Come on, give Mr. Sima a seat."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
After Sima An sat down, Qin Mu closed the memorial in his hand, put down his pen and asked, "Mr. Sima, what is the matter with you coming to see me today?"
"Your Majesty, the leaders of the Sunite, Balin, and Chahar tribes have arrived in Chang'an."
"Well, let Nong Dianzhang stay there first. When the other tribal leaders arrive, I will meet them all together."
"Your Majesty, regarding the construction of the asphalt road from Chengdu to Chang'an, the ministers in Nanjing have agreed to loan 10 million dragon coins to Huitong Bank every year for road construction after being convened by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." At this time Sima An took out a memorial, and the young eunuch hurriedly went up to take it, held it high above his head, and presented it to the general.
Although Qin Ye was named regent, he was still too young. The so-called prince summoning all the ministers to discuss the matter was just a formality. The matter was mainly presided over by the three assistant ministers Lu Zhenfei, Yang Tinglin and Liu Boquan who stayed in Nanjing.
Sima An went on to say: "However, the officials in Nanjing believe that it is better to first survey and plan, and if construction is to begin, the earliest possible time is after the autumn harvest when the farmers are not busy.
At that time, we should use as few captives as possible and hire more young and strong laborers along the way. This will reduce the hidden dangers caused by too many captives and give the remaining people along the way a chance to work during the slack season."
Qin Mu opened the memorial and read it through, then said, "The ministers in Nanjing have thought it through carefully. Well, let's do it accordingly." After that, Qin Mu waved his hand, and several eunuchs and palace maids in the hall bowed and left quickly.
When there were only two people left in the imperial study, Qin Mu continued, "Regarding the presumption of innocence and the local judicial power, I asked Mr. Sima to come up with some strategies last time. Does Mr. Sima have any good suggestions for me?"
Sima An came today mainly to discuss this matter. He didn't mention it at first because there were eunuchs and palace maids in the palace, so he just dealt with it.
"Your Majesty, I have thought about this for a long time. This is a serious matter. I think it should be handled step by step to be feasible."
"Mr. Sima, please tell me how to proceed step by step?"
"To separate judicial power from the chief officials of prefectures and counties involves too many aspects. Therefore, I think it is not appropriate to set up new offices and appoint new officials immediately. Otherwise, it will inevitably cause a huge backlash. What I mean is to first transfer judicial power to the deputy officials of prefectures and counties. The prefectures should be supported by the co-governors to support the judiciary, and the counties should be supported by the county magistrates to support the power of criminal trials.
This will first divide the local officials. At least the county governors and county magistrates will not oppose this reform, but will support it. This will reduce the resistance.
Qin Mu remained silent after listening to this, playing with a piece of Hetian jade carving in his hand. Sima An no longer disturbed his thoughts and moved his eyes to the painting of Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains on the wall.
After a long while, Qin Mu said, "Mr. Sima's plan can greatly reduce the voices of opposition, but I think it is still inappropriate. These co-magistrates and county magistrates are probably not as experienced as the prefects and county magistrates in criminal justice.
If the judicial power is handed over to them, not only will the prison system not improve, it may even get worse. This is like giving others a handle, and after a period of time, the voices of opposition will probably become louder and more convincing. "
“Your Majesty’s concerns are not without reason, but our Great Qin has a vast territory and numerous prefectures and counties. Where can we find so many experienced people to act as judges in such a short period of time
If training is necessary, it is better to directly train the Tongzhi and the county magistrate. For those Tongzhi and the county magistrate who are still not fully qualified after training, they should be transferred first and replaced by suitable candidates. After these steps, these Tongzhi and the county magistrate will be familiar with the criminal justice, and then they will officially take over the judicial power of the prefecture and county.
This is the first step. Once everything is on track, we will change their official positions and set up new offices. Then we will send other officials to fill the vacancies of the co-magistrates and county magistrates. I think this may effectively reduce the voices of opposition. "
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ps: Thank you all for your birthday wishes, thank you! To be honest, I haven't celebrated my birthday for many years. I'm single, no cake, no candles, no one cares about me. I often forget when my birthday is, and sometimes I suddenly remember it after it's over. I remembered it this year, but I can only sigh: I'm one year older!
.(To be continued..)
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