Chapter 42: Multi-line counterattack, destiny
Chapter 42: Multi-line counterattack, destiny
Prince Ning withdrew from Qianzhou.
The imperial army was left empty-handed.
It was easy to recapture the entire Qianzhou.
Wang Jian and Chang Yu were not too surprised.
Chu Cang, unable to march into the capital and having suffered four consecutive defeats, would not easily go to war with them in Qianzhou.
He knew very well that if he started a war.
Even though he was confident that the imperial army could not capture him, Xingzhou was in danger and might be eaten up by the imperial army that came to support him.
The troops there were lost and he also lost an arm.
Now, the morale of the army is low and the situation has changed drastically. It is no longer as good as before. We must stabilize the internal situation before we can continue to seek opportunities.
Moreover, he knew very well that if he was besieged in Qianzhou, he would be in danger and surrounded by the main force of the imperial army.
He had no idea what kind of changes had happened in the court to have turned out like this.
And the rebels retreated.
Qianzhou was recaptured.
Soon after, the Xingzhou crisis was resolved.
Li Hong had no choice but to retreat.
After many days of bloody fighting in Xingzhou, they were about to completely recapture Xingzhou, but they did not expect the disastrous defeat in Liangzhou.
And now in Daxia.
The two states in the western border were recaptured and immediately consolidated.
Various pensions and rewards are also being carried out in an orderly manner.
In the Qiankun Palace.
All the ministers gathered.
There was no longer the panic and confusion that Prince Ning had felt before.
And under Chu Feng's wave of purges, King Ning's hidden men had long been eliminated.
"In this battle, Liangzhou won a great victory, and Xingzhou was defended, which made the court very happy."
Chu Feng looked at the ministers.
"In the Liangzhou Campaign, Duke Yang and Wang Ben have made great contributions in conquering Liangzhou and are rewarded with the Dragon Transformation Pill."
"During the Xingzhou Campaign, Lu Xuanzhong, Duan Qianqiu, and Zhenshan Hou made outstanding contributions in defending Xingzhou and ensuring the smooth progress of the Liangzhou Campaign. Each of them will be awarded a Dragon Transformation Pill."
"The rest of the soldiers will be rewarded."
Chu Feng said.
Chu Feng will not lack rewards for the heroes on his side.
At that time, Taizu was clear about rewards and punishments.
Although he was strict in governing the country, he would also reward his meritorious officials generously.
Not in the capital.
Someone will deliver it.
After hearing this, Duan Qianqiu and Lu Xuanzhong's expressions changed and they immediately said, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
When the ministers heard this, they were filled with excitement.
Although I don't know what the Dragon Transformation Pill is, as soon as I heard the name, I knew it was something extraordinary.
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
The ministers drank.
It's not just a verbal claim, it's a fact.
"Now the situation has opened up, the rebels have suffered heavy losses, and Prince Ning has retreated from Qianzhou to Yuzhou, but this civil war is far from over, and the sixteen states are still in the hands of the rebels. At today's grand court meeting, I want to discuss with you a plan to recover the states and how to proceed."
Chu Feng said.
Duan Qianqiu thought for a moment and said, "The rebels have suffered a series of defeats, and their morale is low. The Liangzhou battle cut off one of their arms. When the news of the defeat spread to the various prefectures, our morale was boosted, but in the prefectures controlled by the rebels, countless people will surely turn to the court."
Lu Xuanzhong said: "We should advance from the rebels' weak points and take advantage of the situation to recapture the states."
"It makes sense."
Chu Feng nodded.
"Therefore, I think that we should ignore Prince Ning in Yuzhou for the time being and weaken his power step by step. When Prince Ning's power is weakened to the extreme, we can take Ningzhou in one fell swoop and completely crush the rebels!"
Lu Xuanzhong put forward a prudent suggestion.
"Duke Lu's suggestion is good, but you also need to be careful."
The speaker was the Minister of War.
He cupped his hands and stepped forward, saying, "Duke Lu's approach is prudent and can weaken the rebels' strength, but the rebellion has already begun, and we must also consider the threats from the four borders. They are eyeing us covetously and will not be willing to see Daxia stabilize. They will not sit idly by and will be more terrifying than the threat from Prince Ning. When they see that the court can suppress the rebels, they will definitely come out to cause trouble, forcing us and the rebels to be in a long-term tug-of-war, and making Daxia in a state of civil strife for a long time will be beneficial to them."
His words caused a discussion in the court.
Daxia’s opponent will never be just Prince Ning.
If it were just Prince Ning, things would be much simpler.
"What Shangshu Yu is worried about is true, but King Ning is at the ninth level of Tongtian and has many means. Although he suffered a defeat, his strength is still strong. Even if we attack King Ning by force, we will mobilize a lot of strong men and forces. The enemy will be in a desperate situation and fight back, and the losses will be huge. If all the forces are withdrawn, the enemies in the four borders will also attack. Without the defense of all parties, the prefectures will fall and be invaded by the enemies in the four borders like demons, which will harm the people of Daxia."
Lu Ming frowned, "By then, the prefecture will be destroyed, the people will be devastated, the country will be stained with blood, and the country will be unstable. The Great Xia will be in flames. The destruction and consequences will exceed this civil strife, just like the series of reactions that occurred after the Eight Kings Rebellion in the Jin Dynasty, and we will be ashamed of Emperor Taizu!"
What he said is also true.
The Rebellion of the Eight Kings during the Jin Dynasty was a negative example.
It was also because the imperial court lost too much power in suppressing the rebellion and infighting, which shook the foundation of the empire and caused unbearable consequences.
and.
There are many strong people in the four realms, all of them are ready to fight and waiting.
As long as the imperial court and Prince Ning engage in a decisive battle, they will definitely attack.
"If the rebels don't retreat in Yuzhou, it's fine. Even at the risk of border unrest, we can attack from multiple sides, cut off the connection between the rebels, and mobilize the army for a direct decisive battle. But with King Ning's current deployment, I'm afraid they are unwilling to fight a decisive battle with us in Yuzhou. They will retreat, actively stretching our army's front line and causing even worse consequences." "If this is true, the consequences are unpredictable to me."
Chen Guangche said.
The current situation is that even if the imperial court wants to fight a decisive battle immediately, King Ning will not give them the chance.
at this time.
They covered all aspects.
They all looked at Chu Feng.
The decision maker is Your Majesty.
He looked at Duan Qianqiu and said, "Duan Qianqiu, what do you think?"
"I believe that instability in the four borders is inevitable. Just as Prime Minister Lu said, the enemies in the four borders will pounce into our Great Xia like ferocious tigers and hungry wolves, causing unrest in the border states and cities, and the people will suffer. We will also pay a price countless times greater than it is now."
"The northern land is with Prince Ning, while the eastern, southern and western lands are to guard against possible unrest when our army recovers the lost territory."
"And King Ning will definitely not fight a decisive battle with us at this time."
"But I believe that the next major counterattack must be both fast and steady, using a combination of stability and speed to comprehensively recover all prefectures on a large scale. Even if Prince Ning continues to avoid fighting, he will have nowhere to retreat when his territory is being completely compressed by our army."
"Therefore, the strategy that the imperial court should adopt now is to move fast while maintaining stability. We can attack on multiple fronts and make the rebels unable to react. Even before the enemies in the four regions have fully united, the imperial court will have a huge advantage in the decisive battle with the rebels!"
"Even if the enemies in the four regions are willing to unite, their forces are complicated and their reactions are slow."
"We will attack on multiple fronts and make a frontal threat to Yuzhou, but the real attack will be to advance from the periphery and cut off the perimeter of Yuzhou. This will not only achieve the goal of recovering the city, but also allow us to see what the rebels will choose."
"The counterattack can be quick, but the court cannot be impatient."
"For the rest, the deployment will change according to the situation."
Duan Qianqiu said.
Propose a strategy of steady yet rapid progress and attacking on multiple fronts.
If there is no strong man on the border.
For example, the four western states that had just been recovered would all be lost.
The cost is high.
This is just one western border.
The same will happen on the rest of the borders.
As a result, all borders of Daxia would fall, and then in a very short period of time, inland prefectures would fall and be lost one after another, threatening the security of the capital.
Simple destruction is much simpler than construction.
The danger posed by the enemies in the four borders is too great and too terrifying.
It is enough to overthrow the country.
They are always thinking about counterattacking.
[Destiny Choice 1: Mobilize troops, ignore the threats from all four borders, the risk of border unrest, march from Yuzhou, and test the intentions of the rebels.]
[Destiny Choice 2: Counterattack from the outside, take multiple lines of attack, recapture the lost prefectures, threaten the rebels' lair, and strictly guard against enemies on all sides, be steady and fast, ensure the advantage, and weaken the strength of King Ning.]
The choice of destiny appears again.
Chu Feng's heart moved slightly.
Two options.
Yes, he now wants to have a decisive battle in Yuzhou and put down the rebellion quickly, but he is afraid that King Ning will not agree.
After all, the decisive battle is a matter for both parties.
But Prince Ning is not at the end of his rope yet, and there is still a way out for the time being.
The choice of destiny appears again.
"What you said makes sense."
"Using Duan Qianqiu's strategy, we will launch multiple attacks to recapture various provincial capitals and suppress the rebel forces."
"Issue an order to the three border areas in the southeast and west to prepare for war and guard against foreign invasion. Other than that, obey the orders of the court at any time."
"The focus of the court at this time is to recover lost territory. After the states are recovered, the power in the states must be gathered together to help the court."
Chu Feng said.
"I'm waiting for the order!"
The ministers said.
Being steady and fast, and attacking on multiple fronts, is indeed the most suitable for the current situation.
[Host makes destiny choice 2 and gets a bonus summoning opportunity. ]
The system sounded.
Duan Qianqiu added: "Your Majesty, if we continue the war, the battle line will be extended and more troops will be needed. I believe that the troops of the princes in various places combined are not a small number. They can be fully mobilized by the court and await the court's orders."
Mobilize the vassal kings’ troops!
Chu Feng frowned!
Taizu had so many sons, all of them were made kings.
Regardless of their strength, each prince controls three guards and horses, plus some auxiliary troops. When combined, they form a very powerful force.
They couldn't be touched before because the court was unstable and they were worried that the princes would tell the truth and cause greater unrest.
Now that four big victories have been won, Prince Ning's decline is apparent, and this is a good opportunity to control the military power of the vassal kings.
Doing so would not only allow the imperial court to have more troops, but also ensure internal stability.
"Very good."
Chu Feng said: "The vassal kings should be cautious in their military movements. In the name of recovering lost territory, the three vassal kings' guards and their troops will be deployed to cooperate with the main forces of the imperial court in the battle."
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
Duan Qianqiu said with a smile.
This name is much more legitimate than directly mobilizing the vassal kings' troops.
Please vote for me and collect it!
(End of this chapter)