National color raw owl

Shuoquan, Governor's Mansion.

When Chu Huan returned to the governor's mansion, Gongsun Chu hurried over before his butt was hot, with a solemn expression, "My lord, something happened at Beishan, and Xiao Huanzhang's second son was killed."

Chu Huan was taken aback, and asked, "Who killed it?"

"Until now, no one knows the truth." Gongsun Chudao: "It is said that Xiao Jingqian left Yutian suddenly one night, rushed to Yuchang overnight, and was intercepted and killed halfway."

Chu Huan frowned and said, "When did it happen?"

"It's been more than 20 days." Gongsun Chudao: "My lord is not in Shuoquan, so I didn't send someone to report to avoid delaying my trip. Xiao Jingqian has already passed away, but the most serious problem now is that the Beishan Army has action."

"With action?" Chu Huan asked curiously, "What do you mean?"

"The Beishan army has already begun to mobilize." Gongsun Chu said solemnly: "The report from General Xuanyuan's residence was just delivered yesterday. Beishan has mobilized thousands of soldiers and horses into Danyang, and a large number of supplies are also being transported to Danyang."

"Bring the map!" Chu Huan's expression darkened.

Soon, a map was placed on the table. This was a map of the Northwest. The topography of the three northwest regions was included. The mountains, rivers and rivers were also relatively clear. The cities of the three states and counties were also marked on it.

"Here!" Gongsun Chu reached out and clicked on the map.

Danyang City is a county under the jurisdiction of Beishan Qingzhou, bordering Xiguan.

The border between Xiguan and Beishan does not have any natural dangers, not even checkpoints. Danyang County in Beishan is the frontline county facing Xiguan in Beishan, and Qingtang County is at the forefront of Xiguan.

The distance between the two counties is actually less than a hundred miles away, and there is a flat river in the middle, facing each other far away.

Seeing the location of Danyang City, Chu Huan's face suddenly became solemn, and after pondering for a long time, he asked, "Master Gongsun, is this news completely reliable?"

"No problem at all." Gongsun Chu said solemnly, "General Xuanyuan sent someone to report, and it was sealed with red wax."

The so-called red wax means that the seal of the letterhead is sealed with red wax, which represents an emergency.

Chu Huan frowned and sat down slowly.

"My lord, just after Xiao Jingqian went out of the funeral, Beishan quickly mobilized the army to gather in Danyang City. Its intention is very obvious, it is to come for our Xiguan." Gongsun Chu said with a serious expression, "My lord, Xiao Huanzhang has always been a man who does not see rabbits and does not scatter eagles." People are more than cautious and never act rashly, but this time he made such a big move, it is very abnormal, and there is only one possibility after thinking about it in a humble position."

"what?"

"If the humble position's predictions are correct and Xiao Jingqian was killed, Xiao Huanzhang has already blamed our Xiguan for this battle." Gongsun Chu said in a deep voice, "Xiao Huanzhang must have felt that Xiao Jingqian's death was related to our Xiguan, so we must pay for it." The dead son took revenge, and then began to mobilize troops on a large scale...My lord, the situation is already very serious, how should we deal with it next?"

Chu Huan didn't speak, but thoughtfully, the corners of his eyes twitched slightly.

After a while, Chu Huan said: "Lord Gongsun, send people to summon all the officials, especially the Imperial Guards, to summon Pei Ji and the generals back. You should send a letter of divorce to General Xuanyuan now. Tell General Xuanyuan to strengthen Qingtang's defense, and don't act rashly before the Beishan Army crosses the border."

Gongsun Chu nodded immediately.

Before dark, the head of the Six Departments, Pei Ji and others all arrived at the Governor's Mansion. When they heard that Beishan had mobilized troops to Danyang, they all changed their colors slightly.

"Beishan transfers the army?" Pei Ji was also a little surprised, "So, Xiao Huanzhang thinks that Xiao Jingqian's death is related to our Xiguan?"

"It must be so." Gongsun Chudao: "Otherwise, with Xiao Huanzhang's temperament, he would never have made such a big move."

"He Xiao Huanzhang wants to fight, so we will accompany him." Fat Liu, the commander of Lin Ziying of the Imperial Guard, immediately showed a nonchalant expression.

After Fat Liu and Wang Han moved their family from Yunshan to Shuoquan, they were immediately entrusted with important tasks by Chu Huan. When the two were in Yunshan, they were the generals of the Imperial Guard Army of Yunshan Mansion, and they were very familiar with the Imperial Guard Army. .

It's just that the Imperial Guard Army rebuilt in Xiguan, under the training of Pei Ji, is quite different from other Imperial Guard Army. The source of troops is of course striving for perfection, and the training methods are also extremely harsh. As far as the military regulations are concerned, Situ Liangyu Under the control of the supervising army, no one dared to offend, and it was extremely strict.

Fat Liu personally felt the strictness of the Xiguan Imperial Guards in training. Although it was not long, he felt that under Pei Ji's training, the combat effectiveness of the Imperial Guards was extraordinary.

Because of this, he only felt that the imperial guards trained by Pei Ji didn't need to be afraid of any enemies.

As soon as Fat Liu finished speaking, Xu Shao said, "You can't fight!"

Fat Liu looked over, frowned and said, "What's wrong? Could it be that we can't beat Beishan's mob?"

"This is not a question of being able to fight but not being able to fight, but a question of overall strategy." Xu Shao said solemnly: "Compared with the strength of the troops, the Pingxi Army and the Imperial Guards indeed have tens of thousands of people. On the board, we Not losing to Beishan, if we only need to fight Beishan, we can plan carefully and fight Beishan, but the reality is not so simple."

"what do you mean?"

"If Xiao Huanzhang really wants to attack our Xiguan with all his strength, we must mobilize all our soldiers and horses to Jiazhou." Xu Shao said slowly: "Over there, General Xuanyuan led thousands of soldiers and horses to sit in the town. Absolutely not enough, the soldiers that can be used can only be mobilized from Shuoquan. The total strength of our Pingxi Army and Imperial Guards is less than 4, and 1 of them are still in Jinzhou and Hezhou guards, even if you don’t transfer a single soldier to Jinzhou and Hezhou, the troops that can be transferred to Jiazhou are less than 3.”

Everyone nodded slightly.

"Shuoquan has annexed more than [-] people. Ladies and gentlemen, do you think all of these [-] soldiers can be transferred to Jiazhou?" Xu Shao shook his head and said, "Shuoquan is the capital city of Xiguan. According to its location, once Shuoquan is empty, some Those who have no different minds will have different minds."

Gongsun Chu nodded and said: "That's right, the bandits in Xiguan haven't been cleared up. The Governor-General suppressed the bandits with great force, and they all fell into pieces and hid themselves. But once they find an opportunity, they may not make a comeback."

"So on Shuoquan's side, guarding troops are absolutely indispensable. In this way, fewer troops can be mobilized to Jiazhou." Xu Shao frowned and said: "If you want to ensure the safety of Shuoquan's side, you can finally call Jiazhou's military strength can only be around [-]...Beishan has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, if we recklessly rush to Xiguan, we will face a lot of pressure."

"Twenty thousand soldiers and horses should be enough to deal with the Beishan Army." Fat Liu said: "The imperial guards were trained by Mr. Pei, needless to say their combat effectiveness, the soldiers of the Pingxi Army are also battle-hardened. The mob recruited by the Beishan Army not long ago has a much stronger combat power, and if they really want to fight, they are not our opponents."

Pei Ji said slowly: "Water has no normal state, soldiers have no constant momentum, and things on the battlefield are changing rapidly. You must not have the heart to underestimate the enemy before standing."

Xu Shao continued: "What I said just now is only when we are fighting against Beishan, but in fact, we must beware of the other side of Tianshan. Once we gather our troops to Jiazhou and fight to the death with the Beishan army, everyone will be stumped." Do you think the Tianshan Army will do nothing? Once the Tianshan Army takes action, Hezhou will be the first to face the threat. Hezhou has only a few thousand soldiers and horses, and it is impossible to resist the Tianshan Army...!"

Pei Ji nodded slightly, "If we really want to fight, the biggest threat is not Jiazhou, but Hezhou. Commander Xu is right, don't have illusions about Tianshan, if there is a war in Jiazhou, Tianshan will never let it go. If there is an opportunity, he will definitely find a good reason to march into Hezhou... Once that time comes, we in Xiguan will be attacked on both sides, and the situation is extremely unfavorable."

Wei Wuji, head of the Household Department, finally said at this time: "Once the war breaks out, the implementation of the Land Equalization Order will definitely be hit hard... Now the Household Department is implementing the subletting of grain loans. , the food originally used for farming can only be transported to the front line... And the most serious thing is that once the war with Beishan starts, Qingzhou will be blocked, and our road leading to the pass will be cut to death... We have only been awarded by the court not long ago. The entry letter I issued is preparing to sell salt in the customs. Once the road is cut off, new salt cannot enter the customs. In addition, if the war continues to stalemate, even if we have money to buy food, grass and weapons in the customs, but the road is blocked and the goods will not be delivered at all. Don't come."

The expressions of all the people present suddenly became dignified.

"Can you send someone to Beishan?" Fan Xuan, the head of the Ministry of Rites, remained silent for a long time. At this moment, he finally said: "Chu Governor, Xiao Huanzhang and other governors are officials of the imperial court. How can they use swords and weapons? He has no reason to treat me at Xiguan. Threat, I'm afraid there may be a big misunderstanding, can you send someone to negotiate?"

"Mr. Fan's words are reasonable." Han Hai, the head of the Ministry of Industry, also said: "Chu Du, Xiao Huanzhang has always been cautious, and the deployment of troops to Danyang may not be really aimed at our Xiguan. And he should understand that Beishan and Xiguan are against each other. There is no benefit to each other, but it is cheaper for Tianshan... The former Beishan also sent a lot of supplies, and judging by their appearance, they want to make friends with us Beishan, so they shouldn't turn their backs just because they said they would turn against each other."

Gongsun Chudao: "Who are you sending?"

"If the governor of Chu permits, I would like to go there in person." Fan Xuan said solemnly, "I would like to ask Xiao Huanzhang, why did he visit Chen Bing's border twice or three times?"

Pei Ji shook his head and said: "Since Xiao Huanzhang is a cautious person, he will not act rashly until the critical moment, but since he has moved now, it means that he has thought carefully... Two tigers are fighting, Tianshan It is impossible for Xiao Huanzhang not to understand the simplest truth of benefiting, but even so, if he still wants to start a war, it can only show that he has put all his eggs in one basket at all costs...!" He paused, with a few Fen was puzzled and said: "It's just that I can't figure out why Xiao Huanzhang would blame Xiao Jingqian's death on our Xiguan. Does he have conclusive evidence in his hand?"