knife

Chapter 679 Goal
Below Xiao Changche, the left army was led by Gu Xiaoman, the right army by An Xuan, the central army by Xiao Hongwei, the rear army by Ma Dacheng and his son Ma Liang, the head of the intelligence agency Zhou Yi, the chief clerk of the central army Liu Yi, and others, who together formed the leadership group of the entire Yangguan military group.

With nearly 40,000 elite troops and over 100,000 other groups serving them, the daily expenses are considerable.

Although under Mao Daxian's leadership, many logistical aspects of the military were contracted out to civilians, greatly reducing costs through various bidding and auction processes, and these costs could be deferred, a debt is still a debt, and you always have to pay it back.

The Protectorate must maintain a good reputation. These outstanding debts all have payment terms. If they are not repaid by the due date, the Protectorate will be bankrupt, and no one will be willing to pay on credit in the future.

Of course, as a powerful regime, there are many ways to raise money, whether it is by demanding donations from the people or by increasing taxes and levies. Money can always be obtained. However, for a newly established regime that is ambitious and full of vigor, they would never want to make their people feel cold at this time.

Internally, we must be gentle and persuasive; externally, we must be swift and decisive.

"Zhou Yi, please tell everyone the specific situation in the south again!" Xiao Changche said to Zhou Yi, who had been sent to Yangguan by Zhi Qiu Yuan to be in charge of military intelligence, without looking up from the dossier in front of him.

Zhou Yi nodded, glanced at the senior generals and officials seated in the room, and said, "The Zhi Qiu Academy has received some new intelligence information in the past two days. The Protectorate General's work in Chu has been more effective than we imagined."

At this point, he coughed lightly and looked at Xiao Changche at the head of the table.

Xiao Changche looked up, glanced at him, and said in a cold voice, "If your throat is uncomfortable, go and see Fu Cheng!"

Zhou Yi pursed his lips, picked up the teacup in front of him and took a sip of water. "It's alright, it's alright. I just caught a slight cold after running around outside for a few days!"

Gu Xiaoman suppressed a laugh as she looked at the dossier in front of her. It was good that Fatty Zhou had come; the Protector-General now had someone to vent his anger on and wouldn't be causing trouble for her anymore.

"Gentlemen, the internal strife in Chu is escalating further. Under the brilliant planning of the Protector-General, Xiang Zhuang fled to Yuezhou and formed an army alliance against Na Wei. Moreover, he gained the support of many people and swept across several counties in a very short time. The 50,000 wolf soldiers that Chu Regent Na Wei transferred from the southwest have not even reached their destination yet, but have already turned to attack Xiang Zhuang. As a result, the pressure on the eight towns of Jiangnan has been greatly reduced!"

"This is a good thing!" Huang Huzi An Xuan exclaimed happily. "The more chaotic they become, the safer the eight towns of Jiangnan will be!"

"Perhaps it's not a good thing!" Gu Xiaoman shook his head and said, "With Chu in chaos, it is powerless to threaten the Eight Towns of Jiangnan. Instead, it gives the Eight Towns of Jiangnan an opportunity to expand their power southward. Linghu Ye certainly doesn't want to see them grow too strong, so there's a high probability that he will head south to Xiangyang. And based on our understanding of Linghu Ye's army, the current army of the Eight Towns of Jiangnan is unlikely to be their match. This is a trap. If the Eight Towns of Jiangnan lose, then Wei might also come to pick up the pieces."

"So?" An Xuan asked.

"So we have to fight a real battle!" With a snap, Xiao Changche closed the dossier in his hand: "We must tell Linghu Ye that the Beiting Protectorate is preparing to enter the pass. Perhaps Linghu Ye will still decide to launch an attack to the south, but at least we can tie down some of his troops, or even his main force. In this way, things will be easier for Jiangnan!"

"This humble general requests to be the vanguard!" An Xuan shouted.

"Linghu Ye has always regarded Boling County as the first line of defense against us!" Xiao Changchedao said, "Since he entered the pass, Linghu Zhishu has been the governor of Boling County, managing the defense line. Linghu Zhishu knows us very well. Between Yangguan and Boling County, he has created a fifty-mile-wide no-man's-land. Behind this no-man's-land is his so-called chain-like defense consisting of cities, fortresses, and a large number of paddy fields and ponds. The battlefield has been fragmented, which has left our cavalry and heavy infantry with no room to maneuver. If we launch an offensive, we can only use light cavalry in conjunction with ordinary infantry, which will inevitably result in heavy casualties."

Zhou Yi continued, "Gentlemen, there's another point you can't overlook: During his years in Boling County, Linghu Zhishu has been learning from the pastoral practices of those outside the Great Wall, distributing land to the people of Boling, organizing them to cultivate wasteland, raise livestock, and train local militias. For this, he's had many conflicts with the Cui family of Boling, because in order to win their hearts and minds, he's seized considerable profits from them. In Boling, the vast majority of land, mountains, and ponds belong to the Cui family. Simply put, in the hearts of the people of Boling, Linghu Zhishu is a good and honest official. Given Linghu Zhishu's ability to organize ordinary people, coupled with the deep-rooted influence of the Cui family, who have dominated Boling County for over a thousand years, this battle will not be easy!"

"If only we could lure them out to fight!" An Xuan murmured. "Protector Xiao, is there any way to get them to attack first? If they bypass these so-called chain-like defenses and launch a direct attack on Yangguan, wouldn't we be able to concentrate our forces and destroy their main force in this open area of ​​fifty miles?" "Old An, Linghu Zhishu has been dealing with us for many years. He's a cunning fox. His mission is to block our way into the pass. He knows very well that with his forces, a head-on confrontation with us would be suicide. And with the Protector here, he's even less likely to extend his claws." Xiao Dongwei shook his head repeatedly.

“Protector, I suggest we go out of Yangguan first, get close to them and start building camps and fortifications. We don’t necessarily have to fight; just showing our attitude is enough!” Ma Dacheng said.

"Advancing dozens of miles forward is equivalent to extending our logistical support by dozens of miles!" Xiao Dongwei said, "General Ma, advancing to the military camp requires logistical support. This is like setting up a bright target for the enemy to harass. For the enemy, even a small force can cause us great trouble. If we are not careful, we could be easily wiped out by the enemy, which would be a bad deal!"

“Military operations are always risky. There is no war without risk. All we can do is find the one with the least risk. Since a full-scale attack is difficult, I think that building a fortified camp in front is the least risky method. The enemy can harass us, and we can also fish them out!” Ma Liang chimed in, supporting his father.

“Protector, what do you say?” Ma Dacheng looked at Xiao Changche.

“Building a military camp in this area is not advisable!” Xiao Changche shook his head. “It’s time-consuming and laborious, and it’s easy to attack but difficult to defend. My opinion is that since we have to fight now, let’s attack Tiger Roar Plain!”

Everyone's eyes immediately fell on the map hanging on the wall.

Tiger Roar Plain, a suddenly rising highland, is located on the right side of Boling County, bordering Fanyang County. It commands a strategic position, controlling Boling County to the left and Fanyang County to the right.

Naturally, such places are also where the other party focuses their efforts on developing.

“Protector, Tiger Roar Plain is much farther from Yangguan Pass. Firstly, it’s much more difficult to fight here!” Ma Dacheng said in surprise.

"Tiger Roar Plain is strategically important, so it has been a battleground for many years. The Lu family of Fanyang and the Cui family of Boling are vying for power here, with the Cui family holding a clear advantage, but the Lu family of Fanyang still maintains many strongholds!" Xiao Changdao said. "The situation here is rather chaotic."

“The Lu family of Fanyang wouldn’t support us either!” Ma Dacheng said helplessly. “Who knows, the moment we show up there, they might unite against us!”

"Why not?" Xiao Changche said with a smile.

Everyone looked at Xiao Changche in shock.

Xiao Changche's casual remark revealed a great deal of information.

Sometimes, when subordinates feel that a problem is simply unsolvable, it is an extremely easy thing for the leader to solve.

If the Lu family of Fanyang is in cahoots with the Beiting Protectorate, then taking down Huxiaoyuan would be a very likely mission.

(End of this chapter)