knife

Chapter 773 Chen Yan's Stance

Sitting on the top floor of the restaurant by the window, you can see the lights in the Han River harbor in the distance as bright and dazzling as stars.

It was a beautiful sight made up of hundreds of ships of all sizes, and it was also the foundation for Chen Yan's livelihood in this world.

It is precisely because of these that people like Linghu De are so respectful to scholars and eager to seek out talented individuals.

"Prefect, now that Na Wei has retreated to Liyang County, there is still no news of the attack on Xiangfan that Linghu Fuzheng promised. I am worried that if this goes on for too long, it will inevitably damage Fuzheng's reputation. Even now, there is already some discussion outside!" Chen Yan said, putting down his wine cup.

Linghu De smiled and said, "We will be sending out troops soon!"

Chen Yan's spirits lifted. "I wonder which general will be leading the charge? And how many troops will be mobilized?"

"The general who led the troops to attack Xiangfan was Chang Lei, with Cui Cheng, the garrison commander, as his deputy."

"General Chang Lei is a veteran who has fought countless battles!" Chen Yan said. "With a general like him in command, we will surely be unstoppable."

Linghu De coughed and said, "General Chen, you are someone the Regent values ​​highly, so there are some things I don't need to hide from you. Although this attack on Xiangfan was led by General Chang Lei, the troops were mainly from the Eastern Capital."

Chen Yan was taken aback.

Chang Lei is the commander-in-chief, but his troops are all from Dongdu, which means they are all Cui Cheng's subordinates. So how effective can Chang Lei be as the commander-in-chief?
Even if he holds a higher official position and has a greater reputation than Cui Cheng, what good is that?
"Where are General Chang Lei's main troops?"

Linghu De stood up, picked up a piece of braised venison with his chopsticks and placed it on Chen Yan's plate. He smiled and said, "The main focus of the regency this time is on the decisive battle with Li Dachui. General Chang Lei's troops are all seasoned veterans, so they will naturally be incorporated into the troops heading north."

Chen Yan suddenly realized what was happening.

Linghu Ye was worried about Chang Lei.

This decisive battle concerns the future of Linghu Ye and Li Dachui. Apart from Chang Lei, the rest of the Chang family are all serving under Li Dachui and hold high positions. Linghu Ye is worried that Chang Lei might change his mind before the battle, so he doesn't dare to use him at all and has even withdrawn his own troops.

However, even a valiant general like Chang Lei, who had made outstanding contributions during the entry into the pass, needed to be appeased. Therefore, he was given a high-ranking official position and an empty title to be sent to the south. Chang Lei's reputation could also be used to intimidate the enemy in the south.

Judging from this, Linghu Ye really has little interest in launching a pincer attack on the eight towns south of the Yangtze River.

Chen Yan didn't think highly of Cui Cheng.

"General Chang is truly capable!" Linghu De smiled and raised his cup in a gesture of respect: "Although he only brought a few hundred personal guards to Luoyang, he quickly reorganized the troops under the Luoyang Garrison Commander, and they are still somewhat usable! I estimate that they will officially set off soon to attack Nanyang first!"

"So my navy will also set sail next, posing a threat to Xiangfan?" Chen Yan asked.

“Yes!” Linghu De nodded and said, “But General Chen, a threat is a threat, but your most important task now is not to eliminate the enemy, but to restrain the opponent as much as possible. Of course, if there is an opportunity to devour a part of the opponent’s strength, that would be fine too, but it must be done on the basis of safety. I hope that under your leadership, we can delay the time that Na Wei holds out in Liyang as much as possible!” Chen Yan nodded.

"Our goal is simply to prevent Jiang Qian from going north to cause trouble during our decisive battle with Li Dachui!" Linghu De said proudly. "As long as we defeat Li Dachui, people like Jiang Qian and Na Wei are nothing more than a minor ailment that we can easily wipe out."

"Of course I have no problem here!" Chen Yan said proudly. "It's just that I'm worried about whether that barbarian Na Wei is determined to hold out in Liyang for a while. If he runs away, the entire land defense line will inevitably collapse!"

"That's why General Chang Lei immediately launched the Xiangfan campaign!" Linghu De said. "He is indeed a bit unstable right now, but as long as he sees some hope, he will hold on for a while longer! This man is quite the gambler, and sometimes he's even willing to bet his entire fortune!"

"Prefect, tell me the truth, how confident are you in Linghu De's chances of success in this Northern Expedition?" Chen Yan asked, staring at Linghu De.

"Do you know how many troops Linghu Fuzheng has gathered this time?" Linghu De asked.

Chen Yan pondered for a moment and said, "This time, Linghu Fuzheng went to great lengths, even personally going south to persuade Xiang Zhuang and Na Wei, just to conceal the fact that he had amassed a large force for the Northern Expedition. I estimate that it must be at least 100,000 or more, right?"

"In this decisive battle, Chang'an has gathered all the forces it can muster, with over 200,000 infantry and cavalry!" Linghu De's smile faded. "The Regent forced the Yang and Li families and other powerful clans to lay down all their savings. The accumulated wealth of the people of Chang'an over hundreds of years has been wiped out this time. I've fought a lifetime of war, and this is the first time I've witnessed what it truly means to have a well-trained army and ample supplies, and to be prepared for any eventuality! The Regent is treating Li Dachui as his greatest enemy, and he's even putting himself in the position of the weaker party, preparing to fight Li Dachui head-on!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Yan was deeply moved.

"Having mobilized over 200,000 troops, they still consider themselves the weaker party? With such a force, a victory is practically guaranteed, if not a sure thing, right?"

"Sixty percent!" Linghu De said, "This is not my opinion, but what Linghu Fuzheng said. General Chen, after this battle, the general situation of the world will be roughly clear. We have won, and the world belongs to us, including the Chu Kingdom. Li Dachui can only retreat to the border, and may even have to retreat to the former Beiyuan-controlled area to live a miserable life. After we take over the Chu Kingdom and unify the world, we will slowly deal with him."

Chen Yan nodded. The reason why Qin was unable to conquer Beiyuan back then was because they had Chu behind them. Qin's hostility towards Chu was far greater than that towards Beiyuan.

But things will be very different in the future. With the Central Plains Empire unified and free from worries about the rear, it can concentrate on dealing with enemies outside the Great Wall.

"Of course, if we lose, this world will belong to Li Dachui!" Linghu De raised his wine cup and laughed loudly.

"How is this possible?" Chen Yan also burst into laughter.

Amidst the laughter, Linghu De turned to look out the window, but his laughter suddenly stopped as if a duck had been choked.

"The port!" He stood up abruptly, his wine glass falling onto the table, the wine spilling down the surface.

Chen Yan turned his head and exclaimed in surprise. He pressed the table and leaped out of the window, jumping straight down. Linghu De stared at his flying figure for a moment, then jumped down the building as well, shouting, "Someone! Someone! Go to the port!"

The port is on fire!

(End of this chapter)