Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 467: The Destruction of Zhou is Imminent
Outside the hall, warriors were patrolling back and forth.

There are guards at all entrances and exits, and security is tight.

Inside the hall, however, there was a lot of noise and it was extremely lively.

Then he saw Liu Taozi sitting in the upper seat, his expression no longer so solemn, with some joy between his brows. Zu Ting sat closest to him, sitting alone.

Further ahead are two rows of generals.

Gao Changgong, Wei Xiaokuan, Hulu Xian, Kou Liu, Zhang Heizu, Po Duoluo Ku, Tu Xiyue, Pi Jinghe.
There were a total of forty-five generals, both big and small, standing on both sides of Liu Taozi.

Except for a few generals who were needed to guard one area, almost all the generals from other places were present.

While Liu Taozi was sending people to capture Guanzhong, his army was also advancing towards Lingxia and other places. Especially after the Heluo Channel was opened up, the pressure of marching and logistics was greatly reduced. Although logistics was still a big problem, it was much better than before.

At that moment, troops from all directions were heading towards Guanzhong, and according to Zu Ting's strategy, they were ready to deal a final blow to the remaining Pseudo-Zhou forces.

All the grain that Gao Yin had stored in the country was put to use this time.

Liu Taozi concealed his real intention of transporting a large amount of food and grass to the front line by attacking Guanzhong. However, for the Zhou people, who were in internal chaos and couldn't even handle their own affairs, the Han side was simply a huge fog of war and they knew nothing.

If such a large force was mobilized during normal times, no one would be able to hide it from anyone else.

This is probably why Zu Ting was eager to launch a large-scale attack, in order to kill the enemy when they were at their weakest.

These people's armies were stationed in different areas according to Zu Ting's strategy. The generals came on horseback to pay their respects and listen to his orders.

Many of them had not seen Liu Taozi for a long time. When they met this time, they did not talk about military intelligence, but instead started chatting. They were particularly close to each other.

Wei Xiaokuan seemed somewhat out of place standing here.

Kou Liu looked at Liu Taozi who was sitting on the upper seat, "Your Majesty is more majestic than before!"

"We just met, and I almost didn't recognize each other"

Potala smiled and said, "You ran the fastest and almost startled the emperor. Why do you say you dare not recognize me?"

Most of those present were old acquaintances. In addition, although Liu Taozi had established his own system and proclaimed himself king, there was no one like Shusun Tong by his side to help him formulate etiquette. As a result, everyone was rather casual and there was no sign of strict etiquette.

Zu Ting, a scholar, did not feel at all unfamiliar chatting with this group of rough warriors.

Of course, this is not to say that these warriors like Zu Ting. Most of them hate Zu Ting, but at least they can say something, whether it is good or bad.

There are actually a lot of generals and officers under Liu Taozi. Those knights who followed Liu Taozi and left Cheng'an are now generals. Even those Xianbei knights who left Boling now hold important positions in various armies. However, there are still too few top-notch generals who can command a place alone. Hulugu Guang counts as one, Gao Changgong counts as one, Wang Lin counts as one, Gao Yanzong and Yao Xiong together count as one. Well, Huluxian can barely be counted as one, but he is more inclined to governance and farming.

The difference is also obvious. Although Liu Han set up the military force in imitation of the Pseudo-Zhou Dynasty, he still adopted the Pseudo-Qi system for official positions.

The official positions of the Pseudo-Zhou were too chaotic, and the restoration of the past was a bit too extreme, even more retro than Wang Mang's.

The many generals gathered in front of Liu Taozi now all have the title of general. In the military, Hulugu is currently the number one general. After Bao Xian's death, Liu Taozi promoted Hulugu to General of Chariots and Cavalry and made him a county duke for his merit in defeating the Turks and killing Daxi Wu.

Because the Han Dynasty had not yet established the position of general, Hulugu was currently the top general, followed by Gao Changgong. Gao Changgong was awarded the title of General of Guards for his contribution in conquering Chang'an, which was only lower than Hulugu, and he also had the title of Three Dukes General.

Wang Lin was the General who Conquers the East, a rank lower than the Three Dukes and Generals, and was a general with an important title.

Then came General Zhendong Yao Xiong, General Zhenxi Hulu Xian, General Pingnan Gao Yanzong, etc., who also had important titles, but were lower in rank.

Further back were the Wuwei General Kou Liu, the Fuguo General Zhang Heizu, the Anyuan General Potuo Luo, the Huqi General Shi Wansui and many other generals with miscellaneous titles.

It certainly doesn't sound as impressive as the great pillars and generals of the Pseudo-Zhou Dynasty, after all, there are generals per capita there. However, it also reduces the confusion of powers.

Liu Taozi looked at the generals under his command and saw many familiar faces, such as the general Heba Cheng, with whom he had known each other for a long time, the county lieutenant Dugu Jie when he was in Liyang, Liu Chengcai and Li Qihu from the garrison, many of whom came from the lower classes and fought their way to where they are today.

At this moment, they were all extremely excited.

In the previous battle to capture Chang'an, the attackers took off directly.

Gao Changgong was directly promoted to General Wei and almost became General of Cavalry. A little guy like Shi Wansui directly became the top general of miscellaneous rank and he will probably be promoted to general of important rank soon.

The rewards for the rest of the people were higher than one another.

These generals were also very envious. Such merit was really not easy to get. Liu Taozi always rewarded those who had made contributions. He would not promote anyone just because he was close to him. Kou Liu had followed Liu Taozi the longest time, perhaps even earlier than Yao Xiong, but he had not yet been able to become a general. This was evident.

Even Lu Qubing was promoted because of his outstanding political achievements, fairness, and frankness when giving advice.

This time they want to destroy Zhou, and there are countless merits waiting for them.

Even Kou Liu seemed a little excited. Yao Xiong had already made it to the top four towns, and he was left far behind. On the surface, he had to kneel down and salute when he saw Yao Xiong. If he didn't take military merit, he would be fooled by this Qihu next time he saw Yao Xiong! !

The crowd gathered together, teasing each other and talking noisily. They didn't look like the ministers in the palace, but more like a group of bandits!
After chatting for a long time, Zu Ting cleared his throat and got down to business.

"Generals, the time has come to make achievements!"

"The Zhou people have lost all their morale, the government is in chaos, and they can't take care of each other. They are like fish on the chopping board, lambs to be slaughtered!!"

Zu Ting signaled to the warriors in the distance, and soon, guards came into the house with a huge map.

The corner of Wei Xiaokuan's eye twitched.

This map looked quite familiar to him. It seemed to be the map of Shu that Yuchi Jiong presented to the court after he conquered Bashu.

When the warriors placed the map on the ground, Wei Xiaokuan confirmed his guess.

Sure enough.

Perhaps the greatest achievement of conquering Chang'an was obtaining these secrets.

Logically speaking, maps like this are strictly confidential documents and would never be circulated. This map is extremely detailed, recording many cities, roads, water sources, checkpoints, and terrain in Bashu. Zu Ting was even able to provide manpower and material resources from various places.

In general, there were no secrets between Bashu and the Han Dynasty. Everything was transparent from beginning to end. This was a very scary thing.

Wars are fought for intelligence. At the moment, the Han State is shrouded in mystery to the Zhou State, while the Zhou State is completely transparent to the Han State.

The generals came forward one after another and looked at this detailed map, and couldn't help but start discussing it.

Kou Liu looked at it very seriously. He said, "The Zhou people's mapping skills are really brilliant!"

"Our maps are not as detailed as theirs."

Gao Changgong knew all this a long time ago. He looked at the others and said, "With this map, it will be easier to capture Bashu."

"This is destiny."

The generals agreed with this and became more and more excited.

Zu Ting saw that everyone's morale was almost up, so he stepped out and explained his strategy.

Zu Ting’s strategy was actually very simple and crude.

There was no flanking, no cutting off of food supplies, and no surprise attack; it was just a simple and brutal attack.

Zu Ting pointed to a place on the map.

"Dashan Pass, this is the place we have to conquer first." "Your Majesty will personally lead the main force of 60,000, or 200,000, from Sanguan Pass, through Gudao and Baima, to attack the pass and head for Jinshou!"

"General Anyuan defeated Duoluo Ku, General Shi Wansui of the Tiger Cavalry, General Zhang Heizu of the Auxiliary State, and the General of Victory followed!"

Zu Ting read out a long list of names.

All the people whose names were called stood up and saluted in the direction of Zu Ting.

"only!!"

"Where is General Zhenxi?!"

Huluxian walked out from the crowd, looked at Zu Ting, and bowed his head.

"My subordinate is here!"

"The general led 30,000 soldiers, claiming to be 100,000, from Tonghe, passing through Hengxiang, breaking through Wudu, and heading towards Lubei!"

"Wuwei General Kou Liu, Fenwei General Pi Jinghe, Hongyi General Tu Xiyue, and Zhenwei General follow!"

"only!!"

"General Wei."

Gao Changgong walked out, looked at Zu Ting calmly, and nodded slightly as a greeting.

Zu Ting's expression softened. "General Wei can lead 30,000 elite troops, or 100,000 in total, from Ji'an, passing Shangyong, heading to Xinling, and heading to Yong'an."

Generally speaking, generals of different levels can lead different armies. Of course, this depends on the king's ideas. In the past, there have been many famous generals who, despite their great military achievements, have never led an army of more than 10,000 people in their lives. One of the criteria for a general's combat capability is how many troops he can command. Zu Ting let Huluxian and Gao Changgong lead troops respectively, which is enough to show the emperor's trust in them.

Zu Ting’s strategic idea was quite simple and crude. He divided his troops into three routes and attacked them all the way until the end.

Because they had the map, they didn't have to worry about getting lost or not being able to find water. Even the locations of warehouses and wheat fields were clearly marked on the map, so Zu Ting didn't have to worry about food supplies. He could just fight and take them! In this case, Zu Ting didn't believe that these capable generals would fail.

But Zu Ting still wanted to say a few words.

He said solemnly: "Generals, this is the merit that God has placed in front of us. Now is the weakest time for Zhou. We have the right time, right place and right people. If we miss the opportunity and fail to complete the great unification, we will be the sinners of the Han Dynasty. I hope that the generals can go all out, do not underestimate the enemy, and do not be greedy for merit and advance recklessly. Do not disobey military orders and obey the orders of the commander-in-chief. Those who violate the law, disobey orders, delay military opportunities, fight disadvantageously, flee cowardly, leak secrets, and make all kinds of mistakes, no matter who they are, behead them as a warning to the public, and their clans will not be allowed to serve in the government!!"

Zu Ting's eyes swept over them one by one, and then he said, "The achievement of destroying a country must not be missed!"

"only!!!"

Everyone saluted.

Zu Ting said a lot more and gave instructions for everything, especially for several generals who needed special care. Then he let them quickly go to their destinations to take up their posts.

Before their arrival, Zu Ting had ordered them to march according to his own strategic ideas. Most of their troops were stationed not far from the place where they were to be dispatched. As long as the generals arrived, they could send troops to fight the bandits.

Zu Ting asked the generals of various ranks to leave first, but left behind the commanders of the two armies, and also asked Wei Xiaokuan to stay as well.

There were only five people left in the hall, including Liu Taozi.

Zu Ting could only tell these few people about his subsequent strategies. There was no need for the generals with other titles to know so much.

Liu Taozi had never seen Zu Ting so serious.

There was not a trace of frivolity on Zu Ting's face as usual; his eyes were sharp, his expression was solemn, and so was his tone.

These people had discussed strategic issues with Zu Ting a long time ago and knew more or less about Zu Ting's thoughts.

Zu Ting added something at this moment.

"General Hulu, your journey is extremely difficult and the roads are hard to travel. Even with a map, it will still be difficult to march. Moreover, many places are suitable for ambushes. I know that you are always cautious, so I let you lead this army. You don't have to rush to capture the city. You are here to disperse the enemy's main force. As long as you can contain them and cooperate with the main force, I will send someone to contact you at any time."

"Among the generals under your command, Kouliu can serve as the vanguard, and the rest are better off staying by your side and not far away."

Zu Ting explained to Huluxian in detail, starting from his military arrangements, to the situation along the way, ambush positions that needed to be guarded against, retreat routes and separate marching routes, etc. He spoke in great detail and Huluxian listened very carefully.

Zu Ting then added something to Gao Changgong.

As for Gao Changgong, Zu Ting did not give so many instructions. It can be seen that he also believed in Gao Changgong's fighting ability. All he ordered was to be careful of the State of Chen behind him. If there was any unusual movement in the State of Chen, they should not continue to advance.

After telling all this, Zu Ting looked at Wei Xiaokuan.

"General Wei, please tell them about the generals and troops along the way and see if there is anything else you can add."

Wei Xiaokuan felt that he was almost becoming Zu Ting's military advisor.

Although Zu Ting had the secrets of the Zhou Kingdom in his hands, he felt that documents were just documents, and it would be better to have someone who truly knew the details of the Zhou Kingdom to supplement and make judgments for him. Therefore, he kept Wei Xiaokuan by his side and worked with him to formulate strategies.

Wei Xiaokuan was dumbfounded, but he had to obey. In Zu Ting's grand strategy, Wei Xiaokuan contributed a lot.

The few of them chatted until very late, and then the generals said goodbye and left.

After they all left, Zu Ting let out a breath, a hint of fatigue in his eyes.

From beginning to end, Liu Taozi said almost nothing and let go completely, allowing Zu Ting to formulate the strategy, arrange the list of names, and even the date of the dispatch of troops was decided by Zu Ting, and Liu Taozi was only responsible for nodding.

At this moment, Zu Ting reacted, looked suddenly at Liu Taozi, and then bowed deeply.

"I will never betray your majesty's trust!!"

"This time, I will definitely defeat the thieves for your majesty!!"

Zu Ting knew very well how much power Liu Taozi had given him. This meant that he was entrusted with the entire war to destroy Zhou. Thinking of this, Zu Ting's vague feeling of fatigue disappeared completely. He instantly became energetic and full of strength.

Liu Taozi nodded.

"Grandpa, you don't have to do this."

"For the merit of destroying Zhou, you should be appointed as prime minister."

In the past, Zu Ting might have been excited to hear this, but now, he was extremely calm, as if he had not heard the words of the Prime Minister at all. He said seriously: "The only flaw in the current strategy is in Jiangling."

"I have said before that Jiangling is the most important part of our campaign against the Zhou Kingdom. If Jiangling were in our hands, the people of Chen would only be able to defend it and not interfere with our affairs. But now Jiangling is in the hands of the enemy, and when General Wei deploys his troops, he must always be on guard against his own back."

Liu Taozi nodded, "My grandfather seemed to have said that Jiangling would not be difficult to conquer."

"At the beginning, I received many secret letters and learned that Chunyu Liang had changed his past style and began to rectify military laws and actively attack cities without fear of offending the powerful. At that time, I had some doubts in my heart. Your Majesty also knows Chunyu Liang's character. Why did he do this? Especially after Huang Fachu was just captured and brought back to Jiankang? I guess this guy probably wanted to change his allegiance so that we can get Jiangling directly. Unexpectedly, this guy escaped and did not surrender the city."

"However, Jiangling was conquered by him and his men after all, and the people currently stationed in Jiangling are all the old men from back then."

"We can give an order to Gao Yanzong and have him and Chunyu Liang go to the vicinity of Jiangling. Even if they can't take Jiangling, they can at least make the Chen people afraid to act rashly!!"

"Once we have dealt with the Zhou Kingdom, the Chen Kingdom will be even less worthy of mention!"

"If we govern the last five years, we can take it down in one fell swoop!"

ps: My body can't take it anymore. I wanted to write two chapters, but I wrote for a day and only wrote one and a half chapters. I apologize to you all. I hope you can forgive me. At least I will finish writing the next battle without interruption.

(End of this chapter)