Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World

They captured two cities in succession.

If nothing unexpected happens, the next battle will be the decisive battle at Miaochuan.

Even more so, they expanded their territory.

Jiang Qing will be back in a month or two at most!

Thinking of this, Zhao Ceying sighed deeply.

God knows how he's been living all this time.

He was threatened by his ministers from the outside and advised by the empress from within.

The new emperor has been absent from court for more than a month since his ascension to the throne.

Fortunately, he held on.

If he can hold out for a while longer, and all the military generals come to the capital, he will be able to completely seize military power.

Holding military power means the throne is completely secure!

After putting down the good news, Zhao Ceying picked up a memorial and began to read it.

Even though court has been suspended, all the administrative matters that need to be handled still need to be addressed.

With just one glance, Zhao Ceying knew the contents of the memorial.

"Laba Festival?"

"I remember that every year on the Laba Festival, all officials are given a three-day holiday, and a banquet is to be held at Jinming Pond to entertain them?" Zhao Ceying asked Huang Shang, the Imperial Household Attendant.

"Exactly."

Huang Shang quickly replied, "The third day after the winter solstice is the Laba Festival. According to custom, the emperor must host a banquet for all officials, and the common people must offer sacrifices to all the gods, drive away plagues and pray for blessings, and exchange wine and meat."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ceying frowned inwardly.

Lately, he really hasn't been in the mood for holidays.

With war raging on the frontier, why should the capital still celebrate festivals?

"Could we not celebrate the Laba Festival?" Zhao Ceying asked.

"This"

Huang Shang hesitated for a moment before replying, "The most important matters of the state are sacrifice and war."

“On the Laba Festival, we offer sacrifices to all the gods, which can be considered a ritual,” Huang Shang said respectfully.

"Ugh!"

With a sigh, Zhao Ceying picked up his vermilion brush and wrote his instructions.

What else can I do?

It's accurate!

Life without Jiang Qing is so uncomfortable!

Chapter 198 The Great Victory at Xihe! (4k)

December 7th, the fourth year of the Zhiping era.

Nanzong Village.

This fortress is one of the subordinate fortresses of Miaochuan City, located only about twenty li away from Miaochuan City.

In the era of short weapons, it was quite common for two armies to set up camps within a distance of twenty or thirty miles when they were engaged in battle.

If the two armies were closer, about ten miles apart, they might be ambushed by the enemy or charged by cavalry.

If the distance were even greater, with the two armies separated by forty or fifty li, the soldiers would be exhausted just from the journey to engage in battle.

Traveling twenty or thirty li can avoid enemy surprise attacks, allow time for our own forces to deploy their troops, and facilitate scouts to conduct reconnaissance and transmit information in a timely manner.

After capturing Nanbao Village in the morning, the 60,000-strong army was stationed there for a temporary rest.

The Chinese military tent.

Zhong E, Zhang Ding, Zheng Xiao, Bao Shun, Yao Si, Yang Wenguang, and Guo Kui gathered here.

At the head of the table, Jiang Zhao, fully armored and carrying a sword, unfurled a geomantic map.

Upon entering Lezhou, the terrain is mainly loess and hills.

Occasionally, there are one or two tributaries of the Huangshui River or the Yellow River, which are either dry streams or deep ravines and great rivers.

Fortunately, there is no large river between Nanbao Village and Miaochuan City; instead, the area is mainly composed of small hills, which eliminates the need to cross a river.

After glancing at the geomantic map a few times, Jiang Zhao pondered and said, "With 60,000 against 20,000, the advantage is in my hands."

"After resting for an afternoon, just as darkness was about to fall, the main force pressed in, surrounding but not attacking."

"When Li Liangzuo set up camp, he must have thought that the army would have a day or two to rest. Little did he know that they would only have an afternoon to rest."

Everyone's eyes lit up.

Can it still be so neat?

Jiang Zhao didn't take it seriously and continued with his plan: "Once the army besieges the city, immediately build fortifications, dig trenches, set up fences and barricades."

“There are many canyons at the East Gate, making travel difficult. The West Gate leads to Longzhuhei, and the further you travel, the further you get from the Western Xia border. Ten thousand men guard the East Gate, and five thousand men guard the West Gate.”

“The path to the north gate is the flattest and most suitable for cavalry to break through, so five thousand men are stationed there.”

"The remaining 40,000 soldiers will form the main force and guard the main gate."

As he spoke, Jiang Zhao paused deliberately and glanced at Zheng Xiao, Bao Shun, Yao Si, Yang Wenguang, and Guo Kui.

The meaning is obvious.

The north gate was deliberately left as an "escape route".

If Li Liangzuo were to choose to escape in a certain direction, the North Gate would be the most likely.

The main gate is the south gate, and the east gate has 10,000 people.

If Li Liangzuo wanted to escape, he would definitely choose the west gate or the north gate.

Unfortunately, the West Gate is close to the South Gate and faces the opposite direction of the Western Xia, making it quite dangerous.

Therefore, Li Liangzuo is most likely to choose the North Gate as the breakthrough point and flee for his life.

This is a "gateway to survival" that was deliberately left out.

Feigning sleep to lure the enemy!

Risk and opportunity coexist.

Once you go to garrison the area, you risk the inability of the main army to provide timely support.

The slightest carelessness could allow the enemy to escape, which would be a major blunder.

Conversely, it would be a great achievement.

Either a great achievement or a great demerit, who wants that?

Yao Si and Guo Kui were both interested.

"This humble official is willing to guard the north gate." Compared to Guo Kui, Yao Si was more decisive.

Without hesitation, he knelt down decisively.

Among the military generals, Zhang Ding and Zheng Xiao were both first-rate sons of noble families.

Yang Wenguang was the son of Yang Yanzhao. Even though the Yang family had fallen on hard times, they still had considerable resources.

Bao Shun was a leader of the Tibetan Empire, which meant his potential was limited.

In comparison, Bao Shun's contributions were more about bringing benefits to his descendants.

Those who perform great deeds will be spared death and disaster, and their descendants will inherit the position of chieftain.

Zhong E needs no introduction; he was a veteran military commander who had been present since the opening of the Xihe border.

His nephew, Zhong Shidao, even became a disciple of the young Grand Secretary, which destined him for a bright future.

Guo Kui was a close attendant of the late emperor and had made meritorious contributions in breaking through enemy lines and capturing cities.

Only he, Yao Si, was a commoner with no distinguished background, and his performance in battle had been mediocre.

Yao Si was very decisive.

For ordinary people without connections, it's incredibly difficult to defy fate and change their destiny.

This opportunity to lure the enemy is both a crisis and a chance.

Since it's an opportunity, we must seize it with all our might.

The remaining people, seeing this scene, showed no intention of fighting.

Guo Kui's hesitation eased slightly, and he also chose to give up.

The reason he hesitated for a moment was because he had already contributed to the capture of the city.

Since Yao Si wants to seize the opportunity, there's no need for him to gamble.

"it is good."

Jiang Zhao nodded: "Yao Si will lead five thousand soldiers to guard the north gate."

"When you are defending the city, remember to surround it without attacking, and keep a distance of more than two miles from the city gate."

Jiang Zhao instructed, "We can provoke and harass them from time to time to wear down their morale; we can also engage in small-scale battles to exhaust their patience. As long as we wait for some time, and the city's food supplies run out, Li Liangzuo will lead his army out of the city on his own."

It took a full hundred days, and the internal conflicts within Western Xia had already erupted.

Li Liangzuo was holding on desperately, clinging to a sliver of hope for victory.

Once he wins the battle of Miaochuan and enters the capital with the prestige of a great victory, he can suppress all those who disagree with him.

But the truth is, even with 20,000 men against 60,000, Li Liangzuo could not have won if he hadn't been a reincarnation of Han Xin.

Xiliang Prefecture and Xiping Prefecture.

The former was a strategically important location in the western border region and the secondary capital of the Western Xia dynasty, which was attacked by Gu Tingye.

The latter was less than 100 li from the capital of Western Xia and was attacked head-on by Marquis Zhongjing.

From Xihe to Shaanxi, nearly 200,000 of the 300,000 soldiers were engaged in battle.

Along the border, it was almost a full-scale war.

This meant that Li Liangzuo had no reinforcements!

With 60,000 troops fighting against 20,000, capturing the city would be extremely difficult.

But besieging a city is not difficult.

By proceeding steadily and wearing down Li Liangzuo little by little, we can eventually defeat him.

"promise."

The group bowed in unison and withdrew.

When it comes to layout, none of them are particularly good at it.

But when it comes to provoking a siege and engaging in close combat, that's absolutely commonplace for military generals; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they can do it with ease.

Jiang Zhao stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Zhong Shidao, who was standing in a corner.

"How's the training for the 'Falcon-Breaking Crossbow' going lately?"

Ever since Zhong Shidao presented the hawk-breaking crossbow, the border troops have begun to produce them in large quantities.

To date, more than three thousand have been produced.

To make it easier for them to use their skills, Jiang Zhao had six thousand soldiers, the most skilled in archery among the troops stationed in Xihe, selected and formed a separate army to practice breaking through the hawk crossbows against targets.

Jiang Zhao handed over the specific training program to Zhong Shidao.

Now, it is the final battle.

It's time for the crossbow to play its role and give Li Liangzuo a pleasant surprise.

"The six thousand crossbowmen are all trained and await your inspection, sir." Zhong Shidao said confidently, raising his hand in a salute.