Zhang Yuan smiled bitterly and said, "This... can be studied again. In short, it was to send troops from three directions, which was unexpected for the Tartars..."

After all, Zang Xian and others did not give much advice to Zhang Yuan, and Zhang Yuan quickly revealed his true colors after the emperor questioned him.

Zhu Houzhao waved his hand and said, "Not to mention the fact that the troops were divided into three groups, now we can confirm that the situation in the Tartars is true? If I attacked with my troops and horses, the number of Tartars suddenly increased on the battlefield, and there were no less than 200,000 troops from all directions, how should I deal with it?"

Zhang Yuan seemed very confident this time: "Your Majesty, please rest assured. The Tartars will definitely not have 200,000 troops, and the total population of Dayan Khan's tribe may not be so large."

Zhu Houzhao looked thoughtful: "Even if it is about 150,000, it will make me embarrassed... How many imperial troops will come in the future? Could it be that they can only raise 150,000 troops to go out to the frontier?"

Zhang Yuan blinked and immediately understood that Zhu Houzhao wanted to send troops and was afraid of death, so he quickly made a statement: "Now there are only 30,000 troops left in Gansu Town and Ningxia Town. Due to the long journey, it will take about half a month to reach. If Your Majesty is determined to fight, he can transfer the troops around Zhangjiakou Fort, so that another 50,000 troops can be raised, which will add up to 200,000 people, and can claim 600,000 to the outside world..."

Before Zhu Houzhao could speak, Qian Ning next to him had already retorted: "What if all the troops in the city are transferred out and the Tartars attacked the pass and the barriers will lead to the loss of the rear?"

Zhang Yuan sneered: "The best defensive strategy in this world is attack. Since Your Majesty leads 200,000 troops to attack, the Tatars still have the courage to attack the city? Even if they are dispatched 50,000 troops, there will still be troops in the city. It will take time for the Tatars to break the city. By then, Your Majesty will have already dispatched a large army to come and attack it forward and backward. Victory is basically within reach!"

"good!"

After hearing this, Zhu Houzhao slapped her thighs again, obviously very satisfied with Zhang Yuan's suggestions. This made Qian Ning, who had always been hostile to Zhang Yuan, glaring at Zhang Yuan fiercely. The unconcealed smug look on the other person's face made him very disgusted.

Zhu Houzhao said: "It is indeed no need to leave so many people to guard the city. I have led my troops to attack. The Tartars will not focus on siege. The 200,000 troops are enough to deal with the Tartars. After all, we still have advanced muskets and cannons, which are all weapons with great lethality, and the Tartars cannot get close to them at all!"

Although Zhu Houzhao said this with confidence, she couldn't help but look at the Concubine Li next to her and asked, "Concubine Li, what do you think?"

Before, when the people present spoke, they basically listened with their ears but lowered their heads and said nothing. Only Concubine Li looked at the person present with a strange smile.

When it comes to military issues, Zhu Houzhao already trusts Concubine Li very much, because Concubine Li showed great insights after she arrived in Xuanfu, which made Zhu Houzhao feel that this woman was extremely intelligent and enjoyed the convenience of the advice of the people beside her.

When Zhu Houzhao was discussing military and national affairs, he couldn't help but ask Concubine Li's opinion. This was also based on the absence of "outsiders", and Zhu Houzhao's trusted "affiliates" were all in front of him.

Concubine Li said: "Your Majesty is determined to send troops. Where do you have any opinions? It seems that this time, you will definitely win a complete victory."

In the past, Concubine Li's words always brought some inspiration, but this time it made Zhu Houzhao slightly disappointed, but he didn't take it too seriously. After all, his idea was made, and the matter of sending troops could not be changed.

With Concubine Li's wisdom, she naturally knew that her slander would not only not arouse Zhu Houzhao's vigilance, but would also lose the emperor's trust. It would be better to follow the other party's words and make everything natural.

Zhu Houzhao stood up and knelt down at the office. Even Concubine Li was no exception. She either knelt on one knee or bowed her head on both knees, respectfully. Zhu Houzhao was full of energy and waved her hand and said, "Okay, the matter of sending troops will be settled. The time will be the day after tomorrow. I will lead the troops to attack in person, and this time I will definitely kill the Tartars without leaving any armor!"

...

...

Zhu Houzhao shouted too many slogans, and he was very confident every time, but the final result was always unsatisfactory.

After arranging the date of the troops, Zhu Houzhao took Concubine Li to the backyard to eat, drink and have fun, completely disregarding that the war was about to break out in two days.

This time Qian Ning and Xu Tai did not receive the invitation from the emperor, and as for Sima Zhenren, he was not even invited to attend the previous military meeting, and he did not have the opportunity to accompany Zhu Houzhao to have fun and drink.

After the crowd came out, Xu Tai, Dai Yi and others naturally moved closer to Zhang Yuan. Zhang Yuan glanced at Qian Ning who was staying in the outer courtyard and did not intend to leave, and retracted his gaze resentfully.

Xu Tai stepped forward and said respectfully: "Eunuch Zhang, Your Majesty has arranged for the next day to send troops. You must make proper plans and leave your humble post to accompany you in front of Your Majesty."

Zhang Yuan glanced at Xu Tai and asked arrogantly: "Why, Vice General Xu doesn't want to charge and achieve military achievements?"

"Nothing...nothing."

Xu Tai seemed very nervous because of the lessons of General Bai Yu's failure in sending troops. He was unwilling to put himself in danger and also had the risk of taking responsibility. He patted his chest and said, "I want to protect His Majesty in front of His Majesty...I am loyal to His Majesty, and the light of day can be expressed."

Zhang Yuan sneered: "Is your loyalty only to Your Majesty, and you are half-hearted to our family?"

Xu Tai was stunned, and then he thought that Zhang Yuan might know that he had often run to Hu Lian and Wang Shouren these days, and secretly thought, "Is this because I can replace General Bai, who has lost power, as General Xuanfu? In the current situation, it is not enough to curry favor with Eunuch Zhang, you are, so you will only take a few more ways... But if Eunuch Zhang blames him, then the situation will be difficult to deal with."

Xu Tai immediately praised: "You are loyal to you, my father-in-law. For this reason, I have prepared a special gift and will be filial to you later."

In front of Dai Yi and Gao Feng, Xu Tai had no intention of avoiding it. It seemed that giving gifts was a matter of course and there was no need to avoid others.

Zhang Yuanli smiled and said, "Put your filial piety and let our family see you do practical things... In addition, whether you want to be a pioneer or accompany Your Majesty is not something that our family can decide. Everything depends on what the emperor means! You don't understand this principle? Humph!"

It seemed as if he was deliberately putting on airs in front of Xu Tai, or perhaps because he didn't want to stay in Qian Ning's territory for too long, Zhang Yuan strode out of the yard.

When we arrived at the gate, we saw Lu Wan, Wang Chang, Hu Lian and Wang Shouren waiting there, as if we were about to see Zhu Houzhao.

"What are you here?"

Zhang Yuan asked angrily, "Is this a place you can come at any time?"

In public outside, even though Zhang Yuan was indifferent, he could at least maintain a kind face, but in Zhu Houzhao's private courtyard, he was completely arrogant, as if he was the owner of the courtyard.

Wang Chang smiled and said hello, "Oh, where are the father-in-laws? Oh, it's such an honor to see a few big men here... I didn't hear that Your Majesty was planning to fight the Tartars, so we came to see you specially and ask for details of your Majesty's troops?"

As the highest official among the few, Lu Wan had no words.

Zhang Yuan looked disdainfully and said, "Our family has already reported the details of the troops to His Majesty in detail. You don't have to bother Your Majesty anymore. You can leave!"

Wang Chang smiled and said, "I'm here to ask for the saint's face. Will Your Majesty give me a meeting? It will be up to Your Majesty to judge. Haha, it's getting late, so Eunuch Zhang will not go back and rest early?"

Zhang Yuan was angry, and at the same time wondered: "How could these people know that Your Majesty is going to send troops? Did the news spread so quickly?"

Just when Zhang Yuan was puzzled, he saw someone coming out of the door, which was the little knives who had attended the internal meeting before.

Xiao Guozi came out and saw that several eunuchs of the Sili Prison were there, and he couldn't help but feel a little panicked. However, he calmly walked to Lu Wan and others and said loudly: "Please go back, sir, your Majesty has ordered that the matter of sending troops will not be discussed for the time being. When the troops are sent in the morning of the day after tomorrow, he will be promoted to the tent to discuss matters."

...

...

The land of Hetao.

When Shen Xi's troops crossed Quyechuan, about two or three thousand Tatar cavalry came to harass him. Shen Xi responded calmly, set up artillery formations across the river, and used gun scouts to wait for the troops behind the hall to cross the bridge, and immediately ordered the burning of the floating bridge... The recycling of sheepskin rafts at this time was too delayed on the one hand, and the Tatars were likely to send troops to grab the floating bridge, which led to the early outbreak of the war.

Then Shen Xi's troops started the emergency marching mode and ran southward.

As the Tatars' troops increased sharply during the advance, the siege and blocking had already been established, which made Shen Xi's troops unable to fully move straight towards Yulinwei. Moreover, in the shallow waters of the upper reaches of the Yuxi River, 20,000 Tatars' troops were ready to take shape, which forced Shen Xi to lead the troops and march towards the lower reaches of the Yuxi River.

On June 23, Shenxi's troops were only 150 miles away from Yulin Guard, and they could reach it in just three hours. However, for Shenxi's troops, it still needed a day and a night of march.

At sunset that day, Shen Xi's troops were already stranded. After all, they were rushing on their way for two consecutive days and one night, and the soldiers were exhausted. Shen Xi had to order to station in a place where there was no village or shop. There were neither mountains nor rivers here, but only a large forest five miles away from the east.

After stationing, the officers and soldiers took the patrol shift from their superiors and went to rest.

The camp was extremely quiet, and even the patrol officers and soldiers were silent. After all, no one could relieve fatigue during the march. When I walked down for two days and one night, I was so tired that I couldn't bear it. Where could I have any mental conversation?

Moreover, the patrol officers and soldiers knew that their robes were resting and could not bear to disturb their comrades. At the same time, they also knew that shifts would be changed in the next hour. Those comrades who were sleeping now might have to get up and take shifts for a short time to rest and not be able to continue to fall asleep until they finished their shifts.

By dawn, this kind of patrol will be replaced with five shifts, and two shifts are usually enough.

Shen Xi rode a horse for two days and one night and was in good spirits because he was young and energetic, and he was used to staying up late, so he would be fine if he didn't sleep for several days and nights. Especially when the battle was about to happen, Shen Xi felt the urgency of the battle and became more and more excited.

"grown ups."

In the central army's tent, Hu Songyue and Liu Xu lifted the curtains and came in, holding their fists to salute.

These two are two of the three generals who are temporarily on duty at the battalion, and there is also a Ma Ang patrolling the front line.

Chen Xi looked up at the two of them, and saw that their eyes were covered with blood, and immediately asked, "Is there anything wrong?"

Hu Songyue and Liu Xu both looked on the military map in Shen Xi's hands, and both showed concern. Liu Xu said: "Sir, you haven't closed your eyes for two days. You will continue to rush tomorrow morning. You should take a nap and accumulate energy."

Chen Xi lowered his head again and said calmly: "You can rest, but I can't. After all, the Tatars are stationed in three directions around our camp, less than thirty miles away from us. It only takes half an hour for their cavalry to come over, and it is too short for us to react. If there is a little problem in the middle, I will not be able to bear the huge loss."

"But adults need rest, too."

Hu Songyue said worriedly, "I, Old Hu, don't understand any big truth. The only thing I know is that the backbone of this army is the master. If the master is exhausted, who can we rely on?"

"Yes, sir." Liu Xu also persuaded him.

Chen Xi waved his hand: "You all want to return to the pass safely. My responsibility is to take you back. If you can win a battle, you will naturally fight, but if you can't do the best... I can't let you lose your life in a confused way."

Liu Xu said: "Sir, I am actually here with Lao Hu. I asked you for instructions... Why don't you take your troops back to Yansui first. The cavalry in the army is still well preserved. You can definitely go back safely. We can stay in the palace to protect you from evacuation..."

When Chen Xi heard this, he couldn't help but look up at Hu Songyue and Liu Xu. All he saw in their eyes was trust and sincerity.

Suddenly, Chen Xi felt a little guilty and felt emotion: "Oh, I failed their trust!"

However, Chen Xi's expression was well controlled and he said with a smile: "You are treating me as a person who is greedy for life and fear of death? There is no need to worry about it. I will be with you no matter what... Lao Hu, I remember you said that when you went to war, there was another cub in your wife's belly. You want to go back and see if the baby she gave birth to was a man or a woman. Are you willing to die outside the border?"

Hu Songyue smiled and said, "Not only does the woman have it in her belly, but also in her concubine's belly. Although Bei Jie is a rough man, the women in the family are not of size and size. As long as they have a son, they are a great hero. Even if Bei Jie dies in the battlefield, the family will have no worries after they stay. However, Liu Lao Er...hehe, he still doesn't have a son."

Liu Xu's face was not good-looking in an instant.

Usually, these people like to talk about family affairs when they get together, but they are often taboos in front of Shen Xi. After all, Chen Xi is not their friend, but their boss.

Liu Xu said: "Old Hu, you are looking for a beating. Now we are talking to the adults. Can you be more serious? Adults... No matter what, the generals are not afraid of death. They have achieved great success today with the generals. The family has a lot of fertile land. Although the generals have no sons, they have many daughters and nephews. There is no need to worry about the problem of the Liu family having no descendants. Adults have given instructions that as long as they can use the generals, they will never hinder them."

Chen Xi stood up from the Shuai case and walked to Hu Songyue and Liu Xu. He felt so embarrassed when he looked at his two subordinates who had crawled out of the dead with him.

Chen Xi still did not speak frankly to the two of them and comforted him: "Our goal is to return safely. What do we do if we say those despicable words? The biggest problem we are facing now is to cross the Yuxi River. There is a lot of rain in summer and the river is wide and the waves are fast. Our crossing tools are thrown into Quyechuan again. We have to find a way to cross the river. I don't know if there are any troops in Yansui to rescue him... If reinforcements come, the Tatars may withdraw their troops, so we don't have to worry about whether there are ships to meet him across the river."

Liu Xu said: "Sir, have you sent someone back to ask for help?"

"Um."

Chen Xi nodded and said, "I have sent two groups of people to ask for help, but the Yansui garrison is not so perfect, so I may not be willing to send troops to reinforce."

Liu Xu and Hu Songyue's faces had anticipation eyes, and they quickly dimmed. Hu Songyue said, "Sir, the three-sided governor Wang is you a former friend, right? Besides, you were the three-sided governor, and those soldiers were determined not to save him? No matter what, Yansui would send troops, right?"

Chen Xi did not answer Hu Songyue's question and looked cold.

Liu Xu saw some signs and hurriedly said, "Old Hu, now the military situation is urgent. Your Majesty's Central Army has not followed you. How could Yansui send troops easily? Besides, we don't need others to rescue you. The issue of crossing the river is worse than the general. There are woods near this camp, so why don't we log and build ships? In fact, just tie the logs with ropes, and you can also build a floating bridge, so that you can cross the river safely..."

"It's still your Liu Laoer who thinks carefully, that's what it should be." Hu Songyue seemed very excited.

Chen Xi shook his head and said, "Even if we walk straight, it is nearly 150 miles away. How can we transport the wood to Yuxi River? We don't have so many animals to carry..."

Liu Xu had a smile on his face, but suddenly became embarrassed when he heard this, scratching his head and didn't know what to say.
To be continued...