Chapter 993 Arrogant and brave generals!

Yijing Yefu Zhongyong Hall

Including Cui Shao and Zhao Han, more than a dozen important military and political figures who stayed in Yijing gathered in this room. However, compared to these familiar faces, a new face was quietly sitting behind the screen in the room...

This person is the mistress of Fengwu Army—An Miaoyi!

Although she was sitting behind a screen, An Miaoyi was still quite excited because she knew that this room was the core of the Fengwu Army!

In the past, she had always wanted to attend this meeting, even if it was just to listen from the side, but An Miaoyi knew very well that Ye Mingsheng would not allow her to get involved in politics!
Therefore, even if she proposed this idea to Ye Mingsheng, not only would she be rejected decisively by Ye Mingsheng, but she would also be subject to even stricter restrictions from Ye Mingsheng!
So even though she really wanted to attend the Zhongyong Hall meeting, An Miaoyi never expressed this idea to Ye Mingsheng!

However, today An Miaoyi finally got her wish and came to the core of power of the Fengwu Army!

When Ye Mingsheng left Yijing, he handed over the government affairs to the Central Council headed by Cui Shao, and handed over the military affairs to the General Staff headed by Zhao Han!

However, compared with Cui Shao, Zhao Han is far behind in terms of seniority, prestige in the army, or closeness of his relationship with Ye Mingsheng!
Zhao Han himself was well aware of this, so he did not overestimate his own abilities and compete with Cui Shao for the right to preside over the meeting!

Cui Shao stood up and saw that almost everyone had arrived, so he spoke in a deep voice:
“Today, we have taken the time out of our busy schedules to bring you to this Loyalty and Bravery Hall. Chief of Staff Zhao and I have important matters to discuss with you…”

After saying this, Cui Shao looked at Huo San who was sitting at the back and said in a deep voice:

"Director Huo, please come and introduce the situation to everyone!"

Upon hearing this, Huo San also stood up and reported:

"My Lords, Song Weijie, who has proclaimed himself the Grand Commander of Sichuan and Shu, has sent a message to our army saying that Xu Zhaojie has bribed the Sichuan and Shu generals Yang Zhen and Cai Qiang. These two are leading tens of thousands of Sichuan troops to fight outside Sichuan and join Xu Zhaojie's camp!"

When these words came out, everyone in the Loyalty Hall was shocked. After a moment, Gu Sansi frowned and asked Huo San:
"Aren't Yang Zhen and Cai Qiang Song Weijie's subordinates? What does Song Weijie mean by this?"

Gu Sansi's question also represented the thoughts of everyone in the Loyalty and Bravery Hall at the time. Therefore, when Gu Sansi spoke, everyone looked at Huo San.

Huo San heard this and explained:

"Song Weijie means that although he has proclaimed himself the Grand Commander of Sichuan and Shu, the internal forces of Sichuan and Shu are complicated and the strength of the local tyrants is too strong for him to effectively control!"

"Although he tried to persuade Yang Zhen and Cai Qiang, Xu Zhaojie's price was too high. He was willing to cede Yongzhou and Hengzhou. So Yang Zhen and Cai Qiang refused to listen to him and insisted on following Xu Zhaojie to the end!"

Everyone fell into deep thought after hearing this. Seeing this, Cui Shao asked Zhao Han:
"I wonder what the General Staff thinks about this matter?"

Facing Cui Shao's question, Zhao Han thought for a moment before slowly saying:

“The traitor Shangguan once recruited part of the Shu army and went to Yun to fight with our army. Judging from the feedback from the soldiers on the front line, although the Shu army has a strong will to fight, is not afraid of sacrifice, and dares to fight to the death...”

"But the Shu army's soldiers are poorly equipped, with very few firearms and only a few wearing armor. Overall, their combat effectiveness is average and cannot be compared with our army!"

"But the most urgent task is to find out the movements of this group of Shu troops and where Xu Zhaojie intends to use them!"

As soon as these words came out, the ball was kicked to Huo San's feet again. Huo San hesitated for a moment and answered very cautiously:
"From the current perspective, the main attack direction of the Zhennan Army is still in Anqing. This line also concentrates most of the Zhennan Army's main elite forces. However, we cannot rule out the possibility that the Shu Army will fight in Jingchu!"

Huo San's answer obviously did not satisfy the military. As the representative of the military, General Ye Tie of the Sixth Division also spoke:
"Director Huo, the soldiers on the front line need more precise answers!"

Huo San heard this and said in a deep voice:

"Xu Zhaojie's deployment has never been static. Our coordination office has done its best to investigate the enemy's movements and combat deployment!"

“We at the Coordination Office cannot predict the future. We can only try our best to explore the enemy’s combat deployment. However, the frontline is changing rapidly. We at the Coordination Office cannot predict the enemy’s future. I hope the generals will forgive me…”

After he finished speaking, Huo San bowed to several generals in the military. However, Ye Tie still looked dissatisfied and was about to say something. But at this time, Zhao Han gave him a look. For Zhao Han's sake, Ye Tie did not say anything.

Seeing that the situation was a little tense for a moment, Cui Shao took over the conversation and asked again:

"Now that things have come to this, what do the soldiers on the front line think?"

Zhao Han hesitated for a moment after hearing this question, but still said truthfully:
"Commander He of the First Army and Commander Zhang of the Fourth Army both believe that the Zhennan Army is just a mob, so they want to have a decisive battle with the enemy in Anqing and strive to achieve victory in one battle!"

Cui Shao's face suddenly became serious when he said this, and at this moment Zhao Han continued:
"But I personally do not recommend a decisive battle with the enemy in Anqing!"

After hearing what Zhao Han said, Cui Shao's serious expression finally eased a little. As the saying goes, one who doesn't manage household expenses doesn't know how expensive firewood, rice, oil and salt are. The previous series of wars with the Luoan court had already drained the Fengwu Army's wealth.

Fortunately, the war was a great victory, and the Fengwu Army was able to recover some blood by clearing out the Shangguan family's followers. However, the subsequent war with the Cumans almost pushed the Fengwu Army's finances to the brink of bankruptcy!

Moreover, the two major provinces of Qilu and Jiyu are now asking the Central Council to reduce taxes in the name of locust plague. This makes Cui Shao very worried...

Before, they could still rely on cutting expenses and borrowing from Peter to pay Paul to maintain the situation, but if the Fengwu Army and the Zhennan Army have another decisive battle, there will naturally be no problem if they can win in one battle!

But if the stalemate continues, it won’t be long before logistical supplies become unsustainable, and then the Central Government may not be able to pay military salaries and pensions!
So now that Zhao Han said he does not support the idea of ​​a decisive battle, this is undoubtedly good news for Cui Shao!
He could join forces with Zhao Han to persuade He Jingyun not to start a war in Anqing and focus on maintaining stability. Otherwise, once the General Staff and the front line reach a consensus, it will be even more disadvantageous to Cui Shao.
At the same time, Zhao Han felt very bitter in his heart, although he was now the Chief of the General Staff and the nominal number one in the military!
But in fact, although Zhao Han came from the grassroots, his long work experience was as a staff officer, and he had never commanded the army and made any military achievements.

Therefore, those arrogant and powerful generals in the military did not respect him very much, and He Jingyun was Zhao Han's old boss, so He Jingyun did not listen much to Zhao Han's opinions!
Moreover, in the contingency plan that Ye Mingsheng gave before leaving Yijing, it was clearly stated that if anything happened in the south, He Jingyun would serve as the commander-in-chief of the Fengwu Army in the south and control all the troops of the Fengwu Army in the south!
In this way, He Jingyun can completely ignore the opinions of the General Staff and only need to be responsible to Ye Mingsheng!

Therefore, Zhao Han, the chief of staff, couldn’t command He Jingyun at all...
Cui Shao looked at the generals in front of him, pondered for a moment and decided to tell them the truth to discourage the warlike spirit of these warriors!
"My fellow generals, I know that you all long to achieve great things and unify the country as soon as possible, but the war in the north has just ended, and there is no extra food and fodder in the treasury for you to consume. So my opinion is that it is not advisable to start a war in the south before the autumn harvest!" After Cui Shao finished speaking, Gu Sansi, Zhang Juning and others also echoed him. These civil servants in the Central Council still had a common opinion on temporary rest.

Seeing the civilian officials "playing rotten", the military officers looked at each other in bewilderment. At this time, Zhao Han said in a deep voice:

"Master Cui, although I do not agree with a decisive battle with the Zhennan Army in the south, the Zhennan Army is now actively looking for trouble with us!"

"Even if we focus on maintaining stability, the consumption of money, food and supplies still requires your full support!"

Zhao Han's words set the tone for the meeting of Zhongyong Hall and the strategy of steady defense for the war in the south. Then the two sides began to haggle over the specific amount of money and grain!

After talking for about an incense stick of time, the two sides finally reached a compromise on some numbers, and the Zhongyong Hall meeting was declared over.

Because this meeting was very tiring, and Cui Shao was also the oldest one, so after everyone else said goodbye and left, Cui Shao still sat in his seat to rest··························

At this time, An Miaoyi, who had been listening to the meeting, also came out and sat opposite Cui Shao and asked seriously:

"Uncle, do you think He Jingyun will give in?"

Facing An Miaoyi's question that went straight to the heart of the matter, Cui Shao smiled bitterly and shook his head:
"It's hard to tell!"

"He Jingyun is the most difficult one to deal with, and he and Zhang Meng are very confident in their battle plan and think they can defeat the Zhennan Army in one fell swoop!"

Hearing Cui Shao say this, An Miaoyi also asked with some confusion:

"Their battle plan?"

Cui Shao nodded and said:

"Zhao Han told me that two days ago, He Jingyun and Zhang Meng came up with a joint combat plan. They believed that the main force of the Zhennan Army was gathered in Anqing, and some troops were gathered in Jingchu, while Shouchun was very empty!"

"Therefore, He Jingyun wants to lead the Fifth Division to Anqing, and together with the Fourth Army, contain the main force of the Zhennan Army, and then the First Division will cross the river from Kangyin and attack Shouchun directly!"

An Miaoyi thought for a moment and said:

"This plan sounds interesting!"

Seeing An Miaoyi say this, Cui Shao shook his head and said:
“It seemed like a good plan on paper, but in reality it was not the case at all!”

"Although the First Division's combat effectiveness is very strong, that is only on land. Their combat effectiveness on water is very average!"

Hearing this, An Miaoyi was startled at first and then said:
“The First Division has been in Kangyin for a long time. Hasn’t it been training for water combat?”

Cui Shao said in a deep voice:

"Although the First Division is training for water combat, the progress is not very smooth. Otherwise, when Xu Zhaojie went to the south of the Yangtze River, the First Division would have fought over. Moreover, although the Huainan Navy is small in number with only a few thousand people, they are very skilled in water combat. The First Division is probably no match for them!"

"Think about it, Xu Zhaojie is also an expert in military strategy. How could he not know that his central route is now empty? He is sure that the First Division dares not cross the river. Moreover, even if the First Division crosses the river, his Huainan Navy will be able to repel the First Division!"

After hearing what Cui Shao said, An Miaoyi asked again:

"So that's why Zhao Han thought of asking you, his uncle, to help suppress He Jingyun?"

Cui Shao nodded slightly and said:
"Miao Yi, you know that Zhao Han didn't make many military achievements. Therefore, even though he is the Chief of the General Staff, he doesn't have much prestige in front of those arrogant and powerful generals in the army!"

"Don't even mention Yuan Song and He Jingyun. Even Guo Zhiping and Zhang Meng don't care much about him as the Chief of the General Staff. Only the newcomer Xun Ke cares about him!"

“When the Marshal was in Yijing before, there was nothing wrong. Zhao Han followed the Marshal and acted like a fox in the tiger’s way. Everyone knew that this was the Marshal’s intention, so they did as he said. But now that the Marshal has gone to Luoan, Zhao Han’s true colors have been revealed…”

"Zhao Han knows this in his heart, so when Yue Qing was rectifying the military discipline, he followed behind and fanned the flames, hoping to use this opportunity to control those arrogant soldiers and generals and establish his own authority as the Chief of Staff!"

"But this guy's methods are too simple and crude. He didn't establish much prestige. Instead, he made them more antagonistic to several factions. Even his old leader He Jingyun wrote a letter to Zhao Han, asking Zhao Han to restrain himself and not to expand and politicize the rectification of military discipline!"

Listening to her uncle's introduction, An Miaoyi nodded slightly. Seeing that An Miaoyi looked a little serious, Cui Shao also spoke to comfort her:

"Miaoyi, you don't have to worry too much. It's not like we haven't fought Xu Zhaojie before. Even if Xu Zhaojie is Monkey King, he can't escape the Five Finger Mountain of our Fengwu Army. Although there are a lot of troubles now, there are still no big problems!"

"When the Marshal comes back from Luoan, it will be time to completely deal with Xu Zhaojie and his gang!"

"By the way, how is the preparation for your mother's sixtieth birthday going? There are only two days left!"

Seeing Cui Shao asking this, An Miaoyi smiled and nodded and said:

"Everything is ready, please rest assured, uncle..."

(End of this chapter)