Yan'an Prefecture once again became the front line facing the enemy.

As Cui Ang returned to Bianliang with a series of treaties signed with the Liao State, the Song State began intensive war preparations. Countless troops, grain and grass began to be sent to Shaanxi Road in an endless stream.

The Taiwei Zhang Chao, who was deeply trusted by Zhao Suo, was appointed to take charge of the six border affairs of Yongxing, Yanyan, Huanqing, Jingyuan and Xihe. The power of the entire northwest frontier alliance of the Song Dynasty was held by Zhang Chao.

In his hands were the various pacification envoys, the economic envoys, and the transfer envoys who were also placed under Zhang Chao. This was also a rare use of force to control the civil affairs in the Song Dynasty. Such a thing had never happened before.

Everyone in the Song Dynasty concluded that after Xiao Ding defeated Li Dan and Li Du, two generals with hundreds of thousands of troops, their rule north of Hengshan was almost consolidated, and this person had the conditions to stand on his own. According to the

According to the intelligence collected by various spies, everyone in the Western Army seems to be preparing for Xiao Ding to proclaim himself emperor.

This is something Bianliang cannot tolerate.

For the Song Dynasty, inheriting the old Han Dynasty and establishing a unified dynasty has always been the dream of everyone, including the emperor and ministers, but now, Jin Ou is lacking.

The Liao people occupied the land of Youyan, but now the Song Dynasty can't defeat the Liao people at all. If they are not bullied by the other party, then Amitofu will dare to provoke others. Secondly, they are just a Jiaozhi, secretly trying to achieve self-reliance.

, but the location is remote and does not pose a big threat to the Song Dynasty. It is not impossible to turn around and deal with him when the world is settled. Now the land of Hexi actually dares to think of forming a country on an equal footing with the Song Dynasty. How can this be possible?

Tolerate?

The emperor couldn't bear it.

Even the court officials couldn't bear it.

Therefore, even if the Liao people once again signed a treaty with the Liao people that was humiliating and humiliating the country, Bianliang would not care about it and would first capture the rebellious Xiao Ding in Hexi before talking about anything else.

When Bianliang confirmed that Yeluxi, the governor of Shangjing Road in the Liao Kingdom, had mobilized more than 100,000 troops to march towards Hexi, he immediately ordered Zhang Chao to launch a military operation.

Since May, Zhang Chao has launched intensive military operations against the Western Army on the Shaanxi Road.

Due to the early defeats of Li Dan and Li Du, the Western Army came out of Hengshan. The entire Suide area was under the threat of the Western Army. Dozens and hundreds of military camps were captured by the Western Army. If these places were not recaptured, the Song Army would not be able to do so.

It would be impossible to launch a large-scale counterattack.

After nearly two months of continuous fighting, the Song army recaptured these border military villages one by one.

Of course, this also has a great relationship with the entire Western Army's unwillingness to fight.

What they are facing now is a joint attack by the two superpowers in the world. In the north, more than 100,000 Liao troops have already arrived at the city. Unlike the Hengshan side, there are still natural dangers to guard.

Strategic contraction is already an inevitable choice.

"It is inevitable for Xiao Ding to shrink his troops." Pointing to the map, Zhang Chao said to the two generals standing next to him: "He must first deal with Yeluxi's attack of 100,000 troops. This time the Liao people attacked Hexi.

The land is dominated by cavalry, and there is no danger in Hexi, so we can only fight head-on."

Zheng Xiong nodded and said: "What the Lieutenant said makes sense. Xiao Ding now controls a hundred thousand strings, and among them thousands of iron kites are the elite among the elite. With this person's character, he must want to go head-to-head in the desert and completely defeat the enemy."

Defeat Yelvxi. As for our side, because there are natural dangers in the mountains and a vast sea separating them, he will definitely have to rely on the dangers to delay and wait until he defeats Yeluxi and then come back to fight us. General Wang, what do you think?

"

To the right of Zhang Chao, General Wang Jun, who had just been transferred back from Hebei, could not see any joy or anger on his face. As the former deputy general of Xiao Ding and a member of the Guangrui Army, he was transferred to Shaanxi Road to assist in the battle.

It caused a lot of controversy, and in the end Zhang Chaoli overcame all the objections and transferred him.

"Taiwei, what General Zheng said is the truth of the art of war!" Wang Jun said: "The Western Army's rapid retreat seems to be proving that the opponent's strategy is exactly like this."

"It seems?" Zheng Xiong asked with a smile.

Wang Jun nodded: "Yes, I will follow Mr. Xiao, oh, Xiao Ding." Wang Jun glanced at the two people in front of him and saw that there was nothing strange about them, and then continued: "Xiao Ding, look

It looks rough and bold, but its fighting style is extremely cunning and delicate. The formation of troops is often unexpected, and we have to guard against this."

"You mean, Xiao Ding is likely to target us as his main target?" Zhang Chao asked.

Wang Jun was silent for a moment and said: "If it were me, I would do the same."

"Why?" Zhang Chao asked.

"Because compared to the Liao army, our Song army is weaker. Xiao Ding knows this very well!" Wang Jun took a deep breath and said: "The most capable troops on the Shaanxi road were destroyed along with General Li Dan.

The other one was also squandered by Li Du in Hengshan. How many troops are there on the road to Shaanxi now that can fight?"

"So I transferred the troops of General Zheng and your General Wang over here." Zhang Chao said.

Wang Jun couldn't help but smile bitterly.

He had seen Zheng Xiong's troops. Compared with ordinary troops, they were indeed elite and dared to fight, but compared to the army he was familiar with, they were not even a bit worse.

As for his own men, Wang Jun was confident, but what could an army of less than 4,000 men do?

After leaving the Guangrui Army, Wang Jun took a group of confidants and defected to Ma Xing, the pacifying envoy of Shaanxi Road at the time. This was also one of Ma Xing's methods to divide the Guangrui Army. However, Ma Xing did things above board and above board.

It was considered poaching in private. Wang Jun wanted to go further, but Xiao Ding had nothing to say.

Later, Wang Jun followed Ma Xing to Hebei Road. At this time, Wang Jun already had a thousand well-trained troops under his command. Adhering to Xiao Ding's army building philosophy, it is better to lack than to overwhelm, and Wang Jun was extremely strict in recruiting troops. Back to

After Hebei, Wang Jun became even more powerful. He was originally from Hebei. At this time, Hebei Road was defeated in the battle with the Liao army, the army collapsed and the people suffered, which gave Wang Jun great convenience.

His army absorbed many scattered Hebei frontier troops. The joining of these people greatly improved the combat effectiveness of Wang Jun's troops.

But problems also cropped up.

It wasn't until this moment that Wang Jun truly understood what it meant to be someone who doesn't know how valuable firewood and rice are.

In the past, under Xiao Ding, if anything was lacking, he could just reach out and ask for it from Xiao Ding. If Xiao Ding didn't give it, he would complain in his heart that he was favoring him over others. Only when he really had to worry about everything did he realize that

, how difficult it is to build a truly strong army!

No money!

Even if Ma Xing takes extra care of Wang Jun's troops, the money is still not enough.

So Wang Jun could only live on empty wages.

With an army of 5,000 men, there was a shortage of more than 1,000 men.

But Wang Jun's empty salary was not to line his own pockets. He stuffed all the money and food of the more than a thousand people who had been greedy onto the heads of the remaining three thousand people.

Moreover, he did not hide this matter from Ma Xing.

Ma Xing, who had met Guang Rui's army, acquiesced to Wang Jun's actions.

In Ma Xing's opinion, three thousand wolves are definitely more effective than five thousand dogs.

This time Wang Jun was unwilling to come, and Ma Xing was actually unwilling to let Wang Jun come over, but Zhang Chao recognized this unit and the court issued a strict order, so Wang Jun had to come.

From the bottom of his heart, Wang Jun was unwilling to fight the Western Army.

Not only was Wang Jun born in the Western Army, and all his confidants had deep feelings for the Guangrui Army, but it was also because he had no confidence at all in fighting the Western Army.

"This time, the number of troops dispatched by the imperial court, including young and strong civilians, exceeded 500,000." Zhang Chao turned around and looked at Zheng Xiong and Wang Jun with a serious expression, "There is no doubt about the determination of the officials. This

If we win this battle, you will be able to win the glory and wealth at your fingertips. If we lose again, let alone you, even I will have to go to Lingnan to supervise the liquor tax."

"You should do your best!"

"It's not about trying your best, it's about winning!" Zhang Chao said: "General Wang, you have joined forces with the Hedong Army. The strategic goal of the first phase is to clear out the Western forces around Siwu Village and prepare for the capture of Siwu Village in the second phase.

Be prepared for everything. General Zheng, your target is Shentangbao. This is a sharp knife that the Western Army has discovered. If Shentangbao cannot be lowered, it will be a sharp knife on our waist and ribs. It can kill us anytime and anywhere.

On the Qinfeng Road, General Li Chun stormed Weizhou. This time, he would not dare to be perfunctory anymore. The imperial court had already sent a supervisory army there. What he faced was the Tibetan Yu Zanghuama, and the pressure was less than ours.

More. Maybe the first one to break the situation is him."

"Zhang Yunsheng is still the defender of Siwucheng. Li Du died at the hands of Xiao Ding. Can you send someone to persuade Zhang Yunsheng to surrender? Even if you can't, it would be good to make them suspicious and suspicious of each other." Wang Jun said.

"We sent people a long time ago!" Zhang Chao shook his head and said: "The effect was not good, Zhang Yunsheng directly beheaded the people we sent and sent them to Xingqing Mansion. So Siwu City, I'm afraid we will have to fight hard in the end

!”

Thinking of the steepness of Siwu City and the ability displayed by the Western Army when they attacked Li Du, Wang Jun felt waves of pain in his cheeks.

There was a sonorous sound of armor leaves clashing outside the door, and then a young general strode in with a sword in his hand. Although the person was young, his identity was unusual. He was Zhang Cheng, the son of Captain Zhang Chao.

Wang Jun smiled and stood up, clasping his fists and saluting.

Zhang Supernatural ignored his son, and Zhang Cheng was now Zheng Xiong's deputy. Zheng Xiong had no reason to greet his subordinates. Although Wang Jun was higher in rank than Zhang Cheng, Wang Jun, who had always been very careless, did not want to offend.

He saw the proud young general in front of him.

And this guy is worthy of this gift. Compared with the guy who can defend the palace city under the attack of King Jing, Tao Dayong and other famous generals of the Song Dynasty, if he doesn't have some real ability, he will never survive now.

.

Moreover, the three thousand forbidden troops now led by this man are the same troops who followed him in the bloody battle in the capital. An army that has seen bloody battles is different from ordinary armies. Now in Yan'an Prefecture, they serve as Zhang Chao's bodyguards.

and all military inspection teams.

"Looking at you, what happened?" Zhang Chao asked in a deep voice.

"Today we arrested dozens more soldiers who were disturbing the place!" Zhang Cheng said angrily: "I haven't dealt with it here yet, but their generals came to ask for their lives! They were all arrogant and opened their mouths to say that they were the ones responsible for this.

They came thousands of miles away to fight for the country, and yet we treat them like this!"

Seeing Zhang Cheng's angry look, Zheng Xiong felt a little funny.

"Is it Huainan Road this time, or Jingdong East Road, or Jingdong East Road?"

"The army on Huainan Road! Chen Ping found me and was furious to take back these soldiers who violated military discipline. Humph, it was a good idea. These people sneaked into a village ten miles away from the military camp at night and harmed several women. On his hands

It's still stained with blood. Chen Ping actually wants to take the person back. Is it really that he's out of his mind?" Zhang Cheng said angrily. "I'm afraid it won't be long before he finds you, Taiwei!"

The three people in the room looked at each other. Wang Jun immediately lowered his eyebrows. He didn't want to say anything more. Zheng Xiong thought for a moment and said: "It's so comforting. I feel that the person with blood on his hands is the one who harmed the woman."

, must be severely punished, but as for the others, forget it. General Zhang, those people you arrested earlier, it is better to let them go. With these few heads, it is enough to scare the whole army."

Zhang Chao nodded: "General Zheng is right. Let these few heads scare the newly transferred troops and let them know that in the current war, a certain family's knife can still kill people. Others who have made small mistakes may as well

Let them take advantage of their crimes and make meritorious deeds."

This is a compromise method, which not only requires strict military discipline, but also gives face to the generals of other troops so that they can get off the stage. However, Zhang Cheng was obviously not satisfied: "Captain, these troops are really capable of fighting on the battlefield."

? I’m afraid I’ll be so scared that I pee my pants!”

"If you can't face the enemy head-on, it's okay to defend the army stronghold, escort food and grass, and protect the roads." Zhang Chao glanced at his son and said: "Everyone has a use. There is no useless person in this world.

It just depends on whether you can use it. If you can't learn this, you will only be a general charging into battle for the rest of your life, and you will never be able to control one side alone."

In front of two generals under his command, Zhang Chao used an extremely different way to educate his son, calmly telling these two guys, I don't treat you like outsiders.

Walking out of Zhang Chao's Chinese army camp, Wang Jun and Zheng Xiong said goodbye.

Unlike Zheng Xiong who was full of confidence, Wang Jun was worried. The number of troops gathered this time was really huge. In addition to the border troops from Qinfeng Road, Shaanxi Za, and Hedong Road, there were also troops from Jingxi Road, Jingdong Road, and Huainan Road.

A large number of Forbidden Army troops were mobilized from Lu and other places, but these troops were far inferior to those of the Forbidden Army in Bianliang.

The combat effectiveness of Liangliang's army is somewhat inferior, but military discipline is still there. They must be at the feet of the emperor. However, the combat effectiveness of those troops transferred from the south has not been seen yet, but the corruption of military discipline has made Wang Jun

This kind of person is a little stunned. He is used to the style of the army with strict military discipline, and it can be described as an eye-opener to see the looseness of these armies.

Can such an army fight?
Chapter completed!