On the 27th day of the first lunar month, the Flying Hu Left Army went north to the front line under the command of the left chief of the alliance, Chen Rui and Wang Bo, the left general manager of the alliance, successfully arrived in Fangcheng.

At the same time, Han Yao, the right chief of the alliance, and Hao Xiaode, the general manager of the alliance, and Sun Xuanya, led more than 100,000 soldiers and civilians across the Gubeikou Great Wall and safely entered Anzhou.

At the same time, the right Sima Dantai Wuyang, Han Shou, the general manager of the Alliance Cavalry Army, and the general manager of the Alliance Right Route Army, Huo Xiaohan, also led the rear army into Anle County, less than two hundred miles from Gubeikou.

Li Fengyun, Li Zixiong, Yuan An and other senior executives left the city early and welcomed each other grandly.

After half a year, the two armies met, and the soldiers were excited and cheered.

That night, Li Fengyun and Chen Rui talked in a clue, telling each other about the past six months of conquest, and then the topic turned to the future of the alliance. Under the current situation, Chen Rui was most concerned about, of course, what Anton was most about, after he was incorporated into the Middle-earth territory, where would the alliance go.

"This year's goal is to participate in the third Eastern Expedition and win the victory of the expedition to Goguryeo." Li Fengyun said concisely, "Next year's goal is to participate in the North-South War, do your best to defeat the Turks, and win the victory of the Civil War at any cost. The future of the alliance depends entirely on the victory or defeat of the war. If this battle is won, the future of the alliance will be separatist. On the contrary, if this battle is lost, the world will be in chaos, and Zhongtu will once again fall into division and war. The future of the alliance will be to dominate the world."

Chen Rui was surprised. Although he heard Li Fengyun predict that the war between the North and the South would break out more than once, it was the first time he heard Li Fengyun say that the war between the North and the South would break out next year. "Dongdu will have a Northern Expedition next year? Is there any definite news about this?"

Li Fengyun pondered for a moment and then informed him of the current situation in the West, the Longxi crisis, the rebellion of Guanzhong, the breakup between Xijing and Dongdu, and the deterioration of the domestic situation.

In this dilemma of internal and external troubles, the Holy Lord and the Central Government should end the external expedition, stabilize the political situation, and rest, but the situation is unruly. First of all, in politics, the Holy Lord and the Reformers must defend centralized reform and cannot compromise with the conservatives. As a result, the Dongdu and Xijing fought, and the domestic situation deteriorated sharply, and there was no possibility of reversal in the short term. Secondly, in terms of defense, because the Holy Lord and the Central Government had implemented active defensive strategies, took the initiative to fight against the outside world, and made the East continue to fight against the West and East, so that the East would let the East

The Turks in the two western regions felt a serious threat to survive and had to prepare for the Civil War. As a result, the Civil War roared, like an arrow on the string and had to be fired. At this moment, Middle Earth was in a dilemma of internal and external troubles, giving the Turks a great opportunity to invade south. So the real situation is that it is not that Middle Earth is eager to invade the northern expedition, but the Turks are eager to invade. Middle Earth has no choice but to fight passively. Even if there are many difficulties, they have to rush forward.

Finally, Li Fengyun returned from Pei Shiju's journey to Andong without stopping, and then he hurried to Andong. Pei Shiju's journey to the west did have results, but the question is, is the Western Turks worthy of trust? Will the Western Turks' promise be fulfilled? The answer is obvious. Pei Shiju himself did not believe it, so he rushed to Andong despite the arrival of the New Year, and even sat in a carriage on New Year's Eve. This shows that Pei Shiju was eager and determined to win Andong's ambition.

What Li Fengyun said, Chen Rui could understand, but what he could not understand was that since the situation deteriorated so much and the Civil War was about to break out, Pei Shiju went to Andong to plan the overall situation. Why did the Holy Lord and the Central Committee launch the third Eastern Expedition? Why couldn't the Eastern Expedition be ended and all the national strength was concentrated to prepare for the Civil War?

Chen Rui raised his own questions.

"Authoritarian." Li Fengyun said solemnly.

The two simple words are enough to illustrate the current political dilemma of the Holy Lord, the Central and the Dongdu.

Last year, the first Eastern Expedition was defeated, nearly 200,000 elite troops in the Weifu were buried in Sashui, which gave the Holy Lord and the Central Government a heavy blow, and the authority of the Dongdu began to collapse. This collapse was irrescue at the critical moment of reform and fierce fighting between conservatives. Therefore, this year's Yang Xuangan mutiny led to the failure of the second Eastern Expedition. At the same time, Tuyuhun counterattacked wildly, the Western Turks swept across the Western Regions, the Northwest Army retreated step by step, and Zhongtu lost five counties in one breath. This was a real shame and humiliation. Compared with the blow caused by the Yang Xuangan mutiny to the Dongdu, losing the vast territory of the five counties was a fatal blow to the Holy Lord and the Central Government, and the authoritarian authority of the Dongdu collapsed.

In the spring of the fifth year of Daye, Central Earth expeditions in the west, destroyed Tuyuhun, surrendered to the Western Regions, and opened five Xinjiang, which brought great glory and martial arts to the Holy Lord and the Central Government. The newly built Dongdu authority reached a new peak, but the good times did not last long. Only more than four years later, last year, in the autumn of the ninth year of Daye, these five counties lost again, and glory became a shame. Kaijiang martial arts disappeared, and the authority of the Dongdu, which was built on Kaijiang martial arts, also collapsed in an instant, which directly pushed the Holy Lord and the Central Government into the bottomless abyss.

For the Holy Lord and the Central Committee, the premise of turning the tide is to require supreme authority. Without authority, you cannot command the world, and of course there is no way to save the crisis. Therefore, when Anton changed drastically, the Holy Lord and the Central Committee immediately tried their best to pacify, trying to save and rebuild supreme authority with the martial arts of opening up the border.

However, Anton was not defeated by the Central Turkish Guards, and the decision to attack Anton was not made by the Saint Lord and the Central Government. Therefore, even if the recruitment was successful, even if the martial arts of Kaijiang Andong were obtained, the martial arts were not very good, and the role it could play was limited. It could prevent the continuous fall of authority, but it would definitely not be able to restore authority to the height before the fall. Inadequate authority, it would definitely not be able to control Xijing, resolve the struggle between the two capitals, stabilize the domestic political situation, and ensure that the Civil War was won. The Civil War was the last "life-saving straw" of the Saint Lord and the Central Government. If you win, martial arts will be available, and authority can be rebuilt. On the contrary, even if you fight a draw, defend the Great Wall defense line and prevent the invasion of the Turks, your achievements will be mediocre. Don't mention martial arts, and rebuilding and protecting rights will become empty words.

What to do? Under the current situation, the only way is to avenge your shame. Get up wherever you fall. Although the merits and demerits are offset and there is no martial arts to get, it is still helpful for the repair and recovery of the central authority.

The biggest shame for the Holy Lord and the Central Government is that they have lost the five counties in the Western Frontier. If they want to avenge their shame, they have to fight west again and regain the five counties. However, this is impossible. First of all, the external conditions are not met. The Western Turks and Tiele fought both sides and suffered losses. They couldn't take care of themselves and could not take care of Tuyuhun and the countries in the Western Regions. As a result, they gave Central Turks the opportunity to expand their territory. Now the Western Turks have already defeated Tiele and actually controlled the Western Regions, which can provide strong support to Tuyuhun; secondly, the internal conditions are not met.

The political situation of the two capitals was stable, the domestic situation was great, the national strength was strong, the troops were strong, the food was sufficient, and the two capitals had broken apart, and domestic rebellions were repeatedly caused. The national strength was greatly damaged due to the successive failures of the Eastern Expedition. The Guardian Army even killed nearly 200,000 elite soldiers on the battlefield of the Eastern Expedition, and their vitality was severely damaged. Time was not allowed again. The Western Expedition was much more difficult than the Eastern Expedition, and it required careful preparation. It was not possible in less than two or three years. However, the Turks would not give Middle-earth so long. Taking advantage of your illness, the Turks would not miss the opportunity.

In this way, the Holy Lord and the Central Committee had to continue the Eastern Expedition, and used the demise of Goguryeo to cleanse up their two shames of defeat on the Eastern Expedition. Now the Eastern Expedition army is in Liaodong, and the food and weapons prepared for the Eastern Expedition are also stored in Youyan, western Liao and Liaodong. In addition, Goguryeo was dying after being tragically fired in two years of war. As long as the Central Turkish army charges again, Goguryeo will be destroyed. How can you not fight such a sure-fire battle?

Chen Rui finally saw the political dilemma of the Holy Lord and the Central Committee.

Put yourself in your shoes, no matter who is in the position of the Holy Lord, there is no good way to solve the problem. Even if you compromise with the conservatives, even terminate the centralized reform, liquidate the reformists, and drive the reformists out of the court, what is the final result? The final result is that the Holy Lord has finished playing himself, or even destroyed the country. Since that is the case, it is better to take a risk and fight the conservatives to the end. After all, after the unification of China-Turkey, the country is strong, and the dead camel is bigger than a horse. As long as you stick to the Great Wall in the Civil War, defend the enemy outside the country, do not defeat the war, and do not let the authority suffer another fatal blow, and do not shake the foundation of the country's destiny, safely overcome the biggest crisis in front of you, the Holy Lord and the Reformers can free up their hands to concentrate their efforts to solve the "internal troubles". So what if a civil war breaks out at that time? As long as there are no external troubles, no trapped in the dilemma of being attacked from both sides, and no need to fight on both sides, the Holy Lord and the Reformers will be fearless.

"We are participating in the third Eastern Expedition, and there is a great risk. We may go but never return." Chen Rui looked at Li Fengyun and said worriedly, "What countermeasures do you have for Ming Gong?"

Li Fengyun thought for a moment and asked, "In your opinion, is it sure to win the third Eastern Expedition?"

"Of course." Chen Rui said without hesitation, but when he saw Li Fengyun's serious face, he immediately thought of Yang Xuangan's mutiny, the crisis in the Western Xinjiang, Xiang Haiming proclaimed himself emperor in Guanzhong, and Liu Yuanjin founded the country in Jiangnan. He suddenly realized that he was too optimistic. If the domestic situation deteriorated this year was much faster than last year, the third Eastern Expedition might have not yet begun, and the expeditionary army would embark on its way back.

"Of course not that optimistic." Chen Rui immediately changed his words, "What is the prediction of the third Eastern Expedition?"

"It's not optimistic." Li Fengyun said, "In a certain opinion, the situation has developed to this day, from the central government to the Weifu, from the two capitals to the local government, and those with ulterior motives are about to move. Therefore, the third Eastern Expedition, which seemed to be sure to win, has actually been in a local out of control before it has begun."

"You mean... there are problems within the Eastern Expedition army?" Chen Rui was skeptical. If you miss the opportunity to take revenge, if you miss it due to internal disputes, wouldn't you regret it for life? The soldiers of the Weifu Palace, especially the middle and senior officers of the Weifu Palace, wouldn't they have no awareness at all, right? If you put personal and group interests above the interests of Zhongtu at critical moments, wouldn't you put the cart before the horse? The failure of the Third Eastern Expedition will be of no benefit to anyone. What is necessary to do if both the jade and the stone are burned?

Li Fengyun sneered and asked, "Is there a senior officer in the Wei Mansion who has many people in Guanlong or Shandong and Jiangzuo?"

"Guanlong people." Chen Rui replied.

"Is the officers from Guanlong, are there many people in Guanzhong or Longyou?"

"Home from Longyou." Chen Ruiruo had some understanding.

"Now Xijing and Dong have broken up and fought. The battlefield has expanded rapidly from the court, from the Central Government to the Twelve Guards, from the capital to the local government, from Guanlong to Shandong, and Jiangzuo, everywhere." Li Fengyun shook his head and smiled bitterly, "The army loyal to the Holy Lord, whether it is the horse army, infantry or navy, has lost all its elite troops in the first Eastern Expedition, which directly led to the second Eastern Expedition being blocked by the Liaodong city of Goguryeo. Although the Holy Lord personally supervised the battle, a foreign border town remained under the siege of the Expeditionary Force and held on for more than two months. Is it just because Husizheng connects with the enemy and treason? There is no problem with the Expeditionary Force itself?"

"Ming Gong is reasonable." Chen Rui nodded repeatedly, deeply agreeing, "In this way, after the third Eastern Expedition began, even if the Expedition Force conquered Liaodong City, it would probably be blocked by Wugu City or Yalu Water. It would be difficult to reach the city of Pyongyang before the rainy season and win enough attack time."

"No..." Li Fengyun shook his hand, "You are still too optimistic."

Chen Rui couldn't believe it, "Is the situation worse than we thought?"

"Although some generals in the Wei Mansion are the confidants of the Holy Lord, the real core force in the Wei Mansion is the Yingyang Lang and Yingjilang General of Yingyang Mansion." Li Fengyun sighed, "There are thousands of Yingyang Generals and Yingjilang Generals in the Wei Mansion. How many of them are loyal to the Holy Lord? They are out of reach of the Holy Lord. The so-called loyalty of the Holy Lord is just a joke. The only ones they are truly loyal to are their own families and benefactors who support themselves. Therefore, according to my guess, after the third Eastern Expedition, the only ones who faithfully executed the Holy Lord's orders were the navy of Hu'er and Zhou Fashang. It is undoubtedly a dream to expect other troops to kill the city of Pyongyang."

Chen Rui understood, but was even more worried, "If the situation was so bad, wouldn't it be a disaster for us to participate in the third Eastern Expedition?"

"No..." Li Fengyun shook his hand again, "Because of this, we must do our best to participate in the third Eastern Expedition and win our own rapid development by destroying Goguryeo. This is a gift from God, and a good opportunity from heaven cannot be missed."

When Chen Rui heard this, he was very energetic and asked anxiously, "What's the solution?"
Chapter completed!