Chapter 417: True and False
If the Ross people formally declare war on Great Zhou and send a powerful fleet to attack Shunfeng Port and our major ports along the East China Sea, how will we deal with it?
Now I have enough troubles in the east, and I can't even win a small Yizhou Island, let alone become an enemy of Ross, which has a powerful naval fleet.
Fortunately, there are various tribes in the northern border as a buffer. Otherwise, the Ross people would directly attack from the northern continent, and it would be even more difficult to deal with.
Xiao Chen believes that the Ross fleet is currently posing a huge threat to Da Zhou, so he either doesn't fight, or if he wants to fight, he will have to hurt him, and he will be afraid of it.
Destroy as many of his warships as possible in one or more battles, and it would be even better if he could deal them a devastating blow.
As for how to fight? Xiao Chen said that he still had to allow his ministers to think about it.
In short, once the strategy is formulated, it must never be changed. No matter how difficult and pressure we face, we must resolutely implement it.
Because of weighing all the interests, this battle with the Ross people is of course inevitable.
So here comes the question again, how to deal with the aftermath?
Xiao Chen thinks that this battle is only a partial battle, as long as we don't openly declare war on Ross, the possibility of them formally declaring war with us is actually not very high.
There are many reasons, so I won't repeat them one by one, but just deal with the aftermath.
Our strategic goal is to regain the safe harbor, not to start a full-scale war with Ross, so this speed must be mastered.
Li Wanjiang nodded again and again, Aiqing, it's great if you think so, and I mean the same thing.
The battle in Minzhou is basically over, and Xiao Xinghan, the traitor of Tianxuanhui, has retreated to Yizhou Island. It is because our navy is too weak, so we can't completely wipe it out at present, but fortunately, their vitality this time Seriously injured, I predict that they will never dare to send troops again within a year or two, so I can mobilize part of the navy to go north.
But relying on our navy to regain Shunfeng Harbor is definitely unrealistic. The main thing is to launch a land attack. After all, we have a relatively strong advantage in fighting on land.
By the way, Xiao Chen, I don't know how many soldiers you have under your command now?
Li Wanjiang seemed to just ask casually, but Xiao Chen had to answer carefully.
"If you go back to the emperor, the minister probably has more than 20,000 or 30,000 soldiers." Xiao Chen's words startled the emperor.
"How much?" Li Wanjiang was taken aback. As far as I know, your kid is recruiting soldiers in Changshan Prefecture. At present, there are probably more than 10,000 soldiers. I thought that your kid would report thousands of people to me, but unexpectedly, you made a big deal. With 30,000 people coming, you are honest enough to honor you!
"Your Majesty, these soldiers can only be used to fool the northern border tribes and frighten the Ross people in Shunfenggang. In fact, they are just a bunch of mobs." Xiao Chen sighed and told the 'truth'.
The truth is that the minister ordered the Northern Expedition, and there were only seven or eight thousand soldiers in total, including 3,000 old and weak, 3,000 recruits, and only 1,000 heavy cavalry that could be used for combat.
The battle against Xianbo was a lucky victory, but there were also heavy casualties. In the battle with Wanyan Pingqiu outside the Yin Mountain, thousands of people were lost. Among the ten brothers that I brought out, there were Nine corpses shrouded in horse leather, killed in battle...
In order to prevent the northern border tribes from going south again, and to guard against the westward invasion of the Rus in Shunfeng Port, I had no choice but to recruit some soldiers, but most of them were displaced people. The reason I gathered them was to prevent them from freezing and starving to death. In addition, it also prevents them from wandering around.
They can't fight at all, and they usually just maintain the law and order inside and outside the city. The main purpose is to show the Ross people and the northern tribes a bluff.
To tell the truth from the emperor, I have also built a navy, and there are thousands of people, most of them are fishermen. As for fighting? Hehehe...
Therefore, if the emperor wants to regain Yanyun County, he must send troops there, and the minister is really powerless.
The Ross people not only have a powerful naval fleet in Shunfeng Harbor, but also have at least 10,000 cavalry. If Yichen's mob goes to fight them, that is meat buns beating dogs, and they will eat as much as they go!
Xiao Chen's words were seven parts false, three parts true, the mixture of true and false sounded like the truth, even Li Wanjiang couldn't tell what the truth was?
After all, his sources of information are still very limited, and they may not be so accurate.
But if it is true as what Xiao Chen said, it is not a bad thing, after all, what Li Wanjiang is most worried about is that this kid has his own self-respect and will not lose his tail.
"Let's think about it." Li Wanjiang's words basically agreed.
"Your majesty, this general who conquers the north, the title of Marshal, should be returned to the emperor. From now on, I will be the governor of Yanyun County. The soldiers of the minister will still be under the control of the minister, and they will be established in the name of the governor's personal soldiers. Alright." Xiao Chen obeyed Li Shi's suggestion, and took the initiative to hand over his military power.
Although he just proposed military and political power, the military power of the governor and the military power of the general are completely different things.
The governor only has the power to form, mobilize and command troops similar to civilian armed forces, and in most cases, they are temporary.
It's just a saying to get on the horse to control the army and get off the horse to control the people.
But it also depends on the situation. For example, in the current situation of Yanyun County, Xiao Chen must have both military and political power. Whether it's a general or a governor, it's just a formal name for him.
"Uh... I'll think about this again, after all, Aiqing, you still have to take responsibility when we attack Shunfenggang in the future." Li Wanjiang hesitated for a while, but didn't make a decision right away.
"Then first ask the emperor to send a capable general to help the minister, so that the minister does not have to worry too much about the military." Xiao Chen took the initiative to ask Li Wanjiang to send someone there.
"You don't need to do that, I think the people under your command are quite good at leading troops." Li Wanjiang answered very quickly this time.
Because he knew in his heart that Li Wanjiang, Xiao Chen's subordinate, would not be able to command whoever he sent, and he would definitely be emptied. Instead of this, he might as well be generous and not send him at all, so as not to arouse the resentment of Xiao Chen and his subordinates.
The two chatted until late at night, and it was Gong Shouli who came in to remind the emperor that it was time to rest, and that was the end.
Generally speaking, the conversation was not bad, both parties felt quite satisfied, and felt that things were going according to their own plans... But one of them must have felt wrong.
I don't even know who it is?
After Xiao Chen returned from the palace, he immediately claimed that he was not sick. After hearing the news, people came to visit him in an endless stream. The emperor heard that he was sick again, and sent seven or eight waves of doctors to treat him.
Among them are imperial doctors from the imperial hospital, and some so-called 'miracle doctors' invited from outside the palace. In short, the emperor's 'consideration' towards Xiao Chen is beyond words.
However, these doctors couldn't make a diagnosis after they came to see him. Master Xiao only had one symptom, and that was fever. As soon as he had a fever, he fell into a coma. It was impossible not to be unconscious, because his body was hot to the touch.
It's really hot, as hot as the iron pipes of the heating system!