Chapter 1226 The Arrow is on the String

Chapter 1226 The Arrow is on the String

Listening to King Changguang's series of questions, Duan Shao couldn't help but sigh inwardly, and at the same time felt a headache.

King Changguang and the current emperor are close brothers with the same father and mother, but their relationship with each other is not very good. Although the two of them had worked closely together to launch a coup last year, their relationship had gone from bad to worse since then, to the point where they both disliked each other.

Now His Majesty the Emperor stays in Jinyang all year round, and the affairs of Yedu are basically handed over to King Changguang. Except for some personnel matters that are really unavoidable, there are even some conflicts between the two in some aspects. meaning.

Take the recapture of Jianzhou planned by Duan Shao as an example. Duan Shao reported directly to Jinyang, but the emperor of Jinyang said that there was no need to inform Yedu of too many details before the plan was officially implemented.

The emperor may have done so for reasons of confidentiality, but this explanation also reflected his distrust of the people left behind in Yedu. After all, these Hebei aristocratic families have some deep or shallow involvement with the Li family in Longxi. Once they know that the next target of the Northern Qi attack is Jianzhou, it will not be far away for the Western Wei Dynasty to know about it.

However, this deliberate concealment will inevitably exclude King Changguang from the core secrets. To complete this plan, we must rely on the logistical support of Yedu.

The emperor refused to be honest with King Changguang, and Duan Shao was quite embarrassed to be caught between their brothers. When faced with Gao Zhan's question, he didn't know how to answer for a moment. After a moment of silence, he said in a deep voice : "The Prime Minister is overly worried. Now that our country is in a confrontation with the Wei State, the core of the security is north of the river. Even if you have an agenda, you will not leave here. There may be something about Yiyang or it may not be, so there is no need to inquire deeply."

Gao Zhan can be said to be shrewd and alert. After listening to the Wei envoy's accusation, he realized many things. However, he thought that Duan Shao was going to lead his army south to conquer Huainan without telling him, so he couldn't help but appear shrewd. There is a surplus but a lack of structure.

It was not convenient for Duan Shao to reveal his plan to regain Jianzhou directly to Gao Zhan, but he also gave a certain degree of hints. The most important thing at the moment was north of the Yellow River. Even if there were any moves in the south, there was no need to inquire into the details.

Gao Zhan was a little dissatisfied with this answer, and then he frowned and said, "Now that the envoy from Wei has entered the court, he has many questions. I actually need to learn about our country's military affairs from the enemy's mouth. Can the king tell me how to respond to the envoy from Wei?"

"The Prime Minister really doesn't need to worry about this. Jinyang will definitely respond to this. The Wei envoy came to Yedu this time just to disturb the people in the country with this matter. He only needs to send gifts out of the country, which is unnecessary. What response is given.”

After Duan Shao heard this, he said in a deep voice: "The imperial court has spent many years building the Yenan defense line with manpower and materials. Although it is not rock solid, it is extremely difficult for Wei to break through the defense line. As long as the personnel in our country remain as normal, we really don't need to worry about the enemy. What to ask."

Gao Zhan saw that Duan Shao was still so strict in his tone, so he said coldly: "You don't need to pay attention to the enemy's questions, but I don't know anything about what the country is planning! If Wang Zidu can isolate me from the secret Otherwise, it still has no impact on the matter, so there is no need to sue me. But if this causes constant setbacks in the plan, or even makes things difficult, the king should know that it is not my fault!"

Duan Shao also felt that it was inappropriate to hide such a big thing from Gao Zhan. After all, in the following military operations, the transportation of personnel and materials would have to be transported to the front line via Yedu. If Gao Zhan is completely ignorant, it will naturally be difficult for him to cooperate effectively.

The emperor probably wanted to wait until the Jinyang brigade arrived at Shangdang and was about to launch an attack before informing him of the plan. But the problem was that now the Wei envoy had come to Yedu to question him, which also aroused Gao Zhan and others' vigilance and dissatisfaction. Now they were facing others. People keep asking questions, and even if they can understand the whole story soon, they may still be estranged from each other.

So after pondering for a while, Duan Shao once again signaled Gao Zhanping to withdraw from the crowd, and then briefly described his plan in a deep voice: "Jianzhou has been invaded by Wei State, which is really harmful to our country. This situation If we do not reverse it, our national strength will be consumed even more deeply and we will become exhausted over time..."

"You actually want to restart the war and attack Jianzhou?"

After Gao Zhan heard this plan, he couldn't help but widened his eyes and whispered in surprise, and then said with a dissatisfied look: "Isn't it good for the two countries to live in peace and harmony now? Why do they have to be greedy for power and make trouble again? War? Isn't it because the state was captured by the enemy before it was established that it was difficult to hold on to it? If we regain it now, we will inevitably lose it again, which will lead to enemies with our neighbors, and it will be unfavorable to fight for peace..."

There are always people in this world who admire and fear power. When faced with people whose status or power is inferior to themselves, they will be arrogant and arrogant. However, if they face people who are more powerful than themselves, they will compromise and even grovel.

Although Gao Zhan has a respected position in the country and even rivals the emperor, and few people can force him to bow his head, he is an out-and-out cowardly person. When he heard that Duan Shao actually When it was time to raise troops to regain Jianzhou, the first thing that came to mind was not the chance of success, but the fear that it would offend a powerful enemy and make it impossible to end.

Facing Gao Zhan's remarks, Duan Shao was speechless for a while. The differences between them had become so great that it was difficult to convince each other with reason. He couldn't help but understand why His Majesty the Emperor refused to tell Prince Changguang about this matter before. He was really a close brother. If he had informed him of this series of plans from the beginning, he would not have known about it for a long time. What kind of trouble are you going to cause?

Duan Shao saw Gao Zhan's attitude and was worried that this guy would cause trouble again, so he said in a deep voice: "The matter has been planned for a long time, like an arrow on a string. The prince of Xiang only stays in the capital and concentrates on supervising the transportation of food and grass supplies. He will take responsibility for all matters on the front line. If the matter can be accomplished, it will be gratifying. If it cannot be accomplished, we can also fight and retreat to stop the enemy's forces!"

After hearing this, Gao Zhan frowned deeply. Judging from his expression and tone, he was not optimistic about this action. However, because Duan Shao clearly stated that he did not need him to fight the enemy on the front line, his fear was somewhat reduced.

Recovering Jianzhou is indeed of great strategic significance to Northern Qi. Otherwise, it will not be able to change the passive defensive situation of the country. The consumption of border defense alone will make Northern Qi weaker and weaker. But if it is said that this matter is like an arrow on a string and must be fired, it is a bit exaggerated. After all, there are other things that are more important than this matter.

The Northern Qi took the lead in launching another offensive in the direction of Yiyang in Huainan. It is not easy to judge how much of the Shannan forces of the Western Wei were attracted, but the Western Wei envoys were attracted to the country.

In Yedu, Gao Zhan himself did not know much about the plan, so it was naturally difficult to give a decent response. However, since the Wei envoy came to the court to ask, many people in Yedu also knew about this matter. For a time, the public opinion in the whole Yedu also revolved around this and launched a heated discussion.

There are many people in the Northern Qi who hold similar ideas as Gao Zhan, and think that it is better for both sides to maintain the status quo and not to go to war easily. It can be said that most of the people in Hebei hold such views.

However, their influence and voice are too small at the moment. No matter what their opinions are, it is difficult to affect the execution of the final decision. They can't even see the emperor far away in Jinyang, so no matter what they express, it is just some gossip in the market.

As for Jinyang, although Qi Lord Gao Yan had already begun to prepare to send troops, when facing the questioning of Wei envoys, he still said with surprise that he did not know about this matter, and attributed the invasion of Yiyang to the self-willed actions of the local tyrants in Henan, and said that he would thoroughly investigate the matter and give a satisfactory explanation to the Western Wei, hoping to continue to confuse the public and interfere with the judgment of the Western Wei.

But his acting skills may be good, but he met a guy who did not intend to reason with him at all. After Gao Yan dealt with the Wei envoy and sent him out of the country with courtesy, he then stepped up the mobilization of troops in Jinyang, and ordered the front troops to go south from Bafuling first and gather in the north of Shangdang to prepare for war.

But when he was sharpening his sword here, there was a shocking news from the south. The Tangzhou garrison of the Western Wei suddenly went deep into Queshu Valley and built a fortress in Jiahu Fort.

When this news reached Jinyang, Gao Yan was shocked. Jiahubao is located in the north of the middle section of Queshu Valley. It was originally a gathering place for Hu merchants who traveled and traded. Last year, because Wei Can, who was stationed in Pingyang, was greedy for profit, he was attacked by the Western Wei Dynasty, resulting in heavy losses. Later, the Northern Qi Dynasty also learned from the pain and directly banned the trade in Qinshui. The prosperity of Jiahubao also plummeted.

However, it was unexpected that this act of consolidating the border defense would make the Hu merchants in the other side resentful, causing these Hu merchants to defect to the Western Wei Dynasty. Now they dare to help the Western Wei Dynasty conceal its behavior and quietly build a military fortress in Jiahubao! Jiahubao is not far from Jiexiu in the north of Queshu Valley. If the Wei army advances here in an organized manner, Jinyang will be in danger!

After learning about this, Gao Yan's strong desire for revenge suddenly cooled down. He quickly stopped the troops of Hulugu who were about to leave for the south, and temporarily kept them in Jinyang, preparing to further observe the dynamics of the Western Wei before making plans.

When the situation developed to this point, Gao Yan was still hoping that this was just a probing act of the Western Wei Tangzhou General Administration Office, and there would be no subsequent military plan.

But soon his fantasy was shattered, because the latest news came from the Turkic side. The Western Wei actually sent an envoy to ask Wuzun Khan to lead the Turkish army to follow the Wei army to attack Jinyang! Although Wuzun Khan did not say whether he would agree to the request of the Western Wei, being able to tip off was already a care for Gao Yan, the son-in-law.

But Gao Yan did not feel the warmth of being cared for, and the whole person became extremely nervous because of this matter. The ambition to avenge the previous humiliation was temporarily put aside. The most important issue facing him now was how to survive the new round of offensive by the Western Wei.

In view of the fierce offensive of the Wei army in the previous battle, Gao Yan naturally did not dare to take it lightly. On the one hand, he sent envoys with heavy goods to the Turks, hoping that the Turks would not join forces with the Western Wei to attack. On the other hand, he temporarily stopped the previous war plan and assembled the best forces in the country to Jinyang to wait for the strong enemy.