Xiaoqi

With a charming expression, Dian Wuxia nestled in Li Li's arms, caressing the man's strong chest with her slender fingers, and said softly: "Sister Yunluo and I don't doubt your husband's vision of knowing people and employing people, and we don't mean to question Zhou Yu's ability to command troops. , let alone doubt the courage and combat power of our soldiers fighting on the battlefield. We are just worried that this battle will last for a long time, let alone consume a lot of food, grass and ordnance. A series of consecutive defeats alone is enough to wear down the high morale of our army , so as to shake the morale of the army. If this situation is not contained in time and continues to develop, even if our army can win in the end, it will inevitably be a disastrous victory. Husband, please consider carefully, rush to the front line as soon as possible, and personally command the army to fight."

"I personally command the army to attack the barbarian tribes?" Li Li looked slightly astonished.Then he slapped the buttocks of Dian Wuxia and Ma Yunluo twice, pretending to be angry, and said slightly angrily: "You two prodigal wives are really different from ordinary women. I don’t want my own man to go to the battlefield, lest there will be an accident with him. I will become a widow. You two are good, urging me to go to the front to fight every day. Isn’t it good for me to accompany you every day?”

"Hehehe!" Dian Wuxia and Ma Yunluo, who had their buttocks attacked, looked at each other and smiled coquettishly.His cheeks were blushing, but he was not stage frightened, nor dodged.Instead, they pressed Li Li's restless hands under their hips, and twisted his delicate body slightly, which made Li Li breathe heavily and move his fingers violently.Subconsciously kneading the richness and softness in the palm.

Immediately Ma Yunluo smiled and said: "My husband has wrongly blamed my concubine and sister Wuxia. For many years, my husband has fought on the battlefield, invincible, invincible, and invincible. This time I swore to the Northern Expedition. The first battle was a great victory, and then the husband lent the military power to Zhou Yu. , our army has no more victories. In half a month, our army fought against the barbarian army twice, and all of them were defeated, so that the demoralized barbarian army regained their fighting spirit. Under the current situation, sister Wuxia and I decided to persuade my husband to go to the front to command the battle in person, so as not to lose the morale of the army and lose another battle. This is also a last resort. It is not that the concubine intends to urge my husband to go to battle to kill the enemy, but because of the situation, we have to do so .Besides, my sister Wuxia and I will accompany my husband into battle, no matter what dangers we encounter, we sisters will never abandon him."

"Hahaha!" Li Li laughed heartily, hugged Dian Wuxia and Ma Yunluo tightly in his arms, and said with a smile, "Okay, you two don't have to take it seriously, I was just teasing you just now!"

After a pause, Li Li suppressed his smile and said sternly: "Actually, people report to me every day on the frontline. You two still don't believe in Zhou Yu's ability to lead troops in battle, and you want me to replace him and personally lead the troops to attack the barbarians."

During the speech, Li Li shook his head to indicate that the two girls do not need to explain, and continued: "There is no natural handsome talent in this world. No one is born to fight, and no one is always victorious and never loses. Just like me, Li Li, I have fought There are many battles that claim to be invincible. In fact, I have also lost battles, and I was hit by a blow when I was just emerging, and I was almost devastated.

In the Battle of Maple Leaf Canyon three years ago, I only had more than [-] troops under my command, and they were all patchwork troops. I was about to go to Wuwei County to take up the post, but Yunluo's brother Ma Chao led [-] flying horses to steal Raid the camp at night.In that battle, Ma Chao suffered a disastrous defeat, and the Pegasus Pirates lost tens of thousands of horses, but I did not win either, because most of my soldiers were killed and injured, only two or three thousand remnants were defeated.Because of this, when I went to Wuwei County to take office, I took only [-] soldiers to Guzang City.At that time, I didn't know if I could gain a firm foothold in Wuwei County and whether I could successfully withdraw Wuwei County.But I had no way out at the time, so I could only bite the bullet and go up, even if I failed, I still had to try.Fortunately, I met Li Xuan, Teng Xiao, Teng Yu, Meng Chong and other civil servants and military generals, and finally successfully killed the two thieves Cheng Yin and Li Kan, recruited the county soldiers, and finally gained the strength to gain a foothold in Wuwei County. "

Having said that, Li Li turned his head and kissed Ma Yunluo's forehead lightly, and then turned his head to kiss Dian Wuxia's cheek.Then he changed the subject and said with deep emotion: "I, Li Li, are still like this. Although Zhou Gongjin is a genius, he still needs to experience a lot. It is reasonable to suffer a little setback occasionally. After all, Gongjin Although he had the experience of leading troops before, he had very few troops. At most, he led tens of thousands of troops to attack the city. This is the first time that he has led tens of thousands of troops to fight alone. Therefore, we should give him Support, instead of issuing military orders without authorization, ordering him to do what. At this time, we can't put pressure on him, don't doubt his ability to command the army, and we can't easily replace the chief general. Instead.

What's more, the frontline battle situation of our army is not as bad as you two imagined. Although we lost two battles in a row, the defeat was not chaotic. We didn't lose many soldiers and horses, and no generals were killed in battle.Therefore, I will not go to the front line in person, nor will I give any orders. As I said before, everything in the battle ahead is in the hands of Gong Jin, and she can make decisions on her own without asking for instructions. "

"Your husband trusts Zhou Yu so much. Aren't you afraid that he will lose troops again and implicate our soldiers?" Dian Wuxia asked worriedly.

Li Li nodded slightly and said, "Wuxia doesn't know Zhou Yu very well, so it's inevitable that he was biased and made a mistake in his judgment. A few years ago, Gong Jin followed Sun Jian's son Sun Ce to set off on an expedition. Relying on thousands of soldiers and horses, he captured more than ten cities and allowed Sun Ce to It is a pity that Sun Ce is not good at management. His character is too tough. After all, he could not gain a foothold, so he had to lead his troops to live in Xuzhou. However, because he expanded his army without authorization and made friends with Xuzhou nobles, Tao Qian was jealous, so he had to lead his troops to defect to Yuan Shu.

I have heard of Gongjin for a long time.Then there was Zijing who recommended him and tried his best to persuade him before he was brought under his command.Let him serve as the chief general to lead the army this time, and give him a chance to prove himself.The second is to test its ability.If he can live up to expectations and wipe out the Southern Huns in one fell swoop, then I will let him take the lead, give him more and greater power and soldiers, and continue to reuse him.If he can't win, or if he can't capture the Southern Huns and march into Bingzhou within three months, then it means that he needs further training and doesn't have the ability to be a general for the time being.If this is the case, he will stay in Jinyiwei and continue to train for two years, and he will be given important tasks in the future. "

Ma Yunluo said in astonishment: "So, my husband will use Zhou Yu again no matter what, and I firmly believe that he must be a general. What kind of ability does he have that deserves my husband's special attention?"

"This,,, really can't explain clearly." Li Li was slightly stunned, and after a little hesitation, he said, "Let me tell you, Zhou Yuzhi is not inferior to me in terms of his ability to lead troops and fight alone. Right now What he lacks is that he has no experience in a major battle before, and he lacks experience in a major battle. But I always firmly believe that Zhou Yu is a handsome talent, and his ability to lead troops is beyond doubt, and he will shine brightly sooner or later, and become a blockbuster!"

"Since that's the case, I don't want to say much about myself. I hope that Zhou Gongjin will live up to her husband's high expectations and return in triumph!" Seeing that her man respects and trusts Zhou Yu so much, Dian Wuxia nodded slightly, and stopped persuading Li Li to go to the front to command the battle.

The same is true for Ma Yunluo. As long as it is something her man decides, she must support it unconditionally and will never sing against it.The reason why she questioned it just now was because she and Dian Wuxia were deeply disturbed by the recent battle report. Zhou Yu's army had lost two battles in a row, and many mid-level generals in the army jointly requested a change of command. defeat.

In addition, after all, Zhou Yu was a general who had recently joined the Xiliang Army, and his qualifications were too low. He was entrusted with a heavy task less than a month after he arrived in the Xiliang Army.This made Dian Wuxia and Ma Yunluo suspicious, worried that their husbands trusted Zhou Yu too much and were eager to employ people. If the army was defeated and returned, the result would be disastrous, and the barbarian army would inevitably invade Beidi County again.Furthermore, the situation in the Central Plains is murky, and the princes from all walks of life are ready to move, and they may invade Sili at any time.Once Sili encounters drastic changes, the Xiliang army will be attacked from both sides, and the situation is worrying.

In view of this, after private discussions between Dian Wuxia and Ma Yunluo, they decided to persuade Li Li to change his commander and go to the front to preside over the battle.But now it seems that the persuasion is ineffective. Li Li is determined and will not change his original intention. He still insists on appointing Zhou Yu as the commander and commanding the army to conquer the barbarian army.

As Li Li's women, Dian Wuxia and Ma Yunluo knew their man's temper and work style very well.Once he decides something, he will definitely implement it. Even if he makes a mistake, he will wait until the dust settles.But so far, Li Li has not made any mistakes in decision-making, let alone a situation like this Northern Expedition's repeated defeats.

"My lord, joining the army is asking to see you outside the tent." Just when Li Li and his wife were silent, Li Zhi suddenly walked into the big tent and reported respectfully.

"Oh? Fa Xiao is here, invite him in quickly!" Li Li was slightly surprised, and immediately waved his hand and said.

Dian Wuxia and Ma Yunluo, who were snuggling in his arms, heard that Tingfa was coming from Chiyang City, and immediately left Li Li's embrace reluctantly, got up and walked slowly into the back hall.Since they stopped serving in the military, the two of them seldom appeared in front of outsiders, and they no longer participated in military and political discussions, and strictly abide by the duty of women not to participate in politics.

"My subordinates pay homage to the lord!" Dian Wuxia and Ma Yunluo walked away, Fazheng's tall and thin figure walked into the big tent, and bowed to salute.

"Hehehe!" Li Li smiled and stood up and walked to Fazheng, stretched out his hand to support him, and said with a smile, "Xiaozhi is much thinner than two years ago, but his stature is much taller. Xiaozhi has worked hard."

Li Li said this because when Fazheng was sent to Beidi County for training, he was only 17 years old, which was a very good age for growing his body.After more than two years, Fazheng has reached the crown and has become a real man.

"Thank you, Master, for your concern." Seeing Li Li again after two years, Fazheng looked quite excited, but he was much calmer than two years ago, and he did not forget to be courteous despite his excitement.

After following Li Li to his seat, Fazheng said in a respectful voice: "When the lord led the army to enter Chiyang City, his subordinates were distributing food in Gaoyang Town to help the people, so they were unable to meet the lord in time. This time, all the government affairs in the county have been sorted out smoothly. The subordinates immediately come to the camp to listen, and are ready to be dispatched by the lord at any time."

Chapter 582

"Xiaozhi's pommel horse is exhausted, so it's good to rest for a few days. There is no urgent military affairs in the camp right now, so it's okay to rest for a few days." Li Li sat at the head of Fazheng and said with a smile.

"Uh!" Fazheng was stunned when he heard the words, looked up at Li Li sideways, and said gratefully: "Thank you for your concern, my lord, how can my subordinate He De dare to be so loved by my lord. But the purpose of this subordinate is to relieve my lord's worries, I will do my best for our army, so the lord has an order, and the subordinates must do their best to complete it. Please order the lord!"

Li Li nodded lightly, and said with a smile, "Take a good rest, that's my order for you. Could it be that Xiao Zhi wants to disobey orders? Hehehe!"

"My subordinates dare not." Fazheng looked slightly stunned, and after pleading guilty respectfully, Chi asked: "Now that our army is out fighting and fighting against the barbarian army, how can it be possible that there is no military affairs to deal with? This subordinate has already Adult, don't look at me as thin and thin, but I am actually stronger than before. In the past two years, my subordinates have followed the major general to practice martial arts, and I have made some achievements, which is enough to deal with ten or eight soldiers. So the lord don't have to worry about the health of the subordinates, although That's the order, the subordinates must live up to the lord's entrustment!"

"Well, Xiaozhi's loyalty is commendable." Li Li smiled and nodded, then raised his finger and pointed to the top two volumes of bamboo slips on the Shuai case, and said softly: "Since Xiaozhi has worked hard, let's take a look at the two books that were sent recently. A battle report, and then we'll talk."

After speaking, Li Li sat under the tent and drank his tea calmly, with no trace of calm on his face.

Seeing that the protagonist Li Li didn't want to say much, Fazheng went to the handsome case, and gently picked up the bamboo slips to read.The two scrolls of bamboo slips recorded very detailed records of the two recent battles ahead. The cause and effect were clear at a glance.This is the most detailed battle report that Fazheng has seen so far.It is clear and concise, which shows that the person who recorded the war is quite talented, and it is by no means an ordinary person.

After carefully reading the battle report, Fazheng carefully rolled up the bamboo slips and put them back to their original positions. Then he gently retreated to Li Li and sat down with his head down. He frowned slightly and closed his eyes to meditate.

There was silence in the commander's tent for a while, Fazheng closed his eyes and thought.Li Li drank his tea lightly, without squinting, feeling at ease.

After a long while, Fazheng slowly opened his eyes, and said softly: "From the battle report, the situation ahead of our army is not going well, and we were defeated in the two battles at Beishan Pass and Wuyaling. Relatively speaking, the two battles of the barbarians Two victories. We intercepted part of our army's food and supplies, and have come out of the shadow of the defeat in the battle of Chiyang City. The morale of the army has recovered, and the morale has never been higher. Under the ebb and flow, our army was frustrated in the pursuit of victory , morale was also frustrated. Combat strength has declined, and the middle and low-level generals are even more angry, and they have a lot of complaints about General Zhou Yu. However, there are some doubts revealed in it, which is quite intriguing."

"Oh?" Li Li turned his head to look at Fazheng in a little surprise.He whispered: "There are only the two of us here, there is no need to shy away from being filial piety, you might as well speak up."

Fazheng nodded happily, and thoughtfully said, "My subordinates don't know much about Zhou Yu, the commander of the army appointed by my lord this time, but I have heard about it. It is said that General Zhou Yu came from the Lujiang Zhou family, and his ancestors were all loyal ministers of my court. Origins, talented people come forth in large numbers. General Zhou was known as a child prodigy in his early years, talented and intelligent, proficient in the six arts, read a lot of books, good at literature and martial arts, well versed in the art of war, and both civil and military. I don’t know if your subordinates are right?"

Li Li smiled slightly, nodded and said: "It seems that Xiaozhi has already paid attention to Gongjin, and what he said is not bad at all, it is true."

"Since this is the case, it seems strange that General Zhou Yu led the army to lose again and again. There must be something hidden in it." Fazheng continued.

Li Li looked at Fazheng with a smile on his face, and said with a light smile, "Hidden feelings? Xiaozhi tried to say, what's strange and what's hidden?"

Fazheng nodded slightly, and said slowly while thinking: "In the battle at Beishan Pass, General Zhou dispatched [-] cavalry and [-] infantry troops to fight against the Yufuluo barbarian army. It was a battle, and the barbarian army occupied the pass and was condescending. Waiting for work with leisure, resulting in our army's attack for half a day without results, and more than [-] soldiers were killed or injured. This was the first battle of our army's attack on the Xiongnu grassland, and it ended in defeat. That night, General Zhang Liao led his troops to attack the pass and succeeded in one fell swoop. How many barbarians were killed was just to recapture the supplies abandoned during the day, that's all.

In this battle, there is one thing that is quite puzzling.That is, our army suffered more than 1000 soldiers, but less than [-] people died in the battle, and the remaining [-] soldiers were all wounded, and the injuries were not serious, and they could fight again after a short rest. "

Having said this, Fazheng paused for a while, and carefully observed the expression on Li Li's face.Seeing that Li Li had no intention of speaking, Fazheng continued: "The second battle was the Battle of Crow Ridge. The barbarian army also took advantage of the favorable terrain and got stuck in the way our army was advancing, forcing our army to attack .In World War I, our army was defeated again and attacked the mountains for two days in a row. In the end, although we captured Crow Ridge, we did not wipe out many barbarian troops, while our army suffered more than 2000 casualties in the battle. The most strange thing is that , This battle is the same as the first battle. Only [-] soldiers of our army actually died in the battle.

Calculated in this way, our army lost two battles in a row. On the surface, there were nearly 2000 casualties. In fact, the number of casualties was far less than that. Only [-] soldiers were killed, and most of them were infantry.However, the barbarian army won the two battles, but more than [-] people were killed or injured, and more than [-] prisoners of war were captured alive by our army.Since then, our army lost two battles in name, but in fact it was a tie with the barbarian army, and there was no substantial defeat.The only difference is that the morale of our army has been frustrated, and the generals in the army have complained a lot, and they are quite dissatisfied with General Zhou Yu.This situation is extremely unfavorable to our army. A big battle is imminent, and the generals will be dissatisfied with the leader, which will inevitably affect the morale, and then shake the morale of the army, which is not good for the battle.I also ask my lord to make a decision quickly, otherwise changes will happen later! "

"Changes?" Li Li murmured, then shook his head slightly, and said in a deep voice: "Unsettled military morale exists objectively, but it doesn't cause changes. Our army has hardly encountered setbacks over the years. Its combat power is tyrannical and invincible. It has developed that the soldiers are good at fighting with the wind, and when they are frustrated, they will complain a lot, and even doubt the ability of the commander-in-chief. This kind of atmosphere must be stopped, and this wind cannot last long, otherwise there will be endless troubles. The joint name Most of the generals who requested to replace the chief general came from the county government, and the generals who did not have the main battalion questioned the commanding ability of the chief general Zhou Yu; otherwise, the future of our army is bleak, and we must strictly rectify it again, so as not to recover from a setback in the future."

After finishing speaking, Li Li took out a stack of letters from his sleeve, handed them to Fazheng, and said softly: "Look at this, this is the third battle report delivered this morning. Our army fought again at noon yesterday. The barbarians clashed, this time it was a face-to-face battle with cavalry."

"Ah! Lost again!" Fazheng exclaimed as soon as he opened the letter, and after quickly reading the letter, he lost his mind in a daze.There was an expression of disbelief on his face.

Li Li nodded slightly, and said in a low voice: "That's right, this is the third report of defeat. Within half a month, Zhou Yu's army lost three times in three battles, with more casualties each time. Morale has fallen to the bottom, and the morale of the army is in turmoil. Yesterday The Battle of Qinglang Valley broke out at noon. Jinyiwei, Hubenying and more than [-] county soldiers all went to battle. They confronted the barbarian army head-on. The battle lasted until night. After the battle, our army killed more than [-] people and wounded [-] soldiers For the rest, tens of thousands of troops have been lost again. So far, only [-] of our army's [-] troops left when we set out for the expedition, a reduction of nearly [-]%. The strength has been greatly damaged and morale is low. Therefore, the current battle situation is becoming more and more unfavorable for our army , the generals in the army were very resentful. The soldiers gradually lost their belief in victory, and the morale of the army was really shaken, and the situation was worrisome."

Hearing the words of the lord Li Li, Fazheng calmed down quickly.When Li Li finished speaking, he answered, "Since that's the case, I don't know what the lord has ordered, but my subordinates will do it immediately!"

Li Li shook his head slightly, and pondered: "I don't have any orders, I'll just wait and see what happens, and I don't need to keep rushing around."

"Uh!" Fazheng was stunned when he heard the sound, turned his head to look at Li Li, and said worriedly: "The situation of the battle is so unfavorable to our army. At this time, only the lord can save the defeat, revive the morale, and stabilize the morale of the army. I don't know why the lord... ?”

Li Li shook his head indifferently, stared sideways at Fazheng, and said softly: "Xiaozhi's mind is confused, you can see the problem in the previous two battle reports, why can't you see the truth in this letter?"

Reminded by Li Li, Fazheng opened the letter again, carefully examined every word, and finally saw the suspicious points revealed in the letter.

"In the Battle of the Blue Wolf Valley, the barbarian army killed and injured more than [-] people, and more than [-] wounded soldiers were captured, and then retreated for fifty miles." Fazheng read out the penultimate sentence in the letter softly, and then a gleam flashed in his eyes , thought suddenly and fell silent.

After a while, he suddenly realized: "That's it! It seems that General Zhou Yu is really extraordinary, and every battle has a deep meaning. The casualties in the first battle were greater than those in the first battle, but they also caused a lot of casualties to the barbarian army. Invisibly, our army is still fighting. It is advancing steadily, but the barbarian army is retreating step by step even though they are winning, and they are not far from the court of the Southern Huns."

"That's right." Li Li nodded and said, "The old nest of the Southern Huns is located on the grassland between Shuofang County and Wuyuan County. Right now, the barbarian army has retreated to the northwest corner of Shangjun in Bingzhou, and further back is the King's Court of the Huns. There is the Southern Huns There are tens of thousands of string controllers in the clan, and the terrain is complex, easy to defend and difficult to attack!"