New Shun 1730

The word "nonsense" startled the eunuch serving beside him.

As the emperor's close friends, the eunuchs knew the meaning of every little action of the emperor.

When Liu Yu's memorial was delivered just now, the emperor slightly bent his index finger and knocked on the table while reading.

This meant that he was in a good mood, and the eunuchs could see it clearly.

But who would have thought that he would suddenly curse while knocking, which was really unexpected.

The first part of the memorial was really to Li Gan's liking, but Liu Yu started to commit suicide like the first memorial before.

It said that the captured Westerner Bering said that the "Kunlun slave" in the Luosha Castle north of Handoliwei City was a big shot, and was proficient in building forts. He wanted to expand the castle, and the Luosha Kingdom's intention to invade the south was obvious.

However, if you want to conquer Jiangnan, you must get Jingxiang; if you want to get Nanjing, you must attack Anqing. If the dynasty wants to control the Heilongjiang River, it must attack the upper reaches of the Heilongjiang River from top to bottom, just like attacking Jiangnan to get Jingxiang.

Liu Yu said that the dynasty must use troops in the northwest to seize the upper reaches and contact Mongolia.

However, the Luosha people in the east want to expand the castle, and once it is built, it will be a big trouble to attack it in the future.

It is better to take advantage of the dynasty's military operations in the west and take the castle with people, go up the river all the way, and lure the Yakutsk troops to the south, making it unable to reinforce the dynasty's military operations in the west.

When the army wins in the west and seizes the upper reaches of the Heilongjiang River, the Luosha people will be divided into two, and the head and tail cannot respond. If I can seize the castle, I can have more bargaining chips in future negotiations.

What he said makes sense, and what makes Li Gan quite praised is that Liu Yu guessed that the direction of the court's military operations is in the west rather than the east, which is extremely rare.

But when I saw the end, I felt that the whole article ended with two naked words.

Stealing credit!

Is he afraid that the west will fight and he has no merit?

Is he thinking that his merit in drawing and rubbing the stele has been overshadowed by the military merit in the west?

The court's strategy has been determined, and Liu Yu is still sober-minded. He did not do this without asking for permission, but even if he did, it would be harmful to the court's overall strategy.

If he wins, he can share some of the pressure from the west.

Liu Yu has more than 300 people in his hands. According to the memorial, he is ready to rely on the tribute-paying natives to help fight together. What's going on?

But what if he can't win?

With so few people, the possibility of winning is probably not great.

If he can't win for a long time, first, he will lose his spirit, and second...

What if the Luosha people transfer troops from the north to the south, repel Liu Yu, and then go down to attack Handoliwei, go up the river to attack Jilin, and cut off the army's logistics and food routes, the Nenjiang and Songhua Rivers?

Winning doesn't make much sense.

Losing may have a great impact on the entire war situation.

Isn't this nonsense?

This time, the troops were mobilized to attack the west and defend the east. This was the established strategy.

Elite troops were drawn to join the field battle group in the west. There were not many people left in the Songhua River Basin.

It was okay to defend, but if troops were sent to counterattack, it would be easy for the Russians to seize the opportunity.

In any battle, it is necessary to consider defeat before considering victory.

At the end of Liu Yu's memorial, the whole article was full of the benefits of attacking, but there was no mention of the harm of being cut off by the Russians in case of failure.

Young people should be sharp and have a desire to win merits. Otherwise, they are as old as old people, and they are not young people.

But sharpness is not used in this place, and sharpness must also give way to the overall situation.

"Bring the person who sent the memorial here! I want to ask."

After giving the order, the person sent by Liu Yu to deliver the memorial was brought to the emperor soon.

Just one look, Li Gan softened his heart.

The soldier in front of him was probably in his early twenties. Since he was selected to follow Liu Yu to Yongning Temple, he had been to the battlefield.

After nearly a year of journey, the soldier's face was dark, his hair was messy, and his face was covered with a beard that could not be shaved at a young age.

His clothes were even more greasy and twisted, and he looked like a beggar on the streets of Beijing. His hair was tied like dry grass, and he had a leather belt made of animal skin wrapped around his waist.

From a distance, you can smell the smell of mutton that has not been bathed for many years.

Looking at this soldier, you can probably imagine what Liu Yu is like.

There are no post stations or logistical supplies along the way. It is estimated that the horses have been killed.

The last time he asked, Li Gan knew that Liu Yu was learning from General Li and eating with the soldiers, and there was no difference. It was just that the soldier took a bath and changed clothes in advance when he asked about the bastion last time, so this time the soldier kept the original ecology.

The eunuchs following Li Gan felt a little nauseous about the smell, but seeing that the emperor did not cover his nose, they had to endure it.

"Get up. Let me ask you, where is Liu Yu now?"

"Your Majesty, Lord Liu should have crossed the Ussuri River now. When the Lord sent me back, I was meeting with several leaders of the long-haired Jurchens."

The long-haired Jurchens are the Hezhe people who do not shave their golden rat tails. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Later Jin had limited control over them, so they all wore their hair before being captured in the Eight Banners.

Li Gan could still distinguish these differences. After a moment of silence, he asked: "How many people can there be in the tribute tribes that followed Liu Yu?"

"About two or three hundred."

"Liu Yu said that he seized three cannons from the Luosha people in Yongning Temple. How big are those cannons?"

"They are all small cannons. More than one person long, and the bullets are no more than two or three pounds."

Hearing this, Li Gan was puzzled.

Liu Yu's first memorial was written very clearly. It can be said that no one in the court knew better than him how difficult it was to attack the bastion.

With just these few people and three broken cannons, how could Liu Yu dare to say that he would try to capture the fortress of Luosha?

Li Gan also saw the map of the Luosha fortress. After asking the people in the court who knew the Western defense methods, they all thought that the castle was well built. After all, it has been 80 years since the end of the Ming Dynasty. It has been continuously repaired and is no longer the simple appearance of the late Ming Dynasty.

With just this little power, how could Liu Yu dare to say this? Even if there is another way, it is not enough to rely on these few people.

In an instant, Li Gan suddenly thought of something that Liu Yu seemed to mention unintentionally in his last memorial.

"The young man in the Handoriwei City, the one who took the cannon, is called... called..."

Such a small person, his father is not a duke, but a captain of the Zhechou, so the emperor can't remember him.

"Your Majesty. Du Feng."

"Yes, Du Feng. How is his relationship with Liu Yu?"

"This man also knows Western learning, and Lord Liu loves him very much." The soldier said, with a slightly sour tone. In hindsight, anyone could have done the cannon capture that day, but Liu Yu gave the credit to that man.

"Well... ha."

He laughed dumbly.

In this way, Li Gan understood everything and understood what kind of troops Liu Yu relied on.

If he was bolder and more confident in his own abilities, with five or six hundred plus a few hundred soldiers in the Handoriwei City, he might have the courage to try to capture the fortress of the Rakshasa people and grab a great merit.

Otherwise, even if he had great abilities, a fortress guarded by hundreds of people would rely on those hundreds of people and three small cannons. Even if Han Bai was resurrected, he might be powerless.

As for that Du Feng, was he very fond of him just because he knew Western learning?

I'm afraid not? I'm afraid the reason for his great love is that Du Feng has a father who is a Zhechong Duwei, and that's the reason for his love.

I'm afraid that when Liu Yu sneaked into the Luosha Fortress that day, he had already had this idea.

Holding the handle, he forced his father to do it with him.

This little trick is considered a bit of skill among young people.

But Li Gan, who has experienced the dispute over the crown prince and watched the performances of the adults in the court for eight years, thinks that this is like a louse on a bald head, which is simply ridiculous.

"It's interesting."

He muttered to himself, smiled slightly, and returned to the camp tent.

Picking up the pen, Li Gan did not strictly rebuke Liu Yu's bold idea, nor did he force Liu Yu to return immediately and not stay there to make trouble, but wrote two strange edicts.

The first one was to the Zhechong Duwei of Handoli City.

The words were very simple, just one sentence.

"Since ancient times, punishment has been based on deeds rather than intentions. Are the border troops guilty of patrolling the border?"

The second letter was sent to Liu Yu. The words were equally simple, just one sentence, using a sentence said by Emperor Taizong in the past.

"When you have more than you need, forget to withdraw, and when you have no way out, want to turn back."

The war on the front line changes rapidly, and it is common for generals to disobey the orders of the emperor. Li Gan felt that if there were these two sentences, Liu Yu would still be able to continue to do it, which was his ability.

If he could do it, of course it would be good, and it could attract the attention of the Russians to the east.

The first battle in the north was about to start, and the bottom line of the negotiation was the bottom line. If you ask for a high price, you have to pay it back on the spot. What can be negotiated and how much higher than the bottom line it is depends on how the battle goes.

Liu Yu said that if there were Russian generals who were proficient in construction in the fortress, if it really built a solid fortress, if it could not be taken down in the negotiation, it would become a bargaining chip in the hands of the Russians.

The reason why Li Gan thought Liu Yu was a bit ridiculous was because he considered defeat first and victory later.

Moreover, he really didn't believe that Liu Yu could take down the fortress of the Luosha people with that few people and without even artillery.

If the attack failed for a long time, the Luosha people in the north would support them, and then attack from the front and back, and take advantage of the situation to attack the confluence of the Nenjiang River and the Songhua River, threatening the grain route, which would be extremely unfavorable to the overall situation.

The most difficult battle in the founding of Xinshun was the Battle of Jingzhou that year.

Emperor Taizong Li Guo talked about that battle countless times afterwards: If he trusted He Tengjiao too much at that time and didn't set up an ambush to kill Leke Dehun, if the army failed to attack the city of Jingzhou for a long time, and Leke Dehun suddenly came out from behind, then the world would probably have to shave their heads and change clothes.

Li Gan had heard this story countless times since he was a child, and he was most nervous about this kind of "long-term attack, reinforcements come out to counterattack" battle.

But he was thousands of miles away and couldn't know the specific situation on the front line. What if Liu Yu really had a way to capture it?

That would be very useful for future negotiations, especially knowing that the Luosha people intended to strengthen the fortress.

So he didn't say it absolutely, but used such an ambiguous decree.

Or, Liu Yu really had the ability to do it, and he could rely on the more than 300 people under his command plus the 200 or 300 tribesmen who wanted to pay tribute.

That would not affect the defense of the Handori Weicheng. Success would be the best, and failure would be harmless.

Or, Liu Yu's method would be enough to make the Zhechou Duwei in Handori feel that there was something to do.

It was not because his son was being controlled by others that he had to do it, but because he was really willing to do it when there was merit in front of him. These two are completely different. Li Gan believes that an old border general will have his own judgment, at least more clearly than himself sitting thousands of miles away.

It should be enough to write these two sentences.