Chapter 1 The Arrival of Jiang Yan and Gao Senqi

"Scholar Jiang Yan from Chunnan, and Gao Senqi, commander of the Flying Tiger Battalion of Northern Liao, have arrived!" As the doorman announced the identities of the two arriving together, the entire banquet hall buzzed with excitement. How did these two get mixed up together? One was the top strategist of Chunnan, and the other was the second-in-command of the Northern Liao Western Route Army, both formidable figures. Jiang Yan's appearance in Ganduo wouldn't surprise many; in fact, people were more puzzled as to why Chunnan, as an ally, hadn't sent a higher-ranking official to the Ganduo inauguration ceremony. Merely sending Zheng Zhe, the ambassador stationed in Dongping, was clearly insufficient. As for Jiang Yan, although he held no official title, merely calling himself a scholar, who would dare to underestimate him? Jiang Yan rarely appeared in the Chunnan court these days to discuss politics with the ministers. In his opinion, political discussions were just pointless squabbles with those who had taken sides. However, no major decision in Chunnan could be made without him.

But Gao Senqi's brazen appearance in Ganduo, even barging into a banquet gathering so many Dongping dignitaries, was simply too bold. If Gao Senqi weren't wearing a robe today, some might have believed he came to make trouble. However, what everyone couldn't understand was that the Yunzhou generals didn't seem to show any hostility towards Gao Senqi, nor did they deliberately keep their distance. Instead, many went up to pat Gao Senqi on the shoulder and exchange pleasantries. This made it even more puzzling. Tan Xiaopei, sitting at the main table in the banquet hall, glanced towards the entrance and casually ordered, "Have Gao Senqi come see me later, after the banquet."

At the entire banquet, the most eye-catching table was undoubtedly the one where Gao Senqi was sitting. Besides Gao Senqi, the table was filled with high-ranking Yunzhou generals, including Xu Yao and Cheng Chi. Everyone was constantly listing the advantages and disadvantages of various units, analyzing various situations seen during the military parade, judging which units were stronger and which were weaker, and where their weaknesses lay. Their discussions didn't exceed their usual studies; in fact, it was all content that Gao Senqi already knew. No matter how everyone discussed at the table, Xu Yao would grin slyly and mock the combat power of their Western Route Army beside Gao Senqi. At first, Gao Senqi didn't want to join the discussion, but then, unable to bear Xu Yao's repeated provocations, he finally argued with them. Gao Senqi had a deep understanding of the various Yunzhou armies, and his position was also higher than that of the Yunzhou senior officers, who didn't have to worry about supplies and equipment, allowing him to see the issues more comprehensively. For a time, the two sides argued endlessly about the configuration and combat power of various armies, attracting the attention of many interested parties. The Yunzhou generals were also surprised to discover that many things they thought were secrets, things they thought were their unique advantages, were not so reliable after all. Yunzhou's development relied heavily on the manufacturing industries of Yunzhou and the entire Dongping, and the armaments of the army were indeed excellent, but there were also various problems. The disparity in combat power between the main battle units and the second-line units was a very serious problem, meaning that once the main battle units of Yunzhou were defeated, the investment of the second-line units would be at greater risk. In fact, Yunzhou's understanding of the Western Route Army was much less than Gao Senqi's understanding of them. This was the difference between an area under the jurisdiction of the Northern Frontier Pacification Office, which maintained friendship and openness to the outside world, and an area that remained closed and under military control for many years. The Intelligence Bureau had put a lot of effort into Northern Liao, but at least the Intelligence Bureau hadn't received much information about the simulation camps established by the Western Route Army.

"This Gao Senqi is quite interesting..." Tan Xiaopei pulled Ye Tao over and said softly, "But you're really daring. Letting Gao Senqi wander around Yunzhou like this, and you two seem to have a good relationship. You don't need to worry about the censors, but this guy knows too much about the situation of the armies in your hands. How will you fight the war in the future?"

Ye Tao smiled and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry. Yunzhou's security measures are still reliable. It's normal for Gao Senqi to indirectly understand some situations; after all, the equipment and training are out in the open. But he must have done something else. Look at the situations he mentioned; only those who actually command the army could know about them. He's a good general, but... Northern Liao doesn't have many opportunities for the Western Route Army to display its abilities. I understand this, and the others in Yunzhou understand this as well. Right now, the only ones who can match Dongping and Yunzhou are Western Ling and Chunnan. Northern Liao is, after all, inherently deficient. Strategically, we have full confidence, as long as we don't make major mistakes at the tactical execution level. And in terms of tactics, Your Majesty, that's our strength. Since the establishment of the Command Headquarters and the construction of the staff system, Yunzhou's various tactical plans and targeted training have been ongoing."

Zhuo Mang also joined the discussion with great interest. Seeing these Yunzhou troops today made him, a man who had spent his life on the battlefield, somewhat excited. If the troops under the Northern Frontier Pacification Office weren't too few in number, they could launch an attack on Northern Liao right now. The Tianxuan Army and the Zhenning Pass garrison were already prepared. Zhuo Mang then asked, "Ye Tao, what are your plans now?"

"Plans? General, you're joking..." Ye Tao said with a wry smile, "Isn't it obvious right now? We just moved the troops, although the scale wasn't large, but the distance was long. However, after the northern grasslands are pacified, a big problem will be solved. In addition to leaving the necessary troops in the northern grasslands and on Benlang Plain, we can roughly transfer another eighty to one hundred thousand troops for foreign operations. However, it will take a year to a year and a half before they can form an army and coordinate with each other. If Yunzhou is to fight abroad, the strength of the troops in Zhenzhou needs to be strengthened. In addition to the twenty-five garrison battalions and ten main battle battalions that Lu Dan already has, about one hundred thousand troops, we should at least prepare ten main battle battalions for him temporarily. For the defense of Western Ling, we must ensure that there are around one hundred and fifty thousand troops for maneuver. Only then can we consider operations against Northern Liao... Your Majesty, General, I think, if nothing unexpected happens, we will indeed choose Northern Liao as our first opponent, right?"

The first opponent Ye Tao mentioned naturally referred to the choice in the process of unifying the entire continent. And choosing Northern Liao was also a matter of course. Northern Liao was the weakest of the four countries that had evolved from the split of the Great Tang Dynasty in the Central Plains, and its geographical location was also relatively awkward. If Northern Liao wasn't resolved, there would always be a feeling of a thorn in the back when fighting against Western Ling and Chunnan in the future.

Tan Xiaopei nodded, glanced at Gao Senqi, who was still arguing with the Yunzhou generals in the distance, and said, "A year and a half... two years, perhaps. Two years later, around this season, we'll launch a joint military campaign."

Ye Tao winked and said with a smile, "Three routes... Your Majesty, it's a three-pronged attack."

Zhuo Mang smiled and said, "Your Majesty, there's also Min Yue's side." Right now, everyone doesn't have much of a concept of amphibious operations. The Dongping Navy's Marine Corps, which currently has only five battalions, is always unconsciously overlooked by everyone. And this is precisely what frustrates the navy generals, and it's also what motivates them to intensify their training of the Marine Corps.

Tan Xiaopei chuckled and said, "Yes, three routes... Don't let Min Yue know about this, otherwise, he might ask me for more things in the court again." After considering for a moment, Tan Xiaopei asked, "I'll assign a unit to Yunzhou to assist you then. Do you need it?"

Ye Tao chuckled and said, "Your Majesty, if your intention is to use the troops in Zhenning Pass as a feint, and have my Yunzhou direction launch the main attack, then I won't be polite. That's actually the case. The Western Route Army is currently preparing with all its strength, specifically targeting Yunzhou, while the Eastern Route Army and other parts of Northern Liao are relatively weak. And the Western Route Army only has a small number of troops on that side, probably mainly to defend against the offensive from the Zhenning Pass direction, but that's only a small part. That unit, the Tianxuan Army, is enough to handle it. Moreover, Your Majesty won't only have these troops, surely... there are also several units from Yicheng, right? If Your Majesty wants to give me a unit to strengthen the offensive here, I'd be overjoyed. But, I wonder which unit you'll give me?"

"The Blood Kirin Army!" Tan Xiaopei said lightly. "I'm relieved to send the Blood Kirin Army to you. Moreover, you're probably the only one who can win over those guys. They were originally mobile forces, the main force for foreign operations. After raising them for so many years, it's time to let them move around properly."

Ye Tao thought for a moment and said, "Alright. In that case, my expeditionary force here will be complete, just waiting for the completion of reorganization and deployment."

Tan Xiaopei asked again, "The troops in your hands, and the Blood Kirin Army, are all guys who rely on logistics to fight. Their consumption of supplies is too high, especially since this will definitely be a cavalry-based operation. The amount of horse feed and rations is an astronomical figure. Is your transportation capacity here enough?"

Ye Tao smiled mysteriously and said, "If everything had to be shipped from Ganduo, it would kill Suo Zheng even if he worked himself to death. However, there's still almost two years left. I still have time to pull off an amazing trick. Your Majesty, General, are you interested in visiting the workshop?"

"Haha, I was going to go even if you didn't say anything," Tan Xiaopei said with a hearty laugh. "There are so many fun things in the workshop, especially in the Research Institute. I know you're hiding a lot of good stuff... But, do you have a way to solve the problem of transporting supplies for the army? The Research Institute has this project, but aren't those all electrical and alchemical projects?"

Ye Tao said helplessly, "I've been hesitating about whether to create this thing all along. Especially on the endless grasslands, the impact on the ecology is not small. However, what is destined to appear will always appear. I think, at least in my hands, I'll do things well from the beginning. You'll know when Your Majesty goes to see it. The thing I'm building doesn't even qualify to enter the Research Institute in terms of technical difficulty. It's just an ordinary project in the workshop."