We won the gold medal, but lost the country?"
Zheng Fan said while drinking tea.
In front of him, Xue San was grilling meat, Fan Li was helping to pile up firewood, and Liang Cheng was sitting on the side watching.
After that battle, the Yan army advanced eastward again, and did not encounter any more resistance from the Savage King's troops. What they encountered on the road were basically sporadic resistance from local Savage tribes.
Then, the news of the fall of Xuehai Pass in Cheng Country came.
Marquis Jingnan ordered the army to stop advancing east and set up camp on the spot.
This time, the camp was different from the previous one, which was to recuperate before the big battle. This time, it was purely because the battle could not be fought at all.
Xue San handed half of the roasted rabbit to Zheng Fan and said:
"My lord, the Situ family thought they were hot stuff at first, but unexpectedly, they are just idiots."
"What's up?" Fan Li shouted.
"Eat your meat!"
Xue San turned his head and continued to say to Zheng Fan:
"My lord, in this way, this battle is really difficult to continue. Are we going to return to the court?"
"I'm not sure, we have to wait for Marquis Jingnan to make a decision. A'Cheng, what do you think?" Zheng Fan asked.
"My lord, this battle is probably really impossible to continue. If we continue to advance eastward, our troops are likely to encounter a heavy blockade by the Savage King's main force. The reason why we were able to advance so smoothly before was because the Savage King's focus has always been on the Xuehai Pass line. Now, he can completely free up his hands.
Furthermore, it is already a very dangerous thing for the army to be isolated in the snowy plains. Recently, I have found that more and more soldiers in the army are getting sick.
Most importantly, we no longer have a clear strategic goal."
Zheng Fan listened and drank tea. Since entering the snowy plains, he was really tired of eating meat, and he needed tea to scrape the grease from his stomach.
"It's not easy, it's not easy."
Zheng Fan sighed. This was clearly a series of victories, but it turned into such a situation.
The snowfield is too big, so big that the cost of wanting to rule and play some "national genocide" is too heavy for you to bear.
Liang Cheng said:
"Unless the Yan Emperor is willing to show the same courage as when he went south to Qian Country, and mobilize more than 300,000 iron cavalry to enter the snowy plains again, and spend two years on it, it is possible to completely defeat and pacify the snowy plains."
Zheng Fan immediately said, "That's not realistic."
Fighting Qian Country can get population and wealth; fighting Jin Country can get land.
What can you get from fighting the snowfield?
There are also some, such as the cattle, sheep and horses seized this time must be a lot, which can almost fill the bellies of the Zheng City garrison and the local tyrants and landlords near Shengle City, but think about the expedition of 300,000 troops, what a terrible logistical burden it would be. At that time, the captured cattle and sheep will not be enough to eat at all.
Moreover, if the Savage King plays guerrilla warfare with you, playing the trick of "as long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn", deliberately not fighting you decisively, deliberately hiding from you, is it really necessary to let 300,000 iron cavalry play a game of cat and mouse with them on the snowfield?
The facts have proved that the Savage King can indeed do such a thing.
To put it another way, even if the snowfield is really pacified, how should such a vast and desolate area be ruled?
In ten or twenty years, there will inevitably be repeated rebellions. If they are suppressed, it's fine, but if they are not suppressed, all the hard work will be in vain.
At this time, a guard came over.
"Master Zheng, the Marquis wants you to come over."
Zheng Fan nodded, indicating that he knew.
Xue San picked up a freshly roasted piece of pheasant and said:
"My lord, take this with you, there are chicken ribs inside, you can make a witty remark."
The devils were also very concerned about their master's performance in front of the big shots.
Liang Cheng ruthlessly refuted:
"How did Yang Xiu die?"
Xue San stopped talking.
Zheng Fan signaled to his subordinates with his eyes, and without taking any chicken ribs, he first tidied up his armor and came to the commander's tent.
In the commander's tent, Tian Wujing was sitting there alone, reading a book in his hand.
There was a stove next to him, and it seemed to be stewing soup, which smelled quite fragrant.
When Zheng Fan got closer, he realized that Tian Wujing was actually holding "Zheng's Art of War".
Zheng Chengshou's old face immediately turned red.
Seeing Zheng Fan coming in, Tian Wujing put down the book in his hand and motioned for Zheng Fan to sit down.
Zheng Fan sat down, and Tian Wujing pointed to the book and said:
"The situation that day was very similar to the 'Empty City Stratagem' in your book."
When the blind man was helping Zheng Fan "write a book", he added Sun Tzu's Art of War and the Thirty-Six Stratagems.
"My lord........."
"Alas."
Tian Wujing sighed.
In Zheng Fan's impression, Tian Wujing rarely showed such emotions, he had always been like a rock.
"The situation has deteriorated. You may not know that south of Xuehai Pass is like a plain for the Savages. The worst estimate now is that the Savages are already wreaking havoc in half of Cheng Country."
"So fast?"
"There's nothing fast or slow about it. More than a hundred years ago, the Jin people had already established their own cities and fortresses on the snowy plains.
Therefore, although Xuehai Pass is a choke point between the snowfield and the Three Jins due to its terrain, in reality, it has long ceased to be the Jin people's vanguard for defending against the Savages.
For this reason, there are no important towns or defenses south of Xuehai Pass in Jin."
For hundreds of years, the Jin people had been bullying the Savages. After the Situ family established its position as the largest clan in the eastern part of Jin, it also continued to develop outwards.
Jin and the snowfield have the Tianduan Mountains as a natural barrier. The road from Shengle City to the snowfield is actually a relatively easy road to cross the Tianduan Mountains, otherwise, it would not have formed a trade route here. On the easternmost side of the Tianduan Mountains, there is a flat road directly connecting the snowfield and Jin. The pass on this flat road is Xuehai Pass.
But because the battle line was pushed to the snowfield early on, Xuehai Pass was strategically unimportant for nearly a hundred years, although the geography was very good.
This time, Cheng Country's series of failures almost buried the cities and strongholds outside the pass on the snowfield, and then they thought of the importance of Xuehai Pass. Who knew it would be another wave of sending troops, and Xuehai Pass was also lost. Then, the Savages went south, and it was really smooth.
"What you said before about wanting to lead a job to suppress the Savages in Shengle City, I'm afraid this will not work. The situation in Cheng Country may be more serious than imagined. It's hard to say whether they can hold on.
If the Situ family doesn't hold on, half of the Three Jins will become the Savages' pasture, and the Savages will also master various Jin technologies such as craftsmen. Their warriors can also put on armor and will no longer be as fragile as the opponents they face this time."
"This is a major matter, and this subordinate knows the importance of it."
In the past, the Savages were just a minor problem, and it was enough to beat them from time to time. Zheng Fan could take on this job.
But now, the Savages are likely to become a major problem, and the Yan court will not let Zheng Fan deal with it, and will definitely arrange a general.
Now that Cheng Country has not been destroyed and the situation has not completely collapsed, the court is likely to move Li Bao's troops to the Xinsu City line.
If the situation continues to deteriorate, Marquis Jingnan may have to personally command that line.
"That Savage King is indeed a character. This time, it can be said that the dispatch of troops was insufficient, or it can be said that the Savage King exchanged what he wanted at the smallest cost."
"Don't worry, Marquis. If it really doesn't work, we will fight from the Situ family's territory in the future and take back Xuehai Pass."
"This is a matter for the court to consider, but in the end, it's not all bad. Perhaps, facing such a situation, the Situ family may choose to ask His Majesty to be annexed."
Annexation means surrendering the country and surrendering the throne.
Because in this war, Yan did not take advantage of the fire to rob, and also sent troops to help you, so it can be said that it has a full score in terms of kindness and morality;
Secondly, the Chu is in infighting, and even if the Chu is not in infighting, the Situ family and the Chu have been fighting small battles for decades, so it is impossible to ask the Chu for help.
As for Qian, not to mention the combat effectiveness of the Qian army, even if the Situ family is willing to ask, and the Qian is willing to send troops, do you believe that as soon as your army leaves the Qian border, the Yan iron cavalry will come to collect heads?
Therefore, the Situ family can only choose to be annexed by Da Yan.
In this way, Yan's benefits this time are still very large. Of course, the premise is that the Situ family cannot be taken away by a wave of attacks, otherwise Yan, which has just ended the Three Kingdoms War, will have to clean up the mess in Eastern Jin again.
"My lord, I really can't figure out how the Situ family can be so stupid?"
"There are internal reasons for this. The specific situation will have to wait for the military reports from there. However, this Marquis guesses that it should be that Situ Lei killed his father to seize the throne, which led to a split within the Situ family. Situ Lei is the third son of the old family master. Although he is not the嫡子 (dízi, son of the first wife), he is the most outstanding one, and is also recognized as the successor of the Situ family in the future.
His two elder brothers were kicked away by him early on, with the beautiful name of guarding the snowfield to prepare for border troubles and defending the family."
"So, in here........."
"It cannot be determined for the time being, and we will see if news of the deaths of Situ Lei's two elder brothers will be heard later. However, the earliest investigation by the Secret Spy Division into the Savage King speculated that the Savage King had a very close relationship with the eldest and second young masters of the Situ family. In front of them, he claimed to be a义孙 (yìsūn, adopted grandson), calling them two grandfathers, and also had close business dealings with the two young masters."
If this is the case, then the Situ family's defeat is really not unjust. Of course, you can't blame Situ Lei for destroying the Great Wall himself, because no one could have predicted that the Savages would become a force again. Originally, his two elder brothers were just sent out to be exiled away from the political center.
In addition, the Savage King is really able to put down his airs and recognize Situ Lei's two elder brothers as grandfathers. This is even more excessive than recognizing them as adopted sons.
But this can be regarded as licking to the fullest extent.
Tian Wujing pointed to the pot on the small stove next to him and said:
"Let's not talk about this, would you like some chicken soup?"
"This subordinate still wants to drink the Marquis's chicken soup."
"Heh."
When Zheng Fan was about to get up to serve it, Tian Wujing raised his hand to signal Zheng Fan to sit down. He picked up the pot himself and put it on the table, then took two bowls and began to serve the soup.
While serving the soup, Tian Wujing scooped out a piece of chicken rib and put it into Zheng Fan's bowl, and asked at the same time:
"Chicken ribs, do you like to eat them?"
"I like them!!!"
Ignoring the heat, Zheng Fan directly reached out and picked up the chicken rib and gnawed it hard with his teeth, making a crisp sound.
Tian Wujing shook his head and said:
"It's just that these chicken ribs have no meat and no taste."
"My lord, I've eaten too much meat these days, so I want to eat something tasteless to suppress it. I like it!"
"Hehe."
The two of them picked up their bowls and slowly drank the soup.
After they had both finished drinking,
Marquis Jingnan gently put the bowl on the table,
And said:
"Withdraw the army tomorrow."