Deliberations

Baisha County, Wengcheng (outer city wall).

Dressed in military uniform and wearing a scarlet cloak, Qi Guangbo stood in front of the map of Qingzhou, which was set up on a stand, and looked at it intently.

Behind him were the generals of various Yunzhou army camps. Ji Xuan, dressed in armor and with a battle sword at his waist, sat in the first seat on the left.

The generals looked relaxed; although they remained silent, their eyes were full of joy.

In just three days, they captured nine counties on the border of Qingzhou, completely destroying the first line of defense and giving the army a solid rear base.

Qi Guangbo, his gaze fixed on the map, said calmly, "You all seem to be in good spirits. A great victory has been achieved; let's have a good drink tonight."

The generals were taken aback, exchanged silent glances, and no one spoke.

Qi Guangbo instructed his deputy general, saying:

"Tell me about the situation in the city."

The lieutenant stood up, glanced around at the generals at the table, and said in a deep voice:

Before retreating, the Qingzhou garrison burned the grain and fodder in the granaries throughout the city. At the same time, they burned a large number of cotton quilts and cloth. In addition, the wealthy households, merchants and well-off families in the city had already left in advance. Now, in Baisha County, there are only hungry poor people and refugees.

"The same applies to the other nine county towns."

"What?"

The generals were taken aback.

The vice president continued:

"Prior to this, the Qingzhou Provincial Administration Commission had already ordered a scorched-earth policy, leaving nine out of ten villages outside the city empty, with not a single grain to be found."

With his back to everyone, Qi Guangbo sighed:

"What a Yang Gong! A kind heart doesn't make a good general, but I never imagined he was even more ruthless towards the common people. Do you all still have the mood for drinking?"

The generals fell silent.

They have captured the border defenses of Qingzhou and secured a rear base, but whether it is secure is hard to say.

Ji Xuan pondered and said:

"Yang Gong never intended to defend the nine border counties to the death. He evacuated the wealthy households in advance, leaving only refugees and the poor, intending to hand over this mess to us."

Qi Guangbo pointed to the map of Qingzhou and nodded:

"Qingzhou spans thousands of miles, giving him ample room to maneuver. Why insist on defending the border to the death? With the imperial reinforcements yet to arrive, his choice to engage us in a protracted struggle rather than fight to the death is the right one."

"That was a brilliant move—using their own methods against them."

When attacking a city, one might wish the enemy's situation were as bad as possible, ideally with no ammunition or food, and refugees everywhere.

Once they capture a city, the rebels' job is to maintain stability; if unrest breaks out in these areas, it will become a burden.

Of course, if the sole purpose is plunder, these things can be ignored; at worst, one can simply kill everyone.

This approach applies when foreign tribes invade, but the rebels in Yunzhou, who wanted to rally popular support and seize the moral high ground, couldn't do it that way.

"He wants to wear us down with the poor and displaced people. Humph, it just so happens that the militia suffered heavy casualties in this siege, making them excellent sources of manpower."

"That's what a general said."

Every strategy has two sides.

Ji Xuan glanced at him and said:

"Yang Gong's scorched-earth policy, burning our supplies and leaving us not a single grain of rice, will exponentially increase the pressure on our forces. This is like cutting flesh with a dull knife, slowly eroding our resources."

Yang Gong's objective was clear: to weaken the rebel army's strength as much as possible in Qingzhou.

The generals present are all intelligent and experienced; they should not find it difficult to understand this problem.

Ji Xuan immediately smiled, "However, he underestimated us."

Qi Guangbo said calmly, "The Grand Preceptor has been preparing for many years and has a deep foundation. How could a small place like Qingzhou possibly exhaust it? We can use this opportunity to recruit soldiers and distribute porridge, thereby spreading the name of our righteous army."

The generals looked at each other and smiled.

Qi Guangbo said, "It's time for the Western Region monks to make their appearance. I've already sent someone to consult the Imperial Preceptor."

Qingzhou Provincial Administration Commission.

In the backyard, the round table in the hall was laden with delicacies, and Lina and Xu Lingyin were sprawled on the table, eating and drinking heartily.

The master and apprentice had identical faces, puffed up like steamed buns.

"I eat fish and cured meat every day, and it takes me forever to even use the toilet," Lina said without a care in the world, despite her delicate features.

There was a lack of fresh fruits and vegetables on board.

"Master, I can poop!" Xu Lingyin announced loudly, indicating that she was better than her master.

"Should we leave some for Erlang?"

Lina said this, but she swallowed her food even faster.

On the way to Qingzhou by boat, Xu Erlang's mentor Zhang Shen and Li Mubai came to visit, bringing their disciple to Qingzhou ahead of them.

Xu Erlang, of course, could not leave Lina and Lingyin on the ship, so he set off together with them.

"Erguo, Erguo makes me hungry."

Xu Lingyin forcibly defined Xu Erlang.

"I'm not hungry, then there's nothing I can do."

Lina said seriously.

Council Hall of the Provincial Administration Commission.

Xu Erlang picked up the blue-and-white porcelain teacup, took a sip of the scalding tea, and remained silent as he listened.

At the head of the long pearwood table sat Yang Gong, the Qingzhou Provincial Governor, in a scarlet robe. This scholar, Layman Ziyang, a graduate of the Cloud Deer Academy and renowned for his literary talent in the Central Plains, had become much thinner.

He hadn't slept for half a month, and his gaunt face couldn't hide his fatigue, but his eyes remained sharp and his spirit was still strong, as if he had inexhaustible power.

"That's the current situation in Qingzhou; the border has failed to be held."

Yang Gong finished his long speech, picked up his teacup, moistened his throat, and turned to look at Zhang Shen:

"How about you Jinyan?"

Of the two classmates who traveled a long way to serve as his advisors, Zhang Shen majored in military strategy, which was exactly the kind of talent Yang Gong urgently needed.

Zhang Shen nodded and said:

"If it were me, I wouldn't let those wealthy merchants and gentry leave. The rebels would definitely choose to fight to sustain the war, and the day the city falls would be the day their families are destroyed and their lives are over."

"If you don't want your family to be destroyed, then help defend the city to the death. This is the best way to deplete the rebel army's strength. However, this is assuming the imperial court sends reinforcements. Ziqian, your compromise is quite good."

As he spoke, he looked at his prized disciple, intending to test him, and smiled:

"Cijiu, please analyze the situation in Qingzhou for everyone."

The prefect of Qingzhou, the military commander, the provincial judicial commissioner, and their civil and military officials all came to look.

Xu Xinnian was not intimidated. He straightened his back and slowly scanned the crowd:

"In my opinion, as to how long Qingzhou can be defended and how it should be defended, you gentlemen must first understand three points."

Part 1: The Environment of Yunzhou!

"Yunzhou has a humid and warm climate, fertile land, and every household has surplus grain; moreover, it is backed by the vast ocean and has countless salt fields; in the past twenty years, the rebels have secretly infiltrated the imperial canal transport office and secretly transported countless iron ore. Salt, iron and grain are not lacking."

"In such a prosperous land, Governor Yang's attempt to use refugees and the poor to weaken the enemy is like a drop in the ocean."

"So, according to Lord Xu, Governor Yang's strategy is flawed?" The Prefect of Qingzhou frowned.

Xu Xinnian shook his head. "Provincial Governor Yang's strategy is naturally sound, but the focus needs to be changed. Don't try to wear them down, but rather try to eliminate their elite forces."

He glanced at the map of Qing and Yun prefectures pasted on the wall behind Yang Gong and said in a deep voice:

"We've returned to Yunzhou. Do you all remember Yunzhou's other names?"

"Bandit State!"

"Since the time of Emperor Gaozu, Yunzhou has been occupied by the rebels of the previous dynasty, who turned into mountain bandits and wreaked havoc in the region. For six hundred years, the bandit problem in Yunzhou has never been solved."

"Do you gentlemen still remember how many people Yunzhou had when the last Yellow Register was re-established?"

The officials looked at each other, none of them knowing the answer.

They are officials from Qingzhou; how could they possibly know what's going on in Yunzhou?

Yang Gong tapped his finger on the table, glanced at the officials with some displeasure, and slowly said:

"The last time was in the 30th year of the Yuanjing era, when Yunzhou had 830,000 registered households and a population of approximately 3.5 million."

This data is from eight years ago.

Xu Erlang cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and continued calmly:

"If I remember correctly, every time the Yellow Registers were revised, the population of Yunzhou decreased sharply. This is the price of rampant banditry."

By this time, the officials understood what he meant.

"Population limits the size of their army, and for the past few decades, training and maintaining troops have been done covertly." Xu Erlang lightly tapped his fist on the table, his voice firm and resolute.

"The lack of elite soldiers is the biggest weakness of the rebels. We must fight them to the bitter end, at all costs, to wipe out their elite forces. That is what we must do."

"That makes sense!" The crowd nodded slowly.

Zhang Shen Yang Gong, and Li Mubai exchanged a smile.

Xu Xinnian held up two fingers and said:

Second: Combat Strength!

"The combat power of those at the extraordinary level is an indispensable factor in a war; sometimes, a single extraordinary powerhouse can even turn the tide of a conventional battle."

He used the term "conventional" because there are super-large-scale battles in the world, such as the Battle of Shanhai Pass.

In a war that sweeps across all the major powers of the Nine Provinces, it is difficult for a single extraordinary expert to turn the tide. It's not that extraordinary experts aren't strong enough, but rather that there are too many extraordinary experts entering the fray, making it unremarkable.

Of course, if it's a super-grade or first-grade martial artist, that's a different story.

Li Mubai suddenly asked, "Who is the enemy commander-in-chief?"

Yang Gong said, "His surname is Qi, his given name is Guangbo, and he's an unknown nobody."

Zhang Shen raised an eyebrow. "An unknown figure commanding three armies?"

Yang Gong slowly said, "Being nameless doesn't mean being talentless. On the contrary, this person is extremely capable. He sent troops to drive away the refugees, and then had experts blend in among the refugees to lull the defending troops into a false sense of security, making it easy to approach the city walls. Huangling County on the border was caught off guard in this way, and the city fell after only one day."

Zhang Shen sneered, "The general guarding the city is too soft-hearted, allowing the refugees to approach. He deserves to be executed!"

Zhou Mi, the commander of Qingzhou, sighed, "He has already died in the line of duty."

Li Mubai said, "In other words, we don't yet know whether this commander-in-chief is at the Transcendent Realm."

Yang Gong hummed in agreement.

"Aside from the Bodhisattva Gara Tree and Xu Pingfeng, who are responsible for restraining the supervisor, no Transcendent Realm cultivators have appeared in the rebel army yet. However, it's highly likely they are hiding and haven't shown themselves."

As a fourth-rank master of Confucian School and a renowned scholar whose literary fame spread throughout the Central Plains, Yang Gong had no obvious flaws or shortcomings in terms of talent or character.

Arrogance and underestimation of the enemy will not happen to him.

"The imperial court is not lacking in extraordinary experts either," Xu Xinnian said.

At that moment, the first person that flashed through the minds of the officials was not Sun Xuanji of the Bureau of Astronomy, but Xu Qi'an, whose reputation was soaring.

"The third point is reinforcements!"

Xu Xinnian's expression was grave. "What I mean is reinforcements from both sides. The Buddhist School sect has already colluded with the rebels in Yunzhou, so the armies of the Western Regions will inevitably invade the border sooner or later."

"Once the imperial court is forced into a two-front war, the reinforcements and supplies that Qingzhou can obtain will be greatly reduced. On the other hand, the rebels in Yunzhou will be even stronger. This also relates to the second point about combat strength."

The atmosphere in the council chamber became tense, and everyone frowned secretly, their eyes filled with worry.

The rebel army from Yunzhou was coming on strong, and there was a disaster of displaced people in various parts of the Central Plains. It was already difficult for Qingzhou to stop the rebel army.

Now facing invasions from the Western Regions, the imperial court, fighting on two fronts, certainly cannot attend to Qingzhou.

Given the power of Buddhist School, there is even a possibility that while Qingzhou is still holding out and fighting a bitter battle, the Western Regions army will reach the capital.

"If only we could deter the armies of the Western Regions from invading our borders," the prefect of Qingzhou remarked.

Commander Zhou, a military general, scoffed inwardly at the idea of a fool talking nonsense. He thought that if Duke Wei were alive, perhaps the Buddhist School would be wary of him and dare not start a war recklessly.

In this Great Feng, who can make Buddhist School wary?

Even the Buddhist sects that oversee the Buddhist School are not afraid, because this behemoth that dominates the Western Regions has no shortage of top experts.

But a military genius like Wei Yuan, whose talent is unparalleled in the world, can be counted on one hand throughout the entire land.

This is a dead end!

Li Mubai, an expert in chess, slowly shook his head. "We cannot restrain the Buddhist School; it is inevitable that the Buddhist School sect will launch an eastward military campaign."

Yang Gong slowly exhaled. "Therefore, what we must do is risk our lives and do our best to wipe out the elite of the rebel army. The rest is up to you gentlemen."

It was truly a last resort.

"With the death of Duke Wei, the rebels in Yunzhou raised an army in rebellion. The Buddhist School in the Western Regions, taking advantage of our lack of manpower in the Central Plains, tore up the alliance and turned against us. We were helpless," the prefect of Qingzhou lamented.

Xu Xinnian remained silent. The Buddhist School in the Western Regions was powerful, with a large army and many generals. Moreover, there were Arhats and Bodhisattvas presiding over Aranya. Such a behemoth could not be controlled by conspiracy and trickery.

Suddenly, he noticed two more people in the corner of the council hall. One was dressed in white, with an unremarkable appearance, demeanor, and height. The other had a thunderous mouth, with features as ugly as a monkey, and clear, azure eyes that seemed to see right through people.

"Senior Brother Sun, what are you doing here?"

Xu Xinnian was taken aback.

He knew this second disciple of the supervisor.

When did he arrive? Yang Gong and the others were taken aback, and they all turned their heads to look.

Protector Yuan glanced at the crowd and then said:

Their hearts told them: Who is this? What is he doing here? Sun Xuanji? Are there no normal disciples of the Supervisor?

After speaking, Protector Yuan was taken aback and quickly distanced himself from the matter, pointing at Xu Xinnian and saying:

"He said that last sentence."

Xu Xinnian: "!!!"

P. S.: The author said there's a hidden surprise, so I'll update this first and then revise it!

I originally wanted to write a separate chapter to thank the person who got the most monthly votes, but I wrote one the day before yesterday, so it's not appropriate to write another one.

Thank you all so much for your support. Being number one in monthly votes on Qidian is a great honor, and it's all thanks to your help. I'm very grateful and touched.

I also feel ashamed for not being able to fulfill my promise. I will pay off the 100,000-word debt in installments, and please be lenient with the interest.