Chapter 1216: Carrying on the Past and Opening up the Future (One Hundred and Six) Revealing One’s True Feelings

Lu Chao added another stroke on the map. This was the latest enemy movement sent back by Gou Xin. Looking at the directions marked by the arrows, the people around Lu Chao were a little confused, because the opponent's main force was actually there. The movement towards Changping left Jinyang City aside, the largest political, cultural and economic center of Western Zhao.

"They don't want Jinyang anymore. What kind of strategy is this?" General Xu Yahua said in surprise. He used to be a general under Meng Tian. Two years ago, he transferred to Lu Chao's command and was an extremely experienced veteran.

Lu Chao threw away the charcoal in his hand and said calmly: "Because they know that in this battle, my goal is not Jinyang, but Gaoyuan. They chose Changping, which naturally has their reasons. Changping is better than Jinyang Although Yang is much smaller, it is more advantageous from a defensive perspective. Due to the limitations of the terrain, the number of troops we can deploy is limited, which greatly limits our advantage in military strength. Although Changping is small, it is The terrain is difficult and is more conducive to defense. Moreover, it is closer to Shanggu than Jinyang City, so it is easier for them to obtain logistical supplies and reinforcements. "

"General, I don't understand. What is Gao Yuan's purpose? He doesn't have to fight this battle with us. Now he only has more than 10,000 cavalry in Jinyang. Does he expect the West Zhao army to become the main force to fight against us? The main force? He can just walk away." Xu Yahua frowned.

Lu Chao smiled lightly, "I didn't think it through before. I just thought this was a good opportunity to defeat Gao Yuan. But in the past few days during the march, I thought about it clearly. I think the news that my teacher is critically ill has been revealed by them. knew."

Xu Yahua raised his head in shock, "General. They did this intentionally."

"Yes, it was intentional. Gao Yuan wanted to drag me to Hangu Pass. He didn't want me to return to Xianyang. That's why he deliberately showed his signs. It seems that Gao Yuan expected that as long as I didn't return to Xianyang, then my Da Qin reforms A fierce political battle will inevitably break out between the faction and the conservative faction. No matter who wins or loses, the Qin Dynasty will definitely be severely weakened. Under the current situation, Fan Sui has the support of the king and is extremely likely to win the final victory. It was big, and the reforms that Fan Sui insisted on were big and strenuous moves, or Gao Yuan felt that this kind of reform would also bring chaos to the Qin State, and he wanted to profit from the chaos, so we didn't even think of it this time. There will be a war now.”

"General. In this case, why should we do what Gao Yuan wants? If you don't return to Xianyang if our army attacks, wouldn't you be taking advantage of Gao Yuan's heart?" Xu Yahua said in confusion.

Lu Chao smiled bitterly and sat down slowly, "General Xu, who do you think is more powerful than my teacher?"

"This..." Xu Yahua looked strange. He looked at Lu Chao with some embarrassment, asking him to put on his lower skin to flatter Lu Chao, but he really couldn't bear to do this.

"The relationship between the late king and my teacher is deep. Or is it the relationship between me and the great king?" Lu Chao asked again.

Xu Yahua had a strange expression. King Wulie of Qin and Li Ru were not only teachers and students, but also friends for decades. Li Ru assisted King Wulie of Qin and made Great Qin dominate the world. Lu Chao could not compare to this.

"It's far worse, right?" Lu Chao said: "Since the king has made up his mind, do you think it is useful for me to return to Xianyang? Let's not say whether I can return to Xianyang. Even if I go back safely, besides letting This internal dispute is more intense and cruel, what good will it do to Da Qin?"

"But the general also said just now that Fan Sui's reforms are too drastic and will cause turmoil in the country, which will not be easy on Da Qin!" Xu Yahua said.

"Now for our Great Qin, it is just the lesser of two evils. These days, I have thought clearly. Now that the King has decided, I can only try to make this dispute as painful as possible for Great Qin. To minimize the damage, this war is an additional gift. Once won, it will boost domestic morale." Lu Chaodao.

"General, in this case, the political ideas of you and the Li family are completely different. People represented by Cui Shouxu will probably regard the general as a traitor and an enemy. As for the general personally, There is no benefit." Xu Yahua said in a low voice.

Hearing what Xu Yahua said, Lu Chao laughed: "General Xu, I didn't expect you to think about me so much. You are right. After I made this decision, from now on, I have become a loner. A member of the school They will regard me as their enemy, and those led by Fan Sui will never accept me. I have truly become a lonely minister."

Xu Yahua remained silent.

"Why did my teacher succeed?" Lu Chao suddenly asked.

"That's because the Li family formed a deep friendship with the late king when he was still young. After the late king ascended the throne, he strongly supported the Li family's political ideas and did not hesitate to kill people, with heads rolling and blood flowing in rivers. , which established the unique position of Li School in Qin State," Xu Yahua blurted out.

"Yes, it was the late king's undivided support. General Xu was indeed a Confucian general. He was different from others. Thinking more deeply about the problem, the success of Li's school of thought came from the support of the king. However, the current king no longer supports the Li's school of thought. concept, this has already made clear the root cause of the failure of the Li school. Cui Yuan and others thought that since I had a large army and had a close friendship with the king, it would inevitably affect the overall situation. They were overestimating me and underestimating Qin. The team system is loyal to the king." Lu Chao spread his hands and said with a smile.

"The general has a clear view of thousands of miles." Xu Yahua said with admiration, "he sees the problem sharply."

"Unless I take the 100,000 troops from Hangu Pass to force the palace, General Xu, if I decide that, will you go with me?"

"I, I..." Xu Yahua's face suddenly turned red. Lu Chao's question made him unable to answer, because no matter how he answered, it would be wrong.

Lu Chao sighed: "It's my decision to choose the lesser of two evils. Gao Yuan wanted to drag me to Hangu Pass and drag me to Jinyang, so I followed his wishes. This battle, Judging from the book, our side has an absolute advantage. Whether it is the number of troops, fighting strength, or the length of the supply line, we have an absolute advantage. If we still cannot win this battle, then It can only be said that God is not blessing me. Even if I can't capture Gao Yuan, I can only defeat his army and achieve my goal. "

Only now did Xu Yahua understand all of Lu Chao's thoughts, "It turns out that you want to use this to express your attitude to the king."

Lu Chao was silent for a moment, "I can't tell my senior brothers in Xianyang that I have abandoned them and betrayed the teacher. I hope that this move of mine will make them understand that they will stop and compromise with the king. Fan Sui cooperates to make the Qin Dynasty a little more stable, so that it will not be like when the previous king came to power decades ago, with heads rolling and rivers of blood flowing. "

"The general has good intentions."

"It's not a good intention, it's just a wise act to protect yourself."

"I'm afraid that Chief Cui and the others won't agree. There's no turning back. Now that they've started, they're probably going to end up in trouble. What's more, in the entire Great Qin, officials from the Li school have an absolute advantage."

"That means they don't understand the current affairs and are seeking death. Gao Yuan has a saying that is very good. Political power comes from the handle of a knife. If they have no army or handle in their hands and want to go against the king, then they are seeking death. Bai Qi But I won’t be lenient,” Lu Chao said.

Xu Yahua nodded. Every earth-shaking reform in the court was not full of blood. I am afraid this time will be no exception. When Lu Chao, the most powerful and powerful person in the Li school, made such a decision, The fall of Li's school of thought has basically been decided.

It was late at night, Xu Yahua blew on the letter that was still wet with ink, carefully sealed it in the envelope, clapped his hands, and an adjutant appeared in front of him quietly.

"Send this letter back to Xianyang immediately and present it to the king." Xu Yahua said.

The adjutant took the letter, stuffed it into his arms, turned and left the camp.

"General Xu, if you send him out like this, I'm afraid you won't be able to hide it from the eyes of the general." Behind Xu Yahua, a general whispered.

"Why should I hide it from the general? I just repeated what he said today word for word and presented it to the king. Do you think the general doesn't know who I am? He revealed his true feelings to me today. It's just my words to express my feelings to the king. For me, it's much more powerful than the general's own words."

"Is that so?" the general behind him exclaimed.

"The general is smarter than we thought and understands current affairs. The reform of our Da Qin is already unstoppable, but General Lu's worries are not unreasonable. Therefore, the biggest task for us soldiers now is to fight this battle well. , boosting morale is the best gift to the king. "

"Understood!" the general said solemnly.

Through these words with Xu Yahua, Lu Chao stabilized the morale of the army and allowed the generals in the army to cooperate sincerely, work hard in one place, and think along the way. They are indeed very smart. The senior generals in the army have their own There are many things behind the scenes and the origin of their respective information. It is impossible to hide many things if they want to. It is better to expose them directly.

At this time, far away from Changpingli, an exhausted army appeared on the road. Seeing the Changping City standing in front of them, a leading general sat down on the ground and said, "Damn it. , Finally arrived early. We arrived early, and the war hasn't started yet!" He howled loudly.

This army was Li Mingjun's troops who rushed all the way from Shanggu. There were 15,000 men when they set out. They marched all the way to Changping. Only less than 10,000 people were left, and more than 5,000 soldiers fell behind. (To be continued)