In the military headquarters, upon hearing the news of Yu Jing's disappearance, Di Qing and Chen Xi Liang looked at each other in dismay.

  Others thought it was an accident, but they knew that Chen Ke and his sons were responsible... Earlier, Chen Ke had asked Di Qing, "Do you really plan to kill someone?" Di Qing replied, "Not killing is not enough to maintain military discipline, not killing is not enough to calm the people's anger, not killing is not enough to let the officials vent their grievances."

  Chen Ke didn't ask any more questions, and he left the military camp with his three brothers. Half a day later, news came that the bridge had collapsed and people had died... Chen Ke and the others never returned.

  "Sanlang and the others are not in the camp. News of this must not get out." Di Qing glanced at Di Yong, "This is top secret, anyone who leaks it will be beheaded!"

  "Yes!" Di Yong bowed with his fist and retreated. In fact, he really wanted to go with Chen Sanlang and the others, but unfortunately, as a military officer, leaving the camp without permission was a capital offense.

  After Di Yun retreated, the big account was left with only Di Qing and Chen Xiliang. The latter's face was full of worry and said: "These few children are really reckless and dare to do anything... they have directly developed to the point where they dare to lay hands on a famous minister of the past generation. Alas, sooner or later they will stir up a great disaster..."

  "Some people think that these few kids are not reckless at all." Di Qing, however, did not see it that way. He chuckled and said: "Now is a time of war, human life is cheaper than grass. From April to now, more than 200 civil and military officials have died, Yu Jing is just one of them. The court cannot possibly thoroughly investigate the cause of his death, at most, after the war, he will be counted as a loyal and martyred hero." He paused, expressionless, and said: "During the northwest battle, countless people were secretly killed, but no one was held accountable afterwards."

  Chen Xiliang felt a chill run down his spine, the battlefield was indeed a place where there was no king's law.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  A thrilling event has just passed.

  A bloody head hung from the gate of the camp, and the military camp was more solemn than before. The fierce soldiers of the Northwest Army had only superficially observed military discipline before, but now they feared the military law to their bones.

  Reward and punishment must be clear, in order to command the three armies like an arm moving at will. Since ancient times, famous generals have been no exception to this rule.

  But Di Qing's shoulders were even heavier, he was very clear that the news of his killing and Yu Jing's death would spread to the capital, and it would definitely cause a huge stir. The big people in the capital would say all sorts of things, such as "Di Han Chen is cruel and ruthless", "Shun Chang is rebellious"... This is still light, what he fears most is that someone will use this to plot against him.

  The official's concerns don't need to be said, giving himself unprecedented power. Firstly, it is absolute trust, and secondly, he is eager to win this battle in order to stabilize the situation on all sides. If he can win quickly, there is no need to say more. But if this battle drags on for too long, even the most solid trust will be shaken. At that time, his own situation will become dangerous, and many variables will emerge from this war.

  It was already very late, and Di Qing was still pacing outside the tent. He wanted to use the cool autumn breeze to help himself clear his mind and carefully consider his next move.

  Where is the battlefield of this war? When will it start?

  There was still a bright light in the tent, and Di Qing walked in to see Chen Xiliang writing rapidly under the candlelight. He felt somewhat strange, so he quietly walked up to take a look at what Chen was writing.

  Chen Xiliang still heard footsteps, turned his head and saw, hastily put down his pen, stood up and said: "General."

  "Sit." Di Qing pressed him back onto the stool and sat down on a rattan chair himself, asking softly, "It's so late, why aren't you sleeping?"

  "Report to the commander, tomorrow is the military council." Chen Xiliang smiled unpleasantly: "Tomorrow is another military council. In order to avoid being caught off guard like last time, I asked General Chen for a copy of the case files and did some homework in advance."

  "Oh..." Di Qing said very politely: "May I take a look?"

  "General, you're being too polite." Chen Xiliang hastily handed it over to him and said: "It's just a rough draft for my own reference, I'm afraid it's not worthy of the General's attention."

  Di Qing smiled and took it over, leaning in front of the candle holder. He first praised the strong and powerful brushwork, before being drawn into the content written by him. This was a detailed military diary, which recorded every day's actions of the army in detail, including the number of tent stakes, the size of the campsite, terrain, defense layout, physical condition, food, emotions... For a general, just relying on this diary, he could grasp the situation of the army like the back of his hand, and be able to prevent problems from arising or take targeted measures.

  "Good, good! You've put your heart into it." Di Qing said with praise as he flipped through the pages, stopping at an article Chen Xiliang was writing. This was preparation for tomorrow's meeting. Although it couldn't be considered too refined, some of the words still caught Di Qing's eye. He pointed to one sentence and laughed: "Why say 'the first battle determines victory or defeat'? Isn't that a bit too hasty?"

  "It's only natural to be on the outside, and it's laughable to say so. Chen Xiliang said with embarrassment: "I just feel that since you, Zhige, started your uprising, except for the battle in Guangzhou where you suffered some losses, all the other battles were won decisively. The morale of your troops is high, and their spirits are lifted, so I'm sure they will go all out in this first battle."

  "Not bad." Di Qing nodded, indicating for him to continue.

  "He saw that the government army was too strong, so he didn't hesitate to give up Guangdong and Guangxi, and retreated to Yongzhou, which is a place where he can attack or defend. This shows that he is cautious and values actual strength over territory." Chen Xiliang continued: "An enemy like this, if we can't destroy him in one battle, will definitely abandon Yongzhou and retreat into the mountains, and won't give us the chance to capture him easily."

  "Good words!" Di Qing said with a praising tone: "Gong Bian is indeed wise!"

  "Adults have praised it." Chen Xiliang said honestly: "This is what I discussed with Sanlang and others."

  "This is the fact." Di Qing nodded and said, "That's right, we only have one chance to win this war. If we can't win completely, and let him escape into the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, it will not only be a long and arduous task to eliminate him, but also the effect won't be good." He sighed and continued, "My great army has been on a distant expedition for a long time, and if we drag on for too long, we'll end up exhausting ourselves."

  "This battle must be fought with great caution."

  "Yes." Di Qing finished reading and handed it back to him, saying: "It won't be long before you become a qualified painter." He smiled and said: "However, you are not sharp enough. The most eye-catching thing, you didn't notice."

  "Please take command, General." Chen Xiliang said humbly.

  "The place where Chen Shu was defeated." Di Qing said with a faint smile.

  "What's wrong in Jin City?"

  "This place is too unbelievable." Di Qing stood up and picked up a candle holder, saying: "Come take a look."

  Two people held lanterns and walked to the edge of the sandbox in the tent. Although he had boasted about this thing several times, Di Qing couldn't help but praise: "This sandbox is better than a map, the terrain is clear at a glance, I don't know how Sanlang thought of it."

  "He's had some strange ideas since he was a kid," Chen Xiliang followed up with: "You'll get used to it."

  "Hehe..." Di Qing smiled and picked up a wooden stick, pointing to the location of Jin City: "Do you see it?"

  Chen Xiliang hurriedly stared at it, but couldn't see anything either.

  Di Qing drew a circle, indicating that he should broaden his field of vision.

  Chen Xiliang then saw that Binpu was in the north, Yongzhou was in the south, and Zhongyuan was separated by a Kunlun Pass, while Jincheng was to the south of Kunlun Pass. He finally found what was wrong: "Since we fought in Jincheng, why didn't the battle report mention the conquest of Kunlun Pass at all?"

  "This is where the problem lies." Di Qing smiled and said, "I have inquired about this from the soldiers who participated in the war. Zhi Gao surprisingly did not set up any defenses at Kunlun Pass."

  This is simply speechless. To know that Di Qing's most worrying thing on the way is how to conquer Kunlun Pass. Kunlun Pass is the gateway of Yongzhou, like the throat of the esophagus, and it is the key passageway for the north-south traffic. It has the reputation of "the heroic pass standing alone in the south sky", and it is indeed a natural danger that one man can guard the pass and thousands of men cannot open it.

  Such a strong pass, it's not just a matter of human wave tactics to take down, you have to come up with a clever plan! Just as Di Qing was thinking hard about what to do, he found that there was no one guarding the place. He felt lucky, but also couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. Who fights a war like this?

  After some thought, it should be that Nong Zhigao didn't consider Yongzhou as his old nest and was always ready to slip away, so he didn't divide his troops. After all, from Yongzhou City to Kunlun Pass, there are also hundreds of miles apart. Stationing troops would be troublesome in all aspects. For Nong Zhigao who adopted the tactic of retreating when the enemy advances, it might not have been attractive.

  If the great army can safely cross the Kunlun Pass, the balance of victory will inevitably tilt towards the Song army. But unfortunately, Chen Shu's previous reckless attack must have already alerted Nianzhi Gao. Having experienced a risk, anyone with some military common sense would promptly make up for the loophole...

  It has been seven days since Chen Shu's defeat. With a willing heart, it is enough to mend the fold after losing the sheep.

  A great temptation was in front of him, but Di Qing had no reason to persuade himself to take risks. As the commander-in-chief of a large army, how could he put his bets on the opponent's mistakes?

  After a night of deliberation, Di Qing cancelled the meeting the next day and only ordered the logistics officer to requisition ten days' worth of grain and fodder.

  For the powerful Song Dynasty with strong logistics, it was simply no difficulty at all. People were guessing what this general wanted to do?

  Do you think it can be finished within ten days? What a joke! That's the invincible Niu Zhi Gao who swept across two Guangs!

  Alright, even if you are a god descending to the mortal world and winning in one battle. But he is cunning and will not leave any traces, he will escape! This is the 100,000 Great Mountains of Guangxi, can you outrun the indigenous people who grew up in these mountains? At that time, there was no food or grass, how could the army chase with empty stomachs?

  So without much effort, everyone reached a consensus that the army must first rest and regroup before making further plans. Sure enough, the second order was issued, mobilizing doctors within Guangxi province to come and provide medical assistance in the camp.

  No wonder, everyone was shocked and regretful. They were all northern soldiers who traveled thousands of miles to this miasma-filled Lingnan land, it's no surprise they didn't get sick!

  It seems that war will not break out in the short term.

  After learning this news, Nong Zhigao and his Han traitor ministers also thought so.

  Divider line

  Make up for what is owed.

  I can write three more chapters today. I found a rule that as long as I wrote four chapters the day before, I could only write three chapters the next day... and vice versa.

  Enough of the main content, let's take a look at the comments in the book review section and say a few words off-topic:

  Don't evaluate a person based on Baidu Encyclopedia. Everyone should know that we are in the era of celebrity economy, and those celebrities' encyclopedias are written by their hometown people, who will definitely beautify them, or even distort the truth. Yu Jing's case is an example, don't believe me? I'll copy a paragraph for you to appreciate:

  Know people and use them well

  Di Qing was a general from the army, with many military achievements. He was once appointed as the commander of Jingyuan and governor of Zichuan Prefecture. Yu Jing wrote four memorials to the throne, "On Di Qing's Unfitness for Independent Command", arguing that although he was a man of strong character, his temperament was rough and violent, and he was not meticulous in handling matters. If he were to command an army independently, he would not be able to win over the hearts of his men. It would be better to appoint someone with a good reputation to work together with Di Qing, each taking charge of their respective tasks. Yu Jing even risked losing his official position to remonstrate. Later, Di Qing was moved by this and began to study military classics diligently. When Nong Zhigao rebelled against the Song dynasty in Guangxi, Yu Jing was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Guangnan West Route Army and governor of Guilin Prefecture. He served under Di Qing's command: Di Qing led the armies of various circuits in Lingnan to a great victory over Nong Zhigao outside Kunlun Pass. Nong Zhigao's mother, son, younger brother, and other family members were all captured by Yu Jing's men, demonstrating his ability to judge people and assign tasks appropriately.

  Fan Gong cried, Di Qing cried, even Sun He cried... Even the YY at the starting point didn't write it like this?

  Although the monk cannot guarantee that his evaluation of each person is objective, at least he tries his best and will not arbitrarily distort anyone. For each main character, I will find more than a dozen materials to verify each other... No way, who let the Song Dynasty's historical data be chaotic to the point of being infuriating?

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