The handsome tent was silent. In the dim candlelight, the twelve ladies and Cui Jiu sat and stood, with a quiet voice on their faces, fearing that they would disturb Cui Hongsheng's contemplation.

Cui Hongsheng stood in front of the map with his hands in his arms, his eyes as if he wanted to penetrate time and space to see Pyongyang and Donglai, as if he wanted to do his best to see the mystery of the future.

This afternoon, the Expeditionary Force Command deduced the battle to attack Pyongyang based on Duan Wenzhen's legacy. The result was that the Expeditionary Force returned in vain and was preparing to fight again next year. Cui Hongsheng agreed with this result, but since Cui Jiu recounted Li Fengyun's deduction of the battle to Pyongyang and predicted that Lai Huer and Zhou Fashang would command the navy to attack Pyongyang in advance, he realized that the Expeditionary Force Command overestimated its control over the battlefield in the Eastern Expedition, which led to the deduction process being full of loopholes, and the deduction result might be wrong.

In fact, since the beginning of the Eastern Expedition, because the emperor and the central government excessively seized military power and unscrupulously changed the attack strategy of the commander's headquarters, the commander of the Expeditionary Force had long become an executive institution under the Emperor's Palace. Because of this, the Expeditionary Force is still difficult to make progress under the Liaodong city, and the subsequent battle of Pyongyang is even more at risk of defeat.

From the analysis of the political crisis faced by the emperor and the central government, and from the current unfavorable situation facing the Eastern Expedition, the emperor may indeed secretly order the navy to launch an attack immediately after arriving in Pyongyang. From a military perspective, although this strategy is very risky, it is difficult to seek wealth and honor. Who dares to say that this strategy cannot be successful?

However, the Goguryeo people must have some estimates of the attack strategy of the Middle-Turk Expeditionary Force, and the best attack strategy of the Middle-Turk Expeditionary Force is to advance water and land, and attack in two directions. Therefore, in order to avoid falling into the dilemma of fighting on both sides, the Goguryeo people must find ways to prevent and destroy the attack strategy of the Middle-Turk Expeditionary Force. From the perspective of the Goguryeo people, the Middle-Turk Expeditionary Force has a large number of land troops and is strong. The Middle-Turk Expeditionary Force is limited by various conditions, and its number and strength are very limited. Therefore, as long as the Middle-Turk Expeditionary Force is defeated, the two directions of attack strategy of the Middle-Turk Expeditionary Force can be destroyed. For this reason, the Goguryeo people must set up a trap to lure and kill the Middle-Turk Expeditionary Force under the city of Pyongyang.

The navy commander Lai Huer and Zhou Fashang were both veterans of the military life. They had outstanding strategies and had rich combat experience. Without the secret orders of the emperor and the central government, they would not violate the secret orders of the commander and launched an attack without authorization, because they could not afford to lose. Once they lost, the difficulty of attacking Pyongyang would be greatly increased, and they could not bear this responsibility. But if the emperor and the central government had to launch an attack, even if they guessed that the Goguryeo had set up a trap under the city of Pyongyang, they had to attack, because not attacking meant that they violated the emperor's will, which was equivalent to betraying the emperor. The emperor would retaliate against them mercilessly and even kill them. On the contrary, they attacked and failed, which affected the entire Eastern Expedition. However, because they were loyal to the emperor and the emperor wanted to protect their vested interests in the military, even if they had to punish them, the punishment was very limited.

Although Cui Hongsheng was unwilling to accept the prediction of the defeat in the Eastern Expedition, Li Fengyun's deduction was based on facts and was not fabricated out of thin air. This made Cui Hongsheng's psychological balance gradually unbalanced and his confidence was slightly weakened.

The emperor and the central government knew that they no longer had the conditions to implement Duan Wenzhen's legacy, but they still had to take risks and force the military to implement it. This certainly shows that the emperor and the central government were full of confidence in the strength of the expeditionary army, and on the other hand, it also showed that the emperor and the central government were determined to gamble. Since the emperor and the central government were determined to gamble, then they had a fierce conflict with the military, and had less and less trust with the military commander, and were deeply suspicious of each other, it was indeed possible to place their hopes of conquering Pyongyang on the navy, Lai Huer and Zhou Fashang.

In this way, whether it is victory, defeat, or failure, or repeated attacks, the navy has caused a serious "impact" on the authority of the Expeditionary Army's command, the psychology of the land army and the morale of hundreds of thousands of expedition soldiers, and the consequences are unimaginable.

Lai Huer and Zhou Fashang's actions not only ignored the authority of the commander and the safety of hundreds of thousands of soldiers on land, but also made the conflict between the emperor and the military and the Twelve Guards within the military, which could even be said to have directly contributed to the division of the Twelve Guards. If the navy successfully conquered Pyongyang and the eastern expedition ended, the division within the military would be very beneficial to the emperor, just to the ruling faction. On the contrary, if the navy failed to conquer Pyongyang and even retreated to the sea, it would be a fatal blow to the eastern expedition.

Whether it is a failure in the Eastern Expedition, it must be held accountable, and it will inevitably fall into a battle between power and interests. The palace and the commander-in-chief will fight. The emperor, the center and the military will fight a desperate battle. The Twelve Guards will usher in a shocking storm. The central officials and the senior military commanders will be involved in this storm. Some of them will be wiped out in the storm.

Cui Hongsheng had an unknown premonition, and he had a premonition that he could not escape this shocking storm, that he would be cruelly torn apart in this storm, and that he would die in this bloody political battle.

Cui Hongsheng sighed in a low voice, turning all the resentment, helplessness and unwillingness into a turbid air and vomited it out. He would not be tied up by his hands, nor would he let it be slaughtered. He tried his best to fight for a way out. This not only concerns his own survival, but also the rise and fall of the Cui family. Although his death will not endanger the foundation of the Boling Cui family, it will inevitably shake the core status and interests of his family in the Boling Cui family.

Cui Hongsheng's eyes slowly retracted from the distant time and space, and his eyes became more and more profound and wise, as sharp as a sword, revealing his sharpness.

The Twelve Lady and Cui Jiu kept looking at Cui Hongsheng, trying to see the secret in his heart from the changes in his eyes. Gradually, they noticed the changes. Cui Hongsheng's eyes became more and more sharp and firm, and gradually showed a strong sense of confidence. The Twelve Lady and Cui Jiu looked at each other, and both saw a hint of joy in each other's eyes. Fortunately, they persuaded Cui Hongsheng that this trip to Liaodong was not in vain. They finally seized a hint of opportunity to reverse their destiny.

"Sa Shui..." Cui Hongsheng frowned, his voice low and inaudible, "Is it really Sa Shui?"

Pyongyang is more than 200 miles away from the Sasui River and more than 400 miles away from the Yalu River. If Pyongyang shrinks its defense, the defensive forces will definitely be deployed between the Sasui River and Pyongyang. The Sasui River is Pyongyang's first line of defense. On the contrary, if Pyongyang wants to launch a counterattack, the Sasui River will be the last barrier to cut off the absolute retreat. As long as the Expeditionary Force retreats through the Sasui River, it will basically be safe. You can calmly retreat through the Yalu River and return to Liaodong.

The Expeditionary Force must control the Sasu River to ensure that the advance and retreat are worry-free, so the commander of the Sasu River attaches great importance to the Sasu River. When the main force advances to the city of Pyongyang, it still has heavy troops on both sides of the Sasu River to ensure the safety of the retreat. However, if Li Fengyun's speculation is correct, the Goguryeo people had already dug traps under the city of Pyongyang, built dams upstream of the Sasu River to block the water, and took advantage of the favorable opportunity of the rainy season to store a large amount of water while cleverly hiding its tricks, the Expeditionary Force would indeed be blinded by continuous heavy rain. Once the Goguryeo people's tricks succeed, they would dig dams and release water at the critical moment of retreating. Then it can be foreseeable that the Expeditionary Force would be panicked when caught off guard, and the morale of the army would be in chaos and would not escape the disaster of the entire army.

Li Fengyun's prediction made Cui Hongsheng realize that although the Expeditionary Force commander has attached great importance to Sashui, it still does not pay enough attention. However, Cui Hongsheng is just one of the 12th Expeditionary Force commanders and one of the nine-way commanders who attacked Pyongyang for a long range. He can participate in the decision-making discussion of the commander, but has no final decision-making power. Besides, he has served as a local official for a long time and has low prestige in the army, so he is even more slight in military decision-making and has very limited influence.

This time, the long-range attack on Pyongyang, the nine armies were concurrent. The supreme commander of the nine armies, and the commander-in-chief of the battlefield was Yu Zhongwen, the general of the right guard. Yu Zhongwen was born into a wealthy family of the powerful family of the Xianbei family. His grandfather Yu Jin was one of the eight pillars of the Western Wei Dynasty and was powerful among the wealthy families of Guanlong. Yu Zhongwen was a civil and military force in his life and made many achievements. He was a famous general of the Central Plains. He was highly respected in the army, and his disciples were spread all over the Twelve Guards. He was the number one leader of the military today.

The deputy commander is Yuwen Shu, the general of the Left Guard, a Xianbei nobleman, the emperor's first confidant, and absolutely confidant. He is the only general in the military to enter the central core decision-making level. He is one of the most popular ruling factions in this dynasty.

There is also the Shangshu Right Prime Minister Liu Shilong, who is nominally a comforting envoy, but in fact he is a military supervisor. He also comes from the Xianbei barbarian surname and is one of the eight surnames of Xianbei ministers. He also has an important identity, which is the emperor's in-laws. The prince of Yuande has two good deeds of all kinds, and the status of Liangdi is second only to that of the Crown Princess. The eldest deeds of Yan Yang Zhen, and the younger deeds of Yue Yang Tong, and these two good deeds are from the wealthy families of the Liu family in Xianbei.

The command of the front-line battlefield of the Expeditionary Force is in the hands of these three people. The specific decision of the battle in Pyongyang is made by these three people, and the other commanders must obey their orders. Of course, if the origin, qualifications, merits, power, etc. of other commanders are comparable or even surpassing these three people, and their decisions can also be affected. But without, none, Cui Hongsheng also does not have the ability to influence these three people. As for the navy, not to mention the distance is far away and communication is inconvenient. Even if communication is convenient, only the emperor and the center can be ordered to Hu'er and Zhou Fashang, and the commander's headquarters will be difficult to influence their decisions. Yu Zhongwen, Yu Wenshu and other military leaders cannot get in the navy at all. The Zhongtu navy was established based on the Jiangzuo Navy. It is the "territory" of the Jiangzuo people and the interests of the Jiangzuo people. Except for the Jiangzuo commander, no one can interfere in it.

Cui Hongsheng was at a loss when facing the dilemma and was helpless.

"Sir, with your own strength, you can't conquer Pyongyang or save the 300,000 soldiers of the nine-way army." The Twelve Lady saw her father frowning and knew that he was in a "death situation", so she whispered, "Sir, what you have to do is save yourself."
Chapter completed!