Chapter 59: Big trouble?

"Your Majesty, it is much easier to capture Wangbei Pass than we expected..."

Looking at the Beiguan camp.

Li Sisheng looked at the sand table in front of him and frowned slightly.

Xu Beichen understood what he said.

Actually.

Wangbei Pass was supposed to be a boundary separating the northern part of Dayang from the Central Plains.

After passing Wangbei Pass, it’s time to enter the Central Plains!

It stands to reason.

The Pingxi Army and the Chuzhou Prefecture soldiers should guard Wangbei Pass together with all their might.

Try to stop the Beiliang cavalry in the northern border as much as possible.

but.

Not only did the Chuzhou soldiers here surrender easily.

Looking across the entire Wangbei Guanzhong, there were only thousands of Pingxi Army soldiers.

This doesn't make sense no matter how you look at it.

He cast an inquiring look at Li Sisheng again, and then heard Li Sisheng's voice.

"I already have a guess in my mind..."

Oh?
Xu Beichen raised his eyebrows. So, Li Sisheng has already guessed Chen Xiongtu's intention?
At this time.

Outside the camp, footsteps were heard.

Soon after, a group of Beiliang cavalry soldiers came in escorting a middle-aged general.

The middle-aged general was none other than Shi Zan, the general of the Chuzhou army.

After entering the camp, Shi Zan immediately knelt down before Xu Beichen.

"This humble general pays respect to the King of Beiliang!"

Not only did he not resist at all, but he seemed extremely respectful!

For a moment.

Xu Beichen was even doubting himself, wondering if Shi Zan was a hidden chess piece left behind by his predecessor.

I have to say that Shi Zan is indeed very perceptive!
"Get up."

Xu Beichen smiled and waved.

"I haven't seen you for a few years. You have become the commander of the Chuzhou troops."

According to the memory of my previous life, I had indeed seen Shi Zan a few years ago.

But at that time, Shi Zan had not yet taken charge of the Chuzhou troops.

Shi Zan then stood up, still maintaining a respectful posture.

"I was fortunate enough to be recognized by the prince, and I still remember his teachings to this day."

"Now the treacherous minister Cai Xiang in the court is in power and causing harm to the people. This general is filled with resentment!"

"Fortunately, we met the prince and his Beiliang cavalry to purge the emperor!"

"I shouldn't have led the army to resist, but it's hard to disobey military orders..."

Xu Beichen knew that Shi Zan was intentionally mentioning the fact that the defenders of Wangbei Pass had not taken the initiative to go out of the city to welcome them.

But he had no intention of blaming Shi Zan directly.

after all.

The Chuzhou Prefecture soldiers and the Wangbei Pass garrison all regarded Shi Zan as their general. If he blamed Shi Zan at this time, it would make those surrendered soldiers feel uneasy.

"You led your army before but never really fought against our Northern Liang cavalry. Now you have abandoned the dark and joined the light. This king has seen it."

Xu Beichen smiled indifferently, "There is no need to explain too much."

In fact, for the Beiliang Cavalry.

Going south to the capital is easier than stopping the Northern Mang army!

The Northern Mang army will not stop fighting until death.

But the generals and soldiers of Dayang were all well aware of the reputation of the Beiliang Iron Cavalry.

I also know that over the years.

All the injustices the imperial court has done to the Northern Liang Cavalry!
Now that he is leading the army to purge the emperor's court, under normal circumstances, many Dayang soldiers will not really try their best to stop him.

At this moment.

Li Sisheng suddenly came forward and asked Shi Zan, "General Shi, may I ask if Wangbei Pass has prepared enough food and grass?"

In response, Shi Zan smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"In reply to your question, sir, since King Wuxuan led the Pingxi Army to station in Chuzhou."

"We, the soldiers of Chuzhou Prefecture, have never received any food or military pay." "Even though we, the soldiers of Chuzhou Prefecture, are stationed at Wangbei Pass this time, we only brought the supplies we usually use for marching..."

Speaking of these, his heart was filled with helplessness.

The Wuxuan King Chen Xiongtu almost treated the Chuzhou soldiers as abandoned pawns.

All the food, fodder and military pay were adequately supplied to the Pingxi Army.

Where is their share?
But in response to Shi Zan's reply, Li Sisheng's brows furrowed even more.

But for a moment, he didn't say anything more.

Instead, he gave Xu Beichen a look that seemed to want to say something but was hesitant.

Xu Beichen immediately understood.

After briefly explaining the matter to Shi Zan, he sent him away.

Only after Shi Zan left did Li Sisheng sigh softly.

"Your Highness, the Chuzhou soldiers surrendered to our Beiliang Iron Cavalry. I'm afraid it was arranged by Chen Xiongtu!"

Ok?
Hearing this, Xu Beichen was slightly stunned.

This Wangbei Pass has a total of 150,000 troops!
Is Chen Xiongtu so righteous?
Giving him such a big gift right at the start!
Li Sisheng gave a bitter smile before speaking slowly again.

"In the eyes of the Dayang court, our Beiliang Iron Cavalry had been cut off from food and military pay a long time ago."

"And now that we are heading north, we will run out of food and fodder."

"Now Chen Xiongtu has sent us this 150,000-man army that already has no food or supplies... This is just adding to the pressure on us!"

The problem, of course, comes from food and fodder!
Xu Beichen understood this truth instantly.

Now it’s not just a matter of adding 150,000 more troops, but also 150,000 more mouths to feed!

What's more, the combat effectiveness of the Chuzhou soldiers and the Wangbei Pass garrison cannot be compared with the Beiliang cavalry.

This directly became a pressure on the Beiliang Cavalry!
Li Sisheng took a deep breath and continued speaking.

"Besides, the weather is getting colder, and the Chinese New Year is only two months away."

"Once the heavy snow blocks the road, our army will be unable to move forward."

"And Chen Xiongtu must have made up his mind to delay the battle at all costs until the snow falls..."

Hearing these words, Xu Beichen raised his eyebrows slightly.

Is this how Chen Xiongtu deals with the Northern Liang Cavalry?

They did not engage in a head-on battle with the Beiliang Cavalry, but simply tried to delay time.

Keep the Northern Liang cavalry out.

We will just wait until the snow blocks the road and fight until the Northern Liang Cavalry is worn out!

But for this.

Xu Beichen just smiled indifferently.

"I'm afraid that Chen Xiongtu has made a wrong decision!"

"Why would it take two months for my Beiliang cavalry to capture Chuzhou?"

"What's more, our food and fodder are enough to support us until we can capture Chuzhou City!"

Long before, he had asked all the noble families in Jinzhou to plant all the potatoes in the warehouse.

After a while, when these potatoes are mature, they can be promoted further.

The subsequent food and grass will be enough to replenish it!
In this way, the major families will naturally be able to take out a considerable portion of the food and supplies that they had originally stored.

It wouldn't be a big problem to hold out the Beiliang Cavalry for a while longer.

but.

Just as Li Sisheng said, these extra 150,000 surrendered soldiers were indeed a bit troublesome.

If he really abandons it, then when he conquers the country in the future, he can't just rely on the Northern Liang Cavalry to rule the world, right?

After thinking about it, he asked Li Sisheng again.

"If we distribute all the remaining food and fodder."

"How long can it last at most?"

In this regard.

Li Sisheng slowly extended a finger.

"I'm afraid it will take less than a month!"

But Xu Beichen smiled coldly.

"Then pass the order down!"

"Within one month, seize Chuzhou and head south to the Central Plains!"

(End of this chapter)