Chapter 163 Li Duozuo is too conservative

Li Duozuo arrived in Pingzhou earlier than anyone expected, and it took him less than two days.

He did not bring a large army with him, only a few hundred light cavalry, who traveled day and night.

This posture clearly shows that he does not trust the generals on the front line. He has come here to keep an eye on them, fearing that the soldiers on the front line will give him another big attack.

As soon as Li Duozuo arrived, he occupied the hall of Qiu Jing's governor's mansion and sat in the main seat without hesitation, while generals such as Zhao Ji, Yang Xuanji, Yan Feishi and Zong Huaichang sat below in turn, and the atmosphere was solemn.

It seemed that he was going to summarize the lessons learned from the Battle of Xixia Shigu and then decide on the next strategic move of the Zhou army.

Zong Huaichang was quite critical of Li Duozuo's behavior, especially the fact that he did not bring a large army or food and supplies.

"General, no matter how urgent you are, you shouldn't come to Pingzhou with a small team. It would be fine if you didn't bring a large army, but why don't you even have food and supplies? You should know that our army has been through a hard battle and is in need of supplies." Zong Huaichang stepped out and complained.

Yan Feishi also echoed indignantly: "Yes, General. I thought you brought a large army here to fight a decisive battle with the Khitan and avenge the previous humiliation, but who knew..."

After saying this, he sighed helplessly, his face full of disappointment.

Li Duozuo glanced coldly at Zong Huaichang and Yan Feishi, feeling secretly unhappy.

He hadn't even blamed the two men for the defeat, but the two defeated generals blamed him instead.

He slammed the table, pointed directly at Yan Feishi, and said sternly: "I am here because I am afraid that there are still people like you in the army who are frivolous and impetuous. That's why I came to Pingzhou to take charge."

"You lost tens of thousands of troops in one battle, why haven't you learned your lesson?" After reprimanding Yan Feishi, Li Duozuo turned his attention to Zong Huaichang, "As for the food and supplies, we have our own rear army to escort them, so you won't be short of them."

Zhao Ji understood what Li Duozuo meant, and stood up and said, "I understand what the general meant. The reason why you didn't bring a large army is that you were afraid that it would be futile and waste military resources if you brought a large army to Pingzhou."

Li Duozuo nodded and said, "Chengyuan understands my intention very well. Not only is it futile, but we have to walk hundreds of miles every day to transport military supplies, which is a waste of money. Anyway, just talking about defending the city, the more than 20,000 people in Pingzhou are enough to resist the enemy."

Zhao Ji frowned and asked, "General, do you mean to stay here and not leave?"

Li Duozuo said with a look of course: "Of course, the army has just been defeated, and even if we want to send troops, morale will be a problem."

Zhao Ji bowed and said, "General, you may not know. Scouts report that Li Jinzhong is stationed in Yingzhou and recruiting the surrounding Yi people. Qi Sibiyu and Qiqi Zhongxiang of the Mohe have rebelled and are working with Sun Wanrong to invade Liaodong. The situation is critical."

"If our army just defends and does nothing, we will first watch Liaodong fall, secondly, indulge the Khitan to become stronger, and thirdly, we will not be able to explain to Your Majesty. I hope the general will reconsider this."

When talking about the Mohe rebellion, Li Duozuo's eyes changed slightly. After all, he was a Mohe.

Although he had previously used his status to set up the Hongmen Banquet to kill many Mohe leaders and put down the Mohe rebellion, he had already established his identity as a Mohe traitor.

But Li Duozuo was experienced after all, and he quickly adjusted his mentality and said, "That being said, our army has just been defeated, and morale is low. It is not appropriate to go to war. What can we do?"

Zhao Ji saw that Li Duozuo was showing signs of softening his stance, so he urged him: "General, you can mobilize the troops from Youzhou. Together with the cavalry under General Yang and me, there will be more than 30,000 soldiers in total."

"The Khitans will have to divide their forces to take Liaodong. Our army can implement the strategy of besieging Wei to save Zhao. Even if we can't win in one battle, we can at least relieve some of the pressure on Liaodong."

Li Duozuo shook his head and said, "It's too risky. What if this is another Khitan trick to lure the enemy?"

Zhao Ji heard this and blurted out: "In a head-on confrontation, the Khitan is no match for our army. If the Khitan is trying to lure the enemy, our army can also feint. If the Khitan really divides its troops, we can take advantage of the situation to turn the false into the real and capture Yingzhou."

After hearing this, Li Duozuo fell into deep thought again, and finally shook his head and refused: "It's not feasible. If I had an army of 100,000, I might do so, but I only have this small force." "If there is a mistake, the entire defense line north of Youzhou will be opened, and the consequences will be disastrous. Moreover, the road between Pingzhou and Yingzhou is difficult to travel, and there are too many variables. Chengyuan took it for granted."

When Zhao Ji saw that Li Duozuo refused to agree, he couldn't help feeling a little regretful and helpless.

Although the journey from Pingzhou to Yingzhou is dangerous, with famous dangerous places such as the East and West Gorges, the Khitans took the initiative to retreat in order to strengthen their strength. Didn't they voluntarily give up these dangerous places?
If we don't occupy it now and hide in Pingzhou City, waiting for the Khitans to come to their senses and defend it again, we don't know what price we will have to pay to break through these places.

Zhao could understand Li Duozuo's decision, because with the current strength of the Zhou army, it would be unrealistic to capture Yingzhou even if the Khitans divided their troops.

The most likely outcome is that Sun Wanrong saw the Zhou army invading Yingzhou and led his troops back to support and lift the siege of Liaodong, or he sent troops to support and relieve the pressure on Liaodong.

But for Li Duozuo, doing so would only result in hard work without any credit, and would also involve huge risks, so it was clearly not cost-effective.

Li Duozuo is stable, but he still seems to be lacking in being the commander-in-chief of the army and coordinating the overall situation.

It must be said that Zhao Ji, perhaps because of his surname, seems to be quite capable when it comes to talking about military affairs on paper.

If Zhao had the command of the army, and he could go all in this time and win the battle, capture Yingzhou, and capture Li Jinzhong alive, he would be a template for a famous general!
Of course, it is more likely that it is a mediocre feint and nothing will happen. But there will be no loss and it is harmless.

Unfortunately, the commander of the army was Li Duozuo, who shattered Zhao Ji's fantasy.

Li Duozuo declared in an unquestionable tone: "I have made up my mind and will immediately ask the court for help. All troops must defend the city and must not attack without authorization. Those who disobey orders will be mercilessly punished by military law!"

Zong Huaichang now only wanted to avoid war and save his life, so naturally he had no objection.

Yang Xuanji watched the argument between Zhao Ji and Li Duozuo with great interest, and in his heart he agreed more with Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji and Yan Feishi were both unwilling, but they had no choice but to obey orders.

After the military meeting, Yang Xuanji found Zhao Ji and said with a smile: "The general did not listen to your advice. Is Chengyuan dissatisfied?"

Zhao Ji shook his head slightly, with a bit of relief in his bitter smile: "The general has a good temper and does not use his power to oppress others. He can even talk to Generals Yan and Zong. He can be said to be tolerant. I don't have any complaints, I just think it's a pity."

Hearing this, Yang Xuanji nodded and said, "I think Chengyuan's suggestion is more beneficial to the war situation. Of course, General Li's decision is just conservative, but it can't be said to be wrong."

After saying that, he changed the subject and asked with a smile, "Does Chengyuan want to send a letter to Di Gong about what's happening on the front line?"

Zhao Ji was slightly surprised, then nodded and admitted: "That's right, the situation on the front line may not be clear in the military report, I just want to tell Di Gong about the military situation. There are many other proposals, which are also attached."

Yang Xuanji couldn't help but laugh and said, "Chengyuan, you really have inherited the true teachings of Di Gong. At such a young age, you have taken on the hearts of the prime ministers and ministers."

Zhao Ji blushed a little when he heard this: "I'm ashamed, old general, please forgive me for making fun of you. Although I am in a low position, I still dare not forget to worry about the country. To put it in a big way, this battle concerns the life and death of thousands of soldiers and the peace of the people of the world."

"To put it mildly, this concerns my life and property. The incident with Master Cao Ren is still fresh in my mind. No matter how hard I try, it won't be too much."

Hearing this, Yang Xuanji's face became serious: "Chengyuan is right. Your Majesty will definitely mobilize troops this time. However, she is not familiar with military affairs, so she still needs Di Gong's advice and correction."

Zhao Ji could not help but remain speechless, pretending not to have heard the last sentence.

(End of this chapter)