Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 65 The Langya Coup
Upon hearing this, Wei Wusheng froze.

Xin Yue was also dumbfounded.

But the next moment, Xin Yue immediately put down her bowl. She went to the entrance of the main tent, dismissed the guards, and then stood guard alone in front of the tent, her eyes as sharp as an eagle's.

Wei Wusheng also stood up, looking at Song Shi'an, this man whose resoluteness was frightening, and after a long while, he smiled and said, "Are you about to commit a crime punishable by nine generations of your family?"

Song Shi'an could clearly see that Wei Wusheng was unwilling.

That deliberately teasing tone speaks volumes.

Because when a person wants to win, they will never laugh.

"Your Highness," Song Shi'an said, looking at the man, "what do we care about the deluge after death?"

"If someone who has done such a thing dies, the flood will truly be devastating."

Wei Wusheng pointed to Langya on the map, his expression immediately turning serious. He reminded him, "Our army is going to rescue Shuofeng. And Langya behind us is a crucial part of His Majesty's plan for the future confrontation. General Xiao Qun is a famous general, but if we lose, all these supplies will be destroyed. He will have no resources to rely on when he goes to fight against Qi. Do you understand?"

Although Langya's supplies currently make up one-third of the entire front line, it doesn't mean that even if one-third is lost, two-thirds are still available.

The most important aspect of defense is holding your ground.

However, there is more than one strategic location.

Assuming that Liangzhou currently has a garrison of 100,000 troops, then the maximum number of troops available for field battles is only 40,000, and this number has already crossed the red line.

The rest are things that cannot be touched.

The fact that Ji Yuan was able to lead an army of 100,000 south indicates that he had at least 300,000 troops.

Let's go back to this question.

If this third is lost, General Xiao Qun will have absolutely no supplies left to use.

If this continues, we will have to recruit from Sili Prefecture.

Even if a thousand Imperial Guards, without baggage or light troops, marched north day and night, it would still take them twenty days.

That's the military supplies needed for the entire front line. Being able to travel forty miles a day is already considered incredibly fast!

“If we squander these supplies and lose the battle, General Xiao Qun will be in a very passive position,” Wei Wusheng warned. “More importantly, if we lose such a battle while seizing power, it will definitely cause a mutiny. The entire Liangzhou may fall completely.”

Wei Wusheng is absolutely right.

And he left out a little bit.

It's not so bad if the supplies and provisions are burned or destroyed when the city falls.

If it falls into Ji Yuan's hands.

Xiao Qun: I'll beat your mother's cow!

"Your Highness, please sit down."

Song Shi'an extended his hand and said.

"..." Wei Wusheng was a little excited, but he calmed down in front of Song Shi'an and sat down.

Then, Song Shi'an said, "Please analyze for Your Highness how Ji Yuan won."

As he spoke, he placed his finger on Wuwei and drew several circles.

"Let's set aside the fall of Tongmen Pass for now," Song Shi'an analyzed. "The siege of Wuwei, with 100,000 troops, would have taken half a year. Ji Yuan would have consumed a tremendous amount of grain, enough to overwhelm even the entire Northern Qi. Moreover, he would have needed to transport supplies by land from the rear, consuming more than half of them along the way. Why didn't Zhao Xiang take advantage of the defensive position, set up camp, and wear him down for five months before launching a full-scale attack? At that point, the Wuwei defenders would surely launch a pincer attack from both inside and outside?"

"You said."

Song Shi'an said, "Because Wuwei is completely surrounded, not even a bird can fly out. At the same time, the surrounding strongholds and camps are gradually falling. The key roads and ferry crossings are also being controlled by the enemy. Zhao Xiang has no news from the front. The longer he waits, the more panicked he becomes. He is terrified every moment. What if Wuwei is suddenly lost? What if he hesitates and is impeached from the rear? What if he shows signs of cowardice and the Northern Liang aristocratic families collectively turn against him? What should he do then?"

This is psychology.

Ji Yuan and Zhao Xiang are both enduring hardship.

This is actually somewhat similar to the Battle of Changping.

The Qin-Zhao War actually lasted three years, but the Battle of Changping only lasted five months.

The initial situation was a stalemate. Although Zhao suffered some defeats, they were essentially minor strategic losses. They used the loss of strongholds to delay the offensive and then gradually retreated. Lian Po's idea never changed: to hold the line.

But back in the rear, all that could be seen in the imperial court was defeat, loss of cities, loss of territory, and Lian Po being forced to retreat into his shell.

Later, Zhao Kuo was replaced with someone else to sow discord, and we all know how that ended.

The Ten Sages of the Temple of Heaven are now praising Zhao Kuo highly, insisting that the outcome of that battle would have been the same regardless of who fought it, and that Bai Qi was simply too brilliant. In reality, the problem lay in the strategy.

If Lian Po had been in charge, there would never have been the massacre of hundreds of thousands of surrendered soldiers.

The fact that Zhao Kuo broke through the encirclement and held out for so long demonstrates his tactical skill, but that's hardly a good indicator.

Because it is impossible to completely surround an army of 450,000.

“Zhao Xiang failed to keep his composure; Ji Yuan was superior in psychological warfare,” Wei Wusheng said.

"So Your Highness, our resistance against Ji Yuan is not a direct confrontation."

Song Shi'an pointed to Shuofeng City and said with great certainty, "Wuwei will fall sooner or later, that goes without saying. However, after Ji Yuan takes the city, he will have to divide his troops to garrison it, manage the prisoners of war, and pacify the other counties first. The army that will finally attack Shuofeng will definitely be less than 80,000. If we defend Shuofeng for more than half a month, the battle will become stalemate. If it exceeds two months, Ji Yuan's morale will not be as strong as before. If we hold out until winter and still do not withdraw our troops, General Xiao Qun, as a famous general, will definitely go down the Chishui River to relieve the siege of Shuofeng."

And the core reason for all of this is...

Wuwei and Shuofeng are different.

Shuofeng City is weak, easy to attack but difficult to defend. Even if it is lost, it is lost.

Just give it to him.

"If Shuofeng City falls, our deaths will be nothing to regret," Song Shi'an said, staring into Wei Wusheng's eyes. "However, if we can prolong the battle and imprison Ji Yuan, General Xiao Qun will have a chance to win!"

Wei Wusheng could not truly remain indifferent to the devastation after his death.

Because he can make mistakes, but he doesn't want to make a huge, idiotic mistake and then have someone else clean up the mess.

Isn't that just pure disruption?
"That's based on the premise that we can hold out until winter. What if we fall in less than a month?"

"Eight thousand remnants of soldiers, a broken city, and mere supplies for survival—how can they defend it?"

Song Shi'an asked in bewilderment, then followed up with Wei Wusheng, saying, "His Majesty gave up because he felt he couldn't defend it. He gave us this little bit of usable resources, and even if he were a reincarnation of a military genius, he would be powerless to do anything about it. Therefore, we had no choice but to carry out this act of rebellion."

Don’t say anything else.

However, mobilizing the national army without authorization and misappropriating huge amounts of supplies are absolutely capital offenses.

If you do this, your household registration in your hometown county will be cancelled.

Because this is breakfast!

Just then, Xinyue suddenly rushed in and said to the two of them, "The noise is too loud; it can be heard completely outside."

"..." Wei Wusheng was stunned for a moment. "No one heard this, right?"

“I’ll keep watch; no one’s coming near yet.” Xin Yue shook her head, then said, “We need to make a decision quickly!”

"Let me think about it."

Wei Wusheng raised his hand and began to struggle.

At this moment, Xin Yue said to Song Shi'an, "If our Imperial Guards were to enter Langya, and the power grab failed, it would definitely cause a mutiny. Even His Highness might be detained."

"The army is stationed along the river, far from the city. Your Highness will only lead a portion of your personal guards into the city with us."

Song Shi'an answered without hesitation.

"What if the garrison commander refuses to surrender?" Xin Yue reminded again, "You absolutely cannot subdue him with just your personal guards."

"Your Highness is a prince; we only need to press you step by step."

Song Shi'an immediately replied, and then coldly said the next sentence: "No one dares to lay a hand on the prince."

That's right, no one could succeed in seizing power this time.

Only a prince can do this.

Xin Yue stopped asking questions and then looked at Wei Wusheng together with Song Shi'an.

After a long pause, Wei Wusheng suddenly pressed down on Song Shi'an's hand: "Remember, you never told me about the power grab."

Fuck your mother!

At this critical juncture, Wei Wusheng did this for Song Shi'an, and he immediately blushed: "Your Highness! You—"

Before he could finish speaking, Wei Wusheng raised his head and looked at Song Shi'an seriously: "From the moment I thought of it to the moment I did it, it was all my decision."

(End of this chapter)