We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

Ma Jing and the others did not object to Li Che's idea of ​​a counterattack, but they clearly did not agree with it either.

For many years, the Northwest Army has been in a stalemate with Tibet, always maintaining a defensive posture and never launching an offensive.

Even though the Northwest Army has been revitalized and has the resources to launch a counterattack now that the emperor has arrived, their mindset cannot be changed overnight.

Li Che, however, was different.

Since he began leading troops into battle, he has never been on the defensive, believing that "offense is the best defense."

What's the point of just holding out? The enemy will only think they're not strong enough, not that you are.

It's like two children fighting, and the other child keeps slapping you, while you just cover your face in defense.

Even if you don't actually get slapped in the face, you can't say you've won.

Only by slapping the other person hard and making them feel the pain can you deter them from bullying you again.

Of course, even if Li Che wanted to launch a counterattack, he could not launch a large-scale offensive so hastily.

Intelligence is also an extremely important element; at the very least, it's necessary to know the weaknesses in the enemy's defenses.

Therefore, for the next period of time, Li Che no longer stayed in Lanzhou.

Instead, he led his personal guards on numerous trips to the border to personally gather intelligence on the movements of the Tibetan army.

At first, Ma Jing and other generals were somewhat worried. Although there hadn't been any major conflicts on the border in recent years, if something happened to the emperor, it would be the end of the Northwest Army.

However, seeing that Li Che always returned safely, and that his cavalry could not only move freely on the border, but also occasionally capture prisoners, Ma Jing and the others gradually felt relieved.

The emperor was full of martial spirit and had more practical experience than them, so they let him do whatever he wanted.

. . . . . .

half a month later.

The northwest wind, carrying the roughness of gravel, swept across Li Che's cheeks.

He stood on the lookout slope at the border, his gaze sweeping over the undulating hills and landing on the faint outline of the mountains to the southwest.

That is the edge of the Tibetan influence, and also the area where the conflict is currently most intense.

What one sees before one's eyes, apart from a few beacon towers and military camps built on strategic locations, are vast fields and deserted villages abandoned due to war.

"Your Majesty, it's windy here, don't catch a cold," Ma Jing said softly, handing over a fur cloak.

Li Che took it and casually draped it over his shoulder, but his gaze remained fixed on it.

Behind him, a group of military generals silently accompanied Li Che, gazing at the distant border.

"Minister Ma, look at this land." He spoke calmly, "Since the previous dynasty, the imperial court and Tibet have been locked in a tug-of-war here for over a hundred years, with gains and losses coming back again and again."

“When we control this place, we need to send a large number of troops to transport grain across thousands of mountains and rivers. Of the ten bushels of grain, less than six bushels will reach the front line. The people are even more troubled and the fields are abandoned.”

"The Tibetans, however, can plunder our border people and burn our fortified villages, coming and going as they please."

"Even if we hold this place, it will only add a line on the map that could change color at any time, and a piece of land that has been destroyed."

Yue Yun, who was standing on the other side, frowned and said, "Your Majesty is absolutely right. This place is barren and has limited output. It would be very costly to station troops here."

"To defend would mean being passive and exhausted; to attack would mean attacking the plateau from above. We have neither the advantage of timing nor the advantage of terrain, making it a truly difficult situation to resolve."

Li Che turned around and walked towards the makeshift sand table, which clearly showed the intertwined border situation between Daqing and Tubo.

"Therefore, I have been thinking these past few days whether we are being too fixated on defending our territory?"

Yue Yun seemed to be deep in thought: "Does His Majesty mean... that he will no longer be concerned about the gains and losses of a single city or stronghold?"

Having followed Li Che for so many years, Yue Yun's military strategies are exactly the same as Li Che's. He doesn't care about the gains or losses of a single city or place, which he also learned from Li Che.

"It's not that we don't care, but rather that we're calculating a much bigger picture."

Li Che pointed to several military towns on the sand table that represented the current front line of the confrontation, and slowly said, "These places are a burden to us. But to the Tibetans, they are outposts where they can advance to plunder supplies or retreat to lure us deeper into their territory."

"I've been wondering, why should we always fight on the battlefield they've set out for us?"

His finger traced southwest, across the thick line symbolizing the border, and landed on the territory occupied by Tibet.

"Our focus should be on this!"

"The reason why the Tibetan army could come and go freely was entirely due to these river valleys in the eastern part of the plateau, where grain, fodder and livestock were also stored."

Yue Yun's eyes lit up, and her breathing quickened slightly: "Your Majesty means... attack where they must defend?"

"Exactly!" Li Che said decisively. "The Tibetans can plunder and plunder to sustain their war effort. Must our Great Qing simply passively take the beating?"

He looked around at the many generals and said in a cold tone, "We will withdraw our forward troops and no longer be confined to these few bunkers. We will connect with the rear prefectures to form a deep defense network and rely on the strong cities to defend to the death."

Li Che's fingers traced several sharp arcs on the sand table: "At the same time, select brave and courageous soldiers and form several elite forces to penetrate deep into enemy territory. Don't get bogged down in recapturing the front lines, but rather go straight into these river valleys and basins behind them!"

"Burn their grain supplies, harass their pastures, and attack their must-defend positions!"

Ma Jing pondered, his gaze fixed on the route Li Che had traced on the sand table: "This strategy is ingenious, but also extremely risky. Venturing deep behind enemy lines, the terrain is unknown, supplies are difficult to obtain, and if cut off..."

“Therefore, we need the most elite soldiers, the most thorough preparations, and the most accurate intelligence,” Li Che replied.

"As for those frontier areas that are difficult to defend and have little output, we can take the initiative to retreat and clear the fields if necessary, leaving them a blank space."

"Move the population and stored grain inland, and see how long the Tibetan army can keep gnawing on the bare mountains and plains."

"They want this wasteland, so be it. What I want is real losses for the enemy and a depletion of Tibet's national strength!"

The tent was completely silent.

This approach completely overturned the traditional step-by-step tactics used against the Tibetans, and was full of aggressive imagination.

That's right, what Li Che proposed was the famous 'base-trading tactic'.

After arriving in the Northwest, Li Che realized one thing: the place was too dilapidated.

The vast wilderness has no arable land, leaving only negligible strategic value and no economic value whatsoever.

Especially in areas near the border, there is nothing but military forts, and the people dare not live there, much less cultivate the land.

Even if such a place is defended, what's the point?

Why not use this as bait to let the Tibetans experience the same kind of turmoil?

“If our army simply defends head-on, the Tibetans can harass us year after year, which is exactly what they want,” Li Che concluded. “We will exchange the hard-to-defend border wasteland for the peace of the rich river valleys in the northeast of the Tibetans.”

"Let's see whether his gains from raiding our borders are greater, or the losses from me striking at his heart are greater!"

"Your Majesty's wise decision!" Yue Yun exclaimed excitedly, clasping his hands in a fist salute. "This humble general is willing to be the vanguard!"

Ma Jing nodded slowly, his expression solemn, and said, "Although this strategy is risky, it can break the deadlock and turn the passive situation into the active one."

"However, the specific attack route still needs to be carefully planned."

“Therefore, it is time to finalize these matters.” Li Che returned to his desk. “You shall immediately coordinate the armies of Longyou, formulate plans for the advance and retreat of each unit, and present them to me in detail.”

“Then select elite soldiers from the various armies and border residents who are good at traversing mountain roads and understanding the situation of the barbarians, and form elite squads.”

"Reinforcements from various regions are still on their way, we still have time."

Li Che said gently, "Don't worry, it's okay if we fail. What's wrong with giving them a few hundred miles of wasteland? We'll get our revenge sooner or later!"

Upon hearing this, the generals felt more confident.

In reality, they were well aware of this principle; there was no point in stubbornly defending those frontline military towns.

But they cannot retreat; they are border troops, and their mission is to defend the homeland.

If even an inch of land in Daqing is lost, it will be considered a dereliction of duty by the Northwest Army, giving the court even more excuse to withhold rations and pay.

Only Li Che would dare to make such a decision.

In the days that followed, the military and political system in Longyou began to operate at high speed.

The new recruits were eager to make contributions to the country and bring glory to their families.

The veterans also sensed that something was amiss; it seemed they weren't planning to hold out this year.

After intense preparations, the counterattack began!

. . . . . .

The vast wilderness stretches out under a high sky and wide clouds.

A troop of about a hundred Tibetan cavalrymen marched along the dry riverbed, their hooves kicking up yellow dust.

Their fur robes were sturdy, their faces were tanned a deep red from the high-altitude sun, and their eyes held an air of utter disdain.

“Master Gesang, if we go another thirty miles to the east, we will reach the Stone Village of the Qing people.”

A young scout pointed to the outline of a mound ahead and said in a relaxed tone:

“Last autumn, we slaughtered more than a dozen of their auxiliary soldiers who were transporting grain at the foot of that village and stole twenty cartloads of wheat.”

The leader, known as Gesang, was a wiry man around forty years old.

He scoffed upon hearing this: "The name sounds impressive, but the people inside... tsk tsk, last year the one guarding the stronghold was an old Qing army leader with a white beard, leading dozens of half-grown boys and even older soldiers, who couldn't even shoot arrows accurately."

"If their walls weren't so high, we would have stormed in long ago."

A burly man with a full beard next to him picked up a leather bag, took a swig of wine, and loudly echoed, "The Qing people are no good now. I heard that their emperor is busy wrestling with his own big family and doesn't care about this place at all."

"Those left in this godforsaken place are either the old and weak or newbies who have never seen blood; they're easy to beat up."

"We should bring back more ironware and salt this year, otherwise our wives will think we're useless and can't even climb into bed!"

A burst of rough laughter erupted from the ranks. In their view, this autumn raid would be much different from previous years.

They only needed to avoid the large, difficult military towns and target the small, isolated military fortresses and villages on the outskirts, looting them and then leaving.

The Qing army brigade was often slow to react and could not catch up.

Soon, the stone fortress built of rammed earth came into view.

It stands on a low slope, in a strategic location, but not on a large scale. The faded "Celebration" flag that usually flies there is nowhere to be seen today.

There were no patrols in sight on the fort walls, and everything around was quiet.

The situation seems to be quite different from what they imagined.