Situ Rui replied, "Don't worry, your highness, the old minister will do his best."

Qiu Yutang nodded slightly and asked again: "Old General, where is the Guanghui Empire Army now?"

Situ Rui said: "The old minister just received an emergency delivery from Yan Changkong. Just the night before yesterday, Meng Hu's western army had already advanced to Kawahara. The two corps of the Second Division had also evacuated Kawahara as planned and were moving towards the designated area."

Qiu Yutang nodded gently and said with concern: "This time the Guanghui Empire Army launched a large-scale western expedition. The empire lacked sufficient preparations. The five major legions of Yunzhou, Bingzhou, Dingzhou, and Zhuozhou in the north, and Zhuozhou in the south, and Yingzhou will take at least two months to arrive at Luojing. As for Shuozhou and Youzhou, it will probably take three months to arrive. Old General, the burden on your shoulders is very heavy."

A hint of heroism suddenly appeared on Situ Rui's old face, and he said casually: "Don't worry, your highness, although the Eastern Expedition was defeated, the morale of the Eastern Expedition Army was not disintegrated, and the soldiers were determined to sacrifice their lives for the country. The old ministers did not dare to slander the defeat of the invading more than 500,000 glorious army, but it was still more than enough to delay them for two months!"

Qiu Yutang said again: "But the veteran general should not fight head-on with the enemy. Just wait for the people to retreat and give up Qingzhou to retreat to Huxiao Pass. The empire is the most experienced and veterans who can fight. The more than 200,000 troops under the veteran general are elite veterans who have experienced many battles. They must try their best to preserve them. The reconstruction of major legions of the empire in the future is inevitable without these veterans."

Situ Rui said solemnly: "The old minister understands."

"Oh." Qiu Yutang sighed faintly and said sadly, "The war between the two countries is imminent, but the people are still the ones who are really suffering."

Kawabara, the western legion base.

When she was idle, Meng Hu, Qi Diaozi, and Jia Wudao deduced the various possibilities of this Western Expedition.

Meng Hu knocked on the table and said with great certainty: "If Meng Yan fully follows the Qingzhou strategy formulated by Meng Ke, the Mingyue Empire will be destroyed!"

"indeed."

Jia Wudao nodded and said, "If the Glorious Empire wins this Western Expedition and eventually occupy Qingzhou, the strength comparison between the two countries will undergo a fundamental change. More importantly, the Mingyue Empire will inevitably be full of scars and scars after enduring the war. However, the Glorious Empire has almost no loss except for the consumption of materials. As time goes by, the gap in strength between the two countries will not only not narrow, but will only grow bigger and bigger."

Qi Diaozi said: "So we must stop this situation."

Qi Diaozi already knew the origin of Jia Wudao, so he had no scruples on his words. After all, Jia Wudao is completely incompatible with the Galaxy Empire and the Glorious Empire. He seems to have no other way to go except to be loyal to Meng Hu, at least from the moment.

Meng Hu pondered: "Kawara Castle went down without fighting, and the Western Legion won a great achievement for nothing. This matter will definitely stimulate Mengyan, but it is hard to say whether it can prompt him to change the Qingzhou strategy!"

Qi Diaozi said: "He will know Meng Yan with his humble duties."

Jia Wudao suddenly said: "General and Brother Qi must not ignore one person. He is Meng Yan's teacher and confidant aide Shi Miyuan. Although Bei Zhi has not had much contact with him, in his only few contacts, this person has shown far beyond ordinary people's wisdom and wisdom. Meng Yan may not be able to see it, but this person must be able to see that the retreat of the Mingyue Empire Army this time is not as simple as it seems."

"Hiss..." Qi Diaozi said in a deep voice, "General, we did not expect this situation."

Meng Hu's brows also frowned quietly. If Meng Yan really had such a think tank around him, then things would be in trouble.

Qi Diaozi also felt Meng Hu's worries and whispered: "I hope that Shi Miyuan is just a person with a false reputation."

Jia Wudao shook his head and said with a serious expression: "Brother Qi is a talented person, I am willing to give him a disadvantage, but Shi Miyuan's talent is definitely not inferior to Brother Qi. This little brother dares to use his head as a guarantee!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Xingba suddenly stepped into the tent and shouted: "General, the Supreme Commander, please feel free to send me a message!"

Meng Hu hurriedly reached out to take the letter, and when he opened it, he saw that there were only two lines of text on it: The Mingyue Empire Army retreated without fighting, and the situation was very suspicious. He ordered the Western Legion to stand on time and not to underestimate the enemy and advance rashly!

"Haha, it's done." Meng Hu smiled and handed the letter to Qi Diaozi, saying, "Meng Yan has gotten into the trap!"

Qi Diaozi hurriedly read it and handed the letter to Jia Wudao, who was in charge of the lower command, and also said: "The reason why Meng Yan ordered the general and the Western Legion to stand by on the spot was that he was unwilling to give up his credit for the Western Legion for nothing. Haha, it seems that Meng Yanzhen believes that Situ Rui's defeated general was a vulnerable mob."

After reading the letter, Jia Wudao disagreed and said: "It is normal for Meng Yan and Pu Sanzhi to see the tricks. However, with Shi Miyuan's talent, it is impossible for him to see the problem. Meng Yan ordered the Western Legion to stand on time, perhaps because of his careful consideration of facing the enemy."

"This is impossible." Qi Diaozi said with certainty, "Brother Jia has just arrived, so he still doesn't know much about the holiday between the general and Meng Yan. In short, the reason why the Western Legion was used as a vanguard this time was that Meng Yan didn't have any good intentions, so Meng Yan ordered the Western Legion to be on standby on this time, and it was also impossible for him to be cautious about the enemy."

"hiss……"

Jia Wudao also felt it made sense after listening to Qi Diaozi's analysis and pondered, "Then this matter is a bit strange. Did Shi Miyuan not remind Meng Yan? This seems unlikely. Shi Miyuan is Meng Yan's master!"

Meng Hu smiled slightly and said, "The two gentlemen don't have to worry about this problem. What is the intention of Meng Yan ordering the Western Legion to stand on time? Isn't you know everything when the subsequent army arrives at Kawahara in a few days?"

Half a month later, Meng Yan's army successfully advanced to Hayuan.

Two days later, the Northern Legion of Chongshan also arrived, and the five major legions of the Western Expedition finally gathered together. In addition, the 2,000 veterans of the Imperial Guards and 50 graduates from the Royal Military Academy were officially members of the Western Legion. Meng Hu also held a grand welcome ceremony.

However, in the end, the two thousand veterans were assigned to four division commanders including Zhan Ying and acted as guards. No matter what, these two thousand veterans were transferred from the Imperial Guard Corps. What is the Imperial Guard Corps? It is an elite legion directly under the royal family. There is no need to doubt his loyalty to the Empire and the Royal Family. Such veteran Meng Hu dared not use it with confidence.

The fifty graduates of the Royal Military Academy did not know that the sky was high and the earth was strong. On the day they arrived in Kawahara, they collectively asked Meng Hu to go to the grassroots wing and the brigade to lead the troops. But how could Meng Hu give them such a chance? In the end, these fifty students were arranged by Meng Hu in the Legion's Staff Department, responsible for serving tea and water to Qi Diaozi and Jia Wudao. If people were willing, they would stay in the Staff Department. If they were willing, they would go back wherever they wanted.

That night, Meng Yan held a military meeting at the Kawahara Castle Guardian.

All generals of the division commander or above of the five major legions attended the meeting. The city guard hall was brightly lit and starry-covered. Nearly half of the generals of the Glorious Empire gathered here!

The luxurious red carpet is laid from the entrance of the hall to the steps directly north of the hall.

Three beautiful chairs were arranged on the steps, Meng Yan, the highest commander of the Western Expedition Army, sat in the middle, with the left head being the northern governor Chongshan, and Meng Hu, the western legion. Under the steps, the division commanders and senior staff of the five major legions were arranged on the left and right sides according to the sequence of their respective legions in the Imperial Army, in order.

After glanced at the hall with a bright look, Meng Yan said loudly: "Everyone, the situation on the battlefield in Qingzhou has undergone unexpected changes. All signs indicate that Situ Rui's Eastern Expedition Army has been deteriorated after several consecutive defeats. This can be seen from their abandonment of Kawayuan City without fighting!"

Hearing this, Meng Hu felt cold in his heart, and Meng Yan was indeed trapped.

Chongshan, who was sitting on Meng Yan's left head, frowned. He had just arrived and didn't know much about the situation on the battlefield in Qingzhou, but he knew very well that Situ Rui was a strong-willed veteran. Such a veteran would never be defeated by several defeats. The Mingyue Empire Army abandoned Kawahara without fighting, and there must be other hidden information in this.

"In view of the change in the situation on the battlefield in Qingzhou, I think the original strategy has become a bit conservative. This Western Expedition can definitely win a greater victory!" Meng Yan said this, then stood up suddenly and said loudly, "The Supreme Commander of the Western Expedition Army, Meng Hu, and Chongshan of the Northern Legion!"

Meng Hu and Chongshan hurriedly stood up and replied in unison: "Here!"

Meng Yan turned around and looked at Meng Hu indifferently, and said in a gloomy manner: "The western legion is the northern wing, and is responsible for cutting off the reinforcements from the four northern prefectures of the Mingyue Empire, and the northern legion is the southern wing, and is responsible for cutting off the reinforcements from the three southern prefectures of the Mingyue Empire. This king personally led the guards, the northwest and southwest legion as the middle road, and took Xijing straight!"

"Your Highness, no!"

As Meng Yan finished speaking, Chongshan loudly opposed, "The situation of Situ Rui's army retreating without fighting is very suspicious. The old minister thought it was definitely not because of the disarray of military morale. If it were not for preserving strength, or there was another conspiracy. Your Highness must not underestimate the enemy's carelessness, let alone the division of troops is a taboo in military strategists, and it is easy to be defeated by the enemy one by one!"

"Chongshan!"

Meng Yan frowned and said coldly, "Don't forget that I am the supreme commander of the Western Expedition Army. What I just issued was a combat order, not asking for your opinion."

Chongshan said without retreating: "But the old minister is also the second commander of the Western Expedition Army. He has the right to reject Your Highness's inappropriate military orders under the order of the prince!"

"What did you say?" Meng Yan said furiously, "How dare you say that my military order is not a military order?"

"That's the truth. The old minister thought it was absolutely not advisable to divide his troops and attack. This was going to cause a disaster!"
Chapter completed!