Volume 10 Chapter 171
When Li Jin heard the tone of Shao Fang's question, he immediately realized that the king did not accept his opinion. He rolled his eyes and changed the subject, saying worriedly: "It is indeed difficult for the reserve army to resist the direct army, and Sishui County is the logistics base for our army to enter Yu State. We must not lose it. To be on the safe side, would the king consider recalling the army fighting in Yu State?"
Shao Fang did not respond, frowned, and remained silent. Shao Fang really considered withdrawing the Mo army fighting in Yu State, but he felt it was a pity. If he withdrew the army at this time, the series of victories previously achieved in Yu State would be in vain, and all his efforts would be in vain. How could people be willing?
After a long time, he murmured and sighed: "Is there no way to have the best of both worlds?"
Guo Hui thought about it and said with a folded hand: "Why don't you ask for help from Chuanzhen and Zhen? As long as Chuanzhen and Zhen are willing to send troops to help our country, not only will it be easy to resist the southward invasion of Feng Army, but we can also recover our lost territory and kill two birds with one stone!"
Oh? Shao Fang's eyes lit up and he asked, "Prime Minister Guo, has our country fought with Chuan and Zhen before? Will the two countries send troops to help our country this time?"
Guo Hui smiled and said, "Yes, our relationship with Chuan and Zhen is not good, but these two countries hate Feng even more. As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Even if Chuan and Zhen don't want to help our country, I think they will send troops to suppress Feng!"
"Yes!" Shao Fang nodded and praised, "Prime Minister Guo is right. Okay, let's do it according to what Prime Minister Guo said!"
Shao Fang is now desperate and can't think of a strategy to deal with the southward invasion of Feng Army. He doesn't want to call back the central army of Mo State that has penetrated deep into Yu State. He has no choice but to adopt Guo Hui's opinion and ask for help from Chuan and Zhen States respectively.
In fact, Guo Hui's analysis is not wrong. Chuan and Zhen States dislike Mo State, but they are not hostile. After all, their primary enemy is Feng State. This is why the two countries were able to ignore Mo State and An State to attack Yu State together.
However, Guo Hui overlooked a very important point. The alliance between Sichuan and Zhen is now on the verge of collapse, and the root cause is the disastrous defeat of the last alliance against Feng. After the defeat against Feng, the military of the two countries shirked responsibility. The Sichuan army complained that the Zhen army did not obey orders and acted on its own, while the Zhen army complained that the Sichuan army was timid and did not dare to fight a hard battle with the Feng people. Each had its own reasons and excuses, and wanted to put the blame on the other side. In this way, the contradiction between the two countries took root.
If the two countries could be honest with each other and talk about all kinds of problems on the surface, the contradiction might be alleviated, but after the defeat against Feng, both countries avoided mentioning the war, and the contradictions and complaints accumulated more and more. The military of the two countries almost reached the point where water and fire could not be reconciled.
At this time, Shao Fang sent two envoys to Sichuan and Zhen for help, which was undoubtedly a loss for both sides.
The first to oppose the dispatch of troops for reinforcements were the military generals of the two countries. The reason for the opposition of the generals of the Zhen State was simple. They were ashamed to be with the Chuan Army. Since the Mo State also asked for help from the Chuan State, let the Chuan State send troops. The generals of the Chuan Army also held the same idea. Since the Mo State also asked for help from the Zhen State, let the Zhen State send troops to resist the Feng State first. In addition, this way, the military strength of the two countries can be consumed at the same time, and the self-side can enjoy the benefits of the fisherman.
The attitudes of the generals of the two countries directly affected the attitudes of the monarchs of the two countries. Regarding the request for help from the Mo State, the monarchs of the two countries were neither cold nor hot. They did not reject the reinforcement of the troops outright, nor did they agree to send troops. Instead, they were dragging their feet and waiting for the other party to send troops first.
If Shao Fang had only sent one envoy, whether to the Chuan State or the Zhen State, the result would probably not be what it is now.
Of course, there is no if in this world. Although Guo Hui is not a mediocre person, his overall view is far from being able to understand the overall situation. No matter how accurate the previous analysis is, the deviation in the last step will only make his strategy a fatal next step.
The inaction of the two countries of Chuan and Zhen made the rescue of the Mo Kingdom fail. After receiving the reply, Shao Fang was furious in the court, pointing at Guo Hui's nose and cursing.
Guo Hui, frightened, gave Shao Fang another idea, still asking for help, but this time the object of the help was An Guo.
The An army was far less brave and good at fighting than the Chuan army and Zhen army, but fortunately there were many soldiers and good equipment. The most important point was that the two countries were allies and jointly sent troops to attack Yu. Now that Mo was in trouble, An Guo had no reason not to help.
Shao Fang thought about it carefully and felt that what Guo Hui said was not unreasonable. In the end, he adopted his opinion and sent people to rescue An Guo. It is true that the An army has many soldiers and good equipment, but it is also true that the combat effectiveness is poor and lacks practical experience. Shao Fang looked down on the An army from the bottom of his heart. If there were any other ways, he would not ask An Guo to send troops for reinforcement.
In the eyes of Shao Fang and the court of Mo State, asking for reinforcements from An State was a sure thing, but no one expected that An State was even more determined than Chuan and Zhen. King Yue Ze of An immediately made it clear that he would not send troops to Mo State alone to fight against Feng Army.
Yue Ze did not disregard the alliance between An State and Mo State, but he was really scared by Feng Army. In the last battle against Feng, the 200,000 An Army led by Li De was defeated by less than 100,000 Feng Army before they arrived at Feng State. If Feng Army had not shown mercy, the 200,000 An Army including Li De would have died in a foreign land.
After this battle, the situation in Anguo changed, and the seeds of fear were planted deep in people's hearts. After such a long time, the An army has also trained hard and their combat power has improved a lot. However, they have the courage to fight against the Yu country, but they still do not have the courage to compete with the Feng army.
Furthermore, in the last battle, the An army was grateful for its mercy to the Feng army. Even if Yue Ze was willing to send troops to fight the Feng army, the An army generals below would strongly oppose it.
Mo's request for help from Sichuan and Zhen was fruitless, and then it asked Anguo for help but was rejected. This shocked Shao Fang and the Mo court. In addition to being angry, people were thinking hard about how to deal with it.
From the current point of view, it is impossible for the Mo Kingdom to get reinforcements from the outside world. It can only rely on its own strength to resist the Feng Kingdom. However, in the continuous battles, the central army and the local army of the Mo army also suffered heavy losses. The only The only way to reverse the situation seems to be to withdraw the main force fighting in Yu.
During this period, Mo State continuously asked Sichuan, Zhen, and An for help, and the delay was not short. However, the Feng Army, which had already captured Anqiu County, did not continue to go south and invade Sishui County, because the opinions within the Feng Army were also inconsistent. They have not yet been unified and are arguing over whether to consolidate their power first or continue to move south.
Of course, Tang Yin hoped to continue going south, attack Sishui County, and then trap the main army of Mo State in Yu State. In this way, he would have the opportunity to go straight to Zhenjiang and eliminate the Mo State court in one fell swoop. Tang Yin had no intention of annexing Mo Country at once, but the success of the war quickly expanded his ambitions, and the current situation did have the possibility of a quick resolution.
However, Qiu Zhen held the opposite opinion and believed that his side should not go south again, but should first consolidate its power in the counties and counties it occupied, and let Shao Jun set up a flag to claim the king as soon as possible, so as to form a rivalry with Shao Fang. Qiu Zhen is by no means timid. He has his concerns. In his opinion, fighting to this level is the limit. If it goes further, it will inevitably attract the participation of other forces. The two Chuan Zhen regard Feng Guo as their How could a powerful country with a thorn in its side just watch Feng Country annex Mo Country and ignore Feng Country to become powerful? At the critical moment, these two countries will definitely take action. At that time, we will have a strong enemy in front and an unstable rear. Once defeated, we will not even have a base to regroup. We can only collapse thousands of miles and return to Feng Kingdom in defeat. The counties we have worked so hard to conquer Counties will be reduced to nothing.
The views of Tang Yin and Qiu Zhen basically represent the two major views within the Feng Army. One side believes that the current opportunity is rare and the country can be destroyed quickly; the other side believes that the time is not yet ripe, and it is most practical to consolidate the current fruits of victory first. Cai Gui supported Tang Yin, while Guo Jie supported Qiu Zhen.
The matter was so important that the internal opinions could not be unified. Tang Yin did not dare to take the next step easily, and the plan to attack Sishui County was temporarily postponed.
Just when disagreements arose within the Feng Army, and they were arguing over whether to attack or defend, the spies of Tianyan and Diwang in Zhenjiang sent back important news - Mo Guo's request for help failed.
This news was undoubtedly a shot in the arm for the main war faction headed by Tang Yin. Sichuan State, Zhen State and even An State decided to send troops to assist Mo State, which proved that Qiu Zhen's concerns were unnecessary. He did not go south to attack at this time. How long are you waiting for?
Tang Yin summoned Qiu Zhen and others for urgent consultation. After listening to the information sent back from Zhenjiang, Qiu Zhen also frowned secretly. He really didn't expect that the three countries of Sichuan, Zhen, and An actually refused to send troops to assist Mo.
Cai Gui smiled and said: "Actually, it is understandable that the three countries refuse to assist Mozambique."
"Oh? Master Cai, what do you say?" Qiu Zhen asked.
"Anguo fought with our country. At that time, our army was defeated with less than half of the Anguo army. As far as I know, this is the first time Anguo has fought with a foreign country in a hundred years, but the first battle was... Such a disastrous defeat will naturally leave a deep shadow on the An army. I dare to assert that until now, the An army is afraid of our army. The reason why Anguo is unwilling to reinforce Moguo is not because the alliance between the two countries is not strong, but because the alliance between the two countries is not strong. Anguo is afraid from the bottom of his heart to fight with our army again. "
Everyone nodded while listening, and Qiu Zhen couldn't help but said: "It makes sense."
Cai Gui continued: "As for the two countries of Sichuan and Zhen, it is easier to understand. The last time the two countries jointly attacked our country, it ended in failure. After the war, the two armies blamed each other in order to shirk their responsibilities, and the conflicts between the two countries have deepened day by day. Now the two countries have Both countries are unwilling to send troops. Firstly, they do not want to join forces with each other to fight. Secondly, both countries hope that the other side will send troops first and let the other side fight with our army first. When both sides are defeated, they will send troops to clean up the mess and enjoy the results. "
After a pause, Cai Gui raised his hand and said: "Your Majesty, it can be said that the three countries of Sichuan, Zhen, and An are currently on their own agenda. The first thing they think of is how to preserve their own strength. Our army can just take advantage of this gap!"