Still in the study, the main generals were still involved, but the atmosphere of this meeting was extremely solemn, everyone's faces were serious, even Wang Yuan, who had always been relaxed, had a serious expression and no smile.

"Brothers, you should all know that Li Mao is frantically recruiting troops and horses, and the troops in Chang'an are close to 300,000 people, and they are stepping up training day and night. The conscription is still going on in the southeast, and at this rate, I think in another month, his soldiers and horses will exceed 400,000, approaching 500,000. Think about the scale of this. Wang Yuan said in a deep voice.

The generals frowned and did not speak, but their bodies writhed unnaturally, which was a sign of extreme worry and nervousness. In the face of such a large number of troops, there is no one who is not nervous.

"I know, you might say, these are new recruits, and they don't have much fighting. It is true that they are indeed newly recruited soldiers, and their combat effectiveness is definitely not as good as that of our Shence Army. But once the number reaches a certain point, it is not the same. The so-called heroes are not more than a man. Obviously, Li Mao is going to carry out crowd tactics, and he wants to overwhelm us with the absolute number of soldiers and horses. Based on the current comparison of troops, one person has to fight three or four enemies, which is already a great disadvantage. Not to mention that their soldiers and horses are still increasing, and a hundred thousand divine forces may be able to defeat an enemy of 203,000 or even 400,000, but what if it is 500,000, 600,000 or even 1 million? Can it still be an enemy? Apparently not. Wang Yuan continued in a deep voice.

Liu Jun, Song Jiangong, Liu Dehai and others were silent, of course they knew that what Wang Yuan said was true. If the balance is upset in large numbers, then an absolute advantage is formed. Ants can still gnaw on elephants, not to mention that the opponent is a person like himself.

"Li Mao's recruits this time are actually ordinary people from all over the Tang Dynasty, and he is no longer recruiting soldiers and horses, but forcibly recruiting ordinary people into the army. Even if we can defeat them, we will slaughter a huge number of ordinary people, and it will bring disaster to many families. Li Mao can ignore it, but I don't want to do it. I have always emphasized that our Shence Army is the people's soldiers, and we should consider the people's suffering. The war between me and Li Mao now involves hundreds of thousands of families around the world, and even if we win, the bad impact will be enormous. Li Mao doesn't care about their life and death, we can't ignore these. Wang Yuan continued in a low voice.

"Dashuai, what do you say? In this situation, it seems that we can't stop Li Mao from doing this. Song Jiangong smacked his lips and asked.

"Yes, we can't stop him from doing this, and we can't keep the opponent's soldiers and horses on the battlefield because they are forcibly recruited, after all, when we go to the battlefield, we are the enemy, this is what the commander has always told us." Liu Dehai also frowned.

Wang Yuan said quietly: "Naturally, there is a way, I discussed it with Deputy Marshal Gao, if we want to stop Li Mao's madness, we can only launch it in advance." We cannot delay any longer, otherwise we will not face these 300,000 soldiers and horses, but 500,000,600,000 or more. We can't sit idly by and watch Li Mao pull all the people of the world into the battlefield. ”

Wang Yuan glanced at Gao Xianzhi, Gao Xianzhi nodded slightly and said, "Yes, this may be the only way to control the situation." ”

Everyone was overjoyed, to be honest, they had been waiting for this day for a long time, in fact, many people in the army had been anxious to fight for a long time, and there had been such a call more than a month ago, and now the marshal and deputy marshal have finally made up their minds.

"Okay, okay, we would have wanted to do it for a long time, if it weren't for the big handsome...... No, I'm afraid we'll all take Chang'an. Liu Dehai shouted with his hands in full swing.

"It's just that it's finally time to do it, and the brothers are suffocated. The marshal gives the order. Song Jiangong shouted.

Liu Jun was different from them, frowning and groaning: "Now that we send troops, we are actually not ready." ”

Wang Yuan nodded and said, "What Liu Jun said is good, we are indeed not ready. The 50,000 recruits were only trained for a month. Originally, I hoped to have two or three months to train new recruits so that they would not be held back on the battlefield, but it seemed that it would not work. ”

"According to the old rules, the new recruits can be scattered and integrated into various armies and battalions, and the old can lead the new, which can solve this problem. Doing so will still reduce the overall power, but it's the only way to do it. Gao Xianzhi said.

"yes, 50,000 recruits. If it is only 12,000 people, only 12 out of 10,000 people will be scattered into the army, and the impact will not be great. These 50,000 recruits are more than 30% of the strength of our current Shence Army, and if they are not properly trained, their combat strength will be greatly reduced. I just hope that they are all carefully selected soldiers, and I hope they can adapt to it quickly. Wang Yuan frowned.

Gao Xianzhi nodded slightly. But he knows that no matter how strong a recruit is, if the problems in his heart are not solved and the training is not sufficient, he will not succeed.

Wang Yuan continued: "There is another important preparation that has not been done, and that is the preparation of important materials. Bows, arrows, weapons, armor, not to mention, we don't lack these. But the Tiger Squat Gunner** These big killers can't reach the minimum scale, which makes me extremely worried. You know, more than a month ago, one of the reasons why I didn't want to go into the army was because we ran out of these important supplies. Originally, I hoped that at least 150 Tiger Squat Cannons and more than 10,000 hands could be equipped to ensure that nothing went wrong. But now that the troops are dispatched, although our tiger squat cannons are being built day and night, there are only more than 70 of them now. There are currently less than six thousand hands in stock. Far from what I thought. But in any case, we may have to rely on these belongings. ”

Everyone knows that the most important reason why the Shence Army is invincible and victorious in a hundred battles is not how powerful the Shence Army is than its opponents, but it is these big killers that the Great Marshal has developed that surpasses the opponent. From the Shenwei cannon invented during the attack on Nanzhao, to the later thunder bullets, to the tiger squat cannon, hand **, etc., almost every battle has played an important role. Even in some wars, it is these things that turn the tide of war.

For example, the battle with the Hui people, if it weren't for the last great display of his might, this battle might have been lost. These are the great advantages of the Shence Army, but now that the troops are hastily mobilized, these materials related to victory or defeat cannot be prepared, which is obviously a huge hidden worry.

"That's fine, I'm sure we can win even if we're not fully prepared. But there is one thing that is the biggest obstacle to our troops. That's why we started our army. I know that many of you don't think so, but being a teacher is actually a taboo for soldiers. Those who are in line with virtue prosper, and those who are against virtue die. The soldiers are nameless, and the accident does not happen. ”

Wang Yuan talked about these clichés again, and everyone in the audience frowned.

"When we take the initiative to send troops, we are actually rebelling, and the people of the world hate the rebels, so we will definitely lose the support of the people. Without the support of the people, then this battle will be very difficult to fight. All of these are mutually reinforcing, and we must pay attention to them. When An Lushan raised his troops, his soldiers and horses were not strong, and his preparation was not sufficient, but why did he fail? That's not because our counterinsurgency forces are strong, but because his rebels are not supported by the people, which is the main reason for their failure. You have also seen the specific situation, the people are in trouble with the rebels everywhere, the food would rather be burned than given to the rebels, and wherever the rebels go, the people rise up to resist, the rebels attack the city, and the people desperately defend the city. All of this is vivid. Today, if we raise troops, if we don't have the name of the division, we will be no different from An Lushan. ”

The generals frowned, didn't say a word, and thought about it in their hearts, and some of them actually had already figured it out.

"Li Mao is the lord of the world, no matter what he does, the people take it for granted because he is the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. The officials and people of the world are looking to him, and he can make the most of this. And what we are facing is Li Mao, no matter how much we think about the people and the people of the world, in their eyes, they are all rebels and enemies of the world. In fact, the people of the world are not to blame for this, and it is difficult to explain this truth clearly. But we don't need to reason with the people, we just need to give them a reason. As long as the reason is sufficient, as long as it is in line with what they have in mind, it will be smooth sailing. Not only can it win the support of the people, but it can also divide the enemy's internal camp. ”

Wang Yuan: I don't know how many times I've talked about this kind of issue. In order to explain this truth, Wang Yuan can be described as bitter. However, the vast majority of people still don't understand the importance of this matter, and they will only think that Wang Yuan is indecisive in this move. But Wang Yuan knew that most of the successful rebellions in history occupied the moral high ground and held high a banner that convinced the people. Those who win the hearts of the people win the world, this is not an empty phrase. Force cannot decide everything, and force strengthens the people's will, and this is the bargaining chip for the final victory. It's a pity that too many people don't understand this truth, so too many rebellions and uprisings end in tragedy. Since Wang Yuan knows the truth well, he can't follow the old path of destruction. So he mentioned it again.

Everyone was speechless, they really couldn't understand why Wang Yuan was obsessed with this matter, Dashuai was not the kind of indecisive person, how could he just say it over and over again in this matter. They can only understand that the marshal does not want to bear the charge of being a rebel and a thief, but wants to excuse his rebellious behavior. The handsome hero is the first, but why can't you get around this level? If Da Shuai could abandon this idea and be thicker and darker, he would have been able to control the situation a long time ago, how could there be today's situation? For example, when he was in Chengdu, all the Li Tang royal family was in Chengdu, and he could catch them all in one go, but it was a pity that the handsome man sat back and watched the opportunity pass.

But at this moment, Da Shuai once again cautiously brought up this matter, but they also knew that Da Shuai took this matter very seriously in his heart. Although I don't understand, I'm afraid that this time the big boss won't give in.

"Just now, I have had a long talk with Deputy Marshal Gao, and we have reached an agreement on this matter. Therefore, I decided to go to Lishan Palace to see the Emperor Taishang in person and seek the name of a teacher. The matter has been decided, and there is no change in it. Wang Yuan's voice sounded in everyone's ears, and everyone looked at Wang Yuan blankly with their mouths open, sure enough, the handsome man was going to take this step, and he still had to go in person.

"Isn't it okay to send someone else for such a thing? Why should the marshal take risks himself? The lowly is willing to go. Song Jiangong said in a deep voice.

"Willing to do it."

"Father-in-law, Liu Jun is willing to go."

"I would like to go."

Everyone expressed their willingness to go instead of Wang Yuan.

Wang Yuan smiled slightly and waved his hand: "I know you are worried about me, but I am afraid that this matter can only be done by me personally." The Emperor and I have too many entanglements, and we should not talk to each other face-to-face, and we will not want to achieve our goals. I have decided on this matter, and I will not change it. From now on, the army will be under the unified command of the senior deputy marshal, and you will listen to the dispatch of the senior deputy marshal and hurry up preparations for war. ”

……

Wang Yuan's actions this time are top secrets among top secrets. The Shence Army has planted a lot of eyeliner in Chang'an City to listen to the news, and similarly, there must be a large number of eyeliner of the other party in Chengdu City. No matter how much you try to clean up, you can't clean up the small works hidden among the people. Therefore, in fact, the major moves of both sides are in the eyes and ears of the other party.

For example, things that cannot be hidden, such as recruiting and increasing troops, scheduling, etc., will actually reach the ears of the other party in a few days, and this is also a time when there is no choice. For Wang Yuan's side, it is the arsenal that must be kept strictly secret. For example, the newly mass-produced explosive new artillery shells are a key secret to be protected. Therefore, whether it is production or test launching, Wang Yuan uses people he can fully trust, and strictly does a good job of confidentiality. As for the rest, that's just a blind eye.

However, this time Wang Yuan was going to Lishan Palace to see Xuanzong's actions, and he must not leak the slightest rumor. Once the news is leaked, Wang Yuan will be tantamount to throwing himself into the net. Therefore, except for Gao Xianzhi, Liu Jun, Song Jiangong, Liu Dehai, Zhao Qing, and Tan Ping, who participated in the meeting that day, no one knew about this matter. Zhao Qing's filling in the selection of the candidates for the accompanying guards was also carried out secretly, and the selected guards only knew that there was a task to be carried out, but they didn't know what the task was. And it is also forbidden to talk about it.

Wang Yuan didn't even explain the matter to his wives and concubines, not because he didn't trust his wives and concubines, but because he didn't want his wives and concubines to worry about this trip. If they knew that Wang Yuan was going to take an adventure again, and he was going deep into the army-dense Chang'an City to sneak into the Lishan Palace to meet the Emperor, I am afraid that no one would agree to Wang Yuan to take the risk. Wang Yuan didn't want to cry and cry all over the city, so he simply kept them in the dark.

Of course, this matter can't be completely hidden, Gongsun Lan must follow him, and that's fine. Li Xin'er is in the main room, and this matter cannot be hidden from him, because Wang Yuan actually does not have a perfect grasp of this trip, and once it is lost, it may be worse. So he had to explain to Li Xin'er and let Li Xin'er be ready to deal with it. If she loses this time, Li Xin'er must shoulder the responsibility of being an eldest woman and ensure that the whole family does not panic. Although Gao Xianzhi is in Chengdu, Wang Yuan has full trust in Gao Xianzhi, but if something happens to him, then it is unknown what will happen.

Unexpectedly, Li Xin'er's reaction this time was very calm, when she learned that Wang Yuan was going to take another adventure, Li Xin'er only panicked for a moment, and after listening to Wang Yuan's reason, she calmed down. Especially when she knew that Wang Yuan only told herself about this and did not tell everyone, she had a feeling of being respected as a main room. After so many years, Li Xin'er also knows that what Wang Yuan decided to do may not work no matter how much he stops it, what he can do is to let him have no worries, sit in the house, and let this family be safe.

Li Xin'er actually wanted to follow, but considering her identity and the overall situation, she gave up this idea. And she knew that Wang Yuan would not agree to her going together, Wang Yuanming said that if it wasn't for the fact that things could be carried out successfully, he wouldn't even want to take Gongsun Lan with him. Because the operation was really dangerous, he didn't want anyone around him to suffer accidents.

But in fact, Li Xin'er is not the only one among Wang Yuan's women who knows the news. In addition to Gongsun Lan, Wang Yuan also informed Mrs. Qin Guo of the news. Although Mrs. Qin Guo was worried, she had been tempered by wind and rain and had already been able to face any situation calmly. Moreover, she was in favor of Wang Yuan's trip. She believes that with Xuanzong's temperament and current situation, if Wang Yuan can really see Xuanzong, rescue him, and give him the conditions he wants, Xuanzong is very likely to meet the wind and rudder and achieve the goal Wang Yuan wants. After talking to Mrs. Qin Guo, Wang Yuan became more confident.

In two days, everything was ready. The goal of this trip should not be too big, so Wang Yuan decided to bring only a hundred selected personal guard cavalry with him. These 100 guards are the elite of the elite, all of them have martial arts, and they are equipped with the top weapons, armor and equipment in the Shence Army, just like a special operations team all the time.

Wang Yuan decided to leave the west gate of Chengdu on the morning of 18 September and go to the northwest, and at the same time spread the news in the city that he had gone to inspect the two roads in Longyou, Hexi. After leaving the city and taking the lead in the wilderness to get rid of the careful surveillance, Wang Yuan took another hundred guards to return to the east, this way will not pass through any city, directly from Tongzhou to the east of the passage through the Bashan Qinling Mountains only the path out of Shu. The purpose of this is naturally to confuse Li Mao's meticulous work to the greatest extent, and to ensure the secrecy of this operation to a great extent.

On the evening of September 17, the night before Wang Yuan's departure. A long journey from Nancheng arrived in Chengdu. The person who came was none other than the lord of Nanzhao Kingdom, the brother of Princess Aluo, and Wang Yuan's brother-in-law, Ge Luofeng.

Princess Aluo couldn't help but hear the good news, and the two brothers and sisters had been for several years