The stars hang down the earth, and the moon shines on the mountains.

Flowers are different red, people are different, in this world, people are very different, so they can outline the colorful world, different temperaments, and people take different paths.

When the King of Qi was complaining about the sky, Chu Huan was standing at the peak of the West Valley, looking to the east by the moonlight.

The northwest and the Guannei are the barriers of this pass, which laid the Xigu Pass, which can be said to really control the entire northwest completely, but if you take a step towards the east to the pass, the meaning is completely different.

"Chu Du, General Pei has arrived." Xu Shao's voice came from behind him.

Chu Huan raised his eyebrows, turned around, and already heard Pei Ji's laughter: "Chu Du, congratulations, Xigu Pass has been fought down, and the difficulties in the northwest have been solved." ”

Chu welcomed forward, Pei Ji was dressed in a cloth shirt and wore a cloth hat on his head, but he didn't need a cane to walk as usual, at first glance, he looked like a teacher in a private school, it was really hard to imagine that this person was the general of the tens of thousands of Northwest Army.

"Big brother, you're finally here." Chu Huan held Pei Ji's arm, "I've been looking forward to it day and night for the past two days, and I just can't wait for you to fly over." ”

Pei Ji laughed and said: "I also want to fly over, but the time is just right to come over like this." The two walked side by side to the edge of the wall battlement, condescendingly, overlooking the earth, although it was not a deep peak, but it was also a feeling of seeing the mountains at a glance.

"Xigu Pass is tall and sturdy, it is really a moat, and I have always been worried that if the pass is not in our hands, the road to the northwest will go." Pei Jifu said with emotion: "Fortunately, God bless the northwest, the second brother has the help of the heavens, even if he doesn't want to achieve great things, he can't do it." He glanced back at Xu Shao and ordered: "General Xu, convene the generals and above, and convene a meeting after half an hour." ”

Xu Shao said yes and pushed it down.

"If it weren't for Xuanyuan's help, I'm afraid this pass is really an insurmountable barrier for us." Chu Huan sighed: "Three hundred warriors, more than two hundred dead and wounded, although the pass has been taken, it is also a great price. ”

Pei Ji said solemnly: "It is a gift from heaven that there can be such a group of loyal and brave warriors under the command of the second brother. Xuanyuan Shengcai is a good general who is hard to find, they are full of expectations for their second brother, and the second brother must not let them down. ”

"That's what Big Brother said." Chu Huan sighed softly: "Don't hide it from my eldest brother, in fact, I had doubts about Xuanyuan Sheng before, but now that I think about it, I really shouldn't be!" ”

"The second brother is wrong." Pei Ji shook his head and said: "It's not just you, it's me, after Xigu Pass was blocked, I also kept an eye on him for the first time." People's hearts are unpredictable, you are different from the past, and the future of tens of millions of people has to be cautious. As a hegemon, you can't compare with the righteousness of the rivers and lakes, the righteousness of the people in the rivers and lakes is superior, but you can only focus on the overall situation. ”

Chu Huan was silent.

"In the battle of Xigu Pass, there were many casualties, I know it in my heart, and I also know that the second brother can't bear it." Pei Ji sighed lightly: "But the second brother should know that when the Northwest Army takes a step east from this pass, more people will die, and the road in the future can only become more and more difficult and more cruel. ”

Chu Huan bowed slightly, and said: "I know, sealing the pass and wanting to be in the Taiping side of the northwest, such a wish is good, but it is definitely not realistic. We are guarding in the northwest, just waiting to be killed, waiting for someone to dominate the pass, and then we will want to compete for the male and female, and it will be too late. ”

Pei Jihan said with a smile: "The second brother understands this truth, so I am relieved." ”

"By the way, big brother, I almost forgot to tell you something important." Chu Huan's expression became solemn, and his voice was a little cold: "There is news from Hexi that the crown prince has ascended the throne and become emperor." ”

"Oh?" Pei Ji stroked his beard and smiled: "This is a matter of time, since he dares to ascend the throne in Hexi, it seems that Hexi has almost the second brother who has been accused by him, this person is a person who can really take charge of himself among the several princes of the Qin State, and may be our number one rival in the future." ”

"He has just ascended the throne and called the emperor, and the year name is Dingwu, hehe, that is to pacify the world and determine the country with force." Chu Huan said: "Feng Yuanpo has always been ambitious, operating in Hexi for many years, although he eventually made wedding clothes for others, he also left a lot of wealth to the prince. The Hexi Army has been fighting with the northern barbarians, but it is also very combative, and the barbarians have also transferred 20,000 cavalry, and the Hexi army and the barbarians have joined forces, which should not be underestimated. ”

"Whether it is the barbarians or the Hexi Army, we will not be afraid, when it comes to combat effectiveness, the Northwest Army is not under them." Pei Ji said solemnly: "We can't catch up with theirs, it's just our logistics." In the battle between the two armies, they may be able to achieve several victories by virtue of tactics, but in a decisive battle of life and death that determines the overall situation, it is necessary to have substantial logistical support. ”

Chu Huan smiled bitterly: "I've always been worried about such a problem. We are short of food and grass in our hands, to put it mildly, if we want to attack a city, as long as they can hold on for a period of time, our logistics are difficult to supply, so we can only withdraw our troops and stop the war. The prince is a smart man, and he already sees me as a thorn in his side, and he must have a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of my Northwest Army. ”

The night breeze blows, the stars twinkle, and in the night sky, an eagle passes over the pass, from west to east, proudly looking at the sky.

The two of them are naturally clear about the advantages and disadvantages of the Northwest Army, and there is no need to talk about it deeply.

There is no doubt that looking at today, when it comes to the combat effectiveness of the Northwest Army, it is enough to fight with any army, and under the integration of Chu Huan and Pei Ji, the Northwest Army has turned the various armies in the Northwest into pieces, not only has an infantry corps that is brave and good at fighting, but also has an enviable and powerful cavalry corps.

The advantages of the Northwest Army are well known, but the disadvantages are equally known.

The land in the northwest is barren, and even the war has been torn apart, compared with the rest of the empire, the economy is extremely backward, and the property is also very poor, although Chu Huan has long begun to carry out economic transformation in the northwest, not only built a trading field outside the Yanmen Pass, opened up trade and trade with the people of the Western Liang, and created a new salt, which is one of the most important economic sources in the northwest, in addition, the implementation of the Juntian order, encourage production, and promote the economic and people's livelihood development in the northwest, but this qiē is short after all, It is undoubtedly impossible to change the barren status quo of the Northwest in just a few years.

On the other hand, the trade cities of the empire are mainly concentrated in the Central Plains, which has been accumulated after hundreds of years of precipitation, and its economic heritage is certainly not comparable to that of the northwest.

Chu Huan's money and food in his hands now can be said to be stretched, with the current financial capacity, it is undoubtedly a fool's dream to want to have a decisive battle with the forces in the Guannai, in the absence of strong economic support, the logistics are weak, even if the soldiers under his command are all one as ten, it is impossible to achieve the final victory.

On the other hand, the crown prince who has just ascended the throne as Emperor Dingwu has sufficient money and food, strong soldiers and horses, and his overall strength is far above Chu Huan.

Chu Huan knew very well in his heart that the northwest wanted to dominate the Central Plains, unless Shunshun lìli recuperated for ten or eight years, and then used the border trade and new salt trade to accumulate money and grain, hoard weapons, and recuperate, and at that time, maybe he could also send troops to the pass to give it a try, but time was running out, Chu Huan could not have such sufficient time, if the northwest was in a corner of peace and did not participate in the Central Plains disputes, then it would not be long before a force would stand out, whether it was the prince or Chi Liandian or other forces, once they swept through the pass, The next step will inevitably be to attack the northwest, and at that time, the northwest corner will not be able to compete at all.

Therefore, Chu Huan knew that when the world was in turmoil, if he didn't take the opportunity to make a move, what was waiting for him and the northwest could only be swallowed by the already extremely inflated enemy.

Chu Huan and Pei Ji are very clear about this in their hearts, knowing that the situation is like this, and they can't make their own decisions at all, as Pei Ji said, in this turbulent period in the world, if you work hard to move forward, you may not have no chance, but once you retreat, you can only sit and wait.

"The prince knows our weaknesses, and may already know how to deal with us." Chu Huan groaned slightly, and then said: "I think any opponent will not fight a decisive battle with us, knowing that we are short of logistics, as long as they hold on to the death and consume our food and grass, they will achieve the final victory, so we must not sit idly by." ”

Pei Ji said with a smile: "If the enemy is expected to be the first, there is already a fifty percent chance of victory, what the second brother said is that once we enter the customs, any opponent in the early stage of the war will choose to clear the wilderness and fortify the city, and will not start a decisive battle with us, so if we can't solve such a problem, it will inevitably become our biggest trouble in the future." ”

The moonlight was faint, and the two stood side by side, holding their hands behind their backs, looking into the distance.

Xu Shao summoned more than a dozen generals in the army, including partial generals, to hold a military meeting according to Pei Ji's instructions, and when Chu Huan and Pei Ji arrived at the scene, everyone was already waiting.

There were lamp stands in every corner of the house, and a few lamps were placed on the table, and it was bright all around, as if it were day.

On one wall, there is a map, which is the whole picture of the entire Great Qin Empire.

When Chu Huan came in, all the generals got up and saluted, Chu Huan smiled and waved his hand, signaling everyone to sit down, a long square table was placed in the wide room, this was the conference room of the Xigu Pass garrison in the past, more than ten generals sat down around the long table, it didn't look crowded at all, Pei Ji and Chu Huan sat at both ends of the long table, sitting opposite.

"This time, we have taken Xigu Pass, and the biggest crisis has been solved." Chu Huan put away his smile and said solemnly: "It's just that everyone is not happy, we laid down Xigu Pass in order to break the blockade of the northwest, although Xigu Pass was won, but this is not enough to ensure that the communication line between us and the pass is unimpeded." ”

The generals looked at each other, Chu Huan looked at Xuanyuan Shengcai, and asked, "Xuanyuan, how is Ye Jun doing now, has he woken up?" ”R1058