Chapter 800 Make a decision and then act

Now that the Central Plains has been conquered, the biggest problem facing Li Yun is the Khitans in Hebei Province and Youyan.

As long as the problems in Hebei Province are solved, there will be no more suspense. In the future, when we have time, we can solve the problems in Guanzhong and Bashu one by one.

If all of Li Yun’s current troops were to move into Hebei Province, the problem in Hebei Province would not be so difficult. However, there is still the Pinglu Army between Jiangdong and Hebei Province.

The Pinglu Army…is not an insignificant force; it can even be said that it is a very powerful force.

Although the Pinglu Army had actually surrendered to Li Yun, they were not incorporated into Li Yun’s army. Simply put, at this time they still obeyed the orders of Zhou’s father and son, rather than those of Li Yun.

Therefore, at this time, the Northern Expedition must consult Zhou Xu’s opinion.

Hearing Li Yun’s question, General Zhou lowered his head and drank a sip of tea. He smiled first, then said, “My dear brother, you are really impatient.”

Li Yun looked calm: “I have always been like this. Now my Jiangdong army is still on the front line and in the Central Plains. There are considerable expenses every day.”

“Besides, there is nothing to be shy about. We are brothers, so we can talk about whatever we want to say.”

“Well.”

Zhou Xu said slowly: “Let me tell you what I think.”

“Xiao Heng is a very ambitious guy. Up to now, his overall military strength has increased instead of decreased. It is estimated that it is close to 140,000 people now.”

“Moreover, he secretly made a promise with the Taiyuan Li family. This New Year, Xiao Heng… should be spending it in Taiyuan.”

Li Yun frowned slightly when he heard this, and then snorted: “The south of Fanyang Army is Qingzhou, and the north is Khitan. The south of Hedong Army is the Central Plains, and the north is a barren land.”

“Neither of them has any land to develop, and after they form an alliance, there will be no spoils to divide.”

“This cannot last forever.”

Zhou Xu looked at Li Yun and said with a smile: “They have nowhere to expand, but the threat posed by my brother is too great for them. Even if they want to help each other, they will stick together as long as Jiangdong becomes stronger.”

“So, the issue of Hebei Road has become a bit troublesome.”

Zhou Xu said softly: “According to the current intelligence, after the Khitans occupied Youyan, they have temporarily stopped moving southwards, but there is no guarantee that the Khitans will remain indifferent after the Hebei Road military action.”

“Once the Khitans finally get involved in this war.”

Zhou Xu looked at Li Yun and said, “Counting our two families, Hebei Province may end up being a huge battlefield with five families fighting each other and more than 300,000 soldiers.”

“It’s hard to say whether we can win this war, but once it starts, Hebei Province will probably be reduced to a scorched earth in no time.”

Li Yun said expressionlessly: “This battle in Hebei Province must be fought. If it is delayed, it will only get worse.”

“Brother, you should know what Hebei Province is like now. Let me tell you something unpleasant. The people in the prefectures and counties occupied by Xiao Heng may have a harder time than the people in Youyan who were occupied by the Khitans.”

“Moreover, the Xiao family father and son have bad intentions, and Xiao Xian’s death is unclear. We must settle all these matters with them one by one.”

General Zhou was silent for a while, then looked at Li Yun and said with a smile: “My dear brother, the Zhou family’s fortune and lives are all entrusted to you, Jiang Dong. No matter what the future holds, we will do whatever you say.”

Li Yun smiled and said, “Brother, this is too polite. The most I can do now is to borrow the passage from Qingzhou. What else can I do?”

“If I were to recruit the Pinglu Army, my brother would not agree.”

“Why don’t you agree?”

Zhou Xu looked at Li Yun and said seriously, “My son is in Hebei Province, working hand in hand with the Jiangdong Army. My grandson is with you, my brother, as your personal attendant.”

“The Zhou family has already united with Jiangdong, and there is no way out.”

He looked at Li Yun and said with a smile: “If you need to recruit the Pinglu Army, I will not object. I can even cooperate with you throughout the process.”

Li Yun looked at him and said nothing.

Zhou Xu had a serious look on his face, and he didn’t look like he was joking.

Mr. Li thought about it seriously, then said with a smile: “Let’s forget about reorganizing the army now, we still have to fight together.”

“But there is one attitude that I want to make clear to my brother.”

Li Yun said seriously: “The matter of Hebei Province is the most important matter in Jiangdong right now. I will start to solve this matter after the New Year.”

“We brothers should work together.”

Even without counting the part that Zhou Chang brought to Hebei Province, there are still at least 50,000 to 60,000 Pinglu troops in Qingzhou. The reorganization of so many people will take at least several months to half a year.

Moreover, after the reorganization, the combat effectiveness of the army will definitely fluctuate. Moreover, it is still hard to say what the Zhou family is thinking, and there is no need to rush to do this at this time.

Zhou Xu looked at Li Yun, thought for a moment, and asked, “To solve the problems in Hebei Province, we must work with Hedong Province together. If we deploy too many troops to Hebei Province, what will happen in the Central Plains…”

Li Yun looked calm: “Next year, under the premise of ensuring the stability of the Central Plains, I can gradually withdraw 100,000 troops and send them to Hebei Province. Together with the troops of the Pinglu Army, it will be enough.”

Zhou Xu nodded silently after hearing this and said, “In this case, it won’t be too difficult to pacify Hebei Province and Hedong Province. After all, these two families are a little weak now, but…”

He looked at Li Yun and said, “It may be difficult to get Youyan back.”

“It’s hard to get it back.”

The smile on Li’s face had disappeared. He said slowly, “If we don’t take back Youyan, it will be like leaving the door wide open. In the future, people can come and go as they please.”

“Our generation or two may be able to survive without any harm, but over time, it will become a huge hidden danger.”

Li Yun looked at Zhou Xu, his voice extremely firm.

“No matter how hard it takes, I will take control of this gate again!”

…………

That day, Li Yun discussed with Zhou Xu for a long time, almost an hour, before letting Zhou Luo take Zhou Xu downstairs to rest and wait for the welcoming banquet in the evening.

After Zhou Xu was asked to leave, Li Yun quickly had Zhou Liang and Li Zheng invited to the palace.

They are all family, so Li Yun met them in his study. After they greeted each other, Li asked them to sit down.

The tea beside the seat had been poured. Li Yun looked at the two people and said without further ado, “You should have known about General Zhou’s visit to Nanjing. After the New Year, the focus of our Jiangdong will be on the north, on Hebei Road.”

“I might go to watch this battle, but I probably won’t be there for the entire thing.”

At this stage, it was a foregone conclusion that Li Yun would found a new country. The only differences were the size of the territory, legitimacy, and local situations.

In this situation, there were many things for him to do and prepare for, and it was impossible for him to go to the battlefield in person as before.

Moreover, in the past two years, Li Yun has acquired a large amount of land, and many places have not yet had time to take over these lands.

In the coming year, he will have to focus part of his attention on these matters and is unlikely to lead the army in person again.

In fact, most of the command work on the front line is now done by a few main generals. The biggest difference when Li Yun goes to the front line is the morale of the troops.

As he spoke, Li Yun looked at Li Zheng and Zhou Liang, and said slowly: “Uncle San, Li Zheng, after the New Year, I think you will all go to the north and work with General Su to get things done in Hebei Province for me.”

Zhou Liang and Li Zheng immediately bowed their heads and saluted: “As you command!”

Li Yun nodded, spoke a few more words to them, and then said, “Uncle San, let Zhou Bi follow you to Hebei Road to train. In a few years, I plan to make great use of him.”

Zhou Liang bowed his head immediately after hearing this: “I obey your command.”

Li Yun didn’t look up, but knocked on the table and said, “Now, I’ll assign you tasks.”

“As the new year begins, Third Uncle’s most important task is to ensure the transportation of troops and the logistical support of the entire northern line. When the time comes, I will ask Xue Fang to cooperate with Third Uncle.”

Zhou Liang immediately bowed his head and saluted: “I obey your command!”

Li Yun nodded, looked at Li Zheng again, and said, “Brother, you should cooperate with General Su and help him mobilize troops for battle.”

“General Gongsun, you should also take him to the north. This time we need to cooperate with the Pinglu Army. He is familiar with the Pinglu Army and can help.”

Li Zheng also bowed his head.

“Yes, second brother.”

Li Yun stood up, stretched his muscles, and then said with a smile: “Zhou Xu has arrived in Jinling. You should go find him more often in the next few days and work with him to finalize the specific regulations and hand them over to me.”

The two nodded again.

Li Yun nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile: “Let’s go, the welcoming banquet is ready, the three of us will go together to welcome General Zhou.”

The two of them looked at each other, then looked at Li Yun, and bowed their heads and clasped their fists in front of Li Yun.

“As ordered!”

(End of this chapter)