Everyone thought that Zhao Xi was worried that after a prolonged battle, the logistics support of the Guangnan Road would be inadequate.

  No one could have imagined that Zhao Xi was now searching in his mind... He searched the depths of his memory for a war with Annan.

  Lao Shan, Gao Ping, Lao Jie, these names keep appearing...

  (Apologies in advance for any inconvenience; the place names mentioned below are those inaccurate phonetic translations.)

  "Scholars, Sun Zhuan Yun, Xi is here to sincerely request from all of you, whether it be with money and grain or land, that you must collect 20,000 silver coins within three days, 10,000 will also do."

  "Have them wear the uniform of the national army and move about in this camp, creating the illusion that our troops are stationed here."

  Zhao Xi's words left everyone stunned. It was clear that the Crown Prince intended to withdraw the Western Army from the front lines...

  How can this be done? Both sides are in a standoff, and the king's troops have been withdrawn, once the war begins... it will be another Guangnan Rebellion.

  "Your Highness, this matter..."

  "Return the account and renegotiate!"

  The officials of Guangnan were frightened, and everyone could guess the intention of the Crown Prince. They were about to argue with His Highness on this watchtower.

  Yu Jing thought that he understood the Crown Prince very well. The Crown Prince was not a reckless person and would not abandon Guangnan to directly go on a western expedition against Dali.

  There is a map of the border on the table, and part of it is a sand table.

  In the midst of urgency, others might think that Prince Taizi is in a hurry to conquer Dali, but Di Qing doesn't think so. Di Qing seems to have understood Zhao Xi's idea and strokes his beard with some hesitation.

  It's too reckless! If it were him, even Yu Jing would have no choice but to engage in a fierce battle against the Annan Chen army.

  However, His Royal Highness is different, he has the power of decisive decision-making that all civil and military officials do not possess.

  Although adventurous, it has to be said that the probability of success is very high.

  If Your Highness's plan succeeds, the entire Guangnan will definitely enjoy a hundred years of peace. So, he just watched, not even noticing that the Crown Prince was preparing to overstep his authority and interfere with military affairs.

  "Gentlemen, Xi wants to ask, if the Li Dynasty of Annan intends to conquer Guangnan, will the troops they mobilize be marching from Th?ng Long Prefecture or recruited from nearby provinces?"

  Zhao Xi didn't think anyone would miss him going west, he just thought everyone didn't want the Western Army to leave the battlefield.

  "When marching out, there should be a small number of troops from Shenglong Prefecture who have marched here, and the majority should be assembled from the prefectures and counties."

  Yu Jing was very objective and didn't think like others who were puzzled, wondering what the prince's words had to do with the transfer of troops from the Western Army.

  "Yongping Stockade!"

  Zhao Xi pointed directly at the border on the map.

  "Annan border province has Langsong, Gaobang and Laoguai, as far as Taicheng. Now, Annan has deployed more than 30,000 troops on the border, which will inevitably lead to a vacuum in the defense of Langsong and other places..."

  At this time everyone understood Zhao Xi's meaning... a feint to the east and an attack on the west!

  Can't help but say, Your Highness... this is truly unpredictable and untraceable, just like the Wan Yin Mountain exercise, not playing by common sense at all.

  To be honest, as long as a man has a passionate side that cannot be avoided. The reason why the country is so afraid of war is actually because it was intimidated by war.

  The victory rate is not low, but the defeat is always tragic, with countless casualties. As a result, the country has a kind of anti-war ideology, which is actually an escape and a struggle to survive.

  This time the Western Army pacified the Guangnan Rebellion, with victory after victory. The Crown Prince drew a picture, letting these civil officials, especially those from Guangnan, seem to have seen the benefits of war.

  So when Zhao Xi finished speaking, everyone's eyes lit up.

  Everything is left to Zhao Xi's discretion, although the Anfu government only agreed to mobilize 10,000 western troops, at least they agreed on the strategy.

  As for who goes and who stays in the Western Army, that's Di Qing's business. However, Zhao Xi said that they must be skilled in rapid movement, throwing, and be relatively familiar with gunpowder projectiles.

  As for how the Pacification Commissioner's yamen coaxes people, Zhao Xie doesn't need to worry about it.

  It's just that you're smart, but it won't be much more than some money and land. Besides, Zhao Xi mentioned a few days ago that the idea of "ruling by one's own kind" and "teaching by social class" is not something that the Guangnan Pacification Office has not prepared for.

  It is said that after capturing many leaders in Guangyuan City, after being abandoned by Nong Zhigao, the country had some benefits and should be able to win over some Nong people's tribes.

  The entire Guangnan and Annan border, almost all of it is Xizhou, and Zhao Xi's tactics this time are clearly still a sneak attack. So, we still have to hide during the day and move at night.

  Even so, Zhao Xi still suggested dispersing the troops. Not to mention that there would be refugees fleeing to the mountains and forests due to the Guangnan Rebellion, let alone the indigenous people of this place, it's really impossible to determine their inclination. The closeness or distance between Annan and the imperial court in their hearts cannot be determined.

  Three days later, at midnight, more than 10,000 soldiers set out.

  Long-distance travel in Guangnan is not tiring. The deep mountains and ancient forests are accompanied by water, the flow of which is not rapid but rather calm and gentle, making it quite suitable for marching.

  Along the Zuo River, then turning into the Ming River, most of the way was downstream, much easier than when Zhao Xi and his men rushed from Yongzhou to Guangnan last time.

  More than 10,000 soldiers, even if they are marching in scattered groups, will inevitably encounter some mountain people hiding along the route of march... Living by mountains and waters is a habit of human residence.

  If no one had noticed, it would have been just a normal sleep, and the army would have quietly passed by.

  If it's really bad luck, at midnight, can't sleep, wandering around, and encountered the main force... That's really sorry.

  It was Zhao Xi who regarded them as children of the state, equally ruthless and merciless. All the soldiers who were chasing after him had the same idea in mind.

  A few or even dozens of mountain people can be ignored compared with the tens of thousands of soldiers, and compared with the hundred years of peace in Guangnan.

  Yongping Stockade, nominally a military outpost, is actually a mere formality.

  Every few years, Annan would have bandits raiding Guangnan, most of whom entered from Yongping Stockade.

  In addition, the place is also in Guangxi Province. Although it belongs to Yongzhou Left River Road, in fact, Yongzhou has never exercised management authority and responsibility over this place.

  So this military camp has nothing but a shape, not even a bit of the style of a military camp. If it weren't for the convenience of merchants coming and going to rest their feet, I estimate that it would have been abandoned long ago.

  As for the local chieftains, apart from setting up checkpoints and extorting some goods, they basically had no concept of defending their territory.

  At this time, Yongping Village suddenly surged with 10,000 soldiers...

  Zhao Xi hadn't even had time to give the order, yet in such a chaotic situation, merchants who dared to travel back and forth across the border between the two countries would lose their lives.

  The previous order has not been withdrawn, and it's no wonder that the soldiers are confused. However, Zhao Xue is quite regretful that there are still people who dare to do business at this time, and most of them should have some courage... unfortunately, they encountered war.

  As for the Tusi system's value of guarding... it was doomed from the start.

  "Your Highness, this battle is under your full command, so please don't shirk responsibility."

  Zhao Xi was still thinking about how to discuss this matter with Di Qing, when Di Qing had already handed over the command.

  Di Qing was clear, if it were a positive deployment of troops, the palace wouldn't be stronger than him. This kind of heavenly horse-like tactic, from the Wan Yin Mountain exercise, Di Qing understood that he was far inferior to the palace.