Zhao Haiping's riding whip stunned the eunuch, and also made the goateeed veteran a little confused.

Even the guards around him were a little confused.

The two guards looked at each other, both unsure whether to take the eunuch away.

Zhao Haiping couldn't help but frown: "Why, I can't speak well?"

The guard looked troubled: "Your Majesty, this is Eunuch Liu..."

Zhao Haiping glanced at him: "Drag him down and kill him! If he says one more thing, you will also die together."

The two guards couldn't help but turn pale with shock, but then they showed some expressions of joy on their faces and stepped forward to twist Eunuch Liu off.

Zhao Haiping frowned slightly and fell into deep thought.

It seems something is wrong with the imperial chariot's personal expedition this time.

Zhao Haiping had a vague feeling like this when the urgent military intelligence report was delivered before, and many details later provided him with the opportunity to further confirm his guess.

The urgent report said that the Northern Barbarians had already broken through the important town of Xuanningwei. If the army continued to move forward, it was very likely that they would run into the Northern Barbarians' elite cavalry.

But the problem is that this was during the reign of Taizu Sheng.

How could the Northern Barbarians be so arrogant?

Before Sheng Taizu decided to go on a personal expedition, he had already sent several famous generals to drive the Northern Barbarians out of the Great Wall through successive years of campaigns. The purpose of this personal expedition was not to resist the invasion of the Northern Barbarians, but to chase them out of Mobei and drive the Northern Barbarians out of the Great Wall.

The barbarians were severely damaged and disabled, thereby fighting for decades of peace in the northern Xinjiang of Dasheng Dynasty.

In other words, Dasheng Chao is the one who takes the initiative.

At that time, the Northern Barbarian army had only two choices when encountering the army of the Great Sheng Dynasty: one was to flee to Mobei, keep retreating, and trade space for fighters. After the Sheng army penetrated deep into the grassland and was exhausted, they could then launch an ambush to win.

The second was to abandon the cattle and sheep and run away directly, running so far away that Sheng Jun could not find him.

The Duke of Qi was previously sent to attack the Northern Barbarians, and the Northern Barbarians adopted the first method.

So now, the Northern Barbarians have taken advantage of the courage of the bear and the leopard, so why should they take the initiative to invade the border of Dasheng Dynasty?

And not only did they invade, but they also captured Xuanningwei, an important town in the north, at extremely fast speeds?

It's cheating, right?

This military situation was already outrageous, and what happened next was even more outrageous.

Why did this eunuch dare to interrupt when the emperor and the generals were discussing military and state affairs? Moreover, the emperor hadn't even spoken yet, and he had already started talking.

It's like it's not the emperor who has the final say here, but him.

This is really unimaginable.

The occurrence of this situation can only mean that the emperor's power has been neglected for a long time. This Eunuch Liu has been tested again and again, knowing that the emperor will support him, and he knows that no matter how public he is, the emperor will not be angry, so he dares to do this.

And what the veteran said also revealed something wrong.

The veteran general said that Sheng's army was poorly prepared for this trip and was short of food and fodder. Moreover, many transport vehicles had not arrived, other armies had not yet been able to join together, and the soldiers who had been marching for many days also lacked rest...

If this statement is true, it can only mean that the initial preparations for this expedition were not done well.

Why was there insufficient food and grass? Why was the march in chaos?

Is this a problem Sheng Taizu would encounter when he was on his own expedition?

Sheng Taizu's military ability ranks among the top three emperors in the past dynasties. In this era, he can be said to be invincible in the world. How could he make such a low-level mistake?

Therefore, the only possibility is that the personal expedition played by Zhao Haiping did not follow the real script in history at all.

But it has been distorted and tampered with!

Such a scene reminded Zhao Haiping of the imperial conquest that was unprecedented in the world during the Great Sheng Dynasty.

I originally thought that there would be no difficult challenges before leaving the northern border of Dasheng Dynasty and going deep into Mobei, but now it seems that the real test has begun.

Thinking of this, Zhao Haiping looked far ahead.

Xuanningwei is not very far away from here, but it is impossible to see the Northern Barbarian cavalry with the naked eye at this time.

By the time it becomes visible to the naked eye, it will be too late.

Zhao Haiping looked at a small river in front of him and asked the goatee-bearded veteran: "Where is a suitable place to camp nearby?"

The veteran hurriedly replied: "Reporting to your Majesty, there are two places here that are suitable for camping. One is Huaishi Ridge and the other is Sangyuan River.

"The terrain of Huaishi Ridge is relatively steep, which can play a certain role in blocking the Northern Barbarian cavalry. Once the camp is set up, the possibility of defending it is also very high. However, the danger here lies in the water source. Although there is spring water, it may not be able to supply two

One hundred thousand people drank it.

“However, it is also possible to dig a well in the ground to obtain water.

"The other place is the Sangyuan River. It is easy to get water close to the river. However, because the terrain is flat and has an unobstructed view, even if fortifications are built in a hurry, it may not be able to stop the Northern Barbarian army."

Zhao Haiping thought for a moment: "Send the order and set up camp at the Sangyuan River and wait for the other armies to join together!"

Zhao Haiping himself can figure out this very basic issue.

Now, there are only three options in front of Sheng Jun: first, rush directly to fight with the Northern Barbarian army; second, camp on the spot and wait for other armies to join together; third, retreat and withdraw to the nearest stronghold to guard.

The first method is obviously nonsense. The enemy's situation is not yet clear, and it is likely that he is giving away the enemy.

The third method seems safe, but in fact there will be many problems during the operation.

Now that the Northern Barbarian cavalry has broken through the important military town ahead, it means that the cavalry troops can basically be regarded as having an unimpeded path and may attack at any time.

It is even possible that the sentinels sent by the Northern Barbarians have already locked the location of this powerful army.

Retreating at this time is even more difficult than Gao Yi's change of formation encountered in the cavalry trial.

Changes in formation were extremely risky in ancient times, and an accident could cause the entire army to collapse.

Once the order to retreat is given, the soldiers at the bottom do not know the specific thoughts of the generals above, and will have a lot of room for imagination. They may think that the front line has been defeated, or that there is a major problem in the army, or even that

The emperor died...

These speculations will greatly damage the morale of the soldiers. The further they retreat, the harder the blow to morale will be.

If the Northern Barbarian cavalry caught up before retreating to their stronghold, it would be a one-sided massacre, and it would be almost impossible for Sheng's army to resist.

Therefore, the only option at this time was to camp and hold on to withstand the attack of the Northern Barbarian cavalry.

When other reinforcements arrive and surround us from inside and outside, the problem will naturally be solved.

Of course, this was a decision made by Zhao Haiping with absolute rationality. For some emperors who had no military knowledge and were not rational enough, they would probably not make such a decision, but would choose to escape.

After all, the emperor was not sure whether his soldiers could stop the Northern Barbarian cavalry. What if they stayed in place and were cut down?

As long as he escapes back, the emperor will continue to be emperor, so what if he loses his army? If he can't escape, then there will be nothing.

Fortunately, Zhao Haiping can maintain absolute rationality and is not ignorant of military matters.

As for the choice of camp location, Zhao Haiping did not think about it for too long.

Although Huaishi Ridge has a higher terrain and can occupy some terrain advantages when fighting the Northern Barbarian cavalry, in the final analysis it is just a passive defense.

What's more, if the water source problem is not solved, it will be in vain.

Even if we can dig the ground and dig a well, what if there is no water? The terrain here is relatively high, so the possibility of no water is very high.

Camping here is tantamount to leaving the fate of this army to God's will.

If such a decision is really made, there are only two possibilities: one is that he believes that he is the son of destiny and is superstitious to the extreme; the other is that he is too afraid of the Northern Barbarian cavalry and does not believe that he can fight the Northern Barbarian cavalry on flat ground.

Therefore, Zhao Haiping chose Sang Yuanhe after only a moment of consideration.

If we are stationed here, at least there will be no problem with the water source.

As for how to deal with the Northern Barbarian cavalry in open terrain?

Of course, Zhao Haiping did not intend to defend passively like this. He suffered so much in the cavalry trial not just to be a grandson here.

Hearing Zhao Haiping's arrangement, the veteran goatee breathed a sigh of relief and immediately sent an order to set up camp.

Zhao Haiping, on the other hand, rode a war horse and came to patrol the military formation.

Some generals were a little frightened and hurried to follow.

The emperor's war horse was of course the best horse that could be found at that time. Although Zhao Haiping felt a little worse when riding it than Chiji, it was still almost the same. Especially with a high-bridge saddle and stirrups, it was easy to ride.

Able to achieve a state of unity between man and horse.

And what surprised Zhao Haiping was that he was controlling the body of Sheng Taizu in his prime, about fifty years old.

And this body's condition is actually full of strength, not inferior to any first-rate general.

It can be seen that Sheng Taizu was indeed gifted. He was able to survive the Great Famine as a child, and later worked as a model worker until he died in his seventies. His body was indeed made of iron.

Zhao Haiping came to a high place and while watching Sheng's army camp beside the Sangyuan River, he asked: "How many cavalry are there in the army at this time? How is the distribution of troops between the enemy and ourselves?"

A general quickly replied: "Your Majesty, according to the latest military report analysis, the Northern Barbarian Army is divided into three groups, with at least one hundred thousand soldiers, of which about 20,000 are well-armored cavalry, and they also carry a large number of

cattle and sheep;

"And our army has 140,000 combat soldiers and 80,000 auxiliary troops. Among them, there are 50,000 elite cavalry, led by Li Kezhong and Dingyuan Marquis Zhang Yong. In addition, there are two large armies coming."

Zhao Haiping felt a lot more at ease.
To be continued...