Chapter 723: Northern Unification

"This is for you." Zhao Xu gave Xu Lie a look.

Just like Liu Fu and Yang He, he also gave Chang Wei and Yang Feng a booklet.

On it was the content of the deep reforms he had spoken of.

After all, the short time between now and the launch of the Steamship was a rare window of opportunity, very suitable for reform.

Previously, he had wanted to make major moves, but due to the entanglements of war, it was inconvenient.

This time, in addition to changes in the titles of general positions, the booklet also required Yang Feng and Chang Wei to establish a Staff Department.

Its main tasks were to carry out the instructions of generals, collect and provide battlefield intelligence, and in peacetime, manage the replacement of military equipment, as well as military training and administration.

In the contemporary Napoleonic era, a general staff appeared, whose duties were equivalent to a military strategist, responsible for providing operational advice to generals.

Most importantly, this was a regularization of the military.

Modern armies defeat feudal armies not only through firearms, but also through excellent military systems.

The morning court session lasted until noon.

After discussing many detailed precautions with the officials and generals, Zhao Xu let everyone disperse.

They exited the Prince's Mansion.

Chang Wei asked Liu Fu mysteriously, "I heard His Highness is getting married? Is it the granddaughter of the Duke of Yi?"

"That is the case. His Highness has exhausted his heart and energy for Yanzhou and is still unmarried at twenty, while other Imperial Princes are already married at fifteen or sixteen. Now that His Highness has finally met a good match, it truly settles a worry for us." Liu Fu crossed his arms, his mouth full of smiles.

Chang Wei nodded, "Indeed, but it is truly a pity, I returned a step too late..."

Hearing this, Liu Fu looked at the serious-faced Chang Wei and suddenly slapped his shoulder hard, "You wouldn't want your daughter to marry His Highness, would you? I remember your daughter is not even ten years old this year."

"So what? She can be a child bride." Chang Wei glanced sideways at Liu Fu.

"Hahaha..." Liu Fu could not help but laugh out loud, "Forget it, with your daughter looking eighty percent like you, if she really married His Highness, when His Highness got up in the middle of the night, he would think he was sleeping with you."

"You rotten-tongued man, I must beat you up today." Hearing this, Chang Wei jumped and cursed, rolling up his sleeves to fight.

Liu Fu took two steps in one, arriving at Yang Feng's side, and gave Chang Wei a provocative look.

It meant that if he dared to make a move, he would leak his words to the Duke of Yi.

Seeing this, Chang Wei had to sullenly withdraw his hand.

He did not want to provoke this old general.

Furthermore, he only regretted that he did not have a daughter as well-read, talented, and beautiful as Yang Zhen.

Otherwise, he would really want to compete.

He returned to the North Camp General's Mansion.

He and Yang Feng flipped through the booklet given to them by the Yan Wang, preparing for the upcoming reorganization of the Prince's Personal Army.

At the same time, they ordered Qin Shan and Guan Tong in Yangcheng to lead their troops toward Xiangcheng to wipe out the power of the clans in Jiangbei.

Jingzhou is a thoroughfare of the Nine Provinces,

and is adjacent to Bozhou.

Qin Shan and Guan Tong set out from Yangcheng and only needed to cross Bozhou to reach the territory of Jingzhou, a distance of only over three hundred li.

After five days of trekking, Qin Shan and Guan Tong led an army of over eighty thousand to arrive.

Originally, they had fifteen thousand troops crossing the river, with Lv Chang taking away thirty thousand and thirty thousand remaining in Yangcheng.

They also suffered some casualties fighting from Qizhou to Yangcheng.

This was the only number they could bring.

Jingzhou.

Xiangcheng.

Another Prince's Army came from the east, and this news reached Xiangcheng immediately.

Imperial Palace.

After a brief hesitation, Dou Wei said to Dou Mu, "Your Majesty, the three clans have crossed the river and are now confronting the Yan Wang across the Jiujiang, which allows the Yan Wang to withdraw most of his troops to focus on dealing with our Southern Liang."

Dou Mu's face was pale; during this period, the rapidly deteriorating situation kept him awake every night.

Xiao Cheng returned to Xiangcheng from Qizhou, and Ma Han's troops retreated northward, returning to Wuguan.

But if Xiao Cheng's army and the Northern Di cavalry showed any signs of leaving, they would kill their way back again.

This kept the Southern Liang army and the Northern Di cavalry unable to move.

This resulted in them being unable to provide support to the other three clans.

Now, they in Southern Liang were afraid of being branded with the infamy of treachery once again.

Clans like the Xie Family would never trust them again.

Therefore, they would certainly not offer help for the current crisis of Southern Liang.

"The three clans are not the Yan Wang's match, I fear our Southern Liang will be unable to stand alone. If the Ma Family's troops and this Yan King Army coming from the east attack from both the east and the north, I fear the fall of Xiangcheng is imminent." Dou Mu looked dejected.

This period of time was enough for them to witness the power of the Ma Family's troops.

The firearms used by these Ma Family soldiers had long range and great power.

Their soldiers fighting against them were purely throwing their lives away.

After the Northern Di cavalry returned to Xiangcheng, they had attempted to encircle and annihilate the Ma Family Army.

But after encountering the opponent's Hollow Square Formation and leaving behind thousands of corpses, they never dared to attack rashly again.

According to the Northern Di cavalry's reaction, the Ma Family troops could shoot and kill their cavalry from two hundred meters away.

And the opponent's Bullets were as precise as bows and arrows.

Two hundred meters, this was a distance they could not believe, let alone such precision.

This, in the end, destroyed their confidence.

However, before the three great clans moved south, they still harbored hopes of luck.

They hoped Liang Kai would take action and join the three clans to defeat Yan Wang.

But the actual situation was that the three great clans moved south, and Wu seized the opportunity to attack Xiangzhou, leaving his Southern Liang beset by enemies on both sides.

There was no longer any place for his Dou Family to stand in Jiangnan.

"Therefore, before our Dou Family's troops are lost at the hands of Yan Wang's army, we should act decisively and retreat to Yizhou, relying on the natural barrier of Yizhou, where one man can hold the pass against ten thousand, to resist Yan Wang," Dou Wei advised. "Otherwise, without troops, how could we suppress the Xiao Family once we go to Yizhou?"

Dou Mu nodded; from the very beginning, their strategy had been to preserve the Dou Family's troops.

This was the Dou Family's capital and the foundation upon which Southern Liang's continued existence depended.

"Since that is the case, we should retreat to Yizhou now, before the Yanzhou army reaches Xiangcheng, but if we do this, the entire Jiangbei will fall into the hands of Yan Wang," Dou Mu said with a pained expression.

He desperately wanted to surpass Yan Wang, but he faced the cruel reality time and again, and his heart was filled with anxiety.

Dou Wei patted Dou Mu on the shoulder. "Your Majesty, as long as the green hills remain, there is no need to worry about firewood. Yizhou has been known since ancient times as the Land of Abundance; it is easy to defend and difficult to attack. As long as we manage it with care, it will be ten times better than Jingzhou, so there is no need to regret it."

After a pause, he continued: "Furthermore, the Northern Di are currently attacking Tibet. Once we go to Yizhou, we can rely on the Northern Di in the future, and it will not be too late to retake Jingzhou once we have recovered our strength."

Dou Mu nodded slightly.

Having settled the matter, Dou Mu formally issued the order to move the Du to Yizhou.

Immediately, they left behind a portion of their troops to garrison Xiangcheng and cover their retreat, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers marched in a grand procession out of the Nanmen of Xiangcheng, heading toward Yizhou.