Chapter 1092: Tactical Master

The war situation.

It remains in a state of stalemate.

Everyone inside the Han Wang Fu is waiting, one by one, for war reports from all over the country.

Xie Ping has rebelled!

Xiao Qian has fallen into a predicament!

Kuye Island has actually been held once again!

But...

Those who went to reinforce Kuye Island this time were nothing more than a group of heroes and madmen without military training! At the beginning, they frightened the Russian Army, but when the Russian Army reacted, what then? How long could they hold out?

Everyone is worried.

Everyone is pondering.

Everyone is inquiring...

Being "locked up for so long" by this Vice Minister Liu here, it is impossible for these Feudatory Kings to have no opinions in their hearts. They wish they could tear this Vice Minister Liu into ten thousand pieces, then return to their own territories and, just like that Xie Ping, raise an army to rebel! Because they know that Xie Tianyao is already dead.

Yet they dare not.

More and more Duqi and Duwei have begun to surround the Han Wang Fu.

The entire Jinghua is actually filled with a tense atmosphere.

As Xie Ping's Declaration of War spreads throughout the world, the common people are also discussing among themselves: has the Emperor truly passed away? If he has passed away, then what is the situation now? Is it Vice Minister Liu who holds sole power, placing all the great figures of Longyan under house arrest? But...

How does he dare!

Does he intend to use the strength of Liangzhou alone to oppose the entire country?

These Feudatory Kings all hold heavy troops in their hands; if they were to order their troops at this time not to provide support, or to rush to Jinghua to protect the throne... wouldn't this Liu Zheng be in for a world of trouble?

What they do not know is.

They truly dare not.

They really dare not.

This Vice Minister Liu's intelligence system is simply too perfect, too flawless, too terrifying. At every moment, he seems to grasp the movements of anyone, anywhere, in the entire Longyan... I fear that if their troops had even the slightest change in direction, these kings would likely die right here before they could even come to protect the throne.

Of course.

Despite this, they still believe that Vice Minister Liu is too radical this time!

Sure enough.

On this very day, news arrived that shocked the entire Longyan and caused an uproar throughout the land.

Balkhash Lake, defeated!

The Russian Army led by Rumyantsev dealt a devastating blow to the defending Longyan garrison in the very first round! General Wang Feng was killed in action on the spot! In this surprise attack, Longyan lost eighty thousand garrison troops directly!

Eighty thousand!

Once this news arrived, everyone's complexion changed.

Balkhash Lake, just like that, was lost!

Even before people could take their eyes off Kuye Island and look over here, they had already been directly defeated!

"This..."

"My God!"

"Lost?"

"Just like that, lost?"

"Vice Minister Liu, what is to be done!"

A group of Feudatory Kings also exploded, their expressions changing one after another.

Liu Zheng also frowned slightly.

Defeated?

So quickly?

It seems this Rumyantsev is truly not a man of empty reputation. It was his own underestimation of the enemy.

"Vice Minister Liu, you must take responsibility for this defeat!"

The Prince of Yan finally seized the handle to attack Liu Zheng at this moment, suddenly standing up and pointing at him angrily, his face full of fury.

When the other Feudatory Kings heard this, good heavens, that's right!

This Balkhash Lake was the responsibility of Liu Zheng! It was the Western Regions Army stationed there! To lose it at the very first encounter like this is equivalent to directly opening the Northwest gateway of Longyan to the Russians. When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact; these people all became anxious.

"Vice Minister Liu... given the current situation, you should let us go back to fight the Russians together! Only by this path can Longyan be kept safe!"

"Vice Minister Liu! You cannot remain obsessed!"

"Vice Minister Liu, you must not ruin Longyan!"

A group of people, some cursing, some persuading, and some at a loss.

The Prince of Qin and Zhu Zhen were two who did not know how to choose.

It was clear that Vice Minister Liu's Private Ownership was about to be implemented... who would have thought that Balkhash Lake would fail to hold. This is laughable. A mere Kuye Island, a group of people without military status, fought to the death to hold Kuye Island, yet your one hundred thousand-strong army at Balkhash Lake could not hold for even a day?

Too weak!

Too pathetic!

"Vice Minister Liu, why not..."

Zhu Zhen finally could not help but offer a word of advice.

After all, this is a matter concerning the entire Longyan. If Liu Zheng continues to keep these people under house arrest in such a situation, and the battlefield continues to suffer losses, it would truly be indefensible.

"No rush."

Facing the pressure from so many people, Liu Zheng said calmly.

Everyone's expression changed drastically.

"What did you say?"

"How preposterous!"

"Things have reached this point, and you're still not anxious!"

"Liu Zheng, are you even a Longyan person anymore!"

"I'm starting to suspect now that this Tsarist Russia Army was brought in by you!"

The words became increasingly vicious, and the suspicions grew heavier.

Liu Zheng still shook his head and said, "Not anxious, can you shut up?"

He coldly swept his gaze around the circle.

The group of people was furious.

A mere Vice Minister telling us to shut up! If not for the current situation, this Vice Minister Liu would have died countless times already!

Liu Zheng took a deep breath, too lazy to bother with this bunch of useless people.

He began to read the battle report carefully.

He had not expected Balkhash Lake to be lost so quickly; it caught him off guard.

After all, it was guarded by heavy troops.

Liu Zheng knew that Wang Feng's command ability might not be that excellent, so he had immediately sent Zou Sheng to provide reinforcements, but three days before Zou Sheng could reach Balkhash Lake, he had already lost the place...

A headache.

It truly gave him a bit of a headache.

He had originally thought that if Balkhash Lake were secure, he could free up his hands to deal with the Tsarist Russia navy and stir up trouble over at Kuye Island.

But at this moment...

All of a sudden, the situation had become chaotic again.

Fortunately.

In Liu Zheng's eyes, the strategic importance of Balkhash Lake still did not compare to Kuye Island. Because if Kuye Island were lost, his entire Liaodong would be gone. But Balkhash Lake was not at that point; first, there were still many Western Regions troops at Balkhash Lake, and they could engage in all sorts of maneuvering against Rumyantsev at Balkhash at any time.

Second, the geographical location and regional characteristics of the entire Western Regions destined that the Tsarist Russia Army could not drive straight in; once they drove straight in, they would easily fall into a predicament in the Western Regions.

Although passive, it was not enough to affect the overall situation.

Thinking of this, he continued to look at the battle report.

Looking at it this way, he could see the gap between little foxes like Wang Feng and Zou Sheng.

Rumyantsev was indeed a very strong tactical master.

He made use of those powerful figures within Balkhash Lake who had defected to Tsarist Russia. Of course, it wasn't simply having them help him; it wasn't just a simple case of collusion from within and without.

He went to the other extreme.