"Please give me a soldier and horse. I will go to war immediately and take Handan!" Wang Meng asked the emperor for battle with full confidence.

"I am willing to lead the troops south and fight to the death with the pseudo-Emperor Liu Xiu!" Tian Wuji was not willing to be outdone, so he stood up and asked for his orders firmly.

Looking at the two generals full of fighting spirit, Liu Yu shook his head and said, "There is no hurry to go south. Now the important thing is defense, and the key to defense is food."

Wang Meng and Tian Wuji couldn't help but be stunned. In their opinion, the situation is very good now, and the soldiers are in high spirits. They should take advantage of the victory and go south to fight directly to Handan. Why is the emperor so conservative that he actually defends on the spot?

Seeing them confused, the emperor smiled slightly and said, "Liu Xiu's army is just south. Are you going to face him in front of him and fight against him?"

Wang Meng said: "Your Majesty, our army has won a new victory and its morale is like a rainbow. Shouldn't we make a big move and see a clear understanding with Liu Xiu?"

Tian Wuji also said: "If you can defeat Liu Xiu in one battle and let the people of the world see the strength and weakness clearly, the heroes of Kanto will abandon the darkness and turn to the light, and swarm to your Majesty, and you can achieve your full success in one fell swoop!"

The emperor said: "You are right. If you can defeat Liu Xiu, the overall situation in Kanto can be determined, but what if you lose? Maybe we will be driven back west of Taihang Mountain, and the results we have finally achieved will be lost in one go."

"Your Majesty, since our army was unearthed, it has never been defeated. The soldiers are very energetic, everyone is brave and strives for the first place. With such morale, how can they be defeated? Your Majesty must not miss the opportunity... Your Majesty, I am willing to make a military decision. If I suffer a defeat, I am willing to lead the military law and let Your Majesty deal with it!"

Wang Meng said it very directly, just like saying things like the emperor is too brave.

He didn't understand why the emperor, who had always been energetic and confident, suddenly became cautious when victory was right in front of him, and was so worried about gains and losses.

Although Tian Wuji didn't speak, his thoughts seemed to be similar to those of Wang Meng.

"It seems that our army is very strong and can fight to the end. We can make a decisive battle. But in my opinion, this is a very dangerous idea."

Liu Yu looked calm and said, "Who do you think of Liu Xiu as? Are you a mediocre general like Fu Jun? Is he an emperor who will be scared away by a powerful enemy? Wrong! A big mistake! In Kunyang, he was an invincible brave general who led thousands of people to attack a hundred times the enemy and won the battle. He was a hero who rode alone into Hebei and almost defeated the country with one force. His situation back then was a lot worse than now, and he could still survive and turn defeat into victory. Now he still has thousands of troops under his command, how can he sit and wait for death? The dying attack of a beast will definitely be particularly fierce. Our army is like a rainbow, and the enemy has the courage to die. Liu Xiu personally led the army to attack, just to take advantage of our army's foothold and decide the outcome in one battle. Liu Xiu wanted to fight with me."

Liu Yu's eyes swept across the minister's face one by one, and said word by word: "Whoever dares to underestimate Liu Xiu will pay the price for it."

"Although Liu Xiu is good at fighting, our army has not necessarily lost. Although the outcome is unpredictable, our army can fight. What's the terrible thing?" Wang Meng was still dissatisfied.

"You are right, the outcome of this battle is unpredictable, and both sides have a chance... Liu Xiu wants this 50% chance of victory." The emperor stood up, and the ministers also stood up, watching him pace back and forth.

"But, I don't want to give him this opportunity, nor do I want this opportunity to win or lose. What I want is a sure win!"

Liu Yu stopped and said, "Our army was unearthed for a few days. Zhending and Changshan heroes who received the news have responded in groups, so that our army would occupy most of the two counties without spending more weapons. If the news that I have arrived in Hebei spread throughout Guandong, then the heroes of Guandong will come to surrender voluntarily like Zhending and Changshan. What I want is that they will come to surrender spontaneously, and what I want is that they will win without fighting. This is the safest, most labor-saving and most cost-effective way to win. Therefore, what we need is patience, what we want is that the news spreads throughout Guandong, we have to wait for them to fight in the internal struggle, and wait for Liu Xiu's country to collapse automatically. Therefore, Liu Xiu wants to fight urgently, but I insist on not fighting."

Liu Yu paused for a moment and said, "Our army went south and fought against him, which was exactly what Liu Xiu wanted. I and Liu Xiu were like two chess players, who took action according to the opponent's move. If one of the moves was exactly the same as the other's wishes, it would definitely not be a trick... Maybe it was a defeat that failed!"

Tian Wuji asked, "Dare you ask your Majesty, how should you defend?"

"It's very simple. Consolidate the occupied territory, prepare enough military rations, rely on the city, and wait for Liu Xiu to attack, so that he can compete with the city walls. If he fights in a field, he may decide the winner in one day. However, with these four walls, Liu Xiu will take at least a few days to go to each city. Even if he can fight, he can fight one city after another, can his rear give him this time? Once the news of my in Hebei spreads, not only the counties, but also the blood-baked Handan, may rebel again. By then, Liu Xiu cannot advance, and cannot retreat... That is the real desperate situation."

Wang Meng's face, which was excited and red just now, gradually dimming. The way the emperor said sounded quite reasonable, but it made him somewhat unimpressed. Young people with heroic plots wanted to decide the outcome in a fierce way. How could the decisive battle in the battle to defend the city come in a happy battle?

However, the emperor had made a decision to consolidate the urban defenses of important towns such as Mianman, Shiyi, Zhending, and Feilei, protect the Jingxing transportation line, raise military rations locally, and stay in the city to actively prepare for war.

However, the emperor did not just defend. He sent several partial troops, not to go south, but to advance north and east. Thousands of partial troops to the north were trying to pass through Zhongshan Kingdom and meet with Geng Yan's troops who went south from Zhuo County.

The emperor gave Tian Wuji ten thousand elite soldiers and ordered him to advance eastward from Zhending, cross Julu, Xindu, Hejian, Bohai and other counties and countries, and fight to the East China Sea, striving to intersect and cut off again on half of Liu Xiu's country that had been cut off in half. He believed that these teams would burn a prairie fire in Hebei like Mars.

The emperor himself was in charge of Zhending and was waiting for Liu Xiu to attack.

Liu Yu was not short of soldiers. He brought out more than 60,000 people from Jingxing. In addition to the partial divisions that divided the troops, the troops were still quite considerable. The number of local people and horses surrendered to him was quite large. Although his combat effectiveness was far less than that of the Yulin Army he personally ruled, it was enough to keep the city guarding.

For Liu Yu, military and horses are not a problem, and what is more important than people is food.

Zhendingchangshan and other places are near Jingxing, and have always been the front line. There are surplus grains in the treasury. Although Liu Yu received them all, tens of thousands of troops rushed into the sky, and the food and grass were inevitably stretched.

Although the ministers suggested collecting grain in the local area, Liu Yu refused without hesitation. Not only did he refuse to collect grain, he also immediately announced that he would implement the policy of establishing the Shihan Han Dynasty and exempting the newly occupied area for two years. This decree was warmly welcomed by the local people.

Due to the endless war between the Han Dynasty, the court collected grain several times, and Hebei, a wealthy land, was no longer rich. Otherwise, there would not be so many refugees. Ordinary people were full of food and hoped that they could provide surplus grain to the army?

Liu Yu did not subjectively want to increase the burden on the people. When he first arrived in Hebei, the first important thing was to win the hearts of the people and show the kindness of the Jianshi Emperor, so that the people of Hebei realized the difference between the Chang'an court and the Handan court and were willing to follow him. Liu Yu believed that in the battlefield of winning the hearts of the people, he would definitely defeat Liu Xiu, and the importance of this battlefield was no less than that of the front battlefield.

As for the required food, Liu Yu's way of raising it is to borrow food from local tyrants.

The powerful occupied more land, but due to various privileges, they were less burdened than ordinary people. They were almost the only class with surplus food in their families, and were not surprisingly worried by Liu Yu.

Although it was said that it was voluntary borrowing of grain, the powerful people knew the importance of this, which was equivalent to the protection fee collected by the new boss. It was their letter of replacing the family. Even if they were forced, they could not refuse. Moreover, the emperor clearly stated that it would be borrowed and would have to pay it back in the future.

Regarding Tian Wuji who was expeditioning the Eastern Expedition, the emperor repeatedly reminded his army to be "unintentional" and to let the people of Hebei see what the real king's army is. Only in this way can the people of Hebei willingly devote themselves to the arms of the new master.

Liu Xiu's advance was very fast. Before Liu Yu was fully prepared, his army had already reached the foot of Feilei City. Fortunately, Liu Yu had raised a lot of food in a short period of time, enough for him to last for a month or two. Liu Yu estimated that Liu Xiu's siege would definitely not last more than a month. Under the current rapidly changing situation, Liu Xiu could no longer have a stable rear, and new rebellions could break out in Handan and other places at any time.

Time stands on Liu Yu's side.

Facing Liu Xiu, the most outstanding military strategist at that time, Liu Yu did not have the confidence to win the battle, but he had the confidence to hold him back. The longer the delay, the more the balance of victory would tilt towards him.

According to Liu Yu's previous life, Liu Xiu, the god of war, did not make much achievements in siege. When he suppressed the Wang Lang Rebellion, he almost failed to encounter the city. The cypress people could not attack, and the Julu could not attack. The only one who captured Handan was still the inner thief who opened the city gate and welcomed Liu Xiu into the city.

Liu Xiu's most effective method was to persuade him to surrender. Most of the important cities were obtained by him. But at that time, he was the rising sun, symbolizing light and a new force that everyone yearned for, so everyone was naturally willing to join him. But now he has become the sunset. Seeing that the sun is declining, who would be willing to follow him to the darkness?

As Liu Yu expected, Liu Xiu failed to siege Feilei City, so he simply abandoned Feilei and turned to Zhending City, a city guarded by Liu Yu himself.

As long as Liu Xiu takes over Zhending, catches or kills Emperor Jianshi, he may fight back and turn defeat into victory in one battle.
Chapter completed!