The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 479

The "Li Shentong Corruption Case" was disseminated through the fine works of the Sui Dynasty, and every day, various theories were sent to Xiangyang like a snowflake, before Li Yuan's dragon case was presented.

In the face of national crisis, the Li and Tang dynasties, in order to fight this battle well, the military and the government worked together to adjust people and things. Even Li Jiancheng, the heir to the empire, came to the front line in person. Fortunately, it came so suddenly at this critical moment, which undoubtedly shocked and disappointed Li Tang and his government.

When the common people eat food as soldiers, they simply tie their heads to their waistbands. Under such circumstances, they are in danger and are in danger of losing their lives at any time. Everyone regards weapons and armor as their second life. It's strange to panic, how can the battle be fought when the soldiers are in chaos?
At this time, Li Shentong, as a general in the front and a member of the Li clan, should be like Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji. Qi... This person, why can't he have a snack?
At this time, the wind and rain in Xiangyang were dark, the wind was howling, and the rain was pouring down. The bean-heavy raindrops hit the tiles, splashing a cloud of white smoke.

The gate of the main hall was wide open, and the strong wind blew all kinds of documents on the dragon case all over the floor, like a snowfall.

But no one bent down to pick it up.

Li Yuan stared blankly at the door, watching the rainwater pouring down the eaves like his arms, he felt the gusts of torrents, like sharp swords that were about to cut off his dragon's head, piercing his eyes and piercing his heart.

The hall was terribly quiet, and the courtiers, generals, and eunuchs who lined up according to their respective duties stood like sculptures between the majestic pillars, and their expressions were also terribly silent.They were all afraid that they would become the target of Li Yuan's venting anger, so they stood up straight with their eyes and nose in view, and they were even more upright and powerful than the troops receiving the parade. Sound, no more noise.

Emperor Li Yuan held a stack of urgent reports in his hands, and he read each of them repeatedly, hoping to pick out some satisfactory news from them, but the ending disappointed him... Dozens of urgent reports , there is no peace of mind...

at last……

"Crackling", a nearby candle exploded. Li Yuan woke up from the shock and rage. He slowly turned his head and looked at the two neat rows. Piercing straight into the depths of everyone's hearts, it is more breathtaking than the lightning outside the temple!

However, the atmosphere was still quiet, and many civil and military officials were silently praying that the emperor's wrath would not be vented on them, wishing that they would suddenly fall ill and take the opportunity to leave this suffocating place.

Li Yuan took a deep breath and felt dizzy. This is the result of excessive drinking. After ascending the throne, Li Yuan's lustful side was fully exposed. In just a few years, many concubines had died. Give him a bunch of children.Usually there is a prince in government affairs, and the king of Jin in the army. Only important military affairs are handled by him personally. Therefore, drinking, embracing beauty, listening to music and watching dances seem to be Li Yuan's greatest hobbies in his free time.Now that the danger is coming, under the shock and anger, his almost hollowed out body can't hold on anymore, but at this time Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin, and even Li Yuanji are not in the court, so Li Yuan knows that he can't fall, otherwise, Xiangyang will die. He was in a state of confusion, supporting his weak body, and the exhausted voice sounded from the hall: "General Qin Qiong of the Sui Dynasty sent Zuo Tiancheng from Feiyang to the city to enter Nanyang. Li Xiaoji, the king of Yong'an County, was defeated, and the Nie Shui army camp was lost. The town was broken... Zuo Tiancheng camped in the northeast of Zhenping, and Qin Qiong in the east was advancing slowly. The Nanyang army was already in chaos. Nanyang City is now facing the enemy on both sides, and the situation is worrisome. Zhuqing—" Li Yuan waved his sleeves heavily, and his voice suddenly became agitated: "Who has a plan to defeat the enemy? And who can defend me against the violent Sui army?"

Li Yuan looked down expectantly, but at this time no one came forward to answer, let alone take up the responsibility. Li Yuan was deeply disappointed by this silent scene.

Li Tang's predicament is aggravated by Li Yuanxin, and Duguzheng, Xiao Yu, Pei Ji, Chen Shuda, Dou Gui, Dou Cong, Chai Shao, who are regarded as his arms, are helpless. This is due to the gap in national strength and the system of employing people. The series of problems brought about cannot be resolved in a short while.

Li Yuan attaches great importance to clan relatives, relatives, and aristocratic family, so that talented people will be subdued under the bag of wine and rice. Even if they make great achievements, the rewards will fall on the head of the boss. How could it be possible for a true emperor to want those talented people to work hard at a critical moment?

Li Yuan's gaze changed from expectation to disappointment, and then, a thought flashed through his mind, "Is the Tang Dynasty really exhausted? No, it's impossible! I won't be defeated, and I can't be defeated." !"

Suddenly, a sense of madness welled up in Li Yuan's heart, and he said with fierce hatred in his eyes: "You dare not go to Nanyang, I will go..."

Just when he was about to announce his decision, saying that he wanted to "conquer in person", one of the generals suddenly stepped out, bowed to Li Yuan, and shouted loudly: "Your Majesty, the general has something to say!"

The person who stood up was Huo Guogong Chai Shao. In this time and space, Chai Shao, who has made great contributions to the dragon, married Princess Li Tang Changsha. He was named General Zuo Yiwei, and he can be called the number one general of Li Tang's imperial party. Li Yuan believes deeply.He was also thinking hard about a good strategy, seeing that Li Yuan had the ambition to conquer himself, so he came up with an idea.

"General Chai, please tell me." Li Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled warmly at Chai Shao. At the critical moment, his family can help him!
"Return to the Holy One!" Under the eyes of everyone, Chai Shao stood with his head held high, only to hear him say in a deep voice: "The situation in Nanyang is rotten, and the army is in chaos. It is by no means an opponent of the Tiger and Wolf Division of the Violent Sui Dynasty. At this time, we can save this army. , The one who defends against the enemy outside Nanyang is none other than the sage, and the last general thought that at that time, except for the imperial conquest, the rest is not worth mentioning!"

Li Yuan's smile suddenly froze on his face, and his eyes became a little ferocious, that kind of stare made people feel suffocated.Over the years, the inexhaustible prosperity and wealth have already smoothed Li Yuan's resolve and courage in fighting wars. It was by no means Li Yuan's original intention to fight a powerful enemy on the battlefield. At this time, seeing Chai Shao did not understand his meaning, but encouraged himself When he came to the front line in person, his heart was filled with anger.

However, Chai Shao withstood the pressure brought by Li Yuan, stood still, and accepted Li Yuan's stern scrutiny calmly.

After a while, Li Yuan, who seriously considered Chai Shaozhi's words, finally regained his senses. Seriously speaking, this is indeed the only feasible way. He smiled and said, "Aiqing and I thought about going together. Yang Tong's army is strong. Our army was already at a disadvantage, and Li Shentong gave me a hand. If I don't rush to Nanyang to take charge of the overall situation and appease the morale of the army, I am afraid that the morale will decline further, and Nanyang will really be unable to keep it. If Nanyang is completely lost, the enemy will be defeated. The army will come to the city of Xiangyang..."

Chai Shao noticed that after Li Yuan mentioned the word "Yang Yu", there was a feeling of gnashing of teeth in his voice. It was an unforgettable hatred, a kind of hatred that could not be swallowed alive!

Li Yuan seemed to be aware of the probing in Chai Shao's eyes, he slowly turned his head, and then his eyes fell on the rain curtain outside the hall, sighed: "I also know that I have to do it myself, but I am facing difficulties now. Go to Zhenping first to defeat Zuo Tiancheng, or defeat Qin Qiong who is ready to move, or go directly to Nanyang City to take over the army? The current situation is that I need to save every place, but I seem to be unable to save any of them... Ai Qing has How can you teach me?"

Li Yuan seems to have placed himself in a very humble position. This posture may be useful to the courtiers at this time, but Chai Shao is smart, witty, and far-sighted, otherwise he would not have disregarded the opposition of his relatives when he was young, and wielded his sword alone Thousands of miles away, it was his persistence in his youth that earned him the reputation of being a "Xia Shao" who generously donated money, worried about the country and the people, and had a heart of justice. This reputation later became his "stepping stone" in his official career.At that time, even the prince Yuande of the Sui Dynasty in the deep palace heard that Chai Shao was "quick and courageous, and used the name of restraining the strong to help the weak", and tried his best to recruit him into the palace, making him prepare himself for thousands of cattle, and doubly favoring him. With normal development and Prince Yuande's successful ascension to the throne, Chai Shao's future in the Sui Dynasty must be bright. However, the subsequent development is that Prince Yuande died of illness and the world was in chaos.

Chai Shao knows that Li Yuan's current emphasis is not a good thing for him, and it's okay if he wins. If the imperial conquest ends in failure, then he who "encouraged the emperor" to conquest himself will become the scapegoat for the failure, so he is very humble. Bend, trying to make himself look more humble, and his tone became more respectful, "My Majesty, the Sui army is mighty, it looks like thunder, but it is not without disadvantages. Unfortunately, no one can see me , so people panic."

"Oh? What's wrong with it? Tell me quickly." Li Yuan regained his energy all of a sudden, he wanted to hear this kind of voice now.

Manchao Wenwu also looked at Chai Shao, all of them with great interest.The theory of failure has already pervaded the whole Tang Dynasty, and everyone really needs a strong voice to refute this theory of subjugation.

"Many people say that the Sui army is like a torrent that doesn't flow down the river. They say that if they don't rush in, they are like a dam to store water. Once the time is right, they will attack our Tang Dynasty with the momentum of breaking the dyke. Its momentum is irresistible. There is a pessimistic mood of failure, and some people even advocate moving the capital to Shu, temporarily escaping from the forces of the Sui army, and making a comeback when the time is right."

Chai Shao didn't show off, and pointed out his point of view with a slight smile: "Well, is the Sui army really so powerful? The final general doesn't think so."

"The general said that the Sui army is not strong. Isn't that too arrogant?" The interest was greatly reduced, and some people even sneered aloud. In an instant, the atmosphere in the hall was finally heated.

Even Li Yuan, who was listening carefully, lost his patience. Even he didn't believe what he said, and it was too unconvincing. Just when Li Yuan was about to interrupt, Chai Shao said helplessly: "My lord, colleagues, Shao is not Deny the combat power of the Sui army, and please listen patiently, okay?"

"Say it!" Li Yuan's face sank like water.

When the hall was quiet again, Chai Shao said: "For me, the Tang Dynasty, the Sui army is indeed powerful, and it is true that it will not advance aggressively. But if you look at the whole world, this is not the case. The war to unify the world that Yang Tong is launching now, He not only confronted my Tang Dynasty, but also divided his troops to attack Li Mi, Liu Heita, and Dou Jiande. Even Xiao Xian, Lin Shihong, Du Fuwei, Shen Faxing, Li Zitong and others were among his conquest targets. For the Nanyang Tang army under the greatest pressure, Li Mi is undoubtedly the more relaxed His Royal Highness, Liu Heitai is the king of Jin who directly faces Pei Xingyan, Dou Jiande, Xiao Xian, Lin Shihong, Du Fuwei, Shen Faxing, and Li Zitong are the border counties that are not affected by the war for the time being. The defenders."

Hey, after what Chai Shao said, Li Tang Junchen felt that this was the case.

"For me in the Tang Dynasty, the Sui army advanced very steadily, but it is a very aggressive move in the whole world. Today's Sui army is led by various generals, scattered in Yong, Liang, Henan, Yan, Qing, In Xu and other states, the armies are hundreds of miles away from each other, and thousands of miles away from each other. They have no connection with each other. If there is a mistake in one army, the surrounding friendly troops will not be able to rescue. , either concentrate his forces on one side, or tear down the east wall to supplement the west wall, and draw troops from various wars for support, but no matter whether he chooses the former or the latter, it will take time. When he redeploys his troops, I am afraid it will be the cold winter months when he cannot fight. ! And this will give us enough time to reorganize the army."

"Let's look at the performance of the Sui army after they went south. They were arrogant and aggressive before, and they took down Henan, Xingyang, Yingchuan, Dongjun, Dongping, Jibei, Qijun, Jiyin and other seven counties in the Central Plains... …Looking at the fact that after Yang Tong took command of Luoyang, the various Sui armies were silently consolidating the land they occupied, without any big gestures or big actions. I think this is Yang Tong’s lack of confidence in the battle to unify the world, and he showed caution. "

Finally, Chai Shao came to a conclusion.

"How do you see it?" Li Yuan asked.

"What made the Sui army conquer Henan, Xingyang, Yingchuan, Dongjun, Dongping, Jibei, Qijun, and Jiyin was not the strength of the Sui army, but the undefeated reputation of the Sui army." Chai Shao looked bitterly. Li Yuan, who was thinking, said with a wry smile: "Actually, after the Sui army went south, they really didn't fight a few decent wars. Apart from encountering a few small resistances, only Luo Shixin and Ren Chengwang fought the battle of Yique, and the battle of Zhao The county king fought the battles of Xiangcheng and Fuyang."

Hearing this, Li Yuan let out a long breath.

Li Mi was afraid of the undefeated reputation of the Sui army and worried that he would be the first target to be wiped out by the Sui army going south. When he promised to cede the counties of the Central Plains to us in exchange for food and supplies, he had actually reached an agreement with the Sui Dynasty. He used The five prefectures of Yingchuan, Dongjun, Dongping, Jibei, and Jiyin were exchanged for the opportunity to live in peace with the Sui Dynasty. When we took over the counties according to the agreement, the interests of the Sui Dynasty conflicted, so they became the target of Yang Tong. But he, Li Mi, can stay out of the matter, fight with Du Fuwei for Jianghuai with peace of mind, and try his best to occupy the southern land south of the Huai River. Once the Sui and Tang Dynasties have come to an end, Li Mi, who has become the actual overlord of the south, will be able to concentrate the power of the south , the weak Sui or Li Tang who came out of the Northern Expedition decisively.

Li Yuan, who came back to his senses, finally realized that he was slapped down by Li Mi, but Li Mi couldn't be blamed for it, who made Li Yuan overinflated and coveted the land in other people's hands!Besides, did Li Yuan have good intentions back then?Otherwise, the strategy set by Li Yuan would stop at the south bank of the Yellow River in the north, take Henan and Hongnong counties as the strategic depth, and use the Yellow River in the north, Hulao Pass in the east, and Hangu Pass in the west to keep the Sui army in the north, Xingyang, and Guanzhong. , but also to deter and counter.His strategic center of gravity is in the south, and his deal with Li Mi is nothing more than making Li Mi his vanguard in recovering the south, but in the end, Li Mi is still superior.

"I understand!" Li Yuan signaled Chai Shao to continue, and did not waste time on Li Mi. First, the matter had already happened, and it was too late to regret, and it was useless to pursue it. Second, the result of the investigation was still Li Yuan's fault. The big plan is exactly the result of his efforts to reject all differences.

Chai Shao went on to say: "It was the undefeated prestige of the Sui army that achieved the results of the Sui Dynasty's southern campaign, which was Yang Tong's most powerful weapon. Everyone unites to attack... At that point, the Turkic, Goguryeo, and Western Regions exploited by him will definitely take advantage of the Central Plains War to rebel against the Sui Dynasty. Yang Tong cannot afford this consequence...so Yang Tong cannot be defeated, dare not This may be the reason for his caution."

"The general takes it for granted!" Dou Gui sneered.

"Listen to the general first." Li Yuan reprimanded dissatisfiedly.
"Yang Tong's troops are too scattered, each army is guarding the surrounding area, and the available troops are actually only his Xiaoguo army. In addition, he has to deal with sudden changes in various places, so the number of troops he can participate in the Sui and Tang Dynasties is actually pitifully small!" Speaking of this, Chai Shao looked at Li Yuan who was full of interest, and said with a smile: "The more than [-] troops under King Jin are well-equipped, have sufficient food and grass, and are supported by His Royal Highness. The Nanyang line of defense holds back the Luoyang army; therefore, Nanyang is the only one to worry about."

"But as I said before, there are not many soldiers available to Yang Tong, and only Qin Qiong has to deal with Nanyang. Even if the Sui army sent reinforcements from Luoyang, there were not many reinforcements, and Zuo Tiancheng did not do much to Li Xiaoji, the king of Yong'an County. Injury, especially the main force of our army. If the Holy Majesty goes to Nanyang to preside over the overall situation, the morale of our army will be greatly boosted. Not to mention defeating Qin Qiong and Zuo Tiancheng, if we just make it difficult for the two generals to advance, we will win a precious breathing space Opportunity! The Sui Dynasty has made enemies all around, and the army has been fighting for months, there will always be a day of fatigue and slack, once there is a change in a certain battlefield, it will be the day for us to defeat the enemy. If we join Li Mi and others to attack the Sui at this time, the violent Sui will surely perish."

Chai Shao was usually modest and respectful, but now he showed his sharpness. Li Yuan's unpredictable situation also made him feel excited.He suddenly got up from the throne, looked around the group of ministers: "I will conquer Nanyang personally according to Qing's play."

(End of this chapter)