The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 540

In Xinye, a tense court meeting is going on. After Li Yuan got the strategy of his eldest son Li Jiancheng, he suddenly felt enlightened. The vast areas such as Lingnan, which is empty of troops, must be captured before Xiao Xian and Lin Shihong go south, and these two people are either fighting each other or having disputes with Li Mi, so it is difficult to send a large army south. become a fact.

"At this point, we should reorganize our thinking. Let's talk about it, dear friends! What should we do next?"

Xinye is not far from Xiangyang, and many civil and military ministers who rely on Li Yuan as their arms have come. After taking a look at Pei Ji, Li Yuan said, "Let's talk about Pei Xiangguo first!"

Pei Ji got up and said: "There is a saying in the art of war: 'Ten will surround it, five will attack it, double it will fight it, and the enemy will be able to fight it. , then Xue Wanjun’s Sui army numbered at least 30, our next step is not only Yang Shanhui, Qin Qiong, but also Xue Wanjun’s Sui army, if we can’t see through their intentions, we will suffer a lot.”

As soon as Pei Ji finished speaking, Liu Wenjing stood up and said, "Your Majesty, what Pei Xiangguo said is extremely absurd, please allow me to speak a few words of justice."

The Battle of Bingzhou led by Pei Ji opened the door to Li Tang's failure. There were many people who complained about him, and his head was shaved, which greatly reduced his prestige.Therefore, in the past two or three years, he has been relatively silent, and he seldom argues with Liu Wenjing, but Liu Wenjing's cold and hard words, like a slap in the face, really made Pei Ji lose his face, and stared at Liu Wenjing fiercely for a while.

As for the quarrel between Pei and Liu, the courtiers have long been accustomed to it, and Li Yuan is also used to it, so he nodded and said, "Please tell me, Liu Xiangguo!"

Liu Wenjing pretended not to see Pei Ji's fierce gaze, and cupped his hands in a calm manner, "Pei Xiangguo said that Xue Wanjun's Sui army had 30 troops, which only shows that he is reciting military books with his eyes closed and doesn't understand military affairs at all. I have never been to Zhuyang Pass. Zhuyang Pass is shaped like a gourd, with a spacious front and back. The same is true for Wan Xiong's division. How could the Sui Dynasty need 4000 people to attack the city? This is simply nonsense."

Pei Ji blushed and glared at Liu Wenjing: "Could it be that Xue Wanjun and Yang Shanhui won't fight together? Let our troops fight one by one?"

Liu Wenjing said calmly: "I just said that Xue Wanjun does not have an army of 30, but I did not say that the two will not join forces; in fact, I think there is a 3% possibility that Xue Wanjun, Yang Shanhui, and Qin Qiong will join forces. They came to encircle Nanyang. But the premise is that Xue Wanjun must completely occupy Xiyang, so as not to be stabbed in the back by our army. However, if Xue Wanjun captures the entire county of Xiyang, then there is no need for him to join forces with Yang Shanhui and Qin Qiong, who have many generals. , but went straight to Xicheng County, introduced Yu Chigong of Hanchuan into Jingxiang, occupied Fangling and Badong, which were empty of troops, and cut Bashu and Jingxiang into two halves; The county, just chokes the gorge. The cliff road here is narrow, and it is very difficult to attack Zigui County. At most, [-] troops can be invested at a time. At that time, the Sui army only needs to send [-] to [-] people to sit in the town. Even if our army has millions of soldiers It is also difficult to conquer. However, the main force of Xue Wanjun and Yu Chigong rushed towards Yiling and Xiangyang from the west, swallowing the rear of our army step by step. And our army was restrained here by Yang Shanhui and Qin Qiong, and there were few rescue troops. They were wiped out one by one by the cavalry of the Sui army, and if there were too many, the second general could go straight to Xinye."

"This..." Li Yuan was secretly surprised. Although Xue Wanjun, Yang Shanhui, and Qin Qiong also had his expectations, but according to Liu Wenjing's words, the way of the three generals' alliance is not as simple as he thought, but based on Li Tang's plan. At the price of Jing Xiang, they completely cut off their connection with Bashu.

"Liu Xiangguo is alarmist, isn't he?" Pei Ji smiled coldly and said, "According to what you said, we don't need to march eastward. Nanyang and Xiyang are handed over to others. We only need to keep Xiangyang and Fangling."

These words are quite vicious, and it seems that Liu Wenjing is regarded as a Sui Dynasty lobbyist.

"I didn't say that!" Liu Wenjing is not a fool, so she naturally wouldn't admit it, but said: "The strength of the Sui army is there, if we don't take this into consideration in the overall situation, the Battle of Bingzhou will repeat itself." .”

Pei Ji was so angry that one Buddha was born and two Buddhas ascended to heaven. During the battle of Bingzhou, he thought that Taiyuan would be the first choice for the Sui army, so he was evacuated by the southern army, leaving only a few troops to guard the south. As a result, the Sui army devoured all the land outside Taiyuan. After all the places, and then launched a war against the panic-stricken Taiyuan, Liu Wenjing said that now, he was completely using him as a teaching material for rebellion, how could he not be annoyed by this?
At this time, Xiao Yu got up to smooth things over and said: "The specific method of fighting should be considered by the Holy Lord, but as the core of the Tang Dynasty, we should look at the problem from a higher standpoint. Holy Lord, please let Rong Weichen say a few words."

Li Yuan pushed the boat along the water and said: "Two Xiangguo sit down for a while, let's hear what Xiao Xiangguo means."

Pei Ji gave Liu Wenjing a hard look, then sat down with a cold face, Liu Wenjing snorted coldly, and sat down too.

At this time, Xiao Yu said calmly: "The analysis of the two prime ministers also revealed the direction of Yang Tong's next war, which is very likely to be Xiyang. An army of [-] is probably not enough for self-defense, let alone an active attack, so we must increase our troops, at least to around [-] to [-]."

Li Yuan frowned unceasingly. His imperial conquest took time out of Xiangyang's troops, and together with Li Shentong's army, there were 15 people in total. However, although Yang Shanhui's and Qin Qiong's troops were smaller than him in number, their armies were both elite. If the elite of Xiyang were spared [-] to [-] to support Xiyang, I am afraid that this side will also be stretched.Where can we find the army now, is it the army transferred from the west city, or the frontier army transferred from Bashu?
At present, Li Tang is mopping the ground as a soldier, with a total of about 30 troops. In addition to the 15 troops here, Xiyang is guarded by Li Shimin and Zhang Shigui's [-] troops. Among them, there are many wounded soldiers. Xicheng County has [-] soldiers , Wudu County and Dangchang in Bashu each have [-] troops, Huai'an and Chongling each have [-] troops, and Tongchang, Yicheng, Qinghua, and Tongchuan, which border the Sui Dynasty, each have [-] troops.Nominally they have a lot of troops, but pulling out a carrot leaves a hole, so they have no soldiers to adjust.

But as Liu Wenjing said, Xiyang is very important, and it is impossible not to send reinforcements. Once it falls, all the roads to Shu will be lost, and the entire Jingxiang area will become Taiyuan in the Jin Dynasty, and there will be no reinforcements or food. , and was finally wiped out by the Sui army.

In fact, Li Yuan also knew that the best way was to gather the troops of Chongling and Huai'an, retreat to Zaoyang, the prefecture of Chongling, and send Huai'an and the north of Chongling to the Sui army. Part of the troops stuck to Yincheng and Anyang counties in Xiangyang, while the Xiyang army also retreated to the Xunxiang and Wudang areas south of the Han River. Township, Wudang-Xiangyang Yincheng, Anyang-Chongling Zaoyang, and Shangming formed a solid barrier. In this way, not only the defense line was stable, but there was no need to increase troops to support Xiyang Nanxiang and Danshui County. If you can't break through this line of defense, you will naturally turn around and deal with Li Mi.

In this way, Li Tang can draw out about [-] troops to implement Li Jiancheng's strategy of conquering the Six Edicts and attacking Lingnan.Compared with the Sui army, Liuzhao, Xiao Xian, and Lin Shihong were much easier to deal with. More importantly, Xiao and Lin's southern troops were empty. Once Li Jiancheng's strategy came true, Li Tang would not only gain a vast There are still millions of people in the territory, so with the source of troops, the pressure on the people of Bashu is also reduced.

And if we continue to draw troops from other places to support Xiyang, Li Tang's already weak defense line will be torn apart, and the Sui army will be able to reach the heartland without a few battles. .If the army is defeated, everything will be over for Li Tang.

The more he thought about it, the more Li Yuan felt that the strategy drawn up by Li Jiancheng was beyond words.In fact, Li Jiancheng's strategy is a good prescription he, Liu Wenjing and others jointly prescribed for Li Tang. Li Jiancheng is responsible for giving Li Yuan hope, and Liu Wenjing is responsible for explaining the current crisis and telling Li Yuan that there is nothing to be done at the moment.

For Li Tang, Li Jiancheng has worked hard with good intentions.

Pei Ji was a supporter of Li Shimin. He didn't know that Li Jiancheng and Liu Wenjing had set a new strategy for Li Yuan, and that Li Yuan, who was in a difficult situation, was already tempted, so he said, "My lord, maybe we can recruit civilian husbands and organize them into an army to guard city."

"Extremely ridiculous!" Liu Wenjing would not let him destroy his plan to develop southward, and said loudly: "The Sui army has strong bows and crossbows, and the slave soldiers who were expelled by them to attack the city will not die at all. Even the elite soldiers trembled because of it, not to mention the civilians, when the Sui army invaded, the civilians would be defeated in a single battle, and the morale of the army would be shaken, so it is better not to use it."

Pei Ji sneered and said: "I know that Liu Xiangguo went out with the army, and indeed he knows the Sui army better than others, but what you have experienced is field battles, not city defense! Isn't it ridiculous that you use field battles to determine the strength of the Sui army? "

Liu Wenjing said coldly: "Pei Xiangguo just wants to prove himself right by defeating Xue Ju's main force..."

"That's right!" Before Liu Wenjing could finish speaking, Pei Ji interrupted him, "Back when Xue raised an army of [-] troops to attack Fufeng along the Jianshui River, there were only [-] defenders in Fufeng and Jianyuan. I mobilized [-] people, Men, women and children all went to the city, fought against the enemy, and defeated Xue Ju's army again and again. After a month of fierce fighting, Xue Ju suffered heavy losses, and finally had to withdraw to Tianshui County. This is an indelible fact. Liu Xiangguo now actually said The people are unbearable, isn't this talking nonsense?"

Liu Wenjing was almost annoyed by this idiot, and retorted: "That's because after Xue Ju's army broke the city and slaughtered the city and built the capital, the people would be united in the same hatred! In addition, Xue Ju's lonely army went deep, there was not much food, and the soldiers were exhausted. Let you succeed once! But please remember that Yang Tong’s Sui army is not Xue Ju’s mob without siege equipment. Have you investigated Yang Tong’s reputation among the people? Do you think the people of Xiyang will Resist the Sui army who gave them fields, cattle, and schooling opportunities for their children? Pei Xiangguo, you take it for granted!"

"You..." Pei Ji was furious.

"What about me? Isn't this the truth? I think you should judge the pressure Xiyang is facing by the performance of the Sui army in Taiyuan, rather than judging the Sui army by the unrelated Xue Ju's soldiers."

bicker?

Liu Wenjing wasn't afraid of Pei Ji at all, but Li Tang's downfall was because he had too many of these bastards who boasted about their achievements.

"Okay! Alright! You two stop arguing."

The dizzy Li Yuan interrupted the dispute between the two impatiently, "I have decided to give up the land of Xiyang north of the Han River, and gather troops from Huai'an and Chongling to Zaoyang and Shangming in Chongling. At the same time, Our army also gave way to Nanyang. Relying on the Hanshui and Baishui, we will form a solid line of defense from 'Xicheng-Xiyang-Xiangyang-Chongling', first stabilize this line of defense with all our strength, and then talk about other things."

Looking at the various eyes of the courtiers, Li Yuan smiled miserably, his pale face showing an expression of extreme pain, "The strength is not as good as others, and I can't deny it. The deployment of troops to support Xiyang Danshui and Nanxiang will only let the Sui army defeat them one by one. The army is our life now, and only by preserving the army can we make a comeback, otherwise, no matter how much territory we have, we will eventually lose it.”

Li Yuan glanced at Pei Ji again, and said slowly: "Ministers need to use, but not Nanxiang and Danshui, but Xunxiang and Wudang. Pei Xiangguo has experience in mobilizing civilian husbands, so this time I invite Pei Xiangguo to lead an army of [-] to go there." Xiyang, first build an unbreakable defense line south of the Han River, and when Zhang Shigui goes south, immediately hand over the defense line to him, and return to Xiangyang to join us."

With the lessons learned from the Battle of Bingzhou, Li Yuan no longer dared to let Pei Ji lead the army, let alone use the method of 'general' to rule over each other. As Liu Wenjing said, if Xiyang fell, Fangling and Badong would not be safe.

"I obey!" Since the emperor had already spoken, Pei Ji had no choice but to agree.

"My lord, if our army retreats to Xiangyang, the pressure on Zaoyang in Chongling will double. At this time, the hearts of the people will be turbulent, and no good generals will be able to take on this important task. I suggest that you canonize the concubine Chai Shao as the governor of Chongling, and lead the army to guard the east of our Tang Dynasty. The gate lays the foundation for Ye Sheng to pacify the world in the future." Liu Wenjing knew that although the emperor didn't say it clearly, he had already agreed with Li Jiancheng's strategy, and worried that he would send someone like Li Shentong to shoulder the burden, so he quickly gave reasonable suggestions.

"Sir, seconded!"

"Sir, seconded!"

"..."

Xiao Yu, Chen Shuda, Yu Wenshi and others also expressed their support regardless of party affiliation. At this time, Li Tang's life and death were at stake, and the result of the internal fighting was that everyone had to die.Compared with those wine bags and rice bags of the Li clan, Chai Shaoqiang is definitely not a star. With him guarding Chongling, it is absolutely possible to keep Chongling intact.

"Father, such an important place must be guarded by a general. Sichang is stable and steady, able to fight well, and more importantly, he is loyal to his father. He is indeed the best candidate." Li Jiancheng, who was silent, also stood up.

"Chai Shao." Li Jiancheng said this above Li Yuan's heart. At this time, people's hearts are fluctuating. Loyalty is the key, and ability is second. Chai Shao is his son-in-law, and the relationship with Datang is a relationship of honor and disgrace. There is no need to worry about ability and loyalty. .

"The last general is here!" Chai Shao stood up immediately.

"I appointed you as the prefect of Chongling, and gave you the right to control the military and government. I will lead [-] troops to Chongling, gather the Huai'an army, and guard the east gate of our Tang Dynasty!"

"The last general obeys orders!" Chai Shao replied loudly.

"My lord, I also recommend a general to guard the north gate of Xiangyang - Yincheng County." At this time, Chen Shuda got up and said.

Li Yuan asked, "Who is it?"

"General Liu Hongji of You Xiaowei was the honored minister of Jinyang's rise of troops. The battles of defeating Song Laosheng, attacking Wei Wensheng, and besieging Chang'an are all closely related to him. He can be said to be a good general with both civil and military skills and loyalty." Chen Shuda said with a smile.

"Chen Xiangguo is very right. General Liu is good at fighting, but he has not been able to perform under King Jin these years. Now it seems that I have used people improperly. Pass my order to go south immediately and sit in Yincheng."

"Here!"

"In this way, Fangling County has become the second gate of Xiangyang, and its importance is self-evident. Who can sit in charge for me?"

"It must be Duke Xun!" Li Jiancheng recommended Yin Kaishan, without giving anyone the slightest chance to object, and then suggested: "The three counties of Xunyang, Huangtu, and Fengli in Xicheng County all border Shangluo. In order to prevent the Sui army from crossing the Han Water, Erchen suggested that Li Anyuan, Duan Zhixuan, and Yu Zhining go to manage it and build a defense line on the banks of the Han River.”

Without further ado, Li Yuan said, "Yes!"

After the discussion, all the ministers left one by one.

"Renren!" Xiao Yu suddenly stopped Yuwen Shiji, and asked in a deep voice, "Don't you think it's a bit strange?"

"Strange?" Yuwen Shiji was startled.

Xiao Yu frowned and said, "Liu Hongji, Yin Kaishan, Li Anyuan, Duan Zhixuan, and Yu Zhining are all the confidantes of King Jin, but the crown prince suggested that they take on important responsibilities. What is the intention here?"

Yuwen Shiji said: "These people go out to be generals, and the one who benefits is King Jin!"

"This is the most unreasonable thing." Xiao Xian said worriedly: "There are quite a few people under the crown prince's command. It may be a matter of merit to recommend only one person, but it is not normal to recommend five people in succession."

Yuwen Shiji's eyes flashed, and he said in shock: "The crown prince cut off the wings of His Royal Highness King Jin, is he planning to attack His Highness?"

"If the crown prince deals with King Jin at this time, Datang will completely lose control. He is not the kind of short-sighted person, and he will never do such stupid things." Xiao Yu shook his head.

Yuwen Shiji said: "The ancients said that 'if you want to take what you have to give first', the prince gave up these three positions, maybe in order to get more."

"The layout of the Holy Majesty is a strategy of closing the country. If the Sui army goes further, then moving the capital to Bashu is the last choice of the Holy Majesty!" Speaking of this, Xiao Yu's mind flashed, and said: "Liu Hongji, Yin Kaishan, Li Anyuan, Duan Zhixuan, Yu Zhining is the most influential general under King Jin, apart from them, who else is qualified to fight for the governors of Bashu counties? That is to say, the crown prince wants to govern the entire Bashu!"

Yuwen Shi and his pupils shrank, and the conversation changed: "Are we going to object?"

"The appointment has been made, how can you object?" Xiao Yu smiled wryly, "And why should you object? These people are indeed suitable for the town."

"What does Xiangguo mean?"

"Oh, Datang doesn't even have the qualifications to fight among himself." Xiao Xiao sighed and left directly.

Xiao Yu's meaning is obvious, which is to abandon partisan disputes and work together to overcome difficulties.Yuwen Shiji also quite agreed, the question is whether the faction of Guanlong forces headed by the Dugu family can tolerate the princelings eating away at their interests in Bashu?

Yuwen Shiji found it difficult.

Once this matter is exposed, it will definitely set off a serious conflict of interests.

(End of this chapter)