The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 648 Shan Xiongxin's Choice
In Li Mi's Jianghuai strategy, the main force is to attack Yao Junsu's [-] troops in Huainan. Shan Xiongxin, who has [-] troops, is just a partial division. The Huainan army reorganized by Xiao Xian's army will go south to Lujiang with a great victory, and then attack Du Fuwei in Liyang with Shan Xiongxin.

In response to Li Mi's strategy, Shan Xiongxin and Fang Xuanzao actually hold opposing opinions. They believe that the three-legged confrontation of the Sui, Tang and Wei Dynasties is no longer possible. The safest option is to completely abandon the seven counties in Huaibei and the land of Jianghuai, let Xu Shiji and Wang Bodang retreat to the south of the Yangtze River, then move the capital to Danyang County, concentrate superior forces to establish a defense line on the Yangtze River, and then attack Meng Haigong in the south to achieve The real plan to rule the river.

However, Li Mi's plan to rule the river is based on the Huai River, which is completely different from the two people's ideas. There are three reasons why Li Mi insists on fighting this battle. One is that the country has just been established this year. In the territory of Er, how would he, the Great Wei Emperor, explain to the people under his rule?How to establish the prestige of the emperor?The second is that the two Sui armies on Jianghuai are at their weakest. As long as they win a complete victory, Jianghuai will belong to the Great Wei. When the time comes to voluntarily abandon the seven counties in Huaibei, the army and the people will have nothing to say; Jianghuai, together with Li Yuan and Lin Shihong, formed a trend of advancing side by side, so that they could use the momentum of an arrow to suppress the Sui Dynasty in the north, otherwise it would be difficult to last for a long time.

In fact, Shan Xiongxin and Fang Xuanzao also felt that the chances of winning were great, and they were unwilling to miss the good opportunity to annihilate Yao Junsu and Du Fuwei, so they followed suit.

At this time, Shan Xiongxin also marched in an all-round way, pushing [-] troops to the Liuhe Mountains in Liyang. The Wei army's massive invasion forced Du Fuwei to concentrate his troops in Wujiang County, and Liyang County became his. The logistics are important, but because Liyang County is not far from the Yangtze River, Du Fuwei cut off his own logistics in order to prevent the Wei army from going upstream.

Shan Xiongxin was discussing the current situation with several generals and counselors at the central tent of the Wei Army at the south foot of Liuhe Mountain.

"Generals, in order to attack the Li and Tang Dynasty, Yang Tong did not send troops to support Du Fuwei. Instead, he asked Du Fuwei to recruit young and strong men to join the army. He has 4 troops. Judging from the number of people, he is the same as us, but In last year's war, Du Fuwei suffered heavy losses, and there were only [-] or [-] soldiers left in the Hundred Battles Division. According to reports from our scouts, there are [-] troops in Liyang County, which means that the Sui Army in Wujiang is only ours. Half. With his current strength, it is almost impossible to take the initiative to attack. But there are so many Sui troops in Jiangxia. After the official battle, Qin Qiong is very likely to send reinforcements. It will only take two or three days from Jiangxia to Liyang. If we continue, the situation will be more unfavorable to us.”

Marching Zuo Sima Zhengti guessed Shan Xiongxin's true thoughts, cupped his hands and said: "The general means that we are not to be spectators, but to attack Du Fuwei?"

Shan Xiongxin did not deny it, and sighed: "Du Fuwei's nail is of great importance. If we win the battle in Wujiang, we can march into the Liyang garrison with a great victory and then break the morale. Then we can lay the foundation The victory of the entire Jianghuai Battle can also reverse the decline of Wei. Zheng Sima, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If we miss it, we may regret it forever."

Zheng Ti was speechless. He didn't approve of Shan Xiongxin's initiative to attack, not only because it violated the established strategy of the Holy Majesty, but also because Du Fuwei, a fierce tiger, was very difficult to fight. The key was that they only had a few days. Once Qin Qiong came to help, they would also Or if Du Fuwei doesn't care about Liyang County and concentrates all his troops on the Wujiang River, then all efforts will be put in vain, and there will be nothing but loss of soldiers and generals.

At this moment, there was a report from the guard outside the door: "Report to the general, Jiang Xia's scouts have extremely urgent information, please see them outside the tent."

"Let them come in and report."

Shan Xiongxin was inspired. He knew that Li Mi used Zheng Yuanbi as an envoy to Li Tang, and hoped that the Tang army and the Wei Dynasty would take the lead at the same time and catch the Sui army by surprise. Shan Xiongxin also had great expectations for the Tang army.

After a while, several scouts who were busy in the world walked into the big tent quickly, and the leader of the scouts saluted and said: "General, the low-ranking people are back from Jiangxia."

"Tell me about what you heard! Did the Tang army send troops?" Shan Xiongxin seemed impatient.

The chief scout said: "General, I have not found out whether the Tang army sent troops, but Qin Qiong asked Zhou Faming to lead an army of [-] troops to the west of Nanjun overnight, and the Sui army in Jiangxia only had more than [-] troops."

"You mean that Li Shimin sent troops from Yiling, and Qin Qiong sent troops to help?"

"Jiang Xia is saying everywhere that Li Shimin attacked Yichang and Songzi in the Southern Commanderies. Duan Decao's forces were too scattered and he was in a very dangerous situation. To avoid delay, the humble officer rushed back overnight. It is not sure whether the Tang army sent troops, but Zhou Faming sent troops. It is true." The scout quickly replied. .

At this time, Zheng Ti on the side sneered: "What does this have to do with Li Shimin? If Yang Tong attacks Xiangyang from Nanyang, Li Shimin has to quickly return to support Xiangyang? What's the point of attacking Nanjun?"

Shan Xiongxin frowned and said, "Zhou Faming's sending troops can't be fake, can it?"

Zheng Ti shook his head: "General, the humble position does not mean that there is a problem with Zhou Faming's sending troops, but I am worried that this is Yang Tong's plan. The purpose is to let our army know that Jiangxia has only 3 people and there is no force to support Liyang. Don't worry about attacking the Jianghuai Sui army. If this is the case, I will be a little worried about our Jianghuai strategy."

Shan Xiongxin suddenly said: "Zuo Sima said that Yang Tong wanted to lure our army to attack Jianghuai, so he used the Tang army's invasion of Nanjun as an excuse, so that Zhou Faming had a reasonable reason to go west?"

"If this is true, then Qin Qiong, who is in charge of defending Lin Shihong, will have no extra strength to support Du Fuwei. It is indeed a good time for us to attack Liyang. But this is just a guess. Whether to attack Du Fuwei or not depends on the decision of the general. " Zheng Ti's answer is very clever. This battle is related to the life and death of Wei. Without any evidence that the Tang army sent troops, he would never urge Shan Xiongxin to send troops. Moreover, Zheng Ti believed that Li Yuan, who was surrounded by the Sui army, could not protect himself, so Even if Li Shimin really attacked Nanjun, once Yang Tong sent troops in Nanyang and Xiyang, Li Shimin would have to retreat back to Yiling obediently, or he would have to be beaten to death by the Sui army. Why bother?

But then again, if Li Tang really must save the enemy and restrain Qin Qiong's army for Wei, then it is definitely an opportunity for Shan Xiongxin to attack Liyang. If he misses it because of his claim, he will be responsible for this He couldn't afford it, so instead of taking the responsibility on himself, he left the choice to Shan Xiongxin.

Shan Xiongxin felt a headache when he heard Zheng Ti's answer.

In fact, the best way is to send someone to Nanjun to find out the truth, but there is no time at all. Shan Xiongxin is now afraid that Du Fuwei will transfer [-] troops from Liyang County to Lujiang, and then go to support Yao Junsu in Huainan , From the Lujiang Shen County incident, he entered Zhongli County and cut off Li Mi's retreat.And when he confirmed everything was over, Zhongli County had already fallen, what would Li Mi do with the enemy on both sides?Where to retreat?Huaibei?

Shan Xiongxin rubbed his aching forehead, should he attack Wujiang now?On the one hand, it is a golden opportunity to defeat Du Fuwei, and it is also related to the safety of the Holy Majesty; but on the other hand, it is worried that this is a strategy of the Sui army to lure snakes out of the cave, which is really difficult to decide.

At this moment, Liu Heita, who was transferred to Shan Xiongxin's account as a general, suddenly said: "General, didn't the Holy Majesty give you a gold medal?"

Shan Xiongxin suddenly thought that the Holy Master gave him a gold medal of "as if I came in person", which means that he can decide everything about this partial division, and he does not have to bear the responsibility of failure.

But Liu Heikai's meaning is also very obvious. Li Mi attaches great importance to the Jianghuai Battle. This battle is related to the overall situation of the Wei State. Du Fuwei's soldiers must not be allowed to support Yao Junsu. Once Du Fuwei divides half of the troops Go to reinforce Yao Junsu, Zhongli County falls, and the Jianghuai Battle will end in failure and disastrous defeat.So in this battle, he actually had no choice. He had to put great pressure on Du Fuwei in the form of a fierce attack, so that he was unable to support Yao Junsu.As long as Li Mi's victory is guaranteed, even if the [-] troops are sacrificed, he still has to fight.

Shan Xiongxin is also a decisive person. After thinking about the priorities, he immediately made a decision, "Tomorrow I will personally lead an army of [-] to attack Wujiang, and I must wipe out Du Fuwei here."

Speaking of this, he said to the deputy general Qi Gongshun: "I will send troops tomorrow, and the barracks will be entrusted to General Qi."

Qi Gongshun also rebelled against the king all the way before, leading more than [-] people to raise troops in Beihai County, Qingzhou. When attacking the county, he successfully occupied the outer country;At this time, Liu Lancheng, the general of the city, organized more than a hundred fierce warriors to attack suddenly out of the city. Qi Gongshun was caught off guard, and the situation was chaotic.Subsequently, the generals and civilians of Beihai County were divided into six armies, and Liu Lancheng also led an army.However, some people were jealous of Liu Lancheng's talent and sowed discord among the generals of the various armies, saying that Liu Lancheng was popular among the army and the people, and his existence was not good for everyone, so it was better to kill him.Liu Lancheng learned in advance that he was afraid of causing death, so he escaped from the county alone and defected to Qi Gongshun in a rage.

With the help of Liu Lancheng, Qi Gongshun managed the army to grow stronger and stronger. Li Mi heard that Qi Gongshun sent someone to contact him.Qi Gongshun and Liu Lancheng admired Li Mi's reputation for a long time, so they joined forces and gathered in Wagangzhai. When Li Mi took the name of Wei, they followed the trend and were the first to respond to Li Mi's reorganization policy, which won Li Mi's trust and reliance.

This talent is not obvious, but he is loyal and stable. Shan Xiongxin is very relieved to entrust the camp to him.As for Liu Heita, who is good at observing changes in time, brave, treacherous and ambitious, he must be brought with him.

Qi Gongshun knew that Shan Xiongxin's determination had been made, he bowed and said: "The final general is willing to guard the camp for the great general!"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

To the northwest of Wujiang County in Liyang County is Tongguan Mountain, to the northeast is Liuhe Mountain, and to the east is the mighty Yangtze River.The terrain in this area is gentle, with lush hills rising from time to time. Because it is the front line of the war, the people of Wujiang County have already withdrawn into the Lujiang River. The county is now sparsely populated. The county seat is located at the intersection of Tongguan Mountain and Liuhe Mountain. The official road passes through the city from the direction of Jiangdu City and leads directly to the Jingxiang area in the west.

Twelve miles to the west of the county seat, there is a valley about three miles wide and more than ten miles long. It is named Maple Leaf Valley because of the maple trees on both sides. It is said that Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu, once stationed troops here.The authenticity of the legend has long been impossible to verify, but now there is indeed an army of 3 troops stationed here, and densely packed military tents are all over Maple Leaf Valley.

In front of the big tent of the Chinese army, Du Fuwei sat on a big rock, concentrating on reading a military book, which was given to him by Emperor Yang Tong of the Holy Wu Dynasty. This book, because this book is written about familiar classic battle examples, and analyzes the comprehensive national strength of the enemy and the enemy, the conspiracy before the war, and the contest between generals and advisers during the war, and finally gives the winner or loser. Cause and inevitability, the language is also very straightforward, there are no esoteric and obscure words, as long as you can read and have some military experience, you can understand it. This is of great help to Du Fuwei, who has a limited level of education. The military treasures such as "Sun Tzu's Art of War", "Sun Bin's Art of War", "Wu Zi's Art of War" in the fog are still practical, and I can almost see certain similarities in various battles in my military career. If I get this treasure early According to the book, the tragic victory of Du Xiao's coalition forces last year can be completely avoided, and his righteous brother will not die.In order to improve self-cultivation, once he is free, he would hold this book and read it. He has decided to transform from a titan to a Confucian general, and this book is his teacher.

"Du Shuai."

He Panren, who was transferred to the No.11 Army as the deputy commander, walked over with a smile, "Are you reading military books again?"

Du Fuwei was named the No. 11 army commander, Zhu Guo, and Liyang County Duke, but in the army, he must be commensurate with his military position.

"Yes!" Du Fuwei stood up, and said with some embarrassment and some gratitude: "For so many years, I was complacent about my little achievements, and I didn't know that I have lived so far until I read this classic battle case." How lucky."

He Panren laughed loudly and said, "I have the same feeling."

"Really?" Du Fuwei didn't know much about the deputy commander.

He Panren sat on the big rock opposite Du Fuwei, and said with a smile: "Actually, I was born as a rebel in Guanzhong. He made great contributions, but Li Yuanen avenged his revenge. After entering the customs, he annexed [-] female soldiers and appointed Concubine Li to sit in Tongguan. Qiu Shili, Xiang Shanzhi and I also lost our military power. When Concubine Li married the Holy One, our status After a drastic decline, everyone became watchdogs. As for me, I became the guard of Pujin Gate. I was depressed and drunk every day. Later, I was captured alive by General Shen Guang. The Holy One was broad-minded. As a general, I have not made an inch of merit, but the Holy Majesty canonized me as the deputy commander of the Fifth Army. In this life, I can only swear to the death to repay him."

Speaking of Yang Tong, He Panren's eyes were full of gratitude and reverence.

"General He, it is said that many of my generals in the Sui Dynasty were born rebels?" He Panren's frankness made Du Fuwei very fond of him.

"There are too many to count." He Panren said with a smile: "In short, everyone has been recruited by the Holy Spirit, and they will do their best for Tai Sui in various positions."

Du Fuwei smiled knowingly, why isn't he like this?
At this time, a partial general came over and saluted respectfully: "The final general will see Du Shuai and Deputy Commander He..."

Du Fuwei asked: "What's the matter?"

The general said with some embarrassment: "Brothers, let the future ask, when will we send troops? Everyone is bored in this valley. And everyone is also very worried about the Tang army in Nanjun. They all hope to defeat Shan Xiongxin as soon as possible, and then go to participate in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Great battle."

Du Fuwei laughed: "Who said that the Tang army attacked Nanjun? Who said that the Sui and Tang Dynasties broke out?"

"Isn't it?" Pianjiang asked back in a daze.

"of course not."

Pianjiang scratched the back of his head, "Du Shuai, I don't understand what you mean."

Du Fuwei smiled slightly, "Since ancient times, soldiers have never tire of deceit. The so-called attack on the puppet Tang Dynasty is just a strategy to attack the west. What we really want to fight in the Sui Dynasty is Li Mi. If the Tang army does not attack Nanjun, where will General Huainan Yao get reinforcements?"

Now, there is no need to hide anything.

The general suddenly realized: "Then when will we attack Shan Xiongxin?"

"Be patient, I believe that the Holy Majesty will have a combat order coming soon."

As soon as Du Fuwei finished speaking, there was the sound of horseshoes in the distance. He and He Panren couldn't help but glanced at each other, telling them intuitively: the combat order they had been waiting for came.
Sure enough, I saw a messenger soldier galloping towards me, and reported loudly, "Successful Du Shuai and Deputy Commander He, Your Majesty's urgent order!"

The messenger sent an order to Du Fuwei. Du Fuwei opened it, laughed immediately, and said to the soldiers who were waiting for orders at any time: "Notify all the generals to come to the Chinese army to discuss military affairs!"

"Here!" The soldiers obeyed and dispersed.

He Panren took a look at the situation and saw that the order read: "Take Jiangdu for the navy and contain Shan Xiongxin".

He immediately understood Yang Tong's intentions: Your task is to prevent Shan Xiongxin and Jiangdu from causing trouble. How to fight is up to your Eleventh Army, and your achievements depend on your abilities.

into the night.

A layer of mist covers the surface of the Yangtze River.Generally speaking, there are very few ships on the Yangtze River sailing at night, let alone a night with deep fog?
But Liyang County tonight was a bit unusual. More than 200 large ships were moored on the river near the pier, and the shore was full of Sui troops preparing to board the ships.Teams of soldiers boarded the ship quickly on the boards.

On a high tower, Du Fuwei said to a lieutenant general: "General Gao, please leave the safety of Liyang County to you. I can only give you 3000 troops now, but I believe that Wei Jun will not come here tonight. But Liyang is the logistics center of Vice Marshal He, I hope you will not be careless."

General Gao was Gao Yan, who was arranged by Yang Tong as Du Fuwei's deputy general. After Du Fuwei received the combat order, he discussed with He Panren and the other generals. Landed at the northeast foot of Liuhe Mountain, and then attacked Shan Xiongxin's camp from behind. Once Du Fuwei was in place, He Panren, who was sitting in the camp of Maple Leaf Valley, immediately took advantage of the victory to pursue and kill.

Du Fuwei has ruled this area for nearly ten years, and he is quite familiar with this section of waterway. Even if he can't reach his fingers, he is not afraid of hitting the rocks, so he decided to do it himself.

Gao Yan nodded solemnly, "Don't worry, Marshal Du, there is a general here, and Liyang City is absolutely safe. No matter who comes to challenge, the general will not be able to guard against it."

"Okay!" Du Fuwei patted Gao Yan's shoulder and said with a smile, "We will meet after our triumphant return."

Gao Yan saluted respectfully: "I wish Du Shuai a smooth journey and brilliant achievements."

"That's for sure." Du Fuwei stepped down from the tall building boldly, took the reins from the soldiers, flew on his horse, and quickly ran towards the big boat by the river.

About two hours later, the [-] troops had all boarded the ship, and the fleet set sail one after another, heading down the mighty river, heading for their destination.

(End of this chapter)