The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 660 Strict military law, beheading generals with tears
In Shouchun County, Huainan County, Li Mi's main force slowly retreated to Zhongli County. He had received definite news that Shan Xiongxin was defeated, Jiangyang Cangcheng was lost, and the entire county of Jiangdu fell into the hands of the Sui Dynasty. Died tragically in Quanjiao County, Du Fuwei and Yang Tong joined forces in Qingliu County, Jiangdu. You can kill yourself along the flat official road.

A series of bad news made Li Mi fall into despair. He finally realized that he had been tricked. The reason why Du Fuwei and Yao Junsu were weak was just a trap set for him. The purpose was to set his main force away from Jiangdu. , In order for the Sui Navy to completely take down Jiangyangcang and Jiangdu City, but I couldn't resist the temptation, so I fell into Yang Tong's plan to divert the tiger away from the mountain.

Although Li Mi was helpless and flustered, he didn't dare to reveal the slightest thing in front of his subordinates, let alone retreat in a panic, because Lord Yao, who had been reinforced by thirty thousand soldiers, followed closely behind him like a ferocious wolf. The other [-] soldiers, from Lujiang Shen County to Zhongli Dingyuan County in the north, are encircling themselves. Once they show panic, it will cause the army's morale to become unstable, and they will eventually collapse without a fight. Li Mi still has more than [-] soldiers. , he felt that he still had a glimmer of hope to regain Jiangyangcang and Jiangducheng.

The reason why there is still hope is that Li Mi received another piece of information. Although Yang Tong led more than [-] soldiers to the south, his navy had been taken by Zhang Zhenzhou to the south of the Yangtze River, and the troops were divided to attack Danyang, Piling, Xuancheng, Wu After Yang Tong conquered Dingyuan County, Du Fuwei, who was familiar with the south, turned around and went south with his army to assist Zhang Zhenzhou.

That is to say, Yang Tong's military strength is only his first army, which is only about [-] troops, and during the period after he traveled long distances to the south, he has been rushing to fight and fight. The soldiers will also be tired. If I take down the army led by Yang Tong at all costs before the Sui army in Shenxian County joins Yao Junsu, I may be able to bring back the dead and take back Jiangyangcang and Jiangdu City.

For the Wei army, the loss of Jiangyang warehouse means that they are in danger of running out of food, and the loss of Jiangdu means that the morale of the army is unstable, because whether it is the family members of ordinary soldiers or generals, they are all in Jiangdu city. The fall means that everyone's wives and children fell into the hands of the Sui army.If these two places cannot be recaptured, Li Mi will be defeated.

into the night.

Wei Jun entered Zhongli Dingyuan County, set up a camp at the foot of Wufeng Mountain to the west of Dingyuan County, and on the south bank of Chishui.

After a long journey, the soldiers were exhausted, but the soldiers had already heard the news that Jiangdu County had fallen. They were worried about their relatives who had fallen into the hands of the Sui army. They talked about their own way out and expressed their worries; and from the beginning of camping, deserters appeared in the army, ranging from a few to dozens of people, and later even turned into whole brigades and entire regiments fleeing.

With the beginning of fleeing, various rumors began to spread in the army, and the people were panicked and the morale of the army was seriously shaken.

The appearance of the deserters also made Li Mi very angry and panicked. He ordered Liu Lan, who was fleeing and strictly governing the army, to become a law enforcement officer, commanding [-] internal troops to patrol. .

Chinese army tent.

Li Mi is like an ant on a hot pot, pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back. He has just received a piece of fatal news that Yao Junsu joined forces with the Sui Army in Shen County seventy miles away, causing the army in his hands to expand to seventy miles away. Thousands of people are coming here at a leisurely pace, if Yang Yu and Yao Junsu attack his camp from left to right, then he will be in extreme danger.

On the one hand, the morale of our own army is slackened and the army flees. On the other hand, the threat of flanking attacks from left and right can be described as internal and external troubles. The severe situation makes Li Mi restless, and he is so worried that he doesn't know what to do.

"Your Majesty, my humble minister Fang Xuanzao asks to see you." At this time, Fang Xuanzao's voice came from outside the tent.

Hearing this, Li Mi stopped in his tracks. To be honest, he is somewhat dissatisfied with Fang Xuanzao now. As his mastermind, he didn't see through Yang Tong's plan, and even forgot about the Sui Dynasty's navy, which was famous in Goguryeo. Yes, this is a crucial dereliction of duty, but Li Mi has lost his mind and wants to hear the other party's opinion, so he said: "Come in."

Fang Xuanzao lifted the curtain and entered, stepped forward and gave a deep salute: "My humble minister sees the Holy One."

He also knew that Li Mi harbored resentment towards him. To some extent, it was indeed his dereliction of duty, because the seven counties in Huaibei were never detained by the Sui army, so he always firmly believed that Yang Tong attacked Li Tang first, and believed that Li Tang should be destroyed first. After Tang, Yang Tong would consider Wei.But it never occurred to him that the huge momentum created by the Sui army in Nanyang, Xiyang, Huai'an, Nanjun, and Jiangxia gave people the illusion of attacking Tang, and then directly attacked Jiangdu from the sea, which made Fang Xuanzao extremely unconvinced. However, he had to admit that this was his strategic mistake, otherwise he would not have advocated the Western Expedition, let alone the predicament he is in today.

"sit down."

Li Mi sighed, and sat on the main seat himself, but Fang Xuanzao, who felt that he had made a big mistake, was a little cautious and did not dare to take his seat as promised, and asked respectfully and in a low voice: "My lord, are you worried?" There are two Sui armies on the left and right?"

Li Mi smiled bitterly, nodded and said: "The two Sui armies combined have 4 to [-] people. They are brave and good at fighting, and they are surrounded by a great victory. But our army's morale has been lost, and I have nothing to do now. I can only watch Yao Junsu approaching step by step, and watch the attack gradually take shape."

Speaking of this, he looked at Fang Xuanzao, motioned for the other party to sit down again, and did not ask until the other party was seated, "Now that things are going on, sir, do you have a good solution to the immediate crisis?"

Fang Xuanzao said: "This minister has thought of a way, but I don't know if His Majesty will accept it."

Li Mi cheered up, and quickly said: "Quickly tell me."

"As the Holy Majesty said, our army is already on the verge of collapse. If two Sui armies arrive, I am afraid that not many people will dare to fight against the Sui army. What I mean is to abandon the south and quickly lead the army north to the Central Plains. Based on the seven prefectures, capture Qingzhou, and then unite with Li Yuan to fight against the Sui Dynasty, and threaten Luoyang from the east, I think this is our only way out." Fang Xuanzao expressed his opinion.

Li Mi was stunned, and frowned and said: "I thought about it too, but the southern soldiers would not go north with me. In order to return to Guanzhong, the Xiaoguo army did not hesitate to follow Yu Wenhuaji to do the king's work. It can be seen that people's Once the homeland sentiment flares up, it’s quite scary.”

Fang Xuanzao sighed and said: "My lord, there are nearly 20 troops in hand now, plus more than [-] people in Huaibei, there are actually more than [-] troops. Our army here indeed has tens of thousands of soldiers from the south, but these People who live in the comfortable south are far inferior to those in the Central Plains in terms of combat effectiveness and fighting will. Keeping them will only shake the morale of the army like a plague. The logistics are all good things. The important thing is that we have a popular base in the Central Plains, and that is where Yang Guang’s main troubles are. The people are afraid of the Sui Dynasty. As long as we announce it, the people will definitely support us.”

This suggestion made it difficult for Li Mi to make a decision. The main reason is that there are more Sui troops in the Central Plains. If he fails, he will be completely ruined. Now he regrets it a bit. If he had known that he should have followed the advice of Fang Xuanzao and Shan Xiongxin, he would have given up on Huaibei. The seven counties gave up the Jianghuai land and focused on operating the territory south of the Yangtze River. It's a pity that they didn't listen to it, and even provoked the Sui army. Otherwise, how could we be in today's predicament?

In the final analysis, the problem still appeared on him, the decision-maker. It is no wonder that Fang Xuanzao, the mastermind, had listened to their persuasion earlier, it would have been a dream of planning to rule the river. At this point in his thoughts, Li Mi let out a long sigh : "Let me think about it!"

Fang Xuanzao said anxiously: "My lord, the Sui army's cavalry is too powerful. The only way right now is to use the southern army to cover up people's eyes and ears, and lead the army from the Central Plains to go north overnight. Once the Sui army's encirclement circle is formed, it will be difficult for us to retreat. .”

"I'll think about it again."

"It should be broken, and it will not be messed up, my lord."

"Sir, go down first." Li Mi rubbed his aching forehead.

"Wei Chen obeys."

Fang Xuanzao had no choice but to leave, unhappy.

At this moment, there was a sudden noise outside, and someone was yelling loudly: "You bastards, let me go!"

Li Mi and Fang Xuanzao stared at each other, both of them could hear the voice of Li Wenxiang, Lieutenant General of the Internal Army.

Li Mi said angrily, "Why are you making such a fuss here?"

"My lord, General Li has been arrested." A soldier replied quickly.

Li Mi frowned, thought for a while, and went out to watch with Fang Xuanzao.

There was a flame in the distance, and a group of law-enforcing internal soldiers pushed over a heavily tied general. Zhang Fei is average,
This person is Li Mi's deputy general Li Wenxiang. He was originally the leader of the Liyang bandits in Ji County. up.

A group of law enforcement officers pushed him in front of Mi and kicked him in the crook of his leg. Li Wenxiang fell to his knees with a plop. He wanted to escape at night, but he was fortunately discovered by the brothers, but he fought hard to resist arrest, killed more than 50 of us, and injured countless brothers, please forgive me."

Li Wenxiang yelled: "If I didn't resist, I would be killed by you. You forced me to do so."

"We were ordered by the Holy Majesty to arrest the deserters, and indeed we killed some people. But you are the deputy general of our internal army, how dare we kill you? We tried to persuade you, but you refused to listen, so we were forced to surround you, but you took advantage of it We are not prepared to kill you, if General Liu hadn't happened to be on patrol, we would have been killed by you long ago." After the famous school captain had finished arguing, he bowed to Li Mi and said, "Your Majesty, many people have seen this matter. It’s here, it’s definitely not like I’m waiting for pawns to commit crimes.”

Li Mi strode forward with a sullen face, stared at Li Wenxiang for a moment, and suddenly shot, slapped Li Wenxiang several times, twisted his face, and said through gritted teeth: "I trust you so much, entrusting my wealth and life to you!" Here you are, but you betrayed me, are you worthy of me? Where is your conscience?"

Li Wenxiang lowered his head silently when he heard the words, and said in a low voice: "My mother is still in Jiangdu City, I am afraid that the Sui army will harm her, and I have absolutely no intention of betraying the Holy Majesty."

"You..." Li Mi snorted coldly, kicked him to the ground, and said bitterly: "Yang Tong is strict in running the army. The Sui army has never committed any crime against the people. The military discipline is stricter than my Wei army." All the lieutenants and academies in the army know this, although everyone is worried about their relatives, but no one has ever worried that the Sui army will harm our relatives."

In order to appease the generals and academies who came here after hearing the news, Li Mi had no choice but to speak well for the Sui army, but all the generals nodded in agreement. The strict military laws of the Sui army were in proportion to their combat power. [-]. Since the establishment of the Military Affairs Department, the Sui Army has never had any incidents of disturbing the people that had a great impact. Even if there were, it was a very small number. admire.Thinking of this, the generals felt a little relieved.

If Li Mi knew that his family was slaughtered by Niu Jinda, he didn't know how he would feel, but he continued to talk eloquently: "My sons and daughters are also in Jiangdu, and everyone's relatives are in Jiangdu, not just you, Li Wenxiang. No one else escaped, only you, Li Wenxiang, escaped, and even cruelly murdered the brothers who were brought together by one hand, and killed the brothers, are you worthy of the brothers who admire you and are proud of you?"

Fang Xuanzao knew that Li Mi had already launched a murderous plan, and quickly persuaded him: "My lord, General Li is a straightforward and unscrupulous person. He is extremely filial. It is because of this that the sage recognizes this, so he will use it. For the sake of war and ignorance, please spare his life!"

The generals also begged for mercy one after another. Li Wenxiang is honest and straightforward, with high martial arts skills. All the generals and schools will ask him for advice when they encounter problems in martial arts, and he knows everything, and everyone likes him very much.

Li Mi said in a serious tone: "The country has state laws, the family has family rules, and the army has military discipline. If he didn't kill someone, I can punish him lightly. But now, if I forgive him, how can I convince the people in the future? Why do you rest in peace?"

Everyone was silent when they heard the words. Li Wenxiang killed more than one person, and a team of soldiers disappeared. If he is not beheaded to show the public, what will happen in the future?
"This case can't be opened..." Li Mi closed his eyes, and ordered very sadly: "Push it down, cut it off!"

Li Wenxiang kowtowed his head nine times, and said loudly with tears streaming down his face: "My lord, I know I was wrong. The general knows that he deserves death, so he doesn't dare to beg for mercy. For the sake of your service, take care of my mother for me, and say that you will go to Huaibei in the end. In the future, you will be your soldier."

"I promise you everything, as long as I take back Jiangdu, as long as I am alive, I will treat your mother as my own mother. If I, Li Mi, break this oath, heaven and earth will not tolerate it," Li Mi's eyes were red with tears, but he had to ruthlessly Be careful, otherwise it will cause more deserters, sighed: "You can go at ease."

Fang Xuanzao prostrated himself on the ground, crying, "My lord, please spare General Li's life!"

All the generals couldn't bear it, and knelt down to beg for mercy: "My lord, please spare General Li this time!"

"The law doesn't show mercy." Li Mi was unmoved, waved his hand fiercely, and ordered: "Push it down, behead for public display!"

"Your Majesty, the last general will go." Li Wenxiang stood up, without the soldiers pushing and shoving, and strode outside by himself.

Li Mi couldn't hold back the tears in his eyes anymore, two lines of hot tears rolled down.

Not to mention his loyalty, Li Wenxiang also saved Li Mi's life. When the Battle of Xingyang was defeated, Li Mi swam across the canal to escape. At the bottom of the river, it was Li Wenxiang who successfully swam to the other side, jumped into the canal again, picked him up, and used his body to block the dense arrow rain for Li Mi. After that, he lost a lot of blood and had a high fever, and almost died.It can be said that if Li Wenxiang hadn't risked his life to save him, there would have been no such person as Li Mi in the world, and Li Mi would never forget this kindness.

But Li Wenxiang killed too many people, and the mistakes he made were too great. Normally, he would be fine, at most he would be beaten, but now the morale of the army is unstable, and everyone is watching. ?

He really had to kill...

After a while, the soldiers put his head on, "Your Majesty, Li Wenxiang has been punished and beheaded."

Li Mi wiped away tears without hesitation, quickly regained his composure, and said coldly: "Take his people to the three armies, and those who dare to flee will be executed!"

. . . . . . .

Although Li Wenxiang became a deserter, he was Li Mi's confidant general after all. The generals of the Wei army thought that the punishment would be over, but now they are shown to the public.

This made some veterans of the Wei army think of what happened a few years ago. When Li Mi took over Wagang, in order to strictly enforce military discipline, he slaughtered nearly [-] lawless soldiers and piled up countless corpses to form the strict military law of the Wei army. , Let the Wagang Army transform into a regular army.

At first, the whole army didn't believe it, but when Li Wenxiang's head was passed on once, it had a very good deterrent effect, and the fleeing wave of the Wei army was immediately suppressed.

However, the morale of the army has not been stabilized because of this, on the contrary, it has become more and more turbulent. Although they no longer disagree, a bigger storm is brewing in the camp.

The generals and soldiers of the Wei army were in the midst of internal and external troubles. They were worried about their relatives who fell into the hands of the Sui army, they were also afraid of a sudden attack by the Sui army, and they were also afraid of the knives of the law enforcement army. They were all in a state of tension, fear, and anxiety. Once such negative emotions If it is ignited, the consequences will be unimaginable.

(End of this chapter)