The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 709 Joining forces in Gucheng, the Great War Comes

Dugu Yanyun's face was full of grief in the Xiangyang Gucheng County Government. Under him was a group of generals from the Beizhen army. On that day, there was a civil strife between Wuchuanwei and Tuqugai. Dugu Cheng took the opportunity to send a message and let them choose one Standing in the local area, and saying that as long as they are here, the people in the city will be safe, Dugu Yanyun obeyed the order to seize the Gucheng, but today, Xiangyang Xizuo heard the news that each family was exterminated.

He raised the letter in his hand and said with grief and indignation: "Everyone, let me tell you a very unfortunate news. The treacherous king Li Yuanji was ordered by the dog emperor Li Yuan to wipe out more than 30 Guanlong nobles including the Dugu family, Yu family, and Zhao family yesterday. door, men, women, children, and children have all been raped by the king's hand, and there is not a single one left."

There was a sound of mourning above the lobby. Although everyone had been worried about this and even had some psychological preparations, they still couldn't accept it when it came to an end. After all, those who were killed were all their closest relatives.

Looking at these generals, Dugu Yanyun seemed to think that he was not strong enough and said: "Besides, Li Yuanji has entered Shu today, which means that the relatives in Yizhou will soon follow in the footsteps of the Xiangyang people."

The generals wailed loudly, and some of them suffered the blow and even fainted from spitting blood.

'boom! ’ When the generals were almost exhausted, Dugu Yanyun punched on the table, making a loud bang.

The crying of the generals stopped abruptly, and they raised their heads one after another, staring blankly at Dugu Yanyun.

"I want to cry too, but even if we cry to death, the relatives killed by Li Yuanji will not be able to come back to life." Dugu Yanyun's eyes were full of evil spirits, staring at everyone like a falcon, and said word by word: "Our relatives are Dead, but we are still there, we still have more than 3 soldiers, and we still have the ability to avenge the departed relatives..."

"That's right, we want revenge..." Yu Qinming wiped away the tears on his face, and said loudly bitterly: "Gucheng is a small city, and if you defend it for a long time, you will lose it. Once we are all dead, who will take care of our people?" Revenge? So the top priority is to discuss the matter and decide on the next strategy of the Beizhen Army. Even if you want to cry, you have to wait until you get out of trouble and take revenge."

"Please give the order, General."

"Please order from the general."

At this moment, the generals showed unprecedented unity for the sake of their deceased relatives and for themselves.

Dugu Yanyun heaved a sigh of relief. What he was most worried about was that some people would lose their minds and lead the soldiers under his command to go to Xiangyang to die like moths on a flame. From the current point of view, everyone's grief and indignation turned to grief and indignation, but they did not go in the direction he was worried about develop.

He said slowly: "What I said may be harsh, but please don't think too much about it. We were passive because of the restraints of the people in Xiangyang City, but now, we don't have any worries, so we can give it a go."

All the generals nodded.

"There are only two roads before us. One is to abandon Gucheng, break through layers of siege regardless of life and death, go to Yizhou, and rescue the people of Yizhou. But Li Yuanji, a thief, has no worries. When we arrive in Yizhou Well, the corpses of the clansmen are probably all rotten. Even if the clansmen are still alive, we can't do anything with only a few people left. Therefore, this road of self-destruction is not advisable.

This is a fact, and no one can object to it, asking one after another: "What is the second way?"

"The second way is to descend to the Sui Dynasty. If we tear a hole in the Hanshui defense line, the Sui army will continue to enter the country. If the Sui army comes to the city of Xiangyang, then Li Yuanji can only turn around and return to help. Our people in Yizhou It's safe." Dugu Yanyun said slowly.

Yu Qinming said: "The ultimate purpose of our military remonstrance is to oppose the Tang Dynasty and surrender to the Sui Dynasty. At present, only the Sui army can help us achieve the goal of encircling Wei and saving Zhao, forcing Li Yuanji to turn around and return to Xiangyang. I agree to surrender to the Sui Dynasty."

"I agree too."

"I agree too."

"..."

Dugu Qingyun, He Lan Shiren and others slowly expressed their views.

The plan of 'subduing the Sui Dynasty' was unified in an instant, but there are still many problems that need to be resolved. Dugu Yanyun said in a deep voice: "In our north is Liu Hongji. After unifying the troops sent by Zhang Shigui, Liu Hongji will support four Dou Cong is in charge of the southeast, and there are [-] troops, obviously to prevent our army from joining forces with the Sui army; and according to the information I received, Li Shimin will come soon, and he should besiege The south of Gucheng, judging from the layout of the Tang army, is trying to force us to evacuate to the west. Gucheng is the remnant of Wudang Mountain, and the terrain is relatively flat. In addition to building water, there are dozens of rivers and rivers to the west of the county. , will be annihilated by the Tang army. Judging from the current situation, our [-] army needs to fight against more than [-] Tang troops. Only by defeating them can we escape the siege and retreat to Nanyang controlled by the Sui Dynasty."

"General, there is an official road on the other side of Gucheng leading directly to Nanyang. As long as we defeat Dou Cong's army, we can cross the Han River and enter Rang County in Nanyang. Why do we need to fight with more than [-] Tang troops?" Da Xi'an, the grandson of the famous general Daxi Changru, spoke. Assuming the post of General Huben, he led the [-] soldiers of the Second Division of the Beizhen Army.

"Yes, although Dou Cong has 3 soldiers, his soldiers are made up of private troops of various ethnic groups. It is not a problem for us to fight him with [-]." Speaking of.

"If we fight Dou Cong to the death, Li Shimin and Liu Hongji won't sit idly by." Dugu Yanyun said in a deep voice, "The key is that we don't have cavalry, but the other side has. If we lose the city, we will definitely be defeated by the Tang Army, which has a large number of people." Besieged, and then wiped out by their cavalry in the wilderness. In addition, although Gucheng is small, it is a key node of the Tang Dynasty's Hanshui defense line, and I don't want it to fall into the hands of the Tang army again."

Yu Qinming suddenly asked: "The general wants to dedicate Gucheng to the Sui army?"

Dugu Yanyun nodded and said: "Gucheng is located on the west bank of the Han River, at the southeast foot of the Wudang Mountains. It is adjacent to Jingshan Mountain in the south, Wudang in the west, and Han River in the east. The Tang army in Chengcheng and Junyang will be supplied by Xiangyang city downstream, as long as Gucheng is not lost, the Tang army in the upper reaches will not receive any supplies, and it will not be long before the people will panic because of the lack of food."

"What the general meant was..."

"Send an envoy to Nanyang and shoot at the right servant of the Sui Dynasty to express his vassalship, and ask him to send the Sui army and us to attack Dou Cong back and forth, and take over Gucheng." Dugu Yanyun sneered: "Li Yuan's so-called Hanshui defense line It's just a big joke. Li Yuan didn't pay enough attention to our 'rebel army' occupying Gucheng. If it were the Sui army, Xiangyang would have been in chaos."

It has to be said that Dugu Cheng, the leader of the Dugu faction, is incompetent, but the Dugu Yanyun he values ​​is indeed a far-sighted figure, who clearly sees the essence of the Li Tang Dynasty who is strong outside but capable in the middle.

"Who can serve as an envoy?" Yu Qinming asked.

Dugu Yanyun thought for a while, and said with some embarrassment: "My fourth brother and I have the title of the Sui Dynasty. Either one is the best candidate, but the battle is imminent, and the two of us can't get away. I want Sima to go to work together." How about it?"

"I'm fine, but I don't matter. I'm afraid Yang Shan will believe me. If it delays the battle, our army will suffer." Yu Qinming expressed his worries.

"Let's go then." Dugu Qingyun got up and said.

Dugu Yanyun hesitated for a while, then nodded and said, "Forget it!"

"Report to General." At this time, a messenger hurried over and saluted with uncertain breath: "There is a Sui army who came by boat from the east bank of the Han River. The leading general, Shen Guogong Su Dingfang, please tell the general."

"what?"

In the hall, the generals who were having a headache for contacting the Sui army and gaining the trust of Yang Shanhui stood up in surprise and joy.

"Where are people?" Dugu Yanyun asked anxiously.

The messenger hurriedly said: "They are outside the gate of the east city, and the patrolling soldiers dare not open the gate without a general's order."

"Please... no, let's go to greet her together." Before Dugu Yanyun finished speaking, he walked out immediately, and everyone followed.

"This..." In the empty official office, the messenger looked blank.

When Dugu Yanyun and the others arrived at the head of the east city, they saw that the billowing smoke and dust outside the city gradually dissipated, and a group of about [-] elite cavalry gathered outside the city. Glittering, the icy smell permeated the void, spreading endlessly over the city gate.

Although they were few in number, they all had a strong killing spirit, like a rainbow.

In front of the more than two thousand cavalry, two generals lined up, their waists still straight, their aura sharp and extraordinary, like two unsheathed sharp knives, straight into the sky.

Dugu Yanyun sighed: "You really deserve to be a soldier in a hundred battles."

Although the Beizhen army is not bad, it is far from the group of soldiers who crawled out of the sea of ​​corpses and blood in front of them. The momentum alone is far inferior.

The wind in the river was strong, the sun was like blood, and he rode like flying. He rushed to the bottom of the city and said loudly, "General Zuo Lingjun of Sui Dynasty, General Zuo Wuwei, please tell me about it, General Dugu Yanyun, Duke of Hexi County."

Hearing this, all the generals in the city gasped, they didn't expect that apart from Su Dingfang, Luo Shixin would also come.Compared with Su Dingfang, who is relatively unknown, Luo Shixin, who has achieved a series of brilliant records, is undoubtedly more shocking.

"I am Dugu Yanyun." Dugu Yanyun took a deep breath, and said in a loud voice: "It is about the safety of the [-] soldiers of the Beizhen Army. Please show me proofs that convince us."

"Here is the evidence." The soldiers of the Sui Army under the city took off their bows and arrows, drew out an arrow, and put the arrows on the bows. The soldiers at the top of the city used shields to protect Dugu Yanyun. , reached the sky above the city, and fell lightly to the ground.

"General, there is a letter." A soldier picked up the bamboo arrow on the ground, took down the letter, and handed it to Dugu Yanyun.

When Dugu Yanyun opened it, he couldn't help being startled. This was actually a letter written by Dugu Cheng, asking him to lead the Beizhen Army to the Sui Dynasty and obey the orders of the generals of the Sui Army. sign.

"How?" Dugu Qingyun stepped forward and asked.

"The letter was written by the head of the family. The handwriting, paper and code all match. That's true, but I can't believe it."

"Are you worried that the letter will fall into the hands of Tang Jun and use it to defraud the city?"

"good."

"The letter can be faked, but the person can't be faked." Dugu Qingyun said: "Have you forgotten? When we went to the Shenwu Palace in Yecheng to accept the canonization of Emperor Shengwu, Luo Shixin was by the side."

Dugu Yanyun suddenly realized that he really didn't know Su Dingfang, but Luo Shixin did. Since the other party was famous all over the world, he took a few more glances and said loudly, "General Luo, please come forward and explain."

Luo Shixin urged the horse to come forward, raised his head and said, "I am Luo Shixin, what can General Dugu say?"

Dugu Yanyun took a closer look, and found that the other party was indeed Luo Shixin, and seeing his elder brother nodding to him, he said, "The general doubts the origin of the letter, and worries that you are disguised by Tang Jun..."

Luo Shixin frowned: "How can you believe it?"

"The last general knows the general, that's enough." Dugu Yanyun turned around and shouted: "Open the city gate."

Luo Shixin didn't say any more, and retreated to Su Dingfang's side.

After a while, the high suspension bridge was lowered slowly, and within half a cup of tea time, the city gate opened, the suspension bridge lowered to the bottom, and a group of generals from the Beizhen Army filed out of the city.

Dugu Yanyun, who was walking in front, clasped his fists respectfully and said, "The last general, Dugu Yanyun, pays homage to General Luo and General Su."

"General Dugu, you don't need to be polite." Luo Shixin and Su Dingfang jumped off their horses, supported them with empty hands, and said with a smile: "General Su is in charge, and I am the deputy general."

Dugu Yanyun hurriedly said: "The end general doesn't know, please forgive me, General Su."

"Those who don't know are innocent." Su Dingfang smiled faintly: "General Dugu, have you read the letter from Patriarch Dugu?"

"Report to General Su, the last general has already seen it, and the whole army swears allegiance to the Sui Dynasty. As long as the general gives an order, we will go through fire and water." Dugu Yanyun held up the military talisman with both hands.

"It's not that serious." Su Dingfang admired the calm general in front of him, and saw a group of generals coming with bare hands, knowing that the other party had shown the greatest sincerity, and took the soldier talisman.

Dugu Yanyun took a few steps back, hesitated for a moment, and said: "General Su, General Luo and all brothers have worked hard all the way, please go to the city to rest."

"Okay, let's go to town."

With a big wave of his hand, Su Dingfang, together with Luo Shixin, followed Dugu Yanyun and his party into Gucheng under the protection of a hundred personal guards, followed by two thousand Xiaoguo troops led by Cheng Yaojin, Gao Yan, and Kan Leng.

. . . . . .

Su Dingfang and Luo Shixin led troops to Gucheng, which was undoubtedly a reassurance for the confused generals of the Beizhen Army.Looking at Su Dingfang who sat high on the head, his eyes were full of fanaticism, and there was also a faint fear, yes, it was fear!
Su Dingfang's reputation is not obvious, and they don't know what he has, but with Luo Shixin as a stepping stone, his status will naturally rise. In just a short while, the generals will be far more convinced and respectful of him than Dugu Yanyun, who has worked hard for a long time .

The so-called name of a person and the shadow of a tree are nothing more than this.

Logically speaking, Dugu Yanyun, who has lost power, should be the most unhappy person, but he is the happiest person instead.

From the moment their brothers accepted Yang Tong's canonization, they were actually inseparable from the Sui Dynasty. They vowed not to serve in the Tang Dynasty in order not to damage the reputation of their father and uncle. He regarded himself as a loyal minister of the Sui Dynasty.So now there is the surprise of finding 'organization', and the ease of relief.

Although Su Dingfang didn't know why, he was quite satisfied with everyone's attitude and asked, "General Dugu, how long can the food last?"

"Back to General." Dugu Yanyun respectfully said: "Three or four months is not a problem, if you live frugally, half a year is not a problem."

"Uh..." Su Dingfang was taken aback, and asked strangely: "As far as I know, the Beizhen Army is an army without logistics. Where can we get so much food?"

"Gucheng is an important logistics area for supplying Yincheng and Junyang. We seized this city because we valued the food here. After the Sui and Wei wars ended, Li Yuan was afraid that the Sui and Tang wars would break out, and even more afraid that the Great Sui would destroy Yincheng and Junyang. The garrison’s food road, so it is transported day and night, otherwise, Gucheng would have more food. Besides the food, there are also a lot of arrows. In short, you don’t have to worry about the logistics.” Dugu Yanyun said.

Su Dingfang's cheeks twitched a few times. From Dugu Yanyun, he could see that they, the Beizhen army, were doing well, and Li Yuan actually allowed the Beizhen army to live happily in Xiangyang County. How incompetent is this?
Seeing that Su Dingfang was silent, Dugu Yanyun said worriedly: "General, in order to annihilate the Beizhen Army, Li Yuan divided the 12 troops into three groups, sending troops from Yincheng, Anyang, and Xiangyang respectively. Although they are elite troops, if they really fight one by one, with these [-] soldiers, it will be very difficult to defeat the enemy four times as many."

"If an army of 12 invaded together, it would be difficult to defeat, but Li Yuan divided his troops into three groups, which gave us an opportunity to take advantage of it." Su Dingfang laughed.

"Is the general defeated one by one?"

"Yes, just beat them with a time difference."

Dugu Yanyun was startled, thought about the meaning of 'time difference', and then understood: "What the general said is true, Li Shimin soldiers came from Xiangyang, Liu Hongji came from Yincheng, Dou Cong sent troops to Anyang, The soldiers and horses of the three routes are scattered in three places, and the time to reach Gucheng is also very different, our army is enough to deal with them one by one!"

"I'm a little worried about the strength of the Beizhen army. Can it fight a tough battle?" Su Dingfang said truthfully.

But Dugu Yanyun smiled: "General, you can rest assured that although the Beizhen Army is composed of private troops of various ethnic groups, its equipment and training are comparable to those of the late emperor's Xiaoguo Army, and they have been fighting bandits in various parts of Yizhou for these years. , may not be as good as the Sui soldiers who have experienced many battles, but their combat power and fighting will are by no means comparable to the demoralized Tang army."

Su Dingfang pondered for a while, and then said: "Under the leadership of the Holy Majesty, we have successively fought against Khitan, Xi, East/Turk, and West Turk. Every time, we in the Sui Dynasty were able to win more with less. Do you know why?"

"Our Great Sui army is brave and good at fighting."

"Foreign races are unbearable."

"..."

The generals gave their own 'answers' one after another.

Su Dingfang was noncommittal, seeing Dugu Yanyun silent and thoughtful, he asked with a smile, "What is General Dugu thinking?"

"I don't know if I'm right or not." Dugu Yanyun cupped his hands and said, "As far as I know, the Khitan, Xi, Eastern/Turkic, and Western Turkic tribes are all composed of various tribes. , will be gathered under the command of the Great Khan, their army is composed of tens of hundreds of tribes, no matter how many people there are, it is difficult to form a strong group that works together and with one heart and one mind. At that time, because all the chiefs had selfishness to protect their own soldiers, they were not able to fight for a long time, and it was easy for some people to fight and some to retreat, which gave the Sui army every opportunity to defeat them."

"That's right." Su Dingfang nodded and said, "Our Sui army is brave and good at fighting, and the foreign tribes are actually not bad. A single tribal soldier is quite strong, but when they get together, there will be problems of inconsistent orders and selfishness."

Dugu Yanyun, Dugu Qingyun, Yu Qinming, He Lanshiren, Da Xi'an and others understood that Su Dingfang was a metaphor for the Beizhen Army formed by dozens of families.

"General, we have considered this issue in Shangyong. Today's Beizhen Army has me among you, and you among me. There is no problem of fighting each other. In addition, the Beizhen Army follows the Great Sui Army System. Six 5000-man divisions and thirty thousand-man guards, each division has the same combat strength, and the difference is not big." Dugu Yanyun said with a smile.

Su Dingfang smiled and said, "Then I can rest assured."

"Report."

At this moment, a soldier rushed in, although he didn't know why the general had changed, but when he saw Dugu Yanyun and all the generals present, he bowed and said, "General Qi, there are enemies in the north of Gucheng. Liu Hongji commanded an army of [-] and came to kill Gucheng."

"Oh?" Su Dingfang asked: "How far is the enemy's army?"

"This..." The soldier looked at Dugu Yanyun at the side.

Dugu Yanyun said: "If you have anything to say, just say it. The Beizhen Army will be dominated by General Su in the future."

Then the soldier said: "I would like to report to General Su, according to the scout's report, the enemy army is still forty miles away, and they can reach Gucheng before dark."

"Soldiers are expensive and fast, not bad."

"General, how will we fight this battle? Should we defend the city or go out to fight the Tang army?" Dugu Yanyun asked.

"Defend the city? Field battle?" Su Dingfang waved his hands and said, "No, let's go out to rob the camp."

He spoke calmly here, but there was already an uproar in the government office.

"what?"

"Hacking the camp in broad daylight??"

"How do you rob the camp in broad daylight??"

Dugu Yanyun looked pitifully at the more reliable Luo Shixin: "General Luo, how...how did you rob the camp in broad daylight?"

Luo Shixin was secretly amused, and explained: "According to the current weather and normal marching speed, Liu Hongji finished camping ten miles away, and the sky just turned dark. Is this a camp robbery during the day?"

"Uh, no."

"Even if we can't rob the battalion, our army can still beat him ten miles away."

Hearing what Luo Shixin said, the generals immediately became excited, and asked again: "General Su, do you need the whole army to go out?"

"Twenty thousand is enough." After Su Dingfang finished speaking, he said to Dugu Qingyun: "General Qingyun, Helan Sima, you two will lead the soldiers of the Fifth and Sixth Divisions to harvest the grain in the city as soon as possible and transport it to the northwest It is hidden in the deep mountains and old forests of Fang, and it is only necessary to keep the three-day rations of the soldiers in the city! Remember, this matter must be carried out in secret, especially the place where the food is hidden must not be known to anyone, and there must be no mistakes."

"Here!" Although the decree was a bit out of date, Dugu Qingyun and He Lan Shiren did not show the slightest hesitation, bowed respectfully to Su Dingfang, turned around and left.

(End of this chapter)