The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 946 The Controversy Between the Two Great Lands (Ticket Request)
The sun was setting and the night was slowly falling. The Sui army retreated from the city of Luo County to the barracks in an orderly manner, which indicated that the day-long battle was over. More than 3000 soldiers were killed and the wounded were more more.Of course, under the suppression of the Feitian Shenzhou, the Tang army could not take advantage of it, and their losses may be greater than the Sui army.

Yang Tong looked at the brightly lit Luo County city in the south, and kept silent. It wasn't that he was reluctant to use the flying army to attack the city day and night, and break through Luo County in the shortest time. 'A large amount of dust has accumulated inside, and it has become very cumbersome and slow, which can be seen from the difference in flight height and load capacity of each flying Shenzhou.Moreover, the airbags and the frame are also loose to a certain extent. If they are used forcibly, safety accidents will only happen one by one, increasing unnecessary casualties of soldiers flying in the sky. This is the fundamental reason why Yang Tong asked the craftsmen to urgently repair the flying Shenzhou. .

However, the war has progressed to a certain stage, and Yang Tong can't stop because of the flying Shenzhou, so he led the army to Luoxian County first, in an attempt to surprise Luoxian County and capture Chengdu, the gateway to the North University. After the news, the troops were sent in first to thwart the attack plan.Fortunately, although the Feitian Army did not conquer Luo County, it also caused the soldiers of the Tang Army to fall, unable to deal with it.According to this posture, Luo County will be defeated within ten days.Dou Gui must have seen from today's fortified battle that the Tang army would not be able to stop him for long. In order to protect Luo County, the only way he could do now was to ask Li Shimin to send troops for reinforcements, so as not to break the door.

"Your Majesty." Fang Xuanling came hurriedly from outside the tent, and said to Yang Tong with a relaxed face: "At this point in the war, Dou Gui has only two options. One is to take the initiative and fight our army in the wild. I think it is unlikely, because there is a huge gap in the combat power, morale, and fighting will of the soldiers on both sides. If the Tang army goes out of the city, it will only give our army an opportunity to defeat the enemy. The minister concluded that he would not make such an unwise move."

"What Xuanling said is very true." Yang Yu nodded. What Fang Xuanling said was exactly the same as his thoughts. In the final analysis, the Tang Dynasty could not afford the price of Luo County's fall, and asked with a smile: " So the second way for Dou Gui is to ask for help?"

Fang Xuanling smiled and said: "Exactly, Dou Gui has no other choice but to ask for help from Chengdu City. Now we can send a general to lead a surprise army on the road to attack Chengdu City. If possible, sneak into the city first." Chengdu City, wait for the army to arrive, and then cooperate with the inside and outside, and attack it in one fell swoop."

"I also have the same intention." Yang Tong said here, his eyes began to scan the faces of the next generals, ready to find a suitable general to lead the army.

"Your Majesty, the last general asks for a fight." All the generals went to ask for a fight.

"General Xie has both wisdom and courage. He is the best general of Qibing. I entrust this task to you." Yang Tong's candidate is Xie Yingdeng. He also has the experience of being the general of Wagang, which is his greatest advantage.

A look of liking flashed in Xie Yingdeng's eyes, and he clasped his fists in salute and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry, the final general only needs [-] strong troops to sneak into Chengdu City as an internal response to the army."

"Xuanling, what do you think?" Yang Tong's first idea was to send five thousand soldiers, but now Xie Yingdeng only needs three thousand, which is a full two thousand short, and three thousand soldiers, can things be done?

"My lord, three thousand is enough." Fang Xuanling analyzed: "Luo County's soldiers and horses are already more than half of the troops that Li Shimin can mobilize. If he wants to send more troops to support him, one is to continue to use the Tubo army, and the other is to ask Qing Qiang for help. No matter what kind of soldiers and horses you have, it will empty the defense of Chengdu City. Three thousand soldiers and horses are enough to accomplish things, but there are too many people, but it is not beautiful."

Yang Tong thought for a while and said to Xie Yingdeng: "How about this, I will give you five thousand soldiers, you can let one of the soldiers sneak into the city, and one hide outside the city."

"Here!" Xie Ying took a few steps forward, and took the command arrow from Yang Tong with both hands.

Yang Tong said to Li Daliang and Cheng Chumo again: "General Li, General Cheng, you two obey General Xie's tent, take the soldiers from the Black Ice Terrace together, and then choose suitable soldiers from the army, and make up one thousand, which is considered five." One guard out of a thousand soldiers."

"Here." Li Daliang and Cheng Chumo accepted the order silently.

Yang Tong also ordered: "It would be best if you have a chance to conquer Chengdu City. If you don't have a chance, don't attack by force. After all, we already have an absolute advantage. If you are not sure, it is best not to take such a risk, and Chengdu City It’s the capital of the pseudo-Tang emperor, so it’s not that easy to win. If you have a chance to capture Chengdu, and Li Shimin escapes, don’t chase after it, just stick to Chengdu and wait until the army arrives to make a decision!”

"Here!" Xie Yingdeng knew that this trip was not just as simple as destroying the city of Chengdu, so he bowed his hands and left with Li Daliang and Cheng Chumo.

……

When Yang Tong confronted the Tang army in Luo County, his other two armies also achieved considerable results.

First, Cheng Yaojin stationed troops in Jinshan County. After Zhang Changxun led the main force to leave Xuanwu County, he sent troops from Fucheng County to surprise Xuanwu County in Shu County. Five thousand defenders were divided into various towns. , almost unable to organize a decent defense, they were defeated by Cheng Yaojin, and they fled to the Tongguanshan Military Fort in the south, helping the guard Li Tongke to defend and intercept the Sui army's southward road, so as to prevent Cheng Yaojin from occupying the west of Tongguanshan. Xingle County, or Jinyuan County in the south of Shannan.

Next, Huang Junhan from Zitongguan in Pu'an County entered Xincheng County along the Zitong River, and occupied Yanting and Qixian counties without bloodshed. It was not until the Sui army pushed forward to Shehong County that the reinforcements sent by Zhang Shigui of Suining County entered Tongquan. The county cut off Huang Junhan's momentum, but Zhang Shigui, who had [-] elite soldiers, lost his aggressive strength because of this. The reason was that Qingshi County in the south of Suining and Nanchong County in Bashi County, a neighboring county of Suining, were Xue Wanjun's two troops. Among them, the chief general of the Sui army in the direction of Qingshi County is Su Dingfang who has completed his mission, while the chief general in the direction of Nanchong County is Xue Wanjun himself. No matter in terms of the number of troops or the number of generals, the Sui army has created an absolute advantage over Zhang Shigui. If he When attacking Shehong County, Xue Wanjun and Su Dingfang, who watched Hu Shi Dandan, will take advantage of the situation and march forward, and cooperate with Huang Junhan to annihilate him in Suining.Only in this way, Li Zhongwen's troops, who were ordered to attack Linjin County in Pu'an from Langnei County, Brazil County, also fell into the predicament of being surrounded on three sides.

The Tang Army headed by Li Zhongwen was the army of the Yinping Road Governor's Mansion established by Li Yuan. At that time, Li Yuan wanted to prevent the Sui Army from the direction of Hanchuan on the one hand and Li Shimin who was self-reliant on the other hand. Therefore, he gave Dou Gui, the governor of Yinping Road The quota of 5 troops, and then Li Shimin sent another [-] soldiers from Chengdu, but after Duan Yuanzhe's [-] troops were wiped out, Li Zhongwen's actual troops are now [-].

It is precisely because of Li Zhongwen's large army that he always threatens Yang Tong's rear—Pu'an County and Jinshan County.So no matter if Yang Tong wants to ensure the smooth flow of grain roads, conquer Chengdu without any worries, or gather Wang Xiongdan, Liu Gang and other troops, he must first uproot Li Zhongwen's nail.

Li Zhongwen is the grandson of Zhao Guogong Li Bi, one of the Eight Pillar Kingdoms in the Western Wei Dynasty. He is also Li Mi's cousin and the head of the Li family. He and Li Yuan, who grew up together, call each other brothers and have a very close relationship.

As one of the Guanlong nobles who fully supported Li Yuan's army, Li Zhongwen also used his family Zhuang Ding to establish an army in Guanzhong, and followed Li Xiuning to raise troops in Huxian County, Jingzhao County. Trouble, it restrained most of the Sui army in Guanzhong, and effectively supported Li Yuan's military operations in Bingzhou. The command destroyed all reasonable deployment of Li's talisman, and Bingzhou fell into the hands of the Sui Dynasty in less than a month, and Li Zhongwen was also defeated and captured.After the war, he was redeemed by Li Yuan with a large sum of money, and he was awarded the post of General Hussar, and he was drawn to his side.

However, Li Zhongwen didn't feel grateful at all. Instead, he complained about Li Yuan. There were many reasons. Li Xin worked so hard to build up the Detachment of Women Army, split it up and annexed it, and even demoted Li Xiuning to be the guard of Tongguan. In the end, she married Yang Tong. Li Xiuning, the daughter of Li Yuan, fell into such a miserable situation. Naturally, the generals under her command It was not much better, Li Zhongwen, Qiu Shili, He Panren, and Xiang Shanzhi were all sent to see the door by Li Yuan, and these generals who had made great contributions lost all their rights.

But this is just a kind of dissatisfaction, not the root cause of Li Zhongwen's resentment against Li Yuan, but the root cause is that Li Yuan crossed the river and demolished the bridge, and bloodbathed the nobles of Guanlong. His family lost [-]% of their land, [-]% of their slaves, and [-]% of their wealth.Afterwards, he even indulged Li Yuanji to get rid of many branches and leaves of the Li family for various unreasonable reasons, making his family the only remaining family of the Li family. As the head of the Li family, this has always been Li Zhongwen's biggest heart disease.

However, Li Yuan is the emperor of the Li Tang Dynasty, no matter how dissatisfied he was, he dared not make any changes, so he could only be honest in front of his Brazilian county prefect, because although Li Yuan appointed him as the general of the hussars, he also made him the general of the hussars. The final military power was withdrawn, so that he, the hussar general, had no power at all.So when Dou Gui sent someone to contact him, saying that he wanted to support Li Shimin in launching a palace coup, Li Zhongwen surrendered to Li Shimin without hesitation, killed Xu Luoren, the governor who was loyal to Li Yuan, and later won the title of Duke Zhao.

This time, Li Zhongwen was recommended by Dou Gui and became the commander-in-chief of an army of [-], which can be regarded as fulfilling his dream of being a commander-in-chief. Dissatisfied with Li Zhongwen as the coach, he usually obeyed and disobeyed. When Li Shimin's order to let them attack the Sui Dynasty arrived in Brazil County, Li Zhongwen and Duan Yuanzhe had conflicts in the direction of marching.

Li Zhongwen believed that Hanchuan County was a territory occupied by the Sui Dynasty for many years. Even if their sneak attack was successful, the follow-up would be weak. Once Yu Chigong returned to the army from Shunzheng County, the Tang army, who could not get the support of the Hanchuan army and people, could only return with regret. Instead of sacrificing countless soldiers to do this useless work, it is better to attack Tongchuan County. After all, the Tang Dynasty has a relatively good public foundation here, and the Sui Army has just captured it. It is in a relatively chaotic transition period of power. If the Tang Army opens up the situation here, Then the Sui army can be brought back to Xicheng County, and it can also be united with Zhang Shigui and Hou Junji. In the direction of Hanchuan, only a small group of troops need to be stationed at the three major dangers to keep the Sui army out of the country. However, because Duan Yuanzhe, who "one person attains the Tao, can ascend to heaven", is a good player in war, but he has no idea about strategy and tactics. He held the opposite opinion with Li Zhongwen.

Li Zhongwen, the new commander-in-chief, could not suppress Duan Yuanzhe at all, and many generals in the army also wanted to attack Hanchuan northward. As for himself, he planned to enter Tongchuan County through Qinghua County. As a result, he only arrived in Yilong County when he received the news that Sanguan was lost and Duan Yuanzhe's entire army was wiped out. Ann County.However, before he could take any action, Xue Wanjun rushed to Brazil and occupied Nanchong County. In desperation, he asked General Li Gaoqian to lead an army of [-] troops to the south at high speed, and intercepted the Sui army's front in Xiangru County, so as to avoid three attacks by Commander Li Zhongwen. Wan Dajun was attacked from both sides.

Li Zhongwen's camp was stationed on the banks of the Xishui River in the north of Xishui County, Brazil County.The grain and grass transported from Langnei County are piled up like a mountain, and [-] donkeys and mules transporting [-] shi of grain have already been on the road. Li Zhongwen is inspecting the army grain camp.

His recent actions have been ineffective. The fundamental reason is that the food logistics cannot be guaranteed, which slows down the progress of the army. Although Xishui County is not the best route, it is much smoother than other places in terms of food logistics. Worried about enemy troops coming to harass the grain and grass camp.What's more, if you go north, you can choose to attack Huang'an County, Zitong County, and Linjin County in Pu'an County; place.

However, his location is still hundreds of miles away from Li Gaoqian's department in Xiangru County. He is worried that Li Gaoqian will act without authorization and be ambushed and intercepted by Xue Wanjun or Su Dingfang. Of course, if Zhang Shigui can send an army from Suining Changjiang County sent troops to contain the Sui army in Nanchong County, not only to deter the Sui army, but also to connect the three armies of himself, Li Gaoqian, and Zhang Shigui into one, thus forming a triangular situation of watching and helping each other. Just thinking about it, after all, Zhang Shigui's situation is not optimistic.

Li Zhongwen thought for a while, and suddenly ordered to a soldier: "Go and find Pei Sima for me!"

"Here." The soldier agreed, turned around and ran towards the big tent of the Chinese army.

Although Li Zhongwen also set up intelligence points in Pu'an and Xincheng counties, he was opposed by Duan Yuanzhe. The reason was that there were too few scouts, and it was better to send them farther than to waste them in his own country. Closely monitoring every move of the Sui army in Hanchuan, the reasons Duan Yuanzhe said were not unreasonable. On this issue, Li Zhongwen did not insist too much, but it was also the Tang army that lost its intelligence points in its own territory, and the Sui army seized After passing through the three passes, all roads were blocked, and no merchants and pedestrians were allowed to come and go. As a result, Li Zhongwen was unable to learn important information that the five counties of Tsinghua, Yicheng, Pingwu, Pu'an, and Jinshan had been occupied by the Sui army.

At this time, the marching Sima Pei Huaijie hurried over, bowed and saluted and said: "For humble posts, see the governor!"

Pei Huaijie was originally Li Shimin's recorder and joined the army. After Li Shimin successfully seized power, he canonized Li Zhongwen, the prime minister of Baxi County, as the governor of Bajun Road, and sent Duan Yuanzhe, Pei Huaijie, and Du Zhenglun under his command to Baxi County to issue appointments. Both Pei Huaijie and Du Zhenglun had practical achievements Li Shimin appreciated his talent, and they were the governor of Brazil County and the governor of the county respectively. This time Li Zhongwen specially invited Pei Huaijie, the governor who is proficient in military affairs, to go with him and appointed him as the marching commander.

Li Zhongwen asked: "Pei Sima, how long will it take for the news of the fall of Pu'an Sanguan to reach Xishui County?"

Pei Huaijie didn't know why Li Zhongwen asked himself such a question, but he still thought about it, and said seriously: "It will take about six days. A humble job refers to the fact that there is no official notification, but the news from the merchants."

Li Zhongwen asked again: "What if the Sui army deliberately blocked the road?"

"If there is no official news, and the business road is blocked by the Sui army, then the news will not reach Xishui County at all. After all, the Sui and Tang Dynasties are fighting now, making the road unsafe, so many people are reluctant to go out, like the salt area occupied by Huang Junhan. Ting County is only about two hundred miles away from us, but we didn’t know anything about it. We didn’t know that the northern part of Xincheng had been lost until General Zhang Shigui reported the military situation.” Pei Huaijie asked here, “Is it possible that the governor Are you worried that all the counties around us will fall?"

Li Zhongwen nodded and sighed: "The Sui army came too fast this time. In a short period of time, all five precarious counties fell, and Xue Wanjun even killed Nanchong County in our Brazilian County. I am very worried about Xincheng, Suining is also completely lost, if this is the case, then we will be reduced to a lone army surrounded by enemies."

Pei Huaijie said: "Governor, as far as I know, many big merchants have their own ways to communicate with other places. If Xincheng and Suining are all lost, they may know immediately. Merchants always seek money as their primary purpose. , dare not offend any force, generally speaking, they keep tight-lipped about the news of the two countries in dispute, if we don't ask, they won't take the initiative to say it."

Li Zhongwen didn't think about it, and asked quickly: "Who are some famous merchants in Brazil County?"

Pei Huaijie said: "The two families of Huang and Guan in Brazil County have branches in several nearby counties. Why don't they send people back to Langnei to inquire about the news?"

At this moment, there was a rushing sound of horseshoes, and a soldier came galloping and shouted loudly from a distance: "Report to the Governor, General Li Gaoqian sent an emergency call from Xiangru County. Military situation!"

Li Zhongwen's heart trembled, and he quickly ordered: "Hurry up and bring it to me!"

"Please take a look at it." The soldier jumped off his horse and presented a letter respectfully. Li Zhongwen couldn't wait to open it. The letter was written by General Li Gaoqian, who said that Xue Wanjun sent General Shi Jin to lead the army to attack Suining Changjiang County, in response to Huang Junhan's actions, if Changjiang County falls, then Shi Jin can conquer Tongquan in the west, and then join hands with Huang Junhan to eat the [-] defenders in Tongquan County, Xincheng County supported by Zhang Shigui. The guard implored Li Gaoqian to send troops into Suining Changjiang County to assist in the defense. At present, [-] reinforcements sent by Li Gaoqian have entered Suining Changjiang County.

Li Zhongwen's heart dropped immediately, and he handed the military information letter to Pei Huaijie, "Pei Sima, what do you think of this matter?"

Pei Huaijie took a look and said to Li Zhongwen: "The general of Tongquan County is Zhang Shigui's eldest son Zhang Zhen, who is also a wise and brave general. If Huang Junhan attacks Xincheng County, it is normal for Zhang Dudu to send him to Tongquan County. General Zhang Zhen He should also be aware that Changjiang County is a strategically important place connecting our three armies, so it is inevitable for him to ask Li Gaoqian for help nearby instead of asking for help from Zhang Dudu who is farther away, so the letter said that the reinforcements sent by General Li have entered Suining is also a correct deployment for our current situation, and I feel that there should be no problem with this military situation."

Li Zhongwen nodded silently. He also knew that there was no problem with this letter. Zhang Shigui had already sent him an invitation to join forces to take down Xue Wanjun's troops. However, his army was still in Cangxi County at that time, and there was not enough food and grass, so he could not act in Xue Wanjun. Before, strike first.And this is the second time that Zhang Shigui's troops have asked for help, which shows that the situation in Xincheng and Suining counties is already very urgent.

"As the saying goes, distant water cannot save a nearby fire, and we are too far away from Xiangru County and Changjiang County. If we get to Xiangru, I am afraid that Changjiang County has already fallen." At this point, Li Zhongwen had already made up his mind, and he did not hesitate any longer. , Said to Pei Huaijie: "I decided to lead a large army to attack Yanting County in the new city, annihilate Huang Junhan in Shehong County, relieve the siege of Zhang Zhen in the north, and then merge the two armies, enter Changjiang County from Tongquan, and attack Xue Wanjun in Nanchong County. Please Pei Sima looked for agile soldiers, mountain people, and hunters, and quickly formed a scout team for our army. If there is any situation in Brazil County, immediately send someone to Yanting County to deliver a message to me."

"I obey the order." Pei Huai nodded. Scouting is so important to an army that he dared not delay for a moment. He bowed immediately and asked for instructions: "Governor, it is not too late. The humble position is the first thing to do." Farewell."

"Go, I must set up the scout battalion in the shortest possible time." Li Zhongwen confessed again.

"Here." Pei Huaijie immediately left in a hurry.

"Pass down the order, let the army prepare, and set off in an hour." Li Zhongwen ordered the soldiers.

"Here." The soldiers took the order arrow and sent orders to the generals at all levels.

After some emergency preparations, Li Zhongwen led the army to leave Xishui County, Brazil County an hour later, and an army of [-] marched towards Yanting County, Xincheng County in the southwest.

(End of this chapter)