At the end of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 704
Bashu is the area of ​​Chongqing and Sichuan today, and Jingxiang is the area of ​​Hubei today, just downstream of Bashu.Now that the Tang army has occupied most of Bashu, once the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the Han River are controlled, it will be very disadvantageous for the Qi army. No wonder Xu Shiji is worried.

But there is no way to do it. As the saying goes, the road to Shu is difficult, and it is difficult to go to the blue sky. The Bashu area is full of mountains and rivers, and the terrain is dangerous. Especially in the Sui Dynasty one thousand and hundreds of years ago, the Bashu area was simply a foreign country. Only the Guanlong area in the north has a few land routes that can enter and exit Bashu, and they are all difficult and dangerous rugged mountain roads and plank roads. If you want to enter Shu from the Jingxiang area in the east, you can only take the waterway, but the waterway It is more dangerous than the land route, because the Yangtze River is turbulent and there are many hidden reefs and dangerous shoals, especially in the section of the Badong Three Gorges.

Therefore, the Tang army has an absolute advantage. It can cross the Qinling Mountains from Guanlong to enter the Hanzhong Basin, and then use the Hanzhong Basin as a springboard to cross the Daba Mountain and enter the Bashu area. Gao Qi can only stare blankly at this.

Of course, Gao Qi could also take the risk of leading his navy to flow upstream along the river into Shu, and there are successful precedents for this. During the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Bei led his army to enter Shu from Jingzhou by boat against the Yangtze River. In the end, he also successfully defeated Liu Zhang and occupied the Bashu area.

However, Liu Bei's success also had an accidental factor, because when he first led his army into Shu, he was invited by the "local snake" Liu Zhang, so when he went upstream along the river, not only was he not blocked, he was also assisted by Liu Zhang, Therefore, if the Qi army tries to replicate Liu Bei's success, it will be almost impossible, because the Tang army will definitely stop the Qi army along the Yangtze River with all its strength.Originally, it was enough for the navy to go upstream, but if it was blocked by the Tang army again, it would be like giving away the head. Unless the equipment of the Qi army navy could crush the Tang army, it would be a dream.

Gao Bufan looked at the rolling Han River in front of him, and said leisurely: "Don't worry about Shiji, the king has signed a peace treaty with Li Yuan a few days ago, at least for a year or two, Li Tang won't dare to mess with us, so you just feel free to kill us." Xiao Xian, if the Tang army dares to make trouble in the upper reaches, then the king will order Li Jing to take the whole of Hedong, and then cross the Yellow River west to attack Chang'an."

Xu Shiji said with a smile: "It was a wise move for us to capture Yanmen County. We took the lead in driving a wedge in the Hedong area, and now we have finally received a miraculous effect. Otherwise, Li Yuan would never take the initiative to seek peace, and it is even more impossible. Take the initiative to withdraw from Henan and hand over the land of the three counties."

Gao Bufan smiled and said: "That's true, but this is also due to the second brother's credit."

Xu Shiji nodded and said: "Li Yaoshi (Jing) is like a god with his troops, and he is invincible. If it were someone else, he might not be able to defend Yanmen County, let alone occupy Taiyuan County. The king of Qi is really astute."

Gao Bufan laughed and said: "It's rare that Shiji actually flattered me, but in terms of knowing people, I really can bear it, and abducting Shiji from Wagang is the proudest work of my life. "

Xu Shiji couldn't help shaking his head and smiling wryly!
At this time, Gao Bufan restrained his smile, and said to himself: "Although we are unlikely to compete with Li Tang for Bashu, maybe this king should go."

Xu Shiji was stunned for a moment, and said in surprise, "King Qi intends to enter Shu?"

Gao Bufan nodded and said: "This king wants to go to Sichuan to do something."

"Buddhist secret?" Xu Shiji blurted out.

Gao Bufan nodded, Xu Shiji was his confidant, so he didn't hide this matter, he had already told Xu Shiji that the Buddhist secret storehouse was in Bashu.

A trace of excitement flashed across Xu Shiji's face. If it was just the treasures and Buddhist scriptures in the secret collection, it would not be very attractive, but with the help of caring people, the Buddha's poem by the unknown master has been widely circulated, and it can even be said to be popular. , now everyone in the world knows that whoever finds this Buddhist secret treasure will be the Son of Heaven.

Therefore, if the king of Qi really found this Buddhist secret treasure, he would be the true son of heaven, and then it would be logical for Yang Tong to abdicate the throne to the king of Qi, and Gao Qi could also hold high the banner of the king's destiny , justifiably crusade against the Quartet, who would dare not follow?Even Li Tang can't compete with Gao Qi!
In addition, the disciples of Buddhism all over the world will definitely support King Qi. The influence of Buddhism is very strong now, which should not be underestimated. If they can get the full support of Buddhism, it will be a great help.

Thinking of this, Xu Shiji couldn't help but solemnly said: "King Qi should indeed go, and the sooner the better, before Li Tang can completely control Bashu."

Gao Bufan also nodded solemnly.

…………

In June, the sun in Zhuojun was scorching hot. Dou Jiande sat shirtless in the shade of a tree fishing while fanning the wind with a bamboo hat, but he was still so hot that he was sweating profusely.A little yellow dog lay at Dou Jiande's feet, gasping for breath with its red tongue sticking out, while staring straight at the buoy on the water, as if expecting something.

Dou Jiande picked up the water bag and wanted to drink water, but found that it was empty, so he had to lick his tongue helplessly, while the little yellow stood up lazily, went to the river to lick the water happily, and made a sound of tsk tsk , turning his head to look at its owner with humble eyes.

Seeing this, Dou Jiande felt even thirstier. He picked up the water bag and planned to fill it with water from the river to quench his thirst. , causing diarrhea and pulled his pants, and now he still has a shadow, and he dare not drink the raw water in the river anymore.

It is said that Dou Jiande was trying to pick up a bargain in Handan and killed Yu Wenhuaji, but he was attacked by Li Mi. In the end, he failed to pick up the bargain, but ended up with the whole army wiped out. The old fate has been confessed, and later Gao Bufan took the opportunity to "send" him to Zhuojun for treatment, and took over his territory.

Although Dou Jiande was extremely annoyed by this, there was nothing he could do about it. Now he was a bare-handed commander, with no soldiers and no power in his hands, so he could only endure it.

However, although Dou Jiande forbears for the time being, it does not mean that he has accepted his fate. How could a hero like him accept his fate so easily?

Therefore, although Dou Jiande usually raises dogs, sucks cats, fishes and catches shrimps, seems to be devoted to landscapes, and has completely given up the heart of fighting for world hegemony, but in fact he is secretly waiting for the opportunity to make a comeback.

However, Dou Jiande had been waiting in Zhuojun for more than a year, but the opportunity he wanted never came. Not only was Gao Changqing not unlucky, but he has been going smoothly. He first defeated Li Mi, and then killed Yu Wenhuaji. The bigger he is, the more recently he defeated Li Tang, eliminated Wang Shichong and Li Mi, successfully captured Luoyang, and took the entire Central Plains into his pocket.

Dou Jiande was both shocked and impatient, he couldn't sit still, because if he left for too long, his old department and the people on the original territory might forget him and no longer remember his kindness. However, it is almost impossible for him, Dou Jiande, to make a comeback.

So Dou Jiande is now even dreaming that Gao Bufan will do something quickly, suffer a few defeats or something, and then he can take the opportunity to sneak back to the original site and summon the old department to make trouble!
　I need to change the volume and the map. It's a bit stuck. I spent most of the day looking through the map to find information. I will update it today.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)