At the end of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 742
Sun Meng, the captain of the Tang Army, was lucky enough to survive the flood, but Yue Shao, the county captain, was not so lucky. He disappeared after being washed away by the flood, and even his body was never found.Sun Meng led dozens of surviving Tang troops back to Linjiang County in embarrassment, and immediately rushed to the county seat of Badong County without stopping. He wanted to inform Li Xiaogong of the news that King Gao Changqing of Qi had appeared in the Miao Village of Linjiang County.

As the king of Qi, Gao Changqing sneaked into Bashu himself, and he didn't know of any ulterior motives, so Sun Meng felt that he had to report to King Li Jun as soon as possible so that he could respond.

In addition, Li Xiaogong took over Badong County less than half a month ago, and is currently busy presiding over post-earthquake disaster relief, appeasing people's hearts, etc., when he suddenly heard that Gao Changqing had appeared in the Miao Village in Linjiang County upstream, he couldn't help being surprised, and now carefully He asked Sun Meng about the details of the incident.

When Li Xiaogong learned that Gao Bufan did not bring an army, but only led a few people to sneak into Bashu, he couldn't help but heaved a long sigh of relief.Although the Tang army has now controlled all land and waterways entering Bashu, it is afraid that the Qi army will infiltrate through other unknown routes, which will cause great trouble. Fortunately, Gao Bufan only infiltrated alone and did not bring a large number of troops. Sneaking in from the Yangtze River waterway by boat, um, it seems that we will have to set up checkpoints in the Yangtze River waterway in the future and strengthen the investigation.

Badong County guards the natural danger of the Three Gorges, which is the only way for the Yangtze River waterway to enter Bashu. As long as the Tang army deploys naval forces along the way, the Qi army will never be able to enter again.

However, Li Xiaogong was still a little uneasy in his heart, frowning and pacing back and forth, carefully thinking about the purpose of Gao Bufan's sneaking into Bashu this time. In the counties of Bashu, if this son comes, it may disrupt the rhythm of the Tang army.

The school lieutenant Sun Meng licked his lips and said viciously: "Gao Changqing is so bold that he dared to sneak into Bashu alone. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, his subordinates couldn't believe it. King Li, why don't we do two things together?" Don't stop, just take the opportunity to kill him, once Gao Changqing dies, the whole country of Qi will be in chaos, and then our mighty masters of the Tang Dynasty will go out of Hangu Pass and take Luoyang in one fell swoop, and Dingding Central Plains will be just around the corner."

Li Xiaogong glanced at Sun Meng indifferently, and asked back: "Who can kill Gao Changqing? You?"

Sun Meng's expression froze immediately. He had experienced Gao Changqing's high martial arts before. In front of this son, he had no power to fight back at all, so he bit the bullet and said embarrassingly: "Of course the last general is not Gao Changqing's opponent if he fights alone. , but as the saying goes, two fists are hard to beat with four hands, no matter how good Gao Changqing's martial arts are, he can't stand up to our numbers. We just need to arrange hundreds of archers to surround him, shoot random arrows, no matter how powerful he is, he will not be able to escape. "

Li Xiaogong rolled his eyes secretly, thinking, do you think Gao Changqing is a wooden person, or a stupid pig?Don't let you run away? Bashu is full of high mountains and mountains. With Gao Changqing's martial arts, as long as you escape to the mountains, even if you have a million troops coming, you will be looking for a needle in a haystack. If this son flees back to Luoyang, you will have an excuse. Tang used soldiers.

In this way, not only will the peace agreement that was paid at a great price some time ago be voided, but Gao Qi will also occupy the moral high ground, and Li Tang will be accused of treachery, which is really not worth the candle.

However, Li Xiaogong did not reprimand Sun Meng for being stupid. After all, this subordinate was also out of loyalty to Li Tang, so he was noncommittal and just praised: "Lieutenant Sun, you handled it very well this time, you did not act rashly, and you reported it in time. , The king of this county ordered you to rush back to Linjiang County immediately, while strengthening the city defense, pay close attention to Gao Changqing's movements, and report to the king in time."

After hearing this, Sun Meng knew that his suggestion was not adopted, so he had to take orders and rush back to Linjiang County.

After Sun Meng left, one of Li Xiaogong's counselors couldn't help but said: "Now the water and land routes entering Bashu are under the control of our army. Unless the Qi army has wings, it is impossible to enter. Even if Gao Changqing You are only one person, what kind of storms can you withstand? Is the county king too cautious?"

Li Xiaogong shook his head and said: "Gao Changqing has extraordinary courage, wisdom, and methods. He is always able to do what others cannot. At the beginning, this son sneaked into Luoyang with only a small number of people, and finally took it down in one fell swoop. The king of this county is also eaten by him It is a big loss, so when facing this kid, you must not take it lightly, otherwise, if you make a careless move, you will lose everything."

All the counselors couldn't help looking at each other in awe, and the counselor who spoke just now asked cautiously: "So what does Junjun Li think, Gao Changqing's risk of sneaking into Bashu this time is why?"

Li Xiaogong frowned immediately, this is exactly what he couldn't figure out, if Gao Changqing wanted to rob Bashu from Li Tang, but he had no soldiers in his hands, and the Qi army couldn't enter Bashu, why should he rob?Rely on a three-inch tongue?Those local government leaders and barbarian leaders are not idiots. If you don't have a strong army as a backing, it is unlikely that you will take refuge in you even if you are eloquent.

"Your Majesty, Gao Changqing and the Miao people are mixed together, is it because they want to encourage the Miao people to work for him?" At this time, a counselor hesitated.

Li Xiaogong's eyes lit up, he nodded and said: "The Miao people have always refused to be educated, it is very difficult to persuade them to submit, but Gao Changqing has always liked to take the edge of the sword, so it is not impossible."

The counselor immediately frowned and said: "As King Li said, Gao Changqing is always able to do what others can't, and the Banan area is very vast, full of lofty mountains, and most of the people living there are Miao people. , if the Miao people are really persuaded by Gao Changqing, then the land of several counties in Banan will be taken by him, which will be very disadvantageous to us."

Banan in the Sui and Tang Dynasties did not refer to the current Banan District of Chongqing, but to the south of Berkshire, covering a much larger area, including several minority autonomous counties in the southern part of Chongqing and most of Guizhou Province. So it's a very large area.

Of course, at that time, Banan was basically an undeveloped and primitive area. Most of the people living here were Miao people. The total population of the area is only about 600,000. Such a small population has little impact on the overall situation of the country. Therefore, most of the struggles for hegemony in the past dynasties occurred in the Yangtze River Basin and the places to the north. Once the ownership of these places is determined, the world The general trend is basically determined, and the Lingnan area will take the initiative to surrender without fighting.

Closer to home, let's say that Li Xiaogong fell into deep thought after hearing what the counselor said.As the saying goes, a wise man worries about defeat before he wins. He has to consider the adverse impact on the Tang army after Gao Bufan successfully acquired the Banan area.

At this time, another counselor said disapprovingly: "Actually, King Li needn't worry too much. The Miao people have always been hostile to the Han people, and the Miao people have many chiefs scattered among the mountains and mountains. Gao Changqing wants to persuade them to join us. First of all, you have to travel thousands of mountains and rivers. I am afraid that it will not work without a year or a half, and the possibility of success is very low. A leader, with a mere [-] Miao people, what can he accomplish?"

Li Xiaogong couldn't help being in a good mood when he heard the words, and said with a smile: "Indeed, Gao Changqing may have made a mistake this time. When I, Li Tang, take Badi and Shu into his pocket, even if Gao Changqing takes Banan, he will only rely on tens of thousands of dollars. What can the poor Miao people achieve? It will be enough for him to take care of these uncivilized Miao people."

All the counselors couldn't help laughing out loud when they heard the words, Li Xiaogong himself laughed too, but quickly restrained his smile, and said in a deep voice: "Even so, everyone should not be careless, the king of this county has to make an appointment with Xiao Yu as soon as possible."

Xiao Yu is the prefect of Berkshire. In the upper reaches of Badong County, it is the economic and cultural center of Badi, and it is also the most important military strategic location. There is a shipyard here, which can build warships. It is very, very important, absolutely not If it falls into the hands of Gao Bufan, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous, so Li Xiaogong may not want the entire Banan counties, but Berkshire will definitely get it.

(End of this chapter)