At the end of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 800
When Gao Bufan came to the throne, he granted Pei Renji the Duke of Hedong, and Pei Xingyan the Duke of Jiangjun. At this time, a mourning hall was set up in the Jiangjun mansion for guests from all over the world to pay their respects.Since Pei Renji was leading troops to attack Xiao Liang outside, and hadn't had time to rush back, Gao Bufan sent officials from the Ministry of Rites to help arrange the funeral.

"The emperor is here!" With a shout, Gao Bufan, who was wearing a plain robe, stepped in with heavy steps, and the guests present and the servants of Pei's residence knelt down and saluted.

Pei Xingyan's wife, Cui Daoyun, was wearing sackcloth and filial piety, and was holding a two-year-old boy in her arms. This was the son she had with Pei Xingyan, and his name was Pei Yong.

"The survivor Pei Cui kowtowed to the emperor." Cui Daoyun's eyes were red and swollen, and he knelt down in front of Gao Bufan.

Gao Bufan hurriedly gave him a hand and said, "Be flat."

Cui Daoyun wept softly and stood up, Gao Bufan said a few words of comfort, went to the altar in front of the coffin and solemnly burned three sticks of incense, and then stroked the coffin with grief, tears streaming down his clothes, and he choked up four words after a long time: "Brother Xingyan—brother!"

All the guests present were moved. It can be seen that the emperor did have a deep affection for Pei Xingyan. No wonder when he heard the news of General Pei's death, he was so angry that he immediately ordered the imperial conquest. Even Wei Zheng couldn't stop him.

There was no Pei Xingyan's body in the coffin, only a set of clothes, because after Pei Xingyan died in ambush, the body was snatched by the rebels, and it is still missing. Even the bones cannot be returned to the countryside for burial. This is one of the reasons why Gao Bufan was so angry.

"The emperor is mourning, General Pei sacrificed his life for the country, and he deserves to die!" The censor Pei Yun stepped forward to persuade, and the guests present also stepped forward to comfort him.

Gao Bufan wiped away his tears, walked in front of Cui Shi with red eyes, stretched out his arms to hug the dazed little Pei Yong, and asked with a smile, "Xiao Yong, do you know who I am?"

Pei Yong said timidly: "You are the emperor?"

Gao Bufan nodded and said: "I am the emperor, the emperor who promises everything, that is to say, I will honor what I said, and now I will make your father the Duke of Wu, and when you become an adult, you can inherit your father's title." title."

As soon as these words came out, the guests present couldn't help being moved again, and Cui Daoyun was even more shocked, tears welled up in his eyes, and he knelt down on the ground with a thump: "Thank you, Majesty Long En."

Little Pei Yong was only over two years old, and he still didn't understand what the hereditary title of the Duke of the State meant to him, so he just asked curiously: "What is the Duke of Wu?"

"The state of Wu is in the Jiangdu area. After Li Zitong is destroyed and Jianghuai is pacified, it will be your feudal state from now on." Gao Bufan explained with a smile.

Little Pei Yong gave a half-understanding oh, Gao Bufan squeezed his little hand, then handed it back to Cui Daoyun, and strode away from the mourning hall.

On April [-]th of the first year of Tianbao, Gao Bufan made a sacrifice to the Taimiao, formally led [-] elite forbidden troops to leave Luoyang, and marched to Jianghuai in person.

When Li Zitong, Shen Faxing and Du Fuwei received the news of Gao Bufan's personal conquest, they suddenly became tense and gathered troops to strengthen their defenses. At the same time, they met in Jingkou (now Zhenjiang) to discuss joint efforts to deal with the Qi army.

Let's say that Gao Bufan led an army of [-] to advance by land and water, and arrived in Pengcheng, which is now Xuzhou, Jiangsu, [-] days later.Shi Wenyanbo, commander of the Jiangsu-Zhejiang Road Army, led the soldiers of the three armies to welcome Gao Bufan. He knelt down in front of the emperor, bowed his head and said: "The guilty minister Wen Dalin kowtowed to my emperor, and I am here to plead guilty to the emperor!"

Gao Bufan got off the big green horse, helped Wen Yanbo up, and said kindly: "Wen Aiqing is guilty, please get up."

All the generals present breathed a sigh of relief. A few days ago, during a battle near Duliang Palace in Xuyi County, the marching commander Pei Xingyan fell down and nearly the entire army was wiped out. More than [-] people were killed or injured. Even General Pei was killed in battle without even a corpse. After snatching it back, the marching commander Shi Wenyanbo led the remnant soldiers back to Pengcheng. Under the pursuit of the enemy, even Xiapi County was abandoned, so the soldiers only thought that the emperor would question him when he came, but now it seems that the emperor did not No intention of holding everyone accountable.

Gao Bufan stationed the army outside Pengcheng, and the navy stationed in Weishan Lake, led by Yuchigong. By the way, Yuchigong was originally named Yuchirong, but after Gao Bufan ascended the throne, he was named Yuchigong and named Zuowuwei Da. General, and canonized as Duke of Hanoi.

It was night, in the large tent of the Chinese army, Gao Bufan raised his tent for the first time and held a military meeting. The participants included: Du Ruhui, Wen Yanbo, Cui Jiuling, Ling Jing, Song Zhengben, Yu Chigong, Cui Zijian, Cui Zisheng, Su Dingfang, and Zu Junyan With Liu Heita and others, Changsun Wuji did not attend the meeting because he was in charge of logistics in the rear.

Ling Jing and Song Zheng were originally Dou Jiande's think tanks, but now they are officials of Da Qi. Su Dingfang is also the number one general under Dou Jiande's command, and now he is also a member of Da Qi. As for Zu Junyan and Liu Heitai, they belonged to Li Mi originally. After Li Mi was eliminated under his command, the two were also recruited by Du Ruhui to serve under Gao Bufan's command.

However, these people are just the tip of the iceberg. Whether it is Dou Jiande, Li Mi, or Wang Shichong, they all have a large number of talents under their command, and now they all rely on Gao Qi. It is not an exaggeration to say that a famous capable man in history is a counselor like a cloud and a general like a star.

Closer to home, Gao Bufan first listened to Wen Yanbo's report on Xuyi County's defeat in the First World War after he was promoted. If you act too hastily, you will fall into the trap of others.

Pei Xingyan was originally a militant, with unstoppable courage, but he had repeatedly attacked the river and suffered a few defeats, so he was inevitably frustrated. After Gao Bufan returned to Luoyang from Bashu, although he was not held accountable , but Pei Xingyan obviously felt ashamed of himself, coupled with the rumors in the army that he was not punished because of his good relationship with the emperor, he naturally couldn't bear it with his strong self-esteem, and was eager to prove his ability, so it was inevitable that he would take aggressive actions in the military , As a result, he was ambushed by Li Zitong and Du Fuwei.

It is said that there is a former palace in Xuyi County called Duliang Palace, Pei Xingyan was eager to capture this Duliang Palace before he was defeated, in fact, this Duliang Palace was a decoy, Li Zitong pretended to be defeated and retreated, while Shen Faxing and Du Fuwei set up an ambush around the Duliang Palace. When Pei Xingyan thought he could easily take down the Duliang Palace, the ambush soldiers suddenly broke out, and the three parties surrounded the Qi army, and then Pei Xingyan fought hard on the spot.

Gao Bufan pondered for a moment, then asked: "What is the strength of Li Zitong, Shen Faxing and Du Fuwei now, and how are the troops deployed? Have you figured it out?"

Wen Yanbo replied: "Li Zitong now has about 15 troops, nearly half of which are defending near Jiangdu City, and the remaining half are stationed near Hongze Lake in Xucheng, and there is also a navy in the lake with more than [-] troops. There are nearly a thousand large and small warships, and their strength should not be underestimated. Du Fuwei is in Liyang County, and Shen Faxing is in Danyang County in the south of the Yangtze River.

Everyone showed solemn expressions when they heard the words, only Yu Chigong said with disdain: "It's just a mob. If the emperor allows it, the general will lead the navy to go south to Hongze Lake tomorrow, defeat Li Zitong's navy, and go straight to Jiangdu City. Take Li Zitong's head."

Wen Yanbo frowned and said: "General Yuchi is brave to win the three armies, but Li Zitong still has a lot of capable people, otherwise it would be impossible to defeat Shen Faxing and Du Fuwei, and successfully take over Jiangdu, so we must not take it lightly."

Song Zhengben stroked his beard and said: "The minister has a plan. If he succeeds, he can easily defeat Li Zitong."

Gao Bufan's heart moved, and he hurriedly asked: "Song Qing's family plan will be settled?"

Song Zhengben replied: "Li Zitong, Du Fuwei, and Shen Faxing are all heroes at the moment, and they seem to be at odds with each other. The emperor might as well recruit Shen Faxing and Du Fuwei with an imperial decree. It would be best if they can accept the offer. If they don't accept it, we will However, letting the rumors out will definitely arouse Li Zitong's suspicion, so the three of them will not be able to cooperate closely if they are suspicious, and it will be much easier to deal with."

Everyone's eyes lit up when they heard the words, and they all praised the strategy in unison, but Du Ruhui and Cui Jiuling didn't make a sound, and looked at Gao Bufan with a little worry. As the emperor's close ministers, they naturally understood Gao Bufan's deep affection for Pei Xingyan better than Song Zhengben and others Friendship, this imperial conquest is to take the heads of Li Zitong, Shen Faxing and Du Fuwei to avenge Pei Xingyan, it is obviously unlikely that Du Fu and Shen Faxing will be recruited.

However, Gao Bufan actually nodded his head and praised: "Song Qing's family's idea is very clever, but I will not only order to appease Shen Faxing and Du Fuwei, but also Li Zitong."

As soon as this remark came out, everyone present was stunned, but the wise man would soon feel sorry for it, Ling Jingxi said: "That's right, it is best for the emperor to pass an imperial edict to Li Zi, so that the three thieves will be killed." There must be more suspicion of each other, and then we will send people to fight each other, maybe they will start fighting themselves."

Cui Jiuling immediately said: "Most of Shen Faxing's soldiers are from Jiangnan, we can secretly recruit some Jiangnan people to attack Li Zitong, and Li Zitong's soldiers are mostly from Huaibei, we can recruit some Huaibei soldiers disguised as Li Zitong to attack Du Fu Wei, muddy the water, the three of them will be suspicious of each other, and it is very likely that they will fight in the end."

Du Ruhui clapped his hands and said, "Good idea."

Gao Bufan smiled and said: "This plan is feasible, let's do it this way, but before that, you have to give Li Zitong a heavy punch to weaken his strength, otherwise Du Fuwei and Shen Faxing might not dare to attack Li Zitong. Yuchi Respectfully listen to the order!"

Yu Chigong immediately came out and shouted loudly: "The end is here!"

"I order you to lead the navy to defeat the enemy tomorrow and completely destroy the enemy army in Hongze Lake." A cold light flashed in Gao Bufan's eyes.

"The last general has orders!" Yu Chigong suddenly punched his chest, making a muffled bang.

"Liu Heita listens to the order." Gao Bufan said again.

Liu Heitai was overjoyed, apparently he did not expect that the emperor would be the second to call his name, and he stood out and said: "The last general is here!"

Gao Bufan glanced at the heroic general who originally belonged to Dou Jiande, and said in a deep voice: "I ordered you to lead [-] troops to attack Xucheng as the vanguard, and cooperate with General Yuchi's naval operations. There must be no mistakes!"

"The last general has an order!" Liu Heitai was ecstatic. He was not reused under Li Mi's command, and after taking refuge in Gao Qi, he was still sitting on the bench. Qinzheng actually ordered him to accompany him, and now he directly appointed himself as the pioneer, he couldn't help but be overjoyed, hehe, it seems that his luck is about to turn.

Liu Heitai was a rough man, and he didn't even know a single big character, but at this moment, he had the urge to die for his confidant, and he wished he could take down Xu Cheng immediately to repay the emperor's appreciation.

(End of this chapter)