First Minister of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 292 Text of Zhongshu Shilang Cen

...

In the county yamen, at the celebration banquet, there were a lot of toasts, but Gao Chong didn't even touch a drop of alcohol. Wan Xuan and the others dared not speak, but Li Xiaogong didn't care about it. Based on his current relationship with Gao Chong, what is it? In order to get close, he immediately asked, "Why doesn't You drink?"

Li Xiaogong knew that Gao Chong was definitely not because of emotional problems. Since the banquet started, Wan Xuan, Lin Zhisong and the others exchanged cups and cups. , Li Xiaogong also put down his glass and asked solemnly.

Lin Zhisong and the others also restrained their voices when they heard the words, and watched quietly. When Gao Chong saw this, he said bluntly: "My lord, Xiao Liang's navy has just been defeated, and Jiangling is empty. I want to send troops quickly and take advantage of the victory to besiege Jiangling. You must know that now Liang Jun from Yuezhou, Jiaozhou and other places is rushing, and after a day's delay, Xiao Mi was given a day's buffer time."

Hearing this, Li Xiaogong's face was solemn, he nodded and said: "Youzhi's words are reasonable, it's just that our army has just experienced a war, and I'm afraid that the soldiers will be too tired."

Gao Chong immediately said: "You can switch defenses."

"Switch?" Li Xiaogong frowned.

"Exactly, let the soldiers from today's battle defend Zhijiang City and Bailizhou, and I will lead the original defenders to go straight to Jiangling." Gao Chong had already considered this issue.

Seeing that Gao Chong was so determined, and today's victory also depended on Gao Chong, Li Xiaogong would not say much, and immediately nodded in agreement, "Youzhi let go and go to Jiangling as soon as I have rectified the troops in Zhijiang."

Gao Chong accepted the order happily.

"When are you leaving?" Li Xiaogong continued to ask.

"It's getting late now, I'm sending an order now, and I'll hit Jiangling directly at dawn tomorrow," Gao Chong said a little excitedly.

"The defenders of Zhijiang and Bailizhou are only 5000 men," Li Xiaogong said with a smile, "If Youzhi defeats Jiangling with 5000 men, then this battle will be famous in the annals of history."

Although this was a joke, the generals present felt that it was impossible to do so.

Jiangling is a first-class city in the land of Jingchu. It is built next to the river. It is very majestic. Moreover, Xiao Liang claims to have 40 soldiers and horses. Although they are dispatched from all over the world, Jiangling, as the capital of the country, must also be the key guard, and 5000 people want to break it. Jiangling City is difficult to climb to the sky.

Jiangling City, Xiaoliang Palace, in a side hall, Xiao Mian was dressed in ordinary clothes, sitting upright in the main seat, silent, candles as thick as babies' arms on both sides were burning like money, and the light of the fire reflected Xiao Mian's face gloomy.

After a long time, Xiao Xian just opened his mouth, his throat was hoarse, "Wen Shihong died in battle, and the entire [-] navy army was wiped out... Is the Tang army really invincible?"

After the words fell, three or five people in the hall bowed their heads and remained silent.

"Speak up!" Xiao Mian finally broke out, stood up abruptly, kicked the desk, pointed at the few people and yelled, "you are always clamoring for me to support the soldiers 40!" All the world is invincible, why is everyone silent now?"

Seeing that the others did not dare to speak, Cen Wen, the Minister of Zhongshu himself, said in a low voice for the chancellor: "Your Majesty, calm down, the armies of Yuezhou and Jiaozhou are on their way and will arrive soon, and soldiers and horses from all over the country are also calling. The army was successfully assembled, and the Tang army went deep alone. At that time, it was the time for our army to turn defeat into victory."

Hearing these words, Xiao Xian's face turned pale, "When will the reinforcements from Erzhou arrive?"

These two prefectures do not refer to Yuezhou and Jiaozhou only. Yuezhou is the Liang army in the land of Hunan and Chu, mainly composed of Yuezhou soldiers and horses, and Jiaozhou is the Liang army in the land of Lingnan, mainly composed of Jiaozhou soldiers and horses.

"It was reported the day before yesterday that Yuezhou's soldiers and horses have been assembled. It is expected to arrive in two days after tomorrow. Jiaozhou is a long way away, so it has not been reported yet," Cen Wenwen replied truthfully.

Yuezhou is more than [-] miles away from Jiangling, and it is also close to the Yangtze River. Jiangling is in the upper reaches of Yuezhou. It can be reached by boat from Jiangling down the river to Yuezhou in one day, but going upstream will take at least two or three days.

Jiangling is in the lower reaches of the Zhijiang River. After Wen Shihong's entire army was annihilated, corpses and broken ship planks could be seen everywhere on the river, drifting down the river to the outside of Jiangling City, and the people of Jiangling couldn't help but panic.

As the defeats in the southeast and northwest continued to spread, Xiao Liang's courtiers and commoners began to plan for the future. Xiao Xian pinned his hopes on the reinforcements from Yuezhou and Jiaozhou, but ordinary people didn't think so much.

The people only know that the Tang army in the east captured Anzhou, the Tang army in the north captured Changlin, the Tang army in the west captured Zhijiang, and the Tang army in the south captured Wuling. The country has died.

Why do you say that the country will be subjugated again, because Xiao Liang has been subjugated five or six times since Emperor Wu of Liang Xiao Yan replaced Qi and built Liang, and the people in Jiangling are no longer surprised by this.

"Yuezhou has [-] soldiers and horses, which is enough to resist the Tang army, and Jiaozhou has nearly [-] troops. There are many soldiers in Liangzhou, so Your Majesty need not worry," Chu Wang Zheng Wenxiu said calmly.

Xiao Xian nodded involuntarily when he heard the words, Xiao Liang occupies a vast area and has many soldiers and horses, this is the reason why he dared to rest his troops and farm the fields.

Until now, Xiao Xian is still unwilling to make mistakes in his strategy of resting troops and farming. In his view, the foreign enemies are certainly terrifying, but the internal thieves should be eradicated in time, otherwise he will have trouble sleeping and eating.

However, Zai Fu Cen Wenben did not agree with Zheng Wenxiu's words.

Seeing Cen Wenwen shaking his head and saying nothing, frowning worriedly, Zheng Wenxiu was immediately unhappy, and asked sinisterly, "What's your opinion, Prime Minister Cen?"

Xiao Mian immediately looked at Cen Wenwen, and had to say that although Xiao Mian had many shortcomings, he was able to be a feudal lord, and he had some sense of understanding people. Both Wen Shihong and Yang Junmao were good generals, and Zhong The book servant Cen Wenben is even more talented.

Cen Wenwen was born in the Cen family of Nanyang. He was the general who conquered Nanyang in the Eastern Han Dynasty and Hou Cenpeng of Wuyang. His grandfather was named Cen Shanfang.

Cen Wenwen was intelligent and agile since he was a child, and he was well-versed in classics and history. When he was 14 years old, his father Cen Zhixiang, a doctor of Yubu, was unjustly imprisoned.

His grandfather, Cen Shanliang, was the founding hero of Xiliang. With this background, Xiao Xian moved his capital to Jiangling.

Cen Wenwen is also notable for the promise of his young fame. After he became an official in Xiao Liang, he appointed talents and appointed them, and handled government affairs very decently. He was deeply trusted by Xiao Mian. He has never been appointed to the post of Zhongshu Ling, just like Yang Guang appointed Yu Shiji as the Minister of Internal History (Zhongshu).

"Your Majesty, Qiu He, governor of Jiaozhou, and Gao Shilian, governor of Jiaozhou, have a very close relationship with Li Tang," Cen Wenwen sighed, "Once Li Tang persuades him to surrender, it is not yet known what will happen to the soldiers and horses of Jiaozhou."

Hearing this, Xiao Mian was furious immediately, "How dare he? With a hundred thousand troops and a land of thousands of miles, he dares to surrender to Li Tang?"

(End of this chapter)