First Minister of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 294
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Following the surrender of Gai Yanju of Jiangzhou and Lei Changying of Luzhou, all parts of Xiaoliang surrendered one after another, so that the other three armies only cared about the counties that accepted the surrender, and it was difficult to encircle Jiangling for a while.

Gao Chong led his army down the river and arrived outside Jiangling City within half a day. The Tang army was approaching the city, Xiao Mian was shocked.

Fortunately, Gao Chong's troops were few and not enough to besiege the city, so Xiao Mian immediately ordered Yuezhou's soldiers and horses to speed up and come to the king's rescue.

The soldiers and horses in Yuezhou were dominated by Yuezhou and Tanzhou. The chief general of Tanzhou (Changsha County) was originally King Dong Jingzhen of Jin. Later, Dong Jingzhen declared to belong to the Tang Dynasty because of his younger brother Dong Jingzhu. Xiao Xian sent Qi Wang Zhangxiu to attack. After Zhang Xiu besieged the city, Dong Jingzhen was killed by his subordinates.

Xiao Xian appointed Xu Xuanche, king of Yan, as the governor of Yuezhou, who governed Yuezhou, Tanzhou, Hengzhou and other states.

For Xu Xuanche, Xiao Mi trusted Xu Xuanche very much. Although the policy of resting troops and farming was still implemented in Tanzhou, he never called Xu Xuanche back to Beijing, but still made him stay in Tanzhou.

Today's Xiaoliang army in Yuezhou and Tanzhou is led by Xu Xuanche, and they go north to Qinwang, with a total of [-] soldiers and horses.

If Xu Xuanche is really allowed to lead the army to come and respond from inside and outside, not to mention defeating the Tang army, as long as Xu Xuanche is not a waste, delaying for a few days, waiting for soldiers from all over Xiaoliang to gather, it will also be a great hindrance to the Tang army.

But obviously, Gao Chong didn't ignore Xiao Liang's soldiers in Xiaoxiang, Yuezhou and Tanzhou had many elite soldiers since ancient times.

After camping outside Jiangling City, Gao Chong dispatched scouts along the river to investigate. Although he couldn't remember how Li Xiaogong and Li Jing dealt with the Liang army in Yuezhou on the original trajectory, Gao Chong had a strategy in his heart.

Through the communication between Yang Junmao, Lin Zhisong and others, Gao Chong already knew Xiao Mian's character well. He would cherish his own life when doing great things. Xiao Mian valued his own life very much. Seeing the Tang army approaching the city, Xiao Mian would only urge the Yuezhou soldiers to hurry up. marching speed.

And according to Yang Junmao, although Xu Xuanche, king of Yan, was from the lineage of Yuezhou (Baling County), he was at odds with other Yuezhou kings and was very loyal to Xiao Mi. It has emerged that it is to besiege the city and fight for aid.

Shishou City is located more than a hundred miles south of Jiangling City. It is named Shishou because of the huge stone standing at the foot of Xiulin Mountain. Xiulin Mountain was originally named Yangqi Mountain. During the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Bei passed by here and praised this mountain road: "Hang brocade on the mountain, Embroidery becomes a forest", so it was renamed Xiulin Mountain.

Xiulin Mountain is located on the south bank of the Yangtze River. It stands abruptly by the river on the vast Jianghan Plain. It is very majestic, with lush forests in the mountains and strange rocks by the water.

After Li Xiaogong arrived outside the city of Jiangling, Gao Chong gathered [-] soldiers and horses and went down the river, heading straight to Xiulin Mountain. spectacular.

The Yangtze River turned a big bend at Xiulin Mountain, first from north to south, then from south to north, almost turning back here once, which is very tortuous.

To the north of Xiulin Mountain is the zigzag Yangtze River, and to the south is the road leading to Huarong. If Yuezhou soldiers and horses go by water, they will pass by water from the north of Xiulin Mountain. If they go by land, they must go through Huarong to Shishou.

Strictly speaking, Xiulin Mountain is the only place where the Liang army of Yuezhou rescued Jiangling. There is no one, even if Xu Xuanche intends to detour, it is basically impossible, because detours to the southwest will encounter Chenzhou Road marching Tian Shikang, the general manager, will pass through Fuzhou (Mianyang County) if he goes northeast. However, Fuzhou has been captured by Zhou Faming, the general manager of the Xiakou Road.

What's more, Jiangling was in danger, Xiao Xian issued several orders in a day, ordering to speed up the march to support Jiangling, the situation was so urgent, how dare Xu Xuanche take a detour to delay time.

Perhaps in Xu Xuanche's mind, the Tang army at this time should be focused on storming Jiangling, trying to break through Jiangling before the arrival of the Qin King's army from all walks of life.

As long as he arrives in time, he may be able to deliver a fatal blow to Tang Jun's back. At that time, Tang Jun will be hit by the enemy, and he will be in a dilemma. That will be the time when Xu Xuanche's reputation will shake the world. Of course, all this is just a possibility.

At the same time, in the Governor's Mansion in Lizhou hundreds of miles away, an old man with white beard and hair was yelling curses.

"He, Tian Shikang, is blind." Seeing the tall and strong old man with a resolute face, he clapped the table and shouted: "Even my people in Qiuhe dare to fight. If it weren't for the high mountains and the long road, the old man would have enjoyed a happy life in Chang'an long ago." Now, then you need to suffer this useless air here."

This old man is obviously Qiu He, governor of Jiaozhou of Xiao Liang, who is in charge of one hundred thousand soldiers and horses of Jiaozhou, and is also one of the forces.

However, Qiu He has never had any ambitions. He served as the governor of Jiaozhi County in the last year of Daye. After Yang Guang was killed, Qiu He still didn't know it. Xiao Xian and Feng An, governor of Hanyang County, joined Lin Shihong.

Xiao Mian sent someone to recruit Qiu He, but Qiu He didn't know that Yang Guang was dead, so he scolded Xiao Mian as a traitor and traitor, and refused to surrender, so Xiao Mian sent Ning Changzhen to lead his troops to attack Qiu He.

Ning Changzhen is also good at using troops. He led people to attack Jiaozhou from the sea, and hit Qiu He in a panic. At a critical moment, Gao Shilian, the judicial secretary, offered advice: "Although Ning Changzhen has many soldiers and horses, he has come from afar. Persist for a long time. First, they come by sea, and they don’t carry much food and grass. Second, most of their soldiers are bureaucrats, and they will not obey discipline. These two points are enough to defeat them.”

Qiu He was overjoyed, and immediately appointed Gao Shilian as the chief historian, and ordered him to lead the army to fight. Gao Shilian lived up to his expectations, defeated Ning Changzhen, and preserved Jiaozhou. Since then, Gao Shilian has been deeply trusted by Qiu He. .

After Yang Guang's death, Yu Wenhua and the government were chaotic. Many soldiers of Xiaoguo Army and Jiangnan scholars fled to Lingnan. Just like the chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty, people fled south due to endless wars in the Central Plains. Lingnan seems to be the place of refuge in times of war. land.

When the people from Jiangdu brought the news of the Central Plains, Qiu He and others were shocked. It turns out that the situation in the world has become so chaotic. It is only because the Lingnan is blocked and the news is not clear. Qiu He and Gao Shilian also learned that Li Yuan proclaimed himself emperor in Guanzhong .

Needless to say, Gao Shilian was overjoyed, but after Qiu He inquired, he suddenly found out that his sons Qiu Xinggong, Qiu Xingze, and grandson Qiu Yingqi were all working in the Qin Palace, and that Princess Qin of the Tang Dynasty was Gao Shilian's niece.

The two of Qiu Gao got along well with each other, and after the battle of life and death, they became irreversible friends. Even if they discussed joining Li Tang, the mountains were high and the roads were long and the roads were dangerous. There are many bandits who need to cross Xiaoxiang and Jingchu, so they have to give up temporarily.

According to Jingchu and Xiaoxiang, Xiao Xianxiong is Wang Shichong in the north, and he can't be provoked. However, Ning Changzhen in the south of the Lingnan has surrendered, and Qiu He is the only one who can't surrender, so he wants to attack with troops. For the time being, he pretended to surrender to Xiao Mian.

(End of this chapter)