First Minister of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 297 Hope of Jiangling City
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As soon as the words came out, Qiu He suddenly froze, then patted his head, shook his head and smiled and said: "I am getting old, and my mind is also confused. If I don't live from here, he, Xu Xuanche, can only live under Tang Jun's nose." up".

If you don't go to Jiangling from Huarong, you will go to Fuzhou captured by Zhou Faming in the northeast, and you will meet Tian Shikang's Qianzhou soldiers head-on in the southwest.

Seeing this, Gao Shilian smiled and said: "Xiao Xian is in danger, and he, Xu Xuanche, doesn't have the guts to take a detour to waste time."

Qiu He also blushed when he heard the words, and muttered: "Xiao Xian is in danger, and the old man, as the head of Jiaozhou in Daliang, is here to ambush his reinforcements...".

Gao Shilian was startled, and then laughed loudly. Even though he knew he was a minister of Xiao Liang, why did he keep calling him Xiao Mi? Qiu and this old guy are really humorous. It has long been blown away by rain and wind.

The scouting skills of Jiaozhou scouts had already been honed in the mountains and rivers of Lingnan. On the second day after Gao Shilian was stationed at Shangjin Lake, scouts rushed from Huarong: Xu Xuanche had led [-] Yuezhou soldiers out of Huarong, Come straight to the stone head,

Across Shangjin Lake is Shishou. At this time, Gao Chong is looking through the autumn water in Xiulin Mountain beside Shishou River.

On the bank of Shangjin Lake, Gao Shilian and others are waiting in full force.

Xu Xuanche held the ninth urgent order issued by Xiao Mian, and he didn't dare to stop at all. He had just arrived in Huarong for half a day, after a short rest, he set off in a hurry and rushed to Jiangling.

War is imminent.

In Jiangling City, Xiao Xian's eyes were red, and he yelled angrily, "Waste, what's the use of these wastes, such as Zhenliuer? What's the face of living in a losing streak."

All the officials in the hall bowed their heads and remained silent, allowing Xiao Xian to vent wantonly. For a long time, it seemed that he was exhausted. Xiao Xian sat down angrily, looked at the kneeling and trembling person in the middle of the hall, his eyes were full of murderous intent, "Come here, take Wan Zan Beheaded for public display."

As soon as these words came out, everyone was startled, but seeing Xiao Xian's fury, they dared not speak for fear of harming themselves.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please forgive me, I am a hero from the dragon", the general in the palace turned pale when he heard this, and hurriedly kowtowed his head to beg for forgiveness, "Back then, I supported Your Majesty in the uprising, and I have worked hard without merit, Your Majesty...".

Hearing these words, Xiao Xian's eyes flashed sharply, and he was even more sullen.

At this time, only Cen Wenwen sighed softly, and under the astonished eyes of everyone, he said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, the enemy is in front of us, and it is not appropriate to kill the general lightly, so as not to shake the morale of the army."

Wan Zan was a brigade commander under the command of Dong Jingzhen, the school lieutenant of Baling County. After he supported Xiao Mian's founding of the country and proclaimed himself emperor, he became King of Lu.

Prior to this, Wan Zan was only a mere brigade commander. Although he had some bravery, he was unworthy of virtue after all. After Li Xiaogong stationed troops on the riverside, Xiao Xian ordered Wan Zan to lead the troops to take the initiative to attack.

Although Li Xiaogong's military talent was not outstanding, he was still able to face people like Wan Zan with ease. He lined up by the river, fought his last battle, and defeated Xiao Liang's soldiers and horses. Wan Zan fled back to the city in panic.

Jiangling's troops were not many at all. First, Scholar Hong's entire army was annihilated, and then Wan Zan was defeated. Jiangling's city defenses had already been greatly reduced. This depended on the high walls and sufficient food and grass. Xiao Xian followed Cen Wenwen's advice and conscripted The city is young and strong, allocating weapons, opening the treasury, and giving relief to the people, which can stabilize the situation.

Seeing that Wan Zan was about to be beheaded for public display, although Cen Wenwen did not have a good impression of the kings of Yuezhou, he always believed that it was these half-rooted kings who corrupted Xiao Liang, but at this moment, it was really impossible to kill Wan Zan.

The power of the generals in Yuezhou is too great. Although Jin Wang Dong Jingzhen and Qi Wang Zhang Xiu have been executed, and the rest of Chu Wang Zheng Wenxiu, Qin Wang Lei Shimeng and others have been dismissed from military power, but now in Xiaoliang's army, the middle and upper-level officers It is still dominated by Yuezhou soldiers.

Although Lu Wang Wanzan is incompetent, he is still one of the leaders of the Yuezhou soldiers in the eyes of the Yuezhou soldiers. The Tang army must attack the city at this time. , so Cen Wenwen had to keep Wan Zan in consideration of the overall situation.

Seeing that Cen Wenwen, the prime minister who had always been with the kings of Yuezhou, was pleading for Wan Zan, Xiao Xian's face darkened, and he couldn't figure out the link for a while.

Seeing this, Cen Wenwen hurriedly said: "At the moment, the overall situation should be the most important thing, and it will not be too late to deal with it after the Tang army is defeated."

Xiao Xian turned pale when he heard this, and nodded slowly: "As Cen Qing said, Wan Zan will be sent to death row and put under strict supervision."

Cen Wenwen is also helpless, if he goes to the death row, he will inevitably die in the future, it will still anger the generals of Yuezhou, but at any rate it will have less impact than immediate execution.

Sure enough, after Wan Zan was sent to death row, the people in Jiangling City were panicked. There were not a few people who had fled for several months. Seeing that Wan Zan lost his life just because of one defeat, the other kings of Yuezhou felt sad.

There were fugitives day and night in Jiangling City. Although Xiao Mian ordered to strengthen the patrol and deal with the fugitives severely, it was impossible to guard against them. At night, many people threw down their ropes in groups, fell down the city, and surrendered to the Tang army. What shocked me was Song Wang Yang Daosheng, who also surrendered to the Tang army overnight.

Yang Daosheng can be regarded as one of the best generals in Xiaoliang, and he is not one of the kings of Yuezhou. After Xiao Xian raised his troops, Yang Daosheng came to vote and led his troops to capture Nanjun. He does not form cliques and maintains a neutral attitude, but he is quite powerful, and the kings of Yuezhou are also quite afraid of him.

The kings of Yuezhou did not surrender, but Yang Daosheng, king of Song Dynasty, took the lead in surrendering to Tang. This made Xiao Mian very angry, and everyone was suspected of surrendering.

As the saying goes, ministers who doubt the master will be punished, and ministers who doubt the master will rebel, not to mention that at a time of life and death, under Xiao Xian's suspicious killings, more and more people voted for the Tang Dynasty.

Cen Wenwen saw that there was nothing he could do, and he only hoped that the Yuezhou soldiers would arrive as soon as possible to resist the Tang army.

At this time, the Yuezhou reinforcements that Xiao Xian and his ministers had been thinking about finally walked out of Yuezhou and set foot on the border of Jingzhou.

"After passing Shangjin Lake in front, and then going up along the river, we will arrive at Jiangling." Xu Xuanche sat on the horse with a haggard face and said, "I hope the saint will persevere."

Xu Xuanche was also from Yuezhou, but unlike Wan Zan and the others, Wan Zan was a pure warrior who started as a brigade commander in the army, and he didn't attach much importance to the righteousness of the monarch and his ministers.

But Xu Xuanche was a literati, compared to Wan Zan, he was more interested in Xiao Mian's noble status as the royal family of the Liang Dynasty, and cared more about etiquette, so Xu Xuanche was also more loyal to Xiao Mian.

"My lord, do you want to let the soldiers rest for half a day?" The lieutenant beside him frowned and said, "The soldiers have been scattered all over the country for many days. They have just assembled and marched with such intensity. The general is worried that they will not be able to bear it."

Xu Xuanche immediately reprimanded: "If you can't bear it, you have to bear it. Jiangling is in danger. How can you rest? Go to the rear army to supervise, speed up the march, and kill those who fall behind."

(End of this chapter)