Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 472 The situation is great

On the banks of the Beichuan River, the water flows slowly, white clouds float in the blue sky, and wild ducks occasionally fly across the river.

No matter how you look at it, the years seem to be peaceful.

"General Fang, I naturally have no objection to submitting to the imperial court.

But I am not alone, I have subordinates under my command, and I have many concerns, so I also have some thoughts, I hope the commander will understand. "

Cai Xide's face was stiff and he spoke insincerely.

As the saying goes, good things take time, and bargaining is the key to a good deal. The kind of deal that is made without asking any questions is usually a big problem.

It's also insincere.

Fang Chongyong felt that it was normal for Cai Xide to make requests.

"Tell me, since this commander has brought a few trusted followers with him, he must have expected this."

Fang Zhongyong picked up a small stone at his feet and threw it into the Beichuan River, causing a small splash of water. Seeing his calm and composed look, Cai Xide felt relieved.

It has to be said that compared to those who get angry easily or shout loudly but appear to be powerful but are actually weak, Fang Zhongyong, who is quite calm and does not get sad or happy because of external things, is indeed a very powerful person.

"In the future, after pacifying Hebei, I still want to be an official in Hebei and don't want to be transferred to other places. I wonder if this is possible?"

Cai Xide spoke cautiously, with great lack of confidence in his words, fearing that Fang Zhongyong would refuse.

"Sure. I am the governor of the four towns appointed by the imperial court. It won't be a problem to arrange for you to be in Hebei."

Fang Chongyong nodded slightly and said.

This is what should be expected. If even this request is not made, Fang Zhongyong would doubt how Cai Xide has lived to this age.

“Secondly, my brothers don’t trust the new leader, nor do they trust other people to be their comrades. They are also afraid that the court will hold them accountable for their crimes in the future.

Therefore, they still hope to serve under someone, be an independent army, and be deployed separately.

I don’t know if the commander can agree to this.”

Cai Xide raised another very critical question.

"Okay, I agree to this one. Do you have any other requests?"

Fang Chongyong nodded calmly, without any displeasure on his face.

Now it was Cai Xide's turn to lose his composure.

He asked in confusion: "General Jie, I have made so many requests, don't you have any requests?"

"Yes, I only have two requests.

First, open Jingxing Pass and allow the government troops to enter Hebei through Jingxing Pass. Your troops must not obstruct or resist secretly.

Second, your unit will serve as the vanguard, leading the government troops and capturing cities in the heart of Hebei.

As long as you agree to these two points, I can do everything I promised for you."

Fang Chongyong also put forward his own conditions, which, to be fair, were quite reasonable.

The first one is the most basic, and the second one is a token of allegiance.

As expected, Cai Xide was overjoyed, and immediately held Fang Zhongyong's hands and said with a smile: "General, you are so righteous! I will return to Jingxing Pass to command my troops. Three days later, please send troops to take over Jingxing Guguan and Tumenguan!"

"General Cai, can you suppress your troops? Do you need me to send troops to help you?"

Fang Chongyong looked at Cai Xide with a half-smile and asked. The latter immediately felt as if he was being stared at by a ferocious beast. His whole body was tense and he dared not move at all.

"Now all the people in Jingxing Pass are my trusted followers. I can convince them. There is no need for you to worry about it, General Jie."

Cai Xide explained nervously.

"You said it, if anything goes wrong, I will not be responsible."

"Please rest assured, Marshal Jie, rest assured!"

Cai Xide quickly made a guarantee, fearing that Fang Chongyong would go back on his word.

After the "business" was settled, Fang Zhongyong and his party set out to return to Taiyuan. On the way back to Taiyuan City, Che Guangqian couldn't help but ask Fang Zhongyong: "If Cai Xide returns to Hebei in the future and stays with his troops without disbanding them, won't it be difficult to get rid of him?"

He felt that given Fang Zhongyong's far-sighted style of doing things, he would not be unable to see something that was so obvious.

"Even if there is no Cai Xide in Hebei, there will definitely be Zhang Xide, Li Xide, and Wang Xide. Choose the lesser of two evils and let him go.

Human power is sometimes limited. "

Fang Zhongyong waved his hand lightly and said nonchalantly, obviously knowing the pros and cons, but not wanting to do boring things and not wanting to interfere with what was bound to happen.

The wheel of history rolls forward, how can Fang Zhongyong's thin arms and legs stop it?

……

Something that many people, including the top leaders of the Hebei rebels, had not expected finally happened.

Cai Xide, a fierce general under Shi Siming, surrendered to the government army under the persuasion of Fang Chongyong, the governor of Sizhen. He gathered his troops together, moved their garrison to Jingxing Guguan, and then gave up Tumenguan.

Fang Chongyong ordered Xin Yunjing to lead troops to guard Tumen Pass, and the gate to the western hinterland of Hebei was suddenly wide open!

Immediately afterwards, Fang Chongyong sent someone to Xiurong City in Xinzhou to deliver a letter, informing Shi Siming that Cai Xide had turned from darkness to light, and persuading him to surrender, but Shi Siming flatly refused.

Seeing that Shi Siming did not know what was good for him, Fang Zhongyong personally led 3,000 soldiers and horses to leave Taiyuan and go through Chitang Pass. Then he raised flags and pretended that a large army was gathering to attack Shi Siming's troops in Xinzhou.

Shi Siming was not stupid. The area around Xiurong City was flat and there was no strategic location to defend, and there were no other large cities to serve as a support and help each other. If he just sat and waited for the enemy to attack the city, he would be dead!
He guessed that Fang Zhongyong had few soldiers, but was also worried that the other side would cheat, so he ordered his fierce general An Shouzhong to lead 10,000 troops to set up a back-to-the-water formation in the river valley area under Zhoushan on the south bank of Lanshui. He himself led 20,000 troops to support them on the other side of the river.

The other troops remained in Xiurong City.

However, facing the well-prepared Shi Siming, Fang Chongyong did not want to fight with him.

He ordered his troops to station in various places such as Banquan Mountain, Fengpo Mountain and Hongye Mountain which belong to the Xizhoushan Mountain Range. During the day, they lit smoke signals everywhere. At night, they ordered a small team to march quietly to the vicinity of Lanshui and beat drums and sound gongs.

Shi Siming was afraid of being ambushed, so he never dared to leave Lanshui. He was also worried that Fang Chongyong would use the strategy of "making a feint to the east and attacking the west", using a small part of his troops to pin him down while the main force went out of Jingxing to plunder Hebei.

As a result, they dared not advance, and could not retreat, and had to spend several days on the bank of Lanshui River. The officers and soldiers did not eat or sleep well, which caused complaints among the soldiers.

Seeing that the strategy of exhausting the enemy was successful, Fang Chongyong led his troops quietly back to Taiyuan City for rest and recuperation.

The soldiers in the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army called this move: "Tease you for fun."

A few days later, Fang Chongyong led his troops out of Chitang Pass again. Shi Siming, like last time, brought another 30,000 people to the bank of Lanshui and deployed defenses in the same way as last time.

However, after nightfall, the number of soldiers patrolling the camp was much less than before, and most people blocked their ears tightly and slept soundly!
After a few days of turmoil, Fang Chongyong led his troops back to Chitang Pass.

Shi Siming was so angry that he jumped up and down, but he had no idea what to do.

Of course he knew Fang Zhongyong's tactics, but it was an open conspiracy and could not be defended against.

Shi Siming was in Xiurong, Xinzhou, and had no idea where Fang Zhongyong's next main attack would be. Would he sweep Hedong or attack Hebei?
In Shi Siming's view, this is just like the feint attack and the main attack can be switched back and forth. If the situation changes slightly, the strategy will immediately change. Passive defense is useless.

If Fang Chongyong wanted to attack Hebei immediately, then Shi Siming should quickly withdraw the main force of the army back to Hebei via Feihu Pass and prepare to fight a defensive battle in the hinterland of Hebei.

But if that happens, all the important places in Hedong that we had fought so hard to capture in the early days, including Yanmen, will be handed over to others!

Who would be willing to accept this? Shi Siming was unwilling to accept this anyway.

Therefore, as long as the Jingxing pass is open, Fang Chongyong can keep playing the "in and out" game for fun, relying on the fact that he is the banker to take the initiative and repeatedly asking Shi Siming whether he wants to take a gamble!
If Shi Siming leads a large army to pursue, Fang Chongyong will lead his troops to retreat to Chitang Pass. After Shi Siming retreats, he will lead his troops to provoke again. If Shi Siming divides his troops to pursue, Fang Chongyong will send people to ambush in the mountains. It is not certain who will win at that time!

If Shi Siming played dead and refused to leave Xiurong City for defense, he would lead his troops to Xiurongchuan and have a decisive battle with Shi Siming on the prairie. If Shi Siming did not send out Fang Chongyong, he would directly besiege the city.

Knowing that the gates of Jingxing were wide open and the soldiers were exhausted, if Shi Siming wanted to concentrate all his forces with Fang Chongyong for a decisive battle in the endless Xiurong River, he would most likely be defeated.

Without the advantage of geographical location, soldiers will be worried about whether their hometown has been raided when they go into battle. How can they win the battle?
If Shi Siming sent a general to guard the banks of Lanshui, Fang Zhongyong would first tire out the enemy and then kill the chicken and eat up this army. Of course, Shi Siming was not stupid, and it was absolutely impossible for him to divide his troops and garrison at this time, giving Fang Zhongyong the opportunity to defeat them one by one.

No matter what choice Shi Siming made, he would be trying to hit two mollies with one hand and would always be stretched to the limit.

This made Shi Siming very depressed, and he hated Cai Xide to the extreme!

In view of the worsening situation in Hedong, Shi Siming wrote a letter to Huangfu Weiming, suggesting that he let Prince Rong Li Wan ascend the throne in Yecheng, stabilize the situation in Hebei first, and send troops back to the hinterland of Hebei to block the Jingxing gap.

He was not the first general to persuade Huangfu Weiming to retreat back to Hebei and consolidate his base.

Amidst the huge opposition, Huangfu Weiming also knew that it was difficult to offend the public, so he had to lead the army back to Yecheng and deploy defenses along the north bank of the Yellow River. According to his original plan, he would never allow Li Wan to become emperor without taking Luoyang.

Because in the Tang Dynasty, only Chang'an and Luoyang could truly be called "capitals" with political significance.

Others such as Liangzhou City, Taiyuan City, and Yangzhou City, although large in scale and with a large population, can only be regarded as regional economic and political centers, and are quite inferior in level.

Not to mention that the current Yecheng is no longer the Yecheng of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. This is a new city built on the basis of the original site. Although it is larger than an ordinary prefecture, it is far inferior to the Yecheng in its heyday.

Unfortunately, Huangfu Weiming had no other choice but to obey the "public opinion" and build the capital in Yecheng.

The massive "Four Kings Rebellion" came to an abrupt end. The rebels only captured the entire Hebei Province and parts of Hedong, and then temporarily stopped their conquest.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the Uighurs retreated to the Youzhou area overnight to avoid being beaten by the government troops on the front line.

In such a strange and terrifying calm, Prince Rong Li Wan came to Yecheng from Youzhou, ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, with the reign title: Shuntian.

……

"Marshal Li Jie, you finally came to Taiyuan. I was guarding Hedong before, and it was so hard!"

At the foot of Taiyuan City, Fang Chongyong saluted to Li Guangbi, who came to Hedong with 30,000 Chishui troops for support.

Fang Chongyong breathed a sigh of relief.

He has always been troubled by insufficient troops. The Chishui Army is an old army in Hexi with strong combat power. Now that Li Guangbi is coming, the Hedong Army can go out of Jingxing and stab Huangfu Weiming in the back.

Li Guangbi's face turned red when he heard his words.

However, although Fang Chongyong was polite to Li Guangbi, the soldiers under Fang Chongyong were not polite to him. They all looked at Li Guangbi with contempt.

He Changqi even said loudly to himself: "You didn't come when the war was going on, but came to pick peaches after the war. What kind of moral character is this?"

Hearing his complaints, An Zhongzhang, the deputy commander of the Chishui Army, immediately pointed at He Changqi and scolded him, "Why are you barking like a dog? We have been rushing to Hedong since we received the imperial edict from the sage, without a moment's rest. The generals are the ones speaking here, so how can we allow a subordinate like you to be so presumptuous!"

"Who do you think you are! When I was chasing Cai Xide on the mountain road in Yuci County and my knife was almost broken, you were still nursing in your mother's arms!

Rat!"

He Changqi cursed at An Zhongzhang!
"I'm going to kill you today first!"

"Draw your sword if you dare!"

"Draw your sword if you dare. If you dare to take another step forward, I will chop off your head immediately!"

All the soldiers behind Fang Chongyong ran out and started to curse at the generals behind Li Guangbi. For a moment, the atmosphere became so heated that it was about to go crazy!

It seemed that an uncontrollable fight was about to begin in the next second.

However, although these people were arguing fiercely, no one dared to draw their swords.

They were like a group of huskies on chains, showing off their might and barking wildly at the group of huskies on the opposite side that were also on chains.

A helpless expression appeared on Li Guangbi's face. He raised his hand and signaled everyone to be quiet.

"You have come a long way, let's go into the city first."

Fang Zhongyong calmly made a gesture of invitation.

"General Jie, please!"

"please!"

The 30,000-strong Chishui Army camped at Jin Temple west of Taiyuan City, and the army's commander followed Li Guangbi into Taiyuan City.

Originally, Fang Chongyong had prepared a welcoming banquet in the governor's office. However, in view of the previous conflict between the two armies, the soldiers under his command could not enjoy the banquet. Otherwise, who knew if they would start fighting after drinking too much at the banquet?
After Fang Chongyong let Li Guangbi and the generals of the Chishui Army eat and drink their fill, he led the Hexi Jiedushi to the government office's study to discuss important matters.

Seeing that no one was around, Li Guangbi sighed helplessly, "The officers in the Chishui Army are extremely dissatisfied with coming to Hedong, but it is difficult to disobey the emperor's order, so they took advantage of the situation to make a fuss. It is not intentional to embarrass the commander."

"As the saying goes, every grievance has its perpetrator and every debt has its creditor. If they want to complain, they should complain to the Saint. I have not written to the Saint to ask him to transfer the Red Water Army to Hedong."

Fang Zhongyong said with a puzzled look.

"Isn't it you?"

Li Guangbi was also stunned. He thought that it was because Fang Chongyong kept begging the emperor that the emperor issued an edict and strictly ordered the Chishui Army to enter Hedong.

This is actually not what Fang Zhongyong meant!
Of course, it was good that the Chishui Army could come. Fang Chongyong originally wanted the Chishui Army to replace the Jinglüe Army of Shuofang and let the Jinglüe Army come to Hedong. After all, he nominally had the command of the Jinglüe Army, but not the Chishui Army.

It is inappropriate to transfer the Chishui Army as it will easily give people a chance to criticize.

"Marshal Fang, what is the current military situation?"

Li Guangbi did not exchange pleasantries with Fang Chongyong and asked directly to the point.

"Cai Xide surrendered to the court, and the gates of Jingxing Pass were wide open. Shi Siming was like a frightened bird in Xiurong, and he was in a dilemma. So we can march north or east."

Fang Chongyong explained the current battle situation to Li Guangbi.

"We can first leave Jingxing, march northwards to plunder the land, block the entrance to Feihuxing, and cut off Shi Siming's food supply.

After sweeping Hedong, we will go deep into the heart of Hebei, and if we advance steadily, we will be able to put an end to the war in less than half a year."

Li Guangbi nodded slightly and felt greatly relieved.

The situation in Hedong was much better than he had expected. He originally thought that he had brought the Chishui Army here to put out the fire, but he didn't expect that he was here to fight a favorable battle.

No wonder the soldiers under Fang Zhongyong are dissatisfied. Anyone would be dissatisfied too.

(End of this chapter)