Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 499 Next Stop: Bianzhou

"Marshal Fang, Prince, this way please."

Under the Tongguan tower, Ma Lin made a gesture of invitation. At this moment, the elite troops of the Control Crane Army led by Fang Youde had completely controlled the inside and outside of Tongguan, and placed the officers and soldiers who disobeyed Ma Lin's orders under house arrest.

"You are very good. The prince will remember your contribution."

Fang Youde stepped forward and nodded to Ma Lin very reservedly.

As for Gao Shi who pretended to be the prince, Ma Lin obviously knew that he was an impostor, but he was not a fool and it was impossible for him to point it out.

"I dare not take credit for it. The crown prince ascending the throne is what the people want. I opened the gate of Tongguan for the sake of my country and the world. I don't want to let the loyal and brave soldiers fight and sacrifice in vain."

Ma Lin saluted Fang Youde with a fist, treating Gao Shi, the substitute, as a completely invisible person.

Ma Lin was born in a military family in Guanzhong, so there was no need to explain many things clearly. They were loyal to the Guanlong nobles and the Guanzhong dignitaries, and worked hard to protect their interests, rather than being loyal to Brother Ji himself.

Now Brother Ji has lost the support of all his people, even his original base has abandoned him. Only a loyal minister like Cui Qianyou will remain loyal to Brother Ji.

But no matter how loyal and brave these people are, they cannot change the general trend and people's hearts.

The most terrifying and strange thing in the world is not some monster, but the invisible and intangible, yet real, people's support!
"Take me to see Cui Qianyou."

Fang Youde said with a sigh.

"Order!"

Ma Lin didn't think twice and took Fang Youde directly to a firewood room inside the Tongguan city wall.

Cui Qianyou, who was tied up, sat on the weeds with a dead look on his face, a piece of rag stuffed in his mouth, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Half of his messy hair was gray, looking like straw. However, Fang Youde, who was much older than Cui Qianyou, was well-dressed and looked majestic without even getting angry.

At this moment, it didn't seem like a meeting between the two, but more like the winner judging the loser.

"Untie him."

Fang Youde instructed Ma Lin.

The latter hesitated for a moment, reluctantly untied Cui Qianyou, and took the rag out of his mouth.

Fang Youde waved his hand gently, Ma Lin bowed and said goodbye, closing the door, leaving only Fang Youde and Cui Qianyou.

"You are virtuous, and the saints are kind to you, promoting you from a humble background.

I didn't expect you to betray him. You deserve to die."

Cui Qianyou spat on the ground angrily.

"There is only the Tang Dynasty in my heart. Since the saint has no moral principles, he is not worthy of being a saint.

Even if he was my father or my brother, I would still stand up against him.

Because it was not the Tang Dynasty that let him down, but he who let the Tang Dynasty down.

He deserves to die!"

Fang Youde said this calmly, without even a hint of guilt on his face.

Cui Qianyou understood that Fang Youde's mind was indeed different from others. He rebelled not for himself, but to uphold the so-called "morality" in his heart.

This kind of person only insists on what he believes is right and doesn't care about anything else!

"Now that things have come to this, there is no need to say more. Just do it. It is impossible for me to surrender."

Cui Qianyou looked straight at Fang Youde, as if they were meeting for the first time.

One is looking for trouble, the other is unruly.

The air seemed to freeze in an instant.

There is no way that two stubborn people with different ideas can compromise with each other.

"Go ahead, go wherever you want."

Fang Youde sighed softly and pointed in the direction of the woodshed door.

Hearing this, Cui Qianyou thought he was hallucinating and did not move for a moment.

"If you don't want to go by yourself, do you want me to send someone to escort you?"

Fang Youde asked back with a rare playful smile on his face.

"Are you willing to let me go?"

Cui Qianyou asked back in disbelief.

"What else? Do you think you are some great person? Do you think that the Tang Dynasty will perish if you are not around? Do you think you are worthy of me killing you right now to eliminate future troubles? Are you worthy?"

Fang Youde folded his arms and looked at Cui Qianyou who had a shocked look on his face.

These words were like a sharp sword, piercing deeply into Cui Qianyou's heart, making him feel extremely painful and ashamed.

Not worth killing, this is the greatest humiliation for a general.

"Aren't you afraid that I will join the rebels in Hebei and attack Chang'an in the future?"

Cui Qianyou asked in a deep voice.

However, Fang Youde felt as if he had heard a big joke when he heard this. He drew his sword, tapped Cui Qianyou's arm with the blade and said:
"If you want to die, just come on. If you are one more person, the Tang Dynasty will fall, so let the Tang Dynasty fall in your hands.

Who doesn't know how to brag?
Get out of here now, I won't see you off."

After saying this, Fang Youde sheathed his sword and turned to leave. He did not close the door after leaving, leaving it wide open.

Everything was done with undisguised contempt.

Under the light of the fire, Cui Qianyou's expression kept changing.

He slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, his gaze became firm.

He indeed lost this time, but Cui Qianyou refused to accept the defeat. It was not because he was inferior to his opponent in skills, but because he was betrayed by his subordinates!

But what can I do if I am not convinced?
The world is so big, where else can I go? Do I really want to join Huangfu Weiming?

Cui Qianyou looked down on Huangfu Weiming and could not find any reason to work for them.

"Let's leave Tongguan first. The world is so big, how could there be no place for me to stay?"

Cui Qianyou walked out of the woodshed slowly and met many soldiers who were in a hurry. Some of them he knew, they were from the Black Cloud Long Sword Army, and some of them he didn't know, they were probably from Fang Youde's side.

No matter who it was, when they saw him, they pretended not to see him and just passed by.

At this moment, Cui Qianyou suddenly felt that he was a superfluous person who should not exist in this world.

It seems that he should find the meaning of his existence.

……

In Xiangzhou, in the signing room of the Yecheng government office, Huangfu Weiming was staring at the map on the wall with a frown on his face.

"General, our army has sufficient food and fodder, and the supply is smooth. After two months of repair, the previously disrupted logistics have been rebuilt.

With the Grand Canal as the vein, Youzhou as the starting point, Yecheng as the end point, Yishui and Qinghe as the main trunks, and other small rivers as branches, it can cover the entire Hebei Province. "

Wei Jian, still dressed as a Taoist priest, saluted Huangfu Weiming with his arms crossed.

"We have known each other for many years, so there is no need for formalities. You were the imperial transport envoy in the past, and I know your abilities."

Huangfu Weiming turned around, patted Wei Jian on the shoulder, and said with emotion.

The two men were so close in those days because they each had their own strengths in their official positions and they reinforced each other, so their political status was equal.

Equal political status brings about complete personality, so the two can get along happily.

But now Huangfu Weiming is "second only to one person". There is a huge gap between his political status and Wei Jian's, and it is obvious that they can no longer interact with each other on an equal footing.

Even if they were calling each other affectionately, the essence was the same. Wei Jian obviously understood this and spoke in a very humble tone.

"What are you worried about, Marshal?"

He asked with a puzzled look on his face.

Although the Hebei rebels did not launch a large-scale offensive in the past two months, they were not idle.

Troops from all over the country went from county to village, state by state, to sort out the military, political and civil affairs relations, how to collect taxes, how to transport grain, how to operate the daily government, and how to replenish the troops.

And re-established reliable supply routes with mobile patrols.

Among them, Wei Jian played a great role in these events. His experience as a transport envoy and in digging the canal played a big role.

Wei Jian was in charge of logistics, which freed Huangfu Weiming from the complicated government affairs and allowed him to concentrate on military affairs.

It has to be said that Wei Jian was able to dig the canal and make it navigable, and his ability to handle government affairs was very strong.

He was in charge of the logistics of the Hebei rebels for two months, and the supplies of each army were ready without any mistakes or delays.

During this period, although the Hebei rebels did not launch large-scale sieges, their combat effectiveness and morale were much stronger than before.

"Cai Xide wrote to me, saying that the immortal saint led his troops south to Puzhou and planned to return to Chang'an to settle accounts with Crown Prince Li Heng and certain people.

The encirclement and annihilation campaign that I have been planning for two months is like flirting with a blind man. "

Huangfu Weiming sighed helplessly. He had never expected that the main force of the imperial army would escape disaster because of such a lousy thing!
"Summer wheat harvest is coming soon. After the harvest is completed, the Yellow River will soon freeze over. That will be a good time to send troops.

I am just not sure where to send troops from now."

Huangfu Weiming used a thin wooden stick to point at the large map hanging on the wall and continued to explain, sighing repeatedly.

Wei Jian nodded slightly. He was not a fool who knew nothing. In fact, the Hebei rebels had made a lot of preparations in logistics for this encirclement and annihilation campaign, and he also made a great contribution.

In the end, none of them were used.

"Our difficulty now is not that we have no place to deploy our troops, but that there are too many places to deploy our troops and it is difficult to determine the direction."

Huangfu Weiming didn’t know what to say. The current situation was that there were too many “opportunities” and he couldn’t figure out which one was the real opportunity!

In the far north, they could support Shi Siming and capture Taiyuan, where the troops were relatively under-strength.

At the southernmost point, they could lead their troops south to Bianzhou and destroy in one fell swoop the food supply route on which the imperial court depended for its survival.

In other directions, you can also enter Luoyang from the west of Hulao Pass, enter Puzhou from the west of Hanoi, and so on. It seems that every move is a good one.

Huangfu Weiming held a meeting with his generals a few days ago. Everyone had his own opinion and they couldn't come up with an "optimal solution".

Today, Wei Jian happened to come to Yecheng from Beizhou, and Huangfu Weiming really wanted to hear his opinion.

"After winter comes, we will go south to Bianzhou and follow the canal all the way south to abolish the grain transport. This is a plan to cut off the firewood from under the cauldron.

Without food and fodder, no matter how many elite soldiers and generals Chang'an has, it will be in vain."

Wei Jian said with extraordinary certainty.

With the eyes of a logistics officer, he immediately saw the biggest weakness of the government troops and the Chang'an central government.

In fact, Wei Jian was not the first person to bring this up. Wu Lingxun and others also firmly demanded that Huangfu Weiming concentrate his forces and march south to Bianzhou.

"how do I say this?"

Huangfu Weiming asked curiously.

“That old but immortal saint is fighting for power with Crown Prince Li Heng.

Both sides have armies and it is impossible for them to compromise with each other. There will be a life-and-death battle.

If we rush to attack Hedong or Luoyang now and make them feel that their rear is threatened, then we cannot rule out the possibility that the Saint and the Crown Prince will unite to deal with us.

If that were to happen, all the preparations over the past few months would have been in vain and would not be feasible!

Therefore, only by temporarily letting go of the strategies for Hedong, Guanzhong, Luoyang and other places can the Saint and the Prince concentrate on the fight to the death!

Whether Li Heng is destroyed or the saint is killed, it will be beneficial to us in every way. Why not let them fight among themselves?
And we only need to take Bianzhou!"

Wei Jian picked up a thin wooden stick, pointed to the location of Bianzhou on the map on the wall and said!
"Great! By the time Li Heng and the Saint decide the winner, they will be exhausted and the officers and soldiers in the army will have suffered heavy casualties.

By that time we had already captured Bianzhou and controlled the canal.

Then we will march westward and lead our troops to Luoyang. Who can stop us?
Even Changan can think about it."

Huangfu Weiming clapped his hands and laughed, the more he thought about it, the more wonderful it seemed.

Concentrate military forces, cross the Yellow River, plunder land in Henan, and make controlling the water transport the top priority!

Once the grain transport stopped, it would mean that more than half of the supplies to Guanzhong would be wasted. The baggage from Jiangnan, Lianghuai and other places could not be transported to Guanzhong, and then the central government in Chang'an would not even be able to pay the salaries of the civil and military officials!

They are still fighting in this state. They will be happy if they don’t starve to death!

Only supplies from Jingxiang and Shu can enter Guanzhong via other routes. However, the roads in these places are rugged and cannot transport heavy goods, such as food. These routes have great limitations!
Wei Jian's vicious plan really hit the weak spot of the government army. After all, he was in charge of the canal at that time, and he was very familiar with these things.

At that time, both Li Heng and Ji Ge would have to make great efforts and send troops to regain control of the canal.

How easy is this!

Even if we take a step back and say that the Hebei rebels cannot defeat the government troops, wouldn’t they be able to destroy the fragile canal system?
They burned down all the ferry crossings along the way and then blocked the key nodes of the canal with earth.

These malicious acts were enough to make the government troops and officials in Chang'an feel sick to the point of vomiting blood.

"What else do we need to prepare before heading south to Bianzhou?"

Huangfu Weiming asked casually, not taking it seriously.

“We need to transport the baggage to the granaries in Weizhou, Xiangzhou, Weizhou, and Bozhou in advance before the canal freezes.

If military forces are deployed on a large scale, the supply of food and fodder will be useless.

I think it will take at least a month to transport the goods to support the three-month expenses of 100,000 troops. We cannot stop for a moment and must start working on this matter now."

Wei Jian said solemnly.

Food and supplies must be sent before troops move out. War is not something that can be won by simply issuing a military order and moving troops from one place to another.

This large-scale military operation will involve at least 100,000 soldiers and horses. Providing food and fodder for 100,000 people is not something that can be done by just talking. It requires a very specific and practical plan.

However, Wei Jian is full of confidence in this. The storage along the canal is ready-made. After the summer wheat in Hebei is harvested, it can be transported to these four states.

These are all routine tasks that only require time. They are not jobs that require high technical skills.

“This time, the army’s baggage supply will be left to you.

I will give the order now to call back Li Guiren and his men and deploy them on the north bank of the Yellow River, ready to cross the river at any time."

Huangfu Weiming nodded slightly and said that he had an idea about the next direction of military deployment.

“I heard that the person in charge of Bianzhou now is Fang Zhongyong, and he is very difficult to deal with.

We might as well write a letter of persuasion first to test the other party's intentions.

While saying nice things, secretly preparing to send troops, you may as well make promises of high positions and generous salaries to show your goodwill.

Regardless of whether he listens or not, we will deal with him in the future anyway, so it doesn’t matter what we promise.”

Wei Jian chuckled and made a gesture of wiping his neck.

They have all been included in the "Anti-Rebellion Manifesto", how could they have a way out?
Neither Huangfu Weiming nor Wei Jian had really considered summoning Fang Chongyong.

However, using some tricks to paralyze the other party, or even giving some generous gifts, are all options that can be implemented.

Calling him brother with one mouth while touching the knife with one hand, this can be considered as "all is fair in war" in a sense.

Huangfu Weiming nodded and said, "Indeed, I will write the letter now. It is still early before the troops are dispatched, and I have nothing to do anyway."

(End of this chapter)