Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 503 The Sky Won’t Fall
In the hall of the Xuanwu Army Jiedushi Yamen, all the generals and staff of the Xuanwu Army gathered. Fang Zhongyong handed Huangfu Weiming's handwritten letter to Cen Shen beside him and said:
"Everyone, take a look."

The latter handed the letter to Che Guangqian, and then the letter was circulated among everyone. Soon, everyone had read the letter.

Then they were all shocked by Huangfu Weiming's generosity.

"Since Huangfu Weiming is so generous, why doesn't he give his wives and concubines to Marshal Jie to play with?
Such a large territory, is it not as important as a few women? Is it that serious?"

He Changqi muttered to himself "loudly and conspiratorially". Everyone in the hall heard his voice and couldn't help laughing. They wanted to laugh but tried hard to hold it back.

The words may be rough, but the truth is there. He Changqi's complaints are actually very consistent with common sense of human nature.

"Ahem! He Lao Hu, be serious. We are discussing government and military affairs!"

Fang Zhongyong coughed lightly to hide his embarrassment and scolded in a low voice.

He Changqi quickly clasped his fists and apologized, covering his mouth with one hand, as if he was afraid that he would say something wrong again.

"Huangfu Weiming sent someone to deliver a letter, agreeing to fight a tacit battle with me. How do you think we should respond?"

Fang Chongyong looked around the crowd and asked.

In terms of strategy, any small matter could lead to extremely serious and unpredictable consequences. It was not surprising that Huangfu Weiming did not send a letter, which meant that he might not intend to attack Henan.

But now that the other party has sent lobbyists, this in turn proves that Huangfu Weiming will soon use troops against Henan, it just depends on where to attack and how to attack.

If we only attack Henan Road, we will be competing with Fang Zhongyong;

If the attack is to attack Dujidao (including Luoyang and Shanzhou, corresponding to the "Jingjidao" where Chang'an is located), then the first priority is to stabilize the Xuanwu Army and capture Luoyang.

If they attack from both sides, their forces will be diluted, and if they want everything, they will get nothing, which is not a big deal. However, Huangfu Weiming is also a famous general, and he is experienced in fighting, so he should not make such a low-level mistake.

It is difficult to judge what the other party will choose at this moment.

Of course, what Huangfu Weiming promised in the letter was just a trick to fool a three-year-old child. No one sitting in the hall would take it seriously.

"General, Luoyang is currently short of troops. Huangfu Weiming's move is to stabilize us first, and then go all out to capture Luoyang.

We can keep our troops in place for now, and when they pass through Hulao Pass, we can cut off their retreat. This is a strategy of responding to ever-changing situations with the same strategy.

For now, we may as well dig deep trenches and build fortifications in Bianzhou, store up food and fodder, and wait for the right time."

Wang Nandai saluted and said to Fang Zhongyong with a fist.

"Indeed."

"Huangfu Weiming is a very ambitious guy. If they conquer Luoyang first, they can make it their capital and announce it to the world."

"Yes, yes, the Hebei bandit army just wants us to stay put."

People in the hall were talking about it, and it was obvious that many people agreed with Wang Nanyi's judgment.

From a political point of view, the strategic value of capturing Luoyang is immeasurable. Moreover, it can be attacked from both Hanoi and Hulao Pass, and after it is captured, it can be defended as the capital.

This is of great significance to the Hebei rebels, as they now lack a decent capital, and thus lack "legitimacy".

The strategic priority of attacking Luoyang is far higher than attacking Henan.

After all, the strategic depth of the Henan Plain is very large. As long as Fang Zhongyong is willing, he can retreat all the way, and it doesn't matter if he retreats to Bozhou and other places to deploy defenses. There are plenty of opportunities to counterattack.

The Hebei rebels had to send troops to garrison each place they captured, and the longer the delay, the bigger the flaw. No matter how you look at it, the Xuanwu Army is a target that can be "taken slowly", and there is no need for Huangfu Weiming to worry about it so much.

"General, I want to say something."

Che Guangqian raised her hand, and the hall suddenly became quiet, with different people having different expressions on their faces.

Yan Zhuang and other scholars were unaware of Che Guangqian's power and were somewhat confused; but the generals under Fang Chongyong did not dare to underestimate him and all of them looked solemn.

"Go ahead, no need to be polite."

Fang Zhongyong waved his hand, signaling Che Guangqian to speak quickly.

"General Jie, if I were Huangfu Weiming, I would definitely not believe that such a private agreement like coaxing a child would be followed.

Suppose I lead the Hebei bandit army across the Yellow River and immediately attack Luoyang to the west.

So what should we do at this critical moment when the Xuanwu Army crosses the river and cuts off the food supply?
What if the war becomes intense and the Xuanwu Army stabs us in the back?
I would be worried and afraid to sleep all day, for fear that one day when I wake up, the food supply will be cut off and the army of 100,000 will have to kill horses to get food, and I will be caught in a dilemma. "

Che Guangqian analyzed what would happen if things developed in the direction Wang Nande was thinking. From Huangfu Weiming's perspective, he came to the conclusion that "the wolf is afraid of both ends when hit with a stick".

If such a development really happened, then while Fang Chongyong was afraid that the Hebei rebels would move south to Bianzhou, wouldn't Huangfu Weiming also be afraid that the Xuanwu Army would cut off their retreat?
Which decision-maker would place his hope on the kindness or stupidity of his enemies?

"That makes sense, so what will you do?"

Fang Chongyong asked in a deep voice.

"If I were Huangfu Weiming, I would take advantage of the opportunity this winter when the Yellow River and the Grand Canal are completely frozen and march south. I would put Luoyang aside first and focus on dealing with the Xuanwu Army!
The Yellow River was frozen, so they could cross it easily, with numerous routes available. However, the Grand Canal was frozen, so the Xuanwu Army could not move troops through the canal easily, and were easily defeated one by one by the Hebei rebels who had no shortage of horses.

The enemy has the advantage, and I have the disadvantage. Commander, I think Huangfu Weiming is trying to paralyze us and make us think he is going to attack Luoyang.

In fact, Li Longji might lead his troops to attack Guanzhong now, and Huangfu Weiming would just watch them fight to the death, not caring who wins or loses. He didn't need to attack Luoyang now to stimulate the two sides who were about to fight to shake hands and make peace.

The so-called capture of Luoyang was nothing more than a bluff."

Che Guangqian patiently explained it. It must be said that this analysis is well-reasoned and convincing.

"How do you determine that Huangfu Weiming will not attack Luoyang?"

Wang Nan asked back somewhat unconvinced.

He didn't think there was anything wrong with his analysis, because Luoyang was so important! Especially for Huangfu Weiming, who lacked a heavyweight capital.

Che Guangqian ignored him and continued to clasp his fists towards Fang Zhongyong and said:

"General, all is fair in war. It is common to pretend to be incapable when you can. It is common to make a feint to the east and attack in the west.

We just need to send scouts to Hanoi to investigate and see if Huangfu Weiming has sent reinforcements to the vicinity of Beizhong City!

Now that Luoyang is short of military strength, there is no need to send more troops to attack from both ends of Henei. It is only necessary to fight along the Hulao Pass road.

The more Huangfu Weiming pretended to send more troops to Hanoi, the more I was certain that he was putting on a show for us to see, a sign of a guilty conscience.

As long as the Hebei bandits send more troops to Hanoi, they will definitely go south to Bianzhou after winter. We can send scouts to closely monitor the movements of the bandits in Hanoi."

Che Guangqian was very sure.

"well said!"

Fang Chongyong slammed the table heavily.

Che Guangqian had clearly analyzed Huangfu Weiming's thoughts and laid them out before everyone. It was not difficult to investigate the military situation in Hanoi, as both sides were playing their cards clearly.

It’s just like if Fang Chongyong mobilized troops from Bianzhou and crossed the Yellow River directly, he would be detected by the Hebei rebels.

"Huangfu Weiming has already made his move. How should we respond? We will come up with a plan today.

Think about this carefully. "

Fang Zhongyong said to everyone present.

Che Guangqian only understood Huangfu Weiming's routine, but he had no idea how to deal with it.

Because to some extent, whether Huangfu Weiming could fool Fang Zhongyong this time was not so important. Their plan was to take advantage of the window period from the beginning of winter to the beginning of spring when the river thawed to attack Henan.

Even if Fang Chongyong had anticipated this, he would only have had an extra month or two to prepare.

"General, I have thought of a solution, but it is not convenient to talk about it here."

Having lived a life of luxury in Chang'an for many years, the plump and fair-faced Yan Zhuang smiled as he spoke, but this smile looked treacherous and sinister no matter how you looked at it.

All the generals under Fang Chongyong glared at him, but Yan Zhuang seemed not to notice those angry gazes and still had a slightly smug look on his face.

"Everyone, please wait a moment. The commander will be back soon."

Fang Chongyong stood up and winked at Yan Zhuang.

The two came to the back hall. Fang Zhongyong did not bother to be polite with Yan Zhuang and asked directly, "What can you do?" "General Jie, you also know that Yong Wang Li Lin currently controls Qizhou, Yunzhou and other places, and serves as the governor of Tianping Army. And Ying Wang Li Lu occupies Xiangyang and serves as the governor of Shannan East Road. Not to mention the other princes, many of them are serving as governors.

Now that Li Heng has ascended the throne in Chang'an, these people have not expressed their opinions, which means that they do not yet recognize Crown Prince Li Heng as the new emperor.

We can issue a proclamation to the outside world, in the name of Li Heng, to force Prince Yong to abdicate and force him to recognize Li Heng as the new emperor."

Yan Zhuang talked a lot of nonsense in a confusing way, and brought up Prince Yong Li Lin, Prince Ying Li Lu and so on, which made people confused.

"Well, aren't we talking about the Hebei bandit army's march south now?"

Fang Zhongyong asked in confusion, not knowing what Yan Zhuang was up to.

"General Jie, I haven't finished yet!

Judging from the current situation, Li Longji is already leading his troops to attack Li Heng, and the outcome is still unknown.

If we only look at the number of troops, Li Heng is far inferior to Li Longji! No matter how you look at it, he is doomed to lose!
Therefore, Li Lin would definitely not agree, and would probably directly issue a manifesto to deny Li Heng's legitimacy.

At this time, we led our troops to Puzhou, which was adjacent to Qizhou and Yunzhou, and spread propaganda everywhere to maintain the legitimacy of the crown prince and put pressure on Li Lin.

If he doesn't send a congratulatory message, we will resort to war to suppress the rebellion! Doesn't this seem like a matter of course?"

Yan Zhuang continued.

Fang Zhongyong nodded slightly. He had to admit that Yan Zhuang's logic was very rigorous and his arguments made sense.

"At that time, everyone thought we were going to attack Li Lin. Huangfu Weiming thought that he had a lot of troops, and the area was in Hebei, and he had to suppress the rebellion, so we definitely couldn't cross the river to attack Hebei.

Then, we will take advantage of their unpreparedness and find an opportunity to suddenly cross the Yellow River and attack Weizhou, Bozhou and other places on the other side of the Yellow River. That is the key to the Yongji Canal! They must have stockpiled a lot of supplies.

We took advantage of the fact that they were still preparing and had not yet concentrated their forces to attack across the Yellow River in one go.

Destroy their baggage, kill their troops, disrupt their morale, and then withdraw before winter.

We just need to fight our own battles. Why should we care whether Huangfu Weiming wants to attack Luoyang or Bianzhou?

As long as the matter can be kept confidential, the chances of success are high.”

Yan Zhuang lowered his voice and said.

After hearing this, Fang Chongyong's mind emerged with a scene in a fighting game where one party was charging up for a big move, but was interrupted by the other party.

Yan Zhuang’s idea is similar.

That's right. If Fang Chongyong's army were to engage in a head-on confrontation with the concentrated forces of the Hebei rebels, it would surely lose. It would be useless to fight one against ten, and even if it won, its army would be crippled.

However, if the purpose is just to interrupt the opponent's troop rhythm, the Hebei rebels will not be able to concentrate their forces and will always be in a state of exhaustion.

That depends on the level of military deployment of both sides. In short, it is not a losing game.

"That's right. If we can win this time, you will be the first to win!"

Fang Zhongyong patted Yan Zhuang on the shoulder and said, obviously agreeing with the idea of ​​this bad guy.

"The Xuanwu Army is still short of a Jiedu Judge. I think you are a perfect fit. If you win this battle, you will be the Jiedu Judge."

Fang Chongyong continued.

Hearing this, Yan Zhuang was overjoyed and immediately saluted, saying, "I wish you a great victory!"

……

Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap!
On the official road west of Chang'an, a young man in Taoist robe was riding a horse at a gallop.

Stirring up clouds of dust.

His originally elegant face was now covered in dust, his hair was disheveled, and his grey Taoist robe was covered in stains, as if he had fallen off a horse.

At this moment, he had already seen a marching team, and hurriedly shouted to the soldiers: "Marshal Fang! Marshal Fang! Stop, stop!"

Fang Youde, who was walking at the end of the team, saw this man riding a fast horse to catch up with the Konghe Army heading west. He quickly asked his personal soldiers to lead him to his side and ordered the entire army to rest on the spot for half an hour.

Seeing Li Mi, who looked rather embarrassed and had suffered a lot from riding fast, Fang Youde crossed his arms and asked with interest, "Why did Li Xianggong come to see me when he is not serving His Majesty?"

There was a hint of amusement on his face, as if he was deliberately trying to make fun of Li Mi.

"Marshal Fang, there will be a major war in Guanzhong soon. The emperor will definitely lead his troops to Guanzhong to deal with the emperor. When that happens, it will not only be the people who will suffer, but the country will be destroyed!

Please ask Marshal Fang to accompany me back to Chang'an to take charge of the situation!"

Li Mi spoke anxiously, no longer showing his former calmness and wisdom.

Fang Youde seemed to have heard something funny. He waved his hand casually and said, "The Tang Dynasty has been established for a hundred years. The people support it. It doesn't matter who is missing. Minister Li, please don't exaggerate."

Li Mi seemed to not know Fang Youde and had never expected that the other party would say such a thing.

But at this time Fang Youde was not actually mocking Li Mi, but he really thought so in his heart.

Was the Jingyuan Rebellion during the reign of Emperor Dezong of Tang Dynasty outrageous? Were the consequences serious?
Chang'an was occupied by the meritorious troops who had suppressed the rebellion for many years. They burned, killed, looted and almost plundered Chang'an.

More members of the royal family died than those killed by An Lushan, and Emperor Dezong of Tang almost died like a wild dog.

Does it sound like the Tang Dynasty is about to fall?

But in fact, the Tang Dynasty survived for more than a hundred years, and even achieved nominal unification at one point, completing the "Yuanhe Restoration."

Fang Youde didn't think that Ji Ge's coming to Chang'an would do anything. Although the revival of the prosperous Tang Dynasty seemed to be getting further and further away, it was also a foolish dream to predict that the Tang Dynasty would perish now.

"General Fang! After the autumn harvest, the Hedong troops will definitely pass through Puzhou and enter Guanzhong! It's a bit late to start deploying defenses in Chang'an now. How can we still lead the troops to Qizhou?
Now is not the time to act on impulse! All misunderstandings can be resolved, don't do anything that will make your loved ones sad and your enemies happy!"

Li Mi got angry and grabbed Fang Youde's sleeve. Some people in the Chang'an central government had indeed neglected Fang Youde, and even used despicable means.

But if Fang Youde gives up now, it will kill many people!
"If the emperor comes, will he kill everyone in Chang'an?"

Fang Youde asked back expressionlessly, and calmly pulled his sleeve out of Li Mi's hand.

Li Mi didn't know how to answer. He sighed, shook his head helplessly and said, "That won't be the case."

"Will the emperor kill all the officials in the central government and Chang'an City?"

Fang Youde asked again.

Li Mi shook his head slowly again without saying anything.

"In that case, what is there to worry about?"

Fang Youde asked back.

"The Crown Prince is the foundation of the country! The Tang Dynasty can no longer afford to toss around!"

Li Mi said with a serious face.

"If the emperor can no longer stay in Chang'an, he can come to Qizhou to find me. I will definitely protect him."

After saying this, Fang Youde turned and left.

Li Mi shouted behind him, "Marshal Fang, by then the situation will be out of control! For the sake of the people of the world, can't you be patient? Time cannot be turned back, and it will be too late to regret then!"

Li Mi couldn't get close to Fang Youde because he was stopped by two personal soldiers of the Konghe Army. He could only shout at Fang Youde's back.

"If it's just to clean up the situation."

Fang Youde turned around, looked at Li Mi, and continued with pity in his eyes: "It's as easy as pie."

After saying this, he did not stop and ordered the entire army to set off and continue the march.

There is nothing difficult about the situation in the Tang Dynasty. It's just that the glory of the heyday of the Tang Dynasty cannot be restored.

Fang Youde sighed secretly in his heart.

What he seeks, he will never get.

(End of this chapter)