Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 590 Sharpening the Knife to the Pigs and Sheeps

The plan for this battle was to cooperate with the army in Chang'an to attack Li Baochen from two directions and capture Luoyang.

With such a big commotion, it would be impossible not to alarm Li Guiren on the other side of the Yellow River.

Therefore, Fang Chongyong had to send someone who was eloquent to persuade Li Guiren to stay put.

Of course, if Li Guiren could be persuaded to surrender, that would be a great step forward.

But that possibility is really too small.

Everyone knows the principle of "the lips and the teeth are cold", and Li Guiren naturally understands it. To keep him from taking action, it obviously requires a person with a quick mind and great eloquence, and Fang Zhongyong also needs to be able to offer some price.

So, who will be sent to undertake such an important lobbying task this time?

Inside the lobby of the Bianzhou government office, everyone looked at each other, but no one said a word.

"General Jie, I am willing to give it a try!"

Da Congming, who was serving as a marching officer beside Fang Chongyong, raised his hand and said.

Instantly attracted everyone's attention!
This pretty boy is quite courageous!

Military generals like He Changqi immediately looked at him with admiration.

There is definitely some danger in this trip, and it is quite dangerous.

Although it is often said that "when two armies are fighting, envoys should not be killed", in fact it was common for envoys to be killed.

But then again, the elegant style advocated by the royal family of Bohai Kingdom would probably make Da Congming and Li Guiren have little common topics.

Li Guiren is a Hu person who grew up on horseback. How could he possibly have a conversation with Da Congming?
It's almost like talking to a deaf person!

If no consensus can be reached in negotiations, it will be impossible to convince the other party.

Common topics are often the premise and guide to consensus.

His intelligence and courage are commendable, but this is not the place for him to stand out.

"Why are you, a soldier on the march, joining in the fun?"

Fang Zhongyong scolded him, and then he looked at Cen Shen and said, "Judge Cen has experience in frontier military service, so why don't you go to Yecheng?"

It is true that Cen Shen was a great poet, but he had been a staff member in the frontier for several years and was very familiar with the habits of the soldiers.

"Please rest assured, Marshal Jie."

Cen Shen clasped his fists and bowed, his expression very calm, as if he was just going to Yecheng for a trip.

"In Xuanwu Town, except for Bianzhou and Bozhou, the other four states each sent a thousand united soldiers to Bianzhou for training. These people were used to escort food and grass and occupy cities.

Everyone, do you have any opinions?"

Fang Chongyong looked around the crowd and asked.

This was none of their business, and the soldiers had been sent and were under their command. Naturally, those who were meeting in the government office would not have any objections.

In a meeting, things always start with the easy parts and move on to the difficult ones; the troublesome part is yet to come.

Sure enough, seeing that no one had any objections, Fang Chongyong directly ordered Yan Zhuang to take note of the matter and redistribute it after the troops were gathered in Bianzhou.

At that time, there will be two groups of people responsible for supplying food and fodder. One group is pure civilian laborers, who are only responsible for transporting food and fodder from the rear to the front-line granary.

The second type is the united soldiers sent by various states. These people will not only transport food to the front line, but also participate in defending the city, occupying the city, maintaining public order and other tasks.

In the future, the soldiers who are loyal to the Silver Spear will be selected from among these people, and no additional recruitment will be done.

"The first task of this battle is to wipe out the bandit troops in Huazhou.

The second part of this battle was to capture Zhengzhou, where Xingyang was located.

Zhengzhou is the main one, Huazhou is the auxiliary one, and the two sides are carried out simultaneously.

Li Baochen should have very few troops in Huazhou, but after taking Huazhou, he would have to guard against Li Guiren's surprise attack, which would also be risky.

Whoever attacks Huazhou will be the one to defend it until the end of this war!
Do you understand everything? "

Fang Zhongyong's face was solemn, and he spoke in a sonorous and powerful voice, with an unquestionable tone.

The battle plan had actually been formulated before. Yan Zhuang, Li Quan and others discussed it with Fang Chongyong for three full days!
Today's meeting is not to gather everyone together for noisy bargaining, but to directly assign tasks!

Unless there is a better plan and a better reason, the battle plan will not change.

The only difference is that the person who receives the task may make minor adjustments and listen to the general's opinion at this moment.

Fang Chongyong has now begun to implement the strategy of "professionalization", separating the people who formulate combat plans from the people who implement combat plans, and no longer mixing the two together.

If the plan is made by the commander, selfish motives are often inevitable.

Fang Chongyong didn't want to rely on personal connections in everything, and it would be better to use the system to ensure it.

For example, defending Huazhou this time is obviously a tough job, but attacking Huazhou is an easy job.

If the generals were to make the plan, some would only want to eat meat and not gnaw bones. It is inevitable that they would send their own troops to attack Huazhou, and after earning military merit, they would pass the burden to others.

"General, I feel ashamed that I have not achieved any success since taking office. I am willing to defend Huazhou for you!"

Liu Zhan stood up, clasped his fists, and asked for a fight.

His troops were not familiar with the Silver Spear Army, or simply did not know them. If the Unity Army from Qingzhou was mixed with others, there would inevitably be problems with coordination.

At that time, there will be a lot of wrangling and you may suffer losses.

So Liu Zhan thought it would be better to just let him fight a small army. If he won, it would be all his and no one would take the credit. If he lost, he would probably have died on the battlefield, so there would be no need to talk about anything. This was more direct and refreshing.

However, when they heard him asking for battle, all the generals in the Silver Spear Xiejie Army looked at Liu Zhan with confusion.

It must be very easy to capture Huazhou, because among the areas controlled by Li Baochen, Huazhou is the farthest from Luoyang, and the troops must be only for early warning purposes.

But the mission of defending Huazhou is worth mentioning.

It is possible to slack off throughout the whole process, or there may be a landslide and earthquake, it all depends on your luck.

Why do you say that?
Because Huazhou is on the south bank of the Yellow River, opposite is Liyang, which is heavily guarded by Li Guiren.

If Li Guiren did not participate in this battle and did not want to help Marshal Baochen, then Liu Zhan, who was defending Huazhou, would be fine, and he might not even see the shadow of the enemy.

However, if Li Guiren participated in the battle, the intensity of the battle would be unimaginable.

If Huazhou is lost, Li Guiren's troops will stab Fang Chongyong from the back, and even Bianzhou may be lost.

It can be said that the task of defending Huazhou is a bit like a "blind box", and everything is unknown.

Can this kind of task be given to a general who has just defected to us?

He Changqi, Wang Nande and others did not dare to gamble, and Che Guangqian, who usually had the most ideas, was not there, so everyone fell into silence and no one stood up to support Liu Zhan.

At this moment, Fang Zhong slammed the table, pointed at Liu Zhan and said, "Okay! You lead the Qingzhou soldiers to attack Huazhou and defend it until I capture Luoyang! After the battle, I will record your great merit!"

Since no one has come out to support it, let's just make it a final decision.

Fang Zhongyong also didn't want Liu Zhan to get too close to the generals of the Silver Spear Xiejie Army. Otherwise, if there was a fight in the future, he would be a little nervous.

Changing the commander of a group of soldiers is no fun.

“The attack on Zhengzhou in this battle was divided into three routes.

The two counties of Yuanwu and Yangwu to the north of the canal are one route. This is the flank of our army. After taking it, we can let the Tuanjie soldiers garrison it.

Going west along the canal, we will find Yingze and Heyin, which are to prevent Li Baochen from sending troops to cross the river from Henei and attack us from behind. We need a group of elite troops to garrison here.

Guancheng and Xingyang in the direction of Luoyang are our army's main attack directions.

Considering that Li Baochen has a lot of reserve troops, we don’t have time to attack the cities one by one.

In the first phase of the Zhengzhou Campaign, the troops will be divided into three groups to attack six county towns at the same time. After they are captured, they will be immediately transferred to Xingyang City for concentration. I will send people to build a camp outside Xingyang City in advance to wait for the enemy to tire themselves out. "

After saying that, Fang Chongyong went on to give a brief introduction to the military situation.

This battle was very special because intelligence showed that Li Baochen had few troops east of Xingyang and they were very scattered, but the territory they controlled was very large.

This means that the density of troops is very low and they can be easily defeated one by one.

Therefore, time is the only factor to win. Simply put, it is to use the method of dividing and attacking to clear the enemy's perimeter as quickly as possible.

Once these counties received reinforcements from the Hebei rebels, the battle would have been lost in the first phase and there would be no need to enter the second phase.

Next, we just need to fight the defense of Bianzhou.

“He Changqi attacked Xingyang and Guancheng;
It is difficult for the king to attack Xingze and Heyin;
As for Yuanwu and Yangwu, Feng Changqing led the troops from Bozhou to capture them.

Do you have any questions, everyone? "

Fang Chongyong looked solemn and asked in a deep voice.

"We will obey the commander's orders!"

All the generals shouted in unison.

"Okay, then let's follow the plan and get ready.

The plan is subject to change at any time and is subject to the latest military orders."

After arranging what the generals should do, Fang Chongyong stood up and prepared to leave.

The battle plan in Guanzhong was clearly to start with heavy snow, so why did Fang Chongyong insist on bringing his own actions forward by such a long time?
The answer is: he wanted to attract Marshal Baochen's main force to the vicinity of Xingyang, so that the other side would confront him here.

Zhengzhou is a large plain, with only the "gap" west of Xingyang being the entrance to the narrow passage leading to Luoyang. Only here can a confrontation be formed.

After this battle, although Fang Chongyong did not intend to take Luoyang, he planned to take Zhengzhou, Huazhou, Puzhou and even Xuzhou in the south.

These territories are all outside of Bianzhou. In the future, a "Bianzhou Economic Circle" can be built with large and small rivers as branches. This is Fang Zhongyong's strategic conception.

This idea is similar to the "Zhengzhou Economic Circle" in his previous life.

If there is no benefit, why would Fang Chongyong make wedding dresses for the people in Guanzhong?
Only by attracting the main force of Li Baochen's army to Xingyang and making it impossible for the enemy to attack for a long time, can the troops in Guanzhong take over Luoyang.

At worst, we can create opportunities for battle.

Fang Chongyong felt that as long as he could deal with Li Guiren, he would have more than a 90% chance of winning the battle.

The remaining 10% probability of failure is that the Guanzhong army fails to deliver and does not attack at all, which would be a disaster.

But now everything that can be done has been done, and Yan Zhenqing has indeed sent Yan Gaoqing to give a solemn guarantee.

If there is any problem again, it will really be a case of man proposing and God disposing, so it’s no wonder Fang Chongyong is blamed.

Isn’t there a saying that man proposes, God disposes?
After everyone left, Fang Chongyong called Cen Shen to the study in the government office, intending to give him instructions in person.

Seeing the other party's eagerness to try, we know that Cen Shen is already full of ambition to make achievements. Don't all literati have the fantasy of "one mouth is better than 100,000 soldiers", and Cen Shen is no exception.

This mission is exactly what I wanted.

After the two of them sat down, Fang Chongyong poured Cen Shen a full glass of wine.

"When Li Guiren was in Youzhou, he had a grudge against Shi Siming and their relationship had always been bad.

So when the Hebei bandit army was divided, Shi Siming led one group, Huangfu Weiming personally led another group, and Li Guiren was a powerful general under his command, capable of handling all matters on his own.

Now Li Guiren is facing us from the south, and Shi Siming, a hungry wolf, is eyeing us covetously from the north.

His life is not easy either.

If it were a normal situation, without any external interference, I don't think Li Guiren would be so willing to listen to Li Baochen's orders.

After all, preserving his strength is his top priority.

I’m afraid something unexpected might happen, so I need you to go to Yecheng.”

Fang Chongyong introduced Cen Shen to the basic situation of Li Guiren.

According to common sense, this person should just stand by and watch.

But, there are always unexpected things, and no one dares to entrust his life and property to so-called "common sense".

Life is a cycle of seventy-seven, but one of them will always be missing.

The ancients believed that 49 was destiny, and adding the remaining one, it made up exactly 50. And this "one" was the variable outside of destiny.

This is also why you should not be too confident when you speak, or you will be slapped in the face. Because there are always some strange things happening in the world that are beyond your expectations.

A commander who knows the pros and cons of advancing and retreating on the battlefield must always add some self-protection measures so that he can lead his troops to attack with peace of mind without worrying about his retreat being cut off.

"General Jie, this matter is actually quite easy to handle."

Cen Shen smiled and waved to Fang Chongyong. He looked very relaxed and didn't seem to be worried at all about the trip to Hebei.

Fang Zhongyong asked curiously, "Do you have a solution?"

"Yes!
I will go to Youzhou first to talk to Shi Siming about surrendering to the court, and agree that we will attack Li Guiren together and recover the lost territory for the court.

Marshal Jie just needs to write him a personal letter.

Shi Siming is a cunning man. He will definitely deceive my subordinates and write a reply letter with some nice words.

He is most likely planning to take advantage of the situation and deceive us for the time being, as it won't do any harm to him anyway.

Then, when I get this letter, I will just give it directly to Li Guiren to read. There is no need to persuade him too much.

I believe Li Guiren will know what to do when the time comes."

Cen Shen stroked the small mustache on his chin and chuckled, his former prodigy undoubtedly evident.

Damn, intellectuals have so many tricks up their sleeves!
Fang Chongyong couldn't help but sigh. After listening to Cen Shen's plan, he felt that he no longer needed to write a personal letter to Li Guiren. He could just write one directly to Shi Siming.

After all, showing Li Guiren Shi Siming's reply would be more effective than handing over Fang Chongyong's letter.

This is very easy to understand, because Li Guiren must know that he and Shi Siming have been at odds for more than a day or two.

This kind of "estrangement strategy" belongs to the category of open conspiracy.

The territory occupied by Shi Siming did not border Fang Chongyong. When the other party sent people to recruit him, he would definitely try to deceive and coax him if possible.

Anyway, it doesn't cost anything to say nice things, and you don't have to really put them into practice.

So it is almost certain that after receiving Fang Chongyong's handwritten letter, Shi Siming would write a "passionate" reply.

When the controlled areas of both sides are adjacent to each other, Shi Siming will not show mercy when it is time to take ruthless action, and he may even laugh at Fang Chongyong for being a fool afterwards.

This is human nature!

Li Guiren didn't know what Fang Chongyong and Shi Siming said in the letter. He only saw that Shi Siming said that it was a good idea for the two families to agree to attack Li Guiren.

Shi Siming felt that it was impossible for him to really fight, but would Li Guiren think so too?

The results are obvious.

"Originally, I was worried that Judge Cen would be in danger if he went to Hebei. Now it seems that he is wasting his talent."

Fang Chongyong laughed and clinked his glass with Cen Shen.

In this battle, he was more confident because Li Guiren's behavior could be predicted to be almost certain.

"Hahahaha! Now is the time to make achievements. How can I sit idle?"

Cen Shen drank the wine in his cup and laughed heartily in the same way.

(End of this chapter)