Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 628: Two-timing, one woman wants to marry two men
In the Huaibei area, north of Shouchun City, at the foot of Bagua Mountain on the opposite bank of the Huai River, there is a small market town.

This place was built because of the trade of the Huaihe River system. The town is backed by Bagong Mountain, and its river beach presents a narrow and long terrain running east-west. Bagong Mountain is not high, but its location is extremely strategic.

It can even be said that if there were no Baguan Mountain, Shouchun’s terrain would not be worth mentioning.

From the top of Bagong Mountain, one can overlook the outer perimeter of Shouchun City on the other side of the river, which is only a few miles away in a straight line. If coupled with the power of the "telescope", it would be an almost unobstructed view.

On a bright spring morning, Li Guangbi, who was stationed in Xiacaicheng east of Bagua Mountain, took a team of personal soldiers and, together with Hao Tingyu, quietly climbed up Bagua Mountain and went to the south to scout the enemy situation.

Li Guangbi took the telescope "borrowed" from Fang Chongyong, looked down the mountain again and again, and couldn't help frowning.

"General Jie, it's not convenient to deploy troops here!"

Hao Tingyu came over and whispered.

Li Guangbi handed the telescope to the other party, nodded slightly, his face as gloomy as water, but he said nothing.

Shouchun City was worthy of being the capital of the Chu State during the Warring States Period, worthy of being an important town of the Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms Period, and worthy of being a fortress dividing the north and the south during the Southern and Northern Dynasties.

To sum it up in one sentence, "Strategic advantage cannot be taken by force."

Although there is still a flat area between Bagong Mountain and the Huai River, a market town has already been formed there, and it is very narrow. It is impossible to station troops here. You can't just set up the military camp on Bagong Mountain, right?
How do we transport food and grass? How do we solve the water problem?
Therefore, Shouchun City is equivalent to having an iron gate on the north side where it is most vulnerable to attack.

To the east of Shouchun City, the Fei River meanders through, which is equivalent to the Huai River and the Fei River forming a "人" character, sandwiching Shouchun in it.

Very difficult to deal with.

"Our army lacks warships. If we force our way across the river, I'm afraid we won't be able to gain any advantage."

Li Guangbi said one sentence concisely and to the point.

"General, why don't we change the location and first attack Zhengyang City where the Huai River and Yingchuan meet. From there, we can go around to Anfeng, southwest of Shouchun, and then attack Shouchun."

Hao Tingyu suggested.

It must be said that this is indeed a good idea. After being with Li Guangbi for so long, Hao Tingyu also has some strategic vision.

"What I am worried about is to launch an unexpected attack and catch the enemy by surprise.

If we attack Zhengyang first, we will definitely succeed, but we are also expected to find that there are no enemy troops stationed there.

But once Zhengyang falls, the commander of Shouchun will know our intentions, and this battle will lose its surprise.

By the time we got around to Shouchun's rear, the enemy was already ready for battle."

Li Guangbi waved his hand. What Hao Tingyu said was a very insightful opinion. How could he not know that this was the normal way to fight?

But many times, wars are fought with surprise. You can imagine the enemy you can imagine, and once the enemy is prepared, it will not be so easy to capture.

Li Guangbi wanted to prove his ability in war this time, in order to gain a foothold in the new court and gain a seat. If he came back in disgrace, he would definitely be looked down upon.

Therefore, we must not only win this battle, but also win it beautifully and brilliantly!
"General Jie, given the current situation, even if we launch a surprise attack, we don't have the conditions to do so!"

Hao Tingyu spread his hands and said helplessly.

What he said was a bit inappropriate. Didn't he see that Li Guangbi was already upset?

"It is indeed too much of a stretch to build a floating bridge on the Huai River overnight and then cross the Fei River."

Li Guangbi crossed his arms and muttered to himself.

If it really doesn't work, we can only do as Hao Tingyu said, break through from the west of the Huai River and throw a right hook. Simply put, it is equivalent to nibbling at the city step by step until we reach Shouchun City.

However, the troops under Li Guangbi's command were not enough to surround Shouchun City.

No matter how you fight, there are risks.

"Let's go back first. Marshal Rong will think about it first."

Li Guangbi sighed, thought about it, and finally decided to hold his troops for the time being. Once the attack is launched, there will be no turning back, and he will not stop until Shouzhou is captured!

Shouzhou's Shaobi irrigated the fertile land of Anfeng, and the grain production in the surrounding area was amazing! Seizing Shouzhou can greatly expand the strength, at least it can provide a lot of military rations.

It is not only a strategic location, but also an important grain-producing area. It would be totally unconscionable not to take it down.

Li Guangbi wanted to become famous for this military achievement, but was afraid that a failure would put him in a dilemma.

For a moment, his mood was very conflicted.

After returning to Xiacai City, Li Guangbi locked himself in the study of the county government office and calmly thought about countermeasures.

During this time, his personal soldiers came to report from time to time, but he would not allow them to enter the house and they could only report outside the study.

Almost all the news was bad.

The scouts learned that the Shouchun garrison commander seemed to have realized Li Guangbi's intentions. Not only did he strengthen the city defense day and night, but he also had official ships with flags flying on the Huai River and the Fei River to conduct reconnaissance.

They even stopped passing ships and boarded them for questioning.

It was obvious that they were guarding against the army on the north bank of the Huai River. To put it simply, they were guarding against Li Guangbi's troops stationed in Xiacai.

However, early the next morning, Li Guangbi could no longer lock himself up to study strategy.

Cen Shen, who was passing by here and preparing to go to Jingxiang from the Huai River, brought Li Guangbi a handwritten letter from Fang Chongyong and a military order from the "imperial court".

Li Guangbi didn't have time to read what was said in the letter.

But the military order was very simple: keep the troops in place and wait for the right opportunity. Once the troops from Shouzhou were transferred away, they must attack Shouchun immediately without any mistakes!
"Why does the imperial court change its orders so often?"

Li Guangbi looked at Cen Shen and asked with some dissatisfaction. Although he looked unhappy, he was actually secretly relieved.

"Marshal Li Jie, I'm not sure what you mean. I came to Xiacai just for the sake of convenience. I have to go to Jingxiang on official business. If you have anything to say, you can send someone to Kaifeng to talk to Marshal Fang in detail.

I don't know the inside story, so I can't answer it."

Cen Shen bowed to Li Guangbi politely, but he was very careful not to say a single important word.

Obviously, military intelligence is a matter of life and death, and even if you know the inside story, you can't talk nonsense. This is the lesson Cen Shen learned when he served in the border town.

"Judge Cen, please go now."

Li Guangbi waved his hands tiredly, not wanting to get entangled any further.

After Cen Shen left, he called Hao Tingyu over, and the two of them studied the letter written by Fang Chongyong in the study.

In the letter, the "Grand Marshal of the Army of the World" said three things:

First, in order to help you take Shouzhou, I will help you to the greatest extent possible.

Just tell us how many people and supplies you need.

I will prepare for you what I can give you. If I can't give you something, I will try my best to give you a substitute.

Second, He Changqi will lead 5,000 elite soldiers to feint an attack on Zhongli and Haozhou (two cities across the river from each other) and try to mobilize the troops in Shouzhou for you.

Third, I have sent people to Huainan to use threats and inducements to persuade Li Qi to give up Shouzhou.

I have tried my best with these three approaches.

But if you fail to take Shouzhou by then, no matter how related we are, you will still be subject to military law.

"This……"

After reading the letter, Hao Tingyu also felt his scalp tingling.

It can be seen that Fang Chongyong is determined to obtain Shouzhou, and the request in the letter is reasonable. Since I will give you whatever you want, then if you don't get the result I want in the end, it is only natural that you get a beating, right?

Otherwise, what is the point of military law?

"Let's just hold off for now."

Li Guangbi sighed and felt an indescribable pressure.

It is obvious that how well he will perform in the future will most likely depend on how well he uses his troops this time.

But the situation in Shouchun may be a little different from what Fang Chongyong thought.

Li Guangbi was also hesitating whether to ask for help and what to ask for.

If you don't ask for anything, you can still find some excuses if you fail. If you ask for something, you may end up having your head cut off if you fail!

This is not a joke.

"General, we should really wait and see what happens.

Never ask for help unless it is an emergency.

If we ask for help, it would be no different from throwing our face on the ground, regardless of whether we can capture Shouzhou in the end."

Hao Tingyu tried to persuade him.

He was afraid that Li Guangbi would be eager for quick success and wanted to capture Shouchun City in one fell swoop, so he asked Fang Chongyong for reinforcements. If you don't want to be looked down upon, don't ask for reinforcements. If you ask for reinforcements, it means that you are not capable enough and can't take charge.

"What you said does make sense. How about this? I will write a letter and you take it to Kaifeng to tell Marshal Fang that there is no problem with Li and everything can be done according to the plan."

Li Guangbi originally wanted to ask Fang Chongyong for some grain boats, but after thinking about it, he gave up.

What if someone brags to him in the future, "It was because I went around looking for boats to help you cross the river that you were able to capture Shouzhou?"

Li Guangbi didn't like to hear such words.

He immediately wrote a reply letter, in which he assured Fang Chongyong that he could definitely take Shouzhou and did not need any additional help. Then he sealed the letter and handed it to Hao Tingyu.

……

Shi Siming recently suddenly announced his ascension to the throne and the founding of a new country. This "three-in-one" thing was too sudden. Not only Fang Zhongyong, who occupied Henan, was surprised, but even Li Baochen, who was in charge of Guanzhong, found it incredible!

Marshal Baochen believed that even he, a "man with the destiny", did not depose the emperor and establish himself as the emperor, so how dare Shi Siming, a barbarian, do that!

How dare he!
However, given Shi Siming's current power and geopolitical situation, he cannot pose a threat to Li Baochen for the time being, and the threat posed by the opponent's Chong Yong is also quite limited.

This caused Li Baochen to look down on this person.

Therefore, whether it is Marshal Baochen or Marshal Fang, their views on Shi Siming are still in a "curiosity-hunting" mentality.

Rather than worrying about the expansion of the other side's power, they actually want to know whether Shi Siming, the "boss", had his head stuck in the door and wanted to have a "cool walk".

But for Li Guiren, Shi Siming's threat was real, just like encountering a natural enemy.

Moreover, Shi Siming's army arrived in Yecheng almost together with the letter of surrender, obviously showing an attitude of "the victory is certain".

Li Guiren originally wanted to negotiate with Shi Siming and discuss the conditions in order to delay the situation.

However, his subordinates and confidant Liu Longxian persuaded Li Guiren:
"To the south of Yecheng is Bianzhou, and to the west are Henei and Luoyang. If you surrender to Shi Siming, you will only be driven by him and become a pawn in the south or west. In the end, you will definitely end up with nowhere to go.

It is better to ask for help from all parties now. After all, whoever captures Yecheng will have the initiative to attack. The general wrote to Fang Qing and Li Baochen respectively to ask for help. We will listen to whoever comes to help. "

Liu Longxian gave Li Guiren an idea, which was "to get involved in the game yourself and win half a step against heaven"!
If you want to gain a foothold, you must demonstrate your own value.

Blocking Shi Siming's way south or west, this is the value of Li Guiren's existence. As long as he can hold on for a while, I believe there will be a buyer to take over!
To be fair, Liu Longxian's idea is indeed more profound and more feasible than Li Guiren's.

Surrendering to Shi Siming, let alone the personal grudges between them, even if there were no personal grudges, given the current situation, being treated like a beast of burden was inevitable.

On the contrary, by joining the other two parties, you can gain a great deal of independence.

Li Guiren pondered for a moment, nodded slightly and said, "Indeed."

He then wrote two identical letters, both of which described how treasonous Shi Siming was and how loyal he was to the Tang Dynasty, and finally asked for help.

Let's not talk about how the other party arranged it when the letter reached Fang Chongyong. Just to say that after it was delivered to Li Baochen, the marshal was in a dilemma.

On the day when Li Guiren's letter was delivered to Chang'an, Marshal Baochen almost died of laughter when he saw the letter for help in his hand!
At the beginning, Li Guiren mocked Li Baochen, saying "lips and teeth are interdependent, but lips and teeth grow on the same body", meaning that Li Baochen was not worthy of eating from the same pot with him.

Unexpectedly, the situation changed. Li Guiren, who was unwilling to rescue and watched the show from the sidelines, is now besieged by Shi Siming and may die at any time when the city is broken.

Li Baochen, who was so anxious at first that he had nowhere to go, unexpectedly took control of Guanzhong.

I don’t know if Li Guiren regretted it or not, but after reading Li Guiren’s letter asking for help, Marshal Baochen almost laughed his jaw out of place.

"Right Prime Minister, how should I respond to this letter?

"Li Guiren, this bastard, should I pretend not to notice his distress, or write a letter to comfort him, promise to rescue him, and then watch him die without helping him?"

In the study of the Qinzhengwu Building in Xingqing Palace, Li Baochen asked while sitting on the "dragon throne" where Ji Ge once sat.

He laughed as he spoke and he couldn't help himself!
It seems that Marshal Baochen never thought of helping Li Guiren at all.

The only options in his mind were to pretend not to see it, or to trick the other party and then pretend not to see it.

Judging from the tone, it was nothing more than whether he wanted to play a trick on Li Guiren one last time, give him a little hope, and then push him into the abyss.

It must be said that Li Baochen is a man of temperament. He is very persistent in his belief that "if you eat my food, you should spit it out; if you take my food, you should give it back to me."

"Marshal, Li Guiren, we must rescue him.

As the saying goes, "a bone is worth a thousand gold coins." Saving Li Guiren was not for Li Guiren to see, but for others to see.

Last time, the Konghe Army dealt with some of the Guanzhong dignitaries and royal family members, and the people of Guanzhong also began to support the commander-in-chief.

Now is a good time to use this knife to test Shi Siming's skills.

Command the Crane Army to go to Hanoi and act according to circumstances.

If we don't go, we will cut off their food supply. Anyway, there is not enough food in the area east of Puzhou.

Let An Shouzhong strictly guard Luoyang, and his troops cannot move."

Li Shiyu suggested to Li Baochen.

Let the Konghe Army deal with Shi Siming... This is a good suggestion.

"But what if the Crane Control Army doesn't obey orders?"

Li Baochen suddenly thought of another possibility.

But Li Shiyu sneered and said, "General, the Konghe Army has already left Guanzhong, they can't make any waves. They are unwilling to send troops to Yecheng, so the one who should be worried is Li Guiren, right? What is there for you to worry about, General?"

Li Shiyu's words can be said to have awakened the dreamer!

Yes, if the Konghe Army doesn't go to rescue Yecheng, why should I worry? I have already sent troops, it's not like I'm just watching them die!

Whether Li Guiren lives or dies is none of my business!
Thinking of this, Li Baochen suddenly became clear.

"In that case, I will hand it over to the Right Prime Minister. Please write a letter to Li Guiren on my behalf, saying that I will definitely help you."

Li Baochen slammed the table and said, unable to hide the smile on his face.

(End of this chapter)