Chapter 473 Chapter 476
Song Yuzhi stared at him quietly, shook his head and said, "I am happy to stand here and talk, and I will leave immediately after I finish."

Shen Mu retracted his hands and said in astonishment: "You want to leave immediately? Why come and go in such a hurry? How can I be willing to let you go?"

Song Yuzhi Xia gave birth to jade cheeks, and said with a little bit of fierce anger: "I walk as I like, a dog's mouth can't spit out ivory."

What Shen Mu felt was the interest of the unmarried couple playing with flower guns, and said with a smile: "Don't scare me! Why did Zhizhi go to Hainan Island? Isn't Chao Gongcuo at odds with your Song family? I didn't see it when I was in Chang'an today. , is he going back to Hainan Island?"

Song Yuzhi said angrily, "We were not invited."

Shen Mu said in shock: "What?"

Song Yuzhi sighed: "You should have thought of the consequences when you went to see father that day. The strength of the Nanhai faction and my Song family are far apart, and father was willing to tolerate Chao Gong's mistakes because he was afraid of the rat. Now that father has decided to help you fight for hegemony, he has no scruples anymore. .It was mobilized to go north, but it was secretly deployed to capture Hainan with lightning speed. When our fleet approached Zhuya, Chao Gongcuo and others were still in their dreams. They caught us off guard and fled in a panic. Now Hainan and nearby coastal counties are under our control, directly threatening Shen Faxing and Li Zitong. Our fleet is less than ten days away from here. However, this will only make the situation more tense and force Li Shimin to make a quick decision against Luoyang , and uproot you before we head north."

Shen Mu was both surprised and happy when he heard it, his scalp tingled, and it was the first time that he deeply realized that the Li Clan's fear of Song Que was definitely not aimless and imaginary.Song Que is indeed a master of strategy and military law, and his methods of deceiving the enemy are even more superb. He deceived everyone into thinking that he was still gathering troops to mobilize and prepare to go north, and launched a special attack on Hainan Island without warning to drive away the control of Hainan South Sea faction.

Hainan Island fell into Song Que's hands, and if he was given control over the waters south of the Yangtze River, no matter whether it was Li Zitong's or Shen Faxing's navy, it would be difficult to challenge the Song family's fleet that had been recharging their energy and preserving their strength.Moreover, Song Que came whenever he wanted, and the enemy would not be alarmed until the Song family's fleet approached.In terms of the overall strategy, occupying Hainan Island is a wonderful move.

This matter has both advantages and disadvantages for his plan.Li Zitong might be so frightened that he couldn't shrink back, and he took advantage of Song Que's unstable position in Hainan to take the risk and go north to attack his young commander's army, so as to fight against Song Que with Li Shimin's army.

Song Yuzhi said softly: "Father is going to use troops against Shen Faxing now, Yuzhi is here under his order, and I ask you to defend Pengliang no matter what, and after he breaks Shen Faxing, we will attack Jiangdu from north to south along water and land. According to our estimate, Shen Faxing can last the first half of the year at most, and when the spring is warm and the flowers bloom next year, I hope we can meet in Jiangdu!"

Shen Mu's heart sank, can his young commander survive the first half of the year?Song Yuzhi's last sentence was not only full of affection, but also contained a feeling of parting from life and death because he didn't like him very much, which made him feel even more mixed.

Song Yuzhi lowered his head and said softly: "I'm very tired, take care of yourself, Yuzhi is leaving!"

Shen Mu grabbed Song Yuzhi's fragrant shoulders and said anxiously, "How can Zhizhi leave just like that?"

Song Yuzhi didn't struggle, but with a numb expression of mental and physical exhaustion, he said lightly, "Why not?"

Shen Mu said in astonishment: "We haven't seen each other for so long, do we have nothing else to talk about except business?"

Song Yuzhi's beautiful eyes showed a trace of sadness and helplessness, and he said softly: "Apart from fighting for world hegemony and unifying the great cause, can you men have other things in their minds? Keeping your young commander in hand is the only thing you should think about right now. Yuzhi has nothing to say to you about this matter, if father wants me to marry you, I will marry you on father's terms, understand?"

Shen Mu felt like being killed by lightning, let go of his hands and backed away in the midst of the earthquake, his face turned pale, and a feeling of despair filled his heart.

Song Yuzhi sighed softly: "If this is a time of peace and prosperity, and we occasionally meet in the rivers and lakes, Yuzhi may fall for you. Unfortunately, the time and place are not suitable, what else can I tell you? Ever since you proposed marriage to Uncle Zhi for the first time, Yuzhi's little affection for you is completely shattered. What I hate the most is the conditional transactional marriage, but it comes from the mouth of a man who can make me admire. Shen Mu, have you ever tried to understand him? What is in Yuzhi's heart? Do you have the slightest interest? You can’t regard me as an object and target of conquest, just like Jiangdu or Chang’an, and treat Yuzhi as an accessory to the war.”

Shen Mu was dumbfounded when he heard this, and asked himself, although he cared about her and loved her, he never cared about her thoughts, such as why she opposed the Song family's war against the world, and so on. He only took it for granted that she liked him.

Song Yuzhi took two steps forward, lightly stretched his slender hands, caressed his face, and said softly: "Young commander, please do it yourself, don't give it away!" After saying that, he smiled sadly, and left without thinking.

Shen Mu sat blankly in a corner of the inner hall, collapsed on the chair, rested his back on the chair, stared blankly at the roof beam above, and felt deep regret for his past behavior for the first time.

Shame, self-blame, and remorse all overwhelmed him, and his utilitarianism and ignorance completely hurt the one he loves!

He was only thinking about his own beliefs selfishly, but never put himself in her shoes and thought about her from her perspective and standpoint.

The dark clouds outside the window hung low in the sky, as if reflecting his depressed mood!

An indescribable pain caused him to be physically and mentally oppressed like a heavy stone. To say a word, to move, or even to think about the relationship between him and Song Yuzhi that has developed to such a great extent, it takes all his strength to do so. .

He may get her body, but not her heart, so what if he wins all the wars in the world?but lost her forever.These thoughts suffocate him and make him feel extremely lonely.At this moment, there is nothing that can make sense for him, let alone heal the wound in his heart.

Self-blame pierced his heart like countless sharp needles, as if the will and self-control that had always been strong disappeared all of a sudden, leaving him weak and powerless.

Xuan Yong's voice sounded at the entrance and said: "Report to the young commander, Xingyang has fallen!"

Shen Mu recited the words "Xingyang has fallen" twice in his mind, and after the third time he woke up and sat up straight.

Xuan Yong and Luo Qifei came to him and looked at him worriedly.

Shen Mu managed to pull himself together, and said, "I'm fine, just sit down and talk."

The two sat next to him, Luo Qifei said: "The news just came, we had already guessed that Wei Lu would surrender, but we didn't expect it to surrender so quickly. I heard that Wang Shichong sent a general Zhang Zhi to Xingyang to send a message, ordering Wei Lu to send troops Reinforce the Hulao, but Wei Lu set up an ambush to capture Zhang Zhi and his followers alive, and then opened the door to welcome Li Shiji into the city."

Shen Mu became sober after hearing this, and turned his mind back to the cold battlefield, remembering that Wei Lu is the guard of Xingyang, and Zhang Zhi is the one who is qualified to deliver his decree by Wang Shichong's imperial order.Frowning, he said: "Guancheng and Xingyang were lost without a fight, Zhengzhou will follow, how should Wang Xuan deal with it?"

Luo Qifei said: "Wang Xuan should be afraid of being surrounded by the enemy, so he retreated without fighting, and hid back in the tiger prison."

Shen Mu wondered what kind of bad luck happened today, all he heard was bad news.Shaking his head and sighing: "I know best that Wang Xuanying is such a useless guy that he absolutely does not have the courage and determination to stick to the tiger prison. Damn it! We have to carry out our grand plan of marching to deceive the enemy immediately. God has always taken care of me, Shen Mu. It remains unchanged to this day.”

Suddenly he knew that no matter how sad or frustrated he was, he could not let his personal emotions affect his young commander. It was related to the expectations and lives of all those who loved and supported him.

Under the confused night rain, Shen Mu stood nameless on his shoulders, straddled Qianlimeng, on a hill about five miles east of Liangdu, watching the different arms of the Young Marshal's Army, and each team drove from the official road below towards Pengcheng. go.

Accompanied by Jiao Hongjin, Bai Wenyuan and more than a dozen soldiers from Feiyunqi.

Even in the rainy night, he still has a vivid image. All the members of the Young Marshal who pass by can see his kind farewell. He himself is an element that improves morale.

Xuan Yong is the commander-in-chief of this big march, and the day and night march is not only a severe training for the young marshals, but also related to the survival of the young marshals.

Shen Mu knew clearly that this was a big gamble, if there was any problem in any link, he would never have a chance to stand up.Losing the northern base and the elite soldiers of the Young Marshal Army, with Song Que's strength, he had no choice but to retreat back to Lingnan sadly under the exhaustion of recovery.

The expectations of the Song family on him, the trust of the young marshals in him, and the life-and-death struggle against the Demon Sect, he suddenly felt that all these heavy burdens fell on his shoulders, and his heart was as heavy as a dark cloud in the night sky.

Luo Qifei's men scouted out everywhere and closely monitored the situation upstream and downstream of the canal. On the one hand, they allowed Yang Gongqing's army to sneak in secretly, and on the other hand, they kept an eye on the movements of the Zhongli enemy troops downstream.Bu Tianzhi was in charge of sending Yang Jun from the waterway.

How will Li Zitong react?In fact, Shen Mu didn't have the slightest confidence, and everything could only be entrusted to the hands of God. If the old man wanted to kill Shen Mu, Shen Mu had no choice but to accept his fate.

Raindrops poured down endlessly from the sky, and mule convoys loaded with luggage passed by, and the hoarse sound of the wheels rubbing against the mud continued one after another.

Shen Mu's mind flew over, thinking of the ongoing war on the outskirts of Luoyang.

If there is right or wrong, until now he still doesn't know whether his decision to fight for hegemony is right or wrong?In the past, he only had to be responsible for himself and take all the responsibilities, but now he can't play this tune, he must think of all those who follow him in everything.

For the first time, he felt that life no longer belonged to him personally, because any mistake, including the large-scale march in front of him, would not be the only one who died.As the supreme leader of the Young Marshal Army, he can no longer be a hero like before. He even puts the brotherhood with Xu Ziling, who has always been the most important, in a secondary position. Everything is based on the honor and disgrace of the Young Marshal Army. The thought made him shudder.

Fortunately, Xu Ziling and his goals are now the same, otherwise I really don't know what to do.

Many ideas that had never been moved before appeared in his civic area. Before that, no matter how harsh the environment he was in, he would run away if he couldn't win.But now he has become one with the young commander in chief, sharing life and death together, no longer the chic and easy way of coming and going with his own ability.Not only is there no insurmountable gap between victory and defeat, but there is only a thin line between them. If the young commander's army is wiped out, he will be ashamed to live alone.

Song Yuzhi's accusation against him was right. Since he decided to fight for the world and unify the Central Plains as his ambition, he couldn't tolerate other things, and he was not qualified to accommodate other beautiful things in life.

He had never felt more deeply about his situation than at this moment.

While Shen Mu drove the army to the East China Sea, on the other hand, he secretly transported Yang Gongqing and his troops here by water overnight. After more than ten days of busy work, Yang Gongqing settled the army behind the secret camp built in advance near Liangdu. He and Ma Chang came to Liangdu to meet Shen Mu, and at the same time brought the bad news of the fall of Zhengzhou.

In the inner hall, Ma Chang said: "Wang Shichong's army was defeated like a mountain, and one city after another surrendered to Li Shiji. The surrender of Guo Qing in Guanzhou has already caused panic in the cities on the eastern front of Hulao, and that bastard Wang Xuanying retreated without a fight. To show that he was cowardly, he gave Li Shiji the opportunity to move his army to attack Xingyang, how could Wei Lu, the defender of Xingyang, be willing to sacrifice meaninglessly for Wang Shichong? No one can blame him for his surrender."

Shen Mu smiled wryly in his heart, the courage of Wang Shichong and Wang Xuanying's father and son should have been shaped by the same mold.The former retreated in Cijian without a victory or defeat, and Wang Xuanying went one step further than Naipa, and retreated before the battle. Waiting for the city to be donated to Li Shiji one by one.

Yang Gongqing said: "Coincidentally, Wang Shichong sent Zhang Zhi to Xingyang with the intention of mobilizing his army to reinforce Hulao. Wei Lu captured him alive and handed it over to Li Shiji. Persuade Zhang Zhi to forge Wang Shichong's warrant, send it to Zhengzhou, and order Zhengzhou guards Wang Yaohan and Zhang Cibao to abandon Zhengzhou and return to the division Hulao, so that they can annihilate the enemy on the way to ambush the division."

Ma Chang said: "As expected, Zhang Zhi surrendered. Wang Yaohan didn't suspect anything after receiving the letter, but he thought that he would be intercepted by Li Shiji on the way, and even more so, he decided to surrender. First behead Zhang Cibao who was loyal to Wang Shichong, and then open the door. Surrender to the Tang Dynasty. Now that all the important military towns to the east of Hulao have been lost, and Hulao has become an isolated city, Wang Xuanying will definitely not be able to defend it for long."

Yang Gongqing frowned and said, "Hulao is about to fall, and Li Shimin will directly attack Luoyang. What can the young commander do?"

Ma Chang said solemnly: "The situation is very unfavorable to us. Before Tang Jundong came, none of us thought that Li Shimin could completely isolate Luoyang in a short period of two months."

Shen Mu led them to the meeting room, where a large solid rectangular wooden table was placed in the middle of the room. On the table was a semi-stereo model made of clay, with the Grand Canal running through it, and beside the canal, large and small squares represented cities or towns, mountains and rivers. Lin Yuan knew it at a glance.

Shen Mu smiled and said: "I learned this from Dou Jiande. He is a craftsman with outstanding skills. Of course I am not as good as him. I will detect, Chen Laomou will draw, and then the craftsman will be responsible for making the model."

Yang Gongqing and Ma Chang were so amazed that you looked at me, you never expected Shen Mu to have such a cautious side.

Shen Mu made a signal analysis in front of the three-dimensional topography map: "Tongji Canal travels southward directly to the Huaishui River. If our fleet departs from Liangdu and goes down the Tongji Canal with flying ships, it will take only one night. Can enter the Huai River. If you go east along the Huai River, you can go south to Jiangdu via the Tongyun. Under such circumstances, the two key cities for Li Zitong's defense will be Zhongli and Gaoyou. Li Zitong is well aware of this situation, so he especially The two cities stationed heavy troops here to prevent us from raiding Jiangdu. If we attack Zhongli to the west after entering the Huai River, the enemies of Gaoyou will immediately come to help; The two sides attacked us, so Zhongli, Gaoyou and Jiangdu formed an unbreakable iron triangle."

Yang Gongqing and Ma Chang nodded in agreement, because Zhongli is located in the west of the confluence of Tongji Canal and Huai River, watching the Tong Canal leading to Gaoyou and Jiangdu like a dog at the door, so regardless of Zhongli and going straight to Gaoyou, there is nothing to do with suicide What is the difference, and Gaoyou is located on the only way to Jiangdu, so Zhongli and Gaoyou can echo each other, forming the most strategic defense in the north of Jiangdu.

Ma Changdao: "So what if we enter the Yangtze River by sea and raid Jiangdu?"

Shen Mu said: "This is even more unfeasible. Jiangdu is located on the north bank of the Yangtze River, and on the opposite bank is Yanling, another important military town. The two cities are closely related. No matter how successful our surprise attack is, if the Li army from Yanling crosses the river to help, we will be attacked by the enemy, and we will only be beaten. When people from Zhongli and Gaoyou quickly come to help from the waterway, I am afraid that none of us will be able to escape back to the sea."

Yang Gongqing said with a headache: "According to the current situation, we must first take Zhongli, and then go to Gaoyou. Only then can we have a chance to threaten Li Zitong in Jiangdu. How much military power does Zhongli have?"

Shen Mu said indifferently: "The defending army has about 4 to [-] naval divisions. The commander is Zuo Xiaoyou, who is the chief general under Li Zitong. It can be seen that Li Zitong attaches great importance to Zhongli."

Ma Chang was speechless: "How can we have the ability to take down Zhongli?"

Shen Mu smiled and said: "So we have to use tricks. As long as Li Zitong is deceived into thinking that we will flee to Hainan Island by sea, and send troops to attack from both the canal and the sea, we will have a chance to take advantage of the opportunity and leave first." After the plan was announced, they were told that Hainan Island had fallen into the hands of Song Que.

Yang Gongqing sighed: "When it comes to the magic of using troops, no one in the world can surpass the young commander. If I were Li Zitong, I might fall into the trick."

Ma Chang said: "How has Li Zitong reacted so far?"

Shen Mu happily said: "According to the report from the spies, Li Zitong is transferring the navy from Gaoyou to Zhongli, and on the other hand, he is gathering the navy fleet in Jiangdu and requisitioning civilian ships. The best thing is that he doesn't know that you are sneaking in secretly, let alone I know the existence of 28 airships. Now I am very careful when I go in and out. I will wear a mask when I leave the Marshal’s Mansion. I will wholeheartedly wait for Li Zitong to attack. I can guarantee that Zuo Xiaoyou’s Zhongli army can come and go. When Li Zitong’s another army When we were still sheltering from the wind and waves in the sea, we swung our troops to Gaoyou and took Jiangdu after gaining a firm foothold. Choose one of the options, ha!"

Both Yang Gongqing and Ma Chang felt that there was something to be done, and their spirits were lifted.

At this time, Xu Xingzhi came to report with a solemn expression, and Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong asked to see him.

Shen Mu asked in surprise, "How could they think I'm still in Liangdu?"

Xu Xingzhi shook his head and said: "From my point of view, they are just trying it out. Shall I refuse them, saying that the young commander has gone to the East China Sea?"

(End of this chapter)

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