Country color

Chapter 616
On the Qianyang Palace in Luoyang.

A huge map stretches across the main hall.

Li Chongjiu's advisers Wen Yanbo, Yu Shinan, Ji Chuan, Zhang Xuansu, Xue Wanshu, etc., as well as generals Shan Xiongxin, Wang Mahan and others all gathered in the hall.

The landforms of counties and counties near Luoyang drawn on the map are clear at a glance.

Zhang Xuansu reported to Li Chongjiu: "Since our army captured Luoyang for two months, Li Tang has not sat still. Although they did not send troops on a large scale, they have also made some adjustments. The newly-appointed Luzhou marching chief Liu Shirang and general Li Xiyu attacked our army Wei County and destroyed several counties.

After hearing this, Li Chongjiu asked, "There is also Wei County in the vicinity of Gongxian County. Why is Wei County's defense so negligent?"

Wen Yanbo said: "Your Majesty, Wei County was originally guarded by General Wang Mahan, but after the attack on Luoyang, he led his troops south to attack Hanoi, so Wei County was empty. Li Yuan saw this opportunity and ordered Liu Shirang to send troops to attack Wei County , now our army can keep the county order and Yangcheng intact, which is very good."

Li Chongjiu pondered for a while and said: "Immediately draw up an edict, transfer Li Wenxiang, the governor of Qinghe County, and Wang Xiaohu, the captain of Qinghe County, will lead the army to the Neihuang line and repel the Tang army."

"No." Wen Yanbo agreed immediately.

Ouyang asked: "Li Yuan is really good at using troops. Just because of this omission in our army, he captured half of Wei County, but we are not afraid of him when he captured Wei County. As long as our army has Yongji Canal and Yellow River water transportation The soldiers and horses along the river can be mobilized freely, so they don't have to worry about being cut off by Li Yuan."

"That's right," Xue Wanshu said, "the capture of Luoyang. In the past two months, although our army and the Tang army have not fought, both sides have worked hard to consolidate their territory. Our army fought for the front and voluntarily gave up the Xin'an, Yiyang, Longmen, and Yique counties that had been captured before. Henan County only retreated to Baoyang City and defended the Songnan Road. Guo Shi'an, the governor of Xingyang County in the Li Tang Dynasty, was beheaded by our army. After the killing, Li Tang also gave up Xingyang County, and only defended Kaifeng County, blocking our army's waterway from Tongji Canal to Jianghuai in the south."

"This time going south, our army captured Henan County, most of Xingyang County, plus Dongjun, Jiyin County, Dongping County, Liang County, and part of Jibei County. Our army has actually controlled the Yellow River. Part of the south bank, stand firm."

Ji Chuan said: "However, Li Tang's attack on Wang Shichong made more profit than us, you see."

Everyone looked at the map as Ji Chuan pointed, and Ji Chuan pointed at the map with a bamboo stick: "Except for the recapture of Henan County and most of Xingyang County from Li Tang, and Xiangyang County captured by Xiao Xian, Li Tang Captured from Wang Shichong, there are Xiangcheng County in the south of Dongdu, Yingchuan County in the southeast, Fuyang County, Nanyang County, Huai'an County, Runan County, Huaiyang County, Handong County, Liang County, There are nine counties and more than seventy prefectures in total, not to mention the four counties that Li Xiaogong captured last year when he attacked Li Tang."

"Li Tang conquered almost half of Henan, and completely cut off our army from Xiangyang County, making it impossible for us to support each other with Xiao Mian. At least Li Yuan didn't have to go through Luoyang. Li Tang could send troops to reinforce Yanzhou when he was in Liangjun General Cheng Jiahui and Wang Yaohan. Xu Yuanlang, of course, how many troops these two have in their hands is another matter. But if our army fails to attack Xu Yuanlang in Yanzhou, and Xu Yuanlang completely falls to Li Yuan, then Li Tang can fight against Liu Lan in Shandong , Qi Gongshun, Zang Jun and others are helping each other."

Ji Chuan also took out a letter from his sleeve at the same time: "This is half a month. Li Tang's personnel adjustments in Henan and Chang'an. First, Pan Heren, the doctor of Guanglu, lost his title for a crime a month ago and was reprimanded by Li Yuan. Let it go." As a commoner, Li Zhongwen, the general manager of Bingzhou, was impeached by Tang Jian for the crime of colluding with our army and conspiring to rebel, and was killed by Li Yuan. Instead, the general Qiu Xinggong was awarded the Hushi General for his contribution to attacking Luoyang and saving the King of Qin. His brother Qiu Shili Because of his meritorious service, he was named the General of Zuojianmen."

After hearing the news, none of the people at the scene knew the details, but although they knew it in their hearts, they didn't know how to say it directly.

Who is Pan Heren?When Li Yuan, a barbarian merchant in the Western Regions, sent troops to Chang'an, he spent all his wealth to recruit volunteers and then joined Li Zhiwan. He was Li Zhiwan's confidant.After Li Zhiwan left, Pan Heren was dismissed from his post.If Pan Heren was alone, the connection with Li Zhongwen's murder would be very suspicious.Li Zhongwen came from the famous Zhaojun Li family, he was Li Mitang's uncle and Li Zhiwan's subordinate, although it was suspected that he was involved in Li Mi's affairs when he was punished this time, in fact it was Li Zhiwan.

After Pan Heren and Li Zhongwen, there were two brothers Qiu Shili and Qiu Xinggong. They were also generals of Li Zhiwan's army, but during the battle against the Eastern Capital, Qiu Xinggong rescued Li Shimin on his own and was relied on by Li Shimin as his confidant. Li Zhiwan refused because of Li Shimin. Mobilized the two, but was ambushed and killed by Li Shimin.Now that these two people are rewarded, it has explained many problems.

Hearing what Ji Chuan said, Wen Yanbo said calmly: "It seems that Li Tang's court and his party are fighting each other very fiercely. Your Majesty, according to my minister, the struggle between Li Tang's court must be very fierce."

Hearing what Wen Yanbo said, Ji Chuan's eyes lit up and he said, "That's right, according to the information from the Ministry of Education, Li Tang is indeed divided into several factions in the court."

"A faction? A faction among powerful clans?" Yu Shinan asked.

"It's not just between the clans, but between several princes. The clans are attached to each other. At present, they can be divided into three parties, namely, the party of the king of Qin, the party of the prince, the party of the king of Qi, and finally Li Yuan's own subordinates. One party and three major factions. After that, the three factions have long been fighting each other. This time Pan Heren was dismissed from office, Li Zhongwen was killed, and the Qiu brothers were successful. It can be seen that Ping... Well, once the princess loses power, if her subordinates do not ask for it The only way out is to lose the qualifications to gain a foothold in the court, and the Qiu brothers switched to Qin Wang Dezhi, which shows that although Li Yuan has taken back the military power of Qin Wang, his party still has a lot of say in Li Tang's court. Please don't Forget that Tang Jian, who impeached Li Zhongwen this time, has always supported the King of Qin. Therefore, attacking Li Zhongwen can also be regarded as the support of the King of Qin."
After hearing Ji Chuan's long speech, everyone nodded their heads.

Li Chongjiu also said happily: "Ji Aiqing's grasp of Li Tangchaotang is very accurate, it seems that it took a lot of effort."

After hearing the words, Ji Chuan said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your compliment."

When Yu Shinan heard Li Chongjiu's praise of Ji Chuan, he felt a little jealous in his heart. He hadn't made any achievements in his new appointment as Zhongshu's servant, so he was eager to show off his talents.Yu Shinan immediately said from Ji Chuan's words: "Looking at it this way, the King of Qin annexed the Princess's former subordinates."

Zhang Xuansu said: "Not only does it look like this, but Li Yuan is also contributing to the flames. The reason for attacking Li Zhongwen is because of Li Zhongwen and Li Mitang's uncle. He wants to eradicate future troubles. The promotion of the Qiu brothers is also seen as wooing their father, the prefect of Jiaozhi. Qiu He's move."

Yu Shinan suddenly said: "Isn't Jiaozhi prefect Qiu He attached to Xiao Mian now? His two sons were named to instigate Qiu He's rebellion. Xiao Mian's current situation is very bad. If Qiu He rebelled against him again, it would be due to internal and external difficulties. Li Yuan is really scheming!"

Li Chongjiu said: "I have already sent someone to remind Xiao Mian, but Xiao Mian may not be capable enough to intervene in intercourse. It is not just Qiu He alone. , and eldest grandson Wuji were brought up by Gao Shilian, Qiu He and Gao Shilian together, it seems that Jiaozhi is only one time away from changing flags."

"First Wang Shichong, then Xiao Xian, will Li Yuan use the old method to deal with Xiao Xian again?" Xue Wanshu said.

Everyone thought that Li Tang's momentum was really terrifying.Li Yuan captured Wang Shichong's nine counties, almost all of them without bloodshed.When Wang Shichong was attacked, before Li Tang's army arrived, Tian Zan, the governor of Huai'an County, surrendered, Cui Shu, the governor of Yingchuan County, and Zhang Gongjin, the governor of Yingchuan County, surrendered together. The local tyrants in Nanyang County killed Wang Shichong's officials and surrendered to the Tang army.

After that, Shi Derui, the general of Huaiyang County, surrendered the county, Wang Xiong, the magistrate of Yangcheng County, surrendered by killing the official, Cheng Jiahui, the governor of Liang County, surrendered from the county again, and Wang Yaohan, the governor of Bianzhou, not only surrendered the county, but also attacked and killed Among Wang Shichong's men, Yang Qing, the governor of Xingyang County, was Wang Shichong's nephew and son-in-law. In the end, his wife committed suicide, but he still couldn't stop him from surrendering Li Yuan.

The only ridiculous thing is that Li Tang's bloody battle for half a year, the two counties of Luoyang and Xingyang, which paid the most price, were taken advantage of by Li Chongjiu instead.Of course, Xiao Xian also succeeded in attacking Xiangyang and got a piece of the pie from Li Yuan.

But thinking of Li Yuan's attack on Wang Shichong, all the generals in the Zhao army shook their heads. If Li Yuan fought Xiao Xian in the same way, with Xiao Xian's power, he might be defeated faster than Wang Shichong.

Ji Chuan said: "For the time being, it is impossible for our army to get through Xiangyang to rescue Xiao Xian. Li Yuan arranged for Tian Zan, the governor of Huai'an County, Wei Lu, the governor of Xiangcheng County, Li Yude, the marching chief, Master Sheng Yan, and Shi Wanbao to block our army. On the way to the south to rescue Xiangyang, Li Yuan also ordered General Ren Gui, and Lujiang King Li Yuan to control the counties in Henan to prevent our army."

Hearing what Ji Chuan said, Li Chongjiu stood up from the dragon chair, looked at the map and said, "Since ancient times, there have been countless people who have traveled northward from Xiangyang to Hanshui, and explored the Central Plains. Back then, Guan Yu sent troops from Jingxiang to the Central Plains. Cao Wei was shocked, Cao Cao He even wanted to move to Xuchang to avoid the sharp edge temporarily, if Li Tangwan captured Xiao Xian and took advantage of Jingxiang to go north, then Luoyang would definitely be shaken."

"Your Majesty's lesson!" All the ministers replied together.

"If Li Tangzhen sends troops to attack Xiao Xian, how will our army respond?" Wen Yanbo asked.

Li Chongjiu said: "Although I have secretly assisted Xiao Mian, I hope that it will not be put on Xiao Mian. Li Tang wants to attack Jiangling from the Yangtze River, so our army will send troops south from Luoyang, first take down Yangcheng, and then go down to Nanyang. This tells you to hit yours, and I will hit mine."

Zhang Xuansu's eyes brightened and said: "Your Majesty, that's exactly the case. When our troops arrive in Nanyang, Li Yuan will panic. Once Nanyang is lost, Li Tang will be cut off from Henan, so he must try his best to deal with me. If Li Yuan ignores this As long as Liang Guo is destroyed, our army will not lose if we take over Henan and Shandong."

Li Chongjiu nodded and said: "Zhang Aiqing is right, but Xu Yuanlang must be broken first, otherwise, even if our army cuts off Nanyang, once Yanzhou surrenders Li Tang, Li Tang Henan and Shandong will be connected together, instead It is our army that has been attacked."

Judging from the map, the current situation of the entire Tang-Zhao confrontation is that although Li Tang lost Luoyang and lost the main road from Guanzhong to Shandong, Li Yuan took Henan after all.Next, if Xiao Xian is wiped out, or Xiangyang is captured, Li Yuan will be able to completely open up the front and the east, from Guanzhong to Henan, and from Henan to Shandong into one piece.

In this way, Li Yuan can completely suppress Li Chongjiu's forces along the Yellow River, and calmly deal with Du Fuwei and his like in the south, gaining most of the world.

However, Li Yuan's wishful thinking didn't work at all, and he planned to divide and rule along the north and south of the Yellow River. When Zhao Jun captured Luoyang, the so-called Yellow River defense line was broken.From this we can also see the importance of Li Chongjiu's capture of Luoyang.

If Li Chongjiu wants to break the situation, he can choose to cut off Li Yuan's passage from Guanzhong to Henan, and then from Henan to Shandong.Conquering Yanzhou and defeating Xu Yuanlang will cut off Li Tang's lifeline from Henan to Shandong. If Nanyang is captured, Li Tang's passage from Guanzhong to Henan will be cut off.So Yanzhou must win.

At this moment, an attendant walked in outside the palace gate and reported to Li Chongjiu, "Your Majesty, General Xu Shiji of the Tunwei sent someone to send Liubai here urgently, saying that Xu Yuanlang intends to surrender."

All the ministers were overjoyed when they heard this, Li Chongjiu said suspiciously: "Xu Yuanlang didn't surrender before, but now he sends someone to ask for surrender, there must be something strange. Tell me what Xu Yuanlang said condition?"

The servant said: "Your Majesty, Xu Yuanlang wants to keep his territory and troops, and he also wants to be the lord of a country."

"Lord of a country!" All the ministers were surprised.

The king of the county is the king!And now Zhao Guo has no king, and Li Chongjiu's eldest son, Li Ying, is only the king of Taiyuan County.This Xu Yuanlang is going to surpass Li Chongjiu's son.

One must know that even if it was Li Tang, although Li Yuan was conferred titles everywhere, he did not reward him indiscriminately. Li Xiaogong, who defeated Bashu for Li Tang, was a relative of Li Tang's clan, and Li Yuan was only conferred the title of King of Hejian County.Only Du Fuwei, who dominated the Jianghuai River, was named King Wu by Li Yuan in order to win him over, and he was tied with Li Yuan's sons, King Qin Li Shimin, and King Qi Li Yuanji.

But is Xu Yuanlang comparable to Du Fuwei?He even asked Li Chongjiu for the title of king?And keep your own territory and people.

Wang Bo and Meng Haigong did not have these conditions when they surrendered. Li Chongjiu saw that the two were sincere and did not want the two to lose their combat effectiveness after being separated, so he temporarily let them continue to lead the army.But this is the grace of Li Chongjiu, not Wang and Meng.

Now Xu Yuanlang proposed to Li Chongjiu not only to keep the troops, but also the territory. What kind of attitude is this!

At this moment, all the officials dared not speak. Although Xu Yuanlang was arrogant, he was able to go to Yanzhou without a fight, which was good in the eyes of many officials.Some people think that the name of a mere king is nothing more than a false name. If Xu Yuanlang is willing to surrender, it will be nothing if he adds Jiuxi.

There was silence in Qianyang Hall, and all the officials did not dare to speak out without knowing Li Chongjiu's intentions.

Time passed quietly, and Li Chongjiu glanced at the ministers and said firmly: "The title of the country should not be conferred lightly. Liu Bang killed the white horse and swore to all the ministers that it was not the Liu family who became the king, and the world will attack him together. I will not be Liu Bang's murderer. matter, and Xu Yuanlang is even more unworthy of being Han Xin."

"Pass down the decree, Xu Shiji, Wang Bo, and Meng Haigong will attack Yanzhou within ten days. There must be no mistakes. Tell Xu Yuanlang to wash his neck and wait!"

(End of this chapter)