In the third year of Emperor Kaihuang's reign in the Sui Dynasty, the Sui army left Shuozhou to defeat the Turks, and established Mayi County there. All nearby areas were placed under the jurisdiction of Mayi County, and Fanzhi was renamed Shenwu County.

With the advent of troubled times at the end of the Sui Dynasty, Mayi County and Shenwu County also lost their former peace and became the first line of defense against Turkic invasions. They were fought over by each other, changed hands repeatedly, and the city walls changed into the king's flag.

Today's surname is Liu, tomorrow's surname is Li, and the day after tomorrow it becomes Ashina...

Now, Mayi City’s surname is Yuan, Yuan Junzhang’s Yuan!

At this time, Yuan Junzhang was standing at the top of the city of Mayi City, looking at the continuous army that looked like a long snake in the distance, his face was very ugly, the fingers of both hands were tightly grasping the crenellations of Mayi City, and on his arms

Veins popped out.

You were careless, you should have run away earlier!

In fact, before sending troops, Yuan Junzhang was still very ambitious.

In his view, the full-scale Turkic invasion and Liu Heita's resurgence in Hebei meant that Li and Tang would have to divide their forces to resist, and their forces would be stretched thin. Bingzhou would be temporarily shelved by Li and Tang because it was easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Therefore, after the war breaks out, there will not be many reinforcements in Bingzhou.

With insufficient troops, the most likely option for the Tang Army was to defend the line from Jinyang to Weize Pass (that is, Niangzi Pass) to prevent the Turks from breaking through, and then cross the Taihang Mountain Jingxing Road to reinforce Hebei.

Then Yuan Junzhang could take advantage of this opportunity to repeat the plan he had given to Liu Wuzhou in the past. He would first occupy Mayi to recuperate, and then take the opportunity to take Jinyang, go to Hedong, collect the land, and then make a gesture of surrender to Li Tang.

, separate the entire Bingzhou and achieve hegemony!

The initial development of the matter made Yuan Junzhang very happy, because after the Turkic invasion and Liu Heitai's comeback, while Li Tang's emperor Li Yuan divided his troops to resist, he actually recalled his second son, King Qin Li Shimin, who was the most capable of fighting.

Chang'an sent reinforcements to Bingzhou, and the person stationed at Weize Pass turned out to be his daughter Princess Pingyang.

Just a female prostitute.

This is sure!

But before Yuan Junzhang could relax, things took a turn for the worse, catching him off guard...

First, Princess Pingyang quietly passed through the Taihang Mountains, made a surprise attack on Hebei, contacted Shi Wanbao and Li Daoxuan, and caught Liu Heita off guard. Then when everyone thought she was still in Hebei, she quietly passed through again

Taihang returned to Bingzhou and eliminated all the Turkic forwards sent out along the way. Then he cooperated with Liu Shirang of Yanmen to defeat the Turkic camp in one fell swoop, and came to the gate of Mayi City, blocking him tightly in Mayi City.

"Dahangtai..."

Standing behind Yuan Junzhang, a general with thick eyebrows and big eyes was looking at the Tang army who were building a camp under the city with a somewhat excited expression. Behind him stood a burly man covered in armor.

"The situation is not good. What do you think we should do? Break out or hold on?"

Yuan Junzhang closed his eyes with a struggling look on his face.

To be honest, neither of these options are very good...

If we break through like this, then Princess Pingyang will definitely chase after her, and it may turn into a rout in the end, unless someone is willing to take the initiative and consciously cut off the rear to help the large army buy time.

But who would be willing to be such a fool when he saw that he was going to die.

And if you choose to stick to it, there isn't much food in Mayi City to begin with, and I'm afraid that if you can't hold it for ten days, you will run out of food. Then maybe... no, it should be said that there will definitely be someone who wants to use his head to make money for the Tang army.

Yuan Junzhang opened his eyes and glanced behind him calmly.

Maybe the first guy to surrender is this thick-browed and big-eyed Gao Manzheng!

"Brother Gao Xian..."

Yuan Junzhang replied calmly.

"Now that the situation is in chaos, in your opinion, what should I do?"

"Dahangtai, now that the Turks are defeated, even if Jieli Khan rushes back to Bingzhou, there will be no way to turn the tide,"

Gao Manzheng looked around, then whispered to Yuan Junzhang.

"In my opinion, it is better for us to return to the Tang Dynasty! Firstly, we will not lose our wealth, and secondly, our brothers will not die in vain..."

After hearing Gao Manzheng's words, Yuan Junzhang narrowed his eyes slightly, and his eyes flashed sharply, but then when his eyes fell on the big man behind Gao Manzheng, they turned into a look of fear.

Then, Yuan Junzhang also replied in a low voice.

"Brother Gao Xian, it is certainly good to return to the Tang Dynasty, but we have all followed Dingyang Khan and had a big feud with the Tang army. If we surrender like this, are our lives, fortunes, and wealth guaranteed?"

"Don't worry about this Daxingtai..."

Gao Manzheng patted his chest and said generously.

"The Tang Army has already sent people over to tell someone that as long as you surrender to the Tang Army in Daxingtai, you will be guaranteed to be rich and prosperous, and if you don't believe it, the Emperor of Tang can even give you an iron certificate as proof."

Yuan Junzhang closed his eyes silently, and nodded with a look of emotion on his face.

"If this can be done, it would be a good idea."

"That……"

Gao Manzheng looked left and right again and said eagerly.

"Dahangtai, I'll go down and get ready."

"Prepare……"

Yuan Junzhang looked back at Gao Manzheng and asked doubtfully.

"What preparation?"

"Of course I am preparing to surrender..."

Gao Manzheng looked at the several Turks in the distance with somewhat wary eyes, and violently moved his hands downwards.

"Since a certain person surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, how could he not take any specific actions, so a certain person wanted to kill all the Turks in Mayi City, and then use their heads to welcome Princess Pingyang of the Tang Dynasty."

"this……"

After hearing what Gao Manzheng said, Yuan Junzhang's eyelids couldn't help but twitch and he quickly stopped.

"Brother, please don't be so impatient. The matter is very important. You must prepare Zhou Xiang. Don't be impatient. Otherwise, if the news is leaked and those Turks make trouble in the city, what should we do?"

"oh……"

Gao Manzheng clasped his hands and saluted Yuan Junzhang.

"What Daxingtai said is that someone is short-sighted."

"No, Brother Yu just thinks a little more."

Yuan Junzhang comforted Gao Manzheng with gentle words.

"Let's see. You go back first to make sure that all your brothers are willing to return to the Tang Dynasty. I will also try out Pao Ze's thoughts before we deal with it."

"yes!"

After Gao Manzheng agreed, he cupped his hands and cupped his hands, then turned around and left with the big man behind him.

After Gao Manzheng left, Yuan Junzhang turned his head, cast his eyes on a man wearing a scholar's shirt standing behind him, and asked in a sincere tone.

"Mr. Guo, what do you think of what Gao Xiandi just said?"

Facing Yuan Junzhang's words, the man known as Mr. Guo laughed and said in a disdainful tone.

"It's not enough to talk about one's opinions and contemptuous words."

"Oh, is it so……"

Yuan Junzhang then made a sincere expression and asked Mr. Guo.

"Dare you hear the details?"

"Easy to say!"

Guo Ziwei waved his hand, as if giving instructions to Fang Qiu.

"At the present time, although Li Tang has occupied the territory of Guanzhong, Hebei has not yet been settled, Jianghuai has not been leveled, and Tuyuhun is invading from the side. In addition, the Turks are powerful and have repeatedly invaded. Guanzhong is shaken, and it can be said that war is everywhere. Li Tang can be said to be himself.

It’s hard to guarantee, what will happen even if someone returns to the Tang Dynasty now?”

With that said, Guo Ziwei tapped Yuan Junzhang with his hand.

"Let me do some calculations. If Daxingtai returned to the Tang Dynasty at this time, Li Tang would appoint Daxingtai as the governor of Bingzhou because of the troops in hand. Although it seems to be a high-power position, if Daxingtai accepts it, it will have some influence on Bingzhou.

It was the responsibility of protecting the territory, but the army was in danger and the war was fierce. Over time, after all the troops in Daxingtai were lost, Li Tang only needed one jailer to punish the crimes of Daxingtai."

Yuan Junzhang nodded slightly.

Yes, what Guo Ziwei said makes sense, and he is also worried about it.

"What about what Mr. Guo said?"

"The terrain here in Mayi is difficult, the city walls are strong, and most importantly, the Turks are now at a time when they are strong. Daxingtai should rely on these advantages at this time to observe changes in the situation..."

With that said, Guo Ziwei waved his hand and expressed his conclusion.

"If you return to the Tang Dynasty now, you will be controlled by others in Daxingtai!"

"Mr. Guo's words are reasonable..."

Yuan Junzhang nodded slightly and said warmly to Guo Ziwei.

"However, people's hearts are fluctuating at this time. If all the brothers in the army want to return to the Tang Dynasty, even if I and Mr. Guo join forces, it may not be able to help."

"It's easy!"
To be continued...