"..."
Li Mi, the leader of the Wagang Army, "Pu Shanggong", was sitting in the study with his confidant general and chief military advisor Shen Luoyan, holding in his hand a letter that Shen Luoyan had just sent to him, thinking deeply.
In fact, something described in the letter had already been widely circulated in the Central Plains and Wulin half a month ago, and the initiator was the one who handed over Wuyuan County, Yulin County and other places to the Turks and planned to release the Turks.
The Li clan, who had invaded, was also verbally criticized and scolded by people in the Central Plains and the martial arts world. This completely destroyed the reputation and prestige that he had finally accumulated.
To be honest, at first, Li Mi didn't pay much attention to it, thinking that the rumor was just a rumor spread by a certain force against the Li clan, in order to create obstacles and attack the Li clan, which had unified Guanzhong and was planning the north.
Its reputation will make the people of the Central Plains no longer have hope in the Li clan and curb its expansion speed, etc.?
In this regard, while Li Mi was gloating about the misfortune, of course he directly added fuel to the flames regardless of whether it was true or not, and was happy to see the result of the Li family being infamous.
But who would have thought that today he finally realized the seriousness of the problem when he received a personal letter from Kou Zhong, the Ssangyong Army in the south who was as prosperous as the Li Clan and had unified Jiangnan, and the general manager of Jiangnan Province.
Then, he could no longer rejoice in misfortunes.
"..."
Likewise, the "femme fatale" Shen Luoyan also had a solemn look on her face.
You must know that the fire plan that helped Li Mi become the co-leader of the Wagang Army came from her. She lives up to her name. Not only is she like a fish, but she is also resourceful and good at using means to deal with the enemy when necessary.
Even her allies were merciless, earning her the nickname "Female Beauty". It was with her help that Li Mi became famous and became the leader of Wagang.
Therefore, as a counselor and Wagang's strategist, it is impossible for her not to know the importance of Wuyuan County, Yulin County and other places!
It is an indisputable fact that the Li Clan has handed over those two important military towns to the East Turks. According to reports from their spies, even the Li Clan has basically evacuated Wuyuan County, Yulin County and other places before the arrival of winter.
The people were looking for other places to settle. It can be said that those two places are definitely in the hands of the Eastern Turks now. There is no doubt about that.
Originally, Wagang didn't pay much attention to those things. After all, it was Li Clan's own business. He could give Li Clan's territory to whomever he liked. Wagang and they couldn't control it so widely, let alone that far!
However, combined with the rumor that spread in the world in the past month, combined with the sincere letter written by Kou Zhong, she is as smart as Shen Luoyan, and she still doesn't know how serious the situation is.
Oops?
You know, once the Li clan really shrinks its troops and allows the Turks to cross the border and merge into the Central Plains, and once the Turkic army attacks the Central Plains from north to south via Hedong Road or Guannai Road, the first ones to bear the brunt will be Luoyang, the eastern capital of the Gyeonggi region, and
The Wagang Army adjacent to Luoyang!
The Turks may have committed no offense against each other because of their agreement with the Li Clan, but she did not believe that the Turks would commit no offense against Wagang and Wang Shichong who occupied Luoyang!
And when he thought that he, Mi Gong and others, as well as the currently very powerful Wagang Army, were going to confront the cruel and bloodthirsty Turkic cavalry in the Hetao Plain, even Shen Luoyan, who was known to be unparalleled in resourcefulness, couldn't help it.
Waves of trembling and helplessness emerged from the bottom of my heart.
Because, even before the fight started, she knew that they, Wagang, would definitely not be able to defeat the Turks in the plains, and they did not have that many cavalry to fight against them!
Therefore, while trembling and helpless, Shen Luoyan could not help but feel waves of despair and desolation in his heart.
After a little thought, it was not difficult for her to know that it must be a conspiracy by Li Clan, who was dedicated to seizing the world and was developing rapidly, to contain the Jiangnan Shuanglong Army, which was also developing rapidly, and to prevent it from going north and encroaching on the Central Plains.
, and the many heroes and forces in their Central Plains have just become victims of the competition between the two sides?
I think back then, they were so powerful that they defeated all the princes and soldiers of the Sui Dynasty. They even defeated the patron king Yang Lin and became the most popular for a while. They were the best in combat effectiveness and development among the eighteen anti-kings in the late Sui Dynasty!
But now...
Unknowingly, a mere two gangsters from Yangzhou City, the so-called 'Double Dragons' who had just emerged two years ago, had grown so horribly that they had pacified Jiangnan in a short period of time, launching surprise attacks.
Not only did Yingchuan have an army of 400,000, it actually became the most likely force to dominate the world. It even frightened the Li family into having to risk the disapproval of the world and let the Turks invade, just to contain them.
Jiangnan’s development momentum?
Since when did the Wagang Army sink to such a state?
Looking back on everything that happened in the past two or three years, Shen Luoyan couldn't figure out why the current situation in the world has developed like this.
Wagang, except for their defeat in Luoyang, their failure to grab the 'He's Bi' and their failure to successfully defeat Wang Shichong and invade the eastern capital of Luoyang, it seems that they have not suffered a defeat in the past two years.
It has never stopped developing!
Anyway!
Shen Luoyan, who was born into a wealthy family, has been familiar with military literature since childhood, and is well versed in the art of war and strategy. Shen Luoyan could not imagine how those two gangsters who she didn't think much of at the beginning could unknowingly...
, suddenly walked in front of all their princes and anti-kings, walked in front of the Secret Duke, and could overlook these heroes?
"Well……"
"Luoyan."
Finally, when Shen Luoyan's eyebrows were slightly furrowed and he was thinking hard about good strategies and introspection, not knowing what went wrong, then "Pushan Gong" Li Mi finally put down the long letter written by Kou Zhong and felt sad.
He sighed and said:
"This is not good!"
"I have to take countermeasures quickly."
However, things were not going well. He never mentioned the sincere words in Kou Zhong's letter and proposed that the princes in Jiangnan and the Central Plains cooperate to fight against the Turks. He only regarded it as a joke.
"yes!"
"Secret Master..."
"Now that the new year is approaching, I'm afraid we don't have much time left to prepare. We must come up with a countermeasure as soon as possible?"
After coming back to his senses and cheering up, Shen Luoyan said helplessly and lonely.
In fact, the situation is not only bad, in her opinion, it can almost be said that their Wagang has reached a critical moment of life and death.
And once the spring breeze blows and the weather gets warmer, the Turks will invade southward. When the time comes, Wagang, which is blocking the front of the Eastern Turks, will bear the brunt!
Even if they prepare in advance and barely save a few important cities, what should they do about the small cities, villages and people outside?
Even if they want to fortify the walls and clear the country, in such a large place with so many people concentrated in various cities, the cost of food and drink is a huge problem. And once they miss the spring plowing, even if their Wagang Army is sitting in Luokou Granary,
It will also double the pressure and lose opportunities for continued development.
And then...
If the Turks don't leave for a short time, is it possible that they have to hide for a whole year, do nothing in the hills and clear the fields, and wait for the Turks to retreat on their own?
Also, if you escape this year, what about next year? What will happen if the Turks come again?
They can't just keep spending time with those Turks who come and go like the wind, right?
Moreover, they can't afford it!
But if they don't delay or dodge, and fight directly... they seem to have no chance of winning.
And even if there is a chance of winning, they will never risk their own strength to fight with those Turks. In that case, even if they win, it will be a miserable victory. By then, they will also have no chance to succeed in Wagang.
Either they were destroyed by the Li Clan or they were incorporated by the Ssangyong Army heading north!
So, this is a dead end!
Li Clan's move was not only insidious and vicious, but also hit home. It made her, a "beautiful strategist" known as a "femme fatale", feel ashamed. After thinking hard for a long time, she couldn't think of any effective way.
Countermeasures come.
"Countermeasures?"
"What countermeasures can be taken..."
After listening to Shen Luoyan's words and pondering for a while, Li Mi took a deep breath and then shook his head melancholy and sighed:
"Everyone knows that Li Clan is determined to destroy me!"
"Not long ago, he sent people to persuade us to surrender, and now he is resorting to such ruthless tactics. What can we do about it?"
"This issue……"
"The only thing our office can do is to send a large number of spies to Hedong Road or Guannai Road in advance to keep an eye on the Turks in Wuyuan County, Yulin County and other places, and make various preparations."
"What else can you do?"
After speaking, Li Mi sighed again and thought about it, but still did not mention what was mentioned in the letter.
Now that the situation in Wagang is very good, Wang Shichong and Du Fuwei are both suppressed by him and cannot hold their heads up. Therefore, it is absolutely impossible for him, Li Mi, to be forced to surrender to the insidious villain Li Yuan under such circumstances!
Likewise, he was already deeply wary of the Ssangyong Army, which was developing very rapidly in the south of the Yangtze River and was strongly supported by the Song Dynasty. For Kou Zhong, it was obvious that he was cooperating, but secretly he might have other conspiracies.
And small moves, such as the so-called joint plan to penetrate and encroach on their Central Plains, are not interesting at all.
And he also believed that Du Fuwei, Li Zitong and even Xu Yuanlang in the Central Plains would definitely not accept that kind of proposal.
Even Wang Shichong of Luoyang, who originally cooperated with the Ssangyong Army, might be acting against his will?
In short, when the heroes of all parties cannot be of one mind, the so-called cooperation proposals that are taken for granted will definitely be impossible to achieve, and Li Mi will sneer at this.
not to mention……
Now that the New Year is approaching, time is tight, and even cooperation is already too late.
"That's what the Secret Master said!"
"Luoyan was also thinking about this issue just now."
Shen Luoyan nodded, but did not dare to refute.
"only……"
"Should I, Wagang, do everything possible to deal with this matter?"
"or……"
"When the time comes, let Yingchuan's Shuanglong Army..."
Then, before she could finish her words, Li Mi suddenly became sullen, raised his hand impatiently and interrupted her.
"No need to say more about this matter!"
"Luoyan..."
"Those Shuanglongs are just like the Li Clan and others, they are ambitious people. If the Turks hadn't come, I would have wanted to kill him in Yingchuan after the spring. How would I have allowed him to lead his troops across our Wagang territory?"
Any chance of joining forces with Wang Shichong?"
"Don't wait for the Turks to retreat one day. They will turn around and attack us. We will regret it later!"
Li Mi said these words with a dark face and a bit of sinisterness. After thinking about it for a while, and seeing that Shen Luoyan's face was somewhat unhappy, he turned around and smiled and said softly to comfort:
"But you don't have to think too much."
"As the saying goes, when the soldiers come, the water will be blocked and the earth will cover it up. Why haven't I seen strong winds and waves?"
"Now Xu Yuanlang, the leader of the rebel army in Qi County, intends to join me in Wagang. Xu Shiren, the great knight in Rencheng County, and Zhao Tuo, the prefect of Huaiyang County, have also expressed their willingness to join us. With such a good situation, how can we mess up our position and be beaten by mere people?
Are the Turks intimidated?"
"okay."
"Since you are worried, I will leave this matter to you!"
"remember!"
"Send more manpower to Hedong Road and Guannai Road to collect intelligence. Wuyuan and Yulin counties will also have to send people to keep a close eye on them. Then when the Turks are really about to come, we will make detailed plans.
That’s the plan.”
"Just leave it like that."
After speaking, Li Mi waved his hand and gave these instructions without taking it seriously at all, as if the hundreds of thousands or more Turkic cavalry that are likely to arrive in the next spring are just a bunch of local chickens.
Like a wag?
"yes!"
"Luoyan obeys the order!"
Now that Li Mi has said that, although Shen Luoyan is very worried, what else can she do?
"Don't worry, secret minister!"
"Luoyan will handle this matter personally!"
Then, Shen Luoyan could only cheer up and said this.
After all, this matter was indeed very important. If they were not careful, they would be doomed. Therefore, she had to go out and watch it in person, but she did not dare to be as relaxed as Li Mi in front of her.
"That's good."
"I can rest assured when you do things!"
"Go for it!"
"You don't look too good, so don't work too hard. You are my military advisor in Wagang. Please pay more attention to rest?"
After nodding and caring for Shen Luoyan out of habit, Li Mi, who had no good ideas about such things, waved his hand in annoyance, indicating that Shen Luoyan could go ahead and arrange the arrangements first, and wait until a new situation arises.
It's not too late to come to him again to report and discuss.
"yes……"
"Secret Master!"
"Luoyan is retiring?"
After hesitating for a while, Shen Luoyan, who was hesitant to speak, opened her mouth. In the end, she still did not dare to express the bad thoughts in her heart. In the end, she just sighed with sadness, then bowed her hands and quietly retreated.
.
…
However, almost at the same time, when the story of the Li Clan ceding territory and trying to lure the Turks into the Central Plains was spreading in the Jianghu and various parts of the Central Plains, Li Shimin, who was supposed to be reorganizing his troops on the front line, hurried back to Chang'an and
As soon as he came back, he had a quarrel with Li Yuan, Prince Li Jiancheng and others who were discussing matters at court.
"Father!"
"You are so stupid!
"
"Fengzhou controls the river to stop thieves, which is really a belt! Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, it has been classified as a county and a county to guard the Great Wall. Its fields are beautiful and suitable for farming and animal husbandry. How can such important land be ceded so easily?"
"Besides!"
"After ceding the land of Wuyuan and Yulin, our capital of Chang'an and Gyeonggi will no longer have a barrier!"
"Wuyuan is 2,260 miles north of the capital. Yunzhou and Yulin are only 1,830 miles away from the capital. Once these two places are lost, there will be no obstacles to Hedong Road and Guannai Road. In addition, Fengzhou
The thousands of miles of fertile fields between Lingzhou and Lingzhou are originally flat, and the Turkic cavalry can come and go like the wind, but they can arrive overnight!"
"If this happens, the country will be in danger!"
"Whoever makes such slanderous remarks will be killed by this king!
"
As he talked, the more he talked, the more indignant he became. Qin Wang Li Shimin simply stretched out his hand and grasped the long knife at his waist, and then looked around with fierce eyes at the civil and military officials who were not successful but failed. It seemed that
Are you just waiting for someone to admit it, and then slashing people with a knife in this hall if they disagree with you?
"The traitor!"
Seeing that Li Shimin was so quiet and said something so unpleasant, Li Yuan was naturally so angry that he slapped the armrest of the dragon chair and stood up, thinking straight towards the person standing at the bottom of the steps in the main hall.
The second son who wanted to draw the knife roared angrily with his beard and eyes wide open:
"You are presumptuous!
"
"Are you accusing me?!"
After all, Li Yuan is not dead yet, and he is still sitting in the position of Emperor Li Tang. It is not the other party's turn to dictate whatever decisions they make.
"..."
Similarly, Li Jiancheng, who was standing next to Li Yuan, also had a pale face and a very ugly expression.
Because he agreed with the plan when it was first proposed, and he strongly recommended it in front of Li Yuan. It can be said that the proposal was to abolish Fengzhou, exterminate its city walls, move the people to live in Lingzhou, and annex Wuyuan and Yuping.
The 'merit' of the place is his.
But now, Li Shimin strongly opposes it and wants to kill the 'flattering minister'. If that really happens, then Li Jiancheng will be the first to suffer!
"!
"
Li Shimin, who was greeted by Li Yuan's filial piety and saw Li Yuan standing up in anger, knew that Li Yuan's instructions must be among them, was startled at first, and then was slightly stunned.
Slowly and angrily, he let go of the hand holding the handle of the long knife at his waist.
"snort!"
"Fengzhou is far away. It belongs to the Turks in the first place. They communicate with each other. The officials can't restrain it and it is difficult to defend it. That's why we made this decision!"
"Currently, all the people in the two counties have migrated to Lingzhou. The Turks have also sent Dusheshe, the son of Chuluo, to lead more than ten thousand of his families to the land of Henan, and we, Li Tang, will use Lingzhou as our border."
"This matter has been decided, don't make any more false claims!"
Then, after first intimidating Li Shimin with his eyes and waiting for him to calm down, Li Yuan slowly sat back on the throne and explained this unhurriedly.
It was his second son. If other people had dared to express their filial piety here and accuse him of Li Yuan's fault, he might have been executed by the guards long ago. How could he have said anything to explain and appease him?
"this!
"
"Father!"
"Although Wuyuan, the land of Yulin, does not have a dense defense line and cannot be defended for a long time, it can at least send a timely warning to the capital region. At the same time, it can also block and delay the Turks' southward invasion, and carry out attacks on the Turks' back roads when they move south.
Attack and harass, this is a battleground for military strategists!"
"But now the land of Wuyuan and Yulin has been handed over to others. If the Turks invade from Lingzhou southward in the future, what should they do to plunder the states in the pass?"
Although there was no room for redemption, Li Shimin, who was so angry that his face turned red and wanted to kill someone, still argued with him.
"You can rest assured about this!"
"We have made an agreement with the Turks. They will not raid the states in the pass. Instead, they will go straight into the Central Plains to fight against the rebel kings!"
"Besides..."
"Don't you always say that we want to curb the development of the Jiangnan Shuanglong Army and the Song Dynasty?"
"It's okay now. There will be Turks to fight with them. We just have to guard against them and sit on the mountain to watch the tigers fight!"
After saying that, Li Yuan couldn't help stroking his beard with some pride, his face was full of pride.
The Turks had always been a serious concern for Li and Tang. They often raided the border, which made them worry about one thing and the other. They wanted to send troops to pacify the Central Plains many times, but had to worry about threats from behind and from the north, which greatly dispersed their forces.
and energy.
But now it's okay, they don't stop doing anything, just give way, come to the other side to watch the fire and borrow the sword to kill people, let the Turks fight with those anti-kings in the Central Plains, it is best to fight to the death and both sides will be injured. When the time comes, they Li Tang will just care
Wouldn't it be nice to just sit back and reap the benefits of being a fisherman?
"Father!"
"Since ancient times, the world has been dominated by those who win the hearts of the people!"
"But if this happens, I, Li Clan, will completely lose the hearts of the people in the world!"
Hearing this, Li Shimin didn't know the truth of the things that were rumored in Jianghu and Central Plains? Therefore, he felt more and more sad, and couldn't help but feel a little at a loss and sighed sadly.
You must know that Li Clan finally managed to seize the title of righteousness and raise an army, and the people in the world had a very good impression of Li Clan. But now it is better. After this incident, Li Clan will be punished.
He is criticized by thousands of people and is despised and abandoned by all the people in the world!
"absurd!"
"What kind of public sentiment?"
"What is the support of the people?!"
"What do the ignorant people know? They only know what others say!"
"When the time comes, all we need to do is give some guidance and make up an excuse at will. They will believe what we say, so what's the problem?"
"Besides..."
"Only by winning the world can you be worthy of talking about the so-called people's hearts!"
"If you continue to let it go and wait for the day when the Shuanglong Army reaches the pass and reaches Chang'an, what's the use of having the support of the people of the Central Plains?"
Li Yuan regretted it as soon as he said these words, but after all, those words were clearly out of place here.
However, thinking that there were no outsiders here, he paused and didn't mind too much, but he still restrained himself a little.
"snort!"
"If you hadn't failed to get He's Bi in Luoyang and lost the Yang Gong's treasure hidden in Chang'an, how could I have made such a move?"
"You're such a traitor, so incapable of planning!
"
After saying that, after once again blaming Li Shimin for the failure of the fight for the 'He's Bi' and the loss of the 'Yang Gong Treasure', Li Yuan, who became more and more angry as he thought about it, simply refused to go to court, stood up and shook it coldly.
He walked away with his sleeves raised.
"..."
Of course, Li Shimin was speechless and was speechless for a long time.
Obviously, he heard it. His father, Li Yuan, seemed to blame the rapid development of the Shuanglong Army on his failure to cooperate with Cihang Jingzhai in the "King Selection" in Luoyang and his failure to successfully obtain the "Shuanglong Army".
What are the secrets of Mr. Yang’s treasure?
"He's Bi, Yang Gong's treasure is enough to conquer the world" is known to everyone, but in the end, those two things were given to Kou Zhong, and all the benefits and righteousness were taken by the other party. Such things,
Li Yuan had cursed him for several days.
Unexpectedly, after all this time, the other party is still holding on to his feelings, and he actually has the nerve to connect things in Wuyuan County, Yulin County and other places with things that are beyond the reach of eight poles?
"..."
After a while, all the civil and military officials and Prince Li Jiancheng and others in the hall were gone.
So, Li Shimin, who was left alone and stood there, thought for a long time before he raised his head again and looked at the golden throne on the steps. His eyes flickered, and he didn't know what he was thinking.
——————————
Chapter completed!