"This kid Chen Yingliang flew here with wings? How could he come so fast? How could it be possible? How could this be possible?"
After learning the news that Chen Yingliang led Qiao Peng and the Sui army had arrived in Qi County, Li Yuan, who was organizing the Qin King's army in Taiyuan City, couldn't believe it, and even said three times how it was possible. The confidant warrior who came to report the letter asked quickly: "Is the news accurate? Is it possible that Qi County made a false report and mistook the other King Qin's team for Chen Yingliang's army?"
"Ambassador, how can something go wrong in such an important situation?" At present, it is only the warrior of Taiyuan Yingyang Mansion Team with a wry smile, and said: "Our people can see very clearly that the one fighting in the King Qin army is Henan Dao Shi. The banner of the deputy envoy Chen Yingliang was captured by the second county. In addition, there is accurate information at the Qixian checkpoint. The official document presented by the King Qin team was also signed by Chen Yingliang himself. The eyeliner there felt that something was wrong, and thought that it was impossible for the soldiers and horses from the Central Plains to come so fast, so they asked us to hurry up."
Li Yuan found it even more unbelievable, but the facts are here, but Li Yuan couldn't help but not believe it, so he couldn't help but muttered: "How could he come so fast? Didn't I hear that he and Zhang Xutuo divided the twelve counties There are two war zones in the north and the south. Is he in charge of the farthest south war zone? Counting the distance, even if he sends troops immediately after receiving the news, he can only rush to the edge of the Yellow River at most. How come he came to Qi County now? "
Unable to figure out this question, Li Yuan had no choice but to put the question aside, and asked the warrior Xun, "How many soldiers and horses did he bring?"
"About 20,000." The warrior Xun replied truthfully, and added: "I don't know how many cavalry there are, but the number must be one or two thousand."
"Damn it, a clown who jumps on the beam will lead an army of 20,000 to gallop on the battlefield one day. God is really annoying." Li Yuan said a rare rude sentence, and then snorted: "20,000 troops? It must be what his subordinates can dispatch They have the largest number of teams, and they have a lot of ambition to come to King Qin with all their belongings. It seems that it will not be so easy for the old man to win the first victory of King Qin this time."
"Ambassador, why do you have to fight him?" The warrior Xun became Li Yuan's confidant after Li Yuan was transferred to Shanxi. Although he and he are not affiliated with each other, he is only the deputy envoy of Henan Province to arrest him. You are the consolation ambassador of Hedong in Shanxi. Taking 20,000 troops for our own use will not only strengthen our strength, but also avoid many disputes?"
"Don't think too much about it." Li Yuan said angrily, "That kid may join hands with anyone to rescue him, but he will never join hands with me, let alone accept my orders!"
Warrior Xun asked why, but Li Yuan shook his head and didn't answer. After thinking for a while, Li Yuan suddenly felt moved, and hurriedly told Warrior Xun: "Shi Xun, you go to see Jun Cheng Wang Wei immediately, Chen Yingliang boy came from a long way, The grain and grass carried by the army must not be much, so it is necessary to replenish the grain and grass in Taiyuan. The granary in Taiyuan County is in the hands of Wang Wei. You advise Wang Wei to give priority to the grain and grass to the soldiers and horses of Hedong Qin. Don't refuse Chen Yingliang's grain and grass request. It is just intentional. Delay the distribution, wait until our army of the King of Hedongqin goes north to Xinkou first."
Hearing Li Yuan's order, the warrior Xun was stunned for a while, and then said with a surprised expression: "Ambassador, does Chen Yingliang know that you are going to do this? The general forgot to report to you just now. For some reason, Chen Yingliang After the boy arrived in Qi County, he immediately took out a large amount of gold and copper coins, and bought grain from merchants in Qi County, Taigu and other places at three times the price, and bought as much as he could."
Li Yuan's face suddenly turned livid, and he suddenly kicked over the case in front of him, and shouted: "Traitor! Little thief! I know that the old man is in Taiyuan, and I know that the old man will definitely not give him food and grass, but he actually pays for three dollars out of his own pocket." Buy grain at twice the price, and don’t give this old man a chance to hold you back! This old man won’t believe it, and everything else can make you think ahead!”
After yelling, Li Yuan yelled at the warrior Xun again: "Go and join forces with Xu Wenbao immediately. The two of you join hands to put pressure on the businesses in Qi County and Taigu to prevent them from selling grain to Chen Yingliang! What I told you And, let’s just say that the imperial court’s King Qin’s army is continuously marching northward, and it won’t be long before the price of grain can be sold five times! Ten times! Not to mention that traitor Chen Yingliang!”
"Ambassador, I'm afraid this is unlikely, isn't it?" the samurai said with a sad face, "My Qi county ministers are not fools. I heard that King Qin's army is constantly going north, so are you worried that these King Qin's army will buy and sell by force, or even don't give money? The reason for taking grain by force? Chen Yingliang used cash to buy grain from them at three times the price, and they must have sold it quickly, not daring to leave the troublesome grain in the warehouse to cause trouble."
"You didn't do it, how do you know it's impossible?" Li Yuan was furious, and shouted: "If they must sell it to Boy Chen, then tell them, next time there are thieves and bandits raiding their business caravan, don't buy it." I hope our Taiyuan army will send troops to protect them!"
Seeing that Li Yuan was really angry, the warrior Xun, the ancestor of Jin merchants, didn't dare to neglect, so he clasped his fists and sang promises, rushed down to arrange the arrangement, and then his own soldiers went in to clean up the case that Li Yuan kicked over, but was kicked away by Li Yuan, and then Li Yuan yelled orders again, asking his eldest son Shunde, Liu Hongji, Tang Xian, Xu Shixu, Xiahouduan, Pei Ji and other confidantes and his eldest son Li Jiancheng to come to see him immediately, his own soldiers did not dare to neglect, and hurried down to pass the order.
Not a moment later, Changsun Shunde, Liu Hongji and other confidantes arrived one after another. They were shocked when they saw the mess in Li Yuan's room. When they asked the reason, Li Yuan didn't answer, but asked the soldiers to clean it up quickly. And when the soldiers finished packing the case, Li Jiancheng also came to the room, saluted Li Yuan, and asked, "Father called, do you have anything to tell the child?"
Li Yuan nodded, changed into a kindly smiling face, and said: "I have good news for you, your good friend Chen Yingliang has arrived in Qi County with an army of 20,000 King Qin, and will arrive in Taiyuan in about a day or two. "
"Brother Chen is already here?" Li Jiancheng was also taken aback, and said pleasantly, "How is it possible? How could he come so fast? My child heard that he is in charge of the southern counties like Qiaopengxiapi, why is he here now?"
"This is also something that is very confusing for my father." Li Yuan said with a smile: "I have an errand for you. Immediately bring some wine and meat to him to reward the army, inquire about his situation, and ask him by the way. May I be willing to be with my father?" Soldiers and horses teaming up with King Qin? If you have an answer, come back and report to me immediately, go and come back quickly, don't delay."
Of course, Li Jiancheng happily agreed to such a good thing as rewarding his friend's army, and he was going to carry it out soon, but Li Jiancheng was still a little worried, and he said to Li Yuan, "Father, it's definitely fine for my son to reward the teacher, but I'm going to persuade him to go with you." Hand in hand with the coalition forces, but the boy is not sure of this..."
"It's okay, you go and try it, and I don't blame you if it doesn't work." Li Yuan said generously: "Your main task this time is to find out the specific situation of Chen Yingliang's army. He has a bottom line and knows how many heavy responsibilities he has taken. Otherwise, on the battlefield of King Qin, if his strength is not enough to deal with the enemy facing him, but the old man did not send him reinforcements in time because he didn't know the details, he would be harmed. .”
Li Jiancheng is not a fool, of course he understands the reason why his father wants to do this, but his father's order is hard to break, and he is eager to reunite with his friends, so Li Jiancheng did not refuse, and immediately took the order to leave. As soon as Li Jiancheng left, Li Yuan immediately changed his gloomy expression, and said to the confidantes present: "You all heard just now that Chen Yingliang came with 20,000 troops. Why did he come so fast? We temporarily Ignore it. But so far, he is the only one who has the strength to compete with the old man for King Qin's great achievements, so we must be careful!"
"Also." Li Yuan added: "Most of you know the grievances between me and Chen Yingliang. If you don't know, I can tell you slowly. In a word, don't think about joining forces with him. It is absolutely impossible for the boy to listen to my command, and it is absolutely impossible for us to help us win the great achievement of King Qin. For him, we can only be wary and cannot trust him, because the grievances between me and him are too deep to be resolved!"
Sun Shunde, Liu Hongji and others who knew the details nodded repeatedly, and Tang Xian and Xia Houduan, who knew little about it, also nodded to express their understanding. Then Li Yuan asked, "When will our King Qin's army be assembled?"
"It will take three days at the fastest." Liu Hongji replied, "It's mainly the team at Longmen. The distance is too long and the journey takes too much time, but the army there is an elite team that we can't defeat without them. It doesn't work again."
Li Yuan's complexion was a little ugly again, and he hated himself for not being able to predict the future. He didn't know that Emperor Sui Yang would encounter such a scene in Yanmen. The important castle of the bandits in Taihang, hurriedly organized soldiers and horses to go north to King Qin, wasted a lot of time, and ended up in the current predicament.
"Ambassador, the situation is not very good." In fact, the elder Sun Shunde, who is already a relative of Chen Yingliang, said, and reminded: "Ambassador, you are stationed in Taiyuan, and the emperor issued an order to King Qin, but it turned out that Chen Yingliang, who was far away in the Central Plains, arrived at the battlefield of King Qin first. Once you learn about this, it will be difficult for you to explain.”
Li Yuan nodded, admitting that this is what he is most worried about now. After understanding Li Yuan's meaning, Taiyuan Sima Xu Shixu, who had a more impulsive personality, immediately said loudly: "Then find a way to stop Chen Yingliang, and don't let him get in front of us. Just like this, I will bring some people to stop him, and use the excuse of checking his body." Status, official position and team members, hold him back, and let him go north after our soldiers and horses have assembled and headed north."
"If you want to die, go!" Li Yuan said angrily, "What is he doing this time? King Qin save you! If you dare to find an excuse to stop him, he will cut you up and chop you into meat sauce on the spot. The emperor will only praise him for doing a good job and doing it right, and then ask him to chop off your entire family!"
Xu Shixu kept his mouth shut, and Pei Ji, who was also a distant relative of Chen Yingliang, stood up and said cautiously: "Ambassador, why don't you make a fuss about food and supplies? Chen Yingliang came thousands of miles away, and the army must not carry much food and grass, so we need to go to Taiyuan For supplies within the territory, Taiyuan County Chancellor is in charge of Wang Wei, and the food and grass of Jinyang Palace are controlled by lower officials, as long as Wang Wei and I pinch him in terms of food and grass, we won’t have to worry about holding him back.”
"It's useless, this is already expected by that treacherous little thief."
Li Yuan smiled wryly, and then remembered to tell everyone that Chen Yingliang bought grain from the people at three times the price. As a result, Li Yuan's confidantes were all dumbfounded when they heard it. The side is a place where Shanxi merchants gather, and there is a lot of grain stored in the folks. Chen Yingliang will buy grain at such a high price, and he will be able to get a large amount of grain soon, so there is no need to beg us for grain at all."
"Also." Xia Houduan added: "Once Chen Yingliang learns that our Qin King's troops have not yet assembled, and he has a deep hatred with you, the ambassador, in order to embarrass you and be punished by His Majesty, he must continue to go north without stopping, saying Everything must be ahead of us."
Li Yuan's smile was even more bitter, and he couldn't even imagine what would happen to him after this situation happened—with Emperor Sui Yang's narrow-mindedness, even if he didn't dismiss him from office, he would be scolded bloody. Can't run away.
After frowning for a long time, Li Yuan made up his mind and said, "Well, don't wait for the army on the Longmen side, you should make preparations immediately. Tomorrow, the old man will lead the assembled army northward, and first go to Xinkou to set up the camp. , and then slowly wait there for follow-up reinforcements.”
"Ambassador, is it too risky?" Liu Hongji said with some concern: "Although we have assembled an army of nearly 20,000, more than half of them are temporarily recruited by surrounding counties and counties, with insufficient training and poor equipment, and poor combat effectiveness. , once you encounter a Turkic attack after arriving at Xinkou, it will be a disaster."
"Then I have to go!" Li Yuan clapped his case and shouted: "As the consolation ambassador of Hedong, I am stationed in Taiyuan. The emperor was surrounded by Turks in Yanmen, and I ordered King Qin, but I am far better than Chen Yingliang who is far away in the Central Plains." It’s late at Xinkou, and this matter is spread, how can I face the emperor? How can I face all the subjects of the Sui Dynasty?”
"That's it!" Li Yuan clapped the table again, and said viciously: "I will set off tomorrow. I will take 10,000 troops to the north to set up a camp. Fortunately, some King Qin's troops have also gathered at Xinkou. It's time for Xiaolu to arrive at Xinkou, the soldiers and horses under his command can fight, I will go to organize these troops, the strength is still more than that of Chen Yingliang!"
Seeing that Li Yuan had made up his mind, Changsun Shunde, Liu Hongji and the others did not dare to continue to object, they clasped their fists and sang promises, and then quickly went down to prepare. At the same time, at this time, Jinyang Palace Supervisor Pei Ji suddenly remembered an important event and hurriedly stopped in his tracks , turned around and cupped his hands to Li Yuan and said, "Ambassador, I suddenly thought of something, if we can do it, then even if Chen Yingliang arrives at Xinkou ahead of us, the first achievement of King Qin is still yours, Chen Yingliang." No matter how much you grab it, you can’t take it away.”
"What's the matter?" Li Yuan asked.
"Get in touch with His Majesty the Emperor and present the memorial to King Qin." Pei Ji said with a smile, "Your Majesty the Emperor was surrounded by Turkic cavalry in Yanmen City. Up to His Majesty the Emperor and the civil and military officials, down to the soldiers and civilians in the city, they must all be eager to see the news about the reinforcements."
Speaking of this, Pei Ji smiled even more happily, and then cupped his hands and said: "In this case, why don't the ambassador write a memorial immediately? Report to His Majesty the emperor where you have organized reinforcements and how far you are from the Yanmen battlefield. People sneaked to Yanmen through the Wutai Mountain path and tried to send it into the city. Once this was successful, His Majesty the Emperor would be overjoyed, and all the officials who accompanied him would praise him. Isn’t this Qin Wang’s first achievement a certainty?”
"A wonderful plan!" Li Yuan applauded and said happily, "This is a great plan. If this matter is successful, His Majesty the Emperor might send an edict to appoint me as the commander-in-chief of King Qin's rescue. At that time, all All the soldiers and horses of Qin Wang in the world must be under the command of this officer alone!"
"If the ambassador thinks it is feasible, please write the memorial immediately." Pei Ji volunteered: "I will go and find a guide who is familiar with the terrain and trails of Wutai Mountain for you. When you find him, I will reward him and ask him to take our messenger to take the trail. Hurry to Yanmen City."
Li Yuan was overjoyed when he heard the words, and hurriedly ordered Pei Ji to act according to the plan, and wrote the essay himself, explaining that he was ordered to go north to the King Qin, and his troops and horses would arrive at the Yanmen battlefield in a few days, so that Emperor Sui Yang could wait for his rescuers to relieve the siege. Just out of various considerations, Li Yuan did not dare to guarantee the time and quantity of his troops, let alone promise when he would be able to rescue Emperor Sui Yang from the siege.
In the evening of the same day, Pei Ji, the land snake in Shanxi, actually got a guide for Li Yuan. Coincidentally, this guide was also from Tantou Village in Wutai County, named Liang Xiaosi. Definitely bring Li Yuan's messenger to the city of Yanmen. Li Yuan was overjoyed when he heard the words, and he also doubled the reward that Pei Ji promised. I hurriedly thanked Li Yuanji first.
The guide who is familiar with the terrain and roads is ready, and the next step is the issue of the messenger. Pei Ji, who has been inactive for many years as the supervisor of Jinyang Palace, is willing to take this risk—the risk is great, but the reward must also be astonishing. It's a pity that like Chen Yingliang, Li Yuan was also reluctant to let the capable Pei Ji take the risk of a narrow escape. After shaking his head against it, he had an idea, and ordered: "Let Hou Junji go, come, call Hou Junji, I'm here The official has an errand to order him."
The soldiers sang promises and took the order to leave, but Pei Ji was taken aback, and hurriedly said: "Ambassador, your official follower Hou Junji has seen it before, and he can't even draw his bow except to brag. Ask him to do such a big event. , isn’t it the use of inhumans?”
"Don't worry, the old man is more accurate than you in judging people." Li Yuan said with a smile, "Hou Junji is indeed an ignorant and frivolous prodigal, with almost no martial arts except bragging, but this kid has two advantages, one is smart, The second is good luck, cleverness can allow him to easily avoid the interception and killing of the Turks. Luck is even more mysterious. This errand, if someone else goes there, he must be close to death. This kid might be able to seize that life .”
Feeling that Li Yuan's words were reasonable, Pei Ji no longer objected, but nodded, and said with a smile: "Yes, there is one more important point, among the soldiers under the ambassador's command, it is a pity that anyone dies, but Hou Junji doesn't need to die. pity."
Li Yuan laughed loudly, and said in his heart: "Boy Chen, if the old man succeeds this time, the emperor will order the old man who is familiar with the Turkic military situation and folk customs to be the commander-in-chief of King Qin. When that time comes, hehe, old man The shame and humiliation of the daughter and son-in-law can be forgiven."
Thinking of Chen Yingliang, and thinking of his daughter and son-in-law, a sense of regret suddenly came to Li Yuan's heart, and Li Yuan couldn't help but said inwardly: "It's a pity, if there is no such thing as before, wouldn't the powerful arm by my side be destined to be able to do it?" One more? A powerful arm at the age of nineteen, who became a heavenly genius who became the Deputy Envoy of the Twelve Counties at the age of nineteen, such a powerful arm, I am afraid that I will never have the chance to meet again in this life."