Standing at the foot of the tall and majestic Tongguan city, Chen Sang didn't move for a long time, and he didn't say a word. The expression on his face seemed a little excited, but also a little intoxicated and nostalgic. Li Jing, who led Liu Gang, Ma Sanbao and Zhang Jixun, came to welcome him. Seeing what was on his nephew's mind, he smiled and said, "Nephew, I feel sorry for revisiting the old place, would you like to write some poems?"
"Let's talk about it in Daxing. That's the place that deserves my deepest emotion." Chen Sangliang smiled and said: "Let's go, everyone enters the customs. It's rare that people gather so much. Let's hold a meeting so that everyone can communicate with each other." Getting acquainted."
It is really rare to get such a gathering. Except for the eldest grandson Wuji who stayed in Luoyang and Gao Shilian who was promoting agriculture, it was the first time for the accomplices who helped Chen Sangliang to tyranny to gather together. Wen Youfang Xuanling, Wei Zheng, Yuan Tiangang, Pei Xingfang, Cui Hongdan and Qian Xiangmin, etc. Generals include Liu Changgong, Ma Sanbao, Kan Leng, Yuchi Jingde, Cheng Yaojin, Niu Jinda, Qin Qiong, Luo Shixin, He Yanyu, Liu Heita, Liu Shishan, Guo Feng, Chen Ci and Zhang Jixun, etc. Wait, plus Li Jing, who is both civil and military, and Liu Gang, who is a temporary utility, the gathering of dozens of people is quite spectacular.
An interesting incident happened during the chattering greetings and ceremony. Liu Changgong and Liu Gang, who met each other for the first time, exchanged genealogy, and suddenly discovered that the pair of live treasures turned out to be relatives of the same clan, and Liu Gang, who was slightly younger, was even older than Liu Changgong. In the previous generation, Liu Changgong, who was a big man, was unambiguous in this regard. He immediately bowed to Liu Gang, who had a much lower official position than himself, calling him uncle, and was so frightened that the flatterer Liu Gang quickly knelt down and bowed in return. Kowtowing also hurt his forehead, and he screamed, making everyone laugh.
Chen Sangliang also laughed out loud, and because of this, he thought of a very important thing, that is, he had to make good use of the relationship of the same clan and relatives under his command, and vigorously promote the relatives and clansmen of these capable lackeys, so as to take advantage of the clan power behind them , to counter Li Yuan's powerful background. While he was thinking about it, someone outside the door suddenly reported that Li Jiancheng, the commander of the rebel division, had come to the city of Tongguan in person and asked to meet Chen Sangliang. As soon as Chen Sangliang heard that he was overjoyed, he immediately ordered everyone to leave the customs with him to meet Li Jiancheng, a friend who was very close to him. He also ordered the door to be closed and rode out to meet Li Jiancheng.
This is a very rare spectacle on the battlefield. When the coaches of the two warring parties met, not only did they not face each other, but when they saw each other, they laughed loudly together, shouted and patted their horses and rushed towards each other, scaring the accompanying generals of both sides to hurry Keeping up, dragging and pulling, it was hard for the two bosses to stand ten steps apart, and then Chen Sangliang and Li Jiancheng shouted in unison: "You are not allowed to act rashly. Those who violate the order will be subject to military law!"
I haven't seen each other for two years. Li Jiancheng, who is 28 years old, has obviously matured a lot, while Chen Sangliang, who is only 21 years old, has changed even more. The childishness on his face has almost disappeared, and his gestures are even more majestic. Looking at each other with a smile, Li Jiancheng first smiled and said: "My dear brother, you have grown into an adult completely. I remember that when we first met four years ago, you were just a half-grown child, thin and weak. In the blink of an eye, four years In the past, Brother Yu didn’t even dare to recognize his appearance.”
"Brother, you have changed a lot." Chen Sangliang said with a smile: "I remember that when we first met, you were just a gentle and well-mannered son of a rich family. It has only been a few years, brother, you have become a man in command of thousands of people." The commander of the first army with thousands of horses. How is it, sister-in-law and nephew, how are you?"
"Okay, everything is fine, your sister-in-law and your nephew are both in Taiyuan, and someone is taking care of them." Li Jiancheng nodded again and again, and said with a smile: "When it comes to commanding thousands of troops, brother Yu is still far behind you. Back then, my brother-in-law laughed at you Picking vegetables and leaves to make porridge in the market, it’s only been four years, you have become the left behind in the Eastern Capital, my dear brother, you are only under one person in Luoyang Dongdu, and above a million people, your virtuous brother is a great talent, and the foolish brother is so admired."
"Brother won the award, but the younger brother just had better chance and luck." Chen Sangliang asked modestly and with concern: "Brother, how are you, are you still used to it? Leading troops to fight seems simple, but in fact it is thousands of heads." Xu, it is the most exhausting effort, brother, you must take care of yourself, don't get tired."
"Thank you virtuous brother, thank you virtuous brother for your concern." Li Jiancheng thanked him, and said with concern: "It's you, virtuous brother, who need to take care of you. Brother Yu's family was better when he was young, and he was better off than you in terms of food and nutrition. Your body is weaker, and you have been exhausted and fainted on the battlefield, so you must pay attention to rest and don't push yourself too hard."
Chen Sangliang also thanked repeatedly, but the generals of the Sui army and the rebel army next to him were all dumbfounded, and they all said that you are enemies, okay, don't care about each other so much, okay? But there was one exception, at least Chai Shao kept his face ashen, and couldn't help but say: "Boy Chen Yingliang, we finally meet again."
Looking at Chai Shao contemptuously, Chen Sangliang sneered and said, "Chai Sichang, can you stop talking? I'm here to catch up with brother Jiancheng. I and brother Jiancheng are close friends and close friends. We have nothing to do with you. .”
Chai Shao's face immediately turned pitch black, and when he subconsciously pulled out the knife, Li Jiancheng next to him had sharp eyesight and quick hands, and immediately held him down, and shouted: "Chai Sichang, don't forget my military order, if you dare to pull out the knife, you will be counted as you!" It's my brother-in-law, and I will definitely kill him!"
Li Xiuning on the other side quickly pulled Chai Shao back, and then Li Jiancheng turned to Chen Sangliang with a wry smile and said, "Brother Yu is not strict in his rule, which made my virtuous brother laugh at me. My virtuous brother, this is really not a place to talk, can we find a chance Sit down, have a good talk, and talk about the old relationship? How about tomorrow? Brother Yu and you each bring two followers, and are in... "
"Brother, I'm really sorry, I don't have a chance this time, so I can only wait for the next time." Chen Sangliang shook his head and declined, then smiled and said: "The battle is raging, my brother will attack you tomorrow, and you must be defeated as soon as possible." You, take back the Yongfeng warehouse, so this time it won't work, if there is a chance in the future, I will definitely drink and have a long talk with you."
Li Jiancheng, who was ordered to delay Chen Sangliang's attack speed, changed his face slightly, and then said: "My dear brother, must you be in such a hurry? Can't we rest for a few days?"
"No way." Chen Sangliang shook his head, sighed and said, "I also want the soldiers to take a break, but there is no way, your father must be attacking Daxing with all his strength, and he may have already entered the outer city of Daxing by now. If the delay continues, Daxing Miyagi will be in danger."
"Your brother is really good at predicting things. Yes, I received the news today that General Yin and Gu Zanzhi had given up on the outer city of Daxing the day before yesterday, and retreated to the inner city with all their strength. My father has indeed entered the outer city of Daxing." Li Jiancheng nodded. , very frankly told Chen Sangliang this important military situation, and then said helplessly: "Brother Yu, Brother Yu must apologize to you. Talent, but I can only be forced to meet you with swords and guns, fight to the death, and hope that my brother will forgive me."
"It's okay, I understand." Chen Sangliang nodded, and said again: "Brother, don't worry, if you unfortunately die in my hands, I will try my best to take care of my sister-in-law and nephew, as long as there is a glimmer of hope, I will try my best to protect them live."
"Thank you, brother." Li Jiancheng bowed his hands, thanked Chen Sangliang solemnly, and said with a wry smile: "Brother Yu, brother Yu knows that he is not your opponent, but if brother Yu is lucky... and wins you by chance, don't worry, as long as brother Yu returns As long as you have breath, you will definitely protect your wife and children, and will not let them suffer any harm."
"Thank you, brother, I know you will do this." Chen Sangliang bowed his hands, thanked him solemnly, and then shook his head and said: "But this is impossible, not to mention using military tactics, but in terms of military strength, you can't beat me, brother." Brother, you have more than 40,000 to 50,000 troops in honor, but your army is either a defeated army that surrendered, or a new recruit who has only joined the army for a few days. When you fought consecutively before, they were able to move forward and win every battle. But right now, your attack on Tongguan has been frustrated one after another, your morale has been depressed, and you have no hope of winning me."
Li Jiancheng looked gloomy, nodded and said: "Brother Yu knows, Brother Yu knows that there is no hope of winning you, so Brother Yu intends to stick to the Cangcheng camp, delaying time, and wait until the main force of father comes back. Brother Yu has been ordered to build a solid camp fortification, and also built Yongfeng Cangcheng, brother, you have to be careful."
"Brother, you must not sit and guard the camp yourself, guard the Cangcheng, and prepare a few spare ships." Chen Sangliang warned: "Because I want to attack your camp first, and then attack Cangcheng. After the city is broken, You must not escape by land, I have a lot of cavalry, it is very likely to catch up with you, and you can hope to escape by water."
Li Jiancheng was dejected again, and nodded silently, but Chai Shao couldn't bear it anymore, and shouted: "If you have the ability, just come. I am responsible for guarding the camp outside the warehouse. If you have the ability, just come. I will accompany you to the end!"
Chen Sangliang turned his eyes to Chai Shao again, his eyes were so sharp and cold that Chai Shao, who was in a rage, couldn't help feeling a temperature drop, and then Chen Sangliang said coldly: "Chai Sichang, it's because you still have the face to be with me. Against each other, I spared you several times in the past, all for the sake of your parents and sisters. I never imagined that you, a bastard, would have the heart to abandon them and seek rebellion from a thief! Didn't you ever think that if you do this, your What kind of trouble will parents and sisters suffer? If I had known today, I should not have rescued you outside Daxing City for four years!"
"I did this to make you regret saving me back then!" Chai Shao gritted his teeth, and couldn't help but add, "Besides, my father, mother, and sister Qian have all been taken from the prison by my father-in-law. They were rescued, and they are doing fine now!"
"Only you, you are not worthy of making me regret it!" Chen Sangliang snorted heavily, somewhat relieved.
The sun had already set and the light was getting darker. He turned his gaze back to Li Jiancheng. Chen Sangliang said helplessly, "Brother, it's getting late. I should go back to the city. Let's stop here today. If there is a chance, we will go back to the city." See you again."
Li Jiancheng agreed, and told Chen Sangliang to take a rest, and then led the crowd to leave first. Chen Sangliang handed him off, and when Li Jiancheng and others gradually walked away, Chen Sangliang suddenly shouted : "Chai Shao, if you want to prove that you are stronger than your wife, then you can stick to the camp for two days. If you can hold the camp before sunset the day after tomorrow, I will admit that you are stronger than sister-in-law!"
Chai Shao turned his head and said word by word: "Go ahead and stay with me to the end!"
Chen Sangliang smiled, and then turned his horse's head. The Sui army generals on the left and right knew Chen Sangliang's unscrupulous deeds for a long time. Knowing his words must be uneasy and kind. They couldn't wait to ask Chen Sangliang as soon as they entered the gate: " Stay behind, you let Chai Shao hold on until sunset the day after tomorrow, are you planning some clever plan to defeat the enemy again?"
Chen Sangliang smiled, turned his eyes to his cousin, Li Jing also smiled, and said: "Masters, you haven't even read "Cao Gui's Controversy"? Morale is a thing that flourishes once." , and then decline, three times exhausted, Chai Shao let the bandit army desperately guard for two days, on the third day, how much morale and fighting spirit can the bandit army have left? We want to clean up the fortifications outside the camp of the bandit army, don't we need to spend some time Time? Our main army has traveled seventy miles a day for seven days, don’t we need a little time to rest and prepare?”
The generals of the Sui army suddenly realized that they all praised Chen Sangliang for being completely devoid of conscience. Yuchi Jingde scratched his head and said, "But in this way, wouldn't Chai Shao win and stay behind?"
"What did he win against me?" Chen Sangliang said with a smile: "I just said that if he can hold the camp before sunset the day after tomorrow, I will admit that he is better than his wife. If I admit it, what will it do to us? influences?"
Only then did the generals of the Sui army come to their senses, and all of them laughed out loud, praising Chen Sangliang for nothing, and they even took the opportunity to catch up with their friends. However, Chen Sangliang sighed with a smile: "Li Jiancheng has a steady personality. He must know that he can't take risks to fight at this time. Li Yuan also ordered him to only defend and not fight. There is almost no chance to defeat the enemy with cleverness. It can only be done in terms of morale and fighting spirit." some articles."
Not only the Sui army generals were familiar with Chen Sangliang's bad character, but everyone in the rebel army also knew that what Chen Sangliang said to Chai Shao must be uneasy and kind, so that even Li Jiancheng, who was as close as brother to Chen Sangliang, On the way back to the camp, he kept admonishing Chai Shao, saying: "Sichang, be careful, you can only guard the camp, and you must not take risks in battle. Although Chen Yingliang's character is ancient, he is famous for his tricks on the battlefield. God, he has provoked you again and again, and he must have his special purpose, so don't be careless."
Li Xiuning also told Chai Shao not to take risks to fight, Chai Shao took the trouble, and said angrily: "If you are afraid that I will fall into the tricks of the little thief, then just let me lead the death squad!" Chai Shao didn't look back Da Ma went back to the camp first, leaving behind Li Jiancheng and Li Xiuning brothers and sisters shaking their heads and sighing, worried.
Of course, the Li Jiancheng brothers and sisters would not really ask Chai Shao to lead the Death Squad, and soon found that their worries were for nothing. After Chai Shao returned to the camp, the first thing he did was not to organize the Death Squad, but to immediately set up the night defense of the camp. , arranged for an elite soldier to be on duty at night, and sent additional double posts to monitor the enemy's situation, strictly preventing the Sui army from robbing the camp late at night, and personally led troops to patrol the camp, and told every general to fight carefully. If there is a night attack by the Sui army, they can only use random arrows To meet the enemy, you must not go out of the camp to fight.
It was night, and Chai Shao, who was accompanied by his lovely wife, did not care about the hard work. He would patrol the camp every other hour, check the posts, and comfort the soldiers on duty at night. bad body. Chai Shao said with a gloomy face: "This is my best chance to redeem my father-in-law, and it is also my best chance to avenge my revenge. As long as I can hold on to the camp and persist until my father-in-law comes back to help, I will die of exhaustion, not to mention exhaustion." , I am also willing!"
The next day, also September 23rd, the thirteenth year of Daye, Chen Sangliang, who kept his word, sent Ma Sanbao to lead an army to attack the rebel camp, but Chen Sangliang did not ask Ma Sanbao to directly attack the rebel camp. Instead of attacking the rebel camp, Ma Sanbao commanded the army to fill up the three layers of guard trenches in the rebel camp with toad carts. The rebels did not dare to underestimate the enemy in the slightest. The whole battalion prepared for the battle and monitored the actions of the Sui army. They kept suppressing the Sui army's toad carts with bows and arrows, and slowed down the speed of the Sui army's trench filling. Yongfeng Cangcheng is also preparing for war with the whole army, carefully preventing the Sui army from suddenly launching an attack.
At noon, when the red sun was in the sky, Chen Sangliang suddenly led a cavalry in white robes out of the customs and outside the rebel camp. Chai Shao and his wife did not dare to neglect after hearing the report, so they hurried to the front of the camp to check the situation. The generals of the Central Rebel Army also ordered the whole army to be on alert, but Chen Sangliang only made a round trip. After inspecting the trench filling work of the Sui army, he immediately went to Yongfeng Cangcheng in the north to personally survey the enemy's situation, and even asked the sergeant to fight the enemy. He got up in the car to observe the city, boarded it himself, and peeked at the situation in the city condescendingly. As a result, this also made Li Jiancheng vigilant, worried that his scheming friend threatened to attack the camp first and then take Cangcheng, but in fact suddenly stormed Cangcheng.
After tossing for nearly an hour, Chen Sangliang led the cavalry in white robes and swaggered away. The rebel soldiers who had been exposed to the sun for nearly an hour at noon had just relaxed, but another Sui army came out of Tongguan Frightened, the rebels hurriedly resumed their tight guard. Unexpectedly, this army just rotated the Ma Sanbao army to continue filling the trenches, and fired at the rebels in the camp with strong bows and crossbows. They did not launch an attack. Withdrew to rest in camp.
In the evening, Chen Sangliang led the cavalry out of the customs again, which shocked the rebels up and down again. However, Chen Sangliang only inspected the progress of filling the trench, and then retreated back to the customs to rest.
On the night of the 23rd, the rebels continued to be on guard. As a result, after the second watch, horns blared and gongs and drums shook the sky in Tongguan City, five miles away. It seemed that there were signs of sending troops. But only a moment later, the sound of horns and drums suddenly disappeared, and no Sui army came out from Guanzhong.
It was night, and the Sui army used horns and drums every half an hour to disturb the rebels. Every time the rebels were forced by Chai Shao, his wife and Li Jiancheng to stand up and prepare for the battle, it was miserable, but they never saw Sui. The army sent troops.
On the 24th, Chen Sangliang used more outrageous tricks. The rebels had just started to receive their breakfast, and the Sui army had already left the pass to kill them. They had not yet brought toad carts and long shields, and seemed to have plans to directly attack the camp. The whole rebel army hurriedly prepared for battle, but after the Sui army arrived outside the camp, they immediately stopped and formed formations. Then the toad chariot and the long shield went out, and continued to fill in the trenches and shoot at each other. The rebels could only eat while guarding. Painful up and down.
On that day, Chen Sangliang went out of the customs three times in person, and the Sui army rotated the trench-filling troops twice. Each time, the whole rebel army was nervous, and each time it made Chai Shao, his wife and Li Jiancheng very vigilant. Every move was thunderous and rainy, and they never launched a decent siege to the rebel camp.
When Li Jiancheng and Chai Shao were vaguely aware of being cheated, the sun had already set, and Chen Sangliang also appeared in front of the rebel camp for the third time in one day. Why did you break your promise and didn't launch a formal attack for two whole days
"What's the hurry? If you want to die, I can help you at any time! Well, the sun is setting, Brother Sichang, I just admit that you are better than my sister-in-law, but between you husband and wife, is there any need to fight over who is better?"
After throwing down these words, Chen Sangliang laughed and led the army back, and finally realized that Chai Shao who had been duped cursed loudly, but Chen Sangliang's next sentence made Chai Shao raise his vigilance again, "Brother Sichang, take a good rest Let's go tonight, I'm not good at night battles, let alone surprise attacks, I won't come to trouble you tonight, just rest assured!"
Chen Sangliang, who defeated the main force of the Eastern Turks overnight, said that he was not good at night battles. Not to mention that Chai Shao, who had experienced the Yanmen War, did not believe this sentence, and even the bandit soldiers who had joined the army could not believe it. What a good day it will be. As expected, after returning to the customs, the first thing Chen Sangliang did was to pat Liu Gang on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Liu Duwei, let's work hard tonight and go out to beat the gongs and drums nearby. I will give you another thirty gunpowder bottles, throw some more or less at the bandit army camp and Yongfeng warehouse city, so that the bandit army can sleep well."