Yuan Qi and Li Yangcheng are not the only ones scrambling to flatter Li Yuan's rebels? Fighting all the way from Taiyuan to Daxing, just on the way south, the military and civilian officials and sons of powerful families scrambling to join Li Yuan's rebel army are like crucian carp crossing the river. The attached Guanzhong people can only be described as overwhelming.
Of course, the sons and daughters of the rich and powerful in Daxing City were very enthusiastic afterwards. Yuan Yuan’s family education had told them the importance of standing in line, and also told them what kind of rewards they would get if they followed the right master. They had the opportunity to become Li Yuan’s founding father. Yuan Xun, the dignitaries like Yuan Qi and Li Yangcheng will certainly not miss them in the future.
The more enthusiastic ones are of course the children of the Guanlong Clan. These people not only have deeper and more sophisticated family backgrounds, but also have inextricable connections with the Li Yuan Clan. Civil and military officials like Hu'er and Pei Ju came to attack them—Chen Sangliang was definitely one of them. Now that Li Yuan is so powerful, how could these people be polite? Not only did they take the initiative to come to serve, but they also brought their own servants, weapons, war horses and dry food, and donated money, land and property—if it weren’t for the great powers of these aristocrats and their understanding of the specific situation of the Tongguan battlefield, there might be some who offered chrysanthemums— In short, it is a big capital to support Li Yuan to seize the world.
There are also the surrounding counties of Daxing, which are different from the history. This time, because there is a utterly wicked person in Tongguan who hates the Li Yuan rebels. When the main force of the rebel army captured Daxing, nearby Lantian, Jingyang, and Shiping counties had already sent surrender forms, including Li Jing's hometown of Sanyuan County. And when the news spread that the main force of the rebel army had captured Daxing, the surrounding counties of Jingzhao also submitted their petitions to surrender without hesitation, fearing that if they acted a step too late, they would not be able to express their loyalty to General Li.
Faced with this scene of enthusiastic followers, the rebels were of course overjoyed, and many rebel generals began to feel overjoyed. For example, Li Yuan's precious son-in-law, Chai Shao, was very ruthless to send out his former friends. He was kicked out of the house, and he didn't pay attention to the sincerity of the friends who pleaded guilty. Even Li Yuan's cousin Dugu Huai'en came to explain in person, but Chai Shao didn't show any face at all, and even said a lot of heart-piercing words , which made Dugu Wynn very embarrassed, so he could only give up resentfully.
If Li Yuan, who is eager to buy people's hearts, knows about this, he will certainly have to scold his son-in-law, but it's okay for Chai Shao. While touching the ground, there were two more thorny issues in front of Li Yuan. One was of course the threat of Chen Sangliang's reinforcements from the Eastern Capital, and the other was the whereabouts of Dai Wang Yang You.
As mentioned earlier, the banner Li Yuan used when he raised troops in Taiyuan was not treason, but to support the acting king Yang You and proclaim himself emperor. Regardless of how much role this banner played in Li Yuan's invasion of Daxing, now Yang You has fallen in Daxing After "disappearing", if Li Yuan doesn't want to find a way to give an explanation to the world, a reputation of rebellion and treason can't be escaped no matter what, and it will be a moral blow to Li Yuan's rebels who claim to be a righteous teacher, and the truth about Yang You's disappearance Once exposed, the reputation of Li Yuan's rebels will be hit harder, and it is very likely to trigger a local backlash. Therefore, Li Yuan, in addition to continuing to claim that the Yin Shishi hijacked Yang You and escaped, the other thing is to desperately search for the Yin Shishi's children who may know the truth. silence.
Strange to say, even though the rebel army sent many cavalry to hunt down and search, and asked the local government to help with the search under the pretext of raising war orphans, and secretly ordered Duan Lun, another son-in-law who was leading the army westward to reinforce Yongfeng warehouse, to intercept and search, but within two days A lot of time has passed, and as of the first day of October, there is still no news of Yin Shishi's son and daughter, and their whereabouts are unknown. Li Yuan guessed that Shishi Yin might have other arrangements, and prepared a secret hiding place outside the city in advance, but sent people to interrogate Shishi Yin's servants, but did not get any valuable information.
On the afternoon of the first day of October, after more than two days of hard work, the various situations in Daxing City have finally settled down. The remnants of the enemy who should be cleaned up have been cleaned up, and the officials and people who should be appeased have been appointed to appease them. The reorganized Sui army was reorganized, and the corpses of nearly ten thousand dead bodies inside and outside the palace were removed, and the blood-stained streets and palace walls were also washed clean, and the aftermath work came to an end. With some time left, Li Yuan, who was still embarrassed to move into Miyagi, held a meeting in Anxingfang, where he lived, and called together a group of cronies and important generals to discuss the action of returning to Yongfeng warehouse.
There is no dispute whether to send the main force back to Yongfeng warehouse. No matter how stupid the decision-makers of the rebel army are, they know that if the grain roads are not re-dredged quickly, the self-army will have to forcefully borrow grain from the people in a short time. Chen Sangliang has never failed The notorious reputation of the rebel army also made the decision-makers of the rebel army dare not have any hope that Li Jiancheng would drive away Chen Sangliang, so the focus of discussion at the meeting was a question, who would lead the main force to return to Yongfeng warehouse? Who stays in Daxing City
Li Yuan, as the coach, of course cannot leave Daxing City easily, and Li Er is also very happy to lead the main force to fight to the death with his love rival Chen Sangliang. However, after careful consideration, Li Yuan shook his head and said: "No, this battle must be directed by the old man himself. Lead the army back to Yongfeng warehouse, Pei Ji, you stay in Daxing City."
Li Er refused to give up and insisted, pointing out that Li Yuan can't leave Daxing lightly now, and wishing to issue a military order to guarantee the defeat of Chen Sangliang, Li Yuan shook his head again and said: "No, Erlang, although you are good at using soldiers, but you like to play with fire and danger when using soldiers The little thief Chen Yingliang has much more experience in commanding large-scale armies than you. He likes to use troops just for a surprise victory. Before thinking about victory, he thinks about being undefeated. In terms of tactical style, he happens to be your nemesis. This battle is about the survival of our army. Guan Zhong’s lifeline, the old man can only feel relieved if he personally directs this battle.”
Li Er, who is still relatively obedient, has no choice but to accept his father's arrangement obediently. Immediately, Li Yuan dispatches troops, arranges generals and horses for the expedition, and decides to send 80,000 troops to fight Chen Sangliang. Li Er, Liu Wenjing, Li Xiaogong, Ma Yuangui, Zheng Yuanshou, Zhan Jun and other capable generals all accompanied them. As a result, this caused another small butterfly effect. Seeing that Li Yuan did not mention his name, Chai Shao stood up in a hurry and said to Li Yuan: "Father-in-law, son-in-law Chai Shao is willing to be the pioneer in the front, helping father-in-law and Chen Little thieves fight to the death!"
Glancing at his son-in-law, Li Yuan shook his head and refused, "Son-in-law, don't go, I know you want revenge, but the grievances between you and the little thief Chen Yingliang are well known in the world, if you go, it will be bad for our army." It will have an effect on the morale of the officers and soldiers, but it will have an encouraging effect on the morale of the officers and soldiers, and those brave generals under Chen Yingliang's little thief will definitely scramble to capture you alive."
Hearing this, all the civil and military rebels present couldn't help laughing, but Chai Shao's expression was extremely embarrassing. Fortunately, Li Yuan said again: "Don't worry, I have an important task for you. I will seal you on behalf of His Royal Highness." To take care of the general manager of the Imperial Forest Army, lead the Imperial Forest Army to guard the Daxing Palace City, guard the harem and the families of the officials, this is also a heavy responsibility, you have to be on duty with your heart."
Guarding the palace city and guarding the families of hundreds of officials, this task is of course very important. People who are not absolutely reliable should not even think about this task. It's average, but it's a pity that Chai Shao doesn't want to accept this favor, but he has no choice but to obediently obey his orders. At this time, Li Er suddenly said: "Brother-in-law, please pay attention to something, please take care of Jiang Cairen and her daughter for me, and don't let them have trouble."
Chai Shao was taken aback, Li Yuan and the rebel generals were also slightly taken aback, and then Li Yuan asked curiously, "Erlang, why?"
Li Er didn't want to explain in detail, so he smiled and said, "Father forgives the sin because Jiang Cairen's daughter is good and beautiful, and the child misses her a little, so I asked my brother-in-law to take care of her."
Li Yuan scolded his son for being lustful, but Chai Shao lowered his head slightly, thinking to himself: "Could it be God's will? Qian'er asked me to know about that matter from Xie Mudong, what exactly is it?"
"Then it's settled." Li Yuan made a final decision: "Immediately notify all parties to send troops and horses, and let them prepare for the march. Tomorrow, at 3:00 am, they will go out on time. Also, tell the people in Daxing City that Dalang is already here. The little thief Chen Yingliang was defeated on the battlefield at Tongguan, and this old man went out personally to annihilate the remnants of the little thief Chen Yingliang and retake Tongguan, and encourage the people to go outside the city tomorrow to see off and cheer for our army."
Everyone sang promises in unison, and Chai Shao also agreed, but his sister's words were always on his mind, and he decided to meet Xie Mudong as soon as possible. However, it was a pity that although Chai Shao entered the palace city to take over the defense that evening, However, she has been busy with business affairs, so she didn't have time to deal with this trivial matter. She just explained that it is strictly forbidden to harass the palace people and ensure the food and clothing supply, so that Yang Yuer and her mother will not go hungry. All the generals of the rebel army also acted according to their orders, and they were silent all night.
In the early morning of the next day, Li Yuan in gold helmet and armor personally led the army to set off. Although the preparations were hasty and the ceremonial guards were not majestic enough, the tens of thousands of people who saw him off still gave Li Yuan a lot of face. The people of Daxing who were attacked were eager to end the war as soon as possible, and even more eager to get rid of the harsh tyranny and live a peaceful life. They helped the old and the young to see off Li Yuan's army, burned incense and worshiped the main force of the rebel army who saved the common people from the sea of fire, and returned to the city. Many celebrities in Daxing joined forces to pour wine under the name of Li Yuan, wishing Li Yuan a victory and defeating the famous scum of Daxing, Chen Sangliang, who helped the tyrant in one fell swoop—for the current Daxing City, Chen Sangliang is indeed the biggest scum and traitor.
He humbly took the Zhuang Xing wine presented by his fathers and villagers in Daxing, and after drinking it all, Li Yuan raised his glass and said loudly: "Thank you, thank you for your kindness, please rest assured, the dog Li Jiancheng has defeated the tyrannical official Chen Yingliang three times before. , Mr. Chen Yingliang was forced to retreat to Tongguan. The purpose of my trip this time is to bring this corrupt official who is corrupt, cruel and harsh, to justice, restore Tongguan city, and reopen the Daxing grain road. Put grain in the warehouse, and help the common people, all of you, please be quiet and wait for the good news!"
"Long live the great general!" Someone shouted first, and countless Daxing soldiers and civilians cheered in unison, shouting "Long live the great general!" —Don't worry about the word long live, there was a famous general in the Sui Dynasty called Shi long live!
"Everyone, let's say goodbye with short words and deep feelings!" Li Yuan hugged tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Daxing, and shouted loudly: "Let's go! Send troops to Tongguan!"
"It's urgent! It's urgent!"
Our General Li hadn't finished his long tail, when suddenly a fast horse galloped up on the spacious official road in front of us, and the rebel knight immediately came straight all the way holding up the pond newspaper with rooster tail hair sticking on it to represent the urgent military situation, saying He kept yelling that it was urgent, but the rebel forward did not dare to stop him, allowing him to rush to the nearby area, only then did Li Yuan's personal soldiers step forward to stop him, and forwarded the military report to Li Yuan. Seeing this scene, Li Yuan's heart sank a little, but he didn't dare to reveal it in front of thousands of soldiers and civilians. He could only secretly pray that there would be no bad news—it would be better if Li Jiancheng or other rebels attacked him. The good news of victory—even a small victory is fine.
Of course, the Daxing soldiers and civilians on both sides of the road were whispering and discussing and analyzing. Of course, many of them believed that this should be the good news that Li Jiancheng had broken through Tongguan. However, these confident officials and civilians soon discovered the situation. That's not right - I opened the Tang newspaper and only took a look. General Li Yuan, whom they had just shouted long live, was obviously stunned, and then many sharp-eyed officials, gentry and celebrities also discovered that their General Li's hands were still There are some trembling slightly.
"General, what happened?" All the generals of the rebel army also saw that something was wrong, so they rushed to inquire about the situation.
Li Yuan didn't answer. After thinking for a while, Li Yuan closed the pond newspaper and said loudly with a smile: "Masters, it's bad news. The mountain torrents in Weinan and Zhengxian County destroyed the roads, and our army can't continue to march." , the little thief Chen Yingliang can live for a few more days. Haha, haha, hahaha."
Li Yuan's laughter was rather forced. Those who were familiar with him knew that the situation was wrong, but the people of Daxing who were not familiar with him were disappointed. There were voices of sighs and regrets. Li Yuan also sighed heavily, and then said loudly: "There is no way, since the road has been blocked The mountain torrents have washed away the soldiers, so there is no need for the soldiers to work hard in vain. Order the whole army to go back to the camp to rest, and after the local government has repaired the roads, we will send troops to take the head of the little thief Chen Yingliang!"
The generals of the rebel army who knew that something was going wrong quickly agreed, and sent orders to organize the team to retreat to the camp to rest. The people of Daxing also dispersed in disappointment. skin bleeding.
Chai Shao, who came to see him off, also saw that something was wrong, but he didn't say anything. He just followed Li Yuan and others back to the city obediently. One asked: "Yue Zhang, what happened? The army is about to leave, why didn't they come in again?"
"What are you going to do?!"
Li Yuan, who was full of anger, finally caught a punching bag, and immediately roared in a hoarse voice: "Go and give Chen Yingliang a rest, and hit our western expedition army head-on? Go consume our little food and grass on the way, let Chen Yingliang Can the thief drag us to death?! Daxing is more than 270 miles away from Tongguan, how much food and grass will be consumed by the road transportation?! To expose the empty rear, so that the Guanzhong army that Chen Yingliang can now command will take the opportunity to counterattack Daxing? !"
Chai Shao's face suddenly turned pale. Although Pei Ji, Li Er and other rebel generals had vaguely guessed this situation, after getting the confirmation from Li Yuan, they still couldn't help but look pale. However, the more Li Yuan growled, the more angry he became. He overturned the case in front of him and shouted angrily, "Chen Yingliang! Idiot! Shameless villain! You have already cut off the water source of Yongfeng warehouse, and even launched a sneak attack and beat one of us!" Unprepared! Shameless man, if I don’t hack you into pieces, I swear I won’t be human!”
"General, so Yongfeng Cangcheng has been breached?" Pei Ji asked tremblingly.
Li Yuan bowed his head dejectedly, and said powerlessly: "It was broken yesterday, Da Lang was in front of him, and he only persisted for less than four hours, and Xiu Ning was captured alive by him."
"Xiu Ning was captured?" These words were like a bolt from the blue, and Chai Shao was stunned at once, but after recovering, Chai Shao just felt dazed and had no other extra thoughts.
"Give Dou Cong and Da Lang an order to give up Pujin Pass and withdraw back, and to recruit Duan Lun, so that he will not die in vain." Li Yuan said helplessly: "All these troops retreat to the new Feng, acting as the outer barrier of Daxing, it is impossible to withdraw to Taiyuan now, we can only rely on Daxing to contend with Chen Yingliang's little thief, lengthen his food road, offset our weakness of insufficient food and grass, and then find a way to break him."
Pei Ji, Li Er and the others reluctantly agreed, and then Pei Ji said: "General, do you want to try to contact Xue Ju and Bai Yusuo, form an alliance with them, and draw them into the Guanzhong battlefield to compete with the little thief Chen Yingliang?"
"Let's try it." Li Yuan said more helplessly: "It doesn't matter to Bai Yusuo. He can bring Xue Ju in as much as possible. He has a lot of cavalry and can be of great help to us. As long as he is willing to form an alliance with us to fight against the enemy, he can do anything. negotiable."
When Li Yuan was discussing countermeasures with the rebel generals, Chai Shao's mind was always blank, and he didn't know what to think and do. It wasn't until someone touched him lightly that Chai Shao came back to his senses. Turning his head and looking at the room, he saw that the person who touched him lightly was Yun Dingxing, a shameless old man who basically had no right to speak on this occasion. Chai Shao, who had no friendship with Yun Dingxing in normal times, was a little confused, and asked in a low voice: "Old man General, what's the matter?"
"Don't worry." Yun Dingxing's tone was unprecedentedly sincere, and he whispered: "There is no need to worry about your wife, Chen Yingliang is not that kind of person."
"It's okay, I'm not worried."
Chai Shao nodded, but in the middle of nodding, Chai Shao suddenly discovered that his beloved wife fell into the hands of the enemy and was captured alive by his long-standing enemy Chen Sangliang. I'm more than half worried. Chai Shao couldn't help feeling dazed again, and said to himself: "Why am I not worried about Xiuning? It's because I know very well in my heart, isn't he like that?"
"Eldest nephew, come quickly." Yun Dingxing also said silently in his heart, secretly said: "Although the old uncle is not in charge of the army now, there are still a few old troops in the army who listen to me, come quickly, I will definitely help you. "