Since coming to this era, Chen Sangliang has not spent many days in Daxing. The total amount of time is only more than three months. The various situations in the city are very strange to Chen Sangliang’s impression. Chen Sangliang was so estranged and unfamiliar that he never regarded Daxing as his home. For several years, he had always regarded Daxing as his temporary foothold.
When he returned to Daxing for the third time, Chen Sangliang realized that this was not the case. Only then did he realize that Daxing City had indeed been inextricably linked with him all along. Only then did he realize that Daxing City had too many memories of him, remembering that he came here As soon as the era opened its eyes, it was in Daxing City. In Daxing, I met Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui, my lover Yang Yuer and his wife's eldest grandson Wugou, as well as brothers and sisters Chai Shao and Chai Qian who were entangled in love and hatred. Li Yuan's family, who I don't hate but is destined to become unshakable enemies, and all the past events that happened because of it.
Riding his horse and looking at Daxing City, thinking of these sweet or bitter past events, Chen Sangliang was of course full of thoughts and emotions, completely forgetting that he rode his horse and led the army here to personally explore the terrain and observe the rebels on the spot What arrangements and adjustments were made in the defense of Daxing City? It wasn't until the Sui Army's civil and military officers nearby reminded that there was movement in the city that Chen Sangliang came back to his senses and looked closely at the Chunming Gate tower not far away. Arrived at Li Yuan's handsome flag.
A soldier rushed back from the front and reported that Li Yuan invited Chen Sangliang to the city to answer questions. Chen Sangliang, who usually likes to answer questions with the enemy the most, did not show face this time, and lightly ordered: "Go and tell Mr. Li Yuan Thief, just say that I will not waste my saliva with a dying person, tell him to wash his neck clean, and when our army breaks through Daxing, I will cut off his head with my own hands, and pay homage to the spirit of His Royal Highness Daiwang."
The soldiers took the order, rushed to the gate of Chunming, and shouted Chen Sangliang's reply. All the rebel generals around Li Yuan in the city were furious, and they all asked for orders to lead their troops out of the city to fight Chen Sangliang. It's very ugly, but he didn't agree to go out of the city to fight. Li Er, who had redressed himself handsomely, also scolded: "Shut up! The general has an order. Without his personal permission, no one is allowed to lead the army to fight without his permission. Commander, military law is in charge!"
Attacking the city from the front was only the last option. After a rough observation of the situation of the Chunming Gate city defense, Chen Sangliang did not spend too much time studying how to break the city, but he did not return to the camp to rest. Seeing that there was still some time before dark, Chen Sangliang rode his horse south again to observe the situation of Yanxing Gate in the south, and led hundreds of cavalry to swagger through the city under Daxing City. The rebel soldiers in the city along the way also stretched their necks, vying to be the first to see Chen Sangliang's appearance, talking constantly.
Sensing the curiosity of the rebel soldiers, Chen Sangliang was also very face-saving. He smiled and rode his horse close to the moat, reined in his horse and rushed to the wall and shouted: "People of the Sui Dynasty on the city, do you want to see how you all stay behind in Chen Yingliang? See clearly, I, like you, have two eyes and one mouth, not three heads and six arms, nor blue face and fangs and three eyes. Similarly, there is a chance, as long as you are as loyal to the Great Sui court as I am!"
Most of the rebel soldiers kept silent, just stretched their necks as far as possible to see Chen Sangliang's posing, and continued to discuss in low voices, until the rebel general who followed here was furious and ordered to shoot arrows, Chen Sangliang laughed and rode away. , leaving countless rebel soldiers whispering in the city, "I heard that he is from Daxing City. When he was young, he was so poor that he often picked vegetables and leaves to cook porridge in Liren City. He broke off the engagement with the general's son-in-law's sister, and later..."
For the soldiers and civilians from Daxing, Chen Sangliang, who was born and raised in Daxing, always has an inexplicable intimacy with them. Chen Sangliang's legendary experience also makes them extremely envious and yearning. When these two points are added together, these soldiers and civilians from Daxing will naturally become Chen Sangliang's powerful propagandists for free. As various rumors and legends about Chen Sangliang are circulating among the rebel army, the morale of the rebel army will be affected no matter what. No matter how the rebel generals tried to stop the spread of rumors, they still couldn't stop the lieutenant soldiers from knowing all the grievances and grievances between Chen Sangliang and the old Li family. Chen Sangliang, who always had the moral upper hand, became a hero respected by the rebel soldiers. However, Li Yuan, who was implicated by his son-in-law, was completely compared.
Quite a coincidence, when Chen Sangliang came to Yanxing Gate on horseback, the rebel general Xu Shixu, who had met Chen Sangliang many times during the Yanmen War, happened to be in the city. Xu Shixu was quite affectionate, and shouted at Xu Shixu: "Mr. Xu Shixu, didn't you threaten to kill me behind my back several times during the Yanmen War? Why don't you want to come out and give it a try now that the opportunity is here? Don't forget , you have 150,000 troops, I only have 50,000 troops!"
Xu Shixu's face was dark and silent, Chen Sangliang whispered another order to Yuchi Jingde next to him, and Yuchi Jingde agreed, he drew his bow and set an arrow on his horse, and shot an arrow at Xu Shixu. Xu Shixu was so frightened that he quickly dodged in a low voice, but the feather arrow hit his top helmet and flew away with his helmet. He declared loudly that he would take Xu Shixu's head on the battlefield, and then left with flattery. Chen Sangliang saw that the effect of hitting the enemy's morale had been achieved, so he didn't waste any more time, and led the army back to the camp with a big smile.
It was also when Yuchi Jingde slapped his horse and walked away that the defenders on the city remembered to shoot back arrows as if they had just woken up from a dream. Li Yuan, who noticed that the morale of his own army was low, was worried and helpless, so he had to ask the generals on the left and right: "Thieves are rampant, but our army's morale is low. The soldiers fear the enemy like tigers, what should we do?"
Li Jiancheng, Liu Wenjing, Wang Changxie, Pei Ji, Yin Kaishan, Dou Cong and other important rebel soldiers were all present, but none of them could answer Li Yuan's question. They were all helpless because of the low morale of the army. Only Li Erlang replied: " Father, my son thinks that what our soldiers are afraid of is just Chen Yingliang's invincible reputation. If our army can win a battle and slightly defeat the officers and soldiers, then our army's morale will definitely be boosted, and the mentality of fearing the enemy will naturally increase. remove."
"You want to take risks again?" Li Yuan asked his precious son sideways.
"No, no." Li Er shook his head quickly, and replied: "The morale of the officers and soldiers is high, but our army's morale is low. If we go out to fight in the city at this time, our army will only be in danger. Seeing that the little thief Chen Yingliang hasn't prepared enough siege weapons yet, we should lure the little thief Chen Yingliang to attack the city as soon as possible, and our army will rely on the fortified city to attack the little thief Chen Yingliang head-on, and the chances of winning will definitely be great!"
Li Yuan was a little tempted, and Pei Ji who was beside him also echoed: "General, what the right governor said is very true. I remember that when Yang Xuangan was in the past, Yang Xuangan's army won many battles, and the army of the Eastern Capital was defeated in a row. Chen Yingliang's little thief also used tricks to lure Yang Xuangan. Attacking the city hastily and defeating Yang Xuangan by relying on the advantage of the city, gradually boosted the morale and fighting spirit of the defenders of the Eastern Capital, and gradually suppressed Yang Xuangan's momentum of consecutive victories.
"Then how do we attract the officers and soldiers to attack the city?" Li Jiancheng on the other side questioned, "Don't forget, this strategy was originally thought up by Chen Yingliang. If we use such a strategy against him, isn't it just playing tricks?"
Pei Ji and Li Er were a little speechless, but Li Yuan remained calm, and after a little calculation, he ordered: "It doesn't matter, as long as there is a direction, I will arrange how to lure the little thief Chen Yingliang to attack Daxing City as soon as possible. Back to Wude Hall, send someone to find Yun Dingxing by the way, and tell him to come to Wude Hall to meet me immediately."
When Li Yuan returned to the Hall of Wude with a group of confidantes, Yun Dingxing, who had been stripped of his military power long ago, was also passed on to the Hall of Wude. But the old slippery Yun Dingxing still obediently saluted Li Yuan. Li Yuan first ordered someone to give him a seat, and then asked suddenly: "Old General Yun, I heard that when you left Luoyang and led the army north to Taiyuan, you had a meeting with Chen Yingliang before you left Luoyang. I met him once, what was his last oral explanation to you?"
"The last oral explanation?" Yun Dingxing was taken aback, not understanding why Li Yuan asked him this question - Li Yuan sent a letter to Chen Sangliang under the banner of Yun Dingxing before, and the person who sent it was of course Li Yuan himself His subordinate, Chen Sangliang's request to Yun Dingxing's messenger, of course the former messenger would not tell Yun Dingxing.
"Yes, what is the last oral confession, or the one that only you and he know?" Li Yuan asked.
"This..." Yun Dingxing looked embarrassed, and replied: "General, please let the general think about it. It's been too long, and the general has to recall it."
Of course Li Yuan agreed, and Yun Dingxing also started thinking about it, thinking to himself: "Why did the old thief Li Yuan ask this question? My eldest nephew wanted me to go south because I was afraid that old man Fan would have a bad temper and kill me. There is no chance to save me, this matter has nothing to do with old thief Li Yuan, why does old thief Li Yuan ask? Do I want to answer truthfully?"
"Haven't you remembered?" Li Yuan urged impatiently: "I heard that that matter is very important to you, you should be very impressed, why haven't you remembered?"
"Damn, you can't tell the truth." Yun Dingxing quickly made a decision in his heart, and said to himself: "The old thief Li Yuan forced me to write a fake letter to deceive my nephew Ying Liang, so I might have offended my nephew. My nephew has already hit Daxing City again, and if I offend him to death again, do I still want to live in the future?"
After making up his mind, Yun Dingxing quickly replied: "General, I have already remembered, but the general is a little embarrassed to say that at that time, Chen Yingliang will stay in Taiyuan as much as possible, saying that the Fanzi Gaifan at that time The left-behind is too old and suffers from long-term illness, so the general should stay in Taiyuan as a precautionary measure, in this case, the general may still have hope to take over as the left-behind in Taiyuan."
"Really?" Li Yuan asked.
"It's absolutely true." Yun Dingxing nodded quickly, and said very seriously: "In front of the general, how dare the last general speak half a lie?"
"Very good, I believe you." Li Yuan nodded in satisfaction, and said with a smile, "Old General Yun, please write a book again and write a letter to Chen Yingliang, saying that you have organized some old troops to surrender the city. Tomorrow night In the middle of the night, we set fire to the city and opened the Gwanghwamun Gate in the northwest of Daxing to welcome his troops into the city, so please send troops."
Yun Dingxing's face changed slightly, and he dared not agree, but Li Yuan couldn't help but ordered someone to fetch a pen and paper and put it in front of Yun Dingxing, forcing Yun Dingxing to write a book on the spot, while our old Yun Friends of the general are greedy for life and afraid of death. Even though he knew that he would offend Chen Sangliang to death, Yun Dingxing wrote a letter according to Li Yuan's request with a compensatory smile, and handed it to Li Yuan with both hands. Take a look. Li Yuan took the letter carefully several times, until he confirmed that there were no hidden words or hidden words, then he showed some smiles and said, "The old general has done a great job in luring the enemy. You have worked hard. Come, I will give you ten bolts of silk and satin from the old general."
Yun Dingxing hurriedly thanked him humbly, but Li Yuan smiled and said: "Old general, you don't have to be humble, you deserve it. By the way, the war is urgent now, and the outer city is too dangerous. Don't go back, old general, stay here." In this palace city, come and arrange a place for Old General Yun in the imperial city, and invite the old general to go down to rest, so that he can entertain you and not neglect you."
Yun Dingxing's face finally turned pale. He knew that Li Yuan wanted to put him under house arrest, but he didn't dare to resist, so he could only agree with his promise trembling slightly, obediently following Li Yuan's personal soldiers to accept the house arrest. And Yun Dingxing is indeed unpopular among the rebels. Being under house arrest is not enough. As soon as he left, Pei Ji and Dou Wei next to him immediately reminded: "General, be careful, Yun Dingxing is a despicable person." Shameless, we must prevent him from turning against him when he sees the situation is not going well."
"Of course I know that this old man is unreliable, and I can conclude that he has already had a different heart!" Li Yuan sneered and said, "Do you know why I asked him about the verbal agreement with Chen Yingliang? In fact, this is the request of Chen Yingliang. , used to identify the authenticity of his envoys."
After all, Li Yuan roughly told everyone about the last time he sent someone to pretend to be Yun Dingxing's messenger, and then said with a smile: "If old man Yun Dingxing told the truth to this old man, he would really help this old man to lure Chen Yingliang to come forward." If you come to die, then the little thief Chen Yingliang may fall into our army's trap. If the old man Yun Dingxing didn't tell the truth, if there is any accident with the messenger sent by the old man, the old man can use this as an excuse to execute him. Solve this hidden danger once and for all, understand?"
It was only then that the rebel generals suddenly realized that they all praised Li Yuan for his ingenuity and ingenuity. Li Yuan naturally arranged for an absolutely reliable messenger to go out of the city and go to the Sui army camp to meet Chen Sangliang with a book.
…
When the rebel messenger came to the Sui army camp, Chen Sangliang hadn’t rested yet, and was worrying about how to lure Li Yuan out of the city for a decisive battle. When he heard that the messenger Yun Dingxing had arrived, even though he couldn’t tell whether the messenger was real or not, Chen Sangliang was still worried about it. Overjoyed, he patted the table and said: "Okay! The opportunity has come! It is of course good that it is Yun Dingxing's emissary. It is even better that the old thief Li Yuan forced Yun Dingxing to send a fake emissary! I am not afraid of his old thief Li Yuan's move, but he If you don't make any moves, you can just use your tricks and trick the old fox Li Yuan out for a decisive battle!"
After impatiently ordering to meet Yun Dingxing's messenger, a young man who claimed to be Guo Nu was brought to Chen Sangliang, saying that he was Yun Dingxing's confidant, and presented Yun Dingxing's letter to Chen Sangliang with both hands. Chen Sangliang took the letter and did not read it. He just asked Guo Nu the question of identifying the authenticity. Guo Nu replied according to Li Yuan's instructions: "Report to Chen to stay behind, last time you gave my old general Yun The last verbal explanation is to let him stay in Taiyuan County as much as possible, Fan Liushou is old and sick, and we want our old general Yun to stay in Taiyuan as much as possible as a precaution."
Hearing this answer, Chen Sangliang naturally knew immediately that the messenger was fake, but of course Chen Sangliang would not expose it, and immediately showed ecstasy, admitting that it was the answer, and after opening Yun Dingxing's letter carefully, Chen Sangliang Liang immediately became clear-eyed, and smiled secretly: "Who is not good to learn from? Learn from Lao Tzu's method of dealing with Yang Xuangan, trying to trick our army into attacking and ambush rashly, step into your trap and suffer defeat, and destroy my momentum of consecutive victories. Boost your morale, what a beautiful idea!"
Immediately guessing Li Yuan's vicious intentions, Chen Sangliang naturally came up with a countermeasure like a conditioned reflex, pretending to be a trick to attack Gwanghwamun, and then cheating the enemy to lure the rebels into the Sui army's ambush circle. Then beat the rebels out of the city to the ground, so that they will be incontinent when they see the Chen Zijun flag for the rest of their lives, and they can't take care of themselves! But just as he was about to make such an arrangement, when the words came to his lips, Chen Sangliang suddenly remembered an important matter, and secretly said: "Then what about Yun Dingxing? Isn't that shameless old man going to die immediately?"
Chen Sangliang didn't have a good impression of Yun Dingxing at the beginning. When he fought against Yang Xuangan, when Yun Dingxing followed Yu Wenshu back to the Eastern Capital battlefield, Pei Hongce had long been private about the things Chen Sangliang did. He quietly told Chen Sangliang that at that time Chen Sangliang did have the idea of revenge if he had the opportunity. But people have feelings. Later, Yun Dingxing treated Chen Sangliang very well. He shared difficulties with Chen Sangliang several times and helped Chen Sangliang. The reason why Chen Sangliang has been with the military boss Yu Wenshu Maintaining friendly relations was also thanks to Yun Dingxing's many blessings. No matter how devastated Chen Sangliang was, his impression of Yun Dingxing changed somewhat, so when Yun Dingxing led his army northward to reinforce Fan Zigai, Chen Sangliang would specifically explain that Yun Dingxing fled south when the war was unfavorable. He was afraid that Yun Dingxing died tragically under the knife of the irritable Fan Zigai, so that he didn't even have a chance to reach out to him.
Putting the letter back on the desk, Chen Sangliang continued to think, "Based on the current situation of Li Yuan's army, Yun Dingxing's mind is normal anyway. He didn't tell Li Yuan the truth, so he probably wanted to leave a way out. At most, it is just to defeat Li Yuan's bandit army again and get some gains. It will not hurt Li Yuan's bandit army, and it will definitely kill Yun Dingxing. But if I keep him, with his temper, as long as there is a chance It will definitely come over, maybe it can play a greater role at the critical moment, and what I lose is just giving up a small chance of victory, which is irrelevant to our army and the rebels."
Thinking about it, Chen Sangliang was thinking like flying, and asked deeply: "Uncle Yun, why did he choose to fight at Gwanghwamun? It is located in the northwest of Daxing, far away, and there is a Guangtong Canal between our army camp. It is not very convenient for our army to use troops.”
"Because Li Yuan's thieves guarded the three east gates of Daxing too tightly, and there was no chance to do anything." Guo Nu replied according to Li Yuan's instructions: "Originally the other gates of Daxing were also guarded very tightly, but our old general's subordinates The old general Dong Ruidong happened to be stationed in Gwanghwamun, and he might turn against him at a critical moment, so our old general decided to fight there."
Chen Sangliang continued to remain silent. He wanted to save Yun Dingxing's despicable life, but he didn't want to miss this opportunity to deceive the enemy. He couldn't think of any way to make good use of this opportunity, so he could only keep silent and continue to calculate. But to be utterly conscientious is to be utterly devoid of conscience. At the critical moment, San Gouzi, the captain of the personal army, suddenly came in, whispered into Chen Sangliang's ear, "Stay behind, and there are a few children who claim to be from the Guanlong family asking to see you. I beg you to be summoned."
"what?!"
It was originally an insignificant trivial matter, but Chen Sangliang's reaction shocked everyone in the tent—Chen Sangliang jumped up suddenly, grabbed San Gouzi by the collar, Face shocked and asked: "What did you say? Li Mi's traitor broke through Hulao Pass? How is this possible?!"
After all, he followed Chen Sangliang for nearly four years. Although it happened too suddenly, after seeing Chen Sangliang's wink, San Gouzi immediately came back to his senses, nodded and said, "It's Luokou Canghe." General Lan Yi sent the news five hundred miles away, Li Mi's rebels have surrounded Luokoucang, and General Wang is defending Pei Renji's rebels in Hanoi, so there's no time to return to the army to rescue them."
Chen Sangliang slowly let go of his hand, his body swayed slightly, and then fell to the ground with a bang, and passed out on the spot. The civil and military forces of the Sui army in the tent were in chaos, and Guo Nu, the messenger sent by Li Yuan, lost his head. Tightly drooping, with a smile on the corner of his mouth, he secretly said: "Extremely good news."