"It's been the thirteenth day. Why haven't Wang Shichong and Li Mi moved? Second brother, do you think Uncle Yun will lie to us this time?"
"Brother, don't be impatient. Including today, there are still three days left in the time that Uncle Yun said. We can wait patiently. He should not lie to us, and there is no reason to lie to us."
The day after Wang Shichong sent people to Xin'an to pay tribute to General Yun's beloved nephew, our brother Huaji wailed similarly seven or eight times in just one morning, and Yu Wenzhiji comforted him every time, but we Brother Huaji still has a little confidence in General Yun, and Yuwen Zhiji has a certain amount of patience with his good uncle, General Yun, but Yu Wenshiji, Feng Deyi and other rational factions and most of the grumpy generals of the Xiaoguo Army are calm. I couldn't hold my breath anymore, and at noon they came together again to see Brother Hua and asked Brother Hua to explain this.
"Prime Minister, last night we froze forty-three brothers to death, and twenty-six seriously injured soldiers died without any medicine. Now we are short of cold clothes and medicine, and the soldiers are full of resentment. Why? What to do?" Sima Dekan said bluntly, "All the officers and men want to ask you, the prime minister, what are we going to do after fighting in Dongdu for a few days and Luokou and Cang for a few days, and now we have returned to Jinyong City to idle around? Should we starve to death, or wait to freeze to death?"
"Brother, little brother said long ago that old man Yun is unreliable, unreliable, you just don't listen!" Yuwen Shiji kept chattering as always, "Let Wang Shichong and Li Mi take the initiative to send troops to fight us, do you think there is such absurd thing in the world? Tongshan , Dongdu and Luokoucang, Wang Shichong and Li Mi have suffered enough from field battles long ago, and they have a fortified city and granary to defend, so how could they be foolish enough to send troops to fight us in the field? Now it’s all right, thirteen days have passed, our The soldiers waited in vain for thirteen days in the ice and snow, freezing to death and wounding so many soldiers in vain, all the soldiers were full of resentment, but did Wang Shichong and Li Mi send troops? Did they send out one soldier at a time to fight us?"
"Prime Minister, you'd better be wary of Yun Dingxing, after all, he is now Chen Yingliang's." Feng Deyi also warned: "The last thing Chen Yingliang wants to see is for us to enter Guanzhong and fight. Working hard for Chen Yingliang, we must strive for this, delaying as much as possible, dragging us down with severe cold weather and lack of clothing and medicine, is beneficial to Chen Yingliang, and the prime minister had better be careful."
Brother Hua Ji kept silent all the time, with his head half down, enduring the disguised accusations from his subordinates, feeling restless and angry in his heart, and the anger that had been slowly accumulating for a long time was gradually brewing in his chest. However, at this moment, fuel was added to the flames. The envoy sent by brother Huaji yesterday to contact General Yun suddenly returned to the Jinyong City Camp and reported to Brother Huaji that after he entered Xin'an City at noon yesterday, Not only did he not see Old General Yun immediately, but he was also put under house arrest together with his entourage for half a day and one night. It was not until early this morning that General Yun saw him and let him come back. Brother Huaji let out some rumors, saying that old general Yun had killed brother Huaji's envoy, and brother Huaji was going to send troops to attack Xin'an to avenge the envoy.
Brother Hua Ji didn't think about why General Yun wanted him to do this at all, just hearing that his envoy was under house arrest by General Yun, Brother Hua Ji overturned the case in front of him in a rage and jumped up. Furious, "Old man! Even the messenger of the truth is dared to be imprisoned, so the truth dares not go to war with him? If it wasn't for the sake of his father, the truth would have torn the old man to pieces. How dare you fool the truth like this?!"
All the generals of the Xiaoguo army showed such sneers, Yuwen Shiji also took the opportunity to say: "Brother, in fact, you might as well consider attacking old man Yun Dingxing. Our scouts have already found out that the twelve thousand he brought The army, except for the 2,000 cavalrymen who were more difficult to deal with, the infantry were all second-line troops newly formed by Chen Yingliang in Guanzhong. The two battlefields were just fighting bandits and thieves, and the combat effectiveness was quite low."
"Those cavalry are similar. Most of the war horses are old horses and wounded horses eliminated during the Guanzhong East War. They are used for training new cavalry. In fact, they can't play a big role." Yuwen Shiji quickly added: "But the equipment is very good! Even ordinary soldiers wear reed clothes made of thick cloth. The elite soldiers all wear fur clothes or cotton clothes, and there are a lot of food, supplies, weapons and equipment. If you can take these down, yes We’re not without a little help.”
Brother Huaji was a little tempted, but fortunately Yuwen Zhiji reminded in time: "Brother, we can no longer start a third battlefield. Our main enemies now are Wang Shichong and Li Mi, not Uncle Yun. If we start a war with him again, then we The situation will be even more difficult.”
"Brother, I think that if we go to war with Chen Yingliang, Wang Shichong and Li Mi will never hinder us!" Yuwen Shiji hurriedly urged: "Li Mi and Wang Shichong are old treacherous and cunning people. It is their wish for us to go to war with Chen Yingliang, if we go to war with Chen Yingliang, not only will they not stab us in the back, they may even take the opportunity to sue us for peace and support us in launching a full-scale attack on Chen Yingliang!"
The well-known sycophant General Yun’s reputation is not good. Xiaoguo’s army generals only want to solve the material problem quickly, and naturally they don’t mind suddenly attacking the weakest opponent. They all nodded and expressed that they could consider it. Brother Huaji, who started to waver, was even more shaken, and thanks to Yu Wenzhiji, who was more towards General Yun, he tried his best to dissuade him, so Brother Huaji did not decide to attack Old General Yun on the spot. But even so, Brother Hua Ji still loudly said viciously: "Wait for the last three days, before sunset the day after tomorrow, if there is no news of Li Mi and Wang Shichong sending troops, we will send troops to attack Xin'an in the morning of the day after tomorrow, and take down the baggage there for the winter." !"
Hearing what my elder brother said, Yuwen Shiji, who had been worried that his family would be played to death by Chen Sangliang, finally smiled, and said that as long as most of the Xiaoguo army can be kept, our Yuwen family will return possible. However, at this moment, a snow-covered scout suddenly stumbled into the hall. He didn't know what happened, and he was so nervous that he tripped over the threshold, threw a dog eating shit in front of everyone, and even broke his lips. Before the scout could stand up, he lay on the ground and raised his head, shouting, "I..., Prime Minister, Li..., Li Mi..., cough cough, cough cough."
"What's wrong with Li Mi?" Brother Hua Ji asked impatiently.
"Cough cough." The stunned scout coughed painfully and shouted excitedly, "Li Mi has sent troops! Li Mi has sent troops to Jinyong City!"
"What?!" All the civil and military members of the Xiaoguo Army present screamed in disbelief. Yu Wenzhiji even rushed to the scout, grabbed his collar and lifted him up, shouting. Said: "Is Li Mi really sending troops? How many troops have come? Has Li Mi the dog thief come in person?"
"My servant, I haven't had time to find out about this." The scout rubbed his chest and said with difficulty: "This morning, we just saw Li Mi's dog thief sending troops from the Luokou warehouse to the east. Shuixijin, the team asked the little one to come back quickly and report first, and Chen team said that you must be waiting for the news, prime minister, so I will report a letter first, so that you can get ready, and if there is news, he will return Send someone to report back."
Almost all the generals of the Xiaoguo Army present clenched their fists, and they all prayed in their hearts that Li Mi would lead the main force to come in person. Yuwen Shiji said suspiciously: "Will Li Mipifu personally lead the main force to come? Don't just send a few thousand Wan sent the useless mob to Jin Yongcheng to perfuse us for delaying our time and save his food, right?"
"Report!" The cruel facts hurt Yuwen Shiji's little face again, and a new scout rushed into the front of the hall, and shouted before entering the hall: "Prime Minister, from Luokou warehouse to Among the rebel army that came from Jinyong City, Li Mi was found to be the commander of the rebellious bandit, and there were at least 5,000 cavalry in Li Mi's rebel army! I understand, the Hulao Pass bandit army is also sending troops to the west!"
Yuwenshi and the little faces who had received two loud slaps in succession turned pale, but the generals of the Xiaoguo army, He Hua and his brother, were so nervous that they couldn't wait to grab their hearts to prevent them from jumping out of their chests ——The Xiaoguo army is not afraid of Li Mi coming out in full force, but afraid that Li Mi will not come!
While waiting nervously, a third scout rushed over and played loudly: "The prime minister, the strength of Li Mi's bandit army is conservatively estimated to be more than 70,000, and it is likely to be close to 80,000. After crossing Luoshui, the rear team has just left Luokou Cang! In addition, the bandit army from Hulao Guanxi directly crossed Luokou Cang and marched westward, and did not enter Luokou Cang!"
"Uncle Yun! You really didn't lie to me! You are really my good old man!" Hua Ji clenched his fists and raised his hands high and howled.
"Okay! Well done!" Sima Dekan waved his arm fiercely, and shouted with red eyes: "It's good that Li Mipiff dares to come! If his main force dares to come to die, we will accompany him to the end! He broke his main force in the field battle." , If you want to win Luokou Canghulao Pass, it will be as easy as pie!"
"That's right!" Xiaoguo's generals nodded one after another, all of them grinning with joy and gnashing their teeth, gearing up to say: "Siege warfare, our army can't be launched, cavalry can't be used, no matter how good the weapons and armor are, it's useless. It’s going to be painful! It’s a field battle, I dare to bring a thousand cavalry to charge against his army of one hundred thousand!”
In the moment of excitement, Yuwen Zhiji could still keep calm, and quickly suggested: "Brother, you should immediately send someone to thank Uncle Yun, report the good news to him, and thank him for helping us lure Li Mipifu to send troops! Li Mipifu personally led the main force Come, Wang Shichong will definitely send troops to help him, although we are not afraid of fighting with them, but if old man Yun can quietly help us, we will be able to relax a lot immediately!"
"Yes yes yes, I have to thank Uncle Yun very much." Brother Hua nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, and said impatiently: "Immediately send someone to thank Uncle Yun, bring more valuable gifts, and pick ten beautiful ones from the palace maids. Cover Old Uncle Yun's feet! Also, remember to ask Uncle Yun to help us as much as possible."
Between Yu Wenzhi and his promise, Yuwen Shiji over there rolled his eyes, cupped his hands and said, "Brother, why don't you let me go to Xin'an to thank Old Uncle Yun face to face for you, and take this opportunity to discuss carefully with him how to help each other secretly?" .”
Yu Wenshi and this volunteering was entirely for their own sake, but it is a pity that Brother Hua categorically ruined the hope of testing the true purpose and position of General Yun, shaking his head and refusing: "No, you didn't respect Uncle Yun enough before, Mr. If you say bad things about Uncle Yun in front of your father, Uncle Yun will definitely be unhappy, sending you will only delay things!"
Yuwen Shiji wanted to insist, but Feng Deyi also volunteered to be the envoy, Huaji brother still had some trust in Feng Deyi, so he nodded and said: "Okay, Feng Neishi, please work hard. One trip, but remember, you must ask old man Yun for more help, it is best to directly send troops to help, as long as he sends troops, any conditions can be negotiated!"
Feng Deyi respectfully agreed, and immediately went down to prepare to go on an envoy. Yuwen Shiji naturally had to catch up and repeatedly told Feng Deyi to let him find out the true attitude and purpose of Old General Yun and Chen Sangliang, and to find out what happened to Old General Yun. What kind of magic was used to make Li Mi take the risk to send troops, Feng Deyi also agreed.
At the same time, reports soon came from Dongdu, confirming that Wang Shichong's troops in the city had also moved abnormally. The scouts of the Xiaoguo Army who were monitoring the movement in the city on the high ground also clearly saw that a large number of military flags were concentrated outside Dongdu. If these military flags are not false flags used by Wang Shichong to bluff and confuse the Xiaoguo army, it is enough to prove that Wang Shichong is also preparing to go out of the city to fight a decisive battle in the wild with the Xiaoguo army.
It doesn't matter, the same sentence, the strong Xiaoguo army is not afraid that Li Mi and Wang Shichong will send out the main force for a decisive battle, but they are afraid that they will not dare to come, so after confirming the news that Li Mi's main force is attacking Jin Yongcheng, brother Huaji and the generals of the Xiaoguo army Not only did they not have any worries and tensions, but on the contrary, they believed that their own army would be able to easily win in the field, forgetting that their own army is currently short of clothes and medicines and must fight in the ice and snow. Partially wounded, exhausted, and his combat effectiveness dropped sharply, he even forgot a very important military term - a proud soldier must be defeated!
…
It's not that no one under Huaji's command saw this, at least Feng Deyi was aware of this situation, so after arriving in Xin'an with expensive gifts and beautiful court ladies, when he met his former colleague, General Yun, Feng Deyi conscientiously begged Old General Yun to directly send troops to help Yu Wenhuaji win this battle. Old General Yun asked directly: "Feng Nei Shi, who do you think the old man can win with the more than 10,000 recruits under his command? The Huainan elite who can beat Wang Shichong, or the cavalry of the internal army who can beat Li Mi." ? The old man directly sends troops to help you, what effect can it play on the battlefield?"
Feng Deyi was speechless, and then asked timidly: "Old General Yun, excuse me for having the audacity to ask one more question, and I ask the old general to take into account the affection of his former colleagues and answer generously, when will the main force of Prime Minister Chen be ready?" Arrived at the Eastern Capital battlefield?"
After glancing at Feng Deyi, Old General Yun made some calculations, and then said: "Our main force can't come. To tell you the truth, Xue Jubing entered Anding. A few days ago, our Prime Minister Chen personally took the main force to Anding County. , it is impossible to send troops to Dongdu at this time."
Feng Deyi was taken aback, Old General Yun smiled, and said again: "Sooner or later you will know the news, it would be better to let Hua and Xian nephew now, so that he can have confidence in his heart, he won this battle, Dongdu It must be his."
Feng Deyi nodded silently, and after hesitating for a while, Feng Deyi looked around, then lowered his voice and asked: "Old General, aren't you afraid that Yu Wenhuaji will have thoughts about your Eastern Front after knowing the emptiness in Guanzhong? Li Mi and Wang Shichong, the traitors, are happy to see Yu Wenhua go straight west."
It was General Yun's turn to be a little surprised, and after glancing at Feng Deyi, General Yun replied: "It doesn't matter, although the soldiers and horses left by Nephew Yingliang in Guanzhong are not enough to take Luoyang to the east, they are still enough to deal with this situation." In a situation, Hua and his nephew want to take the opportunity to go west to Guanzhong, first of all, consider breaking through the natural danger of Xiaohan Dao. General He Yanyuhe behind the old man, and General Liu Heizai Liu on the north bank of the Yellow River, what kind of characters are they, presumably You should have heard of it too."
"Prime Minister Chen is indeed cautious. The layout of the eastern front is loose on the outside and tight on the inside, and the cocoon silk hides the needles. I really admire it." Feng Deyi nodded, and then said in a low voice: "But the old general, please rest assured, Yu Wenhua and Now he is no longer able to break through the natural dangers of Xiaohan Dao. His Xiaoguo Army only looks strong now, but in fact, most of the core elite are injured. The soldiers and horses are exhausted, and there is a serious lack of cold clothes. The soldiers freeze to death and suffer from frostbite. Entering the colder Xiaohandao Mountains, you don't need to fight, old generals, you only need to hold on to the dangerous pass for a few days, and Yuhuaji will definitely be defeated."
Be obedient and listen to the sound. Old General Yun, who is an expert in this field, immediately shrank his pupils, stared at Feng Deyi, and asked cautiously: "Feng Neishi, there seems to be some meaning in what you said?"
Feng Deyi smiled, and suddenly asked a very thoughtless question, and said: "Old General Yun, after hearing that Xiao Yu and Xiao Guoshu had surrendered to Prime Minister Chen anyway, Prime Minister Chen not only did not care about the past enmity, but also entrusted him with Reuse, is it true?"
Old General Yun also smiled, and replied: "Of course it is true. Nephew Yingliang even forgave Mr. Chai Shao, who forced him to hang himself, and let Mr. Chai alone, and let Mr. Chai alone lead the army to conquer Nanyang and Hebei. Zheyang and other places, not to mention Xiao Yu and Uncle Xiao Guo, who are just talking with him?"
"As for you, Feng Neishi." Old General Yun added relaxedly: "To be honest, the quarrel between you and Prime Minister Chen is not as deep as the quarrel between the old man and him. When I fought against Yang Xuangan back then, the old man repeatedly suggested that nephew Ying Liang should be killed. Pushing him out as a scapegoat and letting him, the hero, take the blame, Ying Liang's nephew has long been aware of this, but he has never minded it, and still takes good care of the old man. Compared with the old man, Feng Nei Shi, you and Chen Chengxiang Do you think he would mind a trivial holiday?"
Hearing this, Feng Deyi didn't hesitate any more, got up and knelt down to Old General Yun, nodded and said: "The guilty minister, Feng Deyi, begs General Yun to report to Prime Minister Chen on his behalf. The guilty minister is ashamed. Yu Wenhua and the rebels killed the emperor, and the guilty minister not only did not die, but was also forced to help Yu Wenhua and the rebels, the guilty minister deserved to die! Now the opportunity comes, the guilty minister is willing to atone for his crimes, and help the old general obtain Yu Wenhua and Everyone's head, avenge the late emperor!"
It was not surprising that General Yun, who was absolutely on the same level as Feng Deyi, was not at all excited, and asked directly, "Are you not afraid that the old man will tell Hua and his nephew when you say these things?"
"This official is not a fool. I can tell whether the old general really wants to repay Prime Minister Chen's great kindness, or whether he wants to help Yu Wenhua and the common people." Feng Deyi replied respectfully: "And this official can also tell. Chen Chengxiang is temporarily powerless on the Eastern Capital battlefield. He just wants to let Yu Wenhua and Wang Shichong and Li Mi fight each other. What do you order, the next official will go through fire and water, and his body will be smashed to pieces, and he will not hesitate."
Old General Yun still didn't dare to take Feng Deyi lightly - he had to prevent that Feng Deyi was sent by brother Huaji to test him. After thinking for a while, Old General Yun asked, "The situation of nephew Huaji's army?" , is it so critical now? Even Wang Shichong and Li Mi may not be able to beat it?"
"That's right." Feng Deyi nodded solemnly, and replied truthfully: "The official has made a secret statistic. Of the more than 85,000 troops that Yuhuahua and the husband now have, more than 50,000 people are still wearing single clothes. , the combat effectiveness was greatly reduced by the severe cold. Except for the 6,000 cavalry left behind in Liyang warehouse, there were actually only 30,000 left. Among them, more than 8,000 were wounded, and there was a serious lack of medicine, and they were disabled to death. It was very serious, and the situation of the infantry was even worse. It has been thirteen days since they returned to Jinyong City, and under the condition of living in military tents, a total of 622 people have froze to death, and countless people have suffered from frostbite. Once the war broke out, soldiers were forced to sleep in the wild, and this situation will only become more and more serious."
"The morale is also very low." Feng Deyi added: "Yu Wenhua and the common man gave priority to the only cold clothes distributed to the trusted army, and the soldiers who were not in charge of the army could only wear the clothes from the dead bodies. The soldiers were very resentful about this, Sima Dekan and Chen Zhilue and other important generals were also very dissatisfied with Yu Huaji, although they are still reluctantly obeying Yu Huaji's orders, but as long as there is a slight disadvantage, Yu Wenhua and the bandit army will inevitably collapse."
After pondering over the table for a while, Old General Yun said: "So, in this decisive battle between the three families, Huaji nephew has almost no chance of winning?"
"That's right." Feng Deyi, who was still kneeling on the ground, nodded, and replied: "The lower official still thinks that Yu Wenhuaji is doomed to defeat. Fighting tenaciously under such circumstances, as long as the battlefield situation is a little unfavorable, the bandits under his command will collapse on their own, and it is very possible for Wang Shichong and Li Mi to join forces to defeat them in a single battle!"
Old General Yun, who judged others by himself, still didn't dare to trust Feng Deyi lightly. Feng Deyi saw what General Yun was thinking, so he lowered his voice and said, "Old General, I know it's hard for you to trust me immediately, and I don't want you to believe me immediately." I don't force you to believe it immediately, old general, please draw a line, what should I do to make you believe me?"
Old General Yun hesitated for a moment, then stood up and supported Feng Deyi, and said in a low voice: "Feng Neishi, if you want me to trust you, it's very simple, just do one thing for me first."