Was Fan Zigai's hapless son, Fan Wenchao, put into a prison cart and taken back to Daxing, or was Chen Sangliang personally ordering him in the honor of the king of Tang to force Old General Yun to put Fan Wenchao into a prison cart and take him back to Daxing! Accompanied by Fan Wenchao, there are Qian Xiangmin and He Er, brothers and sisters who escaped in chaos during the battle at Heyang Bridge, and Er Zhuhuan, who also fled back to Xin'an in the chaos and successfully pretended to be the envoy of the Li family. Feng Deyi, Chen Sangliang's old enemy who surrendered, had a little better luck, and they returned to Daxing in the warm car as heroes.
Fortunately, all the civil and military officials in the Sui Army knew Fan Wenchao's identity and his special relationship with Chen Sangliang, so along the way Fan Wenchao had to wear prison clothes and squat in the prison car to suffer from the wind and snow, but his diet and daily life were not good. In fact, Fan Wenchao, who participated in the mutiny in Jiangdu, knew very well that Chen Sangliang had to give an explanation to the world, and he didn't dare to complain that his father's disciples didn't take good care of him, and he cooperated with him everywhere he went. Admitting the guilt, he is willing to accept any punishment from the King of the Sui and Tang Dynasties.
The matter was not over yet. When Fan Wenchao was actually taken to Daxing, Chen Sangliang, the most loyal and filial son of the Sui Dynasty, summoned all civil and military officials in the Wude Hall to interrogate and investigate Fan Wenchao's crime of regicide in person. And when Fan Wenchao was escorted to the Hall of Wude, Chen Sangliang snatched a knife from the guard beside him, rushed up and was about to chop off his teacher's precious son with his own hands, and shouted with red eyes, "Kill the king!" Rebel! Take your life!"
Li Jing, Fang Xuanling and other civil and military officials of course rushed up to hold Chen Sangliang, and held Chen Sangliang's arm tightly to prevent him from swinging the knife. Chen Sangliang couldn't struggle, so he could only kick and kick Fan Wenchao. After kicking several times, he kept cursing, "Rebel! Killing the king and rebel! You still have the face to see me! Are you worthy of the late emperor? Are you sorry for your father's spirit in heaven? If your father knew what you did Why, how can you rest in peace under the Nine Springs? Come, take this regicide and traitor out for me, and execute him in a chariot! Execute Ling Chi!"
Fan Wenchao endured the pain and did not dare to resist, but kept kowtowing his head to plead guilty, and said repeatedly: "The guilty minister is guilty, and the guilty minister deserves to die! But the guilty minister was also forced to do nothing. It was Yu Wenhua that forced the guilty minister to act. He only thought that he wanted to remonstrate, but he didn't expect that idiot would dare to kill the king, if the guilty minister had known that he would do this, the criminal minister would not dare to do it even if he was too brave!"
"Shut up! This king doesn't want to hear your shameless sophistry!" Chen Sangliang roared, "Didn't you hear this king's order? Take this king-killing traitor out and execute him in a chariot!"
Next, it was natural for Li Jing, Fang Xuanling and others to salute and intercede, but to the surprise of Chen Sangliang, Li Jing, Fang Xuanling and others, Fan Wenchao had already prepared an excuse to get off the crime, so he kowtowed immediately Said: "His Royal Highness Tang, the guilty minister deserves death. Don't say that His Highness just smashed the guilty minister to death, even if he smashed the criminal minister to ashes, the criminal minister would have no complaints. But before the emperor died, he had already come down. The decree pardons the death penalty of the guilty minister, please Your Highness investigate clearly!"
Chen Sangliang was finally a little surprised, and when he asked for details, Fan Wenchao recounted that Emperor Sui Yang ordered Chen Sangliang to avenge him when he was dying, and it also showed that Emperor Sui Yang still had to explain, no matter who it was Bringing the will to Chen Sangliang, he immediately pardoned the death penalty. At the same time, he also said that Emperor Sui Yang bestowed Chen Sangliang with a fake yellow axe and an envoy's festival when he was dying. It's just that Fan Wenchao cleverly remembered it wrong. One point, when Emperor Sui Yang asked Chen Sangliang to assist Yang Tong to ascend the throne, he mistaken Yang Tong's name for the dead Yang You.
Chen Sangliang dubiously questioned Fan Wenchao for fabricating the will, but fortunately, Feng Deyi, who was also in the Wude Hall at the moment, was also a party involved, and stood up to testify for Fan Wenchao, proving that there was indeed such a will, but Feng Deyi did the same Cleverly confusing the names of Yang Tong and Yang You, it was said that Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty asked Chen Sangliang to assist Yang You to ascend the throne. After Chen Sangliang repeatedly asked whether it was true, he dropped the knife angrily, pointed at Fan Wenchao's nose and shouted: "Since the late emperor left a will to pardon you from death, then this king must obey! But the death penalty can be forgiven. Living crimes cannot escape, I will be demoted to six ranks, and you will be demoted to Lieutenant of the Tang Dynasty (ancient official title, the eighth rank)! If there is any mistake in the future, you will definitely not be forgiven!"
Hearing Chen Sangliang's words, Fang Xuanling, Li Jing and the others inevitably rolled their eyes, secretly cursing that Chen Sangliang would indeed be able to act, and that he was clearly trying to protect Fan Wenchao, but he could still speak so viciously, but Fan Wenchao, who had directly entered the Tang Dynasty, was amused by it. , sniggering in his belly, but sincerely thanked Feng Deyi on his face, and then Chen Sangliang scolded Feng Deyi again, severely condemning his party-affiliated regicide, traitor, Yuwen culture and crimes, and then read it when he lost his way. In the name of his contribution to the self-army in the Eastern Capital War, his crimes were also pardoned and he was named an internal historian. He also comforted and praised Qian Xiangmin, He Er, and Er Zhuhuan with kind words, promoted them to officials and gave them some rewards to settle the matter.
After finishing the cutscene that had to go, that night, Chen Sangliang summoned Fan Wenchao alone to hold a banquet to suppress his surprise, and asked him about the details of the Jiangdu mutiny, and also learned about the real situation of the remnants of the Xiaoguo Army from another angle. Yiyi replied truthfully, telling the real cause and details of the Jiangdu mutiny, and also about Pei Hongce's narrow escape because he was supervising the construction of a palace in Danyang. , The soldiers of the Xiaoguo army are alienated, the soldiers from Guanzhong are homesick, the soldiers have no fighting spirit, and the generals have no fighting spirit. His Highness can easily defeat him. If His Highness decides to send troops, the general will ask you to be the vanguard. All you need to do is to speak before the battle. The Yuwen bandit army will definitely fall apart."
"Yu Wenhuaji is going against the grain, and he is centrifuging up and down. If our army dispatches the main force, it will not be difficult to defeat him." Chen Sangliang turned the wine glass, thinking, "But there is Wang Shichong in the middle, and it is not suitable to send troops from Hedong and the transportation of food and grass is difficult." The army is dispatched, which really makes me a little embarrassed."
"Then why didn't the king of Tang consider entering the army to take the Eastern Capital?" Fan Wenchao, who was anxious to make contributions under the command of his nephew with a foreign surname, suggested again: "Wang Shichong was seriously injured in the battle with the Xiaoguo army. Although the army has troops and horses, but the overall strength is still severely damaged, if His Highness sends troops to Dongdu at this moment, it will be much easier to defeat Wang Shichong and win Dongdu."
"Then what is the reason for the war?" Chen Sangliang asked back, and said: "Wang Shichong is my father-in-law, and he also regards the Sui Dynasty as Zhengshuo. I will not go to punish other rebels, but go to attack him first. How can I fight against the people of the world?" Confession?"
Only then did Fan Wenchao shut his mouth, because Fan Wenchao had already seen that Chen Sangliang was not enthusiastic about sending troops to the east, and Fan Wenchao, who had not inherited his father's upright character at all, would naturally not annoy Chen Sangliang again. After thinking about it for a while, Chen Sangliang said: "Uncle, Wuwei is still occupied by Li Gui. You can't go back to your hometown for the time being. For the time being, rest in Daxing for a while. I will send you after a while." Go to work in Jiang County, Hedong, and make some contributions there first, how about we talk about the rest later?"
Jiangxian County is closely tied to the Zhongtiao Mountain Pass, which is the throat of the communication between Hedong and Hanoi. Although it is not suitable for large-scale military advances, if the soldiers of the Xiaoguo Army want to escape and return to the west, they must pass through there. Chen Sangliang sent When Fan Wenchao went to Jiang County to serve, he naturally used his connections in the Xiaoguo Army to kill people with soft knives, and gradually wooed and divided the remnants of the Xiaoguo Army currently entrenched in Hanoi. This was also the best opportunity for Fan Wenchao to make meritorious service. Fan Wenchao understood this very well, and overjoyed, Fan Wenchao hurriedly thanked Chen Sangliang again and again, and broke up with his nephew with a foreign surname.
As guessed by the well-behaved Fan Wenchao, Chen Sangliang really does not want to send troops to the Eastern Capital at the moment. Chen Sangliang has just proclaimed himself king, he needs to integrate personnel and eliminate dissidents, and spring plowing is about to start. There are too many internal problems that Chen Sangliang needs to sit in Daxing to solve, so Chen Sangliang can only temporarily put the matter of sending troops eastward On the one hand, concentrate on domestic affairs, and prepare to consider sending troops after a period of time.
Concentrating on the inside doesn't mean that Chen Sangliang doesn't care about the outside world. At the same time, because Chen Sangliang's army has gradually become the most powerful force in the world, even if Chen Sangliang is sitting at home, warlord forces keep coming to him To cause trouble for Chen Sangliang, some of them took the initiative to ask for surrender, asked for Chen Sangliang's official title, and voluntarily accepted Chen Sangliang's orders and commands and paid taxes, but there were also some relatively strong forces. The warlord sent people to test Chen Sangliang's attitude, wanting to win the title, and even wanting to split the territory with Chen Sangliang and call him emperor together.
Xiao Xian, who has already called himself Emperor Liang, is a typical representative of them. Relying on the danger of Baxia, and because the Southern Expedition Army led by Liu Changgong and Pei Xingfang is busy integrating the counties in central Shu, there is still a lack of water troops and cannot go west for the time being. Xiao Xian, who had 400,000 mobs in his hand, sent an envoy to discuss the territorial issue with Chen Sangliang, requesting that the Baxia be used as the boundary to divide the territory, and that he and the Yining Emperor supported by Chen Sangliang should be called two emperors. It's a pity that Chen Sangliang, whose conscience has not been eaten up by dogs, insisted that China must be unified. He didn't even think about it even a little perfunctory, and directly expelled Xiao Xian's envoys from the country, and ordered Liu Changgong and Pei Xingfang to form an army in Ba County (Chongqing). The navy is preparing to launch the Eastern Expedition, and at the same time ordered Chai Shao, who had already captured Nanyang, to attack at the right time to attack Xiao Xian's expansion momentum.
Zhou Faming, the big landlord occupying Yong’an, and Yang Zhengdao, who controlled Dingxiang, had relatively small appetites. They were just tentatively wanting a king. Their king, Chen Sangliang, couldn't come up with better bait to deceive other big warlords, so Chen Sangliang only gave them a magistrate and accepted their attachment. Zhou Faming and Yang Zhengdao He was also very self-aware, honestly accepted Chen Sangliang's canonization order, changed to the banner of Yining, and became a model for all parties to join the small warlords.
To Chen Sangliang's surprise, his old rival Du Fuwei also sent envoys from thousands of miles away to ask for his surrender, but the condition was that he wanted a king, although Chen Sangliang knew very well that Du Fuwei was now because of being betrayed by Li Zi. Enemies such as Tong and Lin Shihong were double-teamed, and they did not want to start a war with Pei Hongce, who had gradually risen in Danyang. Some were forced to choose this way, but considering that Du Fuwei had a good reputation for killing corrupt officials in the Huainan area, and his strength was sufficient. Chen Sangliang generously appointed Du Fuwei the king of Chu, and conveniently appointed his distant uncle Pei Hongce as the chief of the Southeast Road Army, and asked them to join forces to clean up the warlords in the south of the Yangtze River for him.
Some volunteered to vote, and some were shameless. Li Gui and Liang Shidu, the two small warlords bordering on Chen Sangliang, did not know the power of heaven and earth, and flatly rejected Chen Sangliang's kind offer to surrender, determined to wait. Chen Sangliang came to slap him in the face. There are also Luo Yi, who already dominates the county, and Dou Jiande, who dominates Hebei, also rejected Chen Sangliang's official appointment and bribery. Not only beat Chen Sangliang's envoy away with sticks, but also wrote a letter scolding Chen Sangliang for being ungrateful and ungrateful to the Lord. Not only did he fail to serve the country loyally when the country was in crisis, but he also imitated Wang Mang and Dong Zhuo's rebellious actions, swearing to Cut off Chen Sangliang, a treacherous and treacherous traitor, and give justice to the Sui court.
"Stealer? You speak so badly. No wonder you surrendered to Lao Li's family in history, but you were still beheaded by Lao Li." This is what Chen Sangliang muttered after reading Dou Jiande's letter, and secretly learned a lesson: "So say it , you must not be as upright and honest as Dou Jiande, since ancient times, being a good and honest person has suffered, even if you want to be a good person, you have to be like me, and you don’t blush when you buy a mobile phone with public funds.”
In a blink of an eye, the spring is already blooming, and when the spring plowing in Guanzhong is in full swing, another envoy who surprised Chen Sangliang came to Daxing—Li Jiancheng even sent Wang Gui, who had a relationship with Chen Sangliang once, as an envoy, carrying important Come here to congratulate Chen Sangliang on being crowned King of Tang! After the meeting, Wang Gui not only did not mention the feud between Chen Sangliang and the Li family brothers for killing their father, and the conflict between Chen Sangliang's title and the old Li's title, but he also took the initiative to submit a statement to Chen Sangliang. I wrote a letter written by Li Mi to Li Jiancheng.
The letter Li Mi wrote to Li Jiancheng was of course asking for an alliance to deal with it. In addition to bragging about the invincibility and military strength of the Li brothers, he also scolded Chen Sangliang in the letter, saying that as long as Li Jiancheng agreed By forming an alliance against Chen, Li Mi can also bring warlord forces such as Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande into the battlefield. Everyone joins hands to attack Chen Sangliang, the contemporary Dong Zhuo, and the reincarnated Wang Mang, making it difficult for Chen Sangliang to parry even if he has three heads and six arms.
Peeking at Chen Sangliang's face, seeing that Chen Sangliang didn't seem to be angered by Li Mi's letter, Wang Gui hurriedly said: "His Royal Highness Tang, my Zuo Dudu sent an envoy to Daxing to bring this letter to Daxing. It's because Your Highness, you used to have a deep friendship with Zuo Dudu. Although Zuo Dudu is now forced to be your enemy, he still regards your Highness as a close friend in his heart. Your Highness, you are an enemy, and the Zuo Dudu felt extremely contemptuous of him in his heart, so he ordered the envoy to take the opportunity of wishing His Highness you a title of king, and bring this letter by the way, so that His Highness, you know about this, and take precautions early. "
The muscles on Chen Sangliang's face began to twitch, and after a while, Chen Sangliang snorted heavily, saying: "The clown who jumps on the beam! The orphan will be destroyed sooner or later!"
After the cold snort, Chen Sangliang thanked Wang Gui casually with a rather arrogant attitude, and ordered a banquet to be set up for Wang Gui to wash away the dust. In addition to the merits, the words also revealed the meaning of asking for Li Jiancheng's surrender. Chen Sangconscience understood and said that as long as Li Jiancheng showed sincerity, he would definitely accept Li Jiancheng's surrender and surrender. Wang Gui was overjoyed and hurriedly thanked Li Jiancheng , After the banquet is over, it will be over.
Wang Gui's two good friends, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui, accompanied him during the dinner. They joined hands to send Wang Gui out of the imperial city and let him rest at the posthouse. When they returned to Chen Sangliang, Fang Xuanling cut straight to the point. He smiled and asked, "Your Highness, do you see it? What does Li Jiancheng want to do this time?"
"Bringing disaster to the east, plus a plan to slow down the army." Chen Sangliang smiled, and said casually: "Xue Ju is gone, Li Gui and Master Liang are two little ants that can't restrain our main force, our main force is free, Li Jiancheng Of course, I was afraid that we would attack him first. Taking advantage of Li Mi’s opportunity to ask him for an alliance, I took the opportunity to provoke my hatred for Li Mi, and pretended to test whether I could join, so that I felt that he was no longer a big threat, and lured our main force. First send troops to Dongdu, and then he will not only be as stable as Mount Tai in Taiyuan, but with a little luck, he may have the opportunity to go south again, occupying Hedong and entering Guanzhong again."
"Your official and Ke Ming also have the same suspicion." Fang Xuanling nodded, and added: "The lower official also suspects that Li Mi's request to form an alliance with Li Jiancheng is also for the purpose of diverting the water from the north. Li Jiancheng hangs alone in the north of Queshu Valley, Our army shares the natural danger of Queshu Valley, not to mention the difficulty of going south, but it is also difficult to get in touch with Li Mi. It is not helpful for Li Mi to form an alliance with him. On the contrary, it is the main force of our army to march to Taiyuan first, which is most beneficial to Li Mi. "
"Li Mi should have a second move." Du Ruhui also added: "If Li Mi wants to lure our army to send troops to Taiyuan, it is far from enough for him to conclude an alliance with Li Jiancheng. This letter of seeking alliance should be just a foreshadowing. There must be plans in the future, this thief is treacherous and vicious, Your Highness, please be careful."
Chen Sangliang nodded, expressing his approval of the analysis. Fang Xuanling over there asked again with some doubts: "Your Highness, you deliberately insulted Li Mi in front of Wang Shujie just now. Could it be that you want to use your tricks? You have already decided to send troops to Taiyuan first?"
"Brother Qiao Song knows what I'm thinking." Chen Sangliang admired, then nodded and smiled and said: "Yes, I have indeed decided to send troops to Taiyuan first, to eradicate the Li family brothers who have been hiding in Taiyuan, and then Then send troops to Kanto to deal with Wang Shichong and Li Mi."
After looking at each other with Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling asked with some doubts: "His Royal Highness, it seems that we are more confident now that we send troops first? Wang Shichong and Li Mi have already shown great vigor in the decisive battle with the Xiaoguo Army. Injury, right now is the time of weakness, our main force is out of the Eastern Capital, it should be easier to kill them than the brothers of the Li family?"
"It is precisely because Wang Shichong and Li Mi have been seriously injured that we should send troops to Taiyuan first." Chen Sangliang replied: "They are now seriously injured. Although it is relatively easy to destroy them, they also have no power to seriously threaten us. On the eastern front, we will send troops to Taiyuan to ensure peace of mind."
"On the contrary, if we send troops to Dongdu first, not only will we be doomed to force Li Mi and Wang Shichong to join forces to fight against our army, but the Li family brothers who have recovered their vitality can also take the opportunity to find a chance to become big, and even encircle Wei and rescue Zhao to take the opportunity to invade us The east grain-producing area and the salt-producing area. It is far easier to fight from north to south than from east to west. If we do not understand this primary and secondary relationship, we are likely to suffer a big loss. Therefore, our main force must be eliminated first. The brothers of the Li family, who are more threatening to us, will then consider sending troops east.”
After listening to Chen Sangliang's analysis, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui nodded together, and then Du Ruhui pointed out: "What Your Highness said is very true. The main force of our army should send troops to Taiyuan first. If our army enters Luoyang eastward, not only is it destined to kill Li Mi and Wang Shichong was forced to join forces, and Yu Wenhuaji, who is hostile to our army, and Dou Jiande, who is extremely hostile to our army, may also choose to form an alliance with Wang Li to fight against our army, dragging the main force of our army into the quagmire of melee, which will hurt morale It takes more time and troops. To send troops to Taiyuan, there is Taihang Mountain in the east to block the road, so there is no need to worry too much about Dou Jiande and Luo Yi's large-scale reinforcements to the Li brothers. Liu Wuzhou in the north has already forged a deep hatred with the Li brothers. Not to mention it may be very small, but it is possible to accept our appeasement and join hands with us to pinch the Li family brothers."
"That's the truth." Chen Sangliang nodded with a smile, and then said with a smile: "But, before or at the same time as sending troops to Taiyuan, we must do one thing first, so that we can completely sit back and relax—Brother Qiao Song, Brother Keming , tell me, we should do that first?"
"Designed to make Wang Shichong and Li Mi turn against each other and provoke their war!" Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling replied in unison.
"The two brothers really know my heart!"
Chen Sangliang laughed loudly, but at this moment, someone outside the door suddenly reported that Li Mi sent an envoy to bring books eastward, requesting to see His Highness the King of the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Chen Sangliang, Fang Xuanling, and Du Ruhui were stunned when they heard this, and then applauded and laughed together: "Speak of Cao Cao, Cao Cao is here! Li Mi's last move has indeed come, and our opportunity has also come!"