"Wow!"
With a sound, the case in front of Li Jiancheng almost flew into the air. Li Jiancheng's city was not as deep as Li Ershen, but his self-cultivation was far better than that of Li Er. Not feeling relieved, he rushed forward and lifted Yu Dashi who was kneeling and crying in front of him, and roared with a livid face, "Is it just lost like this? Is it just lost like this? Is Duan Lun crazy or stupid? Why? Want to open the city gate just before the battle? Why didn't he suspect at all that Wang Fubao was feigning surrender to him?"
"Wang Fubao pretends too much." Yu Dashi cried and replied: "He suddenly shot arrows at the bandit army on the battlefield, causing chaos in the bandit army and making each of us think that he was attacking Chen bandit. He feigned surrender, took the opportunity to turn against him anyway, and then he was chased by the bandits and fled to the north gate of Lingshi. Director Duan felt that he must help him, and felt that Wang Fubao was a rare talent, and it would be useful to rescue him. He also said that he could be sold if he was rescued. We gave Dou Jiande a big favor and made Dou Jiande more willing to help us, so he ordered the north gate to be opened. Who knows..., who knows that Mr. Wang Fubao, in fact, the real target of surrender is us..."
After all, Yu Dashi couldn't help but burst into tears, crying: "Mr. Duan said he has no face to see you again, so he asked the younger one to report back. He led the army to fight to the death with the bandit army... As a result, until now, Mr. Duan's life and death And no one knows...."
"waste!"
Li Jiancheng yelled hysterically, and threw Yu Dashi to the ground heavily. His anger still persisted, and he rushed to Li Er, who was standing aside, pointed at Li Er's nose and shouted, "Why don't you persuade him?" Duan Lun? Thanks to your self-proclaimed resourcefulness, why didn’t you see Wang Fubao’s plan to surrender, and why didn’t you remind Duan Lun not to open the city gate easily?!”
"Brother, please calm down." Li Er's handsome face covered in mud and blood was very calm, and he replied in a deep voice: "I have told you just now, when the incident happened, my younger brother was fighting with Chen's army on the battlefield. It's too late to understand the situation at the North Gate, let alone persuade my brother-in-law, when my younger brother finds out about the changes in the city, it will be too late."
Staring at his younger brother viciously, the muscles on Li Jiancheng's face twitched. Li Er showed no fear, and met Li Jiancheng's eyes calmly. After a long time, Li Jiancheng stomped his feet heavily and roared to the sky, "Heaven, our army is dead!"
There was complete silence in the hall. Li Shentong, Yin Kaishan, Zhang Lun, Zhang Daoyuan and other Taiyuan military officials were all downcast and their mouths were tightly shut. Only Yu Dashi was still crying on the ground. After a long time, Li Jiancheng shook his head feebly, and sighed: "There is no other way, we can only rely on Jiexiu and Lengquanguan to hold on here, I hope we will not make mistakes again this time, and don't give the enemy such as Lingshi." Chance."
"Captain Zuo, Jiexiu Lengquan Pass is our last line of defense on the southern front. Once the bandits break through, the five prefectures of Taiyuan will no longer have any natural protection." Yin Kaishan said: "This is the end, no matter what hope there is No matter how big it is, we should immediately start to deploy in Wenshui, even if we can't break the bandit army at the critical moment, we can temporarily block the bandit army's footsteps and buy us time to respond."
"That's all." Li Jiancheng sighed, then turned to Li Shentong and said: "Uncle, I will leave Wenshui to you, and set off immediately to prepare. The sooner the water is stored, the better. We don't have much time left. gone."
Li Shentong agreed and went down immediately to prepare to set off, but Yin Kaishan said again: "The governor of the left, and Dou Jiande's side, now that Cao Dan is stationed in Yueyang, Dou Jiande's army can directly reach Linfen. We only need Dou Jiande to send the main reinforcements, and we can Gain more time."
"I have sent Ren Yu to Linming a long time ago." Li Jiancheng replied casually, then shook his head and said, "But the road in Yueyang is not suitable for a large army to march. I am afraid that it is unlikely that Ren Yun can ask Dou Jiande to send troops in person. Dou Jiande can I will be satisfied if I add some troops to Yue Yang."
"Captain Zuo, can you ask Dou Jiande to go to Jingxing Pass to enter the army, and detour to Jiexiu to help our army?" Zhang Daoyuan suggested.
"Dou Jiande may not agree to such a long detour." Li Jiancheng shook his head, and said with a wry smile: "Besides, inviting Dou Jiande to enter the army from Jingxing Pass is tantamount to inviting Dou Jiande into our empty hinterland. Even if Dou Jiande agrees, I don't have this Have the guts to accept."
When Zhang Daoyuan shut up, Li Jiancheng sighed again: "Of course, when we are forced to retreat to Taiyuan City, we can only beg Dou Jiande to send troops from Jingxing Pass to help. I hope that day will never come."
Everyone nodded one after another, and comforted Li Jiancheng by saying that Jiexiu City was strong, and that Cold Spring Pass was steep and easy to defend and difficult to attack. But Li Er suddenly opened his mouth and cupped his hands to Li Jiancheng and said, "Brother, the day before yesterday, our army found out the news through careful investigation. Cooperate with Chen thief to go north. If this thief succeeds, our army will definitely be attacked by the enemy, and the head and tail will be difficult. If the elder brother does not give up, the younger brother is willing to lead our troops to Lishi to resist the thief, and we will definitely not let the Liang thief cross the Yellow River."
He glanced at his younger brother very vigilantly, and Li Jiancheng replied: "No need, Erlang, you are exhausted from the battle and need to rest urgently. You should stay in Jiexiu and help me make plans to resist the bandit army. On the other side of Lishi, uncle and the others will take care of themselves." withstand."
"Little brother has lost consecutive battles in front of Chen thief, and if he stays in Jiexiu's army, I'm afraid it will be disadvantageous for the army." Li Er seemed to have been frightened by Chen Sangliang, and said a little discouraged: "There are soldiers under my younger brother's command. They have already been defeated by Chen's army, and they stayed in Jiexiu's conversation with the friendly army. I am afraid that it will shake the morale of the army and hurt the morale, or..."
"It doesn't matter, victory or defeat is a common matter in military affairs." Li Jiancheng interrupted Li Er with a wave of his hand, and said: "If you are defeated by Chen Thief, it will shake the morale of the army. We must transfer away the defeated army, then we will not have many left. There is an army. Our army starts from you and me, and continues to ordinary soldiers. How many people have never suffered a defeat in front of Chen Yingliang? In the whole world, where can you find an army that has defeated Chen Yingliang?"
Li Er had no choice but to shut up, hating his brother to the extreme in his heart, but Li Jiancheng snorted in his heart and said: "Don't think I can't see it, you actually want to take the opportunity to sneak away, maybe you also want to take the opportunity to sneak back to Taiyuan to collude with your fourth brother Don't even think about it, no matter whether Jiexiu can hold here or not, you must stay in Jiexiu for me!"
"Do you want to keep me on the front line and not give me a chance to form my own army?" Li Er also sneered in his heart, and secretly said: "It's okay if you don't let me go, if you stay, stay, it's no big deal! Anyway, I'm a garrison Outside the city, as long as Lengquan can no longer hold the gate, I will immediately lead the army back to Taiyuan and join forces with my fourth brother to defend the city, you can defend the small town of Jiexiu as you like!"
…
Contrary to his furious friend Li Jiancheng, Chen Sangliang, who is currently waiting for the main force in Linfen City, laughed wildly for three minutes after receiving the news that the Sui Army forward had miraculously captured Lingshi City. , Liu Heitai, Cheng Yaojin and other generals admired their own insight even more loudly, galloping for hundreds of miles to recruit Wang Fubao was not in vain. Huo Shiju, Wei Ziqi and other Sui soldiers who rarely met Chen Sangliang continued to congratulate Chen Sangliang, saying that they won the Lingshi important place quickly with only the forward, and waited for the main force to arrive, break through the cold spring pass and break through the sparrow mouse Valley is simply a piece of cake.
People are in good spirits on happy occasions, and there are not many official duties to take care of. Chen Sangliang, who has always been stingy and stingy, was generous once. He ordered a big banquet to wish victory with everyone, and sent people out of the city to contact Qin Qiong who was stationed outside the city. , Let Qin Qiong also go to the city to drink together. As a result, before the messenger left the door, a messenger reported that Qin Qiong had asked to see him. Chen Sangliang laughed out loud and said, "I heard that Zhijie has made extraordinary achievements, and some people lost their composure. Look." Let’s go, I’m definitely here to find out when to march into Yueyang.”
Yuchi Jingde, Huo Shiju, Wei Ziqi and others laughed together, and after Chen Sangliang ordered to summon him, Qin Qiong strode into the door, besides congratulating Chen Sangliang, and immediately asked Chen Sangliang impatiently: " Your Highness, where is our main force? When will we arrive in Linfen?"
"Just entered Wenxi." Chen Sangliang replied with a smile, "According to the distance, it will take at least three days to reach Linfen."
"Why so slow?" Qin Qiong hesitated for a while when he heard the complaint, and then said in a roundabout way: "His Royal Highness, our army's scouts reported that after Cao Dan retreated to Yueyang, he did his best to strengthen the defense of Yueyang city and rush to repair all kinds of things. The fortifications of the city have also established a camp outside the city to form an angle with the city. If this man can gain a firm foothold in Yueyang, it will be much more difficult for us to take Yueyang, and it may even lead to Dou Jiande Another increase in Linfen will pose more threats to our army's flanks. The general believes that it is best to send an army to the foot of Yueyang City to confront Cao Dan and prevent him from building strong fortifications."
"I also have the same intention." Chen Sangliang nodded, and said: "I am planning to ask Deputy Chief Huo to send an army to go to Yueyang to confront Cao Dan. After the main force of our army arrives, we will send additional troops to attack Cheng-Shubao, what do you think?"
"No!" Qin Qiong became anxious when he heard that, and blurted out: "To beat Yueyang, you can only let the last general go, not let Deputy Chief Huo go!"
Before Qin Qiong finished speaking, Huo Shiju, Wei Ziqi and the others were already laughing up and down, and Yuchi Jingde, who had always been serious, couldn't help laughing wildly. They all said that Chen Sangliang was as expected, Qin Qiong was baffled at first, okay? After finding out the reason, Qin Qiong inevitably blushed for a while, and then Qin Qiong stopped talking nonsense, and immediately knelt down on one knee to Chen Sangliang, clasped his hands and said, "Your Highness, the last general asks you to go out and rush to Yueyang to fight the bandits first." , if you can’t win again, the final general is willing to lead the army!”
Chen Sangliang stopped his smile and said to Qin Qiong: "Shu Bao, I understand and understand your eagerness to make meritorious deeds and avenge your shame, but why are you so eager to fight? You only have more than 6,000 people under your command now, Cao Dan's soldiers There are more than ten thousand horses than you, and there are cities and camps to defend. You are not sure if you ask for troops to attack him now. Wait a little longer, and when our main force arrives, I will allocate another ten thousand soldiers and horses to you , let you send troops to attack Yue Yang, so that you can be sure."
"Your Highness, the last general can't wait!" Qin Qiong cupped his hands again, and said anxiously: "The last general is out of luck. Going north to reinforce Linfen and losing consecutive battles will not only damage the morale of our army, but also greatly damage the majesty of the king of Tang. Unless the last general We need to defeat the enemy with the existing troops, otherwise, even if Cao Dan is defeated, the enemy will only ridicule that the general will win by relying on reinforcements, and he is completely powerless."
After all, Qin Qiong quickly added: "The final general is going here, even if he can't defeat Yueyang City, he must defeat the enemy in the field and restore our army's prestige! The final general has already found out that Yueyang City has hoarded a large number of For food, there are only four to five thousand garrisons in the city, and the main force of the bandit army and Cao Dan himself are stationed in camps outside the city, so it is very easy to lure them into field battles, please rest assured, Your Highness."
Being deflated in front of Wang Fubao one after another, Qin Qiong was anxious to regain his face. Of course, Chen Sangliang knew very well that the decisive factor on the battlefield was never the number of troops. . So after Chen Sangliang thought about it, he finally nodded and said, "Okay, you can go, but I have one condition, you must agree to me before you can go."
Qin Qiong was overjoyed when he heard that, and quickly asked Chen Sangliang what the condition was, but Chen Sangliang's answer made Qin Qiong, Huo Shiju and others dumbfounded on the spot—Chen Sangliang smiled and said: "My condition is that after you arrive at the city of Yueyang , You must lose two rounds first, and then you will be allowed to win the third round!"
"Need to lose two battles first?" Qin Qiong was a little surprised at first, but a famous general is a famous general. After a moment of daze, Qin Qiong immediately came back to his senses and asked quickly: "Your Highness, do you want the last general to cheat and defeat the proud enemy? Lure the enemy to reveal their flaws, and then use their strength to win."
"Smart." Chen Sangliang praised with a smile, and explained: "Shubao, you are unlucky this time. Even if you lose a few battles, I know in my heart that you were wronged, but Dou Jiande's army is different. They will definitely think that you are not as famous as you meet, but they are not afraid of it. Since the enemy will definitely have such thoughts , then you will get twice the result with half the effort if you use arrogant tactics to lure the enemy, understand?"
After all, Chen Sangliang added with a smile: "This time you used the arrogant strategy to lure the enemy, and the effect was so good that you might be able to lure out Cao Dan. You are not the best at chaotic troops who directly take the leader of the bandit army." Is it? If you are lucky, you may be able to cut off Cao Dan’s head in battle, and even capture him alive.”
When Qin Qiong was overjoyed, he clasped his fists and sang promises, and then he didn't even want to participate in the celebration banquet, so he left immediately and went back to prepare for the expedition. Chen Sangliang didn't stop him, and let Qin Qiong leave with a smile on his forehead. As a result, seeing the back of Qin Qiong happily leaving, Huo Shiju, Wei Ziqi and the others inevitably felt a little worried, and they all reminded Chen Sangliang: "Your Highness, General Qin is too eager to avenge his shame. Attacking the strong with the weak may be disadvantageous in the battle, so please investigate carefully, Your Highness."
"It doesn't matter." Chen Sangliang replied casually: "Qin Shubao has both courage and strategy, and he is a general. This time, he really had a bad idea and met Wang Fubao, the most capable fighter under Dou Jiande's command. Even losing a battle can only be said that the enemy is too powerful. It cannot be said that he is incompetent. Cao Dan is narrow-minded, and he deliberately forced Wang Fubao to die again and again to avenge his personal revenge. It shows that he is an incompetent person and cannot be Qin Shubao's opponent. I expect that Qin Shubao will definitely be able to defeat Cao Dan in this battle, and he will be ashamed .”
Huo Shiju and Wei Ziqi nodded dubiously, but after Chen Sangliang considered for a while, he said, "Forget it, I might as well help Shubao to make Cao Dan look down on the enemy even more. Ziqi, your writing is good , write a letter to Cao Dan for me."
Wei Ziqi, the only inheritance left to Chen Sangliang stubbornly by Mr. Wei, hurriedly agreed, and immediately asked someone to fetch a pen and paper to Chen Sangliang as a temporary secretary. When asked about the contents of the letter, Chen Sangliang replied: "In my tone, Say some polite words about Cao Dan’s brother-in-law Dou Jiande and I have never had any enmity. Besides, I don’t mind if Dou Jiande sent troops to help the Li brothers. City, and established a non-aggressive friendly relationship with Dou Jiande for me, I will give him three hundred catties of gold, ten pairs of jade buckets and jade walls, a hundred pearls and ten beauties. Be respectful, it's best to flatter Mr. Cao Dan more!"
The letter was written quickly, and after Chen Sangliang checked that it was correct and signed it, he sent an eloquent envoy with a gift to Yueyang to contact Cao Dan, and then Chen Sangliang raised his glass and smiled Greeted everyone: "Okay, all the things that should be done are done, we should officially celebrate, and celebrate in advance General Qin Qiong's defeat of Cao Dan's bandit army, and teach Dou Jiande a lesson! Also, we also celebrate in advance that General Qin sent me off. Get back the gift for Cao Dan with interest!"
…
As Chen Sangliang expected, the next morning, when the envoys of the Sui Army rushed to Yueyang with expensive gifts, and waited until midnight to see Cao Dan himself, after reading the letter signed by Chen Sangliang, Cao Dan really He laughed out loud triumphantly, then slapped the table and roared to the Sui army envoy: "Go back and tell Mrs. Chen Yingliang that if you want to seek peace, you can use Mrs. Wang Fubao's head to prove your sincerity first. He made peace!"
The envoy of the Sui army justified in rhetoric, and also said that if Cao Dan could ignore Wang Fubao's surrender to the Sui army, Chen Sangliang could still discuss about thanking the gift. It's a pity that Cao Dan didn't listen at all, and pointed at the Sui army's envoy again and roared: "Stop talking nonsense! Get out of here, General! By the way, tell Mr. Chen Yingliang that my parent, Le Wang, hates him deeply. Hearing that Wang Fubao betrayed the Lord and surrendered to him, He must personally raise his troops to the west. If Chen Yingliang is smart, he will immediately send an envoy to bring the head of Wang Fubao to my brother-in-law to plead guilty! Otherwise, his death is coming! Get out!"
The envoy of the Sui army was driven away by Cao Dan's personal soldiers. As a result, the moment the envoy of the Sui army left, our General Cao immediately opened the gift box sent by the envoy of the Sui army, played with the precious jewels inside, smiled and said proudly : "Chen Yingliang is nothing more than that."