It's time to look back at the situation on the side of the Liu-Li Allied Forces. It was confirmed that the Sui Army had withdrawn through the Dongwo River and walked away. Liu Wuzhou had just ordered to cancel the battle preparations, and the camp gates and fences that were smashed by the Sui Army's artillery were immediately surrounded. In order to watch the lively soldiers of the Ding Yang Army, they talked about the power of the Sui Army's artillery. Liu Wuzhou, Song Jingang and other decision-makers of the Ding Yang Army also came to the scene to observe for themselves. Regarding the situation of the gate and the fence, Liu Wuzhou, Song Jingang and others immediately gasped.
The thigh-thin bolt on the camp gate was directly broken into two pieces because it was compacted by shells, and the fence pillar thicker than an arm was also directly blasted into powder state. One of the pickets in the middle was uprooted by the huge force, and it turned over and smashed on the fence. Caressing the broken fence post with fresh xylem exposed, Liu Wuzhou couldn't even imagine the consequences of being hit by a shell directly on the human body, and finally believed what the Li family brothers told him—Li Yuan's thigh was the shell that bounced off the ground Just blast it into two pieces!
"The camp can't be defended anymore." Song Jingang said with a gloomy face: "No matter how strong the fence is, the camp gate can't stop the Chen thief's artillery. I heard that Chen thief brought at least 30 artillery pieces this time. If he sends out the main force to attack , also used thirty artillery pieces on our army camp, and only one round of bombardment would destroy the front of our camp."
Liu Wuzhou nodded gloomyly, agreeing with Song Jingang's analysis, then suddenly slammed his fist heavily on the broken fence, and said viciously: "Call Li Jiancheng and force him to allow us to enter Taiyuan City. Only the strong city wall of Taiyuan can stop us Hold the artillery of the bandit army! Otherwise, no matter how strong our camp is, it will be useless!"
"Li Jiancheng is very cunning, and he will definitely find excuses to refuse us to enter the city." Song Jingang shook his head, and said: "Also, the low-lying terrain of Taiyuan City he said is also a big problem. If Chen's army really floods Taiyuan with water, what should we do? ?”
"Try to enter Taiyuan City first." Liu Wuzhou insisted, and while sending someone to ask Li Jiancheng to negotiate military affairs, he hummed: "After entering the city, we have a safe foothold, and our cavalry can attack at any time to destroy the bandit army's dam. It's not that easy for the bandit army to overwhelm us. Also, didn't Li Jiancheng say that Dou Jiande would also send reinforcements? As long as we persist until Dou Jiande comes to help, we still have a chance to turn defeat into victory."
In fact, even if Liu Wuzhou didn't send someone to invite Li Jiancheng, Li Jiancheng would have to take the initiative to visit. The Taiyuan Army was a bit desperate for Ding Yang Jun. If Li Jiancheng didn't explain the reason as soon as possible to resolve the misunderstanding, the estrangement between Liu and Li's coalition forces would definitely increase. The bigger it is, the bigger the contradiction will be. So when Liu Wuzhou's envoy came west to the Taiyuan military camp, Li Jiancheng not only agreed, but also immediately arranged for Yin Kaishan, Wang Gui and other confidants to stay at the camp temporarily, and left for the camp immediately.
When Li Jiancheng left the tent, Li Er, who had already put on clean clothes, came out from nowhere and asked to go to the camp with Li Jiancheng to visit Liu Wuzhou and others. When someone apologized and explained, Li Jiancheng didn't care. He nodded and agreed to ask the second brother's request, but he didn't notice the smug smile on the corner of the second brother's mouth at all...
When Li Jiancheng and Li's two brothers came to the Dingyang Army camp, the first thing to greet them was the contemptuous eyes of the Dingyang Army soldiers. Many Dingyang Army soldiers still looked very dissatisfied, obviously still minding the Taiyuan Army's early escape from the battlefield today. The Li family brothers didn't dare to mind the matter under the eaves. They just secretly prayed that Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang and others would not be too fussy about this matter. He politely greeted them out of the Chinese army's camp, and politely invited the Li family brothers into the Chinese army's big tent for a banquet. He didn't mention the Taiyuan army's ineffective rescue today, and Li Jiancheng breathed a sigh of relief.
Then Li Jiancheng quickly understood why Liu Wuzhou and others were so easy to talk about. After drinking for three rounds, Liu Wuzhou immediately raised the issue of the next battle, and said: "My dear brothers, you have seen the situation of today's battle with your own eyes. Bandit Chen is not only strong and brave, but also has sharp artillery. The fortifications of your and our armies are vulnerable to him. If Bandit Chen leads the main force to attack tomorrow, and directly bombards the fortifications of our barracks with artillery, your How can our two armies resist?"
As soon as Liu Wuzhou raised his tail, Li Jiancheng immediately understood what fart he was about to fart. Knowing that Liu Wuzhou would definitely bring up the matter of stationing in Taiyuan City, Li Jiancheng gritted his teeth and immediately surrendered to Liu Wuzhou. Said: "Even if elder brother doesn't mention this matter, younger brother will take the initiative to bring it up immediately. Yes, younger brother is also worried that Chen Yingliang will send out the main force to directly attack the camps of your two armies, so younger brother has already thought of a countermeasure for both sides on the way here." , please accept it, brother.”
"My dear brother, have you already thought of a countermeasure for both ends?" Liu Wuzhou was slightly taken aback, and hurriedly asked: "What clever plan, dear brother, please tell me quickly."
"My little brother proposes that you and our armies should give up the camps outside the city and retreat into the city." Li Jiancheng spoke quickly, and cupped his hands and said, "My little brother led the army to retreat to the city of Taiyuan, and I will trouble you, brother, to lead the Yang army to the east. , moved to Yuci, relying on the advantage of the city to resist Chen Yingliang's artillery, they also became horns, rescued each other, and fought against the enemy together."
Hearing this, the expressions of Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang, who were determined to enter Taiyuan City, were unavoidably dull, but Li Er remained calm, and glanced at his elder brother out of the corner of his eye, sneered in his heart, and said inwardly, "It's not too incompetent." , I can think of this way to perfunctory Liu Wuzhou. Unfortunately, it was already in my expectation."
"Let our army move to Yuci City?" Liu Wuzhou came back to his senses, and his face immediately showed anger, and asked: "My dear brother, what do you mean? I will lead the main force of Yang to go south to rescue you, and Ding Yang The soldiers threw their heads and blood, and defended you against the front of Chen's army for two consecutive days, but now you ask our army to move to the small city of Yuci, where food and grass are scarce and the city is dilapidated, and you hide yourself in Taiyuan City, where food and grass are abundant and the city is strong. Repaying kindness with grievances, are you still talking about morality?!"
"Brother misunderstood. The younger brother did not do this for the sake of the safety of your army." Li Jiancheng shook his head and said sincerely: "Brother, the weakness of the city of Taiyuan has been introduced to you in detail yesterday. Don't you Knowing that as long as the thief Chen launches a water attack, your army and our army will have no power to fight back? I ask your army to move to Yuci, which is not worried about floods, and enter Taiyuan, a dangerous place that may be surrounded by floods at any time, in order to repay your army How can the grace of rescue from a long distance be regarded as repaying virtue with resentment?"
"It turns out that's the case. I really misunderstood my brother." Liu Wuzhou is also a guy who can turn his face faster than a book. He immediately smiled and waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, my brother has carefully considered this issue." It doesn't matter even if Chen Thief builds a dam to encircle the city. The Fenshui Dam cannot leave the city in a day. Your army and ours can send troops to destroy it at any time to stop Chen Thief from building the dam, and don't give him a chance to succeed. Besides, brother, don't you still As I said before, do we still have the support army of Dou Jiande? As long as we persist until Dou Jiande comes to help, why worry about not being able to defeat the Chen bandit army?"
"Brother Jiancheng, if you are worried about our army's ineffectiveness in fighting, then there is absolutely no need for it." Song Jingang also laughed and said, "Whether we can prevent the Chen thief from building a dam and flooding Taiyuan is also related to the life and death of our Dingyang army. We can’t do it even if we don’t want to!”
Li Jiancheng was silent for a while, then smiled and said: "Brothers, if you think that a sudden attack can prevent the enemy from building a dam, then you underestimate Chen Yingliang, don't you? Brothers, you have fought against Chen Yingliang twice , I already have a certain understanding of his strength, do you think that after we enter the city, there is still a chance to go out of the city to defeat them?"
"Chen Bandit's elite soldiers are really big, and they are indeed difficult to deal with." Song Jingang smiled and said, "But I don't believe it. These elite soldiers of Chen Bandit can always be on duty on our way out of the city. Stay vigilant day and night, without revealing any flaws?"
Li Jiancheng laughed again, very happily, and said: "Brother Song, if you think that the enemy your two armies have encountered in the past two days is already the strongest under Chen Yingliang's command, then you are very wrong. To tell you the truth, Brother Song, the most powerful generals under Chen Yingliang haven't shown up yet, and the most powerful armies under his command haven't even made a move yet!"
"There are still elite soldiers and strong generals under Chen thief's command?" Liu Wuzhou's face changed a little.
"The name Wei Chi Jingde from Mayi, brother Wu Zhou, you haven't heard of it?" Li Jiancheng said with a smile: "He is now Chen Yingliang's chief of the Chinese army. Unless Chen Yingliang goes into battle in person, he and his elite troops Soldiers never make a move. There is also Chen Ci, the general of the Baoguo Army who captured Shibi Khan alive on the Yanmen battlefield, and Guo Feng, the general manager of the Baoguo Army. They have not yet shown up. How many reputations have been given, your army has never heard of it, right?"
Speaking of this, Li Jiancheng glanced at Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang, who were already solemn, and added with a smile: "In addition, the famous generals under Chen Yingliang's command include Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Liu Heitai and Wang Fubao. As far as I know, Brother Song, your old master Wei Daoer was actually defeated and killed by Wang Fubao in a surprise attack. Brother Song, don’t you forget his name? In addition, Chen Yingliang’s subordinates also There is a group of Musketeers who have only appeared on the battlefields of Yanmen County and Zhiguan, but they still haven’t made a move yet, the musketeers in their hands can directly pierce even the best Mingguang armor!”
The two hearts of Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang seemed to have fallen into a bottomless abyss. They never expected that there would be so many elite soldiers under Chen Sangliang's command, and they had to reconsider whether there were any left after the army entered the city. I hope to prevent the Sui army from building the dam with a surprise attack—after all, there are too many fierce men on the side of the Sui army. Even if they work in three or four shifts, they can easily prevent the Taiyuan defenders from going out of the city. As long as there is a little delay, When the main force of the Sui army reacted, a backhand slap could kill all the defenders leaving the city!
Seeing that Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang had wavered, Li Jiancheng said, "So, my brother, I ask you to move to Yuci. It is really for your safety. Yuci is sixty miles west of Taiyuan, and the road is not far away. The proximity and the huge space are where your cavalry can be used. After your two armies form horns, our army is responsible for defending Taiyuan and containing Chen Yingliang's main force. Your army will send troops to destroy Chen Yingliang's dam, or destroy the dam that the enemy has already built. If there is no chance, retreat to the city and garrison temporarily, advance and attack, retreat and defend, isn't it far better than defending Taiyuan with our army passively and being beaten, and may be swallowed by the flood at any time?"
Liu Wuzhou came to protect the southern line of the Taiyuan Army and take advantage of the opportunity, not to accompany the Taiyuan Army to wait for death. After hearing Li Jiancheng's intimidating and coaxing words, Liu Wuzhou inevitably began to waver again. After thinking for a long time , and couldn't help but said to himself: "It's safer for our army to move to Yuci, but for the problem of food and grass, it's impossible for Chen's army to give us a chance to replenish food and grass from Taiyuan?"
"Food and grass are not a problem." Li Jiancheng waved his hand and said with a smile: "Don't worry, brothers, there is too much grain and grass in Yuci City. It is absolutely no problem to use it for your army for three months!"
Even Li Er, who had never spoken, looked up at Li Jiancheng in surprise. Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang were even more stunned, and asked in unison, "How can there be so much food and grass in the small town of Yuci?"
"Yes." Li Jiancheng finally showed his last trump card, and said with a smile: "To tell the truth, my brothers, in order to prevent any contingencies, and even more so that King Dou's reinforcements will not run out of food after they enter Taiyuan westward, my younger brother has long been in secret. There is a large amount of food and grass hoarded in Yuci City, which can at least save your army from worrying about food and grass for three months!"
After that, Li Jiancheng asked again with a smile: "Brothers, in three full months, King Changle's reinforcements will be able to arrive at the Taiyuan battlefield no matter what? At that time, your army will join hands with King Changle's army, and you may be invincible." Chen Yingliang, can't the siege of Taiyuan be lifted?"
Liu Wuzhou finally changed his mind, considering that it would be more convenient to move to Yuci to escape, Liu Wuzhou finally nodded and agreed with Li Jiancheng's opinion. However, just when Li Jiancheng was secretly happy and Liu Wuzhou was about to agree to move eastward to Yuci, Li Er, who had been silent all this time, suddenly stood up and said loudly: "Brother, I have prepared for the rainy day. I have secretly hoarded food and grass in Yuci City. This is really worthy of my little brother." Admiration. But my brother thinks that brother Wu Zhou's army must not be moved to Yuci, but can only be stationed in Taiyuan City with our army, and join hands to fight against the army of Chen thieves!"
As soon as this remark came out, everyone in the audience was shocked, and Li Jiancheng stared his eyes into round balls all of a sudden, and almost blurted out a sentence, "Are you crazy?!"
Of course Li Er wasn't crazy, he turned to Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang and said, "Brothers, I think it's for your sake that I suggest you. It's safer to relocate your army to Yuci, but in this way, our two armies will be more expensive." The force is divided into two, and Chen's army will be given every opportunity to defeat it immediately! Brothers, please imagine, if you are Chen Yingliang's traitor, how dare you attack the city first after the main force of your army moves to Yuci? The strong city of Taiyuan, and ignore the small city of Yuci? Not to mention the treacherous Chen Yingliang, if any army commander is changed, he will definitely attack Yuci first and then attack Taiyuan. When Yuci is in a hurry, our army And you are unable to go east to rescue, and your army is fighting alone, how can you be the main opponent of Chen Bandit?"
Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang, who were almost fooled into the pit by Li Jiancheng, came to their senses at this moment, and quickly nodded their heads, even saying that was exactly the case. Li Jiancheng, who deliberately avoided mentioning this before, glared at his second brother, wishing to strangle his own brother to death on the spot, but Li Er showed no fear, and cupped his hands to Li Jiancheng and said, "Brother, my younger brother suggests that this might be the case. The main force of our army retreats to the west city of Taiyuan. Brother Wu Zhou retreated the main force to the east city, and the two armies joined hands to defend the city of Taiyuan. My younger brother, I led an army to the east to garrison Yuci, properly contained the Chen thief army, and kept the communication between our army and the king of Changle unimpeded, so as to receive the reinforcements of the king of Changle."
Hearing this, Li Jiancheng finally understood the vicious intentions of his second brother, but Li Er spoke convincingly, and continued: "My younger brother has few soldiers, and Chen Bandit will definitely not send the main force to attack Yuci. Even if Chen Bandit hates my younger brother to the bone, If you insist on attacking Yuci first and then Taiyuan, the younger brother can also play by ear, or close the city and stick to it, or maneuver to delay the time as much as possible, or you can directly attract the main force of the Chen thief for you and brother Wu Zhou. Come on, wouldn't it be wonderful?"
"If you want military power and independence, just say it! Don't say it so nicely!" Li Jiancheng yelled in his heart, "You hid in Yuci and stayed outside, let Liu Wuzhou and I check each other, no one can monopolize Taiyuan City, everyone has to ask For you! You can take the opportunity to raise prices on the ground, you can take advantage of the opportunity and get benefits from both parties. In the end, you can use Dou Jiande as a strong support to force Liu Wuzhou to withdraw from Taiyuan and force me to hand over Taiyuan. , you have reached the pinnacle!"
Of course, Li Jiancheng did not dare to yell out these inner thoughts in front of Liu Wuzhou and others. After hesitating for a while, Li Jiancheng quickly winked at Li Er and asked, "What if the enemy builds a dam and floods the water? Don't you know, Taiyuan?" The low-lying terrain is the most vulnerable to water attacks?"
"Brother, have you forgotten the story that my younger brother told you about Zhao Xiangzi guarding Taiyuan?" Li Er said with a smile, "Zhibo was unable to attack Taiyuan repeatedly and flooded the city with water from Jin Dynasty. The city wall was flooded into the city, but Zhao Xiangzi still led the defenders to live in their nests, drank from the cauldron, and held on to Taiyuan for more than three years. Finally, they won a turning point and defeated Zhishi. Now we have reinforcements to rely on, and there are Time to prepare, return to the city and immediately raise the height and strengthen the city wall to waterproof, so are you afraid that Chen Yingliang, the traitor, will flood the city with water?"
Li Jiancheng, who never expected his younger brother to be so vicious, was completely desperate, but Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang were overjoyed. They hurriedly asked Li Er about the failure of Zhibo's flooding of Taiyuan, and after listening to Li Er's vivid introduction , Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang didn't even blink their eyelids, and immediately asked Li Jiancheng to accept Li Er's proposal. It's for your own good, don't forget, we are in the Dingyang military camp, if Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang are cornered..."
"Brother Jiancheng, why are you still hesitating?" Liu Wuzhou urged with a smile: "Erlang's plan is great, why do you still hesitate?"
"Brother Wu Zhou, brother, he is worried that our army is short, especially the cavalry." Li Er took the opportunity to say: "There are too few cavalry, my brother, even if there is a fighter opportunity after I move to Yuci, it will be difficult to seize the opportunity at the right time." Attack and share the pressure for the east and west of Taiyuan."
"It turns out that's the case." Liu Wu laughed on Monday, and immediately said: "This matter is easy to handle. I will give you a thousand horses, so that you, Erlang, can have enough cavalry to attack!"
Li Eryi was overjoyed to hear that, and quickly thanked Liu Wuzhou repeatedly, and then urged Li Jiancheng: "Brother, it's not too late. It's best for our army to withdraw overnight tonight, otherwise, it will be too late until tomorrow."
Li Jiancheng's face became even more gloomy, and he glared at Li Er without saying a word. Li Er observed his words, smiled again, and suddenly gave Li Jiancheng a fatal blow. Brother Wu Zhou discusses how to defend Taiyuan City together, younger brother first go back to our army camp to organize the army and prepare to retreat?"
As soon as Li Er's words came out, Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang's eyes lit up immediately, but Li Jiancheng jumped up in shock, knowing that if he insisted on refusing, the ruthless second brother would definitely let Liu Wuzhou detain him immediately, so that he could seize the opportunity to dominate the Taiyuan army . Forced into desperation, Li Jiancheng could only nod immediately, "Second brother's plan is great, I agree with you."
Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang were all smiling, and Li Er was also smiling. He quickly thanked Li Jiancheng and said, "Brother, I know that you will definitely accept my suggestion, so I have already made the headquarters ready to go before the camp. , so I think I don’t need to go back, just send someone back to inform Zhu Can and Liang Jianfang that they will lead the army to come and listen to the order. Brother, please go back to our army camp to prepare to withdraw the troops. Brother stay here and wait for Brother Wu Zhou to reward the horses. How about ?”
"Brother Yu is far-sighted, I admire Brother Yu! Admire!"
When Li Jiancheng said this, of course Li Jiancheng was full of resentment every word, but Li Er smiled slightly, and leaned into Li Jiancheng's ear and whispered: "Brother, don't blame me, I did this for your own good. This time, it is true that it will only give the main force of the Chen bandits a chance to defeat each of us, and our army has no hope of defeating the Chen bandits and protecting Taiyuan. If we want to keep Taiyuan, the only way is to join forces with Ding Yang's army to defend the city. We can take care of other things in the future. Let’s talk later. Is the younger brother doing the right thing? Brother, you can think about it carefully on the way back to the camp. The younger brother knows, and you will be able to figure it out.”