"Your Majesty, I am sorry for you! You entrusted Guanzhong Daxing and His Royal Highness Daiwang to the old minister, and entrusted the old minister with the important task of staying behind, but the old minister let them fall into the thieves of the rebels, facing the danger of laying eggs, I am sorry for you! The old minister is It's hard to atone for this crime with a corpse broken into thousands of pieces! Your Majesty, how will the old minister explain to you in the future!"
"His Royal Highness, the officials and soldiers of Daxing, the people of Guanzhong, I am ashamed of you! The emperor entrusted you to the old man, but the old man threw away the main force in Guanzhong. How can you resist the thieves? Shut up! This old man has no face to see you, what face does this old man have to see you again?!"
"Fan Huazong, I am sorry for you too! If I could listen to your bitter words, how could I be here today?! You old bastard, I have no face to see you anymore, no face to see you again!"
"Wei Wensheng, you pig and dog are not as good as old things! You have many court loyal ministers trying hard to persuade you, and persuading them with good intentions, why can't you listen to half a sentence? Why are you obsessed with obsession? Why do you make mistakes again and again? You deserve this crime." You have killed countless soldiers of the Sui Dynasty, you have killed Guanzhong, you have killed Daxing, you have killed thousands of people of the Sui Dynasty! You old and stubborn old man, you are being tortured by the emperor! Execution will hardly cover your sins!"
After being carried into Hongnong City to be rescued, Wei Xuan, who stayed behind in Daxing, was crying and blaming himself, hating his own stubbornness, and regretting that he did not listen to the good advice of his subordinates and allies, which led to today's critical situation , remorse and self-reproach to the extreme, and pain to the extreme, weeping all night, no matter what, he could not listen to the persuasion and comfort of others, so Yang Zhiji had to arrange a large number of people to guard him by his side in turn, lest anything happen to him—after all , Wei Xuan's seventy-three-year-old age is placed here.
We can't blame Wei Xuan for being weak, it's because the battle situation is doomed that Guanzhong will be difficult to protect, dragged down by exhausted allies, Chen Yingliang failed to arrive at the Hongnong battlefield in time to join forces with Yang Zhiji, and also failed to use the step-by-step strategy agreed with Yang Zhiji to rush to Tongguan For reinforcements, the detoured rebel team bypassed Hongnong first, and took advantage of the favorable terrain ahead. Whether it was the Nationalist Army team, Liu Changgong's team, or Hongnong's local defenders, they could no longer catch up. Going to Tongguan for reinforcements, the Tongguan defenders will face the dilemma of fighting alone. The opponent is still the Yang family brothers who have deep roots in Guanzhong, and their fall is almost a foregone conclusion.
Maybe some friends want to ask, since the rebels have detoured to the front, why didn't the Sui army try to break through forcibly, break through the interception of the rebels by force and go to Tongguan for reinforcements? The answer is that the reason why Xiaohan Road is called a dangerous road is that its narrow mountain road is narrow. To the south is the undulating mountains of the Qinling Mountains, and to the north is the surging Yellow River. The narrowest part of the road is less than two feet. However, as long as the rebel army builds some crude fortifications in a hurry, it is enough to make the Sui army pay a heavy price, and it is also enough to resist the Sui army for a long time. It is in Xiaohan Road.
It may be the only way to imitate the rebel army's detours and go back to reinforce Tongguan, but the wise Yang Zhiji and the cunning Chen Yingliang are not optimistic about this method, because the reason why the rebel army can penetrate to the west of Hongnong is because they think that Hongnong will arrive. The mountains in Shan County are relatively gentle, the population is quite large, and there is a large demand for road traffic. The people have dug a large number of large and small roads on their own, which gave the rebels the opportunity to intersperse and detour. But after passing the relatively open area of Hongnong, there is only one main road such as Weihan Road. The mountain roads are no longer so complicated and numerous. Even if there are, they are hidden deep in the mountains and rugged. It took a lot of effort, once the rebel troops stationed troops on these trails, even a small number of troops would be enough to make the Sui army pay ten times or dozens of times the price.
Taking ten thousand steps back, even if there is no rebels to intercept, it will be too late, because as far as the local snake Yang Zhiji knows, even if it is the nearest path to the west of Hongnong, it will take more than two days to go from Hongnong to Tongguan. The main force of the rebel army marched along the official road, and could reach Tongguan in a day and a half at the fastest, and then easily blocked the mountain trails for the Sui army to reinforce Tongguan.
It is also because of this that Yang Zhiji and Chen Yingliang didn't take the idea of taking small paths and interspersing roundabouts from the beginning. They racked their brains only to figure out how to reinforce Tongguan or restrain the main force of the rebel army from advancing. However, limited by strength and geographical advantages, Even if they figured out some ways to contain the main force of the rebel army, they could only rely on luck. There was no guarantee that Tongguan would be safe, and it would be futile to think hard all night.
The night passed quickly, and the next morning, Chen Yingliang and Yang Zhiji, who were worried about Wei Xuan's situation, rushed to visit Wei Xuan one after another. They saw that the gray-haired Wei Xuan was crying so hard that his eyes were red and swollen, he was dying, and he kept demanding Yang Zhiji took himself down, put him in a prison car, and sent him to Liaodong to be dealt with by Emperor Sui Yang. Yang Zhiji and Chen Yingliang inevitably sympathized with each other, and together they persuaded Wei Xuan not to blame himself too much, and said that although the situation was hopeless, the main force of the rebel army After all, Tongguan has not yet been broken, and there is still a chance to stop the main force of the rebels from entering Guanzhong.
No amount of persuasion is useless. Wei Xuan, who was extremely desperate and remorseful, cried and said, "What chance is there? The traitor's vanguard has already penetrated in front of us. I know better than anyone what is going on on the road to the west. As long as there are a thousand rebels strangling the narrow pass, it will be difficult for us to make any progress, and the main force of the rebels is already close at hand, and they can double-team us at any time. Does it mean that the old man has defeated the entire Guanzhong army? Did the reinforcements from the Eastern Capital sent by Fan Hua Sect also be defeated?"
After saying that, Wei Xuan burst into tears again, Yang Zhiji's persuasion was useless, so he could only say: "Don't worry if Wei stays behind, right now it's very difficult for us to reinforce Tongguan, but the main force of the rebels hasn't crossed Hongnong after all. If the main force of the rebels, carrying a large amount of food and supplies, wants to go west, they must pass under Hongnong City. I have thought of a plan, maybe I can lure the main force of the rebels to suspend their westward march and stop to attack Hongnong City. Then we can use the advantages of the city to compete with the main force of the rebels, and we can buy time for our main force of the Sui Dynasty to pursue."
"What is His Majesty King Cai's plan? Please tell me quickly." Wei Xuan was overjoyed and forgot to cry and blame himself, and quickly sat up from the bed and asked.
"Curse!" Yang Zhiji replied: "Curse Yang Xuangan a lot, and then use some small tricks to lure him to attack Hongnong City!"
"Curse? Can scolding be useful?" Wei Xuan froze.
"Please don't worry if Wei stays behind, it will work." Yang Zhiji said with a smile: "Yang Xuangan was born in a famous family, relying on his father's shadow to make his official career smooth, and has never encountered setbacks in his life, so he must have developed an arrogant character. Human beings are the most unbearable to be humiliated, so Xiao Wang only needs to come forward in person, go up to the city and yell at the public, scolding the traitor Yang Xuangan bloody, unbearable, then Yang Ni will definitely attack the city regardless of the consequences!"
"A great plan!" Wei Xuan was overjoyed, jumping out of bed with bare feet and waving his hands, he said, "His Royal Highness Cai has a great plan. I have dealt with Yang Ni before, and this traitor is indeed a proud and arrogant person. He will definitely receive the role of a provocateur! Let’s do this, when you go to the city to curse, Your Highness, the old man will also accompany you to the city, and join hands to curse Yang Xuangan as a traitor, luring him to attack Hongnong City!"
There is no way out, there is no way out, and there is another village in the shadow of the willows. After hearing Yang Zhiji's clever plan, Wei Xuan, who was still dying just now, immediately smiled and his confidence increased. Chen Yingliang, who was next to him, knew something was wrong. He didn't want to hit Wei Xuan at first, but The matter is so important that Chen Yingliang can only bite the bullet and say: "Your Highness, Wei Liushou, I told you not to be angry. The trick of insulting Yang Xuangan is useless, because someone has already used it on Yang Xuangan."
"What? Someone has already used this trick against Yang Xuangan, who?" Both Yang Zhiji and Wei Xuan were taken aback.
"It's me." Chen Yingliang pointed to his nose with a wry smile, and said, "At the beginning of the Luoyang Defense War, in order to lure Yang Rebels into attacking the city with insufficient preparation, I had already made a big attack on the city wall of Shangchun Gate in Luoyang. I scolded Yang Xuangan once, and shot off half of his ear. The villain thinks, no matter how stupid Yang Xuangan is, the traitor will probably not suffer twice and be fooled twice."
With a wry smile, Chen Yingliang briefly introduced the situation at that time, and Yang Zhiji was dumbfounded, and Wei Xuan was so angry that he yelled and roared like thunder, "Bastard boy, you actually used such a clever plan early on, He only shot off half of the traitor Yang's ear, what a waste of money! A waste of money!"
"Don't worry about Wei Shangshu, Xiao Wang has another plan." Yang Zhiji pulled Wei Xuan, who was furious, and said with a smile: "Xiao Wang can arrange some people to meet Hou Yang's rebels, and use the guise of rewarding teachers to get close to Yang's rebels, and take the opportunity They falsely claimed that there was a lot of money and food in the Hongnong Palace, which aroused the greed of the rebels, and then arranged for Hongnong County Magistrate Zu Junyan to come forward to feign surrender, secretly sent a letter to Yang Rebel, and voluntarily acted as Yang Rebel's siege inside the city. Come on, the rebel Yang feels that Hongnong is easy to kill, so he will definitely... "
"His Royal Highness Cai, Wei stayed behind, you forgive me." Chen Yingliang said tremblingly: "The villain also used the trick of feigning surrender in Luoyang. Don't fall for it again."
"What? You've already used the trick to surrender?" Yang Zhiji felt the urge to vomit blood.
Chen Yingliang smiled wryly and nodded, and carefully introduced his trick of feigning surrender to Yang Zhiji and Wei Xuan. As a result, Yang Zhiji also spat out a mouthful of old blood, and screamed: "Chen Jishi, are you too cruel? Wang has finally figured out all the clever tricks to lure the enemy, and he used them more cleverly than me, even using the bitter tricks?"
"Because I just copied your clever plan." Chen Yingliang said in his heart with a sad face: "I have read a book about you, Feng Menglong's "Complete Works of Brain Tank", and your seat is just ahead of Zhang Xun. But I really didn't copy it on purpose. If you had known that I would also participate in the Hongnong Defense Battle, I would definitely not have copied you."
Yang Zhiji vomited blood due to Chen Yingliang's coincidence with himself, but Wei Xuan roared loudly, "You boy, are you from Daxing? Who are you, Fan Zigai, why did he use all these good ideas? Why? Can't you offer this old man a wonderful plan to defeat the enemy?"
"I gave you a lot of good ideas before, but you refused to listen. What can I do?" Chen Yingliang muttered to himself.
At this time, Liu Changgong also walked in with his name, first saluted Yang Zhiji and Wei Xuan, and then said: "Your Highness, Wei stayed behind, I have counted the number of people in my team, and there are 3,669 people left including me." People, the bastards rested all night and almost recovered, how to fight next, what preparations need to be made, please show your Highness and the adults left behind."
"What? You were chased all the way here by the rebel team, and your team lost and killed less than 400 people?" Wei Xuan was a little surprised.
"Thanks to the adults left behind, less than 400 people were lost and killed in battle." Liu Changgong was a little proud - he fled for more than a hundred miles, was chased by the main force of the rebel army and chopped down for more than a hundred miles, and the loss of the army was less than 10% , Such a brilliant record is indeed rare in the history of escape, and it is indeed worthy of General Liu's pride.
"Fan Huazong's fate is good. With talents like you under his command, it's no wonder that he was able to defend Luoyang City until the main force of the Sui Dynasty came back to help." Wei Xuan's mood fell again, and he choked up: "There are more than a hundred soldiers returning to the army before the battle. The main force of the rebels chased them for more than a hundred miles, and lost less than 10%. How many people are left of the 40,000 troops that I brought to the Luoyang battlefield? How many people are left?"
Seeing that Wei Xuan was about to cry again, Liu Changgong, who knew that Wei Xuan had been crying all night, was also afraid that something might happen to the old stubborn, so he hurriedly said: "Wei stay behind, don't say that, your team suffered heavy losses because of your team Fighting head-on with the thieves, it is normal to have more casualties, but my team can't do it. Those veterans can't do anything except run for their lives, drink and gamble to fight the wind, and they are all rotten wood. Mud can't support the wall!"
"Those bastards, apart from escaping and defending the city, may be useful, but they will only run faster one by one in the field. Compared with the elite soldiers of Daxing under your command! You are just a little bit lucky now, Almost luck, the end of the hero, oops, I was wrong, it should be the end of the hero."
Lao Qiuba and Liu Changgong are very bad at comforting people. After listening to his persuasion, Wei Xuan, who was still choked up, couldn't help but burst into tears again, and cried bitterly: "The old man's evaluation of the end of a hero? What kind of hero is this old man? Forty thousand The army has left the customs, how many people are left now, how many people are left? How can I have the face to meet the elders in Guanzhong? What face do I have to meet the elders in Guanzhong?"
"The end of the hero? What face do you have to meet the elders in Guanzhong?"
The speaker had no intention, but the listener had the heart. Hearing these two words from Wei Xuan crying bitterly, Chen Yingliang, who had been worrying about how to stop the main force of the rebel army from going west, felt a sudden twitch in his heart, and the eyeballs in his triangular eyes suddenly moved quickly. Immediately afterwards, Chen Yingliang suddenly remembered what Liu Changgong said just now--those old soldiers can do nothing but run for their lives, drink and gamble to fight with the wind!
Thinking of this, Chen Yingliang pondered for a while, then gritted his teeth and stomped his feet, and said loudly: "Don't worry about guards staying behind, I've figured out a strategy, which will definitely block the main force of the rebels and prevent Yang Rebels from stepping into the pass!"
"What? Will you be able to stop Yang Rebellion? So sure?" Wei Xuan raised his head again.
"Wei Liushou, don't worry, Brother Yingliang has a lot of tricks. At Mangshan, he even planned to fight against the rebels hungry. He said he was sure, so he must be sure." Liu Changgong hurriedly boasted to Chen Yingliang, and then He hurriedly turned to Chen Yingliang and asked, "Brother Yingliang, what good idea have you come up with, please tell us quickly."
"It's very simple, face-to-face decisive battle!" Chen Yingliang said surprisingly, and replied loudly: "Gather all the combat forces in our hands, set up a battle formation outside Hongnong City, and face the Yang Rebels in a decisive battle to the death!"
"Fighting head-on?" Liu Changgong was dumbfounded no matter how confident he was in Chen Yingliang, and exclaimed, "Brother Yingliang, are you insane? Fighting head-on with the thieves, you want to seek death?"
"What are you kidding?" Wei Xuan also said angrily: "The old man is because he insisted on confronting the rebels head-on, so he was defeated again and again. In the end, the 40,000 army was wiped out. How many troops are there in Hongnong City now?" , you still want to face the Yang Rebellious traitor head-on, don’t you want to court death?”
"Wei Shangshu, pardon me for speaking bluntly." Chen Yingliang said in a deep voice, "The reason why you have been defeated again and again in front of Yang Rebel's rebels is not because your army is inferior to the rebels' team, but Wei Shangshu, you are the one who is the most powerful in tactics. In terms of ingenuity, they are not as good as Yang Ni's team, which led to the successive defeats of Daxing's army. When it comes to tactics and ingenuity, the villain is confident that he will never lose to Yang Ni's rebels, as well as his brains, Li Mi and Li Zixiong!"
"What did you say? I'm not as good as Yang Tie and the rebels in terms of tactics and tactics, but you are confident that you can beat them!" Wei Xuan was furious, and said: "So, in terms of tactics and tactics, you are also confident that you will definitely win!" Can you beat the old man, the former right guard general?!"
Chen Yingliang didn't answer, and simply gave Wei Xuan an acquiescence.
"Ying Liang, pay attention to your identity." Yang Zhiji is a good person, he first reminded Chen Yingliang, and then said: "Also, don't be foolish, if you add up the troops in Hongnong City now, I'm afraid there are less than 6,000 people , Excluding the defending team, there are less than 5,000 people who can leave the city for a decisive battle, how can they be the opponent of the main force of the rebels?"
"Brother Yingliang, you'd better count on those idiots under my command." Liu Changgong also warned kindly: "You have joined forces with me many times, and you should know what virtue they are. If you rely on them and your white-robed soldiers If you sacrifice your life to fight to the death, then you don’t even think about it, those old soldiers are idiots, I feel heartbroken for them.”
"Brother Liu, you seem to have forgotten one thing." Chen Yingliang said coldly: "The soldiers of the Nationalist Army under my command were originally composed of soldiers drawn from the battalions of Youwuwei, and many of them came from you. The troops under his command are all soldiers from Youwuwei, why can't they fight to the death like the soldiers of the Nationalist Army?"
Liu Changgong was at a loss for words, and it took him a long time to say: "You trained the Baoguo Army for thirteen days, and only after thirteen days did you become an elite soldier. How do you spend so much time now?"
"It won't take thirteen days this time." Chen Yingliang replied confidently: "This time, with the Nationalist Army as the core backbone, I will make them as capable of fighting as the Nationalist Army in just two days!"
"Two days?" Liu Changgong's eyes widened, and he blurted out, "Are you a god? Can you turn those old soldiers into elite soldiers in two days?"
Chen Yingliang ignored Liu Changgong's question, but turned to Wei Xuan and Yang Zhiji to salute, and said solemnly: "Wei Liushou, Your Highness Cai Wang, in Luoyang City more than a month ago, the villain once uttered wild words to Fan Liushou, if he believes Me, give me half a month, and I can conjure up an elite soldier for him. As a result, I only spent thirteen days, and I gave him an army to serve the country, an army that has never lost a single battle. Report to the national army."
"Wei Liushou, His Royal Highness Cai Wang, now the villain must speak wild words again, for the sake of Da Sui, and also for the sake of not being poisoned by the traitors in Guanzhong and Daxing, please believe me, as long as you take the people in Hongnong City Let me command the army, and then fully cooperate with my tactical arrangements and provide everything the villain needs, then the villain can guarantee that the main force of the rebels will be defeated under Hongnong City! Ensure the safety of Guanzhong!"
"It's still what the villain said in front of Fan Liushou." Chen Yingliang added: "The villain is willing to issue a military order. If it fails, he will be beheaded!"
Wei Xuan and Yang Zhiji looked at each other and hesitated immediately, but Liu Changgong wiped his sweat and said, "Brother Yingliang, don't be joking, you have made so many contributions in Luoyang, why are you playing Xuan this time? Do you know that if you lose this time, all previous military rewards will be lost."
"For the sake of the Great Sui Dynasty, I have no regrets in dying, let alone a mere reward?" Chen Yingliang replied shamelessly, and urged: "His Royal Highness, the guard is staying behind, time is running out, please make a decision, if you believe If I can once again create the miracle of serving the country, please entrust all the troops on the Hongnong battlefield to my command, and you, too, follow my command!"
Staring at Chen Yingliang with a complicated expression for a long time, Wei Xuan, who had lost so much that he couldn't lose any more, finally made up his mind, gritted his teeth and stomped his feet, and said viciously: "Okay! Since that old fellow Fan Zigai dared to bet his money on you, I will be famous for the rest of my life, anyway, I have nothing to lose, so I bet this old life on you! Okay, I promise you!"
Chen Yingliang bowed his hands to thank Wei Xuan for his trust, and then turned his attention to Yang Zhiji. Yang Zhiji, who is naturally cautious, hesitated for a longer time than Wei Xuan, and then said calmly: "Chen Jishi, what do you want Xiao Wang to do? Hongnong In the city, I will give you whatever you want, except for imperial use!"
Chen Yingliang cautiously approached Yang Zhiji's ear, and said in a low voice: "Your Highness, the villain doesn't want imperial possessions. The villain only needs a pot of honey, a hundred pieces of special five baht coins, and all the saltpeter, sulfur and other things in Hongnong City. Hundreds of catties of charcoal, and some craftsmen! The sooner the better!"