Almost at the same time when Yang Xuangan saw the characters of ants, in Hongnong City, on the square in front of the main gate of Emperor Yangdi's Hongnong Palace, there were three thousand six hundred and sixty-nine people, including Liu Changgong, the chief tiger of Youwuwei, and Liu Changgong. All the soldiers of the Eastern Capital Sui Army gathered here and waited in line. Also assembled and lined up were the soldiers of the Baoguo Army with only 706 people left, and the Daxing Sui Army with only 598 people left. The army teams lined up individually according to their organization, forming three square formations, one large, two small, and three squares.
Most of the soldiers of the Sui army didn't know why they assembled here, they only knew that it was an order from above, and they saw that Daxing's left guard Wei Xuan and Cai Wang Yang Zhiji were standing straight in front of them in formal uniforms , and another thin young man wearing a silver bright armor and a snow-white cloak stood unexpectedly between Wei Xuan and Yang Zhiji, two important ministers of the Sui Dynasty. His expression was calm, composed and confident, just like Wei Xuan and Yang Zhiji originally Just like his assistant.
Of course, the formation of the Nationalist Army is the most standard and strict. Everyone holds their heads high, their movements are unified, and the formation is measured like a ruler. The Daxing Sui Army team with Wei Xuan's personal soldiers as the backbone core is also good. Although the mental state is not as high-spirited and full as the Baoguo Army, the queue size can at least be neat and standard, maintaining the consistent military appearance that a regular army should have.
In contrast, the most numerous Sui Army team in the eastern capital is a bit out of place. Although the veterans under the command of General Liu Changgong did not dare to be as lazy as usual, they are still loose in ranks, their military spirit is weak, and they are not strong enough. Some soldiers didn't even wear their helmets properly, and some soldiers whispered to each other in the queue, and some soldiers kept yawning, as if they still didn't get enough sleep. In this regard, General Liu and his main subordinates not only did not feel ashamed, on the contrary, they secretly praised their team for its vigor - at least they did not line up in small groups for half a day like usual.
Chen Yingliang didn't mind the loose formation of the Sui army in the eastern capital, because Chen Yingliang knew that it was good for these veterans not to leave the formation without permission. He cleared his throat and said loudly: "Soldiers, soldiers of the Sui Dynasty from the Eastern Capital and the Western Capital, hello. Although you should already know me, I would like to introduce myself as a routine. My name is Chen Yingliang, and I am from Henan Province. The Recorder of Zanzhi Mansion is also the temporary chief general of the Dongdu Nationalist Army, you can call me Chen Recorder."
"I think you must be very strange." Chen Yingliang continued to say loudly: "Although I, Chen Yingliang, are considered well-known, I am still just a low-rank official without an official position. What qualifications do I have to stand in front of you and lecture? His Royal Highness King Cai of the Sui Dynasty and Daxing’s left guard Shangshu of the Sui Dynasty, the two important officials of the Sui Dynasty, are they going to stand by my side like my deputy subordinates?"
"There is only one reason!" Chen Yingliang tried to raise his voice, and said loudly: "Yang Xuangan's main force of rebels is here, and his striker has already seized the favorable terrain west of Hongnong. If we sit idly by, then Yang Xuangan's rebels will The main force of the rebels is about to cross Hongnong and go west to Guanzhong. There is no other way. Wei Shangshu and His Royal Highness Cai Wang can only put all their eggs in one basket and decide to hand over all the troops to my command, and I will lead them to try to block the main force of the rebels. Advance westward to protect the safety of Guanzhong! Regarding this point, I would like Wei Shangshu and General Cai Wang to announce your decision and prove the important task you have entrusted to me."
Yang Zhiji and the others nodded, and then Wei Xuan stepped forward and said loudly to the Sui army officers and soldiers present: "Soldiers and soldiers of the left and right military guards of the Great Sui Dynasty, in accordance with the national law and military law, from the day you join forces, no matter it is the left military guard of the Western Capital, It is still the team of the right military guards in the eastern capital, all under the command of the old man. In view of the needs of the war situation, from now on, the old man will officially transfer the command of the left and right military guards to Chen Yingliang, the secretary of Zanzhi Mansion in Henan. From the old man down, all will accept Chen Yingliang's office's command and dispatch, anyone who violates the order is tantamount to violating the old man's military order, no matter who they are, they will be punished according to the military law! There will be no forgiveness! Do you understand?"
"No!" The Sui army replied that some teams were neat and some were lazy, but there was no sound, because the soldiers of the Sui army at Youwuwei had long been accustomed to regard the Nationalist Army led by Chen Yingliang as the backbone, and had long since It is known that the three most intense battles in the Luoyang Defense War were actually commanded by Chen Yingliang. Naturally, there is not much resistance to Chen Yingliang's command team. The Daxing Sui Army is entirely because Wei Xuan's residual prestige is still there, and he dare not disobey Wei Xuan's public announcement. Order.
"Haven't you eaten yet?" General Liu Changgong was unexpectedly a little dissatisfied, and he stood up and shouted: "Please answer neatly. From now on, the Youwuwei team, from me to ordinary soldiers, must obey the command of Chen Jishi. ! Got it?"
"No!" The voice of the Sui army's team finally became more orderly.
"The same goes for the Hongnong garrison." Yang Zhiji finally spoke, and said loudly: "From me, to ordinary soldiers, from now on I will accept the command of Chen Jishi, until the king announces that he will take back the command, and the Hongnong garrison violated the order." Anyone who violates this king's military orders will be punished severely, and will not be neglected!"
"Promise!" Several representatives of the generals of the Hongnong garrison agreed in unison—just in case, Yang Zhiji had already greeted them in private, and had done their ideological work, these township generals would naturally not jump out Post any objections.
"Thank you His Royal Highness Cai, thank you Wei for staying behind, and thank you General Liu." Chen Yingliang thanked each of them with a salute, and then said loudly: "Soldiers, from now on, your lives and the safety of Guanzhong will be entrusted to me for the time being." In order to win this command, I issued a military order in front of Wei Liushou and His Royal Highness Cai Wang. If I fail in the battle and let Yang Xuangan's traitor enter Guanzhong, then I will be beheaded and questioned. So I Let me state first, if anyone disobeys orders, disobeys orders on purpose, or wants my head to fall on purpose, I will definitely hold my back!"
After threatening, Chen Yingliang raised his voice again, and shouted: "All the soldiers of the Nationalist Army obey orders. From now on, you will also serve as the military law team. Anyone who disobeys orders or disobeys orders, no matter who they are, will be executed immediately." !"
"No!" The seven hundred and six soldiers of the Nationalist Army replied in unison, their voices were like one person, thunderous!
"Very good!" Chen Yingliang nodded in satisfaction, and then said loudly: "Fine, now I'm announcing my strategy for defending against the enemy. At 6 o'clock tomorrow morning, the soldiers of the two armies of the left and right military guards, together with the nationalist army, will go out of the city to form an array. Fight to the death with the main force of the Yang Rebellion! A face-to-face fight to the death! My handwritten letter of engagement has also been sent to the Yang Xuangan traitor!"
Before the words were finished, except for the national army, the faces of most of the left and right soldiers of the Sui army who were present had changed drastically, especially Zuo Wuwei, who had been tortured by the rebels in frontal decisive battles many times in a row. All of them were pale, and the first thought in their hearts was, "Why are you going to fight head-on again? Haven't you lost enough yet?"
The situation of the soldiers of the Sui Army at Youwuwei was better. After the complexion changed, these veterans began to mutter in their hearts, "A decisive battle head-on? Where should we go if we lose this time? To the mountains, or to the city? Well, When the decisive battle tomorrow, remember to bring dry food and water bags, as well as fire, if you can’t escape to the city, you can also light a fire at night by fleeing into the mountains.”
After observing the expressions of the soldiers of the Sui Army, Chen Yingliang nodded slightly, and suddenly asked loudly: "Soldiers, tell me, in a decisive battle head-on, do you have the confidence to win?"
"Yes!" The soldiers of the Sui Army shouted one after another, and the veterans under Liu Changgong's command shouted louder one by one.
"Coax ghosts!" Chen Yingliang suddenly burst into anger, and roared, "If you have confidence, then the sow will also climb the tree, and the rooster will also lay eggs!"
Hearing Chen Yingliang's roar, the Sui Army's team fell silent. Yang Zhiji, Wei Xuan, Liu Changgong and other supporters of Chen Yingliang also looked at each other in blank dismay, wondering why Chen Yingliang would say such a thing? However, Chen Yingliang pointed to the soldiers of the Sui army and said loudly: "You don't need to lie to me, I understand your thoughts, you can promise beautifully, but in reality, you still have to do what you should do!"
"Soldiers of Zuo Wuwei, you can't have confidence! Because of the 40,000 soldiers of Zuo Wuwei, there are only 598 left now. It is because you have lost to Yang Ni's rebels one after another in direct battles. If you lose like this, if you still have the confidence to defeat the traitor Yang Niang head-on, then the sun must have come out from the west!"
"As for the soldiers of Youwuwei, you will not have confidence, because what you are going to fight this time is not a battle with the wind, not a battle to defend the city, but a decisive battle in the open field! It is a bloody battle! It is a bitter battle! In your heart, I am afraid that Have you already planned how to escape from the battlefield? Maybe you are already thinking about how much dry food and drinking water to take and where to escape?!"
All the soldiers of the Sui army were stunned, Wei Xuan and Yang Zhiji were also dumbfounded, they never expected that Chen Yingliang's pre-war lectures would contain such content, not only did they not cheer up the soldiers, but they also kept fighting against their confidence and morale. Chen Yingliang looked normal, and walked into the queue of the Sui army while talking, and said loudly: "Soldiers, you don't need to lie to me, and you don't need to lie to yourself. You don't have confidence. We have already made a judgment, we will lose in the decisive battle tomorrow, right?"
"Yes, according to common sense, we are really doomed to defeat. There are more than 3,600 Youwuwei troops, less than 600 Zuowuwei troops, and only 700 nationalist soldiers. There are less than 5,000 troops together, but the opponent is the main force of the rebel army with tens of thousands of people. We don't need to fight this battle, we have basically lost."
"But." Chen Yingliang walked to the middle of the Zuo Wuwei team with less than 600 people, and said in a heavy tone: "But, Zuo Wuwei soldiers, have you thought about it? If we lose again this time, what will happen in Guanzhong? What about your parents, wives and children in Guanzhong? You are all from Guanzhong. Your parents, wives, children, brothers and sisters are all in Guanzhong. What will they do then? How will you see them in the future? Have you ever met them? Don’t forget, before you left for reinforcements, you were the ancestral grave of Yang Xuangan’s traitor, Yang Xuangan’s traitor may have nothing to do with you, but can he have nothing to do with your parents, wives and children?”
After careful observation of the dignified Zuo Wuwei generals, Chen Yingliang said slowly: "By the way, I will tell you one thing, Yang Xuangan's traitor once announced an order in public under Luoyang City. Any Sui general who dared to resist him, the males in his family They will all be executed, and all female relatives will be sent to camp until they die! If you don’t believe me, you can ask Brother You Wuwei next to you later, many of them are involved, and they have personally heard this order from Yang Xuangan.”
Abandoning Zuo Wuwei's team whose soldiers were turning pale, Chen Yingliang slowly walked back to You Wuwei's team, and said with a smile: "Brothers You Wuwei, you will be the main force tomorrow, and I will spend more time on you." For some time, I know what you plan to do. If you can’t fight tomorrow, you can run for your life. If you can’t, you can kneel down and surrender to the traitors. Anyway, you are from the Central Plains. Anyway, your parents, wives, children, brothers and sisters are all in the Central Plains, not in Guanzhong. Well, even if the rebel Yang Niang breaks into Guanzhong, he won't do anything about you, the most important thing is to save his own life."
"Everyone is afraid of death, and I am also afraid of death. I don't blame you if you have such thoughts and thoughts." Chen Yingliang continued to speak surprisingly, and then said slowly: "But now, I want to recite it to you. An ancient poem, after you listen to this poem first, I will tell you why you have to work so hard for Guanzhong."
"Listen up." Chen Yingliang walked through the ranks of Youwuwei soldiers and recited aloud: "I joined the army at the fifteenth, and I returned at the eighth. I met a villager. Who is there in the family? From a distance, it is In Jun’s house, there are many pine and cypress mounds. Rabbits enter from the dog’s sinus, and pheasants fly from the beam. Lugu is born in the courtyard, and sunflower is grown in the well. The rice is cooked by pounding the grain, and the soup is made by picking sunflower. Looking east, the tears dripped onto my clothes..."