General Pei Huan, the leader of the left army, has been in charge of supervising the rearward troops. Counting the troops transferred from various places, he now has more than 100,000 troops under his command. The leader of the army, General Wei Yu Zhengdong, was far behind, and naturally he was even worse than General Zuo Xiaowei, Jin Shixiong, who could not serve in the central army. But Pei Huan was still very happy, who would not want to have more troops under his command
The number of troops of the Right Xiaowei and the Right Leading Army Guard has now exceeded 150,000, while the strength of the Central Army is 300,000. Yang Kai, king of Xujun, was in charge of the central army and camped in the east of Tumu Fort. And the troops of the right Xiaowei and the right leading army guard have already drawn up the front line and started to deploy their defenses. Pei Huan knew that it would not be long before his own troops would be transferred.
There is a junction between Mandu Banner and Keqin Banner that is hundreds of miles long. At present, it seems that the reinforcements of the Mengyuan Royal Court can come from any place to fight back. In fact, if the Mengyuan people are willing, they can make the Sui army's front line feel embarrassed anytime, anywhere. But for some reason, the men and horses of the Meng Yuan royal court have been standing still.
The Mandu Banner that is now occupied is an enclave for the Sui Dynasty. If the Mandu Banner was not a protruding corner at the edge of the grassland, the Mongolian Yuan army could even launch an attack from three sides. It is not easy to guard such a long and narrow pasture. Fortunately, most of the boundary of this protruding grassland was sealed by Langru Mountain. Otherwise, the Sui army would soon be embarrassed by the Meng Yuan Qingqi who came and went like the wind.
But even so, it is not as simple as it seems to want to defend the pastures of two thousand miles with a force of 700,000 people. This is a flat grassland, and there is no danger to defend. Unless millions of people are mobilized to build a long wall and completely tear the Mandu flag from the prairie. Then a large number of troops are stationed for defense all year round, but this is not something that can be done in a while.
Pei Huan, who was leaning on a chair and tasting wine, seemed to be in a good mood. Sitting opposite him was Shi Le, his most trusted aide. This Shi Le is a Jiangnan scholar who has repeatedly failed the imperial examination. He has talent and learning in his chest, but his luck is not good. She followed Pei Huan many years ago and gradually became Pei Huan's right-hand man.
"What does the general seem to be happy about?"
Shi Le peeled the peanuts and asked.
Pei Huan smiled and said, "There's no such thing as joy. It's just that I want to enjoy myself while I don't have to lead troops to the front line. I don't think it will take long before King Xujun will transfer me to lead the army on the left to move to the right. With Li Yuanshan and Yu Zhengdong's 300,000 people, it is too difficult to completely block the counterattack of the Mongols on a front hundreds of miles long."
"Now that the battle is like this, I'm afraid the prince will be furious in Chang'an City."
Before, Prince Yi Yang Yin asked them to fight at their own discretion, first a small victory and then a defeat, emptied Xu County King Yang Kai, and then tried to get His Majesty to question him. At that time, Prince Yi will naturally find a way to go to the northwest to preside over military affairs. After this battle is over, Prince Yi will be able to return to the court to take power in a legitimate manner.
The emperor couldn't stop it.
"How the war will go, who can predict it?"
Shi Le said: "Mandu Latu died in battle, and the troops of Mandu Banner were defeated for thousands of miles. Can we still walk slowly and not take advantage of the situation to attack? If that is the case, I am afraid that it is not King Xu Jun who was accused by the emperor, but several generals. We must bear the brunt of it. Although the lord is far away in Chang'an, he should be able to understand the difficulties of the few of us. It would be too contrived to ignore the big victory in front of us."
"yes."
Pei Huan said: "The flying fish robes of the guards in the army will send the battle situation back to Chang'an as soon as possible. If His Majesty knows, who can bear the wrath of thunder? So... the matter of forcing Duke Xu to go back can only Look for another chance. Anyway, it's not me that Prince Yi entrusted, but Li Yuanshan, I just need to watch what he does."
"The general..."
After pondering for a while, Shi Le asked cautiously: "Have you ever thought... that Prince Yi really just wants to return to the court to take power?"
After asking this question, Pei Huan's expression couldn't help but change.
"How else?"
he asked back.
Seeing that he didn't react too radically, Shi Le said after thinking for a while, "General, Prince Yi and the Li family in Longyou are very close. This is what we know now. Li Yuanshan was put outside by Prince Yi." A dog that can bite people, and now Li Yuanshan has many soldiers and generals, is the biggest help for Prince Yi. I know that you, General, are only helping Prince Yi prepare to come to the northwest to preside over military affairs...but... In case Prince Yi's mind is not that simple, the general should think about it for himself."
Pei Huan was stunned for a moment, then waved his hands and said, "Prince Yi doesn't have that guts, nor does he have that ability! No matter how loyal Li Yuanshan is to Prince Yi, what can a right guard do? Even if he has 150,000 soldiers now, he really has different intentions." If you can't get out of the northwest, you will be wiped out by the army mobilized by His Majesty. I don't think Prince Yi or Li Yuanshan have the intention of rebelling, and if they really have... I won't agree."
"You can play tricks, you can change the situation of the government, but whoever dares to touch the bottom line... will die without a place to die. If you want to say that, Luo Yao, who has hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the southwest, doesn't This idea? Luo Yao has been running Southwest for 20 years, but he dare not show any disrespect. Why should Prince Yi? That's courting death!"
Shi Le nodded and said: "The general can think of this, and the subordinates are relieved. It's just that I don't feel at ease, so I ask you what you mean. I always feel that things are not so simple. If the imperial court is in power, we can get more benefits, but what if this is a big pit... jumping in will be a disaster. The general still needs to think about it, it is best to put a little distance from Prince Yi."
Pei Huan asked: "Are you worried that Prince Yi's purpose in coming to the Northwest to lead the army is impure?"
Shi Le sighed and said: "If you have an army of 700,000, and you still have pure royal blood... I'm afraid no one will be tempted?"
Pei Huan's face changed for a moment, and he was still in a good mood before: "I can save it, after the army marches to the right wing, I will send troops to watch Li Yuanshan's right guard!"
…
…
Chinese army camp.
Xujun King Yang Kai looked at the map spread out in front of him, frowning deeply. The army's successful capture of the Mandu Banner was beyond his expectations, and he thought there would be more setbacks. It's not that he was unaware of Prince Yi's tricks, but now he can only continue passively in this seat.
When His Majesty isolated his brothers from the army and the court, he probably never thought that apart from himself, no one in the royal family could deter these great generals with heavy troops. But Yang Kai also knew that His Majesty's original decision was not wrong, and these things would not have been so obvious if there hadn't been this big battle. In order to fight for power and profit, the princes who seemed to be idle, in fact, everyone was moving their own little thoughts. His Majesty threw them all out of the court, and no one's thoughts made sense.
Yang Kai was an exception, he really didn't want to get into this pool of water.
But His Majesty asked him to preside over military affairs in the Northwest, and he was pushed to the forefront. In terms of the strength of his connections, he couldn't compare with that Prince Yi in Chang'an City. If that person wants to, there are many people in the court who speak on his side. And Yang Kai, who really intends to stay away from the court and be a comfortable person, who will help him
In these years, although he and the adults in the imperial court often got together to eat, drink and play, he never gave them any benefit. Unlike Prince Yi, he has never been really honest. But he is a good actor, and his plays have deceived many people.
Even the Queen Mother is on his side.
Every time he thinks of this, Yang Kai is so irritable that he wants to scold the street.
His eyes were fixed on the map, but his mind was not on it at all.
Standing opposite to him, the Ministry of War Shangshu Mou Liangbi also had a complicated expression, he couldn't help but sigh after glancing at Yang Kai. Like Yang Kai, he was granted important powers by His Majesty temporarily, and those governors and generals didn't take him and Yang Kai into consideration at all. Therefore, Mou Liangbi, who had no friendship with Yang Kai, stood firmly with Yang Kai instead. Because both of them knew that when they came to the northwest, the two of them were actually tied together, one prospered and the other lost.
Hearing Mou Liangbi's long sigh, Yang Kai raised his head and asked, "What's bothering you?"
Mou Liangbi shook his head and said: "Nothing goes well, so it's not really a worry... What I'm thinking about is what kind of tricks those people will play next, so that they can get on the neck of the prince and me. Put on shackles, put him in a prison cart, and take him back to Chang'an City for trial."
"You think it's too gloomy, maybe it's not so bad."
Yang Kai went to the chair and sat down, looked at the heat in the cup and said in a daze: "Now that the war has come to this, even if he still wants to come to the northwest, what great credit can he get?"
What he said about him naturally refers to Prince Yi Yang Yin.
Mou Liangbi sighed: "I'm afraid that people didn't come here for any merit!"
Yang Kai's face changed, and he quickly waved his hands and said: "You can't say these words casually, I... don't believe that he will have such wild thoughts."
"maybe."
Mou Liangbi said: "My lord should know that I have been imprisoned in the prison for more than ten years. Why was I imprisoned in the first place? Was it because of the royal affairs? No matter what the lord thinks, anyway, I have written a secret letter to send people Send it to Chang'an City urgently. Whether Your Majesty believes it or not, after all, I have done my duty as a minister."
"Also, my lord... Li Yuanshan, I have to guard against it!"
He looked at Yang Kai and said solemnly: "The prince has no intention of harming others, but he has no intention of killing people before he sees it."
"The Li family doesn't have the ability, and Li Yuanshan is just a knife in someone else's hand."
Yang Kai shook his head: "I don't believe that he has the guts to frame me, he should understand that the royal family's affairs... If he gets involved, there will be no good end in all likelihood."
"hope so."
Mou Liangbi said solemnly: "I hope that they will have a good time, so as not to suffer so much. Some things are often seen very clearly by the people below, but His Majesty can't see clearly. Maybe His Majesty doesn't want to believe... Maybe it's because the city of Chang'an is far more peaceful and stable than ours, the knife shines in the northwest, and the loyalty is placed in Chang'an?"
…
…
Right Xiaowei.
General Li Yuanshan looked at the secret letter from the capital in his hand, read it carefully, threw it into the brazier and burned it. Prince Yi was indeed angry. He never expected that the Northwest could win such a big victory. Now that the entire Mandu Banner has been captured by the Sui Army, what could Prince Yi do more than this when he comes to the Northwest
So Prince Yi scolded Li Yuanshan severely in the letter, which made Li Yuanshan's face extremely ugly.
"Do you really think of me as a slave in your mansion?"
He snorted coldly, looked at the burning charcoal fire in the brazier and said: "Gu Mi, how are we preparing for our own family affairs? No one can know about that matter, if it spreads, it will be a failure! Wait for this matter Now that the matter is settled, let's see why he, Yang Yin, still tells me what to do. If he wants to make things happen, why don't he talk to me politely?"
The staff member named Gu Mi bowed his head and said: "General, don't worry, few people know about this matter. The two thousand elite guarding there are soldiers and horses that the General has secretly trained over the years, and they are loyal to the General. It’s so big, unless someone knows the details, it’s impossible to find it.”
"Um."
Li Yuanshan hummed and said: "You reply a letter to Yang Yin, saying that I will let the Mengyuan people come back after a while, so that the prince can rest assured. Also... Find a few more people to jointly report Mou Liangbi was greedy for military funds, so he said he was in collusion with Yang Kai. As for the evidence, you just need to find someone to prepare it. A fake account book is enough for them to explain. In the letter, I told the prince to be ready to come to the northwest at any time. All the generals are waiting for you!"