"According to the news from the spies, if all goes well, the imperial army will attack Xiangcheng at the earliest before the first month. I don't know why Li Yuanshan's troops retreated so quickly."
Zhuo Buyi sorted out the news that Feiyupao had inquired about, but his face was not at ease: "I always feel that the progress of the imperial army is too smooth. The strength of the men and horses is basically the same. Even if the equipment of the imperial army is better, even if there are more than 200,000 soldiers to open the way, there is no room for retaliation. Li Yuanshan has been operating in Shandong Road for 20 years, and has also deployed in the entire Northwest After nearly three years, how can it be so unbearable?"
"It's a good thing that the imperial army suppressed the rebellion smoothly, why isn't Mr. Zhuo happy?"
Lu Fenghou fiddled with the fire and smiled: "I think it's a bit slow. There are more than a million elite soldiers marching westward. The soldiers under Li Yuanshan's command are not soldiers at all. Fighting such an opponent should be like destroying the dead. How many times have you fought?" It’s been a month since we hit Xiangcheng, so why is it fast?”
"It is true that most of Li Yuanshan's soldiers are not elite, but there are more than a million soldiers in the imperial court, and millions of them are brave. Compared with Li Yuanshan's soldiers, it is nothing but better weapons and equipment. The rebel general of Hexi Road Shi Lei is the number one of the Seven Tiger Generals under Li Yuanshan's command, and Li Yuanshan highly praised him as a general, such a person, with nearly half a million troops in his hands, has never won a single battle, isn't it strange?"
Zhuo Buyi frowned.
Fang Jie re-read the news that Feiyupao was brought back, his face was a bit solemn: "From the news, although Shi Lei didn't win the next round, every battle was very fierce, and the imperial army did not win easily. In the Battle of Qingtai Mountain, the rebel army lost 60,000 troops, and the imperial army also lost 40,000 horses, forcing Shi Lei to retreat fifty miles. In the battle of Hengyuan, Shi Lei lost 40,000 troops, and the imperial court lost 50,000 troops. It was the imperial court that suffered the most losses, but due to the repeated attacks by the imperial army, Shi Lei had to retreat to Yangjiao Mountain."
"Yangjiao Mountain was defeated again in the first battle. Shi Lei returned to defend Qixia Pass. It took more than ten days for the imperial army to break through the pass, losing tens of thousands of people, and the rebels also lost five or six thousand. After Qixia Pass was broken, Shi Lei led his troops to retreat again. , to the west bank of the Luoyang River to set up defenses. The waterway of the Luoyang River is too narrow and not too deep, and the imperial navy ships could not get on, so they had to build floating bridges to cross the river. Twenty thousand people were lost to cross the river, and the rebels retreated to Weicheng. Weicheng was Hexi Daozhi is where the city walls are tall and fortified, and the imperial army besieged Weicheng for more than a month, and finally mobilized all the army's catapults, and blasted away a corner of Weicheng before attacking."
"In successive battles, Shi Lei's men lost more than 50%, and the imperial army lost about 150,000. Most of the dead were brave. Weicheng is the barrier to the northeast of Xiangcheng. Once Weicheng is broken, there is no danger. The army can't stop the imperial army, when the news came back, the army was only four hundred miles away from Xiangcheng, if Shi Lei can't defend Tianjian Mountain, the imperial army has already gathered outside Xiangcheng."
"Comparatively speaking, He Ruoxiong, the rebel general of Shannan Road, retreated faster. Xia Houbi, the general of the right avant-garde, led only one guard and 80,000 brave soldiers, and wiped out Shannan Road. Without forming any strong defense, He Ruoxiong has already retreated to the northeast of Shandong Road with his remnant soldiers to fortify, if he retreats a step further, he will not be far from Xiangcheng."
"There is also Yin Poshan. After that defeat, Yin Poshan lost less than half of its troops. With the remnant soldiers, it only lasted less than a month on the south side of Mangdang Mountain and began to retreat. It has retreated past Mangdang Mountain and is in Ningyuan. Pengge and Shuye are on the front line to defend against Luo Yao's left forward. Yin Poshan's line of defense is also less than four hundred miles away from Xiangzhou."
Fang Jie roughly drew the situation on the paper: "Xia Houbi is in the northeast, His Majesty's army is in the east, and Luo Yao's left front guard is in the southwest, forming a three-sided encirclement. The rebel army is fully shrunk within a thousand miles, Shi Lei's troops Lost half, He Ruoxiong lost half of his troops, Yin Poshan lost half of his troops..."
After saying this, Fang Xie's brows gradually wrinkled.
"These numbers only appear to be such a coincidence when they fit together."
Zhuo Buyi sighed: "Or maybe it's not a coincidence at all... He Ruoxiong's line of defense is less than 400 miles away from Xiangzhou. If Shi Lei's line of defense has not been breached, it is also about 400 miles away from Xiangzhou. Yin Poshan's line of defense, It’s still four hundred miles away. If it’s not a coincidence, it was deliberately arranged by someone.”
Fang Jie turned to look at Sun Kaidao: "What do you think, sir?"
Sun Kaidao sighed: "General, do you still remember how the Western Expeditionary Army was defeated?"
Fang Jie was stunned, and his face became more and more serious: "The imperial army first entered the Mandu Banner from Qingxia, and Mandu Latu's troops also retreated while fighting, and they retreated for two thousand miles. The imperial army fought all the way and won all the way. The whole territory of Mandu Banner was quickly controlled. Just when everyone in the Western Expedition Army thought it would be easy and simple to win, Li Yuanshan opened a hole in the defense line, let the Mengyuan Wolf ride in and attack from behind, and the Western Expedition Army collapsed instantly .”
After he finished speaking, everyone in the room fell silent.
"It is the same?"
Sun Kaidao asked.
Without waiting for others to answer, he sighed again: "It's the same..."
Zhuo Buyi frowned: "What Mr. Sun means is that Shi Lei's repeated defeats, He Ruoxiong's collapse, and even Yin Poshan's retreat are already arranged bait, the purpose is to lure the imperial army's continuous west Advance, so that the imperial army has no intention of stopping? Then Li Yuanshan arranged some vicious killing move, within the range of thousands of miles, what could it be?"
"I have no idea."
Sun Kaidao shook his head: "I only know that if no one in the court army notices this, then the millions of troops may be in danger again this time. Shi Lei's successive tough battles are just a show, and He Ruoxiong's defeat is just a show, maybe Even the defeat of Yin Poshan, which the general personally participated in, was just a show... Naturally, there is only one purpose."
Zhuo Buyi was startled: "Emperor?!"
…
…
Sun Kaidao took the tea Fang Jie handed him, and then curled up beside the stove: "Although the distance is less than 1,800 miles, the climate is too far away. My subordinates have never felt this way in Mangdang Mountain. It was too cold. Although I felt that winter was hard when I was at home, at least I could bear it. Only when I arrived in Fangu did I know what it means to be unable to withstand the severe cold. Now my subordinates suspect that if I leave this stove for a stick of incense, maybe I will be able to bear it. Frozen to death."
Fang Jie smiled: "Your body is too cold, it seems that I need to teach you some boxing skills. Although you are a little late in learning now, at least it can make your body stronger."
"This subordinate is an old problem. When I was young, I went to the lake to play with a few friends of similar age in winter. The lake was frozen. When I was enjoying myself, my subordinate stepped on the ice and fell. I went in. I was really terrified at the time, and I kept calling for people to save me. Those people were also terrified. Someone tried to come over, but they didn’t dare to get too close to the ice hole. Then they all ran away. I was left alone struggling in the bone-piercing water. If a group of passing merchants hadn’t seen it, I’m afraid my subordinates wouldn’t even live to be ten years old.”
"Since then, my subordinates have been afraid of the cold. When the weather gets a little colder, they have to put on cotton clothes. But Fan Gu's coldness cannot be resisted by cotton clothes."
Fang Xie covered Sun Kaidao with his cloak, and sat down across from him to stir up the fire.
"I know an old man in the capital. Not only is his cultivation amazing, but he is also very accomplished in medicine. If there is a chance, I will ask him for a prescription."
"Thank you General."
Sun Kaidao bowed his head in thanks, then looked at Fang Jie and asked, "My subordinate has something I've always wanted to ask, but didn't dare."
"Ask, is there anyone else here?"
Fang Jie took a sip of tea and said calmly.
"The general thinks, what is the future of the Sui Dynasty?"
Fang Xie couldn't answer this question.
Sun Kaidao expected that Fang Jie would not answer, so he said to himself: "My subordinate said something rebellious. From my subordinate's point of view, it is not easy to put down the rebellion in the northwest. Even if the emperor plans strategies, all the calculations of Li Yuanshan will not be able to hide from the emperor's eyes. , but after all, there is still Luo Yao watching. Li Yuanshan and the imperial army will fight to the death, and Luo Yao will never miss this opportunity. Once Luo Yao raises the flag of rebellion, how many people in the western expedition army can go back alive?"
"Unfortunately... His Majesty collapsed in the northwest, the crown prince was young, the assistant ministers monopolized power, and the court was in chaos. Luo Yao marched eastward, who else can stop him? The world is bound to be in chaos. Although Eastern Chu is weak, it is rich and powerful. In an instant, hundreds of thousands of troops can be recruited with huge profits. Even if the Eastern Chu cannot break through the frontier defense line to the east of the Great Sui, it will inevitably involve a large number of troops. Dozens of barbarian tribes in the north have long held grudges against the Great Sui. Naturally, he will not let go of the opportunity. Besides...Meng Yuan Dahan Meng Ge, in terms of vision and courage, he may not be inferior to His Majesty today."
"If the world falls apart, where will the general go?"
This sentence is very direct.
Fang Jie didn't know how to answer for a while.
"From my subordinates' point of view, the chaos in the Central Plains is unstoppable. Although the Great Sui Dynasty has been strong for a hundred years, but because of its emphasis on martial arts and despise culture, the foreign ministers are too powerful to control. When the Taizu established the country, he warned the royal descendants not to forget The foundation of establishing a country with military force resulted in the fact that the power in the hands of the generals of the Sixteenth Guards was too heavy, so heavy that even the governors of various provinces could not suppress the feudal officials. However, it happened to be at this time... Once Yujia has any accidents in the northwest, Luo Yao will not be the only one who wants to share a piece of the pie."
"It's true to focus on martial arts, but if you look too seriously, there will be disadvantages. Once a century-old evil breaks out, even if His Majesty is aware of the root cause at this time, there is no way to stop it. Because if you want to control chaos, you rely on generals rather than civil servants." .The greater the power of the general, the more chaotic it will be. This situation... has no solution."
"The general is an outstanding person, and he should know that what his subordinates say is true. Therefore, the subordinates implore the general to make plans early, otherwise, I am afraid that all sentient beings will be wiped out."
Seeing that Fang Jie did not refute, Sun Kaidao said solemnly: "In my opinion, whether it is for myself or for the court, we must expand our strength now. There are many rebels in the northwest, so it is not too difficult to recruit soldiers, but These people are useless. There are 40,000 elites and 10,000 cold cavalry on Langru Mountain. If the general can hold it in the palm of his hand, why worry about the collapse of the world?"
"Even if you don't plan for the future, does the general think that with 5,000 troops from the Shanziying and Yangziying camps, you can stop the 200,000 men of the Mongolian barbarians from returning west?"
Fang Jie remained silent, with a calm expression on his face.
Sun Kaidao was more confident, and lowered his voice: "If you want to make a big deal, you don't care about the small things. The general thinks twice... The subordinates think that the day after tomorrow is the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. The general sent someone to ask Mr. Mou to wait for a group of generals to come to Fan Gu to enjoy the moon and drink wine, and set up a banquet." , Mr. Mou shouldn’t refuse, right?”
Fang Jie frowned, and a trace of coldness flashed in his eyes.
At this moment, suddenly there were soldiers from outside begging to enter. When someone came in, he asked what was going on. The soldiers said that someone had come from Langru Mountain and asked to see the general. Fang Jie asked the man to come in, and saw that it was Mou Liangbi's personal soldiers.
The team saluted each other with fists released: "The day after tomorrow is the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Mr. Mou wants to invite the general to the village for a talk. The banquet has been prepared and we just wait for the general to arrive."
I can't take it anymore
The cervical spine has been uncomfortable for the past few days, and it has been particularly severe since last night. I tried to sit down and code several times, but I couldn't hold on after only half a chapter. Lying down intermittently for a day is useless, please take a leave, I'm sorry everyone, it was agreed that there will be three shifts every day, but because of the cervical spine problem, I already owe a lot. Will make it up, apologies again.