On the first day of the battle, eight generals died. This was an unexpected result for both sides.
Lai Xi alone killed six generals, which shows how important one's own cultivation is during a military confrontation.
There is no doubt that the side supporting Prince Shou suffered the most. Among the eight generals, seven were on Prince Shou's side. These seven generals were: Duan Liang and Ma Ke from Jizhou; Wu Yao from Yangzhou; Jing Bu from Henan; and Wang Ke, Li Jian, and Guo Chen from Bining.
If we were to choose someone who is even more miserable among all the miserable people, it would undoubtedly be Wang Chongying from Bining.
A total of three powerful generals were sent out, but none of them came back. Even his own nephew Wang Ke died tragically on the spot. How tragic it was!
Wang Chongying had three brothers in total: Wang Chongjian, Wang Chongrong, and Wang Chongying. Wang Chongjian and Wang Chongrong had passed away long ago, and their descendants naturally turned to their uncle.
However, as an uncle, he couldn't even save his brother's son. One can imagine how Wang Chongying feels now!
That night, the Kunming Lake military camp, which had been noisy all day, entered a rare period of tranquility.
The two royal camps are located in the center of the undulating hunting camp.
Prince Ji was on the left and Prince Shou was on the right.
Located on the right side of Prince Shou’s royal camp, among the first-rate vassal camps, the fifth one from the top is Yuchi Jin’s military camp.
In the commander's tent, Yuchi Jin put his hands on his waist, looked at Xie Tian, Xie Di, and Yu Juluo, and said solemnly: "You three have almost recovered. I am going to let you rush back to Youzhou."
"What, madam, you don't want us anymore?" Xie Di exclaimed immediately when he heard that Yuchi Jin was planning to drive them back to Youzhou.
"Yes, my lady, without us brothers by your side, what about your safety? How can we feel at ease?" Xie Tian also quickly agreed.
Looking at this pair of hot brothers who grew up with him, Yuchi Jin suddenly felt a headache.
Who is worried about whom
These two guys were so reckless when they were escaping. If anything happened, not only would Yuchi Jin have a hard time explaining to his mother, he would also feel sorry for the Xie brothers' parents who had passed away long ago.
When Yu Juro and He Ruobi heard that Yuchi Jin was planning to send people back to Youzhou, they became thoughtful; Yuchi Jin had not allowed people to go back earlier or later, but chose this time to let them go back. What was his intention
Looking at the two men in deep thought, Yuchi Jin finally showed a hint of admiration on his face. He did not keep the secret and said directly: "You all saw today that seven of our ten generals died in one battle."
"Warfare is dangerous and fierce, and even a master as strong as Tianxuan will die on the spot if he is not careful."
"You three are injured, so it would be better for you to return to Youzhou to recuperate."
Before Yuchi Jin finished speaking, Xie Di started yelling again: "My wife, we are almost well. Besides, who said that Second Brother Xie is afraid of death? Even if I die fighting for my wife, I, Old Xie, will die a worthy death..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Yuchi Jin raised his hand and punched Xie Di on the head: "Are you afraid of death? Who do you call yourself the second brother in front of? I told you to call yourself the second brother Xie, I told you to call yourself the second brother Xie..."
Although Yuchi Jin's beating didn't hurt, Xie Di felt like he was stung by a wasp. He yelled anxiously, "My wife, no, how dare I call myself Second Brother Xie in front of you? I didn't mean it..."
Seeing his second brother being beaten by his wife, Xie Tian, as the eldest brother, not only looked indifferent, but also gloated: "My wife beat him well, this idiot deserves to be beaten, he always drags us down, I just want to kick him when I see him."
Before he had even finished his words, Yu Juluo, who had worked with the two men, glanced at him with disdain; in his opinion, these two guys were both hotshots, and the eldest one would not criticize the second one.
Now, Xie Di was beaten and Xie Tian started to tremble, which made him really unable to bear it.
However, Yuchi Jin was so angry with the two that she beat them up; although the two Xies were nominally under her command, in fact, they were her sworn brothers.
Old Madam Yuchi treated Er Xie as her own son. Even without talking about personal feelings, Er Xie's skills alone would make him of no help in the current situation. If he stayed, he would just be cannon fodder. Why bother
Of course, there is a more important reason, which is the real reason why Yuchi Jin sent them back.
After beating Xie Di, Yuchi Jin looked solemn and said, "Since the decline of the Khitan, there is nothing to worry about in the northern border of Youzhou, but there are still three big tigers lying in the south of Youzhou."
"Hedong Li Keyong, Jizhou Wang Rong, and Cangzhou Wang Chucun are not easy to deal with. Li Keyong is a representative of the Shatuo people, who is extremely brutal and warlike."
"Cangzhou Wang Chucun was born into an official family. In the Tang Dynasty, he has many civil officials and military generals who are old acquaintances with him. Although he controls only one state, his power is huge and difficult to shake."
"As for Wang Rong, he is the easiest one to deal with among the three. I think he is very smart, but not sharp enough. He is exactly the person we can deal with."
"Take this spring search for example. There are only five famous generals in Jizhou: Liang Gongru, Li Honggui, Mo Junhe, Ma Ke, and Duan Liang."
"Wang Rong went south to participate in the spring search, and he actually brought all five of them with him. As the governor of Chengde, Wang Rong handed over his huge family business to the treacherous minister Li Ai.
As for the male favorite Shi Ximeng sitting in the local area, it can be seen that he is really unwise. "
"In today's battle, Ma Ke and Duan Liang died, Mo Junhe was seriously injured, and more than half of the five great generals were killed in one battle. If we don't plan to attack Jizhou now, when will we wait?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Yu Juro and He Ruobi's eyes lit up; even the hottie Er Xie, and the two foodies Wen Lan and Yang Guang, had their eyes sparkling and were eager to try.
They are all Yuchi Jin's confidants, so naturally they hope that their wives will become more and more powerful so that they can follow suit and rise with the tide.
Seeing that everyone understood his intention, Yuchi Jin continued, "We have few capable generals in Youzhou. Now that I am heading south to Chang'an, only my elder brother and General Shi Wansui are in charge of Youzhou. If we want to plot against Jizhou, we are a little short of manpower."
"I asked General Yu and the two of you to go back naturally in order to seize the opportunity to attack Jizhou. Don't you want to?"
Yuchi Jin looked at Xie Tian and Xie Di with an unfriendly face. When the two Xies saw their wives' expressions, they shrank their necks in horror. Xie Tian waved his hands and said, "Don't worry, my wife. As long as there is a war, no matter where we go, we will listen to you."
"That's right, brother finally said something sensible!" Xie Di quickly agreed.
The plan was decided, and Yuchi Jin acted promptly and immediately ordered the three men, along with a few close followers, to head north at night and return to Youzhou.
In April, even the night sky seems very gentle; the cool night breeze always makes people feel particularly comfortable.
In such a gentle breeze, a group of people quietly rushed out from the fifth camp on the right side of Shouwang Camp. There were not many of them, only a dozen or so. After leaving the camp, they tiptoed into the pitch-black night.
But not long after this group of people left, the second large village welcomed several guests.
The first camp on the right side of Prince Shou’s royal camp is Zhu Li’s camp. There is no other reason for this than that Zhu Li is the strongest among all the vassal states in the whole world.
The third and fourth camps in order are, one is Han Zhi’s camp in Xuzhou, and the other is Guan Yu’s camp in Yaozhou; and the second camp is undoubtedly Zhu Quanzhong’s camp in Henan.
Inside the camp, Zhu Quanzhong, with a cold face, welcomed the visitor into the general's tent. Just as he asked the visitor to sit down, he said to him without any courtesy: "Mr. Cui, you came to my camp in the middle of the night. I wonder what you can do for me?"
The person who came was none other than the prime minister of the time, Cui Yin. Looking at Zhu Quanzhong's gloomy fat face and his impatient expression, Cui Yin felt a little aggrieved inwardly, but for the sake of greater matters, he still endured it.
Who should I blame? If I have to blame someone, I should blame Cui Yin for not doing a good job of intelligence work.
Among the six great generals of Bianzhou, Ge Congzhou, Pang Shigu, Wang Yanzhang, Niu Cunjie, Gai Songtao and Jing Bu, one died and another was seriously injured today. How could Zhu Quanzhong be happy
It was not known whether Cui Yin's subordinates were negligent or he himself did not send anyone to inquire about the situation here. The old man only saw a gloomy face.
He bowed and said, "Zhu Xuanwu, we have agreed to eradicate the eunuch party and clean up the government. I have already made all the preparations. I came here tonight just to ask Zhu Xuanwu if you have made all the preparations?"
I have to say that this old man was indeed a bit too hasty; Zhu Quanzhong just happened to have lost his beloved general, and he spoke to him in such a tone. Wasn't he deliberately looking for trouble
Sure enough, upon hearing Cui Yin's aggressive tone, Zhu Quanzhong's voice immediately turned cold.
However, as a person in a high position for a long time, he was not like a powder keg that would ignite at any time. He tried his best to suppress the rage in his heart and responded indifferently: "Mr. Cui, are you a little too hasty?"
"It's just the right time now. Yang Sigong and Liu Xingshen have no intention of fighting each other. They are all focused on weakening the feudal lords. If we launch a campaign to remove the eunuchs at this time, it would be like a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth."
"My lord, as the prime minister of this dynasty, you can't be unable to see this." Cui Yin spoke in a bad tone, and Zhu Quanzhong naturally would not be polite and immediately fought back.
Upon hearing this, Cui Yin's old face turned red. He was indeed a bit too hasty. Faced with the position of being the only one in the court who could make the final decision, this old guy had been longing for it for too long.
After being scolded by Zhu Quanzhong, Cui Yin also recovered and quickly said politely: "Then according to Zhu Xuanwu, when is the time to start an uprising?"
Zhu Quanzhong heard this, suppressed his impatience, and said coldly: "When the feudal lords are weak, it will be the time for the two eunuchs to revolt; once they gain the upper hand, they will inevitably restrain each other. After all, neither of them wants the other to become powerful."
"At that time, if a conflict breaks out between the two, it will be the best time for us to launch a righteous action. If you want your great cause to go smoothly, don't rush for success."
"To be honest, in today's battle, we who supported Prince Shou lost seven generals in one battle, and Prince Ji's side also lost a fierce general."
"If we add the hunting dispute a few days ago, nearly fifteen generals from various vassal states have died in the spring search. This number is probably far from the result that the two eunuchs want."
"In fact, both Yang Sigong and Liu Xingshen want to see Heshuo Zhu Li suffer misfortune. However, things don't always go as planned. So far, although some of Zhu Li's men have suffered heavy losses, no one has died. As a result, the two eunuchs will definitely not dare to act rashly."
“You know, a man’s reputation is like the shadow of a tree.”
"Zhu Li's reputation as a commander of the army and his undefeated reputation is too great. As long as he remains strong, no one among the two eunuchs will dare to act rashly."
"So, it's still early now. My husband and I, just wait for General Huaihua to get into trouble. Only if he suffers heavy losses, we will have a chance. Do you understand, my husband Cui?"
Upon hearing this, Cui Yin nodded his head and agreed, "Zhu Xuanwu is absolutely right. I will pray that Zhu Li will get into trouble soon!"
———
The first military camp on the left of Jiwangzhai is Jiangyouzhai.
The Jiangyou camp was very large, and the marshal's tent in the center was particularly grand and eye-catching. But just to the left of the marshal's tent, there was another large tent that was equally luxurious and magnificent, not inferior to the central marshal's tent, and even its size was only slightly smaller than the marshal's tent.
This military tent is the main tent of Master Li.
In the big tent, the person sitting at the top was not Master Li, but a sinister old man with sunken eye sockets and scarlet lips. He looked like a starving ghost.
This old man was none other than Liang Bo, the left envoy of the Shanhai Alliance.
Behind Liang Bo, there was a general on each side, who were Yingfa and Li Nuer. Liang Bo's face looked very ugly at this moment. Lai Xi's death really caught him off guard, and it was a result he had never expected.
Master Li stood below the desk, on the left hand side of Uncle Liang, looking indifferent.
However, when he saw Liang Bo's gloomy face, he guessed that he must still be immersed in the grief of Lai Xi's death. He immediately bowed to Liang Bo and said, "Liang Zuo Shi, the death of General Lai is indeed sad, but now that it has become a fact, no matter how sad and mournful we are, it will be of no use."
"Hmm?" Master Li's words seemed to make Uncle Liang very dissatisfied. He just hummed lightly, then suddenly turned his head and glanced at the other party coldly.
Is this something that comforts people
What do you mean by a fait accompli? It's useless. After all, Lai Xi is your colleague, Master Li, isn't he
Of course, this was just the resentment in Liang Bo's heart, and he never expressed it out loud.
Facing Liang Bo's unfriendly gaze, Master Li remained calm and continued to deceive: "Instead of grieving and mourning here, we might as well think carefully about how to avenge General Lai. This is the most important thing. What do you think, Liang Zuoshi?"
After hearing this, Uncle Liang felt that it made sense, so he retracted his cold gaze and said solemnly: "The Death Formation was researched by me based on the Eight Formation Diagram and the Eight Gates Formation."
"Among them, the formation that Yingfa, Li Nuer, and Lai Xi were in charge of was the tip, blade, and handle of the death formation. But now that Lai Xi has been killed, the power of the death formation will inevitably be greatly reduced. What do you want me to use to avenge Lai Xi?"
Today was only the first day of the battle. Not only was the formation he had set up almost broken, but one of his loyal subordinates also died. Uncle Liang's tone sounded very bleak and helpless.
But before he finished speaking, Master Li burst into laughter: "Hahaha, Liang Zuo Shi, you really underestimate me. Since I asked Zuo Shi to help, I have naturally made sufficient preparations."
"Don't worry, Left Envoy. In the battle of the formation, the Shou Wang supporters, led by Zhu Li, will lose whether they win or lose. In short, they will definitely lose!"
"I asked the Left Envoy to set up a large formation, just to kill more of the tiger's minions."
"Hmm?" Upon hearing what Master Li said, Uncle Liang immediately showed a trace of doubt on his face, "What does Elder Li mean by this? What does 'failure is failure, victory is failure' mean?"
Upon hearing this, Master Li did not directly respond to Uncle Liang's question, but instead signaled Lai Huer with his eyes.
Lai Huer understood and immediately clasped his fists to greet Liang Bo and Li Fazhu. Then he turned around and walked out of the general's tent.
Seeing Master Li's actions, Uncle Liang became even more confused and asked curiously, "Could it be that Elder Li has a better arrangement? I want to see what arrangement is more effective than the death formation I set up."
"Left Envoy, you are too modest. These are just some petty tricks that are not worthy of being shown on the stage. How dare you compare yourself with you, Liang, the Left Envoy? You, just wait and see." Upon hearing what Uncle Liang said, Master Li hurriedly bowed and flattered him.
Seeing Master Li say this, Uncle Liang's expression softened slightly. Before he could continue to ask, there was a commotion outside. Then, several loud shouts came one after another: "Go quickly. If you keep dawdling, I know you, but the whip in my hand doesn't know you."
"Brother Rabbit is right. If you don't be smart, I will use the whip in my fake mercy to punish you."
... ... .
There were messy footsteps mixed with the shouts of several fierce men. It seemed that a group of fierce guards were driving a group of people towards this big tent.
Sure enough, after a while, a dozen men and women with pale faces and whip marks on their bodies were sent to Master Li’s tent by a group of burly men with fierce faces.
Among these men and women, there was a burly man in his forties who looked quite heroic. He was looking at everyone in the big tent with an unyielding look on his face. If Zhu Li were here, he would definitely recognize him at a glance.
This person was none other than Zhu Li's father, Zhu Chun.
Zhu Chun, dressed in official attire, looked extremely disheveled, with numerous marks of whipping on his body. It was obvious that he had been beaten more than once before.
But, wasn’t he in Shuozhou? How did he appear in the big camp in Jiangyou, and was he driven here