In the outer suburbs of Taiyuan, Liu Wenbing's tent was occupied.
"Your Majesty, why are you here?"
When Liu Wenbing saw Zhu Yuanzhang, who was tired of life, he respectfully asked him to take a seat and asked in surprise.
Zhu Yuanzhang found that Liu Wenbing had not seen him for a few days, and he seemed to be much older.
His originally fair face was actually a little dark, and there was a bloodstain on his right cheek that had not yet formed a scar. There were even blood stains on the armor on his body, which showed the hardship he had been through these days.
Therefore, although Zhu Yuanzhang was anxious, he still asked about Liu Wenbing's current situation and affirmed his achievements.
Liu Wenbing was also a smart man. He took the opportunity of reporting on the war to bring the topic to the purpose of Zhu Yuanzhang's trip.
Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded secretly in his heart, stood up and patted Liu Wenbing on the shoulder, and then said in a deep voice: "Dong An Guo, you haven't attacked Taiyuan yet, have you?"
When Liu Wenbing heard this, he was stunned, and then he bowed and said: "I just pretended to be a rebel and defeated Prime Minister Hui Deng's troops yesterday. I was worried that Li Cheng from Xibaipo would rush to help, so I was delayed for half a day, so I haven't attacked Taiyuan yet."
"However, I have asked Yu Yin to lead hundreds of soldiers and sneak into the city disguised as common people. They have agreed to raise a fire as a signal tonight and attack Taiyuan from the south gate."
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he knew that Liu Wenbing was ready to attack Taiyuan, and his words showed that he was unwilling to give up, so he couldn't help but frowned.
It turned out that after he saw Hao Xiaozhong betraying Zuo Liangyu that day, he was worried that the people behind Zuo Liangyu would betray him and let Yuan Zongdi go north.
Coupled with Li Zicheng's defeat, Shaanxi's soldiers will also come out to rescue, and Shanxi will be in chaos.
In order to prevent Liu Wenbing and others from weakening their strength in the melee, he allowed Zuo Liangyu to enter Shanxi, hoping to consume the power of Zuo Liangyu and the rebels.
But he knew that Liu Wenbing had been planning this for many days, and he also knew that the most important thing for a general is military merit.
Especially when he was asked to give up when he was about to succeed, not to mention Liu Wenbing, even he himself was a little unwilling.
But he is too weak now. Even if he can hold on, he will lose miserably.
If he only needs to quell the rebellion, it doesn't matter much, but he still needs to deal with the Jurchens who are eyeing him.
If he spent all his limited troops on countering the rebellion, when the Jurchens invaded the south, he would not be able to fight, so he had to make this decision reluctantly.
Therefore, he left his affairs in the capital and hurried to Taiyuan, just to persuade Liu Wenbing in person to avoid estrangement between the emperor and his ministers.
At this moment, seeing that Liu Wenbing was really reluctant to give up, he thought for a while and then said tentatively: "Dong An Guo, we are here to ask you to give up attacking Taiyuan. Are you willing?"
Although Liu Wenbing had already noticed Zhu Yuanzhang's intention, he was still a little surprised when he heard this: "Your Majesty, Taiyuan is a fortress in Shanxi."
"As long as I capture this place, I can not only conquer the southern part of Taiyuan, but also go north to join Pingxi Marquis to suppress the Li thieves. Why do you want to give up Taiyuan?"
When Zhu Yuanzhang saw that Liu Wenbing did not reveal his greed for power, he relaxed a little and explained: "Yesterday, Marquis Pingxi defeated Li Thief, and now Li Thief is fleeing to the Hengshan area with 20,000 to 30,000 remaining troops."
"What we mean is that you immediately lead your troops north to see if you can capture Thief Li. If you can't, you can merge with the Marquis of Pingxi and station troops in the north of Shanxi to prepare for war."
Liu Wenbing was surprised when he heard that Gong Yonggu had defeated Li Zicheng.
Then I heard that he was asked to abandon southern Shanxi just to try his luck in catching Li Zicheng, and I couldn't help but feel a little confused.
If Zhu Yuanzhang hadn't come in person and heard Zhu Yuanzhang say it with his own ears, he might have suspected that the visitor was a spy.
Liu Wenbing thought for a while and then said: "Your Majesty, if we just want to capture Thief Li, I think we can just let Ren Zhihua lead the troops."
"And this matter does not conflict with the conquest of Taiyuan and the subjugation of southern Shanxi. Instead, it will be more conducive to capturing Thief Li."
"If Your Majesty does not take Taiyuan, not only will all previous efforts be wasted, but the rebels will resurgence. Please think twice!"
Zhu Yuanzhang heard this and said with a smile: "Who said we won't take Taiyuan? We have asked Li Cheng under Zuo Liangyu to attack Taiyuan, and promised that if they can hold Taiyuan, Zuo Liangyu can be stationed in Shanxi in the future."
Liu Wenbing was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, Zuo Liangyu is in danger of being defeated."
"If he is stationed in Shanxi, it may be more difficult to dispatch him. This is absolutely unacceptable. Your Majesty, please take back the order!"
Zhu Yuanzhang was both happy and worried when he saw Liu Wenbing speaking his thoughts calmly.
He was happy because Liu Wenbing already had his own opinions and overall view. This was the beginning of a good general. Given time, he would be able to take charge of his own affairs and open up new territories for him.
What he worried about was that Liu Wenbing was too opinionated and would become a tiger if he disobeyed orders.
Precisely because of this consideration, he only asked Liu Wenbing to go north without giving any reason, just to test the other party.
At this moment, seeing that although Liu Wenbing was insistent, there was no anger on his face, he felt more relaxed and nodded: "Mr. An Guo, although your idea is reasonable, have you ever thought about what will happen to you after you capture Taiyuan?" What situation are you facing?”
Liu Wenbing heard Zhu Yuanzhang's words and felt that there was room for maneuver. He immediately bowed and replied: "Your Majesty, I have considered this matter. If I want to defend Taiyuan, in addition to dealing with the rebels in Shaanxi, I may also have to face Yuan Zong." The army of No. 2."
"That's why I didn't let southern Shanxi revolt. I just wanted to wait for Yuan Zongdi's army to enter Shanxi and then launch a sudden attack to catch him off guard."
"As for the rebels in Shaanxi, they are mainly Gao Yigong, Tian Jianxiu and others. According to the minister's information, since Li Thief has no descendants, both Li Guo and Gao Yigong may become his successors."
"Therefore, the rebels were divided into two factions, and those who stayed in Shaanxi were all those who supported Gao Yigong."
"So I think that after they heard about Li Thief's defeat, they would wait for the right opportunity to send troops again, because they should only want to rescue Li Thief who is in dire straits, so they will not pose a threat to us for the time being."
This was the first time Zhu Yuanzhang heard about Gao Yigong and Li Guo, and he was a little surprised and said: "Where did you learn about this? Is the news reliable?"
Liu Wenbing said: "Wang Yongzhen mentioned this matter inadvertently, because his brother was a general in Yan'an, the Li thief. Although he didn't have much ability, he was very good at sneaking into the camp. The old minister also sent someone to investigate afterwards. It was indeed like this. He said it, so the news should be credible.”
Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a while and said: "Dong An Guo, we think this matter may not be credible. You have also seen Li Thief's methods. Although he was born in a rough way, he is also a tyrant."
"With his wisdom, he would never hand over his lair to someone with ulterior motives. This news is most likely to confuse you."
"And even if the news is true, we think Li Thief should have a way to check and balance, so you must be on guard against Shaanxi's enemies."
In fact, Liu Wenbing also had this suspicion, and only told the matter in order to persuade Zhu Yuanzhang.
Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang at this moment, he immediately saw the mystery, nodded quickly and said: "Your Majesty, don't worry, I have arrangements for this."
"Furthermore, Li Thief was defeated so suddenly. When Gao Yigong and others get the news and send troops, I am confident that I can defend Taiyuan."
Zhu Yuanzhang heard this and said in a deep voice: "Fighting on two fronts is a taboo for military strategists, and you have missed one side. How can you defend Taiyuan?"
Liu Wenbing was stunned and said: "Your Majesty, do you mean that Zuo Liangyu will deal with us secretly?"
Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said: "We have asked Zuo Liangyu to relieve the siege of Hengshui. We don't need to consider him in the short term. What we really have to worry about are the people who helped him defeat Yuan Zongdi."
"now......"
Before Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, a soldier suddenly came in hurriedly and reported: "Dong An Guo, something serious has happened!"
"Yuan Zongdi has defeated Zuo Mengeng's troops, entered Shanxi, and destroyed several of our cities!"
Liu Wenbing was shocked when he heard the report, and then remembered Zhu Yuanzhang's words and looked at him with some surprise.
