Zeng Guofan saw that Meng Gong had understood the joints, and immediately began to talk about his opinions: "Since the general can't stop General Yang Zaixing at all, why bother to obstruct it? This will only make General Yang Zaixing unhappy, and the general If there is no harmony, only the Tang army outside the city will benefit!"
Wang Xiaojie on the side said with a gloomy look: "After all, General Yang Zaixing has made great achievements in rescuing the enemy, and he is from a clan, so it is inevitable to be unruly. But Wang Renze has clearly fought with the Tang army many times, why did he do it at this time? Instigating General Yang Zaixing? I think he has no good intentions at all!"
Hearing Wang Xiaojie's comments about Wang Renze, Zeng Guopan's expression changed slightly, then returned to normal. He looked at Wang Xiaojie with a slight smile and said, "General Wang, you and Wang Renze are from the same clan. What do you know about this man?"
Wang Xiaojie was a warrior, and he had no extra thoughts other than his loyalty to the emperor. Naturally, he did not hear the temptation in Zeng Guopan's words. He immediately said without hesitation: "Master Zeng, I'm telling you the truth. Wang Renze is cunning, cunning, and ambitious. When he was working under his uncle...Wang Shichong, he didn't take Wang Xuanying seriously. Here, he once drunkenly raved that he would replace Wang Xuanying in the future. In the eyes of the general, this person will never truly join the Sui Dynasty!"
Wang Xiaojie didn't hear the implication of Zeng Guopan's words, but Zhang Zhenzhou, Wei Lu and other veterans who had been involved in official circles for many years quickly heard it. They immediately came out and expressed their feelings: "Master Zeng, is General Wang Xiaojie right? Wrong, then Wang Renze used to form cliques under Wang Shichong, and he treated his direct uncle like this, let alone now?"
"Yes, I think he must have colluded with the Tang army when he came out of the Tang army's siege in Hongnong last time!"
"Master Zeng, you should pledge your head as a guarantee. Wang Renze definitely doesn't have any good intentions when he returns to Luoyang this time!"
. . . . . . . . . .
Looking at the scene in front of him, Zeng Guopan just smiled coldly, turned around and cupped his hands towards Wang Xiaojie, and said: "General Xiaojie, the Tang army has long had the intention of plotting Luoyang. Although the last time he captured Changsun Wuji alive, he was killed. A group of people have been captured, but there must be many Tang soldiers in the city. On normal days, they would not dare to act recklessly, but now that the Tang soldiers are about to approach the city, there is no guarantee that they will not come out to cause trouble.
But now General Yang Zaixing, Gao Siji, Shan Xiongxin and other generals have gone out of the city to fight, so I would like General Xiaojie to take the generals to inspect the city, consolidate the city's defense, and beware of the Tang army's moves! "
"I will obey your orders!"
Wang Xiaojie cupped his hands and fisted his fist, and Wang Shichong's old men, including Zhang Zhenzhou and Wei Lu, also withdrew.
Two groups of people left one after another, and the entire lobby instantly became empty, with only Meng Gong, Zeng Guofan and Lin Renzhao remaining.
"Sir Zeng, what Wang Xiaojie and Zhang Zhenzhou said does have some truth. Wang Renze knew the Tang army's combat power but still encouraged General Yang Zaixing to attack. Is it possible that he and the Tang army really colluded?"
After Wang Xiaojie and others were almost gone, Lin Renzhao immediately stepped forward and asked Zeng Guofan.
Zeng Guofan pondered for a moment, nodded and said: "It is not impossible. Wang Renze is as cunning and ambitious as his uncle Wang Shichong. If we defeat Li Shimin this time and secure Luoyang City, plus the Bashu side With the development of the situation, the fall of the Puppet Tang Dynasty is just around the corner.
If Wang Renze wants to be as dominant as Wang Shichong, he must keep the Puppet Tang Dynasty. Because only when the world is still in chaos will he have a chance to achieve success. So this time he is likely to be the internal response of the Tang army. "
Lin Renzhao snorted angrily: "I think the Wang family was just a bunch of barbarian merchants at the beginning. If not for the promotion of the late emperor, where would the glory and wealth come from? Now they don't know how to repay their kindness, and they still try to subvert the country of the Sui Dynasty. It's really abominable!"
"Although Wang Renze has evil intentions, fortunately he is alone now. Although there are many Wang Shichong's old troops in Luoyang City, among the generals leading the army, Wang Xiaojie, who comes from the same clan as him, is a loyal man and will definitely not conspire with him. . As for other losers like Wei Lu and Zhang Zhenzhou, if Wang Shichong was still alive, it would be possible, but Wang Renze, a junior, would definitely be able to convince them!
The only possible one is Shan Xiongxin who was rescued by General Yang Zaixing. Unfortunately, Shan Xiongxin's brother died in the hands of Li Yuan in his early years. Shan Xiongxin came from a rough background, and the word righteousness he always values most. He wanted to persuade him to put down his brother-killing hatred and help the Tang army take Luoyang, but Wang Renze didn't have the ability yet! "
"But--" At this point, Zeng Guopan suddenly changed the topic, "The most taboo thing about holding on to the city is the disunity of people. Although Wang Renze alone cannot make any big waves, leaving a person with ulterior motives behind There are always people in the city who are upset, and they are wary of him from time to time. General Lin."
Lin Renzhao did not answer when he heard this, but just raised his head and looked at Meng Gong who was sitting behind the handsome case.
Only then did Zeng Guopan realize that he had overstepped his authority, and he hurriedly turned to look at Meng Gong apologetically, just as he was about to say a few words of apology. Meng Gong had already opened his mouth and laughed: "I didn't expect that Lord Zeng, a scholar, could be so good at mobilizing troops and generals. I think it is a pity for you to be a civil servant. General Lin, what Master Zeng just analyzed is very reasonable. Just listen to it." That’s what he commanded.”
Seeing that Meng Gong had no intention of blaming him, Zeng Guopan also looked happy and turned to Lin Renzhao and said: "General Lin, the reason why I asked General Meng to agree to General Yang Zaixing's request to fight is because there is nothing to stop him. On the other hand, it is because I am not optimistic about their battle at all, and I want to use this to suppress their arrogance and stabilize General Meng's position in the army.
But General Yang Zaixing and the soldiers under his command are all elites in hundreds of battles. For this purpose, all these elites will be destroyed. Not to mention that your Majesty can't spare me, even I can't get over this hurdle. So I would like to trouble General Lin to lead another 10,000 elite troops out of the city to meet General Yang Zaixing. in addition......."
Zeng Guopan's eyes flashed coldly and said: "Don't let Wang Renze come back alive!"
Although Lin Renzhao was strong and resolute by nature, he was also a military governor and a high official in history, so he still had some political IQ. He nodded quickly and said in a solemn voice: "Don't worry, sir, I will understand!"
After Lin Renzhao also stood up and left, Meng Gong, who was sitting behind the handsome case, suddenly said: "Master Zeng, I wonder what kind of errands you have left for me?"
Zeng Guopan curled his lips and said with a smile: "How does General Meng know that I have an errand for you?"
Meng Gong chuckled and said, "Master Zeng just said that the purpose of letting General Yang Zaixing go out to fight was to establish my status in the army, but you didn't let me personally lead the army to respond. This shows that you have more important things to do." Leave it to the general."
"The general is really powerful, no wonder Xue Shuai let the general sit in Luoyang as the chief general!"
Zeng Guopan nodded, smiled slightly, and said: "General, you might as well guess what important matters the subordinate will entrust to the general?"
Meng Gong tapped the table lightly and said: "I have studied the way of defending the city for many years. If I want to defend the city, the most important things are two points. One is the human heart that your Excellency just mentioned, and the other is. .....forage!
Qu Tutong and Li Jilong were able to be reused by Li Shimin and command the main force of the Tang army after his departure. Their abilities were definitely not as bad as Wang Renze said. They could not fail to see the importance of food and grass in defending the city.
Therefore, I guess that Wang Renze's purpose in encouraging General Yang Zaixing to leave the city is not as simple as it seems. He wants to attract our attention so as to create an opportunity for the Tang army to raid Hanjiacang City where they are storing grain and grass. "
Zeng Guopan did not continue to speak, but looked at Meng Gong quietly and smiled knowingly.
