In the meeting hall of the Jiedushi Mansion, everyone except Chief Shi Xu Kuangheng was screened away.
When he saw the last general walking out the door, Li Yuan's expression immediately changed and he asked worriedly: "Sir, according to the southern front battle report, Tanzhou City has been besieged by the Han army for seven days."
Xu Kuangheng replied without hesitation: "The commander-in-chief wants to send troops for rescue?"
Li Yuan did not answer directly, but heaved a sigh of relief and said: "The two towns of Wuping and Wu'an are closely related to each other. The Han army arrived with a great victory, and with Pan Chongche as its commander, Li Jianqi's 20,000 Wu'an army alone may not be able to hold on for long! If Tanzhou is lost, my next target will definitely be Langzhou."
Xu Kuangheng nodded and said: "The commander-in-chief is just worried. The Han Kingdom has been coveting the Chu land for a long time. If it captures Tanzhou, the Han Kingdom will get the second third of the Chu land. How can it let Langzhou go? It's just that I failed in the Northern Expedition of the Tang Dynasty. , and after the rebellion in Jiangbei, it was at a time when our vitality was seriously damaged! This time Bian Hao and Zhang Luan were defeated, the court probably will not be able to send reinforcements to Chu, so it will only be a matter of time before the commander sends troops. "
"My commander is the closest, so there is nothing wrong with sending troops to rescue. But how can the imperial court not allocate reinforcements? Your Majesty has always had the ambition to unify the world. Now Chu Land is our territory of the Tang Dynasty. In this critical moment, how can you not die? Rescue? Not to mention whether the national treasury can withstand it, there are still hundreds of thousands of available troops in the south and north of the Yangtze River..."
Xu Kuangheng took a few steps closer and cupped his hands and said: "Commander, I'm sorry to say this bluntly, even if the treasury is full, even if there are millions of troops, your Majesty will definitely not send another soldier into Chu at this time!"
"What do you mean, sir?"
"Commander, since the war broke out on the southern front, Your Majesty has withdrawn many Jianghuai officials one after another. Almost all state officials have re-invoked the former Chu surrender, and even taxes have been collected by the local governments. Commander, you still don't understand what your Majesty means? "
Li Yuan frowned and thought for a while, then said in a deep voice: "I have heard about this matter. According to Sir, could it be that His Majesty wants to give up Chu Di?"
"Chu Land was hard-won. Your Majesty naturally does not want to give it up, otherwise he would not have sent large armies to conquer it! But your Majesty's move is really unusual. I have been thinking hard for many days to no avail, and it was not until the commander returned that I got an idea."
At this point, Xu Kuangheng turned his head and looked around. After confirming that there was no one else in the hall, he gritted his teeth and continued in a low voice: "Commander, you previously made unparalleled achievements in the battle of Shouzhou, but His Majesty made your merits and demerits equal. , this matter has awakened me. In the past few months, most of the imperial wars have been defeated, and elites have been lost one after another. Commander Dudu, you will win every battle!
Now is the time when the imperial court is in turmoil, and the whole country has long criticized His Majesty for his aggressive military activities, but the commander's talent and reputation are spread all over the world. How can His Majesty not be afraid of the so-called great achievements that shock the Lord! What's more, at this time, the only town in Chu land, Wuping, is at peace for the time being. The people are safe and sound, the treasury is full, and I have received permission from the court to expand the army by 60,000. The commander-in-chief has strong soldiers and horses, and his strength cannot be underestimated! Your Majesty withdrew officials from Jianghuai one after another, and ordered taxes to be collected and paid on his own. This was cutting off the connection between the Chu region and the imperial court, and deliberately leaving this mess for the commander to clean up!
Now that the Han army is besieging Tanzhou City in a large scale, Li Jianqi will definitely not sit still and wait for death. He has probably asked Jinling for help! Unexpectedly, in less than half a month, there will be a decree from the court, ordering the commander-in-chief to send troops south to rescue. But in this battle, the imperial court will not send any soldiers, let alone money and food to help, they will only sit back and watch the success or failure of the commander!
If the commander-in-chief wins, the court will definitely order the commander-in-chief to continue southward to regain Guiguan. If the commander-in-chief loses, the court will take the opportunity to punish him, but it may not necessarily send troops to the west. After all, the court still needs time to recover, and His Majesty always intends to focus on the Central Plains. ah! "
Seeing Li Yuan's dull face, Xu Kuangheng couldn't help but swallow his saliva, and carefully added: "Since I followed the commander-in-chief, I have only been thinking about the commander-in-chief. If my words were inappropriate, please forgive me!"
Li Yuan sighed softly and replied with a wry smile: "Sir, you don't have to be like this. I know that you are loyal! This time, your Majesty ordered me to pay off my merits and demerits. I was also alert, but my father-in-law said that this was your Majesty's way of treating me." Care is just a beating. Although Mr. Sir today’s words are inspiring, I still don’t understand! I have been through life and death for the Tang Dynasty. Does your Majesty really think that I am Liu Yan?! In that case, why don’t you treat me like Liu Yan? Shuai is trapped in Jinling, but let me come back?"
Slowly walking to a stone pillar in the hall, Xu Kuangheng stretched out his hand and caressed the golden tiger pattern on it, and said with a meaningful smile: "Let you come back because the birds are not gone and the good bows are not hidden! Although the commander-in-chief The loyalty to the emperor and the protection of the country can be seen in the sun and the moon, but don't you hear Han Xin's story in vain? Now that your majesty is suspicious and someone is trying to kill him, the commander-in-chief may not be Liu Yan, and sooner or later he will be forced to become Liu Yan! However, this comparison is inappropriate. How can Liu Yan be compared with the commander-in-chief, because he is so timid and scheming?
Since the Huangchao Rebellion, all the countries have risen together, and wars have been prolonging the years. It seems that the emperors of the Central Plains have changed countless times, and the world has long been in chaos! A simple person like Liu Yan dares to fight for supremacy, but the commander-in-chief is so young and has such talent, it is a rare encounter in a century! Commander, have you ever heard that the Jin State is safe and prosperous, and the emperor would rather have the right kind? Those with strong soldiers and horses can do it..."
This sentence hit Li Yuan's heart, but he quickly calmed down and scolded with a stern face: "Sir, be careful what you say!"
Xu Kuangheng knew he had gone too far, so he quickly bowed to one side and whispered back: "Please forgive me, Commander!"
When the air was silent, Li Yuan turned his head and looked at the incense burner in the hall. At this time, the smoke of birds was rising. Although it was unpredictable, it was fascinating.
"I Have a Picture Book of Ghosts and Gods"
After thinking for a moment, Li Yuan took a deep breath and said calmly: "Sir, you must not speak carelessly and be careful with words like these that are so arrogant and rebellious in the future! I miss you with all sincerity, and today I am very sincere. If there is no one else to blame, I won’t blame you! The current situation is chaotic, and I still need my husband to do his best to help."
After making silent eye contact with Li Yuan for a while, the two of them already understood each other tacitly. Although Xu Kuangheng was ecstatic in his heart, he tried his best to hold it back and hurriedly cupped his hands and said: "I understand, thank you, Marshal!"
Not long after, the two of them walked to a table in the center of the hall. Li Yuan stretched out his hand to uncover the sand table on the table. The sculptures on the huge sand table were the three-dimensional terrain from Langzhou to the eight states in Lingnan, covering the entire Chu region. picture.
Li Yuan pointed at the sand table and said in a deep voice: "Sir, after the fall of Chenzhou, Minzhou, Hengzhou and other places fell one after another. Now under the rule of Wu'an, only Tanzhou is left alone. The commander of Tanzhou has been there, although The city walls are high and strong, and Li Jianqi is also proficient in defending the city, but how long can he withstand the Han army with only 20,000 troops? Pan Chongche is known as the most powerful general in the Han Dynasty, and the 50,000 Han troops he brings are all elite divisions!
My husband just concluded that there would be a decree from the court within half a month, but I am afraid that Li Jianqi will not be able to persist until that time. You see, once Tanzhou City is conquered, the Han army will no longer have hills and passes to block it, and they can come and go freely. They can go north to attack Langzhou at any time! It’s been a few months of stability, but I really don’t want to bring the war to my territory in Wuping..."
Xu Kuangheng nodded repeatedly, cupped his hands and replied: "What the commander-in-chief said is true. The crisis in Tanzhou is closely related to our Langzhou! But commander-in-chief, now is the time when the court is worried. No matter how critical it is, we can't send troops without purpose!" "
Just when he was at a loss what to do, Li Yuan stared at the sand table and suddenly said: "The Han army wants to annex the Chu land this time. After passing Tanzhou, in addition to going north to Langzhou, they will also go west to Xizhou sooner or later. Sir, why don't you, my commander? I wrote a handwritten letter and sent a fast horse to Peng Shiyu, asking him to lead the Dongxi barbarians to the east. Even if he cannot defeat the Han army, he can still stop it for a while..."
Before he finished speaking, Li Yuan seemed to have remembered something and asked in a deep voice: "Sir, I remembered to send an invitation to Peng Shiyu for this wedding banquet, but he did not attend."
Xu Kuangheng smiled bitterly and said: "Commander, these days are your happy days, and I haven't had time to report them yet! Not only did no one from Xizhou come to the banquet, not even the congratulatory gifts were sent! And the envoys I sent, not even Xizhou I haven’t even entered the city gate, so it’s really a bit strange..."
Li Yuan was shocked. Could it be that Peng Shiyu broke the promise? Then he blinked suspiciously: "Oh? What's going on?"
