Tanzhou City, in the small hall of the Commander's Office on Hunan Road, the moment Li Yuan walked in, Liu Chengwu quickly stepped forward and knelt down, kowtowed and saluted, calling his majesty, his eyes were wet. Li Yuan was confused at first, then Zouping on the side hurriedly stepped forward to whisper, and Li Yuan was immediately overjoyed.
"It's God's will. I thought all the generals in Chuzhou died on the battlefield." Li Yuan laughed loudly.
"How could your Majesty think so?" Liu Chengwu said with a bitter smile.
"I'm not cursing you. It's just that when the three towns in Jiangbei raised troops, the fourteen prefectures in Jiangbei fell one after another. Many generals in the imperial court would rather die than surrender. I can't guarantee that you are not among them."
"But your Majesty, I am ashamed to say that if you had not saved your hometown and the people, your Majesty, you would have died for your country with your sons and sons in Chuzhou... Your Majesty, you Do you think the final general is a spy sent by the opponent?" Liu Chengwu sighed.
Li Yuan chuckled and said: "Liu Chengwu, I understand that you must have had no choice but to succumb to being a thief, and I don't doubt you. How could I, a good man from Chuzhou, collude with those gangs of traitors? Although you and I got along very well three years ago. Not much, but I still know something about you."
Liu Chengwu stood up, bowed deeply, and said solemnly: "Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty. In fact, we have always wanted to contact Your Majesty, but we have never had the chance. If we act rashly, we may be exposed and cause trouble."
Li Yuan nodded and said: "I understand. By the way, besides you, are there any other generals in Jiangbei Army who are willing to surrender?"
"Your Majesty, as well as General Zhang Yaoxian, the former deputy envoy of the Haizhou garrison. The last general and General Zhang have already discussed in private to contact your Majesty. General Zhang will be extremely happy if he knows that your Majesty asks about him. He once He told the general that when your Majesty followed the Shenwu Army into Chu three years ago, he served as your Majesty's Shangguan! He also said that he did things for your Majesty...
In addition, there is another person, Li Zhong, the former magistrate of Ganyang County, who is now responsible for logistics and supplies in the front camp there. The three of us discussed privately that we must come to see His Majesty. There was an opportunity tonight, so the general came decisively. "
Li Yuan was stunned, how could he not remember Zhang Yaoxian? Li Yuan had just traveled to this era three years ago and woke up in the Chu army camp in a daze. At that time, he borrowed Luo Erhu's money and spent it on the camp commander Zhang Yaoxian. , and then he was able to meet Bian Hao to offer advice, which led to the legendary story of Li Yuan's three cavalry surrendering to the King of Chu. Indirectly speaking, Zhang Yaoxian was Li Yuan's first nobleman.
"What Zhang Yaoxian said is true. He did help me. As for Li Zhong you are talking about?"
"Magistrate Li Zhongli is a great talent! He was a Jinshi in the sixth year of his promotion to the Yuan Dynasty. He said that he had an acquaintance with His Majesty. It was three years ago at a poetry meeting in the left-behind mansion in Yangzhou, the eastern capital. He I was invited to attend the meeting and saw His Majesty’s amazing talent, which I will never forget.”
Li Yuan suddenly understood. Three years ago, he met his father-in-law Zhou Zong at the Yangzhou Poetry Festival for the first time, and among all the attendees at that poetry meeting, Li Zhong was present. At that time, Li Yuan was very excited when he heard his name. This man was recognized by later generations as the first poet of the Southern Tang Dynasty, so he chatted with him enthusiastically. Although this man had an elegant face, he was carrying a long sword. It was very interesting to see him. Unexpectedly, he also In the army on the opposite side.
"Your Majesty, what should we do next? The war is imminent, and the general cannot stay for long." Liu Chengwu cupped his hands and said.
Li Yuan nodded and said: "I understand how many soldiers and horses you have at hand right now."
"The last general and General Zhang each have 5,000 troops and horses. Although General Li is the deputy general of the former battalion, he is only responsible for logistics supplies and only has 3,000 logistics troops and horses in his hands."
Li Yuan nodded and said: "God is really helping me. I was just thinking about how to continue harassing the army on the opposite side, and you came. The time came at the right time. Listen, I have a plan. You go back and convey it to them. That's it. , and so and so, and when the time comes, it will be like this again... What do you think?"
Liu Chengwu cupped his hands and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, please rest assured, I will fight to the death to complete this matter."
Li Yuan waved his hand and said: "Fight to the death? I don't want you to die. After the matter is done, I will send troops to meet you, and I will definitely ensure that you return successfully."
Liu Chengwu laughed loudly, and the two talked for a few more words. Liu Chengwu asked about the current situation of Wang's wife and younger brother, which led to something that Li Yuan didn't know either.
That was the reason why Wang Jingyao was able to escape from the city and find Li Yuan when she was hunted by a wealthy businessman offering a reward in Chuzhou during the great changes in the Wang family.
Liu Chengzhong told Li Yuan that at that time Wang Jingguo was imprisoned on suspicion of trafficking in smuggled salt, and that Wang Jingyao scratched a wealthy businessman and fled, causing uproar in the city. Naturally, he knew everything, but he was not as blind to money as other officials. Instead, he deliberately made a hole in the south gate of Chuzhou, otherwise Wang Jingyao would not have been able to escape.
When Li Yuan heard this, he sighed. Liu Chengwu's ability to do this shows that he is a trustworthy person. Those who are not swayed by the reward money and have the heart to help others with justice are those who are responsible and know right from wrong.
Liu Chengwu couldn't stay long. Although he didn't want to go back, he had to go back. But he had already achieved his goal this time. He met Li Yuan as he wished and made a plan, which made Liu Chengwu very excited.
Li Yuan personally sent Liu Chengwu out of the east city gate. Liu Chengwu rushed back to the outside of the city to join his men. After informing his brothers of part of the situation, all of his men were very happy.
The preparations for the war entered the third day. This day was surprisingly calm, which surprised Zhang Wenbiao.
Last night was uneventful, which was beyond his expectation. The logging work after dawn did not suffer the same harassment as yesterday, which made Zhang Wenbiao feel a little unreal. But in any case, the other party not to harass is what Zhang Wenbiao wants. The logging work will be completed today, and hundreds of catapults have been built.
With the entire army mobilized, in one or two days, everything will be ready to launch a siege battle, and everything will return to the rhythm Zhang Wenbiao expected.
However, in the afternoon, the bad news finally arrived.
After hearing the news, Zhang Wenbiao's first reaction was that the day had not passed peacefully after all, and what happened this time was even more troublesome than the other party's harassment and murder. That was the only way to Jiangbei. The logistics supply channel is blocked.
The general who sent the letter said that a cliff in the middle of the mountain road leading from Tanzhou to Jiangbei collapsed, and the falling mud and rocks blocked the entire road. This resulted in hundreds of large trucks full of food and supplies being blocked in the east and hundreds of empty trucks blocked in the west.
The general who sent the letter also said that this must be an accident. The low hillsides in Chudi were loose and rocks were loose, and landslides were common. However, this time the collapse was quite severe. He asked Zhang Wenbiao to send people to help clear and dredge the roads so that supplies could be restored as soon as possible. unobstructed.
However, Zhang Wenbiao smelled something unusual.
It is true that the low mountains and hills of Chudi are prone to collapse, but most of them occur in the rainy season. Landslides occur only when heavy rains wash away the hillsides, but since it is March and the weather has not warmed up yet, the possibility of a mountain collapse is low. What's more, according to their description, this was a huge collapse, and the entire cliff collapsed, which is even more impossible.
Zhang Wenbiao was inclined to think that this was the sabotage caused by Li Yuan's men. This wasn't because he was paranoid, but because he really thought Li Yuan would do this.
In fact, he had already taken precautions against this. In order to ensure the smooth flow of logistics, he sent 6,000 soldiers and horses to guard the logistics convoy, and sent 3,000 precious cavalry to patrol along the route day and night, just to prevent Li Yuan from sending people to cut off the logistics. aisle. But now it seems that Li Yuan succeeded.
This matter is extremely serious. The army consumes a huge amount of supplies and food every day. It must be constantly replenished to ensure that the army has sufficient supplies and enough food for more than ten days before it can feel at ease.
These supplies cannot be cut off at all. If they are cut off for one day, the morale of the military will be one step closer to collapse.
Zhang Wenbiao immediately ordered 10,000 troops from the rear camp to rush to the site of the incident to assist in clearing the incident. Nearly 20,000 soldiers and horses were involved in moving the earth and rocks, and with the addition of 5,000 to 6,000 civilians, this landslide should be dredged soon.
The bad news did not end there. In the evening, the news came again.
The road beneath another steep ridge collapsed, and this time the soldiers and civilians who were crowded on the road clearly heard the huge explosion on the ridge and the plume of smoke rising into the sky.
All this confirmed Zhang Wenbiao's judgment that this was man-made destruction. This time it also helped Zhang Wenbiao clear up a question, that is, how they were able to make the entire mountain ridge collapse, but it turned out that they used gunpowder to explode. The mountain ridge collapsed.
Before one place was opened, another big collapse occurred. This time, Zhang Wenbiao, who was not too anxious at first, became a little uneasy. It will take two days and two nights to clear all the two collapsed areas. This means that during these two days, no supplies and food can be transported to the camp, and we can only use our capital.
What's even more troublesome is that if the opponent keeps causing collapses and blocking the road, the supply of the army will become the most difficult problem.
Although he was very angry, Zhang Wenbiao warned himself not to panic. After all, the army had enough food and grass for ten days, and he could completely capture Tanzhou City in these ten days.
The immediate priority was to clear the roads and send out search forces to round up small groups of enemy soldiers wreaking havoc. Even if you can't catch them, as long as you can force them to stop wreaking havoc, your goal will be achieved.
Therefore, Zhang Wenbiao blocked the news. He did not want to cause panic and uneasiness in the military due to this incident.
After dark, there is good news from the front. The searching soldiers and horses found traces of a small group of sabotaging soldiers and horses from the other side on the hillside south of the road, and drove them away from the mountain road. A large number of soldiers and horses were encircling them.
Moreover, the dredging work of the mountain road is progressing smoothly. It is expected that it will take less than two days and two nights, and it may be possible to dredge it in advance. Zhang Wenbiao was in a good mood, his tense nerves relaxed, and he even made a few jokes with his generals.
In Zhang Wenbiao's view, although Li Yuan's tricks have caused him a lot of trouble and caused him a lot of headaches, he will eventually be unable to shake the overall situation. Zhang Wenbiao has already formulated several strategies for attacking the city. No matter how arrogant Li Yuan is now, when he launches it, it will definitely be a devastating thunder blow.
Another night came, and the peacefulness of last night and the peacefulness of today made the atmosphere in the army somewhat relaxed. The continuous spying method used by the scouts last night also proved to be a way to capture the opponent's actions in time. Many people believed that the opponent was unlikely to attack the camp again like the one the night before yesterday.
But even so, they still couldn't relax and were still lying on their backs nervously, ready to face emergencies at any time.
Until the second watch, everything was fine. News from the scouts ahead said that the other party did not even send out cavalry to hunt down the scouts tonight. It seemed that tonight would be a peaceful night.
However, when it was almost three o'clock, colorful flame bombs suddenly rose above Tanzhou City and exploded in the air, causing the Jiangbei army barracks to explode. The soldiers who had fallen asleep were woken up by the generals yelling loudly. They bumped around like headless flies, not knowing what was going on.
The military order was passed down, saying that the Chu army had sent a signal and might launch an attack on the camp. The soldiers were panicked and got into position to prepare for battle.
However, the news sent back from the scouts under the city showed that the other party only fired three signal flares. Their four cities were tightly closed, and there was no sign of troops being dispatched. After waiting for another half an hour, there was still no sign of the other party sending troops. The generals all realized that they might be neurotic and felt very ashamed at the same time.
The opponent only used three signal flares to send the entire battalion into panic. This is simply ridiculous. The defenders at the top of the other side's city were probably laughing and mocking themselves. They were all frightened birds. Maybe they were just teasing themselves.
In fact, Li Yuan was indeed smiling on the Tanzhou City Tower, and he was very unrestrained and happy.
