Among the major forces in the world, Xiao Milling is currently the largest force outside the Great Sui, during the strong period, his territory east to Jiujiang, west to the Three Gorges, south to Jiaozhi, north to Jingzhou, thousands of miles of fertile fields, firmly occupied Jingxiang, a major grain production area, the army at its peak, as high as 400,000, the limelight was unparalleled for a while.

But what is the truth, only Xiao Mo knows that although the army claims to be 400,000, most of them are rabble, poorly equipped, extremely low combat power, and there are only 50,000 or 60,000 people who can fight, which is also his foundation. In fact, all counties are countries within a country, and the military and political power is all controlled by local tycoons, and his decrees are only valid for the north of the Yangtze River.

On this day, Xiao Mo received the visiting Da Sui Rite Department Shangshu Du Ruhui in the palace.

Du Ruhui came from Luoyang, and after arriving in Nanyang, he was escorted into the country by 10,000 elite horsemen, and the specifications were quite high-profile, which was not without deterrence. His main task was to make Xiao Mi show his attitude, if Xiao Mo continued to be ambiguous on the issue of whether to surrender or not, then the Sui army would directly take the four counties of Yiyang, Handong, Anlu and Yong'an, so as to strategically outflank the Tang army in Chungling.

"Gong Xiao, the Tang army has gathered more than 100,000 elite divisions in Chungling, the situation is quite critical, and the saint is worried that the back and forth negotiations will delay time, so he directly sent the elite cavalry into the country, without discussion in advance, please forgive Xiao Gong."

"Where! How can I blame the saint, it's too late for me to be happy, the arrival of Du Shangshu makes me not have to worry about the Tang army in the north. ”

"When Xiao Gong was in his heyday, he had 400,000 elite soldiers, dominating the south, and being in the limelight, why didn't he mobilize troops from various counties?"

"I know my own warmth and coldness! You know how cold and warm you are! Xiao Mo sighed and said with a wry smile: "Now, I don't have to hide Du Shangshu, my 400,000 army includes the armies of many, many barbarian tribes, in fact, they don't accept my rule, and they can't command these armies. And the army I can control is less than 100,000 people, at least half of them are in the south to maintain local security, if there are no soldiers in the place, I am very worried about being ransacked by unruly barbarians, so calculated, I can mobilize only about 50,000 troops, of which 30,000 are deployed in Nanjun, 20,000 are deployed in Anlu, but the Tang army suddenly deployed more than 100,000 people in Chungling, the pressure is really not ordinary. I thought they couldn't beat the imperial army, and they turned around to deal with me, and I couldn't sleep well. ”

Looking at his depressed face, Du Ruyan couldn't help but wonder. In fact, this is not the first time that the Tang army has this kind of thing, every time they lose to the Great Sui, they take Xiao Milling out of anger, when the morale of the Tang Army rises, they go to the north to fight with the Great Sui, and after the defeat, they still turn their heads to find Xiao Milling to vent their anger. Tang Jun bullied people like this, can Xiao Mo not be depressed?

"Gong Xiao doesn't have to worry, the Tang Army left Chungling County too late, the unexpected fighter plane has disappeared, and it is not realistic for the Tang Army to annihilate you now. In fact, Li Yuan fled from Nanyang to Xiangyang, and quickly built a Hanshui defense line to guard against the imperial army, he thought that the Hanshui was a natural danger, and the imperial army could not pass, and the white water of Chungling was not as wide as the Hanshui, so he sent Li Xiaogong to aid Chungling, his primary enemy was the imperial army, not you, if the Tang army came out of the city to attack you, it just gave the imperial court a good opportunity to annihilate the enemy in the wild. The saint just asked me to tell Xiao Gong that this confrontation will not be too long, between half a year and a year! I hope that Xiao Gong will be prepared, especially his own food will be guaranteed. ”

Xiao Mo said, "Jingxiang is a major grain producing area, this problem is not big, we have long been prepared for a long-term confrontation with the Tang army, so we have hoarded grain in important places such as Nanjun and Anlu. By the way, is the Holy One also in Nanyang? ”

"The saint thought that the scale of the war was too small, and felt that it was boring to fight, so he used the pseudo-Tang Dynasty to train generals, like Luo Shixin, Xue Wanjun, Qin Qiong and others, all of whom had to grow into handsome talents in charge of the war."

"......" Xiao Miao's eyes were about to fall off when he heard it, the three names of Luo Shixin, Xue Wanjun, and Qin Qiong can be described as thunderous, and all of them have extraordinary performances; Especially Qin Qiong, who killed hundreds of thousands of Turkic elites, is not handsome in Yang Tong's eyes, how big is this heart? How demanding is that?

Cen Wenwen, who was listening next to him, asked, "Didn't you say that the imperial court was going to beat Li Mi?" ”

Du Ruhui bowed slightly and said: "The imperial court did decide to fight Li Mi first, but General Xue Wanjun accidentally broke the Zhuyang Pass, so it was a little faster here, as for Li Mi's side, it was still fighting, but the progress was a little slower!" ”

Cen Wenwen was stunned for a moment, and then asked, "The imperial court decided to deal with Er Li at the same time?" ”

"Is it hard?" Du Ruhui asked rhetorically.

"......" Cen Wenwen felt that he couldn't continue to talk, they were ravaged by Li Tang and Lin Shihong, and among Du Ruhui's words, the strongest Li Yuan and Li Mi became children, and they fell down as soon as they pushed it.

At this time, a guard came to report: "Liang Gong, Wen Yanbo, the secretary of the Tang State Rite Department, is visiting." "Huh?"

Xiao Mo and Cen Wenwen were all stunned.

Du Ruhui looked at the faces of the two of them, got up and smiled: "I'll avoid it." ”

"Not necessarily!" Xiao Mian is very shrewd, he knows that if Du Ruhui avoids it, he will not be able to wash it by jumping into the Yellow River, on the contrary, Du Ruhui will watch and listen to the whole process, and there will be no problem.

"Then I'll be disrespectful." Du Ruyan sat down again.

Xiao Mo nodded slightly, and said, "Let Wen Yanbo come to see me." ”

"Whoa!"

After a while, Wen Yanbo came to the hall alone, glanced at Xiao Mo on the main seat, and saluted: "Tang envoy Wen Yanbo, see His Majesty the Emperor of Liang." ”

"The Tang envoy misunderstood, I am now the Jiangling County Duke of the Great Sui." Since deciding to return to Sui, Xiao Mo has gone to the emperor's name, but it is the first time that he has been canonized by Yang Tong as the prince of Jiangling County, and the reason is naturally because there is Du Ruhui next to him.

"Gangneung-gungong"

Hearing this title, Wen Yanbo's eyes suddenly flashed, and he immediately said with a solemn face: "Meet the Duke of Jiangling." ”

Xiao Mo motioned, "Sir, please take a seat!" ”

"Thank you!" Wen Yanbo sat down, and involuntarily glanced at Cen Wenwen and Du Ruhui respectively, but they didn't know each other, and Du Ruhui didn't wear the court clothes of the Great Sui because he was in a hurry, which made Wen Yanbo think that the other party was Xiao Miao's courtier.

"The Tang army Chen has more than 100,000 elite divisions in Chungling, and now the battle is imminent, but the Tang Emperor has sent Mr. as an envoy, I don't know what advice?" Xiao Mo asked.

Wen Yanbo arched his hand and said: "Xiao Gong misunderstood, my Datang is not an enemy of Xiao Gong, but I actually want to fight to the death with the violent Sui, and I am here to explain the reason to Xiao Gong, so as not to hurt the peace between the two countries." ”

"Amika?" Xiao Mo scoffed, "The Tang army invaded at every turn, invaded a large amount of my country, and injured countless of my generals, I don't know where the harmony is." ”

Speaking of this, Xiao Mian is angry, it is a matter of life and death for you to dominate the world, and I will admit that you destroy me, but you Li Yuan specially used my soldiers to train soldiers, which is too much.

"The Holy One will let him come down to clear up the misunderstanding! In order to show sincerity, it was decided to return all the lands that originally belonged to Xiao Gong, such as Yiling and Jingling. ”

"How do I return it?" Xiao Miao's face showed a hint of surprise.

"After our army defeats the Sui army, we will return them one by one."

Xiao Milling is angry, what is the difference between this and saying it in vain? After defeating the Sui army, it was strange that Li Yuan would retreat to me, but he didn't get angry, and after being silent for a while, he asked, "I don't know what the Tang Emperor needs?" ”

Wen Yanbo shook his head: "The Holy Lord only needs a firm ally, to put it bluntly, if my Tang Dynasty is gone, your country is also in danger, Xiao Gongcai has learned people, and he will know the reason for the cold of lips and teeth." ”

Cen Wenwen asked, "Then why don't you go to Lin Shihong and Li Mi?" Aren't they staunch allies? ”

Wen Yanbo said: "There is no need to hide from Xiao Gong and the two gentlemen, there were Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande on the side before, the violent Sui could not go south safely, our army captured Heluo, as a buffer, slowly Tuzhi, will be able to wave the army north, but now the violent Sui is really not an enemy, if the various princes in my south continue to attack, do not huddle together for warmth, will definitely let the violent Sui annihilate one by one, at this time it is necessary for the heroes of the world to work together to thwart the violent Sui, and therefore, the Holy Lord is ready to unite the heroes of the world to resist the Sui, in addition to Xiao Gong, Li Mi, Lin Shihong, Meng Haigong is also invited, And a consensus has been reached that as long as the alliance is formed, it will be able to defeat the tyrannical Sui. ”

"Huh!" At this time, a burst of laughter full of ridicule sounded in the hall, Wen Yanbo turned to look, only to see Du Ruhui looking at Wen Yanbo with disdain, and said, "Li Yuan really gave a big dream. ”

"Who are you?" Wen Yanbo stared at Du Ruhui.

Du Ruhui arched his hand and said: "It is Du Ruhui who is the secretary of the Great Sui Inspection School Rite Department, it is a coincidence, and he has just arrived in the next year. ”

Wen Yanbo was shocked, this is indeed too much of a coincidence, now it seems that Liu Wenjing's plan to divide himself will not succeed, he returned the salute, and said directly to Xiao Miao: "Xiao Gong, you should know that Emperor Sui is doing all the things that make people and businesses, once Xiao Gong surrenders, he will immediately lose everything, and even his net worth is difficult to protect, after all, in the eyes of Emperor Sui, the saint and Xiao Gong are both thieves, does Xiao Gong think he can tolerate you?" ”

Xiao Mo glanced at him and said lightly: "Could it be that Emperor Tang is different?" ”

"Of course it's different, I just said below, Datang and Xiao Gong are in a relationship of honor and disgrace, the alliance is profitable, and the division is dead, and in the future, Datang will take the world, and will follow Zhou Shizong's example, and will not want Xiao Gong to have a city and a place, so that the Liang Kingdom can multiply in this land from generation to generation."

Zhou Shizong was the Ming Emperor of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Yuwenyu, and in the second year of his ascension to the throne, the Northern Zhou Dynasty defeated the remnants of the Southern Liang in Yingzhou, located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. In addition, Xiao Yan's grandson Xiao Jing established the Later Liang in Jiangling, although the Xiao family continued the national unity, but the Later Liang was actually attached to the Northern Zhou Dynasty a regime, the country was weak and weak, and it was finally abolished by the Sui Dynasty in the seventh year of the emperor's reign. Later Liang passed on Emperor Xuan Xiao Cha, Emperor Ming Emperor Xiao Yue, and Later Lord Xiao Cong III, which existed for thirty-three years. Because the descendants of the Xiao family were very respectful to the Northern Zhou Dynasty and the Sui Dynasty, the descendants of the Xiao family have always been treated well, and the daughter of Xiao Yue also became the queen of Yang Guang, and the concubine Xiao who gave birth to Yang Gao is also the daughter of the Xiao family. Therefore, after the Later Liang was deposed, the Xiao family still had a certain political influence in the Sui Dynasty and Jiangling. And Xiao Mo is the grandson of Xiao Yan's younger brother, and the reason why he developed so quickly at the beginning of the army is directly related to the fame of the Xiao ancestors in the land of Jingxiang.

Wen Yanbo said that Li Yuan was willing to emulate the Northern Zhou Dynasty, but in fact he implied that Xiao Milling had destroyed the Sui Dynasty of the Later Liang State, and it was impossible for you to live, because Yang Tong did not want the descendants of the Xiao family to produce another Xiao Mill.

"Xiao Gong, Mr. Wen is right, the saint does not lie, nor does he disdain to lie, after Xiao Gong descends to Sui, all the counties under the rule of Xiao Gong will be rebuilt, and the county guard, county order, and county will be rearranged, and the civil and military division system will be implemented, and the official system formulated by Emperor Wen - shall not serve in this county, and must be changed to other places after serving for four years will also be implemented to the end." Wen Yanbo's sudden arrival just gave Du Ruhui a reason to talk about the conditions.

"Xiao Gong, you heard it!" Wen Yanbo looked at Xiao Mo with a smile, and then said, "If you descend to Sui, you will have nothing!" Even his own life cannot be guaranteed. ”

Du Ruhui said disappointedly: "I heard that Xue Daoheng and Li Gang praised the three heroes of the Wen family for their talent as prime ministers, and they admired it very much. ”

"Please advise Mr. Du."

"There is a way that there are no two heavens and no two heavens and no two masters in the country, and what I think about is the hegemony of the thousand autumns, not the partial peace pursued by the pseudo-Tang Dynasty, and my Great Sui must achieve the de facto unity of government and military orders. A state within a state must not be allowed! Du Ruhui looked at Xiao Miao, and continued: "Xiao Gong, the Great Sui has always acted uprightly and fairly, and there will never be such an absurd condition as the Pseudo-Tang, because the Great Sui has the ability and strength to annihilate all the forces that disobey the Great Sui, and there is no need to compromise with anyone for a day, and he disdains to deceive people by deceptive means, but at the same time, my Great Sui's promise is the truth, sincerity, and fulfillment." What Mr. Wen said may not be true. ”

Xiao Mo glanced at Wen Yanbo with an ugly face, and then asked Du Ruhui, "Why?" ”

"It's easy!" Du Ruhui smiled slightly: "The pseudo-Tang Dynasty now only has Bashu relatively intact, but my Great Sui only needs to annihilate the Tang army in Chungling, how long can Bashu hold on?" Of course, we can also contain these hundreds of thousands of Tang troops in Chungling, and then send strange soldiers to kill Bashu from the Yongliang region, so that the pseudo-Tang Dynasty can finish faster,"

Wen Yanbo said coldly: "It seems to be true, since you are so sure, why don't you directly enter Bashu?" ”

"The saint is still young, and he feels that there are still decades to expand the territory, and the pseudo-Tang and pseudo-Wei still have the value of training generals and soldiers, and they don't want to destroy you for the time being. There is another reason, that is, the saint is trying to reconcile with the family, and at a certain time, these families will naturally compete to send the heads of Li Yuan's father and son to Luoyang. But......" Du Ruhan looked at Wen Yanbo with a smile, "But you, the Taiyuan Wen family, are the number one family that supported Li Yuan's rebellion, and you will definitely not be pardoned by the Holy Lord." ”

"Mr. Du, do you really think you can eat us for what you want?"

"Yes, the strength is on the border of the pseudo-Tang Dynasty, I believe Mr. Wen has also seen it, otherwise, Li Yuan would not have appointed Mr. Wen to come to Nanjun, if Li Yuan had a little confidence, he would not tell the lie of dividing the land and ruling it, even a three-year-old child knows that there is only one emperor in the world, I don't think even Mr. Wen himself will believe it!" Du Ruhui raised his voice and said to Xiao Miao: "From the point of view, Li Yuan has been insincere from beginning to end, he is paralyzing Xiao Gong with power and profit, once the army of the Great Sui is transferred to the Jianghuai area, the first person Li Yuan will deal with is Xiao Gong, because he doesn't have the courage to compete with my Great Sui, otherwise, he will not flee back to Xiangyang without a battle." As far as I know, Li Shimin's tens of thousands of remnants have been transferred from Xiyang to Xiangyang, what are you planning to do? It was nothing more than paralyzing Xiao Gong with an alliance, and then attacking Changlin County in Nanjun from the foothills of Jingshan Mountain. ”

"You're talking nonsense." Wen Yanbo interrupted Du Ruhui with a pale face, this guy actually saw through their thoughts.

"In fact, everyone knows in their hearts, it doesn't matter if it's nonsense or not, and Mr. Wen doesn't matter. The important thing now is Xiao Gong, can you hold the land north of the Han River? Is it for the sake of the Xiao family's great cause, or for the sake of Concubine Hui, to completely let go of unrealistic fantasies? ”

Du Ruyan is trying to show up in poverty.

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