The night is thick, just like the heart of Fang Xuanzao.

With Li Wenxiang beheaded, the deserters finally stopped appearing, but this forceful method was by no means a long-term solution, and if it could not break out of the encirclement of the Sui army, this army would still flee in all directions sooner or later. And from the perspective of the current situation, the Wei army was completely suppressed by the Sui army, Yang Tong occupied Dingyuan City and then stood still, like a sharp sword hidden in the sheath, once out of the sheath, it will burst out of the trend of looking at the world, the hearts of the Wei soldiers have been scattered, to fight Yang Dong, who is waiting for work, is purely sent to death in vain, not to mention that Yao Junsu is like a vicious wolf coming with his tail, if the Wei army storms Dingyuan, how can he put the safety of Emperor Sui in danger?

There is a chance of winning this battle, Fang Xuanzao knows it, but the saint still has illusions, and he doesn't want the strong man to break his wrist and retreat to Huaibei, so what?

Unconsciously, he walked to the southern camp where Meng Rang was, and after a little groaning, he walked into the camp and asked people to report to Meng Rang.

Meng Rang is a native of Qi County, about forty years old, he looks polite and polite, quite a Confucian general, he came in troubled times, he once led an army against the Sui, in the battle with the government, the army continued to expand. Later, he united with Wang Bo, who had the first righteous merit, occupied the area of Changbai Mountain in Qingzhou, occupied Qi County, Beihai County, because Zhang Xutuo, Zhou Fashang water and land advances, led the troops to fight Jianghuai, the troops were as high as more than 100,000 people, he took the Jiangdu Jingfeng as a foothold, attacked the Jiangdu City in the south, and was defeated by Wang Shichong, who was Jiangdu Cheng at the time, Meng Rang led his subordinates to Beitou Wagangzhai, won the weight of Li Mi, and was successively appointed by Li Mi as the head of the march, the prince of Qi County, after Li Mi ascended the throne, he was canonized as the king of Qi County, the general of the left guard.

He was a man with extremely rich experience in warfare, and he was extremely worried about the Wei army, which was chaotic and demoralized.

Hearing that Fang Xuanzao was visiting, he hurriedly got up and personally welcomed him into the tent, and after taking his seat, he asked with a smile: "Mr. Fang, why don't you rest so late?" ”

Fang Xuanzao shook his head and sighed: "With the current situation of our army, how can I sleep." I have something I want to discuss with the general, but I wonder if it is convenient for the general? ”

"Convenient, naturally convenient." Meng Rang smiled bitterly, "I won't tell you, more than 1,000 people have escaped under my command, and now there are six gods without a master, and I ask Mr. to give me an idea." ”

Fang Xuanzao smiled bitterly: "Could it be that General Li's head has become invalid?" ”

Meng Rang sighed: "It's okay now, it's hard to talk about it in the second half of the night." ”

"The general is a man who has experienced a lot of battles, so he naturally knows the current situation, so I won't say more." Fang Xuanzao was silent for a long time, looked at Meng Rang and said: "At night, I persuaded the Holy Shang to take advantage of the fact that the Sui army had not yet completed the siege, and went north to Tushan overnight, and after a short rest, he would return to the Central Plains, and after stabilizing the army's heart, capture Qingxu, and then threaten Luoyang from the east, join forces with Li Tang to fight the Sui, and share the pressure with each other, which is also the only feasible plan at present, but the Holy Lord is indecisive and has not made up his mind for a long time, and I am anxious now." ”

Meng Rang muttered: "This area is my previous foothold, the largest number of troops as high as 160,000, when I was defeated by Wang Shichong's hands, the soldiers who went north with me were only more than 1,000 veterans I brought from Qingzhou, and there was not a single Jianghuai soldier, which shows that the people here are extremely nostalgic for their homeland." Once we go north now, I'm afraid it's exactly the same as I did back then, and the saints also understand this truth, I'm afraid we need to think about it, after all, this is related to tens of thousands of soldiers, and we can't just give up if we give up. ”

"We can't have both, we can't do everything, we must give up, I mean give up these southern soldiers, take these old soldiers to the north overnight, with these south as cover, we will definitely be able to win the north, we have more than 40,000 old soldiers, plus General Wang, General Xu more than 100,000 people, we have nearly 200,000 soldiers, if Huaibei can't hold it, it's a big deal to enter the Runan Mountains from Ruyin, both land and water." Fang Xuanzao said.

Meng Rang was slightly stunned, Runan is now in the hands of the Sui army, he has never considered it, but the south of Runan County is the vast Huaiyang Mountains, and Tongbai Mountain is even more steep, if you can withdraw into the Runan Mountains, it is a good choice, and when the battle between the Sui and Tang Dynasties falls into a stalemate, you can make a comeback.

He pondered for a long time and said, "Our army has finally transformed from a chaotic bandit to a regular Wei army, and I am afraid that the saint is unwilling to be a bandit again. ”

"I know this, so I didn't tell the saint about this choice." Fang Xuanzao nodded, and then said: "I'm talking about the last choice, and I may not really enter the mountain. If you can gain a foothold in the Central Plains again, why bother entering the mountains? ”

"The gentleman has told the saint that we can only wait for the saint's decision now."

Fang Xuanzao said: "I'm worried that the cavalry of the Sui army will be killed as soon as the morning dawns, has the general forgotten Li Xiaogong's defeat?" ”

Meng Rang stood up in shock, and cold sweat began to break out on his forehead.

When Li Tang went on the Eastern Expedition last year, Li Xiaogong was the commander of the Western Route Army, and there were no less than 100,000 soldiers under his command, and they went to several counties in a row, and because the commander of the Eastern Route Army, Li Shimin, led the troops to Luoyang City, the morale of the government and the opposition was like a rainbow, but Luo Shixin only used 20,000 or 30,000 cavalry to wipe out Li Xiaogong's entire army; The Tang army with high morale is still so miserable, if it is replaced by the current Wei army, the result is self-evident, when he thinks of the consequences of the annihilation of the whole army, Meng Rang's heart is pounding, and he only feels a chill down his spine.

"In addition, the grain of our westward expedition this time will either be placed in Tushan County, Zhongli, by water, or by land, and transported to Dingyuan City, and there is not much food behind us. Our current food can only last for two days at most, and if we don't abandon the southern army and set off overnight, even if we are not slaughtered by the Sui cavalry, this limited food will be difficult to support us to Huaibei. ”

"Is there really only two days of food left?" Meng Rang could no longer be calm.

"The consumption of 100,000 troops is huge, without the support of Jiangyangcang and Dingyuan City, how long does the general think we can support? In addition, Tushan County is empty of troops, and if the Sui army takes it away, we will not only lose food, but also cut off the road to the north. Fang Xuanzao let out a long sigh and said with a bitter smile: "Our army's camp is only a few miles away from the place where 'Farewell My Concubine' happened, doesn't the general think that our situation is very similar to that of the Western Chu Bawu?" ”

Meng Rang said: "Embattled and ambushed on all sides? ”

"Yes!" Fang Xuanzao nodded slowly and said: "The overlord of Western Chu refused to cross the east back then, and he killed himself to the west of the Wujiang River, and the saint refused to cross the Huaishui for a long time, I am very worried. ”

Meng Rang couldn't sit still anymore, he got up: "My husband and I will go to see the saint together, or ignore the two Sui armies, and simply kill Jiangdu neatly; Either go north overnight, in short, a decision must be made tonight. ”

"Without further ado, we'll go now."

The two of them stood up in unison, hurried to the handsome tent, and just arrived at the door, a guard happened to come out, and when he saw that it was Fang Xuanzao and Meng Rang, he saluted with a smile: "Shang Shuling, General Meng, the saint is looking for you." ”

"Mr. Fang, General Zhen, please come in." It seemed that the voice of the guards was heard, and Li Mi's voice came from the big tent, and the voice was full of lightness. Fang Xuanzao and Meng knew that Li Mi had already made a decision.

Is it just to fight or go north?

This made the two of them still a little apprehensive in their hearts, glanced at each other, and quickly walked inside, only to see Li Mi sitting on the main seat, looking much better than when Fang Xuanzao left.

"Weichen Fang Xuanzao see the saint."

"The last general, Meng Rang, see the saint."

The two stepped forward to salute.

Li Mi motioned for the two to sit down, and asked suspiciously: "You two came together, is there something wrong?" ”

Fang Xuanzao arched his hand and said: "Back to the saint, Weichen was a little troubled, and it was really difficult to sleep, so he wandered around the camp, and when he passed by General Meng's barracks, he went in to ask for tea. By the way, I talked about the current situation. ”

"Yes, Holy Lord, the last general thinks that Mr. Fang's suggestion to divert to the Central Plains is the best prescription at present, and now is the time to wait, it is best for the Holy Lord to make a decision tonight." Meng Rang is a military general, he will not beat around the bush, he has always said something, and he is not afraid of offending Li Mi.

Fang Xuanzao's brain buzzed, and he shouted in his heart: "Oops, this guy is going to finish!" "Just as I was about to say a few words. Li Mi had already taken over the conversation and asked with a smile, "What does General Meng think?" ”

Li Mi still has this bit of open-mindedness, otherwise he would not have gathered a large number of ministers and generals, in history, his reputation in the early stage is very good, the great Confucian Xu Wenyuan said, "Duke Wei, a gentleman, can accommodate a wise man." Even Wang Shichong, who is a mortal enemy, said, "Li Mi is talented and decisive, and he is unpredictable for dragons and snakes." ”

The reason why he fell into the name of narrow-mindedness and narrow-mindedness was because after killing Zhai Rang, a large number of Zhai Rang's henchmen were removed, but then again, the root cause was because Zhai Rang saw the huge momentum of Wagang and was unwilling to give up, so he rebelled and plotted to get rid of Li Mi and prepare to seize power, but Li Mi was aware of it in advance and killed him. In the final analysis, there is no right or wrong power struggle, only the outcome of winning and losing, but as the winning side, it must bear the notoriety it deserves. If it is Zhai Rang who wins the victory, I am afraid that he will also end up with the name of being ungrateful, jealous of meritocracy, and killing heroes.

At this time, Meng Rang said: "Luo Shixin gave full play to the advantages of cavalry last year, and used a strong bow and a hard crossbow to kill Li Xiaogong's entire army, and there are tens of thousands of elite horsemen in Dingyuan City, and it is not far from here, and the last general is worried that the Sui army will repeat its old tricks early tomorrow morning." ”

When Li Mi heard this, he only felt a loud bang in his mind, and his mind was blank, and he actually forgot about it.

"Damn."

Li Mi slapped his head and quickly said to the two: "I summoned Mr. to come, I wanted to say that I would lead the army north tomorrow, but after listening to General Meng's words, we must evacuate tonight." ”

"Holy Wisdom." The two were overjoyed.

"Summoning the order to go down, in the name of stealing the camp, take the old pawn to Tushan, and then cross the Huaishui and enter the Ruyin ......" Li Mi showed a trace of struggle on his face, and said decisively: "As for the south, stay in the camp to buy time for us." ”

As soon as the words fell, a guard hurriedly rushed into the big tent and said loudly: "Qiqi Sheng, the scout has come to report that Yao Junsu is leading an army of 40,000 people to this side, less than twenty miles away from our army's camp. Please make a decision. ”

"It's coming so fast!" Li Mi stood up in shock, what he was most worried about finally came, looking at this posture, the Sui army was planning to attack the camp overnight.

Fang Xuanzao hurriedly said: "Holy Lord, the Sui army has been eating meat for a long time, has a strong body, excellent eyesight, and is a good hand at night fighting. Now that the momentum of the left and right attacks has not yet been formed, when will you not leave at this time? ”

"Yes, Holy Lord, twenty miles, that is, an hour or so of a journey, plus they need to rest, we have at least two hours left. The last general suggested that the Holy Lord should take the initiative to fight and draw away the elites. At the same time, let the southern soldiers guard the barracks. When Yang Guang went on an expedition to Goguryeo, everyone brought their own rations, so we might as well take them in turn, so that there would be no need for logistics and the burden would be lightened on the road. Meng Rang also stood up, and said with a solemn face.

Li Mi forced himself to calm down, calmed down a little, and hurriedly untied his son of heaven, handed it to Meng Rang, and said solemnly, "In my name, order the 40,000 main forces to assemble in the front camp with weapons and ten days of food, and there must be no slackness." ”

"The last general obeys!" Meng Rang took the sword with both hands and hurried away.

"Holy Lord, although the military camp is used as a cover, it can't be lost so easily." Fang Xuanzao said.

"Sir, please." At this time, any suggestion is Li Mi's lifeline.

"The Wufeng Mountain to the west of the barracks is the barrier of the barracks, which can block the enemy in Yuanxian County, and our army is camped here, and this is what is important. In the opinion of the minister, if Yao Jun came to fight, Yang Tong would never sit idly by, so Wei Chen suggested that the saint send 20,000 southern troops to set up an ambush in the Wufeng Mountain, not to mention that it could defeat the Sui army, but the worst could also buy a certain amount of time for my army to go north. ”

"Good. That's it. Li Mi is as good as a stream, in fact, he has no other way to think of it.

Just as he was considering who to send as a general, a guard hurried to the front of the tent and reported loudly: "Qiqi Shengshang, the Dingyuan Sui army is killing in the direction of the big camp, less than ten miles away from us. ”

"Boom!"

Li Mi's mind exploded, and his expression was like seeing a ghost, his face was full of disbelief, and cold sweat was already flowing down like a waterfall. I only felt that my legs were weak, and I sat on the stool, and I only felt that my throat was dry, and I couldn't say a word

Fang Xuanzao's eyes were glazed, and his brain was blank.

There was a dead silence in the tent.

It seemed like a long time had passed, and it seemed like it was just a moment.

Li Mi is finally a generation of heroes, after experiencing countless winds and waves, he recovered first, took a deep breath, and said to Fang Xuanzao: "The momentum of the left and right attacks has been completed, and we can't think about it if we want to go now, so we can only stick to the camp and fight to a death with the Sui army." Quickly chase Meng Rang back, and let him lead 30,000 archers to defend the battalion, and I personally lead the elite division into battle. ”

As he spoke, he took out a gold medal and handed it to Fang Xuanzao.

"Yes."

Fang Xuanzao didn't have anything to say, so he took the token and went to chase Meng Rang.

"Drumming gathering."

When it came to the end, Li Mi completely calmed down.

"Knock knock ......"

Suddenly, rumbling war drums tore apart the silence of the night.