In Li Mi's Jianghuai strategy, the main force is to attack the 100,000 army of Huainan Yao Junsu, and Shan Xiongxin, who has 60,000 troops, is only a partial division, and the main purpose of sending troops to Liyang is to contain the Du Fuwei army that can fight well, and when Li Mi destroys the Huainan army reorganized by Xiao Miao's army, he will go south to the Lujiang River with a great victory, and then attack Du Fuwei in Liyang with Shan Xiongxin.

In response to Li Mi's strategy, in fact, Shan Xiongxin and Fang Xuanzao were opposed, they believed that the three-legged momentum of the Sui, Tang and Wei dynasties was no longer possible, and the seven counties of Huaibei and the land of Jianghuai were already difficult to hold, and the best and safest choice was to completely abandon the seven counties of Huaibei and the land of Jianghuai, let Xu Shiji and Wang Bodang retreat to the south of the Yangtze River, and then move the capital to Danyang County, concentrate superior forces to establish the Yangtze River defense line, and then map Meng Haigong in the south to achieve the real division of the river and rule.

However, Li Mi's division of the river is bounded by Huaishui, which is completely different from the idea of the two, Li Mi insisted on fighting this battle for three reasons, one is that the country has just been established this year, if he does not fight a war and give up two-thirds of the territory, how can he, the emperor of the Great Wei, explain to the people under his rule? And how to erect the power of the emperor? The second is that the two Sui armies on the Jianghuai are at their weakest, as long as they win a big victory, then Jianghuai will be the Great Wei, and when the time comes, they will take the initiative to give up the seven counties of Huaibei, and the army and the people will have nothing to say; Third, occupy Jianghuai, and Li Yuan, Lin Shihong to form a trend of advancing hand in hand, so that the momentum of the arrow can form a suppression of the Sui Dynasty in the north, otherwise it will be difficult to last for a while.

In fact, Shan Xiongxin and Fang Xuanzao also felt that the odds were very high, and they were unwilling to miss the opportunity to annihilate Yao Junsu and Du Fuwei, so they responded to the boat.

At this time, Shan Xiongxin also marched in an all-round way, pushing the 60,000 army to the area of Liyang Liuhe Mountain, and the large-scale invasion of the Wei army forced Du Fuwei to concentrate his forces in Wujiang County, and Liyang County became his logistics center, but because Liyang County was not far from the Yangtze River, Du Fuwei cut off his logistics in order to prevent the Wei army from going upstream, and had to accumulate heavy troops in Liyang, resulting in Wujiang troops far inferior to the Wei army.

At the southwest foot of Liuhe Mountain, the Wei Army's Central Army is in the big tent, and Shan Xiongxin is discussing the current situation with several generals and strategists.

"Generals, Yang Tong did not send troops to support Du Fuwei in order to attack the Li Tang Dynasty, but let Du Fuwei recruit young men and women to enlist in the army, he has 60,000 troops in his hands, in terms of numbers, the same as us, but in last year's war, Du Fuwei suffered heavy losses, and there were only 30,000 or 40,000 people left in the division of a hundred battles, according to our scouts to report, there are 30,000 troops in Liyang County, that is to say, the Wujiang Sui army is only half of ours. With his current strength, it is almost impossible to attack on his own initiative. However, there are a lot of Sui troops in Jiangxia, and after the official war, Qin Qiong is very likely to wave reinforcements, and it will only take two or three days to go down the river from Jiangxia to Liyang. The longer it drags on, the more unfavorable the situation will be for us. ”

Marching Zuo Sima Zheng Di guessed Shan Xiongxin's true thoughts, and arched his hand: "The general means that we should not be spectators, but attack Du Fuwei, right?" ”

Shan Xiongxin did not deny it, and sighed: "Du Fuwei's nail is very important, if we win the battle of Wujiang, we can march into the Liyang defenders who will take advantage of the momentum of the big victory and break the morale of the defenders." That can lay the foundation for the victory of the entire Jianghuai Campaign, and it can also reverse the decline of the Great Wei. Zheng Sima, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and if we miss it, we may hate it for eternity. ”

Zheng Di was silent, he was not very in favor of Shan Xiongxin taking the initiative to attack, in addition to violating the established strategy of the Holy Lord, but also because Du Fuwei, the tiger, was very difficult to fight, the key was that they only had a few days, once Qin Qiong waved his army to help, or Du Fuwei did not care about Liyang County and concentrated all his troops on Wujiang, then all the efforts were all in vain, except for the loss of troops and generals, there was nothing to gain.

At this moment, there was a report from the guards outside the door: "General Qiyu, the Jiangxia scouts have received extremely urgent information and ask to see them outside the tent." ”

"Let them come in and report it."

Shan Xiongxin's spirit was lifted, he knew that Li Mi took Zheng Yuanbi as an envoy and sent Li Tang as an envoy, hoping that the Tang army and the Great Wei Dynasty would strike first at the same time, and the Sui army would be caught off guard, and Shan Xiongxin also had great expectations for the Tang army.

After a while, several scouts who were in the dust walked quickly into the big tent, and the scouts led by Shi Chang saluted: "General, the lowly rank and others have returned from Jiangxia. ”

"Tell me what you've heard! Did the Don Army send troops? Shan Xiongxin seemed a little impatient.

The scout chief said: "General Yu, I didn't find out whether the Tang army sent troops, but Qin Qiong asked Zhou Faming to lead 30,000 troops to the west to enter Nanjun overnight, and the Jiangxia Sui army was only stationed with more than 30,000 people. ”

"Do you mean that Li Shimin sent troops from Yiling, and Qin Qiong waved his troops to help?"

"Jiangxia was saying everywhere that Li Shimin was attacking Yichang and Songzi in Nanjun, and Duan Decao's forces were too scattered and in a very dangerous situation. In order to avoid delay, he rushed back overnight, and he was not sure whether the Tang army would send troops, but Zhou Faming's dispatch of troops was indeed true. The scout replied quickly.

At this time, Zheng Di on the side smiled coldly: "What does this have to do with Li Shimin?" If Yang Tong attacked Xiangyang from Nanyang, wouldn't Li Shimin have to quickly return to the army and support Xiangyang? What is the point of attacking South County? ”

Shan Xiongxin frowned and said, "Zhou Faming's dispatch of troops will never be fake, right?" ”

Zheng Di shook his head: "General, the humble position does not mean that Zhou Faming has a problem with sending troops, but I am worried that this is Yang Dong's plan, the purpose is to let our army know that there are only 30,000 people in Jiangxia and there is no force to support Liyang, so that our army can rest assured that it will attack the Jianghuai Sui army." If that's the case, I'm a little worried about our JAC strategy. ”

Shan Xiongxin suddenly said: "Zuo Sima is saying that Yang Tong wants to lure our army to attack Jianghuai, so that the Tang army invades Nanjun as an excuse, so that Zhou Faming has a reasonable reason to go west?" ”

"If this is true, then Qin Qiong, who is in charge of defending Lin Shihong, will not have the extra strength to support Du Fuwei, and it is indeed a good time for us to attack Liyang. However, this is just speculation, and whether to attack Du Fuwei or not still needs to be decided by the general. Zheng Di's reply is very smart, this battle is related to the life and death of the Great Wei, he will never persuade Shan Xiongxin to send troops without any evidence of the Tang army's troops, and Zheng Di believes that Li Yuan, who is facing the heavy encirclement of the Sui army, is difficult to protect himself, so even if Li Shimin really attacks Nanjun, once Yang Tong sends troops in Nanyang and Xiyang, Li Shimin has to obediently withdraw to Yiling, and if he doesn't do it, he will be beaten half to death by the Sui army, so why bother?

But then again, if Li Tang really attacked the enemy and contained Qin Qiong's army for the Great Wei, it would definitely be an opportunity for Shan Xiongxin to attack Liyang, and if he missed it because of his proposition, he couldn't afford this responsibility, so he didn't take the responsibility on himself, but threw the choice to Shan Xiongxin.

Shan Xiongxin heard Zheng Di's answer like this, and he had a big headache.

In fact, the best way is to send someone to Nanjun to find out the truth, but it is too late in time, Shan Xiongxin is now afraid that Du Fuwei will transfer the 30,000 troops of Liyang County to Lujiang, and then go to support Yao Junsu in Huainan, and kill Zhongli County from Lujiang Shen County, cutting off Li Mi's retreat. And when he confirms that everything is over, Zhongli County has been lost, what will happen to Li Mi, who is attacked on both sides? Where to retreat? Huaibei?

Shan Xiongxin rubbed his aching head, do you want to attack Wujiang now? On the one hand, it is a golden opportunity to defeat Duvowe, and it is also related to the security of the saints; But on the other hand, they are worried that this is the Sui army's plan to lure the snake out of the hole, which is really difficult to decide.

At this time, Liu Heimin, who was transferred to Shan Xiongxin's account as a general, suddenly said: "General, didn't the Holy Lord give you a gold medal?" ”

Shan Xiongxin suddenly thought that the Holy Lord had given him a gold medal that was 'as if I were coming in person', which meant that he could decide everything about this partial division, and he didn't have to bear the responsibility for failure.

But Liu Heimin's meaning is also obvious, Li Mi attaches great importance to the Jianghuai Campaign, this battle is related to the overall situation of the entire Wei State, and Du Fuwei must not be allowed to go to support Yao Junsu, once Du Fuwei divides half of his troops to reinforce Yao Junsu, Zhongli County is lost, then the Jianghuai Campaign will end in failure and fiasco. Therefore, he actually had no choice in this battle, and he had to give Du Fuwei huge pressure in the form of a fierce attack, so that he was unable to support Yao Junsu. As long as Li Mi is ensured, even if the 60,000 army is sacrificed, he has to fight.

Shan Xiongxin is also a decisive person, and after thinking clearly about the priorities, he immediately made a decision, "I will personally lead an army of 50,000 to attack Wujiang tomorrow, and I must annihilate Du Fuwei here." ”

Speaking of this, he said to the deputy general Qi Gongshun: "I will send troops tomorrow, and the military camp will ask General Qi." ”

Qi Gongshun also rebelled against the king all the way before, leading more than 30,000 people to raise troops in Beihai County, Qingzhou, and successfully occupied Waiguo when attacking the county; The imperial court in the city was exhausted of food and was trapped and waiting to die. At this time, Liu Lancheng, the general of the city, organized more than 100 fierce warriors to suddenly go out of the city to attack, Qi Gongshun was caught off guard, and the formation was in chaos, and the soldiers in the city went out of the city to support, killing Qi Gongshun to abandon the camp and escape, and the county was preserved. Subsequently, the Beihai County Guard divided the army and the people into six armies, and Liu Lancheng also led the first army. But some people were jealous of Liu Lancheng's talent and sowed discord among the generals of various armies, saying that Liu Lancheng was deeply respected by the army and the people, and his existence was not good for everyone, so it was better to kill him. Liu Lancheng learned in advance that he was afraid of causing a murderous disaster, so he fled from the county town alone and defected to Qi Gongshun in a fit of anger.

Qi Gongshun, with the assistance of Liu Lancheng, managed the army to grow stronger and stronger, and Li Mi heard that Qi Gongshun sent someone to contact. Qi Gongshun and Liu Lancheng admired Li Mi's prestige for a long time, so they supported the army and gathered in Wagangzhai, when Li Mi took Wei as the name, they followed the trend and were the first to respond to Li Mi's reorganization policy, which won Li Mi's trust and dependence.

This talent is not obvious, but he is loyal and steady, and he entrusts the camp to him, and Shan Xiongxin is very relieved. As for Liu Heimin, who is kind and changeable, brave, treacherous and ambitious, he must be with him.

Qi Gongshun knew that Shan Xiongxin had made up his mind, and bowed down and said, "The last general is willing to guard the camp for the general!" ”

。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。

Wujiang County, Liyang County, northwest is Tongguan Mountain, northeast is Liuhe Mountain, and east is the mighty Yangtze River. The terrain in this area is gentle, from time to time uplift a number of jungle lush hills, because it is the front line of the war, the people of Wujiang County have already withdrawn into the Lujiang River, the county is now sparsely populated, the county seat is located at the intersection of Tongguan Mountain and Liuhe Mountain, an official road passes through the city from the direction of Jiangdu City, and leads directly to the Jingxiang area in the west.

Twelve miles away from the west of the county seat, there is a valley about three miles wide and more than ten miles long, because the two sides are full of maple trees, so it is called the Maple Leaf Valley, and it is said that Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu, had stationed troops here. The authenticity of the legend has long been unverifiable, but now there is indeed an army of 30,000 troops stationed here, and dense military tents are all over Maple Valley.

In front of the big tent of the Chinese army, Du Fuwei sat on a big stone, engrossed in reading a military book, which was given to him by Emperor Yang Tong of Shengwu, just one of the whole set, but Du Fuwei especially loved this one, because this book was written with familiar classic war examples, and with the current vision to analyze the comprehensive national strength of the enemy and us, the conspiracy before the war, and the contest between the generals and strategists during the war, and finally gave the cause and inevitability of victory and defeat, and the language was also very straightforward, there was no profound and obscure words, As long as you are literate and have a certain amount of military experience, this is of great help to Du Fuwei, who has a limited level of education, and he feels that this is more practical than the "Art of War", "Sun Bin Art of War", "Wu Zi's Art of War" and other military treasures in the clouds, and his military career can almost see certain similarities from various combat examples. In order to improve his self-cultivation, once he was idle, he held this book and read it, he had decided to change from a fierce general to a Confucian general, and this book was his teacher.

"Du Shuai."

He Panren, who was transferred to the 11th Army as deputy marshal, walked over with a smile, "Are you reading the military book again?" ”

Du Fuwei was appointed as the commander of the 11th Army, the Pillar State, and the Duke of Liyang County, but in the army, he must be commensurate with his military position.

"yes!" Du Fuwei stood up, and said with some surprise and some joy: "After so many years of confusion and complacency about the small achievements he has made, it was not until he read this classic battle example that he realized how lucky he was to live until now." ”

He Panren laughed and said, "I feel the same way. ”

"Really?" Du Fuwei didn't know much about this deputy marshal.

He Panren sat on the big stone opposite Du Fuwei, and said with a smile: "Actually, I was born as a thief in Guanzhong, and I was later subdued by Concubine Li and became a member of the Women's Army. What about me, when I became the general of Pujin Pass, I was drunk and dreamed of death every day under depression, and was later captured alive by General Shen Guang, the saint was broad-minded, not only regardless of the previous suspicions, but also let me continue to be a general, I did not make an inch, but the saint canonized me as the deputy marshal of the Fifth Army, in this life, I can only swear to repay each other. ”

Speaking of Yang Tong, He Panren's eyes were filled with gratitude and reverence.

"General He, it is said that I am a great Sui general, and many of them are born as thieves?" He Panren's frankness made Du Fuwei feel good.

"It's too many to count." He Panren said with a smile: "In short, everyone has been hired by the Holy Governor and has done their best for the Great Sui in various positions. ”

Du Fuwei smiled, why wasn't he?

At this time, a partial general came over and saluted respectfully: "The last general will see Du Shuai, Deputy Marshal He......"

Duvowe asked, "What?" ”

The general was a little embarrassed and said, "Brothers, let the last man ask, when will we send troops?" Everyone is tired of being in this valley. And everyone is also worried about the Tang army in Nanjun, and they all hope to defeat Shan Xiongxin as soon as possible, and then go to participate in the Sui and Tang Wars. ”

Du Fuwei laughed: "Who said that the Tang Army attacked Nanjun?" Who said that the Great War of the Sui and Tang Dynasties broke out? ”

"Isn't it?" The general asked in a daze.

"Of course not."

The general scratched the back of his head, "Du Shuai, I don't understand what you mean." ”

Du Fuwei smiled slightly, "Since ancient times, soldiers have not tired of cheating, the so-called attack on the pseudo-Tang Dynasty is just a strategy to attack the east and the west, and what our Great Sui really wants to fight is Li Mi." If the 'Tang Army does not fight' Nanjun, where will General Huainan Yao get reinforcements? ”

At this point, there is no need to hide it.

The partial general suddenly realized: "Then when will we attack Shan Xiongxin?" ”

"Be patient, I believe that the Holy Lord will soon have an order to fight."

As soon as Du Fuwei finished speaking, the sound of horses' hooves was heard in the distance, and he and He Panren couldn't help but glance at each other, and their intuition told them that the battle order they had been waiting for had arrived

Sure enough, I saw a messenger flying horse rushing over, and reported loudly, "Qi Du Shuai, Deputy Marshal He, the Holy Lord's urgent order!" ”

The messenger presented an order to Du Fuwei, who opened it and looked at it, immediately laughed, and said to the soldiers around him who were waiting for orders at any time: "Inform all the generals to come to the Chinese army's big tent to discuss the military!" ”

"Whoa!" The soldiers dispersed at their disposal.

He Panren took a look at the situation, only to see that the order was written: 'Contain Shan Xiongxin for the navy to take Jiangdu'.

He immediately understood Yang Tong's intentions: Your task is not to let Shan Xiongxin and Jiajiang make trouble, how to fight, it is your eleventh army's business, and how much merit depends on your ability.

Night.

A layer of mist shrouded the surface of the Yangtze River. Generally speaking, there are very few ships sailing on the Yangtze River at night, let alone a foggy night?

But tonight's Liyang County is a bit abnormal, there are more than 200 big ships moored on the river near the wharf, and the shore is full of Sui troops who are ready to get on the boat, and there are only people in the dark, there are more than 30,000 people. Groups of soldiers quickly boarded the ship on the board.

On a high tower, Du Fuwei said to an adjutant general: "General Gao, the safety of Liyang County is entrusted to you, I can only give you 3,000 men and horses now, but I believe that the Wei army will not come here tonight, but Liyang is the logistics center of Deputy Marshal He, I hope you don't have the slightest carelessness." ”

General Gao is Gao Yan, arranged by Yang Tong as Du Fuwei's deputy general, after Du Fuwei got the battle order, he Panren and other generals discussed, the two unanimously decided to use the army of Liyang County through the Yangtze River to attack Shan Xiongxin's rear, land at the northeast foot of Liuhe Mountain, and then attack Shan Xiongxin's camp from behind, once successful, He Panren, who was sitting in the Maple Valley camp, immediately sent troops to help.

Du Fuwei has been the king of this area for nearly ten years, and he is quite familiar with this section of the waterway, even if he can't see his fingers, he is not afraid of hitting the reef, so he decided to go out himself.

Gao Yan nodded solemnly, "Please rest assured that Du Shuai has the last general, Liyang City is absolutely foolproof, no matter who comes to challenge, the last general will not be able to defend it." ”

"Good!" Du Fuwei patted Gao Yan on the shoulder and said with a smile: "We will meet again after triumph." ”

Gao Yan saluted respectfully: "I wish Du Shuai a smooth journey and brilliant achievements." ”

"That's for sure." Du Fuwei heroically stepped down from the high seat, took the reins from the hands of his own soldiers, flew on his horse, and quickly ran towards the riverside boat.

About two hours later, all the 30,000 troops had boarded the ship, and the fleet set sail one after another, heading down the mighty river towards its destination.