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Everyone looked at the place where the voice came from, but found that it was Song Jingang, a tall military general with a rough voice, who said loudly at this moment: "Your Majesty, now the enemy army is frightened and thinks that the general trend has gone. In the past few days, the last general has been patrolling the surroundings and has encountered several Tang soldiers who have come to take refuge. They all claimed to be natives of Padang, who were forcibly conscripted into the army by Li Xiaogong, and were very reluctant. They hoped that we could break through Padang and rescue them as soon as possible. If our army is now in one go, captures Badong, and then takes advantage of the situation to attack Bashu, then the entire southwest will fall into the hands of our army. Li Tang will have no chance to turn over. But if our army has to retreat just because Luoyang is attacked, resulting in the loss of previous efforts, the last general feels that it is really not worth it! ”

After hearing this, Yu Ming couldn't help but nod slightly. Although Song Jingang's words were a little rude, they revealed the current actual situation. Withdrawing like this, the whole army was a little unwilling, and felt a little aggrieved.

"That's what General Song said!" Zhou Tao also echoed at this time: "Your Majesty, now that the Tang Army's naval division has been burned clean by us, our army's naval division can go upriver from the Yangtze River and enter Bashu, and the enemy is completely unstoppable." But if our army gives up the attack now, we will solve the danger of Luoyang first. Even after the victory of the war, he immediately waved his army south and attacked Bashu again. I'm afraid that the Tang army also mediated ships from the Sichuan River and formed a naval division to meet the ......"

Speaking of this, he paused for a moment, and then continued: "Your Majesty, although the officers and soldiers of the naval division under the last general are not afraid of them, the channel of the Sichuan River is narrow and there are many sharp bends in the reef. We are about to engage these local sailors who are familiar with the water conditions of the waterway, and even if our army wins, it will inevitably pay a huge price! I hope that Your Majesty thinks! ”

After listening to Zhou Tao and Song Jingang's words, Yuming also felt that what they said was very reasonable. It's just that Luoyang is too important, and it is impossible not to save it. In this way, whether to continue the offensive or choose to return to the rescue has become a dilemma.

So, he had to set his eyes on Xu Shiji, and then took a deep breath and said, "Master Xu, I don't know what your opinion is?" Do you think it is better to withdraw the troops back to Luoyang, or to continue to attack Bashu? ”

Qin Qiong, Cheng Yanjin, Song Jingang, and Zhou Tao all looked at Xu Shiji nervously, they all knew that His Majesty valued Xu Shiji very much.

"My subordinates think it's good to have both! Can't give up! Xu Shiji replied unexpectedly.

"Don't give up both? Could it be that Xu Junshi, do you mean a two-pronged approach? After hearing this, Wei Chi Jingde asked with a frown.

"Yes!" Xu Shiji explained at this time: "Your Majesty, Luoyang is the capital of my Great Zhou, the queen, the imperial concubine and several imperial daughters, as well as the families and military attaches of the soldiers are among them, and there must be no mistakes, so we must save them!" ”

"And Bashu is an important strategic location, and the acquisition of Bashu will obtain a base that threatens Guanzhong from the south. And the land of Bashu was not damaged by the war of the peasant uprising at the end of the Sui Dynasty, with a large population, a developed economy, and abundant products. If we don't take advantage of the emptiness inside Bashu now, Li Xiaogong will lose another general, and there will not be many men and horses to conquer it, and when Li Tang recovers in the future, our army will inevitably pay a price several times higher than now if it wants to seize it! Xu Shiji said categorically.

Yu Ming breathed a sigh of relief at this time, and said with a smile: "Xu Junshi's words have solved the confusion in my heart, I actually think that it is the best strategy to take care of both subordinates, attack Bashu and return to Luoyang at the same time, but which people stay to continue to attack Bashu, which people return to Luoyang with me, and how many troops are left on both sides, this is the key." I wonder if Xu Junshi has any suggestions? ”

Xu Shiji was obviously prepared, and he blurted out: "Now our army has a total of 400,000. With so many people gathered outside Padang Castle at the mouth of this gorge, I am afraid that even the siege will not be able to fully unfold. Therefore, it is imperative to reduce some of the troops. ”

"The Tang army attacking Luoyang is 200,000 people, as long as our army returns to defend about 150,000, plus the original 70,000 defenders in the city, Luoyang can basically be guaranteed. Therefore, Xu suggested that 250,000 people should be left to continue to attack Bashu, and the remaining 150,000 troops would return to Luoyang and defeat Qu Tutong together with the defenders! Xu Shiji said.

Yu Ming nodded slightly, and the division plan proposed by Xu Shiji was not far from what he thought in his heart. It's just that he hasn't figured out which generals he wants on each side.

"Then what is Xu Junshi's opinion on how to arrange the generals on both sides after the division of troops?" Yu Ming asked solemnly.

"Luoyang is the capital of my Great Zhou, and it is also the location of the families of my Great Zhou soldiers, military attachés in the DPRK, members of the royal family, and famous merchants in the world are here. Therefore, rescuing Luoyang is the most important thing! And His Majesty is both wise and brave, and his prestige in the hearts of the surnames and soldiers is unparalleled. If the defenders of Luoyang learn that His Majesty will personally lead the army back to the division to rescue, their morale will definitely increase greatly! Xu Shiji said with a solemn face: "Not to mention anything else, just by announcing the news that His Majesty will lead the army to arrive, the morale of the soldiers and civilians in Luoyang will rise in vain, and it will be beneficial to defend this capital of the Great Zhou!" ”

All the generals nodded yes. Although Xu Shiji's words were a bit exaggerated, he didn't even line up to curry favor with Yu Ming. But it is undeniable that if Yu Ming personally led the army back to the division to rescue, it would indeed be able to reassure all the soldiers of the Zhou army. This is also something that no one else can replace, not even his master Li Jing.

"However, Xu Junshi, attacking the land of Bashu also needs Your Majesty!" Song Jingang said busily. He advocated attacking Bashu, although he listened to Xu Shiji's proposal that the number of troops attacking Bashu should be more than the army that returned to Luoyang, which made him feel relieved. But no matter how many troops there are, it is not as good as Yu Ming personally commanding the battle. If His Majesty can stay in the army attacking Bashu, Song Jingang can be sure that within a month, the land of Bashu will fall!

"General Song, although Your Majesty is wise and martial, good steel should be used on the blade! Attacking the land of Bashu does not necessarily require His Majesty to go out in person, and it is obviously much more important to rescue Luoyang than to attack Bashu! After Qin Qiong heard this, she couldn't help frowning.

"Yes! If you attack Bashu, with General Wei Chi or General Li as the commander, you will definitely be able to capture it, but you have to return to Luoyang to your majesty! Cheng Yanjin also agreed.

"What General Qin and General Cheng said is true!" Xu Shiji also nodded yes.

In fact, he wanted to say that the land of Bashu is not like the Central Plains, which has been war-torn for a long time, and the surname lives comfortably, and he does not care about the war in the outside world as much as the surname in the Central Plains. Although many of them have also heard of Yuming, they are not like the surname Zhongyuan, who is like a great hero. Yuming's prestige here is far less than that of the north. There is not much difference between having the emperor himself as commander in chief and having other generals as commander-in-chief. Achieving maximum results with the least cost is the best choice.

It's just that saying this will inevitably make Yuming unhappy, which is tantamount to saying in disguise that he is unpopular in Bashu and has low prestige. Therefore, with Xu Shiji's shrewdness, it is naturally impossible to commit this taboo.

"Good! That's it! I personally led 150,000 troops back to Luoyang! Yu Ming slapped the table at this time, and the matter was settled.

"As for the attack on Bashu......" He glanced at Li Jing at this moment and said, "I will leave it to you, Master, to be fully responsible!" ”

"Ming'er, don't worry! After your victory in Luoyang, as a teacher, you can also guarantee that the thousands of miles of fertile fields in the land of Bashu will also belong to my Great Zhou! Li Jing said without hesitation. He had clearly thought about it.

"However, Wei Chi Jingde, Song Jingang and Zhou Tao are generals, but they have to stay for the division to be sent!" Li Jing added at this time.

"Okay! Just follow Master! Yuming generously agreed. He also knew that Song Jingang and Zhou Tao were bent on attacking Bashu, and Wei Chi Jingde also preferred to fight on two fronts. This person is worthy of Li Jing, which can just give them the opportunity to fully show their strength.

After Yuming gave the order to divide the troops, he was also anxious. On the night of the same day, he led 150,000 Zhou troops along the Yangtze River to Yizhou with Qin Qiong, Cheng Yanjin, Guo Yi, Lin Mo and others, and then returned to Luoyang via Xiangyang from there.

What remained under the city of Badong was the 250,000 Zhou army led by Li Jing.

After taking over the command, Li Jing unexpectedly said to the generals: "Pass the order, the whole army will rest for a night, and the siege will be launched early tomorrow morning!" ”

When the generals heard this, they thought that Badong City was easy to defend and difficult to attack, so they didn't know how many people would die in such a hard attack. But considering that Li Jingde is highly respected and is the emperor's master, no one dares to disobey him, and they all say that they will obey orders.

However, after the generals left, Li Jing left Wei Chi Jingde, Zhou Tao and Deputy General Song Jingangren alone, and gave them a face-to-face lecture.

Early the next morning, just after breakfast, the early morning mist had not yet cleared from the river, and the Zhou army launched an attack.

Under the city of Badong, the black-pressed Zhou army had already pressed up and was attacking in a big way. All of a sudden, the sound of killing in the city and the city shook the sky, arrows were shot like raindrops, and countless soldiers died in the screams.

However, due to the dangerous terrain of Badong City and the high city walls, although the Zhou army paid a lot of costs, it was never able to break through the city.

After lunch, the Zhou army attacked again, and this was their first attack of the day. Although the first two failed, they also brought heavy casualties to the Tang army defending the city.

The Tang army guarding Badong City was Sun Fujia, because Li Xiaogong had fled to White Emperor City, and was mobilizing the Tang army stationed in Bashu to come to support. Therefore, there were not many people left in Badong City, there were only more than 20,000 people under him, while the Zhou army attacking under the city was as many as more than 200,000. Although he has already defeated the attacks of the Zhou army twice. But of the more than 20,000 soldiers in the city, more than 4,000 have been killed and nearly 6,000 wounded, and the number of casualties is close to half of the entire army!

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