Next, from the southwest front, good news came frequently.

At the end of the second lunar month of the first year of Anping, the soldiers and horses of the second town of the Tang Army, under the leadership of the monk Chang'an, at a very rapid speed, divided the troops south to the east of Guangxi, all the way like a bamboo, and almost encountered any strong resistance.

Among the three battalions of soldiers and horses, Battalion A went east along the Guijiang River, bombarded the city with artillery, and quickly captured Huaiji Prefecture, where the Ming general Chen Bangfu was stationed. Chen Bangfu was unwilling to surrender, and led his personal army to flee east to Guangdong, but was caught up by the Tang cavalry and killed on the spot, and the rest surrendered.

The soldiers and horses of the second battalion of the second town first attacked Pingle Mansion, which was sparsely populated, and Yin Kaicheng surrendered to Pingle Mansion. Then Battalion B took advantage of the situation and marched into Wuzhou, and the defender Jiao Lian saw that the Tang army was strong, and he knew that it was difficult to support it alone, so he also led all the defenders to surrender. Since then, the area around the middle road in eastern Guangxi has been owned by the Tang Army.

As for the C battalion, it is to go south to the farthest place, directly attack Yulin Prefecture in the southeast of Guangxi, Yulin Prefecture has few soldiers and horses, the general Luo Chao and the deputy general Peng Jun, seeing the strength of the Tang army, know that this weak defense and no foreign aid Yulin Prefecture is very difficult to defend, and refused to surrender, so they left the city overnight, went south to the sea, and fled east on a civilian ship.

As soon as the main general fled, the defenders of Yulin Prefecture were leaderless, the situation was chaotic, and when they saw the Tang army coming, they all surrendered in fear.

Since then, the entire eastern part of Guangxi has fallen into the hands of the Tang army.

Subsequently, Monk An followed Li Xiao's order and ordered three battalions of soldiers and horses to be temporarily stationed in these three places, strictly preventing Zheng Zhilong from sending troops and horses from Guangdong to help.

Their only task now is to hold on to the results of this battle, and after the Ninth Town of the Tang Army takes Yunnan, they will join them in attacking the west of Guangxi from east to west and recovering the whole province of Guangxi.

When Monk An led his soldiers and horses of the second town of the Tang army and successfully captured the eastern part of Guangxi Province, Huang Degong, the mayor of the ninth town of the Tang army, finally led his troops and horses, and after taking Guiyang, continued to go south, attacking Liping Mansion, Duyun Mansion, An Nanwei and other places in southern Guizhou.

Due to the loss of Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou Province, the general trend of the defenders has gone, and the remnants of the defenders of the puppet dynasty, under the leadership of the main general Liu Zhengguo and the deputy general Yang Wu, have been defeated in successive battles and had to retreat south in a hurry, all the way back to Yunnan.

After Huang Degong, the chief general of the Tang Army, successfully captured the whole of Guizhou, he ordered that the whole army should not stop in Guizhou, but should show the attitude that it is appropriate for the remaining generals to chase after the poor, and still divide into three routes and go straight to Yunnan.

Among them, the ninth town Jiaying takes the north of the Shuixi Xuanwei Division, crosses the Tiansheng Bridge, and takes Wusa directly from the west of the water. Wu Zisheng, the general of Wusa, led his troops to resist the battle, and was surrounded by the soldiers and horses of the A Battalion of the Ninth Town, and the whole army was wiped out, Wu Zisheng was stabbed to death by several spears, and the rest of the people surrendered.

Battalion B went straight from the middle road, took the waterway, and took the block to choose the Pingyi Wei next to the river. Battalion B's actions were detected by Luo Yan, the general of the Pingyi guard, so he collected local civilian boats and sank themselves in the river, hoping to block Battalion B's attack.

At this time, fortunately, Cen Jilu, who had just surrendered in Sicheng Tuzhizhou, offered advice, allowing the Tang army to sneak from the downstream to Xiaoji, and then went around to the back of Pingyiwei to completely cut off the retreat of Luo Yan's people.

When Luo Yan saw that the back road was intercepted, he was suddenly disheartened, and he had no desire to fight, so he had to lead the army to break through the siege overnight, in order to escape back to Kunming, the capital of Yunnan.

He fled out of the city not far away, but was discovered by the Tang cavalry who had been standing by and on standby, and pursued and killed all the way, Luo Yan's entire army was defeated, and he himself was seriously injured.

He still did not descend, jumped into the river and wanted to swim across the river, but due to exhaustion of physical strength, he finally drowned in the river. Weng Zhiqi, the commander of the second battalion, took pity on his courage and ordered someone to fish up his body and bury it on the riverbank. Since then, the entire territory of Pingyi Wei has been captured by the B battalion.

The C battalion attacked from the south road, and took Luoxiong Prefecture directly, and Wang Xi, the general soldier of the puppet Dynasty, broke forward to defend the walled city of Yizuo, and was bombarded by the Tang army with heavy artillery to open the walled gate, Wang Xi was defeated, so he led the troops back to Luoxiongzhou City.

The C battalion took advantage of the situation and pursued all the way, and after Wang Xi led his troops to retreat back to Luoxiongzhou, he defended the city to the death, intending to use the steep terrain to fight against the Tang army.

After paying the price of destroying seven artillery pieces one after another and dozens of gunners being killed or wounded, the city wall of Luoxiongzhou collapsed, revealing several huge gaps, and the Tang army swarmed up and immediately attacked the city.

Wang Xi led the rest of his troops to fight to the death in the streets and alleys, but it was difficult to escape, and in desperation, he committed suicide with a knife. As soon as the Lord died, the remnants had no more fighting spirit and knelt on the ground and begged to surrender.

In the three most dangerous places, the three-way army was no longer hindered, and then it went straight to the central boundary of Yunnan, and the remnants of the army in Yunnan would be completely unable to resist, and they were defeated all the way back to the provincial capital Kunming.

At this time, the generals and officials defending the city in Kunming City were Zhu Youlang, the king of Gui, Mu Tianbo, the prince of Qianguo, and Wu Zhaoyuan, the governor of Yunnan, and in Kunming, there were only less than 5,000 defenders. In the face of the overwhelming Tang Army, Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, is like a lonely boat in the ocean.

Seeing that the Tang army was divided into three routes, they rushed to Kunming, and Zhu Youlang, the king of Gui, Mu Tianbo, the prince of Qianguo, and Wu Zhaoyuan, the governor of the south, were suddenly like ants on a hot pot. Immediately, the three of them were in the city tower on the north gate of Kunming, discussing urgent matters and discussing countermeasures.

At this critical juncture, what is even more tragic is that the three most important princes and officials in Kunming City are plotting in their hearts, but they have three different or even diametrically opposed opinions.

Among them, Wu Zhaoyuan, the governor of Yunnan, was the most pessimistic. He cautiously observed the sad expressions of Zhu Youlang and Mu Tianbo, and said cautiously: "King Gui, Duke Qianguo, in the opinion of the lower officials, the Tang army is so powerful, and the combat strength of the soldiers is so strong, my Yunnan defenders have been defeated three times in a row, their morale has fallen, and their fighting spirit is even more lacking. In the face of the threat of victory, the Tang army attacked the provincial capital Kunming on three routes, and its momentum became more and more unstoppable. Although we have 5,000 soldiers stationed in Kunming, the morale of the army is declining, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to be the opponent of the Tang Army. In my opinion, it is better to ......"

At this time, he subconsciously paused, carefully watching the reactions of the two, and did not dare to say the words easily.

Seeing Wu Zhaoyuan say this, Mu Tianbo, the Duke of Qianguo, already knew what he wanted to say next, so he sneered and replied: "Governor Wu, if you have something to say, you might as well say it directly." You should be planning to persuade Bengong and King Gui to kneel down to the Tang army and surrender to Kaesong, right? ”

As soon as Mu Tianbo, the Duke of Qianguo, said this, Wu Zhaoyuan's face was very embarrassed, and Zhu Youlang, the king of Gui on the side, frowned, kept brushing his beard, and did not say a word.

Seeing Mu Tianbo's radical words, Wu Zhaoyuan sighed secretly in his heart, then gritted his teeth and said, "What I said is exactly what I mean." Now that the Tang army is strong, the soldiers and horses are abundant, and the combat power is strong, we will wait for Encore to make another move to block the car. Besides, King Tang has just recently established the third son of Emperor Chongzhen, King Yong, as Emperor Anping, and he is also a legitimate subordinate of my Ming Dynasty. Serving under Hongguang Jianguo and serving under King Tang are both loyal to the Ming Dynasty, so why bother to study it so carefully? Now that the Tang army is about to force Kunming, if you don't make a quick decision, you may only work in vain and harm your family. ”

Hearing Wu Zhaoyuan's words, Guiwang Zhu Youlang and Qianguo Duke Mu Tianbo couldn't help but subconsciously glance at each other, and their eyes were full of complicated looks.

Mu Tian, the Duke of Qianguo, sighed and finally spoke slowly: "It seems that Governor Wu has made up his mind and wants to go to Li Xiao's Tang Army." It's just that my father's opinion on Governor Wu is quite different, so please listen to me carefully. ”

Wu Zhaoyuan hurriedly said: "The Duke of Qianguo has already seen it, and he is listening to it." ”

Mu Tianbo said coldly: "Governor Wu, you regard the Tang King as the orthodox of the country, but in the eyes of this father, this person is scheming and can be regarded as a giant thief in the country." ”

"Qianguo Gong, what you say ......"

Mu Tianbo waved his hand, interrupted Wu Zhaoyuan's explanation, and continued: "That Tang King Li Xiao, under his rule, can be described as a single-handed existence like an invisible emperor. And the two emperors he controlled, whether it was the previous Emperor Chongxing or the current Emperor Anping, were like puppets, how could they have any real power, and how could they have the appearance of a human monarch. Like now, Li Xiaoqiang ordered Emperor Anping to give him Jiuxi and allowed him to be called lonely, so how dare Emperor Anping say half a word. In this way, the situation of the replacement of monarchs and ministers has become more and more serious, and Li Xiao's personal rights and prestige have reached the point where it is difficult to shake. I'm afraid that it won't be long before Li Xiao will imitate Cao Pi in the Three Kingdoms period to force Emperor Han Xian to give him the throne. Such a rebellious minister and a thief, Governor Wu still said that he was a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty, which is really ridiculous. ”

Mu Tianbo squinted at it, and Wu Zhaoyuan was already embarrassed, so he sneered and said: "Governor Wu, what is the matter with Tang King Li Xiao, this duke will not talk about him for the time being." It's just that you think that if our army loses Guizhou and loses three passes in a row, it will not be able to hold the provincial capital of Kunming? Not necessarily. ”

Mu Tianbo paused, and said: "Kunming, is the Yunnan provincial city that my Mu family has been operating for many years, the geographical location is very important, and its city is quite strong, and the three passes and even Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou Province, are far beyond reach. Such a well-built and well-prepared important city should not be easily abandoned unless it is a last resort. Bengong thought that when the Tang army broke through the three passes and was marching towards Kunming, it was necessary to immediately mobilize the defenders of the whole province, as well as the Tusi soldiers and horses from all over the country, to work together to defend Kunming. At the same time, the clear walls and obstacles along the way made it difficult for the Tang army to obtain supplies on the spot, and greatly slowed down their march to Kunming. In the end, we can take advantage of the geographical advantage and take advantage of the steep terrain and geographical conditions of Kunming to let the Tang army stay under the city for a long time and not advance an inch. In addition, our army can also send a small group of harassing soldiers to attack the logistics troops of the Tang Army, so that their troops will be in chaos without a fight, so as to delay the speed of the Tang Army's encirclement. Then, after the reinforcements from all over the country come in, it will be much more effective to defend the city of Kunming. In the end, the veterans of the Tang Army Division were tired, and the grain was unsustainable, so they had to retreat from Yunnan to Guizhou. And while the Tang army is far away, our army will go out of the city to cover and kill, and it will definitely win a complete victory. ”

Mu Tianbo said this large paragraph freely, thinking that he had a plan, he looked around at the two, but found that Wu Zhaoyuan was noncommittal, and Guiwang Zhu Youlang still had a bitter face.

The two of them thought about each other, and were silent, and for a while, there was silence in this city tower.

"King Gui, what do you think?" Mu Tianbo asked Zhu Youlang in a low voice.

Zhu Youlang smiled bitterly, his eyes swept over Mu Tianbo and Wu Zhaoyuan, and he sighed and said: "The two, in the opinion of this king, leading the troops to surrender to the Tang army are really willing to sink, and it is absolutely undesirable. And if you want to rely on this lonely city of Kunming to fight against the elite division of the Tang Army for a long time, I am afraid that it will be difficult to sustain. Therefore, this king believes that it is appropriate to find another way. ”

"Then, according to King Gui's opinion, what should I do next?" Mu Tianbo, the prince of Qianguo, asked anxiously.

Guiwang Zhu Youlang coughed lightly and replied slowly: "The two, in the opinion of this king, should take advantage of the opportunity when the Tang army has just conquered the three passes and is still on the way to march, so they will immediately abandon Kunming, lead the defenders in the city, and move to the more precipitous Yongchang City in western Yunnan. ”

"Huh? Actually want to move to Yongchang? Mu Tianbo's eyes widened.

Zhu Youlang nodded and continued: "Yes, in the opinion of this king, Kunming must not be defended. This is because, although the city of Kunming is the provincial capital of Yunnan, although the geographical location is very important, and its city has been maintained very strong for many years, but around its city, there are many flat land, which is conducive to the Tang army to garrison and besiege. Although there are 5,000 defenders in Kunming, after all, there are too few soldiers and horses, and the army has no fighting spirit and low morale. If the city is besieged by the Tang army and isolated from coming for help, even if the Tang army does not attack immediately, it will be a fatal blow to the defenders of Kunming. They trapped Kunming for a long time, and the defenders, who were already demoralized, were only afraid that they would collapse on the spot, and even worry about mutiny. If you get there, I'm afraid you'll regret it too late. ”

Speaking of this, Guiwang Zhu Youlang sighed again: "Therefore, if you can't fight, you can avoid it." Kunming can't be defended for a long time, then we will find a more dangerous and difficult city, and it is the most important thing to hold on for a long time. In the land of Yunnan, such a strong and trustworthy city is none other than Yongchang. After we lead our army to retreat west to Yongchang, it is the most advantageous move to rely on the increasingly steep terrain and more severe natural conditions of Yongchang to carry out long-term defense. ”

Zhu Youlang said excitedly, and continued: "Now that the Tang army is coming from afar, although it is trying to overcome the three levels, I am afraid that it is also very tired. And our army withdrew all the way, and all parts of the country were fortified and cleared, leaving no supplies for the Tang army. In this way, even if they get the capital of Kunming, what can they do? And Yongchang is far away from Kunming, steep and difficult, and there are many bad water miasma, the Tang army can not get sufficient supplies, and then want to attack all the way, I am afraid that it will be easy. Moreover, our army can completely wait for work, set up obstacles for them along the way, and arrange ambushes, so that the Tang army will surely suffer many casualties and lose morale along the way. Even if they can get to Yongchang City, I am afraid that they will have no morale, and the soldiers are tired, and they will not be able to attack Yongchang Jiancheng at all. In this way, when the Tang army has no choice but to retreat, we will send another fierce general to lead the elite in the city, sneak out of the city, and attack the Tang army retreated by Queen Cang, and we will definitely win a complete victory! ”

At this point, three people, three opinions, argued endlessly for a while, but it was difficult to convince each other. And just as they kept arguing and arguing, time passed day by day, and the Tang army's troops had already come all the way west, and they were about to approach the city of Kunming.

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