Chapter 963 Pressing People's Minds

Xiahou Baichuan is no longer a newcomer who has led troops to the battlefield for the first time, but his mood when he led the troops to the battlefield this time was the same as Du Dingbei, who led the troops to fight for the first time on the shore of Luoshui outside Xinyang City, it was an indescribable excitement and excitement. Because he knows very well what the significance of this expedition is, if everything goes well to take Chang'an City, then the Central Plains, a world with the surname Yang for more than 200 years, is afraid that he will have to change his surname.

Even if these old people who have been following Fang Xie are different from those who have newly joined the Black Flag Army, their feelings for Fang Xie outweigh their yearning for a bright future in the future, but this does not mean that they have no desires.

Gyeonggi Province is still far away, but in the impression of the people of the Central Plains, it is actually a large area of Gyeonggi after crossing the Yangtze River. In order to ensure the stability of Chang'an City, huge granaries were built in all provinces of Jiangbei.

The granary located in Liyin City was not called this name before, and after Gao Kaitai arrived in Jiangbei, he occupied two of the four major granaries in the north, and renamed the southernmost one as Liyin Cang, which was the name of Liyin City. The Wenshan warehouse in Gyeonggi Province, which was originally directly supplied to Chang'an, was renamed Liyang Cang.

Gao Kaitai was a very superstitious person, and he felt that changing the names of these two warehouses would help his career. One is called Liyin, the other is called Liyang, yin and yang are combined, and the world is fixed.

However, if it is enough to fight the world by this, then the emperor must be a feng shui master.

Perhaps among all the teams today, only Fang Jie's generals are accustomed to using the sand table. After all, the map is not intuitive enough, and the sand table shows the situation and terrain of the enemy and the enemy more clearly.

After crossing the Yangtze River, Xiahou Baichuan's vanguard army took two county towns in only four days, and met with little resistance. The rebellion written by Yang Qinyan, the eldest princess of the Great Sui, has been released to the world, and the people of Jiangbei Province know that the Black Flag Army is protecting Her Royal Highness the eldest princess and is returning to Chang'an, and the people who have not completely lost their reverence for the Yang family will inevitably have a tendency to choose between Gao Kaitai and the eldest princess of the Great Sui, and most people will be more obedient to the latter.

"Ahead is Liyin City."

Xiahou Baichuan walked around the sand table, then pointed to the warehouse and said, "The lord asked me to be a pioneer general, this is a trust in us." You all know what it means to be in the vanguard this time! You don't need me to say anything, you guys think for yourself what kind of status the first team to enter Chang'an City will have in the future! ”

This sentence ignited the enthusiasm of his subordinates. Fighting the world, the first team to enter the imperial capital received the heaviest reward This is an obvious thing, and now that Xiahou has won the vanguard general, they all have hope. People in business always say that the benefits are proportional to the risks, so isn't this time the same for the campaign? The vanguard will do the hardest things, but they will also get the richest.

"Taking Liyincang is equivalent to completely solving the worries of the army going north. The grain route has been shortened by at least two-thirds, and the brothers in the back will think of our benefits when they eat the grain in the Li Yin warehouse! ”

Xiahou Baichuan smiled and said: "We have been waiting and looking forward to it, hoping that the lord will change his mind and fight for the world, in the final analysis, because we ourselves are also looking forward to having a great future." Whether you people are from a poor family or have a good family background, they are actually the same, who doesn't look forward to returning to the glorious lintel of the hometown in fine clothes? I don't care what the purpose of joining the Black Flag Army was at the beginning, but I know that the root line is to make the future better, and what we are doing now is to make the future better. ”

"General!"

Xiahou Baichuan's generals Qi Kaili hugged his fists and said: "The subordinates are willing to fight the first battle!" ”

"Don't rush ......"

Xiahou Baichuan waved his hand and said: "I have asked you all to see the terrain of Liyin in the past two days, and I have to say that Yan Zeng is very capable. Today's Liyin City is built by him like an iron bucket, and it can't be defeated by ambition alone. You all want to hit me, but you have to have a well-thought-out plan. We can't make a mistake in beating Li Yin, because hundreds of thousands of brothers behind us are watching us. If our side doesn't make good progress, it's not a good thing for morale. ”

"So...... We not only want to win this battle, but also win this battle beautifully. ”

As soon as he finished saying this, he saw the curtain of the big tent being lifted from the outside: "Of course, you have to win this battle beautifully, what does it mean to be beautiful?" ”

The people in the big tent looked out along the voice and saw Fang Xie walking in with a smile on his face.

"Meet the Lord!"

Everyone was surprised and hurriedly got up and saluted.

Fang Xie waved his hand and said, "You don't need to salute with A." ”

He walked to the sand table and stood and looked at it, and then said with a smile: "I came directly with the celebration wine this time, if this battle is beautiful enough, I will accompany you to drink happily." You don't want me to bring this wine for nothing, do you? ”

……

……

Although the status of the Yan family in the Great Sui is not as good as the first-class families like the Cui family, the Yu family, and the Zhao family, but also the second-rate families like the Zhou family, the Sun family, and the Jin family. However, the Yan family's position in Eastern Xinjiang is extremely important, and several important generals under Mu Guangling were born in the Yan family. For example, on Penglai Island, he fought side by side with Mu Guangling's only son, Mu Xianjun, and fought to the death General Yan Li.

Yan Zeng and Yan Li are still brothers of the same clan, and their relationship is not far away. The fathers of the two are brothers, and they are both descendants. It's just that Yan Li's father is the eldest son, and his status in the family is naturally higher.

The Yan family has produced many famous generals, not only in the history of the Great Sui for more than 200 years, but also in the previous dynasty, there were even people who had achieved such a high position as the generalissimo of soldiers and horses.

Yan Zeng is the farthest away from home in the Yan family, he did not stay in Dongjiang like his father and brothers, and worked under Mu Mansion for generations. Relatively speaking, he has always considered himself far more ambitious than his brothers. He doesn't want to be like his father and grandparents who have been waiting in the Mu Mansion from beginning to end, he wants to go to a higher place.

At the beginning, Yang Yi, the emperor of the Great Sui Dynasty, transferred troops from eastern Xinjiang and Jiangnan, and quietly transported the fleet of goods to the northwest to prepare for war, and the 700,000 troops were the first batch of troops to go to the northwest, and he was in this team. He originally thought that it would be the beginning of his brilliant future, but he never thought that the Sui army would be defeated in the northwest so completely and easily, seven or eight out of ten of the 700,000 troops died, and he could not go back to the east after he escaped by luck.

He wandered in the northwest for a few years, and then he looked forward to the army of the imperial court to quell the rebellion. Emperor Tianyou's imperial conquest gave Yan Zeng a second hope, and he felt that he could turn over. So, he threw himself into the army of Gao Kaitai. In Gao Kaitai's army, his skills began to show and was discovered by Gao Kaitai, and he was continuously promoted in the past few years.

But...... What Yan Zeng didn't think about in the past was that the place where his talent was displayed was not in the Great Sui Dynasty's campaign to expand its territory, or even in the battle to defend the country, but ...... In the midst of the rebellion. When Gao Kaitai raised troops to rebel, he felt that the darkest time of his life was darker than the days when he fled on the northwest grassland.

It took him years to calm his mind.

Gao Kaitai really attaches great importance to him, otherwise he would not hand over Liyin City to him. The granary, in the war of any era, is a top priority. Gao Kaitai is equivalent to handing over his back to Yan Zeng, and it is precisely because of this trust that Yan Zeng gradually suppressed his desire to escape from this team.

In fact, it is not difficult to understand that a person who originally wanted to fight for the imperial court and glorify the court became a rebel at the most critical moment, and even pointed a knife at the heart of the Great Sui Emperor at one point...... This is also a huge psychological contrast, which is not so easy to pass.

"Something is wrong......"

Yan Zeng collected his thoughts, looked at the place marked with charcoal on the map and shook his head: "The vanguard of the Black Flag Army has reached less than forty miles from Liyin City, but it has stopped, and there has been no movement for ten days, this is not right. ”

His subordinate generals said: "General, you have built Liyin City so strongly, even if the person named Fang Xie comes in person, he will feel helpless, presumably they are planning, see if there is any way to break through the iron wall that you have built with your own hands, General." ”

"No"

Yan Zeng shook his head: "Even if it's a tentative attack, there will be, not so quietly." According to the news from the scouts, there are at least 500,000 or 600,000 horses in the Black Flag Army going north this time, how much does such a huge team consume food and grass every day? Ten days, it's been ten days. Fang Xie would never waste time like this, there must be a demon when something goes wrong, and the Black Flag Army must be plotting something else......"

These people who follow Yan Zeng know that Yan Zeng is a meticulous and insightful person. In the past few years, they have been accustomed to obeying Yan Zeng's orders and even bothering to think about anything on their own, and now Yan Zeng's solemn expression makes them nervous in their hearts.

"It should be fine, right?"

Another general said worriedly: "It will take more than ten days for the Black Flag Army's brigade to cross the Yangtze River, and the vanguard army has not entered after taking the two county towns, maybe it is waiting for all the troops to come?" ”

"There's no need for that!"

Yan Zeng said: "The vanguard army of the Black Flag Army took two cities in four days, and their morale is high. If it were me, I would take advantage of the high morale of the soldiers. Moreover, the general of the Black Flag Army named Xiahou Baichuan has a rather sharp style of leading the troops, and it is said that he is an impatient. The morale is like a rainbow, the troops are sufficient, there is no need to wait for the rear brigade to arrive. What's more, this place is only 260 miles away from the Yangtze River, and the cavalry of the Black Flag Army can arrive in only three days. ”

He frowned in contemplation, always feeling that he was missing something.

Looking at the map, after being silent for a long time, Yan Zeng suddenly thought of something, and his face changed greatly.

"Haven't any special people from outside the city been here lately?"

Yan Zeng turned his head and asked.

The soldiers are approaching the city, and Liyin City has already closed the city gate.

"No...... Even if there were, I didn't necessarily know that the bridge over the moat was broken......"

His generals replied.

"Not good!"

Yan Zeng shouted, and just as he was about to go out, he saw someone outside hurriedly coming in: "General, someone outside the city called the door, saying that he came from Ming'an City, and the moat bridge was broken, and he swam over with good water nature, saying that Ming'an City had been besieged by the Black Flag Army, and asked the general to send troops to rescue!" ”

Yan Zeng's face changed and he walked out quickly.

……

……

"The Great General......

The soldier who came to report the news swallowed and foamed with difficulty, his face was pale and a little scary, presumably he had not rested at all along the way, and he had consumed a lot of physical strength to swim through the moat, so he looked extremely weak.

"It's not just our Ming'an City that is besieged, it is said that Pingcheng, Xiangcheng, Fangcheng and these places have been broken by the Black Flag Army, and now only we Ming'an can still support it, if Ming'an loses it again, Liyincang is a lonely city!"

Hearing the words of the soldier, Yan Zeng's heart was like a boulder.

"It's late...... Even if I send troops to rescue Ming'an at this time, it will be too late. ”

He leaned on the wall and sighed heavily: "Now I'm afraid that Ming'an has been lost, and the Black Flag Army is going to turn Liyin into a lonely city...... Why didn't I think of that? Why didn't you think of it! ”

After being stunned for a moment, he suddenly thought of one more thing: "The things that have been lost in the surrounding cities must not be spread, and the people and defenders in the city cannot know about it!" ”

"I ......"

The soldier who reported the news opened his mouth with a frightened expression: "I have been shouting outside the city for a long time...... Just...... The gate that was opened to me......"

Yan Zeng was stunned, and his face was like ashes in an instant.