Chapter 261: Ruthless Scheme

The emperor didn't continue on Wu Yiyi's topic, he turned to look at Mu Xiaoyi, and there was undisguised appreciation in his eyes: "You are the only person from the Ouchi Guard Office who has not disappointed me so far this year. In fact, before you returned, I already knew about the fiasco in the Northwest. I am glad that there are not only loyal guards like you, but also loyal soldiers. ”

He paused for a moment and instructed Su Buxing: "Let Zhuge Zhan come in, the news of him and Mu Xiaoxiao will complement each other, and you can understand what happened in the northwest." ”

Fang Xie hung his head and took a few steps back, thinking in his heart that it would be strange if Mu Xiaoxiao had any loyalty to you, the emperor. But since the emperor said this, Fang Xie would not be stupid enough to say that it was all because of me, and it had nothing to do with you, the emperor!

After a while, Zhuge Zhan, who had fully recovered, walked in quickly, first saluted the emperor, and then glanced at Fang Xie and them curiously.

The emperor pointed to Mu Xiaowaist and said, "She is the second person to come back from the northwest after you, and she is a thousand households in the Ouchi Guard." You two will tell you what you have seen and heard in the northwest, and I want to know the clearest truth from your words. ”

Zhuge Zhan said that he obeyed the order, and then said what he had seen and heard in the northwest again. When he mentioned that he could see a pagoda piled up with the heads of Great Sui soldiers every ten or even a few miles on the grassland, Fang Jie's face couldn't help but change. He knew that this was the custom of the Mengyuan people, who would cut off the heads of their enemies and pile them up in the shape of a stupa. Because they think that by piling human heads like this, the soul of the person will not die, but will be suppressed by the stupa forever. This is an extremely vicious method, although Fang Xie does not think that it really has such an effect.

Shen Tianfan nodded and said, "Or we withdrew earlier than General Zhuge , so the ministers in the war are not very clear." It's just that I know that the army was defeated extremely quickly, and almost within ten days the entire front collapsed. ”

"Less than ten days!"

Zhuge Zhan said: "Our left leading guard is the last man and horse, from the right leading guard to be surrounded and defeated, to our left leading guard to be surrounded, a total of only four days, and our left leading guard was besieged by more than 300,000 Mengyuan men and horses, and on the march, the enemy's cavalry occupies an absolute advantage, and many battalions of men and horses have no time to form a formation to be crushed...... We...... Persisted for four days. ”

It was only eight days in total, and the 700,000-strong army collapsed.

But this is only a big battle, I believe that the disabled Sui army must have a lot of small-scale men and horses scattered after the defeat, maybe there are still many Sui troops on the grassland hiding and hiding, unable to form a counterattack. After all, if you want to kill the 700,000 army plus millions of people, it is definitely not something that can be done in eight or nine days.

"The minister was aware of Li Yuanshan's conspiracy, so he immediately sent someone to report to Hou Wenji, the envoy of the Qing Ya Town, but the person I sent never came ......back."

Mu Xiaoxiao was silent for a while and said: "That night, the minister found that there were many people surrounding the camp, and immediately led his subordinates to rush out to kill, and more than 100 elites under the minister's men were killed and injured when they came out. The minister knew that Hou Wenji must have a problem...... The minister led people to sneak all the way, and when he was evading the pursuers, he happened to discover Li Yuanshan's secret. ”

"What's the secret?"

The emperor seemed to be a little anxious.

Mu Xiaoxiao said: "Li Yuanshan discovered a large-scale iron mine in the northwest and sent heavy troops to guard it. When the ministers withdrew, they happened to find it and ventured in to check it. It was found that there were a large number of craftsmen gathered there, not only migrant workers who mined iron ore...... There, the ministers and others found a large number of weapons and armor that had been built, as well as heavy siege equipment, a heavy battering ram that had been assembled, as well as many ladders, stone-throwing vehicles, and even siege tower vehicles. ”

The emperor's brows furrowed, and his face immediately changed: "Li Yuanshan...... He had been planning a rebellion for a long time. I sent troops to the northwest, but I gave him a chance...... If there was no battle in the northwest, he would not dare to make trouble anyway with the strength of his right guard, even if he had prepared so many things. ”

His tone was a little sad, obviously, this person who can definitely be called Mingjun regretted sending troops to the northwest for the first time.

"There are left and right leading guards in the northwest, and there are left Xiao guards. If Li Yuanshan wants to make trouble, he must first get rid of these three guards. I ordered the expedition to the northwest, which was originally a major event to open up the territory of the Great Sui, but it was used by him...... This scum has forgotten that he is a Sui man, and he actually grovels to the Meng Yuan barbarian! ”

This sentence turned out to be exactly the same as Prince Yi's evaluation of Li Yuanshan.

"More than that"

Mu Xiaowaist said: "The three northwestern roads have been blocked, and all the official roads are guarded by county soldiers. Master Mou Liangbi, the secretary of the Ministry of War, was in charge of the logistics and supply of the army, but most of the supplies were stationed in Shandong Province, and it was difficult to carry out the warrants of Lord Mou, and most of the supplies of the army were withheld by Yuan Chongwu and others. When the army annihilated Mandu Ratu's men and horses and marched westward, in fact, the supplies could no longer keep up. It's just that no one thought at that time that Yuan Chongwu and the others not only wanted to force away Mou Liangbi, but to intercept materials for the rebellion. ”

"The minister arrested a few people in Li Yuanshan's iron mine for interrogation, and they said that Li Yuanshan had begun to secretly recruit people six or seven years ago, and these people had been summoned by him in the name of Tuntian, but in fact they had been training."

"How many centaurs?"

The Emperor asked in a deep voice.

Mu Xiaowaist said: "It is said that ...... No less than 100,000. ”

……

……

The emperor sighed, holding the teacup in his hand but forgot to drink it: "I think that Yuan Chongwu sent his son Yuan Chengshi to Chang'an, but it was just a means to paralyze me. He may have already made a plan, once the affairs in the northwest are launched, he will take Yuan Chengshi back from Chang'an. But he didn't expect that Yuan Chengshi would be killed...... It is precisely because of this that he is determined to rebel. ”

He took a deep breath and tried his best to calm his mind. He was an emperor and did not want to show unease in front of his courtiers.

Yuan Chongwu also kept writing to ask me to allow him to recuperate for three more months because of the loss of his son...... I thought that he was just testing my bottom line against their northwest officials, but now I realize that he is still paralyzing me by constantly reading books...... It's so calculating, my courtiers are all calculating. ”

Fang Xie didn't know whether to interject or not, and subconsciously glanced at Su Buxing. When he looked up, he found that Su Buwei happened to be looking at him as well.

Su was not afraid of the other party's explanation, Fang Xie was stunned, and then nodded.

"I think it...... Your Majesty need not be too angry. ”

Fang Xie cleared his throat and said.

The emperor glanced at him and said, "You mean, they rebelled, and I should still be happy?" ”

The voice was cold, and it was obvious that the emperor was in a bad mood.

Fang Xie sorted out the wording and said, "Your Majesty...... Please forgive the minister for an analogy, the Great Sui is a towering tree, Emperor Taizu planted the seed back then, and more than a hundred years later, this big tree has become the tallest existence in the world. And the people and the courtiers are all insects attached to this big tree. Most of the insects just call this tree home and rely on it for shelter from the elements. And there are too many bugs, and naturally there are also pests. They burrow holes in big trees and try to make a profit...... I thought the tree was too tall and too big for you to see everything while sitting in the canopy. ”

"Northwest, it's like a branch of this big tree, which has been eaten out of a lot of holes by pests, but they cover it up so well that you can't find anything when you look at it from afar. If they don't jump out on their own, you probably won't see them at all. ”

Fang Xie paused for a moment and continued: "Your Majesty, you are angry, you are angry that a few pests destroyed a very large branch. But since the branch is broken, just cut it down. After being cut down, a certain part of the tree will definitely look bare and unsightly, but it won't be long before new branches will grow and become stronger and stronger. ”

The emperor understood what Fang Xie meant, and after he was silent for a long time, he sighed and said, "What do you mean, I know...... But that's a whole three, cut down, I will hurt myself. ”

Fang Xie lowered his head and said: "Long pain is better than short pain...... If these insects are not in a hurry to jump out, they will bury more and more holes in the big trees, and when the time comes, it will not be a branch, maybe a trunk. If you take a little longer, you may bite the roots. ”

"What do you think of the war in the Northwest?"

The Emperor couldn't help but ask.

Fang Xie walked to the front of the map and pointed to a thick north-south line on the map: "This is Weishui, like a knife mark, cutting the northwest." Even if the rebels have been preparing for a long time, they are not short of food, soldiers, or supplies, but they lack warships...... If Your Majesty gives an order, mobilize the sailors to block the great river with all their might, and no one is allowed to sell grain and grass to the northwest. Then send elite men and horses into small teams into the northwest to burn granaries and grain fields...... In just one year, the rebels in the northwest will be short of food. If the Mengyuan people are not rewarded for a long time, they will not continue to support the rebels, as short as two years, as long as three or five years, and the rebels will be defeated. ”

"Can be ...... northwest There are millions of people. ”

The Emperor frowned.

Fang explained: "In a year or two, after the predicament in the northwest is formed, the people will be angry. They would think, if it weren't for Li Yuanshan and other traitors, how could they suffer like this? The climate in the northwest is cold, and the grain production is small, and the people usually have enough food and drink, but there is no grain in stock. And if the three northwestern roads are sealed, then the people's hearts will be chaotic, and the people's hearts will be chaotic, and the rebels will have no soil for rebellion, and the branches will die. ”

The emperor was silent for a long time, but he still shook his head: "If you follow your strategy, in two years, at least hundreds of thousands of people in the northwest will starve to death!" ”

"The minister also feels sorry for the people, but if the war is not controlled within the three northwestern provinces, more people will suffer. If the grain route is not blocked, the rebels in the northwest will give benefits again, and no one will resist among the people. ”

"I will order the sailors to block Weishui, but I will not prevent the people from crossing the river."

The emperor thought for a moment and said, "Fang Jie, I know that you are planning like this for the sake of the Great Sui. But I am the king of a country, and all the people of the world are my people, and they have made mistakes, and I cannot but forgive them. If you force the people, how do you know that they will not rebel with the rebels? ”

"As long as you can't cross the river......"

Before Fang Jie's words could be finished, he was interrupted by the emperor: "Am I still afraid of those clowns who jump off the beam?" When the matter of Chang'an City is over, I will take the expedition in person. If I want to bring back the three northwest provinces, why do I need two or three years? ”

Fang Xie was stunned and silent.

He knew that his strategy was indeed ruthless, and it was not that no one had done this in the ancient times in his previous life...... Nian Qianyao was ordered to quell the Qinghai rebellion, this Nian general just surrounded but did not fight, blocked all roads, did not allow a grain of grain to enter Qinghai, and sent people to sneak in and burn the grass granary, how many people starved to death?

However, His Majesty's personal expedition is really to pacify the northwest in an instant?

Suddenly, Fang Xie felt a shock in his heart.

When did I start to feel so cruel?