Chapter 469: The meal is ready, come and eat

"According to the news reported by the spies, if it goes well, the imperial army will attack Xiangcheng before the first month at the earliest. I don't know why, how did Li Yuanshan's men retreat so quickly. ”

Zhuo Buyi sorted out the news from the flying fish robe, but there was no relief on his face: "I always feel that the progress of the imperial army is too smooth, Li Yuanshan has deployed a total of one million troops in Hexi Daoshannan Daoshan and Shandong Dao, which is basically the same as the strength of the imperial court, even if the equipment of the imperial army is better, even if there are more than 200,000 soldiers to open the way, there will not even be room for fighting back." Li Yuanshan has been operating in Shandong Province for 20 years, and has also arranged in the entire northwest for nearly three years, how can it be so unbearable? ”

"It's a good thing that the imperial army has successfully quelled the rebellion, why is Mr. Zhuo still unhappy?"

Lu Fenghou fiddled with the fire and smiled: "I feel a little slow, more than a million elite soldiers are marching westward, and those soldiers under Li Yuanshan are not soldiers at all, and fighting such an opponent should be destroyed." After fighting for a few months, it hasn't hit Xiangcheng yet, how can it be considered fast? ”

"Most of Li Yuanshan's soldiers are indeed not elite, but there are more than one million people in the imperial court who are brave, compared to Li Yuanshan's soldiers, there is nothing else except for better weapons and equipment. Shi Lei, a rebel general in Hexi Province, is the number one figure among the Seven Tiger Generals under Li Yuanshan, Li Yuanshan praised him for having the style of a general, such a person, holding an army of nearly 500,000 in his hands, has never won a battle, isn't it strange? ”

Zhuo Buyi frowned.

Fang Xie re-read the news that the flying fish robe brought back, and his face was a little solemn: "Judging from the news, although Shi Lei did not win a game, every battle was fierce, and the imperial army actually won not easily. In the battle of Qingtai Mountain, the rebels lost 60,000 soldiers, and the imperial army also lost 40,000 horses, forcing Shi Lei to retreat 50 miles. In the first battle of Hengyuan, Shi Lei lost 40,000 soldiers, and the imperial court bravely lost 50,000 soldiers, which was actually a larger loss of the imperial court, but because of the repeated attacks of the imperial army, Shi Lei had to retreat to Sheephorn Mountain. ”

"Sheephorn Mountain was defeated again and again, Shi Lei returned to defend Qixia Pass, and it took the imperial army more than ten days to break through the pass, losing tens of thousands of people, and the rebels lost five or six thousand. After the Qixia Pass was broken, Shi Lei took the men and horses to retreat and set up defenses on the west bank of the Luoyang River. The waterway of the Luoyang River is too narrow and not too deep, and the imperial court sailors can't come on big boats, so they can only erect pontoon bridges to force crossings. After losing 20,000 people, they crossed the river, and the rebels retreated to Weicheng. Weicheng is the location of Hexi Daozhi, the city wall is tall and reinforced, the imperial army besieged Weicheng for more than a month, and finally mobilized the whole army's stone-throwing carts, and only attacked a corner of Weicheng. ”

"In the successive battles, Shi Lei's people lost more than fifty percent, and the losses of the imperial army were also about 150,000, and most of the people who died were brave. Weicheng is the northeast barrier of Xiangcheng, Weicheng is broken and there is no danger, the terrain of Pingchuan can not stop the imperial army, when the news comes back, the army is only four hundred miles away from Xiangcheng, if Shi Lei can not guard Tianjian Mountain, now the imperial army has gathered outside Xiangcheng. ”

"Relatively speaking, it was the rebel general He Ruoxiong of Shannan Province who was defeated and retreated faster. Xiahou Bi, the general of the right avant-garde, only took a guard and 80,000 brave soldiers, and swept away Shannan Dao, and the rebel generals were crushed at the touch of a button, and almost no strong defense was formed, He Ruoxiong had already retreated into the northeast fortification of Shandong Province with the remnants of the army, and if he took a step back, it would not be far from Xiangcheng. ”

"There is also Yin Poshan, after that defeat, Yin Poshan lost a small half of his troops, and with the remnants of the army, he only held out for less than a month in the south of Mangdang Mountain and began to retreat, and he had already retreated over Mangdang Mountain in Ningyuan, Pengge, and the front line of the art industry to resist Luo Yao's left avant-garde. The defense line of Yin Poshan is also less than 400 miles away from Xiangzhou. ”

Fang Xie roughly drew the situation on the paper: "Xiahou Bi is in the northeast, His Majesty's army is in the east, and Luo Yao's left avant-garde is in the southwest, and a three-sided encirclement has been formed. The rebels shrank in a thousand miles, Shi Lei's troops lost half, He Ruoxiong's troops lost half, and Yin Poshan's troops lost half......"

After saying this, Fang Jie's brows gradually furrowed.

"It's only when the numbers come together that they seem so coincidental."

Zhuo Buyi sighed: "Perhaps, it's not a coincidence at all...... He Ruoxiong's defense line is less than 400 miles away from Xiangzhou, if Shi Lei's defense line has not been breached, it is about 400 miles away from Xiangzhou, and Yin Poshan's defense line is still 400 miles. If this is not a coincidence, someone deliberately laid it out. ”

Fang Xie turned his head to look at Sun Kai and said, "What do you think, sir?" ”

Sun Kaidao sighed: "General, do you remember how the Western Expeditionary Army was defeated?" ”

Fang Xie was stunned, and his face became more and more solemn: "At the beginning of the imperial army, the imperial army went out of Qingxia to attack Mandu Banner, and the men and horses of Mandu Latu also retreated while fighting, and they withdrew for 2,000 miles. The imperial army fought and won all the way, and soon controlled the entire territory of Mandu Banner. Just when everyone in the Western Expedition army thought that it would be such an easy and simple victory, Li Yuanshan loosened the defensive line and let the Mengyuan wolf ride in to raid from behind, and the Western Expedition army collapsed instantly. ”

After he said this, everyone in the room fell silent.

"Is it the same?"

Sun Kaidao asked.

He didn't wait for others to answer, he sighed again and said, "It's the same......"

Zhuo Buyi frowned: "What Mr. Sun means is that Shi Lei's repeated defeats, He Ruoxiong's defeat for thousands of miles, and even Yin Poshan's defeat and retreat are all bait that has been arranged, the purpose is to lure the imperial army to continue to advance westward, so that the imperial army does not have the intention of stopping?" Then what kind of ferocious killing move did Li Yuanshan arrange, it was within this thousand miles, what could it be? ”

"I don't know."

Sun Kaidao shook his head: "I only know that if no one in the imperial army notices this, then the million men and horses are afraid that it will be dangerous again this time." The successive tough battles on Shi Lei's side are a play, He Ruoxiong's rout is a play, and perhaps even the defeat of Yin Poshan, in which the general personally participated, is also a play...... There is only one purpose. ”

Zhuo Buyi was taken aback: "Emperor?!" ”

……

……

Sun Kaidao took the tea handed to him by Fang Jie, and then curled up beside the stove: "Although the distance is less than 1,800 miles, the climate is too far away. The subordinates have never felt so cold on the side of Mangdang Mountain, and although they feel that the winter is difficult when they are at home, they can at least bear it. When I arrived in Fangu, I knew what it meant to be irresistible to the cold. The subordinates now suspect that if they leave this stove for a stick of incense, they may freeze to death. ”

Fang Xie smiled: "Your body is too cold, it seems that I have to teach you some fist and foot kung fu, although you are a little late in learning now, but at least you can make your body hard." ”

"My subordinates are sick, when I was young, I went to the lake to play with a few friends of the same age in winter, the lake was frozen, and when I was having fun, my subordinates broke the ice and fell in. I was really frightened, and I kept shouting for someone to save me. The people were also frightened, and some tried to come over, but they didn't dare to get too close to the ice cave. Then they all ran away, leaving me alone to struggle in the biting water. If it weren't for a group of passing merchants, I am afraid that my subordinates would not even live to be ten years old. ”

Since then, his subordinates have had this chill. When the weather is a little colder, you have to change into cotton clothes. But Fan Gu's cold is not something that cotton clothes can resist. ”

Fang Xie put his big hat on Sun Kaidao's body, and after sitting down opposite, he made the fire more enjoyable.

"I know an old-timer in the capital, not only is his cultivation amazing, but he is also very accomplished in medicine, if there is a chance, I will go to ask him for a prescription."

"Thank you, General."

Sun Kaidao bowed his head and thanked him, then looked at Fang Xie and asked: "There is something in my subordinates, I have always wanted to ask, but I didn't dare." ”

"Ask, is there anyone else here?"

Fang Xie took a sip of tea and said lightly.

"What does the general think about the future of the Great Sui?"

This question is not easy to answer.

Sun Kaidao expected that Fang Xie would not answer, so he said to himself: "If your subordinates say something rebellious, according to your subordinates, it is not easy to quell the rebellion in the northwest, even if the emperor is strategizing, all Li Yuanshan's calculations can't hide the emperor's eyes, but after all, there is a Luo Yao by his side." Li Yuanshan and the imperial army are fighting to the death, Luo Yao will never miss this opportunity. Once Luo Yao erects the anti-flag, how many people can go back alive in the army of this Western Expedition? ”

"If it's unfortunate...... His Majesty collapsed in the northwest, the crown prince was young, the auxiliary ministers were autocratic, and the dynasty was in chaos. Luo Yao waved his army eastward, who else could stop him? The world is bound to be in chaos, although the Eastern Chu is weak, but the rich armor of the world, in an instant can promise to recruit hundreds of thousands of horses with huge profits, even if the Eastern Chu can not break through the border defense line in the east of the Great Sui, but it is bound to involve a large number of troops. The dozens of barbarian tribes in the north have long had a grudge against the Great Sui, and naturally they will not let go of the opportunity. Again...... Meng Yuan, the Great Khan Meng Ge, in terms of vision and courage, is not necessarily inferior to His Majesty today. ”

"If the world falls apart, where will the general go?"

This sentence is very straightforward.

Fang Xie didn't know how to answer for a while.

"From the perspective of subordinates, the rebellion in the Central Plains has become unstoppable. Although the Great Sui was strong for a hundred years, because of the emphasis on military force and light on literature, the strength of foreign ministers was too strong to control. At the beginning, Taizu established the country and warned the descendants of the royal family not to forget the foundation of establishing the country by force, but as a result, the power in the hands of the Sixteen Wei generals was too heavy, so heavy that even the feudal officials like the governors of various provinces could not suppress it, and it was strange that there would be no chaos. Your Majesty is an unborn monarch, so why just catch up with this time...... Once there is any accident in the northwest, Luo Yao is not the only one who wants to get a piece of the pie. ”

"It's true to be heavy on martial arts, but if you look too hard, there will be drawbacks. A hundred years of accumulated evils will break out once they occur, and at this time, even if His Majesty perceives the root, there is no way to stop it. Because if you want to control the chaos, you still rely on military generals rather than civilian officials. The greater the power of the general, the more chaotic it is, and this situation is ...... No solution. ”

"The general is a hero, and he should know that what his subordinates say is true. Therefore, his subordinates implored the general to make plans as soon as possible, otherwise, he was afraid that all living beings would be lost. ”

Seeing that Fang Xie did not refute, Sun Kaidao said with a straight face: "According to the subordinates, now whether it is for yourself or for the court, you must expand your strength." There are a lot of bandits in the northwest, and it is not too difficult to recruit soldiers, but these people are useless. There are 40,000 elite and 10,000 cold horsemen on the Wolf Milk Mountain, if the general can hold it in the palm of his hand, the world will fall apart, so why worry about it? ”

"Even if he doesn't plan for the future, does the general think that with 5,000 men and horses from the Shanzi Battalion and the Yangzi Battalion, he can stop the 200,000 troops of Mengyuan Barbarians from returning west?"

Fang Xie was still silent, his face calm.

Sun Kaidao was a little more confident, and lowered his voice and said: "Becoming a big thing without being informal, the general thinks twice...... The subordinates thought that the day after tomorrow was the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and the general sent someone to invite Lord Mou and other generals to come to Fan Gu to enjoy the moon and drink, and set up a banquet, Lord Mou should not refuse, right? ”

Fang Xie frowned, and a trace of coldness flashed in his eyes.

At this moment, suddenly there were soldiers outside asking for advancement. When they came in, they asked what was going on, and the soldiers said that someone came from the Wolf Milk Mountain to ask to see the general. Fang Xie called the man in, and saw that it was the pro-soldier team beside Mou Liangbi.

The team saluted each other with their fists and said: "The day after tomorrow is the fifteenth day of the first month, Master Mou wants to invite the general to the cottage for a while, and he has prepared a banquet, just waiting for the general to arrive." ”