A few days after Li Yan returned to Kaifeng from Qixian, Sun Chuanting came to Kaifeng in person. The troops he can command are basically in Shaanxi, and the only one who needs to be discussed is Li Yan, the thief general. As for the thief general Zuo Liangyu, Sun Chuanting didn't have much hope. Therefore, before sending troops, he must discuss with Li Yan and make good use of Li Yan's strong army to eliminate Li Zicheng.

More important is the food problem, his army is short of food. Although the imperial court made him the governor of the seven provinces, it did not give him any money and food, but only asked him to exterminate the thieves.

And now the documents urging him to send troops are one after another, and many of them have the credit of Shaanxi officials. They all hoped that Sun Chuanting would leave Shaanxi earlier, and their family could not bear the endless distribution of money and grain. In order to force Sun Chuanting to send troops, he even moved out on the charge of raising Kou's self-respect.

Li Yan met Sun Chuanting in the Yibin Mansion. The subordinates here have all been replaced by reliable personnel, and the subordinates and eunuchs who originally came from the palace have been sent back to the palace one after another.

Li Yan saluted Sun Chuanting and invited Sun Chuanting to sit on the main seat, and he sat down with his hands.

"Why don't you meet in the barracks," Sun Chuanting asked coldly.

Li Yan replied: "The barracks are noisy, so it's quieter here." ”

"Why don't you go to Xi'an for military discussions," Sun Chuanting still asked coldly.

Li Yan also smiled and said, "The last general is afraid that the overseer will prepare a knife and axe for me." ”

"Thou hast obeyed thy commandments, thou hast been diligent in the king's affairs, and no one will do anything to thee"

Li Yan said with a smile: "But the last general has already violated the order, so naturally you have to be careful." Otherwise, if you are the second of He Renlong, it will make people laugh. ”

Sun Chuanting finally turned his head to look at Li Yan, frowned and asked, "So, are you planning to rebel, do you want to use the head of this superintendent to sacrifice the flag and swear the master?"

Li Yan shook his head and said, "Don't worry, Inspector, this idea is not yet available for the time being." ”

Sun Chuanting fully believed in Li Yan's statement, and in his opinion, although Li Yan's approach was not in harmony with the rules, it was restoring order and production. If Li Yan wants to rebel, he doesn't have to work so hard at all, just loot like a thief. With Li Yan's military strength, which court officials and soldiers will be his opponents From the bottom of his heart, he actually envied Li Yan. He also wanted to restore order and let the people live in peace, but at this time, he could not do anything.

"Then how many troops can you send this time," Sun Chuanting asked directly.

Li Yan didn't think about it, and replied: "The last general will not come out." ”

"What" Sun Chuanting slapped the table and stood up. He glared at Li Yan, and the little envy he had for Li Yan just now was gone, and only anger remained.

Li Yan continued: "The superintendent is angry. Although the last general could not send troops to help in the battle, the last general prepared a month's worth of food and grass for the overseer. ”

Although Sun Chuanting was short of food, he was more interested in Li Yan's troops. Although he has the service of Yang Chengzu and others, his troops are still weak. The soldiers on the three sides were defeated last time, and they have lost their courage, if there is no Li Yan to join this time, he himself will not have the confidence to win.

"No," he sternly ordered: "You send at least 20,000 troops, and I will allocate 20,000 border soldiers to you to Xinyang." I led the main force from Nanyang into Chu, and there was also a partial division from Yunyang to attack. Zuo Liangyu traced the river, and the four-way army encircled and suppressed together. I will lead the main force to attack Xiangyang first, and after the thieves from all over the world gather in Xiangyang, you will surround you from three sides. Annihilate the thieves and the Yangyang area. ”

After listening to Sun Chuanting's plan, Li Yan still shook his head: "Although the superintendent's plan is good, not to mention whether Xunyang and Zuo Liangyu can play a role." Even in Xiangyang, the main force of the superintendent may not be the opponent of Li Zicheng's left-behind troops. It was Li Zicheng's capital, which had been renamed Xiangjing. Moreover, there are 60,000 elite soldiers stationed on the border, 30,000 garrisons in Fancheng on the north bank of the Han River, and no less than 20,000 defenders in Xiangyang. Coupled with the garrisons in other important places, the number of thieves was no less than 130,000. ”

"Let's discuss the specific troop strategy." Sun Chuanting said dissatisfiedly: "But you must send 20,000 troops to help the war."

Li Yan still shook his head and explained: "The soldiers of the last general are all newly recruited, and they can't fight if they don't practice the battle formation. And in the whole of Henan, bandits are everywhere. The last general will have to deploy troops everywhere to wipe out all these bandits and bandits. Otherwise, they will gather together and merge, and they will become a source of trouble. ”

"My soldiers are also newly recruited, and there are also a lot of thieves in Shaanxi, these are not reasons" Sun Chuanting said in a dissatisfied lesson: "This attack is related to the danger of the world, and there can be no mistake in the slightest."

"That's the Overseer's understanding." Li Yan still insisted: "What we will do in the end is to first stabilize the place and ensure that the food and salary are sufficient, and then to exterminate the thieves." Since the superintendent knows that the stakes are huge, he should be even more cautious. Sending troops in a hurry can only be a matter of losing the teacher. ”

These words resonated with Sun Chuanting, and he said a little sadly: "I don't know the truth of this, but the princes of the court bewitched Your Majesty, and Cui Zhan's document was written every three days, which is really difficult to disobey." ”

"Does the Inspector think Da Ming can still be saved?" Li Yan asked suddenly.

Sun Chuanting looked at Li Yan unexpectedly: "What do you mean?"

Li Yan said with a smile: "It is reported that when the thieves attacked Xiangyang, the civil and military officials asked the king of Chu to take out some silver money to recruit soldiers, boost morale, and wait for help. However, the king of Chu only moved out a golden chair given by Taizu himself. When the thieves come to attack the city, the civil officials flee, and the soldiers surrender. After the thieves entered Wuchang, they found millions of gold and silver from the palace of the king of Chu. This is not the first time, the relatives who eat half of the tax every year still don't want to serve the court, let alone others"

Sun Chuanting glanced at Li Yan and returned to coldness. said coldly: "Why don't you say that King Zhou Chitose has repeatedly helped money and food, and tried to ensure that Kaifeng does not lose that you are a guest of honor and a relative of the emperor." According to the rules of the imperial court, the palace must not touch the handle of the army. Since His Majesty made an exception and agreed to marry you and the county lord of Anping, it is a great favor to you, the county lord of Anping, and the king of Zhou.

Li Yan just smiled and nodded, but did not speak.

Sun Chuanting continued: "You can mobilize troops as soon as possible, not less than 20,000. I will come over to check, and then you will still shirk in every possible way, and don't blame the military law of this superintendent for being ruthless."

After he finished speaking, he walked out directly, but stopped at the door, and said without looking back: "In a few days, I will send someone to send a batch of war horses over, and when there are about a thousand horses, you will prepare food." ”

Li Yan arched his hand and said, "As long as the overseer's horses come over, I can prepare food here." The Inspector walked slowly. ”

He looked at Sun Chuanting's back, but shook his head and sighed in his heart. He knew that he couldn't persuade Sun Chuanting, and since Sun Chuanting must be a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty, he could only watch silently from the sidelines.

Sun Sifu reported in a low voice: "Dashuai, Tian Jianxiu has arrived outside the city. ”

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