Gu Yi saw that Yang Chong was forcing the palace, so he simply did it in one step, and the lesser of two evils was balanced, anyway, those who stayed behind in the territory couldn't be defeated, and it was not the same in anyone's hands, if Yang Chong could really destroy Xue Ju and a group of traitors, it would not be a good thing for Chang'an. If Yang Chong is really just rebellious and untamed to support the self-respect, then Chang'an will earn it, after all, the roads are smooth, and there is a steady stream of taxes.

Qu Tutong couldn't help but hesitate, this is too harsh, the city that has been occupied by the rebels is not like being gnawed by locusts, the idea of the bone instrument is good, but in this way, Yang Chong is probably more interested in guarding his lair; Yuan Wuji stepped forward and said: "The general has the heavy responsibility of Hedong, and it is not easy to stay in Chang'an for too long, so the lower officials are willing to go and let Yang Chong agree to the conditions and take back Honghua and other counties." ”

Acting King Yang Yu and Gu Yi breathed a sigh of relief, the relationship between the Yuan family and Yang Chong was there, and Yuan Wuji should be fine; Everyone brought Wei Xuan back, but Wei Xuan expected that he couldn't negotiate, so he happily asked people to draw up an edict and stamp it. When Yuan Wuji was leaving, he saw that there was no one left and right, and then said to Qu Tutong: "It is best for the general to go back quickly, an officer named Liang Shidu and Li Yuan are worth noting, and they may be in the near future if they want to make a move." ”

When Qu Tutong heard Liang Shidu, he immediately understood that this was true, Liang Shidu was a native of Shuofang, Xiazhou, and his family had been a wealthy family in the county for generations. Qu Tutong smiled bitterly: "I was ordered to be transferred back to Chang'an, and on the way back, the army can only send a letter to Tang Shizong, the county guard, hoping that he can seize the opportunity." ”

However, both of them understood that there was little hope, and some said in advance that no one listened, and when the time came, it was too late to do anything. Sure enough, neither the official letter of the Ministry of War nor Qu Tutong's letter attracted the attention of Shuofang County, but Liang Shidu got the news and preemptively killed Tang Shizong, occupied Shuofang, proclaimed himself the Great Prime Minister, and joined forces with the Turks to jointly oppose Sui. When Chang'an heard the news, he sent Zhang Shilong, the doctor of Yinqing Guanglu, to serve as the county guard of Diaoyin and be responsible for the crusade.

Yuan Wuqian arrived at Liupan Mountain, and it only took one night for Jiang Duo to agree to Chang'an's plan, without even reporting to Yang Chong for approval, and the next Yen Wuqian notified Li Jing to make way, and on the third day, Jiang Duo received the edict, and tens of thousands of troops began to withdraw from the cities, divided into five roads, and protected the grain and grass to retreat to Helan Mountain. Helan Mountain received the report and sent 6,000 cavalry to meet them, so that the horse thieves and Turks who were preparing to get some oil and water could only retreat unwillingly.

After Li Zhengming took two hundred horsemen, he handed over points with Li Jing and Yuan Wuji from city to city, and after each city was handed over, Li Jing and Yuan Wuji had to sign the list of materials accepted. Jiang Long said that all the materials left behind will be counted as taxes that have been paid in the future, and the discount will offset the quota of Chang'an; Li Jing is a real person, he didn't release water because Li Zhengming was his eldest brother, and he didn't deliberately reduce a few numbers to fill his pocket.

Yuan Wuji waited until the handover was completed before returning to Chang'an with a list signed by both parties; The speed at which the left-behind division appointed officials was very fast, and when Yuan Wuxian left, even the county orders of the last two county towns were in place. Yuan Wuji could only shake his head, since he entrusted this area to Li Jing, at least a few empty positions should be left for Li Jing to buy people's hearts, I don't know if Wei Xuan was deliberately or too greedy for power, and he didn't even do this.

Li Jing didn't take it to heart, seeing that the officials from all over the country had taken office, so he put down his mind and specially inspected the defensive facilities of Liupan Mountain, and saw that the camp was tightly organized, and the defensive layout on the pass, Li Jing said to the Red Whisk Girl worriedly: "Those who are good at defending must be good at attacking, Yang Chong's troops will be able to defend a city to this extent, there is no strong city for them in this world, no wonder they don't care about the gains and losses of a city and a place." ”

The Red Whisk Girl is also a knowledgeable person, and she is all-incapable in martial arts and the art of war, and agrees with a smile: "On the whole, Wu Duan'er and Han Shige's camps are well versed in the art of war, and the fortification of the city pass is even more expert. ”

Li Jing smiled bitterly: "You don't have to save face for me, you don't have to withdraw the heavy crossbow guarding the city, we don't have 20,000 or 30,000 dead and wounded, it is impossible to occupy this Xiongguan." Since ancient times, Tongguan, Sanguan, Wuguan, and Xiaoguan existed, and Wudu'er's plan was to build a fortress in the north, which was very beneficial to defend against the Turks. ”

The red-whisked girl looked at Qingshan Stone City with longing eyes, and said in a low voice: "Yang Chong is an eccentric person, but he does have talents, resourcefulness, ability, and knowledge, and he will become a great weapon in the future." ”

Li Jing knew what his wife meant, the Great Sui was full of holes, Chang'an was stormy, and no one knew what the situation would be tomorrow; Li Jing walked forward for a while, and saw that the soldiers did not follow, so he said slowly: "Yang Chong has become a climate now, but since I have arrived in Chang'an, I can only do my duty; Yang Chong can see my ability in inaction, and he must also be able to see my merits in chaos. ”

The red whisk girl smiled helplessly, turned around and looked at a row of geese flying in the distant mountains, Li Jing was talented, suave, and skillfully used military books and war strategies, but there seemed to be a lack of tendon in being a man, and he was more stubborn and stubborn. The geese unfold in a herringbone shape, like a cloud, steady in the air.

Li Yuan learned the content of the edict in Taiyuan, and he was depressed, and Yang Chong could use this reason to kill Shuofang County at any time and attack Liang Shidu; Then something happened to Ma Yi again, and Liu Wuzhou, the captain of Yingyang Mansion, killed the county guard Wang Rengong, called himself Taishou, opened a warehouse to help the poor, galloped within the territory, and was also attached to the Turks. Li Yuan and Li Shimin discussed for several days, and finally decided to release Jinyang from prison to order Liu Wenjing and send Liu Wenjing to Hexi to meet Yang Chong.

Liu Wenjing made a detour to Lingwu, and met Gaobei and Poliu Han Bakui after the break, and watched the retreat process of the righteous army, which was orderly. Knowing that Liu Wenjing was Li Yuan's envoy, Gao Bei was very polite, Liu Wenjing asked why he agreed to withdraw the army, Gao Bei said with a smile: "The two counties are alone, and if they fight for a long time, it will be difficult to supply materials." Retreat into Hexi, just in time for rectification, as long as Jincheng County is captured, how many losses will be returned. ”

Liu Wenjing smiled, and Li Shimin came to the conclusion that it was precisely because of the rapid withdrawal of the army that Hexi and the Turks had the same intention of feeding their wars with war, and they did not lose any of the grain, grass, equipment, cloth, livestock, and population, but instead gained a reason to wage war against Jincheng. Even when Taiyuan raised troops, he could cross the river along Shuofang, Diaoyin and other counties and directly attack Taiyuan, which was completely a profitable business, and it was also the reason why he had to come to Hexi.

(End of chapter)