…… The southern part of Xiazhou and the northern part of Yanzhou are mountainous areas, which are steeper and more vegetation, and the further north they are, the mountains are gradually gentle, with many slopes and ravines and canyons. Further north, eighty to one hundred miles, you will enter a more gentle meadow area, where the Tuoba tribe living in Xia Prefecture graze their livestock. In that area, the enemy's cavalry will be more likely to move in a roundabout way, and the advantage of the infantry army will be less likely to be developed. The number of scouts in our army was sufficient, and the strength of the whole army was no more than 5,000, so it was not difficult to detect the enemy in time and prepare for battle. The closer you get to Tongwan City, the grass and vegetation gradually sparse, and the sand and stones gradually increase, so there are fewer tribal settlements around the city. There is a river in the north of the city, called Nao Ni River, which goes straight down from the northeast to the southeast and joins the Wuding River. The city was built by Hu Jun in the past by steaming earth, and the city wall was paved with a layer of wooden bones for each zhang. It is said that the people who built the city were 100,000 people, and each place was cone with an iron cone, and if the cone entered an inch, the people were all cut down, so the city was strong, and it was rare in the world to ......"

In the big tent, all the officers above the command level of the Zhejia Army and the Yan'an Regiment stood quietly, listening attentively to the deployment of Li Wenge in the Guanbei Battalion and the Horse Infantry Army, and the extremely finely drawn map of mountains and rivers.

“…… According to the information obtained by the scouts in recent days, the main force of the enemy army should be gathered in the slope and valley to the west of our army at this moment, and the terrain in this area is complicated, which is not conducive to the deployment of the cavalry brigade, so the enemy army has never engaged our army. Judging by the pattern of action of the enemy scouts and the amount of rations the enemy carried, the distance between the enemy and our army should not exceed a hundred li. Beyond this distance, the enemy will not be able to grasp the movement of our troops. Judging from the actions of the enemy, the number of enemy forces should not be sufficient to crush the left flank of our army in a short time, so the total number of its troops should not exceed a thousand, judging by the number of enemy scouts encountered in these days, it should be about three or four cardinals. The purpose of the actions of these enemy forces on the flanks of our troops is not yet determined. But there is a high probability that it is coming for our army's food route......"

Zhi Congruan stroked his beard and nodded slowly. Li Wenge's analysis is clear and methodical, and his words are carefully used, and as the chief of staff of the army, it is quite suitable.

"Our army has less than 5,000 troops, so it is unable to maintain a grain route of 400 miles, once our army leaves the mountains and drives into a relatively gentle area, this mountainous area in the south of Yanbei Xia will become the best battlefield for the enemy to harass our army's grain routes, unless our army can quickly conquer Tongwan City and seize the materials and grain and grass that the Tuoba family has stored in the city. Otherwise, they will run out of food quickly. ”

Therefore, the last general suggested that the commander revise the original strategy, take the northeast along the side wall of the Great Wall in the east, until the Wuding River, and then march all the way east along the river valley, detour back to the southern foot of Yinzhou to show off his military might, and then continue to advance south along the river valley, and take the Suizhou side, if the situation is favorable to us. If the situation is unfavorable to us, then bypass Suizhou, go straight to Weiping Pass along the river valley and turn back to Yanzhou, as long as the delay is not too long, the Han army in Xianzhou and Shizhou east of the Yellow River has no time to deploy the movement. Our army will always be safe. As long as our army can drive to the south of Yinzhou, even if it is just to look for ships to cross the Wuding River, it is impossible for Li Yiyin, who is in the north of Linzhou at this moment, to remain indifferent......"

"Then we have wasted so much effort and run more than a thousand miles, isn't it in vain?"

Zhi Yuqing asked puzzled.

Zhi Deyuan glanced at this nephew with disgust, this eccentric boy can't speak, isn't this making Li Wenge unable to come to the stage in front of him.

Zhe Congruan instead watched with a smile. He wanted to see how Li Wenge coped with it.

Li Wenge said with a smile: "Young General, folk slang says; 'You can't become a fat man by eating in one bite', and the same is true of war. We have fewer troops, all the more so. Pocket a *** like this. It seems that we have taken a lot of unjust roads, in fact, we have been walking along the water source, as long as there is a water source, there will be people, the Tuoba tribe in the west has withdrawn to Xiazhou, and the Yeli family, Fang Dangjia, and Fei Tingjia tribes in the east are afraid that they will not be so well-behaved. The elite soldiers of these families have been transferred to attack the prefecture, and the remaining land in the tribe is either slaves or old and weak women and children, and even if there are soldiers, it is unbearable to fight. Although our army does not have an advantage in total strength, it is gathered in one place, and it is still slightly weak to be the enemy of the entire party, but in the face of any of the eight alone, our army occupies an overwhelming advantage, and it is certain that we will win in a fight, and it is more cost-effective to fight in this way than to go to Tongwancheng and touch stones. If the situation is favorable, we will take Suizhou in one fell swoop, which is equivalent to cutting off one of the party's arms with one sword. At present, according to our estimates, the defenders in Suizhou City will not exceed 1,000 people, Suizhou City is low, the defense is poor, compared to Xiazhou City, it is really a heaven and an underground. The only thing to worry about is that if the Tuoba soldiers from the west pass through the Qingling Gate and rush to the south of Suizhou, the return route of our army will be cut off. But it doesn't matter, our troops are strong, as long as we can detect the enemy in time, we will not suffer too much loss! ”

"Then why didn't we directly decide to fight Suizhou in the first place? Wouldn't that be one less wrongful way? Zhi Yuqing asked again.

Zhi Deyuan snorted: "Stinky boy, you haven't been to Weiping Pass, so naturally you don't know how powerful it is." Li Shuai has already said that in the south of Yinxia and the north of Yanzhou, the mountains are steep and towering, the rivers are turbulent, and the vegetation is luxuriant. Take the Wuding River as an example, I don't look like it in the upper reaches

, but when it reached Weiping Pass, it was close downstream, and the water was extremely turbulent, although it was shallow and deep, it was absolutely impossible to wade. To the south of Suizhou, there are many such dangerous landforms, so that the road gradually narrows after going out of Weiping Pass, and the narrowest place can only exercise two carriages on the opposite side, the mountains are high and the grass is prosperous, which is convenient for setting up ambushes, but it is not conducive to the development of large troops, and it is against the current that the river advantage can not be used, and it is easy to be set up by the enemy to set up a raft, take advantage of the night to return to the downstream, and attack our army from behind. ”

Zhi Yuqing stuck out his tongue and grinned and did not speak again.

Zhi Congruan slowly spoke: "...... The old man is not worried about taking the wrong road, and the children of my family will not be separated even if they walk another thousand miles. There are two things that the old man can't decide now, one is that our army suddenly changes its combat intentions, and the enemy army will certainly be stunned for a while, but once it wakes up, it will bite its tail and go up, or cut off our army. or constantly harass our rear by virtue of its superiority in mobility, so that our army can never start the march, and wants to stop and annihilate the enemy, but the enemy's cavalry runs faster than us, and cannot catch up with us, nor can we fight; Second. If Li Yiyin returned from Linzhou and pursued us all the way down the Wuding River from Yinzhou, although the distance was far, there was still a Suizhou city in front of our army, and there were still some nomadic tribes around, and it was impossible to transport grain to the army from Luziguan for seven or eight hundred miles. ”

Li Wenge nodded: "There are indeed these two problems!" ”

—

He pointed to the mountains and rivers and said, "Originally, we sent troops. We came to make trouble for the party members, and we didn't want to take advantage of much. Since it's troublemaking, there is no need to worry about that much. Ling Gongdi's first doubt, the last general's solution is very simple, although the number of enemy troops on the western front is not much, but there is nothing to do every day staring at us, it is inevitable that it is a little too idle, the last general thinks, we can find something for them to do, fortunately, the last general still has some cavalry troops in his hands that can run faster. After walking a hundred miles further north and approaching the edge of the mountainous area, while autumn has just begun, the wind direction is mostly southeasterly, and the last general is ready to put a fire on the road ......"

"Set fire to ——?"

Zhe Congruan was startled for a moment, and Li Wenge nodded calmly: "It's arson." We sent our cavalry deep into the meadow, and now it was the season of yellow grass, and a dozen torches were thrown out, and in an instant it was a fire. The walls of fire and smoke on the steppe will completely cut off our view from the enemy, and the enemy should try to extinguish the fire at first, which will only work for twenty days, once it is late autumn. When the wind shifts from southeast to northwest, this method does not work. We headed northeast, just away from the meadows, and the fire burned no matter how much it burned. It can't burn us. By the time the enemy came to their senses, four or five days had passed, and it would not be easy to find the traces of our army. Moreover, the general estimates that this big meadow is related to the famine life and death of many ethnic groups and tribes, and as long as the other party is a serious party member, no matter whether the firefighting is successful or not, the left and right will have to give it a try. ”

The generals were stunned for a long time, and finally folded Yuqing and stuck out his tongue and said, "This plan is so poisonous......

Li Wenge scratched his head and said: "The poem of the Xiangshan monk says, 'Wildfires can't be burned, and the spring breeze blows and grows', as long as the party members survive this winter, the fire will not burn the ground with grass seeds......"

Zhi Congruan smiled dumbly: "What about the old man's second doubt? What else does Huairen have to plan? ”

Li Wenge frowned, looked at the generals around him and said: "This idea can only be effective if you talk to Ling Gong alone, if everyone knows about it, it won't work......

Zhi Congruan glanced at him in surprise, his expression became solemn, and he ordered lightly: "Retreat!" ”

Everyone looked different and withdrew from the tent.

Zhi Congruan's expression softened, and said with a smile: "You guy, you have to make this mystery, you can talk about it now......!" ”

……

"Wen Zhigong, don't you always put your humble position on the fire?"

As soon as he got out of the Jiedu Mansion, Gao Shaoyuan complained to Li Bin.

Li Bin stroked his beard and smiled: "Not really, right?" Is it that serious? It's just to nominate you as the patriarch, the Gao family's century-old hairpin family, and thousands of people in the Wanguan family are all at your disposal, isn't it beautiful? ”

Gao Shaoyuan rolled his eyes ridiculed by Li Bin, and snorted angrily: "Waste people, zhang tianmu, change the tax system, how big is this?" Within the nine counties, the development of wasteland and the raising of soldiers and civilians all depend on this bold change. How can such an important thing be joked? Why did the two taxation systems of the late Tang Dynasty eventually become a mere formality, but instead became a means for the government and wealthy families to oppress the small people? To achieve the unity of acres and acres, the most important thing is to be able to withstand the pressure of the wealthy, regardless of success or failure...... When General Li recommended the lowly post as the state wall order, he made it clear that he wanted to use the lowly post to deal with these stubborn and unwieldy gentlemen, and at such a critical moment, if the lowly post really served as the patriarch of the Gao family, it would be equivalent to being tied hand and foot, and the system and law would be changed, where to start? Where has it changed? ”

Li Bin kept smiling and said, "Qizheng can know...... The old man insisted that you be the patriarch today, precisely so that you can implement the change of Ding tax to mu tax in the state wall more smoothly in the future, and you also know that all the surnames and families in the city have some opinions about Huairen. When the time comes, if Huairen really erects a red banner that unites the mu,

Some rich and wealthy families will join forces to turn the situation upside down!

Gao Shaoyuan snorted disdainfully: "It's too much to worry about." In Shaoyuan's opinion, if there were no red flags, none of these soft-footed shrimp would dare to openly make the first bird. If my third uncle is still alive, he may be able to negotiate the price with General Zhongwu, but now that the third uncle has passed away, there is no one in Yanzhou who dares to touch the general's beard. Whether it's the Han family or the Yao family, whoever dares to come forward to oppose the general, and whoever has a peaceful birthday is afraid that it will come to an end......"

Li Bin smiled bitterly: "Don't I know this? The old man's hard work is all for the sake of the lives of these local heroes. Since six years ago, Yanzhou has been in turmoil for six years, haven't these families suffered enough? Originally, the strongest Liu family was moved by Gao Shizhong himself, and Wan Guan's family wealth had just been turned around in the Gao family's treasury. It's all cheap, Li Huairen......"

"It should be said that Yanzhou Li Shu is ......," Gao Shaoyuan said disappreciatively, "General Zhongwu doesn't seem to have put a penny into his private pocket, so the word cheap is not used properly!" ”

Li Bin glanced at him in surprise: "The Gao family has such an outlier as you, but it is really a fortune teller." Otherwise, if someone else is the patriarch, Li Huairen will sooner or later uproot the hundred-year-old foundation of the entire Gao clan in Yanzhou......"

Gao Shaoyuan shook his head again and again: "Make the king too worried, Shaoyuan thinks that the defense makes the lord have no intention of killing the Gao family." As soon as Gao Shizhong dies, he will not trouble the Gao family anymore - naturally, the premise is that the mu Ding system is reformed, and the Gao family knows each other a little, so don't look ugly again. Don't be a good bird again! ”

"The old man insisted that you be the patriarch for this reason!"

Li Bin had a serious expression on his face: "What a big deal it is to reform the mu system, Qin Zijian has to face the displaced people who divide the fields, it seems that the affairs are heavy, but in fact it is extremely simple and easy." On your side, you are facing the rich dignitaries of the entire state. A sea of knives and fire. It's just that, if you don't pay attention to it, it's a situation where the jade is burned. As the head of the Gao family, you can use the Gao family as an opportunity to lay a wedge in the monolithic Yanzhou wealthy family, as long as the Gao family's problems can be solved smoothly, the other surnames will be much easier to handle......"

Gao Shaoyuan smiled bitterly: "Wen Qiangong, the big clan is in the matter." If you don't understand, take my seventh uncle as an example, it's obviously a hot charcoal position, why does he still have to fight? That's not what he wants to fight. But he has to fight, if he doesn't fight, others will force him to fight, and if he doesn't fight, a few other uncles will fight, but in the end, no matter who fights, they are actually puppets. The older men in several rooms are there, and if the patriarch does not fulfill their wishes, he can be replaced in an instant. What's more, none of these older uncles are fuel-efficient lamps, and they are more or less in touch with the gangsters and bullies in the state wall. In the past few days since I took office, I have been checking these dregs of the bottom, and I am ready to go to this abscess before reforming the system and changing the law, and when the time comes, this group of people will also be tossed up, and we can't cope with it......"

"Didn't Wei Xun do this with you?" Li Bin asked.

"Exactly, Wei Zhiguo's own family was originally the eldest brother among the ruffians and the overlord among the hooligans, and it was only fitting for him to lead the team to eradicate these scourges. It's just that he is on the march with the army at this moment, and he has already said that as soon as he returns, we will close the net. At this time, your old man insisted on forcing me to be the patriarch, isn't this adding to the chaos? Gao Shaoyuan said stupidly.

Li Bin smiled bitterly: "I want to reduce the pressure on your shoulders a little, and I also want to pull the family up at the end!" ”

Gao Shaoyuan snorted and said: "If you do too much injustice, you will kill yourself, the Gao family has been merging land in Yanzhou for many years, bullying men and women, and the traffic prison has been rampant in the countryside, and it is time to be full of evil!" ”

Li Bin shook his head and sighed: "Don't talk so much, although your father died in internal strife, but there is no high-ranking servant, after all, there is no status and achievements in your ...... today."

Gao Shaoyuan sneered: "Then I really want to thank these uncles and brothers......

Li Bin looked at him and sighed: "If you think about it carefully, if you are the head of the Gao family, you are condescending to be like those stubborn people Chen Shuo, wouldn't it be much better than if you stood on the position of the state and county orders and fought with them?" ”

Gao Shaoji smiled bitterly: "Wen Zhigong, your old man really doesn't know much about these heroes in our family who bully the weak and fear the hard. With these people, as long as you discuss everything, you will not want to accomplish anything. If you want to accomplish something, you have to keep a straight face and be ruthless, neither consult with them nor be accommodating with them, and it is better not to even bother to say a word to them. The more you don't speak, the less they dare to act rashly, and the more they have to find ways to get the news out of you. If you talk dryly, they may not give in at all, but they may convince you. You just don't say anything to them, just keep your head up, and they will be weak-minded, and things will be much easier to do. ”

“…… Isn't that a cheap bone? Li Bin asked with his mouth open and puzzled.

"Most of the elders in these houses in the big clan are cheap bones...... Gao Shaoyuan replied coldly.