(Xie: The reward of the two brothers xtxhel and moshaocong.) Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 info Xie: liutongcai, hjh501, Jiashuo audio, autumn breeze dustless, Mei Heweng, 100 maybe, in the bird to read the book and other brothers' tickets. ）

It didn't cost much to take Luoyang, which is certainly something to celebrate. Facing the cheering people all over the city and the high-morale Shence army and horses, although Wang Yuan was smiling, he had great worries in his heart.

Gao Xianzhi also felt incredulous about this easy-to-reach victory, why the rebels were so weak, because according to intelligence, the rebels still had nearly 150,000 soldiers and horses deployed in Tongguan and Luoyang. In addition to the 60,000 soldiers and horses attacking Suiyang, there are at least 80,000 soldiers and horses defending this Luoyang City, but the rebel soldiers defending the city during the siege seem to be less than 10,000, and most of them are people who were forced to drive up the city, which is really strange.

In the Luoyang Imperial Palace in the afternoon, Wang Yuan, Gao Xianzhi and others interrogated the six rebel generals who had been captured to defend the city. These six generals attempted to escape on horseback from the north gate of Luoyang when the city was broken, but they were chased by Liu Jun and his cavalry all the way to the edge of the Yellow River, where they were captured and returned. Although they all wore the armor of ordinary soldiers, the weapons and horses they wore revealed their identity. Their weapons are all green steel swords, and their war horses are all high-headed horses, which are obviously not owned by ordinary cavalry.

The six rebel escapees who were identified were pushed in by the five flowers, these six guys were still very tough, and when Tan Ping scolded them to kneel, the six of them still did not kneel and looked at the sky. Tan Ping's heart was on fire, and he raised his foot and kicked the crook of the leg of one of the most arrogant rebel generals, kicking him to his knees.

"Kill, not humiliate! If you lose, you will be defeated, and we will admit it. But I kneel in the world, kneel in the ground, kneel in my parents, and I don't kneel for the rest. The fat rebel officer scrambled to his feet and shouted.

"It's hard-mouthed. Break your leg bones and see you're still hard-mouthed. Tan Ping scolded.

Wang Yuan waved his hand to stop it, stepped forward and said with a smile: "This general, just now you said that you kneeling in the world and kneeling on the ground, kneeling in the middle of your parents, and the rest of you will not kneel." There's something wrong with what you're saying. An Qingxu, the emperor of your Great Yan Kingdom, don't you kneel when you see it? ”

"Phew! An Qingxu, a patricide usurper, didn't think that General Ben would bow down to him. The rebel general scolded.

Wang Yuan smiled: "That's strange, you are a general under An Qingxu, how can you say such a thing?" ”

"I am only loyal to Emperor Shengwu, how can this scum who killed his father and usurped the throne endure his own worship?"

Wang Yuan smiled and said, "Interesting, dare to ask your honorable name?" What is the position of your Dayan official? ”

"I don't change my name, I don't change my surname, Li Guiren is also. I am the general of the forbidden army under the orders of Emperor Shengwu of the Great Yan Kingdom. Although after An Qingxu usurped the throne, he was excluded by him and appointed an official position of Luoyang Taishou, but I only recognized the appointment of the emperor. The rebel said in a deep voice.

Wang Yuan thought it was very interesting, this rebel general named Li Guiren was also a lover, dissatisfied with An Qingxu's act of killing his father and usurping the throne, and even denied the official position appointed by An Qingxu.

"It turned out to be General Li Guiren and Li Da. Disrespectful and disrespectful. I, Wang Yuan, am polite. Wang Yuan hugged his fists.

"You are Wang Yuan?" Li Guiren and several rebel generals next to him all looked at Wang Yuan in surprise.

Wang Yuan smiled: "What? Isn't it like? ”

Li Guiren smacked his tongue and shook his head: "Don't lie to us, I heard that Wang Yuan is eight feet tall, his mouth is like a blood basin, his eyes are like copper bells, and he talks like thunder." You look like a weak scholar, how can it be that Wang Yuan. Don't laugh. ”

As soon as these words came out, the generals of the Shence Army in the hall smiled and leaned back. It turned out that in the eyes of the rebels, the big handsome turned out to be a devil's yaksha. Da Shuai cares about his appearance the most, and now he is going to be depressed.

"Shut up, the one in front of you is my marshal Wang, you don't know Taishan if you have eyes, and you're still talking nonsense here." Zhao Qing scolded.

Wang Yuan waved his hand and smiled: "Li Guiren, I didn't know that you thought I was like that. It stands to reason that it shouldn't be, An Lushan, An Qingxu and even Yan Zhuang and others have met me many times. When Ben Shuai served as the envoy of Hebei Province, he spent several days in the area of Fanyang and Yanzhou. and your An Dashuai and An Ergongzi also drank wine at the same table in Chang'an. Didn't they tell you what I looked like? ”

Li Guiren scratched his head and said, "It was the first emperor who told me that Wang Yuan looked like that." also said that Wang Yuan was greedy. Lewd and lustful, as long as it is a woman, no matter how old or young or young, as long as he is attracted to it, all of them are collected in the house for his enjoyment. It is also said that Wang Yuan likes to eat people's hearts, and once took out babies who were not yet young in the three dynasties, and ate their hearts to increase their strength. He also said......"

"Don't say it, don't say it." Wang Yuan hurriedly waved his hand to interrupt his nonsense. His heart was filled with anger. It turned out that he was so unbearable by the rebels' propaganda. It seems that An Lushan is also well versed in the way of public opinion leadership. This reactionary propaganda turned itself into a brutal and lustless ogre in the eyes of the rebels.

The surrounding generals covered their mouths and coughed, wanting to laugh but not daring to laugh, not daring to laugh but unable to hold back. It's rare to see a handsome man so embarrassed, but today it's a feast for his eyes.

"Whether you believe it or not, I am Wang Yuan. Everyone here can prove it for me. Please see clearly, I, Wang Yuan, am not the kind of person you say. ”

"Could it be that the first emperor deceived me? How could the first emperor lie to me? It's impossible. Li Guiren scratched his head and said.

Wang Yuan didn't want to grind with him anymore, so he said in a deep voice: "General Li, I asked you a few things, and if you answer truthfully, I can give you a light sentence." I hope you can answer honestly and fight for yourself a chance to live. ”

Li Guiren frowned and said, "I'm not afraid of death, but I can answer your question." The matter has come to this point, my Great Yan Kingdom is over, what else can I hope for. If you spare me, you will spare me, and it will not hurt if you don't spare me. ”

Wang Yuan couldn't help but smile. Although this Li Quy Ren is a little stupid, he is not a straight person. No wonder An Lushan made him the general of the forbidden army, and such a tenacious person is the most reassuring person as his personal protector. If possible, it will be useful to recruit this person over. I just don't know what his martial arts skills and abilities are.

"Okay, General Li is quick to talk. Come on, untie them. Wang Yuan commanded.

The guards stepped forward to untie Li Guiren and the others, but Li Guiren twisted his body and refused, and said: "You ask first, if I can't answer your question, you will order someone to tie me up and cut off my head when you turn back, but it will be troublesome." ”

Wang Yuan smiled dumbly, so he had to nod and say, "That's it, it's up to you." The first question I want to ask is, why are there only more than 10,000 soldiers and horses stationed in this Luoyang city? Isn't it supposed to be heavily defended? According to our estimates, you have at least 70,000 or 80,000 soldiers and horses defending the city, how can this be the case? ”

As soon as Li Guiren heard this question, his face immediately turned red, and he scolded: "These losers, the emperor fought so hard to fight the country, and these losers will lose it when they say they lose it." Chang'an was attacked, and they were reluctant to send troops to rescue. Tongguan was lost, and they didn't want to go to the rescue, it was Luoyang's turn, they didn't even dare to defend it, so they patted their butts and ran away. The emperor had a spirit, and it was difficult to look at it under the spring. If they defend the city with all their might, how can you go down to Luoyang in half a day? ”

Liu Dehai scolded angrily: "You turtle grandson is still disrespectful. Even if all of you come to defend the city, my divine army will still fight you in the same way. Still blowing nonsense here. ”

Li Guiren was angry and wanted to refute, but Wang Yuan frowned and interrupted: "General Li, you just said that they patted their butts and ran away, did the soldiers and horses in Luoyang City take the initiative to evacuate?" ”

"Yan Zhuang ran away with An Qingxu a few days ago, and when they saw me, I resolutely refused to leave, so they only gave me 10,000 soldiers and horses to let me defend the city. I had no choice but to drive some of the people up to defend the city, and gave them some worn-out armor and blades, which I knew were useless, but I finally did my part. I also have a clear conscience. ”

Wang Yuan didn't want to listen to him flaunt himself, frowned and asked, "How many days ago did they evacuate Chang'an?" Did you go to Suiyang and attack to the southeast? ”

"Bullshit, it would be nice if they had that guts, they boarded the boat at the Beicheng Pier in Luoyang five days ago and left. I asked Yan Zhuang, but the old boy just wouldn't tell me where they were going. I guess they wanted to go east along the river, and then return to the north bank and retreat to the area around Taiyuan Youzhou. What about these cowards, what about returning to Youzhou? Isn't the Tang army going to Youzhou yet? Aren't you going to face a battle to the death? In that case, why not fight in Luoyang? Li Guiren scolded indignantly.

Wang Yuan asked again: "You mean that An Qingxu and Yan Zhuang fled along the river with the soldiers and horses of Luoyang City?" ”

"yes. This group of cowards, losers. I was building a ship a few months ago, and I was ready to escape by boat, I'm sorry! Li Guiren rolled his eyes and said.

Wang Yuan's heart was bright, and a hidden worry that he had been thinking about before the siege suddenly became clear, and his heart suddenly tightened.

"Come on, take them down." Wang Yuan waved his hand.

The guards stepped forward to take Li Guiren and the others down, and Li Guiren shouted: "Wang Yuan, what are you going to do with us?" It's okay to kill or chop up, but I hope to give us a whole corpse. ”

Wang Yuan sneered: "You will get your wish." ”

After the rebel generals were taken out, the generals talked about it. Li Guiren's explanation was heard by them, and it turned out that the rebel soldiers and horses in Luoyang City had been evacuated here by Yan Zhuang and An Qingxu a few days ago.

"An Qingxu and Yan Zhuang are really cowards, they didn't dare to fight and ran away. It must have been withdrawn from the waterway to Baimadu, landed on the shore, and fled north back to the area of Taiyuan and Youzhou. Dashuai, let's also cross the river to the north and go to their nest. Liu Dehai said loudly.

"Yes, yes, the rebels are at the end of the season, and the Turtle Northland is waiting for us to slaughter them. Dashuai, without further ado, we should go north to attack Taiyuan and go straight to Youzhou. A group of generals also said.

Wang Yuan frowned and waved his hand, and when everyone calmed down, he looked at Gao Xianzhi who was frowning and said, "Brother, what do you think?" ”

Gao Xianzhi said slowly: "I'm afraid things are much more complicated than we imagined, they started building ships a few months ago, and this is obviously not to cross the river to the north. Just if they withdrew to Youzhou, they didn't have to go to such great lengths. There's got to be something strange here. What does the virtuous brother think? ”

Wang Yuan nodded and said, "What my brother said is true, if my guess is correct, they are not retreating to the north of the Yellow River, but ...... Instead, the heavy troops went south and drove straight in. ”

"To the south?"

"Straight in?"

“……？”

The generals were shocked, they didn't expect this possibility at all.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this judgment is based on the following points. For one, if the rebels retreated to the Youzhou Taiyuan area, they wouldn't have to start building ships months earlier. When we first crossed the river, tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians could cross the Yellow River in a matter of days with just a few simple boats. They had a lot of time to cross the river in small boats, and they didn't have to spend money and manpower to build boats. ”

The generals nodded slightly, as if it was too much to build a ship for the purpose of crossing the river, which was puzzling.

"Is it possible that they built a ship in order to be able to evacuate in time, for example, if there is a big battle with us in Luoyang, they can evacuate in time when the war is unfavorable." Song Jiangong said.

Wang Yuan said: "However, they did not fight us, they evacuated five days ago, so your inference is not valid." The second question is, if they decided to retreat to the north and entrench themselves, then why did they order Fox Chao to send 60,000 troops to attack Yongqiu Suiyang? It is necessary to shrink the defense, and the whole army should be withdrawn, and the more soldiers and horses are saved, the better. Why bother to let Linghu Chao attack the southeast alone? Isn't that self-defeating? ”

As soon as this point was raised, everyone was stunned. If the rebels decided to shrink back to the north, there would be no need for them to leave so many soldiers and horses to go south alone. Because once Luoyang is lost, the passage between the north and the south will soon be cut off. Then Linghu Chao, a 60,000-strong soldier and horse, will soon fall into the encirclement and interception of the Tang army. This is obviously not in line with the common sense of the use of soldiers.

"The defenders of Tongguan did not put up much resistance, and Yongqiu was attacked more than ten days after we captured Tongguan. It took four days for the soldiers and horses of Tongguan to withdraw to Luoyang. It takes two days to reach Yongqiu. Three days later, we got Zhang Xun's call for help. Just now, Li Quy Nhin said that the rebels withdrew five days ago, and the timing is completely consistent. That is to say, after the defenders of Tongguan withdrew to Luoyang, An Qingxu and Yan Zhuang ordered Fox Chao to lead 60,000 soldiers and horses to attack Yongqiu, and the remaining soldiers and horses in Luoyang City also boarded and evacuated at the same time. ”

The generals' brains followed the rapid operation, and they quickly figured out the connection between them.

"Father-in-law, if the rebels are going to attack to the southeast, why don't they concentrate all their forces to attack the Yongsui area? In that case, wouldn't they have already captured Suiyang? Liu Jun asked puzzled.

Wang Yuan nodded and said, "You can be regarded as asking the point." Let me ask, after we capture Luoyang, we find that the main force of the rebels has disappeared, and Suiyang is under attack, what should we do? The normal judgment is that An Qingxu and Yan Zhuang fled back to the north of the Yellow River, and the most important thing we should do at this moment is not to immediately rush to Suiyang to chase down the soldiers and horses of Linghu Chao to relieve the siege of Suiyang? ”

"yes, we'll do that." Liu Jun said.

Wang Yuan smiled and said: "Then if An Qingxu and Yan Zhuang led the main force of the rebels not to the north of the Yellow River, but to the south along the canal, where should they have arrived after we exterminated Linghu Chao's soldiers and horses?" ”

Liu Jun was stunned for a moment, then his eyes widened, and he exclaimed in dismay: "It will take at least ten days and half a month to exterminate the 60,000 army of Linghu Chao. In addition, the main force of the rebels had already set off five days early, and in the past 20 days, if the rebels had gone south along the canal, they would have already arrived in the southeastern hinterland. Linghu Chao's soldiers and horses are actually just bait, confusing our audio-visual and letting us delay time on Linghu Chao and cover the arrival of the main rebel force in the southeast hinterland. It's a good game. ”

As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked. Even the most stupid of people immediately understood the horror of this.

Gao Xianzhi slowly spoke: "General Liu, correct a mistake for you. Along the Grand Canal to the south, it only takes more than ten days to reach Yangzhou, and it only takes 20 days to reach Jiangning. When our army arrived in Suiyang to exterminate the rebels, the main force of the rebels probably had arrived in Yangzhou. In addition, we exterminated Linghu Chao and then waved his army south, which delayed at least more than a month, and by that time the southeast prefecture capital in the Jiangning area of Yangzhou and Jiangning might have all fallen into the hands of the rebels. Yan Zhuang really has a plan, this strategy of building the plank road and secretly Chen Cang will allow the rebels to open up the situation in the southeast, occupy a large area of the southeast city, and get replenishment of troops and materials. Brilliant hand. ”

Wang Yuan nodded and said, "Brother's words are exactly what I think in my heart, and this is the reason why I believe that the main force of the rebel army will move south along the Grand Canal." From planning to implementation to cover-up, it is carefully designed. And from the overall situation, the rebels' retreat to Youzhou Taiyuan is also self-defeating, and they can only be caught in the urn. Only by waving the army to the southeast and quickly occupying the southeast can there be a large area of depth that can be detoured. The southeastern state capital's troops are weak, and it is difficult to resist the attack of the rebels. ”

At this time, no one doubted Wang Yuan's judgment. The whole thing is connected, coupled with the analysis of the situation and strategy, to give the rebels a clear picture of their intentions.

"Dashuai, what should we do now? Can't save Suiyang? The main forces of the rebels are moving south of the river, what should we do? Can you catch up? Liu Dehai asked loudly.

Wang Yuan said in a deep voice: "Of course you have to save Suiyang." Could it be that watching Suiyang being broken and letting the fox tide enter the land of Lianghuai can't be done? As for the main force of the rebels heading south, five days have passed, and they have gone south by boat, but they can travel day and night, and the army may be too late to catch up at this moment. ”

"How's that for good?" The general asked anxiously.

Wang Yuan walked towards Gao Xianzhi and said, "Brother, now, there may be only one way. ”

Gao Xianzhi smiled and said, "Brother Xian, I understand what you mean. Do you need to lead the cavalry to the south quickly, and hope that I will lead the army to exterminate the soldiers and horses of Linghu Chao and relieve the siege of Suiyang? ”

Wang Yuan laughed and said, "Gao Xianzhi, who knows me, that's exactly what I plan." Although An Qingxu and Yan Zhuang had left five days earlier, they had to travel more than 200 miles east along the Yellow River to reach the mouth of the intersection of the Grand Canal and the Yellow River if they wanted to go south along the Grand Canal. After that, they can go south with the wind. They can sail very fast when they enter the Grand Canal, but on this section of the Yellow River, with the turbulent water and winter ice floes, their movements will be much slower. At this moment, I led a small number of cavalry from Luoyang straight to the southeast, and the route was shorter than theirs, and if I was lucky, I should be able to stop them before they reached Yangzhou. ”

Gao Xianzhi said: "In such a short time, can you catch up?" ”

Wang Yuan said: "I can only do my best. ”

Gao Xianzhi said: "How many cavalry do you want to bring there?" ”

Wang Yuan thought for a while and said, "I only took my 3,000 personal guards to go, and the rest of the soldiers and horses did not move. I don't want to be a burden. ”

Gao Xianzhi frowned and said, "With only three thousand soldiers and horses, what can you do even if you catch up with the rebels?" ”

Wang Yuan shook his head and said, "I don't know what to do yet, I can only do it first and then think about it." If I can get ahead of the rebels, I can at least inform the southern capitals to get ready. Even if the rebels were delayed for a day or two, they could buy time for the army to move south. ”

Gao Xianzhi nodded and said, "Okay, I will immediately go to the imperial court and ask the imperial court soldiers and horses to attack." ”

Wang Yuan sighed: "I'm afraid it's too late to ask them for help." The most likely thing is that they will take the opportunity to recover the Hebei lands. ”

Gao Xianzhi said with a smile: "That's better than them being motionless, once my army goes south, more than ten state capitals such as Taiyuan and Youzhou in Hebei are still in the hands of the rebels, and they can't be allowed to take advantage of the emptiness to make waves again." ”

Wang Yuan nodded and smiled: "You're right, the great credit is left to them, and we only do the drudgery." I hope that some people will see our efforts to counter the insurgency and not cut off our heads in the future. ”

Gao Xianzhi opened his mouth to speak, but saw that Wang Yuan had already turned around and instructed Zhao Qing and Tan Ping, asking them to immediately select three thousand capable personal guard cavalry from the five thousand guards to prepare for departure.

An hour later, the three thousand Praetorian cavalry were ready, and the supplies and weapons were ready. Outside the eastern city of Luoyang, Wang Yuan and three thousand Praetorian Guards cavalry, under the watchful eyes of Gao Xianzhi and others, galloped along the snow-capped official road and went straight to the southeast.