When Zhao Xun inspected the various parts of the Xiaoguo Army and returned to Youzhou City, it was almost October, and the weather in the north was getting colder, and in the late autumn season, it was about to turn to winter.

And the war in Yanzhou has also undergone heavy changes, and it is no longer as stubborn as before. Among them, Tang Xian, who benefited the most, almost won sixty percent of Yanzhou. Even Zhao Xun was a little surprised when he heard the report of his subordinates, he didn't expect that the Tang army, which had just evacuated Qingzhou, would immediately turn over.

It turned out that at the end of August, Tang Xian led a large army to join the Yanzhou battlefield and joined forces with the Xuzhou Army to attack the Yanzhou Mansion Army. Although it received the support of the imperial court, it was enough to make the Yanzhou Mansion army as big as a fight.

The Yanzhou army was divided into two and faced the Xuzhou army and Tang Xian's army respectively. Because the enemy's strength weakened, the Xuzhou Army also withdrew part of its army and transferred it to the south of Xuzhou to support the southern front.

As soon as Tang Xian joined the battlefield, the Xuzhou army began to weaken, only a solid defense, and there was no strong attack or counterattack. Tang Xian understood very well that this Li Chi just wanted to pull himself into battle, so as not to become an outsider and bring him trouble. Tang Xian didn't care, and the army went straight to Taishan Mansion to meet the enemy head-on.

Fighting Tang Xian head-on was the northern front of the Yanzhou Army, and the main general was Ding Qiang, who was sent by the imperial court, and was Murong Cheng's man. Without him, if he doesn't completely fall to one side, the governor of Yanzhou will not be able to keep the land of Yanzhou. Without the land of Yanzhou, what is the use of him as the governor of Yanzhou? Xu Jie, the governor of Yanzhou, had no choice but to ask the imperial court for help, in fact, he asked Murong Cheng for help, and Murong Cheng sent his confidant Ding Qiang to the north with an army of 20,000 to rescue.

Ding Qiang, as Murong Cheng's cronies, coupled with the fact that he is the general of the Wei Army's cavalry army, naturally looks at everything as superior. For Yanzhou Governor Xu Jie and others, they are also cold-eyed, not only that, but even the army brought by Ding Qiang is a little unharmonious with the Yanzhou army. Seeing that his subordinates and reinforcements did not agree, Xu Jiecai proposed that each lead an army and meet the enemy separately. Although Ding Qiang was a little proud, he was not a fool, and naturally saw that the army he brought and the Yanzhou army were a little incompatible, and if they were merged, there would definitely be chaos, and he and others had no time to rectify and integrate the two armies, so they agreed to Xu Jie's construction.

However, Ding Qiang was not arrogant again, he thought that Xu Jie asked for 20,000 troops, a total of 40,000 troops, and went north to meet Tang Xian's attack. Who Tang Xian is, he Ding Qiang knows very well. When Tang Xian's reputation was resounding, he was still a small soldier. The Tang Army under Tang Xian's department was adapted from the former Guards, and its combat power was extraordinary. If he is defeated, it will naturally be a stop, and if he wins, he Ding Qiang will be able to stand proudly among the generals under the command of King Qi.

It was precisely because Ding Qiang knew Tang Xian's strength that at the beginning of the battle, he was not proud and advanced steadily. And it didn't take long for Ding Qiang to discover that this Tang Xian's army was not as strong as expected. It's not that the combat strength of the soldiers is not good, but the military supplies and equipment of Tang Xian's army are not good, and Tang Xian's army was defeated for a time. At the beginning, Ding Qiang thought that Tang Xian had some tricks, but after letting the spies investigate, he realized that it was Tang Xian and the Xiaoguo Army who fought in Qingzhou, and after the defeat, the weapons and armor were lost, but the replenishment was insufficient.

As soon as he inquired about this, Ding Qiang changed his previous strategy of steady progress and began to attack the Tang army on a large scale. Sure enough, as he expected, although the Tang army resisted strongly, it was still defeated and retreated until after the Wen River.

Seeing that the Tang army did not have any tricks, after retreating from the flow of the Wen River, it was the eastern counties of Dongping Prefecture. Ding Qiang's intention was naturally to take advantage of the victory to pursue and exterminate the Tang army. However, at this moment, Tang Xian's army, which had been retreating, suddenly became powerful. In the depths of autumn, it's a good time to set fires. First, he lured the enemy deeper, lured the vanguard of Ding Qiang's army into the narrow passage, set fire to it, and wiped out the 5,000-strong army in its forward. At the same time, several attacks were made, and Ding Qiang's left and right camps were attacked at night.

The Chinese army battalion did not dare to save it late at night, forcing the left and right army battalions to suffer heavy losses. Seeing this, Ding Qiang didn't know where he was in his own department, and he fell for Tang Xian's tricks. Sure enough, when retreating to Taishan Mansion, the pontoon bridge on the back road was cut off. It made Ding Qiang's grain, grass and materials unable to arrive. Within three days, Ding Qiang's army could not support it, and made a raft to cross the river. How could tens of thousands of troops flee with the help of rafts? What's more, Tang Xian didn't stop attacking. In the end, only four or five thousand people crossed the river with the help of a raft and fled to Taishan Mansion.

Ding Qiang, who had just escaped the river, had not yet returned to Taishan Prefecture and received a report from Taishan Mansion to stay in Taishan Mansion to explore the horses. Taishan Mansion fell five days ago, which suddenly made Ding Qiang's heart like ashes.

It turned out that Tang Xian retreated all the way, so that Ding Qiang was in hot pursuit, and after crossing the tributaries of the Wen River, Tang Xian's 20,000 army rushed into Taishan Mansion and took over the rear of Ding Qiang's army, which had no army. Not only did he take over the place, but he also got the grain and grass of Ding Qiang's army and its military supplies, and he got a lot of money.

Seeing this, Ding Qiang naturally fled and fled to Yanzhou Mansion. And Tang Xian did not pursue Ding Qiang, without him, now he is busy integrating Taishan Mansion. In this battle, the Yanzhou army was defeated, not to mention more than 20,000 soldiers were captured, and more importantly, more than 40,000 soldiers were captured with grain and grass materials. The most important thing is that after taking Taishan Mansion, with Taishan Mansion, there will naturally be a buffer room, and as soon as you start a war, you need to worry about whether you will not even have a place to stay.

Listening to the report of his subordinates, Zhao Xun also sighed, he didn't expect that Tang Xian, who was still a wolf a few months ago, and was still ordering weapons from him a month ago, would be able to turn over in a fight. Now it has forced the Yanzhou army to stop doing things against itself, so that it can take root in the northern part of Yanzhou.

"It seems that this Xuzhou army has miscalculated!" Zhao Xun said slowly.

"Yes, originally the Xuzhou Army also wanted to use the hands of the Yanzhou Army to consume Tang Xian's army, and at the same time reduce their own pressure. They also didn't expect that now Tang Xian won the battle and gained a foothold in the north of Yanzhou, which also made the Yanzhou army dare not act against Tang Xian's army at will. What annoyed them even more was that after Tang Xian's big victory, he didn't react, and he only cared about running his own territory. Now the Yanzhou army has focused its attack on Shanyang Mansion in the south, Shanyang Mansion is now occupied by the Xuzhou Army, once it is taken by the Yanzhou Army, the Xuzhou Army is trapped in Xuzhou, and the original sitting on the mountain to watch the tiger fight is now a different role. Situ Liang said in a deep voice.

Although the Xiaoguo army has now stabilized and there is no change, it is also not a small trouble. There was no problem with the ships going to sea in the east, whether it was Silla or Yiju going east, but now the northern merchant ships going south to Yangzhou and Jiangzhou suffered a lot. Most of them were directly seized by the Yangzhou Navy and used as naval warships. In this regard, Zhao Xun has no choice, he can't let his sailors also kill the sea in the south. Not to mention that it can be fought but not beaten, it is a problem to replenish fresh water, supplies and military supplies. Fortunately, there is no problem with ocean-going seafaring trade, after all, their purpose is not the southern land, so it is a big deal to take a little more detour. However, the sea ships are not passable, so that many of the materials they need cannot be replenished as they should be.

The lack of business routes, in addition to the inconvenience of goods exchange, will also greatly reduce the income of the Xiaoguo Army. I have to say that the business tax of the Xiaoguo Army accounts for a large part of the financial revenue of the Xiaoguo Army. The sea route is not accessible, and the land route is not much better, and the south, especially the places of Yanzhou, Yuzhou, and Yangzhou, are all preparing for war, and even the war is endless. Caravans. Even if there is a guard of this dart game, they dare not guarantee its safety.

After all, your Xiaoguo army is powerful, but it's not as powerful as me, the government is better, but it only increases taxes, and what's more troublesome is those guys who gather people to become bandits because of the war, they don't care about anything, they just rob.

In this regard, Zhao Xun was helpless. What can I do? Now that there is a war going on on someone's territory, where is the time to care about your looting?

Zhao Xun frowned, and said slowly: "This Yanzhou, Yuzhou, Xuzhou, and Yangzhou have fought one after another, which has also made us passively damaged!" What is this Yangzhou Navy doing, even the merchant ships have been captured? ”

Situ Liang said with a smile: "It's not that we destroyed nearly one-third of its fleet last time, but now the sum of the two sailors of my Xiaoguo Army has surpassed his Yangzhou Navy in terms of numbers." Some of the soldiers of the Yangzhou Navy last time were released back by our army, and they naturally knew that our navy warship was equipped with a sky-shaking thunderbolt. Come to think of it, they are not trying to gain an advantage by numbers. However, the move of the Yangzhou Navy did add a lot of trouble to us. ”

Zhao Xun said in a deep voice: "This Xuzhou army Li Chi is also foolish, he should have joined forces with Tang Xian to completely defeat the Yanzhou army." Even if Tang Xian competed with it, it was better than being strongly suppressed by the Yanzhou army. Now it's good, Tang Xian's army defeated the Yanzhou Army North Route Army, completed his task, and got a land. Now while tidying up the place, I will sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight. The Xuzhou army had nothing to say. After all, at the beginning, the division of labor and cooperation, each played half. The Xuzhou army still has the idea of sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger fight, and now the roles are reversed, and it is the turn of the Xuzhou army to suffer. ”

Situ Liang said with a smile: "The Xuzhou army must regret dying now, I knew that it was like this, it was better to join forces together, and defeat the Yanzhou army first, at that time, his Xuzhou army would definitely have an advantage." Now the Xuzhou army is fighting hard, but Tang Xian has seized a place and sat back and watched the battle on the southern front. ”

"By the way, Tang Xian's army has withdrawn from Langya Mansion?" Zhao asked.

"Withdrawd, most of the previous withdrawal, mainly to participate in the Yanzhou War. Now that he has won, he naturally wants to return to his own turf. I'm afraid he is still worried, worried that we will not do anything to his soldiers and horses in Langya Mansion. Situ Liang smiled.

Zhao Xun sighed: "This Yanzhou is really the center of the Central Plains!" First, the Xuzhou army beat his idea, and now he has joined Tang Xian. Xuzhou Army, Tang Army, Yanzhou Army, tsk! The situation in Yanzhou is really getting more and more chaotic. ”

Situ Liang smiled and said: "Speaking of which, this Tang Xian's joining is still the credit of the lord, if it wasn't for the lord's construction, how could this Tang Xian go south to join the battle of Yanzhou?" Perhaps, now that Yanzhou has been brought under the command of the Yanzhou army, no, it should be Murong Cheng under his command. Confusion, chaos is good! The more chaotic it is, the more we fish in troubled waters! My Jizhou is located in the north of Yanzhou, and tens of thousands of troops can join the Yanzhou war at any time. As long as it's not Murong Cheng, the others, no matter who controls Yanzhou, will send someone to talk to us! Speaking of which, our Xiaoguo Army is also a key force in determining the situation in Yanzhou, and it is also a key force that cannot be ignored. ”

Li Jinqian, the military affairs secretary, said with some puzzlement: "It stands to reason that the Yangzhou army is fully capable of defeating the Xuzhou army, why does Murong Cheng always move without gathering heavy troops?" How to say, if Murong Cheng mobilizes heavy troops, he should also defeat the Xuzhou army. ”

Situ Liang said with a smile: "For Murong Cheng, it doesn't matter who Xuzhou is in now, the important thing is that the things that are already in his name must be firmly grasped in his hands." Speaking of which, it's still the main gong's zhì. Because of Cao Bin's self-reliance, Tang Xian also followed his self-reliance, which made the governors of all states in the world, the Xuanfu envoys, and the assassins have careful thoughts. And Yangzhou, Jiangzhou, Jiaozhou, Yuzhou and other state capitals in Murong Cheng's sphere of influence will inevitably have such a situation. ”

"Mobilizing heavy troops can defeat the Xuzhou army, or even destroy the Xuzhou army. But what good is he Murong Cheng? There is nothing left, but to let his strength be exhausted and have nothing. His current actions in Yanzhou are to rectify the situation in Yuzhou, and as for those troops and officers who are not his cronies, they will naturally be sent to the front. As for the south, Yangzhou, Jiangzhou, and Jiaozhou in the south are all places where wealth is abundant. It is also this wealth that has made many governors, assassins, and captains have different aspirations, and they are afraid that they will have no soldiers and horses if they have money? Since Cao Bin can rise in Qingzhou and command a state, why can't I? Why should I listen to others? In this way, how dare Murong Cheng mobilize his army of cronies at will. ”

"Not to mention, the vast majority of the 20,000 reinforcements from Yuzhou who were wiped out by Tang Xian were the original Yuzhou government army. Although the loss is not small, Murong Cheng will definitely not be very distressed. On the contrary, because of such a war, the original forces of Yuzhou were suppressed and hollowed out, and they became Murong Cheng's people. ”

Li Jinqian nodded thoughtfully and said: "In this way, the move of the Yangzhou army is to limit the growth of the Xuzhou army on the one hand, and on the other hand, with the help of the Xuzhou army, cut off those forces in Yangzhou and Jiangzhou that are somewhat abnormal. ”

Situ Liang said: "That's right, on the one hand, Murong Cheng cut off those who did not obey his military orders and had different aspirations, and on the other hand, he strongly suppressed the development of the Xuzhou Army. The fact that the Xuzhou Army had just built a naval army and was wiped out by the Yangzhou Naval Army also illustrates this point. It can be said that at present, Murong Cheng's biggest enemy is not us, nor Situ Lei, nor the Xuzhou Army and the Tang Army. It's those who want to be in Yangzhou, Jiangzhou and other places. Before cutting them off, nothing else would become Murong Cheng's primary target. This is also the time for Li Chi and Tang Xian to grow stronger, but it's a pity that Li Chi's Xuzhou Army has now become Murong Cheng's knife to cut off those unscrupulous forces, so he can only be beaten passively. Whether he has other thoughts about Yangzhou or not, he will be attacked by the Yangzhou army. ”

Zhao Xun nodded and said: "Situ Liang is right, this is also where Tang Xian is smart, he defeated Ding Qiang's army, but he did not pursue into Yanzhou Mansion, and Ding Qiang of Yanzhou Mansion no longer has the intention of mobilizing troops from Yuzhou." Ding Qiang was defeated, it was not that he didn't want to take revenge, but his superiors no longer allowed it. As for Tang Xian, it is natural to develop with a dull head, lay down a place, occupy a certain place, and stabilize a place. Never casually mix in the war between the Xuzhou Army and the Yanzhou Army. Once he rashly attacked the flank of the Yanzhou army, the Xuzhou army would surely win, and the Yangzhou army would be weak, so Murong Chengcheng could only let his team go into battle. When the time comes, he Tang Xian will not be good. ”

Li Jin said: "But in this way, isn't there another Tang Xian in Yanzhou, so it's not for his enemies, Yanzhou is in the north of Yuzhou, Murong Cheng is willing?" ”

Zhao Xun smiled: "You forget, Tang Xian is the burden of Yuzhou, and it is also my Xiaoguo army." Speaking of which, Tang Xian is closer to my Jizhou and Qingzhou, and when it comes to threats, my Xiaoguo army is bigger. Because they are on our way south. Murong Cheng hoped that Tang Xian could become a line of defense for my Xiaoguo army to the south. If Tang Xian is not destroyed, my Xiaoguo army will not lightly pose a threat to the Murong Cheng forces in the south of Yuzhou. Of course, our Xiaoguo army can ignore Tang Xian in the northeast of Yanzhou and continue to move south, but we still have to guard against the Tang army on the flank. ”

"But no matter what, my Xiaoguo army will not make a move against Murong Cheng in the south in the short term, so the threat brought by this Tang Xian can only be aimed at Yanzhou and Yuzhou. Speaking of which, he Tang Xian knew that my Xiaoguo army was powerful, and he commanded to point the spearhead to the south, not the north. In this land of Yanzhou and Yuzhou, the Qianli Plain is really a galloping horse field for the northern cavalry. Situ Liang continued.

Li Jinqian nodded lightly at this time, understanding the particularity of this Tang Xian.

Having said that, the Xiaoguo army is still very concerned about the fighting in the south. In Yanzhou, near Yuezhou, the battle between the Xuzhou army and the Yanzhou army was still continuing. The battle between the two sides was very fierce, because Tang Xian sat on the mountain and watched the tiger fight, so that both sides shrank back when they fought, and no one knew if Tang Xian would play any tricks.

Because of the tense fighting in the south of Xuzhou, Li Yi, the general of Zhendong in Yanzhou, transferred back a lot of troops in his hands, which suddenly made Li Yi's troops a little stretched, and he could not confront the Yanzhou army that occupied the terrain, so he had to temporarily give up part of the territory occupied some time ago and shrink his forces to the eastern counties of Shanyang Prefecture. With the shrinking of the control area, and approaching Xuzhou, coupled with the strategy of the Xuzhou army to open a warehouse and release grain, attracted a lot of people to participate in the resistance, for a while, Li Yijun's resistance became more and more fierce, on the contrary, in order to prevent Tang Xian's abnormal movements, Xu Jie's must always pay attention to the north, and must also divide more troops to rectify the lost territory that has just been recovered, and the troops that can be used to attack are becoming less and less. Between advancing and retreating, the two sides gradually tended to balance.

By mid-October, according to the intelligence of the Eagle Eye Division. The tripartite army of Yanzhou, except for the Tang army, no matter how the Xuzhou army was wooed, did not move like a mountain, the Xuzhou army Li Yibu and the Yanzhou governor Xu Jie, were all fighting in a tug-of-war. The contention between the two sides is that they have each other's gains and losses, and the casualties on both sides are relatively tragic. In general, no one took advantage, and in the short term, it will not be easy for either side to eat the other. However, Xu Jie's determination to recover the area occupied by the Xuzhou army would never give up lightly, and similarly, Li Yi was unwilling to give up the western exit, and he would definitely not give up lightly.