"How is that possible! How did Li Cunhuan transport so many soldiers and horses! Qian Biao's face has changed dramatically now, and his heart is almost beating out of his throat.

Cheng Ji said in a deep voice: "Jie Shuai, now is not the time to talk about this, you should immediately send someone to order the soldiers and horses in the south to go to Hangzhou, and at the same time send someone to Xiuzhou to hold Jiaxing!" Otherwise, Jiaxing will be lost, and the road to the south of Changzhou and Suzhou will be cut off. ”

Changzhou and Suzhou are the largest grain-producing states in western Zhejiang, and together with Huzhou, Taihu Lake is the economic center, and the annual grain production of these three states accounts for more than one-third of the thirteen prefectures of Wuyue. One state tops two states more. And bordering Huainan, it is an important town in the north of Wuyue, with 24,000 troops stationed, and it must be known that Wuyue is only about 10,000 soldiers and horses. broke more than a quarter of Qian Biao at once, and this is still the elite who has been fighting with Huainan for many years, so how can Qian Biao not be afraid.

"When did the sailors of the northerners outperform the boats of our southerners!" Qian Biao slapped his thigh in distress.

When Cheng Ji heard this, he was stunned, and then his face was happy, and he said, "Yes! Since the Lu dragon thieves came by boat, as long as we burned all their ships and captured them. Without the ship, even if it is an army of 100,000, the morale of the army will definitely be in chaos at this moment. As long as we hold Hangzhou, if we can't capture Hangzhou in four or five days, they will definitely think about crossing the Yangtze River and fighting back to the north! Don't talk about whether you can fight or not, at least this disaster has moved to Yang Xingmi! ”

When Qian Biao heard this, his eyes lit up, and he laughed and said, "Good plan!" But do you want to drag the dragon thief back? ”

Cheng Ji shook his head and said: "Let's see how many soldiers and horses Lu Long has first, if there are too many, naturally we have to drag them back to prevent them from escaping back." If there is less, it will naturally not be delayed, and even secretly sell some military rations to them in exchange for war horses, so that they and Huainan will fight to the death, and they will lose both! Let's pick up the cheap ones again. ”

Hearing this, Qian Biao stroked the long beard on his chin and smiled: "It's exactly what I want!" ”

However, the situation was not optimistic at the beginning, Li Cunhuan led the army to attack Huating County (now Songjiang City) in accordance with Du Ling's method of attacking the east and west, and Wang Maozhang led 3,000 elites to go to Songjiang. Therefore, it was only one day, and Wang Maozhang had already arrived in the city.

Jiaxing was completely defenseless, and Wang Maozhang and they landed northwest of Jiaxing. Before the city gate was closed, Wang Maozhang had already led his subordinates into Jiaxing City. Jiaxing, one of the eight capitals of Wu Yue, all Cao Gui suffered more than ten wounds and died in battle. This member attacked Dongchang in Qian Biao, Yang Xingmi sent troops to Changzhou and Suzhou, and the general who tried to protect Jiaxing and protect the flanks for Qian Biao has become history. He was the first general Wu Yue to fall, but he was definitely not the last. Most of Jiaxing, south of the Yangtze River, was also captured, or had already been killed in battle.

Jiaxing, Huating County surrendered. The county magistrate of Haiyan County (now Haiyan) abandoned the city and fled. Wu Yue was shaken.

What made Qian Biao even more sad and angry was that the news of Du Ling's surrender came, Du Ling's youngest son, Du Jianhui, led Dong'an, one of the eight capitals, to close the four gates of Dong'an Mountain City (now Xixindeng Town, Fuyang City), and the nearby Zixi, Huobao, Jianning, Jingjiang and other places were all powerful and powerful, which was equivalent to inserting a sharp blade in Qian Biao's henchmen.

When the news reached Hangzhou, Qian Biao immediately ordered Hangzhou to close the other three gates day and night except for the south gate, especially the west gate, which was closest to Dong'andu, and its station, Dong'an Mountain City, was only a hundred miles away from Hangzhou.

On January 13, Li Cunhuan's troops came to Hangzhou, and at this time Qian Biao knew that the soldiers and horses sent by Li Cunhuan were not partial divisions, but Li Cunhuan's personal expedition, and his heart was shocked.

Qian Biao urgently summoned Huzhou (now Huzhou City) to help Chen Sheng, the governor of Haichang, Gao Yan, the governor of Muzhou, and the governor of Yuhang. Note the word, it's 'helping', not a command. There is also a 'call', not a 'command'.

In fact, the reason for this situation is the Wu Yue Badu mentioned above. These eight are eight troops. Qian Biao, Dong Chang, Qian Biao's mastermind Cheng Ji, generals Cao Gui, Du Ling, and so on were all born among them. These eight are all composed of local township soldiers and heroes, and the cohesion is very strong. It has always been the death of the father and the son, the death of the brother and the brother, and the death of the uncle and the nephew.

In one example, it can be seen that Du Ling was the capital of Anton, and the station of Andong was Andong Mountain City, which was in the territory of Hangzhou. He served as the assassin of Changzhou, so naturally he could not serve as the capital of Andong. It is also impossible to take Anton to Changzhou, because Anton is composed of local village soldiers, and there is no problem in taking him to war, and there is no need to talk about it if he takes him to garrison a different place. But this Du Ling went, and Qian Biao had no way to install his own people, so Du Ling arranged for his son to serve as the general. Therefore, Wu Yue is a regime established at the grassroots level with Haoqiang as the grassroots, which is characterized by a lack of progress, but because the soldiers have a strong local complex, when guarding the homeland, they are scrambling to be the first, resulting in one of the main reasons why Yang Xingmi is eloquent and strategic, and has more than twice as many soldiers and horses as Qian Bi, but he can't capture Wu Yue.

However, success is also a local complex, and defeat is also a local complex, and now the disadvantages are revealed......

"Father, this matter ...... What do you think? Gao Yan's eldest son, Gao Wei, looked at his father Gao Yan with a hesitant face.

Although Gao Yan sat on the wooden chair with a calm face, his heart was not calm at all, and the thin envelope in his hand made him feel like he was weighing a thousand catties. In fact, this letter is not heavy at all, and the letter paper is only a thin piece of rice paper, light and fluttering, not much heavier than goose feathers. The reason why Gao Yan feels this way is that the person who wrote this letter was Li Cunhuan, who shocked the Han Dynasty in the north and south.

"What do you think!" After half a ring, when Gao Wei couldn't help but want to ask again, Gao Yan spoke, his voice was not loud, but there was a solemn majesty on his head.

"Child...... The child doesn't know! But...... But the marshal treats my Gao family yes, but ......" Gao Wei muttered hesitantly, seemingly agreeing and opposing it, listening carefully, it seemed to be neutral.

After Gao Yan heard this, his originally hesitant heart was even more hesitant, how could he not understand his son's thoughts? It's a true portrayal of his heart. Huzhou is located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River plain, located on the south bank of Taihu Lake, north of Taihu Lake, east of the canal, west of Tianmu Mountain, south of Qiantang River. It happens to be the center of Jiangdong, and it is also the Baiyue in the south, and the key point of Gouwu in the north, which is also a place where soldiers must fight since ancient times. During the Spring and Autumn Period when Wu and Yue fought for hegemony, the area of Deqing County in present-day Huzhou was one of the main battlefields of the warring parties, and left countless ancient battlefield relics and epic legends in the local area. All this determined the important position of Huzhou in Wu Yuezhong, especially after Qian Hua lost Runzhou north of Taihu Lake, Huzhou became an important place in the northwest frontier of Wu Yueguo, and took on the important task of Hangzhou, the political center of Pingyi.

Secondly, the reason why Huzhou has become a natural barrier to protect Hangzhou is also inseparable from its special topographical conditions. Huzhou is located in the hilly area of the south of the Yangtze River, although the mountain is not very high, the highest peak Longwang Mountain is only 56 zhang high. However, compared with the Hangjiahu Plain in the Qiantang River Delta, the remaining veins of Tianmu Mountain in the southwest of Huzhou can be said to indeed serve as the bodyguard of the great northwest of Hangzhou. Li Cunhuan's intention to recruit Gao Yan was to block Huainan, regardless of whether they were here to take the opportunity to seize the territory or support Qian Biao, Li Cunhuan would not allow it.

And in such an important place, Qian Biao was handed over to Gao Yan to manage, which shows Qian Biao's trust in Gao Yan and the relationship between the two. However, Li Cunhuan claimed in the letter that this time he went south and had 180,000 troops, including 20,000 cavalry. Gao Yan must not believe this, 180,000, you say that you are (Tang) Taizong? Taizong's crusade against Goryeo, the battle of the country, was just to use the navy to transport 100,000 troops across the sea. Li Cunhuan now only occupies one-third of the world, although it is said that the shipbuilding technology is no longer the same as in the past, but Gao Yan must not believe it.

However, Li Cunhuan appeared in person, and Gao Yan estimated that there should be an army of 70,000 or 80,000 when the water was squeezed out, and there should be more than 40,000 troops excluding the sailors on the ship. In terms of cavalry, there is also news from Hangzhou, estimated at seven or eight thousand, and it is estimated that it cannot be wrong. What shocked Gao Yan the most was that Du Ling surrendered.

Who is Du Ling? An important general in Wu Yue's army, he has a pivotal position. From Qian Bi's dispatch of Du Ling to Changzhou, a strategically important place as Huzhou, to serve as the assassin, it can be seen that Du Ling's important surname is important. Moreover, Du Ling's son is still in control of Dong'an Mountain City, which is only a hundred miles away from Hangzhou, and his status is not lower than that of Gao Yanzhi.

From the information of Du Ling's surrender, Gao Yan can see two important issues, first of all, Du Ling is not optimistic about Wu Yue's ability to block this offensive, and even lost confidence, otherwise with his relationship with Qian Biao, even if Li Cunhuan can say dog days and snowflakes, Du Ling will not surrender.

The other is Du Ling's surrender, which made Li Cunhuan's march this time, to say the least, three points smooth. If the odds of winning were seven points, now there are nine points. Why? Needless to say, what kind of status Du Ling is, he knows no less than Qian Bi. In a short period of time, Wu Yue couldn't change these at all. For example, if a place is in the hinterland, but it is a strategic location, it is clear how many soldiers and horses there are, and at most how many more soldiers and horses there are. At this time, Wu Yue was simply smoother than taking off his clothes, and he was simply seen by Li Cunhuan that there were a few hairs on his body, and he could see clearly whether it was long or short.

"Father." Gao Yan's second son, Gao Li, came out and seemed to have something to say. His face is always a little sickly, he is not as happy as his eldest brother Gao Wei, but he has a characteristic, that is, he is ruthlesser than anyone else, not only to others, but also to himself. Probably because of his ruthlessness, it is the main reason why Gao Yan doesn't like his second son very much.

In fact, Gao Li's ruthlessness surprised everyone, although he was not very liked by his father, but because his eldest brother died in battle, he was able to take over his father's place. But many of his generals were noncommittal about his words, and Gao Li lured the wolf into the house, and this wolf was Huainan. At that time, Changzhou had already been lost. Huzhou is the only line of defense in the northwest of Wuyue, and Hangzhou after Huzhou is a plain that can be defended without danger, and it is also a rich grain-producing enemy, if you send troops in autumn and winter, you don't have to worry about the problem of food. Huzhou is equivalent to the Hangu Pass of the Warring States Qin and the Sword Pavilion of the Shu Han. almost subverted Wu Yueguo, but in the end it failed, but it also scared Qian Biao into a cold sweat.

"What do you want to say?" Although Gao Yan doesn't like his second son very much, he is still his son in the end. Besides, when ten children were born at that time, five of them were able to grow up to the age of sixteen, which is already thankful. At that time, a small cold could kill a person's surname, and smallpox, which could not be cured at that time. In this case, parents are generally more fond of their children who are able to reach adulthood.

The child believes that his father should take refuge in Li Cunhuan, whose roots are in the north. Therefore, the best result of the states and counties he occupied in the south was to send dozens of henchmen and a member of the important ministers to guard them, supplemented by the help of the southerners, or the southerners to govern the southerners. Either way, the power of the southerners is indispensable to go there than when Qian Biao was there. And judging from the current situation, Li Cunhuan's chances of winning are a little bigger. When the time comes, my father will get an observation envoy from western Zhejiang, and even the festival envoy may not be impossible! Gao Li said slowly, not caring at all about the relationship between his father and Qian Biao.

Gao Yan's face turned angry when he heard this, but his own child was just for his consideration, and Gao Yan was embarrassed to scold. What's more, Gao Li's words moved Gao Yan's mind.

Gao Wei hesitated and said: "Father, since ancient times, many injustices will kill themselves, although the loyal and righteous people are dead, they are still famous in history." Look at the child, it's better to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight! In this way, Lisuo abandoned the festival handsome, which had an impact on his father's reputation! ”

"Pedantic!" When Gao Li heard this, he couldn't help but sneer, he didn't mean to give his eldest brother any face at all.

Gao Wei's face was angry, but he had always been jealous of his younger brother, and his father was not presumptuous on it. However, he still glared at Gao Li fiercely and vented his dissatisfaction.

After Gao Yan heard this, he did not support his favorite eldest son. Shake your head in opposition. However, he did not sneer like Gao Li, or instead scolded. Instead, he explained semi-comfortingly: "In the current situation, you can't be a wall grass." Li Cunhuan has already gone down to Jiaxing. It is estimated that Hangzhou has now been besieged, and the victory and defeat will be divided in a short time. ”

On the contrary, Gao Wei was embarrassed, he glared at his younger brother Gao Li fiercely just now, and he stared at him wrongly. But he was even more embarrassed to apologize, so he had to keep a straight face and say to his father Gao Yan: "Be taught!" ”

Gao Yan shook his head, but he was quite helpless about his two sons. The armrests of the wooden chair that his fingers tapped on, and after half a ring, he asked Gao Li: "Second brother, Li Cunhuan did not promise to be a father's official position in his letter, what is the reason for this?" ”

"It's better not to give than to give!" Gao Li pondered for a while, and spit out a confusing sentence.

Gao Yan frowned, and after half a sound, he muttered: "You mean, Li Cunhuan will not give too much official position, so it is better not to give it and let him make meritorious contributions for his father?" ”

"It can also be said to be a vote!" Gao Li interjected coldly.

(To be continued)