Yang Guozhong never dreamed that Chen Xilie would come to visit him at this time, who is Chen Xilie? One of Li Linfu's most hardcore henchmen, it has been five years since Tianbao worshiped Zuo Xiang for five years, and has been following in the footsteps of Li Linfu, so that the province of the door is useless, he has been a servant of the door for five years, and the province has almost never sealed Li Linfu's decree, it is this Li Linfu's most hardcore henchman, who actually came to visit him at this most delicate time Yang Guozhong, Yang Guozhong was overjoyed, and immediately ordered the door to open the door to welcome the arrival of Chen Xiangguo.

Just as Yang Guozhong was surprised, Chen Xilie is indeed Li Linfu's confidant, unless he has to, he will not take this step tonight, since a few years ago, Li Longji began to suppress Li Linfu, gradually deprived him of his power, and slowly transferred power to the emerging Yang Guozhong, under such an obvious signal, Chen Xilie never thought of betraying Li Linfu and hugging Yang Guozhong's thigh.

It wasn't until later that Li Li Qing'an made a disaster in Henan, giving Yang Guozhong a heavy blow, and Li Linfu's power was restored again, but at this juncture, Chen Xilie took the first step of his apostasy, it was really because he felt Li Linfu's winter, yesterday Li Linfu vomited blood again and fainted, this is the third time this month, Li Linfu has been hiding it from the outside world, only saying that he was sick in the autumn cold, and even Chen Xilie concealed it, until today he accidentally got the truth from Zhang Mingyi, who treated Li Linfu, Chen Xilie realized that Li Linfu's condition was already quite serious.

It was raining lightly tonight, the chill was forested, there was no one on the street, Chen Xilie took advantage of the rain tonight, sneaked to Yang Guozhong's house, thinking that people were secretly communicating with Yang Guozhong unconsciously, but Yang Guozhong opened the door with great fanfare to greet him, lest the world not know, which made Chen Xilie quite embarrassed, he immediately instructed the little scholar in the carriage: "Go and tell Yang Shangshu about it, just say that I entered the house through his side door." ”

The scholar agreed, jumped out of the carriage, and Chen Xilie's carriage immediately drove away, and soon disappeared into the rain and fog.

Yang Guozhong walked out of the gate in high spirits, but Chen Xilie's carriage was missing, he couldn't help but pause, Chen Xilie's little scholar hurriedly stepped forward and said: "Yang Shangshu, my family Xiangguo said that it is not good to make too much noise, and I hope to enter the house through the side door." ”

'Walk through the side door? Yang Guozhong stroked his short beard and smiled, this bull-nosed old way, it was really the life of a concubine.

After several years of officialdom tempering, today's Yang Guozhong is no longer the stunned young man who held chicken feathers as an arrow, after Li Longji's careful training, he gradually understood the true meaning of officialdom, that is, what to be an official, what to put on a score, this score is a university question, in front of the superior must have a low posture of subordinates, in front of the subordinates must have the frame of the superior, in front of the saint must have the appearance of a slave, the middle of the proportion must be pinched very well, heavy one point is too much, one point is light, no matter too light or too heavy, will make the officials dissatisfied, the subordinates shameless, and the saints even more displeased.

It is to understand this truth, Yang Guozhong has gradually improved in the officialdom in the past two years, and he does not take some gains and losses to heart, for example, Cui Qiao was deposed last year, he also lost the military secretary, and his Yang party suffered a heavy blow, but Yang Guozhong successfully retained the position of the most important official secretary, and in the first half of the year, Gao Xianzhi's preparation for Jiannan encountered the constraints of the local officials headed by Yizhou Taishou Cui Yuan, just when Li Linfu wanted to make a fuss about this matter, Yang Guozhong was thunderous, and Shangsheng dismissed Jiazhou Taishou Luo Benqing, With his clear attitude, he suppressed the Bashu officialdom, and Gao Xianzhi's preparations for war immediately changed the declining trend, which was deeply appreciated by Li Longji.

Even to his old opponent Li Qing'an, Yang Guozhong also changed his hostile attitude, no longer indiscriminately looking for fault, and even after Li Qing'an captured Shiguo, he also took the initiative to add Anxi military households to support Li Qing'an's strategy of fighting against Dashi, showing the tolerance that a Xiangguo should have.

In the past two months, he has concurrently held the two important positions of Taifu Siqing and Du Zhi Envoy, and anyone with a discerning eye can see that it is only a matter of time before Yang Zhao replaces Li Linfu.

Yang Guozhong ordered someone to open the side door, and after a while, the housekeeper led Chen Xilie, who still had an embarrassed look on his face, to the door of the study.

"Master, Chen Xiangguo has arrived!"

"Chen Xiangguo, what a distinguished guest!"

Yang Guozhong rushed out of the room, the enthusiastic smile on his face almost melted Chen Xilie, he patted Chen Xilie's arm heavily, and complained: "I opened the door to greet me, why didn't Xiangguo give me face?" ”

Chen Xilie smiled bitterly and said: "If I enter the mansion through the gate of Yang Shangshu, tomorrow except for one person in the government and the opposition, I am afraid that all of them will know." ”

"Oh? Except for whom? Yang Guozhong asked curiously.

"Except for Li Xiangguo, I heard that he vomited blood and fainted last night, I'm afraid he won't be able to go to court yet."

Chen Xilie implicitly leaked the truth about Li Linfu's serious illness, Yang Guozhong was stunned, and a smile of joy appeared in his eyes, but it was fleeting, and he said sadly: "Li Xiangguo is seriously ill, which is the misfortune of the imperial court, hey!" I'll definitely go see him tomorrow. ”

"I have heard that Yang Shangshu has a broad mind, and when I see it today, I really have the strength of the prime minister, I am both admired and ashamed, compared with Yang Shangshu, how can I be worthy of the word Xiangguo!"

Chen Xilie's self-depreciation made Yang Guozhong feel good, he smiled, and hurriedly waved his hand and said: "Chen Xiangguo is too humble, please sit in the room!" ”

The two entered the house and sat down, Yang Guo Zhong's concubine served two cups of good tea, he picked up the teacup and took a sip of hot tea, and said with a smile: "Chen Xiangguo is here, Ming said that the ministers of the DPRK and the central government heard that it was going to be rumored that Chen Xiangguo was going to join the Yang Party, and I had to come forward to refute the rumors, it can be seen that Chen Xiangguo's status is high, and it is also very influential to come to the door, haha!" ”

Chen Xilie laughed embarrassedly, "How can it be so serious, I came to visit Yang Shangshu, but it is just to talk about friendship between colleagues, discuss some major affairs between the DPRK and China, and not involve partisan disputes. ”

"Good! Chen Xiangguo is really open-minded. ”

Yang Guozhong clapped his hands and sighed: "There are many parties in the DPRK and China, and there is no way out of politics, this is not the appearance of the prosperous era, everyone says that I Yang Guozhong is a party for personal gain, but in fact, I have the heart to change this chaotic situation, and the saint also supports my idea, I don't know Chen Xiangguo's ......"

Speaking of this, Yang Guozhong glanced at Chen Xilie tentatively, and his implication was that he Yang Guozhong would control the government and eliminate the situation of the three parties fighting each other, and it would depend on whether Chen Xilie had the intention to follow him.

Of course, Chen Xilie understands what Yang Guozhong means, but talking about this matter now, it seems to be a little faster, he just came to touch the way and give Yang Guozhong a hint today, even if the newlyweds get married, they have to go through the six ceremonies of Nacai, asking for names, Najib, Nazheng, invitation, and personal welcome, how can they enter the cave room as soon as they meet.

He took a sip of tea and said with a smile: "I came today to ask Yang Shangshu for two things. ”

Yang Guozhong couldn't help but be a little disappointed when he saw that he refused to agree to his own ideas, but he also understood that this matter should not be rushed, so he temporarily pressed the idea of wooing Chen Xilie, and said lightly: "Chen Xiangguo, please say, what two things?" ”

Chen Xilie owed a debt and said: "First, Jing Zhao Yin Wang Heng's brother is arrogant and arrogant, and he made friends with the murderer, I once advised Wang Hui with righteous words, but he said that he needed to avoid this matter, I was confused, he was Jing Zhao Yin, he avoided this matter, how could anyone ask?" Yang Shangshu is the former Jing Zhaoyin, so he should know what to do! ”

Yang Guozhong was overjoyed, where did this Chen Xilie come to ask him, it was clear that he gave him Wang Hui's handle, Wang Heng is Li Linfu's first cadre, he has been promoted to the imperial history doctor, Jing Zhaoyin, and has been in control of the imperial history platform for a long time, he is not only Li Linfu's sharpest spear, but also his strongest shield, if he can break this spear and smash this shield, it is equivalent to breaking Li Linfu's arm, this is Chen Xilie's meeting gift for himself!

Although Chen Xilie said very roughly, he had already told him the direction, as long as he tracked down slowly, Wang Heng would not be able to escape from his palm, Yang Guozhong suppressed the excitement in his heart, and said: "Please tell me what is the second thing?" ”

Chen Xilie saw that Yang Guo was loyal to comprehend, so he lightly stroked a few immortal whiskers and said, "As for this second matter, it is about Anxi Li Qing'an. ”

Yang Guozhong's eyes couldn't help narrowing, Wang Heng is Li Linfu's left arm, Li Qingan is Li Linfu's right arm, if he breaks his left arm and then his right arm, Li Linfu will be finished, this Chen Xilie is really powerful.

"Chen Xiangguo, please say, how is Anxi Li Qing'an?"

"Yesterday, I heard Yang Shangshu propose to move another 30,000 military households to Anxi, and I think this proposal is a little inappropriate."

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know if Yang Shangshu has calculated, the total strength of Anxi Court was originally 42,000 people, Tianbao allowed them to expand their troops by 10,000 in eight years, that is, 64,000 people, and last year transferred 30,000 Tianwei troops to break leaves, that is, 94,000 people, and now Yang Shangshu proposed to relocate 30,000 military households, these 30,000 military households are calculated according to one and a half troops per household, that is, 45,000 people, and Hu soldiers, and surplus military households, the total strength of Anxi is no less than 150,000 or 60,000, if Li Qingan is bolder, If you recruit troops privately in the river, I think it is possible to have 200,000 troops, 200,000 troops! reminds me of Xiliang Dong Zhuo. ”

Yang Guozhong gasped, he really didn't think so deeply, he reacted very quickly, and immediately understood what Chen Xilie meant, so he asked tentatively: "What does Chen Xiangguo mean is that Li Qingan will have a heart of disobedience?" ”

Chen Xilie saw that Yang Guozhong still didn't understand what he meant, so he smiled slightly, and further hinted: "I don't know if Li Qingan has the heart of disobedience, but as courtiers, it is also our duty to let Your Majesty be careful."

Yang Guozhong suddenly realized that he used this incident to bring down Li Qingan, and he also conspired!

He pondered for a moment, and then suddenly smiled: "In this way, I persuaded the Holy Lord to move another 30,000 military households into Anxi, but it was still crooked. ”

"Where! Prime Minister Yang Shangshu has a mind, which makes the old man admire. ”

The two of them looked at each other and laughed together.

．．．．．．． In the West Cao Kingdom, Li Qing'an led 10,000 rear troops to cross the medicine killing water, and slowly approached the capital of West Cao, when there were still fifty miles away from the capital, he stopped, Li Guangbi and the Great Food Army confronted each other for five days, the two sides never fought, Li Guangbi did not besiege the city, but camped ten miles away from the city, patiently waiting for the Great Food Army to fight.

Li Qing'an did not interfere with Li Guangbi's use of troops, at first he was worried that Li Guangbi was not mature enough, but Li Guangbi's outstanding performance in the Battle of Baishui dispelled his concerns, this Li Guangbi is still the historical Li Guangbi, so in the first battle of Xicao, he decided to let Li Guangbi fight.

In the big tent, Li Qingan and several generals were discussing the upcoming battle of Xicao State in front of the sand table, it should be said that in this battle, they were out to attack, crossed the medicine and killed water, and pulled the battle line to the control of the other party, and the initiative of the battle situation was in their hands.

But in this way, they are also facing a problem, that is, the safety of the rear, will the Great Food Army detour back to their rear, attack their grain routes, and sneak attack their cities?

The answer is yes, from the big food army in the battle with Gao Xianzhi, the sneak attack on Broken Leaf City can be seen that they make good use of the tricks of the strange soldiers, so protecting the grain road is also an important measure of the Tang army, at present, the Tang army's grain is in Juzhanti, where there is grain for the Tang army to maintain three months of operations, and there are 6,000 troops stationed.

But this problem also bothered the Great Eclipse, their battle line was also very long, the defense of the Sogdian states, the safety of the Bosi silver mines, all of which were also a headache for the Great Eclipse, but they also had the 60,000 Syrian troops brought by Mansur, which was a little less pressure than the Tang army.

Li Qing'an pointed to the silver city of Boxi Mountain with a wooden pole, and said to everyone: "Everyone, according to the information I have obtained, due to the Great Food Civil War, Samarkand has not received silver from Yincheng for three years, that is to say, this silver city is very likely to contain three years of silver deposits, if you can get this batch of silver, this will have an immeasurable role in improving Anxi's status in the Tang Dynasty, I mean that I will divide my troops to attack Yincheng and seize three years of silver deposits, I have sent a scout team to investigate the situation, but the opportunity is fleeting, If you wait for the information to come and then do it, I'm afraid it'll be too late, what do you think? ”

At this time, Li Siye stepped forward and said: "The general's idea is good, but there are a few points that are not clear, first, how many troops do we send to capture Yincheng?" If there is less dispatch, it will be effective, but if there is too much, it will weaken the strength of the rear army and increase the pressure on Li Guangbi; Secondly, How many troops are there in Silver City? If there is a war, how much influence will the slaves of Silver City have? Is it good for us or bad for us? General, if these questions are not clarified, I think it is better not to send troops. ”

Li Qingan has actually been thinking about this problem for a long time, if he waits for him to defeat the Great Food Army and then catch prisoners of war for mining, it will take at least two or three years before he can gradually accumulate savings, and during this period he can't do a lot of things, if he can get this batch of silver ingots from the Big Cannibal, he can use leapfrog development, in just two or three years, he can lay a solid foundation.

Although I don't know if the Anshi Rebellion will break out like in history four years later, at least An Lushan is still in power, he has been operating in Fanyang for more than ten years, and it is by no means so easy to transfer him, then he has to prepare for the worst, and the Anshi Rebellion will break out as scheduled, and it may even be advanced.

It was not easy for him to explain this matter to the generals, so it was reasonable that Li Siye and others did not understand his urgent surname for Yincheng.

Thinking of this, Li Qing'an nodded and said: "Heiye's worry is very reasonable, I am going to let the Lifei Yuanli Department of Ju Zhan Ti attack Yincheng, you can do a tentative attack first, and if the attack is unfavorable, then retreat, as for the defense of Ju Zhan Ti, you can let the Shi [***] team take over." ”

After speaking, he glanced at everyone, and saw that everyone had no objection to this, so he resolutely ordered: "I can pass on my order, and order Li Fei Yuanli to lead 5,000 people from his headquarters to Yincheng immediately, and the defense of the battle will be quickly replaced by the Shi [***] team." ”

Ordering Li Qing'an nodded and said: "Heiye's worry is very reasonable, I am ready to let the Li Fei Yuanli Department of Ju Zhan Ti attack Yincheng, you can do a tentative attack first, and then retreat if it is unfavorable, as for the defense of Ju Zhan Ti, you can let the Shi [***] team take over." ”

At this moment, there was a rapid sound of running outside the tent, and a soldier shouted loudly: "General, the army of the Great Food has gone out of the city to meet the battle." ”

．．．．．．．． The gates of the capital of Xicao were opened, and the rumbling drums shook the heavens and the earth, and Qi Yade left 3,000 troops to defend the city, and he personally led 27,000 mixed troops to battle.

The so-called mixed army refers to the armies of the Sogdian countries in addition to the Khorasan soldiers, and the 30,000 troops, 20,000 Khorasan soldiers and 10,000 Samarkand soldiers he brought this time, but there were no Macedonian pikemen, and the elite army was still in Samarkand. The Muslims themselves lead.

In fact, it was not Qi Yad's original intention to go out of the city to fight today, he wanted to use the method of delaying to wear off the sharpness and morale of the Tang army, drag it for several months, and make the supply of military supplies to the Tang army a problem, but his strategy was vetoed by the commander Muslim.

The power struggle at the top of the Great Food finally affected the war, and Mansour took advantage of the suppression of the Sogdian faith to send his army to the major cities, and by capturing them, he took the Transoxians firmly into his own hands.

At least half of the Sogdian states are no longer Abu Abu. The Muslims were on the ground, which made the Muslims very passive, and in order to salvage this unfavorable situation, the only way to return Mansur to Damascus was to end the battle as soon as possible.

Therefore, he would not agree with Qi Yade's strategy of defending the city for three months and dragging down the Tang army, if he does not fight for three months, it is not to drag down the Tang army, but to drag him down, not only can he not wait for three months, but he must also start the war as soon as possible, so he set a time limit for Qi Yade, and within ten days, the Tang army will be driven across the Yaozhi River.

Groups of large food troops came out of the capital of Xicao, they carried long swords on their waists, spears and iron shields in their hands, wore leather boots, wore leather armor, and some troops also wore white cloaks, and their heads were wrapped with white cloths.

The army of the Abbasids inherited the results of the reform of the army by Marwan III of the Umayyad dynasty, and abandoned the mixed combat mode of dividing the Byzantine army into forward, rear, middle army, left wing, and right wing, and instead adopted the brigade system, the big cannibal is called Kurdus, in fact, it is the reading legion system, 10,000 people for a legion, a regiment under ten regiments, each regiment has 1,000 people, a regiment under ten companies, a company of 100 people, and then a team of 20 people, a group of five people, so that a total of five levels, each legion is a reading force operation.

Of course, the purpose of this is not to effectively fight the enemy, but to better control the vast territory.

With the sound of drums, the main general Qi Yade went out of the city, he sorted out his helmet, and looked indifferently at the faintly visible Tang army camp in the distance, this battle will be a battle of tentative surnames, and the comparison of the combat strength of the Tang army and the Great Food Army will be reflected in this battle.

He slowly pulled out the long sword in his waist, pointed at the Tang Army's barracks, and shouted: "Go to war!" ”

The 27,000 men were divided into five phalanxes and marched neatly towards the Tang army, which was ten miles away, like a huge black carpet on the earth.

'Woo-' The low sound of a horn streaked across the gloomy sky.

(To be continued)