The reeds are swirling, and the April breeze blows, rolling up the waves on the river-1-

The vast reeds covered a large area of land on the bank of the river, and also covered countless hidden figures. The sky is full of red clouds, the sunset is dusk, and the already turbid river surface is illuminated by the setting sun, as if sprinkled with ten thousand points of gold, a little dazzling.

A light boat slowly passed through the reeds, and the ten soldiers on the boat were all wearing light armor, green cloaks, horizontal knives hanging from their waists, and crossbows in their hands. They bowed their heads and bent over, did not speak and chat, but worked in groups of five, taking turns to row silently, making ripples in circles.

Suddenly, a flock of waterfowl was startled in the reeds not far away, and many strange sounds were faintly heard from time to time. A sergeant at the bow of the ship stared and whispered, "Prepare for battle, there is someone on the other side." ”

It was too late to say it, and before the words fell, the reeds on the opposite side were knocked away at once. I saw a fishing boat suddenly rush out of it, and there were more than a dozen strong men with knives in their hands standing on the bow.

"The son of a bitch is a spy of the Wei Army, brothers!" The green cloak at the bow shouted.

A tragic hand-to-hand exchange began, and the two boats quickly leaned together, firing bows and arrows at each other, jumping to meet the side in close combat. The swords and soldiers are combined, and the gold and iron are resonant. The sword light was shining, the sword light was scorching, and the sound of curses and shouting sounded one after another.

The battle was fierce, but it didn't last long, and after a few moments, the battle had already been decided.

One of the ten people on the side of the green cloak was seriously injured and three were lightly injured. But the strong men dressed as fishermen were three dead, two were seriously wounded, and the other seven were all wounded and captured. Red blood was sprinkled all over the two boats, and even the surface of the river was stained red with blood.

"Chief, this is from them." A green cloak handed a wooden box to the man at the head.

The captain opened the wooden box, and there were several letters inside. The literate guy leader hurriedly looked at it, and immediately looked solemn, "These people are the messengers sent by Li Mi to Yecheng, and they are here to ask for help from Wei Dao'er." This is a very important matter, and we will immediately go back to the camp to report to King Chen. ”

In the Jindiguan General's Mansion, Chen Kefu was holding a celebration banquet, and he also took it as a reception banquet for Yang Qi, Yang Tong and others.

However, most of the generals can celebrate happily, but Chen Kefu does not have this time. He left Chen Lei to accompany Huang Junhan, Bing Yuanzhen, Yang Qi and others, but he had a meeting with Li Jing, Luo Yi and others in the back study.

Chen Kefu threw the letter from the captured Wei army messenger sent back by the reconnaissance battalion patrolling on the Yellow River on the table, and chuckled, "Li Mi has not forgotten his allies at this time, but do you think Wei Dao'er will send troops to help?" ”

Luo Yi shook his head and said, "Wei Dao'er is just a horse thief, and he has no vision. Although compared to the dead ghost of Wang Suba, he seems to be a little smarter. But his cleverness seems to be only used for internal strife, and he doesn't see much long-term. In fact, we gave them a lot of opportunities before, and before we were busy sending troops to cross Jiangdu, Huaibei, and Shandong, and were busy consolidating the Huaisi area. At the same time, our east side of the river is also unstable, and we have to be constrained a lot. Even before that, there was a great civil strife in various places, which made it impossible for us to take them all in. This is their chance, and if they seize some of them, they will not be where they are now. ”

Everyone laughed, and that was pretty much the case. Since they entered Hebei, they first fought with Gao Shida, Dou Jiande and others, and then went south to Shandong, Huaibei, and then into the chaos in Hedong, and then there were rebellions in various places, and there was a food shortage, which can be described as the most difficult time for the Hebei army.

It's a pity that at such a good time, Wang Xuba and Wei Dao'er were first busy building the capital in Yecheng to establish the emperor and proclaim the emperor, and then they were busy with internal strife. wasted a great opportunity, although Chen Kefu and the others did not think that they could change anything by seizing the opportunity. But at the very least, they missed the only chance they had. At present, the Hebei army has taken the six counties of Henan and occupied the tiger prison. Li Mi's defeat is already imminent, and once Li Mi is defeated, what can Wei Dao'er, who is trapped in the southwest of Hebei, do? Trap them to death. …,

"Actually, it's better for us that they come to our aid." Li Jing said, "Your Highness, after Wei Dao'er merged with Wang Suba by fire, he has been busy cleaning Wang Suba's forces, and on the other hand, he has also been busy building cities and strengthening fortresses. Wei Dao'er has been fighting for the horses, his goal is to take advantage of the chaos in Hedong, out of Taihang, seize Shangdang, and then according to the geographical advantages of Shangdang, from the south to fight for the southeast of Hedong, from the north to the central part of Taiyuan, and then rely on Taihang, connect Hebei Hedong, and finally compete with us. This plan can be said to be very strategic, and it is the best way forward for them now. ”

For the Yan State, it is their death period to sit in the southwest of Hebei again, although they rely on the geographical advantages of the Yellow River and Zhangshui, and rely on Handan, Xiangguo, Yecheng, Weicheng and other cities as fortresses for defense, but for the invincible Hebei army, this is just sitting and waiting to die. Hebei and Shandong are all Chen Kefu's territory, and Henan is Li Mi's power, which of these two sides is stronger than Yan Guo.

So for a long time, the only way out for Yan was Hedong. In the past, there was Li Yuan in the east of the river, and Wang Xuba and Wei Dao'er were unable to advance westward. But today's Hedong has long become a chaotic trend, and the two key places of Shangdang and Taiyuan are still guarded by the Li family. This is the last chance for the Yan State to fight west for Hedong.

"If Wei Dao'er goes all out to the west and manages Hebei's nest into a turtle formation, it will be really troublesome for us to fight one by one. Wei Zhao and other counties are not the six counties of Henan that we have just swept away, these places have the danger of geographical advantages, mountains and rivers, and there are strong fortresses as obstacles, we have to go all out to deal with Li Mi now, and the situation in Hedong has reached the most critical time, we must send troops to Hedong as soon as possible, otherwise, Hedong may lose power. We don't have time to confront Wei Dao'er, and we can't let Wei Dao'er attack Hedong. Chen Kefu shook his head and said.

"Your Highness is exactly what you said." Li Jing said with a smile, "Your Highness, I think this letter from Li Mi is our opportunity." If Wei Dao'er really goes all out to Hedong, we won't be able to deal with it. But if Wei Dao'er comes to the aid of Henan, we will just come to the siege to help. Annihilating Wei Dao'er's fresh soldiers and horses in a field battle, Wei Dao'er's Yan State is one of the only two remaining peasant armies today. Although Wei Dao'er got hundreds of thousands of peasant troops, these people were just a rabble of soldiers who cut wood into soldiers. As long as its main force is broken, it will inevitably be defeated, and the counties of the pseudo-Yan State can be restored in one day. ”

"I'm afraid that Wei Dao'er will not go all out to help Li Mi, but take advantage of our battle with Li Mi to attack Hedong." Luo Cheng, who was sitting next to Luo Yi, spoke.

"We're forcing them to come!" Li Jing said in a deep voice.

Li Jing pointed to the map and said, "We have been operating in Hedong for a long time, and now it is almost time to pick fruits." Li Yuan, Li Jiancheng, and Li Shimin are all dead, and now the remnants of the Li family are still holding on to the two cities of Taiyuan and Shangdang. There was an order from His Royal Highness before, and Marshal Wang Rengong had been allowing Liu Wuzhou, Liang Shidu and others to fight with the Li family in Hedong, but secretly he had been developing our power. Although Marshal Wang still has only 5,000 soldiers and horses on the surface, in fact, there are still about 20,000 small troops scattered into Hedong. Most of them lurk in the Taihang Mountains and the northern grassland border. Moreover, the Secret Service Department has been making every effort to develop the Hedong forces, and now many cities in Hedong have our men and horses, which can be used when it is critical. ”

"You mean that we will now let Marshal Wang Rengong gather the soldiers and horses of Hedong and recover Hedong?" Chen Kefu was a little hesitant, it was not too difficult to recover Hedong, and Guan Jian was that he didn't have too many troops to defend Hedong again. With the 25,000 men and horses in Wang Rengong's hands and the infiltration of the secret service in Hedong, he believed that he could catch Liu Wuzhou and other local tycoons by surprise and seize all the important towns in Hedong in one fell swoop.

However, after taking the cities in Hedong, how to defend is a problem, and it cannot be defended by only 20,000 people. Although the Hebei Army has a lot of soldiers and horses, in fact, there are only about 300,000 regular troops, and there are many coalition troops of various ethnic groups. …,

Now there are 100,000 Hebei troops gathered under Jindi Pass, and there are still 35,000 in Luokou. The continuous war made Chen Kefu transfer almost all the soldiers and horses in eastern and western Liaodong to Hebei and Shandong. If you want to transfer troops into Hedong again, you will need at least 30,000 or more to maintain an advantage over Hedong.

But in this way, not only the defense of the rear of Liaodong and Liaoxi is empty, but also the defense of Hebei and Shandong will be very empty. The soldiers and horses are all gathered in Henan and Hedong, in case the war is unfavorable and there is some unexpected situation, it will be a big trouble. Especially in Liaodong, there are still many tribal kingdoms, and Chen Kefu has used his strong strength to deter them over the years, and has attracted them to follow him with huge interests. But once the Hebei army suffers a heavy loss, he will not only have to suffer from the pressure of external parties, but also have to face the threat of the rear.

War is sometimes gambling, but now that the family business is bigger, the more Chen Kefu is holding back.

"No!" Chen Kefu pondered for a while, and finally shook his head and vetoed the proposal. Although it is a favorable opportunity to seize Hedong at present, it is tantamount to completely dragging Hebei into the Hedong battlefield. The battlefield in the Central Plains is at the moment of decisive battle, and at this time, opening up a large battlefield in the east is not only a problem of troops, but also a problem of logistics and other aspects, and even Kawamoto has to be placed in an unfavorable position of internal emptiness and rear emptiness. It is equivalent to collapsing Hebei's string to the extreme, and once there is an accident, the consequences of the rebound will also be the most serious.

"I thought about it, and immediately sent an order to Marshal Wang Rengong, asking him to gather Liu Wuzhou and other troops in Hedong to gather troops and horses in the Shangdang area, and make preparations to block Wei Dao'er from entering Hedong. Then let him secretly transfer the 20,000 soldiers and horses that had previously entered Hedong into Taiyuan and Shangdang in batches to assist the Li family in defense. Until we decide the victory on the battlefield in the Central Plains, let him continue to stabilize the situation in Hedong. ”

"Shangdang's Fukou leads directly to Handan, so that Wei Dao'er's plan to go west can be broken for the time being. In my opinion, we can set up a battlefield in Liyang, Jijun, and fight Wei Dao'er in the area of Liyang Tongshan. First fought a quick battle with Wei Dao, then the army went south to fight a decisive battle with Li Mi, and finally sent troops to Hedong. So the north can be determined. Luo Yi put forward his own idea.

"No, the Central Plains battlefield is the most important thing at the moment, and Hedong and Hebei are still in our hands. We must now immediately move westward, move our troops to Luokou, and defeat Li Mi while he is still trapped in Luokou, and never give him a chance to turn over, lest the night be long and dreamy. I have decided to send troops immediately tonight, and General Luo Yi will lead 50,000 troops to defend the three towns of Tiger Prison, Jindi, and Liyang, and block Wei Dao'er's troops going south. This king and Marshal Li Jing led 50,000 soldiers and horses to Luokou immediately and fought a decisive battle with Li Mi! ”

A decisive battle often represents a decisive battle. Most of these battles are won by the stronger side. But also because of many uncertain factors on the battlefield, there will be a situation where less wins more in the end.

For both sides of the decisive battle, the decisive battle can sometimes have advantages and disadvantages.

However, for Chen Kefu, now that his family has a big business, the decisive battle, which was often the most uncertain war in ancient times, actually does more harm than good to him. With his strength, especially now that they have Hebei, Shandong, Huaibei, Liaodong, Liaoxi, and Henan, and even Lingnan and Hedong, which are ostensibly dependent on him. He can be said to have the most abundant resources, as long as he takes every step of the way, no one can be his opponent.

As long as he wins one small victory, he can accumulate into the final winner in the end. But the decisive battle is different, if you are not careful, you will risk losing if you don't get it right. And the defeat in the decisive battle is different from the defeat in ordinary battles.

During the Three Kingdoms era, Yuan Shao occupied the land of Sizhou, and the territory can be said to be similar to Chen Kefu's current situation, and he had a huge advantage over Cao Cao in the Henan area. As a result, in the decisive battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao had hundreds of thousands of horses, but was defeated by Cao Cao's tens of thousands of horses, and Yuan Shao's forces were then defeated again and again, completely destroyed by Cao Cao.

In the Battle of Weishui in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Fu Jian's army was known as throwing whips and breaking the stream, but it was defeated by Xie An's 80,000 soldiers and horses, which opened the beginning of the fall of the former Qin.

Chen Kefu didn't want to fight Li Mi in a decisive battle, but the situation in Henan forced him to fight Li Mi in a decisive battle. For Chen Kefu, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it is a great opportunity to annihilate Li Mi in one fell swoop. Such an opportunity is fleeting.

After careful consideration, Chen Kefu decided to seize this opportunity. However, in order to avoid accidents, he still planned to rush to Luokou with 50,000 soldiers and horses. First, 50,000 soldiers and horses can be left to defend the six counties of Henan that have just been conquered, and the rear of the battlefield can be stabilized. Second, in order to avoid accidents on the battlefield, there is no soldier to stop and there is no way to retreat. With the Tiger Prison Golden Causeway as the first line of defense, he can retreat immediately if the battlefield is unfavorable.

Moreover, the soldiers are very fast, and the more soldiers and horses, the slower the march and movement. Moreover, Luokou already had 130,000 soldiers and horses, and he brought another 50,000 soldiers to the battle, both in terms of the number and quality of soldiers and horses, which had far surpassed Li Mi. No matter how many soldiers there are, it will already be a refueling tactic.