The end of the war in Hanzhong means that the time is ripe for the decisive battle of the Sui and Tang dynasties, it is April, the wind is mild, the weather is comfortable, and it is the best time to start a war.

On the morning of this day, in the semi-circular hall of Ziwei Pavilion of Jinyang Palace, more than 30 senior officials of the Great Sui gathered together to discuss the most important decision in the past two years, the opening of the Sui and Tang Dynasty wars.

There is a tense and excited atmosphere in the semi-circular hall, this day is what all the ministers have been looking forward to for a long time, the south has been unified, the occupation of Hanzhong has cut off the back road of the Tang army to retreat from Bashu, and now the Tang army is only left in Guanzhong, forming a trapped beast pattern.

In front of the semi-circular hall, there was a wooden frame, on which hung a huge map, which was a map of Guanzhong and Guannei, and Yang Yuanqing stood next to the map, explaining the situation in front of him to many high-ranking officials.

"Now the Sui army has 120,000 troops in the north of Guannei, mainly distributed in Yan'an County in the east and Huining County in the west, this Sui and Tang war, I will mobilize another 200,000 troops, plus 40,000 Sui troops in Hanzhong, in fact, our strength will reach 360,000 people, and then look at the Tang army."

Yang Yuanqing moved the wooden pole to Guanzhong and continued: "At present, the Tang army has about 130,000 troops in Guan**, which is very unevenly distributed, and there are 80,000 elites in Fufeng County, Guanxi, which is Li Shimin's main force, and Chang'an City has 40,000 defenders, but there are only more than 10,000 people in the Kanto region, guarding Tongguan and Pujin Pass, and the Kwantung army is empty, but I heard that Li Shimin has taken over the military power, so I estimate that the Tang army will transfer 30,000 troops to Guandong, and more importantly, the Tang Army has been recruiting troops in the Guanzhong area for many years, which has exhausted the source of troops in this area, and there are no soldiers to recruitIn this way, the Tang army only has 150,000 troops at most, and we have an absolute advantage in this battle, not seeking a quick victory, as long as we fight steadily, at most within two months, we can take Chang'an and unify the world. ”

Yang Yuanqing's analysis of the strength caused a whisper in the semi-circle hall, and the ministers were very excited, 360,000 to 150,000, this is an absolute advantage in strength, as long as there is no accident, taking Guanzhong is just around the corner, but everyone also knows that the trapped beast is still fighting, this last battle is not so easy, especially the Sui army dispatched more than 300,000 troops, and the food and materials consumed will be very huge.

In fact, this is also the reason why Yang Yuanqing convened this pre-war military meeting, launching the Sui and Tang Dynasty War requires huge logistical support, including grain and grass, people and various military materials, which cannot be solved by the army alone, and must rely on the support of the imperial court and local officials along the way.

At this time, Du Ruhui came to the front desk, nodded to Yang Yuanqing, and smiled at everyone: "This battle is going to drain our treasury again." ”

His sad face attracted a knowing laughter, and Du Ruhui said slowly: "At present, there are still 200,000 stones of grain in Taiyuan, and there are 25 stones of grain in Liyang Cang, plus there are about 100,000 stones in the granaries of various government offices, adding up to 550,000 stones. ”

Yang Yuanqing next to him said with a smile: "It's April now, and in two months, there will be a bumper harvest of summer grain, and the grain will be sufficient, don't be stingy, although you can take it out boldly with confidence, I still know your old bottom." ”

There was another laughter in the semi-circular hall, Du Ruhui smiled bitterly again, and said: "Actually, food and materials are okay, the key is manpower, I estimate that 300,000 people can be mobilized, and the time is one month, does Your Highness see enough?" ”

Yang Yuanqing pondered for a moment and said: "Mobilize 500,000 people, half a month, just to prepare for the war needs people's power, and the war in the future only needs 100,000 people, is this a problem?" ”

Du Ruhui looked at several Xiangguo, and everyone nodded together, indicating that it was feasible, and Du Ruhui agreed, "Okay!" That's it, it's a word. ”……

The weather in April was also changeable, just after the imperial court made the decision to mobilize the people to prepare for war, the entire Hedong, Hebei and Central Plains regions entered a continuous spring rain season, but the Sui army's combat readiness was not affected, and it was still launched according to the plan.

On the wide, mud-covered official roads of Xihe County, grain carts covered with tarpaulins, carts loaded with straw and hay, baggage carts, and huge flat-bottomed boats staggered and creaked along the Fenshui.

The drizzle was falling in the sky, it was the rainy season in the Central Plains, and the cultivated fields and roadside ditches were full of rainwater. The distant jungle showed a vague outline.

The Sui army marched southward in the mud and drizzle, with shouts and curses, mixed with the crackling of leather whips and the creaking of axles, like the tide of the sea.

From time to time, you can see dying animals or dead animals lying on both sides of the official road, and occasionally a cart with wheels facing the sky. Sometimes a group of cavalry rushed into the flow of people, and the soldiers kept shouting and cursing, and the horses stood up and kept neighing, and a cart full of grain and grass would roll down the slope, and the people in the cart would roll down the slope with them.

Ahead, in the middle of the torrent of vehicles, soldiers lined up in a long queue, struggling to step on the slippery mud.

The flow of people was mixed with carriages carrying knives, guns, bows and crossbows, and other small weapons, and the escorts were lying on the tents, and people kept running out of the ranks, burrowing into the fields, and squatting down.

In front of them was a contingent of senior officers, a large group of pro-soldiers supporting their own generals, and from time to time dozens of medical carriages could be seen slowly moving north, with soldiers suffering from acute illnesses lying inside.

Tens of thousands of troops marched southward, one moment through a dense forest, rioting over resting places, the next a procession, crossing a small river, and then new wagons laden with grain and hay poured in from both sides, and occasionally a small troop of scout cavalry rushed to the front of the column.

Further ahead is an abandoned town that had been ransacked by the Turks ravaging Hedong last winter, killing more than 400 people and not recovering, and the survivors have been moved to villages two miles away.

The town still presents a post-war scene, with a crumbling gable wall among piles of rubble and charred wood; Broken oil lamps, a torn oilcloth fluttering in the wind on the distorted windows, and a few old people who had returned from visiting their homeland sat side by side in a collapsed cart, looking gloomily and sadly at the army passing through the town.

Two miles away from the official road is the canal, where thousands of people are pulling a large fleet of boats with difficulty, and making a low, rhythmic, and shocking sound.

The big ship was loaded with all kinds of heavy siege engines and armor, and the ladders, nest cars, and building cars had not yet been assembled, and there were huge rows of ground guards on both sides of the ship, and there were grain, forage, and barrels of fire oil on the ship, all of which were heavily guarded.

This team is a new recruit who has traveled all the way to Hedong, about 80,000 people, and the main generals are Li Jing, who has just returned from the grassland, and Pei Xingyan, who has just recovered from his injuries, and their destination is the Pujin ferry port in Hedong County, 400 miles to the south.

At this moment, a cavalry team of several hundred people galloped past the ranks, and the hooves of the horses trampled through the mud, splashing large sums of sewage, and several soldiers could not dodge, and their bodies and faces were splashed with mud.

"Your mother!"

One of the soldiers scolded, 'Smack! There was a crisp thud on the ground, and there was a blood-red whip mark on the sludge-covered face.

Dozens of horses galloped past him, bringing up a blast of wind.

"His Royal Highness the King of Chu!" Someone recognized the Golden Helmet General in the cavalry and cried out in horror.

This team of cavalry speeding past was Yang Yuanqing, but Yang Yuanqing did not go to Hedong County, but to Wenxi County, Jiang County, Yang Yuanqing got the news that Pei Ju was critically ill, he rushed to see the last side, and then turned around and went to Guannei Road.

The procession had gone several more miles, and in front of it a large tent had been erected in the woods, surrounded by soldiers patrolling the tent.

The cavalry team galloped in, and an officer saw the red eagle banner of Phnom Penh, and turned around in fright and ran towards the big tent, and in a moment, Li Jing, the commander of the Eastern Route Army, Pei Xingyan, the deputy marshal, and dozens of civil and military generals greeted them.

Yang Yuanqing turned over and dismounted and said with a smile: "I thought I missed it with you, this team is actually fifty miles long." ”

"The main thing is that there is too much baggage, which stretches the team."

Li Jing stepped forward to give a salute and asked with a smile: "Didn't Your Highness go to Guannei Dao?" Why did you go south again? ”

"Let's go see Pei Xiangguo first, he doesn't seem to be able to do it."

Pei Xingyan next to him was shocked, isn't the head of the family good? He didn't know anything, Yang Yuanqing glanced at him, "Wait a minute, General Pei will go with me!" Do not hinder the march to the south. ”

Pei Xingyan shook his head, "At the moment of the war, the lowly duty cannot leave the post without permission, and when passing by Wenxi County, the lowly post will go to visit the head of the family again." ”

The military discipline was strict, and Yang Yuanqing also understood Pei Xingyan's difficulties, so he was no longer reluctant, and entered the big tent with them, and there was a sand table in the middle of the big tent, and everyone was discussing the military situation just now.

"Is there any difficulty?" Yang Yuanqing walked to the sand table and asked with a smile.

Everyone glanced at each other, Pei Xingyan scratched his head, "It's just that the marching speed is too slow, and there will be at least three days to reach Hedong City." ”

Li Jing said again: "Your Highness, we just said that this time there was no ship to transport materials, and a lot of manpower and animal power were used, and it was a little inconvenient to march. ”

Yang Yuanqing smiled helplessly and explained to everyone: "In fact, there are more than 3,000 flat-bottomed boats in Taiyuan, one ship can transport twenty stone grain, and that time can only transport sixty thousand stone of grain, and it takes at least three trips back and forth, which takes more than a month, which was originally enough, but I reached a consensus with the imperial court that I will only prepare for a month, so the time will be a little tight, so I will mobilize the people to transport a part of it with animal power, so that it only needs to run twice, and I hope to end the Guanzhong campaign before the summer harvest." ”

(To be continued)

()k

(No pop-up novel network)s