Chapter 465: Gain and Loss

The things prepared by Sun Kaidao were basically useless, and the rebels in Jiazigou were indeed a suspicious army, not many in number, and quietly retreated without launching any offensive after seeing the Sui army coming in. This has something to do with Meng Wansui's conceit, and in this case, he dares to take the road of Jiazigou, which can only be said to be the person who led the Sui army with either a wise eye or an idiot.

The Sui army had more than 40,000 horses, plus 10,000 cold horsemen in Northern Liao. Even if Sun Kaidao had an army of more than 200,000, he didn't dare to take it lightly, even if it was an ambush. The combat effectiveness of the 40,000 people of the Sui army should not be underestimated. And the cold cavalry of Northern Liao is even more invincible, and Meng Wansui must bring enough men and horses if he wants to set up an ambush on the avenue.

With an army of more than 200,000 people in an ambush at Hou Wu Mountain, Meng Wansui was not 100% sure of winning, let alone detached a large group of men and horses to leave.

Of course, once this battle is won, Meng Wansui's name will immediately spread throughout the three northwestern provinces. Once the problem that has plagued Li Yuanshan for three years is solved by him, Li Yuanshan will inevitably rely on him even more. However, this is not what Meng Wansui is planning to do now. Originally, Meng Wansui was quite loyal to Li Yuanshan, but since Li Yuanshan's cronyism, his mind has gradually changed.

After Li Yuanshan became king, he reused all the people of the Li family. Haolu's weapons and equipment were also distributed to the team led by these people, although the original Seven Tiger Generals were all named Hou and generals, but the treatment was very different. In the two years in Xidaying, after having close contacts with Li Xiaozong, he was gradually influenced by Li Xiaozong.

The two even agreed that once Li Yuanshan's defeat was revealed, the two of them would join forces to attack Xiangzhou from the rear.

But

Now that Li Xiaozong is dead, the Sui army retreated. If he didn't make a move, he was afraid that Li Yuanshan would immediately suspect it. And as long as this Sui army is taken, there will be many benefits to Meng Wansui. If he can besiege and force this rebel army to surrender, his strength will increase greatly, and Li Yuanshan's attitude towards him will also change greatly. You must know that the 40,000 elites of Lu Dao plus 10,000 cold cavalry are enough to make Li Yuanshan's heart tremble.

And with this Sui army, he also has one more choice.

Once Li Yuanshan is defeated, he can still go to the imperial court.

Unfortunately, it backfired.

When the Sui army crossed the Jiazi ditch, the speed of the march was even faster. The offensive of the imperial army in Hexi Road did not slow down, because the army of Zhengxi did not lack supplies. And it is the time of consecutive battles and wins, and morale is like a rainbow. But this Sui army can't do it, and it is impossible to take away all the grain and grass stolen from the rebel camp, so it can only barely survive this winter. Meng Wansui suffered a big loss, and once he retaliated ruthlessly, even if the Sui army was not afraid, the loss would not be too small.

And it has been more than a month since leaving the cottage, and there are cavalry of the Mengyuan people stationed 300 miles away from the cottage, in case the Mengyuan people take advantage of the empty strength of the cottage to attack and lose the cottage, the Sui army will have no foothold.

Fang Xie did not ride a horse, sat on a big cart where the team was pulling heavy baggage, there was no carriage, he sat cross-legged on a sack full of grain, put a tray, put some sunflower seeds, a pot of tea, and looked at the scenery while walking. It's just that the unscabbarded Chaolu knife is placed next to him, and it seems to be colder than the cold wind.

Sun Kaidao sat next to him, leaning against the sack, squinting as if he was asleep and as if he was pondering something.

After getting out of the clamp ditch, the road is very flat and straight, so it is not too bumpy. Fang Xie poured himself a drink and did not speak. Sun Kaidao, who was squinting, saw that a mountain in the distance was very majestic, and couldn't help but praise it, which attracted Fang Jie's sideways gaze.

"What does the mountain look like to the general?"

Sun Kaidao asked.

"Straight up, like a scabbard."

"Hmm"

Sun Kaidao nodded: "The mountain is very strong, so even if there are tourists, they mostly watch from a distance and dare not climb." However, the scenery of several mountains next to this mountain is beautiful, and the mountain is gentle, if it were me, I would also choose the shorter one, and I don't want to take risks easily. The scenery from above is more beautiful, but it is too scary to watch. ”

"What do you want to say?"

Fang asked.

Sun Kaidao smiled: "Because the mountain is too powerful, people stay away." If you want to be close, it's better not to be too high. It is not good for a person to be too powerful, because people will be afraid of being hurt by his sharpness. The more disadvantaged you are, the more mellow you are, so that not only the people around you, but also the opponent will feel easy to get along with. ”

He glanced at Fang Jie: "Humble and straightforward, it's already now, even if we leave immediately, it's no good, anyway, it's already here, it's better to simply stay." Since some people don't believe in what they say, can't we repay the other in the other way later? The general pretended to be nothing, and respected Mou Liangbi more, and obeyed what he said, and it didn't take long for him to lose his guard against you......"

Fang Xie shook his head: "It's just that I am slightly dissatisfied in my heart, not as indignant as you said." If Master Mou had made it clear to me before that he wanted to stand up, I wouldn't have cared about it. ”

"He doesn't believe you."

Sun Kaidao smiled and said: "Although I don't know about Mou Liangbi, I can see his character from this one thing. He can attribute all the credit of the general to himself, and it is expected that he can not count the humility that seems to be heartfelt to the general before, and nine times out of ten he is testing the general's heart, from the beginning, he has been calculating the general. With such a person, why should the general leave any more politeness? The general and General Cui worked together to protect him, and he can be regarded as his life-saving benefactor, he is still so calculating, what kind of affection can he keep. ”

"When I first arrived here, I persuaded the general to directly seize the military power. I'm afraid that at that time, Mou Liangbi was most worried about you, the general. This person's play is better than anyone else's. ”

"At the beginning, he was extremely close to the general, as if no one in the Sui army could be trusted, only the general, you and he were all the way. The general wanted to kill Li Xiaozong, and he did his best to help, in fact, because he was more willing to see Li Xiaozong die than anyone else...... Then General Cui strongly supported the general to preside over military affairs, but I am afraid that it will also be beyond Mou Liangbi's expectations. So he deliberately stood with Cui Zhongzhen, and it seemed that he was willing to let you lead the team, but in fact, one was to test what the generals were thinking, and the other was to test what the generals of the Sui Army were thinking. ”

Now that I think about it, on the first day, he showed hesitation about whether to kill Li Xiaozong's cronies, and he did it on purpose. In the battle a few days ago, he didn't frown when he killed 16,000 prisoners, could he really be unbearable because those Li Xiaozong's cronies were also soldiers? The moment he ordered the execution of all the prisoners of war, he knew that this man had a sharp knife hidden in his heart. ”

"Everything is within his calculations, and the person who was called Erliangchen back then really had a lot of gullies in his heart......"

Sun Kaidao sneered: "The general went to him to tell the whole plan, but I am afraid that his heart will immediately bloom." The general asked me to go to Jiazigou to test how many ambushes there were in the rebels, and of course, the lowly official also understood that the general's move was to let Lu Fenghou and Chen Yishan no longer target the lowly position. Let Lu Fenghou take the Yangzi battalion to guard the mouth of the clamp valley to protect the retreat of the army. Then take the Shanzi battalion to break into the camp with light cavalry, and then borrow the cold cavalry to open the momentum, what does all this have to do with Mou Liangbi? But now, the generals of the Sui army thought that he arranged it. ”

Fang Xie knew that Sun Kaidao was right, he did underestimate the person of Mou Liangbi.

To be precise, he underestimated the desires of a person's heart.

King Xujun is dead, this team with amazing combat effectiveness is not only wanted by Li Xiaozong, but also by Mou Liangbi!

It's just that he can't compete with Li Xiaozong.

Mou Liangbi was a literati, Li Xiaozong was from a military background, and the generals of the Sui army were more receptive to the latter. And Li Xiaozong held high the banner of avenging King Xujun at the beginning, and Mou Liangbi had already fallen behind. After that, he was put in the air by Li Xiaozong, even if he was good at scheming, but he didn't have the strength, he could only be subservient. But at this time, Fang Xie came, killed Li Xiaozong, how could Mou Liangbi not be moved?

……

……

On the carriage, Mou Liangbi poured a cup of tea for Cui Zhongzhen with his own hands: "General Cui...... I know you're a little unhappy, that's why I'm looking for you. There are some things that I have to say in person. ”

He glanced at Cui Zhongzhen, who didn't bother to look at him at all.

"I know that I have gone a little too far, but it is really a last resort, and it is also for the sake of this team, not all out of selfishness. At this juncture, it is precisely the need for us to unite sincerely, once we deviate from morality, it will ruin the team of tens of thousands of people and the situation that was fought with great difficulty. ”

Cui Zhongzhen still didn't say anything, and turned his gaze to the outside of the carriage.

"Admittedly...... I'm being a little selfish. ”

Mou Liangbi sat down, was silent for a while, and said: "But General Cui, you should know that if I don't make some achievements, how can I have the face to go back to the court to see Your Majesty?" Even if the Battle of the Northwest was a crushing defeat because of Li Yuanshan's rebellion, and the 700,000 army was almost wiped out, the prince and I could not escape the blame. The prince is gone, and now I am the only one left...... I need this team, I need to fight some beautiful battles, otherwise when the imperial army triumphs, what will happen to me, I expect you to know very well General Cui. ”

"I am different from you, I have been in prison for more than ten years, and I thought that this life would be over, but His Majesty released me from prison and entrusted me with a heavy responsibility, and no one can understand how excited I was at that moment. I've learned half my life, how can I not be happy that I finally have the opportunity to do it? But is it fair that I have to bear the consequences just because of a defeat? Even if His Majesty does not punish me for my capital crime, at most I will only end up with the result of returning home to retire. ”

"For what? Why? ”

Perhaps because of his excitement, Mou Liangbi's hand trembled slightly: "This matter is indeed that I am sorry for General Fang, and I will go to General Fang to explain it later." But now the matter has become a foregone conclusion, and only when you and I work together can we lead the team well and make a difference. General Fang...... General Fang has won the trust of His Majesty, and he has already reached this position at a young age, and his future prospects are bound to be limitless. I'm different...... I'm fifty years old......"

He paused for a moment and said, "I am telling General Cui this from the bottom of my heart today, just to ask General Cui to understand. ”

Cui Zhongzhen's hand holding the teacup stiffened in mid-air, and he didn't know how long it had been, he put down the tea that he hadn't drunk a sip, looked at Mou Liangbi and said seriously: "My lord is hardworking, I understand my humble duties." It's just that adults have neglected one thing from beginning to end...... Fang Jie, if you want to compete with adults for this position from the beginning, can you wait until adults use this clever trick? ”

"He is a Qincha, and he has the emperor's order...... The reason why we support our lords in presiding over military affairs is that we are the right people, and secondly...... Fang Xie told me that he is very grateful for the care you took of him when he was in Chang'an, he is a person who knows how to be grateful, and don't you think, my lord, this affection will be gone after this time? Adults got this team, but what can be lost...... I'm afraid it's more important. ”

After saying this, Cui Zhongzhen jumped down from the carriage and didn't even look back.

Mou Liangbi looked at Cui Zhongzhen's departing back in a daze, and was silent for a long time.