Chapter Eighty-Four: Blood
The morning mist drifted over the mountains, on the plains, on the rivers, and on the cities. The morning breeze gradually blew away the mist, and under the sun, which was like egg yolks, dense soldiers stood in the fog, waiting for the moment when the war drums sounded. The military flag hung low and refused to flutter like a budding life and death will. A fratricidal war between humans was about to begin, and the sun sighed and burrowed into the clouds again.
On the city of Caozhou, from the guards to the soldiers, even the most fierce people are in a heavy mood. It's a fierce battle! Many people involuntarily look at the sky, one to estimate the time, and the other to take a few more looks. Who knows if you will be able to see it after today?
The soldiers of the Xuanwu Army under the city stood on the ground. Wang Pei's roar echoed in the ears of every general, and the roar of the lieutenant echoed in the ears of every soldier:
"You're men, men with two balls hanging from their crotch!"
"We besieged the city for two or three months, and did not defeat Caozhou, the emperor not only did not blame, but also sent His Royal Highness King Ju to treat us, give us rest, and give us cattle and sheep money and grain. The armies of the south are not yet allowed to rob us of our merits. The emperor treats us as men, and believes that we can bring down Caozhou. Can we make people laugh at us for not being men? ”
"This soldier and horse envoy went to Li Dashuai, to be honest, he was embarrassed to raise his head. If we can't defeat this Caozhou, can we tens of thousands of people still hold our heads up and mix in the barracks? ”
"They have divine weapons, but where did they come from? It's their exploits! As long as our Xuanwu Army takes Caozhou, Liang Guogong said, and he immediately sent a document to the Ministry of War to ask for an artifact for us. But everyone licked the blood from the knife edge, and they all knew how useful that thing was? What is most needed on the battlefield is the man! ”
"Sharpen your Yongzhen knives and sharpen your Yongzhen guns!"
"Follow me Wang Pei and kill Caozhou!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
The shouts of tens of thousands of Xuanwu soldiers shook the mountains, startled the birds flying by, broke out in a cold sweat, and hurriedly climbed high and detoured.
"Wang Pei will definitely be able to take Caozhou in this battle, but whether he can completely annihilate the enemy depends on you."
Immediately on the high post, looking in the direction of Caozhou, listening to the overwhelming shouts, Li Yu said lightly to the generals. Behind him were more than 10,000 elites of the southern armies who had been quietly marching in for many days. Zheng said:
"Don't worry, the three generals Li, Li, and Hou will not disappoint the marshal."
Li Yu was noncommittal, but said lightly:
After Caozhou was taken, the Xuanwu army and the three armies of Li, Li, and Hou rested, and the other two armies immediately rushed directly to Yunzhou. I don't know if Chen Guogong's side will be able to arrive by then. ”
"Minister Li Guangyan sends His Royal Highness King Ju!"
"Congratulations to Pei Xianggong."
Outside Tucheng, Li Guangyan led Tian Hua, Song Dynasty and other generals to send off King Ju and Zheng Jing who came to comfort and Pei Du who accompanied him.
After King Ju and his entourage got on the carriage and horse first, Pei Du quietly said to Li Guangyan:
"Gong Chen, the Puyang problem must be solved as soon as possible! Wei Bo's commotion is quite fierce, and the emperor wants to deal with Wei Bo. ”
Li Guangyan arched his hand and said:
"Thank you Pei Xianggong, Li will understand. Then he returned to the camp and convened a meeting of the generals to discuss the Puyang issue. ”
Needless to say from Pei Du, Li Guangyan also knew that he had to step up to solve the Puyang problem. You must know that the Xuanwu Army was originally under his command, and now the Xuanwu Army is still under his command in name, but in fact? Li Yu had already led an army of 60,000 troops stationed under the city of Caozhou, thinking that Xuanwu was backing up. Li Guangyan can't complain about the emperor, nor can he blame Li Yu, he really can't make a move by himself. Now that Tian Ji'an has rebelled, the pressure on the imperial court is even greater. Ziqing really needs to solve it as soon as possible.
"Wait for Ben Shuai to repair a letter and send it to the city. Ben Shuai thought, Cui Chengdu is not a person without knowledge and responsibility, right? ”
Li Guangyan seemed to be asking the generals around him, and seemed to be talking to himself.
"Whoosh!"
The Ziqing officer standing at the head of the city habitually turned his head away, and a feather arrow passed through his ear and nailed to the gate of the city tower behind.
"Every time I play like this, I am the target of Lao Tzu!"
The officer muttered in his mouth, but he was not slow at all in his hand, pulled out the arrow, looked at the letter on it, and ordered his subordinates to continue to stand guard, and he flew down the city tower to find Cui Chengdu.
Cui Chengdu got the letter and ordered the officer to be rewarded, so he immediately opened the letter and read it. At his hand was another letter.
Not only Li Guangyan was sad, but Puyang City was also very sad. Trapped in a lonely city, without fighting, surrendering, leaving, and not making peace, is not a way after all. Outside the city, when Li Guangyan was convening the generals to discuss, the city was also discussing what to do. After reading the letter, Cui Chengdu was about to convene the generals in the city to discuss the matter, and his personal soldiers came in and reported:
"General, General Guo, they ask to see."
As soon as Cui Chengdu entered the council hall of the Assassin's Mansion, he was drowned out by the sound of gossip.
"General Cui, our army has been trapped in Puyang for almost half a year, and it's not a matter to be stuffy like this!"
"Yes, General Cui, our grain and grass are almost exhausted. You'll have to give me an idea. ”
"Yes, whether it's a battle or a surrender, you can't consume it like this."
The generals were gossiping, and Cui Chengdu walked to his seat and sat down without hurry, watching coldly. The generals were still clamoring, Cui Chengdu looked around, and it was only those few people who were clamoring, so he slapped the table and said:
"Enough, do you think Cui is willing to hide in the city like a mouse? Cui did this just for the sake of everyone's net worth and life. At the beginning, everyone also agreed to Cui's plan, but what's wrong now, after a long time, the courage has grown, do you dare to fight against Li Guangyan? ”
Cui Chengdu was so ruthless that the generals didn't dare to speak. Cui Chengdu looked at the generals coldly and said:
"Don't think that Cui doesn't know what some of you have in mind, but he heard that someone sneaked into the city and told him that Tian Ji'an was also reversed, so he felt that he could live a comfortable life with Li Shidao. Hmph, Li Shidao is a filthy villain, capricious, ambitious and talented, do you think that with Tian Ji'an's help, he will be able to hold Yunzhou? Dream on, to tell you the truth, the imperial court has captured the four southern states, and the army is attacking Caozhou. On Tian Ji'an's side, the imperial court has appointed Fan Xichao as the president, commanding more than 100,000 troops to besiege Weibo Liuzhou, do you think you will have Tian Ji'an for a long time? ”
"I, Cui Chengdu, treat everyone as brothers, so I am willing to bear the infamy of betraying the Lord and seeking glory for everyone to find a way to live. But what about all of you? ”
Cui Chengdu's majestic gaze swept over everyone, and when he saw that no one dared to answer, he said with satisfaction:
"Actually, even if you don't come today, so-and-so will invite you to come. Today, Yunzhou sent a letter to General Ben, urging our army to take the initiative to attack the officers and troops after the sunset. Promise Dao will inevitably have a large army to respond at that time, and the inside and outside should be combined, and the official army will be defeated in one fell swoop. Just now, Chen Guogong also brought a letter to the general, which said that as long as I surrender in Puyang, he promised to guarantee to the emperor that we would take the initiative to return to the imperial court, and the title would remain the same. I also promised not to make our army an enemy of the Ziqing Army, and to ensure the safety of my family members. Where to go, what do you think, generals? If you have something to say, you have been in the army for many years, and you should know that General Ben will never do anything to you just because you and I have different opinions. ”
That's true. A young general stood up and said:
"Qi Qi Cui soldiers and horses, the last general thought that he couldn't listen to Yunzhou. Thinking that Lin Ying lost Haizhou and still returned to Yunzhou to be his judge, and Xiahou Cheng and Xiahou soldiers and horses just lost a city in Kaocheng, Yunzhou deprived him of his official position and threw him idle. It was not until Li Guangyan's soldiers entered the stage that they remembered that Xiahou's soldiers and horses were coming, but as a result, Xiahou's soldiers and horses made the enemy's situation unclear, and they rushed into battle, so that the soldiers were defeated and captured. Yunzhou asked our army to fight this time, if the army comes, it will be enough, if it does not come, won't our army be displeasing to both sides? At present, the grain and grass are about to run out, and it is not easy to offend the officers and soldiers. The last general thought that there was really no way out, so it was better to surrender the officers and soldiers. The last general heard that when General Li Guangyan was in Pingcaizhou, he tried his best to protect the civil and military officials of Yuncheng, and such a person could be trusted. The last general is willing to do it anyway. ”
Another general also stood up and said:
"The two sides are scheming, and the last general is also willing to surrender. It's just that Chen Guogong must guarantee that if we don't let our army go against each other, it will hurt our small family, and if that happens, the general will not be right anyway. ”
For a while, the generals ordered to express their attitude, and they were willing to surrender and occupy most of them, and a smile appeared on Cui Chengdu's face.
"There is no enemy and no self, kill!"
After the propaganda and agitation of the enemy who had joined the army was completed, Wang Pei stood on the lookout platform, and with a wave of the command flag in his hand, a lieutenant rushed out with his own battalion of men shouting, and on their left and right were a battalion of men, pushing bed crossbows, building carts, and carrying ladders, shouting and rushing up. The lieutenant himself led a battalion of men as a backup and followed closely.
"Four battalions of soldiers, three thousand! Wang Pei is a bloody capital! ”
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