In late January of the tenth year of Baoda, the Southern Tang Army swore to march westward.

Liu Renzhan, the envoy of the Wuchang Army, and Wang Yanzhang, the envoy of the Jingjiang Army, were ordered to lead the naval army to block the waterway from the Yangtze River to Dongting Lake, prohibit the exchange of merchants and merchants, and ensure the unimpeded passage of money, grain, and baggage needed for the Western Expedition. From Chizhou to Yuezhou, across the east and west lines, warships gathered, flags covered the sky.

In the end, it was planned by the privy envoy as the commander-in-chief, and the mobilization of manpower and material resources was very costly, and Liu Yanzhen's department except for some soldiers and horses left in Jinling, a total of 30,000 cavalry, of which about 10,000 elite cavalry; There were 30,000 men on the right side of Zhou's Xiongwu army, and most of them were infantry troops except for a few cavalry for scouting; Li Yuan's department, leading the left wing of the Holy Army, 20,000 were ordered to Zhenzhong Army; In addition, there were 60,000 people levied from the six prefectures of Shu, Jiang, Hubei, Yun, Hong, and Yuan.

The Southern Tang Dynasty announced to the world, Wuping Jiedu made Liu Yan refuse to return to the court, and secretly communicated with the Zhou State, intending to make chaos, the emperor was benevolent, and repeatedly issued orders to persuade him to no avail, so he had no choice but to raise troops to fight for it, in order to relieve the people. This attack on Langzhou can be regarded as a famous master.

By early February, Liu Yanzhen's division of the Shenwu Army, the Zhou headquarters of the Xiongwu Army, and the Li Yuan's division of the Weisheng Army arrived at Yiyang on the front line one after another.

Previously, the Southern Tang Dynasty had sent the general Li Jianqi to lead 8,000 state soldiers into Yiyang, as well as the 2,000 Longxiang army that escorted the baggage first, and rumors had already spread in the city, and many people had already left the city when they saw that the war was about to start.

After the arrival of the Western Expeditionary Army, the commander Chen Jue immediately summoned Li Jianqi to meet with the two deputy generals Liu Yanzhen and Zhou Ben, plus Li Yuan and the provincial envoy Feng Yanlu, to discuss military affairs.

It is worth noting that Feng Yanlu, as a civil official of the guest province, is responsible for leading the army, and everyone thought that he, as Feng Yansi's younger brother, would inevitably stumble on Chen Jue, but he has always been tough, but he was silent on the march this time, which was very surprising. Li Yuanzhi has a holiday with this Feng Liu, but there is no need to get acquainted with it, the current war is important, as for personal grievances, the two can tacitly understand it.

Li Jianqi, the general of Yiyang, was terrified, and it has been three months since the end of October of the ninth year of the Baoda, and he has not only been fooled by Liu Yan and others, but he has not even touched the city wall of Langzhou. When the imperial army arrived this time, he was already ready to be dismissed from office and convicted, but Chen Jue was relieved and made him guilty, but the smile on the corner of his mouth was extremely cold.

Chen Jueduan sat on the top position, the privy envoy who was famous all over the Southern Tang Dynasty, at this time he was even more high-spirited, since entering the center, he planned to destroy Fujian and Chu, and the Western Expedition was the first time that he was the commander, looking at the generals sitting on both sides, he couldn't help but be excited, the war had not started, but in his mind was already the scene of the city of Langzhou being broken and the victory was returned to the dynasty.

I saw Chen Jue smile and speak first: "Everyone, now that our army of 80,000 has arrived in Yiyang, Liu Renzhan and Wang Yanzhang have led the naval army to blockade Dongting, and the road to the north of Langzhou has been cut off. At this time, the Langzhou soldiers were at the end of the road, and the defeat of the city was only overnight. The meaning of the original appearance, this battle cannot be delayed, and the method of quick victory in the siege should be sought! After capturing and killing Liu Yan and other thief generals, the army immediately waved north to attack Xuzhou! What do you think, if you have a high opinion, let's talk about it together. ”

As soon as these words came out, all the generals looked at each other, almost all of them were instantly choked by this seemingly passionate remark, Langzhou's hard bones have not been gnawed, they are thinking about going north to fight Zhou, where does this Chen Jue's confidence come from?

Liu Yanzhen still had the face of a good old man, and said with a faint smile: "Minister, you are the commander of the army, and we naturally do not obey orders." ”

Zhou Ben had a calm face, got up and stepped forward, and pointed out on the drawing: "If you want to win quickly, I'm afraid it will be difficult." The soldiers of Langzhou are brave, and the city of Langzhou is the king of Ma Xicao for many years, the city wall is high, and the people have a lot of money and food, which is enough to hold on for several days. Although there is a retreat from our naval army in the north, the enemy in the west is not forgotten, and the scouts have come to report that the 20,000 Dongxi barbarians have already left Xizhou and can be reached in a few days. If our army forcibly attacks the city for a quick victory, if the barbarians attack, I am afraid that it will be attacked from inside and outside, and the consequences will be heavy! In the end, the general thought that it would be better to discuss again and be more secure. ”

Chen Jue squinted his eyes and glanced at Zhou Ben when he heard this, and then squeezed out a reluctant smile as if nothing happened, and then asked, "What do you think of what Zhou Tongjun said?" ”

I don't know if it was because of Chen Jue's might or because of the confusion of ideas, no one replied at this time. Immediately afterwards, Chen Jue turned his head to look at Li Yuan, who was expressionless.

Li Yuan hurriedly replied: "Envoy, what Zhou Tongjun said is not unreasonable. Chudi has been in trouble for many years, only a corner of Langzhou has been stubbornly held so far, it can be seen that its soldiers, its city is strong, Liu Yan and others must be good at fighting and strategizing, and our army should not be underestimated. The Dongxi barbarians have always been treacherous, and good at haunting the jungle to climb the rock and climb the wall, quite a tactic, eight years of protection, it is five thousand barbarians who attacked the Tanzhou camp along the mountain road at night, resulting in the chaos of the Chu army, and the defeat of Ma Xifan. This time, 20,000 troops were dispatched, which was menacing.

Therefore, the last general thought that if he wanted to attack Langzhou, he could not be anxious, and he needed to take it step by step. The last general thought that it could be divided and attacked, so that one side of the elite soldiers first met the Dongxi barbarians, cut off its rescue, and the other way built a camp to surround Langzhou on three sides, looking for an opportunity to attack the city, no matter how much grain in Langzhou City, sooner or later it will be exhausted, and it will not last for a long time! ”

A staff member beside Chen Jue immediately said coldly: "Li Yuhou is too young after all, and he has little experience in war. My army of 80,000 will be besieging the city in an instant, the waterway supply is unimpeded, the grain is endless, and the time and place are all in my hands! Have you ever heard of a siege for reinforcements? If the barbarians dare to sneak attack, they will be wiped out in one net, and our army will be wiped out together. Besides, there are only 40,000 soldiers in Langzhou, and they have lost the hearts of the people, so what is the chance of winning if they stick to the lonely city? Could it be that Li Yu is afraid of the enemy? ”

Li Yuan shook his head and was silent, and Li Jianqi, who had been silent before, suddenly spoke: "The last general also thinks that Dongxi is quite not to be underestimated. The last general was ordered to garrison Yiyang in March, and fought with Dongxi Man several times, thinking that their soldiers were blunt and thin, and they had not yet been civilized, but they did not expect their tactics to be strange and impermanent. Hiding during the day and attacking the camp late at night, our army is exhausted......"

"That's your Li Jianqi's incompetence!" Chen Jue suddenly slapped the case and said angrily: "Your Majesty has a clear decree and orders you to seek to capture Langzhou, who ordered you to fight against Dongximan?" It's just a matter of taking care of one or the other! In the first battle of Tanzhou, the king of Chu surrendered, and Langzhou had long been disheartened. ”

"Make a difference! It's not that the last general wants to fight the barbarians, it's-" Li Jianqi's face turned pale, as if he had a bitter expression.

Chen Jue glared at Li Jianqi fiercely, everyone shuddered, and then said meaningfully: "I also know the truth that if you listen to it, you will be clear, and if you listen to it, you will be dark, but what you say, you are afraid of the enemy everywhere, I am afraid it is not a good omen!" That Dongxi barbarian is just a small mountain and a small night, no matter how good he is at fighting and scheming, how can he resist my 80,000 army? I mean, tonight the army is surrounded on three sides, fighting with open fire, deep trenches, and attacking the city tomorrow! If the Dongxi barbarians dare to attack, they will be wiped out together! ”

Li Yuan couldn't hold it back, got up and said: "Prime minister, there will be a word at the end, please make it compatible!" ”

Chen Jue waved his hand and said, "Say." ”

Li Yuan swallowed his saliva and arched his hand: "Take precautions, and finally convince your heart!" It's just a forcible siege, and if it really suffers from internal and external attacks, the casualties will definitely be not small! If it is a mere Langzhou city, it will be damaged too much, and it may delay the plan to make the prime minister go north...... Therefore, the last general still thinks that it is the best policy to divide and attack! The last general asked Ying to lead his headquarters westward to meet the barbarian soldiers, so that our army would besiege the city without worries! ”

The staff resolutely shouted: "No! Why did Li Yuhou always say that he divided his troops? Do you want to defend yourself? The siege of the city is imminent, and the Weisheng Army is guarding the Chinese army, how can they leave? If it hurts the safety of the minister, what crime should Li Yuhou be guilty of? ”

Chen Jue had already been persuaded by Li Yuan's remarks, and in his eyes, Langzhou was just a small nail that could be easily removed. In the final analysis, going north to Xuzhou is the ultimate goal, and seeking the Central Plains is Emperor Li Jing's lifelong ambition, and it is also a shortcut for him Chen Jue to pay homage to the prime minister. But if the army suffered too many casualties, it would definitely not be able to make the trip.

But after hearing what the staff said, he cleared his mind again, and immediately became suspicious of Li Yuan.

This Li Yuan is getting more and more incomprehensible! I thought that this person was of the same heart as himself, but he had just arrived in Yiyang today, and he was against him for the first time. At that time, the war will be together, the Chinese army will be empty, and if there is a mistake in the original appearance, his life will be gone! Talking about the westward expedition to the north, and what about making contributions, it is all in vain.

Thinking of this, Chen Jue paused and said coldly: "Li Yuhou, the Chinese army must not be empty!" And the siege of the city is imminent, and manpower and material resources are needed. But if you insist on going, you can only take half of the soldiers and horses of your headquarters to go, and your own appearance can only provide you with seven days' food, what about it? ”

Li Yuan was a little stunned for a while, the Dongxi barbarians have always been fierce and treacherous, and now they are even more than 20,000 enemies, but they only give themselves more than 10,000 soldiers and horses plus seven days of food, is this forcing me to give in? While gritting his teeth and wandering, Li Yuan suddenly remembered that there was still a letter hidden in his breastplate, the letter that read "Brother Personally Enlightened".

Then a hint of luck flashed in his eyes, and he replied in a deep voice: "The last general will take the order!" ”

Seeing that Li Yuan was willing to accept the order, Chen Jue and the staff on the side were stunned for a moment, and then Chen Jue swallowed his saliva and said: "Li Yuhou, there is no joke in the army!" You're still young, and you don't mistake yourself because of your momentary anger! ”

Li Yuan straightened up and said loudly: "If the prime minister gives the last general seven days' food, then the last general will repel the barbarians within seven days." If you don't win, be willing to be a military lawyer! ”

At this time, Li Jianqi suddenly followed and said: "Envoy, the last general is also willing to make meritorious service and lead three thousand soldiers and horses from the headquarters to go with Li Yuhou as a backup." ”

Li Yuan turned his head and glanced at Li Jianqi, who was full of determination, although this person had been mediocre in his use of troops and had been repeatedly defeated, but today's intention was enough for Li Yuan to remember in his heart.

Chen Jue was a little surprised, and then showed a cold look, obviously dissatisfied with the two generals who openly dismantled the stage. But after thinking about it, the main force of the army, Shenwu and Xiongwu, is in their hands, even if Li Yuan's 10,000 soldiers and horses are missing, as well as Li Jianqi's insignificant 3,000 state soldiers, it will definitely not affect the overall situation.

Moreover, Li Yuan himself was promoted by Chen Jue himself, and Li Jianqi was already guilty, and the fate of the two could be said to be firmly in their hands. It's naturally okay to win here, but if the army is defeated, in the end, don't you have to beg him Chen Jue for his own impulse?

I saw Chen Jue sigh, nodded quietly, and raised his hand and said, "In this case, the prime minister will allow the two of you to lead the army to attack the barbarians." Let's rest for a day, and when the military supplies are ready tomorrow, we will immediately go out of the city and march westward. The Avatar will also send out scouts to probe the military along the way. ”

Li Yuan and Li Jianqi arched their hands and said: "The last general will take the order!" ”

Next, Chen Jue will point out the generals one by one and arrange the military affairs of tomorrow's siege. From beginning to end, only Feng Yanlu, the envoy of the guest province, did not speak on the side, his eyes were always focused on Chen Jue and Li Yuan, and after a while, he showed an unknown smile.