Xie Tong saw that his analysis was quite reasonable, and continued to ask, "Can Luoyang hold it?"

Yuwen Yishuo said with a smile, "Although Huang Chao is menacing, as long as the two of them join forces, it will not help to give him an extra 100,000 horses, the city wall of Luoyang is strong and tall, the grain and grass in the city are sufficient, and the men and horses are enough, it can be consumed with the enemy, rely on him for a few months, when the supply of grain and grass in Jiangnan is insufficient, Huang Chao is bound to retreat, it is the moment to counterattack, at that time, I have an army of 100,000 in my hand, and I can also outflank him, and Huang Chao will definitely die without a place to be buried." Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ”

Xie Tong nodded after hearing this, this Yuwen Yishuo is really not a straw bag in military affairs, his principles and ideas are the same as Wang Daoxun, that is, to avoid its edge, hold on, fight a war of attrition, and rely on strong resource reserves to consume the enemy.

Before this, this may be the most effective strategy against the enemy army, Xie Tong can't think of any better way, but since Huang Chao and Wang Daoxun dragged on in Xiangyang for a few months, Xiangyang ran out of ammunition and food, the city was broken, and Huang Chao's inhumane strategy completely changed his way of thinking.

Yuwen Yishuo saw that Xie Tong's face was embarrassed, and said puzzledly, "Why is my brother frowning, isn't the foolish brother's way wrong?"

Lao Lai answered, "Huang Chao has a magic weapon, he is not afraid of consumption at all, in Xiangyang, after he ran out of grain and grass, he actually fed on people, which dragged on for several months, and the tactics of dragging down will definitely not work." ”

Yuwen Yishuo exclaimed, "Are what you said true? Huang Chao can really do such a miserable and inhumane thing, so why are there so many people following him and following him!"

Hong Shan, who had not spoken, said: "This may be deception! In the entire Huangchao army, only some high-level people know about cannibalism, and others don't know anything! Also, maybe I shouldn't say it as a little woman, but it's just not vomiting and unhappy, compared to Huangchao's cruelty, the means and methods of the empire are really cannibalism without spitting out bones, and the governance and methods of the rulers of the dynasty make the people complain! Otherwise, there will be so many people to resist and revolt!"

As soon as these words came out, the hall was immediately silent, and Hong Shan's words were almost to the point, directly piercing everyone's hearts.

No one has a deeper understanding of this matter than her, Hong Shan grew up in an aristocratic family since she was a child, and she has also been mixed in the rivers and lakes, and she knows all levels of society very well, and these words are also spoken to everyone's hearts, especially Xie Tong and others, who were born in the market and experienced the ups and downs of the bottom of society.

Seeing that everyone was speechless, Xie Tong cleared his throat and said, "Consumption must not consume the enemy, after all, we are not as insidious and cruel as the enemy is, and as far as I know, Luoyang's grain and grass reserves are not sufficient, and a large part of the grain and grass was transported to Xiangyang before, Sima Xiangru may not last long!"

He paused and continued, "Instead of sitting and waiting, it is better to take the initiative to attack, Song Wenyuan was defeated and retreated to Luoyang, plus Sima Xiangru's defenders, we have another attack, we can completely hit Huangchao by surprise and attack it unprepared."

Hong Shan smiled and said, "This is a good way, Huang Chao is now in full swing, there is a feeling of invincibility in the world, carved arrogant, if we show the enemy to be weak, set up a game, and hit him by surprise, the situation may be much better!"

Nightingale clapped his hands and exclaimed, "This is a good method, the enemy thinks that we are more cowardly, and he absolutely did not think that we would take the initiative." ”

The two girls glanced at each other and smiled knowingly.

This idea suddenly made everyone see hope and ignited the fire of avenging Wang Daoxun.

Lao Lai said, "This matter is not easy to operate, now Sima Xiangru and Song Wenyuan hate you to the core, how can they listen to you."

Xie Tong laughed and said, "At this time and that time, they had arrogant capital before, and now Huang Chao has joined hands with Zhu Wen's army to press the border, they are already difficult to fight alone, they must hold together to survive, and it is even more impossible to give up Luoyang and retreat to Guannei, if they avoid fighting, Tang Xizong will kill them, they want to continue to live a glorious life and live a life of human beings, they must seek cooperation." ”

Lao Lai said: "Are you going to be a lobbyist?"

Xie Tong said with a smile, "Today, when Lao Tzu went to be a lobbyist, not only did they not dare to refuse it, but they did not dare to meet each other, but they would greet it in person." It's called a different time than it used to be."

The crowd burst out laughing.

Yuwen Yishuo, who had not made a sound for a long time, suddenly said, "These two wolf ambitions, don't forget, Yi Wuxing was killed by them, Brother Xie, have you forgotten?"

Xie Tong raised his wine glass, poured it down fiercely, and said, "Brother Yuwen, Brother Yi's hatred, Xie will never forget it, and he must avenge him, but as the saying goes, the family and the country are all over the world, Xie must focus on the overall situation, and personal grievances must be put aside." This is all a helpless thing, and when the Yellow Nest is destroyed, the first thing I have to clean up is them. ”

Yuwen Yishuo sighed and said, "Brother Xie is kind-hearted, and naturally he values his family and country, but these two are narrow-minded people, and they may not think about it like this, I'm afraid I will disappoint you."

The puzzled eyes of several people focused on Yuwen Yishuo, his words were really puzzling, with his character and personality, why should he refuse such a thing!

But Xie Tong didn't say it, Yuwen Yishuo must have his thoughts.

It was late at night, and everyone drank seven meat and eight vegetables, so they rested in the room arranged by Yuwen Yishuo.

Xie Tong didn't rush to rest, but waited for Yuwen Yishuo, he needed Yuwen Yishuo to support him.

After everyone left, Yuwen Yishuo saw that Xie Tong didn't go away, he had already guessed his thoughts, and said with a smile, "Brother Xie is tired of traveling, why don't you go to rest!"

Xie Tong said, "Although Xie is a civilian, and is a prisoner, but also concerned about national affairs, my master once told me to abandon the distinction of class, sect view, and fight the enemy together, right now, Huang Chao is attacking in a big way, this is the autumn of the survival of the Tang Empire."

Yuwen let out an "oh" and said, "Master Ling's insights are very incisive, and he must also be a master outside the world!"

Xie Tong did not follow his words, but continued, "The enemy is strong and I am weak, there is only one chance to win, I hope that Brother Yuwen can support me, raid Huangchao, take advantage of Zhu Wen's presence in Jinan, and defeat the main force of Huangchao in one fell swoop, then the situation will be reversed." ”

Yuwen Yishuo didn't expect Xie Tong to be so straightforward, he pondered for a moment, and only said for a while, " I understand what Brother Xie means, it is the main force of the Tongguan army, with Sima Xiangru, and Huang Chao to fight to the death, this idea is not bad, but brother, you have to think about it, even if I send a large army, the total strength is still inferior to Huangchao, and I can't win a big victory in the short term, not only the strength will be greatly reduced, but the morale will also be extremely low, Tongguan is not better than Luoyang, and even if Luoyang is lost, Tongguan can't be lost, once Tongguan is attacked by the enemy, the Tang Empire may really be about to die."

Xie Tong knew the seriousness of the situation, and he continued, "But if you don't do this, the enemy will sweep the Central Plains in one fell swoop, and the Tang Empire will still rely on Tongguan to fight against Huangchao?

Yuwen Yishuo said firmly, "Brother, don't say it, these are all things that the saint has to consider, as the general of Tongguan, my first task is to ensure that Tongguan is not lost, and the others are not within the scope of my duties, without the order of the saint, I will not take this risk, brother, please go back!"

Seeing Yuwen Yishuo gave the eviction order, Xie Tong helplessly hugged his fists and left, at this moment he was disheartened, Yuwen Yishuo is a good general, but not a good boss, he is a good brother worth associating, but not a good commander, Xie Tong's expectations for him are too high, so high that he completely forgets each other's identities, at this moment he is disheartened, completely desperate, and can even see the tragic scene of Huang Chao Zhu Wen and others conquering Luoyang and sweeping the Central Plains, Yuwen Yishuo is too conservative, conservative to the point that he can't accept it.

The army needed to be repaired, and months of tiring and thousands of miles of defending the city had exhausted their physical strength.

And Xie Tong naturally seized the time to rest, he was too tired during this time.

Tongguan as the world's first pass, is the only way to go west into Chang'an, not only easy to defend and difficult to attack, and the resource reserves are also very amazing, the emperors of the past dynasties have attached great importance to the defense of Tongguan, and the distribution of silver is also very generous, so the city guard of Tongguan is also the beauty of everyone's envy, placed in the peaceful and prosperous times, it is simply enviable, therefore, although there are more than 40,000 horses, but for Yuwen Yishuo, it is not a difficult thing.

For more than a month, Xie Tong was bored, playing and playing with Hong Shan Caiwei and others, enjoying the moment of tranquility before the war. After all, they are not the protagonists of this war, although they have some meager strength, but they have no right to speak.

On this day, Xie Tong was drinking with Lao Lai and others, and Wu Zhiting suddenly came.

Xie Tong saw Wu Zhiting and said with a smile, "It's just right to come, Lao Tzu has a good bamboo leaf green on this altar, come and drink a few cups!"

Wu Zhiting was also not polite, sat down with a big grin, and waited for three glasses of wine to eat, before he said, "Brother Xie, there is one thing I have forgotten to say, the mercenaries recruited from Luoyang this time, according to the agreement agreed in advance, have reached the deadline, and their leader found me yesterday to discuss whether to continue to pay the silver."

Xie Tong secretly scolded himself for being careless, among the 40,000 horses, nearly 25,000 people were mercenaries, not Xiangyang's descendants, he had always forgotten about this matter, and now that the deadline had arrived, he naturally wanted to continue, he hurriedly asked, "What is the price we talked about before?"

Wu Zhiting said: "It is three months of 100,000 taels of silver." ”

A few people gasped when they heard this, and Lao Lai blurted out, "So expensive?"

Wu Zhiting took a drink from the wine glass, and said, "This price is already very reasonable, they are not a regular army, they are all life-threatening transactions, many people have a life to earn money but not a life to spend, not to mention such a large team of people?"

Xie Tong said, "Boy Wu, do you still have extra silver in your hand?"

Wu Zhiting shook his head and said, "No, I was in a hurry to go to Luoyang at that time, and I didn't have much time to get the silver, after paying this batch of silver, there was not much left, and now I am counting on Yuwen Yishuo to live!"

He paused, continued, "Why don't you go to Luoyang and transport out a batch of silver taels!"

Xie Tong shook his head and said, "This matter must not work, now that the war has burned to Luoyang, Luoyang has been closed for the night, if you want to get silver under Sima Xiangru's nose, it is difficult to climb to the sky, not to mention that it is too conspicuous, if you are not careful, you may be robbed by Huang Chao, and the gains outweigh the losses."

Wu Zhiting said: "Then what should we do? We can't disband on the spot! We are weak now, and when we disband this group of mercenaries, we will have no right to speak at all!"

Lao Lai understood the meaning of the two, and he interjected, "Zhiting, although it is said that the rise and fall of the country is the responsibility of the husband, but resisting the enemy does not expect mercenaries to make a difference, especially the march to war, the empire still needs the army to save, especially those who take the empire's silver, enjoy the status given by the empire, embezzle the empire's money and food, but hide in the rear to enjoy life." In such a time of crisis, shouldn't they scatter their wealth, recruit soldiers, and do their part for the empire?"

Wu Zhiting was silent for a moment, presumably thinking of his family, those glorious days.

Xie Tong said, "Yes, these people of the Shi clan should also contribute, otherwise, the life they originally enjoyed will no longer exist." ”

He paused and continued, "I am not a local tyrant, but I also have treasures, but unfortunately I can only sigh with joy, as the saying goes, it is difficult for a good woman to cook without rice, and we are also powerless, disband!"

Wu Zhiting knew his situation, and he was not very optimistic, and said with a wry smile, "Then don't you become a vain general."

Xie Tong said, "What kind of general is Lao Tzu, now he is a prisoner of the imperial court, and if he is not caught, he is already burning high incense." ”

At this time, the next person came to report, saying that Yuwen Yishuo invited them to come over.

Several people looked at each other, since entering Tongguan, Yuwen Yishuo has been busy with business, paying attention to the trend of the war outside the pass, they are also resting, and they suddenly came to them today, there must be something important.

A few people didn't dare to think about it, and hurriedly rode their horses to the city lord's mansion in Yuwen Yishuo.

On the way, Xie Tong said to Wu Zhiting, "Wu boy, you go back first, and disband the mercenaries immediately, we can't afford such an expensive expense, let them go!"

Wu Zhiting left in response.

When the two arrived at the City Lord's Mansion, it was dusk, the lights in the mansion were bright, and a row of carriages was parked at the door, and it seemed that there were many people entering the mansion.

The two of them didn't have him, and strode into Yuwen Yishuo's living room.

At this moment, the hall was already full of people, Xie Tong raised his eyes and looked, all the people present were dressed in military uniforms, obviously well-known generals in Tongguan, and there were two empty seats in the upper position on the left, there was no doubt that they were reserved for Xie Tong and Lao Lai.

Seeing the two of them walking in, Yuwen Yishuo said, "The contemptible people have been waiting for a long time, the two of you are finally here, please take a seat!"

The two sat down unceremoniously, and Xie Tong said, "Brother Yuwen, why are you in such a hurry, what happened." ”

Yuwen Yishuo let out a long sigh and said, "At noon, I received news from the front, Zhu Wen skillfully used a plan to conquer Jinan, captured more than 100,000 Tang troops, and Song Wenyuan has fled to Luoyang with less than 30,000 horses!" )