After seeing Lai Yi in Tianlao, Li Mi suddenly went to the palace to meet the saint and asked to accompany the army to participate in the war with the Northerners.
Emperor Li Yu was surprised and overjoyed by Li Mi's request.
Because Li Mi had always regarded himself as a Taoist priest and had always assisted in government affairs, but refused to be granted the title of leader. Now he actively asked to participate in the war, which was what Li Yu wanted.
Therefore, Li Yu decreed that the garrisons from Baling, Yuzhang, Changsha and other places in the Southern Tang Dynasty, plus the 20,000 troops temporarily allocated by the imperial court, formed a 50,000-strong army and marched north, with their swords pointed directly at Jiangcheng.
At the same time, on the tower of Jiangcheng, Guo Ziyi looked at the river and sighed to Kong You: "When an army of 200,000 troops besieged Jiangcheng, Li Siye died at the city gate, and the Anxi army suffered heavy losses. Under Jiangcheng, there were corpses everywhere, far away
It even obscures the city wall."
Kong You: "Jiangcheng is the gateway to the south of the Yangtze River. It has always been a battleground for military strategists. No matter how high the cost, it is worth taking it."
Guo Ziyi sighed: "I know that Jiangcheng is the key to the southern expedition, but I was impatient at the beginning, and Laigui was really difficult to deal with, so I lost my troops in Jiangcheng. Now that I think about it, if I had been more cautious at that time, maybe the casualties would have been smaller."
Kong You: "The Puppet Tang Dynasty has developed firearms. One more day of delay will increase the threat. In You's opinion, the commander-in-chief did nothing wrong."
Guo Ziyi shook his head slightly and changed the topic: "The Puppet Tang Army is now gathering in Baling. Everything is just as Zhongcheng expected. The enemy has fallen into the trap and thinks that our army is ordered to return reinforcements and plans to go north for a decisive battle."
Kong You: "In these days, most of the troop carriers plying the river were straw men in military uniforms. The Puppet Tang scouts mistakenly thought that most of our troops had crossed the river, but they never expected that we
The main force of the army has already set up pocket formations in the Jiangcheng area, just waiting for the enemy troops to fall into the trap."
Guo Ziyi: "Zhongcheng planned everything, Laiyi acted cautiously, and this time he fell into the trap after all."
Kong You was silent for a moment and said, "I feel a little strange."
Guo Ziyi: "What's so strange?"
Kong You: "This time the Puppet Tang Dynasty fought a decisive battle with our army in Jiangcheng. If Lai Yi is the commander-in-chief, he should act more cautiously. For example, he should use a small group of troops on the periphery to test back and forth, or let the soldiers pretend to be fishermen.
We approached Jiangcheng in disguise to find out what was going on... It's not like Lai Ai's style to assemble the army with such a big fanfare and directly want to go north for a decisive battle."
Guo Ziyi: "Zhongcheng wants to say that there is fraud in this?"
Kong You: "It doesn't look like a scam. If Lai Ai sees through the plan, there is no need to assemble a large army. He only needs to slowly encroach on the territory around Jiangcheng, and then use small boats to sneak attack our army's grain transport ships on the river... Over time, I
The main force of the army is nearly 100,000 people, distributed around Jiangcheng. The daily consumption of food and grass is huge, and Laiyi is constantly intruding on the waterways that transport food. Then our army will run out of food and grass, and the only way to retreat is to retreat."
Guo Ziyi: "Then according to Zhongcheng's opinion, why did the Puppet Tang Dynasty suddenly decide to go north for a decisive battle?"
Kong You pondered for a moment and replied: "In my opinion, something happened to Lai Ai's military power. Perhaps there was a supervisor who urged Lai Ai to send troops, or the puppet emperor of the Tang Dynasty directly relieved Lai Ai's military power.
"
Guo Ziyi: "If Laiyi's military power is really removed, then this battle will be easier to fight."
Kong You nodded first, then hesitated for a moment and said: "In addition to Lai Yi, there are also several difficult characters in the Pseudo-Tang Dynasty. It's better to be careful."
Ninety miles south of Jiangcheng, there is a county seat called Wen County.
The 50,000-strong army of the Southern Tang Dynasty set up camp here, deployed the central army, and began military discussions before the war.
The general of the Southern Tang Dynasty who led the decisive battle with Guo Ziyi this time was Sun Pin, a veteran of the Sun family, a powerful family in the south of the Yangtze River.
Li Mi was granted the title of judge and military envoy, and accompanied the army to the north.
In the military meeting, Sun Pin stroked his gray beard and said to the other generals: "I read the military report. According to the investigation of the scouts in front, the Northerners began to transport the troops from Jiangcheng to the North Bank in batches more than half a month ago.
, and now there are nearly 80,000 soldiers transported there. Based on this calculation, there are still more than 10,000 defenders in Jiangcheng."
After hearing this, all the generals in the Southern Tang Dynasty stepped forward to ask for a fight, wanting to be the vanguard.
Seeing the high fighting spirit of his generals, Sun Pin laughed loudly and said: "Don't worry, everyone, behind Jiangcheng is the Yangtze River. The enemy army is isolated and helpless. Our army has the advantage in numbers and morale in this battle, so victory is natural."
At this time, a general came out and bowed to Sun Pin and said: "General, Guo Ziyi has experienced hundreds of battles and is known as a famous general. This person is defending Jiangcheng. He may have a back-up force and must be guarded against."
Sun Pin frowned and looked at the speaker.
The general who spoke was none other than Xue Nanyang.
Sun Pin said with a worried expression: "Tubo and Huihe are besieging the north, and the Liangcheng Puppet Dynasty wants Guo Ziyi to rush back immediately to support them. At this critical moment, Guo Ziyi can only think about escaping, so how can he care about other things?"
Hearing this, Xue Nanyang opened his mouth to refute, but after some thought, he finally sighed and retreated.
At this time, Li Mi, who had been standing at the back of the tent, suddenly said: "General Sun, I wonder when the three armies plan to attack?"
Sun Pin: "The army will set out tomorrow. In three days, we will be able to march to Jiangcheng."
Li Mi swept the whisk lightly and said: "I am a poor Taoist who knows the art of heaven. Tomorrow may not be a good time to send troops. Why don't we wait for two more days?"
Sun Pin was stunned and suddenly felt unhappy.
A Taoist priest who can only play tricks on others has insisted on following this battle, but now he actually dares to point fingers at military affairs.
Faced with Li Mi's request, Sun Pin looked slightly angry and planned to reprimand him.
Cao Qingfan, the supervisor on the side, first coughed twice when he saw this, and then said sharply: "Daozhang Li is a distinguished guest in the palace. He is proficient in the art of Qi Huang of the Five Elements and has the ability to reach the sky. Before leaving, His Majesty also specifically explained that if
If the matter is uncertain, you should listen to the advice of the Taoist priest."
Sun Pin heard what Cao Qingfan said and looked at Li Mi again. Although he was unwilling to do so, he still said: "In this case, I will follow the Taoist leader's words and wait two days before sending out troops."
That night, Li Mi, dressed in Taoist robes, stood on the observatory in the Chinese army camp, looking up at the stars and remaining silent.
Xue Nanyang, who was in charge of the escort, came to Li Mi and whispered: "Nanyang has something to ask of me. The Taoist Priest has the power of foretelling the unknown. Can you tell me how Jiangcheng will be defeated in the battle?"
Li Bi heard the words, smiled, turned to Xue Nanyang and said: "There has never been a saying about knowing the future in this world. Everything should be done by people and strive for perfection... General Lai wrote a handwritten letter in prison to order you.
By assisting me, I naturally hope that you will live up to your trust."
Xue Nanyang took a deep breath, bowed to Li Mi and said: "What the Taoist Master taught is that Nanyang was originally worried, but now he is no longer at a loss."
Li Mi nodded, raised his head again, and looked at the bright starry sky.
The stars were twinkling, some stars were dimming, and some new stars were rising. The more Li Bi looked at it, the more he frowned.
Xue Nanyang remembered something and asked Li Mi: "The Taoist priest proposed to postpone the dispatch of troops at the military meeting today. Why?"
Li Mi withdrew his gaze: "I'm waiting."
Xue Nanyang: "Wait? What are you waiting for?"
Li Mi said softly: "Wait for the wind."
This chapter has been completed!