Chapter 243 Undercurrents

Yang Guozhong never dreamed that Chen Xilie would come to visit him at this time. Who is Chen Xilie? One of Li Linfu's most die-hard confidants, who has been appointed as the Left Prime Minister in the fifth year of Tianbao, has been following Li Linfu's footsteps for five years, so that the disciples and ministers were useless. He served as the disciples and ministers for five years, and almost never retired Li Linfu's decree. He was Li Linfu's most die-hard confidant. He actually visited him at this most delicate time. Yang Guozhong was overjoyed and immediately ordered the door to open to welcome the arrival of Chen's prime minister.

Just as Yang Guozhong was surprised, Chen Xilie was indeed Li Linfu's confidant. He would not take this step tonight unless he had no choice. Since Li Longji began to suppress Li Linfu in the past few years, gradually deprived him of his power, and slowly transferred his power to the emerging Yang Guozhong. Under such obvious signals, Chen Xilie did not think about betraying Li Linfu and hugging Yang Guozhong's thighs.

It was not until Li Li Qing'an attacked in Henan, which gave Yang Guozhong a heavy blow, and Li Linfu's power was restored again. But at this critical moment, Chen Xilie took the first step of his rebellion, because he felt Li Linfu's intention. Yesterday, Li Linfu vomited blood and fainted again. This was the third time in this month. Li Linfu has been hiding from the outside, saying that he was sick of Qiu Han, and even Chen Xilie concealed it. Until today, he accidentally got the truth from Dr. Zhang, who treated Li Linfu, that Chen Xilie realized that Li Linfu's condition was quite serious.

It was drizzling tonight, and the coldness was cold. There was no one on the street. Chen Xilie took advantage of the rain tonight and came to Yang Guozhong's mansion secretly. Thinking that people would secretly talk to Yang Guozhong without knowing it, Yang Guozhong opened the door to greet him, fearing that the world would not know, which made Chen Xilie quite embarrassed. He immediately ordered the little book boy in the carriage and said, "Go and tell him that I would enter the mansion from his side door."

Shutong agreed and jumped out of the carriage. Chen Xilie's carriage was immediately driven away and soon disappeared into the rain and fog.

Yang Guozhong walked out of the door with great enthusiasm, but disappeared Chen Xilie's carriage. He couldn't help but be stunned. Chen Xilie's little book boy hurried forward and said, "Shangshu Yang, my prime minister said that the news is too great, and I hope to go to the side door to enter the mansion."

‘Going into the mansion by the side door?’ Yang Guozhong smiled while stroking his short beard. This old man with a bull’s nose is indeed the life of being a concubine.

After several years of hardship in the officialdom, Yang Guozhong today is no longer the young man who held a chicken feather as an arrow. After Li Longji's careful training, he gradually understood the true meaning of the officialdom, that is, what kind of official position he is, what kind of official position he is. This kind of proposition is a great question. In front of Shangguan, you must have the low attitude of subordinates, and in front of subordinates, you must have the appearance of a servant in front of the saint. The proportion in the middle must be very well grasped. One point is too heavy, and one point is too light, it is weak. No matter how light or too heavy, it will make Shangguan dissatisfied, make subordinates dissatisfied, and make the saint even more displeased.

It was because of understanding this truth that Yang Guozhong gradually improved in the officialdom in the past two years and did not take some gains and losses into consideration. For example, Cui Qiao was dismissed last year and he also lost the Minister of War. His Yang Party suffered a heavy blow, but Yang Guozhong successfully retained the position of Minister of Personnel. In the first half of the year, Gao Xianzhi was constrained by local officials headed by Cui Yuan, the prefect of Yizhou. Just when Li Linfu was about to make a fuss about this matter, Yang Guozhong was thunderous and reported to the emperor to dismiss the prefect of Jiazhou Luo Benqing, and suppressed the officialdom of Bashu with his clear attitude. Gao Xianzhi's preparation for war and reform was deeply appreciated by Li Longji.

Even his old rival Li Qing'an and Yang Guozhong changed his hostility and no longer found faults regardless of the severity. Even after Li Qing'an captured Shiguo, he took the initiative to add Anxi military households to support Li Qing'an's strategy to fight against the big food, showing the appropriate tolerance of a minister.

Yang Guozhong's changes were deeply praised by Li Longji, and made him live a deeper life. In the past two months, he also served as two positions of the Taifu Temple Minister and the Dushi Envoy. Anyone with discerning eyes could see that it was only a matter of time before Yang Zhao replaced Li Linfu.

Yang Guozhong ordered people to open the side door. Soon, the housekeeper led Chen Xilie, who was still embarrassed on his face to the entrance of the study.

"Master, Chan Guo has arrived!"

"Captain Chen, what a distinguished guest!"

Yang Guozhong ran out of the room, and the enthusiastic smile on his face almost melted Chen Xilie. He patted Chen Xilie's arm heavily and complained: "I open the door to greet him, why don't the prime minister give me face?"

Chen Xilie smiled bitterly and said, "If I enter the mansion from Shangshu Yang's gate, I'm afraid I will know everything except one person in the court and the country tomorrow."

"Oh? Except who?" Yang Guozhong asked curiously.

"Except for Li Xiangguo, I heard that he fainted from vomiting blood last night, and I'm afraid he won't be able to attend court tomorrow."

Chen Xilie implicitly revealed the truth about Li Linfu's serious illness. Yang Guozhong was stunned, with a very joyful smile in his eyes, but it was fleeting, but he said in pain: "Li Xiangguo is seriously ill, it is the misfortune of the court. Alas! I must go and see him tomorrow."

"I have always heard that Yang Shangshu has a broad mind. When I saw him today, I really felt the spirit of the prime minister. I admire and feel ashamed. Compared with Yang Shangshu, how can I deserve the word "prime"!"

Chen Xilie's self-deprecation made Yang Guozhong feel very happy. He smiled and waved his hand quickly, "Chen Xiangguo is too modest, please sit in the house!"

The two of them went into the house to sit down. Yang Guozhong ordered his beloved concubine to serve two cups of good tea. He picked up the tea cup and sipped a sip of hot tea, and said with a smile: "Captain Chen is here, and the ministers in the court will hear tomorrow. It is said that Chen's status is so high that it will have a great influence on visiting each other, haha!"

Chen Xilie laughed awkwardly, "It's not that serious. I'm here to visit Shangshu Yang. It's just a conversation between colleagues and discuss some major events in the court, not involving party disputes, and those little people are quarrels. What should they do?"

"Okay! Chen Xiangguo is indeed open-minded."

Yang Guozhong slapped and sighed: "There are many parties in the court and there is no way out of politics. This is not a prosperous era. Everyone says that I, Yang Guozhong, form a party for personal gain. In fact, it is not. I am determined to change this chaos. The emperor also supports my idea. I don't know that the Prime Minister Chen... "

Speaking of this, Yang Guozhong glanced at Chen Xilie tentatively. His implication was that Yang Guozhong would control the government and eliminate the situation of fighting between the three parties. It depends on whether Chen Xilie had the intention to follow him.

Of course, Chen Xilie understood what Yang Guozhong meant, but now he talked about this matter, as if he was a little faster. Today he was just here to find out the way and give Yang Guozhong a hint that even if the newlyweds got married, they had to go through the six rituals of Naga, asking for names, Najib, Nazheng, asking for appointments, and waiting for the wedding. How could there be a reason to enter the bridal chamber as soon as they met?

He took a sip of tea and said with a smile: "I have two things to ask Yang Shangshu today."

Seeing that he refused to agree to his ideas, Yang Guozhong couldn't help feeling disappointed. However, he also understood that this matter should not be too hasty, so he temporarily suppressed the idea of ​​winning over Chen Xilie and said lightly: "Present Chen, please tell me, what two things?"

Chen Xilie owed and said, "One is that the younger brother of Jingzhao Yin Wang Gong, Zhang Kuang and made friends with evil people. I once advised Wang Gong with righteous words, but he said he needed to avoid this matter, so I was confused. He is Jingzhao Yin. If he avoided this matter, who would ask? Yang Shangshu is the former Jingzhao Yin, so he should know what to do!"

Yang Guozhong was overjoyed. Chen Xilie was not here to ask him for advice. He clearly gave him the handle of Wang Gong. Wang Gong was Li Linfu's first general and had been promoted to the imperial censorship. Jingzhao Yin, who had been in charge of the imperial censorship for a long time. He was not only Li Linfu's sharpest spear, but also his strongest shield. If he could break this spear and smash this shield, it would be equivalent to breaking Li Linfu's arm. This was the gift of Chen Xilie's favor to him!

Although Chen Xilie said it very roughly, he had already told him the direction. As long as he slowly followed up, Wang Gong would not be able to escape from his palm. Yang Guozhong suppressed his excitement and said, "Please tell me what the second thing is?"

Seeing that Yang Guozhong was obsessed with the gods, Chen Xilie gently stroked a few immortal beards and said, "As for this second thing, it is about Anxi Li Qing'an."

Yang Guozhong's eyes couldn't help but narrow. Wang Gong was Li Linfu's left arm, and Li Qing'an was Li Linfu's right arm. After breaking his left arm and then breaking his right arm, Li Linfu was finished. Chen Xilie was indeed powerful.

"Please tell me, how about Anxi Li Qing'an?"

"Yesterday, I heard Yang Shangshu propose to move another 30,000 military households to Anxi. I think this proposal is a bit inappropriate."

“What’s wrong?”

"I wonder if Shangshu Yang has calculated that the total number of troops in Anxi Beiting was originally 42,000. In the eighth year of Tianbao, they were allowed to expand each army of 10,000, which is 64,000. Last year, 30,000 Tianwei Army was transferred to Saiye, which is 94,000. Now Shangshu Yang proposed to relocate 30,000 military households. These 30,000 military households were calculated as one and a half soldiers per household, which was 45,000, as well as Hu Bing soldiers and extra military households. The total strength of Anxi was no less than 150,000 or 160,000. If Li Qing'an was a little bolder and recruited soldiers privately in the river, I think 200,000 is possible, 200,000 troops! It reminded me of Dong Zhuo of Xiliang."

Yang Guozhong took a breath. He didn't think so deeply. He reacted very quickly and immediately understood what Chen Xilie meant, and asked tentatively: "What Chen Xiangguo meant is that Li Qing'an would be disobedient?"

Seeing that Yang Guozhong still hadn't understood his intentions, Chen Xilie smiled slightly and further hinted: "I don't know whether Li Qing'an has the intention to be unjust, but as ministers, it is our duty to let Your Majesty be careful.

Only then did Yang Guozhong realize that using this matter to defeat Li Qing'an is the best plan!

He pondered for a moment, and suddenly laughed, "So, I advised the emperor to move another 30,000 military households into Anxi, but he was actually a mistake."

"Where! The Prime Minister Yang's mind makes me admire him."

The two of them looked at each other and laughed together.

In the Western Cao Kingdom, Li Qing'an led 10,000 troops to cross the Yaoshu River and slowly approached the Xicao Capital. When he was still fifty miles away from the capital, he stopped. Li Guangbi confronted the Dashi Army for five days. The two sides did not fight. Li Guangbi did not siege the city, but camped ten miles away from the city, waiting patiently for the Dashi Army to fight.

Li Qing'an did not interfere with Li Guangbi's use of troops. At first he was worried that Li Guangbi was not mature enough, but Li Guangbi's outstanding performance in Baishui defeated his concerns. Li Guangbi was still Li Guangbi in history, so in the battle of Xicao, he decided to let Li Guangbi fight.

In the big tent, Li Qing'an was discussing the upcoming battle of the Western Cao Kingdom with several generals in front of the sand table. It should be said that in this battle they were launching attacks, crossing the medicine and killing water, pulling the front line to the other party's control, and the initiative in the battle situation was in their hands.

But in this way, they also faced a problem, that is, the safety of the rear, will the Great Food Army detour to their rear, harass their food channels, and sneak attack their cities?

The answer is yes. From the Dashi Army's sneak attack on Suiye City when fighting Gao Xianzhi, it can be seen that they are good at using the tricks of strange soldiers. Therefore, protecting the grain route is also an important measure for the Tang army. At present, the Tang army's heavy grain storage area is in the battle of the Tang army, where there are food that the Tang army can maintain the battle for three months, and 6,000 troops are stationed.

But this problem also plagues Dashi, and their front line is also very long. The defense of Sogdian countries and the safety of the Possi silver mines all give Dashi army a headache, but they also have the 60,000 Syrian army brought by Mansour, which is a little less pressure than the Tang army.

Li Qing'an pointed to the Yincheng in Bosishan with a wooden pole and said to everyone: "Everyone, according to the information I have obtained, due to the Great Food Civil War, Samarkand has not received silver from Yincheng for three years. In other words, this silver city is likely to have three years of deposits hidden in this silver city. If you can get this batch of silver, it will have an immeasurable improvement on Anxi's status in the Tang Dynasty. What I mean is to divide troops to attack Yincheng and seize the three years of deposits. I have sent a scout team to investigate the situation, but the time is fleeting. If you wait until the information comes before taking action, it will probably be too late. What do you think?"

At this time, Li Siye stepped forward and said, "The general's idea is good, but there are several key points that are not clear. First, how many troops should we send to capture Yincheng? Will it work if there are fewer troops, but if there are too many troops, it will weaken the strength of the rear army and increase the pressure of Li Guangbi; secondly, how many troops are there in Yincheng? If a war starts, how much influence will the Yincheng slaves be? Will it be beneficial to us or not? General, if these issues are not clear, I think it is better not to send troops."

Li Qingan has actually been thinking about this issue for a long time. If he waits for him to defeat the Great Food Army and then capture prisoners of war and mining, it will take at least two or three years to gradually accumulate some savings. During this period, he cannot do many things. If he can get the batch of silver ingots from the Great Cannibal, he can develop in a leapfrog manner. In just two or three years, he can lay a solid foundation.

Although I don’t know if the Anshi Rebellion will break out like in history four years, at least An Lushan is still in power. He has been in Fanyang for more than ten years, so it is not so easy to transfer him away. Then he has to make the worst plans. The Anshi Rebellion broke out as scheduled, and may even be ahead of schedule.

It is difficult for him to explain this to the generals, so it is reasonable that Li Siye and others do not understand his urgency towards Yincheng.

Thinking of this, Li Qing'an nodded and said, "Siye's concern makes sense. I plan to let the Lifei Yuanli army of Ju Zhanti attack Yincheng. You can first conduct a tentative attack. If the attack is unfavorable, then retreat. As for Ju Zhanti's defense, the Shiguo army can be replaced."

After saying that, he glanced at everyone and saw that everyone had no objection to this, so he resolutely ordered: "Can I pass on my order and order Li Fei Yuanli to lead 5,000 people from the headquarters to lead the Yincheng immediately, and the defense raised by the Shiguo army will be replaced quickly."

He ordered Li Qing'an to nod and said, "Siye's concern makes sense. I am going to let the Lifei Yuanli army of Ju Zhanti attack Yincheng. You can do a tentative attack first. If it is not good, then retreat. As for Ju Zhanti's defense, the Shiguo army can be replaced."

When he was released, a rapid run came from outside the tent, and a soldier loudly reported: "General, the Dashi army has left the city to fight."

The gate of Xicao Capital opened wide, and the rumbling drums shook the sky and the earth. Qi Yade left three thousand troops to defend the city, and he personally led 27,000 mixed troops to fight.

The so-called mixed army refers to the army of Sogdian countries in addition to the Khorasan soldiers. The 30,000 troops, 20,000 Khorasan soldiers and 10,000 Samarkand soldiers he brought this time, but there were no Macedonian spearmen. The elite army was still in Samarkand, with the commander Abu.

The Muslims personally led it.

In fact, today's departure from the city to fight was not Qi Yade's original intention. He wanted to use dragging methods to remove the Tang army's spirit and morale. After dragging it for several months, the supply of Tang army's military supply became a problem, but his strategy was rejected by the head coach Muslims.

The power struggle of the high-ranking officials of the Dashi finally affected this war. Mansour took advantage of the opportunity to suppress the Sogdian faith and sent his own army to send troops to major cities everywhere. By occupying these cities, he then firmly grasped the countries in the river.

At least half of the Sogdian countries are no longer Abu.

The Muslims' territory has become very passive. In order to restore this unfavorable situation, only by ending this battle as soon as possible can Mansur be retreated to Damascus.

So he would not agree with Qi Yade's strategy of defending the city for three months and dragging down the Tang army. If he did not fight for three months, it would not drag down the Tang army, but to drag down him. Not only could he not wait for three months, he also had to start the war as soon as possible. He gave Qi Yade a deadline and drove the Tang army across the medicine and kill the river within ten days.

Teams of the Great Food Army came out of the capital of Xicao. They carried long swords on their waists, spears and iron shields in their hands, leather boots and leather armor. Some of the troops were wearing white cloaks and white cloth wrapped around their heads. There were cavalry teams and infantry teams, with neat teams and powerful steps.

Abbas's army inherited the achievements of the military reform of Melvin III of the Umayyad Dynasty, and gave up the Byzantine army's mixed combat methods: vanguard, rear, central, left and right wing, but adopted the brigade system. The big cannibal was called Kurdus, which was actually the independent legion system. Ten thousand people were a legion, and one legion had ten regiments, one thousand men under each regiment, one company with ten companies under one regiment, one company with a hundred men, and then a team of twenty people, and five people. This was divided into five levels in total, and each legion was fighting independently.

Of course, the purpose of doing this is not to effectively fight the enemy, but to better control the vast territory.

As the drums were enlarged, the chief general Qi Yade left the city. He sorted out his helmet and looked indifferently at the vaguely visible Tang army camp in the distance. This battle will be a tentative battle. The comparison of the combat strength of the Tang army and the Dashi Army will be reflected in this battle.

He slowly pulled out the long sword in his waist, pointed to the Tang army's barracks, and shouted loudly: "Go to fight!"

The 27,000 people were divided into five square formations and marched neatly towards the Tang army ten miles away, like a huge black carpet on the ground rising and falling.
Chapter completed!