If Datong is the gateway to Hebei, then Feihukou is actually the throat of Hebei.
Once the two dangerous places are gone, the road from Daizhou in Jin to Youzhou in northern Hebei is wide open, with almost no dangers in between.
It was actually pretty much what Li Po expected.
Luo Yi, who first settled in Youzhou, had almost all his loyalties to the south, and could be said to be unprepared for attacks from the west.
You can't blame him for this. The land of Youyan in Hebei Province is the place for deadly battles.
There is Feihu in the west, Juyong in the north, the sea in the east, and the south is the widest, but also has the mahe turbulence passing by.
Therefore, since ancient times, Youzhou has been the gateway to the northeast of the Central Plains Empire.
Later, it was said that the emperor was guarding the gate of the country. It was indeed the gate of the country that he was guarding. There was no exaggeration in the slightest.
Anyone who takes possession of Youzhou must move south to consolidate his foundation and lock himself into a corner, and he will have to endure attacks from all directions.
Therefore, when the world is in chaos, the people who occupy Youzhou will be in great pain.
Luo Yi is in pain right now.
His pain comes from all aspects.
First, he, the general manager of Youzhou, had a shady background. He was almost a replica of Liu Wuzhou's inciting civil unrest and mutiny. This made the governors of various counties dislike him, and he often acted against his will.
Second, he did not have enough troops and was determined to go south to fight Dou Jiande. In addition to the unstable rear, the troops and horses in his hands were not enough to wipe out Dou Jiande's rebel army.
Third, Turks are also threatening the northern border of Youzhou.
What's even more uncomfortable is that he still doesn't dare to surrender to the Turks. Yes, it's not that he is unwilling, but he doesn't dare.
There are many reasons for this, but the main one is that it is internally unstable and he is afraid of giving others leverage.
At this time, many people offered him olive branches.
The two people in Henan who were so stupid sent envoys to make promises and wanted him to join them. They had no choice but to have Hebei as a barrier in the eastern part of Henan. No one felt safe.
In fact, they all wanted Luo Yi to lead his Youzhou troops south to attack Dou Jiande. In fact, both Luo Yi and Dou Jiande made the two people in Henan feel like they had a thorn in their backs. It would be best if the two of them were like them.
Pinch it up.
Dou Jiande's thoughts were even more urgent, because he desperately needed the food and grass from Zhuojun. He fought all the way from Shandong to Hebei, and although his momentum was getting stronger day by day, the food and grass had been bothering him.
Therefore, he had a profound experience of hunger, and he showed a rather dazzling foresight and down-to-earth style among the various rebels.
In the thirteenth year of Daye, Dou Jiande not only proclaimed himself emperor, but also began to work hard to manage the territory he had conquered. His desire to fill his stomach was very strong.
He issued many orders, most of which were to persuade farmers to help farmers.
It's a pity that the territory he conquered is really in ruins. The total population may be more than the army under his command, but it's not much more.
Such a military-civilian ratio also made Dou Jiande very painful, but reducing the number of troops was something he did not dare to do easily. Therefore, he very much hoped to go to the counties of Youzhou without a fight to feed the army, and then turn around
.Regover the place.
Therefore, Luo Yi also received a letter from Dou Jiande, also urging him to surrender.
And Luo Yi also received a letter from Li Yuan, Duke of Tang Dynasty. Needless to say, Li Yuan held the idea of taking a shot if there was no date, and he also promised an official position and a future.
Of course, Luo Yi didn't take Li Yuan's offer of surrender seriously at this time. If you stayed behind in Taiyuan, your reach would be too long.
Among them, the letter of surrender from the Turkic Eastern Khan moved Luo Yi the most, but he was also wary and did not dare to agree.
In fact, it can be seen from these surrender letters that no one took the Youzhou general manager seriously and did not give him an equal status in the slightest.
There are many reasons, too.
At first, he was too stingy. After occupying Youzhou, he proclaimed himself the general manager of Youzhou. He was really incomparable to those big rebels and had a poor structure, so he was inevitably looked down upon by others.
Secondly, this man was not of high origin. The Kansai Luo family was only a small number of people, and his reputation was not great. He was just wandering between the wealthy family and the common people, and his reputation was really not good.
Thirdly, Youzhou has been squeezed very hard, and it is quite difficult for people to take a good look at it.
In other words, this person is more similar to Li Po, and he is more capable in combat. Unfortunately, he was born in troubled times, and his military achievements were not rewarded. His starting point was too low, and the place he occupied was not very good. And his expectations for his future were,
It's also not too high.
As a result, all the letters that came were letters of surrender, not even one from the Alliance.
Li Po led his troops to fight against such a person who had the same problem as him.
Just like before, Li Po led his troops to the northeast along the mountains, from the northeast of Shanggu County, to the upper reaches of the Juma River and crossed the Juma River.
Luo Yi was sitting in his study in the back house of the General Manager of Youzhou, looking at the letters on the table. He wanted to choose a promising candidate among them, but also frowned and thought hard, wanting to govern Youzhou well.
I'm swinging back and forth between the two ideas of becoming my own family's business, and I can't make up my mind.
At this time, someone came to report, and the Xue brothers came to see him.
At that time Luo Yi rubbed his forehead, feeling a little irritated.
Luo Yi is not young anymore, but he can't say how old he is. The snowstorm and fighting in Liaodong have made Luo Yi what he is today, transforming him from a violent and aggressive military bully into a deep and resourceful person.
The general manager of Youzhou.
But this doesn't change his nature.
He had always had a bad relationship with his colleagues in the army, and was not favored by the superiors. If the world had not been in chaos, people like him would have had little chance of getting ahead.
The saying that times make heroes is very concrete in Luo Yi.
The Xue brothers are Xue Shixiong's two sons. They have been fighting with their father until now. Xue Shixiong died of illness some time ago. After the funeral, these two have been guarding their father's mausoleum.
In Luo Yi's view, both the Xue family and his son were difficult to deal with. Xue Shixiong himself was dead anyway, but his two sons were both brave and good at fighting and were highly respected by the Youzhou army.
If he hadn't taken the first step and captured Zhao Shizhu and other generals, maybe the two brothers would have become the lords of Youzhou by virtue of their father's reputation.
After thinking about the two brothers' intentions, Luo Yi ordered: "Ask them to come here."
The Xue brothers were quickly attracted. They were very similar to their father. They were both burly men. However, as the elder brother, Xue Wanjun had softer eyebrows and was not as arrogant as his younger brother.
The two of them had just gone through the pain of losing their father and had been mourning until now. Even if their muscles and bones were strong, they could not hide the look of exhaustion on their faces at this time.
Entering the study, the two brothers beat their chests together in greeting.
Luo Yi smiled broadly and said, "Sit down quickly, I want to pay homage to Duke Xue before the funeral."
At this point, he pretended to count the days and then said with a look of surprise: "It seems that the mourning period hasn't passed yet, why are you brothers back?"
Neither of the two brothers sat down. Hearing this, Xue Wanjun bowed slightly and said, "Thank you, manager, for your concern. The mourning period has indeed not yet come."
"It's just my father's last order, and my two brothers didn't dare to go against it. Not long ago, the general manager personally conducted the funeral, and my brother didn't dare to refuse. He was sincere in betraying the general manager. Now that everything has been settled, the two of us discussed it.
I still feel that I should come and make it clear to the manager."
"Oh" Luo Yi's face was full of doubts. This was not quite right. That was not what he said during the funeral that day.
Xue Wanjun looked ashamed and continued, "My father's death wish was for my two brothers to protect the souls and return home. My two brothers came here today to say goodbye to the manager, and to show their pity and filial piety to the two brothers."
, let my brother go, and wait until my father can be buried. My brother will come back to serve and contribute to the general manager."
Luo Yi's pupils shrank and he could only lower his eyelids to hide his anger.
He knew that Xue was from Hedong and later moved to Jingzhao, so he and he were still fellow villagers.
No matter where they call their hometown, they don't want to stay in Hebei anymore.
Moreover, he had just buried Xue Shixiong in Zhuo County with great fanfare, but on the other hand, they moved the tomb and moved it away. Luo Yi gritted his teeth, do these two children think that I, Luo Yi, am stupid?
Seeing Luo Yi's face gradually showing a ferocious look, the Xue brothers looked at each other. The younger brother curled his lips without any fear, while the older brother raised his brows with a worried look on his face.
They knew that Luo Yi was not easy to talk to, but they were unwilling to let them stay in Zhuo County and serve Luo Yi.
The two people had indeed discussed the reason why they came to see Luo Yi so openly.
It wasn't that they were stupid and bold, but they couldn't take their family members to steal away, and they didn't want to stay, so they chose this method. They were very sure in their hearts that Luo Yi didn't dare to kill them.
Moreover, Xue Wanjun thought more deeply. If Luo Yi earnestly tried to persuade them to stay, they could take another look. If Luo Yi became furious immediately, then there would be no need to say anything. At most, they would be detained in Youzhou.
As for letting them go directly, neither brother expected the self-proclaimed general manager of Youzhou to have that kind of tolerance.
It can be said that this is a test, and it also shows the shortcomings of Luo Yi's popularity in Youzhou.
There was silence in the study for a long time, and Luo Yicai said slowly: "Now is a troubled time, and I, Youzhou, are also employing people. But you two brothers, please go down first. We will talk about this later."
This was the limit of Luo Yi's patience. He wanted to call the guards in and chop these two white-eyed wolves into mincemeat, but just as the Xue brothers thought, the two brothers died here, worse than they were apart.
The consequences of leaving are even more terrible, and the days of Xue's business in Youzhou will not be short.
Most of his disciples held military positions in the Youzhou Army. As soon as their brothers died, some people would immediately rebel, and Luo Yi did not dare to kill them.
Seeing the two brothers leaving, Luo Yi's chest rose and fell. After a while, he pulled out his knife, slashed it on the case, and cursed angrily: "My child bullied me too much."
What he didn't know was that the two brothers came out of the governor's house and smiled at each other. The younger brother said contemptuously, "Luo Ziyan, that's all."