The night was deep, and seven or eight candles illuminated the small room brightly. Eight or nine generals filled the room with the small couch in the middle of the room as the dividing line.
Xi Duo knelt and sat on the small couch, his eyes lowered but his ears raised, listening carefully to the discussions of the people around him.
As Yuan Junzhang's brother-in-law, He Liu wanted to seek an official position in the court, but was ridiculed by Wei Peng...Now that Duke Rui is just idle, can you still be reused?
Niu Bin, who was a personal guard of Yuan Junzhang, wanted to move to Daizhou, but he was afraid that he would not get a good position. If he stayed in Mayi, he was also afraid of large-scale Turkic invasions.
The other generals were also hesitant, and Xi Duo sighed in his heart that the young prince's method... was exactly the same as the method used to force Duke Yuan to surrender.
It seems that Duke Yuan was forced by Yu Sheshe's death and had no choice but to defect to the Tang Dynasty. In fact, he had been forced into a blind corner by Li Huairen before.
Just like in the past few days, through a play that was probably directed and performed by oneself, it cannot be said to win the hearts of the troops, but such a spring breeze has actually eliminated the possibility of the general and his troops defecting to the Turks.
If you don't bring troops and horses, the Turks won't pay attention to them, but if you bring troops and horses, no matter what kind of reaction Li Shan will have, like Niu Bin, it will be difficult for him to suppress the soldiers.
Therefore, after the dinner, most of the generals came to Xi Duo's place to talk about the future and the way forward, but did not talk about choices.
Because there is no choice.
Not to mention other things, without the transportation of grain and grass to the state, how many people would have died this past winter?
Will the Turks, who are in civil strife, help?
If there are no accidents, the whole army should attack Yanmen Pass... It is naturally best to conquer Daizhou. If not, we should use the Tang army's spears to kill more people and survive this cold winter as much as possible.
"Xi Gong?" He Liu asked cautiously. He thought Xi Duo might have fallen asleep.
"Uh..." Xi Duo murmured a few vague words, turned around and asked, "Where is He Xiaodong?"
Niu Bin turned his head and looked around in surprise, "He Xiaodong?"
Since Yuan Junzhang emerged a few years ago, although He Xiaodong also has an old unit in the army, he has lived in seclusion and has never participated in similar things.
He Liu came to his senses, and glanced at the few taciturn generals on the opposite side. Du Shiyuan was still there, and Guo Ziheng was also there, but there were still a few generals who were not close to him who didn't come... The key point
They are all He Xiaodong's old subordinates many years ago.
He Liu wanted to say something, but Xi Duo got there first, and his turbid eyes fell on Du Shiyuan, "What do you want Shiyuan to do?"
Du Shiyuan's face turned pale, and it took him a long time to whisper: "Can he tolerate someone?"
"If you want to go north, you must be fine." Xi Duo said slowly: "The King of Handan will not pursue you in order to prevent chaos in the army."
"There is no harm in staying in Mayi... For the sake of Mayi, the King of Handan put all kinds of thoughts and thoughts into it. If the Turks invaded in large numbers in the future, the Tang army would not sit idly by."
Du Shiyuan's expression was hesitant. He survived by licking blood from the edge of a knife. Who would place his life on these empty promises?
Essentially different from others, although Du Shiyuan was originally Liu Wuzhou's old subordinate, he later defected to the Tang Dynasty along with Gao Manzheng, and later rebelled by beheading Gao Manzheng.
Regarding the rebel generals... Du Shiyuan remembers very clearly that many years ago, he followed Song Jingang all the way to the southeast of Henan Province. Due to various factors, a rebellion broke out in Xia County... In the end, the Emperor of Tang personally issued an order, and the entire Xia County was reduced to scorched earth.
.
After all, Du Shiyuan wanted to leave, but he couldn't take his subordinates with him, so he would have no status in Wuyuan County. But if he stayed, he was not sure what kind of treatment he would receive.
Others who had similar doubts were Guo Ziheng beside him. His brother Guo Ziwei was close to the Turks and was killed by Yuan Junzhang in the army at the end of last year... The reason is very simple. Guo Ziwei was the general who could threaten Yuan Junzhang's status the most.
Under the premise that Yuan Junzhang decided to defect to the Tang Dynasty, and the Turks were inconvenient to go to war due to the season and civil strife, encouraging Guo Ziwei to rebel was the most effective method with the least side effects.
Now that Guo Ziwei is dead and his old troops are attached to Guo Ziheng, he will be the biggest obstacle for Li Shan to clean up the Mayi garrison.
Guo Ziheng looked at Xi Duo with sideways eyes, and suddenly asked in a low voice: "May I ask Mr. Xi, how do you explain to Mr. Rui Guo?"
It was like a sudden attack, the sound was not loud, but it made the room suddenly quiet.
Yuan Junzhang has now entered the court and is nominally the governor of Shuozhou. Based on his character and origin, he is most likely to believe Xi Duo, who does not control the military power himself.
Guo Ziheng didn't believe that Yuan Junzhang was targeting him and didn't explain anything to Xi Duo... After all, he suspected that today's incident was a trap, doubted Li Shan's sincerity, and even suspected that behind Li Shan, Yuan Junzhang and Xi Duo were making suggestions.
.
In fact, after Yuan Junzhang recaptured Mayi in October last year, there were three successive battles, and such a cold winter, coupled with the recovery of Daizhou, resulted in many deserters...
So now around Mayi, apart from the Tang army, there are only about 7,000 people in Yuan Junzhang's old tribe left.
Among them, the most elite three thousand cavalry were led by He Liu, Niu Bin and others. The sources of the remaining four thousand or so soldiers were complicated, but the largest force among them was Guo Ziheng.
Well, Du Shiyuan also has thousands of people under his command... They are all rebels from Gao Manzheng, the former governor of Gaoshuo Prefecture.
Du Shiyuan suddenly stood up and stood calmly in the distance. His meaning was very obvious... I don't believe Li Huairen's lies.
After a moment of silence, Xi Duo's old and hoarse voice sounded, "Five days ago, I received a letter from Duke Yuan."
Niu Bin and He Liu were direct descendants of Yuan Junzhang. Hearing this, he perked up and the latter asked, "How is the Duke?"
"Really living in the King of Handan's house?"
"Yeah." Xi Duo sighed, "Mr. Yuan arrived in Chang'an for half a month, and he also sent people to investigate... Unexpectedly, the King of Handan was so favored!"
Someone on the side asked curiously: "According to rumors in Daizhou, the King of Handan was good at medicine and saved Princess Pingyang, so he was favored."
"That's just the nonsense of a country man." Xi Duo sneered: "Yuan Gong saw with his own eyes that before His Highness could be conferred as a county king, he beat Jieli Khan's only son Yugushe again outside the Taiji Palace.
… At that time, Mr. Yuan almost recognized everyone!”
Du Shiyuan suddenly shuddered. He remembered the murderous look in Li Shan's eyes when he mentioned Yu Gushe's wanton killings during today's banquet.
Everyone else was stunned. The Li Tang Dynasty was once almost destroyed by Liu Wuzhou who had the help of the Turks. But after so many years, the Tang Dynasty now dominates the world and has the power to swallow up mountains and rivers. In the palace, Yugu set defeated Yuan Jun.
To the point where Zhang can’t even recognize him... How domineering this is!!!
Guo Ziheng asked angrily: "Then what will Emperor Tang do?"
Xi Duo clicked his tongue twice, "Princess Pingyang, who was in charge of the palace, was surrounded by soldiers. The prime minister who came over turned a blind eye, and the Emperor of Tang ignored him. So much so that the King of Handan rushed to the Sifang Pavilion the next day and forced the Turkic envoys to submit
oxen and horses."
The small house was in a commotion. He was so arrogant and favored. If he were the son of Emperor Tang, I'm afraid that even the crown prince and the King of Qin would be hopeless...
Guo Ziheng was also in a daze. He vaguely felt that Yuan Junzhang had pinned his political life on the Handan County Prince.
Compared with others, Du Shiyuan was somewhat clever. He sent people to inquire about many affairs in the court. Judging from the current situation, Li Shan neither attached himself to the prince nor joined the King of Qin, but he had the confidence.
!!!
But what should I do?
Follow?
Can you keep up?
If you hand everything over, you might one day be arrested for some crime or even beheaded.
Xi Duo couldn't help but add a few more words, "The general manager of Daizhou has jurisdiction over the surrounding states. It sits on Yanmen Pass and faces the Turks. It is an important town in the world... It is said that the appointment of the Duke of Yongkang County as the general manager of Daizhou was recommended by the King of Handan!"
Everyone was in an uproar, and the topic gradually spread. Guo Ziheng listened silently to the building slowly tilting, and just waited there.
After a while, Xi Duo brought the topic back, "After looking at the King of Handan's methods, I learned the true meaning of retreating from him."
"Rui Guo's official letter mentioned something, last year in Furong Garden..." Xi Duo told the incident last year in detail, "That was King Yan Luo Yi!"
In the last years of the Sui Dynasty, a number of heroes emerged, some as strong as Li Yuan, Dou Jiande, and Liu Wuzhou, and as weak as Liang Shidu, Yuan Junzhang, and Gao Kaidao, all of whom were more or less dependent on the Turks.
North of the Yellow River, Luo Yi was the only one who was unyielding, and the elite Youzhou cavalry were also quite famous on the grasslands.
Guo Ziheng was silent for a while and said in a low voice: "I heard that last year the King of Handan went to act as the county magistrate, led his personal guards to harvest crops for the people, and even went to the fields himself..."
"Everyone in the county calls them names, and I have never seen such parents in my life..." Xi Duo said: "Later, he opened up business travel, introduced local powerful people in Daizhou, taught his children skills, accepted them as personal guards, and divided the proceeds from the trade routes..."
"Be kind everywhere!"
Guo Ziheng whispered in a strange tone: "I heard there were rumors in Daizhou last year that the King of Handan was trapped in Mayi..."
"Of course the powerful people in Daizhou are going to cause trouble." Niu Bin responded, "His Highness chopped off five heads in one breath, and the whole city was shocked."
"More than that!" Du Shiyuan interrupted: "The people from Shuozhou and Yunzhou who moved to Daizhou...it is said that they can be granted land and houses, so why not show kindness?"
"Exerting kindness everywhere...of course it's not just about showing kindness." Xi Duo showed a helpless smile to everyone, "First use kindness, then resort to thunderbolt methods... Even if the method is cruel, it is also famous."
He Liu blurted out, "Yu Sheshe..."
Halfway through, He Liu stopped talking and said, "Ahem, that's the enemy's method, and it's understandable."
After being silent for a while, Xi Duo concluded: "With the King of Handan's scheming methods, he will first benevolent soldiers, and then let you choose the path..."
"Even if he goes north to Wuyuan County, the King of Handan will definitely not move his troops, as long as he does not force his soldiers to cause chaos."
"But after that..." Xi Duo's eyes swept over them one by one, "some scattered in the fields, some moved to Daizhou, Xinzhou, or entered the court as a small official..."
"Or, as is rumored, His Highness purges the army and replaces it with the Bingzhou Army and the Daizhou Army, and those who are rejected are sent to Daizhou to farm?"
"My life is safe." Xi Duo said expressionlessly: "When the army leaves the fortress in the future, there may be a chance to make achievements, but if there is a disobedient heart..."
After a pause, Xi Duo spoke clearly and clearly, "In a few hours, His Highness will host a banquet. If you don't want to go to the banquet, you can leave quietly. If you go to the banquet, it will happen again...
See the King of Handan’s thunderbolt tactics!”
"The official letter of the court mentioned that Li Huairen, the king of Handan, has a deep foundation in the court, good methods, and he is good to others. However, anyone who makes enemies will be frustrated..."
Everyone has their own little calculations, and Xi Duo knows very well that there may be some outstanding heroes here, but there are definitely no ambitious heroes.
In other words, after Liu Wuzhou died and Yuan Junzhang surrendered, these generals may have had different thoughts, but they were definitely not to replace Liu Wuzhou and become the third leader supported by the Turks after Yuan Junzhang.
Du Shiyuan was afraid of being imprisoned for his crime. After all, he had rebelled by killing Shangguan, and his eldest son, who succeeded Gao Manzheng, the Duke of Rongguo, was now serving in Xinzhou.
Guo Ziheng already knew that the disintegration of his own power was an inevitable result. He was not prepared to resist pointlessly, but he always had to think about his own destiny.
Xi Duo glanced at Niu Bin and He Liu. They were both direct descendants of Yuan Junzhang, and they were also the first generals to jump out to support Li Shan.
On the one hand, it was Yuan Junzhang's decision, and on the other hand, they secretly obtained Li Shan's promise that they would mix in the sand and transfer a group of grassroots officers, but they would not split them up.
In this era, once a similar army is dismantled, its combat effectiveness will be sharply reduced... In order to resist the Turks, Li Shan had no choice but to do so.
However, relatively speaking, Li Shan was at ease with He Liu and Niu Bin. First of all, they were relatively naive. They were very in favor of Li Shan's idea that "Hu and Han people are not at odds".
On the other hand, He Liu's son and Niu Bin's brother are both Yuan Junzhang's personal guards, and they both live in Sun Moon Lake.
After everyone dispersed, Xi Duo slowly walked out of the house, looked up at the bright moon hanging above his head, and thought to himself... How will the King of Handan arrange for me?
Thinking of this, Xi Duo waved to the servant to whisper a few words, and soon Wei Peng, who had been in the room for a while, quietly arrived.
"Xi Gong?"
"He Xiaodong is as stupid as a pig, but he has some foundation in the army, and he is bold enough to act recklessly. I'm afraid something will happen tonight." Xi Duo said softly: "Niu Bin, He Liu is a direct descendant of Duke Yuan. It goes without saying that Guo Ziheng,
If Du Shiyuan bows his head, it will definitely attract people's attention, what about you?"
Wei Peng's face changed greatly. It was true. One was the younger brother of Guo Ziwei, whose elder brother was attached to the Turks, and the other was a former rebel general of the Tang Army... Once he surrendered, the King of Handan would buy horse bones with a thousand gold, and 80% of them would be generously rewarded.
"I am following Duke Xi's order!"
"Okay." Xi Duo pointed to the west city, "He Xiaodong is bound to cause trouble in the west of the city and wants to coerce the soldiers and flee north."
"If you can capture this official alive, are you afraid that you won't be able to get into the eyes of the King of Handan?!"
An hour later, Li Shan, who was yawning, glanced at the news that had just been sent and said with a smile: "If we don't take advantage of the military power, Shuozhou will be short of some drivers."
Xue Wanche, who was neatly dressed, was inserting a knife in his waist and preparing to go out. He said with a smile: "I still need someone to record affairs and join the military!"
Li Shan glanced at Liu Shirang beside him, laughed and cursed: "If there is anything wrong tonight, I will serve as Shuozhou's official secretary and join the military!"
Although they are both recording affairs and participating in the military, one is in charge of Daizhou and the other is in Shuozhou. Can these be compared?
Watching Xue Wanche go out, Li Shan waved his hand and said: "Let's get started!"
Everyone else started to get busy, but Li Shan sat alone at the top of the hall, looking at the empty seats.