The countryside outside Jiuqu City is gradually covered with ice and snow as the season turns to late winter. Although there is sunshine in the sky, it is still difficult to drive away the cold.
In front of the city lord's palace, Li Renjie, Wei Xuan and other generals had been lingering here in the early morning, knocking on the door repeatedly to ask for an audience, but they were told that the general was inconvenient to see guests, but they still refused to leave.
In the inner palace, the warm pavilion with an earth dragon was as warm as spring, and coupled with the baking of several charcoal stoves, it seemed a bit hot. Li Tai sat cross-legged on the couch, with a square table in front of him.
Holding a copper hotpot.
The hot pot was steaming. The newly appointed commander-in-chief, Li Ya, was carefully cutting thin slices of raw mutton while observing the heat of the meat slices in the hot pot. He took the cooked tender meat slices into a porcelain bowl.
, and quickly presented it to the general.
This series of movements was smooth and smooth, and the most important thing was his eyesight and sword skills. Seeing the general enjoying the fruits of his labor with a smile on his face, Li Ya also smiled happily and glanced at the other seats with some pride.
Several Feng and others who were cooking their own meals. Although they were in the same pavilion, they couldn't even come within ten feet of the general. What kind of confidants were they?
The door curtain was lifted, and the young man Han Qinhu walked into the Nuan Pavilion. He looked at the general and the robes who looked satisfied. He sighed in his heart first, and then stepped forward and said: "General, Li Yiping is still not satisfied."
If you are willing to leave, you must ask to see the general to discuss matters."
"If you don't want to leave, then just leave."
After Li Tai heard this, he waved his hand and said, he just arranged for his soldiers to deliver two skinned raw sheep to the house. As for whether they would eat it or how they would eat it, he didn't bother to care.
After all, Han Qinhu still couldn't bear it, so he asked again: "How many people does the general really refuse to summon?"
Li Tai became a little irritable after hearing this. He raised his eyes and glared at Han Qinhu and said: "If you are hungry, sit down and eat. If you are not hungry, just leave!"
After Han Qinhu saw this, he didn't dare to say anything more. He closed his mouth and found an empty table in the room to sit down, then cooked meat in the hot pot.
Li Tai knew that Li Renjie wanted to see him because he wanted him to strengthen his management of Heluo, and it would be best to stay here permanently.
After all, he was able to reverse the situation in a very short period of time when he entered Heluo twice, allowing these volunteers to get out of their previous bad situation. In the eyes of these people, they seemed to regard General Li as Heluo.
The only savior of Luo's situation.
But Li Tai had no way to agree to this request. Even if Daxingtai had previously sent an order to leave all the situations in Heluo to him, he couldn't really take over. It's not that he didn't have this idea, after all, his strength and timing didn't allow it.
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Nowadays, in Jianghan, Mianbei, everything is just on the right track, and if the business has just been rolled out, if he has to invest a lot of human resources in Heluo and try to cover everything, the result is more likely to be a failure on both ends.
This time when his troops entered Heluo, he was simply dealing with errands for the Chinese and Foreign Governments. Although the situation seemed good at the moment and he had control of everything south of the Yellow River, Li Tai knew in his heart that this was just because the main force of the Northern Qi Dynasty in Jinyang needed to stay in their home base. If the opponent added more troops
Coming south, the cost of maintaining the current situation is very high, and it will also greatly restrict the development of Li Tai's own power.
Li Tai knew that he could not satisfy the generals' request, so he simply avoided seeing him. The reason why he still did not withdraw his troops was to wait for the latest instructions from the Chinese and Foreign Affairs Office in Huazhou.
Although Daxingtai said in the preface that everything here was decided by him, he really wanted to leave. As a result, a large area of Heluo territory fell into the hands of the enemy again. The Chinese and Foreign Governments investigated who was responsible for this loss of land?
So even if I want to leave, this matter must be settled clearly.
After learning that the main force of the Bafu had withdrawn from Pu Ban, Li Tai invited Han Xiong, Wei Fabao and Pei Kuan and other important generals here to draw up a finishing plan to preserve Yiyang Jiuqu City and Yichuan Fuliu City among other places.
The fortress city, as for the Heluo Plain, was strategically abandoned.
Even though Han Xiong and others were unwilling to do so, they had to admit that this was the greatest result that could be preserved based on reality. It was simply unrealistic to rely solely on the local personnel in Heluo to firmly hold the river line and resist the Qi army coming south.
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If we really insist on sticking to the Yellow River line, the most likely possibility is that the Northern Qi people will directly press the river line and wipe out a large number of their effective forces. In this way, it will be impossible to connect to the Yiluo River Valley and start a confrontation with the enemy.
Of course, Li Tai will not completely ignore the Heluo area. After all, the Heluo Plain is the imperial residence in Tianzhong. At present, Li Tai does not have the ability to occupy it for a long time, but looking at it from a longer perspective, the Heluo area is also the place he bypasses.
An area not to be passed.
Therefore, Li Tai still has to invest as much personnel as possible here. The most important thing is to make sure that the Yishui River Valley connected to Sanya Road is in his hands to ensure that he can smoothly enter the Heluo Plain at any time. And this one
The preservation of the passage can also bring a certain containment and deterrent effect to the Northern Qi troops.
Han Xiong and others also agreed with the idea proposed by Li Tai. They knew that it would be difficult to obtain a large amount of personnel assistance from the Guanzhong Bafu, and if they could maintain the connection with Jingzhou through the Yishui River Valley, it would also be beneficial to them.
It is nothing less than support in times of need.
So after the opinions were unified, Li Tai sent Pei Kuan, then the governor of Henan Province, to Huazhou to report the resolution to Daxingtai and ask for instructions.
Pei Kuan did not return until the twelfth lunar month. Although the Eastern Expedition was withdrawn without a fight, Daxingtai was very busy with various personnel arrangements. He first dealt with various urgent matters of the Chinese and Foreign Affairs Office.
Only then did he take the time to listen to Pei Kuan's report.
The failure of this expedition dealt a big blow to Daxingtai's morale. Therefore, after understanding the plan, he agreed and did not hesitate to abandon the defense of Heyang Nancheng again.
In addition to this Heluo ending plan, there are also some personnel adjustments proposed by Li Tai.
Although Bafu's side returned in disgrace without a fight, Li Tai's side fought beautifully. Even if they were forced to abandon some city strongholds, they could kill and capture hundreds of thousands of Northern Qi troops.
, if it weren’t for the shameful people like Bafu who crossed the river, it would definitely be called a glorious victory.
Li Tai knew that several of the Zhu Kingdoms had achieved results together but had failed. It was probably impossible for him to use this opportunity to increase his position, but the generals under his command could not be without rewards.
Therefore, he first promoted the positions of meritorious generals under his command in the name of the General Manager's Office, and then compiled them and submitted them to the Chinese and Foreign Affairs Office for approval.
The Chinese and Foreign Affairs Office did not raise any objections to this. Daxingtai not only approved all the promotions and personnel reported by Li Tai, but also wrote a reply to Li Tai in his own hand, saying in his heart that the timing of the Eastern Expedition was unpredictable.
He felt helpless and regretful about his cooperation, and even asked Li Tai whether he thought he could completely pacify the East bandits in his lifetime.
Li Tai didn't have anything to say about this. He couldn't say no, please give up your seat and give me a try, so he could only express his regrets along the way, and expressed with full confidence that next time Daxingtai will march eastward, I will
I'll serve as a flag-bearer for you, and we won't stop until we kill them!
There was another surprise when Pei Kuan returned this time, that is, He Ruoden, who had just been transferred to the Chinese Foreign Affairs Office, was packaged and returned together with him.
He Ruoden was dragged back by a cart this time. There were many whip marks and scars all over his body under his robe. Li Tai was naturally surprised when he saw this. While arranging for doctor's diagnosis and treatment, he asked: "Is it possible that he was surrounded by the enemy?"
Was he severely injured?"
"There is no enemy siege! The servants and other troops just stood outside the carriage and were soaked in the cold rain for nearly a month. Not to mention the enemy, they didn't even hear the barking of enemy dogs!"
After He Ruodun heard this, he looked aggrieved and said: "I have been away from home for a long time without success. I also heard that Lord Lang bravely pioneered in Heluo and repeatedly attacked the bandit army in the bandit city. I felt very sad and aggrieved in my heart, and resented that I could not follow him.
Master Lang killed the enemy, but he wasted all his willpower! A few words of anger were heard by Pingchang Gongwei Chi Kaifu..."
"So Yuchi Boluo beat you up to this point?"
Li Tai knew what kind of person He Ruodun was. The contrast between the two sides on the battlefield was so obvious that it was more than just a few words of anger. But when he heard that it was related to Yuchi Gang, he immediately lowered his face and asked in a deep voice.
"Master Sir, please rest assured that although Duke Pingchang is powerful, his servants have not insulted Master Sir's majesty. What this disciple is taking advantage of is that all the members of Daxingtai's family are still young, so they have to be divided into middle and foreign cousins. When Daxingtai rests,
They are all strong, and the only person who can plan things is Lang Zhu, a pillar of the country who is so powerful and so powerful that he intimidates the enemy. There is no place for such a favor-stealing person in the court!"
Although He Ruoden was covered with whip marks, he still said with a strong face.
After listening to He Ruodun's words, Li Tai was silent for a while, and then said: "Yuchi Boluo just beat you up?"
After hearing this, He Ruodun said with a proud look on his face: "He did draw a knife on my neck, but I just laughed and said that although a certain person is unknown, he has a benefactor to look up to. It would be easy for Duke Pingchang to kill me. I want to know the future."
It’s hard to get back home!”
"That's all, no more treatment, get out!"
After Li Tai heard He Ruodun's resounding reply, his face suddenly darkened, and he waved his hand to drive away the doctor who was preparing the plaster. After a while, he managed to hold down his breath and let the doctor in, but he didn't
Too lazy to stay here any longer, I walked out directly.
When he was no longer in sight and his voice was no longer heard in his ears, Li Tai gradually relaxed and smiled proudly. He is really different now. He Ruoden can still live and return to his command.
What a proof! No matter how unhappy those people are, they can only hold it in.
It should be noted that earlier, when Yuchigang was dissatisfied with him, he dared to do it directly to his face, but now, even if one of his disciples gave him such a harsh comment, Yuchigang did not dare to actually kill He Ruodun. As for the whips all over his body