Now, most of the troops of Northern Qi have been sent to the frontal battlefield.
Shanxi is relatively empty.
There are only 10,000 to 20,000 defenders in Taiyuan City, and other state capitals are all scattered defenders. It may be possible to defend the city, but it is almost impossible to go out of the city to confront the famous Huai'an Army, or to intercept the Huai'an Army. things.
Therefore, Xue Wei's troops drove to Taiyuan Mansion with almost no obstacles. After entering Taiyuan Mansion and walking for two days, Taiyuan City was already in sight.
Xue Wei was riding on his horse, looking at Taiyuan City not far away and frowning.
Shen Xu rode a horse and followed him. He happened to see his expression and asked, "The general seems a little worried. Could it be that he is worried that Taiyuan will be difficult to fight?"
"Part of it."
Xue Wei relaxed his brows, looked back at Shen Xu, and said slowly: "I was just thinking that our journey will be smooth."
"The scouts and the Marquis's intelligence agencies have not received any news of Qi Jun's actions."
"It shows that the Northern Qi court may have made a choice."
Xue Wei looked up at the sky, frowned slightly and said: "They seem to have given up on Taiyuan, and even the whole of Shanxi."
"I'm thinking that if this is the case, even if we successfully capture Taiyuan City and even spread to the entire Shanxi Province, it will not be of much help to the frontal battlefield on the Marquis' side."
"If it is useless for the overall situation, attacking Taiyuan City may not be of great use."
Shen Xu was almost shocked by Xue Wei's words.
He even forgot to urge his horse and froze on the spot without saying a word for a long time.
Xue Wei looked back at him, stopped his horse, and said with a smile: "Sir, what's wrong?"
Shen Xu finally came to his senses and rode up to catch up. He shook his head and sighed: "It's nothing, I'm just a little surprised."
"I have spent more than twenty years in vain, and I have seen many dignitaries and local generals who lead troops. I know one or two of them, but I have never seen anyone who thinks about things like you, the general. ."
"According to logic..."
He looked at Xue Wei.
"Capturing a city like Taiyuan should be a once-in-a-century achievement in Dachen. Now this incredible achievement is placed in front of the general. The general takes Taiyuan here, no matter how the seventh brother fights there, The general will return to Jiankang in the future, and he will be granted the title of marquis and general."
"Now that the army has entered Taiyuan Prefecture, it is about to reach Taiyuan City. General, what you are thinking about is whether attacking Taiyuan will be beneficial to the frontal battlefield."
"This idea..."
Shen Xu shook his head and said, "It's really unheard of."
"There is a saying in our Huai'an army that the Marquis often says."
Xue Wei smiled and said: "The success does not have to be mine."
"Nowadays, most of the war is taking place with the Marquis. The Shanxi battlefield is not a critical battlefield after all. If the front does not go well, even if Taiyuan is captured, it will be a loss for the entire Huai'an army."
"In my position as a general, I naturally have to consider the overall situation. I cannot be like the hundreds of households below who only consider the outcome of a small battlefield."
Xue Crazy Tiger raised his head and looked at Taiyuan and said in a deep voice: "Now, the Marquis' order is still to attack Taiyuan. I can only go and take a look first. If Taiyuan cannot be captured for a while, I will follow the Marquis." Please ask for instructions to attack the flank of the main force of the Qi army."
Shen Xu murmured: "No wonder the Huai'an Army was able to win all the way. Today really opened my eyes."
Xue Wei smiled and said nothing.
What he said was only half of what he said.
Now he can have this kind of "taking the overall situation into consideration" mentality, partly because of Shen Yi's good teaching, but more importantly, the coach of the Huai'an Army is Mr. Shen, who has led him all the way.
The other two generals of the Huai'an Army were also colleagues with whom he had a good relationship.
If it were anyone else, Xue Crazy Tiger would never be as selfless as he is now.
While the two men were talking, their leading army was only about thirty miles away from Taiyuan City.
Xue Wei waved his hand and ordered to stop the advance, survey the terrain nearby, and choose a suitable place to camp.
While his subordinates were setting up camp, Xue Wei was still talking to Shen Xu. He pointed at Taiyuan City in the distance and said, "Sir, according to the news from your family, the defenders of Taiyuan City at this time are... It’s almost a little over 20,000 people.”
"That's about 21,000 people."
"Sir, tell me, what is the combat strength of the city's defenders?"
Shen Xu touched his chin, thought carefully, and said: "These days, I have also witnessed several small battles by the vanguard army. If we can directly enter the street battles in Taiyuan, the defenders in the city will never be the vanguard army. opponent."
"The difficulty lies in how to enter the city."
Xue Wei looked at Shen Xu with burning eyes.
Shen Xu also looked at Xue Wei, took a deep breath, and said: "General, I don't know what the city is like now, and I can't guarantee you whether the city gate can be opened."
"I want to send a letter to my father."
He paused and continued: "If the general is at ease, I would like to go into the city to take a look at the situation."
Xue Wei grinned: "The city gates of Taiyuan should be closed now. How do you want to enter the city, sir? Is there anything I need Xue's help with?"
Shen Xu smiled bitterly and said, "The general really believes in me."
"I believe in Mr. Hou."
Xue Wei smiled and said: "Master Hou is much smarter than me. If he doesn't believe in me, I won't let him come to me."
Shen Xu was silent for a moment and sighed: "Yes, the seventh brother is indeed very smart."
He looked up at Xue Wei and said in a deep voice: "General, just let me leave the camp. I have a way to enter Taiyuan City."
He paused and continued: "We will limit it to three days."
"Within three days, if I don't send someone to deliver a message to the general, then three days later, that is, on the morning of the 14th..."
Shen Xu gritted his teeth and said: "Taiyuan City Gate will definitely be able to be opened for a while!"
"As for which door to open, I have no way to confirm now. The evening before the action, I hung a black flag on the tower as a mark."
"If there is no way to open the city gate, within three days, I will send someone out to deliver a message to the general. Then the general will make his own decision."
Xue Wei nodded to express his understanding.
"Then, I will send people to attack Taiyuan tomorrow, just to show off and cooperate with you, sir."
Shen Xu thought for a while, then gritted his teeth and said, "It's best to attack for a day and let the Qi people in the city see how powerful the general is!"
"I can do better!"
General Xue stretched out his palm and placed it in front of Shen Xu.
"Then let's just say it."
Shen Xu also extended his palm, and after the two high-fived each other, Shen Laoba's hand became a little numb.
He packed up his belongings and quietly left the Huai'an Army camp. After a circle, he walked around to the north gate of Taiyuan and waved his hands towards the north gate.
"Brother-in-law! Brother-in-law!"
"It's me, Erzi!"
The Shen family is in the north, and the relationship is relatively simple. As Shen Xu is among his peers, he is no longer the eighth row, but the second row.
As for the brother-in-law he mentioned, he was not his brother-in-law, but his wife's brother-in-law, that is, his brother-in-law, whose surname was Guo Mingui.
He is a member of Qianhu under the command of General Taiyuan.
Now, he is guarding the north gate.
The Shen family has been in Taiyuan for twenty years, using money to pave the way, and their relationships in the city have become deeply entangled.
A strong man on the wall looked down and immediately asked someone to open the city gate a crack. He went down personally and pulled Shen Xu in. Then he pulled Shen Xu to the side, some in a hurry.
"Er son, aren't you in the south? Why are you back?"
His face looked a little ugly and he said seriously: "This is not a good time to come back. You don't know the situation in Taiyuan yet?"
"I know, why don't I know?"
Shen Xu lowered his head and smiled bitterly: "If I didn't know, I wouldn't come back."
Guo Gui was stunned for a moment and then understood.
"Master Shen is still in the city?"
Shen Xu looked ugly, nodded and sighed: "Isn't it?"
He looked at Guo Gui and asked, "Are the second sister and a few nephews and nieces also in the city?"
Guo Gui nodded and his expression became ugly.
He is not a Han, but a real person named Zhu Li. However, his original surname sounds similar to Guo. After Chineseization, he took the surname Guo.
If the city of Taiyuan is destroyed, their family will be in great misfortune.
Guo Gui patted Shen Xu on the shoulder and sighed: "Anyway, you shouldn't be back at this time."
Shen Xu smiled and said: "Brother-in-law, my eldest brother is not in Taiyuan. It's my turn to come back and see my father."
"I'm going home first."
Shen Xu paused and looked at Guo Gui.
"Tomorrow, I will go to my brother-in-law's house for a walk."
Guo Gui was silent for a while and nodded silently.
"Okay, I'll wait for you at home tomorrow afternoon."