Chapter 2 Zhanyi (Fifth Middle School) The situation is stronger than the people. Now the six counties of Boling need each other more than Hedong, and they need an ally who will not stab the back for the time being. As for whether the relationship between the two parties is an alliance or a vassal, it depends on
Comparison of the strengths of the two sides. If the strength of the Six Counties of Boling can be greater than that of the Li family in Hedong in the future, there will be no fear of the other party deliberately annexing it. If the strength of the Six Counties of Boling even poses a problem for self-protection, then being eaten by others is the inevitable outcome.
"So this is what I thought. I thought earlier that the general was just trying to repay Duke Tang for his kindness!" Zhao Ziming was not an idiot either. He quickly heard the helpless meaning in Li Xu's words and was stunned for a moment.
said apologetically
"Tang Gong is indeed kind to me, but I will not take the lives of all of us in the Boling Army in return!" Li Xu stretched out on the bed and replied with a wry smile.
"The general seems to have changed!" In an instant, Zhao Ziming felt that the Li Xu in front of him was a little strange, and commented in surprise.
"I don't want to change anything, can that be done?" Li Xu shook his head gently.
"Hehe, hehe..." Zhao Ziming didn't know how to answer, so he could only giggle.
"Actually, we have all changed over the years!" Asahi, who had taken a bath and looked brand new, concluded in a low voice.
The lessons gained in exchange for countless lives made him particularly sober at this moment. Li Xu knew how powerful his family was currently, and he also knew that dreams without strength would eventually become in vain. In the past, he once went to protect the world with great pride, but in the end he failed.
But now, he just wants to protect the people around him, the people he cares about and cares about, and his home that has just regained its vitality until the end of the troubled times.
No matter who tries to destroy this goal, it will arouse strong resistance from him. Whether it is the Yang family or the Luo family, if they want to burn the war to Boling, they must first ask if the sword in his hand is willing to agree. It is true that the Tiger and Ben Iron Cavalry are compatriots and not enemies.
But those who bully the people are considered traitors to the country and should be treated like foreign enemies.
The news of the Boling Army's large-scale crossing of the river shocked Dou Jiande and Luo Cheng on the east side of the Hutuo River. Although the three armies had been in a tripartite position before, the Boling Army was obviously in a passive state. At the critical moment, they turned
Defense is used as offense, don't you think life is too smooth?
The scouts from the Dou and Luo families set off quickly and circled around the perimeter of the Boling Army. However, the Boling Army's scouts did not make any counterattack. They just drove the opponents away like flies, and then continued to advance with their own troops.
The urgent march lasted all day, and did not stop until the sun set. At this time, Li Xu's battle flag had been planted in Hulu Valley, only thirty miles away from Hejian County, and far away from Shu, where the Youzhou Army was located on Luocheng East Road.
The city is also thirty miles away
"What? You said that Li Zhongjian has returned to the army, and is in Hulu Valley!" After hearing the latest information from the scouts, Dou Jiande's hands trembled and he almost dropped the tea cup he had just picked up to the ground.
The hot water soaked his robe, but he didn't feel it at all. This news was too shocking. It was even more unbelievable than when he heard that Gao Shida had died in the battle. Li Zhongjian was from Hebei Green Forest Village.
At the same time, they were also the bane in the eyes of all the heroes. For a long time, when everyone swore, they did not say that the sky was thundering, but said: "If I break my word, let me go out and meet Li Zhongjian."
!" The thunder from the sky may not hit the head directly. When meeting Li Zhongjian, the heads of the family are basically either dead or alive.
"Is the news accurate?" Wang Fubao, Dou Jiande's confidant and favorite general, was famous for his boldness. He couldn't stand the look of surprise on everyone's faces, so he called the scouts and checked the military information again. "Did you see clearly? Several people were watching at the same time.
Did you arrive or were you the only one who saw it?”
"It was my subordinate and the twenty brothers who were with him who saw with their own eyes that Li Zhongjian's handsome flag was different from the Sui army flag. It was a large black flag with golden tassels and his last name on it!" The scout team felt that it was happening!
Being insulted, he raised his neck and repeated loudly, "No one else dares to fly that flag. I will recognize it even if I turn it into ashes!"
"It's the commander-in-chief's flag of Boling! It is said that it was awarded to him by the Hunjun personally." Nayan Song Zhengben added in a low voice. The clothes and armor of the regular army of the Sui Dynasty were all khaki, and the military flag was red. Only a few noble generals were qualified.
He is unique in the army. The last time Gao Shida, Wang Bo and others attacked Boling, Li Xu's black flag left a deep impression on many people. Everywhere he passed, thousands of troops fought against the enemy, and no one dared to touch it.
"The man surnamed Li is demonstrating to the king!" Wang Fubao was very smart and quickly came to a seemingly correct conclusion from the scout's words. "He is announcing to us that he is here and trying to scare away our subordinates who are willing to lead us without a fight."
Five thousand soldiers and horses are going to meet him while he is coming from a long way, just when he is tired!"
"My subordinates are willing to go with General Wang!" Gao Shixing, Gao Shida's younger brother, also stepped forward and loudly invited him to fight. Some time ago, he heard that Li Xu died in Henan. He felt very, very disappointed. Hatred can only be washed away by eternal blood. He
It was necessary for Li Xu to kill Li Xu to comfort his brother's spirit in heaven. Now the other party came to his door, which just fulfilled this idea.
"The general is also willing to meet the man named Li!" Gao Shixing is not the only one who is not afraid of tigers. Former military governor Ruan Junming and brigade commander Gao Yaxian also volunteered. In their opinion, the Boling Army is the weakest at this moment.
At this time, if you don’t take advantage of this opportunity, what benefits will you gain after the opponent recovers his energy?
"Come here, wipe the water off your body!" Facing the generals who were eager to fight, Dou Jiande turned gloomy. He could tolerate the minor offenses of his subordinates, but he didn't want to see the order in the military tent like a scattered rebel army.
There has always been no shortage of warriors and generals in the army, but the rebel army lacked strict military discipline and clear thinking in combat.
Now is the golden time for the Sui people to lose their deer, and the world will chase them away. Dou Jiande does not want to be a loser or a bystander, so he must rebuild this team under his command and make them the same as the official army.
Orderly, or more like an official army and more disciplined than an official army
Several guards rushed forward and wiped the tea off Dou Jiande's python robe. His robe was also made according to the specifications and styles of the Sui princes. It looked luxurious and majestic. The generals quickly noticed the status and identity of everyone at the moment.
The original difference, one by one retreated to the position where they should stand, waiting for the coach to make the final decision
"How many people did General Li bring across the river? Was the formation scattered or neat? Is his camp set up in the middle of the valley, or on the middle of a slope? Are there water sources and woods around it?" Dou Jiande asked Dou Jiande more questions than the leader of an army.
Others are much more advanced and organized
"Your Majesty, the enemy troops are in good order and have clear flags. The camp is camped on a gentle slope at the mouth of the valley, close to the stream. There are not many trees around!" The scout knelt down on one knee and reported truthfully.
The titles "King" and "Prince" sound similar, but they have completely different meanings. Dou Jiande nodded, with a slight smile on his face, "Well, the number of people is quite large, can you estimate it?"
"Your Majesty, judging from the flags, the number of people should be between 15,000 and 23,000. I can't tell clearly. The scouts of the Boling Army are skilled in bows and horses, and their subordinates dare not get too close!" The scout team was thinking.
Think about it and answer loudly
Only 20,000 people? The faces of several generals showed disdain again. This time they went north, and they brought more than 50,000 soldiers, plus auxiliary soldiers and civilians, the scale was more than 100,000. They claimed to the outside world to be 300,000.
You feel that the enemy is not powerful enough, but they only send 20,000 people and want to deal with the rebels and Youzhou at the same time. You really take yourself too seriously.
"Twenty thousand!" Dou Jiande was taken aback again and asked in a low voice. According to the information he had, this is already the entire strength of the Boling Army on the west bank of the Hutuo River. If the rebel army crosses the river at this moment...? The huge temptation is a bit overwhelming.
He was breathless, but thinking about the fate of Gao Shida, Liu Badao and others, Dou Jiande slowly regained his composure.
Li Zhongjian was good at deception. He probably deliberately let the rebels see the emptiness of Boling, and then led the rebels into a trap. Another possibility is that the Boling army was sure of victory over the Youzhou army, so he was not afraid of the rebels taking the retreat.
I'm not afraid of rebels taking advantage of the situation.
He raised his head and wanted to ask Song Zhengben about countermeasures, but he saw the same confusion in the eyes of his close military advisor. "Na Yan thought..." Dou Jiande asked in a long voice, his brows furrowed into the character "Sichuan"
"The Boling Army is indeed demonstrating against us!" After pondering for a moment, Song Zhengben decided to adopt Wang Fubao's statement. "Li Zhongjian wants to use years of accumulated threats to force us to retreat and clear up the open space where the Boling and Youzhou armies are fighting.
He concentrates on dealing with Luo Cheng!"
"That's what I'm saying! Shall we fight directly? At worst, we should step away and let Luo Cheng take advantage!" Gao Shixing laughed and suggested after hearing that Song Zhengben agreed with Wang Fubao.
"No fight!" Wang Fubao changed his mind and shouted loudly.
"No fight!" Almost in unison with his generals, Dou Jiande came to a conclusion decisively
"Your Majesty!" Wang Fubao, realizing that he had stolen the limelight from his lord, quickly bowed and apologized to Dou Jiande.
"It's okay, Fubao, your suggestion is right!" Dou Jiande waved his hand magnanimously and concluded, "If we take action first, the most likely possibility is to let Luo Cheng get a ready advantage. Besides, once Luo Cheng retreats again, we will still
We may suffer a big loss just like this Hejian County. It is obvious that the Youzhou Army is not our enemy, but in fact they are killing people with a borrowed knife!"
The examples in front of us are clear. The rebels have been attacking Hejian for such a long time, and they have not harvested anything. Instead, they found several letters from a certain surname in Hejian to Youzhou in the arms of the dead soldiers who broke out. In the letters, those people kept taking photos of Luo Yi and his son.
They flattered him, begged them for help, and even said that he was willing to support Luo Yi as the general manager of Hebei, and would never betray him. But before the rebels arrived at the city, Luo Cheng and the wealthy people in Hejian looked at each other.
They were so pleasing to the eye that they almost pulled out their knives and started slashing at each other.
Although Dou Jiande now calls himself a teacher of benevolence and righteousness, he is not so benevolent as to sacrifice his own brothers to help Luo Yi and his son. After some discussion, the core generals simply reciprocated and decided that no matter which one of Luo Cheng or Li Xu wanted to take the county, the rebel army
Always stand by and watch!
"My subordinates suggest that we retreat to Leshou!" After deciding on the general direction of sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger fight, Song Zhengben thought about it and suggested
"What Zhengben said is in my heart!" Dou Jiande nodded and agreed with Na Yan's opinion.
Although Leshou County is also part of Hejian County, it is a full hundred miles away from the county seat. This county is a full two hundred miles away from Anping on the edge of Boling County. No matter how suspicious the butcher surnamed Li is, he will see
With such a big move by the rebels, he also knew that everyone had no ill intentions towards him, so the man named Li and the man surnamed Luo fought against each other as quickly as possible, using as much force as they could. Dou Jiajun watched the excitement from a distance.
"We rescued the siege all night and before we retreated to Leshou, Ben Ben wrote a letter for me to the county governor here, telling him that we pity the people in the city and give them a month to harvest summer grain. After the wheat is harvested, I will come back.
Take this small town!" Hearing the footsteps of the generals disappearing, Dou Jiande ordered Song Zhengben who stayed behind
"How can this happen? The king wants to gain the reputation of benevolence and righteousness, but this is not such a benevolent and righteous way!" The candidate to be the commander of the bodyguards was Dou Jiande's wife-uncle Cao Dan. After hearing his order, he couldn't help but intervene. "Besides, our own
There isn’t much military rations, so the army eats bread every day..."
He was interrupted by the sharp look from Dou Jiande's eyes just in the middle of his words. According to military rules, guards have no right to discuss politics. The first time they interrupt randomly, they will be beaten with a military stick. The second time they do it again, they will be demoted.
Go to the prison camp and suffer. If you still talk nonsense in the prison camp, and you are reported, your head will be cut off and hung on a flagpole to show to the public. Cao Dan is born with a big mouth and a straight heart, so he has already been beaten with a stick this month.
….
"The last general, the last general..." Dou Jiande looked at Cao Dan, who was sweating all over his head. He murmured that he wanted to mention his sister's name, but he couldn't do it in front of Song Zhengben, an outsider.
I had no choice but to hang my head and wait for my brother-in-law to show mercy.
"Go to the prison camp and wait for one month in prison. After serving your sentence, you can join the former army as a corps commander!" Dou Jiande sighed, patted his wife's uncle on the shoulder, and ordered
"Your Majesty, have mercy!" Seeing this, Song Zhengben hurriedly interceded with Cao Dan. At this moment, there were only three people in the military tent. Dou Jiande could pretend that he had not heard what Cao Dan said. Anyway, as long as the person involved did not say anything, others would not find anything to accuse Dou Jiande of pampering his confidants.
"I told you, we have to fight for the world now, not for the few mouthfuls of hot food in front of us!" Dou Jiande grabbed Cao Dan's arm and pushed him directly out of the military tent. "Go find Mingfa and report to the army yourself. Don't give it to me."
Your old Cao family is in disgrace!"
Turning around, he asked Song Zhengben sternly, "Na Yan once advised me to impose strict orders and prohibitions. Is this advice invalid for those close to me?"
"This...?" Song Zhengben was speechless when asked, and could only watch Cao Dan walk away. "General Cao also had good intentions!" After the unlucky man disappeared behind the curtain of the night, he reluctantly remembered a story.
Appropriate reasons for pleading
"If we don't want people to think of us as robbers, we must first see ourselves as not being robbers!" Dou Jiande shook his head and smiled to point out his good intentions.
What he leads is not a group of rogues, nor is he a ragtag group of people who only know how to plunder and compete for the throne. Who said that only wealthy families are qualified?