In the Southern Tang Dynasty, Jiankang City and Yizheng Hall were built.
In the hall, there were civil servants from the Ministry of War, who kept reading out the battle reports from the front line.
"On the seventh day of September, Duan Xiushi's vanguard general Shang Mian defeated Cui Yubao, the rebel envoy of the Qing army, and occupied Tuolin County."
"On September 13th, Li Guangbi's right wing general Wei Ruchuan defeated Cai Liu and guarded Lu Jinshan, and occupied Qianfeng in Yunzhou."
"On September 22nd, Henan Qiu Fuzhi led his troops to rebel, defeated the Anyang army, and the military envoy Xiao Xun surrendered to the enemy."
…
Listening to one unfavorable battle report after another, Emperor Li Yu of the Southern Tang Dynasty's face turned livid.
Standing among the ministers was the counselor Li Mi, wearing a Taoist robe, closing his eyes and concentrating, as if he didn't care about everything around him.
The other civil and military officials of the Southern Tang Dynasty lowered their heads and no one dared to speak.
Cheng Yuanzhen, the chamberlain who was standing next to the emperor, saw Li Yu closing his eyes and waving his hand, and quickly winked at the eunuch in charge of the ceremony. The latter quickly stopped the civil servant who was reporting the military situation.
Li Yu opened his eyes, looked at Wen Wu in the hall, and asked: "The north is rebelling against the south, dear friends, who can analyze the current situation for me?"
The ministers looked at each other in shock. Zhang Xun, who was the Minister of the Ministry of War and the imperial censor at the time, came out and said to the emperor: "Your Majesty, a total of 400,000 troops were used in this northern rebellion, and they were divided into three routes: east, west, middle. The west route army entered the south west road of Shannan. Attack Shannan East Road; the Central Route Army enters Luoyang and attacks Runan; the East Route Army enters Jezhou and attacks Xuzhou. At present, except for the East Route Army led by Li Guangbi, who is still fighting Shi Siming, the other two armies of the Northerners have basically declared victory. "
Li Yu: "Shi Siming...does he have a chance of winning against Li Guangbi?"
Zhang Xun: "Although Shi Siming surrendered to our court, he was a cunning and cunning man who must be guarded against. In my opinion, although the court gave Shi Siming an order to defend Xuzhou, he would definitely disobey the military order in order to preserve his strength. Therefore, Xuzhou will probably not be saved."
Li Yu looked solemn: "Right now, most of Shannan East Road and Henan Road have been lost. If Xuzhou is occupied again, wouldn't it be a critical situation?"
Zhang Xun: "If Li Guangbi captures Xuzhou, he will definitely go south into Yingchuan and join forces with Guo Ziyi's troops. Their next target of attack will probably be Jiangcheng, the gateway to Jiangnan West Road."
"Jiangcheng is an important town in Ezhou. It is surrounded by 166 lakes, more than 30 rivers, and high mountains. Therefore, if the northerners want to go south, they cannot bypass this place and must capture Jiangcheng first. Now, Duke Zhao De (comes) You) led an army of 120,000 men and garrisoned Jiangcheng. Whether it was food, grass or baggage, they have been gathered for more than a year. It can be said that they are fully prepared. Your Majesty, please rest assured."
Li Yu frowned and said: "There are 400,000 enemy troops, and they also have firearms. Even if Zhao De Gong holds on, he will be unable to support himself."
Li Mi on the side finally spoke: "Your Majesty, the Northerners are now overwhelmingly powerful. It only took the three armies a few months to directly attack the gateway to Jiangnan. This is not necessarily a bad thing."
Li Yu was stunned.
Li Mi hugged the fly whisk, bowed to Li Yu and said: "On the surface, it seems that Liangcheng's army has strong soldiers and horses, and is very powerful. But if we take a closer look, the army under the jurisdiction of the northerners, Anxi and Beiting, although there are elite soldiers , but it is far away from Liangcheng, so it is difficult to rush to the rescue in time. These 400,000 troops are equivalent to all the troops that Liangcheng can use in the Central Plains region."
Li Yu: "Sir, what do you mean...?"
Li Mi: "The faster the Northerners' 400,000-strong army attacks and the farther they go, the more separated they are from the rear. Once something happens in the rear, the 400,000-strong army wants to turn around and rush to help. Firstly, it will cause confusion in military orders. Secondly, it will cause chaos in military orders."
When it becomes difficult to take care of the head and tail, flaws will naturally appear in the enemy's army."
Li Yu nodded lightly: "Sir, what you said makes sense."
Li Mi: "Your Majesty, don't forget that as early as three years ago, we were weaving a big net just to trap the northerners. Now, Liangcheng's 400,000 troops are moving south, and this big net has also come to an end.
And Jiangcheng is the key to this north-south war. It is not an exaggeration to say that all the efforts were completed in one battle. If everything goes well, Duke Zhao De will only need to hold back the 400,000 troops of the Northerners. It will not take long, just a few months. What will happen next?
The wide net will naturally tighten slowly and strangle the enemy's neck."
Li Yu thought for a moment and asked Li Mi: "What if the people who close this encirclement net are unwilling to contribute?"
Li Mi smiled and said: "As long as there is a big fish in the net, the person who collects the net will definitely help."
At the same time, Tielen City (Shibao City) was under the jurisdiction of Tubo.
Standing on the highest platform of the fort, Tubo Dalu Sang Chiruo, dressed in fur, looked to the east in the distance.
Beside him stood two of his important ministers.
One was the Acting Prime Minister of Tubo, Dun Renzeng, and the other was Yin Tu, the commander-in-chief of the Shankai Army.
Yin Tu glanced down the mountain and asked Sang Chiruo, "Master, what are you looking at?"
Dun Renzeng frowned and corrected Yin Tu: "The title of family leader can no longer be used. The great treatise has already consecrated the virtuous man in the Golden Account. You should respect him as the Great Virtuous King."
Sang Chiruo turned around with a smile and said to Dunrenzin: "Name is not an important thing."
Then, he said to Yin Tu: "I am looking at Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty."
When Yin Tu heard this, he looked eastward and saw nothing but white mist.
After scratching his head, Yin Tu muttered: "Why can't I see..."
Sang Chiruo asked Dun Renzeng: "Where are the troops of the Northern Tang Dynasty now?"
Dun Renzeng: "According to the latest intelligence, the main force of the Northern Tang Dynasty has arrived in the territory of the Southern Tang Dynasty, thousands of miles away from Chang'an."
Sang Chiruo: "Where are our troops? Are they ready?"
Dun Renzin: "Under the Great Xian's account, there are fourteen divisions of six wings and thirty-nine Dongben, a total of 200,000 troops. They are fully armed and waiting for your orders at any time."
Sang Chiruo nodded slightly.
When Yin Tu heard this, he quickly followed up and said: "Shan Wei's army has gathered 30,000 tribesmen, and they can set off at any time!"
Sang Chiruo was speechless, turned around, and continued to look east.
Upon seeing this, Dun Renzeng whispered: "The Great Virtuous King, the envoys of the Southern Tang Dynasty in Luoxue City have urged us to send troops a few days ago on the grounds of yearly tribute."
Sang Chiruo did not turn around and said in a low voice: "I heard that those people from the Southern Tang Dynasty gave away a lot of wealth and women to the nobles in Luoche City, which made many people speak for them."
When Dun Renzin heard this, he trembled all over and stopped talking.
Yin Tu, who had a rough temper, looked at the frightened Dun Renzeng, as if he didn't understand what was happening.
Sang Chiruo said at this time: "Tell the nobles in Luoxue City to continue waiting. When the armies of the Northern Tang and Southern Tang become jealous of each other, the Tibetan soldiers can attack."
Hearing this, Yin Tu asked excitedly: "The target of sending troops is Chang'an City?!"
Sang Chiruo: "When Tubo comes down the plateau, Chang'an is just the first city I want to capture... The purpose of this war is not to plunder, but to conquer."