On this day, Li Mi was at the ordnance camp outside Jiankang City, testing the power of new firearms with the alchemists.
A friend of Li Mi came from outside the camp and told him something: Ying Guogong Laigui was arrested by the emperor's order and escorted from Baling to Jiankang City. Now he has been imprisoned in the sky prison.
Hearing the news, Li Mi was startled at first, then quickly dropped what he was doing and hurried into the palace as quickly as possible.
Entering the palace, Li Bi did not wait for the report from the chamberlain, then walked directly into the imperial study, found Emperor Li Yu, and said to him: "I heard that Duke Ying was arrested, and thought there was a hidden secret in it."
When Li Yu saw Li Mi coming, he originally had a smile on his face, but after listening to what the other party said, he showed a disgusted expression: "Lai Ai deceived you, you deserved it."
Li Mi: "Your Majesty, in the battle of Jiangcheng, Lai Ai single-handedly resisted Guo Ziyi's 200,000 troops and kept Jiangzhou safe for a year. Later in Baling, Lai Ai had less than 10,000 men under his command, but he dragged Guo Ziyi to the Jingjiang area. Lai.
Although the general occasionally makes mistakes in his words and deeds, he is a rare general and I hope your majesty will learn from it."
Li Yu: "I know that Lai Yi can fight, but if he can fight again, if he refuses to obey the order, how can I dare to use such a person?"
When Li Mi heard this, he was confused and asked the emperor about the cause and effect.
Li Yu briefly explained what Lai Ai had done. Li Mi took a breath of cold air, but he knew in his heart that Lai Ai had committed a taboo and it would be difficult to explain it clearly to the emperor.
So, Li Bi put aside the matter of Qi for the time being and asked the emperor: "Guo Ziyi is retreating with his army. What is your Majesty going to do?"
Li Yu: "The troops under Guo Ziyi have now withdrawn to Jiangcheng, and are using ships to transport the army to the north. This means that Liangcheng must have given orders to Guo Ziyi to go north to help as soon as possible. I plan to order Ba
The armies from Ling, Changsha, and Yuzhang were gathered in the south of Jiangzhou, and when the enemy troops in Jiangcheng were isolated and helpless, they attacked and captured the city by surprise."
Li Mi: "Your Majesty, there are only 30,000 troops in Baling, Changsha, and Yuzhang. It would be too risky to send these 30,000 troops to attack Jiangcheng."
Li Yu seemed full of confidence: "Most of Jiangcheng's defenses had been destroyed when Guo Ziyi crossed the river to fight. Moreover, Jiangcheng faces the river in the north, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack, but to the south is a plain, which is difficult for the defenders.
Unfavorable. In addition, there is another thing that made me determined to fight Guo Ziyi..."
Li Mi: "Is there another one?"
Li Yu: "The Baling Army has sent scouts to Jiangcheng. According to the reports from the spies, thousands of troops set out from Jiangcheng to the north bank every day. This cannot be false. The enemy troops in Jiangcheng
Although there are many, most of them have crossed the river now, and there are not many people left in the city. Therefore, even if our army only has 30,000 people, the advantage is still on our side."
Li Mi: "What if Guo Ziyi discovers that our army has made any changes and turns around to fight back?"
Li Yu: "That's better. Most of the northerners have crossed the river now. If they want to turn around and fight, they must collect ships and force the crossing back. The time spent in this process is not more than ten days, which is impossible to do. And
At that time, as long as our army captures Jiangcheng, it can rely on its geographical advantage to intercept Guo Ziyi's army and drag it here in Jiangcheng."
Hearing this, Li Mi looked solemn and asked the last question: "Your Majesty, in this decisive battle with Guo Ziyi, which general does the DPRK intend to use as the general?"
Li Yu: "When Lai Ai was arrested, he insisted on asking his lieutenant Xue Nanyang to lead the army for him. However, Xue Nanyang was promoted by Lai Ai, and I was worried that he had ulterior motives. Therefore, this time I went to Jiangcheng with the Beiren
In the decisive battle, I plan to use Zhonglang General Sun Pin as the main general."
Li Mi: "Sun Pin? But that is a veteran of the Sun family for three dynasties?"
Li Yu nodded and said: "In the early years of Kaiyuan, General Sun fought against the rebels in the Qiantang area, and later fought against the rebel army led by An Lushan in Chuzhou. In terms of experience and qualifications, he was a veteran in the court. So
I will command the battle of Jiangcheng for the first time, so I will be safe."
Li Mi did not comment on this, but asked Li Yu to meet Lai Yi.
Li Yu hesitated for this request, but finally agreed.
After Li Mi left the palace, he went to Tianlao and saw Lai Yi who looked haggard.
Almost within a few days, most of Lai Yi's hair turned gray, and his whole spirit also declined a lot.
When he saw Li Mi, he sighed first and then said, "Sir, are you here to persuade me?"
Li Mi shook his head: "The general is determined, and no matter how much others try to persuade him, he will never beg for work."
Lai Yi nodded slightly: "Everything I do, from beginning to end, is to protect Jiangnan and the imperial court. If you bend your knees and beg for work, wouldn't you be admitting that you are selfish?"
Li Mi looked at Lai Ai and said, "The general killed Li Tingxiao in vain and refused to obey the order. Didn't he consider the consequences?"
Lai Yi was silent for a moment and replied: "The arrow is on the string and must be fired."
Li Mi also fell silent after hearing this.
After a long time, Li Mi said: "The Holy One plans to gather troops from Baling, Yuzhang, Changsha and other places to fight Guo Ziyi's tribe in Jiangcheng."
Lai Yi closed his eyes and let out a long sigh: "Your Majesty is too impatient. Guo Ziyi is a famous general in the world. Even if he received the imperial edict and went north to aid Liangcheng, how could he not leave any backup behind and expose his flaws?"
Li Mi: "Your Majesty plans to appoint Sun Pin as the main general."
Hearing this, Lai Yi opened his eyes wide and asked anxiously: "Is that the old guy from the Sun family?"
Li Mi nodded slightly.
Lai Yi said sadly: "Sun Pin only fought against pirates during his Kaiyuan years. In the fifteenth year of Tianbao, when the bandits went south, he was only responsible for long-term transportation. However, after running back and forth a few times, he boasted that he was
Destroy the enemy army. How could your Majesty bet the destiny of the country on this person? It is simply nonsense!"
Li Mi said: "General, instead of worrying about others, you should worry more about yourself."
Lai Yi: "Worried about yourself? From the beginning to the end, even though my actions were a little biased, I always put the overall situation first. Although Your Majesty is asking for guilt now, as long as he gives time, he will be able to understand me."
Regarding Lai Yi's words, Li Mi shook his head helplessly and said this: "In the next battle of Jiangcheng, 30,000 soldiers from Jiangnan will attack the city. If our army wins, General Lai may still have a chance to survive.
But if this battle is defeated, the general will only die."
Lai Yi was stunned.
In the battle of Jiangcheng, if he wins, he can live, but if he loses, he will definitely die. What is the truth?
Li Mi did not explain, and added: "Pindao was originally just helping the Holy One from the side, and did not intend to get too involved in the world. But now that Jiangnan is in danger, Pindao can only go against his original intention and do his best."
After saying this, Li Mi turned around and left the prison.