Although the soldiers of the left avant-garde crossed the Huangniu River, contrary to Fang Jie's expectation, the rebels did not counterattack and allowed the left avant-garde to build a stronghold on the north bank of the river. Fang Jie originally thought that even if the left avant-garde and the rebels did not want to start a war, even if the left avant-garde crossed the river and just built a camp, it would be equivalent to a big step. This is the first time that the imperial army has set foot on this land after the independence of the three northwest territories. Logically speaking, the reaction of the rebels should be fierce.
¡°Allowing the imperial court¡¯s troops to come in would definitely be a big blow to the morale of the rebels.
Although Li Yuanshan has not yet proclaimed himself emperor, he calls himself the King of Dingxi. The three northwest territories are his territory. When the imperial army attacked at the beginning, Li Yuanshan must have launched a fierce counterattack. Based on Fang Xie's understanding of Li Yuanshan, this man's ambitions are definitely not as big as those of the Northwest Third Path.
It has been more than half a month, and the left avant-garde camp and the rebel camp in Hebei are only less than 20 miles apart, but they are in peace with each other.
Fang Jie sat under the big tree and watched the men and horses training in Shanzi Camp, his brows furrowed deeply. What he was most worried about was whether Luo Yao secretly colluded with the rebels. If Li Yuanshan and Luo Yao formed an alliance, the Sui Dynasty would really be in turmoil. It is said that the imperial court has organized more than one million warriors, and has mobilized another 300,000 soldiers, ready to go. If Li Yuanshan and Luo Yao join forces, then the court's counter-insurgency battle will be more disaster-prone.
???????????????????????????????????????????????mbmbmb And will the one who stabbed him this time be Luo Yao?
While he was deep in thought, Zhuo Buyi walked over quickly.
¡°Something¡¯s not right with the recent situation.¡±
Zhuo Buyi said in a heavy tone after sitting down next to Fang Jie.
"What's wrong?"
Fang explained the question.
"Since these days, there have been constant conflicts between the people of the left avant-garde and the county soldiers and civilian yong of Huangyang Road. This morning, it was said that several soldiers of the left avant-garde were killed by the people. Wen Xiaodao personally led a team of elite soldiers. The cavalry broke into Minyong's camp, captured dozens of people, and beheaded them on the spot. If Huangyang Dao Governor Yang Yanye hadn't tried his best to suppress them, Minyong would have exploded today Thousands of Minyong blocked Wen Xiaodao in the camp. The situation was tense. If Yang Yanye hadn't rushed there quickly, the fight wouldn't have been a small-scale incident. "
"Why do I always feel that the soldier on the left avant-garde is deliberately stirring up trouble?"
Zhuo Buyi frowned and said: "It is said that Luo Yao first urged Yang Yanye to deliver a month's supply of food and grass to the left avant-garde. Yang Yanye couldn't get it together, so he borrowed the food from the local squire. After this batch of food and grass was delivered, Luo Yao immediately sent someone to replenish it. If you go to collect food, it will take three months to open your mouth. If you keep pushing like this, Yang Yanye's patience will soon come to an end. "
Fang Jie sighed: "This is what I'm most worried about. I'm afraid that Luo Yao's purpose of going north is not the rebels at all. It's Huang Yang Dao. The four southwest roads are his territory, but Huang Yang Dao is within his control. Outside. Although the Southwest Fourth Path is rich, Luo Yao has continued to expand his army and used troops against the He people in recent years. No matter how wealthy the place is, it cannot support him if he wants to expand his army again And Huangyang Dao has Xinkou Cang, one of the largest granaries in the Sui Dynasty. If Luo Yao takes Xinkou Cang, it will not be a problem for him to raise an army of millions. "
Speaking of this, Zhuo Buyi's expression suddenly changed: "Xinkoucang is on Huangyang Road, and Huangyang Road has no soldiers guarding it at all. The defenders of Xinkoucang are less than 5,000 people, and the combat effectiveness of the food guards cannot be compared with the soldiers. The rebels have divided the northwest for two years and have not made any plans to attack Xinkoucang. Why? "
Fang explained: "Yang Yanye formed a group of people to fight hard to resist. I'm afraid there are other hidden reasons."
Zhuo Buyi thought about it carefully, and a trace of fear flashed in his eyes: "You mean, Luo Yao has been targeting Xinkoucang for a long time. The reason why the rebels did not take Xinkoucang was not because of Huang Yangdao's brave resistance. The violence was because they had long known that Xinkoucang was what Luo Yao wanted, and they did not dare to snatch it. At this time, Li Yuanshan did not dare to easily offend Luo Yao, who had 400,000 troops. The tacit understanding is that he will not interfere with Li Yuanshan's affairs, and Li Yuanshan should not interfere with his affairs"
"More than four hundred thousand"
Fang Jie shook his head: "You haven't seen it clearly yet? If Luo Yao is willing, the number of people who can be pulled up in the Southwest Fourth Road in an instant is definitely bigger than Li Yuanshan. In the past twenty years, the Sui Dynasty court has been very strict with the Southwest Fourth Road, especially in the Southwest Fourth Road. Ping Shang Dao has taken great care of them, and they have continuously reduced and exempted money and food, but the people are not very wealthy. Where have all the food and money gone? Luo Yaoqiang has recruited soldiers!"
"The number of troops reported by the left avant-garde to the court is 200,000, but we all know that it is no less than 400,000. Now it seemsit is more than these four? million. During Luo Yao's twenty years in Yongzhou, he completely transformed the southwest into a huge military camp. "
"Oh My God¡¡"
Zhuo Buyi said: "Are you saying that Luo Yao is determined to rebel? Since you have noticed it, why don't you leave? We should return to Chang'an City to meet His Majesty as soon as possible. If we delay further, we will wait for the imperial counter-rebellion army to arrive and defeat the rebels. If Jun and Luo Yao join forces, the imperial army will be attacked from both sides"
"Walk?"
Fang Jie smiled: "These are just our speculations, there is no evidence at all. Besides, how can we leave now? All roads are blocked by the left avant-garde. If we want to leave, we must cross the river and follow the rebels. It¡¯s our territory. Huangyang Road is now closed, and our people can¡¯t be sent back at all.¡±
"What should we do?"
Fang Jie was silent for a while and said: "It would be best if the tacit understanding between the rebels and the left vanguard could be broken and Luo Yao and the rebels could fight Luo Yao sent troops across the river, but the rebels stood still. This is unusual. , in fact, anyone with a discerning eye can see it. I can guarantee that Yang Yanye, the governor of Huangyang Road, noticed it earlier than us, because Luo Yao has been forcing him since he arrived I don't believe that he will not find a way to send news to the court, so, I I plan to find an opportunity to meet him.¡±
"Does he believe you?"
"After all, I am from Chang'an City, not from Luo Yao."
Fang Jie stood up: "If it doesn't work, I have to drag a group of people away. I have already started to make use of Shanzi Camp, and I can't just lose it. If you can't return to Chang'an, then go and join Prince Xu. "
"Have you already planned it?"
Zhuo Buyi asked doubtfully.
Fang Jie nodded: "From the day I was left behind by Luo Yao, I started thinking about how to escape."
¡¡
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Zhuo Buyi and Fang Jie stood on the south bank of the Huangniu River, looking at the endlessly flowing Huangniu River, the camp on the north bank of the river, and the nine pontoon bridges on the river. They both fell silent.
"If the emperor had not secretly mobilized troops for the Western Expedition, but had brought this matter up for discussion in the court I am afraid that the Sui Dynasty would not be in the same predicament as it is now. Thinking about it now, the fundamental mistake in this matter is to mobilize troops. The emperor actually plans to hide such a big thing from everyone. "
Zhuo Buyi sighed.
"The emperor was too confident. He felt that he could put aside the courtiers, bypass the court's arguments, and put the entire Sui Dynasty on his shoulders with his own ability. In the emperor's eyes, none of those courtiers were It made him feel at ease, so he wanted to do everything himself. From the beginning, he never felt that anything could be done without the imperial court. He knew that once such a big thing as the expedition to the northwest was brought up for discussion in the imperial court, it would be discussed immediately. It would cause a storm, so he wanted to do it himself."
"It must be said that the emperor is a wise man that few people can match. He does have the ability to control the overall situation when he is calm."
Fang Jie¡¯s words became increasingly disrespectful, but Zhuo Yiyi took his words seriously.
"And after the emperor ascended the throne, everything went smoothly. Those in the court who had supported the prince and other princes were all taken down by the emperor without a word. The disharmony in the court was gone, and the courtiers were all obedient to him. Then he secretly established Huotong Tianxiaxing, relying on a trading company to repair the city wall that had not been repaired for a hundred years since the founding of the Sui Dynasty. This alone is enough to leave a mark in the history books. "
"But just because everything went so smoothly for the emperor, his ambitions became bigger and bigger He used goods all over the world to quietly transport troops and grain, and only then did he make the matter public after moving 700,000 troops to the northwest. It was already too late for the courtiers to know, and the huge state machinery was only activated at this time to support the war in the northwest, and the disadvantages had actually appeared"
Fang Jie paused and continued: "Even without Li Yuanshan's rebellion, I am not optimistic about the Northwest War. The Mongolian Yuan Dynasty has been established for nearly a thousand years, with a solid foundation, a huge army, strong national power, and strong people's support. How could it be possible? Can it be defeated easily? Without Li Yuanshan's rebellion, the army deployed by the imperial court in the northwest would also have problems due to many problems in the rear. "
"After the defeat in the Northwest Battle, the emperor did not listen to the advice of his courtiers and made a series of foolish decisions Huang Yangdao did not send troops to garrison, and recruited civilian braves without restraint. These were all because of his guilty conscience"
"Feeling guilty?"
Zhuo Buyi was puzzled.
"Yes, because he lost, he felt that the court officials must be secretly ridiculing him and laughing at him. So he became more and more withdrawn and disliked listening to others. He felt that he was right in everything and everyone else was wrong. . He felt that whatever the courtiers said about the Northwest War was deliberately to embarrass him.??¡±
Zhuo Buyi said: "Perhaps you are too arbitrary and too pessimistic. After all, we are not in Chang'an City and we don't know what happened in the capital."
Fang Jie shook his head: "I hope so."
"The emperor's concerns about the northwest precisely because he felt guilty, he wanted to show calmness more and more. As a result, he did not mobilize troops as quickly as possible and wanted to hide the matter, so that Li Yuanshan gradually The people had no choice but to obey the rebels, so they had to do it step by step, first restore their vitality, and then spend a few years deploying their troops gradually. This was also the right way. But the emperor was actually more anxious than anyone else. He pretended not to care. After a year of pretending, he couldn't keep up the pretense and started to mobilize troops again In order to gather men and horses and recruit civilian bravery as soon as possible, the hidden dangers were too great Either fast or slow , He will not take either avenue"
Zhuo Buyi sighed: "Are there no courtiers to remind the emperor of these things?"
"Who can the emperor listen to? Pei Yan?"
Fang Jie smiled coldly: "The first time I met him, I had a vague idea of ??this man's nature. He will only follow the emperor, never go against it."
Zhuo Buyi was startled and sighed secretly in his heart. He knew that Fang Jie was right. Pei Yan would never say anything to hinder the emperor from his mouth.
At this moment, several people in flying fish robes walked over quickly with a man on their backs.
"Sir, someone is coming from the capital!"
A man in flying fish robe lowered his voice.
Fang Jie hurriedly stepped forward and supported the tired man, who was almost in vain: "Your Majesty's will?"
"no!"
The visitor took out an iron box from his arms with difficulty and handed it to Fang Jie: "Sanjinhou Sanjinhou asked me to hand it to you personally."
"Hurry and help him down to rest."
Fang Jie gave an order and then peeled off the paint on the iron box. There was only a text message in it, with only a dozen words. But Fang Jie's expression immediately changed after reading it. The corner of his mouth trembled and he couldn't help but take a deep breath: "Sothat's it. Now I understand why the emperor made such a series of stupid moves."