Before the team contacted the court, Mou Liangbi knew that his name would definitely be on the list of fallen soldiers. The battle has been going on so far, even if he can still live and return to the court, the best outcome is that he will be dismissed from his official position and go home to be idle. After King Xujun sent someone to contact the court, Mou Liangbi knew that the position of Minister of the Ministry of War had been replaced by Zong Lianghu, but he had no complaints. Who was to blame for his bad luck?
¡°If he and Prince Xu had been more decisive back then, there wouldn¡¯t have been such a disastrous defeat. In fact, Li Yuanshan's rebellion was not without warning. Both he and Prince Xu were aware of it, but they both had the same thoughts and the same hesitant temperament.
After more than ten years in prison, he originally thought that his life would end like this. Unexpectedly, the emperor used him before the war and was directly promoted to Minister of War. At that time, Mou Liangbi was very high-spirited, but who would have thought that his fate would be so difficult, with such ups and downs?
He also knew that there was something fishy about Prince Xu¡¯s death.
Among the entire team, only he and Prince Xu had read the secret report sent back by Cui Zhongzhen. He was more wary of Li Xiaozong.
But it was still his hesitant temper that caused him to miss the opportunity to eradicate Li Xiaozong.
Sitting in the big tent, looking at the soldiers arranged by Li Xiaozong outside, Mou Liangbi couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly.
"It's hard not to gain wisdom"
He murmured something, his brows filled with bitterness.
The water on the stove was already boiling, but he didn't notice it at all. His mind was actually blank, there was nothing. I was just in a daze, not thinking about anything.
At this moment, the voices of the soldiers guarding outside pulled him out of the chaos. He looked outside, and Wanyan Zhongde opened the curtain and walked in.
"Why is Your Highness here?"
Mouliangbi stood up quickly.
Wanyan Zhongde held a bottle of wine in his hand and smiled and said: "There has been no fighting in the past two days, and he seems to be sore all over. I went out to hunt some game in the morning, and I cleaned it up myself. Come and have a drink with Lord Mou."
He waved his hand, and the soldiers behind him walked in with food boxes, lowered their heads and placed the food and wine on the table. Mou Liangbi didn't notice that the soldier's face was a bit raw. He shook his head and said: "How can you still think about drinking wine? The war is so stalemate now. It's time to retreat. Sooner or later there will be big trouble."
The soldier filled the cup with wine and said in a low voice: "Master Jiu Mou should still eat today, but the food cooked by His Highness himself naturally has a different flavor."
Mouliang Bixin said that this soldier was very unruly. He looked back and was immediately stunned. The soldier straightened up, with a gentle smile on his delicate face.
"Fang"
He opened his mouth, but stopped subconsciously.
"A drunkenness will relieve a thousand worries, so just have a drink with His Highness!"
He walked to the table and sat down, keeping his eyes on Fang Jie.
Fang Jie looked outside, then took out the note he had written previously from his sleeve and placed it on the table. Li Xiaozong's personal soldiers were outside, and no matter how low he spoke, he couldn't hide it from others, so Fang Jie wrote down everything he wanted to say, put it on the table and left immediately. He nodded to Mou Liangbi, with a smile on his lips. It can make people feel at ease. Mou Liangbi also nodded to him, with surprise and excitement in his eyes.
"You go back first. I will go back to the camp by myself after drinking with Master Mou."
Wanyan Zhongde waved his hand, and Fang Jie immediately withdrew.
As soon as he went out, he saw a group of people walking towards him in the distance. Although he just glanced at it casually, Fang Jie couldn't help but feel nervous. The group of people coming this way was led by Li Xiaozong! Behind him, more than a dozen generals of the Sui army followed step by step, seemingly listening to Li Xiaozong's military arrangements.
Fang Jie pulled the leather helmet down, stood aside and bowed to salute.
Li Xiaozong didn't look at him at all. He passed by Fang Jie while talking to the generals. After Fang Jie waited for them to pass, he straightened up and walked towards Hanqi's camp in Bei Liao. Li Xiaozong was walking and talking when he suddenly felt a chill on his back. He subconsciously glanced back, but found nothing.
"Who is that soldier?"
He asked the soldiers guarding outside Mouliangbi's tent.
"Go back to the general, that is His Highness Wanyan's personal entourage, who came just now to deliver wine."
"Your Highness is here?"
"Just drink with Lord Mou in the tent."
Li Xiaozong grunted, waved his hand and told the generals: "You all go back first, and we will discuss how to advance the army tomorrow when the tents are raised."
The generals made a promise and turned to leave. Li Xiaozong opened the curtain of the big tent and went in. He smiled and said, "You two are very interested. The weather is getting colder and colder. A pot of wine will relieve your fatigue and keep warm."
When Mou Liangbi heard the conversation outside, he had already put the note into his sleeve, stood up together with Wanyan Zhongde, and invited Li Xiaozong to sit down and have a drink with him.
¡°It¡¯s a rare game!¡±
Li Xiaozong looked at the food and wine on the table and said, "There is no fighting today, so I will borrow your highness's wine for a drink."
The three of them sat around and chatted for a while, and the topic naturally turned to the war against the rebels.
"The weather is getting colder and colder. Our soldiers lack winter clothes. Meng Wansui is just guarding. We can't find an opportunity to defeat the enemy, right"
Mou Liangbi was interrupted by Li Xiaozong when he was halfway through his words: "How can we easily retreat if the prince's great revenge is not avenged? Tens of thousands of soldiers have shed their blood and returned without success. How can I explain to them?"
"But as long as the rebels are on guard, how can they take revenge?"
Mou Liangbi said: "General Li, I am as sad as you are that your prince died in battle. But now that you are in charge of military affairs, you cannot be emotional. As a general, you have to be responsible for tens of thousands of soldiers!"
"I am also responsible for the death of the prince!"
Li Xiaozong said loudly: "I accompanied the prince to explore the enemy's situation that day. The prince died in the battle, but I was still alive. If I don't avenge this revenge, how can I explain to the prince's spirit in heaven? Tens of thousands of soldiers have the same thought, that is, Ning I will kill all the rebels! Master Mou, if you are so timid, I¡¯m afraid the prince will be heartbroken!¡±
"General Li!"
Mou Liangbi said angrily: "If you accidentally put tens of thousands of soldiers to death, the prince will be heartbroken!"
Wanyan Zhongde quickly picked up the wine glass and said: "Both of you are thinking about the prince, so why should we argue? I must be under the influence of the prince, and he definitely doesn't want to see the two people he trusts most like this. Let's not talk about military affairs today, okay? ?¡±
Li Xiaozong sighed, picked up the wine glass and said, "His Highness will laugh."
He picked up the wine glass and drank it down in one gulp, then stood up and said goodbye: "I still have military affairs to deal with, so I'll leave first."
After saying this, he turned to leave, and suddenly saw a folded piece of paper at Mouliangbi's feet: "What is that?"
Mou Liangbi looked down and his expression changed immediately.
He bent down and picked up the paper and handed it to Li Xiaozong: "This is the retreat strategy I wrote in the past two days. How to continue to provide food and grass for the winter after the army returns to the village, how to prepare winter clothes to keep out the cold, how to guard against the rebels' counterattack, and how to reorganize the troops. , how to contact the imperial army, I have worked hard to think about it. Now that the general is here, I will leave it to you. "
Li Xiaozong stretched out his hand, hesitated for a moment and then said: "Let's discuss the withdrawal of troops in a few days."
He actually didn¡¯t take the paper and turned around and left.
After Mouliangbi waited for him to go out, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.
The tight muscles on Wanyan Zhongde¡¯s back also relaxed, and then he realized that the clothes inside were actually wet.
¡¡
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Li Xiaozong returned to his big tent. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that something strange happened today. But when I think about it carefully, I don't think there is anything wrong. After frowning and thinking for a while, he suddenly thought that just when he was about to leave Mouliangbi's tent, Wanyan Zhongde's hand subconsciously touched the handle of the knife beside him.
"Comer"
He shouted outside the tent, and soldiers came in immediately.
"Go to Mr. Mou and ask for what he wrote today. All you have to do is talk about it, and Mr. Mou will know what it is."
The soldiers went out and came back a short time later to say that Mouliangbi had burned the thing.
Li Xiaozong frowned and thought for a while, then smiled to himself. I have indeed been too nervous these days. Mou Liangbi has been sidelined, and there is only one chance to kill him. Although Cui Zhongzhen is not dead yet, he is a useless person when he is locked in a cage. To kill him, there is only one chance left. And he can create such opportunities at any time. After Prince Xu's death, he had the highest prestige among the generals in the army, so he naturally took over the command.
Cui Zhongzhen was just a member of his own army. Although he was quite prestigious in the army, Li Xiaozong was not worried about anything. The reason why he forcefully rejected Mou Liangbi's suggestion to withdraw the troops was because he had to seize this opportunity and keep the general's heart firmly in his own hands.
The soldiers are full of hatred for the death of Xujun Wang Yang Kai, and he must take advantage of this hatred.
"Liu Silang"
Li Xiaozong shouted outside, and his troops were coming in immediately: "What are your orders, general?"
"After I raise my account tomorrow morning, I will order Cui Zhongzhen to plead guilty and meritorious service, and give him a man to fight outside the rebel camp. You go to see Meng Wansui overnight and ask him to send troops to fight tomorrow. You will hide in the rebel camp. In the army, he looked for an opportunity to shoot Cui Zhongzhen to death."
"I obey my orders."
"besides"
Li Xiaozong was silent for a while and continued: "Tell Meng Wansui that in three days, I will let Mou Liangbi take the troops to escort the baggage back to the stronghold, and let Meng Wansui set up an ambush in Jiazigou. As long as Mou Liangbi is dead, I will never do anything again." There is no serious concern.¡±
"Thenwhat about the one with perfect appearance and great virtue?"
Liu Silang asked.
"I can't eat these ten thousand people of cold cavalry for the time being Although I'm greedy at the sight, I don't have such a big appetite. It's not the time to touch him yet. Let's wait and see what news comes from the east. . You arrange for people to set off immediately to the Hexi Road to investigate the movements of the imperial army. If the imperial army is blocked, we will return to Langru Mountain to garrison. If the imperial army wins, I will contact Meng Wansui to attack Xiangzhou together!"
Liu Silang nodded: "I understand!"
"Go ahead"
Li Xiaozong waved his hand: "Don't let others find out."
Liu Silang responded, bowed and retreated.
Li Xiaozong drank the herbal tea in the cup in one gulp, and the coldness that penetrated his heart calmed down his impetuous heart. He walked to the door of the big tent and looked at the sky outside, thoughtfully.
After being silent for a while, he suddenly smiled.
"First kill Cui Zhongzhen, then Mou Liangbi, and then find an opportunity to kill Meng Wansui If we capture Xiangzhou, the emperor will not give me a generous reward even if he doesn't want to. Even if the imperial army is defeated and has hundreds of thousands of horses in its hands, where can it be? Can¡¯t tolerate it?¡±
He stretched out his hand and drew a few times in the air. The teapot on the table suddenly shattered, but the herbal tea in the teapot floated in the air, rapidly changing shape, and finally turned into an ice knife.
He clenched his fist, and the ice blade shattered in mid-air and fell to the ground.