The things prepared by Sun Kaidao were basically of no use. The rebels in Jiazigou were indeed a group of suspects. They were not many in number. After seeing the Sui army coming in, they quietly retreated without launching any offensive. This has something to do with Meng Wansui's arrogance. Under such circumstances, he dared to take the road of Jiazigou. It can only be said that the leader of the Sui army was either very discerning or an idiot.
The Sui army had more than 40,000 horses, plus 10,000 Hanqi from Northern Liao. Even if Sun Kaidao had an army of more than 200,000, he would not dare to take it lightly, even if it was an ambush. The fighting strength of the Sui army's 40,000 men should not be underestimated. The cold cavalry in Northern Liao were even called invincible. If Meng Wansui wanted to set up an ambush on the main road, he would have to bring enough men and horses.
With an army of more than 200,000 people setting up an ambush in Houwu Mountain, Meng Wansui was not even 100% sure of winning, let alone splitting up a large group of troops to leave.
Of course, once this battle is won, Meng Wansui's name will immediately spread throughout the three northwest territories. Once the problems that had troubled Li Yuanshan for three years were solved by him, Li Yuanshan would definitely rely on him even more. However, this is not what Meng Wansui is planning now. Meng Wansui was originally loyal to Li Yuanshan, but since Li Yuanshan began to use nepotism, his mind has gradually changed.
After Li Yuanshan became king, the people he employed were all members of the Li family. Good weapons and equipment were also distributed to the teams led by these people. Although the original Seven Tiger Generals were all granted the title of marquis or general, their treatment was very different. During the two years in Xidaying, after having close contact with Li Xiaozong, he gradually became influenced by Li Xiaozong.
The two even agreed that once Li Yuanshan's defeat appeared, the two of them would join forces to attack Xiangzhou from the rear.
But
Now that Li Xiaozong is dead, the Sui army retreats. If he didn't take any action, I'm afraid Li Yuanshan would immediately become suspicious. And as long as we capture this Sui army, there will be many benefits to Meng Wansui. If he can encircle and force this rebel army to surrender, his strength will be greatly increased, and even Li Yuanshan's attitude towards him will be greatly changed. You must know that 40,000 elites plus 10,000 cold cavalry are enough to make Li Yuanshan tremble.
And with this Sui army, he also has one more choice.
Once Li Yuanshan is defeated, he can still go to the court.
Unfortunately, things went counterproductive.
After the Sui army passed through Jiazigou, their marching speed became even faster. The imperial army's offensive on Hexi Road did not slow down. That was because the army conquering the west was not short of supplies. And it¡¯s when we are winning consecutive battles and our morale is like a rainbow. But this Sui army was not good enough. It was impossible to take away all the food and grass snatched from the rebel camp, so it could only survive the winter. Once Meng Wansui suffered a big loss and retaliated violently, even if the Sui army was not afraid, the losses would not be too small.
And it has been more than a month since we left the stronghold. There are Mongolian cavalry stationed 300 miles away from the stronghold. If the Mongolian people take advantage of the weak strength of the stronghold to attack and lose the stronghold, the Sui army will have no foothold.
Fang Jie did not ride a horse, but sat on a large cart that was used by the team to pull the baggage. There was no carriage. He sat cross-legged on a sack full of grain, placed a tray with some sunflower seeds and a pot of tea, and watched the scenery while walking. He seemed carefree and at ease. It's just that the Chaolu sword without the scabbard is beside him, and it seems to be colder than the cold wind.
Sun Kaidao sat next to him, leaning on the sack and squinting his eyes as if he was asleep or thinking about something.
After leaving Jiazigou, we reached Shangguan Road. The road was very flat and straight, so it was not too bumpy. Fang Jie poured himself a cup and drank without saying anything. Sun Kaidao, who squinted his eyes, saw a majestic mountain in the distance and couldn't help but praise it, which made Fang Jie also look at him sideways.
"General, what does that mountain look like?"
Sun Kaidao asked.
"Pull it straight, like a scabbard."
"Um"
Sun Kaidao nodded: "The mountain is very steep, so even if there are tourists, most of them would just look at it from a distance and not dare to climb it. However, the mountains next to this mountain are beautiful and gentle. If it were me, I would choose The shorter ones don¡¯t want to take risks easily. Even though the scenery from higher places is more beautiful, it looks too scary.¡±
"What do you want to say?"
Fang explained the question.
Sun Kaidao smiled: "Because the mountain is too fierce, people stay away from it. If you want people to get close to you, it's better not to be too tall. It's not good if a person is too imposing, because people will be afraid of being touched by him. Spirit hurts. The more you are in a disadvantageous situation, the more mellow you must be, so that not only the people around you, but also your opponents will find it easier to get along with."
He glanced at Fang Jie: "I'd rather put it bluntly. It's already here now. Even if we leave right away, it won't do any good. Anyway, we're already here, so it's better to just stay. Since someone said something in advance and didn't believe it, can't we just leave for a while?" Later, he used his methods to repay him? The general pretended that nothing had happened, respected Mou Liangbi more, listened to his words, and obeyed whatever he said.It won't be long before he loses his guard against you"
Fang Jie shook his head: "I'm just a little dissatisfied, not as angry as you said. If Mr. Mou had told me clearly about this matter before, and he wanted to establish his authority, I wouldn't have cared about it."
"He doesn't believe you."
Sun Kaidao smiled and said: "Although I don't know Mou Liangbi, I can see his character from this incident. He can attribute all the credit of the general to himself. Unexpectedly, he seemed to be sincerely humble to the general before. There's no way he can do it. In all likelihood, he's trying to test the general's true intentions. He's been plotting against the general from the very beginning. Why should the general show any courtesy to such a person? The general and General Cui work together to save his life. If my benefactor has such a plan, what kind of favor can he have left?"
"When I first arrived here, I persuaded the general to seize the military power directly. I'm afraid that at that time, Mou Liangbi was most worried about you, the general. This person can act better than anyone else."
"In the beginning, he was extremely close to the general, as if no one in the Sui army could be trusted. Only you and him, the general, were on the same team. The general wanted to kill Li Xiaozong, and he helped him with all his strength. In fact, it was because he was competing with others. They all preferred to see Li Xiaozong die Then General Cui strongly supported General You to take charge of military affairs, which was beyond Mou Liangbi's expectation, so he deliberately sided with Cui Zhongzhen, seemingly willing to let you lead. The team is actually to test the general's thoughts, and to test the thoughts of the Sui army generals. "
"Now that I think about it, he was hesitant about whether to kill Li Xiaozong's cronies on the first day, and he did it deliberately. In the battle a few days ago, he killed 16,000 prisoners without even frowning. , Could it be that he really couldn't bear it because Li Xiaozong's cronies were also soldiers? The moment he ordered the execution of all prisoners of war, I knew that this man had an extremely sharp knife hidden in his heart. "
"Everything was within his plan. The man who was called the second good minister back then was really filled with rifts in his heart"
Sun Kaidao sneered: "The general went to him and told him the whole plan, I'm afraid he would immediately become happy. The general asked me to go to Jiazigou to test how many ambushes the rebels had. Of course, I also understand the general's move even though I am humble. The purpose was to prevent Lu Fenghou and Chen Bishan from targeting the humble position. Lu Fenghou was asked to lead the Yangzi Battalion to guard the entrance of the Jiazi Valley to protect the retreat route for the army. What does all this have to do with the cavalry's attack? But now, the generals of the Sui army think it was arranged by him."
Fang Jie knew that Sun Kaidao was right, and he had indeed underestimated Mou Liangbi.
To be precise, he underestimated a person¡¯s inner desires.
King Xujun is dead. Not only Li Xiaozong wants this team with amazing fighting power, but Mou Liangbi also wants it!
It¡¯s just that he can¡¯t compete with Li Xiaozong.
Mou Liangbi was a scholar, and Li Xiaozong had a military background. The generals of the Sui army were more likely to accept the latter. However, Li Xiaozong held high the banner of avenging Prince Xu from the beginning, and Mou Liangbi was already at a disadvantage. Later, he was ousted from his power by Li Xiaozong. Even if he had great plans but no strength, he could only succumb to others. But at this moment, Fang Jie came and killed Li Xiaozong. How could Mou Liangbi not be tempted?
¡¡
¡¡
On the carriage, Mou Liangbi poured a cup of tea for Cui Zhongzhen with his own hands: "General Cui I know you are unhappy, so I came to you. Some things have to be said by me personally."
He glanced at Cui Zhongzhen, who didn't bother to look at him at all.
"I know this. I went a little too far, but I had no choice but to do it for the sake of this team. It's not all selfish. At this moment, we need to unite sincerely. Once we become disloyal, we will be ruined. What¡¯s more important is the team of tens of thousands of people and the situation that was achieved with great difficulty.¡±
Cui Zhongzhen remained speechless and turned his gaze outside the carriage.
"AdmittedlyI am indeed a bit selfish."
Mou Liangbi sat down, was silent for a while and said: "But General Cui, you should know that if I don't make some achievements, how can I have the honor to return to the court to see His Majesty? Even if the northwest battle was due to Li Yuanshan's rebellion and resulted in a disastrous defeat, The 700,000-strong army was almost wiped out, but the prince and I were not exempt from the blame. The prince left, and now I am the only one left I need this team, and I need to fight some good battles, otherwise I will wait for the imperial army to triumph. "Japan, General Cui, I guess you also know what will happen to me."
"I am different from you. I have been in prison for more than ten years. I thought my life would be over. But His Majesty released me from prison and entrusted me with important tasks. No one can understand how excited I was at that moment. I have learned half of my life. , how can I not be happy when I finally have a chance to show off? However, just because of a defeat, I have to bear the consequences.Is this fair? Even if Your Majesty is merciful and does not punish me for the death penalty, at most I will end up returning home to retire. "
"Why? Why?"
Perhaps because of excitement, Mou Liangbi's hands trembled slightly: "I am indeed sorry for this matter, General Fang. I will go to General Fang later to make it clear. But now the matter has become a foregone conclusion, only you and me are the three of us." Only by working together can we lead the team well and achieve great results. General Fang General Fang has won the trust of His Majesty, and he has reached this position at a young age. His future is bound to be limitless I am different I am. Already fifty years old"
He paused and said, "I am telling General Cui this from the bottom of my heart today, just to ask General Cui to understand."
Cui Zhongzhen's hand holding the tea cup froze in mid-air. He didn't know how long it had been. He put down the tea that he hadn't even drank. He looked at Mou Liangbi and said seriously: "My lord, I understand your hard work and humble duty. It's just that your lord has ignored it from the beginning to the end." One thing Fang Jie, if I wanted to compete with you for this position from the beginning, how could I wait until you use this clever trick? "
"He is an imperial envoy and has the emperor's mandate The reason why he fully supports your Excellency in taking charge of military affairs is, firstly, because you are the right person, and secondly Fang Jie told me that he was very grateful to you for your support when he was in Chang'an. He is a person who knows how to be grateful for his care, and sir, don¡¯t you think that this friendship will disappear after this time? My lord, I have gained this team, but what I have lost is probably more important.¡±
After saying these words, Cui Zhongzhen jumped off the carriage without even looking back.
Mou Liangbi stared blankly at Cui Zhongzhen¡¯s leaving figure and was silent for a long time.