Tiantang Splendid

After deliberating for a long time, Yu Chigong wiped his face and made up his mind, wrote a letter at his desk, put it in an envelope and sealed it with wax paint, then called the deputy general Su Jia in, and carefully instructed: "...deliver this letter immediately Go to Wuwei on the left, Cheng Yaojin must let Cheng Yaojin personally seal it."

Su Jia took the letter and put it in his arms, nodded to accept the order, turned around and strode out of the tent, got on his horse with a few soldiers, and galloped westward.

After leaving our own camp and arriving at the junction of the two armies, we took off our pockets. Shortly thereafter, we encountered Zuo Wuwei scouts. He reined in his horse and stood still. Don't be nervous."

He had to remind this sentence, otherwise, there might be an idiot on the other side who shot an arrow, and he would be finished...

Fortunately, several scouts on the other side were calm. One of them stepped forward to check Su Jia, and was relieved to see that he was not carrying a weapon. He said, "Only the general can go alone, and the rest are not allowed to go with him."

Su Jia nodded, and said to several soldiers: "Wait here, don't move around carelessly."

"Here!"

After instructing his own soldiers, Su Jia rode his horse and followed several Zuowuwei's personal soldiers, and drove all the way straight into the camp of Zuowuwei, and arrived at the tent of the Chinese army.

……

Cheng Yaojin looked at the letter, threw it to Niu Jinda who was at the side, looked at Su Jia and said, "Is Yuchi Lao Hei lost his mind? I have fought all my life, winning and losing, but I have never had such a useless thing as running away in battle. , you go back and tell him that if you want to pass through the Zuowuwei position, the only way is to step on the corpses of Lao Tzu and Zuowuwei's [-] soldiers!"

Niu Jinda looked at the letter on the side, on which Yu Chigong said that he had received the military order from the King of Jin, strictly ordering the guards on the right to cut open the Bashui line of defense at all costs to open the passage to Chang'an, and said that he had missed the friendship with Cheng Yaojin in the past I don't want the two sides to fight each other and kill each other, so I ask Cheng Yaojin to let go of a path, and there will be rewards later.

This is not a polite word, Yu Chigong has calculated that Cheng Yaojin is not willing to lose troops in this battle, and the two coaches have the same intention in a certain sense, that is to preserve their strength as much as possible to avoid excessive losses Lose influence and thus be excluded from their respective centers of power.

If Yu Chigong really broke the boat and ignored the casualties, then Cheng Yaojin must take a step back to avoid both sides being hurt.So Yuchi Gong's letter is a warning, I'm going to do my best, you'd better stay away...

Niu Jinda felt very humiliated, just as Cheng Yaojin said, has he ever suffered such humiliation after fighting for a lifetime?
But based on his understanding of Cheng Yaojin, he also understands that Yu Chigong has pinpointed Cheng Yaojin's veins. If Yu Chigong is really desperate, Cheng Yaojin is very likely to back down. Mostly just pretending.

Su Jiagong said: "Duke Lu misunderstood, my commander-in-chief understands very clearly that the battle for the throne is the Emperor Taizong's family matter, whoever wins and loses in the end is the son of Emperor Taizong, since everyone is Emperor Taizong Why do your subjects kill each other, making loved ones hurt and enemies happy?"

Cheng Yaojin said silently, "The relatives are hurt, the enemy is fast" can be regarded as a pain point in his heart, and now he hopes that he and Yu Chigong will fight to the death, but it is not necessarily to annihilate the main force of the rebel army, but to consume them Cheng Yaojin's troops greatly reduced Cheng Yaojin's power of speech and influence. From then on, many people would overwhelm him in the court.

In the final analysis, troops are fundamental to generals, without troops, who would listen to you?
Seeing that Cheng Yaojin was moved, Su Jia said: "My son was defeated and captured in the previous battle. The commander of my family thought of the old friendship between the two families and specifically told him to treat him kindly. After this battle, he will definitely be released home without any damage. Please don’t read it, Duke Lu.”

Cheng Yaojin became furious, and said angrily, "Mother! How dare you threaten me? My Cheng family is full of loyalty. I don't know how much blood was shed for the great Tang Dynasty. The whole family is already ready to die for the country, let alone mere mediocrity." An incompetent son, even if I let Lao Tzu die, I will never let you and other traitors coerce me! I still have some friendship in the past, so if I don’t take your dog’s life today, I’ll go back and tell Yu Chigong that black charcoal, Stop daydreaming, if you want to go to Chang'an, just step on Lao Tzu's corpse!"

There were soldiers from outside, staring at Su Jia covetously, swarming up and tearing Su Jia apart if there was any disagreement.

Su Jia didn't say much, and saluted Cheng Yaojin and Niu Jinda, then got up and left without saying a word.

When Su Jia and a group of soldiers withdrew, the anger on Cheng Yaojin's face disappeared instantly. He stroked the messy beard under his chin, his eyes flickered, and his expression was uncertain.

Niu Jinda tapped the letterhead on the table with his fingers, and asked in a low voice, "How does the commander make a decision?"

Cheng Yaojin said in a muffled voice: "How else can we make a decision? The old thief Yuchi was forced to fight desperately by the King of Jin. If we resist and do not retreat, it will be a battle to the death. Regardless of the outcome, the loss will be heavy. If so All the troops have been wiped out, do you think we can be good in the future? His Majesty is generous, and may not settle accounts with us, but those civil officials will definitely impeach us. How will His Majesty suppress the raging public opinion? Even in the army. Few people are envious of Lao Tzu's status, so they will inevitably add insult to injury and try to replace him."

Is it important to use a victory to win meritorious deeds, or to bear guilt and preserve strength?This issue should be analyzed in different situations, at least in the current situation, Cheng Yaojin believes that strength is more important than anything else.

Why did Yu Chigong write this letter to himself?Isn't it just that you want to let yourself retreat in the face of difficulties, and don't stage a scene of endless battles that cause the right guards to lose their troops?
"If you have soldiers, you are the grass head king". Although it is not a troubled time now, the truth is the same.

As long as you have soldiers in hand, anyone who wants to deal with you has to be cautious, and dare not force too much, but if you don't have soldiers and horses under your hands, then others can deal with you as they want, even if they make great achievements, there may not be a good one end.

Political struggles above the court have never been calculated by the number of meritorious deeds. Isn't it rare for people with great merit to become victims of political struggles?

Niu Jinda asked, "What should we do now?"

He has never considered these things, and has always followed Cheng Yaojin's lead. He will unswervingly implement any decision Cheng Yaojin makes.

Cheng Yaojin thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth, and said: "Your Majesty's dissatisfaction with me started in Chang'an City. Will it be completely reversed because I vowed to resist Yuchi Gong to the death? Not necessarily. All dissatisfaction and resentment will be hidden in the bottom of our hearts, and will explode as soon as the opportunity is right. We cannot place our lives and future on His Majesty's benevolence, we must guarantee our strength."

Niu Jinda still frowned: "Then let Yu Chigong break through our defense line, and then go straight to the city of Chang'an?"

Cheng Yaojin was silent.

The king of Jin gave up Tongguan and went straight to Chang'an, let the navy pursue him, gave up all the retreats, and put them to death to survive. He seemed brave and heroic, but based on his understanding of Li Zhi, if such a person had no other How could such a decisive arrangement be made?

So now it seems that the situation in the imperial court is very good, but in fact the outcome is still uncertain, and it is far from the time to make a conclusion...

……

When Su Jia returned to the camp on the west bank of the Bashui River and saw Yu Chigong, he repeated Cheng Yaojin's reaction and words one by one. Yu Chigong made a decisive decision: "The order will be passed down, and the fire will be built in the evening, and the camp will be pulled out at [-]:[-] o'clock, and the Zuowuwei defense line will be stormed!"

"Here!"

Su Jia took the order, withdrew from the account, and conveyed the news to the whole army.

The whole barracks erupted in an uproar, and the soldiers began to check the ordnance and equipment under the orders of their respective corporal leaders and school lieutenants, trying to make all the preparations in place before the station, so as to avoid being injured or even killed due to personal equipment problems after the battle, so the old soldiers would Make the most careful inspection preparations before the station, and there will be no omissions.

Around Shen time, smoke was rising from the campsite, meals had been prepared, and soldiers of the whole army lined up for meals.

At the beginning of the unitary hour, the whole army returned to the camp to rest, striving for every moment to recharge their batteries. At the same time, all scouts were dispatched to patrol around the camp, spying on all the movements of Zuo Wuwei, not letting go of any trouble, and preparing for the midnight "sneak attack". "be prepared.

On the other side, Zuo Wuwei also issued a military order to make fire and cook food in the evening, and the whole army hid in the camp to recuperate, waiting for a possible sudden attack...

At the time of Xu, Yu Chigong came out of the central army tent with his helmet on and armor on his head. Lieutenants were on his left and right. He glanced at the dark western sky, and it seemed that the tall and majestic shadow of Chang'an City was hidden behind the darkness. Order: "The whole army goes out!"

The left and right lieutenants bowed to take the order, and then quickly returned to the team. There was no enthusiastic motivational speech. Everyone knew the military order in advance, so at this moment, they quickly assembled with extremely high efficiency, and then formed a square formation under the leadership of their respective lieutenants. Under the cover of blackness, he quietly sneaked towards Zuo Wuwei's position in the west.

The 2 people were silent, only the "rustling sound" of the footsteps was a bit dull, and the horses were wearing bits and could not neigh, flowing forward in the darkness like a flood that broke the embankment.

But Zuo Wuwei had already prepared for it, how could he be successfully attacked by him?
The army had traveled less than five miles before being detected by Zuo Wuwei's lurking scouts and quickly retreated to report to the commander. After a while, the entire Zuo Wuwei's camp was lit with candles and drums, like thunder.The soldiers jumped out of the tents, fully armed and armed with spears, waiting in formation.

Yuchi Gong rode forward slowly, and when he heard the battle report ahead, he waved his big hand and roared: "Charge!"

woohoo-

The desolate trumpet sounded suddenly in the black night, like a sharp thorn, it made people tremble slightly, and the blood flowed faster all over their bodies. Eyes clenched on the blade, he stepped forward with his legs and rushed towards the enemy's position closely behind the light cavalry.

The war broke out in an instant.

The guard on the right was surging like a flood that broke the embankment, charging forward without hesitation, the battle line was spreading and sweeping away, while the guard on the left was in a strict formation, and the army formation moved slowly under the command of the general, avoiding the sharp edge of the enemy. Methodical retreat.

The battle was turbulent, and the sound of the two sides fighting spread all over the field, but because each of them had prepared in advance, it seemed that the battle was fierce, but in fact their losses were not great.