The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 546
Among the major powers in the world, Xiao Xian is currently the most powerful one outside the Great Sui Dynasty. During his heyday, his territory stretched to Jiujiang in the east, the Three Gorges in the west, Jiaozhi in the south, and Jingzhou in the north. Occupying Jingxiang, an important food production area, the army was as high as 40 at its peak, and it was unparalleled in the limelight.

But the truth is, only Xiao Xian knows well that although the army is claimed to be 40, most of them are mobs, with simple equipment and extremely low combat power. There are only 6 or [-] soldiers capable of fighting. This is also his foundation.And those prefects and county magistrates with thousands of miles of territory only accept his rule on the surface. In fact, all counties are a country within a country, and the military and political power is all controlled by local wealthy families. His decrees are only valid to the north of the Yangtze River. , Internal problems are also the main reason why he is always beaten by Lin Shihong.

On this day, Xiao Xian received Du Ruhui, Minister of Rites of the Sui Dynasty, in the palace.

Du Ruhui came from Luoyang, and when he arrived in Nanyang, he was escorted by [-] fine riders. The specifications were quite high-profile, which might not be deterrent.His main task was to get Xiao Mian to express his attitude. If Xiao Mian continued to be ambiguous on the issue of surrendering or not surrendering, the Sui army would directly take down the four counties of Yiyang, Handong, Anlu, and Yong'an, thereby inflicting serious damage on the Tang army in Chongling. Just enter the strategic outflank.

"Duke Xiao, the Tang army has assembled more than [-] elite troops in Chongling. The situation is quite critical. The Holy Majesty was worried about the delay in negotiating, so he directly sent elite cavalry to enter the country without prior consultation. Please forgive me, Duke Xiao."

"Where! How could I blame the Holy One? I'm too happy. The arrival of Du Shangshu makes me not have to worry about the Tang army in the north."

"At the time of Duke Xiao's heyday, he had 40 elite soldiers and dominated the south. He was unparalleled in the limelight. Why didn't he mobilize troops from all the counties?"

"I know the weather! I know the weather!" Xiao Xi sighed, and smiled wryly: "Now, I don't have to hide Du Shang's book. My 40 army includes many troops from Liaoman tribes. In fact, they don't I don’t accept my rule, and I can’t command these troops. The reason why they are included in the management scope is to create a huge momentum and deter the Quartet, and to appease the bureaucrats so that they don’t make trouble behind me. And I can control The army here is actually less than 10, and at least half of them are in the south to maintain local security. If there are no soldiers in the area, I am very worried about being ransacked by the rebellious Liao barbarians. In this way, the army I can mobilize is only about 5. Among them, [-] were deployed in Nanjun, [-] were deployed in Anlu, and the Tang army suddenly deployed more than [-] people in Chongling. The pressure was really heavy. I thought they couldn't beat the imperial army, and turned around to deal with me. I couldn't sleep or eat. Ann."

Seeing his depressed face, Du Ruhui couldn't help smiling.In fact, this is not the first time for Tang Jun to do this kind of thing. Every time they lost to Da Sui, they would vent their anger on Xiao Mian. When the morale of Tang Jun rose, they went to the north to fight Da Sui again. .Can Xiao Mian not be depressed when Tang Jun bullies people like this?
"Don't worry, Mr. Xiao. The Tang army came out of Chongling County too late, and the surprise fighter has disappeared. It is unrealistic for the Tang army to want to annihilate you now. In fact, Li Yuan fled from Nanyang to Xiangyang in a panic, and quickly built the Hanshui line of defense. To guard against the imperial army, he thought that the Han River was a natural danger, and the imperial army could not pass through it, but the white water in Chongling was not as wide as the Han River, so he sent Li Xiaogong to help Chongling. His primary enemy was the imperial army, not you. If the Tang army came from the city Coming out to attack you just gave the imperial court a good opportunity to wipe out the enemy in the wild. The Holy Majesty just asked me to tell Xiao Gong that this confrontation will not be too long, maybe half a year to a year! I hope Xiao Gong is well prepared, especially his own food Make sure."

Xiao Xian said, "Jingxiang is a major grain-producing area, so this is not a big problem. We have already prepared for a long-term confrontation with the Tang army, so we have stockpiled grain in important places such as Nanjun and Anlu. By the way, is the Holy Majesty also in Nanyang? "

"The holy one thinks that the scale of the war is too small, and he thinks it's boring to fight, so he uses the fake Tang to train generals. People like Luo Shixin, Xue Wanjun, Qin Qiong, etc., will grow into unique talents in the war."

"..." Xiao Mian's eyes almost dropped when he heard this. The three names Luo Shixin, Xue Wanjun, and Qin Qiong are very impressive, and all of them have extraordinary performances; especially Qin Qiong, who killed hundreds of thousands of Turkic elites. In Yang Tong's eyes, he is not handsome yet, how big must his heart be?How demanding is that?

Cen Wenwen, who was listening next to him, asked, "Didn't you say that the court wanted to beat Li Mi?"

Du Ruhui bowed slightly and said, "The imperial court really decided to fight Li Mi first, but General Xue Wanjun accidentally broke the Zhuyang Pass, so this side is a little faster. As for Li Mi, the fight is still going on, but the progress is a little slower. Just a few!"

Cen Wenwen was stunned for a moment, then asked again: "The imperial court decided to deal with Er Li at the same time?"

"Is it difficult?" Du Ruhui asked back.

"..." Cen Wenwen felt that there was no way to continue the conversation. They were ravaged by Li Tang and Lin Shihong to the point of death, but in Du Ruhui's words, the strongest Li Yuan and Li Mi became children, and they fell down as soon as they were pushed.

At this time, a guard came to report: "Mr. Liang, Wen Yanbo, Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites of the Tang Dynasty, is visiting." "Huh?"

Xiao Xian and Cen Wenwen were all taken aback.

Du Ruhui saw the faces of the two of them, stood up and said with a smile: "Let me avoid it for a while."

"No need!" Xiao Xian was very shrewd, he knew that if Du Ruhui avoided it, he would not be able to wash himself out by jumping into the Yellow River, otherwise, if Du Ruhui watched and listened the whole time, there would be no problem.

"Then I will be disrespectful." Du Ruhui sat down again.

Xiao Xian nodded slightly, and said, "Let Wen Yanbo come and see me."

"Here!"

After a while, Wen Yanbo came to the hall alone, glanced at Xiao Xian who was sitting on the throne, and saluted: "Tang envoy Wen Yanbo, see His Majesty the Emperor of Liang."

"The envoy of the Tang Dynasty misunderstood me. I am now the Duke of Jiangling in the Sui Dynasty." Since he decided to return to the Sui Dynasty, Xiao Xian has gone to the title of Emperor, but this is the first time he has claimed himself as the Duke of Jiangling, which was conferred by Yang Tong. The reason is naturally. It was because there was Du Ruhui next to him.

"Gongling County Lord"

Hearing this title, Wen Yanbo's eyes flashed brightly, and he immediately said solemnly: "Greetings, Duke Jiangling."

Xiao Xian signaled: "Sir, please sit down!"

"Thank you for sitting!" Wen Yanbo saluted and took his seat, and involuntarily glanced at Cen Wenwen and Du Ruhui respectively, but they didn't recognize each other, and Du Ruhui didn't wear the court clothes of the Sui Dynasty because he was on the road, so Wen Yanbo thought that the other party was Xiao Mian of courtiers.

"The Tang army has more than [-] elite troops in Chongling. The battle is imminent, but the Tang Emperor sent Mr. as an envoy. I don't know what advice I can give you?" Xiao Mi asked.

Wen Yanbo cupped his hands and said: "Duke Xiao misunderstood, my Great Tang is not an enemy of Duke Xiao, but actually wants to fight the violent Sui Dynasty to the death. I am here to explain the reason to Duke Xiao, so as not to hurt the harmony between the two countries."

"Harmony?" Xiao Mian snorted, "Tang troops invaded and invaded at every turn, occupying a large amount of my land and wounding countless soldiers. I don't know where the harmony lies."

Speaking of this, Xiao Xian became angry, fighting for world hegemony is a matter of life and death, I will admit that you destroy me, but you, Li Yuan, use my soldiers exclusively for training, which is too much.

"The Holy Majesty asked me to come here to clear up the misunderstanding! To show my sincerity, I decided to return all the lands that belonged to Duke Xiao, such as Yiling and Jingling."

"How to return it?" A look of surprise appeared on Xiao Mian's face.

"After our army defeats the Sui army, we will return them one by one."

Xiao Xi was furious, what's the difference between this and Bai Shuo?After defeating the Sui army, it's no wonder that Li Yuan would give it back to me, but he didn't get angry. After a while of silence, he asked, "I don't know what Emperor Tang needs?"

Wen Yanbo shook his head: "The Holy Majesty only needs a firm ally. To put it bluntly, if my Tang Dynasty disappears, your country will also be in danger. Duke Xiao is a learned man, and he must know the truth of death."

Cen Wenwen asked: "Then why don't you go to Lin Shihong and Li Mi? Are they not staunch allies?"

Wen Yanbo said: "You don't need to hide the truth from Duke Xiao and the two gentlemen. In the past, with Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande at your side, the Sui Dynasty could not go south safely. Our army captured Heluo as a buffer. If you take it slowly, you will definitely be able to move north. But now Bao Sui is not an enemy. If the various princes in the south of us continue to attack and do not hold together for warmth, Bao Sui will be wiped out one by one. At this time, the heroes of the world need to work together to defeat Bao Sui. Therefore, the Holy One is preparing to unite the heroes of the world To resist the Sui Dynasty, in addition to Xiao Gong, Li Mi, Lin Shihong, and Meng Haigong are also invited, and a consensus has been reached that as long as the alliance is [-]%, the violent Sui Dynasty will be defeated."

"Hehe!" At this moment, a burst of mocking laughter resounded in the hall, Wen Yanbo turned to look, and saw Du Ruhui looking at Wen Yanbo with disdain, and said: "Li Yuan really gave me such a big dream." .”

"Who are you?" Wen Yanbo stared at Du Ruhui.

Du Ruhui arched his hands, and said: "I am Du Ruhui, Shangshu of the Rites Department of the Sui Dynasty. It is a coincidence, and I have just arrived not long ago."

Wen Yanbo was taken aback, this was indeed too coincidental, now it seems that Liu Wenjing's divorce plan may not work, he bowed his hand and returned the gift, and said directly to Xiao Mi: "Xiao Gong, you should know what the Sui Emperor did. It's all about seeking people's fortunes. Once Xiao Gong surrenders, he will lose everything immediately, even his family and life. After all, in the eyes of Emperor Sui, the Holy One and Xiao Gong are rebels. Does Xiao Gong think he can tolerate you? ?”

Xiao Xian glanced at him, and said lightly: "Could it be that Emperor Tang is different?"

"Of course it's not the same. I just said below that Datang and Duke Xiao share a relationship of honor and disgrace. The alliance will benefit, and the division will perish. In the future, Datang will follow the example of Zhou Shizong when he wins the world. Generation after generation."

Zhou Shizong was Yu Wenyu, the Ming emperor of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. In the second year after he became emperor, the Northern Zhou Dynasty conquered the remnants of Nanliang in Yingzhou on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.In addition, supporting Xiao Yan’s grandson, Xiao Xie, established Houliang in Jiangling. Although the Xiao family continued the national rule, Houliang was actually a regime attached to the Northern Zhou Dynasty. abolition.Later Liang passed down Xuandi Xiao Cha, Ming Emperor Xiao Kui, and Empress Xiao Cong III, who existed for 33 years.Because the descendants of the Xiao family were very respectful to the Northern Zhou and Sui dynasties, the descendants of the Xiao family have always been treated kindly. Xiao Kui's daughter became the queen of Yang Guang, and the other concubine Xiao who gave birth to Yang Gao was also the daughter of the Xiao family.Therefore, after Hou Liang was abolished, the Xiao family still had certain political influence in the Sui Dynasty and Jiangling.And Xiao Xian is the grandson of Xiao Kui's younger brother Xiao Yan. The reason why he developed so fast at the beginning of the army is directly related to the reputation of the ancestors of the Xiao family in Jingxiang.

Wen Yanbo said that Li Yuan was willing to follow the example of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, but he was actually implying to Xiao Mian that the Sui Dynasty, which destroyed the Later Liang Kingdom, would not allow you to survive, because Yang Tong did not want the descendants of the Xiao family to produce another Xiao Mian.

"Duke Xiao, Mr. Wen is right. The Holy Majesty does not lie, nor does he bother to lie. After Duke Xiao descended to the Sui Dynasty, all counties and counties under Duke Xiao's rule will be rebuilt. The separation of civil and military affairs and the simultaneous establishment of governance and supervision will be implemented, and the official system drawn up by Emperor Wen—not to hold a post in this county, and must be transferred to another post after four years of service will be carried out to the end." Wen Yanbo's sudden arrival just happened to explain to Du Ruhui The reason for the condition.

"Duke Xiao, did you hear that?" Wen Yanbo looked at Xiao Mian with a smile, and continued, "If you surrender to the Sui Dynasty, you will have nothing! Even your own life cannot be guaranteed."

Du Ruhui shook his head and said: "I heard that Xue Daoheng and Li Gang praised the three heroes of the Wen family as prime ministers, and they have always admired them very much. Now it can be said that seeing a hundred things is not as good as seeing it. It's so disappointing."

"Mr. Du please advise." Wen Yanbo was not angry either.

"There is a saying that there is no second in the sky, and there is no two masters in the country. What I think about in the Sui Dynasty is the hegemony for thousands of years, not the partial security pursued by the puppet Tang Dynasty. In the Sui Dynasty, we must realize the de facto unification of government orders and military orders. The country will never be allowed The existence of the Kingdom of China!" Du Ruhui looked at Xiao Xian, and continued: "Xiao Gong, Da Sui has always acted in an upright and upright manner, and there will never be such absurd conditions as hypocrisy, because Da Sui has the ability and strength. To annihilate all forces that disobey Da Sui, we don’t need to compromise with anyone for a day, and we don’t even bother to deceive people by deceiving people. But at the same time, our promises of Tai Sui are the truth, sincerity, and fulfillment. What Mr. Wen said may not be true."

Xiao Mi glanced at Wen Yanbo with an ugly face, and asked Du Ruhui, "Why?"

"It's very simple!" Du Ruhui smiled slightly: "Pseudo-Tang is now only left with Bashu, which is relatively complete, but in the Sui Dynasty, we only need to annihilate the Tang army in Chongling, how long can Bashu last? Of course, we can also contain the 10,000+ Tang army in Chongling, and then send surprise soldiers from the Yongliang area to attack Bashu, so that the puppet Tang Dynasty will be completed faster, "

Wen Yanbo said coldly: "It seems to be true. Since you are so sure, why don't you just march into Bashu?"

"The Holy Majesty is still young, and I feel that there are still decades to expand the territory. The puppet Tang and the Puppet Wei have the value of training generals and soldiers. I don't want to destroy you for the time being. Another reason is that the Holy Majesty is trying to reconcile with the family. At a certain time, these families will naturally compete to send the heads of Li Yuan and his son to Luoyang. But..." Du Ruhui looked at Wen Yanbo with a smile, "But your Taiyuan Wen family is the number one family that supports Li Yuan's rebellion, so you must not will be pardoned by the Holy One."

"Mr. Du, do you really think Bao Sui can do whatever he wants to eat us?"

"Yes, the strength lies on the border of the puppet Tang Dynasty. I believe Mr. Wen has also seen it. Otherwise, Li Yuan would not have sent Mr. Wen to Nanjun. If Li Yuan had a little bit of confidence, he would not have told the lie of ruling from the ground. Now, even a three-year-old child knows that there can only be one emperor in the world, and Mr. Wen also knows in his heart that Li Yuan's idea of ​​ruling from the ground is just an expedient measure, and his purpose is to deceive Duke Xiao into making Sui an enemy."

Du Ruhui raised his voice, and said to Xiao Xian: "From my point of view, Li Yuan has not been sincere from the beginning to the end. He used power and profit to paralyze Duke Xiao. Once the army of the Sui Dynasty was transferred to the Jianghuai area, the first person Li Yuan would deal with was Xiao Gong, because he didn't have the guts to compete with Da Sui at all, otherwise, he wouldn't have fled back to Xiangyang without a fight. As far as I know, Li Shimin's tens of thousands of remnant soldiers have been transferred from Xiyang to Xiangyang. What are you planning to do? It is nothing more than to paralyze Xiao Gong with the covenant, and then attack Nanjun Changlin County from the foot of Jingshan Mountain."

"You're talking nonsense." Wen Yanbo interrupted Du Ruhui with a pale face, this guy actually saw through their thoughts.

"Actually, everyone knows well. It doesn't matter whether I'm talking nonsense or not, and Mr. Wen doesn't matter. The important thing now is Xiao Gong. Can you keep the land north of the Han River? After all, is it for the great cause of the Xiao family? For the sake of Concubine Hui, completely let go of unrealistic fantasies?"

Du Ru's dark plan shows up.

(End of this chapter)