The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 638 Li Mi is determined to settle in Jiangnan

Zhongli County is located in the south of Huai River, northwest of Jiangdu County, northeast of Lujiang River, Huainan County in the west, and Ruyin County, Qiao County, Pengcheng County, and Xiapi County in the north of Huai River on the opposite bank. It was originally Du Fuwei's territory , but since being sternly slapped by Xiao Mian, a pig teammate, now, like Danyang County, it has fallen into the hands of Li Mi.

For the state of Wei, whose territory spans the north and south of the Huai River, the strategic position of Zhongli County is even higher than that of Jiangdu. Li Mi asked Shan Xiongxin to lead an army to store troops in Quanjiao County, Jiangdu, to defend Du Fu Wei, he personally led the main force to sit in Zhongli County, and Shan Xiongxin formed horns with each other. If Du Fuwei attacked Qingliu, the main force could enter Lujiang Shen County. After occupying Xiang'an, attack Du Fu from behind. Fuwei, on the contrary, Shan Xiongxin can also attack Liyang and Lujiang from Quanjiao County.

Storing troops in Zhongli County can also threaten Huainan County in the west, and can also cross the Huai River to support Huaiyang Wang Bodang and Pengcheng Xu Shiji in time.If there is nothing to do, you can also lead your troops to the north, and take the team led by the second general to the south of the Huai River. Then, use the Huai River to confront the Sui army. Occupy Huainan, Lujiang, and Yiyang, work together to annihilate Du Fuwei, and then focus on operating the south.

But Li Mi also knew that this was just his own optimistic thinking. Du Fuwei, the Jianghuai tiger, was extremely difficult to deal with. After surrendering to Tai Sui, he got many excellent weapons from Tai Sui, and because Tai Sui became his master, There is no longer any need to worry about civil strife in the rear; what's more, the current governor of Huainan is Yao Junsu. This guy is not well-known in the Sui Dynasty, where there are many famous generals. Wan Dajun has been stuck in Hedong County for more than half a month, and he is famous for his ability to defend well. How can this kind of ruthless angle be so easy to deal with?
However, the arrival of Yao Junsu made Li Mi feel a little relieved, just because Yang Tong let the good guard go south, which somewhat revealed Yang Tong's certain strategic direction, if Yang Tong sent Qin Qiong, Luo Shixin, Yu Chigong, Xue Wanche, If a general like Xue Wanjun who advocates offense is sent to Huainan, he will really have trouble sleeping and eating.

At this time, Li Mi, guarded by hundreds of soldiers, stood at the head of the county seat and looked towards the Huai River flowing eastward in the north, his eyes full of deep worry.

Although the spies sent information saying that Yang Tong had arrived in Nanyang County, the various armies were making frequent moves, and it was very possible to attack Li Yuan, but he didn't dare to take any chances because Xu Shiji and Wang Bodang came to report, and they The Sui army he was facing was also in action at the same time, which showed that the Sui army was very likely to start a full-scale war, because Yang Tong had a million soldiers in his hands and was fully capable and capable.

He is now waiting for Yang Tong who is in Nanyang to make a move. If the Sui army really attacks the Tang Dynasty in an all-round way, he will accept Yang Tong's condition and give Yang Tong all the seven counties in Huaibei in exchange for a one-year truce. If the army is still there, then he can break the fence of the Jiangnan gentry manors and force the slaves of various families to serve as the army. In this way, he may be able to rule the river with the Sui Dynasty. This is Li Mi's hope.

Li Mi actually thought about the Three Kingdoms, but the premise of the Three Kingdoms is Li Yuan to help him, not him to help Li Yuan. Now he has no ambition to go north to the Central Plains, because the Central Plains is a natural battlefield full of cavalry. It's not cheap at all.

Throughout the annals of war, cavalry has always been a lingering nightmare for infantry. Since humans mastered iron smelting technology, powerful cavalry began to appear on various battlefields.In the open and flat Central Plains, cavalry became the king of the battlefield with its powerful impact and superb maneuverability.In the face of two-legged infantry, cavalry can win brilliant victories as long as they have proper tactics, and even if they lose, they can quickly retreat with the advantage of their horses.Once the infantry is defeated, the entire army will be wiped out, and they will be hunted down one by one by the cavalry who followed closely.Therefore, when the infantry faces the cavalry, they can only stop the cavalry in a static manner, and use a multi-army phalanx to prevent the cavalry from charging, otherwise they will only be slaughtered...

This is one of them.

Second, Li Mi himself retreated from the Central Plains to the South. If he returns to the Central Plains, all his previous efforts will be in vain.

Third, Meng Haigong and Lin Shihong in the south listened to orders and did not listen to the announcement. Seeing that the situation was not good, they were very likely to follow Du Fuwei and surrender directly to the Sui Dynasty, enclosing him in several counties, and the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River refused to To accept him, even when he was enthroned on Yuan Ri, he sent all kinds of high-ranking officials, so that he had to pinch his nose and admit it, but this was not willing after all, and Yang Tong planned to reconcile with the world's powerful families, so these people also wanted to accept him. It was unreliable at all, and he needed to be persuaded one by one, so he had no energy or strength to send troops to the Central Plains to help Li Yuan share part of the pressure from the eastern region.

Based on the above three points, Li Mi knew that it was impossible for the three kingdoms to stand together, so he thought about planning to rule the river, using the Huai River or the Yangtze River as natural dangers, so that the Sui and Wei Dynasties would be confronted for decades, so that he would have time to manage In the rear, create a brand new Great Wei Dynasty.

This is Li Mi's dream for a long time, but Li Mi knows that there is not much time and opportunity for him to realize his dream. If the Sui army disguises it by attacking Li Yuan, but in fact attacks himself, then he will fall into a precarious situation. will be completely shattered.

"Your Majesty!" At this time, Fang Xuanzao hurriedly walked over from a distance, his usually calm eyes revealed a strong uneasiness and worry.

Li Mi's heart tightened, and he hurried to meet him, and immediately asked, "What happened?"

"Everyone back down, within ten feet, if someone approaches by force, he will be killed without mercy." Fang Xuanzao's order was very abrupt and overstepping.But Li Mi was not angry. It was definitely a fatal event to make this mastermind who had collapsed in front of Mount Tai and remained unchanged so groggy. He said in a deep voice: "Follow the order of the master!"

"Here."

Hundreds of guards dispersed in an orderly manner.

Fang Xuanzao quickly walked up to Li Mi, and presented a letter with dried blood on it: "Please look over it, Your Majesty."

The envelope had already been torn open, and Fang Xuanzao must have looked it over before he was so surprised by the contents inside. Li Mi didn't ask any further questions, and took out the letter paper to look at it, his face turned pale.

This is an affidavit of allegiance to the Sui Dynasty, written by Yang Tong himself: as long as the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River donate [-]% of their land, half of their property, and [-]% of their slaves and tenant farmers, they can forgive the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River for their crime of being a thief; When the Wei Dynasty was conquered, each of the gentry families in the south of the Yangtze River performed meritorious service, and at least they were given the place of governor of a county, and the family who made great contributions could let the best children enter the court as ministers and serve as ministers of ten departments. Yang Tong's name is also stamped with a jade seal.

Under the jade seal, there are densely packed names and seals. There are more than 60 names, all of which are the names of the patriarchs of the Jiangnan gentry.

This powerful list set off a turbulent wave in Li Mi's heart, and he couldn't recover for a long time.Even if Li Mi is like this, it is no wonder that Fang Xuanzao turned pale in shock. These more than 60 gentry families include almost all influential families in the south of the Yangtze River. I can't stand it.

"What should I do?" For a moment, Li Mi's heart was in a mess, and his hands and feet felt cold.

"In the past, Yuan Shao occupied the land of four continents and was invincible. His generals were like clouds and his advisers were like rain. When he attacked Cao Cao, even Cao Cao himself did not have the confidence to defeat the mighty Yuan Shao. Although Yan Liang and Wen Chou got off to a good start , but it was still very thrilling and difficult afterwards. From time to time, someone secretly wrote letters to Yuan. Cao Cao burned all these letters after the war. His hand has three meanings:

First, it shows the magnanimity and tolerance that a leader should have
The second is to make people who have wavered before know that they have a handle in the hands of Cao Cao, for fear of causing disasters, they dare not have different ambitions, and can only serve him wholeheartedly

The third is that there are a large number of letter writers. If Cao Cao reads the letter of betrayal, then the next step is to investigate and thoroughly investigate. , In the end, everyone was wiped out together. Cao Cao understood these reasons, so he burned these letters of collaborating with the enemy one by one. "On the way, Fang Xuanzao already had a relatively clear proposition.

"Mister asked me to follow Cao Cao's example and burn this list in public?" Li Mi frowned.

"No!" Fang Xuanzao shook his head, and said in a sharp tone: "What I mean is to wipe out all these gentry."

Fang Xuanzao's murderous tone made even Li Mi gasp, and asked in a deep voice, "Why don't you follow Cao Cao's example?"

Fang Xuanzao said: "The person who wrote the letter to Yuan Shao was more of a means of retreating, not really betraying Cao Cao, and Cao Cao didn't know about the correspondence with the enemy beforehand. When he captured it, he had already defeated Yuan Shao and became a The rising No. [-] princes in the world have reached this point, and those people have no need to rebel against Cao, and if they continue to pursue it, it will only lead to chaos in the new regime, and the gains outweigh the losses."

"Sir, what do you mean, if Cao Cao knew in advance, there would be no burning of the letters of his subordinates collaborating with the enemy?"

"Very likely." Fang Xuanzao said with a wry smile: "From the point of view of people's hearts, no one dares to hand over their backs to the enemy when the situation is not good. If someone really does this, it is not magnanimity, but He's a complete idiot."

"There are too many people involved. If I am ruthless, will it cause great turmoil in the south of the Yangtze River?"

"There will definitely be turbulence, but the impact will not be too much, because the emperor killed the minister who betrayed the Lord. From the perspective of law and morality, the emperor is right. In terms of strength, the Jiangnan gentry passed on poems and prose to their families. Several people are proficient in the art of war. Although there are certain domestic slaves, these soldiers are no different from mobs. How can they be the opponents of the imperial court army who have experienced battles? As long as the noble family slaves are settled in time and the fields are divided equally, the turmoil will soon be over. Calm down, the rear is safe and secure."

"Once the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River are wiped out, the money, food, and property that our army urgently needs will be at your fingertips. Without the constraints of the gentry, it will be much easier for the Holy Majesty to recruit troops. In addition, in order to appease the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River, the Holy Majesty bestowed high officials with honorable titles, but he is strict with our soldiers. The soldiers who took food and water from the people would be severely punished. This made the whole army complain a lot, thinking that the Holy Majesty does not want them anymore. The soldiers of the army are passive and slack. If the emperor annihilates the Jiangnan nobles who are hated by the soldiers on the grounds of treason, and rewards the soldiers with a part of the property, our army will definitely feel the grace of the emperor. With this kind of unity, we will be able to resist the enemy in the future. In addition, at the same time, sharing the land equally and gaining the hearts of the people in the south of the Yangtze River can be said to serve multiple purposes. Therefore, I believe that this loyalty letter is a god-sent opportunity."

Li Mi's heart was moved when he heard this, and he asked anxiously: "I also agree with Mr. Wang's strategy. But I am worried that there will be great turmoil under the rule, and it will only benefit Yang Tong in the end."

After listening to Li Mi's words, Fang Xuanzao said again: "What the Holy Majesty can't decide at the moment is whether to take the opportunity to eradicate the future troubles, or to take it slowly. I think that this bad government in the south of the Yangtze River is like a disease on the body. Uprooting it now is a drastic dose. Medicine, this strong medicine can have the effect of curing the disease, but "the medicine is three-point poison", although the strong medicine can cure the disease, but there is a long period of weakness. After this period of debilitation, the patient will be rejuvenated and has unlimited potential. However, taking it slowly and probation is a gentle prescription. It will eliminate the disease bit by bit, but the effect is slow and takes a long time. , and there is a possibility of relapse in the future.”

"Sir, naturally the strong medicine was chosen?" Li Mi asked.

"Exactly!" Fang Xuanzao clasped his hands and replied, "With a strong medicine, there will be immediate results. Money and food, internal worries, land, rewarding soldiers to win the hearts of the army, and evenly sharing the land to win the hearts of the people are the immediate benefits. Mentioned; in addition to this, there are two other feasible ways to use strong medicine now! There are three major disadvantages in slowly drawing it!"

"The first point is external. Since Yang Tong appeared in Nanyang, the main attack direction of the Sui army should be Li Yuan. Even if Tang and Wei were attacked at the same time, the focus of attack is still on Li Tang, the partial division of the Sui army. We should We can handle it. On Li Yuan's side, whether it's Jingxiang or Bashu, they are all places that are easy to defend and difficult to attack. Yang Tong needs time to attack and stabilize these places. Once Yang Tong mainly attacks Li Yuan, he will not make a large-scale attack in a short time. Even if General Xu and General Wang cannot defend Huaibei, they can still bring their troops to Huainan and build a line of defense against the Sui army's side divisions. Therefore, the Holy Majesty is now using strong medicine to rectify the interior, and will not be disturbed by too many foreign enemies!"

Li Mi nodded, and continued to ask: "What about another benefit?"

"The other is our own internal problems. Now the emperor is strict with the army, and the army has not committed any crimes against the local people, and has won the favor of the local people; the emperor has not touched the interests of corrupt officials, Jiangnan gentry, and local tyrants for so long. I would think that the Holy One would suddenly attack them, and would not make a big move against them. Therefore, most of them will not restrain themselves, and continue to do evil, and there is no time to hide the evidence of evil. The gentry in the south of the Yangtze River are concentrated in Jiangdu. No one outside knows what happened in Jiangdu City. At the same time, they sent trusted people down to the counties and counties to depose the evil officials with a thunderbolt and annihilate the branches and leaves of the Jiangnan gentry. The local people recommended him to be the county magistrate , so that in a short period of time, the officials in the south of the Yangtze River will become clear."

"If the Holy Majesty took it easy and dealt with them one by one, those corrupt officials and local tyrants would have been prepared to hide the evidence of their crimes and would not give the court an excuse to deal with them. They would continue to obey the laws and regulations, even in the Sui Dynasty. When the army came to invade, some people still plotted against the law. And the humble talents, seeing that the emperor has been in charge of Jiangnan for so long, but still appoints corrupt officials and corrupt officials, they will be completely disappointed; the emperor has been in charge of Jiangnan for so long, if If the lives of the people cannot be improved for a long time, the Holy Majesty will lose the support of the people who are slowly accepting our army."

"If a war breaks out at that time, our Great Wei Dynasty will be in trouble internally and externally, and the situation will be even more unfavorable to our dynasty. These are the three major disadvantages of Xu Xutuzhi."

"Yang Tong came to attack in this weak period, what should we do? I'm afraid it will still be a difficult situation at home and abroad." Li Mi said worriedly.

Fang Xuanzao smiled faintly: "Yang Yu seized the time to march south, and we are also busy in rectifying the rear. The current situation is that the two dynasties are competing with each other. If our dynasty can stabilize first, the losers will be the seven counties in the north at most, and These seven counties were originally in the plan given up by the Holy Majesty. It would not be a pity to lose them, but what they got was an iron-clad dynasty with one heart; Isn't the current Great Wei also troubled both internally and externally? If we succeed in rectifying the internal affairs, we still have the opportunity to rule the river. If we know that there is a disease and don't cure it, we really have no hope at all."

"Sir, what you said is very true!" At this point, Li Mi has no reason to object. He handed the list of oaths to Fang Xuanzao, and said viciously: "I am focused on military affairs and eager to train strong soldiers. I don't have the energy to manage internal affairs. The gentleman knows what I mean, and these people and these things are left to the gentleman."

The matter has come to this point, where this letter came from is not important anymore.

"This is my token. When the army needs to be mobilized, sir, you can safely mobilize it. All I need is a clean Jiangnan." Li Mi took out a gold token, engraved with the four characters "as I come in person", solemnly Handed it over to Fang Xuanzao.

"My minister obeys." Fang Xuanzao accepted the golden order respectfully.

(End of this chapter)