Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 677 What is lost must be taken back

Fang Zhongyong didn't like Yuan Zai, as he felt that he was not a good person and was opportunistic. But he had to admit that Yuan Zai was very smart, had many clever ideas, and was very capable.

Since they are talented people, we still have to use them, it depends on how we use them. If they cannot be used by us, they will definitely be used by the enemy.

Fang Chongyong is still very broad-minded and would not kill someone just because he doesn't like him.

At this moment, he looked calmly as Yuan Zai wrote down his brilliant ideas on paper.

After finishing writing and waiting for the ink to dry, Fang Zhongyong took the stack of papers in his hand and read through them page by page. He remained calm and there was no change on his face.

But this "strange plan" seems unusual.

"That's interesting. Tell me what you think."

Fang Zhongyong put the paper in his hand on the table and looked at Yuan Zai and asked. He just sat on the cushion, and although he was cross-legged, he looked majestic without being angry.

"Sir, please forgive me for speaking frankly. Although winter is the best time to send troops, the families that are planning to send troops now are not in a hurry, right?"

Yuan Zai restrained his smile and spoke seriously.

Fang Zhongyong nodded, not denying this. In fact, this is the "unspoken rule" of the current battle. Everyone knows it, but they won't say it out loud.

"Winter is the best time to send troops, not only because the Yellow River freezes over, but also because it is closely related to spring ploughing."

Yuan Zai added a sentence.

Fang Zhongyong encouraged him, "You're right. Keep going. I'm very interested in your idea."

Hearing this, Yuan Zai was overjoyed, but he suppressed his excitement and said in a calm tone:

"An Shouzhong is still alive and kicking, and Guanzhong will have to be dealt with sooner or later, otherwise people will lose their morale. They can't wait until next year. Shi Siming has to guard against Shi Chaoyi's surprise attack from the north, and the troops sent to Mingzhou can't stay there for a year. The same goes for the other families.

In other words, the Crane Control Army had the least money and was the least patient. The other families could not survive the spring ploughing and had to take action. "

Yuan Zai's careful analysis led to his own conclusion: the current situation is not the future situation, and stability now does not mean stability in the future. Except for Bianzhou, no one else can wait, and they cannot afford to wait, so they will inevitably act hastily.

This was the reason why Fang Chongyong had previously asked Liu Yan whether Bianzhou could sustain a long-term war.

"Yes, you hit the point. Keep going."

Fang Zhongyong remained calm and signaled Yuan Zai to continue.

"Daqinmao must help, but we can send troops, but we don't necessarily have to rush to Bohai. After all, the funeral hasn't been announced yet!
If the death is not announced, it means the king is still alive. It would be unreasonable for us to send troops there rashly. So my suggestion is to send troops to Dengzhou to give an explanation to Daqinmao, but not to Bohai State. "

Yuan Zai expressed his opinions, which he had deliberately kept silent about during the previous meeting in the Privy Council.

In other words, he believed that it was reasonable and moral for the Bianzhou court not to break its promise to the foreign vassal, and this must be upheld. However, there was no need to be used as a gun by others.

"These are similar to what I have considered. Please quickly tell me the main points and stop beating around the bush."

Fang Zhongyong urged.

Yuan Zai laid so much groundwork in the beginning, in fact, it was all to introduce the final "dry stuff", which is also what Fang Chongyong is most concerned about.

"General, it will be spring soon, we can find a way to spread the news of the death of the King of Bohai.

At the same time, General He was ordered to take the Marshal's flag and lead a small force to Dengzhou along the canal.

Also, we sent envoys to each family to give them money and gifts, to make friends with them, to show that we have no intention of participating in the fight. In fact, it was to make those people think that Bianzhou was short of troops and the Marshal did not want to cause trouble.

The real main force of the Bianzhou Army was waiting for an opportunity to strike.

At that time, if those bandits launch a surprise attack on Bianzhou, we will counterattack and seize their land.

If no one makes a mistake and they attack each other, then we can be the winners. The main force of the Bianzhou Army is not in Bianzhou, so I believe many people can go to the war freely.

At that time, isn't it the time for the Marshal to get whatever he wants?"

A sly smile appeared on Yuan Zai's face. He stretched out a hand and made a chopping motion.

interesting!
Fang Zhongyong smiled and said, "Besides, after spring, when the canal thaws, we will have an advantage. Relying on the canal, it will be convenient for us to hide our troops and also to mobilize them."

"What the Marshal said is absolutely right. We deliberately exposed a flaw to draw out the attacks from all parties. They will surely let loose and fight until everyone is bleeding."

Yuan Zai had a smile on his face, and seemed to be a little too proud of himself.

"Yes, Not Bad.

Let me think about it, your plan is good, I will give you credit after it is accomplished."

Fang Zhongyong clapped his hands and laughed.

Yuan Zai left with many thanks, his heart burning with passion to melt steel! Life was only a few decades long, and his days of rapid success were almost around the corner!

He tried his best to suppress the expression on his face and the desire to scream to the sky.

Yuan Zai seemed to have already seen the scene of himself serving as prime minister in Bianzhou in the future, second only to the emperor.

As for Chang'an?

What Chang'an?
Yuan Zai knew very well that just looking at the rise of the canal economy and the prosperity of Bianzhou's commerce, he knew that Chang'an would never be able to become the capital.

Why are you still thinking about Chang'an!

After Yuan Zai left, Fang Chongyong stopped smiling and squinted his eyes to think.

It has to be said that the general direction of Yuan Zai's strategy is correct.

The reason why the war has not started yet is because the Bianzhou court is powerful and a bit intimidating, which has frightened An Shouzhong, Li Guiren and others, making them unable to move freely.

Afraid of being picked up by Fang Chongyong.

Only when the Bianzhou Army is no longer in Bianzhou and cannot participate in the struggle in Hebei, will the players who are hiding now come down one after another.

Yuan Zai's idea was correct, but some resource allocations needed to be discussed. For example, if Fang Zhongyong was to lead troops to Dengzhou to support Daqinmao, he would have to lead the troops himself.

Otherwise, you won’t be able to fool those old foxes.

Whether Fang Chongyong was in Bianzhou, whether he was handling government affairs, or whether he showed up elsewhere, this could not be concealed from anyone.

There is a very low-cost way to test the truth.

On the other hand, it was not difficult for the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army to hide their tracks. Once the uniforms and flags were changed, the army would stay at home and be isolated from the outside world, which was easy to deal with.

However, if I leave Bianzhou and go to Dengzhou, who will guard Bianzhou and stabilize the situation?
Fang Zhongyong was thinking about how to expose a flaw. ...

It was just getting dark, and the soldiers inside Tianjing Pass were on patrol. Snow was flying outside, and even though the Spring Festival had passed, there was still no sign of spring.

The soldiers at the gate tower were warming themselves by the fire, changing shifts every half an hour. It was too cold outside, and if they really changed shifts at midnight, it was hard to imagine how cold they would be.

"What are we doing guarding this shabby place?"

A soldier who was warming himself by the fire in the gatehouse complained somewhat unhappily. They had been living well in Luoyang, the winter was not too cold, they had barracks to live in, and they did not have to patrol at night.

As a result, we were sent to stand guard in this remote place. There was no water source on the top of the mountain, only a well.

Moreover, the water from the well was still water when it was drawn, but it turned into ice after a while. If the soldiers wanted to drink water, they had to throw the ice cubes into the pot and boil them, but they could not store them.

It can be as troublesome as it can be.

"You should say less. General Li is being cautious. Otherwise, we would have been in Zezhou City by now."

Another soldier followed up, in fact, he was also expressing his dissatisfaction. They had won the battle of Huaizhou before, and they had attacked the Konghe Army under Li Huaiguang and won a great victory.

As a result, the reward is now withheld, saying that it will be given after the war, and I haven't seen a single hair. This is fine, after all, I should be comfortable in Luoyang City, right?

There were more than one or two dissatisfied soldiers in Li Tingwang's army. Everyone felt unlucky for being sent out.

Everyone was complaining, just like those office workers in Fang Chongyong's previous life who had to work overtime and greet their boss's family with their colleagues while rushing to finish their work.

"Wait, there's a smell of blood!"

The soldier who had been silent all the time suddenly shouted coldly, and everyone shut up and held the horizontal swords at hand. Because it was inconvenient to bring them into the gatehouse, their spears, lances, and halberds were specially piled up in places, and now they were not around at all.

Everyone stood up slowly. As soon as someone stuck his head out of the door, an arm stretched out from the side and broke the neck of the person who stuck his head out!

"enemy……"

The people in the gatehouse only had time to shout out a word before they were killed cleanly and neatly by three strong men who rushed in and killed them one by one with their swords!

"Go and give it another blow!"

Han Yougui, who was wiping the blood off the corpse's clothes, called out that they had already eliminated all the defenders on the city wall, and those who were resting in the gate tower were the last survivors.

The remaining troops that Li Tingwang had deployed in Tianjing Pass were all stationed in the town. Some were on duty on the southern wall. No matter whether they were in the town or on the southern wall, they didn't know that the northern wall had been captured by the elite soldiers of the Konghe Army.

"Kill quietly, don't bring weapons, you can't use them. Just sneak into the house and kill people, don't leave anyone alive, and don't light torches.

No one should make a sound. Anyone who makes a sound is an enemy. "

Han Yougui gave his men another warning, and they passed the order "Don't shout" to the people around them one by one. The north gate of Tianjing Pass was quietly opened by Han Yougui's personal soldiers. Li Huaiguang took the lead and led his troops into the pass in the dark without lighting torches.

They are the vanguard of the Konghe Army. This time they came to attack Tianjing Pass to avenge the previous attack!

Li Huaiguang took a shortcut and did not perform friend-or-foe identification this time.

So how do we distinguish between friend and foe in the dark?
The Konghe Army did not need to distinguish them, because An Shouzhong's troops could not distinguish them either. After being suddenly attacked, they would inevitably panic, shout and gather together to resist.

Or run away in panic.

Anyway, as long as you hear someone shouting, someone gathering towards the sound, or someone lighting a torch, that person is the enemy.

A deliberate and unintentional tactic of warfare often relies on the first move, and the party that strikes later will have no way of turning the tables.

Previously, the Konghe Army was caught off guard by An Shouzhong’s main camp, and their camp was in chaos. They were also unable to turn the tide and all they could do was run.

puff!
That was the sound of a sword cutting into flesh. There was a "ghost" moving in the darkness, killing anyone it saw.

In the small town of just one street, the one-sided killing continued. The soldiers and horses that Li Tingwang left in Tianjing Pass had no way to organize a resistance. Once someone raised a torch and tried to gather the soldiers and horses, they would immediately be focused on and shot into hedgehogs by the sharp soldiers of the Konghe Army holding horn bows and crossbows!

In less than half an hour, Li Huaiguang led his men to kill their way through the northern wall to the southern wall, without letting any enemy escape. Of course, even if they wanted to leave, they couldn't, because there was no horse here. The Tianjing Pass was at the top of the mountain, and it was difficult to pass through here with a horse. If they wanted to ride a horse down the mountain at night, they would have to be very skilled and daring.

No amount of lives would be enough to compensate.

After daybreak, Li Huaiguang ordered Han Yougui to count the enemy corpses in Tianjing Pass, and there were exactly one thousand, no more, no less.

"Bah! I thought they were good fighters! What a bunch of wimps!"

Looking at the piles of corpses here, Li Huaiguang spat on the ground with a look of disdain on his face.

Han Yougui saluted Li Huaiguang and said, "General, we were stationed in Huaizhou before. The enemy was in the dark, and we were in the light. They were cunning and unintentional, and we were unable to defend ourselves. This does not mean that the soldiers under An Shouzhong are very capable. I think we should strike while the iron is hot. The enemy has a large camp at the foot of the mountain. While they have not changed their defense yet, we should put on the enemy's uniforms and helmets, fly their flags, and then..."

He chuckled twice.

What happened next? There is no need to explain in detail. Those who understand will understand.

"We should have kept him alive for interrogation."

Li Huaiguang couldn't help but sigh. The only drawback was that he didn't know what the military situation was like down the mountain.

In the situation last night, victory or defeat was decided in a flash. In the dark, we could only harvest lives, so there was no chance of leaving anyone alive!
If we are not careful, the enemy army will run to the foot of the mountain to report the news, and the consequences will be disastrous.

Fortunately, it snowed tonight. After Li Huaiguang led his men to break through the southern city wall, they observed the mountain path down the mountain and found no footprints on the snow. Only then did he confirm that no enemy soldiers had escaped.

Han Yougui is right, strike while the iron is hot.

"Tell the brothers that after they capture Luoyang, they will plunder for three days. If they cannot defeat An Shouzhong, they will not be able to survive. Let them think carefully!"

Li Huaiguang instructed Han Yougui.

"Order!"

Han Yougui clasped his fists and saluted without saying anything. Huaizhou had suffered a disastrous defeat before, and their current situation was very dangerous.

Now the only way left is to "die and survive".

There is no right or wrong, no success or failure. If you fail, you die. It's that simple!
"I will set out now."

Han Yougui took the order and left.

Li Huaiguang was not idle either. After Han Yougui left, he immediately sent someone to notify the Konghe Army at the foot of the mountain in the north to set off for Huaizhou. As for Zezhou, they had no intention of going back. This time, they used up the last of their food and fodder and took out all their money to reward the three armies.

If I fail in this journey to Huaizhou, I will die!

(End of this chapter)