Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 714 Rock Paper Scissors

Boom!

On a rainy night, lightning flashed across the sky, accompanied by bursts of thunder.

But these have nothing to do with Yuan Zai.

At this moment, he was sleeping on a soft big bed, dreaming about the Spring and Autumn Period. In his dream, he became a founding hero and served as the right prime minister. He was already second to none and had reached the pinnacle of glory.

Money, beauties, fame and status, all these things came to him.

Cool! A real man should be like this!

Yuan Zai's mouth curled up slightly, and a drop of saliva dripped onto the pillow. The light of lightning shone through the thin window paper and shone on his face, and the smile in his sleep looked a little weird.

dong dong dong!dong dong dong!
There was a quick knock on the door, and Yuan Zai was startled and sat up from the bed. He shouted to the door in dissatisfaction, "Who is it?"

"Ah Lang, the government is urgently recruiting us. We need to go to the government office now! I have prepared the ox cart."

The voice of the servants came from outside the door, sounding very anxious.

It’s so late, why are you going to the government office?

Yuan Zai felt puzzled, as this kind of situation was rare.

But he dared not neglect it. To realize the high positions and generous salaries in his dreams, he had to work hard now. Changing dynasties was a very risky thing. Before success, anything could happen.

It’s far from time to relax!
Yuan Zai was not a stable person, but he was smart and knew that he had to be stable now.

He hurriedly put on his official robes and got on the ox cart. When he arrived at the study room of Kaifeng government office, it was already full of people.

Yuan Zai was the last to arrive because he lived the farthest from here!
"Everyone is here, let's start the meeting now."

Fang Zhongyong waved his hand and made a gesture of invitation to Da Congming.

The latter cleared his throat and said in a clear and fluent official language: "Scouts report urgently that Shi Siming has led his troops eastward. The locations of the ferry crossings around him have been marked on the map. Please look here."

Only then did everyone notice the map on the wall and looked over at it.

There are several places on the north bank of the Yellow River. The most conspicuous one is a place called "Yangliu Ferry" north of Lu County, Jeju.

"Those small crossings are nothing to worry about. Shi Siming has so many soldiers and horses under his command that it is impossible for them to cross the river through the small crossings.

If he really dares to do this, given the current water level of the Yellow River, he might as well jump into the river to feed the fish.

I am basically certain that Shi Siming will cross the river from Yangliu to attack Jeju.

I am just not sure now whether he is just bluffing to lure the tiger away from the mountain, or if he really wants to start from here and plunder Jeju."

Fang Zhongyong said with a slight frown.

The situation was urgent, so he filtered out all the invalid information. When discussing military intelligence, there was no need to distract attention and focus on trivial matters.

There are many ferry crossings on the north bank of the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, but for Shi Siming to cross the river, the following conditions must be met.

First, there must be a big city opposite the ferry, where you can settle down and expand your victory. At the very least, you can make a quick buck and leave. There can’t be big mountains on the south bank, there can’t be too many lakes, and it can’t be barren and desolate.

A thief cannot go out empty-handed.

Second, the ferry on the north bank must be large and safe, with supporting piers and warehouses. Now that the water level of the Yellow River is high, looking for a "wild ferry" to board the boat is tantamount to playing with one's life.

Third, the ferry must be close to the canal in Hebei. Because Weizhou Yuancheng is next to the canal, the fastest way is by water.

If they took the land route, with the reconnaissance capabilities of the Bianzhou court, the southern bank of the Yellow River would have begun to respond as soon as Shi Siming led his troops out of the city. By the time they crossed the river, the troops on the other side of the river would have already assembled and were ready for battle. If they didn't fight this battle, they would lose!

Therefore, considering all the above conditions, the only ferry suitable for Shi Siming to cross the river is the old official ferry "Yangliu Ferry" on the north bank of the Yellow River, which is also one of the largest ferries on the north bank of the Yellow River.

"The government said that Shi Siming might just be trying to lure us to move our troops to Jeju as a feint."

Yan Zhuang stared at the map on the wall and spoke thoughtfully. He acted as a mouthpiece and said what everyone wanted to say.

When Shi Siming deploys troops, he now has to choose one of two options.

Or go around to Jeju, east of Bianzhou, and land near Lu County.

Or he could lure the enemy away from the mountain and deliberately expose his whereabouts, so that the Bianzhou army would support Jeju, and then his main force would land directly at Baimadu, north of Bianzhou.

Remove the invalid information, and this is the current situation.

Fang Zhongyong also has two ways to deal with the situation, and he has to choose one of the two.

Either they defended Baimadu and did not need to mobilize troops, because Baimadu was located to the north of Guoqiao, the main camp of the Bianzhou army. Shi Siming crossed the river from here, and they could just attack him head-on.

Che Guangqian is in charge there now, we will definitely win the battle!

Or he could transfer troops to Lu County by water. In that case, there would be no elite troops to defend Baimadu. If Shi Siming wanted to lure the tiger away from the mountain, the situation would become very critical.

This is a bit like both sides guessing the size.

If it weren't for such a strange situation, Fang Chongyong would not have had to summon his trusted aides to discuss matters in the middle of the night.

Did Shi Siming intend to plunder Jeju, or lure the main force of the Bianzhou army to move eastward?

As for splitting the troops into two groups, if both sides are the main forces, there is no need to consider it at all. Splitting the troops is equivalent to weakening both sides, and in the end nothing will be gained.

At this moment, Che Guangqian, who was wearing a straw raincoat but looked like a drowned rat, pushed open the door of the study. He was panting heavily, as if he had just been pulled out of the water, and was in a very miserable state.

"Your Majesty, Tian Qianzhen has sent urgent military information. Shi Siming has quietly returned to Liyang and will soon cross the river!"

After saying that, he didn't even bother to take off his raincoat, and directly handed a thin bamboo tube to Fang Zhongyong. The bamboo tube had been opened by Che Guangqian, and Fang Zhongyong took out the paper roll inside, which only had three words: Attack the White Horse!

"Shi Siming is cunning, and his reputation is well-deserved."

Fang Chongyong nodded slightly.

However, at this moment, Yuan Zai asked an inopportune question: "Your Majesty, could this be a trick within a trick, is Shi Siming deliberately luring us into the trap?"

Eh?
Everyone looked at Yuan Zai.

I have to say, what this guy said... does make some sense.

Could it be that this Tian Qianzhen was "impersonated" by Shi Siming?
"Your Majesty, I have the same question in my mind, so I dare not make a hasty decision. I got the news from Tian Qianzhen's followers and rushed back as fast as I could. Please make the decision, Your Majesty!"

Che Guangqian clasped his fists and saluted Fang Chongyong.

This is another choice between two options! Choose whether to believe "Tian Qianzhen" or not!
Because not to mention that this might have been sent by Shi Siming, even if it was Tian Qianzhen himself, it would be difficult to ensure that he had no other intentions.

This is what happened when Liu Longxian and Li Guiren tricked Shi Siming. At that time, Li Guiren had few soldiers and generals, so who would have thought that he would dare to pretend to surrender?

Should we hold our ground, or... move troops to Jeju?

Fang Chongyong pondered in silence. Of course, there was another option, which was to send the Silver Spear Xiejie Army to cross the river and catch Shi Siming off guard.

However, doing so is too risky and not worth it.

Bianzhou has sufficient food and fodder, complete baggage, and extremely strong economic strength. There is no need to cooperate with Shi Siming to make risky moves. Every day of delay makes this side stronger and Shi Siming weaker. Remove all the inappropriate ones, and the remaining ones must be the most suitable.

The only question now is whether Tian Qianzhen is lying or not! As long as this is confirmed, everything will be easy!
Many times, decision-making is a necessary skill for the lord, and this cannot be replaced by counselors.

If we continue to discuss it, we will definitely split into two factions.

There will definitely be people who say that Shi Siming has lost the support of the army and Tian Qianzhen must be sincere. There will also be people who say that Shi Siming is cunning and this note may very well be written by him.

If we continue arguing like this, it will be endless and a waste of time.

For Fang Zhongyong, all his wits and tricks were useless at this moment. Tian Qian might be looking for a way out for himself, or it might be Shi Siming's trick. Everything was possible, and there was a corresponding reason no matter how he looked for it.

"Che Guangqian, lead the troops to Baima Ferry immediately, hide your tracks, and prepare to fight Shi Siming. This time, Shi Siming will definitely lead the troops across the river himself. He will not leave this matter to others."

Fang Zhongyong gave the order in a deep voice, his voice a little hoarse.

"Official! No way!"

Yuan Zai stood up excitedly and was about to say something, but saw Fang Chongyong waving his hand.

"I have made up my mind. No need to say more."

Fang Chongyong interrupted Yuan Zai and continued speaking.

Everyone in the study was silent. After a while, Che Guangqian received the military order and left.

"Your Majesty, Jizhou is the only way to Dengzhou. If Shi Siming takes this place, we will be in a very passive position..."

Yan Zhuang said with a heavy face.

“Fang Mou knows everything you said, it’s useless to talk about it now.

We will dispatch a detachment to Jeju tomorrow. It will be better than nothing."

Fang Zhongyong sighed.

Since the decision has been made, it will not be changed. This is his usual style. If Shi Siming's eastward move is just a feint, then a small army will be enough to defend Jeju. If Shi Siming leads the main force to attack Jeju, then unless the Silver Spear Xiejie Army is mobilized, Shi Siming cannot be stopped.

Fang Chongyong intuitively believed that Shi Siming would definitely attack Bianzhou, and he would definitely not care about other places. Since Tian Qian really warned him, he should believe him this time.

Anyway, if they hold Bianzhou, their base is still there. If Shi Siming takes Jizhou, the enemy will not be able to hold it and will eventually retreat to the north bank.

We have to choose the lesser of two evils, that's all we can do.

Since Fang Chongyong had made the decision, others could not say anything because no one was willing to guarantee it with his life, especially Yuan Zai. He actually felt that it was impossible for Tian Qian to give a warning and this was most likely a trick of Shi Siming.

But he couldn't bear the consequences.

When everyone left, the expressions on their faces were different. Some were worried, some were relieved, some wanted to say something but stopped, and some were unwilling to give in and wanted to argue a few more words.

When Fang Chongyong was the only one left in the study, he stood up and walked to the large map hanging on the wall, staring at it as if he wanted to see something in it.

"Humph!"

Fang Zhongyong snorted coldly, clenched his fists, and then slowly released them.

In times of great contention, the big fish eat the small fish, and eventually a "Poison King" will emerge to change the dynasty. Leaders with major flaws will also be washed away by the waves and die in various events.

Those who cannot control their subordinates will be overthrown by them.

Those who cannot fight will be strangled by foreign enemies.

Those who fail to develop the economy will become poorer and poorer, and eventually die.

As for those who are addicted to alcohol and sex, cannot control themselves, and have weak wills, they may not even have the chance to be served at the table and will only appear on the menu.

"Shi Siming, since you want to fight, I will fight you to my heart's content!"

Fang Chongyong stared at a ferry on the map and muttered to himself.

There it is: Baima Ferry!
……

That day, Shi Siming boarded the canal boat in full view of the public and led his troops eastward in broad daylight. However, at night, the canal boat quietly stopped again, and the army changed boats in Guantao without changing flags. The old boat was empty, but it was full of flags and continued to move eastward. The new boat was fully loaded, and it stopped its flags and went south to Liyang, setting up camp at the foot of the rarely visited Liyang Mountain.

Prepare to cross the river from here and capture Baimadu on the other side of the Yellow River!

There is one most important reason why Shi Siming chose to cross the river from here, and that is because it is close!

Yes, it is very simple and crude. This is the narrowest section of the Yellow River in the middle reaches. In winter, you can just run a horse over here!
The Battle of Guandu during the Three Kingdoms period took place here.

As for whether it was possible to rob, whether there would be enemy troops, etc., these were not the main factors that Shi Siming considered.

Fang Zhongyong did not understand Shi Siming's way of thinking. He just happened to win the bet in the game of rock-paper-scissors. Shi Siming's way of thinking was to win, nothing else.

"Your Majesty, the boats are ready. But the water level is high now, and it is risky to cross the river. Do you really want to cross the river?"

In the imperial tent exclusively for the Emperor of Great Yan, Tian Qianzhen bowed to Shi Siming and asked for instructions, his heart in his throat. Only he knew what he had done. If Shi Siming knew about it, he would be in big trouble.

"No need. It will take time to mobilize troops from the other side of the river. If we cross the river now, we will just run into them."

Shi Siming waved his hand, indicating that Tian Qianzhen didn't need to say any more.

"Then pass this on."

Tian Qianzhen lowered his head and asked for instructions.

Shi Siming nodded and said nothing more.

After he left, Shi Siming narrowed his eyes and stared at Tian Qianzhen's back, wondering what he was thinking.

Shi Siming always felt that Tian Qianzhen's attitude was a little bit off, but he couldn't tell what was wrong. Actually, since he became the emperor of Great Yan, Shi Siming looked at everyone as a thief. This was even more so after the incident with Shi Chaoyi.

Although Tian Qianzhen is good at fighting, he is not his direct descendant.

Shi Siming vaguely felt that Tian Qian had been too well-behaved recently, as if he had no guard at all. This was very wrong!
But it was the critical moment to cross the river. Even if we wanted to deal with Tian Qianzhen, it was not now.

Shi Siming was able to distinguish priorities, otherwise he would not have been able to win the battle.

This man is a hidden danger. Let's deal with him after this war is over.

Shi Siming thought secretly in his heart.

He understood the principle of attacking the enemy and rescuing them, so he could not return to Youzhou, because returning would mean waiting to die.

Didn't Fang Qing send troops to harass Youzhou in the hope that he would return to Youzhou to provide assistance?

A cruel grin flashed across Shi Siming's face.

It's not so easy to fool him with such a childish trick of attacking Wei to save Zhao!

(End of this chapter)