Thief Emperor

Chapter 759 Trapped in enemy territory!

Li Yun thought about it carefully, shook his head, and said, "Brother Shouyi, in the current situation, it is no longer useful to raise the banner. After occupying Luoyang, it is obvious who is the biggest in the world."

"Local warlords and military governors can cooperate with anyone, but they are unlikely to cooperate with us. After all, they know very well that sooner or later, we will swallow up the entire territory of the old Zhou Dynasty."

Du Qian lowered his head to drink, then smiled and said, "It's true that we can get promoted, but in fact, not everyone has the ability to fight for the world."

"The Hedong Army, Shuofang Army, and Fanyang Army will most likely not respond to the call. Whether they respond or not is actually irrelevant. After all, the superiors do not expect them to put aside their prejudices and join hands with us to fight the enemy."

"But as long as the top leaders shout out this slogan first, we are inherently right."

Du Qian continued, "When the time comes, we can put a record on these people, and when we conquer them in the future, we will have a reasonable reason."

"Besides this, raising this banner has other benefits. The situation has come to this point, and there are many forces that have no hope of competing for the world. However, many of these forces are also well-known local figures. It would be embarrassing for them to surrender."

“After this banner is raised, it becomes reasonable for them to come and seek the upper hand.”

Du Qian said softly: "It also gave them a way out, so they can back down."

Li Yun thought about it, then chuckled and said, "It sounds like a good idea."

Du Qian toasted Li Yun with another glass of wine, then said with a smile: "Since the superiors have said so, after returning, I will start drafting a manifesto to call on the world to fight against foreign enemies together."

Li Yun nodded first, then said: "But in this case, we in Jiangdong should lead the way... The Central Plains is not stable at the moment."

"This doesn't matter."

Du Qian said, "We just need to assign a general to lead 20,000 to 30,000 people as a vanguard and pretend to lead the army north. That will be enough."

"This general can also use this opportunity to attract those local forces that come to surrender."

Li Yun narrowed his eyes, thought about it carefully, and then said, "If such a person is really sent, I'm afraid General Su will have to take action."

At this time, the Jiangdong Army already had several generals who could act independently. For people like Zhao Cheng and Meng Qing, it was not a big problem for them to lead the troops alone, but to do such a thing out of nothing, it would be more appropriate for Su Sheng, who was more comprehensive in all aspects.

"Ascend."

Du Qian picked up a glass of wine, looked up at Li Yun, and asked, "There is one thing I want to ask clearly."

Li Yun came back to his senses and said with a smile: "Brother Shouyi, just ask."

"How bad is the situation in Hebei Province now?"

Li Yun was silent for a while, then sighed and said, "A considerable part of the Fanyang Army, under the leadership of Xiao Heng, has already withdrawn from Fanyang to Hebei Province, and is currently stationed in Hebei Province. Now, General Xiao Xian has only led a part of the Fanyang Army to guard the Youyan defense line."

"There are two possibilities. One is that the Fanyang Army is divided internally, and the father and son have broken up and are each doing their own thing."

"Another possibility is that they made this decision after discussing it with each other."

Du Qian lowered his head to drink, frowning slightly.

Hebei Road and Youyan are not the same thing.

The Fanyang Army stationed in Youyan could guard the northeastern gate of Shenzhou and prevent the Khitans from moving south.

But once the Fanyang army retreated to Hebei Road, the situation would be very different. After the Khitans occupied Youyan, they did not have to go south via Hebei Road. They could go south via Hedong Road which was a little further west, or even go south from any possible angle.

Anyway, once they enter the pass, there will be no more obstacles that can restrain them.

The intention of Xiao Heng, the Major General of Fanyang Army, was also very clear. He wanted to take over Hebei Province and, like the Hedong Army and the Shuofang Army, occupy a large piece of land and become the king.

Although Hebei Province still had to bear the brunt of the Khitans, without the pass, the Khitans would no longer be a problem for just Hebei Province!
Du Qian thought for a while after hearing this, and then said silently: "It seems that the situation of Youyan changing its master is probably irreversible."

"Once you lose it, it will be extremely difficult to get it back in the future."

Having said that, Du Qian frowned and did not continue.

Li Yun also remained silent.

Li Yun knew very well what would happen if Youyan was lost. By then, the border would be pushed to Hebei Road and Hedong Road.

And in Hedong Road, there will be a new pass called...

Yanmen Pass!
The two clinked their glasses, Li Yun raised his head and drank it all, then said slowly: "As long as there is one or two years, we can free up our hands. By then, even if the Khitans occupy Youyan, we will still have to fight to determine the winner!"

Du Qian nodded in agreement. After thinking for a moment, he took out a document from his bosom, handed it to Li Yun, and said, "My lord, these are the people I have managed to contact through the Nine Departments over the past one or two months. These people may be helpful to your future entry into Guanzhong." Li Yun reached out to take it, unfolded it and took a look. On the document was a list of names. Behind the lists were notes of these people's identities and family backgrounds.

Most of them are Guanzhong nobles, or some larger families in Guanzhong.

Li Yun looked up at Du Qian, who smiled and said, "The reason I was able to contact these people is mainly because the upper position has successfully occupied Luoyang and the Central Plains. These people are opportunistic, but they don't have any good ways to join the upper position, so they thought of me."

"The Jingzhao Du family has been around for hundreds of years, after all, so they have accumulated some connections."

Li Yun took a deep breath and said with a smile: "This is more than just some connections. The Jingzhao Du family is really well-deserved. With these people, let alone how much help we will get in attacking Guanzhong, at least we can know a lot about Wei Quanzhong's movements through them."

"Brother Shouyi has made another great contribution."

Du Qian shook his head: "This can't be considered a credit. If there is any credit, it is the credit of the superior conquering the Central Plains."

The two exchanged a few polite words, and Li Yun asked with a smile: "Brother Shouyi, are you going to return to Jinling to stay for a while, or stay in Luoyang?"

"To be honest, I want to go back to Jinling. After all, there are still many things to be done in the southeast. Some things I started but have not yet finished. If I don't finish these things and do them well, I will always feel uneasy."

"but…"

He looked at Li Yun and said with a wry smile: "Now, I don't dare to go back to Jinling."

Li Yun looked at him, then understood what he meant, and laughed, "How could a five or six-year-old kid scare Brother Shouyi like this?"

"That's not a five or six-year-old kid."

Du Qian said seriously: "He is the eldest son of the throne, the future of Jiangdong..."

Having said this, he stopped talking.

Li Yun thought for a moment and said slowly, "I will solve this matter for Brother Shouyi. As for whether Brother Shouyi will stay in the Central Plains or return to Jinling in the future."

He smiled and said, "It's up to you."

Du Qian stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Then I will naturally return to Jinling. Southeast was created by the superiors, and I have been in charge of it until now. There are some things that must be done well and completely."

Li Yun poured him more wine, and the two clinked glasses. Li smiled and said, "I am grateful to you, brother. I am like a fish in water."

Du Qian said solemnly: "I have met a superior..."

“It’s like a fish in water.”

…………

Hebei Road, Pinglu Army Camp.

At this time, the Pinglu Army had traveled five or six hundred miles northward from Qingzhou and had already penetrated deep into the heart of Hebei Province.

However, along the way, there were no Fanyang troops to chase and intercept them, which should have been tacitly supported them to go north to support Fan Yang.

At this time, it would take them more than half a month to reach the front line in Fan Yang to resist the Khitans.

There is no way. The mobility of infantry is one of its most fatal shortcomings, and no one can change it.

In fact, these Pinglu troops were already considered elite because they were willing to follow Zhou Chang north to fight against the ferocious Khitans.

At this time, Zhou Chang was sitting in the central army tent, looking at the map of Hebei Road in his hand, and said to the middle-aged man beside him: "Uncle Luo, it will take us about 20 days to reach the front line, 20 days..."

Luo Zhen's eyes also fell on the map. He was about to speak when someone outside the big tent hurriedly said, "Major General, General Luo, urgent military information from Fanyang!"

Zhou Chang frowned and said in a deep voice: "Come in!"

The messenger immediately ran in, knelt down in front of Zhou Chang, bowed his head deeply and said: "Major General, military news came from the north, the Khitans are attacking the Fanyang defense line!"

"The Fanyang army seems to be unable to hold on any longer, and... and General Xiao personally led his troops out of the city to fight the Khitans..."

"It is said that they have been trapped in the enemy camp!"

When Zhou Chang heard this, his face suddenly changed and he punched the table hard.

"What on earth is Xiao Xian trying to do?"

(End of this chapter)