Chapter 445 Chapter 448
Shen Mu said: "I'm going to talk to Wang Shichong later, we must set up a camp here to ensure the smooth flow of food, otherwise if Li Shimin sends a small team to attack and rob the food delivery team, we will be at a loss."

Yang Gongqing said: "Then it's better to simply build a stone castle, which can echo Cijian from a distance, and the tools and craftsmen can be transferred from Luoyang. In this way, even if Cijian falls, Li Shimin can't drive straight to Luoyang, and if we have no choice When we return to Luoyang, we will not be afraid of Li Shimin chasing after us."

Shen Mu said in surprise: "We just fought a great battle today, which taught Li Shimin not to underestimate us. Is Mr. Yang still so unconfident about whether Cijian can hold steady!"

Yang Gongqing sighed: "Of course I have full confidence in the young commander. But it is another matter with Wang Shichong! Who knows what stupid idea he will come up with tomorrow."

Shen Mu felt the same way, and said, "How long will it take to build a decent stone castle?"

Yang Gongqing said: "In order to resist the Tang army's attack on Luoyang, a large number of chiseled square stones have been stored in the city early, and the damaged city wall will be repaired when necessary. If some parts are transported to build a fort, and if there are enough people, it can be completed within ten days. Time to make a stone fort strong enough to hold hundreds of defenders."

Shen Mu said in surprise: "It's unimaginable that a stone fortress can be built so quickly, so it's better to build two stone fortresses along the road, and its defensive power will be multiplied."

Yang Gongqing said happily: "Good idea. But it's better not for us to propose it. I will discuss it with Ba Yegang in private. He has followed Wang Shichong for ten years and is Wang Shichong's most trusted general with a different surname. His proposal is easier for Wang Shichong." ear."

Shen Mu pondered and said: "Ba Yegang and Wang Shichong are both barbarians, they may be related by blood, or they may be related to the Daming Zunjiao, they should be the ideal candidates to talk to Wang Shichong, Mr. Yang is thoughtful."

Yang Gongqing smiled wryly and said: "Thoughtful? Well, it should be said that it is hard work. On the battlefield, if there is a problem with the person who makes up his mind, the gods will not be able to save him."

Shen Mu said: "After today's battle, I have changed from being pessimistic to optimistic about the whole situation. Now everyone should know that I am sincere in helping Wang Shichong defeat Li Shimin. Now as long as I can persuade Wang Shichong to accept Dou Jiande; Confess your interests and ask him to send troops to help, Li Shimin will be caught in a dilemma and will fall into a passive position."

Yang Gongqing pondered for a while, then said in a deep voice, "What kind of person is Dou Jiande?"

Shen Mu was slightly astonished, and he said after a while: "Frankly speaking, until now, I still don't know what kind of person he is. He speaks decently, only says what should be said, and is so tactful that he won't be offensive. However, his shortcomings are also Most likely it was his strength, his overconfidence. For example, after the capture of Liyang, he thought about sending troops across the river to attack Hulao, which not only meant that he did not take Wang Shichong seriously, but also underestimated Li Shimin's threat."

Yang Gongqing said: "No wonder Wang Shichong is afraid of him. Dou Jiande's capture of Li Yang poses a great threat to Wang Shichong. Under such circumstances, it is absolutely impossible for the two of them to join forces to fight against Tang."

At this moment, Ma Chang and more than a dozen of his men rode up and said: "Your Majesty, I invite you to be a young commander!"

Shen Mu and Yang Gongqing exchanged puzzled eyes, neither could guess why Wang Shichong wanted to see Shen Mu so eagerly.

Wang Shichong sat on the "Dragon Seat" at the south end of the main hall, and the generals Duan Da, Shan Xiongxin, Bing Yuanzhen, Zhang Zhi, Chen Zhilue, Guo Shancai and Ba Yegang sat on both sides, and the atmosphere was serious.

Seeing Shen Mu coming, all the generals greeted him with smiles and respect.It showed that Shen Mu had established a certain status in their hearts and won their respect.

Wang Shichong handed the letter in his hand to the soldier standing behind the chair, and said calmly, "Give it to the young commander."

Shen Mu was stunned, Wang Shichong snorted coldly: "This is Li Shimin's letter to send people into the camp. The letter is for me, but the words are for you."

Shen Mu took the letter and opened it to read it carefully. Except for Wang Shichong, the others obviously didn't know the contents of Fei Jian's letter, and showed curious expressions.

With Li Shimin's style, of course the content of this letter will not just be idle words.

Shen Mu closed the letter after reading it, and said with a dumbfounded smile: "What a Li Shimin, just a few simple words can make the Holy Majesty feel uncomfortable, and I am in a dilemma."

General Chen Zhilue couldn't help asking: "What kind of tricks did Li Shimin play in the letter?"

Wang Shichong said angrily: "How can I care about this, the young commander can decide what to do by himself."

Everyone was even more puzzled, but everyone knew that Wang Shichong said he didn't mind, which was just the opposite of the truth, otherwise he wouldn't say such angry words.

Shen Mu sat down on the last chair in the row on the right, put the letter on the table, patted the armrest and said with a laugh: "Li Shimin invited me to meet him at his camp at midnight in the letter, should I go or not?" Where should I go?"

The generals came to a sudden.

Li Shimin's move is indeed very powerful, the letter is to Wang Shichong, but the words are to Shen Mu, pointing out the biggest contradiction between Wang Shichong and Shen Mu.And he clearly disrespected Wang Shichong, expressing that in Li Shimin's heart, only Shen Mu could be his opponent, and Wang Shichong was not in his eyes at all.

Zhang Zhi coughed dryly, and said: "Your Majesty, be careful that this may be a trap set by Li Shimin to deal with the young marshal."

Shen Mu secretly praised Zhang Zhi's words in his heart, and he handed over the right to speak to Wang Shichong.

Bing Yuanzhen sighed: "This letter is a very clever plan to alienate people. Your Majesty, don't want to fall into Li Shimin's trap."

I only heard Wang Shichong's two generals scrambling to say good things for him, knowing that the generals have a heart of relying on him, Shen Mu, the problem is that Wang Shichong is narrow-minded, intellectually knows what the generals said is true, but emotionally still finds it difficult to accept.

Shan Xiongxin frowned and said, "What would Li Shimin say to the young commander? If the young commander could be easily swayed, he wouldn't be here today fighting against the Tang army with us."

Shen Mu was very relieved, but he knew that all the generals spoke well of him, which would make Wang Shichong more jealous, but he couldn't find any other way.

Sure enough, Wang Shichong still had a bad expression on his face, and said coldly: "That's it! You all think that the young marshal should not attend the meeting, right?"

Ba Yegang, who was silent all the time, said: "Based on Li Shimin's style, this meeting is by no means a Hongmen banquet. Even if it is a trap, with the young commander's skill, who can stop him from breaking through. Or Li Shimin will go through this battle , It is also possible to retreat in the face of difficulties."

Wang Shichong snorted coldly: "If he retreats in spite of difficulties, he should come directly to me."

Guo Shancai said: "I also think of another possibility, that is, Li Shimin wants to find out the young commander's intentions, and then decide whether to retreat."

For Wang Shichong's generals, whether it is the old subordinates who have followed him for many years, or the generals who surrendered from Li Mi like Duan Da, Shan Xiongxin and Bing Yuanzhen, they all know that Shen Mu is the hero who defeated Li Mi. Today's battle It all depends on him to support the overall situation, so everyone takes Guo Shancai's analysis for granted.Only Wang Shichong didn't like it the more he heard it.

Wang Shichong saw that most of the people nodded in agreement with Guo Shancai's opinion, his face sank, and he said to Shen Mu: "The young commander knows your relationship with Li Shimin better than anyone else, and after all, the young commander is a guest and is not under my direct jurisdiction, so this matter It is up to the young marshal to decide."

Shen Mu secretly sighed in his heart, still calm and composed on the surface, and said lightly: "Thank you, Your Majesty! Since Li Shimin dared to ask me out, I, Shen Mu, would dare to meet him. I will tell you every word he said to me. , Your Majesty, please trust me. Now my only goal is to keep the Cijian stable, and I have no time to deal with or think about other things."

He said all the good things to Wang Shichong and gave him enough face.If Wang Shichong still can't figure it out, then he will kill himself, what else can Shen Mu do?
A table of wine and food was set up in front of the Tang army's camp, and there were only two seats. Li Shimin sat leisurely at the seat next to the gate of the camp. Under the illumination, they waited grandly and solemnly for Shen Mu to drive.

Shen Mu galloped alone from the direction of Cijian City Camp, and arrived at the banquet, and easily dismounted, letting Tang Jun, who came to lead the horse for him, wait on the horse.He said with a smile: "Brother Shimin is really a believer. At the beginning, my younger brother thought that the drinking talk was just casual talk, but now I know it is true."

Li Shimin stood up and said calmly: "We were close friends after all. Even if we have to fight for life and death on the battlefield, if possible, we should come to catch up with each other. Please take a seat, young commander!"

All the generals behind him stared at Shen Mu's every move with eyes full of hostility and implicit respect.

Shen Mu came to the seat on the other side and sat down in a grand manner. Li Shimin personally filled a glass for him, then sat down and toasted: "Drinking is strictly prohibited in our Datang military camp, and anyone who violates the order will be killed, so tonight's banquet has to be held outside the stronghold. Held. The wine is the rice wine brought back from the nearby villages, full of local flavor. Let me offer a cup to the young marshal first."

The two toasted to each other.

Li Shimin turned his head and said to his generals: "You go back to the village, I have a few words from my confidantes to tell the young commander."

All the generals were stunned, and knowing that Li Shimin would do what he said, the military order was like a mountain, so he had no choice but to retreat completely, and only two people were left sitting across the table outside the camp.

Shen Mu calculated that the banquet was two hundred steps away from the gate of the village, and said in surprise, "Brother Shimin, aren't you afraid that I will attack you suddenly? Brother Shimin is good at martial arts, but if I am willing to trade my life for my life, I will try my best to beat Brother Shimin hard." One blow, maybe before Shimin's men come to rescue him, it may seriously injure Shimin."

Li Shimin laughed and said: "If the young marshal is this kind of person, I, Li Shimin, don't even bother to share the table with you. I, Li Shimin, absolutely trust you, and I believe that I will not misjudge you."

Shen Mu smiled wryly and said, "I really wouldn't be so shameless. Alas! Your elder brother has caused me a lot of misery, and made me and Wang Shichong even more troubled. What else do we have to talk about?"

Li Shimin poured wine for him again, said with a smile: "In the past, I tried to persuade the young commander to no avail, but this time, I want to tell you about the benefits. Please don't laugh at me, the young commander, because you have always been brothers and friends."

Shen Mu raised his glass and said, "This cup is for our brotherhood in the past. After drinking this cup, the brotherhood in the past will be erased. If I die at the hands of Brother Shimin, I won't blame Shimin even if I am a ghost." Brother, I can only blame myself for being overestimated and trying to be an enemy of Brother Shimin."

Li Shimin said "Okay", and the two parties had another drink.

Shen Mu put down his wine glass, and said without hesitation: "Brother Shimin, what interests do you have to tell the younger brother? I hope there is something new. If I had known it earlier, we wouldn't have to spend time, and each of us would go back to bed with his mother earlier. Sleep."

Li Shimin leaned forward slightly, his eyes sparkled, stared at Shen Mu, smiled and said: "I want to have a big gamble with the young commander."

Shen Mu withdrew his eyes from scanning the gate of the village, and met Li Shimin's sharp eyes that seemed to be able to penetrate any secrets. He was greatly surprised and said, "Big gamble? What are we betting on?"

Li Shimin said: "Of course the bet is Luoyang. If I, Li Shimin, fail to capture Luoyang within half a year, I, Li Shimin, will never ask about any military or political affairs. But if I succeed, you must give up the great cause of hegemony. I will allow you to disband the Young Marshal Army. Or submit the Young Marshal's army to me, and I, Li Shimin, promise to treat every one of the Young Marshal's subordinates kindly."

Shen Muhu's eyes flashed sharply, and he said hesitantly: "Half a year is long or short, brother Shimin is not afraid of being trapped?"

Li Shimin smiled and said, "If I'm talking about a one-year period, is the young commander still willing to gamble on this? Any gamble has no fun without risk."

Shen Mu sighed: "Brother Shimin is more courageous than me. If the younger brother is your brother, how dare you say such a heroic statement when the victory of Cijian is still in the balance!"

Li Shimin looked up at the starry sky, and said slowly: "Let Shimin also make a hypothesis, if the person in charge of Luoyang is the young marshal instead of Wang Shichong, I, Li Shimin, would never dare to make such a big bet."

Shen Mu was stunned and said: "Your pain and interests are really different. You are not afraid of me persuading Wang Shichong to stick to Cijian. Since Luoyang is the backup, you may be able to persist for a year or so. Brother Shimin at that time, don't you want to stand by? Look at the chips in your hand and lose them all."

The two are polite and friendly on the surface, but in fact they are tit for tat, neither backing down.

Li Shimin laughed dumbly and said: "Will the young commander overestimate Wang Shichong? The better the young commander performs, the more he will be tabooed by Wang Shichong. Zheng Guo's regime is in trouble internally and externally, and factional struggles and only respecting generals of the same clan are even more unpopular. The young commander can have Good intentions, but the reality is cold and heartless."

Shen Mu smiled and said: "Wang Shichong has always been a person who has led soldiers and fought in battle. How can he have the spare time to play dirty tricks on the battlefield."

Li Shimin said lightly: "Then I will force Wang Shichong to return to Luoyang and give him more time to consider his own situation. To tell you the truth, I have ordered Huaizhou Chief Huang Junhan and fierce general Zhang Yecha to assemble an army of [-] in Heyang. After crossing Mengjin, Kekeri will capture Huiluo. There is no need to remind the young marshal that Huiluo and Luokou are one of the two major granaries that supply grain to Luoyang. If Huiluo falls, the supply of military grain in this area of ​​Cijian will be greatly affected. How much it will affect it!"

Shen Mu was immediately at a disadvantage, and said with a wry smile: "Fortunately, there is still Luokou. The tiger prison is still there for a day, and Luokou can continuously transport its stored grain from Luoshui to Luoyang to ensure that there is no shortage of food in Luoyang and to support Zheng Jun in Cijian. , you can even buy grain from the cities in the lower reaches of the river. What's more, now that Luo has strengthened its defenses, is it too early to say, brother Shimin?"

Li Shimin smiled and said: "Tiger prison! Ha! Tiger prison!"

Then the eyes looked deeply at Shen Mu, and said with a smile: "For the sake of the tiger prison, the people of the world dispatched three armies, each with ten thousand people, one led by Shi Wanbao, the marching chief, and marched into Yijue from Yiyang. The other army was commanded by Liu Dewei, Encircled Hanoi from the east of Taihang. Hanoi is the only stronghold of the Zheng Army north of the Dahe. This town is lost, and the north bank of the Dahe is in my hands. With the strength of our Datang Navy, the young commander still doubts that we can put the Dahe under control. Woolen cloth?"

After a pause, he continued: "Since the great river is at my disposal, the last army led by Lord Shanggu Junkuo will cross the river and lay at Luokou, and cut off the last grain road in Luoyang. The grain and grass in Luokou will be transported to Luoyang. At that time, I have to ask." I, Li Shimin, did it."

Shen Mu replied calmly, and said lightly: "Unexpectedly, brother Shimin is very interested in talking about wars on paper, so I will accompany you to the end. Brother Shimin seems to have a plan for capturing Yique, but I am at a loss. The two cities of Chi'an and Yique, One is located in the south of Luoshui, and the other is located in the west of Yishui. The distance between the two cities is only a day's journey, and they are close to each other. Shou'an has the experienced Zhang Zhenzhou in the town. As long as he sends troops to respond, how can Shi Wanbao capture Yique? There is still Longmen Fort outside Que City, and if Xiangyang Qian Duguan and Zhu Can allied forces go north, Shi Wanbao will be surrounded by enemies, whether he can escape back to say hello to Brother Shimin is doubtful."

Li Shimin smiled but did not answer: "Please forgive Shimin for being a trick here, how about letting the young marshal imagine for himself?"

Shen Mu took a breath and said, "Brother Shimin, is he implying that Zhang Zhenzhou will surrender to you?"

He was definitely not making a fuss, because if Zhang Zhenzhou's surrender was true, not only would the blow to Zheng Jun's morale be incomparable, but the ensuing consequences would be even more unimaginable.First of all, Yique is not guaranteed, and the connection with Luoyang is cut off.At that time, the Tang army would eat up all the towns in the south of Luoyang like locusts, and the big river in the north would be in the hands of the Tang army. If Cijian was lost, Luoyang would only have the only breathing hole left in the tiger prison on the east front.

Li Shimin turned aside and said: "I don't know if the young commander knows how to play Go. To me, Wang Shichong and his army are a big dragon. If I face it head-on, I will win and suffer heavy casualties. Therefore, we must adopt the strategy of encircling and cutting , blocked every one of his living mouths, and then withdrew his breath one by one, until there was only one eye left in Luoyang, how can one eye make a living? Young commander, please advise."

Shen Mu smiled wryly and said, "My little brother has never learned how to play Go, so one eye can't survive, so can one eye survive? The other one is the tiger prison, and it's another way to live the dragon."

Li Shimin smiled and said: "If Shimin has no way to contain Dou Jiande or your young commander, he would not dare to come east. He would rather sit in Guanzhong and watch Dou Jiande and Wang Shichong fight with their heads cracked."

Shen Mu was startled and said, "My Young Commander?"

Li Shimin said casually: "Since Du Fuwei has returned to the Tang Dynasty, what else can Li Zitong do? If you surrender me to the Tang Dynasty, you can also be named a marquis and a general. It’s because the wings are not yet ready, so self-protection may be more than sufficient. As long as Li Zitong makes the attitude of going north, the young commander’s Peng Liang army will not be able to move, and he will not be able to send a single soldier to help Hulao.”

Shen Mu's entire scalp became numb, and it was only then that he learned that Li Shimin's military skills are as good as a god, and he has no plans to spare.

Li Shimin said calmly, "As for Dou Jiande, on the one hand, we have to leave some troops to suppress Gao Kaidao and Luo Yi's imminent move in the north, and we also have to deal with the challenge of another rebel army in the east. This rebel army is led by Shandong Meng Haigong, and Xu He is as famous as Yuan Lang, and Dou Jiande may have to spend a lot of time trying to deal with him."

(End of this chapter)

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