Struggle in the early Tang Dynasty

There were only Li Jing and Guo Ye in the handsome tent. They were sitting on the floor, filling their hunger with biscuits, and holding a bowl of hot water to help them swallow. While eating, they were discussing the specific details of tomorrow when they parted ways and went their separate ways.

With a bang, it seemed that Guo Ye's teeth were hurt by the hard biscuits. When Guo Ye got angry, he threw the biscuits on the ground and cursed: "This broken biscuit, I'm sure it's the worst thing I've ever eaten in my life. It's something to eat."

Li Jing couldn't help laughing, stretched out his hand to pick up the biscuits that Guo Ye had thrown on the ground, patted the plaster on it lightly, handed it back to Guo Ye, and scolded with a smile: "You don't know what to do, you have this The sesame seed cakes are pretty good. Back then, when the old man was besieged by Dou Jiande's army in the city, he had nothing to eat. He was so hungry that he killed all the war horses and ate all the grass roots and bark in the city. Now that you can have sesame seed cakes to eat, you are not satisfied? You will be punished by God if you waste everything, you bastard."

Guo Ye curled his lips and said disdainfully: "Will I still be short of food after I enter Guangnan Road? Old man, it's going to happen now and then!"

"loquacious!"

Li Jing scolded with a smile: "You haven't entered Guangnan Road, and you've been thinking about eating and drinking before conquering a city. Do you think you can still have some business all day long?"

"Food is the paramount necessity of the people..."

"Still poor-mouthed?"

Li Jing interrupted Guo Ye from continuing to play tricks, then picked up a branch and pointed to a city on the sheepskin map, and said: "Continue to talk about the business, I hope you will attack this place first after entering Guangnan Road, and my Lingnan Road The army forms an echo."

Guo Ye glanced at the place pointed by the branch, and it turned out to be Qianzhou.

This Qianzhou is close to Lingnan Mansion, and Lingnan Mansion is the head rudder of the White Lotus Cult along Lingnan Road.

He couldn't help being a little stunned, because this was different from the style of play he had discussed with Li Jing in Chang'an.According to the previous agreement, Li Jing attacked Lingnan Mansion, and he led his army into the mountainous area of ​​Guangnan Road, and then went straight to Guangzhou Mansion, cutting off the back route of the White Lotus Cult.

Why did Li Jing suddenly change his mind when they were about to part ways and fight on their own?

He looked at Li Jing puzzled, frowned and shook his head and asked, "Old man, why is this? Changing orders from day to day is not your style. You must give me a reason to change your mind temporarily, right?"

Chapter 1044 Change Your Mind

"A reason?"

Li Jing took a slight breath, threw the branch in his hand on the ground, and said softly: "My old man asks you, why did our Lingnan Road army take the lead in besieging and destroying Lingnan Mansion?"

When Guo Ye heard that Li Jing began to question himself again, he couldn't help but chuckled and said, "Now the Bailian Cult has taken Lingnan Mansion as their base camp, and Hu Bilie, the leader of the Bailian bandit, is in Lingnan City. You want to take Lingnan as soon as possible, sir. Mansion, it’s nothing more than shooting people first, shooting horses, and capturing thieves first, capturing the king. What’s the point?”

Li Jing stroked his beard and said with a smile: "The old man knows that this can't be hard for you. Then the old man will ask you again, how many other bandits from the White Lotus Cult are stationed in Lingnan City besides Hu Bilie, the leader of the White Lotus Bandit? That's what the White Lotus Cult calls itself. Guardians."

Guo Ye had repeatedly encountered refugees who escaped from Lingnan City on the way to the south before, and he had also done inquiries and information collection, so he had a certain understanding of the military situation in this area.

Immediately, he snapped his fingers and said like a few treasures: "In addition to the leader Hu Bilie, the White Lotus Cult has two deputy leaders, two guardians, four elders and eight King Kongs. These people are all from the original Manichaeism, Taipingdao and Bailian Society. The leader of the backbone. Among them, the warrant that all those who do not join the White Lotus Sect will be massacred is from the mouth of the leader Hu Bilie. Now the leader Hu Bilie leads [-] White Lotus Sect bandits to steal in Lingnan City, and everyone else is leading the cult The Dharma protectors attacked and plundered the city along Lingnan Road and Guangnan Road, killing innocent people."

"That's right, that's very detailed!"

Li Jing looked at Guo Ye approvingly, and asked again: "Then let me ask you, if my Lingnan Road army besieged Lingnan City, who would rush to rescue Hu Bilie in Lingnan City in the first place?"

Guo Ye subconsciously shifted his gaze to the sheepskin map spread out on the ground, and couldn't help frowning, unable to understand the meaning of Li Jing's words.

Because it is true that Qianzhou City is next to Lingnan City, but there is a big river fifty or sixty feet wide in between.If it is said that the rescue of Lingnan City is to be rushed, the satellite cities near Lingnan Mansion will come more quickly. After all, it will save a lot of time without crossing the river.

From this point of view, Guo Ye felt that Li Jing asked him to attack Qianzhou City, not simply to stop Hu Bilie, the bandit leader in Lingnan City, from asking for help.

Could it be that Li Jing suddenly changed his mind, did he have other deeper intentions and purposes?

Immediately, Guo Ye picked up the branch that Li Jing threw on the ground, pointed to the location of Lingnan City, and said, "Old Marshal, once you lead an army to besiege Lingnan City, Hu Bilie, who has only [-] bandits, will definitely attack other people." But in terms of the speed of reinforcements to Lingnan City, although Qianzhou City is next to Lingnan City, it is definitely not the first choice for Hu Bilie to ask for help. Instead, he will be the first choice for the bandit army stationed in several cities around Lingnan City. Help. It seems that you, the old man, want me to change my strategy and take the lead in occupying Qianzhou City, and you have another intention."

"That's right, you're pretty clever!"

Li Jing snatched the branch from Guo Ye's hand, and gestured on the sheepskin map: "Once Ruolingnan City is besieged by the old man, the bandits from Wuzhou, Duanzhou, and Shaozhou will definitely rush to help immediately. It is not the turn of Qianzhou City, which is across the river, to come to help. Therefore, the old man must take down Lingnan Mansion before the troops of the three mansions rush to help. It is not difficult to win Lingnan Mansion, but how to deal with the ensuing attacks Bandits from the three prefectures rescued Lingnan City."

Guo Ye nodded, and then asked: "The old man said that once you capture Lingnan City, you will be trapped in a situation where the three prefectures of Wuzhou will reinforce the bandit army?"

Li Jing said: "Of course, the old man made a rough estimate. There are at least 10 to [-] bandit troops in the three prefectures. Although the bandit army of the White Lotus Cult is a mob, they should not be underestimated. I am afraid that once After being trapped in Lingnan City by them for two days, bandit troops from all over the Lingnan area will rush over for reinforcements. At that time, the number of people will not only be tens of thousands, but at least tens of thousands. The result can be imagined... "

"That means that the suppression of the rebellion failed, and the suppression of the bandits failed!"

Guo Ye accepted what Li Jing said, and said solemnly: "If it is light, we will retreat and retreat, and if it is serious, the whole army will be wiped out."

Li Jing said yes, and then said: "So, after taking down Lingnan Mansion and capturing the bandit leader Hu Bilie alive, we must find a way to prevent the bandit troops from the three prefectures of Wuzhou from coming for reinforcements."

Guo Ye asked: "Could this be the reason why the old man asked me to attack Qianzhou City? Isn't this Qianzhou City just a small city that can't be more ordinary?"

"Haha, you don't know something!"

Li Jing suddenly raised his hands and clapped twice, and shouted outside the tent: "Zhiyong, come in!"

Guo Ye was taken aback by his sudden move, and then turned his head to see a middle-aged man walking in through the curtain of the handsome tent. He was dressed in rags, unkempt, and a pair of boots on the soles of his feet had already been worn out.

Just when he was wondering, Li Jing waved to the downcast middle-aged man, beckoning him to come closer, and then asked: "Zhi Yong, have you ever eaten enough?"

The middle-aged man suddenly knelt down on one knee, lowered his head and said in a seemingly ashamed manner: "Lingnan Mansion Zhechong Captain Zhang Zhiyong visited the commander-in-chief, and in the end he threw his sinful death into Lingnan Mansion, embarrassing the commander-in-chief!"

Doomsday?

Guo Ye widened his eyes and looked up and down at this down-and-out middle-aged man named Zhang Zhiyong, thinking in his heart, so this man is not an ordinary refugee, but the general of Lingnan Mansion?

Li Jing stood up and supported Zhang Zhiyong slightly, and after sighing, he scolded: "You lost the city so that innocent people were poisoned by the cult, you deserve to die even if you are guilty, but this is not the time to die. You know?"

Although Zhang Zhiyong was supported by Li Jing, he kept his head down and did not dare to look directly at Li Jing and Guo Ye.

After Li Jing helped him up, he turned his head to see Guo Ye's puzzled face, and then explained: "His name is Zhang Zhiyong, he was a school lieutenant in the old man's army, and he has served as the captain of Zhechong in Lingnan Mansion for ten years. The Lingnan City was lost in his hands. Hehe, it’s embarrassing to say, after the Bailian Cult captured Lingnan Mansion, this guy didn’t kill people to become benevolent and die for the country. In the end, he hid in the middle of the city for a period of time before he joined the ranks of refugees and sneaked out of the city. No, yesterday he heard that the imperial army was coming to conquer the Bailian bandits, so he had the cheek to look for the old man. "

After listening to Li Jing's introduction, when Guo Ye looked at Zhang Zhiyong again, his face became more contemptuous and disdainful. A fleeing general who is afraid of death.What a shame!

Maybe because he felt Guo Ye's deep contempt, Zhang Zhiyong lowered his head, but he was still blushing, and finally, with a plop, he knelt down on his knees and cried to Li Jing, "Marshal, don't be damned!" , the general is willing to die to apologize!"

When Guo Ye saw this, he naturally felt that this fellow was hypocritical, and he didn't bother to look at him again.

But Li Jing was surprisingly patient, helped him up again, and cursed slightly sullenly: "If you open your mouth and shut it up, you're dead, why didn't you see you kill yourself and become a benevolent, fight to the end with the Bailian gangsters, and die in Lingnan city?" What's the use of talking about death now? The old man decided to allow you to perform crimes and make meritorious service, and use the heads of white lotus gangsters to wash away the shame on you.

Zhang Zhiyong had been weeping for a long time, but this time he raised his head resolutely, looked at Li Jing with tears on his face, nodded heavily, hummed, and stopped talking.

At this time, Li Jing patted him on the shoulder lightly, and his tone gradually softened, and he said, "Zhiyong, repeat what you said to the old man yesterday. By the way, this is the chief officer of the Guangnan Road Marching, the Duke of Pingyang Master Guo..."

Only then did Li Jing remember to introduce Guo Ye, and then continued to tell Zhang Zhiyong: "Zhiyong, you said yesterday that this Qianzhou City looks ordinary, but it is different. Well, you will describe the situation of Qianzhou City one by one. Shi Yuan originally told Guo Jungong. After you finished speaking, I think he can understand why the old man changed the order and suddenly changed his combat strategy."

Zhang Zhiyong wiped the tears from his face, hummed again, looked at Guo Ye and cupped his hands and said, "The general has seen Duke Guo."

Guo Ye also put away the contemptuous look just now, and said lightly, "Speak, Guo is all ears!"

Chapter 1045 An Unspeakable Request

After all, Zhang Zhiyong had served as the captain of Zhechong in Lingnan Prefecture for nearly ten years, so he knew the geographical conditions here very well.

He opened his mouth and said familiarly: "Although Qianzhou City belongs to the prefecture city along Guangnan Road, it is next to Lingnan Mansion, only separated by a fifty or sixty feet wide Heishui River. Therefore, the local people agree more Qianzhou City is under the jurisdiction of Lingnan Road. If you want to talk about Qianzhou City, it is neither big nor small..."

"Stop!"

Guo Ye raised his hand impatiently and interrupted Zhang Zhiyong's eloquent introduction, shook his head and reminded with a stern face: "Zhang Duwei, you already know what you said. Please get straight to the point and get to the point."