Chapter 70 Qiu Shiliang's Chess Game
Manle, who succeeded Migutulei as the commander of the slave army, was Xiao Qijin's biological uncle. After Wu Liqiha's death, the Eagle Hall stole the position.W wW.
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CoM Manle was dissatisfied and led his troops to fight with him for years, and even after his left eye was injured by a runaway arrow. Xiao Qijin was elected as the leader and appointed Manle as the Great Guanglu (equivalent to the prime minister).
After Manle took charge of the slave-breeding army, he changed his strategy of seducing the enemy to fight and changed to directly attacking the city. He chose a relatively low section of the northern city wall, divided the four thousand slave-breeding army into sixteen squads, and took turns to attack the city. The slave-breeding army was equipped with a siege ram and a city-breaking cone. Both weapons caused great damage to the earth walls. And unlike ordinary troops, the generals and escorts of the slave-breeding army had no mercy on the soldiers. In their eyes, the soldiers were equal to pigs and dogs, and their status was lower than that of the war horses in the army. The soldiers gradually recognized their slave identity in their long-term subtle influence.
When siege, the soldiers of the slave army were completely a group of walking corpses, not afraid of life and death, and this is not to say that the soldiers of the slave army were dull and dull, but in fact, the tactical qualities of the slave army were extremely high. The Fengzhou defenders tried their best to climb the city to command and supervise the battle. The bodies of the slave army soldiers had piled up huge hills under the city, but the city wall was finally broken. The soldiers who seemed to be walking corpses suddenly turned into hungry wolf and tigers with agile action, and rushed into the city in groups from the gap...
Seeing the city approaching, a strange scene suddenly appeared - the slave-bound army suddenly stopped siege.
The city of Fengzhou was destroyed only in a short while. More than half of the five thousand defenders who had missed the city had lost. Among the four main forces that attacked the city, three of them still had no movement! When the victory and defeat were divided, the relationship between Meng Bochang and Xiao Qijin had undergone subtle changes.
Xiao Qijin was the guest army invited by Meng Bochang to help the battle. According to the prior agreement, the guest army was not allowed to enter the city after breaking the city, and Fengzhou was handed over to the Tiande Army to garrison. As a reward, Meng Bochang had to donate half of the property obtained from breaking the city to Xiao Qijin and restore the silk and horse trade on the border (this is actually an unequal trade). But now the problem is that the slave-binding army suffered huge casualties to break the city, and the main general secretly raided the thunder and even died. However, the Feng'an army was suspected of letting the other general go, and had betrayed the original agreement.
The generals in the forest called on Xiao Qijin to negotiate with Meng Bochang, and the two families entered the city at the same time, and implemented district occupation with Fengzhou East and West Streets as the boundary. Xiao Qijin could not convince the generals, and his authority was not enough to ignore public opinion and act arbitrarily, so he had to go to Meng Bochang's tent to discuss the matter in person. Meng Bochang used the word "drag" method to this matter, and Xiao Qijin visited the door three times in a row, but there was no substantial progress.
Meng Bochang's delay and Xiao Qijin's incompetence made the generals in the middle of the forest very dissatisfied. Some openly shouted that they would break with the Tiande Army and attack the city by themselves. Some even advocated that the four gates be closed after breaking the city and prevented the Tiande Army from entering the city.
Yang Hao was very anxious about this matter. Meng Bochang and he had expected in advance that the two families would become dirty and even meet each other after the city was broken. For this reason, he was even prepared to fight with the middle of the forest. However, the situation at this time was much more complicated than the original idea. Although Fengzhou City was broken, the Tiande Left Army, who had never thought about it, was still in the city. It was roughly estimated that there were two or three thousand people. If the two families turned against each other, the city of Fengzhou would become a three-legged situation. The result was that this expedition was ineffective and insignificant, leaving behind a huge hidden danger.
If the request from the middle of the forest was agreed to the request of the two families, the two districts would occupy Fengzhou. With their toes, they could imagine that the middle of the forest would definitely loot half of the Fengzhou city without hesitation: "The children swept the jade and silk to the north."
The regaining of Fengzhou is to eliminate its own threats and quell the war. If this brings a catastrophe to the people in the city and the people's grievances accumulate, Fengzhou City will turn it into a powder barrel and live a life with a powder barrel. Can you live this life?
Just when Yang Hao was in a dilemma, he came to report to Fengzhou City to send secret envoys to ask for a visit. After Yang Hao was shocked, he ordered someone to invite secret envoys to come in.
The visitor was in his forties, with a round necklace and a fish bag hanging on his waist. The man looked very handsome and had a torch-like look. He walked into the military tent and bowed to Yang Hao, saying, "The defeated general Liu Mian met with the general at night. Please forgive him if he disturbs him."
Yang Hao was suddenly shocked, and hurriedly bowed to answer the gift, and ordered Guan Suo: "No one can enter the account without my order."
Liu Mian's late-night visit made Yang Hao both confused and shocked. Fengzhou City was about to be destroyed, and the generals in the city secretly understood the future livelihood. Qu Yuan was also expected. Even if he didn't think about his mistakes, he would not be surprised to send someone to negotiate. But now standing in front of him is a famous general Liu Mian, a idler who seems to have nothing to do with Fengzhou. How can this not make Yang Hao have some strange thoughts?
"The city of Fengzhou is about to be destroyed, sir, have thought of a way out." As soon as Liu Mian sat down, Yang Hao asked without hesitation. Liu Mian was a famous minister and a military governor of a town. Yang Hao deliberately did not call him his official position, but called him the gentleman, which made Liu Mian look at him with admiration.
Liu Mian smiled slightly, took a sip of fragrant tea and asked Yang Hao: "General, have you figured out who will enter the city first?"
"What do you want to give me?" Yang Hao was hit by Liu Mian's words and respected him.
"I dare not give advice. However, if I am not a clan, my heart will be different. General must be guarded." Liu Mian said this coldly. Seeing Yang Hao's face showing a look of surprise and approval, the tone of the words changed: "The dispute between the two and the other person is my internal affairs of the Tang Dynasty. It is understandable to use tricks to help the middle of the forest to help the war. But if the Uighurs are allowed to enter the city to slaughter the people... can the general feel at ease?"
Yang Hao was shocked. The last sentence hit the hidden pain in his heart. Colluding with the Gentiles to massacre his compatriots isn’t this the legendary traitor and traitor?!
"So, sir, where should I go?" Liu Mian's words woke up Yang Hao, and the fog that lingers in his heart suddenly disappeared.
After hearing this, Liu Mian calmly put down the tea bowl in his hand and said, "Don't think about the mistakes of the general, I just want to give him a way out of life, and let him follow me to revive the Wu army."
Yang Hao sneered: "The old man has such a great face! How can you conquer Don't Think about your mistakes? How can you convince Dugu Chang to give up Zhenwu Army?"
Liu Mian heard his implicit sarcasm, but he didn't care at all: "I am like duckweed and have no roots. How can I impress the famous generals in the north? It's just that he showed him a way out for life based on his conscience, so that he would be willing to follow him. As for Dugu Chang, he was already a man who fell into the well. Zhenwu Army has become a prison for him. I was in jail for him, so he naturally was happy to give in to Zhenwu Army."
Yang Hao laughed and said, "The more the old general talks, the more interesting you are. What clear path did you show me about thinking about it? Let him follow you willingly?"
Liu Mian said: "Does General Yang really want to hear it?" Yang Hao nodded.
Liu Mian said: "I can't take this out when I hear this."
Yang Hao said: "My ears are connected. If you don't want to hear them, you can enter them from your left ear and exit from your right ear."
Liu Mian smiled and said, "Then I'll just say it. Oh, let's have a cup of Dongting Silver Needle, and it's a little thicker. Liu Mian is a rough man and loves to drink good tea."
Guan Suo brought tea in. Liu Mian took a sip of tea, cleared his throat, and asked Yang Hao: "You must have heard of the imperial court's merger of the three cities in Fengzhou." Yang Hao nodded.
"Let's start with this. In the eyes of General Yang and General Meng, the court, oh, just put it simply, Qiu Shiliang. His purpose of withdrawing the three cities was nothing more than to seize the two real powers, provoke a fight between the three cities, open a convenient door for Shuofang to enter Hetao, and use the hands of Wang Chongwen of Shuofang to get rid of the two generals. What I said is accurate." Yang Hao nodded silently.
"This is Qiu Shiliang's first intention."
"Oh? Does he have a second intention?"
Liu Mian nodded, "His second purpose is to take Hedong into his own hands by weakening Fengzhou. This is the real purpose of his painstaking plan."
Liu Mian took a sip of tea and continued, "Hedong is far away from Hetao, and there is Zhenwu Army and Wang Qian in the middle. The two seem to have nothing to do with each other. In fact, Hetao, Wang Qian and Zhenwu Army are arranged in one word to guard the northern border of the Tang Dynasty. The forces of the three are equally close, and no one can eat each other. I believe the general agrees with my statement, right?"
Yang Hao said: "Sir, please continue to talk."
"But compared with a giant like Shuofang and Hedong, your three families are not opponents even if they add up. If Hetao falls into Shuofang's hands, it will inevitably arouse Hedong's alertness. Liu Qingling will inevitably send troops north to seize the Zhuchengchi military camps occupied by Zhenwu Army and Wang Qian."
Yang Hao still didn't understand this and asked in a daze: "Doing this will only make the strong stronger, and what is the relationship between Qiu Shiliang's control of Hedong."
Liu Mian smiled and continued: There is Li Zaiyi in Hedong, Liu Qingling's dispute, Wang Chongwen in Shuofang, and Tang's dispute. In order to overwhelm the opponent, they are all looking for foreign aid. Who else can be involved in these two strong housework today? Are you general? Are you me? Are you not."
Yang Hao suddenly realized that this was Qiu Shiliang's strategy to use Hetao as bait to lure the two strong men to fight and make profits from it. The more ruthless the two families fought, the more they wanted him. However, Wang Chongwen of Shuofang was a legitimate power. Although his grandmother Tang was constrained everywhere, he was a family after all. Qiu Shiliang could provoke and use it, but if he wanted to interfere in control, he was afraid that no one would agree.
Hedong is different. Hedong is the place where the Tang Dynasty rose. With Guanzhong, Heluo has always been regarded as the heart of the court. The court's influence on Hedong is far stronger than that of Shuofang. In order to prevent Hedong's separatist, several generations of emperors carefully made arrangements, allowing the Hedong Jiedu and Beidu to remain in charge and restrain each other.
It is not impossible to support one faction to defeat another faction and dominate Hedong, but it is not easy to operate in detail. Taiyuan Prefecture was the place where Li Yuan, the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty, raised an army. It is known as the Northern Capital. It has a very special position in the court. Various forces are mixed together and can move the whole body. The Hedong Jieduan has nearly 100,000 troops, resisting the Uighurs in the north, Shi Wei and Khitan, and connecting to the Central Plains in the south, which is the gateway to Heluo and Guanzhong, and is of great importance among all towns in Hebei.
Although the two strong men fought endlessly, they still need a fire to make them beat him up.
This fire was to lure Liu Qingling to send troops to attack Zhenwu Army and Wang Qian. Although the place where Wang Qian and Zhenwu Army were located was barren and desolate, there was no oil or water to squeeze out, it was necessary to guard the gate of Hedong Northeast. The reason why Liu Qingling could tolerate the two was mainly because they were weak and did not pose a practical threat to him. Moreover, the two places were border defense lines, which could serve as a beneficial buffer for Hedong, Uighurs, Khitan and other tribes.
What is certain is that if there were no major changes, Liu Qingling would be willing to see this buffer zone exist.
Qiu Shiliang's plan was to force Liu Qingling to take action by Wang Chongwen. Once the three cities in Hetao fell into Wang Chongwen's hands, Wang Qian and Zhenwu's army would not be able to save their power. Liu Qingling would never sit and watch the Northeast Gate of Hedong fell into the hands of a powerful enemy and remain indifferent. He would definitely send troops to deal with Wang Qian and Dugu Chang before Wang Chongwen took action, and hold the Northeast Gate of Hedong in his own hands.
The problem is that Wang Qian is Li Zaiyi's old friend, Li Zaiyi's niece is the wife of Wang Qian's youngest brother Wang Ben, and Dugu Chang also wrote a letter to Li Zaiyi. The two of them have long been regarded as their own people by Li Zaiyi. In this way, the two strong men in Hedong will inevitably break up and fight. At that time, in order to defeat each other, both of them will ask Qiu Shiliang for help, and Qiu Shiliang can take the opportunity to take the land of Hedong in his own hands.
Seeing Yang Hao's face showing an sudden look of enlightenment, a trace of undetectable alertness flashed through Liu Mian's eyes. He sipped the tea and the tea was already cold and bitter.
"I heard that Qiu Shiliang's chess skills are average, but this chess game is ingenious and very clever."
Yang Hao snorted coldly and said, "I heard that Mr. He once served in the Shence Army. This time, Qiu Shiliang recommended him to Fengzhou. How could Mr. He know how Qiu Shiliang's chess skills are?"
"If I remember correctly, General Yang also served as the captain of the Zan Army in the Shence Army? You have also made great contributions to him, and he also admires you very much."
"No need to say anything about the past." Yang Hao couldn't stand it on his face. The time he spent in the Shence Army was really unbearable. He calmed down his mind and continued:
"Even if Dugu Chang voluntarily gave up to Mr., what good will he have to protect Zhenwu Army from being merged by Liu Qingling? Are you Liu Qingling's love or have something to do with Li Zaiyi?"
"I and both of them are common friends."
"That sir's self-protection strategy?" Yang Hao felt increasingly unfathomable.
"It's very simple. The three of us vowed to protect each other, so that the two strong men would retreat when they were in trouble, and would not give Qiu Shiliang an opportunity to take advantage of it."
"Hahaha..." Yang Hao burst into laughter, "Three families protect each other?! Sir, I was so angry. My three families were in trouble a few months ago. How can we give up our past grudges and swear to protect each other?"
"General Yang, don't forget that you were as close as brothers as brothers a few days ago. Now you are different from each other. This is the same as you and I. You and I are not three years old, how can you hold you a candy bean and have to remember three years of revenge?"
"Oh..." Yang Hao sighed. He didn't understand the truth. It was just that he felt a little funny when the matter was about to happen.
"If we want our three families to protect each other for a long time, I have forgotten one thing."
"Oh, please help."
“How to deal with the middle of the forest?”
"The general must have a clever plan, I will listen carefully."
"I do have a plan, but I still need to consider it. Maybe I will ask the veteran general to help you at that time." Yang Hao swallowed the words to his mouth again.
"Yi and profit are of concern, I will never refuse."
Yang Hao sent Liu Mian to the door. Liu Mian put on a black cloak and was about to leave. Yang Hao suddenly asked: "Sir, still didn't tell me why Dugu Chang was willing to give up Zhenwu Army?"
Liu Mian hesitated: "I lied to him that I was Qiu Gong's man. As long as he gave up Zhenwu Army, he could protect him from his lifetime of glory and wealth."
Yang Hao said in surprise: "Can this work?"
Liu Mian asked back: "Why can't it work?"
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Chapter completed!