The north wind whistled, and the horses hummed, and all the people walking around walked out of the empty courtyard.
The gold is buried and the grain is discarded, and the hungry people walk on the road chasing the sun.
The son in the west and the father in the south stayed with each other, looking up at the sun and crying silently.
They were not born in the middle of the earth, and there has never been a war since ancient times.
Wild moths grow on ripe mulberries at home, and rabbits jump on the slopes of the Jitian.
Several states along the way are deserted, with lots of grass and grass everywhere.
Reported to the general to kill the Hulu and obtain the mountains and rivers for the Han Dynasty.
For the rest of my life, I only wish to return to my hometown and avoid war disasters for my descendants.
——"Abandoned Residence" by Xu Zhao [Song Dynasty]
…
On the second night, at midnight, Bai Fu led two elite Tang troops, disguised as Yan troops burying corpses, and escorted Li Zhuer, who "succumbed to serious injuries", through the Yan army camp in a thrilling manner.
The four of them stayed in bed at night and went all the way north, and then headed towards Chang'an from the Yellow River ferry.
…
On both sides of the Yellow River, ruins are broken, and thousands of miles of fertile fields have turned into scorched earth. The people have been displaced, and the journey of thousands of miles is deserted. Du Fu has a poem that goes: "The lonely queen of Tianbao, the garden and huts are only wormwood. There are more than a hundred families in my house, and everything is in chaos."
"
In the Gyeonggi area, only rivers and lakes gangs are present. The green forest heroes formed a rebel army and appeared mysteriously. Today they killed the patrol team of the Yan army, and tomorrow they killed several Yan army scouts.
.
Bai Fu quickly contacted the underground rebels through the secret code that Gang Leader Jiang had memorized. Not only could he replenish dry food, replace horses, and transfer ferries, but he could also obtain a large amount of military reports. This was especially valuable during wartime.
First, two battle reports from Bashu caught Bai Fu’s attention:
'He Tao, the leader of a wealthy family in Nanchong County, gathered his troops and captured Yang Qilu, the county's defense envoy, alive. Lu Yuanyu, the envoy of Jiannan Jiedu, sent troops to attack and pacified him.'
"He Tao is Zhong Yaya's biological uncle. Could this matter be related to the execution of King Jianning Li Tan? When King Yong Li Lin was defeated, didn't Ding Dong go to rescue Zhong Yaya? I don't know what will happen next?" Bai
He frowned and speculated on the connection.
'On the night of July 2nd, Guo Qianren, a soldier from Shu County, and others gathered together to raise troops. Chen Xuanli, the military envoy of the Sixth Army, and Li Ao, the new Jiannan Jiedushi envoy, jointly sent out troops to attack and killed Guo Qianren and others.'
"Shu County has been at peace for many years, but several mutinies or rebellions have occurred one after another. Is it possible that it is related to An Lushan's secret envoy in Shu County, secretly planning and deploying it?"
Bai Fu was puzzled and remembered a battle report in the first month: "On the seventeenth day of the first month, five thousand people including Jia Xiu, a sergeant in Jiannan of Tang Dynasty, gathered to raise troops. General Xi Yuanqing and Linqiong County Governor Liu Yi killed him. The reason is unknown.
.”
According to Li Zhuer's intelligence analysis, Jia Xiu and other five thousand people gathered to raise troops, which was probably part of the military deployment of An Lushan's secret envoy in Shu County.
Putting aside the mutiny, the counter-rebellion general Xi Yuanqing is very famous.
When Gao Xianzhi pacified the Xiaobolu Kingdom, in order to prevent Tibet from rescuing Tibet, Gao Xianzhi ordered the pioneer officer Xi Yuanqing to lead an army to stop the attack.
There is a vine bridge sixty miles away from Niduo City, the capital of Xiaobolu. The vine bridge connects Xiaobolu and Tubo.
Pioneer officer Xi Yuanqing cut off the vine bridge at sunset. As soon as the vine bridge was cut off, the Tibetan soldiers and horses had reached the east bank of the Poyi River. They had to stand across the water and sigh, but no rescue was possible.
Without Tibetan reinforcements, King Xiaobolu had no choice but to surrender with the Tibetan princess. After pacifying the country of Xiaobolu, the Tang army was so powerful that the seventy-two kingdoms of Fu Fu and Da Shi were shocked and surrendered.
Xi Yuanqing became famous after the battle of Xiaobolu. But from then on, this man seemed to disappear from the military world and never had the chance to make contributions. Gao Xianzhi, the coach of the southern and northern wars, had already been executed by Xuanzong outside Tongguan City.
Fortune plays tricks on people!
Thinking of this, Bai Fu sighed: "What's the point of a generation of famous generals? They can't escape their fate."
…
Bai Fu learned from the military newspaper the trends of the Tang Dynasty court in the past six months:
On February 10th, Suzong arrived at Fengxiang County from Lingwu.
On February 22nd, Shuofang's Jiedu envoy Guo Ziyi sent his son Yuan, the military envoy Li Shaoguang, and the general Wang Zuojihe to attack Tongguan, broke it, and beheaded 500 people. Anqingxu sent troops to rescue Tongguan, and Guo Yun and others were defeated. , more than ten thousand people died, Li Shaoguang and Wang Zuo died in the battle, Pugu Huai'en floated across the Wei River with his horse's head in his arms, and retreated to the east of the river.
On March 23, the Yan general An Shouzhong rode 20,000 troops east of Hedong. Guo Ziyi drove them away, beheading 8,000 of them and capturing 5,000.
In April, Suzong appointed Guo Ziyi as Sikong and deputy marshal of the world's soldiers and horses, and sent his troops to Fengxiang.
On April 13, Yan general Li Guiren invited him to the northern suburbs of Sanyuan with 5,000 cavalry. Guo Ziyi asked his generals Gu Huai'en, Wang Zhongsheng, Hun Shizhi, Li Ruoyou and other troops to ambush him at Baiquliu Yunqiao, killing and wounding him. After a while, Li Guiren swam away and escaped.
The troops of Guo Ziyi and Wang Sili met at Xiwei Bridge in Xianyang and marched to the west bank of the Tuen River. Yan general An Shouzhong and Li Guiren's army garrisoned in the western suburbs of Chang'an to clear the canal. The two armies faced off for seven days, but the Tang army could not advance.
On May 6, Yan general An Shouzhong pretended to retreat, and Guo Ziyi's entire army pursued him. The Yan army used nine thousand elite cavalry to form a long snake formation. When the Tang army charged, the head and tail of the Yan army's long snake formation instantly turned into two wings, encircling the Tang army and attacking them. , the Tang army was defeated. The judge Han Ye and the eunuch Sun Zhigu were captured alive by the Yan army. The Tang army's military resources and equipment were abandoned.
Guo Ziyi retreated to Wugong and defended it. Fengxiang, where Suzong was stationed, was shaken and had to impose martial law again.
On May 17, Sikong Guo Ziyi requested to be demoted because he was responsible for the defeat in the Battle of Qingqu. Suzong demoted Guo Ziyi to Zuopushe.
During the Battle of Qingqu, Guo Ziyi felt deeply that the Yan army was powerful and persuaded Suzong to ask for help from Huihe again, asking Huihe to send elite troops to help. Suzong agreed.
…
The above is the main battle report in the past six months. The battle is in a stalemate and is not going as smoothly as expected.
Bai Fu encrypted the information he learned from Li Zhuer with the highest level of confidentiality, and Fei Ge sent a letter to Taifu Xu.
Not one day later, Bai Fu received a reply from Taifu Xu.
In view of the inner ghost lurking around Suzong, Taifu suggested that Bai Fu should not directly meet with His Majesty, but instead go to Li Mi first.
At the same time, Taifu Xu also wrote in his letter that the Peng Yuan countermeasures proposed by Li Mi in December last year did not receive Suzong's approval.
It turned out that ten days after Suzong arrived in Fengxiang County, the armies of Longyou, Hexi, and Anxi and the special forces from various countries in the Western Regions also arrived one after another. The taxes and grain and grass baggage submitted to the court by Jianghuai were also successively transported to Yangchuan County and Hanzhong County.
For a time, the military morale was high.
After the Tang army was assembled, Li Mi took advantage of the situation and reiterated Pengyuan's countermeasures to Suzong, suggesting that the Anxi Army and the corps from various countries in the Western Regions should be sent to attack northeast along the northwest frontier, starting from Guichuan County, Miyun County, and going south to seize Fanyang County, the home base of the Yan army. .
However, Suzong went against his promise and rejected Li Mi's Peng Yuan countermeasures.
Suzong said: "Now that the army has been assembled, and the food, grass and baggage are all ready, we should take advantage of the high morale of the army and the sharp front of the troops to march directly to Luoyang. Instead of taking the opportunity to recover the two capitals, we will march long distances, traveling thousands of miles, and go as far as the northeastern frontier to capture it first. Fan Yang, isn’t it too far to go around?!”
Li Mi reported back: "With the existing forces, we can directly attack Chang'an and Luoyang, and the two capitals will naturally be able to recover. The problem is that with this strategy, sooner or later the rebel forces will turn from weak to strong. Cutting the grass cannot eliminate the roots, and the Tang army will be in embarrassment again." , is not a strategy for long-term peace and stability.”
Suzong disagreed.
Li Mi insisted on his opinion and tried to persuade Suzong, saying: "Your Majesty, the main force of the Tang army assembled this time are all the northwest frontier troops and barbarians from the Western Regions. The soldiers are cold and afraid of the heat. If the Tang army is at its peak and the rebels are wiped out,
You can definitely win in one battle.
However, after retaking the two capitals, the weather will inevitably turn hotter, and it will be difficult for the northwest frontier troops and the barbarians in the Western Regions to adapt. Once they return together, the northwest soldiers can still be persuaded to mobilize, but it may be difficult for the barbarians in the Western Regions to stay.
After the rebels fled back to Fanyang, they were just in time to recuperate and prepare their troops. Once King Qin's army withdrew from the Central Plains, the rebels would inevitably make a comeback and move south again.
The war against the rebellion has dragged on for a long time, and the consumption of food, grass and baggage has been huge, and the court may not be able to afford the expenses.
It is better to first send the northwest frontier army and the barbarians from the Western Regions to march from the cold land of Yanzhao and sweep away the rebel nests, leaving them with no way to retreat and no home. Only in this way can the source of the trouble be completely eradicated and no hidden dangers left."
Suzong was silent for a long time and said: "I am eager to regain the capital and welcome the Emperor back to support me, so I cannot follow your strategy."
When Li Bi heard this, he was silent and sighed secretly.
…
After Bai Fu read Taifu Xu's letter, he closed his book and sighed.
Bai Fu was influenced by Taifu Xu and General Zhongsi, so he naturally knew that Li Bi was far-sighted and far-sighted. Peng Yuan's countermeasures were comparable to Prime Minister Zhuge's Longzhong pair, both of which were grand strategies to stabilize the country.
It's a pity that Suzong had his own problems and couldn't follow his advice.
Bai Fu secretly said: "Taifu Xu often said: 'Desire is too deep and secrets are shallow'.
People who hold power are often obscured by desire, while people who have insight into wisdom are often too indifferent and unwilling to wield power. The only way to resolve this contradiction is..."
As soon as this thought came out, Bai Fu was horrified and did not dare to think deeply.