In order to gather information, most of the Xiuyi Guards lived in Tuguhun, Rouran, and other countries in the Western Regions as Hu merchants. There were also many hidden in Dunhuang City, either as merchants, soldiers, or government officials.
Yuan Zhi was the general of Dunhuang and guarded one area. Naturally, some of the embroidery envoys were under his command. Therefore, it would not be surprising if this secret memorial was sent by the embroidery envoy disguised as Hu Shang.
The strange thing is that Yuan Zhi has already been defeated in the West Sea. How can he find the Embroidered Clothes Envoy? Could it be that the Embroidered Clothes Envoy has sneaked into Zhenyi City, Li Chengzhi's home base?
With surprise and doubt in his heart, Yuan Cheng started reading from the beginning again. After reading only one paragraph, his pupils shrank sharply.
What surprised him was not whether Yuan Zhi died or whether he rebelled and surrendered, but that Xihai had already conquered Dunhuang Town.
In this way, all the land in Hexi fell into Li Chengzhi's hands. It can be said that you can advance and attack, retreat and defend, and the foundation of competing for the world has been completed...
And this is only the second thing. What makes Yuan Cheng worried is: No wonder Rouran was defeated so quickly. In the end, he could only escape into Mobei via Dazhan instead of withdrawing the troops along the original route. It turned out that the retreat was cut off by Li Chengzhi...
Thinking about it at this time, I am afraid that when he went to Rouran last winter, Li Chengzhi had already gotten a clue, otherwise he would not be so urgent and the timing would be just right.
Rouran was able to send troops, and Li Chengzhi captured Dunhuang, which meant that Rouran was already under attack from both sides.
What's more, Dunhuang is more than a thousand miles away from Fuluochuan, the new capital of Tuyuhun. Jinshan Mountain (today's Altyn Mountains) is more than 400 miles south of Dunhuang, and 800 miles north of Fuluochuan, the capital of Tuyuhun. It is between the Yuan, Wei and
There are many river valleys on the Tuyuhun border, which are wide and flat. Li Song can send cavalry into Tuyuhun at any time.
Suddenly seeing a powerful enemy coming, Fulianchou didn't know what was true and would most likely withdraw Murong Xiao's army. However, in the Salt Lake victory, Li Chengzhi won too easily, so he did not use this strategy...
After taking a few strong breaths, Yuan Cheng calmed down and started reading again.
On the day of the defeat, Yuan Zhi fell from the Cloud Tower and broke his leg, and was captured. He was later imprisoned in Zhenyi City.
After resting for more than a month, Li Chengzhi suddenly sent envoys to persuade him to help Xihai pacify Dunhuang. Yuan Zhi claimed that he could endure the humiliation and bear the burden, so he pretended to agree, and then followed Li Chengzhi's confidant Li Song and led an army of 20,000 to the west to Dunhuang.
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Yuan Zhi also said that in order to avoid losing lives and harming innocent people, he had no choice but to follow the thieves and persuade Dunhuang Town to surrender. Therefore, in less than three days, all the Dunhuang Town troops and citizens surrendered, which can be said to be effortless.
Seeing that he was so effective, Li Song, the bandit commander, thought that Yuan Zhi had given up his determination and surrendered completely. Moreover, the town was newly attached, and in order to stabilize the morale of the people and the army, there were many things that needed Yuan Zhi's help, so he showed his sincerity, and again
Not held as a prisoner.
Although there were still soldiers accompanying him day and night in the name of protection, Yuan Zhi still got a good opportunity and secretly communicated with the embroidery chief of Dunhuang Town.
The ancients said: If you want people not to hear, don't say anything; if you don't want people to know, don't do it. But if you do something, there will be traces.
What's more, Yuan Zhi lived up and down in the officialdom and served in the army for half his life. He was by no means a mediocre person. He could be said to have a keen eye for fire and a sharp eye like a torch.
He didn't even need to ask questions deliberately. Just from the traces of Li Song dispatching soldiers and horses and issuing orders to the townspeople, we could infer that he came to Dunhuang not just to seize the city and land and appease the townspeople.
Rather, they were on alert and guarded against each other, specifically to guard against Rouran and Tuyuhun.
What's more, Yuan Zhi vaguely noticed that from the commander-in-chief Li Song on down, all the close followers of the Li family were all trembling with fear, walking on thin ice, and seemed to be determined to die, with the intention of becoming benevolent if they failed?
Yuan Zhi secretly suspected that there would be a powerful enemy coming in the near future, either Rouran or Tuyuhun.
Frightened, Yuan Zhi secretly ordered Xiu Yiwei to investigate in various ways.
Due to the emergency, Li Song only brought 20,000 troops, with 80% of them stationed south of Zhuoxie Mountain (the border between Dunhuang and Rouran) and north of Silver Lake (today's Qarhan Salt Lake, the water area was very large during the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
Arriving at the southern foot of Jinshan Mountain (at the junction of Dunhuang and Tuyuhun), there were four thousand soldiers stationed in the city. We were short of resources at the moment, so we could only seize the big ones and release the small ones, and act according to the urgency of the situation. Therefore, we were able to scrutinize the city carefully.
It was more convenient for the Yuan Dynasty. Not only did they send the embroidered clothes envoys to spy on the city, but they also learned from Rouran and Tuyuhun that nearly a million troops from the three parties wanted to besiege Zhenyi.
Yuan Zhi was overjoyed for a moment, thinking that Li Chengzhi was bound to be defeated and that the time had come to make a meritorious deed, so he had this secret memorial.
It shows both the reality and the reality of the West Sea: excluding Dunhuang, there are now only 200,000 households in the West Sea, of which 100,000 households, a small number are from Hexi, and most are criminals from the Qin and Liang states.
The other 100,000 households, a small number of them are the defeated army and refugees who fled to the West Sea after the chaos in the six towns. The majority are the townspeople who Luo Jian moved to the West Sea with the intention of occupying the magpie nest.
The number of soldiers was no more than 100,000: about 10,000 were the old Baijia troops, mixed with Hu Jingqi, and 40,000 were rebels captured by Qin and Liang during the Battle of Chencang. The remaining 50,000 came from Luo Jian and Yuan
The defeated army of the bird of prey.
Yuan Zhi also said: The origins of the army in the West Sea are complicated, and most of them were surrendered troops, so the good and the bad are mixed. It is only Li Chengzhi who is good at deceiving people and rewarding them with large sums of money, so he can be used.
Moreover, due to the treacherous weapons of the West Sea, they have not suffered a single defeat since the formation of the army, so their morale is extremely high. However, in terms of combat power, there are too many suppressing troops compared to the central army...
In addition, there are also some speculations Cui Guang made about the West Sea when Yuan Zhi was chatting with Cui Guang: The land west of the river is mostly wilderness. Li Chengzhi worked hard to conquer it and worked hard. Without ten years of hard work, he would never have succeeded.
It is not enough to support these two hundred thousand people.
Therefore, regardless of other things, the West Sea must be extremely short of food. What seems like prosperity now is just a mirror, which can be broken at the first glance.
Cui Guang guessed that Li Chengzhi took control of Hexi but did not block the silk trade route, which must have made it easier for Xihaixi to become Hu merchants and buy grain from everywhere.
Apart from this, Cui Guang could not think of any other way for Xihai to feed these nearly one million people and one hundred thousand soldiers.
Cui Guang also said that if the imperial court wanted to level the West Sea, all it would have to do is block the grain route, and the West Sea would be destroyed without attack, hence the saying "Flowers in the Mirror, Moon in the Water".
Based on this, the Yuan Dynasty also made detailed inquiries, and found out that every year, "Gaoche Hu merchants" and "Gaochang Hu merchants" go to Tuyuhun and Nanliang to traffic soldiers and armor. The strange thing is that they don't want pottery, nor do they want to buy wares.
Silk and linen are just exchanged for food.
This further supports Cui Guang's assertion that at least most of the food in the Western Sea was obtained by merchants.
Therefore, the Yuan Dynasty offered a plan: If you want to level the West Sea, you must not act too hastily. You can cut off the food road first, and then gather your troops to attack together. Or you can lure them to divide their troops and send out all their troops. When their nest is empty, they can then highlight their extraordinary troops and attack Huanglong...
…
A glimmer of light flashed in Yuan Cheng's eyes.
Now we are approaching Tuyuhun from the west to the south, defending Rouran from the north, and marching into Six Towns from the east. There is even a large army forcibly crossing the river and pointing directly at Longshan. Isn't it true to induce them to divide their troops?
What's more, Xihai just entered Longxi, and the number of soldiers in the six towns was already eighty or ninety thousand. If the twenty thousand in Dunhuang town were added, it would have already exceeded one hundred thousand. If Yuan Zhi's words are true, how can it be true?
Whether it is Hexi or Zhenyi, is it now empty and empty?
No wonder Liu Fanghui gave the best advice to the thieves in the three strategies: Send one hundred thousand troops to conquer the south in light chariots, highlight the Qilian Mountains, encircle Wei and rescue Zhao, which can relieve the danger of Longxi, Guanzhong, and Beizhen.
Thinking of this, even Yuan Cheng felt a little moved. But after thinking about it, he felt it was wrong.
A secret report from Yuan Zhi was far from enough to make Liu Fang and You Zhao, two civil servants who neglected military affairs, come up with this plan. They also had no such courage.
There must be some reason for this.
He narrowed his eyes and glanced around the hall.
Just looking at Yuan Quan's face, one can tell that he only found out about this today, and had not even heard of it before. It is also his fault that he is ignorant and has lived a long life in vain. The Queen Mother just takes a fancy to his incompetence, which is impossible.
After rebelling, he was promoted to Taiwei and given the command of military talismans.
But the Queen Mother knew it well: Asking him for advice is undoubtedly the same as asking someone blind...
Qin Song is just an eunuch, who knows?
Apart from Yuan Quan and Qin Song, Gao Zhao was the only one left. Yuan Cheng's eyes turned cold and he raised the secret note in his hand: "Gao Shouwen, you still dare to say that this policy has nothing to do with you? The building is about to collapse.
At this time, how dare you persist in your evil intentions and persist in playing tricks, trying to make things worse and trick us and Li Chengzhi into harming both of us?"
"I will answer whatever the Minister and Wei Qing ask. How can they be so evil? Besides sinking the boat and fighting a desperate battle, is there any other good strategy to defeat the enemy? If so, I would like to invite His Highness to tell you..."
Seeing that Yuan Cheng didn't respond, Gao Zhao sneered again, "Furthermore, if the Queen Mother had followed this strategy, she should have mobilized troops from Yangzhou, Gunzhou and other places, instead of trying to prevent me and His Highness from traveling westward to Li Chengzhi's little son
Please forgive me..."
Yuan Cheng's eyes moved, and he had countless thoughts in his mind.
Is this really the case?
Judging from what is said in this secret memorial, it was written by the Yuan Dynasty Bird in early April. He deliberately bypassed the Salt Lake and sent it to Longquguan via the South Road, and then rushed it through Guanzhong for 800 miles.
It took less than half a month for the secret memorial to arrive in the capital. It has been a month since then. At that time, Tuyuhun and Cui Yanbo were defeated. The Queen Mother suddenly heard of the defeat and must have been panicked. Seeing the Yuan Dynasty secret memorial again will be like this
The man who fell into the water grabbed the straw rope. In surprise and doubt, he would summon the important officials for discussion.
After counting, only Liu Fang and You Zhao could be of great use. However, these two people were not familiar with military affairs. When they were in a dilemma, they pinched their noses and instructed Liu Fang and You Zhao to ask Gao Zhao for advice.
Although Gao Zhao was not known as a famous general, he was extremely good at fighting. The reason why he was not well-known was simply because, like Yuan Cheng, his military talents were obscured due to his excessive brilliance and brilliance.
However, Yuan Cheng has a virtuous reputation, while Gao Zhao has a bad reputation. But in terms of strategizing and winning a victory thousands of miles away, Gao Zhao is by no means inferior to Xi Kangsheng, Xing Luan and others.
Come to think of it, most of these good strategies came from Gao Zhao.
If you put aside your prejudices, this strategy of besieging Wei and rescuing Zhao would be a good strategy. But as Gao Zhao said, the Queen Mother did not accept it, but seemed to accept her fate, and actually agreed to Liu Fang and You Zhao's strategy: to stop the army and seek peace!
Sure enough, they are just two civil servants who only know how to write and write. If you say stop the army, can Li Chengzhi stop the army?
Taking it too much for granted.
What's even more ridiculous is that he actually wants to take himself and Gao Zhao to the West Sea and let Li Chengzhi deal with him in order to relieve his hatred?
No need to guess, Liu Fang and You Zhao would never do such a thing, this must be the Queen Mother's intention.
Yuan Cheng sneered in his heart and asked coldly: "Why shouldn't the Queen Mother take this best option and give it a try?"
The two of them were silent and just shook their heads. After a long time, they heard Qin Song reply: "This is a desperate strategy, but if you are not careful, you will be doomed. How dare you do it so easily?"
Qin Song was only an internal official, so how could he say it? He could guess with his toes that it was the Queen Mother's original words.
Does that mean you don’t even dare to try?
They are just women after all...
Yuan Cheng sighed sadly and asked again: "There are three strategies for defeating thieves. Why do we only see the top strategy and the bottom strategy, but not the middle strategy?"
This time, before Liu Fang and You Zhao could speak, Qin Song had already stepped in and said, "The Queen Mother has ordered you all to come here for this reason. We have to wait for everyone to discuss it before deciding whether it is feasible..."
The old lady spoke calmly and calmly, but Yuan Cheng's brows furrowed deeper and deeper.
This strategy is really a compromise strategy: Gao Ying neither dared to burn the boat, nor wanted to beg for mercy, leaving him with eternal infamy. He was wavering for a moment, worrying about gains and losses, and in desperation, he actually came up with a strategy that was neither better nor worse?
In the name of seeking peace, Liu Fang was sent as an envoy to Xihai. To show his sincerity, Yuan Cheng and Gao Zhao were used as tools to quell Li Chengzhi's anger.
If Li Chengzhi agrees to negotiate peace, it will show that what Yuan Zhi said is true, and what Gao Zhao has concluded is even more accurate: Now that all the troops from the West Sea have been sent out, it is the end of the strong crossbow. Li Chengzhi's troops marching into Longxi and pointing his sword at Guanzhong is just a bluff.
As long as we take this opportunity to let the court take a breath, regroup and counterattack, or dispatch the southern army to attack Huanglong, at least we will have more confidence.
And if Li Chengzhi does not stop fighting and negotiate for peace, the court will have no other option, and the only option left is to fight to the death and give it a try.
By that time, life is almost gone. Who cares whether the fisherman from Nanliang will steal his home? All he can do is recall all the troops who conquered the south...
At first glance, it seemed to make some sense, but the more Yuan Cheng listened, the angrier he became. In the end, he actually laughed in anger.
"Since sooner or later there will be a fight, and sooner or later the Confederate army will be transferred back to give Li Chengzhi a try, then why is there any need to beg for mercy and make peace with the traitors? Is it because the Queen Mother thinks that our country's morale and the people's morale are too high and has to vent, or is it the Queen Mother?
You remember that I, Yuan Cheng, am loyal and loyal, and do you want to honor my name of loyalty?"
"Your Highness, why do you need to speak coldly and sarcastically?"
Qin Song replied, "Li Chengzhi's wolfish ambitions are now unstoppable, making him even more arrogant and arrogant, thinking that he has a hegemony. And he is as traitorous as he is loyal, and he is best at deceiving people's hearts. Therefore, regardless of harmony or discord,
Li Chengzhi shows his royal style and will not embarrass the two of them...
This tactic was nothing more than a helpless move. If the troops could be suspended temporarily, it would at least give the court a moment of respite. It could also show the enemy's weakness, and then mobilize all the troops to defeat them in one battle.
By that time, even if Li Chengzhi becomes angry from shame and harms His Highness and the Duke. But the two of them will have outstanding achievements in the country, and they will naturally leave their names in history, and the wealth of their descendants will be endless..."
After all, do you still want grandpa to die?
The wealth and wealth of the descendants are endless... On the other hand, if I don't do what I want, I'm afraid my family will be confiscated and my family will be exterminated tomorrow, right?
Gao Ying, Gao Ying, you only have this little ability left.
For a moment, Yuan Cheng felt his heart was cold and lazy, and all his thoughts were silent.
There is nothing more sorrowful than the death of one's heart, nothing worse than this...