After Li Zhen implemented the strategy of surrounding Fuchun City with three and one missing, the morale of the garrison began to waver.
This is true from the commanders in the army to the ordinary soldiers.
Originally, Li Zhen sent troops to surround Fuchun City. Soldiers were stationed on all sides to prevent a fly from entering the city. This made the soldiers stationed in the city feel desperate. Because they were desperate and had no hope, they even thought of fighting to the death. They couldn't escape. It was possible to fight decisively, but now that Li Zhen changed his strategy, he left a hole, allowing the soldiers who stayed behind to see a glimmer of hope. The courage to fight suddenly disappeared, and they all looked forward to the withdrawal of Xi Changzhen and Xi Yinglong.
Inside the palace, the main hall.
Xi Changzhen reported the matter and sighed: "The situation is difficult."
Xi Yinglong blinked and said seriously: "Li Zhen's move can be said to be a blow to the bottom of the pot. With one clever move, all the soldiers in the city did not want to fight anymore. They did not have the courage to fight to the death, so they were beaten."
Xi Changzhen stroked his beard and asked, "What should we do?"
Xi Yinglong said: "One word, war."
Xi Changzhen raised his eyebrows and said: "If the soldiers don't have the will to fight to the death, how can we fight? When fighting, we must pay attention to morale. If the army has no morale and is lifeless, fighting will be in vain." After a pause, Xi Changzhen said: "As the saying goes, If you keep the green hills, you won't be afraid of running out of firewood. Since Li Zhen has opened his mouth, we might as well give it a try. Even if we fail, it will be death at most. If we have our heads chopped off, we will be a good man again after eighteen years. Moreover, If you stay, you will be killed."
Xi Yinglong was silent for a long time, and finally said helplessly: "Brother, it's not that I haven't considered your suggestion, but even if we retreat, where should we retreat? Where can we retreat? In the past, when we fled from Guangxi to Vietnam, we were already I left my hometown, but Vietnam is a vassal state of China after all, so I have found the right place to stay, but now that I have left Vietnam, where will I go? I really can’t think of it.”
Xi Changzhen also looked helpless, which he didn't expect.
The directions east, south, west and north are all unfamiliar, and everything is completely dark.
…
Outside the city, the military camp.
In the Chinese army tent, Li Zhenzheng was talking to Gobad.
The purpose of Gobard's visit was to ask Li Zhen to fill up the gap that had been created, because this was a sign that people would leave. If this gap was left and Xi Changzhen and Xi Yinglong ran away, problems would eventually arise.
Li Zhen smiled slightly and said unhurriedly: "Mr. Gobard, the strategy of surrounding three and missing one is a Chinese combat strategy. Although there is a way out, if Xi Changzhen and Xi Yinglong take this way to evacuate, You will immediately be violently attacked by my troops. This is a very practical strategy that can not only shake the opponent's soldiers' determination to fight decisively, but also make the opponent fall into the trap."
Gobard suddenly understood and praised: "The president is so smart and powerful."
Li Zhen said: "Thank you for the compliment."
After Gobad understood Li Zhen's intention, he immediately said goodbye and left. Li Zhen also immediately stood up to see him off. After seeing off Gobad, Li Zhen turned around and returned. Then, Li Zhen sent someone to invite Liu Jintang in and give Liu Jintang instructions. He gave Liu Jintang a task to carry out.
…
In the afternoon, in the palace hall.
A general holding a letter in his hand stood respectfully at the bottom of the hall. The general handed over the letter in his hand and said: "Your Majesty, this letter was given to me by a commoner in the city. Please specify it and ask me to deliver it to you."
Xi Yinglong asked: "Where did the letter come from?"
The general replied: "This letter was delivered to me by a common man in the city. At that time, I asked the common people, but the common man didn't know anything about it, because he also got a man who gave him one tael of silver and specified that he would deliver it in person. Give it to me and I will forward it to His Majesty for review. I cannot tell where the letter came from."
Xi Yinglong hummed and tore open the envelope with a snap.
There was a letter in the envelope and a simple map attached.
Xi Yinglong opened the map first, and after reading it, his expression became extremely serious, because the information marked on the map shocked him like never before, because it was a simple world map, and it not only contained the territory of China. , as well as Myanmar, India, Indonesia, the United States and European countries. In later generations, this was the most common map, but now, it is definitely quite shocking.
This was the first time Xi Yinglong encountered such a situation. After seeing the map, he began to browse another letter inside the envelope. When he saw the title of the letter, Xi Yinglong's pupils shrank.
This letter was sent by Li Zhen.
After Xi Yinglong read it, he asked the general to leave and sent for Xi Changzhen.
Xi Yinglong asked the soldiers in the hall to withdraw and closed the door, leaving only Xi Changzhen and Xi Yinglong. Such a serious situation surprised Xi Changzhen and asked: "Your Majesty, what happened to make you so cautious?"
Xi Yinglong handed over the letter and said, "You'll know after you read it."
Xi Changzhen read it quickly, then looked at the map placed in the palace, and said: "Your Majesty, this Li Zhen actually wanted us to leave Vietnam and go to India. What do you think Li Zhen had in mind?"
Xi Yinglong said: "I haven't thought it through clearly, but I have some speculations."
"Your Majesty, please give me your instructions." Xi Changzhen waved his hand and said.
Xi Yinglong took a deep breath and said: "First, Li Zhen besieged Fuchun City. Although there was only one missing, he continued to recruit soldiers and civilians. He wanted to destroy our military morale, but this was ultimately impossible. As long as If I am still there, the morale of the army will not be lost, and the army will still have fighting capacity. However, Li Zhen is worried that attacking Fuchun City will cause huge losses to himself, so he gave us a way to survive and wanted us to go to India."
"Secondly, Li Zhen used the method of surrounding three and missing one. He may have deliberately asked us to leave Fuchun. He was insidiously attracting us out and wanted to ambush us halfway."
"Third, Li Zhen is sincere and really lets us go."
Xi Yinglong said: "I can only think of these three possibilities. Regarding the third point, I am skeptical. Li Zhen and we are enemies, and there is no way he will let us go."
Xi Changzhen pondered for a long time and said: "Your Majesty, I think it should be both the first and third items. Li Zhen asked us to leave for India, probably to avoid the loss of his soldiers, and to really let us leave. ."
Xi Yinglong asked: "What good will it do to Li Zhen if we let go?"
Xi Changzhen smiled and said: "I just thought of a reason. It may be the third speculation. Think about it, whose territory is India? It is the territory of the British. After we go to India, we must give it to India. The British were causing trouble, and Li Zhen wanted to set a trap for the British, so he gave us a way out. In the final analysis, he was just using us."
After a pause, Xi Changzhen continued: "Your Majesty, compared to being trapped in Fuchun City, there is an escape route to India. Once we leave Fuchun City and get rid of Li Zhen's army, it is really possible to go to India. Where can we go?
If we develop strength and have enough strength, we will definitely be able to avoid today's humiliation. Of course, if we fall into a trap and are surrounded in this battle, we will fight hard."
Once upon a time, the two brothers were determined to fight to the death.
But now the two have other options and have shaken their minds.