At the moment before dawn, the battle in Gaojibo also stopped with the rising of the sun. However, the military flag with the word "Xia" that was still hanging high on the Gaojibo mountain village yesterday was now replaced by a military flag with the word "Xue". , inside and outside the cottage, there was a smell of blood everywhere, which was enough to prove how tragic the battle last night was.
In fact, although the Xue army attacked Gaojibo at night and caught the Xia army by surprise, the Xia army under Dou Jiande was not comparable to the troops under Gao Shida. The Xia army, which had undergone rigorous training, after the initial chaos, However, they always resisted stubbornly. Even if Liu Ya finally announced his surrender, only a small number of people surrendered with Liu Ya. Most people still fought to the end. In the end, less than a thousand Xia troops surrendered, and all the remaining soldiers He died in Gaojibo. For this reason, although the Xue family army was an elite one, it also lost more than 2,000 soldiers and horses. This was also far beyond the expectations of the commander-in-chief of the Xue family army, Xue Wanshu, the eldest of the Xue family brothers who led the attack on Gaojibo. of expectation.
The Juyi Hall on Gaojibo was once the place where Hebei hero Zhang Jincheng gathered all the heroes. Later Gaojibo was captured by Dou Jiande, and it remained unchanged and became an important place for military discussions. The four brothers of the Xue family They were all sitting in the hall at the moment, but none of the four of them was sitting on the main seat. The one sitting on the main seat was a slightly thin man, wearing a long green coat, looking at the Xue family with a smile. brother.
Xue Wanshu, the eldest of the Xue brothers, glanced at the man, and then said: "Master Liu, now that Gaojipo has been captured, Dou Jiande's food and grass are also here. May I ask, sir, what should we do next?"
The man gently stroked the beard on his chin, nodded slightly, and said with a smile: "The bravery of several Major Generals Xue is really an eye-opener for me. I didn't expect that General Xue is a famous general in the world. The four young generals are so brave." The general is also like a tiger and a wolf, haha, it is true that a tiger father has no dog son, I really admire him, I admire him,"
"Master Liu, you're so polite." Hearing that the other party did not directly answer his question, but suddenly praised the four brothers. First of all, Xue Wanche, the fourth and most arrogant one, laughed out loud, but the other three No longer so heartless, Xue Wanshu frowned, first responded to the other party's compliment, and then said: "Master Liu, my father previously told us brothers to follow Master Liu's arrangements. Now Gaojibo has already If we take it as Lord Liu said, then what happens next? Please tell Lord Liu clearly,"
"Haha, the young general is so polite." After hearing Xue Wanshu's words, the man squinted his eyes and smiled, and then said: "Actually, this time, the official also followed the order of King Liang and came to contact General Xue. , General Xue is devoted to the country and guarding Hebei. It can be said that he has worked hard and achieved great results. The prince has already asked the emperor for merit for General Xue. When the time comes, General Xue will have another title of King of Zhenbei. It is not impossible,"
If it were anyone else, he would definitely be ecstatic when he heard that his father could be crowned king. However, the Xue brothers were not ordinary people after all. They always remained calm and looked at the man, staring at him closely, waiting. From the other party's answer, it was obvious that this man had avoided answering Xue Wanshu's questions twice, which had aroused the dissatisfaction of the Xue brothers.
Regarding the dissatisfied looks of the Xue brothers, the man didn't care at all. Instead, he smiled and said: "Young generals, don't be anxious. We captured Gaojipo and Dou Jiande's food and grass. It is equivalent to controlling Dou Jiande's lifeline. Dou Jiande will definitely return to attack Gaojibo. Therefore, what the next few major generals have to do is to defend Gaojibo and ensure the food and grass at the last moment. It will not fall into the hands of Dou Jiande again,"
When he said this, the man gritted his teeth slightly and emphasized the tone of the last sentence. Hearing these words, the Xue brothers immediately understood what he meant. He clearly wanted the Xue brothers to guard Gaojipo. If When they can no longer hold on, the food and grass in this high chicken moor will be burned.
Hearing what the other party said, the Xue brothers couldn't help but take a breath. Although the world has temporarily calmed down and the natural disasters have gradually gone away, there is still a lack of food in the homes of ordinary people. Although the food and grass in Gaojipo are not comparable to There are so many warehouses in Luokou, but they are enough to maintain the food supply for the people of Hebei for a year. However, the man in front of him actually asked the Xue brothers to burn so much food and grass with just a few words. He was very cruel.
The third brother, Xue Wanjun, was a little unswerving and said: "Why do you listen to Mr. Liu? It seems that our brothers are not very confident in guarding this Gaojibo." As Xue Wanjun said his words, the other three Xue brothers all had expressions on their faces. He sank and turned his head to glare at the man.
The man smiled and didn't take Xue Wanjun's question seriously. He said with a smile: "Young general, don't get me wrong. It's not that I underestimated your ability. It's just that the food and grass in Gaojibo are not good for you." Dou Jiande is too important. If Dou Jiande knew that Gaojibo was lost, he would definitely use all his troops to get it. As the saying goes, don't be afraid of ten thousand, just be afraid of the unexpected. It is better to be prepared for everything. After all, this matter is related to the relationship between Liang Wang and Liang Wang. General Xue’s plan must not go awry,"
When the other party said this, the faces of the Xue family brothers finally became much better, and then the boss Xue Wanshu said with a puzzled look: "Master Liu, aren't we sending troops this time to eradicate Dou Jiande? Now the main force of our Xue family army They were all transferred to Gaojibo. My father doesn’t have much troops. We are standing still in Gaojibo. How can we get rid of Dou Jiande? Could it be that King Liang wants to send troops to Hebei? The last time your lord discussed with my father, didn’t he say that our Xue Jiajun The alliance with King Liang cannot be known to the outside world yet. If King Liang sends troops to Hebei, wouldn't everyone in the world know about the alliance between Xue Jiajun and King Liang?"
The man always kept a smile, but avoided answering Xue Wanshu's questions. He just shook his head and said: "Please wait patiently for the major generals. When the time comes, I will naturally tell the major generals to know."
"Master Liu," Xue Wanshu, the second child who had been silent before, shouted, with an angry look on his face. They, Xue Jiajun, had worked hard for so long, but the other party still refused to tell the truth. How could they Not angry, Xue Wanshu immediately shouted: "Our Xue family is loyal to the Sui Dynasty. The emperor has a secret decree. From my father to our brothers, the Xue family has not complained at all. Now we just want Mr. Liu's To be honest, Master Liu can't even satisfy our brothers' requirements,"
This man was none other than Wan He's counselor Liu Wenjing. This time Liu Wenjing came to Hebei on behalf of Wan He and contacted the Xue Jiajun. Firstly, he wanted to cover up Wanhe's absence in Luoyang. Secondly, he also decided to take action against Dou Jiande and get rid of this man. The hidden danger in the north is, of course, Dou Jiande's strength, which is stronger than Luoyang's soldiers and horses. It is impossible to get rid of Dou Jiande with Luoyang's soldiers and horses alone, so Changsun Wuji and other counselors discussed this and decided to join forces. The Xue family army under the veteran Xue Shixiong attacked Dou Jiande from front to back. Of course, besides Xue Shixiong, Changsun Wuji also arranged another secret move, but it was inconvenient to explain it to the Xue brothers now.
With Liu Wenjing's intelligence, there could have been a better way to appease the Xue brothers, but he chose a method that made the Xue brothers extremely dissatisfied. This was not without reason. Ever since Liu Wenjing contacted Xue Shixiong, However, they discovered that Xue Shixiong's loyalty to the Sui Dynasty far exceeded what he, Changsun Wuji and the others expected. If they wanted to reuse Xue Shixiong, I'm afraid that in the end, Xue Shixiong would be grateful to Yang Gao instead of Wan He. When the Luoyang Incident occurred, Liu Wenjing also realized that if left unchecked, the Xue family would sooner or later become troubled.
But the problem is that to get rid of Dou Jiande, the Xue family is an indispensable force, especially the bravery of the Xue family brothers. If they cannot be used for their own purposes, they will become a serious problem for Wan He in the future, so Liu Wenjing can only think The best way is to slowly transform the Xue family's loyalty to the Sui Dynasty into loyalty to Wanhe. This is the best result. Xue Shixiong is a veteran of the Sui Dynasty, and his loyalty to the Sui Dynasty cannot be changed, so Liu Wenjing's The idea was to target these four young Xue brothers.
Hearing Xue Wanshu's question, Liu Wenjing was secretly happy, but there was a trace of helplessness on her face, and she said to Xue Wanshu: "Major General, calm down, this, this, this official is also in trouble. This matter is not deliberately concealed by the subordinate, nor is it The King of Liang refused to tell the truth. It was really difficult for the King of Liang and his subordinates to tell the truth. Now in Luoyang, although the King of Liang has the full power to assist the emperor in name, the emperor is still young after all. In some matters, the King of Liang can make suggestions to help the emperor fight. "It's reasonable, but there are some things that King Liang can't interfere with,"
When Liu Wenjing complained like this, the anger on Xue Wanshu's face subsided slightly, but Xue Wanche, the fourth child, asked with a puzzled face: "Prince Liang has a high position in the court, is there anything that he cannot interfere with? Is it possible that Luoyang is now Is there anyone in the city who dares to disobey King Liang?"
"Fourth brother," although Xue Wanche's words were true, they were also heart-wrenching. It was also because Xue Wanche was so helpless that he would speak frankly. After hearing Xue Wanche's words, the boss Xue Wanshu's expression changed and he immediately came out. Scolding loudly.
But Liu Wenjing showed a face of bitterness and helplessness, shook her head and said: "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. I have heard many things like this. As a disciple of the emperor, King Liang received great favor from the late emperor. He made up his mind to assist the emperor, but there were some problems with King Liang’s family background, so many people in Luoyang City were very dissatisfied with King Liang. In addition, King Liang put talent and virtue first and reused children from poor families, which also made many people dislike him. So I spread rumors in private to stir up trouble, slandering the King of Liang for being disloyal. The King of Liang was powerless and could not stop the rumors. There was nothing I could do."