Luo Shixin thought for a long time and asked the scout again: "How many troops are there and how are they equipped?"
"Reporting to the general, we found two armies one after another. There were more than 20,000 people on one side of Raoyang County and about 40,000 people on the other side. They were marching towards Hejian County. They were marching very fast. Their equipment was uneven and they had skins.
Armor, there are also two levels of armor, but most of them are leather armor."
Next to him, Lieutenant General Li Haihan became a little excited, "General, there are only more than 20,000 people in Raoyang County. Maybe this is our chance."
Of course Luo Shixin knew this was an opportunity. In the past, he would have led the army to kill without hesitation, but now he cannot do so. He was appointed as the general of Hengshan County. He must have the consciousness of a general. Luo Shixin shook his head and said, "General Manager
He did not give me such an order, he just ordered me to put pressure on Dou Jiande."
"But……"
Li Haihan said with some reluctance: "If we can wipe out all the enemy troops, it is also a kind of pressure. In any case, the manager should be happy and will never blame the general for his bad behavior."
Luo Shixin sighed, "General Li, I used to have the same idea as you. I always felt that the more enemies I killed, the better. But I regret it now. Look around us. In such a fertile land, there is no human habitation for dozens of miles."
, along the way we came, there were destroyed villages everywhere. If we continue to fight like before, Hebei will become a grassland."
"But if the army doesn't fight, can it still be called an army? The enemy will not kneel down and surrender."
Li Haihan was a little dissatisfied with Luo Shixin's benevolent thoughts. When the enemy killed the Sui army, they were not so merciful. "I don't agree with the general's words. Ci can't control the army. If he had benevolent thoughts, then why would the general attack Hebei? Didn't Dou Jiande do that?"
Is it good? Recuperate and recuperate, organize troops to farm, and are not as tyrannical as Wei Daoer, then simply let Dou Jiande rule Hebei, and Hebei will not turn into a grassland."
Li Haihan was originally a general of the Tang Army and one of Li Shuliang's capable generals. After Li Shuliang's army was reorganized, he was also named a sub-general. He was originally stationed in Shangdang County. During the attack on Hebei, he was transferred to serve as Luo Shixin's deputy general.
Li Haihan was an upright person. He would not be able to hold back anything he was dissatisfied with and would definitely speak out. Luo Shixin had worked with him for a winter and had a general understanding of his temper.
Although Li Haihan's tone was full of dissatisfaction, Luo Shixin was not angry. He smiled and explained: "I'm not saying we won't fight. I just want to say that the manager has his own considerations. Now Sui
The strategic focus of the army is not on Hejian County, but on Zhuo County. He did not let me attack Dou Jiande's army. We cannot act without authorization. If we want to launch such a large-scale battle, we must report it to the general manager in advance. This is what he personally
The reason why I sit in Hebei and direct the overall situation is because I am worried that Qin Qiong will not be able to control the overall situation."
Although Li Haihan was unwilling to give in, he also understood that what Luo Shixin said was reasonable. It was impossible for the general manager not to know that there were 100,000 garrison troops in Hejian County, but he did not order them to annihilate them, but only asked them to put pressure on them. This must be their consideration. They did
You cannot act on your own initiative.
Li Haihan couldn't help but feel a little apologetic, feeling guilty for his dissatisfaction just now, so he asked: "Then what should we do now?"
Luo Shixin cast his eyes to the north, thought for a moment and said: "It is also possible that I made a mistake. Wang Fubao's placement of an army of 20,000 people in Raoyang County may be just a bait. His real purpose is not to snipe us. He is very likely to
It is to lead the army north to Shanggu County and force the General Manager to withdraw his troops. Regardless of the temptation of Raoyang County, we must focus on the war situation in Zhuoxian County. We must block the northward attempt of Wang Fubao's army for the General Manager and cut off the food route of Dou Jiande's army.
Half an hour later, Luo Shixin led an army of 30,000 people and rushed towards Gaoyang County in the northeast. Gaoyang County was the only way for Wang Fubao's army to march into Shanggu County, and it was also the food route center for Dou Jiande's 100,000-strong army.
…
The confrontation in Zhuo County entered the third day. Dou Jiande did not launch another attack on Zhuo County. Instead, he moved the camp three miles south of Zhuo County and no longer turned his back to the Sui army. In this way, his army and the Sui army and the Luo army
Yi's reinforcements formed a "pin"-shaped confrontation, with him in the south, Sui's army in the west, and Luo Yi's reinforcements in the east.
In the big tent, Dou Jiande stood in front of the sand table and meditated for a long time. This time, it seemed extremely risky for him to forcefully intervene in the Youzhou battle, but once he succeeded, the benefits he would gain would also be extremely generous. He would get five thousand heavy armored cavalry.
Although he purchased a large number of war horses from the Khitans and Turks over the years, his cavalry was still very weak. He had to obtain this powerful Youzhou heavy armored cavalry before he could compete with Yang Yuanqing's elite army.
In order to break the current standoff, Dou Jiande has ordered General Wang Fubao to lead 40,000 troops to attack Shanggu County and force Yang Yuanqing to retreat. As long as Yang Yuanqing withdraws to Shanggu County, he will capture Zhuoxian County as quickly as possible and then retreat quickly.
Now Dou Jiande is worried about another Sui army in Hengshan County. Yang Yuanqing's purpose of deploying troops in Hengshan Army is obviously to contain himself. Now that his army is moving north, will the Sui army in Hengshan County attack Zunji's home base?
At this time, Chief Shi Kong Desao quickly walked into the big tent and reported in a low voice: "Your Majesty, urgent news came from Gaoyang County. A Sui army of about 30,000 people occupied Gaoyang County yesterday afternoon.
Dou Jiande was shocked. This was obviously the Sui army from Hengshan County. He immediately found Gaoyang County on the sand table, which happened to be the only way to go north to Shanggu County. Qu Jiande took a breath of air. It was obvious that the Sui army
It was because they discovered their attempt to march into Shanggu County to intercept Wang Fubao's army. In this way, his plan to force Yang Yuanqing to withdraw westward came to nothing.
Dou Jiande became a little anxious. He could not stay in Zhuoxian for too long. The food and grass he carried could only last for seven days. The Sui army occupied Gaoyang County and blocked his food route.
Dou Jiande couldn't restrain his inner irritation and punched the sand table with a fierce punch. With a bang!, the wooden Gaoyang County City was smashed into pieces. He turned around and ordered: "Order Wang Fubao to defeat the Sui Dynasty in Gaoyang County within three days."
If the army fails, let him come to see you!"
Kong Desao was startled and hurriedly stepped forward to persuade: "Your Majesty, please calm down. With the elite and equipment of the Sui army, General Wang's 40,000 men may not be able to win. Once they fail, it will endanger the security of our capital."
"Then what do you think we should do? Our food and grass can only last for five days now. Do you want me to give up and run away just to join in the fun?" Dou Jiande roared in anger.
"I understand the prince's eagerness to get the heavy cavalry, but what I'm afraid of is that in the end, I didn't get the heavy cavalry, but lost troops and generals. The gain outweighs the gain. Your prince, you need to be sensible!"
Kong Deshao had always opposed Dou Jiande's sending troops to Youzhou, but Dou Jiande was too determined and his opposition had no effect. He had to wait silently for an opportunity. This time the Sui army occupied Gaoyang County, making Dou Jiande suddenly passive, and Kong Desao knew his chance.
Coming.
He continued to persuade: "What I'm most worried about is that Yang Yuanqing and Luo Yi are uniting to deal with the prince. Now Luo Yi's army is standing still, and Yang Yuanqing's army is also standing still. I suspect that they have reached a secret agreement and are preparing to jointly attack us. Now
The Sui army's capture of Gaoyang County was a signal that Yang Yuanqing was not doing nothing, he had been pulling the strings from behind, couldn't he have thought of joining forces with Luo Yi?"
Kong Desao's to-the-point analysis made Dou Jiande feel powerless. He finally began to realize that he had made a strategic mistake and should not have rashly intervened in the Youzhou battle. Now he was riding a tiger and was in trouble.
Dou Jiande looked at the morning sun on the horizon with his hands behind his back. He was not a gangster like Wei Daoer, but a man with great talent and great strategy. Although he took the wrong path because of his greed, he would realize that he had gone astray when he regained his sense.
mistakes and try to correct them.
Dou Jiande sighed, "Maybe you are right, but if we withdraw in a hurry now, we will definitely be hunted down by Yang Yuanqing and Luo Yi. I am riding a tiger and it is difficult to get off.
Kong Desao was waiting for Dou Jiande's words. He immediately said: "As long as the prince decides to retreat, I have a plan to ensure that the prince retreats safely."
Dou Jiande was overjoyed, "Tell me quickly, what's the plan?"
…
The defense in Youzhou City can be described as clearly divided. Hou Mo Chenyi's army is responsible for the east city and north city, and Xue Wanjun's army is responsible for guarding the west city and south city. There is no contact between the two. Although Luo Yi has been trying his best to mediate the relationship between them, it has not been effective.
Big, just ignore each other.
Xue Wanjun is about thirty years old. After more than ten years of military career and security training, he is no longer the sunny young guard who was beside Prince Zhao more than ten years ago. He has become more scheming and powerful.
The relationship began to become stronger. Although their brothers supported Luo Yi to become the general manager of Youzhou, it did not mean that they became Luo Yi's true confidants. When Youzhou was facing life and death, they also had their own ideas. Xue Wanjun advocated surrendering to the Tang Dynasty.
He had a very good personal relationship with Chai Shao, the consort of the Tang Dynasty, and Chai Shao also promised him a generous position, but his brother Xue Wanche advocated surrender to the Sui Dynasty. They had old friends with Yang Yuanqing, and they should be reused.
The two brothers have always been at odds with each other, but they agree on one thing. Before the brothers reach a consensus, neither of them will act without authorization.
At this time, Xue Wanjun was also very anxious. His brother was besieged in Zhuoxian City, and the situation was unknown. Now the situation was becoming increasingly tense, but they could not communicate with each other.
Xue Wanjun stood at the top of the city, looking at the direction of Zhuoxian from a distance, his heart full of worries. What should he do next?
At this moment, on the official road in the distance, two cavalrymen rushed toward the city. Xue Wanjun's soldiers shouted: "General, they seem to be messengers!"
Xue Wanjun also saw it. The two cavalry were very fast, as if they had a very important mission. He felt a little uneasy. Could something have happened?
After a while, two cavalrymen rushed to the city and shouted: "We are here to find General Xue on the order of the prince. Where is General Xue?"
Xue Wanjun looked out of the city and asked, "What do you want me to do here?"
A cavalryman raised a golden arrow and said, "Your Majesty has ordered General Xue to go quickly to support Zhuoxian County. Zhuoxian County is in danger!"