Xu Shiji never smiled again after Yang Yuanqing implemented a large-scale crackdown on military discipline in Heyang County. This was the biggest shame in his military career. Of course, this shame was not brought to him by Yang Yuanqing, but because he was too tolerant to the soldiers and eventually led to
Made bitter wine.
In the army under his jurisdiction, two factions, the Douzigang faction and the Gaojibo faction, emerged. They were the two major gangster centers in the world. More importantly, he knew nothing about it, which made him deeply hate his own.
inability.
In fact, as long as there are factions among the people, there will be factions in any army since ancient times, and there will be competition for interests. Maybe they are not called Douzigang faction and Gaojibo faction, but they will also be called other names, such as Hedong.
Pai and Hebei Pai, etc.
Gangs have their own rules. When gang rules conflict with military discipline, disciplinary violations will naturally occur. Generally speaking, as long as military discipline is not harmed too much, the military commander will turn a blind eye and not interfere.
How could Yang Yuanqing, who had been in the army for nearly twenty years, not know this kind of common sense in the military? In fact, he was just using the topic to improve military discipline and curb the arrogance of soldiers.
Xu Shiji understood it to some extent, but he didn't know the existence of gangs in the military. In addition, he was a very serious person who couldn't rub a grain of sand out of his eyes. Yang Yuanqing's severe punishment for disciplinary violations made him feel deeply ashamed.
and self-blame.
But Yang Yuanqing did not care about his fault and still appointed him as the commander-in-chief of the West Route Army, which moved Xu Shiji deeply.
This time when he sent troops to Hongnong County, Yang Yuanqing also gave him the right to self-determination before the battle. Xu Shiji had already held his breath. He wanted to turn over completely in this battle and wash away the shame on him.
A Sui army of 20,000 people marched quickly among the hills in the northern part of Hongnong County. In the distance was an endless expanse of undulating hills and dense forests. Villages were scattered on the edge of the plain between the hills.
This area has not suffered much military disaster, and the population is relatively dense.
The wheat harvest has ended, and the fields are covered with green rice seedlings. From time to time, farmers can be seen busy farming in the fields. They raise their heads from a distance and look at the team heading west in surprise. Their eyes are full of worry.
Color, will the war in Luoyang affect Hongnong County?
The army has passed Hongnong County and is heading towards Changyuan County, which is thirty miles away. Changyuan County is an extremely important logistics and food area for the Tang Army, with a large amount of food, grass and military supplies stored in it.
At this time, Deputy General Gao Zi drove up on horseback and rode alongside Xu Shiji. He asked worriedly: "General Xu, the manager asked us to guard Hangu Pass and block the reinforcements from Tongguan. Now we leave Hangu Pass and turn around.
In Daochangyuan County, will there be reinforcements from Tongguan marching all the way east, causing us to be guilty of dereliction of duty?"
Xu Shiji was confident and said calmly: "The general manager ordered us to guard Hangu Pass, but it was not to defend against the enemies from the east of Tongguan. The general manager was actually building momentum to force Li Shimin's army to withdraw westward. As long as Li Shimin's army withdraws westward, then Li Jing's position in Xingyang
The pressure will be reduced, and without worries, he can calmly go south to fight against Li Xiaogong's troops. In fact, our task is to attract Li Shimin's army to Hongnong County and prevent him from retreating south to Xiangcheng County."
Hongnong County and Yingchuan County are separated by Xiangcheng County. Xiangcheng County is located directly south of Luoyang. If Li Shimin's army retreats south to Xiangcheng County, it may support each other with Li Xiaogong's army, resulting in one plus one being greater than two.
situation.
On the contrary, if Li Shimin is attracted to Hongnong County, the contact between Li Shimin and Li Xiaogong will be lost. They will fight separately, and the situation will be favorable to the Sui army.
Gao Zikai could understand what Xu Shiji meant, and he frowned slightly, "Could it be that Li Shimin couldn't think of it? There are so many capable advisers around him, couldn't they also think of it?"
A rare smile finally appeared on Xu Shiji's face, "Of course Li Shimin wants it, his advisers, such as Fang Xuanling, Changsun Wuji and others also want it even more, but there are some things they can't help themselves with."
Speaking of this, Xu Shiji pointed to the farmers in the distance and said: "It was a busy day in the past few days. The civilians recruited by the Tang army had already gone home to plant rice. There was no one to carry grain and grass supplies for them, and they did not dare to force Hongnong.
County citizens, this will trigger a civil uprising, so what should they do? Ignore the logistics and military rations, and go directly to Xiangcheng County?"
Gao Zikai suddenly realized that this was the case. He thought for a while and then said: "But they can divide their troops. For example, 20,000 troops will come to Changyuan County to guard grain and grass, and the remaining tens of thousands of troops will go to Xiangcheng County. Isn't that okay?"
Xu Shiji slowly shook his head, "This is more dangerous. If the main force of the Sui army in charge ignores the Xiangcheng County army and concentrates its superior forces to annihilate the 20,000 Tang army in Changyuan, do you think Li Shimin will do this?"
Gao Zi was speechless. He finally understood that as long as the Tang army's logistics, supplies and supplies were in Changyuan County, Li Shimin would have to withdraw his troops back to Hongnong County.
Xu Shiji sighed slightly, "I think this is Li Tang's decision-making error. He should not have divided his troops to attack the Central Plains. If Li Xiaogong's army had come to support Luoyang from the beginning, Luoyang would have been taken. They joined forces and nearly twenty
If we capture Luoyang with an army of ten thousand and then concentrate our forces to defend the Sui army from crossing south, then we will be passive."
In fact, Xu Shiji's conjecture was not completely correct, because at first the Tang army had no plan to conquer Zhongyuan and only considered capturing Luoyang. It was only because Li Mi revealed his intention to move east that the Tang army made a temporary move and ordered Li Xiaogong to go north to Yingchuan County.
More importantly, the Sui army planned to strike later and deployed its troops in a very targeted manner, thus checking and balancing the possibility of Li Xiaogong and Li Shimin joining forces.
At this time, a local soldier pointed in the distance and shouted: "General Xu, look over there, that's Yangjiacun!"
Xu Shiji also saw that there was a low hill about five miles away. The hills were covered with dense forests. Along the edge of the hills, there was a large village with about 300 households. Compared with ordinary villages, the houses were neatly built and elegant.
There are many wealthy families with high-rise buildings.
Xu Shiji was quite impressed. It turned out that this was the ancestral home of the general manager. The powerful minister Yang Su came from here. Yang Zhong, the ancestor of the Sui and Yang Dynasties, also called himself the Hongnong Yang family. The Sui Dynasty generation was branded with this Yang family.
There are too many imprints of Jiacun.
Gao Zikai looked at it for a long time and said in a low voice: "General, since we are passing by here, should we offer a stick of incense to Yang's ancestral hall?"
Xu Shiji shook his head, "The manager may not want us to go to the Yang clan to offer incense. Forget it, don't be too troublesome."
Xu Shiji turned his horse around and continued to move forward. Not long after he left, a soldier from the front came to report, "General Xu, there are several villagers in front of us asking to see you. The leader calls himself the head of the Yang family."
"Invite them to come forward and meet!"
Xu Shiji stood up and dismounted. He did not dare to neglect. It was actually the head of the Yang family who came in person. He had to give him this face.
After a moment, the soldiers came quickly with several men. The leader was a middle-aged man in his forties. He was square and big-eared, walked calmly, and had a somewhat majestic air in his movements. He was Hongnong.
The current patriarch of the Yang family, Yang Wenjin, and his elder brother Yang Shanhui are now the prime minister of the Sui Dynasty.
Yang Wenjin stepped forward, cupped his hands and said with a smile: "When I heard that the Sui army was coming, the Hongnong Yang family specially prepared a glass of water and wine for the general to greet the general, as a gesture of friendship to the landlord."
Xu Shiji also hurriedly returned the greeting and said: "Your Excellency, Xu Shiji, is a general in front of the king of Chu. I passed by Hongnong and should have gone to pay homage to the ancestral hall. It's just that the mission was urgent, so I couldn't go. Please forgive me, sir!"
"It doesn't matter! It doesn't matter!"
Yang Wenjin forced a smile and said: "As long as General Xu has this intention, it will be fine. It doesn't matter if he doesn't offer incense."
Although Yangjia Village is the ancestral land of Yang Yuanqing, in fact, Yang Yuanqing never came back once since he was a child. Therefore, even if Xu Shiji went to offer incense, he could not find any trace of Yang Yuanqing, which made him embarrassed.
A soldier spread a mat on the side of the road. Xu Shiji and Yang Wenjin sat down. A member of the family poured a glass of wine. Yang Wenjin brought the wine to Xu Shiji, "General Xu must drink this glass of wine. It is regarded as a tribute to the Yang family for the Sui Dynasty."
The army’s wine that catches the wind.”
Xu Shiji was a little embarrassed. He was from Wagang and was very smart. Of course he couldn't drink this kind of wine with unknown origin. He took the glass and smiled and said: "Military discipline is strict. You can't drink even a drop of alcohol during war. Otherwise, it will be a death penalty. Before leaving,
His Royal Highness the King of Chu has specifically told me, so I appreciate the wine and instead respect the Yang family of Hongnong."
After speaking, he slowly poured the wine on the ground and returned the wine glass to Yang Wenjin, "Thank you, Master!"
Seeing that he refused to drink, Yang Wenjin had no choice but to take the glass and smile: "If I guessed correctly, the general is going to attack Changyuan County!"
Xu Shiji thought, the Yang family is the commander of Hongnong County, can they give him any help?
"I am going to attack Changyuan County. Does the family master have any advice?"
Yang Wenjin chuckled, "It's not about giving advice, but I can help the general a little bit."
He waved his hand and called a young man behind him forward, and said to Xu Shiji: "This man's name is Zhang An. He is a talented person from Yang Xuezhong. He is only nineteen years old. His father, Zhang Hongbang, is also a descendant of Yang Xuezhong and is currently in Changyuan."
The county magistrate knows the Tang Army's logistics and material warehouses well."
Xu Shiji understood immediately, and he was overjoyed. He quickly handed over his hands and thanked him: "Thank you, Master, for your help."
"Haha! You're welcome."
Yang Wenjin's eyes turned into slits as he smiled. He had his own plan. Yang Yuanqing had not been to the Yang family in Hongnong so far. He hoped that Yang Yuanqing could come back and take a look. Even if it was not a formal ancestor worship, a private visit would also be beneficial to the Yang family.
It is a great encouragement and is of vital significance to the revitalization of Hongnong Yang Family.
If he helps the Sui army today, General Xu will definitely tell Yang Yuanqing. Will Yang Yuanqing accept this favor and come to Yangjiacun?
Yang Wenjin had an idea in mind, so he said to the young man Zhang An: "Why don't you give General Xu a gift soon?"
Zhang An quickly stepped forward and bowed and saluted, "Student Zhang An, I have heard of General Xu's reputation for a long time and am willing to serve the Sui army!"
Xu Shiji saw that he was handsome and very smart and capable, and he liked him in his heart. He quickly said: "Zhang Shaolang doesn't need to be polite. I would like to ask Shaolang to help the Sui army this time."
"Zhang An is willing to do his best to help. Please make arrangements, general."
Yang Wenjin said goodbye and left. Xu Shiji found a capable subordinate and wrote a letter to him, instructing: "Disguise yourself as a follower and follow Zhang Shaolang to see his father in Changyuan County and give the letter to him for me."
"I humbly obey orders!"
His men took Zhang An away, and Xu Shiji ordered again: "The whole army should stop advancing and rest on the spot!"
With Zhang An's approach, Xu Shiji had a new plan.