Chapter 1663: Drawing fire from under the cauldron
Li Wuqing was very disdainful.
But even though he looked down on these second-generation ancestors, he also knew that these guys would definitely be the ruling faction of Wanchun Kingdom in the future, and it was necessary to get close to them. For some reason, Li Wanshan doesn't want to see him as a native, so he must hold on to the future leader in front of him...
Li Wuqing arranged for the tribesmen, quickly walked out of the forest, trotted up to the young general, and said with a smile: "Young general, please dismount and rest for now. This is the most dangerous place in Hengshan Pass. You only need to guard this place, no matter what happens, Tang Jun couldn’t fly even with his wings!”
Li Xuancheng looked up and looked around. He saw green trees and green mountains on both sides of the mountain road. He stretched out on the horse and said, "It's okay. It's been a bumpy ride and all the bones in my body are broken. Let me sleep for a while and then get ready." Dinner..."
Li Wuqing's eyes widened... Are you still thinking about dinner?
"Where is that boy Li Wanshan?"
Li Xuancheng raised his head and looked around.
Li Wuqing said: "It's already hidden."
Li Xuancheng said displeased: "This kid is really arrogant. Didn't he know that I was here? He didn't even show his face. He quickly sent someone to call me. He is getting more and more lawless!"
His family was powerful, and he was a descendant of the Wanchun Kingdom. He was the leader among the Han people in Annan. As a result, Li Wanshan disobeyed him since he was a child. The two of them could be said to hate each other. They fought each other from childhood to adulthood, but Li Wanshan was the stronger one. As big as an ox, Li Xuancheng was beaten every time. When he got older, he hid when he saw Li Wanshan.
Now the situation is different. My father, Li Zhuangzhi, has raised the banner to restore the Wanchun Kingdom. He, Li Xuancheng, will soon be the crown prince of the Wanchun Kingdom, and will be the king in the future. How dare he, Li Wanshan, act arrogantly in front of him?
All this young master wanted to do was to suppress Li Wanshan's arrogance and make him bow his head and admit his mistakes in front of him, regardless of the heavy responsibilities on his shoulders at the moment...
Li Wuqing was helpless, but even though he felt it was inappropriate, he knew that as an indigenous leader, he could not persuade Li Xuancheng. These second-generation ancestors were so arrogant that one or two of them were unreasonable, so he had to send someone to call Li Wanshan.
After waiting for all the soldiers brought by Li Xuancheng to hide in the mountains and forests on both sides, Li Wanshan came over swinging his arms, squinted at Li Xuancheng, and said, "Why are you calling me, young master?"
Li Xuancheng shook his armor, raised his chin slightly, and said proudly: "You can no longer call me Young Master, you have to call His Highness the Crown Prince, remember? Don't behave like before, otherwise you will be punished by national law!"< br>
Li Wanshan curled his lips and stared at Li Xuancheng's triumphant face. He was not angry and just said lightly: "Oh, remember."
Li Xuancheng was surprised by this order. He knew very well what kind of temper Li Wanshan had. Not to mention that he had not announced the restoration of the country at this moment. Even if he really took the position of prince, he would not be convinced. How could he be so talkative today? ?
However, Li Xuancheng was very happy to be able to suppress this bastard. He made a good gesture and waved his hands and said: "Hurry up and arrange your subordinates. Don't make any mistakes. Otherwise, don't blame me for not remembering the old relationship. I will be severely punished!"
Li Wanshan turned around and left without saying a word.
Prince?
Haha, you think too much...
*****
The continuous artillery fire was like the divine thunder falling from the sky, blasting the walls of Guluo City with holes.
Pei Xingjian stood on the bow of a warship, holding a monocular telescope in his hand, observing the situation on the city.
"It's really despicable. Under the guise of restoring Wanchun Kingdom and benefiting all the people, he withdrew the city walls and hid in the city, using the people as shields... How can such a villain succeed?"
Pei Xingjian clicked his tongue, full of sarcasm and disdain.
Although they escaped the naval bombardment by doing this, it completely alienated the people in the city. The rebels were originally much weaker in rebellion than the imperial army. Without the support of the people and secret help, they were like rootless duckweeds. What kind of climate can it be?
Liu Renyuan stood side by side with him, observed the situation on the top of the city, looked back at the more than ten artillery pieces that were roaring and sending up clouds of smoke, and said distressedly: "I will see, as long as we land Go up and charge, that's it If these rebels can be wiped out, the walls of Guluo City are about to collapse. How can they stop us? This cannon is worth a lot of money. Besides, this cannon barrel has a lifespan, and one shot is worth less than one shot. , too expensive..."
This artillery is indeed powerful enough, but it is too time-consuming to manufacture. Just refining and casting the fine steel for the barrel requires countless complicated technologies, and it requires countless manpower, material and financial resources. How many cannons can be mounted on the ship? It just disappeared.
Erlang once said, "When a cannon is fired, there are ten thousand taels of gold." Erlang, who can make the world's wealthiest, say such words, shows how much money the cannon wastes.
Of course, he simply understood the other meaning of the phrase "a cannon fires, and gold is ten thousand taels". Although the cannon costs money, the money comes quickly when the cannon fires...
Pei Xingjian put down the telescope, shook his head, and said: "If we attack Guluo City violently, it will inevitably cause casualties among the people. Most of the people in this city are Han people, and at the worst, they are descendants of Han people. The traitors can ignore the lives of the people, but we can't. Do this. Besides, everything about the rebels is under our control, so why rush? Let’s just wait and see for a few days.”
Liu Renyuan naturally knew the overall plan. He nodded when he heard this and said no more. However, he was silent for a moment and suddenly said: "The general has a plan to separate the rebels and the people in the city."
"Oh? Tell me."
"We can write a notice to explain the fact that the rebels relied on the people to protect them so that the imperial army could not attack fiercely. We also explained that we were unwilling to harm innocent people, so we had to surround Guluo City. We advised the rebels to attack as soon as possible for the sake of the people in the city. The city surrendered..."
Pei Xingjian's eyes lit up, he touched his palms and exclaimed: "What a plan!"
This is simply a clever plan to remove the firepower from under the cauldron!
The vast majority of the people in the city are Han Chinese, and most of them are merchants. Everyone has traveled across the ocean to live here in order to make money. Who is willing to follow the rebels and rebel with their heads? Let everyone know that they are being held hostage by traitors, and the navy cannot bear to hurt the lives of innocent people, so it has many concerns. So who is righteous and who is evil, and who is doing it for selfish desires regardless of everyone's lives. Who can't bear to hurt everyone's lives and has to do nothing. Isn’t it obvious at a glance?
I'm afraid that without the navy to attack the city, the people in the city will be at odds with the rebels...
Therefore, as long as this notice is seen by the people in the city, the rebels will definitely withdraw from the city immediately, otherwise they will fall into the hatred and anger of the people. Once the Tang army attacks the city, they will not be able to escape even if they want to.
Immediately, Pei Xingjian ordered people to write more than a hundred notices and shot them into the city with a strong bow.
*****
In Guluo City, Li Zhuangzhi was hesitant and undecided.
Are you sticking to Guluo City?
Or should we withdraw from the city and head south, meet up with the main force ambushing at Hengshan Pass, and then make other plans?
Both decisions have their own pros and cons, and neither decision is easy...
Guluo City is located in Songping County. Its north side meets the Songping County city wall, and its east, west and south sides are located in the city. It can be regarded as a city within the city. Songping County is the richest city in the Annan region. By occupying this place, you can obtain sufficient food and money, which will be beneficial to future development.
But now, if the Tang navy navy launches a fierce attack regardless of the casualties of the people in the city, will it be able to withstand it?
Li Zhuangzhi felt confused.
If we abandon Guluo City and go south, we can turn the corner. Moreover, the ancestors of the Wanchun Kingdom used this method to resist the Han army for decades. As long as we get into the vast mountains, there will be fish returning to the sea and birds flying to the sky. Who can What can be done to them?
But in this way, the initiative is lost, and the only choice is to hang out with the natives in the deep mountains and old forests, go down the mountain to work hard, and never mention the great cause of national restoration...
This is definitely not what Li Zhuangzhi wants to see.
In a spacious lobby, Li Zhuangzhi had a frown on his face. It was really difficult to decide whether to defend or retreat.
In just one day, a lot of gray beard and hair have fallen off, his hale and hearty spirit is listless, and his old eyes are even more cloudy...
There was no one else in the hall except Li Qingshu, and the rumble of cannons outside could be heard clearly.
Li Qingshu advised in a low voice: "Why don't we evacuate quickly? The Tang army's artillery is too fierce. If the bombardment continues like this, the entire city wall will collapse. Even if we can contain the people in the city, if the Tang army attacks brazenly regardless of the casualties of the people, we can I can’t even withdraw even if I want to!”
Li Zhuangzhi remained silent.
How could he not understand this truth?
But he was unwilling...
Li Qingshu advised again: "I have no clue whether Li Wanshan is a spy of the Tang army. If it is true... then the more than 10,000 main troops in Hengshan Pass are just meat on the chopping board, and they may be swallowed by the Tang people anytime and anywhere! At that point At that time, we didn’t even have the slightest confidence..."
Retreating now, as long as the main force at Hengshan Pass is reunited, there is still the strength to fight. If the main force at Hengshan Pass is defeated by the Tang army, then everything will be over...
Li Zhuangzhi gritted his teeth and wanted to make up his mind, but in the end he refused to give up Guluo City in vain, and the good situation was ruined.
When he was struggling, a soldier ran in from outside, holding a stack of paper in his hand, and said quickly: "Report! The Tang army used a strong bow to shoot these notices into the city, and asked the commander to make a decision."
Li Zhuangzhi stood up suddenly, took the notice, read it at a glance, and immediately shouted: "The people of the Tang Dynasty are insidious!"
Li Qingshu hurriedly came up to take a look, and said with a change of expression: "Hurry up and withdraw your troops, otherwise in a few days, we will have enemies all over the city!"
Li Zhuangzhi no longer hesitated and made a decisive decision: "Immediately order all soldiers to assemble. Let's withdraw from Guluo City and go to Hengshan Pass, and then discuss countermeasures!"
There was no way, the Tang Army's move to "snatch the fire under the cauldron" was too sinister. No matter how high his prestige was, Li Zhuangzhi only made the people in the city wait and see, disapproving or opposing his move to restore the country. But if they understood that Li Zhuangzhi took the lives of the people in the city to fight against the Tang army, who would care whether he restored the country or rebelled?
He, Li Zhuangzhi, is a traitor who cares about human life!
His reputation was ruined. What could he use to fight against the Tang army?
Without the support of the people of Annan, all his troops are rootless duckweeds. Even if they escape into the mountains, they will be abandoned by the world sooner or later... (End of Chapter)