Chapter 3691 Sneak attack on a rainy night
"Here!"
The soldiers under his command took the order, and then some returned to the west of Pujin Ferry Bridge to report the news and mobilize troops and horses. The remaining soldiers separated into more than ten cavalry and chased Xiao Yu and his party north along the official road. The people who stayed behind dismounted and cleaned the battlefield, picked up Paoze's body and put it in one place.
This place is an important route from Hebei and other places to and from Guanzhong. The power of Guanlong is not enough to cover the sky with one hand. If a business traveler sees the miserable situation here, it will be shocking...
*****
Chang'an.
The dragon's head is on the original place.
In the middle of the night, a spring rain suddenly came. The cold raindrops drifted in the wind, making the world cool and moist. However, after a while, the fine raindrops turned into dense ice particles, crackling against the houses and tents.
The rain melts the snow and then freezes. The pavilions, palaces, flowers, trees and pavilions that have been completed or are under construction on the plateau are all covered with a thin layer of crystal clear ice. Under the light of the orange lanterns, they look like palaces in the sky, cold. To the bone.
In the eighth year of Zhenguan, the Emperor was getting older, and the Da'an Palace where he lived was cramped and cramped. Therefore, Ma Zhou, who was the supervisory censor at the time, petitioned to build a new palace for the Emperor "to prepare for the summer heat" in order to "become the most beautiful palace in the world." Hope is great, and filial piety spreads throughout the world."
In order to show his filial piety, His Majesty Li Er readily approved and ordered people to search for the palace site and select Longshouyuan. After the ceremony was completed, a huge new palace rose from the ground and was named "Yong'an Palace".
The following year, it was renamed "Da Ming Palace" and the general was responsible for its construction. Skilled craftsmen from all over the country were gathered together with the finest building materials from all over the country. It cost a huge amount of money and was extremely luxurious.
It was not until last year when the whole country went on an expedition and the national treasury was empty that the project was suspended...
Under the dark curtain of rain, a group of cavalry suddenly appeared in the darkness and slowly approached the east wall of the Daming Palace.
A group of Youtun guards were stationed in the East Neiyuan. On the one hand, they guarded the Daming Palace, and on the other hand, they guarded the entire east side of Chang'an City, the only way to go west to the Xuanwu Gate, bypassing the Weishui River.
Lanterns were hung at the top of the city, and the dim yellow light swayed under the rain and ice particles, making it dark.
The cavalrymen with cotton hooves wrapped in cotton and bits in their mouths sneaked up not far from the city gate, reining in their reins and waiting in the icy rain.
Not long after, the city gate slowly opened.
The first general wearing bright light armor drew out his sharp sword, raised it high, then clamped his horse's belly and rushed forward.
The more than a thousand cavalrymen behind them were silent, but they quickly mobilized their horses, followed them to the bottom of the city wall, and swarmed in through the open city gate.
The soldiers of Youtun Guards patrolling the city immediately discovered the enemy troops who wanted to attack by surprise. They beat the gong crazily at the top of the city and shouted "enemy attack". The silent barracks in the rainy night instantly became excited.
However, the city gate was opened by a traitor, and the enemy cavalry drove straight in. As soon as the soldiers in the barracks got up, they charged in and killed...
……
An hour later.
Fang Jun rode in with his army, wearing a raincoat outside his armor. He looked at the corpses placed in the camp with a gloomy expression. Without saying a word, he turned his horse and returned to the camp outside Xuanwu Gate, and then called to open Xuanwu Gate. , go straight to the inner gate, and see His Highness the Crown Prince.
The lamps and candles were lit in the hall, and the waiter placed the hot tea in Fang Jun's hand and bowed back.
Li Chengqian was woken up from his bed. He heard that the garrison of Daming Palace was attacked in the middle of the night and suffered heavy casualties. He was so shocked that all his drowsiness disappeared.
"Erlang, how is the situation?"
Fang Jun looked gloomy, suppressing his anger, and said in a deep voice: "The casualties are not large, but now during the peace talks, the rebels suddenly made a surprise attack, which is simply too bullying! What are Cen Wenwen and the others doing? They are blindly advocating peace talks. Today, they have failed to make any progress, and instead allowed the rebels to bully them at will! Where did they put the lives of their soldiers? Where did they put the majesty of His Majesty? "
Speaking of the beginning of his anger, he slapped the table next to him with his palm, and the tea set made a "clang" sound, which scared the waiter at the door to jump in his heart.
Li Chengqian was also helpless, rubbed his face and asked, "What does Erlang want?"
Fang Jun said angrily: "It's disrespectful to come back without reciprocating! Since the rebels ignored the peace talks and attacked our army at this time, they obviously wanted to use this to put pressure on Cen Wenwen and others and force them to agree at the negotiation table. Give in. These civil servants are talking nonsense. When I was young, I was clear-headed, but at this time, I am weak and useless! Weichen asked your highness for permission to mobilize five thousand elite troops and seize the opportunity to raid the rebel camp outside Tonghua Gate to retaliate in kind!"
"This..."
Li Chengqian hesitated for a while, wondering: "I feel the same feelings as Erlang. It's just that it's a critical time for peace talks. If this is the case, I'm afraid the civil servants will not agree."
The civil servants headed by Xiao Yu and Cen Wenwen tried their best to promote the peace talks and discussed countermeasures day and night, trying to complete the peace talks in the shortest possible time, stop the war, restore the court to normal, and then carry out post-war treatment to minimize losses. .
At this time, if Fang Jun wants to retaliate, it will inevitably start another confrontation between the East Palace and Guan Long. It is not impossible to start a war. How can the civil servants agree?
Although fighting a war depends on the army fighting for life and death, the role of civilian officials is equally important. Planning and logistics all require the assistance of civilian officials. It is especially the prince's duty to maintain a balance between the army and civilian officials, rather than arbitrarily favoring one side. This leads to deep resentment and conflict between the other party...
Fang Jun snorted and said, "They don't agree? Then let them explain to the soldiers stationed outside the city. Let them see how angry the soldiers are now! Tens of thousands of soldiers are filled with anger and gearing up. If Strong suppression will not only damage morale, but also seriously deplete the soldiers' desire to win. Let the civilian officials carry swords to fight against the rebels."
Li Chengqian's head was as big as a bucket.
Although he has never led an army, he also knows that the braver the army is, the less the soldiers can bear the slightest grievance. Now the camp was attacked by the rebels in the middle of the night and suffered heavy losses. If they could not fight back, public opinion would be fierce and resentful, which would severely damage their morale.
After weighing the left and right, after careful consideration, he could only nod his head and said: "In this case, Erlang will go and mobilize the army. I will issue an edict later. I have only one request. It is not impossible to fight, but you have to ensure that you can win with one blow. You must not lose your troops or your generals, and you will suffer a huge defeat!”
Fang Jun was refreshed, stood up, saluted, and said loudly: "Your Highness, don't worry, I will personally lead the army in this battle, and I will definitely teach the rebels a lesson!"
……
When Fang Jun strode out, Li Chengqian was sitting alone on a chair, sipping tea. After a long while, he said to the waiter: "Instruct Li Chongzhen to come and see him as soon as possible."
"Here!"
The waiter came out quickly.
Half a cup of tea later, Li Chongzhen, who was dressed in military uniform and handsome, came in to see him: "The general will come to see your highness!"
Li Chongzhen was the third son of Li Xiaogong, the king of Hejian County, and served in the "Baiqisi". Now Li Junxian led a team to escort Xiao Yu to Tongguan to lobby Li Ji, and Li Chongzhen took over the command of the "Baiqisi" stationed under the Xuanwu Gate.
Li Chengqian put down his teacup and looked serious: "At midnight, the Youtun Guards stationed in the East Inner Garden of Daming Palace was attacked by rebels. Did you know?"
Li Chongzhen nodded and said: "The general will know!"
The "Hundred Cavalry Division" not only monitors the hundreds of officials, but also has another most important task: placing spies in each army. It is necessary to control every move of each army so that the emperor feels as if he is personally watching. After all, the army is the most important weapon of the empire, even the emperor. Once the army is out of control, the country will collapse and lives will be at risk...
Naturally, there were secret spies from the "Baiqisi" in Youtun Guards. After the sneak attack, Li Chongzhen was reported by the secret spies immediately.
Li Chengqian said: "Tell me in detail."
Li Chongzhen said: "The rebels took advantage of the rainy night and sneaked in, avoiding the sentry guard outside the city. A traitor opened the city gate from inside the city, and the rebels rushed in. The military camp was caught off guard and rushed to fight, resulting in hundreds of casualties. The rebels were afraid of being surrounded and annihilated, so they quickly retreated after the surprise attack."
From this point of view, the loss was not huge, but soldiers valued dignity the most. Being attacked at night and stormed into the camp was really embarrassing. No wonder Fang Jun was so angry.
After thinking about it, Li Chengqian asked thoughtfully: "In your opinion, is it possible to use the bitter flesh plan?"
Li Chongzhen was stunned.
A bitter plot?
Pretending to be a rebel, he sneaked into his camp at night and killed his own men in exchange for framing the rebels, sabotaging the peace talks, and allowing the military to regain control of the current situation...
He thought about it carefully, shook his head and said: "The general cannot guarantee that this will never happen, but at least from the existing evidence, the rebel attack is conclusive. Many secret spies in Youtun Guards are at the same time Feedback, it’s hard for anyone to write anything about it” (End of Chapter)