Chapter 4405 Feelings of Family and Country
"Yuanshou, the public security officer of the Liang Kingdom, led his 30,000 troops from Liangzhou, the Youxiao Guard. When the battle report was sent, they had already passed Yongxian and went straight to Chang'an. In addition, the heads of the families in Guanlong gathered in Yongxian. Yuwen Shi Jigen appeared among them and encouraged Liu Keman. Li Keman had already gathered his troops and came closely behind An Yuanshou. "
It was raining heavily outside the door, and the dense sound of rain still could not cover up the captain's reading of the battle report, and the words in the battle report were even more like thunder, making the rain increase greatly and disturbing people's hearts.
Niu Jinda put down the mutton in his hand. The mutton he was chewing in his mouth was not satisfying to eat, and he worriedly said: "What should we do? First Li Huaiqin, then An Yuanshou and Liu Keman, these three troops add up to 70,000 to 80,000 people." , and there is a brave army like You Xiaowei who has been suppressing Ganliang for a long time, we are afraid that we will not be able to withstand it.”
Xianyang Bridge is the only way to Chang'an. If you want to block this place, you can only form a formation and fight head-on. There is no room for change. Once the enemy attacks, it will be a tough battle, and once such a large number of enemy troops attack, it will be a tough battle. Disrupting Zuowuwei's formation would be enough to bypass the position and head to Chang'an, or bypass the rear formation to attack from both front and rear.
The situation is extremely unfavorable.
Who would have thought that the various armies in Guanzhong that had been dormant would suddenly swarm in?
Cheng Yaojin remained unmoved, biting into the mutton with big mouthfuls. He ate it very sweetly and turned a deaf ear to Niu Jinda's worries.
Seeing that he was so calm, Niu Jinda calmed down. He stood up, picked up the kettle from the stove, poured hot water into the basin and washed his hands. After thinking for a while, he asked the captain: "Is there anything unusual in Chang'an? Have Xue Wanche and Li Jing been there?" Entering the city?”
The captain shook his head: "Both armies are standing still."
Niu Jinda sighed, returned to the table, picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea to dilute the greasy feeling in his mouth, and said: "Your Majesty still doesn't trust us."
Obviously, if Your Majesty trusts Zuo Wuwei, at least one of Li Jing and Xue Wanche's troops has already entered Chang'an City to quell the rebellion. Since Taiji Palace is so dangerous and in danger of falling, Yu Mei still leaves two troops outside the city, and is still afraid of someone marching in. Arriving outside Chang'an City, they surrounded the entire city and completely cut off the emperor's chance of victory.
The previous oath of allegiance in front of Li Xiaogong was in vain. No matter how nice it was, people simply didn’t believe it...
Cheng Yaojin finished a large piece of mutton, wiped his hands with a handkerchief, then took a sip of strong tea, and asked curiously: "Why, do you think that just by talking to us, His Majesty will put aside all the past grudges and treat us at all?" Trust without reservation? ”
Niu Jinda was choked, and said helplessly: "But even if you still have your mind, you can't be so indifferent, right? At least one of the two armies has entered the city, and it can be regarded as a show for us, so even if we swear and make a wish, it's completely indifferent. If you don’t believe it, your Majesty is not broad-minded.”
"Since we are vacillating and playing both sides, don't blame others for not trusting us. Trust is something we make, not say."
Cheng Yaojin sighed with emotion and said to the captain: "Send the order and release all the scouts. I want to know in detail all the dynamics of the enemy's army, including where the enemy's front army has arrived, how the central army is deployed, how much food and fodder is available, and even The types of troops and the number of troops must be investigated in detail, and if there are any discrepancies, military law will be followed!”
"Here!"
The captain obeyed the order, turned around and exited to convey the military order.
Cheng Yaojin took a sip of tea bitterly and said to Niu Jinda: "Arrange the entire army in formation. This battle is a tough one and should not be underestimated. We must not take it lightly."
Niu Jinda was puzzled: "Commander, are you planning a head-to-head fight? But haven't you always adopted a strategy of preserving your strength and not wanting your soldiers to suffer too many casualties?"
The reason why Cheng Yaojin stood aside and watched the rebels march into the city to attack Chengtianmen where the rebels raised their troops, and even later wavered around and became unstable in his stance, was because he was thinking about his brothers and did not want to suffer too many casualties. Preserve your strength. After all, as long as you are strong enough, even the emperor can do nothing.
But if we were to fight to the death at Xianyang Bridge now, facing an enemy force twice as large as our own, there would be huge casualties. This is contrary to Cheng Yaojin's consistent strategy...
Cheng Yaojin put down his tea cup, signaled Niu Jinda to refill the water, and sighed: "At this stage, we have almost become the decisive force that can influence the ownership of the throne. Whoever we favor will be most likely to win."
Niu Jinda was puzzled: "Then why should we choose His Majesty over King Jin?"
Blocking the Guanzhong army from entering Chang'an would naturally help the emperor's side, allowing Xue Wanche and Li Jing to enter the city with confidence to quell the rebellion and settle the overall situation. But if the emperor and the King of Jin choose one of the two, supporting the King of Jin will definitely gain the greatest benefit. After all, the King of Jin promised to seal the land of Qingqi to Cheng Yaojin, allowing him to establish a vassal state and pass it on to future generations.
The emperor's promise is just to be the king of Xiliang and make judgments...
After refilling the water, Cheng Yaojin held the tea cup and asked, "Have you ever thought about it, if King Jin occupies the Tai Chi Palace and proclaims the world to ascend the throne as emperor, will he be able to kill everyone in one fell swoop?"
Niu Jinda shook his head and said: "How is it possible? Your Majesty dared to remain unmoved when the rebels stormed into the Taiji Palace and besieged the Wude Palace. Obviously, there must be a way to escape from the Wude Palace in times of crisis. This is also This should be one of the reasons why Li Jing has been reluctant to lead his army into the city. After all, if the opportunity comes bad, he can escort His Majesty who has escaped from Chang'an City to retreat to Hexi, so that he will not be completely defeated."
Cheng Yaojin took a sip of tea and said, "So, if your majesty wins, the King of Jin will definitely be defeated, and the vitality of the world's noble families will be severely damaged. Even if they don't take advantage of the victory, it will be difficult to recover within thirty to fifty years. The world's situation will be stable and internal affairs will be smooth. The external force continued, and the prosperous age was extended. Continued... On the other hand, if His Majesty is defeated and flees to Hexi, the territory of the Tang Dynasty will be divided from east to west and confront each other. Your Majesty, with the support of Hexi and the Western Regions, is fully capable of launching a mighty battle to seize the throne. At that time, What will happen to Datang?”
What Niu Jinda is not good at is using his brain, followed by situation analysis, but he still thought about it carefully and said: "The losses caused by this mutiny will not be healed for a long time. Shandong, Hedong, Jiangnan and other places The gate valve is undergoing heavy damage In the future, it will be necessary to suck blood from the land and farmers in order to restore their vitality as soon as possible. The result will naturally be anger and resentment, and the civil war will wear away the elite troops of the Tang Dynasty bit by bit, and the surrounding Hu tribe will take advantage of the situation to rise..."
The more I thought about it, the more frightened I became. If it really came to that point, the wealth accumulated by the two generations of emperors Gaozu and Taizong would probably be lost. The empire would rapidly deteriorate, border dangers would arise, civil strife would become frequent, and the country would be in ruins.
"Haha, you think it's just like that?"
Cheng Yaojin sneered and sighed: "You still missed a little, Navy..."
Niu Jinda was suddenly startled. It was easy for a general who had spent his whole life on horseback to ignore the existence of the navy. However, after Cheng Yaojin's reminder, he immediately realized the worst situation.
"Once His Majesty flees to Hexi and the separatist situation of east-west confrontation arises, the navy will definitely not sit still and wait for death. It might sweep the entire south of the Yangtze River and rule across the river with the imperial court... I really thought that Fang Xuanling went to Huating Town just to enjoy the mountains. Water?”
"Hiss..."
Niu Jinda took a breath of cold air.
With the advantage of naval firearms, Fang Xuanling's strategizing, and the interests of Jiangnan nobles, it is really possible to occupy half of the country...
By that time, your majesty will seize Hexi, the King of Jin will occupy Guanzhong, the navy will sweep across the south of the Yangtze River, and Shandong, Hedong, Mobei and other places will gradually come under the control of the imperial court. Maybe this huge empire will be torn apart in an instant!
The situation of the Southern and Northern Dynasties reappeared in China. The Tang people fought and attacked each other, and their vitality was gradually exhausted. The Hu people recuperated and took advantage of the situation to rise. Ten or twenty years later, they broke through the Great Wall and drank in the Central Plains. The Han people once again suffered from the tragic situation of the Five Hus who invaded China...
Niu Jinda's eyes widened and he said decisively: "As soldiers, how can we sit back and watch such tragic scenes happen again?"
"So, we can only choose His Majesty."
Cheng Yaojin said helplessly: "What can the feudal side and the descendants of Chuan do? If today we choose the King of Jin to let the Guanzhong army cross the Xianyang Bridge and enter Chang'an, and his empire collapses, the country is in turmoil, the people are in dire straits, and foreigners invade, then what will happen to us? They are the kind of sinners that will last forever and be remembered forever. ”
He looked at Niu Jinda and said in a deep voice: "As Fang Jun often said, a person must have some feelings for his family and country... You can be disloyal to the current emperor, but you cannot be disloyal to the Tang Dynasty. We must be loyal to the world! Otherwise, how can we face Emperor Taizong in a hundred years?”
Niu Jinda stood up suddenly and said loudly: "Commander, don't worry, Zuo Wuwei is the wing of the country. He can not only travel across mountains and rivers to expedition to Liaodong, but also support the country even if he is killed! From me on, we will fight bloody battles on Xianyang Bridge and not let the rebels step on a single soldier!" ”
……
In the heavy rain, tens of thousands of Zuowuwei soldiers lined up on the south side of Xianyang Bridge, waiting for the day to come. Sima in the army rushed back and forth, conveying orders to the captains and soldiers to fight to the death, and at the same time preaching the importance of this battle to the empire and the people, even though Throwing heads and blood, we must also stop the rebels here, try to save the country from decline, and avoid possible misfortune.
Zuo Wuwei and his subordinates were all soldiers. They farmed in their spare time and went to war during the war. They had a very high pursuit of the people's livelihood and the stability of the country. Maybe they didn't care who the emperor was. As long as he was the son of Emperor Taizong, he would be fine, but absolutely not Allowing the rebels to trample from their positions would disrupt the foundations of the empire and lay the foundation for the country's downfall.
The whole army was full of fighting spirit and morale, and even the pouring rain could not extinguish the burning faith in their hearts. War horses ridden by scouts came one after another, sending back information about the rebels' marching route, advancing speed, troop strength, etc. Zuo Wuwei was on guard up and down, making all preparations, just waiting for the rebels to come and fight to the death!
In the evening, Liu Huaiqin, who had arrived fifty miles away from Xianyang Bridge, heard the news that Zuo Wuwei was arrayed in the north of Xianyang Bridge and was ready for battle. His heart suddenly skipped a beat... Could this old thief Cheng Yaojin have completely surrendered to the emperor? Risking your life? (End of chapter)